Healthy, Happy Gifts for Fitness Friends

My favorite time of the year is just around the corner and I have already started Christmas shopping. I have been brainstorming gift ideas for a while now and I have come up with some really great ideas for gifts that promote a healthy lifestyle. I think these gifts are not only good for those fitness junkies but also those who are a little intimated by the thought of getting fit or living healthier.

1. Hamilton Beach Personal Blender with Travel Lid  -  $14.85

A really great gift for those on the go. I love this for making quick and easy smoothies at work or on a road trip in a hotel.

2. Groupon
Don't forget to check Groupon for some really awesome activities that could be given as gifts. There's the typical things such as yoga or kickboxing classes and there's even out-of-the-box ideas like self-defense lessons or backpacking trips.

3. Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer  -  $12.13
My new favorite kitchen tool. Veggetti spins vegetables into long pieces of spaghetti. I've used it for the typical zucchini but also for butternut squash. It makes a really great gift for those trying to cut back the calories or just love experimenting in the kitchen.

4. Fun Gym Tanks
Do you have a bestie that you workout with or just a good gym buddy? Funny and sarcastic tank tops are an awesome gift for any of the above. I am in love with these Mean Girls Quote Tank Tops  It's hard to go wrong with anything Mean Girls related.

5. Nalgene BPA-Free Water Bottle  -  $9.97
Who doesn't love a reusable water bottle? Nalgene water bottles are my favorite because they have the wide mouth that you can fill with ice. They also come in tons of awesome colors! If you want to go the extra mile you can get a vinyl monogram from Etsy ($5) to personalize the gift.

6. Fitbit Zip  -  $47.94

My favorite gift to give or get is a Fitbit. The Zip is the cheapest but does what most of the other Fitbits can; it's not only a pedometer but also tracks calories burned, miles, and distance. It syncs to other fitness apps like MyFitnessPal to help achieve weighloss goals. I love giving the Fitbit as gifts because you can compete with your friends and family to see who walked the most that day or week, turning it into a fun little competition. 

What healthy, active presents are you asking Santa for this year?

Getting Back On Track

I haven't posted in over a month and I have about a million excuses but I still feel really guilty. Back in the beginning of December I had finals that I was studying for and I started stress snacking. I know, I know I could have been snacking on good nutritious things but I sabotaged myself. BUT I will have you know that I did get all A's this past semester :) 

After finals it was the holidays and I love holiday treats. My holidays consisted of a smorgasbord of healthy nutritious foods and homemade sugary treats and of course copious amount of Champagne. My workout schedule dwindled down to nothing and now it's time to get back in the game.

For the past 2 weeks I have slowly been fixing my eating and going to the gym at least 30 minutes each day. 

Here are a couple of things I was eating last week. (top left to bottom right) 1.Cranberry walnut salad with feta, 2. Jimmy Dean's Breakfast Delights with the egg removed and two clementines, 3. grilled chicken and cheese quesadilla with grape tomatoes and cilantro, 4. brown rice with black beans, corn, and grilled chicken topped with guacamole, 5. cucumber and hummus.

It's been difficult to get back on track and I am constantly forgetting my lunch at home and having to improvise with what I have at work but I'm slowly getting back to where I was before. 

It's just a good reminded to always stay focused because it's harder to start back up than to just keep going.

What's New!

October is almost over and I have not been posting nearly enough. I just wanted to share with ya'll what I've been up too and what I've been eating lately. 

I have become addicted to the grilled shrimp tacos from Wahoo's. 146 calories for one taco and another 100 calories for a side of guacamole. The best thing about the tacos is that one taco comes with two corn tortillas so I always separate them and make one taco into two tacos! 

My snack drawer in my desk at work. It is definitely looking healthier in here. Apples, oranges, banana, carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, Luna bars, Sun Chips, and my peanut butter and banana sandwich in the Tupperware. 

My current favorite blog (www.gosupersisters.com) has these AWESOME monthly workout/goal calendars that I am in love with! 

What have you been doing to keep healthy this month?

Why Do Celebrations Always Equal Food?

This past weekend was the my birthday! :) I had a blast but I noticed something. Why do celebrations (birthdays, graduations, or anything really) always have to be celebrated with boat loads of food and typically it's junk food and the like.

Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate and I wanted to order a salad. I like salads but I was told that I should "stop dieting tonight and celebrate" my birthday. After going to dinner on Friday night and then going out and having a couple of drinks all I wanted to do on Saturday morning was have a bowl of Greek Yogurt with berries and then go to the gym. For some reason my family thought this meant I was punishing myself for the night before. They wanted to take me out to a big breakfast and that's awesome, breakfast is my favorite meal. But when I said "No" I was told I was being a "Party Pooper." I felt guilty so of course I caved.

Volcano Chicken at Johnny Garlic's (Spicy BBQ Chicken on a bed of garlic mash potatoes.)

As the day progressed I ended up eating even more junk. Later that evening we had a few people over and ordered pizza and bread sticks. (Mmmm carbs.)

Come Sunday I wasn't feel well at all. My stomach was upset from all the garbage and the total lack of any exercise. Now it's Monday and I'm still a bit sluggish and I actually do feel guilty for my behavior. But it really does make me wonder. Why do we have to eat poorly to celebrate an occasion? Isn't feeding our body properly a better way to celebrate, especially on a birthday.

Weightloss Weapons of the Week

Sometimes I find it really difficult to stay motivated. When I get that way I really need something extra to push me to get me outside and moving. Then I found Charity Miles and if I don't fit in my daily walk or run I feel super guilty. Charity Miles is great! I get the workout I need while also helping others.

"How it Works

It's as easy as this: get moving. Bikers earn 10¢ a mile and walkers and runners earn 25¢ a mile, up to our initial $1,000,000 sponsorship pool."

You can check them out here: http://www.charitymiles.org/ and be sure to download the app

I don't know about you but there are days I DO NOT want to count my calories and I just feel STARVING and I need to eat something! I don't get out of work until 6pm every day so waiting until I get home to eat is nearly impossible. I always need a snack around 3 or 4. When I get ravenous but it isn't quite dinner time yet I like to nibble on a Mini Babybel Light. They taste amazinggg, have 6g of protein, and keep me full until dinner.

What helps you stay motivated throughout the week?

Get Happy

I'll admit I have been a bit of a grump lately. I'm sorry everybody that has had to put up with my Negative Nancy behavior. I've just been in such a bad mood that I couldn't seem to shake it. So I sat down and wrote a couple things that always make me happy. I feel like I'm perking back up.

 Thank heavens! 

1. Listen to music.
This is always my number one go-to feel better trick. I even have a playlist on Spotify specialy made for cheering me up. My Happy Playlist

2. Take a walk around the block.
Some days at work can be so stressful that I just want to cry or scream or a combination of both. Those are the days that I find it especially important to take a walk during lunch. There is a nice little loop that I can walk around the buildings that clocks in at about a little over a mile and it's the perfect way to calm down and take a break.

3. Do a quick exercise routine.
Elle Woods said it best "Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands" A quick little workout sometimes is all it takes to turn that frown upside down. My favorite quick workout is this one from thinfithot.tumblr.com

4. Phone a friend.
Sometimes all it takes to cheer me up is a familiar loving voice. That's when I call my best friend or my mom. They both know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Or as my mom sometimes says "wake up and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

5. Count your blessings.
When I'm in a really terrible mood I don't want to sit down and think about all the good in my life. I just want to dwell on what's making me mad. But it's always so much better to think about the positive. Even better if I write down a couple things that are particularly great at the moment and realize that life is pretty great.

6. Take a nap.
Other times I just want to give up. When things are that bad it's best if I just take a nap. My bad mood is probably coming from a lack of sleep anyways. I'm not normally one who can take a mid-day nap but when I do you'll know it was because of a particularly terrible day.

7. Drink a cup of tea.
I'm not really all that crazy about tea but I do have to give some credit to Sheldon Cooper when he said "Social protocol states when a friend is upset, you offer them a hot beverage, such as tea." It really does a bit of cheering up when I'm down.

8. Go outside.
Just being outside feels good when the sun is shining. Take a blanket and a good book and just sit outside in the sunshine and read.

9. Take a hot shower.
Pretty self explanatory. Showers are awesome.

10. Take a deep breath.
When I don't have any time to actually do any of these little tricks all I can do is take a deep breath. In through the nose out through the mouth. Just a couple of times and I'm a little calmer and can think a little straighter.

What do you do to cheer up, get happy, or get rid of stress?

Green Elvis Protein Shake

In honor of St. Patrick's Day this coming weekend, Pretty Little Pantry is going GREEN! Well, I mean all green food that is. Wish me luck in my quest to come up with ideas for green food all week.

To start the week off I've decided to share my favorite after-gym treat. I like to call this delicious protein shake the "Green Elvis". As we all know, Elvis loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches and for good reason. Peanut butter and banana is possibly the greatest combination to ever be invented. So in honor of The King and his delicious sandwich I've named my favorite smoothie after him.

Now this smoothie is obviously much better for you than Elvis' favorite treat but I believe it tastes even better. Seriously. 

Ingredients:

1  Banana (it's even better if it's frozen)

1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein Powder

1/2 Cup 0% Greek Yogurt 

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (Or whichever you prefer)

2 Tbsp PB2

~4 Cups Spinach (I just fill the blender almost to the top with spinach)

Take all of the ingredients and just dump them in the blender and press the smoothie button. 

That's it. Enjoy. 

It's really really good. It makes about 2 large cups and it keeps you full for hours. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 641 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  388 Calories from Fat  66

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  7.4g 11%

Saturated Fat  0.7g 4%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  20mg 7%

Sodium  666mg 28%

Total Carbohydrates  49.2g 16%

Dietary Fiber  9.7g 39%

Sugars  25.4g

Protein  40.1g

Vitamin A 237% • Vitamin C 73% Calcium 198% • Iron 67%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

               What do you enjoy after a good workout?

Take a hike with Garlic Parmesan Roasted Chickpeas

Typically, I spend my Saturdays out shopping. This past weekend, in and effort to be more active, my mom and I decided to go for a hike. Don't get me wrong, shopping is my favorite cardio but we wanted to do something that's a higher calorie burner. Plus, I got to take the puppy!

Bella loves going for hikes.

What's a hike without a great healthy snack? We brought along a few apples and oranges and I also made Oven Roasted Garlic Parmesan Chickpeas. They were delicious! I was a little apprehensive when I first heard of Oven Roasted Chickpeas. I just didn't think they could turn out very well but I was happily surprised when they came out of the oven and absolutely rocked.

Ingredients: 

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans (AKA Chickpeas)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tsp Parmesan Cheese

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

Salt & Pepper

Rinse the garbanzo beans and let them dry a bit. While they are drying, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Drizzle the Olive Oil over the Garbanzo Beans and shake to make sure they are all evenly coated.

Throw on the Parmesan, Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper. Toss again to evenly coat all the Chickpeas.

Pour the seasoned Chickpeas on a baking sheet and place in a the preheated oven. 

Bake for about 15 minutes then toss them and bake for an additional 15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven once they are crisp and golden. To make them extra crunchy turn on the broiler for 3-5 minutes but watch them like a hawk to avoid burning.

    Servings Per 1/2 Cup

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 129 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 152                    Calories from Fat 52

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5.8g 9%

Saturated Fat 0.7g 4%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 1mg 0%

Sodium 380mg 16%

Total Carbohydrates 18.6g 6%

Dietary Fiber 5.2g 21%

Sugars 1.5g

Protein 6.8g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 10% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade B-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

What do ya'll like to bring with you on a hike? 

Click here for the Printable Recipe