One Fit Mobile Kickoff Party and a Giveaway Coming Soon...

I hope you guys had a great weekend. I attended a great event this weekend...

A friend of mine Cindy Ross has been working tirelessly with the City of Mobile to come up with a way to make Mobile a healthier city. She has started a wonderful project called ONE FIT MOBILE.















By education, encouragement and availability of physical activities, we empower the citizens of Mobile to take charge of their health and wellness. We need to challenge Mobile to become a healthier city!


I have hoped that someone would come up with something to help my city get healthier and more active. Unfortunately Mobile is not an active city at all. I have mentioned before how I am scared to death to cycle on our streets. Totally not bike friendly. We also have very few actual walking/running parks or trails. I am very confident that ONE FIT MOBILE is going to change the city.

If you go to www.onefitmobile.com and sign up for the Fitness Tracker.
One Fit Mobile Tracker can track workouts, meals, measurements, weight loss, dieting progress, medical information (such as diabetes, cholesterol, sleep and blood pressure), and more. Map running, walking and cycling routes with aerial maps. Visualize progress, judge the effectiveness of diets and workouts, and reach goals sooner.
Access it 24 hours a day, from any computer, tablet or smartphone with Internet. When accessing it with your web browser, there is no software to install. Access it from your iPhone, Android or Windows smartphone too. You don't need to buy or download any apps!

On Saturday they had their kickoff party at Cottage Hill Park and I was super excited to go hang out with Cindy and volunteer.

One of things I thought was great was all of the wonderful businesses that sponsored and helped the ONE FIT MOBILE come alive.

They had many of the local gyms and personal training studios out to demonstrate how fun working out could be and that there is class/workout for everyone. I was able to sneak up on the stage and take a quick pick of Cindy with some awesome people doing a little Zumba behind her.

There were so many people taking advantage of all that the kick off had to offer including body composition test, blood pressure checks, and they even had a running clinic by Ryan from Southern Fitness.

I was able to pick up a pair of my now favorite workout pants in yellow from Fit Plus Wear. If you haven't checked these out, do it! They are AMAZING!


It turned out to be an awesome community day they had a great turn out. I heard nothing but great things from the vendors and the people that attended.


To close the day they had an amazing band come and perform. Award winning band Midnight Star performed all of their greatest hits including No Parking on the Dance Floor and Operator. If you were like me and grew up at the skating rink back in the 80's, you know these songs. They were so much fun to watch and listen to.

All of the great healthy information that they gave the City of Mobile on Saturday was so informative. Make sure to go and sign up for the Fitness tracking and the perks program.

Overall it was an amazing day and I am so grateful that I was able to have a small part in helping. The next ONE FIT MOBILE community kickoff will be on October 11 at Bienville Square. I hope to see all of you guys out there supporting this wonderful city.

One last thing before I go, I have an amazing Mamma Chia giveaway next Monday. Look at what they have to give one lucky reader...




















Good luck!

Do you have a healthy program in your city?
Midnight Star favorite song? :)

Relaxing Spa Day and a little Chia Delivery...

If you missed my post yesterday, I have a great discount code for the upcoming Runners World Heartbreak Hill Half and Festival in Boston. You can check it out HERE!

My day started out like it normally does drop kids off at school and head to the gym. Well then plans changed when I got a call from my mother asking me to go to the Wind Creek Casino and Spa with her, my sister, and my aunt who is in town visiting. Of course I couldn't tell them NO! You don't turn down a spa day!

So we headed to the Wind Creek Casino and Spa in Atmore AL!

The Wind Creek Casino is built on an the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation in Atmore AL. It is a gorgeous hotel and casino. It is about 45 minutes from my house and I try to get over to the spa a couple times a year, especially after a big race weekend.

What is awesome about the Wind Creek spa is they you can pay an $18 fee and use all of the spa and pool amenities. This includes the use of lockers, robes, spa shoes, and towels. It is one of those places you can stay all day and just relax.

They have a women's spa and a men's spa. Then they have a coed section outdoors. When you first go through the doors, they have a gorgeous changing area.

After changing into our bathing suits we headed into the indoor spa area. On the left is the cold spa, or as I like to call it the liquid ice freezing pool. It COLD! On the right is the hot pool. It is so relaxing sitting in this pool. The waterfalls are amazing.

In the same area they have a steamroom and sauna.

My sister and I relaxing in the hot pool.

After relaxing in the indoor hot pool for a while we decided to head out to the outdoor spa pool area. They have a large warm pool outside that actually has jets on one end that produce a current you can actually do light swimming against. Its really cool.

I had a blast hanging out with my mom, sister, and aunt. They are so much fun and so supportive of all of my crazy running ventures.

Unfortunately I had to cut my time short today because of having to get back in town to pick up kids. We didn't make it out to the actual swimming pool because of time and I'm sure it was still pretty cold, I did however snap a pic to show you how beautiful it is.

Here is another view of the pool.

Overall the experience of the Wind Creek Casino and Spa was amazing. I would love to actually stay a weekend at the hotel to check out what other activities they have to offer. If you are anywhere near the Gulf Coast it is well worth the time and money to check it out.

Date day, girls day out, family time, alone time, whatever reason you may need to have a relaxing day for next to nothing, check out the Wind Creek Casino and Spa.

Wind Creek Atmore
1-866-WIND-360
303 Poarch Rd
Atmore, AL 36502

When I got home from my spa day and back to reality, I had a little surprise from Mamma Chia and FitFluential on my porch.

Ahhhh I LOVE Chia seeds. I put them in everything. Getting the chance to try anything chia gets me excited. I am excited to read Chia Vitality by Janie Hoffman and make some of her recipes. Something else exciting is that one of you guys will have the chance to win yourself this wonderful box of Mamma Chia goodies. Stay tuned for the giveaway soon...

What's your favorite ways to relax?
Do you have a chia recipe you love?

Crescent City Classic 10k Race Recap

RACEDAY! CRESCENT CITY CLASSIC 10K

Yep it was finally time to hit the streets of New Orleans for the Crescent City Classic 10k. But first Melanie and I needed to get to the start line. It was a short walk to our hotel to the start.




















We headed down to Champions Square to meet up with Heather. How super cute is her little baby bump?

One of the great things about CCC is that they always make sure there are enough bathrooms at the start. Melanie may have had to wait 15 minutes in line. For 27,000 people that's pretty good. While waiting, we met up with Nicole and Jenn.

Is was so much fun to meet up with Nicole, we are doing the IRONMAN Augusta relay together with her friend Laura in Sept. I am so excited!

As you can see behind us Champions Square was starting to clear out and everyone was headed to their corrals. By the time Melanie and I got out to the streets to line up it was so full we just kind of stopped where we could. Check out the crowd up the street...

and down the street...

It was pretty crazy. Organized but crazy. LOL! We were able to find Holly and her husband Joby in this crowd. Joby was running his first 10k and totally rocked it.

After singing the national anthem, the elite group was off and running. The winner would eventually win with a crazy time of 27:43. Super fast.

We crossed the start around 8:13. I think I read this mans shirt to myself about 5 times.

The course was really easy basically you run towards the French Quarter, down past Café Du Monde and the French Market and up Esplanade to City Park.

There were def some crazy sites along the route like Beer and Breakfast. You could stop and get some alligator sausage, bacon and a beer around mile 3.

And some very touching moments.

Around mile 5 you enter City Park for the last mile. This park is so beautiful.

This is also the finish line for the Rock n Roll New Orleans, so I was familiar with loop. Its always nice to have a bunch of strangers cheering for you at the finish.

One of the complaints from last year was the crowd at the finish line. You could barely get across the finish because so many people were piled up trying to get out of the chute. This year they fixed that problem for sure. You had to basically walk a block to get to your medal and then stand in a long line to get into the finish line party. Not sure how they could fix that except have more entrances. Either way it was better than being crowded at the finish line. We made our way into the party and met up with the other bloggers that were covering the race.

Jewel, Melanie, Me, Holly, Heather, Jenn, Nicole, and Mindy.
I love my blends!

The CCC10k has an awesome finish line party. It is a full on dance party from start to finish. They also have food and drinks for purchase. And tons of free beer to be consumed.

I ran into a few of my friends at the after party.
Jason and Jewel from The Biggest Loser Run/Walk. (Check that race out if it comes near you, its a ton of fun. They put on a great race.)

And my buddy Aaron, the manager from my local running store Run-n-Tri.

Then of course I had to grab the race organizer Eric, for a quick pic.

I would tell anyone no matter what level of running, walking, crawling you do, the CCC10k is for you. From the elite runner to the occasional walker, anyone can do this race. If you are looking for a great time, bring your friends to New Orleans next year for the Crescent City Classic 10k. It is always the Saturday before Easter, so mark your calenders now!

I want to thank the CCC10k race director Eric Stuart and Laine for putting on such a great organized race. Cant wait till CCC10k 2015!

Have you ever raced in New Orleans?
What's your favorite 10k race you have ever ran?
I was given a free race entry and VIP entry, no other compensation was given. Thoughts are of mine and no one elses.

Crescent City Classic Expo in New Orleans...

Just wanted to say congrats to everyone that ran the Boston Marathon yesterday. I was in happy tears quite a few times watching the live coverage on the computer. Its such an amazing feeling to be part of such a strong community. Runners are special people!






This past weekend I was in New Orleans for the 36th annual Crescent City Classic 10k. The CCC10k had over 27,000 entries this year. Its huge. This is the 2nd year I have ran this race and let me tell you this race is at the top of my list. It has became one of my favorite races of the year. Melanie and I arrived in NOLA around 4pm and headed straight to the Hyatt for the expo to pick up our race packets.

After getting our race packets and tshirts we met up with Mindy and Paige for a quick pic. If you guys are local these girls run a couch to 5k training group called Soul2Soul sisters on the Eastern Shore. They are so motivating and inspiring.

One of the great things about the CCC10k expo is that they are sponsored by Blue Runner Foods and Michelob Ultra, so that means all you can eat red beans and rice and beer. SCORE! You know runners love their beer and food!

They also have plenty of vendors that have everything you may need for the race. There were a few vendors I thought might be there but with the Boston Marathon the same weekend I figured a lot of companies went up North. Either way it was still a lot of fun and its always cool to check out the local race vendors booths.

On the way out Melanie and I checked out the race course map. We both have been to New Orleans plenty of time and know the area well. I was curious to see how it matched up with the RNR Nola. It basically is the last half of the half in the RNR, so I knew that it was going to be a fun run. The race starts at the corner of Poydras and Loyola and ends in City Park.

After leaving the expo we headed back to The Blake hotel where we were staying, changed clothes and headed our for dinner. We saw some amazing buildings and tons of ghost tours happening. I would like to go on one of those tours one day.

We were not sure what we wanted so we just started walking down Royal street and before we knew it we were close to one of our favorite places, The Louisiana Pizza Kitchen. If any of you guys have ever been there, you know why we went there. Its amazing...

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and laid out our clothes for the morning. The race start time was 8 AM. Luckily we only had about a 5 minute walk to the start, so we set the alarm for 7 AM and went to bed.

 Ill recap the race and after party tomorrow. Trust me it needs its own post, LOL!

Have you ever raced in New Orleans?

Almond Butter and a Cleaner Nutella Recipe YAYA!

UPDATE: reposting because I made these this weekend and some of you guys were asking me about the recipes.

I don't about you guys but we are HUGE nut butter eaters here at my house. Peanut butter, Sunbutter, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, oh you get the point! If it a nut and can be made into a "butter" we are eatin' it!

As part of my "Healthy2014 movement that's starting, clean eating is going to be a huge part of my GOALS to achieve this year. its not rocket science that you feel better when you are eating healthier right? So 2014 is the year for me to start bettering me. 

Tonight I decided to make some Almond butter. I had heard it was easy to make with a food processor. Problem was I didn't own a food processor. So, I did what every normal person in this world does, I went to Facebook!, I figured one of my 600+friends might have one they aren't using and let me buy have it. Sure enough the great and wonderful Stephanie came through with one. Best part she gave it to me. Pay it Forward right? Anyone need anything I may have to give? If so leave me a comment! HA!

So here goes nothing, my making of the Almond butter...

I received some almonds from an actual California almond farmer named Brett. We met in the awesome Twitter chat that Amanda did with Blue Diamond. We were talking about how absolutely awesome Swiftwick socks are. And from the conversation I got this awesome huge back of fresh raw almonds in the mail. SCORE! You can see the bag in the background, I only used about 2 cups of almond for the butter. Ok so throw the almonds in the food processor...

Use the pulse mode until it looks like all the almonds are nice and chopped up like below. 

 Start your food processor on regular speed (I have 1 and 2, I used 1) The almonds will start looking like a dry cornmeal consistency, You will probably have to stop the FP a couple times and scrape down the sides in this process. It took me about 8-10 minutes of stop, scrape, start! Keep going...

 After a while it will start to look like a dough ball for a second in the FP, but keep going...

 A couple more minutes and the oils will actively release out of the almonds and it will start to get a creamy consistency to it. At this point I did add a pinch of salt and a pinch of cinnamon. Totally optional. You could add pretty much anything at this point, Sugar, chocolate, flavorings, etc.

 Surprise you have almond butter. It will be slightly thick. If it is too thick you can add a nut oil to the mix and blend a little more and it will thin out. 

 Finished product. It made about as much as you find in those small PB jars at the store.

I hope this was easy enough to follow. If you have any questions, Comment below:)

Cleaner Nutella

So, my husband LOVES Nutella. Who doesn't? I thought why cant I make a cleaner Nutella? So here is what I came up with...

I went to Wal Mart crossing my fingers they had hazelnuts. Yeah not so much, but I did spot them in the mixed nut bins. So I basically picked them out. LOL

My husband gracious;y cracked these for me. I layered them on a pan in the oven on 375 for about 10 minutes. Watch them, the skins will turn a dark brown. After taking them out of the oven, use a wet towel to remove as much of the skins as possible. Don't stress about it, just as much as will come off. Put the roasted hazelnuts and do the same thing with them as the steps above for the almond butter.

 Until it looks like this. You could stop right here and have hazelnut butter. But come one everyone knows hazelnuts need chocolate! 

 So I added a 3/4 cup of powdered sugar. You can use regular but I made a Splenda version...

(1 cup of Splenda and a tbsp of cornstarch and blended the crap out of it in my blender, alas, you have powdered Splenda. You can do this with just about any sugar substitute)

1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp cinnamon

2 1/2 tbsp of almond oil (you can use any oil, even olive if you want)

 Blended some more till I had the consistency I wanted. 

 And here is my cleaner healthier Nutella. My husband loved it. WINNING!

I hope you make one or both of these butters. If you do let me know how it turned out.

QOTD: Have you ever made a nut butter?