Link Love #73

I have to admit, I totally expected yesterday to feel like 2 days. And today? Oooh, it’s a doozy! But there were a few things that made the day a little easier. Before I even got out the door, I got a picture of this little cutie.

I can’t believe how big she’s getting! And look at those little curls. Gah she’s the cutest!

And finishing up my shift at my first job, a gym member came in with this guy.

Such a sweet dog. I wish they came in earlier so we could have played more! Sometimes it’s the little things that make the day better. And to make your day a little better..

Health

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off – The New York Times Well

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off – The New York Times Well
Key Nutrients for Marathon Training – Elisa Zied via Carrots ‘N’ Cake
Why You Should Think Twice About Vegetarian and Vegan Diets – Chris Kresser
How to Eat Clean: The Do’s and Don’ts of Healthy Clean Eating – Clean Eating Veggie Girl
Stop Hacking Life – Carla Birnberg

Fitness

5 Ways to POWER UP Your Push Up – Cotter Crunch

5 Ways to POWER UP Your Push Up – Cotter Crunch
Weekend Warrior 2: The Trifecta Workout – Lifting Revolution
Legs + Abs + Arms Boot Camp Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
Barre Ab Burner {Video} – Fitessista
Build a Better Butt – Pancake Warriors

Food

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Tart – Eating Bird Food

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Tart + Healthy Valentine’s Day Desserts – Eating Bird Food
The Last Chili Recipe You’ll Ever Need – Coconuts & Kettlebells
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – Lexi’s Clean Kitchen
Nutella Oatmeal Cookie Shake – How Sweet It Is
Cuban Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Slaw + Chipotle Lime Crema – Half Baked Harvest

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #72

Good news! Last night I met with a new personal training client who ended up signing up for a bunch of sessions AND I’m meeting with another new client this morning! Between not working in a traditional gym where I would be handed clients and not having much of a network in California, it’s taken a bit longer than I expected to grow my clientele but I’m feeling like we’re actually getting somewhere these days. It’s pretty darn exciting and I’m really hoping things are going to be picking up even more in the near future. Woo!

Health

5 Popular Pieces of Nutrition Advice that Fall Short – Raise Healthy Eaters

5 Popular Pieces of Nutrition Advice that Fall Short – Raise Healthy Eaters
Why Bad Workouts Aren’t So Bad – Lifting Revolution
FYI Friday – Nutrient Requirements for Active People – Protein – Pretty Little Grub
Questioning the Idea of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs – The New York Times Well
The psychology of eating | small behavioural changes add up to big results – FitKnitChick

Fitness

5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Knees – Love, Life, Surf

5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Knees – Love, Life, Surf
CrossFit Inspired Running Workout – Blonde Ponytail
Full-Body Chair Workout + 5 Ways to Inspire Your Active Life in 2015 – Fit Foodie Finds
Sweaty Elliptical Workout – Pancake Warriors
Fit Bit Friday 177: The All Push-Ups and Squats Workout – Eat Spin Run Repeat

Food

Winter Chopped Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato and Blood Orange Vinaigrette – How Sweet It is

Winter Chopped Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato and Blood Orange Vinaigrette – How Sweet It Is
One Dish Fish and Veggie Bake {Paleo Friendly} – Cotter Crunch
The Very Best Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Brownies – Half Baked Harvest
Chopped Carrot Citrus Salad – Running to the Kitchen
Harissa Carrot Salad with Feta Cheese – Simply Delicious Food

Food for Thought

What’s one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #67

With only 2 days left in 2014, I thought I’d share my top 5 posts from the year and, of course, my link love post seemed like the perfect time to do so. Ironically enough, some of them are from years past! Still delicious though 🙂

#5: Foodie Friday: Pancake Variations

#4: Recipe Remix: Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

#3: Foodie Friday: Apple Pie Protein Bites

#2: Foodie Friday: Dark Chocolate Dreamy Powerballs

#1: Fudge Ems!

Thank you all for making 2014 such a great year of blogging for me!

Health

4 Myths About Eating Gluten Free – RDelicious Kitchen via fannetastic food

4 Myths About Eating Gluten Free – RDelicious Kitchen via fannetastic food
Breaking Plateaus: Confuse your body – Katrina Elle
Blueberry And Green Tea Extract Protects Hard-Training Runners – Runner’s World
The Smother-In-Law: Standing Up for Your Health and Food Choices – Huffington Post
Travel, Work Productively During Holidays – Evernote

Fitness

How Music Can Boost a High-Intensity Workout – The New York Times

How Music Can Boost a High-Intensity Workout – The New York Times
12 Days Of Christmas With The In-Laws Workout (Real Time Video) – Lifting Revolution
HOT Holidays At Home Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
My Gift To You – The 12 Days of Fitmas Workout! – Thrive Personal Fitness
4 Things You Should be Doing After Your Workout – Your Trainer Paige

Food

Chocolate Cinnamon Babka Muffins – How Sweet It Is

Chocolate Cinnamon Babka Muffins – How Sweet It Is
Double chocolate Paleo gooey cake – Fitnessista
Crispy Kale Caesar Salad Chicken Pizza – Yeah…immaeatthat
Turmeric Persimmon Porridge – Nutrition Stripped
Goat Cheese Stuffed Phyllo Swirls with Pomegranate Honey + Pistachios – Half Baked Harvest

Food for Thought

What’s one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #55

Hi friends! I hope your week is going well so far. I was able to have a nice, relaxing Monday without having to run off to work. It was great to take my time at the gym in the morning, eat my breakfast at a reasonable pace, prep some extra food for the week, and get myself ready for a conference call in the afternoon. Quiet weekdays are sometimes a necessary and welcome change of pace.

I’ve had a project in mind over the past couple months and am trying to workout the details, but in the meantime, I’m going to be adding an extra page to the blog [<– accountability!] for personal training. I’m hoping in the coming months to unveil an online training program for purchase! Until then, I want to offer customized personal training plans. If you’re interested, shoot me an email and let’s get chatting! And of course, if you’re in the bay area and are looking for a trainer [or know someone who is!], I’d love to work with you.

Health

Science Proves Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Real, People Are Just Whiners – Buzzworthy

Science Proves Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Real, People Are Just Whiners – Buzzworthy [Possibly a little controversial, but an interesting read!]
Foods You Thought Were Bad But Aren’t: Rice – Lifting Revolution
Gluten Free Food Ideas To Eat Before Your Long Run – Cotter Crunch
12 Unexpected Ways to Transform Your Relationship with Food & Yourself – Corinne Dobbas
Taryn Brumfitt’s 10 Tips to Embracing Your Body – To Live & Diet in L.A.

Fitness

Sexy Shoulder Workout – The Almond Eater

Sexy Shoulder Workout – The Almond Eater
4 Exercises You Don’t Expect To Work Your Core – Slim Sanity
Lifting Weights to Failure | Why You Don’t Need To – FitKnitChick
Booty Burner Workout – Fit Foodie Finds
Full Body Cable Workout – Fine Fit Day

Food

Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter – How Sweet It Is

Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter – How Sweet It Is
Baked Apples Stuffed with Spiced Butternut Squash and Gingersnap Crumble – Heart Beet Kitchen
Fudgy Paleo Avocado Brownies – Peachy Palate
Grain Free Almond Butter Pumpkin Bars – The Roasted Root
Balsamic Brussels Sprouts Bacon Feta Pizza – The Law Student’s Wife

Food for Thought

What are your thoughts on the gluten sensitivity post?
What are some of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #48

Wow, where did Monday go?! Yesterday completely flew by but I’m thinking I’ll take some more of those days right about now. With each passing day, I’m getting more and more excited to head back home! There are also lots of exciting things going on over here that I’m hoping to share with you soon. Let’s just say fingers crossed! In the meantime, my birthday is coming up pretty quickly and of course dinner reservations have already been made [at NOPA] and I’m getting super psyched!

I have no smooth transition into links this week, so I’m just going to say enjoy! 😉

Health

Why We Eat Resistant Starches for Gut Health – Cotter Crunch

Why We Eat Resistant Starches for Gut Health – Cotter Crunch
The 5 stages of change (guest post) – Erica House via Carla Birnberg
Diet Review: The Clay Diet – Food & Nonsense
Hacking Your Cravings: How To Use Taste & Bulk to Your Advantage – Erika Nall via JillFit
Is your workout causing you to gain weight? – Run to the Finish

Fitness

20 Minute Leg Burner – The Almond Eater

20 Minute Leg Burner – The Almond Eater
A Do-Anywhere, Full-Body Resistance Band Workout – Greatist
What Heart Rate Tells You About Your Workout: Is Your Heart Going To Explode? – Lifting Revolution
Resistance Band Loop Leg Workout – Fitnessista
Booty Blaster Workout Finisher – Trainer Paige

Food

Easiest Bourbon Peach Dump with Buttered Popcorn – Half Baked Harvest

Easiest Bourbon Peach Dump with Buttered Popcorn – Half Baked Harvest
Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Cashew Butter – Fit Foodie Finds
Pan Seared Mahi Mahi over Sticky Coconut “Rice” with Mango Salsa – PaleOMG
Savory Bacon Granola – Honestly Yum
Caramelized Peach, Mascarpone and Dark Chocolate Grilled Cheese – How Sweet It Is

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #46

After a weekend off from workouts, I was ready to hit the gym yesterday. To be honest, my legs were still sore from Friday’s workout [say what?!] but I knew I was ready to get them moving again. It was a little rough, but damn, it felt good. The sunburn, however, is still not my friend and still looking a little too purple for my liking. Lesson. Learned. Seriously.

Well, it hasn’t been too long since my last link love, but there were some really, especially wonderful posts over the past week that I’ve been excited to share with you. Enjoy!

Health

Overcoming Negative Thoughts – Love, Life, Surf

Overcoming Negative Thoughts and Learning to Fly – Love, Life, Surf
Everyone Has a Hard – Carla Birnberg
How Often Do You Rest? – Mommy Run Faster
Do Runners (and all Athletes) Really Need a Walk Break? – Cotter Crunch
Why I No Longer Strive for Balance – Caroline Winn Photography

Fitness

WAHM Tabata Workout: 20 Minute Fat Burning Workout – MusselFIT

WAHM Tabata Workout: 20 Minute Fat Burning Workout – MusselFIT
A DIY 30 Minute Whole Body Workout – FitKnitChick
Booty Burner Workout – Reach Your Peak
You’re 5 Minutes Away From a Rock Solid Ab Workout – Lifting Revolution
She ROCKS Boot-Camp Workout – She Rocks Fitness

Food

The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich – Edible Perspective

The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich – Edible Perspective
Superfood Cookie Dough – Fitnessista
Nectarine and Fig Summer Salad with Crispy Pancetta – How Sweet It Is
No Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes – Minimalist Baker
Caramelized Peach + Cherry, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola Salad w/Buckwheat Crêpes – Half Baked Harvest

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #42

This week is all about go, go, go for me. So that’s exactly what I’m giving you—some quick link lovin’! Enjoy 🙂

Health

7 Signs You Should Eat a Burger, Fries, & Even Ice Cream – Lifting Revolution

7 Signs You Should Eat a Burger, Fries, & Even Ice Cream – Lifting Revolution
Why You’ll Fail At Losing Weight – Workout Nirvana
Chronic Inflammation and Turmeric Ginger Lemonade – Cotter Crunch
A Note (Rant) on Fattism & Fat Shaming – Food & Nonsense
If Mama ain’t healthy–ain’t nobody healthy. – Carla Birnberg

Fitness

5 Ways to Truly Brace Your Core – Trainer Paige

5 Ways to Truly Brace Your Core – Trainer Paige
10 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Results in the Gym – FitKnitChick
Partner Plank Resistance Band Pull Downs! [Workout Video] – Powercakes
5 Ways to Get a Strong Stomach – Running Rachel
HIIT + Abs Workout – Reach Your Peak

Food

Inside-Out Grain Free Oreos – Fit Foodie Finds

Inside-Out Grain Free Oreos – Fit Foodie Finds
Most Ridiculous Breakfast Sandwich Ever – Bev Cooks
Blueberry Pie Bars – Averie Cooks
Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowls – Heather Christo
Whiskey Braised Short Rib Flatbread – How Sweet It Is

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Food-bombing

Another relaxing weekend in the books which is just what was ordered. It’s going to be a crazy week starting with a 5am – noon shift today. Should be.. interesting. Ha! But fun, right? 🙂 I definitely swapped my rest day for today and got my Monday workout in yesterday. I think there will be a nap happening later!

Friday we stayed close to home and tried a new-to-us Vietnamese restaurant, Monster Pho. It was great; I got their monster salad which came with grilled chicken, pork, beef, and shrimp.

As we were walking around after dinner, we passed a little plum tree so I got myself a little sweet treat.

It wasn’t fully ripe yet so it wasn’t that tasty, but I took it so I ate it. To really cure my sweet tooth, we stopped at Fenton’s for some ice cream!

Holy moly. The coffee cookie dream was just that—dreamy. Coffee ice cream with oreo cookie and chocolate chip cookie dough.. exactly what I was looking for! That said, I’d definitely go back to Lush instead of Fenton’s next time. Gelato is the bomb diggity.

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. We hit up the farmers’ market but unfortunately didn’t make out so well this time. The fruit was just not on point like it was last week so we passed. Dinner, however, was on point. Sliver for happy hour has an awesome deal—when you get a drink, you get a sliver of pizza.

So that’s what we did. And then I did that again. Plus more pizza and salad 😉 I’m not usually a huge pizza girl but I was really feeling it!

Yesterday we did quite a bit of running around—a couple grocery stores, lunch, and of course a little strolling. We went to Pappy’s in Berkeley for lunch. It’s a bar right near the college but the menu looked pretty good and they have a good beer selection. Plus we could go to watch some baseball and World Cup. I heard the salads were good, but I wasn’t expecting this!

I really should have put my hand in there for size reference. The bowl had to have been a foot wide and a few inches deep and it was filled to the gills with a few greens, edamame, craisins, wheat berries, corn, tons of tofu and then some, and topped off with a huge piece of homemade cornbread! I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever had such a huge salad and it was delicious. Not to mention it was only $8 which is a steal.

You bet your butt I finished that salad and Nathan helped me polish off a pretty good portion of the cornbread. I’d say we had a little too much though because dinner didn’t roll around till 9. Whoops! It was pretty awesome though and I don’t plan on buying caesar dressing again any time soon.

I also made croutons from my dense-as-the-dickens sourdough loaf. At least it works for something!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Beer glazed citrus chicken and roasted corn caesar salad
Monday – Smoky potatoes with asparagus and chorizo
Tuesday – Feta chicken kabobs with toasted pecan and blueberry couscous salad
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Pesto wheat berries with chicken sausage, roasted brussels sprouts, and asparagus
Friday – Leftovers
Saturday – Out!

Food for Thought

Did you do anything fun over the weekend?
What’s on your menu this week?

What I Ate Wednesday #87: Intuitive-ish

I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion recently that I’m trying to figure out what and how to eat again. I honestly have no idea how it’s going. Some days are better than others in terms of being full, feeling bloated, satisfying cravings, etc. I think it’s still too early to really know what works best for me for sure and things definitely change too.

I’ve also had some really good chats with the wonderful Lindsay of Cotter Crunch and she recommended keeping a journal of not only what I eat, but how it makes me feel. I’ve been doing this for a couple weeks now and it’s nice to be able to go back and see just how I reacted to certain foods. I’ve often used that as a reference when repeating meals to see if my body reacts the same way. I really recommend trying this method if you’re having digestive or other issues; I’ve also been using this to try to eat more intuitively and, as I said before, I think it’s still too soon to really know, but hopefully this works out well!

Pre-Workout

1 peanut butter coconut trail mix healthy bite. Sometimes I need a little something right when I wake up to tide me over during a workout and I love having these little guys. I also seem to be doing well with peanut butter again lately [knock on wood!]

Breakfast

Paleo coconut flour pancakes with peanut fluff. Delicious and incredibly satiating but left me feeling a little bloated. I find that coconut flour can leave me feeling that way sometimes, but not always. These pancakes did pack a pretty powerful punch, though, and kept me full for almost 5 hours!

Lunch

Leftovers: sweet potato noodles, asparagus, kale, a little tequila habanero chicken sausage, shredded chicken thigh, and a little balsamic vinegar. I could eat sweet potato any and all ways for days! It’s a wonder we have any noodles left at all 😉 I noticed that I felt bloated when I had this for dinner on Monday, but no bloating yesterday. Success? Maybe?

Snack

Mashed banana in greek yogurt with a couple dips into my [quickly dwindling] homemade peanut butter. For some reason, I’ve really been craving this combo lately and it makes my stomach happy so this is a win-win. Yay peanut butter!

Dinner

I turned the pecan crusted chicken wrap into a salad and added some roasted bell pepper, onion, broccoli, and cucumber to it for some more veggie punch. We haven’t done salads for dinner in a while so it was nice to have something lighter, though especially filling—plenty of protein, fat, and fiber for a good balance.

Dessert

A raspberry apricot and a piece of black bean protein fudge. The raspberry apricot tasted like a pretty standard apricot. Delicious, but nothing crazy. And I love having the black bean fudge in the freezer for when I want a little piece of chocolate at the end of the day.

I think soon enough I’ll be able to really pinpoint what works best for me, but in the meantime, I’ll keep journaling along and maybe one day in the near future I can have some real results to share! Fingers crossed.

Food for Thought

Do you consider yourself to be an intuitive eater?

A Weekend of R&R

One of my favorite thing about sitting down to write my Monday posts is looking back on my weekend. It’s always nice to revisit the fun things we did. Maybe it’s because last weekend we were away but this weekend was extra quiet and relaxing. It was one of those weekends that Nathan and I looked at each other and said “uhh.. what did we do?!” And we were both ok with it!

Friday night we stayed close to home and had a little bbq for dinner at T-Rex. I got a nice salad with beets, goat cheese, citrus, and grilled salmon. Nathan had the brisket cheesesteak. It was good, but definitely didn’t cure the bbq craving for Nathan. Any good bbq recommendations in the bay area?

Saturday ended up being a day at home. We cleared out the fridge for lunch and mostly sat on our butts all day. We decided to venture out for Chinese food for dinner. I was happy to have some steamed veggies and shrimp because we dug into an incredible banana, sea salt caramel gelato for dessert. And when I say we dug in, I mean there were no pictures 😉

When we got home, we watched We’re the Millers. If you’re looking for a good comedy, I definitely recommend this movie! I feel like it’s been almost impossible to find a decent comedy lately, but this one had us laughing!

Yesterday was the big day.. I worked, we went to lunch, and we went to the grocery store. Holy moly, such a busy day 😉 I made myself a pretty awesome breakfast before heading to work.. a little snickerdoodle protein pancake action went down!

But because we were inside most of the day Saturday, I decided we should head to Off the Grid for lunch. It was a beautiful day here and food trucks = time outside.

We ordered from KoJa Kitchen. I had the vegetarian portabello burger & pineapple koja and the teriyaki chicken & pineapple koja, both on rice buns, which were essentially sticky rice patties that were seared on a flat top. Nathan got the same teriyaki chicken koja and an order of kamikazee fries which were piled up with onion, bulgogi, and spicy sauce on top of waffle cut fries. Everything was so good!

And now we’re back on the weekly meal planning because we need to get our lives back in order after so much fun.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Chopped brussels sprout salad with chicken [for Nathan]/swordfish [for me] and pecans
Monday – Sweet potato noodles with asparagus and chicken tequila habanero sausage
Tuesday – Pecan crusted chicken salad with strawberry honey mustard
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Quinoa salad with pineapple mojito chicken
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Did you do anything fun over the weekend?
What’s on your menu this week?