Good Food and Fun on Road Trips

Kelley and I are in Breckenridge, CO; it's just a bit cooler than Texas. Her parents have a cozy condo in an excellent location and they have happily allowed us to come with Abby (our Golden Retriever) for the week. We made the drive from Fort Worth to Breck in almost 14 hours flat; a new record for us!  This is easily going to be a lot more enjoyable than last year's trip to Breckenridge.  MRSA on your nose and face can really put a damper on things...

This is how happy Annie's Bunnies made us while driving.

The drive was pretty uneventful (a good thing!) and we switched-off to make sure the driver was alert. In our past treks, the roads were iced over for most of the way and conditions were unfavorable; but besides rain, it was a great drive.  We packed our own food to take along the way so we didn't have to stop at those crappy places lined along major roads...ok, my view is a little biased, but I am entitled to an opinion.

I had to take a pic of this....yeah, I had little sleep.  That's a dehydrated carrot, by the way.

I told Kelley I would make sure to bring all of the food we wanted.  Since we rarely go out to eat, even on vacation, I needed to make sure we had our staple foods.  I was so focused on getting our favorite baked whole wheat rye bread and goat cheese from a local store near home, that I completely forgot several other items that Kelley always uses.  Kelley, I'm sorry....but at least you have goat cheese!

She didn't get any bunnies....it shows.

I brought the Zevia Baked Donuts I made earlier this week for the drive.  Cut in half with peanut butter and a banana in the middle made for a quick and tasty belly pleaser!  The few packaged foods we brought included original Corn Thins, Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Bunny Grahams, and Uncle Jerry's Whole Wheat Pretzels.  I recommend trying all of these if/when you get a chance.

Kelley's power road trip fuel. Annie's Chocolate Bunnies in Oikos Plain Greek yogurt.

Other foods for the road include dry roasted pumpkin seeds and pistachios, organic Gala apples, bananas, baby carrots, and Oikos Greek yogurt cups.  Oh, and yes, I brought my own bottle of cayenne powder...it's a must!  I had dehydrated canned beets and carrots during the week to bring on the trip; besides being very very crunchy, I enjoyed them mixed with other crunchy items.  With this assortment, Kelley and I definitely had some fun with our food...as you see in the pics.

My power road trip food.  Baby carrots make great yogurt "spoons"...sometimes. I confess, I had some bunnies too.

Today, all four of us went tubing in Frisco, CO (right next to Breck) and had a blast going down alone and with our tubes connected.  The more weight we had, the faster we went...fun!

Kelley and I riding the conveyor belt up the tubing hill.

After tubing, we felt a little hungry went to Downstairs At Eric's afterward.  Since I'm not a fan of eating at most restaurants, I opted for a nice Guinness Stout to "hold me over" until we got back to the condo.  I brought frozen veggies and some sardines I quickly made when we got back.

Lunch is served poured!!

We plan on doing a lot of walking while here and I really look forward to having a great time with Kelley and her parents, Steve and Kathy.  Ok, I'll add the dogs too....

We have been really excited to try some coffee shops around the quaint town.  I think we'll visit a few of these tomorrow.

When going on a road trip, do you plan ahead and bring your own food or depend on whatever's around along the way?

Thursday Thoughts: Mindful Eating

How often do you think about food? I (obviously) think about food a lot; this blog is pretty good proof of that! One thing that bothers me is how some people view food. I know the whole “to each his own” saying, and realize others’ views should not bother/affect me, but they do. I want to be able to help spread the message to be more mindful of the food we eat.

Everything from the ground it is grown in or lives on into our home should be considered when choosing food. Too many people will just pick up and eat what is served without really knowing what all is in meal or how it was prepared. I’m not saying to take things to the extreme, but just having a general understanding of food sources and the ingredients in common meals can go a long way. These same people focus more on the apps their phone has and the specs on the latest digital equipment, for example, well before considering the nutritional quality of the food in front of them.

Nothing against anyone like this, it seems to be the norm since most regard me as the weird one for wanting to know more about food before eating it. I’d like to propose a challenge to anyone willing to accept; be more mindful and aware of your meals for a week. Instead of finding the quickest thing available before calling into your next meeting, then scarfing it down in 5 minutes, try planning your meals ahead of time. If you can’t prepare and bring your own food to work, know what’s around and pick it up on the way in if you think you won’t have time. Basically, even though most people say they don’t have the time, there is usually a way to make time.

This might seem a little corny, but here are 6 tips from another blog that will help you be more mindful of each meal or snack you consume:

1. Count Your Blessings

Honor your food and express your gratitude. Do you feel fortunate to be able to afford the food you eat? Is your food nutritious? Does it look pretty on your plate? Tell it!

I admit to complimenting my food. I say, “Wow! You look delicious!” I say, “Thank you so much for being here with me.” I say, “I am so grateful for all of the people who made it possible for my food to be here with me.”

2. Be Aware of Your Senses

Eating is more pleasurable when it is a multi-sensory experience.

Use your eyes and notice what is on your plate. Smell the aroma. Chew slowly so you can appreciate the flavors and experience the textures.

3. Appreciate All Food Equally

Don’t treat everyday food as boring and unimportant. Give it the same gratitude, interest and excitement that you offer a favorite meal. It’s natural to ooh and ahh over a favorite birthday dinner. But what about the chicken or salad you eat frequently? Take the time to notice and be thankful.

Arrange it on your plate so that it looks nice. If you have good dishes, don’t just use then for special occasions. Everybody and everything likes to be the recipient of good vibes and positive attention. Appreciated food is more likely to deliver all of its nutrients—partly because you aren’t gulping it down.

4. Feel Your Feelings

Don’t require your food to be a workhorse for your emotions. It wasn’t designed for that job. Feelings are part of the human experience. Don’t be frightened of feeling bored, lonely or sad.

Sit with your feelings rather than fleeing from them. Determine whether you are hungry or bored. This small amount of attention and awareness helps prevent mindless eating.

5. Take the Stress Out of Eating

Be present when you’re eating, and be mindful of the way you talk about food when you’re not. Remember: complaining about bad eating habits doesn’t actually do anything to change them!

When you habitually talk about your discontent, you create an ongoing poor relationship with food. If you were to constantly speak about your boyfriend or wife in this way, you would cause plenty of problems in your relationship.

Instead of dwelling on your problems with food, say something nice about it. For example, focus on the way food fuels your body and allows you to do the things you want to do.

6. Love Your Food

Don’t buy into the idea that if you enjoy food too much, you’ll never stop eating it. Take a chance and see what happens when you love your food. Doesn’t it make sense that just as in any relationship when love and appreciation are expressed a greater sense of well-being follows?

When food is your friend, you can’t help but feel happier. And that is a state of mind that we could all benefit from seeing more of in the world.

Just be sure to regard your food as different fuel grades. This is a great analogy that's used often. Whole foods like broccoli, carrots, whole grains, beans, etc. are the higher octane fuels (think dragster fuel) that provide quality energy to your body. These things have more than just premium energy (calories); they are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. On the other end, packaged and processed foods such as crème filled pastries, flavored drinks, fried potato chips, etc. have plenty of calories that don’t do a lot for the body. Sure, I agree these things taste good, but consistently eating these things will drag you down in the long run.

So, next time you are served a meal or go to pick something up, ask how it was prepared or check the ingredients. Try to not worry about how you might look when asking; it’s your health, after all. This is by no means an attack on anyone, just something I notice a lot since it’s always on my mind. For whatever reason, I care about my food and want to inform others on making better choices for themselves. The feeling after changing my diet years ago is amazing!

How will you be more mindful of your meals? Do you feel there’s room for food on your list of priorities?

Back to Posting in the New Year....

So, it's been a while since I've posted anything and I'm hoping to get back into it.  One problem I had before was trying too hard to find something to post about and then searching for / taking related pictures.

For now, I will make my posts more on just what is on my mind.  Topics will mainly be food related, but I might mention something on the work out I did, what happened at work or home that day, car related, just pictures, or maybe another article I read and feel like sharing / discussing.

Maybe I'll even rant about something with all of the crazy things happening out there!!

Since my last post in October, when we were in our temporary < 800 sq/ft apartment, we've been pretty busy...

Kelley and I both trained for and ran the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon the beginning of December.  The race was less then stellar with overcrowding, lack of support (for the slower runners...sorry, Kelley), and generally just poor organization.  And what's up with the food provided at the end of marathons?  Big companies bring their "healthy" energy foods to promote (i.e. Snickers) but none of really seems that great.  If it doesn't have a lot of "carbs", then it is probably full or artificial sweeteners to make sure it still tastes sweet and the general population will want more and more.  Whatever, it shouldn't bother me, but in my Foodie head, it's hard to comprehend.

After getting back from the marathon, we almost immediately closed on our new home that was built and moved in the weekend after the race.  We are still working on getting things unpacked and Kelley is diligently finding curtains, drapes, rugs, etc.....this will probably last a while.  I sold my motorcycle, bought a '98 BMW 540i, then traded it in for a 2006 Subaru Legacy GT a month later.  I think I just belong in a Subaru....I feel most comfortable with these cars.

Also, I had an idea I submitted at work to offer standing desks several months ago, but it was denied and waved off.  So, I made a request to another department and was able to get a standing desk for my work space.  I am happy, and it wasn't anything hard to change, so success!!  Oh yeah, Kelley got Abby back since we are now moved in....yay.

It's great being in our new home; cooking was less than inspiring while in the apartment, but I'm getting back into it now.  Roasted veggies will have to become more frequent in household again.

I'm not running like I was during training, I'm hardly running at all.  There is one day in the week where I'll go for over an hour long run, but the rest of the time I am focusing more on strength training. After logging many miles and hours running, I was left feeling pretty weak and useless for anything else.  Now I am trying to increase strength with free weight training and a little cardio on the side.  I may post on this at certain times if I feel the need.

In the old home, we did not have cable, or anything besides what the antenna could pick up.  In the new house, we got nothing with the antenna and decided to get cable.  So, now we are exposed to more annoying commercials and shows; I might rant about these at times as well.

For those of you reading, what would you be interested in seeing for future posts?  I plan on keeping the focus on food related topics, but might inject a few bits of my everyday life should I feel like doing so.

Until next post (hopefully sooner than 3 months), take care and try to learn to know what you are eating....never be afraid to ask questions...it's your body!!