What a bust!
My homemade soy milk, that is.
But first let’s get to my fun trip to the gym, shall we?
The Workout
- 40 mins. Elliptical
- Incline 10-12, resistance 8-10
- Max Heart rate: 171 bpm
- Avg heart rate: 155 bpm
- Feel the burn: 355 kcals
You know what’s funny? Since I started working out again over the past week, I have noticed that my heart rate isn’t as high as when I first got back into it! It is crazy how the body adapts so quickly!!
In my first few workouts my heart rate reached 176-178 bpm…and today no matter how fast I went on the elliptical I could barely, barely hit 170 bpm. I guess this means that my body is bouncing back pretty quick. :D
Does anyone else wear a heart rate monitor? Have you noticed any changes in your heart rate over time?
Homemade Soy Milk:
I was in the bulk foods store yesterday and I passed a product called ‘Soy Milk Powder’…I looked closer and it had a recipe for making homemade soy milk:
1 Cup soy milk powder + 4 cups water
Sweet, I thought. I could make a whole litre of soy milk for about 25 cents!
So I threw in 1 cup of soy milk powder into the blender along with 4 cups of water.
No you aren’t seeing that wrong.
This is when I started to feel a little anxiety. Oh it will be great! I tried to convince myself, half smiling, half cringing.
After blending for a while (5 mins or so)…I got this…
It looked like soy milk.
And it tasted like a disgusting, powder-like SLOP! I almost gagged. Blech. I tried adding more water and that did nothing. The powder was there and there was no way of getting rid of it or the texture.
Ladies and Gents, that’s what we call FAIL.
Luckily the powder I bought was only 70 cents! lol.
I looked online, and apparently there are much more sophisticated ways of making homemade soy milk. But to be honest, it seems like a lot of work for something that runs about $2-3, doesn’t it? I think I will stick to buying it for now. I do want to try homemade Almond Milk though. :)
In other news…
I have been mulling over recipes and trying to write some news ones to test for the bakery. I am a bit discouraged because the black bean brownies I made were way too moist/dense and stuck to the bottom of the pan! Eric said they were amazing, so I am going to try to work on the recipe. The brownies included no flour, so I may try adding 1/2 cup and reducing the beans and honey. I may use half the honey and also add in half of Turbinado sugar to make them less dense. Usually, I am trying to make things MORE dense or moist, but this time it was too much! It is all trial and error when coming up with new recipes! I’m sure I will nail it sooner or later. ;)
I am also going to do some yoga over at Yogatoday.com. I have been feeling really stiff in my shoulders (I get this way from sitting at the computer too long) so some yoga will surely help me out! Does anyone know of any other FREE yoga sites besides yoga today that offer free videos?
Does anyone else have bad posture while at the computer?
I must say it is my WORST habit. I hunch over the computer and my back just aches. If anyone has any tips on breaking this habit I would be open to them! Maybe I should move my Ab ball in the office??? Anyone tried this? I seem to think I would be much too low at my desk…
Back to the drawing board! Have a GREAT night everyone! :)
Congratulations Angela on the new website!! it’s looking gooorgeous :) i need to do some reading now to catche up! wih u all the best sweetheart xoxox
I have pretty severe scoliosis, so I have bad posture no matter where I’m sitting unless I’m leaning against a backrest. It’s no good!
I have a suggestion for your brownies: you can buy (or make! http://www.soyfoodsillinois.uiuc.edu/soyflourpart3.pdf) soy and rice flour, if you’re looking for a healthier alternative. On the other hand, I’ve never had a brownie that was too moist, so if your only issue is getting it out of the pan, you should try lining the bottom of your pan with parchment paper (or tin foil, even). You could also try baking the brownies in a spring-form pan. Any of these options will make them wayyyyy easier to remove.
Good luck!
I was so excited about the title of your post, to bad it didn’t work out! Definitely have bad computer posture, I was very hunched over my laptop in the library until I read that sentence and now I am sitting up super strait. I blame the desks here, they are too low!
Homemade soy milk hahaha now that’s a strange one. I’m bummed that it didn’t work out though, that would have been too cool. I wonder if there a lot of people out there that actually drink the stuff…
I have the same darn hunch problem. Although I sat straight up as soon as I saw the word “posture”. And yet only seconds later I am back to hunch form again. Sigh.
There is a site called yoga today. I signed up on it a while back and get their schedule but have never actually used it.
I would definitely try decreasing the honey. It adds so much moisture. The brownies sound great though.
I can’t believe that i am actually admitting but I have a really really bad posture. People actually hit me one my shoulder blades to make them straight.
Have you tried Yogadownload.com It has many free 20 minute video sessions and for all levels
CONGRATULATIONS TO KRISTA!!
Oh yes, my posture is definitely compromised when I sit at the computer – ahhhh.
I second YogaDownload.com
Lots of 20 min. sessions are free, and the ones that are not are not that expensive (if you want to buy one during March, use the promo code CarrotsNCake [from the CarrotsNCake blog]–it’ll give you 50% off). You do have to create an account to get the free classes, but it’s worth it.
If you want a kick butt yoga workout, Sadie Nardini has some 30-minute free videos on youtube. I have links to them on the “Yoga” tab on my site. They’re pretty awesome and I end up sweating by the end.
I’m going to third yogadownload.com
I like the 20 minute ones, and the other longer ones aren’t even that expensive ( i want to say under 5.00)
aw too bad about the soymilk. i <3 soymilk and every time i go back to regular i miss it. too bad apparently we can’t absorb the calcium as well as reg milk, but i still drink it all the time!
Still impressive that you even tried homemade soy milk! At least now you know ;)
I’ve heard of those balance ball chairs on other blogs that are supposed to be good. I sometimes catch myself with horrible posture, too. Not good!
I love the new look! Your sight looks larger and seems easier to find things. Cool!
You can hit HR’s in the 170’s with the elliptical? That is one mean workout!
I have noticed a significant drop in my heart rate since I started using my HRM. Other things factor in as well, like if I am tired or how cold it is outside.. it’s interesting to see how different things affect it!
The other day I did a bit of an experiment at the gym to see how much my heart rate would drop when holding on to the side rails of the stepper and it dropped almost 10bpm! I knew it dropped but seeing it made all the difference to get those hands off the side rails! :)
Too bad about the soy milk! I have seen quite a few sites where people use a special machine for it. Anyhoo – as for yoga downloads, you can try yogadownload.com, but I find the easiest way is to use the iTunes store and visit the podcasts section. Then search for ‘yoga’ and you’ll find loads of different free podcasts for yoga.
Yeah, I have really been trying to work on my desk posture, since I’m at the comp all day. I actually ended up with a muscle spasm in my neck a few months back and it sent me into a couple sessions of physical therapy, it hurt so bad! Since then, I use a foot rest so my knees and ankles are aligned right. I also try to sit as straight as possible, with my shoulders down and back and my chin slightly tucked. This has helped! Some gentle stretches every 20 minutes or so are great too, though I rarely remember… :) Hope you don’t have ongoing pain!