Jun 21, 2012

Timeout

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I need to take a timeout. Or hit the pause button. Or at least slow down a little.

I’ve got a lot going on right now, and while I like to be busy, I’ve definitely been stressing out a bit. I’ve always been the type of person who tries to do everything. Though I can usually balance it all initially, there always comes a point in time when I just can’t keep all of my plates spinning anymore. Sometimes they come crashing to the floor. Other times I manage to set them down gently.

When I started this blog just a few short months ago, I had big plans for it. I still do, I guess… I just don’t have time for it right now. If I do something, I want to do it right. I don’t like to half-ass things, and though I’ve been in denial of it for the past few weeks, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with this blog.

So I’m going to take a timeout. Worrying about blogging hasn’t been fun for me, which is the total opposite of what I wanted this to be. It’s also not fair to the few of you who do read this—no one wants to read rushed, crappy posts.

Hopefully I’ll be able to get my life under control and return to the blogosphere sooner rather than later. Until then, thanks for reading, and don’t forget about me completely. I’ll be back someday :)

Filed Under: Personal · Tagged:
Jun 19, 2012

Exhausted

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I am absolutely exhausted. I blame this entirely on my hectic work/travel schedule last week, which ended with me taking a red eye flight from Las Vegas to Newark on Saturday night and driving from Newark to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Aside from being tired (and maybe a little lazy), I have no excuse for not having a blog post for today. Oh, well.

I feel like that cat–about to pass out at any moment. I’ll write a real post for Thursday. Promise!

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Jun 14, 2012

Organized Chaos

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Yesterday was a whirlwind! After driving from Pittsburgh to Doylestown Tuesday (in eight long hours, thanks to torrential rain), I spent Wednesday at the Brad’s Raw Foods office getting to know my new colleagues. Though it was a blast and I loved everything about my day, when it was time to leave, I realized I got nothing done! Because the company is growing so quickly, the office has a very fast-paced atmosphere and is best described in two words: organized chaos.

After work, I needed to decompress a bit (before catching up on some work!), so I went to a nearby park for a short run. Unfortunately, I only had time for about 1.5 miles because it was starting to get dark. I knew I wouldn’t have time to run after work today, so I had to get my butt outta bed at 5:00 a.m. to fit a run in! Which meant I had to go to sleep pretty darn early last night (about 10:00 p.m.). Which is why this post is short and sweet!

Lake Run

This is the beautiful little lake I got to run around after work!

How do you like to decompress after a long or hectic day?

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Jun 12, 2012

Bye Bye, Corn

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Today I found out I have a sensitivity to corn.

I’m also sensitive to MSG, cats, dust and mold. However, corn had the greatest effect on me, according to the EAV test I underwent yesterday. This also upset me the most, because CORN IS IN EVERYTHING.

Let’s rewind for a second, because I’m sure most of you are wondering what the heck an EAV test is.

EAV testing, developed by Dr. Reinholt Voll in the 1940s, indirectly measures the energetic system of the body. Using electrical points in the body, the test screens for food and chemical imbalances. It’s non-invasive, quick and fairly painless (unless you find out you should avoid anything that comes in a package).

Now, back to the corn. At first, a corn sensitivity doesn’t sound so bad. I can’t have corn on the cob at picnics anymore? Oh, well. No more popcorn at the movies? I’ll live. I should avoid high fructose corn syrup? Well, shouldn’t I be doing that anyway?

It doesn’t stop there, though. You see…

Corn

It really is! (Source)

In fact, corn or corn-derived ingredients are found in almost all baked goods and pastries, candies, beers… I’d keep going, but I’ve already covered the most disappointing items. Corn and corn-derived ingredients are also disguised under many different names, including maltodextrin, dextrose and ethanol.

As you can see, this is quite the bummer, and completely eliminating all forms of corn from my diet is going to be really difficult. Luckily, I’m not severely allergic to corn like some people. I don’t break out into hives, have asthma attacks or go into anaphylactic shock. However, I have been dealing with some minor health issues lately, and I’m willing to avoid corn to find out if it’s been the cause of them. The doctor said to eliminate corn for at least a month, then reintroduce it to see how I react.

Well… Here goes nothin’.

Do you have any food sensitivities? How difficult is it to keep those foods out of your diet?

Filed Under: Nutrition Tips, Personal · Tagged: , ,
Jun 7, 2012

Green Detox Soup

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Last week, we received our first CSA share—woo hoo! I’d been looking forward to getting our first box for weeks, and I was definitely not disappointed. Our portion included a loaf of whole wheat bread, rhubarb, strawberries and a whole lotta greens!

CSA Share 1

Those were some of the best strawberries I’ve ever had!

Though I love me some greens, I’ve been having trouble eating all of this! It’s not even that I’m getting tired of it—I just can’t get through it fast enough. Not wanting my wonderful produce to go to waste, I did some Internet searching for recipes that called for a lot of spinach. After some perusing, I found one I liked: a green detox soup!

Gluten-Free Goddess’ Green Detox Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons diced onion
  • 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups fresh broccoli, cut up
  • 1/2 pound of fresh spinach leaves
  • 3 parsnips, peeled, cored, chopped
  • 2 ribs of celery, trimmed, chopped
  • 1 handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • Fresh water, as needed
  • Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
  • Lemon or lime juice, to taste

Instructions

  • Using a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger to season the oil.
  • Add the broccoli, spinach, parsnips, celery and parsley, and stir a bit until the spinach wilts and collapses.
  • Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Remember the spinach will cook down quite a bit, so don’t add too much water at first. You can always thin the soup later, if you need to.
  • Bring it to a high simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a medium simmer.
  • Cook for fifteen minutes or so until the veggies are softened.
  • Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

Green Detox Soup

Despite some minor kitchen mishaps (let’s just say trying to use my food processor in place of an immersion blender didn’t turn out so well), the soup turned out very nicely! I will say, it is a bit bland, but that’s nothing a few spices can’t fix! Besides, it is a detox soup, so it’s meant to be cleansing.

Now that I’ve gotten most of my greens off my hands, my next mission is to figure out what to do with all of my rhubarb. And to think–I’m getting my second share of veggies this afternoon!

Do you have any healthy rhubarb recipes? If so, please share!

Filed Under: Nutrition Tips · Tagged: ,
Jun 5, 2012

Five Tips to Conquer a Warrior Dash

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Now that the summer racing season is here, awesome running events are happening all over the place, and I’m SUPER excited about it. I kicked off the season with my very first half marathon, and now I’m proud to say I survived a Warrior Dash! I’ve never been so muddy and stinky in my entire life, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

My boyfriend and I, along with five of our friends, participated in a Warrior Dash in Logan, Ohio on Saturday. I wanted to do this last year, but no one else did, so I was thrilled when we managed to pull together a big group! I think we’re going to make it a yearly tradition, too, which I’m even more excited about!

In case you don’t know, a Warrior Dash is a short race (about a 5k length) with a handful of obstacles. Each course is different, but they all challenge you physically and mentally. Our course started with about one and a half mile hill (that sucked) and featured a dozen obstacles, including a cargo net-climb, a rock-filled creek and a (small) wall of fire.

Warrior Dash

Unfortunately, we lost one of our teammates—Justin went down with an ankle injury!

Though I survived, there are some things I wish I had known before the race that would have made it much easier. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I’m sharing some warrior wisdom so that any future warriors can get out there and kick some serious ass!

1. Train on hills. This is first because I think it’s the most important! I had no idea how big the first hill was going to be, and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant surprise. Now that I’ve talked to people about the race, it sounds like most courses involve a hefty hill at one point or another. Start incorporating hills into your workouts so you don’t end up sucking wind like I did!

2. Wear tight clothing. I was lucky enough to get this memo before race day, and I’m glad I did! You will get so muddy and wet that you’ll weigh an extra 10 pounds at the end of the race, and loose clothing will just hold more water and weigh you down even more!

3. Strengthen your upper body. This might not apply to everyone, but don’t neglect to strength train your upper body. Though this wasn’t an issue on too many of the obstacles, I definitely wished I had more strength in my arms and shoulders for some of them! You’ll likely have an obstacle or two that requires you to lift or pull your body weight, so be prepared.

4. Wear old (but comfortable!) shoes. Again, your shoes will get super muddy, completely soaked and basically all but destroyed—so wear a pair you don’t care too much about! A lot of people actually donate their shoes after the race (I did!), so you might want to consider that as an option. Just make sure they’re comfortable!

5. Have fun! For me, the Warrior Dash was all about having a good time, not about winning, and I think it’s much more fun that way! Get a group of friends together, pull together a costume (if you’re that coordinated) and have a blast. Events like these are all about the experience, not about setting records—unless that’s your way to have fun!

Have you ever participated in a Warrior Dash or another type of mud run? What did you think?

Filed Under: Events, Fitness Tips, Personal · Tagged: , , ,
May 31, 2012

May Foodie Penpals

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Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, I feel like summer is really here. On one hand, I’m super excited about that—I’ve got a summer filled with weddings, races and a vacation! But, on the other hand, all I can think about is how fast time is going! Example: I can’t believe it’s already been a month since my last Foodie Penpals post!

The Lean Green Bean

Last month was my first time participating in Foodie Penpals, and I’m so glad I decided to join in! This month my package came from Amanda, and she did a great job. Considering I gave her some unique guidelines (vegan, no refined sugar), she managed to pull together a great assortment of goodies!

FPP - May

That salsa was delicious!

Can’t see what’s in the photo? Here’s a list of what Amanda sent me:

  • 365 Freeze Dried Peach Slices
  • Fredericksburg Farms Old San Antonio Tomatillo Salsa
  • Primal Jerky
  • Tazo Peppermint Tea
  • Two Degrees Bars

Like I said—Amanda did a great job! I’ve been wanting to try Two Degrees bars for a while now, so I was happy to see not one, but two of them in my package (I highly recommend the chocolate banana flavor). Though I’m not much of a tea drinker, the Tazo tea was also delicious—cool, refreshing AND sweetened with stevia! Everything was awesome, but my favorite item in the package was definitely the tomatillo salsa (and my boyfriend can agree with that one). It had great flavor and an even better kick!

If Foodie Penpals sounds like something you want to try, keep reading to learn how.

  • On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get her mailing address and anything else you might need, like information about allergies or dietary restrictions.
  • You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
  • The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15, and the box must include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box to a fun recipe—use your imagination!
  • You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your package depending on its size and fragility. Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!
  • Foodie Penpals is open to bloggers as well as readers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on her blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month!
  • Foodie Penplas is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from U.S. to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for June, please click here to fill out the participation form
and read the terms and conditions. You must submit your information by June 4th, as pairings
will be emailed June 5th!

If you could create a Foodie Penpals package to send to yourself, what would it include?

Filed Under: Events, Personal · Tagged: ,
May 29, 2012

Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy

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I love summer. The days are long, there’s always something to do and life just seems to be simpler.

In an effort to keep my summer simple, I’ve decided to decrease the frequency of my posts from three per week to two per week. Though I want to continue to write this blog, lately it’s become more of a chore rather than something I enjoy.

My life has been absolutely wonderful lately—I’ve taken up running, made new friends and gotten a new job. While I truly am very happy, I’m also very busy, and when it comes down to it, I’d rather be out enjoying my life than writing about it. Decreasing my posting frequency will help with that, and I’m also hoping it’ll allow me to write better quality posts.

I hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend and have an even better summer planned. Enjoy the cookouts with delicious foods, the vacations with friends and don’t forget the sunscreen!

Filed Under: Personal · Tagged:
May 25, 2012

Become a Health Coach!

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Last October, I started one of the most exciting journeys of my life.

At a time when I was unemployed and questioning the career path I had chosen, I found the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I first saw it on a blog I read, thought it sounded cool and moved on. Then I saw it again. And again. This health coaching program I had never even heard of was now popping up all over the place, so I reached out to Emily Levenson, an IIN graduate in my area, and met with her to pick her brain about the school.

After talking to Emily, I knew IIN was the right program for me. Not only does the school teach hundreds of dietary theories, it also covers other aspects of wellness, like physical activity, emotional health and the importance of satisfying careers and relationships.

Though this all sounded wonderful, the thing I was most scared about was running my own business—I had no idea what that involved! When Emily told me that IIN covered all of this information in the curriculum AND offered a second year of instruction completely dedicated to coaching and business skills (for free!), any doubts I had disappeared.

IIN Logo

Once I decided to take this leap, I waited until a scholarship was available. I saved $500 because of it, along with another $500 for paying in full (shout out to my boyfriend for fronting the money for me!). If it wasn’t for this scholarship, I don’t know if I would have been able to enroll in this program, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like today if I didn’t.

Thanks to the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I’ve grown into a better version of myself. I’ve developed a healthier relationship with food, become more appreciate of different lifestyles, met some incredible people and even gotten a new job! My life is infinitely better because of IIN and what it’s taught me, and I’m not even finished with the program yet!

If this sounds like something you might enjoy, something you might benefit from or something you might be interested in, I encourage you to learn more. Feel free to reach out to me or do some research on your own, but don’t hesitate to explore IIN because you aren’t sure about it. From firsthand experience, I can promise you one thing: it will change your life!

If you’re already prepared to take the plunge (yay!), I have some good news: if you enroll between now and Memorial Day, you can take advantage of a $1,000 scholarship! The amount awarded depends on how you choose to pay, and I only have two to give away, so be sure to act quickly. If you’re interested in enrolling or simply want to learn more about IIN, just contact me and we can chat!

Are you ready to change your life? Contact me to learn how you can today!

Filed Under: Integrative Nutrition · Tagged: ,
May 23, 2012

Ch-Ch-Changes

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Change is good.

Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it’s scary. But it’s almost always good.

I’ve experienced a lot of changes in my life in the past year: graduating from college, enrolling in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, becoming a runner, even starting this blog! Though they’ve all been challenging in their own ways, they’ve all been incredibly rewarding, too.

Change

(Source)

I’m always looking for ways to change. Whether it’s my hair style or my fitness routine, I love learning about how I can switch things up. My most recent change? My new job with Brad’s Raw Foods!

In just a few weeks, I’ll be working on social media for “the world’s healthiest chip,” and I couldn’t be more excited! I get to combine two things I love: healthy food and social media. In other words, this job was made for me!

Even though deciding to take this job was a no-brainer for me, it was still a little scary. After all, I’ve been at my current job for almost eight months now—I know the company, the people, the culture… And now I have to learn everything all over again for a new company! But you know what?

Change is good.

Have you experienced any changes in your life recently, big or small? Share them with me!

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal · Tagged: ,
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