What the heck do you give your kid for dinner??

I'm kind of frustrated with feeding a toddler and baby. Nick used to eat everything and I know they go through phases. Some days he'll eat broccoli straight up (lately) and other days he won't even eat chicken nuggets. I feel like I give him the same things weekly and I'm bored - and so is he! And don't even get me started with Kara. She's tiny to begin with and the only definite with her is a scoop of peanut butter on a spoon.  I probably should have never introduced these kids to peanut butter - they are going to have the same problem that I do - addiction.

I wanted to pick out and try new recipes so here goes:

My friend Dr. Megan sent me a bunch of veggie recipes from Rachel Ray magazine a couple of months ago. They looked awesome and I finally made one of them this week.

I give you: Baked Eggplant Steaks. 

The only substitutions that I made were that I used 3 slices Ezekial bread instead of a loaf of Ciabatta and used regular mozzarella instead of smoked - didn't know where to find that but I think it would have been really good. Also, I just used frozen chopped spinach because I thought it might be easier. It turned out great! I'd recommend maybe skipping the Ezekial and eating these in a long roll. Delicious! Kara ate a little of the eggplant but Nick wasn't having it (I put it in a wrap).

Next up Mama Pea's Anytime Cookies. I renamed them Evacuation Cookies :)  Actually anytime I cook with quinoa flour it ends up being an evacuation food!  It will clear you out if you know what I mean.

Here's what I used:

• 1/2 c. ground flaxseed
• 1 c. warm water
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c quinoa flour
• 1/2 c. oat flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 c. coconut oil
• 1/4 c. almond milk
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1/4 c.  brown sugar
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 1 t. vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine water, flax, maple syrup and coconut oil. Warm in the microwave 30 seconds or until coconut oil is melted. Let this mixture sit and meanwhile combine all dry ingredients.  Add the flax mix to the dry and stir to combine. Drop by whatever size you like on a cookie sheet, bake at 350 for about 8-10 min or until set.  Enjoy!

Nick was into these. Not too too much sugar and make a good breakfast cookie!

Feeling good 2 days post triathlon. I'm into it !! Thanks sista!!   Now debating what's next...

The race report - first olympic tri

Last night I barely slept. Ever since signing up for this race - I wanted to do one with my sister - I was afraid of drowning. There was the man that died last summer in the sprint race (drowned in the water) and Fran Crippen who died in the open water swim out of the country last October. I was freaking out and also nervous about the bike. Basically I signed up for the Olympic but planned to switch to the Sprint at the expo.   I kind of really wanted to do the Olympic distance but was chickening out of it because I didn't put in the training for the bike. I haven't been on the bike for 3 weeks and my training has consisted of 2 spin classes a week.  On Thursday I was waffling and then Thursday night, Kara was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. I woke up on Friday to go swimming and decided there was absolutely no way I was waking up on Saturday to do a race.  The Olympic it was! I'd like to thank Andrea who told me to pick the one that was going to be a challenge, my sister who tried to make me feel at ease about the whole thing, Mama Simmons who didn't doubt I could do the distance and Denise who told me to go for it!  I was nervous but Clare had the same mindset thought that I was going to go in with - do well on the swim, survive the bike and give it whatever I had left for the run.


On Friday night, Bill and I were celebrating our 6th anniversary in the city for dinner. We dropped off the kids and I went to get my race packet. That's when I became officially excited!  We had a great dinner and anniversary day (yesterday) sans kids. It was so fun, I did not want to pick them up :)  I slept in and got my rest on Saturday and did a bunch of errands but no training/exercise.

my sis helped me set up the transition

around 5:30am in transition area

I woke up this morning around 4 and got up around 4:30, had a piece of toast with butter + peanut butter and a quarter of a waffle that I made the kids last night and drank some water.  I left the house around 4:50 and got to the Please Touch Museum area around 5:15. I biked to the transition area and kind of got excited on the bike, it felt good.  I met my sister at the transition area right after I got marked and she helped me set up everything and gave me tips. It was so great having her there!  We got all set up and got on a bus and got to the start. This part I did not like - it was so much waiting and standing around. The more time that passed, the more nervous I was getting.

We ran into a kid from growing up so it was nice to talk to him and not think about the race.  My sister was 2 waves before me - 10 minutes - and I didn't like being alone either!  When I got in the water I went right to the buoy as far to the right /end as you could go. There was a scuba diver both on the dock and at the buoy and that scared the crap out of me. I was almost hyperventilating and having a  minor anxiety attack in the water and couldn't catch my breathe but calmed down and we started.

My heart was still racing when I started swimming, but it was all open water ahead. I'm a strong swimmer and I feel like there were only a couple of people in my wave ahead of me.  I felt like I never really got into a rhythm and once we caught up to the other waves,  I was breathing every stroke and looking up because I didn't want to get kicked by anyone and didn't want to veer off course. I feel like I was all over the place on the swim and that I could do better with it, but it was my first open water swim so I think it went ok.  My legs were tired after!

Swim time: 22:27. 0.9 mile

Transition 1 - way too long 3:46. I was taking my sweet old time I guess once I got to my spot. I also don't have bike shoes and had to tie my shoes and all that.

Off to the bike - I really liked the course! It was 2 loops all around Kelly Drive/MLK Drive/ Lemon Hill, Strawberry Mansion and across Falls Bridge. My legs were tired as soon as I started = BAD! I was just enjoying it really and the time flew by. My estimate was that it was going to take 2 hours (for 26 miles) - I'm that slow, yes! And it took me 1:36. I really wasn't even looking at my watch - I didn't want to know. It was a gorgeous day and I was just enjoying it. That was my goal.  During the bike, I took in the most water on the second loop. On the first loop, I ate about 3 Clif Blocks and on the second one a GU.  I definitely needed to fuel on the second loop and felt like that went really well.

Bike time:  1:36:05 (15.4 mph)

Transition 2:  1:47  I think that's decent?

My transition to run really wasn't that bad - same shoes, deciding if I needed anything - I didn't.  My mom spotted me at this point and was yelling GO GO GO! I couldn't even think straight and just ran out of there, haha! Thanks Mom, I think you made me just get on with it.

Off to the run - I felt like I was not going fast at all. I was passing people left and right but refused to look at my watch, I just wanted to run and finish and not put pressure on myself.  Here were my Garmin splits below, haha, major pyramid slowdown!

7:22
7:53
8:02
8:13
8:14
8:25

I think I could have gone faster. I feel like I never know how much to push myself before I'm overexerting myself, and I don't want to pass out and die at the finish. Would a heart rate monitor help with that? 

Run time: 49:26 (7:58 pace)

For the last 1/2 mile, my sister, having finished like 20 minutes before me, came back to run with me. Are you serious? So sweet! I would have been sitting around dieing probably. I felt good when I finished, and the whole time never felt like I was going to die or miserable.

My overall time was 2:53:33.

I had a fun day! The weather was beautiful, I was thrilled to finish, and I got to be there while my sister PRed by 13 minutes - awesome!! I could totally see myself doing more of these.  Now if I get serious, I need a bike (I've been borrowing Abby's bike!), bike shoes and some cool looking attire. My sister gave me her old TNT gear to wear. The medal is really cool too - more cool than any running one that I have.

Thank you to my sister for guiding me through all of this !


Final thoughts:

Don't think I'd EVER want to do an IM unless it was somewhere ridiculously awesome (hawaii?)
Would have loved to do a 5k instead of 10k
Need to improve on the bike and work on open water swim
Was wondering why anyone would ever want to run a marathon, ha!  This was so much more fun!

calling Bill to tell him I'M ALIVE!!

Legit Triathlete

If only I could improve that bike time?? 

thanks to my sis for the encouragement
she did awesome today!

the back and forth

For the past couple of weeks I've been leaning towards the sprint distance for the tri. Since Saturday I've been dead set on it but as we get closer to the race, I've been questioning my decision.

I consulted with Coach Mama Simmons who reminded me that I'm not a big fan of the bike at all and encouraged me that I could do it if I wanted to. I think I could finish the olympic distance but why be cursing and miserable? But at the same time, will I be challenged enough in the sprint?  Logistically I kind of want to sleep in on Saturday (we're celebrating our anniversary with dinner tomorrow night) and I'd be rested for Sunday and my sister will be racing Sunday so we could be in the same race?  It would probably be good if I go to the expo tomorrow and they tell me I can't switch to the sprint. Since I signed up for Olympic, I feel like I should JUST DO IT.   My only fear is the bike! The key is, I don't even have bike shoes? and kind of have no idea what I'm doing on the bike. Does anyone do an olympic race kind of clueless? Or is it a pretty serious thing? Is it like doing a marathon and only doing half the training? I have no idea what I'm in for and that's why I can't decide. I'll probably ask more people at swimming tomorrow morning and it will be a last minute choice.

Here's what I made for dinner tonight. Thank you Mama Pea.

Nick ate it all and thought it was a breakfast burrito (eggs, cheese) - it was tofu & cheese, with hummus, nutritional yeast and salsa. Yum yum! That tofu was delicious. Two Pea dinners this week.

tofu on the skillet

with cheese, tomatoes, hummus, nut yeast and then salsa

ready to eat :)

The black bean burger recipe & nutrition facts

Black Bean Burgers with Taste... Brought to you by Sarah

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. quinoa
• 2/3 c. vegetable stock
• 1 c. dry whole wheat pasta (penne, rigatoni, macaroni, etc.)
• One 14.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 t. soy sauce
• 2 t. vegan Worcestershire sauce - I didn't know this wasn't vegan and ended up using some ketchup, mustard and blackstrap molasses, ginger, onion powder and garlic powder aka N's homemade Worcestershire.
• 2 T. minced onion
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 3 T. hummus
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 1 T. nutritional yeast
• 4 whole wheat buns, split
• lettuce, pickles, tomatoes and any other trimmings of your choice.

Instructions

• Combine quinoa and vegetable broth in a small pot and bring to a boil.
• Cover, lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
• In another small pot, bring several cups of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook pasta for 15-20 minutes. You want pasta to be overcooked as this starch will help hold the patties together.
• When pasta is finished, drain and add with black beans, soy sauce, Worchestshire sauce, onion and garlic to a food processor or high speed blender and blend until mixture is almost smooth.
• Add quinoa to mixture and stir until fully incorporated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine hummus, lemon juice and nutritional yeast.
• Score bean mixture into four sections. Break each section into two, with one section being slightly larger.
• You will probably want to spray your platter with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
• Press the larger portion into a patty and top with approximately one tablespoon of the “cheese.”
• Form the smaller portion into another smaller patty and place atop the “cheese,” sealing the edges.
• Cook the patties over medium-high heat in a large skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cook for 6-7 minutes and then carefully flip,
• cooking for another 4-5 minutes, until burger is browned and cooked through.
• Serve burgers atop buns with trimmings of your choice.

Here's what I got for the nutritional facts: (estimate). Keep in mind these burgers are HUGE.
I made 5. You can also make sliders.

Calories: 195 (w/o Worcestershire and with the molasses in there too)
Sodium: 850mg (yikes)
Carbs: 37g
Fiber: 7.8g
Protein: 8.8g



Loaded with iron!

Here's the label for the whole recipe. I don't know how to break it down on the site to my serving sizes

If you break it into 10 smaller patties, here is the label:

My new toy, dinners and finding your path

I first saw the milk frother tool on Heather's blog and thought it was a great idea! A few months later, less than a week after going to a coffee shop after a training session and ordering a hot tea with steamed milk, I ordered this bad boy!  I love it! It doubles the amount of milk and makes it perfect atop tea or maybe if you are a cappuccino drinker: even better.

Nick getting a milk mustache

I haven't had much time to try out new recipes or post about them. Honestly, figuring out what's for dinner stresses me out almost every night! The only time I seem to have right now is during nap time and my goodness, cooking dinner isn't what I want to be doing during naptime, so thinking about what to make for dinner has been a struggle to say the least.

Nick is in the phase where he inhales something one night and won't even try it the next night. He gets veggies in the squeeze packs of baby food and in smoothies. I try for pasta and sneaking it in other places but usually I fail.

I tried these Veggie Pancakes which reminded me of corn fritters. I thought they were excellent!  Nick wouldn't even try them. I can't stand it when he won't even TRY something I make.

Then - Bill has been telling me my black bean sliders have been pretty tasteless lately and quite honestly, I've just been dumping in a can of beans with an egg and maybe some quinoa or whatever is around... so rightly so.  Bring in Sarah aka Mama Pea to make a better burger. They were excellent!   Highly recommend. Again, Nick hardly ate any, but what can you do.

nick's plate

I put cheese on Bill's burger :)

I'm inspired by moms like Sarah and I feel like if I am going to be a stay at home mom that I need something. She has this awesome blog with recipes and wrote a recipe book. I think that's awesome and right now can't fathom doing anything as remotely successful but I feel like I need to find my path like that. : (   What is my path? I can't even think of ideas, but I see people with etsy shops and creating their own businesses and I feel like I should be capable of this.  It would be cool to have a very successful blog, but let's face it, I can't even find the time to post on a daily basis. At the very least, I want to have some kind of a teaching job part-time but there's nothing out there right now.  I need something besides being a mom, ya know? Sarah's book is on Amazon and I pre-ordered it.  I haven't ordered a cookbook in a long time but plan to use this one all the time. Vegans check it out! And non vegans too!

Breakfast today was a quinoa breakfast pizzert. I used quinoa flour for the flour, blueberries and about 3/4 cup almond milk and 1 T coconut oil. Nick didn't like that either.

Playing around w/ the marathon idea

I'm coming around to the marathon. I think I am going to start off the training and see how it goes. I'll do it for a month (maybe 2?) and see where I am.  If I don't think I'm in a good place, I'll just run the halfs that I have planned.  I'm kind of getting bored of 3 days a week swimming and I think I can find a way to swim 2 days, spin 1 day and run 4 days.  I don't think I even care if I PR at the marathon, I would just like to run with my sister since I signed up for it and it would be our first marathon together - first real race actually. 

I think I can do this:
Mon - swim, Tues- run, Wed- run, Thurs- spin & run, Fri- swim, Sat - run. Sun - off


This weekend is the sprint tri. I'm excited but clueless at the same time. Should I be tapering this week? Who knows? I'm just doing my normal thing. Maybe on Friday I'll go easy.  Our 6th wedding anniversary is on Saturday, same day as the race.  Time goes so quickly!

Showing our house and trying to sell it has made me seriously go half crazy. It has been insane trying to leave the house with a clinger (Kara) and making sure all the toys are away and house looks pristine. I really hope we can sell it, I cannot last much longer with this showing BS. It's been almost 2 months.   When I am out, I look for moms with kids around the same ages as mine to talk to. I feel like sometimes I just want to reach out and ask people "Does this get easier?"   The days have been long.

week in review

Thank you for the support and encouragement on my last post - I think everything has its ups and downs and sometimes I just think I'm not in the right place when I'm in the 'downs.' When it comes down to it, I feel like a lucky person that has little to complain about. Some days are hard and sometimes I can take it in stride and other days I can't and let it get to me.  In the end, everything works out!

Today I agreed to run a 5k with my 14-year old second cousin who is considering dropping soccer and playing XC when she starts as a 9th grader in the fall. Supposedly she's wicked fast and runs 100s and 400s and her pace 6:00/mile but this was her first 5k. I was getting nervous thinking I was going to pass out at the finish but excited thinking it could be a PR day with someone pushing me. Well, here's how the 5k went down: 10 seconds in: "Can we go slower?" I looked at my watch and it said we were going 8:45 pace. And it only got slower from there. There was alot of "this is going to take forever!"  "can we go slower" and "oh my god."  I just tried to put her at ease and keep her going. We walked a bit, slowed down often and made it to the finish in just over 30 minutes. Not quite the morning that I was hoping for, but the race was for a great cause and I helped her ease into running a 5k. 

I skipped the awesome spin class to do the 5k and later had to find time to run, so my day was kind of busy with alot of running around. I had to bring my bike to the bike store to fix the flat (f that, I wasn't figuring it out and doing it myself).  I took the kids to the pool and ran into some people from swimming and confirmed that I'm doing the sprint next weekend over the olympic distance.

Here was my week of training: (last week in my cycle- feeling half decent)
Monday - swim 4000
Tuesday - speedwork around 8 miles
Wednesday - run 3 miles, swim 3000 yards
Thursday - lift/abs, spin 21 miles, run 1 mile
Friday - swim 4000
Saturday - run 9 miles total
Sunday - I need to spin again!

As far as the marathon, I think I am going to ask for half marathon training/coaching instead and take it from there? I feel like I'm letting myself down & my sis on this one, but I'm not feeling it.

Eating - I have been pretty good about counting calories but not really dropping weight, just maintaining and making sure I'm not hoarding food : )

In the middle

Thanks so much for the votes on the pictures. I ended up going with #1 only because it went really nicely with the invite. #3 was my favorite and I'll use it for something.  Check it out:

I want to learn how to make these type of things in photoshop because I'm so picky when it comes down to it. In the meantime, I recommend cherished times on etsy. She is great and so awesome to work with!

My workouts have been getting done lately but the drive isn't there. I'll be in the middle of a run or swimming and wonder, why am I here? Haha!  Yesterday I got through the swim workout without really working hard on more than one set.  This morning at the track, I was warming up slowly thinking, I don't want to be a runner anymore. I got into the workout eventually but it wasn't giving 100%. What is my problem? My favorite part was cooling down and chatting with these 2 guys that inspire me to go faster.  One of them swims with me in the morning. He's probably 5"4 and has 4 kids.  We have the same work ethic. We want to get in the pool, do the workout and not be sitting around, and then we swim more when the workout is done. He's inspiring!  The other guy is the husband of a girl that I went to high school with - they have 2 kids with the same gap as ours so it's nice to talk to someone else. And the miles fly by. I can do it if I'm not alone and pushing myself. I need people to push me lately.

I don't know if I can handle marathon training. It's due to start in 3 weeks.  I'm in a routine now of spinning, lifting and doing core, swimming and only running when I feel like it. I feel bad deciding not to use the coach if I don't pursue the marathon and I already bought the registration. I guess I need a kick in the a**? I'm not sure what to do - I'm stuck in the middle of - a) do I do the marathon and suck it up and get the motivation going somehow or b) do I just stay status quo and continue my current routine of doing what I want and enjoying it?  I keep thinking about it and wonder how late I can tell the coach that I might back out!

In everyday life, lately I've had a few rough weeks. Weeks where I have no patience and think that it's because of my cycle but then I realize it's not just one time a month. I question if I am cut out to be a stay at home mom. If you are a stay at home mom, does this happen to you? Like days where I want to run as fast as I can out of the house.  And scream - and days where I also could just break down and cry. And it's mostly not Nick (the 2-year old), it's Kara! I think it's her phase right now of wanting to walk everywhere all around, and just not entertaining herself. She either crawls to my feet and cries and whines or just screams until I pick her up. It's very trying, and making me lose patience with Nick when he asks me the same question 500 times. HELP!!! I've been thinking maybe I just don't have the patience to be a stay at home mom or maybe it's just a hard phase. I don't really know, but I'm struggling. 

I think part of it also is that I'm a control freak and don't trust many other people to watch the kids. I would just love to go away for the weekend with Bill but I am so nervous about leaving the kids behind - even with my own mom.  I feel like I totally need a break - but then would I even be refreshed?

Picture help

Baby girl's 1st birthday is in just over a month! I cannot believe it. It's bittersweet.

I'm trying to pick a picture for her invitation. Can you help!?

#1
Everyday average pic?

#2 
Love how happy she looks on this one but maybe looks like a HUGE HEAD picture! haha

#3
I love this one but not sure since she isn't looking!

You would not believe me if I told you...

that the main ingredient in these is BEANS!!!

I was reading Miranda's blog and she posted that she tried these out.  I was a little apprehensive but the pictures just looked so good, I had to try them! I am headed to a department party for my teaching job and needed something to bring, so I figured I'd try these and see if they would do. They totally surprised me. I am bringing them to the party. You cannot tell that it is beans and not butter in there.  I mixed Katie's 2 recipes together deep dish chocolate pie and chocolate chip blondies and came up with this:

Mean Bean Blondies (adapted from Katie) or Cookie Pie

• 1 can butter beans or great northern beans (didn't try chick peas)
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 heaping T natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 2 T maple syrup 
• 1 cup chocolate chips

I'll be honest. I did not measure the sugar. I added a little to taste and then some maple syrup. So taste test it. I thought the amount used in the original was too much for me.  I never use real sugar anymore, just maple syrup.  And the chocolate chips - I just threw in handfuls. I'm not one to measure.

Stick all of that in the food processor except the chocolate chips. It will be nice and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and bake. For the thick blondies, I used a loaf pan. For the pie (very thin) I used a circle cake pan. Good luck and enjoy! Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.


Definitely try it! You won't regret it. So much for calorie counting today.  My body wanted some of that.

On training and running

We had a great time at the beach for a long weekend. Not a relaxing one... but a fun one with the kids. Everything seems to be more fun with them, but go go go! : )

I love running at the shore and I only ran 3 miles down there. I couldn't motivate! I'm starting to worry that I am not going to be all in for the fall marathon :( The training starts in a month - July 11. I'm really enjoying the no pressure to get to a certain mileage and kind of moving away from running. But I signed up for Marine Corps and want to get a good time (kind of)? and got a good deal on a coach through my running club. What to do??

Yesterday I showed up at speedwork for the first time in...a long time. My body is feeling it today - it's a good hurt! We did 3 x 4 300s with 100 rest in between and 400 between each set. Great workout for 8.4 miles - longest I've ran since the half marathon. Swam today and tomorrow is spin. I'm going to go with the sprint triathlon (after I realized I can still change that!) and I'm just kind of nervous that I'm not going to be in for this marathon training right now! Any thoughts?

I'm still counting calories and eating 1500-1800 and it's working. I feel like I am toning up and losing extra fat.

I want to go back to the beach....

 but it is so hard being out of the routine and not having the Y in the mornings down there, that's for sure!

winner of GNC giftcard

is #8: MrsQ318!! congrats!

a flat tire and training week

I brought my bike to the shore to get in a ride and got a flat tire after 5 miles.  The roads at the shore have a bunch of potholes - it was no good. Then I started thinking, crap! What if I get a flat during the race?  I will have no idea what to do. I'm over the whole biking idea as well as triathlon. I like the idea of going to spin class because it's a nice way to change it up. I love swimming, and running is my go-to sport. However, everything you need to train for a bike ride - it's not for me right now.  I was thinking there were help people (like AAA) on the course to help you with a flat tire. None of those people?  That isn't cool.

Here is what my training week looked like. My legs and arms are tired today, but especially my legs! Rest day!  I have to get in some better runs since running is a part of the triathlon!

Monday: Run 5.7 miles and circuit training
Tuesday: Run 5 miles and pilates/abs
Wednesday: Swim 4000 yards
Thursday: Spin class 18.6 miles, lifting and run 1 mile
Friday: swim 3250 yards, bike 10.5 miles (spin) and run a mile
 Saturday: run about 4 miles, bike 5 miles
Sunday: off

After being on the bike yesterday and realizing that I'll never be as fast on the real bike than the spin bike, I think I'm going to try to switch to the sprint triathlon. I don't want to be miserable.

Nick is at a perfect age for the beach -
self entertains with his Thomas trains!

Kara - not so much, she just wants to walk (holding my hands) and explore
but it sure is fun dressing her for the beach!

MAGNUM BAR review

The Magnum Bar - a European delight - made a debut in the US in March. As part of Food Buzz I was able to try a free sample of the bars.  I have been looking for them far and wide, and the other day Bill came home with a box. The Magnum Bar! Where did you find these? TARGET was the goldmine for the Magnum Bar. Bill knew about them from traveling in Europe. 

These are ice cream bars - covered with chocolate.  There are 4 flavors that I know of - Classic, Double Caramel, Almond and Double Chocolate. They sell for just over $3 a box and only 3 come in a box. As you will see later, that's a good thing!

I thought that 3 bars in a box was a major ripoff - and spending approximately $1 a bar is expensive.  These are not the sort of thing that I would buy or eat at any time! Bill loves the Dove bars and this type of dessert though. I sampled (had a bite of) the Classic - Vanilla Ice Cream with the Chocolate Coating and the Double Chocolate - Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Syrup and Chocolate Coating. Whoa!! I wasn't impressed so much with the Vanilla but the Double Chocolate was ridiculous!  Really rich, creamy and chocoholic's delight! These rate big for taste for sure! Bill said they were AWESOME.

However, take a look at the box. You will need to hit the treadmill on overtime if you plan to make these a habit.  The Classic had 240 calories and 16 grams of fat with 10 grams saturated fat (50% DV). Yikes!! The Double Chocolate was even worse with 350 calories and 21 grams of fat, 16 grams saturated (80% DV).  So, there you go. Would I keep these in my house? No way! I have the willpower to avoid these (not like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies) but they are too expensive and too bad for you to keep around.  Are they delicious and a great every now and then treat?  Indeed!! Probably a good pregnancy pop. : )

An update on the SONY W3 series

I had done a review on the SONY W Series MP3 player. 

It was only after about a week or two of using them so here's my update which I will update on the review also!

I wore them for the ODDyssey half marathon - I was a bit iffy about using them for a race but it was either them or my wool hat and the weather was in the 70s.  They worked great! I didn't have to fumble with them at all and the music was clear.  Here are my thoughts:

I love the idea of not having to hold something or secure to my body.

Sometimes when I sweat too much and my ears are wet, they do not stay in well.

I think they are great for lifting and light cardio, but they worked great for running!

The worst quality they have is when not being used, you keep them together by a magnet. The magnet is weak and I'll be driving or somewhere and hear music because the 2 sides come apart. 

Because they only work with a PC, I really don't update it much so that is a pain - same songs again and again.

Overall I really like it and recommend them.

I'm on a bike high and really enjoying the bike right now! I did 2 spin classes this week - Thursday morning with awesome instructor and then I swam this morning and got out early for a crappy instructor (I didn't know at the time).  This weekend we are at the shore so I couldn't do the good class tomorrow. I'm really enjoying the time off from the running, and feeling strong in the pool and on the bike. Since the last day to change from olympic to sprint was yesterday and I wasn't ready to make that decision, looks like I'm in for the olympic!

Have a great weekend!