From my class to you...

Morning, all!  Hope you had a great week and are ready for the weekend ahead...and a holiday one, at that.  Weeeeeeeeeeeee!  I'm typing up this post and then heading to the bakery to pick up some Hot Cross Buns to kick off the holiday.  
But before I head out, I thought I'd leave some little inspiration here for the new week ahead....

And one that came to me while I was teaching class this week:

It's only after you've mastered THIS moment, that you can begin to master the next.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy and breath in that peace😉



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Emotion vs. the Bigger Picture...

So I've been trying to compose a blog post for this "mental weight loss Wednesday" for several weeks.  Problem is, with these posts, I have to dig deep and write them early so I can let them 'marinate' and brew naturally before posting them.  Problem is, with busy schedules (just like ALL of us), I usually find myself not get set to type them out until Wednesday night at 11:59pm😊.  But I heard a great piece of advice last week and thought it could pertain to, um, delayed blog posting😉, as well as making healthy choices in both food & exercise...

Don't succumb to the emotion of the moment.

We've all been there right?  We've had a long day, running around doing a million things and that couch is calling your name.  Only "problem" is you just WANT to get that workout in, but don't FEEL like doing it.  Right now, your head is telling you you just want to collapse on that couch and binge on hours of "Real Housewives of NYC" TV.  Here's where this advice REALLY comes in handy:  Don't let the EMOTION of that moment, take you off your goals of the BIGGER PICTURE.  Now, don't get me wrong:  there are times when you TRULY know you just NEED to rest.  And that's OK.  But here's the key to knowing the difference:  if you know you're not going to feel guilty about skipping a workout, you needed rest.  But if you KNOW you're gonna feel bummed about passing up that workout- deep down you WANTED to workout, even if you didn't FEEL like doing it in the moment.  Try your best to sort through those emotions in that moment, take a few breaths to quiet the mind and see if you can hear that little voice inside that knows the difference between "just take a break, your body needs it" vs "you KNOW you're going to feel better if you just get up and do it."  Come from a place a peace, but recognizing which voice is telling you to relax:  your mind or that little voice inside who knowwws what you need in those moments.  Sometimes it's peace and sometimes it's just taking that one more step to get you off the couch and get that workout done & over before you know it.

Um, same goes with writing blog posts😉

AND same with food choices too, right??  Here's a good moment to check in with ourselves to note whether we're eating out of emotion or because we TRULY want what we're craving.  A good 'second thought' to keep in your mind:  Do I really want this (fill in the blank:  chocolate, ice cream sundae, entire bag of salty chips...mmmmm, chips) because I'm feeling stressed/anxious/etc at this moment?  And if so, IS this treat going to change any of those emotions after I polish off that last bite?  Or am I just going to feel worse...and then crave MORE stuff?  ALSO, am I eating (your treat of choice) out of HABIT?  Just because it's in front of me or it's what I normally do when I watch a show at the end of a day.  And again, there are times you NEED that chocolate...because if you don't have it, you're now 'denying yourself' and that's going to create resentments.  At those times:  have the darn chocolate, live your life and be happy.  But if you know it's not worth the calories and you're just having it because you're bored/stressed/it's in front of you/choose you're own reason, try your best to breath to get to the NEXT moment where you can move away from it with no second thoughts.  

(photo source)

Try your best to think of the big picture of what you REALLY want, a healthier lifestyle or completing ANY task, and ask yourself which one you TRULY want more in THIS moment, separate from those emotions.  98% of the time it only takes a few extra moments, just a few extra calming breaths, to check in with ourselves and find an answer that is coming from a place of peace vs. the emotions OF the moment.  Always come from peace...it'll never lead you wrong😉

Namaste.

Just had to thow that in there.  It felt right😉

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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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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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