It’s no secret I love to eat, so when our refrigerator broke, I was incredibly distraught. It was a time of crisis, and I wasn’t even home. Instead of being helpful in any way, I sent text after text ensuring that yes, the food in the freezer was alright, it was just the refrigerator that had suddenly decided to be warmer than the pantry.

Twenty-four hours later when I finally gained the courage to open the stink box and evacuate it, the experience was heartbreaking. My unopened gallon of soy milk, once stunning, sweet smelling strawberries, and my entire week’s worth of lunches straight into the compost bin. As the unopened feta and barely used whipped cream followed I was near tears (this is where we pretend I’m being overly dramatic).

So not only did I have to throw out food that would have been otherwise perfect (except for the whole bacteria-growing refrigerator situation), we also had to eat the random things we could find around the house that required no refrigeration. Since I had already cooked most of my meals for the week, there wasn’t much left, just grains and some (expired) macaroni and cheese from a box (which was of course made with water… yum.).

Despite my distraught (read: hungry) state, I couldn’t help but think that people used to live like this. As part of my new job I was flipping through magazines from the early 1920’s and they broke down how to hang meat to make it tender and last longer when an entire animal can’t be cooked and eaten at once. I certainly wasn’t about to hang up all of my food from the apple tree outside and hope for the best. But seriously, were their stomachs made of steal? just the thought of that gives me food poisoning.

So instead of my tasty Fourth of July meal I had planned (including homemade veggie burgers and some ridiculously tasty fries), it looks like we might be eating oatmeal. I wish I was kidding.

One of the things I miss the most about being able to eat nuts is having a wide variety of granola and energy bars to choose from. Now that I go straight to CrossFit after work, I’ve been struggling to find good pre-workout snacks. With 2.2 grams of protein and 61.5 calories in each, these balls of energy should get me ready to go and not leave me with a growling stomach or fear of projectile vomiting during the WOD. Even better, they only have four ingredients and they are completely nut and gluten free. But if you don’t have an allergy you can easily make them with nuts. This is also a great basic recipe to replace Lärabars with.

Ingredients

1 cup roasted sunflower seeds (salted or unsalted)
1 cup (about 12-15) whole, pitted dates
1 cup dried fruit: I used 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup dried wild blueberries
4 tablespoons chia seeds

 Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse 5-10 times, until the ingredients begin to mix. Break up any clumps (especially any large balls of dried fruit) that have formed.

2. Leave the food processor running for about 30 seconds to get the ingredients to being to break down and look chopped. Scrape the edges of the bowl (and underneath the blade if easily reachable) with a spatula.

3. Blend for 2-3 more minutes, until a ball begins to form and you are happy with the texture.

4. Form into a square or balls. If you wish to make bars, use waxed paper to squish the energy bar dough between. Once formed into a rough square, refrigerate for at least an hour (or overnight if preferred) before cutting it into 8-16 squares with a sharp knife. I chose instead to make balls because it cuts out a step and seems easier to eat on the go. The recipe made 17 one-inch balls, perfect for a small serving or two.

Recipe was adapted from TheKitchn.

One of my goals for 2013 is to finish a half marathon, and I’m excited to say that I am one step closer to getting there. I am registered for the Nike Women’s half in San Francisco!

I chose the Nike half because I figure if I am going to run that far, I want it to be fun and be surrounded by other people. I also know people who have run it and loved it, and I was able in talking a friend into doing it with me. I’ve never run more than a 10k, so I’m a bit nervous to have to go more than twice that. But thankfully I have all summer to get ready.

Now I just need to hope that I get my knee healthy and ready to start building some miles.

Images courtesy of Run Nike Women Series.

The past month has been insanely busy and full of changes!

I had my first feature published!

I went to my first photo shoot (a staggering three days) for an upcoming fashion feature for Yoga Journal‘s September issue. I can’t wait to share the stunning results when the issue is published.

I turned another year older and ate my weight in whipped cream and breakfast foods to celebrate.

I sadly said goodbye to all of the wonderful editors and amazing people at Yoga Journal. (They took some pictures of me in my piles of boxes still left to return from the fashion shoot to remember me by. I sent more than 100 boxes full of samples back and it became quite the joke that I lived in boxes. I fancied myself a new version of Out of the Box.)

 I graduated from college and exceeded all of my goals along the way, especially by finishing in the top two percent of my class.

I moved out of my home for the past nine months

and said goodbye to the best roommates a girl could ask for.

But the future looks bright. Especially after accepting a job at Sunset Magazine!

Image from Sunset Magazine

Welcome to my beautiful new home. It’s been months in the making and I am excited to share it with you all. I will continue writing about sustainability, fitness, food, and much more. On the new site you can easily search through the archives, explore your favorite topics, keep up with my latest work, and join in on the conversation.

I have many exciting things on the horizon that I can’t wait to share with you all, so check back soon!

In the meantime, feel free to explore the archives, dive into a category, and learn more about me.

Want to follow via RSS? You can add http://treading-lightly.com/feed/ to your subscriptions.

My family doesn’t really do “typical” or “normal” very well. Instead of the usual Mother’s Day brunch or large family event, my mom asked if we could all go on a bike ride.

The past two weeks have been insanely busy. They were the kind of weeks where as soon as you walk out of the bathroom you can’t remember if you brushed your teeth or not.

I had my final test of my college career. And although everyone is posting pictures of graduation on the Internet, I have four more weeks until I turn in my final projects and graduate. For once I’m not jealous of the semester schools getting out so early. I’m thankful to have the extra month with my friends before we are all split up and shoved into the working world.

(Check out my Beach-Inspired Skincare Story!)

I’ve also been busy at work. As Yoga Journal’s editorial assistant, I have the pleasure of working on many different projects, and they certainly keep me busy. They gave me the amazing opportunity to write a feature (unheard of for someone who still hasn’t even graduated). It hits the shelves next week, but it’s out online now if you are interested. I also get to go to my first photoshoots for my next project, and I can’t wait to share a few behind the scenes moments. Starting with what has been taking over my life: preparation for a huge photo shoot!

While I originally thought of May as the month I would build my monthly running milage, my body might have other plans for me. I’m currently battling a bit of tendonitis in my knee, and I have to first rest and rehab before I can really be running much. I’m hoping that by the second or third week of the month I will be back to slowly adding miles, but it doesn’t look like it will be the massive running challenge I had imagined.

But that doesn’t mean that my May Miles challenge will go to waste. Instead I will use it to increase my swimming and biking miles. As frustrating as an injury can be, every injury is an important reminder or lesson, and it provides an opportunity to improve. For me my lesson was to listen to my body sooner instead of waiting for it to develop into a full-blown injury. And since my legs can’t pound the pavement as much as I used to or lift heavy at CrossFit, I am taking the opportunity to get back into swimming for the summer months and work on some technique and upper body strength at CrossFit (all while doing some super fun rehab exercises to get back in action). And with such beautiful weather, who could be upset about going for a swim?