Blog Love!

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Sometimes, you have blogs that are simply your favorites, and sometimes, you find new blogs that you absolutely love. My absolute favorite blog for life is Emily Henderson's style blog, my favorite blog for health is According to Elle, and my favorite for inspirations is Dale Partridge's. But, when it comes to recipes and great cooking/meal planning ideas, there is a new favorite in town. One of my good friends has [finally] started a blog talking about good, clean eats. 

Her blog, Good Choice Eats, is brand new like a teeny baby and I love it. The first recipe has hit is out of the park with complete nutritional analysis of food along with a pricing breakdown. Brittany's health theory is simple, inexpensive eats that are completed with planning ahead and organization. Something this one seriously needs when it comes to the kitchen- especially around the holidays.  

I would totally recommend checking out her page and some of her recipes. They are seriously great! Also, here are a few other blogs I love :)

The Fitnessista

Pumps and Iron

Peanut Butter Fingers

Lazy Girl Running

Teatime Thoughts. Here is Candice's guest post.

Cup of Jo

Hommemaker

Yoga by Candace

What are some of your favorites? 

TBT: The First P+K Post!

There are times when everyone would prefer to eat a big mac, fries, mac and cheese, pizza or anything else on the “no go” list rather than the salad their diets recommend. For cheat days like this along with all those other days that we would just prefer eating something absolutely delicious, I have created a list of cheats and alternatives. This is definitely not a diet list and I would not recommend using this system if you are trying to loose weight, but it will at least help curb some of those cravings without sending all of our hard earned fitness success down the drain.

Tip One, A Pizza Secret:
I am a pizza fiend. Literally. There is absolutely no difficulty for me in finishing an entire large Pizza Hut pizza in one sitting, on my own. Pizza is my kryptonite. For that reason, I was very happy to learn this little tip. If you are going through a pizza binge and have decided to eat all pizza in the world, go for the veggie. Veggie pizzas have a slightly higher nutritional content and average 1-3 grams less fat and up to 50 calories less per slice. This is because there is less cheese and none of the high fat meats.

Tip Two, Sweets:
Here is another thing I L-O-V-E, cookies. They are warm and yummy and I am drooling. There are times in my day where I could battle a fleet of ninjas for that one cookie. For me, this is usually late at night or early in the morning. Oddly though, the time that a cookie is best for me is the same time that one is more than enough to appease my craving. Afternoon, between dinner and lunch is the best time for that extra burst of sugary noms. This is the time of day when we can start getting a little sluggish and our bodies are able to digest that sweet, sweet goodness more easily.

Tip Three, Carbs:
Bread is something that oh so many people love. Starchy things are seen all over fast food menu’s and are a staple of almost every American comfort food. Too bad every health conscience person out there curses that corner of the food groupings. Oh how we love carbs and how we love to hate them even more.

Fortunately, there is a good time of day to eat them with less impact on your body. Morning is the time that our bodies are best able to process and regroup after a carb load. This energy can be used for the rest of the day and has less of a chance of being stored than that plate of spaghetti you (by you I mean me) are thinking of eating for dinner. If a starch-tastic meal is something that is happening, better to make it breakfast rather than dinner or a late-night snack. Just remember to reduce your carb intake for that day since you hit it out of the park at breakfast.

This was the first ever post on P+K way back on October 18th, 2012. It is so fun to see where a blogger (or any writer) started out compared to where they are now. An extra perk is that these tips still stand the test of time and can be super handy when those pesky cravings hit ;)

Happy Thursday and the last of our TBT series!

TBT: The Benefits of Aloe

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When I was little I remember my Mom going outside, cutting some aloe leaves off our plant, and rubbing the juice on my sun-burnt skin. Fresh aloe was the best things to have over the summer when everyday was a beach day and everyday I came home a bit more red than brown. When we used fresh aloe, the sunburn and pain would be gone before bed that night.

This memory of aloe has always made it one of my favorite plants. Now that I have learned that the benefits of aloe go much further than sun-burnt skin, it is my favorite all over again!

It is no wonder we are still finding uses for aloe vera 5,000 years after Egyptians added it to their daily life. The plant has over 75 nutrients, 12 vitamins, 18 amino acids, 200 enzymes, and 20 minerals- enough to place it in the super food category. Going a little further, aloe is one of the only vegetarian places to find vitamin B12, a natural energizer that also helps with neurological functions.

Since aloe works on the membranes of our skin, it reduces pain from ulcers and aids in healing due to the many nutrients and enzymes. Aloe can also help with heartburn for this same reason. The mucus found in aloe gel can help increase the pH level in our stomachs (making them less acidic), and help repair damaged areas of the esophagus.There has also been new research performed that show aloe to reduce colitis when consumed twice per day and calm psoriasis when applied to the skin.

If you have ever had issues with digestions, aloe could help with that too! The enzymes in aloe kill bad bacteria in places like our gums and our intestinal tract. This makes it easier for our digestion to carry on, unhindered and with a boost. Aloe helps in releasing pepsin, a gastric enzyme used in digestion and also has a high amount of aloin, a naturally occurring laxative.

To get the full effects from aloe, it is best to eat the gel fresh from the plant without cooking. Aloe can be grown indoors in a well lit area with watering once per week. The leaves can also be stored in the fridge for multiple uses.

If having the plant is not possible, there are quite a few aloe products available at health food stores like Whole Foods Market. Be sure to read the label before you buy, not all aloe products are equal. The more whole aloe is used, the better. Drinks like aloe energy drinks or aloe infused water will do far less than an aloe vera gel. My go-to brand is quickly becoming alo Exposed. They use the juice and the pulp plus a few extra flavors to make it yummy!

This article was originally posted on February 6th, 2013.

Weighing In

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Since we are all friends here, I decided to be pretty honest about something... Summers can be a bit fickle for me in the gaining weight department, especially since we are up in Michigan where sweatshirts and booties are my daily uniform. This year was no different and I found myself eating, eating, and eating some more. I am not one to eat on a schedule; at home I eat when I am hungry and don't when not. Up in Michigan things are a bit different since meals are scheduled and I do not always make my way down to them. For this reason I find myself eating 2-3 of each meal and not the most healthy of things either. There is also TONS of midnight snacking and eating right before going to bed. The worst. 

When we got home I put myself on a scale for the first time in two months and was SHOCKED. This body of mine had somehow found a way to pack on ten extra pounds in 2-months time. Yikes. Although I am super happy that two of those pounds are muscle from all my intense Michigan workouts, the other 8-lb's were a bit of a shock. I am a big supporter of weight being but a number and the way you feel being most important, but have personally been feeling a bit bigger and clothing that I usually love is not zipping up so well.

So many of us go through these weight yoyo's and it just made sense to share mine with you. Sometimes we see people we think are super fit and healthy or have it all together, but the fact is, all of us have issues. Right now, my issue is losing those extra pounds that seemed to glue themselves to me over the summer.

The hubs recommended that I try a low-carb lifestyle for a while since he knows my addiction to bread and the whole thing about it not being great for me (I could, and have, eaten an entire loaf of bread in one sitting- it is just so good!). It is actually going very well and he is being super good about not having breads or super carby snacks in the house. Things are much easier not to eat when they are not available :)

So far, I have lost two of those pounds and these are a few of the things that have helped me do it...

• A low-carb diet that has plenty of fruits, veggies, and lots of protein!
• Snacking. My stomach seems bottomless now and I feel like I could eat an entire buffet's worth of food in one sitting. Snacking keeps me satisfied better than big meals that turn my stomach into a black hole of calories.
• Hot Yoga. This is something my body has very obviously been missing. It raises my heart rate, burns fat, and keeps my mind at peace... Everything I love in a workout!
• Drinking coffee black. So long yummy creamers filled with carbs, you weren't that great anyway.
• No more splurge days. This has probably made the biggest difference. I use to have one splurge day a week but could never remember when the last one was or would go out with friends a day after the splurge and end up having way more splurging than healthy eating on a weekly basis. Now, I am eating healthier by just keeping a healthy diet in mind and avoiding not-so-great things. If I want something unhealthy, it is not held off for a week, but instead, eaten in small quantities.

What are some of your tips and tricks to staying healthy or loosing some extra weight? I would love to know any suggestions you have and may even create a post or two about all your fantastic ideas! Any of your favorite calorie burning workouts would also be super appreciated since trying new workouts are, pretty much, the best thing ever!

Happy Friday friends, I hope your weekend is simply wonderful! Be sure to check out my workout sum-up this Sunday as well :)