Blog Archives
Throwback Thursday: Week III
GUYS, football season is here! I already found some cutesy-themed recipes on Pinterest for tailgate parties, game-day get-togethers, and sports marketing staff meetings. You best believe I’ll be wearing my school-colored ribbons in my hair this Saturday. I’ve got spirit, how about you?
This #TBT post may seem like cheating since new content has been far and few between recently. I’ve been busy making sure this senior year is off to the best start possible, and guess what – I’ve got SO MANY new posts to share with you. Starting tomorrow be on the lookout for sponsored posts, collaborations, product reviews, recipes, workouts, internship updates and general happenings of a college senior :)
Life right now is going a mile a minute and thank the lord for my adorable day-planner that keeps me sane between work, sports marketing internship, classes, group project, errands, deadlines and blog stuff. I would also like Sprout’s coffee assortment, specifically Vienna Cinnamon, for keeping me productive all day long. ;) Side note: I wish I could insert emoji’s into blog posts SO BAD! So many appropriate pictures. If any WordPress workers are reading this….work on that, would ya?
I digress so I’m leaving you with this little gem from 2012 all about “healthy snacking” which seemed appropriate coming off of a holiday weekend and heading into tail-gate season. See ya tomorrow! (Insert chicklet emoji here.)
Originally posted on October 15, 2012
For those of us lucky college kids, its Mid-term time again! Do your brain and body a favor and snack smart during those late-night study sessions, hours of Facebook homework and pages of papers. ;)
Stress really does make you hungry, but if you eat yourself into a Hot Cheeto food-coma, your grades and your waist-line will suffer. Here is my list of the top Healthy Study Snacks for whatever you are craving:
1. Popcorn – Great snack instead of chips! They now make 94% fat-free Whole Grain popcorn, which is just 20 calories per cup. Paired with a tart green apple, it’s a perfect salty/crunchy healthy alternative
2. Low-fat string cheese – I just learned today that Kraft makes string cheese in ‘Sweet BBQ,’ ‘Tomato Basil,’ and ‘Cracked Black Pepper’ flavor. For only 60 calories, I’d try all three! Portion control makes string cheese a great snack.
3. Steamed Edamame – the shelled soybeans will be the perfect replacement for nuts or trail mix. (Trail mix and nuts aren’t unhealthy but if you’re like me, it’s hard to stick to the 3 Tablespoon serving size.) These things are addicting but with only 60 calories per 1/4 Cup of edamame and a ton of protein, snack on!
4. Non-fat Yogurt – Add fresh fruit for extra credit : ) It’s a balance of protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. Your body will thank you.
5. Something Caffeinated: Skinny Latte’s or Non-fat Cappuccino – the worst thing you can do to your body when it’s already in a heightened state of stress from school is chug an energy drink. Seriously – those things have more sugar than a regular soda, not to mention chemicals that are in no way natural or beneficial to your body. Skinny latte’s are the perfect non-fat, sugar-free pick-me-up.
6. Something Hot: Oatmeal – if it’s a cold night and you’re looking for something comforting to go with reading your textbook, don’t underestimate the power of a bowl of oats :P It’s not just for breakfast! I’ve made oatmeal for dessert plenty of nights, but go for a low-sugar variety.
7. Something cold: Popsicles! So many fruity flavors, even chocolate. The sugar-free kinds are just as delicious and usually under 50 calories. Have 2!
8. If you absolutely must go to the vending machine: Nature Valley Granola Bar – They do have a decent amount of sugar, which could leave you hungry again after an hour or two, but they are 382 times better than a King-Size candy bar or bag of cheese puffs (who wants orange dust all over your keyboard anyways?!).
If you are as big a fan of Pinterest as I am, Pin this Study Snack List here:
And I’m a college girl with mid-terms myself so share your own study tips/healthy snacks! :)
Recharge Button
In the midst of a 40-hour work week and 80-mile training week, I gotta squeeze in some fun for the sake of my sanity. (Not that I don’t consider running “fun”….it’s usually a blast. But I need to wear something other that a skirt & heels or spandex & tennies. The fun half of my closet is being neglected!)
Running every twelve hours on 7 hours of sleep leaves me A.) constantly hungry and B.) sleepy, until I’m ready to go to bed (like right now.) Oh and C.) a little moody (due to A. and B. – duh!) I take it one week at a time, until my summer job ends next week. But a much-needed boost came when I found out that two of my best friends from school were coming out to California this week!
Kerri and Emily are super great friends from school (and teammates!) on a girls’ road trip to Disneyland with their sisters. Too close to my house for me not to meet up with them! Considering Kerri and I lived just 30 seconds from each other for the first two years of college, this whole being-in-separate-states-for-three-months has been a major bummer. Our mini reunion on Monday was too short but totally worth the diversion from the office and the gym. Gotta be goofy sometimes! And seriously…what’s a better escape than Disneyland? I am counting down until we can all run together again :)
Not even ten hours later I was up in the dark hours of the morning, cranking out a tempo run. My dad rode his bike ahead of me, my “pacer” and simultaneous crossing guard. Whether it was the excitement from the night before or the jams on my iPod, I don’t know; but my tempo was almost a minute improved from 2 weeks ago (55 seconds to be exact) and a lot faster than I anticipated. That’s one way to start the day! :)
Post-workout fuel is almost as important as the workout itself. The actual “gain” from your workout comes from your muscles’ recovery from whatever you just traumatized them with. Muscles need to recharge too.
There are a lot of fancy supplements, protein shakes, protein powders, energy drinks, recovery bars, blah blah blah. I’ve never really experimented with post-workout protein drinks (unless my chocolate-covered-strawberry smoothie counts). I prefer something natural – Fruit and Yogurt Parfait. Simple.
Pretty Parfait: fat-free vanilla yogurt, diced apples, sliced bananas, green grapes, flax seeds, cinnamon, shredded coconut.
Yogurt contains the protein. Fruits contain the carbohydrates. Plus a dozen other vitamins and minerals.
Yogurt covered with all these super-food toppings is not only wildly colorful but extremely healthy and filling due to the amount of fiber and vitamins. Rounded out with PB2 (this stuff is life changing!), whole grain crackers and cuties to make it a meal (this is two yogurt parfaits pictured, just in separate-shaped containers).
I have made it a mission to get the majority of my snacks from “clean” foods while in this peak training phase. Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of the convenience of grabbing a granola bar, bag of pretzels or box of cereal. But I’m trying to be more conscientious and today I’ve brought a slew of goodies to keep me full at work before I go out for my double run this evening.
My thought process is this: Running as many miles and as often as I am understandably leaves me tired, particularly around 2pm when work slows down, the office is quieter and I just want to take a nap. Eating something sugary like a granola bar, trail mix, or worse – a candy bar – comes with the inevitable “crash” further extending the sleepiness effect. We eat more when we are tired, mistaking exhaustion for hunger; the cycle is perpetuated. Knowing I have a second run after work, I want to make sure I’m energized and alert.
Today I brought myself options! Banana, apple, nectarine, plum, bell peppers, cucumbers, Greek Yogurt, oats, almond slivers.
There is no recharge button. You have to eat/sleep/rest/run/laugh/cry/dance when your body tells you too! I’m learning this myself. Though it would be a lot easier if we had naptime at work ;)
What’s in that lunch box?
Since I work full time, my daily routine includes packing a lunch. Preparing my own healthy lunches and snacks is a way better option than visiting the vending machines or going out to fast food restaurants. You might be embarrassed to carry in a “lunch box” to work, but it beats the thousands of extra calories a week from fast food and I guarantee you’re not the only one doing it.
Even in high school, I always brought my lunch in favor of buying the greasy options from our outdoor cafeteria (though I definitely didn’t use a “lunch box” after 6th grade :P )
Some people are creatures of habit and do not mind a peanut butter sandwich with the crusts cut off every day of their life. I am not. There are just too many options out there!
So what’s in my lunch pail this week?!
It’s not just lunch I pack; I got snacks on snacks on snacks! I’m gone from home for 10-11 hours and this girl likes to snack (healthfully, mostly). Since breakfast is a little early, I have an apple mid-morning to quiet my growling tummy for a couple hours. Otherwise I’d be digging in to lunch before noon and that just seems too early! (In kindergarten we had lunch at 11:00am. My mom would literally have to leave work at 10:45 to come have lunch with me. Hah!)
We bring extra fruits and veggie bags. Sometimes we have peaches, pears, and bananas. Towards the end of the week when the fruit drawer runs low, it’s a two-apples-a-day kind of variety. This family eats a lot of fruit! Veggie bags also typically include cucumber and bell pepper slices but we had those inside of the wrap so today it’s just carrots by their lonesome!
What’s in the wrap? A 100-calorie Flatout wrap is filled with two tablespoons Sabra hummus, two tablespoons spicy mustard, fresh spinach leaves, red and green bell pepper slivers, cucumber sliced, diced tomato, sprouts and avocado! Better than subway if you ask me ;)
Since most days include an after-work trip to the gym, I always have a variety of snacks. Definitely fruit. Rice Crisps or pretzels if I feel like something crunchy; yogurt if I want something cold (I pop them in the freezer) and Dove dark chocolate just because.
Ain’t nothing wrong with packing lunch! My favorite elementary school lunch box was from 1st grade, a plastic pink Barbie house:
“The sun’s in my eyes!”
Imagine if I showed up to work with that little treasure.
