Vegan Girl On the Run

This past Saturday (March 12th) I ran in the Montgomery Marathon in Montgomery (duh lol), AL.  This was my 5th marathon and let me tell you, never in a thousand years would I have ever thought that I'd be running a marathon in Montgomery, AL! We moved here this past July and I have definitely taken advantage of several races since being here (this is my fourth one in AL). I've kept my races in the last year and a half to two years on the shorter side...nothing more than a half marathon...& for good reason.  You see, I am in school currently (hopefully for not too much longer...God willing I will be graduating in December...finally lol) and one of my rules that I put in place for myself was that I would not do any marathons while I am in school.  As busy as I am between being a stay at home mom and student, I go off of an unhealthy amount of sleep mainly due to my studies.  I swear I got more sleep when I had newborns...way more sleep lol!  So, I got that "itch" to

Recently, Buddha Teas reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I would be willing to review their tea on my blog and it took me all of 2 seconds to say yes.  If you didn't know already, I love my tea...honestly, there's really not much better than a hot cup of tea...it seriously is good for the soul.  Plus, they noticed that I am a runner and mentioned that they carried a tea called "Zenergy Blend" that would help to provide energy before runs and how could I turn that down! I immediately got back in contact with them and they asked what my likes and dislikes were when it came to teas.  I love that they took the time to get to know me better so that they could surprise me with some good tea options that would fit my style. While I waited for them to arrive in the mail, I did some research on Buddha Teas so that I could learn more about the company. I learned that all of their teas are healthy teas and are all USDA Certified Organic, plus all of their tea bags are b

Recently I entered a contest on Instagram through a new up and coming fashion and beauty brand based out of Las Vegas, NV called "The Chicky Quicky Box." It was founded by the one and only Patty Barba, who also owns not only 1, but 6 fashion boutiques called Patty's Closet in Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Alaska.  I first heard about Patty's Closet when we were stationed in Las Vegas a little less than two years ago and let me tell you...I quickly fell in love with her stores and it is still til this day one of my favorite boutiques to shop at! Her stores offer not only unique, but affordable fashion finds.  If you know me, you know just how perfect this combination is! Seriously if you haven't heard of Patty Barba or Patty's Closet and you have Instagram, you are missing out! Look her up, as well as her boutiques, @pattyscloset and @pattybarba2013 and show her some love! So, back to the box...I entered The Chicky Quicky's (@chickyquickybox on Instagram) contes

Hi y'all! So it's been a while since I last posted, but it has been quite busy around here...all for good reason, though : ).  I am back in school so this (as if I wasn't busy enough lol) has definitely been keeping me on my toes ; ); however, with that said just because I have been even busier than normal does not give me any good reason to slack off on keeping a clean and healthy diet . Healthy foods don't have to be inconveniencing at all and with some thorough planning and preparation, you can have clean meals and snacks ready to go whenever needed. I'm here today to bring you a recipe for no bake peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut protein bites that I made just last night. These are versatile in that they can be used for breakfast, a snack, or even a tasty (and guilt free) dessert ; )...plus since they are pre-made you can literally just grab and go. Best of all, they are healthy...you know what is going in them so no preservatives or artificial anything...a

I don't eat sweets often, but when I do have a craving for sweets I've often leaned toward that sweet and salty combination. Two of my favorite foods (I don't really want to say flavors because no artificial flavors for this girl...I want the real deal lol) are chocolate (preferably vegan of course) and peanut butter. Put these two together (if you ask me they are on the same level as putting peanut butter and jelly together...they are made for each other lol) and you get...peanut butter cups! Seriously, how can you go wrong with salty peanut butter and rich chocolate? The answer is well...you can't ; ).  The original Reese's peanut butter was created by Harry Burnett Reese in 1928 (originally called "penny cups" bc that's how much each cup sold for at the time...one freaking penny...craziness!) so you can say that this is definitely a classic candy...and for good reason ; ). This brings me to my recipe for today...homemade (vegan) peanut butte

     One year ago today will be a day that I will never forget. The memories of that day...as bittersweet as they are...will forever be vividly stuck in my heart, mind, and soul. You see, on April 15, 2013 I ran in the 117th Boston Marathon. A race that runners from all over the world put in hours of training just to get a chance to have the privilege of earning a spot in. For as long as I have been a serious distance runner I had wanted more than anything not only to qualify for Boston, but to be healthy enough to go and run this race. I qualified 3 different times before I was finally able to actually go and run the race. I had pretty severe injuries in the months after my first 2 BQs that prevented me from going to Boston. If I remember right this was in 2006 and 2007. Despite the fact that I had developed a partial labral tear in my left hip and had surgery on my left leg just months before the race, my sports doctor gave me the go ahead to run Boston in 2013. With only 7 weeks to