Social icons

Namaste

1.31.2014
I found the perfect dress. It was $24 at Nordstrom Rack. I am taking a yoga class and it is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-12. I have classes after yoga until 4:15. Until today, all I have worn to those classes are yoga pants and puffy coats because I don't have time to get ready after yoga. I decided today to wear this little dress over my yoga top and pants. It looked like I had gotten ready, when all I did was throw that little zip up dress on to make it look like I did. Maybe I'm the only one impressed... and that's ok :)
Anyway... I am obsessed with Yoga. I like being one of the most flexible people in the class, and I know that it is only a competition between you and yourself... but I just wanted to take inventory of everyone around me so I could only focus on myself ;) For some reason my teacher never says namaste after class... I always feel like I'm in my zen mode and then she is like "thanks everyone for coming" and I'm like... WHAT ABOUT NAMASTE!!! So me and my friend are just going to look at each other and say it from now on ;) I like closure.
Everyone should go sign up for yoga. It changes people.

Namaste.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

1.30.2014

A girl needs chocolate and a girl needs cookies. Luckily I didn't have to give Chocolate Chip Cookies up completely with all of my food allergies. I love this recipe!! Notice that half of the pan is empty? That is because the dough didn't make it to the oven. I ate it before I cooked it... OOPS!! #Sorrynotsorry 
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons refined coconut oil
2 lrg eggs- I am allergic to eggs so I do 1/3 cup of water and 2 TBS of Chia seeds soaked for about 5 min. 
1  very ripe banana
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (liquid or ground vanilla)
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
-In a medium bowl mix the coconut flour and the baking soda together.
In a large bowl mix together the coconut oil,banana, eggs, and vanilla
Then mix the dry ingredients into the wet
Add the chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Got this recipe from THIS website :)


Butternut Squash + Carrot Soup {you're welcome}

1.28.2014
Like I said yesterday, this soup is my ALL TIME FAVORITE. I literally put in an early order before I go home to have my mom make this for me. I just think it is so delicious, and so filling! This recipe makes a lot, which I like because I like to save it and eat it throughout the week. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
adapted from the Williams Sonoma recipe :)

1 lg butternut squash (about 3 lbs) peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 lg carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces.
2 Tbs olive oil
Kosher Salt and Freshly ground pepper
1 lg yellow onion thinly sliced
1 lg granny smith apple
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups of chicken stock
2 fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 450º
Place squash, carrots, 2 Tbs olive oil on a baking sheet and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast stirring occasionally until brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

In a pot over medium heat, add onion, apple, cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and caramelized, 25-30 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add stock, and thyme sprigs. Decrease heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, puree apple-stock mixtures with roasted vegetables in blender until smooth; return soup to pot. Simmer over medium heat 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

This recipe also uses butter and half and half, but I don't eat either of those things, so I didn't add it in.

I made a new pinterest board of recipes I have tried and like as well. So if you are ever needing a recipe, those are recipes I trust and would recommend :)

Also, I have lost 3 lbs since my little journey began! That is huge for me. I haven't lost a pound in a year, so I was way excited :) 


On a monday

1.27.2014
Its a monday, which means it is back to the grind of living healthy and exercising :) I don't know about you guys, but for me it is always a challenge to decide what to eat and when to prepare it and such. So I am going to give you guys some ideas for meals. I will post what I eat and such to maybe give you an idea :) If that is just not up your alley, then I apologize. But I think writing it will even help me to remember a wide variety of meals.
Breakfast idea: Buckwheat {my go to everyday since I am allergic to eggs and oats, my two other favorite things to eat for breaky} I add chia seeds, coconut milk, half a banana, honey, cinnamon and unsweetened coconut if I have some :) It takes some getting used to, but it is delicious!!
Lunch idea: I usually eat left overs of whatever I made myself for dinner the night before. But today I grilled some chicken in olive oil with some lemon pepper, and an avocado (delicious combo!) and a pomegranate for dessert :)
Snack idea: My go to snack is an apple (Fuji and Green apples are my favorite) drizzled in honey and cinnamon. Basically, if a food tastes good with cinnamon I add it. I love cinnamon. Not to mention all of the amazing health benefits!! (banana with honey and cinnamon is yummy too :)
Dinner idea: Today I made myself Butternut Squash Soup. IT IS AMAZING! It is my favorite thing my mom makes when I go home, only eating it once every two weeks was not enough so I had to make it for my self :) I will share a butternut squash soup recipe tomorrow because it is my all time favorite.
I will keep these food ideas coming. If any of you have any questions about a recipe or about something that I posted, just write it in the comments or email me! I love the comments :)
Workout:
As well as eating healthy, exercise is also so important! And while it is important to listen to your body, here is what I did for my workout today.
Run .5 miles on a 7.5. Speed up to 8 on the last .1 mile.
Do 10 lbs X 21 bicep reps. half way up 7 times, then the other half 7 times, then all the way up and down 7 times.
Do a shoulder workout 10 lbs X 15 reps
Tricep workout 10 lbs X 15 reps.

I repeated that three times then did some abs and stretching. Easier day for me, but thats what I did!!
I hope that everyone is well.
Thank you for reading!! Love you all.
xoxo
kar

t w e n t y

1.26.2014

Yesterday was my 20th birthday. It sounds so weird saying that I am 20. I am no longer in the teens! What the. But anyway, last weekend I celebrated my birthday with my family which I posted about, and this weekend, my real birthday, I came home to go to a couple more Sundance Films with my sister Jaime. I had a very low key birthday, but it was so much fun. Jaime woke up and made me breakfast, then we went to a Sundance film called Fed Up which was about obesity in America. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE SEE THIS FILM!! After the film I went running. I tried to go 3 miles again, but since it was my birthday and I felt really tired, I only went a mile and a half... oops! After my run I met my sis at the gym to sit in the hot tub then go in the steam room. Amazing, except that the steam room kinda freaks me out. Only because I feel like I can't breathe. After that we made a healthy lunch with zucchini and vegetables. We decided what to do that night after I attempted making myself a black bean chocolate cake. I was so sad because it was completely ruined. IDK what happened, but it wasn't pretty. We went to Mexican, MY FAVORITE, for dinner, then came back and made acai bowls  (since I have been obsessed with them every since I went to Hawaii this summer and had 2 a day) instead of a cake for dessert. It was such a great day. Thank you Jaime for making it so special!

And thank you to all of you who read :)
xoxo
kar

Sundance Film Fest

1.25.2014

^^^ got my tea and I'm ready for my movie^^^
Perks of living in Park City. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Roommate Date Night

1.23.2014

Tonight I went with two of my roommates to a little restaurant in Logan called Le Nonne. So fun. Also so great that I could eat something there :) Grilled chicken and lettuce. I am pretty hesitant about going out becuase of all of my diet restrictions, but luckily I was able to get something there.
Tip of the day for people with food allergies who are going out to eat, look up the menu before you go so you can pick out what you will order and just double check that there is an option for you before you sit down :)
Also, why are my pictures all fuzzy when I upload them into blogger? ugh. Sorry about that! I'll look into it.

Thanks for reading!
xoxo, kar

Weekly Workout Schedule

1.22.2014
So I have never liked running. Ever. My family is full of crazy athletic people. My parents have both done more than one Ironman each, and my sisters have great endurance. I like to say that gene skipped me ;) Well... as I mentioned in yesterdays post, I am training for my first ever half marathon! It is in Hurricane (St. George) in April. I walked 13 miles over the summer in my Ralph Lauren shoes (ouch) it was a very lasttttt minute decision. But I did it. My butt was so sore the next day, but I did it! 13 miles is a lot, and I am really looking forward to the training for this race!!
I bet some of you are laughing at my time. 3 miles in 31 minutes. I know! But I didn't stop, (except at the street crossings) and I was very impressed with myself :) That was on saturday. My training schedule is to go up 1/2 a mile a week. So this saturday I will be running 3.5 miles. Last week I skipped from 2-3 miles cuz I was feeling good :) I went running today, but I just felt so tired! I ran a mile, then I did sprints for 3/4 of a mile. I am exhausted. But if this program doesn't whip my bootay into shape, then heaven help me because I don't know what will.

My weekly training program:
M,W*: Running. easier runs on M+W, Longer runs on Friday or Saturday depending. (cardio day)
T, TH*: I have a yoga class on T+TH, so I do an hour of yoga, then I go to the gym later that day to do weights. (basically an all strength, upper, and core day)
Friday and Saturday are always mixed up. I try to do my long run day on friday, but if I can't do it that day, then I do it saturday. I run half a mile more than I did the friday or saturday before. I improv on whatever day I don't do my long run. Either hiking, walking, yoga video, ice skating... whatever it is.
*I always stretch after my workout. I am obsessed with stretching. I am trying to be as flexible as I once was!
Sunday is my rest day. Thank heavens for that :)

I try to hike at least one day a week. But that usually only happens when I am home in Park City. Unless any of you Logan people are into hiking?

I love working out guys. I live in my Lulus. What would I do without them? IDK!!!

I hope that you all have a great workout today :)
xoxo

(disclaimer: My workout program has been made by my trainer, my kick butt mother, and sister who workout for a living)

My life changed on 12/26/2013

1.21.2014

Read on if you are interested.

I have been having stomach problems for about 5 years now. Bloating, feeling uncomfortable, sharp pains etc. I have seen various doctors that tell me to keep a diary of the foods I eat and what makes my stomach hurt… basically, they were no help and wanted me to figure out what I could and couldn’t eat. It started getting so frustrating. I went about diagnosing myself. I started cutting things out of my diet to see what helped and what didn't. The first thing to go was dairy (this was about 5 years ago) It helped for a while, but then I realized I still was having stomach aches. So I continued to eat dairy thinking that it wasn't my problem. A few years later (I know, it took that long) I cut gluten out completely. This was June of 2013. I felt really good and kick A$$ for about a week, but realized that a week later my stomach aches came back and that I would get bloated and my stomach would cramp up even though I was still not eating gluten. I felt extra discouraged because now it wasn’t just the dairy or the gluten, there was something else I was missing. So a few months later I cut out dairy and gluten altogether. Again, I felt great for about a week. I actually had a flat stomach, for about that whole week. Something that with the way I was eating should have been inevitable for everyday. But wasn’t. Not to mention the fact that I was working out everyday. Nothing too strenuous, but enough for me to be frustrated that my diet was paleo for the most part, and I have weighed the same exact weight for 8 months. Even going off gluten for 5 months I didn’t lose one single pound. I wasn’t eating any gluten substitutes either. I also stayed away from rice and oats. Basically was off all grains.  I realized that this was not normal and that something must be wrong with me. Or maybe I didn't know how to diet? Anyway, I went to the doctor in November only to find out that I was "perfectly healthy". When I knew in fact that that was not possible because of the way I felt every night when I went to bed. I asked my gastrointestinal doctor to check my thyroid because he took my blood and was going to run a bunch of other tests. He did. My test results came up and I had another appointment with that same doctor only to find out that my Thyroid indeed was fine. 
I left that appointment feeling like there would be no cure to whatever it is that I had. I worried for my wedding day and the fact that I will most likely feel bloated and uncomfortable just like every other day of my life. It really made me worried that I would never be able to cuddle with someone on the couch and feel completely comfortable. Obviously that isn't the only bad part. I would go to school at the beginning of the day with pants that fit perfectly and are even a little loose on the waist (my favorite thing) to come home at the end of the day with my pants completely undone because my stomach felt so bloated. This had become a daily occurrence. I planned my outfits around the way I knew I might feel at the end of the day seeing as 98% of the time, that is how I felt. 
I got a call from my dad saying that he got an opening with a doctor who heals a lot of people who have stomach issues. I made and went to an appointment and answered a ton of questions, he took my blood and I was on my way. Two weeks later I had an appointment (December 26, 2013) to discuss my results. My mom asked me if I wanted her to come with me and I responded saying that that wasn’t necessary because they are probably not going to find out anything helpful, and they will tell me I’m perfectly healthy. That was honestly what I thought I was going to hear. My doctor came in the room saying "we found things we expected, but we did find something that we didn't expect" I felt a sense of relief. No matter what it was I wanted them to at least know what was wrong with me. That day I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Hashimotos. It is in fact my thyroid gland that is the problem. (I'm ready to go back and yell at the doctor that told me my thyroid was normal). After all this time I felt like it was my fault that I couldn't lose weight, even though I live a very healthy lifestyle. My doctor also informed me that I am allergic to wheat, milk, corn, almonds, peanuts, oats, and soy. 
Luckily for me, my cure is vitamins and a very strict paleo diet that doesn't include any of those food groups. 
I am on week 4 of recovery, and I still feel a little off because I know that my body is ridding itself of the toxins. But I feel really optimistic about what the next little while of my life holds as I figure out what my body can digest and what I can't. 
Keeping up with Kar is going to turn into a journal of my progress and how I feel and how I hope to overcome Hashimotos disease. I am definitely still learning about it. But I am already feeling more in tune with my body than I have in years. I will share recipes of foods I eat, my workout regimen, and my progress. I am training for a half marathon in April then I head to Switzerland in June, so I want to be in top shape for those two big events in my life. I also hope to understand more of what I can and can’t eat by then.
If any of you have insight on anything, I would love to read comments and things like that.
I will be better at posting because I finally know now what I want to make KUWK! Don't worry, it wont just be health. I still want to post other things too.
This is exciting guys. I am feeling really positive about this!!

Relentless Pursuit

1.20.2014
I made this for my typography class. I used nails and embroidery thread. How cool is the word Relentless? I love it for some reason. I used my high heel to hammer all of the nails. It ruined my shoe, but what do ya do? My dad has a saying "relentless pursuit" I think I am going to adopt that as my mantra. Anyway, who knows what I'll do with this board, but it definitely is cool to look at!
I hope everyone had a nice holiday!!

Sundance Film Fest + happy early birthday to me.

1.19.2014
Diane Kruger is 4th from the right, and to the left of her is Seneca from the first Hunger Games!
 The Director is on the far right. 
In line to see Better Angels. 
I ordered a steak for the first time ever.^
We rode the city bus home. You would not believe the traffic in Park City. Also, our ride feel asleep so...
I am convinced that my birthday week falls on the best week of the year. Sundance Film Festival. It has been my families tradition to do dinner at Sundance Foundry Grill for the past 5 years or so. This year we decided to make reservations on Main Street so we could be more involved in all of the action of the film festival. We had dinner at Mustang. I ordered a steak and fries you guys!!! I am pretty sure that last night was the first time ever that I ordered a steak. And let me tell you... It was delicious. Perfect splurge for my early birthday celebration.
We went to the world premiere of the movie Better Angels. It was a movie about Abe Lincoln's childhood. It was honestly beautiful. The cinematography was unreal. After the show they had a Q&A session and brought up the actors. Diane Kruger was there. She is like a modern day Audrey Hepburn. She was a Ballerina for the Royal Ballet in London. She has the prettiest German accent and she was just so elegant. It was so cool to hear her side of the film and the process. Robert Redford was sitting on the same row as my sister, mom and I. So that was awesome.
I love the film festival. It is so cool to see people follow their dreams and make these documentaries. Can't wait to come back to Park City next weekend to see a couple more films! I hope everyone has a great long weekend!! Nothing better than a sunday night knowing you don't have school in the morning.
Copy Right Karli Marie 2014. Powered by Blogger.