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I stayed up late last night watching live videos of Haiti on CNN.com. They were so disturbing…I could not even imagine going through something like that. Gosh, I take so much in my life for granted. My heart goes out to all Haitian citizens and to everyone who cannot get in contact with friends or relatives living there. If you’d like to help in some way, you can click here to donate to Partners in Health, an organization dedicated to providing community-based healthcare options for the impoverished, including the people of Haiti.
Honestly, I feel kind of silly talking about my food and exercise after that, but that’s what my blog is about. So, here goes…
Breakfast:
2 eggs, 2 La Tortilla Factory tortillas and some Trader Joe’s horseradish hummus. I love dipping the tortillas in the broken egg yolks. I just love eggs, period.
I tried a new product sent to me by a reader. Thanks Gina!
Ready-to-drink protein shakes by Arbonne. These are vegan soy-free protein shakes made with pea protein. I’m not a big shake-on-the-go kind of person. You guys know I love my protein powder, but I’m usually using it in pancakes, ice-cream, or pimped out smoothies. However, I thought it would be nice to have these on hand, and I guzzled one yesterday in-between massage therapy clients and running errands.
What I liked: Easy, convenient, no soy (other than soy lecithin), dairy, or hemp, 20 grams of protein, and lots of vitamins/minerals.
What I didn’t like: It’s sweetened with cane sugar, and contains both sunflower oil & canola oil, both of which I avoid. Coconut oil is about the only oil I ever use. Sunflower, canola, grapeseed, etc. are all full of Omega-6′s…nevermind, I’m getting off the subject here. I’ll save all that stuff for another day. Back to the Figure 8 shake. Although this shake sounds good in theory, I think it’s a bad idea since cane sugar is listed as the third ingredient after water and protein. No thanks. Besides, it tasted like a Slim Fast. Sorry Gina, I really do appreciate you letting me try them!
As far as exercise goes, I’m really enjoying my month of working with Lindsey, and I can’t believe it’s almost half over. I’m loving the short but efficient workouts as well as all the variety, We never do the same workout 2 days in a row. I am missing my yoga classes, but I’m going to stick with the online personal training for the remainder of the month. It’s been a nice change, and I think it’s good to switch things up every so often. There will be plenty of time for downward dogs next month. 
{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }
Molly and Henry are engaging in some downward dogs as I write this. Right in front of the Costco heater
yuck to the oils and yuck to the sugar…I know where you were going with that unbalanced 6:3 talk haha. I’m not a shake girl either…i enjoy chewing food too much. Jay Robb makes a good pancake though. And yes eggs are my obsession too.
Those do seem a little sugary for something that’s supposed to be for weight loss. And why do they even need to add oil? Blech. Much better off with a homemade smoothie.
agreed, i would much rather make my own smoothie or some of your protein pancakes
Two thumbs way down to the Slim-Fast taste-alikes!
I know what you mean Heather. Maybe we should do some sort of food blogger fundraiser??
- Beth @ http://www.DiningAndDishing.com
Hmm, something to think about Beth.
I totally agree with the beginning of your post! I feel a little sad/not right just talking about my daily life as well…it’s such a tragedy.
Ugh. I have not closely followed the Haiti saga. Knowing that children, especially, are hurting is painful to listen too.
But those eggs. They do make me smile!
I have to give protein pancakes a shot. HAVE TO. I have everything so no excues. Hubs wanted me to make pancakes last night for him and bubba to have for today and so I made them boring schmoring regular ole mix pancakes. it killed me but so it goes with making spouses happy somedays. He also accepted my giant cup of green smoothie for today too so I guess it’s all right in the universe.
I use coconut oil now for just about everything too. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on grapeseed oil. I use that too sometimes. (when I need an oil that does not solidify in cold (batters) haha
we are watching Haiti coverage 24/7 in our home. it’s so frightening!
xo
I agree with you – I feel silly with my perfect little life when everything is going down. I wish I could physically get there and help or something.
Mmmm, I love runny broken egg yolks!
TJ’s horseradish humus is by far my fav humus. yum!
Hey Heather, I think you’ve said you have an intolerance to soy but are able to eat fermented soy (i.e. tempeh). I seem to have the same reaction to soy and was wondering which La Tortilla Factory tortillas you use. The ones I saw in my grocery have soy flour as an ingredient. You seem to eat quite a few of them so I assume you’re stomach is ok with them. Let me know cuz I’d love to try them!
Tracy, The ones I buy (low carb/high fiber) contain soy as well, but don’t seem to bother me as much as other brands. Those Tumaros almost killed me…or I guess I should say they almost killed CD.
You have to be honest when it comes to reviews. Otherwise, people won’t trust you when they buy them. I have decided to have pancakes tonight for my birthday dinner. They are my favorite for dinner. I am going to give your egg white version a try. I don’t have protein powder that I can have, but I am going to use coconut flour and see how id goes! I hope well!
First, I totally agree with the first part of your post..there’s a couple of small ways that people can donate to the people in Haiti: Haiti needs your help. You can make and automatic $5 donation by texting the word “yele” to thenumber 501501. ALSO, you can donate $10 by texting the word “HAITI” to90999.
Second, I agree with you about the oil and sugar. That product is kind of like the Taco Bell Drive Through Diet!
So not a diet product in so many different ways!!
Have a great day!
The oaties were a huge hit, even the roomie liked them! Thanks!
nom nom nom
Pups are to cute
JacobC, I wonder if you loved the Oaties as much I loved the chips?
Thanks for the really honest review. I try to avoid cane sugar too so good to know. Although interesting sounding product for sure. It is a really scary and mind blowing situation to watch on tv right now. My heart and prayers are definitely with everyone.
Ach! Hate the taste of Slim Fast (and the fact that it reminds me of my early “diet days” back in high school…lol).
I agree, healthy living blogs seem so trivial in times like these. I give a big thumbs down to sugar-laced little Peas too.
What is going on in Haiti is so terribly sad that I find myself turning to blogs to read something to distract me for a minute!
Heather, thanks for the mention of Haiti. Food blogs are a bit trivial, I agree w/ Mama Pea right now…as I just got done posting.
Anyway, reader Gina sent me those shakes and I blogged about receiving them but have not tried them. I appreciate your insight and thoughts whole-heartedly about them!
Skylar’s gotcha covered on the missing downward dogs in your life…she’s been busting out lots this month!
xoxo
Bummer that the product didn’t live up to standards!
I’d love to hear about why you only use coconut oil!
Julie, This guy is more extreme than me, but he’s done some good research regarding oils…
http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2009/6/22/fats-and-oils.html
I love eggs, and those look delicious!!
Always great to change things up, and you just reminded me that January is indeed almost over. Scary!
glad to hear you are enjoying your workout plan this month! it is always fun to try new workouts. i should prob try yoga- i have NEVER done it. horseradish hummus?! one more reason i wish i had a TJs.. sigh
I just finished watching like 2 hours of coverage on CNN and thought wow, who the heck cares that I had oatmeal this morning?? Crazy to think that humans are going through such intense tragedy right now while we have the privilege of blogging. You are sooo right.. though, cant take our life for granted!
Hope you have an awesome night!
certainly would rather make my own smoothie but its always good to have an on-the-go drink once in a while!! thanks for the review on them
I love the horseradish hummus from TJ’s!!!
The slim-fast taste is definitely a turn off…..
Bummer about the shakes! I’m trying to convince myself to use up a container of hemp protein as quickly as possible so I can justify buying/trying rice protein. Any brand suggestions??
Prettyladycmu, I’m a Jay Robb girl. Love his vanilla and chocolate rice protein powders. However, not a huge fan of the strawberry. http://www.jayrobb.com.
Hi Heather,
I put a spin on your chocolate soup recipe and included it with my Sweet Spiced Sweet Potato instead of pancakes….I really think you’ll LOVE this!! Let me know if you try it!!! You can see the post and recipe and pics here: http://lifestyleraw.blogspot.com/2010/01/serious-comfort-food-without-feeding.html
Thanks for all your great blogging inspiration!
Casey
I haven’t tried that particular high protein drink, but I have tried others. No thanks. No fluff, no volume, no poof, no drinkie.
Half way done with the month? Seems like you were sick for half of that time?! Eek. Hope you love the results.
Yes, I know, talking about food/weight, etc seems so odd when there is so much suffering now. I feel silly for my post as well (I did write it last week, but still). Must say that I live right on the San Andreas fault which is one very similar to the one that caused the Haitian quake. All I can say is that I hope I’m long gone when that mother decides to blow. It could be any time, the experts say. Any time.
Hard to complain about food when you hear and see news like that! Our heart goes out to everyone who is affected by it. Though thanks for sharing your review, never heard of this vegan soy free protein shake though we are not fans of much oils except coconut oil as well
Can’t seem to get enough of that stuff. BTW loving your goodies you sent us, burning candle all the time!!!
Thank you for shouting out about the tragedy in Haiti. I posted something on my blog too, and donated to the Red Cross yesterday. The blogging community is so vast, we can use it for good!
On a foodie note, I share your love of eggies : )
I’m with you about the ready-made shakes. I’ve never met one that I liked. And Lindsey’s workouts are kicking my butt – glad you are enjoying them!
I have a friend who was in Haiti during the earthquake!!! Soo scary!
GC, How is your friend? Okay I hope!
I can’t watch too much of it on the news…it’s too devastating to be honest. I know that doesn’t make it any less, but still. It’s unsettling that environmental, “natural” events can cause this type of tragedy and devastation…we really must be grateful for everyday life…honestly, it’s blunt but true that “a bus could be right around the corner and hit you the next day” or anything could happen!!
Yeah I’m not a shake/smoothie girl. I eat too much for it. But good on honesty. What is soy lecithin anyhow?!! And Lindsey doesn’t let you do any Down Dogs – haha??! – I would assume you could do gentle/”restorative/stretching stuff – my MO usually – lame-o…;) ugh
Eatmovelove, Soy lecithin: http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/07/07/what-is-soy-lecithin-and-why-is-it-found-in-so-many-products/ .
Lindsey lets me do whatever I want, but I’m sticking to her suggested workouts. A couple of years ago, I would have done all of her workouts plus long yoga classes. Now, I realize I don’t need to do both. I might do some yin yoga this weekend, and I might not.
I’m totally trying the eggs with Ezekiel wraps tomorrow! It looks delicious! I might have to add a little cheese to it though
Thanks for the great idea!
Heather,
Thanks for the review! I totally understand about the cane sugar. They reformulated the powder about a rare ago and bumped the sugar about to the 3rd ingredient. Thanks again though! Let me know if you are interested in any samples of the other products. I’d be happy to send you some if they are available.
-Gina
“What you put on your skin is just as important as what you put in you.”
Watching the Haiti coverage is a shocking reminder of how lucky I am for having all the things I take for granted everyday . . .
Wow, you have me intrigued about those oils now. It’s amazing how no matter how much we already know, there is still more to learn. Thanks!
Totally agreed Heabs
So tragic…
Glad your workouts are going well! I’ve a personal trainer for random spurts here and there and the personal attention is sooo nice!! XO love ya Heath!!!
Hahah your little *almost* ramble about sunflower oil/canola oil made me giggle. On the site I sent you about my parents fitness guy, one of his videos is called “5 most damaging things to your health” and one of the 5 is canola oil. My parents have alwayss not bought it, but I think there are some specific reasons that maybe would be interesting to you. http://vimeo.com/8122536
ALSO- omg your cracked pepper fried eggs are literally jumping out of my laptop screen saying EAT ME. We love our eggs Heather! soo yummy.
Bekah, Yes, I checked out the fitness guy already. Sounds like your parents were in the know a long time ago. Now I know why you are such a wise old soul at such a young age.
Hi Heather-
I tried to scan through all your comments to see if anyone asked if you use olive oil for any of your cooking, and I didn’t see that question answered, so, do you? And with the coconut oil, can you use that to sautee veggies? I’m new ot your blog, but love it! thanks for sharing.
Julie, I use coconut oil for everything. This is the one we buy: http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Coconut-Virgin-Organic/dp/B00014IVPQ. I grease every skillet or pan with it, put a few spoonfuls on top of veggies and stick in oven to roast, and melt in the pan before sauteing or stir-frying anything. It works very well for high heat cooking. The unrefined coconut oil does have add coconut flavor, but I love it. If I’m preparing a dish for guests that aren’t big coconut people, then I will use olive oil, but otherwise, it’s all coconut. I also sub it or nut butters for all oil or butter in baked dishes.
Welcome to HEAB. Thanks so much for reading.
Hi Heather, I just started a blog about a week ago on wordpress and I am trying to get in optimized for search engines like google so people can know about it, but am having a hard time. Do you have any suggestions on how to get it out to other people? By the way, I love reading your blog. I read it everyday to get inspiration. Keep up the good work.
Hi! I am new to your blog and was wondering if Hemp just doesn’t agree with you, or if there was another reason not to like it.
I am enjoying your blog and healthy eating ideas!
Natalie, Hemp does not agree with my taste buds. I think it tastes like dirt, but for some reason I keep trying it hoping I’ll like it. Nope, never gonna happen. However, I do really like hemp seeds.
Thanks for reading – glad you found me!