Healthy Beach Bum

It's Giveaway Time

2009-09-26T09:59:00.005-04:00

Hey chicas!

The time is finally here. :) Giveaway Time! But guess what? I hate to do this to my lovely blogger ladies out there, but I've done the Blogger -> Wordpress Switcharoo. My new blog is now:

http://www.tropicaleats.com

For professional reasons, I know it's time to make the switch and I hope you all can understand! I promise my new site will be the same beachy me.. just with a different blog title. I guess my secret nickname can be "Healthy Beach Bum" at Tropical Eats. :)

To enter my giveaway, you have to check out my new site! I would love to keep all of my readers because you are all so amazing. Please make the Tropical Eats switch and help me spread the word about the site change. I promise there's a lot of loot up for grabs! <3

Quick, Healthy Meals

2009-09-21T12:33:00.015-04:00

Hi friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. Here's a quick update on a few of my delicious meals:

Blueberry Activia Yogurt with Blueberries and a Banana

Lunch before the Gator football game on Saturday:
Arnold Select Sandwich Thin with Ham, Mozzarella, Tomato, Lettuce, Honey Mustard, and a side Granny Smith

Afternoon snack of almonds

Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Sea Salt Almonds
For all of you almond butter lovers out there, I highly recommend these Oven Roasted Blue Diamond Almonds. From my experience in the past, normally packaged almonds, peanuts, or cashews are VERY salty. To my surprise, these Sea Salt Almonds contained the perfect combination of subtle, yet delicious flavors. Package them in a small Ziploc bag for an afternoon energy booster while sitting in class or even the office.

Lemon Tilapia with Baked Apricots one night with a fresh side salad.

Have a great night! Stay tuned later this week for details on My First Giveaway. <3 HBB

A Hamburger Makeover Story

2009-09-14T21:10:00.018-04:00

Hi friends, I hope you all had a great weekend.

Tonight, I took my first Entrepreneurship exam and it went really well. Overall, I'm very excited about my classes this semester. It seems as though more of my teachers are giving tips and tricks of the trade, instead of just presenting material straight from a textbook. As a student, this new teaching method is considerably more engaging.

Now onto the eats:

Dannon Activia Light Blueberry Yogurt
I personally like Activia a lot better than Dannon's Light & Fit Yogurt. What makes Activia different? Activia contains Bifidus Regularis, a special probiotic that helps food pass easier through your intestines.

The Dannon website states that: "Eating, as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, Activia every day for two weeks delivers enough Bifidus Regularis to help regulate your digestive system by helping with slow intestinal transit."

Interesting!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with honey mustard and side salad. This time, I added basil to the Parmesan cheese mixture and it tasted ten times better. Isn't it crazy flavor-wise what herbs can add to a meal?

Diet Pepsi

A Hamburger Makeover Story Ingredients:
- 1 Boca Burger (70 Calories)
- Lettuce, tomato, onions
- Arnold Select Sandwich Thins (100 Calories)

Two simple steps: Build your burger and then enjoy! Compared to McDonald's 540 Calorie Big Mac, this burger is definitely a healthier bet.

Arnold Select Sandwich Thins Review: After eating way too many wraps this past week, I decided to mix things up and try Arnold Select Sandwich Thins. I'm so used to using basic, fluffy hamburger buns, that I have to admit, I was somewhat hesitant to try these. To my pleasant surprise, Arnold Select Sandwich Thins definitely delivered on the "yum factor." The Multi-Grain roll was hearty, healthy, and topped with little seeds that made it even more appealing.

Enjoy your week! <3 HBB

**2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards Nominations are currently in effect. Nominate your favorite bloggers!

Follow me on Twitter for more Healthy Beach Bum adventures.

Optimism Can Take You Anywhere

2009-09-10T10:04:00.021-04:00

Hi friends. I hope you've all had a terrific Thursday. School has been busier than ever this past week. Group presentations, online quizzes, meetings, and problem sets have completely consumed my weekdays. My calendar looks like a bad attempt at an artistic project, there are so many highlighted items on it. This quote has really helped get me through the week:

"Optimism can take you anywhere."
Three cheers for optimism!
---

A few readers asked me about how I make my Protein Powder Pancakes, so here is the quick & easy recipe:

Vanilla Protein Powder Pancake with Smucker's Sugar Free Syrup and fresh fruit

Ingredients
1 scoop of Protein Powder Mix
2 Egg Whites
1 Tablespoon of Milk
Cinnamon
Dash of Baking Soda

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Whip the batter until the protein powder is dissolved. Pour the mixture into a frying pan and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on both sides. Drizzle on your favorite syrup, add fresh fruit, and enjoy!

Ben & Jerry's White Chocolate Iced Latte

This White Chocolate Macadamia Nut CLIFBAR is the perfect energy booster and study snack. It packs in an amazing 9g of Protein and is made with all natural and organic ingredients. Besides the Carrot Cake Clifbar, WCMN is by far one of my favorite flavors.

A simple & delicious Fall dessert:
Stonyfield Farm Organic Greek Yogurt mixed with pureed pumpkin, cinnamon, and a dash of sugar.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Salad with Kraft Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette, tomatoes, pickles

Have a great weekend. <3 HBB

**Thank you so much to Heather for the Giveaway treats! I'll be having my first GIVEAWAY on my 50th post. Get excited!

I Love College Football

2009-09-06T20:37:00.021-04:00

Happy Labor Day friends! I hope you've all had a very eventful weekend. Last night, I was lucky enough to watch the Florida Gators dominate the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in The Swamp. The final score was 62-3.

Absolutely nothing beats the excitement you feel in the stadium with the other Gator fans. Here's a 45 second video I took of me and the pre-game show:

I love being a Florida Gator!

Now here are a few of the delicious meals I've enjoyed recently:

Breakfast omelette stuffed with fried ham slices. I also had a delicious granny smith and a side of sliced tomatoes sprinkled with basil and Parmesan cheese.

Ok I'll admit it, I am a hazelnut iced coffee-holic. Recently, I went out of my comfort zone to try Yogi Tea: Berry Detox.

This particular Yogi Tea was very subtle in flavor. I did add a sprinkle of sugar to liven the tea up a bit. The package stated the Yogi Tea was supposed to cleanse my body, but I honestly couldn't tell if it did or not. ;) Maybe like the flavor, it had a subtle cleansing factor. So far my favorite Yogi tea is the Calming version.

**As a side note, I just learned that there is Yogi Cereal. Go on the Yogi websit e and customize your Yogi cereal based on: Mood, Flavor, Purpose. I chose Revitalized Mood and was paired with the Granola Crisps: Mountain Blueberry Flax. Hopefully I can find this in a local grocery store because it looks delicious!

BEFORE:
Stonyfield Farm Oikos Honey Organic Greek Yogurt with diced banana and PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl

AFTER:
All mixed up!

For dinner I made my favorite thirty minute meal: Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Honey mustard was the perfect dipping sauce for these crusted chicken bites.

Enjoy your day off tomorrow! Mine will be spent studying and watching online lectures. <3 HBB

**Giveaways Alert: The Lunchbox Bunch and Health, Happiness, and Hope

10 Minutes To a Healthier You

2009-09-03T14:45:00.016-04:00

Hello friends. Can you believe it's almost Friday? Time sure does fly when you're having fun (or busy with schoolwork). This week I've been dedicated to giving myself an extra ten minutes to make healthier meals. With a busy college schedule, we can always get thrown off of our nutritious eating plan. If you find there just isn't enough time to exercise, take 10 extra minutes out of your day to make a healthier meal. Hope this tip works for you too!

Vanilla Protein Powder Pancake with Smucker's Sugar Free Syrup and fresh strawberries

Stonyfield Farm Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt helps me study. :) Honey is my new favorite flavor!

Every weekday at school, a group known as the Hare Krishnas, serve an amazing lunch in the courtyard. The Krishna lunch is mainly known for its almond salad dressing-- which is the best thing you will EVER taste. Click this link for the recipe.

Tuesday's Krishna lunch: cabbage, potatoes, and broccoli in tomato sauce, brown rice & sesame seeds, salad with almond dressing, and Mounds Bar Halava for dessert.

At the grocery store the other day, this Tasty Bite Punjab Eggplant meal popped out at me. Being the food blogger that I am, I decided to give it a whirl.

The back of the box states that, "Punjab Eggplant is made using all natural, fresh ingredients hand-picked on our farm." It is also vegetarian, vegan, kosher, gluten free, contains no MSG or preservatives. Another bonus is that it only takes 90 seconds to heat up.

To spice up this meal even more, I mixed in some chickpeas, tomatoes, and melted cheese. This Tasty Bite meal was amazing and packed with so many delicious flavors! My only warning: only try this meal if you're a fan of spicy foods. This eggplant dip definitely delivered the heat! If you do like spicy ethnic foods, then go buy this right now. :)

Quaker Rice Cake with Peanut Butter & Co.'s Cinnamon Raisin Swirl and Smucker's Strawberry Jelly

Time to read a few chapters for class. Saturday I'll be going to our first football game of the semester. I can't wait to see our Tebow in action! Go Gators!

<3 HBB

**Vitamuffins sent me a 5% off coupon code: tweet09

Why I'm a Food Blogger

2009-08-31T21:08:00.019-04:00

Good evening lovely ladies! Considering it is only Monday, today was a very productive school day. In Sales Management class, my professor touched on a very interesting topic that we as bloggers, are very familiar with: Social Media. Of course, I felt an instant connection with this topic because of what I've learned overtime from BlogSpot, Twitter, Facebook, and Wordpress. Social Media is such an important aspect in business today because it allows otherwise, cold and serious companies to have a more approachable personality.

I found this quote on my LinkedIn eMarketing Association Network: "Technology is only as good as the soul behind it, I feel. Crafting that soul is where the opportunity lies."

The speaker of the quote hit social media dead on the nose. Companies will only find success in social media if they engage their customers, relay their unique corporate culture, and portray trustworthiness to the public.

With senior year upon me, I am extremely excited about pursuing my professional career. I began food blogging because I have a sincere passion for both nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Post graduation I hope to work in the Marketing Industry for health food products. My ultimate goal would be to work for a company such as Stonyfield Farm, Kashi, Kraft, or General Mills. Each of those companies place their customers on such a high pedestal and value both nutritious and quality products. Overall, I would love assist in the incredible health food movement.

---

What can I say? I just love being a food blogger! ;) I'm so happy to have met such unique and wonderful people all over the world. Thank you all for following my Healthy Beach Bum adventures. Each and every one of you truly make my day.

Omelette w/ Cottage Cheese + Turkey Slices + Kiwi

Salad with Kraft Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette, Chicken, Raisins, and Trader Joe's Peanuts & Dried Strawberry Mix

Today I received some wonderful coupons and a free sample of Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal in the mail. :)

Thank you Kashi!

These bite-size golden rays of Honey Sunshine were so sweet and delicious! I highly recommend this cereal. For all of you college girls out there, Honey Sunshine is the perfect study snack. :)

Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Honey Mustard

Have a great night! <3 HBB

**Road ID sent me a coupon code for $1 off any Road ID purchase. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days.
Coupon Number: ThanksShannon534440

I scream, You scream

2009-08-30T11:33:00.011-04:00

We all scream for ice cream! Hi ladies, hope you've all had a great weekend so far. Mine has been spent doing this:

Working at the lovely Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop.

Rolling up freshly cooked waffle cones by the minute.

Making sprinkle covered ice cream cakes for the display.

Eyeballing all of the 40 or so delicious flavors! MMM.

Unfortunately, our store swapped out my absolute favorite flavor, Cinnamon Buns, for Chocolate Macadamia Nut. Let's just say it's been a sad day in ice cream land because of it.

Time to get to work on some problem sets! <3HBB

**GIVEAWAYS ALERT for the amazing Jenny and Tall Mom on the Run
**Follow me on Twitter: healthybeachbum

Eeyore's in town

2009-08-27T21:42:00.009-04:00

It's almost Friday! This week I've truly realized how important it'll be to balance both schoolwork and social time this semester. I'm so excited for all of the fun events coming up in the next few weeks: football games, a career fair, and Alpha Kappa Psi get togethers. Hopefully each day will be a new adventure!

In other news, I'm pretty sure Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh visited Gainesville today. The weather has been extremely gloomy and rainy all day. I did manage to get a quick thirty minute workout in after class. Let's just say the elliptical machine showed me who was boss. ;)

Hopefully the weather cheers up tomorrow! Onto the eats..

Scrambled eggs with melted cheese, ham slices, and extra spicy salsa

Homemade Hazelnut Iced Coffee

Publix Tsunami Rolls. These poor little rolls don't last more than 10 minutes in my home. Between drowning them in soy sauce and quickly gobbling them up, they never have a chance!

Juicy Grapes

One perk about online lectures is that you can pause the video and grab a quick snack when the pesky afternoon munchies randomly hit. I found myself devouring this delicious White Chocolate Macadamia Nut CLIFBAR during an online Entrepeneurship lecture. I could probably eat about three of these bars in one sitting they are so good!

Colorful salad with red bell peppers, avocado, pickles, Kraft Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

Have a great weekend! I'll be working for most of it, but at least I'll receive a nice paycheck next Friday. Enjoy your night! <3 HBB

Study Snacks

2009-08-25T17:47:00.016-04:00

Happy Tuesday and back to school everyone! I hope your week is starting to settle down. I know with classes starting up everything can get very hectic. In fact as I'm typing this, 10 multicolored sticky notes and to-do lists are staring at me--very scary! Also intimidating is my Managerial Economics class.
---
To liven up the week at least a little bit, I've put together a few of the snacks I've been having. Enjoy ladies!

On-the-Go Breakfast:

DanActive Probiotic Dairy Drink: Strawberry Flavored
My Review: This DanActive drink basically tasted like extremely sugary, watered down yogurt. If you're a yogurt kinda girl, then you may like it... I was just expecting it would taste more like a smoothie.

The Perfect Study Snack:

Organic Banana Chips from the Fresh Market.

When You're Craving Potato Chips:

Veggie Chips from your local health food store.

When You Have the Laptop Munchies:

Peanut Butter Cookie LARABAR
**while reading Miss E-Z-P-Z's site :)
My Review: Heaven in a bar. With only three ingredients (dates, peanuts, and salt), Larabar represents simplicity at its finest.

Time to watch an online lecture. <3 HBB

Stadium Stomper

2009-08-22T19:23:00.019-04:00

Hi ladies! Hope your Saturday has been well. :) I'm finally up at school, blogging in my cute little bedroom. It feels so weird to be back--I'm still in summer mode!

Here's the new somewhat homey room. As you can see, I tried to incorporate some beachiness on the drab white walls. ;)

Tonight I ran stadiums for an hour in The Swamp (found this picture on the internet). I missed these while I was at home! They are the best workout ever! Especially if you live in Florida where there are no hills...

And now on to the eats I had before I packed my life away:

Stonyfield Farm Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt with organic peanut butter and raspberry jelly. MMM I love this combo and the fact that it packs in a whopping 15g of Protein! You can't get much better than that. :)

Reading my new Clean Eating Magazine alongside a hearty bowl of chili with parmesan cheese & a side salad

Juicy hamburger patty on a lettuce bed with pickles, honey mustard, & ketchup

CLIF Kid Organic ZBar Peanut Butter
My Review: I thought this bar was very tasty! It was the perfect size and meal-holder-over (is that a word?). The CLIFBAR website sums it up pretty nicely: "What makes Clif Kid different than other kid's snacks? Clif Kid Snacks offer lower fat and sugar levels than those found in many of the kids’ snack offerings available today."

Time to cook up something yummy-- tomorrow I need to go to the store and stock up! <3 HBB

A Little Bit Of Everything

2009-08-21T19:38:00.018-04:00

Happy Friday! I'm so glad you all enjoyed my pickle dog post. ;) This week has been full of packing, car fixing, and long runs. So overall, very productive!

Iced hazelnut coffee & watermelon

Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Chutney Sauce = MMM

Went to dinner at Casa Tina: Fresh Healthy, Authentic Mexican in Dunedin. Love this restaurant! The atmosphere is sooo funky. Casa Tina is full of beaded lamps, purple & turquoise walls, and skeleton figures to represent the Day of the Dead (or as we call it, Halloween!).

The most addicting chips & salsa ever.

I ordered the Chicken Taco Salad because I ate way too many chips. Usually I get Tostada Vagabunda (crazy name I know) which is 2 corn tortillas layered with beans, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, chicken and sour cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding. TRY THIS it is sooo good and so easy to make! Mix JELLO Sugar Free Cheesecake Pudding and a couple spoonfuls of canned pumpkin for a very tasty treat.

Tomorrow I'm moving back to school.. I'm gonna miss the beach and my local running trails so much. :( Have a great night! <3 HBB

In a Pickle

2009-08-18T20:15:00.007-04:00

LITERALLY

Let me introduce you to, The Pickle Monster.
This is what happens when you're out of hot dog buns and any other type of bread.. but seriously craving a hot dog.

it was very...... juicy lol.

The Fab 5 Ingredients for this bad boy: Jenni-O Turkey Dog, 1 giant Kosher Pickle, shredded cheese, spicy dijon mustard, ketchup.

Enjoy :)

New Boyfriend

2009-08-17T20:51:00.010-04:00

Monday's over! And guess what.. I have a new boyfriend!

Mr. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl :) May I just say how amazing this tastes. I've been eating it by the spoonful! This reminds me I need to look up more addicting flavors from Peanut Butter & Co asap.

Old Granny Smith likes her PB too!

Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Wrap

Made some grilled pork chops seasoned with Adobo and Grille Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning. Also had Diet Cream Soda and some baked beans + onions on the side.

I bought another Perfect Foods Bar Lite: Cranberry Crunch. If you haven't tried these yet I highly recommend you do! They're located in the refrigerated section at The Fresh Market. I swear I gobbled this bar up in 30 seconds!

Time to get back to more of ABC's Dating in the Dark. It's pretty entertaining.. can't wait to see if they choose each other after they see what they look like! <3 HBB

Chili's Delivers

2009-08-15T17:43:00.014-04:00

Hi there! Hope you've all had a great day. I spent my afternoon (like the rest of you) watching the livestream from The Healthy Living Summit. :) Overall, the event looked absolutely amazing and all of the speakers were wonderful! It's so neat to finally put faces to blog names and actually hear their personal stories. Great event ladies! Hopefully next year I'll be able to attend.
---
So last night my mom, sisters and I did a little shopping at Burlington Coat Factory.

Found this pretty shirt for $14.99. I loveee the flowery cut-outs on the front..

...and the back! Very beachy.

Then we headed over to Chili's for some din din.

Had a million of these little babies. Bottomless Chips and Salsa? Yes please.

Side Caesar Salad

Chili's has the absolute BEST Chicken Crispers and honey mustard ever. You know I love my fast food chicken nuggets ;) .. but nothing beats Chili's.

After we finished eating, I came home and found this:

A big box full of goodies from Michelle at Learn, Run, Eat...Repeat!

Look at all of the tasty treats from the giveaway! So exciting :) Thank you SO much Michelle!

I dug in right away to this Cherry Cashew PURE bar. Purebars are organic, vegan, raw, and contain healthy antioxidants. The flavor was amazing, I just wish it was a little bit bigger size-wise for its 200 calories.

Time to go rent a movie and pickup some food. I'm craving pizza... which is never good lol. We'll see what happens!
<3 HBB

Moonlit Walk

2009-08-13T21:48:00.011-04:00

It's almost Friday! Tonight my mom and I walked for an hour out to the local marina. It was so gorgeous and peaceful with the moon reflecting on the smooth water. I'm gonna miss the beach so much when I get back up to my landlocked school. But I can't wait to see all of my friends!

scrambled eggs with salsa, onions, and avocado

Daily iced coffee with hazelnut creamer

This Bear Naked All Natural Fruit and Nut Granola is SO good. I've been eating about 2 packs per day because that's all there has been to eat in the house lol. But they are just so yummy!

Some good ol' cherries

Crisper's Steak and Bleu Flatbread. So good! The crispy bread was topped with steak, bleu and asiago cheese, red bell peppers, red onions and came with horseradish dipping sauce.

Crisper's Summer Salad w/ extra candied pecans ;)

That's all for tonight chickadees. I've been working on a scrapbook for my mom's birthday for the past week! Who'dathunk these things would take so long and cost so much money! I don't think I'll be making one of these again for awhile.. it does look pretty though. :)

Night night. <3 HBB

Keeping It Classy

2009-08-12T11:03:00.014-04:00

Hi there! I hope your week has been marvelous so far. Unfortunately, it's another icky day outside in Gainesville.

Heather has a Back to Reality Giveaway going on!

Dipping a Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey Bar in milk.

Fresh juicy Watermelon

**And now prepare yourself for these scary lunch pics heheh.

Starting out with some classy Beans & Weanies.

And ending with some frozen broccoli lightly doused in cheese. :) hahah ok, enough with lunch.

Canas Chinese Restaurant = the best Chinese food ever. First I ordered the chicken and bean sprout soup.

Noodles with chicken & veggies. Their White Rice Vinegar is what makes it taste so yummy. I think their secret is that they add a lot of sugar to it lol. My poor noodles basically drown on the plate because I add so much vinegar.

As you may or may not know, I intern for College Lifestyles, and I just added I just added a new poll to the site!:
What's your signature back to school style?

I voted for the Bohemian tank top, but I just loveeee this sundress from Forever 21. It's on their website for only $13.50! Bargain-mania.
Vote for your favorite look here.

Thanks girls! Time to organize my room and then make some lunch. Have a great Wednesday! <3 HBB

Last Week of Summer

2009-08-10T09:35:00.012-04:00

It's Monday! One more week at home and then back to the college grind. It's going to be a ROUGH semester.. so hopefully I can fit in 2-3 posts per week. It's my senior year, so I have to live it up. :)

You never know what kind of weather to expect in FL. The weather can be hot & sunny one minute, and then two seconds later be windy & rainy. This looked like a tornado.. but I guess it was the beginning of a crazy storm forming. Very scary!

Unattractive photo of some Cabot Plain Greek Style Yogurt-- I think we bought the wrong kind bc this definitely tasted like cream cheese. As soon as I get my car back, I'm going to use my Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt coupons. :)

Taco bites! Organic Mini Fillo Shells filled with ground beef, avocado, salsa, & cheese. These were yummy, but Pizza Bites are still my favorite. :)

Salad with parmesan crusted chicken, pickles, & Kraft's Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

Canned peaches.. yum yum

I love my Publix Sushi. :) Crab, Cali, & Shrimp Rolls

I think the family and I are going to go on a mini road trip for a few days.. not sure where though. Should be fun! Have a great week. <3 HBB

PS I'm looking to buy a new camera that's preferably less than $150.. any suggestions?? Thank you!

Tacos & A Lakeside View

2009-08-08T15:51:00.013-04:00

Hi friends. I have exciting new that my car is getting fixed! :) Now time for a short but sweet post.

My dad, brother, and I ate dinner at the Tarpon Turtle Grill & Marina a few nights ago. The restaurant overlooks Lake Tarpon and it has a really laid back vibe.

I ordered Blackened Fish Tacos for my entree (We also had many unpictured onion rings as our appetizer). The Mahi-Mahi was served on soft corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, salsa, and a secret white sauce. The tacos were just ok, I wouldn't get them again. Next time I'm going for the crab cake sandwich! :)

On the restaurant's dock.

Lake Tarpon... full of little gators waiting to bite your toes! Very scary, but GO GATORS! I have to represent my school. ;)

Look at the pretty sunset!!! GORGEOUS.

I went on a two hour bike ride after lunch today, so I'm pretty worn out. And sadly, there is no food in the house... well there is, I'm just cerealed out.

Time to do some scroungin' through the fridge. <3 HBB

Love Tap

2009-08-06T16:44:00.013-04:00

Hi all. Hope your week has been alright.. mine has been horrible! I got into a car accident on Tuesday in a parking lot, can you believe it?! I was just driving down the aisle way and out of no where a girl, who was cutting through the parking lot, slammed into me! The insurance man called it a "love tap," but let me tell you.. it's more than just a tap. On the outside, it doesn't look like much, but under the hood the frame, engine, etc. are destroyed.

All of this happening right before I drive up to school in a week. Talk about bad luck. Beware of people cutting through parking lots!

Hopefully the car gods will be good to me soon.

Total Cereal with strawberries, blueberries & skim milk

Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey Granola Bar-- highly addicted to these

Taco Salad with refried beans, ground beef, olives, avocado, cheese, salsa, sauteed onions & green pepper.. and Cream Soda! ;)

Greek Yogurt with strawberries & a granny smith

Love, Peace, & Publix Deli's Fried Chicken Grease

Thank you so much to Kristina at Stonyfield Farm for sending me this lovely package! Needless to say, I'll be whipping up many recipes with their Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt very soon. :)

Time to go to my dad's for some din din. Hope you have a great night! <3 HBB

**On a happier note, I just found out that I won Michelle's Giveaway!!! My first one. :) Ahhh now I feel better. Thank you so much!

PS: Joseph's Lavish Bread Giveaway

Tasty New Treats

2009-08-03T21:45:00.012-04:00

Hi blog friends. I started this week out right with a 3 mile run and 2 mile walk along the water. Finally some motivation has come over me to get out and be active! I have to tell you, this Florida weather has not been pleasant. It is literally so hot, it's hard to breathe. Hopefully Mother Nature will knock the temperature down a few notches asap.

eggs with ketchup, sauteed onions + green pepper, avocado

Chicken nuggets & honey mustard.. typical :)

Bumble Bar Original Flavor With Almonds
My Review: I loved this bar! It was so refreshing to try something other than a Clifbar or Larabar (which I'll never stop loving!). This Bumble Bar hit the spot and I love that fact that they use organic evaporated cane juice instead of plain old sugar. Yum yum, gimme some.

Nutritional Information:
230 Calories, 20g Carbohydrates, 11g Sugars, 5g Protein

Ingredients:
Organic sesame seeds, Organic almonds, Organic brown rice syrup, Organic evaporated cane juice, Organic flax seeds, Organic extract of vanilla, Organic cinnamon, Sea salt, Natural Vitamin E for freshness, Processing agents: Organic sunflower/safflower oil

Now, onto Tasty Treat #2:

I discovered these Organic Mini Fillo Shells in our kitchen pantry. They're made with whole wheat flour and 3 of them are only 45 calories! Needless to say I've been experimenting with them. :) I'm not sure where my mom bought these, but I'm sure you can find other brands of these little gems.

Healthy "Bagel Bites"
First I filled the Mini Fillo Shells up with tomato sauce, sauteed onions, and shredded cheddar cheese. Next I baked them at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes and wahlah! Healthy bagel bites! These are sooo addicting and easy to make. I've been eating them non stop these past few days.

Time to read more of The Da Vinci Code..only 100 more pages to go! Nothing beats reading in bed with a flashlight. <3 HBB

Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi and then..Target?

2009-08-01T20:45:00.015-04:00

Hey there! Today my mom, sister, and I drove to Tampa's International Mall and did some window shopping. All of those fancy, pricey labels are so intimidating! The Black Eyed Peas "My Humps" song with Fergie singing, "Dolce and Gabbana, Fendi and then Donna," is just not me! I am definitely a Target kinda gal. :) Any shirt over $15 is out of my league!

Total Cereal with blueberries and skim milk

Seneca Cinnamon Apple Chips

Apple chip up close :) These are SO amazing and I highly recommend them. They also come in 5 other flavors: Caramel, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Sour Apple, and Original.

At the mall food court I ate at Great Wraps: The New American Sandwich. I ordered the hot pressed Falafel Hummus Veggie Wrap. It was delicious! It had falafel, hummus, pepper jack cheese, romaine, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, red peppers, and banana peppers.

Confession: I love Planet Smoothie's "Frozen Goat Smoothie" that has coffee, bananas, chocolate, and yogurt in it. Instead of driving 5 miles to get one, I attempted to make it at home!

In my blender I added 2 cups of coffee, a big splash of milk, 2 handfuls of ice, 1 frozen banana, chocolate syrup, and 1 scoop of PB. The result? It was AMAZING!

Parmesean crusted chicken with onions + green pepper, avocado, & ancho-chipotle sauce

Have a great night! PS There is a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives marathon on if there are any Guy Fieri fans out there! <3 HBB

A New Start

2009-07-30T21:23:00.014-04:00

Hi there, long time no see! Things have been interesting this week to say the least. Thank you for all of your kind words, they've really helped me out! This is going to be a new start.

I can't believe school starts in 3 weeks..very scary. One more year and then I'll be in the real world! I guess I shouldn't be thinking about that now though..

Java Monster Mean Bean Energy Drink-- I still like Starbuck's bottled fraps better ;)

Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Wrap

Shrimp cooked in butter & garlic salt

Salad w/ pickles, tomato, Kraft's Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

Strawberries

Wendy's chicken nuggets, fries, side caesar salad

Carrot Cake flavored Ice Cream from D'Lites. Yum yum!

**PS If you like blended, sugar-free cocktails and plan on staying in tomorrow night like me, I would love it if you read my Top 5 Cheap & Chic Tips for a Girl's Night In.

Thanks girls! Time to play catchup on blogs <3 HBB
**PS Jocelyn's Giveaway and Learn, Run, Eat Repeat's Giveaway

Monday Morning Rain is Falling

2009-07-27T10:34:00.015-04:00

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your motivational advice. :) Today is a really muggy & rainy day in Florida which is actually perfect weather. Yesterday my boyfriend and I decided we should end things. As hard as it is, we both know it's the right thing to do. I'm not going to go into details, but he is my best friend so I really hope we can still have our talks. I may be a little MIA these next few days just so I can adjust to this new chapter in life.

Anyways, enough crazy talk. ;)

Eggs w/ ketchup & turkey slices

Banana chips from The Fresh Market

Chick-fil-A Diet Lemonade mmm

Parmesan crusted chicken & cherries

The Da Vinci Code + watermelon
I've been wanting to read this for a longgg time. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before school starts up again!

Sonny's leftovers: pulled pork, sweet bbq sauce, & coleslaw

Have a good day! Hopefully it's nice & sunny wherever you are. <3 HBB

"Day One"

2009-07-25T09:45:00.013-04:00

Hey there! Last night was pretty amazing.. Let me tell you I am a party animal: I sat and flipped between What Not to Wear and House Hunters. :)

Iced coffee + hazelnut creamer

Out of milk again = plain Grape Nuts

Parmesan crusted chicken salad with citrus herb dressing

Publix sushi: California Rolls, Tsunami Rolls, & Spicy Tuna Rolls. The Tsunami Rolls are my new favorite--not sure what's in them, but they sure are tasty!

Grapes and banana fruit salad

A "mug shot." Just kidding.. watermelon for dessert

I haven't worked out or even attempted to workout all week. I just have no motivation and it's getting old! Last night was my "last hoorah" and today is supposedly my "Day One."-- aka I have these every week. ;) What are your favorite ways to get motivated?

Any tips would be amazing. Enjoy your day! <3 HBB

Fill In the Blank's Next Top Model

2009-07-23T16:53:00.008-04:00

Hi there :) Right now I'm relaxing in bed watching Britain's Next Top Model. Let me tell you I am ADDICTED to any version of Next Top Model. I've seen every season of America's, just finished Australia's (my favorite), and now onto Britain! Youtube is the best. <3

Eggs w/ black bean salsa

Lucky Dill Deli's Turkey sandwich w/ sprouts, lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickle, fruit salad

Greek salad with olives, potato salad, peppers, tomatoes, feta

Tiramisu and Chocolate Kahlua Ice Cream

Time to work on a few things for College Lifestyles, including a pitch for Seventeen Magazine. Wish me luck! <3 HBB

Life's A Beach

2009-07-20T15:52:00.012-04:00

Monday Funday! This morning we woke up and decided to hit the beach.

A dolphin was feeding and literally swam up 4 feet away from the shore. Amazing!

Breakfast = Total Cereal + Grape Nuts + Craisins + Skim Milk

Iced coffee with hazelnut creamer

Turkey wrap w/ bread & butter pickles, olives, lettuce, mayo,
milk, granny, & sudoku

Vanilla Light & Fit Yogurt with granola

My fave Wendy's combo: chili, nug nugs, honey mustard, caesar salad

Crisper's Summer Salad w/ Citrus Herb Dressing & cheesy flat bread

Went on a 3 mile run/2 mile walk last night. Hopefully will have a repeat of that tonight. Time to do lots of cleaning & laundry-- can you believe I haven't done it since we went camping.. Ah I am the biggest procrastinator. Have a good night! <3 HBB

Goo Goo Ga Ga

2009-07-18T17:50:00.014-04:00

Today has been a very ploppy day. I've had no motivation to get up or go anywhere. I found this picture on Perez Hilton's site and I was in awe.

Lady GaGa (hence the goo goo ga ga title) in a Kermit Outfit-- What is this lady thinking?!?! Miss Piggy must be throwing a hissy fit right now.

In other real news, here are some of the meals I've been throwing together.. :)

Facebook and some apple + milk

Made a happy/scary lookin face of eggs, ketchup, turkey
*spot my dog!

Baked more Parmesan Crusted Chicken
This is such an simple & yummy recipe.. please try it! :)

Ingredients:
Butter
Parmesan cheese
Frozen Tyson chicken tenders
Parsley

In the microwave, defrost the chicken and then melt the butter. Make a 2 bowl assembly line. Mix the cheese & parsley together in one bowl. First dip the chicken in the melted butter and then thoroughly cover it in your cheese mixture. Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

toasted whole wheat wrap w/ black beans, salsa, and onions

frozen sliced bananas with cinny

Grapes

Hope you all have a great night! I'm going to complete this lazy day with a lazy night. :) I'm thinking about getting a Crisper's Summer Salad later. They are SO good with those candied pecans. Hmmm who knows. <3 HBB

cause i'm a redneck woman

2009-07-16T20:51:00.015-04:00

hey there :)

I'm so excited tomorrow's Friday! eeee! Not sure what I'll do lol, but I just love the feeling of "Weekend Time." Today my family & I went to Orlando (shout out to Baylee!) and had some adventures.

Hit up the big Bass Pro Shop..

realllllllly a camo lazy-boy?!?! gotta love it

50 cent shooting range

Lookin flyyyy, but not really. ;) Onto the eats!

eggs w/ ketchup, fried turkey slices, cherries, nanner

fresh oj

jumbo coconut shrimp, pineapple chutney sauce,
& He's Just Not That Into You-- I LOVE this book. Gotta take it off of my bookshelf from time to time to remind myself of certain things lol.

Here is one of my fave quotes:

"Calling when you say you’re going to is the very first brick in the house you are building of love and trust. If he can’t lay this one stupid brick down, you ain’t never gonna have a house, baby. And it’s cold outside." - Greg Behrendt

lovin the honesty :)

Diet A&W Cream Soda-- bad I know, but I get MAJOR cravings for it!

Was home alone & cooked up a feast for one, just in time for Chopped on Food Nework.
Parmesan crusted chicken with honey mustard salad
This was SO good. It smells AMAZING when it's baking and tastes insanely good when it's all done.

coo coo for coconuts

Happy TGIF ladies!
PS Keep Heather in your thoughts, & leave her a happy lil note --she just got out of surgery! Hospital trips are never fun. =[

Fraptastic

2009-07-14T20:33:00.010-04:00

Thank you so much for all of your support yesterday girls :)

You are all WONDERFUL and I really appreciate all of your sweet comments.

Today was a little better.. I worked on a new article for College Lifestyles:
Flirty & Flowy Tops for Summer Date Nights

All of the shirts are from one of my fave stores: Forever 21. I just love their beautiful clothes!

The eats have been pretty simple:

My fraptastic vanilla frap :)

Apple Pie Larabar

Homemade chili with ground beef

Snacked on some California Raisins

Archer Farms Southwest Veggie Wrap, $2.99 @ Super Target
My Review: This was AMAZING. I toasted it as soon as I got home to melt the cheese. It had black beans, corn, red bell pepper, poblano chiles, onion, avocado, cheddar cheese, and & lot more goodies in it.

Lentils w/ onions, ground beef & purple drank--grape Koolaid.

Have a great night!
<3 HBB

Rambles & Product Reviews

2009-07-13T17:03:00.014-04:00

Hi ladies! I hope you have all had a magnificent Monday. The sun has been out the whole day today which is a major record considering the past rainy week.

I don't usually do this, but I kind of wanted to get something off of my chest. So please pardon my rambling!

Yesterday was a really bad day. My boyfriend of 2 years recently got accepted into law school (4 states away) and in about 2 weeks, he'll pack his bags to start a brand new life. We're trying to work things out, but it's just so hard.. especially since we've been in 2 different cities this entire summer. We had a really good talk last night and tried to figure some things out. But after our talk, I had a major meltdown and was up til about 3AM thinking about things.

Needless to say, when I woke up this morning I knew I needed to find something happy to do. So I went all by myself to my favorite place:

The beach! (post swimming picture ;] ) It was really relaxing. I swam, listened to my iPod, and read some of the last Harry Potter book. I felt much better after this!

Thank you so much for reading if you got through all of that! Now here are the eats:

Scrambled eggs with ketchup and turkey slices

Total Cereal. Sadly we were out of milk which made me even more hungry. I had this amount times two!

Toasted turkey wrap, grapes, apple, & diet cream soda

A little piece of coconut.. mmm

Strawberry Slurpee from 7-Eleven's Free Slurpee Day

Salad with strawberries, onions, and honey mustard
Archer Farms Jumbo Coconut Shrimp with pineapple chutney dipping sauce
My Review: DELISH. The sauce was amazing! I bought these at Super Target in the frozen aisle. As Rachel Ray would say, "Yum-O!"

Granny Smith with creamy peanut butter

Breyers Pure Fruit Pomegranate Blends: Blueberry Pomegranate
My Review: Blueberry was definitely the best flavor out of the three (mango, blueberry, and mixed berry). At only 40 calories per bar, they are perfect for those hot summer days.

Have a great night tonight friends! I'll be watching The Bachelorette in about an hour. I'm so excited! <3HBB

Chicken Nug Nugs

2009-07-11T22:01:00.010-04:00

Hello ladies! Hope your Saturday has been mighty spiffy :) Mine was pretty amazing. Tonight I went on a 3 mile run and fast walked 2. The humidity is absolutely killer here, but it did feel really good to get outside.

As promised, here are the last of the vacay pics!

Eating a banana & re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I can't wait for the movie to come out next week!

Good ol' Cheerios

Starkist Chunk Light Tuna packet & a granny

Cherries and blueberries

McD's nug nugs, side salad, and parfait

Diet Stewart's Root Beer

Dried peaches and pears

A very appley bfast from the hotel & Total cereal

On one hike we found lots of wild blackberries along a creek

They were sooo good!

Chicken Caesar salad

My perfect combo :) Starbuck's vanilla frappe & trail mix

Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, honey mustard, fruit cup, diet lemonade

So if you all haven't figured out yet, I am a chicken nugget LOVER. :) Basically at every restaurant I order chicken fingers with extra honey mustard. Not very exciting, but they are just so good! So please forgive all of my chicken nug nugs. ;)

<3 HBB

Casa Sweet Casa

2009-07-10T13:33:00.040-04:00

I'm back from our family camping trip in Georgia!
Boy do I have a lot of pics for you. :)

But first, it's time to pass on the Lovely Blog Award to these amazing ladies:
Amanda - My Summerizations
Ashleigh - Rantings of a Fashion Addict
Meghan - Help Meghan Run

Congrats girls!
Also, The Fitnessista and Marlene have some fun giveaways.

Now on to Part 1 of the vacation pics..

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the camp food. :)

Pb&j with kiwi, apple, and diet coke

My mom's famous pasta salad
(the camping version--made in a bag)

Pasta salad, juicy watermelon, and banana

We did all of our shopping at Betty's Country Store

Baked Scoops! and Betty's Bean Salsa (best salsa EVER)

One night I just had chips and salsa for dinner.
Multiply this portion size by about ten. :)

Hot cocoa by the campfire

mmm

Dried apple chips bought at Jaemour Farms

Salad from the dinner buffet at Unicoi State Park Lodge

Unicoi's famous Fried Mountain Trout! We look forward to eating this all year. :) It tastes like HEAVEN with tartar sauce & lemon juice

We bought a 12 pack of Sugar Free chocolate & vanilla pudding & devoured them the whole trip.

I cooked the family delicious spaghetti on the camp stove one night.

We ordered Blimpies after a 2 hour run/hike into town.

Foot long turkey on wheat w/ everything but jalapenos :)

Fried chicken and coleslaw

Lunch at Troll Tavern in Helen, GA
Blackened chicken salad w/ honey mustard & yummy crunchy bread sticks

Wendy's chicken nuggets, honey mustard, caesar side salad, chili

Wendy's chili is my favorite! (With hot sauce of course)

That's all for today folks. Thank you SO much for putting up with my MIA status these past 2 weeks. I can't wait to be back on a regular blogging schedule.

PS I would LOVE it if you checked out my article: I Scream, You Scream for an Ice Cream Makeover on College Lifestyles!

Enjoy! <3 HBB

Live Simply

2009-07-03T09:24:00.013-04:00

Hope everyone has had an amazing week :)

I'm finally back in civilization for a few days yay! My family and I have been camping 4 nights without electric, water, or phone service. Roughing it at its best!

We found this bumper sticker and I love it!
Live Simply, that others may simply live.

Eggs, fried turkey slices, cottage cheese, banana

Turkey sandwich with raw peanuts, grapes, & a peach

Unflattering pic of beans & weenies
(definitely the best camp meal so far.. had like 2 more helpings of it.)

Mediterranean soup & turkey sandwich on wheat bread

Blended iced white chocolate latte :)

Hotel b-fast food: Total cereal, light & fit raspberry yogurt, OJ

My doggy Sammie and I by a waterfall. It's his birthday today!!! He's 6 years old.. so I guess that means 42 in people years. He's getting so old!

Thank you so much to Baylee for this lovely blog award! I'll pass it off in my next post to three others, so look forward to that. :)

The family and I are off to Atlanta for the night. Tomorrow we're going to head back up to the mountains for yet another week of camping. Happy 4th everyone!

<3 HBB

Where The Peaches Grow

2009-06-27T15:57:00.027-04:00

Hi everyone. :)

I'm currently blogging from Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank goodness I finally found some wireless!

Fitness-wise:
It is so HARD to run on these hills/mountains up here! I ran for 45 minutes today and I seriously thought I was going to keel over. My mom and I also hiked 1.3 miles up Stone Mountain, so we're getting a lot of exercise in. :)

Time to share some of the food I've been eating along the trip!

Eating a banana at a KOA campground.
We stayed in a cabin one night to take a break from driving.

Starbuck's Coffee Frappe mmm

We ate lunch at The Whistle Stop Cafe, from the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes."

Eating in the cafe. :) It was so yummy!

Fried chicken, coleslaw, pickled beets, cornbread
The cornbread was not the sugary kind, but still so good.

My mom ordered the fried green tomato salad.
Of course, I stole a tomato from her. :) The tomatoes were HUGE and yummy.

My sister got country fried steak, gumbo, fried okra, & cornbread

Car Food:

Caribou Coffee, Iced Vanilla Coffee
My Review: It was good, but not as good as bottled Starbucks frappes!

McD's Happy Meal
(I miss these things SO much! And ironically it made me happier!)

6 McNuggets, honey mustard, Apple Dippers, & caramel sauce

Reduced Fat Milk and grapes

Camp Food:

Cottage cheese, grapes, banana, water

Lemon Zest LUNA Bar

Pear & beef jerky

Turkey sandwich w/ honey Dijon and coleslaw,
strawberries, apple

Cobb salad w/ chicken, tomatoes, boiled egg, carrots etc.

That's all for now folks! Tomorrow we're driving further north to a different campground. I promise to comment on your wonderful blogs as soon as I get back home. Hope you are all having a great weekend!

<3 HBB

Food & A Fact

2009-06-24T12:21:00.022-04:00

Hi friends. :)

The healthy eats have been going pretty well so far.
Last night I ran 2 miles and walked 3. The humidity here has been killer..

Eggs, grapes, ham slices, salsa, lemon water

Ham Subway on honey oat bread

Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut Iced Latte

Chili with lean ground beef

Kashi strawberry waffle with vanilla Light & Fit yogurt,
Smucker's syrup, & a granny smith

Fun Fact About Me: At school I work at Ben & Jerry's

Here I am chopping up bananas for the Vermonster Challenge. If you can eat the Vermonster in an hour it's free but if not, its about $30.

The Vermonster is: 20 scoops of ice cream, 4 bananas, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 10 scoops chopped walnuts, 3 cookies, 1 brownie, 8 scoops of four toppings, lots of whipped cream

The best part of working at B&J's is that I've learned how to make ice cream cakes! We layer the cake, make our own frosting, and decorate it ourselves.

I made this Eric Cartman from South Park ice cream cake for my boyfriend's birthday. The cake had cookies & cream IC and an Oreo cookie layer. It was amazing!

Tomorrow my family and I are driving up to Georgia for about 2 weeks of camping in the mountains. I'll be sure to update as often as I can and I promise to take lots of pictures! That's my doggy and I in our tent last summer.

Have a great week! :) <3 HBB

Ribbit Ribbit

2009-06-22T23:01:00.021-04:00

Today was Day 1 of trying to get back on board the healthy train, which was not any fun. I tried to avoid thinking about the ice cream bars in the freezer, eating cereal straight out of the box, and resisted glorious potato chips at the store.

The only fun thing about today was the frog plate I got to use, which was only $2.99 at Target! I have a weird obsession with frogs and I love this little plate! Mister Frog will get his 15 minutes of fame a few picures down. :)

Omelette & banana

Stuffed with cottage cheese and ham slices

"Lets make lunch using everything in the freezer"
Baked eggplant w/ pasta sauce & Parmesan cheese,
balsamic chicken, frozen veggies.

Perfect Foods Bar Lite, Cranberries Flavor

My Review: AMAZING. Peanut Butter was the 2nd main ingredient & it really shone through. The cranberries were the perfect size and overall, the bar had an amazing texture. I can't wait to find more flavors of this bar! :)

Light & Fit vanilla yogurt, lemon water, fruit bowl
ribbit

Grapes and apples

Unsalted rice cake with strawberry preserves

I walked for about 30 minutes along the water tonight. Somehow I ended up at the fishing pier, where manatees supposedly hang around.

Hopefully tomorrow I will find some motivation to go for a run. Enjoy your night! <3 HBB

A Tribute To Maury Povich

2009-06-21T14:53:00.009-04:00

Hello everyone.

I don't know if any of you secretly watch Maury like I do, but Father's Day somewhat reminds me of...

Mr. Maury Povich and his infamous line:
You are NOT the Father! :)

This is also random...
Maury and Newman's Own look like long lost twins!
---

In other news, I'm finally home after a few days in Gainesville. Let's just say I had a lot of fast food.

The yummy damage:
- Boston Market chicken, sweet potato, & cheesy spinach casserole
- McDonald's Egg McMuffin
- 2 slices of pizza
- Coconut ice cream bar
- Whataburger Chicken fingers w/ honey, & onion rings
- Turkey Pita Pit w/ feta, honey mustard and lots of veggies
- Sonny's Chicken fingers, onion rings, baked beans, coleslaw

Tomorrow is DAY ONE for healthy eats. I can't wait to catch up on all of your blogs! <3 HBB

I Should Be In The Kitchen

2009-06-16T22:49:00.010-04:00

Today has been a pretty uneventful day.

Absolutely no exercise or anything fun has occurred.
I did get a pretty nice nap in though.

Protein powder pancake w/ blueberries, cinnamon, & syrup

Skim milk & granny smith

"I should be in the kitchen"

My boyfriend gave me this shirt as a gag gift kinda thing.
What a sense of humor.. ;)

Coconut cream pie Larabar

My mom and I had a picnic lunch alongside the beautiful water in St. Petersburg. We had the health store salad bar to-go.

R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence
Carbonated Spring Water, Blueberry Flavor
My Review: Unfortunately, it tasted like perfume. I would not recommend this drink!

Salad w/pumpkin seeds, mushrooms, tomatoes, tofu, tabbouleh,
barley, & Annie's Goddess Dressing

I definitely couldn't eat this healthy jumble again. I like trying new things, but I felt like this was too "healthy"(if that makes sense). I'm not a fan of tofu because it's just too squishy. It's kind of like marshmallows..the texture terrifies me!

Dr. Brown's Diet Cream Soda, chili, carrots, & strawberries

Rice cake w/ natural pb & grape jelly

Watermelon and cottage cheese w/ cinnamon & raw sugar

I'm driving up to Gainesville tomorrow for a few days. Hopefully this time I remember to bring my laptop :) <3 HBB

***Anna is having her 100th post giveaway
& here is a Bday giveaway!

Pool Party Baby, It Was A Cool Party

2009-06-15T19:41:00.032-04:00

Hi there. Hope you all had a great day!

Sunday afternoon recap:
Basically my dad's entire side of the family live up in Ohio. Our cousins came down for their summer vacation and it was so exciting to see them! I haven't been to Ohio in about 10 years and I miss them all so much.

We all had a BBQ/ pool party & shared many memories.

**Everyone listen to this song right now to set the mood! :)
Pool Party by The Aquabats

Here are a few of the cousins (I'm third from the left).

All of us kiddies chowing down on the patio and my grandma with a bucket of coleslaw.

Pork tenderloin, teriyaki chicken, baked beans,
coleslaw, fruit salad, unpictured corn on the cob

My poolside B&J Margarita

Today's eats:

Eggs and a granny smith

Tyson chicken w/ side salad & peach

High Energy Trail Mix from The Fresh Market
*it really should be called HIGH(LY ADDICTING) energy mix

Salad w/ raspberry rum & Diet Coke

Up close & personal w/ pickles, strawberries, ham, black olives, honey dijon dressing

I accidentally dumped about 1/2 of this on the ground when I picked it up. Clumsy much?

On Wednesday, I may drive up to Gainesville to visit my boyfriend for the rest of the week. This probably means there will be many trips to Sonny's, TCBY, McDonald's, and Cracker Barrel.

Have a great night! <3 HBB
Check out this giveaway: maple pb

License To Chill

2009-06-14T11:35:00.015-04:00

Weekend time also means a license to chill :)

Yesterday my sister and I hit up Busch Gardens in Tampa.
A year round pass is only $69.95 for FL residents so it's a really great deal!

I ordered this for dinner at BG:

Turkey spinach wrap w/ coleslaw, strawberries, oranges

And now onto the yummy eats from the past few days.
B-fast:

Eggs, low fat yogurt, granny smith, watermelon, iced coffee

Turkey Subway on wheat

2 handfuls of pumpkin seeds before a run

Running Stats
Saturday: 3.5 miles
Today: 3 miles

Fresh pineapple

Salad w/ pickles, ham, tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon bits, mushrooms, Italian dressing

Be sure to check out my Marvelous Meal Makeover: Burger & Fries Style
on College Lifestyles!

Isn't this pink George Foreman grill adorable? <3 HBB

**Island girl eats giveaway

Food Time

2009-06-12T22:29:00.028-04:00

Does anyone remember the Blue Clue's song "Mail Time"?

Sorry this is so random. It's a pretty catchy song though I promise.

Anyway, instead of mail time... it's Fooood Time!
Go on.. wag your tail if you want to. :)

Ring ring banana phone
Turkey deli meat, eggs, strawberries

Baked eggplant w/ spaghetti sauce & Parmesan cheese

Attack of the Veggie Chips

Salad w/ tomatoes, turkey burger, green pepper, vinaigrette & OJ

Target's Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bar
These taste EXACTLY like Do-Si-Dos Girl Scout Cookies!

I went to my Great Uncle's Memorial today. After the service there were literally four tables worth of food which explains this massive lunch plate pileup:

- ham slices + pastrami
-sweet potato casserole
- bean salad (insanely good)
- green bean casserole
-coleslaw
-lettuce & cucumber salad

& then for better or for worse happened:

Coconut cream pie :)

Dinner= Sonny's chicken fingers & corn nuggets

Tomorrow I need to do some kind of running since I basically just sat, ate, and slept today. I just need to find some kind of motivation.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Wear your sunscreen <3 HBB

**Don't forget about Jenny's Giveaway

Endless Adventures

2009-06-11T10:14:00.025-04:00

This week has been pretty adventurous and it's only Thursday! You have to love sweet summertime. :)

Starbucks?

Nope.. a bowl full of hearty turkey chili.

Mister Rooster is drinking some delicious Diet Root Beer and nibbling on a Georgia peach.

Salad w/ red bell pepper, raisins,
Parmesan cheese, turkey burger, sauerkraut

My mom and I went for a 22 mile bike ride on Tuesday. We found this pretty ocean view.

When we got back we were craving: Crisper's summer salad + citrus herb dressing. The candied pecans in this salad are my favorite.

C ^3
(Cottage cheese with cinnamon)

Yesterday I went on a 4 hour canoe ride on the Weeki Wachee River.

My dad, brother, and I switched off every hour for the kayak.

Kayaking is the BEST arm workout.

Lunch on the river: un-pictured Spicy Italian Subways & banana

The whole river is basically a spring-- crystal clear and 72 degrees. Brrr!

This morning's breakfast consisted of a protein powder pancake:
2 scoops soy protein powder, 2 egg whites, cinnamon,
Smucker's syrup, iced coffee, & a granny smith

That's all for today friends! <3 HBB

Green Monster?

2009-06-08T12:10:00.021-04:00

Happy Monday. :)

Kashi Strawberry and Flax Waffle sandwich
w/ fat free plain yogurt, sliced strawberries, & SF Smucker's syrup.
(These Kashi waffles are AMAZING!!! Try them asap)

My kinda Green Monster :) Iced coffee!

This article was really sad...
Dolphins are almost on the endangered species list because boaters are feeding them human food. What would you even feed a dolphin?-- hopefully not a hamburger!

Got a few ?'s about how I make my iced coffee... I promise it's really easy!

Brew your coffee over night -> set it in the fridge to chill
Pour it over ice in the AM, add Splenda (or any other sweetener) & creamer
Stir it all up & you're good to go!

I use Coffee Mate SF Hazelnut, but International Delight's Dulce de Leche is amazing too.

Yesterday my mom & I picked up some:
Watermelon, GA peaches, pears, strawberries

Tonight I cooked up a pot of Turkey Chili:
1 green pepper, mixed frozen veggies, 1 can diced tomatoes, 2 cans spicy chili beans, ground turkey, chili powder, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, HOT SAUCE

I make chili a lot because it's fairly inexpensive and lasts about a week.

Late night snack attack = cottage cheese + cinnamon + pear

I ran 3 miles this morning & fast walked 2 miles on this sidewalk along the water. It was so pretty!

The Bachelorette is on tonight! What are your fave reality tv shows?

<3 HBB

PS Jenny's giveaway and Meghan's chocolate

Too Good Is True

2009-06-06T22:42:00.014-04:00

This is so random but I'm now in a big country music phase. I'm particularly loving the Rascal Flatts Pandora station. :)

"Too Good is True" by Rascal Flatts just played and I'm 100% sure it just made my night. Anyway, on to the eats!

My b-fast nook at the corner of the kitchen table:

Iced coffee + apple

My daily ritual w/ Sugar Free hazelnut creamer

Subway Spicy Italian on Italian herb & cheese bread. Eating fresh with some vanilla soy milk

Fresh Market + Publix run goodies:

Publix: romaine, grannys, raisins, cottage cheese X's 2, ramano chz, eggs, kashi waffles
Fresh Market: trail mix & also fried green beans .. random! These led me to find my most recent addiction:

Veggie Chips from Fresh Market! These snacks are way tastier than potato chips. I know they are probably worse for you.. but eating a fried green bean or carrot mentally sounds healthier to me. Oh well. :)

Diet Dr. Brown's Cream Soda + weird salad concoction

Today I ran about 3 miles. It's just hard with FL humidity making it seem like 10 million degrees outside!

I just recently started blogging for College Lifestyles, a site about Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Etiquette.
Check out my Fierce Food Face-off: BATTLE OF THE BARS!

Have a great Sunday! <3 HBB

Here are some current giveaways going on in the blog world!
full bar
summer giveaway
holey donuts
cookies

Mellow Mushroom

2009-06-04T22:54:00.011-04:00

Hi girls! Today was a rainy day, therefore no fitness occurred. (Other than walking around the mall for about 30 minutes-- does that count?) ;)

Breakfast & lunch were nothing snazzy.

3pm hungry hungry hippos time hit & I enjoyed some cottage cheese with a lot of cinnamon.

For dinner the family & I ate at Mellow Mushroom in Tampa. There is also one up in Gainesville where I go to school.

I had this delicious hoagie:
Toasted Turkey Sandwich
w/ blue cheese, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, bacon & onions
It was delish! (Although the service was not so hot.)

My late night snack was a not so scandalous orange:
That's all for tonight! Take care :)
<3 HBB

Summer Lovin'

2009-06-03T15:38:00.001-04:00

Hi friends! I'm Shannon, The Healthy Beach Bum, & this is my first post! :) I discovered all of your amazing foodie blogs towards the beginning of this year, and have secretly been hooked ever since.

I just finished my junior year of college at the University of Florida and will be home sweet home for the summer in FL. My goal for for these next few months is to get into a consistent and healthy eating/fitness routine.

Breakfast:

1 egg + 1 egg white, 3 pieces turkey deli lunch meat, & hot sauce (muy caliente!)

1 tiny Granny (Smith) :)

Workin' on my fitness:

Post yummy b-fast I went out for my daily run. I'm VERY bad at making decisions, so it took me THREE tries before I finally decided where I wanted to go running .

The plan was a beach run.. I was hoping for a day like this:

But it turned out it was HIGH TIDE. I attempted to run it for about 15 minutes, but it was just too difficult. There was no room to run on shore.

So instead, I drove by Hulk Gogan's beach house for a little tourist time. :)

I finally decided to run a 1.5 mile sidewalk (down & back) alongside the water.

In the end, it all worked out.. literally! :)

LUNCH:

I'd like to call this the "Salad Concoction"

(I make a lot of these...)

Romaine, sugar-free bread & butter pickles, vidalia onion vinaigrette, ramano cheese, broccoli slaw

The secret YUM factor in this salad was...

Sauerkraut + turkey lunch meat!

First fried in a pan & then mixed all together.

WEIRD, but amazing..

I also had this orange + frozen blackberries combo:

Time to take my dog out for a walk!

I can't wait to share more of my healthy ramblings with you! <3 HBB