SWITCHED!

I have officially switched over to a self hosted site. I am thanking Matt again for the help 😀

I hope you all will come visit the new site. I’m still working on the design and what not, but everything is there and I will start posting over there. If you subscribed, feel free to subscribe to this one instead. It will be much better I promise:)

 

New Site:

GOtheXtraMile

 

That link will take you where you need to go!!  Love you all ;D

Switching to Self-Hosted

Happy Friday everyone!

I’m posting a random picture of Bentley because I can.

Usually on Friday’s, I do a Friday favorites post. I am currently trying to switch my blog over to self-hosted though!

Matt is helping me out with it, thanks Matt! For some reason my computer won’t let me log into the new account so I’m trying to work on it to get it up and running.

I just wanted to let you all know so I don’t leave you hanging. As soon as the new site is ready I’ll let you all know and I hope you will visit me over there!

I hope you all have an amazing day, wish me luck 😀

Love Grown Granola : Final Review

Thank you all so much for your kind words about my grandma. She is stubborn but all that matters is she’s okay 🙂 I will definitely let you all know recipes I use with the peanut flour and PB2 when the time comes.

~~~~~

First of all, lets cover dinner.

I literally just showed you guys a recipe that I hijacked from Chelsey but I used another one of her recipes again. It just sounded too good to pass up!

Quinoa Squash Balsamic Maple Glaze

Too bad I didn’t have an acorn squash to make it look as cool. Instead, I had regular squash so I sautéed them in the pan instead of the brussels. The brussel sprouts were actually microwaveable (shhhh…) and I threw them in at the last minute with the chickpeas.

Oh my gosh, I loved this. The sauce was super yummy and everything just blended perfectly. I’ve been looking for a new quinoa recipe and this was a winner. You all need to make it ASAP.

 

Fashion

Here are some of my outfits from the past few days!

  This picture has really good quality. I have skills. This is my lazy girl takes a midterm outfit. Long T-shirt, spandex, toms.

I do not consider workout/yoga clothes fashion, AT ALL. In fact, I consider it “scrubbbin” but since this is my favorite top I thought I’d share. I got this top at TJ Maxx surprisingly, and I love it. It’s stretchy, comfy, and I love the color:) They had so much workout wear there!

Sometimes a little cover-up sweater is enough to spruce up an outfit.

Tank from Target, cover from H & M. This post just reminded me how much I really need to go shopping.

 

FINAL REVIEW

Finally! So you may or may not know, but I got the chance to try out Love Grown Granola. I told you all I’d share my final thoughts on the products I received.

Beside the fact that they have an amazing story and passion, their products are all natural, gluten free, and free of anything unprocessed.

I try to eat mostly all unprocessed foods so this was perfect to read 🙂

My final verdict? Officially… OBSESSED.

Yeah, I said it. Each and every bag is almost gone. Already.

Mind you, I got this package exactly a week ago. (My mom has been eating it too so I’m not that crazy).

Apple Walnut Delight

I LOVED the little pieces of apple. It went perfectly with the coconut sheets and it was the perfect amount of sweetness and nuttiness.

Raisin Almond Crunch

Put raisins and almond together in one product? I am all over that. I think that is one of the best combos in the world and throw it in granola with coconut? I’m pretty sure I have no further explaining to do 🙂

Sweet Cranberry Pecan

This. was. my. favorite. I love anything cranberry. For some reason cranberries in granola is x20948299238 better than anything else with cranberries. I don’t normally eat pecans all that much but I think this bag made me want to eat them more. The pecans and cranberries were perfect together. They complemented each other so well and it was all around delicious.

Simply Oats

How can you go wrong with regular granola? You can’t. It is perfect to mix with anything your little heart desires. Any flavor granola, mix it in with cereal, put it on top of a baked good, the possibilities are endless. Loved the flavor of this just as much as the others.

 

As you all can see, I clearly hated every second of tasting this granola. Just. Kidding. It’s obvious how much I LOVED it all

I give it a 100 out of 10. Hint: you all need to go get some.

Spread the Love! Thank you again Love Grown!! You guys are amazing.

 

Where do you get your workout clothes?

What is your favorite regular store for clothes?

What’d you have for dinner tonight?

New Goodies and a Scare

Good afternoon 😀 I thought I’d start this post with a picture of a very beautiful creature. What else is new? I’m obsessed and convinced I need to go to doggie rehab.

Whew, I feel like I have a lot to talk about! I take a mini break from blogging to try and be a good student to study for a test, but then it backfires and I feel like I have missed too much 🙂

Lets start with yesterday shall we?

A couple of days ago, I decided to order something of iHerb. I had never ordered anything from there but have been wanting to try a few things. I decided not to go way too overboard and only order two things.

PB2 and peanut flour. Yes, they are both from the peanut family which I didn’t even notice until after I made the purchase. What can I say? I love peanut butter:)

Peanut flour is a flower made from peanuts which is gluten free and has a very high protein content. I am excited to try it!

PB2 on the other hand, is peanut butter in powder form. It has the fat and oil removed from it and is only 45 calories for 2 tablespoons.

I have only tried the PB2 so far. My verdict? It’s pretty good, but as a hardcore peanut butter lover, it isn’t my favorite. I love how you can eat peanut butter straight from a spoon, whereas PB2 has pretty much the same taste but not the same. If ya know what I mean. Nothing really compares to the real thang 😉 I still like it though, and will definitely make use of it, trust me!

iHerb also added in a few extra goodies into the package which I was not expecting.

I have no idea what any of these things are, but hey they were free so fine with me.

OH! Plus, if you have never ordered from iHerb before, I have a special code for you all to get $5 off! They literally have everything so I recommend you check it out.

Code: QAV545

Enjoy!<3

~~~~~~~

I didn’t get to the gym till around 6 pm last night which is a lot later than usual for me. Yesterday was my strength training day so my mom and I did 20 minutes on the treadmill to start. I completed this hilly workout but cut out the first five minutes. It’s a good one! Afterwards, we completed this strength routine that I came up with beforehand.

For the combined sets, you do the workouts simultaneously. For the supersets, you do them one after the other then rest. Each workout is 15 reps, 3 sets.

• Combined Set 1- Deadlift + Upright Row with a Calf Raise. Basically you do the deadlift and go straight into the upright row on your toes, then repeat.
• Superset 2- Squat swing with a dumbell (like kettle bell) with a jump + Bicep 21s.
• Combined Set 3- One arm overhead shoulder press + Lunge (use the same leg, same shoulder).
• Superset 4- Chest Press + Triceps (overhead)
• Set 5- 1 minute regular plank, 30 second right side plank, 30 second left side plank.

Short but effective workout. Just how I like it.

~~~~~

Fast forward to this morning:

I was up late last night and up early as well studying for my midterm. My mom decided to be super nice and make me breakfast 😀

Omelet, a piece of ww toast with some butter, and a mini turkey sausage. Perfect fuel for my test, and a good change up from my regular weekday oats or yogurt.

I finished my test in 20 minutes. Seriously. But now it is the weekend so that made me super happy:)

After class I had a good hour or so before the Bikram yoga class I wanted to take. My tummy was rumbling so I decided to make myself a snack to fill me up, but not be too heavy.

Insert, pumpkin protein muffin from Chelsey.

I didn’t have ground flax for the “flax egg” but I decided to use wheat germ instead. I do not think they relate to each other in any way but I didn’t know what else to do. My stomach was yelling at me to hurry up and who the f cares how I make the flax egg. I decided to roll with it and it still came out good!! Maybe a little soft, but yummy nonetheless.

Anything with pumpkin is bound to be delicious. I topped it with some PB2 (much better on this muffin than alone), cherry preserves, and shredded coconut. YUM! The perfect amount for before yoga. Thanks again Chelsey 😀

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Family Scare

Once I got into my car after yoga, I had a missed call and a text from my mom. It said that my grandma was in the hospital. I immediately freaked out, pretty much hyperventilated, and called my mom 792 times with no answer. I just sat there and prayed to God she was alright and to please watch over her.

My mom finally called me back and sounded normal. I was expecting hysterically crying, yelling, something but nope she sounded fine. I was confused and she told me that my grandma just had surgery done for her cataracts without telling us. I burst into tears (mind you, I NEVER cry) and told my mom I thought she had a heart attack, was dying, or something very severe. My mom kind of chuckled and felt really bad that she scared me but I just thanked God that she was okay.

My grandma is VERY stubborn and does not like to rely on anyone for anything. She grew up constantly taking care of her younger sister and was pretty much the authority figure. She refuses to ask us for anything, but always gives us everything. My grandma is my hero and I look up to her in so many ways. I know she knows how much I appreciate everything she has done for me, but I need to take more time to really show her how much I care. It is a very littler thing compared to all she has done.

This scare just made me realize that I NEED to start calling her every day. I also need to start calling my Dad and Brother more too. Sometimes we go weeks without talking to each other AT ALL. At least I talk to my brother via twitter and facebook (sad I know) and my mom I live with, but I barely ever hear from my dad or my grandma.

You never really know when something could happen, or when your life, or a loved ones life could come to an end. I really don’t mean to end this post on an upsetting note, but it is definitely something to think about.

New Goal: Call my loved ones A LOT more often. Tell them I love them everyday 🙂 Fam[ily] is everything. Blood is thicker than water.

Okay, I’m done:P

This post ended up being SUPER long, thanks to those of you who read through it! I know my attention span is like a goldfish’s at times (.25 milliseconds), so I’m sure some of you are the same.

 

Have you ever tried PB2?

For those of you who have peanut flour, give me ideas of what to do with it! 🙂

How often do you talk to your family that you don’t live with?

What are your tactics to remind yourself to call?

 

WIAW !

You know those days where you have the SAME schedule so you eat the SAME things because it just works? Well, apparently Tuesday is one of those days. My WIAW’s are getting very repetitive but I promise I eat more than what I blog about for WIAW’s.

Next week I will photograph another day so it gets switched up around here! Lets get started:D

(6:15 am)

 

Overnight oats topped with Love Grown Granola and a bit of PB.

(11 am)

Unpictured half a bagel with almond butter and 1/2 banana before Bikram. It was the easiest thing to take on the go and not too heavy before yoga!

(2:45 pm)

Chocolate-y protein smoothie topped with more Love Grown of course.

In the mix:

• 5 Ice Cubes
• 1 frozen banana
• Mini spoonful cherry preserves (I’d say about 2 tsp. maybe?)
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 C. Original Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/2 C. unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder

(7:30 pm)

Extra-lean pork chop, green beans, potato!

What was the best thing you ate yesterday?

Do you tend to eat the same things on certain days?

Strength and Treadmill Mix-up

Yesterday’s workout called for some strength training. I look forward to my strength training, which I do Monday, Wednesday, Friday. As much as I love cardio, I really love the feeling after a great workout with some weights. I feel strong:)

I always make sure to do a bit of cardio though to really get my heart pumpin’. I saw this treadmill workout on Lindsay’s blog and thought it looked like a good mix of intervals and hills. I ended up switching it around though and doing the intervals first then the hills second and shortened the time. My workout ended up looking like this.

Minutes	Speed	Incline
0-1	4.0	1.0
1-1:30	9.0	1.0
1:30-3	4.5	1.0
3-3:30	9.0	1.0
3:30-5	4.5	1.0
5-5:30	9.3	1.0
5:30-7	4.5	1.0
7-7:30	9.3	1.0
7:30-9	4.5	1.0
9-9:30	9.5	1.0
9:30-21	4.5	1.0
21-22	5.8	8.0
22-23	4.0	8.0
23-24	5.6	9.0
24-25	4.0	9.0
25-26	5.4	10.0
26-27	4.0	10.0
27-28	5.2	11.0
28-29	4.0	11.0
29-30	5.0	12.0
30-31	4.0	12.0
31-32	3.8	0

After that was done with, I completed this total body strength workout.

Superset 1: Lunges (10 on left, 10 on right), Plié Squat (15) – 3 sets

Superset 2: Bicep Curls (15), Tricep Dips (15) – 3 sets

Superset 3: Pushups (12), Soulder Raise (15) – 3 sets

Superset 4: Chest Press (15), Upright Rows with Calf Raise (Do calf raise as you’re lifting your arms) (12) – 3 sets

Superset 5: Jump Squats (10), 30 second plank – 3 sets

 

~~~~~

After my workout, it was time for dinner of course.

My mom is sick (sore throat, etc.) I hope I don’t get sick, blah.

So she made some soup. I had a cup of tomato with this bowl of protein.

Looks gross but tasted good. Beans, edamame, tomatoes, cottage cheese, turkey.

Pretty much a salad without the lettuce because I was way too lazy to cut and wash the lettuce 🙂

 

What is your favorite strength training move?

What do you make to eat when you are lazy?

VLOG and Weekend Recap

Good afternoon everyone!

Did you miss anything from the weekend?

Friday Favorites

Love Grown Foods

A Nice Surprise

Movie Outing

^ Seriously, go see that movie. It was too cute.

Let me also catch you up on some random eats from the weekend that I didn’t get to blog about but look good enough to share 😛

Yogurt Bowl with love grown, half a banana & almond butter.

Salad with turkey, cottage cheese, tomatoes, carrots, edamame, banana peppers.

Peace iced tea.

Grilled chicken, spinach pasta, sauce with broccoli mixed in.

Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie with more Love grown!

 

On to the important stuff! 🙂

I saw this Accent Vlog on Cait’s Blog and thought it was a great idea.

I promise I am normally not this cheesy. Lets just say I started singing in the middle of this vlog. OH boy.

BTW I just realized I said hey guys in the beginning too. You’ll see what I mean later on in the video!

This took 27 hours to load. FINALLY I uploaded it 🙂

 

The Accent Vlog: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Do you think I have an “accent”?

What is something you say that you think is different?

Who’s going to do a vlog or already has one? I want to watch!

Movie Outing

Yesterday after my brother left, a LOT of procrastination occurred. It took me about 7 hours total to put my clothes away. Which, in fact, were the same clothes that I washed three days earlier and left in the dryer for three days. I tend to do that a lot.

Some snackage occurred during that time with my new found love, love grown granola.

I tried the apple flavor this time. Oh my. SO GOOD. I can’t get over this granola. This was sweet and had some nuts in it and crunchy at the same time. My mom approved too! She told me it was the best granola she has ever had 🙂 Yum!

Later on after some more procrastination and homework, it was dinner time. The main start of the meal was a huge bowl of veggies.

I would’ve been happy just eating a huge bowl of veggies for dinner.

Obviously that isn’t substantial, so I made a huge salad. My mother made meatloaf and I decided to throw some on top of my salad beast for some protein.

Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, edamame, a dollop of hummus, and I think that’s about it. A crap load of veggies = happiness.

After dinner we were itching to get out of the house. We had a free movie ticket so we wanted to take advantage of that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dolphin Tale. We saw the movie with a theater full of kids, but let me tell you something. It was the CUTEST movie ever. Many parts were sad but it was ADORABLE. Definitely go see it! I loved it. It’s based on a true story too:D

Now I’m off to watch my church on TV! So cool. I see some granola and Bikram in my future ;P

 

Do you ever go out and see kid movies?

Not usually but some movies are an exception.

What is your favorite way to eat granola other than yogurt?

I need ideas! 🙂

A Nice Surprise!

Surprise!! My brother drove down from Tallahassee yesterday and wanted to surprise my mom and I. Too bad he posted a status on Facebook before he left. Come on, like we wouldn’t see that? haha!

Still a nice surprise and I’m glad he’s here! We barely ever see him now a days since he lives almost 7 hours away. TOO FAR! I love my bro, so happy we are close 🙂 Obviously that picture is old because I am BLONDE.

Last night he didn’t get to our house till about 8:30, so we had a late dinner. My mom and I snacked all throughout the evening but not too much because we still had appetites for a yummy dinner.

Finally tried Alexia sweet potatoes! They were so yummy, I had a few before Brendan even got here 😉

Turkey burgers, asparagus, and sweet potato puffs.

My mom also got a Key Lime Pie because that is my brothers favorite dessert. My mom goes nuts with the food whenever Brendan comes down. She acts like he is a starving college kid that only eats crumbs while away.

I honestly don’t even really like Key Lime Pie but I had a sliver. If I’m having dessert, I usually want it to be extra chocolate-y!

We hung out for a bit then went off to bed around midnight. This morning I got to sleep in till about 9:30! I surprised myself when I woke up that late. It is a dreary day here today so maybe that helped:)

I was planning on taking Bikram again today but honestly woke up with a very sore gluteus maximus so I decided today could be my rest day instead of tomorrow. I think it is a good idea because I woke up with a pounding sinus headache. Thanks a lot yucky weather =/

After taking Bentley on a nice long walk, we got started on brunch. It was around 11:30 by the time we ate! Still breakfast but just later than usual.

I’m almost positive I ate my body weight in fruit salad before breakfast was even ready. I cannot be tamed around a fruit salad.

Spinach, tomato, and cheese scrambled eggs with a piece of toast.

Now I’m off to spend time with the family before Brendan leaves. Have an amazing Saturday!

 

Would you rather have a fruity/Tart dessert or a decadent chocolate dessert?

Obviously I am a chocolate girl all the way. Except give me a choice between a brownie and froyo, you know for a fact I’ll be all over that froyo;)

Do you celebrate with food when family comes in town too?

(I feel like everyone does). Our lives revolve around food.

What is your favorite mix-in for eggs?

I love spinach, mushroom, and tomato usually. Too bad we had no mushrooms!

 

Love Grown Foods

I have something very exciting to share with you all. Today I received a beautiful box from the nice UPS man.

I cannot explain how excited I was when I received this package! I had to try my hardest to sign my name normally and not scream at the same time in front of the random delivery guy at the door.

I LOVE this note they put in the box. So nice and adorable! THANK YOU LOVE GROWN<3

If you all don’t know about love grown, you need to check out their website. They have an AMAZING story about how it all started. My favorite part about this company is their passion for what they do, spreading the love throughout the community, helping children, health and nutrition, and just their overall attitude about their love for what they do. It is so inspiring and they truly make an impact by teaching others the importance of health and their love of good food. Check them out!

I had JUST eaten lunch so unfortunately I couldn’t incorporate some granola into my meal, but you KNOW I had to sample at least a few bites

They were more than generous with the samples! I think I cried a bit when I opened the box. My biggest problem was deciding which one to sample first. They all looked AMAZING.

I ended up opening the Sweet Cranberry Pecan and taking a few bites.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

New favorite granola that is for sure. They are gluten free, and freely unprocessed. They are healthy and good for you without sacrificing taste.

I love that they had big clusters! The sweetness of the cranberry and the pecans complemented each other perfectly. I can’t wait to try all of the flavors!

There is absolutely no way that I am only opening one bag at a time. I will try a new one every day. Once I’m done sampling them all I will give a full review of what I thought of all the flavors. So far so good! ;D

 

Have you tried Love Grown?

What flavor should I try next? 😀