What I'm Loving on Thursday - CLIF Kid ZBaRs

[Eat as much "kid" food as you can get away with.]

CLIF Kid Organic ZBaRs

The other day, I discovered that my feet comfortably fit inside a size 4.5 shoe in the little girl's section at Target. Sigh... While this is good on my wallet (Cute, comfy flats for $9.99!), it perpetuates the fact that I am such a little kid. I'm not a petite girl, but at nearly 5'7" I've got tiny baby feet and the smallest hands of about 97% of people I've met (I know this because friends always make me compare hand size with anyone new I meet...). My appendages are stuck in childhood, as is most of my personality, and it doesn't stop there.

I fancy myself a connesuir of kid food. I love it! Really, everyone loves kid food - even pompous douchewads who savor foie gras and explain, in painstaking detail, every single flavor of every bite they take while consuming anything. You know who I'm talking about. They are the people who describe things as "succulent." Secretly, they come home and want nothing more than to down a box and a half of Kraft Macaroni 'n Cheese, maybe with a hot dog sliced up in it. With a drizzle of ketchup on top. In the shape of a smiley face.

But I digress.

I've been on a real "bar" kick lately. Fiber One bars, Kashi TLC bars, Lara bars, CLIF bars, you name it. These are all super tasty, relatively healthy bars that I would recommend to anyone, but the CLIF Kid Organic ZBaRs hold the key to my heart right now. For one, they are a lot like original CLIF bars, which are absoutely delicious no matter the flavor, except they're a bit smaller (good for if you just want a little snackie snack) and have about half the calories, sugar and carbs as original CLIF bars. They're soft, chewy and taste like a just-from-the-oven cookie. I've yet to try the honey graham flavor, but I assure you the other three are spectacular. They're still a little higher in sugar than I'd like (about 11g), but I can justify it by that being one of my only added sugar sources in my daily diet. I like eating them before any kind of workout, just to have a little something in my tummy to keep me going. They're also just good when you've got a chocolate craving that won't quit.

I don't have kids, but if I did, I wouldn't feel bad bringing these to the soccer field as a post-game treat. Certainly better than candy bars, that's for sure. And I'm not ashamed to buy these in bulk at the grocery store - just because they come in bright packaging with an ultrarad skater dude on the wrapper (not to mention, you know, the word "kid" in its name...) doesn't mean grown ups can't enjoy them, too.

What I'm Loving on Friday - Summer Salads

[This is an awful lot what my lunch looked like today]

Summer Salads
It's like nature wants us to get ready for beach season - humans naturally tend to gravitate toward light foods (think leafy greens and watery fruit) during the spring and summer. According to an article I recently read on the Examiner, the reason why this is so is because "our bodies naturally detox and cleanse during the spring is to cleanse the excess fat and protein from the low-metabolic winter and to activate our metabolism to burn fat during spring and summer." Who knew? Science!

Now, I find it very hard to turn down a bowl (or vat) of creamy, thick macaroni and cheese during any time of the year, but especially in summer I'm more apt to choose a huge bowl of fruit or a big, leafy salad. This week, I've been combining the two and my lunches have been hitting completely out of the park.

Today, I picked up a freshly-made salad from my local Sendiks, and it was perfect. Their "Italian Summer Salad" was full of spring greens, strawberries, mandarin oranges and a sprinkling of cherry tomatoes and few small chunks of fresh, squishy mozzarella. Served with the lightest, tangiest raspberry vinaigrette, this salad was one of the tastiest I've had in a while.

Earlier this week I paired a strawberry-poppyseed salad with grilled chicken and a small cup of black bean soup and didn't want it to end. I've been obsessed with these summer salads with fruits or berries tossed in; I just can't get enough. I suppose there could be worse things to crave, like KFC's Double Down....

Are you like me and naturally eay healthier foods in the spring and summer? What's your favorite kind of "summer salad?" Share your comments!

What I'm Loving on Tuesday - Accepting Challenges

I will be making my way through this huge group (and 13.1 miles) in September!

Accepting Challenges

It's always fun to accept and conquer challenges posed by other people, but this challenge, I've placed upon myself. I've challenged myself to complete 13.1 miles running the Chicago Half Marathon on September 12th this year. If you've been following me the last few months, you know how excited I've gotten about running again. Heading out for jogs around town is only going to keep me interested for a brief time - I've got to push myself to some level I've never been before - and I've never come close to running a half marathon.

There's really no excuse not to complete a half marathon this year. I've already done an eight-miler four months before raceday, so I should have plenty of time to build up my endurance to conquer 13.1. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind I can do this, and I can't wait to get started training. I'm setting a goal of finishing in less than two hours. Doesn't matter how much less, but I think two hours is an attainable goal for my first half, and I'll be all kinds of proud of myself if and when I reach this goal.

This is something I've been wanting to do for years. I think I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to crush it. I feel confident and excited to get to raceday. Though the second I entered my credit card information and clicked "submit" on my registration, I felt like I wanted to barf of nervousness. But, you know, that's only the pre-102-day-before-race jitters....