In honor of the Boston Marathon I am sharing a few ways that I take care of myself and my family and keep them healthy.  Today’s recipe for Creamy Dill Greek Yogurt Dip is one of my favorite easy, healthy recipes for snacking and dipping vegetables that I make for my family.

In 2006 my husband and I took the plunge and started training for the Chicago Marathon. Yes, all 26.2 miles of it. It was one of the hardest and best things I ever did. To be honest I never really had the desire to run 26.2 miles since the most I had ever really run was 5 miles at a time.  But when my husband (boyfriend at the time) said he was going to start training and we lived on Lake Michigan where I could get up every morning and train, I decided why not try! The things we do for boys, right?

Keep in mind that training for a marathon involves getting up at 5am on a Saturday and running and running and running.  There were so many times I wanted to quit.  Especially on those long Saturday morning runs when it was 85 degrees and I had to run 13 or 14 miles.  Just a leisurely Saturday…I think not! In the end, running the Chicago Marathon was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life and brought my husband and I that much closer.  He was my motivation when I pretty much wanted to quit.  I pushed my body to places I never  thought possible and was in the best shape of my life.

I remember last year watching the horrific scene that unfolded on the day of the Boston Marathon.  I felt so unbelievably sad for those runners and families.  Marathon day is such a joyous day filled with cheering, adrenaline and accomplishment and someone did something so horrible and took that away.  Today as runners remember those that lost their lives that day I hope we all can too. I have had the pleasure of visiting the wonderful city of Boston and it is a beautiful, strong city and I know they will be able to move forward and represent those runners.

I was really excited to learn that Stonyfield is the official yogurt sponsor of the 2014 Boston Marathon.   As part of being a sponsor of the Boston Marathon, Stonyfield is doing some great things:

• They are sending 10 runners who just missed the cut-off due to this year’s high number of sign ups.
• They are giving out a bunch of healthy living prizes including a year long gym membership on the day of the marathon. Simply tweet or instagram #StonyfieldSuperFan
• They are handing out hundreds of thousands of cups of organic yogurt on race day to runners, their families, volunteers, etc.

Speaking of marathons, as a Mom of two boys (one that is constantly on the go) I feel like my life and keeping my family healthy is a constant marathon.  I have learned that it is the small things that keep me and my family happy, healthy and focused.

Some of the small things I do are:

1) I involve my kids in my exercise. Whether it is walking, running a local 5k or playing in the backyard, teaching them the importance of taking care of our body is so important.

2) Healthy snacking, especially when we are on the go.  This is one place that Stonyfield Greek Yogurt comes in! I love to snack on yogurt. It is filling, healthy and tastes yummy.  My 2 1/2 year old also loves it which makes this Mama happy!

3) I love to cook and create recipes using yogurt, especially Stonyfield Greek Yogurt. It is a low calorie healthy way to add flavor and creaminess.  Today’s recipe for Creamy Dill Greek Yogurt Dip is one of my family’s favorite vegetables dips.