Treadmill desk: Move more, sit less!

From the Mayo Clinic... Move more, sit less!

Here's a picture of my treadmill desk (cat sold separately).  We set this up back in June.

Steps to make a treadmill desk:

1. Buy a treadmill.  We got a nice quality, small-sized one.  It's a Horizon t101 and it was a little more expensive than I planned. We checked out some treadmills that were in the $200-300 range, and I thought they'd be fine, but the demo models in the store had slightly wobbly belts.  Nick didn't want me to have to wobble while I walked. The salesman figured that a new one in a home would be less likely to have the wobble problem since the store models get a lot of abuse.  Regardless, we went with the Horizon. It's sturdy enough that if I want to run on it, I could.  I haven't had the urge yet, but who knows!?

2.  We didn't opt for the delivery set-up service.  Ask Nick if he thinks it would have been worth it to pay for delivery and set-up.  Treadmills are HEAVY.  Getting it up the stairs involved all of our strength and knowledge of physics.

3.  After we set up the treadmill, we tried to figure out what kind of surface for the desk.  We went to home depot and got these shelves (for around $50):


 

Note, I am only using one of the shelves. The shelving we got is supposed to be temporary, and we plan to make a shelf out of wood, at height I currently have the shelf.  I am using the reams of paper to raise my monitor to the right height for my eyes.  I really like this stand and I need to get one to replace the reams of paper.

I haven't quite gotten the ergonomics of the keyboard worked out; I had a lower shelf for an external keyboard for a while.  The shelf wasn't stable and my keyboard (wireless) kept needing new batteries.  I'll figure it out at some point.  Right now, I mostly read and do light typing on the treadmill.  When we get into our new office, I'll figure it all out. (It'll be a while before the move.)

(Not shown is the gaffer tape holding the shelf to the treadmill to make it steady.  I think on the wood version, we'll need a cross brace, but we're not there yet.) 

For now, the treadmill desk is really working for me.  I find I work for about an hour, then sit down (I try to limit myself to sitting for no more than 1/2 hour) and then walk some more.  In a typical day when I work from home for 6-8 hours I'll walk for 3-5 hours on the treadmill. My pace is anywhere from .5 - 1.5 miles an hour, so I'll walk between 1.5 and 3 miles in a day.  It's not a lot of walking, but it's much better than just sitting all day!  I feel so much better than when I sit.

I do sometimes have to "sit and concentrate," but I try not to do this too often or for too long of a period of time.  It also works for me to just STAND at the treadmill and not walk when I need to concentrate.

The treadmill desk was a fairly substantial monetary investment, but if it keeps me healthy and less stressed, it's worth it.  (It's helping my back feel better!) When I'm really busy, I can end up working for 12 hours a day.  I haven't had a day like that in a while, but when it happens again (and it will), I'm ready and will walk and work the day away!

When I finally get settled into our new office, I'll update; don't hold your breath though, I expect I will make the post NEXT Summer (2013).  I am so glad I got the treadmill before my office was ready.  I'd be a "sitting duck" for another year if I'd waited.  

super cute Thanksgiving idea!

Isn't the little turkey cute? It's from cleanandscentsible's blog.  I doubt it's a vegan blog, but you could easily turn the turkey vegan with carrots instead of cheese (for the beak and the feet).  On the blog, Clean and Scentsible made this presentation for using in a chocolate fondue.  Dark chocolate is vegan... just saying that it's a super cute idea for a vegan holiday dessert!

I'm dreaming about ...

Chocolate Granola!

As soon as I saw this recipe,  http://ohsheglows.com/2012/10/12/cinnamon-bun-granola-recipe-halloween-treat-a-thon/, I knew what I needed to do.  I needed to try to make a chocolate version.

Here's what I did:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup  raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
4 dates, pitted
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup raw cocoa
5 tablespoons water
2 tsp  vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300F.

 In a mixing bowl, combine  the dry ingredients (oats, buckwheat, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, (anything else you want, and salt).

In your blender, blend the maple syrup, dates, oil, water and vanilla extract into a smooth sauce.  Because of all the water, it will be thin.  

Mix the sauce into the dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients are well coated.  There may be a little liquid in the mixture.  If you think it's "too wet" add a little more oatmeal.  (I left the extra liquid in and most of it was gone by 20 minutes of baking.)  (I'm thinking of adding more dates and less maple syrup next time to make the sauce thicker.  I'll update this if I do.)

Spoon the mixture on to a baking tray lined with a silicone liner (or parchment paper).  Make sure to spread into a thin, even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, carefully stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking. Allow to cool before breaking into clusters (if needed).

My notes:

YUM!

I didn't use coconut oil 'cause I'm not fond of coconut flavor, but if you do like it, I imagine it would add a nice dimension to the recipe.  In addition, I lowered the oil content--I only used 1 tablespoon of oil instead of 2.  I might play around with decreasing the oil a bit more.

I love having a recipe with buckwheat in it!  Remember, I tried this recipe and wasn't crazy about it?  I am crazy about this one! I'll definitely be making it again!   (Three exclamation points in 4 sentences means I'm excited.)

I added pumpkin seeds but I'm going to keep playing around with different seeds/goodies in it.  For example, I might add sunflower seeds next time and / or flax.

Since our discovery of Love Crunch Cereal, I've wanted to make a chocolate granola.  I'm so excited to have a start on a recipe!  I'll play around a bit more, but yay, I have a decent recipe!  As it is, at least 3 of us are addicted to the recipe as is. Here's a picture with freeze-dried strawberries and chocolate chunks (just like Love Crunch).


(Sorry, bad photo from the iPhone... Is a bad photo better than no photo?)

 

Thank you, Oh She Glows and tiny treats for the original recipe! (I am thinking about buying the cookbook to see more!)

Vegan Warriors...

I love this! You can be a vegan, build muscle, and be very fit. These guys require a lot of calories and nutrition. If veganism is good enough for them, then it's good enough for me! Watch and be amazed at the vegans on YouTube! A link to their web site is here.

Veggie Soup with Kale

I love Kale... With all my heart.  And it's good for my heart.  And lots of other body parts....

Okay, I'm not a poet so I'll stop there.  I think with a little iteration I could turn that into a nice poem, but not today.  I've got some other things to do!  This is also the second attempt at posting this recipe--remember, yesterday I complained how blogger ate my post.  Cross your fingers that this post sticks.

---

The days are starting to sort of feel like fall. Sort of.  (Never mind that it was in the low 80s on Saturday and the high 70s of Sunday.)  On Sunday, I wanted soup--warm, comforting soup.  I wanted it with lots of green.

I scoured the web and looked at many versions of veggie soup with Kale.  There are lots of similar recipes.  I didn't see anything that was exactly what I was looking for so I made one up.  Here it is:

2 yukon gold potatoes diced (not peeled)
1 large yellow onion diced
2-3 carrots diced
1-3 cloves of garlic diced
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 32-ounce container of veggie broth
~3 cups of water

Combine all of the above in a big stock pan and bring to a boil.  Let it cook at a slow boil for 20-40 minutes or until all the veggies are soft.  (The time it takes to make the veggies soft will depend on the size of the veggies.)

After the veggies are of a good texture add:

~28 ounces of diced tomatoes
another 32-ounce container of veggie broth
salt (if needed see how much is in your tomatoes and broth)
1 zucchini sliced into thin pieces (I sliced thin and then quartered) (peel or not, your preference, I didn't)

Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add Kale 3-4 cups chopped with stems removed

You could stop here as it's a delicious very low-fat, no-oil soup.  Or, if you're feeling adventurous you can add 2 links of Italian Vegan Field Roast Sausage chopped into small pieces. (Nick, Nat, and I love this stuff.)

If you choose to add the vegan sausage you will add fat to the soup, but it's delicious!

After you add Kale (and the vegan sausage), cook for another 5-10 minutes.  

Here are the nutrition facts without the vegan sausage.  If you add the sausage you add ~2 grams of fat per serving and ~48 more calories.   (I'm calculating 10 very GENEROUS servings for this recipe, but it might be more like 16 normal sized servings.  I love soup!)

Kid report:
Nat, the vegan who loves veggies, ate the soup.
Kira ate the broth and the potatoes
Tia ate the broth, potatoes, garbanzo beans, vegan sausage, and a few pieces of zucchini.

Yea, I had to try to ladle the soup up with only their preferred veggies.
 
I'll be making this soup again this fall and winter! 

&*@#$ !!!

Darn it!

I wrote a GREAT post last night (brilliant, even) and blogger ate it.  Seriously.  HOW ANNOYING.

I know what happened, but I can't believe blogger was so stupid.  I had two windows open with the post in it.  I finished it in one, changed the title, and published it.  Then,  I found the other window that was nearly blank with only the start if the post in it.  It still had the OLD title.  I closed it.  I must have hit save.

Even though I hit save, I can't believe the one with the new title (that was published) was wiped out by the old post with the old title when I saved it.  GRRRR!  But the new post I wrote is no where to be found.  It's not published and it's not in my drafts.  Blogger ate it.  It must have been because it was a post with a tasty soup recipe in it.  You can't really blame blogger, can you?

Sigh.

Now I have to do it again and it won't be nearly so brilliant.

So what'd I tell you in the other post?  I told you about the fun cooking weekend I had! I made 2 versions of these bars I'll have to tell you about the strawberry version I made (later) 'cause they are scrumptious!

I also (FINALLY) had a chance to make these pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins! I actually got to make them on Monday and then again on Saturday. You know you like a recipe if you make it twice in one week. The girls give them two thumbs up! I love it when I find something all of them will eat! Muffins are so nice as a quick breakfast. A quick healthy breakfast makes mornings so much easier!

 I did change the recipe slightly the second time I made it. I added flax and removed 1/2 a cup of the oatmeal flour. I also only added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  Below are the nutrition facts for the new version of the recipe (below) with the serving size being one muffin.

Here's the new recipe:

1 medium banana, mashed
1 (15-oz.) can Pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups Whole Grain Oat Flour
1/2 cup Flax Seed Meal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup Organic Dark Chocolate Chips
4 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup

If you decrease the maple syrup to 2 tablespoons, you get only 7 grams of sugar in each muffin.  I think they are sweet enough with only 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, but I don't like the taste of sweet.

If you want pictures, go take a look at the forks over knives site and scroll down until you see very cute muffins!  I'll try to remember to take a picture before we devour the muffins next time I make them!

Okay, this isn't the brilliant post I wrote last night about veggie soup, but I'm stopping here for now.  I'll share the recipe for the soup I made last night in another post. 

Not green

These aren't green, but they are oh so good. I am now a huge fan of goji berries. They have an interesting flavor that I can't describe and aren't too sweet. (Many fruits are too sweet for me, especially dried fruit.) Goji berries seem to be easy to find and they are easy to take with you when you're on the go as a snack. I'm going to create a category on this blog called "snack-y goodness" that will contain my favorite foods for travel and "on the go" life.

I can't find really good web sites on goji berries, but everything I read says they are super good for you and a lot of the sites tell the story of Li Qing Yuen, who "lived to the age of 252 years" (1678-1930). The legend goes that he ate Goji berries every day. I don't know if they'll help me live to be 252 years, but I think they are tasty and probably not bad for me.