Where does your city rank?

So I've reviewed the list of America's Fittest and Fattest Cities and I must say that I am quite suprised that LA and Vegas showed up on the "more sluggish" end of the list.  You would figure with the number of performers they have per capita in each of those cities that their ranking would be significantly closer to fit than fat... But surprisingly, this was not the case at all!  According to Men's Health Vegas is one of the most gluttonous, sedentary places in the US. 
Moving on however, there were a few things that the fitter cities did seem to have in common: tons of recreation; more gyms, parks, outdoor activities than other more sedentary cities.  And a funny thing I noticed was that one city actually had 57% less bars than most cities, making it harder to get that beer belly!  Anyhew, the list is linked here so check out where your city ranked.http://www.americanfitnessindex.org/report.htm

Stressed and overwhelmed.. the MOM syndrome

I know the feeling, kids at home by yourself for hours... You have a million things to do because the Hubby works during many businesses office hours; yet you're expected to do it for the most part because of an innate misunderstanding of what taking care of 2 kids before going to work that night entails.  You're also expected to remember everything, screw up nothing and just be all around amazing.  Sometimes it is good to just remind the Hubby that you are indeed human, and not actually superwoman as he previously imagined. 

Now that I've gotten those thoughts out, I want to tell you what helps me immensely.  Sometimes during the weeks before a move or a new job transition its better to back off on your workout than to burn out on it.  Sometimes as long as you're maintaining your fitness at  minimum of 3 days a week it can really help push you over the hump.  But if you push too hard during a trying time and you may begin to relate relaxing exercise to your stressful daily life (causing you to want to do it less).  Anyways, I've currently cut out most of my weight training and continued running while we pack up and move during the next week or so... I am preventing burnout that I've experienced before and so far so good!

Falling off the wagon..

<p>Yes even I fall off the fabled 'eating healthy' wagon.&nbsp; The thing you have to remember is to not give up altogether. If you fall off for a meal or a day just pull yourself back together and regroup! Don't give up just because of a few slips.

Eating healthy while eating out

Soo there is much debate on whether it is possible to eat healthy while dining out.  I want to confirm that while it is definitely possible it may also mean you not having an item or sauce that you initially wanted.  If all else fails stick with the basics, lean meat no grill baste and a side of steamed veggies.  In terms of salad I would avoid them unless you dont mind having them plain. Or with just lemon juice bc by the time you add the amount of oil and vinegar you'd like to make it tasty you'll end up with another 500 unneeded calories. Please post comments or questions and ill give you feedback! Btw tonight I'm having grilled Chilean seabass with mango salsa and side of veggies at Bonefish!! Delish!

Birthday Cake: Success/Frosting: Epic Fail

So, I decided last night to make a 'clean' eating birthday cake with healthier frosting for my awesome and beautiful hubby last night (pictured at bottom)... Also, I've decided to post my success/epic fail of a birthday cake combination (pictured below).  So the cake actually turned out really well for my first attempt at a heatlhy birthday cake!! Only 50 calories per square and 1 gram of fat and tasted pretty darn close to yellow cake (the hubby approved and he is picky).  However, I did learn a new thing or two about making icing.  Icing involves healthy oil, cocoa powder, and agave syrup.  I thought it was a little thick when I finished adding the above ingredients and decided that adding a little milk would make it perfect!..... quite the contrary actually lol. So, when you add almond milk to the icing recipe (I'll post later) it turns into *drumroll* FUDGE hahaha.  So it became thick and immovable, not spreadable in the slightest.   Both items taste great.. separately.  Anyways, I will be posting my successful cake and fudge recipe later this week!  The original icing (prior to almond milk) was perfect so I will probably post it, as well.  Happy cooking!

The best feeling ever!

Being able to fit into a pair of jeans you comfortably wore pre-pregnancy. :-)

Thursday Treat!!

Every Thursday I will be posting a healthy dessert recipe to help curb those cravings for something sweet.  All of my options are what you call "clean" and each serving will be under 200 calories (some will be 100 calories for 2!).   Here is todays recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Serving Size : 12
Ingredients:

... 3/4 cup Ideal or Stevia
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 egg whites
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (oatmeal flour, or brown rice flour)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dark choc. if poss)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place paper liners in muffin pan.

2. Mix sugar, unsweetened applesauce and eggs together in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin and water.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar,
spices and salt. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until
combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20
minutes.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 136
Total Fat: 3.3g
Carbohydrates: 25.6g
Fiber: 2.8g
Sugar: 8.3g
Protein: 3.6g