Study Break!

So after our big weekend for Kelly's Birthday, it was ready to hit the books and the library! 

Last night, a big group of us meet at the library, and I tried to conquer some of the pages and pages of reading I had been assigned for the week. As I was studying, I started to notice how hungry I was and it was becoming extremely distracting to my focus. I then began to think how hard it often is for college students to stay on a normal eating schedule of just breakfast, lunch, and dinner when we are on crazy hours with classes, studying, and going out. I usually like to study later at night, especially when I have late classes the next day but eating dinner at 5:30 or 6:00 just isn't going to give me the energy to keep studying until 12:00 or 1:00, or even 2:00 in the morning. So today I resolved to find some snacks that are both healthy and easy for studying late or whenever you need a little pick me up.

1. Hummus and pita chips

This one is one of my favorite, mostly because I would eat hummus everyday if I could. It is also super easy if you just buy your favorite brand of hummus and pita chips at the grocery store. My favorite is Sabre, which also comes in mini hummus packets, perfect for packing!

Also if you have the time and are feeling chefy- then you can make your own hummus. Here is a DIY hummus recipe that I found:

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, well rinsed

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh-squeezed

Drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. Blend all of the above ingredients in a food processor or blender until very smooth.

 

Happy hummusing!

 2. Almond butter and anything!

Almond butter is basically a health nut staple and you can combine it with so many things. Some of the things I am thinking would be celery, bananas, and apples but feel free to be creative! Almond butter I am into is 365 almond butter.

3. Chips, yes chips

Now I am surely not advocating Dorritos or Cheese Puffs but there is nothing wrong with some more healthy chips as a snack. Try to choose more veggie based chips. Although just because they say veggie on them doesn't mean that they are necessarily healthy- some veggie chips are made with mostly potatoes and just sprinkled with other veggie flavoring. Instead make sure that you are buying veggie chips that have real veggies (other than potatoes inside them). Ones you should definitely try are Terra Chips and Jensen's Orchard Veggie Chips. 

4. Bars!

If you are super lazy and just want something quick, compact, and easy- there is always the miracle of the bar. Beware also of bars. I think it is important to have both a combination of fruit and nut. Make sure they are all natural. Bars to definitely check out are KIND Fruit plus Nut Bar and my all-time favorite, (I have met the owner of the company!) Larabars. 

Well that is all the snack recipes I can think for you right now but for as an extra bonus here is a picture I grabbed of Alexis munching down on some natural, organic peanut butter and a banana at the library last night!

Yay Lex!

On a side note- in addition to studying and trying to figure out ways to snack healthily, I am preparing for my first half marathon this Sunday! I am going to go get some Gu from the local running shop tomorrow so I can see how my body reacts running on it before I use on race day. Also just trying to hydrate myself and stay super healthy this week!

Happy snacking!

-Shelby

Larabar Treasure Hunt

Heyy yall! It's Alexis this time around.

The time has finally come for me tell you all about my first meeting with Rob Yang.

Rob has some pretty intense credentials to his name, so no phony stuff here! Check out his e-mail signature:

Robert Yang

Certified Nutritionist (CN)

C.H.E.K Institute Faculty Member

Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) - Nutrition Advisory Board Member

National Pitching Association (NPA)- Advisory Board Member

He's legit! Check out what he's up to and some pretty intense pictures of him at www.RobertYang.net!

Like I said before my reasons for meeting with Rob were to talk to him about my gluten-free diet. Rob asked me a long series of questions that related to just about everything from energy level to hunger level to in depth questions about bowel movements (too much information yet?).

From all of this he agreed with my decision to avoid gluten in order to improve digestive functions, especially considering my past stomach problems. Taking gluten out of my diet leads me to a lot of healthier alternatives. So instead of a sandwich, I turn to a salad. Instead of a burger with a bun, I turn to a burger in a bowl aka protein style with a lot more veggies to make up for the bread. So not only am I avoiding something very bad for me, I am upping my intake of other nutritious goodies.

Rob is helping me to create a good program of vitamins and supplements to take to help my immune system and also help my digestive system to repair itself. While in Peru, I got pretty sick after eating some cuy aka guinea pig (among lots of other interesting meats of which I still don't know their names). At least I got to enhance my experience while abroad and visited a Peruvian emergency room where I received some antibiotics. Ever since I came home I've been taking probiotics to help restore the healthy bacteria killed off by all of the antibiotics. Rob and I are meeting TWICE next week (woo) and will go over a finalized plan for supplements to take when I'm back at school.

I also picked Rob's brain a lot about the best exercise schedule to allow me to improve my running and hopefully put down a few PRs in this upcoming racing season! On Monday, we'll be doing a full exercise consultation but Rob did notice something interesting about my joints. The best way to improve in a sport is to ensure the safety of your joints in order to prevent injury.

Here's a direct quote from Rob about what makes me unique and requires me to take a different approach to my running:

"Your body is too flexible meaning your joints are hyper mobile. You can hyperextend your elbows and knees. Since you have too much mobility in your joints as you run, the body is using energy from the nervous system and muscular system to stabilize the joints versus using the energy to allow you to run faster. "

My crazy knee joints seen here:

This is pretty much my normal stance, something that needs to change! So we'll be working on creating a strength-training program for me to do in order to help me get stronger to help both my posture and to become a better runner! I'm so excited and can't wait to share pictures with you all from our upcoming meetings.

Well that's a somewhat intense summary of what he and I went over. I'm just so excited about becoming even healthier and with his help I'm going to get there!

Today was a pretty wonderful day, even though I'm jealous of Shelby's day of fun in Charlottesville! I was a little worried how this long day would turn out after staying out late last night and waking up early for CPR Recertification. A tall chai latte did the trick and the day ended up turning out great! CPR class was an awesome refresher, so I'll be prepared for any crazy situation that may arise while at work at the Aquatic and Fitness Center at school! Then it was time for errands and I made it my mission to find some unique Larabars. These lovely little treats were the product of searching at THREE different stores!

SUCCESS!! So excited about these babies. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough will be accompanying me tomorrow on my 9 miler!

I also found some other yummy gluten-free treats that I can’t wait to try:

These were sooo good and an awesome reward after my trail run today!

I also had a change of heart in regards to my reading for the upcoming week. I finally finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and decided I would start Eat, Pray, Love in hopes of someday finishing The New Book Classics.

And then I found this baby while searching for a new running water bottle at REI (left the Fuel Belt in Charlottesville dang itttt!). I'm pretty excited about this read and will be sure to write up some sort of review when I'm finished.

In close, I thought I'd leave with one of my favorite parts about being home. It's pomegranate/mango/strawberry/chocolate bliss in the form of frozen yogurt. If you ever need a reason to come visit me in San Diego, this would be a good one.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekends! Think of me when I'm stuck at work tomorrow (booo!).

-Alexis