Tag Archives: fitness

Mar8

And the Sand*Wishes Lunch Punch Winner is (drumroll please!):

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And the Sand*Wishes Lunch Punch Winner is (drumroll please!):

Yes. I’m a geek.  Some days I just cannot help that!

The winner is Amy A. from Kentucky! I’ll get her Sand*Wishes set in the mail ASAP, so she can begin making Lunch Punch creations of her own.  Congrats to Amy and thank you to everyone who entered!

Lunch Punch Sandwich - RachelsRandom.com

The above lunch is a Sand*Wishes cheese sandwich with flower cut-out. I gave Girlie trail mix as a filler and included some baby peppers on the side.  Those peppers are her new favorite veggie!  The small compartments have pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries.  I included some cute animal picks just to make her smile.  She’s learning the “-ice” word family this week and I’ve been slipping little -ice word poems into her lunchbox for her to read to her friends.  I started out with

“I kissed you once,

I kissed you twice.

Girlie, I think, 

you are very nice.“

and progressed to more complex ones as the week went on.  She seemed to like this, and I am going to try to continue as they add new word families.  I love how the simple things make all the difference.

Now, that I’ve announced the winner of my contest, I have to plug a contest that I am involved in.  I was nominated me for a “complete and total cosmetic/wellness/weight loss transformation” from Refresh Wellness, Weight Loss and Cosmetics at the NAC! Please “like” this status:
AND also like their page for your vote to count. I’d really like to win this. I strive to eat better and achieve my fitness goals, but it is always a struggle for me.  I am hoping that with Dr. Lori Gerber’s help, I can get back on track with my weight and also try some of the other cosmetic services she offers.  Thank you for your help with this! It means a lot to me to see all this support.

Here are the products I used in this post:

Aug27

Super Smoothie!

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Super Smoothie!

I’ve finished my first full month of P90X and I am anxious to see what the second month has in store for me.  I lost a ton of weight in the first two weeks, but now it is coming off at a crawl.  On the other hand, I am down a clothing size and my body is already much stronger and more flexible, so I can’t complain about the scale.  I must actually be building some muscle!

I am not following the P90X diet program, but I am using its principles in my own hybrid version of P90X/Weight Watchers.  I am eating almost entirely fresh fruits and vegetables, with beans or low-fat or fat-free dairy (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, etc) for protein.  I used to rely a lot on soy products, but I am trying to stay away from any kind of packaged goods, so I am using those sparingly right now.  I have dramatically reduced my consumption of processed foods.   Most importantly, I have been very focused on eating to fuel my body, particularly with all this amazing exercise I am getting.  I do closely monitor my points allowance, of course, but I splurge a lot less on treats and wine in favor of extra protein.

I shared my favorite new breakfast a couple of weeks ago.  Now I have a smoothie recipe for you to try.  I am sure you will read this and think it sounds awful.  It really does sound terrible from the list of ingredients.  However, if you give it a try, you will find that you don’t taste the kale at all and the banana mellows out the grapefruit.  It is filling and invigorating.  It is my new favorite pre-workout meal.

Ingredients (in order of how I place in blender):

  • 1 cup chopped kale (I actually just rip it with my hands)
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup ice (here is a great ice recipe if you need one – be sure to read the reviews!)
  • 1 cup frozen berries
  • 1 small banana
  • 1 grapefruit

I blend until it is completely smooth.  You can still see little bits of kale, but it doesn’t give off any flavor.  Instead, it has a light citrus taste that gives a real pick-me-up.  This has enough calories to constitute a meal for me, but I sometimes split it in freezer ball jars to make it snack size.  I also use those freezer jars for sweeter green smoothies that I send in Girlie’s lunchboxes.  She loves them!  I just use oranges instead of grapefruit.   Here is a picture of a freezer jar ready to go:

What is your favorite work-out smoothie recipe?  Do you use powders? I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions.  P

Here are the freezer ball jars on amazon if you’re interested in giving those a try:

Aug16

Pinwheels and Veggies!

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Pinwheels and Veggies!

Last night we were in a hurry to get to an event at Newtown Athletic Club (our home away from home), but naturally, I was running late from work.  This always feels ironic to me, since I work from home, right upstairs in my loft office, but I frequently am running late to work, or am late “getting home” from work. It was also raining like crazy outside, which added to the chaos and almost caused me to change my mind about going.  I mulled it over for a minute or two and decided we could all use some fun and exercise, so I threw a couple of bento dinners together and rushed us into the car.

I really only had about 5 to 10 minutes to make 2 meals, so no characters or special cutouts.  Just by adding a variety of colorful fruits and veggies, I made kid-pleasing bento that could be eaten in the car. Check out this EasyLunchBox:

I made veggie bologna and cheese tortilla pinwheels.  My kids love these much more than regular sandwiches!  I simply place a slice of cheese on a tortilla and microwave for 30 seconds to warm the tortilla and melt the cheese a little.  Then I add a slice of bologna, roll, and slice.  I made rows of veggies using red bell pepper, sugar snap peas, carrots, and cucumber.  I have grapes and cherries in the fruit compartment and trail mix in the small compartment.  Girlie ate every single bite of this (though she did eat it on the way there AND on the way back).

The kids had fun playing at the gymnastics open house and showing me all their skills.  I am amazed at how much they can do!  Girlie is fearless on the high beam now and is a tumbling pro!  Little Dude was working on some floor moves, but mostly preferred the bounce track.  He could bounce all day.

What activities are your kids signed up for during the school year?  So far we only have gymnastics.  I am wary of adding any more to our already hectic schedules, but I do remember lots of good times at T-Ball.  I am thinking maybe we’ll start that one next year.

Welcome to all the new readers who found my blog this week!  I hope you’re enjoying my posts and finding new ideas.  I love to hear from you with comments and suggestions, especially if you try something new!  I do get some ‘fan mail’ from time to time from people who have tried making a healthy bento lunch for their kids and had great success.  Check out this one from Maria in Sprinfield, VA:

Maria packed heart sandwiches for her preschoolers, spicy noodles for her adventurous kindergartener, and chicken lettuce wraps for her hubby. Check out the sriracha heart on his chicken! <3

 

Send me a picture of your bento lunch creation and I’ll gladly share it on my page too!  You can post it on my facebook page or email it to me at rachelbeard1111 @ gmail dot com.   Or tag me @rachelbeard1111 on instagram.

I know some kids are already back to school or are going back next week!  I hope you’re all off to a good start.  I am a bit nervous for school to start up again on Sept 4 for my kids.  It seems like a big  year for both of them.  I’d love to hear any tips for adjusting a 3 year old to a new preschool classroom as well.   Thank you and have a great weekend!

Aug14

Work Lunch Upgrade: Hubby’s Lunch Makeover!

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Work Lunch Upgrade: Hubby’s Lunch Makeover!

You would not believe my shock when I stepped into the kitchen this morning and discovered that my husband had packed his own lunch! He said he threw it together “in about 8 seconds” and he chose an Easy Lunchbox, so I was very proud of him. My guy likes to eat out. He’d eat out 3 meals a day if it was realistic to do so, but thankfully for our waistlines and budgets, having 2 small children makes that impractical!

While he generally likes to go out for a hoagie, an authentic Philly cheesesteak, or a Chipotle burrito, he’s become inspired by recent weight loss to make a diet change and pick up some momentum to lose even more.  We’ve been doing P90X together for about two weeks and he’s already lost 7.5 pounds without even making a change in his eating habits.  Meanwhile, I have been strictly following a nutrition plan and doing the workouts, and I have lost 6.5.  Not fair, right?!?  Well, I am very close to goal weight and I have less to lose, so it is actually a victory for me too!

Back to today’s lunch… I was expecting that he’d go out as usual, but then I found this sitting on the table:

The ‘Before’ Lunch

My first thought was “Wow! I am so proud of my man for doing this!” and my second thought was “Where are the veggies???”  Since he was trying to turn a new leaf, I just couldn’t live with sending him off with a boring 2-color lunch (white chicken and cheese, pink peach).  While he was getting himself ready to go, I snapped a before pic of his lunchbox and then got busy working on the makeover.  Check out the after photo:

The ‘before’ lunch was so light comparatively… this lunch is a bit of a clunker. For having added a mere 60 calories or so, I added a lot more nutrition, eye-appealing color, and fiber for satiety.  The upgraded lunch has 3 pieces of grilled chicken breast on top of a bed of lettuce.  I added carrots, 2 laughing cow lite wedges, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and cheddar cheese hearts.  This should make his lunch a little happier today and keep him out of the company’s cafe looking for more.

I keep lots of ‘easy’ prepped veggies like this on hand, so it really took only a minute to drop it in the lunchbox and maybe 30 seconds to cut some cheese hearts with a cookie cutter.  So, with a combined effort of 2 minutes, he’ll have a nice and healthy lunch instead of a greasy hoagie!  Score!

A lot of my bento blogging friends pack grown-up lunches all the time.  Here are some fun examples for you to check out if you want to make one for yourself or your partner:

What’s in Mom’s Lunch Bag: Clerks 2

Beneficial-Bento: Greek Salad

Lunches fit for a Kid: Pasta

Bentoriffic: Rice and Beans Wraps

Biting the Hand that Feeds You: Spinach Salad

Keeley McGuire Blog: Typical Work Lunch

iPackLunch: Stunning Salad

Keitha’s Chaos: Turkey & Cream Cheese Roll-up

What’s For Lunch at Our House: Sushi Bento

BentOnBetterLunches: Super Cute Salad

Mommy & Me Lunch Box: Taco Salad

Pretty impressive, huh?  You can click on any of the images to go to their corresponding website. I hope you found an inspiration for something new to try.  Who do you pack lunches for?  I’d love to see any of your exciting creations too if you want to comment with the link.

Want an EasyLunchbox of your own?  They’re 4 for $13.95 at amazon.com.

Aug6

Fit Breafast Recipe: Egg, Cheese, and Spinach Stuffed Pepper

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Fit Breafast Recipe: Egg, Cheese, and Spinach Stuffed Pepper

It seems like I can bracket out a lot of my life into times when I am ‘on plan’ and times when I am ‘off plan.’  My plan of choice is generally Weight Watchers, running three times a week, and weights twice a week.  I always see a great result with this plan and I can lose weight, build muscle, and feel awesome.  I know I need to think about this as a lifestyle, more than a plan I can opt into or out of, because I frequently get derailed and gain 10 or 15 pounds before i rein it back in again.   That’s where  I am at now.  I lost 15 pounds earlier this year and got back to goal weight, and I’ve gained that same 15 pounds back again already.  It is frustrating, but I am in the process of fixing it and trying to make permanent changes to break the cycle.  And while that 15 pounds is a constant battle, I am maintaining the loss of another 30 pounds that I disappeared 4 years ago and have never returned!

When I am working out a lot, I think more about my food being fuel for my body.  I try to eat cleaner with less packaged items.  I try to eat more protein and complex carbs, but less sugar and fat. Breakfast is a critical meal for me and I need the meal to be prepared quickly, but have the right nutritional balance to be filling and keep me energized all morning.  Here is a picture of my new go-to breakfast meal:

This beauty takes 5 minutes total to create and uses only a few ingredients.  I use 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup of low-fat cheese, 1/2 cup of frozen spinach, a splash of hot sauce, and half of a bell pepper.  Here are the steps:

  1. Coat the inside of a mug with cooking spray.
  2. Put 3 egg whites in the mug.
  3. Add 1/4 cup low-fat cheese.
  4. Add some hot sauce to taste
  5. Add the frozen spinach.
  6. Stir.
  7. Microwave for 1 minute.
  8. Stir again.
  9. Microwave for 2 minutes.
  10. Empty the contents of the mug into the bell pepper half.

The whole process takes me about 5 minutes. It looks and tastes great!  I believe this is 3 Weight Watchers points.  I get the lowest number of points allowed to be assigned, so I need to make every point count.  This really helps me.   Try it!
I have done a week of P90X now and it is going very well so far. I am amazed that I can keep up with the video for the most part.  So far, my favorite workout was definitely Plyometrics. I really liked the cardio!  I had the most difficulty with YogaX because I just don’t have the flexibility.  My least favorite was the Chest and Back workout because of the endless pushups and pullups.  I am actually surprisingly strong in both of of those exercises, but enough is enough at some point! It went on forever.  And THEN Ab RipperX after!

I am down 3 pounds for week 1, which is an outstanding start for me.  I need 13 more to be in my maintenance zone again, but of course I’d be happy to lose a few more if I could.   I think if I push myself, I can lose the weight in 3 months or less.  I’ll keep you posted.

What’s your favorite fitness-fuel breakfast?  I’d love some other suggestions!

Jul26

Bento To Go!

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Bento To Go!

I had a special guest in my bento zone this week: my sister-in-law and mom-to-be, Ashley!  She was here with my brother for one last visit before their baby arrives.  She decided to join us at the NAC for Girlie’s musical theater class and I was excited to show her how quick and easy it can be to pack a healthy bento on the run!  Ashley puts an emphasis on healthy diet and exercise in her daily life and I know she will her little girl to eat lots of fruits and veggies too!  It was fun to show her how my special touches don’t take too much time, yet have a big impact in the way my kids eat.

Here is the EasyLunchBox I created for dance class on Tuesday:

Bento To Go!

Bento To Go!

This very simple bento took only a few minutes to put together, but made my kids very happy! They ate every bite!  I have heart-shaped silicon cups of crackers and sliced cheese.  I included a piece of vegetarian bologna that I cut in half, rolled up, and speared with a cute animal food pick.  There is also some pirate booty and pears.  Girlie has cucumber and yellow bell peppers.  I put trail mix in Little Dude’s small compartment since he is not a fan of those vegetables.  The kids really respond to this kind of meal because it lets them mix and match their own cracker sandwiches and the food is all very colorful and bite sized.

Here is a picture of my bento crew on the way to the NAC:

We have only one week of musical theater left and then we’ll be free of activities for a while!  I am excited to get Tuesday nights back, but I am glad Girlie had so much fun dancing all summer.

Parenting Dilemma: Do you let your kids choose their activities?  Girlie has real talent in gymnastics and has the build for it too! She has two-left feet and cannot follow along with the teacher in dance class (just like me!!!).  However, she seems to enjoy dance more than gymnastics and also her friends do dance and not gymnastics.  I’d prefer her to stay and develop her gymnastics talent, as this will maybe motivate her to continue being very fit and dance may get discouraging for her.  She seems adamant about switching to dance.  What do you think? As a nearly 6-year-old, is she entitled to make that decision?

May1

April Fitness Goal Achieved!

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April Fitness Goal Achieved!

My April fitness goal was to complete 23 workouts and do at least 4 pull-ups at the gym.  I achieved both goals. I thought I’d be more excited and proud of myself for these accomplishments, but honestly, it was somewhat of a letdown.

I was crazy busy last month.  I had to wrap up at a job I’d had for 6 years.  I started a new job. I worked on the Trader Joe’s cookbook submissions, bio, and photos.  I traveled a bunch.  I was out of state 8 days in the month. Crazy busy, right?

I made it a commitment to get my workouts in and I hit exactly the number I committed to (23), but my heart was not in all of them and at times I felt like I was just going through the motions to hit the number.  I’m sure anyone reading this has felt the same way.  Coming from March when I did 27 killer workouts and felt like I had made a big change, April was a bit of a let-down.   Ok, enough with beating myself up for today… let me brag now about what I DID accomplish:

  • I jogged during my lunch break. I covered a minimum of 5K during each session 8 times last month, so I’d estimate a minimum of 28 miles covered at lunch!
  • I ran in a 5K race and beat my best time!  I completed the race in 28:28, which is around 6.6 MPH average for the full run!
  • I added other cardio activities when running was not practical. I completed 5 cardio workouts at the gym, on the road, or at home.
  • I beefed up my weights routine and and completed 9 strength-based workouts either at the NAC, a hotel gym, or my home gym.
  • I exceeded my goal of 4 pull-ups!  I can do 5 really solid ones and then two weak ones that maybe count.  My goal is to work up to 12 by the end of the year, so this is promising progress toward that goal.  I think I want to install a pull-up bar at home so I can practice more!
  • Finally, many of the 7 days I took off from exercise last month involved a lot of walking.  And every day had a real reason for missing the exercise.  I did not miss any days because I was just too tired or didn’t feel like doing the work.  They were all days that were just too full and working out would have taken some kind of herculean effort to accomplish.
  • I lost a pound! I am not sure how because I did not follow my diet plan at all, but I lost a pound and I can see more muscles visible, so there’s some good progress there as well!

So, written out like that, it does sound better!  This month I will put more energy into the workouts and try to focus more on pushing my body to change.  I am going to make a goal of 25 workouts this month and I want those extra 2 wimpy pull-ups to become strong ones.  I’ll shoot for 7 good pull-ups and hope I can be close to 10 with extra wimpy ones after the good ones! Is that a weird goal or what?

What is your May fitness goal?  How do you stay accountable to it when you are losing motivation?

Apr29

We did it!

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We did it!

My Girlie and I crossed our first finish line together at BucksFit this morning.  Not to brag or anything, but I actually crossed the finish line twice! :)

The 5K and 1 Mile races took place at the Northampton Township Community Park, where I run a few times a week as a part of my fitness routine.  It is a great place to run outdoors and only a mile away from our house.  The 5K had a great mix of runners of all ages and abilities. Everyone seemed very enthusiastic to participate.  I started toward the front of the pack and while I was quickly passed by 50 or more runners, once they passed me by, I held my ground and even passed a few people myself.  At some point I lapped some old ladies and couldn’t decide if that was reason to celebrate or not!

A 5K is no big deal for me because I run that all the time, but I was really excited to be part of the race itself and it meant a lot to me that my family came out to cheer me on.  My husband and Girlie and Little Dude were there along with my Mom and Dad.  It was really fun to run past them and wave. It made me feel great for them to see me in one of my finer moments.  I have never been known for my athletic prowess and I’ve always been overweight, so I felt good showing them my improvement.

When I crossed the finish line at 28:29, I was feeling great and I was thrilled with my time.  I usually run at around 6MPH, and this is a pace closer to 6.5!  I kept going after I crossed the line and ran to Girlie’s 1 Mile race, which was already in progress and joined her so we could finish together.  She was already about halfway done and was mostly walking by then, so it was a good way to cool down from my run.  We ran together to finish her race and she did a great job of keeping her chin up and not being upset when she passed the trophy table without taking one!

Girlie crossing the finish line!

Girlie crossing the finish line!

I was so proud of her that she went the full mile without stopping.  She did not complain once during the half mile we completed together. I hope that this experience adds to her fitness repertoire and that she’ll want to do this again.  It was a lot of fun.  It meant a lot to her that her Dad and brother and MomMom and Poppy were there to cheer her on too.   What a great morning!

Me and my Girlie after our races!

Me and my Girlie after our races!

Does anyone have a good idea for what to do with our race bibs now?  I’d love a fun way to commemorate them and also have something to add more bibs to as we do more races in the future.  Here is the park map for anyone interested in seeing our course:

Northampton Township Community Park Map

 

Apr27

Another Breakfast Bento

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Another Breakfast Bento

Happy Friday!  This was an extremely busy week for me and I am ready to start our amazingly under-booked weekend!  I definitely need to make grocery shopping a priority and get all of us back on track with our nutrition plans and fitness goals.  Girlie and I have our race on Sunday morning and that seems like a great way to re-invigorate my own fitness and diet regimen. For now though, Breakfast for Lunch is today’s menu!  This was Girlie’s request once again. I think she just likes the novelty of having cereal at school.  Today’s lunches are in their Kotobuki Frog and Panda lunchboxes:

Breakfast for Lunch

Breakfast for Lunch

Girlie’s lunch is on the top row and consists of cantaloupe, multi-grain cheerios, and milk.  I also gave her a frozen yogurt tube.  Little Dude has cantaloupe, a cereal bar, banana with peanut butter, and Greek yogurt.

Do your kids like breakfast for lunch or breakfast for dinner?  It has always been a favorite of mine, so I am not surprised my kids are asking for it!

What have you got going on this weekend?  I am not sure what our weather is going to be like, but aside from the race, I mostly want to get stuff done around here and maybe set a meal plan for next week.  I’ll try to do a post on Sunday to let you know how the race goes.  If you remember in my previous post, I was concerned about Girlie’s ability to cope with not being the race winner.  She seems to believe me now that she cannot win the race and should just focus on having fun, but we’ll see how that translates to her real-life reaction!

Have a great weekend!

 

Apr12

Protein-Packed Bento

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Protein-Packed Bento

Today’s lunch is cute AND packed with protein and calcium.  The kids ate a ton of rice at last night’s hibachi dinner at Mt. Fuji, so I decided to balance them out with some extra protein today.  Here is what I put in today’s EasyLunchBoxes:

Protein-Packed Bento Lunch

Protein-Packed Bento Lunch

Girlie had bento pick skewers of turkey, cucumber and cheese. Little Dude’s picks were just turkey and cheese.  They both have wheat thins and an egg mold in a flower cup.  Girlie also got some bell peppers, since she loves those!  They have honeydew and grapes and yogurt in their small compartments.  This lunch was so cute and made me smile. I hope it brightens their day too!  This lunch took a little bit of extra time to put together because the cheese kept falling apart when I poked the pick through.  Does anyone have any hints on how to properly spear a cheese cube? :)   Here is a shot of how the picks turned out:

Cute Bento Picks

Cute Bento Picks

In family news, my mom’s birthday dinner was a blast.  Both kids sat through the entire meal with no toys or iPhones at the table.  A long restaurant meal can be challenging for most kids, and my 2 year old can make trouble sometimes when service is slow and he gets bored or wound up.  Having the chef at the table making onion volcanoes tends to liven things up a bit!  Of course, Little Dude kept heckling the chef for more volcano!  The kids both ate really well and behaved nicely, making it a nice time for all of us!

Day two of the new job went really well today.  I got out for a morning run and covered 4 miles, which allowed me some time to really think about my day and what I needed to accomplish.  I find that my brain is very busy while I run, and I can often solve problems on the trails.  I wrote down some of my ideas as soon as I got back in the door and got right to work.  I am learning a ton and finding this all very exciting!

Any other runners out there?  Do you think more or less while you run?  I think some people can check out and just go and it is meditative, but my mind is very active. How about you?

These are the products I used to make this lunch: