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Posts Tagged Kombucha tea

Technology Can Drive One Insane

Feb 21

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

Happy Sunday friends!  Sorry I missed you yesterday.  It’s been a weird weekend of TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES! I feel like I’m back on my RV trip in the Upper Peninsula wilderness, not in the suburbs of Denver, with the way our electronics have been behaving this weekend.

First, unbeknownst to us, our mail server was down most of Thursday, all of Friday and part of Saturday.  So as it turns out Cindy DID send me photos for Flex-It Friday.  We (or I should say MSP) just got it back up and running yesterday and most things bounced instead of storing, so if you did mail me pics please let me know via the comments section.  I will run a “Part TWO” if we have some takers – but you’ll need to resend them to me!  What an inconvenient time for the email to go out!

Next, our internet service has been slow, my IE browser has hung and crashed a couple of times and to top it all off our DVR corrupted all of the files we had stored on it.  Ah well, time in front of the TV is a waste anyway, right?

Which has left plenty of time this weekend for health food store visits.  I think I’ve spent a good 8 hours over the course of the weekend browsing/shopping at Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and Sprouts.  I was looking for this Artisana Coconut Butter that Cindy raves about and I wanted to see for myself.  On the third stop today I finally found a small jar to try, so I’m very excited to smear some on Ezekial toast soon!

I also had to pick up cashews and avocados so I can try the hummus recipes given to me this week by Joan and Paula.  Thank you ladies for the great ideas!

And I also found a NEW (to me) Kombucha Tea called High Country that is made right here in Colorado!  Always excited when I find something to add to the “buy local” list!

Trips to health food stores also lead to baked kale and pita pizzas loaded with roasted veggies:

It’s been a delightful weekend, in spite of tech glitches.  Nonetheless, I’m taking the bad technology MOJO as a sign from the Universe that I should be getting other things done I guess, so I’ll leave it at that!  I’ll be back tomorrow for MARATHON MONDAY with this weekend’s recap.  Only 12 weeks out now!

Hope that you are enjoying your weekend! See you back here tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

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Whole Foods Show and Tell

Jan 26

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

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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Miss Sissy Soles

Jan 23

Posted by Shari B. in Marathon Training | 8 Comments

Happy Saturday everyone!

I hope that you are enjoying your day and that your Friday evening was nice.  I rushed out after publishing yesterday’s post because MSP and I had an impromptu ‘date’ at a local wine bar so that we could share a budget-friendly meal during their happy hour.  I like to eat off of appetizer menus because the portions are (usually) more in line with what a normal size should be and the prices are more reasonable.  Especially during happy hour!  I had a $5 glass of pinot grigio, shared some hummus with MSP and then a delicious Mushroom Gnocchi (from which I STILL had leftovers to bring home.)

Did you get some exercise in on Friday?  I had an efficient upper body workout:

Tabata Upper Body

  • Warmup on TM followed by arm circles
  • Straight-arm Planks (4 min)
  • Tricep Dips on floor (4 min)
  • Side Raises for Shoulders (SLOW, no momentum – 4 min)
  • DB Rows top half of movement only (4 min)
  • Biceps Curls with arms out to side (4 min)
  • Rotator Cuff movements (no weight) and stretching

I woke up yesterday morning worried that I had come down with a cold.  My nose was runny, my throat a bit scratchy and I felt the stirrings of a headache.  I made sure to take a double dose of probiotics and followed that with a BUBBLY (Raw Kombucha Tea).

And a super green smoothie.

I felt good as new in NO time flat – pretty much by 10:00 AM.   YAY!  No cold after all.  Or if I had the beginning of one, I gave it a good ol’ probiotic/nutrient power punch and nipped it in the bud!

Then this morning I met up with one of my running partners for a 7.6 mile run through two of Denver’s scenic parks.  He runs faster than I do which is good because it pushes me to be better.  But man alive was my heart rate high in my attempt to keep up.  I saw 186 quite a few times and my Garmin told me that I averaged 175 through the ENTIRE run.

Back when I was running a LOT I had built up some pretty good (not to mention ugly) calluses on the balls of my feet.  Since I backed way off my distance over the past year, I have prettier feet again but no more tough skin.  About 5 miles into today’s run, I felt like the bottoms of my feet had been rubbed raw with sandpaper and now I’m hobbling around trying to keep my weight into my heels.  I have sissy soles at the moment!  A few more long runs and I’ll be well on my way to having feet that have no business being seen by eyes other than mine.  :)   That’s OK – I know those calluses are hard-won so I see them kind of like a little badge of honor.

How about you if you’re a runner?  Do you get calluses on your feet?  Blisters?  Black toenails? What’s your running ‘battle scar’? Fortunately I’ve been blister-free since having discovered the Wrightsock.  And as of yet, no black toenails.  But this could be the year!

Make it a GREAT night!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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It’s a Wonderful Life

Dec 21

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 5 Comments

Happy holiday week!  Did the Santa pop up to greet you as you came to the site today? (If you are reading on Google Reader, via email, etc., come out to the actual site to see it.)  I found that cute little plug-in yesterday and had to install it, at least for this week! 

For those of you who visit the blog on Sundays and wonder why I’m being a lazy bum not putting out a post, I often use my ‘blogging time’ on Sundays for the administrative side of owning a self-hosted blog:  running backups, installing WordPress upgrades, learning, etc.   So I’m still working on the blog on Sundays just not in a way that you can necessarily see!  :)

I hope that each of you had a weekend as awesome as mine was!  It was a fantastic weekend!  We had been holding this weekend open because some family members were coming into town from California and Ohio (well, to a town 90 minutes away, that is).  We wanted to be free to meet them up in the mountains during their visit.  Sadly it didn’t pan out for us to get to meet up with them, but the good news is my cousin will be coming again in early 2010 so hopefully I’ll get to see her then. 

As a result we had a rare weekend free of plans!  And we took full advantage.

Saturday morning, I’d hoped to run outside.  Thanks to the 19 degree weather, I chose to keep it INSIDE after all.  I hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes (the maximum amount of time my attention span seems to allow on there) and then I did 35 minutes more of  “See Shari Dance” cardio, with my heart rate in the high 160s.  It was a SUPER workout.  I had a blast. :)

Afterward, I had a mini-green-smoothie.

Followed by an egg and veggie breakfast sandwich (Ezekial english muffin, roma tomatoes, 1 whole egg + 1 white, zucchini ribbons).

Mid-day I met up with a good friend at Garbanzo Meditteranean Grill for some (unpictured) falafel, pickled eggplant and hummus (I skipped the pita this time to focus on the extra veggies).

And in the afternoon I had some Wasa Light Rye crackers with Tofutti un-cream cheese and a side of organic, sulfite-free red wine.

I didn’t really have a dinner per se Saturday night since I snacked pretty late on the wine and crackers.  I had a handful of Newman Organic wheat-free dairy-free Os (basically organic Oreos) before bed. 

I’d received an invite via Facebook from a friend for a 5-mile run on Sunday morning, so MSP and I accepted.  We were meeting at 8:00 so I had a cup of coffee and a pre-run snack (toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter, a drizzle of raw honey and coconut) at 6:30.

And I packed up my favorite running fuel “to go” (half a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar - which I didn’t end up nibbling on until I was home from the run):

We conveniently met for the run in a Starbucks parking lot (hmmm wonder who planned that meeting spot??), so we had to swing in afterward for a post-run soy latte.  Pictured below are two of my favorite things!  Starbucks and running gear!   Isn’t this the best running shirt?  My mom got it for me a few years ago for Christmas and I absolutely LOVE it.
 

Speaking of loving it, the run was FABULOUS!!!  It was 26 degrees at the start and it definitely felt VERY cold.  But we warmed up quickly and got busy chatting, so the chill was fast forgotten.  The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day in Colorado.  We got in the 5 miles of running with an extra 0.9 mile of warm-up and cool-down.  A decaf soy latte tastes SO…CRAZY… GOOD after a cold run!   

Later for lunch I had veggie ‘spaghetti’ (zucchini ribbons topped with marinara, steamed green beans & baby bella mushrooms, an artichoke heart, olives and nutritional yeast.

During the extremely exciting Broncos/Raiders game, I had some healthy homemade popcorn and a side of BUBBLY!  (Did you SEE that game???  WOW!  Even though the Broncos lost, it was a ‘perch on the edge of your seat’ game.) 

I tried a new BUBBLY flavor this time:  SuperFruits.  It did not disappoint – it was definitely super! :)   I don’t think I’ve met a Synergy Kombucha that I didn’t like.

This bottle had a LOT of the live culture strands in it!  Mmmm probiotics!  And was the appropriately colored drink for watching a Broncos game.

And to top off the end of the weekend, 3/4 of VEGGIE (Boca) Burger from FatBurger with a small portion of fries. 

It was a terrific weekend filled with healthy food, visits with great friends, invigorating exercise each day, and even some time built in to catch up on some reading and some Whole Foods browsing.  Not to mention our “Avatar” 3D adventure on Friday night. 

And knowing that I have a 3-day workweek this week makes it even that much better!  

Do you have extra days off around the holiday or do you have to work?  I feel fortunate that my new boss suggested that I work extra hours last week to make up the day for Christmas Eve, so I get a 4-day weekend that begins when I clock out at the end of the day Wednesday! 

Speaking of working, I better scoot on out the door!  Have a MERRY Monday everyone!

– Shari B. =)

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A Sparkle in MY Day!

Nov 25

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 3 Comments

It’s Thanksgiving Eve!  Do you have all of your ingredient shopping done for the food-fest tomorrow?  I’m going to attempt to sub out ingredients in our favorite Sausage Gravy & Biscuits for tomorrow’s breakfast to make it free of meat and dairy.  It will be SOYsage Gravy & Biscuits.  If it turns out well, I’ll be sure to post the recipe here for you all to try.  I also plan to make a broccoli salad with some subbed items – I’m hoping that by STEAMING the broccoli I don’t end up with houseful of broccoli stink again!

Before I get into yesterday’s eats, I want to send a VERY BIG HUG OF THANKS to dear Cindy over at A Sparkle A Day.  She lives in California where it is nice and toasty and she took pity on me freezing my hiney off with all this cold and snow we’ve had already this year.  As a result she has put a lot of hours and generosity into making me something with which to keep warm and it arrived in the mail yesterday like an early Christmas gift. 

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Wahoo, it was even WRAPPED!  Totally feels like Christmas!! 

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She knows me well, sending a homemade card with COFFEE on the front!  Look how pretty it is! 

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It is SO incredibly soft and warm!  It was meant to keep me warm while jogging, but I think it’s much to pretty too use that way.  I wore it out with my dressy coat last night to run some errands and the cashier at Hobby Lobby commented that she loved my scarf and how pretty the colors were!  So of course I had to tell her the story of who made it for me and why and that I’d just received it that very evening!

Cindy, thank you so much for your kindness and thoughtfulness… It is amazing how receiving a HANDMADE gift can make one feel so special! 

Now I see why my mom loved that crazy thing I made her in kindergarten:  a paper plate with dry macaroni glued all over it and spray painted GOLD!  :)   If you are thinking of holiday shopping this time of year, I highly suggest you MAKE something instead.  It truly does make the recipient feel so good!

***

Yesterday was another one of those whirlwind days.  I started the day off with a cup of coffee and half a banana bread Larabar before my client training appointment.

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Then I ate the other half while I was writing yesterday’s blog post.

Lunch was an unpictured HUGE salad at Sweet Tomatoes full of spinach, beets, zucchini, cucumber, sunflower seeds, olive oil, red cabbage, and probably a few more ingredients that I’m forgetting.  If you haven’t been to a Sweet Tomatoes salad bar, give it a try.  Talk about getting your VEGGIE FIX ON!

Afternoon was full of more running around.  I had to splurge on a little Silk Soy NOG.  MSP loves eggnog this time of year, and I wanted to join in on the fun in my own way!

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Dinner was leftover pad-thai-style rice noodles from Noodles & Co., half of which seemed to be mung bean sprouts (and 2 whopping pieces of shrimp!)

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This morning I got up and did 30 minutes of a total body weight training circuit.  It’s one I developed for training clients, so it’s not listed here publicly (SOME things have to be kept sacred for my paying peeps, you know!)  :)   Followed by 45 minutes of DOG WOGGING!  Have you noticed how lacking my life has been of wogs?  My poor pups must feel so neglected.  And of course Riley collided with another dog at full run while they were being playful and came up limping.  (She has hip dysplasia and arthritis, yet thinks she’s still a spring puppy!)  She seems ok at the moment – but of course in the back of my mind I’m thinking she’s never allowed out of the house again if she keeps hurting herself!  If it’s not poking her eye out on a hike, then it’s dislocating a hip!  Crazy dogs!

And now I am taking in a PROBIOTIC overload because I am off to a hospital soon to visit a post-surgery family member and want to give my immune system all the boosts I can in case I pass someone in the hall that has swine flu (or some other nasty bug that I don’t want taking a free ride home with me!)  :)    Two probiotic pills and a probiotic-rich BUBBLY!!!  mmmm Gingerberry!  I can feel the forcefield all around me already!  ;)

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Enjoy your Thanksgiving EVE and I’ll be back tomorrow with a Thanksgiving Day post for those of you who will be reading!

Also, send good Turkey Trot vibes out to everyone you know who will be racing in various charitable Thanksgiving Day races tomorrow!  Reader CARRIE will be participating in a 10K (and has a bet with her man that she can beat him, go Carrie!!)   And my good friend and client Lynn will be racing tomorrow in a local HILLY 5K!  I know you ladies will show ‘em all how it’s done! 

– Shari B. =)

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Eau du Broccoli

Nov 21

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 7 Comments

Happy Saturday!  My favorite day of every week!  I hope you had a fantastic Friday.  Mine was bueno:  it was so nice to get back to my regular eating schedule.  I seems like my eating has been a little erratic this week.  I would miss an afternoon or mid-morning snack and then after dinner I would feel like I hadn’t had enough to eat and was experiencing crazy cravings.

The day started with a trusty old friend:  1/3 cup old fashioned oats (measured dry for those of you wondering), sprinkled with some raisins, unsweetened coconut flakes and cinnamon.  Mmmm.  Coconut was meant for oatmeal.  It seems like such an odd combo, but it is fantastic!

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For lunch I had the leftover veggie enchilada from Thursday’s visit to Three Margaritas, with a side of stinky broccoli.  More on the broccoli later…

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After lunch I needed a “dessert” so I grabbed a medjool date.  Perfect little snack to squelch that sweet tooth!

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And later a beloved Lemon Larabar…  Larabar, it’s been a few days.  I’ve missed you!

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MSP wanted his favorite for dinner (Chipotle) before heading off to poker night with the fellas and my tastebuds just weren’t in the mood for the spice and onion overload.  So while I was out picking up his dinner, I swung through Whole Foods to wander around uninterrupted grab something from the salad bar.  I left with a $26 grocery bill (not bad considering that it’s usually over $40 there, AND $5 went to a donation to the Women’s Crisis Shelter.  But then again, I had just come from Vitamin Cottage, where I spent $21 so see… I’m right back at $40+ for a “quick trip to the store”.)  But if it meant I got to eat these beautiful treats for dinner, then it was well worth it:

 

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Sesame emerald kale, gigande beans, and quinoa pilaf with roasted red peppers.  I should take a picture of these beans next to something to give you a reference of their size next time.  They truly are GIGANDE!  Every once in a while you see one with vericose veins!  I’m not joking!

And because I was feeling a definite lack of greens in my day, I couldn’t resist trying a new BUBBLY flavor, aptly called multi-GREEN.  ;)

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Doesn’t it look tasty?  ;)

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And still I was craving more veggies, so for “dessert” I had a spinach salad with leftover roasted mushrooms and my homegrown crunchy sprouts. 

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Ah, that did that trick.  Full now. 

So back to that stinky broccoli…  the other day I had this idea to bake broccoli, much the same way that I do with kale.  I had about 3/4 bag of florets left in the fridge…

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…so I tossed them with some macadamia nut oil and some nutritional yeast and put them next to the mushrooms I was getting ready to roast.  Cooked ‘em good at 350 degrees until they started to get brown tinges on the edges.

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While I definitely loved the flavor of the baked broccoli (tasted an awful lot like baked kale, who knew?) I most definitely did NOT like the stench that was left hanging around.  It was so BAD!  If we left the house and came back, it smacked us good and hard in the face each and every time we walked back in the door.  Putting the leftovers in the fridge made it exponentially worse.  I wasn’t even really in the mood for broccoli with my leftover enchilada, but I couldn’t take the stanky stink any longer. 

I have never experienced that with broccoli before.  I will have to pay closer attention to how I prepare it.  I want to make a broccoli salad for Thanksgiving, but now I’m thinking I may have to run down to Tokyo Joe’s and just place an order just for steamed broccoli to use in the recipe so that I can keep the house smelling nice that day! 

Another lesson learned: (one that I think I’d read one time about cruciferous veggies and methane, and made the mistake of not committing to memory):  there is a limit to how much broccoli should be consumed in one sitting.  Scarfing down half a bag of baked florets was not a smart idea.  I want to save you poor souls (and the poor souls standing within smelling distance) from this horrible misstep. 

There, I’ve done my good deed for the day.  :)  

Have a SNAZZY Saturday friends!   See you back here on Monday!

– Shari B. =)

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What Is YOUR “One Thing”?

Oct 28

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 4 Comments

Another day, another snowstorm.  :)   It’s starting to feel like the norm here lately!  This has been the craziest, snowiest AUTUMN that I recall having experienced in Colorado in a really long time, if ever.  I know, I know – this is a fitness blog, not a weather blog.  But hey, the weather does in fact affect my outdoor exercise, so really, it’s relevant.  Right? 

They (the evil forecasters) are saying anywhere between 10″ and 18″ by the time it stops snowing tomorrow night.  Guess we all know what my CARDIO will be, huh?  :)

snow day

Luckily for my cousin, the snow didn’t start accumulating on the roads until she was well on her way to the airport this morning in her all-wheel-drive rental car (big yay for them giving her a Subaru!)  She is officially safely in the air on her way back home and will be stepping off the plane into 60 degree weather.  My family will never believe me again when I say that we have FABULOUS weather here in Colorado. 

OK, so enough of my boo-hooing about the snow. 

First things first, yesterday’s feat!  I did IRON YOGA again!  It felt so great the first time, that I was actually kind of ‘craving‘ it!  Hmmm, this could be the start of a new trend for me!  Afterward, Lisa and I each had double green smoothies. 

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OK, green smoothies and YELLOW smoothies might be more like it.  ;)

We hit up a local coffee shop later in the morning for some ‘quiet time’, then on to Whole Foods for lunch at their mix-n-match hot-n-cold bar.  I had a BUBBLY for the road.

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For dinner, I was feeling like some ITALIANO.  For me, I tried a recipe for Raw Marinara Sauce from Raw Foods Made Easy for 1 or 2 People.  I added it to a pile of raw zucchini ribbons and some baked spaghetti squash and kalamata olives.  For MSP, I made whole wheat penne pasta with meat sauce. 

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My dinner was veggie-licious!  

***

I was reading an article this morning about families making changes to their holiday habits to make things less stressful and it got me thinking about today’s FitFeature.

Every transformation (whether it be for your physique, health, finances, anything) starts with the first step.  Then taking ONE more step.  Add those steps together and you have yourself a journey.  If they are all POSITIVE steps, then you have yourself a SUCCESSFUL journey!

Today I’d like to challenge you to note ONE THING you can do to improve upon yesterday or to maybe get you started on a journey you’ve been meaning to start but haven’t. 

I’ll go first:  since it’s been unseasonably cold and snowy, I’m finding that I am not drinking the amount of water I normally would.  Sometimes water is the last thing I want when I’m feeling chilled.  It’s easy for me to gravitate toward an extra cup of decaf coffee, which is acidic and will dehydrate me further.  Now I’m noticing that not only is my SKIN feeling dry, but even my eyes are.  So today, I’m going to drink more room temperature water and also add in a couple cups of hot herbal (and naturally caffeine free) tea to boost my hydration. 

Hydration in cold weather is just as important as it is in hot weather.  The body produces more urine when cold, so dehydration can occur more quickly than it would on a mild weather day.  (Keep that in mind if you participate in cold-weather outdoor activities, like running, skiiing, etc.)

What is your ONE thing that you can do today?  Share with us in the comment section.

I’ll leave you with this fun little ‘story’ below that I used to keep posted in my previous personal training studio, in hopes of reminding clients that before you can lose 5, 10, 20 lbs you must lose ONE.  Much the same way that before you can change multiple bad habits into good ones, you still have to change ONE. 

JUST ONE POUND

Hello, do you know me? If you don’t you should. I’m a pound of fat, and I’m the happiest pound of fat you would ever want to meet. Want to know why?  It’s because no one ever wants to lose me; I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound.  Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one, so I just stick around and happily keep you fat.  Then I add to myself ever so slyly so that you never seem to notice it, that is until I’ve grown to ten, twenty or even more pounds in weight.  Yes, it’s fun being ONLY ONE POUND of fat, left to do as I please. So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, “Oh, I only lost one pound.” (as if that were such a terrible thing!)  For you see, if you do this you’ll encourage others to keep me around because they will think I’m not worth losing.  And I love being around you–your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.   Happy Days!!!  After all, I’m ONLY ONE POUND.

(Unfortunately I do not know who to give proper credit to as the author – it’s posted in many places online, but I haven’t found a name.  So for the record, I did not write this.  Some other genius did  ;) If you know who the author is feel free to let me know and I’ll update the post.)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!  I’ll see you all next time (provided I don’t get stuck in a snowdrift while shoveling!)

– Shari B. =)

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Will De-Lurk for Food

Oct 22

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Hi FitFeat friends! 

It’s the last day to enter the contest giveaway if you haven’t done so yet.  Today is the day for LURKERS to come out of the shadows :)   (you know who you are!)  The stats info in my admin area tells me that there are way more readers than there are contest entries!  Swing by to leave a comment and say hello – you might get a GIFT out of it!

Are you willing to DE-lurk for food?  Mary’s Gone Crackers, Chocolate Fudge Gluten-Free Cookies, Larabars, Tea, a fun coffee mug, Organic Dark Chocolate… mmmm treats!

Well it snowed like crazy here yesterday.  ALL DAY LONG.  According to the news we got 4″ to 5″ of accumulation. Luckily the ground was warm enough that some of it turned to water before it started to pile up otherwise I think it would have added up to a lot more.  Here’s what it looks like today.  My cousins are coming to visit this weekend (one from California and one from Ohio) so I’m praying this stuff melts before they arrive.  :)  I’m always gushing about how great the weather is here… they won’t believe me if they see this when they get here: 

 

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And you all know that I run on solar power… and there was NO sun to be seen which meant PJs ALL DAY!  Lazy bones day!  Wahoo!  Yep, that’s right.  I was a complete bum all day.  I didn’t even break out the blender for a green smoothie or the cutting board for a salad.  (…GASP…)  Yeah, I know.  Hard to believe! 

Every once in awhile you just need to treat your soul to a day like that.  I can’t remember the last time I did it and it felt great. 

As such, food was random and not my healthiest example for you. 

Breakfast was a piece of toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter, raw honey and a date on the side.

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Breakfast #2 later in the morning was an unpictured waffle (with sweet potato puree and 1/2 a banana in the batter).  I will be adding sweet potato puree to waffles again.  They were SO fluffy!

Lunch (I use that term loosely) was a crazy navy bean dip creation that I threw together.  It actually didn’t turn out half bad!!  I was craving hummus but thought I’d try a different bean.  Served with some raw goat cheddar and Mary’s Gone Crackers.  I am out of baby carrots or they would have been dipped in there too!

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Afternoon popcorn with a BUBBLY (mmmy bubbly I love you!)

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Dinner was leftover Amy’s Organic Black Bean Soup for me and leftover sneaky turkey tacos for MSP.  And Halloween TWIX – um, kind of a lot.  It was a pretty “acid-forming” kind of day, as opposed to the more alkaline side I prefer to be on, but it was fun and I had a great time so there will be no guilt from me!  Unhappy tummy maybe, but no guilt!

***

So I’m going to commit here and now to you all that TODAY I WILL DO SOME YOGA.  I keep meaning to do it and then doing cardio or weights instead.  We gravitate toward things we like and are good at… yoga is something I find incredibly challenging.  Mostly from a ‘being still of mind’ standpoint because I’m kind of a spaz!  So if I put it out here on the blog, I will be accountable to myself and to you!

I have a couple of yoga options from which to select my torture session:

  • P90X Yoga X DVD
  • Iron Yoga DVD
  • Rodney Yee Yoga for Athletes DVD
  • Bikram Yoga via iTunes

I’m leaning toward checking out the Iron Yoga because it’s been so long since I’ve seen the DVD that I don’t remember what it”s like.

I know a few of you readers that practice yoga regularly.  Today’s discussion questions:  If you practice yoga, what is your favorite type?  Hot Yoga?  Ashtanga? Power?  How long have you been practicing?  What benefits have you personally experienced?  Drop a comment so we can all learn from you!

Have a peaceful Thursday!  Namaste…!  ;)

I’ll be back tonight shortly after 8:00 PM MST to announce the CONTEST winner! 

– Shari B. =)

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The Case of the Rogue Kombucha?

Oct 12

Posted by in Hiking, Keeping Fit | 9 Comments

Good Monday morning to you!

Hope you had a very nice weekend!  Mine was very relaxing due to the chilly weather … there was a lot of indoor lounging going on in my house Saturday and Sunday!  We did get out quite a bit too, but it was so nice each time to come home, get our “comfies” on and relax by the fire with some football on TV.

The 2.7 mile “social-cizing” session yesterday with my good friend Jen was great!  It was definitely cold out, but I bundled up in my down jacket, mittens, earband and new trail runners.  It was like hiking on little pillows.  Perfect!

Sunday eats were rather random, as they often are.  Mainly because we aren’t on any kind of regular schedule and we are usually running errands or out and about.

MSP made me a wonderful breakfast of cage-free eggs with Ezekial toast (and Earth Balance vegan ‘butter’).

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On the side was a small glass of my BUBBLY but for some reason this one wasn’t!  (bubbly that is)  Which freaked me out a little… kombucha tea is made of live cultures.  If it’s not fizzy, does that mean the seal was broken?  Does that mean bad bacteria gets in with the good bacteria? Or do the good live bacteria go all rogue in there and end up bad for you?  AAAAACCCKKK!  So I had a few sips then just had to dump the rest because I was scared!  Additionally, I don’t think Mystic Mango is a flavor I’ll have again.  Odd, I know – seeing how I’m the MANGO-HOLIC.  I’ll stick with my go-tos:  Gingerberry and Divine Grape

During errands out I had a Lemon Larabar.  And a goodie from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (a dark chocolate dipped Oreo).  MSP had a milk chocolate dipped s’more.    Love our Sunday treats!

After the chilly chat session with Jen I came home to watch the remainder of the Broncos game with this plate of goodies:  kale chips, a big plop of hummus, baby carrots and baked pita chips.  Then I went back for seconds on the kale chips and have used up the whole batch I made Saturday.  I’ll have to make some more today!

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When dinnertime rolled around I felt I was really lacking in greens for the day, so I made a supersized green smoothie.  This one had cucumber, kale, green leaf lettuce, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, celery, pepitas, half a banana and half a pear.  Plus about a tablespoon of hemp oil.

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It made two huge glasses … and I couldn’t finish it all!  I got about halfway through the second glass and cried uncle.

I was apparently quite tired because I was out like a light at 8:30.  Which meant I woke up rested and ready for this morning’s workout:

Weight Training (Back/Traps):

  • TM Warmup 5 minutes, followed by arm circles
  • DB Rows 4 working sets of 12, 12, 12, 11 reps
  • Upright Rows 4 working sets of 15, 11, 11, 11 reps
  • DB Shrugs 3 working sets of 16, 15, 15 reps
  • Lower Trap Pulls 3 working sets of 20, 15, 15 reps
  • Rear Delt Flyes 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Tricep Dips 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Ball Crunches 3 sets of 20 reps

***

I have another crazy-long list of Monday To-Dos as usual, one of which may be to get started on my “sprouting experiment“.  I bought some cheesecloth yesterday and I have one glass jar set aside and want to try to sprout something.  I happen to have some millet on-hand and have heard that can be sprouted, so that might be my first try.

Do you do any of your own sprouting?  Have you had success?  Any tips you’d like to share with the FitFeat readers? Please drop a comment in the comments section!  We’d love to hear from you!

Also just another quick reminder that FitFeat will soon be going self-hosted, so the web address may change a bit.  I hope to ‘flip the switch’ this coming weekend but will plan to put out a post just prior to the move so you’ll know where to find me!

Thanks again for reading and commenting!  Have a great day and I’ll see ya tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

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Green Smoothie Foundation

Oct 1

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 5 Comments

I’d been asked in the comments section a while back how I go about making my green smoothie base.  I highly recommend making a green smoothie your first meal of the day – it’s the TRUE Breakfast of Champions!

Because I like this one so much, I don’t deviate from that often.  The only real change I make is selecting the fruit choice for the day, or whether I’ll add in some sort of protein powder or essential fat.  But the green part usually starts the same.  Here’s how I build mine…

  • I start by putting 8 oz water in my blender jar.
  • Then I add peeled cucumber (half if it’s a large cucumber, or whole if it’s a small one.)
  • Next up is one or two stalks of celery (which I do cut into smaller pieces before adding to the blender.)
  • I then grab a handful of alfalfa sprouts and a large fisful of spinach.

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  • After my “green foundation veggies” are in, I select my add-ins.   Sometimes it’s half of a pear, some cantaloupe, or a mango.  Sometimes it’s a couple of clementines or a half-serving of a frozen açai smoothie pack.  On this particular day, I chose a small banana and a kiwi.  And since it was a postworkout shake, I included a scoop of vanilla rice protein powder.

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  • Once all the ingredients are in my Blendtec I press the “whole juice” button and plug my ears!  (My blender is CRAZY loud!)
  • This one has a preset blend time (when I was using my mom’s Osterizer, I would blend for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes)
  • Pour into a glass of your choice, admire all those nutrients in your concoction and enjoy!  My version ususally makes one full drinking glass plus another half.

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So there you have it – a base recipe to begin building your own green smoothies!

***

As far as FEATS for the day… it was time for some strength training! It felt so good to use my real weights and be in my home gym again.  Here’s the workout I did:

Weight Training (chest/bis/shoulders):

  • TM warmup for 5 minutes plus arm circles
  • Smith Bench Press 4 working sets of 12, 10, 9, 7 reps
  • PecDeck 4 working sets of 15, 12, 12, 10 reps
  • Standing DB Bicep Curls 4 working sets of 15, 10, 10, 7 reps
  • Side Lateral Raises 4 working sets of 15, 12, 10, 10 reps

Ahh, home sweet home.  :)

– Shari B. =)

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