Favorite Reads from Around the Web

Happy Friday! I'm linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, Mar on the Run and You Signed Up for What?! for the Friday Five Linkup. This week's theme is "Goals" but I'm on a monthly goal schedule and I NEED these remaining 6 days to check everything off. So I'm breaking the rules (surprise surprise) and sharing my favorite reads from around the web. In 5 categories. Guess I'm not THAT much of a rule breaker.

Vegan Recipes

That vinaigrette sounds amazing! Spelt Tabbouleh with Jalapeño Vinaigrette

Breakfast or dessert? Doesn't matter. Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole

Mmm even chili can be vegan! Vegan Slow Cooker Caramelized Onion Chili

Food and Diet

So refreshing! Why I Won't Diet for My Wedding
Am I just eating this because it’s here? ‘Situational Eating’ and How It Keeps You Struggling

Fitness

I'm OK (mostly) not being an American Ninja Warrior. Why It’s Okay to Say NO to Extreme Fitness

Can we please put this to rest already? The Biggest Myth in Women's Fitness

Transformation Stories

LOVE her story and her attitude! Monday Motivation: Meredith’s Story

From covering-up to competitive bodybuilding. So inspiring! Featured Fitale – Tisha Harrell

LOL

Totally have seen this. Things That Happen When A Betch Goes On A Diet

Q: What have you been reading lately? 

Five Favorite Spotify Workout Playlists

Happy Friday! I'm linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, Mar on the Run and You Signed Up for What?! for the Friday Five Linkup. This week's theme is "Friday Favorites" but I'm pretty indecisive and have a lot of favorite things. So to narrow it down, I decided to share 5 of my current favorite workout playlists.

I don't know about you but music can totally make or break a workout for me. But I have the attention span of a toddler and hate spending time crafting the perfect playlist, plus I get sick of music quickly. Spotify is perfect for me because there are TONS of free playlists that someone else spent the time making. Genius. Here are my current top Spotify exercise playlists.

Billboard Exercise Songs

Super eclectic and hard core, this playlist is just what I need to get pumped up for a tough run or lift. 

 


Revolve Run

This list is put together by my favorite Spin studio in DC, Revolve Fitness. It has more of a variety of song tempos and I like it for long cardio sessions.

FitSugar 90s Workout Jams

The 90s are totally back in a big way (have you SEEN all the sunflowers at Forever 21 lately) and there's nothing like some oldies but goodies for adding an extra burst of happy to your workout.

Filtr US' Ultimate Make You Sweat Playlist

This playlist is super pop-y and is over EIGHT HOURS long, giving you plenty of music to listen to without getting bored.

FitSugar Cardio: Hip-Hop

I really love the mix of songs on this list since they aren't ones I constantly hear on the radio now. As an added bonus, the included songs are all the clean radio versions so it's good to go if you need music to play out loud.

Q: What's your favorite music to exercise to? Are overalls and REALLY back? Do I need a pair or am I too old for that?

Friday Favs - Trader Joe's Finds Part II

It's Friday!! Super exciting but also super scary because it means I'm only eight days away from the Santa Barbara Chardonnay 10-Miler! That's right, with all your support/peer pressure I actually pulled the trigger and bought a race registration. And three wine tasting tickets. Don't worry, they're not all for me. Unless the race goes REALLY badly. Or really well :)

Even thought it's scary I'm really excited to be running this first race in my new town. I've mentioned before how much more having such beautiful scenery and weather has made me like running, and the course is supposed to be super pretty so I'm excited to use picture taking as an excuse to take breaks share lots of race pics with you.

Something else I've been growing to like since my move is having Trader Joe's as my main grocery store. It's kind of annoying sometimes because I have to make multiple trips to find things like aluminum foil, dried chickpeas or turnips. But on the upside it has given me the chance to try a lot of cool new Trader Joe's foods. 

I shared a few favorite Trader Joe's products back in September, but since I've been trying a lot of new things lately I'm joining in the DC Trifecta's Friday Five linkup with five favorite recent Trader Joe's finds.

1. Cruciferous Crunch Collection

As you can probably tell if you've seen my Instagram lately, I'm OBSESSED with this new salad mix from Trader Joe's. The mix of kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and green and red cabbage is so full of texture and makes for a great hearty salad or stir fry that keeps even me full.

2. Sparkling Mineral Water

I'm probably way late to the party, but I did not know that Trader Joe's sold delicious and cheap flavored mineral water. This is a great, healthy alternative to sugary sodas and it's my current non-water beverage of choice. The lemon and lime flavors are my favorite!

3. Organic Dark Chocolate

Trader Joe's has a lot of great chocolates but this is my current favorite. It's dark, rich, organic, and was only $1.99 a bar!

4. Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burgers

I first saw these on this list of healthy veggie burgers made from ingredients you can recognize and looked for them the next time I was at Trader Joe's. I love that they are GMO free and made from mostly whole ingredients, and I love that you can taste the veggies. And they're pretty cheap for a veggie burger.

5. White Cheddar Corn Puffs

As you may have seen in my last WIAW post, these are my newest cheesy, salty, snacky obsession. I'm a huge fan of Pirate's Booty, but I may like these even more because this whole giant bag was only $1.99! Warning: extreme danger of eating the whole bag.

Q: Are you a Trader Joe's fan? Any favorite food finds lately?

Five Favorite Fitness Activities

Happy Friday! As usual, I'm linking up with Fitting It All In's Five Things Friday and DC Trifecta's Friday Five. And because today's theme is favorite fitness activities, I'm also joining Fitness Friday. Fun! But first, I have an epic Friday fail to share with you.

I biked to work yesterday (pats self on back) and went running right after work (pats self on back again). Per my 10 mile training plan, it was an easy 3 mile run. Finished in 35 minutes, took some cell phone pics, and was feeling great. Until I tried to go back to my office to collect my wallet, keys, and bike.

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The garage was locked and I couldn't get in using my key code. I had my office key with me, but not the right key for getting into the building. And then my phone died. Cue massive panic attack.

Luckily, my housemate's office is right next door and she was working late and could give me a ride home. And double lucky that I have a car as well as a bike so I can get to work tomorrow. But still a pretty stupid way to end the day that got me home (and writing this!) a couple hours later than normal.

Anyways, back to my five favorite fitness activities. This was both like asking me to choose between my favorite children and least hated form of torture, so I'm a little conflicted. But here's what I came up with:

1. Volleyball

By now you probably know that I played volleyball in college and I still play on a ton of rec league teams. I love the competition, the team work and the versatility.  You can play it indoors and on the beautiful California beach, 6s or doubles, women's or coed. So many options and I love them all!

2. Flag Football

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I love flag football because it makes me feel like such a beast! My favorite thing is sacking the quarterback and I once threw a game winning touchdown. (I also threw a season ending interception, but we won't go into that) Super bummed that Santa Barbara doesn't have a coed league :(

3. HIIT

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I love HIIT (high intensity interval training) because it's super intense but over super quickly. Perfect for people with busy schedules and short attention spans like me. You can find a couple of my favorite HIIT routines here.

4. Group Fitness Classes

Something about exercising to music with a crowd of people gives me a much better workout than doing it alone. Exhibit A: the Zumba class I've been attending. Picture a giant ballroom with an amazing instructor on stage and 100+ people grooving to the beat. Or just watch the above video. You can't help having fun despite sweating buckets.

5. Running

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I've been running a lot lately and promised to run even more before the end of the year. But until recently I really only ran to consume massive quantities of food and/or alcohol after (ok, that's still the best way to get me to run). I can't say I love running. But I don't hate it with an undying passion anymore. Good enough for #5 in my book.

Q: What are your favorite fitness activities? Have any epic running or life fails lately?

Friday Five - The Big 100

This is my ONE HUNDREDTH blog post!!

I can't believe I've written 100 posts since I started this blog in...(let me look that up)...July! I've really enjoyed this whole blog thing way more than I thought I would and it's been great to document my healthy living journey. I've also loved getting more involved in the blog community and interacting with other great bloggers. Ok let me stop before I tear up.

After trying hard (ok not that hard, but I did try) to come up with a post worthy of this momentous occasion, I decided to join in DC Trifecta's Friday Five and Fitting it All In's Five Things Friday link ups with a look back through my favorite blog moments.


5 Favorite Recipes

One of the best things about starting this blog is how it's encouraged me to try new recipes and get creative in the kitchen. Before blogging, I was pretty lazy about cooking, unimaginative in the kitchen, and always always followed the recipe. Now I'm still lazy and mostly cook fast and easy recipes, but I'm not at all afraid of experimenting and have made a lot of my own recipes. 

1. Vegan Holiday Quinoa

2. Vegan Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili

3. Gluten Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls

4. Cranberry Pear Baked Oatmeal

5. Gluten Free Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

5 Favorite Workouts

Blogging has also pushed me to try new workouts. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to fitness now--after getting lost in the woods I figure I can handle almost anything!

1. My First 5K

2. Fast and Free At-Home Cardio Workouts

3. Run for the Wounded Warriors 5K/How I Got Lost in the Woods

4. Terrapin Adventures Ropes Course

5. Revolve Spin Class


5 Most Viewed Posts

Going back and looking at my blogger stats for my most viewed posts was interesting. Guess I should review more stuff, huh?

1. Reebock CrossFit Nano 3.0 Review

2. Betty Rocker 30 Day Bodyweight Shred Review

3. Blogilates July Calendar Review

4. Zucchini Banana Coconut Flour Muffins

5. Meal Prep Monday: Veggie Style


Q: Anything you would like to see more of in my next 100 posts? :)

Friday Favs - New Years Inspiration

Happy last Friday in 2013! Does that freak anyone else out? Can't believe 2013 is almost over!

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So much has happened in the past few weeks and so much is changing that I have no idea at all what 2014 will bring. Definitely terrifying, but also exciting! So for this week's Five Things Friday link-up, here are five of my favorite inspirational quotes to get you started in the new year.

 

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Friday Favs - YouTube Fitness Channels

Happy Friday! I can't believe there's only 5 days left until Christmas!! Anyone else freaking out about how fast the year is going by? 

Since I've been trying to squeeze every penny out of my LivingSocial gym membership, I've gotten away from my cheap frugal roots and haven't shared as many free home workout resources as usual. To make up for it, I'm joining the Five Things Friday Link Up with five of my favorite YouTube fitness channels for great FREE! workouts.

1. BeFiT

The BeFiT channel from Lionsgate is new to me. With new workouts every single weekday from famous fitness trainers like Jillian Michaels, and great structured  30-day programs, I'm not sure how I could have missed it for so long!

2. Blogilates 

As I've said before, Cassey Ho of Blogilates fame has some of the best/most painful Pilates videos around (check out my review of her workout calendar here). And even though her workouts are super challenging, Cassey's energy makes working through the burn a little easier.

3. FitnessBlender

FitnessBlender is another resource that I know I've mentioned a lot on the blog, but I couldn't possible leave them off this list. The sheer volume and variety of high-quality workout videos on their YouTube channel (300+!) is amazing and I especially love that they have challenging full-length workout videos in addition to quicker options.

4. Jessica Smith TV

I first found Jessica Smith through her awesome (and free!) 10 pounds down workout series on my cable TV On Demand. I love that she releases new workout videos every week and that there are options for all fitness levels. Her walking exercise series is a great low impact option for beginners or people with injuries.

5. Tone It Up

Karena and Katrina, certified personal trainers and makers of the extremely popular Tone It Up nutrition plan, offer workout videos, healthy eating recipes and regular social challenges on their YouTube channel. Their videos have a fun Cali vibe, are shot amid beautiful scenery, and I love that they have a lot of quick workouts that you can pair to make a full workout or squeeze in when you are pressed for time.

Q: What's your fav YouTube fitness channel? Any other favorite free workout resources?

Friday Favs - Cold Weather Running Gear

Happy Friday! This month's NatureBox (<-this link that get's you 50% off your first box and $10 credit for me) came in yesterday so I've been happily snacking away. I'll, give you a run down of what's in the box sometime soon but am trying to not use the blog as an excuse to eat all the snacks immediately this time :)

In other news I have been running a lot more than usual thanks to Pile on the Miles 2013, including running outside. Even though it is cold out. And I hate the cold. Here's some of my fav gear I've used to help my starts-to-whine-when-it-drops-below-50 self brave the elements.

Under Armour ColdGear Fitted Crew

I have a couple ColdGear compression mock turtlenecks, which I like for the warmth and the nice squeeze-you-in feel of the compression fit, but I don't feel like I can wear them without a t-shirt or something on top. They are just so...tight. I like that this shirt is fitted instead, so it's still tight enough that it doesn't flap around or anything, but I feel like I can wear it on its own. It is also plenty warm enough for 40 degree weather, even for a cold-weather wimp like me. 

Nike Therma-Fit Reversible Headband

My ears get cold when it gets below 50, but hats don't stay on my head when I have my pair in a ponytail. A warm headband provides a great solution, and doubles by keeping the hair out of my face. I have the older version of this headband and I love that one side is warm and fleecy and the other side is not, making it wearable in a wide range of temps.

Under Armour ColdGear Compression Leggings 

I was skeptical about these leggings before I tried them out. They are supposed to be compression but they didn't feel that tight on me (maybe I needed a small?!?) and they also felt much thinner than my old Nike Therma-Fit leggings, so I was doubtful they would keep me warm enough. But somehow the magic/fabric-technology they put in these pants really works! They kept me really warm on two sub 40 degree runs, and almost TOO warm on a 45 degree day, which never happens to me.

Runner's World LED Armband

Ok so this doesn't really help with the cold, but along with the cold weather winter has also brought ridiculously early sunsets. Since I am not a morning person, running outside sometimes means running in the dark. This band has LED lights and is also reflective, providing added visibility to help me run safely after sundown.

Reebok ONE Polar Fleece Jacket

This jacket is REALLY warm, maybe even too warm for 40 degrees even for me. I also love that it has a lot of reflective threading throughout for improved low-light visibility. And it has thumbholes! I love thumbholes! Side note: Anyone else go cross-eyed during mirror selfies? Just me? Typical.

Q: Do you run outside in the winter? (if it's actually cold in winter where you are) Any favorite tips or cold-weather gear?

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with any of the above companies and paid for all the above gear myself. I won't get anything if you purchase the above products except the satisfaction of making your life just a little bit better. Which actually sounds like a pretty great perk. So go try this stuff out! :)

Friday Favs - Fitness Apps

Happy Friday! I just got a really exciting (and large!) package in the mail thanks to winning a giveaway from Fit Bottomed Eats. More on that to come. Gotta build up that anticipation :)

Y'all know I'm cheap fiscally responsible, so I don't pay for a gym membership and relay a lot on free Youtube workout videos and fitness apps to stay in shape. For this week's Friday Favs, I thought I'd give you a look at some of my favorite (free!) fitness apps.

Nike Training Club

According to Nike, Nike Training Club is like having "your own personal trainer, anytime, anywhere" and I agree! The app includes over 100 workouts developed by Nike professional trainers and there are really clear photo as well as video instructions for each move. I love that all the workouts are interval training so you get an effective and efficient workout and that there is so much variety. My favorite workouts are the 15 minute "get focused" routines that target a specific body part. 

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a free calorie counter that has both a desktop and mobile app. Now I have a love/hate relationship with counting calories (hate how time consuming it is and how it makes me obsess about numbers, love that it's the only thing that has ever helped me lose weigh) but I have to admit that it is MUCH easier to do with MyFitnessPal than when I did it back in college before smart phones (yea and we walked to school barefoot uphill both ways too). MyFitnessPal claims to have the largest food database of any calorie counter, and it is definitely gratifying to be able to scan or search and find most ingredients with no problems. Being able to find nutrition info for major restaurant chains is also really helpful for making healthy choices on the go.

MapMyRun

Since I started running outside while training for my first 5k (I know, who even am I right now?) having a great GPS running tracker has been key. I love being able to track my speed, pace, and distance to keep my training on track. It's also really helpful to search what MapMyRun says is the world's largest database of running, walking and cycling routes to find new training runs. One of my favorite features is the ability to set customized audible cues so I can monitor my distance and pace without having to look at my phone.

Gymboss Interval Timer
(Android, iOS)

I love HIIT (high intensity interval training) and having a good timer is super helpful for doing HIIT routines. Gymboss sells small, fairly inexpensive interval times that I have heard good things about, but they also make a free mobile app! Admittedly, the app is a little buggy and hard to figure out. But once you get the hang of it, it's also really customizable, allowing you to make and save multiple timers with different intervals. For example, I have a tabata timer which has 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, and a 1 min on 20 seconds off timer which I've used to do a lot of the Blogilates POP HIITs.

Q: What are your favorite fitness apps? Any other tips for getting fit on the cheap?

Friday Favs - Health and Fitness Blogs

Happy Friday! How's your week been? I have to say I'm not a big fan of this whole daylight saving time/pitch black at 5 o'clock thing. On the other hand, I did manage to actually wake up in time to do morning workouts every day this week, so maybe it isn't all bad.

But I'm still going to plead time-change related exhaustion as an excuse for just popping in with another brief Friday Favs post. 

I love reading blogs and am always on the lookout for great new sites to follow. If you love health and fitness blogs too, (and I hope you do, because otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. unless you're my mom. hi mom!) here's a few of my favorites to check out.

The Lean Green Bean

Lindsay is a Registered Dietitian, so you know she knows her stuff and that her recipes don't just look good but are good for you too. Her blog is full of beautifully photographed, delicious recipes (I've made her black bean burgers and Greek yogurt chicken and they were both really good!) as well as great workouts and nutrition tips. What really sets Lindsay apart to me, though, is how much she does to build the whole healthy living community. She has a great weekly meal prep series where she features meal preps from contributors (including yours truly) and has an awesome Foodie Penpal program I am joining for the first time this month.

Run Eat Repeat

Monica is a serious runner. Since starting her blog to document training for her first marathon, she has run way more races than I can comprehend. I, on the other hand, am a terrible runner and just completed my first 5K. So you wouldn't think there would be a lot about Monica's blog that I would relate to. But in addition to running tips that are useful for all levels, Monica writes with so much humor and personality that I love reading all her posts, no matter what the subject. Seriously, this is probably the only fitness blog that routinely makes me LOL. Which can be awkward at times if I'm on the metro or at the office... 

Fit Bottomed Girls

Fit Bottomed Girls, along with its sister sites Fit Bottomed Eats and Fit Bottomed Mamas provides a TON of great content and a great variety of health and fitness content. I'm talking recipes, exercise tips, fitness related news, thought provoking opinion pieces, and really awesomely honest reviews. I also just really love the attitude with which they approach fitness, with humor and a really fun energy and the mantra that "fit bottoms come in all shapes and sizes."

Skinnytaste.com

Gina's blog features "healthy dishes that don't sacrifice any of the flavor that can be found in their full-fat origins" and she focuses on making her recipes must be both "skinny" and "tasty". I've made versions of her Crock pot Meatballs, Italian Spinach Meatballs and Meatloaf Cupcakes and loved how easy and delicious they were. Her blog is also a pleasure to read because all her food photos are so beautiful. 

Q: What are your favorite health and fitness blogs?