Good afternoon! It's been nothing but rainy and cold here for two weeks, so the sun is a nice reprise today. I shouldn't complain too much, however; the Midwest has gotten hit pretty hard with their Snowpocalypse lately... yikes! If you're in that neck of the woods (or anywhere else that's got you bundled up in blankets and sipping hot cocoa), don't venture outside unless you have to. Of course, you should also check out these links. I'm hoping they'll warm you up a bit.
1. No more excuses! If you've been saying for years that you've wanted to learn a language, but haven't gotten around to it, this is the year. Check out these great resources!
2. Check out these great tips for shopping at the grocery store.
3. What a great post about quality of life. I hope this makes us all stop and think a little.
4. Who knew there were so many great uses for coconut oil?
5. Need some tips on how to be cool? Check out these hilarious ones.
It's Friday! So why am I sharing a Wednesday post with you, you ask? Well, because I promptly forgot to post on Wednesday. Yeah, oops. To make up for it, however, I have added a few extra "loves" for you to peruse. I hope you don't mind.
1. In honor of the Olympics that are taking place in London right now, I thought I'd share this very interesting article about athletes following vegan diets.
2. Cut down costs and chemicals with this list of homemade cleaning recipes!
3. NPR has kindly compiled a list of 100 Teen Books you should definitely check out (whether you're a teenager or not). I've read many of them myself!
5. If you don't have a gym membership or haven't wanted to drop hundreds of dollars on a set of free weights, you should try out some of these exercises that only require your own body weight as resistance!
6. Need a mood booster? Try out some of these suggestions.
7. For my fellow military families, here is a wonderfully useful list of 152 companies, restaurants, and stores that offer military discounts!
8. As if you need another reason to ditch chemical-laced household cleaners, this post offers tips about adding vinegar to your laundry!
9. Another Olympics-related link: check out this workout by gold medalist Allyson Felix!
10. Did you decide to branch out and buy some tofu at the store this week, but you're not sure how to use it? Here are a few easy, delicious tofu recipes to try out!
11. 89 fantastically awesome swaps to help improve your life. Let's challenge ourselves and pick one swap from each category (fitness, health, and happiness) to work on this week!
12. What an intriguing article about a stoplight-style food labeling system: do you think it would work in the long run?
13. Here is a humorous take on maturity. I think we could all learn some valuable lessons from these goats!
14. This is a great list of 10 "Best" Exercises for Women, according to a professional volleyball athlete/healthy lifestyle coach/writer.
Another week gone by, and I'm posting late once again. In my defense, I had to work yesterday... and make lasagna... for six people... and clean the house... so yeah. ;) I know, way too many excuses! It really just comes down to the fact that, by the time bedtime rolled around, I didn't feel like staying up late to write a post. Sorry! I hope you understand!
At least late is better than never, right? Enjoy!
1. If you were curious about caffeine content in popular coffee drinks, check this out. Very interesting!
2. This site offers a cool, easy way to create workouts that are tailored specifically to your needs!
3. I'm always on the lookout for ways to heal yourself through food. This is just another one of those awesomely beneficial lists!
You guys, I'm really excited about today's "What I Love Wednesdays" post. You know why? Well, I don't want to give it away too soon, so... enjoy this week's list and make sure you read all the way to the bottom!
1. I love this pyramid! In case you're more of a visual person (like myself), it makes it a lot easier to see what kinds of foods you should be eating on a plant-based diet. Cool!
2. I may or may not be sort of addicted to this right now... Is that bad?
3. Don't you love stumbling upon new-to-you blogs? It's so much fun, especially when they're as awesome and inspiring as this one!
4. This makes me want to dig out my passport and hop on a plane (or ten)!
5. Need a quick, one-minute mood booster? Here are a whole bunch!
6. I really like cookbooks that offer a wide variety of recipes, including ones that can easily be veganized, like this one!
7. This is just like Foodgawker and Finding Vegan, but for arts and crafts projects!
9. Take a 2-minute timeout, why don't you? You deserve it.
10. Alright, you made it all the way to the end of the list, so I guess I should probably go ahead and tell you why I'm so excited today. The lovely people over at SlimKicker, a really fantastic program that helps motivate you to stay healthy by turning your diet and fitness goals into a game, have teamed up to let me offer you the chance to win a super cool crock pot! For real.
This is such an easy, fun way to keep track of your health goals with points, rewards, and health challenges. They also offer resources such as a food tracker and an iPod/iPhone/iPad app!
All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post with a fun, creative idea for a diet or fitness challenge! It doesn't need to be any longer than 1-2 sentences. The giveaway will be open through Wednesday, June 13, at which point SlimKicker will choose their favorite suggestion and I'll announce the winner on here! Sound good? Tell all your friends!! (Sorry international readers, but the giveaway is only open to U.S. residents, due to shipping.)
2. I may or may not have made these for breakfast this morning. (Hint: I totally made them.)
3. One of my newly favorite blogs, ya'll. She has amazing recipes, but that's not all! She tackles some really great topics too, especially with regards to diet and exercise.
