Accessorize!

Can a woman really have too many accessories? Sometimes the right accessory can be the key element to an entire look! Without it, you might as well be walking around with stains and holes in your clothes! Ok, that may be a little extreme...but really accessories are fun! And what could possibly be better than an accessory that helps you reach your fitness goals?!

I am now the proud owner of a brand new running belt! - what you guys don't wear belts when you run?! Fear not, neither had I. But with my new handy dandy hydration belt I can run for hours without fear of being away from my treadmill that so lovingly holds my water and snacks when necessary.

Ain't she perrrty!

So, that is the back view of the belt. Two 10 oz water bottles and a good sized pouch! It can hold your keys, phone, snack, ID, whatever. And yes, it is pretty roomy! I was easily able to fit my phone, which is in one of those monsterous otterbox cases.

The front

The front is rather plain. Not much to see here, just the velcro that holds it together! I have to say, so far I'm really a fan! I took it on a 4 mile test run yesterday, and other than the fact that one of the bottles leaked on me (my fault, didn't screw the cap on correctly!!) It went pretty well! It took some getting used to, but by about the second mile I didn't even really notice it!

I'm really looking forward to getting some use out of my new accessory! What's your favorite workout accessory?!

It's getting chili...

And who wants to eat chili without cornbread?! Not me! :) Well, actually I would eat chili without cornbread if the only choice of cornbread was highly processed, high fructose corn syrup ladden bread. But thankfully, with only a few ingredients, which you probably already have on hand, you can whip up your own delicious (and organic if you so choose) homemeade cornbread!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups milk, or butter milk if you've got it/want to make it (easy buttermilk: 1 1/4 cups milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar)
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

Let's get to cooking!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients
3. Melt the 3 tbsp of butter
4. Combine the butter, milk and eggs and whip
5. Mix the liquid and dry ingredients together and stir until just mixed
6. Pour into your greased pan, 8x8 or round pan
7. Cook for 20 minutes or until the bread browns and pulls away from the side of the pan
8. Slice and enjoy!

nom nom nom

It tastes best if you can serve it warm, but it is delicious no matter what! Enjoy along side your favorite chili or chowder, or drizzled with a touch of honey from a sweet treat!

Lunchbox

Greetings blog world! Hopefully you didn't miss me too much since it has been a few days since my last post! Don't fret none! I'm here! And today I though I'd give you a peak at my oh so delicious and nutritious lunch!

Nom nom nom

This is a typical lunch for me. Of course, things do vary from time to time, especially seasonal produce, but you get the picture. Here is what I have in store for today's lunch; An apple (gala), grapes, celery, a prune, a small sprouted wrap with hummus, spinach, and onion inside, a salad with arugula and spinach, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Yum! All organic, except for the prune and I don't think...gasp....the tomato. For shame. I did buy it at the farmer's market, but I can not say for certain that it's organic, but at the very least it is local! Oh and of course we can't forget :

H2O

You've got to stay hydrated! It's equally, if not more so, important to stay hydrated during the cool months because you tend to be in warm dry heated places. If you stay well hydrated you won't end up dealing with dry skin that won't go away, dry nose and eyes in the morning, and your workouts won't suffer! So keep up the hydration!

What does a typical lunch look like for you?



HIIT It Up!

Hello blog world! It's time for another ramped up workout edition of my blog posts! This past Sunday was such a beautiful day! The weather was cool in the morning, which is a nice change of pace for where I live, and lends itself quite nicely to working out in the great outdoors! On this beautiful morning my training buddy, Olive, and I decided to hit the ground running...or walking. We started out with a nice walk and then decided to throw in some HIIT! In case you are reading this and are unaware of what HIIT stands for, it is High Intensity Interval Training. There are many different definitions of what this means, but for me, I was walking about 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes of brisk walking with 30-60seconds of thigh burning sprints! It was great! We kept at it for about 60 minutes, including warming up and cooling down, so we definitely got a great workout! I was whipped! But it felt great! I definitely want to make Sundays my HIIT day! And that means Monday will become either a weights day or a day off!

Olive was pooped after our workout

Do you enjoy HIIT? 

Pint sized poultry

Have a delicious healthy dinner after a long busy day is probably one of life's greatest things. I know that I am always happy to sit down with my husband, kick back, and enjoy a lovely dinner and conversation. What's even better is when said dinner is quick and delicious, like one we just enjoyed the other night!

Oh the deliciousness

As you can see we had quite the spread! Wild rice, sauteed vegetable, arugula salad, red wine, and cornish hens! It was all to die for, but the little hens were especially delicious! I tried out a new recipe and it was simply delicious! And because I'm sure you'd love to prepare such a dinner yourself, here is the recipe (And trust me, it's a cinch!) :

Ingredients :

• 2 Cornish hens  
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade  
• 1 tablespoon bold and spicy mustard  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger  
• 1 tablespoon salt-free herb-and-spice steak sauce

Rinse your  hens and remove the skin and fat. Cut the hens in half lengthwise, and set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat until heated through. Cook hens, bone side up,on a covered grill for about 15 minutes. Baste the hens with the orange glaze, and turn over. Grill an additional 10 minutes or until done. Be sure to baste as you go!

 

It's as easy as that! And then enjoy!

Bon appetit!

Adventure Time part 2

The adventure continues...

So on the second leg of our adventure we decided to stick a little closer to home, and better yet, to include Olive! Like I said previously, we have lived here for a while, but there are still many places we have left untouched! Slowly though, I am hoping to unturn each local stone, or at least many of them. On this particular day it was unseasonably cool and comfortable so I knew we had to do something outdoorsy and adventurous! We, I, realized that one place we hadn't gone to but had been wanting to check out had great potential for our day; so we headed out!

It was a beautiful day for a "hike" in the woods of Florida! We decided to check out the local park that had great hiking and biking trails, as well as one of the countries first forts. Sadly, we didn't see much wildlife, the typical squirrels, and a few birds, but no alligators even though there were warning signs along the paths to look out for them! We did, however, see a spider making it's web :

Can you see it in the foreground?



Olive really enjoyed being with us and smelling all the news smells and hearing the chatter of the forest. She even tried her hand..paw?..at stalking some prey!

The great hunter

Trail hound

We even saw some old ruins from when the fort was active and before the light house was created.

Was once an oil house

An oil house is a place that, taadaa, they held oil for the beacons to help guide the ships around the coast of the island. On the placard they said it was typical to find only the remains of the oil houses and no signs of the beacon because the beacons were made of wood, where as the oil houses were made of bricks. They were also kept far away to prevent the spread of fire in case of an explosion.

All in all we had a great time!

What I eat when I'm alone....

We've all heard of closet eaters, right? They hide what they're eating from everyone because they don't want people to know that they are eating a bag of donuts or an entire pizza. Well, sometimes I too am a closet eater..... But it's not what you think!

I am here to confess that many times while my husband is working late and I am on my own for dinner, I eat some slightly different things. Like vegan cheese..... What is that? .....and vegetables I haven't tried in a few years because I didn't think I liked them.

So the other night whilst alone, I made a grilled eggplant with cheese, grilled onion, arugula, and tomatoes. It was great!!!! :) but definitely not my hubby's idea of a great dinner.

Do you "closet eat" healthy things while you are alone?