Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Eating Healthy While On Vacation

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The Hubz and I love to travel however one of the biggest challenges when traveling is eating. Here are my tips for eating well on vacation:

The Hubz & I in DC- November 2010

Planes, Trains & Buses

  • Plan where you/what are going to en route
    • Avoid fast foods
    • Bring a picnic with you; pack sandwiches, fruit and a vegetables.
  • Pack healthy snacks
    • Who food energy bars, whole grain crackers with nut butter, homemade trail mix, hummus and veggies
  • Avoid becoming dehydrated on flights by avoiding soda, alcohol, juice and coffee; instead sip club soda or water.

Healthy Eats at Jet Blue Terminal at JFK Airport

Road Trip

  • Pack a cooler with healthy foods
    • Fruit
    • Vegetables & Hummus
    • Bean Salads
    • Nuts & Seeds
    • Whole Grain Bread & Crackers
    • Fruit Spreads & Nut Butters
  • Stop at markets along the way and restock your cooler with healthy foods
  • If your only option is fast food look for the healthiest options
    • Order off the kids menu
    • Look for places with salad bars, vegetable sides, wraps or sandwiches.
      • Healthier Fast Food Options:
        • Panera- try the great selection of salads, soups and sandwiches
        • Au Bon Pain- try their great selection of vegan soups and salads
        • Chipotle- stick to the veggie burrito bowls or salads, however avoid the dairy, chips and tortillas.
        • Boloco- they offer brown rice, whole wheat wraps, organic tofu and a great selection of veggies, however avoid sugar and high calorie sauces, instead top yours with a fresh salsa and tons of veggies.
    • Scope out grocery store and health food stores prepared foods and salad bars.

Road Trips Snacks - Girls Weekend 2010

Room Service & Restaurants

  • Enjoy a soup or salad with and appetizer or share an entree- this will help in controlling portions; you can still enjoy delicious food but you will be saving your wallet and waistline.
  • Avoid the mini bar; Stock your hotel room with healthy snacks so you won’t be tempted to eat the high calorie (and high priced) snacks that the hotel stocks in your room.
  • Do research; if you take nothing else away from this post it should be this.  Take the time to research restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, natural food stores and markets before you travel.  You will be able to make more conscious choices if you already know your options.  You will also be able to scope out the best places to eat so you can enjoy your experience to it’s fullest.

Hotel Room Breakfast- Oats w/nut butter & figs

    Cruising

    • Stick to your regular eating schedule; I know I already said this above and it applies to any vacations but while cruising (and visiting all inclusive resorts) this is when it is most important to stick to your schedule.  You will have food available to you 24 hours a day and for many this means over indulging.  Additionally remember to only eat when you’re hungry!
    • Load up on fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
    • Limit your desserts
    • Avoid too may sugary drinks, stick to light beers, wine and clear drinks.  If you want something fruity try seltzer with your choice of clear alcohol and a splash of fruit juice.  Also don’t forget to make sure you stay hydrated! Drink your water!

    Hubz and I crusing- i kept dried fruit snacks in my bag (you can see them popping out if you look hard)

    Top Healthy Eating Travel Tips:

    • Stick to your regular eating schedule
    • Stock up on healthy snacks
    • Make conscious decisions when choosing to enjoy a poolside drink or that special indulgence dessert
    • Do you research! Find restaurants and health food markets at your destination that have healthy options.

    What are you top healthy travel tips?

    Staying Fit: April Wrap Up & May Goals

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    This month has flown by, I can’t believe there are only two days left for this months incentive program.  Unfortunately I took too many days of in the last few weeks that I will have workout today and tomorrow to complete the 80% for the month or I will have to do over three hours to complete the 70%….I think I’ll be going with 2 more days of working out. I had taken a break from Couch to 5k due to the fact our weather has been rain, rain and more rain which makes it difficult to get out and run.  The Hubz on the other hand has a beautiful gym at work so he has been doing his C25K on the treadmill at work and is a week ahead of me.  Also in new and exciting news the Hubz an I signed up for our first 5K you can read more about it here. With that being said I am back on the C25K wagon and am taking advantage of the sunny days to get out and prepare for my first 5K.  Okay so lets get to the break down of the past week April 22-28:

     

    • Friday OFF
    • Saturday 1.5 mile walk and power yoga 1hr 35min
    • Sunday 2 miles hike – 1 hour
    • Monday 20 minute Yoga/Abs/Legs workout
    • Tuesday OFF
    • Wednesday C25K Day 2 Week 1 plus walking- total 4 miles in 58 minutes
    • Thursday- 20 minute Ab workout

    Totals: 22/24 days and 14hrs 23minutes/15hours

    April 29th Friday- 20 cardio workout

    April 30th Saturday- nothing- I spent Saturday cooking, cleaning, demoing chocolate, preparing for a birthday party and hosting a birthday party with only about 30 minutes to sit down and relax. This resulted in my fail of not completing this months challenge.

    This equals a giant FAIL for the 80% & 70% rule for April.  It is really unfortunate because it as a matter of 17 minutes and 1 day.  So what have I learned? Those days when I took a day off because I was tired or just didn’t want to workout I should have just sucked it up and done 20 minutes because you can never tell what is going to come up, especially at the end of the month.  Oh well lets move on to this month:

    May 2011 Goals

    • 80%
      • Must workout 25 days
      • Total of 15.5  hours

    OR

    • 70%
      • Must workout 22 days
      • Total of 18.5 hours

    So far off to a good start after yesterday’s 2.5 mile 60 minute walk and plans for C25K and lots of work in our garden plot.

    P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Nathan’s Sports giveaway!

     

     

    Recipe of the Week: White Bean-Caper Dip

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    One of my favorite items at the party this past weekend was the White Bean-Caper Dip.        It pairs great with veggies, crackers and crusty bread.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 (14oz) can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
    • 1 bulb of garlic, roasted (place on a sheet pan and roast at 350F for 25-30 minutes)
    • 1 heaping tablespoon of capers
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Directions:

    Place everything except capers into at food processor and process until smooth.  Add the capers and pulse 2-3 times just to combine.

    Weekend Wrap Up: Demo, Party & Not Enough Sleep

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    From the moment I got out of work on Friday until this morning I have been going and going and going …like the energizer bunny.  However I think someone needs to reload my batteries because the lack of sleep and the running around has made me congested and exhausted today.  Friday I spent the afternoon with the Hubz getting ready for my friend Laura’s Birthday Party, which I hosted last night.  We ran around picking up decorations and food supplies for the party and didn’t make it home until late Friday night.  Once we arrived home we spent a few hours prepping for the party and then finally I crashed from pure exhaustion (key word of the weekend).

    Saturday I spent the morning prepping for the party and then I was off to Healthy Living Market to do a demo for Lulu’s Raw Chocolate.  I had done a review for Lulu’s back this past winter and loved their chocolate so when they asked me to do a demo for them I was all over it.  I love this chocolate and was ready to spread the word.  Honestly best chocolate I have ever had and it’s raw, vegan and made with low glycemic coconut sugar.  After my demo I ran home to finish prepping for the party and spend a few minutes sitting down to relax before my hosting duties started.

    The party was a great time we hung out and enjoyed appetizers and drinks and laugh (a lot).  I unfortunately only snapped one picture at the party and it was of my veggie and dip platter.  In addition to that we had jalapeno “poppers”, stuffed mushrooms, artichoke dip, cupcakes, Zero Gravity beer and sangria.

    After an extremely late night (we didn’t go to bed until 1am) I ended up sleeping in until 10:30 am and woke up congested and still tired.  I ran myself ragged this weekend but it was as great time.  Also it’s a perfect reason to start our new mind, body and soul cleanse this week.  I am not going to reveal all of the details as this is a project I am working on but it is a 4 week  holistic cleanse that helps to create balance, energy and overall wellness.  The first week is the most restrictive and includes eliminating added sugars, soy, gluten and wheat, TV and limits other electronic access (so yes I will still be blogging and checking my email).  It is actually the perfect week to start this because I have to send my MacBook in to get repaired.  I will further discuss my experience with the cleanse during my future weekend wrap ups.

    Fitness Friday & Nathan Sports Giveaway

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    This month has flown by, I can’t believe there are only two days left for this months incentive program.  Unfortunately I took too many days of in the last few weeks that I will have workout today and tomorrow to complete the 80% for the month or I will have to do over three hours to complete the 70%….I think I’ll be going with 2 more days of working out. I had taken a break from Couch to 5k due to the fact our weather has been rain, rain and more rain which makes it difficult to get out and run.  The Hubz on the other hand has a beautiful gym at work so he has been doing his C25K on the treadmill at work and is a week ahead of me.  Also in new and exciting news the Hubz an I signed up for our first 5K you can read more about it here. With that being said I am back on the C25K wagon and am taking advantage of the sunny days to get out and prepare for my first 5K.  Okay so lets get to the break down of the past week April 22-28:

    • Friday OFF
    • Saturday 1.5 mile walk and power yoga 1hr 35min
    • Sunday 2 miles hike – 1 hour
    • Monday 20 minute Yoga/Abs/Legs workout
    • Tuesday OFF
    • Wednesday C25K Day 2 Week 1 plus walking- total 4 miles in 58 minutes
    • Thursday- 20 minute Ab workout

    Totals: 22/24 days and 14hrs 23minutes/15hours

    Friday- TBD

    Saturday- TBD

     

    Nathan REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

    Now that we have discussed the updates lets get down to the good stuff- the giveaway.  I think that this giveaway is perfect for this post and in honor of my first 5k. Nathan Sports just sent me one of their Speed 2 Hydration Belts and Zebra steel 700 mL to try out. The details about the Speed 2 Hydration Belt :

    I have been wearing it for running and on our first hike of the season.  I have used other hydration belts before for hiking specifically and they have been uncomfortable and floppy but this one fit perfectly.  It fit snug on the hips to prevent any flopping and it was great because the storage pocket allowed me to carry my ID, car keys and digital camera.  I loved the water bottles; they were easy to access and drink from.  For our short day hike it held the perfect amount of water for one person.  I really am looking forward to using this more on afternoon hikes.  In addition to using it for hiking I also used it yesterday on my run because it was nearly 80F here and water was necessary for my 3 mile run/walk. Again I loved how it fit and didn’t shift while I was running.  I was able to carry my keys, ID and my iPhone which I use for C25K and music.  My only complaint is that I have to place my iPhone in the back pocket which makes it hard to use my headphones because the cord isn’t long enough.  Since  I don’t have another place to hold my iPhone unless I carry it in my hand or wear my SPIbelt (which seams silly)  I guess I will have to get a headphone cord extender.

    The second item that I have been trying out is the Zebra steel 700 mL to try out. The details about the Zebra steel 700 mL :

    I have tried my fair share of reusable water bottles including Nalgene, Sigg, Clean Canteen, and EarthLust however none of the models of these that I have tried compare to this style of water bottle.  This bottle is perfect for the elliptical because a) it fits in my water bottle holder (my other ones don’t) b) it has a great stray feature which means I don’t pour water all over myself or fall of the elliptical trying to drink oh and c) it looks pretty and has a fun design.  The mouth piece is different too it is very soft and flexible and perfect for to sip through.  I also love that it comes with 2 extra straws so you can switch them out while you are cleaning them or if you need to replace one. The other feature I love is the clip on the top; I haven’t used it yet but I imagine it will be great for hooking on things when traveling or even hiking.

    Now that you have fallen in love with both of these items (you have right?) Nathan Sports is going to give one lucky reader both of these items.   Now here is how you enter, oh and this is open to US and Canadian residence and you can enter until May 2nd 10th at 8pm EST.

    THE WINNER IS LAUREN!

    Mandatory: 

    1. Visit the Nathan Sports website and tell me something you learned. (leave a comment below)

    Additional Chances to Win (you must leave a separate comment for each)

    • Follow Nathan Performance Gear on Twitter
    • Follow me on Twitter
    • Follow my health counseling on Twitter
    • Tweet “I want to win the@NathanPerfGear giveaway on @cookveganlover http://wp.me/pFVWo-21j”
    • “Like” Nathan Performance Gear on Facebook
    • “Like” Cook.Vegan.Lover on Facebook
    • “Like” Get Healthy With Lindsay on Facebook
    • Leave a Facebook Comment on Nathan Performance Gear saying that you want to win and include http://wp.me/pFVWo-21j


     

    Date Night at The Scuffer

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    Yesterday the rain finally took a break and it was hot and sunny out. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and did C25K day one of week 2. It was a great run/walk and I am excited to keep going and finally running my first 5k. Yes you read correctly I am (finally) going to run a 5k! The Hubz and I are going to run the Old Port Half Marathon & 5k together and our friends are running the 1/2 marathon. We are both really excited and are working to get up to running a full 5k. If you are running this left me know!

    After a hot and sweaty run the Hubz and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful night and head downtown for a beer and half of veggie burgers at The Scuffer. We were hoping to sit on the patio but of course we weren’t the only ones out to enjoy the beautiful weather so we had to sit inside. The beer and half off veggie burgers was (almost) worth sacrificing sitting out in the beautiful weather.

    It’s funny The Scuffer has been around for years, it used to be The Rusty Scuffer – I think it changed owners and the name changed (correct me if I’m wrong) and we had never thought to go there until a few months ago.  A few months ago we were looking for somewhere new to go and I just happened to check out their menu online and saw that on Wednesday’s they have half off burgers with a drink purchase, so I called and asked if their veggie burger was vegan and it is (oh and it’s homemade too double win).   The other thing that I love about The Scuffer is their extensive beer menu that is filled with local beers and a number of great microbrews and their prices are really good too.

    Last night the Hubz and I both got veggie burgers with fries and no bun and we each ordered a beer.  I wanted the Dogfish Aprihop but they were all out (because it’s just that good) so I decided to go with McNeil’s Extra Special Bitter and the Hubz got the Rock Art Midnight Madness; we really liked both of them. Overall we had a great date night out at The Scuffer and will continue going on for the Wednesday special because you just can’t beat the beer, the burger and the prices.

    Mastering The Art of Snacking

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    There’s no denying that everyone, at one time or another, has had a snack attack. Views on snacking differ.
    Some feel that snacking is bad and that eating between meals leads to weight gain. Others believe that eating
    many small meals and snacks throughout the day is healthy for maintaining energy levels and optimal weight. If there were one way of snacking that was right for everyone, we would all be doing it!

    To alleviate snack attack guilt, try to understand why you are snacking and what snacks work best for your body. Perhaps you snack because your daily diet is missing nutrition, or because you are eating too little at meals. You might be snacking to soothe jangled nerves when you are emotional, or to entertain yourself when you are bored. Whatever your reason, acknowledge it and start thinking about how to create a life that is nourishing and truly satisfying.

    Although snacks are no substitute for loving your life, they can be great energy boosters. Many convenient snack foods are highly processed and full of chemicals, additives, damaging fats and refined sugars. When a snack attack hits you, try foods that are filling and satisfying, but also nutritious. Here are some tips:

    • Snack on things that don’t come in a plastic wrapper or a box, like fresh fruit, leftover vegetables or rice
    • cakes with almond butter and fruit spread.
    • Make your own signature trail mix, organic hot chocolate made with almond milk sweetened with agave nectar, or blue corn chips with hummus.

    You can also try “upgrading”:

    • If you are craving something crunchy, upgrade from potato chips to raw carrots, apples or whole grain
    • crackers.
    • If you are craving a candy bar, upgrade to a handful of nuts and dried fruit.
    • Instead of a cup of coffee, upgrade to green tea.
    • Instead of ice cream, upgrade to applesauce with cinnamon.

    Upgraded snacks are high in nutrition and give you a greater sense of satiety and satisfaction; you won’t feel
    physically or psychologically deprived, and you’ll have plenty of energy to sustain your activities for hours.

    Snacking is enjoyable and there is a wide variety of healthful goodies for whatever you’re craving, be it sweet,
    crunchy, salty, creamy or spicy. Dive in, be creative and enjoy your snack attack.

    © 2010 Integrative Nutrition 5/10