Happy & Healthy Link Party

Thank you for stopping by my first Happy & Healthy Link Party.  I'm hoping to do these about once/month so that we can inspire each other to be, you guessed it!, happy and healthy.

If you are here hoping to see some before and after projects or home decor ideas, don't worry.  With the kids starting school next week, I will have more time for projects and blogging.

I thought I would kick-off the party with a couple of recipes.  My doctor recommended that we try to eat at least 5 vegan meals per week, not a popular concept in my meat, seafood and potato loving family!  She also suggested we eat more quinoa.  Quinoa is a grain (really a seed) that is filled with protein and low in carbs.  It is so easy to prepare.  Just boil it with 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa for about 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is light and fluffy.  If you've cooked rice, you can cook quinoa...and it's so much healthier than rice.

Once your quinoa is cooked, you can eat it plain or add things to it.  It can be eaten either warm or cold.  Being a quinoa newbie, I was wary of just adding things willy-nilly, so I followed this recipe for Tomato Basil Quinoa from A Couple Cooks.

Source: acouplecooks.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

The recipe blends the familiar flavors of tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese.  I also added some sauteed mushrooms.  My husband and I loved the recipe.  My oldest daughter surprisingly liked it, but the younger two only tried a bite or two.  I served it warm for dinner and then ate the left-overs cold for lunch the next few days.  It was delicious either way.  I'm hooked and will be trying lots of new quinoa recipes in the near future!

While not vegetarian, another favorite healthy recipe is for Asian Lettuce Wraps from Our Best Bites.

Do you like to eat salads?  I like to eat them if somebody else prepares them, but I don't really like them if I have to make the salad myself.  Kind of weird, I know.  I came across this little cheat sheet from Food Your Way on how to build a good salad.  I know I will be referring to this to get out of my salad rut!

Source: food.yourway.net via Suzanne on Pinterest

OK...that's enough from me.  Now, I would love to hear from you.  Feel free to link up a post or make a comment on how you stay healthy, favorite healthy recipes, healthy tips, or any secrets of happiness you have discovered.   Thanks for playing!

Healthy and Happy and Link Party Announcement

It seems like I've been thinking a lot about my health lately.  This summer I've been feeling super-fatigued (that might explain the lack of projects lately).  I've been so tired that several times I've been afraid that I might fall asleep at the wheel in the middle of the day as I drive the girls around.  I've also gained a big amount of weight in a little amount of time.  I made an appointment with my doctor to get checked out.  I was kind of hoping something minor was wrong.  Nothing life-threatening, just something simple that could be fixed with popping a pill. 

Thankfully, all of the tests came back normal.  This led to my doctor (who I trust and highly respect) and I having a serious conversation about diet and lifestyle.  I'm at the point where I know I need to make changes to feel better.  She recommends eating at least 5 vegan meals per week and dramatically cutting back on sugars and gluten.  She recommended the books "The Blood Sugar Solution" by Mark Hyman and "Fast Track Detox" by Ann Louise Gittleman.   I've started both of the books and they are full of great information that I'm going to try to put into practice. 

 In order to keep myself accountable, share some healthy recipes, and so I can get great advice from all of YOU, I thought I would start a monthly link party called "Healthy and Happy."  The first party will be this Thursday.  I hope you will stop by and share some healthy tips with me!

In other health-related news....On Saturday, I had a BUSY day.  I started off the morning with a trail run with the dogs.  In the blazing 100 degree sun, we took a family hike.  I got to carry Mary for most of it.  Fun!!!

At least we got to see this cool lizard.  But then I started thinking about snakes and got freaked out.  I'm happy to report that no snakes were spotted.

To cap off the day, I played 2+ hours of tennis.  That night, I didn't feel so well.  I spent most of the night on the tile floor of the bathroom.  In the morning, I started mumbling nonsense about living in Cape Cod, fighting in World War II, and being killed by hitchhikers.  I couldn't keep down the tiniest ice chip or sip of water.  My husband decided it was time to take me to the hospital.

I got a few bags of IV fluid and antinausea medication and was sent home to recover.  Three days later and I'm FINALLY feeling better.  I was hoping some good might come from all of this misery.  Maybe I would at least lose a few pounds?  No such luck.  However, I did gain a true appreciation for my health. 

As women, we can be pretty critical of ourselves and especially our appearance.  I'm no stranger to complaining about being "too fat," "too lazy," "too short," etc.  Instead of focusing on these things, wouldn't it be wiser to focus on being grateful for what I have?  I am so thankful for my healthy body that has served me well for 37 years and hopefully for many more!

Thanks for making it through all of my rambling and I hope to see you back here on Thursday!

Feeling Great in Eight

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.


For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.


I hope you don't hate me for doing a sponsored post.  I promise I won't do a ton of these and when I do, I will include content that is interesting to me and I hope will be interesting to you.

Anyways,  I am participating in a challenge called "Feeling Great in Eight,"  which has nothing to do with yogurt or sponsorhip.  The point of the challenge is to live a healthier lifestyle and to feel better by doing so.  There are about 100 people participating and I am on a team with three of my friends.  Each person pays $5 to participate and there are prizes at the end.  Each week, I get points for doing healthy things, such as exercising, eating 5 fruits and/or vegetables, eating 10 healthy foods, drinking a certain amount of water, not eating after 8PM, etc.  I also get points taken away (LOTS of points in my case!) for eating "bad" foods. 

Each week we report our points to our team leader and all of the teams' scores are averaged.  It's fun and a good motivater to try to be healthier, especially since I am accountable to my team members.  I did this same challenge in the spring and lost 10 pounds.  More importantly, I really did feel "great."  I had so much more energy and felt happier.

Here's a pic of me running my last marathon with my baby running up to great me as I ran by.  I generally live a pretty healthy lifestyle.  I have always been a runner and have competed in marathons and half-marathons.  However, after I had my third child and approached my mid-thirties, I started to notice that as much as I exercised, I couldn't get back to my pre-baby weight.  I was also super-tired all of the time.  This is when I noticed that what I ate, particularly the large amounts of sugar I was consuming, had a HUGE impact on my body and how I felt.

Source: slide.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

As part of Feeling Great in Eight, we have to do different daily tasks to earn points.  One of the daily tasks was to try a new lowfat dairy item.  I decided to try Dannon Oikos yogurt.  I am squeamish about yogurt and very particular about texture and taste.  I like Greek yogurt because it is higher in protein than regular yogurt.  Protein keeps you full.  That means I'll be less likely to crave sugary snacks.  In fact, Dannon® Oikos® Plain and Fruit on the Bottom contains 0% fat, while the Dannon® Oikos® traditional blended varieties contains about 3% fat. Both are an excellent source of protein, twice that of most regular lowfat yogurts.

I really liked the taste and texture of Dannon Oikos.  And, because Dannon® Oikos® 0% varieties contain active yogurt cultures and range from 80 calories (Plain) to 130 calories (Fruit on the Bottom) per 5.3 oz. cup, it is a perfect lowfat and lowcal snack that I can eat as part of my Feeling Great in Eight diet.  I like to mix the yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal for breakfast and this kept me full all the way till lunch.

I encourage you to add Greek yogurt to your diet.  It is good for you and tastes great.  Eat this when you are craving something sweet and you won't have the sugar crash that comes from eating sugary snacks.
Also, if any of you are interested in participating in a Feeling Great in Eight challenge, I would be happy to email you the information.


I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.