Thursday, July 26, 2012

Good Deeds

I am a huge believer in good deeds and random acts of kindness. I am both a frequent giver and lucky receiver of good deeds. I saw this journal in Chapters and I LOVE this idea. It has a good deed every day to do and a little space where you can write notes about your good deed.



Such a great idea! Some of my favourite good deeds to do are:

  • Look at www.flyerland.ca for printable coupons, and print off extra. That way when your shopping somewhere you can give one to the next person in line. Also, if you get a coupon for whatever off your next purchase, give it to the next person in line.
  • Make a meal or baked goods for someone
  • Give someone a compliment
  • Write a message on someone's Facebook about how awesome they are
  • Tell someone a joke
  • Leave a quarter in the shopping cart for the next person
  • Bring your co-worker a coffee. Mine did this for me a few weeks ago and it was so nice. I really needed that coffee! So I brought her a cookie last week.

There are many more ideas in this book and on this website!

What are your favourite random acts of kindness?

xoxo,
Taren


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Guilt Free Ice Cream! It does exist!


Ice cream makers are one of those appliances that I really felt like I didn't need. Ice cream isn't exactly a healthy treat and wouldn't having one at home just tempt me to create ridiculously delicious and sugar inventions and completely derail me from keeping my bikini bod?

That was my line of thinking until my fave healthy food guru Kristine from Busy But Healthy posted this recipe. Hmmmm....protein powder ice cream? I love protein shakes, and I love using protein powder in recipes. The more I thought about it, the more I became obsessed with the idea. Even more than ice cream, I LOVE frozen yogurt. I could make frozen yogurt from high protein, fat free Greek yogurt!

So I began my search. ice cream makers are not cheap, and I'm glad I kept looking and didn't spend 70 dollars, because this one from Superstore (President's Choice brand) is awesome and is currently on sale for 22 bucks! It will pay for itself by skipping a few trips to Dairy Queen (Leigh's fave) so definitely worth the money!

I gave it a whirl last night with the cinnamon roll protein I talked about in my last post and it was great! I just threw in 2 scoops of protein powder and 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk! It comes out like soft serve, but you can pop it in the freezer if you like harder ice cream. Basically how this machine works is the bottom part goes in the freezer (I'm just keeping mine in there so I can be ready to make ice cream anytime) for about 24 hrs, then you fill it with the ingredients, attach the little paddle and put the lid on, hit the switch and let it work for about 10 minutes. It's super easy! I can't wait to try more treats and I will post them when I do!

Highly recommend getting one! What better way to stay or get lean than making your own ice cream with the same nutrition as  a protein shake?

xoxo,
Taren

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Current fave healthy treats!

I'm always on the lookout for new things to incorporate into my diet. I get insanely bored with the regular diet stuff!  I'm lucky working in a supplement store, because I get to try new things all the time. So here are a few of my faves (some are supplements, some are food!)

This is my new favourite protein powder. I first tried it at a trade show and scored some free samples. I knew it was amazing tasting from the little tiny cup from the trade show, but I didn't really get around to trying it until a week or so ago. Let me tell you, this stirred into steel cut oats = wicked breakfast. I feel great when I eat oats but I am not really into the taste, this makes it awesome! Available at my work, of course.



This little guy is also available at my work and it is AWESOME! I have used this for so many things. It's basically just a natural flavouring, like sweetened cocoa powder but even better. It's sweetened with stevia and it's all natural with no preservatives or artificial crap! I use it for microwave protein pudding, protein bars and shakes. Totally kills the chocolate craving!


I haven't seen this in Canada yet but I picked them up in the states because they are sweetened with Stevia. I am a total Splenda addict so I am trying to branch out and get used to the taste of stevia. These aren't totally clean, there is still some artificial flavouring though. I want to make a homemade lemonade recipe, so I'll be doing that soon.

I totally randomly saw this at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. Let's just say the jar is half gone. Not just from me, my hubby has become addicted to PB&J sandwiches with this. Only 7g of sugar for 2 tablespoons and it's natural so a good sweet treat in my opinion.

There you go, some of my favourite new food finds! Have you found anything amazing in your local grocery store lately (or supplement store!)?

xoxo,
Taren

Thursday, July 12, 2012

My new goal!

One of the things that helped me get into shape was having a goal. It was a little different than most goals I've set, because I had signed up (and paid) to do this competition. I had told everyone at work, at the gym, and all my friends and family that I was doing it.
However, just as important as having a goal, is eating clean and exercising as part of a daily lifestyle. That part is harder for most people, myself included. Without the prospect of walking on stage in a tiny bikini, my workouts and diet have been a lot more lenient. And you know what? I really don't feel that great because of it. I feel tired and lethargic and a little less confident than the weeks leading up to and after my competiton.
So it's time to take the things I've learned from this competition and apply them to both a regular healthy lifestyle and a new goal.

What I learned was:
  • My body LOVES healthy food. Eating oats, egg whites, lean protein, brown rice and clean protein smoothies - my body changed every single week and I felt great!
  • Cheating once a week is the key to diet satisfaction. Every time I eat something that's not "clean" 95% of the time it's not worth it. When I have my cheat meal and dessert once a week, it's much more enjoyable because I earned it! 
  • Working out gives me so much more energy than not working out. In the months leading up to the competition, I was go go go all the time, I fell into bed every night with satisfaction that I kicked butt that day, and I want that feeling back.

So, here is my new goal. I want to build more muscle in my legs to make them leaner. What I really wanted to do in my photoshoot before the competition was wear these:

Lululemon Run Speed Short

But when the time came, I just didn't feel comfortable and I know why. I was only building muscle for a few months, I just need more time to work on my legs. So that is my new goal. I will do a photoshoot around my birthday in October, wearing SHORTS!

So that's my goal. Guess I better get to work!

xoxo,
Taren

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Embrace Summer

It's been summer for a few weeks, but the weather just recently turned nice in Vancouver. Do you ever get that nostaglic feeling for summers when you were younger? They seemed so effortless, didn't they? It made me realise as an adult you have to make a concious effort to embrace summer, embrace every season as it comes really. It's too easy to stay in your office, come home and watch TV. You have to make an effort to do all those things that make summer awesome. For the rest of the summer, that's what I'm going to try to do. Enjoy it while it's here, no matter how tired I am after work or how little I feel like driving out to Kitsilano or somewhere fun. I made a list of all the things I want to do this summer and I'll blog about them as I go. I've finished a few already (the ones I've crossed off)



Here it is:

  • go to the drive in theatre
  • have a picnic
  • go to the beach
  • watch the sun rise
  • roast Marshmellows
  • have a barbeque
  • drink sangria
  • go camping
  • read outside at the park or on my patio
  • make granita
  • go to the zoo
  • go swimming in a clear lake
  • walk at rocky point
  • make a fort
  • go to Kelowna
  • go to Pentiction
  • go out on a boat for the day
  • visit Clayburn Village
  • visit Fort Langley
  • visit Kitsilano 
  • visit Deep Cove
  • rent a Canoe
  • go shopping with the girls
  • go on a hike
  • fly a kite
  • go to PNE
  • go to playland
  • go to stanley park
  • go to the aquarium
  • watch fireworks
  • go to the flying feild with Leigh
  • go to the driving range
  • go to theatre in the park
 What am I missing from my list? Let me know if you have any great summer activities.

xoxo,
Taren