Low FODMAP Acai Bowl

One thing that I absolutely love to eat is an acai bowl. We can find them in about 10 different locations in our neighborhood alone, but I also love making my own at home. 

During my first week on the low FODMAP diet, I quickly learned that I cannot have a lot of my normal go-to foods. I was super worried that I would have to miss one of my favorite break fast meals on regular macro days.

After doing some research with the Monash University FODMAP diet app and looking over my FASTer Way recipe, I came up with an acceptable solution and created my first low FODMAP acai bowl.

Base - blend together

Sambazon Acai packet

Strawberries 145g

Banana 35g

Chia Seeds 1 tsp

Almond milk 1/4 cup

Spinach 1/2 cup

My toppings:

Almonds (shaved) .03 oz

Raspberries 1.5 oz

Blueberries 1.4 oz

Oats 2 tbsp - too plain but I found a recipe to make low FODMAP granola!!

I have to admit, it was not as good as my regular bowl but it did the trick for now. I really missed my blackberries and honey which are off limits because they are too high in FODMAPs. 

What are your favorite toppings on an acai or smoothie bowl?

Todays Menu: Leg Workout + WIAW

It was a perfect morning to get outside for a little HIIT leg workout.

PS: I'm thinking about getting another pair of these amazing flip flops
because they really do feel like I'm walking on a yoga mat. But what color???

Just kidding! That photo is from later in the day because it was a patio kind of day.

Back to that workout --->

On the menu today was lower body resistance and even though my legs were still feeling sore from the last time, I shrugged my shoulders and pressed the start button. My legs felt pretty good during the workout, but it was another tough one.

Two circuits. Four exercises. 7 minutes. 30 seconds rest between circuits. Complete each circuit 2X. 10 minute cool down stretch.

Circuit 1: medicine ball squats, static lunges, jump rope, knee ups
Circuit 2: squats jumps, walking lunges, burpees, weighted step ups

The best - everything was working on squat jumps today. I was feeling powerful, my legs were strong and my knee was happy.

The worst - not a fan of lunges and today it was doubled with two types: 15 static on each side and 24 walking (12 on each side). BTW, that smile is so fake.

Bonus workout --> stair repeats (I was really doing laundry) plus an afternoon walk with mrC added another 1.4 miles to our weekly total.

What I Ate Wednesday:

What was on your menu today?

New Tweak on Greek: Yoplait Greek 100 Whips!

This post is sponsored by Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! I earn a small compensation when you click on a link. All opinions are my own.

I like to keep things simple.

Running is simple.

After a good sweaty run, I like a simple treat.

Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! makes it easy to pick healthy snack choices after a good workout. It's perfect for dipping your favorite fresh fruits into the mousse-like texture and you can't beat 100 calories and 0% fat!

I also like to toss a Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! in my lunch bag and enjoy a nice treat before retreating back into the classroom after a 30 minute lunch break.

This new yogurt is light and fluffy, but packed with all the protein you'd expect from your Greek yogurt. There's is enough protein to help muscle recovery after a workout or satisfy your appetite until your next meal.

When I'm feeling more ambitious, I like to make gluten-free protein pancakes after a workout. Here's a fun twist on my recipe for a Valentine's Day treat you might make for your favorite person or your kiddos.

recipe makes 1 serving

Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! come in a variety of flavors to satisfy your favorite cravings. Take a look at the different flavors here. What's your favorite?

Planning to pick some up for yourself? Use this coupon for $1.00 off your purchase!

You can also use Yoplait Greek 100 Whips! to whip up some amazing treats. Find amazing recipes here.


Are you a Greek yogurt eater?
What's your favorite post-workout protein treat?

What #NoExcuses Looks Like

This is what #NoExcuses looks like to me.

It's tackling that hill. It's pushing through moments that are uncomfortable. It's embracing the challenges (like knee surgery) and using them as motivation. It's making it to the finish, the top. It's never quitting.

#NoExcuses means making good food choices, too. Being snowed in by winter storms can seriously mess with my routine causing me to overeat and just eat plain junk. I'm jumping on the WIAW bandwagon today and sharing some of my recent selections.

gluten-free salmon patties

parm-crusted haddock, green beans, and rice

sausage and spinach egg muffins with PB&J rice cakes

strawberries

tootsie-pop!

What does #NoExcuses look like to you?

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

Living with #NoExcuses

If you live in the Northeast like me, then you are probably reading this in your snow boots. Goodbye Juno!

Living in New England sometimes means that snow days look like this:

Living with #NoExcuses means that little things like a snow storm, knee surgery, work or whatever excuse I might be tempted to use won't prevent me from getting in a workout. It means that being active and staying fit is a priority. I have at least 10 minutes every day to make fitness happen.

Join the challenge!

Since almost every major storm is accompanied by a power outage, mrC and I decided to be proactive and checked into a hotel before the snow accumulated locking us in our house. We were lucky enough to get into the same hotel that I used over Thanksgiving, which has a pretty good fitness center and pool.

I was determined to not spend the entire snow day just sitting around.

Here are my #NoExcuses snow day workouts:

#tightercore day 4

PT mashup

wall sit - reverse slider lunges (I even got mrC in on the fun)
- single leg dead lifts - single leg dips

10 laps in the pool and 15 minutes in the hot tub
(on a side note: the hot tub worked wonders on my tight hip)
Note to self: get hot tub asap!

a couple of dog walks

Hotels often have breakfast buffets, but you never know if it will be gluten-free friendly. Knowing that we would have access to a mini-fridge and microwave, we brought some food staples with us.

Here are my snow day paper plate eats:

PB&J apple cinnamon rice cakes

turkey and cheese roll ups

gluten-free pizza

I live #NoExcuses so I can be the best me for myself and my family.

Why do you live with #NoExcuses?

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

A Day in the Life: January Edition

It's time for another round of A Day in the Life posts and I love reading them. I'm a people watcher. My grandmother used to make fun of the way I always chose the seat facing the room, never wanting to miss a thing.

I like reality TV, too: house hunting, being a "real" housewife, searching for Mr. or Mrs. Right, or racing around the world. Glimpses into the worlds of others is fun and sometimes I discover something new.

Today you get to follow me through a typical Tuesday in January.

5:30 am - Wake up to the cold nose of the dog trying to tell me he's hungry. After a quick shower, I follow the dog downstairs to feed us both breakfast, enjoy some coffee, catch up on social media, and watch the morning news. I am especially interested in the weather since today is Run Club Day.

Peanut butter and jelly apple cinnamon rice cakes

6:30 am - Pack up my lunch and make a protein smoothie to-go.  Head back upstairs to pack my gym bag for Run Club and PT this afternoon.

I've been adding a handful of this yummy gluten free trail mix to my smoothies and the hint of chocolate is so good!

7:00 am - Load up the car and leave for work. Nothing special about the drive except that I have a goal to drink a bottle of water before I get to school ✔

7:20 am - Arrive at school. Stop to check my mailbox on the way to my classroom. Take a few minutes to update the class agenda on the white board, read and reply to emails.

7:56 am - Today this is my planning time, so I spend the first 45 minutes meeting with other 10th grade teachers while getting lesson materials ready for the day.

8:45 am - Head down the hall to a 10th grade team meeting.

9:36 am - Teach my first class of the day. Spend most of the class writing notes on the board while the class discusses Lord of the Flies (remember that book?) and then monitor the class while they work on their assignment.

11:01 am - Repeat the same lesson plan to a new class.

12:06 pm - Break for lunch. Walk across the hall to get my lunch and return to my class to eat. I have several students who prefer to bring their lunches to the room to work and talk than sit in the cafe. I check my Fitbit stats and see that I've only walked 3000 steps so far. It feels like much more!

Turkey and cheese roll ups, strawberries, and Chex rice cereal

12:36 pm - Resume teaching class.

1:06 pm - Teach my last class of the day. I'm up and down a lot today with this class. They are independently researching, but I walk around to check in with them periodically. Occasionally I get called to answer a question while they work on the laptops.

2:41 pm - School dismisses. Hurry to the rest room to change into my running clothes.

3:00 pm - Run Club meets in front parking lot. The students head out and I complete my 20 minute post-op run using 2:3 walk/run intervals. Add another 1.68 miles to my Mizunos.

4:00 pm - Arrive at PT.

Today's Strength Workout:

5:45 pm - Arrive home. mrC is on dinner duty and has prepared one of my favorite meals: tacos!

7:00 pm - Blogging time.

8:00 pm - Watch a little NCIS with mrC and then put myself to bed.

Like seeing into the lives of others or want to join the fun? Katie is hosting!

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

Workout Wednesday + WIAW - All About Those Hips

The #HolidaySweat challenge ended last week, but we recently received a bonus workout from Suzi at Confessions of a Fitness Instructor. It's so good that I just had to share!

This workout is perfect for me because:

1. I have spent the better part of my life trying to tone my hips (haven't we all?)
2. I love no-equipment needed workouts that I can do anywhere
3. It's a workout that even injured runners can do!!

Speaking of hips, I have been trying to make better food choices to keep the size of mine in check. Here's a glimpse of my eats and drinks from yesterday!

{breakfast} (always coffee) strawberries and a smoothie to go {lunch} turkey and cheese roll-ups, rice cereal and a salad {water} 2 of the 5 bottles of water I drink throughout the day - I really need to get a filtered water bottle {dinner} buffalo chicken quinoa and (not pictured) green beans {fruit} 100% orange juice - still working on my 3 servings each day.

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

Workout Wednesday + WIAW: New Challenges

In case you didn't already know, I love a challenge. I just finished the Holiday Sweat six week challenge and saw results that I wasn't expecting.

Motivated by my progress, I am ready to push forward. As usual I am using challenges to keep me inspired.

Marathon Sports Winter Warriors challenge -  This is a month long challenge. I have pledged to walk (then run) 1 mile every day OUTSIDE with Team Oiselle! As a team we are hoping to log the most miles, but individually I can earn Bronze status based on my goal. In order to achieve Bronze status, I must walk/run 1 mile EVERY DAY. It is not based on an average. So even in the bitter cold or a blizzard, I must get out and walk/run!

MRTT Miles Club and Run This Year - These are both year long challenges and both let you choose your own mileage goal. My goal for the year is 300, which is considerably less than previous years. Even with all my injuries I was able to log 500+ miles in 2014. This year I am trying to focus on "just running" so my goal is conservative, but I'm secretly hoping to be able to run closer to 500.

FRUIT Challenge: To continue the trend started during the Holiday Sweat challenge, I am challenging myself to eat more fruit. My goal is to eat the daily recommended amount (about 1 1/2 cups according to USDA) of fruit. I figure if I break it into a 1/2 cup per meal, I should be able to do it. Here's a look at I ate yesterday.

{breakfast} wild berry smoothie {lunch) strawberries and {dinner} apple slices

How do you motivate yourself to meet your goals?
Are you a fruit eater?

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather

Workout Wednesday & WIAW: EMS + Restaurant Holiday Meals

It seemed like such a long wait for vacation to begin and now I'm enjoying every moment. It feels so good to sleep in and ease into the days! This year for Christmas Eve all the kids were home and we tried something new for our dinner celebration.

My morning started with a quick breakfast before I headed out for a PT session. Most of what I do at PT is the same as what I do at home except that I warm up on the bike, get a couple of sets in on the leg press, and finish with some EMS.

The use of EMS during my PT is to help me use as much of my muscle as possible while doing muscle contractions. Without it, I might be using as little as 30% of the muscle. The EMS allows more of the resting fibers to contract and therefore increases overall strength. There's an interesting article here that talks about using EMS for training, recovery, and rehab.

When I got home I chased my workout with a fruit and veggie smoothie with some added protein and amino from GNC PUREDGE. My rebuilding muscles need all the help they can get! For lunch I heated up some leftovers while baking (and test-tasting) some more gluten free cookies!

{breakfast} peanut butter & jelly rice cakes with coffee {snack} protein fruit smoothie {lunch} leftover gluten free chili {snack} gluten free chocolate chip cookie

We took our Christmas Eve family dinner to Fratello's for a very festive meal together. This was a new adventure for all of us and since the girls and I like getting all fancied-up, it was a great excuse to get the boys in on the fun too.

{appetizer} Caprese salad {dinner} Mussels, Bolognese, Prime Rib, Chicken Alfredo, and New York Strip

{dessert} Triple Chocolate cake and Limoncello torte

After dinner we drove around looking at Christmas lights. I love the effort that some people put into the displays. Our favorites included a house showing movies on the garage door, a huge display with music, and finally a synchronized light show to music on the radio!

Would you ever use EMS as part of your training or recovery?
Do you go out to eat on holidays? This was our first time, but we're thinking of making it a tradition.

This post is part of the #WIAW link up hosted by Jen

This post is part of the Workout Wednesday link up hosted by 

Diatta, Sheila, Amanda and Heather