Dear future husband,

There are a few things I think you should know about me.

You should know that I don’t have a lot of free time and feel the most fulfilled when my weeks are full. I’m lucky to have multiple jobs that I love and challenge me in different ways. My career will always be a high priority to me and I will always crave the ability to make a difference in someone’s life. I will regularly want to talk to you about the ideas swimming through my head and hope you share in the excitement of any little win I might have.

When I do have down time I’m probably getting my sweat on. I spend a lot of time working out and get a rush out of pushing my body. This also means that my body just about always hurts in some ways. I can’t remember the last time my legs weren’t tired or I didn’t have to regularly pop blisters between my toes. This also means I usually smell and rarely have clean hair past 8pm.

I hope you like vegetables because we’ll be eating a lot of them. Like, vegetables at every meal a lot. Your arteries will thank me one day.

Oh yeah, all of that exercising, crazy work week, long distance running really hurts my social life. So I hope you aren’t hiding out in a bar somewhere, because there is really no chance I’ll meet you there. You should also probably loose any expectation of a booming social life. Sure there are post-run beers after races, but I’d probably prefer to spend weekends with friends over a low key dinner.

My family is crazy but would do absolutely anything for us. They are the most loving, kind people I know (and I don’t just mean blood relatives). But they will also make me insane some days. The one thing that I’ve learned from my parents is complete acceptance, flaws and all. I’m sure their marriage wasn’t always easy, but they don’t try to change the other person. They live their own lives but make compromises when necessary. And so, while I might live a crazy, sweaty, exhausting life, know that there will always be plenty of room for you and I want you to share in all of these adventures.

xxoo,

Your always sore, kind of smelly, loving wife

My two weeks on the Conscious Cleanse are over and I’ve reverted back to eating chocolate, eggs, sugar and coffee. While I never achieved that amazing, weightless feeling some cleansers describe, there are definitely some benefits to this cleanse and I noticed a few changes in my body.

My biggest take away is how good my digestive system felt. The process of combining foods outlined in the conscious cleanse has made a huge difference for me, specifically not eating protein and grains together. I ate leafy greens at every meal and plan to keep up with this. I realized I don’t need a lot of complex carbs, like quinoa and rice, in a day. I like carbs in the morning and can stick with veggies and protein for the rest of the day. I do need more carbs after a few days of intense workouts and after long runs, but packing my diet full of simpler carbs like fruits and vegetables has definitely helped a lot of my digestive issues and significantly improved how bloated and heavy I feel after eating.

I broke myself of a bad snacking habit while at work and significantly curbed my sugar cravings. Sure, I still want the sweet stuff but the mental “oh my gosh I need chocolate” after lunch and dinner is totally gone. I also haven’t baked in three weeks, my waistline is thankful for the break.

I did loose a little weight over the last three weeks. This is definitely a combination of stress, working out 7 days a week (sometimes twice a day), and the overall reduction in calories. Weight loss was definitely not my intention for doing this cleanse but cutting out sweets definitely cuts back my weekly calorie intake. Plus, it is really hard to over eat when your diet consists of at least 75% fruits and vegetables.

I did not participate in either of the purification weekends. I knew that wasn’t going to work for my lifestyle and was afraid of becoming really calorie deficient during the two days (Saturday and Sunday) when I am most active and have my long run. My biggest compliant is that it is really hard to plan nutrition far enough ahead of time on the cleanse while maintain a high activity level. I realized I rely on bars a lot for a quick 200 calories before a run or the gym after work. I’m still trying to figure out what I can eat that will settle in my stomach. (Hard lesson learned about smoothies with apple and celery less than an hour before a long run.)

Will I do this again? Yes. It’s a good way to check in and clean up my diet. There a certain principles that I’m going to keep in my day to day life. I liked that this is a whole food cleanse and not totally radical like going raw or vegan or just consuming liquids for two weeks. Sure it was challenging but not unmanageable. It’s also a really good mental exercise. I realized I had very few food cravings that were real. Most were something in my mind, like “oh it’s 8am, I want some coffee” or “Hmm that piece of candy looks good.” I miraculously survived the two weeks without either, and realized I don’t really need the caffeine in coffee but do like the taste (and social aspect) of it. I love that my mornings start with a green smoothie and have adapted that as a lifestyle change. My favorite smoothie combo right now is greens, pear and cinnamon. I love that it has warming spices that I’d normally have in my morning oatmeal.

Pear Cinnamon Smoothie

• 1 handful mixed greens (I like “power greens”)
• 4 romaine leaves
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 pear
• 1 medium banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 date (optional)
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 1/2 cups coconut water (or plain H2O)

Blend away!

If you’re interested in trying the Conscious Cleanse the next supported session begins June 1st! For more info and to get signed up checkout the Conscious Cleanse website: http://consciouscleanse.com. Use the code RFCC613 for 20% off! If you don’t want to make such a big financial commitment the book is just as helpful and provides great insight. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Disclaimer: My good friend Holly hooked me up with a free cleanse experience in exchange for blogging my experience, but the opinions are all my own.

It’s day eight of my vegetable binge and probably due time to clue everyone in on all my instagraming.

Holly introduced me to the conscious cleanse back in February and hooked me with one line: “I did notice my bloating go down significantly (like, really significantly) and saw abdominal muscles that I hadn’t seen since most likely elementary school.”

Done. Sign me up. I bought the book on Amazon immediately. I read through the first few chapters and realized this cleanse isn’t all that different from my current diet, but does eliminate some of my staple foods: corn, eggs, sugar, and coffee. After a week on this cleanse that focuses on whole foods I can say that I’ve consumed more greens that I probably do in a month. I don’t really miss coffee but I do miss rice Chex and chocolate. I’ve broken the rules by eating tomatoes and having a kombucha. And I’m still waiting for my abs to magically appear.

Here’s what a typical day on the cleanse looks like for me:

Breakfast: warm lemon water, green smoothie

Mid-morning snack: brown rice porridge or gf oatmeal

Lunch: salad with baked chicken or fish, or pureed vegetable soup

Afternoon snack: fresh fruit, small handful of nuts

Dinner: Roasted vegetables with either quinoa or more chicken/fish

Before bed: more warm lemon water

I’m peeing a lot, pooping green, and trying to figure out how to sustain myself with a full time job and daily exercise routine. I can definitely tell the days when I don’t consume enough calories for my normal level of activity. Next time I’d probably opt to do this after a race and not during training. But it really hasn’t been that hard or big of a shift from my normal diet. I’m definitely experiencing much less bloat after meals and will try to sustain certain pieces of the cleanse after we finish. Although I’m pretty sure my first meal post-cleanse will be gluten-free pizza and ice cream. And then I’ll just say goodbye to whatever abs might have magically appeared.

Prepare for me to over share to a public audience.

I have a crush. On a boy. Normally, this wouldn’t be a huge deal. I have a crush on the 18 year old cashier in Whole Foods because he remembers the last time I was in the store, can recognize when I just came from yoga (maybe that tells me something about my appearance?) and asks me if I did any crazy poses that day. I have a crush on the bartender at the Local who noticed that my shoes matched my phone (I rock leopard). These men I can talk to with little to no issue. But this new crush turns me into a stammering, shy 16 year old girl who can barely look him in the eye let alone form a complete sentence. I turn to jello. Go weak in the knees, blush instantly, and feel butterflies that I didn’t know could exist.

The problem with crushes is that mine are usually poorly timed or do not come to fruition. And sadly, this seems to be the case again.

So while there will likely never be a gluten-free eating, marathon running, tall, dark, and handsome man to come into my life again, those butterflies will lie dormant with the hope of being triggered.

What does this story have to do with zucchini bread? Absolutely nothing. Except that I did attempt to win over this new crush with baked goods and this bread would’ve been a darn good option (blueberry banana muffins won out).

Maybe the moral of this story is in indulgences. That sometimes it’s worth the risk to overindulge information, to share pieces of our hearts, if it might possibly free us. And when that doesn’t work, there are always baked goods.

So go ahead and indulge in a piece of bread on my behalf. I recommend slathering on cashew butter and sprinkling the top with cinnamon. Because what else is a girl to do?

Time is not on my side right now. I had the best of intentions to post this awesome paleo zucchini bread recipe last week. But between working 13 days in a row, two a days, and attempting (read: failing) to maintain a social life, things are falling behind. The recipe will get posted as soon as I rescue any pictures from my camera. Until then we get back to our regularly scheduled programming, I’m hoping that everyone will take a second to help one of my Richmond blogger friends.

Shannon (aka Thirsty Richmond) is probably one of the coolest, most fashionable gals I’ve ever met. She happens to be the sister of Christian Siriano, so that might help, but shes racking up even more cool points by starting her own business. Shannon is one of the founders behind Boho Cycle Studio, Richmond’s only fitness studio specializing in and dedicated to indoor cycling. Now, you guys know I love me some cycle class. And while this studio is sadly not opening in Charlottesville, I am hopeful that they will bring me on as a guest teacher, let me ride for free whenever I want, and then open a studio here in Cville.

But these gals (that’s right, it’s a business owned and operated by two women) need our help. Boho Cycle Studio has been entered in the Richmond Start-Up Competition and they need your help to get to the finals! Voting is open at 9am, March 26-28 and you can vote once per day.

I’m pretty sure my diet has primarily consisted of soup for the past 5 weeks. This little tidbit was brought to my attention at work when one of my co-workers mentioned that I’ve been making a lot of soup lately. Nothing like being called out by my team.

This soup obsession is real and I don’t think I remember how to cook anything other than gluten-free muffins/bread. Granted, it is (was?) winter and cold. And I work somewhere around 60 hours a week between two jobs. Soup = multiple meals that can be microwaved.

But, of course there is a story behind this week’s soup recipe. On my full Saturday shifts at lululemon I only go to Rev Soup for lunch. I don’t know why, its just my thing. For whatever reason, Rev Soup was jammin’ on Saturday. I patiently waited to order a bowl of Caribbean Sweet Potato soup (coconut milk, black eyed pees, sweet potatoes, onions, kale, tomatoes), but of course as soon as I walked up to order one of the workerbees came out and flipped the sign. No soup for Alex. It was like living in a Seinfeld episode. I was less than thrilled to have to go with my second choice (lamb curry) and mulled over the thought of coconut milk and sweet potatoes for the rest of my shift.

Apparently I fixate on foods I cant have, because I promptly decided that I’d make my own soup out of spite.

I’ve never been to the Caribbean, I doubt they have butternut squash or kale there, and I forgot to soak black-eyed peas but whatever. The joy of cooking is knowing I can do what I want.

Let’s just hope my coworkers don’t stage a soup intervention. Sorry for making the office smell like curry three weeks in a row!

I seriously love lemon. Every day starts with hot lemon water. Lemon slices are always in my water bottle. Lemon bars, lemon muffins, lemon meringue pie, I’ll take it all. Minus that pesky wheat flour.

I’m trying my best to adapt a lot of my favorite old recipes into paleo versions because then I can justify eating a dozen almond cookies in two days (almonds are health food! there is no white flour in these!). So these muffins combined all of my favorite things, lemons, almonds, and fresh blueberries.

Don’t worry, I wont tell anyone if you eat the entire pan at once. Thats the whole point. Protein and fruit, practically a complete meal.

Charlottesville, I have some big news if you haven’t yet heard.

We FINALLY have a vinyasa studio in town. And it is awesome. Actually, awesome doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Opal had a soft opening on February 14th and a whole lot of yogis spent Valentines day opening their hearts together. The studio is now up and running with classes 7 days a week with flexible times throughout the day. The schedule is available online and is continuously being updated with more classes! The class rate ranges from $13-15 for a drop-in and varies by the length of the class.

Karen Thomas has created a space that is inviting, airy, bright, and most importantly fun. The list of instructors is seriously impressive. These women bring passion, skill, and love into every practice. You will feel challenged and open to reaching new heights. Their gentle assists keep all students in alignment and provide variations for new and more advanced practitioners.

 I took a class with Kiki Hocking (one of lululemon athletica Cville’s AmBADASSadors) that lived up to all of the hype. First, Kiki posted a preview of the nights playlist. That’s right kids, there is no silent yoga in this studio. The beats will pump you up and make you wanna dance, which you are encouraged to do. I’ve only recently started taking yoga classes where music is played and its kind of life changing. I love the solitude and challenge of a classic Ashtanga class. But having music that is both recognizable and that has some amount of meaning to me changes my practice. I feel more accepting of where my body is in that moment. The thoughts of internal competition melt away and I really can just flow.

What I loved most about this class (and many of Kiki’s) was the reminder that this is a place to play. It was my expression of the practice. I’m still working which is the basis behind yoga… There is no perfect practice or pose, only movement towards a new level. Remembering that along with a feeling of comfort to at least try poses, and play, got me into arm balances for the first time. Opal will be my space for freedom and expression in yoga.

So get yourself to Opal for some yummy Vinyasa. You’ll leave feelin’ the love, both inside and out.

You read that title correctly. Just go with me on this one.

I love tomato soup. Like really love it. Always have, although my preference from age 2 to about 22 was Campbells. And now in my sophisticated mid-twenties I’ve moved up in the world to homemade. And by homemade I mean purchasing canned tomatoes in the middle of winter.

There is one major problem with tomato soup. It is not filling. Ever.

Sure the soup is usually just a vehicle for melted cheese on crispy bread, but it would be nice to actually think that I was eating more than just glorified hot tomato juice. And so one sleepy Sunday I had a stroke of genius to turn my standby pasta sauce recipe into soup.

Consider this my souped-up soup. Yes, grilled cheese is still a required accompaniment.

Weird, random, bolognese sauce in soup form. Yes, this is totally the result of having little food in my fridge and the dire need for a real meal for the first time in a week. But it hit the spot and actually made me full. And did you know that tomato juice is a great recovery drink for athletes? So let’s call this my post yoga recovery soup instead.

They saw art imitates life, but sometimes so do recipes.

I made a raw cheesecake two weeks ago to take to a friends house for dinner but little did I know how similarly I’d feel that night. Raw.

Six hours before dinner I found out that my boyfriend had cheated on me with girl who would also be at the same dinner. The shock and hurt is something that doesn’t need to be described. But what I learned from this experience is the need to stand up for myself and to take control. I sat through nearly most of the dinner without any indication of the secret I knew because I truly believed that this man needed to see just how small this town is and just the type of woman he crossed. Maybe this is should be called Confrontation Cheesecake because that is precisely what happened after the plates were cleared. I faced the issue weighing heavy on my heart and let go of a toxic relationship. And while I wish this cheesecake had a better memory associated with it, it made a reappearance this week in smaller quantities perfectly accompanying a glass (or two) of red wine.

To the next man that I welcome into my life and heart, think twice about letting go of a girl who can turn cashews into a dessert that can steal the show.