New Season, New Start

Hi guys,

Guess what?

The sun came out today!

After several weeks of see-sawing temps and indecisive weather, it seems like Fall is finally here to stay. In honor of the fact, I picked up some new "never before used in my kitchen" produce at Trader Joe's.

Yellow Squash, a HUGE bag of Grapefruit and a Pomegranate

I also got this Autumn-appropriate centerpiece to brighten up our freshly cleaned dining room:

After getting out of bed at the usual hour, I shuffled to the kitchen to make some breakfast:

2 egg whites + 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with Earth Balance

Then the can of pumpkin came out to play:

(see what happened with that below)

I headed to the gym for spinning class and it did not disappoint. Last time I went, I almost fell off the bike I was so out of breath. While this time was certainly far from easy breezy, I felt a lot more capable than I did my first go 'round (hmmm, sounds familiar)...

As I breezed out of the gym in an unstoppable good mood (thank you, endorphins), I had a thought.

***There's no greater feeling of power and strength in the world than when you're treating your body right.

I'm not talking about striving for some impossible-to-attain retouched magazine figure (because those people usually aren't healthy anyway), I'm talking about getting to your body's version of "in shape."

Everybody's different! While some people are successful marathoners, others can't run a mile but will perform a non-stop yoga flow for 90 minutes in a 100+ degree room.

Whatever it is that makes YOU feel good- whether it's eating strictly vegan or running 3 miles everyday- learn to incorporate it into your routine.

By paying this extra attention to your body, be it through food, exercise or both, you're doing yourself a huge favor. Both in your day to day life now (non-stop, unwavering energy) and your future life (less risk for terribly prevalent modern diseases).

So as this new season gets into full swing, I challenge you to pay special attention to the one thing that no one can ever take away from you: your body.

Take a new exercise class you've never tried before; attempt to whip up a recipe you've always had your eye on; take a hike (and I mean that in the nicest way possible). Your first time will probably be a struggle- I can almost promise you- but with dedicated practice, you'll grow into it and weeks later: BAM! You'll feel like a million bucks and look back on the day you decided to try something out of your comfort zone and thank yourself.

Now's the time! Why wait?

After that long thought was had...

I ate the product of my earlier meeting with the canned pumpkin:

A Pumpkin Breakfast Cookie

It contained:

• 1 cup of raw rolled oats
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin
• a splash of almond milk
• 1 smashed banana
• 1 heaping tbs of almond butter
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a sprinkle of cinnamon
• strategically placed chocolate chips

When I got home, I got to cleaning (I have a newfound respect for housewives. I feel like there is always something to clean- ack!!)

Then I got to work in the kitchen attempting something I've never tried before: lentils.

Along with leftover sweet potato and butternut squash I needed to use up.

For the root veggies, I cut them into cubes, immersed them in olive oil, added some fresh thyme, cinnamon, pepper and pinch of sea salt, spread them out on a baking sheet and put them in oven:

The lentils were freaking me out for some reason. I'd read 3 different ways to prepare them but instead of letting that stop me, I figured I'd just GO FOR IT.

I boiled some water, added a peeled clove of garlic, then poured in the rinsed lentils.

20 minutes and 2 additional cups of water later (whoops), out they came.

Not too shabby.

In betwixt it all, I had a green juice

I know this looks like a totally random meal, but I keep reminding myself:

*I'm still learning*

I know it's going to take a whole lotta trial and error before I become a vegetarian version of Julia Child. Baby steps, kids ;)

Now I'm off to finish cleaning the kitchen (see? it never ends), make a huge salad and get to work!

See you tomorrow :)

Maddie