Say Yes to Salad

confessions of a sometimes vegetarian

January 25, 2012
by Maggie
6 Comments

simple stirfry, siggi’s breakfast, & resolutions update

i made this stir-fry for lunch yesterday (tuesday, 1/24):

i decided to bring my lunch to work this week. i work at a big bank and we do have a cafeteria, but to be honest – it’s not that healthy, and after 3 months of the same old slop, i needed a change! this stirfry is made up of:

  • broccoli + broccoli stalk (don’t throw that part out – it’s great if you saute it)
  • red pepper
  • can of tuna
  • frozen corn
  • fresh cilantro
  • garlic + chili powder
  • cooked in bacon fat (i save this each time i make bacon)

i had a sesame bagel alongside the stirfry. i’m really into bagels this week.

i also vowed to bring breakfast. i don’t usually like to drink my calories, but i have found several drinks to be quite delicious as of late, in particular:

this is siggi’s probiotic drinkable non-fat yogurt in plain. i also bought the strawberry but i haven’t tried that yet. i don’t like siggi’s greek yogurt (insanely thick) but i did find this drinkable yogurt to have a good consistency (not too thick, not too thin) and flavor. i added some cinnamon to mine before drinking up. only 45 calories in this bottle which leaves plenty of room for other breakfast goodies like no-sugar scones.

—

resolutions update: i’m going in and out with the diet soda thing. i figure, if drinking a diet soda will keep me from snacking on something sugary – probably better to go with the soda. but it depends on the day. as for reading, i’m still plugging along on my book. it’s a slow read, not because it’s boring, but because i really want to absorb every detail. but i have been reading every day. it’s almost february so i need to figure out what my february resolutions will be. i have some ideas.

what do you put in stirfrys? do you drink your calories or save them for chewing?

January 23, 2012
by Maggie
1 Comment

Weekly Workouts + Inspiration

This is one of my favorite quotes.

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right… let us strive… to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”

–Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, Saturday, March 4, 1865

Workouts For Last Week

Monday, 1/16: slim & sleek, fast (45 minutes); loooots of walking (meandering for 3-4 hours)
Tuesday, 1/17: ~2 miles walking
Wednesday, 1/18: teach yoga @ lunch (45 minutes); ~1 mile walk
Thursday, 1/19: Ashtanga workshop (2 hours); teach yoga @ lunch (50 minutes); ~1 mile walk
Friday, 1/20: nothing :( feeling sick
Saturday, 1/21: Yin Yang yoga (90 minutes), ~2 miles walking
Sunday, 1/22: ~3 miles walking

What exercise have you been doing lately?

January 22, 2012
by Maggie
3 Comments

Weekend Link Love – 1.22.2012

I only have a few links this week. Some weeks the internet is full of link love nuggets and other weeks I find myself searching high and low for interesting articles.

Random Links of Love

Gena @ Choosing Raw linked to a really insightful article on HuffPo about the half lives of eating disorders. Gena does a much better job dissecting the article than I could, so I encourage you to check out her thoughts on the matter. As a recovered ED-person, I found myself nodding along with both posts, and I think anyone with an interest in mental health would find them intriguing. Liu delves into the genetic aspects of ED susceptibility and personality traits associated with the disease.

I’m sure most of you have seen the various “Sh;t XYZs Say” videos floating around lately, but just in case you haven’t, here are some of my favorites:

Hehehehehe.

Some Yums I Want To Make

Biz’s Buffalo Chicken Chowder looks so good, and so simple. Cannot wait to make this.

Banana Bread Snack Cake from How Sweet It Is.

Butternut Risotto (low calorie!) from Foodie Fiasco.

—

That’s about it. Bobby and I had a great weekend. We slept in yesterday (far too late to admit here) and went to an afternoon yoga class with Bobby’s coworker (this is turning into a tradition). We followed that up with a late lunch at Whole Foods (also turning into a tradition), and then a movie: The Ides of March.

I thought it was great! Made me want to be in politics though. Perhaps I will join my community board – I’ve been meaning to for a while. Funny side note – in the movie poster (above) I never realized that the half of the face on the magazine was George Clooney. I just thought it was the other half of Ryan Gosling’s face (::swoon::) photoshopped for some reason. Now of course it’s obvious.

Today we had an exciting errand and my mom came up for a brief visit and a late brunch at Effy’s. We’re off to visit family this evening and I think Bobby wants to watch the game.

How was your weekend?

January 20, 2012
by Maggie
7 Comments

Friday Five: 5 Ways to Destress

1. Take a deep breath.

Don’t move. Feel the breath go in your mouth, through your throat, into the chest, into the belly. Out the belly, the chest, the throat, the mouth. Breath it into your fingers and your toes. Close your eyes. Listen. Breathe.

2. Meditate for 5 minutes.

If this is hard, try repeating a mantra as you sit, cross-legged, in a comfortable seat. Perhaps sit on a blanket. Back and neck are long. On the inhale, think, LET, on the exhale, GO. Inhale, LET, exhale, GO. Set a timer, or just stop when you’re ready.

3. Accept yourself today. (Or at least try.)

Don’t wait for when you are thinner, are in better shape, get a promotion, accomplish some goal. Accept yourself today, because it’s wasting time if you can only think about the future or the past. Be present, and be okay with you as you are. (This is not to say don’t have goals – just don’t beat yourself up if you’re not where you want to be.)

4. Drink a cup of tea. Savor it.

Be present as you sip your hot drink from the mug. Feel the warmth in your hands. Feel the tea in your belly. Watch when and where your mind starts to wander.

5. Try a sun salutation.

The simplest sun salutation variation I know is this:

Inhale, sweep your arms up overhead, press the palms, look up.

Exhale, swan dive forward, fold over your legs.

Inhale, look forward, flat back.

Exhale, fold.

Inhale, reverse the swan dive, sweep arms up, press the palms, look up.

Exhale, bring hands to prayer at your heart.

Repeat.

5 Friday 5 Links:

Five random Q’s.

  1. What was your first wristwatch like?
    –I don’t remember.
  2. What lately seems to have been a thief of time?
    –My “chitta vritti” – the whirlings and turnings of the mind. I’ve been distracted and unable to focus. Need to reign it in and start being present.
  3. What were yesterday’s quietest five minutes like?
    –Savasana after an Ashtanga practice.
  4. In what way have you lately been saving time?
    –More home yoga practice instead of going to the studio. Good in that it saves time; bad in that I probably am not doing all the poses I should be doing. I don’t feel like I am really making a conscious effort to save time though. Home practice was just accidental.
  5. We are often charged hourly rates for labor, but we never get to reciprocate in kind when promised completion times don’t match actual completion. If you could bill people for the time you spend waiting, what would be a reasonable amount?
    –This could be like some deadlines in school – for every day it’s late, it’s a letter grade off. I suppose a reasonable “letter grade” charge would that any additional work past the original estimate would be at least 10% off. So you are basically charging them 10% of the wage.