YUM! And cozy to boot…
I love white beans so I knew this soup was going to be delicious as soon as I saw this recipe. December is a wonderful month for getting warm and cozy – this soup will help with both! (Compliments BBC’s GoodFood)
A little off the fitness topic today…but I love this time of year and so I want to share some of our family traditions.
Many Christians celebrate Advent. Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Its name comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming”. In Western Christianity, the season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, or the Sunday which falls closest to November 30, and lasts through Christmas Eve, or December 24.
There are some wonderful Advent traditions to share with your family. We are all busy, so the simpler the better. It’s easy to get caught up in the shopping and preparations that can distract from the true meaning of the season. Children get excited about creating things, and doing crafts or special activities which bring their focus back to Christ is a perfect way to keep them centered less on the “holiday” and more on “Christmas”.
Here are four activities we do in our family every Advent to help keep Christ in Christmas:
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Be careful of your form…If you feel it waning, lessen reps. Better to do less with good form. This is me about to start routine.
Looking for a solid workout but you’re pressed for time? This is my favorite (Cross Fit original). Sometimes Ill do it right after a run, and sometimes just as a stand alone when time is short. Try it…you’ll be hooked! 5 push ups/ 25 squats, 10 push ups/ 20 squats, 15 push ups/ 15 squats, 20 push ups/ 10 squats, 25 push ups/ 5 squats! LOVE IT!!!! For a greater challenge if you have more time…Do it again! What’s your favorite quickie workout!
I used to believe that if I didn’t have time for at least an hour of fitness, or if I didn’t work up a serious sweat…it wasn’t a real workout. That was my 30 year-old self. My 46 year-old self has a totally different idea of fitness. Basically it can be summed up in the words, “Whatever works”.
There are plenty of days that I wake up and from my too-tired-to-get-up early-and-run vantage point, the day could appear hopeless in terms of fitting in a workout. But I have learned to see things in another way…I now look at it in terms of the opportunities for fast fitness. It’s a challenge, and I think it’s fun to see just how much of a workout I can get by the end of these kinds of days. Don’t believe me? Let me show you nine ways to fit fitness into an otherwise busy day… [Read more…]
My college kids and friends cooking in the kitchen
I can’t remember a Thanksgiving day when I didn’t wake up early to run. I can’t think of one! Today was a first. We have kids home from college and they all came in last night. Some by plane and some by car. One brought a girlfriend, one brought two friends who live on the west coast and couldn’t get home. We also have good family friends who come every Thanksgiving. I was up late greeting them and getting some baking done. I didn’t hit the bed until well after midnight. [Read more…]
Click on picture to see a great recipe for Herbed Turkey
Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving? Food, family, friends… all the ingredients for a wonderful time. Some people believe it is a day when we get a pass on gluttony, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Thanksgiving can be healthy and delicious! There are plenty of great tasting, healthy recipes for the big Turkey Day. I have created a list of healthy alternatives (borrowed from various sources) to create an awesome menu for a healthy Thanksgiving…. Please share your healthy Thanksgiving recipes, too (there are so many)!
Winter Curried Vegetables I don’t know about you, but I love anything curried. This recipe from Elisa Bosley (Delicious Living) looks like it tastes great…I love that it is make-ahead too! [Read more…]
Let us give thanks for those who serve, for those who have served, and for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice…
Here is wonderful recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Recipes Remembered....
Oatmeal is a year round breakfast for me, but I especially love it on the cooler days of fall and winter…a perfect comfort food!
Happy Fall, friends. It’s time for spice, for apples & pears, crisp mornings, boots & comfy sweaters, marathons and so many other lovely – and delicious – things. This oatmeal is one of the delicious things. It’s a base of fall spices – cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves – topped with deliciously sweet pears, pecans for crunch and a little drizzle of milk. I’m a little sad to see summer go but if I can look forward to breakfasts like this one then I think I’ll be ok. [Read more…]
My husband snapped this picture of us after the 5K last Saturday…there are seven of us (#5 is cut off – but is also smiling)…
Last weekend my family did the Big South 5K in Charlotte. Well, not the whole family. #1, #2, and #3 are not home, and my husband and #9 (Sam – who is 4) didn’t run but came to cheer the rest of us on. I ran with #7 (C.C.) who is 8. She was trying to break 27:50 which was her last 5K time. We came in a little over that at 28.30 but I was impressed with her mighty effort! She never stopped to walk except to get water. By the last 1/2 mile she was tired and I asked her if she wanted to walk a little. But then as she recognized her surroundings and knew it wasn’t too far to finish…she got a second wind! [Read more…]
It has been gradual. It has been subtle. It has gone unnoticed. But it has finally caught up to me. It is now apparent… I can’t keep eating like this. It is time to start writing it all down again. A few years ago, when I first started my 9 Kid Fitness website, I decided I needed to invest in my diet and I hired an online nutritionist to help me get back on track. It wasn’t that I was a junk foodie. In fact, I have always prided myself on my self-control. However, I wanted to see what I could do to feel better and to perform better. I knew that my nutrition could be improved, but I wasn’t exactly sure how.
Unfortunately, I would not recommend an online nutritionist unless you know exactly what you are getting for your money, and I didn’t get much help in the end. The one thing I did learn through the process was the benefit of a food journal. I wrote down what I ate for five days in a row. For the first few days, I tried to eat well, so that I could write down only healthy foods. But then I realized how silly that was since I was paying someone to help me and I wasn’t being honest with myself. So I told myself not think about the journal. Just to remember to write down what I ate. After all, who was I trying to fool? I decided if I wanted to make even small changes, I had to be honest. [Read more…]
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