We are here for a few more days and have been busy, busy, busy! I wanted to stop by for a minute and share some of our favorite healthy travel snacks that we brought with us this trip. These are perfect for plane, train or automobile and are super tasty.
When we used to travel we would bring lots of unhealthy treats because I mean come on we were on vacation right? Well over the years we have changed our diet and lifestyle and instead of chips and candy we take fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, kale chips, nuts and other healthier snacks.
On this trip we brought:
Go Raw Pumpkin Super Chips
Fig Cookies
Glee Gum
Inner Peas
Freeze Dried Strawberries
Lots of Blue Diamond Almonds
Strawberries
Mangos
Bell pepper and carrot sticks
Hummus
Bottles for water
We ate the fresh fruits, veggies and hummus on/in between our flights and have been snacking on the other items throughout our trip. We are staying with my parents and they live in the Middle of Nowhere, Vermont population 697 so we end up doing a lot of driving while we are here and healthy on the go snacks and bottles of water are essential.
I’m going to need to restock for our trip home so I might have a few new things to share later!
I’m still here! We traveled to Vermont on Sunday and have been busy visit friends and family. We only brought one computer and so my access has been limited hence the lack of posts.
So far we have experienced 80F weather which quickly turned to rain, flooding and then freezing rain and then snow and now we are back to the 50’s and everything is melting. Oh mud season in Vermont!
I’ll come back and share more of our adventures soon!
The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Reebok. All opinions are my own.
Reebok Skyscape’s are crafted borrowing the materials and soft molding process used to create lingerie <– doesn’t that just make these shoes sound sexier and well make you feel a little bit more sexy when wearing them? Huge bonus when you are 24 weeks pregnant with #2 and are showing like you are 30 weeks.
I have recently reached a point in my pregnancy where my feet hurt if I have a busy day of standing or walking and all I really want are a pair of super comfortable shoes but I also want to pretend to be fashionable. Insert the Reebok Skyscape a shoe that looks cute with most everything and is light weight (only 5.0 ounces) and has Skyspring technology aka they are designed to help support the foot and provide ALL DAY comfort.
I love the low cut design and they are perfect for wearing without socks (I have tried them with socks but prefer them without). I was concerned at first that wearing them without socks would result in blisters but I’ve been wearing them sans socks for weeks now and haven’t experienced any rubbing or irritation. Yay for seamless construction!
I have a very limited wardrobe right now so most of the time you can find me wearing them with the outfit above. I also love them with jeggings (best creation ever), maxi skirts or yoga pants (because lets be honest I spend 90% of the time in yoga pants).
Outfits I’m currently coveting that would go great with my pink Reebok Skyscape Shoes:
FYI: I will be sporting these shoes with everything for the remainder of my pregnancy (and beyond) so this is not going to be the last you see of these shoes.
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Bonus Facts: not only are they cute but they have some traction so I don’t have to worry so much about slipping and falling, a concern that I have right now when rainy Portland streets are wet combined with pregnancy balance. Oh and did I mention you can throw these shoes in the washing machine?? Perfect for muddy park days!
Almost two years ago I posted My Fitness Bucket List and to be honest I haven’t looked back at it since. I wrote it a month before Edith was born, seven months before moving cross country and 19-months before being pregnant once again. So needless to say things have changed a bit.
First off lets review of what my goals where:
In 2012 I wanted to attend postpartum yoga. Well that never happened. I ended up taking Edith to baby yoga but never made it to a postpartum class.
In 2012 I had grand plans of run/walking the Disney Wine & Dine Half at four months postpartum. Well that just didn’t happen at all. Despite my low expectations timing just wasn’t right for cost, travel and racing. Side note Neil & I was originally going to run the Disney Half in January 2012 but in October 2012 Neil got in a major bike accident which led us defer to the Wine & Dine and then I oops I got pregnant.
In 2014 I wanted to run the Vermont City Marathon as a relay team with Neil. Well we ended up moving across the country in January 2013 and well here I am pregnant again.
Sometime between June 2012-2017: participate in the Vermont 100 on 100, attend Wanderlust once again, participate in a Ragnar Race (specifically the Key West one) and do the Expedition Everest Challenge with Neil.
Lifetime Goal: Hike the entire Long Trail.
I have to say I had some pretty lofty goals. I mean seriously run/walk my first half just four months postpartum after NO running during my pregnancy?? Was I serious? While others were not unreasonable it’s more unlikely that I will be able to do everything on my original list in the time frame I set out purely for financial, travel and family reasons.
So what does my updated Fitness Bucket List look like?
April – July 2014: Stay active during the remainder of my pregnancy by getting out for walks, doing prenatal yoga at home and strength workouts.
Early Fall 2014: Get back to being active starting as soon as I am cleared for activity and am feeling physically ready. Starting with lots of walking, strength training and yoga.
Late Fall 2014: Start C25K or similar run/walk program. Continue with strength training and yoga.
2015: Run a 5K and a 10K.
2016: Run a 5K, 10K and half marathon.
2017: Run a Disney half marathon.
2018: Participate in a group relay race (Ragnar, VT 100 on 100, Hood to Coast, ect.)
While I have become pretty good at creating a meal plan and sticking to it 90% of the time I still have not mastered the art of meal prep. Maybe it’s having a toddler, maybe it’s the time it takes, maybe it’s how simply that cooking at the end of the day can be super therapeutic for me, anyway you look at it I just don’t usually do meal prep. This week however was different.
As I have eluded over the past month or so we are taking a secret trip and well this week is all about packing and getting our house in order because there is nothing I hate more than coming home from vacation to a messy house. I attempted to have Edith help prepare a few things with me in the kitchen while Neil went for a run however it just ended up in E having a melt down when I wouldn’t let her eat the entire batch of walnut-miso cheese (side note E is teething bad right now and also seems to be having a developmental leap so that = cranky toddler). Anyways instead of throwing my hands up and saying screw it and relaxing on the couch like I really wanted to do I continued to do prep.
Next I made sun-dried tomato and white bean dip, vegan ranch dip and I prepped a bunch of veggies for dipping. I made marinara sauce for our pizza and polenta dishes. I also started my cashews soaking to make cashew cream. I made trail mix for snacking throughout the week and for our flight. Lastly, I prepped potatoes and tofu scramble to make breakfast wraps this week. I also made dinner for us as well. I think overall it took about 90 minutes to do everything and while I still have to make a few things and Neil needs to make bread I feel like the meal prep is really going to help especially when it comes to breakfast.
Meal Plan:
Sunday:Brunch: out at The Waypost/Dinner: Pasta with tomato, olive, fava bean, garlic, olive oil, nutritional yeast).
Thursday:Breakfast: oatmeal /Lunch: Polenta with leftover marinara and cashew cream and green salad/Dinner: Stir Fry Rice with Edamame and leftover veggies
Friday:Breakfast: oatmeal /Lunch: leftovers /Dinner: Veggie Burgers with homemade buns
Saturday:Breakfast: Chickpea Pancakes-OSG (green onion, red bell pepper, avocado, mushrooms, onions) /Lunch out with Neil/ Dinner: Pasta and whatever else we have (pick up jar of sauce)
Sunday aka travel day: fig bars, super cookies, hummus with carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber and pita, bananas, trail mix
Snacks: raisins, veggies (carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber) with ranch dip or white bean dip, smoothies, fruit, trail mix (chocolate chips, almonds, raisins, cranberries, sour cherries, brazil nuts, coconut)
Can I tell you how pumped I am for the all the farmers markets to start back up here in Portland? Seriously my favorite places to go grocery shopping. Right now there are only a few open but that’s okay because one of them is the PSU Farmers Market which has a great selection of produce and other items. This past Saturday we made our weekly trip to the market and despite the torrential down pour that occurred while we were shopping we had a great time and picked up lots of fresh produce.
This week I picked up mustard greens, spinach, baby leeks, carrots, parsnips, onions, shallots, baby kale and baby bok choy. I have been trying to incorporate the greens into our meals this week and last night it was baby bok choys’ turn. I found a jar of green curry in the pantry and since I have coconut milk I figured curry was the only way to go.
Avocado Curry Noodles
Serves 4 This recipe was inspired by a recent trip to the food carts where I saw avocado curry on the menu at one of the Thai stands. To be honest I don’t really know what traditional avocado curry is like but this is my version.
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1″ knob of garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
4 cups baby bok choy, sliced
1 can lite coconut milk
2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 tablespoon tamari
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
1 avocado, diced – you want a semi-firm avocado so it holds up
4 servings of linguine, soba or buckwheat noodles
cilantro and avocado for garnish
Directions:
Heat the coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
Just when the coconut oil has melted add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the onion and bell pepper and toss to coat with the coconut oil; cook for 5 minutes stirring often.
Stir in the bok choy and then add the coconut milk, curry paste, tamari and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the avocado.
Divide the noodles into four bowls and ladle the curry over the noodles. Top with cilantro and avocado.
Current pregnancy cravings: berries, doughnuts, raspberry jam and crackers, lemonade, and iced tea.
While I avoided caffeine almost completely during my first 15 weeks of pregnancy I have been enjoying small amounts (8-12oz cup; 4-5 days per week) in the form of coffee or tea during my second trimester. While I usually enjoy hot coffee or tea I have been craving iced beverages specifically sweet iced tea. While I try to go unsweetened for the most part I have been enjoying a cup or two of Pure Leaf Lemon Iced Tea which is lightly sweetened.
One of the benefits of tea is that calms me down especially when the stresses of raging pregnancy hormones and a teething toddler takes over. I also like knowing that while I’m sipping on tea I am also taking in antioxidants and helping to fight free radicals in my body.
Like I said I prefer an unsweetened tea but have really been enjoying the fresh brewed taste and light sweetness of the Pure Leaf Lemon. It’s super refreshing and an 8oz glass satisfies my pregnancy iced tea cravings, plus I can pretend that it’s sunny and 80F while I sip on it rather than 55F and raining.
Side Story: Pure Leaf Lemon reminds me of the instant Lipton’s Lemon Iced Tea that my grandmother used to make in huge batches during the summer. Every sip is like being at grandma’s however rather than instant this tea is fresh brewed.
What is your favorite flavor of tea? Do you prefer hot or cold?
Pure Leaf is real brewed iced tea, which means it’s brewed from REAL tea leaves picked at their freshest, never from powder or concentrate. The result is a refreshing iced tea with perfectly balanced aroma, body, and flavor. Learn more at http://www.facebook.com/pureleaf
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Pepsico via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Pepsico.
