Snacking on Stonyfield

I've been a fan of Stonyfield Organic Yogurt since running the Half at the Hamptons in 2011 where I was given some greek yogurt at the finish line. Last week the New Hampshire Blogger and Tweeters got together for another Blog&Tweet event at Stonyfield Farm to find out more about the amazing organic yogurt being made right here in New Hampshire.

Here's the scoop on Stonyfield in a nutshell:

It all started with a man and a mission. Samuel Kayman, an organic farmer, teamed up with Gary Hirschberg, an environmental activist, to make great yogurt and help the Earth. A school fundraiser in the 1980s turned into Yogurt Works in Londonderry which has made Stonyfield the biggest producer of organic yogurt in the world!

Our Blog&Tweet group was met by our hosts Kristina and Chandra who explained that although tours of the plant no longer took place, we would be taken on a virtual film tour (similar to this one) which gave us the history of Stonyfield Organic Yogurt and a peek into the process.


Now, I went to this event already knowing what my favorite Stonyfield organic yogurt product was, but that didn't stop me from trying some new things that Kristina and Chandra pointed out to us. Ok, they really just told us to grab and try whatever we wanted from the chillers.

I first tried some Blends. This is the new yogurt for people (like me) who don't like big chunks of fruit. Instead of being on the bottom of the cup, the fruit is blended. It was good, but I still like the thicker Greek (formerly Oikos) yogurt best. Thanks to the taste-testing, I discovered two new greek flavors: raspberry and honey. 

Although I'm not a huge ice cream person, I tried some frozen yogurt. Stonyfield is the only maker of organic greek froyo at this time. I really liked the honey flavor, and lucky for me, Kristina and Chandra encouraged us to take home the leftovers.

   The last product I tried will probably become one of my favorite Stonyfield products: frozen yogurt bars. These bars are nonfat frozen yogurt dipped in organic dark chocolate. I thought the Gotta Have Vanilla tasted just like the ice cream bars I used to get with my elementary school lunches. 

So after an evening spent learning all about Stonyfield and eating a whole lot of yogurt, Kristina and Chandra sent us all home with a reusable ChicoBag filled with Stonyfield goodies including a Yogurt Cookbook and coupons along with a case of Brown Cow (sister company in California) Cream Top Greek Desserts.

Yogurt is a runner's best friend. For one thing, it is a great source of protein, carbs, vitamins, probiotics and calcium. Walk into any grocery and you will find a lavish amount of yogurt choices, but what sets Stonyfield apart is that it is organic. 

from Stonyfield website

Ever wonder how organic yogurt is made? Here's what I learned from my visit: 1. Organic milk is delivered to Stonyfield Yogurt Works from organic farms 2. The milk is heated to kill the bad bacteria 3. Good bacteria is added and the mixture is put into cups with fruit or other ingredients 4. Filled cups are put into the incubator (hot room) to form into yogurt 5. The yogurt is then stored in a refrigerated warehouse
Besides being good for you, Stonyfield Organic Yogurt is also good for the Earth. Here are some of the ways they try to decrease their carbon footprint: 1. Solar panels are used to generate power to the plant 2. They use foil tops instead of plastic lids 3. The waste from random testing along the process is fed to farm animals 4. They built a wastewater treatment plant to reduce energy use  5. They select the most direct routes for delivery trucks
In addition to making great yogurt and helping the planet, each year Stonyfield celebrates Earth Day with a festival and a 5K. The 5K has been on my bucket list for a couple of years, but I hope to run it in 2014. Maybe some of these ladies will join me?

Fitness Friday: #GoalGetter 2013 May Update

Happy Friday! It is hard to believe that it is already June. I wish I could say that it was summer vacation already too (like my Ohio peeps!), but that will not come until the end of the month (thanks to all those hurricane/snow days).

For now I will happily say goodbye to the month of May, although I did have some seriously fun adventures.

Here's a look back at some memorable moments and my running goals:

I started the month with a crazy, unexpected two day trip to Atlanta courtesy of Mizuno to participate in the Mezamashii Run Project. The project launched this month, but my role in it has yet to be revealed. Stay tuned!

Immediately following my trip to Atlanta, I headed to Cincinnati to get a quick family visit and run the Flying Pig Half Marathon with mr C. I wasn't into running when I lived in Ohio the way I am now, so this was my first time running this race. It was one of the best race weekends I've ever experienced. 

I began working on a sponsored campaign with Under Armour and FitFluential. What's Beautiful is a competition that focuses on inspiring women to set goals and conquer them together. My goal is to work on adding up the miles to reach my running goal for the year. May was not my best month with 56.76 miles, but I'm not giving up on hitting 1000 for the year. 

Another one of my goals for the year is to improve my overall core strength, so I jumped at the chance to try SurfSet at TI Fitness Training in Manchester with New Hampshire Bloggers & Tweeters. This all-in-one workout was the hardest thing I've done in a long time, but so fun I went back for more! This is going to be my summer core workout plan. 

Even though May was filled with amazing running adventures, I'm disappointed that I didn't meet my monthly mileage goal to keep me on track to reach 1000 for the year. What's Beautiful is that I will keep pushing through the obstacles. I will not give up.

How was your May? Any achievements or setbacks?

SurfSet Fitness Session

I've been hearing great things about the urban surfing craze ever since the inventors swam with the sharks. As a member of New Hampshire Bloggers & Tweeters, I was invited to attend a TI SurfSet Fitness event at TI Fitness Training in Manchester.

TI SURFSET© is a 45 minute workout based on the movements of surfing. The comprehensive routine centered around the RSX board is designed to build core strength, burn fat, and create lean muscles. Other gear such as jump ropes and kettle bells can be incorporated into the routine as well. What you don't need are shoes. This workout is done completely barefoot.

After a quick meet and greet, our instructor Christine, explained some of the common moves we would be using like sup stand (below) and surf stand while walking us through some exercises to get used to the board. I was grateful for this part as 1) I am not a surfer and 2) this was my first time taking a class like this.

Once we were all warmed up, the high-intensity aerobic intervals began. We worked our core from the plank position doing moves like wave runners (basically mountain climbers on the board) and cha-chas (knee taps while in the plank position).

We tried to balance while doing squats, kicks, and knee ups. We even did some surfing moves such as  stand up paddling, pop ups, and carving outs.

Photo credit: TI Fitness Instagram

Toward the end of the session we did some floor work with the jump ropes and kettle bells. I've never used a kettle bell before, so I could feel all of my muscles firing up.

This total body workout kicked my butt. It was challenging, but completely achievable. Christine led us through a progressive routine that pushed our muscles to the max and left us feeling proudly spent.

This class was so much fun, I'm already thinking about when I can do it again. 

In addition to SurfSet, TI Fitness Training also offers Fitness Bootcamp, Children's Fitness, Running Programs, and Private Sessions. They have a variety of pricing packages along with a punch pass program and a separate drop-in fee for those who prefer to pay as they go. One thing I love is the 20% discount offered to students, teachers, military, and government employees.

What do you think of SurfSet?