Staying Healthy while Staying Abroad

In just a few short weeks, I'm off for an extended work trip abroad. I'll be spending about a week in Warsaw, Poland, a few days in Prague, and four days in Madrid, Spain. While I'm certainly excited and happy for the opportunity to travel, I'm a little nervous about two things: 1 - How will I manage to pack all that I need for two weeks in one suitcase and one carry-on and still make the airline weight restrictions? 2 - How will I stay on track with my marathon training and eat healthy? Big problems, right? Yeah, I know, they're fairly minor, but still important, especially to a PR, clothes/shoes-loving, woman!

Let's tackle the suitcase issue first. I've already started making a list of things I need to buy and things I want to pack. I think I've come to the realization that I will need to do some laundry in the hotel sink, and I'm alright with that. But let's be honest, I'm totally one of those girls who brings eight pairs of shoes and too many "just-in-case" outfits. It's going to be tough. I just don't want to get into another situation like I did in China, where my bag was too heavy and in broken English I was told I needed to pay $500 U.S. dollars - Nightmare of a story for another blog post. Anyways, my goal is to be extremely practical about my packing - I said, it's my "goal." I also need to some how leave extra space for all the gifts I need to bring back. This will be a real challenge folks. I plan to document my packing extravaganza and offer some tips as I go along. So wish me luck!

As for my training schedule and eating, that's another story. I know the hotels I'm staying in are equipped with gyms, so that's a start. Working out isn't really going to be a huge issue, I seem to make time for it on work trips. Sometimes though, the fatigue and time differences make me lazy, so I'm going to need to fight the urge to sleep. My shorter runs won't be too bad, but I have a seven and ten mile run to complete while I'm away - that's going to be one boring treadmill workout. Here's hoping I stick to it!

Now eating is a totally different beast. I'm a little compulsive when it comes to weighing myself, so I usually bring a scale with me. Yes, I pack a scale in my suitcase. I'm not sure I'm going to have the space for it this time around, although I refuse to give up and am on the hunt for a lightweight travel scale, if such a thing exists. Worst case, I'll see if the hotel has one. I'm also bringing a lot of my own food, which also contributes to the packing issue. I plan to bring low fat English muffins, a small container of peanut butter, oatmeal packets, some craisins, cheerios, 100 calorie snack packs, and I'm sure that's not all. Part of the reason I bring my own food is strictly health reasons (i.e. calories), but the other reason is due to food allergies - It's not easy being lactose intolerant abroad! I'll also continue food journaling, which should help keep me on track. When all else fails, order the salad.

If you have any tips on packing or keeping a healthy lifestyle while abroad, please do share! I'll keep you all posted on my attempts!

Baking for a Cause - Monkey Bread!

So in an effort to be a good person, who gives back to the community, I frequently volunteer (when I can and when I'm at home) with my parents' Lions Club. Truth be told, I'm actually a member, and one of the youngest at that. Twice a year, the Lions have a breakfast and bake sale for the community to raise funds for scholarships for local seniors. For the past few years, I have been put in charge of the bake sale, mainly because no one else wants to run it and also because I'm the only one who's been able to make a significant profit. I enjoy it though - mainly because my mom and I bake up a storm the day before and I get to give back by doing what I love, engaging my inner-Betty Crocker.

The next breakfast is in two weeks and once again I'll be reprising my role as bake sale leader. I try to come up with new items to bake. In November, I made mini cheesecakes and they flew off the racks. Some of the staples that tend to sell really well include: Tandy cake (peanut butter/chocolate/vanilla cake), blueberry cake, apple turnovers (I make them every year), apple pie, and cookies. With a couple weeks to go, I'm making my list of items to bake this year, which includes: mini strawberry cheesecakes, peanut butter cookies, apple pie, AND mini monkey bread muffins!

I tested the mini monkey bread muffins last night and thought I'd share the recipe with you all - it's incredibly simple, and incredibly delicious. I riffed off a recipe I found at Pinch of Yum. I had to get rid of some rapidly aging bananas and this recipe included them in the monkey bread. So here's how you do it:

Ingredients: 
1 package of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits 
1/2 cup of Splenda or other sugar substitute (my attempt to make these healthy)
1 teaspoon (or more if desired) of cinnamon
1-2 bananas (if you desire)
1/2 of butter for topping (optional)
2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar (optional)

Directions:
Break the biscuits up into clumps of varying sizes - I got between four and six pieces out of each biscuit. Although the recipe I found suggests putting the sugar/cinnamon in a ziplock back and adding the dough to coat, I found this to actually not work very well. So, I'd suggest putting the cinnamon/sugar in a bowl and rolling the pieces, a few at a time, in the mixture. Coat a muffin pan with nonstick spray and add in the pieces of dough. If you want to add banana, just cut up into piece and coat with the sugar/cinnamon mixture and add with the dough. Pop them in the oven for twenty minutes at 350 degrees and there you have it.

I think you can probably get between nine and eleven mini monkey bread muffins out of eight biscuits, which is between 150 and 124 calories a muffin- the average monkey bread made with real sugar is about 400 calories a serving. If you want, you can melt butter (or in my case Smart Balance) and brown sugar (my case Splenda Brown sugar) and add to the top of each muffin, before baking, for a more gooey texture. This will add a few calories of course.

I think these taste pretty good - If you use real sugar, they might be a little gooey-er, but of course more calories - your choice! I only allowed myself to eat two - one with bananas, one without and froze the rest - I think they'll be a nice treat one morning after a quick spin in the microwave.

I think I may just have to add these to the bake sale table after all! I think I could get $2 a piece out of each one!

Enjoy!

Easter Preparations

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I relocated to Connecticut for my job in February. My parents spend the winter in Arizona and finally returned home to the East Coast this past week. Since we hadn't seen one another for three months, it was Easter, and my birthday right around the corner, my parents spent Easter with me here in Connecticut.

For the first time in my life, I felt like such an adult, preparing for their arrival. From furiously cleaning my apartment, to buying bagels and cold cuts at the grocery store, to making dinner reservations, I meticulously made sure everything was perfect for my parents. I guess in some ways, I wanted them to see just how grown up I've become and know they taught their daughter well.

The weekend was really wonderful and I guess what I realized was all the preparations didn't really matter. What was really important was just being able to spend a great weekend with family. I won't lie though, it did make me feel pretty good when my parents called after they arrived home on Sunday night and said, "We had an absolutely wonderful time and can't wait to come again!" Mission accomplished - I am officially a qualified and successful hostess - and my parents are so proud! But I won't lie, once they left to head home, I passed out on the couch. Being a hostess is exhausting!

Happy Easter everyone!