6.7.13

     So I've been off of blogger for a few days because I have been working as a nanny for 8 hours a day to a 5 year old. Needless to say, I'm usually super tired by the time I get home. However, I have a few new things to post about!

    So most people don't realize it, but I'm a vegan. I try to eat only plant based foods, and most of the time I don't even use oils (sometimes you can't avoid them in restaurants, and the Lord knows I love popcorn). I eat vegan because it makes me feel really great. I have more energy and my running has improved drastically. A lot of people worry that on a plant based diet, you will have some kind of protein deficiency, but plant based foods provide more than enough proteins and other nutrients for a perfectly balanced diet. Because of my diet, I spend a lot of time cooking new foods from all kinds of different cultures and finding new recipes. This week I branched out to some middle eastern food! It's a dish called mujaddara (or mujadara..not sure on the spelling) and it basically consists of rice and lentils blended together and garnished with sauteed onions. Before adding the onions, you add both cinnamon and allspice to the lentils and rice. I was skeptical while I made it, but pleasantly surprised by the depth and richness of the flavor. From a health perspective, lentils are high in protein yet low in calories and are a great source of fiber.

I've also been experimenting on new foods I can snack on to create a healthier diet. (As much as I love popcorn, it's not the best option because of all the oil and salt) This week I bought some sweet twister peppers from HEB, and they were pretty good! I just chopped them up and ate them plain because these peppers are not spicy. They are great because they are a good source of nutrients such as vitamin A and C and are very low calorie. 

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I have to say my favorite part of this week so far has been picking up my brand new pair of running shoes! For a runner, I'm pretty sure it's the equivalent of Christmas morning...(literally...I got running shoes last Christmas). I'm so excited because I pre-ordered this about a month ago because a brand new color came out this past weekend. These are Asics GEL- Kayano 19's, and I LOVE them. These shoes come with a pretty hefty price tag of $150, but it is worth it to invest in good running shoes that fit your foot well.

The Kayano series are a great stability shoe with good cushioning. I got these to replace my Kayano 18's for my birthday, but I had to wait because there was no way I would pass up these colors. Stability shoes are generally really boring to look at (although they have improved recently), so I had to snatch these once I knew they were coming. 

These will be the shoes I run my first marathon in, and I couldn't be more excited.

Sincerely,