Posts Tagged exercise tracking

Kelp is Kool

Oh what a glorious start to the weekend already!  We were finally able to get the dogs out for a nice 5K wog this morning!  Sun was shining, not too much wind.  Chilly at 32 degrees, but I was cozy in my awesome birthday beanie from the talented Cindy!

If you say the words “WOG”, “WALK”, “PARK” or really any phrase that starts with “Do ya wanna go for a _____??”,  Rascal perks right up!  Look at this face!

I LOVE starting my days outside almost as much as the dogs do!

It’s amazing what 5 days of eating and exercising back in my own routine again has done!  I was experiencing a bit of digestive stress during most days of school, and I attributed it to a combination of things:  rushed eating, too many types of foods in one meal, and STRESS!  This week after being back to my more simplified approach to meals, I feel great.  And I’ve been fortunate to get to work out every day.  I am back to using my “no slacker tracker” and so far all 5 days of March are filled in!  I’ve done 250 minutes of exercise in 5 days.  Perfect!   A little strength training, some cardio, some iron yoga (Bob’s yoga yesterday means sore traps and obliques today!).

I did do a little running Thursday night with my friend Jen, but other than that none of my cardio has been running much over the past months.  I thought I might miss running more, but I don’t (yet).  I think when spring fever sets in I might be itching to throw on my five-finger shoes and hit the trails.

Before I switch gears to some food talk, I want to send a big shout out to Sunshine Burger for putting my blog post on their Facebook page and Twitter yesterday.  It’s always such an honor – and I love that it creates conversation with some new folks!

So one of the meals I showed you in my last post was the Tempeh Spinach stirfry with Kelp noodles.  A classmate gave me a package of kelp noodles on her last day here because she was moving back to her home state and she knew I was excited to try them.  I have yet to find them in my local Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage, so I might order them online.  They are by a company called “Sea Tangle“.

OH.  MY.  These things ROCK! It’s like eating zero calorie food!  OK maybe not ZERO.  But SIX, which is practically ZERO!  A full 4 oz serving of these noodles is only 6 calories!  When cooked they remind me a little of rice noodles.  And they are a sea vegetable, which you all know I believe to be a fabulous addition your diets.

These are a great way to get that “noodle” feel into a meal without breaking the carb or calorie bank with regular noodles.  Even gluten-free noodles (while better for us than refined wheat noodles) still add up fast in calories if you aren’t careful with portion size.

I will definitely be experimenting with these more in the future, because I love noodly meals!

Have you ever had kelp noodles? What’s your favorite dish to eat them in?

Hope that you have a SUPER Saturday!

– Shari B.  =)

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Whole Foods Show and Tell

Hi FitFeat friends!

Ahhh, another Monday behind us.  Hope yours was better than mine.  :)

I had the kind of Monday that warranted pouring my Kombucha Tea (aka The Bubbly) into a wine glass… because it would at least SEEM like I was drinking wine!  Am I the only cuckoo bird that likes to put everyday non-alcoholic drinks into glasses traditionally reserved for the hard stuff? ;)   Somehow it makes them feel more “fancy” to me.

I enjoyed a splendid rest day on Sunday (from exercise, that is).  I’d planned to do a little yoga, but errands, laundry, housecleaning, blogging, football and book-reading won out.  And Whole Foods shopping, can’t forget that!  I do have a few more fun treasures to share from my weekly visit to Whole Foods though! (Yesterday I shared my joy in finding prewashed and precut KALE!)

Join me in a little SHOW and TELL, won’t you?

First, is this not one of the prettiest heirloom tomatoes you’ve seen?  I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to cut into it.

Next I stumbled upon some Meyer Lemons!

I was looking for Meyer Lemons around New Years Eve when I made that Sweet Cashew Cheese to take to the dinner party.  It was called for in the recipe, but  I wasn’t able to find them at the time.  I ran across them on this particular visit and brought home a small bag.  Upon reading the back of the package I learned something new:  Did you know that Meyer Lemons are a cross between a LEMON and a MANDARIN ORANGE?  I had no idea!

They do have a slightly sweeter taste.  It’s interesting because you first taste the mandarin and think “oh wow, it kind of tastes like a tart orange” and then all of a sudden the ZIP of lemon hits your taste buds and you think, “Oh that is DEFINITELY a lemon!” That’s a tricky little citrus right there!

And of course I had to make more of the Sweet Cashew Cheese so that I could compare between last time (with regular lemons) and this time with the Meyer version.

So I soaked my cashews for a few hours:

And when the batch was done in the food processor, it was time to schmear a cracker:

Looks like ricotta, doesn’t it?  (And actually I like the cashew cheese just fine with either type of lemon, as it turns out.)

Even the crackers were a new find at WF.  Nita’s Spelt.  I have a new favorite cracker.  Mary, I hate to say it but Nita is giving you a run for you money in the Best Cracker Race (and I don’t feel like I’m going to chip a tooth when biting into one!)

They’re even made here in Colorado!  BONUS!  :) Check me out, buying locally!  (OK, you got me – I’d probably still buy these awesome crackers if they were shipped in from Timbuktu.)

Today’s Question:  What is your favorite healthy cracker?  And what’s your favorite topping to put on that cracker?

***

Monday exercise was the full Physique 57 DVD.  I still cannot get completely through the “Thigh Dancing” section without crying out a string of cuss words and having to stop for a second here and there.  Oh. My. BURN is an understatement.  I thought it might be about time to write the review for it because I’ve had the DVD for about a month now.  But then I added up the number of times per week I’ve actually DONE the DVD and realized I need to give it some more time to do its thing.  :)   In 25 days I’ve P57′d 7 times.  Gosh it feels like I’ve been doing it every other day!  Guess not!  Good thing I had my super simple no-slacker tracker to set me straight!

OK kids, off I go to get ready for some client training!  Make Tuesday TERRIFIC!  See you next time!

–Shari B. =)

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