I was going to call this Five Things I'm Loving Right Now, but then I realized everything I was listing was a food or beverage. I must be hungry... 1. My Sodastream. It took me a really long time to decide to buy one. I have a tiny kitchen with virtually no counter space and very little remaining cupboard space. I finally bought it anyway. Oh my. I've never been so well hydrated in my life. Why does water with bubbles taste so much better than flat water? It now has a permanent home on my counter. 2. Pickled Cauliflower. I eat a LOT of cauliflower. Not as much as I did when I was pregnant with Shoo (I averaged a head every couple of days), but at least one head a week. My mom pickled a bunch for me last fall. It's so … [Read more...]
Adventure to Fitness giveaway, Honest Tea Review and WIAW
Whew, that's a lot to throw in one post... Recently I was given a bunch of different Honest Tea products to try. At the same time I was approached by Adventure to Fitness about getting one of their Fit Family packs (and giving one of them to a reader.) Since Adventure to Fitness has partnered with Honest Tea, I figured I'd combine them here. Adventure to Fitness Adventure to Fitness is all about "Inspiring kids to lead healthy lifestyles through imagination, education, and movement." They offer videos that incorporate learning and movement and are, quite frankly, interesting and motivating. The Fit Family pack they sent me included two packages of Honest Kids juice packs, a DVD, and various coloring and art activities. I … [Read more...]
2 things Thursday + Pin It Party
1. I'm finally feeling normal. I took naps three days in a row this week, which is pretty much unheard of for me. But they weren't optional. My body pretty much said "Sleep. Now." So I did. Yesterday I finally went out in my Kinvara 4's and ran a fast for me 4 miles. I did it as speed intervals and ended up doing 4 miles in under 40 minutes. Woot! 2. This weekend I'm racing again. I have a 5k on Saturday night and a half marathon on Sunday morning. I can't decide how fast I can go in the 5k and still have a decent half on Sunday. Is it bad that the only reason I want to race (as opposed to run) the 5k is to make sure I run it faster than my boss? Pretty sure that won't get me a raise... 3. And, just for fun, I'm joining … [Read more...]
Simply Snackin Review + Giveaway
A while back, Simply Snackin offered to send me some of their meat snacks to try. I took them up on their offer and really enjoyed the flavors. I'm your typical on-the-go mom. I always have snacks in my bag because hunger doesn't necessarily follow the schedule I set out for it. I found the meat snacks to be the perfect thing to always have with me. At only 60 calories, with a wallop of protein, they were perfect when I got hungry. But you know when they really cam in handy? When I was running the five half marathons. I found that about two hours after lunch, my blood sugar plummeted suddenly. Every.single.day. Ask Beer Geek. I'd start snapping at him about whatever we were doing and then I'd suddenly realize I was starving. … [Read more...]
Glad that’s over…
The sugar detox, that is. I didn't have any of the physical withdrawal symptoms that some people had: no headaches or crankiness or anything like that. I just found myself constantly on the prowl for food. Some of that would have happened anyways (thank you, hormones, for making my life awesome. Not.) But a big piece of it was the feeling of deprivation that led me to eat way too many nuts and quite a bit more fruit than usual. From an "I did it!" stand point, I succeeded. I ate no sweets all week. I even cut way back on my processed foods, only having a couple of pieces of bread. I drank one beer (and I never planned to cut out alcohol, so I don't feel bad about that LOL). Everything else fell into "clean, whole foods." So, yay … [Read more...]
WIAW: No sugar
I've mentioned in passing that I was going to do a sugar detox for a week with Mommy Run Fast and some other bloggers. I LOVE sugar. No really. I'd be happy to eat nothing but sweets. And once I start eating sugar? I can't stop. I'll keep grazing on sweets until I don't feel well. Most of the time, I deal with this by only having something sweet at the end of the day. Eat it. Brush teeth. Problem solved. However, during the five half marathons, I ate animal crackers at every race. And then had a couple of the bite sized Snickers after. And then a Coke with my Subway sub. And a beer or dessert every night. If I'd stopped on Friday when I was done running, I might have been ok, but instead, I kept eating like I was running and … [Read more...]
And then I fell off the wagon…
And I didn't just fall. I plunged. It started with a fruit leather. Ok, really it started with running 34 miles in the last five days. And did I mention the yoga class? Ok, it started because I was hungry. I should have grabbed an apple, but frankly, that thought never crossed my mind. So, I grabbed a fruit leather and some nuts. But really, I wanted chocolate. So, I had a few chocolate chips. And that was just the beginning. When I got done, this... was empty... Once again proving two rules *I* live by: 1) Everything in moderation - including diet changes. I needed to cut sugar. I'm not going to deny that. But, I have no reason to believe I have issues with whole grains, beans, or dairy. I'm not saying that … [Read more...]
Fueled by Joe Joe’s
There are a few days a month when I'm, umm, weak. I spend the days searching for snacky foods to eat instead of eating my usual meals. Normal days consist of 5-6 meals that include a vegetable and protein as the base. They might also include dairy or fruit or some whole grain carb, but not always. Snacky days consist of wandering the kitchen, eating whatever comes to hand. I tend to eat a lot of PB&Js on those days because they fill my "need" for something sweet without pushing me into a sugar coma. Yesterday, I ate Joe Joes. Halloween Joe Joes, to be specific. (And while we are in confession mode, I also had two diet cokes, something I almost never do anymore - we won't discuss my college eating habits.) As you might … [Read more...]
Barilla Microwaveable Meals Review
Have I mentioned lately that my September and October are a little insane? Between birthdays (the boys and 3 of their 4 Godparents), the start of school, soccer season, various school activities, Back to School night, a professional conference for me, a few out of town trips, a few races, and just regular life, I generally spend September and October trying to keep my head above water. (And because all of the above isn't enough, this year we added a leopard gecko and Martial Arts to our lives. Yes, I am insane.) So, when I was offered the chance to try the new Barilla Microwaveable Meals, I jumped at it. On a good night, I barely manage to remember to start the pasta on time. On a busy night, well, a tortilla with some cheese was … [Read more...]
Wordless Wednesday: Calamari
Simply Bar Review and Giveaway
Recently I was contacted with the opportunity to try out "The Simply Bar." I had heard about them on various blogs and I happened to be attempting to add extra protein to my diet plus eat more frequently. While I was mostly focused on clean, whole foods, I'd had a few instances where I hit "gnaw my arm off" hungry with no healthy options available to me. The Simply Bars sounded like just what I needed to have available in those instances. According to the company, Each bar contains 16 g protein, paired with 2-4g of fat, under 3 g of sugar, 4 g of fiber, and 160 calories or less. Each bar is based on Non GMO soy crisps along organic brown rice syrup. All the cocoa bars are made with organic cocoa mass (we promise this is easy to … [Read more...]
Jewish Mother’s Split Pea Soup
This has been one of the more miserable falls that Virginia has had in a while. We seem to be getting rain at least a couple of times a week. A lot of us are beginning to wonder when Virginia got placed just outside the *other* Washington. For most of October, my mood has matched the weather. Adding a layer of stress over what is already my craziest month of the year and then throwing a ton of rain on top of that? Yeah. Depression was rearing its ugly head, only held at bay by a few really awesome runs. It's raining again today, but all is sunny in me. I went for a lovely run in the rain in my new Skirt Sports skirt. (Love! Will review later) Nothing hurt! I got final closure today with my primary physician that everyone … [Read more...]
