It’s been a glorious morning here in Boston. After my day off, my to do’s done, and an early bedtime last night, I woke up feeling refreshed and renewed. 
It’s amazing what a single day off can do for one’s mind, body, and soul. Mr. Mal, on the other hand, is staying home sick today with a horrible cold. 
Hopefully, a day off will do him some good, too!
Yoga Challenge: Day 12
As part of my glorious morning, I tried a DVD that I borrowed from Harvard’s Center for Wellness, called Essential Flow Yoga For Every Body, for my yoga practice today. The DVD offers five different routines, appropriate for beginner, intermediate and advanced yogies. Today, I tried the 20-minute “Good Morning” session, which utilized a chair for the poses. I thought the chair was a little weird, but I decided to give it a chance. After about 6-7 minutes, I gave up on the chair and turned off the DVD.
In my opinion, the picture on the cover of this yoga DVD was very misleading. First, the picture is a healthy female instructor, but the session was instructed by a skinny, lanky guy. Second, the cover picture is taken on a beautiful beach, so I thought this DVD would be filmed on a tranquil beach somewhere in the world. But, it’s actually filmed in a small, dark, empty room… with a chair. Eh, I wasn’t a fan of this DVD. 
Instead, I did a 20-minute Power Yoga #2 session from YogaDownload, which was much better! The session started off slow with breathing exercises and child’s pose, and then moved into more physical poses, which was perfect for an early morning practice. My balance first thing in the morning definitely needs some work though!
Breakfast
Stovetop oats are the BEST! I still can’t believe I went so long without them!!!
With the help of canned pumpkin and hemp milk, today’s oats were light and fluffy, slightly sweet and de-lic-ious!
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In the mix:
- 1/3 cup dry oats
- 1/4 cup wheat berries
- 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup vanilla hemp milk
- 1/2 tbsp hemp protein
- Raisins
- 2 spoonfuls of Teddie super chunky peanut butter
Free Workout Music
I saw this in Fitness Magazine the other day and just had to share!
At MotionTraxx.com you can get great workout mixes without paying a penny. It’s totally legit because founder Deekron, aka the Fitness DJ, is the owner of music label RockitWave8 and has made arrangements with indie artists and other labels. The 60-minute podcasts of mostly 140-to-180-beats per minute songs (ideal for running) play in one continuous loop and are refreshed every two weeks, so you’ll never get bored.
I downloaded the ”"Fitness Magazine Half-Marathon Mix” (68 minutes @ 168 BPM) and ”Downtown Soul” (55 minutes @ 150 BPM) mixes– I haven’t listened to them all the way through yet, but I like what I’ve heard so far… especially for free! They’re the perfect length for long runs, too! (Hello, half marathon training!)
Quaker All Natural Gift Bag Giveaway
Reminder: The All Natural Gift Bag Giveaway ends tonight! Be sure to enter!
Question of the Day
What is your secret snack of shame?
I will eat Barney Butter straight from the jar with a spoon!
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Salsa straight from the jar. Or, if no one is looking, sometimes I’ll lick the plate!
Mmmm – I’m enjoying a big bowl of stovetop pumpkin oats as I catch up on blog reading! I love the black flecks in your oatmeal – is that from the hemp protein? It almost looks like vanilla bean seeds
Kashi Go Lean Crunch (or as I like to call: Kashi GoLean Crack!) right out of the box. LOVE the crunch!
Sorry about the DVD
But hooray for a scrumptious breakfast!!
REAL (as in the non-natural) peanut butter cannot be in our house. I will eat a spoonful out of the jar.
Kashi go lean crunch with organic vanilla yogurt. I will eat it until it’s gone. They’re both so expensive I had to tell myself that if I have more than one serving in a sitting than I can’t have them anymore.
BB right out of the jar would probably be mine too =) Or chocolate!!!
Chocolate. I keep little chocolate candies and chocolate bars in the house that I am ALWAYS munching on. I have chocolate after every meal, and sometimes snack!!
Haha I love everyone with the Kashi Crunch. But that’s not shameful to me. This is a really good Q. Um, I’d have to say, if it’s too shameful I try to keep it out of the house. Like Wheat Thins toasted chip cracker things. I will eat that whole bag. But if it’s something I regularly keep in the house, I’d say eating spoons of ice cream straight from the carton, or Sabra hummus with my finger! Bahaha. Sanitary, right?
Snack of Shame: Dark Chocolate Dreams PB eaten straight from the jar with a tiny spoon… you know, so the calories dont count.
FYI on the music mixes: there is a free podcast on itunes called podrunner which has dozens of hour long techno-ish music mixes that are all categorized according to exact BPM. So there are some slower ones too good for beginners. I’m not a techno person but I really like them occasionally.
Definitely those mini chocolate bars. They’re kind of gross, but I LOVE them. We have a huge bowl full at work. Dangerous.
@Lauren: Yep, it’s hemp protein!
I’m a big fan of spoonfuls of pb, I’ve cut that out for the most part but sometimes I find myself craving it.
Yummy oatmeal!
Chocolate for sure! In just about any form : )
I lick my plate!
(First I typed “I eat my plate,” I think that would have just signaled serious issues.)
Not so secret but my snack of shame is PB crackers – 100% worth all of the bad ingredients in them!
sorry the dvd wasn’t good! I hate when that happens!
secret snack? Usually anything chocolate
little handfuls of m&ms disappear pretty quickly 
I do the same thing with the Barney Butter! I recently started eating it with a plastic knife instead so I don’t get in AS much in one bite!
Thanks for the workout mix link, can’t wait to try it out!
Thanks for the music tip! I like running to techno because the transitions make time go faster (to me) and I’m an old party kid…
Snack of shame? Black bean salsa out of the jar or little sneaks of ice cream…
So glad you’re feeling refreshed today! A day off like that is always a good thing
Snack of shame… humm… I can be known to eat handles of wheat thins and hummus while standing over the kitchen sink.
Gummi Bears, I hoard them by the fistful!
the MOST shameful would be frozen coolwhip, straight from the container.
SO delicious, despite the fact that it is a container of chemicals!
Tina, I also wanted to say ‘Hi!’ and introduce myself. Your blog was the very first one I started reading regarding healthy lifestyles. I loved it and could not wait to start my own blog!
keep up the great work
mmm I love raisins in the oats! Thanks for the tip on that music site, I am always looking for new music to work out to. I get so bored if I dont update my playlist frequently.
@AJ: Yay! Very cool! Great start to your new blog!
I’m with you on PB straight from the jar… my bf gives me looks of disgust and shakes his head. I’ve also been known to mix it with his Nutella when he’s not around
Tina, I haven’t looked at the download site yet but are the song remixes pop/hip-hop songs. I can’t run to music that is just beats or songs I don’t know.
Okay before I post this, please do not judge me! lol…
Step one: buy really good strawberry icecream (like breyers or haagen dazs)
Step two: Buy Wise Honey BBQ chips
Step three: Melt the icecream until it is creamy but not milky
Step four: Crush the chips and pour it in the icecream and mix it around
Step five: lose your inabitions and give it a try =)
That’s too bad about the yoga DVD-i would assumed what you did seeing a cover like that.
Again, i just stuck with Lunar Flow last night, but plan on doing my PM Yoga DVD tonight after i get home from training.
Mine is definitely Barney Butter straight from the jar! And even worse, once I get started, I just can’t leave it alone, I keep going back!
Thanks for the music link! I will download it tonight! Snack of shame? Hmm maybe what I made last night? Cookie Dough with bananas, hot fudge and whipped cream!!!
tina– try cooking your raisins in with the oatmeal!! they soak up the water and get soooo plump and chewy! mmm.
Cinnamon Life straight outta the box! or maybe homemade brownies?
oats look good. I am also following the fitness half plan! Did you see that Shape is offering a free 40 minute running workout download with Serena Williams as the coach? I just downloaded, but haven’t tried it yet. http://www.shape.com/workouts/articles/Get_Fit_with_Serena_Williams_Workout.html
PB from the jar, and chocolate chips out of the bags!!
I love raisins in oatmeal! Definitely eating Nutella and PB by the spoonful from the jar! And randomly going straight to the cabinet for a handful of cereal, haha..
secret snack? Maybe chocolate covered almonds? I have a container of cocoa dusted chocolate covered almonds, and 2 or 3 end up jumping into my hand a few times a week. at least I can stop there! (which I will admit, sometimes happens only because I hide the container on myself hahah)
Barney Butter is my favorite on rye toast with grape jelly. YUM YUM YUM! And the fiance now loves it too- chunky only please!
My snack of shame – spoonfull of PB and jelly on the same spoon(from different jars). Oink oink.
Sorry about the stinky DVD! It’s terrible how misleading it was!
NUTELLA! On just about anything or straight up…haha.
Thanks for the music tip!
Wholefoods original Hummus. Straight up outta the container. Wash hands. Extend right hand index finger. Dip into hummus. Put into mouth. Repeat until ENTIRE container is clean as a whistle.
Not my proudest moment, but it makes me happier than a baby
Peanut butter out of the jar! My boyfriend does it even more than me me so we will sit there and just go at the jar with 2 spoons. He’s definitely my soulmate! My other bfs judged me for it!
My shameful snack is way worse than all y’alls! Hello…Doritos.
I can’t even have them in my house or even live close to a store that sells them. I have no control. None.
ya’lls secret snacks make me feel bad! haha mine’s definately the turtle chocolate chex mix or raw cookie dough!
i hate when workout dvds have misleading covers like that! it’s a good thing i borrow them from the library so it’s no big loss when the instructor turns out to be creepy. i don’t like yoga dvds that are set outdoors though (like the beach, or on a cliff somewhere in new mexico) it’s too distracting for me and i find myself thinking jealous “must be nice” thoughts. haha
Ditto on the BB… and I have the same problem with eating trail mix straight out of the bag. If I separate the bag into little baggies right away, I’m pretty good… otherwise forget about it!
Sorry your first try with the dvd didn’t go well. Good thing you had a good backup
Thanks for the music link! I desperately need to update my workout mixes.
Secret snack of shame? Hm. Even though I never keep candy in the house, I LOVE it. Black licorice, swedish fish, jelly beans, sour patch kids, — basically, gummy, fruity candy. Yum!
There is no shame in eating almond butter straight from the jar with a spoon..however, the finger might be slightly shameful.
My snack of shame…I used to eat Nutella straight from the jar, but I’ve graduated to almond butter now as well.
Yoga is going so well. A few days into my workshop, I was questioning my sanity in signing up for something so intense. Now that the initial soreness has worn off, and my body body is adjusting to getting up so early, I am loving it more and more everyday!
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