Lauren the Runner

One week ago, I started typing up a note on my iPod as I lay in bed. The note was intended to be an upcoming blog post, admitting my failure to uphold my New Year's resolution to exercise two and a half hours a week.

The post was going to ramble on about how I hate exercise. And how my "program" was flawed. And how I had no chance of staying committed to such a flawed program. I was ready to swear against ever exercising again.

But since then, something has drastically changed. The change was a result of three factors:

• I started reading "Whitewash" by Joseph Keon, which mentions lack of physical activity as a cause of osteoporosis
• I noticed since I resumed my sloth lifestyle that I was feeling lethargic and having trouble sleeping.
• I was incredibly bored over the weekend and spent hours and hours just sitting around, being bored, and doing nothing.

Thus, on Sunday I got dressed in my workout clothes for the first time in weeks, and I drove to the wellness center. Where I ran two miles. Yes, two miles. At once. Which I've actually never done before.

Fast forward to Tuesday. I finished eating supper, and my legs got all twitchy. They wanted to run. I, Lazy Lauren, actually had a strong, burning desire to run. I knew I had to act before the temptation passed, so I hurried to the wellness center....and ran another two miles. For the second time in my life. This time was more difficult than the first time, but whenever I wanted to stop, I said to myself, "You spend too much money on high-quality food to not put every effort into total wellness. You deserve this. You deserve to be healthy." And I finished with a smile.

Today, I wasn't planning on going. I wasn't completely in the mood, and I thought I would rather go tomorrow night, on Friday. But I finished dinner, and my legs got all twitchy again...

So I returned to the wellness center for the third time this week. I wasn't really feeling a long-distance run (aka two miles), so instead, I ran one mile, but I pushed myself by picking up my speed and taking longer strides.

I don't know where this is coming from...but I hope it lasts! Even though my one mile today does not satisfy the recommended half hour of exercise a day, I do not care. That mile was a heck of a lot more physical activity than sitting at home, working on lesson plans. That mile took way more effort than any of the half-hearted exercise I did back in January when I was just trying to tally up the minutes for my two and a half hours. I'm going to stop worrying about time and numbers, and just focus on movement. If my body is feeling good, I'm able to sleep well at night, my stress is low, and my attitude is high, then that's good enough for me. :)

Motivation and Anxiety

Today, I attended my very first yoga class. Our wellness center offers all classes for free on the first week of every semester, so I knew I had to take advantage of this. I've always wanted to attend a yoga class (it's on my bucket list!), but I always used the cost as an excuse to avoid the anxiety of trying something totally new. This time, I had no excuse. It was just me and my anxiety.

For the past several weeks, I had been saying I was going to go to as many classes as I could this week to try everything out. Now that the week is here, I've been piling up excuses left and right.

But I'm done with that. I hate that quality in me. I need to be brave, flexible, adaptive, and fearless. If I ended this week without going to one single yoga class, I would never have forgiven myself. So I kicked my butt all the way to the wellness center this morning and just did it.

So I guess you could say I'm really proud of myself. :) Several times throughout the class, I would smile and think to myself how ridiculous it was that I was afraid of ever being there. Even if I went by myself and knew nobody, it didn't matter. Yoga is a personal, reflective thing. You never really have to feel self-conscious about not knowing what you're doing because it's such an intricate and self-centered form of exercise that nobody has time to see what you're doing. They're too busy perfecting their own positions, focusing on their own breathing, or meditating in their own minds. They don't give a crap if your knee isn't perfectly above your ankle.

I've been dealing with motivation a lot since the end of the Semester from Hell. And I don't mean motivation like, "Get off the couch and do something productive!" I mean it in a bigger sense, like "Figure out what you want in life, and work toward it. Don't let fear stop you."

I'm getting tired of the bitterness and jealousy I experience when I witness other people's awesome lives on Facebook. I have friends/acquaintances studying abroad, getting internships in California, finding careers in Florida, and going on vacation in Colorado, the Caribbean, or New York City. I'm tired of it because I know that I could have those things, too...if I just stopped doubting myself and letting my anxiety win.

I really hate running. But I tell myself, "If Micaela can run a marathon, I can most certainly run a mile."

I freak out on the first day of big life changes. But I tell myself, "If Katie can move to Nashville for an internship, I can most certainly attend a middle school within walking distance of my apartment, find the classroom I've already observed, and become better acquainted with a teacher I've already met."

The point is, I'm graduating this spring, and I know what I want--to move out of South Dakota. Preferably, to move out of the Midwest completely. And--just like with the yoga class--it sounds so fine and dandy when it's far in the future, but I know when the time comes, the anxiety will creep up on me. And I'll stick around, find a school nearby, and plant myself there for life. Then I'll watch other people's lives and be miserable that I was too scared to make my own dreams a reality.

Well, I don't want that to happen, so I need to practice getting out of my comfort zone and kicking Mr. Anxiety in the face. I found a great opportunity to get into an incredible teaching program in Boston (yes, Boston!). I'm going to pursue it. And I'll probably have a lot of anxiety about it, but that won't stop me.

Maybe this time next year, people will be bitter and jealous of my Facebook photos...

Resolutions and Tostadas

I was never one to make resolutions. Or, I should say, I was never one to follow through on them.

That changed last year when I decided to take on flexitarianism. I guess you could say it was a pretty successful resolution, considering I converted to vegetarianism at the end of August. I proved to myself that I can follow through on resolutions, as long as it's something that's attainable, something I value, and specific. For example, it's way easier to hold myself accountable to "Drink 5 glasses of water a day" than "Drink more water." The specificity of "I can't consume meat more than one meal a day" forced me to always challenge myself far more than "Eat less meat" would have.

Anyway...I've been considering these resolutions for months. I'm a planner like that. Naturally, I've considered a lot of food-related ones, such as "Lighten up on the peanut butter, you psycho," or "No non-organic soy." But ultimately, I decided to avoid those. As a perfectionist, putting myself under that kind of pressure can be a little problematic. Plus, my quest for good nutrition is a step-by-step journey. I don't believe I need any monumental "resolutions" to make them happen.

So without further ado, I present my resolutions for 2012: 

1. Exercise for 2.5 hours a week. It doesn't have to be intense, but it has to get my heart thumping! I'm not trying to burn calories or train for a marathon; I'm simply hoping to keep my heart and lungs healthy and vivacious!

2. Floss at least every other day. My dentist loves my teeth. Like, he loves them. Sometimes, I feel like he wants to turn my mouth into an art exhibit. He's always saying things like, "Beauuuutiful teeth.... Wow.... You have such excellent home-care... Beautiful.... Perfect...." I take great pride in my dental hygiene, to the point where I actually brush my teeth around four times a day. Yet I don't floss. That needs to change. I would commit to "Floss daily," but then I would give up if I accidentally missed a day. This way, I have wiggle room for mistakes.

I wanted to make more; I'm just full of ideas for self-improvement! But I knew I had to narrow them down and prioritize. These two alone will challenge me sufficiently.

So anyway, I've had a delicious start to 2012. I reheated my fantastic 3-bean and quinoa chili for lunch (I swear it gets better every time I taste it!), and I made a bean and avocado tostada for dinner.

I got the idea for the tostada from one of my favorite restaurants. It's usually made with a giant helping of iceberg lettuce, so I was excited to make it myself, using fat-free refried beans (which is apparently not fried in oil...so the question is...how did they fry it? haha), a whole wheat tortilla, and organic spring mix.

P.S. Are you aware that "refried" is actually a mistranslation? These beans have not been fried twice, as the name suggests. "Refritos" literally translates to "well-fried," and not "refried."

Happy New Year!

Run, Lauren, Run!

Okay. I hate exercising. Like, I really hate it. That is, traditional exercising: running, lifting weights, etc. Not only am I clearly a descendant of the sloth, but I also just get bored. I listen to music and everything, but the whole time I'm running, all I can think is, "Ughhhh, so bored, wanna stop, I have so many other things to do right now, so bored, how much farther? Ugh...so bored...so bored.......so bored..."

Being in Ireland really got my legs going. All that walking!! After returning to Amurrica, I spent the month of August speed walking and even jogging around the nearby track. I was doing great...until school came along.

Not only does school suck up all my time, but now I have to deal with the weather. As someone who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder (diagnosed by myself, of course), every single ounce of motivation to go outside and exercise disappears the second the thermometer drops below 35 and the wind picks up to over 10 mph. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

But I read this article today called "Diabetes a growing threat to young and slim," and it's basically about seemingly healthy girls getting Type II Diabetes because they only focus on diet and don't exercise, creating a "skinny-fat" atmosphere in your body:

"A big skinny-fat risk factor? Neglecting exercise and regulating weight through food choices alone, a behavior plenty of young women in our diet-obsessed, desk-strapped culture are prone to. Turns out, breaking a sweat is key in lowering blood sugar, because even moderate exercise causes muscles to suck up glucose at 20 times the normal rate (regular workouts are also the only way to shed visceral fat)."

Fudgecracker! That's me.


I thought about this for a while and came to the conclusion that if I'm willing to preach to people about eating whole foods, despite the extra time and effort, I should be willing to put more time and effort into my exercise.


But I won't be running. Oh no.


I love cardio. It does feel good. But I only love it if it's in the form of dancing. :) So that's what I do. And that's what I will do now.

This is going to make everyone realize how much of a loser I am, but I love pulling up Just Dance 1/2/3 videos on YouTube and dancing to them. It's incredibly fun. And it's doable, but still challenging. And it requires me to focus on something OTHER than boredom, school, or life. And it has lots of good songs. And it makes me feel talented (as long as I can't see my reflection anywhere).

Oh yeah, and it makes me sweat and stuff. Without having to go outside. Or run.

And the best part? I didn't have to go out and buy a Wii. Thanks, YouTube!

I will update you on how well my exercising is going. I will test things out for a while and then set some specific goals and expectations for how often I'm going to do it. Because I really don't want Diabetes.

P.S. Happy Veteran's Day!

Eric Schlosser

This evening, I was blessed with the rare opportunity of meeting one of my biggest heros, Mr. Eric Schlosser.

This is the man who changed my life. This is the man that forced me to think about food in new ways. This is the man who uncovered a passion in me that I had never felt before. This passion for food, health, and sustainable living gave me confidence, energy, and purpose. It gave me an identity. A hobby. A lifestyle.

Growing up in rural South Dakota, I often struggle with the mainstream adoration of biotechnology. I once got in a little debate in class with a bunch of ag education majors who were mocking the organic market. And this is normal for me. So as I sat in the fourth row, seeing Eric Schlosser right there in front of me, speaking about all the things I am most passionate about, knowing many of my friends, peers, and community members were all there listening to it, made me more emotional than I have been since leaving Ireland.

As expected, the question and answer period brought much heated discussion. Every question began with, "I am a family farmer. I actually agree with some of the things you said, but..." And then it went downhill from there.

I noticed quickly during this time that the audience was segregated. Whenever one of these farmers said something, applause roared from the back of the theater. As these farmers were speaking, all the people around me in the front of the theater were rolling their eyes, shaking their heads, and muttering to their neighbors about how embarrassed they were by these members of the opposing viewpoints.

(On one hand, I agree. There were a few comments that just made me duck my head in shame, and they reminded me of why I want to move to Europe. On the other hand, I felt it disrespectful for us to want "the others" to keep their opinions to themselves.)

I used to think I was alone as a food activist in South Dakota, but the segregation of the audience at this event made me realize I'm not alone--I'm just socializing with the wrong people. :) It also makes me realize that there's a distinct segregation in the culture of this community, state, and perhaps the country as a whole. If you look at my school alone, we have the "farm kids" and the "not-farm kids." To say that we don't always see eye to eye  would be an understatement. (One of my best friends comes from a farm....but that's an organic farm, so I don't think that counts).

One question/comment given tonight really caught my attention. A man introduced himself as a family farmer (naturally) and explained that--in this region--it's almost impossible to get ahold of seed that ISN'T genetically modified. The large corporations have taken over so much that even those that WANT to plant non-GMO crops are having a hard time making it happen.

So anyway, let's skip to the happy part. As if hearing him speak wasn't enough of a pleasure, he was also doing a book signing afterwards. I'm not going to lie--I was on the verge of tears. I held them back so people wouldn't think I was crazy. Although, if you saw how much I was shaking and fidgeting around, you'd probably think I was crazy anyway. :)

And then it happened. I stood in line for 10-15 minutes, and then there I was, at the front of the line, nervously pushing my copy of Fast Food Nation toward him.

I said to him, "Thank you so much for being here. Growing up around here, it's just....welll....you heard those attitudes out there, so you know what I'm dealing with. And it's just so....confining and frustrating, and it's just so refreshing to have someone like you come here, so I really appreciate it..thank you so much." And he said that that was great to hear. And then I added that I saw Food Inc. about a year and a half ago, and it just absolutely changed my life. He smiled and said thanks again, and my friend Alex, who was standing next to me, made some comment about how I was boosting his confidence or something? I don't remember. And Eric laughed and replied, "Yeah, I kind of needed that, thank you." :) My schoolmates bruised his ego.. :( And I fixed it. :D

And then I asked for a picture with him. He laughed and said, "Are you sure you won't regret this someday?" He has a fabulous sense of humor.

Now if only I could meet Michael Pollan...

The big decision...

Two days ago, I added "vegetarian" to my Twitter profile description. It felt right. I liked the look of it.

Meat is something that has lost its appeal to me. Kind of like soda. After I had given it up for a few weeks or so, it became something that I just wanted nothing to do with. Sure, bacon will always smell good...but so does freshly cut grass, and I've manage to resist eating that for 21 and a half years, so I think I'll be okay. :)

What I mean is that when I plan out my meals during the day, I think of fresh produce, whole grains, and legumes. No part of my brain is begging for a burger. It's not like meat makes me cringe or anything--it's just not something I desire.

Also, the flexitarian/only-organic-meat thing was too difficult. I mean, it was easy to maintain on a personal level, but it was socially difficult. My peers didn't take me seriously, people didn't understand it, and it always sucked having to plan out days when I was eating out or with other people. If I didn't know ahead of time that we were going to grill out for supper, and I had tuna for lunch, well, I was screwed. And then I would have to explain to my friends, and then they would be annoyed, which I don't blame them.

The strange only-once-a-day rules I was following were bizarre and illogical at times. People would frustratedly ask me, "Why can't you just not eat meat the rest of the week?" or "Why can't you eat meat now if you ate it for lunch?" I originally liked the flexitarian idea because it allowed me to still eat meat in social situations like that, but I have realized that it sent confusing messages. I think my social life will actually be easier if I just establish myself as a vegetarian. People usually take that more seriously than "I can't eat meat for more than one meal a day." As a flexitarian, people will just expect you to always make the exception for them. Nobody expects the vegetarian to make an exception.

Also, the organic thing sounds great in theory, but it's really not fun to tell your stubborn mother that you'll only eat her trademark lasagna if she uses grass-fed beef. Not gonna happen. I couldn't even convince her to use whole wheat noodles!

Yes, vegetarianism has its difficulties...but so does IBS, and I've managed to make that work. Do you think I cry at night because I can't have caffeine? Ha! No. At the end of the day, having IBS has made me a healthier eater. It's like natural behavior modification; when I eat something not-so-great, it punishes me with pain, and when I eat healthy food, my tummy stays happy. :)

Similarly, I have found that eating meatless rewards me with a healthy mind and body, so the social dilemmas are worth it. I wouldn't do this if it didn't make me happy. I genuinely enjoy eating meatless. Regardless of all the other reasons I have listed, this is the deciding factor: I just like it.

And let's be honest--the kinds of restaurants that don't have vegetarian-friendly menus generally suck anyway, because it signals to me that they don't know how to work with basic ingredients beyond burgers, steaks, and fries.

Now I need to decide what to do with the meat in my house. My brother would probably gladly take my beef off my hands, and I'm thinking of taking all my canned tuna to the food pantry.

So that's me... My name is Lauren, and I'm a vegetarian.

Do you eat breakfast? I do.

I've become so accustomed to preparing elaborate breakfasts for myself that I often forget my peers usually just eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes or some Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts. Or, even more likely, they eat nothing at all.

Which is a shame. Besides all the health benefits of breakfast, I can't imagine having one less meal every day. I plan meals hours ahead of time. I think about them. And count down toward them. And drool over the thought of them. I already only get three a day; I couldn't possibly settle for two.

And breakfast has slowly become my favorite meal of the day. I used to think of breakfast food as sugary cereal, white flour pancakes, and frosting-covered rolls. All of which made me MISERABLE. As someone who suffers from IBS, nothing makes me more bloated and crampy than traditional breakfast food.

Then I discovered oatmeal. I originally tried it as an attempt to include more soluble fiber in my diet (because of the IBS thing). I started with the instant packets, and eventually weaned myself onto preparing my own on the stove with old-fashioned rolled oats. Which I recommend to everyone. Because seriously, what's more appetizing to you: "maple and brown sugar oatmeal," or "oats cooked in almond milk with banana, raisins, cinnamon, and almonds"? I choose the latter.

But I've become obsessed with breakfast. Omelettes, toast, smoothies, whole wheat pancakes/waffles, muesli, any sort of porridge, egg sandwiches, etc. I find that being excited for breakfast helps me get up early, which is why I never sleep past 9.

And since I know many people who find breakfast a pain to prepare, I decided to log my efforts for a week, just for fun. :)

Rules for my breakfasts:
1. At least one serving of fruits or vegetables must be included.
2. Be diverse (ex: don't overdo grains, like having oatmeal with toast).
3. The entire breakfast must reach at least 400 calories, which is usually done by pairing two things (ex: oatmeal and smoothie, eggs and toast, etc.).
4. Some good form of protein should be present (peanut butter, eggs, almonds).
5. No meat.
6. Keep dairy to a minimum (dairy is an IBS trigger). I use almond milk for everything, but when I use cheese, I use it sparingly.

DISCLAIMER: None of my classes start before 10, so no, I'm not in a hurry these mornings. However, I worked at 8 AM all summer, and I still got up early enough to prepare these same breakfasts.

Monday

Broccoli and cheddar omelette; banana, peach, and almond smoothie

My smoothies are rarely any color besides green. Unfortunately, I'm not stocked in spinach at the moment. This meal took me quite a while to prepare--nearly half an hour. My breakfasts rarely take more than fifteen minutes to put together, but the steaming of the broccoli and pealing the peaches were quite time-consuming.

Also, my smoothies are always vegan. I use frozen bananas to get that creamy texture. You're aware that blended, frozen bananas have the same consistency as soft-serve ice cream, right? RIGHT?! I buy giant bags of overripe bananas for $.99 at my local grocery store, and then I slice them up and store them in the freezer. Super cost effective.

Tuesday

Muesli with fresh peaches and almond milk; toast with peanut butter and jelly

I fell in love with muesli when I was in Ireland. I had never had it before then. Europe has a fantastic brand called "Alpen," and I ate it every single morning over there, except once, when it wasn't provided (darn you, Shannon Court Hotel!). Over here, I've struggled to find a brand that compares. Right now, I'm settling for Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli. It's okay. But it's certainly not Alpen.

This breakfast took me about ten minutes to prepare, most of which (once again) went to pealing the peach.

Wednesday

Chocolate-peanut butter-banana smoothie; oatmeal with peaches

This is my most typical breakfast: smoothie and oatmeal. It may be a stretch to call my banana ice cream a smoothie, but at the end of the day, it's frozen blended fruit--a smoothie. I made it super thick this morning so it would actually be the consistency of ice cream instead of an actual smoothie. And the source of the chocolate comes from a splash of Silk's Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. Just enough to add a hint of chocolate and help liquify the mixture. Oh, and the oatmeal... Fantastic. :)

This breakfast took about ten minutes to prepare. I did not peal the peach this time. ;)

Thursday

Oatmeal-banana pancakes with spiced peaches and granola

Are you ready for this? Forty minutes. Yes, I spent forty minutes preparing this little beauty. But:

1. It was worth it.
2. It was time consuming only because I had to grill an entire batch of pancakes, meaning I'll have leftovers! Another morning, all I'll have to do is reheat that puppy. :) So time spent now is time saved later.
3. I don't have class until 3 today. So I'm in absolutely no hurry. ;)

The pancakes are vegan, which I love because I can eat the raw batter without fear (no eggs!). I encourage you to check out the recipe; it contains no refined flours or sugars, and it will make your house smell like banana bread. I almost always use vegan recipes for pancakes and waffles, simply so I don't use up my precious eggs as fast (and so I can lick the batter from the spoon...).

The spiced peaches...mmm. I wanted to do something resembling a peach compote, but all the recipes I looked at included a truckload of sugar. What? They're peaches. They don't need sugar! So I just chopped up the peaches and heated them up in a saucepan with cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg, and I let all of it simmer until the juice thickened, as if I were making a reduction sauce. It worked beautifully. And it was plenty sweet.

Friday

Egg sandwich on multigrain thin bun; banana-peach-almond smoothie

Say hello to my new camera! I spent more time photographing my food than I did preparing it, which was only 10-15 minutes. I used to make this sandwich with a slice of American cheese, but I'm trying to eliminate that particular cheese from my diet. I've been ignoring how processed it is for a long time, but I'm finally forcing myself to accept the fact that it needs to go. :)

So that's five days of breakfasts in my life! Two things stick out as unusual:

1. All the peaches! This week has been quite a luxury.
2. None of my smoothies are green. My smoothies are almost always green. I really need to get to the store and buy some spinach.

Looking over these pictures make me smile. My brother told me once last week that I use more dishes preparing breakfast than he does over the course of the whole day. I denied it at the time...but I knew deep down that he was absolutely correct. ;)

Buon appetito!