It Looks Like I'm Here, But I'm Really Over There!

I don't really have a blog post for today. It's a busy day! My brother is getting married, and I'm in the wedding party. But, I am being featured in somebody else's blog. So I thought I would guide you over there. Check out Dietsinreview.com. I go over a workout you can do on travel--even when there's no gym in sight!

Great Health Blog to Check Out

Here's a great blog you can check out: Diets in Review. Here's a blog they did about healthy camping meals. I submitted one of my favorites.

http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/05/proper-planning-is-the-key-to-eating-healthy-while-camping/

Contest: Let's See Those Feet!

I have friends who love their feet. They go for pedicures, and get fancy French manicures for their toes. My feet? Not so much. Once a friend coerced me into getting a pedicure. The whole time all I could think about is that they were going to file away all my calluses--and my next run would be very painful.

I'm sure many of you can relate. Runners, bikers, soccer players, rock climbers--our feet take a beating! So just for fun, I'm having an ugly feet contest. It's time to celebrate those hard-working feet--the feet a pedicure just can't help.

The Contest:
1. Email a picture of your feet at their finest to jj@thefitlife.us by June 4th, 2011. You can use any camera angle/view that shows just how ugly your feet are.
2. I will do a post showing all of the entries (labelled by first name and last initial).
3. People will have two weeks to vote for the ugliest feet.
4. I will announce the winner on this blog and post a picture of their glorious feet.

The winner will receiver a Fit Life t-shirt and a Ped Egg Pedicure Foot File.

Let the contest begin!

Recipe Post: Edamame Donburi

This is yet another dish out of Robin Robertson's 1000 Vegan Recipes. This is such a great cookbook--even if you are not vegan or vegetarian.





We've made this several times now. It's delicious. A little time consuming just because you need to get your rice started and your edamame cooking before you started browning your onions.

1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame
1 tbsp canola or grape seed oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced (I use red onions for almost everything)
5 shitake mushroom caps, lightly rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 1/4-inch strips (I hate mushrooms, so I do this dish without them)
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger (I've used powder in a pinch and it tasted fine)
8 ounces of firm tofu, drained and crumbled (below I'll tell you the secret to great textured tofu)
2 tbsp of soy sauce (low sodium to keep the sodium content down)
3 cups hot cooked rice (we always used brown...there's just no need for processed white rice)
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds (for garnish). I actually forgot to add the sesame seeds in the picture shown. They do add a nice extra taste.

1. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water (I never add salt to the water), cook the edamame until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes longer. Stir in the ginger and green onions. Add the tofu and soy sauce and cook until heated through, stirring to combine well, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked edamame and cook until heated through, about five minutes.

3. Divide the hot rice among 4 bowls (I sometimes just stir it right into the pan with the rest of the meal), top each with the edamame and tofu mixture, and drizzle on the sesame oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

A Woman and Her Shoes

Everyone knows the stereo-type about women and their shoes. I personally know many women who have a shoe addiction. They have a different pair of shoes for every outfit. They have shoes in their closet, under the bed, and in special bins they keep for the sole purpose of storing their shoes.

But I have to say, I never thought it would happen to me. But when I examine my shoe rack, I have to admit, I might have a problem. It's just a little different than most shoe addictions.



I love my shoes, and I like to think I have all my bases covered.


First, and probably most important, are my "go to" running shoes. They are the shoes I currently do all my distance and pavement running in. I went out on a limb a bit with the color this time, but they are suppose to have really good heel support. So far, so good.








Then there are the running shoes from days gone by. They were once the "go to" shoe, but now they are worn, but not forgotten. They are used for muddy trail runs, yard work, gardening and will become the "go to" shoe for a few adventure races (involving mud pits) this summer. After the mud pits, they will be retired.








Now these...these are my Merrell multi-terrain, adventure shoes. They are made for both ground and water. They worked wonderfully for a caving trip in Puerto Rico last year. I also love to wear them for kayaking, stream playing, rafting and on shorter trail runs and hikes. What makes them a really spectacular shoe, is that they were free! I won them in a drawing at the Muddy Buddy Adventure race in Chicago. They are a tad muddy because I took them on a very muddy trail run Saturday.




The Vibram Five Fingers were an anniversary present from my wonderful husband. I was really excited to try running in them. The theory is that they teach you to run the proper way with the ball of your foot striking first, rather than the heel. Unfortunately, because of a foot surgery I had about seven years ago, I just can't run that way. I have too much nerve damage in my foot to strike with the ball. But I still love my Vibrams. It's another pair that can be wet or dry. So I use them for kayaking, rock climbing, hiking (if it's not to rocky) and just hanging out in the summer. It's like being barefoot (which I'm typically not able to do anymore) with some protection on the bottom of your foot.






These are my New Balance trail runners. They are pretty much my hiking shoes. I don't like them for running the trails because they don't have enough flexibility in them; however, they are great for hiking. And, I prefer them to wearing hiking boots.








And, of course, you can't be a road biker without a good pair of biking shoes. Once you ride clipped into your bike, you'll never go back. It allows you to power up hills by both pushing with the quads and pulling with the hamstrings.





Finally, there are some shoes I tried out as running shoes, but they just didn't make the cut. They are nice and clean, so I wear them when I'm with clients. And everyone needs a selection of comfy sports sandals that can also get wet. You can throw them on with shorts or capris. They are nice and cool for summer.


So there you have it--my shoe addiction. I'm always on the lookout for a shoe that will add some fun and excitement to my life.

What's your favorite shoe?