Dare You To...

If you have a food allergy, preference, or are simply a picky eater, eating out can be a challenge. Whether you're lactose intolerant, vegan, have celiac disease, keep Kosher, or follow a paleo diet, there are tons of ways eaters like and need to alter their orders at restaurants.  You may need a special type of flour, no flour at all, no vegetable oils, no chicken stock, and on and on... Some places happily cater to such customers, while others are less kind. 
Amber at Exsoycise has some great tips for avoiding soy and other food allergies while eating out.  Me? I'm just going to share a success storyand some savory and sweet photos of how some places are popping up that cater directly to those with specific allergies or aversions.
(This is also kind of a sorry excuse for a What I Ate Wednesday, because today is Wednesday, but if Wednesday were last spring...)
Back in the spring, my friend Ezra and I had ourselves a gluten-free date in New York City.  I happened to bump into him…

At the Healthy Living Summit, I got to know Angela, blogger at Happy Fit Mama.  Today, she's teaching us about foam rollers:

-----

Hi everyone! A big THANK YOU to Meredith for allowing me to guest post on her wonderful blog today. 

Today I want to talk to you about foam rolling. Do you own one? If not, you should! Here's a brief back story on how I came upon this wonderful tool. I have been a runner for years but in the past 2 years I have become more involved with the half marathon distance. A physical therapist friend of mine suggested I try foam rolling when I complained of tight hamstrings and quads after a run. So I did. During my first session with the roller, I wondered why my friend would suggest I do something that hurt so much? Was she out to get me? She actually did the best thing for me. Although it hurt like crazy during the actual rolling, afterwards my muscles were more relaxed and less sore. I am more faithful than ever to my foam roller now that I am battling …

Over the summer, I listed the health benefits of sauerkraut dared you to start eating it.

My next dare after adding sauerkraut in my diet was making my own.Whoah.  Trust me, I didn't think of this all by myself.  A friend of the family (Hi, Mike!) grew cabbage in his garden and suggested we ferment it into sauerkraut.  Of course, I was game.  Didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but that's okay.  It was awesome and definitely a learning experience.

We browsed several different recipes online to get an idea of the process and printed out Diane Sanfillipo's Easy Recipe for Raw Sauerkraut.  You can also find good instructions at Nourished Kitchen.


Mike had grown cabbage in his garden, so we took the green and red leaves and chopped it up really small.




By massaging and pressing the salted cabbage, the waters would naturally come right out.



Mixed it up in a way-too-big mason jar, with carrots and garlic that we shredded, as well.


It took a lot of work pressing…

Ah, September--the start to a new year, new weather, new schedules, and new... healthy habits!

(One of which is sharing posts with other fitbloggers, like Scott over at Your Inner Skinny, where I guest blogged yesterday about my experience with Paleo.Read it here!)


With my own schedule changing this fall, it's imperative that I begin planning my meals and preparing food in advance.  So, that is just what I set out to do before my first and my second week of work.  I got busy thinking of recipes and preparing some food ahead.  Finding a new recipe to try made food prep time something exciting, rather than arduous work. I'm sure it'll get old, but new recipes will keep it interesting for a while.

Many of these new recipes came straight from Practical Paleo...

Last week's Sunday Monday (Labor Day), I prepared Savory Baked Chicken Legs and put it in the oven to roast.  Came out beautifully, although I still have trouble eating meat that looks like.. the meat it came as. #r…

I dare you to get a fresh start this fall with Gaiam TV.   I know I will!

What is Gaiam TV?
Gaiam TV is the first streaming fitness video subscription service designed to reach those interested in health, wellness, yoga, fitness and personal development.  With over 2,000 titles, Gaiam TV is like Netflix for health, wellness, yoga, and fitness lovers, delivering hundreds of hours of online yoga, Pilates and cardio workouts.  Gaiam TV viewers can practice with top instructors like Rodney Yee, Seane Corn, Jillian Michaels, Mari Winsor and Kathryn Budig. Wow, sounds great, right?  Last week I dared you to work out without a gym, and here is just the tool you need to get your fitness on at home.




Is it as good as it sounds?

I first turned to Gaiam TV on an early morning before a very important day.  I wanted to do some invigorating yoga, but knew my mind wouldn't be in it for more than 15 minutes. The site allowed me to to filter my search for an "AM/PM Style" with a time of &quo;…