Long Run, Donuts, Red Mango and Whole Foods Food Bar Fun

 

I know you spent your weekend wondering if I found time to make the donuts.

Oh…You bet I did. I actually squeezed in some baking time late Saturday afternoon before I went out for dinner. Sushi. Amazing. Sorry. No Pictures.

I really wasn’t in the mood to bake but I felt that the activity would keep me moving around a bit which is key after running 13.13 miles.

Let’s back up a bit to those miles:

I was up bright and early Saturday morning for my long run. I bundled up in my layers and I am loving this Nike vest that I scored on sale for $31. As you can tell, my eyes were half-opened when I started my day.

My plan after running those 13.13 miles (funny number to finish at, yes?) was to take a shower, put my pajamas back on, eat, and go back to bed.

Now, going back to bed is not something I normally do but I decided I needed and deserved a mental health morning.

I must say, rest is something special. I should do it more often. It doesn’t come naturally to me to lay around all morning but man, I could get used to it.

I did finally get myself up just in time for lunch.

Red Mango of course. And look what I got:

The owner gave me this discount key chain because I am a special customer. Actually, the only reason I received this special discount key chain is because I went calmly wild in the store after seeing the price of my parfait.

My pretty parfait cost me $11. Eleven Dollars. Insane? Insane.

They have once again raised the price per ounce and I felt the need to notify the staff of my displeasure.

Their peace-offering after listening to me plead my case was a discount key chain. I will take it.

Anyway, let’s discuss the donuts.

I came home later in the day really tired but didn’t want to sit down. Once I sit, that’s it. And, as I said, sitting only causes stiffness.

I can’t begin to tell you how fast and easy these donuts were to make.

And yes, that is a bite. I couldn’t wait.  I have little dessert patience.

I followed Amanda’s recipe exactly (only using skim milk instead of almond. Have I mentioned I am allergic to almonds? Yeah, slightly. And sometimes not so slightly. Just like the walnuts).

This is the beginning of the most beautiful of relationships. My donut pan and me.

I have already gone pin crazy on pinterest in my quest to review some additional donut recipes to develop ideas on what to make next.

Go ahead, click the pretty picture and follow me. I even created a board dedicated to donuts.

You would think making donuts or receiving a special Red Mango discount key chain is the most exciting thing in my life at the moment.

It isn’t:

Stonyfield Organic Greek Yogurt is ON SALE. Have you ever tried their greek yogurt? In my opinion, it is absolutely the best tasting, but the MOST EXPENSIVE.

I don’t buy it often, as in I don’t buy it unless it is on sale, which is basically never. It normally costs a dollar more per container than Chobani or Fage and as much as I love it, I can’t justify spending so much more. All of those dollars add up.

I would rather save those dollars for the Whole Foods Food Bar:

When I saw the roasted vegetable variety yesterday when I met my friend at Whole Foods for lunch, I didn’t know what to do first. It took great restraint to not sample my way through the food bar. OK, I admit to sampling the roasted cauliflower. A few times.

But come on, how could you not?

If someone had told me when I was a teenager that eating a box of roasted broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, squash, eggplant and mushrooms topped with beets and tofu would excite me one day, I never would have believed it.

So here we are at Monday. I have a bit of a busy week ahead, especially today with the little boy off from school. Routine doctor appointments, a playdate and weekly sports class.

And of course, a chilly morning run before all of the fun begins.

Have a happy Monday!

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Do you find that your frozen yogurt creations are costing you more and more these days?

Which greek yogurt is your favorite? Do you choose which brand you buy based upon the price?

What do you go for at the Whole Foods Food Bar?

 

 

 

Three Tip Tuesday- Saving Money on Your Workout Apparel

Remember the picture yesterday when I looked like I was about to rob a bank or a bakery? I wonder how often bakeries are robbed of their cakes and cookies. I don’t hear about it too often on the news. Actually, I have never heard about a robber holding up a bakery. Maybe  bad guys don’t have a sweet tooth.

Anyway, besides showcasing the Lulu neckwarmer, the top I am wearing in this picture is my absolute cold weather running favorite.

It is the Lulu Lemon Run Swiftly Tech long sleeve top. And I love every inch of it.

Super soft, lightweight yet warm, sweat wicking, stays in place and washes well without shrinking, losing shape or losing its soft feel.

I would mention the thumb holes but let’s be real- all athletic shirts are now sporting the thumb holes – nothing unique here.

I hate to so highly recommend something when even in my opinion, it is a bit pricey. At regular price it is $68 and considering how often I run, not even I can keep up with doing laundry every single day in order to own only one of these tops.

But I have tried other long sleeve tech type tops in order to save some money and they are JUST NOT THE SAME.

If you know you are going to wear something often and you realize the difference between the item you love and the cheaper versions, there are ways to make this work for your budget.

1. STAY ON TOP OF THE SALES

The first word my mother ever taught me to read was SALE. I remember her pointing out the sale signs in the stores and spelling S-A-L-E. While I don’t really love bargain hunting, it is so totally worth it. Especially when you can score a great savings on your favorite workout gear.

I frequently check out Lulu’s “We Made Too Much” section of the website to see what items they have placed on sale. They also have a variety of sale items in the store as well. Make sure you go through all of the Lulu Lemon racks and shelves; the sale items used to be a specific section and now they have mixed all the sale priced items in with the regular priced items.

I was able to get another Run Swiftly top over the weekend for $54 instead of $68.

**Worth mentioning – The tops I buy from Lulu are sized up from my normal size. I find their tops run small and I like to have some wiggle room. This is quite important if you are going to order online without trying on first. Please note that all sale items from Lulu Lemon are FINAL. My advice – try it on in the store first to know you like it and know your size.

I have also learned to check the clearance racks at other athletic stores, most recently at S.A. Elite (which is the higher end of Sports Authority).

Not only did they have a huge selection of reduced priced Nike, Asics and Brooks running apparel, everything was an additional 25% off.

Among the items I ended up purchasing was this Nike Therma-Fit vest. I had been eyeing a regular priced Brooks running vest but it retails for $110.

You do the math. I saved an additional 25% off of the lowest price of $39.97. Is this even a purchase you have to contemplate?

I already wore it and it kept me quite warm. Is it as warm as the Brooks vest? Not sure but to pay around $31 for a Nike winter running vest I certainly won’t be upset if in the frigid temps I opt to get the Brooks one too.

2. SACRIFICE COLOR IN FAVOR OF PRICE:

Would yellow have been my first choice in the Lulu top? No. I naturally gravitate towards the pink, purple, black, gray….anything before yellow. But, the truth is, who cares what color it is? It is worn to keep you warm, dry and comfortable while you run.

Running and working out need not be a fashion show. I am all for looking cute but when it comes to saving a bit on workout clothes, the color I end up with is of little importance.

Most brands put their colored apparel and gear on sale before the basic white, black and gray.

I guarantee that if you stop caring what color you wear, you will notice a lot more deals on the items you love.

3. LOYALTY PROGRAMS:

Are you familiar with Road Runner Sports?

They have a VIP program and are running a Web-only special: For $1.99 right now, you will receive the following benefits:

• Best Price Guarantee
• Test Run- 3-month exchange window if you decide you don’t like a pair of shoes
• Save 10% on everything
• Free shipping
• Additional sales and discounts

Other stores/sites/brands with loyalty programs that can be used online or in store:

ELITE – The S. A. Elite Loyalty program offers you a point for every dollar you spend at both Sports Authority and Elite. In addition to receiving rewards throughout the program, you receive an initial $5 reward just for signing up.

The GAP family of brands – Gap Fit often runs serious sales just like the rest of the store. If you shop Gap.com, you are often treated to serious sales and frees shipping. The best part is that the sales and deals usually carry over to the other brands on the site – Banana Republic, Athleta, Old Navy and Piperlime.

Bonus – if you have a store credit card, you can save even more depending upon the day and deal at the time.

The bottom line is, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your favorite apparel if you do a little work to find yourself the right deal.

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Do you shop around to get the best price on your workout apparel?

Do you swear by any one brand?

Which tops/pants/shorts are your favorite?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Apple Battle is Won

We are back in business.

It is quite evident that Fairway noticed my complete boycott of their market and finally caved in.

I am sure that sales had dipped; especially in the area of Granny Smith apples.

And it appears that Fairway is so concerned that I won’t return that they have also placed Ezekiel bread on sale this week in order to sweeten the deal.

I may not win the battle this summer with the ice cream man and his song singing truck, but I won this battle. And this is a MUCH bigger market win.

Speaking of the ice cream man, the boy informed me that my container of Breyer’s Cookies and Cream ice cream is no match for the Mr. Softee Truck, no matter what topping I offer to include.

I am just realizing that we never discussed my return to Spin Tuesday. Please forgive me . I have been a little preoccupied with my chocolate dipped fruit consumption.

No, spin was not held outside. Would you believe that as I got in the line to wait to enter the class, the fire alarms started blaring?

Oh yes. Building evacuated.

I still don’t even know why it happened. All I know is that we were outside for over half an hour.

Eventually we were allowed back inside but it took another 20 something minutes for the music to work (along with the air conditioning).

Would you believe me if I said the alarms sounded again 10 minutes into the class? Oh yes.

At that point I gave up on spin. Even though they told us we didn’t need to evacuate, the music was off once again in the spin room so I just elected to finish my mish moshed of a workout on the elliptical machine.

There is always next Tuesday. There is a spin class I like this morning but I ran a crazy amount in the last several days (30 miles I believe in 5 days) therefore I am going to do an easy elliptical workout/strength train at Lifetime instead.

I am still loving this  eCard. It is so me. Of course I plan on getting up tomorrow for my long run. Another reason I intend to not overdo it today.

There is a crazy amount of rain expected today into tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Andrea. I sure hope it stops early enough tomorrow to not ruin the day (or my long run).

This week felt rather endless, didn’t it?

What are your plans for the weekend? In the summer months, I try not to over plan my weekends and base everything around the weather. I am hopeful for the sunshine and relaxing with my friends by the pool.

Have a great weekend!