Last year I purchased a Magic Bullet, by NutriBullet, and I have to say it has been one of the best investments I've made!  Making smoothies has never been easier, and with their recipe book, I would never have dreamed of combining spinach with my fruit to increase my nutrient balance!  While I have not experimented too far into the realm of vegetable drinks, I am more than happy to have a nice, cold, refreshing, fruit smoothie for breakfast when I am strapped for time.  Not only are they easy to make, every smoothie can be different simply by changing the quantity of the fruit you add. Today, I feel like sharing this morning's recipe: Start with half a cup of spinach, Add cubed pineapple (fresh is best but when in a bind, use canned or frozen), Frozen blueberries, and frozen raspberries to the top of the cup. The Magic Bullet has a 'Max' line printed on the cups to help you determine the proper amount of liquid to add.  For this morning'...

After being cooped up in the house for three weeks, the beautiful weather finally got to me and I decided to head out into the fresh air.  With it being Mother's Day, a nice long bike ride was out of the question, but we decided to take a nice long walk through the park today.  Not wanting to walk on the asphalt along the roadway with all the noise and dust, we headed into the woods and took a stroll on one of the many game trails turned off-road bike trail.  The best part of the day: the park was nearly empty so it was nice and quiet (as it should be). Starting tomorrow I am hoping to get back into my daily exercise routine!  I will be taking it easy - I really don't want to over-do it and get sick again.  And soon, depending on my work schedule, I am hoping to add a lot more time dedicated on my new bike.  And when that is not feasible, I really hope to wear in my hiking shoes I bought last year but was only able to use once.  Onward and upward a...

For those of you that know me in real life (and not just the internet, sight-unseen-me), you can attest to the fact that it really isn't spring (or any change of the season for that matter) until I get a head (or chest) cold.  I use the term "cold" loosely of course.  I wish I got a simple cold.  I have been hoping my entire life to simply have the sniffles or a minor cough.  Alas, my severely damaged lungs have always had other plans for me.  A simple cold turns into a full blown sinus infection which (if unchecked) becomes my familiar friend bronchitis.  And it never fails that every time I get on a new fitness regime, I get sick.  This time around is no exception. It started a week ago with that general blah feeling you get, and turned into a week's worth of a low grade fever and laying on the couch wanting enough energy to make the short walk to the kitchen to refill your mug of tea.  Breathing became an issue when my coughing fits hit br...

One of the many reasons why I have started this fitness journey is the fact that it is now spring.  And spring means more time outdoors swimming, hiking, and riding bikes.  And to kick off the season, I have received a new bike as a gift!  Today I got the call that my new bike from Trek, the 7.4 FX , just came in!  We'll still waiting on the new seat I ordered but I am hopeful that it will be in by the weekend!  I am so excited I cannot wait to get it out and on the road!  In case you are curious as to what the 7.4 FX is...follow the links I've provided (I'm getting the white bike)!  And of course when I bring that bad boy home I will post pictures!  The good news is, I am keeping my old bike, which is a hybrid, so I can take that off-road when the mood strikes.  Suffice it to say, I am one happy camper!

temptation [ tem(p)ˈtāSHən ] NOUN a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise There is nothing stronger than the pull of temptation when you are on a diet.  I don't know about you, but when I tell myself I want to eat better, I am usually drawn to the food that I was never interested in before my diet.  But somehow...when I know it is "restricted"...that is when I want to eat ten times of it. Many of the struggles I have heard from friends and loved ones when trying to eat healthier, is the availability of the tempting food within their house.  Living alone makes this easier for me because I am the one in charge of the grocery shopping.  Avoiding the aisles filled with tantalizing delights is a breeze.  This makes it even easier to avoid when I am at home, because it just isn't there for me to eat.  When I have a craving for sweet or salty goodness, I have only fruit or nuts to choose from.  Truth be told, I'm n...

So I did the unthinkable...I weighed myself today even though I swore that I wouldn't.  I mean...how could I resist...it was there, I was there, I stepped on it.  And, despite the hiccups I had last week with scheduling snafu's...I lost three pounds!  And to celebrate today, I stuck to my schedule and finished my workout early so that I wouldn't keep putting it off until it was too late. Lesson learned - I need to apply the same principles that I use at work to those at home (in other words, get the task I want to do least out of the way first).

We've all heard the phrase, "you are what you eat."  As a kid, we used to make jokes about it.  Nutrition didn't mean anything to us.  That was something my mother took care of insuring that I ate a well balanced meal.  Entering high school and college I fended for myself a lot.  I still attempted to eat well.  I think working at Wendy's helped me the most in staying well balanced.  Wait...what?  A fast food restaurant kept you eating well?  Yes.  Because I primarily ate chicken (which wasn't processed garbage like most fast food places), salads, and baked potatoes.  Of course I had my share of burgers but since I was a closer, we often took home the left over salads that were otherwise going to be thrown away at night.  This kept me fed throughout my summer employment. As a married adult, I enjoyed the art of cooking and make quite a lot of recipes that I thought were healthy but also witnessed the weight gain on my husban...