Weekly Bites #18

Hello, my friends! I have some fun and exciting news to share before I get to Weekly Bites today! Ready? I finished my Nutrition Certification which means I'm officially "Nutritious Life" certified (which means), I can officially start Health Coaching if I'd like (yay!). I will be dedicating an entire blog post to this certification, but, in a nutshell it basically means that I have enough nutrition knowledge to Health Coach. This does NOT make me a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist and I'm not about to start calling myself one because frankly, it's not true and would be completely unfair to my friends that went to school for 4-8 years to become Nutritionists and RDs. It does, however, better qualify me to provide some factual nutrition advice to those that are interested. It also gives me a more well-rounded approach to my current fitness certifications. The more knowledge, the better. Right? Right!

It's been a few weeks since I've shared a Weekly Bites post but today, we are back in action. Let's get to it, shall we?

Weekday lunch: My love for b.good salads knows no bounds. This Kale/Brussels/Acorn squash mash-up is divine.

Dinner: My "Gamechanger Salmon"  with roasted sweets and asparagus.

Saturday lunch: Quickie salad with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, feta, balsamic and evoo. Simple, but so good.

Breakfast: Homemade acai bowl.

Lunch: Simple salad with roasted chicken.

Dinner: Quinoa with grilled buffalo chicken and avocado. 

Weekday lunch: Citrus and avocado salad from b.good.

Friday night dinner: Steak tips with asparagus and baked sweet corn.

Weekday lunch: Ahi Crunchy salad from Yard House.

Breakfast: Ezekial bread with pb on one half, ab on the other and topped with half a banana and cinnamon.

Celebration: Egg salad sandwiches that I made for Mother's Day.

Dinner: DIY Acai bowl from Juice Press at The Street in Chestnut Hill.

Breakfast: Protein pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and coconut butter.

That about wraps it up. Obviously, I have been eating out at lunch more often than usual. Part of that is because my Sundays and Mondays have been too jam packed to food prep. The other reason is that I've actually had a lot of working lunches. The thing is, I haven't felt uncomfortable or unhealthy because I aim to get the healthiest thing on the menu during these lunch meetings. My rule is to always eat as healthy as possible during the week. The weekends are where I PREFER to indulge. 

Have an awesome Friday! xo

Weekly Bites #17

Oh haaayyyy guysssss! I didn't fall off the face of the earth... I just decided to plan most of my wedding in two week's time. Lol. I keep joking that this must be what happens when a Marketing Director plans a wedding. When I plan events at work, we take care of the big components first and then all of the details a bit later. I was on auto-pilot, can't help it. Whoopsie!

Anyway, clearly I'm so excited and find all of this planning stuff VERY fun. That being said, it's nice to be back to somewhat of a normal routine again this week. And, I did manage to take some food pics over the last few weeks so I'm bringing it back with Weekly Bites! Since my schedule was a little cray, my meals probably look a bit different. Let's get to it!

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Dinner (was sick at the time): Bone broth with chicken, spinach, and rice noodles.

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Morning after engagement = glazed donut to the face. THE BEST.

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I hosted Easter again this year and would usually have a whole post dedicated to that but, I didn't take many pictures this year. These are the leftovers... my pork tenderloin, asparagus bunch, and the delmonico potatoes that my sister made. Yum!

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Lunch: Chicken Caesar salad at b.good. I've mentioned this salad before because it's SUPER light compared to most caesar salads. 

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Lunch: Brown rice avocado/salmon sushi from Whole Foods. (ah, clearly didn't food prep the last two weeks)

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Lunch: This is the kale and brussels sprout salad from b.good. It was REALLY good. The acorn squash really made it delectable.

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Dinner: Game-changer salmon with roasted potatoes and roasted asparagus.

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PSA: Via foodler, you can get delivery from Regina Pizzeria out of the North End into Southie. HAND CLAP! We got the cheese and an antipasto.

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Dinner: This didn't photograph well, but, zoodles with chicken sausage and pesto. I made the pesto last summer with all the extra basil I had from my garden. I froze it and simply had to defrost it and heat it up to make this :)

Well that about wraps it up... I should be back to a more regular blog posting schedule now that things have cooled off a bit. Have an awesome week! xo

Weekly Bites #16

Good evening, good evening, my friends! I'm home early because I'm rocking a REST DAY. Yup, I'm so sore from my last two classes at The Club that pretty much every muscle group in my body hurts. Sore to the touch, actually. Plus, I slept like crap and I'm fighting a cold that wants to make an appearance. I'm sharing these very important details of my life because... for those of you that struggle with this... it's VERY OK to take an unplanned rest day. I'm sure some of you are thinking "um, big deal... you're taking a rest day [insert eye roll]" but, there are also a few of you that struggle with going off-schedule.  I get it, I used to really struggle with taking rest days in general, nevermind unplanned ones. However, the most important thing I've learned about health and fitness in my 32 years is this... LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. I say that phrase all the time, but, when it comes to health... listening to your body trumps everything else. Cravings, tiredness, too much energy, lack of energy, stress, etc. Your body is telling you what it wants... listening is key. I know that resting today, fueling my body, and getting adequate sleep will make me feel 100% better tomorrow during my workout. Plus, rest days are when the magic happens... they are just as important as training days. Muscles repair and grow bigger and stronger during periods of rest, making them an integral part of a training schedule. Got it? Ok great.

Moving on, it's time for "Weekly Bites". I have another solid array of eats to share with you again this week and once again, I'll mark them GA or NGA for those that are interested. Let's get to it!

This was dinner after a big event I had last week. It was late, Rob worked late, and so we went to the freezer for options. It was actually delicious lol. Veggie burger, two fish sticks, and Alexia sweet potato tots. (GA except for ketchup)

I refueled again properly in the morning with a smoothie bowl.  (GA)

Random lunch: Spinach salad with slivered almonds, hemp seed hearts, fig dressing and an ezekiel english muffin with almond butter and cinnamon. That popcorn is the Quinn brand kale popcorn - it's good! (GA)

St. Paddy's day dinner: Open faced roast beef sandwiches on Irish soda bread with sliced sharp cheddar, mustard and micro greens paired with sweet potato and kale chips. (GA)

Oh hey, another smoothie bowl. (GA)

Friday lunch: This "roasted butternut" salad from b.good is SO SO GOOD and surprisingly filling. (GA)

Friday dinner: Salmon prepared the way my mom always made it when I was growing up. We joke that this salmon makes salmon-haters love salmon. (It worked, Rob doesn't like salmon!). Ready? 1 tbs of dijon mustard, 1 tbs of brown sugar, and a dash of cayenne pepper... mix the ingredients and spread on top. Bake on 475 for 12-15 minutes depending on thickness. DELISH. (GA)

Made use of the leftover roast beef and greens on Saturday to make a bit of a cleaner version on a small tortilla. YUM. (GA)

Dinner on Saturday night at Pastoral: This pasta dish was on special... mushroom, guanciale, EGG, carbonara. HEAVEN. Delectable! (NGA)

Dinner yesterday: Organic ground turkey tacos with spinach, avocado, and a sprinkling of cheddar paired with sweet potatoes. (Pretty much GA - the mild taco seasoning doesn't affect my GERD).

That about wraps it up - what were you favorite eats of the week?? xo