I’m a fan of both of these leafy greens and tend to interchange them in recipes and smoothies. I mostly lean towards spinach as my go to green, but I’ve always wondered which was actually better for me. I stumbled upon this infographic and thought I would share!
*Infographic courtesy of Prevention.com – Click on the image above to visit the original*
Filed under Health & Fitness
No, no, no…there is no baby on the way here, or in the future. This mama is done with that road in life, but let me tell you… If you are expecting and are into fitness, you have to check out FitBump!
I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of FitBump, Kira Kohrherr, as well as her PR rep Liz Graham a week ago, while attending The Brooklyn Baby Expo. At the time, I didn’t realize that Kira also designed a full line of maternity fitness apparel, but as soon as I saw it, I was in love!
This line, which is due out in July 2013, is full of fun colors and cute prints, plus it sports flattering silhouettes that celebrates the bump, while the active-chic styles easily transition from the gym to everyday wear!
One of the things I hated most while pregnant, was constantly having to buy new clothes to fit my ever growing belly. With FitBump’s revolutionary design you don’t have to, because it expands over nine months and then retracts as your post-baby body gets back into shape. How awesome is that?!
Seeing this line almost made me wish I was pregnant, but then reality hit me, I heard a room full of fussy infants and I remembered how much I love to sleep.
FitBump just launched their new website about two weeks ago, and it was created as a one-stop-shop to help wellness-focused women make mindful, educated decisions throughout their pregnancy and beyond.
Their site offers a community with advice from wellness experts and real moms. There are also categories you can browse including Fitness, Nutrition & Recipes, Mommy & Baby Care, Style, Holistic Health, and Green Living.
FitBump doesn’t stop there! They also offer products to make living a healthy life easy and fun. One of the services they offer is called Thrive Foods, which is a specialty meal delivery service. It provides nutrient-dense dishes for moms-to-be and new moms. This farm-to-table option is delivered in 5 or 7 day meal plans. The plant-based, gluten-free meals are prepared in Oxnard, CA and shipped overnight in sustainable, recyclable packing. Nothing is frozen and an air-lock system keeps food fresh and healthy. Click here for more information on this service.
As you can see, FitBump has a lot offer to mom-to-be, so make sure you visit their site, check out the amazing fitness apparel and maybe even give this Total Body Workout a shot!
If you order something from their maternity fitness line, I would love to hear what you think about it, so be sure to stop back and give me a full report!
Also, a big thank you to Kim and Nicole from A Child Grows and Melissa Chapman for allowing me to be a part of the #BklynBabyExpo!
Filed under Fashion, Health & Fitness, House/Fashion/Beauty
One of my favorite comfort foods has always been Baked Ziti. There is just something about warm, gooey, melted cheese and pasta that makes me happy. Team that up with some fresh baked Italian bread (preferably from Brooklyn) and I’m on cloud nine!
The problem is, that as I have become healthier over the years, but I still crave that type of meal. My body now rejects high fat foods and processed carbs. I end up feeling sluggish and sick after I eat them, so I knew I needed to find a way to lighten it. As you know it that can be tricky to do when messing with cheese, but I think this turned out pretty good. I even added spinach/kale to the recipe for some vitamins and nutrients.
While this recipe is not the picture of health, it is lighter than your typical Baked Ziti and you can play around with ingredients to match your likes and dislikes. If you are a fan of gluten-free pasta, feel free to use it in this dish!
Healthier Baked Ziti
(serves 8)Ingredients:
- 12 oz uncooked ziti or penne (preferably whole-grain)
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes (I used Tuttorosso)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed (I didn’t have spinach the last time I made it so I used Kale and it worked great)
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 oz fat-free ricotta
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups (8 oz) shredded part skim mozzarella
- olive oil cooking spray
Directions:Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with oil spray.
In a large pot, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Make sure you salt the water before adding the pasta! Drain and return to pot.
As the pasta cooks, heat a medium saucepan, add olive oil and sauté garlic, being careful not to burn it. Add chopped spinach, salt, pepper and crushed tomatoes. Season with basil, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
Add sauce to the pasta and gently toss. Add half of the mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and ricotta to the pasta. Carefully mix well, then transfer to your baking pan and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. Let it cool 5 minutes, then cut it into about 8 equal portions.
*You can make this a day in advance if you need to. Just be sure it’s stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking according to the directions above.
This meal would be perfect with a nice side salad instead of the bread, however it’s one of the few times I look to eat Italian bread and found a delicious 100% Whole Wheat variety that my local grocery store bakes fresh daily.
Do you have a favorite comfort food? Have you ever attempted to lighten it up?
Filed under Health & Fitness, Main Course, Recipes
Welcome to Part Two of my #FitBlogNYC recap! I hope you found some helpful info from my first post about the amazing speakers who FITNESS lined up for us! If you somehow missed it, please take a moment to check it out here: A Day In NYC for #FitBlogNYC (Part One)
After our information packed morning of seminars, FITNESS provided lunch for all of the bloggers in attendance and an opportunity to visit all of the sponsor tables that were set up inside of the Mercedes Club. When we arrived at the event, we were given a program and on the back of it was a list of all of the sponsors. We had to use this as a sort of passport and collect stickers from each vendor in order to earn an amazing swag bag!
First up was Saucony, since we encountered their table immediately upon going inside. They had a table set up with amazing running shoes, in bright, fun colors. Looking at the array of colors just made you instantly happy, so you could image how I was about to burst with joy when I found out that we were all receiving a pair of them!! The shoe being featured were the Kinvara 4’s and they are simply #Kickassimus and will help me #FindYourStrong!
For specs on the Kinvara 4 running shoes click here.
Next up was the Athleta table. They had a table full of swimwear on display for us to check out and two racks full of different athletic wear. While taking everything in, we were told about an Instagram contest they were running. We were to pick out an outfit we liked from the rack and Instagram a photo of it with the hashtag #PowerToTheShe. A winner was selected at midnight based on who had the most likes. Obviously, I did not win, but it was fun anyway!
From there we moved over to the Marmot table where we met Paige Claassen who is a Professional Climber. She will be taking part in the Lead Now Tour, which is a global tour to inspire people through rock climbing. While speaking with her, I learned that she will be traveling the world for year during this tour and that she is most excited to visit South Africa, which is where the tour kicks off.
For more information on Paige and Lead Now, click here.
The next table I visited was sponsored by Tonalin. I had never heard of them before, but learned that their products are used for reducing body fat and are sourced from natural safflower oil. Tonalin CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is natural and environmentally sustainable. I don’t know how much I buy into supplements like these, but if you have ever used them and have seen good results, I’d love to hear about your experience.
From here I moved on to the Reebok table and it was fabulous! They had a great display of their CrossFit sneakers set-up for us to check out, along with some of their new #LiveWithFire apparel! There was also a photo-op set up here. We got to write a catchy phrase on a white board, along with our blog/twitter information and have our photo taken. Later, we found out that Reebok had also given us all a pair of their SubLite Train 1.0 sneakers (not featured in this photo) to try out! Score!
For more information on the SubLite Train 1.0 sneakers, click here.
Vichy Laboratoires was the next table I visited. Upon arriving there, we were presented with an iPad and earbuds so we could watch this funny video, which is part of their #celluliteconfessions campaign:
After laughing for a while and joking with Violet Zaki (Fitness Expert, Owner of ZakiFitness and Equinox Instructor), we were introduced to CelluDeStock and their new Capital Soleil Lightweight Foaming Lotion SPF 50, which smells amazing and doesn’t leave that gross sunscreen feeling on your skin. Vichy was kind enough to offer us a full size bottle of each in our swag bags, so I’m sure I’ll have more to offer on these products soon!
Our next sponsor was Smart Balance and they had a very fun set-up for us. First, we were offered a little snack made with Smart Balance peanut butter, of course! They were No Bake Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies and they were yummy! They were also kind enough to have the recipe printed out for us to take home, so I figured I’d share with you, too!
Smart Balance No Bake Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Smart Balance Fat Free Milk and Omega 3s
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 Tbsp Smart Balance Blended Butter Sticks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 cups oatmeal
- 3/4 cup Smart Balance Rich Roast Chunky Peanut Butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- Boil the Smart Balance Fat Free Milk and Omega 3s, cocoa, Smart Balance Blended Butter Stick and sugar in a small pot for two minutes.
- Remove from heat and add oatmeal, Smart Balance Rich Roast Chunky Peanut Butter and vanilla.
- Drop by heaping tablespoons onto parchment paper or way paper. Let cool for at least 1 hour before eating.
Nutrition Fact: Serves 40. Nutrition per serving: Calories 72, Fat 3g, Saturated Fat 1g, Poly Fat 0, Mono Fat 2g, Trans Fatty Acids 0g, Cholesterol 1mg, Sodium 29mg, Carbohydrates 9g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Protein 2g.
They also had a fun aspect to their table. There were headbands for us to wear with the hashtag #BalancedBlogger on it and we had to attempt to do a fun pose on a Bosu Ball while wearing it. It was an interesting couple of minutes as I tried to balance on one leg for a photo. Luckily the representative taking the photo caught it right before I fell off. Good times! For our efforts we earned a jar of their peanut butter in our choice of chunky or creamy. If you Instagramed and tweeted the photo, you also earned the chance to win free Smart Balance peanut butter for a year.
The final sponsor we visited before giving into our hunger and breaking for lunch was Crystal Light. They had a table set-up with cups of water and a few sample flavors of their new #CrystalLightLiquid flavoring. We had a choice of trying Blueberry Raspberry, Pomtini or Strawberry Lemonade, which is what I opted for. I liked that you could control how much flavor was added to your water and that it wasn’t overly sweet because of that.
From here we took a break to grab some food and head back outside to socialize and enjoy the gorgeous weather NYC was having that day.
I wish I had taken more photos of the bloggers I met during the event, but it complete mental overload and I was honestly more into socializing than documenting by this point. It was nice to meet up with Jen (@MomsGottaRun) since we went to High School together and it had been years since I’d seen her.
After lunch we headed inside to visit the final sponsor table, which was brought to us by Ford Fiesta and their #FiestaMovement. They had a fun photo booth set up so myself, Sylvia (@Frolic_Life_Syl) and Susan (@SusanFishback) participated together.
To view our video as well as others from this event click here.
Our final event of the day was the group workout. Those of you who read my blog regularly already know we had a choice of three workouts. A Cardio Dance Party, Yoga or a Group Run. I chose the run so I quickly changed into a tank top and met my group. The run was being sponsored by Saucony and was being lead by Dorothy Beal (@MilePosts) who is a marathoner, mom of 3, cover model and running coach. Our group wasn’t very big, but it was full of some runners who know their stuff and could easily do the 3 miles we set out to do. I felt great at first and was keeping pace with some of the newer runners, like myself, but as we continued our run along the Hudson River, I suddenly felt the familiar tightening of my chest… the one that has driven me crazy since I was Derailed By The Plague back in March.
I was starting to have an asthma attack and I didn’t have my inhaler with me. Awesome! I slowed down and walked, tried to run again to catch up and then realized I had to walk if I wanted to make it back to the venue. I instantly felt like I failed and tears began to stream down my face. I called my husband to vent once my breath returned and he tried to reassure me that it was okay and I didn’t fail, but it’s hard to accept in the moment. I felt embarrassed and I felt like my body let me down. I eventually came to terms with what happened but it still sucks.
Upon returning back to the Mercedes Club, many of the bloggers had already grabbed their swag bags and were leaving. I quickly changed my shirt and headed over to claim my bag awesomesauce before meeting a few of my new blogger friends for a drink and some snacks.
Photo Credit: Susan Fishback
My bag full of Awesomesauce! (Ignore the mess behind it)
This was hands down and amazing event and I hope I am lucky enough to be invited to attend next year. I promise to share more information about what was in this amazing bag as I use the items, but the brands include Saucony, Reebok, CamelBak, Vichy, KIND, SparklySoul Headbands, Smart Balance, Marmot, Goody, Pure Barre, Three Jane, Athleta, Julep, Bliss Labs and many, many more!
One quick one I’d like to feature is Sugarfina.
They gave use a beautifully packaged, delicious box of dark chocolate covered goji berries that even my kid liked!
They are offering our readers 20% off their antioxidant collection until May 31, 2013. Just visit Sugarfina.com/antioxidant and enter the code FITNESS at checkout!
Filed under Beauty, Fashion, Health & Fitness, House/Fashion/Beauty, Products I've Tried, Recipes, Running, Snacks & Treats
This past Thursday, the day I had been waiting for, finally arrived…. FITNESS magazine’s Meet & Tweet, also known as #FitBlogNYC!
I woke up bright and early to catch the bus and head into Port Authority. From there, it was a quick walk over to the venue and the meeting spot where some of us had agreed to meet. We grabbed some coffee, exchanged business cards and just chit chatted before heading over to the Mercedes Club, where the event was being held.
Some of the amazing bloggers I got to meet before the event. To name a few @ExSoyCise, @SusanFishback, @TreadmillRunway, @weightsover, @MsHealthyWife, @BlondesRun, @DianaAntholis and @Frolic_Life_Syl who was kind enough to be my buddy for the afternoon. I know I forgot a few people here, but my brain is still in overload, my apologies.
Upon arriving, we headed upstairs to check-in. We received our ID badge, an awesome Camelbak water bottle and there were morning snacks/refreshments for us. After grabbing a muffin and some juice, we headed outside to the rooftop patio where the speakers would be presenting.
First up, were introductions by FITNESS magazines Editor-in-Chief, Betty Wong (@FITNESSBetty). She introduced us to the lovely Heather Muir (@PYTbeauty), who is the Beauty Director at FITNESS as well as Sarah Lucero (@stilaPROartist), who is a celebrity make-up artist and Executive Director of Global Artistry for Stila Cosmetics, as well as a Stage 3 Breast Cancer survivor.
Top: Betty Wong telling us about the day in store. Bottom: Heather Muir (L) & Sarah Lucero (R)
During their seminar on “Insider Beauty Secrets to Get You Glowing”, they discussed ways to get pulled together in a flash, even when it’s 95 degrees outside. Their top tip? Less is more when it’s hot out!
We also learned Sarah’s Top 3 Beauty Secrets:
“Believe in the Beauty of the Future”
Our second seminar featured, FITNESS magazine’s Senior Editor, Lisa Haney (@FITNESS_Lisa) and Jennifer Ashton, M.D. (@DrJAshton), who is an ABC News Senior Medical Contributor, ob-gyn, triathele and author of the book, “Your Body Beautiful: Clock Stopping Secrets to Staying Healthy, Strong and Sexy in Your 30s, 40s and Beyond” as well as “The Body Scoop for Girls” – which I plan on picking up for my daughter.
Lisa Haney & Dr. Jennifer Ashton, speaking about being “Healthy, Strong and Sexy in Your 20s, 30s and Beyond”
They hosted a seminar on “Healthy, Strong and Sexy in Your 20s, 30s and Beyond”. Dr. Ashton gave her down-to-earth advice on a holistic approach to health and why you need to be able to talk to your doctor as if they were BFF.
Some of the topics covered and take away points included:
“Life Is An Olympic Event and We Have To Train For It”
Our third seminar was one I was looking forward to! It featured FITNESS magazine’s Digital Director, Christie Griffin (@ChristieGriffin) – who is one of the sweetest people ever! – Dana Weiss, Possessionista (@Possessionista), Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen (@SmittenKitchen), Jill Hanner who is a Ford Fiesta Agent and YouTube guru (@JillHanner) and last but not least, Erin Whitehead from Fit Bottomed Girls (@FitBottomedGirl) discussing their unique success stories and how they turned their passions into profit, during “My Blog Is My Business”
L to R: Christie Griffin, Dana Weiss, Deb Perelman, Jill Hanner and Erin Whitehead
Some of the biggest take away points from this seminar where:
Don’t Waste Your Time:
Tools They Love:
How To Pitch Yourself to Companies:
Other Tips They Offered:
“Don’t Blog For Money. Blog, Then Make Money.”
Our fourth seminar featured FITNESS magazine’s Deputy Editor, Mary Christ Anderson (@FITNESS_Mary) and Celebrity Trainer Brett Hoebel (@bretthoebel), Founder of Brett Hoebel Fitness, featured trainer on The Biggest Loser season 11 and creator of RevAbs.
Mary Christ Anderson and Brett Hoebel discussing the Extreme Fitness Trend.
The topic of discussion here was “The Extreme Fitness Trend: Should You Try It?” They discussed how going to extremes is the new thing in fitness today…but does it work? We learned how and why 20-minute workouts can get the job done better than long, all-out sessions.
First off they discussed CrossFit:
Then they moved into the Tough Mudder trend and how many people where doing them for social media bragging rights. Brett’s advice was to “Know what you’re getting into when doing Tough Mudders”.
Programs like P90X and Insanity were also discussed, since they are also extreme in nature. The subject of lack of time being the biggest excuse when it comes to not working out was discussed, too. Brett said that 20 minutes is the magic bullet for many busy moms and people who are short on time. It allows you do a few rounds of moves with maximum benefit, but you HAVE to get breathless while doing it!
When asked about his thoughts on TRX, Brett responded “I thinks it’s amazing!”
“If Want Results In A Short Amount Of Time,
You Have To Get Breathless!”
Our fifth and final seminar was all about food, and you guys know how much I love food and cooking! It was hosted by FITNESS magazine’s Executive Editor, Pam O’Brien (@FITNESSPam), along with Rocco DiSpirito (@roccodispirito), who if you don’t already know from Food Network, is one of FITNESS’s favorite celebrity chefs, author of “Now Eat This! Italian” and star of the AOL web series “Now Eat This! Italy“.
Pam O’Brien and Rocco DiSpirito discussing how to Eat What You Love – and Lose Weight!
In this seminar, they discussed how to “Eat What You Love – and Lose Weight“, and Rocco revealed secret ingredients for speedy, healthy meals, as well as cooking tricks that slash the fat, but keep the flavor!
Some of the advice given to us during this segment were:
Items to keep on hand in the kitchen:
Two of Rocco’s favorite ways to prepare Spaghetti Squash are with garlic and oil – OR – with butter and parmigiano reggiano.
As you can see, the morning was full of amazing and informative speakers. I feel so lucky to have been invited to this event and to have listened, met and spoken with so many inspirational and wonderful people.
I will be sharing information on the wonderful and generous sponsors from #FitBlogNYC in my next post ….so keep an eye out for it!
Filed under Health & Fitness, House/Fashion/Beauty
I had all intentions of posting blogs daily last week. Hell, I even had topics to post about, but life had other plans for my time.
Oh well.
After last weeks celebration of finally hitting 200 miles for 2013, I dropped off a bit. I’ve had an awful ache in my neck that just won’t let up and I have been busy with stuff around the house. I’ve also still been playing nurse-maid to the puppy, who thought it would be a great idea to eat half of a tennis ball. Thankfully he is doing better now, I just hope my wallet heals from that vet visit soon. Sigh.
I miss getting out and clearing my head while running. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll steal some time to log a few more miles. Oh…and hopefully I make it to the mall to get some more of this…
Designer Whey Protein To Go – Lemonade
I received this sample in the mail a while ago and I kept forgetting about it. I brought it out with me the other day during my run and finally gave it a shot. To my surprise, it was pretty tasty. I think I was nervous about trying it because I have a picky palette when it comes to protein drinks. There was a slight after taste to it, but nothing awful. I actually finished the whole bottle and decided that I would like to pick up some of the Orange flavor to see how I like that.
Last week, I also got an e-mail from Fitness magazine saying that I was invited to their Fitness Blogger Meet and Tweet event AKA #FitBlogNYC this year!! I’m truly excited about this opportunity and I can’t wait to go. I’ve already met some great people via the event hashtag on Twitter, and I look forward to meeting them as well as seeing MomsGottaRun. (Someone remind me of this excitement when it’s 4:30am and my alarm is going off because I have to get ready to catch a bus into NYC. Okay, thanks.)
Photo Credit: TreadmillRunway.com
This week I plan on hitting the weights again and getting my eating under control as well. Every now and then I forget to adjust my caloric intake when my workouts drop down and that’s not a good thing. I’ve been sort of spacey about my nutrition since getting sick. I also thought that being home would make keeping up with eating properly easier, but I was wrong. It’s all just time management and I haven’t been very good at that since losing my job a few months ago. It’s time to get my shit together and start functioning the way I am supposed to.
Speaking of functioning the way I used to… I think I felt a small spark of excitement over design today. I was asked by my good friend Beth, from With Glitter In Her Veins, to help her design some stuff for a new business she starting up. She needed a logo, Facebook Cover photo and stuff like that, so this morning I started messing around with it as I enjoyed my morning cup of sanity. To my surprise, inspiration came to me quickly, I e-mailed my design to her and she loved it! It felt good to have the creative juices flowing again, so I decided to make a new logo for myself and try my hand at designing invitations again. I’m not sure if I’ll get a nice bonfire going with this spark, but I might as well give it a shot again and see where it goes.
How was your week? What is everyone up to with their fitness these days?
Filed under Health & Fitness, Products I've Tried
The past few days have been simply gorgeous outside! It’s been sunny and in the low 80’s outside, which means it was time to clean up the yard and sit outside.
This year, the yard took quite a beating. Between Super Storm Sandy, snow and a few wind storms, we are missing siding, had more than our fair share of branches and leaves everywhere, and let’s not even talk about the green hue my normally white house has turned.
Since I am still semi sidelined from the plague, my activity has come in the form of clean-up. Lots of raking, bagging, weeding and digging through the shed to find the cushions for the patio set. The one thing the nice weather always makes me crave is grilled food. There is just something about sunshine, fresh air and a warm breeze, that makes me crave a juicy burger, fresh grilled veggies or maybe some kebabs!
I had the grand plans of cleaning up the yard, giving the grill some TLC and making a yummy meal to be enjoyed al fresco. I went to the grocery store with a list in hand, purchased meats and veggies to be prepared over the hot coals, but then never mustered up the energy to actually give the grill that TLC that it desperately needed. Sigh. On the bright side, the yard is clean and we can sit out there, so there is a small victory.
The nice weather still had me craving “warm weather food” so I took to Pinterest and found a recipe to fit my craving.
I have a major love for Mexican foods. Tacos, burritos, guacamole, flautas, you get the idea. So I obviously got super happy when I found a recipe for beef carnitas that I could cook in the crock pot. I normally only use my crock pot in the winter time, but that baby will now be used in the warm weather as well. It really makes sense when you think about it. Most of the time when the weather is nice, you are at the beach, park, pool or just enjoying time outside. It’s hot outside and you don’t want to stop what you are doing to go inside and make the house warm by using the stove or oven. Most people turn to grilling instead, but why not toss your meal in the crockpot before you set out on your summertime adventure, and come home to a meal that just needs a pretty paper plate and some condiments?!
This recipe was super easy to prepare and I love that it required no added oils or fat!
Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos
(original recipe found here, thanks to Pinterest)
My photo isn’t nearly as nice as the ones featured on the site where the recipe came from. One day, I’ll put more effort into food photos for these posts.
Ingredients:
2 lb flank steak
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (remove the seeds and ribs if you prefer less spice)
For the Spice Rub:
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Optional Serving Items:
corn tortillas
avocado slices (I made a fresh guacamole)
cilantro
salsa
lime
tomato, chopped
Directions:
Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl. Rub the spices well all over your flank steak. (Think massage here!) Once the spices are rubbed in, place your steak in the bottom of your crock pot.
Next, cover the flank steak with all of the chopped onions, tri-color peppers and the jalapeno pepper.
Set the crock pot to LOW and cook for 8 hours.
When time is up, remove the flank steak from your crock pot and begin shredding it with a fork. Once shredded, you can put it back into the crock pot and toss it with the juices as well as the peppers and onions, or transfer everything into a serving bowl and toss.
Heat your corn tortillas in a skillet on the stove (or wrap them in a damp paper towel and heat for a few seconds in the microwave). Spoon some carnitas on a tortilla, then top with a squeeze of lime and your favorite toppings.
I served these with some yellow rice as well some corn and black beans. It was super tasty and very easy, which are all major requirements for dinners in this house!
Do you have any warm weather meals that you like to prepare in the crock pot?
Filed under Main Course, Recipes
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness, Running
This has been a really good week for me!
I’ve stuck with my workouts, been eating much cleaner and tried some new recipes. Two new ones are right here in this post, and the Green Monsters (which are my new obsession) can be found here.
No-Bake Energy Bites – These are so yummy and really satisfy my sweet tooth! They calculated out to about 120 calories each, which isn’t too bad.
Chicken, Quinoa and Summer Squash Casserole – I swapped out the summer squash for zucchini and used Italian seasoning instead of rosemary.
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As you’ve probably already seen in yesterdays post…. I also reached my 100-Mile milestone this week! I originally hoped to have reached this on Valentine’s Day, but my hamstrings and Mother Nature didn’t like that plan. The important thing is I reached it and honestly, 500 miles seems pretty easy now. I hate to say it out-loud but as long as I stay healthy and don’t get injured, I think I’ll easily pass my goal! *fingers crossed…..knocks on wood….yeah….I know I probably just jinxed myself…sigh.*
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Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
~Tomorrow starts the Road ID Badge Challenge over on FurtherFasterForever! You might recall that a few weeks ago I participated in the Sandy Hook virtual event they put together. I’m really excited about this challenge and I’m curious to see how many badges I can collect from March 1st thru March 14th. I’m a newbie to this and I know most of the people who participate are serious athletes, but I’m a determined newbie and will do my best….everyone starts out somewhere, right?!
How is your week progressing? Anything special you’d care to share? What has made you proud or happy this week?
Filed under Health & Fitness, Main Course, Recipes, Running
Monday’s run brought me to my longest run to date!
Tuesday’s 10k brought me to my first milestone ……… 100 miles ran, so far this year!
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness, Running
getfitwithnikki.com 