Summer Eats

Over the summer, I love to take this chance and adventure to try out new meals at home, since I have the time!

I've been talking to my friend YP about our favorite ways to eat healthy recently, and I wanted to share!

• Stock up on healthy food at home. My favorites include:
• Hummus | So delicious and filling (I toast tortillas and eat them with hummus!), or carrot sticks and celery sticks
• Black beans | I love adding this on the side of a meal, eating these in tortillas / quesadillas, or just eating a variation of black bean salsa!)
• Avocado | Toast, salads, pasta, tacos, homemade guacamole (toast tortillas instead of using tortilla chips)
• Lemon | My favorite way to drink water, add a squirt of lemon and let it sit for an hour (the taste is amazing), or making homemade lemonade for a sweet treat (taste test it and add as little sugar as possible!)
• Peaches | I love just slicing a peach and eating it as a refreshing, tasty snack!
• Greek yogurt | If you can get hooked onto Greek yogurt, you will be addicted! It's the perfection addition to smoothies, a delicious and filling breakfast or on top of some cereal!
• Spinach & Baby Greens mix | I love getting the packed containers of spinach and baby greens (my personal favorite combination) and making salads with them! It's much cheaper and healthier than buying salads from restaurants.
• Have salad ingredients ready. At all times. As I was saying, I love having a mixed container of spinach and baby greens at my house for anytime salads. I love having a variety of ingredients to choose from and make different combinations of salads.
• Cherry tomatoes | Slice these in half and add them to any salad. Always a winner for me (and adds lots of color!).
• Fresh mozzarella | In addition to making a caprese salad (or sandwich or panini or anything caprese really), I love adding fresh mozzarella to salads of all kinds!
• Parmesan | I love grating some parm onto my salads!
• Mandarin oranges | Confession: I use canned mandarin oranges from Trader Joe's for my salads. But literally it transforms the salad's taste. I'm in love.
• Croutons | Okay, I really love carbs. This is my one chance for bread in a salad!
• Olive oil & balsamic vinegar | I'm not huge on dressing (at least when I'm making a salad at my house, I usually add too much), so I resort to using olive oil and balsamic. It's a great combination!
• Squirt of lime juice | For an extra fresh taste, I will add a squirt of lime juice to salads without cheese.
• I promise I don't eat salads and peaches everyday... Some of my other favorite meals include:
• Zoodles | We made these in summer camp and I am hooked! Zoodles = zucchini noodles. As a huge carb/pasta fan, that is most definitely my weakness. I think I'm willing to make the switch to zoodles at home though (if only you could make zoodles in the shape of elbows so I could make mac and cheese with such!). I'm bout to buy a machine that can make zoodles. Stay tuned.
• Peanut butter & banana toast | I'm a huge fan of peanut butter. I love toasting a piece of whole grain bread, slathering on some peanut butter and slicing some bananas on top. It makes for a delicious breakfast or a filling snack to last me throughout the afternoon.
• Vegetable soup | We also made vegetable soup in summer camp and it was seriously the best thing I've ever had. We used vegetable broth, sauteed some tomatoes, garlic, onion and added some zucchini, squash and corn. Delicious!
• Cauliflower mac & cheese | Okay, I'm not sure how healthy this is (compared to the other things on this list), but it is much healthier than normal mac and cheese (and even better, if I do say so myself! You can't even taste the cauliflower! No really.)

What are your favorite meals? I'm always looking for new ideas! 

Eating Healthy This Summer

This summer, I'm determined to eat healthy. I say this every break, but it never really works. Here are my tips for making this summer different than all of the rest.

Fill your house with healthy food. If you're surrounded by healthy food, you have to eat it. If possible, get rid of as much junk food as possible. You won't be tempted to eat it if you don't see it.

Go grocery shopping. You can go pick the food that you love, whether it's strawberries, avocado, or spinach. I find a way to incorporate avocado and spinach into as many meals as possible because I love it so much. It makes it that much easier to eat healthy.

Find easy recipes you love. The key word is easy. When I'm hungry, I want to eat whatever I can make fastest. Whether it's grabbing a handful of goldfish or microwaving something, I don't want to spend 30 minutes making a nice meal. I love making avocado toast, omelettes, fruit, or peanuts when I want something right away.

Don't go out to eat! When you go out to eat, it's so easy to say "just this one time," and get that ice cream that looks oh so good. Even when you do get a salad, they load it up with dressing and sides. If you do end up going out with friends, eat a snack before going out, and order the smallest portion possible. If possible, look at the nutritional facts before, or weigh pros and cons. If you live somewhere where there isn't much to do (like me), suggest other options like going shopping (walking around the mall is fun!), going to the park, kayaking, going to a painting class, or taking a dance class.

Don't overeat. Did you know by the time you're full, you've already overate? Eat just enough that you're feeling good.

Have a friend do this with you. If you have another friend trying to eat healthy this summer, team up with them! My friend AV is my friend I'm teaming up with this summer. Every time one of us eats something healthy, we send a photo to the other. She sent me a picture of her banana pancakes and I sent her a picture of my omelet.

Make your meals Insta-worthy. Doing this isn't just for Facebook bragging rights, but it also helps you perfect your meal and include more colors (which typically is more fruits). I love sending pics to AV because I add more to my meals. This morning, I was just going to have my omelet. But since I knew I was sending a pic to AV, I added a slice of whole wheat toast, some strawberries, and a glass of skim milk. It tasted much better and I had a complete meal perfect for the rest of the day.

Let your friends know that you're eating healthy. They'll encourage you on when you aren't feeling it, and they'll stop asking if you want to grab froyo for lunch.

Make the switch from soda to sparkling water. If you're a soda addict, switch to sparkling water with some lemon. It still has all of the bubbles you love, but none of the sugar.

Always have water on you. It makes all the difference. If you have a reusable bottle in your car, filled with ice-cold water, you'll be drinking water more than ever. Don't forget to remind yourself to drink water.

Some of my favorite things to eat...

• Omelet: I personally only like egg whites, but that's just my preference. I add some cheese (I can't cut cheese out of my life sadly), ham, tomatoes, onions, spinach and arugula. I love adding avocado on top and freshly ground pepper. It makes for a great breakfast with a half-slice of whole wheat toast and some fruit.
• Avocado toast: I have a slice of whole wheat toast with a thin layer of olive oil drizzled over. I mash up some avocados, add chopped tomatoes and freshly ground pepper. I spread the mixture on top of toast. 
• Greek yogurt: It took me a while to get used to Greek yogurt, but now there's no going back. I love Greek yogurt, especially with some granola or honey mixed in.
• Nuts: This year at school, I also had a container of peanuts, academia nuts, almonds or walnuts in my bag, they're filling and the perfect snack because they're very healthy and filled with good oils for you.
• Fruit: I love strawberries, pineapples, peaches, plums... all of it! I typically ask my parents to buy strawberries and they'll buy whatever's in season and stock in the stores. I'm excited to slice up some peaches soon! I eat strawberries whenever I'm hungry.
• Frozen grapes: If you've never tried frozen grapes, try it! I love love love it. Such a treat.
• Celery and peanut butter: I'm a huge fan of peanut butter, so there's that.

Do you have any tips on eating healthy? What are some of your favorite healthy things to eat? Anyone have any other habits? My friend RR is going vegetarian this summer.

You Gotta Regatta

This was one of every girl's all time fav Lilly prints, am I right? I have always loved sailing, kayaking, boats, anything dealing with water. I went sailing with my Girl Scout troop on a camping trip focused on sailing, kayaking and canoeing, and I fell in love. While I'm not the best to set up a Sunfish boat, I'm amazing at manning the sails. That's actually a dream date: with friends or boyfriends... to go sailing! It's so relaxing and just so enjoyable.

This girl who I have the highest regards for, HJ, is a rower. I read Carly's blog, and I remember hearing about her rowing adventures. It's always seemed like a cool sport. The only thing stopping me was the fear that I'd be behind since I started so late, the time commitment (M/Tu/Th/F/Sat), and how far away the location was (45 minutes away!). 

On Friday, I was talking with the sweetest girl in my calculus class, and she was talking about how she wishes she did rowing or fencing or a rather uncommon sport, (she plays soccer) because it helps a lot with college admissions. It sparked my interest, since I was already interested in rowing, and I seriously considered it. The other girls in the conversation listened to me weigh the pros and cons (are you even surprised?), and I don't play a sport yet... My next semester won't be too hard. 

Today, I talked to HJ about rowing, and she got really excited. She said I'd have to come to the "try-it-out" round in February. I might be a coxswain, except I believe I might weigh too much, I'm not sure though. I'll talk with her more about it, and do lots of research before February. Seeing as how its such a huge time commitment, I'll have to talk to my mom. I also have to see if I actually like the sport. We'll see, but I'm really excited to dive into this world and maybe find my calling?

It just seems like an ideal sport for me. The whole "starter pack" is trending on Twitter right now, and HJ made one for rowers which included Patagonias and Bean boots. Yes please! I love the water, and the sport itself. It's so interesting and I love how preppy it is (I am Preppy in NC... right?). It seems like the ideal sport for me.

Is anyone a rower? A coxswain? I'd love to hear about your experience! 

New Month, New Me

There's nothing like the feeling after a work-out. However, there's nothing like the feeling during a work-out. Ugh. No me gusta. But the feeling after a work-out is enough to encourage me to continue working out.

During my latest trip to the mall, ALD wanted to stop by in Athleta. There was a lot of cute stuff and it convinced me that I needed to start working out (so I could have an excuse to buy cute work out clothes, of course!).

I've also been looking into juice cleanses and green smoothies. We have a juicer at my house and while we don't always take it out (it's a pain to clean), I love using it! I have a very low tolerance for greasy food and easily get sick when eating too much greasy food. I got sick in Canada after trying the infamous but very fattening poutine (fries, gravy and cheese... still makes me shudder to this day! It tasted good but my stomach after felt horrible. Never again!) I have considered becoming a vegetarian, I'm not huge on meat, (I prefer carbs- bring on the pasta!) but I do love chicken and seafood (seafood is the best!). I might consider being a pescatarian.

My friend SS is a vegetarian. That's just the way she grew up and it was a choice she made when she was younger. She's considering about trying meat, but she's nervous about the taste. It's funny to me, because I would feel the same way if I were her! She was like "You have to chew it?! What is its texture?!" SS' brother went to college last year and he started eating meat in college, since the food options and variety for vegetarians are more limited. He loves meat now and he can't get enough of it. So if I were to switch to a pescatarian, I might need to change my route for college...

I don't think I need to declare myself as anything, but just try to stick with more veggies when possible!

I would love to try a juice cleanse though! I'm not sure if my mom would love it, but maybe a week in the summer. (Not the smartest idea during school when you really need that energy) Or maybe after Christmas and New Year's after all that greasy, delicious food.

I don't even need to do a cleanse, just drinking more juices (juices as in green juices!) would be great. It'd be perfect for me to have a juice every morning for breakfast (I have to force food down my mouth at 6:30am, and I usually don't eat!) during school. It'd be a great way to ensure I get my veggies intake!

I loved this post from The Coveteur with their Vegetarian and Vegan Guide to NYC. Almost everyone recommended Juice Press. If I lived in NYC, I'd totally have a Juice Press addiction! (And a Sweetgreen addiction. Fav kind-of fast food place ever! [a Chipotle set up for salads] Sorry Cook-Out.) Side note: Can I please live in the city?! Juice Press, Sweetgreen and walking everywhere. My Lululemon collection would increase drastically and my weight would decrease drastically.

simple green juice

district cobb salad

Since I'm not willing to buy juices online, I would love to look up and find my own juicing recipes with similar ingredients to Juice Press' juices! I have a smoothie addiction, so I'd love to find some recipes to some yummy green smoothies for a tasty breakfast and afternoon snack! Anyone have any suggestions?

After JSC asked me if I could be her personal shopper/outfit approver tonight (AHH! I was so honored. Love JSC!), I was telling her all about my Lululemon obsession. JSC's parents are super fit and into crossfit- super hardcore working out. JSC's parents are super cool and shop at Lulu and Athleta, so that's how that all relates. Anyways... JSC was telling me how she'd go work out with me if I got into working out. I would love to work out this school year. Working out has so many benefits besides the obvious losing weight, gaining muscle benefit. Working out reduces stress and anxiety (one of my biggest problems when it comes to school), makes your skin healthier and raising endorphins aka makes you happier. (Aka what I learned from Legally Blonde!)

I got really excited that JSC said she'd work out with me. I worked out once with a friend and it was so much fun! The time flew by and even though we got Chick-Fil-A after... well me and JSC won't do that. I was telling  JSC excitedly about how we could get juices and green smoothies afterwards, go power walking in the mall and buy cute new workout gear!

Here's to a new month and new me! While it's still summer, I'll be doing my research, so I can go into school healthy and ready to face the school year!

What do you like to do to workout? I love the elliptical at the gym. I would love to go to some group classes at my gym- any thoughts? It's hard to find workout classes for just teens, but I don't mind being the youngest in the group, especially if I'm with a friend! Any suggestions on what classes to take? I personally would love to do zumba (we do kids zumba at my summer camp, so much fun!), yoga, classic work out classes, and maybe something crazy like kickboxing? Who knows what this year will result in? (Hopefully not me watching Netflix in my spare time and a wasted gym membership!) Any suggestions and tips for working out and eating healthy- please send them my way! I need them all!