Fave new snack because I heart ranch (anything)

order beach bundles by 3/9 as we're headed away too

I took tennis lessons when I was younger. I don’t remember anything about the lessons or the instructor. I don’t even know exactly what age I was. I recall taking a taxi home so you’d think I was

a teen or preteen but that wasn’t necessarily the case in my family. I’m thinking 5^th grade but who knows? I do remember something and that’s the snack I had after EVERY lesson. I had cool ranch Doritos and cranberry “juice”.  I still remember enjoying this combo in the comfort of the taxi and thinking it was the best snack ever.

While my Dorito days are done, to this day I  like ranch flavor. We mentioned in our newsletter today that there’s something trashy about ranch but I don’t care. Whether it’s the memories associated with it or just the flavor, I like it…a lot.

Recently, I was reunited with ranch. Organic Living who makes sprouted, organic, top-notch nuts sent us a sample of Ranch Cashews (combined with Buffalo almonds). I had a Buffalo wing phase too but that happened in high school for obvious reasons (if not obvious see Carolyn’s Friday post). I had the sample, ordered the Ranch nuts for the office and have had them in my nutcase every day since.

If you’re team ranch flavor, you must try these. We have them on their own or paired with our other favorite spring break essentials in the bundle pictured above.

Yum.

Any somewhat nasty items you enjoyed as a child? I’d love to hear.

What Would You Do With An Extra Hour in the Day?

I’m of the mindset that the more you have to do the more you get done. I like a day filled to the brim. I like getting up at 5am, love to-do lists- you get the picture (and I’m sure have a few choice adjectives to describe me and those like me). When a meeting is cancelled or I have “extra” time I generally putz around. I’ll get on Facebook, tweet a bit and check Google analytics. I can waste time as well as I fill time and this worries me. My boys are at sleep away camp for 7 weeks; I warned you I would mention this a million times before August so including Friday’s mention I have 999,998 mentions to go. I have “extra hours in the day” for the next 45 days.

Friends of mine, both concerned and intrigued, have been asking “what are you and Marc going to do”?  I initially felt a little pressure to design some super-duper summer plans to match their excitement. Instead I’ve been saying, “ I’m really looking forward to doing nothing.” This isn’t exactly the truth either. As you can gather, I’m not much of a “do nothing” person. There’s only so much napping and tweeting and reading I can do. I have plans and to me they’re thrilling but I’ll warn you, you’re going to be disappointed.

• I want a refrigerator I can show off. I don’t mean the actual appliance. I wish I had taken a “before” picture because though filled with healthy food, my fridge a few days ago was utter calorie clutter. Before the boys come home, I will show you my newly organized zen fridge.

• I’m also working on a book, still in the early stages, but I stalled last summer and I want to get the proposal done and carve out time to write.

• I work out a fair amount but I want to do things I don't usually have time for. I'd like to play more tennis, allow myself more “double header” workouts and head out for runs in the early evening. This is something I haven’t done in years as that’s cooking time when the kids are home.

• I had intentions, before the boys left, to cook all these recipes that aren’t necessarily family friendly. Once they left I found myself making  “Smoky Chicken” and other things they love (miss them). My husband’s also on a mission to try all these restaurants- after all no babysitter to be paid. 

I wanted to put this all out there because it’s so easy to let this time or any free time slip away. If you’re concerned I’m spending the whole summer organizing and writing, don't worry we have a couple of short trips planned just don’t expect me to “do nothing” while way.

What would you do with a couple extra hours in the day? Do you prefer when life is busy or more free? Are you good at doing nothing? Do you think my “plans” are lame? What do you think I should do with the next 45 days?

Hitting Fit

I didn’t get to see Kim Clijsters win the Open Saturday night because I was in a tent at the Bronx Zoo (more on that later). I did watch her entire match against Venus Friday afternoon. I have been a Clijsters fan for a long time. She’s exciting to watch with her splits and her grit. It’s another subject entirely but I didn’t jump on the Clijsters as super mom bandwagon. I’m thrilled she has a baby but don’t think it’s that amazing that she has a child and works. Many women do. I digress, back to Friday’s match. I sat in the living room and watched the 3-set match. I routed for Clijsters even as my 8 year old insisted “Venus is the only American left, how can you not route for her? And the truth is I love Venus and would’ve cheered for her if she wasn’t playing Clijsters.


As I watched the roller coaster of a match I did what we all do and perhaps don’t admit. I “sized” the players up. First there was Venus in her slinky black tennis dress, leggy and lean. She’s come a long way from the awkward teen with braces years ago. And then there was Kim. I don’t know Kim but you get the sense from her slightly messy hair and sporty outfit that she probably doesn’t over think her appearance. I think that’s part of her appeal. She’s relatable. As Kim stood at the baseline preparing to serve, I saw something else. I saw some jiggle in the middle. To us regular folk, that’s not a big deal. After all, we’re not all cut out to be rail thin or have abs of steel. But what do we think of a professional athlete with a little extra? During the Open, the Wall Street Journal had a piece about male tennis players being too skinny, so maybe I’m not the only one watching more than the match.

A while back I wrote about golfer Phil Mickelson and his penchant for burgers . In my brief research on Clijsters, I didn’t hear about burgers. Instead, I was happy to learn she and her husband make their own baby food. She told CNN that when she arrives in a new city she scopes out an organic food store for this purpose. I’m not sure what Kim eats but one would hope she’s getting some things for herself once in the store other than carrots to puree for her daughter. The WTA has Clijsters listed as 5 foot 9 and 150 pounds. If this is accurate Clijsters is an appropriate weight for her height. I haven’t looked into it but highly doubt players are actually weighed or measured to arrive at these numbers.

Some of you reading this, I’m sure, will point out that Clijsters did just win her second consecutive US Open title. Doesn’t that prove she’s in excellent shape? To a certain extent it does, no regular person will ever accomplish this and she beat some of the best players on her way to the title. Clijsters though, even genetically, is not a regular person. She’s the daughter of a professional soccer player father and a gymnast mother. Athleticism is in her blood. Some of what we see is talent she was born with. A few extra pounds may affect the rest of us more as we exercise or compete. After all, no matter what the training regimen, I will never slide into a complete split reaching for a groundstroke.

So if a little extra doesn’t hinder Kim’s performance does it matter? I think it might for a couple of reasons. First, with the type of game she plays, being a little leaner may decrease Clijsters injury risk. Second, if it is a reflection of her diet (and I’m not saying it is) improving in this area could perhaps help her maintain this level of tennis and even improve her speed and fitness.  In the meantime, I’m going to go work on that split.
This is a subject I’d love your input on. Does it matter if a professional athlete has a little bit of a gut? Do you think it’s mean spirited to point out? Would it be the same way if this was a male tennis player? Do you examine the physique of athletes when you watch sports? And finally, do you feel extra weight affects your athletic performance?

US Open your mouth

In NYC, there are 2 telltale signs summer is drawing to a close. One is the sudden dearth of available taxis and the other is the US Open tennis tournament. Yesterday, on Labor Day (the real scrooge of holidays after which there is said to be no more white and shortly light) my family drove out to Queens for a day at the Open. I hadn’t really been in Queens since the Sahara-like half marathon so I was excited to return for a day with more moderate temperatures and activity.

Let’s just say I wasn’t the only fan who was as interested in the food as I was in the tennis. The food at the Open has come a long way. This isn’t the land of hot dogs and hamburgers stands anymore. There is a large food court area with options ranging from sushi and edamame to soft fish tacos. The pizza and pasta section offered salads with grilled chicken or shrimp and there was even Niman Ranch sausage (not low cal but at least no fillers) at the BBQ kiosk. So there is an impressive array of sound, though pricey, food options…but that doesn’t mean people are gravitating toward them.

I had seen a stat that over 115,000 hamburgers had been sold as of Sunday at the Open. And the line at Classic Burger, offering a “1/2 pound burger” or ½ pound chicken sandwich was clearly the longest. I even asked my favorite research scientists (AKA my children) to walk up and down 2 aisles of tables and “spy” what people were eating. Their report was succinct “hamburgers, burritos, fries, popcorn and Gatorade.” Having, patrolled the aisles myself, I would have to agree with their observations.

While most patrons would know that their hamburger wasn’t necessarily the healthiest choice, I think the beverage calories are a little more sneaky. Every vendor offered Snapple, Gatorade and Evian. Sixteen ounces (and I believe the Open’s beverages are 24 ounces) of Snapple or Gatorade can run you up to 200 calories, for Snapple 184 of these calories are from sugar. A couple of these in a day can really add up not to mention the calories in the Cosmos and other drinks offered. *For full disclosure, I’ll admit my research scientists did share a Snapple Peach Iced tea with their sushi, edamame and pasta.

I have to say that my Foodtrainers’ favorite food moment of the day happened right after we left the tournament. Stonyfield, who had a café in the food court, was stationed yards away from the tournament exit. They were giving out their vanilla yogurt (4 ounce size). I grabbed 2 yogurts for my kids and started walking. At some point I looked back, my 6 year old was lagging behind. As far as I could see was a swarm of people, young and old, some in yarmulkes others in baseball caps all clutching their yogurt and mini spoons. As I started to get emotional from the extent of health eating around me, we took the staircase down to the parking lot. Under the staircase you could see a heap of empty yogurts. Rather than finding a trash can, people had tossed their trash on their way out. Oh well, it is NYC.
Have you been to the Open this year? What did you eat? What do you think it says that the healthy options weren’t the most popular? And finally, for extra credit, what’s with tennis scoring? My son asked why it was love, 15, 30, 40 and I had no answer, help!