Doing the Family Bonding!

Hello Muffins!
I have had quite the time since my last post. I picked out the highlights to catch y'all up to speed. I hope you enjoy my family/friend/food/photo mashup as much as I enjoyed experiencing it all!
Ready. Set. Go!A pre-St. Patty's Day salad, eaten with a spoon because no forks we're clean. Hitting the town in all our green glory. At 5PM. No comment...moving on.
The arrival of company means real food eaten with forks at nice restaurants!
Greek salad and the best sweet potato fries EVER from Chef Geoff's!
Friday night's in D.C. with two sister's is rough on the liver, but oh so much fun, and definitely memorable! :)
The next morning......all I know is thank God in heaven for large sunglasses and even bigger cups of coffee. Oh, and great company... ...and perfect veggie sandwiches. If you live in the area, check out Jetties for a magical food experience.
After the perfect picnic lunch, we did the touristy thing, sister style, where we literally ran into a HUGE anti-war protest! Saw the Washington monument in the early afternoon in perfect weather. While walking toward dinner, we saw Obama's motorcade taking the Prez from the White House toward the Capitol so he could shmooze politicians and get that healthcare bill passed. If you squint really hard, I think y'all can see Obama waving at us :)

Dinner was shared with lovely company in the form of Cousin Kristin who we just love so much! We ate at Jaleo which is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots in this town.
Since we go big, dinner was followed by a sweet treat.
Cupcakes from The Red Velvet Cupcakery so what else was a girl to try? I was not disappointed with the Red Velvet, I only wish it had been a little bigger for $3.25!
After all that food, we returned to primp for another night out on the town. Good thing we both had new clothes :) We didn't make it out very late because we were so exhausted from the day and our previous nights antics. Worth mentioning though, the friendly cab driver who thought we were highly entertaining.
After a restful night's sleep, we ended Rach's trip with the only thing she was dying to see...
The PANDA'S!!! I almost had a hernia with all the little children running around me, but I love my sis just that much that I braved the swarm of chitlens.
I am so glad Rachael came to see me this weekend. I really enjoyed getting to spend some one on one time together. It doesn't happen often since we live so far apart and are constantly fighting our schedules to even have a conversation let alone a weekend together. It weird to think that someone you grew up with and spent every day with can become someone you see no more than 4 times a year. It is a shame, but it makes me all the more greatful that we were able to have this time together! Sis, if you're reading this, I love you and thank you for coming! It meant a lot to me! Okay, sappy emotional stuff aside, normal food posts will resume tomorrow!
~Jenn
P.S. so glad to see everyone had such a good time at Fitbloggin' but I have got to say, I am mad jealous of all the free swag y'all picked up! I could really use one of those Gruve gadgets! Such a great way to remind yourself to stay active!

Holy Quinoa!

What up Bloggies?!
I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed their St. Patrick's day festivities...I know I did! I may or may not still be paying for it ;) My pictures are all a day behind as I could not seem to get this post written yesterday. Good news is I have been productive moderately productive. I also realized my blog posts are getting a little wordy, which is probably unnecessary, but my mind just runs a mile a minute and I suppose my fingers do too!Such a horrible view, right? The weather here is RIDICULOUS in the best possible way! I just love spring and I can't get enough of all the sunshine. Therefore I had some quality bonding time with my green monster on the balcony yesterday.
In completely unrelated news, I LOVE QUINOA. So so glad I picked this up on my Trader Joe's run because it is delish! I cooked mine in vegetable broth and those little guys just soaked it right up! I roasted zucchini, onion, and butternut squash (random combo) to eat with my new foodie find and added some vegan butter spread on top just for good measure. That is my definition of a beautiful dish! I love the way the grains pop in your mouth but aren't overly chewy! It is definitely way out of my eating comfort zone, but I think it will quickly become a staple food in my diet. I love that it is so high in protein! After lunch, I commenced my balcony suntanning portion of the day and actually got some color! It is nice to not look like I was just delivered from the North Pole.
I started my festivities rather early yesterday, so that is as much of a recap as I can give on this family friendly blog.
Today was spent 1)recovering and 2)preparing for my sister's arrival! I can't wait! I just scrubbed the apartment from end to end because it needed it! Attention roommates: stop being slobs. Kthanx. I am off to do nothing for a while ;)
See y'all tomorrow!
~Jenn

I'm back...

...and I'm such a hypocrite. Like, who says they aren't going to post for a couple days and goes away for all of 24 hours? Moreover, who says they are committed to yoga and running and then wakes up a mere 12 hours later and completes an hour of strength training circuits? I am RIDIC. It could be worse I suppose, I mean, at least I can admit I am a hypocrite. :)
Moving on, I have so much on my mind these days, it is overwhelming. So, heads up, this post is going to be ALL over the place. Oh, and the eats? A lovely compilation of what I consumed over the past two days, in no particular order.
First up, I intentionally stepped back from my blog (or tried to) so that I could do some actually homework (mindblowing, I know) and organize my life for what comes next...which would be STRASBOURG!! followed by summer school. It's cool though, because I actually focused for an extended period of time, wrote my memo's, and received confirmation that my summer credits will transfer. I intend to work on a presentation tonight, make more phone calls tomorrow, and figure out which class I want to take this summer so everything can be all lined up before I leave for my European adventure.

And now, I need to vent. We are on Spring Break this week and 2 out of 3 roommates decided to stay in town. Totally understandable, but they both have company here. At the same time. Now, one of the guests I don't even notice, but the other one, well she is all up in my space. As you may know by now, I am a tinge OCD. Well, I am now forced to share my bathroom with TWO (2!!) people who do not have the same cleaning habits as I do. Moreover, my roommates friend cooks, and has therefore been all over my kitchen. It would be totally fine, except I am the one who ends up cleaning up/emptying the dishwasher. There is a BIG difference between CLEAN and SANITARY. And apparently we all were not taught the same. UGH. One more thing, they are loud and I can't even understand what they are saying!!!!. Ok vent over. Thanks for letting me ramble. Thank goodness for yoga is all I have to say because I have not lost my cool once. That is improvement, believe me.
In an effort to keep myself occupied, and out of my apartment, I went on a long run today. I pushed myself on the front end and added some distance to my normal route. I was feeling great (and being careful), but when I turned around to start running back the front of my right knee started hurting. Not the same kind of pain as my IT issues, but pain nonetheless. I was about 3 miles from home when it happened and I had to walk the rest of the way. :( Talk about frustrating. I really enjoy running and spring is finally here! I iced this evening (with organic broccoli of course) and will do Yoga For Runners later tonight to see if that helps. But if y'all have any advice I would greatly appreciate it. The pain is on the front around the bottom of my kneecap. Has anyone ever had a similar issue? What did you do to heal??
Okay, no more Debbie Downer!
Along the lines of working out, y'all have to see what I purchased! I couldn't resist! I bought it from the No Meat Athlete himself and could not be more pleased with the service! Two day delivery, oy vey! Thanks Matt! Y'all check him out at No Meat Athlete. I have every intention of wearing this shirt with pride since I converted to being a veg head and fitness junkie :)
Which leads to a smooth transition right into my eating as of late. It's finally NOT BAD NEWS! I have felt very in control. Thank goodness. It is a welcome relief to feel like I have willpower again. Despite my high intensity workouts, I have not been mindlessly munching. I have been trying to consume more protein, which is challenging as a vegetarian, but I think it is keeping me satisfied for longer periods of time.
Oh, I also hit up Trader Joe's yesterday! :) I was seriously having withdrawals because I have been shopping at the store by my apartment. Convenient: yes. AMAZING: absolutely not. I purchased two very new food items to try this week: Quinoa and Sunflower Seed Butter. I already broke into the latter, and it is good, not great. Can't win them all I suppose.
So I know everyone is gearing up for Fitbloggin' this weekend, and as much as I wish I was going (and believe me I could use a break from this apartment), I am so excited to see my mom and sister! My sis is driving in Thursday night and my mom is flying in Friday morning! I need some family bonding. It keeps my head on straight.

~Jenn
P.S. Please leave me a comment on what you did to heal your knee! I need advice!
P.P.S While waiting for my slow internet to upload pictures I purchased two more Michael Pollan books while jammin' to G.Love's "Milk and Cereal". If you have never heard this song, well that just isn't right! As a food blogger I encourage you to listen to the lyrics very closely :)

When does one become a runner?

I have been in a transition phase with my workouts as of late. The shift has moved me away from the intense gym sessions filled with machines and free weights toward a more natural yoga and running centered routine. This morning I woke up after a very restful Saturday ready to conquer an outside run. It has been rainy and gloomy in D.C. this weekend, but I had already decided on a run, and I am not one to back down. So off I went, intending to conquer the same trail I have been running for the past two weeks. Except today, I want to push harder, run farther, and feel more accomplished. Everything started out fine, but by the 4th song I started having pain in my left shin. I slowed to a walk and tried to mentally overcome the pain to keep going. But it just wasn't happening. I turned around about a quarter of a mile from last weeks stopping point. Frustrated, I pushed myself to get back in a respectable time by doing run walk splits. I used the 90 second run/30 second walk variation and was feeling alright by the time I got back to my area of town. I decided to keep going and jogged around some beautiful embassies for a little while. I was gone for just over an hour, and I assume I did around 3.5 to 4 miles. Not bad, but not what I was expecting either. I came home and did yoga for runners via yogadownload.com to try and work out some of the tightness in my shins.I also ate this upon returning, which is a combination of leftovers from the weekend.
My run today has me thinking a lot about what it means to be an athlete, or more specifically a runner. I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to enter races, or even train for specific events to justify calling yourself an athlete. I believe it is a personal thing. I find motivation when I hear someone call me "athletic" or ask where/how/when I run. It really has nothing to do with owning the right clothes and gear. It has to do with making the choice to move instead of sit, to eat whole foods instead of processed junk, and listening to your body instead of pushing beyond a certain limit. Yes, sometimes (most of the time) that means dessert with lunch on a Sunday. I coin the above "Ice Cream in a Jar" as opposed to the usual "Oats in a Jar."
In all, this post is a tangent, but I have been considering signing up for a 1/2 marathon in October, so running has been on my mind a lot lately.
I would love to know what anyone out there reading defines as "athletic," or what it means to you to be a runner.
~Jenn

Yoga and Chickpeas...

...consume my life and I could not be happier about it.
I stayed in last night after the Longest.Day.Ever because I wanted to wake up (not hungover) in time for yoga! I am trying to go to as many classes within my 10 day window as I can because I will be too cheap to buy a membership when it is over. I don't know what came over me last night, but by some grace of God I got a second (or 30th) wind and went down to the gym to hang out on some cardio machines for an hour! I was really proud of myself!
This morning I woke up predictably famished. I don't like eating before yoga so I made a monster instead. Action shot. I was a little intimidated by the Amazing Grass packet du jour, but it ended up being my favorite thus far!
My yoga practice today was beautiful. I tend to shy away from morning classes because my body is so stiff, but today I was able to warm up pretty quickly and subsequently sweat my body weight. (For the record, the room is 84 degrees) Afterword, I bopped over to the grocery store to replenish my stock of fruits and vegetables. I ended up buying too many things and was forced to endure an epic schlep home in the rain. I was famished upon arrival, so I grabbed the first thing I saw. Then I de-smellified myself and put away groceries.
Lunch was a rousing success! I made Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancakes and tweaked the recipe to make it my own.
I didn't use the butter or whole egg the original recipe called for. I substituted the milk for a mix of almond milk and water and the egg for a splash of egg whites. It came out a little thin (ya think!) so I added flax meal and 1/2 tbs. of flax seeds. Omega Power!! Genius! For plating, I added cinnamon, almond butter, and un peu of agave. Yea, it was a hit (with me lol). I followed that gloriousness up with an orange. All those carbs made me sleepy, so I went comatose for a little while :) I love not working on Fridays/rainy days. They are beautiful.
The roomie and I got our eyebrows did at "Fancy Nails" because we are classy and when we returned I was hungry for dinner. I roamed the fridge and this is what fell onto my plate. I call it "Greece in DC by the girl to lazy to cook" Alright now this is where the chickpea obsession occurs. Brace Yourselves. Over a bed of fresh spinach, I added canned chickpeas, onion, slivered almonds, a dollop of salsa, balsamic vinaigrette, with falafel balls and a cut up pita alongside. I started eating and something just did not taste right. Cue an unpictured tub of hummus for dippage. Much better :). I used chickpeas in three different ways during this one meal! Obsessive.
Dessert was the same as last night, just in cuter portions. It's like a happier ice cream sandwich and it. tastes. good.
Alright, I am off to go primp and prime for a night out! I am starting at a bar downtown for a friend's surprise birthday get together. Some friends rented out an entire level of a bar! Swankkyyy. Lord only knows where the night will lead after that...somewhere fun I am sure :)
Catch y'all tomorrow!
~Jenn