July Foodie Penpal: My First Month’s Revelation

Hi there! I can tell this monthly Foodie Penpal event is the start of something new and enjoyable. Each month you get to meet two new people each with their own stories to tell and ideas to share. I’d like to thank Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for putting this exciting foodie event together!


For my first Food Penpal, I was matched with Amy from The Mommy Rodeo. She is a lawyer who, as quoted from her website, “I wasn’t fired, I decidedly left my day job and applied for the job of mommy.” So she obviously has great values and I fully support this. Amy is a “four legger lover” and lives in the beautiful state of Florida. Check out her blog as she shares her experience as a busy mommy/wife and feel free to say hello!

Since I tend to despise most packaged products out there, I felt bad for sounding too snobby or picky, but I had to be honest! Luckily, Amy’s package of goodies was nothing less than stellar! Let’s see what she sent….


- Selby Select Loose-leaf tea blend of rooibos and oranges

- Yoder’s Fine Foods No Sugar Added Apple Butter

- Amish Wedding Foods Medium Egg Noodles


All of these are local to her in Sarasota, FL and not produced in global quantities in some manufacturing warehouse. All pluses to me!



No caffeine made this a wonderful way to end the day. And apparently rhyme too!


I’m an avid tea drinker and always willing to try a new one as long as there’s no added sugar or other crap stuff. The apple butter was a welcome surprise since it has been several years since I had the stuff. It’s so hard to find unsweetened anything nowadays! And not the “no sugar added” but plenty of artificial sweeteners added kind; I don’t want sucralose or aspartame in me. Ha ha, that sounds funny.



Apples and cinnamon?! That's like bananas and peanut butter....delicious!!


The egg noodles look fun and I’ve never cooked this kind before. Then again, I haven’t had noodles in a long time! Amy explained in the note she sent with the package that these noodles are extremely popular in her area and I “had to try” them. They aren’t something I would buy since I look for whole grain as the first ingredient, but the list is pretty low and they’re local made. I haven’t tried them yet, but plan on making something for Kelley and me to enjoy.

Out of the three items, I’m in love with the apple butter and had it opened the first day I received the package. My favorite thing is mixing it with low-fat cottage cheese and eating with a spoon or spreading on homemade peanut butter bread. Thank you for the sweet, unsweetened treats, Amy, feel free to send more apple butter any time!


To see what I sent to my Foodie Penpal, check out Susie’s blog that covers so many fun topics at Susie QT Pies Scraps of Life.

Is this the first time you’ve heard about Foodie Penpals? Would you like to join? Here’s the info right from Lindsay’s site; I highly recommend joining in on the fun!

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by August 4th as pairings will be emailed on August 5th!


*If you're from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I'll see if we get enough interest this month!

WIAW #18 From Running to Lifting, Food Matters

Running created the foundation for my passion of cooking and eating all things healthy. After completing my first marathon with no regard to proper fueling, training, and recovery, I bought a book by Runner’s World called Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever. This book opened the door to the world of food and the way it affects our mind and body.

Each successive year I ran the same marathon with both better recovery and faster times. I eventually qualified for the Boston Marathon (twice) and ran it in 2009. The fact that I could see and feel my body change once I began preparing my own wholesome meals has turned me into the obsessive foodie I am today. Ask my Mom, Kelley, and others close to me; they’ll readily validate this judgment. 

Kelley and Me in Boston for the marathon

Even healthier cereals like Rice Chex or Heritage Bites have worked their way out of our pantry. I miss it every now and then, but Ezekiel 4:9 cereal or Arrowhead Mills Puffed Millet, Kamut, or Corn suit me just fine. And there’s always the numerous ways to make delicious overnight oats with pumpkin, whey protein, peanut butter/flour, and mashed banana to name a few.

After “running” a strict training program with little time off year after year, I became burned out on the monotony of running. Plus, I could tell my strength had diminished since I would hardly eat enough to support my 50 to 70 miles per week. To gain strength, you need resistance training and to eat more than you burn to assist muscle growth. This is referred to as "bulking" in the world of strength training.

Kelley and me after the San Antonio RnR Marathon. This was my PR at 2:53:17

I’m not good at “bulking” since it requires over 3k calories to support growth, but I’m trying my best. I know I could use it, or at least try, but since I was a fat kid up until high school, I have a fear of instantly ballooning up again. I'm getting better at eating more, but I will never try drinking a gallon of whole milk a day like the GOMAD diet used by many newbie lifters use to gain strength (as well as fat) fast. Craziness!


My current routine consists of either a 4 day upper/lower split or 3 day full body compound barbell movements. I focus on the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and bent row. I make sure to do sprints, short runs, biking, and walking each week. I have a fear of losing the endurance I built up from running, so I feel I must do some form of cardio. I also keep active by mowing the lawn with a reel mower twice a week, doing jumping jacks first thing in the morning, always taking the stairs, and even heavy punching bag work.

I enjoy my increase in strength, and know I still have a ways to go. Keeping active is the main thing, and doing something you enjoy keeps you coming back for more. Please make sure you value to importance of food quality for recovery and fuel and choose something you like doing; you’re body will thank you!

Was this post long enough for you?  How about we have a look at my eats. I’m going to just post the pics in chronological order to keep it shorter. Let me know if you like this or what you want to know more about. As always, I’d like to send a big thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this ever-growing foodie event!


Happy WIAW and 4th of July!!






Breakfast

Homemade PB Protein Bread with homemade cherry chia protein jam....more than one slice was had.

No-cook peanut butter protein bars with puffed millet and corn.

Lunch

Tuna stuffed cremini mushrooms with mustard and cayenne make an awesome snack or salad topper!

Remake of my non-McGriddle I posted about the other day. Love the little honey with pepper!

Dinner

Cold Quinoa salad with beets and greens.

Homemade 3-pepper salsa. I didn't eat this whole thing, but it was the dressing on my big salad with steamed veggies and chicken. Forgot to take a picture...sorry.

Healthy Dessert that Doubles as 2nd Dinner

Overnight "Proats" with frozen blueberries, PB Crave CoCo Bananas, and CHO Greek yogurt

Green Protein Smoothie with spinach, pumpkin, and pineapple. Looks....green...but tastes great!!

Microwave Overnight Oat PB Muffin. The recipe (it's easy) is coming up soon!