Active Fun in the Sun

Summertime is here (finally. seriously.) so being active is starting to become a way of life - something that I want to do rather than something that I tell myself to get through in order to deserve the hot shower. I talk a lot in this blog about eating healthy and being active, but there is something else very important to me that everyone should remember when being active and that is: use protection. Whether you are the fairest of the fair or the darkest of the dark, if you're out in the sun being active, you need to use sunscreen. Worried about not getting enough vitamin D? (Had to bring it back to nutrition for a moment) Don't be - even if you put your sunscreen on 15 minutes before you go outside, your skin will still be able to synthesis enough vitamin D during your time in the sun.

Ok back to sunscreen. There are a lot of sunscreens out there, so how can you know if the $4 bottle will do the same thing as the $16 bottle? Chances are that as long as you are getting a high enough SPF, you'll be fine with the cheaper version, although it might not be as gentle on your skin or might not smell as nice. One thing that I always look for is the Skin Cancer Foundation's seal of recommendation. They're in the process of changing over to a new seal, but it should look something like this:



You can find a list of products including sunscreen, sunglasses, clothing, and umbrellas that have received this recommendation here. A few things I recently learned about sunscreen that you may find interesting: The FDA has mandated that they can no longer claim to be water or sweat "proof" just resistant. Sunscreen with an SPF of lower than 15 cannot claim to help prevent skin cancer. Sunscreen cannot claim to be effective for more than two hours without reapplication.

That last one may be especially surprising to those of you who think that you can put it on in the morning and then be good to go all day. Remember the importance of reapplying though - even if it still feels like you're wearing sunscreen, the effectiveness might have worn off. I find this to be a good time to use the spray sunscreen (being the fairest of the fair, I don't tend to trust the spray to cover every fair bit of me during initial application). I'll keep spray sunscreen in transition during a longer triathlon and reapply between events. It's easy, it takes 5 seconds, and your skin will thank you years down the line. I also recommend keeping a bottle of SPF 30 (or higher if you are related to me) in your car or backpack or purse. You never know when you might be outside for longer than expected and prevention is key for skin cancer. Be smart and protect yourself this summer.

(For more on skin cancer prevention as well as warning signs of melanoma, visit The Skin Cancer Foundation website)

Why Not Boston: Summer Cooking

As I mentioned in the gazpacho recipe post, I recently made my web show debut on Why Not Boston, the "funny little web show" co-hosted by my friend Trish and her friend Lex! In it, I talk about healthy recipes that you can bring to a summer BBQ or potluck. The episode has gone live, so here for your viewing pleasure, is my segment:


If you like what you see, be sure to check out the full episode over at Why Not Boston today!

Summer in the City Gazpacho

One of the challenges of eating healthy in the summer is going to cookouts or BBQs; burgers and hot dogs, creamy potato salad and coleslaw... it's so delicious but can be hard to eat in moderation when everyone is piling their plates and going back for seconds. My solution to a situation like this is to bring a healthy dish. That way you know that there will be at least one thing that you can eat without the standard cookout calories. And what's even better? Bringing a healthy dish that will impress the other attendees! I was recently asked by Why Not Boston to share one of these very recipes, so here it is, my favorite gazpacho recipe (adapted from this epicurious recipe):

Kat's Summer in the City Gazpacho

• 3 1/2 cups (or more) tomato juice
• 8 plum tomatoes, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 English hothouse cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 lemon, squeezed for the fresh lemon juice
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño chili (more or less depending on how much spice you want - be careful when chopping, wash hands immediately after and do not touch your face or eyes)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• hot sauce, to taste

The great thing about a dish like gazpacho is you can alter it to meet your needs - use this as a template but feel free to add or subtract to your liking!

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, and red and green bell peppers in a bowl. Transfer half that mixture to another bowl, add one cup tomato juice, and blend (either with your immersion blender or in an actual blender). To the intact veggie mixture add the onion, cilantro, lemon juice, green onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Transfer about a cup or more of that mixture to the blender or bowl that you're using to immersion blend, add remaining tomato juice, and blend. Combine remaining bowl of veggies with blended veggies. If you prefer a more blended soup, continue blending until desired consistency is reached. If you're ok with it a little chunky (or when you've blended to your heart's desire) place in fridge for 2 or more hours. Serve with hot sauce and if you want to fancy it up a bit, top with some sliced avocado and grilled shrimp.

From Pyramid to Plate

You may have heard that in the world of trying to get people to eat healthy it's out with the pyramid, in with the plate. The food pyramid was never incredibly user-friendly, so the new plate is designed to be a bit easier to figure out - sort of like those plates you can get that are portioned out for a main dish and sides (watch the market for these, I'm sure some innovative nutritionist is already working on getting new ones out there!). Here is the video that the White House put out in order to explain the new system to consumers:

And here are a couple of articles about the change over:
The official site from the USDA
From Hungry For Change
From Boston.com

What do you think? Will people start eating healthier with this new, colorful guide? Is it just more of the same old that people will continue to ignore?

Schroeder Sibling Swim Off: RESULTS!

Wow, what an incredibly active Memorial Day weekend! I'm sure you've all been sitting at the edge of your seat, waiting for me to unveil the results of the Schroeder Sibling Swim Off. There were some technical difficulties, but all of the glitches seem to have been worked out so that I can now present to you SCHROEDER SIBLING SWIM OFF: THE MOVIE!

As you undoubtedly just sat through and saw, I was the winner, although I only won by about 10 seconds (or approximately 1/2 pool length). It occurred to me as we got towards the end that there was a good chance that we might tie which hadn't even crossed my mind previously, and I'm glad I was able to pull it off in the end - partly because it would've been pretty anti-climactic to have a tie (and partly because winning feels soooo good!). Of course, the original goal of the swim off was to get both of us into the pool and training on a regular basis. Bragging rights are just an added bonus of fitness!

The focus of the weekend was on the swim off to such a degree that I hadn't put much thought into the half marathon that we'd signed up for the next day. In the car on the way there, Erik asked if we should be betting on the run like we did the swim off. I've never in my life ran faster than him so I declined... and then came across the finish line 7 minutes ahead of him, with a PR time of 2:00:34. It just goes to show, a little motivation can carry you a long way!