Contigo Water Bottle Giveaway!

First things first...today's meals.  This morning for breakfast I scraped together a breakfast sandwich of egg whites, a chopped up mozzarella cheese stick, and turkey sausage on a Thomas' everything bagel thin.  Lunch was enriched multi-grain plus farfalle with some reduced fat Buitoni pesto sauce and reduced fat Kraft Parmesan cheese.   

Now onto the good stuff!  It's giveaway time!

Today I will be giving away a Contigo water bottle!  These bottles are seriously the best.  I use the all the time and have a few in the rotation.  (Sadly I left one in a classroom last semester so I may need to get another and replace it).

Like a real stalker, I first found out about Contigo water bottles when I was interning for pharmacy school at a local hospital.  There was another girl a few years older than me interning, and she had the most amazing water bottle I'd ever seen.  I must have sneaked a peak at the brand when she wasn't looking, and the rest is happily ever after between me and these bottles.  

The ones I use are 24 oz. tall water bottles (the middle one in the above picture).  They are big enough to hold a good amount of water (24 oz), but tall and skinny.  They aren't big or bulky.  Sometimes I find water bottles can be too wide to comfortable carry around.  

"Contigo water bottles are for savvy consumers who seek solutions to the daily challenges of their active lifestyles. Knowing that on-the-go beverages can be messy and complicated to use, Contigo developed a line of simple, yet functionally innovative, environmentally friendly drinkware to help people face life’s daily challenges. The products are stylish, yet resilient; sleek yet strong – the perfect combination of performance and grace. Contigo products give consumers the confidence they need to face the day and pride in knowing that they bought the best of the best."

My favorite feature of Contigo water bottles is the auto-seal technology.  You push a button on the back of the lid when you life the water bottle to take a sip.  This allows the bottle to open and water to flow out.  It's super easy to drink, and you don't have to worry about it spilling in your bag.  I carry this water bottle around with me everywhere.  It's constantly with me during class, at the gym, and at work.  It also isn't too wide to fit in the cup holders of my car and cardio machines at the gym (including spin bikes).  

There is also a cute little clip on the lid.  It makes the bottle easy to clip to your bag and go.  It's really sturdy and I don't have to worry about the clip coming undone.  

I will be giving away this water bottle!  24 oz. Contigo auto-seal in lime green!

Giveaway rules! Please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

1) Follow my blog.

2) Check out Contigo and let me know which water bottles are your favorites!

3) Like me on facebook.  (click top right corner)

4) Add me to your blogroll.

5) Post about it on your facebook and/or blog to let your friends know about the giveaway.

 

I will pick the winner of this giveaway Thursday night!

And if you don't win, I noticed on the website that red and pink bottle are on sale till Valentine's Day!  I will be taking advantage of this sale, myself!

Goals vs Objectives

Wow, it's already the end of January.  All I can say is thank GOD.  I find myself wishing my life away lately.  

• I wish it was May and school was done with for the semester.  
• I wish it was April and I was in the final stretch.  
• I wish it was summer and warm so I could relax, run all the time, and go to the beach.  
• I wish I was 30 and never had to look at another 14 pound text book again.  I think the stresses of school are really starting to get to me, and anxiety is at an all time high.  I guess for now I'll just try and find a way to cope with the stress and do my best. 

My goals for January were:

- Run up to 5 miles without stopping

- Run up to 6 miles without stopping

- Lose 8 pounds by Valentines Day - hefty goal, but doable if I put my mind to it.  I"m giving myself 6 weeks to do it too.

The last goal, I gave myself another 2 weeks for this deadline.  I don't think I've done that great in trying to achieve it.  I could be snacking less at night.  I didn't have to eat out as much for restaurant week.  I think in the future I am going to try and make active goals, where hopefully weight loss is a pleasant side effect.  Right now I have a lot of pressure on me to do well in school, and I don't need to add any more pressure on myself concerning weight.

I suppose it's about time to make some February goals.  In one of my pharmacy management classes (see I do actually pay attention in class), my teacher went over the difference between a goal and an objective.  Goals are generally more broad, such as be the best runner ever.  Objectives are more specific, such as run 7 miles without stopping.  Just thought I'd share that tidbit of information with you all.

Goals for February:

- Run 7 miles without stopping.

- Try not to sweat the small stuff.

- Work my absolute hardest towards school.

- Exercise at least 5 days out of every week.

- Log 70 miles in the month of February

In January, I logged 52 miles (not including walking to classes, etc.)  For my goal of 1000 in 2011, I really need to be getting closer to 83 miles per month.  Also the more I run the more my other goals of weight loss and improved running will get.   I set a goal of 70 miles for February (it is a shorter month after all) because I don't want to get too far behind that I don't reach my goal of 1000 come 2012.  I know I will have a lot more time in the summer to run, so if I can just keep up the best I can now, I can hopefully catch up on some miles then. 

After not exercising for the past 3 days, I'm feeling extra lazy.  I had planned on it, but I was simply lacking motivation. 

I recently read some awesome mantras on Julie's blog.  I'm going to start posting on days that I don't really have the drive to workout.

My day

- study

- find some food...somewhere

- go food shopping at some point

- gym

- tutoring for P&T

Today's mantra:  You are blessed to have legs that allow you to run.

February love <3

Stay tuned for my next giveaway which will be up shortly!

Tips for keeping sushi healthy

Since my car is snowed in (still), and my kitchen is empty (still), I ordered sushi for dinner tonight.  From my experience, I always try to make my own meals instead of ordering out to ensure that I know exactly what's in them.  When I do order take-out, for example a sandwich, sometimes I'll say no mayo, etc and put on the light mayo I have at home.

Here are some tips for keeping take-out sushi healthy (cause let's face it...we're not going to be making our own sushi regularly...at least I'm not).

1) Stay away from tempura!

• Tempura is code for battered and deep fried.  Not so good calorie wise at all.  One shrimp tempura roll (only 6 pieces!) is almost 550 calories and 13 grams of fat!  I could easily eat two rolls by myself, so I try and opt for healthier proteins.

Tempura = bad

2) Choose brown rice over white rice.

• Tonight was actually the first time I had tried brown rice with my sushi.  It honestly tasted the same (delicious) and there are a lot of benefits to making this switch. 
• The process that produces brown rice removes only the outermost layer, the hull, of the rice kernel and is the least damaging to its nutritional value. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be "enriched" with vitamins B1, B3 and iron. Source
• Brown rice, and the consumption of whole grains has been medically proven to help women keep weight off. In fact, in a Harvard Medical School/ Brigham and Women's Hospital study, women eating whole grains were 49% less likely to gain weight than women eating refined grains.  Source

3) Just say no to the cream cheese!

• Although I am from Philadelphia, a Philly roll is not your friend when trying to stay healthy and/or lose weight. 
• Although not all cream cheese is bad (I always use reduced fat at home), Japanese restaurants rarely use a healthier cream cheese and this addition really packs in more calories to the roll.  
• Calories in a Philly roll is 320 calories 5 grams of fat for 6 pieces.

and a little taste of cellulite...

Cream cheese filling inside the roll makes it a Philly roll!  Yummy but not for those who are trying to keep it light!

4)  Say no to making it crunchy

• As you can imagine, making it "crunchy" just adds more unnecessary calories in the form of fried carbs.

5)  Start the meal off with an appetizer

• I always order edamame with my sushi.  Edamame is whole soy beans that are boiled then usually salted and served whole.  Only 120 calories for a half cup of beans!
• There are usually also great soup and salad options to choose from as well which are low calorie sand can also fill you up...miso soup, seaweed salads, etc.  Miso soup = 36 calories for 1 cup, seaweed salad = 70 calories for 2 oz.

6)  Opt for sashimi

• Sashimi is a slice of pure lean protein!  It was about 35 calories and 1 gram of fat per ounce.
• Sometimes I get one roll and then some sashimi to balance it out (get some pure, lean protein) and not eat as much rice while filling up. 

7) The biggest secret: Low sodium soy sauce...it tastes the same!

• I don't really know why low sodium soy sauce isn't just "soy sauce".  If it tastes the same, why not make it the norm? (I suppose some people think the other soy sauce tastes better, but I want to give those people the "Pepsi challenge" and test their pallets)
• More sodium in your diet can cause increased water weight and water retention.

8) Go veggie.

• Veggie sushi rolls are low in calorie and oh so yummy!  Always a good option when the other tips are also followed!

My meal tonight:  Spicy tuna roll and a half with brown rice, edamame, a piece of tuna sashimi and a piece of salmon sashimi.  I ordered from Mizu sushi in Philadelphia.  They have several locations and great inexpensive sushi.

Diet soda in my favorite pill pusher mug!  Yay pharmacy school!

I hope you guys enjoyed my healthy sushi tips!  Please comment and share some of your own healthy sushi tips with me if you have any! 

I will also be hosting another giveaway soon so stay tuned!

The Palm

Tonight I crossed the finish line of a very important race I like to call...restaurant week!  I went out to dinner with the family.  We hit up the the ultra snazzy steak house, The Palm. The ride there was a little bit stressful, with the snow, broken down cars, ambulances, double long buses, and pedestrians.  We eventually made it to the restaurant, 30 minutes late for our reservation, and had an amazing time. 

Two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc please and thank you

Romaine salad tossed with oven dried tomato, spiced candied pine nuts, crispy shallot rings and Caesar dressing

Filet mignon with potato rosti, bacon wrapped portabella mushroom and merlot reduction

The fam split these potatoes and 2 veggies: three cheese potatoes

sauteed green beans

creamed spinach

Dessert! Chocolate Banana bread pudding with dulce de leche
yum!

My dad wanted to be in the blog tonight...

then my brother hopped on the bandwagon...

Oh and in case you didn't get your daily dose of Shannon, I did a little pre-dinner photo shoot in my bathroom mirror...

All in all...great feast, and great restaurant week season (it's like a sport).  Now I need to sober up and get a little studying done before hitting the hay.  I seem to have a weekend full of studying ahead of me, and I really hope I get a lot done.  Mini goal of the evening: don't turn on the TV.  Because once I do...I know....night over.  No more studying to be done.  I hope everyone else is doing stuff that is more fun than studying tonight/this weekend!  Sorry for being such a fuddy-duddy!

Quote about The Palm from Patti Stanger (from Matchmaker Millionaire on Bravo)

"Real men eat meat and successful men love steakhouses. The Palm is my favorite place for this."

Anyone tried to pick up some silver foxes at upscale places like The Palm.  Tell me your stories!  

I checked out the bar scene on the way out and was definitely a little unimpressed with the crowd...

No munchies or non-clear beverages please...

Today after class, I decided to give my legs a rest and work my brain out instead.  I spent a few hours in my school's new student study area which is awesome.  Except for the fact that you practically get strip searched by the guard to make sure that you have "No food, munchies, or non-clear beverages."  He says it every time you go into the building...every time.  He also notified me when I was leaving the building (and texting at the same time) that I was going to get mugged because I had my phone out.  Thanks school security guard for all of your hard work!

Lone Studying Wolf

Color coded organization!

Since I couldn't get any "munchies" past the gate keeper even if I wanted to, I called it a day around two then headed home for some lunch.  Unfortunately I have ZERO groceries.  I ordered Jimmy John's which is a sandwich delivery place that is super fast.  I went the healthiest route possible and got a turkey, lettuce, tomato, onion, and bean sprouts on 7 grain wheat bread.  Then I also cooked up my last can of tomato soup.  I really need to go food shopping, but my car is snowed in and I have no shovel.  No good..

Now I am struggling to get back to my studies.  I would so much rather watch bad Friday afternoon TV.  I'm going out later tonight with the family for my last leg of restaurant week!  Then I may need to do some sort of detox from all the restaurant eating I've been doing.  

Not my day!

So spinning was canceled AND there was no snow day today!  I was pretty upset about it.  Instead I rocked 3 boring solid miles on the treadmill and did a slowish 3 miles. After the run, my calves hurt so bad!  I had a good 10 minute stretch in as many crazy positions that I could think might being some relief before my trek back home in the snow.  I really hope that my stretch was enough, and my calves don't keep causing problems.  

That's my leg...up the wall, felt pretty good...

I don't purposely match my shoes to my shorts, I just like the color blue..

Lunch time!  Since I need to grocery shop today was a little bit of a freezer clean out day.  First was the breakfast sandwich, now I enjoyed some Steam in bag lightly sauces pasta and veggies with a side spinach salad with grilled chicken, fat free feta, tortilla strips, and yogurt thousand island dressing.  

Off to do some schoolwork!

No snow day :-(

I think It's pretty ridiculous that we didn't have a snow day.  I really thought we were gonna get one!!  We got 16 inches last night!!  Both Philadelphia public schools and the Philadelphia Archdiocesan schools are closed for the day.  Maybe my school needs a giant mudslide or tsunami to cancel for the day...

Breakfast - A delightful Jimmy Dean d-light breakfast sandwich - croissant with turkey sausage, egg white, and cheese.  Pulled it out of the back of the freezer so that I could last through class, spinning, and running without gnawing my arm off. 

A nice treat to enjoy when I finally made it to lecture

Here was my journey to class this morning...

Steps - un-shoveled....obviously a hazard...must trek on

winter wonderland

During some points of the journey, I had to actually walk in the streets because the sidewalks were not even touched.

If you don't have to go out into the snow today, don't!  I will be heading back in doors after the gym (good side of having class is that spinning and the gym are not canceled--hopefully!--and I at least I'm already on campus.)  

How are you guys getting in your daily sweat, today?

I always really look forward to my Thursday spin class!  I'm going to make it a brick and do some running afterward!