Fancy Up Your Water + My Plan for the Week

Hi guys! I have missed you SOOOO much!

Derek and I had an awesome vacation away in Nashville and then at my parents for an extended Easter holiday! (I'm hoping to do a great big photo dump for you from our time away ----stay tuned!!)

As much as I love vacationing, it's always good to be home ----- we love going away but we always miss the dogs so much and my body always thanks me for getting back into a normal food and workout routine.

When we got home, our refrigerator was E-M-P-T-Y. I didn't have time to get groceries until Saturday, so we lived on egg white scrambles, cottage cheese and any other scrap of food we could find. As you know, I have a weakness for groceries and hate having an empty fridge, so on Friday night, I worked out our menu for this week and I was up and at 'em first thing on Saturday morning, to rectify our food situation. I think it's safe to say that we are replenished. We can't fit a single thing in the fridge right now; especially after we had a family birthday dinner last night, which resulted in lots and lots of leftovers for Derek.

I've planned out a week of healthy clean meals --- here's what's on the menu this week:

Monday - Leftovers from Sunday's dinner (Derek) - Asparagus & Swiss Egg White Omlet (Me) 

Tuesday - Caprese-style Crustless Quiche (recipe on its way y'all) & Mixed Greens

Wednesday - Mixed Greens with Roasted Sweet Potato, Pepitas & Goat Cheese (me) - Stuffed Chicken & Baked Potatoes (Derek)

Thursday - Out for Derek's Birthday!!! xoxoxoxo

Friday - BBQ Tofu with Roasted Turnip & Sauteed Greens

In addition to my clean eating goals, I'm also going to focus on my water intake this week. As you know, I constantly struggle with this, so I'm going to try "fancying up" my water with some fruits and herbs in an attempt to tickle my tastebuds with a little more of the wet stuff. My yoga instructor recently posted this cleansing combo on her facebook page, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Combine 3L of water with 2 sliced lemons, 1/2 a cucumber and 10 - 12 fresh mint leaves. Infuse overnight and then drink up! Today is the first time I'll be trying this combo, so I'll let you know how it goes.

With respect to this week's workouts, I'm planning to try some new lunchtime classes because my evenings are busy. My workout schedule's going to go a little somethin' like this:

Monday - Zumba

Tuesday - Trying a new lunchtime spin class

Wednesday - Trying a new lunchtime yoga class

Thursday - Zumba

Friday - I'm going to try a new lunchtime bootcamp class

Saturday - Kundalini Yoga

I'm really hoping that I'll like the lunchtime workouts because it's so nice to have the evenings free in the summer. It's also nice to switch things up once in a while to keep my workouts interesting.

What do you have on your schedule this week?

Do you ever infuse your water? If you do, please share your favourite flavour combos.

Have a great Monday my friends!!

Andrea
xoxo

Plans for the Week of March 10th

Hi! How was your weekend? I hope it was fabulous!

I had a lovely weekend. We went out with friends to a karaoke bar on Friday, which was so much fun, and the rest of the weekend was spent doing just the "usual stuff"  (groceries, house cleaning, watching Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy {LOVE!!!} etc). Yesterday, I spent some time in the kitchen doing food prep for the week. Last week I was really successful in sticking to my clean eats goals and I am determined to be just as good this week.

Yesterday I made:

 * Baked Blueberry Banana Oatmeal
 * Hard-boiled Eggs
 * Homemade Tater Soup - for Derek & his dad
 * Quinoa (to add to salads, roasted veggies, etc)

Now here is where I should be inserting a pic or two of my food prep, but someone <cough, me, cough> has misplaced her cord and cannot download any photos right now :-/

I'm planning for the following dinners this week:

 * BBQ Tofu with Roasted Balsamic Broccoli
 * Lentil Veggie Mac 'N Cheese
 * Toasted TLT (tempeh, lettuce & tomato)
 * Spaghetti Squash with Veggies
 * Veggie Omlets with Sweet Potato Homefries

I also bought a ton of fresh veggies that I'm planning to wash and chop tonight because the one thing I'd like to improve on this week is adding more salads to my daily eats - I'll be having salads for lunch or adding them as a side to our dinners. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I crave fresh greens so much more!

In addition to my eats, here's what the workout plans are looking like this week:

*Sunday - Rest
*Monday - Bootcamp (new love that kicks my butt!!)
*Tuesday - Spin
*Wednesday - Rest
*Thursday - Zumba
*Friday - Active Rest or a new lunchtime Bootcamp
*Saturday - Yoga

So here's to another successful week my friends!

What do you have planned for the upcoming week? 

Have a great day!!

Andrea
xoxo

Today's Motivation:

Source

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pumpkin Protein Bites+ a Plan

Good morning!

I did alot of planning this past weekend when it comes to my upcoming eats and workouts. As I always say, PLANNING = SUCCESS and I'm determined to succeed at my clean eats goals and to get 4 workouts in this week.

Last week was a bit of a bust for us because we've been spending extra time with Derek's dad, who's in the hospital (he's ok - he's just needing a little attention from his doctors) and Dora, our sweet rottie girl, who got spayed last Tuesday. She was a little out of sorts and we wanted to keep a close eye on her as she recovered, plus we thought she deserved a little extra TLC.

In terms of my workouts this week, this is my plan:

Sunday - rest  *food prep day*

Monday - core & zumba

Tuesday - spin & weights (chest & triceps)

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - zumba or the Fitnessista's Booty Burning Walking Workout & weights (back & biceps)

Friday - active rest (long walk with dogs most likely)

Saturday - 90 minutes kundalini yoga

Now when I say I had a food prep day on Sunday, I am not kidding!!! I spent 3 hours planning, shopping and prepping some clean foods for the week. All of my efforts should give us some easy grab 'n go options for busy days this week and I definitely was thankful for my prep work last night when I didn't get home from the gym until 8:15 p.m. I certainly was in no mood to be cooking up a big meal and I loved having healthy, nutritious eats at my fingertips.

I made:

1. 'Cheezy' Broccoli Soup (from the Eat Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook)
2. Hard-boiled Eggs (for Derek)
3. Chocolate Peanut Butter Pumpkin Protein Bites
4. Bananarama Protein Pancakes
5. Vegan Mexi-Style Quinoa

My original plan was to make a batch of the Fitnessista's Pumpkin Amazeballs, but I didn't have any natural nut butter at home, so I thought it'd be a tasty twist if I added some Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter instead. Seriously my friends, these turned out to be Ah-Freakin'-Mazing!!! I was so happy that I remembered my measurements, so that I could share this recipe with because you really, REALLY must try it!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pumpkin Protein Bites
Makes 7 1" balls

Inspired by the Fitnessista's Pumpkin Amazeballs

3 tbsp chocolate protein powder
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp oats
2 tbsp Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp pure pumpkin puree
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

In a small food process, pulse the protein powder, coconut & oats until it resembles a fine powder.

Add the remaining ingredients and process until well mixed.

Using your hands, shape into 1" balls.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

P.S. - as long as you use a vegan protein powder, such as Vega, these are VEGAN baby!!

Two of these make a fantastic pre-workout snack. (So you might as well use that 7th bite as your taste tester, since it's clearly the odd man out!!) These are so handy for nights when I go from work straight to the gym. It gives me the energy to push through my workout without wanting to gnaw off my arm when the hunger pangs start.

What's your fave pre-workout snack??

Have a great day!

Andrea
xoxo

Food for Thought:

Source: Pinterest via Gloria Dallas

Menu Prepping for the Week

Hey there!

Derek & I are a really busy family of 2. It can be hard to find time to hang out together and when we are lucky enough to spend some time together, the last thing either of us wants to be doing is spending the entire night prepping a meal, washing dishes, prepping lunches for the next day, etc...and let's be honest, when I say "us" and "we", I mean ME :)

I've been making the effort to get more organized on the weekend, so that our weeknight meal and lunch prep can be quick and easy. Not only does it take the pressure off during the week, but it also helps us to stay on course and eat heathy nutritious meals instead of picking up pizza and fast food.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....

PLANNING = SUCCESS

Menu planning really isn't that hard to do....in fact, I've talked about it on the blog in the past and most weeks I do take time to make some sort of a plan with respect to our eats.

My meal planning process goes something like this:

1. Browse Flyers and Check the Pantry - We get our flyers on Thursday night. Sometime between Thursday evening and Saturday morning, I take a quick peek to see what's on special. I also take a peek in the fridge, freezer and pantry to see what we have on hand.

2.  Make a Menu - I then take half an hour Friday after work to jot down a menu. I aim to have enough on hand for 5 days' worth of meals, plus a few grab n go snacks.

3. Make a Grocery List - SO IMPORTANT!!! Make a list before you head out to the grocery store and stick to it. As you know, I have a really difficult time sticking to a grocery budget. I'm an impulsive buyer and my fridge and cupboards are packed full of food. Someday I may share a pic....but it's really embarassing --- especially when we often have the nerve to complain that there's nothing to eat!!

4. Buy your Groceries - Saturday mornings are typically when I run errands and do our grocery shopping. I take my list and go to the grocery store, farmers' market and about once a month I try to stop at the Bulk Barn.

5. Prep your Food  - Do you ever buy a ton of fruits and veggies only to have them sit in your crisper until they rot and need to be tossed? This used to happen to us all the time. Now, I make an effort to spend about an hour a week prepping my food, so that we can just grab and go. I chop veggies, cook up rice or quinoa, do up some hard-boiled eggs for Derek, marinate tofu for myself and do any other preparation that's needed for the week. I then store everything in bags or Tupperware containers in the fridge for ease of access all week long.

Planning saves time, money and waste.

This week, I went a little crazy on Sunday and did a whole bunch of prep work. It took me closer to 2 hours to do, but then it literally took me 5 minutes to pack both of our lunches this morning and that makes me one happy girl.

Prep your veggies for soups, salads, stews or just to eat raw throughout the week.

Prep a large quantity of rice or quinoa to add to salads, soups, wraps, stirfries, etc.

Marinated salads are great to make ahead and enjoy all week long.

I store everything in Tupperware and in mason jars in the refrigerator. 

On Sunday, I prepared:

- BBQ crockpot chicken for Derek (for Sunday dinner & another meal of leftovers)

- Brittany's Garlicky Kale Salad

- Angela's Speedy Three Bean Salad

- a Quinoa/Bulger Mix

- Chopped a Watermelon

- Hard Boiled Eggs

- Shredded Zucchini for Oatmeals, Scrambles & Muffins

Here's a peek at what my menu plan looks like this week:

Breakfast

- Cereal & Milk

- Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

- Egg/Veggie Scrambles

Lunches

- Salad Plates (could include: garlicky kale, bean salad, lettuce salad, cottage cheese, pickled beets)

- Hard Boiled Eggs (for Derek)

- Greek Yogourt

- Shredded BBQ Chicken or Tuna Sandwiches (for Derek)

- Chickpea Salad Sandwiches (for me)

Snacks

- Brown Mini Rice Cakes

- Chopped Watermelon

- Greek Yogourt

- Zucchini Muffins

Dinner

- BBQ Crockpot Chicken & Veggies (for Derek)

- Sweet Potato Rounds with a Kale/Quinoa/Lentil Mix

- Toasted Tomato Sandwiches with Butternut Squash Fries

- Leftovers (once)

- Homemade Pot Pies (beef for Derek and veggie for me) with Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Homemade Veggie Noodle Soup and Cheesy Italian Bread

See how many healthy, hearty meals you can whip together in just a matter of a few minutes!

What is your favourite mid-week dinner?

Have a great Tuesday and I'll see you tomorrow with my latest & greatest What I Ate Wednesday post,

Andrea

xoxo