Link Love #80

Just like that our quiet couple of weeks without company is about to end. My college roommate and her husband are getting in late Wednesday night and staying with us for a week! They’ve never been out to San Francisco before so they’re definitely in for a treat. Do you remember how crazy we went when my parents came out last year? Yea.. there will be plenty of eating, drinking, and hiking! Get ready for some more delicious pictures 😉

Health

The Naked Truth: When Is Our Body Finally Good Enough? – Lifting Revolution

The Naked Truth: When Is Our Body Finally Good Enough? – Lifting Revolution
Why it is okay to gain a few happiness lbs – Darwinian Fail
So you want to study nutrition? Dietitian, Nutritionist, or Nutritional Therapist? – Gluten Free Rosie
Eat to Beat the Common Cold? Part One: Review of Vitamin C – Food & Nonsense
Using the stages of change model to adopt new fitness and nutrition habits – FitKnitChick

Fitness

Rock Your Body Workout – Fit Foodie Finds & Ambitious Kitchen

Rock Your Body Workout – Fit Foodie Finds & Ambitious Kitchen
Why Kettlebell Swings Aren’t a Good Exercise for Cardio – Trainer Paige
Don’t Skip a Beat: How To Train Using Heart Rate Monitoring – FitFluential
3 Creative Core Moves that Work Balance and Strength – Cotter Crunch
Stay on Track Workout – Coconuts & Kettlebells

Food

Green Goddess Hummus – Cookie + Kate

Green Goddess Hummus – Cookie + Kate
Microwave Peanut Protein Pancakes with Chocolate Chips {Gluten/Grain Free, Super Simple, Low Fat + Low Calorie} – Food Faith Fitness
Bahn Mi Spring Rolls – Minimalist Baker
Healthy Bananas Foster Donuts – The Almond Eater
Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Morning Buns with Blueberry Passionfruit Glaze – Half Baked Harvest
Almond Butter Fudgy Chocolate Eggs – Peachy Palate

Food for Thought

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

Link Love #71

I deem this week hell week. I’ve recently started working at a new gym on top of Athleta and my existing gym. My schedule is pretty nutso but I at least made it through Monday which was the longest one. Success! There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. Next week, we’ll be all moved into our new place and I’ll hopefully iron out some crazy schedule kinks. Not to mention, once we move, we’ll have a whole slew of visitors! It’s going to be an exciting 6 months 🙂

Health

2 Steps to Make Healthy Eating a Reality – Love, Life, Surf

2 Steps to Make Healthy Eating a Reality – Love, Life, Surf
Making Fitness News: Which Is Best Cardio Or Strength Training For Decreasing Your Waist? – Lifting Revolution
20 Post-Workout Food Options – Coconuts & Kettlebells
Stop Being Disappointed With Your Body and Start Making Changes – Greatist
A Guide to FAT: Healthy Fats vs. Unhealthy Fats – The Little Honey Bee
FYI Friday – Nutrient Requirements for Active People – Iron – Pretty Little Grub

Fitness

Cardio Tabata Superset Workout – Pumps & Iron

Cardio Tabata Superset Workout – Pumps & Iron
4 Compound Exercises Great for Tabatas {And a Workout to Try} – Cotter Crunch
Make Your Move with Weight Training – Hungry Healthy Girl
Developing Upper Body Muscles – Blonde Ponytail
What’s Your Fitness Missing? – Mark Crabtree via FitFluential

Food

Chewy Chocolate Crunch Hemp Protein Bars – Peachy Palate

Chewy Chocolate Crunch Hemp Protein Bars – Peachy Palate
Paleo Cashew Coconut Protein Fudge – The Big Man’s World
Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili – The Beeroness
Spinach, Prosciutto and Butternut Squash Pizza – A Zesty Bite
Savory Oatmeal with Soft-Cooked Egg + Bacon – According to Elle

Food for Thought

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

Link Love #68

It’s strange to me to think that last week was 2014. Even more strange that it’s 2015.. I’m still trying to figure out where the year went! Anywho, I went into yesterday being super pumped that I was going to get up for my 6:30 a.m. shift at the store, work 8 hours, and then hit the gym to get in my 30 minutes. I have to tell you, by the time the end of my shift rolled around and I still had more to do, I decided the gym wasn’t happening. That said, there was a lot of lifting boxes and fast-paced moving at work, so I’m going to count that!

I also made a one-pot paprika chicken for dinner that came out really well! It didn’t look as pretty as the pictures from the recipe and it wasn’t anything that was out-of-this-world crazy or fancy, but it was just darn tasty. I did change it up a little by roasting some potatoes on the side instead of adding them into the pot.. crispy is always better, am I right? Welp, onto Tuesday.. 🙂

Health

7 Foods That Will Work Wonders On Your Digestion – MindBodyGreen

7 Foods That Will Work Wonders On Your Digestion – MindBodyGreen
Why I Retired from Being the Fit Girl – Mind Body Musings
Resolutions: Why They Suck & The 5 Rules That Everyone Needs To Know To Make Then Not Suck – Lifting Revolution
Why You Should Eat Omega-3 Fats – Marisa Moore via fannetastic food
4 Things To Know Before You Lose Weight – An Avocado a Day

Fitness

New Year’s At Home Core Workout – Bendiful Blog

New Year’s At Home Core Workout – Bendiful Blog
6 Upper Body Exercises for Runners – Fine Fit Day via Love, Life, Surf
5 Exercise Alternatives to the Bench Press – Your Trainer Paige
Deck of Cards Ab Workout – Pumps & Iron
One song workout: Holiday Fit Frenzy – Fitnessista

Food

Paleo Double Chocolate Dunked Cookies – Peachy Palate

Paleo Double Chocolate Dunked Cookies – Peachy Palate
Apple Spiced Mimosas – The Healthy Maven
One-Pan Baked Champagne Cream Sauce Fettuccine with Truffle Oil – Half Baked Harvest
Salt-Roasted Beets and Carrots – Heartbeet Kitchen
Lucky Black-Eyed Peas Chocolate Chip Blondies – Diary of an Ex Sloth
Spicy Sweet Potato Carbonara – Running to the Kitchen

Food for Thought

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

Apartment Hunting and Another Quiet Weekend

Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend. We kept it quiet; Nathan’s been fighting some sort of sickness basically since we got back from Baltimore so we both took it as a chance to catch up on some rest. That said, Friday I was out and about for the majority of the day getting work done on the car and looking for a new apartment! Our lease is up at the end of January and we’re ready for something new. Friday was a total bust as far as the apartment search was concerned, unfortunately, but I did find a pretty fantastic ginger molasses cookie so that helped to make up for it.

I decided that both Saturday and Sunday were going to be good days to rest. No gym time for this gal over the weekend! Sometimes when you just don’t feel like going, you need to accept that you’ll be better off cozying up on the couch with a nice, warm breakfast.

Besides, I had to make sure I was prepared for Truve’s holiday party last night! There were snacks and booze and lots of fun people. And after being away for 2 weeks, it was nice to be able to see everyone again.

Fo realz, if you’re in the bay area, you should absolutely check out Truve. I’ll even give you a pass for a free week of classes! There’s every type of class you could think of and all of the trainers are awesome. So no excuses!

Oh! And I think we found a place to live.. not bad for only starting to look on Friday, huh? Keep your fingers crossed for us. Hopefully we’ll have more good news later this week 🙂 And with that, we’re back to the daily grind!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Smokey chicken wing chili
Monday – Grilled chicken, smashed potatoes, and eggplant caponata
Tuesday – Crispy baked chicken tenders, latkes, and crockpot applesauce [happy first night of Hannuka!]
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Kung pao chicken
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Out!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite holiday meal?

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 #49

Yesterday started out with a bang.. or really a little snap, crackle, pop. I was doing high knees in only the second set of my workout and my ankle rolled. The side of my foot was practically perpendicular to my leg and I was definitely seeing stars. I took it easy and ended up being able to finish my workout. Very carefully.

Looks good, right? Ugh. You bet I got my feet up and ankle iced when I got home from work though.

A little peanut butter mug cake action didn’t hurt either. Heather’s recipe is legit my favorite. You should definitely give it a try! <– A nice little segue into some more favorites from the week..

Health

25 Things I Do To Love My Body (And How You Can Too) – Corinne Dobbas

25 Things I Do to Love My Body (And How You Can Too) – Corinne Dobbas
10 reasons your weight is not shifting – Diet Duchess via Food & Nonsense
What We Eat to Maximize Recovery and Fight Oxidative Stress – Cotter Crunch
Your Body: Are You Accepting Or Settling For Your Reflection? – Lifting Revolution
5 Simple Diet Changes – The Lean Green Bean

Fitness

Basic Strength Training Workout – Fit2Flex

Basic Strength Training Workout – Fit2Flex
5 Calorie Torching Crossfit Workouts to Try – Carrots ‘N’ Cake via Health
Fitness Pilates Circuit Burner Workout – Housewife Glamour
6 Ways People Make Running Harder Than It Has To Be – Shut Up + Run
The Simplest & Most Challenging Arm/Ab Workout – The Almond Eater

Food

Triple Layer Fat Bomb Nut Butter Cups – Peachy Palate

Triple layer fat bomb nut butter cups! – Peachy Palate
Honey Pecan Sweet Potato Muffins – Nicole Culver
Poached Egg + Crispy Proscuitto Avocado Toast – According to Elle
Roasted Garlic Eggplant Lasagna Boats with Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage – Half Baked Harvest
Grilled Romaine with Caramelized Onion Noodles, Blue Cheese and Greek Yogurt Balsamic Dressing – Inspiralized

Food For Thought

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

Link Love #41

I’m seriously a lightweight when it comes to waking up crazy early now. I guess I’m not really expected to have a ton of energy waking up at 4am when I couldn’t fall asleep till midnight, but I passed the heck out after work yesterday! It took everything I had to make myself lunch when I got home and keep my eyes open long enough for a conference call but once I hung up, it was lights out. Or really, zonked out on the couch. At least the 5am shifts are only once a month.

I’ve got some blog reading to catch up on from yesterday, but in case you missed some great posts from last week, I’m here to help!

Health

The Art of Food Tracking (Part 1) – Workout Nirvana

The Art of Food Tracking (Part 1) – Workout Nirvana
5 Reasons Athletes Should Eat Fish and Mediterranean Baked Cod – Cotter Crunch
192 Sugar Sources and Alternate Names – Sarah Kay Hoffman
This Just In: Husbands Don’t See Cellulite – Lifting Revolution
3 Ways to Find Motivation to Accomplish Your Goals – Trainer Paige

Fitness

4 Advantages of Dumbbell Exercises and Why You Should Use Them (And 3 Disadvantages) – Nia Shanks

4 Advantages of Dumbbell Exercises and Why You Should Use Them (And 3 Disadvantages) – Nia Shanks
Chocolate NuttZo GIVEAWAY + NEW Workout – She Rocks Fitness
Boot Camp Summer Sweat – Hungry Mother Runner
20 Minute Vacation Resistance Band Workout – Mommy Run Fast [This one is coming with me at the end of the month!]
Extreme Core Workout – PFITblog

Food

Classic Chunky Fig Newtons – Peachy Palate

Classic Chunky Fig Newtons – Peachy Palate
Grilled Peach Barbecue Sauce with Grilled Polenta – Edible Perspective
Bourbon Poached Peach Black Manhattan – One Martini
Lemon Pepper Brussels Sprouts – The Almond Eater
Kombucha Moscow Mules – Cookie + Kate

Food for Thought

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

Link Love #40

Guys. I need to tell you. The fruit in California is absolutely outrageous. It must be because the fruit is grown here and there’s not a week of transfer before it gets to me in Maryland anymore, but I’ve never had such flavorful strawberries, plums, blueberries.. seriously, everything! I’m not a peach gal and I’m eating peaches! Nathan’s not a plum gal guy and he’s eating plums. I never want it to end!

I’ve been pinning fruit recipes out the wazoo and have a couple to share today, but you should definitely check out my Pinterest boards for more!

Health

Are You Addicted to Adrenaline? – Cotter Crunch

Are You Addicted to Adrenaline? – Cotter Crunch
Get Rid of “Should” – Fine Fit Day
Healthy Eating: A Shared Responsibility – Kath Eats Real Food
Why You Should Throw Away Your Scale – fANNEtastic Food
Why Calories In vs Calories Out is Outdated – Mommy Run Fast

Fitness

30-Minute Kettlebell HIIT Workout with Finisher – Pumps & Iron

30-Minute Kettlebell HIIT Workout with Finisher – Pumps & Iron
I LIFT 20 minute leg workout purely training #64 – Purely Twins
Friday Happy Hour Workout Plan – Lifting Revolution
Sculpted Summer Arms Workout – Peanut Butter Runner
Sweat for Summer Interval Sprints – Fit2Flex

Food

Samoa Baked Doughnuts with 1-minute Maple Caramel – Edible Perspective

Samoa Baked Doughnuts with 1-minute Maple Caramel – Edible Perspective
Sweet and Savory Breakfast Polenta and Egg Stack – Clean Eating Veggie Girl
Raw Snickers Candy Bars – Peachy Palate
Crispy Peanut Tofu & Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry – Minimalist Baker
Chilled Avocado Sweet Corn Soup – Running to the Kitchen
S’mores + Peaches = S’meaches – The Kitchy Kitchen

Food for Thought

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

Link Love #38

Yesterday was one of those days that I’m not really sure where it went. I know I had a killer workout [partially thanks to 2 days of rest!], delicious breakfast, and went to work. And from there, the rest of the day flew! Work was nuts thanks to a huge Memorial Day sale. But I love that.. keeps me running around and the time flies by like nothing! It was a pretty darn good day and I came home absolutely pooped. And now it’s time to really kick off the week. Happy Tuesday, friends!

Health

We All Need to Rest – The Lyons’ Share

We All Need to Rest! – The Lyons’ Share
Immunity Boosting Recipe:Tangy Broccoli Slaw Salad – Cotter Crunch
Are You Unknowingly Holding Yourself Back? 5 Reasons We Fear Success – JillFit
Why It’s More Than Okay To Have “Fat Days” – Lifting Revolution
Pre-Workout Nutrition: What do we need and why?! – The Little Honey Bee

Fitness

Cardio Core Workout – Pumps & Iron

Cardio Core Workout – Pumps & Iron
Lower Abdominal Workout – Jessie Loves 2 Run
Blast and Burn Circuit – Fitnessista
Pre-Wedding HIIT – Slim Sanity
5 training elements to include in every workout – FitKnitChick

Food

Sweet Tea Oven Fried Chicken Sliders with Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Slaw + Crispy Onions – Half Baked Harvest

Sweet Tea Oven Fried Chicken Sliders with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Slaw + Crispy Onions – Half Baked Harvest
Almond Butter Cups Revisited – Peachy Palate
Double Chocolate Banana Bread Oat Bars {vegan and gluten free} – Ambitious Kitchen
Asian Lamb and Noodle Toss – Bev Cooks
Red Cabbage Smoothie – According to Elle

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past 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?