Beer is Kosher for Passover

Well that was a fun weekend! I hope you all had a great Easter if you celebrate. I continued my Passover.. celebrations? Sort of.. I just couldn’t go to Mikkeller and not get beer. Ha! At least I haven’t had bread and grains, right?

When I was little, I was telling my family what I had for lunch at school during Passover and mentioned that I had onion rings but only ate the outside. My older brother was pleased to point out that I only ate the breading. I still get made fun of! Passover officially ends Tuesday at sundown so I’ll continue to keep the spirit until then.

Anywho, Friday night we went into San Francisco and met up with a couple Fit Approach-ers at Mikkeller before heading over a sketch comedy show. It was our first time heading into the city at night and we made it taking public transportation and all. Win! I was really bad about taking any pictures that night though.. whoops.

Saturday I had plans with Alyse to go to a new VinBata class and somehow [after a couple drinks] Friday night she convinced me to go to the UrbanKick class before that. I’m so glad I went because they were both so fun! I’m not used to taking classes having a gym in my apartment complex so it was a really fun change of pace.

UrbanKick was a full hour of nonstop moving.. think Zumba with a kickboxing twist. Loved it! VinBata was really great too; it started with a few minutes of yoga warmup, then into about 25ish minutes of tabata training, and ended with 25ish minutes of vinyasa. I was completely squatted out after UrbanKick so the tabata part was rough but it was really nice to end with some good stretching.

Alyse, Rocky [the VinBata instructor], and me.

Nathan and I were both beat Saturday night so we just stayed local and tried a new pizza joint. Luckily for me, most of the pizza places also have other great options on the menu so I got a really good salmon fix.

Yesterday was a lazy day. I had the idea of going hiking just to get outside but we both weren’t feeling it so instead, we had more beer! We went over to Cato’s for lunch where they were having an adult Easter egg hunt. The egg that Nathan found got us a chocolate and a free beer. Heyooooo! Obviously because we chose the healthy option, we decided to take a post-lunch walk.. for gelato 😉

We split a cardamom orange zest and it was amazing. So much flavor on such a small spoon! Oh, and you know, in case you missed this on my Instagram feed yesterday..

Weekly Menu Plan

Sunday – Grilled chicken with zucchini fritters & pasta [for Nathan]/guacamole [for me]
Monday – Vegan bolognese.. except with ground turkey 😉 over zucchini noodles
Tuesday – Chipotle-style chicken rice/salad bowls with homemade salsa
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Parmesan-crusted chicken with shaved brussels sprouts salad
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Green harissa chicken stir fry rice bowl

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite class that you’ve taken at a gym?
What fun plans did you have over the weekend?

A Weekend in Instagram

Happy birthday, Mom!!

She’s a party animal 😉

Soon enough, my parents will be out here visiting us and we’ll be having just as much fun, right? 😉

This past weekend was nutso! Our furniture was delivered early Friday afternoon and after spending a full 2 days of unpacking, I still decided it was a good idea to go run the Hot Chocolate 5K. Obviously I’m glad I did though! So for you, I have lots of pictures to recap an otherwise uneventful weekend.

Started my weekend with a large almond milk latte. READY TO UNPACK!

Obviously the first beer we bought in California had to be the first beer we drank in our new place!

Salmon melt on ACME bread at The Bureau 510. Had to refuel big time after a long day!

Breakfast of Champions from Liba Falafel at the farmers’ market. There’s a poached egg in there.. and the rosemary peanuts and brussels slaw were ridiculous.

I was entirely too excited to finally get some dino kale from the farmers’ market. And this salad was crazy good! I missed my big bowls.

Spicy Pork Bibimbop, no rice, extra veg at Spoon. Definitely getting it this way every time.

Oh, you don’t eat oatmeal in your car before a race?

FINISHER! Time to eat entirely too much sugar. Worth it. It was no PR, but having not run in a few weeks, I’ll take a sub-25 min 5K.

Love meeting up with the SF Tone It Up girls! Great run yesterday 🙂

Ingested 100 lbs of sugar? Let’s have some veggies for lunch..

At this point, we’re almost totally unpacked and trying to make everything fit. If you have any creative storage tips, PLEASE share! I’ve been Pinterest-ing like a mad woman and am always open to more suggestions.

Food for Thought

Have you ever run a Hot Chocolate race?
What are your favorite creative storage tips?

I’m a Walking, Instagramming Cliche

The other day, Nathan showed me this amazing gif. I was absolutely cracking up at how spot on it is.. and I’m totally guilty! Then Caitlin [who wrote her own Insta-Cait post today] sent me this post and I immediately knew I had to do an instagram blogger cliche post of my own.

Healthy Food

Check out my awesome salad!

[Full disclosure: I even swapped this picture out a few times before settling on my favorite.]

Dessert

Is there a more cliche dessert than froyo?

Post Workout Selfie & HRM Watch

A double whammie! The selfie and watch all in one!

Legs

…….or hot dogs?

Crushed Workouts

BOOM! And there’s the watch again..

Beverages

Of the adult variety. PB&J in a glass.. I kid you not.

Blogger Meet Ups

No, but really.. Brittany is awesome!

But really.. I’m totally the food offender.

That’s my food. That’s my food. Food. Food. Food. Food. Food.

Maybe I’m out of control.. or maybe it all looks delicious. Now excuse me while I go take a picture of what I’m eating. Because you all need to know!

Food for Thought

Which cliche do you fall into?

Did I miss any important cliches?

What I Ate Wednesday #29 – Back in the Swing of Things

You know how every year the holidays sneak up on you and you say “I’m going to be good. I’m not going to overindulge!”? And you know how every year you overindulge? Yea.

Alright, so I didn’t go crazy this year, but I’ve definitely stepped up my game since New Years! More specifically, since Monday. Last week was pretty much a wash with NYE on Monday and New Years day Tuesday. That only left 3 days to get back into my routine and then the weekend hit.

Monday started Tina‘s Best Body Bootcamp; that along with Tone It Up‘s new Love Your Body challenge (you can still sign up!) has really gotten back into the swing of things! Especially since TIU is giving away prizes for checking in! If you follow me on Instagram, you may be getting tired of all of my meals and workouts, but I’m in it to win it, baby!

[Pre-Breakfast / Post-Workout]
Fitmixer Amino. This was part of my Fitbloggin’ swag that I just recently started taking advantage of after my morning workouts. I have to admit, I don’t love the fruit punch, but it’s not bad. And it certainly helps me get 2 extra glasses of water down a day!

[Breakfast]
I whipped up a lightened version of my favorite sweet breakfast scramble. Check it out..

– 1 egg
– 2 egg whites
– 1/2 banana, mashed
– 1/4 cup squash [I’ve been using pumpkin]
– 1 tbsp ground flax seed
– Cinnamon
– Ginger
– Nutmeg

I just recently started adding the ginger and nutmeg.. it makes it taste like gingerbread!

Scramble it up like eggs and top it with your favorite oatmeal toppings! Aka lots and lots of peanut butter 😉

[Lunch]
Getting back on my salad kick, I topped a bunch of spinach with tons of veggies, chicken, and some healthy spinach basil walnut pesto aioli for my dressing! This dressing was a bit of an accident, but it came out so well!

[Dinner]
Warm kale salad. Sounds a little weird, right? But it’s not. It’s amazing! And it’s an idea I stole from Kasey.

I absolutely love roasted veggies, so while roasting sweet potato, parsnip, tomato, and broccoli, I chopped up some kale, tossed it in a big bowl and threw it in the microwave for about a minute. This softens it and also makes it a little less bitter. For my dressing, I made a tahini nooch sauce, similar to Brittany’s dressing here [I love the little bit of sweetness from the maple syrup!] Then I toss half of the dressing into the kale and massage it in, again, making it a little less bitter. Finally, I throw all of my roasted goodies on top, the rest of the dressing, and some crunchy bits, like sunflower seeds.

Have I convinced you to try it? Because you really should!

[Snacks]
Coffee with unsweetened vanilla almond coconut milk <– a new favorite find!
1/2 grapefruit with stevia.
Madagascar vanilla almond KIND bar.
Apple with peanut fluff.. the only picture I missed!

It definitely feels good to clean up my eating again and get rid of the extra sugar I was eating. And it definitely helps to be getting my butt kicked by TIU and Tina (more details on Tina’s butt-kickings later)!

Food for Thought

Did you overindulge over the holidays? How have you cleaned up your eating recently?

Boxes and Jewels: A KIND Winner & Another Giveaway!

I just can’t stop! Giveaways are my favorite.. I love being able to share things with you that I enjoy, whether food or otherwise. And this week’s giveaway is an otherwise.. but first, to announce my KIND Bar Snack & Give Back giveaway.

The lucky winner of the Bobbi Brown Eat Pretty Powerful box is… FireRunner2379!

FireRunner2379 says :
I would choose Grace Potter benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association, I’ve had a few family members stricken with this awful disease.

Congratulations and a huge thanks to the wonderful people of KIND for hosting a delicious and purposeful giveaway! And don’t forget, you can still purchase one of the three Snack & Give Back boxes to help these great causes.

One of these giveaways is not like the others…

This may be a bit of an unconventional giveaway for my blog but it’s definitely a fun one! If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have seen a couple weeks ago I posted this picture:

Check out those super fun earrings! I’ve recently decided to be a grown up and actually change my earrings on a normal basis rather than leave in the same little earrings everyday. It’s been quite a revelation!

It just so happens that I know the jeweler that made these earrings and when I asked if she would do a giveaway, she didn’t hesitate to say yes! Thanks, mom! 😉

Just My Imagination is a one-woman jewelry-making operation that focuses on a minimalist approach. Recently added to the collection of wire-wrapped semi-precious stone earrings, pendants, and bracelets, are hammered metal earrings and wire-wrapped rings.

Each piece is one-of-a-kind and can be purchased for a limited time online or in person at craft shows across the East Coast. And if you’re the lucky one, you could win a pair of the hammered metal earrings above!

The winner will get a choice of the single hoop, double hoop, or triple hoop. And because they’re all handmade, you can choose whether you want 14K gold-filled or sterling silver, or even a combination of the metals (that’s what I have!).

How to Enter

You have up to 5 chances to enter! Be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted through Tuesday, December 18th, 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 19th.

1. Leave a comment telling me which earrings you would choose. (Mandatory)

2. Follow @JMIJewelry and @BarrAndTable on Twitter and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

3. Like Just My Imagination and Barr & Table on Facebook and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

4. Follow Barr & Table on Pinterest and leave a separate comment telling me. (Optional)

5. Tweet “I entered to win a pair of @JMIJewelry handmade hammered metal earrings from @BarrAndTable! http://wp.me/p2mo7x-dC #Giveaway #Jewels” and leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet. (Optional)

*Winner has 48 hours to contact me and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.