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!

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

Adventures in rock climbing

Happy Monday everyone! If you’re like me, I have to work today, but I am off again tomorrow for Independence Day! So while I don’t have a lot of updates from the weekend, I do have a fun post about my adventures in rock climbing from last week.

On Thursday, my dad invited me to go an indoor rock climbing facility. While I haven’t been climbing in ages, I was so excited to go!

We drove an hour from Owensboro to Evansville to climb at Vertical eXcape

The facility features more than 12,000 square feet of textured climbing surface with heights up to 32 feet, over 40 climbing stations and a huge bouldering area.


After refreshing my memory on some of the basics, my dad and I were off and climbing! We split our time between the auto belay and buddy belay and it was so much. We climbed for about 2.5 hours and it was such a workout.

I felt like I improved the more I climbed and even made it all the way to the top of one of the harder walls. I almost cried because I was so worn out, but it was SO rewarding to make it to the top.

I am actually planning on going back this week with my husband and my dad. So we’ll see how round two goes!

If you have any tips or pointers for someone who is just getting started in rock climbing, let me know!

Running with Murphy

Hi Internet friends! I’m checking in later than normal today, but I have a very informative post about running in the summer heat with your dog.

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is run with Murphy. Whether we are at the park or just running around my parent’s neighborhood, getting some sunshine and some miles in always makes us both feel better.

(The first quarter mile is always interesting. Peeing on everything and sniffing ALL THE THINGS.)

After the first .25 we’re good to go!

Every time I get out Murphy’s harness, he goes crazy because he knows it’s time to run. It’s the cutest thing ever. (Can’t you tell I’m a pet parent?! haha)

The great thing about running with Murphy is he makes running fun again. Whether it’s just a couple times around the block or 3 miles at the park, he is so happy to be outside and running.

It makes me want to be more present in my runs and enjoy each and every step.

Plus, post-run naps with Murph are pretty great too.

But with summer in full effect, I wanted to talk about the importance of not over doing it when running with your favorite furry friend.

I always let Murphy dictate the pace, which is never a problem because is definitely faster than me and has more energy.

Some other do’s and don’ts to keep with mind when running with your furry friend.

Do: Check with your vet to make sure everything is okay with your pup health-wise and to make sure they are fit to run. Remember, just like humans, not all dogs are meant to run for miles and miles.

Don’t: Start them too young.

Do: Remember to bring water for them too! Think about how thirsty you get on a run, our pups are even more thirsty!

Don’t: Forget to check for ticks after your run. Even if you’re not hitting the trails, giving your pup a quick look-over will be beneficial.

Do: Have a poop plan. I think this one speaks for its self.
Do: Take walk and run breaks if needed. There is no shame in walking.

Happy running!

Healthy eating should not be a diet plan

Welcome to back the work week, friends! I hope you all had a great Father’s Day weekend. I got to spend time with both my dad and my father-in-law, so I am one happy girl today!

Now. Onto more serious matters.

I hate when I’m out to eat with people and they think because I’m getting “just a salad” that it means I am dieting. No! I don’t want the foods I eat to be considered a diet! I want to become a way of life. I want to eat healthy and nourishing foods that sustain my daily activities!

Eat good to feel good, right? I want to feel good. I want to feel great. Lots of processed foods and fake sugars are not going to get me there.

Cucumbers and tuna fish (my latest lunch obsession) is healthy, but you know what, it also tastes good! And I don’t feel bloated and nasty after eating it like I would if I ate a burger and fries from McDonald’s. Eating healthy should not be a diet plan.

I want to learn to live a balanced life. To me, eating well is a way I can respect my body AND help it live out its full potential. I like to run. Therefore, I need foods that can fuel my body so I can be my best self and perform well. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate chip cookies and pizza is one of my top three favorite foods, but I think a life filled with moderation is a good thing.

Below, I’ve linked some of my favorite recipes that are delicious and good for you!

BREAKFAST
Hard boiled egg and cheddar muffin.
Cherry Banana Smoothie.
My new favorite smoothie.
Avocado toast FIVE ways.

LUNCH
Sweet & spicy summertime guac.
White bean and mozzarella sandwich.

SUPPER
Easy baked ginger chicken.
Skinny beef and broccoli noodles.
BBQ salmon. (While I don’t get to cook fish at home due my husband’s, but I love to eat it! I haven’t tried this recipe, but it looks delish!)

EXTRAS
Chocolate chip banana bread cookies.
Summer fruit salad.

Come hell or high water: treadmill running

You know what is longer than microwave minutes? Treadmill minutes.

I hate running on a treadmill. When I was first starting my running journey, I was a sophomore in high school and was on my school’s track team and we ran outside EVERY. DAMN. DAY.

My coach was a former Ironman and standout runner who worked in a factory and now coached high school girls. And like I said, we ran outside. Every. Damn. Day. No matter the weather. Come hell or high water, you would find 10 high school girls bunched up and shuffling down the sidewalk on a daily four mile run.

His two favorite sayings were, “I’ve learned to enjoy ALL types of weather” and “if it doesn’t kill you, it’ll make you stronger and if you die, then it must have been your time to go.”

Now, nine years after I began running under his direction, I still think of those sayings often. So after running outside every day for three years, now when I’m forced to run on the treadmill due to working late or terrible weather, I dread it. While I am thankful to have a treadmill at home, I still much rather run outside. But life doesn’t always let us do what we want, so every day Monday – Friday after work I am on that treadmill.

Sometimes I take the easy way out and skip my run all together. But then I feel sh*t, so I usually, I suck it up, stand on the treadmill cursing my decision and begin my run.

*Fake it til you make it, right?!

While I don’t always love having to run on the treadmill, I know it makes me a better runner. Treadmill miles are better than no miles, right?! Plus I’m slowly but surely building up my mental game.

With that said, I am still so grateful that I am able to run.

I don’t have to run, I get to run.

There are so many people in the world who would love a chance to walk, much less run, and here I am complaining about something I choose to do. But I love to run. I also love to eat chocolate chip cookies. Another incentive to run? You better believe it.

Comparing myself as a runner

As a runner, I tend to follow other runners on social media. Whether it is old cross country teammates, friends I ran with college, professional athletes or other run bloggers, running dominates my social media (especially Instagram).

I’ve never been a fast runner and I’ve had to work like hell in order to finish my two half marathons. But when I get on Insta and see women who just had babies 4-5 months ago run 11 miles at a pace that I can’t even dream of right now, the insecurities start to creep in.

If she can do it, then why can’t I?

That’s is not healthy. Sure it’s nice to have competition, but the only competition you need should be with yourself.

Be better than yesterday (or last week, or last month)

Be faster than you were.

Please tell me I am not the only one who feels this way?!

I am so proud of these women (some I know personally and other I just follow their blogs) but then I get down on myself for not being as fast or running as much milage as them.

Why should it matter?!

I want to be proud of myself and my accomplishments. Even if that means my long run for the week was 3 miles and I took some walking breaks.

I guess it just really sucks to know that I could once run 13 miles without stopping (and at under a 10 minute pace) and now I’m just happy to finish a 5k in 30ish minutes.

Thanks for listening to me ramble, friends.

Keep the faith, trust the process. It has to pay off in time. Right?

Three day weekends are my favorite

Happy Memorial Day to you all. I hope you all take a moment out of your day today to remember everyone who has fought for our great country and the freedoms that come with living here.

This weekend I tried to be outside as much as possible. Since I work in an office setting and don’t get outside much, I love getting to soak up as much sunshine as possible on the weekends.

We kicked off the long with weekend by playing 100 games of fetch with Murphy.
The best picture I have taken in my entire life. Murphy is such a goofball and he LOVES his red ball.

Ryan had to work during the day, so I spent Saturday morning catching up on laundry (and hanging it out to dry on our clothesline – perks of country living) and getting in a run and a garage arms and abs workout.

For supper on Saturday we went to my parent’s house and grilled out all kinds of meat and veggies and then topped it all off some a delicious frozen chocolate cream pie. The best way to end the day.

My momma always has the best garden + flowers. I definitely get a green thumb from her.

Today Murphy and I have already tackled a two mile run at the park and the groomer so he could get his teeth brushed and nails trimmed. My plans for the rest of the day include mowing the yard, meal prepping and finishing up some future blog posts.

Have a great Monday, friends!