Want to do a little good today with just the click of a button? LOVE GROWN FOODS is donating a FULL BAG of their granola to a hungry child for every new fan they receive on Facebook and Twitter. Please help! 🙂

After pushing through my workout last night (and envisioning flash mobs of “Can’t Touch This”), I happily welcomed a rest day this morning. I had time to leisurely start my day, including a shower in peace. I forgot what that feels like since I normally must shower in 2 minutes flat to avoid the breaking point where Makenzie decides seeing how high Braedon’s bouncer will bounce is more fun than reading a book. Ah, motherhood.

I reveled in my hot shower. Although I hate then having to wait a bazillion years to cool off so I can put on my lotion without it just sliding right back off me. 

I want that extra sun protection to stick, after all. A few years ago I had a handful of moles removed and biopsied that looked questionable and ever since then I have taken a lot more precaution with my skin. I stopped using tanning beds ever. I stopped baking in the sun at the pool and when we went to the beach. I loaded up on SPF when I would be outdoors all day for hikes. I did kind of lack on the daily SPF though. Oops!

A few weeks ago I received the Eucerin Everday Protection face and body lotion for review and have used it every single day since. I like the lotions because they aren’t thick piles of goop like standard sunscreen, yet still contain SPF 15 (body) and SPF 30 (face).

They blend in lightly and smoothly without leaving a greasy feeling at all. The face lotion hasn’t caused breakouts – a side effect I feared with using a face lotion with SPF every day. My only complaint is the lotion has a slight sunscreeny smell. Regardless, sun protection, a non-greasy lotion, and a fresh face? I’m game!

Me, my fresh face, and I took advantage of the rest day to also get some errands done. I have a baby shower I’m helping with this weekend, so I had to pick up some things for the shower – including a gift. I’m really bad about putting off gift purchases! Luckily, the registry (and having my own kids to know what is actually worth having) makes it easy. I quickly bought my necessary items and moved on to more important things. Like lunch with a friend!

My friend and I made plans for lunch, but didn’t know where to visit. I Urbanspoon’d it and discovered a cute little sandwich shop called Wildflour.

We got there shortly after it opened at 11 and at first were unsure if it would live up to the reviews since it was so empty. But not 15 minutes later the place became PACKED! I’m glad we got there when we did!

So, did it live up to its wildly popular status on UrbanSpoon?

Do you see that beauty? Portabella mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, fresh basil, provolone cheese, and a sage sauce on their daily fresh baked bread.

My stomach will tell you that, yes, yes it did live up to its reviews. Wildflour now takes the cake, er, sandwich as my favorite deli/cafe/lunch spot in my local area. And that’s a big claim from someone who proclaims sandwiches as one of her favorite foods. Ooey gooey cheese. Perfectly cooked mushrooms. Flavorful sauce. Crispy yet soft, pillowy bread. I could eat you all day. But – I won’t. Only because I have some peanut butter graham truffles to whip up and inevitably taste test 20. You’ll just have to hold your horses to hear more about those though. 🙂

• Do you wear daily SPF lotions?
• What is your favorite way to find new restaurants to try?

**I received the Eucerin products free for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Hi, friends! Top of the morning to ya! It’s Wednesday morning, which you may have figured out now means a What I Ate Wednesday post a la Jenn!

Let’s hop right in with the good stuff!

Yesterday morning, I grabbed my standard piece of fruit for a pre-workout snack as I run around feeding little children’s mouths and getting ready for the gym. I don’t like working out with a heavy stomach because then great workouts will make me want to vomit. And vomiting is no fun, agreed? 😉

I completed a full body weights workout followed up with 30 minutes of light elliptical action. No intervals. Just slow and steady. It felt calming, which is just what I needed after the hectic mindset I had earlier. And cereal was just what I needed after a great workout.

Have you heard that cereal is actually fantastic for a post-workout meal because it has plenty of carbohydrates to refill energy stores and some protein as well from the milk? I believe it because cereal sounded good for post-workout today. Have you also heard of Fiber One’s new Honey Squares 80 calorie cereal?

I got a box of this cereal to sample free of charge and have fallen fully in love. I assure you the company did not buy my love. In fact, I promptly went out and bought myself two more boxes while on sale – using two coupons of course. Pick up $1.00 off and $0.75 off printable coupons to use for yourself after hearing how good this stuff is.

It has the perfect crunch, just enough sweetness, ingredients that don’t make me feel like I’m a rat in a science lab, and a healthy dose of fiber (40% daily value!). And I will admit – I like that it has a lower calorie count than most cereals because I can fill up on even more. I love cereal, but I can easily go heavy on the pouring and end up with three servings. Three 80 calorie servings = way more reasonable than three 180 calorie servings. Not that I would know or anything. Ahem.

I devoured a large bowl topped with my diced strawberries and raisins combo. You didn’t think my favorite oatmeal topping would disappear now did you?

None of my meals really got any more difficult than a bowl of cereal the rest of the day either. In fact, I almost feel a little embarrassed by the sheer ease, laziness, and packaged-ness of most of the day’s eats.

Lunch:

A grilled ham and swiss sandwich. Carrot sticks, cucumbers, and hummus. Watermelon.

Snack:

A S’mores Lunabar and a container of Chobani greek yogurt.

Dinner:

I actually pulled out more produce for dinner. I chopped up a zucchini, two small summer squash, a small head of bok choy, some onion, and some mushrooms to stir-fry all together. Since I didn’t feel like cooking a full meal, I turned to the freezer for some packaged chicken egg rolls we had to use. And while the nutritional stats aren’t terrible in those little eggrolls, I can’t deny their super processed state.

I almost felt embarrassed for showcasing meals like cereal, packaged bars, and frozen eggrolls in a What I Ate Wednesday post. No cooking. No creativity. Nothing fancy. Nothing perfectly unprocessed with zero added sugars and zero disodium guanylate.

Then I remind myself I still strive overall to eat as high quality as possible but also without stressing myself over every meal choice. I can’t feel embarrassed for eating what suited me yesterday despite it not living up to some of the standards that occasionally seem prevalent in the blogging world. I always appreciate blogging for opening my eyes to new, fun ways to eat mindfully and beneficially to my body. At the same time, I also have to remain aware to not allow the “blog food standard” I create in my head to overwhelm my decisions. So, I had my egg roll lazy meal day. Chomp.

• Are you a cereal addict?
• Do you ever feel a certain unspoken standard for food on blogs? What do you think are the pros/cons?