Hi!

Today has been a whirlwind for about a million reasons. However, I did get to calm down a little bit and sit behind the desk of my peaceful yoga studio for three hours and that was lovely. Just being in the studio relaxes me, even if I’m not practicing. Today I also wrote an article on the myth of carbo loading and then proceeded to bake cookies. Hahaha! It worked though because the wonderful people at The Lazy Baker sent me one of their cookie mixes to sample. Yay!

I was SO excited! All you need is a stick of butter, an egg and a splash of vanilla. I was all set to go!

I liked this mix a lot because unlike other baking mixes (which I despise…I’m sort of old fashioned), the ingredients in this mix were easy to pronounce and wholesome. Plus, I like adding my own wet ingredients. Dried out milk and egg just gross me out, I don’t know about you.

I did the batter taste-test:

Yep, it passed the test. Only 12 minutes later these popped out of the oven!

They looked delicious but I decided to wait and sample one for dessert (I had eaten enough dough to know they rocked. Trust me).

For a snack I had instead some yogurt + Udi’s—

Plus a little less than half a POM tea:

When I got home from work a box was waiting for me…..what could it be??!

gahhhhhh!!! I LOVE THESE!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tim! Tim runs the site BestPriceNutrition.com and obviously rocks. Yay!

Dinner was re-heated tofu + orzo and cucumber slices—-

And then finally, I ate two AMAZING cookies

I practiced my self restraint….I could have totally eaten the entire batch. They were so soft and delicious!

***

Epsom salt + bubble bath to soak my shins then 9 miles in the morning!!! Please pray for me…I’m really nervous because my left shin has been giving me hell lately and I’ve never ran this far in my life. Sort of scared.

eeek!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 45 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dessert, Dinner, Product Reviews, Snack

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Hi guys!

For some reason I’m just oozing with positivity today. I think mapping out my August on my google calendar put me in a really good mood! So much fun stuff! I saw a few comments inquiring about my Lexington trip! The news is that I have family there and….my parents are thinking about MOVING to Lexington this fall. So, at the end of the month I will be going up there with them, visiting family and helping them house-hunt. I ADORE Lexington and am so excited…I haven’t been back for a few years and I have desperately missed it. I’m going to try to have a reader meet-up while I’m there, so stay tuned! The sticky part of the situation is that I won’t have a car but hopefully it will work out–I love to meet y’all!

My 90 minute yoga flow class this morning was intense. It was all about the legs and we moved super super slow to really focus in on those muscles big time. When it was all over and we were laying in savasana, I put my palm on my quad and it was literally quivering. Two hours later and I am STILL jelly.

Since I knew I had errands to run before lunch, I snacked on this bar from the depths of my purse

I did buy some Gatorade at Publix after what y’all said about hydrating and running in the heat. Confession: I LOVE GATORADE. As in, freakin’ adore the stuff. I would chug it every single day if I could…especially the blue kind. I never buy it because of that fact (it would be gone in a day), however, I’m going to start doing the 1/2 gatorade 1/2 water trick in my water bottle for my outside runs. I’m also going to drink some Gatorade the night BEFORE my run to see if that helps any. I have got to find a way to beat these headaches! I’m planning a 3 mile run outside tomorrow morning so I’m trying to hydrate all I can today to get ready for it. Your advice helped so much the other day…thank you!!

Special treat!!!

Yummy all natural soda! This one tasted like cream soda (my favorite childhood soda) with sort of a floral note. Its very sweet (obviously) so a little goes a long way!

Time for wholesale! I shall return!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 54 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Exercise, family, Lunch, musings, Product Reviews, Snack, yoga

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Good afternoon! Sorry this post is a wee bit late but Wednesdays are my yoga days and, wow, did I ever need it. Before I left though I was able to crank out a new True/Slant article—this time on my personal experience with finding a healthy balance. Good stuff!

(...)
Read the rest of Yoga Wednesdays (357 words)

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Lunch, Product Reviews, yoga

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Is it Humpday already???!! Ahhhhh! This week is going by painfully slow and all too fast at the same time. Before I know it it will be Saturday morning and I’ll be boarding my plane to the wine country!

But I’m sure you all are dying to know the winner of the Eating Well Cookbook!!!! First of all, let me just tell you I got some great ideas from you guys! 525 AWESOME ways to eat healthier..what more could you ask for?!

That being said, the random winner is Lexi, comment number 105!!!

Lexi wrote: “My favorite healthy adaptation is to blend steel cut oats to make the flour when I make pancakes. I use half oats & half whole wheat flour. The oats make them nice and fluffy!”

Awesome, Lexi! Please email me your information and I will get your book sent right out to you!

***

This morning I made a big Green Monster to boost my vitamins and minerals as I near the weekend.

My GM has in it 2 pieces frozen cantaloupe, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 scoop Pom Mango Amazing Meal, 1 cup vanilla soymilk, fresh spinach and a scoop of White Chocolate Wonderful pb

It was goooode

I followed it up with a steaming mug of green tea!

And now….the moment you have all been waiting for!

As you know, I have been using the Avocate Skincare products now for nearly a week. I just can’t say enough about this line. Coming from someone that is SO paranoid about their super sensitive skin, it means a lot for me to recommend these products so strongly these products to you.

If you can recall my Skincare 101 post I wrote last month you know my skin’s history. It hasn’t all been bells and whistles! I had great skin until I reached age 20 and then it seemed to all just go downhill fast from there. For years I struggled with dry skin, then oily skin, then breakouts, then super super sensitive skin….I relied heavily on oral antibiotics, topical steriods and super drying sulfur face wash during that time. For the past two months I’ve used Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub twice daily and have had good results (as in no breakouts) but my skin still lacked the certain luster that I craved.

Enter Avocate.

Made from organic, all natural ingredients, this line might have simply changed my life. Avocate, like I’ve said before, uses organic avocado oil in its products. Avocado oil is pretty much a wonder oil because it actually increases the amount of collagen in the skin to visibly reduce the first signs of aging. Also, the oil is water soluble so your skin can almost instantly drink up all the amazing vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids found in the oil. Avocado oil not only benefits those with dry skin, but also those with sensitive skin prone to breakouts because the oil has antibacterial properties.

Other than avocado oil, the line uses other natural substances such as honey (known also for its antibacterial properties), dead sea salts, vitamin E, vitamin A, aloe vera and the finest essential oils available.

When Stephanie Morris, the founder of Avocate, told me that all she does every day is use the Body Polish on her face as well as a little dab of the Skin Glow…no make-up, no anything, I was shocked. Scrub my face with salt and then apply OIL?!! Are you out of your mind???? She reassured me it was fine and she hasn’t had a breakout since she started (she used to have very breakout-prone skin as well). So, gingerly, after scrubbing my face with the body polish, I applied a dime sized amount of the Skin Glow to my face. I was worried my face would be oily for the rest of the day or break out like never before, but surprisingly, the oil soaked into my skin within a minute and I was left with the smoothest, softest skin ever. No grease, no breakouts. It was a miracle! Plus, it smells absolutely heavenly and it was like getting a mini facial at home. Stephanie, you are a genius! No breakouts this morning either. Actually, my skin feels seriously softer than I think it has ever felt and its almost glowing!

So this morning Stephanie has agreed to giveaway one complete set of her products a very, VERY lucky ELR reader. The reader will receive the same set as I did—the Intensive Eye Repair, Body Lotion, Skin Glow and Body Polish. This set retails at about $95!

Like yesterday, the giveaway will end at 10 pm eastern time. To enter, just leave a comment on this post stating why you want to try these products. I will pick a random winner tonight!

**Avocare products are also available for purchase online….Stephanie says that because the line is so new, it isn’t even in stores yet.

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 872 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, green monster, Product Reviews

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Morning!

I just finished a total deep clean of the house and its only 9:00! When I woke up this morning it was a MESS. Poker chips everywhere, dice, cards, cups, napkins…..you could have thought we had a big party but nope, it was just Ryan and I! I did a deep clean of the kitchen and living room and swept, mopped, vacuumed and sanitized it all. Ahhhhh much better.

Anyways, on to the day! I have A LOT of exciting stuff in this post so get ready! Also, get ready for ELR Wine 101 Day 2 with Red Wines for Newbies still to come!

First up was breakfast. I tried my new MojaMix cereal that I had customized myself!

When given the opportunity to customize a batch for the blog, I immediately picked all of my favorites. I started with their “Grains a Plenty” base (wheat flakes, oat flakes, rye flakes, barley flakes and puffed rice) and then added apricots, cranberries, pears, peaches, whole walnuts, pumpkin seeds and raw cacao nibs for a bit of chocolate!

I had 1/2 cup of my mix with a vanilla oikos. It was delicious!

YUM! This reminded me so much of the breakfast I ate every single morning in France—muesli and yogurt! I loved the muesli-feel of this mix and the fact that it was just bursting with all my favorite dried fruit. MojaMix, two thumbs up from ELR!

And now another thing I shall gush about for a brief minute is Avocate Skincare. Remember when I reviewed their body lotion last week? Well last night I tried the Body Glow and Collagen Eye Repair for the first time and…….wow.

I rubbed the heavenly scented body oil into my legs and arms after my bath last night and STILL this morning, my skin is softer than it has ever been. I have very dry skin, almost to the point of being itchy, so this is amazing to me. Plus, it smelled phenomenal. Ingredients in the body glow include organic avocado oil, vitamin A oil, vitamin E oil, Egyptian jasmine essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil and frankincense essential oil. It.smelled.amazing. Avocado oil really is a miracle!

The Intensive Eye Repair also was very nice. This was this first time I’ve ever used an eye cream but now that I’m (gulp) in my mid-twenties I am beginning to see the importance of it. I don’t want no wrinkles! I’ve always dealt with under-eye circles, and when applied at night this cream diminishes them almost completely. Hello, travel! This is perfect! I’ve never been a huge make-up girl but under eye concealer has always been the one product I can’t live without. If I didn’t have to use it anymore it would be a miracle!

This cream was very, very thick from the rich avocado butter and felt great massaged into the areas around my eyes.

Okay, on to exciting news number three!

Last week I received this awesome cookbook in the mail:

I basically read the whole thing cover to cover and I just love it. The pages are super glossy, the photos are great and the recipes are mouth-watering. Plus, there are sample meal-plans and nutritional info for every single recipe in the book!

I haven’t made anything yet because I’m still in the stage of flagging all the recipes I want to make (there are many) but I was generously given ANOTHER cookbook to give away to one very lucky ELR reader! How about it?!

So, to enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this post describing your favorite healthy adaptation of a typically unhealthy recipe (Gena’s banana soft serve instead of ice cream, for example. Which I still need to try!!! Perhaps today?!). You don’t have to type the recipe out, just tell me what it is….it could be anything! One of my favorites is my mom’s version of pulled chicken which is much lower in fat than typical pulled pork from a bbq joint.

You have until 10 pm tonight to enter and I will pick a random winner at that time! Ready, set, GO!!!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 529 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, Product Reviews

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Happy Friday!!!

I’m so glad to hear there is some interest from my Cali readers on coming out to a Murphy-Goode tasting on Sunday, July 19th! I don’t have all the information right now but I do know that if you come on my behalf it is FREE (heck yeah) and it should be a really goode time. If any readers planning on attending could drop me an email, I will create a group so I can update you all on more information as I get it. Please come if you can; I need all the support I can get!!

Back to my morning. The alarm went off at 6:30 and I made a quick pre-run snack—

First thing I noticed when I got outside was how HOT and HUMID it already was at 7:00!!!!! Since I haven’t run outside since the spring I had sort of put Florida summer heat out of my mind but woah, it came back fast. I’m going to have to get up even earlier during the next few months to beat it, that’s for sure. Today I kept splashing cold water on my face and taking liberal sips, so that helped a lot.

I ended up doing 4 miles in 42 minutes, which was perfect for my long run pace. I put my pride aside and took a few walk breaks because I was nervous since I was running on asphalt for the first time (the grass was flooded). I’d rather save my legs and go slow than kill myself my first time back out. Gone are the days where I used to crank out 5 miles in 45 minutes. No sir. I’m not in this race to win, I’m in it to finish strong!

When I got back it was already 8:00 and I threw together a super Green Monster to refuel!

This bad boy had 2 pieces frozen cantaloupe in it, the other half of my banana, tons of fresh spinach, 1 scoop Pom Mango Amazing Meal, about 1/3 cup blueberries, 1 cup vanilla soymilk, 1 scoop raw almond butter and ice. It tasted amazing!

This morning I am getting my hair highlighted!!!!! I am SO EXCITED! Is it just me or does getting your hair done totally improve your look and mood? I haven’t gotten full highlights for two years and I thought it was definitely time. No cut or anything, just the highlights. I’m going to bring a book and just veg out!

And now, for a product review!!!

It seems like I haven’t done a product review in FOREVER! For awhile I was doing so many of them but then when John died I sort of took a break for awhile. I’ve actually never done a skincare product review before so I was very, very excited to receive generous samples of Avocate Skincare in the mail for me to review on the blog.

Avocate Skincare uses the active benefits of organic avocado to help rebuild lost collagen and add luminous qualities to the skin. It works with your skin’s natural chemistry to actually reverse the first signs of aging and add lost volume. Pretty cool, huh?

Today after my shower I tried the Avocate Skin Perfecting Body Lotion. My first thought was, wow this smells amazing! It smells like you are in a garden or something with a light perfumed fragrance of ylang ylang, jasmine and frankincense. The lotion hydrates your skin for 24 hours with aloe vera and avocado oil, which was huge for me because I have very dry skin (excluding my face). I used the lotion on my legs after shaving and they instantly felt quenched….not itchy or dry at all. Also, the lotion instantly absorbs into your skin, which is great because who wants white streaks on their legs as they walk into work? Not I.

I look forward to testing and reviewing the eye repair, body polish and skin glow next! Thanks, Avocate!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, cardio, Exercise, green monsters, Product Reviews, Snack

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Hi friends!

Wow, talk about a LONG day!!!

I am very thankful to be home and in my jammies, bout to get tucked into my big soft bed. The post-wedding brunch this morning was lovely. Katie and Matt had it catered by this wonderful little Italian deli and there was a great spread of Italian meats, gourmet cheese, olives, veggies and fresh fruit. I rarely eat lunch meat but I do love gourmet Italian meats and I made a sandwich with some as well as provolone cheese and spicy brown mustard. It was awesome! I haven’t had a sandwich like this is in a very long time and it satisfied all my taste buds totally!

Lots of fresh fruit and carrots on the side! I’ll tell ya—-I’ve had the BEST fruit this weekend! Somehow the plums, watermelon and berries just taste so much better here than do back home!

After this, if you can believe it, I was still quite hungry (my appetite has been out of control today!) so instead of making another sandwich, I made a “roll-up” with another piece of meat and cheese with mustard. I also tried one of the spicy peppers that was stuffed with cheese and salami and two giant olives……YUM! This totally hit the spot.

This is why I could never be a vegetarian. I adore vegetarian meals but once in awhile this gourmet foodie loves her meat! This is exactly why, for me, I can’t put any labels on my eating habits. I know it works for a lot of people but I love to have the total freedom to eat whatever I like….in moderation of course! Sure, I might go a week or two without any meat but then I don’t feel guilty when I indulge in some! Its all about what works for you individually. What feels the best for your body is what you should do….we are all made quite different!

We said our goodbyes and piled into the car for the hour and a half trip back to Milwaukee. Once in the airport I bought some snacks + magazines ‘cause I knew dinner wouldn’t be for a long while.

Never tried the dried fruit before but it was really good. I ate it WITH the baggie of soy crisps (it was a single serving bag….only 110 calories and 7 grams of protein!) for the whole “sweet and salty” combo. I really like these soy crisps for a snack…..’specially the salt and vinegar flavor because growing up that was my favorite flavor of potato chips! These crisps are pretty much totally guilt-free and they are as light as air. They also come in a variety of flavors such as sea salt and bbq. When I was in college my mom would send me up big bags of them because I couldn’t find them anywhere!

GREAT recipes in this month’s Cooking Light! I see a pretty major trip to Costco (!!!) in my future for tomorrow……

We got into Atlanta right around dinner time and since we had a 2 1/2 hour layover, we headed upstairs to Chili’s so we could sit down and relax out of the terminal for a bit.

I ordered the chicken fajitas for my meal—-

I ate the fajitas tortilla-less and with only a small amount of cheese. Loved me some of that guacamole though!

They were actually very tasty! I haven’t had fajitas in a long time! Definitely didn’t even miss the tortillas. After eating whole wheat for so long, white tortillas just don’t even taste good to me anymore.

My mom and I split this fro yo for dessert This was a nonfat twist of praline and white chocolate mousse with sprinkles! I get fro yo EVERY SINGLE TIME I go through the Atlanta airport. Its a tradition! Usually I hit up the TCBY but Freshens was right near our gate.

Our plane ended up sitting on the runway for ever (does this always happen to anyone else in Atlanta?? Happens to me every.single.time) and then we went through a bunch of bad weather on the flight down. I don’t get motion sickness at all and both of my parents were actually flight attendants for 15 years so I’ve grown up feeling comfortable on planes, but I still get a little shaky sometimes. When this happens I simply plug in my music, ask for some hot water and make some herbal tea while I meditate and think happy thoughts.

That’s all for now, friends! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and is feeling refreshed and renewed for the week ahead! See you in the morning!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: friends, Lunch, lunch out, Product Reviews, Snack, traveling

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Mmmm I’m so much happier with Mexican food in my belly . This morning I had a great 2 mile run on the treadmill and then headed over to St.Pete to meet Ryan for lunch (and bring him his gym bag. lol). On the way, I snacked on a new snack that came in the mail for me to try!

This packet was only 110 calories and was very, very tasty! The almonds and peanuts had an all natural berry glaze on them and there were little pieces of dried berries in the packet as well. It was the perfect snack when you don’t want something large because you are about to eat but still need something after exercise. Also, these are perfect for traveling!

At Burrito Boarder I ordered the same thing I always do–it never lets me down!

My bowl consisted of:

• black beans
• grilled fish
• hot sauce
• hot peppers
• lettuce
• guacamole
• cilantro
• onions
• black bean and corn salsa

You really don’t even need the cheese—its just so good as is! Of course Ryan and I shared a basket of their chips, which are the best chips ever. So hot and perfectly salty!

To drink, I had an organic iced jasmine green tea—

Its STILL rainy outside and I love it! I have some herbal tea, my big soft socks on, and am wrapped under a blanket with Dexter. I love my sunshine but the occasional rainy day makes me happy (just not when we are having a garage sale!).

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 38 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cardio, Exercise, lunch out, Product Reviews, Snack

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Hello, hello!

Now I am sort of regretting putting that awful tired picture on the internet for the whole world to see….I really look horrible!!!! Praying for good, good sleep tonight! I was at the store re-stocking our spinach and banana stash and found myself pondering over the eye gels and masks but they all were like $30 so I nixed the idea quite fast. Oh well.

This afternoon I DID get to the gym for some cardio, which like always, really really helped! I spent 30 minutes pumping and working—15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes speed walking on an incline on the treadmill. Tomorrow I shall run my two miles! Woohoo!

Speaking of the gym, is the locker room scale getting you down?? As we all know, the number the scale reads really isn’t a good representation of your total health; as we all know, lean muscle weighs more than fat! My fellow True/Slant co-journalist, Katie, addresses this issue in her article, Your Ideal Self (numericized).

So, after my workout I felt the need for even MORE greens so I snacked on one of my faves:

I do love these things….and the ingredient list is just awesome! Speaking of Amazing Grass, have you taken advantage of the special 40% discount on the 2lb tubs of Amazing Meal yet?? Seriously this is a once in a lifetime offer! If you thought my eyes looked puffy in my godzilla picture then, you should have seen them pre-grass. Scary.

Just type in the special code: EatLiveRun40%AM at checkout and you get the once $70 container for only $41…..plus a super sweet shaker for free. Come on now!

For the rest of the afternoon I just worked, worked, worked. Then, it was dinner time. I didn’t have the energy to cook something tonight and looked to the black whole, which is my freezer, for inspiration. In the end, I picked my very, very, VERY favorite “trash food”—-

I moaned with unbridled pleasure at every last bite.

But even better (how could it possibly get better?!), there was something else amazing from the freezer that made an appearance!

I’ve never tried this flavor before but it was LOVE at first spoonful. Seriousy.the.best.ice cream.i’ve.ever.had. Well except gelato in Paris but that’s in a class of its own. This was freakin’ amazing and for those non-coconut lovers out there, you couldn’t taste the coconut milk in the slightest bit. All I could taste was pure coffee heaven. Creamy coffee flavored ice cream with fudge ribbons and crunchy almonds. I won’t lie—after this small bowl I totally went back for another (large) spoonful from the freezer.

Find this crack at your local Whole Foods or large supermarket. It knocked my socks off.

We have big Friday night plans: nothing. I’m so tired all I want to do is go to sleep and tomorrow is going to be a big fun day because I have a special secret lunch date!!!!!! Oh, and its our 3 year anniversary

See you tomorrow bloggies!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dessert, Dinner, Exercise, Product Reviews, Snack

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Hey friends!

Still at my parent’s house, plugging away! The other day when I wrote the post on True/Slant about how to stay healthy when ordering take-out, I had a TON of questions of what do I, personally, eat when fast food is the only option. You ask, I provide! Here’s Staying Healthy, No Matter What: Part II.

I got a surprise in the mail this morning, which is making my life a whole lot more comfortable!!

I had mine with a light laughing cow cheese, honey mustard and broccoli slaw on a whole wheat Arnold’s sandwich thin. PAPAYA (!) and watermelon on the side!

I do love my tropical fruit and papaya is just so darn pretty. Oh, how I wish I were on a tropical vacay right now!

It has sort of a different taste though because its not very sweet. My mom said a great way to eat papaya is with a lime squeezed over it!

I haven’t even gotten around to washing my face yet today. How gross am I? Today IS my “off” day at the gym but I think I’ll walk on the treadmill at 4:00 just to stretch my legs (and watch Oprah…obvi).

Hope everyone is having a great day so far!

Just an FYI: today is the LAST day to vote for yours truly for the Murphy-Goode dream job! Tomorrow they close off applications and pick the top 50 candidates!! ahhhhh!!!!!

© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2009. | Permalink | 52 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, Product Reviews

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh