Day 1: Pumped and Ready to Go
And so begins the official 6 month countdown to my 25th birthday, although I have been on the bikini birthday regimen for almost a week now.
I started today off with this substantial bowl of cream of wheat to which I added canned pumpkin and peanut butter, drizzled on some honey, and sprinkled it all with cinnamon, cloves, and flax meal. For anyone who ever uses canned pumpkin you know that it comes in a huge can. I opened this can sometime last week and I’m still working through it. I’m likely going to be eating canned pumpkin for breakfast for the next several days. I don’t mind though. Generally I’ll eat it with either cream of wheat, oatmeal, or yoghurt in the same fashion as I did this morning. It’s delicious and I love the creamy texture! Also, it fits in with Canada’s Food Guide recommendation of one orange vegetable each day (which I can easily say I don’t normally get). In addition to a host of vitamins and minerals, pumpkin is loaded with beta carotene, an antioxidant that prevents cholesterol oxidation, and it is oxidized cholesterol that builds up in arteries. Beta carotene is also said to boost immunity, which I definitely need to prevent myself from catching Matt’s cold.
Lunch was a “green” smoothie with swiss chard, banana, lime juice, mint, and hemp seeds. Followed up by some prunes and almonds for an afternoon snack.
My car just couldn’t seem to drive me to the gym tonight. I couldn’t imagine running on a treadmill when it was finally sunny outside. I got in a half hour run in the -3deg temperature and felt great afterwards.
For dinner I had my go-to home alone meal since Matt was out tutoring. Poached Eggs. I tried to fancy it up a bit by serving them on a wilted spinach salad with homemade shallot & honey mustard dressing. Sounds impressive, n’est-ce pas?
Tonight, my friend Sarah and I are going to part one of a health and wellness speaker series at Refine Fitness in Old Walkerville. The lecture is called “How to lose 20lb in 12 weeks”. What a great way to kick off my bikini birthday!
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Hi Samantha,
Seems like you’re off to a great start for your bikini body regime!
I really enjoy adding canned pumpkin to my breakfast oatmeal too, but pureed kabocha squash is my absolute favourite – it yields the same creamy texture and adds in a hint of sweetness that just makes it totally addictive! Try it, you’ll probably like it!
Cheers,
Stephanie
Juicy Fresh Bites
Really like the idea for your blog! Good luck, I’m sure you can do it:) Hopefully you’ll find some good recipes on my blog as well….I admit not all are healthy, but I do make a conscious effort with most, and my rule is everything in moderation!
I’ve never had a smoothie w/swiss chard. How cool! I think I’ll steal that idea.
Mmmm…cream of wheat is so comforting! Have fun at your speaker– sounds very interesting!
Best of luck on your 6 mos challenge! Mindful eating and not eating peanut butter from the jar are MY goals too…how funny. And your dinner is my quintessential comfort-food meal when I feel like being vegetarian/not vegan/healthy. With all the similarities, I felt the need to comment.
PS- found your blog through crazysexylife. <3yoga.
@Jasmine: definitely try a swiss chard smoothie. It’s surprisingly subtle (not as hard to down as kale or collards, which I find have overpowering flavours). If you add the stalks it tastes a bit more earthy — kinda like beets.
@Kenzie: If we ever got together it would be a mindless peanut butter feast! haha!