Dare You To...

TGIF!  This Friday, I'm sending my link love to some tasty treats for your weekend.

Here are some yummy grain-free recipes to bring to your Super Bowl gathering!


Start your Sunday with paleo banana pancakes for breakfast.

Make your own guacamole - with Greek yogurt!

Try Jenn's Parmesan Pesto Whipped Feta as an alternative dip.

I love these Paleo Buffalo Wings, or you can try out these Paleo Glazed Chicken Wings.

Another interesting twist: Spaghetti Squash Pizza?!

How aboutgrain-free apple crisp for dessert!

Just a few ideas for you :)  Hope you have a great weekend -- Go Sports! 

Did you know you can BAKE eggs--whole eggs, in the shell--in the oven?  

I'm on an egg kick.  Always for eating, recently for blogging.  I've already talked about why eggs are awesomeand why you should Eat The Yolks.  Today, I share my favorite way to prepare eggs for easy consumption all week.



My go-to way to cook up eggs is a scramble or omelet, but I also like to hard-boil a bunch of eggs on Sunday for a quick and easy breakfast or snack during the busy week.

Now, I concede that hard-boiling is not rocket science, but it does require a few separate steps, regular attention, and the stress of knowing something could boil over.  However, there's an EVEN EASIER way!  Did you know that you could BAKE eggs right in the oven?  No need to get the water going, no need to watch or listen or smell or wait or add vinegar or not add salt or or or... just bake them.

Here's how you can hard-bake your eggs:

Heat your oven to 325°F. 


Place the eggs into a muffin tin, so each sits on i…

Whoops - missed last Friday! Catching up now with theLive Lean Eat Green Photo-A-Day October Challenge. 

So, below, you have a HUGE ASSORTMENT of dares to choose from. They're all quick and painless, and also fun. Take your pick.

October 12: Buy yourself flowers. You deserve them.



13: Make something with pumpkin!





Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes by Diane Sanfilippo in Practical Paleo
14: Burn some calories cleaning the house!



15: Go vegetarian for the day!



Had me some roasted vegetables.
16: Let me see you sweat!



Mehhh another self-photo.  No more, Lindsay, please!
17: Call a family member just to chat.



Yes, my parents are still (and always will be) "home."
18: Buy a new healthy snack to try.



19: Go on a walk at lunch!



Rain or shine!
20: Have a treat!



My go-to sweet treat Anything yogurt- or chocolate-covered.
21: Park farther away today.



No car. Went for this run instead.
22: Hand write a letter to a friend.



23: Eat some roasted vegetables.


24: Do 100 lunges before breakfast.

This week, I took a break in my day to ENJOY -- to catch up with my friend Hannah, who was visiting for a few days.  We went to the movies...

But instead of enjoying a film, we enjoyed something I usually bypass at the theater: POPCORN.


Popcorn, Indiana, the self-proclaimed biggest snack company that a lot of folks never heard of, kindly invited me to sample their classic and newfangled flavors of popcorn.  Their rep. Jeff explained how at their Englewood, New Jersey factory (and offices overlooking the factory), "We eat, sleep, and breathe popcorn," he explained.  "We view ourselves as the Popcorn Innovators."  

It soon became evident that innovation was the perfect word.  Their snacks, flavors, and technology take popcorn to a whole new level.  

Read on to learn all about their flavors and innovations:

98... 99...100!! This isDare You To's 100th post, so we're celebrating by SHARING some goodies acquired recently.




First, to demonstrate your loyalty as a reader, you must suffer through an explanation of my workout.  That's right; you've gotta earn your giveaway entries!

On Friday morning, I woke up way too tired.  The night before, even after the interesting and educational Technogel Twitter chat with FitFluential (where we talked all about the importance of sleep quality and quantity, and how Technogel pillows can help with both), I had a miserable night's sleep.  It took me some time to fall asleep, and then I woke at 3-something in the morning, overheated.  After hitting the restroom and turning on a fan, it still took me a while to fall back asleep.  Then, I woke again at 8-something, even though I had not set my alarm and had no reason to be up. Blah.

BUT!  I had to run!  That was the plan, and who knew what the weekend would bring (turns out: not much in the…

First: It's the LAST DAY to enter the GIVEAWAY  contest here!!!

Second: Happy National Running Day! (Thank you, Fancy Nancy, for informing me on the holiday!)  Learn how to celebrate here.  And finish the sentence: "I run..." for health, for escape, for the CHALLENGE! Why do you run?

Third: How are my June Goals going so far?  So far, so good!
#MOVE: I made my return as planned on Sunday, getting back into my running with 3 miles in 30 minutes! Not continuous, but I'll get there.  The weather was stellar and made it enjoyable.  Today, I ran a mile on the treadmill before circuit training.#EAT: Haven't had gluten since Sunday, when I had just a dropppppp.  But remember, I said during the week.  Yesterday, I was temped by a meal out, where I ate a delicious salad for dinner, but then we ordered cookies to share for dessert. Uh oh.  I almost caved, but the cookies did not look worth it, and I knew I committed to not eating gluten during the week.  Somehow, I exerted …

Housekeeping first: we've got three lucky winners for the PopChips Giveaway! Random.org helped me select entries 19, 24, and 100: Laurel C, Kabri, and Heff (my first Facebook fan--paid off)!  Congratulations!
Thank you to all who entered; stay tuned for the next great giveaway :)

With that in mind, let's talk about smart snacking.


"Oversnacking" is something I've been struggling with recently, so I thought I'd share the principles guiding my own snacking choices going forward.

There are many components that go into snacking in a smart way, but today I'd like to focus on what I see as the two main dimensions: QUALITY and QUANTITY.  I'll give my quick advice on these, with some wise words from Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual along the way.

But first, the obvious question: why snack at all?  Snacking isn't for everyone; some people get by very well on a solid three meals a day, period.  We're not all like that, though.  Some …

Alright, friends, it's been a week!
(Don't forget: POPCHIPS GIVEAWAY!  Last few days to enter: CLICK HERE!)
Did you fulfill last week's dare to shut down before bed?  How did it go for you?  Did you find it difficult to fit in time, did you enjoy the half or whole hour of peace before slipping into sleep?

If you were unable to give it a go, please give it a try!  It makes such a difference, really.  Do not forget to prioritize sleep!  You can read more about the fundamentals of sleep at FitFluential.  Balanced Bites also discuss how bright lights after the sun goes down can negatively influence your metabolism.  So try making your 7-9 hours a habit--a priority--and aim to get 30-60 minutes of technology-free downtime before bed. Let your brain ease into the darkness, let your body understand that it's nighttime, and let your mind become free of the stresses that distract it from relaxing.

That's what I'm about to do. I'm about to crawl into bed (later than …

Happy one-month anniversary of Valentine's Day!! 
What?  You don't celebrate the month after Valentine's Day?  Well, good thing I do; I have a special gift for you!


In February, I got the best Valentine of all: special delivery from Popchips!, love note and all:


Popchips was kind enough to share with me their new flavor - Sweet Potato!


The box contained several snack-size bags of Sweet Potato Popchips, all with a cute Valentine attached.  I'm a sucker for puns.

Here I am, rambling on and on about my Valentine's package. Where are my manners?  Readers, may I introduce you to Popchips.  For those of you who don't know what Popchips are, they're the hottest, tastiest "chip" on the market. The best part is, they're not bad for you (Popchips are not fried; they're popped!) and don't have too many scary, unidentifiable chemicals listed in the ingredients.  Sounds like my kind of chip!


Want more information?  Their website has everything you c…