A friend of mine posted this yesterday on Pinterest (a new obsession & time suck) and it was perfect timing.  I needed a swift kick in the behind and this was just it!

While I have been doing well, for the most part, since I gave up weighing myself last fall, there are some days that I really struggle.  I can honestly say that I have only weighed myself once or twice since the day in October when I said I was done with the scale.  That is huge for me.  I have been feeling the need to get on the scale recently.  I know where it is, though it isn’t sitting out in the middle of the bathroom like it was before.  My clothes fit, so that isn’t the motivating factor.  It all comes down to OCD habits and what makes me feel good.  Actually, that should be “what I think makes me feel good”, because in actuality, the scale only makes me feel good if it shows a loss.  That, in and of itself, is wrong.

I am (or was the last time I got on the scale) a healthy weight and have a BMI of 20.5.  There is no reason that I should want or need the scale to register a loss.  When I sit here and talk it out, rationally, I can see this.  It just makes me so mad that this piece of equipment, this metal, plastic, whatever, has such power over me.  Only I can change that, and I will.

One of the ways I pull myself out of ruts like this is by sitting down and making a list of the reasons that I eat healthy.  I fuel my body properly so that I can be a good mother to my kids; so that I can be a good wife to my husband; so I can run and continue to PR races.  Focusing on those things is what helps to keep me grounded.

There is something I have noticed in the past few months that I thought I would share with you.  It is often hard for those who have never suffered from an eating disorder to understand how those who are suffering (or have suffered) see themselves.  At my thinnest/lowest weight when I was a teenager (95 lbs), I didn’t see that I was literally skin & bones.  I can see extremes now, but I have noticed something that I haven’t in the past.  There are days when I see myself as “fat” or needing to lose some weight and later the same day I see myself as “too skinny”.  I am not consciously thinking about it when I have noticed this, so it is really perplexing to me.  Same body, same person, same day.  I guess that is all part of the disease and the daily struggle.

Fortunately for my health (and my mind), I don’t tend to act on feelings like I just mentioned.  I tend to act on numbers, which is why I think it is so important that I don’t get on the scale.  If I have nothing concrete (the number on the scale) to act on, chances of my consciously cutting back on calories are slim to none.

Thank you for letting me get that out.  I think that expressing my thoughts out in the open like this really helps in a variety of ways.  Not only is it cathartic for me to write it all out, but now I have put it out there and have others to help support me & hold me accountable.  Thank you for being there & for reading.

Tomorrow, back to gluten-free with a fun giveaway!

Super Bowl Sunday.  Did anyone watch?  I am a commercial girl at heart.  To be honest, I missed a lot of the first half.  I went to yoga, which ended at 6 PM, then headed to Chipotle and didn’t get home until almost 7 PM.  I did hang out to watch the commercials for most of the rest of the game, though.  Madonna is amazing!  I used to be a fan, as a teen, but not really since “Vogue” came out.  She really looked good last night.  If I can look like that at 53…  In case you missed it…

Back to Chipotle.  I am a little sad about what I am going to write.  I have always known about the possibility of cross contamination at Chipotle (and other restaurants that aren’t 100% gluten-free).  Eating at a restaurant that isn’t 100% gluten-free is a risk.  As much as I eat at Chipotle, I can only pinpoint one time that may have made me sick, but it also may have been a virus; I am not sure.  Regardless, I have eaten there many times since then and been fine.

As I was standing in line last night, I witnessed something that made me very uneasy.  There were a number of take-out orders due to it being Super Bowl Sunday.  They stopped helping the line of people in the store for a short period of time to catch up on the take-out orders.  One of the employees made a mistake with the type of rice in a burrito, and to correct it, instead of tossing the rice in the trash, he lifted the flour tortilla and dumped the rice right back into the large serving container.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!   I hemmed and hawed.  What to do?  I always ask the employees on the line to change their gloves, but it never occurred to me to ask them to to use all fresh ingredients that weren’t on the line.  Is that even a reasonable request?

I am conflicted because I have worked in the restaurant industry, not only did I wait tables, but I was in management.  Is it reasonable for someone following a special diet to request all new ingredients from the back or that haven’t been on the line?  In all honesty, tonight that request could not have been met.  They were just too busy.  New rice?  Yes, no problem.  Everything else on the line that Jon & I wanted in our burrito bowl?  In my opinion it would have been out of line to ask them to go to that extreme.

Anywho, food (literally) for thought.  Please share your thoughts below in the comments.

Sunday – Chipotle

Monday – Shrimp over pasta w/ roasted asparagus & salad

Tuesday – Mexican pizzas, black beans & salad

Wednesday – Bourbon Chicken, brown rice, steamed broccoli & salad

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner with fruit salad

Friday- Pizza from a new mix and salad

Saturday – Take out

Week in Review:

Lemon blueberry crumb muffins

Vidazorb Probitotics

Snyder’s New Twist on Pretzels

Have a great week!

Kim

It is no secret that I am a fan of energy/protein bars.  I like portable food for times when I am in a hurry or need to refuel after a workout.  When I first started the gluten-free diet over 6 years ago, the choices for gluten-free bars were few & far between.  There were Larabars, which I love, but other than that, the choices were slim.

(source)

Rise Bar, previously making bars under the names “Prana & Boomi bars”, has been making nutrition bars for more than a decade. 

Rise was created to fill a real need—to give people very specific bars, with different formulations, for various times of day. After all, your body needs a different sort of fuel first thing in the morning than it needs mid-afternoon. And your workout demands something else all-together. So give your body what it needs, whenever it needs it. With Rise.

There are several different varieties of Rise Bars:

Breakfast Bars – Rise Breakfast Bar makes morning say, "Go!" It’s sweet, with hearty chunks of fruit and nuts to keep you moving through the most important part of your day.

• Crunchy cranberry apple
• Crunchy cashew almond
• Crunchy honey walnut
• Crunchy macadamia pineapple
• Crunchy perfect pumpkin

Energy+ Bars – Rise Energy+ Bar is 100% organic, made with blended superfruit and nuts, full of fiber and antioxidants to fuel you through the rest of the day.

• Cherry almond
• Coconut acai
• Apricot goji
• Blueberry coconut
• Raspberry pomegranate

Protein+ Bars -Rise Protein+ bar is designed to make good workouts great. It’s a super clean formula that delivers a big protein boost with five ingredients or less.

• Almond honey
• Crunchy carob chip

I was able to sample all 3 varieties of the bars.  My favorites are the breakfast & energy+ bars, specifically the apricot goji and the crunchy cranberry apple.  I wasn’t a fan of the protein bars.  The crunchy carob flavor was better than the almond honey, but they were very hard & chewy.  I would definitely purchase the breakfast & energy bars, but would probably find another option for protein bars. 

Rise bars are made in a dedicated gluten-free facility and are certified gluten-free.  All of the bars are vegetarian, kosher, soy & peanut-free.  The Rise Energy+ bars are certified organic & vegan.  The bars can be purchased online or found in health food stores, like Whole Foods, near you. 

**The bars reviewed in this post were sent to me free of charge for review purposes.  The opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

I am always looking for a way to make my current meal choices healthier.  This not only helps my body, but it helps me to get out of a rut that I sometimes seem to fall in with foods.  I find something that I like and I like to eat it a lot.  Sometimes daily.  Tuna melts are one of those favorites.  In addition to limiting tuna to 2-3 times per week, I don’t know that I need melted cheese & mayo on a regular basis.

Avocados were on sale this week when I went grocery shopping – 5 for $5.00.  They were the big ones, too, not the tiny ones.  I wanted to incorporate avocado into my lunch, but knew I needed more protein, so the avocado tuna salad was born.

Ideally this avocado could have been a little riper, which would have made it easier to mush & mix up with the tuna.  Do you know how to tell when an avocado is ripe?  Gently squeeze a both ends to see if it gives at all.  If it is perfectly ripe, it should give just a little and be more towards a black/brown color, as opposed to greenish and hard when squeezed.

Healthier Tuna Salad

• 1 2.5 oz. package of tuna
• 1 oz. avocado
• diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes (can be mixed in or placed on top)
• squirt of spicy brown mustard
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Serve on a freshly toasted English muffin, bagel, toast or vehicle of your choosing.  I used a Food for Life gluten-free English muffin.  If you are making more than one serving at a time, I suggest adding a dash of lemon juice to keep the avocado from browning.

This lunch kept me from eating an avocado straight from its package (skin).  Avocados are healthy for you, in moderation.  They have gotten a bad rap for a long time due to their higher fat content, but they shouldn’t , because the fat in avocado is monounsaturated, which is the heart-healthy kind.  Additionally, according to this article, they might help to prevent certain cancers.

Do you like avocados?  What is your favorite way to eat them?

The lovely Sara from Words to Run By, tagged me in her “11 Random Things” post, so I thought today would be a good day to have a little fun.  Here are rules:

The Rules

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 Random Things

1.  Pink is my favorite color, though it didn’t use to be.  I used to hate the color pink.

2.  The first meal I learned to make was fried chicken and mashed potatoes.  I was around 10 or 11 at the time.  Oddly enough, I don’t think I have ever made fried chicken again. 

3.  I used to think runners were crazy and would only consider running if chased.  Funny how things change.

4.  I would never have though that someone as wired as me would enjoy yoga so much.  I have a hard time sitting still, yet that 60-75 minutes of yoga really grounds me.

5.  My favorite pair off jeans is a pair I bought on Ebay several years back.  They are Gap Long & Lean.  I bought them on Ebay because Gap changed them and they didn’t fit the same, so I searched high & low for my beloved jeans.   The hem is frayed and 2 of the belt loops have come off. 

6.  I eat jelly beans daily a lot. 

7.  I have been known to rock out to High School Musical tunes on my iPhone while running.

8.  My 2nd toe is longer than my big toe.

9.  When growing up I would choose mashed potatoes over French fries in restaurants.  I specifically remember a waitress commenting that she hadn’t seen many kids choose mashed potatoes over fries before. 

10.  Back to music – I am a big fan of 80s ballads – Sister Christian, Human, Right Here Waiting, Amanda, High Enough…  I’ll stop now before I embarrass myself anymore.

11.  My first car was a Honda CRX.  It had no real backseat, but that didn’t stop us from putting people back there.  Boy, we were stupid.

My answers to Sara’s questions:

1. What is your favorite thing to cook?
2. What is your favorite book? The Help
3. What is your favorite distance to run? Half marathon
4. What is your favorite season of the year? Autumn
5. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving
6. Do you like to make lists? Yes, I love lists. 
7. How many states (places) have you lived in? States: 4  Places: 6
8. How long have you been blogging? Since August 2008
9. Who is your biggest inspiration? My children
10. What is your favorite animal? Penguin
11. What is your favorite (non-running) outdoor activity? Hanging out on our deck/patio with a glass of wine & friends

You are IT!

**You can choose not to participate, but I am choosing people that I would love to learn more about.

1.  Laurie – I Can Walk as Fast as You Can Run

2.  Karen – Random Thoughts of a Suburban Mom

3.  Heather – Mile 26 and More

5.  Marlow – Gluten Hates Me

6.  Jessica – Jessica’s Training Blog

7.  Melanie – Marathon Melanie

**I broke rule #6, but I realize a lot of people have already done this, so there you have it.  I would love to see anyone who wants to participate, do so in the comments or on your blog.  Please link back so I don’t miss it! 

Questions for those tagged to answer:

1.  Where were you born?

2.  Siblings?

3.  Pets?

4.  Sweet, salty or both?

5.  What would your last meal be?

6.  Chocolate or vanilla?

7.  Do you still have a home phone?

8.  Favorite age growing up?

9.  What kind of car do you drive?

10. Least favorite chore.

11.  What kind of toothpaste do you use?

Have a great day!

Kim

The first month of 2012 is almost over.  I can’t believe how fast it went by.  I am sure it seemed to go fast because we weren’t locked indoors with snow & horrible weather like we normally are, or have been for the past few years.  There has been a lot of rain, but I’ll take that over ridiculous amounts of snow or ice.  Are you ready for February?  That means Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!

2012 is going to be an exciting year!  Changes are being made and drivers are getting licensed.  When did my son become old enough to get behind the wheel of a car and how can I change that?

Meals this week…

Sunday – Rotisserie chicken, brown rice, roasted green beans & salad

Monday – Baked Ziti and salad

Tuesday – Gluten-free burritos, black beans and salad

Wednesday – Bison burgers, baked steak fries and salad

Thursday – Perfect Pork Tenderloin, red beans & rice, steamed broccoli & salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad.

Saturday – Leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Baking

Chai scones

Spice cookies

Cupcakes

Week in Review:

Don’t forget to enter to win my Nuts.com giveaway – ends tonight!

Kettle Cuisine review

Help out the NFCA by participating in this study on gluten in medications.

Review: Simply Organic Cocoa Brownies

Enjoy Life introduces Plentils

Still time to celebrate the Chinese New Year at Molly Woo’s

Amy’s Kitchen sandwich rounds now in Raisin Rack

My review of the new Chobani flavors

Have a great week!

Kim

I have been doing a lot of soul searching recently.  I have been thinking about what I will do when the kids are older and don’t need me at home as much as they do now.  I used to be in property management and while I liked what I did, I want something a little more flexible, so I can be available if the kids need me.  Family first, right? 

I have blogging and writing for Celiac-Diease.com, Gluten Freely and the Examiner, but I am thinking about something in addition to those things.  I write because I feel like the things I write about are things that I need to share with you all.  If I can help just one person, I feel like what I have done is worth it. 

That line of thinking led me to ask myself what I like to do – what is my passion?  I like to run.  I like to exercise.  Fitness is my passion.  So, what better goal to pursue, than to be a personal trainer? 

I enrolled last week with the NASM to get my CPT certification!  I have already started studying and hope to be certified by summer.  I haven’t decided exactly how I am going to use this certification yet.  The possibilities are really endless. What I do know is this: I am passionate about my training and can’t wait to help others feel the same way about their training. 

Wish me luck! 

Kim

I heard it through the grapevine that Chobani had several new flavors out, so I made it my mission to locate the new flavors & give them a try.  Apparently the mango has been around for a short while, but it has somehow escaped my radar.

I was so excited with my purchases, I couldn’t decide which flavor to try first!  I finally decided on the blood orange.  After my strength training on Monday, I grabbed the yogurt right after I get out of the shower.  I have a bad habit of drinking coffee, checking email and keeping my butt firmly planted in my chair and not eating breakfast as soon as I should after my workout.  The first 60 minutes after your workout is the best time to get protein & carbs in to refuel those muscles.  I was wasting that hour screwing around on my computer.  It is easy to remedy that by grabbing a small cup of yogurt that packs 14 grams of protein in it!  The blood orange flavor was amazing!  What a unique fruit to use in yogurt.  I can see buying this again in the very near future. 

Next up was the apple cinnamon yogurt.  I ate this before heading to yoga one night and it did a great job of holding me over between lunch & dinner.  The yogurt contained small chunks of apples and just enough cinnamon.  It was a nice refreshing treat!

I was a little intimidated by the passion fruit yogurt.  I didn’t realize there would be decent size seeds in the yogurt, but I got over my hesitation and took a bite.  WOW!  I love this stuff!  I have never tried passion fruit, but think that I need to see if I can find one and try it (in season, of course).  I definitely have a passion for this passion fruit yogurt!  I know that was cheesy, sorry!

Last, but certainly not least, was the mango yogurt.  It was every bit as good as the others and I love it!  Little chunks of mango nestled in the thick, creamy yogurt were such a treat! This variety, along with the passion fruit is low-fat (2%), not non-fat.  The 2% varieties only have 20 more calories and are much creamier.  Now I need to head to the store to get more Chobani ASAP! 

Chobani Greek yogurt can be found in most mainstream grocery stores across the US.  Do you have a favorite Chobani flavor?  Have you tried the new flavors yet? 

Nuts.com has over 700 products that are certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization.  How is that for a huge selection?  More about Nuts.com:

· If you thought your baking days were limited, never fear, it’s time to fire up the oven and make some delectable dishes using flour made from coconut, almonds or chickpeas, just to name a few.  Or, find mixes for all your favorite baked goods: brownies and cookies and cakes, oh my!   You can also search for gluten-free recipes here.

 

· Start the morning off right with grains like rolled oats, quinoa or millet topped with sweet dried fruit or make pancakes or bread and top with nut butter.

 

· Don’t forget to indulge your sweet tooth every now and then: old time candy brings back memories, or you can search by your favorite confectionary flavor.

 

· And for those days that are just plain nuts… of course, there are plenty of those to feed your craving too.

Nuts.com was formerly Nutsonline.com.  They can be found on Facebook and Twitter.  My favorite things to order from Nuts.com are walnuts (I may have a slight obsession) and amaranth.  I am just learning how to cook with amaranth by using with quinoa or other grains or alone as a hot breakfast cereal.  It makes a great base for fresh berries or cooked cinnamon apples & almond butter.

The products are always fresh & come in a bag with a zipper lock to help keep them that way.  I love the selections of gluten-free flours – they are reasonably priced with the all-purpose baking flour is just $2.99/pound!  Nuts.com has offered to give one lucky reader a free gluten-free product of their choice!  Please follow the directions below to enter to win!

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