R & R {MIMM #6}

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

There’s a bug goin’ around! My mom was sick last week, and now my brother and I are feeling a little bit under the weather. A lot of my dance friends have also been sick, and our contact through dancing probably isn’t helping the rest of us. Luckily, this weekend I’ve been blessed with a good deal of rest and relaxation compared to last weekend. A little R & R to recharge for the week is totally cool with me. 🙂 So here’s to another Marvelous Monday, thanks to the lovely Katie!

Marvelous is…

A great workout on Friday. After 10 minutes each on the elliptical and treadmill, I did a strength and cardio circuit workout (I’ll share it soon!) and finished with a 1000m row. I never use the rowing machine normally so I did NOT know how much I would feel it in my glutes! Of course, my shoulders were dying too.

Oh and remember when I thought I was super speedy on the treadmill? Well I am now fully convinced that that particular treadmill is slower than all the others while still showing the same speed on the monitor. Dangit. I’ve gone on other treadmills since then, and I’ve been running in the 7’s, but when I went on that treadmill again on Friday, I was running in the 8’s comfortably and I wasn’t necessarily feeling especially spunky that day. Ohhh well. I’m just surprised that I’ve started running more at all!

Marvelous is…

My first pumpkin oats of the season! And my first pumpkin anything of the season for that matter.

To be honest, I don’t really taste that much of a difference between pumpkin oats and my usual banana oats. Maybe it’s because I add banana in addition to the pumpkin. Or maybe I just need to add more pumpkin. Or maybe I’m just adding the pumpkin to be a typical blogger ;). Whichever the reason, ’twas an absolutely delicious and comforting way to start my Saturday!

Marvelous is…

Hanging out with some company girls on Saturday night! Some of the girls went apple picking and then Pam invited us over to her house to hang out and eat pizza. I didn’t get to go apple picking, but I still really want to go sometime soon! It’s on my imaginary fall bucket list.

Playin’ some Rock Band.

Marvelous is…

Kiwi! Packing in the vitamin C to fight this bug. Plus, isn’t it just so pretty?!

Marvelous is…

The most aromatic and soothing homemade ginger, mint, honey, lime tea.

I really wish I could bring the scent of this tea with me everywhere.

Those are the highlights of my weekend! As you can tell, it wasn’t super exciting, but I definitely appreciated the down time. Hope you have a great week!

So tell me: How was your weekend? What are some pumpkin things you’re eating? Do you like kiwi?

Fascinating Friday Links #5

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

This week went by quickly for me! Hopefully you feel the same way, unless you wanted to savor it for whatever reason. This school year as a whole however, is moving as slow as a snail. I got really sad yesterday when I told my friends, “It already feels like the second semester…But it’s not.” Meep. What a downer I am. Even then, I am thoroughly enjoying senior year because I’ve got some great teachers and, of course, my best senior buddies (cheesy cheesiness)!

Also, the fall weather here in New York is just splendid, I must say. I love how people can wear short sleeves or a light sweater and be comfortable either way. My mom did help break out the boots–my favorite kind of footwear. Now I’m just anticipating the colorful foliage, which is kinda one of my favorite parts of living in the northeast.

Anyway, another Friday, another collection of fascinating links for you all to read, drool over, and ponder. 🙂

Fitness and Health

[Keep the brain sharp] How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success via New York Times

[Great tips] Healthy Eating on a Budget via Cait’s Plate

[This looks like a doozy!] 360 Rep Time Challenge via Purely Twins

[Benefits of steady state and high intensity workouts] Sprints of Steady? via The Fitnessista; 7 Reasons to Do HIIT Training via Purely Twins

[Don’t underestimate walking] The Most Underrated Exercise via It’s Progression

[ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS and fellow high school seniors!] College Student Fitness and Nutrition Guide via Hungry and Fit

Helpful Hints

[Start your day with a filling, nutritious breakfast] Three Ways to Amp Up Breakfast via The Real Life RD

[Tweet tweet] 4 Ways You Can Better Promote Your Posts on Twitter via Jennifer Grayeb

[Because mornings can be rough] 19 Ways to Make Mornings Less Terrible via Thought Catalog

[Some of the best advice for anyone and everyone] Advice for the World via The Lean Green Bean

[I’m still learning] 10 Ways to Build Your Blog as a Brand via Perfection Isn’t Happy

[Whole Foods is even more awesome that I originally thought] Whole Foods Market: An In-Depth Tour via Me and the Mountains

Fall Food Frenzy

[Anything with streusel or crisp has my attention] Apple Streusel Bread via Running to the Kitchen; Apple Crisp Muffins via Iowa Girl Eats; Maple Pecan Streusel Bread via Healthy Food for Living

[Three of my favorite things in a muffin?!] Fig and Goat Cheese Honey Muffins via Running with Spoons

[Totally want to try this] Vanilla Honey Chai Latte via Back to Her Roots

[More fantastic fall flavors {I am on a roll with this “F” alliteration}] Pumpkin Spice Ginger Walnut Muffins via Daily Garnish

[All raw. Not even a fall food, but that’s completely ok.] Banana Ice Cream Sundae with Chocolate Sauce via This Rawsome Vegan Life

To Make Your Heart Swell

[You MUST watch this. The sweetest duet ever.] Tonight You Belong to Me (Cover)–Me and My 4 y.o. via Benjamin J. Ames on Youtube

[Such a beautiful reflection] What Nicaragua Gave Me via The Real Life RD

[I can relate so closely] Dear Body… via The Healthy Maven

[A tear-jerker] A Father Gives His Girls the Best Surprise Before Dying of Terminal Cancer via Viralnova

Happy Friday!

So tell me: Did your week go by quickly? How’s the weather where you live? Which links did you enjoy?

WIAW: School Day Eats

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Amidst the hectic world of school, college applications, dance, etcetera, I try to keep my food choices healthy and real. I definitely miss the liberty of preparing meals all day in the kitchen, taking the time to be creative and colorful with my food. I would totally spend my Sunday prepping some homemade energy bars, healthy muffins, or other things filled with superfoods of the world, but that usually can’t happen (or, let’s be real, I’m just not in the mood). Thus, ~~some~~ lots of Wheat Thins and oatmeal bars with long lists of ingredients are eaten more often, but I’m not stressin’ over it. Otherwise….I would be stressed. Duh. I still like to keep my eats as whole as possible, but I’m not completely against convenience foods even if they’re not THE best choices. Being mindful doesn’t have to mean being super strict.

Here are some things that I still do regularly to help myself out:

prepare sandwiches for lunch on the weekend + pack lunch/snacks the night before
think about what I’m going to have for breakfast (partially because it’s my favorite meal and I get excited for it)
have some convenient fruits and vegetables on hand (bananas, apples, carrots, broccoli, etc.)
make sure I have enough healthy snacks with me at school or dance so that I don’t reach for a bag of chips or a cookie out of desperation (<–that sounds a lot more serious than it really is…)
even if I can’t take my kitchen with me everywhere, it’s nice to have the fridge and pantry stocked with real foods for when I DO have time to prepare meals at home

Of course, I’m still a high school student, and I am grateful that my parents and brother provide much of this for me. We’ll talk about surviving college when we cross that bridge. I am also very fortunate to have a mom that prepares and cooks a bunch of healthy foods that are quick to reheat or grab-and-go. She has helped me make my sandwiches this week, she hard boiled some eggs, and her Korean bbq makes for some delicious leftovers!

With all that being said, here is a look at a typical day of school and after-school eats. You all know I love Jenn’s WIAW parties!

7:00 Breakfast

Rice Krispies and PB Puffins + banana with pepita sunseed butter

8:00 School starts. Work work. Scribble scribble. Use the noggin.

10:00 Snack

Corazonas Blueberry Oatmeal Square

11:50 Lunch

Tuna sandwich + unpictured Golden Delicious apple

More school. Chorus after school. Homework.

3:50 Snack

Carrots and Wheat Thins with hummus

Homework.

5:15 Snack

Finishing a tub of Greek yogurt with some banana slices

6:00-8:00 Ballet. Plie, pirouette, jump, stretch.

8:40 Dinner

Avocado toast with HB egg + spinach, roasted red pepper, egg salad

Made possible by our nifty egg slicer!

Homework.

9:20 “Dessert?”

Figs dipped in Greek yogurt

I’ve been having this sweet and filling snack almost every night for the past month or two. It’s just SO GOOD. We’re down to the last handful or so of dried figs, and I honestly think I’ve polished off this bag by myself. I have around three every night, and I might just cry when I finish them because we can only find these kind at Costco in Florida! Yes, we have found other brands of dried figs, but these Calimyrna ones are just so perfect and plump even though they’re dried. My mom bought dried apricots but they’re just not the sameeeeee. You are probably snoring at my whining about wrinkly, dry, brown fruits. I’m done.

Actually, I should probably try making these muffins from Amanda soon. They look BOMB.

Happy hump day! (The guys at my school go around yelling this in their ~~obnoxious~~ loud voices. The camel commercial is popular. As if you didn’t know ;))

So tell me: What have you been eating lately? What do you grab to eat on your busy days? Do you love dried figs like me?

The Weekend That Didn’t Feel Like a Weekend {MIMM #5}

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

The title makes it sound like I did not have a marvelous weekend, but I assure you I did! It was just packed with things to do:

Homework. Blah.
College application fun
Assisting dance class
Taking dance class
Planning/teaching religious education
Company rehearsal
More homework

Some more leisurely things that went down include a workout at the gym, a nap, watching home videos, and watching the Great Food Truck Race (next weekend is the finale!).

Thanks, Katie for hosting another marvelous Monday!

Marvelous is...

A kick-butt workout from Jess:

I used a 12 kg (~26 lb.) kettle bell, and those single arm overhead walking lunges were tough! I ended up modifying them to overhead reverse lunges using two arms. Oof. Another awesome workout, Jess!

Marvelous is…

Assisting a younger dance class for the first time this year! Thea is assisting with me, and we are super excited to work with the girls because they are seriously some of the cutest, most talented dancers.

Marvelous is…

Wheat Thins. My family has been hooked ever since my mom came home with three boxes from Costco. We’ve tried the sun-dried tomato basil kind, original, honey mustard, and zesty salsa varieties so far. We’re starting to hoard them at this point. All of them are so dang addicting! We literally polished off our first box of honey mustard Wheat Thins in one day. It’s kind of ridiculous, but when you try this combo, you’ll understand:

Do it and thank me later.

And no, Wheat Thins are not necessarily a quality snack, but they’re not too shabby. Plus, they’re just tasty. Ben claims that they’re good for you though because of the “100% whole grain” plastered on the side of the box. He thinks what he wants 😉

Marvelous is…

Bath and Body Works’ Lavender Vanilla pillow spray and lotion. I absolutely love lavender and vanilla, and the scent is so calming.

Marvelous is…

“Hey! Bop ba ba. Got any GRAPES?” (Duck song reference? Watch it once and you’ll never forget it.)

~~Little~~ Big gems of sweet deliciousness.

Marvelous is…

Using romaine instead of spinach in my green smoothie since that’s all we had on hand. It was a little more “green” tasting, but still quite subtle. I don’t mind a little earthy flavor anyway 🙂

Marvelous is…

A Korean BBQ dinner compliments of mom and HMart! Complete with beef, pork, shrimp, mystery fish balls (those get less and less appealing every time buys ’em), tofu, vegetables, and soba noodles. Delicious! Thanks, ma!

Here’s to the start of a new week! I hope yours is filled with many blessings. Happy fall too!

So tell me: Was your weekend busy? Do you like Wheat Thins? Are you excited for fall?

Get To Know Me in 10 Questions {Sunshine and Liebster Awards}

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I thought I was social media-savvy. I really did. Until I decided to one day click on the “Connect” section of my Twitter page, where I found so many notifications about other blogger retweeting, sharing, favoriting, and responding to my tweets from weeks and days before. Like, HELLO, ALISON?! I was waiting for little bubbles with the number of notifications I received to pop up like on Facebook…Guatever.

After my revelation, I found out that a few lovely bloggers so kindly nominated me for the Sunshine and Liebster awards! I was nominated for the Sunshine award by Jessica at Story of a Girl, and I was nominated for the Liebster award by Laura at Fueling a Life and Maria at The Brooklyn Fig. Thank you so much, ladies! It really means a lot that anyone would read my blog, further less nominate me for fun awards like these! I apologize for this being so long overdue.

Rules:

1. Include award logo in a post on your blog.

2. Link to the person who nominated you.

3. Answer 10 questions about yourself.

4. Nominate 10 bloggers for the award.

‘Liebster’ means “dearest” in German. This award is “a way for up-and-coming bloggers to demonstrate each others’ appreciation for what we do”.

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award who have less than 200 followers.
Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

I love doing surveys, so I am super excited for this. There is just something fun about talking about yourself, as Jessica said. Sounds narcissistic. Even so, I’m going to pick and choose 10 of my favorite questions from the bloggers that nominated me so that I don’t bore you with 30 things about myself. I think you get enough of me on here already 😉 Here we go!

1. Why do you blog?

I blog because I genuinely enjoy connecting my experiences to those of others. This little, humble website here has allowed me to vent, attempt to convey my cheesy sense of humor, and share my love of God, food, and fitness. I used to just look at blogs for the pictures, but I have found so much value in the content of others, and I hope to reach out to at least some people with my own words.

2. What’s your favorite healthy snack?

Plain Greek yogurt with the good stuff: figs, banana slices, peanut butter, cereal, nuts, fruits, muffins, anything. So quick, simple, filling, wholesome, and delicious!

3. Which is your favorite season and why?

I’d have to say fall is my favorite. And lucky me since it is approaching quickly! Fall means layered clothing, boots, more hot oatmeal, apple cider, and…pumpkin. Conformist. But I really do like pumpkin! The weather in New York during the fall is also quite lovely usually–crisp, cool, and peaceful. Except I guess we haven’t had much luck the past couple years with snow storms and hurricanes.

[source]

4. What is your favorite way to workout?

I enjoy circuit workouts that incorporate strength and cardio exercises one after another. I love doing complex movements that get my heart rate up quickly and make my muscles burn at the same time. This way, I don’t get bored because there is limited time to rest and the moves are always changing. My 10-15-20 workout is an example! I also like burpees a lot. And dancing of course!

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Santorini, Greece. Just look at the utter beauty.

[source]

6. Do you vary your meals or eat the same thing every day?

I vary my meals every day, especially for lunch and dinner depending on the groceries of the week and what mom so graciously prepares. Variety is the spice o’ life. I repeat salmon, avocado toast, sandwiches, and eggs a lot though. For breakfast, I usually have a rotation of meals including overnight oats, hot oatmeal, pancakes/waffles, cereal, and yogurt bowls. Nut butter is almost always in there. *Happy sigh*

7. What is one thing on your bucket list?

See #5. Also, zip lining or rock climbing in some exotic forest.

8. What does ‘being happy’ mean to you?

This is a good one. Being happy to me means being at peace with what I have and making the most of the opportunities that God gives me each day. Not everything will be rainbows and butterflies all the time, but happiness depends on how you handle the obstacles.

9. Are you an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between?

I think I am smack in the middle for this one. I totally enjoy “me” time and don’t need to be hanging out/texting friends 24/7, but I also love to go out and have a blast socializing. Sometimes I don’t like talking when I’m in groups, but other times I like to be quite vocal and outgoing. I guess it just depends on my mood.