Happy Friday!!! I am all about balance. There is room in life to workout and eat well. There is also room to go pant-less and eat whatever the heck you want! I try to exercise daily and eat well 80% of the time. I love food and sweets so sometimes that is what wins! How do you find balance?!? Pants? Or no pants?
Time for Anything & Everything Friday, where I discuss five random topics of my choosing. I get emails and read articles about health all week long so I pick some of my favorites to share with you. I also find random articles that have nothing to do with health and I will occasionally share those as well.
This week I have some budget-friendly vacation destinations, ways to add more protein to your diet and some travel snack ideas.
Exercises for Your Arms & Abs:
When you are short on time, it is nice to have exercises that work multiple muscles at the same time. Bari Lieberman put together a list of five exercises that work both your arms and your abs. Teaser: a lot of plank work! Self.com published Lieberman’s list of 5 Exercises That Work Your Arms & Abs At The Same Time. We do these moves sometimes in bootcamp and, I won’t lie, they are difficult! Plank-ups are pretty rough (in a good way) and I love renegade rows. Even though they are more about your core and less about your back, I still like them. Check out those five exercises and work them into your workout routine next time you work upper body.
Summer Vaca:
We actually aren’t going on any summer vacations this year. Donny is traveling for work, but otherwise we don’t have anything until late-August. If you want to plan a trip this summer but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to get there, then check this out. Thrillist’s Travel page has an article written by Nick McGregor with 9 Big Summer Vacations On A Small Budget. For all of us Colorado peeps, the Rocky Mountains are on the list! Some of the big resort towns offer discounts and packages for travelers who want to spend time in the mountains in the summer (as in non-peak-ski time). We might just have to plan a weekend getaway up to mountains! Do you have any summer trips planned so far?
Eat Healthy On A Budget:
Trying to save money? Trying to eat healthy? You can do both at the same time, I promise! Buy store-brand products when you can. Shop seasonally. Follow your grocery list. Include more plant based foods in your diet (aka less meat, more beans). Audrey Bruno has a list of 11 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget. Those were four of the eleven and the rest can be found at the link above on Self.com. One of my favorites is to splurge on important foods that will last. One of her examples is olive oil. More expensive olive does cost more, yes, but it also has more nutritional value too. You can actually use less and it can last a long time without going bad.
Adding Protein:
If you follow my Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep posts or my Day in the Life: Mel’s Meals posts then you know that I do not struggle to eat protein. However, I know a lot of people do. There are more ways to add protein to your diet than just eating more boneless, skinless chicken breasts (although I do LOVE chicken). Nicolete Finger wrote this article on Labrada.com 15 Ways To Get More Protein Into Your Diet and it has some smart ways to add healthy foods to your diet AND get extra protein in. One tip that I need to start using is to incorporate more artichokes into my diet. One medium artichoke contains 5 grams of protein! Holy cow, I did not know that! The other tip I liked was to add nutritional yeast to foods. It has a cheese-like flavor and is used in vegan recipes rather than parmesan cheese. I bought some a while back to try out and I am yet to open it. Maybe I’ll bust it out this weekend! One ounce of nutritional yeast has 14 grams of protein. Check out the other tips she has for you and try to incorporate one per week. What is your favorite way to get extra protein?
Travel Snacks:
If you are planning to travel this summer (or anytime, really) then I suggest taking some healthy snacks along with you. I am all about indulging in foods while on vacation, but I also like to have a few snacks on hand for long days of playing tourist or for mornings when you cannot eat breakfast right away (you mean you want me to get ready now WITHOUT eating anything…. nice try). The snacks that you pack will most likely change based on where you are going and how you are getting there. I had a post about a year ago sharing some of my favorite Travel Snacks . We were road tripping all the way to Florida so I packed a ton of food to munch on in the car. My list changes when I am flying somewhere, because who wants to put popped popcorn in your checked bag? I do not, that’s for sure. Check out my post of travel snacks, but also this list from MyFitnessPal of 15 Dietitian-Approved Tips & Snacks to Eat While Traveling. Some of my favorites are individual nut butter packets, DIY trail mix, protein bars, dried fruit, popcorn, etc. What are your go-to travel snacks?
Well that’s all for today. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to spoil the father in your life! I am taking my dad golfing on Sunday. Should I let him win?!?! Hahahaha just kidding. Have a good one.
