NEW SITE!!
Hey Everyone!
I have decided to delete this blog because I started a new one at:
http://thebalancedbicyclist.tumblr.com
Please check it out for why I switched, and please re-subscribe! I think my new blog will get more attention from me and should feature some cool stuff!
Thanks-
Kasey
Happy Friday!
Hey Everyone!!
I hope you’re Friday is flying by so you can get to enjoy the long weekend. I know I’m excited!
I just wanted to stop in and show you the delectible lunch I just inhaled enjoyed!
Toasted Ezekiel bread topped with roasted red pepper hummus, spinach, onion, green pepper, and tomato! Along with a fugi apple. Soooo delicious! I was craving veggies. This hit the spot.
Now I’m off to Starbucks to meet a friend, work on some homework, and indulge in a Pumpkin Spice Latte!! I love fall and everything pumpkin.
Until Later–
Kasey
Thin Obsession
What’s with the obsession of being thin?
Sure, many people who are healthy are thin, but I think it’s a common misconception that to be healthy, one must be thin. I think I’m just having a hard time with this recently. I do all that I can to eat healthfully and be active, but I can’t get past my size 10/12! Why do I think that such an awful thing?! I love my body, but it just frustrates me.
It’s the same way that the media says to be perceived as pretty or sexy, you must be thin. I think if we could focus all of our efforts at trying to be thin on other aspects of our lives, we’d be a lot happier!
We don’t need to be thin to have happy relationships, to eat healthy foods, or be active! If you are treating your body well, it will help you do amazing things.
I think this was more of a pep talk for me/conversation I’ve been having with myself for weeks, than it was meant for anyone specific. I just thought I would share what’s been going on in my mind lately.
It’s really challenging for me to move past the thought of “If I’m thin, then I’ll be healthy and happy.” I feel like I’m obsessing over that too much. Time to refocus on everything that I’m already so happy about and thankful for. My body will follow with time– and if not, then I’ll just keep on my path of learning to be happy with how it is.
Thanks for reading my random rambles 
Kasey
Weekend Highlights
Hello Everyone!
I had such an awesome weekend! It was full of bike riding, coffee, great food, beer, running, and of course time with my husband!
Saturday morning I met with my college roommate, Ali, to catch up with what we did over the summer. It was so nice to see her again!
I started with some of this:
Ezekiel bread, almond butter, 1/2 a banana, and some cinnamon. It’s one of my new favorite foods
Then had some of this with Ali:
Venti Iced Coffee with Soy Milk, 2 shots of espresso, and 3 pumps of Sugar Free Vanilla. Yum!!
After coffee, Dillon and I got on our bikes and headed to Santa Lucia an awesome Greek restaurant, for some lunch. I ended with with:
Grilled veggie pita with tzatziki and a Greek salad. It was really good! I love Greek food; it’s probably my 2nd favorite type of food (2nd to Mexican inspired dishes).
Then Dillon and I headed to a bike shop to get a tune up for his bike, and went to Scheels to look at new running shoes for me. My current shoes probably have over 600 miles on them, and I could tell they were wearing out. I’ve been thinking a lot about trying bare-foot running and decided to take the plunge.
Vibrams! I’m so excited about these. I’ve worn them all day yesterday and all day today, and I feel great! Dillon and I went on a quick run this morning to break them in, and everything felt just fine. I’m thinking I’ll be sore tomorrow, but that’s good! That means I’m strengthening my muscles. I think Dillon is going to try on a pain and maybe get some as well. We are running a 5k together on October 9th, and it would be fun to wear these for it. Should be an interesting transition.
After Dillon’s bike was done, we headed to the farmer’s market to get our veggies for the week. We made a good haul once again. It was a little tricky since we biked there, and the sidewalks in that part of town are limited, but we made it work!
After we dropped off our goods, Dillon and I rode downtown to get a drink. We started at Dempsey’s, which we really loved, and them moved on to JL Beers, which was a bit more expensive, but still really good. I had Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss at Dempsey’s, and Bell’s Oberon at JL Beer’s. If you’re ever in the Fargo area, I would definitely check these places out.
Nothing like a cool beer after a day of riding bike!
After we biked home after having a bunch of beer, we got too lazy to make real supper. I had some tortilla chips with cheese and salsa for supper. Good enough. Then we watched football for the rest of the evening and went to bed.
Today we woke up early and went for short run, and then headed to Dunn Brother’s Coffee so I could get some homework done. Dillon came with to keep me company
After I got all of my homework done, we headed to Street’s Alive! It was the first time they’ve done Street’s Alive here, but it really fun! The closed off a bunch of streets in downtown Fargo and Moorhead for people to bike, walk, run, ect.. There were lots of people there, and it seemed to be a success. I’m excited to check it out again next month.
When we got downtown I did a 30 minute Zumba class. I love Zumba! It’s a latin dance inspired group workout, and it’s so much fun. Dillon got to hang out and watch me shake it- haha. Zumba can be a bit awkward, but it’s so much fun We were starving, so we decided to go to the King House for chinese food! Yum! It was my first time going there since becoming a vegitarian, and it was still really good. I ate veggie sushi and veggie lo mein, along with a bunch of cantelope and spring rolls. We left really full, but it was so worth it.
After we got home (after riding a total of almost 60 miles this weekend 
!) I took a short, much needed, nap then headed to Walmart to get the rest of our groceries and some stuff for my new cubicle.
Then it was time to make the supper I was going to make last night-
Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
1 ½ pounds Plum Tomatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise
3 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Sea Salt, plus ½ tsp
¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper
6 Quarts Water
12 ounces Uncooked Spaghetti (I used Whole Wheat)
¼ cup Minced Fresh Basil (I used dried oregano)
6 Tbsp Grated Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
1. Squeeze juice and seeds from tomato halves into a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, reserving juices; discard seeds. Finely chop tomatoes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds or just until garlic begins to brown, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, reserved juices, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 15 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring occasionally.
3. Bring 6 quarts water and remaining 2 tablespoons salt to a boil in an 8-quart pot. Add pasta to pot; stir. Cover; return water to a boil. Uncover and cook 8 minutes or until pasta is almost al dente. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving ½ cup cooking water.
4. Add hot pasta and reserved cooking water to tomato mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until sauce is thick and pasta is al dente, tossing to combine. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with basil; toss. Place 1 cup pasta mixture on each of 6 plates. Drizzle each serving with ½ teaspoon of remaining oil; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cheese.
Served with a salad and a glass (or 2!) on White Zinfandel. Such a good supper! Tomatoes are so fresh right now. Dillon even loved this, and he’s not a pasta fan. This recipe makes 6 servings, so I now have some lunches for the week
For dessert we had Chocolate Banana Soft-Serve.
2.5 Fozen Bananas, a splash of unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder.
Put in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. From this-
To this-
It was just like eating a melty fudgecicle! I topped Dillon’s with shredded coconut which he really liked- I don’t like coconut at all. Banana’s make such awesome ice cream! I buy bananas every week, and if any of them go bad I throw them into the freezer for times when I want ice cream. It is seriously delicious, with or without chocolate. I like it a lot with some peanut butter mixed in. There are many possibilities! Such a healthy alternative
Oye- that was long! I plan on spending the rest of my evening watching some more football with Dillon and finishing up some homework. I’m thankful I got to enjoy such a wonderful weekend. Hopefully this week will be kind to me
Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
-Kasey
It’s All About Priorities
Hello Everyone
This week I began my last semester of my undergrad education!! I’m really excited about the classes I’m taking but also really overwhelmed. I think this will be my hardest semester yet, but I’m sure I’ll do just fine. I just need to get over the initial shock and get working!!
Speaking about working, for those of you who don’t know, I started a new job last week. It’s working in the Fraud and Dispute department and US Bank, and I absolutely love it!! Right now I get to work 5-9 on week nights, which works perfectly with school, and then hopefully they’ll take me on full time once I graduate. It feels so nice to be out of retail, to wear what I want to work, and to have my own desk– just to mention a few things.
So with starting school and a new job that involves extensive training, I’ve been incredibly busy! So I wanted to take some time to talk about priorities.
For me, my top priorites are:
Dillon, School, Work, Eating Whole Foods, and Exercising
Those are the things I’m focusing most of my time on. They are the things that make me happy, but they also take a lot of effort. I mean, it can be quicker to grab fast food than to prep fruits and veggies for the week. It is a lot easier to sleep in than to get up and go for a run. But I have never once regretted eating healthy and getting up early to work out. Not once. And yet I feel a bit guilty every time I skip a work out and eat junk.
There are ways to make room in your schedule (and budget!) to properly fuel yourself and get moving! I feel like if I can do it- most people can make time for it. You just need to find something that you love and is important to you. You need to find whole foods that you love to eat– for me: almond butter, ezekiel bread, cucumbers, hummus, carrots, tomatoes, bananas, and I could go on and on.. Of course this takes some time to find what you love, but it’s so worth it! Same goes with working out. Find something you look forward to doing; it can be as simple as going for a walk. Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym. Play with your kids, go for a walk, ride bike. These are all good ways to start moving. When I started, I could only get myself to spend like 20 minutes at the gym. Over time, I got used to it, and now I typically spend an hour or so. Changes take time!
Anyway, that’s enough rambling about that
I wanted to show you what I got at our local farmer’s market this week. We’ve found that the farmer’s market produce tastes soooo much better than what we’re used to, and it’s cheaper! All of this is locally grown and organic, and it only cost $19.75!!
A bag of carrots, A bag of cucumbers, 4 tomatoes, a yellow onion, 1.5lbs grape tomatoes, yellow squash, 4 ears of corn, a watermelon, and a cantelope.
These were so good! Especially the grape tomatoes- they were so sweet. I can’t wait to go back this weekend!! If you have a farmer’s market around, check it out! Cheap, delicious produce– what more could you want?
Well I need to finish getting ready for class. Only 2 today!! Yay! Then work, and I’m off for the weekend! I haven’t had regular weekends off since I started working when I was 15, so I’m really excited!! Lots of time to hang out with my #1 priority (and read until my head explodes)
Until next time-
Kasey
Before and After
Happy Sunday, Everyone!
Sunday is my favorite day of the week. For the past couple months Dillon and I have had Sundays off together which has been awesome.
Today I made whole wheat pancakes for breakfast, we rode our bicycles to get some groceries, we then rode bike for about 2 hours making a couple of stops in Lindenwood Park and down at Starbucks, and then I made us corn on the cob and sauteed veggie sandwiches for supper! Now we’re just relaxing and working on a couple of projects.
Lately, as you could maybe tell, I’m been having some body image issues. The last 20lbs I want to lose will not go away! I feel like it’s been months since I’ve made any progress, and I’m just frustrated. I’ve been stressing a bit about it, which I’m sure isn’t helping. It’s kind of like I’ve lost sight of how far I’ve come. In order to help myself feel better, I’ve compiled a few before and after pictures to share. After looking back, I know I’ve come so far! It’s been almost a year and a half since I started making changes, and there is a big difference of about 50lbs. I guess I just live in my body day after day and don’t realize the progress anymore. I need to keep telling myself that it takes time, and I really have made progress. With the good habits I’ve developed, and some new ones I’m trying out, the rest will just fall into place.
Before:
This is Dillon and I senior year of high school. I definitely like Christmas!
This is the end of Freshman year of college. I’m making supper on our first night in our first apartment.
This is at our wedding rehearsal, December 26, 2008.
This is on Choir tour in Chicago, March 2009.
After:
This is Choir tour, March 2010. I’m on the left, my lovely friend Alison is on the right.
This is just moments after I finished the Fargo Half Marathon. I ran the whole 13.1 miles, no walking
This is my beautiful family. It was taken at my cousin’s wedding about 2 weeks ago.
This is also from my cousin’s wedding. It’s one of my new favorite pics– dancing with my cute nephew!
After looking at these, I can honestly say love the way I look now. I know I would like to get down 1-2 more pants sizes, but since I’m close, I know it’s going to take awhile. I really do love my body. It does amazing things, and I’m thankful for it supporting me in all the things I do to it! I need to get over my mental problems, and just remember to be thankful for how far I’ve come. It’s been quite a journey so far, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends and family.
Thanks for letting me ramble a bit. I needed to clear out my head. Now hopefully I can begin to think more positive thoughts, stop stressing so much, and just enjoy life and the fun challenge of keeping up my healthy habits, along with my new goals.
Enjoy the last few hours of the weekend!
Kasey
Progress
Hey Everyone!
I thought I would check in and let you know how I’m coming on my goals, and share my favorite recipe of the week!
Overall, I’m been doing well with my goals. I’m embracing the vegetarian lifestyle and really enjoying it! I’m doing better at only eating when I’m actually hungry, but I had one day last week where I was a garbage disposal and ate way too much. The good thing is I realized I was doing it and why. Then I forgave myself and moved on. Hopefully that will keep getting easier.
I haven’t been eating much processed foods. I only ate cereal once this week, which is a huge improvement! I also didn’t have any soda.
I had a couple awesome workout this week! My favorite was yesterday when Dillon and I biked to Lindenwood park (3.5miles), I ran about 6 miles with Dillon biking next to me, and then we biked home. It was a great run! I think it was probably my longest since I did the half marathon, and it was fun and easy. I love having good runs like that. Then we biked for another hour or so around town, so I had a nice active day yesterday.
I’m feeling pretty good about last week. Hopefully this week will go even better.
Now onto some yummy food!
The first one is called Guacamole Salad. It’s adapted from the blog, Branny Boils Over. Branny has a ton on cheap, tasty vegetarian recipes in her blog. This was my first attempt at making anything with beans in it, and I loved it!! I made it last week Monday, and I already bought the ingredients to make it again today!
Guacamole Salad
1 c black bean- 210 calories
1 green bell pepper (4oz)- 28 calories
2 med tomatoes (8oz)- 41 calories
1 clove garlic – 4 calories
1/3 yellow onion- 15 calories
1 avocado- 300 calories
2 T lemon juice
black pepper, salt, a cayenne pepper to taste
Dice veggies and combine top 6 ingredients. Whisk together lemon juice, peppers, and salt. Refrigerate until serving. Eat with corn chips, on tacos, or with a spoon! It’s that good!
Makes about 4 cups
1 c servings ~ 150 calories each
Yum! It is delicious.
Well I’m off to go make that again, as well as cut up veggies for the stir-fry I’m cooking tonight.
Have a great night!
-Kasey
Long time, no blog!
Well hello there!
It has been way too long since I’ve blogged! I just finished up (and Aced!) 3 courses this summer and now have about 3 weeks to relax work a bunch until school starts. I wanted to write this to lay out some changes I’ve decided I need to implement. Then, I hope to write about my progress.
In no specific order:
1. Become a Vegetarian: This is for a couple of reasons. First, most animals that are eaten are not treated humanely in any way. I believe that part of God’s plan was for us to use animals for food but not the way people are doing it now. It is just cruel. Second, processing meat is usually really hard on the environment, and I try to do as many things as I can to decrease my negative impact on the earth. Also, I find I enjoy eating meals full of veggies, fruits, grains, etc without meat, so why not just cut it all out. I’m sure it will be difficult at times, but I’m up for the challenge!
2. Stop eating cereal: I eat way too much of it, and it is just full of sugar and really no good nutrients.
3. Don’t weigh myself for a month: I’ve become to focused on the weight my scale tells me. I can make or break my day. It’s gone up, but my measurements have stayed the same, so it’s driving me crazy. I need to stop obsessing and just feed my body healthy foods and stay active. The end.
4. Avoid artificial sweeteners and HFCS: They don’t come from nature, so I just should stop eating them. I should have enough control to eat just a bit of the real thing instead of filling myself with chemicals.
5. Avoid Soda: It makes me feel bloated, it’s full of chemicals, it makes me crave sweets, and it has no nutritional value.
6. Eat only when truly hungry: This is really a battle for me. I have always been an emotional/bored eater. I need to become more aware of my body, and only feed it when it’s asking for it! This will take time, but each day if I try to make better decisions, it will get easier.. I hope!
7. Keep working out: I’ve been doing really well this summer with exercising. I need to keep up with that once school starts again because it really helps me keep a positive, happy attitude.
So there it is! I’m going to try to really focus on those things, and hopefully I will start feeling healthier and better about myself!
Until next time-
Kasey
I’m Still Here!
Hey guys-
Sorry I’ve been MIA- life kind of took over. Last week was finals week (bleh), this week I started summer school (bleh, bleh!), and the half marathon is this Saturday!! So I’ve been busy! I’ve still been doing some cooking and a bit of running. I got side-tracked from running a bit after a glorious 10-miles run outside of Friday due to some foot pain that followed. My foot finally feels almost back to normal, but I haven’t run all week because I want to do well this weekend! I figured I already put in my training- this rest will be good for me!
This semester went really well! 2 B’s and 7 A’s. Not complaining! Summer school is going well so far. Taking 2 4-week classes will be challenging, I’m sure, but so far it hasn’t been too bad. Both professors are really interesting to listen to. I’m especially enjoying my Human Resource Management class because we get into some really good conversations which make you think, and that has been a lot of fun so far!
Some of the good eats I’ve concocted lately include a veggie stir-fry, and a veggie soup. The soup was kind of weird, so I won’t share too much about it. Dillon didn’t mind it though, so it didn’t go to waste. I bought a ton of veggies this weekend- hence the veggie dishes. I plan on making another stir-fry and maybe a pizza later this week to help use up some more of them.
The highlight of my food today was hands down my Avocado, Feta, Spinach Sandwhich!
The avocado is spread out with the feta on top on Ezekiel bread.
Topped with spinach and the other half of the piece of bread. I almost always make only half sandwiches. Usually that’s enough, or I pair it with something. I like the variety, and then I don’t feel bad if I want to go back for more!
I ate this for lunch along with some hummus and crackers and some pineapple, and then had it again with supper along with this-
Pasta shaped like peace signs?!? Sign me up!! It was sooo good! I’ll definitely be eating this again!
Very delicious (and pretty nutritious) supper!
Not much else to share today. I’ve been fully enjoying the sun and nice temps outside. I think I’ve had a bit of a sunburn since Friday, but that just comes with the territory of being awfully pale and loving to be outside!
I’ll try to check back soon- definitely with a race summary! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pics of the season so far-
Enjoy the rest of your week!!
-Kasey
P.S. Today is my wonderful mother’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!! I love you!
Weekend Update
Hey Everyone-
The weekend got to me, and I didn’t feel like doing anything too productive.. except for a bit of studying for finals last night, of course. So here are the highlights of my weekend!
1. I ran 14 miles!! In 2:23:54 (This weeks total: 38 miles!)
—It felt so awesome! I was only planning of doing 12, but I thought why not go a little more than the half distance, so you can feel good knowing you can do it! It felt almost effortless the whole time. The half is in less than 2 weeks, and I’m so excited. Now, more than ever, I’m considering signing up for a full sometime in the next year. I was looking up training plans, and they are pretty much what I’m doing now, just adding miles onto the long runs once a week. We’ll see. I’d like my speed to improve a bit before then because I wouldn’t want to be running a marathon in more than 5 hours. If I do it, I’d like to be able to in around 4:30. So we’ll see what the future brings…
2. I ate wonderful Mexican food!
—After my run I met my friend Tara at Acapulco’s in Fargo. They have to best authentic Mexican food around, in my opinion. I hadn’t eaten there in a long time, so this was a treat!
Yummm, sooo much food! The tortillas had carne asada, tomatoes, and onions inside. I finished almost all of it! Don’t judge- I’d just run 14 miles! haha
3. I Drank Wine and Ate Mac & Cheese!
—That evening I worked box office for NDSU’s production of The Secret Garden. Then I came home and relaxed with Dillon. We drank wine, I ate mac & cheese (he doesn’t like it!), and watched this week’s episodes of The Daily Show. It was a good night, indeed!
Delicious, sweet wine.
Anne’s Mac & Cheese. It’s the only kind I buy anymore. Now I know organic doesn’t mean good for you, but I still feel better eating this than plan old Kraft Mac & Cheese.
4. I got to go on a Bike/Run!
—Sunday morning we slept in a bit, and went on a bike/run. This is where Dillon bikes along with me as I run. What a nice husband! I’m sure this must be really boring for him, but I enjoy the company and it makes me feel safer. I only did 3 miles to stretch out my legs from the day before.
5. I cooked a big breakfast!
—After the bike/run I started on breakfast. On Sundays I like to make a breakfast that isn’t cereal, especially because both of us could live off of cereal. I had found a quiche recipe I wanted to try
