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Am I in the Holiday Spirit Yet?

Dec 7

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking | 4 Comments

Good morning blog buds!  Wow, Monday already?  This weekend FLEW by!  

It was an exercise-less, flour-full weekend.  The point of this past weekend was to accomplish as much Christmas shopping as possible.   And we did a fine job of it!   Then spent a lot of time yesterday afternoon getting things wrapped.  I still have a few remaining items to get but now the idea of having the gifts packed up and shipped out for arrival in time for Dec. 25 actually seems FEASIBLE!  So that’s some serious progress from where I stood on Friday!

But it also meant we ate out a lot.  And while my food choices were pretty good, it is VERY hard to avoid a lot of sodium in “meals out”.  And I can feel the effects today.  Even my upper eyelids are bloated!! 

And it’s another C-C-Cold Colorado day … This morning as I write, the snow plow is going by to clean off our street.  Yes, MORE SNOW in Denver.  And it’s 5 degrees outside right now.  I am having severe “outdoor run withdrawal“.  Treadmill, I do love you…. just not every day!

It really IS going to be a long winter.  :)

***

As MSP was bundling up yesterday to head outside for some snowblowing, he mentioned that he wished we’d bought the gingerbread cookies we’d seen at Safeway after all.  They make our favorite ones because they are SUPER crispy and are perfect for dunking in hot cocoa or coffee.  So I figured while he was out there, I’d find a quick recipe and try to surprise him with homemade cookies as thanks for going out in the freezing cold.

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I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com called Fresh Ginger Cookies.  I made just a few substitutions (I used whole wheat flour in lieu of white, and I used agave nectar in lieu of molasses – mostly because I didn’t HAVE any molasses!)  They turned out GREAT!  They were perfectly crispy for dunking!  I did sample a few even though they were full of butter – if I’d had enough of my vegan butter I would have used it.  But these were also meant for MSP’s enjoyment and I didn’t want to make too many changes.

Yes I have linked you to a totally fattening, sugary recipe from my fitness blog.  But because it’s the holiday season and we are all looking for good recipes, I thought I’d share!  Plus I still like you guys to see that I do eat like an average American SOME of the time!  ;)   This weekend just happened to be a little TOO average for my liking! 

We enjoyed these after he came back in from the cold, with a side of XM Radio’s “HOLLY” xmas music station and some gift-wrapping!  If that doesn’t do the trick to get one into the holiday spirit, I don’t think anything will!

***

Earlier in the day after we had our housework & groceries done, we sat in front of the Broncos game and enjoyed some Chipotle.  I had the Veggie Bowl (about 3/4 of the bowl).  img 943

We weren’t really hungry for a real dinner when the time came, thanks to the filling ginger cookies, so we each made a cracker plate.  Mine had olives, flax crackers spread with Tofutti, and a few pieces of Manchego (sheep’s milk cheese). img 946

It was a GREAT weekend – I enjoyed the food, the fun and the break from exercise.  And now I am in dire need of getting back to my normal eating habits (and un-bloating my eyelids!)  I am CRAVING a green smoothie this morning!  So I’m headed downstairs to get my workout started and then on with the rest of my day!

How was your weekend?  Do you ever have a weekend where you just feel like your body is in need of ‘hitting the reset’ button? 

Have a MAGNIFICENT Monday friends!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

 

 

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How Do You Avoid the Winter Slump?

Nov 5

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Wahoo it’s Friday-EVE!

I have been a bundle of energy since yesterday’s crazy coffee that I swore my dogs spiked.  Well until 8:15 last night when I was trying to watch “Modern Family” and my eyelids kept doing this weird thing where they’d fall down over my eyes uncontrollably.  :)   Are you someone who go-go-gos and then the minute you sit still your body just decides it’s time to sleep? But I woke up at 4:00 this morning feeling FANTASTIC.

My dogs, however, were another story:

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Apparently they think 4:00 a.m. is just too early.  Zzzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzz.

And I wasn’t out of bed 5 minutes this morning when Miss Thing decides to take not only my spot in the bed but also my PILLOW!

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Yeah Alien-Eyes, I mean you. If I find drool on my pillow, you’ll be in trouble!

(Sorry MSP for the early morning “camera flash as alarm clock”!)

With all that energy yesterday, you’d think I’d have squeezed in a fabulous workout.  Unfortunately, no.  It was just one of those days where it wasn’t high enough on the priority list.  I don’t let it happen often, but it was necessary yesterday.  You can even tell by my food that I was busy.  No big salad as I didn’t have time to CHEW!  :)   I’ll get some extra time in today though.

I did have time to chew my favorite breakfast:  Ezekial toast with raw almond butter and a drizzle of raw honey.  (Sorry for the repetitive food!  I know it’s SO boring, but it’s just so yummy and goes really well with the morning joe.)

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While in front of the PC I had a mid-morning snack of baby carrots and a plop of homemade hummus.

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I really don’t think I can eat enough hummus in my lifetime.  Since I love beans so much and especially baked beans (which I haven’t been eating since I gave up meat), I am certain that someday I will attempt a baked bean hummus and combine two of my favorite foods — if I can find a pork free version of Busch’s beans.  Mmm beans.   I know you will all be secretly CLAMORING for the recipe when that happens. ;)

My lunch if you can believe it was actually a soy chai latte.  This is not a “lead by example” moment for sure.  A latte does not a lunch make. But it just sounded so darn good and I can’t resist their holiday cups!  What a nice message it has:

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And by the way Mr. Starbucks CEO, please put some of your mugs on clearance, would ya?  I haven’t seen a single clearance mug since last Christmas and my Starbucks mug collection is getting boring.  But I already pay you a ridiculous amount of money just to steam my soy milk, so I won’t also give you $12.95 for a mug.  $5.00 please. Thank you.

Later, a quick afternoon snack while running upstairs back to the computer.

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I did at least manage to get some greens into  my crazy day.  Spinach, cucumber, sprouts, 1/4 cantaloupe, 1 tbsp hemp oil, celery stalk, and a pear.  I had this glass X 2.

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Dinner was another attempt at the leftover chalk balls falafel.  Even adding Annie’s Goddess Dressing and some juicy tomato slices could not save them.  The rest are going in the trash today.  In the future I’ll stick with making mine from scratch, or giving in to the deepfried version at Garbanzo’s.  This powdered mix is a big DON’T.  Looks tasty, though, right?

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Today’s discussion question is about Winter Slump:  Are you finding that with the change of seasons your exercise is not as abundant?  Or does it have no effect on your routine?  What strategies to you use to keep from falling off that wagon?

I definitely get less active this time of year.  With the snowstorm last week, then the time change so causing evenings to be so dark it is easy to let motivation be zapped a little.  During the warm months, I was getting the dogs out for a couple miles every day on top of my running and weights plus a few hikes here and there.  Even my yardio.  Add to that the fact that cold weather makes one crave heartier foods like Halloween candy root veggies and squash which are a bit higher in starches and calories, the body composition can definitely take a little hit.  I can feel it this week for sure and will be making an effort to ramp up the intensity in the upcoming days (in order to get some “afterburn” calories) and keep the “hearty” foods to a minimum.  I’ll add in additional faster intervals, a round or two of Iron Yoga, some high-intensity Tabata weight sessions, and last but not least I’ll be getting out for runs as much as possible when the weather cooperates.

Speaking of season changes…

Guess what?  It’s time to get outside! Our forecast for today is 76 degrees! Wahoooo hallelujah!  Maybe this is why I’ve been a bundle of energy.  Vitamin D City! It was even in the 60′s yesterday!  Maybe all the snow still in our yard from last week will disappear.

Today will be much less computer-filled than yesterday if I can at all help it.  :)

Last call for biceps flex pics today!  Join in the fun!  I have some fun ones from Cindy to choose from… the rest of you get busy flexin’ today!  Email them to me:  shari@fitfeat.com and I’ll plug your blog as well!  (FYI if you did email them to me and I did NOT reply with a thank you message, then for some reason they didn’t make it through… drop a note in the comments section if that’s the case.)

Have a GROOVY Thursday and join us tomorrow for some FLEX IT FRIDAY fun!  :)

– 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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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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Bittersweet Departure

Sep 28

Posted by in Fit on Vacation | 1 Comment

Hi everyone! 

It’s a blustery start to the week here – I’m looking forward to getting back to the dry, warmer climate of Denver.  Here in Ohio it’s 55 degrees, very windy and it just started to rain.  I looked at the forecast back home and it will be 75 today and 85 tomorrow.  Thank you Denver for giving me some warm weather to come home to, because I’ve been freezing my hiney off here this vacation.  :)

Sunday was a good day.  It started early at 5:00 AM while still staying at my brother’s house – and as is typical for me, I was up hours before everyone else.  I made a cup of coffee with a side of Ezekial toast with agave. 

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I spent some time that morning with my little niece, reading her “The Three Little Pigs”.  Then I packed up and drove back to my mom’s.  On the way I ate a part of Banana Bread Larabar.  Here’s what was left: 

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At lunchtime, I had another Gardenburger in an effort to continue cleaning up all of the food I bought when I first arrived.  (I still have one more burger to go, which may or may not be today’s lunch, because I also want to get a green smoothie in today too.  I may have to take the smoothie in a to-go cup for the drive to the airport!   I am looking forward to getting some more variety back in my diet – I’ve been eating essentially the same foods day in and day out while I’ve been here because I only made one trip to the store, and it certainly doesn’t make for exciting blog reading!)

I topped my burger with a slice of tomato, some chopped Walla Walla onion and some spicy mustard.  I had “fries” on the side (my baby carrots) and a spinach salad with pepitas, sundried tomatoes, red peppers, nutritional yeast and my last two pieces of dulse. 

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My mid-afternoon snack was the other half of the Larabar from the morning.

Then for dinner it was time for the Lake Erie Walleye broil.  My brother, sister-in-law and niece came over for our last family supper together, probably for the next year or more.  I was so excited to eat this dinner that I forgot to take picture of the fish!  I got a pic of my huge salad that I ate while the fish was broiling, but then I was at the dinner table chatting away with the family and I completely missed the photo op!  (It looked a lot like the broiled whitefish I ate on Lake Superior.)  No batter – just topped with with a squeeze of fresh lemon.  It was REALLY good!  I expected it to be really ‘fishy-tasting’ for some reason, but it was very mild and very tender.

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We didn’t end up watching TV or football.  For some reason I had forgotten that morning & afternoon NFL games are shown in their local areas, so when I thought I’d be seeing the Broncos, they were airing the Cincinnati game.  We were all too busy enjoying our last family evening together though, so even had the Broncos been on here, I now realize I wouldn’t have ended up paying much attention. 

I said my goodbyes to my brother and his family, and  of course I cried. 

Mom had some of that AMAZING cake leftover from my aunt’s anniversary party (it tastes like wedding cake and is seriously one of the best cakes I’ve ever had.)  So this little piece of heaven turned my frown upside down:

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I’m sad to be heading home today because I know it’s going to be a long time before I get to see my family again.  But on the flip-side, I am REALLY missing MSP and my pups.  I’ll have to tell that Frontier pilot to put the pedal to the metal and get me home in a jiffy!

I’m also really looking forward to getting back to my normal blogging pattern – I haven’t had a lot of time to spend on writing while I’ve been here so the FitFeatures have been few and far-between.  Thanks for joining my on my trip and when I post tomorrow I’ll be back at my own desk again and ready to get busy!

Did any of you do a ‘commercial break’ exercise last night? 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

– Shari B.  =)

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Chillin' with Mr. Bill

Sep 14

Posted by in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Here we are at Monday again already!  And I’m up exceptionally early this morning.  As I begin this post it’s 4:32 a.m. so I’ll apologize now for any potential goofiness or typos!  (Or at least any goofiness BEYOND my normal level!)

My Sunday was so fun because it was nice and simple.  MSP and I wanted to just have a really nice ‘quality time’ kind of day together since I will be away from home for the next two weekends.  It was our planned ‘rest day’ for the week and a planned day to have a treat or two.  We visited a new outdoor mall area, admired a lot of architecture and landscaping, and soaked up some sunshine while strolling along.

First off, I had to use my Eudaemonic Starbucks mug because not only was I happy about our upcoming day together, but the scale gave me excellent feedback on this morning!  I have been aiming to maintain my weight, not necessarily lose.  But by making just a few subtle changes to my eating style, my body has really responded without any effort.  I can see the visual change in my body composition & in the way the clothes are fitting, so I decided to hop on the scale.   It was definitely an eudaemonic moment!   :)   I’ll make a future FitFeature about my philosphy on weighing oneself.

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So naturally I had to thank my bod by giving it more of what it loves!  An ENORMOUS green smoothie.  This one started with the usual 8 oz of water, to which I added 1/2 a cantaloupe, 1/2 pear, 1/4 cucumber, big fist o’ spinach, the last of my sprouts, and a celery stalk.)  No protein powder in this one.  MMMMMMmmmmmm the cantaloupe was a nice touch…  

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When I was ready for something a bit more substantial, I made some oatmeal (about 1/3 cup dry) topped with some almond milk, raisins, a drizzle of raw honey and a few crumbles from a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar.  I can’t even tell you how GOOD that Larabar makes the oatmeal – you need to try it!  I break off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bar.  This is seriously like dessert. 

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MSP and I went to a few home goods stores in search of something decorative to put on top of the living room project that is underway so at lunchtime we decided to hit up the brand new Whole Foods over in another part of town.  I had a ‘build your own Asian stirfry’ with shrimp, shitake mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, rice noodles, thai peppers, edamame, water chestnust and Thai Lime sauce.  It was fabulous and SO HUGE that I will probably be eating from this all week. 

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We then wandered through every aisle of this Whole Foods.  It is SO MUCH BIGGER than the one by our house!  I’m so jealous!  I was “oooing and ahhing” all over that store.  I picked up some Sunshine falafel ‘burgers’ while I was there because our store doesn’t carry that flavor.  I’ll definitely go out of my way to shop at this one more often. 

The bakery at this particular Whole Foods was amazing as well.  So we couldn’t resist picking out some treats to take home for a mid-afternoon snack/dessert.  This little guy reminded me of Mr. Bill!  He’s almost too cute to eat!

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See the resemblance? 

Mr Bill

 OHHHHH NOOOOOOO! 

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I also had this green mini-cutie.  I really think they should put some more frosting on their cupcakes.  ;)

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The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent in a sugar-induced fog.  My tummy was a bit unhappy with me for the blast of sugar, so all I really wanted was something light to snack on.  I had some Baked Scoops while I watched some football and later polished off my manchego sheep’s cheese.  
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It was a great way to finish out the weekend! 

Today’s questions:  If you are one who is normally a healthy eater, do you eat occasional treats?  Or do you find it easier to just exclude them altogether?  Personally I like to treat myself to something sugary that I consider ‘fun’ every once in a while – in part because I usually feel not so great after and it reinforces why I choose to eat nutritious food the rest of the time.  Drop me a comment! 

Hope your week is off to a great start!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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Don't Finish What You Start (dessert, that is!)

Sep 7

Posted by in FitFeature | 2 Comments

Hi fit peeps!  Hopefully you have the day off for the Labor Day holiday!  Mondays are great when you don’t have to head in to the office, right?  ;)

So my Sunday was delightful.  It was a planned rest day from exercise so I was pretty much a ‘lump on a log’ most of the day.  I did a little painting project and then finished a book I’d been reading on the Kindle.  (Hey speaking of Kindle, if you happen to own one:  Amazon seems to regularly offer a few books for free to drum up some buzz for authors.  The one I just finished was called “Raising Jake” which I originally got for free and is now out there for $9.60.   They also have a lot of classics for free download as well, like “Pride & Prejudice”.  Thought I’d share, since we all love to save some money!)

Sunday started much like every other day, with my favorite liquid, this time presented for your viewing pleasure in my DENVER mug (from Starbucks, of course!):

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And then (drum roll please……) my chocolate chip MUFFIN!

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(with a cup of almond milk in my “thumb mug”)  Oh wow has it been a long time since I’ve had one of these.  It was DEEE-LISH!  I ate about 2/3 and then realized I’d had my fill.  At that point, I noticed that I was eating it just because it tasted so good and no longer because I was hungry, so I stopped and the rest went to MSP, who gladly finished it off for me!

Throughout the morning I had a few leftover chickpeanuts, but the muffin was so filling I didn’t need anything substantial again until lunch.   When I finally did get hungry I had some of my leftover tofu chili with a side of veggies and hummus (there’s one of those wonky carrots again!):

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Shortly after I felt mostly full but could use a bite of something ‘desserty’ to change the taste some, so I broke off a piece of a Chocolate Coconut Larabar (about a third of the bar):

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Later we had a few errands to run and MSP treated me to one of my favorite ‘fast food’ places ever, Tokyo Joe’s! I use fast food lightly because it’s really a great place to get a quick healthy meal.  I chose the Hookipa Salad which has grilled salmon, ginger, greens, edamame, dried cranberries, pecans and a side of soy ginger dressing.   It comes stuffed to the brim in a huge bowl:

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So I cut the salmon in half and dished out half the salad onto a plate so that I have some for another time:

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Oh this salad is SOOOO good.  I just love it.  Tokyo Joe’s rocks.  If you have one nearby, you should go there today :)

MSP was craving rice krispy treats while we’d been out and about so we picked him up the goods to get it made in the evening.  He also wanted them to have chocolate topping, so he also bought a bag of chocolate chips to melt down and smear on top of his creation.  After they cooled he enjoyed his evening snack, while I munched on a few of the leftover chocolate chips.  Here’s something I was was surprised to learn:   Can you believe that Rice Krispies have high fructose corn syrup in them??? I mean really – it’s puffed rice for crying out loud!  What’s the point of ruining it with HFCS?  I don’t know why it surprised me so, but it did in this particular cereal.

Right at bedtime at 9:30 (yes, 9:30 on a weekend night – and that’s LATE for me!  I tell ya, my sleep is important to me!) I got really hungry, so I stirred a quick scoop of Amazing Grass “Amazing Meal” since I hadn’t had my green smoothie for the day.  This would have to suffice. :)   This is one of the few powdered green drinks I actually like.  It’s meant to be a meal replacement shake, as it’s balanced with protein, carbs and fat.  I like it because it’s easily portable – it doesn’t require a blender and it mixes really well with water.

AM_Original_Large140x257 Image from amazinggrass.com

So the FitFeature that I’d like to touch on today, especially as many of you may be heading to Labor Day BBQs and parties:  as I mentioned above, while I was enjoying my ‘planned cheat treat’ chocolate chip muffin, once I’d had my fill it was time to stop eating it.  If you are trying to lose weight or be fitter/healthier, this is a healthy habit to learn!  One of my personal training clients who then became one of my closest friends was great at this and I always admired her resolve.  When we’d meet for drinks or dinner, she would always order dessert.  She would have a few bites and then she was DONE.  She tasted it and had enough to enjoy it,  which kept her from feeling deprived of great foods and kept her from feeling like she was dieting.  So many foods taste GREAT in the first few bites, but then the ‘magic’ disappears.  Bethenny Frankel calls it “The Point of Diminishing Return”.

Don’t just continue to eat something because it tastes good – when  you are full, STOP EATING IT. :)   With high calorie decadent food, don’t finish what you start!

Alrighty friends, I’m off to start my day!  Have a sunny and safe Labor Day!  See ya next time!

– Shari B. =)

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