Sweeeet Friday Post

In the words of Def Leppard, pour some sugar on me. In the words of Tiff, pour less sugar in my food.

Many of you know Americans consume loads of sugar. According to FitSugar:

According to the American Heart Association, eating too much is contributing to a plethora of health issues including obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Women are urged to cut back and consume no more than 100 calories of added processed sugar each day, which is equal to six teaspoons (25 grams).

WebMD has shed some less than sweet insight into refined sugar. I’ll let you check that out for yourself.

As you can see, too much added and/or refined sugar aren’t fun. You know what is fun? Learning how much sugar is in some everyday foods and treats, of course! You know what kind of “fun” I’m talking about – it’s like smelling the stinky-ness of your gym bag fun or looking at the blackheads on your Biore pore strip fun.

Here are just a few foods that I found interesting…

One Can of Coke (Not even the Mega Gulp at your favorite gas station) – 39 grams

source

***Diet Coke isn’t so great either since the artificial sweeteners can make your body think it’s getting sugar. When it doesn’t, you end up wanting more food. I’m not so sure I buy this argument, but I’ve heard it numerous times.

Grapes (1 cup) – 14.9 grams (they’re not added sugars, but they aren’t slow-burn carbs either)

source

Light Yoplait Yogurt – 14 grams

source

Fiber One Oats & Caramel Chewy Bar – 9 grams

source

Pumpkin Latte (tall, skim, with whip) – 38 grams (37 grams no whip)

source

Despite my pumpkin obsession, I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin lattes. I usually save up for my once (or twice) yearly peppermint mochas instead. Yum!

Did any of these treats surprise you? Do you have any more sugar shockers you can share?

***All sugar counts came from Livestrong.com or Starbuck’s website.

By the way, I have to give Lindsey at Cardio Pizza some link love for two reasons.

1. She has excellent info about self hosting in this post.
2. Yesterday, I did a great treadmill workout she posted. I almost skipped the gym, but when I realized my legs felt surprisingly refreshed in the morning, I wore them out with this workout.

Tomorrow’s post is a fun one, so be sure to check back for it!

Blogging About Blogging…

I have had something on my mind for a few weeks, and I finally decided to just come out and discuss it with than my wise and insightful readers. (I’m about to ask for your help and advice, so consider yourself buttered.)

1. I am thinking of changing the look and backbone of the blog. However, I am not looking to do many (if any) changes to content.
2. I would also like to drop the “Wordpress” from my URL. It’s not all that inconvenient, but I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
3. Lastly, I’d like to throw up some advertisements. I’ve been happy with readership and company samples, but as a competitive chick, I’m always looking to push to the next level.

So this is where you come in…

Cleo Gives Pleading “Puppy” Eyes

Have any of you bloggers had experience with self hosting, creating your own theme/header, or finding sponsors? Is it hard? Expensive? Time consuming? Restricting?

Any advice you can send me via tweet @LoveSweatBeers, email at lovesweatandbeers@yahoo.com, or as a comment to this post would be greatly appreciated.

In other blog news…

I won a giveaway! Woohoo! Janetha from Meals and Moves sent me the Izze package.

Izze Coupons, Hat, & Keychain

I have only tried their products once when I took a sip of my friend’s orange flavored Izze soda. Her soda had a little added something (starts with a “v” and rhymes with “odka”). It was good, but being the beer girl that I am, I decided a sip was enough.

I’m really looking forward to trying these. Many of us have memories of comfort food, but I have a very strong memory of a comfort beverage. I used to love getting grape sodas from mini golf (put-put) vending machines on hot summer days. Mom didn’t let me get them often (thanks Ma!), but they were a real treat. I wonder if Izze can take me down memory lane. (Crossing fingers!)

1. Do you have hints, tips, or suggestions for me? Even constructive criticism is welcome!
2. Have you tried Izze products? If so, what did you think?

PS: I tried a new brew last night, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Maybe that’ll be a good weekend post…

Burning calories… then eating them all up again

I rocked the gym yesterday. Seriously. I owned that place. After a short warm up, I completed my regular leg workout. I followed that with 30 minutes of stair-steppin’. Let’s just say that stair climber now knows who’s boss.

I’m happy with the way I’ve been packing on muscle lately, but I’m always careful not to over-do it with legs. That’s the only part of me that can bulk; though I must admit, even my legs don’t actually bulk all that much. Too many days of heavy lifting and too many days of bike (spin class aside) and/or stair climber can have a huge impact. For that reason, I’ll probably complete the same leg workout next week with 3 sets of 12 reps for each exercise. I may also skip the stair climber. Don’t worry; I’ll be back at it the following week!

***Here’s a little tidbit of info – those with pear shapes should shy away from stair climbers and stationary bikes. These machines build the muscles you want to slim. The machines give many people a great rear view, but if you want to minimize any pear-ness, I’d limit stair climbing and stationary biking (spin class aside) to less than once per two weeks. I also happen to think stair machines with actual turning steps are the best steppers for lower body shaping.

I proceeded to consume loads of protein throughout the day. For my 1366 calories (a wee bit low, but not too much considering weekend splurges), I had 77 grams of protein. Sweeeeet. Sadly, my sodium was a bit high, but that’s okay every once in a while. This dinner helped with my muscle recovery.

Okay, that wasn’t my real dinner. I made this tenderloin roast last night, and that’s the entire roast. My dinner was more like this.

Yeah, that’s a lunch plate, not a huge dinner plate. Can you believe that’s 3.5 oz of beef? No, a better question is, can you believe that’s a recommended “portion?” I know that 12-oz restaurant steaks are ridiculous, but I guess it takes a while to re-train your brain from those gargantuan servings.

To wrap up the post, I just haaaaaad to share some links I’m loving.

1. Regarding the small plates… I love this Small Plate Movement. I recommend it to everyone!
2. I enjoyed reading Runner’s World’s healthy approach to weight loss. No gimmicks here.
3. I also can’t wait to try a few of Martha Stewart’s eggplant recipes, like this one or this one.

Have you heard of the Small Plate Movement? Do you follow “recommended” portions?

Beer n’ Food: Spent Grains

The comments from yesterday’s preppy post were really interesting. I’m surprised by the number of students who prep their meals. When I was a student, I usually had time to make a sandwich at my apartment or visit the dining hall between classes. I wish I still had access to an all-day, every-day salad bar with pre-cut, pre-washed veggies that wouldn’t spoil in my fridge. (Ahhhh, the things we take for granted…)

Today’s post is a hybrid of sorts. It’s about food, and it’s about beer. What’s not to love?

I want to shed light on spent grain. Spent grain is the leftover goo in the mash-kettle after being separated from the wort. Wort goes on to make the really good stuff (beer).

After separation, the spent grains are a “mixture of barley grain husk, pericarp and fragments of endosperm. The chemical composition of [spent grain] is dependent on the barley variety, harvest time and mashing conditions.” If you want to know more, check out Hydrolysis of Brewers’ Spent Grain by Carbohydrate Degrading Enzymes, which is the source of that info.

 

As you know, I’m the queen of leftovers, and there are plenty of ways to reuse these babies.

• Cheers Beers posted tasty-looking, chewy grain bars that were made from spent grains. I’d love to try these!
• Many breweries give their spent grain to nearby farms since it qualifies as low-grade feed.

• Sweetwater Brewing in Atlanta sold some of theirs to a nearby Whole Foods. Whole Foods then used it to make and sell bread. This is kind of old news, but it’s still cool.

• Seven Bridges Coop lists even more ways (with recipes!) to use spent grain. They even list cookies! Maybe I should bake more often…

I usually prefer to talk about beer and food as it relates to cooking with beer or complimentary pairings, but I hope you enjoyed this unique blend of the two.

• Would you try cookies/bread/bars made with spent grains?
• If you plan on drinking a beer (or two) this weekend, which will you be enjoying?

Labor Day Link Love

I’ve had a busy Labor Day weekend so far, and luckily it’s still not quite finished.  On Friday, Kev and I joined another couple for dinner at a nearby sushi place.  It was super yummy.  Then on Friday, we tailgated and watched some football.  The highlight was obviously hanging out with friends, but this was pretty good too…

Hooters has awesome fries and a really awesome buffalo chicken sandwich.  I managed to avoid all the tailgate munchies, so I “deserved” this.  Okay… no one “deserves” a bunch of hydrogenated oils, but it was finger-lickin’ good.

On Sunday, we went to the lake in the afternoon and a neighbor’s place in the evening.  I have no pics, but you can be sure that it wouldn’t have been Labor Day Weekend without football, boating, and grilling burgers in the ‘hood.  There were also a few beers thrown in the mix, which is no surprise!

To end my labors today (well… not really… I have a bunch of chores) I will leave you with some link love to enjoy.

• A Healthy Slice shows us some great tailgate recipes.
• Good for You has her inspirational transformation story.
• Daily Garnish recently published a beautiful post I really recommend you read.
• FitSugar lists the calories burned in popular Labor Day activities.
• Martha Stewart’s Whole Living explains benefits to turmeric.

What was the best thing you did this weekend? Mine was not going to work today

Unexpected

I have to workout, shower, get my hair done, and clean the house a bit for company, so this will be a short post. If you ask me, that’s too much to accomplish before 1o’clock in the afternoon!

I’ll start off by sharing my unexpected Friday. Nothing went as planned, but everything went relatively well. I planned to do easy cardio in the morning. Instead, I showed that stair climber who was boss and got ridiculously sweaty.

that's my do-you-believe-this-amount-of-sweat face

I planned to go out with friends, but instead, I didn’t. It was nice -not worth doing often- but nice. I planned to review a new ale for you, but I went with Spanish table wine instead of beer. It was dry, delicious, and cheap (maybe $7).

I planned to cook an Amy’s for-one frozen pizza, but instead of the for-one size, I found the larger one in my freezer. I planned to only eat 2/3, but I ate it all instead. It was pretty good, and it went great with the wine.

little plate, little wine glass, but lots of pizza

I’m such a planner that this rarely happens. Are you a planner? Or are most of your days full of the unexpected?

Since today’s post was short, I’ve put together a few extra links of good stuff.

• Chic Meets Healthy: So many good things all in one post…
• A Healthy Passion: I’m soooo going to make these lentil sloppy joes soon!
• Cheaper Than Therapy: If you want a chuckle…
• Stone Brewing made a Green Tea IPA. It’s already out, but I still haven’t tried it! Grrr!

If you haven’t entered my delicious giveaway, go do it! Good luck!

Super Lazy Saturday

It’s Saturday, and I’m feeling lazy as ever.  It’s 7:45, and I’m still in my pajamas.  Luckily they’re my favorite pajamas, and I’m getting a little kitty lovin’ while blogging.  It was a rainy morning, and even though the rain stopped, I still can’t seem to get my butt to the gym. Yeah, I’ll get there, must maybe about 30 minutes later than anticipated.

I want to thank everyone for you open-minded comments on yesterday’s post.  The vegetarian/ vegan/ pescetarian/ whatevertarian debate hits close to home for a lot of us, and I’m happy you accept me for being a human garbage disposal.  Seriously – I eat (and generally enjoy) just about everything.

In case you too are having a lazy Saturday, here are some links to keep you busy… well, busy doing basically nothing, that is.

• Shanna openly discusses wine and coffee (or the lack there of) while pregnant – interesting read, including the comments.
• CNN states that more educated people spend more on booze.  This is not a shocker, but it’s kinda sorta interesting.
• Amy explains how awful gym shopping can be – I had a very similar experience finding my gym!
• Founder’s is to begin bottling their Canadian Breakfast Stout – the 4th most popular beer on Beer Advocate (I’m excited to try it!)
• I think I’m going to make Angela’s Whole-Grain Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf today (served with maple butter instead of the glaze).

Lastly, I wanted to share a book with you all.  I finished The Poacher’s Son yesterday.  It was a fast and very entertaining read.  I thoroughly recommend it.

Have a good weekend!

WIAW: Normal Edition

Guess what!!! I flailed around in the water swam for 15 continuous minutes yesterday morning! Woohoo! That’s a first for me. Here was the overall workout: I completed 10 minutes of lower body pilates before heading into the pool. I then swam 15 minutes, walked 1 minute, and swam 14 more minutes. It was an excellent start to the day!

Okay… moving on to the yum stuff….

I wish I had a cool theme for you guys this week, such as WIAW Dessert Edition, Vacation Edition, or even Pretty Picture Edition, but I don’t. Luckily, WIAWs are always fun as-is. Check out Peas & Crayons for other WIAW posts.

Breakfast has been broken into only 2 parts this week. Yeah… crazy. I’m having 1 of the 2 Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax Crunchy bars or a banana pre-workout. I thought the bars would be like Nature Valley bars, but they’re actually sooooo much better.

Once I get to the office, I’m having 1 scoop (80 calories) of all-natural vanilla whey protein cooked in 1/3 cup of oats. I top that with a shake of pumpkin pie spice and 3 diced almonds. The protein to oats ratio is a little off, so it comes out sort of like a rubber muffin top. It’s not particularly tasty, but it’s fun to eat and super filling.

Lunch is the awesomeness I described in yesterday’s recipe. It reheats very well.

So far, snack has been either a pink lady apple or a plum with 1 serving of 2% cottage cheese. Although it’s pretty good, I think I may change it out one or two days with a Larabar, yogurt, or something a little more sinful. Muah-ha-ha-ha! I hope I see a cookie in my future!

Ya think that was a gigantic blueberry at first?

Dinner Monday and Tuesday was vegerific. I made a bag of these veggies with a little extra broccoli slaw added to the mix while I cooked 1 serving of quinoa (divided between both nights).

I served baked general tsao’s tofu. Yum! Yes… I’m one of those oddballs who actually likes tofu, especially baked.

Tonight will be an Italian-style bake of eggplant, zucchini, chickpeas, red sauce, and Parmesan or feta. I’m pretty pumped!

Of course every night has at least 1 treat. Monday was half a green apple with a spoon of peeb, but Tuesday included loads of popcorn. Who knows was I’ll be craving later tonight!

What was the best thing you’ve eaten lately? Are you a fan of tofu?

What I Ate Wednesday: “Annie’ Knows Asian” Edition

It’s time again for 2 Wednesday things: inappropriate office jokes regarding the word hump and the always-popular, What I Ate Wednesday.  I’m excited to share my eats with you.  They aren’t pretty, but they are nutritious, filling, and delicious!

I’m back to my 3-part breakfasts.  I start with half a banana before my workout, and then I have an all-natural, vanilla, whey protein shake with water after the workout.

My real, sit-down breakfast includes more of my Love Grown Foods granola with all-natural, fat-free, plain yogurt.  I wish it were organic yogurt, but my grocery store doesn’t sell plain, organic, fat-free yogurt.  Bummer.

Lunch is the same Monday through Friday this week, and it’s awesome.  I’m having a whole wheat wrap with tuna, broccoli slaw, and 1 TBS of Annie Chun’s teriyaki.  Oh, and there’s also a side of peach.

Annie – thank you for making my lunch both yummy and HFCS-free.  What can I say?  Annie knows Asian!

Snack consists of cherries and 115 grams of 2% cottage cheese.  The fat and protein in the cheese keeps me satisfied for quite a while.  I’ve also been snacking when I get home from work.  Whoops!  I’ve kept it healthy, like the remaining half of the banana with 1 TBS peeb.

Earlier this week, Kev and I had natural chicken sausages two nights, and I’ll get to enjoy a sweet potato the next two nights.  Kev wanted birthday steak last night, so I got half a filet.  I told ya’ my eats weren’t pretty this week!

Did you expect to see birthday cake as a dessert?  Although I offered to make a little something, I knew Kev would decline.  He doesn’t eat sweets.  Crazy, right?  You know what that means… more ice cream for me!!!

• Do you plan your meals out for the week, or do you roll with whatever’s in the house?

By the way, thanks so much for the book ideas!  I think I need to add Hunger Games, other The Girl Who… books, and Poacher’s Son to my list (just to name a few).  There were a ton of good suggestions!

Guest Post @ Learning Patience

Hurray for Saturday! I’m actually out of town this weekend, but you can still read my jibberish over at Learning Patience. When Corey asked me to write a guest post, I gladly accepted.

It’s my first guest post, and it’s a brew review (yes, she said she was totally cool with that). I recommend you go check it out on her blog.

If that’s not quite enough for you, here’s a silly article about the 10 Most Unloved Foods in America. I have to admit, I really like some of them. The ones I actually enjoy are eggplant, blue cheese, okra, Brussels sprouts, Lima beans, hard boiled eggs, and occasionally beets and sardines. I’ve never actually eaten a whole sardine, but those things are pretty darn good in Ceasar dressing! 8/10 ain’t bad!