Recovery and some new health foods!

So sorry it has been a LONG time since my last blog. I haven't had a lot to update about until now.

My recovery from my stress fracture has been SLOWWWWW but making good progress finally. This is the 6th week of recovery and I took a very short (3 blocks) jog on Sunday night and about 2 miles of walking. I was a bit nervous about this but I really wanted to see where I was at. I truely wanted to run more but I don't want to mess up what I have healed so I held back. It really felt pretty good. My legs were sore the next day a little but no pain. I think this weekend I will try a little run with a lot of walking again.

On the weight loss, just still sitting here. I am trying to get my act together in this. I do really good for a few days and then I slide back, get depressed and cave in to my cravings. I know this will be a life long problem for me and I MUST keep postive and stop letting food control me. I have been following a wonderfully inspiring woman named Carolyn, who I met on Sparkpeople.com Carolyn's latest blog . She has been eating clean and has lost over 100 lbs!!!! She is such a positive woman and very strong. I read her daily blogs and her journey of being the best she can be, to keep me going. I have been trying to eat more "clean" foods eat clean's web page . I also have been following another friend and AWESOME workout instructor at my local gym. Her name is Mandy and here is a link to her blog Mandy's Blog . She has wonderful new ideas on food to try and great inspiration as well. Mandy gave me a name of a health food store that she has shopped at in a town that we both shop at (not where we live....in the small towns). I was going to this town this last Monday and decided to stop in Vita-Villa (in Salina) and see what they had. I was specifically looking for Chia seeds and Quinoa that you can not find in our local stores. WOW I could have spent a LOT of $$$ in this store of things I wanted to try but I kept myself contained the best I could.

Here we have it! Going from left to right...the little bag of what looks black are the Chia seeds. here is an article on what Chia seeds are. In short they are a super food for runners. They absorb liquid and help your carbohydrates to burn for a longer period of time helping you have better endurance. I have read on MANY blogs of ladies I follow and are runners as well use these sprinkled on just about everything. They don't have much taste but will absorb the taste of anything you put them in and will even form a gel in about 30 minutes if you let them sit.

The second item that is white, chopped coconut. I LOVE coconut and wanted to gets some unsweetened to use in different snacks...even smoothies. Speaking of smoothies I have GOT to buy a new blender soon. I so miss having smoothies. It is on the top of my shopping list the next time I get out of town.

The 3rd item in the yellow and blue bag is Quinoa. This is an awesome seed that looks like a grain. It is high in protein, calcium and iron and also has vitamin E and several B vitamins, amino acids, lysine, cystine and methionine-amino acids. This is used like a rice or filler in so many foods such as stews, soups, etc.

4th item is Sea salt which is much better for you than your regular table salt. It is all natural way to season your foods.

5th item I decided to try som herbal teas. This store had SO many different types of tea it was unreal. I decided to go with a sampler back to see if I would like any of them. I am a coffee drinker with cream and sugar, but I am willing to try something new to give me something different to drink other than just plain water. I am going to crack the addiction of Diet Pepsi YET!! So far of the tea I tried the lemon zynger this morning. It was good but not sure I will go running to it everyday. This sampler has chamomile, lemon zynger, wild berry zinger, peppermint, and sleepy time.

6th item is the all natural peanut butter. This has a great taste with much less sugar than your regular peanut butter you buy. I got the already stirred version. I have bought the natural peanut butter before that would need to be stirred each time you wanted to have some and it was just a pain and a mess. I like this with an apple or on some celery as a filling snack.

Last but not least the Larabars . I have seen these on other blogs as well as on the Biggest Looser. I LOVE a good health food granola or bar as a snack too. I bought 4 kinds (yeah only two left now) lol. I have tried the banana bread and the chocolate chip cookie dough so far...YUMMY!! I still have the carrot cake and peanut butter chocolate chip left. I will be buying these little babies more for sure. They are all natural and are around 200 or a little more calories. Great alternative to the cravings of a sweet treat in the afternoon that I get.

I hope to get some recipes for the Quinoa to try in the next few days. I will take some pictures with the recipes to share with you. I am going to try and take more pictures and track what I am eating to share with you and to keep me on track.

What is your favorite snack?? Have you tried something healthy and new lately?

I will be hitting the gym this afternoon for some weight lifting and cardio. Have a great rest of the week!