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

WIAW: Snap, Crackle, Pop!

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I’m proud to report that I’m feeling much better and can finally eat more than soups and ice cream! Just in time for “What I Ate Wednesday” (WIAW).

This festive edition of WIAW features not only my meals, but also a workout for your holiday weekend and a tasty cookie recipe that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.

I have a lot to cover, so let’s dive right into breakfast!

Favorite Childhood Breakfast?

When I was younger, french toast was one of my favorite breakfasts. It always felt so luxurious! We never ate it at home, so I always ordered it when we went out to breakfast. I therefore assumed that it was very difficult to make it home.

Now, that I’m older, I realize that french toast is actually very easy to whip up, so easy that I can make it in a flash on a weekday! I dipped some wheat bread in a simple  mixture of 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup egg substitute and some cinnamon and vanilla . Then, I fried it up, and smeared it with a heaping tablespoon of butter and apple butter.

Sometime Healthy Chef Special...comin' right up!

Sometime Healthy Chef Special…comin’ right up!

Fancy breakfast in five minutes! I’m special.

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Posted in: cookies, Recipes, WIAW, workouts \ Tagged: , , , , , ,

10 Sometimes Healthy Tips for First Time Marathoners

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This weekend I learned that it’s not very easy to write a healthy living blog if you’re not feeling healthy. I’m still sick, so much of my weekend was spent indoors ignoring the beautiful weather outside, with the exception of a few much-needed puppy walks.

The last thing I want to do right now is run a marathon, but, as you may or may not know, I have indeed run a few marathons. So today, I’m going to share with you some tips for marathon success. Enjoy!

This rather unattractive picture of me shows most of the medals I’ve won over 8 years of running races, many of them marathons and half marathons. In total, I have run 3 marathons and 12 half marathons, with many 10Ks, 5Ks, etc. mixed in between.

This pic was taken when I moved out of NYC. I was sick then too...I looked about as good that day as I do right now.

This pic was taken when I moved out of NYC. I was sick then too…I looked about as good that day as I do right now.

While I am by no means a professional runner, I’ve run in enough races to share a few tips for success while training, before, during and after your first long race.

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Posted in: Races, Runs \ Tagged: , ,

Smoothies, Soups and Finding Myself in Felicity

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It’s Friday, and it’s usually time for another kitchen adventure. I was very excited for this week’s adventure: homemade pie. Just in time for the 4th of July! I’ve never made a pie crust for scratch, and I’ve heard it’s quite difficult. However, I’m in a never-ending quest to become semi-Martha Stewart, so I wanted to give it a whirl.

However, instead of baking a pie on Thursday, I found myself practically glued to the couch with a sinus infection. I barely had enough energy to take the dog for a short walk, let alone make a pie. So, instead, I felt sorry for myself and waited for the pity party and violins to show up. Woe is me.

It never happened…and Cole glared at my all day, as if to say, “If you’re going to just sit there, don’t be useless. Play with me!”

Slide1For the past two days, I’ve done nothing but watch useless reality television, search for meaning in nostalgic 90’s tv shows and experiment with smoothies and soup. We’ll get to Felicity at the end, but first, let’s talk smoothies and soup.

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Posted in: Recipes \ Tagged: , , ,

WIAW: When the Cat’s Away…

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It’s that time of the week again! The time where I try (but usually fail) to make my meals look pretty and appetizing for WIAW.

The BF is away on business at the moment (but luckily I have lots of friends coming to keep me company in this big house!), so I decided that this week I would cook and bake all of the foods that the BF doesn’t eat. I also wanted to keep it pretty healthy after all of the fried food and candy we ate in Nashville.

Unfortunately, I’m a bit under the weather today, so this post may be uncharacteristically short (you’re welcome).

Let’s start with breakfast, where I brought back an old favorite…

Guess what these are??

Guess what these are??

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Posted in: Quick Dinners, Recipes, WIAW \ Tagged: , , , , ,

Nashville Recap: Country Music and Candy-Filled Dreams

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Howdy everyone!

I’m back in the North part of the USA…does that mean I can’t use words like “howdy” and “ya’ll?” Indulge me for a while…

I had a great time in Nashville, but I sure am glad to be back to my Sometimes Healthy Life in NY. A girl can only drink so many beers and eat so much fried food before she’s itchin’ for a salad.

I stayed in the city yesterday after returning from Nashville, so the first thing I did when I arrived was head on over to Michelle’s apartment in Gramercy and throw on my running shows. I did a quick 6 miles on the east river path down to my favorite spot, the lower east side track. I’m accustomed to running lots of hills upstate, so my pace was almost 1 minute faster (8:15 per mile) on the flat ground!

Hello Special Place! I've missed you.

Hello Special Place! I’ve missed you.

But, let’s get to the Nashville recap, shall we. This is a lengthy post, so grab a coffee and make yourself comfortable, partner!

Saddle up!

Saddle up!

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Posted in: Vacations \ Tagged: , , ,

A Natural Boy Meets an Artificial Girl

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Howdy from Nasvhille ya’ll! We’ve been here less than 24 hours, and the city has delivered everything we had hoped for: country music, country music and more country music!

Hi from Music City!

Hi from Music City!

The level of musical talent in this city is truly unbelievable! Today we’re headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the famous Bluebird Cafe to catch a show. I’ll have a full recap on Monday, but for now, please enjoy this picture of my newly converted cowboy!

Yeehaw! Cowboy, take me away!

Yeehaw! Cowboy, take me away!

And they say you can’t change a man. Before we met, the BF hated country music and everything associated with it. Now, he’s rockin’ those cowboy boots and singing along to his favorite tunes at the top of his lungs. I’m a proud woman!

Speaking of changes for the better, today I’m going to tell you a story about two very different approaches to food.

When I met the BF, we did the typical thing that you do when you first start dating: you slowly reveal parts of yourself and let the other person in to who you REALLY are. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes, not so good.

I like goldfish pretzels and lemonade. Is that cool with you?

I like goldfish pretzels and lemonade. Is that cool with you?

After a few weeks of things going well, I decided it was time to tell him about the blog. Also, because I needed to bake cupcakes over the weekend for Cupcake Mondays, and I was always staying up at his house on Sunday nights!

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Posted in: Hudson Valley, Life Changes, You're Never Too Old \ Tagged: , , , , ,

WIAW: The Return of the Egg Muffin

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Back at Sometimes Healthy Living Blog (The First Edition), I wrote about egg muffins all the time. (Just for fun, let’s call this next chapter of blogging in the Hudson Valley “Second Edition.” Makes me feel special.)

Anyway, when I lived in NYC, there is nothing I loved more then throwing some eggs and toppings in a muffin pan, baking them for a few minutes and then marveling at my super-sophisticated breakfast. A studio kitchen could not hold me back!

Firecracker Egg Muffins: Beets, Blueberries, Cream Cheese and Raisins. A must-have for 4th of July.

Firecracker Egg Muffins: Beets, Blueberries, Cream Cheese and Raisins. A must-have for 4th of July.

Although I have heard that egg muffins are SO 2012, I just couldn’t resist whipping some up yesterday for old time’s sake. Perhaps it’s because I’m inching closer to my 30th birthday (more on that later) and feeling nostalgic for my “younger days.” I can’t think of a better way to kick off this week’s WIAW than with the classic, yet always reliable egg muffin. If you’ve never heard of egg muffins (still boggles my mind that some of you haven’t!), prepare to be amazed…

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Posted in: Recipes, Wacky Food Combos, WIAW \ Tagged: , , , , , ,

Three Summer Grilling Must-Haves

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It was another weekend of firsts for this Sometimes Healthy country girl in the Hudson Valley: first time manning the grill!

Check out that focus!

Check out that focus!

I always leave the grilling to the BF, even when I prep the food. Grilling always seemed too complicated for me. Also, I like our house, and I don’t think the BF would be too please if I set it on fire while I tried to figure out how to work the grill.

However, the BF did a couple of nice things for me this weekend, so I decided I needed to repay him with a tasty meal. And the weather was beautiful on Saturday, so it just had to be on the grill.

Here’s a quick rundown of the menu for our Saturday Night Sometimes Healthy Grill Out

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Posted in: Grilling, Kitchen Adventures, Recipes \ Tagged: , , , , ,

Kitchen Adventures: Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies

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It’s Friday, and I’m very excited to share my very first COOKIE recipe on the Sometimes Healthy Living Blog.

This is huge news. But you must endure a story before we get to the recipe (trust me, it’s worth the wait).

It doesn’t take much perusing on my little blog to see that I’m a big fan of cupcakes. I like them so much that I created a Cupcake Monday at my last job and served my lucky coworkers a different cupcake creation every Monday.

I HEART cupcakes. Big time.

I HEART cupcakes. Big time.

I am not quite sure why I have such an affection for cupcakes, but it has something to do with the fact that I love frosting, cake and sprinkles, all of which you can usually find on a cupcake. In addition, there is little finesse involved in mixing up a cupcake batter and then just plopping it into a muffin pan. You can get all pretty with the frosting if you want, but why bother? It will likely be smushed in transit.

Add some fruit on top, and poof, you've got an elegant creation (this particular cupcake pulled in some $ for Breast Cancer Awareness!)

Add some fruit on top, and poof, you’ve got an elegant creation (this particular cupcake pulled in some $ for Breast Cancer Awareness!)1

Anyway, for some reason, as much I as I adore my cupcakes, I have always had quite a distaste for cookies. I just never felt as satisfied after eating a chocolate chip cookie. Where is the frosting? Why is it so small? Am I supposed to eat JUST one? And when it came to making cookies, forget it. If ever I had a request, I would promptly go to the store, buy a roll of Nestle cookie dough and call it a night. (I would usually burn these cookies too). Or, I would make “cake cookies.”

Why? Because cookies are downright complicated. The measurements must be exact. The temperature must be just right and the dough must be the perfect consistency to achieve your desired cookie. Do you want your cookie to be crispy, chewy or airy? All choices require changing some tiny inconspicuous variable. And, this Sometimes Healthy Girl had no time for all of these variables.

Apparently cookies are kind of a big deal around the holidays. I'll eat them, but I won't bake them!

Apparently cookies are kind of a big deal around the holidays. I’ll eat them, but I won’t bake them!

Enter a boyfriend who hates cake and cupcakes and loves cookies.

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Uh oh.

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Posted in: cookies, Kitchen Adventures \ Tagged: , , , , , ,