5 Sometimes Healthy Ways to Beat Winter Gym Boredom Blues

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You wouldn’t know it if you looked at me, but I’m definitely your quintessential gym rat. I may not have bulging biceps, carry around a giant milk jug filled with protein powder or grunt when I lift weights, but I am most certainly as close to a gym rat a woman can be. As I mentioned in last week’s post, other than the kitchen, it’s sort of my happy place.

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So, it’s not surprising that most cold winter days, you can find me warming up at the gym with one of my circuit workouts. Over the years, I feel like I’ve perfected the art of getting myself to the gym whether it’s below zero or blizzard conditions. Some people complain that the gym bores them, so that’s why I use a few tricks to ensure that I’m never bored at the gym during those frigid, snowy winter months where exercising outside just isn’t an option.

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(I’m freezing my a** off…he’s getting exercise. Lucky dog.)

5 Sometimes Healthy Ways to Beat Winter Gym Boredom Blues 

1. Plan Your Entertainment: Sometimes all you need to make the time go by at the gym is some simple entertainment. For some, that may mean a good trashy magazine and a date with the elliptical machine. When I go to the gym, I like to read one of my favorite healthy living magazines, such as SELF and Shape, while I’m on the elliptical. I’ve also been known to schedule my workouts during primetime tv shows. Biggest Loser is a GREAT motivator for running ya’ll. It’s like having a trainer in your ear for free! Finally, if your gym has internet, bring your hand-dandy iPad and catch up on your favorite healthy living blogs (especially mine!). If it’s fast internet, you can catch up on your Netflix/Hulu shows OR, you can download a couple shows to your iPad through iTunes. While this does cost money, you can ask for an iTunes giftcard as a holiday gift or stocking stuffer!

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(Food Network Magazine and The Voice are great gym time entertainment)

Currently, I’m barreling my way through Parenthood on the ol’ iPad on the stairmill. I’m glad that I sweat so much on that machine because then people do not notice the buckets of tears that usually fall from me during every single episode. Continue Reading →

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How not to Kill Restaurant Patrons and Other Lessons Learned From Culinary Geniuses

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Hope everyone had a lovely weekend and got to enjoy the fall weather as much as I did (if you live in climates that actually HAVE fall). As the leaves of the mountains change color and thousands of colorful trees flank the river, fall is the time of the year that the Hudson Valley shines. I was lucky enough to show it off to some pretty special visitors: my brother and his wife.

For their birthdays, we bought them a weekend at Buttermilk Falls Inn, a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Milton hidden among 75 acres of endless tress and ponds. City friends, if you’re looking for a getaway from all the hustle and bustle, this is your place! We ate some very delicious food, walked over the Hudson River and even got to show them some of our fave HV hot spots.

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I don’t think we could have asked for a better day, and it was fun to show them around my new home.

But enough about my weekend. Let’s talk about Celebrity Cruises Healthy Living Panel at Rouge Tomate in NYC. As I mentioned on Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to this breakfast panel, moderated by editor-in-chief of Food and Wine magazine, Dana Cowin, where 4 brilliant minds in the culinary industry (including Food Network’s Chopped judge Marc Murphy) discussed healthy food trends.

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Celebrity Cruises has partnered with SPE Certified to expand its healthy dining options with scientifically-grounded, third-party validation of their merits. More on this later.

Don’t let  the word “panel” fool you into thinking that this event was boring. As we noshed on delectable cuisine prepared by Rouge Tomate, we listened to 30 minutes of lively discussion from everything to sustainable food preparation, to yes, how NOT to kill restaurant patrons.

Here are the top 5 things I learned from these culinary geniuses:

1. Killing Restaurant Patrons is Bad PR: 

I hope you gathered from my headline that I was being dramatic, but in all seriousness, this has actually become a real concern for restaurant owners and chefs? Why? Over the past decade, there has been a rapid increase in food allergies amongst both adults and children. Chefs need only worry about “the Big 8” food allergens: cow’s milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts (for example, walnuts, pecans, almonds, and cashews), fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. These foods account for 90% of food allergies and can cause life-threatening  anaphylaxis.

Does anyone remember the Sex and the City scene where Carrie claims to be allergic to parsley to make sure it doesn’t end up in her sauce?

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Sometimes Healthy Kitchen Staples

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When I first moved to the country from the city, every grocery shopping experience was an exciting adventure.

Finally, I was in stores with room in the aisles to roam around, and I didn’t need to go to 8 different stores to find everything on my list (as I had done in the city).

But, eventually the shiny new experience of shopping at a suburban grocery store wore off just a bit, and then was when I noticed I had a problem…a food shopping problem. Yep, some women spend their hard-earned dough on shoes and purses, but not me. I spend mine on Goldfish and coffee creamers.

To curb my “addiction,” I try to hit up the grocery store with a list and stick to it. The problems arise when I decide to make something for dinner and notice that I don’t have all the ingredients. This gives me another excuse to go to the grocery store, and while there, I usually do a great job of convincing myself there are a couple of extra items that I need.

There are certain items, however, that I allow myself to purchase at any time. These are my kitchen staples, and since each product generally gets a lot of usage, it never feel like a waste when I purchase them.

Kitchen Staples

You never know what you’re going to find in a Sometimes Healthy Kitchen, but I guarantee you each of these items will be there.

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Six Sometimes Healthy Snacks-on-the-Go

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In the spirit of healthy starts on the glorious fall Monday, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite healthy snacks. Let’s kick off the week on the right foot!

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I’m a huge snacker. They sometimes replace my meals, so it’s important for me to get a lot of nutrition from my snacks. In general, most of my snacks will have 250 calories and contain at least one important dietary requirement, like protein or fiber. Another requirement is that they don’t involve a lot of preparation and are easy to bring with me everywhere (especially since I’m no longer sitting in an office these days).

1. SOMETIMES HEALTHY STAPLE: VEGGIES + DIP

Gotta get my veggies yo!

Gotta get my veggies yo!

Perfect For: Pretty much any occasion. I nibble on these babies whenever I want, with one important exception: before workouts. If I eat them before i workout, I feel them jumbling around the entire time. 

How to Make It: Every Sunday, I chop up a whole bunch of vegetables, which I then throw in a plastic bag and take with my everywhere, along with some dips in small Tupperware. Favorite veggies include tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, carrots, snap peas and green beans.

Combinations: I try to add more nutrition with the dips, and here are some of my favorites:

  • Greek Yogurt + Honey Mustard (protein bonus)
  • Greek Yogurt + Avocado (healthy fats, protein bonus)
  • Cottage Cheese (protein bonus)
  • Peanut Butter (vitamin, protein bonus)
  • Laughing Cow Cheese

 

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How to Get your Post-Holiday Healthy Groove Back

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Oh, hello and welcome back from what I assume was a fun and food-filled holiday weekend. Hopefully, like many of us, your weekend started around 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon and the relaxation and indulgence continued through Sunday night.

Hopefully, you had a lot of these this weekend!

Hopefully, you had a lot of these this weekend!

I took a break from the blog this Friday (in case you haven’t noticed, I post Monday/Wednesdays/Fridays), because I was really proud of the content in my post from Wednesday and decided it needed to stay front and center for a while :-). And, although 4th of July is over, I STRONGLY suggest you try the cookie recipe. It received rave reviews from our holiday crew, even the toughest cookie critics!

I’m going to recap some of the good times from our long weekend, but then I’m going to wrap up this post with some helpful tips for getting back on the healthy train after a long holiday weekend. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling raring and ready to jump into my Sometimes Healthy routine.

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Posted in: Healthy Living, holidays, Hudson Valley, Mexican Food, tips