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Posts Tagged Starbucks

Save at Starbucks Today

Dec 8

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 3 Comments

Hi friends!

Just a quick hello to let you know that if you are a fan of Starbucks VIA coffee, they are having a great sale today for their “12 Days of Christmas“.  One 12-pack normally costs $11.95.  Today you can get that 12-pack for $7.95 OR you can get TWO for $11.95 (BOGO).

I ran out to Starbucks right after I finished my morning clients to grab some.  I love to have these with me when I travel because I never know if I’ll be able to get decent coffee in different locations.

I also love to make 40 Calorie Lattes with them at home and save calories AND cash at the same time.

Mmmm coffee – I think I’ll have one now!

– Shari B. =)

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Out of Practice

Sep 15

Posted by Shari B. in Adventures in Dehydrating, Adventures in Home Gardening, Keeping Fit | 3 Comments

Hey blog buds!  Happy “JERSDAY”! (New Jersey Shore episode tonight, woot woot!)

I am happily feeling yesterday’s workout.  I did a quick but effective Tabata workout consisting of:

I love the effect that the windmills have on my shoulders.  It’s a total body move that utilizes a lot of core and stabilization, but the light soreness I get after doing them is mostly in my shoulders and upper back.  LOVE that move!  It’s a “new to me” exercise in the last month, so I’m starting with light weights when I do it.  Currently using just a 5 lb DB and STILL feel it!

I took a very chilly 30 minute power walk right after my workout too.

I had 1/2 of a Larabar before my workout.

I hit up Target to look for a travel iron and while I was there I had a decaf soy caffe misto.  I always forget about the misto, which is less expensive (and less caloric) than a latte.  My tall misto was 70 calories and $2.20 or so.  It’s basically equal parts coffee and steamed milk (or in my case, soy milk… still awaiting the arrival of almond milk at local SBUX stores).  So in Italy this concoction is called Caffe Misto while in France it’s Cafe au Lait.

I realized yesterday as I was driving away from Target how out of practice I am at snapping a pic of EVERY thing that crosses my lips, like I did when I first started logging my food on the blog.  It just doesn’t occur to me sometimes like it used to!  So I don’t have a picture of my misto to share!

I also don’t have a picture of my soup and salad lunch that I had at the Whole Foods.  I met a good friend there to grab a bit at noon and I had a kale salad with olive oil, pepitas, dried cranberries and grape tomatoes with a cup of their vegan savory quinoa soup.  It was delicious!

Dinner was completely out of character and not the cleanest…  I think my mind is already in vacation mode, because all I wanted was pizza.  And rather than make a pita pizza at home, I went out to pick up a single slice from a local pizza joint that I’d never tried called Big Bill’s NY Pizza.  Topped with eggplant and mushrooms.

I had intended to add a bunch of stuff to it when I got home, like sliced black olives, spinach, tomatoes – but I was FULL ON lazy last night.  I’m so not loving the dreary weather!  I feel like I need to eat “hibernation” foods!  :D

I do appreciate that I can go somewhere to purchase just a single slice.  This is all strategy on my part.  If I were to order a full pizza, I’d eat too much of it.  It’s not a food I can easily stop eating when I’m full and because I know this I find a workaround.  If I just get a slice and bring it home, that’s all there is.  (I use this strategy with desserts as well, which is why you don’t see me write much about making desserts at home.  It’s better for me to go pick up a single mini-cupcake or cookie than make a whole batch at home.)

Other than lunch, the rest of my day yesterday was pretty lacking in greens and fresh food so I’m making up for it today.

“Sunrise”  juice with carrots, broccoli stem, kale, cucumber, celery and a bit of lemon:

Then I mixed up the pulp and am attempting a raw bread in the dehydrator.  If it works out, I’ll put a recipe out here for it.

And I also have a batch of kale chips in the dehydrator.

This is kale from my garden.  And I refer to it as BABY KALE because the leaves are pretty tiny.  And it’s getting cold so fast here now that I feel like I need to keep harvesting because I think the growth might slow WAY down soon.  It’s getting into the 40s at night and right now as I type this at 9:32 AM it’s still only 52 degrees.  Record breaking heat at the beginning of the month and now I’m digging out mittens for my walks and runs.  WOW.

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CHECK IT OUT

Now, for something fun if you like giveaways, head over to the Brooklyn Fit Chick blog where she is giving away a copy of Bethenny Frankel’s latest yoga workout DVD.  Of course I entered!  And you should too!  (Who doesn’t love to win a blog giveaway AND get a new workout to do in the process?)  I really enjoy the BFC blog, especially her “What Have We Learned This Month” posts which recap what you’ll find in magazines each month, like SELF, Prevention, More, Oxygen, etc.

Have a great day friends!  I’ll see you tomorrow for the FINAL day of our 3 weeks of cleaner eating!  I’m going to have a STRONG FINISH today and tomorrow!  How ’bout you?

– Shari B. =)

 

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Another Fun Use for Coconut Oil

Sep 1

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 7 Comments

Hi friends!  It’s Thursday!  Wahoo, that means a new episode of Jersey Shore tonight!  :D   I readily admit to turning my brain to mush each week during JS and Bachelor Pad 2.  There’s something to be said about watching people behaving badly on TV that just makes you realize you are pretty darn normal.

So here is a random tidbit I came across the other day:  did you know you can use extra virgin COCONUT OIL as an underarm DEODORANT???  WHAT??  (Is there anything coconut oil CAN’T do?)  I have been on the lookout for something to replace my good ol’ Secret solid.  Yes it works great, but regular antiperspirant/deodorants really are just chock full of toxins.  I’ve known this but it’s been the one thing I haven’t yet fully embraced for replacement.  I’d heard great things about WELEDA deodorants from one of my instructors last year, and in doing some reading on it again this week I ran across some bulletin boards where people had good luck with coconut oil.  Well… I have it in the house so rather then drop $10 on the WELEDA, I’ll try this first.  I already keep some in my bathroom to use as a moisturizer.

I mean it does make sense, since coconut oil has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.

Obviously you’ll still SWEAT because there’s nothing in it to prevent that.  But sweating is good for you because it releases toxins through the skin.

So after my shower, I rubbed on the coconut oil until it had absorbed.  And at the end of the day, there was no odor!  I did sweat a little here and there when I was toasty, but no “pit smell” at all!  (Poor Cory even [begrudgingly] put up with me saying, “smell my pits – do I stink to you??” in the evening.  If only I had a camera handy for the look on his face… the things that man endures being married to me!)

Going forward, when I’m out in public wearing something that I don’t want to sweat in, like a nice blouse, I’ll still stick with conventional for now, but on days when I’m not dressed up you can bet I’ll be rocking the coconut oil!  Pretty cool!

Have you tried this?  Do you have any alternative deodorant brands you recommend?

***

On to the food recap: after my killer leg workout yesterday and my delicious post-workout green smoothie, my mid-morning snack consisted of toasted Ezekial with a hearty schmear of blueberry goat cheese.  We found the cheese on a recent Costco outing (they have a GREAT cheese selection for those of you looking for organics, for raw, for goat cheese, for sheep cheese – tons of cheese!).  And it did not disappoint – so so good!  While it will stain everything in sight (teeth, lips, fingers, white shirts!), it’s quite worth it!

For lunch I needed to cook up some tempeh that’s been sitting in the fridge.  So I sautéed some onion slices in one pan, sprinkled with Hungarian sweet paprika.  I sautéed sliced mushrooms in another pan with some Spanish Hot Smoked paprika and smoked sea salt, and then cooked the tempeh in the sides of both pans.

I used romaine leaves as little “taco shells” and stuffed them with the goods, the drizzled with a touch of ranch dressing, to “cool off” the heat of the rest of the meal.

It was pretty darn good!

My afternoon snack was a mini homemade Mocha Frap, blending ice, chocolate egg protein powder, almond milk, a small squeeze of chocolate syrup and a few shakes of decaf VIA.  Totally hit the spot on the 98 degree day!

Dinner was late and eaten in a bit of a rush… but I still tried to savor each bite.  Two eggs, scrambled with some arugula and fresh garlic then rolled into a whole grain tortilla.  Quick and yummy!

Fortunately I can slow down a bit today and eat more GREENS because my work week is done for the most part, so I’m kind of unofficially in “Labor Day Weekend” mode!

Any big plans for the weekend?  I really (really really) want to get out for a hike!  It’s been WAY too long!

If you need a movie recommendation for the weekend, definitely check out The Help. Cory and I saw it last weekend and we both thought it was FABULOUS!  Fellas, it’s not a chick flick.  It’s worth seeing no matter your gender.  Heartbreaking and heartwarming all in one.  I read the book a few years ago when it first came out, but this time the movie even succeeded in surpassing the awesomeness of the book.

Have a GREAT day blog buds!

– Shari B. =)

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The 40 Calorie Latte

May 3

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 4 Comments

Is it really Monday?  Why yes, yes it is.  In that case how about a little coffee jump-start?

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I love love love Starbucks.  I love sitting in a Starbucks to catch up with friends, I love eating one of their Petite Vanilla Scones because it’s just the right size for a decadent treat, and I love decaf soy no-foam lattes.

You’ve seen a few of these types of photos on the ol’ blog:

What I don’t love that their soy milk is sweetened vanilla, because it adds a fair of amount of added sugar.  (I also don’t love that they charge an extra 60 cents for SOY milk in lieu of regular, but that’s a whole other soap box right there.)

A few months back I had a friend over for some yoga, followed by some chat time.  Normally this friend and I would have met up at Starbucks.  So I decided to make us some homemade lattes (sans cool espresso machine or frother, neither of which I own.)

Enter my 40 calorie homemade latte:

Step 1:

Select fun (and tall) mug.

Step 2:

Mix up a packet of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew (aka instant) coffee in your fun mug.  I use one packet to about 7 oz water.

Step 3:

Heat up 3/4 to 1 cup of unsweetened original Almond Breeze Almond Milk (40 calories per cup).  Microwave for about 90 seconds.  Check it at a minute to make sure it’s not overheated since microwaves vary.  If you are someone who avoids the microwave (for which I commend you), feel free to use the stovetop.  Whisk it well to give it a ‘frothy’ feel.  :)

Step 4:

Add heated almond milk to your VIA and stir.  For sweetness, I like to add 1/2 a packet of Stevia and a few drops of natural vanilla extract.

Step 5:

Enjoy!  And if you have extra wiggle room in your “calorie budget” for the day, add in a piece of pie*.  ;)

*Pecan Pie Larabar not included in the 40 calories.   :D

Do you have any favorite foods/snacks that you make yourself in order to “lighten them up” from the original? Do tell!  Drop me a comment!

Have a MAGNIFICENT day everyone!  Make it great!

– Shari B. =)

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My Mug Runneth Over

Dec 26

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit, Product Review | 7 Comments

Good morning blog friends!

I hope that each of you had a fabulous day yesterday, whether you were celebrating Christmas or celebrating that it was Friday.  Ours was another fun-filled day.  I spent a lot of time working on the blog, trying to get a particular plug-in to work (no luck yet).  I also did some rearranging of the widgets in the sidebars and footers.  I finally took the time to set up my affiliate link with JustHost, where FitFeat is hosted.  So if you have a blog that is not currently self-hosted, and you decide to go that route, feel free to click on JustHost from the banner in the sidebar and if you sign up, they’ll know I sent ya!

I have so many things to share that I don’t even know where to start!

I suppose since I’m writing this post at 6:38 in the morning that I’ll start the post in much the same fashion as I start every single day:  with coffee.

Early readers of my blog know that I have a thing for coffee mugs, especially Starbucks coffee mugs.  My mom included two new SBUX mugs for my collection this Christmas (thanks Mom!)  I used the “Ohio” mug right away.

You know it’s a long holiday weekend with lots of spare time when one arranges their mugs for photos:

Those are just my mugs from Starbucks.  I have another group of fun mugs NOT from the BUX.

MSP also surprised me with mugs for Christmas.  He found two really unique ones.  A “Dunk Mug”  that has a slot on the bottom to hold your cookies:

Is that genius or what??  Now I have a place to store my Newman O’s while they are awaiting their dunk into almond milk!  :)   The second mug was just as fun:

There has been a lot of coffee and cocoa drinking going on at my house in the last few days, playing with my new mugs!  (Apparently I’m easily entertained!)

It was definitely a ‘kitchen’ theme for my gifts this year and I feel so incredibly blessed to have received such loving and thoughtful gifts.  I’ll be detailing them in the days to come.  One of the gifts Santa brought was a SPIRALIZER!!  Wahooo, happy dance!  You’ll be sure to see some zucchini pasta pics very soon!

***

Because we’ve had more snow, I’m exercising indoors and dreaming of a warmer day soon to get out for another run.  In the meantime, to keep any exercise boredom at bay I’ve done a few days of DVD fitness, one of which was Cathe Friedrich’s CORE MAX.  (FitTV shows edited versions of her videos daily, calling them Cardio Blast, if you ever want to check out her training.)  YOWZA – it’s been a long time since I’ve focused on abs for a solid 30 minutes.  My abs were burning so bad I thought for sure that the next day I’d be curled up in the fetal position, unable to get out of bed.  As it turned out, my core was the right amount of sore.

However, where I DID feel it the next day …  was in my neck muscles!  I guess that means I need to spend some more time holding my head up in different angles besides just standing.  It felt like I’d been doing this:

The 30 minutes went by quickly, my abs were crying at the end, and as usual she worked me HARD.  I pretty much give anything Cathe produces “two thumbs up”. Her “Legs & Glutes” video is my favorite of DVD fitness.   I mix it in from time to time (I’ve had it for YEARS) and it never fails to absolutely fry the lower half of my body.

Today’s discussion topic:  Do you ever workout to DVDs or audio fitness?  What’s your favorite and why? Drop a comment and let us know!

Have a SPLENDID Saturday friends!

– 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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The Sugar Express to Moodyville

Dec 18

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Don’t you just hate it when you are just starting to type a draft post and you INTEND to click on “Save Draft” but your mouse flies over to the  ”Publish” button like some out-of-control Ouija board pointer???  Then in a nanosecond you’ve published a ridiculous blog post, but it seemed like it happened in slow motion. You saw the publish button and it half-registered in your brain as “yeah, I know that button” and then, POOF!  You’ve sent said post out into the world for all to see!  

If you got your RSS or Google Reader feed titled “Dulse” with only one sentence in it, that would be why.  :) I was just making a draft note to myself for a future post and clicked on the wrong button.  Aaaaccck!  I did not see it hit either of my feeds so hopefully I deleted it in time!

Note to self:  do not start working on the blog when you are within 45 minutes of bedtime.  Or after a day filled with refined sugar for that matter.  It apparently makes the mouse hand FLINCHY!

Yes, I had a day filled with sugar.  O Fitness Lord, forgive me for I have sinned!  :)

I have been dragging hiney all week.  I am pretty sure I know why, but rather than combat it with super healthy foods as I know I should, I’ve  perpetuated it with the completely WRONG choices – today especially.  I’m putting this out here for a few reasons.  One, because health food bloggers tend to get lambasted for setting standards that supposedly others “can’t meet” or that set incorrect food expectations (I guess meaning they think we only show the good stuff?)  Two, because I want my readers to see that I am not a perfect eater and that I have days where my hormones or emotions get the best of me just like every other woman I know and I put stuff in my face that is going to store itself squarely on my hips.  :)  

It started with a venti half-caff soy no-foam latte.  In and of itself not TOO terrible.  Except that Starbucks uses the sweetened vanilla soy milk (23 g sugar) so when you combine that with how caffeine can also elevate your blood sugar I gave myself a double whammy that set me up for the rest of the day. 

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I also took the lazy route on my greens and bought a Naked Juice green drink in lieu of my homemade smoothie.  Which adds another 66 grams of sugar (or thereabouts.  That’a a LOT of sugar!) You will find that I don’t often drink juices, because while I agree they are full of nutrients, personally I feel that the lack of fiber causes spike in your blood sugar if you drink it alone.  I know this and I still bought the juice anyway.  Granted it has some great stuff in it, like chlorophyll and barley grass and other green goodness.  It just wasn’t what I needed on top of how I’d already started my day.  I’d just added insult to injury.

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Then I proceeded to munch on homemade peppermint bark and caramels that a coworker’s wife sent in with him to our office.  They were so darn tasty – but even MORE sugar (couldn’t tell you the grams but I’d bet I ingested three times what that Naked Juice had in it!)

When I finally did eat a very late lunch it was 2/3 can of Amy’s Soup in Curried Lentil flavor – my first fiber of the day. But the damage was done.

1 soup 

I was a blood sugar rollercoaster and my mood was along for the ride. 

I know this about myself.  When I eat too much sugar, my mood takes a nosedive simultaneously with the sugar crash.  And once it gets started, it’s a tough to normalize.  I tried to have some ‘protein’ (raw goat cheddar) and ‘fiber’ (air popped plain popcorn) when I got home. 

But by the time poor MSP got home, let’s just say I was a MEAN MOODY mess with a few tears thrown in and leave it at that.  If I were him I would have locked Miss CrankyPants in a closet with a protein shake until she got a grip.  He puts up with SO much more than he should.  I know Cindy can relate, per her post from last night!

I did end up having some egg salad on an Ezekial pita for dinner.  Easy peasy:  two HB eggs with some light mayo and some spinach.  Quick.  Simple.  DEVOURED!

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This morning, I FEEL the sugar.  Ladies when you wake up in the morning and your knuckles feel tight, your face is puffy (especially under the eyes) and you can feel the bloat under your skin all over, that’s from overdosing on refined sugar and/or carbs the previous day.  Just in case you didn’t know what was causing those symptoms.  :)

Am I going to mentally beat myself up for the day of food sins?  Nah.  I don’t do it that often.  This week has been a weird one with scheduling, not much exercise, holiday stuff and some PMS thrown in.  I chalk this up to life in the female body and move on.  Because I know it’s not my regular habit. 

Will I restrict my calories today to make up for the ‘bad food choices’?  Nope, because that will just lead to more poor choices.  I’ll get right back to my ‘regular’ eating.  What I WILL do is maybe add in MORE of my nutrient-rich powerhouses to make up for the nutritional stress I put my system through.  One of those nutritional powerhouses is DULSE, which reader Joan asked me to elaborate on.  So stay tuned – my next post will include delightful dulse info!  (Thanks Joan for the question!)

I’ll also be sure that I drink adequate water today and get back to being ‘nice Shari’ so that MSP feels like seeing my face this weekend!  :)   

Today’s discussion topic is all about going off the hormonal deep end with food – does it happen to you?  Do you go for sweet or salty, or both?  Do you notice any affect on your mood or body? 

The good news?  It’s FRIDAY!  Can I get a WOOT WOOT?  And it’s Friday before a SHORT WEEK next week!  YAY! 

Have a FABULOUS Friday friends!  See you next time to talk about DULSE!!

– Shari B. =)

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Plenty of Green on Black Friday

Nov 28

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 9 Comments

Where is the long weekend going?  It’s FLYING by way too fast!  So much to accomplish this weekend, so little time left…

We did get this done yesterday:

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And the outside lights are done too, along with the wreath and lighted door swag.   Wahooo for the 68 degree weather in which to hang outdoor decorations – Mother Nature if you could do that again on January 2 I’d be ever so grateful! 

We attempted to hit up Kohl’s at about 11:00 AM thinking some of the crowds would be gone (ha!! not so much!)  Getting in and around was the easy part.  But once we saw the LINES for the checkout … LITERALLY WRAPPED AROUND the inside of the store … I told MSP there was no amount of money we could save that would make it worth standing in THAT line for the next hour or more.   Someone else can get 50% off the $10 Barbie, thank you very much.

Apparently I am more motivated by FREE TIME than I am by MONEY!  :)

In which case, let’s go waste some at Starbucks:

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I was craving some green other than money so post-workout I had a big green smoothie:

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And for dinner a big green salad: 
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Salad ‘fixins’ included spinach, dulse, yellow corn, nutritional yeast, one cooked egg, tomato, chia seeds, a drizzle of Annie’s Goddess dressing, and half an avocado. 

I also attempted taking Rascal out with me for a run but (much like the Kohl’s visit) I turned around shortly into it because he was all over the place and messing with my running mojo!  He got a short 1.5 miles – then I went back out to finish an additional 2.5 miles ALONE (and in a nice, neat straight line).   Riley was NONE too happy to be left home – but knowing her, she’ll cause us to end up at the emergency vet and that would put a serious dent into my already limited xmas shopping budget.  Her exercise will have to be limited to chasing her ball around the back yard until she can find a way to pay for her own healthcare!  ;)

Have a SUPER Saturday!  I’m considering another Kohl’s attempt… if I don’t put up a new blog post for the next 3 days you’ll know I’m stuck in the neverending checkout line! 

– Shari B. =)

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Happy Sprouts Dancing, Dirty Chai Trying and Veggie Spiralizing

Nov 17

Posted by Shari B. in Handy Kitchen Tools | 8 Comments

Hi friends! 

So I’m back for a second time today to give you the recap of yesterday’s Feats & Eats.  Twice in one day, wow!  But before that I want to let all you awesome readers know that I am going to attempt the WordPress update very soon.  If things look a little wonky here and there, that’s why.  I’m crossing my fingers all goes well!  :)

And speaking of crossed fingers… thanks for all your good vibes yesterday for my dentist visit!  It helped!  Because I didn’t have a cavity! Wahoooo!  See, all this good eating does a body (and teeth) good!

First thing out of bed yesterday, MSP and I were feeling the need for a DVD to motivate us to workout.  My brain wasn’t wanting to wake up, so at that point listening to some other trainer boss me around sounded just fine with me.  We chose Cathe’s “Legs & Glutes”.  She killed us.  We were sweat machines and today our bums are S-O-R-E… which I L-O-V-E.  It was about a bazillion reps of squats, lunges, and step-ups with about every variation you can imagine for an hour with no breaks. 

Thank you Cathe for clearing out my Monday cobwebs.

***

Look what’s still coming along in my kitchen…

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My sprouts are doing great!  They got to sit in the window sill to collect a little chlorophyll!   I’ve grown something!  I’m doing the Happy Sprout Dance!!

In other random news, I had an interesting visit to Starbucks yesterday…

Me:  I’ll have a grande soy 2-pump chai latte please.

SBUX guy tries to sell me on a bunch of stuff to which I kindly decline.  I wanted to say, “Hey, put your mugs on clearance and maybe I’ll buy something besides this ridiculously expensive soy milk”  but I digress…

SBUX guy:  do you like coffee?

Me:  Yes, but generally only first thing in the morning.

SBUX guy:  So you normally get chai then?

(Soon SBUX Guy will be renamed to Captain Obvious if this keeps up… is he going somewhere with this or just weirdly chatty)

Me:  Um yes, but usually in the fall because it feels holidayish to me.

SBUX guy:  Ever heard of a Dirty Chai? 

Me:  Um no.

It took him forever to get to the point, but ultimately I’m glad I was polite and stuck it out.  Because a dirty chai is a chai latte with a shot of espresso in it.  So they offered to let me try one with a decaf shot and if I didn’t like it they’d make my drink over. 

And you know what??  It was really good!

Next time  you’re at Starbucks and want something new, give Dirty Chai a try!

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Which segues perfectly into ANOTHER new thing I tried yesterday:  a spiralzer!!!   My friend Pat loaned me her spiralizer to play with since I am asking Santa for one for Christmas this year.  (Thanks Pat!  I’m having too much fun!)

Look at what it does!!

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I made a little Zucchini Pasta Salad to eat while I was waiting for my dinner to cook.  I added 3 pieces of artichoke hearts, some kalamata olive and sundried tomatoes.  Oh so good!  This makes eating zucchini entirely too fun!

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I even had to put some of the bigger zucchini ribbons on my pita pizza!  (Mine are the ones with tomato and spinach on them.  MSP’s are pesto and light mozzarella.)

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Doesn’t it look DEE-LISH-USH?  It was another great dinner chock full of veggies! 

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I am getting ready to clean up and head out for dinner at a friend’s house – which means more fabulous veggies are in my immediate future!  (and I bet some vino as well!)

I hope that you all had a fabulous day!  Thanks to those who chimed in for today’s discussion on egg yolks in my previous post. 

I’ll see you tomorrow — maybe a bit later than usual just depending on how upgrading goes!  :)

– 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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