A spontaneous running day!

So I did something different today...

But don't freak out too much- it was good different!

I generally run every second day, to give my legs a rest in between each leg destroying workout.

 Today was that second day when I would generally run. I was a little extra tired and heavy from my deep sleep (*cough* I woke up, lifted my head, planted it back down on my pillow and fell back asleep) but when I finally managed to hop out of bed (around 6:15 am) I didn't really feel motivated for my typical morning run. I was getting bored with my route, it was so predictable, so over done and fixed in my brain that my body seemed to instinctively get tired around the ending and work up strength for hills etc.

So, when I laced up my shoes, chomped on a few delicious dates, tied back my hair and began my steady climb up our hill to the outside world (we live in a little cul-de-sac) I turned right instead of left!

 And I just ran. I ran wherever I wanted for however long I wanted.
It was great!
Seriously not knowing where you are going/ when you're gonna turn back home is kinda awesome. I think I ran longer than usual, harder than usual and enjoyed it a lot more than usual (which is saying something because I love running!).
I guess I was just over my old running route and spicing things up made me push myself harder... weird?

I also did a few other new things (it was that kind of day I guess!)
Upon return (extremely sweaty, legs= jelly) I drank my first ever coconut water for fast hydration! I didn't mind the taste, a bit weird at first but then it grew on me.

So I walked around the house, stretching out my legs, drinking my water, then went up to shower while my favourite steel cut oats for brekky cooked.

Unfortunately this also finished off my supply of two of my kitchen essentials:

 Organic vegan vanilla protein powder and ground cinnamon!

 However the bowl of oats was definitely worth it!

 Oats really are my favourite post-run fuel!

 So I was energised, hydrated with coconut water, clean and washed haired and smiling into a big bowl of warm oats... otherwise known as my perfect morning!

 Bowl spread with almond butter, oats poured in and then topped with peanut butter :).
Even more water- because running (and sweating!) sure does take it out of you!)

 And many wonderful spoons like this:

I'm thinking I might try this spontaneous running routine again as I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now prrreeetttyyy tired. Although I have spent the remainder of the morning last-minute-Christmas-shopping, grocery shopping and washing/cleaning my sisters car for her- so that might add to my floppy limbs! ;)

What about you?
Do you find mixing up your running routes helpful?
Do you drink coconut water?
Favourite after workout food?

Bye for now friends! :D

Catching up

Happy Friday friendly friends! Anyone else like Friday? Of course you all like Friday!

 Any-who, I feel like we haven't had a sit down and talk for quite a while now, it's been all the recipes/ link-ups/ all the other stuff! You wanna just talk? About food? Ok let's roll!

Firstly, I did not know you could make your own popcorn just by bying plain popping kernels and putting them in a bowl in the microwave/ in a saucepan (both requiring a lid of some kind) until just a couple months ago.

 I always thought popcorn only existed in those paper bags that had microwave instructions and heaps of oil and salt in them, or already popped at the movies, or in packets at the shops.

 I know, I know... really Steph? Really? So ever since I realised how easy it was to make plain old air popped popcorn without any butter/ oil/ salt, I've made sure I made up for the time I was without the pretty puffed corn.

 Like yesterday's lunch for example!

 This was exactly what I felt like and therefore exactly what kept me full and happy and satisfied (which is the same as full, but I ran out of words ;)

 It featured this delicious oven roasted sweet potato, which was then cut open, fluffed with a fork and then drizzled ( or dolloped..) with almond butter.

 A fresh crunchy salad of spinach, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lentils, red kidney beans and peas.

 And a pink bowl of popcorn. For some reason I always end up making waaaaaay too much popcorn and so this bowl was actually only half of what I popped. Lucky for siblings sitting nearby with similar popcorn fetishes. :)

Oh and I'll just throw in another photo of my baked sweet potato... because it was that good (almond butter and sweet potato has to be one of my favourite combos EVER)

 Moving backwards from lunch to breakfast- y'all know how much I love my smoothie bowls, right?

 Well, recently I've been feeling slightly under the weather (the cold hasn't come yet but I think it's trying to break down the door) so when I saw Amanda's post about her favourite green smoothie and how she uses fresh orange juice as her liquid, I thought that this would be a great addition to my fav green smoothie + help with the on-coming cold  and so subbed it in for the milk.

 Topping my spotty-dot bowl off with some peanut butter granola!

 Simply mix together 1/3 cup rolled oats, a handful of chopped raw nuts and a small handful of cranberries and raisins (chia seeds= optional) then place 1 heaped tablespoon on peanut butter in a small bowl with 1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk) and heat in microwave for 30 mins- stir then add to oats.

 Place in the oven (180 degrees celsius) for 15 mins or until golden :)
Topping off the yum-tacular green smoothie:

 And then devoured....

 The orange juice in the place of milk gave the smoothie so much life and zing! It tasted sort of tropical and fruity and the extra vitamin c is a big tick!

 The peanut butter granola just made the whole thing sparkle.

 With deliciousness :)

 So, whenever I'm feeling a cold coming on, I know what to do! A big bowl of hot chicken soup cold creamy nutty smoothie bowl will do the trick!

 I still think this is the best 'cereal and milk' on the planet ;)

 Great fuel for a day of Christmas present shopping, wrapping and working on my secret project (whilst belting out the odd carol or 25).

So there you go. A little catch up into the food of my life. No wonder I'm in such a good mood! I definitely believe food has the capability to turn a bad day into the best day- it has magical powers you know. :D

What about you?
Do you like Fridays?
Do you pop your own popcorn?
Does food change your mood?

Well I'm off- I hope everyone has a good day, eat something yummy and enjoy yourself. Do something you love. Be with the ones you love. Smile. Catch ya later! :D

Why I don't eat intuitively

Hi guys, how we doing today? Good? Ready to Think Out Loud? I know I am!


What seems to be one of the biggest diet trends right about now? No I don't mean the were-wolf diet or the five-bite diet (research them if you don't know what I'm talking about-they're hilarious)I'm talking about eating intuitively.

Now just to save myself from a whole lot of ridicule from healthy living bloggers everywhere- I am not saying I don't believe in this way of eating. I actually totally agree with it. It is the type of eating and diet that actually makes sense to me- listening to your body and acting accordingly, seems pretty straight forward and extremely logical to me!

No, I'm not saying this is stupid/ ridiculous, I'm simply saying I don't do it. But trust me- I really want to!

I have a few things to blame (well not really blame, but a few factors that I think have caused this) of course the main one is school. You don't have a choice when you eat at school- there are bells and they signal your food times and you deal with it (unless you are like a few boys in my year who smuggle sandwiches into classes).

As a result of this, these times that you are programmed to eat everyday get drilled into you and consequently, when that magical lunch time rolls round, the tummy starts growling! So even on weekends when I have absolutely no schedule, I still eat breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner at the exact same ' scheduled' time. I guess I am still eating intuitively as I'm hungry and I eat, but I have a feeling it's not really the same.

I also blame (but not blame because that seems harsh) exercise. I'm never hungry after exercising/ running but know that I need to refuel in order to rebuild my muscles and refuel my energy stores- so I eat even when my body technically tells me not to. This also applies to days when I've done a big workout/ have constantly been on the move, I've almost made myself to eat every few hours to keep me going because I know I need to eat to keep my blood sugar stable and keep me going through every activity, even if I'm not hungry.

I do actually blame (and will use the word blame) our society and social norms that say breakfast happens when you wake up, lunch happens around 12pm and dinner around 6pm because that's what has been drilled into me since childhood and is therefore a pretty tricky habit to break free from (I just can't imagine having lunch at 3pm). This is also the reason I think so few people have actually mastered the art of truly eating intuitively and eating when and how much their body so desires.

How much, is yet another point (although doesn't apply to me any more, cooking my own meals). As kids we have meals placed in front of us that dictate the amount of food we can eat. We haven't cooked this meal. Someone with a whole separate body to us has- who has no idea how hungry/ not hungry we are and then might continue to tell us to eat everything on the plate. Now, as children we are pretty smart and do seem to stop when full/ keep going when hungry, but as we grow older and this other body cooking our meals, continues to cook our meals, clearing the plate is considered polite, no matter what level of hunger you are feeling before hand.

So- can you blame me for not being an intuitive eater?

I think as soon as I have more freedom in my life and am in control of my schedule a bit more (does that ever really happen?) that I will try this whole eating when you truly want to thing, but until then I guess I will stick to the scheduled times of breakfast, lunch and dinner that have been drilled into me my entire life. At least I have control over how much I get (because anyone cooking for my stomach would likely find it quite difficult to satisfy the hunger.)

And that's why I don't eat intuitively!

What are your thoughts?
Do you eat intuitively?
Do you eat at set times during the day?
Are you a super hungry beast like me?

Thanks Spoons for the awesome link-up! I hope everyone has a great day! :D

WIAW #36

Hello hello everybody! What a wonderful Wednesday it is, especially with a party. A WIAW party! Thanks to Peas and Crayons for hosting! As usual, these are my eats from Tues... because for some reason I only seem to remember to photograph every bit of food that enters my stomach on Tuesdays (although What I Ate Tuesday just doesn't sound the same)

So, before I get off track (even more) let's move on to a day in the life of my tummy:

Breakfast:
For brekky I wasn't too hungry but knew that I had to eat brekky (I was feeling a little sick- have been for a few days) and knew I needed some fuel to get me going!
So I made some oats to put in my almost empty jar of cashew butter... I made a bit too much vanilla protein powder steel cut oats and even had to eat the remaining oats from the saucepan (no wastage in this house hold!)

 As you can see there was a little bit of overflowing oats action:

 And some delicious peach fro-yo (1 chopped frozen peach + 1/2 banana- remainder of what I didn't use in the oats, whazzed up with 3 big scoops of greek yoghurt)

 This was a good jar:

 Look, now it looks like normal people's oats in a jar:

 And of course the mandatory spoon shots:

Lunch:
After a whole lot of Christmas baking (I'll let you in on my secret project very soon!) and alot of singing to Christmas carols, I was ready for lunch!

 A big bowl of roast veggies (carrot, sweet potato, potato, swede, parsnip and beetroot) with some spinach, peas and a torn up veggie patty:

 Delicious!
Snack:
4pm I needed a snack and a crispy, sweet pink lady apple with some red grapes did the trick:

Dinner:
The hungry tummy demanded some food and I responded with a delicious grilled veggie sammy- with hommus, spinach, garlic tofu, grilled capsicum, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes along with some charred pumpkin slices:

 Super simple and yummy- just the way I like it!

 This would seriously be my ultimate comfort food. No debate.

 Following dinner I had a small handful of raw nuts :)

And that's what I ate Wednesday (not Tuesday for once!)

What did you eat Wednesday?
Ultimate comfort food?
Best food for upset stomachs?

Seeya later! :D