Howdy!

I hope you're day in unfolding nicely! I have to admit, I have a slight addiction to the humor section on Pinterest. I just can't get enough of the sarcastic E-cards, funny pictures of babies, and cute animals. It just puts me in a good mood every time. I came across this one yesterday, and it cracked me up because it describes me to a T!



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Every time I make it to the end of a yoga class and begin "final relaxation," my mind starts racing! I know I should be "quiting my mind," but my mind just takes that saying as a cue to go bonkers. I first start making a to do list, then I begin worrying about ridiculous things like leaving the coffee pot plugged in, and finally I start freaking out that I am going to forget the imaginary to do list I just made since I can't right it down at that very moment. I know...... I'm suppose to be relaxing. What makes this even worse is that I teach yoga. I fully believe in the stress relieving mind/body power of yoga, and I really do get a lot out of it, those last 5 minutes just get me every time. I guess they call it a "practice" for a reason. I definitely need to keep practicing!



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Today started out with a little workout, and then I headed over and picked up my little sis for lunch. We tried out a Korean restaurant called Koriente.



It was absolutely delicious, fresh, and extremely gluten-free friendly. It is usually really hard to eat at any Asian food establishment since most of the dishes have soy sauce in them. Koriente had an entire gluten-free menu, and even had gluten-free salad dressing which is extremely hard to find at Asian restaurants. The salad was an amazing mix of greens and full of veggies.


I ordered the Obake Bowl with wheat free sauce and tofu. Oh my goodness was it good! The veggies were cooked to perfection and the tofu was full of flavor with just the right amount of spiciness. Check out all of those colors (you can't see the carrots and button mushrooms in this picture, but they were there in full force).


My little sis had a spicy chicken bowl. It looked pretty good as well! She said it was amazing!


I will most definitely be visiting this place again! We went at around 11:30am and got right in, but when we left at 12:30pm there was a line out the door. Note to self, go early during the week.



Source: Fitness Magazine Online

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Howdy Friends!

How was your Wednesday? It was back to work for me. It's always hard to get back in the swing of things after a long break. I started off the morning with a nice easy 3 mile run around the lake.

I definitely wasn't speedy Gonzalez, but it was a nice way to stretch my legs. The run was followed by a yummy breakfast of 1 egg + 3 egg whites, and a grapefruit. Oh yeah, and I washed it down with a little coffee of course. ;)


A great run and a clean breakfast was a great way to start the 2nd day of 2013! I am so excited for all of the fun adventures 2013 has in store for me. I usually write out all of my goals for the upcoming year, but I like Gina's idea over at the Fitnessista better! She did an inspiration board on Pinterest for 2013. She's a genius I tell you! I love love love Pinterest, so I was all about it. :)

Thanks Gina for the great idea! You all should definitely hop over to Gina's blog and check out her board!

After a few hours of desk work, I was itching to move again. I hit up the weight room for about 45 minutes and then headed to my favorite machine. It's a love-hate relationship really. My butt loves it but my sweat glands hate it.



After 30 minutes, I was dripping sweat and had happily toasted 300+ calories. Not too bad if you ask me!

I have had so much fun with one of my Christmas presents over the past few days. My wonderful brother and sister-in-law gave me this awesome diffuser for Christmas. It's so neat! You put the fruit or herbs in the middle cylinder and the water flows through it without any of the seeds escaping. This one has mint leaves at the bottom, then cucumber, followed by lemons. It has definitely helped me increase my water intake.


It makes you water so tasty. I'm pretty obsessed with it! Thanks Greg and Mere!

One more little tid-bit I want to share with you today friends. I was reading through my Health magazine today while I was climbing the StairMaster, and I came across a blurb about a new app called YumPower. It helps you find healthy dining options wherever you are.

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First, you tell YumPower what you are looking for: calorie wise, diabetes friendly, fiber focus, etc.


Then, YumPower will give you a list of restaurants in your area that can meet your needs. I was really impressed by how many restaurants they had in their database!


After you pick your restaurant, the app will give you a list of the healthiest menu options at that specific establishment! Talk about making the decision easy for you!


Finally, after you have picked your favorite dish, you can actually see all of the nutritional information for your meal. This is so neat!


I don't know about you, but this is definitely my new favorite app, and best friend for dining out! Did I mention it's 100% free? What are you waiting for? Go download it NOW! :)

I'm off to go watch more football with E.


In health,

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Howdy!

How was your Saturday? I must admit, mine was pretty dang fun. I started the day off by teaching a step class and followed that with breakfast with my friend Katie at Cafe Brazil! Two weekends in a row. How lucky am I?

After breakfast, it was back to the house for a little R&R and house work. In the afternoon, I took a leisurely trip over to Central Market to stock up on some necessitites. Right when I walked in, I saw these guys. They were huge and so colorful that I couldn't help but snap a picture.



I grabbed some Creme Brulee coffee, tahini, chickpeas, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, cumin, almond butter, bananas, quinoa pasta, and corn tortillas. Homemade hummus is in my future. I love the bulk food section so much!


When I pulled up to the house, this is how I was greeted.


Aren't my boys cute? Champ was actually pretty good while taking his bath. He only jumped out of the basin 20 times. Just kidding, Champers. Once Champ and E were all clean, we headed out to dinner. We decided to try out a new restaurant called Patrizio. It was absolutley delicious. We sat out on the patio under huge heaters. Check out our view!

I ordered the veggie plate which included grilled squash, zuchinni, carrots, asaparagus, brocolli, and onions with fresh parmesan cheese. It also came with polenta and marinara sauce. I had never tried polenta before, but I absolutley loved it. I was in veggie Heaven. E went with the deep dish pepperoni pizza.



This pizza looks innocent, but it was crazy. The layers of cheese and pepperoni were so thick, E only finished 3 pieces. I couldn't believe it when he said he was stuffed. Well, kind of stuffed. He can always make room for dessert.....


Woops! We ordered the flourless chocolate cake with rasberry sauce. It was so delicious I forgot to take a picture before we devoured it. After dinner, we walked around the village for awhile and then headed home to watch some football (story of my life). :)

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday!

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Happy Hump Day!!

How's your day going? It's Wednesday, and I am lucky enough to have the day off (minus the work I did from home this morning). Still, avoiding a 45 minute commute is never a bad thing! I started my morning off by teaching a yoga class (that doesn't count as work) and then came back home to do a little work on the computer. I was hoping to wait until the sun came out to go for my run. Little slivers of sunshine started to peak through my blinds at around 11am, so I decided to head out. It was still a little cloudy but when I looked in the mirror post run, I definitely had a few new freckles staring back at me. :) Don't worry, I put on sunscreen.

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I told you a few weeks ago that I was reading the book The Eat-Clean Diet, and so far I really like it. It is very practical and focuses on eating clean, whole, non-processed foods, avoiding sugar, and eating a combination of protein and carbohydrates at each meal. It also gives you lots of tips on how to stay on track in social situations and when your stranded without your pre-packed cooler of healthy clean foods (I 100% believe in taking your food with you as much as possible to avoid eating out and scary vending machines). Although I try my hardest to always pack my lunch (in my cute hot pink lunchbox) and have healthy snacks on me at all times, sometimes you find yourself starving and without your trusty Larabar to get you through. What are you to do? Panic? Cry? Starve? Have no fear, Tosca shows us the healthiest options at some of the most popular fast food restaurants.

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The Best Fast-Food Choices:

• McDonald's- Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken (without almonds or orange glaze)
• Burger King- Tendergrill Chicken Garden Salad (without croutons, dressing or cheese)
• Wendy's- Mandarin Chicken Salad (without roasted almonds, noodles or dressing)
• Subway- 6" Oven-Roasted Chicken Breast with Vegetables (without suace)
• Taco Bell- Chicken Ranchero Taco, Fresco Style (without cheese or avocado dressing)
• Hardee's- Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich (without BBQ sauce)
• Sonic- Grilled Chicken Sandwich (without honey mustard sauce)
• Chick-Fil-A- Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad (without croutons or dressing)
• Jack-In-The-Box- Asian Grilled Chicken Salad (without dressing)

Next time you are faced with the decision to eat fast food or starve (that's a little dramatic), you will know which meals won't derail your healthy eating plan!

Most of you know that I am a huge fan of yoga, especially for runners. Runners are very prone to tight muscles and over use injuries, and yoga can go a long way in preventing these issues. Check out this video from FitSugar on the yoga poses every runner should try!



For more information on yoga for runners, check out this post. If you'd like to watch another video about yoga for runners, click here.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! If you haven't already, there is still time to enter my Healthy Steps Giveaway!!


Q's and A's:
What's your go to healthy fast food option?
Have you read Tosca's book?
Do you cross train be doing yoga?

In health,

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Happy Friday!

TGIF! I am one tired pup! [source]

How are you this wonderful Friday? Do you have anything exciting planned for this weekend? This weekend is shaping up to be quite eventful for me! I am celebrating one of my closest friend's birthday this evening. Eric's brother and his wife are coming in to stay with us Saturday night. Then on Sunday, I'm having lunch with another friend whom I haven't seen in so long. Talk about a fun filled weekend! I am so excited to see everyone! :)

Last week, Meredith asked if I could do a post about the mysterious MSG. We all probably know that we should avoid it, but why? What is it, and why is it so bad for us?

monosodium glutamate in crystal form [source]

What is MSG?

MSG stands for monosodium glutamate and is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid. MSG is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats.  Modern commercial MSG is produced by fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses.

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Why is MSG bad for us?

Although the FDA has labeled MSG as a food ingredient that is "generally recognized as safe" (geeze that's comforting), the use of MSG remains controversial. Many people have reported experiencing the "MSG Symptoms Complex" after eating foods that contain MSG. It was originally called the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" when Robert Ho Man Kwok reported symptoms of patients who consumed American-Chinese cuisine. These symptoms include headaches, flushing, sweating, facial pressure or tightness, numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, and weakness. Researchers have not statistically proven a link between MSG and these symptoms; however, they have discovered that a small percentage of people may have short term reactions to MSG. Symptoms are usually mild and do not require treatment. The only way to prevent these potential symptoms is to avoid food containing MSG. What are those you ask? Let's look at some examples.

Food additives that contain MSG:

Even if MSG is not on the label of your favorite packaged food, it doesn't mean you are in the clear. MSG is often disguised as other ingredients such as monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed oat flour, and corn oil.

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Common foods that contain MSG:

• Some broths
• Prepared stocks, stock cubes, or bouillon   
• Some Chinese food; however, many of them now omit this ingredient from their dishes. You will usually see a sign on the window or it posted in their menu if they do not cook with MSG. If you don't see it, simply ask.
• Condiments such as BBQ sauce
• Some salad dressings
• Some canned, frozen, or dried prepared food
• Common snack foods such as flavored jerky, flavored potato chips, or flavored tortilla chips
• Seasoning mixes

The only way to know for sure if a food contains MSG is to check the label and make sure it doesn't contain any MSG hiding under another name. Like I said earlier, there is not a lot of research that proves MSG is terrible for you, however anything that has the potential to cause chest pain, fatigue, and headaches amongst other things is not something I particularly want to mess with. If you are reading an ingredient list on a food package and can't tell if it contains MSG because you can't pronounce half of the ingredients, that product probably isn't the healthiest for you anyway. As long as you are eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods and ask at your local Chinese restaurant to make sure they aren't using MSG, you are probably good to go! I am definitely no MSG expert, so if you have something to add or more questions I would love to hear them!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Q's and A's:
Do you generally worry about MSG and try to avoid it?
Have you found it anywhere you weren't expecting?
What are your plans for the weekend?

In health,

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Happy Monday,

Warning: If you plan on going to the Texas State Fair, and want to actually enjoy any of the fried creations, stop reading! Come back and read this after you have been to the fair, or else you will not be able to enjoy any of the heart stopping, artery clogging, cholesterol raising, fat laden food that is Texas State Fair tradition.

Eric and I went to the fair on Friday, and I admittedly tried a few of the fried monstrosities! We tried chicken fried bacon (luckily we convinced the guy to give us a sample instead of a full serving), fried cookie dough, funnel cake, and fried peaches and cream. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who was all to happy to share/let me try all of these sinful treats. I can not even imagine trying to eat a whole serving by myself. My favorites were definitely the fried cookie dough and the funnel cake! Eric loved the fried peaches and cream. I refrained from doing the research for this blog until after the fair, knowing there would be no way I could enjoy myself if I knew what I know now. Ignorance was definitely bliss in this situation! After scouring the internet, I was able to find the nutrition facts (some of them are estimates) for many of the State Fair staples. I hope you are sitting down when you read these! Let's just say I will be logging a few extra miles to make up for my transgressions this weekend. Life's all about balance right? :)

Deep Fried Smores Pop-Tarts
Calories: 832, Calories from fat: 131, Carbohydrates: 115g, Sugar: 69g, Fat: 36g

Fried Cobb Salad (Just because the word "salad" is in the name definitely does not mean it's healthy!)
Calories: 1,021, Calories from fat: 645, Carbohydrates: 73g, Sugar: 9g, Fat: 72g

Texas Fried Frito Pie (This won the "Best Taste" award. I wasn't brave enough to find out for myself.)
Calories: 599, Calories from fat: 417, Carbohydrates: 27g, Sugar: 4g, Fat: 46g


Deep Fried Frozen Margarita (I thought the whole point of a margarita was to be cold and refreshing?)
Calories: 740, Calories from fat: 217, Carbohydrates: 102g, Sugar: 37g, Fat: 25g


Fried Beer (I heard this wasn't even good, and I highly doubt they used light beer!)
Calories: 397, Calories from fat: 135, Carbohydrates: 58g, Sugar: 4g, Fat: 15g

Fried Chocolate (We sat next to a couple that said this tasted like a really yummy brownie.)
Calories: 434, Calories from fat: 210, Carbohydrates: 52g, Sugar: 23g, Fat: 23g

Fried Lemonade (this just sounds gross)
Calories: 749, Calories from fat: 269, Carbohydrates: 114, Sugar: 77g, Fat: 30g

Funnel Cake (I'm ashamed to admit it, but this was so good! Funnel Cake is my weakness!)
Calories: 740, Fat: 44g

Fried Snickers (I can't believe Eric passed this one up!)
Calories:  444, Fat: 29g

Fried Cheesecake
Calories: 655, Fat: 47g

Fried Twinkies (This one was very popular!)
Calories: 420, Fat: 34g


The World Famous Turkey Leg (This one is completely unbelievable!!!)
Calories: 1,136, Fat: 54g

Nutrition facts compliments of: Scribd and WebMD.com

Here are the other temptations Eric and I gave in to. Unfortunately (maybe it was really a blessing), I could not find the nutrition information for these foods:


I know the State Fair is a once a year event, and you have to live it up while it's here, but can you believe those numbers. The really scary thing is that some people will eat 4-5 of those treats BY THEMSELVES! Even with Eric and I splitting (and letting him have a bigger portion), packing a healthy lunch, and walking around all day I still felt gross at the end of the day. Moral of the story: induldge in moderation, share with a friend, walk it off, and THANK GOODNESS THE FAIR ONLY HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR!

Food for thought:
Were you shocked by those numbers?
If you have been to the fair, what was your favorite fried creation?
Yours truly,

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Happy Labor Day,

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and a happy Labor Day! For everyone who had today off, I'm jealous. To all of you who had to work, I feel your pain!

I had an absolutely fabulous weekend filled with good friends, yummy frozen yogurt, and an amazing football game! Let's start with the yogurt. On Friday, my good friend Kelli and I went shopping at the Dallas Galleria (super fun all by itself) and decided to test out a new frozen yogurt place called OrangeCup. They only had a few yogurt flavors to choose from, but you got to pick from a ton of deliciously fresh toppings! Kelli and I both ordered the Loyo yogurt, which was the lowest in calories and sugar. We both topped ours with mini dark chocolate chips (I just couldn't resist) and strawberries. I also added a little crumbled graham cracker. Two really unique things about OrangeCup are that the ingredients are all-natural and they print a personalized nutrition label just for you based on your yogurt and topping selection and the weight of your cup! No more convincing yourself 30 oz of yogurt topped with brownies and cookie dough is healthy just because it's low fat yogurt! Oh, and did I mention it was really, really delicious??

Saturday morning, Eric and I woke up early and drove down to College Station for the Aggie Game! I cannot even begin to explain to you how excited I was for college football season to start. If you have ever been to an Aggie game, you understand what an incredible feeling it is. I actually caught myself skipping to the music as we neared the stadium! We spent all afternoon tailgating and visiting with friends, before heading up to our seats for the game. The Aggies did not disappoint, beating SFA 48-7! Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum throughout the season!



Food for thought:
What is your favorite frozen yogurt joint?
Do you have a team you are super excited to cheer for this season?

Yours truly,

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