Keep Calm and Guac On! Hatch Green Chile Guacamole Recipe

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Since I adore avocados, National Guacamole Day (Sept. 16th) is a pretty big deal for me. It’s not like I’ve decorated a tree or sent out cards, but you better believe I’m eating the marvelous mash-up morning, noon and night! Oh, how I hated the stuff as a kid; not that I ever let it near my taste buds. My parents used to make a huge bowl of guacamole, grab a bag of chips and park themselves on the patio for a big chow down. “Ewwww, I’d exclaim,” it looks like throw-up, and they’d just laugh and say “good, more for us!” But times change and palates ripen. Now I can’t get enough in the way of avocados, especially in the form of guacamole. If my kids ever tried to get into my guacamole, I’d swat the hands of those little moochers away!

But, why some athletes avoid avocados, I’ll never know. Maybe it’s because the fruit is high in fat — one cup has 21 grams. However, nearly all of that fat is of the heart-healthy persuasion, known as mono-and polyunsaturated fat. When saturated and trans fats in the diet are replaced with healthier fats (like avocado fat), LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) can be lowered. That’s good!  Another good thing about the avocado is that it is a rich source of antioxidants, able to protect your body from free radical damage over time. Also, the healthy fats in the avocado provide a satisfied fullness that sustains for a decent part of the day, rather than the crash that can come quickly after eating an only high carbs snack.

Anyway, on to the recipe!  My Hatch Green Chili Guacamole was inspired by the 75 pounds of these roasted peppers that I won last year in the 2011 Central Market Hatch Green Chile Cook Off. Needless to say, I’ve been adding Hatch to almost everything I’ve cooked this year. Think outside the dip bowl; use this guacamole recipe on sandwiches, in eggs, on top of savory pancakes or wherever else you can imagine!

Hatch Green Chile Guacamole Recipe

  • 2 Hatch green chilies – roasted, skinned and seeded
  • 2 extra large ripe avocados
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon shredded cilantro

Peel and seed avocados; place into medium bowl. Dice roasted (skinned and seeded) green chilies and add to the bowl. Add lemon juice and garlic salt; mash with back of fork until desired consistency is achieved (I like to keep a few avocado lumps). Garnish with shredded cilantro leaves, if desired.

Note: Roast green chiles (or any pepper) by setting them on a hot grill or under the
 oven broiler until the skin is blistered and mostly blackened, approximately 10 – 20 minutes. During the process, use tongs to flip the chiles several times for even roasting. Remove from heat source and let cool. Rinse loosened skins off in water; slice open to remove seeds. 

Ode to my Exercise Ball and At-Home Proprioceptor Stimulating Moves

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Yes, I’m an ‘on the ball’ kind of runner!

Sitting alone in the corner
Super-sized yet oh-so taut,
Let me re-introduce myself,
Mr. Ball, show me what you’ve got.

To some, you’re just a child’s plaything,
But, oh, I know, you’re so much more.
We’ll rendezvous, just me and you,
Let’s rock and roll from quads to core.

Hello crunches, planks and deep side bends,
You’ve got magic moves, not for the weak.
For sure, I’ll be sore but craving more,
So let’s hook up “same time next week.”

I know, it’s weird, but I’m in a meaningful relationship with my exercise ball. Obviously normal people don’t feel the need to wax poetic about a giant rubber sphere. So, how much do I love my exercise ball? Let me count the ways:

  • With an exercise ball, I can perform a seemingly never-ending array of fitness moves that target every part of the body (I’ve included four great entry-level ones to start with below).
  • Many standard gym moves, like bicep curls or skull crushers, can be made more challenging by sitting, bridging or, in some other way, balancing on a ball.
  • As far as fitness equipment goes, an exercise ball fits perfectly into anyone’s budget. There are plenty of options in the $20 buck range.
  • It hardly takes up any space. When not in use, I hide my exercise ball in the bathtub and close the curtain!
  • It’s easy to take on a trip, just deflate and toss in the suitcase. Most hotels have an air pump and will send up a bell hop to inflate or deflate, as needed.
  • When each of my boys was a baby, gently bouncing on an exercise ball while holding him would help with fussiness.

Semi-Scientific Words on Proprioceptors and the Exercise Ball

The job of proprioceptors is to connect our brains with our bodies; in other words, to help us have a ‘sense of self.’ In constant communication with the brain and spinal cord, these neuromuscular receptors are linked to how the body moves through time and space. Proprioceptors run interference on everything imaginable, from the position of a joint to the tension of a muscle. Procioceptors in tip top shape are essential for good balance and, according to an interesting article in Runner’s World, we’ll lose up to 75 percent of our balancing ability between the ages of 25 to 75. You can join me in trying to fend off Father Time and challenge your proprioceptors to stay young by performing tasks on an exercise ball. The body’s increased need for stability and balance on an exercise ball stimulates the workload of proprioceptors, which in turn can make you a more agile, aware and injury-free athlete.

Try These Exercise Ball Moves at Home

Triceps Dip

 Sit on a workout bench or sturdy chair and place hands on edge with fingers forward. Rest your calves and ankles on top of exercise ball. Next, straighten arms while lifting hips upward. Bend arms to lower torso and then straighten arms to return to starting position. Three sets of 10 reps each.

 

 

Low-Ab Crunch

 Lie on your back with arms at side and calves resting on the ball. Without arching back, raise hips upward while keeping abdominal muscles engaged for support (see A). With hips still raised, bend your knees and roll the ball toward body with feet until they’re flat on top of the ball. Slowly return to the starting position. Three sets of 10 reps each.

 

 

Plank

Keeping toes on the ground, lean on the top of ball with forearms while keeping remainder of body in a tight plane. Engage abs and align neck with spine for proper form. Three sets of 30 – 90 second position holds.

 

 

Crunch

Rest middle back on top of ball while keeping arms straight and palms placed on upper thighs (see A). Next, slowly curl upper body forward, one vertebra at a time, while keeping hands on top of thighs. After each crunch, lower back slowly to the starting position. Three sets of 10 reps each.

Helping You Stay Hydrated Giveaway – Nuun Electrolyte Drink Tabs & Swag

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In honor of my recent participation in the Hood to Coast Relay on a team sponsored by Nuun Hydration, I’m giving away some sweet swag to keep one lucky winner hydrated for the remainder of the summer. If you’re not familiar with Nuun, you’ve been missing out on an awesome product that features essential electrolytes, no sugars and a light, refreshing taste! Nuun is used by some of the best athletes on the planet, armies of weekend warriors and the crowds of spectators cheering us all on.

Just plop one tablet into a 16 to 20-ounce bottle of water and in about one minute you have a refreshing beverage containing the proper balance of water and electrolytes like sodium and potassium.  Each tube of Nuun is portable and the quick-dissolving tablets make it simple to hydrate on the go. Use of Nuun reduces the needless use of toss-away water bottles and the Nuun container itself is recyclable to be mindful of our beautiful Mother Earth.  Make your water count!

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Why I Love H-E-B & 2013 H-E-B Slim Down Showdown Contestant Search

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I love H-E-B grocery stores! One of the main reasons for my fondness is their solid corporate commitment to health that encourages the entire community to eat better, move more and live well.  Plus, the aisles and aisles of product make me all smiles.

Eat Better: As the mom of three boys, all with crazy sports and after-school schedules, I’ve come to depend on the H-E-B Brand Fully Fit™ line of foods (healthy meal starters, snacks, cereals, desserts and more) which are definitely more nutritionally sound and even more convenient than driving through a fast food joint. In particular, I’m a fan of the H-E-B Fully Cooked Reduced Sodium Chicken Breasts and H-E-B Fully Cooked Lean Burgers, both tasty and so easy that my kids can make their own meals.

Move More: They just don’t talk the talk; H-E-B walks the walk when it comes to encouraging exercise with both employees and the community. A team of nutritionists, health specialists and wellness coaches( like the dynamo Suzanne Parker) work together to provide a comprehensive plan to get folks up and moving around for at least 150 minutes per week. Plus, they are a huge sponsor of one of my favorite races, The Statesman Capitol 10,000, as well as a supporter of the Texas Beef Council’s group of runners, triathletes and health enthusiasts, the Beef Team.

Live Well: Who doesn’t want to live better? H-E-B knows that when you’re eating right and exercising, healthy living becomes a habit and subsequently living well falls into place. But sometimes, you need a little more help; that’s why the store offers all sorts of immunizations, health screenings and special events that focus on your comprehensive needs. The perfect example is The H-E-B Slim Down Showdown, a contest that helps participants lose weight, become more active and live healthier.  And, hurray, the 2013 contest is now taking applications!

Enter for your chance to be the next H-E-B Slim Down Showdown Participant!

H-E-B is looking for 25 people to participate in a 12-week program that will set them on the course for a healthier lifestyle. If selected, H-E-B experts will teach you about cooking, nutrition and exercise while wellness coaches will help you lose weight, become more active and live healthier. The grand prize is $10,000!

Application Period: August 1 to September 30, 2012

To enter, fill out and submit the attached application before September 30, 2012. Contestants will be announced in January 2013.

Mail (before September 30, 2012) to:
H-E-B
Attn: COMMUNITY H-E-B Slim Down Showdown Contest
646 South Main Ave.
North Building – 1st Floor
San Antonio, TX 78204

Have questions? See FAQs

No purchase necessary to enter or win. See Official Rules for details. Must be 18 or over and Texas resident to enter. Must enter by 9/30/12.

What Goes Up Must Come Down, What Goes In Must Come Out

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Also known as “The Trails and Entrails of the 2012 Hood to Coast Relay”

Some of you may have heard that I just got back from running the famous Hood to Coast Relay on a team sponsored by Nuun Hydration. Whoo-hoo!  It was truly the realization of a 16-year dream to take part in this almost 200 mile journey from the snow-capped Mount Hood all the way down to the sandy (and quite chilly) beach of Seaside, Oregon.  And, to represent for an awesome company whose product I firmly believe in and actually do drink made the experience all the more exceptional, as did hanging out with the 35 other like-minded runner-blogger-foodie-fashionistas. Holla!

Amanda, Marjorie, Jennifer, Katie, Elizabeth . . . and Erin is running!

I’m not a very savvy race recapper; I’ve forgotten my race leg times, my mind and my photos are fuzzy, and I’m just staring at the big bag of swag donated by generous sponsors (thank you) that I will eventually need to dig through and provide thoughtful reviews. However, I do clearly recall important details about the trip such as the food and drink. It’s all perspective and priorities, people – and this is The Fit Fork after all!

When I finally rolled into Seattle (Nuun HQ), the pre-running party had been going on for at least a day. Since I missed out on the female bonding at the Seattle Mariners game, the morning run-swim and the insider tour of Oiselle, I hoped that my attempt to sweeten up these girls with Jamba Juice smoothies would bear some fruit. Thanks to the yummy, slushy goodness of flavors like Razzamatazz™, Strawberry Whirl™ and Aloha Pineapple®, I felt as welcomed as the new girl at school whose mom sent in cupcakes to mark the occasion — only healthier!

What Blogger-Runners Do - Tweet About Everything!

Soon, we’d meet up at Nuun HQ for a variety of activities including a taste-testing of not-yet-for-sale secret flavors whipped up by the company president, Mason Reay.

Nuun Hydration Tablet - Top Secret Flavors Coming to you Soon!

The frenzied scavenger hunt across the city of Seattle sent me into a few moments of tourist distress. Alas, we only had time to stop, snap pictures and tweet our location at a number of foodie locations including Pike’s Market, a famous Donut Shop, the Original Starbuck’s Coffee.  I’m definitely will need to revisit these places at my leisure on a future trip!

The pre-race dinner, catered by Bucco de Beppo, was a smorgasbord of healthy Italian dishes to suit the rainbow of food restrictions in the group. I am not at all being snarky here when I point out that Team Afternuun Delight covered quite a slice of the nutritional spectrum from dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free to plant-based and low-carb. Kosher? Raw only? If I missed some, post in the comments. I always like to hear about a new diet lifestyle. I felt tempted to throw in my personal preference which is the Paleo Diet (fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, with the exclusion of grains, legumes, refined sugar, and processed oils). But, then I remembered I follow the “100-percent Paleo, 80-percent of the time” mindset; meaning vacations, even a running vacation, almost always fall under the other 20-percent of the time. This would be my mistake.

Race day we were up at the crack of dawn, but didn’t have to take off until later in the morning. This meant a quick trip to Specialtys Bakery near the ballpark where the-nicest-ever-employee Colin hooked me up with a Southwestern Egg Sandwich on bread. Yes, bread!  After loading into our respective vans (six ladies to each and some darn nice ones riding with me), we headed out of town and only made it as far as the Panera Bread in Tacoma. Here the whole gang noshed on our favorite menu items (me, Barbeque Chicken Salad) while local lunchers looked on with a combination of bewilderment and, I’m just guessing, awe and admiration at our sparkly skirts and rainbow striped arm-warmers.

Most of our remaining day and a half would be spent inside the 12-passenger van, except when it was time to run our respective legs, visit one of the 529 port-a-lets (they called ‘em “Honey Buckets” and I came to know ‘em well), or hang out for some down time at an exchange. This meant we relied on rations piled up in the back of the van except when our intrepid and highly entertaining driver Tyler, a Nuun employee, would pull over to grab us a snack.

Tyler, Elizabeth and Jennifer cutting loose at a exchange point.

Rations consumed in the van:

  • Nuun Hydration tablets (favorite flavors were Kona Kola and Strawberry Lemonade)
  • 12 Chiboni Yogurts  (the official yogurt of the USA Olympic Team and Team Afternuun Delight)
  • Lots of Kind Snacks – Granola and Bars
  • 14 bananas
  • 8 bagels
  • Peanut butter
  • Homemade brownies (I never got one!)
  • GNC caffeine chewies
  • Saltines
  • Graham Crackers
  • Trail Mix
  • Gummy Bears
  • String Cheese
  • Assorted beers
  • Muscle Milk
  • Assorted energy drinks (consumed by driver and, err, me)
  • Coffee
  • Random ham sandwich and hamburger stops

You know you’re committed to eating right when you bring food along with you on a trip. Wish I had that much stick-to-it-iveness; maybe I wouldn’t have had so many stomach issues. The crazy lady (love ya) in the back seat delighted us with an endless array of healthy options on the go, some actually good!  Kale chips, sprouted raw pumpkin seeds, tuna fish in a can (she courteously went outside to eat that), beans, rice milk, berries, kombucha and more.

After we finished our first round of legs, we had arrived in Portland. Since it was after midnight, we parked the van and walked over to the closest place open and serving food, the Bunk Bar. At this time of night, you can’t be picky. Another Egg Sandwich for me (top bun off but loaded down with bacon ) and split a local brew on tap with a teammate. Was hoping that beer would help me go to sleep during our 2 hour layover in the parking lot. But, alas, it was the indigestion and adrenaline that so wanted me to stay awake.

Hydrating at bunk bark with beer and Nuun.

My second leg at 8am was fueled in quality style with a Monster Absolute Zero followed by a banana and yogurt for recovery. The remainder of down time until my third leg at 5pm included no sleep, a long traffic jam through the countryside of Oregon, overindulging in trail mix until I couldn’t even look at the bag anymore, and a stomach ache that refused to be resolved.  Several days of magnesium, caffeine and fiber supplementation were failing me, there seemed to be no solution to my hormonal-travel-naughty-eating induced problem.  The whole van was pitching in to help, amazing how close you can become with people when “living” in such close quarters.  Rumors from another team van were flying; apparently the Aspaeris Pivot Compression Shorts, a gift in our goodie bag, were literally squeezing the #@$& out of some of the girls. It was worth a try, but I was foiled from the get go. My pair was missing.

Apparently, all types of digestive problems are common during the 28+hour relay, as evidenced by the van for the team Great Bowels of Fire. 

Third leg was run around 5pm after a late afternoon filled with heartbreaking drama including a nasty, sprained ankle by a sweet teammate and picking up lost runners who had run miles out of their way out on the course. It was really touching, and a great lesson for me, to see everyone rallying together to emotionally boost up the injured and upset. It wasn’t about winning the race or how fast or cool a single person was; it was about finishing together regardless of the circumstances.  And we did!

To celebrate, we partied down at the beach as guests of Nike. Local hefeweizen, pulled pork, smoked turkey, salad and such.  It was good, it was all good.

Entrance to the 2012 Hood to Coast Relay Nike Party

After a midnight van ride and another sleepless night in Seattle, I started working my way back to Austin. A Kind Bar and Starbuck’s Chai Latte held me for breakfast and a spinach salad with feta and craisins was a not-too-bad airport layover lunch. And, when I got home at 7pm, everyone was waiting for dinner! Hurray! Fajitas on the fly.  Oh yeah, and I unpacked. Everything. All problems solved.

Thank you Nuun Hydration for such a wonderful experience and all the support from your employees. It was both harder and easier than I thought, does that make any sense?  Loved it!