Sun Cups

Date: December 19, 2013

Author: astottler

Let me just preface this by saying that I’ve never done a product review on Fitness is Sweet, because I really believe in only talking about things for a reason. When Sun Cups reached out to me, I immediately agreed to do a review. Why? Because like so many others out there, I can’t eat nuts, and sunflower seed butter saved me.

A little over a year ago, my skin inexplicably began breaking out terribly. I could not figure out what was happening, as my skin had always been clear. Fast forward about 6 months-I knew nuts were for some reason causing my skin to go crazy, but I was so addicted to peanut butter that my skin suffered. A few months later, I discovered sunflower seed butter, and it saved my skin. While I’m lucky not to have a dangerous reaction to nuts, my response to them are getting worse, and many are much worse off. I want to share Sun Cups with you all because they are such a great option for those who cannot have nuts-but for those that can, they are delicious and definitely worth having over a Reese’s.

Sun Cups sent me these samples to review a few weeks ago, and they were a big hit in my house!

Lilly especially loved the box they came in!

I was expecting the Sun Cups to be good, but what really blew me away was the quality of the chocolate. It was amazingly rich and creamy, and so, so smooth.

We tasted milk sunflower butter, dark sunflower butter, dark mint, and milk caramel. Despite being a family of dark chocolate lovers, the milk sunflower butter stole our hearts. The milk chocolate complimented the sunflower seed butter so perfectly.

We were also impressed by how fresh the mint cup tasted.

Just in general, everything tasted so fresh. Let’s just say these didn’t last long.

Besides the taste, one of the best things about these guys is the ingredient list.

No high fructose corn syrup, and no weird artificial sweeteners. Let’s compare to a Reese’s: one Reese’s cup has 10 grams of sugar, while one sunflower butter cup only has 7. That’s almost a teaspoon of a difference, in one candy!

I would definitely recommend Sun Cups-I haven’t seen these in stores much but you can order them on their website here. This would be the perfect gift for someone with a nut allergy, or even someone wanting a healthier treat.

*Full disclosure-Sun Cups sent me samples to review, but all opinions are my own.

WIAW-Healthy Living is About Balance, Pastries, and Ostriches

Date: December 17, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy WIAW!

Today, I’m blogging from Solvang, an adorable little Danish town completely decked out for Christmas. There’s not a not to do here besides eat delicious Danish pastries. There are worse things in life.

Technically I consider myself a “healthy living blog,” and while these foods may not be your typical idea of healthy, healthy eating really is all about balance. How many times will you be conveniently within a mile of about 20 different bakeries, with a father who wants to go into all of them? Balance is trying one of everything…and then splitting it with your family. So here are some things from the past couple of days!

Monday before we left, I went to m gym for an abs class, followed by weight lifting on my own-I did my Jingle Barbells workouts. It was nice to have all the time in the world, and be able to take long rests between sets. I’m normally in such a rush! I followed that with a protein smoothie-I’ve been dying to have one of these for months. Yay for being home!

Milk, spinach, frozen banana, cocoa powder, a little protein powder, and a handful of ice.

Lunch on the road was a bagel sandwich and thai bubble tea.

And then we arrived! Naturally the first stop was pre-dinner pastries.

A blueberry “boat” (probably my favorite o the trip), custard filled pastry, and a Danish “waffle”-a pastry with butter cream frosting and raspberry.

Dinner was at Pea Soup Anderson’s. Anyone who has driven through California on the main, long stretches of road will be familiar with this place-there are signs advertising it hundreds of miles away, and since we were RIGHT THERE we had to get their famous pea soup!

In the morning, we went to the hotel’s hot breakfast. The oatmeal was a highlight-it was very vanilla and cinnamon-y.

Then, I went for a run with my sister and her boyfriend. I’m in WAY better than last time I ran with them (at the beginning of half training in June)-last time I was dying, and this time their pace felt comfortable. I think we covered between 4-4.5 miles?

Then, on our way in to town, we stopped at a little drive in. I ordered a burrito with chicken-it was interesting, the lettuce, salsa, and guacamole were on the outside! A lesser known fast-I’ve eaten very few burritos in my life. And as a result, I never know how to eat them! I’m really uncomfortable eating them-I had one of my first burritos with my friends and they totally made fun of me for it!

And of course dessert.

We spent the afternoon walking around downtown Solvang and wandering into little bakeries. A highlight was our visit to the foot spa for a massage. Since we all know the sad shape of my feet, it was great.

Guess what we did next?

We went to an ostrich ranch! I kinda really really want one. Or at least to ride one-is that a thing?

We even got to feed them. They’re aggressive little guys! (Ok, maybe not little…) We had a bowl with a handle, and you held on the handle tightly while they went at it and just kind of hoped. It reminded me a little of water skiing-you hold on for dear life and hope, and there’s the adrenaline rush that something is going to go horrible wrong, like they will somehow peck your hands off.

My sister’s boyfriend feeding ostriches.

Since we were all stuffed with pastries, we ended up eating a late dinner at our hotel restaurant, which turned out to be really nice.

I ordered the vegetarian portabello mushroom burger, which had a lots of veggies, lots of cheese, and lots of mess.

And since this is vacation, dessert happened (again) as well. Bananas foster and lava cake.

Everything has been delicious, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ready to go back to my routine. I wanted to do nothing all afternoon but curl up and sleep. But such is life. Everything is about balance.

Oh, and one more though about my 5k on Sunday-I probably screwed myself over with pacing as well. I thought I could have held an 8 minute pace, but based on my pace estimates, my first mile was probably 7:30, and the last two 8:30-so if I go out that fast there’s no way I could hold an 8:00 pace! I think I need to practice running more at that pace-to get my body used to the effort as well as the feel.

Have a great week everybody!

Favorite pastry?

MIMM-Christmas in the Park and Santa Run

Date: December 15, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I’m linking up with the fabulous Katie today because this weekend has been fun and marvelous! What could be better than getting in the Christmas spirit and spending time with cats and family?

The first marvelous thing? I finished bringing my stuff home from school, including my plant. It’s a plumeria I got from Hawaii, and it’s thriving in my room. I guess the humid, warm climate that seems to mold everything is good for it? Proud plant momma right here!

Then, my mom and I shared an amazing sandwich-turkey and avocado from Ike’s, which is kind of a big deal around here (and there’s one on campus!) Yum!

Then I did some Christmas shopping. I’m really excited about some of my gifts this year, and I cannot wait to share it with you guys…after Christmas though!

Which brings us to Sunday. Sunday I did a Santa Run 5k. I did the 5k last year, which is the only 5k I’ve ever done. After finishing training for halves, I’ve been working really hard on getting faster. I had countless 6am wakeup calls for 30 degree track workouts. I really wanted to PR this race.

For breakfast, I had something a little unusual-cottage cheese, cocoa powder, and a little honey, topped with raspberries and served with a persimmon.

Before leaving for the race that afternoon, I had super light lunch-persimmon, more banana bread, and a little spinach bread-like stuff. I was more concerned about having stomach issues than being hungry since this was such a short race, and I remember being stuffed going into it last year.

The race is in its second year-it benefits Christmas in the Park, and Christmas display the city puts up every year, which was ranked top 10 in the world! Here are some pre-race photos-everyone dressed up as Santa, but I wanted something more comfortable to race in, plus my parents requested I wear something that didn’t blend in so much as they had trouble finding me in my last race, so I wore my Santa Run shirt from last year.

The race itself? It was tough. I was super nervous before the race, and they nervousness kind of turned to nausea as soon as I started running. I most likely definitely went out too fast; I didn’t wear my Garmin because I was worried it would freak me out, but I know my second half of the race was much slower than the first.

Lately during my races, I question why the heck I keep signing myself up for them! SO painful. At least halves are slower so you can enjoy the first half of the race or so comfortably and not be dying until the end…

I definitely did not feel as prepared as I should have been. I haven’t been out of breath in this way in a while. My endurance base? It’s great. I haven’t done much sprinting though, and that needs to happen.

I didn’t PR this race. I realized that pretty quickly. My official time was 25:36, which is 37 seconds away from a PR. Here are some very unattractive running pictures:

I felt pretty awful right at the finish. They were handing out cookies and milk (cute, right??) which i grabbed for my dad.The thing about 5ks though? You recover pretty quickly, so it didn’t take long before I was game to try a s’mores pizza. Because why not?

It was pizza dough with nutella, dark chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. It was delicious! And messy. Check out the aftermath.

Walking around after the race, my calf started to cramp a little. Nothing major, just felt on the verge of a cramp. After some salt, it was much better though!

I also got a new friend.

And here are some pictures from Christmas in the park:

My sister ended up meeting us there and then inviting us to her place for macaroni and cheese. It just so happens my favorite froyo place is on the way home…

A bit of tart with fruit, salted caramel pretzel, and pumpkin pie, with toffee, brownies, and chocolate pretzels.

And after some time in front of the TV prepping for tomorrow’s trip (more in a second), a little snack that included cheese, crackers, and these guys:

Have you guys had Jo-jos from Trader Joe’s? Get them. Now. They’re decadent and addictive. They’re basically chocolate covered oreos but in cool flavors-these are gingerbread and peppermint.

So my thoughts on the race? While I’m a little disappointed, I’m not really surprised. Based on my training, I knew hitting my goal pace would be really hard. I have two more 5ks in the next few months; the race made me both want to never run a race again and train even harder at the same time. Races hurt. But if I’m in better shape they hurt less, right? Or I just go faster and they hurt just as much. I have a couple of ideas of what I can do to get faster. I want to do more sprints-I need to do more agility types of drills anyways because my ankles are weak. I need to do longer runs OUTSIDE at my goal pace-like without breaks in the middle. I love doing workouts with intervals, where you get to rest in the middle. But you don’t get to rest on race day, so I need to prepare myself for that as well. And I need to click with the nutrition. To be perfectly honest, being lighter means instantly faster because there isn’t so much to carry around. I’m heavier than a year ago, and while some of that is muscle, it still has to be carried 3.1 miles. For the next couple of months I may put weight lifting more on the back burner and focus hard on running.

As for the trip-tomorrow I’m going to Solvang, a little Danish town near Santa Barbara, which should be adorable and Christmas-y. In preparation, we had to re-watch the Psych episode where they go there. I can’t wait!

What did you do this weekend?

Reunited At Last

Date: December 14, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

That’s right. I’m officially reunited with this guy.

Even better, I’m DONE with this quarter! Let’s back up a bit, shall we?

Thursday involved intense studying. And persimmons and sparkly pants. You know it’s finals week when your study snacks degenerate into this:

I have absolutely no regrets about that cookie. It was delicious and much needed. And it left me studying in a cafe with Christmas music playing. That was a good life choice.

I fueled my late night studying with the remains of my fridge-tofu, brown rice/quinoa, green beans, and a salad.

In general, my eating habits weren’t the greatest during finals week, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get through it. I super intense studied from 7pm to 1am when my brain shut off. I set my alarm for 6am to go over some things I didn’t get a chnace to the night before.

I think I need to start setting multiple alarms for the days when I’ve severely sleep deprived-my alarm went off as planned, but in the process of turning it off, I feel asleep and dropped my phone. Whoops. Luckily I woke up 20 minutes later and had plenty of time, but probably not a good thing to happen.

So, I got coffee and headed off to my last exam-Bio at 8:30am. It was LONG. The test itself was 35 pages, and we had 3 hours which was a bit of a time crunch. You know how your legs are shaking after a tough workout? My brain was legitimately shaking. To celebrate/revive myself, I went to a nearby cafe for something delicious.

Hot chocolate-SO good. I’ve been sort of dreaming about good hot chocolate for a while. And perfect for a quaking brain.

And quiche. Post run food? Try post marathon exam food! Best thing ever. I then proceeded to kill time such that I would end up running out of time to pack everything up, and therefore I have to go back this morning. I cleaned out some things-I won’t share the grisly details, and went to the gym for a quick workout. I took it easy yesterday, and today is a full day off in preparation for the Santa Run 5k tomorrow!

I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’ve been doing #plankaday this month. I was at the track at the beginning of the month and had a little time to kill, so I decided to try it and have realized this is an easy way to build some desperately needed core strength. I got up to 5:00 yesterday! To be fair, the amount I can go varies based on the workout I’ve just done, and an easy 30 minutes on the spin bike was going to leave me with fresh abs. Last year when I was rowing, some of my friends asked if I could do a 10 minute plank. I got bored after 7:00 and stopped. Rower abs are no joke!

Then, I rushed home to be ready in time for my dad’s company Christmas party. I managed to sneak some food photos, because how often do I eat fancy food?

Salad with candied walnuts, apple, and gorgonzola dressing.

Sole and mashed potatoes with asparagus.

Chocolate cake.

Everything was so good, and it was nice to have an occasion to dress up for.

Here’s our tree with a side of dog! I think it looks especially good this year. This is probably the best tree we’ve ever gotten; it’s incredibly fresh and full. Seriously guy-Whole Foods has awesome trees, and about half of what you’d pay at a lot!

This morning I woke up, full of breakfast possibilities. I couldn’t decide what to make, so I ended up having exactly what I could have eaten at school-chocolae banana bread and a persimmon.

I’m really excited to eat delicious, high quality food. It’s amazing how much more satisfying it is! I’m also starting a detailed food log. Something has been bothering my stomach, and I would love to pinpoint it before I go back to school. Some theories-sugar, grains, coconut, snacks, large quantities of protein bars…so we shall see!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Next Quarter’s Meal Plan and Dining Hall Breakfasts

Date: December 12, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hey everyone! I am literally so close to being on break! I only have one more exam to go-tomorrow morning! I’m taking a study break to blog-ok, to b honest, a pre-study break. For some reason I got a late start on the day, despite waking up and getting going before my alarm. But I’ve been thinking up a post all morning and I know I’ll be distracted until I post.

First thing’s first. Since my roommate’s birthday is over break, I wanted to do something for her before. She can’t eat gluten, and we’ve both in theory been trying to avoid sugar, so I made her the 21 Day Sugar Detox Apple Spice Sponge Cake from Pain Free Kitchen, and it came out so well! Delicious!

I started my morning with a spin workout on my own and a short run. When I walked out the door, I came upon Finnegan, the friendly campus cat.

He was meowing at someone’s window when I heard him and called out to him. It was 31 degrees this morning-I think he was so cold! He walked right up to the door of my dorm and acted like he wanted in. I felt so bad, but I was on my way out!

My run was only an easy mile on the treadmill. I was planning for 2 but my calves were kind of tired from spinning, and my book on tape ran out. Ok, maybe MOSTLY because my book on tape ran out. Since I was on the other side of campus, it occurred to me to try the campus coffeeshop (a different one). I’m so glad I did, my cappuccino was fantastic.

Also, I just wanted to share with you guys-I’m wearing sparkly pants. Hey, anything that makes me happy during finals week is good enough for me!

Now, let’s talk food. My eating habits haven’t been terrible this quarter. They’ve been pretty decent for the most part (not counting finals/midterm weeks…) and I generally feel pretty good.

As for my body? It’s fine. It’s whatever. I can lift heavy things. That’s cool. But I’m ready for the next thing, the next challenge. I’ve set my sights on faster 5ks-I think my life goal is to break 23:00 (and no I’m not particularly close). I think leaning out is definitely going to help get me there-carrying around extra weight will only make this more difficult! Plus, I hate wasting food. And I hate spending money. And dining hall food for the most part is so-so. And I could definitely feel more awesome overall-I’ve had way too many stomachaches lately.

For some reason, I’ve been especially hungry in the mornings the past few days, and I’ve actually been craving dining hall breakfasts. Here’s today’s (plus a pancake):

Toast with cream cheese, eggs, and spinach, a small blueberry muffin, and fruit. There’s nothing wrong with that. And yet…I feel so gross right now! Dining hall eggs…not the best. I’m not sure what they cook them in-tons of butter? Cream? Ugh. Anyways, back to the meal plan. I’ve made meal plans for myself in the past but they always horribly fail. Why? They’re completely unrealistic. Tip-never make meal plans when you’re really full and can’t imagine being hungry again. The food I plan is only a fraction of what I need to eat so I’m never able to follow them. That being said, I’ve been tracking my caloric intake the past few weeks. I have a pretty decent idea of how much I can eat to maintain my weight. Which means I can make much more realistic meal plans. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I want to meal plan is to avoid wasting food and eat better food. And have more of a routine-if I have a plan for a similar eating schedule everyday, my body will adjust to it. Plus, if I plan I can go to the campus store and stock up on the veggies I need for the week-which takes meal plan dollars so free food!

I also want to focus more on eating REAL food. It’s hard to eat well when you don’t have the right things on hand. I found myself overdosing on Thinkthin bars the past few days, which is not great for my stomach-but they’re so convenient!

In the afternoons, I usually want something sweet and carby. So why fight it? It’s better than stuffing myself on “healthy alternatives” immediately before a workout (not a good feeling). I used to eat banana bread before morning weights in high school, and all kinds of quick bread before morning practice for crew last year, so it actually is the perfect pre-workout fuel for me (wonder why my body craves it? Our bodies are smart!). Over break, I’m going to make a ton of quick breads and freeze them. I’m already dreaming of my double chocolate banana bread.

For breakfasts, I might go back to my typical high school post workout meal of yogurt with honey (which the school market sells), or with brown rice syrup and cocoa powder.

Maybe some days, cottage cheese and fruit. Maybe something with sweet potato? It’s going to take some experimentation. And maybe some meals at the dining hall-with hard boiled eggs, not scrambled though!

I also want to do weekly veggie prep. And lunch prep-I generally pack my lunch, and given I usually have -2 seconds to pack my lunch as I run out the door, it would be great if it was easy. And I love getting some veggies in at lunch!

I’m also crazy excited to go home tomorrow and eat whatever my little heart desires. I’ve been craving my spinach-chocolate protein smoothies like crazy lately!

I’m also confident that I can maintain good health over the holidays-and no, I have no intention of depriving myself either! I’m in a much better place this year than last year-last year I felt like I was missing out on the holidays by being at school, so I compensating by gorging on holiday foods. I felt awesome over Thanksgiving break, so I’m just looking forward to enjoying the holidays free of worry!

Speaking of looking forward to-not sure if anyone’s been keeping track, but I have my Santa Run 5k on Sunday! I’m super excited-I pretty much have my outfit planned out. And no, I won’t be wearing a Santa Suit-I want to PR! After not being able to see me at the finish of the Turkey Trot, I had requests form my family to not wear the same color as everyone else, so I’m thinking my neon green shirt from last year’s Santa Run should stick out!

I’ve been training my butt off for this race! Track workouts 2x a week in dark sub-freezing temperatures, Crossfit, and extra rowing workouts…I’m ready!

I have 5ks scheduled for February and March before I get into half training, so I will definitely be able to see if my whole meal planning thing makes any progress for me!

As for the future? I really love short speed workouts. I have 2 halfs scheduled…and after that? Haha, most likely I will either retire from distance running for a while because my feet definitely prefer shorter distances, or run a full marathon. Opposite extremes, right?

Have a great day everyone!

Do you plan or prep meals?