Sun in the sky you know how I feel

What a beautiful day it's been. The sun has been shining all day and it's pretty warm outside. I think the worst is over and spring has finally begun! I woke up really late today and was feeling pretty tired from last night so I felt like lounging in the house all day, but thankfully forced myself to go outside and enjoy the sun!

Here's my outfit from the night before:

Shirt Forver21, jeans Dr denim, shoes Bianco

Today I finally decided to get a new phone. My old phone gave up and broke for the millionth time. I swear, that phone is like a cockroach...I've dropped it on the floor and gotten it wet so many times I've stopped counting and it's given up working multiple times but it always recovers in some miraculous way! This time the backlight stopped working so I thought, maybe it's time to buy a new one.

I'm a firm Apple supporter and really felt like buying the 4S, but instead I bought this one.

I also decided to check out this new outlet they opened near my house. It's called Oh My Gosh and they sell a lot of brands, including Converse, Dr. Martens, Lee, CTRL and Wrangler. The selection was pretty good and I found a top and a pair of jeans:

After I was done shopping I decided to try this class at my gym called Nike Training Club: Get strong!

They have these classes at my gym for a couple of months every now and then and I heard they're really tough so I wanted to see for myself. All I can say is oh my goodness! The class consisted mostly of different types of squats, planks and jumps. I can't remember the last time I was sweating that much but I'm definitely going to try it again.

I was so hungry when I got home so I decided to try this new recipe I found:

Sweet Potato Soup:

•  2 yellow bell peppers
• 1/4 celery stick
• 1/2 parsnip
• 1 carrot
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt
• cayenne pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 200g paprika cream cheese
•  1,5 l water

     On top:

•  100g cashews
• oil
• chili powder

 Directions:

1. Peel and dice all the vegetables up.

2.Cut bell peppers in halves and remove seeds. Grill them (or use the grill setting in your oven) for about     20 minutes, or until the skin can be removed.

2. Fry the onions and the garlic until brown. Add all the rest of the vegetables, the lemon juice, spices and the water. Let boil for 30 minutes.

3. Puree everything & add cream cheese.

4. Fry cashews in oil, add chili powder.

-Suvi

Protein Pancakes

I feel awesome!! I got home a while ago from the gym and the supermarket. I forced myself to get up at 6am this morning to go to a morning spinning class and try the new TRX system at my gym. Not gonna lie, I felt like crap driving to the gym in the -20 weather but it was so worth it. Not only did I get a really good workout in, but for once I actually have time to do something before I go to work. I'm thinking sauna + cleaning my room.

Nike Free Run,  the most comfortable running shoes ever!

On another note, I went to this food seminare at my gym last weekend and although it was pretty basic stuff everyone already knows about, it reminded me to pay more attention to a few things. The biggest things were about 1) getting enough protein in my diet and 2) eating within 30 minutes post-workout. Sure I already knew this, but I tend to forget the importance of it. The seminare made me realize I could have gotten so much more results if I would've payed more attention to it. Sometimes it can be around 3 hours before I eat after working out because I'm not hungry at all and I know that's very bad. I also know, that as a vegetarian it's not as easy to get enough protein in your diet, so you have to get creative. Ever since the seminare I've been trying to get at least a 100 g of protein daily, which is a challenge for me. I bought a big package of whey protein last year, but I'm pretty bad when it comes to using it. It tastes good and all, but I just feel like protein powders are filled with chemicals so I try to steer clear of them. However, I really want to get the maximum results from my workouts so I'm gonna eat it as much as I can. I found this great recipe for some Tone It Up Protein Pancakes from sarahfit.com and I've been making them every day. It's made this whole thing so much easier. Here's the recipe:

• 1 scoop of protein powder
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tbsp maitorahka / 0% greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (pellavansiemen)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

It's that simple. The pancakes are delicious, not to mention super filling. 

Cinnamon & ground flaxseed

Milk and curd(??) 

Just mix everything together..

 One pancake has 250 kcal and 40g of protein.

 

Hope you have a great day!

-Suvi

Working out!

Since I've "cleaned up" my diet, I've also started working out more. The thing I love about SoCal is that working out outside is so easy! For me, gym gets a little boring, so I've been doing hiking outside, yoga and gym. Each week I try to do a couple yoga classes, Santa Monica stairs, which is a lot of stairs to go up and down, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, which is stairs and a hiking trail, Runyon Canyon, a hiking place with many trails, and the gym to do cardio and some weight lifting. Varying the workouts keeps the body guessing and I've already started seeing results.

In the mornings, before breakfast, I usually do 30 mins cardio at the gym or go to the Baldwin Hills stairs. In the afternoon I prefer a yoga class, especially yoga sculpt which also includes weights in a 90 degree room..super intensive(!), Santa Monica stairs, or Runyon Canyon. I really enjoy the pretty scenery while working out, almost doesn't feel like a workout!

My usual workout places:

View from the trail

Downtown L.A. and Hollywood

"Resting" point

Stairs

The way down the hill

Pretty houses on the hills

Pretty Los Angeles

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook stairs

On the top of the stairs at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook

The trail going down

Santa Monica stairs

Starting a good workout with Selam

This is one intense workout!

Yoga sculpt is intense...weights and a heated room!

New Year, cleaner diet!

Since the new year started, I also promised myself I would clean up my diet a little bit and eat more healthy foods. Even though I don't really eat junk food or unhealthy stuff too much, I love sugar and I decided that little by little, I'm going to start giving it up (I've pretty much always been a sugar-addict). A lot of people make a new year's resolution (every year) to go on a diet and lose weight, but I think it's better, or more realistic, to set little goals and achieve them. For example, "I'll work out 3 times a week and leave certain things out of my diet" instead of saying "I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 3 months". When you don't put too much pressure on yourself, you're more likely to follow through with the promises. One of my resolutions this year was to be more active and healthy, and it's worked! I've worked out almost every day and eaten way less sugar..yayy! :)

My usual diet includes a lot of greens (lettuce, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, kale, edamame, cucumber), berries, grape fruit, pineapple, tuna (i love!), chicken, salmon, tilapia, shrimp, egg whites, Greek yogurt, almonds, oatmeal, etc. I'm not a big fan of rice, potatoes or pasta, and I usually eat rice only when I eat sushi or Asian food. I like rye bread, but since it doesn't taste the same in the US as it does in Finland, I don't have bread in my diet. I do have a sweet tooth, so I eat Goji berries, vanilla flavored Greek yogurt with raspberries, and Lärabars as treats. My guilty pleasure is organic chocolate covered almonds..soo tasty! I was introduced to lemon-flavored fiber soft chews, which taste like candy, but are actually (kind of) good for you as well as super fruit chews that have antioxidants. I also love smoothies and shakes, but I've lately started to give up on Jamba Juice or Robeks, since they have so much sugar. My new smoothie recipe is my chocolate-flavored protein shake (with 20g of protein in one scoop), almond milk, greek yogurt, ice and a spoonful of organic fresh peanut butter, and just use a blender to make it. It's the best! For drinks, of course a lot of water and green tea.

I buy most of the foods from Whole Foods and here's my usual "shopping list" for food:

The usual foods

I like to vary the greens and either eat a fresh salad, use veggies in an omelette or fry them on a pan or in the oven

I love the fact that you can get egg whites ready in a package in the US!

I could eat Edamame everyday..

I eat a lot of dairy and Fage Greek yogurt is my fav product, most similar to the Finnish "rahka"

I use raspberries and blackberries to mix with oatmeal or Greek yogurt

I take a small bags of almonds with me daily. An easy snack and fills you up for a while.

My "goodies"..Not so healthy, but better than processed foods! 

I could eat tuna everyday (the can kind), but since it's not good for you, I eat chicken too. Red meat I eat only when I go to a steakhouse.

A really good protein mix, fiber chews and antioxidant chews.