Boot Camp Scars, Food and a Giveaway...

Today's workout was Boot Camp. There were only minor injuries. :) Long story but I almost got decapitated at Lifetime Fitness on Monday with a flying cable from the shoulder press machine. Picture yourself holding the cable from a shoulder press machine in your left hand around a stability ball while facing sideways and twisting to the left. Now picture said cable going flying up and over the ball then across your neck. Near decapitation. Minor scratches and a few drops of blood were spilled. It looked like I might have been held at knifepoint at some point during boot camp and forced to do crunches. I consider it practicing my warrior ability for the upcoming Warrior Dash. Battle scars. Cool, yes?

In running news, I have added a third race to my Goofy Challenge in January 2011. Today I decided to make it a "Dopey" and tack the 5K on which runs on Friday. Now I will have the 5k on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday. Can't wait! I am pretty sure I have talked one of my friends into doing it as well. Now I just need to get moving or it will be a couch to 5k program for me!

(I read this week that unwritten blogger law states you are to be brief and stick to one topic. Since I have never followed blogger law before, why start now... My apologies but keep reading if you want to win!)

As someone who has recently tried to embrace more healthful eating, I have found that it is not always easy or obvious. CR and I were at a restaurant a year or so ago. This restaurant was a little upscale for us as there were no peanut shells on the floor. We were presented with a bowl of edamame in their little pods. Having had no experience with such things, we ate a few - shell and all. Not that great. Upon reflection, months later, I realized that we should have just eaten the beans without the shell. They looked like sugar snap peas, it was confusing! Oh well. Live and learn. I had a similar experience with pumpkin seeds. Who knew they were like sunflower seeds and needed to be shelled? I didn't. I also didn't get why everyone liked them...until I tried one without the shell. LOL.

I don't know if you have noticed but a lot of foods these days now have the whole grain stamp. The idea behind the stamp is to make whole grain easy to identify so you can incorporate it into your diet. The recommendation is at least 3 servings per day or about 48 grams. The 100% stamp means all the grains in the product are whole grains while the basic stamp means you are getting a half serving of whole grains.





Why do we care? A whole grain is made up of 3 parts: bran, germ and endosperm. If you get all three then you get more protein, fiber and minerals. When an item is not whole grain, you are typically just getting the endosperm which is mostly the carbohydrates without the extra B vitamins or as much of the fiber. Voila. It is that easy. There is tons of information online about it. Check out Whole Grain Nation and check your Whole Grain IQ and pick up a coupon for $1 off. Turns out I am a Whole Grain Diva. Who knew?



So I think I mentioned that cereal+yogurt+fruit = TRUE LOVE ALWAYS in my book. Look at this cool Fit & Fresh cereal bowl. If you like mine, you are in luck because General Mills through MyBlogSpark has given me one to give to one of you too! Can I get a WOO HOO?



You can put fruit in the bottom, the nifty ice ring to keep the yogurt cold and then the cereal dry in a separate compartment up top.



Oh, and, a cool spoon that snaps into the lid!



The Grains of Goodness Prize Pack comes with:

- A cereal mug
- Coupons for TWO FREE boxes of General Mills Cereal
- A Fit & Fresh container
- And more!

If you want to win the coolest yogurt holder EVAH (I think it probably would work for salads too but we will stick with the cereal theme ...), leave me a comment with your best tip for working whole grains into your diet. For extra chances, become a follower and/or link my giveaway on your blog.

I will choose a winner on Sunday. Good Luck!