wiaw #23- the universe is laughing | the veggie nook

Here we are again my friends, another week since the last What I Ate Wednesday come and gone and I have no idea what happened to it. The summer is just flying by, I don?t even remember July! The other day when I was dating things at work (we date the syrup bottles for one month ahead so we toss them if they aren?t used by that date) and I found my self writing September. September. Don?t get me wrong, it?s my favourite month- the beginning of fall, crisp cool breezes, cardigans, school and of course my birthday, but it threw me for a loop. It always seemed so far away and now it?s less than a month away!

Anyway, enough about the inevitable passage of time, I am actually here today to share with you my eats! Now, this What I Ate Wednesday post isn?t going to catalogue a single day of food. I fully meant to take pictures of all my eats yesterday, I did. But life got in the way- I overslept my alarm and proceeded to race to work very late (without breakfast I might add, I never do that) and was so thrown off I didn?t remember to take any pictures of my food until dinner. The universe has been laughing at me lately and I haven?t been quite as ?together? as I usually am. Ah well, I am taking it with a sense of humour and hopefully I sail on through it soon.

So instead, I?ll just be sharing pictures of things I?ve eaten recently!

Thank you, as always, to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting!

lemon water. the usual.

lots of chia seed breakfast porridge, sans-fruit and with stevia instead of dates though. more on this to come.

insert lots of (unpictured) veggies and avocado and dill dip.

ginormous salads- this one includes avocado, grated carrots, tomatoes, Swiss chard and a hemp oil dressing

a lot of Gena?s Chocolate Almond Protein Fluff. such a great way to use up almond pulp. not something you?d serve to your friends or people you want to impress, but a tasty, economical and thrifty snack ;)

and of course, lots of tea! I?m currently in a ?oh-my-god-I-move-in-less-than-a-month-I-need-to-eat-through-all-my-pantry-food-and-drink-all-my-tea? mode. I?ve been drinking lots of it. I believe this photo is of some jasmine pearls, or ?Dragon Pearls? by David?s Tea. heavenly!

pricey, but such a treat!

sweet potatoes! topped with a new nut butter creation- vanilla brazil nut and hazelnut butter, coconut oil and sea salt. delish! served of course, with some salad.

yes that sweet potato is the size of that plate, and yes I ate the whole thing. what can I say? I love me them sweet ?taters!

on a separate note- I?m trying to think of a good name for this nut butter, it?s quite a mouthful! the best I?ve come up with is vanilla brazenut butter. thoughts? I think it sounds good but I don?t trust my judgement on this one!

chocolate chia shake! delicious and sweet with no fruit and just a little stevia. love :)

To close out this post, I thought I?d (finally) give my review of Jillian Michael?s 30-Day Shred!

I decided to take on this fitness challenge a couple months ago as a way to get me back into the swing of things working out. While it?s meant to be done for 30 days straight, I didn?t do this, rather I ended up doing it about every other day for 2 months. It has 3 levels and it is suggested you do each level 10 times before moving up. Here are my thoughts:

• positive:

  • there are 3 different levels, each with it?s own workout and they get progressively more difficult. This means that by the time you get bored of one workout, it?s time to move on with the next. I like that she introduces movements and exercises in Level 1 then adds to them and makes them more difficult in Levels 2 and 3. This gives you time to work on form before hurting yourself doing an exercise you?re not ready for!

  • she works your whole body, all at once. No simply doing bicep curls here. You?re doing bicep curls with lunges, military presses with leg extensions, planks with shoulder rows. That way you make efficient use of your time and get a great workout in 20 min (score!)

  • each workout is only 20 minutes long so it?s easy to fit it into your day

  • the workouts are hard. I thought the first one was a little easier, but still made me sweat. Levels 2 and 3 left me pouring sweat and panting. But in a great way!

  • Her 3-2-1 system keeps the workouts interesting! 3 minutes of strength (30s of a ?serious strength move? followed by 1 min of a compound exercise and repeat), 2 minutes of cardio (2 exercises, 30s each, alternating) and 1 minute abs (1 or 2 different exercises, depending). You don?t have time to get bored or realize your muscles are tired! All the switching between exercises makes the workout fly!

  • she doesn?t count reps- I hate when reps are counted. It makes me feel like finishing the exercise is ages away and that I couldn?t possibly complete ?blank? more reps. By not knowing exactly when I?m done the exercise, I just keep pushing, going on auto pilot until she tells me to stop

  • I saw a major increase in muscle definition after completing this, particularly in my abs. By Level 3 you are basically somehow working your core with every exercise. I love the way my stomach looks now!

• negatives:

  • warm-ups and cool-downs are short and not really adequate. Not a big deal, just tag some of your own stuff on and you?ll be fine. I particularly recommend adding a glute and calf stretch to the cool-down.

  • she doesn?t discuss all points on form in the first round of each exercise. Sometimes she doesn?t mention key things until the second round. Not a big deal for experienced exercisers, but for beginners, this could cause some problems and perhaps even injuries!

  • Level 2- there is a lot of exercises performed in a plank position one after the other- I have weak shoulders and this at times got painful! Might not be a problem for others though.

  • this might just be my DVD player (or rather my PS3) but I couldn?t skip the DVD intro when I would start the DVD each time. This meant I had to listen to Jillian explain the workouts EVERY SINGLE TIME I wanted to do a workout (so 30 times). This kind of sucked. Not a huge deal, or a reflection on the quality of the exercises, but just annoying!

Overall, I definitely recommend this video! It?s a great way to get in a great workout at home if you?re short on time. Plus, nice abs never hurt right?

I hope some of you find this review helpful! Let me know if you have any questions.

I will be back soon with another recipe for you. Hopefully in that time the universe stops using me as it?s entertainment and things start running a little more smoothly in my life! If nothing else, I?ll take waking up in time for work! Enjoy the rest of your weeks and Happy WIAW!

Source: http://veggienook.com/2012/08/08/wiaw-23-the-universe-is-laughing/

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