Posts from — March 2010

Spring Cleaning

by Marisa

Do March showers bring May flowers, too?

It’s been a really rainy spring day today. ick

However, not wanting to go out in the rain, lends itself to some super spring cleaning mojo. I have been meaning to clean up my cabinets for quite a while, so today was the day. I didn’t get a “ before” picture of the catastrophe that was in my cabinets, but it looked a lot like this…

(source)

But, noooooowwww, it looks like this…

You guys still here? Okay, thanks. Sorry to bore you with all that. It’s just so therapeutic to purge and organize

***

Well, I’m quite aware that my eats have been a real snoozefest lately. I’m been eating pretty much the same stuff while counting down the last days of Vegetarian for Lent !

My standard breakfast has been a yogurt bowl with nonfat Chobani and strawberries. I tried to spice it up today with some cocoa roast almonds…

Chocolate with breakfast is a good thing.

So is french press…

I changed it up for lunch and went old school. Do you guys remember the Crack Wrap that was all the rage last year? It’s a mix of hummus and cheese rolled into a tortilla and heated.

My mix was Sabra Spinach and Artichoke Hummus, part skim mozzarella and baby spinach heated in a skillet coated with nonstick spray…

Melty goodness. Crack is back!

Later, after getting drenched in the rain because I had to go grocery shopping and stock up on BACON and TURKEY for the Vegetarian for Lent ending celebration, I had snack…

I heart Wheat Thins <3

Dinner was something new! I was feeling creative and in the mood for rice and beans so, I put together a Baked Rice, Beans and Vegetable Casserole…

1/3 cup chopped onion
4 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup long grain brown rice , uncooked
1/2 cup water
s + p to taste

Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, pepper and zucchini. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, sauce, beans and rice. Transfer mixture to an 11 x 7 baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until rice is done.

* Add water halfway through baking and give it a stir.

I served this hearty dish with a simple side salad…

I will admit that I have done NO REAL EXERCISE for 2 WHOLE DAYS! I got little daughter to do about 5 minutes of Wii Fit with me, but that is it. I don’t know why having them home for spring break has completely thrown me off my exercising schedule! I don’t feel like doing anything. No running, no DVD’s, no yoga. Nada. Craziness! I will stop it tomorrow. Tomorrow….I run!!!!

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you find it hard to stick with your exercise when your normal schedule is changed?

March 31, 2010 24 Comments

Get Into The Gruve

by Marisa

It’s been one full week wearing the Gruve that I received at Fitbloggin and I love this little gadget!

This device was created by Dr. James Levine after his extensive research in the area of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) and its affects with respect to weight management. ( You can read about his findings and more about NEAT in this Mayo Clinic article). The gist of NEAT is simple. It’s all about movement and lots of it. I’m sure you all know someone who is a “fidgeter” and can’t stay still. They are the pros of the NEAT lifestyle!

At first glance, the Gruve resembles a pedometer, but it is so much more than a step or calorie counter! It monitors your calorie burn rate (by the minute) and also prompts you (by buzzing) to move if you are sedentary for too long of a time period.

Your daily calorie burn goal is calculated based on your individual needs according to whether you would like to lose or maintain your weight. You know how you’re doing along the way by checking your color when pressing the Gruve button on the side of the device.

It works like this: there are 5 different zones. You start in the red zone. As you move about the day, your color will change to orange, yellow, blue and finally, to your optimum calorie burn color – green. At the end of the day, you sync up the Gruve with your computer. It uploads all your information for the day which you then access on the website…

my personal chart

You can see your data by the minute, hour, day and week. You can change the settings to display your information any way you like. It’s fun to play around with it and compare your daily goals!

Things I Like:

It encourages finding more opportunities for movement.
Helps you understand how many calories you need to burn to lose weight.
It’s comfortable and easy to wear.
You can customize the “wear time” – you can adjust the start/end times.
Easy to upload and charge.
Tracking information and chart are easy to understand.
Website is comprehensive and user-friendly.

Things I Don’t Like:

The buzz prompt scares the bejesus out of me. Still. I haven’t gotten used to the buzzing feeling. It doesn’t hurt; it just startles.
It can get obsessive. This could be good and bad. I find myself checking it all day long to see what color I am! However, if I’m not where I think I should be color-wise, I start moving around or moving side to side when doing chores, cleaning, etc. to get more activity!

The Gruve is priced at $129.95 which includes the device and 1 year web access. It’s a lower cost alternative to similar systems like the BodyBugg or GoWear Fit. Although it doesn’t allow you to see the calories calculated as you burn them, it is a fraction of the cost of the others. I can live with that!

If you are interested in getting into the Gruve , you can order it here:

http://stores.homestead.com/Gruve/-strse-7/pedometer-weight–loss/Detail.bok
Promotion code: BlogNGruve
Expires: 4/15

Disclosure: I received the Gruve at no cost at Fitbloggin. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed with respect to this product are solely my own.

Have a great day, everyone!

What do you think of NEAT? What do you do to find more opportunities to move?

March 30, 2010 14 Comments

Weekend Wrap-up

by Marisa

Hi! Did everyone have a nice weekend? Mine was relaxing and filled with family time. I’m definitely in vacation mode with the daughters being home from school. We’re sleeping later and my exercise schedule is all sorts of kooky. Luckily, my Gruve is keeping me in check. I’ll have a full review on it tomorrow, so be sure to come back to hear my thoughts on it if you’ve been thinking of getting one.

I’ve been a bit boring with my eats. As I said before, my excitement of Vegetarian for Lent has dwindled greatly and now, I’m just counting down the days til it’s over! I’ve learned a lot about myself and about being vegetarian during this time, though, so I’m glad I did it!

Here’s a picture post of my weekend. See you tomorrow!