healthy pumpkin bread | Fitness is Sweet

Guess what? I have my first test of vet school on Monday. As a result, this has been a very study-heavy weekend. I felt fairly caught up on the material, so it was a leisurely study day. I actually like studying, especially when it’s not stress-studying. I tried to keep things fresh for myself today, and take some much needed study breaks. Let’s dive in!

Breakfast:

I started my morning before 8am at my favorite coffeeshop, and had a decaf cappuccino and GF blueberry muffin while reviewing my notes. After almost 2 hours, I switched it up and headed over to Starbucks where I sipped on mint tea and continued working.

I took a break around noon and headed to the gym. I’m restarting my squat program. My goal is strength maintenance. We don’t do back squat strength much at Crossfit here, so it’s good to sneak in a day of my own lifting. I finished my strength work with a little conditioning, sit ups and double unders. Guys. My doubles were AWFUL today. I don’t think they’ve been this bad in years. I could string like 2 together….last week I strung like 40 together. Um, excuse me? My left forearm got whipped to death, and I think I even managed to bruise my elbow. So frustrating.

For lunch, I made my usual weird salad with turkey, cheese, guacamole, and ketchup, and had some crackers.

After lunch, I got back to studying on the couch. Rina decided to join me, and as the day wore on, it became forced studying because I couldn’t disturb her nap and the only thing within arm’s reach was my study materials.

Somewhere in there, I had a NuGo bar as well.

Around 5:00, I took a break to go to a vet school fundraiser at a local brewery. Such a great study break. Delicious hefeweizen!

There’s nothing better than sitting outside with a beer in the summer. I needed the break and the human interaction. I feel like today I was sort of in a mood because coffeeshop hopping made me REALLY miss St. Louis and the amazing time I had there last fall.

For dinner, I microwaved a veggie bowl with beans, kale, tofu, and rice, and topped it with cheese.

Then I got to work on my evening activity! I’ve been on the verge of going pumpkin crazy for a while. (It started with an embryology lecture…apparently association is very strong because I took a developmental biology class during the fall a few years ago.) It was time.

I decided to make my healthy pumpkin bread, which is technically pumpkin banana bread, so it’s sort of easing myself into pumpkin season. Wow though, this recipe is amazing. Better than I remembered!

I ate a piece of dark chocolate while whipping everything up.

I swirled in a mixture of whipped cream cheese, maple syrup, and a shake of cinnamon.

Somehow I didn’t eat the entire loaf, and that’s an accomplishment!

Well, it’s back to studying for me!

Who’s ready for all the pumpkin??

Today’s topic is going to be a bit on the touchy side. Plus, we’ll do some food catch up because I like to actually call this a food and fitness blog, right? I’ll intersperse the food to keep us all entertained!

It’s no secret that I haven’t been blogging as much lately. Partly it’s time. My work schedule has been pretty crazy this summer, and when I get home I have no energy to crack open my computer. (Sidenote-these past couple of days of blogging, I’m reminded of how much I enjoy putting words on the screen and creating something, when I have the time and energy to put in).

(Blueberry banana bread remains one of my favorite healthy pre-workout snacks.)

But at the same time, I feel like I’m running out of things to contribute to the world. Maybe my own healthy habits are waning (definitely true), maybe I’ve moved on to other topics of interest, but lately I’ve felt that I’ve already put everything out there that I have in me to contribute. I’ve been blogging for two and a half years now. My life is so different now than it was then, and I’ve had all kinds of life experiences in between. My blog viewership has also changed quite a bit, not specifically in terms of numbers, but I feel like I have a different set of readers now than I had 2 years ago.

I also used to be better about commenting on other blogs. I still read other bloggers’ posts, but I never seem to take the effort to leave a comment anymore. Maybe the quantity of blogs I read now is higher, that my quality as a reader decreases.

(Panini on a gluten free ciabatta with basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, mushroom tapenade, and a sprinkle of truffle salt. Side salad: balsamic vinaigrette, crumbled feta, dried cherries).

At the same time though, I feel like there are so many blogs out there that have grown stale. Not to be putting anyone down at all, but I’m just not enjoying reading the posts of some of the big bloggers who started it all anymore. I guess after reading hundreds of posts over several years, things kind of blur together to be and the posts seem repetitive. There are so many blogs these days, that how much information is left to gain or be given out?

(I made my pumpkin banana bread and sprinkled cinnamon cream cheese on half. It’s never too soon for pumpkin.)

Maybe I’ve just become so set in my workout routine that there’s no time to try new things or workouts I find online. Maybe I don’t cook as much as I used to, and don’t get the same inspiration. Maybe I don’t have that “healthy living” spark anymore. Maybe my passion is faltering, and maybe I haven’t put enough effort into my health lately to have the energy for these things to excite me.

The healthy living blog world exploded as a result of some key bloggers, but does anyone else feel like it’s dying a bit? Other social media platforms are starting to take over, partly as our population’s attention span decreases. Instagram, vlogs, twitter. Is this the future of the healthy living world? Quick inspiration? Or has everything that there is to say on the topic already been said?

(Still obsessed with this lunch. Side of Vans Gluten Free everything crackers.)

What can I say or write about to inspire myself and others? What can I contribute to an internet that is already so crowded with the thoughts and ideas of others?

(Chicken noodle soup and a cheese pupusa. Pupusas are my latest obsession-cornmeal exterior, stuffed with anything from cheese and spinach to kale and pinto beans.)

I hope to post more soon. I think my blog posts tend to be better when they are a more regular thing. I also want to talk about some vet stuff and let you guys know what is going on in my life now and in the future.

Tell me-are HLBs obsolete?

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