Friday Favorites from Pittsburgh

I was visiting friends in Pittsburgh last weekend so I thought I would share some of my favorites!

Favorite Workout
Running the hilly streets of Pittsburgh

Another pic from the run

Favorite Wine
Gnarly Head
Who knows where I can find it in Chicago??

Favorite Dinner
Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh
I've never been to one so I was excited! (I still need to check out Chicago's)
I had the Hefeweizen, pretzels with beer cheese, and potato pancakes with applesauce.

What were your favorites this week?

How to make a healthy lifestyle routine

Americans are obsessed with diets and quick ways to lose weight or shortcuts to being skinny. But the truth is, there is no quick and easy way to become healthy or fit and it takes dedication and an overall change in lifestyle. Our society doesn’t make it easy to be healthy because of the prevalence of processed and fast foods and our sedentary jobs. It can be quite hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle especially when it’s against the grain. A healthy lifestyle has to become a habit for it to be sustainable. Our bodies and minds work best with routine (source: The Power of Habit), here are some tips to make healthy living a routine:

Find your cues. Figure out what unhealthy habits you have and what triggers them. For example, if you have a cookie or soda every afternoon, examine what makes you want to eat that snack. Is it because you are tired and need an energy kick or simply bored?

Replace bad habits. After you figure out what your habits are and what triggers them, find new things to replace your habits. If you need an energy kick in the afternoon, have an apple or some tea. If you’re bored, go for a walk or talk to co-workers. You will still reward your cravings, but with healthier options.

Form new healthy habits. People always say that early morning runners are crazy, but really, they’ve just made it a habit. Waking up and seeing running clothes set out next to the bed is the trigger for the good habit. Eating a green smoothie for breakfast or bringing lunch to work can become a habit.

Make healthy easy. Once you form healthy habits, make them the easier option in your daily life. If you have an apple at your desk, you are more likely to eat it than go to the vending machine for a candy bar. If you keep your fridge stocked with (healthy) food, you are more likely to eat it for dinner than pick up fast food on the way home.

Move more. You don’t have to rigorously workout for an hour each day to be healthy. Taking walks, standing at your desk, or even this 7-minute workout, are enough. Fitness trackers and apps or simply reminders on your computer/phone can help you remember to move all day long.

Share your healthy habits in the comments below!

*This post is sponsored by GigaSavvy. Visit the Molina Healthcare to learn more tips for staying healthy. Also connect with Molina on Facebook and Twitter.

LUNAFEST Chicago on Feb. 27

This Thursday, Feb. 27th,  a few bloggers are attending the Chicago premiere of LUNAFEST, a festival of nine inspiring short films (view trailer) by, for, and about women. This year's Chicago premiere benefits the Step Up Women's Network (85%) and the Breast Cancer Fund (15%). LUNA Bar (made by Clif Bar) supports an active and healthy lifestyle and I'm excited to promote this event. It's 6-9 pm at the Museum of Broadcast Communications on 360 N. State St., Chicago (actual showtime is at 7:30 pm). You must purchase tickets in advance and use code LUNA5 to get $5 off! Click here to purchase tickets, I hope you can make it!

*This post is not sponsored but I did receive information and free tickets for the event from Clif Bar.

Friday Favorites - Winter Olympics!

I love watching both the summer and winter olympics and I think one of the reasons is because the women get as much coverage as the men. I also like watching the more "artistic" sports like gymnastics and figure skating. So here are my favorites so far from the Olympics and no surprise that there are many women and lots of figure skaters!

Biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina so far wins the only gold for my home country of Slovakia

Ashley Wagner is not impressed by her score, classic meme face

Carolina Kostner of Italy has an angelic short skate program and wins the
bronze overall. She was definitely my favorite women's skater this olympics.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White bring home the only USA gold medal in skating, I love the Jasmine/Aladdin theme!

  

Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are by far the best announcers with
their matching outfits and bad-ass style

Um, how does she get her leg up there?
Russia's 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya shows the world what she's got

Slovenia's Tina Maze wins 2 gold medals in skiing, she's also a pop start!

I love Japan's Mao Asada's peacock outfit and he incredible free skate performance.
I wish more sports included awesome sparkly outfits!

And can't wait to cheer on USA hockey against Canada today!

What have been your favorites from Sochi?

Carbon footprint of meat

I don't usually promote the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) because I am pro-nuclear energy but they posted an interesting fact sheet on the carbon footprint of our favorite foods. This research is actually from an article in Scientific American that shows that diet can be more important than cars in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and thus combating global warming.


The carbon footprint of food includes all of the fossil fuels that that went into producing the fertilizer, pumping irrigation water for the crop to grow, emissions from converting forest land to grazing land, transportation of feed and packaged products to consumers, and even methane released from the animals’ digestion and manure. Therefore, meat has a high carbon footprint because you have to grow the crops to feeds the animals and then also have land for the animals, and all of the transportation in between.

The NRDC estimates that if all Americans eliminated just one quarter-pound serving of beef per week, the reduction in global warming gas emissions would be equivalent to taking four to six million cars off the road. The single-most green/sustainable thing that you can do as an individual is simply eat less meat. You will reduce greenhouse gas emissions more so than you would than taking public transit or driving a hybrid car. And you don't even have to be close to vegan or mostly plant-based, like me. Try doing Meatless Mondays or reducing your portion size of meat and adding vegetables. Your health will benefit, as well.

Would knowing the carbon footprint of your food impact your eating habits?

How do you try to be more sustainable in your daily life?