Hey guys! How was your St. Patrick’s Day? Lots of green food I hope! I began my morning by going to the Farmer’s market with my class (our end of quarter field trip). We bought all kinds of delicious, university paid for food. Gotta love this school! Of course the Farmer’s market had all kinds of wonderful things. They had the most amazing looking avocados, although I didn’t buy any. I will definitely have to go back more this spring! After getting back on campus, we had a feast. It was awesome. I cannot wait for peach season though. I sampled all kinds of citrus, which was great, and I enjoyed it, but nothing compares to fresh peaches and nectarines. Dinner was quite festive last night. My mom made corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Since I don’t eat red meat, I had some rotisserie chicken. Corned beef is one of the only red meat products I miss. Also, I don’t know why my family only eats cabbage once a year; we all love it!I topped my chicken with pesto. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do that just because it is green. HOWEVER. Notice that little red sauce in the upper right corner? Guess what that is? Homemade ketchup! I LOVE ketchup, and I eat it with a lot of types of meat. So if I want to do any type of Whole30, I need some ketchup without sugar, which is nonexistent at the store. I used this recipe from Spoonful of Sugar Free. I love Alex’s blog; I am always looking for delicious recipes without sugar! I liked this recipe, and my dad loved it. In the future, I might try it with a little less vinegar, just to see what it is like. It’s a winner though! 

After dinner I made a smoothie.Banana, coconut milk, cocoa powder, and a touch (and I mean a touch) or mint extract. I learned my lesson! it was just enough mint to not really taste minty, but to be refreshing. I’ll take it!

Before I get to anything from today, I just wanted to address some blog issues. I wanted to apologize for the slightly (ok sometimes a lot) depressing/negative nature of my posts as of late. This whole sickness thing can get me pretty down, but I swear I’m normally a super happy person! I want this blog to be a fun place, without negativity. And this blog will become a fitness blog again soon, I promise! I’m planning on some normal exercise this week, and boy, I cannot wait! I also wanted to clarify why I’m going to attempt a semi-Whole30. I figure it is a good way to get more nutritious foods into my diet, which is super important for me to get to feeling 100% faster. Plus, my liver function is kind of off so reducing sugar is pretty important! Also, I think it will be a fun way to try new recipes and experiment with new flavors. Although eating Paleo is generally pretty meaty, and things should get interesting when my vegetarian sister comes home! The current plan is to try this strict Paleo thing for 5 days, and then reevaluate this Friday night where I want to go from there. And given the possibility of a gluten sensitivity, I don’t need anything else putting me to sleep! With that in mind, here’s today’s lunch (brunch?).Leftover chicken, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots. Plus mashed avocado and mango salsa for the chicken. The avocado took some of the kick out of the salsa, which was a relief! I also ate a mango, which I WAS planning on photographing….

Ok, now to the meat of the post. I’m sure a lot of you guys have been seeing stuff about the Liebster Award going around, and since Brittany gave me a shout out, I figured I’d take this opportunity to let you guys get to know me a bit better. I mean, I talk a lot about my life, but not really about myself. I’ve never really done any surveys or anything, so hey, why not!

Random Facts About Me

1. I love to read, but I seriously cannot read any books during the school year. It’s fine for a few chapters, but as soon as the book gets exciting, I CANNOT put it down. Note: Reading an entire book on your phone in a day is a bad idea. You will likely walk around in a daze and squint a lot.

2. I really want to study abroad, probably in Chile. I loved studying Spanish in high school (and I love Spanish music), so it would be awesome to improve my Spanish. Plus, they have penguins. And who doesn’t love penguins? 

3. I love avocados. I sprouted 2 avocados pits almost a year ago (my babies are growing up!) and now I have 2 beautiful avocado plants!They’re much bigger now, but I don’t really have any recent pictures. And they’re not too photogenic right now. After much stress (as any concerned parent would feel), I learned that in cooler climates avocados drop their leaves in winter. PHEW. But they are my babies and they live in my dorm, weather permitting (one wasn’t getting enough sun inside).

4. I hate talking about myself. Hence why I probably have not done any surveys yet. But I have a blog….hmmm….

5. One of the main reasons I wanted my own healthy living blog was because the whole community seemed so awesome, and I wanted to be part of it.

6. My dad reads every single one of my posts, usually right when I post it. WHich begs the question, how often does he check…?

7. I am the hugest Giants fan. I watched about half the playoffs last year on my phone between classes. #dedication

8.I love celebrating holidays and going all out. I love traditions. And I am dying to do a Turkey Trot.

9. That being said, I take Thanksgiving very seriously, and try to do everything to maximize food intake (morning run, tapering meals in the days up to, wearing expandable clothes).

10. Last year I gave myself frostbite on my foot. In the middle of spring. In California. Apparently I left the ice on a LITTLE too long. I’ll spare you guys the pictures (you’re welcome). It was really embarrassing to not be able to practice (softball) because of this. In 70 degree weather. 

11. Hair is my 4th greatest fear. All my friends know this. I absolutely CANNOT STAND those hairs that seems to be left everywhere from shedding. This is possibly the worst part about living in a dorm. Black hairs in the shower (shiver).

Questions that I am stealing from Brittany:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I haven’t really seen too many movies lately, so I have no idea what modern-ish movie. I mainly watch TV shows (detective ones mostly!), so I’m going to take the Disney cop-out and say Aristocats.  Or Sleeping Beauty (hello, Princess Aurora!).

2. What do you do as soon as you walk in the door after work/school?

In theory, this should be take a nap. But let’s be honest. It’s all about the food.

3. Do you put your toothbrush in a drawer or in a toothbrush holder?

A drawer. But I don’t know that I like this situation. It doesn’t seem very sanitary….(I guess I forgot to mention that I’m a bit of a germophobe!)

4. What vegetable do you love? Hate?

I love brussels sprouts. And avocados. And sweet potatoes. I find it amazing that a lot of people didn’t have veggies that they hated. Don’t get me wrong, I love veggies. But I hate cucumbers. And green peppers. I’m coming around on red peppers, but it will be a while before they fall into the “love” category.

5. What is your favorite go- to outfit for a saturday?

Definitely shorts and a T-shirt. Let’s be honest. I’m not going anywhere interesting.