If you have been following my social media you know that I on the West Coast team for the Shape & Men’s Fitness Fitbit Blogger Challenge. I have to say it’s pretty intimidating being on a team with some pretty well known bloggers who run many more miles than I do per week but here I am working away on increasing my weekly miles via running and walking. We are only four days into this challenge and I have had some really great days 9000-10500 steps in others closer to 5000 steps. I have to say that this challenge has ignited the competitor in me and I want our team to win but more than that I want to achieve my personal goal of 70,000 steps per week.
The challenge this week is take take my workout outdoors and so far so good! I got out for a walk with the kids on Monday afternoon and then we headed back outside after dinner with Neil for another walk. Tuesday we did a short and cold outdoor walk after dinner again. Today I took the kids out with a friend and we did a pretty decent walk, I think that this walk got me around 5000 steps however it probably should have been more but pushing the double BOB seems to interfere with tracking but oh well I guess it just forces me to be even more active on days I push the BOB.
I had hoped to get out for a hike with the kids this weekend but alas PNW weather can be less than ideal and right now the forecast is rain for the next 10 days. WhompWhomp. Hopefully we will have some clear periods and I’ll be able to get back outside because honestly outside workouts are superior to indoor. There is something about the fresh air and being surrounded by nature that makes the workout so much more relaxing. On days I can’t make it outside I can be thankful that I have a gym across the street from my house so that I can make sure to get in as many steps as possible per day.
So cheers to my West Coast teammates. Let’s do this!
Do you prefer to workout inside or outside? What is your favorite outdoor activity?
Check out the Shape Magazine/Men’s Fitness East vs. West Coast Fitbit Blogger Challenge at Shape.com/Fitbit and enter to win your own Fitbit charge!
This post is sponsored by the Shape/Men’s Fitness FitBit Charge Challenge.
Disclaimer: While barkTHINS, Skoop and Aurorae provided me with samples these are all items that I love and will/have continue(d) to use after trying their samples. No additional compensation was provided. As always all opinions are my own.
FOOD
barkTHINS. barkTHINS generously sent me a box of their delicious snacking chocolate last month and I have become addicted. We quickly ate our way through the dark chocolate pretzel with sea salt, dark chocolate almond with sea salt and the dark chocolate pumpkin seed with sea salt. We loved them so much that when I spotted a giant bag of the dark chocolate pumpkin seed with sea salt at Costco I had to buy it for our pumpkin beer tasting party. As I write this I am kicking myself for not picking up some last grocery order because it was on the list in my mind but I forgot to add it to the paper list which means of course it didn’t make it into the cart. Well I won’t make that mistake next time! That being said I need to try the peppermint one because it sounds insane.
Skoop A Game. Skoop sent me a box full of their products and so far I have only tried the A Game but I LOVED it. I took their 5-day challenge this past week and I now I am sad that I am all out of A Game. I had one blender bottle each morning before breakfast filled with A Game and unsweetened almond milk. A Game is filled with 41 plant-based ingredients including organic spirulina, organic barley grass, organic chlorella and organic wheatgrass to give you a healthy dose of greens first thing in the morning. Next on my Skoop journey is to try the B Strong protein powder and B Lovely skincare support. Also I need to order myself some A Game because mornings just don’t feel complete without it.
Teeccino. So I had a single sample of this from something that I went to maybe VegFest or hmmm I honestly have no idea. Either way I had a single packet sample and decided to give it a try the other night just for kicks and well I fell in love. The next day I sent Neil out to pick up a box so that I could have more and it has now become a nightly tradition for me. It’s wonderful with some steamed non-dairy milk (current fave So Delicious French Vanilla Almond Milk Creamer – now say that 5x fast). The caramel nut flavor is like having a warm sweet chocolate caramel treat – the perfect end to any day.
FITNESS
Yoga. When I was pregnant with Edith I was all about the yoga and you could find me at a class at least once per week and I did an at home practice at least twice per week. After her birth it took me a little time to get back at it but I eventually got back into my routine. This time around I did yoga only a few times during my pregnancy with Alder but I am determined to get back to my regular routine now. Luckily I have a beautiful new yoga mat thanks to at Aurorae. I tell you a workout outfit or piece of fitness equipment (would you call a yoga mat equipment? I don’t know but I am) it makes getting back to a regular routine a little more fun. I find myself “fighting” Edith for this new Aurorae Northern Lights mat and I usually give in and let her use it because there is nothing better than watching your toddler practice yoga.
BEAUTY
BIRCHBOX. I have purchased a few different subscription boxes but this one is by far my favorite. I have been buying BIRCHBOX now for three months and there hasn’t been a box that I haven’t loved. In my October box (shown above) I loved everything except the mascara and I plan to buy the jouer tinted suscreen once my sample runs out. This month I received an amazing smelling spruce scented candle, some fantastic mascara and a lip butter that has been keeping my lips moisturized. Have you tried BIRCHBOX or something similar- what do you think?
OTHER
Aurorae Pledge Candle.Aurorae sent me one of their candles from their spa line and it is seriously wonderful. We lit it recently when we had a little get together at our house and we had so many complements on the scent. I have to say that I’m one of those people who doesn’t go batty over candles but I do like to have one or two really high quality candles with relaxing scents and this one happens to fit perfectly. I also have been loving it during at home yoga practices.
Doing: Sitting on the couch with my snuggly boy while Neil makes us breakfast. Also trying to plan out our week and get a little bit more organized.
Thinking about: This is the last week of DietBet and well (not surprisingly) I am not close to my 4% weight loss goal. I say not surprisingly because to lose 9 pounds in one month as a breastfeeding mom is much more of a challenge. Like I said before DietBet wasn’t just about losing the weight (which I have lost some of) it was also about making some healthy changes so right now I am thinking about what else I can do this week.
Watching: Lately Neil and I have been really into watching The Good Wife. We are finishing up the first season right now and I am really loving it.
Looking forward to: Next week! Neil will no longer be working on contract and will be fulltime as of the 24th (wahoo for him right?!) and that means our trip to Seattle next week will be so much more fun and relaxing. That being said for my local PNW friends if you have suggestions for Seattle please let me know because we didn’t love it our first time around but are really wanting to get the most out of this trip.
Reading: I’ve been reading I’ll Seize The Day Tomorrow by Jonathan Goldstein. For my Canadian friends and CBC radio listeners you probably know him his from WireTap show and if you enjoy listening to that then you will love this book. It is seriously hilarious to read and it has short sections so as a busy parent it makes reading in small spurts easy.
Loving: Weekends with my little family especially when we get out and hike or go to the farmers market.
I originally made this a few years back but I have played around a little bit with the recipe. While I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie this original recipe came out of a “need” to use up a can of pumpkin puree I had in my pantry. I gave it a shot and it came out so tasty.
Happy Fri….errr Saturday! Sorry this post is a day late but yesterday ended up being crazy busy and we were out of the house from 8am-8pm! Yikes! Friday night is also our no-computer at home date night so as soon as we got home it was kids to bed, make a quick curry and (frozen) dumplings, pour a glass of wine and crash on the couch with The Blacklist.
Hiking last Sunday
So here it is the DietBet halfway update. So far as of last Sunday I am 20% to my DietBet goal weight. I don’t weigh in again until tomorrow morning but I unfortunately don’t think it has changed much since last week. That being said what has changed for the better is my activity level and diet. So far things are moving in the direction I want: weight (slowly) going down, activity level going up and diet becoming cleaner and cleaner.
So what are my goals for the next two weeks? Run more, hike more, walk more, strength train, and lots of yoga. Focus on eating really well/clean 80-90% of the time (right now I am closer to 65-75%) and create a clean pantry/fridge aka stock up on lots of whole grains, beans, fruits and veggies and reduce packaged goods. Lastly, get organized, declutter and do something for myself that nourishes my mind, body and soul.
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Since I am a huge fan of Kara Goucher I wanted to share with you that she is goinng to be on the cover of the November/December issue of Women’s Running Magazine which hits stands November 11th.
Included in the magazine will be a day in the life feature story of Kara that highlights her training techniques, eating habits and inner-most thoughts. I don’t know about you but I LOVE day in the life posts and vlogs. They are one of my favorite types of blogs to read and now that I am writing this I am thinking I should really include more on my blog – what do you think?
Anyways in the November/December issue of Women’s Running Magazine Kara’s life is in full display as she shares the contents of her fridge, her lip gloss hoarding problem, and her training routine which includes two-hour full-body sports massage (where do I sign up?) from her therapist of 15 years, Allan Kupczak.
One thing that really draws me to follow Kara and her life is that she is also a mom. Kara is mom to four-year-old Colt. Though pregnancy was a tricky proposition given her career, Kara said motherhood “was the best decision I ever made.” I have to agree with her it is really the best decision that I’ve ever made as well.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this issue of the magazine in exchange for sharing the news of Kara Goucher’s cover.
Every Saturday morning we wake up, have breakfast as a family and then we get ready and head out for the morning. We usually stop first to have coffee and then it’s on to the farmers market. It’s a weekly tradition that we have grown to love and if for some reason we miss one of our market mornings it just seems to throw the entire week off.
This past weekend we skipped the coffee out but we did head to the market after enjoying breakfast at home. We actually ended up arriving far too early because we forgot that they changed the start time to 9am instead of the usual 8:30am. We ended up standing in line at our favorite stand with our arms filled with babies and beautiful produce as we waited for the market bell to ring, indicating the start of the market.
This week I picked up a variety of greens, herbs, onions, garlic and root vegetables. My favorite purchase were the multi colored carrots that not only tasted amazing but were incredibly beautiful. I chose a few each of the deep purple, the purple with an orange center, yellow and one that was almost a pink color. We chopped up a selection of them to serve with dips at our beer tasting party but I still had a few carrots left so I decided to roast them up for lunch yesterday.
Since root vegetables pair well with chiles I decided to go for a honey roasted carrot with a little bit of chile. I also did a quick pan seared sweet and smoky tempeh to go along with my delicious carrots.
Every year around this time, Lindsay and I have a pumpkin and seasonal beer tasting party. The size and format of the party has changed just about every year with our first party was just the two of us and it was a healthy mix of pumpkin and seasonal beers. This year we had six adults taking part in the tasting, two observers and a slew of children playing together and having a good time. One thing that is consistent is that we’ve always had some form of rating system for the beers.
Sourcing the beers to taste is one of the fun (and sometimes tedious) parts of the process. This year, we started collecting beers to sample early on in the season and have been acquiring a beer here and there when something catches our eye. This year was probably the first year that the selection was entirely pumpkin as well. We managed to find a healthy mix of local beers, imports from the East Coast and even a cider.
With such a wide selection of beers and a large number of guests, we needed to find a way to adequately supply tasting glasses for everyone. Early on in the shopping process for the tasting, we had noticed Target had a beer tasting party collection designed by graphic designer and blogger Kate Peters of Wit & Delight. The suggested price of the products was a bit on the expensive side for disposable goods but as the party grew closer, Lindsay was able to find the beer tasting cups and cards and a few other party items for half off in stores. On each tasting card was four different spots to grade the beers you are tasting. The options were “Another” or “Never Again” with some of us adding a third option equated to “I’d drink it for free, but I wouldn’t pay for it.”
After some appetizers, we got the tasting under way. We poured four beers at a time and took the time to discuss what we thought of each beer as a group. The nice thing about pumpkin beers is that they come in an ever growing variety of styles. Love it or hate it, it wasn’t too long ago that it seemed that all of the pumpkin beers on the market were sweet, pumpkin pie spice bombs. It’s nice to see some more balance and moderation in flavor and styles.
As we made our way through the beers, we had a great time discussing what we thought of the beers and what specifically we liked and disliked about them (as well as giving those who like the least popular ones a hard time of course).
The results of the voting weren’t really all that surprising. The breweries at the top are known for making great tasting and creative beers. I know my personal favorite was the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. Punkin managed to fall into the “pumpkin pie” style of beer with out being overwhelmingly sweet or spicy. Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale has consistently been in our top picks for our favorite pumpkin beers since we started doing the tastings. I also enjoyed the New Belgium Pumpkick. The spices weren’t too heavy and the addition of the cranberries in the beer was a nice touch, giving it a slightly tart taste.
The East Coast wholly embraces Autumn’s seasonal beers and why shouldn’t it? Fall in New England is arguably the best season of the year. That being said since moving to the West Coast we have struggled to find many of our favorite pumpkin/Autumn beers. However there is one brewery that we’ve enjoyed and have found really embraces pumpkin beers on the west coast is Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Company.
Elysian brews up a number of different pumpkin beers every fall and even host a pumpkin beer festival. Their beers have done really well in both of the tastings we’ve had since moving to Portland with Night Owl coming in third this year and first last year.
Elysian’s pumpkin coffee stout Punkuccino (not officially part of the tasting) was Lindsay and my personal favorite this year. It’s made with Stumptown Coffee cold brew, cinnamon and nutmeg. It was incredibly smooth and was basically a pumpkin spice latte in beer form. (Lindsay jumping in here- seriously the best pumpkin beer ever and I’m bummed we couldn’t locate another bottle for our tasting).
Now on to the losers of this years tasting. The two huge disappointments in the lot were the Burnside Brewing The Dapper Skeleton and the Woodchuck Hard Cider Private Reserve Pumpkin Cider. The Dapper Skeleton just fell flat. The description was just so enticing with the chillies and cocoa nibs but in reality they didn’t add much to the beer. In the opinion of all but one of our tasters, the Woodchuck Pumpkin Cider was terrible. I don’t think a single person was able to even finish their two ounce pour. I know I took only one sip before dumping it.
Below is the tally of our votes:
This was our biggest pumpkin/seasonal beer tasting to date and we look forward to carrying on with it for many years to come. We’re also planning to host more seasonal and themed tasting parties as well as beer pairing dinners in the future.
What seasonal beer or drink do you look forward to most?