Strong Like My Coffee is two weeks old today. I’m starting to get the hang of things and am so excited for all of the ideas I have for this blog! Now that we’re getting serious, I don’t want to make any rookie mistakes. I’ve decided to take the afternoon to do some “research”…. When I commit to something, I fully invest myself in it. And even though I’ve been educating myself on nutrition facts and physiology for years, I thought I’d brush up on some material today while I had a leisure afternoon at home.

I have about a two year’s worth of Runner’s World subscriptions, some Women’s Health magazines, Prevention and Self Magazines, plus some exercise books, nutrition novels and cookbooks. I grabbed a spiral notebook and my Starbuck’s Skinny Vanilla Latte (not homemade today) and FILLED our dining room table. (It felt like I was back in high school, preparing for an AP exam or something!)

While I already knew most of the material, the overwhelming amount of pictures, recipes and exercises had me scribbling down ideas for future posts on Strong Like My Coffee (starting tomorrow!). If you surround yourself with healthy images, you will be inspired to be healthy too! Of course I had to have a study snack:

But of course life is about balance…after about an hour reading dozens of health-related articles, I flipped to some more indulgent material:

Just as Ryan Hall’s article inspired me to keep a daily food journal, The Cookie Bible inspired me to bake fabulous and decorative desserts! I love looking at cookbooks and recipes, especially desserts. It’s like window shopping: appreciating the treat without the calories and guilt! I did find one recipes I have to try, which YOU can look forward to seeing Thursday :)