Monthly Archives: March 2014

#Totes Tuesday: Superfood Edition

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In case you forgot, my name is Alison and I write this blog. I vowed to get better at blogging and I’ve been serious slacking. I may or may not have spent all day yesterday watching that Lindsay Lohan docu-series and going to the doctor instead of getting some blogs written. Sorry but I really needed a day of nothing.

This week’s edition of #TotesTuesday is the superfood edition. As I’ve alluded to in previous posts, I am living with some pretty wonky ailments that no doctor can really diagnose. So I’ve been doing some extensive research on various “super foods” that do more than just nourish you. Here are my current favs:

 

1) #Totes Love Me Some Cacao Powder

Cacao Powder

You may be more familiar with cacao nibs. These are little specs of what looks like chocolate. Cacao powder is essentially raw cocoa, minimally processed, and turned into a powder. It’s insanely high in magnesium and iron. Both help immensely with your blood. It’s rich in antioxidants. Not to mention it gives you a chocolate flavor without all the processed garbage. The closer to raw form you can get cacao, the better. The more it’s processed the more health benefits removed. That is a good general rule for all food. The more you take it away from it’s natural form, the more nutrients you’re going to lose.

2) #Totes Sucking Out HDL With Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil

Please excuse the terrible photo. Coconut oil is a new addition to the food world for me. I had this jar in the cupboard for a long time before actually learning how to use it. I use it mainly to roast sweet potatoes. But I went to Life Alive and saw that they literally will add a spoonful or so to smoothies for you. So naturally I decided to do the same. I am NOT advocating you add this to your diet every day. I am very strict about fat in my diet. I don’t use butter, I’m not into cream cheese, and I pretty much only get fat from 1% milk or a source like this. You need to do some diet reflection before adding this to it. It is very high in fat, especially saturated fat. However, this is a type of saturated fat called MCT. MCT has been shown to lower HDL cholesterol and reduce abdominal fat. In addition, coconut oil is great for helping your body remove bacteria, fight viruses, and prevent growth of fungus.

3) #Totes Could Bathe In Nut Butter And Not Be Embarrassed

Nut Butter

Nut Butter. Sounds weird, I know. But I say nut butter because there’s more to life than peanut butter. I love PB. Give me a jar of crunchy Teddy’s and I’m a happy camper. However, PB is not the healthiest nut butter out there for you anymore. Almond butter is probably the second most common nut butter out there. This has some more health benefits than PB. There’s also sunflower seed butter, pistachio butter, cashew butter, and just about any type of nut butter. I personally have made the switch to almond butter. It goes better with the raw cacao powder and blends much more easily in smoothies. Almonds have a slightly better mix of vitamins and better fat make ups. Again, I’m really restrictive about fat in my diet. I do not eat spoonfuls of almond butter. I try to limit the amount of added fat I have in a day. As always, I buy minimally processed almond butter with NO added ingredients OR I find a sweet set up like the one above. This is at Whole Foods where you can grind your own nut butter fresh.

4) #Totes Drink Chocolate Milk Like It’s Going Out Of Style

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This isn’t technically a superfood. But I will drink a glass of chocolate milk after I work out. I can’t have protein powder, they all bother my stomach. So this is my compromise. Tons of studies show that this is beneficial for muscle recovery and restoring key nutrients lost after workouts. I use 1% Organic Milk and Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. I don’t like using a lot of chocolate syrup so I just add about a tablespoon. I always buy organic milk. I feel as though the cows are not only happier to make milk in an organic environment but the milk tastes significantly better.

So that’s my #TotesTuesday post. My general rules for foods are:

1. Try to buy foods with a short ingredient list. The shorter the list, the less chance for sketchy additives.

2. Buy produce organic when the skin is thin, you eat the skin, or it’s a leaf. There’s no need to buy an organic orange when the rind is so thick. But spinach where you eat the leaf, may be a good place to start organic.

3. Pick and choose your super foods. Super foods are expensive because they are usually trendy and not mass produced. I try to pick super foods that will do the most for me. Both Cacao Powder and Coconut Oil are good for those with possible immune imbalances. So those are where I splurge each week.

4. Try to keep foods as close to their natural form as possible. Buying a cookie that claims to have a daily serving of vegetables just doesn’t make sense.

Cubelandia Survival Playlist

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As the work week comes to a close, I find myself struggling needing a little bit of an extra oomph to get the day going. Therefore I’m going to rattle off my favorite work related jams. These are all songs about work and can really help ya get through a day in the cube farm. Commence the Cubelandia Survival Playlist.

PS: If any of you are on Spotify, go follow this playlist! I took all the tedious work of Googling the songs for ya!

Cubelandia Survival Playlist

1. “Diva” Beyonce

If you thought this list wouldn’t include Beyonce, you’ve clearly learned nothing about me from this blog. If you didn’t think I’d start a playlist with anyone BESIDES Queen Bey, you’ve clearly learned nothing about me from this blog. If this absolute FIRE jam doesn’t get you amped on a Monday morning, then I don’t know what will.

2. “Takin’ Care of Business” Bachman-Turner Overdrive

You’re amped up on some Beyonce and ready to KILL the day. Time to get focused and take care of business. Keeps the momentum going and focuses you on the end goal. Get after it cube monkey!

3. “9 to 5” Dolly Parton

Time to keep the momentum going. You’re only an hour deep into the day. Probably starting to feel the glare of the fluorescents on your back and your dewey morning eyes are starting to seer from the computer screen. As you frantically adjust brightness settings and attempt to create a lean-to with your jacket to block the flickering fluorescents, throw on a little Dolly to help you avoid complete cube meltdown. This steady beat with help you fall into a routine for the rest of the morning.

4. “Run The World (Girls)” Beyonce

I know, I know, “Come on Alison ANOTHER Beyonce?!?” Guys she really gets ya going. I promise. Guy, girl, or alien she’ll really get the blood flowing. By this point you’re jacket lean-to has fallen, your cube neighbor has probably started his drum solo, and the caffeine has dried up. You need a killer beat to get you back in the zone. Kill it Bey.

5. “Lets Work” Prince

Beyonce has got you AMPED. You’re ready to take Obama’s job at this point. Time to reel in that energy and power through the last hours before the sweet release of lunch. Listen to Prince, let him take your hand, and work. Get through it cube monkey, you’re almost half way there!

6. “Out Here Grindin” DJ Khaled

Hunger is setting in. You’re starting to wonder how cube monkeys before you have survived. You’re drooling on your keyboard. You’re counting the seconds before you sink your teeth into a microwave meal. Times are tough. Which calls for some grit. DJ Khaled will carry you through this endless abyss before lunch.

7. “She Works Hard For Her Money” Donna Summer

Your blood sugar has stabilized. The drool has been removed from your keyboard. You’ve had some interaction with humans face to face. A few funny YouTube videos have extracted a small chuckle from your office soul. Remember why you’re here while jammin’ to an 80’s classic. Donna Summer will kick off the second half of the day.

8. “Workin’ For A Livin'” Huey Lewis and The News

My dad is going to be overjoyed Huey Lewis and The News made the list. You’re feverishly fighting off the urge to nap at your desk after lunch. Trying to avoid staring at the tiny clock in the corner of your computer. This is your life. Embrace it. Let Huey be your mantra.

9. “Working for the Weekend” Loverboy

Time to remember what’s coming: the weekend. This is what you’re working for, to truly savor the 48 hours you have free a week. No one appreciates a weekend like a cube monkey. Would you value the weekend as much without your job? Nope. Thank your job for the pure ecstasy that is the weekend. Loverboy will provide you a friendly reminder of what’s coming.

10. “Hustlin” Rick Ross

Uhmm does this even need a description? You need a little pep in your step. It’s halfway through the afternoon. You’ve probably remembered that the sun is out and will be out when you’re done at work. The mind is starting to go for a little stroll down fantasy lane. REEL IT IN CUBE MONKEY. Embrace your inner teflon don. You are invincible. Hustle through the end of the day and finish strong! (Rick Ross Grunt)

11. “Work B*tch” Britney Spears

The day is almost over. You realize how much you need to do before your bolt to your car. Get to work. Britney will remind you of this incessantly until you get the message.

12. “Stoned” Puddle of Mudd

What’s a playlist without the Emo song? Not complete, that’s what it is! A mild panic may be creeping up about just how much you do compared to what you are rewarded with. Take a mini hate break. Let it all out with this song and let it all go with this song.

13. “It’s Not My Place (In the 9 To 5 Workplace)” Ramones

Freedom is near. You feel like a caged animal in a zoo in the 1920s when animal rights didn’t exist. Everything is funny. You make terrible puns and laugh so hard you cry. It’s like Anchorman with the glass case of emotion phone booth, except you’re in a partial office with temporary walls and no door. This isn’t you. When you sat in your college classes dreaming of changing the world, you didn’t expect to end up here. Remind yourself of that with this mini jam. It’s gonna be okay. Even Steve Jobs had to start somewhere.

14. “Bang On The Drum” Todd Rundgren

Iiiiiiiiiiii don’t wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drums all day! Enough said! You’re in the last hour of the day, you’re ready to go and be free. Get ready to fly free little cube elf, it’s almost time!

15. “Nothin But A Good Time” Poison

FREE AT LAST! You’ve entered the oasis that is your car. You are joining millions of others on the 5pm fight to the death commute home. It’s time to weave and bob you’re way home! Rock out with a little Poison. Find your inner human, shake your groove thang, and remind yourself that you can go #nofilter for the next 12 hours.

You all are so welcome for this playlist. If this doesn’t get your day going, I don’t know what will.

Personal Branding with Sarah Fit

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Last night I attended an event called Beer & Learn in Cambridge, MA. Beer & Learn meets once a month and features a different speaker each meeting. The group is designed for “entrepreneurs, small business owners, and wanna-be entrepreneurs,” to quote the organizer, Aaron Radez. Aaron is the founder and managing director of Beacon Hill Partners, the sponsor for Beer & Learn.

It’s a phenomenal concept. You get free beer and snacks while listening to a professional speak and answer questions about topics you’re actually interested in. It’s almost like the college classes you wish you had or those really cool college classes they show in movies but rarely occur in real life. Anyways, seeing as I am a total nerd for anything branding / marketing / social media related, I was pumped to see March’s event was about personal branding. I was overjoyed when I found out Sarah Dussault, from SarahFit, was going to be the expert speaking on personal branding.

SarahFit is one of  the blogs I routinely follow. She is an inspiration for me. SarahFit is all about fitness. She got her start on YouTube starring and creating exercise videos for Diet.com. She then decided to make herself a brand and launch her own channel of fitness videos on YouTube as well as write a blog. She now has over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 120 million total views. Her blog is wildly successful as well. Needless to say she’s launched herself into a very well recognized brand. Something I would love to do one day.

The format for this event was rather interesting. I thought it would be more Sarah talking about what she does and how she does it with a questions portion at the end. However, it’s more of a guided conversation between Aaron and the speaker. I learned a lot. I learned about ad networks that help bloggers utilize ad space efficiently. I learned about how to actually make money from YouTube. But what was most interesting to me is how Sarah goes about getting her sponsors or products. It gave me A LOT of ideas for my blog and future projects.

My favorite part of the whole night was how down to earth Sarah was. I see her as a popular blog entity. Someone who’s flying to LA to do a partner video with the Tone It Up girls and getting sponsorships from national companies like Listerine, Aldi, and Laughing Cow. She has even published her own book! But she’s normal just like you and me. She came over to our table and chatted with us for a while before the talk started. She was transparent throughout the event. She still writes all her own blogs, tweets, and posts. She monitors and maintains her sites as well.

This is a really lame way to sum it up but it’s really how I felt: it was a really cool event. I learned  A LOT, got to meet one of my favorite blogs in real life, and Sarah shared the same witty sense of humor that I have. Which I can really appreciate because very few people appreciate being witty. It was a great night and I really like the concept of Beer & Learn. If you’re ever in the Cambridge area, I’d recommend checking out one of their events!