Pumpkin Flaxseed Pancakes + the final day

When life gives you pumpkins, you make flaxseed pumpkin pancakes……

For whatever reason I have been on a serious pumpkin + pancake kick. Ole faithful pumpkin almond pancakes has basically become my go-to lunch (and on occasion dinner) for the past few weeks. Unfortunately I ran out of almond flour and 1. its real expensive. 2. trader joe’s and whole foods didn’t have it and 3. I knew I wouldn’t be able to use up a whole thing of almond flour before heading back home… so I decided to opt for flaxseed flour, a cheaper standby to almond flour. It changes the consistency and flavor, but sure does the trick and makes a tasty, health pancake

Pumpkin Flaxseed Pancakes

Makes 1 serving

ingredients

• 3 tablespoons flaxseed flour
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon honey
• a few shakes of cinnamon
• a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice

Mix the ingredients in a bowl and pour onto a heated skillet. I tend to use a ladle to scoop out 3 medium sized pancakes. These pancakes are super thin so be careful that they don’t burn and use caution when flipping.

I’m also boring and only ever enjoy my pancakes with maple syrup on the side.

These bad boys definitely did the trick– provided me a filling lunch and used up the last of my canned pumpkin. I DEFINITELY gotta stock up on that stuff when I get back to new york.

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It’s been a less than stellar final day here in Los Angeles complete with my first ever parking ticket. Thanks California, I really needed that.

On the bright side, I did get to spend one last day at Runyon Canyon

this will definitely be the place I miss the most in Los Angeles. Nothing like it in New York.

Packing is driving me insane. Remind me to never move across the country again…..

My final day here is winding down. It’s been a crazy 2 months, and not quite the 2 months I expected, but none the less I got to live out my childhood dreams and be a resident of California.

With that being said, I have never been so excited and ready to go home. I cannot wait to see my family, hug my boyfriend, laugh with my friends from college, high school and work, eat at my favorite restaurant, see a broadway show, walk around Manhattan, and truly revel in the fact that New York is my home, New York is where I’m meant to be at this time. I feel it in my gut. I feel it in every inch of my body. California has a lot of great things to offer, but New York is what I need right now.

All day I’ve been singing Green Day’s Homecoming in my head– there is not a more fitting song for how I feel right now.

and now it’s time to sit back and watch my last Los Angeles sunset.

‘canes & ‘quakes

this morning I felt my first Los Angeles earthquake! In all honesty, it was rather anticlimactic. It woke me up but I was convinced it was just someone walking around upstairs. Not quite as terrifying as when I felt the Manhattan one last year and thought I was suffering vertigo because the walls were literally trembling.

Now I feel like a real Californian!

After a few weeks away this morning I returned back to my favorite place in Los Angeles, Runyon Canyon.

Moments two of feeling like a Californian: I SUCCESSFULLY parallel parked, something I haven’t done alone since… my driver’s test 5+ years ago 🙂

oh how i love the canyon.

the sky looked absolutely beautiful but it was a bit hot out

Instead of rocking out to music like I usually do, I decided to switch it up and listen to a “This American Life” podcast. I really loved listening to the stories while walking around the canyon and it made time fly by. I ended up hiking 3 miles in a little over an hour.

Back at home base I was super excited for another batch up pumpkin over night oats in the fridge

Obsessed.

After a few hours of procrastinating I knew it was NASM study time.

I like to spread out when I study and take over the dining room…..

For 10 days I’ve been going strong, feeling like I know what’s going on and that I have a basic grasp of all the concepts. That of course came to a halting stop yesterday when I hit the dreaded chapter o’ muscles. Welp. I keep trying to remind myself to take it slow and steady, but today was the day I felt overwhelmed and like there’s no way in hell I can pass this test in December.

to any NASM personal trainers out there, how did you learn all the information and feel like you had a grasp of it? 

my biggest concern is spending lots of time on a concept that isn’t even on the test. I was totally that girl in college that always asked “IS THIS GONNA BE ON THE TEST”.

When I got to the point when I knew my brain was fried it was time to go shopping at the Beverly Center and take a breather.

Unfortunately I forgot it’s sunday and the mall was closing. but on the bright side I did get to see a pretty sunset and hear green day on the radio!

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As a New Yorker I am obsessed with following updates about hurricane Sandy. All my friends and family are posting things on facebook and twitter about school being cancelled and stocking up on non-perishables. Sending love and positive thoughts to the east coast and hoping that it won’t be so bad.

current obsessions

Runyon Canyon

Okay, so maybe I made it clear yesterday how much I adore Runyon Canyon……. but let me reiterate this fact since I’ve been there 4 times this week.

I love that there are multiple trails to take, with varying levels of difficulty, steepness and length.

Yesterday I did an incredibly difficult 2.8 mile route that took me a little over an hour… and according to my heart rate monitor burned 505 calories. these trails are serious!

I had to climb up this bad boy

and make my way down this death trap

it was definitely worth the fear of slipping for the beautiful LA views

Todays route was less of a killer, a much easier paced 3 mile walk in a little under an hour.

and a side note, as a New Yorker I’m kind of obsessed with seeing cactus on the trails

Polar Heart Rate Monitor

I’ve been talking about getting a heart rate monitor forever, yet I have a terrible fear of electronic commitment and never buy the gadgets I say I wanna buy (example 2, the nook. I want that baby so bad but just can’t commit….)

Anywho…. I finally got me a Polar Heart Rate Monitor and I loveee it. Setting it up was relatively easy, and using it each time so far has been super easy.

Test run one: the killer hike at Runyon Yesterday

(not gonna lie, like 20 of those minutes was me gabbing on the phone with my mama….)

Test run two: zumba class this morning

My only complaint is that the chest strap didn’t want to stay in place during zumba and kept slipping down. I feel like the straps can’t be tightened as much as I would like them to be which is surprising considering it’s a female model. I mean, I know I’m petite, but I’m not that petite.

I think it also stayed in place better yesterday while hiking because I was wearing a tight lululemon top that probably held it up, compared to this morning when I was wearing a loose tank top.

Nike + running app

this app has become my new bff for all my mile tracking needs. I used it in New York a few weeks ago to track how long my bike ride was (correct, that is not running, but it still tracked it pretty accurately) and the app has been great for tracking how long my recent runs and hikes have been. I love that every mile it gives you an update about your pace, and it works flawlessly with the music on my iPhone.

the death hike

 

the way less terrifying hike

Amande yogurt

Since cutting out most dairy from my diet there’s a bunch of foods I miss terribly. Cheese for one, god I loved cheese until I realized it did not love my belly. I also love yogurt. So much that I actually ate yogurt every single day during Fall of my Sophomore year for either lunch or dinner. I like to think of those 16 weeks as my yogurt phase… my roommate kept asking me how I could still crave yogurt. Because it’s tasty?

I found me a new yogurt love: Amande Yogurt from Whole Foods

[source]

So far I’ve only tried the coconut flavor, but its delicious. I loved the texture, there were bits of coconut which reminded me up when I would eat coconut flavored everything in Club Med. Yogurt that makes me feel on vacation? What’s not to love. Sprinkled with some granola and fruit and I am one happy lactose sensitive gal. Can’t wait to try the other flavors.

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Any products, apps, etc you are currently obsessed with?

 

from the canyon to the sea

Los Angeles and I are having a fabulous love/hate relationship. At moments I love love love love love it here. Like want to transplant my boyfriend, family and Broadway shows here so I can live in California forever.

Other times it is hate. Usually those are the moments when I am stuck in traffic or can’t find parking. At that moment I miss my subways in Manhattan and the epic parking lots of suburbia.

There’s lots of thinking for me to do… where do I want to be this spring? New York or Los Angeles? What do I want to be doing? I change my mind approximately every hour, depending on if I am loving or hating LA at that moment. Decision making is not my strongest suit….

So this week in LA: Santa Monica Pier & Runyon Canyon. Obsessed with both.

Santa Monica Pier

while it was hella hot in West Hollywood earlier this week, it was the perfect breezy weather for  trapeze by the beach!

It was only my third class back after 5 months of injury. While my body is arguably stronger than it has ever been, my right shoulder is still not 100%. When in the air part of me is still a bit worried that one wrong move and I will be back to injuryland

I have a habit of comparing myself then to now. “Well in March I had a better force out”.” In March I caught this trick no problem”.
But this isn’t March, this is 7 months later. I have to keep reminding myself that I am where I am today. 

there is something a million times cooler and more terrifying about flying into the ocean.

I was a giddy child. Between being at the beach and getting to take a trapeze class I was the happiest gal in the world. Whoever decided to put a trapeze rig next to the ocean is my hero.

Runyon Canyon: Hiking

I’ve been dying to go to Runyon Canyon since the first time I visited my friend in California 2 years ago. I finally got the chance this week.

My first Runyon Canyon experience was a sweaty 2 mile hike.

 

 

I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved hiking Runyon, even if trying to run down hill terrified the bejesus outta me. I’ve honestly never seen anything like Runyon, hiking in Westchester is definitely not the same experience. If you ever have the chance to hike Runyon I highly recommend it, the views are absolutely worth it. It is also quite the work out climbing that mountain….

Runyon Canyon: Yoga

Today was my second Runyon Canyon experience– YOGA! This might be the California deal breaker for why it is a million times better than New York: they have donation based (pay what you can) yoga, outside, by the canyon. Um what better place is there to do yoga? No where my friends, no where.

I’ve never done yoga outside. It was distracting, hearing the birds chirping and people walking by on the their too and from Runyon, yet it felt like white noise at the same time. I loved being tickled by wet dewy grass whenever my hand crept off the mat. I loved that the ground was uneven which helped some poses that usually  challenge me, yet totally messed up my balance on other poses.

It reminded my why I fell in love with boot camp and running this summer– there is something amazing about working out outside, it feels so much better to breathe fresh air instead of the BO of the person running on the treadmill next to you.

Runyon Canyon, I’m sold. You are my new favorite place.

Has anyone else done outdoor yoga? Love it or hate it?

What’s your favorite way to work out outside?