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Today I’m welcoming Chani of “Hello, Healthy” to the blog!
Hello everyone! Chani here from Hello, Healthy! I am, in general, a super busy person (always on the go!) and Caroline has asked me to share some little healthy eating on-the-go tricks that I have found helpful. Ready?
- Always be prepared! I ALWAYS have a healthy snack in my purse, like a granola bar or a pre-portioned bag of nuts or trail mix. This helps me not swing through a drive through and grab a donut or something else that will just make me go through a sugar crash later.
- Know the locations of healthy meal options on-the-go in your area. For example, near where I work there is a Panera (love their salads!) and a Subway. I usually hit up those places if I forget my lunch (normally I pack, but sometimes I leave it on the counter – oops!) Just be careful not to load up your salads with tons of cheese, bacon, dressing, etc.
- Along with #2, know where the closest grocery store is. Thankfully I both live and work near pretty big grocery stores and I can just pop in for some healthy pre-packaged options (hummus and veggies, anyone?) or hit up the salad bar.
- Keep a stash at your desk. I have a little area of my desk reserved just to hold things like healthy snacks and drinks. Thankfully, there is also a fridge where I work so I like to keep a Greek yogurt or two (with my name on it!) in there as well.
- For road trips or airport travel, pack your snacks. Not only do you save money, but you know they’re healthy. If for some reason you can’t pack, look for places you can buy fruit, nuts, or fresh veggies and fruit. They may be a bit more expensive, but so worth the money!
Those are the tricks that I try to follow daily! I know they seem simple, but a lot of people forget about them.
Here’s how you can find Chani:
Now it’s your turn to share! What are your best healthy eating on-the-go tricks?
I knew when I headed out that I was a little too hungry, and I would come to regret that… It was about 51 with 80% humidity, which my body is in no way used to. Definitely a beautiful morning, but one that my body hasn’t adjusted to after lots of runs in pretty chilly temperatures.
I’ll be honest and say that I just wasn’t feeling it as I left the house, but was surprised at how good the first two miles felt. Besides the thickness in the air, I felt good.
By mile 3, the humidity was catching up to me and my legs were feeling a bit heavy. They weren’t in pain at all, but felt a bit difficult to turn over as fast as I would like. I think some of that was due to my legs feeling different since I was wearing the zensah compression sleeves instead of my BioSkin calf sleeves, which I’ve worn for almost 3 years now.
From miles 3-6.25, I broke my run into 3 minute intervals. I typically do a 3:1 run:walk ratio, but mentally I broke it down to just having run three minutes. All I did was focus on the three minutes that I had in front of me instead of focusing on the run as a whole. I tried to focus on “running the minute that you’re in”, as that’s all I could really control anyways.
My stomach started growling by mile 5 (I didn’t have any fuel with me), and about a mile earlier I was deeply regretting not bringing any water or nuun with me. I guess I’ve gotten too used to the colder weather, and forgot to adjust since it was warmer! Lesson learned…
Faster than I was expecting the run was over, and I was thankful. It was a tough run, but in totally different ways than last week’s run. My body felt good after these six miles, unlike last week when I was sore for a few days after my 5 miler. I’m pretty happy about it. Even though the run was tough, it was great to feel that I was actually back in training again!
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one thing you say to yourself to motivate yourself on runs? What makes you feel like you’re officially “in training”?
disclaimer: I received the compression sleeves shown and discussed below from Zensah to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! I received this product for free, but received no other form of compensation; all opinions are my own.
When I was offered a pair of Zensah compression sleeves, I immediately jumped on the opportunity. I went to the Zensah website, where I immediately chose the hot pink sleeves (SO beautiful!!). They arrived quickly, and I barely made it home before tearing them open and putting them on (did I mention that I love compression?). Simply put, I love them! They are like hugs to my calf muscles, and I can feel the extra support that they give. I don’t want to take them off.
The grey paneling allows for extra breathability and support, which I LOVE! The color adds some fun to my runs (they go great with my new hot pink shoes), and I can definitely feel the support as I run! On their website, they say “Zensah Ultra Compression Leg Sleeves give athletes a tighter fit in the calves and shins to increase performance and decrease muscle recovery time by stimulating blood flow while stabilizing the muscles to help prevent injury.” I’m hoping they’ll do just that, as I am prone to shin splints and because I am more likely to get injured due to my POTS.
I’ve used (and will continue to use) the compression sleeves in a number of ways:
1. Recovery! I LOVE wearing compression sleeves after long runs or bike rides.
2. Barre class! I teach barre on Mondays, coming off a weekend with a long run and a long bike ride, so I’m usually stiff and tight! I sometimes wear compression sleeves when I teach, and I love it!
At the Barre. (this was after class, not with students around)
3. Running! I obviously wear compression sleeves a lot when I run. I wore my sleeves on my long run this weekend, and I have to say, I didn’t totally love the feel, especially in comparison to my BioSkin sleeves. I’m not sure if I just have to get used to a different feel, but I feel that my BioSkin sleeves are superior when it comes to long runs. I will definitely wear them for shorter runs though!
Long run this weekend! My sleeves match my new shows.
I look forward to rotating between these calf sleeves and my BioSkin calf sleeves as I train. Zensah sleeves come in multiple colors and designs, and also run a bit cheaper than the BioSkin sleeves (which I also LOVE and have held up really well over the last 3 years). I’m excited about including Zensah in my training and recovery plan!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you use compression at all? What’s one of your favorite exercise items?
This purple is still my “winter purple”, so this is probably the last time I’ll have this color on again until fall (I’ll be pulling out warm weather purple soon!). I love this color, and it goes on beautifully well with two coats. It looks great by itself (you can see an example of Pamplona Purple without sparkle here) or with something else on top.
Throwback Post: This is from March of 2013: Influence vs. Ownership <-This concept really helped change my life!
Here are some random facts from my week:
1. I look forward to the time changing almost like it’s spring break vacation- I get really excited in the weeks leading up to it even! I love having longer days with more day light. From November until the time changes, I can’t go outside after work since it’s dark, so this is like a breath of fresh air and freedom!
2. My Valentine’s Day flowers lasted for 3 weeks, and I finally had to toss them this past weekend. They were absolutely beautiful while they lasted, and definitely helped perk up my living room through some very cold weeks (and 2 snow storms and an ice storm!).
3. Speaking of Daylight Savings- last Saturday before dinner I turned all my clocks ahead an hour and tried to pretend it was that time already. It worked- I slept a full 8 hours and got up at 6:45 to bike before I left for church!
4. I’ve been on a Friends kick lately. I’ve watched most of season 8 and 9 over the past week, and I realized all over again how obsessed I really am about the show! It’s just so funny 🙂 Any other Friends fans out there? Who is your favorite/least favorite character?
5. In 6th grade I played basketball. I had sprained my left pinky figure doing something else, and went back to playing too quickly. In my first practice back I re-sprained my left two fingers, and they never healed quite right. My left pink finger sticks out a bit funny now, and I have to intentionally work at pulling it in towards the rest of my fingers.
From our recent snow storm. We had more than a hand’s length of snow on our cars.
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random fact from your week? Do you like “springing forward”?
Happy Thursday!!It’s warmed up here this past week, and I’ve been really enjoying it! Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
I’m thankful for hot water for showers and baths. The fact that I can turn a handle and get all the hot water I want (in reason, of course) is absolutely spectacular- especially in the winter! I’m so glad I don’t have to boil water in order to clean myself!
I’m thankful that February was a good month. February is usually the most difficult month of the year for me. It’s still cold, still dark in the evenings, and there’s nothing fun like Christmas to break up the days. However, this year February went by really quickly and it was a great month overall. I’m really thankful for that.
I’m thankful for warm coffee in the morning. I’m generally not a person that has to have caffeine in the morning to wake up, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love to drink coffee (I drink a lot of decaf, with some occasional caffeinated coffee thrown in too). I’m thankful for the coziness and deliciousness that comes with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning!
I’m thankful that it’s light an hour later! I’m absolutely loving the fact that it is now light when I get home work (which means that I can go on walks if I want to!). I’m so thankful for extra light (which comes with extra perkiness in mood for a lot of people!).
I’m thankful for warmer weather!! Last week the “feels like” one day was -6, and this week the highs have been in the upper 40s and low-mid 50s! I’m loving it! I’m valuing every moment of warmer weather, as I know the temps are all over the place the next few months!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
With that being said, please enjoy today’s first post in the series. Welcome Mary Jo!
Here’s a super-easy way to save money and calories by brown-bagging a salad lunch. You can have a nutritious lunch ready for the ENTIRE week in 30 minutes or less. All you need is a salad spinner, a giant bowl, a sharp knife and all the veggies and fruits you like. Making a giant salad is the perfect way to have your lunch ready in a flash. The key to keeping the salad fresh is to make sure all your veggies are super-dry, after you wash them before putting them in the bowl. You can spin them dry with a salad spinner (my recommendation) or dry them with a paper towel.
Use hearty leaves and roots. They tend to stay fresher throughout the week. Some suggestions would be, romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and pieces of sweet potatoes (Raw sweet potatoes are DELICIOUS!). Stay away from pungent veggies like onions, cabbage and beets. Their smell will overpower your salad. Now you are ready to grab a hand full of salad and put them in a packable container. Add your favorite toppings the night before because most wet topping will make your entire salad wilt faster. Here are some great combinations.
Five small containers with salad dressing all filled for the week won’t take up much room in your frig and will often times have the correct amount of dressing for a healthy salad. For your sides, carrot sticks, celery sticks or sliced sweet potatoes make a great alternative to chips. And bagging some type of fruit after they are washed and dried is handy to grab and go! Now five lunches are done for the week. Healthy eating everyone!
Mary Jo Minarich (from Run and Smile)
Website: http://www.runandsmile.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Run-and-Smile/681502458563587
Twitter: @runandsmile1
Instagram: https://instagram.com/runandsmile4ever/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/maryjominarich/
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your go to, healthy, and quick meals?
I threw on my coat and a pair of boots and walked outside, only to sink in so deep that even my boots were completely covered:
I kept going, undeterred. I walked without any music or podcasts, which is something that I rarely do. Snow falling peacefully, without wind, is beautiful and deeply quiet, and I absolutely love it! It’s grounding and calming, and reminds me of all sorts of fantastic memories as a kid. Walking along, I kept looking up into the sky, and I felt like I had stepped into a beautiful snow globe.
I ended up walking just over a mile before deciding to clean off my car. The snow was already up to the half way point on my wheel, and I knew that they were still predicting hours of snow (one thing I learned while living in Minnesota is that, in storms, you go out and shovel and clean off your car along the way so that you don’t have the daunting task of doing it all at once).
I spent the rest of the day (it snowed on and off ALL day) wandering past the windows, taking a few moments to take a few deep, cleansing breaths and while enjoying the gently falling snow. I also enjoyed some homemade hot chocolate!
When I woke up, I knew I had a choice. I could complain about a big snow storm in March, or I could choose to slow down and enjoy the day… and enjoy it I did! It all goes back to owning our reactions. I’ve also realized that a beautiful snow fall can actually be a “little thing” in life!
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your favorite things to do when it snows?
I ended up heading out for my “long run” on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday morning, due to a retreat that went from Friday at dinner until Saturday at 3 pm. I not only slept very little on Friday night, but I ended up standing on my feet for about 4 hours on Saturday morning. As part of the groups’ retreat, we ended up volunteering at a local community center. I worked in the kitchen preparing the lunch meal, and then stood in the line serving lunch to community members. I loved it! However, not only were my feet pretty tired from standing in one place (totally different than 4 hours of walking!), but I was just tired over all from a full week of work and very little sleep. All of that to say, I knew I wasn’t heading into my run the best that I could…
The day had pretty much everything else going for it though, and I figured that would help. It was 40 degrees out, which to some of you may not seem like a lot, but for this northerner, it was practically a heat wave (I start wearing a tank top and shorts while running by about 45 or 47 degrees!), and I loved it! I wore shorts and a long sleeve (VERY THIN) shirt with mesh sides and a back (I love the shirt!), and my legs loved being out in the fresh air! The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there was very little wind. Needless to say, it was an absolutely beautiful day!
The first 3 miles flew by before I started to really feel the tiredness in my legs. To be honest, my legs have felt a little tired and tight all week, so I knew that it would catch up to me at some point. I was listening to the Jillian Michael’s podcast, so I was hoping that would keep me distracted and help me turn over my legs a bit faster than they naturally wanted to.
I was aiming for about 5.5 miles, but by the time I hit about 4 miles, I really wanted to be done. This turned into a mental struggle as I just really wanted to stop my garmin and walk the rest of the way home. Of course I didn’t do that though. I kept telling myself “You can do anything for 15 minutes” and kept putting one foot in front of the next.
I actually appreciate runs like this. While I’m glad these runs don’t happen all the time, I’m also thankful for moments to work on my mental strength in running as much as my physical strength. Runs like this remind me that I CAN do hard things and I can keep going, even when I don’t want to.
Now it’s your turn to share! How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling to finish a workout?
I didn’t take this picture to show off my nails, but… it works.
As it’s March now, I decided to go with a lighter blue for a “winter (almost spring)” snow fall, compared to the winter snow fall nail polish theme I went with in January (Essie’s midnight cami with glitter on top).
Throwback Post of the Week: From this week last year: 7.5 Fantastic Miles <- Training for the Carmel Half Marathon
Here are some random facts for the day:
1. Melissa and I watched hours of House of Cards this weekend, and I don’t regret it at all. I’m nervous for a good part of most episodes, trying to figure out what evil trick they are up to. Frank Underwood scares me a little (a lot) bit sometimes.
2. I hate buying purses, and would much rather find a bag that I like and use it for years. However, my purse sadly broken, and while there are handles so I can still use it, I need a purse that I can throw over my shoulder as well. This weekend I went to pick one up, but I haven’t started using it yet because I need to look at things for awhile before I use them. It’s just what I do when I get new things. Is anyone else like that?
3. Let’s talk about meat trays for a minute. Do you know what I’m talking about? They are the pre-packaged trays at the grocery store with meat (usually salami and pepperoni), crackers, and cheeses, which make for a delicious and fantastic snack or appetizer. I LOVE THEM. Melissa and I got a meat tray this weekend for the House of Cards viewing, and it was delicious! I think I always need a meat tray in my life.
4. It’s Pooky’s birthday today, and it’s the first time in 17 years that I haven’t been able to talk to him. Even though he passed away this summer, I still think about him every day and miss him dearly. So, even though he isn’t here, I want to take a moment to celebrate a pet that was deeply meaningful to me.
5. My soccer brother moved overseas on Wednesday, and I’m feeling pretty sad about it. As I’ve said before, I’m really close to both of my brothers, so to have him not easily accessible is definitely sad! It’s been a saddish end to the week because of that (even though I’m SO excited for him!)
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one random fact from your week? Have you ever had a family member live overseas? Do you have any good tips?
I’m thankful for fantastic books. Whether they are fantastically written or fantastic in terms of entertainment, I love sitting down at the end of the day to read. I’ve read lots of great books lately (some of which I share here), and I’m thankful for the opportunity to do that.
I’m thankful for “ice days”: On Tuesday I ended up having an “ice day” and didn’t go into work. I’m thankful I have a boss who is concerned about our safety, and I’m thankful for some unexpected time to catch up on a few things and get things gathered up for my taxes.
I’m thankful for cozy sweatshirts. Sweatshirts and blankets are on the same playing field for me- both are warm, cozy, and make winter SO very much better! I’m thankful I live in a time where sweatshirts are a thing that people wear 🙂
I’m thankful for a quieter weekend so I could watch “House of Cards”. I’ve had a LOT of very busy weekends the past month where I’ve had to work a lot of the time. This past weekend, while I had some work to do, I had plenty of free time to, which lined up perfectly with the House of Cards Season 3 release!
I’m thankful for fresh fruit! I’ve been eating apples, clementines, and bananas almost every day this month, and I love it! I ran out a few days early, and didn’t have time to run to the grocery store, and definitely felt a little sad to be without them for snacks. I struggle to understand how people can NOT like fruit, because I think it tastes delicious, and I’m thankful for it!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? What’s your favorite type of fruit?
