Smart Food

I was so excited to share my Masaman Curry recipe with you today! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out. It still tasted okay, but it didn’t taste like Masaman Curry and I definitely wasn’t a fan! It also doesn’t photograph well, eh?

Smart Fitness

Yesterday, I got a flat 7.5 mile ride in. My knee started to hurt a tiny bit towards the end, but not too bad…progress!

During my ride, I had a nice elderly man yell at me from his car to get off the road. We had many, many people yell, swear, and honk at us on our ride to Albany on Sunday, even though Dan and I follow all traffic laws and stay in the shoulder or far side of the lane.

We pretty much let it roll off of us, even though it is frustrating, because we love cycling and know that it is good for us. And don’t get me wrong, we also had a lot of drivers who were courteous and gave us space when they could.

But, here are my pleas, to both drivers AND cyclists.

To Drivers:

• Legally, cyclists have as much right to be on the road as you do. There is no need for name-calling whenever you pass someone on a bike.
• Honking at a cyclist because you’re mad they are in the road is dangerous. You could startle them, causing them to swerve into your call or fall. Don’t do it!
• When you are passing a cyclist, give them some space. If there is a whole empty lane next to you, there is no need to cut it as close as possible. In fact, most states require drivers to give cyclists 3-4 feet clearance when passing.

To Cyclists:

• If you are going to ride on the road, you must follow all traffic laws. This means stopping at red lights, signaling your turns, etc. Don’t give other cyclists a bad name by assuming that because you aren’t in a car, you don’t have to follow the law.
• Wear a helmet!
• If you are riding early in the morning, at dusk, etc, use sufficient lighting on your bike so that you aren’t surprising any vehicles with your presence.
• Ride close to or in the shoulder on the right side (unless you’re getting ready to turn left!). If a car is passing you and you are in a group, ride single-file.
• Ride in the direction of traffic (ie: don’t ride the wrong way down a one-way street)

Smart Life

My weekly goals update. Changes are in green!

1.  Plant ‘cool season’ crops (kale, Swiss chard, etc): This was on the agenda for today, but the current rainstorms put that on hold. On the bright side, the Savvy Garden really needs this rain!

2. Bike 70 miles total (48 down already!) I had a 15-mile ride planned for today, but again, the heavy rain is putting that on hold. Hopefully I can get in all the miles tomorrow!

3. Finish our wedding thank you notes! Because it is raining, I will have time for these today!

4. Go blueberry picking and make preserves. Blueberry butter is taking a LONG time– post on Monday!

5. Write 2 freelance articles Because it is raining, I will have time for these today!

6. Weed garden.

7. Strength train 3x. (2 done!)

Do you have any other tips for/experiences with sharing the road with cyclists?

Smart Fitness & Life

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the #fitblog chat last night! We had a great turnout, and a fantastic discussion. For those who couldn’t make it, you can find the full transcript here or read my recap below.

Q1: What kind of health/fitness goals do you set for yourself and how do you achieve them?

• A large number of fitbloggers say they sign up for races to keep them motivated.
• Several people set daily or weekly goals for themselves.
• While some people find it useful to blog about their goals and progress towards them, others feel it lets them put too much pressure on themselves.
• Consistency is important!

Q2: There are a lot of “fit blogs” out there. How do you set your blog apart from others?

• Talking about how you incorporate health and fitness into your daily life can make your blog more interesting to others.
• Finding your ‘blog voice’ is vital.
• Lots of people have a ‘tagline’ for their blog that defines what their blog is about. For instance, mine is “All About Smart Food & Fitness.”
• As Katy pointed out, “Just being yourself&sharing your story matters. No one else has ur story!”

Q3: Let’s talk about measuring success. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your last post? Why?

Q3 Fol.Up: What would make a post a “10″ for you?

Q3 f/u 2: Should we strive for a 10 post every time?

• Surprisingly, a lot of people ranked their most recent post as only a 5-7.
• For most people, ’10′ posts are those with good content and lots of photos. Honest, inspiring posts are also of high quality.
• Quality of comments on a post is more important than the quantity.
• Though not every post can be a ’10,’ we should strive to publish the best blogs that we can!

We ended the chat with ‘Brag Time.’ This week, I asked everyone to share one thing they’ve done recently that made them proud AND to tell us one blogger they especially admire lately. Even if you weren’t present at #fitblog, I encourage you to go participate in Brag Time now!

Smart Food

Whit’s cousin is fundraising for her half marathon benefitting the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. To help her out, Whit is hosting an online bake sale next week.

It is a great cause, and I will be contributing my White Chocolate Currant Granola. This is even better than my last granola recipe, if I may say so myself. But if you want to try it, you’ll have to bid on it at the bake sale.

For more information on how to contribute something to the cause, check out Whit’s post on the bake sale here.

And keep an eye on Whit’s blog for the day and time of the bake sale!

Smart Food

Smart Fitness

Smart Life

This is a little belated since the Push-Ups Challenge ended almost 2 weeks ago, but I was a wee bit busy, what with the wedding and move and all!

I want to take a moment to congratulate everyone who completed the 25 Days of Push-Ups Challenge… way to go!

I love the support we were able to provide each other in the comments section of the challenge page. There were so many ideas for beginner adaptations. And when I asked how to keep my wrists from hurting during push-ups, I got so many helpful tips! Once I started doing the exercises on hand weights, my wrists stopped hurting entirely. Thank you Heather and Aunt Denise!

I don’t know how many of you took before and after pictures, but I figured I’d share mine.

Before:

I’m back! Between wedding weekend, a 2-day drive from Wisconsin to New York, and doing much of my unpacking, I haven’t had a spare minute to blog.

We should be getting our professional wedding pictures back in a week or two, so I think I’m going to make you wait until then to do my own recap of the wedding. Until then, you can read Heather’s recaps of both the ceremony and reception, and check out our preview pictures from our photographer!

Oh, and as an additional side note, I realize that Tea Week was never fully completed, and I promise I will finish it after I finish my recap posts.

Until then, onto the recap of…

Our Rehearsal Dinner

My parents came into town on Friday night so that they could go to the Farmer’s Market with me on Saturday morning. We bought all of the flowers for the wedding there… loved having all local, in-season flowers!

Then, it was off to the museum for the rehearsal!

Clearly, I was excited to be there.

My mom showed flower girl Marrisa, Dan’s niece, how she should walk down the aisle. We had her walk straight towards Uncles Dan and Josh, then sit down by her mom in the front row. Worked perfectly!

And of course, we had to practice the kiss.

  

We had a blast on Saturday night, but Sunday was even more fun!

Heather here, to finish up the Savvy Wedding recap continued from Part 1. Also, you can read more about Julie’s wedding planning on her wedding tab.

Everything about Julie and Dan’s wedding was a perfect representation of the two fabulous people I’ve come to know over the past several months.  The location was, in the only word I can think of to accurately describe it, EPIC.  The food was exactly what you would expect from a foodie like Julie.  The mood of the entire day was filled with a laid back charm and overflowing bounty of love.  Laughter and smiles were abounding from not only the bride and groom, not only the families, and wedding party, and friends from near and far – but also from the staff of the museum.  It was clear that these two wonderful people were surrounded by, and radiating themselves, pure true-love-inspired bliss on their special day.

The weather was nothing short of beautiful, and the roof top sculpture garden of the museum made the most gorgeous setting for such a special day!

It was clear that every guest at the wedding was more than happy to be in the presence of such a celebration.  The conversation flowed so naturally with each person we met while at the wedding (Ashley was my date!), and Julie and Dan had set out board games and cards for friends to enjoy at each of the tables inside.  Music especially chosen by the bride and groom was heard through out the venue, with space for dancing in the garden.

Details, details, details!

Of course, I’ve saved the best for last…the stunning bride! Isn’t Julie gorgeous?

If you ask me, Julie and Dan’s wedding was a perfect match for their amazing personalities and sweet love for one another!

Special thanks to Ashley for the use of some of her photos for these recaps.

I am very excited to hear Julie’s recaps of the wedding weekend! Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs!!!

Just a reminder – Dan and Julie are driving to their apartment in Ithaca as I type this, so the bride will not see this recap until she arrives – welcome to your new home, wifey!

Hello savvy readers! This is Heather from Then Heather Said.
Julie is driving from Wisconsin to New York with her husband at the moment, and asked if I could give you all a recap from their wedding.  I was honored to be able to attend Julie and Dan’s marriage ceremony and celebration, along with our friend Ashley, and wanted to give you glimpse of what made the day so fantastic.

Overall, the wedding was full of details which showcased Dan and Julie’s beautiful relationship, their wonderful personalities, and the love that so clearly surrounds this amazing couple. 
As the wedding began the anticipation sunk in.  We all knew that Julie was going to be a stunning bride and awaited her appearance.

Julie and her maids were patiently awaiting, too.

And then it was time to come down the aisle. The girls, wearing blue dresses they chose to best capture their own personal style, carried flowers from the popular Dane County Farmers Market on the square in Madison.

Everyone was radiant, but none as radiant as the bride.
 

The groom was glowing, as Julie appeared.  His acapella group which has been singing together since high school, gave a savvy serenade to his savvy bride.  “That’s All” by Michael Buble, is their song and was preformed beautifully.

Dan and Julie’s vows were spectacular.  For Julie’s 19th birthday, Dan had written her 19 post it notes, each complete with song lyrics that described her and how he felt for her.  For his vows, Dan made cards containing 29 promises in the same way.  The guests in the audience seemed to have a lot of fun recognizing the song titles by the lyrics, before Dan announced them after sharing each promise with his bride.

Julie’s vows included a list of 29 reasons why she loved Dan and wanted to stay with him forever.
Foodie bloggers may agree that "Because you take photos of me in the kitchen when I’m cooking" was pretty epic. [also, please note that Julie’s list matches her wedding colors. just saying.]

The I do’s and the rings were exchanged with care.

Mr. and Mrs. were introduced, for the first time.

Let’s pause and talk about the view for a second…breathtaking!!!

See you at the reception!

Just stopping by to say that my wedding to-do list kind of took over the past two days, so I will be back with more Tea Week Posts and push-ups tips tomorrow! Because of the delay in Tea posts, Tea Week will be extended through next Thursday.

See you all tomorrow!

Not only are there many types of tea, but there are also multiple ways to brew it… bagged, loose-leaf, and cold-brewed. I’ll discuss cold-brewed later, so for now we’ll focus on the differences between bagged and loose-leaf tea.

Typically, loose-leaf teas have a higher quality and more complex flavor, and are what I tend to prefer. However, more and more bagged teas have been showing up in stores that use larger sachets and larger leaf pieces, giving them a higher quality than their typical counterparts.

And let’s face it, sometimes you just want the convenience and portability of a tea bag!

Loose-Leaf Tea

All tea leaves expand when they get wet, and they need space to really release their flavor and brew properly! This is especially true for a tea like oolong, whose leaves can more than double in size during brewing. With a good strainer or infuser, the leaves will have all the room they need.

Additionally, with loose-leaf tea, there tend to be more flavor options, and you have full control over the amount and strength of tea you brew. However, it is generally less quick and convenient to make.

Bagged Tea

Bagged teas are convenient to use, especially when you are on the go. They are often filled with crushed tea leaves to speed up brewing, which means that a lot of the essential oils that lend tea its flavor are lost before brewing.

Julie’s Teas Today

Today’s teas of choice are both rooibos. I didn’t start drinking it until later in the day, so I chose some caffeine-free options! First up was 2 cups of Rishi’s Jamaican Red Rooibos (Organic & Fair Trade). It has a very strong and somewhat tart flavor to it, which isn’t my favorite, but I’ll still drink it until it’s gone!

After dinner, I plan to have some of Cha Cha Tea’s Blueberry Rooibos (Organic). I love its sweet tinge, and the blueberry flavor is very distinct and easy to pick up. This may be one of my favorite rooibos blends, and is available in my shop!

Smart Fitness

My Italy training is coming along smoothly! I biked a tough 25.47 miles in 1:45 this morning. Since the trail was less busy than usual, I was able to cycle much faster…and my legs were definitely burning by the end!

Today’s Push-Ups Challenge Tip:

Find a friend who wants to do the challenge with you. Check in on a regular basis to keep each other on track, and to be each other’s cheerleaders when motivation is low!

Or, use the comments section of the first challenge post to get motivation and encourage others!

Smart Life

Despite wearing copious amounts of SPF45 sunscreen, I am starting to see some cycling-related tan lines. Since I’d really rather not have them show up in our wedding photos, I think I’m going to invest in some self-tanner.

Per Gracie’s recommendation, I think I’m going to try St. Tropez…no tan lines, without the skin damage! Check out her fabulous Tan-Free Tuesday posts, written in honor of May being National Skin Cancer Awareness Month.

What better way to kick off Tea Week than with a breakdown of the types of tea? Based on our experience at Tea Source the other day, the choices can be overwhelming!

There are four main types of tea: white, green, oolong and black. But what is the difference between them? And where do Rooibos and herbal teas come into play?

White, Green, Oolong and Black

The four main types of tea all come from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. White, green, oolong and black teas differ in caffeine content, flavor, brew time, brew temperature and color. These differences come largely from the amount of time the picked leaves are allowed to react with oxygen.

White teas are a very pale color, with a light and sweet flavor. They are the least processed and have almost no reaction with oxygen because they are made from new leaf buds that are picked and dried before they are fully opened. As a result, white tea has the lowest amount of caffeine of all the teas, but the most antioxidants.

Green teas have the second-lowest caffeine content of all teas and have a delicate taste, though not as delicate as white teas. The leaves are steamed or fired soon after picking to halt the reactions with oxygen.

Oolong teas have the second-highest caffeine level of tea, and are allowed to react longer with oxygen than green teas, but for less time than black teas.

Black tea leaves experience the longest oxygen exposure time, leaving them with a stronger flavor and highest caffeine content.

Though all four types of tea are naturally caffeinated, they can easily be decaffeinated using the method discussed in my previous Brain Food 101 post on the caffeine in tea. Personally, I prefer this method of decaffeination over the processed method which uses carbon dioxide, methylene chloride or ethyl acetate.

Rooibos

Rooibos does not come from Camellia sinensis, but from Aspalathus linearis, which is found only in South Africa. Naturally caffeine free, Rooibos is less bitter than tea due to the lower amount of tannins. Rooibos is often considered a form of herbal tea.

Herbal Tea

Herbal teas, or tisanes, are made by infusing flowers, leaves, seeds and roots in hot water, and actually contain no tea at all. Herbal teas are naturally caffeine free.

Sources

The New Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew & Bruce Richardson

Tea Source

Cha Cha Tea

Rooibos