10,000 Steps & Counting...

I'll never forget the evening, over Easter Weekend, when Dave and I spent the night dancing away with his family in their living room to our wedding playlist. The clock was about to strike midnight, and I was lagging on my daily FitBit goal (his mother, Dana and sisters, Emily and Sara, and I are all very competitive about this), but they already hit their steps for the day! You'll see by watching the video below just how intense things became when the countdown began...(and of course, because I'm marrying a film maker, this got turned into a spec ad for FitBit).

As a part of my wedding workout routine I've vowed to hit 10,000 steps every single day starting today. I welcome anyone who wants to join in to friend me on FitBit (Renee Woodruff) and let's do this together!

Smoothie Formula

This is an excellent reference for any new or seasoned smoothie makers out there. I print things like this and hang them on the inside of my kitchen cabinets for easy access and inspiration. I stumbled upon this formula on Pinterest, which serves as a great discovery tool if you're looking for ways to mix up the ingredients you put in your smoothies.

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Quick Dinner Fix Tonight - Loaded Sweet Potatoes

Since I've been knee deep in wedding planning, yoga training AND working full-time, cooking has become a thing of the past. I've been ordering in so much lately that Seamless.com should do an algorithm of my past orders and just have dinner waiting on me when I get home at night from one of my top three:

• Steamed Chinese Bok Choy with Brown Rice from Szechuan Garden
• Roasted Eggplant and Broccoli Rabe from Da Nonna Rosa
• Fish Tacos and Tortilla Soup from Cochinita 

A few weeks ago while Dave was finishing up his fifth week in Thailand, I was at my breaking point. When every menu item on every take-out menu sounded, well, just blah, I went back to my trusty friend, Love and Lemons, for some inspiration -- and I found a recipe for a loaded baked sweet potato. At first it didn't seem substantial enough, but it looked simple and fulfilling and I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had a baked potato.

It was also something I could make two of so I wouldn't have to cook again the next night. Whether you are cooking for one or for many, this makes the perfect meal.

PS - I steamed broccoli on the side to add some greens. And don't you dare skimp on that greek yogurt + lime + salt + chile powder goodness... delicious!!! 

Healthy Loaded Sweet Potatoes

A Fun Way to Store Tea Bags

As a follow-up to my last post, I wanted to share how I store my tea bags. Living in a really small apartment in Brooklyn, we've gotten creative with all of our space, putting every inch of it to the best possible use.

One day after digging through a ziplock bag for a flavor of tea that fit my mood, I decided I needed a different method for storing my tea bags.  My eyes focused on a display of antique mason jars that Dave's mom had given me.  I began sorting the teas and placing them in the jars.

You can find similar jars at a local antique shop or you might want to ask your parents or grand parents if you can go digging through their attic, basement or garage. You may find mason jars as well as other treasures.

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Do You Really Know What's in Your Tea?

I introduced Food Babe a few weeks ago, and this is one of the pieces of research that she wrote that got me hooked. (Note: read the article before you continue reading).

Being a big tea drinker, I found it disturbing but interesting. I was relieved to find that I wasn't too far off from making my regular tea consumption count, but I admittedly had a few adjustments to make to put her findings into action. 

Before I read the article I was drinking a ton of this popular brand.

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I was also drinking a few of these other well known brands (Bigelow, Twinings, Mighty Leaf and Tazo) when I was at the office, traveling or just didn't have access to my regular stash.  I wrote about the Mighty Leaf brand in my Conscious Box post, and being that Conscious Box is a company that prides itself on helping people make healthier choices, I highly recommend cross referencing Food Babe's site even when you think you are making a smart choice!

After I gave Food Babe's research some serious thought, I quickly switched over to drinking only Numi Tea and Traditional Medicinals Tea (which are delicious by the way). I do loose-leaf every now and then when I have a little extra time on my hands but typically go for the tea bag as it's a quicker preparation.