May 22, 2020 at 11:28AM Hi friends! Happy Friday. I hope that you’re having a lovely morning. My joyous full-body rash is starting to disappear but is now itching like crazy. I’m really hoping this thing is gone soon! Thank you to those of you who let me know that you had Pityriasis Rosea in the past and it does indeed go away. It’s been an interesting addition to my life to say the least lol. We’ve been hanging out here at the house, went swimming at my dad’s (it was perfection) and I also took the girls to jump at Defy for the first time in months. We had almost the entire place to ourselves (just one other kid P’s age) and they jumped their little hearts out. It was nice to do an activity that felt “normal” amidst everything that’s been going on. I hope you have a relaxing and fun weekend ahead! We’ll be dragging the tent out and doing Liv’s school drive-by parade today. It definitely isn’t how I envisioned wrapping up the school year, but I’m so proud of her for cranking through all of the distance learning assignments and thankful to all of the hardworking teachers who put everything together. It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some faves from the week and around the web. I love hearing about your faves, too, if you’d like to shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below. Read,
Category: Fitnessista
No-bake almond butter chocolate oat bars
May 20, 2020 at 11:08AM Sharing this quick and healthy no-bake snack recipe: almond butter chocolate oat bars! They take less than 10 minutes to put together and make an awesome gluten-free snack. Holler to all of the moms out there cooking 18 meals per day and cleaning up each time. In the morning, I like to drink my collagen coffee and wake up for a bit while I make the girls’ breakfast. I finish cooking everything, make a little something for myself a bit later, clean up the damage, and then it’s, “Hey mom…” cook, clean, repeat the rest of the day. I feel like the kiddos grow so much over the summer and are constantly snacking and hungry! (All the fresh air and swimming will do it to ya.) I’m trying to keep the fridge and pantry as stocked as possible and also have healthy options that they can grab themselves. Different types of fruit, “baby cheese” (the little Babybel cheeses), energy balls, veggies with dip, bagels with cream cheese, yogurts, trail mix, cereal, and jerky have been some of their staples. And bars. SO MANY BARS. I’ll buy three boxes and within a couple of days – gone. I decided to try making bars just to have as backup and to switch up the usual rotation. I had some little helpers in the kitchen and they can attest to the fact that these bars are amazing. They’re not too sweet, slightly chewy, very chocolatey, and give a
At-home 30-minute Power Yoga Workout
May 19, 2020 at 11:22AM Hi friends! How’s the day going so far? I hope you’re having a good morning. We’re just taking it easy today and looking forward to catching a swim this afternoon. Let’s practice yoga together, eh? Over the past 9+ weeks, yoga has been even more crucial to me than ever. (And MAN I miss hot yoga studio classes.) It’s helped to stretch out my tight hip flexors from all of the walking we’ve been doing, and given me a chance to just zone out and focus on the present moment. This has been helpful when my mind has been going 1,000 miles a minute lately. I’ve been sharing video workouts on the blog since 2009, and got my 200-hour yoga certification while I was pregnant with P, but this is the first time I’m posting a yoga video! I delayed getting my yoga certification because I wasn’t sure if I’d want to teach. Yoga has always been a sacred thing that’s just for me, and I worried that if I was analyzing classes to listen for form cues and music flow, that it would take away the magic. It absolutely didn’t. Yoga teacher training did so much for me personally and it changed my practice and my life. (You can check out more about my experience here!) Even so, I’ve always been a little self-conscious about teaching yoga. I just want to do it right, ya know? I put a lot of pressure on myself
10 things I can’t live without (during the past 10 weeks)
May 18, 2020 at 11:57AM Hi friends! Happy Monday. I hope you’re having a nice morning and that you enjoyed a relaxing weekend. Just to break up the monotony over here, we’re still dragging out the tent every weekend. It’s one way to show the girls, “Hey, it’s the weekend!” when all of the days kind of blur together. The novelty hasn’t yet worn off, and they get a kick out of it (and for some reason, they sleep SO well in there!). We had tent nights, watched Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (they loved it), swam at my dad’s house, and got Indian food takeout. I hope you had a good one, too! Today’s post is another random one. I thought I’d share some of the things that have been awesome to have around over the past 9+ weeks. I kept these more on the silly/fun side instead of listing the obviously more important things, like our family, house, pets, health, etc. These are just some extras that have made this time at home a little less terrible. I’d love to hear about the random things you’ve been loving and enjoying while we’ve all been chillin’ here at home. 1) Frida Kahlo socks. My mom got these for me and I’ve worn them approximately 2817 times. Thankfully, there are no holes yet. My power outfit during this whole order has been lululemon shorts, Frida Kahlo socks, and a camo sweatshirt. (A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start wearing
Pilot Friday Faves
May 15, 2020 at 03:48PM Good morning, everybody! It’s the pilot. I’m here to give my beautiful bride a chance to catch her editorial breath while I offer up all the unsolicited pilot favorites you never knew you needed. I hope this provides a little bit of entertainment while we all work to get through these challenging times. I promise that the Fitnessista will be back shortly with actual meaningful content. For now – enjoy! Watch – Never Have I Ever: There might have been times in the past when I would watch a show with my wife just to spend time with her even if I’m not completely pulled into the plot or character development. This is certainly not one of them. The show’s writing is witty and multi-generational. I wonder how many younger people watch this and appreciate it from the perspective of the high schoolers while I often found myself identifying with the struggles of the parents (while still laughing at everyone’s dialogue). Full disclosure: I might have got a little misty-eyed during the end season finale. A particular flashback scene caught me way off guard and reminded me of time spent with my kiddos, and that was that. Anyway, good luck not doing the same. You’re gonna love it. – I really enjoy a good stand-up special, so I’m just going to list out a few of my recent favorites. Tell me who I need to add to this list: John Mulaney, Iliza Shlesinger, Nate Bargatze,
Thursday Thoughts
May 14, 2020 at 11:03AM Hi friends. I hope your week is going well! I feel like I have quite a few random tangents to share, so I popped them all into this post! – It’s bananas to believe we’re hitting 9 weeks tomorrow, which also means 9 weeks of no childcare. I absolutely love spending this time with the girls, but I also enjoy working in blocks of time that are greater than 30 minutes, ya know? To be totally honest, I’m not even sure how comfortable I feel about going back to school in the fall at this point. I’d love to hear fellow parents’ thoughts about this whole thing. What’s your strategy for the rest of the summer since camps are closed (and I don’t even think I’d be ready to send them if they were open)? I’m feeling like as things open up over the next month, I may explore having a nanny come over a few mornings each week (our beloved babysitter moved during all of this) just so I can be more efficient with work and not feel like I’m scrambling. I’m hoping that all of this will feel a little easier once we finish up distance learning in the next couple of weeks. – I’m venturing out into the world today for the first time by myself…. to head to the dentist! I’m strangely excited about it. Dentist was #1 on my list, then eyebrows, then hair. What’s on your list of places
Why I love Les Mills BODYPUMP
May 13, 2020 at 11:13AM Sharing my thoughts on my very favorite Les Mills program, BODYPUMP! Take a class for FREE On Demand using my link and you’ll get 30 days of unlimited workouts from the Les Mills platform. Hi friends! How’s the week going? It’s been kind of a doozy over here. I wrote everything up in a Thursday Thoughts post for tomorrow! The Pilot has been working and traveling quite a bit, I have a full-body rash that thankfully isn’t contagious but may not go away for weeks, and we’re hitting week 9 of this whole situation. If anyone else feels like you’re losing your marbles, please know you’re not alone. Something that has helped me remarkably in the past couple of months: solid workouts. Even with everything going on, I’ve been dedicated to working out virtually every single day. It feels SO good to move my body, zone out, and almost feel like I’m alone for a little while. Something that I’ve brought back into my regular routine that I missed dearly: BODYPUMP! BODYPUMP feels like the quintessential Les Mills workout. It was the first one I tried, the first one that stole my heart, and something I find myself coming back to, again and again. Pic from teaching a class in San Diego when it was a purple theme and I was pregnant with P. (It was the Pilot’s first… and only… BODYPUMP experience haha.) Why I love Les Mills BODYPUMP For today’s post, I thought
our stay-at-home weekend
May 11, 2020 at 11:49AM Hi friends! Happy Monday which feels like pretty much every other day around here. I hope you had an enjoyable weekend and those who were celebrating Mother’s Day enjoyed a relaxing day. I feel like this whole experience has been difficult in general, so I wanted to add a little note here for those who were struggling this holiday; I’m holding you in my heart. Our weekend was pretty relaxed and low-key. The Pilot and I finished season 10 of Shameless (kind of bummed because who knows when it’s going to be back!) and we got takeout from North. I haven’t had North in SO long and it was sooooo good. It’s modern Italian food with a focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients. We shared the chef’s board and arancini, and I ordered the salmon with extra veggies instead of farro for my entree. Margaritas on the porch: Saturday, we caught up on some chores and watched the girls play outside for most of the day. They’re having a pretty good time with the inflatable pool and slip n’ slide. For Saturday night dinner, I grilled steaks for the first time ever. The Pilot needed to make a Trader Joe’s run before it closed – he’s been doing all the grocery shopping once a week since he’s “out in the world” more for his job- and dinner was on me. Last time I cooked a steak, I put it in the Instant Pot. It was essentially
Friday Faves
May 08, 2020 at 11:17AM Hi friends! Happy Friday <3 I hope you’ve had an ok week and are enjoying the morning. This week felt like a weird one, right?! I slept horribly all week (full moon what) and got a strange rash all over my neck, torso, and one spot on my hand. My doc still isn’t sure what caused the rash but it seems to be *knock on wood* on the way out. At least it hasn’t gotten worse in 48 hours? I just didn’t need anything extra to test my character right now lol. Another piece of the week: I’ve been trying to get dressed and put on a little makeup every day. After wearing purely sweats and athletic clothes for about 7 weeks, I was just feeling blah and down. I thought if I at least put on some jean shorts each day, it might put a little pep in my step and bring a tiny smidge of normalcy (<— I cling to anything that feels the slightest bit *normal* right now). It has absolutely helped. We’re talking super casual because there’s no reason to wear a sundress and wedges while trying to teach Liv square roots (yes, they’re doing square roots in second grade) and supervise P while she pretends the house is her personal ninja course. (tank on sale // jean shorts // sandals // earrings) In the standard Friday spirit, here are some faves from the week and around the web! I always
Dairy-free gluten-free tuna casserole
May 06, 2020 at 11:32AM This healthy tuna casserole is gluten-free, dairy-free, and high in protein! It’s a perfect family and kid-friendly dinner for a busy weeknight. This casserole is made from pantry staples and is a great make-ahead dinner option. I feel like we’re in a weird time warp right now. Everything has slowed way down and I feel like the kids are getting a small taste of what life was like when I was a kiddo. They play outside until it gets too hot, we take long walks and bike rides, we crash madre’s pool, watch nostalgic movies, camp in a tent on the weekends, and they FaceTime their friends for an insane amount of time. (Listening to P talk to her BFF is the cutest ever. They play Candyland or Pretty Pretty Princess and show each other pretty much every single toy they own.) Vintage meals are back, too, thanks to our pantry haul and freezer staples we’ve had on hand. I don’t think I’ve had tuna casserole since I was maybe 10 years old (madre used to make an awesome one, I tell ya), and since we had all of the ingredients, I decided to go for it. The girls love pretty much anything that consists of cheese and pasta noodles, and this cheesy chicken and rice casseroles is one of their favorite meals. (<— I never would have expected that one.) It’s so easy to make, too! Simply sauté the mushrooms, onions and garlic, make