I Should Have Done a Healthy Travel Series

Date: January 31, 2017

Author: astottler

Another weekend, another cross-country trip.

I really should have turned all these weekend trips into some kind of “healthy travel” series. Seriously. This weekend’s destination? The Boston area.

Because I’m gone SO much, I’m really trying to fit workouts in where I can, and maintain healthy eating habits (because if I don’t I will not feel too good…).

My flight Saturday morning left at a very sane time, so I didn’t have to leave for the airport until 9am. There were no Crossfit/spin classes early enough, so I went to the gym to do my own thing. I actually really like these workouts. I actually love the no-cardio lifting workouts, where there is no time pressure and I just work on what needs work. Because I deadlifted at Crossfit the previous night, I did squat day. I want to spend more time focusing on my power lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench). We’ve been doing sets of 20 reps for squats at Crossfit, but only at 60-75%. I wanted to try to work a little heavier than that. I worked by way up to 165# for doubles, which is heavier than I’ve been lifting lately, but still not that great for me. I did 4 sets of 2 at 165. I need more time with some heavier weight on the bar, that’s for sure! Then I did some accessory arm work: 3 sets of 8 single arm press (while kneeling on a knee) with 25# and 10 tricep dips. I finished it all off with abs via a Blogilates video. Abs, another thing that has been neglected lately!

A side note: I think my body is starting to feel the 3 teaching spin classes a week because I feel like I’ve been WAY hungrier than normal. Friday night, right as Crossfit was starting I got hit with that intense hunger despite eating normally all day. Huh.

I made myself a quick protein smoothie+Cheerios post-workout. I always try to squeeze in nutrients where I can because you never know what you’re going to end up with! Smoothie: frozen cherries, milk, cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder. Current fav (plus we’re out of frozen bananas).

I always pack plenty of snacks for the trip. I packed lettuce+hummus+a hard boiled egg to eat on the plane, as well as a few leftover roasted carrots. I was going to have that with crackers, but ended up passing a place at the airport with lots of delicious looking vegetables, so I picked up so butternut squash and brussels sprouts salad.

We were lucky enough to get a nonstop (FINALLY), and arrived in Boston around 8:00pm. I’ve been anxiously monitoring the weather, and was happy to realize my 2 jackets from the plane were sufficient!

On the way to the hotel, we stopped at Panera, where I had my usual half Fuji Apple Chicken salad, plus some gluten free crackers that I brought.

We stayed at a Doubletree, as Doubletrees give you free, warm, delicious chocolate chip cookies. Sadly, I’m allergic to them (nuts) so I ate a granola bar in a sad attempt to replicate what I was smelling.

Sunday morning, my dad and I both started the day with a 3 mile treadmill run. After that, we headed to the hotel’s breakfast buffet, which was a nice one. I had a few bites of egg and potato, and then had Chobani yogurt with Cheerios and fruit.

Then, it was time to explore! The temperature was definitely manageable.

We stopped in the nearby town of Worcester. The pronunciation of that is so silly to be. Apparently about half of the letters are dropped!

We stopped at Wormtown Brewery to sample some local craft beer. We both tried Pumpkin Ale and Pilsner.

Afterward, we drove into Boston, to Quincy Market in search of Wicked Good cupcakes.

Lunch first though! There was tons of lobster and crab! I ended up getting lentil soup, a Greek salad, and rice pilaf. Sadly, it was far more food than expected so I didn’t finish most of the salad or rice.

Sadly, the cupcake place was out of gluten free. My dad tried a chocolate sea salt caramel cupcake though, and said it was pretty good.

Cupcakes in a jar—isn’t that fun?

Then, we were off on the streets of Boston.

We went to the Boston Tea Party ship and museum. I saw it on the map on the way in and it looked interesting.

We were all given feathers and backstories, and I thought my dad’s was hilarious:

We started with a “town meeting” for some historical background, and then went out to the ship to learn more and toss some “tea” into the water.

After, we headed into the museum to see some reenactment videos, more history, and part of one of the original tea boxes that was salvaged.

It was an interesting tour, and a fun way to kill an hour in Boston. Upon exiting, we found ourselves in the bakery/cafe, with the most amazing smell of chocolate chip cookies. Imagine my delight when I saw this:

Finally, what I had been craving all trip! I got some with tea (of course).

The sun was going down and the temperature was dropping, so we made the trek back to our hotel and had dinner at the restaurant there. I had a kale salad with roasted butternut squash, chickpeas, and chicken.

And then got to enjoy leftovers from my pack of cookies!

Monday morning hotel breakfast was similar: yogurt with cheerios and fruit, plus a bit of eggs.

Lunch was a catered Chipotle burrito bowl, with plenty of guac.

The best part of the day?

Obviously.

Finally, it was time to head for the airport. We grabbed some food to eat on the plane. I got a salad with goat cheese and some kombucha, and ate it with crackers.

Other plane snacks included a protein bar, smoked salmon jerky, cheerios, and an apple. When we arrived home around 10:30, my mom had some vegetable soup waiting for us.

But more importantly, she made a mini gooey butter cake! If you recall my St. Louis adventures, gooey butter cake is a St. Louis classic. She made a version with GF flour. This was a little different than what I had in St. Louis, a little less gooey and more custardy than sweet, but was still delicious!

And now my friends, it is back to temporary reality. I’m home for a whole 2 days, which includes teaching a spin class and taking a final, before I’m off on my last (albeit long) adventure! My final trip takes me to 3 eastern locations, and lasts 10 days. Stay tuned as I freeze my face off!

Another Day, Another Time Zone

Date: January 17, 2017

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I’m finally home after another whirlwind trip across the country. In that week, I was in 3 timezones. I figured I should catch up a little bit on here.

Thursday was my first day teaching spin for the quarter, and I taught both a noon and a 5:30 class back at my undergrad university. It was weird being back, and hanging around campus that afternoon. There are a bunch of new dorms, and things are slightly different! It felt good to be back to my classes too. Both were either full or nearly full!

I brought chocolate milk to drink immediately after the 5:30 class, but even with that I felt like I was struggling to make up the calories all night. My body needed more calories than my stomach could fit! For dinner, we made a stir fry using a ton of our CSA veggies. I don’t know why I don’t do stir fries more often!

Friday morning I was up at 5am to get a quick workout before my flight to Knoxville. My legs get really achy after sitting for so long if I don’t move a little bit in the morning. I did some quick weights: 4 sets of 4 deadlifts, going slow on the way down, at 155#, then 4 sets of 6 single leg squats and 6 pistols. I finished with some weighted planks. In and out really quickly!

I packed leftover stir fry for the plane, which was perfect. I had a 45 minute layover (both ways) so there was lots of running through the airport. My flight from ATL to Knoxville ended up leaving a little bit late, but I finally arrived in time to drive down to Market Square and eat a Subway salad.

Not a bad view from the hotel!

Luckily I didn’t have a terribly early morning. Check out this view!

I found that I knew my way around Knoxville just enough to be frustrated that I was constantly getting lost. I had the same issue this summer: Google Maps does not get along well with Knoxville.

Once my morning activities were done, I headed to the gluten free bakery hoping to snag a gluten free biscuit, but as I suspected, they were long gone. I settled for a delicious GF quiche. I can’t even remember the last time I had quiche.

I spent a few hours relaxing in the hotel. I forgot how many emotions I had attached to Knoxville, and all this travel has been sort of exhausting. Finally, I headed out for a 3ish mile run.

I cleaned myself up and then headed to Market Square for dinner. I was within walking distance, which was so nice! I always feel so awkward eating by myself, but I wanted some actually good food so I decided to sit at the bar and watch football. I started with a Lager.

And then got a cranberry kale salad with feta and rotisserie chicken. So good.

On the way back to the hotel, I picked up a durable looking toy for the psycho pup at a cute little pet shop.

Back at the hotel, I watched more football and snacked on some carrot cookies (which I packed), and a Klondike bar. I don’t think I’ve ever had one!

Sunday morning I was up bright and really freaking early. 5:30am EST. I made it to the airport and back home on my flights no problem (with some airport running, of course). It was weird to arrive in SF at noon! Since I’m becoming oh so familiar with the layout of SFO, I took a detour to another terminal while waiting for my bag to pick up the BEST GF cookie, chocolate chip sea salt. SO GOOD.

For dinner that night, we made spinach and goat cheese bisque.

And with that, another trip was done! I finished booking all the details of my next couple of trips, and to be honest, my head is spinning. I’m excited but exhausted to think about it! Thankfully, I have a free weekend until I’m off to Boston!

I’m So Happy I Started My Blog

Date: August 8, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hello! I’m supposed to be working on my vet school apps (story of my life right now), but the kitty in my lap is making things difficult.

I’m not sure why I thought blogging would be any easier?

Vet school apps have me doing a lot of reflecting. I’ve changed so much in the past 4 years, and it’s really hard for me to remember who I was back then and what I was like. Having my blog is invaluable. I’m so glad I started it during my freshman year. It’s taken me all the way through college, through so many changes. It’s just incredible to have all that documented. Plus, having my original thoughts on why I wanted to go into veterinary medicine, in real time, is super helpful as I write my essay. With new experiences, things change, and it’s really nice to be able to go back to my roots. I also feel like when I’m blogging, my posts are more raw and authentic than when I’m actually writing. My essay was feeling really stiff, so I sat down, in wordpress, and typed up a blog post reflected on my vet experiences. I can’t post it for privacy reasons, but it was a great exercise.

In a similar vein, I discovered a whole bunch of pictures from high school and middle school that I’ve never seen before. I thought my most awkward years were undocumented. That is not the case. Why did I think bright yellow sweatpants were a thing??

Actually, going through the old pictures was super interesting, and I think there needs to be a post about all that at some point. And don’t worry, some embarrassing pictures will be included.

I found one picture from 2011 that I feel like perfectly sums up who I was then.

Softball glove. Cat. That’s all ya need.

Last night, we made my fig and goat cheese salad, with the fig bounty from the farmer’s market.

This morning I went to Crossfit. It was hard. I took one look at the workout and knew it would be a rough one. For the strength, we worked on cleans. I worked up to 110#, which is not close to my 1 rep max, but the heaviest I’ve gone since my foot injury, and all felt good!

The WOD:

30-20-10

thrusters (55#)

pull ups

Here’s the thing. In the past month, I’ve stopped using a band for pull ups, and have been kipping. But everything has been in smaller sets. I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do a set of 30. (This is of course with breaks in between some of the reps, but it’s not the same as a full recovery). I didn’t even get a band out because I figured I would dive in and not give myself a way out. And here’s the thing. Thrusters make anything after thrusters feel way harder. I broke my first set of thrusters into 15 and 15 to avoid burning out right away, and then attacked the pull ups in 5s, so doing 5 and then coming off the bar, and coating myself with chalk. Honestly, I think grip strength was a major factor here too. But I got through the set of 30. Then 20. Then 10. I finished as a chalk monster with jelly arms, but accomplished! Seriously, chalk on my forehead, chalk in my hair, chalk on my shins. I though it was going to take me forever, but somehow it was only 13ish minutes? I don’t think I’ve ever done that many non-banded pull ups! While having a stress fracture stunk, there is always a silver lining. I could not have done this a few months ago. Even when things get rough, you have to look for the positives, and hold on to what you do have!

Post workout breakfast was my current go-to. Plain Greek yogurt with sunbutter, cinnamon KIND granola, and a peach.

I spent the rest of the morning working on my app, and then made the same fig and goat cheese salad for lunch. Real talk: 2/3 of the figs didn’t make it into the bowl. I love figs.

Also-Something kind of fun. We tried grilling watermelon last night! I still don’t know what I think. We have a charcoal grill, so it was a really smoky flavor. I made a mint/honey glaze for it. The watermelon felt like it should be savory. I think I liked it best with a little salt, a tiny bit of glaze, and goat cheese.

Have you ever grilled watermelon?

Coming Home

Date: August 3, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hi friends! It’s been a little while. I’m home for all of 3 weeks, and it’s going to be a little bit of a vet school app bootcamp here. I’m struggling a little bit with the flow of my main essay, so I’m hoping this blog post is a nice little warm up to get my creative juices flowing!

Let’s catch up! I’m back in California. But let’s take it back a little bit for some food+fitness+life, shall we?

Tennessee Food

I finally improved the appearance of my new favorite breakfast a little bit. It’s just a sunbutter+blueberry sandwich, soaked in 1 egg white and then baked in tinfoil! Super easy and delicious, and the egg adds a little kick of protein. I ate theses with copious amounts of watermelon.

There was a Wednesday night Farmer’s Market with tamales. I had a delicious sweet potato tamale the week prior and was hoping for another one, but I was on the later so so cheese was my only option. Still delicious! On the side was one of the weirder things I’ve eaten. I sprinkled salt, pepper, and garlic on lettuce leaves and then dipped them in guacamole. It was just too much lettuce…

I’m a pretty big fan of Publix now. It was the closest grocery, and had lots of great healthy+GF options. And gourmet yogurt. This and the bananas foster yogurt was delicious!

I had one last honey lavender iced latte at K Brew while finished up the first draft of my essay!

Tennessee Life

On my last day, I got off pretty early. It didn’t take me long to decide what I wanted to do. I went to Ijams one last time for a little hike by the river. I took a slightly different trail than the previous time and explored some different areas.

And then Saturday I was homeward bound. What is crazy? There was literally no line going through security in Knoxville. As in, I was literally the only person.

California

My favorite cookies ever happen to be at one of the places in the SFO terminal. I was hoping the entire 5 hour flight that 1. I would happen to pass it and 2. they would still be open! It turns out, the place was right by where I exited security, so I picked up a spicy cinnamon GF cookie. I think I preferred the non-spicy version I tried previously, but this was the only option.

To be honest, it feels weird being home, especially the first day or two. I feel like I was worlds away, and came back a different person. I had so many new experiences in Tennessee, and I did so much in a short time. To be honest, I’m glad I’ve moved on to new things instead of moped around about how I was going to miss my undergrad. At first, I didn’t feel ready to go to TN so soon after graduating, but I think it was for the better.

Sunday, I dove right back into things. First, I went to a spin class at the local studio. Then, I made amazing banana bread. I used my tried and true recipe, and separated it into two halves: one plain, one with raspberries and chocolate chips.

For dinner that night, I was back to the soup+avocado toast grind. Butternut squash chicken soup.

That evening, I met up with my college roommate for the Panic at the Disco+Weezer concert. I’ve grown particularly obsessed with Panic over the course of the last year, so when I was able to make the concert work given my travel dates, I was excited! Honestly, I could care less about Weezer. I probably haven’t listened to them since middle school, but liked them well enough then.

It was a great show, but we had seats on the lawn so unfortunately we were pretty far back. I haven’t been to many concerts lately, but the concerts I’ve been to I’ve always been able to be closer to the action. Maybe next time!

I enjoyed Weezer as well, and found I knew more songs than I realized.

In terms of workouts, I’ve been going back to my home Crossfit. We tend to do more barbell movements there, and I’m already feeling this morning’s workout! For strength, we did back squats. It was supposed to be 5 sets of 3 at 90%, but since I lost a ton of strength with my foot injury, I did 5×5 at 70%. I’ve squatted some since my injury at the TN Crossfit, but it was pretty low volume. So I’m going to be feeling this. The WOD was also a heavy one: 15 Min AMRAP of 10 hand release push ups and 5 deadlifts, which I did at 155#. While my squats may have gotten weak, my deadlifts have progressed because it was one of the few movements I could do for a while! I made it through almost 12 rounds.

I also went back to teach spin on Tuesday! I’m subbing as much as I can in the few weeks I’m home. I saw a ton of regulars, which was just so fantastic.

Screen Shot 2016-08-02 at 3.49.06 PM

And finally, wrapping up some food for the week.

When my roommate came, she brought a ton of AMAZING peaches! They don’t last a long time because they’re perfectly ripe, so we’ve been eating them like crazy. No problem for me! I had a peach+nectarine for breakfast the other day, with a side of banana bread.

Yesterday I had a cappuccino with a really delicious cranberry oat bar to fuel an essay brainstorming session.

And finally, the best thing.

We made Brazilian Cheese Bread! I got the idea from Alison. It’s made with tapioca flour and cheese, and is naturally gluten free. I used this recipe. They came out beautifully, and it was a super fast recipe!

We served them alongside Grilled Peach and Goat cheese salad, which was amazing with the fresh summer peaches.

What have you been up to??

I Feel So Fit

Date: July 17, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hello! It seems like I’ve only been popping in on weekends, doesn’t it? I don’t have much to share about my weekdays; in terms of food, I’ve basically been having the same thing every day anyways!

I have a few scenes from my run. I made it 2 miles! That’s the farthest I’ve run since my stress fracture, and while it felt good, I don’t think I’m quite ready to go further yet.

So why not another weekend recap?

This weekend my parents came to visit! Which of course meant we got to eat lots of good food!

Thursday night, we met in Market Square and went to Trio. I got the Trio salad, with added roasted chicken. The salad had portabello, brie, and blueberry balsamic. Their chicken was super tender and delicious as well!

We then went to Rita’s for frozen custard. I went with chocolate and vanilla swirl.

Friday night after I got off work, my parents picked me up and we headed back to Market Square and hit up Cafe 4, which had been on my radar.

I had a really delicious salmon, beet, and goat cheese salad. My family also split cheddar grits. I love grits!

For dessert, we split a slice of flourless chocolate torte. I’ve actually been super impressed with the gluten free options in Knoxville. A lot of menus have things labelled.

We walked around downtown a little bit before calling it an early night. I definitely didn’t get enough sleep the previous couple of nights, and was feeling it!

Saturday morning, my parents slept in while I went to Crossfit. The workout was a partner AMRAP. It started with a 400m run then:

29 Minutes

7 burpees

13 goblet squats

19 sit ups

8 pull ups

7 box jumps

And no, I really don’t understand the numbering scheme. My partner and I switched off rounds. I am so impressed with how much my foot has improved in the past 3 weeks. I can do pretty much anything now. On Saturday I did 20″ box jumps for the first time (I had been doing 16″). For my burpees, I’ve been stepping back and forward. On Saturday, for the first time I started stepping back and lightly jumping forward! (It might be a while before I slam my foot into the ground by jumping back). My pull ups have also drastically improved. Now, I just do the WODs without a band for pull ups. Without questioning it. I didn’t do most of the sets unbroken, partly because my hands got slippery on the bar, but I did do one set of 8 continuous pull ups. A couple of months ago (or less), my max was 4! I felt really strong and fit out there during that workout. Since coming here, I’ve stopped babying my toes to bar and pull ups, and I’ve realized both how strong they really are, and have seen them get stronger. I feel really good, and really fit out there in my workouts. And I finally feel healthy, like a whole (non-fractured) person. That being said, don’t ask me how fit I feel when running! Still working my way back into that…it’s not easy to get back into, but I’m putting zero pressure on myself, and I have zero expectations.

For brunch, I took my parents to a gluten free bakery/market. We all had egg and cheese biscuits (although theirs had bacon).

After lunch, we drove into the Smokey Mountains.

It was a tad rainy. We got out at the head of the Appalachian trail to hike, and ended up getting back into the car and staying there for a little while while the worst of the storm passed.

It was pretty cool to be hiking there. Only 2,000 miles to Maine!

The scenery was beautiful!

It was a great afternoon trip. We DID the Smokies! (As my mom said!)

For dinner, we headed to Market Square yet again to try another restaurant on my list, Tupelo Honey Cafe. This was recommended to me by somewhere I went to Physical Therapy with when I was working on my foot!

We started with spiced and and grilled Okra, served with buttermilk ranch.

For my main meal, I got a side salad with Tupelo Honey Vinaigrette, and corn soufflé. The soufflé was delicious, and I would love to try and recreate this at home!

We got back on the early side, so once at my dorm I began laundry and Facetimed my college roommate. It was so good to catch up with her, even if the signal was sketchy! It’s amazing how much there can be to share about just a few weeks!

The next morning, I let my parents sleep in (West Coast time) while I went to a spin class. HELLO cardio. In terms of exercise, Crossfit has been my method of choice (and really my only option) for the past few weeks. I lost most of my cardio endurance with my broken foot anyways, so it’s been a little rough! I’m subbing spin classes the week I get back to California though, so I need to get it together a little bit!

I actually made my own lunch while cleaning up and throwing in some more laundry. it involved avocado toast, watermelon, and BBQ chicken over salad.

We met up again so that my mom and I could get pedicures. Mine were looking rough—I am pretty bad about my my nails. I tend to get a pedicure with my mom about once a quarter, and then leave that polish on until the next time. It had been extra long this time because my foot was too broken for a pedicure! I went with deep red.

Afterwards, I kidnapped my parents to help me work on my vet school apps. We went to K Brew, my favorite coffeeshop here, for Lavendar Honey Iced Lattes. (Yes, they are as good as they sound.) I have a pretty good idea of what I want to write my personal statement on , but we brainstormed a few more ideas. I think for my writing process, I need to get it down in a low stress, relaxed environment, so I’m hoping to find somewhere nice to hang out next weekend and get started on it. Everything feels slower and more relaxed here in Tennessee, and I know a return to the Bay Area is going to feel like a sack of bricks to the face.

We headed to Panera for an early dinner of a Fuji Apple Salad for me. Love that!

Then, it was time to say our goodbyes!

Thank you guys for coming to visit!

(Also—how crazy is this. This was my entire tank. That would take me 300 miles. In the Bay Area, $15 gets you like 2 drops of gas…)