Indian Food FTW!

Nothing warms my heart more than delicious Indian Food!!!!

Check out our latest spread at my favorite (and only) Indian joint…Sahib!

To be quite frank, I am unsure on the names of these little lovelies.  I know that we had a stuffed spice and nut potato dish, as well as a vegetable medley of sorts.  With the classic rice, and Tandori Roti, a whole wheat n’aan bread.

With a *multitude* of vegetarian options, this place is fantastic!  Up until about a year ago, I had never given Indian food a chance.  Inspired by the fantassssmic Fitnessista, I decided to give it a go…and it has been a staple ever since!  My favorite is probably the stuffed potato….you can not even begin to imagine how fantastic the center is!

Bottom line, get out there and TRY new food!  Assuming you won’t like something is never a good thing…and you never know until you try!

Moving quickly on in this food-related post, I finally got around to trying a new “faux meat” substitute.

Grilled one of these bad boys with an always favorite bag of Alexia Veggies!

Once the veggies were cooked through, and the sausage was browned and diced…it was time for dinner!

Deeeeeeee-licious!  Also, the “sausages” were AMAZING!

Great new way to include some veggie protein into my diet!  Score!

Speaking of great meals, lets talk briefly about the EPIC-ly amazing breakfast that was consumed this morning.  A chocolate coconut vegan Earth Fare scone was the center piece!

Gotta love all the fresh fruit possibilities in the summer:

I was like a full fledged paparazzi with this guy!  Couldn’t stop snapping pics!

Obligatory shot of the goodness that lurked inside:

Complete with a freshly steamed/frothed coffee!

I have now successfully worked my way backwards from dinner, to breakfast.  That being said…I am done now!  ;-)

Exciting news coming soon for me!  I cannot wait to tell you guys all about it!  For now though, mums the word.

Let the Detox Begin!

Well, FunFest is over.  This means there is officially no excuse for fried and/or bad foods in this Healthy Bloggers diet!!!  I am officially in post-FunFest detox mode!  Speaking of which…look at the sadness which commenced when we realized there was no more Fest to be had…

(depressing, right?!?!)  Can anyone guess the meaning behind my retro shirt?!?!  Come on people.

What else rings in the end of an amazing week long fest without some good ole fashioned fireworks?

I am loving my phone!  It almost rivals my actual camera for pics!

So goodbye funnel cakes….goodbye fried oreos….goodbye clogged arteries!  I am back on the health bandwagon!  The next morning I went with the padre and whatever-the-Spanish-word-for-brother-is to breakfast!  This place has fannnntastic whole wheat french toast!  Check it!

What a way to start a Sunday, eh?  Speaking of Sundays….it was time for my first official long run for my marathon training!  9 miles was on the agenda…and unfortunately I had to put it off until 8:00pm!!!!  It has been so unbearably hot outside, and running in the heat just compute with me!  If I am forced to run in the heat, I feel like not only do I go slower…but I just feel worse in general!  That being said, I was a total night owl…and busted out the run once it was cool out!  I have decided to start tracking my runs with DailyMile, which you can use for free…here!  I did the 9 in 1:20:32….which I was super excited about.  It was the furthest I have run since my last Half Marathon, and I am happy to report NO knee pain.  I am completely in theory that it is because of my new Brooks Addiction shoes!  I loved my Mizunos, but ever since I have switched them out…the pain has been gone.  No knee pain = happy Tyler.

With a very late breakfast, and a late night run…my eating was completely out of whack for yesterday.  Ended up having a chocolate protein smoothie for lunch, along with a scoop of a new-to-me friend:

This is a great way to add some greens to my smoothies!  The “green” taste itself is minimal…I hardly noticed it!

As I train for this marathon I cannot help but wonder…how much of my “schedule” is made for people who cross train???  As a Group Fitness Instructor, I don’t have the option of *only* running, and sometimes I teach up to 4 classes a day!  I guess my question to you seasoned marathon runners out there is this…

On the days when I am teaching up to 4 cardio classes a day…can I skip my 4/5/6 mile runs throughout the week?  Some have told me I can as long as I am cross training, and getting my long runs in for the week…and some have told me absolutely not to miss any classes.  I am just trying to figure out what works best.   Any advice??

With my first of many long runs down…it was too late to eat dinner, and quite frankly…I was exhausted.  I chugged a G2 Gatorade and promptly collapsed.  My lack of calories was definitely showing itself this morning when I woke up, so I grabbed a monster breakfast to eat at work.

Panera “Power Breakfast” sandwich, sans the meat….maple yogurt parfait….an OJ…and an undocumented coffee the size of my head.

And on that note, it is time to be productive!  Happy Monday everyone!  Indian Feast tonight…cannot wait!

Funnel Cake ‘O Doom

Well…..I came….I saw…..I ate deep fried goodness. This ends a fantastic FunFest!

Making webbed feet cool….one shoe at a time.

Can we just talk for a quick second about the freakishly amazing shoes I am about to purchase?!?!

What do you think?  I know, they look a little….ok…a LOT bizarre, but give them a chance.  In theory, these bad boys are going to eventually and slowwwwwly ease my foot back into the days before shoes!  After all…..the prehistoric cavemen didn’t have cushioned running shoes, and I sure didn’t know of any that chased down Woolly Mammoths wearing a shiny pair of Nikes!  What are the benefits of this frog like foot wear, you ask?  Read all about it, here.

Bottom line…I think they are fun times, so I am giving them a go.

Also, completely forgot to mention to you guys that I am officially one week into my MARATHON training.  Scary, eh?  I figure after 2 halves, it is time to muster up the mental strength to run the full 26.2 miles.  1 week down…14 to go.  Lets see if I can integrate my Frog Shoes into my running regime, soon!

Between buying fun shoes, I have also been doing quite alot of FunFest’in!  For more information about FunFest, check my latest posts!

“Get a little craaaaazy, get a little stuuuupid”

Even ran into the WINNER of our “8 To The 8′s” contest!  This man lost almost 60 lbs in 8 weeks!!!!  Great job, Worl!

Did I mention that this entire week is just an excuse for your friends/family to get together, and sit…laugh, and EAT!  It is most certainly fun times!!!  Tonight is the last night.  :-(  Sad indeed.  Zac Brown Band will be performing, and the fireworks finale is NOT to be missed!  I will try to catch it on the Flip, for you bloggies to see in all its glory!  Who doesnt like a good fireworks show?!?!

Moving on….lets see some delicious eats as of late…

Veggie wrap to die for in 3…….2……..1:

And fries are for LOSERS!  Broccoli on the side is the way to roll…

(did I mention this gives me enough mental fortitude to consume delicious and not-so-good for me desserts while at FunFest all the nights this week?!?!)

Also, cannot leave out the Panizzle, for always coming through when I am scrambling around and don’t have ample time for breakfast…

French Toast bagel + Panera Coffee = You make my day sooooo much more enjoyable.

Also, while posting this picture I am reminded that on this PARTICULAR morning, I had a major fail occur.  For the first time in OVER a year, I overslept for one of my 5:45am classes!!!!!!!  Waking up at 7:30am instead of 4:50am = nice, but completely NERVE WRACKING!!!!  I totally did the whole jump out of bed ninja style thing.  Doesnt oversleeping suuuuuck?!?!?  Ugh, I am still upset about it.  Mostly because those people were just left hanging.  I am sorry my friends.  BAD Spin instructor….BAD!!!  Any of my fellow instructors out there overslept and missed their entire class?

Well bloggies…it is time to wrap this up, and prepare for the last night of FunFest!!!  Have a decent Saturday, would you??  ;-)

Fried Oreos….don’t act like you don’t want one!

From cupcakes to Fried Oreos….what has happened to this healthy blogger?!?!?!

Ok, I must admit….I eat healthy/organic 95% of the time…..here lately it just seems as if the 5% has taken over a bit.    The reason you may ask?!?!?

FunFest!!!!!  Basically a week long city wide block party full of food, music, hot air balloons, fireworks…and anything else that is summer and festive!  It is pretty much the highlight of my YEAR! 

Even better yet, all the local foods come out for a city wide taste testing for the last 4 days!  Which leads me to alot of delicious food, and the big poppa of all “festival” foods…..

Deep.

Fried.

Oreos.

These bite size heart attacks waiting to happen should ONLY be eaten once a year…if that.    Lucky for me, it was that time last night.

Caught in the act!!!! 

These bad boys are dangerous.  Luckily, I managed to only eat one.  Thats the nice thing about Fun Fest…good times, and plenty of friends to share the BAD food with!  All about portion control, right?

What a night!

Following a night of deep fried indulgences, it was nice to wake up to a package from Attune Foods, who had sent me a cereal to review for the blog!

Let the taste test commence!!

Now is that a bowl of cereal, or what?

The verdict????  Super yummy!!!  Also, it has been about 3 hours since I ate, and I am still full!!  Always a plus in my books.  Give this cereal a try folks…it’s good times!!

Well…off to prepare for another fun filled day of FunFest.  I get to announce the winner of 8 To The 8′s tonight on STAGE in front of the entire city!!!  I cannot wait!  Life is good!

Holy Babycakes!

Check out our newest gourmet cupcake shop, downtown!

she wasn’t joking about the “indulgent” part….

How in the heck was I supposed to choose?!?!

I mean come on people!!!!  It was all I could do not to take the entire tray to the table, and sample each one!  Luckily…I will have plenty of time to make my way through each and every delicious ones.  Pretty groovy having a place like this within walking distance, eh?  I can’t decide if it’s going to be really, really good….or really, really BAD!  haha

They list out all their delicious cupcakes, as well as a rotating schedules with “specials” such as Carrot Cake, and “The Elvis” which is a banana based cake, with peanut butter icing…and a dried banana to top it all off!  Can you say YUM?

Best part is, I got to sneak a birds eye view of the action!

Gotta love a blogger friendly eatery! 

I was able to resist, and only sampled two….the blackberry, and the chocolate mint!

It is a known fact that if I were Superman….my kryptonite would indeed be icing.  I am OBSESSED!  Needless to say, neither of these let me down in the topping department!

Cupcakes are just a vehicle for icing anyway, right???

Bottom line, this place is AMAZING!  For an every now and then treat…I can’t imagine anything better than a cupcake.  At the end of the day, we are all children at heart…and want our own personalized cakes, right????

Check out their website for more information on this delicious place!

What is your favorite sweet indulgence???

Blue Potatoes?!?!

Who knew spuds could be blue????  I didn’t, until today!

I hope everyone is having a marvelous Monday!  Such bad thoughts are normally associated with Monday…but as an Exercise Instructor, I don’t find em that bad!!!  Mondays are really busy at the gym normally, so I get to see all my favorite people!  (Making em sweat isnt so bad either.)

Breakfast this morning was simple, and delicious.  When I went to the Earth Fizz yesterday, I picked up a couple of yah-mazing looking scones…one of which made it to the plate this morning!

Talk about some pastry love, right there!

Which brings me to my next point, how addicted are you to coffee?

Over the past 8 weeks, I feel like coffee has been sometimes the only thing keeping me from killing not only myself, but everyone around me.  Thankfully this morning I had plenty of time to get up, and make some delicious coffee in the French Press (something I have also not had time for lately…in which case, Starbucks is always willing to help me out with my caffeine needs in a pinch.)

There is something so much more delicious and fresh about actually grinding the beans before you brew the coffee!  Grinders are very inexpensive, and make such a difference in taste!

Oh French Press, how I have missed you so!!!  To check out the in and out’s of the press, check here!  They are super fun.

The bean-o-choice today was a little something I had picked up a while back at a local heath food store…

As I devoured breakfast and prepped for my classes, Oli found an always convenient nap spot.

Needless to say, a drool wipe was in order for the keyboard.  Geez.  The places this dog can sleep!!!

After a few fun filled hours at the gym, it was time to quickly come home and whip up some lunch, all of which came from veggies I had purchased today…including….BLUE POTATOES!

who knew these guys even existed?!?!  Certainly not I!

I sauteed them up in a pan with a bit of butter, and steamed some Broccoli and Carrots…

Check out the middle!!!  Weird, huh?

The verdict???  White, Red, New, Sweet, or Yellow….I love potatoes of any color!!! These guys were great!

Finished off lunch with a handful of my favorite cherries on the planet…

And I will leave you with an article I had the honor of writing for our local paper!  A good friend of mine, Pam Archer, has a monthly Health and Fitness article…and she invited me to guest write on this edition!  I am out to show that ANYONE can achieve a weight loss (no matter how great or small) if they mentally have their head in the ballgame!!!

Enjoy your Monday, everyone!

The Blogger RETURNS!!!!!!!!

BLOGGIES!!!!  It has been entirely, entiiiiiirely too long since we last spoke.

I want to firstly apologize for my brief hiatus.  Schedule wise I have never in my life been so busy.  Eight To The Eights is now officially finished, and I am back in full blogging force, so prepare for my return from the grave!!!

Speaking of Eight To The Eights, can I just briefly talk about how amazing this program has been?!  I was presented with the amazing opportunity to be the “Bob” of our cities “Biggest Loser” style program eight weeks ago, and the finale was last night!  I can’t think of a better way to finish this amazing competition than with a HUGE 8K and parade!

Then it was time for the big race!  This was the moment they had all been working so hard for.  5 miles…no stops…and the winner of the whole competition was going to be revealed LIVE in front of our entire city.  No pressure, right?

I ran it myself, although this probably goes down as the WORST race I have ever been in.  For starters, it came a torrential downpour and RUINED my iPod.  I am one of those people who cannot function without music, so needless to say…I was depressed.  Add to that the fact my shoes/socks were compleeeeeetely soaked through, and blisters started at mile 2!  Still though, it was a fun race…and I did it a minute faster than last year, in 38:30!  Not to bad considering all the bad luck beforehand!!!

Once I finished it was time to cheer on all my contestants as they crossed the finish line!

Then it was time for us to take the stage:

I cannot tell you guys how amazing it was to be up there on stage, and finally being able to give these amazing contestants all the recognition they deserved.  After we all had delivered some brief speeches, it was time to announce the winner!

Worley, from the Orange Team, won the entire competition!  He lost around 60 lbs in the eight weeks!!!!

Everyone did so amazing, and we revealed all their weight loss.  It was not only a surprise for us, but the contestants as well.  For the final two weeks of the competition, we had hidden their weight loss so that no one would know the winner!  Everyone did amazing.

I seriously feel like the proudest poppa EVER!

The group managed to lose a combined 600+ pounds in the eight weeks!

Talk about some major determination!

The ending of this program is definitely bitter sweet for me.  On the one hand, I now have WAY more time on my hands and can resume my precious blogging!  On the other hand, these people have become SUCH a part of my life, that I honestly do not know what I am going to do without them!  They have completely inspired me and changed my life for the better!

The race didn’t even start until 10:00pm, so needless to say…sleep wasnt even had until around 4:00am with all the announcing of the winners and awards ceremony/etc.  So I took advantage of the first day of MANY and slept in.  When I woke up, Cracker Barrel was considerably past due.

So with that bit of deliciousness, I am wrapping up this entry.  What an amazing ride these eight weeks have been.  Thanks to all of you loyal readers who have not given up on me!  I promise I am back, and in full force!!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Kombucha 101

How would you feel if someone told you to drink this:

Welcome to the wonderful, yet sometimes frightening world, of Kombucha.

What exactly IS Kombucha?!?!  Well, according to Synergy, a leading manufacturer…

Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it’s not really any of these. It’s a living culture of beneficial microorganisms, and in Kombucha’s case, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts! Our Kombucha is delicately cultured – some liken it to fermentation – for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality. Kombucha has been used for hundreds of years throughout the world as a daily health tonic. The culture resembles a light brown, tough, gelatinous disk—and because it’s a living, growing entity, it can regenerate and create new cultures with every batch. In fact, GT’s Kombucha and Synergy are made from Kombucha cultures that are descendants of the original culture GT grew to create his first bottles.

So there you have it. 

Check out my homemade Kombucha experience from yesterday:

Special thanks to Krystal for giving us this awesome experience!!!!

Check out some of the photos of the day:

So finally, WHY drink this stuff?????

Kombucha culture has a wide range of organic acids, probiotics, acids and enzymes that give it its extraordinary value. Here’s a brief look at the benefits of each:

Beneficial Probiotics – Due to the prolific presence of pesticides, antibiotics, and preservatives, the beneficial micro-organisms present in our bodies are being destroyed and killed off on a regular basis. These friendly microbes play a huge role in our digestive and immune systems. Therefore, it is crucial that they are replenished from natural sources like kefir, yogurt, and Kombucha. Our beverages contain Lactobacillus Bacterium and S. Boulardii, which can help support a healthy digestive and immune system.

Live Active Enzymes – Active Enzymes are generally only found in foods that have not been cooked, processed, or refined. They are like the “spark plugs” for the body’s cells because they put “life” back in our bodies. If you think about it, the body is a living thing; why would you feed it something that is dead?

Polyphenols – These are antioxidants that fight off the free-radicals that stress the body and compromise its youth and health.

Organic Acids
These nutrients can help promote tissue and blood alkalinity and help normalize the natural process of homeostasis throughout the body.

Lactic acid helps maintain healthy digestive action (through the probiotic lactobacilli) and for energy production by the liver

Acetic acid is an antiseptic and inhibitor of pathogenic bacteria.

Glucuronic acid, normally produced by a healthy liver, is a powerful detoxifier and can readily be converted into glucosamines, the foundation of our skeletal system.

Usnic acid has selective antibiotic qualities which can partly deactivate viruses.

Oxalic acid encourages the intercellular production of energy, and is a preservative.

Malic acid also helps the liver to detoxify.

Butyric acid protects human cellular membranes, and combined with Gluconic acid strengthens the walls of the gut in order to combat yeast infections such as Candida.

Nucleic acids, like RNA and DNA, transmit information to the cells on how to perform correctly and regenerate.

So there you have it, folks.

What is your Kombucha experience???  Do you like it, love it, tolerate it?