Monday, November 9, 2009 by Dea.

A friend of mine was talking about her morning walk at school pickup the other day.  She and several other moms called the hill on one of our town’s streets the Butt Buster.  My ear immediately perked up and I started to pay attention.  I love a good butt workout.

The street is appropriately named Summit.  I’ve driven there, and honestly had never even thought about it.  For a prairie region where the highest elevation in my county is a former garbage hill lovingly named Mt. Trashmore, hills are not common.  So walking is, generally, a little flat.

I went out the next morning, figuring it would be a nice change from my bike routine.  The weather here is gorgeous, especially for November.  I decided ahead of time I was going to do the Butt Buster 5 times.  Not a bad goal, I’m walking, not running a marathon.

It was about halfway up this monster of a hill that I realized 5 was a pretty lofty goal.  I was huffing, and sweating despite the 50 degree temperature.  I saw a few other moms walking the neighborhood, and they saw that I was doing the hill more than once, and they laughed.

I made it all five times, albeit slower each successive time.

The next morning, I was to meet 2 mom friends at 6 am to walk together, and we were going to include the Butt Buster.  Let’s just say that I am not an early riser.  It also did not help that my butt was, indeed, busted.  I did, however, get myself out of bed and to the meeting point.

We’ve been meeting and walking for 3 mornings now.  I love it.  It keeps me accountable, because I am meeting people.  The fresh air is fabulous.  And my butt is consistently being busted.  Fantastic!  I sure hope the weather holds, and we don’t have early snow this year.

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Dea.

Taco night can be a fun and healthy way to have a family dinner together and spark laughter and conversation at the same time.

Through a site I belong to, MyBlogSpark, I received information about Old El Paso’s new game, El Tacodor.  I received a fun pack of coupons and the game play materials, and I used them to have Taco Night with my family.

To make the tacos healthier, I mixed ground turkey and ground beef, and I drained the meat of as much fat as possible by placing it in a wire strainer after cooking and squeezing it out.  It’s amazing how much fat came out!!!  I also purchased fat free sour cream and low fat cheese to serve.  And of course, salsa and fat free refried black beans!!

The game was fun.  There are 5 categories, and the game play reminded me of a simpler version of Cranium - acting things out, trying to list as many movies as possible in a minute, etc.  We got a little silly, and enjoyed an extremely tasty taco dinner with Old El Paso products.

In addition to all of this - I have a prize pack I can give away!!!  Prize pack includes (2) two coupons to purchase Old El Paso dinner kits, and a $10 gift card to purchase any additional meal needs (i.e. meat, cheese, lettuce, etc.) and information about the El Tacodor game, all courtesy of Old El Paso!  Anyone interested in trying out a taco game night with your friends or family, leave me a comment with your favorite taco topping, or your trick for making tacos healthier!  Earn another entry by mentioning this contest to your friends on Facebook (link me to your post in the comments).  If you blog, earn yet another entry by linking this post in a blog (again, link me to the post in the comments).  Deadline for this contest is on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at 5 pm!!  So give me some great ideas, and we’ll have a random drawing for our winner.

Posted in Freebies, Healthy Eating | Print | 12 Comments »

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Becca.

I’m a snacker.  I eat three well balanced meals everyday, but I usually also eat three snacks.  Snacking can be wonderful for your health.  It’s a good way to keep your blood sugar levels even throughout the day, it can keep you from over eating at meals, and it provides your body with a constant fuel source which can boost your energy resulting in a higher likelihood that you will be more active.  The list could certainly continue!

Unfortunately, snacking can also be a major speed bump on the road to living a healthier life.  If you snack without thinking about it or really seeing what you eat, you can derail your otherwise stellar eating habits.

I keep this from happening by planning my snacks the same way I plan my meals.  Sure, sometimes it feels a little bit like kindergarten when I look up at the clock and think “oh, it’s morning snack time” or “is it time for afternoon snack yet?”, but maybe we were on the right track back then.  Now, if I could only get away with “nap time” every day!

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Dea.

‘Nuff said.

Posted in Body Image | Print | 1 Comment »

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Dea.

We’ve all heard that water is the best bet for our health.  We also know that a regular soda pop is high in empty calories.  Not everyone knows, however, that diet pop is just as bad.  And it isn’t just the sugars and artificial sweeteners that are bad for us!

Simple sugars, like the ones found in regular soft drinks, make the body’s insulin response over-react, and thus cause extra calorie consumption beyond just the soft drink!  But don’t jump over to diet sodas instead - there are several studies which point to possible weight GAIN from sugar substitutes for the same reason!

Not only is the caffeine found in  many soft drinks a diuretic, the salt found in them as well will aid in dehydration!  That’s right - the beverage that does NOT hydrate.  Pretty crazy, isn’t it?

Some sodas contain phosphorus as well - which binds to calcium, and can leave your bones being leeched of important calcium.  Yes, you can take an extra calcium supplement to counteract this, but do we always remember to do that when popping open a can of coke??

Basically, the short list of dangers from sodas, especially in children, is tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.  Mmmm, yummy - sure, my teeth are falling out, my butt is enormous, and I have a bad heart - but dang, it tastes good.

I’m thinking I’m skipping the soda aisle in the future.

Posted in Health, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »