I am SO ENJOYING seeing all of you posting your exercise and participating in the December Do Something Daily challenge!  Makes my day every time a new comment comes in!

Friday is finally here which means my FINAL day of midterms (wahoo!!) AND the big cooking event tonight at the Growe Foundation benefit.  I’m so excited!  I haven’t recapped about school much lately since the last week has been all testing.  Next week we start a new module “Farm to Table” – should be fun!

Time is a little short today, so this is a brief post but I wanted to get out here and get my movement posted.  MSP and I just did 45 minutes of Bob’s Weight Loss Yoga (oh the shaking shoulders from planks and pushups and downward dogs and warrior holds).  I chose to do yoga today since I’ll be on my feet in the kitchen between noon and 10 PM tonight.  I figured it wouldn’t be a good day to do heavy squats. 

What’s your movement for today? Drop a comment!  Any fun plans lined up for the weekend?

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Homemade Red Cabbage Kraut
• Midterms Behind Me, Homework Ahead of Me
• More Reasons to “Do Something Daily” – A Giveaway!

Lookie what I found this weekend at Whole Foods!  I’m so excited!

My BUBBLY -  in the brand I adore!!!  Wahooo!  And the best news is that it tastes identical to what it did before it was removed from the shelves so long ago!  Now, yes – I am still making my homebrewed version.  In fact last night I bottled yet another batch and started a new one (this new one made with CHAI tea and using a different ratio of tea/water/sugar — can’t wait to try it!).  But I still haven’t mastered that wonderfully fizzy taste that you find in Synergy or Vibranz, so it’s a great treat to have every once in a while.  So if you are a Synergy kombucha fan, hit up your local health food store and see if they have it in stock for you yet!  (And Joan, I think the change to their formula means no “floating mother” – I didn’t see any in this batch so maybe you’d like it!)

***

SITE UPDATE: If you head back over to the Indian Spiced Quinoa post, you’ll see that I’ve added a HEALTH BENEFITS feature for you (located at the bottom of the recipe).  We do that for some of our homework, so I thought you’d like to see what good things you’ll do for your body eating quinoa, dates and sweet bell peppers!

***

And on the topic of recipes, check out this morning’s post-yoga green smoothie:

Postworkout MandarinBerry Green Protein Smoothie:

• 8 oz water
• 2 clementines (“cuties”)
• 1 large handful raw organic spinach
• 1 small handful raw organic kale
• 3/4 cup frozen organic strawberries
• ~1 tbsp fresh ground flaxseed
• 1 scoop Sun Warrior raw sprouted brown rice protein*, vanilla

All ingredients go into your blender – blend until deliciously smooth!  251 calories, 19g protein (30%), 37g carbs (59%), 3g fat (11%).

Today I did yoga moves with Tabata timing, just because I was feeling like trying something crazy.  It was a fun change of pace!  Chair pose was especially challenging!  Hold your favorite yoga position for 20 seconds, getting as deep as you can, come out of it for 10 seconds, then back in for 20 seconds.  Repeat for 4 minutes straight.

Image Source

Today I used plank, warrior 2, balancing stick, chair pose and eagle pose (after a good warmup of course, like walking on a treadmill for 5-7 minutes, then a light jog for 3 minutes).

After warm-up this is 20 minutes of yoga, and it was a great way to just mix things up a bit!  I’m never bored with workouts when I use Tabata timing.  So much fun!

Have a TERRIFIC day friends!

– Shari B. =)

***

Shari Becht is a Fit Living Coach & ACE Certified Personal Trainer. She is extremely passionate about teaching people how they can take steps to fit healthy living into their busy lives. She has decided to take her love of nutrition one step further as a student in the Natural Chef Culinary Program at Bauman College and will graduate in Spring 2011.  If you or someone you know could use some help learning how to fit more “FIT” into life, please feel free to email her at shari [at] fitfeat [dot] com.  For more information, click here.

*affiliate link to my OpenSky store – I do receive commission on products purchased through this link.

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• The BEET of My Own Drum
• 5 Things That Can Undermine Your Health When Flying (and tips to avoid them)
• Who Paid Off Mother Nature?

Ours was absolutely gorgeous.  We had PERFECT weather all weekend long.

Saturday morning we got in an hour of Bob’s yoga, followed by a good long dog walk.  Sunday I went on a wonderful hike in the foothills with my good friend Keri of Om of the Rockies.  Monday was another dog walking session in the morning with a long strolling hike in the evening.  We got a ton done around the house and yard and STILL had time to relax.  Every weekend should be a three day weekend, don’t you agree?  I feel refreshed today and ready to take on the new month.

Wahoo it’s finally JUNE!  Love the summer months like you can’t even imagine.

Speaking of June:  in this month’s issue of Women’s Health magazine, they had an article on ‘bikini-friendly burgers’.

I thought the vegetarian Lentil-Quinoa Burger with Sauteed Mushrooms sounded interesting and would be perfect for some outdoor grilling, so I gave it a shot.

Plus the picture was drool-worthy:

So I followed the instructions and busted out six patties:

(it’s not cooking unless you drip stuff on the recipe, right?)

And here is my final product, bunless of course, because I’m already getting plenty of grain/carbs in the burger, so no need to add on a big huge bun.  Just a side of baked kale and a sprinkle of raw goat cheese.

My thoughts on the recipe as it was written:

1.) there was no way that these patties were going to survive the grate of our BBQ grill as they didn’t hold together that well when they were first pressed.  Refrigerating the raw patties helped somewhat but I still ended up ‘grilling’ them on my George Foreman.

2.) there wasn’t a lot of “oomph” to the flavor, even with the cumin and the fresh cilantro.  Add some of your favorite spices if you try this recipe to give it a little pizazz.  I think the burger recipe is a great canvas to play with the flavors – add some Old Bay and dried sea veggies to give it a crab cake feel or some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for some Tex-Mex heat.   I topped my leftovers with spicy hummus and avocado and it was delicious that way too.

3.) the texture reminded me of the Sunshine burgers, if you are a fan of them (I am!) and they reheated nicely without becoming little hockey pucks.

Definitely give these patties a try – just add your own flair to make them your own!

And no “cookout” is complete without a cocktail, right?  How refreshing does this look:

Guess what it was?

Gingerade KOMBUCHA TEA – that’s all!!  Mmmm so good!  And tastes even better when you drink it out of a wine glass!

Did you try any new recipes or healthy foods over the holiday weekend? Drop me a comment!

***

June is a great month to lay off the heavier foods and cleanse the body!  If you feel the need to do some ‘spring cleaning’ of your temple, you could sign up to take Brendan Brazier’s Thrive in 30 Challenge. I’ve done this in the past and really enjoyed watching the video lessons that arrived in my mailbox.

If the idea of a challenge sends you running for the hills, how about making it simple:  get in a green smoothie (blended salad) at least a few times a week as well as a LARGE salad for lunch or dinner.  Up it to doing these two things every day and you’ll be well on your way to a ‘cleaner’, lighter body!

Have a GREAT day friends!

– Shari B.

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• The 10 Commandments of FitFeat
• Orange You In The Mood For French Toast?
• Look Ma, No Hands!

Ahhh I feel so relaxed at the moment.  I just got done with an hour-long yoga session and let me tell you … I have MISSED yoga.  (Gosh, a year ago I don’t think those words would have ever crossed my lips.)  I haven’t had a yoga sesh since before we left on vacation because when we got back we started into the Insanity routine (that I was lucky enough to borrow from a friend).  It’s definitely fun and different, and I sweat more doing this than I do in 100-degree Bikram studio.  However, 2 weeks in and I’m already a little bored.  Although you are changing DVDs daily, there is so much of each day’s routine that is just like the previous day, and the day before that, and the day before that, so all of a sudden I find myself not looking forward to the workouts.

So like everything else in my ‘fitness’ life, it will be mixed in when I need a good sweaty cardio/plyo routine or want to change things up. But it will no longer be a 6-day Insanity week.

This is one of the biggest reasons I think personal trainers can be a HUGE benefit (OK yes being a trainer, you may think I’m a bit biased ) Because most of them will listen to your likes and dislikes.  I strive to find out what my clients really enjoy and incorporate it.  If you tell your trainer there are certain exercises you REALLY don’t like to do, they should adjust the program.  Because otherwise you may start to DREAD the session.  And that’s the fastest way to see your client list dropping like the stock market of 5-6-10!

This is also why you see on the blog that I’m always reading new fitness/nutrition books and trying new DVD workout programs.  Gotta keep it fresh for both MY workouts and my CLIENTS’ workouts!  I don’t like to be bored with exercise.  And I never give clients an exercise that I haven’t done myself so I am always trying my programs first, as I design them.  I want to know how much weight feels right, how sore it might make me afterward, if anything feels “off’ about a new movement.

One thing that I find myself NOT bored with still, after all this time is TABATA!!!  So quick, so intense, and then it’s done.  LOVE THAT!  Monday I did the following routine using my Tabata timer:

• Straight-Arm Planks
• Seated Row
• Overhead Shoulder Presses (standing on one leg for increased balance work, alternate legs each set)
• Tricep Kickback + Straight Arm Tricep Pulses
• DB Bicep Curls
• Boat Pose for Abs

I felt it for the 2 days following.  I really don’t think I will ever get bored with this style of training. It speaks to my short attention span.

On the food front, beets have also been speaking to me this week.  I roasted three of them on Sunday and have been adding them to a lot of my salads.  If you missed it, I talked about my salmon, beet and goat cheese salad earlier in the week.  This time I made a “deconstructed” salad with beets along one side, sauteed kale and a bit of herbed goat cheese in the middle and sliced pears on the other.  This was another flavor winner.  The sweetness of the pear and beets meshed perfectly with the lightly salted kale and goat cheese.

Beets are an amazing veggie health-wise.  Beets are very high in folate, manganese, potassium and rich in compounds that are found to help reduce inflammation, fight heart disease, and colon cancer.  While higher in natural sugars than other vegetables, they are still only 74 calories per cup, plus very high in fiber.

During a kitchen session with a client this week, she asked if I put beets in my smoothies.  I haven’t tried that yet.  But I’m considering it.  So I’ll keep you posted. 

Drop a comment on any one of the topics above!  Got any favorite ways to eat BEETS? Have you had a personal trainer that made you do exercises you hated?  Any workouts that you’ve been CRAVING lately, but just haven’t gotten to?

Have a TERRIFIC Thursday friends!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• MandarinBerry Smoothie & Tabata Yoga
• The Beet Smoothie
• The 10 Commandments of FitFeat

Today I realized that buying a car is about as time-consuming as buying a house, with about as many signatures!  We were at ONE dealership for over FIVE hours.  Yowza!  I don’t think a single closing on any house I’ve ever owned took that long.

So this evening I’m rushing around a bit, and going through MapMyRun to see if I can find a decent 16 mile route for this weekend’s L-O-O-O-N-G run.    Oh. My. Gravy. (That’s my new favorite phrase thanks to Amazing Race – Christy knows who I’m talkin’ about!)  So yes, “oh my gravy” is the nice way of saying holy freaking you-know-what, 16 miles is HELLA long when you see it laid out on a MAP.

I am scheduled to go to my friend’s yoga studio Grand Opening at 1:00 PM.  I’m starting to think I should just jog straight there.  That may be my only chance of arriving on time!   (Keri, I’m kidding, I’ll be on time!)

If you happen to live in the Denver area (or know someone who does that you can spread the word to), you’ll want to check out Keri’s new yoga studio at Om of the Rockies.  She is offering a FREE YOGA SESSION this Saturday at the Open House, which starts at 1:00 pm.  Check out her website for more info by clicking HERE.

Just looking at the logo makes me feel relaxed, so I’m SURE it’s going to be heavenly.

I can’t wait to see her studio space and enjoy the session she’s teaching after my long run, not to mention some wine and cheese being offered afterward!   If my knees feel great this weekend, I know I’ll have Keri to thank for that!

Have a terrific evening Fit Friends!  I have a long day at the office tomorrow, followed by a birthday party, the long run on Saturday, the yoga open house, and Alice in Wonderland Sunday morning!  Busy weekend for sure!  I may or may not get out here to post over the weekend, but if not I’ll definitely be here for MARATHON MONDAY!  Wahoo!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Give That Cold the Boom Boom Pow
• There’s a Fire Up in Here
• December 3rd Check-In For DDSD Challenge

The sun is shining and supposedly it’s going to hit 60 degrees today.  I can’t even describe how happy that makes me!  Spring is just around the corner! You all know I run on solar power, right? 

I took the day off from working out yesterday.  I want to get past this mini-bug as quickly as possible, so I’m saving my body’s energy for immunity rather than for recovering from exercise.  I’ll have to take a trip to Whole Foods today and pick up some Kombucha tea and maybe some of the other cool supplement ideas you all suggested for me this week!  (Thank you for all the great ideas!)

As I mentioned in the last post, since I started training for the marathon a little over 6 weeks ago, my appetite has been a bear and I’ve also allowed more sugary items to creep back in.  Part of that is thanks to the season of Cadbury Caramel Cream Eggs which I love, love, love!  Part of it is the increased expenditure of energy from the long runs, yes, but not nearly as much as you may think.  (The rest of my week has LESS exercise in it than it used to because I spend a day or two ‘recovering’ from the long runs and then minimize leg work as I gear up for the next run.)  So my weekly calorie expenditure isn’t that much more than it was when I wasn’t training for this event.

I’ve been working at such a high heart rate in every run that I’ve been burning mostly sugar as fuel and not much fat.  This leads to a cycle of craving carbs, burning carbs, craving carbs, etc.   When our bodies feel wiped, we crave foods that will give us instant bursts of energy.  And unless you are planning to be running sprints in the next couple of hours, you know right where that sugar’s gonna go:  to your trouble spots!

I eat for weight maintenance.  Over the course of a lot of trials and many errors, I found what works best for me to feel healthy and satisfied, with the added bonus of fitting into my skinny jeans!   Enter an endurance sport, and my ‘natural rhythm’ gets thrown a bit off balance.

From a speed perspective I have a target weight in mind that I would like to race at on May 16.  For every 5% of weight you lose, you gain about 5% in speed.  If I want to increase my speed by 30 seconds per mile, I’ll need to get a bit lower than what my ‘summer maintenance weight’ is.

Here’s what I’m NOT going to do:  be obsessive or restrictive about it.  If I make it, great.  If not, I’ll just be 14 minutes slower over the 26 miles.

Here’s what I AM going to do:  get back to the basics of what I know works for me, both from a nutrition standpoint and an exercise standpoint.

With that said I thought I’d share the basics I follow (and coach my clients on) for losing (or maintaining weight) and healthy living in general:

10 Commandments of FitFeat

1.) Eat when hungry, stop when full. Never walk away from a meal feeling stuffed.

2.) Eat a green smoothie every day.

3.) If hungry between meals, choose natural (and preferrably raw) snacks.

4.) Eat a HUGE salad every day, chock full of veggies and fun things like dulse, nutritional yeast and healthy fats.

5.) Chew every bite until it’s practically liquefied – good digestion starts in the mouth!

6.) Eliminate (or greatly reduce) foods that cause nutritional stress (primarily refined flours, refined sugars, trans-fatty acids, artificial chemical additives).

7.) Plan, plan and plan some more.  If you don’t have the right foods within your reach, it’s much to easy to grab the WRONG ones.

8.) Save and Savor: SAVE the once-in-a-blue-moon foods for special occasions (like birthday cake and wedding cake) and when you do treat yourself to these indulgences, SAVOR it. And maybe have some fun with it.    For the not-so-special occasions where you need a treat, pick those that have some nutritional value like red wine and dairy-free dark chocolate.

9.) Choose exercise that energizes you and that you enjoy doing.  Let each workout leave you wanting to come back again the next time.

10.) Love yourself and your body.  Appreciate what it does for you and treat it with respect.  When you put that thought first, the choices you make will come naturally.

***

Today’s discussion:  how many of these 10 commandments do you already ‘obey’?  If there are some you don’t, which will you implement first?

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Turning the Tables on Naysayers
• Look Ma, No Hands!
• The Lunge: Love to Hate It

Thank you all for the wonderful comments to yesterday’s Marathon Monday post.  I loved reading all of your encouraging words!  I hope you know how much more enjoyable (not to mention accountable) this marathon process is, knowing that you are all cheering me on.

I already know what I’ll be doing differently on my next run.  Something that I’ve been figuring to be the issue, but that I have neglected to implement.  (Partly due to pride, I think.)  I’m treating myself as I would a client so I’m going to take my own advice.  So stay tuned for the next Marathon Monday and I’ll share my “tweaks” and let you know how it goes!

I rested the ol’ knees on Sunday by not doing any exercise.  Then on Monday when I woke up my knees were feeling bueno!  So I’m thankful that they are recovering quickly, that’s a good sign!  I treated them to some Iron Yoga in the morning before scooting off to work.

While the knees are back to normal, that weird sneezing fit seems to be a touch of a head cold.  So I’m giving it the BOOM-BOOM-POW of green smoothies, Emergen-C drinks and green tea.  Hopefully I’ll get this thing nipped in the bud!  I feel fine, but my nose deciding to keep on running well past that 14 mile mark! 

Anyone else this messy while making green smoothies?

I have covered the entire island!

***

I was fortunate to start this morning with a delightful run at my favorite hilly trail with one of my clients.  Look at the moon as I pulled into the parking lot!

It was just getting light out and the moon was SO bright!  I love pretty runs like this!  While my little friend OSCAR told me it was 28 outside, we did freeze our hineys off a bit because it was WINDY!  (I’ve been going to this trail for about 9 years now – you’d think I’d learn that it’s ALWAYS windy there and dress accordingly!) 

I wore my VFFs for the 3.7 miles we did.  Ohhh boy do you feel every little rock on a gravel trail in them, especially when your feet are frozen!  But I loved it! They thawed out after about 15 minutes, once the blood started pumping and then it was like skipping along like a kid!  These things are a hoot!

I so wish that my calves were ready to wear these ‘unshoes’ for longer distances because the impact on my knees is almost nil.  I’m getting there!  I’ve added another mile to my longest run in them… progressing slowly but safely.

Today’s discussion:  what’s your “tried and true” remedy when you have a cold? As I mentioned, I like to try to knock it out with high nutrient foods, like what I add to my green smoothies.  This is the first I’ve had in almost a year – I didn’t even catch one when I flew to Michigan in the fall (and I was that person who would catch something every time I stepped on a plane.)  I have attributed this good immunity to all the fruits and veggies I’ve been eating since last April.  But recently I’ve let some refined carbs and sugars creep back into my diet so I know that’s partly to blame.  Time to get back to basics! 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• The 10 Commandments of FitFeat
• Orange You In The Mood For French Toast?
• Cooking Out, FitFeat Style

Well, as it turns out, no one wants to bare their mid-winter abs.  Biceps are one thing, but it seems that abs are quite another indeed!  I was a little scared myself.  I’ve had a bit of a food fest since the middle of January and was dreading seeing my “winter abs” vs my “summer abs”.  In the dead of winter, I’m eating more grains and starchy veggies, not to mention those darn delicious vegan cookies from Whole Foods!  (I almost wish that I hadn’t discovered that tasty treat!)

But in the interest of following through with things I plan for the blog, I present to you my lonely version of Flex-it Friday: The Abs Edition.

Or as I like to call it:  “Fun with Self-Timer“. 

I must admit I feel a little weird doing this one alone.  But here goes…

Since we are supposed to FLEX for Flex-It Friday, I figured a side plank would be a good way to get a good shot of abs.  My first realization?  That I could definitely use a longer timer on my camera than 10 seconds!

In this one I totally wasn’t even in the shot!

Next attempt:  uh, getting closer.  A little heavy on the zoom button!

Nope, still not there.

Hey!  A body!  But no head!

And this time a head, but a BLURRY one!  This is impossible!  I want to know how Averie and Cindy get into their advanced yoga poses and take a pic!

I’m thinking Plan B is in order…

Scrap the self-timer….the camera gets to be in the picture too… Flex those abs!

Call it DONE!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the recent eating (bday dinner at the Melting Pot, the organic chocolate bars, caramel cream eggs, and Valentine’s Day candy) didn’t do as much damage as I had figured.  I can pinch more right now than I can in the summer, but I know that when the days are longer and warmer I’ll be right back to where I was before Thanksgiving.

For next quarter’s Flex-It Friday, what will you BARE?!!   I’m taking suggestions!  Triceps?  Calves?  Your favorite strength exercise?  Favorite yoga pose?

Have a fabulous Friday friends!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Remembering to REDUCE and REUSE
• Garden Casualty
• December 3rd Check-In For DDSD Challenge

Sorry to disappear on you yesterday.  Tues/Thurs are my BIZ-EEEE days and I had two additional pieces of fun in my Thursday that kept me away from the computer.

One was a visit from one of my all time best buds after she got off of work, where we polished off about 3/4 bottle of our favorite Riesling and jibber-jabbered non-stop for two and a half hours.  It was such a wonderful time.

The other exciting thing on Thursday was my little brother and his wife welcomed their second baby into the world!  Unfortunately I live 1300 miles from them, so I won’t be seeing Baby #2 anytime soon.  Thank goodness for webcams!    I was really hoping the new baby would wait until next Wednesday so that we could share a birthday, but she must have been in a hurry to meet her big sister sooner!

Speaking of birthday, MSP wanted to share with me what my gift would be a little early because it would require some ‘trying on for size’ before he could order the actual gift.  That got me curious!

In addition to reading “Born to Run“ currently, Matt from No Meat Athlete has inspired me to want to give barefoot running a go.

MSP heard that and decided to gift me with some VIbram Five Fingers!  SO EXCITED!!!

Image from Vibram FiveFingers

In anticipation of the arrival of my new fitness ‘gadgets’ I decided to get a head start on Wednesday.  Barefoot running is something you must start SLOWLY because all that running around in my fancy Nike SHOX will have changed my gait and most likely weakened some of the supportive structure of my lower legs and feet.

I did intervals of a different sort on the treadmill this time:  shoes on, shoes off, socks on, socks off, shoes and socks back on, shoes off, etc.

I did 3 miles, about two of which were ‘shoeless’.

OK, first:  holy calves of fire, Batman!  Not so much DURING as much as the days following.  I have some DOMS going on in my calves the way I figure I would if I did 1000 sets of heavy calf raises.  You should see me trying to walk DOWN a set of stairs.  Comical.

Second, it was so FUN!  You feel so much ‘lighter’ on your feet, almost springy because it truly forces you into a completely different gait.  Apparently I’m a heavy ‘heel-slapper’ in shoes and that just won’t work barefoot.  You need to be more onto the balls of your feet, while still letting your heels come down lightly.

Afterward, I did about 15 minutes of deep yoga stretching because I knew my legs were going to need it.

Then yesterday I did another 30 minutes of yoga, including a LOT of downward dogs to hit those calves a bit.

I won’t be using my new “unshoes” during the marathon, because I don’t think there’s enough time to safely transition to that distance.  But I definitely plan to use them as much as my calves will allow during my shorter training runs.  Maybe the marathon after this one…

And I have to give props to our good friend Bo, because he had FiveFingers YEARS ago before they were trendy.  And I think I remember teasing him about his crazy looking shoes.   Bo, I’m eating my words now and you can tease me all you want to get me back! 

Today’s question:  Any barefoot running ‘aficionados’ out there? Read “Born to Run”?

Friends, have a FANTASTIC Friday!  I’ll be back tomorrow sometime after my 9 MILE training run.  I really hope my calves stop crying before I head out or it will be a L-O-N-G 9 miles…

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Barefoot Sunday
• 9 Weeks Till … ???
• Give That Cold the Boom Boom Pow

As seems to be the case lately, Tuesdays are complete madness and as such, no exercise was to be had.  So this morning I’m hoping to do some cardio AND some yoga because I’m feeling the need for both.  A little calorie burnin’ plus some Gumby-inducing moves. 

***

I tried a new-to me raw (mostly) bar that I wanted to share with you.  (As you can tell it was eaten at work, due to the horrible iPhone shot…)

Coconut Acai flavor ingredients: Organic Almond Butter, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Date Paste, Organic Dried Coconut, Organic Almonds, Organic Raisins, Organic Puffed Amaranth, Organic Acai Dry Powder, Sea Salt

This was sensational!  I loved it.  I will definitely be trying other flavors of PranaBar.  You all know I LOVE my Larabars so don’t think they’ve been knocked out of my daily food plan.  From a price point perspective Larabars can’t be beat, because I buy them when they are on sale for $1 at my local grocery store.  The Prana bars are more in the $2 range, so it will be an occasional treat.  But if you are in the mood for something different, give PranaBar a try.

***

I pulled up a saved link today to an MSN slide show that I wanted to share with you about food additives to avoid. Some of the items on this list are common sense (like avoiding refined white sugar and excess salt) but learning that potential carcinogens BHA/BHT could be in your breakfast cereal (or your kids’ cereal) may not be so common.  Click this link to view:  12 Food Additives to Avoid

Today’s Discussion Question: Do you have any particular additives or foods that you specifically avoid in addition to this list? Please share with us in the comments section. In addition to the additives and artificial sweeteners listed in the article, I try to avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, and made the move to Stevia instead of Splenda for my coffee back in April.  I also ended my love affair with diet soda (and ALL sodas now for that matter).

Make it a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY friends!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• The 10 Commandments of FitFeat
• Give That Cold the Boom Boom Pow
• There’s a Fire Up in Here