Things to do on a Roadtrip

{via}

I love road trips so much, but sometimes, those miles seem to never end and you are left hoping for a nap. Sure, naps are great, but you can only sleep so much on the road before the driver gets lonely and you go crazy. Note, sleeping is even worse when you are  the driver... Not recommend.

These three things to do on a road trip are my three go-to boredom busters. I will admit, we started a road trip yesterday and have already done all three of these, along with a nap. I also plan on doing all three again tomorrow and every day until we get home!

Listen to an Audiobook

{via}

Ok, this is probably not the wisest thing to do if you are sleepy, but it is still a great option during a road trip. When I was younger, the family would always bring some fictional audiobooks along for the ride. Now, the hubs and I mainly listen to books on personal and business development. Some of my favorites from past trips include Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Zappos founder, Tony Hsieh- it is super interesting and great for any business minded individuals. Anything by Tim Ferriss is super great too- The 4-Hour Body is filled with tons of health-minded tips and a bit more interesting to listen to rather than read.

Isometric Exercises

Isometric exercises are one of the few types of exercises that can be done in the car. This form of exercise does not need any movement at all, but instead, uses the contraction of muscles while remaining still. If you are the passenger in the car, begin by contracting your toes for 10-seconds, then relaxing them. Next, contract your feet, lower legs, upper thighs, bum, stomach, fingers, lower arms, upper arms, back, and jaw in that order for 10-seconds each. Try doing this from toes to jaw, then back to the toes again. This is a great way to burn some calories, work specific muscle groups, and burn fat! Isometric exercises are also great to do if you suffer from any joint pain.

Catch Up on Podcasts

This is one of my favorite things to do on the road, while at the gym, or just sitting at my desk at home. Podcasts are great- there is no commercial interruption, topics are geared towards interests, and there is no need to watch anything! My two favorite podcasts are Inside the Magic and The Jillian Michaels Show. Inside the Magic covers all Disney news both nationally and internationally. It also goes over certain Universal and movie news along with guest travel tips. If you are interested in Disney, chances are you will love this podcast. New shows are usually up on Sundays.

The Jillian Michaels Show is, of course, hosted by Jillian Michaels. Jillian goes over health tips, fitness in media, fitness questions, doctor's recommendations, and some other interesting, always changing topics. New shows are available on Mondays and run between 45-minutes and an hour.  

Happy August!

Happy August everyone! Today we start our trek down to Florida and officially leave Michigan. The hubs and I tend to take our years from summer to summer. For us, leaving Michigan means summer is over. Whenever this time of year comes around, I tend to think about the goals I have had over the past year, which ones have been accomplished, and which need to be reset.  

This year has been pretty incredible for me. One of the biggest goals I was able to achieve was starting this blog. The interest in creating a blog spurred May of last year. So, summer of 2012 was filled with research on how to start a blog and tons (seriously, tons) of help from the hubs. Like the site, the pics, the everything but the writing? He did it.

Now, we are two months away from the one year anniversary and some new goals! There are some great ideas we have floating around about how to increase media on P+K. And, of course a few other fun goods as well. I am super excited about what this "new year"  will bring for the P+K family! What are some of your big goals for this year? Have any of them been accomplished or are there some that need a refresher? If you start your new year's goals on January one, you are halfway through accomplishing them! Hopefully, this half-way point works as a time to sit reflect on your year so far. I can guarantee that we will be reflecting over the year together, and hopefully, continue reaching for those incredible achievements together!

Hehe, please bare with my introspection and know that there will be plenty of great things ahead for the whole P+K fam! Oh, and if you are wondering what this picture is, I took it in the middle of one of our fields up here. Yep, we are totally in heaven here in Michigan. But now it is back to home, cats, and super warm weather!  

Is Popcorn Healthy?

{via}

Popcorn has been popping up everywhere in health food stores, blogs, your name it. Certain types of popcorn tastes delicious and have become my go-to for a mid-day snack. This has led to a pretty interesting question, is popcorn healthy?

Well, surprisingly yes, popcorn is quite a healthy snack. Popcorn is filled with fiber, protein, low in fat, and low in calories. Even better, the air-popped variety has 6 grams of carbs, 0 grams fat, 1 gram protein, and about 1 gram dietary fiber. This is, of course, before all of those tasty toppings. But even some of the topping options are not too bad- especially when considering how tasty a treat it is!

Popcorn can be such a great health food snack because the hull is eaten along with the popped portion. The popcorn hull is also packed with more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables. According to new research by the American Chemical Society, the popcorn hull has minimal processing and is highly dehydrated, making the antioxidants highly condensed in the hull.

My new favorite kind is the Angie's Snacks Boom Chicka Boom Popcorn. This stuff is crazy good and ridiculously healthy for how tasty it is. The Lightly Sweet variety has 4 grams fat, 21 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein for every 3 1/4 cups! Oh, and it only has 120 calories. What?! Awesome. This popcorn is so, so good and the company that makes it is just as incredible. Angie's Popcorn is GMO free, gluten free, kosher, has no high-fructose corn syrup, uses whole grains, and is vegan. They are also part of the fare farming initiative.

Full disclosure: I found this product and loved it. Angie's popcorn has not payed me in any way to advertise their products.

YouTube Workouts on Vacation

This week is a bit hectic for the hubs and I. We will be staying with family at the lakehouse for a few days before we make the five-day trek back home. And did I mention we will have his/his parent's Jack Russell with us? We will. I love these trips, but the time before we go can be a bit crazy and fitting in a workout between unpacking, packing, visiting family, and sight-seeing can be difficult. These are the times that I turn to quick YouTube workouts the most.  

YouTube is a great place to go for free and up-to-date workouts. Anyone who has been reading this blog for more than a week knows that I love my YouTube, especially my YouTube workouts. This week is no different. I have been living off ten minute routines that can be fit in through out the day. Sure, a ten minute workout will not change my life, but a few quick workouts spread throughout the day is a whole lot better than nothing at all.

I have been going through a complete ab renovation starting last week, so it is no wonder that ten minute ab routines have become my healthy equivalent to bread and butter. This Cassey Ho Intense Ab Workout is two years old, ten minutes long, and fantastic. The workout is simple, quick, and can be done at home or while vacationing. All of these moves are things most people have done before and they will work all the different muscle groups of the torso. I would completely recommend doing this one before your dinner since it will help kick your metabolism up, but will not leave you as a pile of sweat who needs to re-beautify!

If you want to tone your whole body and help increase muscle definition, working opposing muscle groups is vital. For me, my ab crazed life must have some toning for the back. For that reason, I have fallen in love with Cassey Ho's Back On Fire Workout. The "On Fire" series is less than a month old, so there are plenty of fun, different workouts mixed into all of them. This workout could be done directly after the Ab workout, or another time throughout the day/week. Besides, who does not want a toned back that could rival the gorgeous Maggie Q's?

If you are ever stressed about your day and do not know how a workout, let alone life, will fit in, I would highly suggest completing a 10-minute morning yoga flow. Ten minutes is not much time to give up, but this time can do wonders for clearing your head and getting your day started on the right foot. I am always amazed how much better I feel and how much more time I seem to have after a quick morning yoga flow. This flow is great to do when you wake-up or before you go-to bed, depending on the time you find you get stressed the most. If you are really feeling super-human or super-stressed, try doing this upon waking and before sleeping. A relaxing yoga flow could completing change your day and your sleep!

This Tara Stiles flow is less than 6-minutes long and will help get your body ready for the day ahead!