Because sometimes the best part of a date is the food...

Health & Fitness

"Date Weight."  My dad uses this term in reference to people who lose a bunch of weight after a breakup in order to attract a new partner.  Personally, I'm not a fan of the term, so I use it here as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that dating and fitness do go together.  Not only do we want to look nice for both the sake of our own confidence and to be attractive to the opposite sex, but I actually live in a place that fitness is an extremely popular choice as a type of date.  Lots of people love being outside, being physically active, and doing crazy things together like trail running and mountain biking.  Hence, in order to date (or even just relate to people), staying fit is a must!  :-)

The Best Books on Success!

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This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on the links provided, I may receive a commission, at no cost to you. See my full Disclosure Policy for more information.

If you’re working on thriving in life “one bite at a time,” I’m sure you’re actively working on learning all you can about success and different life skills you might need to achieve your goals–even if your goal, like so many here at the Hungry Dater, is to find a great person to share your life with.  In my education on this subject, I have been fairly self-taught.  But my teachers, through the books they’ve written, are all epic.  Below is a list of the best books on success, based on those which are most accessible and have had the best results for me in my own life and those of my clients.  So without further ado, the best books on success–according to me!

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Summer Salad Round Up! An attempt to eat more veggies.

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With our CSA and BB’s interest in salads, I’ve been on the lookout for some new, great salad recipes.  Honestly, I have loved the bagged salads at Costco, but BB isn’t too into that.  He thinks it’s better to make our own.  As much as I love the ease of those salads, I can’t say I disagree.  So, knowing that, I decided to make a compilation of a whole bunch of salads I plan to make this summer.  Hopefully this will help us use our CSA every week and help me have a bit more in my arsenal of great homemade dressings.

I can’t say I won’t ever use the bagged salads again, but I can say I’m looking forward to expanding my salad horizons.  So without further ado, here’s a list of salads and dressings I plan to make and use this summer!

 

Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Chopped Salad

Not a whole lot better than Bacon and Avocado!  And hey, since I don’t love chicken, this actually kills two birds with one stone by getting a chicken recipe AND a salad recipe!

Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe

There’s a Strawberry Balsamic Salad like this at Sup in midtown Reno, and it’s STELLAR.  Hopefully this will be a great at-home version!

Balsamic Beet Salad with Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts

I seriously LOVE balsamic beet and arugula salad with goat cheese.  But honestly, I’ve never thought of putting walnuts in it!  Guess I have something new to try.  🙂

Shrimp Avocado Salad

I really don’t think there’s anything more that needs to be said other than “Avocado” and “Shrimp” in the same sentence.

Bacon Avocado and Corn Salad

This one looks great, and we always get some really good corn at the end of the summer in our CSA.

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Copy Cat

I used to absolutely LIVE for this salad.  But these days I’m hard pressed to even go into a chain restaurant.  I’m hoping the home version is awesome!

Crunchy Pea Salad

BB’s kids actually like peas!  Lol.  I’m excited to make them with a bunch of other stuff for all of us.

 

Happy Cooking!

CSA’s – Community Supported Agriculture and Modern City Life

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Blossom’s BiFF came to me with a suggestion last year:  Would I like to share a vegetable share in a Community Supported Agriculture box?  Well, anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t really dig the veggies.  I’ve never been good at eating them.  I don’t hate them like some people do…  But let’s be honest, when eating my choice generally ISN’T going to be carrots over strawberries, or salad over cake.  But BB is a veggie eater (and so is Blossom, frankly), so it’s easier for everyone if I am too.  I committed.

What is a CSA?  

Community Supported Agriculture, or “CSA,” is a program in which local farms deliver organic local produce to consumers directly.  It cuts out the middle men so that the farmer’s aren’t losing more money on their produce.  This saves money for the consumer because the farmers forward those savings to them.  What the consumer ends up getting is a wonderful array of sometimes-weird, organic produce delivered at a reasonable cost.

For me, this is a good thing and a bad thing.  The good is I have high-quality produce delivered no matter what, once per week; so I have to eat it.  The bad is I have to eat it or it goes bad and I’m wasting.  I hate that both for the purposes of money and the environment.  This was exactly BB’s argument:  you’ll HAVE to eat them, and by the end of the summer, you’ll love them.  Well, now it’s been over a year, and while I’m not so sure about LOVE,  I am starting to appreciate the bounty we get every week.  The forced health coming with planning my week’s meals around the race to consume them is a bonus.

History of CSAs

My understanding is CSAs were a way for the consumers to buy into the farm to help support the farmer directly.  In exchange for the consumers’ financial assistance, the farmer would send produce, eggs, meat, or milk to the supporter.

These days, CSAs are more geared toward the consumer.  We’re not owners in the farm, we simply pay for the shares to be delivered weekly or biweekly.  The movement is now less about “owning” a share of a farm.  It’s more about acquiring quality, organic produce for our families from a source we can research directly.  Most of my friends and acquaintances who participate in CSAs are doing it for a variety of reasons: 1) it’s better for the farmers; 2) you know where your food is coming from and can ask directly about how it’s grown; 3) it’s better for the environment; and 4) the indication that consuming organics improves health.

I suppose to the outsider, the whole experience seems awfully “hippie dippie.”  But for me, I like the fact that I feel closer to the creation and growth of my food.  There is not one box we get that isn’t covered in dirt and bugs.  Call me a hippie, but I find that oddly comforting that our produce isn’t a GMO strain that is “naturally” bug-repellent, and which has also been through huge corporate washing machines with God-knows-what-kind of chemical washing agents.

Less Additives, GMOs, and Pesticides for Those Sensitive to Modern Food Alterations

Most regular readers here at THD know that I’m gluten free, and almost every recipe on here has a GF option.  What may not be as well known is, I am very sensitive to several foods in general.  Aspartame makes me faint, Wheat makes me break out in boil-like lesions (doctor’s word, not mine)…  I’m afraid to remove milk and cheese from my diet, because honestly, I just don’t want to know what else affects me so much that I have to remove it from my diet.  But the strange part is, these sensitivities (aside from the aspartame) go completely away when I’m overseas.  When I was in Italy, I ate pasta, bread, croissants, and cake multiple times per day, just because I could.  No reactions.

I don’t have any direct or scientific knowledge regarding this phenomenon other than what I’ve read.  But what I’ve read suggests this is due to the GMOs and the treatments we use on our agricultural bounty.  Other countries not only don’t use the same scientific “resources” to over-produce their food, but many countries have actually outlawed a lot of the treatments we use regularly.  As far as I’m concerned, THIS is our problem in the United States, health-wise.

So, while I don’t consider myself “hippie-dippie,” I have started becoming more and more prone to supporting these “food movements,” in the name of my own health and all-around well-being.  That being said, as much as I don’t love veggies themselves, it wasn’t too super hard for me to say yes to partaking in a CSA simply because I can rest assured I’m skipping a lot of the other additives that are likely affecting my health.

Types of CSAs for Every Lifestyle

CSA’s range in both flexibility and variety.  When I was in SF, I was a member of a CSA that had such a big following (SF, remember) that they had a website where you went every week and picked 6 different things to come in your bag.  This meant I got a CHOICE.  That was epic.  But now we live in Reno, and the choice is a bit more limited.  It’s a “you get what you get” sort of situation in the Reno CSA world.  There are advantages to this get-what-you-get situation.  One of the advantages is I’m sure it’s waaaaay easier for the growers to deliver exactly what’s needed to every.  Single.  Customer.  Another that’s become amazingly blatant while I and BB’s kids are involved is, it forces those of us who don’t always like veggies to consume things we might not otherwise buy at a grocery store.  This ensures that, however, resistantly, we are expanding our palates and our individual food experiences.

Conclusion

Now, I’m not suggesting that either me nor BB’s (semi-picky) children will come out of this life broccolini-lovers…  But what I am suggesting is the exposure and forced consumption has been  fairly good for us–at least, that’s what BB says.  Lol.

Though I’m still not a vegetable lover, I’m starting to appreciate the colorful, healthy boxes delivered to me every week.  I also love that I’m both supporting a local farmer and a movement I believe in (i.e., organics and whole living).  All I can say is, I hope that Reno will continue getting more into it, so maybe someday I’ll have a similar “choice” option that I once had in SF.  But for now, I can only appreciate the wonderful bounty that’s been made available to me by Mountain Bounty Farms and the ever-intelligent suggestions by Blossom’s BiFF.

Happy cooking, eating, and health-ing! And HAPPY SUMMER!

COVID-19 Mask Pattern

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Hi Daters!

So, as I’m sure EVERYONE is experiencing, life has been crazy weird this month which is why the last two posts didn’t get up.  I know we usually post food or great lifestyle things here at THD, but unfortunately, part of living our best life in the current state of things, is keeping safe and healthy.

To help myself (and my family) do that, I’ve been (like so many others) making COVID-19 masks.

Funny story…  I USED to be a costume designer–we’re talking like…  a THOUSAND years ago.  So I did have a Singer Sewing Machine that I have kept in my closet and pulled out at random Halloweens here and there in the last 15 years.  So I figured a few simple straight stitches would be fairly easy for me to manage.  Well, pulling out that machine, I realized it had been 15 loooooooong years since the thing had been serviced.  Long story short, after some incredibly overly frustrating hours of what should have been completely simple straight line stitching, it DIED.  I just knew all the machines would be gone in every store in the country, but I looked online anyway.

After realizing I was right, I called my local repair place and THEY.  WERE.  OPEN!!!  So cool.  Beyond that, I went down there and, while they thought they MIGHT be able to fix my ancient machine, due to the COVID scare, they were running a 50% off special on new machines which would have cost me less than having my old one fixed and I could walk out of the store with it!

But wait!  My crazy story doesn’t stop there.  I didn’t have a credit card with me.  No cash, no card…  I was lucky I had a phone I had left my home so quickly to get to the repair shop before they closed!  Thank goodness for living in a small town in a time where people are trying so wonderfully to come together and help.  The women knew what I wanted the machine for, and while she had “never done anything like it before,” she let me come home with my brand new machine and call her with my credit card number.

Faith in humanity:  RESTORED.  (Hopefully for her too since I did, in fact, come home and call with the payment.  Lol.)

Whew.  Crazy.  But I digress.

Now, I know there are hospitals and such which are releasing specific patterns for these masks, but even my family who has been making masks has said that these masks fit better and feel more covered than the others.  Below is the link to the video originally posted by Homemade on our Homestead.  She has since posted other patterns but this one has served me and mine very well.

*** One note:  I actually pulled the pleats in a bit on the sides to curve the outside frame of the mask a bit more.  As the pattern is, it’s a bit square and has a tendency to open on the sides if your face isn’t JUST the right shape.  I’m also doing a couple of alterations to the pattern to put hairties on as ear hooks rather than the ties.  Many of my family members really like the mobility of the ties, but honestly, I don’t like what they do to my hair (I alREADY don’t do my hair…  The last thing I need is for it to end up looking EVEN worse than it already does in this isolation life.  Lol.  Behold the vanity (EYEROLL).)

Anyway, Daters, stay safe, stay healthy, stay hungry, and HAPPY COOKING!

Specific Goals for a Specific Life

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“Vague goals produce vague results.”  This is a major theme in the teachings of both Jen Sincero (You Are a Badass) and Jack Canfield (The Success Principles).  They are two of my favorite teachers in the world of living your best life.  So the deal is, the more specific the goals, the better your results will be.

I can’t thank you all enough for your patience with me.  This New Year. I’ve been tested to utilize my own teachings a LOT.  Subsequently, I’ve really struggled with staying on top of things here at THD.  But as promised, here is the post on “specific goals” originally planned for the first week in January (and here we are in the first week of February–insert eyeroll here):

New Years’ Resolutions…

The beginning of the year is a great time for those of us who are looking to re-affirm our commitments to living our best lives.  However, New Years is a time when most people create “resolutions.”  All too often those resolutions are forgotten with the start of February and the promise of spring.  I just read the other day the top 10 resolutions are as follows (as reported by Time online here):

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a great list.  And if New Years is what it takes for us to better our lives and the world, I’m all for that.  However, what I’ve noticed with these “resolutions” is people don’t stick with them because they really aren’t goals.  And what’s more–they aren’t specific.

Resolutions?  Nope.  GOALS!

As we’ve discussed in the series “Attracting ‘the One’ with the Law of Attraction,” the Universe wants us to have exactly the life we want.  However, it’s difficult (both for us and for the Universe) to hone in on exactly what that is if we haven’t thought it out with specific goals or visions in mind.

“Specific goals” seems like such an easy concept.  Then you get into it and realize there is a LOT to specificity.  Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles (buy your copy here), says that he will have his clients make their “specific” goals and then he helps them whittle them down even 5 or 6 times further.  He does so by asking detailed questions about what the client really means.  The questions include timeline, type, detail, places, people, and numbers.

Specificity

Resolutions don’t usually offer this kind of specificity.  “Lose Weight and Get Fit” leaves a lot to be desired.  This is why I really think New Years resolutions should be changed to “Goals for the New Year.”  And while I had intended and planned for this post to be in January, perhaps it’s fitting it’s being posted in February as that is the time when these “resolutions” tend to start waning.  But because these aren’t resolutions, they’re goals, hopefully starting in February will push us through that February drop off.  We want our goals to stick.

I have always liked making goals.  I like the process of sitting down, dreaming out my best life, and making a written plan of how I’m going to get there.  But make no mistake, it still isn’t easy for me to make the goals specific enough to really make a dent.  Even for someone like me who not only likes making goals but who has studied these principles extensively (and teaches them to others), the specificity can be really difficult to nail down.

Specificity:  Harder than it Looks

My problem lies with making specific goals.  I find that even when I think my goals are specific, they aren’t specific enough to show the Universe what I really want and need.  I know that if Jack ever took any of my goals that I have already whittled down significantly, he’d have roughly 1800 more questions which would make the goals even more specific within minutes.

So now that it’s February and all the “resolution” making is out of all our systems, this really is a great month to sit down and make our new goals and make sure they are as specific as possible so our new lives can begin!

The best way to go about getting your goals as specific as possible is to sit down just like you would on any other goal making day.  Write down between 5 and 10 of your best goals for the month, the year, the decade, or just your life in general.  Don’t worry about specificity right away, just write the goals as they come to you.  Make sure they are important to you.  You can even take the resolution list you may have made last month and turn them into goals.

First Pass

Once you have your goals written down as they’re supposed to be, go back and reread them.  Look at them with a new eye and see where maybe you’re being vague.  The first on the list of resolutions is a great example:  “Lose Weight and Get Fit” is really vague.  As you look at your goals with a more careful eye, go back through and write more specifics below each goal.  In the previous example, some great ways you could specify are 1) how much weight; 2) what does fitness mean to you? Is it a body fat percentage, how much you can bench press, how much you weigh, or how often you go to the gym?  These will all give you insights into making a better goal for yourself; and 3) how much time are you giving yourself to achieve your goal?  Once you look inside yourself and get more specific answers to these specific questions, you’ll be better on your way to more specific goals and more specific results.

Look Deeper…

After you answer these questions around your original goals, look at the goals and the answers as a whole and re-write your goals with the specifics included.  For instance, in our above example, you may have written “1) lose 20 lbs.; 2) be able to do 10 pull ups and have a BMI below 25; 3) I want to do this in 6 months.”  These are all much more specific answers.  So when you look at your original goal “Lose Weight and Get Fit” in addition to your new answers, your new, more specific goal may be something along the lines of “I want to lose 20 lbs., have a BMI below 25, and be able to do 10 pull ups:  all in 6 months.”

Aaaaaaaand DEEPER.

Obviously, this is much more specific.  However, here is where Jack would tell you it still isn’t good enough.  And once he started asking you more questions, you’d feel silly that you thought it was so specific initially.  He’d say, “How are you going to lose that weight?  What habits do you need to develop?  Are you going to run, eat better, go to the gym?  If so, what specific eating habits are you going to cultivate?  How many vegetable servings will you eat every day?  Will you run a certain number of miles per week?  How often?  What time on what days will you go to the gym?  If you want a BMI below 25, does that mean you want it to be 24.99?  Or is there a specific number you want?  “In six months?”  Six months from when?  What date and time will you expect for your 20 lbs. to be absolutely off your body?  How do you plan to train to do pull ups?

It gets to the point where it seems ridiculous.  But the exercise speaks for itself.  Suddenly we realize we’ve been “ho-humming” our way through our goal making–which, when you think about it, is one of THE most important things of our lives when it comes to living your best life.

Specificity is Loooooooooooooooong

One of the things I’ve noticed with these specific goals is, I used to make a goal that was a line or so long.  They could easily be made to be a list because a single-lined goal makes a great bullet point.  But what I discovered in using these new goal-making skills is, real goals–the specific ones that actually get results–are actually quite long.  They should be like writing an entire paragraph of plans, times, numbers, and instructions.

After you get your goal down, go back one more time and look at the language you’ve used.  Did you say things like “I want to” or “I’ll try”? If so, that’s the next change that has to be made.  These goals have to be written like it’s already done.  “At 10:30 a.m. on August 5, 2020, I weigh 150 lbs and can do 10 pull ups.  To get there I’m going to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:30 a.m., rain or shine, for one hour to be spent on the treadmill, pull up machine, weight room, and stationary bike in 4 circuits of 15 minutes, switching the weight exercises every week.”

Even after you get your whole paragraph down, it may behoove you to take a week and go back and look to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

Conclusion?  Worth it Work.

If this seems like a lot of work, it is.  But what I’ve learned is that if you REALLY want a different life, if it’s really important enough to you, the work shouldn’t feel onerous.  In fact, it should be fun!  In addition, in making these goals–making sure your language is specific and as if it’s already happened–you’re actually able to practice a lot of the other Law of Attraction skills that will help bring your goals closer.  You’ll be forced to visualize your life and what it will be like when you achieve your goals.  You’ll pay super close attention to your language (positive only, people!), and you can even make sure to write these goals from a place of gratitude.  All these skills will bring them closer.

If you have questions, make sure to comment below.

Happy belated New Years!  And happy goal making!  The Universe wants this for you.  Don’t ever forget that.  Go get ’em!!!

The Law of Attraction — One Year Later

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When The Hungry Dater went through its rebrand last year, I started focusing on “living your best life.”  Through that, we started conversations about the Law of Attraction, The Success Principles, and how to tell the Universe exactly what you want.  All you do after that is work toward your goals, knowing they will happen even if you don’t know how.

I am entirely self-educated in this area.  I have read, researched, taken classes, and studied my little heart out so that I could make my own life better.  Throughout that journey, I realized a calling to teach other people how to improve their lives too.

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New Year’s Gratitude with your Erin Condren LifePlanner!

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This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on the links provided, I may receive a commission, at no cost to you. See my full Disclosure Policy for more information.

After the rebrand of THD, we started focusing much more on natural, whole-life living, which includes a deep connection to the Law of Attraction and its effect on our lives.  One of the biggest parts of applying the LOA to your life is the practice of constant, daily gratitude.  The New Year is always a time of reflection and planning for our next steps in life.  We create resolutions, reflect on past successes and hurts, and plan for the rejuvenation that the change in our calendars gives us.  Because of all of this, New Years’ Eve seems a good time to recommit to my daily gratitude practice.  For me, that means my Erin Condren LifePlanner is my sidekick for the next year.

Gratitude – A Way to Improve Your Life

The study and practice of the Success Principles and the Law of Attraction has been my focus for the last several years.  And it’s amazing how much this stuff works!  My life has changed dramatically for the better–even though I had an amazing life before.  These studies include an active, daily gratitude practice.  And I have to say, it’s changed my life.

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Tahoe Rim Trail Segment Hike – BEST SUMMER EVER!

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Around here if “adventuring” isn’t one of your hobbies, you’re a weirdo.  And along with being a weirdo, you’d also be completely dateless.  We live in a place (and actually a world) where a huge part of dating is “adventuring.”  It’s actually gotten to the point where people are now scoffing at the word “adventure” in each other’s dating profiles because it’s getting so overused.  But, bottom line is, today adventuring is an important pastime in the dating world, and this usually includes being physically active in some way.  That’s why here at The Hungry Dater, while we believe dating and food go together, fitness must also be included.  You want to eat what you want, but you also want to look good.

Crazy Hiking Adventures

One of the best ways to “adventure” is hiking.  Most of the time, this means that you can be adventurous without being too crazy about it.  But then there’s those of us who are crazy about it on purpose.  I’m not usually one of them.  It takes something special to make me want to be a crazy adventurer—and last year, my dad found it.  For his 65th birthday, my dad asked my mom and I to hike the full 168.5 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail with him.

In my opinion, Lake Tahoe is truly one of the Wonders of the World (there are way more than 7).  And I really don’t think I’m alone.  I’ll never forget going to France for my high school graduation.  Any time people asked where we were from, “Reno” generally got blank stares.  But when we said “Lake Tahoe,” Parisian faces lit up in recognition and excitement.  Many even said visiting Lake Tahoe was on their bucket list.

Living so close to Tahoe makes it easy to “adventure” on a regular basis.  And the Tahoe Rim Trail is one of those adventures that becomes more than you ever could have imagined.

History of the Rim Trail

The Tahoe Rim Trail’s history starts in 1860 with the Pony Express.  They used the Kingsbury Grade to Echo Summit portion of the trail to deliver mail to Sacramento.  Over the next century, various parts of the trail were established on their own as individual hikes or camping destinations; until in 1981, Rim Trail founder Glen Hampton envisioned mapping out a 150 mile loop following the ridge tops of Lake Tahoe.   Construction on Hampton’s vision started in 1984, and in 2001, after 200,000 volunteer hours, the Tahoe Rim Trail was complete.

Probably the most amazing aspect of the trail is the fact that it was made with volunteer hours.  The Association does have a few employees who work to maintain the trail and run the programs, but everything else is done strictly on a volunteer basis!  Of course there are the guides who many of us see on a regular basis.  But there are even more who are behind the scenes doing the heavy lifting.  Last year alone, they had more downed trees on the trail than ever before (downside of the big snow years), and all of them were removed by volunteers—many times with hand saws!!!  Remember, there’s no equipment up there, so most of these things have to be carried in and out on foot and by hand.

 

A Birthday Request

When my dad announced this was what he wanted for his birthday, I knew there was no way I could say no; but honestly, I wasn’t super excited.  In fact, I was terrified.  We decided to apply to be a part of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s Segment Hikes.  This meant that every Sunday for 12 weeks, we would meet up with a guide and a group, get in a van, drive to the trailhead, and hike one segment of the Trail back to our cars.  Each segment consisted of 12-25 miles.  Ugh.

Hiking and Healing

Then, right after we signed up for the hikes, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  We delayed our hiking group for one year while she got better.  Suddenly, hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail became more than just a transformative experience for us as individuals, but proof that we’d survived and thrived as a family through the worst of times.  Our strength had been tested.  We were strong, and we got to prove it every Sunday for 12 weeks.

But while I could talk about the transformative nature of this experience for days, honestly, the transformation and personal exploration wasn’t even the best part.  By hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail, you’re getting to see parts and views of Lake Tahoe that are untouched and impossible to see any way other than hiking up a mountain.  For miles.  Sometimes in the rain. With snow on the ground.  Or in the super hot sun.  Still with snow on the ground.

Even with all of that, it’s worth it.  And more than that, it’s amazing.

 

A Transformative Experience

Now, am I going to tell you I didn’t cry like a small child more than once in the summer last year?  If I did, I’d be lying.  I totally cried like a baby at least 5 times, and hiked 20 miles with a mild stomach flu once.  I complained that my summer weekends were shot; I was horrified when, after walking 25 miles the guides told me it wasn’t even the hardest segment; and I often hung out at the back of the pack, trailing behind the group simply because that’s where I liked to stay.  We saw a bear, peed in the forest, bled a lot, learned the importance of driving with towels on the seats to protect them from dirt and sweat, got consumed by mosquitos, and lived on chocolate milk, apple juice, cold sandwiches, and GORP.  And still, it was worth it.

We met the most amazing people, saw things many people wouldn’t see in three lifetimes, and learned what we are made of.  We went for the views and to help us get and stay fit.  What we found was we got “healthy” in many many unexpected ways.  We got fit enough to hike through Desolation Wilderness, we learned how strong we can be mentally with the proper mantras, we made some new friends, we got even closer to each other, and after a truly heinous year, we got the opportunity to heal as a family.

I realize that most people around here are perpetual hikers and this experience would have just been a fun summer jaunt for them rather than a transformative experience.  But even if that’s the case, I’m sure there are still major shifts that would happen for them during these hikes.

And hey, if nothing else, you can’t beat the views.

Once-in-a-Lifetime Views of Lake Tahoe

Every person had a different “favorite” segment.  Mine, by far, was Christopher’s Loop.  It’s a 1.2 mile loop that is extra on the 25 mile segment (the longest of the summer—but not the hardest!).  Because of that, it’s really easy to talk yourself out of going that extra mile.  DON’T DO IT.  That extra mile was my favorite view of the entire summer—and maybe of my life.  Seeing Lake Tahoe from that angle is something I will never ever forget.  As a matter of fact, my mom and dad were gone that week, so they’re making that one up this summer—I’m going with them.  While we aren’t doing the whole 25 miles, even if they were doing the whole thing, I’d still do it with them.  It’s breathtaking in every way.

But there really was something amazing on every segment.  From the flowers to the wildlife to the views, you’ll never be bored.  (You might be crying, but you won’t be bored.) 😉

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association works incredibly hard to keep this wonderful place well-designed, walkable, and pure for all of us to enjoy.  They work tirelessly to improve the trail all the time.  Last year alone they created another ¾ of a mile worth of trail so that no more hikers would have to deal with the “death hill” (at least that’s what we called it).  And that was just the beginning of their work.  Their volunteers go up on the trail without equipment to move rocks, pound dirt, gauge distance, cut trees, and make sure everything is kept up enough to support the over 400,000 hikers that come through every year.  They host the Segment Hikes, backpacking classes, Rim Trail Thru Hikes, kids’ education classes, and have single-handedly made the “Leave No Trace” movement a household name.  All of this is done primarily through volunteers.

Do It Scared

Before this experience, I’m not sure I ever considered myself one of the local adventurers who could stand up in the local adventure-y dating scene.  Now, there’s no doubt I can.

So, don’t underestimate yourselves.  Do things you’re not sure you can.  Keep in shape and make sure you have fun while you do it.  But don’t forget that those fun things might also make you cry.  Do it scared and you just may have the experience of a lifetime.  If you find things like this you love, you also may find the Love of Your Life.  And in the meantime, you’ll survive—and maybe even enjoy—this crazy “adventure” filled dating scene… All the while maintaining that date-worthy physique and a life-long health that will keep you beautiful and spry for your future (or current) Love.  But most importantly, do it for yourself.

And hey, bonus:  the more you exercise (or “adventure”), the better you can eat.  😉

Stay healthy, Daters!  And, as always, HAPPY Cooking.

 

Intuitive Eating GIVEAWAY

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Dating and fitness often go hand in hand. “Date Weight” is a thing and we all know it.

In Reno, though, it’s more about the culture here. Everyone likes to do things outside and active and if you can’t do that, there’s little people can connect on.

While I am not a dieter, we all know being dateable comes with being healthy. In this area especially, athleticism is almost a prerequisite.

I wasn’t always an avid non-dieter. It took a lot for me to get to the point where I’m more concerned with my health than my weight. I’m healthy, active, fun, and even on occasion pretty athletic. I run half marathons regularly, I’ve now hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail, and I don’t balk when I’m invited on a date that includes some sort of physical activity.  What inspired the change?  “Intuitive Eating.”

While the story is longer than is reasonable for this post, trust me when I say “Intuitive Eating” changed my life. All those years of restricting and fighting my body’s responses, have been slowly unraveled to reveal a body which is strong, curvy, beautiful, and capable of doing almost anything I want to as far as active recreation.

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Greenchef Review

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One of the things I like to do on The Hungry Dater is give you guys reviews of the things I think you all will like.  Many times their reviews of bars and restaurants, but other times they’ll be reviews of books, date night places, or services I think are helpful, important or fun.

For the latest installment of “Time-Saving Tuesdays” (that’s the busy weeknight meal post), I decided, this week, to review Greenchef for you.
There are so many of these services popping up all over Facebook and Pinterest.  It’s difficult to keep up with all of them.  I’d say the most popular are probably “Plated” or “Blue Apron.”  I have to admit, I’ve never tried either of those–and I do plan on trying a whole bunch of different ones for you all this Summer/Fall so I can tell you what I really think the best one is.  But as I go, I’ll review them on their own as well.

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