After a week of vacation (check out my pictures from sunny San Francisco!) and lots of eating out, Brandon and I are trying to eat as fresh as we can this coming week! Even though we adore trying new restaurants and being adventurous with food, there is still nothing better than coming home from vacation and cooking [...]]]>  

After a week of vacation (check out my pictures from sunny San Francisco!) and lots of eating out, Brandon and I are trying to eat as fresh as we can this coming week! Even though we adore trying new restaurants and being adventurous with food, there is still nothing better than coming home from vacation and cooking for yourself!! Yesterday, we grabbed tons of fresh ingredients at the grocery store and I could not wait to get my hands on them!!

I was all too excited to put together lots of fresh veggies! I ended up compiling an eight vegetable salad! We both enjoyed this mix in a La Tortilla Factory Multigrain wrap! It was delicious and completely satisfying! I even have some leftover for lunches throughout the week! Give this one a try! I know you’ll love it!

Tomorrow: Vacation Food: The what, where, when, and why!!

*Side note* Brandon had the computer tied up last night, so this was all I could muster for today!

Eight Vegetable Salad by The Healthy Apron!

~4-6 Servings

• 1 cup organic garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed, cooked, cooled
• 1 cup frozen broccoli, thawed, cooked, cooled
• 1 large organic carrot, shredded
• 3/4 cup broc0-slaw (the kind in the bag)
• 4-5 leaves of organic endive, shredded
• 1/4-1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/3 cup diced red pepper
• 1/3 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup cubed part-skim mozzarella (small cubes!)
• Dressing: 1 T olive oil + 2 T Fig Balsamic + pinch of sugar (courtesy of Jessica from How Sweet It Is)

Directions:

Prep vegetables and combine in a large bowl. Add garbanzo beans and mix well. Prepare salad dressing (or use the dressing of your choice) and gently pour over salad. I ended up using only about 1/2 of the dressing mixture and found it coated quite nicely! Use your own judgment!! Place in fridge to cool or use immediately! Great as a salad or used in a wrap!!

Nutritional Profile: 168 calories, 5.5 g Fat (1.3 g Sat., 0.8 g poly, 3.0 g mono), 4.1 mg cholesterol, 23 g carbohydrates, 5.5 g Fiber, 6.7 g protein, 260 mg sodium, 343 mg potassium

• Vitamin A: 67%
• Vitamin C: 62%
•  Folate: 25%

QUESTION:

What is your favorite part about coming home from vacation?

For this trip, we explored [...]]]> Vacations are a wonderful time to rejuvenate yourself and take a break from the daily stresses of life. I, for one, cannot get enough! I strongly believe that we must live our lives to the fullest and while the hubs and I are still young, we want to explore the country!

For this trip, we explored sunny San Francisco, drove through the valleys of Napa, and took in the sights at Monteray Bay. Every stop was a memorable one and we could not get over the incredible views! A bonus? It was such a healthy city!! People are active everywhere and there were plenty of healthy options when we went out to eat (more on that later this week)!!

For this post, I just wanted to quickly share some of our favorite sights, so that later in the week I can touch upon our vacation eating philosophies!! I hope you will tune in! For now though, let me highlight some of the fun from our trip!! *Sidenote: Believe me, pictures do NOT do this city justice!

Our first night...we walked around the bay. Such amazing views...but seriously WINDY!!

A view of the city!

Beginning of Day 1: We decided that instead of taking a bus, we would walk from Ghiradelli Square (where our hotel was) to the AT&T Ballpark. It was a beautiful day and we felt like exploring!!

As we trekked through San Francisco, we passed an organic farmer's market!! Of course, I had to stop and check out the produce!!

We definitely got some hill work in on our 2 hour journey to the game!!

We made it!! After the game we enjoyed a couple of massages! What a way to end that day!!

Day 2: After a LONG day of hiking through the city of San Fran on day 1, on day 2, we biked 17 miles total (over the Golden Gate Bridge and in to sausalito for lunch!)

After about an hour of biking, we were almost to the bridge! Quite a view!

Sausalito = GORGEOUS town!

Rainforest Cafe after a long day of biking!

Day 3: Alcatraz. We took tons of pictures but I will let you explore that on your own someday! It was really cool though!

This is just a tease...I will discuss our food choices throughout the coming week!!

Day 4: We traveled to Napa. Jessups Cellar in Yountsville (just north of Napa), was our first wine tasting of the day! Yum!! We left with 3 bottles!

My favorite: a dessert wine that was mixed with chocolate! Oh holy yum!

Gorgeous views of the vineyard!

Day 5: We drove back down to Monteray Bay. The first night we just walked through Cannery Row (a hoppin' place with lots of cute restaurants, bars, and shops) and grabbed a bite to eat.

Day 6: On the second day in Monteray, we took the 17 mile drive (huge homes, great views, 3 golf courses...including Pebble Beach!). We found out too late that we could have biked through! We were disappointed!

SO breath taking...

I believe this was called the Ghost Tree. Anyway, it is a famous landmark used by Pebble Beach Golf Club. I had to get a picture!!

The morning we left, we were truly sad to say goodbye...but we'll be back someday California!!! Do I look like a tourist or what??

HAPPY LABOR DAY! Hope everyone has been enjoying their long weekend!

What is the BEST vacation you have ever taken? We are looking for ideas for our next adventure!!

After [...]]]>

Hello all you Healthy Apron Readers! I’m so excited to be participating in the Operation Beautiful Guest Post Series for Erin. My name is Maren (yes, that’s like Erin but with an M) and I write a healthy living blog called Simply Maren about finding a happy medium between eating for health and for recreation.

After receiving Erin’s e-mail saying that I would get to provide a guest post I started thinking about what I wanted to share. I thought about my favorite Filling Factor recipes and about my Tips & Tricks to Get Fit, but instead decided to share a very special day in my Healthy Living Life.

I had started the blog Simply Maren in an attempt to learn how to love food. Food had been my constant mental and physical companion, whether it was filling a void, keeping an emotion at bay, or being the reason for my unhappiness and frustration with my body. I hated food for many reasons, but I was trying to learn how to accept it as a vital part of daily life.

Every day I wrote between one and three posts, revolving around my “love” of food. I was faking it, though it did become easier over time. There were days that I really did love all the food I ate and how I looked in the mirror. Which was progress, having a few good days a week is better than none. But there were still days that I felt gross, squishy, and out of control. I didn’t want people to see that I had little love handles or that my thighs touched when I walked.

I discovered Caitlin’s blog The Healthy Tipping Point a few months before I actually hit mine. I read everything on the blog, putting myself in the category of “Yes, I love myself”, but in reality it was “yes I love myself… today”. I then discovered Operation Beautiful. I was really inspired by the message, and it made me feel good to read about how finding little Post It notes changed other people’s lives.

I thought about leaving a Post It out there in the world, but what would I say? I had a really hard time complimenting other people. My whole life I had been emotionally “squashed” by others. I whole heartedly put myself out there to be friends, when time and time again I was crushed or backstabbed. I struggled to even say “Hi” to people when I walked into a room and “Bye” when I left, let alone say that someone was beautiful.

My turning point started the day I bought the Operation Beautiful book. I spent two days reading it cover to cover. I felt like every note was so inspired and special. I kept thinking I’ve never found a note, does anyone do this in my town?

The morning after I finished the book I went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. I normally weighed myself right before my shower in the morning. I was dreading it. Though I wasn’t as consumed with weight and “my number” as I had been, the feeling I felt when I stepped on the scale still made me cringe. I never felt satisfaction, even when I was “down”. The fact that I had been sick, on vacation, and not eating very intuitively leading up to that day wasn’t helping. I stepped on the scale preparing to be “up”.

This was the moment. I had kept a stack of Post Its in the bathroom next to the scale for over a year. I would periodically write down the date and how much I weighed.  While I waited for the scale to display my number, I grabbed the Post Its and scribbled “You Are Beautiful! Confidence Isn’t Living in a Number!” on it, stepped off the scale and stuck it right to the left of the display screen. I stepped back on the scale and read my number. Everything, all the baggage around weight was lifted away. The number had a whole new meaning, and frankly it was one of insignificance.

That day I took my shower, grabbed my stack of Post Its designated to record my weight and wrote “you are beautiful” on each and every one of the sticky pieces of paper. I posted them all over, in the Target bathroom stall, on a Marie Clare magazine, even on a 100 Calorie Pack box.

With every note I stuck, a piece of my negative life peeled away. I was smiling at people I didn’t know, I even complimented someone and said “I love your shirt”. I felt confident in myself, not because of the shirt I was wearing or because I had ate extremely light that day.

Though this day wasn’t that long ago I can say that every day since that morning has been brighter. I smile more and my feelings about weight are still the same, insignificant. After two years of traveling down the Healthy Living Road I can say that this was my turning point where I went from pretending to lead a well and healthy life to literally living one. Every day I can say “I love myself, I feel confident, and I’m living in the now”. Before I was so consumed with “in 6 months when I’m fifteen pounds lighter”, “when I’m a size 8 jean”, or “after a week of perfect intuitive eating” I wasn’t even living ,and letting so many things pass me by because I was more focused with the future and my “perfection”. Now I live in the moment, and every moment is happy and confident.

Confidence lives in each and every one of you; no matter if your short or tall, thin or curvaceous. It has nothing to do with what size pants you wear or if your brunette versus blonde. Believe in yourself because You Are Beautiful!

Please feel free to check out my blog. Leave me a comment and let me know your from The Healthy Apron. I hope you all have a wonderful day !

Everyone has their own definition of what beauty is.  Throughout my childhood, I struggled to understand what that was.  My weight fluctuated (though it was mostly at an incline) throughout my youth.  But at some point in my late teens, I took a moment to reflect on my life, and, in particular, the [...]]]>

Everyone has their own definition of what beauty is.  Throughout my childhood, I struggled to understand what that was.  My weight fluctuated (though it was mostly at an incline) throughout my youth.  But at some point in my late teens, I took a moment to reflect on my life, and, in particular, the role that food played in it.

 At the age of 16, I stopped eating chicken and beef and I became a pescatarian.  I didn’t do it for ethical reasons or as a form of rebellion, but, instead, because it made me feel better about myself.  I immediately felt a difference, in my body as well as my mind. 

Since those years, I’ve thought a lot about what beauty means to me.  And what it comes down to is this:  true beauty comes when you feel good about who you are.  I stopped focusing on how I looked and decided that the important thing was to eat healthier and to stay physically active.

That’s not to say that I’m a health nut.  I enjoy “bad” foods just as much as the next person.  But eating these foods feels somewhat superficial to me.  What really gets me going is a big salad or a perfectly cooked piece of fish.  They’re the foods that leave me satisfied, but not feeling guilty (nor overstuffed).

And this is what Operation Beautiful is all about: feeling good about who we are.  And that means putting things in our body that we not only enjoy, but are healthy too.

 Which leads me to this recipe for Chilled Corn Soup.  During these hot summer days (which are winding down at a frightening pace), I have been aching for soup.  Being tired of the traditional gazpacho, I immediately perused the web for other ideas.  As soon as I came across this at Gourmet.com, I knew I had to make it.

What struck me about this dish is how simply, yet effectively, it uses its ingredients.  It’s beautiful in and of itself.  Eating it makes me appreciate the beauty in this world and the beauty inside of me. 

 Chilled Corn Soup
(from Gourmet.com, August 2008)
Serves 6

Active time:15 min
Start to finish:1 1/2 hr

Simmering the cobs lends depth to a cool essence-of-corn soup, enhanced with a swirl of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives. 
Ingredients
3 ears of corn, shucked
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups water
sour cream (for garnish)
chopped chives (for garnish)

Directions
Cut kernels from cobs with a sharp knife, then cut cobs into thirds.

Cook onion and garlic in butter with 1/4 tsp salt in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add corn and cobs, water, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Discard cobs, then purée corn mixture in batches in a blender until very smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.

Chill until cold, at least 1 hour. Thin with water if desired and season with salt.

Cooks’ note: Soup can be chilled up to 3 days.

I just wanted to pop in quickly before Tina takes over for Operation Beautiful week and update you about our trip! We are having a wonderful time and cannot get over how GORGEOUS it is here! The views from the bay are incredible and absolutely breath taking! We cannot stop taking [...]]]>

Hello from sunny San Francisco!

I just wanted to pop in quickly before Tina takes over for Operation Beautiful week and update you about our trip! We are having a wonderful time and cannot get over how GORGEOUS it is here! The views from the bay are incredible and absolutely breath taking! We cannot stop taking pictures! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera cord to download our pics, so you will just have to wait for those when we come back!

In the meantime, we have had quite the active past couple of days! On Monday we trekked our way through the city, sightseeing on our journey to AT&T ballpark for the Giants game. Then we hiked back through the city and enjoyed relaxing massages. What a wonderful way to end a looong day of walking! We ended the day with a cable car ride and dinner at a quaint little Irish pub!

Yesterday, we biked our way across the Golden Gate Bridge and in to Sausalito for lunch. Can I just say that I would LOVE to have a home there? What an adorable town! The biking terrain was treacherous though! Hills and more hills. The whole trip was about 17 miles and we finished up with a trip to Ghiradelli Square! Can we say yum!?????????? Check out what we split!

http://randommealoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/07/very-berry-sundae.html

Today, we are heading to Alcatraz, Fischerman’s Wharf, and the Ferry Building Market. These are our last stops before we drive to Napa for the next two days!! Hope everyone has a chance to experience this city once in their lives! I am so thrilled that we are here and fully living in the moment! More updates to come!!

Hello Healthy Apron readers! My name is Tina and I’m the face behind the blog Faith, Fitness, Fun. You could describe me in a number of ways – mother, fitness enthusiast, promoter of all things health & wellness, former binger, preggo chick, flexitarian, and more. Sometimes those descriptions overlap or support one another.

When I became a mother in October of 2008, numerous changes occurred. I learned the importance of balance and let go of the “all or nothing” mentality. I removed the high expectations I placed on myself, because I quickly learned as a new mom that perfection does not exist.

I continue to learn more and more as I watch my daughter grow. I notice her zest for life, food, activity, and everything else under the sun. I appreciate her confidence and love for herself. I admire her ability to listen to and respect her body through truly intuitive eating and being able to play hard and then rest when needed.

The fact that we all seem to lose this sense of self over life bothers me greatly. Where do we go wrong? After some consideration, I came to the conclusion that three main factors contribute to steering us off course.

• Tearing our own selves down. Somewhere along the way, the images presented by the media or the expectations someone else places on us cultivate negativity towards ourselves. We consistently feel not good enough in so many ways. Not thin enough. Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not trendy enough. Not ____ enough. And we hold onto that notion. We don’t see the good we do have, only what we feel lacks.
• Tearing each other down. Sometimes the insecurity we feel about ourselves voices itself negatively towards other women. Instead of encouraging each others’ strengths, we gossip and pity one another. We criticize anyone we feel threatened by in any shaper or form, without realizing we each have our own insecurities. Instead of supporting one another to celebrate our unique attributes and strengths, we do whatever we can to feel better about ourselves, no matter who it may hurt.
• Losing perspective. Getting caught up in how we look or how others perceive us leaves a gaping hole in life. There is much more to life than that. The focus on how “successful” we are begins to surpass the simple enjoyment of living life. We have many things to appreciate – from the food we eat to the good friend we can count on – yet don’t see them from the blinders not fully loving ourselves and others places on us.

I hope to fight these things from playing out in my little M’s life. I know it won’t be fully possible, but I will continue to do my best for her. But I won’t stop there. I will also strive to support others and cultivate a positive self-image through my actions as well. This very reason is why I will start a 30 Day movement on my blog in September.

Life is hectic. Between work and school, family and friends, it’s easy to forget that you need to take care of yourself. I mean, when was the last time you checked in and asked yourself how YOU were feeling?  Even though we are trying to be the best at everything we do, it’s critical to make sure that [...]]]>

Life is hectic. Between work and school, family and friends, it’s easy to forget that you need to take care of yourself. I mean, when was the last time you checked in and asked yourself how YOU were feeling?  Even though we are trying to be the best at everything we do, it’s critical to make sure that mentally, we’re doing okay.

Part of becoming a healthier person is not just about losing weight, shaping up, or changing your appearance. It’s not always about making sure you can get to the gym right after work. A large part of your overall health is mental. Along with checking in with the scale every now and then and monitoring how our clothes fit, we need to start asking ourselves, “How am I feeling?”  After a workout, do you have more energy or are you past the point of exhaustion and about to collapse? How are you sleeping? Do you stay up late tossing and turning, stressing about all the work you have to get done the next day, or are you waking up completely rested? How about body image? Are you seeing YOU in the mirror, or the distorted “fat” picture you have of yourself in your head?

These are all very important indicators of good health and by paying closer attention; you will be doing wonders for your mental and physical being! 

FEELING good is a huge component of leading a healthier lifestyle! It’s not ALL about looking good! As you get healthier, by either losing weight, exercising more, or eating better, start noticing if your mood elevates. Are you feeling more confident and have better self-esteem? Are you able to get a good night’s sleep and feel rested in the morning? If not, what factors are bringing negativity?

Be honest with yourself and check in daily! Sometimes it’s a good idea to keep a journal, briefly writing how you are feeling, both the high and low moments. When you acknowledge the good and the bad, you are better able to handle those lows. You’ll start to realize that all these signs of positive and negative energy are just as important as the size of your waistline!

Yoga is an excellent way to check in mentally. It’s all about connecting the mind AND body. Once I started practicing on a daily basis, I noticed I was less stressed and better able to calm myself down in difficult situations. I was also more appreciative of my body and what it could do for me. I no longer feel the need to “torture” it with endless hours of exercise. I exercise to feel good and keep my body healthy; not to achieve “perfection.”

A last laugh...

Find your own nitch and what works for you! Feel great about how far you’ve come! You are worth it!

Feeling GOOD comes from within. With a healthy mind, you WILL have a healthy body!

How do YOU check in mentally?