Rut.

I am not going to lie to you.

The reason I haven't been posting recipes for this long (it has been far too long) is because I've been in a recipe rut. Really. I used to spontaneously pick up ingredients at the store, come home, and make a masterpiece out of them.

These days? I am all about the quinoa, lentils/beans, greens, and quesadillas. You think I am kidding, don't you?

I am really, really not kidding. I will never get sick of the stovetop whole wheat tortilla+shredded cheese quesadilla with side of guac/salsa/raw veggies/cooked veggies/whatever else I happen to make into a side. It works quite well, I think.

As for the quinoa obsession, I have been piling it onto various salads as of late.

(Spinach + a corn salsa + black beans + avocado + quinoa with taco seasoning + hatch chili salsa! + cheese). Who said salad had to be boring? If you are curious about the corn salsa, I combined 3/4 a bag of frozen corn, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, juice of 2 limes, and salt. This was my lunch every day last week, and I looked forward to it every time.

Last week, I attempted to make a sweet potato and broccoli hash. It took about 2 minutes to make. Livin' large.

I cooked 2 sweet potatoes in the microwave, cut them into cubes, and sautéed them with a bag of frozen broccoli in olive oil. I seasoned this lightly with salt and pepper. I set some aside for the next day or two. For the satiety factor, I added an egg on top. And cheese, of course.

These days, since I spend the majority of time away from home, I pack lots of healthy snacks with me. I've learned that raw veggies are my best friends (carrots, snap peas, bell peppers, etc) as well as fruit.

I sometimes mix my fruit with Greek yogurt... just for fun. And it's a lot healthier than buying fruit-flavored yogurt.

And to make fruit even more interesting...

Microwave it! I chopped up a green apple, sprinkled some cinnamon on it, microwaved it, and then added a nice spoonful of Smart Balance. A guilt-free dessert!

As for my recipe rut, it ended today. AND I dusted off the old juicer today with a refreshing combination of celery, cucumber, beet, and lemon juice. (No picture, unfortunately, because I chugged that glass too quickly. In my defense, it was right after Zumba! And I was thirsty).

Fit finds.

I am switching up my usual foodie posts to focus on some fitness-related items I have recently purchased.

First up: shoes. You may remember the post in which I discussed my Vibrams. They lasted me about 8 months, and recently, I was experiencing a strange discomfort in my toe. I attributed this to my Vibrams wearing out since I used them 4-5 times per week for pretty intense workouts.

While I am a huge fan of the Vibrams, I am not a fan of the lack of sock wearing. I really do believe that my knee problems have been cured by wearing minimalist shoes. I did some research and found Merrells. These are also minimalist shoes but in the form of a traditional shoe...aka one can wear socks with them. :)

I must say that the color is probably half of the reason I love those shoes so much! But in all seriousness, these shoes are comfortable and so far have been very good to both my knees and feet for running, Zumba, kickboxing, boot camp - you name it.

Next: stability ball.

I read articles about how sitting/inactivity is a terrible disease. And yet, the majority of us are forced to sit for long periods of time every day. I am one of those people, and I am very aware that not even my one hour workouts will reverse the all day sitting problem. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and get a stability ball.

And now when I come home, I will be sitting on this rather than on the couch. And of course, maybe I will eventually incorporate some stability ball exercises into my day, too!

Lastly: foam roller.

I am obsessed with this foam roller and I only bought it yesterday. It's like having a personal masseuse! But it is also so very painful, especially for quads and IT band for me. I am hoping that the more I roll, the less painful it will get. Apparently, one can do other exercises with the foam roller such as abs, etc. But for now I am concentrating on the rolling.

Any fitness finds you have found recently? Fill me in -- I might just feature it on the next fit finds post!