Dare You To...

In the beginning of the month, I vowed to Enjoy July and dared you all to Be Selfish this summer.  It's important to set aside time in our busy schedules to sit back and just plain have fun!

That's why my friend Becky and I planned ourselves a "Staycation" for this weekend!  For the month or two beforehand, we kept our eyes out for good deals, good ideas, and good eats to enjoy together.  In the end, we celebrated some professional successes with a staycation in our home city.

The result?  Two days, under $200, and a lot of fun and bonding time.


It began on in the morning with none other than a WALK!  Becky and I are both fit-minded people who enjoy physical activity and (mostly) healthy food.  We planned to walk/jog through Central Park, but with an ominous weather forecast and limited time frame, we decided to walk around from midtown to Washington Square Park and Soho instead.  We were still in our workout outfits and sneaks, and the heat definitely made us sweat…

Today, instead of daring you to cook a new food (although that's coming up, don't you worry!), I'm just going to dare you to eat a new food:


This is a food that I had nothing to do with growing up.  Never ate it.  Never wanted to.  Didn't quite know what it was.  Didn't care to look past its slimy appearance and pungent smell to give it a try.  No interest whatsoever.

In my paleo and general nutrition readings, podcasts, books, etc., I repeatedly find suggestions that Sauerkraut is one of the absolute healthiest things we should all be eating.
At Paleo FX (March 2012), a "Whole Foods vs. Supplements Mastermind Panel" of nutritional and digestive gurus (Chris Kresser, Amy Kubal, Diana Rodgers,Liz Wolf, Diane Sanfilippo, Dr. Dan Kalish, Joe Johnson) were all asked toname 3 foods or supplements they recommend.  Guess which food was essentially unanimously agreed upon?  (Hear discussion on that discussion in this Balanced Bites podcast episode.)Presenters at th…

I'm not talking about limiting flavor. Flavor is good. But variety? Does less variety mean more satiety? 

Because I love frozen yogurt so much, I couldn't resist reading when I stumbled upon Glamour's The Dos and Don'ts of Frozen Yogurt.  In it, Carolyn Brown (M.S., R.D.), Rachel Beller (M.S., R.D.) and other nutrition experts give great advice involving cup size, toppings, flavors, and more, but the one that most caught my attention was slide 7: Don't Mix Flavors.


"Sure, swirling your two favorite flavors sounds like a great idea, but there's a good reason to resist.  'We have a limit to where our taste buds start fatiguing on a certain flavor,' Blatner says. 'If you pick only one topping and flavor, you actually feel more satisfied than if you were picking multiple things.'" 
Hm.  Interesting.  I thought about this for a while.  I've done both ends of the spectrum; I've swirled 4 flavors into my single cup at 16 Handles, and other …

It's Freeky Friday! My friend Amanda helps host this weekly summer blog series, with different prompts for us all to ponder and share about!  She explains the background here, and you can see some of the past prompts and her posts here. 


This week's prompt:
How do you stay healthy?
Excellent question!  I'm so glad you asked.


Really, the way I stay healthy happens to be through the four tenets of FitFluential, the main areas underlying everything we do: EAT, SLEEP, MOVE, ENJOY

EAT: I nourish my body by eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, fish, and real foods.  I (mostly) avoid eating foods that I know are harmful or that make me feel lousy.  I try to stay cognizant of the connections between my foods and my physical health, so I can eat to promote my own health and longevity.


... and might I add, DRINK.  Water, that is.  Anyone who knows me know I drink water like I breathe oxygen.  With meals, on the go, and while working.   Always have a glass or bottle by my side.  Without…