Weekly Goals + Half Marathon Training Update

Hey hey everyone. How are you guys doing today? It's a fine Sunday, isn't it? Well, it was a great day for a run. But, it rained yesterday. Oh, the rain.

Anyway, let's recap on my goals I set last week. I actually completed all of my goals. I'm so happy. I did study for my chemistry exam. I did create a new schedule. And, I did improve my mile time this week. My long run was actually today. I'll talk more about that in a bit. But, first, here's this weeks goals.

So, today was a course preview run. I decided to go, so that I can get a feel of the course before the actual run. We all met up at 7:30 am and it was a bit cold (since it rained yesterday). Thankfully, there wasn't too much mud. There were two options: 11 miles or almost a full half (12.5 miles) . I opted for the longer run.

We started running around 7:45 am and it was exciting. I didn't know what to expect, especially since I haven't ran with a group for such a long time. The course was great. However, I didn't expect a couple of huge hills along the route. What was great was that I was ahead of most of the group.

For some reason, my best time was today too!I think it was due to the excitement. I was so happy. Me and two other people (Lynn and Russ) ended up getting lost near the end, because we didn't see the arrows marked on the ground. We found our way back. We still finished ahead of most of the group. It ended up running 12.8 miles, in 2 hrs and 2 minutes. I have to say, I was impressed with myself!

They had coffee and pastries for our post-run meal/snack. I ended up just going home and making myself a whole wheat peanut butter and jelly sandwich with coffee.

Anyway, that's today. The past week was also cool too. I got to do homework, study, and hang out with friends. Work was fun too. I spent half the day selling root beer floats to raise money.

On Tuesday, my cousin and I went to eat at the school's restaurant. This is what I ordered.

It was sweet potato fries and a grilled veggie sandwich on focaccia bread. It was delicious! They really stuffed the sandwich with veggies.

On Wednesday, I went to Fluid and I ordered coffee and their new egg white spinach breakfast sandwich. It was on a homemade biscuit. I hadn't eaten a biscuit in so long. It was so good! I also ended up eating some ice cream from the root beer float sale.

And, here are some other food of the week:

I've been obsessed with trail mix! I love trail mix. 

I made a pizza with a whole wheat tortilla.  I added marinara sauce and cheese. 

This is new. I haven't eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a while, so I decided to buy a healthier jelly! 

And look what I bought yesterday. I bought a hello kitty lunch box (to put my lunch in) and new running shoes (for after my half-marathon). 

Well, I guess that's it for now!

How was your weekend?
What are your goals for this week?
Do you prefer running with a group or yourself?
- Personally, I like running by myself. It see it as "me" time. But, it's fun to run with a group once in a while. 

Quick Food Eats Update

Hey hey everyone. I just wanted to post some pictures of what I ate last week. Of course, there are other things I ate like oatmeal, brown rice, chicken and all of that. These are just some other things that I don't eat as often.

This burrito is from Fluid, that coffee shop I've been talking about. I go there once a week.  They have the best coffee and baked goods. Their cookies are amazing, especially their oatmeal one and their whole wheat chocolate chip cookie one. They have organic fair trade coffee too and it's amazing! It's Red bell peppers- roasted with garlic & pesto, spinach, eggs, and dill Havarti cheese. It sounds delicious, right? It was! The picture is only half of the burrito. This was on Friday that I bought this. I'm so glad I did. 

On Thursday, I bought a turkey whole wheat pita. I know that packaged foods aren't the best but I forgot my lunch. So, this was the healthiest thing I can find. I somehow remembered to bring my green tea drink though. I bought it at the asian store. I've been trying to find the green tea drink that I drank a lot of at China. It's so hard to find it. I haven't found it yet, actually. I thought that this would be the closest but it was so plain and bland!

 I also tried this Light & Fit Blueberry Greek Yogurt. I say it tastes fine but my aunts didn't like it.

I bought these two things at 99 Ranch. It's the Hazelnut Duo Nusco and a green tea drink. This green tea drink is the closest that I had in China. The Hazelnut spread is so good! It's like nutella with milk cream. I bought it because it looked interesting. My family loves it.

Anyway, I kind of forgot what I did last week. I worked on my psychology project, I had a psychology presentation and that's about it.

During the weekend, I watched the movie 42. It was so good! It was very educational and funny at the same time. It really tells how the culture was like back then. I also went shopping for a bit after.

On Sunday, yesterday, I spent the whole day at the school library studying. It was more like 6 hours. Hey, it's finals week. The library was packed and so was the 24 hour study building. That building has 4 floors! There was that many people studying during the weekend. I was lucky enough to get a group study room (I rushed in right when the library opened). I was brain dead after studying. It's a good thing my cousin brought snacks.

Today was my history final. I think I prepared pretty well for it. I did the best I could. I also baked this chocolate protein cake. It still needs a bit of tweaking but I'll post it anyway. The taste is good but the texture is a bit off.

So, how are you guys?
Do you like studying for 6 hours straight? Would you be able to?
What's your favorite snack?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Sugar Cookies

You won't believe what are in these cookies. And, guess what? They taste great! If you're looking for a healthy cookie for people to enjoy, you've come to the right place. Here's the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 small hass avocado
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. In a bowl, cream together the avocado, olive oil and brown sugar. 
3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. 
4. Drop by 2 tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie pan. I just put it on aluminum foil. 
5. Bake for 13 minutes. 
6. Take out and enjoy. 

You won't believe that there are avocados in this recipe. Trust me. No one will notice. I suggest you guys make these the night before. They taste better after sitting overnight.

All of the taste testers said that these cookies were good. One of them was my professor and he says he's not very fond of avocados. All of them were surprised that there were avocados in them. I dare you to make these and test them on your friends and family.

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. I have finals coming up and I have to study. Then, it's summer vacation! Well, until my summer classes start.

Have you tried any desserts made with avocado?

Do you think it's weird to add avocados to desserts?

If you're in school right now, are you ready for summer break?

Quinoa Pancakes

Hey hey everyone. How are you guys doing today? I'm doing fine, thank you very much. I'm just here to pop in and give you guys my quinoa pancake recipe.
I've been wanting to make pancakes for a while and finally, I decided to make them.
I assure you that you won't regret making it. This recipe is yummy and healthy. Enjoy!
It can be made vegan if you use an egg substitute such as a banana or some flax seeds mixed with water.



Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 packets stevia
• 2 tablespoon agave
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients.
2. Heat up a non-stick skillet or a non-stick pan to cook your pancakes in. 
3. Spray with non-stick spray. 
4. Pour 1/4 cup mixture for one pancake. Wait until it bubbles and then flip. Cook for another minute on the other side. 
5. Continue doing this with the rest of the batter. 
6. Enjoy with whatever toppings you want. I love eating pancake with either sugar free chocolate syrup, peanut butter, bananas, or recently, Trader Joe's Cookie Butter. 

I hope you guys enjoy these. =) 

I know I will be enjoying these with Trader Joe's Cookie Butter. I'm totally addicted to it. 

So, do you guys like pancakes?

Have you guys tried Cookie Butter before?

What do you like to eat your pancakes with?

Cinnamon Agave Roasted Chickpeas

Hey hey everyone!

How are you guys doing today?

I'm just here to pop in and share a recipe. It's cinnamon agave roasted chickpeas. They're delicious! I eat snack on them and I eat them with my salads too.

But, before I give you guys the recipe, I would like to say a huge thank you to Marie from the blog RA RA Runners. I interviewed Tyler Church, her son, who happens to be the lead singer and guitarist in the band Revolt With Reason. She supports her son's band and wrote a quick blog post about the interview. (click on the link)
What's amazing is that she still runs even though she has Rheumatoid Arthritis. She writes about her life and running experience with it. Check out her blog.

Now, here's the recipe for the Cinnamon Agave Roasted Chickpeas. By the way, another name for chickpeas is garbanzo beans. I remember that I made cookies that were made out of garbanzo beans for my public speaking class (which Tyler was in) and everyone was surprised they had garbanzo beans in them. I kept the ingredient a secret until the next class meeting.


Ingredients:

•  two cans garbanzo beans (15 oz each), drained
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of salt (optional, I didn't use it)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 
2. Drain the can of garbanzo beans if you haven't already. Dry them really well and soak out most of the water that you can. 
3. Pour the beans into a bowl . Place all the ingredients in and mix. 
4. Pour and spread out evenly all the chickpeas (garbanzo beans) onto a baking sheet. 
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on how crispy or soft you like your beans. 
6. Let it cool and enjoy. I do warn you though, watch the beans. They may burn. 

I love eating these with salads or just eating them plain as a snack. Enjoy! 

Now. let's get back to my week.

This week has been alright at school. Well, it hasn't really been alright but it's been okay. I had to take 3 exams this week. I'm happy to say that I aced my biology exam and that I passed one of my chemistry exams. I'm so happy about that. I'm still waiting for the results for my other exam.

Lately, my workouts have been mainly weight lifting, HIIT and the elliptical. I have ran once so far this week. I'm happy to say that I am getting stronger! But, I will talk more about my workouts in another post. 

Another thing is that yesterday was my night class. Well, we have a debate, as I think I've mentioned before. Our debate topic is really hard to argue. I will not say the topic since it is controversial but what I can say is that it has been debated in the US Supreme Court (which gives you a HUGE hint of what it is). My group has been researching like crazy but it's hard to come up with at least 3 good reasons. We have only one good, valid reason. By the way, this is for my sociology class. 

I also have a lot of papers and or projects due all pretty soon. It's so stressful! But, I will work on it. I have to write a response paper for my history class, revise my group debate outline, finish writing my book critique (that I'm 3/4 done with), and revise the introduction for my group psychology research project. It's all due in a couple weeks. Wish me luck! For my book critique, I may post it on here after I turn it in to my professor. I think it'll be an interesting read BUT it will be long. And, no copying once I post it. The book is: A Country for All: An Immigrant Manifesto by Jorge Ramos.

I also bought the Morning Star Chipotle Black Bean Burger from Costco.

It's delicious and it smells so good.

But, yea. I was busy studying for exams all this week. Sorry for not posting as often as I want to.

How have you guys been?

Do you like black bean burgers?

What's your favorite school subject?

Peanut Butter Agave Protein Balls

Hey hey everyone. How are you guys today? It's my first official day of Spring Break and guess what? It's spent at home, relaxing.
I guess it's okay, even though I'd like to travel instead. I want to visit Spain, China, Hawaii or some other places. Anyway, I'm satisfied that I've been pretty much productive on my first day of break. I finished writing my history paper and I ran 6 miles today. For my history paper, I had to read Slaughterhouse Five and write a response paper to it. As for my running, I had to run on the treadmill. It was okay though. I wasn't even planning running that long but I guess I just kept going since I was listening to my favorite songs.
Anyway, I'm here to post this recipe, my Peanut Butter Agave Protein Balls. I just made them recently and they are delicious and addicting. If you add dark chocolate chips, it tastes even better (well, if you like chocolate, that is). These still taste great just as is. So, here's the recipe.

Servings: ~ 21 peanut butter agave balls
Calories: ~ 70 calories each

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1 cup oats
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the agave and the peanut butter. 
2. Mix in the oats, protein powder and ground cinnamon. 
3. Form into balls and place on a plate.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 
5. Enjoy!

I hope you guys enjoy the protein balls. 

So, the past weekend has been fun. On Saturday, I went to Starbucks and In-N-Out Burger. It was fun and it was nice. It's been such a long time since I last ate a cheeseburger. I felt like a pig eating it but it was alright. I ordered the White Chocolate Mocha with Soymilk from Starbucks.

Yesterday, I went to Six Flags with the family. It was fun. I'm just scared now, since for the roller coasters that go upside down, it doesn't feel that secure. The safety belt is kind of loose on me. Other than that, I love roller coasters. 

I also ordered the Shamrock Shake from McDonald's after spending a few hours at Six Flags. 

It actually looked somewhat like the actual picture. The cherry looked fake though. I didn't eat the cherry. However, the rest of the shake tasted like a vanilla milk shake with mint flavor mixed in. It wasn't bad. It looked kind of cool since it's green but it's not something I would order again. I just wanted to try it since it's only available in March. 

After, my family and I went shopping and I bought these heels. 

I know, I bought heels on Saturday but I couldn't resist buying these. They were only 10 dollars! They look good on me too. I'm getting obsessed with heels now. Well, maybe it's because I'm short....Anyway, I just hope I don't trip while walking with them on. They're 5 inch heels. The other pair is 4 inch. 

Also, I've been using this No. 7 Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion Exfoliator

I actually really like this product. After using it, it makes my skin feel softer and smoother. My acne also is looking better too. I'm not breaking out that much and I've been using it for a couple weeks. 

I guess that's it for now.

So, do you like writing papers?

What's your favorite type of shoe?

What exercise do you do?

Healthier Spicy Mac N Cheese

Hey everyone. How are you guys doing today? I've been busy all week, thank you very much. However, I have to share this recipe with you. I'll tell you guys more about my week later in this post. Good thing I'm on Spring Break now! It's only one week though. 

 Anyway, this recipe is a very easy mac n cheese recipe. It's also so much healthier. I really hope you guys enjoy it. I used laughing cow swiss cheese and I used some sriracha. You have to love sriracha. It adds the spice that I love. I also used whole wheat noodles. Here's the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried whole wheat noodles
• 2 wedges laughing cow swiss cheese
• sriracha (or hot chili sauce)

Directions:

1. Cook the whole wheat noodles. Boiling them for about 9 minutes should be enough. Drain the noodles. 
2. Mix in the cheese until it melts. 
3. Pour into a bowl. 
4. Drizzle sriracha on top. 
5. Enjoy

It's so simple and easy, right? And, it tastes so good! You can also add some garlic powder/salt if you want a bit more flavor. But, this is sufficient for me. 

Anyway, my week has been quite hectic. I had to do a lot of research for my group debate, I had to find articles for my group research project, volunteering, hanging out with friends, working out, taking tests and doing homework, attending class, you get what I mean. 

In my history class, we're learning about World War Two. We just learned about the Pacific part of the war, with Japan. We learned about the atomic bombs and that stuff. But, for that class, we also have to read Slaughterhouse Five and write a response paper to it. 

In biology, we're learning about genetics. It's quite interesting. The last thing we talked about was about genetic diseases. 

In psychology, we're learning about the research methods. 

As for my volunteering, I volunteer at the hospital. I actually got to see a procedure being done the past week. There was a patient that needed their pacemaker fixed. So, they had to cut into the chest to take the pacemaker and fix it. It was actually quite interesting and very bloody. But, somehow, I didn't faint or anything. The people there were surprised I didn't faint and said that I have a future doing this..anyway, it's amazing how it takes a lot of people to do the procedure. Medical work is teamwork. They ended up giving the patient a new pacemaker just to be on the safe side. 

My eats have been quite decent too. I tried this new snack that the vending machines have on campus. It's Mrs. May's Almond Crunch. 

I like how my school is trying to sell healthier things to its students. That's a good thing. What's even better is that these weren't half bad. It was basically just almonds and this sticky syrup that holds it together. It was crunchy and sweet. I liked it. 

Before my night class, I got hungry. So, I bought this Chicken Pesto Pita from the store on campus. 

It was pretty decent. The chicken was good and so was the pita. I just wish there was a bit more of the chicken filling in the pita. It was delicious, other than that. I also ate some Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips with this but I forgot to take a picture. The pita chips were pretty good. Then again, I love the cinnamon sugar combination and I do love pita chips. 

Before going to work on Friday, I stopped by Fluid (the coffee shop I love!) and ordered a Mexican mocha and one of their homemade whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. I love how they're using organic ingredients and are making their baked goods so much healthier. They even make vegan items too. Anyway, the cookie was delicious. Soft, moist and just the right amount of sweetness. 

I also went shopping today and I bought these cute heels. 

I know, the price tag says $24.99 or something like that but they were actually $14.99, originally $30.  I love these shoes..if only I could walk in heels and not trip. haha. Anyway....

I can't wait to try these raisinets and try eating pasta with the mushroom pasta sauce.

Also today, I went to this Japanese Bakery. I got this Hazelnut bread with Chocolate Cream and peanuts on top. Here's me with the bread. I know, I look so weird.

So, do you like Mac N Cheese?

What's your favorite savory food? Sweet food?

How was your week?

Asian Black Bean Burgers

Hey hey everyone. How has your week been? It's been pretty busy for me. I'm so sorry for not posting as often. Anyway...here's a recipe a promised. So...

Do you guys like Black Bean Burgers?

I love how they're a great alternative to regular hamburgers, especially for vegetarians. These black bean burgers are Asian style and are really yummy. I hope you guys enjoy these. Here's the recipe.

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 can black beans, drained (15 oz can)
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tsp sriracha
• 2 tablespoon hot chili sauce
• 2 tsp tamari
• a sprinkle of garlic powder
• a sprinkle of anise powder

Directions:

1. Mash the black beans. 
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. 
3. Form into burger patties. I used 1/4 cup for each patty. 
4. Bake at 350 F for about 18 minutes, flipping once. 
5. Enjoy! 

I hope you guys enjoy this! And, now here's my week. 

Monday was more of a rest day for me. On my "rest day", I took an hour long walk along the river. 

It was such a nice and sunny day. 

Also on Monday, I ate these Heart Thrive Chocolate cookie thing: 

 They tasted like a really healthy chocolate chip cookie. It wasn't really sweet, which I liked. It was a bit dense, chewy and filling.

I also tried the Kirland Almond Bark, which was yummy.

 I bought this Silver Hill Vegan bread and Laughing Giraffe Organic Goji Cocao and Maca. It's basically like a vegan coconut macaroon. It was pretty good, especially if you like macaroons. However, the bread was only okay. It was chewy. I guess it's because it's Canadian bread. I like it when it's toasted.

In class that day, we talked about the Great Depression.

Tuesday was quite a day. I learned a lot about calorie burning. A 20 minute lifting session only burns 75 calories for me and 65 minutes on an elliptical only burns 344 calories. I can't believe it. On the elliptical  it says I burned 700 calories. I guess it's 1/2 off, which is scary. I also started taking some pictures. Here's two of the many I took. 

I'm posing in one of the pictures and I'm doing the straddle stretch in the other. Yes, I got a little bored stretching after working out. 

In class, we learned about mitosis. In my other class, we learned about validity in research.

On Wednesday, I volunteered at the hospital at the Cardiac Cath Lab. It was my first day. The nurses were really nice. It was more of a learning and observation day since it was my first day. I get to watch an actual procedure next week. 

Since volunteering is about 4 hours long, I decided to eat some food (well, my dad told me to). I ended up eating a grilled chicken sandwich from Burger King and ordered their promotional 25 cent coffee. I ordered it cold with vanilla. The sandwich was eh. I didn't like the bread. The coffee was alright, considering it was only 25 cents. 

My dad also bought this Chinese drink at the Chinese store. It's the same exact drink I drank a lot while I was in China! Oh, memories. 

In class that day, we learned about the Great Depression and much about Franklin Roosevelt and his reforms. 

Yesterday, I was quite busy! I had 3 classes, one of them a night class. In one of my classes, we learned about meiosis. In the other, we went over our exam from last week. In my night class, we learned about some social problems. We also watched a video in that class. We got free coffee, baked goods and fruit.  I also stayed late yesterday working on homework for the class with friends. 

I ended up buying this for dinner. It's Jamba Juice Flat Bread Smokehouse Chicken or something like that. 

Don't let the picture deceive you. It wasn't that big. It tasted alright though. The inside was good but the crust was really bland. It was interesting that they put corn on it. 

Today, I went for a walk with my aunt's walking group around the park. It was nice. Then, I had work, where I had to scan and copy a ton of paper. I ate this ProMax Lower Sugar Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar and the coconut macaroon thing I bought earlier this week: 

The coconut macaroon thing is really good. The ProMax bar was alright. It was chewy but there wasn't really a chocolate flavor to it. 

I also ran to the library and back. My dad rode his bike behind me. It's funny because my running to the library and back is faster than riding my bike there and back. 25 minutes, 3 miles. Usually, it would be faster but my foot has been hurting for a while. I don't know why though. 

Well, I guess that's it for now. 

How was your week?

Do you like coconut?

What's your opinion on black bean burgers?