Trick or treat? How about a trick... for seeding pomegranates!

Happy Halloween!!! I remember one of my favorite things as a kid around this time of year was walking around with a piece of pomegranate, fingers and lips stained red from picking out the seeds and eating them. I thought it was hilarious because they were always in season around Halloween and it looked like my fingers and lips were covered in blood.... haha.

Here's a little trick for seeding pomegranates - no messy, sticky, stained red fingers and no yucky, bitter membranes mixed in with the yummy seeds.

Slice the pomegranate in half then take it apart and remove seeds while it is submersed in a big container of water. The juice from any seeds that pop will just go in the water instead of all of your hands and clothes, so less mess! And the seeds sink to the bottom while the white membrane floats to the top, so it's easy to separate!

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"One of my favorite seasons for fruits... Pomegranate season!!! Looks like blood... Haha. Happy Halloween!!"

Instagram: @margomangooo

Emergency lunch

I always have ridiculously busy weeknights and a lot of nights I'll get home late without getting a chance to prepare lunch for the next day. And I'll also wake up too late to prepare it. So I try to always leave healthy snacks and emergency lunch supplies in my office desk and fridge to prevent myself from eating out for lunch or even prevent myself from starving all day and end up binge eating a bunch of bad food at night... I usually try to make sure I leave some nuts, Trader Joe's instant miso soup, string cheese, yogurt, spinach, and salad dressing in my desk or fridge at work. My company also started providing healthy snacks for the office - usually fruit and granola bars. I try to always opt for the fruit since the granola bars have a lot of added sugar. I also like to keep a good stash of really yummy teas that I bring in from home (to have in addition to the teas my company provides for the office) because sometimes I'm not really hungry but I just have a craving to taste something yummy in my mouth - tea TOTALLY satisfies that craving for me. Btw, current tea obsession = Chocolate Yerba Mate, rose petal tea, and Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile mmmmmmmmm.

Anyways.... today was one of those days where I didn't have time to pack a lunch. Luckily, I have all my snacks and emergency lunch supplies in the office!! As I was leaving the house, I looked through my fridge and found a boiled egg to eat as my mid-morning snack and part of some leftover avocado to add to my salad. I also found an almost empty container of fat-free cottage cheese, so I added a spoonful of sugar-free jam to the container so I can have a protein-rich afternoon snack that will satisfy my sweet craving. I grabbed all of these quickly and ran out the door this morning.

Here is what I threw together for lunch!

Salad made of spinach (stored in my fridge at work), avocado (grabbed from home this morning), Trader Joe's hummus salad dressing (stored in my fridge at work), and some red chili flakes (I found one of those little packets of chili flakes you get with pizza that someone in my office had saved). I also had a reduced fat cheddar cheese stick (stored in my fridge at work) and some Trader Joe's instant miso soup (stored in my desk at work)

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Craving a giant salad. Yes, that is a serving bowl."

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Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Making whole wheat waffles!!"

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Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Meet Zoey. In her free time she likes to practice yoga."

Instagram: @margomangooo

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Packed myself dinner for the long night ahead.... Get off work, sit in traffic for 1 hour (prob more bc there's an accident), tae kwon do 1.5 hours, drive 30 min, taiko 2 hours... At least I have some good food to keep me energized! Spaghetti squash, olives, feta, green onions, oregano, chili flakes, red wine vinegar, and olive oil."

Instagram: @margomangooo

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Look at this sweetheart!!!!"

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Instagram: @margomangooo

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"I've been craving Cobb salad for some reason so Rommel and I made some to pack for our lunch. Except we added some whole grain mustard, no cheese, and substituted the bacon for turkey bacon!"

Instagram: @margomangooo

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Hahahaha this looks so disgusting but it's yummyyyy. And filling! 1 tbsp sugar-free mixed berry jam w 1/2 cup non-fat cottage cheese. 90 calories, 15 g protein, and TOTALLY satisfying my afternoon sweet craving."

Instagram: @margomangooo

Instagram: @margomangooo

"Made my own version of cinnamon toast crunch! Put TJ's whole grain shredded wheat cereal in a bag w cinnamon, Splenda brown sugar, and pecans then shook it up!! Had this for breakfast w Soy Slender vanilla (soymilk sweetened w Splenda instead of sugar) mmmmm"

Instagram: @margomangooo

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Wobbly and sore muscles from Bar Method = time for a super hot bath with B&BW Eucalyptus Spearmint bubble bath, B&BW aromatherapy candle in the same scent, and a cup of my fav peppermint tea - tastes like fresh peppermint leaves even though they're dried!"

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Craving dessert BAD.... Sugar-free vanilla ice cream, sugar-free caramel, pecans, and TJ's shredded wheat cereal"

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"Post workout meal after 2nd day in a row of intense Bar Method!!!: ThinkThin protein bar in the car on the drive home and a salad made of romaine, boiled egg white, avocado, red onion, a little bit of finely grated Parmesan, balsamic, and olive oil"

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Thanks for the lunch Rommel!!! Lovee you!!!! Mixed baby lettuce w boiled egg, fish cooked in a Greek herbs blend, and a little drizzle of olive oil yummmm"

Cute/funny fitness article: "Which Barre-bie are you? 14 classmates I always see in barre class"

http://blog.rateyourburn.com/blog/post/2012/08/30/which-barre-bie-are-you-14-classmates-i-always-see-in-barre-class-1.aspx

LOVE THIS ARTICLE. SO CUTE & FUNNY!

I'll admit I'm the "overzealous hip thruster" - probably my favorite part of class... I always crack up by myself because it looks like everyone is humping the sky... hahahha. plus in Bar Method it's your last little burst of a workout to get your heart rate up and keep you burning calories after class AND it's easier to push through the burn and force yourself to push yourself as hard as possible because you know it'll all be over soon!

I'm also definitely "the after picture." Not because I'm super in shape, but because I always make my boyfriend feel my muscles and he's getting annoyed... hahahaha. The quote in the little image "OMG! I CAN SEE MY MUSCLES!" is definitely me lol. And I agree that Bar Method has been a "gateway drug" to me for loving all kinds of fitness.

Weekend Indulging

As you can see by my instagram pics, I had and indulgent, diet-fail weekend... But I'm OK with it!

I've gotten to the point where I'm not exactly at my goal, but I feel ok about my body. All I want now is to be more toned and have a little less fat around my tummy area. But I'm ok with taking that slow and still allowing myself to indulge and enjoy myself once in a while because I really feel like I've made a lifestyle change. I'm now a workout ADDICT - when I absolutely hated exercise before... I would do it once in a while just because I knew it was good for me, but now I crave getting in good workouts all the time. And I feel like I always WANT to eat healthy now - not that I ate super unhealthy before, but I do try to still avoid refined carbs almost all of the time. If I do have carbs it will always be whole grains or natural sugars - I feel like this has already become a lifestyle change for me.

So I'm allowing myself to indulge as long as I prepare for it during the weekdays before by working out extra hard and being a little more strict about my diet. When I don't have anything big planned for the weekend, I'll still follow my diet and exercise regularly but won't be as strict about it as when I have big plans that will ruin my diet.

Goals for this week are to have a big salad for lunch every day - my boyfriend and I are going to make a huge batch of salad tonight so we can just grab a tupperware fill it up and fill it up to quickly prepare our lunch. I usually always prepare individual salads the night before which I really don't have time for then I'll end up not bringing a lunch when I don't have time... It's better to just prepare everything in advance so I know I will always have SOMETHING.

Also, I've been storing Trader Joe's instant miso soup packets in my desk at work. Perfect for when I don't have time to pack lunch. I'll have 2 servings of miso soup and some fruit and I'm actually pretty satisfied.

Workout plans for the week!
tonight: Bar Method then 2 hour taiko practice
Tuesday: Bar Method then Core Power Yoga Sculpt after that
Wednesday: Bar Method and either Turbo Kickboxing, Zumba, or some other cardio
Thursday: 1.5 hours of Tae Kwon Do practice after work then 2 hours of Taiko practice immediately after that
Friday: Bar Method and some extra cardio (haven't decided what yet...)
Saturday: early morning cardio and maybe some pilates at home... then BREWERY TOUR! this weekend's indulgence.. lol
Sunday: recovery.... hahaha... if I'm not too tired and have extra time after finishing all my errands for the weekend, I'll throw in an extra workout

I'm really liking my plan. Obviously my overall goal is to be healthier and to have a body I love, but it's nice to also have some short term goals as motivation - if I work extra hard, I allowed to have some fun :) Plus, I feel like if I let myself indulge once in a while, I'm less likely to fail overall!

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Finally trying Bruxie's! Was a little disappointed by their Liege waffle, but the chocolate filled Liege tasted better than the plain one (even though untraditional). I guess I'll just need to learn how to make awesome Liege waffles myself! We also got fried chicken waffle sandwich (ok) and the prosciutto gruyere waffle sandwich (yummmm)."
(taken at Bruxië)

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Worked out a lot this week and saved my calories for drinking this weekend hahaha. Found a yummy speakeasy bar super close to Rommel's parents house yayy"

Lunch: Salmon-Salad Sandwich

Here's a quick, simple lunch I put together early this morning before work:

I made a salmon-salad (like chicken-salad but salmon instead) by mixing canned salmon with a little bit of reduced-fat cream cheese, reduced-fat olive oil mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon pepper, and a little salt. I made an open-faced salmon-salad sandwich by topping one slice of Trader Joe's European Style Whole Grain Bread (the kind that's super thinly sliced and dense and all whole grains, seeds, and nuts that you can actually see... SUPER nutritious) with arugula, some avocado, and my salmon-salad! Yummy!!

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Attempting to make my injuries and the last of my sickness feel better w my fav ramen and okonomiyaki"
(taken at Tajima Japanese Noodle House)

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"I'm sick and my mom made sinigang! Perfect right now"

DIET FAIL

This weekend's festivities included too much diet-breaking food (but some of my fav restaurants sooo yummy) and too much drinking (again soooo good because we went to some of my fav breweries and fav bars). I think I got a little too excited that I got past my weight that I had plateaued at for a while.. Now it's time to get everything out bad of my system and get back on track!!! Starting this week I'm getting back  on my diet, starting my month of Bar Method (yayy excited to be doing this again), and drinking lots of Yogi Detox Tea :P. As soon as I get over this cold..... WAAAAAHHHH :(

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Oh why thank you my cute little car! Averaged 67.4mpg on my commute home today!! And there wasn't even traffic (usually get really awesome mileage in traffic)."

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Weee!!! @ks_malan22 "

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"Brunch and drinks at Craft & Commerce! FAAAVORITE restaurant and bar mmm"
(taken at Craft & Commerce)

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"Craft and Commerce allows dogs!!! Brunch and a punch bowl w flowers in it served in teacups. Pinkies up!!"
(taken at Craft & Commerce)

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"The highlands shopping center is so pretty now! We're at Champagne Bakery for brunch: smoked salmon w goat cheese crepes and eggs benedict on whole wheat baguette mmmm"
(taken at Champagne French Bakery Cafe)

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"PARTAYY!! Lol"

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"Enjoying my lunch outside today and loving the weather! TJ's chili lime chicken burger (patty only) w avocado; arugula w lemon and evoo; TJ's spinach kale Greek yogurt dip w mini heirloom tomatoes and TJ's whole wheat lavash chips; and Yogi seven berry antioxidant herbal iced tea"

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Ulta order finally fame in!! Sale on NYX and Revlon + a coupon = I couldn't resist. Plus seche restore bc my seche vite is getting goopy and some samples!! :)"

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Attention all tea-addicts: you NEED to try this tea!!! "

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Rommel and I are craving some dessert - HEY, we just did tae kwon do, circuit training, AND abs tonight... We're allowed to have an amazing but still healthy dessert!! Nonfat cottage cheese, bananas, pecans, all drizzled w a rich and smokey honey from a beehive that was in my friend's roof!"

Instagram: @margomangooo

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"Vegas planning w my fav cousin!! BFFs BAAHAHAHAH!! @ks_malan22 "

It's October!

I LOVE FALL!! I obviously grew up in San Diego my whole life because my view of fall is probably pretty different than what the rest of the country thinks...

Things I love about fall:
- pumpkin
- Bath & Body Works fall themed scents - wallflowers and candles, specifically. I love making my house smell all warm and cozy and yummy.
- the color orange
- Trader Joe's holiday themed items
- the weather in San Diego during the fall is gorgeous beach weather and all of the tourists are gone so it's not crazy crowded
- CHEESECAKE FACTORY PUMPKIN PECAN CHEESECAKE OMGGGG

Ugh... I love that cheesecake. I think when I have the time, I'm going to try to make a healthier version. Hopefully it will satisfy me. I DO always love pumpkin and pecans and cheesecake and yummy spices so hopefully any way I make it will still taste good!