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?

Organization: Refrigerator

Living in the city means one thing: a small refrigerator. When we moved into our apartment here in Vancouver I was actually pleasantly surprised at the size of our fridge. I can store a full week's worth of food in there plus milk and almond milk. This wasn't always doable in our place in Santa Monica.

I am big on being prepared for the week when it comes to meals as you all well know from my Menu Plan Monday posts. I like to plan the meals on Sunday afternoon typically then shop that afternoon/evening or sometimes Monday morning if I have something lying around for breakfast already.

Anyway, a few months ago I got an info graphic in my email about the most effective way to organize your fridge....this didn't come close to resembling my fridge. In fact I was constantly having spoiled food, no one ever knew what was okay to eat or not which made everyone dependent on me before they could eat the food. It was also a disaster for getting ready in the morning. So, I decided to change that....

Let me start off by saying I have all my shelves lined with vinyl shelf liner from the dollar tree. This stuff is awesome. It was quick and easy to measure and cut and it keeps the shelves super clean. I have a few extra rolls in my storage in the even some get too icky, but I clean up any spills as they happen so I don't foresee that being too much of a problem. The liners make the fridge look nice as well. If you want to invest in something a little more durable these Fridge Coasters look awesome, maybe someday I will invest...maybe...hehehe

So here is the top half of my fridge. It includes the top part for large leftover containers like you see for my spaghetti sauce and my spaghetti squash. I also put my large glass containers up here when I am marinating meat or make a salad that won't fit in the veggie drawer. Second shelf I have two baskets to keep the small containers corralled. It just looks nice. The left one is my meal prep containers. This is where I put premade rice/pasta, premade sandwiches, or other small items that are for meals this upcoming week. On the right of this shelf is my leftovers bin. This is where I put the small containers of rice for lunches, leftover meat from dinner for lunches, etc. In this bin many times I put a sticky note on the jars and will write whose lunch they are for the next day so if I am not packing the lunch it can still get done by whoever is packing lunches and everyone gets what they like!  In the most middle shelf I keep our big bottle beverages, sort of lol I keep milk here usually toward the back. I keep my almond milk here & my can of coconut milk toward the back so I can always have coconut cream on hand! Then in the glass container is just coconut milk for my coffee. We don't drink soda so this isn't a packed shelf usually. Here is a close look at those shelves:

This is my fruit drawer. It is right under my drink section. I found it is the best area for the fruits so they are at a grab and go area, plus we never have a ton so it is a great place to keep them! 

Here is the bottom half. Under the fruits are the veggies. These are usually bigger since cauliflower is large, heads of lettuce are big, and bunches of carrots, etc. It's a humidity checked drawer so it can also extend the life of some of the veggies. Not that they last that long. Last is the meat. I used to keep this way at the top, that is dumb. I've had to throw out so much food due to cross contamination and packages leaking. Just like when you grocery shop meat should be at the bottom, same goes for your refrigerator! I keep our lunch meats in there and defrosting meat. I don't have a fridge mat in here because of leakage. I usually line it with paper towels, if I have them on hand. Otherwise I just wash it out with soap and water as needed. Here is a closer look:

Refrigerator door...

Top to bottom...

I keep my yeast, butter, and cheeses up here. They seem to keep much longer here than anywhere else. Not sure why, maybe because the lid thing keeps the cold air locked in so when the door is opened and closed they aren't constantly exposed to the elements.

This is where I keep my jelly and sauces and my husband's beloved bag of bacon. These are usually tall things and this is the area of the door with a lot of "head room".

This is full of condiments. I keep a can of full fat coconut milk in here too lol Can you tell I am a coconut cream fiend? I love it mixed with some shakeology or raw cacao & grade b maple syrup ;) 

As you can see all four of these areas are lined with little coasters. These have helped to keep these shelves so clean! They are vinyl so they are super easy to wipe off with a little warm soap and water if the condiments drip or leak. I highly recommend this, plus it makes it look nice. Here I have a cup of bacon fat for cooking (sounds gross I know, but we are switching to a paleo based diet and it's recommended and makes eggs taste oh so good. I am slowly becoming a bacon convert! I also have a little cottage cheese here and I guess my daughter decided her bottle of water was a condiment now hehe

Here is where I keep miscellaneous things like my flax meal and bailey's. Staples.

Here is where most households would store beer. I store water....hmmm.

So that is my fridge! I find cleaning it out every Sunday while I meal plan helps keep the food updated, I can label anything that needs to be used ASAP and work it into the meal plan, and it helps to have clear areas so I can pre-pack lunches for the morning and have a place to put that stuff so our mornings aren't as hectic. It also allows me to clearly see what is for breakfast in the morning without searching through tons of stuff!

I know this seems silly but when you are committed to eating at home almost every night and are committed to eating a healthy diet keeping the fridge clean and organized is key otherwise it can be overwhelming seeing a pile of stuff and questioning it's age, what to do with it, etc. With most things in life-organization is key! 

Menu Plan Monday #34 +a tiny weekend recap

Wow, what a weekend this was! It wasn't necessarily too busy but there certainly was just a lot to get done.

Friday was a nice relaxing evening. Went out for a little shopping with the husband in the rain, then on the walk home picked up some chicken and potatoes at our local market. It was yummy and enjoyable. He also got his workout in! So proud of him for that!

Saturday my daughter had a cheerleading competition. It was held in a city called Chiliwack. It's about 90 minutes to the interior of BC. The weather there was horrendous. It was hard to keep the car in a lane because of the wind and it was so dark and rainy it was hard to see the lines on the road. But, due to my Mr's amazing skillz at driving we managed to make it there and back in one piece. Here are some pictures:

That's my girl right in the middle! 

Beautiful back walkover

A dancing maniac! hehehe This is probably my favorite picture of the weekend!

She can actually get that leg parallel up against her back! O_o

While we were there, since it was an all day event and we had been really good about eating only real, whole foods this week I packed us a nice bag of goodies:

Peanuts, raisins, bacon, water, snap pea crisps, pecans, plus some personal development books and a camera.

Sunday was so lazy. Spend exercising and relaxing with my hubby. I really, really enjoy those days. We cooked up some chicken legs and potatoes...mmm, mmm, mmm.

Org Junkie

This week we have really kicked our nutrition into high gear by starting the 21 Day Sugar Detox. All my meals this week are free of sugar (except for a few exceptions I have to make for hubby's finicky palate, but I won't be eating those, just him). I will also continue drinking my Shakeology during this time but it is my only exception.

Breakfast ideas: Egg muffins with avocado, root veggie hash & eggs, sausage & veggies, leftovers, and apple cinnamon donuts from the book

So tasty & so filling! Egg "muffins"

Lunch ideas: Shakeology, tuna salad (I don't like canned salmon so opting for the tuna), chicken salad, leftovers, and sunday will be chicken breasts with veggies

Snack ideas: Shakeology, jerky, cinnilla nut mix, green apple and peanut butter, banola and coconut cream

Cinnilla Nut Mix from 21 Day Sugar Detox Book

Dinner:

Directions to make this here!

 Monday: Mexican Burgers, creamy herb mashed cauliflower, rice/black beans

Tuesday: Salmon with caper tapenade,  pork chops for the hubby, and salad

Wednesday: (will adapt to crockpot) mustard glazed chicken thighs, golden beets and peas

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: paleo pancakes with nut butter, and omelettes filled with full fat cheese, bacon, spinach, and other veggies

Friday: New Restaurant Friday: Rain City Grill  (bonus they are starting their Dine Out Vancouver special EARLY! WOOHOO!)

Saturday: Shepard's pie and salad; for hubby: burger from ground meat in the pie, and cucumbers and corn

Sunday: Braised beef short ribs, cauli rice, and any leftover veggies to use them up and start the week fresh! 

So, that is it for me this week! Come on over and pin with me on pinterest and share you meals with me over at facebook!

Yarn Sticks

Yarn sticks? What the heck are yarn sticks, I know is what you all are asking yourselves. Sounds weird right. The idea came to me one day after going through my craft stuff and having for some odd reason kept the discarded plastic stem from a bunch of fall leaves and going through my yarn and having a bunch of scraps. I don't know why I said gosh these scraps of yarn would be awesome around those weird plastic sticks!

This is super quick and easy diy and will cost very, very little. I originally wish I could have done it with real sticks as my daughter wanted to make more but it had been very rainy out so we had to use what we had on hand.

So these were the goodies I gathered...Yarn & the Sticks. You can use any type of stick like material you have on hand or go for a walk and gather a few up. You want them of varying sizes and if you can find some with bumps and what not on them even better!

Next, start wrapping them. I did not use any glue or anything, I just put the piece on the stick, then wrapped around it! 

See...put it on the stick...

Start to wrap around it....

Keep going until the whole stick is covered...

At the end I did put a small dot of hot glue & used the end of a pencil to stick the yarn on to it (just so you don't burn your finger). Just repeat this process for as many sticks as you want to create!

Get creative with the colors you use. My husband thought I was crazy for doing a red one, but where they sit all together the red adds for some crazy, funky color!

Once you have created how ever many you want, find a cute way to display them, like this...

See, a super quick easy and fun tutorial!!! If you do something like this please show me by posting a picture to my Facebook wall, or tagging me on instagram or twitter! Would love to see your creations!

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! 

Menu plan Monday #33 + a weekend recap, of course!

Happy Monday! I hope those of you who suffering from nearly insufferable weather are faring ok! I know it is pretty darn cold out there for many of you so stay warm...here's a couple of fun jokes to get you through...

Comic Source

Comic Source

As for us we have had a shockingly mild winter! I can't even believe all the sun we have had. This time last year I was taking a Vitamin D supplement everyday, suffering from a hip issue caused by Vitamin D deficiency, and hadn't seen the snow since October 15th! Much different story this winter. I am a happy, happy gal!

That being said, since the weather was so nice we were able to get out a little this weekend since I was finally feeling better. We did two New Restaurant days (Friday & Saturday). The first was just to the new Five Guys they built. Of course we've been to Five Guys but it had been so long & all 3 of us really wanted a burger so off we went. I didn't take any pictures because we were all so hungry that I forgot! But, it was really good. It is on Robson St in Vancouver past Granville. Definitely recommend visiting if you want a good basic burger when you are here in Vancouver, those can be difficult to find.

Our second was impromptu...we didn't realize we would be going out, but were glad we did as the place we went was decent.

The inside was really nice. It is supposed to be like a classic English pub. They did serve traditional English dishes but we aren't too keen on those so we got some poutine which wasn't too salty so that is a first! Hubby loved it. Hubby had a jerk chicken burger. He said it was pretty bland, not much jerk flavour at all. I had the salmon...it too sadly was bland. But the broccoli & sweet potato fries were great! Lastly the drinks were phenomenal as they should be at a pub so all was right with the world in the end. We would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers, though!

The rest of the weekend looked like this:

Working on my new Beachbody Business

Worked on my #1 goal of flossing every day!

Worked toward my goal of better nutrition by having my Shakeology while helping my daughter clean out & organize her room (thus working on another goal toward a tidier home)

Finally, did a little shopping & bought these super cute workout shirts...I love the pink one it says "anything can happen". Yes, yes it can so long as you work hard enough! 

But, enough about us...on to the menu for the week!

Org Junkie Menu Link Up

Now, in my house since I have recently taken the step to becoming a beach body coach all of us have decided to take the beach body challenge and see where we can get ourselves so our menu is going to be full of whole foods and lot of healthy goodness to fuel our bodies for P90X3!

Monday

Breakfast: Waffles & eggs

Lunch: Shakeology

Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with zucchini & corn & whole wheat pasta!

Tuesday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Chicken breasts with rice & veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes & egg whites

Lunch:  Sandwiches loaded with veggies; the husband will probably want a break & will eat out

Dinner: Crockpot beef tacos with salad & leftover rice (make it dirty rice to go in the tacos)

Thursday

Breakfast: Egg sandwiches with fruit salad and 

Lunch: Sandwiches and salad

Dinner: Lean pizza burgers with salad

Friday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch:  Tuna Salad/chicken breast & cucumbers for the husband

Dinner: Homemade calzones & salad

Saturday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit

Lunch: Snacks for cheer competition

Dinner:  Eat out....will be out of town at Cheer competition

Sunday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins and fruit

Lunch: Big thick shakeology shakes

Dinner: Potatoes with bbq chicken legs and veggies

Snacks: Shakeology, nut thins & hummus or cheese, popcorn, peanuts & raisins

So, that is it for us for the week! I can't believe how late I am getting this thing posted...whew! I hope you all have a great week! Leave me a comment or two letting me know what you have planned to make for the week! Anyone out there trying a new recipe or two?