Tag Archives: Costco

10 Day Re-boot: Alice’s Day 5

iGnite 10 Day Body Reboot

by Alice Meadows

First of all, let me begin by saying that this is my 4th or 5th time rebooting. I know this because I found that many booklets when I was looking for a particular recipe. Each time I do this it’s easier because I’ve carried over so many of the habits. Except for one. For the love of Epsom salts, I CANNOT remember to use the body brush – I have done it exactly ONE time during all t IMG_5363-1 hese reboots. I have it conveniently perched on the bathtub right next to the shower to remind me, but inevitably, it’s not until I’m in the shower reaching for the brush I keep there that…DOH!
I have yet to shower today, so there’s hope.
I will set an intention.

So I got to sleep in this morning because it was a late start school day for my kids – up at a luxurious 8:00. That made for 8 hours and 29 minutes according to the fitbit I got for Christmas. I had already negotiated with my husband to take kids to school, but somehow still managed to be late to yoga. I think it was making kid lunches first. Part of said negotiations. I digress.

IMG_5361-1 I had my lemon water and then got three figgy pops. I found these last week at Costco and I love them as an easy and very yummy grab and go item.
Perfect for the drive to the Treehouse. By the way, if you have not been to yoga at the Treehouse and can possibly make yourself available between 8:30 and 9:30 on Fridays, do yourself a favor and go! Amy has magic powers to intuitively know what her class needs and after Thursday kickboxing; focusing on stretching and relaxing is just what I needed. I was so relaxed I forgot to take pictures, but trust me – it’s lovely.

IMG_5354-1 Got home in time to take my oldest to middle school and then made my favorite breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack – Udi’s whole wheat, 1/4 smushed avocado topped with a scrambled egg and sriracha. Yum! And settled down to work.

Later that day…

Had a late-ish lunch while finishing work – tuna and avocado on Udi’s bread with a side of apple slices and some exotic root chips. I’ve found that I typically don’t have time for a “breakfast” while I’m getting kids up and out the door and myself to a class. So it’s usually a couple of pieces of turkey bacon and some apples spread with nuttzo (another Costco find that I adore) or a hard boiled egg and some fruit. When I get home from working out is when I have my heartier breakfast, then a later lunch, an afternoon snack and then dinner. Yep. Anyhoo, back to my day.

I had a shower! And just as I was about to step in – I saw the body brush! Yay intentions! So check that reboot box and let’s hope I remember again now that I’ve done it once. Don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about the body brushing. I guess I need to do it more than once.

IMG_5365-1 After picking up two kids and dropping off one, I went to meet my oldest for a pedicure at the delightful salon she can walk to from the middle school. Spontaneous-as-of-this-morning focus on me time. And I got a little green juice in for good measure.

The rest of the day was spent driving small people hither and yon with a stop at the grocery store for dinner – Organic salmon, green beans and wild rice. As the sun set, my husband did tempt me with a glass of bourbon, but I stayed strong and had some tea while getting in an Epsom salt bath. Not a bad ending to day 5 at all.

10 Healthy Eating Recipe Sites to Kick off the New Year

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The holidays are over, and it is New Year’s resolution time. Since most resolutions include eating healthy, the iGnite Leaders have created a great guide to help in this — their favorite go-to healthy recipe sites. Eating better in the new year will be much easier with these creative recipes to keep you interested. We suggest subscribing to a few of these blogs in order to get daily inspiration and motivation. Here are our top 10 favorites:

Skinnytaste.com Provides delicious, healthy, low fat, family-friendly recipes. You can sign up to get new recipes sent to you several times a week. Check out the Top 25 Most Popular Skinnytaste Recipes of 2015 to get you going.
The Defined Dish Two Dallas-based sisters give you the dish about food, fitness and other happy and healthy lifestyle tips. Along with great recipes, the site includes workouts, fitness styling, music playlists and more.
Plant-Based Pulse iGnite member Allison Quinones created this blog as resource for those trying to find a healthier lifestyle by providing delicious plant-based recipes. She strives to make all recipes as close to refined sugar and oil-free as possible. She is a wonderful resource and periodically shares her recipes such as Breakfast Quinoa with Fruit on the iGnite blog.
Connoisseurus Veg This blog is written by a vegetarian who has a passion for cooking and sharing her favorite recipes. Try the herb crusted whole roasted cauliflower – delicious!
AmyChaplin.com Amy Chaplin, author of “At Home in My Whole Kitchen,” inspires people to seek out local and organic vegetables, stock their pantries with nutrient rich whole food ingredients and to cook at home. Find beautiful, healthy recipes on her blog or follow her on Instagram.
Elana’s Pantry A go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free Paleo recipes. Elana Amsterdam is the author of the New York Times Best Selling cookbook “Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry.” Her site even includes pizza, donuts, and other treats made the healthy way!
Greatist Daily Greatist covers all things healthy and makes it easy to navigate throughout their site — categorized by quick breakfasts, make-ahead meals, detox recipes and more. Get their daily email with Greatist’s top health tips, workout ideas and delicious recipes.
Oh She Glows One of the most popular vegan recipe blogs around featuring over 500 healthy recipes by Angela Liddon. Her goal is to inspire you to embrace more plant-based foods in your diet without feeling deprived. Most recipes are gluten-free and many are allergy-friendly.
Against All Grain Paleo recipes to make you feel great created by Danielle Walker. She is the author and photographer of the New York Times Best Selling cookbook “Against all Grain.” Use her Costco Paleo Shopping List as a great resource.
Naturally Ella Created by Erin Alderson, the blog focuses on seasonal vegetarian recipes that are pantry-inspired. Her goal is to keep the recipes simple, fresh, and exciting for the entire family. Her tex-mex inspired recipes are definite crowd-pleasers.

You might also like:

*Food photography by Allison Quinones of Plant-Based Pulse

Eating Organic: Why, Which Foods & Money Saving Tips

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by Neissa Springmann

There’s no doubt that ‘organic’ is a buzz word for 2013, and in a perfect world everyone would love to afford an organic-only diet. However, with the cost of food on the rise and the reality that a large majority of the population is on a budget, eating entirely organic is virtually impossible! Let’s face it, a recent college graduate or mother shopping for a family of four is most likely to purchase four non-organic apples for $1, rather than four organic apples for $4.00. With that said, there are particular foods that are very important to eat organic, and rather than give up on eating organic all together, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with why it is important to eat organic, what produce is important to eat organic and a few cost saving tips too.

When produce shopping, a good rule of ‘organic thumb’ is: if the fruit or veggie has an edible skin, buy organic. The reason is that organic farming excludes and strictly limits the use of manufactured (synthetic) fertilizers, pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides), plant growth regulators (such as hormones), livestock antibiotics, food additives, genetically modified organisms, human sewage and nano-materials. Therefore, if your produce has a thick and non-edible skin, your fruit or veggie is more protected from the potentially harmful chemicals — unlike the produce with edible skin that has no protection. And, because we are what we eat, when eating non-organic produce we must assume that our body is also ingesting those same synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, etc.

Try to Buy These Organic:

Apples, Grapes, Strawberries, Berries, Peaches, Apricots, Pears, Cherries, Carrots, Celery, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Greens, Peppers, Tomatoes, Cauliflower, Cabbage Squash, Green Beans, Cucumber, Potatoes

Not as Important to Buy Organic:

Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Mango, Oranges, Bananas, Kiwi, Honeydew, Acorn & Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, Avocado, Onion, Corn, Peas

Save some $$!

Finally, there’s nothing worse than spending money on organic produce, to then find it molded and have gone bad in the refrigerator only a few days after purchasing it! On one hand, this is a good sign, as the natural aging process (without chemicals, etc.) is in play. But dang! That’s money down the drain! Therefore, when applicable buy your organic produce frozen (especially if you make smoothies, which is a great way to cool off in the summer and get your fruit and veggie servings for the day) or freeze it upon purchase. This does not diminish the vitamin or mineral content of the fruit or veggie and will save big money!

Furthermore, Costco Wholesale also has incredible deals on frozen organic blueberries and other seasonal produce. Also, subscribe to the Whole Foods mailing list. Very often they have cost-saving sales, like a pint of organic blueberries for $1.99! Finally, if you live in Texas, HEB has an excellent and affordable organic section.

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