Exercise

So THAT'S what that feels like.  Check it out Candyland players....

I'm back baby!  I did a 30 minutes powerwalk with my girls...alternating jogging with jumping jacks or bouncing around or whatever I needed to do to keep my heart rate up until they caught up.  I sweated folks! And you know what?  It felt GOOD.  

Got me thinking...I really do MISS exercise.  What a revelation...forgot how good it felt to sweat and feel yourself get stronger.  So I'm contemplating going back to the gym.  One of the nearby ones has a $10/month deal with no contract...I'm sure there's a catch in there somewhere but it can't hurt to check it out.  Today is strength training.  I'm a little limited due to the finger thing but I'm going to do my best.  Speaking of fingers...

Down to just one finger wrapped...the discoloration is from my phone - the hand doesn't look that bad.

So I'm feeling pretty good about stuff.  Hubby is taking our taxes to be done today...nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I already know we'll get a refund from federal and owe the state.  Somehow it works out that way every year.  

Let's leave with a Hump Day Happy Thought, yes?

Better Today & "In The News"

So after unwrapping my hand last night, it didn't look too bad.  Not nearly as black and blue as I thought it would be.  The pinkie is worlds better so this is me today.

Typing still not easy but definitely easier than yesterday.  I may take the girls for a walk today just to get out, get some fresh air and some exercise in.  The girls have been out nearly everyday enjoying the weather before it gets real hot but I've been using that time to keep up the house.  Think it'll do me good to get out and play today. 

So for another edition of "In the News with Panda".  Today's topic is Burger King.  USA Today ran a story about BK revamping their menu and look in an effort to appeal more to moms than hungry teens.  Article is here.  A couple of highlights...my thoughts are in blue.

... the move comes at time that McDonald's has lapped the field — and with rival Wendy's replacing BK in 2011 as the No. 2 burger chain in domestic sales, says Technomic, the research specialist.  Personally,  I've never been a big fan of BK...the whopper is good but their fries suck, the onion rings are weird and it smells funny inside (and yes, EVERY BK I've been to smells funny inside).


•The menu. Perhaps nothing is more important than for Burger King to quickly bring its menu up to speed with the rest of the fast-food industry. Burger King executives admit that they fell behind by not broadening the menu with healthier and more snackable alternatives.  I'm guessing BK thought the healthier option thing was a fad that would go by way of the frozen yogurt craze of the 80's.  


Similarly, all kinds of creations were tested for its $4.99 Garden Fresh Salads line. But BK settled on Caesar (with shaved Parmesan cheese and home-style croutons), BLT (with three cheeses and thick-cut bacon) and that chicken, apples and cranberry salad.   So here's the healthy options...Let's break it down.  Caesar is usually one of the more caloric and fattening options.  The BLT...3 cheeses and bacon - don't even want to do the fat count on that one.  The chicken - would probably be OK if it weren't for the sugar in the cranberries and their apple vinaigrette dressing.  


Then, there's those new drinks. Never mind that McDonald's has been selling smoothies and frappés for years. New, $2.29 BK Fruit Smoothies, tropical mango and strawberry banana, roll out Monday. So do $2.29 mocha and caramel frappés.  Because that's just what Americans need...more drinks that equal a total meal's worth of calories.  Ugh.


•The marketing. Burger King's marketing is about to re-embrace something it turned its back on years ago: celebrities. Because Americans are sheep and we'll do whatever celebrities tell us to do.  If David Beckham (who runs all day long for a living) orders BK smoothies, then they must be good for you.
_____________________________________________________________________
It still comes down to knowing that fast food isn't good for you.  I know this seems like a no brainer to those of us out here but there are people who are going to see the new "healthy" options and think they're being smart.  So for giggles but also to be fair and not blindly bash BK, I looked up the nutritional info on these on BK's website...
First thing that struck me is that all of these salads can come with grilled OR FRIED chicken but let's say you're trying your best and you know grilled is always the better option...

Salads                    Cals       Fat            Sodium                 Carb               Protein
Chick Caesar         490          28             1628                     22                   41
Chick BLT             510          33             1610                     13                   42
Chick App Cran    520           26               950                     35                   35     


But remember, you haven't added the dressing yet!  How many people eat salad dry?  Also, I didn't realize croutons had protein?  Hmmmm....
Dressing                Cals          Fat        Sodium                 Carb           Protein
Caesaar                   180           18          460                       4                  2
Lite Honey Bals       120            7           220                       14                0
App Cider Vin         210           18          115                       10                2


And now that smoothie to go with your salad...these were surprisingly not so terrible.  Just remember to order a small one or you'll consume equal calories of smoothie and salad.  One thing I don't get on these is how for the strawberry, you can have 5 calories from fat but 0 g of fat???  


Smoothies                    Cals         Fat            Sodium          Carb               Protein
Strawberry                     200          0               20                   48                          1
Mango                           210          0.5            40                   51                          2


Keep in mind that this is for a 12 oz serving.  Compare it to a 16 oz serving of Coke (which I got from Coke's website as BK's had zeros listed or most of the stats...does that say something about BK's nut info?)
                                 Cals       Fat           Sodium         Carb               Protein
Coke                        200         0              30                   39                     0


Is it better than a whopper fries and a coke?  Yes...but barely.  You save between 300-400 calories so if you must eat at BK, it's a better way to go but I'm not sure I'd be bragging about it.

Crushed Fingers

No, that isn't an analogy or some deep thought or how I'm keeping my hands out of the fridge.  I'll get to the fingers but first the weekend.  It was good.  Ate out more than we should've and not great choices but it's alright.  Saturday, we took the girls to the park and then they played outside a bit at home.  We walked around Sam's Club and Target.  Sunday, Maddie had a birthday party to go to and since my hubby is awesome sauce, he took her so I wouldn't have to try to make nice with other parents so I took Lori for  a little Mommy/Lori time.  We did the pottery painting thing which she loved and then hit up the bookstore, another favorite of hers and then McD's for playtime.  She got her own strawberry milkshake and I'm proud to say I only had 2 sips of it and only indulged in some sweet tea as opposed to dessert.  Then we went to Trader Joe's for apples and bananas and it was just after that, while getting into the car that it happened...I crushed my fingers in the sliding door of my van.

Is it weird that the first thing I did when I got home was take a pic for my blog?

It hurt like a mother.  Fairly certain I broke at least one finger (the pointer) but the pinky isn't lookin or feelin all that great either.  So this is me today...

*ETA* Makes typing tough...seriously.  So I'm reading your blogs but if I don't comment or the comment is super short with typos, you know why.  This short little post has taken me almost 30 minutes to get out.  

For Ronnie - I did get 30 minutes of exercise over the weekend...it just wasn't organized and not all at once...in fact, got more than 30 if you add it up... Took a long walk with the girls and my mom on Friday, walked around the park and Sam's and Target on Saturday and cleaned my house Sunday.

In light of my ridiculous injury, Monday DEMotivation: