A colorful wrap up...

Soooo....mornin, folks!  Sorry I've been a bit MIA the past couple weeks, but roll insanely busy mixed with feeling LOUSY almost all of last week and the days just get away from me.  And on top of that, I wasn't very diligent with taking photos the past couple weeks or even remembering what the hell I DID each day, let alone what I ate...hahahahahaha😉. Lately anyone asks how I'm doing and my response is "Just swingin from vines", since that's EXACTLY what it feels like day-to-day😉  I'm sure, um, ALL OF YOU understand that feeling😉  Sooooooo...instead of a weekly recap, I'll just share some of my favorites from the past couple weeks and maybe a few I'm REALLY excited to try as Summer is quickly approaching.  Which...

A.- 'scuse???  How the hell did THAT happen??

and

B.- I'm FAIRLY excited for.  Double 'scuse.  I still don't even know who I am anymore...but we've already been to visit the beach a couple times so far this spring and I. JUST. CAN'T. EVEN. DEAL with all the gorgeousness and how happy the kids are just to BE there.  

(and humidity, if you could stay away the ENTIRE time??  THAT'DBEGREAT)

Some of my fav meals:

Quickest dinner that felt 'fancy':  One-pot puttenesca

Throw everything in one pan and end up with a dish where each bite brings a new taste of ZINNNNNNGGGGGG???  Yes, yes and yes please.

The 'pardon the photo on my stove grate' meal:  BUT this picture makes me super happy because Katie was SO EXCITED to invite a couple of friends over for our first cookout of hot dogs of the season that she actually helped me clean almost our ENTIRE back porch (all while singing "I just can't wait to be King"...which was ADORABLE)...weeeeee!  Not to mention:  CLASSIC summer fare...

Pasta salad recipe from Pioneer Woman, which I made last summer and have thought about ever since.  It's THAT perfect😉

We also made THIS PIE for the cookout and um, also PERFECT...

What will probably become a staple recipe:  Lauren Conrad's Easy Enchiladas

My love for all things Lauren Conrad and her perfectly filtered life runs deep, so it was no shock that her absurdly easy enchilada recipe was not only easy but PERFECTLY DELICIOUS.  Poaching the chicken in the salsa kept it super flavorful and extremely tender.  I upped my game just a bit by finding a small loaf of premade cornbread in the freezer and stuffing it with said enchilada chicken.  My photo does NOT do it justice for how PHENOMENAL THAT was😉

My current breakfast & lunch obsession:

(photo source)

+ strawberries + chopped almonds (or peanuts) + ground flaxseed + a sprinkle of granola.  This used to be my spring-y/sunshine staple (how is that blog post from SEVEN years ago???), but haven't really had it in YEARS.  And, just like most things, I get reacquainted and then get re-obsessed and have it a million times a week😉  I've had both the nonfat & whole milk variation of the yogurt and honestly can't say I notice much difference once you add all of those toppings.

Other meal-prep lunches:

Our FAVORITE couscous salad

BBQ Chicken, roasted sweet potato & broccoli bowls

Both made on Sundays, portioned and set for the week ahead.  And BOTH were delicious!

Healthier indulgence:  Chocolate Orange Chia seed pudding

So ya'll know my LOVE of chocolate on MOST days of the week, which I obviously think is FINE...BUT here's a great way to satisfy that craving while staying a LITTLE bit more on the healthy end of things.

Favorite Workout:  Tone it up Sandy Sweat HIIT

I'm so obsessed with this one at the moment that I COULDN'T WAIT to get back to it after recovering from feeling lousy.  15 quick minutes + I'll throw in 15 minutes of dance and it feels like a full body, excellent muscle/cardio combo.

And a few things I'm excited to make with the Summer on the way!

Firecraker Cake

This picture makes me straight up giddy.  

Further making me question who I'm becoming😉  But it's just so purty!

Red, White & Blue strawberry cheesecake bites

How perfect are these??  I might just be able to get behind the whole 'fruit for dessert' thing with these adorable little babies!  Plus, I'd love giving these to the kids.

Summer Sand Pudding

I can't even DEAL with how adorable this is...PLUS we are a dirt cake lovin house and Katie will FLIP for this adorable variation, I'm sure😉

Pioneer Woman BEST Macaroni Salad

So while Googling the above recipe for Pioneer Woman's macaroni salad, I also stumbled on THIS one...and if she's saying THIS is the best??  Well, YOU KNOW it's worth trying!

Well, that's a colorful wrap!  I'm planning to DEFINITELY be back on Wednesday since I have two current 'mental weight loss' topics that I'm dying to discuss.  Here's to finding time to bang out these keys😉 (hold me...😉)

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A peek at my sanity...

...I kid.  Sort of.

I've talked a lot about ALLOWING and what a difference SMALL INDULGENCES can make to your overall sanity at trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  They can help you make healthy choices throughout your life 80% of the time, without having all that resentment from "I can't have this cause I'm on a diet" (gag) moments.  So here's a peek of what I allow myself to have ALMOST every day:  Chocolate!

I never used to be a chocolate person, so this is still sorta hilarious for me...but I'm making up for lost time, allowing myself little bites almost daily.  Always checking in whether I want it or not.  Yesterday, when I made this video, I actually wanted a couple pieces.  Today?  Not interested at all.  I'm saying that because I'm very tuned into whether I'm having out of habit or because I truly want it.

OK....enough chatter!  Here's the video of my awesome chocolate stash!

Do you guys have any recommendations??  Any favorite indulgences??  

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Weekly recap, March 20-26th...

Monday:  Kale & Wild Rice Bowl

(photo source)

One of our favorites from Iowa Girl Eats, we've had this one a million and one times since she's shared this recipe.  Bonus:  It made enough leftovers for lunches a couple days last week!

Tuesday:  Slow cooker enchilada casserole + salad

Leave it to social media to inspire not one, but TWO meals this week (see Friday as well😉).  I saw this float through my Facebook feed and knew immediately I had to try it.  3 steps & one slow cooker pot to clean?  Sign me up😉

Wednesday:  Zucchini noodles with meatballs + salad

Gravy & meatballs on Sunday = leftover gravy & zucchini noodles on Wednesday😉

Thursday:  Leftover calzone + salad

It was kinda sad how excited I was to finish off my leftover calzone from last week😉  Not only was it DELICIOUS, BUT any time we finish things off in the fridge and it doesn't go to waste? = 😍  Not wasting food is my happy place😉

Friday:  Cauliflower crust pizza

Yet another one inspired from Facebook (thanks, Lori!).  I was in charge of the crust and I left Scott in charge of the cheese.  Who, as you could imagine, was SUPEREXCITED to be eating cauliflower pizza to begin with (😉, he's a good sport)  So I cracked up when I took the pizza out of the oven and it was nearly end to end covered in cheese😉  Can't blame the man...and he ended up liking it to boot😉

Saturday:  2 quesadillas + rice from Cancun

Getting our taxes done over the bridge in PA led us to dinner at this VERY fun & yummy place.  I already can't wait to take Katie back there because I know she'll LOVE it.  That dueling quesadilla smothered in their fabulous cheese sauce was certainly a decadent option...but holy moly was it just delicious.  Super fun.  (I mean, anything's a step up from that cauliflower pizza, AMIRIGHT?😉)

Sunday:  Cheesy Hash Brown Chili

(photo source)

While the chili + hash brown sounds like a no brainer on the 'yum' scale, we actually were surprised just HOW good this really was.  Great for a cozy, drizzly Sunday night.

Other treats this week:

From a cold, drizzly Sunday, rewinding to Friday night where the weather cracked, um 60...and immediately made me crave ice cream (hold me).  And since I told you I am obsessed with ALLTHEMINTOREOTHINGS, that's exactly what I (& Katie!) got...

...in a mini size😉

Sunday morning:

So remember I told you how I can become FASCINATED with recipes in cookbooks??  So I think a Dutch Pancake was one of the very FIRST recipes I found fascinating in my old Kids Cookbook from the 80's😉  I still remember thinking all the 'HOW'S' with this one😉  And after alllllllll those years?  I finally got around to making one on Sunday morning...ironically, the recipe was again from Chrissy Teigan's cookbook and it was just sublime😍  (made in my Grandmom's old cast-iron skillet to boot!)

Sunday night:

So after the Dutch pancake & Cheesy chili, this is how we rounded off our Sunday (thankfully "lunch" for me on Sunday was just a handful of almonds in between yoga classes😉)  My plan was to make the "Truffle Brownies" on the back of my bag of new coffee flour....only to realize the 'recipe' was a box of brownine mix + 3 tablespoons of flour.  HUH???  That's not very exciting.  

So I ended up using a small box of leftover brownie mix from the cabinet and used about a tablespoon of flour to the mix.  OK, so the brownie WAS very good...but is that really that hard of a task??  I gotta figure out something WAY more creative to do with the ENTIRE rest of that bag of flour before it becomes a cabinet fixture for the next...ummmm...400 years😉

But I DID go back to Trader Joe's and ended up getting that Kona cookie ice cream I mentioned in the video and oooooooooooooooooooohhh was THAT good!  Coffee ice cream is not my 1st pick, but this one was EXCELLENT.  PLUS COOKIE PIECES...weeeeeeeeeeeee!

OTHER recipes this week:

So despite those few treats this week, I managed to focus a LOT on healthy items this week.  I even started taking some extra vitamin supplements (calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron & vitamin C to be exact) and feel REALLY good.  MUCH more mindful this week and MUCH more prepared for a healthy week ahead from doing a bit of prep work on Sunday.  I even kept a running list of items in the fridge (ON the fridge😉) to have for healthier breakfasts & lunches this week:

...so then it was right in my face and knew I could have a healthy, quick meal in moments.  Which REALLLLLLLY helps keep you mindful.

Coconut cream pie overnight Chia oats

Eaten, um, in the car on the way to teach😉

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Cups

Born out of the facts that:  

A.- I had a bag of riced broccoli from Trader Joe's in the fridge 

B.- Lunch had become SUCH a pitfall for me the past few months that, if I didn't pack a snack to have during all my morning driving arounds, I would come home FAMISHED.  So I NEEDED to recognize that I HAVE to have quick & healthy options ready to go so I can just heat & eat.  

These little babies?  I made a batch on Sunday and they reheat in ONE MINUTE in the microwave.  In that time, I would throw a quick salad together and have lunch in under 90 seconds.  Done & done.

Again, worth mentioning these sugar free/flour free banana oatmeal muffins on the right.  They were perfect grab & go breakfasts or snacks for all of us.  Plus those mini chocolate chips help curb that sweet tooth.

Earthy Chai

I always forget how much I actually REALLYREALLY like this stuff and all you need to do is google 'Golden milk' to find out ALL of the benefits of this turmeric tea.  I also added a teaspoon of coconut oil & a dash of black pepper.  The coconut oil is for, um, every reason Google will tell you that coconut oil is good😉, and the black pepper helps with the absorption of the effective ingredient in turmeric.  I'm trying to have a cup of this a day...normally in the mid afternoon time frame when I'm CRAVING warmth but want to skip an extra cup of coffee.

Add to all of this, plus making sure to have at least one salad a day, but more often two.  Also paying more attention to meal planning and staggering the meals.  As in: one day we have an EXTRA healthy meal (salad/zucchini noodles), in between 'normal meals' (enchilada casserole/chili.)  And being EXTRA mindful for alllll the other breakfast/lunches/snacks through the weeks will help balance out all those extra decadent meals throughout the week.

At least we try our best😉

And on the exercise front, I had to unfortunately cool it a bit last week after pulling my back a bit at the beginning of the week.  Doing what???  OVERDOING in yoga on Tuesday.

AND WHAT DO I PREACH IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY CLASSES????

NOT OVERDOING

I told some of my classes this week with that old 'parenting' adage: 'do as I say, not as I do.'😉

Exercise:

Tuesday:  Taught gentle & vinyasa yoga + took gentle yoga (where I pulled my back in a SIMPLE FORWARD FOLD...oy!)

Wednesday:  Taught gentle yoga 

Thursday:  Taught 2 Hatha classes & 1 gentle class

Friday:  Taught gentle

Saturday:  Taught Hatha yoga + took Body Jam class

Sunday:  Taught vinyasa & Power yoga 

So not too much balance on the exercise front but hoping to toss in a few more walks this week now that my back is feeling better.  + my teaching schedule is extra hectic this week, so that'll help get me up & movin.

And on yet ANOTHER front, Scott & I have been EXTRA mindful the past few weekends about really being present & enjoying our time together and the result has been feeling VERY happy and refreshed when Sunday night rolled around.  So many times we all just kinda go through the motions of the day and not pay too much attention or being present.  So we've been making extra effort to just BE MINDFUL of time together and it's been refreshing to the soul.  Now THAT is my happiest of happy places, for sure.

  

It's just always worth taking a sec to realize where you feel like you're falling short or not paying enough attention and to just give those areas of your life a little extra focus.

And I write all of that as much of a reminder to MYSELF as well that it's a simple change of focus to bring more presence to your life vs. just going through the motions...yaknowwhatImean??

OK...I'll shut up now😉

Hope you guys have a great week!

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Weekly recap, March 13-19th

Monday:  Short Rib Pot Roast from Silver Diner

So not your standard Monday fare, but we were down in South Jersey after a fun day at Katie's favorite 'Dinosaur Museum' (aka-The Garden State Discovery Museum) ...

 

...and we've been wanting to try out this place for ages.  The menu is pretty fancy for diner grub (reminds me of San Francisco's Fog City Diner) and there were about 96 things that sounded REALLYGOOD.  But since old man winter was chillin the bones last week, I went with one of the coziest sounding dishes on the menu...

...made only cozier when I unearthed a dollop of mashed potatoes hidden in the mix.  Swoon😍

And because I have been OBSESSSSSSSED with all things Oreo & mint (ICAN'TGETENOUGH!) AND I've seemed to pass on this love to my child, Katie & I had Peppermint Pattie milkshakes...selected from a todiefor milkshake selection.  And, like, how GOOD does a milkshake from a diner sound??  Sounds great!, because they are😍

Tuesday:  Stovetop Stuffing meatloaf + baked potato

See also:  What to make on a snow day when you just CAN. NOT make salad that day.  This recipe seems silly...but, ya know, enjoyable😊  

Andddd not only was it a snow day, it ALSO was PI DAY (which I would have had no idea existed if it wasn't for good ole social media).  So what's a gal to do?

(Photo source)

One of Katie & my favorite things to do is to watch Rosanna Pansino work her baking decorating magic on her Youtube show "Nerdy Nummies," and this cinnamon butterscotch pie had been in the back of my mind since we watched the video.  It was soooooooooooooooooo good!  I actually had halved the recipe and made 2 mini pies to create only 4 slices (made in 2 mini ramekins) and I almost immediately regretted that decision because this pie was just SO DELICIOUS.  It should be an air freshener scent😉

Wednesday:  Lasagna soup

Yet another salad night that got thwarted by our MARCH NJ winter arrival😉  (to be blamed for my spontaneous trip to Trader Joe's from this video)

Thursday:  1/2 small cheese calzone

The only thing I wanted for dinner that night??  CHEEEEEEEEEESE.  So we got take-out and I ordered one thing I think I've NEVERRRRRR ordered...and it hit the spot!  SOO good...even if I didn't take a photo😉

Friday:  Ummm....

So I had to teach an early evening class and didn't feel too hungry when I got home, so this kinda hit the spot.  (no worries, Scott & the kids had leftover meatloaf along with their broccoli & potatoes😉)  And FYI-I normally would only have eaten 1/2 of that LARGE baked potato...but understand that thing had been cooking about 3 hours by the time I got home and was PERFECT crispy skin/soft potato perfection.  BLISS.  

And I mean...the broccoli was green for Saint Patty's day, no? 

Saturday:  2 slices of pizza + salad

Typical Saturday night fair😊  Even better was the rice krispie treats we had after that Katie had made with a couple of her friends...weeeeeeeee!

Sunday:  Spaghetti & Meatballs (and salad) + Irish Soda Bread

Because Sundays😉

And our treat for Sunday was the Chocolate studded Irish soda bread with salted honey butter that I hinted about on my video this week.  HOLY MOLY THIS WAS SOOOO delicious.

PS-The muffins of the right are these no sugar/no flour Oatmeal Banana Chocolate chip muffins I made a few years ago.  They'll be quick grab & go breakfasts and snacks for this upcoming week.

Anddddd...I have to share just because it's adorable😊  Katie helped me make both of the treats above and even kept honing her egg cracking and measurement pouring skills (I was impressed and surprised😉)

...but she ALSO wanted to help me put stuff in the oven.  Cue a LOT of instructions and warnings😉  And before hitting the oven, OF COURSE she had to 'suit up'...

I CAN'T with 5 years old.  It's ADORABLE.

Other treats this week:

Turkey Sausage + oranges

One of my favorite breakfasts to remember to whip up because it's just so filling.  Make a batch of the sausage on Sunday and enjoy a quick reheat for the rest of the week.

Banana Macaroon Smoothie

From one of my 'Christmas cookbooks' from 2 years ago "Seriously Delish."  Noting this smoothie for 2 reasons:  1.- Katie split it with me & loved it as well, and 2.-

...it's color matched the snow on snowday!😉  Ironic, I know.

And finally:

Cause come Saturday morning, I felt like my body just NEEEEEEEEEEDED THIS.  I'm planning on this week being MUCH heavier in the veggie department than this past week.  And THAT, my friends, is called balance😉

Exercise:

Tuesday:  7 day slimdown workout + Booty

Wednesday:  Taught gentle yoga + Bob Harper Weight Loss Yoga (MY OGGGGGGG yoga video!  It's been soooooooooooooo long!)

Thursday:  Taught 2 yoga classes

Friday:  Taught gentle + Vinyasa yoga

Saturday:  Taught Hatha yoga + Soul Barre Class (may share more about this on Wednesday)

Sunday:  Taught vinyasa yoga (and sweat.  A Lot😉) + Booty

Hope you enjoyed the peek at my week.  Have a great Monday!

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