It is always a challenge to keep up a healthy lifestyle on the road with the Loaf Love Tour. After all, we’re surrounded by cheese and all sorts of yummy recipes. Not to mention Tillamook Ice Cream, which hits the spot after a summer day on tour! Rather than giving up an ounce of my favorite foods, I’m always looking for ways to burn calories.

Luckily, most hotels have some type of workout room or a pool, which helps, but since we brand ambassadors are always resourceful, I have integrated cheese lifting into my workout. No one ever said weight plates are the only way to body build!

The LLT workout routine

As I was looking around my hotel room one morning, I realized that a cooler with cheese would be a great weight lifting tool! I loaded two bags of Tillamook Cheese of each sampling variety: Monterey Jack, our World’s Best Medium Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, and, of course, Pepper Jack (which gives the whole workout an extra kick, I think). Estimating each bag to be about 3.3 lbs, that is over 26 lbs of cheese alone! Add in the weight of the cooler and ice and I’ve got 50 lbs to work my legs and core. By the end of this workout you better believe my legs and upper body are begging for some protein. Which is easy to obtain! Open up the cooler, and bam! All sorts of protein in there. So not only does it serve as workout equipment, but also as a source of nutrition.

A few days a week, I do 3 sets (10 reps each) of these by stepping up on a chair or ottoman. I’ve also picked up ottomans, and I do “boxer abs” by sitting and leaning back while twisting at the waist.  Great for abs and core! Sit ups and inverted push ups (with my legs on the bed) round out my time in my personal workout gym AKA my hotel room. Its the ultimate cheesy workout circuit. Throw in some jogging in our great Northwest locations and I’ll be in the best shape of my life and having a fantastic time on tour! We just reached Seattle and we’ll be here sampling cheese and meeting Tillamook fans until August 23. I’m looking forward to heading out to run and bike to explore this great city! Check the tour schedule for a detailed list of stops!

By Alberto

Chocolaty Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

During our time in Boise we’ve experienced 100 degree weather almost every day. There are few things I enjoy doing when the weather is this warm, as I am more of a cold weather person. I believe the warm season is meant for days at the river, baseball games, and scouting for the coming hunting season. Now, I’ve tried many remedies, but I’ve found that the best way to bring down my body temperature after these hot days is with a scoop or two of my favorite ice cream. There’s nothing better than walking into your air conditioned house (or hotel while on the road!) and going straight for the freezer. You hang your head in there for a minute, trying to cool off before you reach for the tub of Tillamook Chocolaty Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. This is my flavor of choice, but any others will do just fine. The smooth cookie dough flavored ice cream with chunks of cookie dough and chocolate chips is what really does it for me, especially on these scorching days. And that’s not to say I can’t enjoy this treat any time of the year though. Come Sundays during football season, I hunker down on the couch with take out food and my favorite tub of ice cream. My only addition once the warm weather breaks is adding hot fudge to my ice cream – now that is a treat!

With this being my third year on the Loaf Love Tour, I have been to the Tillamook Cheese Factory more than a few times, and tried several flavors of Tillamook Ice Cream. But I have yet to try the Tillamook Ice Cream Adventure, a full on giant sundae with a scoop of every flavor. They offer this at the Cheese Factory, and with all the times I’ve gone, there hasn’t been an opportunity to experience it yet. And this isn’t just a bowl of ice cream. It’s every flavor Tillamook makes. It’s like Super Bowl Sunday, opening day of hunting season, and Christmas morning all happening on the same day. It will be epic. This great sundae is like the one that got away from me. Some would call it my “Great White Buffalo”… But someday, I am determined to accomplish this sundae – whether I have to go at it alone or with a group, it will happen. Until then, I can dream about it, right?

By Alberto