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Lilac

Blouse:  Banana Republic

Shorts:  J. Crew

Necklace:  Banana Republic

Flats:  Payless

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Stir Fry Spaghetti

Stir Fry Spaghetti! I'm an avid spaghetti lover, and the traditional recipe never lets me down.  But I decided to switch it up a bit and stir fry it.  

You'll need:

1 serving of whole wheat spaghetti (I use thin noodles, you can use angel hair, tradition, whatever you like)

1 cup of marinara (more or less depending on how saucy you like your spaghetti)

1 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli

3-4 tbsp. parmesan cheese

dash of pepper

1/4 tsp. chopped garlic

dash of red pepper flakes

1/2 tbsp olive oil

Boil a pot of water. Add spaghetti noodles.  While the pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli. I put it in a microwave safe bowl, covered with plastic wrap, cut a slit in the wrap and cooked for 2 minutes.

Heat a pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic. (I use the kind that comes pre-chopped in a jar.  It's a little easier to use and packed with flavor.) Let the garlic brown for a few seconds. (Your house will smell like an Italian restaurant!) Add the steamed broccoli to the pan.

Add the olive oil, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the pan.  Occasionally stir the broccoli around in the pan.  Cook until the broccoli gets a nice sear on it. (Don't cook it too long, it will be dry and tough.)  When the broccoli is done cooking, add the cooked pasta and sauce directly to the skillet with the broccoli.  By doing this, the pasta and sauce will absorb all the pepper-y, garlic goodness in the pan.

Stir all ingredients together and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, or until all ingredients are warm.  Remove from heat, and top with a little cheese! Enjoy!

This would be yummy with some red onion, black olives, and zucchini as well! Use as many veggies as you'd like.  I only had broccoli on hand, so that's what I used for this dish.

5-10-15 Workout

Admittedly, I take a break from my strict workout routine when I'm on vacation. I do try to squeeze in a few workouts though.  Hilton Head is great for biking.  The island has miles of trails that I've hit a few times this week.  With today being our last full day here, my dad and I thought we'd switch things up a bit and ride our bikes on the actual beach instead.  We road just under 7 miles.  The resistance from the sand really intensified our workout. And I enjoyed a delicious iced skinny vanilla latte afterwards.

I've been so lucky to be able to ride my bike here, but if you can't bike on your vacation, try this quick 30 minute workout before you hit the beach. You don't need any equipment and it will keep you on track.  Even if you only do this one workout the entire week, it's better than nothing.

2 minute warmup

Do whatever kind of cardio you like.  I alternate between jumping jacks, boxer shuffle, high knees, and tuck jumps.  Just move non-stop for 2 minutes.

5 minutes of Arms

Set a timer on your watch or phone for 5 minutes and perform these exercises continuously (at your own pace) until time is up.

10 pushups

10 tricep dips (use a table or chair for support)

Repeat

10 minutes of Abs

Perform these exercises continuously until time is up.

10 crunches

30 bicycles (15 on each side)

30 second plank

20 toe touches (lie on your back with feet straight up in the air, and touch your toes while doing a crunch)

Repeat

15 minutes of legs

Perform these exercises continuously until time is up.

15 squats

20 plie squats

20 lunges (10 each leg)

20 second lunge pulse (10 seconds each leg)

50 bridges (hip lifts) Lay on your back with feet planted on the ground slightly in front of you. Raise your hips as high as you can. Keep your butt tight. Lower your hips slightly-not all the way back to the ground. And lift back up. That is one.

20 leg lifts. (10 on each side.) Lay on your left side with legs extended. Raise the right leg as high into the air as you can. Slowly lower it. That is one. Repeat exercise on the right side.

Repeat

Vacation Part 2

Heading to the beach? The pool? The lake? Rock that bikini! It's a new day--the perfect opportunity to have a fresh outlook on life and be confident in your own skin!

I'm starting my last full day of vacation with some coffee and the Today Show, which is pretty fantastic in my book.  

I've eaten way too much pasta, dessert, and other carb-tastic goodies. But it's vacation, so that's ok! But my mom and I did hit Panera Bread for a quick lunch one afternoon and you'd think I had never had veggies before the way I scarfed down my meal.

I love just about everything at Panera (especially the Greek salad), but that day I ordered the classic salad with Asian dressing and a mediterranean veggie sandwich on whole grain bread. 

Such a gorgeous view at Harbour Town last night.

Last night I wore my purple J.Crew shorts and white eyelet peplum blouse that I had found shopping the day before. (Sorry it's so dark!)

After this trip is over, it will be back to the daily grind of early morning workouts and healthy eating.... But it's been nice to indulge!

New Threads

When I checked the weather this morning, it said the heat index here was supposed to reach 104 degrees today! OH. MY. GOODNESS. So my mom and I decided to take a break from the beach and go shopping.

I love shopping at Tanger Outlets, but we don't have them anywhere near my hometown, so we always hit them up on vacation. There's so many choices and I always find high quality items at great prices!

Some of my finds from today... Shorts from The Loft, J. Crew, and NY & Co. A coral sweater from J. Crew. (Yes, it was about 100 degrees outside, but I bought this sweater at 50% off, plus a 15% discount when I showed them my college i.d.!) Eyelet peplum blouse and coffee mug from Marshall's.  5/48 brand dress from Saks Fifth Avenue, Off 5th. (See details of this bad boy below.)

Coffee mugs like this make me so happy! And it was only $2.99 at Marshall's! 

Now, for the dress...

I found it at Saks Fifth Avenue, Off 5th. If you've never been to one of these stores, definitely try to find one if you're ever in a city or travelling.  You can find some excellent, high end clothing, accessories, and more for a discounted price.  They even have merchandise by Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, and DVF to name a few. Anyway....

Isn't the back of this dress awesome?

This dress is 5/48 brand.  It was originally priced $200. The store had it priced at $38, and then had it discounted 50%. So with tax and all, I paid about $19 for this dress. 

And I adore it!  It's lightweight and has a super fun, bright print. It's perfect for summer, but I think paired with a blazer, will transition well to fall! I love, love, love good buys. And my parents can attest to that as it's all I talked about over dinner. 

Vacation Part 1

Greetings, from Hilton Head!

Not too shabby of a view, huh? Anyway, vacation is off to a great start! I'm definitely enjoying myself and splurging on some yummy treats, but I'm trying to make healthy choices as often as possible. On our travel day, I snacked in the car, had fast food for lunch, and a cheesy risotto dish for dinner.  So the following day I was ready to get back in the saddle.

When I woke up, I had some Greek yogurt and laced up my tennis shoes.  I wasn't familiar enough with with the area yet for an outdoor run, so I took advantage of the gym at our condo.  I ran 2 miles and walked on incline for 25 minutes.  After my workout, I had a hard boiled egg and a banana and hit the beach.

I wanted to eat a light lunch in case I decided to order pasta for dinner. I had a whole cucumber (sliced), whole grain roasted red pepper triscuits, hummus, and 1 hard boiled egg. Plus, lots and lots of water.  And I had a little trail mix on the side to satisfy my sweet tooth.

This morning, my dad and I biked around the island and then I did a few strength training exercises when we got back. While we were riding the bikes, I noticed the cutest little bakery across the street from our condo called, The French Kiss Bakery.  I'm a sucker for coffee and pastries, so I decided to scope it out.

This bad boy was calling my name. So my dad and I split this eclair, half the guilt, right?! Pretty delicious and well worth the calories.

Vacation Snacks 101

When my family goes on vacation, we always pack tons of snacks.  But when you're riding in the car for HOURS or lying on the beach on day, it's easy to pack on the calories from greasy chips and fattening cookies, and such.  I'm as guilty as the next guy for eating out of boredom.  I've been trying to ditch that bad habit, but in case I can't resist snacking, I wanted to make sure we had tons of healthy snacks on hand.

Ideally, I'd have fruits and veggies as snacks, but it can be tricky to pack a cooler of fresh produce when your car is already packed full of beach chairs and suitcases. So we got fruit and veggies from a nearby supermarket when we arrived, but here's what we had for the road:

1. Fiber One Chocolate Cereal. It's only 80 calories per serving and obviously high in fiber. Not to mention, it's much lower in sugar than other cereals.  It's great for breakfast, but perfect for a snack, too.

2. Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies. I had never tried these cookies before, but oh my goodness they are so good. They're low in saturated fat and made with whole grains.  They're also high in fiber.

3.  Kashi Trail Mix Granola Bars. These bars are my go-to snacks.  They've got almonds, cranberries, and raisins in them. They're perfect to hold you over from one meal to the next, after a workout, or even for breakfast (especially if you spread a little peanut butter over the top).

4.  Blue Diamond Whole Natural Almonds.  Almonds are high in protein and have lots of heart healthy fats.

5.  Popcorn Indiana FIT Popcorn.  This stuff is so good.  It's only 40 calories per cup, but has lots of flavor.

6.  Triscuits.  Any flavor.  They're all delicious.  They're low in fat and are made with whole grains!

***Things to remember when buying snacks:

1. Choose whole grains.  You should aim for about 48 grams of whole grains per day and lots of snacks are now made from whole grains.

2.  Choose snacks high in fiber.  Fiber will help keep you fuller, longer.  So you won't be snacking endlessly.  

3.  Watch your sugar intake.  "Healthy" looking granola bars, cereals, and snack mixes can be loaded with sugar.

4.  Be aware of the portion sizes.  I'm sure we all eat out of the chip bag, the ice cream carton, whatever.  But it's hard to eyeball portion sizes.  A bag of pretzels may only be 100 calories per serving, but if you're eating straight from the bag, you could be consuming 4 or 5 servings before you know it.

When you reach your destination, stock up on fruit and veggies.  Hummus and salsa are great alongside those veggies, too.  I also like having eggs on hand (hard boiled eggs are a great breakfast or lunch idea, as well as a good snack).  Lean turkey slices and Greek yogurt are good choices, too.

Vacation is all about relaxing and enjoying yourself!  I definitely splurge on vacation, especially at dinner and even dessert.  So I try to keep the snacking calories to a minimum and as healthy as possible!