An Anti-Atrophy Agenda that is…(if you missed part one, or the OG dilemma, click away). Otherwise, I’ll just continue where I last left off…
2. As per several of your comments, I am going to be travelling outside my comfort zone and giving group classes a shot. Because I am a wuss, the only ones I have ever done are spinning [which I love(d)]. I don’t know how I fell off the wagon with those… Anyways, since I am working on diversifying my exercise, I think classes are the way to go. To start out, I’m going to set small goals for myself. Three classes in February. That’s all. Imposing a set number of classes may seem forced, but I know myself, and if I don’t quantify it or put it in writing, it won’t happen. I’m hoping this will break the ice and I will prove to myself that looking like a fool in front of others isn’t so scary after all.
Aside from spinning, I’d like to try yoga/pilates and some sort of kickboxing/cardio class (that doesn’t involve complicated steps or memorizing routines). I’m not a cheerleader or a dancer for several reasons, and my lack of coordination is only the tip of the iceberg. Want proof? After a few weeks of ballet when I was 5 years old, I was kicked out kindly shown the door. Apparently, the instructor couldn’t recognize my (very) raw talent at such a young age. HA! Oh well, what could be seen as a tragic loss to the ballet world turned into a gain for the soccer community ;)
Moving on. I finally learned how to “cast on” (and don’t worry about not-so-beautiful tan yarn, it’s just a practice skein). HAHA, I sound like such a grandma, I can only imagine the search prompts that I’m going to get now…oh well, at least I don’t live alone with 50 cats, right?
The rest of the day was fairly tradish.
Tazo chai tea with a dollop of coconut milk and agave syrup (instead of stevia) and a PINATA. Yup, I found a new kind of apple! This tasted like a cross between a pink lady and a gala. Me likey 🙂
The new caramel flavored Oikos greek yogurt tastes JUST like caramel. It’s insanely sweet (in a good way), although I can see how others may be turned off by it. The ratio of caramel to greek yog was maybe a touch heavy on the caramel end, but my sweet tooth was quite pleased with the proportion. Wow. I am going to be buying these again for sure.
I putzed the afternoon away, knitting, zoning out to the tv, smoothie slurping, etc. Who knows why I thought a frozen drink would be the smart move when it’s barely over 20 degrees, but it’s what my tummy wanted.
Are Larabars shrinking?
After the above Cinnamon Roll Larabar (which has a pretty legit resemblance to a cinnamon roll for being just nuts and dried fruit), I went to the gym and had a mini health assessment thingy (yes, that’s the official title) with a personal trainer. It was not an intended session, but it was free and I figured why not? If nothing else at least now I know where I’m starting from in my whole AAAA. I gotta be honest though, it’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot on a scale, and now I know why. Numbers play with your head. You can be a totally healthy secure person, and BAM!, tell me my weight and percentage body fat, and it’s like, suddenly I care. Anyways, that lasted all of 5 minutes, then I remembered that in my head I have the endurance of Lance Armstrong and that’s really all that matters. It’s my head, so don’t burst my bubble please.
Anyways, I was especially pleased that I wasn’t remotely sore after yesterday’s exercise-athon. Just goes to show you, muscle memory is the real deal (although stretching doesn’t hurt either)!
After a decent gym effort I came home and threw together a salad with the help of Gardein’s meat-free seasoned bites.
The stats can be seen here in detail, but note there are NO artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Similar to the last Gardein product I tried, this came in a bag and looked (I hate to say it) kinda vomy.
It’s never very settling to see something you are about to eat mashed up in a see-through plastic bag covered in a sketchy appearing marinade. Attention Gardein peeps – you may want to work on your packaging?! Still, I decided I would give it a shot…but unlike last time’s solo feature, this time I was giving it a go atop a salad.
In the salad: assorted spring lettuce, steamed broccoli, & red bell peppers.
And then…the newbie…Gardein seasoned bites!!
PROS: I said it before, I’ll say it again, these products are easy peasy. The ingredients are decent and free of shady crap, although they are fairly long (something I try to avoid in my food).
CONS: What the eff does “seasoned bites” even mean? It seems a fairly vague name…and upon closer examination, the marinade has a smorgasbord of herbs, which makes me wonder if the hyper-spicing was the result of the company’s indecision or if the non-meat is just way bland without it. Similar to the other Gardein product I tried, I had a bit of an issue with the consistency of the bites. Again, they were too mushy and didn’t resemble any food I have ever had before.
The bottom line, though, is that for a ready-made vegan dish, this is pretty much the cream of the crop. And I do think it’s a great alternative to meat and perfect for someone trying to start a veg lifestyle. Personally, though, I don’t think I will be buying many more of Gardein’s products. They are $$$ and I prefer less packaging and fewer ingredients.
I still have half the package left, so expect to see them again…most likely in a salad where the odd texture can be easily masked with the fresh crunch of veggies.
Can’t get enough of these smoothies!
Can’t wait to try caramel yog!!
Thanks for the review! I’m always on the lookout for easy vegan products. I’ve noticed the Laras differ in size for the different flavors…maybe they try to make them all about the same number of calories, hence smaller size for denser bars?
Yay for casting on…. that’s always the hardest part for me! Congrats!
Endurance is gold. Body-weight and body-fat %’s are ridiculous ways of judging anyones fitness. If you feel good, that is all that is important. I’m sure i have put on 10 pounds or so in the past few years but i feel like it is muscle and thats all i care about! My body-fat was tested a couple weeks ago at work and it was 6% higher than it was four years ago, yet i feel like my endurance has increased full fold and i feel better and healthier than ever before! Keep away from trainers who worry about numbers 😉 P.S. That is pretty sweet that you are planning on running a half again, i bet you’ll kill it with all of your cross-training! Expect an email first thing tomorrow!
yes lara’s are shrinking!
and if you need you advice, holla! also i posted a huge yoga faq, i.e. what to do if i am a total beginner and lack confidence, lack funds, lack this or that. I answered those
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/01/yoga-faqs.html
sorry to link drop but girl, you need to get your yoga on, let me help you 🙂
TEACH ME TO KNIT!
Good work on the knitting and classes plan! 🙂 I try to attend yoga once a week and LOVE it.
Numbers are evil. I stepped on the scale a couple of months ago and the number is still haunting me, d*mn it! Maybe I should try telling myself I have the endurance of Lance Armstrong… or the flexibility of B.Y.S. Iyengar…
Soooo what are they trying to “mock” with those “bites”?? Chicken?? Yes, let’s define what a ‘bite’ is…!!! I’ll have to look out for these next…
Rock on with your endurance. And screw the numbers game…you’re an ATHLETE!!! 🙂
I really really really want to love Gardein goods, but I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed any of the products I’ve bought. Then again, I ate a lot of Gardein at VegNews, and it was amazing. I dunno what’s up! I still have a stuffed “chicken” breast to eat…and I don’t want to. That’s saying something.
P.S. I’ve been telling people that I’m moving to Brooklyn with Muffin. Hmmm…. 😀
Oh, keep us updated on the classes! I was always WAY too shy to do group stuff, and only went to my first adult dance class to keep an equally scared friend company. I soon realised that everyone is too wrapped up in themselves to care what others are doing. Though I may have drawn a wee bit of attention to myself by tripping over my own feet and falling on top of someone in my first class. Which is why I do hip-hop and not ballet. The whole “being graceful” thing…hehe. So not me.
Whenevr a food is called “bites” it makes me think of someone biting off pieces into the right size and packaging it. Just me? K. Lol. They sound interesting- I am pretty happy just buying stuff like tofu/seitan/quorn/beans and adding a sauce or something, though I can definitely see the appeal. I like Amy’s products best- wish they did more meal components instead of all “meals”.
LOVE YOUR SCALE COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think the Larabars are shrinking too! General Mills whyyyyy???
haha thanks for the honest review! Doonnn’t think i’ll be trying those “bites” anytime soon 😀 OMG ps i dl’ed that mix that your friend did, it is soooo awesome ha i was rockin ouutttt at the gym, love it!!!!
Larabars always have a weird way of tasting almost exactly like what they’re trying to emulate. It’s like magic, almost.
Fellow granny here! Hurrah for knitting! 🙂
Also, thats majorly lame about them kicking you out of ballet class at 5, way to potentially ruin kids dreams.
I’m excited to hear your experiences with classes as I too have never done any kind of classes (well other than ballet, but have been doing that for basically my whole life so I don’t think it really counts) and I too am a bit of a wimp when it comes to possibly making a fool of myself in public.
-K
Lululemon gives free yoga classes each week, either saturday or sunday depedning on which location. The one on 14th street has been giving pilates the last 2 sundays.. alll for free.. its great too…
enjoy!
i NEED to get xanthum gum. where did you get yours? order online? i don’t feeeeel like paying shipping and yes that way me whining. did you get guar gum too? i’m mad i wish i had a smoothie for lunch. i’m having one tomorrow that’s that.
shut up julie
pink ladies and galas are my two favorite apples. together? ugh i want.
Your smoothies always looks so good! Really thick, sort of ice creamish. They make me want smoothies except mine never seem to get that texture.
Those Gardein products do look a bit barfish.. but they look a bit better after you cook them.. The pre-cooked state is almost enough to turn one away though. xD
I am the same way–there are 6 inches of snow on the ground today, and I’ve already had a big smoothie. Hey, eat what you crave, I say 🙂
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At least someone agrees with me that Pinatas taste like Galas… and yes, Larabars are getting smaller. >:O
<3 <3
You knit too!?! I’m currently working on my purling skills…I love knitting, such wonderful stress relief!
And good for you not letting the numbers mess with your head. You are so right though, it’s like I’m going along my healthy way, and then “boom” you hear a number and it suddenly matters? Definitely should not be that way.
I knit, too. I highly recommend the Stitch ‘N Bitch book. She has great visuals, and it’s funny and will make you feel like less of a grandma. 😉
Yours is the second blog I’ve seen mention Gardein in the past couple of weeks. I don’t think they sell it around here (in the land of no vegetarians).
Larabars ARE shrinking– what’s this world coming to!
The thing I like about Gardein is that it is earth friendly. However, the taste is just, well, I would rather just season things myself. That is half the fun of cooking. I think Lightlife really has them beat on the “meat” front.
Thanks for including a picture of Stemilt’s apple variety, Pinata! We are thrilled that you enjoyed the unique flavors of this apple. As the growers of Pinata, we enjoy hearing about what consumers like you think! Also, we wanted to let you know that Pinata is a combination of Golden Delicious, Cox’s Orange Pippin and the Duchess of Oldenburg varieties. The latter two are heirloom varieties from Europe and give the apple that unique blend of flavors!
i’m always amazed by the people in step classes. how do they not get confused?! i would fall down just setting up my step station.
i tried a gardein product a while back, and while i thought they tasted fine, the texture got me too. it’s chewy but also kind of elasticky. they are, though, a really good alternative for a quick din.
I agree…although it’s been ages since I actually had LightLife, they were my first intro to vegan products and the texture was way more recognizable.
exactly! (about both statements)
you must must must try these babies…i got them at WFs (obvi) 0 i rarely shop anywhere else now…its an addiction 😛
i love it! its a great analogy for life, mistakes happen, dont get bent out of shape, move on, and it will all be a distant memory…
thanks for the tip…youtube has some good videos too for when the books really confuse me 🙂
you arent missing too much with the gardein, so dont sweat it…
thanks for the info!!! i loooooooove apples, and im always super excited to find a new kind. pinatas are now in second place (only behind galas).
i hope they stay stocked in stores!
thats the xanthan gum! makes smoothies exponentially better. delish!
whattttttttttttt!?!? how did i not know this…of course, that would most likely lead to massive $$$ spent on their clothes…brilliant marketing on their part.
yes!! thanks for making me feel like less of a loner…or, at least sharing in my 80 year old behavior??
i bet everyone feels odd at classes and we are all just faking it.
magic. yes. it is!
amazing right?
yeah…someone needs to complain (with a louder voice than hungry hungry hippie that is…). c’mon larabars, grow a pair!
well, i think its safe to say i can never again try “bites” again without feeling like a bird getting pre-chewed bites from my mama bird…haha
if you cant learn from reading, i suggest youtube. its been a process, but im stoked to finally be getting it down.
hmmmmmmm indeed. how about san francisco with moi instead? ok ok muffin can come too 🙂
go YOU!!!! see, now this is the kind of motivation im talking about…once a week is a bit too much for me now…but maybe one day…
good question. the fact that neither of us knows the answer isnt a good sign though….
dude i need you to personally come be my yogi guru teacher lady friend
your email was intense! im STILL processing it all…LOVED it 🙂
i bet youre right..hey hey smartie pants!!
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