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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Did you say Millet?


  • Millet is a nutritionally rich grain, high in protein, fiber, magnesium and phosphorus.
  • 1-cup serving of cooked millet contains 6 g of protein.
  • Whole grains are a concentrated source of nutrients, rich in essential vitamins such as iron, B vitamins and fiber. 
  • Including more whole grains in your diet may reduce your risk of both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
  • Millet is gluten-free and has a mild flavor.




For basic preparation of Millet Seed: 

3 cups water
1 cup Millet, washed and drained.

Place millet, salt and water in a heavy sauce pan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and serve.

The millet may be dry roasted after washing, for a lighter, fluffier texture and a slight nutty flavor. Vegetables such as organic corn, winter squash, carrots, onions or cabbage can be added separately or combined for a sweeter flavor. 


*Many gluten-free cooking books, websites and blogs offer a lot of great Millet recipes, so try it out and let me know what you think!  I haven't tried it yet, but plan on trying it over the weekend...I'll let you know if my family approves :-)



My favorite company, Bob's Red Mill had this on the description of their Hulled Millet product, 
     "Hulled Millet is often referred to as birdseed, however, it is very nutritious for humans as well as birds. Like rice, millet is a staple food of the Far East. It is easily digested because it is alkaline whereas most other grains are acidic. Use millet to make a delicious cereal, prepare and serve just like you would steamed rice, or add a half cup to your favorite yeast bread recipe for a delicious crunchy texture."


Yesterday's Workout:  My spin workouts on the back porch are getting REALLY hot, so it makes for a super sweaty mess but a great workout! 
just a funny before and after of my spin workout yesterday,

no sweat!


totally drenched...ewww!


Today's Workout:  3 mile run in the neighborhood at 7am!  
The humidity was horrible this morning, I could barely breathe, but I managed 3 miles before having to come home and drink tons of water!  Yuck!!  


Have you tried Millet?  How did you prepare it and did you like it?

Do you enjoy outdoor workouts in the summer?  

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

recipes and workouts!

First up is this meatball soup, prepared in the crock pot that is SUPER easy and delicious...

You'll Need:
 1bag (1 lb) ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots
1lb small red potatoes (2 1/2 to 3 inch), cut into quarters
1jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained
1small onion, cut into thin wedges
1bag (16 oz) frozen cooked turkey meatballs (about 32) or you can make these from scratch!
1jar (12 oz) beef gravy
1can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
Freshly ground black pepper, if desired 
*To save time, the pre-made meatballs work fabulous although they aren't as healthy as making them on your own, but I really use this recipe to fall on when we have late soccer or baseball practice or any other evening plans that keep me from cooking a great meal! Throw it all in the crock pot on LOW for 8 hours and there's your dinner tonight!
Your family will love it and I serve with a side of fresh, string beans!
YUM!!  

This recipe and picture are compliments of Betty Crocker 
with some tweaking from Move It Momma!!






I posted about this chick pea sammy a while back and let me assure you, it's THAT good!
 You can find this sandwich recipe HERE from a previous post...
WARNING:  It's so good, especially if you like chick peas the way that we do!  






And one that I'll be trying for my in-law's 4th of July party this year is this Lemony Veggie Pasta Salad!  
Sounds simple and delicious and is enough to feed 24, so it'll be perfect!  I'm sure I'll change it up quite a bit, but hopefully the end result is still delicious...it calls for snap peas, asparagus, and fat free yogurt that I'd probably substitute with Greek for added protein!



Lemon Mayonnaise
2cups fat-free mayonnaise or salad dressing
1cup Yoplait® Fat Free plain yogurt (from 2-lb container)
1/2cup lemon juice
1/4cup chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried tarragon leaves
1teaspoon salt
Pasta Salad
2packages (16 oz each) medium pasta shells
3lb asparagus, blanched and cut into 4-inch pieces
2lb snap pea pods, blanched
16medium green onions, sliced (1 cup)
2medium yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped (2 cups) 

Recipe and photo compliments of EatBetterAmerica.com but yet again, will be tweaked by ME!

Recipe says to cook pasta, drain and set aside after rinsing in cold water.  Create the Lemon Mayo and then add those to the pasta, as well as the veggies!  
Sounds easy and delicious, so let me know if you try before I do! And Hmm, I wonder if I could do one package pasta and add something else in place of the other package, to cut on simple carb??  Suggestions??  


My Workouts:
I've been running, but very little mileage this week due to the hip pain.  After taking a few days off, the hip feels much better but still a dull ache...trust me, I'll be seeing a doctor soon if the pain continues!  Also, June 6th is the sign up for the Chevron Houston Marathon...hard to believe it's already time to sign up again!  They have increased the slots AGAIN for 2013, so I strongly recommend trying Houston this coming January!  

And now for a few workouts that I've tried and love when incorporated with my spin workouts!  And of course I found them on Pinterest...where else?!



Triple Threat Cardio from foodfitnessandfamilyblog.com

4 Rounds to Freedom workout from fit2flex.com

These workouts are both "pinned" on my Motivation Board, 
so try them out and tell me what ya think!  

If you're having a hard time finding motivation, these workouts seem to do the trick because you'll be sweating in the first 2 minutes,

Sounds crazy but I love these hardcore, quick workouts that help you feel the burn right away...helps to keep me focused and motivated until somewhere along the way, I find that push that gets me through the workout!  

Ah, don't ya feel bad for people that NEVER experience THAT feeling??  I sure do!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

some pain and Wellspring...

I'm experiencing some pain in my right hip...sort of the same pain I was feeling during my half marathon training, so not sure if I should think about new running shoes or I should see a doctor, but yesterday during my run, I was in A LOT of pain :-(
I'm worried that it's more than just sore muscles...it's to the point where it aches throughout the day.  

Today I am not running, will try my spin bike on the back porch and see if that helps...less impact!  I am loving my very, own spin classes outdoors, although it's TOO hot around here already, a good 30 minutes on the bike allows me to sweat like CRAZY!!!  And we've already established that I sweat like a grown man, so you can imagine what I'll look like out there spinning in August...YUCK!!!!!!!

To keep my mind off the constant pain issues, I've been reading Portion Size Me, the book I talked about last week regarding the 12 year old that decided that his entire family needed CHANGE!  Sure glad he spoke up and happy they listened...they should have done something sooner, but who's judging?!!!  I loved your comments on this issue, I agreed with everything you all said...





Some other news I find alarming and I guess good?  Wellspring Camps which is basically an academy that's tuition runs around 50,000 a year!  Yea, you heard right...$50,000/student!!!!!

It was featured on Dateline as well as other media outlets, but this is pretty much a last resort to obese and overweight children.  These children weigh in at around 300-400 lbs, and lose on average 12-15lbs a week in their first few weeks and their weight loss is amazing!  


HOWEVER, I have an issue with parents being able to shell out 50k, but can't seem to research and pull together as a family to get it done...don't you?  
Or maybe I'm not seeing the full benefits of this program.  


Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that these seriously, at-risk children are getting the help that they desperately need BUT will their habits that helped them reach 300lbs go away once they return home?  Are their families taking classes on how to raise healthy children, or are they at home eating and acting as they did before?  I'd like to know more about the families responsibilities while that obese teen is away at school.  


These children that were being interviewed seemed absolutely helpless and that makes me SAD.  So sad. 
They should have felt like there was somewhere they could turn, right?  
I mean, 1 in 3 children are considered overweight or obese these days...that's CRAZY.  As an overweight teen myself, I felt alone.  Not very many teenagers were overweight as I was growing up and let's get real...I was "growing up" not that long ago.  
The report stated that our overweight/obese rate in children has tripled in the past 10 years...that's a scary statistic.  


What do you think?  Is this academy a great solution to overweight teens and their families?  

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Live Young, Get Fit!


Wow, I've been slacking here lately huh?  
I have been trying to catch up from our Disney trip and I'm getting myself ready for my very first Mud Run coming up this Saturday at 9am!  YIKES!  Let's hope I survive! 

But while I'm preparing for my son's preschool graduation tonight, I'll leave you with some pretty cool news from Evian and Jackie Warner!  





evian’s “Live Young, Get Fit!” event – a pop-up workout series led by Jackie Warner at The Grove in Los Angeles 11am on Friday June 1st if you’re in town.

Everyone who knows me knows that I believe drinking water is key to weight management.   And, for as long as I can remember, evian has been my personal and professional water of choice because it is all natural and perfectly pure,” says Jackie. “That's why I am beyond excited to be partnering up with evian for their Live Young, Get Fit! series.  Our mutual commitment to the benefits of water for health, hydration and living life to its fullest make us a great team!

During the event, Jackie will work with participants on an exclusive, high-intensity workout to a soundtrack specially curated for the event, which you can download now on http://bit.ly/GetFitMix, as well as a Q&A session and meet and greet afterwards.

The workout will also be Livestreamed on our channel http://www.livestream.com/evian- so if you can’t make the workout, we’d love to invite you to be an exclusive online host of the Livestream. The embed code that can be tweaked for your site can be found at http://www.livestream.com/evian/share. The global times for the live event are as follows:
11 am – 1 pm PST
2 pm – 4 pm EST
7 pm – 9 pm BST
7 am – 9 am UTC

About evian®
evian® is all natural and perfectly pure.
Every drop of evian® is filtered naturally through layers of glacial sand during a 15+ year journey deep in the heart of the Northern Alps, giving it the purity and taste that nature intended.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

..and he's only 12?

While on vacation I received the press release regarding, 
"Portion Size Me" a kid-driven plan to a healthier family.


I hadn't been able to read the story or post about it, and all of a sudden I see the family on the Today show this week, talking about this book and how this 12 year old boy told his mother he was fed up, was ready to stop eating fast food and it was time to get rid of those unhealthy habits. HE was ready for change and ready to help change his entire family!  
If you didn't see the coverage on Today Show, check this out:


The CDC predicts that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030, according to a new study released this week.
Currently, more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese, while 20% of kids ages 6-11 and 18% of teens ages 12-19 are obese.
12-year-old Marshall Reid used to be one of those statistics. He was obese and being teased by his classmates about his weight. Two years ago at the age of 10, Marshall decided to do something about it.
Along with his mom Alex, sister Jordan and dad Dan (who was serving in Iraq at the time), Marshall developed a plan for his family that focuses on ingredients, portions, exercise and the importance of family in preparing meals.

Marshall’s plan is called Portion Size Me and it’s also the name of his new book, Portion Size Me: A Kid-Driven Plan to a Healthier Family. The book helps families get started with a 30-day program, complete with recipes, fun facts and thoughts from Marshall, and quick tips and thoughts from Alex, and 30 recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As a result of Portion Size Me, Marshall has lost 30lbs and 4 BMI points, placing him out of the obese category. The entire Reid family has lost a collective 70 lbs. and say the experience has brought them closer together.
In fact, the family is scheduled to travel 11,000 across the country this summer in an Airstream to share their Portion Size Me program with other families!

I think this boy probably speaks for many children.  Our kids want to be active and healthy, but they aren't sure how or what to do.  We, as their parents must model these behaviors, we obviously cannot depend on the schools when a lot of our health and physical education classes are being taken away or shortened.  
It has me interested...what about YOU?

Would you read this book?

And now for my Pinterest-inspired recipe of the week:

Grilled asparagus + feta + lemon zest + olive oil
Looks SO yummy, right?  I can't wait to try it and tell ya how it turns out!
Do you love Pinterest recipes too?
My workouts are going great and although we only ran a few times on vacation (whoops!), we seemed to have gotten into the swing of things again around here!  My husband and I ran together yesterday and I tried my best to keep up, but he's so darn fast!  Ha!  I secretly LOVE that he's so fast...for some odd reason I get SO motivated by trying to keep up...whether or not I do keep up is a different story!  LOL!  
And since a trip to Disney was my Mother's Day this year, Jillian's Body Revolution hasn't made it to my door step just yet...anybody feeling generous?  Ha!







Monday, May 14, 2012

our trip and a new Athleta store!

Our 7-day DisneyWorld trip came to an end yesterday...and we were so sad to say goodbye until next time!  We had a blast and it's sure to be a 3rd birthday that our youngest will never forget!  
See ya real soon, Mickey!

 ...more pictures to share soon from our fabulous and fun-filled vacation!!!


And some exciting news from Athleta!  On May 9th, their Houston Texas store opened!  Yay!  
For those of you not from around here, there's possibly a store near you?  

Athleta is a woman-inspired store for all of us active women out there!  They carry swimsuits, yoga, running, and all other types of active wear!  You are sure to find some super cute workout attire just by visiting their website...so check it out!  

And to my surprise, Athleta had an adorable Relay Skort on my front porch when we arrived home from vacation!  Yay!  I was so excited to give it a good test "run" today and I fell in love with it!  Super comfortable, didn't move around as I ran and it fit perfectly.  I normally wear a M or L in workout bottoms and the M fit perfectly.  Snug on my thighs, so no jiggle...woohoo!  The perfect length, not too long and not too short...that's really important to me when choosing great workout clothes!  I also like the band at the bottom of the compression shorts under the skirt, it had a no-slip band in there to prevent slipping and moving around during my workout, so everything stayed in place as I ran!  Awesome!

Here's a few pics before my run this morning...

Let's keep in mind that I'm not a model and I was taking the pics of myself in the mirror!  LOL!  But ya get the idea, right?  I LOVE THIS SKORT!  Seriously great fit and you know how tough it is to find the perfect workout gear!  
I suggest shopping online or finding a store near YOU!!!  I can't wait to check out the store in person and hopefully find me a great top to wear with my skort!  Have you ever tried Athleta?  I'd love to hear what you love about their gear for active women!  
I just love when a brand gets it right and manages to find a way to properly fit EVERY woman in the right places!  Ah!  


I was able to exchange emails with Tess Roering, Athleta's VP of Marketing and she answered a few questions for me that I'd like to share with all of you,



What makes Athleta activewear different from other leading brands?

Athleta has it all—product, designed by women athletes for female athletes, for every athletic pursuit, from running to swimming to skiing to biking and everything in between. Our mission is to celebrate and serve women athletes of all levels and are unique because we offer both strength and beauty in all our products, including our lifestyle collection we call “To Fro”, referring to pieces she can where “to” and “from” all her activities. We use technical fabrications and unique designs targeted at women athletes who want high performance in the activity, and incorporate meaningful details – reflective designs on flicker points, hidden pockets with locking zippers, thumb holes, quick drying fabrics, and more. Athleta combines that with beautiful, feminine designs that make women look and feel beautiful.

Does Athleta have any plans of a young girl/teen line to promote healthy living in our younger generations?

We’re focused on designing for women athletes, so while we don’t currently have plans to expand our line, we do offer an extensive range of sizes from XXS petite to XXL tall that serve a broad range of ages and body types.

We also believe in and promote healthy living and confidence for all ages, so have become a national partner of Girls on the Run – a national non-profit prevention program that encourages pre-teen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. We will offer nationwide support as well as leverage our stores to provide additional assistance to the organization’s local chapters. In fact, in celebration of our Houston store opening, we’re making a donation to the Houston chapter of Girls on the Run and will be working locally to build awareness of this terrific program and helping them to recruit volunteers.

Anything else she'd like to share that makes active women like myself, want to shop Athleta?

We are thrilled to be coming to Houston as our amazing customers there have told us they want a place where they can touch and feel – and try on – our beautiful performance and lifestyle products. The stores will provide an opportunity for our Houston customers to do just that, as well as connect with and be inspired by other women athletes. Also, our stores have some excellent perks like really amazing customer service from our Performance Stylists (who know our performance product inside and out) as well as free Fitness Classes in our store (you can pick up a schedule at the store). And lastly, I encourage your readers to visit our blog called “Chi” – a place for women to connect and share their inspiring stories - www.athleta.net/chi/.




 **I've missed all of you and will be visiting all of you in blog land very soon...don't think I've forgotten about ya, because I'm back and ready to catch up on all of your posts too!  


Have you ever tried Athleta?
What's your favorite workout clothing brand?  Do you prefer running in shorts or skorts?
Personally, I thought I was a shorts-only gal but I'm liking this skort A LOT!


Disclosure:  I received an Athleta Relay Skort in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are 100% mine and I did not receive any further compensation for my thoughts and opinions.  



Monday, May 7, 2012

a few words...

before our Disney trip!


We are bringing our workout gear and are hoping for a few trail runs while we're there!
We plan on relaxing!  
But we also plan on having a blast riding rides, watching shows, meeting characters 
AND celebrating my littlest man's 3rd birthday while we're there!  
Can't believe when we get home, he'll be three.  Ah ok Momma, keep it together...
We plan on working on our tan 
...we will also try our best to eat nice, balanced meals while we're there but something tells me this may not happen the entire time we're there...I know we've ordered a delicious b-day cake for our boy, so maybe just one slice?
We hope our boys have a trip of a lifetime that they'll never forget!


This week's workouts were good but lots going on this week...


Yea, that's a hole in the ceiling of our master bedroom.  We had a leak and it had to be cut to find the source.  So, we are leaving for vacation with THIS nice hole, but hey...once we arrive, I'm sure we'll forget about this...right??  
We are happy to report that so far, the boys are very well and excited about our trip!
We plan on forgetting about all of this house mess while we're there, don't worry!!!


On a side note, a goal that I have for this month is to hydrate A LOT more before, during and after my outdoor workouts.  With our hot temps, it can be extremely dangerous and I've found myself running mid-day and feeling very dizzy, light-headed and I get goosebumps while drenched in sweat.  I know that's my body telling me to slow down, cool off and rest but I push through...and while it's awesome to wanna push myself further, I know that its dangerous.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate...keep that in mind during the summer months, especially if you live in an area like Texas!  Running here in the summer is sort of like running through soup...and I'm not even sure what that means!!!  LOL


and for our May Goals,
if you've set some great goals for the month of May, figure out what it will take to reach these goals, write it down and make the change.  
It may be a small goal or a small step to a much larger goal...whatever it is, keep it within reach!  Don't lose sight of that goal this month...change is possible and it's important to remember to never give up!  
Sometimes when we have a larger goal, we tend to lose sight if that change doesn't happen fast.  We all want QUICK results right?  We must understand that reaching a goal isn't going to be easy and it will take work and dedication, but once you reach that goal, it'll be a feeling like you've never felt before.  


*I am especially talking to myself when I say these words...it works!  
It's like the daily pep talk that I give myself while I'm drinking my morning coffee!!!  Ha!


Friday, May 4, 2012

a recipe from blogland!

Katherine @ Irish Italian Blessings has a guest post today from, 
Jennifer and I blog over at I Am Not Superwoman. I am a happily married, mother of 4 rambunctious kids (ok, make that 3 since our oldest is 19). I blog about everything under the sun...Nothing is off limits however it is family friendly. I recently had the chance to visit Ethiopia on a mission trip and now I have the travel bug. Our family has recently taken the plunge and have been eating a vegetarian diet for about the last month. I came up with this yummy recipe that I so eagerly want to share. If you like hummus and tuna or egg salad type sandwiches you will love this.
Here's a picture from her guest post of this yummy-looking sandwich!  looks good, right?


Chickpea Sammies. Ingredients

16 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
2 Stalks of celery (diced)
1 small onion (diced)
2-3 tbsp of Mayonnaise  (I used the mayo with olive oil)
1/2 peeled and sliced cucumber
1 small tomato (sliced)
Toasted Bread OR Pita Pockets
A dash of garlic salt
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
1. Drain can of Garbanzo beans
2. Pour into med size bowl
3. Mash Garbanzo beans (or you can use a food processor to chop them) to where they almost become a paste HOWEVER if you do this by hand they will probably be a bit chunky and that is ok.
4. Mix in mayo, diced celery, onions, garlic salt, salt & pepper.
5. Toast bread
6. Spread on to toasted bread.  Add slices of cucumber, tomato and any other vegetables you like (next time I am going to add lettuce).
EAT. ENJOY.

Did you know that 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans provide  5-7g of protein and fiber.  You do however need to check the sodium content of some brands and opt to get the lower sodium beans.
Hope you stop by my blog sometime and say hi! Thanks Katherine for letting me guest post!
 
I sure hope Jennifer at I Am Not Superwoman doesn't mind that I've borrowed her recipe to share with all of you!  I love finding simple, delicious recipes that can be thrown together on days where you don't feel like making a big mess in the kitchen!  Hm, I have days like that all of the time, you?  This can be healthy, delicious and something the whole family can enjoy!  So whatcha waiting for, go make this NOW!  I am!

Today's Workout: My husband and I both managed to wake up early before it was too hot!  I did 4 miles and my husband did 5.5!  woohoo!  It felt great and although the sun wasn't beating down on us, we were still dripping in sweat...ugh and it's only the beginning of May!  Yikes, that means August should be awfully HOT!

May 26th is the Original Mud Run and I'm a nervous wreck!
Any words of advice if you've done a mud run?  I've love to know what to expect!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

sweat.

It's so GROSS but it feels so good!  Ha!  I secretly love to get a good sweat on, how about you?  

I know that I'm working hard and burning calories and that is a great feeling!  

I decided with temps already in the mid-80's this morning, I should not clock my miles, check my calories, I should just RUN.  
And that's exactly what I did...I ran!  
It felt so good not to have a goal in mind and by the time I came home, I looked like this...and I was pretty stinky too, thank goodness you can't smell the picture!  LOL!
I have said this before, but I seriously sweat like a MAN.  It's no joke.  It's totally gross and my shirt was drenched...ewww, right?  I hope you're not eating while reading this post...
 How did YOU get your sweat on today?  
 Do you sweat like a Man too?!!

and while our little one has been battling a virus...yuck!  
My husband and I have been getting some great workouts in, which helps with the stress from taking care of a sick kiddo before our Disney trip...
now let's hope and pray that we all stay well from now through our trip too!  We were excited to find out that there's some great jogging trails at our Disney Resort, so we're definitely going to take advantage of those!  We leave in 3 days and we can hardly wait...Disney, here we come!
and thankfully little man seems back to normal today!  woohoo!  It was sure sad watching a little, almost 3 year old, feeling so sick and helpless!  Lots of Momma love seemed to help and now he's back to his old, silly self again :-)