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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Weekly wrap-up...

And maybe some dinner/lunch inspiration for you for this week...or at least that's always my hope when I post these😉

Weekly recap:

Monday:   Peanut Chicken Zucchini Noodles

  

My answer to 'we need a lot of veggies, but I don't feel like having salad'😉

Tuesday:  Eating in the Middle Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Fingers + Buttermilk ranch dipping sauce + Kale chips

It wasn't a Christmas cookbook, but Eating in the Middle IS one I just LOVESOMUCH.  Probably because her eating philosophy has been one I've been following since I began this healthier lifestyle journey AND the foods are ones I really like to eat!  I'd say at this moment, it's the book I've probably cooked from the most!

  

Wednesday:  Surf Taco + Coney Waffles, Belmar, NJ

Mmmmmm....a trip down Belmar signified my friend's very 1st trip to Surf Taco and oh yum, was it DELICIOUS!  The highlight is everything tastes SOFRESH!  I had a regular ole beef (I know =boring...but it was what I wanted!) and a salmon taco...but my friend gave me a bite of the Coconut shrimp and mango salsa variation that she ordered and holy hell was THAT good!  Definitely kicking myself that I didn't order it...BUT a side order of shared nachos will make anything better😉

After tacos, we headed down to the Belmar boardwalk and a stop at the Instagram-famous Coney Waffles.  Coney Waffles brings to the Jersey Shore the NYC Black Tap Brewery photo worthy mega-stacked milkshake trend, which are so much fun!  But give me waffles, or give me....well...waffles😉  And if you're offering one filled with cannoli cream??  Well, done deal!

We attempted to enjoy said waffles on a bench overlooking the ocean.....butttttt, it's just not a 'night beach' moment just yet😉  Brrrrrr....

Thursday:  Steak and Sweet Potato Bowls

YUM

Friday:  Brooklyn pizza from Divine Pizza

You know you're livin lucky when you decide to order pizza for the night and there are not one, not two, but THREE places WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE to order pizza that you know will be excellent.  And oh gosh, I forgot how FABULOUS Divine's Brooklyn pizza is.  Chunky tomato, gooey cheese and a thin crust that almost tastes deep-fried (in a good way)...I was so excited to dig in that I didn't even THINK to take a photo before diving in.

And on the subject of ordering pizza- We had other dinner plans, but I could NOT shake my VERY SPECIFIC craving for Brooklyn pizza that night.  So we ordered EXACTLY what I wanted and I enjoyed it SO much with no guilt.  AND I told Scott that I swear pizza tastes better when you order it BECAUSE IT'S WHAT YOU WANT VS. a default 'there's nothing else to eat' moment.  I've been really honing in on how EMOTIONS of food makes things tastes different (example = eating food that you just bought and having it fresh 'in the moment' vs. the food you bought to stash in the freezer 'for later' that sometimes turns into 'let's just eat this to get it out of the freezer.'  One is excitement and one is BLAH.  These things are interesting to me...cause I'm weird.  I'll be the first to admit it😉)

Saturday: 

Sooo, ummmmm, it was a good thing I had a fairly filling lunch on Saturday because I don't think I ate more than 1/2 a meatball (and a slice of cake!) at my friend's daughter's 50's themed 5th birthday.  NOT because there wasn't a TON of delicious food!, but because these party animals were up and attem....and I was either chasin the little one around hoping she didn't run outside😉, or jammin with the older one...😉

SO. MUCH. FUN!

Sunday:  Buffalo Hummus Chicken + Broccoli

We had this a couple weeks ago & I couldn't wait to have it again.  This time with a side of that buttermilk ranch dip (see Tuesday) that was just soooo cool with the mildly spicy chicken.  Plus it's flavored with fresh diced DILL which I just HEARTSOMUCH.

Other yummy bites this week:   

So we've put the quinoa cups aside for a bit and now we're all about the BOWLS for lunches lately.  Last week we had:

• zucchini, tomatoes and diced chicken roasted with PESTO
• a handful of diced fresh mozzarella
• about 1/4 cup of brown rice
• a couple handfuls of torn spinach

Scott ate these cold, while I microwaved them for 2 minutes and they were SO GOOD!  The thing I liked the best was the first bite wasn't really anything exciting, but by the time I took the last bite it seemed to satisfy ANY & ALL cravings and it was just what I needed.  I'll be making these again soon. (Bonus= EASY!)

The week prior we made these Greek Bowls, which seemed a bit more labor intensive....or I just put off making these all day, so rushing to make these WHILE I was making dinner seemed a bit much😉

 

And in the Sunday Breakfast category:  we had THIS Sweet Orange Cinnamon Pull apart bread (OK...not that EXACT one😉  OF COURSE mine was NOT that photogenic😉)

2 things I will admit:  

1. I totally cheated and used Trader Joe's pizza dough (beacuse yeast?  It just exhaustes my soul😉) and I just kneaded in some orange zest to 'catch up' with the recipe😉 and it was still SUPER delicious.
2. I ate a decent sized 'serving' for breakfast...and then walked in the door after teaching a sweaty Vinyasa yoga class and proceeded to eat yet ANOTHER serving cause I was STARVING (ummm...did someone say sugar crash??)  WORTH IT.

Andddddd the exercise to wrap it all up:

Monday:   Leslie Sansone 5K with mixed weights

Tuesday:  Taught Vinyasa yoga and gentle + TIU Full Body + 1 mile

Wednesday:  Taught gentle 

Thursday:  Taught Hatha + Dance & Weights

Dancing courtesy of a wild DANCE PARTY in our house😉  Once I realized how much of a sweat I had worked up, I threw in a set of weights and called it a workout😉

Friday:  Taught gentle + Walk/Jog

Saturday:  Taught Hatha & Vinyasa + Walk/Jog + MORE DANCING (see Saturday)

Sunday:  Taught Vinyasa (and then ate cinnamon bread.  Balance😉)

Have a great week!!

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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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Life's too short...

Morning, all!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to hop on here on Friday...or any other times this weekend😉  And not only was the weekend a whirlwind, but so was this past week.  I had no consistency with meals last week since most nights I was running back out the door to teach and lunch turned into dinner.  Sooooo with that said, since I don't have a 'weekly wrap-up' to share with you, I figured I'd just share a few treats (healthy or otherwise😉) that I had this week.  And why not throw in a few quotes to make up for Friday, shall we??

Healthy bites this week:

Blueberry oat bars

These were such a hit from the 2015 Bikini Series that I have NO idea why it took me this long to make them again.  Ya just whirl all the ingredients in the food processor, press it into a pan, bake, done.  Plus they're soooo good, sweet from natural sweeteners of maple syrup & blueberries and filling from the added protein...which my body NEEEEEEDS for breakfast.  NEEDS.  Or I'm a crazy, ravished animal for the ENTIRE rest of the day😉

Greek Cucumber Noodle Salad

Another recipe that I was fascinated with trying...mostly because A.- I will eat anything with kalamata olives involved & B.- the hummus topper??  Genius.  This was delicious, light & healthy...with a little kiss of decadence from those kalamatas and the feta.  Swoon😍

Ham & Cheese quinoa cups

My love for quinoa cups is still rollin this week.  A batch of these cooked on Sunday = a healthy lunch in 60 seconds during the week.  Weeeeeeeeee!

Joyful Heart Muffins

I have made this recipe (sans the frosting from this old picture) a million and one times and once I bake them, I don't understand why I don't keep these stocked in my fridge at ALL times.  They are completely decadent and chocolate-y, perfect for that mid-afternoon sweet tooth...AND guilt-free.  Plus, I love, love, love any time you use oat flour (or ground oats) as a base.  It just FEELS good for the old bod.

And in the "Life is too short" Category...

Since March was coming to an end last week (whattttt???) I realized I only had a few more days to get my hands on the March-only delicacy known as St. Joseph's pastry.  And since we were near my VERYFAVORITE bakery on Monday, Nino's Pastry shop, we decided to stop in after Katie's gymnastics lesson.  Only problem?  As I was walking up, I realized a bakery probably wouldn't be open on Monday....as was stated on the door....as I was WALKING IN.  Yes, for some reason the door was open while the owner was in there getting a jump on his week's inventory.  As I was apologizing for disturbing him, he asked me what I wanted...and when I mentioned the St. Joseph's treats, he proceeded to MAKE THEM FOR ME.  Fresh & off the presses!

How often does THAT happened in life??  I left feeling soooooo incredibly grateful (because HOW NICE IS THAT???) ANDDDD really excited to tear into these little jewels.  I wasn't even planning on eating them that day when I purchased them...but life is too short for denying THAT kinda TOTALLY FRESH goodness.  And OF COURSE not only were they sooooooo delicious, but those pastry edges still had a bit of a crispy edge, which sends me into stratospheric levels of joy😉   If you're in the Hamilton area, you MUST MUST MUST go to Nino's.  + best cannoli's I've EVER had...and I've been to Italy.  So there's that😉  And an owner who was gracious enough to make a customer a pastry ONTHESPOT WHEN they were closed!  Terribly impressive.

And a few food for thoughts moments to kick off your Monday...

I could barely get through that one without my voice cracking😉  Typical😉

Have a great kick-off to the week!

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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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