My favorite fitness gifts...with a giveaway!

Okay, so Christmas is literally RIGHT around the corner! I can't wait! For the first time ever, I think I'm actually done shopping. In my family, it was almost tradition to spend at least part of Christmas Eve at the mall. I'm determined that this year, however, will be different. We're traveling across the country to spend the holidays with my parents. We made a deal that for the week we are there, we will NOT be spending our time together at the mall! Hopefully my dad survives buying gifts for my mom WITHOUT the assistance of his "personal shoppers." Online shopping has been my best friend this year! How did our parents survive Christmas without the Internet?

Hopefully you're all nearing the end of your holiday shopping so you can actually enjoy the season. (Although, truth be told, I really love the hustle and bustle of crowded shopping centers...my husband and I were among the crazy thousands at Walmart on Black Friday, and I loved it!)

I'm often asked if I give all fitness-related gifts for Christmas. The answer is actually NO! While I would love to give everyone on my list my favorite heart rate monitor, not everyone gets as excited as I do about new workout gadgets! (And let's be honest...I don't have that kind of money!) But if you're looking for some fun gifts for yourself, or other fitness-minded loved ones, here are a few of my favorites:

1. My Polar Heart Rate Monitor. If you don't know how much I love it, you haven't been reading my blog long enough. When asked recently by a friend what she should do to lose a few pounds, I told her to GET A HEART RATE MONITOR! It is the most motivating piece of equipment I've ever used. I'm a number girl, and I LOVE knowing how many calories I've burned, how high my heart rate got, the percentage of calories that were fat calories, etc. I work out longer and harder than I would without it. I asked my parents for it for Christmas two years ago, and I've only worked out a few times without it...I literally almost drove back home to get it...I feel nekkid without it! I know my body better because of it, and would recommend it to anyone...whatever the fitness level!


2. The Garmin 305 Forerunner. Okay, so I haven't actually used this yet. But I got it for my husband for Christmas (if only he read my blog...), and I can't wait to share it with him! To me, the beauty of running on a treadmill is knowing exactly how fast I'm running, and how far I've gone. With the forerunner, you can know this while running outside! I've always estimated distance based on time, but now I won't go even 1/10 of a mile further than planned! It also has a built in heart rate monitor, so my arms won't be loaded up with extra watches. Did I mention that this gift is for my husband? I can't wait to "give" it to him! They actually have newer models with smaller watches, but they're a lot pricier for the same outcome. I got mine on sale at amazon for &139.99. Several months ago, they had it at REI for $130. It won't get much cheaper than that. If you're interested, watch for deals...it's pricey, but worth it!
   


3. My blender! I rarely go a day without using my blendtec blender! I use it to grind wheat, make soup, make my own peanut butter, make amazing smoothies, and homemade not-exactly-as-they-appear pancakes. I LOVE IT! My mom and sister both have the vitamix which I also love (pictured above). It does just as much as the blendtec, if not more. However, I've also heard great things about the magic bullet. It doesn't grind wheat, but is a great compact blender.


4. My running skirt. There's just something about feeling cute when you work out. I have to say, however, that I prefer the "athletic" style skirts. Under the skirt are compression shorts instead of just the running brief. I wore my skirt with the briefs in a race, and ended up with some seriously chafed inner thighs! Plus, I can wear the skirts with the shorts to any workout...Yoga would not be pretty otherwise!


5. Good socks. The first pair of actual running socks I ever purchased were Balega socks. They are still my favorite pair to run in. Good socks are a must when working out. I never get blisters, don't have overly sweaty feet, and will never go back to regular cotton socks. Another brand of socks I've come to love is Sof Sole. I was lucky enough to receive several pairs of socks to try out, and I've loved each and every one.


6. Shoe insoles. This is actually a new favorite. Several months ago, I received some Sof Sole Performance Insoles to try out. I ran a lot last summer, and my knees were starting to seriously feel it. After a long run late in September, my knees ached for days. Before the Ragnar Relay in October, I decided to finally give the insoles a try. My knees did not hurt AT ALL during the race, and haven't bothered me since. My shoes don't feel any different, the inserts are comfortable, and they're absorbing a lot of the hard impact of running...instead of my knees! Yay!

The list could go on...I have definite favorite workout videos, workout equipment, healthy snack choices, etc. But for now, that will have to suffice. But I have good news! Because Sof Sole generously sent me SO MANY great products to try, I'm going to pass some along to you!

For the first winner, I have ONE PAIR of The Sof Sole Airr® insole featuring their revolutionary air chamber technology with a Coolmax® fabric cover (pictured above). Air chambers in the heel and arch provide extra comfort while maximizing shock absorption! The Coolmax® fabric cover absorbs moisture and provides breathability. I really love mine. The insole I have is a Women's Insole for shoe sizes 5-7.5. If this doesn't fit you, it would make a great Christmas gift! (Retail Price: $24.99)

For the second winner, I have a package containing 3 pairs of Women's Multi Sport Liner Performance Socks! They fit Women's Shoe Sizes 5-10, are made of natural bamboo for wicking and comfort, and have a seamless toe! And my favorite part? THEY'RE PINK! (Retail Price: $9.99)

• For one entry, leave a comment below telling me how you would use the shoe insoles and/or the cute pink socks!


• For a second entry, follow this blog (and leave a comment with the word "follow").


• For a third entry, post a link to the contest on your blog (and leave a comment with the link).


• For a fourth entry, post a link on facebook or twitter (and let me know in the comments).

The random winners will be announced on Friday, December 11th. Good luck, and I hope you win!

St. Patrick's Day...EAT GREEN!!!! (With some green smoothie recipes)

When St. Patrick's Day comes around each year, the "Irish" comes out in all of us! Today I'm sporting some lime green capris that I'm pretty sure won't be seen any other day this year. But on St. Patricks Day, if it's green, it works!

What about food? I'm all for adding a bit of green food coloring to "green" up your morning eggs or waffles. But why not have a GREEN meal without the food coloring?

Here are a few of my favorite green foods...add some to your plate tonight:

Granny Smith Apples
Green Grapes
Avocados (guacamole!)
Asparagus
Broccoli
Green Beans
Spinach
Kale
Cucumber
Zucchini
Sweet Peas
Kiwi Fruit
Limes
Green Peppers
Honeydew Melon

Here are a few GREEN (literally) smoothie/whole juice recipes:

CREAMY CUCUMBER JUICE
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt
3 cups green grapes
1/2 cup cucumber (with or without peel, chopped)
1 stalk celery cut into 3-inch pieces
Optional--1 oz. Wheat grass
1/2 cup ice

Blend away! The grapes really make it sweet, and surprisingly good!

GREEN GIANT VEGETABLE JUICE
1/4 cup water
3 cups green grapes
1/2 cucumber--peeled
1/2 cup frozen or fresh sweet peas
1 stalk celery--cut into 3-inch pieces
1/2 cup broccoli

Put all ingredients in blender, and blend! As long as you remember this is a VEGETABLE juice, it's actually really good. The grapes add the needed sweetness.

Lime Kiwi Smoothie
2 kiwis-peeled
1 large pear-seeded
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup ice

Add everything to blender, mix, and enjoy!!!

What are your St. Patty's Day traditions?

Eating Healthy on a Budget

So, for the first time in my life, I'm actually really trying to stick to a budget. We're using nothing but cash. And apparently I need to spread it out a little better, because as of now, my allotted grocery "cash" is gone...until tomorrow. I was going to cheat. We're out of bread. What's a few dollars, right? But I'm trying to hold myself accountable. So, I decided to get creative. I got out the wheat. I got out the blender. (Have I told you how much I love my blender? Well, it grinds wheat, too.) So, in my attempt to save money by making my own bread, I decided to try not only GRINDING the wheat, but MIXING the dough. I have a bread maker, but why wait 4 hours for some fresh bread, when it can be done in 1! Plus, I had a pretty little blog post ending with a loaf of beautiful bread constructed in my head.

Here's what went RIGHT...

1. Wheat? Perfectly ground.
2. Molasses, water, and yeast? Perfectly mixed.
3. Yeast mixture? Perfectly added to the ground wheat.

But then things started going COMPLETELY WRONG...

1. The instructions said to press the PULSE button 15-20 times, scrape the sides, and repeat. Well...the repeat didn't go so well. NOTHING was happening. So I held down the pulse button. Which led to the blender actually over-heating, and the dough not really moving. Result? Some very hot, sticky dough.
2. I still thought it could work. I pressed the sticky, lumpy, hot dough into the bread pan. The instructions said to let it rise for 10 minutes. I ended up waiting a few HOURS, but the dough never moved. I KILLED THE YEAST!
3. But I baked it anyway. And sadly, the fresh-baked loaf of bread looked just like the dough. And tasted worse than cardboard.

BUT WAIT...The happy ending!

I reluctantly broke out the bread-maker. I ground some more dang wheat. I measured the ingredients. And I begrudgingly let the patient bread-maker do it's job (the machine...not me...my impatience killed the first loaf). And four hours later, we enjoyed this...

And I didn't spend a DIME! But going to the store would've been a lot easier! How do YOU eat healthy on a budget?

Oat-tastic Smoothie and More...

I've already established my love for all things smoothie...including my fabulous blender. And I REALLY love that so many of you share my love! I've received some reader mail with more amazing smoothie creations that I'm passing on to you....you'll thank me later! (Thanks, Mindy, Aly, and Laura!) One of these days, I'll be really organized and will take pictures. But for now, blend away!

Sugar-Free Oat Smoothie

1 1/4 cups strawberries, halved

1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt

1/4 teaspoon sugar substitute

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 1/2 tablespoons oat bran

1 tablespoon sugar-free pancake syrup

1/4 cup ice cubes

Combine the strawberries, yogurt, sugar substitute, dry milk, walnuts, oat bran, syrup, and ice cubes. Blend until smooth and frothy. Pure heaven, people!

Protein Smoothie

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 cup orange juice

4 frozen strawberries

1/2 packet of single serving size crystal light lemonade powder

1 large heaping scoop of vanilla protein powder (it doesn't matter which brand...just look for low sugar)

Blend until thick and smooth! This is a great post-workout drink!

Green Smoothie (Kale Apple Grape)

1/3- 1/2 bunch of Kale (any variety)
1-2 Apples: fuji, jonagold, golden, red- as long as they are ripe
1 cup Grapes: red or green, as long as they are sweet.
1 cup water

1 Banana &/or a squeeze of lemon to balance the flavor.

Blend well. Great way to get you green, leafy veggies in!

Thanks, ladies! Have a recipe you want to share? Leave it here, or e-mail us! (FitMePink at gmail dot com). And come back tomorrow for a PB giveaway!

The THIRD Day of Fitness...blender mania!

Here at FitMePink, we believe that every kitchen should be equipped with a great blender! We LOOOOOOOVE blended drinks, and use our blenders every day! Smoothies are a great way to sneak in the *extras*. I make at least one smoothie a day...chock full of yummy fruit and hidden veggies!

To have a good smoothie, you need a good blender! Here are a few of our favorites:

My mom and sister have the amazing Vitamix blender. This blender seriously showed me life beyond the normal wedding-gift blender. I coveted it for YEARS. Every time I paid my mom a visit, I made smoothie after smoothie, soup, ice cream, you name it! It is amazing!

Then I stumbled upon MY blender...the Blendtec Total Blender. It does everything the Vitamix does, and is just a little more compact. It makes soup, peanut butter, grinds wheat, and makes amazing smoothies. When I first got it, I had to seriously restrain myself from making drinks for every person that entered my home. It is also the blender featured on Will It Blend?

Another blender I've never PERSONALLY tried, but have heard raving reviews about is the Magic Bullet. This personal-sized blending phenomenon is fast, easy, and much more affordable! Christmas, anyone?

I'm seriously counting my previously-this-year-purchased-blender as my Christmas. Anything else is extra! I love it that much!

And thanks to Jessica's healthy recipe submission, my family has enjoyed this quick breakfast treat every morning for the past few weeks...here it is!

1/2 to 1 banana
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate
1/2 Tbsp. flax seed oil
1 tsp. psyllium seed husks
1 scoop (1/3 cup) Nature's Plus Vanilla Spiru-Tein (or other vanilla flavored protein powder)

Peel banana; break into chunks. Put all ingredients: fruit and juice in blender with 12 oz. of water and ice. Cover and blend. While blending, add the oil, psyllium and protein powder through the top.

Soooooo yummy...and my whole family LOOOOOOVES it! Thanks, Jessica!

See you tomorrow!