Who doesn’t love smoothies? Mangoes are expensive here in the good ol’ USA! I never realized how expensive they were until I walked past them in the grocery store the other day. Funny enough, the only time I’ve ever had a mango was when I was traveling abroad. Odd, right? It’s just one of those things that I rarely think about when I’m home. I’ve had mangoes in all sorts of foreign countries (Thailand, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) to name a few. Maybe it’s because mangoes are so cheap and easy to come by when traveling? Hell, there are as many road side mango smoothie stands in Thailand as there is Dunkin’ Donuts here in Mass. One on every corner! I was fortunate enough to stumble [...]

Back in November of 2011, I was sitting at a hostel on the edge of Lake Nicaragua in Ometepe, Nicaragua. All of a sudden I received a Gmail notification for an email that had just arrived in my inbox. I quickly glanced at the subject, thought it was spam and sent it directly to the trash. A few hours later I went to empty my Spam/Trash folder and once again the subject line of this email jumped out at me. I thought, I’ll take another look at it. Thankfully I rescued the email from permanent deletion otherwise I would of missed out on an incredible opportunity to be a part of something special. Turns out, I was approached by a representative of SOYJOY and asked [...]

I love peanut butter. Yesterday, after our circuit workout at Punch Gym, Liz and I ran over to Ocean State Job Lot in Brockton to pick up a few odds and ends. While there, I spotted some dry roasted unsalted peanuts on the shelf. I was immediately reminded of the fact that I’ve been thinking  about trying to make my own peanut butter for a while now. What better time to pick up a can of peanuts and give it a shot right? I picked up a 16 oz. bottle of dry roasted unsalted peanuts, took them home and got down to business. Ingredients: Dry Roasted Unsalted Peanuts [Shelled]- (2 Cups) Vegetable Oil – (1.5 – 2 Tbsp) Instructions: 1. Add two cups of dry [...]

Liz and I recently spent our four year anniversary weekend up at Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. We had such an incredible time! Since our hotel was only minutes from downtown Portland we decided to head into the city for the day. I wrote a full article about it over on Pause The Moment titled: Exploring Portland, Maine. Visiting the Portland Street Art Mural More: Portland Graffiti Mural Strolling up and down Exchange Street People watching… Eating Panini’s at DuckFat Had fun scouring the gift shops Watched the fishermen deliver the fresh catch Portland Head Light Don’t forget to check out the full article here: Exploring Portland

Four years of pain and torture love and travel. We recently returned from an anniversary weekend up in Cape Elizabeth, Maine at Inn by the Sea. I cannot even begin to tell you how much we enjoyed the two nights we spent at this eco friendly, ocean front luxury hotel. If you happen to be in the North East and you’re looking to impress your significant other with a surprise getaway, stay at Inn by the Sea. Trust me! Care to hear about our weekend getaway? Read all about our Anniversary Stay at Inn by the Sea.

Ever since Ryan and I ate at Firefly, I’ve had a major obsession with dates and figs, especially when there’s bacon and cheese involved. We’ve been dying to get to a tapas restaurant in our area so I did some researching with only one plate in mind: Bacon Wrapped Dates/Figs. Most of the tapas joints in the Boston area serve some variation of the dish but after checking out prices, reading some reviews and stumbling upon a Groupon, we’ve decided to try a local Tapas restaurant (Loco Tapas) this weekend. Unfortunately Loco Tapas doesn’t have a date/fig dish. Figures! Instead of relying upon a restaurant to get these delicious treats back into my mouth, I decided to make them myself. This recipe is super easy, [...]

Okay, so we all know how important it is to re-fuel after a workout just as much as it is to properly fuel your body before a workout, right!?!? Refueling your energy supplies is important in order to facilitate the repair and recovery of your muscles. Consuming the right foods after your workout is essential for boosting performance and overall energy levels, otherwise leading to poor quality training. Ideally, the best time to refuel is 30 minutes to one hour after exercise because that is when your body will absorb the most nutrients. The recovery process begins as soon as you feed your body the nutritional components it needs. Just don’t wait too long to re-fuel or you may end up feeling sluggish throughout the day. [...]

Exclusive to Rue La La Members (FREE and EASY to sign up): Four-Pack Tasting Card of frozen yogurt treats at any Pinkberry in the Boston, MA area. Gratuities and applicable taxes are not included. The tasting card can be redeemed across multiple visits and includes: One medium frozen yogurt with the toppings of your choice One fruit parfait One smoothie One fresh fruit bowl Website:  www.ruelala.com Valid September 10, 2011 to March 31, 2012, unless prohibited by law. Limited to two offers per person. How to Redeem: Within 24 hours you will receive a voucher via email. Present the voucher at your preferred Pinkberry location. Member will get the physical tasting card at their first visit; not all items need to be redeemed in the [...]

Is there anything better on a cold, rainy night than throwing on your sweats and curling up on the couch with a big bowl of soup, or turkey chili for that matter??? My entire day at work yesterday consisted of dreaming about just that: being home, being lazy and eating! I stopped at the grocery store on my way home to pick up the goods and started on dinner as soon as I got home. Here’s the long awaited Turkey Chili recipe that you’ve all been waiting for! Ingredients: Makes 1 serving 4 oz. Ground Turkey (I used 93/7 for fear that if I used the usual 99/1 it would be too dry). ½ green bell pepper, chopped ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped 4 garlic [...]

Did you miss: Indoor Skydiving and an Incredible Tapas Bar? There were a few things on my Vegas birthday to-do list. First, I had wanted all weekend to get up early and run the strip before the temp’s reached 100 degrees and the streets filled up with thousands of people. The first two days in Vegas we had activities scheduled (Dune Buggies & Indoor Skydiving) and I was feeling a little lazy so I never accomplished my run. However, I woke up day 3 around 6:30 a.m. and knew this was the last day I had to tackle Las Vegas Boulevard, and I did just that. As I was leaving the casino, a random guy said to me, “Oh it’s too hot out there for you [...]