Sweet Success

I stopped at the grocery store yesterday to stock up on my weekly produce.

I picked up bananas, kale, an avocado, 2 cucumbers, 2 mangoes, a peach, a tomato, a lemon, organic Fuji apples, sugar snap peas, a pineapple, carrots, ginger root and spinach.

I also bought cage-free eggs, quinoa, feta, Larabars and poppy seeds.

I found a fun new (to me) product - HyVee Organic Refried Black Beans with Roasted Red Jalapenos. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with it, but it sounds delish.

My fabulous niece, Brynn, also got a special treat - Mom’s Best Cereals Blue Pom Wheat-Fuls. She loves this cereal! I like it because it’s made with few ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup and whole grains. The company also purchases wind energy credits. I’m not a huge cereal eater, but I occasionally like to have a bowl of cereal as a treat. Blue Pom Wheat-Fuls is definitely my top choice! Yum!

Here are some things I’m planning to make this week:

Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Pancakes with Strawberries
Spicy Tilapia with Mango Salsa
Avocado Kale Salad topped with carrots, red pepper, tomato, white beans, pepitas and tahini
Grilled Peach and Pecan Salad
Quinoa Burgers with Pesto
Mango and Coconut Smoothie

It’s going to be a delicious week!

What healthy and delish meals do you have planned for the week?

20 hours ago

2 #sweet success#health#healthy living#healthy food#healthy cooking#groceries#shopping#food#summer

Let’s Drink! Watermelon Mint Cocktails

Friday is the first day of summer!

Do you know what that means? Watermelon, sun and cocktails!

To celebrate this wonderful trio, I created a healthy and delish drink that will make lounging in the sun even better.

There are a couple of ways you can make this fun boozy drink. 1) Throw the ingredients in the blender and serve over ice. 2) Add lots of ice to the blender and serve a slushy drink. Both are winners.

I couldn’t drink my entire batch, so I put my leftovers in Popsicle molds! I haven’t eaten one yet, but I bet they are yummy!

22 hours ago

2 #sweet success#summer#health#healthy living#healthy cooking#cocktails#drinks#food#watermelon#vodka

Weekend Recap

As I mentioned last week, I struggle with finding motivation to work out on the weekends, I don’t always eat regularly during the weekends and I tend to consume more cals because of cocktails on the weekends.

As part of my Sweet Success DietBet, I’m working to make some changes to my Friday evenings through Sundays. My goal is to lose 5.9 pounds (4% of my body weight) in 4 weeks. Staying healthy on the weekends is key to getting to my goal!

I decided to share my weekend with you. I thought it would help keep me accountable and show you what I do on the weekends to try to stay healthy.

Here we go!

Friday

Friday evening, the BF grilled chicken and veggie kabobs. I had a vodka soda with a splash of cranberry juice. Then we rode our bikes all over town. We stopped downtown, where I had two more vodka sodas.

Saturday

For breakfast, I had a chopped pear with chia seeds and natural peanut butter. I also had lots of water and a cup of coffee.

1 day ago

3 #sweet success#food#fitness#health#healthy living#healthy eating#healthy cooking#baking#DietBet#summer#weekends

Sign up for the HeartChase Adventure Race!

I’m super excited to be serving as a HeartChase Team Champion this year! The American Heart Association asked me to get involved with this super fun event!

The HeartChase Adventure Race will take place from from 8:30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. Oct. 12 on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.

The Minute-to-Win-it meets Amazing Race competition allows teams of 2-5 players of all ages to go on a unique scavenger hunt solving clues, completing tasks and racing to the finish line.

Points are earned after completing each challenge and by finding and solving clues hidden throughout the course.

Each team must have a smartphone and can download the HeartChase mobile app.

Points are earned by scanning QR codes at each checkpoint.

As a Team Champion, I’m working to recruit teams. The more teams there are, the more money we can raise for the American Heart Association and all the great work the organization does!

Being involved in a fundraiser for the American Heart Association really means a lot to me. Heart disease is the nation’s #1 killer. Many of the problems associated with heart disease can be eliminated by promoting healthy living, exercise and healthy lifestyle habits - exactly what I do here on Sweet Success!

By getting involved, not only will you get to have a super fun time with friends, family or co-workers at the HeartChase event, but you will be supporting a great organization.

The cost is $35 per player by June 30 or $50 per player after June 30. Or players can collect $50 in donations for their registration fee. Each participate will receive a T-shirt.

The registration deadline is Sept. 28.

To register, go to www.kearneyheartchase.org.

When you form your team, make sure to select my name - Sara Giboney - when you choose your team division.

If you aren’t able to create a team, support the cause! Donate to the American Heart Association and help my team reach our fundraising goal! Go to the Sweet Success HeartChase team page to donate.

For more information about the American Heart Association, go to www.heart.org.

Good Samaritan Hospital is the local sponsor for HeartChase.

5 days ago

1 #sweet success#American Heart Association#health#fitness#healthy living#HeartChase

I made this Double Chocolate Protein “Ice Cream” last night and it was deeeelish!

Ice cream is probably my fave treat, especially this time of year. I could eat ice cream for breakfast…and lunch…and dinner. But that’s probably not the best idea.

This ice cream, however, is yummy and healthy. Frozen bananas and almond milk take the place of cream and whole milk. A little bit of protein powder adds some extra protein and chocolate adds some extra deliciousness.

Double Chocolate Protein “Ice Cream”

1 1/2 frozen sliced bananas

2-3 tbsp. almond milk

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Perfect Fit organic brown rice protein powder)

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. mini chocolate chips

Place banana slices, almond milk, protein powder and cocoa in a blender or food processor. Pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Continue to pulse until the mixture resembles soft serve ice cream. Add more almond milk, if needed.

Transfer to a bowl and top with mini chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

5 days ago

1 #sweet success#ice cream#banana#food#cooking#health#healthy living#healthy cooking#summer#healthy eating

DietBet Update + Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Protein Pancakes

We are 7 days into our Sweet Success DietBet!

I have quickly realized that it will be harder for me to lose those 5.9 pounds than I thought. The goal is to lose 4 percent of your body weight in four weeks. For me, that’s 5.9 pounds.

So far, I’ve lost .6 pounds. Not exactly where I need to be at the one week point.

My goal is to get back to my weight (and how I felt) back at the beginning of May when I ran the Lincoln Half-Marathon. I was about five pounds lighter and I felt fit, healthy and confident. I gained a few pounds after the half-marathon because I cut back on running, went on a vacation and splurged on more treats.

Losing weight has never been easy for me. I’ve struggled with my weight since I was a child. It wasn’t until about five years ago that I began losing weight and (very slowly) got to where I am today.

I feel like losing weight is even harder now. My diet is made up mostly of whole foods. I don’t eat a lot of processed foods. Although this is called the DietBet, I don’t believe in dieting. I refuse to restrict myself, cut out food groups or follow a temporary diet plan. I have found success in living a healthy lifestyle and having indulgences in moderation. I love sweets and cocktails and would never want to give them up!

6 days ago

2 #sweet success#DietBet#healthy living#health#food#healthy eating#breakfast#pancakes#healthy cooking#Tone it Up

Happy Monday!

Yesterday I picked up some groceries and did some meal prep for the week. Planning is the key to having a healthy week!

I bought a 3 lb. bag of Fuji apples, asparagus, a red pepper, Brussels sprouts, 2 cucumbers, a pear, 2 limes, 2 plums, spinach, mixed greens, broccoli slaw, organic 100% apple juice, frozen salmon and frozen tilapia.

I prepared a salad base in a large container so that I can just scoop out some salad and add toppings. My salad base was spinach, mixed greens, carrots and cucumber slices.

I also made some juices for the week! I decided to label my concoctions this time. Since I’ve been making juice in larger batches recently and they all look the same, I can never remember what I put in them. Labeling will help me remember and I can make note of the ones that I like the best.

Some meals that I plan to make this week:

salmon over sauteed broccoli slaw topped with roasted tomato (broccoli slaw can be used as a pasta alternative!)
egg white veggie scramble
salad topped with tilapia
grilled chicken with lemon garlic asparagus
salad topped with red pepper slices, grilled chicken and tahini
carrot cake smoothie

I bought the apple juice to make a new apple cider vinegar drink with water, apple juice, apple cider vinegar and cinnamon. I had it this morning and it was great! I’m feeling very energized.

If you missed my last post about apple cider vinegar, here’s some info:

Apple cider vinegar is said to detoxify the body, help break down fats so that your body can use them rather than store them, have anti-aging benefits and help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. I use Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.

Have a healthy week!

1 week ago

6 #sweet success#health#healthy eating#healthy cooking#food#eating#groceries#juicing#apple cider vinegar

Sweet Success + Community Building Block Parties

I’m super excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with Buffalo County Community Partners for their Community Building Block Parties!

Buffalo County Community Partners is encouraging neighbors to organize healthy block parties this summer.

A kick-off event will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. June 21 at Centenniel Park!

The event will include free food, games and activities, information and resources from community coalitions and a meet-and-greet with Buffalo County Community Partners board of directors and staff. I will also be there!

Food at the event will be from the Healthful Potluck Favorites Recipe Book, which features some recipes developed by me!!

I’ve been creating delicious and healthy potluck recipes over the last few weeks. The recipes will be featured in the book, which will be available for purchase as part of Community Building Block Tool Kits. The kits, which cost $10, will include resources for throwing a healthy party, the recipe guide, D.I.Y. yard games and activities, community resources and more.

Proceeds from the tool kits will be donated to the Buffalo County Community Partners’ 2013 annual Fund Campaign. Buffalo County Community Partners is a non-profit organization that seeks to assess, strengthen and promote the health of Buffalo County. Their goal is to raise $125,000 this year.

1 week ago

2 #sweet success#health#healthy living#healthy eating#healthy cooking#block parties#community involvement#summer

Sweet Success DietBet Launches Today

Today is the first day of the Sweet Success DietBet!!

I’m so excited to go on this journey with all of you for the next four weeks!

Our DietBet pot is currently $225 and there are nine of us who have accepted the challenge. The goal is to spend the next four weeks working to lose 4 percent of our body weight.

Each of us has a different reason for joining the DietBet and I want to share my own.

First, I told you that I was going to be totally up front about my experience with the DietBet, so I’m sharing my before photo and scale photo that I submitted! Eeek!

1 week ago #sweet success#DietBet#health#weight loss#food#fitness#healthy living#healthy eating

Today is National Running Day and I’ve been thinking a lot about my journey with running.

The photo on the left is me before my first half-marathon in 2008. The photo on the right is me just over a month ago before my sixth half-marathon.

Running has never been easy for me. When I first started running, I couldn’t run a mile without having to walk. Every time I train for a half-marathon, I struggle. Getting to the finish line of every half-marathon has been a challenge. But I keep running.

I love running because it gives me a chance to clear my head or think things through, whatever I happen to need. I love the way my body feels after finishing a run. I love the feeling of crossing a finish line after months and months of training. When I cross that finish line, I feel like anything is possible.

I’ve also seen changes in my body. I’ve lost weight and gained strength through running, a healthy diet and attending regular fitness classes.

However, when I look at those photos above, I see a lot more than some pounds lost. I see a more confident and strong woman on the right. That is the most valuable thing running has giving to me.

Happy National Running Day!

1 week ago

2 #sweet success#running#fitness#exercise#half-marathon#National Running Day