2011 in Review

Hi guys, can you believe that there is just one day left in 2011? Time really flies, doesn’t it, especially at the end of the year!

I decided to do a recap of my year since I started this blog just a little over seven months ago. So much has happened since then, so I thought I’d give a little breakdown of the most memorable parts of each month, along with a couple of my favorite photos from that month.

May

One of my first overnight oats creations--carrot cake oats.

I first started AlmostVegGirlie on May 24, just a couple of weeks after I finished my freshman year of college. I have had a couple of blogs before (and still have a fashion-focused one on Blogger) but never a food-related one, and since I was really starting to get into cooking a lot, I decided to finally start one after discovering the healthy living blogging community. Besides starting my blog, I also celebrated my mom’s birthday (and Mother’s Day the week before) and went to a U2 concert up in Denver!

Celebrating my madre's birthday.

Post of the Month: My First WIAW

June

Enjoying the fun after the Elephant Rock bike ride.

I biked in my first real biking event (with my dad). It was only seven miles, but it really helped me discover my love for biking and inspired me to compete in future events. One of the best parts (besides the ride itself) was all the free samples tents set up after the ride.  Not gonna lie, that was super awesome 😉 I also started my volunteer job at the local library that continued all summer.

First trip to Pinkberry!

Post of the Month: Bad “Raw”mance

July

In Estes Park with my mom and sister.

July was a great month for me! I started it out with a family trip to Estes Park which was so much fun and a great little getaway for the fourth of July weekend.The excitement continued with my first trip to the Whole Foods hot/cold bar and my 19th birthday on the 27th. I loved being one of the first people in Colorado’s first IKEA store, plus it was nice to get a gift card for going there on my birthday!

I want to go back and have this all over again!

Post of the Month: Foodie Newbie

August

Sweaty bike ride=the best!

The month started out with a lot of active things, from bike rides to playing tennis to hiking in the mountains. I went on a couple of shopping trips before school started again towards the end of the month. I moved into a single dorm room and loved having even more independence.

Gelato is basically my favorite food!

Post of the Month: What I’ve Been Up To This Weekend (first ever vlog!)

September

First ever (almost empty) almond butter from Target.

Labor Day weekend was a whirlwind of activities, from going to see a production of a play my dad wrote to a day trip to Breckenridge (which was filled with tons of good food). School was…school. I discovered a few new foods, like deep chocolate Vitatops, Halo bars and of course, many new oats combos.

Me and my sissy in Breck.

Post of the Month: A Pain in the…Foot?

October

Carving pumpkins!

I like to call this the month that I rediscovered my creativity in the kitchen. I think I cooked more new things this month than I did all summer! I spent a couple of weekends at home, which helped fuel my passion. I made quite a lot of pumpkin-related things, but what can you expect for October? I also went to urgent care to check out the pain in my foot that started in September and found out I have plantar fasciitis. Oh, and I officially started my first-ever real job as the news managing and PR editor of my college’s staff newsletter! I love what I do (and I love the fact that I get paid to do it!)

First salted caramel mocha light Frap from the 'bucks...basically delish.

Post of the Month: My Story (parts 1 and 2)

November

Vegan festive garland bars.

Thanksgiving break was also a great time for me to get creative in the kitchen. I also stayed pretty busy outside the kitchen during break, with a big shopping trip to 16th Street Mall. I also had my first-ever vegan Thanksgiving meal.

I was excited for my first iHerb order!

Post of the Month: Simply Having a Wonderful Weekend Time

December

I promise you I'm actually really more excited about my new cookbook than I look like I am.

The stress of finals, projects and packing really got to me this year, but before I knew it, I was home! This month, I’ve enjoyed seeing lots of snow (even some on Christmas), playing games with my family, trying out new recipes, sledding, shopping and so much more.

One of my first raw dessert recipes–mini raw pecan pies.

Post of the Month: Jumping on the Bandwagon

It’s definitely been a very good year for me. Despite my struggles in school and with my eating disorder, I would have to say that I had more ups than downs. If you had told me at the beginning of 2011 that I’d be riding in a real bike event, go mostly vegan, get my first job, try something called ‘peanut flour’ (total life-changer, BTW), injure my foot and make raw desserts, I would have told you no way. But life’s funny that way–the things we least suspect always seem to happen. So here’s to 2012…whatever it may bring!

What were some highlights of your year? What are you most looking forward to in 2012?

The BIG Day!

Well, I can officially say that I’ve completed my first official bike event! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!

It was a lot of fun, exciting and tiring all at once. I mentioned in my last post that it was a 7 mile ride and before I did it, I thought it would be super easy. I’ve ridden that far before, it can’t be that bad, right? I wouldn’t say it was bad, it was just…challenging. There were a few steep hills but one giant “killer” hill. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it was hard. Colorado is not a flat state AT ALL! I took a few quick breaks but I didn’t get off my bike and walk it once! I am so proud of myself. For pretty much the entire course, I was way ahead of my dad. But he did really well on the killer hill and didn’t even stop once, so I’m proud of him too. The ride was a really good experience and I really want to do more rides like that this summer, but hopefully work my way up to a longer distance.

Me, pre-ride

 I didn’t even mind getting up early (6:45 😦 ) because I had so much fun. It just felt so rewarding to participate in something that big because I’ve never done anything like that. We even got race numbers and everything 😀

Post-ride was amazing too! They had tons of tents set up with free samples. I tried Clif Crunch Honey Oat, Clif Bar White Chocolate Mac, Clif Bloks strawberry, a sample of Mix1 Acai Pomegranate 90-cal protein drink, a few sips of Honest Tea and I snagged a ton a few mini Clif bars and Clif Bloks for another time (P.S. electrolyte drinks are disgusting!). I didn’t eat anything besides the tiny samples because I wasn’t hungry at all. It’s weird, but after working out, I’m never hungry. Me and my dad looked around at all the stuff, got a few more free things and then rode back to the car.

Once we got home, I was pretty hungry, so I made myself a fakin’ bacon guac wrap, with tempeh bacon, mixed greens, an Ezekiel tortilla and my homemade edamame guacamole. I also had a white donut peach (btw, doesn’t taste like a donut at all, it’s just shaped like one w/o the hole) and a mini Chocolate Chip Clif bar on the side. And some strawberry Crystal Lite water.

I took a nice refreshing shower which felt amazing. I’m a little tired, but my muscles aren’t sore at all. We’ll see if they are tomorrow 😉 I’m planning on doing some yoga, but taking it easy otherwise. After all, I just rode 7 miles 😛

Q: Do you ever feel hungry after working out?

BIG News!

So this weekend is gonna be filled with a few “firsts” for me! Tomorrow is my first day volunteering at the library for the kids summer reading program. I went to the brief training the other day but I didn’t really learn a whole lot about what I’m actually going to be doing, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m excited but also kinda not. It’s from 12-2 every Saturday until the end of July, and while it’s not a huge deal to be giving up 2 hours of my week, I just wish it was during a different time block. I’m a little strict when it comes to meal times. I usually eat lunch between 12 and 1, but obviously that won’t be happening since we’re not allowed to bring food with us. There is no way I’ll be hungry before I leave and by the time I get back, it’ll be close to snacktime, so I’m not sure if any lunch will be happening these next 9 Saturdays. I’m okay with that, but my parents are another story. I’m still recovering from anorexia (it’s been 2 years since I was diagnosed) and they still tend to watch my eating kinda closely. They trusted me during my first year of college to eat on my own regularly, but since I’ve been home I feel like every bite I put in my mouth is being monitored. I’m pretty sure they’d freak out if I went without lunch, even if it’s just for 9 days. We’ll see…

Sunday is even more exciting, because my dad and I are registered for our first-ever bike race! I’m not sure if it’s exactly a race, but it involves a lot of other riders and it supports a few charities, so it’s not just an impromptu ride like we usually do. We signed up for the 7-miler, which was the shortest distance, because the next-shortest one (25 miles) seems a bit too long. I think the most we’ve ever ridden is 10 miles, so the 7-miler shouldn’t be too hard. Based on my lame informal training plan, I’ve been consistently riding a little over 2 miles in 10 minutes, so if I keep up my pace of 13.5 mi/hr than the race should only take about 35-40 minutes. Well, I guess that depends on if I’m riding behind someone who’s slow 😉

I’m just hoping for nice weather (aka no wind) on Sunday so the ride will go smoothly. I rode two miles up and down my street (1 mile each way) today and I was planning on riding 3 but the wind was too much, plus I was dehydrated, my butt hurt (stupid bike seat!) and it smelled like smoke outside because of all the forest fires in the state. It wasn’t my best ride ever, but I think I’ll be fine on Sunday.

A goofy picture of me, just because

Q: What are you up to this weekend?