Banana Twinkies Bread Pudding

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Coco

We interrupt this healthy living blog to bring you Banana Twinkies Bread Pudding from The Twinkies Cookbook. Yes, this is a real thing, and yes, I bought a box of Twinkies® and made this recipe!

The Twinkies Cookbook
I joined Blogging for Books and requested The Twinkies Cookbook as my first book to review because my husband loves Twinkies® (I always was more of a Ho Hos® girl myself) and it looked fun. Honestly, if we hadn’t just celebrated Father’s Day it would have made the perfect gift. Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Fitness | Tagged | 17 Comments

Activity Tracker Comparisons — Garmin Vivosmart vs Jawbone UP

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Coco

After I lost my Garmin Vivosmart a few weeks ago, I dug out my old Jawbone UP and started using that to remind me to MOVE during the work day. When my husband found my Vivosmart (yay!) I decided to keep wearing both devices and do some activity tracker comparisons. 

Activity Tracker Comparisons

Yes, I walked around like this for two weeks.

To be fair to Jawone, I have to explain that I have the original UP, not the UP24 that synchs via Bluetooth, not the UP3 that includes a wrist-based heart rate monitor, and not the UP4 that will let you pay for certain purchases with a linked American Express card. That said, the main reason I decided to replace my UP still holds true for all of the new models–the lack of any on-device display. Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, Product Reviews | Tagged , | 26 Comments

Favorite Beverages Summertime Or Anytime

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Coco

Today’s Friday Five topic is Favorite Summer Drinks,  but my favorite beverages don’t really change with the seasons. You can find me enjoying these five drinks almost any day of the year. Favorite Beverages1. Water. My most favorite thing to drink is water. I usually drink cold tap water (no ice) but when I feel like treating myself I’ll have club soda or seltzer water. I laughed when I got upgraded to a first class seat on a shuttle to New York City, because that just meant I would get to enjoy my club soda from a glass.  Continue reading →

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Tomato Tart With Fresh Herbs

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Coco

My little tomato plants aren’t getting enough sun to yield any ripe tomatoes, but luckily my Mom and my neighbor have bountiful crops and are sharing. I love to make gazpacho (see my favorite recipes here and here) but my husband isn’t a fan, so I decided to make a tomato tart.

Tomato Tart
I used this MyRecipes.com recipe as a starting point, but made so many changes I’ll have to tell you what I did. Basically, I skipped making the extra crusts, used about half of the cheese (I wanted the tomatoes to be the highlight), omitted the chives and garlic and added a bit of Vidalia onion. Continue reading →

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Getting Back On Track Running

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Coco

I woke up at 5:00 am, but didn’t get up right away. Not because I was still tired, but because it was the day I had been waiting for, the day I would test out my foot’s recovery, and see if I could get my running back on track.Track RunningSince I wasn’t sure my foot was fully healed knew my foot wasn’t fully healed, I was afraid of what would happen, and how I would take it. Yes, I’ve gotten used to my new routine of cycling and strength training, but I want to run. My fall race calendar is nagging at me, especially after this Ragnar post came across my Facebook newsfeed. Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | 31 Comments