Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes

Ever since seeing porridge made with grains, I loved the quinoa porridge idea and ground quinoa. I used it this morning for blueberry pancakes. They were really good and filling!

BLUEBERRY QUINOA PANCAKES
 Mix together
1/2 c quinoa flour (cook quinoa for 5-7 min at 350 then make into flour in blender)
1 c oat flour
2 c almond milk or 1 c water and 1 c almond milk (unsweetened)
2 T flaxseed
2 T coconut (optional)

Mix it all together and cook on the skillet! YUM! = breakfast for 3 hungry mouths : )

It's been over a week now of calorie counting. I have been pretty hard core about it and I think it all depends where I am in my cycle.  At some point, I just want to hoard food, and I think that is coming up pretty soon. :) Even though I've been counting and trying to stay between 1500-1800, I don't feel like I'm losing any weight.  I can just tell that my mid section and inner thighs are feeling thick. I don't know what happened (other than pb chocolate chip cookies which I would love to eat right now)! I don't think I can manage going below 1500 on a day that I workout. I'm just too hungry.   I've been living on a fresh veggie salad with hummus and nutritional yeast and soon looking at it will probably make me want to puke, ha!

peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers with hummus and nutritional yeast

Things I've noticed
I've been alloting out my pb helping for the day in the morning so no scoops out of the jar!! 2 T a day and that is that.  I've probably been eating way more than that with random scoops out of the jar!

When you are making food for kids and finishing their food, that still counts!

I am obsessed with "Hemp Fudge" = TJS chocolate protein powder + chocolate amazing grass + water and peanut butter.

With the lack of running I have been doing more strength training. I feel like I haven't seen results yet. Going to keep working at it for now.

9 miles this week and spin

This week I ran only 9 miles total!  I didn't miss it one bit, I'm not going to lie.  Here's what my week looked like:

Monday - yoga
Tuesday - run 5 miles and abs/strength
Wednesday - swim 4000 yards and Jillian's ab workout
Thursday - spin class 14.6 miles - awesome, run 1.6 miles and strength
Friday - swim 3700 yards and Jillian's abs
Saturday - bike 21.1 at spin class (Awesome #2) and run 2.3 miles after
Sunday - off day

I went to another spin class today - it was an hour long and awesome. I was dripping sweat. I'm starting to actually really like it! The time flies by.  Today's instructor was a woman that I swim with. I didn't even know she taught spin and she was an insane instructor (in a good way).  I feel like I'm getting better at it for sure. The other class I was going to sucked!! (I realize that now).  I feel like I want to get my yoga or exercise class certification and teach classes.  I don't know what all that entails but I think it would be cool.

I had to send my last 6 weeks of training to my coach for marathon training. I'm kind of wondering why I am running a marathon this fall (or 2? what?) because I can tell I need to lay off the running. I am keeping my hand in it for whatever reason but it would be nice to drop it for a while. I'm going to continue to take it easy and pick it up mid June I think.  Here was my last 6 weeks of training, I didn't realize I was working so hard (for me!)

April 18- April 24
April 17 (local sprint triathlon- 1^st ever)
Monday (off) run 1 mile
Tuesday run  8 miles morning, 4 miles afternoon - speedwork
Wednesday  swim 4000 yards (masters team), run 2 miles easy
Thursday run 11 miles  - tempo included
Friday swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Sat – run 8 miles easy
Sun off

April 25-May 1
Mon swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Tues run 8.5 miles mini speedwork session
Wednesday swim 1000 run 6 miles easy
Thurs run 8.5 miles small tempo run
Friday swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Saturday run 2 miles
Sunday Broad Street Run 10 miles 
1:20:00– not what I was hoping for – got all hyped up and got stomach issues

May 2- May 8
Monday Run 2 miles
Tuesday Run 7 miles
Wednesday run 5 miles swim 3500 yards, abs and strength
Thursday run 9 miles
Friday swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Saturday run 10 miles long run

May 9 – May 15
Monday swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Tuesday run 7 and 3.5  - easy  - morning and afternoon
Wednesday run 4, bike 12.5 (spin class)
Thursday run 10 easy
Friday Swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Saturday – 10k race (48:xx happy with my time, not PR) and easy 2 miles

May 16- May 22
Monday swim 4000 yards, abs and strength
Tuesday run 8 miles  easy with mini speedwork
Wednesday  run 3 miles easy bike 10.8 miles, abs and strength
Thursday run 9 miles
Friday swim 4000 yards
Saturday bike 14.6 miles run ½ mile
Sunday 13.1 race (1:54:xx) Sucked – weak legs -bad idea to bike the day before)

May is mental health month! GNC $100 giftcard Giveaway

In the month of May, I’ve definitely started to think about hormones and the role they play in everyday life! After quitting nursing rather abruptly with Kara after she lost interest and I stopped finding the time to pump, I definitely suffered a hormonal crash.  Taking advice from readers, I started making more effort to eat my flaxseed and also ordered GNC’s OMEGA WOMAN.

Serving Size   2 Soft Gels Servings Per Container  60 Amount Per Serving % DV Calories    9.00     Calories from Fat    9.00     Total Fat    1.00 g   2%  Saturated Fat    0.00 g   0%  Trans Fat    0.00 g     Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol)    15.00 IU   50%  EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid)    33.00 mg   **  DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid)    22.00 mg   **  Other Omega-3s    7.00 mg   **  Evening Primrose Oil    800.00 mg   **  Gamma Linoleic Acid (Omega-6)    76.00 mg   **  Oleic Acid (omega-9)    50.00 mg   **   ** Daily Value (DV) not established

Other Ingredients:  Evening Primrose Oil, purified deep sea fish oil (from anchovies and sardines), soft gel capsule (gelatin, water, glycerin, natural lemon oil), Natural Lemon Oil, d-alpha tocopherol, Rosemary Extract No gluten, milk derivatives, or artificial colors or flavors. Storage Instructions:  Store in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight/


I haven't started using this yet but I will let you know what I think!

I picked this with the gift card that I received for reviewing the Phenom recovery drink.  In my diet, I eat flaxseed which is rich in Omega-3. Other than that, I have had salmon now twice in my life and before that have not had fish in 19 years!  I wanted to do some research on the omega vitamins and their benefits. Below is what I found.

The University of Maryland did a study and found that omegas are good for various things, including depression, menstrual pain and breast and prostate cancers.

Fish, plant, and nut oils are the primary dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found in cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel, halibut, sardines, tuna, and herring. ALA is found in flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, soybeans, soybean oil, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, purslane, perilla seed oil, walnuts, and walnut oil. Other sources of omega-3 fatty acids include sea life such as krill and algae. 

Here is an article with 11 benefits of omegas for women.

Web MD reports:
The benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease.

Also it is careful to note that you can overdose on fish oils and doing so can increase your risk of bleeding or bruising. It is recommended you take the supplements after talk to a doctor first.  (web MD) 

Some recipes rich in omegas!

GNC $100 GIVEAWAY
Would you like to win a $100 to GNC to buy some omegas for yourself?
(or other products of your choice)

GNC has graciously offered a $100 giftcard to a random reader. Here are the rules below:

You must:
1) Become a fan of the GNC facebook page AND
2) follow the GNC twitter accounts @GNCLiveWell  and @JeffHennion.
3) Answer the question: Do you take OMEGA supplements? What kind of foods do you eat that are rich in omegas?

Leave a comment below that you have done so.
(ALL 3 are MANDATORY, please leave one comment)