Fall in Tennessee

What a beautiful morning! There is just a bit of a chill in the air- feels like the beginning of fall to me! I love it! And, this is the first big fall weekend in Knoxville- the kickoff of UT football! Plus Boomsday, one of the largest fireworks displays in the country, is coming up on Sunday night.

I started my morning with a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee with cream…SO GOOD. And, a bowl of Special K with chocolate + strawberries…Have you noticed that I somehow always manage to fit chocolate into my breakfast in some way?

Hope you have a great Friday! I’ve got to finish getting ready and head out the door to work….my schedule is pretty calm today- we are having a Silent Auction fundraiser at the hospital to raise money for our walk which is coming up quick…two weeks from tomorrow! And, I’m going to try to get some continuing education completed…my Certified Diabetes Educator certification is expiring soon and I’m behind on continuing education.

Have a great Friday- see you later!

Old Faithful

Good morning!! I stayed in bed until the last possible minute this morning, so now I’m rushing around to make it to work….Coffee first (in my “borrowed” cup).

Then, back to my Old Faithful favorite cereal combo for a quick breakfast:

• Kashi Honey Sunshine
• Special K with chocolate
• blueberries + raspberries
• milk

I love this combination!

Today’ s agenda:

• full day of diabetes nutrition consults
• teach afternoon Sculpt class
• teach afternoon Rock Bottom class

Now, I have exactly 5 minutes left to make it out the door on time! Wish me luck….

Have a great Tuesday!

New Cereal Love

Good Morning! Coffee first…

And, I tried a “new to me” cereal…Trader Joe’s 9 Whole Grain Crunch…I loved it – and love the protein, fiber, and Omega-3 content!

Add berries = delicious!!

I’m on my way to work at the wellness center today…manager-on-duty shift, which means I just make sure things are running smoothly, and I cover for the front desk staff, fitness floor staff, and lifeguards to take their lunch breaks. We also have a bariatric surgery informational seminar happening there today too…so – lots of stuff. Should be a good day – and I’ll be finished at 2, so the weekend can really begin.

Have a great Saturday!

Why do you read?

Breakfast today was an awesome cereal combo:

• Special K with chocolate
• pecan hemp “grawnola”
• strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries
• 1% milk

Awesome start to the day!

I’ve been reading some interesting posts over the last few days regarding blog post quantity vs. quality. I think much of the discussion was stimulated by a presentation at the Healthy Living Summit last weekend (I didn’t go, and I haven’t had a chance to watch the videos yet, but I plan to).

I started my blog as a way to share how a normal, busy, newlywed who happens to be a dietitian eats in real life…hopefully to share some nutrition tips, but also to share that in order to eat well and be healthy, you don’t have to be perfect. Since I was inspired by reading Self Eat Like Me and KERF who both post 3 meals a day, I began with that intention. I quickly realized that in my busy life, 3 times a day was not happening. I’ve settled comfortably into posting 2 times a day most days.

I also enjoy reading blogs for several reasons…

• I love food!
• I love to get new ideas about meals/new foods to try.
• It is a neat way to connect with others who are also aspiring to live a healthy life.

I’m curious…

1. If you have a blog, how often do you post and why?

2. If you enjoy reading blogs, how often do you like to read…Is 3 times a day too much? Once a day? Once a week?

3. Why do you read blogs? What keeps you coming back to certain blogs?

I’d love to hear from bloggers and non-bloggers alike…if you’re a reader, but don’t have your own blog, you are still welcome and encouraged to comment any time!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!!

Speedy Breakfast

Good morning!! I was up early today, so I started with coffee first…

Then, breakfast was a quick bowl of Fiber One Caramel Delight (which reminds me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, one of my favorite childhood cereals) with some juicy berries.

Gotta run, I have to make my McDonald’s run (?), get to work for an 8:00 meeting,  2 more back-to-back meetings, and then prep for the TV segment and head to the station. Happy birthday week to Anthony! (I’m trying to celebrate a little for him each day leading up to his birthday tomorrow). And, I think we’re going to go see Julie and Julia tonight…I’m so excited!

I hope you have a great day!

Delicious Repeat

Good Monday Morning!

Breakfast  today was a delicious repeat of yesterday…

• Trader Joe’s Gourmet Flakes and Chocolate
• Glowing Bowl Grawnola
• berries
• 1% milk

Hopefully this fuels me well. I have an 11-12 hour work day ahead today. Have a great Monday!

Hot and Steamy

Good morning! I started today with a great cup of coffee and a leisurely 30-minute walk….not a heart-pumping cardio walk, but a nice leisurely, clear-your-head and enjoy the quiet morning kind of walk…it was a great way to start the day.

And, thanks, guys, for your compliments on my haircut- you all are too sweet!

I had to use two of my yummy Farmers Market finds in my breakfast…I loved this hemp “grawnola”…and I like the name…the glowing bowl.

I started with Trader Joe’s Gourmet Flakes with chocolate, added the hemp grawnola, juicy blackberries from the farmers market, plus raspberries and 1% milk…deliciously cold and perfect on this hot, steamy day.

Off to church, and then I think a matinee movie this afternoon. Have a great Sunday!

Your Own Best Friend

Good morning!!

My day started early with a 5:10 am alarm clock to get me up and out the door for a 6 am sculpt class. Before class, I usually just have some water and sometimes coffee. (At 5 am, I’m usually stumbling around with my eyes half open!). After class, I’m usually starving! Today I refueled with:

• Kashi Honey Sunshine
• Traders Joe’s Flakes with Chocolate
• Strawberries + Blueberries
• Crunchy Almond Butter
• 1% milk

I wanted to give you another tip to think about today in helping to improve your body image….

Use Positive Self-Talk.

Many times, we say unkind things to ourselves that we would never say to our best friend, spouse, or child. Today, try to catch the negative thoughts and statements that you have about yourself…and turn them into something positive. We’re often unaware that we even have these negative thoughts until we tune in to them. Talk to yourself today as you would talk to your own best friend.

Do you notice yourself having negative thoughts about yourself/your body? What can you do to make those thoughts more positive?

Gotta get out the door to work….have a great Tuesday!!

Vacation Day!

Good morning!! I feel like a kid on vacation…I took a vacation day from work today and I’m meeting my mom, sister, and niece and nephew (Emma Kate and Owen) for a day at Dollywood theme park…yes, Dolly Parton has a theme park!

Breakfast this morning was simple, but good….my new Trader Joe’s chocolate cereal…I was going for something different, but this isn’t that different from my Special K, eh? Oh well…I may be stuck in a cereal rut, but it’s a good one!

I had a spoonful of crunchy almond butter in my cereal, and a yummy cup of Green Mountain coffee…

Since we were out of town all weekend, we haven’t done our normal grocery shopping, so we’re out of most of our fruits and veggies…hopefully, I can make a grocery store stop on the way home this evening…

Have a great Monday!!

Biggest Berry Ever!

Happy Friday! Breakfast was a simple combo:

• Special K with chocolate
• Kashi Honey Sunshine
• raspberries +blackberries
• 1% milk

YUM! Delicious breakfast even with no almond butter in the house!….perfect timing though since we’re driving to Nashville after work tonight and I get to hang out with Michael tomorrow and hit up Trader Joe’s!

Check out the size of this blackberry…is this the largest one you’ve ever seen?

So, no complaining – I love my Special K and Honey Sunshine combo- but I have been sticking with it for weeks now because no other cereals sound that good. I think I need some new cereal ideas!

What is your favorite cereal? Or cereal combo?

Have a great Friday!!