This weekend, I’ve been working away at a new blog…over on Wordpress!
There are definitely more things I still want to do with it, but I’ve got a pretty good start on things and plus, I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. :D
So…here is my NEW SITE:
http://hersweetcheeks.wordpress.com
Please change your blogrolls and google readers to this address. I don’t want to lose any of my good friends!
Thanks guys, you all are the best. Hope you like the new changes!
xoxo
Kristi
Howdy Bloggies! Happy Halloween!
Hope you all are enjoying the beginning your weekends…I know I am! I live for these two sacred days. :D
I took a break from Green Monsters this morning…
and instead started off with a much missed breakfast…its the return of the yogurt mess!
(Greek Oikos, Nature’s Path pumpkin granola, figs, Kroger natural peanut butter, Mighty Maple)
along with some herbal tea:
I have been drinking tea like crazy lately! It just warms me up soooo good.
Speaking of tea, I will be going to the new health food store today to visit their AWESOME tea section. Seriously, I am amazed by it…they have any kind of tea you could possibly want. I won’t be surprised if I come home with a whole cart full of them.
Want to see what I did with the butternut squash from my last post?
It went from this…
To this…
To finally this:
(smothered in Amy’s ketchup, post-picture, obvi)
Yes, I went for the obvious…yes, it’s been done before…yes, it was absolutely fantastic. ;)
I also had a homemade bean burger to go along with my fries:
(followed Kath’s recipe/instructions: here)
which was followed by these little babies:
I tried to rock the natural lighting…gotta work on those photography skills! Any pointers?
dough:
final product:
So what are those lovely morsels, you ask? Well they come from just about the greatest cookbook ever. Yep you guessed it…I’m talking about this gem:
As my very first EDBV recipe, I went for the Super Charge Me Cookies. I made mine with some carob chips and chopped figs (say that three times fast).
Two thumbs up…I’m already in love with this book.
So fast forwarding back to today, I took the opportunity to make a switch up from my usual exercise routines. I have been doing a lot of treadmill workouts or 30 Day Shred routines. I felt like I needed to bust out and do something different. So after 5 minutes of rummaging through my closet, I found this:
Turbo Jam!!!
This used to be my old go-to exercise DVD…talk about a good, FUN workout. This was actually my very first exercise program I ever purchased. It totally took me back to the days when I first vowed to change my habbits and get healthier. Just remembering those days was great motivation for me this morning.
If you have never heard of Turbo Jam, it is an upbeat mix up cardio dancing with a mixture of martial arts thrown in. They play fun music that really gets you up and moving. I LOVE the instructor! She is so much fun and very motivating.
I am so glad I chose to do this today. It was great to switch things up and I will definitely go for this DVD more often now!
Welp, the Madre is calling my name to help her with the Halloween decorations. I’m off to go get in the holiday spirit!
Tonight, the plan is to hand out candies to all the little kiddos around the neighborhood. I love seeing all the costumes!
What are your plans for tonight?
and because I couldn’t resist…
Kristi
Hey guys!
Guess who got an awesome package in the mail yesterday?
Looky looky!
As a former pop-aholic, I was beyond excited to find out about the all natural, artificial sweetener-free, zero calorie soda.
I jumped at the chance to give it a whirl…and wanted six of you to be able to try it out with me. Well, the Fed-Ex guy made me one happy camper yesterday afternoon. He actually came right as I was about to sit down and eat my lunch. Perfect timing!
I opted to try the Root Beer flavor first. What did I think?
AWESOME!!!
This is way better than any regular/diet soda. I have completely lost my liking for that stuff…I can just taste the pure corn syrup and chemicals now. It is amazing what changing your eating habits will do to your taste buds.
Even though I no longer like pop, I still missed being able to drink something “fun” occasionally. Enter: Zevia.
This had just the right amount of sweetness and perfectly bubbly and delicious. I think I might have to hide the rest of my package…it’ll be gone before I know it!
Thank you so much Zevia!
(Zevia giveaway winners, be expecting your packages soon!)
*******
Now, I have been doing some thinking about my blog site. I know that over time, many of you have made the switch from Blogger to Wordpress. I have been looking into possibly making the switch myself. I was wondering if you lovely ladies could help me weigh out the pros and cons of switching over. What are the benefits that Wordpress has that Blogger doesn’t?
The plan for the rest of day includes going to work at the bank for a few hours, another date with Bob, and whipping up something delicious in the kitch for dinner, which includes this:
Love me some fall produce!
speaking of Bob, Biggest Loser is on tonight. I have totally gotten into it this season. Need some exercise motivation? Jillian will take care of that, no probs.
Have a great night!
Kristi
Happy Sunday! I hope you all have been enjoying your weekend. I have had a pretty productive one! My to-do list has been growing and growing and I finally am putting a big dent in it. Isn’t it great to feel accomplished? Makes me feel so much better!
First things first, I started off with a lovely pot of stove-top oats:
~The Mix~
Simple and delish. I usually have green monsters for breakfast on the weekdays since they are so quick and I can drink them while I get ready, so my bowls of oats on the weekends have been an extra special treat. :D
After breakfast, I got my boot-ay in gear and started my laundry. I am on the third and final load. Yahoo!
Next up, I had a date with Bob.
*swoon*
I’ll be doing a review of this DVD in the near future. I just haven’t had time to get through all three levels yet. So far, I am loving level one though…but I don’t know if that has more to do with the “view” or the actual yoga part. You catch my drift? Bob, you are one sexy beast!
Then it was time for a much needed mani-pedi. My claws are looking fab right about now. :)
Next up was football, where I supported my team, The Chiefs. Unfortunately, it was yet another disappointing game…Oh, KC, how I urn for you to one day be decent…but I am a loyal fan so I will keep right on supporting!
To mourn to loss of the Chief’s game, I made my way into the kitchen to do some baking therapy.
That brings me to the title of the post…I adapted a recipe I found off of the Hungry Girl website for “pumpkin squares.” I played with the ingredients a bit and finally came up with:
Flaxy Pumpkin Bars
I was excited to whip out this lovely fall ingredient:
In it goes…
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Place mixture in a baking dish (8" X 8" works well) sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. (It will remain a little soft, like pie filling.)
Once ready to serve (it's delicious eaten hot or cold), cut into 9 pieces.
This recipe was SUPER easy and quick to put together. I have a feeling I will be making this a lot during the cold months ahead, topped with a dollop of Oikos, of course.
Alright blogaroos, I’ve got to get back to my list. I’ve got the motivation today so I need to make the most of it..it never lasts long. ;)
Here’s a toughie Q for you guys:
What is your favorite dessert when its cold outside?
I’d have to say that nothing beats pumpkin pie. But I also love baked apples. Mmmm.
Kristi
Hello!
Long time no talk…I’ve missed you guys!
There just isn’t enough time in the days, but I have been keeping up with you guys whenever I get a chance. I haven’t deserted anyone!
I’ve been eating some pretty delicious WARM meals lately. The temps have definitely dropped…it has been sweaters and boot weather around here. How is the weather where you are?
Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last post that I found a wonderful little hidden health food shop IN MY TOWN. Ya’ll know how I complain about my lack of Heaven…aka Whole Foods/Trader Joes, so you can imagine my excitement!
I hit the motherload:
I made couscous for the first time and I fell in love with it. It is so fluffy and delicious. I can’t wait to try out all the other fun stuff. Ah, the things that will excite a foodie…;)
I tried out a very Fitnessista-like lunch the other day…
Lovely raw roll ups:
carrots, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, jicama, avocado
roll ‘em up in your preference of lettuce wraps and top with some cilantro.
I dipped mine into some spicy tai peanut sauce and it was deliciouso!
Now my warmer eats have included…SPAGHETTI!
Spaghetti squash, that is. :)
I roasted my spaghetti squash in the oven for an hour at 400* and dig it all out with a fork. While it was in the oven, I steamed up some broccoli and made up a quick batch of Marinutta (thanks HEAB, you the woman!). Then I simply combined everything for a wonderful veggie-filled warming dinner. Fabulous.
Something else worth trying:
Foil packs!! Foil packs are amazing for fall/winter. The best thing is that you customize each pack, so everybody gets what they want! It worked awesome with my family…including my picky sister. I threw together a mixture of chopped up yellow squash, mushrooms, laughing cow, salt and pepper and sealed the foil pack. Throw them in the oven for 20 minutes at 375*. Mmmmm.
In honor of going “green”:
My newest addition to my aluminum water bottle collection! It is growing rapidly. I found this one at Old Navy, where they sold them for $5!! That is awesome, considering many places I have gone have had them marked anywhere between 10-20 buckeroos. Score!
And last but not least, Jaci wanted to make a blog appearance. It’s been a while! She is still up to her usual shenanignas:
Silly girl…keep away from my socks!
Alrighty, it’s time to log off and watch trash tv Grey’s and Private Practice! Who will be tuning in with me?!
Whatever your plans are, hope you all have a wonderful night!
~Kristi
Sounds like it’s safe to say that most of you are big Stevia fans! I’ve got to agree…I’ve fallen in love with it, too. Now…
Who’s ready to win some Zevia?!?
I won’t keep you in suspense any longer…
First, I will announce the 5 runner ups, who will be receiving their very own six pack of Zevia.
Runner up #1: Naomi from http://onefitfoodie.blogspot.com/!
Naomi said…
“LOVE to try Zevia, I have only tried one flavor and LOVED it so this would be a sweeeet giveaway to win!!”
Runner up #2: April from http://foodsofapril.com/!
April said…
“I use stevia all the time! a little goes a long way!”
Runner up #3: Devan from http://melonspots.blogspot.com/!
Devan said…
“you are amazing! love this giveaway! i have yet to try this amazing zevia!
my favorite natural sweetner is definatly stevia.. it is my tried and true.”
Runner up #4: Emily from http://funnyemily.wordpress.com/!
Emily said…
“hmm i'm not much of a sweetner person, but i think would like to try truvia sometime. & zevia of course!”
Runner up #5: Savvty!
Savvty said…
“Stevia is my fave”
And for the grand finale, one lucky ready will receive an entire case of goodness…The Zevia Queen shall be…
***drum roll please***
Shannon from http://tropicaleats.com/!!!
Shannon said…
“love this giveaway! I like using raw sugar.. it usually comes in the brown packets at Starbucks and such. :)”
Congrats ladies! This is me doing the happy dance for you:
Please send me an email with your shipping address/info so Zevia can get your packages out to you!
I’m off to get cooking in the kitch. I have been craving baked tofu so tofu for dinner it shall be!
Have a great night!
Kristi
Happy Weekend!!! This week has been a hectic one for me, but its all good now because the weekend is finally here!
First off, I wanted to remind everyone again to enter my Zevia giveaway! I will be picking the winners on Monday afternoon. I myself have not yet tried Zevia and can’t wait to get my package! Expect a review in the near future!
This morning was started off wonderfully with a new oat creation.
Chocolate Mint Oats
Into my bowl went:
The star of the show:
I found this tea at a local health food shop and I’m hooked! I LOVE fun fall/wintery teas and will drinking a ton during the cold months ahead!
And I don’t even need to tell you guys how awesome this bowl was because lets face it…it can’t fail. ;) And you could definitely make it without the tea if you can’t find it or something similar…just make sure to use the mint extract!
In other news, I received a great package from the lovely folks at POM. Here is the loot:
The verdict? Tastey! This was a great change up from the original POM. My favorite was definitely the nectarine…but I’m not hatin’ on the kiwi either. Two thumbs up from me, POM!
I received another package that I was STOKED about. I decided that with my first paycheck from the bank, I needed to reward myself for all my hard work lately. Enter: the glorious world that is Amazon. Here is what I ended up with:
WooHoo!!! How’s that for a care package?
I’ve had my eye on all three of these items and decided to go for it. I am planning on trying out the yoga dvd with my boyfriend Bob Harper tomorrow…because today is RUN DAY. Yay!
I’ve already searched through Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, but everything sounds SO. GOOD. that I don’t even know where to start! Which leads me to the question of the day…
For the people who have the book…What are your favorite recipes from Eat Drink and Be Vegan?
And now I’m off for a run on the Revolving Apparatus of Death since it is so cold out this morning. Want to know the high for today?
39.
Wahhhhhhh. Come back, sweet summer!
I know some of you tough it out and hit the pavement even in the midst of snow, but I guess I’m not THAT hardcore. Oh well, at least I’ll be warm!
Everybody have a beuno weekend!
Kristi
Hello! Well again, I have not been able to blog as much I would like as of lately, but the good news is that I’m finally starting to get adjusted into my new schedule with school, work, etc…which means I should be able to handle to more blogging SOON! Yay! I’ve been working hard to keep my grades looking good and am getting the hang of my job at the bank. I’m thriving, people! :D
I have really missed all of you wonderful bloggers and definitely have not been getting a sufficient dose of bloggage, but I am quite positive that that is going to change pronto! But since I love you all so much, I wanted to find a way to make up for my absence…
Can somebody say GIVEAWAY?
That’s right everyone…the time has come for Sweet Cheek’s very first give away! And it’s a pretty dandy one, if I do say so myself.
I teamed up with the lovely people from Zevia to bring you guys a sweet deal, literally! And here’s the best part: not 1…not 2…not 3…(or four or five) but 6 people will be winners!! Do you love me or do you love me?
What is ZEVIA™?
ZEVIA™ with stevia is the first all natural zero calorie soda. It contains no artificial sugar substitutes - no aspartame (Nutrasweet®), no sucralose (Splenda®), and no saccharin (Sweet 'N Low®). ZEVIA™ contains only natural ingredients and comes in six all natural flavors: ZEVIA™ Natural Cola, ZEVIA™ Natural Ginger Root Beer, ZEVIA™ Natural Orange, ZEVIA™ Natural Twist (lemon-lime), ZEVIA™ Natual Black Cherry, and ZEVIA™ Natural Ginger Ale.
What makes ZEVIA™ the world's first all natural zero calorie soda?
The ingredients. ZEVIA™ contains none of the chemically processed artificial sugar substitutes found in diet sodas because it is sweetened with natural stevia. Diet sodas also contain artificial flavors and colors. ZEVIA™ does not. With great effort, expense, and painstaking care, Zevia LLC found the healthiest, all natural ingredients available. Many "natural" sodas contain sugar which means calories. Diet sodas are usually sweetened with processed artificial sweeteners which means chemicals. ZEVIA™ with stevia is the only truly all natural diet soda.
If you want to learn more about Zevia, you can visit their very own website by clicking HERE.
There will ONE grand prize winner that will receive their very own case of deliciousness. Then 5 runner ups will receive a very lovely 6 pack. Sound good? Thought so.
Now how do I enter this giveaway, you ask?
There are four ways to be entered:
1. leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite all- natural sweetener is.
2. for an additional entry, you can add me to your blog roll/follow me. Please leave a second comment saying you did so!
3. link back on your blog for entry number three.
4. tweet about the giveaway for another entry.
So hurry up and get your entries in…trust me, ya’ll want to try this stuff! The giveaway will end a week from today, on October 13th.
xoxo Kristi
Happy Tuesday!
Hope everybody’s week has gotten off to a good start. Mine has been great, seeing as I have Thursday and Friday off from school. LOVE short weeks! We are half way through the first trimester and are off for PT conferences. I still have to go to work of of course, but hey, I get to sleep in. I’m a happy camper. :)
This morning, I had a great breakfast to start my day off on the right foot. It featured a new almond butter that I am now officially OBSESSED with:
After seeing this on Jenna’s blog, I decided to pick it up last weekend at Green Acres Market. 5 dollar almond butter? I’m down.
When I got home, I immediately tried it out. I have to say…I was impressed! It has a wonderful, distinctive taste. I couldn’t figure out what it tasted like at first, but after giving it some thought, I decided that it tastes like cinnamon rolls. Um yeah, I am in love with it. End of story.
I made some overnight oats last night:
And this morning I added:
And for lunch, I quickly put together this plate:
With some veggies on the side to munch.
And my first Honey Crisp of the season!
I was starving by the time I got home from school, so I devoured this all within 5 minutes.
The lovely April from Foods of April brought up a great question that I wanted to address. She asked:
“What does your exercise
schedule look like? School
is making me kind of lazy.”
I have to admit that I definitely have NOT been working out as much as I had been in the Summer. During Summer it was easy to exercise…I had most of my days free to do whatever I wanted to do with them. Now, I am not really “free” until around 6 p.m., and that is assuming I don’t have any homework that night. And like I have mentioned before, a lot of times I am just plain tired and ready to relax when I get home.
So lately I have discovered the greatness of Mini Workouts. On a regular weekday, I have been doing 10-20 minutes of some type of exercise in the morning, first thing when I wake up. Lately I have been enjoying starting my morning off with yoga, in honor of National Yoga Month.
Then in the evening, right when I get home from work, I will do another form of exercise, such as walking my dog, 30 Day Shred, or just some simple strength training moves on my own.
While it doesn’t feel like I’m getting much exercise in, these mini workouts have actually really added up. Plus, I get those endorphins flowin’ TWICE a day instead of just one!
I save my runs for the weekends, which I take full advantage of. This has actually worked out nicely, because since I am not running every day, I have “fresh legs” for my weekend runs. This also helps to prevent burn out with running.
The important thing is to find what works for YOU and your schedule. I believe that fitting exercise into your days is very important, but stressing out about exactly how much you are working out is unnecessary. Do things that you like. I adore fall weather and it has been beautiful outside lately, so I have been looking forward to my walks with my dog Jaci in the evenings. Make it fun! You don’t have to run 5 miles a day to get a good workout in.
And with that, I need to get to work! Have a great day!
Kristi
Whats up bloggies?
Geeze, are we seriously another week down? I am still adjusting to my new (read: busy to the max) schedule and I obviously didn’t do very well with my blogging this week. I will bounce back though, don’t you worry!
Yesterday was the Komen Race for the Cure 5k. I admit that due to my exhaustion as of lately, I wasn’t able to properly train as much as I would have liked. I wasn’t feeling my best about doing this race. But I knew that no matter what, I wanted to participate in it, because it is such a great cause and I have been looking forward to it for a while now. So I set my alarm clock for a bright and early time, laid out my running gear, and hit the sack early.
I made an awesome new breakfast to eat in the car during the 1 hour drive to the race site:
I toasted two pieces of Ezekiel bread and topped it with a mixture of chia gel mixed with a tablespoon of naturally more, 1/2 banana, and cinnamon. It was great pre-race fuel, but I thought that the peanut butter flavor and creaminess got lost in the chia gel, so next time I will top my toast with the tbsp of plain peanut butter, then top that with a chia gel/smashed naner mixture. Mmmm.
Upon arriving, we saw TONS of people there:
And many sponsors handing out freebies (score!)
I hit up the Starbucks station:
Next up was the Fuze counter!
That morning I walked up to the race site feeling pretty nervous about the idea of running and knew that I didn’t feel good enough to race.
At first, I started to feel disappointed in myself, but then I decided to silence that negativity. This race was NOT about me. It was about thousands of people coming out to support an awesome cause and just have a good time together. I was not going to let any negative thinking ruin this.
I knew that there was a non-competitive 5k run/walk that followed the competitive run. Sooo…I made the quick decision to WALK the 5k with my mom. And you know what? It was great. It was a beautiful day, there were tons of great people to talk to, and lots of festivities. I enjoyed every second of it and did not feel one bit guilty about not running.
I am proud of myself for listening to my body and making the right decision. I know that I would not have felt good pushing myself and doing more than I could handle. I needed a break and that is exactly what I gave myself.
After we crossed the finish line, we walked around some more, listening to the live music and hitting up some more freebie stations. There wasn’t even an opportunity for me to feel bad about walking the race…I was too busy taking pictures with guys in weird costumes…;)
(Can somebody please tell me what these guys are supposed to be?!?!)
The day got even better when we went for lunch at a place that I have been wanting to check out for a while now…it is called Green Acres Market. Oh my goodness, it’s like a mini Whole Foods…only with cheaper prices! I was in pure foodie bliss. You all know how I complain about living in a small town with no good foodie options such as Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Well, you can imagine my excitement when I found this place! It even had a hot bar!!! I gladly devoured a box full of deliciousness.
So even though the day didn’t go exactly as I had planned, I completely enjoyed myself. I love running, but I don’t like doing it when I feel completely exhausted. So I will run when I feel good enough to, and on days that I don’t feel like doing it…I won’t. Lately I have realized the importance of listening to your body and giving it what it wants. Exercise should be fun, right?
Now I am going to take a complete recovery day. I am going to be lazy, relax, and watch trash t.v. :D Hope you all enjoy your day!
xoxo kristi
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