I Heart Yoga & A New Friend

Hello my friends.  My yoga workshop is officially over half way over as today, and I am so saddened by this fact.  I don’t want it to ever end!  I NEVER thought this crazy runner would actually enjoy a 6 AM yoga class every weekday with a 2 hour class on the weekends, but I am truly loving it.  I encourage all of you to stick with yoga for a while.  Group classes used to totally intimidate me as I thought I wasn’t flexible enough for many of the poses. However, after sticking with it for a while, I’m amazed at the improvements in my strength and flexibility. I honestly feel like I am in the best shape of my life!  In some ways, a yoga practice is a lot like training for a long race – it’s amazing what the body is capable of if you train it properly. Truly amazing!

My breakfast:

Avocado Choco-Oats

I loved this bowl made up of 1/2 cup oat bran, 1/2 wheat bran cooked on the stove-top with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt.  I then blended the oat/bran combo with 1/2 of a HUGE avocado (thank you Costco!), 1 tsp of cocoa powder, and 1 tsp of maple syrup in my Vita-Mix.  My topping of choice was Trader Joe’s crunchy unsalted peanut butter.  This bowl was huge, and I’m embarrassed to say I was not full after finishing off every last bite.  Maybe the lack of protein?  Next time, I’ll add egg whites.  

While blending my avocado oats, I just kept laughing.  If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would wake up dreaming of oat bran and avocados, I would have thought you were crazy.  Isn’t it funny how our tastes change as we grow and try new things?  My friends and family say I have healthy taste buds because half the things I think are delicious sound disgusting to them.  Hehe – just makes me love my Heather food even more.  They’re the ones totally missing out, no?

Guess who I met for lunch?

My protein pancake muse.

Justine, a fellow Nashville blogger, and I finally met up for lunch at Whole Foods today.  Justine, why did it take us so long to do this?  The food was great, but the company was ever better.  After lunch, we wandered up and down the aisles pointing out our favorite products.  It was so refreshing to spend time with someone who completely relates to my interests in healthy eats and exercise. Justine, I felt like we were old friends, and I can’t wait to hang out again.  We decided on Middle Eastern food for our next lunch together, and I’m already looking forward to it.  Be sure to check out Justine’s blog as she’s got some great recipes, and I love her Confession of the Day. 

Oh, here was my salad plate: 

Salad bar extravaganza

I can’t even begin to remember what all was on my plate, but I can tell you it was delicious.  I did have some tempeh since fermented soy products don’t seem to bother me.  Can I just tell you how much I love the sun-dried tomatoes on the Whole Foods salad bar? I swear I would be happy with just a plateful of them alone and a spoon.

My new favorite shopping buddy

Tomorrow, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day I’m going green for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.  Stay tuned for what I’m sure will be some interesting meals.

Check out the following blogs for some great giveaways:

Thinspired is giving away some English snacks from across the pond.

Check out The Health Nut for a cool reusable shopping tote.

Last but not least, Soap and Chocolate is giving one lucky commenter the chance to make his/her own granola at Mix My Granola.

Hope everyone had a great start to the week.  See ya tomorrow!

Tagged as: Avocado, Breakfast, Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, Vita-Mix, Yoga