Tips for Making Smart Choices in Unhealthy Environments

Happy Sunday Funday!

Our job as puppy babysitters has come to an end. Hogan was adorable and fun to play with, but watching him for a few days reminded me of how far we’ve come as dog owners with our Harley girl. It is so nice to be out of that puppy stage and for her to be fully potty trained, no longer teething and way more chilled out. I’m happy with just having one dog and think it’s safe to say that we won’t be getting a new puppy anytime soon!

This weekend was a very sporty one for me. Last night we went to the Chargers/Cowboys preseason game. I’m a huge NY Giants fan, but it was a really fun time finally going to an NFL game in San Diego. It was even better because the Chargers were playing the Cowboys, who I strongly dislike, so last night I was all Go Chargers! and just rooting for the Cowboys to lose as I usually do.

Then, I spent this afternoon downtown at Petco Park for a Padres/Giants game. This also marked the first baseball game I’ve been to in San Diego. As I said, this weekend was sports packed!

Between these two sporting events and the concert I went to last week, I’ve been around a ton of unhealthy food lately. This got me thinking about the ways I try to make it easiest on myself to make good choices in environments that aren’t necessarily promoting healthy eating and drinking. Here are a few tips I have:

• Don’t go hungry. Before the football game last night, we made sure to have dinner. I had a busy morning today, but on the way to the baseball game, I made sure to fill up with a fruit smoothie and protein bar. If you go to the event with a full belly, you’ll be less likely to crave the fat-filled nachos or sugar-filled cotton candy everyone’s eating around you.
• Scope out all your choices. If you do go hungry, check out all your options before standing on the first line you see. At the Chargers game, I saw a farm-to-table food stand full of decent for you eats, such as mozzarella & tomato salads. I obviously got excited about this even though I wasn’t hungry or eating –YAY for healthy options! These types of stands may not be available everywhere, but it’s smart to look around and see. The more we as consumers request higher quality eats, the more choices we’ll be presented with.
• Hydrate. Sometimes your body will mistake thirst for hunger, so make sure you drink water and stay hydrated before and during a sporting event, concert, or whatever your plans may be. Out of all the overpriced things for sale, the $5 bottle of water is most worth your purchase.
• Pick one indulgence. If you’re dying for a beer and could kind of go for popcorn with it, just buy the beverage. An all-or-nothing mentality (which I can certainly be guilty of myself) will only make you feel guilty afterwards, but if you only eat/drink the thing you’re in the mood for the most, you can lessen the damage and enjoy it more. Better yet, split your purchase with a person you’re with, as popcorn and nacho orders are usually multiple portions anyways.
• Skip the soda. Okay, so you can’t get the jumbo pretzel out of your head at the ball game. Instead of depriving yourself of something you’re really in the mood for, I say go ahead and get that pretzel. But, don’t get a regular soda along with it, as it will knock you back hundreds of more calories, not to mention all of the sugar it contains. Instead, opt for water and hydrate yourself!  *Random tidbit: According to the HBO series The Weight of the Nation, soda and sugar sweetened beverages are the #1 calorie source in Americans’ diets. It’s also the ONLY individual food/drink directly linked to obesity.*
• Lastly,  if you overdo it at an event one night (and who hasn’t done this?!), there’s no use in punishing yourself and feeling guilty afterwards. The important thing is to just shake it off and get back to a healthy routine the next day.

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Some Workout Inspiration

Well, today I am feeling SORE! During my workout yesterday I did a few new weight training exercises, but didn’t expect them to make me so achy. It’s funny how that happens sometimes. I also changed things up yesterday by hopping on the treadmill for the first time in a long time. Recently, I haven’t been running at all and the nagging calf injury I’ve mentioned in previous posts has ceased to exist. It took 2 1/2 years to feel completely back to normal, but it’s been feeling so good lately that I stopped wearing my calf compression band during workouts. It’s pretty awesome!

Since I determined that running is the only thing that brings my calf soreness to a head, for the time being I’ve decided to just not run. After all, it’s one type of cardio I actually loathe, and there are so many other forms of exercise that I enjoy. However, since I frequently hike outdoors without an issue, I have no problem with treadmill incline walking workouts. I brought one back into the mix with this half hour routine:

I also wanted to share some motivational [workout] sayings I’ve come across recently:

And with that, I’m off to get ready for a weeknight date with my hubby! We’re seeing Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat in concert at a venue called Humphreys by the Bay. The tickets were one of my birthday gifts from him. 🙂

I hope she sings this:

And he sings this:

“I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately. All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind. I’m tired of looking ’round rooms wondering what I’ve got to do or who I’m supposed to be. I don’t want to be anything other than me.”

One Sweaty Sunday

Well, another weekend is coming to a close. As always, the past few days have gone by quickly!

Lately it’s been warmer than usual in San Diego. 90 degrees and hotter is typical for a lot of places in the summer, but it feels pretty toasty here since I’m used to it constantly being my ideal temp – 75! I started off my Sunday sweating outdoors when I took Harley for a long walk to burn off some of her crazy puppy energy. She’s been really feeling the heat and tuckering out quickly, and by the end of our walk around the neighborhood trail, her tongue was out and she was ready to relax in the AC.

When we got home, I wanted to exercise and I did 2 workouts from Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred DVD. Her routines are no joke! About half an hour into it, Adam walked into the house and said, “Wow, you’re really sweating!” Why yes, yes I am. Mission accomplished! 🙂

Post living room workout, Adam and I headed to La Jolla for an afternoon at the beach. We went to a good surfing spot (he surfs, me not so much) I had never been to before, which was in a gorgeous area with elaborate homes and cliffs that people were parasailing near — hence the photo above. It was a nice hike from our car down to the beach, and my glutes definitely got a workout heading back up.

Usually on the beach in San Diego it feels nice and breezy, but today I was feeling hot. It was one of the rare occasions when I took a dip in the Pacific to cool off!

Moving onto food, this evening’s dinner was pasta primavera, a dish I enjoy making when I want to clear out any veggies from my kitchen that are nearing the end of their prime:

When throwing together a pasta primavera meal, you have a lot of choices as to what you feel like including.  Here are the basic guidelines I always follow:

#1 – Pick your veggies. For me tonight, this included broccoli and zucchini that were nearing their end, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and spinach, along with some fresh basil to give it some pizazz. I usually adopt an “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality and include any veggies I have around.

#2 – Pick your pasta. Angel hair, penne, elbows, spaghetti, rigatoni… the possibilities are endless! Tonight I used whole grain farfalle.

#3 – Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, chop all your veggies into bite sized pieces.

#4- Choose a sautéing liquid. To keep the calorie count low, I used white cooking wine. You can also opt to use any kind of oil or broth. Heat a bit of the liquid up, along with a few cloves of minced garlic (optional).  Saute veggies until softened, adding liquid in every so often once it absorbs.

#5 – Combine veggies and cooked pasta.

#6 – Season with whatever you wish — I added Italian seasoning and mixed up salt and pepper. Add some flavor with either a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and/or butter, and combine well.

#7 – Optional: Sprinkle a bit of grated cheese on top for added flavor.

It makes for an easy breezy, healthy and yummy meal!

I’m off to watch tonight’s episode of True Blood, so I’ll leave you with an awesome quote I recently came across:

A Soup & Salad Kinda Night

After living with a cold-stricken man for the past week and trying to resist the bug, I’ve officially caught an annoying upper respiratory thing. Whomp.

While I’m confident that I can overcome cold #237 of my life (okay, perhaps that’s a dramatic overestimate), it never feels good to have a pounding headache, itchy throat, and feel exhausted for no apparent reason. I love to relax for a couple hours, but beyond that, I seem to have a tough time just hanging out. I suppose I just like to be busy and productive. But today, I resisted the urge to push myself to do a lot and kept it pretty low-key.

And keeping it low-key means no-fuss meals like tonight’s dinner, soup and salad. It took all of 5 minutes to put together, and was a healthy under-the-weather meal. Every ingredient happened to be from Trader Joe’s — tomato and roasted red pepper soup, a baby baguette, arugula, a goat cheese medallion and figs:

Eating this dinner started to make me think about how eating healthy doesn’t have to equate to slaving away in the kitchen. With so many healthy options at our fingertips, nutritious meals can be super easy like this one. I think that it’s partly a matter of making smart choices when it comes to the food we eat, and it’s also about having the knowledge in understanding what foods are healthy for us. Here’s to a week full of good choices!

Quote of the day: “The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” -Ann Wigmore

Wake Up (Your Body) Call

“To have a friend and be a friend is what makes life worthwhile.”

Fun fact: Today is National Girlfriends’ Day. Shout out to my amazing girlfriends, love you ladies!

I often like to start off my days with some movement. Sometimes it’s just a few yoga poses (I talked about my favorite ones here), other times I take Harley for a nice long walk. And then there are days when I like to get sweaty first thing in the morning. Today was one of those days, so I did the following easy breezy workout. The idea is to do a very quick cardio routine, with your heart rate up the whole time. With some quick stretching immediately following, it’ll take around 15 minutes and is a nice way to get moving before heading to work, class, or wherever your day takes you.

Whenever I hear someone say they “don’t have time” to exercise, I think of how doable it is to spend (at least) 20 minutes working out on most days, doing simple routines like this. If I have a super busy day ahead of me, I know that a short workout is always better than no workout at all! Remember, every little bit counts when it comes to your health.

Do You Date Yourself?

Today’s post is a topic I’ve wanted to write about for awhile — dating yourself.

Out of all the important relationships in your life, the one you have with yourself is the most significant of them all. This idea is central to healthy living, because if you don’t have a good relationship with yourself, it makes it difficult to have meaningful, strong bonds with others. Having positive friendships and connections is pivotal to being your best self.

A few months back, my friend and I were talking about her recent therapy session. They had talked about whether my friend makes an effort to do enjoyable things on her own to help strengthen her mental, physical, and emotional health – what her therapist deemed as “dating yourself.”  I had never heard it coined that way before, but when I heard her explanation of what it means to date yourself, I said, “Oh I totally date myself!” Her response was something along the lines of, “I know, you really do! That’s one of the
things I love about  you. Whether Adam’s home or not, you make time to do things for you.” 🙂

It’s true, I like to think I make a continuous effort to thrive in all my relationships, whether it be with my husband, family, friends or myself. I think it’s important to never lose yourself in a romantic relationship. I know people who are great examples of maintaining separate hobbies and interests while also being well-connected with their partner. Then there are those who take it to the extreme, either having too much of a separate life from their significant other, or not having one at all. Like most things in life, I believe the key is balance.

Quite honestly, I’m crazy about my husband and just adore being around him a lot. However, I’ve found it beneficial – to both us a couple and me as an individual – to have my own gratifying things going on apart from us as a team. Dating yourself looks different to everyone. For me, it means doing things like volunteering at the Humane Society, challenging myself with exercise, blogging, and occasionally pampering myself. To someone else it might mean taking art classes. Though I love doing active things with Adam, I also look at my workouts as my “me” time when I problem solve, clear my head, and recharge, so a lot of the time, I exercise alone. Last Friday I dated myself when I hiked alone with Harley, then went to get a fabulous, relaxing pedicure. Giving yourself time to strengthen your relationship with YOU gives you the chance to better figure out who you are, which in turn builds your confidence, which enables you to be a happier person, which equates to you being the best YOU you can be, for both yourself and those you share your life with. What’s the downside to that?!

I understand that this idea of carving out time for yourself is challenging to people with demanding jobs, children, hectic schedules, and the list goes on and on, as life sometimes gets crazy for most people. Ideally, a lot of your passions can somehow be shared with your partner in some way. For instance, Adam loves surfing, and I love to relax in the sun, so we head to the beach together. I love cooking and baking, and Adam enjoys eating my creations. It’s a great thing when some of your interests intertwine, but the idea of dating yourself is to make an effort to do something by yourself, for yourself from time to time.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you date yourself? 

Apple Pie Oatmeal Bowl

Random tidbit of the day: According to a study in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity, exercising for at least 2 hours a week makes you 70-85% less likely to be depressed, anxious, or experience burn out. Add that to the laundry list of reasons to workout! That’s just a minimum of about 17 minutes a day, so what’s your excuse?

Speaking of exercise, when I was talking about mountain biking in yesterday’s post, I neglected to mention the fact that I always have some sort of injury after biking. This time it’s a nice ugly bruise on my calf:

Nice right? Totally worth it though!

Moving onto eats, my day was full of getting work done and being busy with the usual shenanigans, and I didn’t devote a lot of time to prepping my meals. But contrary to what some may think, eating healthy doesn’t equate to slaving away in the kitchen for hours on end. While my dinner was a little boring — a veggie burger with tomato and avocado, with edamame on the side — my lunch was a new combo that I loved:

An apple pie oatmeal bowl!

I haven’t eaten oatmeal in awhile, but I brought it back today after smelling the sweet apple scent of it last night when my hubby snacked on a bowl of oats. So when lunchtime hit this afternoon, oatmeal was on my brain.

Here’s what I used:

• 1 packet of Quaker Oats apples & cinnamon oatmeal
• 1/2 chopped apple
• 2 TBSP slivered toasted almonds
• 1 mini box of raisins
• 1/4 c Kashi Go Lean Cinnamon Crunch cereal
• Sprinkled cinnamon

I microwaved the apple in with the oats to make them hot and soft, apple pie style. The other ingredients were added in after the oats cooked. Yum!

I’ll leave you with some food for thought: “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” – Marcel Pagnol

All About the Legs: Today’s Circuit Workout

Remember in yesterday’s post I mentioned having a great workout? Yeaaaa… this morning I woke up super sore. The kind of sore when putting on a seatbelt seems like a difficult task (no joke). I really didn’t want to skip exercising today, but also knew that I was limited by serious muscle soreness. So what’s a girl to do? Get her butt to the gym for a strictly lower body workout!

Here’s how this routine works:

• Start off with a 5 minute warm-up.
• In between rounds, do 5 minutes of cardio of your choice (I cycled).
• I used 12 lb dumbbells. Adjust your weight based on your strength level.
• When doing exercises 1 side at a time, right rep + left rep = 1 total rep
• This workout took me a bit shy of an hour to complete.

Some explanations of exercises from around the Web:

• Static Reverse Lunges (shown without use of a step)
• Donkey Kicks
• Jumping lunges
• Squirm Crunches
• Plie Squats

Hope I can move tomorrow 😉

Good night!

Herbed Goat Cheese Fondue

Hope your week is off to a good start! My Monday consisted of getting work done, heading to the dog beach with Adam and Harley, and getting a workout in. After being sore all weekend from my gym session on Friday, I was happy to not feel so achy today and headed to the gym for what turned out to be a great workout. I felt fabulous afterwards. 🙂

Last Saturday, Adam and I had a laid back night hanging out at home. When coming up with a dinner idea, I thought it’d be a perfect night to indulge in something fun and new. I had ripped a recipe for goat cheese fondue out of Vegetarian Times magazine, and decided to give it a go. I made a few changes to their original recipe, such as using Fontina instead of Swiss cheese. (As big of a cheese lover as I am, I don’t enjoy Swiss at all.) I cooked using a regular saucepan since I don’t own a fondue pot, but if you have one, use it!

Note: this makes a lot of fondue! Adam and I had this as our dinners and barely made a dent in it.

Herbed Goat Cheese Fondue

Serves 6 

Ingredients:

• 1 c lightly packed fresh parsley leaves
• 1 c lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 c of white wine (Chardonnay)
• 8 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 c soy milk (regular or other types of milk work too)
• 1 c grated Fontina cheese

Finely chop parsley, basil and garlic. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Bring wine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Simmer until it’s reduced by half, around 5 minutes. Whisk in the goat cheese and cream cheese, and cook until melted.

In a bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the milk. Add the milk mix to the goat cheese mix, and cook about 3 minutes or until it thickens, whisking constantly.

Add in the Fontina cheese, and whisk it frequently until all the cheese has melted.

Stir in the herb mixture, then pour into a serving bowl. Eat with dippers of your choice. We had our fondue with skewers of cherry tomatoes and soft pretzel pieces, slices of red bell pepper and Triscuits.

Nutrition stats: 310 calories, 20 g fat, 12 g protein, 8 g carbs

Veggie & Fontina Panini with Basil Pesto + Homemade French Fries

Whew, this post’s title is quite a mouthful! I must have been in a panini kind of mood after making balsamic portobello ones last week, because last night’s dinner was yet another panini creation — and a yummy one at that. I paired the sandwiches with baked French fries, mostly because my good friend was talking about making homemade fries the other day, which gave me a yen for them. I haven’t made fries in awhile, and let me just say, if you’re in the mood for them but don’t want copious amounts of grease (and guilt) involved, I suggest making these easy fries as a side dish…

Veggie & Fontina Cheese Panini with Basil Pesto + Homemade French Fries

Makes 4 servings 

For panini:

• 1 c of loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
• 2 TBSP pine nuts
• 1.5 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TSP fresh lemon juice
• 4 panini rolls (Trader Joe’s)
• 3 oz jarred artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise and sauteed
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 2 oz avocado, sliced (about 1/2 medium one)
• 1 TBSP + 1 TSP balsamic vinegar
• 4 oz fontina cheese, sliced
• Salt & pepper to taste

For fries:

• 2 medium sized Russet potatoes
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil (other types i.e. canola, safflower, and avocado will work as well)
• Garlic powder and mixed up salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut one of the potatoes into “fry like” slices. Place in a bowl, then drizzle 1 TBSP of oil over top, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and toss to coat evenly. Put the potato slices on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat this process with the other potato, then place the sheets in the oven. Check on the fries every couple of minutes until they look brown and crispy. Flip the fries over, sprinkle again with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and cook until other sides are browned.

While the fries are cooking, preheat your grill to 350 (you could just use a toaster as well).

To make the pesto, combine basil, garlic, pine nuts, and a sprinkle of salt in a food processor or blender, and mix until smooth. Add 1 TBSP of oil and the lemon juice and process again until smooth.

Slice open the panini rolls, and spread the pesto on one half of each roll. Drizzle 1 TSP of balsamic vinegar onto each roll.

Evenly place the artichoke hearts, zucchini, tomato, and avocado slices onto each panini. Put 1 oz of cheese on top of each, then sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

Pour the remaining olive oil (1/2 TBSP) in a small dish, then lightly brush the tops and bottoms of each panini with the oil.

Cook the sandwiches on the grill until nicely browned. Serve with French fries.

Nutrition stats per panini: 385 calories, 19 g fat, 15 g protein, 38 g carbs

Facts per 1/4 of fries: 120 calories, 7 g fat, 2 g protein, 14 g carbs

Quote of the day: “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi