Real life comparison...

Morning, all!  What a beauuuuuutiful weekend we had around here in NJ.  Even I, the lover of Fall & Winter, HAD to get myself out for a sunshine walk on Sunday afternoon.  It feels like it's taken a lonnnnggg string of cold and WINDY (GEEZE, NJ was WINDY this winter!) days to arrive here...but we made it!

I took this photo from my vantage point of sitting and meditating under this tree when my walk was winding down.

And no, I don't know who I am anymore either...as I never thought that above statement would ever be uttered out of my mouth😊  I don't know what just happened😉

And in ALSO "never thought I'd say this news":  I completed my VERY FIRST WORKSHOP this weekend!  I still can't even believe THAT happened.  I worked hard on the presentation, but it was really the people in the room coming together to share their own journeys that made it incredibly special.  I can't wait to see what's next to come😊

And thanks to my friend Michelle for sneaking in this photo of me mid-shop😉

Annnnyyyywayyyy...so here we are on Monday and I DID manage to document some of our meals this week.  ...which I thought would be HILARIOUS to see next to the 'styled' photos that bloggers (unlike myself) do INCREDIBLY well.  Despite having gone to FILM SCHOOL, I still can't wrap my head around the photography skills that produce those beautiful photos.  INSTEAD, what I'm REALLY good at, is a peek at REAL LIFE😉  So I thought it would be kinda funny to show you MY photos next to those beautiful Pinterest worthy ones😉  AND showing you how I balanced my week.

Monday:  Chinese Five Spice Ground Turkey Zucchini Noodles

  

LOVEEEEEEEDDD this recipe.  It took UNDER 15 minutes...and that's including spiralizing the noodles!  How can you argue with that??

Tuesday:  Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower Baked Potatoes with Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce

  

Let's not even get into discussing the differences of these 2 photos😉  What we CAN discuss is realizing that we had an ABSURD amount of butternut squash that I had stashed in the freezer during the Fall months last year.  To the tune of, like, FOUR bags😉  So I thought I'd put at least TWO of those bags to work this week.  One in this recipe above, which we LOVEDDDD.  And two...

Wednesday:  Gnocchi with Squash & Kale + salad

Heyyyyyyy...one of my old photos.  AND one of our favorite dishes that I forget too often.  I had another plan for dinner that involved quinoa and Brussels sprouts...but if Scott was going to eat an EXCESS of butternut squash for dinner, he was putting the veto on that plan and opted for this gnocchi dish instead.  I'm OK with this.  (plus:  lunch leftovers were JAMMIN!)

Thursday:  Crunchy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken + sweet potato + salad

No "Donna photo" here, as I was just too excited to try this one out (but rest assured, mine looked NOTHING like that photo😉)  But that didn't even matter as this chicken was SOOOO delicious.  Definitely our best dinner of the week.

Friday:  Dinner at Caffe Aldo Lamberti

"Mood lighting" photo alert😉...as I went out with a couple friends on Friday, who both also enjoy my love of sharing ALLLLL the food around😉  So we all got to dig into the appetizers of antipasti, calamari & Caesar salad and dinner of seafood risotto and some of the best gnocchi I've EVER had.  All accompanied by live trumpet Jazz, which was pretty sweet.

Saturday:  Meatball Parm at Villa Maria

No photo as I was trying to slice up meatballs to cool before my 1 year old could yank them off my plate while they were still steaming hot😉  That child LOVES herself some meatballs!  (see also:  genes😉)

Sunday: Slow Cooker Korean-Style Beef Tacos + Salad

A recipe from the other cookbook I got this Christmas this year:  Skinnytaste:  Fast & Slow.  Only problem was I was ready for dinner before 5pm because the damn slow cooker just smelled SOOOOOOO good.  And the tacos with the bright & healthy cucumber/carrot slaw did NOT disappoint.

OTHER treats & eats this week

Hutchinson House Banana Bread

Which Scott has been requesting for at least 400 months and I finally got it done for him😉

Crisped corn tortillas + mashed avocado + crisped white beans

THIS was the start of this breakfast and it's evolved just slightly since.  I just throw the tortillas over an open flame on the stove grates to char.  The white beans go in a dry pan to heat and crisp.  And the mashed avocado is the delicious glue that holds it all together.  5 minutes to a SUPER filing & healthy breakfast you can LOVEEEEEE.

Flaxseed pancake

Here's another one I ate a bunch of times last week for either breakfast or lunch.  I used this recipe, sans the sweetener (it's not really needed since top it with peanut butter and a small drizzle of maple)

Mediterranean Quinoa Cups

You guys KNOW I've been loving ALL the Quinoa cups lately and this was my own take.  I combined 2 egg whites & 1 egg.  Sundried tomatoes, quinoa, shredded zucchini & onion, feta, chopped chickpeas and a dollop of hummus in a bowl.  Mixed it up, filled it in muffin cups and baked.  Those stayed together perfectly.  The WEIRD moment came when I added chopped kalamata olives to mine (Scott's not a fan) and they alllll crumbled apart when I took them out of the pan.  NO CLUE why the olives = destruction, buttttt it was still worth tossing it into a bowl and giving it a spin in the microwave for 1 minute.  Waste not/want not.  

Andddd all the exercise to pull it all together:

Monday:  Jillian Michaels:  30 day shred level 2
So I decided this week I was going to alternate walking/cardio days with 'muscle workouts' and I started here.  I SORTA hated life all through this 25 minute workout...BUT IT'S 25 MINUTES.  Sometime ya just gotta get it done😉


Tuesday:  Taught gentle & vinyasa yoga + 2 mile walk  Here & Here
I'm obsessed with that version of the "Walk Away the Pounds" series because it's the simple/quick one I can just do and get done.  I'll usually hold 4 or 8 pound weights on & off throughout the walk if I want a little extra 'burn.'


Wednesday:  Taught 3 gentle classes + Tone it Up Sancastle workout
So for some reason I had THIS sandcastle workout in my mind and despite my searching on Tone it up, I could NOT find it.  Sooooo....I found this girl's video where she does the workout and I just followed along...all while watching the new episode of Real Housewives of NY😉  (hashtag:  My Real Life😉)


Thursday:  Taught Hatha & gentle + same 2 mile walk as above


Friday:  Taught gentle + 20-25 minutes of dance & weights


Saturday:  Tone it up Bikini Body Workout


Sunday:  3 mile walk around the park


So that's about it for the day!  Hope you have a good Monday and I WILL be back on Wednesday to talk about a mental block we all get into on our healthy lifestyle journey.

Have a great day!

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This week's balance...

Week one, two, three & four...

Monday:  Greek Salsa

Didn't I JUST post on Friday about how I set a menu for the week and try to stick with it??  Well, here's already an example of how some days don't go as planned and of course it's the 1st meal of the weekJ  Plan = Salad.  Unplanned = a larger lunch of Greek salsa (and swooon, pita chipsJ) because I ended up with a few unplanned meetings and lunch became dinner with no time in betweenJ  

Life happens.

Tuesday:  Puffed tacos with Edamame guacamole + Trader Joe's fire-roasted peppers and onions

Also planned:  Lettuce wraps.  Too fun to ignore:  Puffed tacos.  These are already on tap for the menu this week too, because we COULD NOT get over them.  I don't fry in the house often or hardly EVER, but the 1 minute dip in hot oil with the corn tortillas just creates MAGIC.  Crispy AND pliable at the same time.  Magic, I tell you!

And the edamame guacamole was a combo of curiosity met with a bag of shelled edamame that needed to be used in my freezer.  Verdict:  it was fine ON something.  But as a chip dipper?  No, thank you.  Pass me the good old avocado guac, please!

Oh yeah...and there may or may not (or definitely MAYJ) have been a couple fried tortillas topped with cinnamon, sugar & a dust of nutmeg.  Because...do I need a reason?? 

 Wednesday:  Spinach artichoke cups + salad 

Also known as:  An excuse to eat (my favorite guilt free!) spinach artichoke dip for dinner under the guise of using up old, broken up wonton wrappers to make cups.

Thursday:  Cornflake chicken with Honey-mustard apple slaw

LOVED the coating and CRUNCH of this chicken!  I'm going to make it again ASAP, but this time with a more savory slaw, since that's ma jam.

Friday:  Lemon spaghetti + salad and a side of "The Office"

I LOVEEEEED this Giada recipe SO much because it was so simple & classic.  Just like Pam Beesly.

And yes...Friday dinner, especially cozy spaghetti, in front of the TV is just SOMUCH happiness.

Saturday:  Leeky, Creamy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

I'm currently LIVING for this soup...so much so that I just ate the leftovers for lunch and think I need to have a pot of this laying around for lunches EVERY week.  We slashed the heavy cream in half (used 1% for the rest) and it was just...homeJ Especially after a FULL day at yoga teacher training.  (more on that below)

Sunday:  Baked chicken chimichanga with mashed avocado

One of Scott's very own Pinterest pin picks and a great way to kick off Cinco de Mayo weekJ In full disclosure, I totally broke my side salad rule in favor of another one of these 'changas.  They were just toodamngood, but definitely not the smartest choice.  If I had one and a salad, it would have felt just as satisfiying.  

Oh well, onward!

Splurges:

Tuesday:  That cinnamon-sugar tortillaJ

Wednesday night:  1 scoop...

Saturday:  Mini Rocky Road Blizzard filled with marshmallow

Scott told me about the new 'core' blizzards last week and I wanted to try em ASAP.  But I gotta say that marshmallow center was kinda way too SWEEEEEEEEEEEET.  And I'm a gal who can HANDLE HER SWEETS!

Sunday:  Homemade cake pop at Katie's friend's birthday party...weeeeeee!

Other yummy recipes this week!

Broiled grapefruit with ginger-sugar & mint

And yes...still drinking my hot waterJ

My FAVORITETHINGEVER of the week:  Toast with hummus, diced marinated grilled artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's), diced kalamata olives & feta

This felt so super Mediterranean and was BEYOND tasty!   I had this with an orange for more breakfasts or lunches in the past two weeks than I can count.

Tone it Up Cucumber Rafts

I made these for an on-the-go snack, so it was a good thing I snapped the picture 'before' because as soon as I grabbed these on the go, they toppled over in the container and turned into a big pile of strawberry/cucumber messJ  But at least it was a tasty messJ

Sunday Morning Breakfast:  Olive oil lemon skillet cake with caramelized Meyer lemons

Made in my Grandmom's good ole skillet!  Double love!J

Even Lily was a fanJ

Exercise:

Monday:  Taught gentle yoga

Tuesday:  Tap class

Wednesday:  Power yoga

Thursday:  Kundalini yoga  (umm...intense.  In many ways)

Friday:  NONE!  Felt lousy.  Knowing when to rest is just as important as exercise!

Saturday:  Helped facilitate three yoga classes at this year's teacher training.  I feel so lucky to help the new group of teacher trainees and remember where I was a year ago.  Still so crazy to have gone through that amazing experience and actually BE a teacher THIS year.  I'm incredibly humbled & honored to be back there and experience it all again on 'the other side.'J

Sunday:  Tone it Up Beach Bod Workout + Inner and Outer thighs  Love those girls!  Even Katie likes when I put on the videos "with those 2 girls"J

Onward to a new week!J

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Memorial Day Weekend Recap...

Kicking off the summer with...

Strawberry-basil chicken burgers...

For real...

Strawberry pickin'...

Girl's nights/mini-baby showers, which led to Katie's favorite gift:  ALL THE TISSUE PAPER...

(this went on for an hour)

Family weddings...<3 p="">

Parade watching... 

A too-tired to cook Memorial Day trip to The Pour House for good ole short rib cheese fries & pork nachos... 

...and a "Sweet Cheese" burgers (topped with blue cheese, cheddar & maple-mustard) ...

...and of course, ICE CREAM...

...as only the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (now in Philadelphia) can do, with an "American Gangster" (vanilla cone coated in chocolate covered pretzels & a chocolate dip + dulce de leche)... 

In short:  I'm exhausted & ready for a salad.  Hope you guys had a fabulous long weekend and are set for the week ahead.  Have a good Tuesday!

Passed 'the point'...

Morning, all!  Hope you're doing well.   Man, is it REALLY Monday already??  I feel like most of last night was spent BEGGING Scott to tell me it really wasn't Sunday night and my weekend with him was a wrap already.  GRRRRRRRR....how do those 2 days go so fast????  Well, time always flies when you're having fun and we had enough of it packed into 2 days.

First up was a Saturday morning trip to the CIRCUS!  Katie's first show, so we were really excited to see how she'd fare.

Favorites included ALLTHEANIMALS & the popcornJ

 Her telling us "I like being at the circus" made it all worth itJ  $12 bucket of popcorn includedJ

#pigtailsilhouette 

And on the food front, we had a couple splurges on tap...

Including a serious craving for Bricco pizza and their PHENOMENAL Cesar salad (WITH charred bread pieces).  Cesar salad being another random FAVTHINGEVER these last 8 months...

....and their PERFECT tomato pie.  And I totally stole inspiration from fellow diners and when I saw this ricotta & meatball topped pie at someone's table as we made our way to our seats, I knew it was a MUST try.

The ricotta was creamy & fresh, their tomatoes are SUPER tangy and plentiful and the meatball is freshly ground and smoked.  Basically it was heaven on a pan.

And Bricco's is never skimpy on the coal oven CHAR.  Anyone who doesn't think this is a ART form is obviously not from the north eastJ  We live for thisJ

And since it was one of the first VERY WARM Saturday nights, I just kinda insisted that ice cream be included with the night's menu.  AND, another requirement:  It had to be from an old-school ice cream stand.  I was just FEELIN this one.  And I found my match in near-by Maple Shade at this little number...

And on top of being completely adorable and EXACTLY what I was envisioning, their soft serve custard was hands down some of the best I EVER tasted.  EVER.  EVER EVER.  It was suuuuuuuuuuper rich & VERY creamy.  Like heaven on a spoon. 

My only regret was not going with my first instinct of a VERY SMALL cup with jimmies.  I heard their non-fat ice cream was just as good as the regular and I think that woulda satisfied me plenty.  Instead I got influenced from ordering Katie a 'flurry' mixed with Swedish Fish (HER FAV!) and ordered myself up a SMALL (yes, THAT'S a small) flurry with peanut butter cups.  The first few bites were DELICIOUS and the CHUNKS of peanut butter cups were a FAB mix-in.  But a quarter of the way in, it became WAY too rich and found myself eating a few more bites 'just cause it was there' and I was PAST 'the point.'  I'll know for next time to keep it together and not go under the influence of KatieJ hahahahahahaha

And I was especially bummed I overindulged cause I knew another of our fav splurges was on tap for Sunday, when we made our one-hour drive north to Rahway for our niece's Sweet 16 birthday request:  Kim's in the Mix.  

We started with our traditional cheesy hush puppies (Scott talks about these at least once every few monthsJ)  And our sweet waitress, Miss Andre's, recommendation of the fried cornbread... 

OMG....sweet, crisp and buttery, as if cornbread needed anything to be more yummy.  It was drop-dead delicious.

And then I couldn't pass up having their chicken & waffles with a side of mac & cheese and fried apples again.  It was as fabulous as I remember.  Just divine, especially the herb-crisp chicken.  Swoon.   We were so full, we didn't even get to sample our desserts...but we ALL took home one, cause ya just CAN'T pass up the selections!!!

But after THIS weekend, I was EXTREMELY ready to get back to a bit of normal.  Where last weekend's splurges felt worth it and no guilt, this week's fared to the side of 'too much' and I'm ready to move on from it...with about 37 gallons of waterJ

We DID have a few 'pull it together meals' in the mix, including my Sunday morning 'liquid breakfast' of coffee, water & some fresh roasted beet/watermelon juice from my friends at EdoFoods...

As well as quenching my latest yogurt OBSESSION with THIS little number aka-love at first sight...

And also some leaner lunches of kale salad & a light dinner of spaghetti squash & pesto.  But I'm ready for the next few days to be 100% LEAN.  Onto Bikini Series: Week 6!  A very welcome to this week, I might add!

Alright, off to get this healthy week started.  Hope you have a great Monday....well, as good as a Monday CAN beJ