Most runners prefer to run outside and not on the dreadmill treadmill.  Since I am one of those runners that much prefers to be outside, Aaron questioned my sanity when I purchased a treadmill a couple of months back.  “You hate the treadmill!”, he said.  Yes, I do, but I hate not running more.  So, when Mother Nature continues to toss inclement weather our way, I head to our playroom and hop on the hamster wheel. 

I don’t mind running in the rain.  I don’t mind running in the snow.  What kind of weather do I mind running in?  Ice and high winds, both of which we have seen our fair share of this winter.  Today is the first day of Spring, but you wouldn’t know it by our forecast. 

Since it was cold with higher winds yesterday I headed to the treadmill with my iPad and turned on this week’s Dancing with the Stars episode.  I have to admit that it didn’t really keep my attention, as I found my mind drifting.  As my mind was wandering from topic to topic, I thought I would share a post about things you can do to make it through a boring treadmill run.

1.  Watch TV or a movie.  I opt for my iPad and watch shows that I need to catch up on.  This is usually good for filling up 45-50 minutes of time or 4-5 miles.  It is important to pay attention to form when choosing this option.  I find myself having to look down to see the screen which in turn brings my shoulders down and hips back. 

2.  Visualization.  I try to zone out and pretend I am someplace else for my run. Varying the incline and speed can help you feel like things are changing.  I usually visualize my outside route in my head – for example if I am running 4 miles on the treadmill, I think about where I would be outside at that corresponding point in my run.  It really helps!

3.  Break up your run with other exercises.  Hop off the treadmill after each mile and do push ups, burpees, crunches, planks, etc.  This helps break up the monotony and gives you something to look forward to each mile.  Ha ha… who thought we might find ourselves looking forward to burpees!  Don’t forget to grab a drink of water or sports drink before you hop back on the treadmill.

4. Form.  Focus on your form.  Proper running form can make all the difference.  Not only will proper running form make you more efficient, but it can help prevent injuries as well.  Since running on the treadmill is often boring and monotonous and aside from making sure you don’t fall off, there aren’t a lot of distractions.  Try checking in with your body and form consistently through your run. Pay close attention to the times when your form begins to suffer, which tends to be when you start to get tired.  For more info on running form, check out the New Balance Good Form Running website. 

(source)

5.  Playlist.  Nothing inspires me more than a new playlist for my run!  If you know your playlist by heart, it is time to make a new one.  If you are at a loss for motivating tunes, ask your friends on social media what they are listening to. 

6.  Intervals.  This kind of goes along with breaking up your run.  Warm up for a mile, then play around with speed and/or incline.  Try running hard for 1 min and then recovering for 1-2 minutes.  Runner’s World lists four different treadmills workouts here for more inspiration.

7.  Audio Books.  I never thought I would enjoy listening to audio books.  Don’t knock it until you try it.  This is a great way to pass time on the treadmill and keep up on all of the books on your “to read” list.  There are several different ways to listen to audio books.  Audible is a paid service, but often times you can borrow audio books and upload them to iTunes or access them from your computer and then transfer to your phone/iPod.  

8. Company.  Enlist a friend to join you at the gym on side-by-side treadmills and catch up while logging your miles.  If you don’t belong to a gym, try a virtual challenge of some sort.  Right now I am participating in the #iHeartOmron Running Challenge preparing to run a virtual 5K on March 30, 2013.  There are all kinds of challenges out there to help keep your motivation going! #Mamavation is a great place to look for challenges in addition to many other places on the web. 

How do you get through tough treadmill workouts? 

*This post is sponsored Omron Fitness as a collaboration with Bookieboo Blogging Network and Mamavation – a community dedicated to weight loss for women andobesity prevention for families. I was provided with product and compensation for my time and honest opinions.

Conscious Box is a monthly subscription program that delivers products right to your doorstep.  Don’t want to leave your house?  You don’t have to!  The products in the monthly delivery box will vary from month-to-month.  All products are certified gluten-free and non-GMO.  There will be a nice variety of snacks, beauty products, home goods and cleaning products.

• We only work with the most ethical companies – companies that support organic, fair trade, and sustainability in their business practices!
• We have vegan and gluten-free boxes to make it easier to switch your diet and avoid allergies in food!
• We’re a small start-up run by friends and family 🙂 Passion and commitment drives our business – not profit.
• We want to make it easier to shop smart! We’re against greenwashing and want to make it easier to understand what labels mean!

More about Conscious Box:

Discover the Best Natural & Eco-Friendly Products on the Planet

Conscious Box helps you discover the purest, healthiest natural products in the world from the most ethical companies! From natural beauty to health food and non-toxic home goods, you’ll find better alternatives for all areas of your life. Open up your world today with Conscious Box! Subscribe today!

Meet Your Favorite Companies, Leave Reviews & Shop for the Best Natural Products!

Conscious Box has created an easy, fun way to discover new favorites! The Conscious Box subscription is a monthly delivery of pure and sustainable products that are handpicked from businesses that care for the planet—just like you! We selectively choose our products, only allowing the purest companies working toward the most ethical goals. Each month, you meet 10-20 of these companies right at your doorstep! (It’s like a birthday, every month!)

As you discover new favorites, Conscious Box makes it fun (and rewarding!) to leave reviews and ratings so businesses can improve their product, packaging, and business as a whole. We place YOU at the core of helping natural products go from good to great! Earning points along the way, you’re then able to apply savings to your favorite products. Simply choose how many points you’d like to spend and boom! You’re on your way to enjoying your favorite product at a fresh, low price.

Conscious Box Wants to Make a Difference

With thousands of products claiming to be the healthiest, most socially responsible company, it becomes difficult to sort through what works and what doesn’t. After experiencing this first-hand, the creators of Conscious Box knew there had to be a better way

Visit the FAQ page for more information.

Conscious Box has offered to give one lucky Gluten-Free is Life reader a 3-month gluten-free Conscious Box subscription – that’s a $59 value!  All you have to do to enter to win is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below. Continue reading →

It’s Monday!  Did you guys celebrate big this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day?  If so, today might be a little rough!  I was in bed early last night and up early this morning with clients.  I have a busy day ahead and my little helper is right here to make sure I don’t get off task.

This is Pippy’s new seat of choice.  She started out sitting behind me on the chair and then weaseled her way under my arm.

Monday – Homemade gluten-free meatballs with marinara (Aaron made this on Sunday) & Tinkyada brown rice pasta, salad

Tuesday – Dinner out – Fundraiser for my friend Melissa’s “Run MS” event – don’t forget to donate $5 to enter to win a GF prize package worth over $50!

Wednesday – Italian chicken fingers, sweet potato puffs, broccoli and salad

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner – Sausage, egg & cheese sandwiches and fruit salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad

Saturday – Take-out

For more great menu ideas visit:

The NFCA is running a Spring Recipe Contest!  More about the contest:

You may not have heard of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.’s Gluten-Free Choices line, but you’re probably familiar with their products. Arrowhead Mills® gluten-free mixes, DeBoles® gluten-free pasta, Dream™ Non Dairy Beverages, Imagine® Soups and Terra® Chips are just some of the favorites you will find at GlutenFreeChoices.com.

Now, we want to hear how you use these gluten-free products.  Submit your original gluten-free recipe in the Spring Gluten-Free Recipe Contest for the chance to win $100 worth of products from the Gluten-Free Choices line.

To give you some inspiration, we’ll highlight products from each brand in the Gluten-Free Choices line throughout March. After the contest is over, we’ll pick some of our favorite recipes (including the winners) and publish them in an e-cookbook that you can download for free.

How to Enter: Submit an original gluten-free recipe through this online form or by e-mail to contest@celiaccentral.org.

All entries must be received by Friday, March 29, 2013

Entries must include:

• Your contact information (Full name and phone number)
• Title of recipe
• Recipe Category (Entrée/Side Dish or Baking)
• Ingredients
• Directions
• Number of servings
• Prep time and cook time preferred, but not required

Prizes

Grand Prize: Gluten-Free Prize Pack

One lucky winner will be chosen from each Recipe Category to receive a gluten-free prize pack from Gluten-Free Choices ($100 value).

e-Cookbook Raffle Winner:

One lucky winner who signs up to receive the e-Cookbook will win a gluten-free goodies from the Gluten-Free Choices brand!

Need some inspiration?

Check out these recipe ideas and products from the Gluten-Free Choices brands!

• Arrowhead Mills®

• DeBoles®

• Dream™

• Gluten-Free Café™

• Hain Pure Foods®

• Imagine®

• Terra® Chips

Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of the new Williams-Sonoma “Weeknight Gluten Free”  cookbook!  What a great way to inspire a spruced up weekly menu plan!

Check out the new Omron Fitness HR500U Heart Rate Monitor I am testing out and a new-to-me Chia Bar review.

2013 Easter Candy Information

Review: Cooked Perfect Meatballs

P.F.Chang’s New Dishes are Gluten-Free

Udi’s Seeded Whole Grain Dinner Rolls are awesome!

Part of this post is sponsored Omron Fitness as a collaboration with Bookieboo Blogging Network and Mamavation – a community dedicated to weight loss for women and obesity prevention for families. I was provided with product and compensation for my time and honest opinions.

Williams-Sonoma is one of my favorite stores to hit when I visit the mall.  I don’t always buy something when I visit, but I love “window shopping”.  I could spend hours flipping through the cookbooks and checking out the nifty kitchen gadgets.  Once Williams-Sonoma began offering gluten-free baking mixes, my visits became a lot more fun.

Williams-Sonoma is getting ready to release a brand new cookbook – Weeknight Gluten-Free, Simple, Healthy Meals for Every Night of the Week.

More about the cookbook:

More and more people are going gluten free—even superstar chef Thomas Keller is customizing his recipes with a nod towards the benefits of cooking without gluten. Bestselling food writer and editor Kristine Kidd and Williams-Sonoma have teamed up to bring you gluten-free recipes that add to your health without sacrificing the flavors you love.

This is not a book full of recipes that simply substitute “other flours” for wheat flour, resulting in a dish that doesn’t quite taste how it’s meant to taste. This is a solution-oriented cookbook filled with the best naturally gluten-free recipes and over 80 meals for any night of the week.

Weeknight Gluten Free chapters include:

·         Quick tips to help home cooks through busy weeks, including timesavers, ingredient substitutions, and making enough for leftovers

·         A list of favorite gluten-free products and tips for stocking the pantry

·         Gluten-free staples that can be used for many variations; items like egg crepes, cornmeal pizza crust, creamy polenta, fluffy quinoa, and easy mashed potatoes

·         Seasonal recipes that take inspiration from fresh produce throughout the year

·         Sweet and simple desserts that are naturally gluten free

 

  Like other special diets, gluten-free cooking is for people making healthy choices about what they want to eat. However, it does take some planning and education to pull off a gluten-free menu that doesn’t feel like it’s “missing something.” Weeknight Gluten Free solves these common issues for the frustrated reader, taking the guesswork out of cooking gluten-free food that retains all of its original character.

As the food editor of Bon Appétit magazine for over 20 years, Kristine Kidd has a deep sense for what makes a balanced and satisfying dish that’s a snap to whip up. Don’t miss this sequel to bestselling companion Weeknight Fresh & Fast, and get Weeknight Gluten Free for a straightforward approach to gluten-free cooking that you’ve been waiting for.

The new cookbook will be available in April 2013 and will retail for $29.95 on the Williams-Sonoma website.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of the cookbook to read and review.  I immediately fell in love with the cookbook!  The cookbook is chock-full of stunningly gorgeous photographs of the recipes, enticing me to make each and every one of them!  Dishes that may not have interested me in the past were begging to be tried.  Some of the recipes I really enjoyed were:

• Black Bean & Feta Quesadillas
• Grilled Eggplant Tomatoes & Goat Cheese
• Polenta Pizza Crust
• Sesame-Ginger Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
• Chopped Salad with Chicken, Citrus and Avocado
• Chinese-Style Peanut Noodles with Seared Beef

About the Author

As the food editor of Bon Appétit magazine for more than 20 years, Kristine Kidd was responsible for filling its pages with delicious recipes and keeping her devoted readership up to date with evolving food trends. Based in Los Angeles, Kidd has written five cookbooks and is regularly sought out as an expert on home cooking.

About Weldon Owen

Weldon Owen creates visually splendid, mind-expanding books that nurture a wide range of readers’ passions, be they practical, creative, adventurous, or all-out fun. We illustrate great ideas, break down complex skills so anyone can learn them, and entertain and inspire along the way. Most of all, we love to create beautiful books that make you want to pick them up and are tough to put down. Weldon Owen is part of the Bonnier Corporation, the U.S. division of Bonnier AB, a family-owned multichannel media company founded in 1804 and based in Sweden. This makes us the sister company to over 50 leading magazines devoted to connecting people to their passions, including Field & Stream, Parenting, Popular Science, Outdoor Life, Saveur, Popular Photography, and Working Mother (to name just a few).

One lucky Gluten-Free is Life reader will win their very own copy of this gorgeous cookbook!  All you have to do to enter is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter Box below. Continue reading →

Today is 3-14, also known as Pi Day!  Pi is the Greek symbol used to represent a constant, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159*.  If you are like me and math isn’t your thing, celebrate Pi Day with gluten-free pie. 

Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie <—Jon & Hannah’s favorite

Katz Blueberry Pie

Or try a new-to-you pie!  I am planning on making a Lemon Sponge Pie today with a new-to-me gluten-free pie crust from Wholly Wholesome.  I’ll make sure to let you guys know what we think! 

How will you celebrate Pi Day? Will you do some math or eat some pie?

*Source

Did you catch my review of Turbana Plantain Chips over on Celiac-Disease.com?  If not, you are missing out!  What a great way to add some flair to boring and routine snacks!

The plantain chips come in six different varieties:

• Lime
• Chile Lime
• Sweet
• Natural
• Garlic
• Chile

I loved each and every one of the varieties!  Would you like to win a variety of Turbana Plantain Chips to sample?  Turbana has offered to send one lucky winner of a box of Turbana Plantain Chips of all 6 flavors, as well as some Turbana swag. The bags are the full size bags 7 oz.  All you have to do to enter is follow the directions below in the Rafflecopter box. Continue reading →

Lots of exciting stuff going on today!  I tried out two new-to-me products: a new gluten-free bar after my run and a new heart rate monitor to monitor my HR, distance, etc,  First, let’s chat about the food.

I found these bars in my local Earth Fare store last week and I loved that the were a smaller version (roughly half the size of a normal bar) of a protein bar, making them perfect for shorter workouts. The Chia Bar I bought was the Chocolate Peanut Butter variety, but they also make an Acai Berry and Coconut version.

Look at all that chia goodness!  This bar was the perfect way to refuel after my running form class and 4 mile run.  I knew that I would be eating breakfast within the next hour and a half, so I didn’t want to eat a full-size protein bar.  The Chia Bar packs 100 calories, 4 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 1000 mg of Omega-3.  The taste and texture of the bar were great and it held me over until I was able to drop Hannah off at school and make breakfast.  In addition to being gluten-free, the bars are also dairy-free, soy-free and vegan.  Ingredients:

Chia seeds, brown rice syrup, gluten-free rolled oats, organic peanut butter, organic agave syrup, organic brown rice crisps (organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup, sea salt), peanut flour, organic cocoa powder, arabic gum, natural peanut extract, vanilla extract, sea salt, mixed tocopherols (vitamin E).

Chia Bars can be purchased online or in your local health food stores across the US.

*This bar was purchased by me for personal use.

I was selected last week as one of the 25 bloggers to take part in the #iHeartOmron Running Challenge!  How cool is that?  I received new Omron Fitness Strapless Heart Rate Monitor on Friday and used it for the first time yesterday during my recovery run.  The challenge runs from March 11th-30th and the Virtual 5K takes place on March 30th.  

I love the light on the front of the monitor – it lights up according to HR zone!  If you want to follow me and the other 24 fantastic bloggers during this 3 week make sure to search “#iHeartOmron” and “#Mamavation” on Twitter.

**This post is sponsored Omron Fitness as a collaboration with Bookieboo Blogging Network and Mamavation – a community dedicated to weight loss for women and obesity prevention for families. I was provided with product and compensation for my time and honest opinions.

Did it warm up where you live this weekend?  It did here in Ohio – thank God!  While I know the 60 degree temps may not be around for good yet, it was nice to get a reprieve from the frozen toes and fingers on my Saturday run. Saturday was one of those days where I wish I had more than 5 miles on my training plan.  This coming week looks like it will be up and down with the temperature, which is better than freezing cold.

Yay for warm runs with friends!  Look, no snow on the ground!

Did you remember to Spring Forward last night?  I depended on my iPhone and cable box for the move – good thing they both played along nicely!  Busy week ahead for us.  Lots going on during the dinner hour makes it tough to get everyone fed.  I have found the best way to solve this is to prepare foods that can be easily reheated and served as each person needs to eat.

Monday – Easy Enchilada Bake (never ended up making this last week), corn and salad

Tuesday – Baked Ziti, steamed green beans and salad

Wednesday – Leftovers

Thursday – BBQ pulled pork sandwiches or salad, sweet potato puffs and salad

Friday – Make your own pizza and salad

Saturday – Breakfast for dinner and fruit salad

Celiac Disease, Eating Disorders and a Book Review

organicgirl good clean greens review

Daiya is introducing new products – cream cheese, cheese slices and pizza!

Only one more day to enter to win a Gluten-Free Conscious box!

Miss granola bars? Nature’s Path has introduced some amazing chewy granola bars! 

Last, but not least, don’t forget to head over to read about what I am doing to help fight the battle against MS.  Making a donation of just $5 will enter you into the drawing to win a gluten-free gift package worth over $50!

My friend, Amy Jones, MD, RD, LD wrote an article posted on the NFCA website about celiac disease and eating disorders.  I have to admit that I have always wondered if my eating disorder had anything to do with my having celiac disease or vice versa.  It’s a lot like the chicken or the egg…which came first? I am not sure if we will ever know or if it even matters.  What matters is my health and adherence to the gluten-free diet. 

My therapist suggested I read the book “Life Without Ed” by Jenni Schaefer, as it really helps show the eating disorder as a relationship, as opposed to a condition.  For years and years I struggled and fought with what I thought was "me", or what I called "My Brain" inside my head.  That voice would say things like, "Your stomach is getting flabby.", "French fries are bad for you.", "You aren’t thin enough.", "If you aren’t thin, what are you?" and "Your thighs have cellulite on them – perhaps skipping dessert is the way to go?".  It wasn’t until I read "Life without Ed" that I fully understood that this voice wasn’t truly me, it was my eating disorder, or as Shaefer calls it – “Ed”. 

I have had a hard time understanding that this voice wasn’t me.  I knew right from wrong in the scheme of my eating disorder, yet I couldn’t stop myself from that train of thought and acting on the impulses to measure my food, to mentally keep a running tally in my head of the calories I was ingesting daily, or to step on the scale and then let that number dictate how my day was going to go. 

After reading “Life Without Ed”, I began to realize that I had choices.  I didn’t have to obey “My Brain”. I could acknowledge what it was saying, but then choose to do as “I” wanted – eat what I wanted to eat, not what “My Brain” thought I should eat.  There are still many days that I struggle with this, but when I find myself arguing with “My Brain”, I stop to see if I can figure out what is going on.  Am I anxious, nervous or upset?  Chances are that I am, and the familiar, comforting routine is to control the variables – measure food, weigh myself – so that I will be somewhat soothed.  Choosing to disobey “My Brain” means there will be uneasy feelings in the beginning, as this is uncharted territory, but I have found that those feelings soon give way to a feeling of empowerment.  “I” can make decisions regarding food and I will be just fine. 

If you have been reading my blog for any period of time, you know I love my salads. I eat small spinach salads with lunch and then a larger salad with dinner or sometimes as my dinner.  My dinner salads are more than just lettuce and a few extra veggies tossed in – I love to add in all kinds of mix-ins for new flavor combinations. 

organicgirl good clean greens offers a wide variety of fresh, crisp salad or cooking greens. 

Ah, salad. Crisp, fresh, green, wholesome, tasty – when it’s done right. At organicgirl®, that means no synthetic pesticides, and it means growing and selecting only the very best quality produce.

We always wash our salad greens three times before we put them in a package. That’s what "washed³" means on our label.

And speed to your store is one of our special obsessions. We’re fanatics about freshness, and we want you to enjoy a fresh salad the day you buy one of our salads, and we want it to still be fresh the next day.

At organicgirl®, we offer a full line of baby greens in our earth-friendly 100% recycled plastic clamshells. We also offer mature romaine-based salads, which are crisp and delicious. So enjoy a great salad!

Look how delicate and tender these salad greens are…

Three of organicgirl products will be featured with organicgirl founder Margaret Scattini on Lifetime’s "All Mixed Up," on the following dates: March 15th, March 22nd & March 29th – re-airing in April.  Those three products are:

SuperGreens! – baby red chard, baby tat soi, baby spinach, baby green swiss chard, baby arugula

i heart baby kale – baby kale, tango, baby spinach, baby green chard, green romaine, baby green oakleaf lettuce. ingredients may vary by season.

baby spinach – organic baby spinach leaves

I loved each and every one of the organicgirl products I was sent to sample.  I believe I have a new favorite – i heart baby kale!  WOW!  I have never had kale that was so tender and light!  If you haven’t tried organicgirl good clean greens, check to see where you can find the products near you, but don’t forget to get a $1.00 off coupon here first. 

If you are looking for some inspiration on what to do with organicgirl good clean greens, check out their impressive Pinterest page.  I can open the clamshell container and eat the greens by the handful, but I should exercise some restraint and make one of the recipes like these Yummy quinoa and kale patties.  *Not all recipes on this page are gluten-free, so make sure to check the ingredients thoroughly.

Also, a little inside-scoop – organicgirl will be hosting an "All Mixed Up" Trivia game on its Facebook Page beginning April 1st.

*The products mentioned in this post were sent to me free of charge for review purposes.  All thoughts and opinions shared here are my own.