One year ago one of my favorite workout accessories of all time welcomed into the world a baby, fitbook junior!

fitbook junior is just like my fitness and nutrition journal, fitbook, only it’s designed for the kiddos in mind, that and it comes with a coaches guide and stickers. Lucky kids! The cool kids who already have these activity and food based journals call fitbook junior “AWESOME” and their parents give it an over all grade “A”.

And get this, according to a research conducted by fitlosophy inc, the makers of the fitbook product suite, 87% of parents reported seeing a “noticeable change” in their child’s awareness of eating healthier, choosing more nutritious food, and being more active on a daily basis when using fitbook junior.

Let’s recap with some simple math. Encouraging…

Healthy Play + Healthy Food = Fit Kids!

Bravo, fitbook junior!

You know who else thinks fitbook junior deserves top honors? The Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) Media who announced today that fitbook junior received its coveted Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval for excellence in family products.

I think it’s safe to say the AWARD WINNING fitbook junior is going to have one heck of a happy first birthday!

I say this is grounds for celebration! Let’s make…

No Bake Protein Cake!

• 3 cups dry walnuts or almonds
• 1 cup pitted dates (I like Medjool dates)
• 2/3 cup chocolate protein powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1-2 T honey  (optional)
• Topping of your choice like strawberries, raspberries, or (my favorite) dark chocolate chips

Combine the nuts, dates, protein powder, salt, vanilla extract, and sweetener (if desired) into a food processor or high powered blender and mix well. Press the mixture into a cake pan or mini cupcake liners like I did, then add the topping of your choice. Serve chilled or even right out of the freezer!

Now I really must go clean up the kitchen, put on my tennis shoes, and get ready for my play-date!

If you’ve watched the news lately you might RECALL seeing something about some bad eggs–and I’m not talking about guys like Mel Gibson.

Indeed there are some fowl eggs out there, but there are still some good ones to be found at places like Turtle Creek Farm, right Vita?

But, in case you are in the mood to bake and you find yourself eggs-free you must not panic. We can take a lesson from The Vegans and play around with nearly a half dozen (also know as four) ways to replace eggs:

• 1/2 banana blended = 1 egg
• 1 T ground flax seed + 3 T water, whisked = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup silken tofu mixed well = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup apple sauce = 1 egg

I haven’t tried all of these options out just yet, but I have used the banana substitution successfully in pancakes and muffin recipes calling for eggs. And the slightly nutty flavor of the ground flax seed worked wonderfully in place of the egg in the protein bars I made last week.

Do you have any other suggestions for egg substitutes or should we just go ask Oprah?

Now I really must go grab another cup of coffee and some breakfast…no yolk!

No joke, cancer sucks.

But, the good news is some cancer is preventable.

According to the American Cancer Society, about half of all cancer deaths could be prevented if people maintained a healthy weight through diet and regular exercise; avoided tobacco products; and got recommended cancer screening tests.

So today I challenge you to Choose You.

Choose You is a movement started by the good people at the American Cancer Society and together we are asking you to stop for a second and reflect on your diet, fitness, and lifestyle choices. Is there room for improvement? If there is, what are you going to do to clean up that room?

Answer that simple question in comments section below and be entered in the drawing to WIN a Choose You gift bag just like the one they sent me by the American Cancer Society containing:

• A Choose You water bottle
• A Choose You  t-shirt
• Neutrogena Sunblock
• A $10 Walgreens gift card (I bought a big bag of heart-healthy Wonderful Pistachios with my gift card!)
• A Swarovski Crystal Choose You pin

I want you to Choose You and live a long, healthy and happy life full of Fitness & Spice.

Now I really must go suck back some more water before I hit the gym to blow off some steam!

When it comes to cardio I have the attention span of a preschooler on a sugar high: short and sweet. So when my trainer added even more cardio to my plan I threw a fit I knew I had to do two things:

1. Download new music to my iPod. Inthegym.net has a ton of great workout music ideas. The playlists are well thought out and are perfect for helping you rock your toughest workouts. Inthgym tunes have gotten me through a lot of heart pumping, sweat-induced cardio sessions…and they are so easy to download that even a preschooler could do it!

A word of caution, some (but not all) of the songs may or may not be “kid approved” if you know what I mean, so if you like your music rated “G” you might want to find another station.

2. Bake in a lot of variety. In addition to my lifting plan each week I’m scheduling in:

• 2 spinning workouts (ideally 1 outdoor ride and 1 indoor class depending on the weather)
• 2 track workouts (running stairs and sprints)
• 2 machine workouts (20 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes revolving stairs, 20 minutes elliptical)

What do you do when you need to shake up your workouts? Do you change your tune(s)?

Now I really must go I need to hit the gym and take a nap, I am beat!

I am not a mom, but I saw one on TV.

These women should all be placed on pedestals wearing capes and tiaras and gold medals because I don’t know how they do it. I have a hard enough time getting my dog and I dressed, fed, and out the door in the morning…and let’s be honest, only one of us has to get dressed.

But enough about me.

As we speak, many of the SuperMom’s and Dad’s, too, are gearing up for back to school season. And that means finding time to make sure their little geniuses are packed with schools supplies and fuel supplies, too. So when I saw this recipe on Shape.com I thought about all of you back to schoolers. I think these tasty oatmeal bars would be great for a fast, make ahead, wholesome breakfast or brown bag treat instead of a store bought granola bar.

Now, this probably won’t come as a surprise to you, but when I tried out this recipe I made more substitutions than a high school football coach. What I love about this recipe is that you can customize the ingredients to meet the taste buds of the pickiest Fitness & Spice kid. No matter how you make them, I’m sure they’ll get an A+.

Here’s the recipe for Shape.com’s…

Homemade Energy Bars

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour [F&S used: vanilla protein powder]
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2/3 cup brown-rice syrup [F&S used: yacon syrup]
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 egg [F&S used: 1T ground flaxseed + 3T water whisked together]
• 1/2 cup dried fruit, any combination of raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped apricots or dates [F&S used: 3T dark chocolate chips...hello!? antioxidants!]

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and spritz foil with vegetable-oil spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, sesame seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, stir together syrup, oil, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Mix in dried fruits. Spread batter into the prepared pan, evening it out as much as possible with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch in the center. Cut into bars or squares and enjoy!

Two quick notes:

• You might be wondering, “What the heck is yakon syrup?” This is a low glycemic, low calorie, raw sweetener derived from the yacon plant. I think it tastes like a cross between molasses and caramel and it worked perfectly in this recipe.
• Since I used a vegan egg substitute I was really tempted to make these into “no bake” protein bars and just stick them in the fridge instead of the oven…I might give this a whirl in home ec next week.

Now I really must go let out the dog, hit the gym, and get ready to pass the bar!

I was on the phone with one of my favorite people of all time on Friday as he was pulling through a fast food restaurant.

“Hang on a second,” he said and then proceeded to speak into the intercom, “I’ll have a number 2 with a sweet tea.”

When he resumed our conversation he quickly blurted, “Don’t lecture me.”

Who, me?

Lecture!?

Never!

I typically don’t eat fast food so for all I know the number 2 he ordered could have been a spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette and a side of baked sweet potato fries, right? Right!

Now while it’s rare that I eat fast food, it is not so rare that I stop for a drink at a fast food restaurant.

My friend Kelly has been raving about the coffee at McDonald’s for months, so this weekend I finally decided to give it a shot. Since it was really McSteamy out, I was thrilled to find out that I could get an iced coffee made to order…black. No cream, no sugar, no added calories, no added fat. And guess what? It was McDreamy!

I’ll go back. And, when I do, I just might suggest they add a side of almonds or a protein shake as an option to have with my afternoon McPickmeup. They can call it something clever like a Happy Snack…now that would be number 1!

Now I really must go work on my speech for Ronald and then hit the gym…I’ll ketchup with you later!

When I was a young Fitness & Spice girl I would run the neighborhood until the streetlights came on.

My days were full of jump roping, roller skating, hula hooping, swimming, bike riding, and hide and seek. In other words, my days were full of exercise even though I didn’t think of it as working out, I thought of it as playing out.

And while I was out on the playground, I’m sure I wasn’t rambling on about how guilty I felt for eating an extra serving of  peanut butter or telling my BFF Frankie how much I was craving carbs. And I can guarantee you I was not worrying about fitting into my skinny jeans.

Oh, to be a kid again!

Speaking of kids, the Miz and the Mrs asked their readers to see what kids today think about when they hear the words exercise, strength, and support. Here’s what Vince and Ruby had to say when their mom asked them for their definitions:

Vince and Ruby swim, dance, play baseball, and apparently engage in a little pillow fighting! And, as you can clearly tell in this video, they watch every healthy move their parents make. They are so blessed to have such loving examples.

Kids can teach us big kids so many things about healthy living, like it’s never wrong to EAT, PLAY, LOVE!

So let’s take a time out right now and apply what we’ve learned. Get on your feet, grab your tu-tu’s and get ready to dance your jitterbug off…

Now I really must go, my inner child just called and said she would love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before we go out and PLAY!

My new water bottle puts the cooler back in water cooler.

There are so many things I love about my Life Factory water bottle, where should I begin? Let’s start with the obvious, it comes in a range of refreshing colors like Fitness & Spice Red. They don’t call it that color, but you get the idea.

In addition to the modern design, I love that this tall drink of water is…

• Environmentally and visually friendly
• Made of glass with a silicon cover to protect it from breaking (yes I’ve dropped mine twice without a splash)
• Dishwasher safe
• 22 ounces with the number of ounces embossed on the silicon sleeve so you can make sure you stay properly hydrated
• Cup holder tested–it fits in my car, spinning bike, and treadmill cup holder comfortably
• Big-mouthed (no comments from the peanut gallery!) which is perfect for adding ice cubes, lemon wedges, or cucumber slices to whatever your drinking

You can find these water bottles in my gym bag, at www.lifefactory.com, and I’ve also spotted them at my Whole Foods, too.

Now I really must go to the gym and you need to go grab some H20…water you waiting for?

My new phone books arrived yesterday.

And while I did not get nearly as excited as The Jerk, it did beg the question: Do we really need phone books anymore?!

I think phone books are perfectly acceptable to keep around if you really need a spare booster chair for a small child or if you don’t have access to the world wide web, which you do or you wouldn’t be reading Fitness & Spice.

Anywho, before you Sprint to your recycle bin, here is a quick workout you can do using your phone book as your equipment. I think calling this workout Circuit Training has a good ring to it, don’t you? Let’s start dialing it in with…

• Push ups. 1 hand on the book and one on the floor.
• Single arm front and side raises. Hold the book in one hand and lift straight in front of you and then out to the side.
• Overhead Front lunges. Hold the phone book overhead and let your feet do the walking.
• Bicep curls. Keep your phone book in the handy bag it was delivered in or toss it in a grocery bag with handles and start curling. Add canned goods to your bag if want to get even cornier.
• Ski jumps. Put the phone book on the floor and preform lateral jumps over your directory.
• Front squats. Squat down while hugging your yellow-book to your chest (before you kiss it goodbye).

Now I really must go hit the gym, the recycle bin, and then call it a day!

I don’t take too many group exercise classes because I’m easily distracted.

Now where was I? Oh yes, group fitness classes.

Because it’s hotter than hot these days I’ve resorted to doing just about all of my cardio in the gym in one form or another. So to shake things up I decided to go to a few spinning classes for the first time since joining my new gym.

I’ve been taking spinning classes on and off for years now but I had my first aha moment during class on Saturday. Spinning classes are a lot like high school, in just about every class you have…

• The class clown. This spinner would add a bell, a basket, and streamers to his stationary bike if he could get away with it.
• The cheerleader. This is the chick who can’t help but shout out a “woop, woop” or a “wohoo” from time to time.
• The new kid. This poor rider usually has no friends, no school supplies (like water or a towel for starters), and gets the worst seat in the class.
• The best dressed. This guy comes to class wearing better gear than Lance Armstrong.
• The chatter box. This riders jaw usually gets a better workout than her body.
• The overachiever. This kid shows up to class really early to make sure he gets the bike in the front row, directly in front of the teacher.
• The drama queen. This person would win the lead in the school play for acting like she’s working a lot harder than the rest of us. She’s not.
• The drop out. Need I say more?

Ok, ok, one more thing. For all of you spinning instructors out there, thank you! But please do us a favor and don’t shout into those microphones, you sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher and we have no clue whaa-whaa-whaa-what you’re saying.

Now I really must go grease up my spinning bike and get ready to go to Ryde-ll High!