Weekly Recap

Hello, all! I just finished a calming and relaxing yoga session and am sitting here sipping on some Watermelon Wonder Kombucha and blogging. It is 80 degrees in Chicago and I am going to head out for an evening walk after wrapping up this post!

Since I was in St. Charles for the majority of Memorial Day, I’ll take this recap back to last Tuesday. I had a bit of an indulgent weekend with my husband, so I decided to do a 24-hr fast starting 7 pm Monday into 7 pm Tuesday. I got home and did a short yoga and stretch session in my bedroom and then broke my fast with some homemade cauliflower “toast!” I got the recipe from Delish and it was so simple to make! I grated a medium head of fresh cauliflower, microwaved the cauliflower for 8 minutes, and then added 1 egg, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, and some seasonings and baked it for about 18 minutes. While it didn’t exactly taste like toast, it was still crispy and savory. I had mine with mashed avocado and lime!

Wednesday, I started the day with a green smoothie. It had about 1/4 cup of V8 Healthy Greens low-sugar juice, a teaspoon of hemp seed oil, blackberries, blueberries, about 1-2 cups of packed spinach, collagen peptides, supergreens powder, chia seeds, flax seeds, and crushed ginger. I had Caesar salad for lunch and a kiwi for a snack. After work, I hit the gym for an arm-focused workout. I did several circuits and alternated between planks, push-ups, triceps dips, curls, flys, chest raises, lat pull-downs, weighted jumping jacks, chest presses, and used a resistance band for stretching. I cooled down with a 10-minute run and then 10 minutes walking at a brisk pace on the highest incline.

When I got back from the gym, I made a quick dinner of baked salmon (marinated in Dijon mustard and lime juice) with steamed broccoli and roasted purple potatoes. This is not the best photo, but it was a healthy post-workout meal and tasted good!

After dinner, I blogged for a while and then took a long walk and was a little hungry when I got back, so I decided to have a protein muffin with some fresh strawberries as a snack.

I love lemon, but this muffin definitely had that chalky protein taste that totally over-powered the lemon. These are full of protein and a good post-workout snack, but I prefer the taste of the Kodiak brand.

Thursday, I had a fresh green smoothie for breakfast and more salad for lunch. I had a busy day at work but got to spend some time reading outside on my break. After work, I decided to take Oliver for a long walk since the weather was beautiful. I threw tennis balls for Brutus for quite a while, helped my dad clean the yard, and then went for another long walk with Julian. We sat on the lawn of a local park for a while and brought a little speaker so we could listen to music. After, I made a quick dinner of ground chicken tacos with corn tortillas, homemade guacamole (just avocado, red onion, jalapeno, diced tomato, lime, and salt), tomatoes, and lettuce. I ate my tacos with just the guacamole and veggies.

I had to head to the university early on Friday to take care of some things and snacked on a kids-size Perfect Bar. I love the taste of them so much, but they are a little caloric for a snack, so the kids version is convenient. After work, I did a squat-jump/step-board workout at the gym and also used a heavy resistance band to stretch and work out my legs. I finished up with some running and climbing. On my way home, I had a refreshing Bai watermelon antioxidant drink and then once home, I made zucchini and mushroom veggie tacos. All I did was saute onions and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil and then added diced zucchini, chopped mushrooms, and Sazon seasoning. I had them with the leftover guacamole and chopped lettuce and tomatoes. Later, Julian and I decided to go to Cold Stone. It was a warm and beautiful night and we wanted to treat ourselves to some ice cream.

I was up early Saturday to head to the gym and complete my heavy leg workout. It wasn’t too crowded in there. I was happy about that, because I am always competing for the squat rack! I did squats, deadlifts, calf raises, lunges, and leg presses, and I did some exercises for my quads and hamstrings and finished it off with another run and incline walk. After, I decided to surprise Oliver with another long walk because it was gorgeous and sunny out!

He was extremely happy! After that, I did a deep clean of my apartment. I try to do one every other Saturday depending on how messy Julian was that week – ha! I cleaned the bathroom, did a load of laundry, swept and washed the kitchen and living room floors, did all the dishes and scrubbed the sink, cleaned out the refrigerator and wiped the shelves down, cleaned the stove and burners, dusted the furniture, wiped down the counter, and got rid of some clutter. After, I lit the last of my winter Bath & Body Works candles (Sweater Weather) and showered.

We decided to go to Burger Antics for dinner. It’s one of Julian’s favorite places, and their black bean burger is so delicious!

He had a weird burger that had apple pie on it and got so full he couldn’t even touch his fries. After dinner, we had some friends over and just watched music videos and hung out. I tried the Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer – it’s incredibly low in sugar and calories and also has a low alcohol percentage. I have no idea how this happened, but we didn’t end up going to sleep until 5 am! Although it was a fun night, I absolutely hate wasting my weekends, so I was up 5 hours later anyway.

We decided to go to some cemeteries and forest preserves and explore. It was a pretty mild day – warm in the sun, but there was a bit of a chilly breeze. We made it through most of a trail when a massive swarm of mosquitoes would just not stop attacking us. We’ll have to figure out some way to ward them off this summer because we spend a lot of time in the woods.

After our day of exploration, I stopped at Trader Joe’s for a mini grocery haul. I got detox tea, kombucha, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, a shaved kale and broccoli slaw kit (came with blueberries, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, and tangy dressing), eggs, tofu, avocados, and cauliflower gnocchi. I also got the dark chocolate peanut butter and jelly bites. I think I was eating one while I took the picture!

The rest of the night was low-key, and Monday started with a fresh green smoothie and detox tea. I had the broccoli and kale slaw for lunch and I also snacked on a kiwi and drank tons of water. I had an arm-focused workout at the gym and then came home and made some pasta salad. I put tons of veggies in there so the veggie to pasta ratio is pretty high. One of my favorite things to do is sneak vegetables in wherever I can. I put riced cauliflower, butternut squash, and broccoli in chili, I make “noodles” out of zucchini, squash, and beets, and I love loading vegetables into any type of pasta! This one was made with one tablespoon of cold water, one tablespoon of melted coconut oil, and Italian seasoning, and it included cucumber, chopped tomato, diced zucchini, and raw broccoli. It was colorful and delicious.

Now, I am off to enjoy the warm weather on an evening walk, and I’ll probably have a peanut butter chocolate or two when I get back… I hope everyone has a great week!