Healthy Chicks

Happy Friday loves! Hope your weekend is off to a good start so far. Today I took myself on an amazing date to Whole Foods, where I stayed for a good portion of the afternoon. I had a lot of work to get done today, and most of it I could do without the internet, so I decided to unplug from my Mac for a solid 4+ hours. However, I did bring an old-fashioned notebook and my IIN iPod in order to catch up on my latest lectures for nutrition school.

I loved everything I learned about today, from the pros, cons, and logistics of soy products to lessons of healthy eating from cultures years ago, like eating REAL, RAW butter and cheese and consuming all natural meat and fish products (fat and all) for nutrient optimization.

It definitely helped that I was listening to my lectures while eating a delicious, wholesome meal from the Whole Foods’ salad bar. My plate included lentils, spicy chickpeas, raw pumpkin seeds, salmon salad, roasted mushrooms, quinoa and feta among some other samplers. I absolutely love the different variations you can make at Whole Foods, and if I could I would go there every day if the budget allowed. How cool would it be to have a buffet like that in your own apartment? Hey, a girl can dream…

Anyway, since today’s Friday, here’s what made the cut for this week’s Friday Favorites:

1. Kombucha Tea

I used to drink this stuff in college because it was “low calorie” and I was scared of calories/fat/carbs/everything at the time. I hated the taste back then, but would down it anyway. Now that I know of the extreme health benefits of Kombucha, such as better digestion and immune support, I’ve been trying to add it back into my diet lately. I enjoyed some today with lunch and found myself to have great energy and concentration, without an ounce of coffee all day! Even better, I actually really enjoy the flavor now and find it to be super refreshing. I decided to go with one of GT’s newer flavors: Botanic No. 3 with hints of lavender and elderberry.

2. Sweating it Out

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I have to admit; I’ve been totally slacking when it comes to cardio lately. My busy schedule mixed with core fusion classes mixed with walking all around the city has prompted me to put cardio on the back burner. However, yesterday night after an extremely stressful day I decided to go for a good, old-fashioned run on the treadmill. Who knew how exhilarating  just 30 minutes of sweating could be?  I loved the the energy burst I got, the clarity I found, and how amazing it made me feel over all. I’m definitely going to be incorporating some more cardio into my daily lifestyle again. Not too much, but enough. It’s just  running & I work very well together. I’m also thinking about registering for another half marathon coming up if my iffy knees allow for it. I will certainly keep you posted!

3. Love Letters

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The whole Valentine’s Day thing got me thinking about love letters, and how you simply don’t see enough of ’em this day and age. As I expressed on my blog before, words mean more to me than any gift could ever mean and the card The Boy made me for Valentine’s Day was my favorite part. If I got a love letter sent to me every day, I would be the happiest girl on earth. OK, maybe not every day but you know what I mean. And it doesn’t even have to be from your significant other. It could be a love letter to your best friend, a love letter to yourself, or a handwritten “I love You” note on a napkin for your roommate who’s having a bad week at work. I wrote one for The Boy yesterday ’cause he’s been having a tough week, and it made me feel good knowing it’d make him feel good. Go ahead, write it out. It feels pretty good, now doesn’t it?

Xoxo,