Changing lives.
Enhancing the future.
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Helping YOU meet your fitness and nutrition goals through community support and group accountability!
Well, let me tell you about it!
October is the month of 2 point!
For those of us that ride horses and jump, it the jumping position where we hover over the saddle. And we're competing for the longest time!
Check out the details over at Viva Carlos or at Equestrian at Hart!
In case this month's challenge caught you off guard, I'll give you a head's up about November.....
No Stirrups November! A month of no stirrups!
Some exceptions excused, such as shows and hunts...
Are you almost ready to remove the stirrups from your saddle?
Perhaps we should focus on one grueling punishment inspiring challenge at a time...
So! Are you game for some serious 2 point?
When my husband and I got chickens, we bought a
pre-manufactured coop that we just had to assemble.I named the 4 areas the chickens used in the
coop:
“Inside”: the enclosed area of the coop that provides
protection from the weather
“Nesting Box”: the part that sticks out the side where my
chickens don’t nest…
“Front Yard”: the open area still enclosed by wire
“Attic”: the area designed to be storage, but we only left
the floor/ceiling on half of it, so we can peek in from above.
freshly assembled coop
The chickens love to nest down in the sand we put on the
floor of the coop, but they insist on kicking everything out of the nesting
boxes.I’ve tried straw, shavings,
pellets, and even grass!Nothing seems
to please them.No biggie, though.It’s their home and they can keep it however
they like, I guess.
...they were so tiny...
When they started laying, I found a couple eggs on the floor
“inside”, but I found the majority of the eggs in the “attic”.I’m fine with that, too.That just means I don’t have to bend over to
gather the eggs!
How do they get there?
Now, I wasn't sure if they were laying in the attic and on the floor... or if they were all laying in the attic, and some were rolling to the floor...
So, I made an attempt to find out...
Before the verdict was in, the sky fell!
At least, I'm sure that's what the chickens thought...
I went out to gather eggs, and the attic floor had fallen down into the "inside". None of the chickens would go "inside", even after I removed the pieces. Suddenly, it was chicken chaos.
They were laying under the deck... They were laying in one of the rain barrels... I was finding a single egg each day in the coop. I'm sure several each day were getting trampled, broken, and consumed...
They would settle down for the night in the "front yard". When they did go "inside", they were obviously looking for the attic to fly up to, but it wasn't there. They voiced their concerns and distress.
Can we come in?
The sky is falling!!
Finally, we decided we needed to help them figure things out again. The chickens were just going to have to go without yard privileges for a few days until they realized that the sky was no longer falling.
The wheels are bound to come off sooner or later. Something will inevitably throw a wrench into your routine and knock you off of your groove. A holiday weekend might have involved more processed foods than healthy foods... Sickness, injury, or just plain life may have prevented you from getting your workouts in for a few days... or a few months... or even a few years?
What can you do to reset your system and tame the chaos?
Sometimes, we just need to take our world back to the bare minimum to get everything back on track.
Maybe that's a week of strict nutrition. I'm not saying "Never eat cake again!" I'm just saying maybe it would be helpful to stick to strictly whole foods. No cake or cookies for that week... Then you can return to the occasional indulgence!
Perhaps a fitness challenge or boot camp would help you out. 30 days. Working out 6 days a week.
Or maybe even just ensuring you are getting 8 hours of sleep for 2 weeks straight!
Wrap in paper
towel to prevent sticking to neighboring wraps.
This is another recipe that was adjusted from the prescribed spread of cream cheese! Not that there is anything wrong with cream cheese, but I'm really impressed with the Greek yogurt spread!!
This has been a road trip staple for us for the last few years. They work great for the first day of a backpacking trip, too! Sometimes I use straight spinach instead of mixed greens, but you really can't go wrong with this wrap.
I think the original recipe also called for ranch dressing and bacon bits, but we try to clean it up once in a while. Wrapping in a paper towel is a life saver when it comes to easily eating these wraps. No matter how dry you think they are, they *always* stick to the next one!!
Wrap in paper
towel to prevent sticking to neighboring wraps.(ask me how I discovered this...)
I try to avoid bread or wraps as an every day food, but if I'm hitting the road for a weekend or so, I won't hesitate to pull some in. They are easy to transport, easy to eat, and scalable!
Of course, you can replace turkey with roast beef or ham. You can adjust your toppings to taste. This is just a wrap that *I* use.
First, I want to talk about the most awesome spread I've come across.
It started out as a spread for cucumber sandwiches. Cream cheese and seasoning...
However, I **really** wanted to make it a little healthier. One day, at a tea party (yup, I was hosting a tea party!), I served 2 different plates of cucumber sandwiches. One plate used a base of cream cheese for the spread. The other plate used a base of plain Greek yogurt for the spread!
Five out of six taste-testers (me and my guests) preferred the Greek yogurt based spread.
I now share the results of that experiment with you!
I constantly wonder how I can eat better at a horse show.
My horse show fare used to look something like this:
Breakfast - Lamar's Donuts (it was kind of a tradition!)
Lunch - hotdog, chips, and pop from the concession stand
Dinner - wherever we went out to eat once the day was done...
Dehydration was a constant companion!
This did NOT support my performance!!
So, what do I do now? How can I eat better?
WATER!!
The first change I made was to fill a large water bottle, keep it near me at almost all times, and drink from it EVERY time I check my horse's water, head to warm up, or come out of a class.
If you have a groom, hand them your water bottle and give them explicit instruction: "Make sure I'm constantly drinking this water!"
I added HUMAN food planning to my show prep list. I mean, no one forgets hay and horse feed... But, I always ended up at the show grounds with nothing to nourish myself!
I started planning travel-friendly meals. For single-day shows, I'd make up a batch of breakfast burritos to share with the whole crew instead of buying donuts. They packed well in large, flat tupperware and retained heat long enough to get to the barn. I wraped them individually in papertowels to keep them from sticking together.
A power-breakfast was a great start for me!
I'd like to share my current meal-plan for eating away from home.
I am NOT a nutritionist (not yet, at least).
However, I strive for balanced nutrition and minimal processing. I know there are places I will fall short, and that's OK. I hope you get value from this meal plan!
THE MEALS
BREAKFAST:
Shakeology - with almond/coconut milk, ice, peanut butter, and spinach
