My Favorite Sources of Protein

I stopped eating meat when I was 13. I've always been a huge animal lover and, growing up in the country, it was pretty hard to ignore the fact that the cute cows in the field were the source of my hamburgers!

One of the first questions people ask when they find out I'm vegetarian is "How do you get your protein?"

For years, I never really gave protein much thought and made the rookie mistake of simply omitting meat from my diet without replacing it so I wasn't getting the nutrition I needed.

Thankfully, that is such an easy thing to fix, especially these days when there are so many great vegetarian options out there. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite protein sources here!

P28 Bread

This is a relatively new find but I fell in love with it instantly!
I cherish every second of sleep, so getting up even few minutes earlier than I absolutely have to is just not going to happen. That means breakfast during the week is always eaten at my desk. A slice of this bread with peanut butter is my go-to Monday through Friday!







Greek Yogurt

I finally tried Greek yogurt for the first time last year and I haven't eaten regular yogurt since. I love Chobani but we don't have it here in Ottawa yet.  Thankfully Oikos is super yummy too!  I bring one of the individual portions to work every day to eat mid-morning, and lately I've been adding a dollop of the vanilla to berries for dessert.

 Simply Bars

 These are perfect for days when you're on the go. I usually carry one in my gym bag, especially on weekends when I know I'll be out running errands or won't be home for hours after my workout. These have a lot more protein in them for the calorie count than most bars, with 16g of protein for 150-160 calories. I haven't tried all the flavors yet, but so far I'm really liking the Lemon Coconut and Peanut Butter Chocolate.


Tofu

I know a lot of people are afraid to even try tofu but there is no reason to be! I love this stuff because it so versatile. Now, I am not a fancy cook, so I love just heating it in a pan until it gets crispy and then adding it to a salad or stir-fry. I've also started making "egg" salad with it, which is perfect for the summer.



How do you get your protein?
Any products I should try?

June Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It's Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day! 

Foodie Pen Pals is hosted every month by Lindsay from the  Lean Green Been.

This was my first time participating and it was really a lot of fun :) 

Jane from Jane's Adventures in Dinner sent me this really sweet package:

Included is a bag of real Italian pasta, a bottle of black truffle oil, and a great pasta
cookbook that includes lots of pictures :) I don't know about you but if there is no picture
next to a recipe I am not making it! Not that my cooking ever looks anything like the
picture in the book ;) There are quite a few recipes I'll be attempting sometime soon like these:

I was paired with Chelsey at Powerhouse Fit Foodie if you want to see what I sent!

If you're interested in participating next month, click here to sign up!

Here's some info on how it all works:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via
email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get
their mailing address and any other information you might need like
allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies
in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the
goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or
even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also
include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining
what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items
depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about
flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re
a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short
guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you
received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry
about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note,
Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've
determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to
send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice
versa.

Thank you Lindsay for hosting :) 

Half-Marathon #2 Training Plan

I'm officially back in training!  As you guys know, I'll be running my second half-marathon on August 18th, in Iceland :)

I've been running consistently since my first half in March so not much is going to change over the next few months, other than being more consistent with my long runs.

I based my first training plan on one generated by SmartCoach and it worked really well so I decided to do the same thing this time and came up with this:

Week	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
June 24 -30	Cross + strength	5 miles	3 miles (speed)	Cross + Pump	5 miles	Cross + Pump	10 miles
July 1 - 7	Cross + Strength	5 miles	3 miles (hills)	Cross + Pump	4 miles	Cross + Pump	12 miles
July 8 – 14	Cross + Strength	5 miles	3 miles (speed)	Cross + Pump	5 miles	Cross + Pump	10 miles
July 15 - 21	Cross + Strength	5 miles	3 miles (hills)	Cross + Pump	4 miles	Cross + Pump	12 miles
July 22 – 28	Cross + Strength	5 miles	3 miles (speed)	Cross + Pump	5 miles	Cross + Pump	10 miles
July 29 – Aug. 4	Cross + Strength	5 miles	3 miles (hills)	Cross + Pump	12 miles	Walk/hike (vacation)	4 miles (vacation)
Aug. 5 – 11	Walk/hike (vacation)	5 miles	3 miles (speed)	Cross + Pump	5 miles	Cross + Pump	10 miles
Aug. 12 - 18	Cross + Strength	4 miles	Cross + Pump	4 miles	Cross	Rest	RACE DAY

I completely avoided speed and hill work the last time because, well, they are just not that much fun in my opinion ;) But I figured a good way to ease into it would be to do one short run a week, alternating speed and hills.

I should note that I will be taking a rest day each week.  I just don't plan them in advance since I never really know what day I'll feel like I need it.  Running will be my priority, so I'll probably only be doing 2 days of cross and strength training a week.

I'm excited  to have a plan again! I feel like my first half was ages ago so I'm really looking forward to the next one :)

Did you train differently for your second half-marathon than you did for your first?

Do you plan your rest days or just take them when you need them?  

P.S. The ticket for BlogHer is still available so please let me know if you'd like to attend!  
(Click here for info)

BlogHer Conference Ticket - Saturday, August 4, 2012 (NYC)

*Updated - Ticket has been sold*

Hey guys,

A few months ago I bought a ticket for the BlogHer Conference in NYC in August.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend after all, so I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in purchasing the ticket from me. It's a one day ticket for Saturday, August 4, 2012.  The current price for a ticket is $149.00, but I paid $102.47, so I'd be happy to transfer it for that price or the best offer.  I have until July 1 to transfer it so please let me know asap if you are interested!

Check out this link for more info on the conference:

www.blogher.com/blogher-12?from=menu

Thanks!