Latest grocery finds

I love getting ideas on new foods and drinks to try from other bloggers, so today I though I’d share some of my favorite recent grocery finds.

I saw these drinkable vinegars at Kroger this weekend and knew I had to give them a try! I have been trying to be more aware of my gut health, and since I already love Suja juices, I thought these would be perfect to add into my daily routine. I bought four flavors, but I’ve only tried the peach-ginger so far. But it’s a winner in my book!

This was a random find at Aldi. I swear every week their products change! But I love love love pineapple salsa, so I knew I had to give this one a try! I ate half the jar in one sitting (oops), so I give it two thumbs up!

A couple weeks ago I posted about the benefits of honey. Since I don’t have honey from Ryan’s dad at the moment, I bought some local honey to add to my breakfast bowls, smoothie and to keep around for a energy-boosting snack.

This was another random find at Aldi, but now I’m hooked on these wraps. They have less carbs and calories than bread, and it’s easy way to sneak in some veggies. My favorite wraps lately have been pepper jack cheese, turkey, spinach and radishes. I also like to drizzle them with Italian dressing. Such an easy, nutritious and delicious lunch!

What are some of your recent grocery finds? Let me know in the comments below!

Random 25 question survey

Happy Monday. Since Mondays can be dreadful and boring, I thought I would today with a fun survey. Choose a few questions and leave me your answers in the comments below!

1. Do you make your bed? Nope. I leave for work before Ryan is even out of bed.

2. The first car that was officially yours? A 2006 Silver Ford Taurus. It was so long, but I loved that car. So many memories from my first car. It sadly got totaled a few years ago when someone ran a red light and hit me 😦

3. Three grocery items you don’t run out of? Milk, bread and cheese.

4. When did you start doing your own laundry? When I was like 8-9 years old. I started helping my mom with household chores at a pretty young age.

5. If you could, would you go to high school again? Eh, probably not. It was fun and all, but I love where I am right now 🙂

6. What are three of your favorite foods? Pizza, turkey and cheese sandwich and ice cream!

7. First job? McDonalds! I actually ended up staying there for five years and became a manager. It helped pay for a lot of my college!

8. Do you think aliens are real? Nope.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? This is a hard one! I love going to MLB games and college basketball games, but I also love watching basketball and running on tv.

10. Guilty TV pleasure? Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team

11 . Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Too hot.

12. If the world ends do you want to be one of the survivors? Not really. I’ve seen The Walking Dead. Just make me a zombie. Haha!

13. Sweet or salty? Sweet. I have a major sweet tooth.

14. Do you enjoy soaking in a nice bath? Yes!

15. Do you consider yourself strong? Yes, both mentally and physically.

16. Something people do, physically, that drives you crazy? Litter. WHY!?!

17. Favorite song on the radio right now? Strip That Down – Liam Payne

18. Who was the last person you text? My husband.

19. Favorite childhood game? Monopoly, Twister, Mario Kart

20. Do you talk to yourself? YES. I talk to myself, to Murphy, to my computer, the list goes on and on.

21. Do you like doing jig-saw puzzles? Sure do! Ryan and I completed a 1,000 piece puzzle last winter to frame and give to his grandma as a Christmas present.

22. Would you go on a reality show? I would love to be on something crazy and fun like The Amazing Race or Survivor.

23. Tea or coffee? Sweet tea, no lemon!

24. First thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up? Either a rockstar or a marine biologist – I loved dolphins!

25. No matter how much money you have or don’t have, what are you an absolute snob about? Sports bras – there’s nothing worse than a bad one!

Friday Favorites v.59

Today’s Friday Favorites is very running-related — which makes me so happy. Not only have I been having an interesting week with running (so many ups and downs!) but there have been lots of interesting running and race-related things in the news. Enjoy!

1. Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay lead the American contenders at the Chicago Marathon in October.
* Joan Benoit Samuelson is also going for an age group world record on October 8.

2. To celebrate their 100th issue, Women’s Running is having you create your own cover! Upload your favorite photo & share your cover using #MyWRcover.

3. Running GPS vs. Course Length. The infographic, shows how certified running courses are methodically measured and explains why your GPS distance may not always match the official course distance.

4. 20 minute treadmill workout.

5. Locash, a relatively new country band is coming to Owensboro tonight! I’m so excited for a free date night with Ryan.

6. I have been a smoothie kick all week. Nothing feels better after a hot run or a long day than a cold, refreshing smoothie. Blueberry smoothie (with some frozen spinach thrown in!) has been my favorite lately.

7. 21 Quick Trail Running Tips.

8. I love ending my Friday Favorites post with a picture of Murphy. He just makes me so happy and I hope you all enjoy seeing him on the blog every week.

Kentucky Summer

This week has been a hot one. With temps in the high 90s and a ton of humidity, running in the weather has sucked.

*I’ve been running in super hot garage with all the doors open, the treadmill fan and a standup fan blowing on me. So basically lots of hot, sticky air being moved around.*

Props to you all who is hotter places than me. I know this weather isn’t even the worst of it and I’m complaining. Yesterday, I did a 20 minute treadmill workout and I’m going to be honest, it was HARD.

And I hate that it was hard.

It’s only 20 minutes. How in the hell am I going to run a half marathon, if slogging through 20 minutes on the treadmill was enough to kick my butt?

But I read something the other day that has stuck with me: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.”

YES. YES. YES. LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK.

This training is worth it. These terrible hot and slow runs are worth it. 

I’m sweating now, to kick butt later.

That’s my mantra for this week.

20 minute treadmill workout

Hey guys! Happy Tuesday. This week has already started off super busy and I felt like I was the energizer bunny yesterday. Between work, getting in a quick workout and cleaning house + fixing dinner — I basically fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

So today, I am just checking in real fast with a fun treadmill workout. I love that it constantly changes pace — it keeps me from getting bored!

I plan to follow this workout tonight for my run. Let me know if you like this workout!

Friday Favorites v.58

It’s Friday! Today has already started off with me crushing one of my deadlines and someone brought doughnuts into work. It’s going to be a good day.

My plans for this evening are to celebrate the end of a another week with my favorite girls at Friday After 5.

Anyways. Let’s talk favorites.

1. Okay, so I know this is not a new thing, but after seeing all kinds of Facebook ads for Halo Top ice cream, I decided to give it a try to see what all the fuss was about. I actually had a coupon from Kroger for a free pint, so it was perfect timing.

Guys. I love it. So far, I’ve tried the lemon and red velvet flavors and they were both amazing. While it is a little pricey, it doesn’t have any fake ingredients in it and has lots of protein! So I think it’s worth the splurge. While I don’t keep ice cream in the house all time (I would totally pig out on it every night) it is nice to have a cool summer treat waiting for me after a hot summer day.

2. The best blueberry smoothie. I had it three times for lunch this week. I also threw in some frozen spinach so some extra greens! It was delicious.

3. For all of you summer racers. How to race when it’s really, really hot.

4. This prickly pear drink recipe from Julie looks delicious! I can’t wait to give it a try this weekend.

5. I got some exciting work-related news earlier this week. I love the line of work I am in and I am excited to continue to learn and grow in the communications & media field.

6. I’ve been getting into social media a little more.
Follow along on Instagram for snapshots and videos of my wonderful & crazy life. Plus I post lost of pictures of Murphy — what more could you want?!

7. Such a great article on Charlotte Jones Anderson and how she became the most powerful woman in football.

8. Murphy can nap anywhere. It’s hilarious.

Have a great weekend! Talk to guys on Monday! 🙂

10 simple summer snacks

Since it has been SO HOT lately, I thought I would share a quick roundup of some simple summer snacks. None of these recipes require the oven, some are healthy and some involve ice cream 🙂

Enjoy!

1. Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
INGREDIENTS
• 4 cups frozen strawberries
• 3 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. I use and LOVE my NutriBullet.

2. Fruit & Cheese Kabobs
3. Celery & Peanut Butter
4. Honey Vanilla Ice Cream
5. Real fruit popsicles.

6. Frozen grapes and cottage cheese (I stole this idea from Hungry Runner Girl)
7. Smoothies!
8. Fresh fruit
9. Sliced cucumber sandwiches
10. Caprese salad

Benefits of honey

Happy Monday! This weekend was a whirlwind (aren’t they always?!) but I am excited and ready to start the work week. I have lots of career and personal goals brewing, so I determined to make this week count AND make it a good one!

So for today’s post, I am talking about the benefits of honey! The benefits of honey go beyond its great taste. Since one of Ryan’s dad’s hobbies is bee keeping, we are lucky enough to get free, raw honey basically year-round. It’s pretty neat to see whole the process behind-the-scenes. It takes a lot more work than you think!

Honey is a great natural source of carbohydrates which provide strength and energy to our bodies. Sometimes before a long run, I will eat a spoonful of raw honey for an extra burst of energy. Lots of natural sugars = good for runners. The glucose in honey is absorbed by the body quickly and gives an immediate energy boost, while the fructose is absorbed more slowly providing sustained energy.

Honey is known for its effectiveness in instantly boosting the performance, endurance and reduce muscle fatigue of athletes.

Natural honey is also good for allergies! This was something I learned from Ryan’s dad. After moving to Tennessee, I had the WORST allergies. He gave me some natural honey (which was from TN) and after eating it for about a week, I noticed my allergies were a little better!

The bees go from flower to flower collecting pollen that causes you to suffer, but when a you consume local raw honey, you also consume that same offending local pollen. After some time, an allergy sufferer may become less sensitive to this pollen that previously caused problems and experience less seasonal allergy symptoms.

I’ve heard honey can help with sore throats, but I’m not entirely sure if that is true. Anyone out there know if this is a fact? Feel free to send some info!

Any other runners out there eat a spoonful of honey before a long run/race?

Quote of the Day

5k treadmill plan

Happy Saturday, friends! I know there is usually radio silence on the blog over the weekend and lately there hasn’t been much talk of running, but today I am changing both!

While my plan is still run a half marathon sometime in the next 3-4 months, I am also wanting to work on my speed, so I am also looking at some 5k training plans. Right now my mindset is to not be too strict or hard on myself and run to have fun and be healthy. For a while I got burnt out on running and felt like I had to constantly be running 5-10 miles a day in order to be a real runner.

WRONG. Obviously.

Anyways. Back to the 5k training plan.

My favorite badass lady Kelly Roberts is currently promoting some 5ks plans and I am loving them! While I am training for a fall half marathon, I love not being super strict and having fun with my runs. Plus, since I am needing to work on speed anyways, this 5k plan should help with that too!

Two #BadassLadyGang5K training plans from Kelly Roberts.

Earlier this week, Kelly tweeted out this week 1 plan and I decided to loosely follow it (not gonna lie, the holiday and rock climbing kind of threw off my typical routine).

But here was the week one plan.

So if you’re looking for a training plan to switch things up, I recommend giving this a try!

Sidenote: look up Kelly’s blog, RunSelfieRepeat.com Also. Follow her on Twitter. She is inspirational and funny as hell. @KellyKRoberts.