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Posts Tagged dog walk

Wii Wii, Chocomole

Nov 7

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 2 Comments

Happy Saturday friends!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.  I’m checking in with a quick Feats & Eats recap from Friday.

I did a Tabata-style workout for legs.  It was short, burned like FIRE and has me crazy sore today:

Tabata Legs:

  • TM Warmup 5 minutes
  • Smith Machine Squats 4 minutes
  • Leg Extensions 4 minutes
  • Lying Leg Curls 4 minutes

Afterward I had intended on doing an Iron Yoga session, but the DVR was acting up and after fighting with it for 15 minutes,  it definitely put me in an anti-zen mood so I threw in the towel. :)

A dog wogging session would have to suffice.  Just a quick 25 minute outing in the unseasonably warm weather.

One of my snacks during the day was this bite-sized Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar that my friend Beth gave to me  (thanks Beth!)  Mmmm so good:

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Lunch was with a great friend at a local asian cafe, so I had steamed veggies with a bowl of miso soup (and the greasy egg roll that came with it).

On the way home I picked up a Gingerade BUBBLY!  Which I am slowly savoring.  I had half and saved the rest for later.  Those darn bubbly drinks make me happy!

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MSP and I skipped a ‘regular’ dinner and had cereal instead, mine being Kashi Go Lean.  We had friends coming over at 7:00 for some WII NIGHT fun.  I was in the mood to try some new food to put out for snacks yet still stay on the healthy side.

First off I made some marinated mushrooms.

I started with the inspiration from a recipe at Allrecipes.com but made a few modifications. Here’s how I made them:

  • 1/3 cup filled with half rice wine vinegar and half balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon prepared spicy mustard
  • 3/4 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 2 cloves minced garlic (from jar)
  • 1 pound small fresh button mushrooms

All ingredients except the mushrooms went into a saucepan and brought to a boil.  Add mushrooms, simmer for 12 minutes, stirring often.  Transfer to glass dish for chilling before serving.  Use slotted spoon to drain mushrooms for serving presentation. Don’t forget to set out some toothpicks!

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They turned out really tasty and more elegant than my other usual appetizers (which I still served) and included:

Carrots with homemade hummus:

img 649Brown-bag popcorn sprinkled with sea salt and chili powder:

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And some unpictured Baked Tostito Scoops with salsa.

Last but not least, I FINALLY tried making Gena’s Chocomole for the evening’s dessert.  I’ve been wanting to try this recipe since the first time I saw it.  And I needed to do it sneakily so that MSP wouldn’t know that it was made of avocados before he actually ate it.

I used 2 avocados, 1/2 smashed banana, 10 pitted dates, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp carob powder, water to drizzle as needed.

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This recipe ROCKED!  I loved it.  And I especially loved knowing that it wasn’t chock full of hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or chemicals. It was SUPER rich and creamy.  Next time I will be sure to soak my dates, as they didn’t come out quite as smoothly in the food processor as I would have liked, (and Gena does mention that dates may need to be soaked prior) but it was still FAB.  Next time I think I will get a tart or pie crust of some sort and use it as a filling.  When I served it to our guests, I topped it with a little all-natural egg nog ice cream.  My serving was sans ice cream but I did add a few sprinkles of coconut.

Heavenly is what that dessert was.  And MSP ate AVOCADO!!! (muah-ha-ha! <insert evil grin>) He liked it, and wasn’t totally horrified when I told him what was in it.  But he did say he’d really have been fine with just NOT knowing that it was avocado.

We love Wii Night with friends!  Thanks J & G for hanging with us!!  It was fun!

Well blog buds, it’s a gorgeous Saturday and none of us should be sitting indoors on a computer, so I’m gonna skeedaddle and get outside!

Make it a SPECTACULAR Saturday!

– Shari B. =)

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All That and a Bag of (Kale) Chips

Nov 4

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Product Review | 4 Comments

Hello FitFeat Friends!

Whew, what a busy bee kind of morning it’s been so far, and it’s only 8:47 as I begin to type this.  I’ve had a lot of blog-related catch up to do this morning, emails to reply to, made a pancake b-fast for MSP today, am still in my PJs and have yet to finish my post!  What’s weird is my coffee this morning seemed to be UBER-caffeinated! I used the same single-serve pod brand that I’ve used every day for years, and today it hit me like a truck for some reason.  I am having a hard time sitting still, my fingers are going faster than my brain and I feel almost shaky!  Crazy java!  Maybe the dogs slipped a”wog ruffie” into my mug, in hopes that I’d take them out to burn off this extra energy ;)

Speaking of dogs… yesterday’s exercise included a 30 minute WOG for the pups.  Poor Riley hadn’t been out for a real wog since her cone-inducing incident.  And you could sure tell.  She was a maniac!  I spent most of that 30 minutes snapping her leash, shouting “Riley, BACK”.  I think she has stubborn mule syndrome short term memory problems because she only follows commands now for about a millisecond and then goes right back to whatever she was doing before I corrected her.   She thinks she can get away with anything now that she’s OLD, but I’m on to her little scheme.  :)

Since the wog was more for them than for me, I then hopped on the treadmill afterward, while watching an episode of “Eastwick” on Hulu.  It was 40 minutes of interval fun!  Speedwork this time:  I focused on including intervals of 9+ mph.  It was definitely a sweat-maker!  I might have to do it again today!  :)

Yesterday’s eats included a quick bite before my a.m. client, Ezekial toast (which looks to be drowing in vegan ‘non-butter’ but really it just doesn’t melt well!)

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Later a PUMPKINY green smoothie…

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This one had:

  • 1/2 cucumber
  • sweet clover sprouts
  • 1/2 banana
  • about 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • palmful of raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • BIG fist o’spinach
  • 1/2 cantaloupe

I felt like NOT having a salad for lunch, so how ’bout a salad in a can?  Amy’s Organic Minestrone, mmm warm and veggie-ful.

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Late afternoon while I was prepping dinner stuff, I made a little batch of kale chips, this time with a good dash of nutritional yeast… and ate the whole batch.

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We’ve been craving a visit to Garbanzo’s lately and just haven’t made it up there, so I decided we’d make our own homemade version.  I finally tried this box of Falafel mix I had in my pantry.  I wanted to see if it was easier better than the ones I’d made from scratch.  The answer:  NO WAY.  Not that the ones I made at home were all that and a bag of kale chips, but these were SO flipping dry you felt like you needed to load them up on some sort of sauce, which we did not have.

In their defense, I did follow their “broiling” instructions rather than frying them in oil.  They obviously wouldn’t be so dry if they were sopping around in a pan of olive oil before eating.  But that would defeat the purpose of them being a bit healthier than the charred deepfried version we get when eating at Garbanzo.  Sorry “Fantastic World Foods”, this one won’t make it into my grocery basket again anytime soon.

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Here’s how my plate turned out:  smeared with my  homemade hummus, topped with a little rice pilaf, some roasted zucchini & baby bellas,  a rooster tail of romaine and 1/4 whole wheat pita.  Oddly, the broiled falafel look like GINGER COOKIES!!

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And MSP made his into a pita pocket (sadly lacking any veggie action) :)

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I need to make a good cucumber dill sauce to put on our leftovers to combat the dryness, so I’ll be on the hunt for a good (read:  EASY) recipe that I can use MimicCreme in.  :)   If you  have one, please feel free to share in the comments section!  Or if you  have a homemade healthy falafel recipe that you love, please share that too!

OK, fit peeps, I need to get this party started moving on my Wednesday.  Don’t forget to email me a pic of your awesome bicep flexing for FLEX IT FRIDAY before midnight Thursday!  If you have a blog, be sure to include your blog address in the email so that I can mention it!

Have a brilliant day and I’ll see ya next time!

– Shari B. =)

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Look Ma, No Hands!

Oct 26

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 7 Comments

Hi friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I took Sunday “off” from blogging to be with my cousins, since one of them already has to fly home this afternoon.   I’ll rewind way back to Saturday morning for a few updates.

MSP and I wanted to get out for a run before our guests arrived, since we knew it’d be a little tough to break away for a workout after that. We had a BEAUTIFUL run along Willow Creek for 4.4 miles.  The weatherman said it was 55 out… and you’d think by now I’d know better than to trust him!  But I left my mittens at home anyway because I DID trust him!  And boy was I sorry!  We both thought it felt a little more like 25 than 55.  My little hands were red and freezing the whole time.

Have you ever tried to run with your hands stuffed in your pockets?  One word:  AWKWARD!  Imagine someone running with their hands plastered to their sides and think of how funny that looks.  Then put me in that vision.. that was me.  Maybe this was an instance of “you just had to be there” for it to be funny, but for some reason it cracks me up! 

I am a little TOO energetic first thing in the morning...

Sometimes I'm TOO energetic first thing in the morning!

I’ve never been one of those runners who can go outside in shorts when it’s cold out.  I see people wearing tiny running shorts and a long-sleeved shirt with maybe hat and gloves when it’s below freezing.  And then there’s me with insulated running pants, dry-wicking shirt, fleece pullover and down running jacket.  Usually with an earband AND a scarf.  I’d rather tie all those layers around my waist once I get warm than freeze my A$$ off for the first 20 minutes of my run. 

After our run we came home to finish up the remaining items on my housecleaning to-do list, including some Doodie Duty (aka:  squat-n-scoops) so at least I got a little leg training in.  ;)   Then zipped off to the airport.  Later in the afternoon we set up a “snack buffet” of pita chips with hummus, baked tostito scoops with salsa, and carrot sticks with my homemade navy bean dip.  We watched the Cincinnati Bearcats game and just chilled inside while it was chilly outside.

That evening we ordered some gluten-free veggie pizza delivery from Garlic Jim’s so I had a piece of that with my usual extra-large ‘side salad’. 

Sunday brought snow AGAIN, two rounds.  One first thing in the morning then another one at about 2:30.  It’s not even winter yet, and I’m already ready for spring!  ;)   We all bundled up and took the dogs out for a walk… about 3 miles.

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Post-walk nutrients:

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Look what my cousin Lisa brought me from Ohio!  A PLETHORA of PISTACHIO…!

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(Wahooo!  Thank you Lisa!)  You know I had to gobble one up almost immediately.

We had a little “burrito/taco bar” action for lunch:

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Here’s mine (whole wheat tortilla, Tofutti, mashed avocado, homemade blackbean dip, spinach and chunky salsa).  My “burrito” looks suspiciously like a “wrap”.  :)

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We did a little sightseeing at Red Rocks Amphitheater before the snow REALLY kicked in.

Once home again we were feeling “snacky” so I made some baked purple kale:

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I ate almost the whole batch myself!

And some baked sweet potato chips sprinkled with cinnamon – these went over better with my guests than the kale did…

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We played a little Wii and watched a couple of movies while snacking on the above chips (and some Halloween TWIX). 

It is supposed to be sunny today so I’m crossing my fingers that maybe we can get out for a hike before noon when we have to head back to the airport.  I’m hoping that I’ll have a few great scenery shots to share with you in the next post.

Have an excellent Monday, friends! 

– Shari B. =)

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The Lunge: Love to Hate It

Oct 20

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature | 6 Comments

Hello there friends! 

Oh my goodness, where to start today.  I always seem to have more words than time!  :)

Let’s start with the FEATS recap:

Weight Training  (Legs/Abs):

  • TM Warmup 5 min
  • High Step Ups 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Plie Squat with Pulses 3 sets of 40 reps
  • Side Step Ups 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • V-Ups for Abs 3 sets of 20 reps
  • VS Snow Angels 3 sets of 20 reps

Afterward, I left the conehead at home with MSP (to save her the ridicule from all the other doggies out on wogs), grabbed Rascal and we went for a quick 2.11 mile run.  Just enough to get him a little activity for the day.  Why are my dogs so good when they are taken out by themselves and such little freak-monsters when they go together?  Are kids like that?  It was a great little run – felt so good after working the legs.

A scoop of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer mixed with almond milk and a banana served as my post-workout meal, with a little fall view in the background.

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Mid-morning brought about the urge for apple pie, a la Larabar.  For some reason I felt the need to include more fall foilage in the shot since apple pie feels so very “autumn” to me…

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I was so hungry at lunch I completely forgot to take a photo.  I had the leftover shrimp & scallops takeout with a single “Simply…Cookie” for dessert.

I had a doc appointment after lunchtime way out east of where I live.  My ‘health food store radar’ went off like crazy over there  – they have a very new & much bigger Vitamin Cottage that I had to visit.  This is where I did some of the shopping for the giveaway.

And lookie what I found….
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A tropical fruit tart Larabar!!!  I’ve been trying to track one of these new flavors down for a couple of MONTHS!!!  (Apparently I wasn’t trying hard enough, guess it was in Parker CO all this time!)  I was so excited to try it! 

Friends, this is like a Hawaiian mini-vacation in a wrapper.  OH. SO. YUMMY.  Wow.  I need to order a box online PRONTO!  And there will be one in the giveaway schwag.  (shwag? swag?  I’m schticking with schwag…)  :)

By dinnertime I was feeling a bit lacking in the green department, so I made an extra-green (read: not really any fruit to speak of) smoothie.  Extra cucumber, sprouts, frozen spinach, extra celery, 1/2 avocado, and only 1/3 apple.  It was THICK.  And kind of ‘savory’ rather than sweet.  But as a side dish to my open-faced Gardenburger, it worked!

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One thing I meant to mention in yesterday’s post –and somehow didn’t– was a SPECIAL THANKS to Alison of Mama’s Weeds.   I found my new hosting company through her site, and she very kindly and graciously answered all the questions I’d emailed her before I made up my mind on which company to use.  Alison, thanks so much for all of your help and encouragement!  You’re awesome! 

***

It’s about time for a FitFeature, don’t you think?  So today I’d like to talk about one of my favorite exercise moves:  the LUNGE.

If you don’t have a lot of time to get in a full workout (or maybe don’t really have access to exercise equipment) the lunge is an excellent move to employ. 

1. It utilizes pretty much the entire lower half of the body and your core, so you get a lot of ‘bang for your buck’ as far as hitting a lot of muscles in a short period of time.

2. It gets your heart rate up so you can also get an effective cardio workout.

3. There are more variations than you can imagine to constantly change it up.  Here are just a few:

4. You can easily turn it into a full body exercise by adding upper body movements WHILE lunging (bicep curls, side shoulder raises, overhead shoulder presses).

In any lunge you perform, draw an imaginary line straight upward from your big toe on the forward foot and be sure your forward knee does not cross that line.  You are exercising to strengthen and protect your knees… letting your knee travel past that line is asking for pain and trouble in the long run.

If you are just starting out, try a couple sets of however many you can comfortably perform with GOOD FORM.  As you get better, go for the burn.  Out on a walk or run, pick an object in the distance and do some walking lunges (alternating legs) as far as you can go.  Get those legs burning like crazy, watch that knee/toe line, keep your front heel DOWN and GO FOR IT!  This is a fabulous leg/butt shaper. 

Or do some uphill lunges.  Ouchie.  :)  

Squats and Deadlifts are two other EXCELLENT exercises that essentially utilize the whole body, especially when done with heavier weights (as long as the form is impeccable).  But they will have to wait their turn for the spotlight on the FitFeat blog.  ;)

Today’s question:  do you incorporate lunges into your leg routine?  Do you love them?  Hate them?  Have a love/hate relationship with them?  Drop a comment!

***

Quick note about an update to the blog:  there is a new tab in the navigation bar at the top called “Favorite Things” — check it out!

OK, now I’m off to write the next post, which is the one with the giveaway!!!  So check back again yet today!

Have a GREAT Tuesday!

– Shari B. =)

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Riley in ‘The Cone of Shame’

Oct 18

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Good Sunday mornin’ to ya!

Just putting a quick post out to say hello and let you know that we are still waiting for SOME servers to make the switch.  It’s ALMOST there…  ;)   Hope that you are all making your way to the site ok!  Still having issues with email routing and the comments area.

This is a result of some of Saturday’s craziness:

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(blurry shot… ! )  Let’s just say that taking the dogs out for a long wog turned into Riley needing to hit up the ER Vet last night.

One of the things I learned yesterday after much testing is that the “theme” that I used for FitFeat when it was at WordPress.com is not fully compatible with the version of WordPress running on the self-hosted side.  So after all the back and forth I spent on Friday, it looks like I’m going to be putting out a “new look” after all.  Just wanted to give you a heads up so that when you come back to FitFeat in the near future and it looks TOTALLY different, I don’t want you to think you’re at the wrong place!

Hopefully things will be running NORMALLY again very soon!  I’ll try to get back out later today with a Saturday recap… depends on how much time I have to spend on getting server things ‘fixed’.

I hope that you are all having a WONDERFUL weekend so far!

–Shari B.  =)

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The Great Debate: Pre-Workout Fuel

Oct 16

Posted by in Keeping Fit | 10 Comments

TGIF! TGIF!

Good morning FitFeat friends!  Are you so excited that the weekend is upon us once more?  I am ESPECIALLY excited because this weekend they are forecasting some 70+ degree weather and sunshine!  More chances for me to get some Vitamin D action!  ;)

What a week it has been.  Have you noticed what’s been missing this week?  WOGGING!  My poor dogs.  They haven’t been out on a walk since Monday evening.  I’m a bad puppy-mommy this week!  I’ve had daily “social-cizing” plans and the rest of the time I’ve been glued to my PC in preparation for the upcoming blog move. 

Maybe yet today I’ll be able to get them out.   

Check out my new breakfast creation:

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Now I know what you’re thinking:  “OMG what IS that?  It looks disgusting!”  But let me tell you this was one delicious little pre-workout fuel!  It is toasted Ezekial smeared with coconut oil (in lieu of vegan butter) and then smeared again with a MEDJOOL DATE!  Mmmm coconutty-datey sweetness!  Brendan Brazier (professional Ironman triathlete) says that coconut oil and dates are great exercise fuel:  the coconut oil has MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) that are more easily converted to energy by the body, not to mention easily-digested simple carbs in the form of the date. 

I often will eat half of a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar for pre-running fuel thanks to Brendan’s info.  That particular Larabar contains dates, coconut and coconut oil. 

I met up with my friend (and fellow personal trainer) at The Bluffs yesterday morning for a hilly run.  Wendy is a serious running pro, let me tell you.  She’s a multi-time marathoner (including the BOSTON which one must qualify to enter).  The only reason I’m able to run with her currently is because she is nursing a foot injury.  Notice I’m not saying “keep up with her currently” — because she still could have TOTALLY left me in the dust yesterday, I know it.  :)  

We got in 3.62 miles of hills and dales.  It was a BEAUTY of a morning!  And I felt fantastic afterward.  Wendy, thanks for a great time – I’m looking forward to going again soon!

After that I hit up Starbucks to catch up with another friend and her adorable son, where I had a grande SOY STEAMER.  (Essentially that means I have Starbucks heat me up a nice cup of soy milk, with no coffee or flavoring, and then pay them probably 3 times what a whole container of soy milk would cost!)  Ahhh gotta love th SBUX.  (Thank you Magen for treating — that was very sweet of you!)

Riley never gets any photo love since Rascal is the ham of the family, so I had to get her in the shot.  See what she’s saying with her eyes?  It’s “why haven’t you walked me today, ya big jerk!”  :)

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Lunchtime meant it was time for me to get my major veggie fix.  I still don’t think photos do this salad bowl justice.  It is HUGE.  I measured yesterday and it is 11″ in diameter.  :)   This one was chock full of spinach, heirloom tomatoes, yellow pepper, dulse, avocado, zucchini ribbons, kalamata olives, nutritional yeast, and pepper.  Dressed with extra virgin olive oil.  I ate every last bite and had a few baked potato chips on the side. 

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A little Pecan Pie snack in the afternoon: 

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And leftover “Lazy Girl Dinner“ from the other night whenI had Amy’s Organic Southwestern Vegetable soup.  I had it in a mug with a  little raw goat cheddar and Mary’s Gone Crackers on the side.  Right back to the PC I went…  MSP had his last softball game of the season, so I was right back to the PC to get some more blog work done.

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I did need an evening snack since my soup didn’t keep me full very long, so I made a bag of homemade microwave popcorn (1/4 cup of plain popcorn kernels in a brown lunch bag, fold up the top, microwave for up to two-and-a-half minutes or until the popping sounds are far apart).  No fake butter flavor, no crazy chemicals, no fumes that allegedly cause lung cancer.  Sprinkle with some sea salt and/or nutritional yeast, and munch away!  

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I fell asleep while watching “The Office”.  Lame.  All the social activity of the day combined with a whole lot of sitting at the computer made Shari very sleepy…

***

So for today’s discussion, I’d love to hear how you fuel your workouts. 
Are you an “empty stomach exerciser” or a “fully fueled exerciser“? 

I definitely vary, depending on the situation.  For running, ideally I get it done first thing in the morning after just a cup of coffee (and maybe a bite or two of Larabar at the most).  I feel lighter on my feet and don’t experience ‘side stitches’ when I don’t have food in the system. 

But sometimes when I meet up with running buddies, it’s usually a little later in the day and I don’t like to go that long without food.  So I’ll try to eat something about 90 minutes prior to the outing (usually anything sooner and I get severe side cramps during the run).  Yesterday’s toast with the coconut oil and date worked perfectly.  I had some simple carbs, some complex carbs and the coconut oil.  The date gave me some quick energy and the sprouted grain toast gave me some sustained energy.  It was plenty for my run and held me over for about 3 hours until it was time for SBUX. 

Other forms of exercise (like my weight training and hiking) don’t cause me to have to overthink the food situation as much.  Weight training is usually first thing on an empty stomach.  For hiking I eat about 90 minutes for hitting the trail, then bring a Larabar in case I need it on the trail.

There are a lot of schools of thought as to whether you should work out on an empty stomach vs. being ‘properly’ fueled.  Some say that if you exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, you’ll burn more fat (still burning the same number of calories, but because your glycogen stores will be lower first thing in the a.m. you potentially dig into fat stores sooner.)  On the other hand, there are those that say if you exercise without properly fueling for it, you will be causing a bit of catabolism of the precious muscle tissue we all work so hard to keep.

My opinion is this is highly individualized from one person to the next.   Feeling crampy or nauseous during a workout from a belly full of food isn’t something that will keep you coming back for more.  But feeling lightheaded or dizzy from not eating enough and hence lacking energy isn’t good either.   Base it off of how long or how intense the workout will be.  Common sense applies here.  Listen to your body and take note of how you feel so that next time you can make the right ‘tweaks’ to feel FANTASTIC during your workouts. 

Isn’t that really what it’s all about anyway?  :)   I’d rather feel great during my workouts (which means I’ll be more inclined to do it again tomorrow, and the day after that, etc.) than be too focused on what percentage of the calories burned are from fat.  (Been there, done that…!)   Overall if you are moving your body regularly and eating nutritious foods, you’ll get where you want to go.

Let us know which side of the fence you’re on — drop a comment!

Alrighty friends, I’ve got a LOT on the plate today so I’m gonna get cracking!  Have a FAB FRIDAY! 

If all goes as planned today I may be back later on with the last notice before the blog moves.  If not, you’ll know I hit an speed bump… ;)   

See ya next time! 

– Shari B. =)

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Save Our Soles!

Oct 13

Posted by in Product Review | 4 Comments

Holy moly FitFeat Friends… there was an explosion of activity on the blog yesterday!  Wow!  A record number of hits to the FitFeat site.  Whatever you guys are doing to spread the word, THANK YOU!  And please keep it up – you’re AWESOME!

So I thought I’d take some time today to talk about another one of my favorite “tools” - but this one is not related to the kitchen.  It’s for our feet. 

Back when I was running half-marathons more often and putting a lot of miles on my feet, I was getting blisters left and right. 

Two friends / running buddies each recommended that I try a particular brand of sock called the Wrightsock Coolmesh.   What’s special about these socks is that they are made of two thin layers.  Instead of your sock and foot rubbing together, the two layers of material rub together and the friction stays within the layers as opposed to on your skin.  

I wasn't kidding when I said I have SMALL FEET...!

I wasn't kidding when I said I have SMALL FEET...!

These socks were lifesavers (well, OK that might be an overstatment :) at the very least they were sole-savers!)  They are a small investment early on, but worth every penny.  I now own about 8 pair and I wear them every day:  running, hiking, walking.  Anytime my sneakers go on, so do these socks.

If you’re a runner, walker, hiker or just someone who is prone to blistered feet, you should look into trying out these socks.

I am grateful to have learned about these socks at a time when I really needed them (thanks Scott!  thanks Lori!) and wanted to pay it forward, so to speak.

In light of the recent FTC ruling about product reviews and blogs, I thought I’d make a note for the record that all of the products I have reviewed and/or recommended to date on this blog are offered up solely because I use and like the products, not because I am being paid to do so or offered any sort of kickback.

On to Monday’s eats:

After the nice Back/Trap workout I detailed in yesterday’s post, I wanted a quick influx of carbs.  So I opted for a bowl of mango-licious.  This one should have been given over to the green smoothie gods though, because it wasn’t as ripe as it should have been.  That’s what I get for being impatient and dying to eat my yummy mango taunting me from the fruit basket on my counter!
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Shortly thereafter it was time for my real breakfast so I had a bowl of OATSMILE:

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Lunch was yet another leftover serving of Veggie Enchilasagna with a side of spanish rice.  There’s one more sliver of this still in the fridge, but I’m pretty sure at this point that I’ve had my FILL of this particular food for awhile.

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I also had a side salad with lunch (spinach, tomato, dulse,  pepitas, hemp oil, balsamic vinegar, nutritional yeast):

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Followed by a little dessert!  Endangered Species brand 72% dark chocolate… mmmm chocolate!

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Afternoon snack time came up FAST!  I was busy on blog hosting study… I decided to forego the standard Larabar for some hummus, Wasa, raw goat cheddar and baby carrots.  Tasty and fiber-rich!

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When MSP got home, we still had some daylight and it wasn’t completely freezing outside, so we decided to take the dogs out for their wog:  a quick 2-miler to work up a little appetite before dinner: another set of leftovers that I tried to make into something different.  I had some of Friday night’s “Warm Asian Thai-Fry” left, so I warmed it up, then wrapped it into red chard leaves.  The ‘dipping sauce’ is just a generic version of Annie’s “Gingerly Vinaigrette” from a bottle. 

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It wasn’t bad at all for a meal that only took about 90 seconds to build!  But I was still a little hungry after so I had a few Mary’s Gone Crackers with some slivers of the raw goat cheddar. 

OK, friends, I’m off to get Tuesday started!  Have a fantastic Tuesday!  If you’re located in the Colorado are, KEEP WARM!  If you’re located someplace outside of Colorado that is warm, please send some heat our direction!

For today’s discussion, do you have any tips/tricks/tools that have helped any of your outdoor activities, in the way that the Wrightsocks have helped with my blisters?  You FitFeat readers are very FIT-SAVVY, and have lots of great info to share!  Thanks for doing so and keep it coming!  We are ALL learning and benefiting from each other!

See you tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

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The One Thing You Can Do Now to Improve Your Fitness Journey

Oct 7

Posted by in Cooking, FitFeature | 2 Comments

Good morning FitFeat friends!!  Happy Wednesday to you!  Friday is getting closer!  It’s supposed to be mid-70s today and then SNOW tomorrow!  So I better get outside while I can (‘scoop-n-squats’ anyone?)

While I was out on yesterday’s 3 mile dog wog, I was listening to a Tony Robbins recording on my iPod. 

Right off the bat I’ll confess that there is something about Tony Robbins that just gets me going!  Sadly I don’t do the written exercises that he suggests.  And I rarely get past day 1 or 2 in a 7-, 10-, or 30-day set.  But just hearing him speak lights a fire under my tail like nobody’s business.  Yes, I am a self-help junkie.  :)

One question I’ve noticed he poses in most of his programs is: 
What is your “camera lens” focused on?

This is something I think about often in terms of personal training clients looking to improve their fitness and/or their body composition, so I thought I’d touch on it today for a FitFeature.

In your own fitness journey, are you focusing on negative or self-defeating points like “I’m on a diet”, “I have to work out”, or “I can’t believe I can’t eat such-and-such”? 

Sometimes the best path to getting fit is more about making the mental shift than it is about what program you choose to follow.  Wouldn’t you rather focus on the positive things like “I feel so energized after working out”, “The foods I’m eating are making me healthier by the day”, or “I choose not to eat [insert fave junk food here] because it makes me sluggish and I’d rather feel vibrant.”  Once you do, you will be amazed at how easy your journey becomes.  Focusing on the negative wastes a lot of energy.

I’ve stated this before but in my early “dieting” days if someone had recommended to me that I follow a nutrition plan similar to the way I eat now, I think I may have felt it REALLY restrictive.  Mentally it would have been a huge jump for me.  (What? No chicken?  Minimal dairy?  How will I survive if I can’t mix cottage cheese into everything?)  But now?  I feel such a sense of freedom from dieting because one, I don’t consider what I do ‘dieting’ now, and two, that’s not what my “lens is focused on”.  Now I am focused on all the great things I DO eat, all the energy those foods provide me, how I no longer have digestive issues.   The fact that I’ve lost body fat is just icing on the cake.

About 6 years ago I participated in a fat loss program where one of the requirements was to eat 4 cups of veggies every day.  As I hadn’t yet made the shift, getting ‘those veggies in’ was a huge struggle for me.  Which is funny because these days, I pretty much meet that ‘requirement’ in one green smoothie, and that’s just the start of my day!  Add in one of my crazy big salads, and that’s probably another three cups more!

How hard or easy something feels is simply a matter of where you choose to aim your focus. 

***

Speaking of all that healthy food… :)   Tuesday started with a Vega chocolate whole food health optimizer, with some added vanilla rice protein powder, shaken violently with some almond milk!  Greens, probiotics and maca, oh my!

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Someone (known on the comment board as MSP Buddy) gave MSP a BABY LARABAR to give to me!  Thanks MSP Buddy!  That was so sweet… and my little pecan pie snacky is so cute!

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At lunchtime I tweaked another recipe, this time for a tuna burger.  But my tweaking actually made it worse, so I won’t be adding it to the “Build A Meal” section!  I made it into an open-faced sammy, with the “top lid” as a piece of lettuce.

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Oh my afternoon snack was total bliss …. I am hopelessly addicted to mango.  Do you think I could make a mango tree survive in the Colorado climate??  I kid you not, when I finished cutting this thing, I gnawed all the extra ‘mango meat’ from the core.  I did not want to miss one bite…

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Tuesday is Hell’s Kitchen night (w/Gordon Ramsay) so I felt all “chef-like” setting out my ingredients to prep for dinner.  :)

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 And voila!  Pesto Gnocchi with Zucchini, Asparagus & Sun-dried Tomatoes (with an unpictured side salad)

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Well folks, I’m off to stock up on enough sunshine to get me through the next few days!  :)

Keep your ’camera lens’ in mind today and look for areas where you can ‘adjust your focus’!  Make it a great day!

– Shari B. =)

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Fruit-Filled Saturday

Oct 4

Posted by in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Well hello blog buds!  Happy Sunday!  Ours started out sans-sun but it seems to have reappeared now.  That’s what I LOVE about living in Colorado.  We have a bazillion days of sunshine, even when it’s chilly out.  (Are you sick of me loving on my state yet?  I’m sorry, I can’t help it!  Truly the Colorado  tourism board should be sending me checks!)

First thing Saturday morning directly following coffee, we took the dogs out for a 4-mile WOG (that would be walking/jogging for any new readers, because my dogs cannot keep from stopping to smell every single thing there is to smell along the way.  It’s a very herky-jerky form of running, for sure!) 

I’m thinking that Riley being all tired on the 2.5 mile wog earlier this week was all an act because she treated this 4-miler like it was nothing!  I’m on to her now…  ;)

So Saturday turned out to be a B-A-N-A-N-A-S kind of day so it was fitting that it started out with this for breakfast:  

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MSP made me French Ezekial Toast!  Isn’t that sweet (pun intended)?  I topped it with a smear of raw almond butter, half of a banana, and some Michigan pure maple syrup that I brought back for him from my trip.  It was a DEE-LISH-USH breakfast. 

We rushed around after that because we had to be out the door at 10:00 AM to get our day of BIZ-EEE-NESS started and didn’t get a chance to stop for a snack or lunch.  The french toast sure did the trick because normally if I’d had to wait from 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM before eating, I’d be about ready to start gnawing on my own fingers.  But I made it until we got home, and then I made a plate of leftover Garbanzo!  I used some of the leftover pita, smeared it with hummus, added a slice of heirloom tomato and a skinny slice of raw goat cheese.  Then I cut the leftover falafel in half and topped it with the tahini sauce, with the rice on the side.  It was mmm-mmm-good.  Now if only we could tell Garbanzo to stop OVER-COOKING their falafel, we’d be golden.  I don’t think falafel are meant to be charbroiled.  Correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m no falafel expert.  :)   Next time we’re craving some, I think we’ll make our homemade version that we bake instead.

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Later in the afternoon, I was craving something sweet so I decided on some fruit.  In my quest for “new-to-me” produce this week, I’d picked up a PLUOT.  I’ve never had one before. 

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Is it the prettiest red when it’s cut open or what?

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I’ll definitely be buying pluots again.  (I’m guessing pluot is supposed to be a mix of plum and apricot??)

It didn’t fill me up, so I went back for even MORE fruit, this time my beloved MANGO.  I just can’t bring myself to mask this delicious fruit in any form of smoothie.  I am so in love with mangoes.  

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More errand running later and it was getting pretty chilly, so a tall soy chai latte seemed in order (with a petite vanilla scone to keep the latte company – love that they make bite-sized scones!)

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At 7:45, we were on our way out the door to a huge birthday bash for a good friend, and I must have been in a SMIRKY mood… not sure what this face was for!

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We didn’t eat a dinner Saturday night – it was just an “off-schedule” day all around.  At the party I had a glass of white wine and a handful of tortilla chips.  But being that today is FOOTBALL SUNDAY, I have a feeling I’ll make up for any lost calories.  ;)   Anyone up for joining me in some football-watching exercise?  Drop me a comment and let me know if I have any takers!!  Today would normally be my ‘rest day’ but if I have some peeps willing to do this with me, it’d be much more fun knowing that somewhere out there you might be doing some pushups or squats during the commercials too!

I have a couple of FitFeatures I want to blog about but I’m going to save it for the weekdays, as my blog stats tell me that Sundays are pretty slow and I don’t want you to miss them!  In the meantime, if you have any specific topics you’d like to hear about, please don’t hesitate to let me know! 

Have a SUPERB SUNDAY! 

– Shari B. =)

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Mashed Faux-tatoes

Sep 30

Posted by in Product Review, Recipes | 9 Comments

Hey everyone! 

Well, my quest for finding a fun new veggie didn’t turn up anything.  King Soops only had ‘normal veggies’ so I at least bought a veggie that I haven’t had in a long time:  cauliflower.  (Looks like a trip to Whole Paycheck Foods is in order to find the fun stuff!  Better leave the credit card at home…!)  

Back when the South Beach Diet first came out, there was one recipe that quickly became ‘famous’ from that program and that was using cauliflower to create a dish that resembled mashed potatoes.   The ingredients in the South Beach version include a couple of dairy products, and while I don’t shun dairy completely, I will find ways to minimize or avoid things made from cow’s milk when I can. 

Here is my twist on the original recipe of what I like to call Mashed Faux-tatoes:

  • 12 oz package of cauliflower florets
  • 2 tbs MimicCreme
  • 1 tbs nutritional yeast flakes (approximate – use to your own taste)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower until tender (I used the steamable microwave bag, 3-4 minutes on high). Place steamed cauliflower in a food processor and begin pureeing.  Add the MimicCreme and continue pureeing until you have the consistency of mashed potatoes (a few minutes max).  Add nutritional yeast, sea salt and pepper to taste then run the processor for a few seconds more to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.

This makes a pretty small batch (essentially a single serving) since I am the only one in my house that will eat cauliflower. Adjust your batch size as needed if you have veggie eaters in your house.

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 ****

Before my trip I’d ordered the MimicCreme to have on hand when I returned.  I’d planned to use it in my coffee but learned that it can also replace cream in most recipes, which is why I’d decided to try it in the faux-tatoes before giving it a thumbs up or down.  I’ve been searching for something to use in my daily coffee other than fat-free liquid Coffeemate and thought this might be the solution.  I tried it for the first time yesterday.  I had to use a fair amount to get the level of lightness in my coffee plus a full pack of Stevia as this ‘cream’ is unsweetened.  It does give a very creamy taste to my coffee and it worked great in the cauliflower, so I’d say it’s a definite thumbs up!  Which is good, seeing how I had to order a package of SIX from Amazon!

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 My Tuesday started with my Denver mug, in honor of being home!

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I woke up hungry so had 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal with some almond milk. 
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Then I took the dogs out together for their wog.  We did 2.5 miles – Riley got really tired right at 2 miles and kept stopping to lay in the grass, so we cut the loop really short.  I’d been aiming to get them out for 4 miles but I need to remember that in dog years she’s like 70 and so I need to take it easier on her.  That was the extent of my ‘planned’ exercise and the rest was running stairs from the 2nd floor to the basement floor with laundry and massive unpacking!

After wogging I had a scoop of Chocolate Vega mixed with almond milk.  
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For lunch I was in the mood for a veggie wrap.  This one started with a warm whole wheat tortilla, smeared with Tofutti.  I sprinkled pepitas on, then added sliced avocado, sliced tomato, alfalfa sprouts, sea salt and pepper.  For crunch I added a few Baked Lays on the side.  It was so good… I might have to have another one for today’s lunch too!  But maybe with some fauxtatoes on the side.  :)

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Afternoon snack was a delicious lemon flavored Larabar.  And some hot green tea.

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For dinner I ate my leftover Chipotle bowl (rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, and corn salsa) with a spinach salad on the side.

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I’m working on getting the recipe page going since I had a few requests for that before I left for my trip, so you should see that coming soon! 

Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!  Still looking to hear some comments on your favorite interesting veggies or a veggie you’ve never tried but wanted to!  I like to eat pickled beets, but have never tried them any other way, so that’s one that I’d like to purchase and prepare myself to see how it goes.  My most recent new veggie was fennel, which I tried because I heard that it tastes like licorice and it actually kind of does!

– Shari B.  =)

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