Menu Plan Monday #13

This week's menu is comin' atchya a little late today...with the time change and having the sun up so much later I have been in a groove to move, move, move my little behind and am not having the want I normally do to sit down and write! But, I did a bunch of meal prep and have a plan in my head, but should get it down on "paper" so I don't forget!

Workout Schedule:

• Sunday: rest day; did a little biking, a little walking, some stretching and that was about it.
• Monday: 2.5 mile run, P90X3 Isometrix and PIYO Sweat
• Tuesday: 3 mile run, T25 speed, T25 ab intervals
• Wednesday: Start the day with Blogilates 100 Burpee Burnout, sightseeing day so lots and lots of walking and biking, end the day with T25 Stretch
• Thursday: Quiet apartment workout; PIYO Drench
• Friday: 4 mile run, at the halfway mark will be at a park so will do a little bootcamp of squats lunges, jumps, pull ups, etc., evening P90X3 Yoga
• Saturday: Rest, sightseeing day, stretch

Goals:

Last week:

• cut final bit of added sugars {my one cube of sugar in coffee is all that is left *le sigh*}-done! :D
• no processed foods {gotta get off the cereal, which is a recent reintroduction and I do not feel well after eating it}-done! :D
• finish Hawaii section of scrapbook-Work in progress!
• get balcony set for spring-cleaned it off, still need to find furniture.
• organize craft supplies...don't have many but the few I do have are a bit out of control ;)-completely forgot about this lol
• make packing lists and itineraries for Berlin and London-work in progress
• keep up with A to Z Challenge-work in progress haha..didn't completely keep up last week, but I am still posting, so as long as I get them all posted within the next month I will be ok with that. 

This week:

• Finish the rest of the Hawaii Scrapbook
• Get the lists and itineraries finalized
• Keep going with the A to Z challenge
• Remember to take my camera on our sight seeing tours this week because we will be seeing some amazing things and I would like higher quality photos than my iPhone photos.

Breakfast

• Sunday: cereal
• Monday: oatmeal and hard boiled egg whites
• Tuesday: apple cinnamon oatmeal
• Wednesday: Toast with peanut butter and bananas
• Thursday: apple cinnamon oatmeal
• Friday: Toast with peanut butter and bananas
• Saturday: Big breakfast scramble with lots of veggies, toast, and apple slices

So, today I made this amazing oatmeal with water, oats, peanut butter, ground flax seeds, honey, cinnamon, butter and a touch of milk..it was amazing and pretty much all I want to eat now, I will post the recipe over on Instagram tomorrow so make sure you follow! :D

Lunch

• Sunday: at a party so snacked on pot luck snacks
• Kiddo and hubby: all week they will mostly take a variation on hard boiled eggs, half a sandwich, cheese cubes, fruit, raw veggies, and lunch meat.
• Monday: Chicken legs, broccoli, and a little spaghetti
• Tuesday: Same as monday, but with mushrooms
• Wednesday: sight seeing day, eat out
• Thursday: Mushroom egg white omelette with brown rice
• Friday: Leftovers
• Saturday: Eat out, sightseeing day...late lunch/early dinner

Dinner

• Sunday: Cereal (lame, but after food prep and a variety of foods to choose from I let the kiddo pick what she wanted us to eat since hubby was at work and she chose cereal haha)
• Monday: Spaghetti with broccoli
• Tuesday: Leftovers-attending a going away party, so will be pot lucking it again
• Wednesday: Rotisserie chicken, brown rice, squash
• Thursday: Tacos (regular for hubby, will freeze half, lentil tacos, will freeze half for the kiddo and I) served with cucumber/tomato relish
• Friday: Soup and paninis
• Saturday: Will eat a late lunch/early dinner so will snack in the evening

Snacks

• over night oatmeal
• hard boiled eggs
• string cheese
• carrot slices
• apples and peanut butter
• toasted almonds
• peanuts
• homemade bounty bars (for that sweet treat)
• Banana cappuccino
• Tea

So, this is what my week looks like. How is the time change affecting you? One of my Australian friends was complaining about how dark it is getting and how drained she feels, yet I am total opposite being above the equator! How about you, where are you and how is the time change treating you?

P.S. I'm linking up with Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

What I Ate Wednesday +Asylum Diary

This week has been productive to say the least...lots of blogging, lots of projects, housekeeping duties attended to, and looking forward to more fun at the end of the week. Lately I have been watching Mad Men on Netflix...I didn't watch it when it first came out but I am really enjoying it. I find it so scandalous how they treated people back then!

But, today we are talking food and workouts. I am showcasing my eats from Monday.  I have been doing a decent job following my meal plan for this week though, which that seems to be a problem for me as I lose motivation about Tuesday night usually ;) haha

As soon as I get up, I eat. I have to. Eight hours is just too long for me to go without food. So I have a glass of water and a banana straight away (great for your digestive system if you get my drift...)

Then coffee 'cause duh!

Then breakfast/preworkout:

Oats. So yum. I do 6 tablespoons of oats to 9 tablespoons of water add in some fruit or sweet potato puree or pumpkin puree (I was boring and left those out), coconut oil, peanut butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Post workout snack. A nice heaping glob of Peanut butter with apple slices and raisins.

Lunch: Leftover triple lentil soup with leftover sweet potato and mushrooms.

Since this was Monday and the kiddo had a particularly rough day (and we all know mental health is very important and chocolate is the best RX there is!) so,  I ran up to the bakery and grabbed these for us: 

These brownies were amazing. Seriously, the best, I have to keep myself away from this place as it is only 2 blocks away and very accessible. Thank goodness they close at like 5pm.

Dinner was fab. The whole concoction sounds weird I know, but the kiddo had two servings of the cauliflower and mushrooms...and she even said the leeks were "ok". She ate the inside which was harder, she isn't one much for wilted greens.

Dinner: BBQ mushrooms and cauliflower with some onion thrown in at the end for crunch served with garlic toast, braised leeks, and homemade applesauce.

Asylum Diary

This is my 3rd week of Insanity Asylum. I have not been perfect, but I am making up for it. I am seeing results though. I can do 1.5 pull ups now, I am seeing more ab definition, and I just feel so much more amazing. 

The end of last week I don't have much to talk about after Thursday every day was a rest day...ha!

Monday: Game day. 

I did not want to do this one. I hate sports, especially organized sports, and I hate them even more so if they involve a ball of some sort. So, needless to say, doing sports training is not really my "thing". However, this one was a blast! It covered all sorts of sports starting with running/track, then to football, soccer, tennis, skating, swimming/surfing, rock climbing, and baseball. There may have been more but I was busy trying to keep up ;) The hardest thing for me were the mountain climber agility jacks...those things were bonkers! The exercise I just can't do yet were the two types of pull ups. You had to pull up and hold then move your hands to different grips and I can pull up and hold but the minute I take a hand off to switch my grip I lose control and come down. I will get there eventually though!

Tuesday: Vertical Plyo. I think this is my favorite workout.. It goes by fast, is under 45 minutes and is just fun. I was really sore today, but I worked as hard as I could and I feel like I got an amazing sweat on. 

Workouts on schedule:

Today: Back to core and relief. 

Thursday: Strength and relief

Friday: Speed and agility

Saturday: Strength

Sunday: Overtime

Monday: Vertical Plyo

Tuesday: Back to core

Wednesday: Vertical Plyo and relief

Next week is my last week with Insanity Asylum Vol. 1, I can't wait to see my results and move on to Vol. 2 next month!

How are you taking care of yourself this week?

Also, check out the rest of the party with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons.

Menu plan Monday +workout planning

So, ladies & gents...I just finished P90X3!!! I have more coming on that soon, but I did finish it just this past weekend. Overall I am happy with my results as I feel a lot stronger and tighter, but I will be honest I didn't really watch what I ate, so my results aren't 100% what I wanted...yet!

So, this menu plan focuses on clean, healthy eating for myself and my family of course. I am really changing how we are eating simply because the way we've been eating just doesn't work for us. None of us feel amazing so I am going back to my trusty clean recipes that work. Sorry pinterest, but those greasy awesome casseroles I've been making just aren't working...

I'm linking up my menu this week here:

Org Junkie

Breakfast:

M-W-F: Big ass pancake with sunbutter and half a banana 

Tu-Th: 2 egg omelette with mushrooms, onion, spinach, avocado, and cheese and a slice of ezekiel bread with coconut oil & some gingerbread spice

Sat & Sun paleo donut holes with fruit

Lunch:

Monday: Leftovers

Tu & Th: Salad (chicken or tuna) with hard boiled eggs and avocado

Wed & Fri: Quinoa salad (throw in some black beans, onion, spinach, tomato)

Sat & Sun: Leftovers, omelettes & toast, or subs and salad-this will really depend on what we have time for we may just grab lunch at a food truck or something as we will be at a cheer leading competition 

Dinner:

Monday: Coconut crusted chicken strips,  zucchini fries, corn for the hubby

Tuesday: Tacos (we will do veggie & traditional)

Wednesday: Burgers with mushrooms, onions, and sugar snap peas

Thursday: Caramelized chicken/chick pea patties, with zucchini & mushrooms and french fries for the hubby

Friday: Homemade pizza (will do traditional and a zucchini crust) with salad

***this weekend will be super busy so these two meals are play it by ear, we may eat a late lunch so these may be moved to next week****

Saturday: Stuffed chicken breasts/chickpea patties with sugar snap peas and corn

Sunday: Homemade hamburger helper (this I make two of, one a regular and one with black beans and no meat) with salad  

Workouts

Now, since I am done with X3 I am in maintenance mode for a while. I originally planned to run the Seattle Rock & Roll Half on June 21st as mentioned back in January, but we've had something come up that is interfering with that, so, I am coming up with my own schedule. I know over the last year or so I haven't done much to lengthen my muscles so that is what I am focusing on. So there will be a lot of stretching and a lot of running.

Monday: Massage therapy day, X-Stretch from the original P90X set

Tuesday: 1 Mile Run, 1 Mile walk, Insanity Cardio Abs +foam rolling

Wednesday: Core Cardio and Balance

Thursday: 2 mile run + X3 yoga +Foam Rolling 

Friday: Insanity Cardio Recovery

Saturday: 100 Burpee Burnout +Hiit Jump Rope Workout

Sunday: P90X Stretch

I included a lot of stretching this week since I had my massage therapy appointment the girl told me it will be most beneficial if my workouts this week included lots of stretching, so that is what I am doing! 

What are you doing for workouts this week?

What I Ate Wednesday +week in review of workouts!

I have a confession. I love food. All kinds of food, but good quality food especially. Loading up on good healthy food excites me, especially with the workouts I do it is essential. 

Last week I mostly fueled myself with garbage mostly. But, this week I have redeemed myself. 

Homemade fruit, yogurt & granola parfaits made all fancy like in wine glasses.

Broccoli & egg hash.

Wednesday Treat: Vanilla Latte & chocolate covered graham crackers

Roast with mushrooms & onions, broccoli, and sweet potato fries.

I am on a major broccoli kick lately...must be lacking iron or something...

This was my favorite meal of the week! It is 21 day sugar detox friendly. Look at the stems on that broccoli! Yum, yum!

Salad bar I chopped up for the week! This has been amazing in me getting in at least one salad a day!

P90X3 Update....

Now, on to the workouts! Last week was transition week in my P90X3 journey. This is the 2nd transition week, the one before the final block.

Wednesday: Accelerator

Thursday: Pilates X

Friday: CVX

Saturday: X3 Yoga

Sunday: Nap

I was really tired after this transition week. My whole body felt the work. I am definitely seeing a major difference in my abs...60 day pics to come next Wednesday.

Monday: Decelerator

Tuesday: MMX

I really struggled through this one yesterday. I was sweating bullets. Normally MMX is an easy one for me but I must have been giving it my all because I was sweating a lot and I can really feel it in my obliques.

Today: Eccentric lower

I woke up super sore today. My glutes, arms, and back are really feeling this week! Can't believe I am in the final block of this!

What I Ate Wednesday: Treat Edition

Hey, hey, hey!



Who remembers that?! Fat Albert was my favorite as a kid! I also thought it quite appropriate since he eats a lollipop during that song and I am basically bringing you a treat edition of 

This past week was not a great week for me nutrition wise, but I am still posting because guess what...I am human and those weeks happen. I don't punish myself for it because that is counterproductive. I won't be gaining anything from it and I can't change it. Instead, I shall embrace it!

Mmmmm...Calzone....

Nutella pizza...this was amazing. To read more about this dish click here. 

Great end of dinner treat...Americano!

Hot cocoa with lots of marshmallows on a snowy winter's day...we barely moved from the bed that day.

This is an award winning Kiwi Martini. Made with a delicious kiwi puree...Had a be careful though because it was just so good!

I suppose it wasn't all bad...these were our breakfast on Tuesday. Fruit parfaits (& a little X3).

As you can see I am still on track with X3. I just entered the second transition week. I love this week because it is all total body work. Nothing super high cardio, just deep down muscle work, then lots of stretching. I think these weeks are where I see the most improvement in my body.

So, here's what I've looked like this last week:

Wednesday: X3 Yoga (my fave!)

Thursday: MMX

Friday: CVX

Saturday: Incinerator

Post workout Saturday. This was an accomplishment because it was the workout I almost didn't do. I was so busy Saturday morning I didn't workout first thing. Usually if it doesn't get done early, I don't do it. But, it was snowing and there was nothing to distract me so I focused and pressed play!

Sunday: Rest day...and rest we did! It was snowing all day, the teenagers cheer was cancelled so we literally laid in bed, watched TV (Guy's grocery games is my new favorite show), and napped.

Monday: Isometrix

Held crow for 10 seconds, but was able to hold
the position almost the whole time!

Some sort of dancer something. This stretches the hips
nicely!

Tuesday: Dynamix

Breathing hard through left banana. My core is
becoming so strong!

Me pre-workout, I was doing a bit of photography,
so decided to snap a pic of myself...don't let that smile
fool you, my feet were really numb!!! Our balcony
was super icy.

Tell me, what did you do for yourself this week?

What I Ate Wednesday #I stopped counting +my week in workouts

Whew! Wednesday already! I promise I won't post any corny hump day camel jokes this week.

...Oh who am I kidding, these things are too hilarious...

Ok, now that that silly-ness is out of the way let's get to the good stuff. 

I didn't really eat anything super creative this past week. We didn't go to a new restaurant so there isn't any thing to show off there. All in all in terms of food it was a pretty boring week....

On the 21 Day Sugar Detox so had this for breakfast this morning! Delicious! Egg muffins, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.

Paleo pancake from last week with a little maple syrup and some almost gone coffee.

Rice bowl and some "research" for my Happiness Project theme this month: Home. Can't wait to tell y'all about that book!

Shakeology with the teen!

A tuna wrap! There was another but it didn't survive the picture. hehe

Now for the workouts. Y'all know I've been doing P90X3. If you check here or my YouTube Channel you can see all of my diary entries about my experience with it. Even though I am a Beachbody Coach I am giving a thorough and honest opinion, so don't think I am being bias! 

So here goes:

Last Wednesday: Yoga X

Thursday: The Challenge

Friday: CVX

Saturday: Warrior

Sunday: Dynamix (same YouTube video as Warrior)

Monday: Total Rest Day (watch this to see my super adorable hair in a chignon!)

Tuesday: Agility X +my thoughts of Day One of the 21 Day Sugar Detox

Today: Back at Yoga X again. 

I have quite a few great plans coming for my YouTube Channel so make sure you subscribe so you can get updates when I make them! 

What have your workouts been like lately? Did you make any fitness based goals for this upcoming year? What are they?

What I Ate Wednesday +WOD's

Hi! Welcome back to What I Ate Wednesday! Last Wednesday I was incredibly ill. I became super ill on Christmas and it lasted a week! I woke up this morning with a really sore throat and swollen glands but put some coconut oil in my coffee and did a shot of lemon, ginger, cayenne and we will see where that gets me. My glands are no longer swollen but if I'm still not good when I wake up the doctor it will have to be I suppose. Who else doesn't like wasting the time to see the doc? 

Anyway, here is what I've eaten over the last week. Don't miss my New Restaurant Friday recap on Monday's post over here.

These snap pea crisps & hummus are amazing! Love them!

Homemade hamburger helper with whole wheat pasta, zucchini, and avocado. ...and a little corn, I couldn't resist! ;)

This is what hubby is having this week...eggs for breakfast, shakeology for snack, and peanuts and raisins for his other snack. 

Paleo pancake with a little maple syrup...I was out of Peanut Butter & Banana! hahaha and come coffee ;)

Spaghetti squash with ricotta...yum!

Whole wheat spaghetti with zucchini...so delish!

On Monday I am starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox. If anyone is interested in joining me come on over to Facebook and send me a message or post on my page's wall...I am really excited to do it and would love to make a support group!

Now for my workouts this past week! I finished T25 back the week before Christmas...so I took some time off to enjoy with the husband and kiddo and enjoy the weather. I was busy walking with the kiddo and then being sick. I was so sick I couldn't move without extreme dizzyness and vomiting. It was awful! I ran a fever...and I never run a fever. So I know I was sick. But, I am finally feeling better...I think and was able to start P90X3 this week with my amazing husband. Here are some photos from each day & my video reviews so far! 

This is my Bring it face! 

This was during Agility X on Tuesday. Super fun, but super challenging workout. I was never an athlete so I didn't understand how to do some of the drills so I looked like a total tool trying to run in figure eight's and tripping over my own two feet. Here is my video review:

Today was yoga. Probably my favorite so far even if I couldn't go full out because of my ridiculously sore chest muscles that I have no idea how I hurt them on Sunday. This one is great because there are so many different variations you can do! It's amazing. I can't wait until I am strong enough to do some of the more challenging exercises. Here is my review of the yoga:

So, that is what I have been up to since the last What I Ate Wednesday!

Remember if any one is interested in joining me for a 21 day sugar detox I'd be so happy to set up a group, or if you are trying to reach some goals and want an accountability buddy I'd be happy to team up with some and work on those either through a FB group or email, just let me know through the contact form on the right side bar or by messaging me on Facebook! 

WIAW #20ish +the week in workouts!

Welcome to the 20th-ish edition of What I Ate Wednesday!

I say 20th-ish because I didn't label some of them, the last one I labeled was #17 so I think I am around #20! I have also remembered to take more pictures of what I've been eating since I've really upped my greens and other veggies and fruits!

First, let's address the workouts this week. Even though we are close to Christmas I have tried so hard to finish out this T25 strong and so far I have done great. I seriously haven't missed a single day in all 10 weeks! I am so proud!

My workouts this last week were as follows:
Wednesday: Speed 2.0 & Upper Focus
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Core Cardio
Saturday: Dynamic Core
Sunday: Stretch day
Monday: Rip't Circuit
Tuesday: Core Cardio
Today: Rip't Circuit (again)

I will say now that I am in the 10th week of this programme I can definitely see and feel a major difference in my core. There is a lot more definition and I can do all of the exercises as instructed. I am feeling strong and awesome!

Now on to the food!!!!  

Almond Butter and banana slices and some chocolate Shakeology.

On this day I was clearly in dire need of that coffee. Instead of pouring the grounds into the press, I poured them straight into my cup. :-/

As part of our advent calendar we made gingerbread cookies.

Some hard boiled eggs I made for snacks for the week!

Yum! Paleo hot cocoa with some vegan friendly marshmallows as a treat!

Protein balls!!! These are so yummy! I made mine with vanilla protein powder.

This was part of our advent again...Red & Green themed dinner!! Spaghetti squash with homemade meat sauce & cucumbers!

This was after the kiddo's cheer competition, we had dinner at Red Robin. I healthied it up as much as possible with a Caesar salad and a lettuce wrapped turkey burger.

A spinach and butter lettuce vegan riblet salad. It was really tasty!

S'mores Pops! (Go check 'em out!)

Just a nice basic salad in a delcious apple cider vinegar italian dressing!

This was the small spread at the kiddo's sleepover. It was quite tasty, they all enjoyed it!

Finishing with some vanilla shakeology! Yum!

So, that is it for What I Ate Wednesday! What was your favorite meal of the week???