Online Shopping (Reebok & Handful)

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Coco

I have been so busy since I got home from Fitbloggin’ that I haven’t had time to write about all the great fitness gear and food products we got to sample. I hope to share some of my new fitness finds next week. 😉

As I wrote on Monday, I really love the Reebok Long Bra Top that was in our Fitbloggin’ swag bag.

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It even held (me) up during some fast JumpSport action!

I love it so much I ordered another one in a different color.

If you want to check out the great Reebok fitness gear, just go online shopping at Reebok through my affiliate link in the image below. 😉

 

I also am loving the Handful bra that I was given. I got a white one at Fitbloggin’ and came home and ordered a black one.

I ordered from Reebok and Handful over the weekend, and I got both of my packages last night–less than one week without paying for expedited processing or shipping! That’s certainly faster and easier than finding time to go shopping, if I could even find these items in stores.

I don’t usually by clothes on-line because I like to try things on, but I knew which styles/sizes I wanted because I already had a similar item. I have friends that do almost all of their shopping on-line. They shop at sites with generous return policies and just send things back if they don’t work out. My husband is the same way with Zappos. He orders shoes all the time and just sends them back if they don’t fit. For some reason, the possibility of that hassle keeps me from clicking “buy” even though I love the convenience of on-line shopping for other things. I get my money’s worth out of my AmazonPrime membership, because I know Amazon will deliver whatever I need to my door before I have a chance to even look for it at a store.

Do you like on-line shopping?

Do you buy clothes on-line?

Do you check the return policy before you click “buy”?

Posted in Life | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Coco

5 Ingredients, Gluten-Free, Protein-Packed

I’ve been craving a little something sweet after dinner, but with the July heat and humidity in full swing, I have no desire to pre-heat my oven to 375 to make a batch of cookies. I’ve seen several no-bake oatmeal peanut butter balls recipes, but most called for coconut flour and/or coconut flakes, and I am not a fan of coconut. (Except, oddly enough, I love the Chobani flips Coco Loco flavor.)

I found a recipe that used oatmeal and powdered milked, and modified that to use vanilla protein powder instead of the powdered milk. I made a few other modifications to suit my tastes and came up with this easy no-bake oatmeal peanut butter balls recipe that calls for only five ingredients, is gluten-free, and is packed with protein.

Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Balls

Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Ball Recipe
(makes 24 balls)

  • 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats**
  • 3/4 cup vanilla protein powder (about 5 scoops of ViSalus Vi-Shape)
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels
  • 2 Tbsp honey

**if you are making these for someone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Using a rubber spatula, blend together the dry ingredients and peanut butter.

Drizzle honey over the dry ingredients and blend until honey is evenly distributed.

Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

Using your hands, form mixture into balls.
Place in a single layer in a container lined with wax paper or parchment paper.
Cover, and refrigerate.

Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

I was stingy with the honey, so it took some work to shape the balls, but they held together well. You might want to add more for a moister texture.

I think the whole recipe has about 1625 calories, which works out to about 65 calories per ball. With the ingredients I used, each ball has about 3 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat. If you use a different protein powder, your numbers may be different.

Although these are small, they are satisfying. One is perfect for a pre-workout nibble, and two go nicely with an afternoon cup of decaf.

Do you try to avoid using your oven in the summer?

Do you have a favorite no-bake recipe? 

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Five Tips For Summer Running

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Coco

Staying Cool Being Active When It’s Hot Outside

It gets hot and humid here in Washington, D.C., so summer is not the best time of year for local races. Still, there are two summer races I do every year: the Lawyers Have Heart 10K in June and the Go Fourth 8K in July. I’ve learned the hard way that racing in the summer is different than racing in cooler months, and thought I’d share my five tips for summer running.

summer running

1. Hydrate in advance. Don’t wait until race day–or race day eve–to start hydrating. Focus on drinking enough water several days before your race.

5 Tips For Summer Racing

2. Put ice and Gatorade in your water bottle. I usually only drink water when I’m running, but a hot summer race calls for ice and Gatorade (or some other drink with salt and electrolytes).

3. Bring an icy towel to cool off with. I learned this trick from my son’s summer lacrosse tournaments. Fill a small cooler (or large zipper bag) with ice and water, and submerge a wet hand towel. It will feel so good at the finish line!

5 Tips For Summer Running

Small cooler packed with towel, ice water, and spare water bottle.
Icy Gatorade ready to go.

4. Wear sunscreen and a hat. I usually run at dawn and don’t always put on sunscreen or need a hat, but I use both for summer races since I know I will be out in the sun before, during, and after a race. I really should invest in lightweight prescription sunglasses–but I think it’s sweat that is making me squint in this picture!

LHH Fountain

Cooling off by the fountain after the Lawyers Have Heart 10K.

5. Set your goal with the weather conditions in mind. Unless you live where it is warm year-round, or specifically train in hot weather conditions, your summer pace may not be as fast as your spring pace. It’s hard not to keep chasing PRs, but respect the weather and realize that your body has to work harder under hot and humid conditions. I take the weather into account by running shorter races in the summer, but I still need to adjust my pacing and not start off so fast.

Summer running is hot, but it can be fun, especially if there is watermelon at the finish!

5 Tips For Summer Racing

MCM Mama and I are on the same page! Learn how she is coping with the D.C. weather in her “Running sucks” post.

What are your tips for staying cool while keeping active in the summer?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Housekeeping (Bloglovin and ShareASale Affiliate Links)

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Coco

I was out of town more than usual in June and let my housekeeping take a back seat. I finally had to face the dust bunnies and dirty floors over the long holiday weekend. While it wasn’t my favorite part of the weekend, it is nice to have a clean house–at least for a few days! Doing chores around the house made me realize that it’s also a good time to do some housekeeping here on my blog. Continue reading →

Posted in Life | Tagged | 8 Comments

Good Enough For Jesus

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Coco

I missed church last weekend since I was at Fitbloggin, but one of my priests posts her sermons on her blog, Faith In Progress, so I was able to get a peek at what I missed.

The Gospel reading for last week was Luke 9: 51-62, where Jesus encounters people who say that they want to follow him, but first they need to attend to some personal business. As someone who doesn’t always prioritize her relationship with God, this reading hits uncomfortably close to home!

Putting the reading in context, Rev. Reese notes that even Jesus’ disciples didn’t live up to expectations:

They constantly misunderstand him, they quarrel about which of them is the greatest, they fall asleep in his hour of need, they betray and desert him on the cross, they don’t even initially believe in his resurrection.

The message she shared was this:

So maybe this isn’t a story about how to be a perfect disciple. Maybe instead it’s a story about a God who loves us perfectly, passionately, gracefully, forgivingly – despite all that other stuff.

I happened to read this shortly after writing my Healthy Declaration of Independence and joining Jill’s “I Am Enough” project, so maybe it’s no surprise that I found this meaning in Rev. Reese’s sermon:

We are good enough for Jesus.

We are good enough for God.

God loves us just as we are. Right here. Right Now.

If you want to learn more about Jill’s “I Am Enough” project, check out her “I Am Enough” page and see my take on it in my Healthy Declaration of Independence.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments