Have you ever...

I'm going to give you a break from the recipes. Just for today. I have too much to talk about and too many pictures that have been waiting to be posted for too long!!

Confusing sentence. Sorry 'bout that.

I also don't do very many "themed" posts but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Not making sense to you? Me either. I just like using cliche phrases. 

[Disclaimer: the information presented in this post is my opinion only, and it is based on my personal experiences.]

Have you ever...

...wondered if/what you should eat before a workout? I wonder it every day. In fact, I've read so many articles regarding this topic that my mind is swimming in information. However, I've finally come up with a solution to this little issue. Intuitive eating. Have you heard of it? It's quite simple, really. What you "crave" is what your body actually needs. (Okay, let's eliminate excessive sugar/salt cravings from this intuitive eating equation). Some research says that not eating before a morning workout helps speed up metabolism, while other research claims that eating carbs before a morning workout is more beneficial. I've tried both. But lately, I do not what the research tells me, but rather what my body tells me. This morning, I wasn't planning on eating breakfast before working out because I woke up 30 minutes before I was supposed to leave for the gym. However, as soon as I woke up I felt my stomach grumbling for some food. So I ate. No big deal. Intuitive eating at its finest! 

But hold on...what about what you should eat after a workout? This is super important and something I'll discuss in another post soon.

...wondered what a patty pan squash is? I had no idea anything like this existed, but apparently it does. And it looks like this:

It also goes by the names star squash, button squash, white squash (weird, considering the one I had was yellow), scallopini, and starburst squash. It's pretty ridiculous looking, but I must say I'm impressed at its perfect symmetry. I had no idea what to make with it! So I fell back on my default method of preparing veggies I don't know anything about: roasting them. I just cut this little guy into quarters, brushed some olive oil on the quarters, and baked them for about 20 minutes at 350F until soft enough to cut. Then I chopped it up, drizzled more olive oil, added some salt/pepper, and put it in the oven for 10 more minutes. The squash was super soft at this point--perfect!

Oh, and I left the peel on this squash. Hello, fiber!! However, if you aren't a fan of things that are hard to digest, the peel easily slides off after it has been cooked. 

...found it difficult to eat healthy at a restaurant? Yes. I have. And then I realize it's worse to get stressed out about eating healthy all the time than to eat unhealthy once in awhile! Let's take a look at some of the eating out I've done in the past month.

Thai food from a small restaurant called Bangkok:

Red curry

Noodles

Mango and sweet sticky rice, topped with coconut milk

Blu Burger Grille:

Portabella mushroom burger with a side of sweet potato fries

Buca di Beppo:

Gnocchi in a creamy marinara sauce

Tuscan Oven:

Mushroom pesto pizza

Cheuvront:

Foccacia tapas: sun dried tomato goat cheese & peppadew peppers (left) and olive tapenade & chimichurri sauce (right)

...wondered why you are horrible at a sport that you haven't played in 5 years? I don't know why this is really a question. I was at the top of my tennis game at the end of high school, and after a long hiatus, I recently decided to play again. And I expected to be just as good as I used to be. Huh. What a joke.

TFG recommends: A study on snacking