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Posts Tagged Vega Health Optimizer

Who Paid Off Mother Nature?

Dec 11

Posted by Shari B. in Do Something Daily, Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Hey friends!  Happy Saturday!

It is December 11 and we’ve still had no snow.  I mean, we’ve had a flake or two here and there, but nothing that’s “stuck”.  One of our local news stations posted a graphic showing the snow we’ve had this season compared to last.

  • Last year between September and December we’d already been dumped on a total of OVER 3 FEET of snow.
  • This year, in the same time frame?  An inch and a half.

Trust me, I’m NOT complaining!  ;)   Last Friday we had a record HIGH temp of 69.  Next Monday and Tuesday we are looking at mid-60s AGAIN.  This is the kind of weather that drew me to this state way back in 1991.

Thank you Mother Nature for giving me the mild start to the winter I’d hoped for, seeing how I have to drive 120 miles a day for my commute to and from school.  I owe ya one!

Which leads me to my Saturday DDSD Challenge update:  we just got back from taking the crazy beasts for a good walk, which had the desired outcome of THIS:

Gotta love it when the dogs are tuckered out!

But before we did that, we also did 45 minutes of weights with a chest/back push pull routine.  Lots of pushups, lots of pulldowns, lots of rows.  Oh yeah, I’ll feel it tomorrow!

Then I followed it up with a 20 oz green post-workout smoothie (1 scoop Vega Whole Health Optimizer, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior rice protein, 3/4 banana, kale leaves and spinach leaves):

How are you doing on your challenge?  Only 20 days left already!  Look how time flies!  Will you get to the end of that 20 days and think, WOW I DID IT?

Have a SUPER Saturday blog buds!

– Shari B. =)

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Apparently I Have SKILLZ

Nov 30

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 3 Comments

Or at least, I left school feeling like I had pretty decent “skillz” yesterday.  :)

Day 1 of midterms is complete.  It went really well, I think.  Maybe I should thank Brendan Brazier for the great brain food I had before class.

We had a written segment that I finished pretty quickly, and then I moved on to the ingredient identification.  There were about 26 items and I think I missed 3 of them.  There were things like tamarind paste, burdock root, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, buckwheat groats, sumac [which I mistook for ground annatto], adzuki beans, miso.  I felt great in this portion as well.

Then we moved on to knife skills as a group.  We had to do the following:

  • julienne a carrot
  • roll cut a carrot
  • brunoise green pepper
  • small dice green pepper
  • medium dice an onion
  • chiffonade kale leaves
  • mince garlic

Here’s how my plate looked:

It looks like everyone did a fine job:

I actually think I did well in the knife skills test, better than I had anticipated.  At least on getting the right sizes for the most part.  We’ll see when I get my actual grade because our instructor was going to sit down and compare pieces for overall consistency among other criteria.

It ended up being a really good day!  I can’t wait to get my grade!

Today I am working with grains and sauces, to prep for tomorrow’s Day 2 practical.  I made forbidden rice for the first time today (very pretty black rice!).  After writing this post, I’ll be making some polenta and millet, just to refresh my confidence with them, since I just don’t use them very often.  I feel fine about brown rice and quinoa, if I should happen to draw those from the hat, as they the two grains I work with most often.

Things will be really hectic until December 8.  First reason being: Friday after midterms are done, I’ll actually be cooking FOR THE PUBLIC! (Look out Boulder residents, ha ha!)  There is a large benefit that we students will be working in order to earn some externship hours.  I believe they said 200 people are attending and it’s with a very well known chef in the Boulder area (and he’s worked with Jamie Oliver!!!).  Some of us are plating and serving, some are prepping and I volunteered to work on the stove. (!!!!!) I’m insanely nervous because I’ve never worked in any type of restaurant setting.  But I need the practice and the experience of being under pressure while cooking, so I’m looking forward to it.

Reason 2 for hectic schedule:  I have a large assignment due on the 8th and thanks to studying for midterms, I haven’t put much time toward the homework yet.  So I’ll be cramming Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday to get it done.  Homework is NOT something I like to procrastinate on, but unfortunately that’s the way it goes this time.

So if blog posts are few and far between over the next week (or maybe just a tad shorter than usual), you know why!

Well friends, I think I hear the polenta calling from the kitchen. ;)   Enjoy your day and I’ll see you again soon!

– Shari B. =)

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12 Weeks Till 26.2

Feb 22

Posted by Shari B. in Marathon Training | 24 Comments

It was a dark and stormy night…

No, wait.  Wrong story.

It was a COLD and DREARY morning…

The kind of morning where one takes a look out the window and a sane person says, “hmm how about a second cup of coffee and a nice warm blanket?”  But no one ever accused me of being sane.  :D

When I checked to see what Oscar was wearing (Oscar is the little guy on my indoor/outdoor thermometer) he was totally decked out in his snow gear:

(He wears Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses when it’s warm out!)

So I figured I better bundle up too.

Not only do I look scared in that pic, I also look like I’m ready to rob the local saloon!  (Or maybe just the nearest Nike Outlet…)

Since there was new snow on the ground overnight, I even broke out the gaiters to keep snow out of my socks:

So I had my pre-run snack – one piece of toasted Ezekial.

I was close to home this time, so I didn’t need to pack up all of the postworkout gear that I had with me last week.

Driving up the road to the trailhead, I was thanking my lucky stars that we’d decided last weekend to make this week’s run a shorter one.  This kind of weather isn’t necessarily conducive to making me feel motivated

But you know what?  It ended up being a beautiful run.  The trail was soft with new snow (which made you feel a little like running in sand) and light snowflakes were falling.  We saw three deer in the first half-mile and I even saw a my friend Wendy along the trail!  Crazy Great minds think alike!  ;)

By the end we’d accumulated 6.39 miles and many feet of ascent (and descent).  1,130 feet actually!  The green line below shows elevation from my Garmin during the run.

The second big climb got the best of me and I had to walk for a minute, but overall I felt fantastic on this run.

Fuel during exercise was a Sunsweet prune at the 3.63 mark, with a sip of water.  I came directly home afterward to get my stretching done and had my a post-workout shake of chocolate Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer (one scoop) blended with water and half of a banana.

There was ZERO knee pain, no need for icing or soaking in the tub.  It’s amazing how 6.39  miles is what we now consider a “short recovery run”.  Next week – my longest distance ever:  14 miles.  I’ve completed five half-marathons at 13.1 miles.  So this will be the first time I go beyond that distance.  I’m looking forward to breaking that ‘barrier’!

I’m sorry – did I just say I was “looking forward” to a 14 mile run?  Told ya I wasn’t sane!  :)

Have a MARVELOUS Monday friends!

– Shari B. =)

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Perfect Ending, Perfect Beginning

Jan 2

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Hi friends!  Thank you so much for all of the congratulatory messages yesterday for our anniversary.  We had a GREAT day!

We got to eat some Chinese food for lunch:

Miso Soup

Spicy Shrimp & Veggies

We finally got the pups out for a WOG (it’s been a long time!) 

We “visited” Wii Resort for an activity-filled afternoon:  canoeing, skydiving, wakeboarding, archery, swordfighting, frisbee, ping-pong, tandem cycling and jet-skiing.  I think we played EVERY game that comes on this disc.

I was working so hard playing I needed a protein-shake break!  This one turned out SOOOO yummy!  Half a scoop of my new Life’s Basics protein, half a scoop of chocolate Vega, almond milk and carob powder.  Can’t beat a protein shake that mimics a chocolate milkshake.

We had a delicious dinner of salad and pita pizza:

This particular pita pizza turned out to be KNOCK-YER-SOX-OFF good.  I cut half of the pita off like so:

Added a light smear of olive oil, nutritional yeast, sliced romas, olives, a very LIGHT sprinkle of shredded raw goat cheddar.  Then I lightly sauteed one whole portabella, 1/3 zucchini, and a big handful of spinach to add on top.  Baked at 425 for about 10 minutes and then devoured. It was tastebud heaven.

Then we enjoyed a little anniversary treat:  MSP and I shared a piece of white cake (to give the ‘illusion’ of wedding cake ;) – but wedding cake always tastes so much better – must be all the LOVE surrounding it at receptions!)

It was the perfect day – hanging out together and having a lot of laughs.

Today is ‘back to business’ day:  get out for a run, some blog work, take down the Christmas tree and decorations, housecleaning, write thank-you notes, etc.  A “to-do list” kind of day!

But before I get busy on ‘chores’, I have to rewind a bit back to new Year’s Eve.  Talk about another fun-filled day!

I woke up at 4:00 AM as you may recall from my post that morning, worried that I would NEVER be able to make it until midnight.  I got in 45 minutes of cardio (treadmill/boogie combo) so that was good.  The work day flew by and then I came home to start getting my stuff organized to take to the dinner we were invited to that evening.

I took a huge salad, the sweet cashew cheese with crackers, hummus and baked pita chips, a big veggie tray and some marinated mushrooms:

Even MSP liked the cashew cheese (be sure to serve it with a slightly sweet cracker – I think it makes a big difference.  We used Carr’s Whole Wheat cracker which almost has a shortbread texture.)

The dinner our friends made was AMAZING.  I enjoyed two HUGE crab legs while MSP had steak (he’s the Turf to my Surf.)  We all played Wii “Band Hero” (which I must admit I am TERRIBLE at) right up until it was time to see the ball drop.  And at about 12:20, it was time for us to scoot so we could get home and to sleep.  I was awake until 1:00 (which meant by that time I’d been up for 21 hours straight).  I was out cold the minute my head hit the pillow.

The last few days have been filled with such good times, great friends, fun healthy food, games that require movement – the perfect ending to the year Thursday night and the perfect start to the new year yesterday.

Here’s to 364 more days just like it!

Have a SWELL Saturday, FitFeat friends!

– Shari B. =)

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Flex-It Friday: Show Me the Gunney

Nov 6

Posted by Shari B. in Flex-It Friday, Keeping Fit | 11 Comments

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the second-best day of the week!

Since Friday’s are made for “Happy Hour” I’m having a little fun with my chocolate Vega shake this morning:

The Swamptini

The Swamptini

deet deet dit  diddit dit deeet (that’s my newswire sound, for breaking news…!)

We interrupt this usually semi-serious blog for some breaking comedy.  This just in… FitFeat’s first Flex-it Friday…


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OK, if you’re just joining us, you may think I’m crazy.  (It’s OK, you’re not the first.  Definitely won’t be the last.  :) )

Tray challenged me to a little “flex-off” so to speak :)   and since my readers are all fun-loving peeps, I thought I’d open it up to whomever would like to join in for a little Friday fun (not to mention motivation for a few pushups, as Cindy noted!)

Now if I was doing an ARMPIT FLEX OFF this may be the money shot (or maybe a sterno-cleido-mastoid flex-off, that crazy thing you see on my neck!!):

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I have a long way to go before I can “Kiss my Guns” with the big boys…  I would need a Stretch Armstrong neck or much longer lips:

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Cindy from A Sparkle A Day sent in some fun ones.  She keeps fit on her Mas (short for Maserati, aka treadmill) and bendy yoga moves!  Not to mention super healthy eating.   She is an amazing knitter too!  Where she finds the time to work, knit, run, do yoga, keep up with her kids, AND blog is beyond me.  Makes me tired just reading about all she does in a day.  Here is my favorite of the pics she sent me – hey, is she cheating??? I see a helping hand back there… ;)

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This is what she does to cheaters so play fair, yo or she’ll give you the smackdown:

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Tray from Trayn Harder has a superhuman forearm in addition to her bodacious bicep!  I’ve seen the workouts she does and would NOT want to meet her in a dark alley.  She likes hard stuff, like Crossfit!  (Ouchie mama!)  Tray is the inspiration for today’s Flex-It Friday – thanks Tray for keeping me smiling!

tray flex

***

Alison from Mama’s Weeds is a Brendan Brazier (Thrive Diet) fan(atic) like me.   She’s so dedicated that you will often find her riding her bike in the DARK!  She’s an avid runner as well.  I’m not sure which is quicker:  her feet or her wit!  Her posts always keep me laughing.  She’s also a co-blogger at Health Blog Helper, where they are kind enough to share their lessons in blogging with the rest of us.  She’s got guns AND obliques:

bicep_for_shari

Better put in a pic of Brendan’s biceps for Alison‘s sake (Brendan is her boyfriend – he just doesn’t know it yet!!  ;) )  He also doesn’t know that he’s a competitor in our little flex-off.  :)   This is proof that you can build muscle AND be a vegan.  You do not need animal protein to build a banging bod:

brendan bicep

***

And last but not least, yours truly, with the best bicep flex I could muster.  My right bicep got quite the workout yesterday!!  I better go do some curls today with the left side, or I might be typing in circles later.

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I’d just like to give a HUGE thanks to my “Flex-It Friday” Contestants for being good sports, supportive blog buds, and just all around FUN PEOPLE!  I appreciate you guys having a little Friday fun with me.  Readers, show them some luv by checking out their blogs!  It’s Friday, and your boss will think you’re hard at work from the intense stare pointed at your computer monitor.  ;)

***

Speaking of blog luv, did you guys notice the cool new plug-in “CommentLuv” I added?  If you are a blogger, it shows your most recent post with your comment when you leave one (hmmm good incentive to comment often!)   Pretty cool huh?  (Thanks to Health Blog Helper where I first saw the plug-in.)

And because this blog is supposed to be about FITNESS :)   I should note for the sake of accurate journaling that yesterday I had an AMAZING 5K run with my client in the gorgeous weather.  (Colorado broke a weather record now in the HEAT direction, rather than freezing direction.  What a kooky weather year it has been.  79 is on tap for today – you know where I’ll be!)

Today’s question:  what muscle group would you like to show off in a future Flex-it Friday??   Let’s celebrate the effort we put into keeping our bodies fit!

Friends have a FABULOUS Friday!

See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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Tabata Time!

Nov 3

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 11 Comments

Hi friends!

Happy Tuesday…!  I hope your week is getting off to a lovely start.

In case you didn’t see it, there was a comment made to yesterday’s post by reader Tray about a FLEX IT FRIDAY this week – saying that if I post a flex shot (biceps) she’ll post one to her blog too.  This totally put a smile on my face (mostly because I have pretty tiny ‘guns’) and I thought it might be a fun way for you all to join in too!  Send me an email with your best BICEP flex shot shari@fitfeat.com by midnight Thursday and I’ll add it to Friday’s post with mine.  Don’t leave me hanging, now!

Monday was a great day for feeling on track again.  After the morning joe, it started with some Tabata-style weight training, which really becomes more a game of muscular endurance than strength.  Originally designed for sprint intervals to increase VO2 max, you see it used for many other types of training now.  You alternate 20 seconds of high intensity with 10 seconds of low intensity and repeat for 4 minutes.   When you do this for sprints, the goal is that your high intensity segments are so tough that truly by the end of the 4 minutes you are wiped.  Full-body exercises are a great use of this training style as well.

Well you know I love any exercise that alternates intensity with rest so when I first read about Tabata last year I was excited to try it out.  I later downloaded a Tabata timer on my iPhone and use it to turn pretty much any exercise into an interval session.  And of course, I like to make up my own rules, so instead of things like pushups and pullups, I like to do a full Tabata round for each muscle group.  Here’s how Monday’s workout went down.

Tabata Full Body

  • TM Warmup 5 minutes
  • Chest: DB Bench Press 4 minutes
  • Back: Seated Rows 4 minutes
  • Shoulders: Side Lateral Raises 4 minutes
  • Biceps: Seated DB Curls 4 minutes (2 min palms up, 2 min palms in)
  • Triceps: Tricep Pushdowns 4 minutes
  • Core: Planks 4 minutes
  • Legs: Static Ball Squats 4 minutes
  • Legs: VS Rear Lunges 4 min (alt legs every interval)

This is a quick and efficient training method, less than 40 minutes.  My bis, tris, and shoulders are definitely ‘vocal’ today!

By then, my bod was ready for a post-workout shake:  chocolate Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer with 1/2 banana.

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Then a mid-morning Lemon Larabar while working at the computer:

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At lunchtime I wanted to use up a couple of veggies that were looking a little wilty, so I cut up an orange pepper, roma tomato, baby bellas, and zucchini, tossed them with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt and roasted them in my toaster oven for about 25 minutes.

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During the last few minutes I sprinkled nutritional yeast on them to give them a ‘cheesy’ feel and made an avocado/sprout sandwich for the side:

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Veggie-licious!

Midafternoon called for another Larabar, this time Cashew Cookie flavor.  And a cup of herbal tea.  Mmmm, tea and “cookies”.  I feel so PROPER!  ;)

Dinner was a special treat because MSP’s brother happened to be passing through town and we hadn’t seen him since June.  So we went to one of our local favorites, Via Baci, where I would normally order a pizza (oh do they ever have great pizza!!) but since I have been making so many pita pizzas at home, I opted for the seared tuna salad with lemon vinaigrette on the side.  It was SCRUMPTIOUS and I even have a little leftover for today.  (Caution:  fuzzy iPhone pic ahead, view at your own risk!)  :)

via baci

A few pieces of candy corn for dessert at home while chatting with family – it was a great end to a fabulous day.

***

Today’s questions:  Do you prefer intervals or steady-state exercise?  Have you tried Tabata for your cardio or weights?  How did you like it? Drop a comment to let me know your thoughts.

And then drop me an email with your BICEP FLEX!!!  We’ll all have a reason to pump up our biceps with some exercise beforehand ;)   and I know some of you are jokesters so it could be comical!

Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

– Shari B. =)

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The Lunge: Love to Hate It

Oct 20

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

Hello there friends! 

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

Let’s start with the FEATS recap:

Weight Training  (Legs/Abs):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Or do some uphill lunges.  Ouchie.  :)  

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

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

***

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

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

Have a GREAT Tuesday!

– Shari B. =)

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To Sprout or Not To Sprout?

Oct 14

Posted by in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Good morning blogosphere! 

Thank you so much to those who shared their own sprouting experiences – I appreciate hearing from all of you! 

Upon reading some of the comments as well as websites discussing the toxins and bacteria potentially in sprouts, I will confess I’m torn. On one hand I hear experts touting sprouts as being the king of nutrients and digestability.  Then at the other end of the spectrum you have experts telling you to pretty much avoid them (especially alfalfa).  And I’ve been eating alfalfa sprouts EVERY day for months now, in smoothies, sandwiches, wraps. 

I feel at this point I’ll continue to eat sprouts in moderation.  I think, at least for me personally, the benefits outweigh the risks.  That may change as I continue to read up on the topic.

Therefore, my sprouting (ad)venture has commenced… but I think this first attempt isn’t going to go all that well.  We’ll see.  Not that I’m trying to send negative vibes out into the universe or anything ;)  I am starting with millet because that is what I happened to have on hand.  Reading into the instructions of sprouting millet, I learned that tray-style works better for this particular grain using 100% cotton cloth above and below it, as I’ve done here.

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The issue I think I will run into is the rinsing and draining.  Once you get little shoots they say to be very careful because they can break easily.  Not sure how I’m going to manage rinsing and draining from this pie plate without moving the little buggers around!  I also read that some of the millet might ferment rather than sprout.  Plus I’m not even sure if what I have is hulled or unhulled millet.  And I’m quickly realizing in this dry climate that my cloth dries out CRAZY-FAST so I think I need something thicker like a washcloth. (Overthink things much, Shari??)  :)

Time will tell!

What I DO know is that the sprouts I PURCHASE cost me about $1.99… so if I spend too much time on this experiment, I’ll be sticking with store-bought!  :)

On the subject of millet, I did cook up a big batch of it to keep in the fridge.  So for breakfast yesterday I had a bowl of warm millet with almond milk, some raw honey and raisins.  It was a nice change from oatmeal.

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It made for a perfect post-run meal after a chilly and VERY dark outdoor run.  MSP and I went out for three miles at about 6:20 and it was still pitch black out when we left.  I can be wide awake when I leave the house and then get out into that darkness and it’s like my body floods my system with melatonin because I get really sleepy again until the sun comes up.  Thank goodness for electricity or I’d be sleeping 16 hours a day during winters!

Midmorning I had half of a Cashew Cookie Larabar.  

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I’ve had a small box of Sunshine Falafel ‘burgers’ in my freezer waiting for me to try.  Since I bought a huge tub of roasted red pepper hummus, I decided I’d break out the falafel burger for lunch before the hummus is gone!  (It doesn’t last long in this house!)  I used half of a sandwich thin as the base, with a schmear of hummus topped by a slice of heirloom tomato.   The Sunshine burger acted as the bun lid.  For some reason this picture makes it look like an Egg McMuffin, doesn’t it? 

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It was definitely tasty.  A little drier than I imagined but that worked perfectly for a TOPLESS sandwich!  :)

And of course, my large salad to go with my meal!

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I spent most of Tuesday glued to the computer, working on and reading about taking my blog self-hosted this weekend.  I needed a snack that would allow me to still type, so just a quick handful of Mary’s Gone Crackers and the rest of the morning’s Larabar.

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I made a hamburger potato casserole for MSP’s dinner which did require a little kitchen time, so when it came time to decide what to make for moi, I wasn’t feeling in the mood to cook anything.  Lazy Girl Dinner would have to suffice.  A can of Amy’s Organic soup.  Folks, let me tell you that these soups are pretty much the reason I have yet to actively seek out recipes for soup.  Amy make’s a kick-a$$ soup!!  Look at how chunky this soup is!  This one was Southwest Vegetable.  Even the little pieces of corn had grill markings on them.  :) I will definitely be stocking up on cans of this particular ‘flavor’.  I almost ate both servings, but decided to save some for another meal.  On the side was a piece of toasted Ezekial, with Earth Balance vegan butter and a sprinkle of garlic salt.

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Sometimes cooking is just overrated when you can heat up an insanely quick dinner like this.  :)

And last, my evening dessert:  in concept I thought this would be such a cute photo.  It SO did not turn out that way.  In my mind I was thinking “banana sushi rolls” with almond butter as my ‘wasabi’.  It didn’t plate up that well though and I got quite a laugh out of it.  For any South Park fans out there, I’ll just say that this picture brought to mind Mr. Hanky and leave it at that!

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It did TASTE great though, with cinnamon, raw honey drizzle and the almond butter.  ;)

If you are in the mood for a giveaway, hop on over to The Fitnessista’s blog where you can enter to win free VEGA Sport items.  She will announce the winner on Thursday morning so you have all day today to get your entries in.  You know I love my Vega products, so I’ve used up all of my three ways to enter that contest! 

OK, blog buds I have plenty more to say today but feel like I’ve borrowed enough of your time as it is so I’ll save it for another post!  I’m heading out to get my HIKE ON. 

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Just another reminder for those who may not get to read daily:  FitFeat will be going self-hosted over this coming weekend (provided all goes well when it comes time to ‘flip the switch’!)  If everything goes as planned you should be able to find me at the same address I can be found at now which is www.fitfeat.com.  Currently that redirects you to this wordpress dot com blog location.  Over the weekend it should redirect you to the new location.  If you have any trouble finding the blog or notice something that doesn’t seem right, please email me at shari@fitfeat.com.

– Shari B. =)

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

Oct 7

Posted by in Cooking, FitFeature | 2 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Shari B. =)

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Mashed Faux-tatoes

Sep 30

Posted by in Product Review, Recipes | 9 Comments

Hey everyone! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Shari B.  =)

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