Our First Wedding Gift

AHHHHH! I love our wedding presents SO MUCH. I am seriously going crazy over them. I am also SO HAPPY my mom let me take them home before the wedding, and that I get to write this post!

So, lets start from the beginning. My grandpa was an artist and a potter. When I was little, he had a shed in his backyard with a potter's wheel that was bigger than I was with a kick petal. My cousins and I would take turns sitting on the wheel and being spun around and using all of our strength to push the kick petal down.

When my grandparents asked my mom what she wanted for a wedding present, all she wanted was a set of pottery from Dave Stuart, a family friend and professional potter. All of my aunts and uncles on my mom's side actually ended up wanting the same thing, and my grandparents commissioned four dinner sets from him.

Anyway, that just introduces you to my family's love affair with pottery.

So, with my and Ben's impending wedding, of course the question of what we wanted from my parents for our present was a question. I hadn't really thought about it yet (focusing on graduating) but my mom was all over it. A few weeks ago she asked me if I would want pottery to keep the family tradition alive (I am the first grandchild to get married, so I'm kind of the ground breaker). I was all over it. I was so excited and we started looking into potters and finding out how much they charger (Dave Stuart is no longer in the business). We contacted a potter friend of my grandparents and parents who lives down in Spring City, but he let my parents know that he didn't do commission (it is actually very rare to find a potter who does, there is just too much that can go wrong with the client's expectations and the risks in glazing, firing, etc.) but that we could come look at his pieces. He also let us know the prices. He charges about $65/plate, $35/bowl.

Ben's signature

This was out of my parents price range since they were hoping on spending around $350 and wanted to not only get a place setting for four but some serving dishes as well. I was pretty disappointed because I had my heart set on hand made pottery and carrying on the giving tradition. But, I wanted to find something that they could afford and I would like, so I started looking at machine made dish sets from places like Pottery Barn or even Target. I wasn't finding much I liked, when all of a sudden my mom had an awesome idea. She has been reading books by a local potter, Ben Behunin and already wanted to visit his shop in Salt Lake. She visited his shop, Wild Rooster Artworks, this week and knew I would love his stuff. So, today, Ben, my mom, my dad, and I went up to check out his pottery and get lunch at the Seabirds truck (read about that here).

I was immediately in love. I knew it was what I wanted, and his stuff was perfect! Plus, he was having a 10% off sale for Mother's day. What a better time to buy? My mom quickly called my grandparents and they said they were planning on sending my graduation and getting married check that week, so I got to spend a bit more money and get everything I wanted and more.

Now, to the pieces. Sorry about this insanely long post. You can tell I'm excited :) Not everything we got I have a picture of, we actually ordered two more plates in the colors I wanted because he didn't have them in the shop. So, only a couple actual dishes for now, but I have plenty of serving dishes!

Eating plate #1

Eating plate #2

Eating/serving bowl #1 (can go with eating plate #2, this bowl is about the size of a cereal bowl)

Eating/serving bowl #2 (this can go with one of the plates we ordered, cereal bowl-size) and serving bowl #1 (this bowl is 12" in diameter). Sorry they look the same size in this side-by-side pic

Serving bowl #2 (this bowl is about 11" in diameter)

Serving bowl #3 (this bowl is about 14 inches in diameter, and one of my favorites!)

The bottom of serving bowl #3

Deep pie dish or casserole dish (for those of you who don't know, stoneware is oven and dishwasher safe!)

My favorite pieces of them all, a serving platter and dipping bowl. Aren't they LOVELY?! The glaze pattern is called landscape. I love the little details of the handles and how the glaze above the mountains looks like a starry night sky. The little bowl didn't originally come with it, but I thought they looked great together.

Motivation

It's strange how I haven't struggled with motivation at all this week to eat right and work out. Probably because of these numbers hanging around my head... This is how many workouts I have until my wedding day! AHHH! It doesn't seem like so many when you lay it out like that... suddenly every workout is a last chance workout D:

49 workouts (at 5 days/wk)
20 workouts with my trainer (at 2 days/wk)

Raw Tomato Basil Bisque

This soup is the culprit of an entire day of pain and nausea. I hate you, soup. I think it is because of the 3/4 CUP OF OLIVE OIL PER SERVING! That's just nuts. What were you thinking, Ani Phyo? Anyway, Ben seemed to like it but he only had a few bites. So, if your stomach can handle oil, go for it. If not, do not make this soup. I'm not going to be making it again.

Raw Sun Burgers, Sun-Dried Tomato Catsup, and Hot Mustard Sauce

Last week, I tried Ani Phyo's Raw Sun Burgers, Sun-Dried Tomato Catsup, and Hot Mustard Sauce. They were just kind of meh. The burgers weren't really my thing, maybe dehydrating them would have helped? Idk. the catsup was pretty good, though a little sweet for my taste. The mustard was just plain gross. I don't think if there is a typo in the recipe or something, but it was SUPER watery (as you can see) and I only put 1/4 of the olive oil the recipe called for! Not going to be making these again.

Raw Noodly Pesto Salad

Experimenting with kelp noodles. Here we have a sort of 'salad' with noodles, basil and pine nut pesto, avocado, red onion, and cucumber. Pretty tasty!

Raw Diet Update

First off, thanks everyone for your advice a few days ago when I had my raw food disaster. I decided to return to about 60% raw and have been feeling just fine.

I also talked with Merilynn, Ben's mom who is a raw foodie, and had her analyze my diet. I told her what I had been eating, read her the ingredients to the recipes I had been making, etc. She was shocked by the large amounts of olive oil in Ani Phyo's recipes that I had been making, and determined that the culprit was a combination of way too much oil, too much raw garlic (just because it's hard to digest, especially with that much oil), and too many nuts.

So, I am 60% raw again but plan to go 100% tomorrow after I go food shopping today. I am going to take my focus off of nuts and oily raw recipes and eat mostly raw vegetables and fruits, which I should have been doing in the first place! Merilynn even sent me some of her own recipes so I can use those, and I am going to look through my other raw books to find recipes that I think will keep me feeling good :)

Seitan en Croûte

For our lovely Easter feast, we had seitan en  croûte as our main dish. It was Ben and my first time making it, and it turned out really well. One thing I love about this is that it makes a really visually appealing dish. It has that 'wow' factor that, honestly, a lot of vegan main dishes lack.

The taste wasn't bad either, I liked the puff pastry and the seitan had a good flavor. I thought it was a bit rubbery for my taste (I like my seitan a bit more substantial), but it was mostly to my liking. It was especially good with gravy on it! I think I will experiment with this recipe a bit more because I did love having it to slice up and serve to the fam :)

2 C Vital wheat gluten
1 C Whole wheat flour
1/4 C Nutritional yeast
1 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 C No-beef broth
1/2 C Olive oil
1/4 C Tamari
3 Tbs Tomato paste
1 Tbs Prepared stone ground mustard
2 tsp Liquid smoke
2 sheets Frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions (I used Pepperidge Farm's. Though it has hydrogenated oils and *gasp* HFCS, it was the only kind I could find.)

In a bowl, mix together gluten flour, wheat flour, nutritional yeast, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix together broth, oil, tamari, tomato paste, mustard, and liquid smoke. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead together until well incorporated. Let rest 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Form the mixture into a loaf (similar to a meatloaf shape) and place in the center of the baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Take one of the pastry sheets and cover the loaf entirely, tucking the edges underneath the loaf.
Slice the other sheet into 10 even strips for weaving. Weave the strips—on the diagonal—across the top of the loaf. Tuck the loose ends under the loaf. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with a little paprika and parsley.

Return the loaf to the oven and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is fluffy and golden brown.

Between the mashed potatoes and broccoli you can see half of a slice--such a nice red color!

Recipe thanks to:
Just the Food

Raw Food Disaster

Second day of raw is not going so well. I haven't 'cheated' on my diet, but I'm wondering if that isn't a good thing.

Let me give you some background. I always kind of get sick when I eat a nut-heavy meal or dessert. They just sit really heavy with me for some reason. But, I always figured my body just wasn't used to it and that if I did it full-time I would feel fine.

I have also tried to go raw once before. After a few days I just felt starved, sick, and under-nourished. So, I gave into my strongest temptations and ate a Daiya grilled cheese sandwich and immediately felt better. I was resolved that next time I would be more dedicated and not give into my temptations.

For the last couple weeks, I have been about 60% raw. I wanted to ease into it. Some of the things I ate didn't agree with me so I would make Ben finish them off (such a sweetie) and I would try something new the next day. I just figured I needed to find recipes that I liked since, honestly, not everyone can like everything. Last week I actually had a pretty disastrous day after I ate a raw tomato soup that sent me reeling and kept me bed-ridden for the rest of the day, downing tums and trying not to barf everywhere.

Here is where I get to my predicament: these last two days I have felt absolutely awful. Yesterday I blamed my flu-like symptoms in the morning on my workout, but I think part of it was the raw pudding I had for breakfast, because this morning I felt the same way (just a bit less severe) and I hadn't worked out yet. I didn't want to eat anything I could eat but would force myself to because I was so hungry and then would regret it. By the end of yesterday I was in bed feeling gross and starved, but managed to fall asleep.

This morning I woke up feeling decent (though sore), and had the pudding incident. YUCK. No good. I went for quite a while without eating because I just felt to damn gross, but then hunger pushed me to make a creamy portobello bisque. Bad, bad, bad idea. I had the same reaction as the tomato soup about a week ago. On the first bite I felt sick but forced myself to eat more and about ten bites in knew it was a bad idea. I put the soup in the fridge, but felt vomitus and have been battling a sort of indigestion/flu-thing ever since. I feel absolutely terrible and don't want to eat anything. Tums don't help and drinking water seems to make it worse.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Raw foods seem to not be good for me. I have no idea what is it, or if I am coming at raw food the wrong way? I'm not having cravings really, I just feel terrible. I feel under-nourished, constantly hungry, and often sick to my stomach. It's just so strange because normally I feel satisfied and well-nourished. I RARELY get sick from food and always thought I basically had a stomach of steel. Eating stuff that I didn't want to never bothers me and I can usually choke about anything down. Oh, also, I am suddenly breaking out like crazy. This is also extremely unusual for me as my skin is normally very clear.

Raw food people--HELP! What am I doing wrong? Should I give up raw food and say it's not for me? Should I just try to eat different things????

Easter Sunday

For Easter Sunday, Ben and I planned a big get-together with all of Ben's local family and all of my family. Though my parents had met Ben's mom and brother before, no one else had really met. I was really excited to get everyone together and wasn't disappointed. We had so much fun hanging out together!

As you can see from my plate above and below, our dinner wasn't half bad either. Actually, it was amazing.

Here is the buffet of food we had. From top right clock-wise, we have mashed potatoes (my mom), seitan en croute (Ben and I), steamed broccoli (my mom), gravy (Ben and I), coleslaw (Ben's mom), a fingerling potato and green bean salad (Ben's mom), and a veggie platter with hummus (my mom). We also had my parent's homegrown, home-pressed grape juice to drink. Oh, and a simply fabulous carrot cake made by Ben's mom and sister for dessert. No pictures there, it was far too delicious.

Here, you can see our lovely table. We have Ben, me, Josh (Ben's brother), Meaghan (Ben's sister), and Max (Meaghan's baby)...

Brad (Ben's mom's boyfriend), Merilynn (Ben's mom), Colin (Ben's sister's boyfriend), Emily (Ben's sister), Ryan (my brother), Rachel (my sister)...

And my mom and dad! My two little sisters were also present, but they were taking the pictures.

Exercise Goals: Week 17

Well, we didn't work out a single day last week. What can you ask for in the last week of school? BUT this week is the week!

Yesterday I started with my personal trainer. O-M-G. Fuhhh I am so out of shape. Not only did I think I was going to pass out/barf in the workout and could do the bare minimum, but I found out I am fatter than I thought. I hate to admit this, but I am 27% body fat. THAT IS ALMOST 30% PEOPLE. Ah, so embarrassing. I hate that it got that far... So I have more weight to lose than I realized--to the tune of like 20 lbs. So I have a lot of work to do, and A LOT of work to do before the wedding in July. I only have two months to get that smokin' body I want for my wedding, and I am going to have to work my ass off to get there.

Yesterday was also my first day all raw. I decided that the best way to meet my goals before the wedding is to force myself to eat a diet high in fruits and veggies and without processed grains. Whew. Yesterday was tough, but I know I am going to need a ton of mental stamina to keep this up for two months. But I make it sound bad, I actually love raw food. It's just hard when Ben is snacking on Easter leftovers and I am eating a salad. Awesome.

So, that's where we are. Ben has a few more days of hell finals, so he hasn't started on his goals yet. But when he does we will be sure to update you.

Meggie's goals for the week:
Live through my personal trainer's workouts
Workout at least 30 minutes 5 days this week (starting out slow)
Do something active on top of my workout (yoga at night, taking molly on a walk, etc) everyday
Eat only raw food

Exercise Goals: Week 16

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Ben and I made this soup last week when we were trying to get rid of all of our freezer-burned broccoli. It actually worked very well and the soup was super tasty. It sat a bit heavy for both of us, but we liked the taste a lot. I honestly don't think I will make it again just because it is basically plant milk, earth balance, and Daiya. BUT if you like that kind of thing this soup is for you! PLUS it is always fun to veganize childhood favorites.

3 1/2 C Broccoli, steamed or frozen
1 C Earth Balance
1 C Four
6 1/2 C Plant milk
2 2/3 C Shredded Daiya cheddar
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat and add the flour. Cook until the flour is a bit toasty, making a roux. Add the milk and whisk until mixed.

Add the broccoli and seasonings to taste. Cook on low, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Add the cheese just before serving, and mix so that it is evenly distributed.

Recipe thanks to:
My mom

Tofurky Pizza vs. Tofutti Pizza

As of last night Ben and I have decided on which frozen vegan pizza we like the best....

Tofurky??

Tofutti???

And the winner is....

TOFURKY!

I think that in every aspect the tofurky pizza is better than the tofutti. The crust, the sauce, the cheese, everything. Plus, tofurky has multiple flavors, and they are AWESOME.

Upcoming Trips

Ben and I love to travel, and we are so excited to finally have the time to do so. So far, we have three trips set in stone for this summer. I thought I would write a little post about it so you can all be jealous of our travels :)

Graduation Trip: Monument Valley
I am super excited for this trip. We have never done monument valley and I think it will be the perfect kick-off to our summer.

 

Mid-Summer Trip: Goblin Valley
We went here last year, but there are just so many good hikes and canyons nearby we HAVE to go again! Plus, they are always booked out so far in advance we had to get a camping spot asap if we were going to go at all. I booked our spot a few days ago and we had to book all the way into mid-June!

Don't be fooled--they are actually massive.

See?! Alright, I know those are children. But still, big right?

End of the Summer Trip: Seattle
Our yearly PAX trip. Nerdy, we know. But the food in Seattle is amazing.

Engagement Photos!

Engagement photos! Yayayayayayayayay! I love these photos SO much and they are all thanks to our fabulous photographer and good friend of Ben's, Leo Patrone. See more of his work here and blog here.

We actually took these photos back in February, but we just got the CD today. I am so excited! This means we can begin work on our announcements!

Exercise Goals: Week 16

This week wasn't the best. I just want school to end already so I can start focusing on myself and all the goals I have for this summer. I only have a few things left to do, but those things are just hanging over my head and I feel immobilized to start anything new. I know this is something I should get over, but since I only have a week or so of school left I feel like I can just wait it out.

This week, Ben and I only made it to the gym one time. We did a treadmill workout, and it was nice. Both Saturday and Sunday we were very active, though. On Saturday we went shopping all day and walked a lot (not a workout, I know, I know) and on Sunday Ben, Me, my parents, my two little sisters, and my cousin took Molly and my parent's dog on a walk around the lake by their house.

We will see what happens this week, the last week of school! Also, I decided to change the way I link to my goal history. It is just getting too long.

Exercise Goals: Week 15

Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York

Moosewood! Ithaca's famous restaurant. It's advertised everywhere and on the top ten to do in Ithaca—apparently they are super proud of it. I was excited to try it because it is a vegetarian restaurant and I was sure they would have a bunch of vegan options. I ended up being pretty disappointed, but it was probably the best food I ate the entire time I was in Ithaca so I was still just happy to be there.

I tried jumping on their website to look at the menu and see what I ate while I was there, but the menu had changed so I wasn't able to. SOOoooo you get my lovely descriptions instead of the actual names.

For my starter, I got the pita and dip thing. It was basically a couple of warmed whole wheat pita pieces and an avocado, cucumber, and kalamata olive mixture that you put on them. Pretty good to start off with. I was a little surprised, though, because they only had one vegan starter... hmmm.

My entree came with a salad and I got the hummus lemon dressing. I was actually very happy with the salad and the dressing. The dressing was basically liquidy hummus, and it worked well.

For my entree, I got a couscous dish with roasted vegetables. This was really the disappointing part. The couscous was just couscous, no seasoning, no mix-ins, no nothing. The vegetables were alright, but WAY over cooked and under seasoned. The highlight of the dish was supposed to be the artichoke hearts, but I found them overly acidic and didn't end up eating them. I stuck with the soggy green beans, mushy tomatoes, and less than crunchy bell peppers. The vegetable to cous cous ratio was also way off and the entree was WAY too big.

Honestly, this dish tasted like something I would have been served in a restaurant that had no idea what veganism was—the type of thing that they think up on the spot and don't know how to cook or season right. Very disappointing coming from an all-vegetarian restaurant. I was also pretty surprised that it was the only entree that could be veganized. COULD BE veganized, mind you, not even vegan! Most of their entrees centered around cheese, so I'm thinking this is the culprit of their subpar vegan food. All of my omni friends seemed to really enjoy their vegetarian meals, so I guess that is something.

For dessert, I got the vegan chocolate cake. At least they had a vegan dessert! This was probably the best part of my whole meal. The cake was rich and moist, and the frosting was perfect. Not too sugary so that you couldn't stomach it, but just lovely and smooth. I also loved the fresh strawberries.

In the end, I would give it a 3/5. I hate to give an all-vegetarian restaurant such a low rating, but that basically means "It wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't eat here again if I had another option." I was supremely disappointed by their lack of vegan options and the quality of the ones they did offer.

Viva Taqueria and Cantina in Ithaca, New York

One night for dinner in Ithaca we decided to go downtown and find a restaurant to eat. After about an hour of searching for somewhere that looked halfway decent, we decided on Viva Taqueria and Cantina, 'fresh, healthy Mexican food.' I figured if they advertised as healthy I could at least find some re-fried beans or something. Lucky, they actually had vegan options right on their menu!

I got the tofu burrito. The tofu had been marinated in a cumin tomato vinaigrette and then mixed with re-friend beans and rice inside of a tortilla. I got some kind of special sauce on top too, but I can't remember what it was... Anyway, on the side there was coleslaw (weird...) and some lime soaked veggies (called escabeche?) that I didn't eat and couldn't see why they were supposed to be appetizing. The coleslaw was good mixed in with the burrito filling, but seemed kind of strange in a Mexican restaurant (maybe I'm naive).

In the end I would give it a 3/5. Vegan options (basically the burrito minus cheese and sour cream plus tofu), but I was disappointed with the sides to my burrito and the fact that the guacamole wasn't vegan. The burrito also wasn't amazing.

Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso, on Nachos!

I'm sold on Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso. Nachos. Yum. I think that it pretty much is on the same level as my homemade nachos, but it is super nice to have it in a container that you don't have to do anything but heat up (lazy).

Basically I just warmed it up on the stove, poured it over some blue corn tortilla chips, and topped it with tomatoes, red onions, olives, peppers, beans, avocado.

Raw Breakfast Pudding and Granola

Ani Phyo's raw coconut pudding, Goraw live granola, sundried goji berries, sundried black mission figs.

Raw Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

I have made a few life changing discoveries in the last two days:

1. Ani's Raw Food Kitchen
2. Ani's raw marinara sauce from the above book (Food can taste this good?)
3. Sea Tangle Noodle Company's raw kelp noodles
4. That the above raw kelp noodles are 6 calories PER SERVING. That means 18 calories PER PACKAGE. That and they are packed with vitamins and minerals.
5. I can make raw garlic bread

Mind blowing awesomeness. I am completely captivated by raw spaghetti and garlic bread. I think it may become a daily staple. Seriously.

The raw spaghetti is easy. Basically just make Ani's blender marinara (it takes like five minutes) and then put it over rinsed kelp noodles from the package. Whoa. I know it doesn't look amazing (kind of like a cow patty), but it's just the combination of 1/2 C of basil and fresh tomatoes that make that lovely brown color.

The raw garlic bread is just as easy. Put the below 'spread' on some multigrain manna bread and you are set. It works amazingly for dipping in your spaghetti.

1-2 Tbs Cold pressed olive oil
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cloves Garlic, pressed
Pinch of sea salt
A few twists of a pepper mill

Veganized Homemade Cafe Rio Salad

For my little brother's birthday, he wanted to have my mom's homemade Cafe Rio salads for dinner. My mom has perfected the Cafe Rio rice, pulled pork, and tomatillo dressing—and is quite famous for it.

So, Ben and I decided to veganize the meal for ourselves and share it with those who were interested. My mom made sure the rice and beans and all the bases were veg-friendly, and Ben and I just brought our own 'meat' and a veganized version of the dressing. It turned out to be a great success and many people at the party opted for the vegan dressing over the traditional! Unfortunately we only brought enough 'meat' for ourselves and for people to have a taste, but everyone who had a taste was very impressed.

Vegan Cafe Rio Salad
Tortilla (optional)
Cilantro Rice (below)
Black beans or re-fried beans
Shredded lettuce
Gardein BBQ pulled shreds (these worked perfectly!)
Tomatillo Dressing (below)

Warm the rice, beans, and BBQ shreds. Assemble in order of the ingredients above.


Cilantro Rice
Cooked brown rice
Evaporated cane juice
Chopped onion
Chopped cilantro
Water

Mix all of the ingredients on a pot over the stove.  Cook until water is evaporated and onions are soft.


Tomatillo Dressing
1 C Unsweetened vegan milk
1 Tbs Apple cider vinegar
1/2 C Vegenaise
1/2 C Sour Supreme
1 clove Garlic
1 Tbs Lime juice
1/4 tsp Ground mustard
1/4 tsp Paprika
1 bunch Cilantro
Salsa verde, to taste (about 1/2 C)

Mix milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let sit five minutes. Blend all ingredients until pureed. Refrigerate for one day before serving.

Recipes thanks to:
My mom

Chayote with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Pepper

In last week's bountiful baskets Ben and I got three squash-shaped green things. I had never seen then before in my life, so my mom and I looked them up on the internet and found out they were chayotes. About a week later, I decided I should probably figure out something to do with them rather than just letting them rot in my fridge.

I googled chayote recipes and found something that looked pretty promising. Below is my modification of the (non vegan) recipe I found. Much to my surprise chayotes are very versatile and low in calories (nutritional information here)! they were also pretty tasty. I LOVED the addition of the fire roasted tomatoes to the below recipe, I think it really made the dish.

3 Chayotes
2 large 'Fire roasted' tomatoes (You can use a can of fire roasted tomatoes, or follow my directions below to roast your own)
1 clove Garlic
2 Tbs Canola oil
2 Tbs Onion, chopped
1/2 C Corn
1 large Anaheim pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
Pinch red chili pepper flakes, or more to taste
Salt to taste
Toppings (guacamole or Daiya)

To roast your tomatoes, core them and then put them in a pan. Turn your broiler on high and then place the tomatoes directly below it. Leave them under the broiler, flipping occasionally, until the tomatoes start to turn black.

Peel the chayotes completely. Cut the chayotes into french fry-like pieces, including the core (1/4" x 1/4" x the length of the chayote).

Purée the roasted tomatoes and the garlic in a blender, set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and green chilies, cook 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add the tomato mixture and red chili flakes. Cook 3 minutes.

Add the chayote, corn, and salt and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with guacamole or Daiya and serve.

Serves about 3 people.

Recipe thanks to:
Simply Recipes

Exercise Goals: Week 15

Ok, I may have jumped the gun a bit with the whole working out five days a week thing. I didn't take into account that Touchstones isn't finished yet and I had to look over proofs and organize the release party all last week. blah.

SO Ben and I only worked out twice, on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we went to the gym and it felt AWESOME. I did the treadmill intervals from my old personal trainer, and got a great workout. On Sunday, Ben and I designed a circuit workout we did at home! I was so proud of us. I even wrote it up so all you workouty people could try it!

Anyway, so we will see what happens this week. But as the semester gets closer and closer to ending, I get more and more excited about taking control of my body and reaching my goals! Yay!

Ben and My Journey:
Week 14
Week 13
Weeks 10, 11, and 12
Week 9
Week 8
Week 7
Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

Meggie and Ben's Circuit Workout

On Sundays around here, the gym is closed. Yesterday it was also snowing. However, instead of letting it stop our workout, Ben and I designed a circuit that we could do in the house! I decided to share it with you all so you could try it. It is actually pretty hard, and my abs and lats are feeling it today :D

This circuit is thirty minutes long. It consists of five workouts done three times for two minutes (making thirty minutes). Below are the warm up, workouts, and cool down that Ben and I did. We plugged in our time to this online timer, which makes awesome beeping noises and you can program in time between workouts to switch stations.


WARM UP
Walk up and down the stairs at a slow/medium pace for three minutes. Stretch for two minutes.

STATION 1: PUSH-UPS
Do as many push-ups as you can for two minutes.

STATION 2: BURPEES
Do as many burpees as you can in two minutes. For an extra burn, do a push-up once you are down (third position below).

STATION 3: ABS
Round 1: Do as many crunches as you can in two minutes
Round 2: Do as many crunches as you can for a minute and as many leg lifts as you can for a minute.
Round 3: Do as many leg lifts as you can in two minutes.

STATION 4: WALL SITS
Do a wall sit for as long as you can. Take a break, do it again until the time is up. OR if you are extra awesome, do it the whole time.

STATION 5: STAIR RUNNING
Run up and down your stairs! You don't have to have like a million, either. Ben and I only have sixteen and it works just fine.

COOLDOWN
Take your dog on a walk. Or just go on a walk. Whatever. Then stretch for like fifteen minutes.