Hey guys!
Well, my sugar free challenge lasted 18 days! lol. I can’t believe I went that long. I caved tonight and tried both a piece of my banana bread and black bean brownies. They were calling my name. Both of them only had natural sugar in them (honey and natural cane sugar) so it could have been worse I guess. :) At least I felt good about what I was eating- black beans and bananas!
The Banana bread needs tweaking (I’m a very picky Banana bread connoisseur!) and the black bean brownies were hands down the best brownies I have ever tasted!!! Oh my gosh. So good. They are a bit soft so I have to add a bit more flour and tone down the honey, but other than that they will be a huge hit I think.
Eric doesn’t even know there are beans in them….LOL!!! He HATES black beans. Oh my gosh I am so evil, aren’t I? *evil cackle* I won’t tell him if you don’t, mmm kay?
So what led me to cave and give into the goodies?
Well, dinner was late tonight- we didn’t get to sit down until 8:45pm! So we were starving. When I get really hungry like that I lose all consciousness when it comes to the kitchen. Well, not really, but my guard goes way down. Kind of like when I have alcohol! Watch out!
They were fabulous though and I don’t regret one bite! I am proud of how long I went. I am going to try to keep doing the sugar free challenge until Saturday when I have the dress fitting because the dress is still probably a bit tight. I’ll be on my best behaviour tomorrow and Friday and hope for the best!
Dinner:
Like I said, I was a HUNGRY ONE-EYED MONSTER tonight and wanted everything in the kitchen. I can’t remember the last time I felt that hungry! So naturally, a Tasting Plate was in store…a bit of everything…
Grilled Zucchini…
Avocado…
grilled tomatoes, Money’s veggie patty, 3 handfuls of spinach, and black beans leftover from the brownies (Yikes, Eric almost just read that!!!)
This dinner was delicious! I tried to put a bit of each food on each bite and the tastes were bursting out of my mouth! hehe. Who knew an all veggie dinner could bring so much joy?
Then I had an orange, a tiny piece of no oil banana bread, and a black bean brownie (ok ok 1 BIG brownie!).
Calling All Green Monster Lovers (GML):
I have been seriously excited by the huge response that my Green Monsters are getting the past few weeks! When I first posted about them I thought everyone was going to think I was weird and stop reading. But to my dismay, so many of you are rolling up your sleeves and jumping on the GREEN bandwagon and I think that is awesome stuff.
So I am doing a call for Green Monster posts! If you have posted about your green monster experience please send me the link to your green monster post either below or in an email. Once I get enough, I will be devoting a whole post (Page??) to everyone’s green monsters!
If you don’t have a blog, just send me a picture along with a short description. It’s all good. :)
Send me your posts and you will be included in this green movement!
New Workout Love:
I have a new workout love. I’m sorry elliptical, you have treated my joints and muscles with only the upmost respect and love, but my eyes have been wandering…
Only after just 25 minutes on the elliptical today…my heart strayed. With what you ask? Feast your eyes on this bad boy:
Moving stairs.
If you recall I am a huge fan of climbing stairs. In my old condo building I used to climb 25 flights of stairs each and every day. Stairs are a kick-butt workout (literally) and really tone the legs. So since I have been injury and pain free, I thought, why not! So off I went for an intense stair climb. It felt amazing!
get this- I stair climbed 1.25 miles! Yowza. I think it was level 10.
I will admit, the elliptical does get B-O-R-I-N-G. Especially today because there was no TV! *gasps* What’s a gal to do?
The stats:
- 25 mins elliptical + 12 mins stair master + 3 mins walking
- Max Heart rate: 172 bpm
- Avg heart rate: 154 bpm
- Feel the burn: 351 kcals
I can’t wait to use this machine again!
That Damn Car:
Unfortunately, Eric’s car is in the shop AGAIN (the gears were grinding again) so I will be without a car tomorrow unless I drive him to training in rush hour and then pick him up in rush hour (sounds real fun, I know!). So I will likely be doing my first treadmill workout in 8 weeks at the comfort of my own home!
I almost spit out my tea when I uploaded this picture! I just realized how insane you are going to think I am after seeing this picture. Yes, we had a burial service for the running beast when I got injured. I hope it still works tomorrow!
Note. I tend to be a bit sarcastic at times.
I will probably be doing some hill walking. It is what got me into such great shape before I started running last summer. Little known fact- my heart rate is often higher doing hill walking then it is when running! Crazy, eh?
Since today was a wash, tomorrow I need to bust it with Glo Bakery work. Friday is my spa appointment in the afternoon, so Friday is pretty much out and then Saturday we are modeling from 9-6pm! I need to make tomorrow VERY productive!
Hope everyone is enjoying their night! I’m off to watch ANTM at 11pm (gotta love time shifting!). Everyone has a guilty pleasure. Mine are black bean brownies, hiding veggies in Eric’s food, and ANTM. No biggie, right?
“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” ~ Lin Yutang
PS- Jenn from Eating Bender is having a lovely all natural giveaway!
Congrats on your sugar challenge! I’ve actually made the black bean brownies before and they are so awesome. I did 3 variations if you want ideas – http://www.thesaladgirl.com/2008/03/29/black-bean-brownies/
I love those moving stair machines – I don’t belong to a gym but that is the one thing that I miss.
I’ll send you my green monster link too :)
My sister is a picky water so I have to sneak things in when she is home. Good luck with the treadmill tomorrow!
Here’s the smoothie link! http://www.thesaladgirl.com/2009/01/28/green-monster-madness/
That stair machine is so cool!!! I wish I had one at my gym, I could do that forever. The elliptical bores me to tears!
You did such a great job with the sugar free challenge! Congrats!! Can’t wait to try and make the black bean brownies, all of your other recipes have been soo good!
Just a word of caution about the stairs…. I fell in LOVE with that exact machine a few months ago, and used it everyday for 10-20 mins. Unfortunately, after awhile it *really* does a number on your knees. My roommate’s coworker used to be a personal trainer, and he says part of the problem with the moving staircase is that it forces your body to perform an action it would never actually encounter in real life — because the stairs are falling away, you don’t exert any pressure to push yourself off and up to the next stair. The best way to combat potential knee problems is apparently to make sure your entire foot ends up on each stair (NOT using your calves only), which makes the whole thing a lot more challenging!! Anyway, just wanted to send that out there. As soon as I stopped using the stairs, my knees stopped bothering me. Sad but true :(
Oh, and another way to combat the “unnaturalness” of the stairs is to take them two at a time, which gives you the “push off” sensation.
Yeah for the green smoooothies!! here is one i did with recipes i found http://runtothefinish.blogspot.com/2009/03/green-smoothies.html
Ain’t nothing wrong having a taste test of your own healthy baking. I mean, you can’t very well decide if it’s a worthy product to sell if you don’t test it yourself, right? :)
I may have to test out the green smoothies at some point in time. Alas, the grocery store was devoid of good looking greens last time I was there, so I’ll have to wait until I pick some up.
Yummy dinner!
Here’s my monster!
http://lilveggiepatch.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/the-monster-in-me/
I’ve been so curious about black bean brownies… glad they tasted good!
I love that machine its my favorite it kicks my butt everytime!! I will definitly be sending you my green smoothie that I drink every morning since I started reading your blog!!
Here is my link:) Cant wait to see others! http://nhershoes.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-prep-day-her-first-green-monster.html
Here is my link:) So wonderful! I’m craving it some more!
http://peanutbutterandjuli.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/lean-green-pb-fighting-machine/
You did FAAAABULOUSLY, dear Angela!! :-)
Here is my link, I’m totally addicted!
http://thealmostcitygirl.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/popeye/
I’m totally intrigued by the black bean brownies. Are you perhaps going to post the recipe or hold back since its for your bakery?
That dinner looks amazing! I love all the colors, and can almost taste all the flavors swirling together.
Last night I made stir fry and decided to add some light dressing as seasoning. I used fat free wasabi vinaigrette, and it turned out great – thanks for the suggestion!
Here is the post about my first Green Monster:
http://innerwellness.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/green-monster-virgin/
And here is another green monster post, I added cocoa powder to it: (haha, very unappealing photo though, fyi)
http://innerwellness.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/a-chocolate-filled-saturday/
I can’t wait to see all your baked goods!
Here’s my first green smoothie: http://branappetit.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/missing-dinner-present-breakfast/
I’ve made one every day this week already!
I’ll try to remember to do a post on all the combo’s I’ve done so far :)
“Little known fact- my heart rate is often higher doing hill walking then it is when running! Crazy, eh?”
I’m thinking it might be because you use your tight muscles more or differently when you climb than when you do your good old jog. What do you think? :)