Keeping it Clean

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This summer is like most summers, very humid and going by way too fast!
I love spending time outside going for walks, drinks, dinner, runs - you name it, I do it outside - weather permitting. 

Before and After - 10 Day Cleanse

While I don't think I have been slacking on my workouts, I am slightly more lenient on my diet.  It comes with the laid back attitude of summer. "What's one more drink?", "It's hot, I need that frozen yogurt!" It's easy to convince myself to enjoy the moment and not worry about the scale.

For the most part, that is how summer should be. It's how life should be, within reason of course.  As someone who has always struggled with her weight, I work on maintaining a balance for the sake of my sanity and waist line.

Make it Last

I'm talking about produce. I have no experience in any other "long lasting" department. I apologize.

Two of these tricks I already knew courtesy of the time I lived with my Grandma for 9 months.  I think we're both happy those days are behind us but we both learned things. She learned who Guy Fieri is and I learned how to make my produce last.

::Tomatos::
1) Rinse your tomatoes when you get them home, let them dry and then leave them on the counter as opposed to putting them in the fridge. I usually buy grape tomatoes and have learned this makes them last several days longer than if I place them in the fridge.  My dear Grandma does this with tomatoes on the vine, stem side up.  I trusted her since she's from Italy, 93 and always uses tomatoes in her cooking.

::Asparagus::
2) Asparagus should be stood up in a cup of water if you're not using them right away.  My Grandmother would be beside herself if I didn't cook EVERYTHING I had in the fridge in a day's time. She clearly doesn't grasp what a fridge is for and I wonder how she's pulling this off since she can't drive to restock her produce supply. I made the unfortunate mistake of going away for a weekend and leaving fresh asparagus in the fridge. I came home on a Sunday night, she took me by the hand and told me she had to show me something. It was very dramatic and very Italian and I should have known better than to get my hopes up. She just wanted to show me that I could make my asparagus last longer if I treated it like a bouquet of flowers.  I tried to pass this trick onto my brother but it was too late, his aspargus had seen better days. Better days about two weeks prior to me finding them.

My Avocado Keeper!

::Avocados::
3) This one I picked up on my own. I believe it came from Pinterest but I can't be positive. I eat avocado almost everyday but I dont' eat a whole one. I take what I need, usually about 1/3 to go with my lunch of protein, greens and complex carbs. I run the remaining portion, flesh side exposed, under cold water. This keeps it from browning. So simple and so effective! I also have an avocado keeper that everyone in my office ogles over, but you can use a ziploc just as easily.

::Lettuce::
I saw this at the house of a former classmate. Her family always kept their iceburg lettuce (it was the 90's no one knew better) wrapped in a damp paper towel. It kept the leaves from browning. That was about the only useful thing I learned from going over there.


Some more helpful hints thanks to Huffington Post OWN
Make your produce last