Dare You To...

Some Link LOVE for Valentine's Day! Been busy, but still reading and finding interesting posts, articles, news, and more!  
Enjoy:

Business Insider: Science shares 11 Charts that
"Show Everything That's Wrong With the Modern Diet"- worth looking at.



This reminded me of an old post at Authority Nutrition: "6 Graphs That Show Why The War on Fat Was a Mistake"

A more fair assessment than we've seen in mainstream so far:
"The Paleo Diet: Can It Really Be Good For You?" via The Telegraph.


This revealing Huffington Post article made me very sad.   Fashion magazines dug their own grave by faking models that were too slim,  and now...
"You'd Be Shocked at What These Fashion Editors Are Editing Out of Their Photos". This cycle NEEDS to end!

De-Clutter NOW!  Read "8 Things You Can Live Without"
This is so something I need to do. What about you? 


Props to Chobani for donating their excess yogurts when they couldn't make it to Sochi…

We are jumping from one awesome workout to another!  The winner of last week's DMF Giveaway is Angela! She commented: 

Congrats, Angela!
Moving on, from booty-shaking to booty-blasting at Barry's Bootcampin New York City. Last week, you may have noticed some Tweets and Instagrams showcasing this kick-butt workout. Here's what went down:
I was pumped to try out Barry's Bootcamp for the first time this past week at a media workout sponsored by Chobani.  I'd heard of Barry's Bootcamp before, but really had no idea what to expect.  It was my very first bootcamp class, so I was a bit nervous going in!  All I knew was to expect strength AND cardio in one intense workout.  And that's just what we got.

The Barry's Bootcamp location in TriBeCa (one of many locations worldwide) was pretty impressive.  In the entryway, there was a small cafe/smoothie bar with various offerings.  In the bootcamp... studio? gym? giant room of equipment? we rounded up to get the part…

Quick note: Don't forget you've got 4 more days to enter the coconut oil giveaway! Click here for details.

I love spinach and artichoke dip. Who doesn't?  It's always a hit at any party, and it's especially impressive when it's homemade.


As delicious as some of the recipes are, I wondered if there was a way to clean up the ingredients a bit, simplifying complex recipes down.

Instead of sour cream, something to which I've always been averse, I decided Greek yogurt would be a nice way to add a creamy consistency, while also packing a protein punch.

It was also important to me to use some fresh, real cheese.  I was planning to go pick up some gruyere to try, since my friend Erica had just reminded me how delicious it is.  Thought it'd be a nice way to fancy up the cheese.  On my way to the store, though, I happened to pass a farmer's market, where I found this local, raw milk "Monterey Hot Jack" cheese.  Just like that, my plans changed.


Bonus…

These are a few of my favorite things...This Friday, instead of featuring interesting articles, I'm sharing some things I've been loving lately,A through E.  

Apples
I used to snack on these all the time. Why did I stop?  Apples are the perfect snack!  They're portable, stay well in or out of the fridge, and are ridiculously satiating thanks to all that water and fiber.  Last month, I started stocking up again.  These are now a staple, once again, in my home and work refrigerators.

Banana Chobani
Ah, Greek yogurt, my love.  I was comfortable in my plain Chobani groove for a while, until the end of January, when I received an awesome package.


Inside, I got samples of the new Chobani Bites, cute little 100-calorie snack cups, with a flavored yogurt and mix-in, to boot.  The Fig with Orange Zest was interesting, for sure. I do love figs!


What I fell for even more than the "Bites" was the 6-oz Low Fat Banana.  I usually buy plain Greek yogurt, with the occasional vanil…

First off, let me tell you about something super exciting.  I got to meet one of my favorite foodie bloggers, Liz of I Heart Vegetables.  I love her blog, and turns out I loved the person behind it, too!


It was really exciting meeting her in person, and chatting about blogging, food, photos, life, and.. everything!



We hit up the Chobani Soho store, and I think Liz enjoyed her first taste.  She got the Dark Chocolate Pistachio, which I certainly recommended, and instead of my usual Fig & Walnut, I opted for the Blueberry Power (sub in honey) on this particular morning.



We left happy :)



And now, on to the October #LiveLeanEatGreen Challenge!

October 5: Try a new vegetable.



Cooked with (baby) artichokes for the first time ever.  Not easy! Full story to come.
6: Do a Tabata workout



This was fun. I like Tabata workouts.  Quick and intense.
Used my Gymboss--makes Tabata easy. I chose to do plank jacks, which definitely wore me out!
7: Go makeup free today. You're beautiful.


This was se…

This weekend, I attended the Healthy Living Summit, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.  For the many of you who want to know how it went, I'm going to share!  In stages.

This is Day 2.  Click here for Day 1.

For those of you who are not interested in my blogger-fest activities, today you can cook thisor try this workout.Oh, you want a NEW dare?  Dare you to follow on Google+ and find me on Facebookto stay up to date with posts, see exclusive shares, and browse my instagram feed. 

Where were we?

Saturday morning wakeup.  A bunch of running groups got up and out super early, but I hadn't slept much at all the night before, so I slept straight until my 7:45 alarm. 8am breakfast, folks!


On my way to the breakfast room, I walked through a hall of our sponsors, who had information and samples to share with us.  First stop: Reebok.


Of course, I'm still crushing on Reebok after all the CrossFit funlast Thursday.

They had sneakers for us to try on for size, and we each got a pair of the …