Weekend Links: Mayday!

Another hectic week behind us!  Phew!  Here's hoping you get some breathing room and time for yourself this weekend.  If you do, here are some goodies I've managed to squeeze in over the past week.

For you:
My (totally unglamorous) photo this week is of my homemade turnip chips - big, surprising YUM! And easy!  Mine were made based on Heidi Swanson's recipe from Super Natural Every Day , which is pretty similar to this one, except with paprika sprinkled on after baking.  I was also pretty pleased at how well my cheap-o Kohl's mandoline performed!

I read these 26 Reasons Kids Are Pretty Much Just Tiny Drunk Adults one evening after Moose and I had a "disagreement".  The laughing helped me get over myself and be the mommy.

Not only am I scrambling to tone a bit and drop a little before the big black tie dinner next Saturday, I'm also floundering on what to wear.  I haven't been to a formal event (other than a wedding) since college (longer ago than I care to admit).  I needed some "special" make-up and didn't have time to get to the store sans kids so I took the plunge this week and tried out the Talk to an Artist feature at the Bobbi Brown website.  I was really pleased at the conversation and the color recommendations (including application tips).  I guess the true test will be how I look next Saturday . . .

For the kids:
I've been drooling over Alphabet Glue for probably a year now.  It's a gorgeous e-magazine of activities for book-loving families.  I'm just waiting for Moose to get a little bit older and stiller.  However, with the 25% off sale now through May 15, I just might go ahead and cave . . .

I think I mentioned last week that Mouse was starting to try some table food (thanks to some gentle suggestions from a baby-led-weaning-minded friend).  This is new ground to me, as I had to practically bribe Moose to make the switch from baby food to table food when he was about a year old.  These tips from Kim Corrigan-Oliver the Wean Green blog came along at the perfect time!

I loved this resource-rich post on yoga and kids from Modern Parents Messy Kids!  Moose is stuck in a yoga rut: we do his favorite bug yoga almost daily, but I really think, at 3.5 years, he's ready for (and could benefit from) more.  I'm really looking forward to trying some of the Cosmic Kids sequences with him this week.

Did you find any diamonds in the rough-of-life this week?  Do share!!

Fitness Friday: Senior Edition

Photo Credit

Other than my recent mention that I've been busy moving offices, I don't talk much (at all) about my day job in this space. But when I'm wearing my lawyer hat, I specialize in legal issues for seniors.  Which means that my web, magazine, and book reading on a given day really runs life's gamut - from the baby and kid tips and activities I stash away to use at home with my kids, to helpful advice for my elderly clients (and, more particularly, their families) to make life easier.

One of the senior living communities I work with on occasion published a great list of senior fitness tips last year that I've been passing on to some of my clients, and it inspired me to devote a Fitness Friday to those folks in our lives who are, perhaps, less mobile or more limited in the ways they can move, but still want and deserve to maintain their health.  So before you close your browser window, pause and think of someone you know who can no longer jog down the street or throw around dumbbells like they used to.  Now read on - maybe you'll find something you can pass along and give the gift of health to a senior in your life.

1. Water, water everywhere! Without exception, the gerontologists and physical therapists I meet with in the course of helping my clients agree: water exercise is one of the best, safest ways to retain a basic fitness level and stave off some age-related illnesses.  It is no-impact, and joint-friendly.  Many fitness facilities, YMCAs, and even community senior centers now offer organized water exercise classes.  And while I can't deliver a pool to your inbox, these activity descriptions are a good place to start if you can find a pool for your senior loved one.

2. Chair cardio - sit down and sweat! Although a lot of the fitness emphasis for the aging population is geared toward prevention of osteoporosis in women through strength training, cardiovascular health remains vitally important to both genders as they age.



BONUS for you: chair cardio is a great option for people of all ages as well when recovering from an injury or surgery.

3. Yoga - because you're never too old to get your OM on!  Yoga is great for its multiple benefits: some resistance training can be involved, along with stretching, relaxation, and even raising the heart rate.  Most of the seniors I work with are wheelchair bound, so even gentle traditional yoga on a mat won't work for them. This chair yoga is like a lot of the yoga I'm seeing taught in senior communities and at adult day care centers.



I'd love to hear how you help the seniors in your life stay active! Please share with me in the comments below!

Weekend Links - In Transition

Image credit: Antony

Note: if you read this post prior to June 3, 2013, you may have noticed a different image above.  I cam across the prior image of a cool Warrior III on a friend's Facebook page and used it here.  I have since learned that it was not credited correctly there, and after several attempts to credit it correctly here, decided the safer road was to return to using either my own images or ones I know are ok to use in this setting.  Apologies to any who were offended.

I'll admit that I haven't had much time for leisure in the past few weeks.  I am getting ready to move my law practice over the weekend to become truly independent after four years of semi-independence (yay!) and, needless to say, putting those plans in motion, plus the usual keeping up with the kids, has taken the vast majority of my energy!

But here are a few goodies I have managed to enjoy!

For You:
- If you happen to be in/near the ATL and need a bite to eat, check out this local Spring Dining Guide (one of the contributors is a friend of mine and I've yet to disagree with anything she said was try-worthy!).

- I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a fan of the Duchess of Cambridge a.k.a Kate Middleton.  These shoes at Target are a great CopyKate of the wedges she wore during the London Olympics.  I'm debating between the tan and black.

- Discovered a new-to-me YouTube trainer, Amanda Russell and have been enjoying her very effecient circuit-style workouts!

- This quick, easy, and non-toxic microwave clean really WORKED on a mess Daddy M made warming some soup without a cover!

- A delightfully fun, refreshingly honest adventure in cooking!

For the Kiddos:
- Moose has begun the "tell me a story" phase, and I'm loving it!  My sister discovered and ordered these Story Cubes for him - I can't wait for them to arrive!

- Fifty amazing tree house ideas!?  Yes, please!

- This Truffle Parmesan Mac & Cheese was supposed to be my quickie lunch the other day but ended up being Mouse's first table food.  I strongly suspect I've ruined her and the regular boxed stuff is out of the question now!

Happy Weekend to you!

Fitness Friday: My Favorite Myth

In the quest to drop a few pounds before an (eek!) black tie event in a couple weeks I've been revisiting one of my favorite fitness "myths" in my own training: if I am doing weight training and cardiovascular training in the same day, I do the weight training first.

But does it work?

The Google search for "cardio or weights first lose weight" yields over 3 million hits!

The cardio-first camp claims that burning sugar first is the better approach if you are trying to get lean.  On the weights-first side, the argument runs that your body won't burn fat during weight-training (because your heart rate doesn't get high enough) so that if you burn through the sugar first with your resistance training, the only fuel left during cardio will be your (presumably) unwanted fat.

I experimented with this in my pre-lawyer, pre-kid days (i.e., when I had more time to work out than I knew what to do with).  I found that, for me, it seems effective when I'm trying to lose weight to do my scheduled weight training first, even where the cardio is a relatively short add-on.

I'm absolutely not an expert on the subject, but here are some of my thoughts on why (other than the what-fuel-are-you-burning discussions in the above articles, which I will leave in the capable hands of trainers and doctors):

1. Doing resistance training first helps me warm up - both physically and mentally - so that I'm primed and ready when it comes time to kick it up with some cardio.  (This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm a morning exerciser.)
2. Doing cardio first exhausts me and I don't feel like I perform my weight training with the mindfulness and precision it deserves.  I am not a heavy-lifting gal, but if I were, I think there would be a safety issue here in addition to the effectiveness issue.

The bottom line: I truly can't tell you what the answer is, but for me, weights first helps me lean out.

One thing I think we can all agree on: Just doing it is better than loafing on your couch!

So I want to do an experiment!  Below is a great, 12-ish minute cardio segment from the Blogilates YouTube page.  If you have the time and inclination, and if you're trying to lean out, tack it on before or after your resistance training (be that weights or Pilates) over the next few weeks and let me know if it works for you. 



Image Credit

{Wednesday} Links: CSA Special

Photo of Tucker Farms Lettuce at the Marietta Square Farmers' Market

{Oops, I meant this Weekend Links post to go up on Sunday morning, but I must not have used the scheduler correctly! So enjoy a little Wednesday Links this week!}

Last year, we joined a CSA for the first time and did as best we could to embrace the challenge of more spontaneous seasonal meal planning.  I intended to do a CSA wrap-up post of favorite recipes we discovered at the end of the season, but that ended up falling about the same time as Mouse's arrival, and I never got around to it. 

In a way, I think this turns out better, since I am able to share some of my favorite CSA recipes as we gear up for another great season.

Radishes

We had a lot of radishes last year.  A lot!  As in, every week.  Unlike my dad, I don't care much (or at all) for raw radishes, but as it turned out, these quick pickled ones are great (on a salad, a sandwich, etc.)!

Leeks

We also had a lot of leeks and while I ultimately started using them in lieu of onions in other recipes, these recipes for braised leeks with lentils and quiche stood out.  The hands-down best were these braised leeks and apples!  We put them over a grilled flank steak and it was out of this world!

Zucchini
I love zucchini simply steamed or cut thick, brushed with olive oil and grilled, so there were really no challenges using these lovelies.  In addition, we had made lots of zucchini muffins (most of which never made it to the freezer).  I also enjoyed these zucchini "noodles" in Thai peanut sauce (although mine were mushy since I used a box grater; this year I'm armed and ready with a mandoline).  This cheesy zucchini rice was also a huge hit (we substituted brown rice).

Summer Squash
Our family loved this summer squash mushroom casserole in addition to wonderful steamed squash and raw squash rounds dipped in ranch as an afternoon snack.

Lettuce
It was great to get outside the lettuce "box" with some different varieties.  Over the summer, I found this great article on preserving lettuce that virtually eliminated waste from spoilage.

Choi
Early in the season, we had an abundance of joi choi and I discovered this great choi slaw recipe (because one can only have so much stir fry).

Tomatoes
We love tomatoes like we love zucchini, so other than sheer volume, we did not have any problems coming up with ways to enjoy the tomatoes (from heirloom cherry ones, to lovely beefsteak ones).  My one attempt at tomato sauce was somewhat uninspired, so I'll need to work on that again this year.  But my very always definitely favorite tomatoes are Heidi's oven roasted tomatoes (you can use cherry/grape or chopped larger tomatoes - any variety). 

What recipes are you looking forward to making with your CSA basket this spring?