Healthy Tipping Point

I hope my fellow Americans had a wonderful Fourth of July, and everyone emerged from the holiday with a belly packed with watermelon and a driveway full of scorch marks from fireworks!   We sure had a grand day. 

Things started off super early with the American Four Miler.  This race has been moved – the name changed – several times, but it’s always a fun time.  My friends Brandi and Jen (and their husbands and kids) joined us.  This year’s course was challenging (lots and lots of hills), but I had a great race.

The last time I did this race was in 2013 when Henry was just over a year old.  I pushed him in the stroller, and it took me about 40 minutes to finish.

This year, I went into the race thinking that I wanted to try and beat my 4-mile personal record, which is 32:51, or about a 8:12 pace.  I thought red, white, and blue nails would make me bit faster!

And if that didn’t help, my star spangled banner socks certainly would speed me along!

Hahah – well, the outfit didn’t do the trick, but I did run a good race.  I finished in 33:43 (8:26/mile).  It was a HARD course.  The first bit was straight uphill, and then there were hardly any long flat stretches. My plan was to only walk one time, through the water station (I’ve kind of decided it’s worth the few extra seconds to actually get the water IN MY MOUTH as opposed to down the front of my shirt!), but I ended up also walking up a really big hill in mile 3.  I probably came out too fast – my first two miles were 8:45 and 8:00 – but I managed to finish strong and feel really good about my effort.  Maybe next year I’ll beat my PR!

After I finished, I met up with the Husband, the kids, and Jen and Jeff, and we cheered on Brandi and Jay as they finished.  Then we cheered for Harriette Thompson, the oldest woman in the WORLD to ever run a marathon!  She’s a local – pretty cool.

Oldest female marathon runner IN THE WORLD ran the local #charlotte 4 miler this morning! She’s 92!

Up next – the kids’ fun run!

This summer, Henry has definitely gotten the idea of a race.  He loves to run – and I have to say, he’s actually really good at it.  Super serious.  And he trains pretty hard by running around my dining room table non-stop (seriously, I’ve counted him as he did 40 laps around the table).  The one thing he needs to work on is pacing himself – I keep trying to explain this concept, but it sure is hard to convey to a 3 year old that they shouldn’t sprint right out of the gate!  Heck – I’m still trying to learn that myself…

Henry’s face of determination! Future runner for sure. #funrun #kidsrun #happyfourth

Kristien ran the one mile fun run with him.  His plan was to carry Henry whenever needed a break.  This is how the race went:  Henry would sprint, Henry would ask Kristien to pick him up, Kristien would happily oblige him, Henry would scream, “RUN FASTER DADDY!,” Kristien would try to sprint while carrying a 30-pound kid, Henry would scream, “LET ME DOWN DADDY!,” Kristien would put him down, and the cycle would repeat itself.  Hahahaha!

Kiddo finished strong though – check out that both-feet-off-the-ground action.  He actually crossed the finish line and kept running and we all had to chase him down to make him stop.

<3

Later that night, we met back up with our friends to set off fireworks.  We only had one burnt finger from a sparkler accident, so I consider that a win.

Hope you had a happy holiday, too!

5:10 AM – My first alarm goes off.

5:18 AM – My second alarm goes off and I get out of bed.

5:20 AM – I pump a bottle, eat a pre-run snack (banana with nut butter), and drink a coffee.  I get dressed and leave for my long run.

5:45 AM – I do what Training Buddy Brandi and I refer to as a “CAOD run,” which stands for crack ass of dawn run.  It’s dark when I leave but quickly gets light out.  I see a herd of deer crossing a street – pretty cool!  I was pretty grumpy when I left, but by the time I am done, I am so thankful that I got my booty out of bed for a CAOD run!  Always worth it.

6:45 AM – I come home and discover that everyone – the Husband, Claire, and Henry – is piled into the master bed and sleeping.  Hah!  But Henry wakes up when I open the door, so I let him watch an episode of Octonauts while I shower, pack his lunch for summer camp, do morning chores like feed the animals, and round-up a change of clothes for him after he goes swimming.

7:20 AM – I make Henry and myself breakfast.  I have three eggs, potatoes with mustard, and strawberries.  He has toast, watermelon, and eggs.  We hang out and talk until…

8:00 AM – Whoa!  The Husband is going to be late if I don’t wake him and Claire up.  I hate to interrupt their cuddles, but it’s time to go.

8:20 AM – After a diaper and outfit change, I plop Claire down in her high chair and she has breakfast (black beans and raspberries) while the Husband eats (and Henry has second breakfast).  I pump a bottle while they eat.

8:35 AM – The kids and I play with the Magnatiles and read a few books while the Husband cleans up the kitchen and gets ready for work.  At 8:50, Claire’s sitter arrives, and at 9:00, the Husband and Henry leave.

9:00 AM – I start doing some consulting work.  I take breaks for snacks and lunch.  And I also try to help by putting Claire down for a nap, but she refuses to sleep!

12:50 PM – I go pick up Henry from school.  We drive back home, I say goodbye to the sitter, and I attempt to put Claire down for a nap.  This time – she does.  Thank goodness.  While she naps, Henry and I sit on the couch and watch a funny cartoon movie about an eagle while eating pistachios and frozen cherries (which, by the way, are the most amazing snack).

2:30 PM – Claire wakes up, Henry and I have more snacks, Claire has the boobies, and then we go shopping.  We hit up ALDI…

Check out all the food I got for $45.  ALDI is my jam.  Blueberries were 99 cents!

And by the local running store, Omega Sports, so I could buy a new sports bra.  I asked on Instagram which Moving Comfort one was the best, and everyone really loved the Juno, so I got that!  It was pretty awesome because one of the employees played ball with Henry while I tried on the bra.  The kids would’ve eaten me alive in the dressing room if he hadn’t helped!   Hah.  Great customer service!

4:30 PM – We meet the Husband at a local park.  Henry and Claire play while Kristien and I talk.

5:30 PM – We head home and I cook us dinner while Kristien and Henry kick a ball and Claire discovers the pots and pans cabinet.

6:00 PM – We sit down to an awesome meal…  A bed of baby kale and arugula with peppers, carrots, cashews, and tofu, all stir-fried in coconut oil and spices.  Plus a bunch of cucumber slices.  And a baked sweet potato.  YUM.  However, I only get to eat half of it at first… Eating a meal with a baby and a toddler – even with another adult present – basically means you jump up every minute. 

Wondering how to cook tofu?  Here are some ways to make it amazing!

6:30 PM – Claire was getting fussy, so I went upstairs to put her down while the boys continued eating downstairs.  I wash her down (she had sweet potatoes and blueberries for dinner) and do the bedtime routine.  We’re done by 6:45 – she was sleepy!

7:00 PM – Microwave my dinner plate and finish eating.  Kiss Henry good night as the Husband takes him upstairs.  Write some of this post and do other blog work.

7:45 PM – Sit on the couch, read my Book a Week, and relax.  In bed at 9:30 PM, which is much better than I usually do.  Entourage reruns always suck me in!

First things first – I am running an awesome giveaway on Instagram for two pairs of CSX Champion compression sleeves. These sleeves are BRAND NEW – so new that you can’t even purchase them on the site yet!  I love-love-love the CSX Champion compression socks (seriously, they blow other socks out of the water).  But if you feel like full socks are too “enclosing” or hot, these sleeves would be the perfect thing for you!

Head over to my Instagram page to enter <— Just click that link. 

Next up – I am working on a fun post for you tomorrow!  A Day in the Life post.  I haven’t done one for a while but I’d like to share how I do things with two kiddos.  So stay tuned for that.  <3

But as a spoiler, one thing that gets me through the day is lots and lots of coffee.  Glorious coffee!  And I recently figured out an awesome trick for coffee.  It involves a big old Thermos carafe.

One of the big questions I’ve received about #VegetarianWhole30 is “can you still have coffee?” The answer is yes – I would seriously neeeeeeeeeeeeeeever do anything that involved giving up coffee for 30 days.  Hah.  BUT during the 30 days, you can’t add a sweetener to the coffee, nor can you add a dairy creamer.  And premade non-dairy creamers are generally out because of added sugar or other ingredients.  You can, however, use coconut milk.

So take a can full-fat coconut milk and pour off the liquidy stuff to leave behind the thick, creamy fat.  Then I combine it with a big pot of coffee in the Thermos.  The whole thing stays WARM for over 24 hours EVEN IN MY FRIDGE (seriously, Thermos is amazing), which means I don’t have to make a new pot of coffee whenever I want a fresh cup (the Husband and I share it and drink it all in about 2 days).  Super easy. 

I got rid of my Keurig because 1) of the environment impact of the disposable cups; 2) it was expensive; and 3) I was concerned about the potential health ramifications of drinking coffee every morning that was pushed hot through a plastic container.  But I really loved how fast and easy Keurig was, and this method kind of replicates that.  Winning!

And last, but not least, here’s a delicious recipe for you…

This veggie burger recipe is so good that we ate the entire batch in a day – it was a huge hit.  Enjoy!

Chickpea Burgers

Ingredients (makes 6 – 7 burgers):

• 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, chopped thinly
• 1/3 cup sweet white onion, chopped thinly
• 1 handful baby spinach, chopped thoroughly
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup sunflower seed butter
• 2 egg whites
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning or other seasonings

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease a cookie sheet.
• After chopping carrot, onion, and spinach, put on stovetop in a pan with the oil and cook until tender.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the drained/rinsed chickpeas, veggies with oil, coconut, sunflower seed butter, egg whites, and seasonings.  Combine until mixed but still a little chunky.
• Form into patties and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Turn heat to 400 degrees and cook for another 10.
• Remove, let cool for five minutes (important or it will crumble) and serve.

For more recipes, check out my recipe page!

This past weekend, we had the Husband’s high school friends and their children visit us for four days of fun.  They have an almost one year old girl and a 9 year old boy, so the dynamic between our kiddos was super fun.  Claire had a little friend to play with, and Henry had a big boy to look up to.

The best part of our family vacation was on Saturday, when I organized a “Great Outdoors” adventure for everyone.  Our favorite thing to do in the summer in Charlotte is explore the Latta Plantain Park and adjacent lake.  I’ve actually done a few triathlons in this park and lake – it’s so nice.

I lured the boys on the adventure with promising of water fun AND a chance to see some cool birds of prey at the nearby Carolina Raptor Center.  When I mentioned real live bald eagles, both Konner and Henry were sold.

But first, of course, we had to pack up the car and get everyone down to the lake – a mission, to say the least.

I was in charge of lunch.  Putting together a picnic for four adults and four children – all with their own preferences and pickiness – was a little intimidating, so I took the easy way out.  I opened two big reusable grocery bags and filled one with sandwiches, edamame, and fruit.  For the other bag, I tossed in a bunch of items from our pantry – trail mixes and nuts and banana chips and more.  The end result was a huge smorgasboard of goodies.  Everyone had something they loved!

As you may remember, I’m an ambassador for the CVS Gold Emblem Abound Trail Makers line.  I love these snacks because the entire product line is free of artificial preservatives and flavors and contains zero trans fat.  The ingredients lists are filled with foods that you’ll actually recognize.  And best of all, the snacks are available right around the corner at your local CVS – no need to run into a specialty grocery store to get a decent snack when you’re out and about.

Henry was ALL ABOUT that Hearty Harvest Probiotic Trail Mix, but the Blueberry Lemon Almond Crunch was a hit with the bigger kids (i.e. the adults). 

Want to try these yummy and healthy snacks, too? I’m giving away a prize pack – use the widget below to enter.  Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, after our bellies were full, we set off to do some canoeing.

I had a moment of panic when I realized that Henry was not going to be able to hold an oar (too young and could lose it, obviously).  However, our friend Katie fashioned him an “oar” from a big stick and he was happy as a clam.  I think he was just pumped to be on a boat for the first time ever!

I totally would’ve jumped in for a little open water swim practice if I had been wearing a bathing suit!

The adults took turns taking out the boys while the little girls waited on the beach.  Happy babies.  <3

And once we were dry, we headed to the Carolina Raptor Center.  The center takes in injured birds from all over the country, providing a safe home for animals that can never safely return to the wild. 

I truly regret not purchasing this t-shirt.

The Center was super cool and an awesome experience for kids.  It’s challenging to find something a 9 year old AND a 3 year old AND a bunch of adults would be into, but huge birds of prey always satisfy, right?

I’m proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy as one of the “Gold Emblem Abound Trail Makers” this year! I am being sponsored by CVS/pharmacy for my Trail Makers posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.  Thanks, as always, for supporting sponsored post.  It means a lot to me.