Breezy and Chilly

November 22, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

I did not get to watch Martha and Snoop last night because I ended up needing to record the later showing because two other things were recording. Instead I watched part of the Pens game and part of Dancing with the Stars (guilty pleasure and I adore it.) I’ll be honest, I feel a little empty missing Martha and Snoop and I’m not sure when I’ll get to watch the episode (sob). Brace yourselves because it’s holiday time and while I still plan on eating well and working out, I will be indulging in some fun food items. Oh, I will fully share that with you but buckle up because I love the holidays and all the food that goes with it. Snacks were consumed last night, I had a small plate of ham, some Spanish cheeses from a TJ’s little variety pack, and some carrots with jalapeno and artichoke dip. I also had some bourbon because Thanksgiving week. That will be a theme so just roll with it. Dessert was three mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups from TJ’s. Up this morning to an overcast, chilly, and windy day. I went for a run before hitting the gym. Breakfast was a small yogurt bowl with:

2% Fage
Homemade Granola
Chocolate Chips

Frothy coffee with a splash of So Delicious Nog (I’ll be talking more about this on Saturday). I did some chores around the house and worked on some Thanksgiving prep. After the house was clean, it was time for lunch and I kept things easy. Green beans and a jalapeno cheddar brat by Continental Sausage (I love this sausage so much!). I also made a smoothie but forgot to grab a pic because I was chatting with my mom. It had:

Water
Collagen Peptides
Spinach
Frozen Bananas
Frozen Blueberries

Once lunch was over and I was done chatting with my mom, and finished up the laundry, it was time to hit the couch with Scott to play the latest Gears of War game. I was reading some previous Daily Eats posts of mine from 2009 and we were playing Gears of War 2 around this time! Weird. I guess we like to play Gears during Thanksgiving week. We played for a bit and then it was time for dinner. I heated up some leftover beef and veggie soup that I made on Sunday in the slow cooker. I used leftover beef roast, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and diced tomatoes with a beef stock base. It made for the perfect dinner on this chilly and windy day! Now it’s time to finish up Dancing with the Stars and kick back with a splash of red wine. Hooray Holidays!

Thanksgiving Errands

November 21, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

Happy Monday, gang! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! I worked most of the weekend but I still had some nice downtime with Scott which was lovely and got to have some fabulous treats. We got some takeout on Saturday from a local BBQ place which included fried chicken, ribs, and pulled pork. It was alright (I’m so picky about dining out), would we get it again? Maybe.

This morning I had a Kind bar as I was getting ready for the gym. I was hungry and the bananas that we have are super ripe and now have a texture I don’t dig. I wasn’t feeling 100% and ended up not going to the gym. Boo. I hate missing the gym and I also don’t like feeling off balance.

I had some frothy coffee early this morning and forgot to snap some pics but you guys know what that looks like.

Late breakfast sort of lunch but not really, that’s what I’m calling this meal.

Half a baked sweet potato with Kerrygold butter and some Applegate Spinach and Feta chicken sausage. The sausage was alright. I feel like Applegate’s sausages are a little too processed. All of their sausages, texture is almost like a cheap hotdog and there’s a cheap hotdog kind of flavor going on in the background. It’s not horrible but I’ve definitely had better sausages. Not sure I’d purchase those again.

Scott has the entire week off, (HOORAY!) and that means I get more time to hang with him this week. However we needed to get some stuff done for Thanksgiving and headed out this afternoon to finish up holiday errands. The stores were packed!

I picked up some more turkey bone broth from TJ’s and then we hit Whole Foods where I got our turkey and the final ingredients for the big dinner on Thursday.

Since I was still feeling a little off and errands took longer than expected, I picked up dinner from Whole Foods. Our local store started doing ramen a few months back and that’s what I got today. It’s a little on the pricey side but it is enough for two meals.

Chicken ramen that comes with seaweed, bok choy, and a soft boiled egg. The egg grosses me out so I give that to Scott.

This hit the spot! I will be having a snack tonight because I do need a little bit more food in my system. I know this was a quick post but it’s getting late and I’m ready to hit the couch and catch this week’s episode of Martha and Snoop!

Fun Finds

November 19, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

Happy weekend! I have to work the whole weekend (boo) but hopefully you’ll be doing some fun stuff and I can live vicariously through you! I found some goodies this week while I was out grocery shopping, maybe you’ve seen these at your local TJ’s?

PS: This is not a sponsored post or in anyway associated with Trader Joe’s. I thought it would be fun to talk about some items I came across recently.

TJ’s Turkey Bone Broth. It comes in smaller boxes than their turkey stock. I compared it to the TJ’s turkey stock and the bone broth has a more simple ingredient list focusing on creating a rich broth where the stock had more additives (Like veggie stock, and sugars). While this is more expensive than the stock, I decided to use it for Thanksgiving next week. I would love to see TJ’s start carrying more bone broth! It’s not organic in case that is something you are concerned about. When checking out, the cashier told me is a seasonal item only and will be departing the shelves soon so stock up! I’m going back this week to finish up Thanksgiving shopping and I plan on picking up more.

TJ’s Turkey and Stuffing Kettle Chips. This was a total splurge impulsive buy moment. I thought these sounded amazing and was so curious to try them out. However, they were not amazing but they weren’t horrible either. When I first tried them, I didn’t really get much of a turkey/stuffing flavor out of them at all. They sort of tasted like overcooked chips. I tried them again a few days later and they tasted a lot more savory and I could see how they might be a nod to Thanksgiving dinner. They were OK and a fun gimmick. If I were hosting a party I would get these to have on hand because they are budget friendly. However since I didn’t love them, they had to go. I hate tossing food but I’m also not going to eat something just because, it has to be worth it and those were not.

Not pictured but worth a mention, TJ’s also now carries broccoli rice in their fresh produce section. I’m so glad to see grocery stores (especially TJ’s because let’s be honest, they were the first to embrace having cauliflower rice in the store) start to carry more veggie alternatives. I’m just OK on this rice though. Since it’s made from broccoli stems it has a much tougher texture and takes a good bit of seasoning to keep it from being bland. However if you aren’t a fan of cauliflower this rice would be worth checking out.

Have a great weekend and we’ll catch up on Monday!

Fitness Friday: Old Lady Feels

November 18, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

Monday:

I went for a 1 mile run with my friend Kira before our workout. Right now we’re doing a run/walk for the mile and are considering doing the Couch To 5K program starting in December. Both of us want to start running (for me, to get back into running. You know, trying this for the 5 millionth time. Gah.) and feel like starting off with the C25K program might be beneficial.

I’ve been having some issues with shins while running. They’ve been cramping up during the run. It’s not shin splints, my shins don’t hurt after my run only during. They cramp up pretty badly too and it becomes hard to walk. My left shin is the worst but my right shin does it as well. Not sure if I need new shoes or if I just need to get used to running again.

If you remember, I had some trouble with my hip. Well my hip is fine and now it’s my shins. I swear it is always something that is keeping me from running. Meanwhile, Scott started running and is now up to 3 miles no problem. Jerk.

Anyway, the workout was:

10 Box Dips
10 Deficit Pushups
10 Burpees to Plates

This workout was hard on my shoulder. I strained my right shoulder back in September from doing too much aggressive triceps dips and it’s still bothering me. I’ve been taking things slowly and lightly with it but it’s frustrating nonetheless. So this workout really challenged my shoulder and I felt it at the end.

PS: There’s always a warmup for the workouts I just don’t post those because it’s a warmup and not terribly exciting. But if you’re really interested in what those look like, just give me a shout and I’ll start adding them.

Tuesday:

I did a strength session before the workout. Super easy and light session to get back into the swing of things. I did squats which felt OK but my shoulders were really sore and tight from Monday’s workout which made the bar uncomfortable.

I also did a few presses which made my shoulder feel a little tight and I could tell they were tired from the previous workout.

This workout was rough and left me feeling defeated and frustrated. I had really low energy even though I just had a banana before starting and I had trouble getting through it. I did it but did not get as many rounds as I would have liked.

AMRAP 25:

25 Plate Overhead Stepping Lunges – 15lb Plate
45 Sumo HighPulls with 35lb KB
25 Situps with 25lb Plate

UGH. My arms were shaky during the lunges. Recommended weight was 25lb plate but I couldn’t do that and dropped to 15lb. My legs started shaking during the sumo highpulls and just MEH. This workout sucked and left me drained.

Wednesday:

Rest day. I was dragging hardcore getting out of bed and I was so freaking sore from the previous two workouts. I originally thought that I would make a later class at the gym but instead I took an epsom salt bath with some arnica and eucalyptus. That made me feel so much better! I felt guilty all day for missing class. I hate missing a workout just because I feel like an old lady. Grrrr!

Thursday:

I was still sore and really tired but I made it to the gym. We did snatches and jump rope. Snatches are hard on my shoulder and I had to drop weight to get through this workout. Cue more frustration and angst.

I also did a mile run before class and my shin cramped up on me forcing me to walk most of the way back. Grumble grumble.

Friday:

We had 5 stations, spend a minute at each station with 30 second transition between stations. 3 total rounds.

35lb Kettlebell broad jumps.
Bear crawls with 25lb dumbbells.
Box jump overs
Twisting med ball lunges
Reverse lunges

I thought the bear crawls were going to be awkward AF but they actually weren’t too bad. The move that got me was the kettlebell broad jump! That had my legs shaking and really wore them out. I was ready to be done by round 3.

Summary:

I got frustrated a lot this week because I was feeling old and rickety. My joints are hurting more, there’s more muscle soreness, and I’m getting tired a lot easier. It used to just be around my cycle that I would notice the symptoms increase but now it’s happening more often which is leaving me frustrated. Time to start fiddling with my diet and sleep to see if that helps. If not then I may have to suck it up and talk to someone about it.

Lazy Day

November 16, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

I did end up having a splash of red last night along with a snack of manchego and honeycrisp apple because I was still feeling a tad hungry.

I did not eat this entire serving. I had about half the apple (it was gigantic) and two slices of cheese while watching Martha and Snoop. Oh y’all, it did not disappoint this week! Martha got a blinged out cheese grater necklace from Rick Ross and it was amazing. And as you can see from this gif, he was all into Martha.

Seriously, watch this show!

I went to bed and read for a bit. Almost finished with Food Freedom Forever and will be reading The Whole 30 book next. I’m planning on doing a Whole 30 in January so I’m getting a refresher on the info.

Waking up this morning was rough. I am so tired and sore from workouts so far this week. Ugh. Definitely having old lady moments. I decided to take it easy and have a morning to myself then decide how I am going to manage the day.

I was starving when I got up so I made some eggs and heated up squash.

Two scrambled eggs with a roasted delicata squash that was topped with butter and a little maple syrup. All butter we use is Kerrygold and the syrup is organic Costco brand.

I did some work, prepped dinner in the slow cooker, and then it was time for lunch. Moar chicken salad! I seriously cannot get enough of chicken salad and I’m so happy that mayo is back to being cool again. I’ve always loved mayo but it got a bad wrap for many years, however, thanks to Paleo and Primal movement, mayo is back in fashion! Hooray!

Chicken salad with tomatoes on some baby greens.

I got snacky midafternoon and decided to have a little something. I tried those TJ’s Turkey and Stuffing chips and they were eh. They just tasted like chips to me and not like savory seasoned chips. I had three and decided that the chips weren’t worth it.

Instead my snack was some hard salami and manchego. I try not to snack between meals but sometimes it’s needed. I try to listen to my body as much as possible and not just mindlessly eat.

I listened to my body today by not going to the gym. I have such guilt about not going but my body was tired and so sore. Instead I took an epsom salt bath and decided to rest up instead.

Dinner was slow cooker beef roast and carrots with mashed parsnips on the side. I placed the roast in the slow cooker with a splash of red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and a little beef broth. Seasoned with Flavor God Everything Seasoning and let that cook on low for hours. Yes I use Flavor God seasonings a great deal because they are awesome. Everything is one of my favorites blends as it pairs well with meats especially beef.

I made a quick gravy out of the liquid in the slow cooker. I make my gravy using arrowroot powder and it turns out perfectly each time.

There’s a hockey game tonight! So I’m going to kick it on the couch for a bit watching the Pens play and then it’s an early bedtime for me so I can kick butt tomorrow.

Heads up that I won’t be doing daily eats posts on Thursdays or Sundays. Those are my long work days and the last thing I want to do when I get back home is get on the computer. I’ll post my meals on Instagram though!

Keeping It Easy

November 15, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

I had some herbal tea and two pieces of dark chocolate last night as we watched TV. Costco had a set of some tea from Good Earth, it’s called Sweet and Spicy and it is delicious. My local Costco doesn’t really have much tea so I was surprised to see these! Herbal tea is an after dinner staple during the winter months and I’m fully stocked!

I hit the gym early this morning and had a banana between my weight session and my Crossfit workout. I was starving when I got home and made a huge yogurt bowl for myself.

2% Fage
Homemade Granola
Pecans
Dried Cranberries
A few Chocolate Chips

I’m not sure if I ate enough yesterday because during my workout today I was dragging hard and felt so weak. Ugh.

Frothy coffee with just coconut oil today.

I had some errands to do and I also had some light grocery shopping to get done. I headed to TJ’s and saw that they have Turkey and Stuffing flavored kettle chips. Yes, I bought some. No regrets, that’s life. Sometimes I eat chips. I have no idea what they taste like but I’ll keep you posted!

Since errands ate up my afternoon, lunch was light and easy, a smoothie and I don’t have a picture because we’ve all seen smoothies. The smoothie had:

Water
Collagen Peptides
Spinach
Frozen Bananas
Frozen Blueberries

This is a typical smoothie for me. I don’t usually mix things up too much in the smoothie department. It wasn’t going to be long before I had to start prepping for dinner so the smoothie worked out.

Tacos for dinner because it’s Taco Tuesday! I seasoned up some ground bison with Flavor God Taco Tuesday seasoning (for tacos I alternate between this and the Spicy Everything Seasoning). I also added in some chopped onion, pepper, and a little salsa to bring it together. TJ’s started carrying broccoli rice in their fresh produce section so I made some of that as a side. Seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It’s more hearty than cauliflower rice and needs a little bit longer to cook. It also needs more seasoning, I definitely under seasoned it today. Lesson learned for next time.

I also made some fresh pico de gallo and picked up some guacamole at TJ’s. I had some chips + salsa + guac with dinner so I had my taco filling on top of some chopped lettuce instead of in shells. Sprinkled with a little cheddar and all the toppings. So good!

I’m going to have a small glass of wine and hit the couch to watch Martha and Snoop! Are you watching this show because it is AMAZING. Without even realizing it, the creators of this show have provided America with exactly what we need right now. Which is entertainment, people getting along, and some crazy shit. Seriously cannot get enough of this show!

Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links.

Back To My Roots

November 14, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

I’m going to attempt to go back to blogging about my eats on a regular basis. I’m not sure that it’s going to be everyday but it will be several days. We’ll see how this goes because it’s been years since I’ve done this and it might take me some time to get back in the swing of things. Reading some old posts of mine back when I started this blog are hilarious. Oh the things I’ve said and how far I’ve come since then!

I don’t see many people do diary style blog posts anymore and those are the types of blogs that I love. I enjoy those posts because I find motivation from seeing people workout and eat well. I haven’t come across a blog that does daily updates like that and one that I can relate to that eats and workouts similiar to me.

In an effort to provide motivation for myself (and possibly someone else who might be looking for the same thing) I’ve decided to try getting back into regular blogging of my eats. I’m going to stick with posting a Fitness Friday recap of my workouts from the week.

So let’s get this started!

Before hitting the gym this morning I did have a banana. I woke up feeling a little bit hungry and a small banana did the trick.

Breakfast was a small amount of 2% Fage, homemade granola, and a few chocolate chips. Along with frothy coffee! My coffee had some VitalProteins Collagen Peptides and coconut oil blended into it. I’m in love with collagen peptides! It’s a great way to sneak in more protein plus it helps hair, nails, and joint support. Getting older (ugh) I need all the joint support that I can get. The peptides are unflavored and mix easily with any drink, even cold! It can also be mixed into things like yogurt and oatmeal.

Lunch was chicken salad with carrots, peppers, and some plantain chips. Trader Joe’s has the best plantain chips!

I normally make my own mayo but saw this Chosen Foods Avocado Mayo on my most recent trip to Costco and it was a very reasonable price. I used it today in the chicken salad. While I do like my version a little more, this stuff is really tasty. A little on the sweeter side thanks to the honey but otherwise it’s a hearty and healthy mayo.

Dinner was super simple and easy because I’m not feeling 100% (thanks cramps!). I heated up some burgers (I tend to pre-make burgers and meatballs to freeze. Then when I want something quick to heat up to eat, these are ready to go.) and topped those with a simple sauce of ketchup + Worcestershire + coconut sugar. On the side was Ranch Cheddar Potato Bites and sugar snap peas.

For the bites, I used leftover mashed potatoes and added shredded cheddar and Flavor God Ranch Seasoning. Stuffed the mixture into a mini cupcake pan and baked at 400 until they were golden and crispy. The sugar snap peas got a quick blanch then tossed with a small amount of butter and seasoned with Flavor God Garlic Lovers Seasoning.

I know the picture isn’t that great but we’re in winter months now and I’m still adjusting to figuring out the best lighting for evening photos. Since I’m tossing around the idea of doing this daily, my food photos aren’t going to be amazing or staged all that much. This is more about real life and not about magazine worthy photos.

Currently brewing a pot of herbal tea and I might have some dark chocolate before going to bed. I’m currently reading Melissa Hartwig’s newest book, Food Freedom Forever. It’s an interesting read so far, I’m saving my full thoughts on the book until I’ve finished it.

Until tomorrow, pretties! Have a fabulous night!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.

Review: Bueno Foods Tortillas

November 11, 2016Andrea 1 Comment

Bueno Foods recently launched a new product line called, BUENATURAL. This new line of tortillas and items are organic, non-GMO, and offer some vegan and vegetarian options.

They reached out and asked if I would be willing to check out some products from this new line. I’m constantly on the hunt for a good tortilla so I was more than happy to work with them.

Bueno Foods is based out of New Mexico and they focus on New Mexican style tortillas and chilies, using quality ingredients with a focus on traditional methods of preparation.

I was sent:

Organic Whole Wheat Tortillas
Organic Ancient Grain Tortillas
Blue Corn Tortillas
Container of Hot Flashed Roasted Hatch Green Chilies

The ancient grains tortilla piqued my interest right away because sometimes those style of tortillas can be really dry and a little rough.

I made breakfast tacos using these tortillas. The ingredients for these tortillas include whole wheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, buckwheat and flaxseed.

These were delicious! Totally soft and flexible with an amazing texture. I was completely impressed and pleasantly surprised by these guys.

The blue corn tortillas also get a two thumbs up! I made pulled pork tacos with these and they are the first corn tortillas I’ve used where you didn’t have to use two tortillas per taco. They are thick enough that they don’t break up (once you warm them slightly) and split while you’re eating but they aren’t so thick that it throws off the texture causing it to be too much.

The wheat tortillas were used to make various wrap sandwiches. While it is a basic whole wheat tortilla they are soft and have a pleasing texture.

Both the wheat and ancient grain tortillas are big enough that you can make a small wrap but they are not burrito sized. They are in the middle between taco and burrito sized tortillas.

The green chilies were HOT. Oh man, way too much for my heat tolerance, however, they were perfect for Scott. I made a chile sauce out of them that he used to top tacos. I cooked up the green chilies with onion, and garlic, and a little splash of chicken stock. I blended all that up until smooth. It was perfect as a topper or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Overall I was really impressed with BUENATURAL line from Bueno Foods and would gladly seek out their tortillas. Everything can be ordered online through their shop if you are interested in trying out their products as well.

Thanks to Bueno Foods for sending me some products to try and allowing me to share that with you!

Disclaimer: Bueno Foods sent me product in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any other way.

Review: Know Brainer Coffee Creamer

November 3, 2016Andrea 2 Comments

I was recently contacted by Know Brainer, to try out their coffee creamer products. I take my coffee black with a little bit of coconut oil added but sometimes I like to spice things up and have a creamy rich coffee. Usually on the weekends and as I’m still trying to determine what my perfect cup is like, I was all about testing out these creamers.

These creamers work off the concept of Bulletproof Coffee method by incorporating MCT Oils and fats into the creamer. For flavored creamers they use natural and Non-GMO products. The idea being that these fats help with mental clarity, boost metabolism, and help keep you feeling full and satisfied.

Know Brainer Creamers are the first Primal/Keto friendly creamers I have been introduced to and I was curious to give them a shot.

I was sent four flavors to try out:

Original
French Vanilla
Vanilla Bean (Casein & Lactose Free)
Mocha (Casein & Lactose Free)

These come in individual packets which get added to one 6-8oz cup of coffee. You shake up the packet and massage it a little bit to mix the ingredients, pour into your coffee mug, and add coffee. Stir and you are good to go!

These creamers are delicious! I was able to use one packet for two cups of 8oz coffee as the packets are on the larger size. It provides a nice richness to the coffee and they are easy to use. You don’t have to blend the coffee at all. Since I was using it at home, I did blend after my first cup because I like the froth.

The French Vanilla flavor was my favorite as it packed more of a punch. The Vanilla Bean flavor had just a kiss of vanilla to it. I personally did not care for the Mocha flavor, it was alright but seemed to make the coffee taste bitter. Even the original flavor provided a nice creamy richness to the coffee.

While I think these would be great for daily use, I feel where this product really shines is for travel and entertaining. For those of us who like a little fat added to our coffee, having that on the go is a pain in the butt. Know Brainer makes it super easy to toss these in your bag ready to mix with coffee. Or you can have these on hand at your house for guests making it easy for them to create their desired coffee.

Would I use these again? Heck yes! You can purchase Know Brainer online via their shop and I would recommend going with a variety pack so you can test out the different flavors.

Thanks to Know Brainer for allowing me to try out their product!

Disclaimer: I was sent this product in exchange for a review. I was not sent additional products or compensated in any other way.

September Barbella Box

October 14, 2016Andrea Leave a comment

September’s Barbella Box was curated by Christmas Abbott, a CrossFit competitor, Olympic Weightlifter, fitness advisor and you get the idea. This box was given the nickname, Christmas in September and it was a bit on the heavy side. I was curious to find out what was in it given the heft it packed!

Exosleeve Knee Sleeves

They are an army green color and have Rebel down the sides. I was ecstatic to get knee sleeves because they have been on my “to purchase” list for sometime. My knees have been bothering me a lot lately after workouts, especially if there’s a bunch of squats or lunges. I had hopes that sleeves would help with that. I’m not a spring chicken with young 20-something knees. This sister needs some support.

These sleeves are awesome. My knees feel so so good when I wear them and they are definitely a benefit. After using them for workouts my knees are not as sore or achey. My squats also feel much more solid when I’m wearing the sleeves. I will be sticking with knee sleeves for a while!

The Badass Body Diet Book

This is written by Christmas Abbott outlining her Badass Body Diet. I haven’t looked through the book yet as I’m only slightly interested. I’m constantly trying to read as much info as I can about nutrition while weightlifting but at the same time, I don’t want to get sucked into some sort of diet mentality. I will read the book at some point though and will let you know thoughts once I finish. (Can be found via Christmas’s Website)

Be Unstoppable Coffee Mug

If I’m feeling particularly feisty in the morning, this is now the coffee mug I reach for. It’s on the smaller side but I do like it. It’s a mug so there isn’t a whole lot to say about it. If I had to pick something, I would say that the mug doesn’t really need Christmas’s signature. The saying is good and should be the highlight. (Can be found via Christmas’s Website)

LifeAid FitAid Drink

I have not had this. I am not a huge fan of health drinks so I tend to pass those along to Scott.

Plus some coupons and discount codes.

Summary:

I loved this box just for the kneed sleeves. The mug and book are OK and I’m sure there are lots of subscribers who really enjoy them. For me though, this box is all about the sleeves because they are awesome and such a steal!

If you weight lift or do CrossFit, give Barbella Box a try!

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