End of Week 1!

One week into the New Year!!! Whoo! I'm hoping it'll be a good year as long as it doesn't resemble this week I've had. Nonetheless, I'm keeping up with my health and fitness goals. I'm not sure if any of these warrant a recipe, (since they're so simple) so I'm just going to put everything in this post.

I will mention that as a college student, whole foods being a few blocks away from campus is a lifesaver, because I love their salads.


My go to breakfast this week has been oatmeal. The flavor of the week is cinnamon banana. Just make your rolled oats as you normally would, add sliced bananas, cinnamon, and sweetner if you need it. Great way to start your day.






Also, I've found that I LOVE sweet potatoes!


Homemade sweet potato fries are way better than the prepackaged ones I use to buy.


Even when they're baked their yummy. I had to have one on the side to go with my shrimp, cucumber, corn salad for dinner the other night.

But my love for sweet potatoes doesn't end there.


I'll even have it with breakfast alongside turkey bacon and a honey crisp apple (not pictured). As for the drink, I've found that I like putting chia seeds in vitamin water. I had this before my bodypump workout over the weekend and by the end of the class, I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be. I think it was the sweet potato that did it ;]

Today, after I had a very horrible day (although I did have a very good cardio session), I needed a pick me up. This time I didn't reach for one of my typical comfort foods. Instead I made this:




Cod fish cooked with some lemon and pepper, corn, and an iceberg salad with avocado and tangerines. Now some pomegranate raspberry green tea to soothe my soul.

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy day.

-Miss M

The Start of My Life

The first of the year is filled with resolutions. I woke up and completely dreaded the New Year because of the task I had set before myself seemed too daunting. Too grand for me to complete within a year. That's not the way I should have woken up though. I should have been excited! So I edited my list. In my last post I wrote about wanting to finish a manuscript. After receiving e-mails from my professors and already having to do homework before the quarter even started, I realized this may not be feasible. So I cut the word count by more than half. 40,000 words by my Birthday, and then complete if after. That is attainable. I feel better already.

Although writing is my priority, I have other things in mind this year. This year, is where I begin. It's the year where I get to be who I've always wanted to be. Two years ago, I succumbed to obligations and duties that others set before me. I was unhappy, confused, and felt like the life I was living wasn't mine, because I was living for everyone else. Doing things that pleased them instead of doing the things that I loved. So 2012 marked the end of that. I edited my life. Cut out everything that held me down, cut ties with those who were negative influences, and then I started doing things I've always wanted to do. I stopped caring about what others thought about me and started valuing the opinion I had of myself. No longer would I be defined by the standards that others set before me.

This year, school will be over. I will no longer have that crutch or safety net. I will finally step out into the "real world". No more moving back and forth. No more driving back and forth. And no more looking back or ahead. Just living in the moment. I know that's easier said then done, but I'm up for the challenge.

Another thing I like about the first of the year is all the health and fitness craze. The other day I was watching a documentary about obesity in America, and I was inspired to get on the band wagon. Although I spent the last year running, I realized that I had fallen victim to the freshmen fifteen! Now that college is about to be over, its about time that I took responsibility for it (because that's not the type of souvenir I want to keep!). So for the next three months, I'll make sure to share easy and simple recipes for those on the bandwagon too! Starting with:

Banana-egg Pancakes!

Mash one large banana and mix it with one whole egg. You'll get a pancake type batter. Cook in a nonstick pan over medium heat, until both sides are golden. I like mine a little bit more well done when it comes to these pancakes so I made mine a darker brown. Feel free to mix in carob or cacao chips, raisins, blueberries, or anything you want! Be creative! For today, I went with the plain pancake and topped it off with some syrup. The recipe was inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram.

Approx: 190 cals for three pancakes

Here's how mine turned out this morning. I had it with some turkey bacon (it looks weird in the photo, but tasted yummy). And of course, some black coffee! I was so hungry I took a bite before taking the photo :P


Now, a walk with my dogs, a two-mile run, a trip to whole foods, and a day filled with job applications and writing assignments!

Wishing you all a great first of the year!

-Miss M

Manuscript

Three days ago, I told myself that by the end of winter quarter, I will have a completed rough draft of a manuscript. The deadline I gave myself will be my 22nd Birthday on March 26. Three months. I think this is a good enough time frame even if I'm going to school full-time. I guess there's a part of me that wants to leave college feeling accomplished or with something to begin my career as a writer. Not that this manuscript would make me a writer, but I would actually feel like one (we all need an ego-boost once and a while). It may not be something that would get published, but I think it'll provide me with a great lesson, teaching me patience and the rewards of tenacity.

Personally, to complete this undertaking would just be monumental. The end goal for me is to get a novel published. For me, to share my words and stories, in the hopes of changing someone's life would be the greatest accomplishment I could ever receive.

Baby steps though. The first being to write everyday, until I can hold a stack of papers filled with my own words in my hands, happily smiling, with my eyes brimming with tears of joy at something I can be proud of. And of course, celebrating with a glass of my favorite wine!

Until then. My daily goal is 1,000 words per day (although, how diligently I can meet this goal really depends on my course load. Nonetheless, I'm optimistic!). I'm thinking my manuscript will be about 100,000 words long.

After three days, I'm at 10,000, hence my blog post to celebrate this mini step. Although, this is attributed to the fact that I've been on vacation. Nonetheless, I hope my enthusiasm for this story does not lessen with each passing day.

My characters are depending on me and I mustn't let them down.

The End of Fall Quarter

has finally come. Finals are finished. I'm so exhausted; mentally and physically. Looking back, the quarter seemed to go by so fast, but at the same time, I felt like it was drawn out. It probably wasn't my best quarter academically, since I didn't strive for my best. Instead, I just wanted to get by. I guess you could say I have my head in the clouds, which is partly true. I'm a dreamer and I have this desire to get out and explore. However, the rational part of me keeps beating me down with the sinking truth of reality. This inner conflict just bubbles under the surface of my skin, making the quarter uncomfortable and unbearable. But now, it's over. What next?

Sure, I have winter quarter left and ten more weeks of academia. But it won't be the same. I'll be applying for jobs and waiting. Waiting for what? Well, I don't even know. I just know something's going to happen. Something's coming my way. And so in the mean time, I'll be taking some classes. Half will be creative workshop classes, so the work load will be comparably easier than previous quarters, and the other half... well, I'll get by as usual.

As commencement approaches,  I'm starting to feel uneasy and I don't know why. I try to remind myself that this is what I wanted, so what am I so afraid of? The worst I can do is fall on stage, right?

Easy Healthy Cookies for one!

A healthy cookie=banana+oatmeal!

Had a bad cookie craving, and I ate bad all weekend! But I really, really, really, wanted cookies. So I found this two ingredient (base) cookie to satisfy my craving without feeling guilty.

Take half a banana and smash it. Then mix with 1/4 cup of quick-cooking oatmeal. Ta-da!

But I wanted to add some sweetness so a dash of cinnamon and a few 42% cacao chocolate chips (next time I'm going to try raisins!!!)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. Divide mixture into 4 cookies. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy!

(I was so excited I ate half a cookie before remembering to take a photo!)

This is definitely something I can have for breakfast too, since it's so filling!

*~33 cals per cookie (not including the choc-chips).
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