Everyday things

I’m getting pretty good at this whole disappearing thing lately, huh? I’m not really sure what’s going on with me – but I’m just in sort of a blogging funk, I suppose.

The funny thing is – when I actually sit down to write a post, I can think of a lot I’d like to say. It’s just the whole sitting down to write the post part that gets me. 

Now whether or not what I have to say is interesting is just another story altogether. 

I mean – is the fact that I spent 3 hours scrubbing and organizing my refrigerator interesting? 

Probably not.

How about the fact that I’ve stopped at Dunkin Donuts for pumpkin spice coffee approximately 400 times since I discovered it was back in season? Yes, I have a problem. I’m come to terms with it.

Eh, nope.

6 loads of laundry. Need I say more on that topic?

Wait – what about the time I spent reading world prehistory and archaeology for class – want to hear about that?

Oh ya, I bet you’re intrigued now. 

Maybe we can discuss the fact that my nails are always some shade of pink. Most other colors are short-lived because I always have to get that pink back on!

Or maybe I can tell you how I stopped at Target for deodorant and came out with a trash mag (along with other unnecessary purchases).

[very necessary]

[very unnecessary, but entertaining]

But hey, that’s just life. So much of life is centered around mundane, everyday tasks. Painting my nails, cleaning the house, studying for classes…that’s what many of my days consist of. 

The point is – life’s not always about creating new recipes, or trying out new restaurants and exercise classes. At least not my life. So sometimes, I have nothing to say. 

Wait, I take that back. I always have something to say, but it’s not always worth reading.

Speaking of those everyday things, I’m off to school. 

Have wonderful day guys!

<3 Stefanie

Daily dose of happiness (the little things) -

[a glass of cabernet sauvignon on a perfect breezy night]

Ah, Fall is in the air and I have no complaints.

Any tips for getting out of a blogging funk?

Sweat it Out Saturday – It’s back!

I kind of dropped the ball on Sweat it Out Saturday/Sunday. I got the ball rolling and then I let it fall to the ground.

Should we get it back up and running? I say yes! Here we go!

One and only one rule - everything has to make you sweat, motivate you to sweat, or accompany you in your sweatiness.

Weekly Work Outs

Sunday – power shopping through Gurnee mills (AKA rest)

Monday – sweaty work out of the week (see below)

Tuesday – Body Rock Grab Your Balls Workout + 1 mile incline walk (3.8 speed; 6.0% incline)

Wednesday – GYM! 1 mile warm-up on the treadmill (6.2 speed; 1.5% incline), then various exercises (assisted pull-ups, bench, decline sit-ups…etc.)

Thursday – 4 mile run + 10 mile bike ride

Friday – Rest

Saturday – to be determined

Tune of the Week [Colbie Caillat - Brighter than the Sun]

This song always brightens my day and a brighter day means more motivation to get my sweat on!

Gadget of the Week – Gymboss Interval Timer

When I started doing Body Rock workouts, I knew that I wanted to get my own gymboss interval timer. Zuzanna’s workouts are amazing and the interval timer allows me to take them to the next level.

I’ve also been using the gymboss for treadmill intervals!

Sweaty Workout of the Week – 20 minute interval blast

Here’s my latest gymboss guided treadmill work out.

Set your gymboss for 14 intervals of 00:40 and 00:20. Alternatively, you could set your treadmill for the same intervals (if it has that option).

After a 4 minute warm up, start the timer. For each 00:40 second interval, sprint it out. Once the timer beeps, bump the speed down to a comfortable jog for the next 00:20 seconds. After the next beep, continue your sprint.

Do this for the entire 14 rounds (14 minutes) and you’ll be a sweaty beast in no time. That’s the goal, right?

Time	Speed	Incline
Warm Up 00:00-04:00	6.2 mph	2.0%
Intervals 04:00-18:00
05:00-05:40	(sprint) 7.2 mph	1.5%
05:40-06:00	(jog) 6.0 mph	1.5%
06:00-06:40	(sprint) 7.2 mph	1.5%
06:40-07:00	(jog) 6.0 mph	1.5%
continue until 18:00
Cool Down 18:00-20:00	3.8 mph	1%

This is the perfect work out to squeeze in when you’re short on time!

Interval newbie? Simply increase the warm up and cool down time and decrease the interval time.

For example, you could warm up for 5 minutes, do intervals for 10 minutes, and then cool down for 5 minutes.

Too easy for you? Add more time and/or sprint it out for longer.

For example, you could do 20 minutes of intervals with 01:00 minute sprints and 00:30 second rest periods (jog) in between.

Cater the work out to YOUR liking! :)

Let’s discuss!

Per your suggestions, I’m thinking of doing a Sweat it Out Saturday link party. Basically, you would write a post about anything work out related (your weekly work outs, work out tunes, ideas, new classes, DVD’s, cute new gear, fun gadgets, etc…) and then link it up.

If everything goes as planned, we’d all have a great resource to come to when we’re in need of a little work out motivation or just a way to freshen things up.

Before I implement this, I want YOUR feedback! Would you be interested in linking up for a weekly Sweat it Out Saturday/Sunday post?

If it’s possible, I’d make it so that you can link up anytime during the weekend rather than only on one day.

I don’t know about you, but it’s harder for me to get motivated to sweat on the weekends – so this would be a great way to make it happen!

Pending positive feedback, we’ll party next weekend! :)

Have a wonderful day guys!

<3 Stefanie

Google Tags: sweat it out saturday, gymboss interval timer, gymboss, body rock work outs, body rock, link party, work out movtivation, weekly work outs

Broccoli Bowl Pizza

Let me just begin by saying that it’s totally the little things in life that bring the most joy. Sure, the big things bring joy too. But it’s the little things that bring about the day-to-day happiness. That all adds up.

Today’s little thing?

Pumpkin spice coffee at Dunkin Donuts (shh, don’t tell Starbucks that when it comes to pumpkin spice, I prefer Dunkin).

Now don’t even go thinking that it’s too early for pumpkin. If I could, I would drink this stuff year round. But then again that would take away some of the novelty and excitement that it’s reappearance brings about, so maybe I’m kind of glad that it’s only around for one season. Yes, I love to contradict myself all in one breath. It’s okay.

I may just start including “today’s little slice of happiness” into each post. Sounds like fun to me!

Something else that makes me happy? Simple, healthy, and delicious meals. Emphasis on the simple because I’m little miss simpleton when it comes to my eats.

I love broccoli, meatless meatball, and spicy marinara bowls. They're one of my go-to meals when I'm in a pinch or when I just don't feel like cooking (more often than not, oops).

The other night, I started making my go-to meal, then I thought - why not make it pizza style?

Luckily, I had a package of flat out wraps stowed in the freezer – they make the perfect thin and crispy pizza crust.

This little gem also made a wonderful addition to my broccoli bowl pizza.

It’s as easy as:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the flat out wrap for approximately 8 minutes (until it’s nice and crispy) flipping once half-way through.

Watch your wrap carefully because there’s a thin line between crispy and burnt (I know from experience).

2.) Spread the baked wrap generously with goat cheese (laughing cow cheese would be good as well).

3.) Next, top the pizza with a mixture of meatless meatballs, broccoli, and marinara sauce. Sprinkle it all with a little nutritional yeast.

4.) Finally bake the pizza for another couple of minutes.

5.) Shamelessly devour. Don’t be afraid to lick your fingers – it may be necessary.

Boom. Dinner (or lunch) is served.

What’s your go-to simple meal?

Is there something little that made your day?

Have a great one!

<3 Stefanie

google Tags: simple meals, pumpkin spice coffee, dunkin donuts, simple healthy meals, simple healthy dinner, broccoli pizza, flat out wrap pizza, meatless meatballs, simple vegetarian meals

 

Family Dinner Night – Mexican Style

After dropping off my baby at school yesterday (3rd grade, ah!), I went straight to campus and spent the majority of the morning and afternoon keeping the computer company.

[Starbucks happened. #truelifeimaddicted]

Throughout the summer, I’ve been working on my own research project (health related with a cognitive spin).

Well, I just finished analyzing the data from the first portion of my study (norming for any of you who are familiar with psychology research). And unfortunately, my results were not what I needed.

So as of now, I’m tweaking passages and then I’m going to do another quick study in the hopes that things come out like I want them to!

Of course, my bag of snacks comes along with me wherever I go. Everyone is pretty used to the fact that I’m always chomping on something [raw nuts, apple, Clif bar, carrots] in the lab – so I have no shame bringing this large cooler-sized TJ’s bag.

The upside of getting the day started early? I also was able to leave early!

In fact, I left lab early enough to hit up the gym before picking up Adam from school. The gym is actually a pretty rare stop for me these days.

I exercise just as often, but I usually stick to at-home/outdoor work outs.

Working out at home is great, but lately I’ve found myself getting distracted more than usual. Instead of hopping right on the treadmill when I’m ready to work out, I’ll get side tracked emptying the dishwasher or checking my email. Before I know it, I’ve wasted an hour and some of my work out motivation has waned.

It felt pretty nice to get in a wam bam thank you Ma’am gym work out sans distractions. I’m definitely going to try to make it to the gym more often now that Adam’s back in school.

Do you ever find yourself getting distracted when working out at home?

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After a long day (and a quick power nap), it was time for Mexican night at the parents! We’ve been really slacking with our themed dinner nights lately and it was more than time to remedy that.

While helping prep dinner, I enjoyed a very non-Mexican beer.

As usual, there was no shortage of chips, salsa, and guacamole!

My Dad made a delicious vegetarian taco filling with corn, beans, brown rice, jalapeños, and spices.

I enjoyed mine naked with a side of chips rather than a tortilla.

What can I say? Naked tacos always win. No shell means more filling, which is the best part in my book.

Mexican night was a success. Next up? Ravioli night! It’s been far too long since ravioli and garlic bread have made an appearance on my plate. Plus, I saw a delicious looking package of ‘summer squash’ ravioli at Costco recently (hint hint).

Alright, time to take advantage of this beautiful day! Have a great one!

<3 Stefanie

Google Tags: mexican night, vegetarian taco filling, working out at home, at home work outs, research

 

Kid’s Lunches - Kidney Bean Grilled Cheese

Now that Adam is back in school, we have a whole new routine.

During the summer, our routine was pretty laid back. Yes, I worked and did research, but we still had quite a few days off during the week.

We both love our sleep, so we spent quite a few mornings sleeping in and lounging around while we woke up. We’re also night owls, so the whole thing balances out I suppose.

Many days were spent lounging at the pool, hiking, or riding bikes.

Oh boy did summer 2011 fly by.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were singing along with Alice Cooper?

Guess not.

So now that school is back in session, we have to be up and at 'em much earlier (I know, I know. Welcome to reality, Stefanie). Not only that, but our nighttime routine is going to involve a whole lot of extras - homework, practices, after school activities, and much much more. Bring it on – we’re ready!

Last night, we packed up Adam's handy dandy lunchbox, labeled his supplies, and laid out his outfit for the first day of school.

I'm sad to see summer go, but I'm excited for the routine and the lovely weather that comes with the new school year.

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Like me, Adam is a vegetarian. This poses a little problem when it comes to school lunches.

Every single school lunch (except for grilled cheese/cheese pizza) is centered around meat.

Hamburgers, meatloaf, chicken nuggets...oh my. Because of this, we pack Adam's lunch pretty much every day - save for pizza Fridays.

I love knowing that he has a healthy, vegetarian lunch to enjoy each day, but his lunches can get a little boring.

Peanut butter and jelly, hummus and cheese, whole wheat bagels and cream cheese – these are all frequent lunch box meals. This year we're going to strive for a bit more variety. Sort of like my own lunchbox challenge, but geared more towards Adam.

First up? Adam's favorite summer sandwich - kidney bean grilled cheese.

It’s a nice combination of protein (beans) and healthy fats (olive oil, Earth Balance).

First, I drain and rinse one can of kidney beans.

Next, I combine about 1/2 C. of the beans with a little extra virgin olive oil and a little salt n' pepper – then I mash it all up with a fork.

I spread the kidney bean mixture on a slice of whole wheat bread, cover it with a slice of cheese and another slice of bread, and grill it up in a little earth balance.

Let's hope it stays crispy by the time lunch rolls around.

Adam loves this sandwich when it’s fresh from the pan, but will it turn out to be a good choice for lunchboxing it up? We shall see.

Have a wonderful day guys!

<3 Stefanie

Google Tags: kid friendly lunches, lunchbox challenge, packing lunches for kids, kidney bean grilled cheese, vegetarian children, spruce up your grilled cheese, lunchbox

Where in the world is…

Whoa hey there! I unintentionally fell off the face of the planet for the past week (in the blogging world at least). But I’m back. I think.

I just can’t stay away because I missed you all too much!

To blog or not to blog? That has been the question on my mind all week long. Clearly, I went with the latter more days than not. I just wasn’t feeling it, so why put an uninspired post out there? Surely, you don’t want to read something that I didn’t want to write. Right?

So, it wasn’t until I took this little impromptu blogging vacation that I realized how much time it truly takes. Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging and everything it entails (the community, the friends, the feedback) – but sometimes I just need a breather.

This past week turned out to be a great time to do just that. Adam’s starting school tomorrow and I’ll be going back for my last class plus a crap ton of research hours the following Monday. We had a week of downtime and it was pretty wonderful.

So what did we do during the course of our week?

We played games,

read books,

went to the Waterpark,

organized and purged,

painted,

[Before]

[After]

[It’s still not quite finished, but it’s coming along nicely. ]

plus much, much more. It was was a relaxing, yet some how productive week.

So once all the school craziness resumes, The New Healthy will hopefully be back to regular posting. Assuming I’m back to my usually ready-to-blog self, which I hope I am. When I have more to do, it’s just easier to fit blogging into my schedule. That seems completely counterintuitive, but it’s just how I work.

Let’s do a little Sunday through the lens, shall we? On Sunday, we headed up to Gurnee Mills (a huge outlet mall in Illinois) to do some school clothes shopping.

Of course, many delicious meals were eaten over the course of the day.

We fueled up with Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch.

Ginormous salad.

Mini Zucchini burgers – shared with my sister.

Midway through out shopping bonanza, I stopped at Starbucks to get a little caffeine boost.

[the usual – Grande iced soy coffee with 2 pumps of coconut]

The more I drink Starbucks, the less of a boost I get from their coffee. Anyone else have this problem?

I love that little boost, so I think I need to stay away for a few weeks to decrease my caffeine tolerance. Is there even such a thing as caffeine tolerance? Who knows.

So after some shopping success (H&M, Forever 21, A’Gaci, abercrombie kids) – we stopped for dinner at Timothy O’Tooles Irish Pub.

As per usual, I kind of made up my own order – they were very accommodating.

I ordered the Michigan Avenue salad with a veggie burger instead of chicken, no croutons, and dressing on the side.

Delicious!

Of course, we had to make a stop to satisfy our sweet tooth (teeth?) as well!

My sister and I shared a small Reese’s mixer.

It turned into the battle of who can find more Reese's chunks – because those are the best bites!

Alright, time to get going – I have a lot to do today!

Catch me up on your lives guys – what’s the best thing you did/ate/saw this past week?

<3 Stefanie