What I Ate Wednesday and Babes and Babies Event Giveaway!! October 17, 2012

It’s Wednesday again and time to link up with Jenn for What I Ate Wednesday!

This morning was rather rushed due to Keenan sleeping-in (which was nice!) and heading to his swim class. I was so glad that I made a batch of pumpkin almond flour muffins last week to keep in the freezer for quick breakfasts, because they definitely came in handy this morning! Keenan and I each had a muffin (his topped with pumpkin butter) and mine with raw walnut butter that Artisana sent me (stay tuned for a review and giveaway of their products coming soon!). We also had some slices of strawberries on the side. Since I wanted something a little more sweet, I added a little dab of pumpkin butter to my muffin, too! For some reason, Keenan took a long time to eat his breakfast and didn’t seem too interested. He asked to try my walnut butter, so I gave him a taste and then he immediately didn’t want to eat much more of his breakfast…

Still smiling while eating his breakfast!

My breakfast with walnut butter and a little pumpkin butter on top!

Raw Walnut Butter from Artisana.

Well, after swim class, we stopped at the library to check-out some books and when I went to get him out of his car seat, he puked all over himself and his seat three times! Poor little guy, he was scared and crying, not knowing what happened or why he threw-up. He kept saying, “mommy out, mommy bath!” I felt so bad for him. Since we were at the library, which is only a few minutes from our house, I told him we will take a bath as soon we get home. He just sat frozen in his car seat on the ride home, covered in puke, poor thing. As soon as we got home, I stripped him down and put him in the bath. Before I put him in the tub, I took his temperature and it was normal, so I’m not sure what caused his stomach to be upset. He seemed fine and his usual playful self during his swim class. I don’t know if it was the walnut butter, but I ate the same thing as him and I was fine. Anyhow, after his bath, he felt much better and was a little back to his normal self. He wanted to watch some “Elmo’s World,” so I put that on while I attempted to clean his car seat, ugh!

After I got Keenan’s seat out of the car, I took off the cover and straps and hosed everything down. I tossed the cover in the wash (which I didn’t know you could do!). I learn something new everyday! Once everything was cleaned (or at least washing), I made Keenan a light lunch of half a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich with some applesauce. He definitely had his appetite back, because he ate everything in a matter of minutes! I, on the other hand, wasn’t super hungry after cleaning up puke! Once I put Keenan down for his nap, I made myself my “usual breakfast,” except with a peach and some Go Raw Original Super Cookies (stay tuned for a review and giveaway of Go Raw products coming soon!) crumbled on top. It was the only thing that sounded good to me and it hit the spot! I also enjoyed a latte, since I didn’t have a chance to make coffee this morning!

My “usual breakfast” for lunch, but with some Go Raw Super Cookies crumbled on top!

Once Keenan wakes up from his nap and depending on how he feels, we will head to CrossFit. If he has a bug, I don’t want to expose the other kids. So, we’ll see. Yesterday’s WOD was tough, doing 7 front squats (115 lbs for women), 12 toes-to-bar and 50 double unders for as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes. Since my 1 rep max clean is 120 lb, I did 105 lbs for the front squats, which was still tough! I did 3 rounds and 5 reps, not too bad. I was really tired yesterday, so I knew the WOD was going to be challenging. After my class, I stayed to help coach the beginners class. The beginners had a team WOD (3 people) of burpee box jumps, sumo deadlift high pulls and running 200 meters for as many reps as possible in 15 minutes. Since there was an odd number in the class, I did their workout, too (2 WODs within 2 hours!). Boy, was I pooped when I got home last night! With that being said, my body is tired today and my lower back and left arm are still sore. If I don’t make it to CrossFit today, I think it will be good for my body to rest and go back tomorrow.

Since my husband is out of town tonight for work, on the menu for me is a GIANT salad! I’m thinking of making an apple walnut salad with chicken and  feta cheese or “everything but the kitchen sink” salad. I’m excited to have a big bowl of salad all to myself! 🙂

Before I forget, the generous gals at Appel and Frank contacted me a couple of days ago about their upcoming event, Babes and Babies in San Francisco. They invited me to attend, but unfortunately, I’m not able to make it, due to our CrossFit team competition being held on the same day. It is an event for Moms and moms-to-be to enjoy a day of shopping and education in San Francisco on November 3rd from 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Patron Hall. There will be 65 designers and companies with lots of baby/toddler clothing, accessories, gear, toys and resources at discounted prices. Guest speakers will be talking about sleep training, diapering, cord blood registry and much more. Also, as an added bonus, gift bags will be given to the first 200 families that attend! In addition, there will be play areas, activities for kids and raffle prizes! It seems like a lot of fun and I sure wish I could be there!

If you would like to join in on the fun, Appel and Frank generously offered one lucky reader 2 free tickets!!

To enter the giveaway, please follow the steps below:

1. Leave a comment on this post stating why you would like to attend the event.

Earn an extra entry by:

1. Like Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy’s Facebook page

2. Follow Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy on Twitter: @FitNWellMommy

3. Like Appel and Frank’s Facebook page

Post on YOUR Facebook page or Tweet, “I want to win tickets to the Babes and Babies event from Appel and Frank and Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy at http://www.fitnwellmommy.com.”

*Make sure to leave a second comment on this post with your Facebook post, Tweet or Like, in order for your extra entry to be counted!

The giveaway ends Sunday, October 21st at noon PST! Good luck!

I have to include this picture of Keenan, as a fun note to end with (especially after today’s puking episode!).  He took this picture all by himself with my camera yesterday afternoon. My husband and I were laughing so hard when we saw this! Have a great afternoon!

Our little photographer!

 

 

Crafty Tuesday and Quest Bars October 16, 2012

Since Keenan and I didn’t have to be anywhere today, it was a perfect day to do some painting! Giselle inspired me to do something with our little pumpkins (we are saving our larger pumpkins for carving!) that we picked-up at the pumpkin patch this weekend.

After a lazy morning of reading and cuddling in bed (Keenan woke up at 8:00 a.m.!), we had some No Oat Oatmeal with pumpkin (which tasted so much like warm pumpkin pie!) and then started our painting project!

Before painting, I used tape to make a K for Keenan’s initial and then had him add the rest of the tape. After we were all done taping, I peeled the rest of the tape away around the K and we headed outside to paint! Keenan had fun mixing all of the colors together and painting away! I had him wear his bib, so there was much less mess/paint to clean-up this time. Once the paint dries, we will peel off all of the tape and the pumpkins should have some pretty good designs (I’ll be sure to post some pictures!). Since there was leftover paint, Keenan also painted a picture. Slinky sat right next to us the whole time, but she managed to get away before Keenan could paint her (like he did last time)!

All taped!

Our almost finished project (once the pumpkins dry, we’ll peel off the tape).

After we finished painting, we played in the sandbox for a while making “sand drinks” and “sand cakes.” Keenan was pretending our drinks and cakes were all kinds of flavors, such as chocolate, peanut butter, vanilla, strawberry, etc. To decorate our cakes, we picked-up leaves from the ground and added them to the top. It was a lot of fun! Since I haven’t pruned or weeded in a while, Keenan was my “Gardening Helper.”  He helped me “prune,” by holding the branches/areas that needed a trim, picking them up and putting them in piles. As a team, we got everything trimmed and picked-up before lunch!

Fun in the sandbox!

Speaking of help, Keenan is all about helping these days. He loves to get his little step stool and help us cook, bake, wash dishes and make the coffee. In the last two weeks, he has taken more of an interest in helping us with daily tasks. It is so cute, because he always says, “Keenan help Mommy do dishes”, or “Keenan help Daddy make coffee.” I hope it continues!

After we finished painting and cleaning-up our back yard, we had lunch. Instead of going on and on about our lunch (since I want to keep things fresh and “mix things up a bit“), here is a picture of Keenan’s (leftover quesadilla from yesterday) and I forgot to take a picture of mine (a loaded turkey sandwich with spinach, lettuce, tomato, avocado and carrots), sorry!

Keenan’s lunch!

Of course, lunch wouldn’t be complete without a cheesy smile!

Now, onto Quest Bars:

The box of samples!

Quest Bars are protein bars that are different than most nutrition bars out there. They are made with wholesome ingredients and very few of them, at that! The ingredients are whey protein, milk protein isolate, almond butter or peanut butter (depending on the bar), dry roasted almonds or peanuts (depending on the bar), cocoa, sea salt, stevia and any other natural flavors. In addition, they are packed with protein (20 grams per bar) and fiber (17-18 grams per bar)! Also, they are pretty low in calories considering how much nutrition you are getting. Each bar is roughly 160-200 calories. It is definitely a lot of bang for your calorie buck!

Good nutrition!

The kind folks at Quest Nutrition generously sent me a sample pack of their bars to try. Of course, I had to try the chocolate peanut butter bar first and WOW, it was good! I ate it after my workout last Friday and shared some with Keenan. I have to say, I’m pretty critical when it comes to nutrition bars. They have to be loaded with nutrition, low on calories, and full of flavor for me to really like them and even buy them. If I am going to eat something processed, it better be worth it! I have to say Quest has done a really good job, because the flavor was great, definitely very chocolatey with hints of peanut butter. The one downside was the bar was pretty hard, thus making it a little difficult to chew. Quest does recommend microwaving the bar for a few seconds, in order for it to soften like a cookie. I haven’t tried that, but I plan to with the next bar that I eat. I also tried the coconut cashew (sharing it with my husband) and it was good, too! If you don’t like chocolate peanut butter or coconut cashew, there are many other flavors to choose from, such as: vanilla almond crunch, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate brownie, mixed berry, cheesecake, apple pie and cinnamon roll. All, in all, I definitely recommend Quest Bars, because they not only taste good, but they are one of the only bars that I have seen that are packed with good nutrition and wholesome ingredients. They are a perfect meal replacement, if you are on the go and don’t have time to prepare breakfast or lunch, or they are great for a post-workout snack. You can buy them directly from their website, Amazon or even in some local stores.

The lineup of flavors!

Since Keenan just woke up, it is time for a little fun with play doh, before heading to CrossFit. I’m helping to teach the beginners class tonight, so I’m going later. As for dinner, we are having chicken fajitas, since we have been craving Mexican food!

Questions: Do your children like to help you with daily tasks? If so, what kinds of things do they like to help with?

TGIF! October 12, 2012

Excited to be wearing his Halloween Spider shirt today, thanks to Nonna!

Happy Friday! Since this week has been extremely busy, I’m SO happy it is Friday! Since my husband will be out of town for work this weekend (bummer!), Keenan and I are headed to parent’s house, after he wakes up from his nap this afternoon. We are planing to go to a local pumpkin patch tomorrow, so that should be fun! Keenan is SUPER excited to go to Nonna and Avo’s house that he hasn’t stopped talking about all day! He is so anxious, that he had a hard time going down for his nap. It is too cute!

Speaking of napping, Keenan woke up twice last night (or early this morning) at 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. screaming. I’m not sure if it was a bad dream, night terror or his teeth. He hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night for several months (when he went through a period of having night terrors, but I thought we passed that). Fortunately, he went back to sleep after he woke up at 4:00 (after my husband went in and comforted him), but he did not want to go back to sleep in his crib at 6:00. He kept saying, “sleep in mommy and daddy’s bed,” so I brought him to our bed and we all slept until 7:30 a.m. (thank goodness!).

Once we were all up, we headed downstairs for a quick breakfast, since I went to the morning CrossFit class. We enjoyed my “go-to” meal prior to any morning workout or competition: whole wheat toast with peanut butter, slices of banana and honey! Keenan certainly enjoyed it!

You can’t go wrong with peanut butter, honey and banana!

Enjoying his breakfast while sporting his Elmo slippers!

Speaking of CrossFit, today’s WOD was a long partner one that included 60 back squats (95 lb for women), 50 cleans (135 lb for women), 40 deadlifts (205 lb for women), 30 pullups, 20 handstand pushups and 10 burpees. Between each lift, we had to run around the building. Since my 1 rep max for cleans is 120, I did 105 lbs and did the squats and deadlifts as prescribed. Since I didn’t sleep well last night and my shoulder was still bothering me, I was dragging through today’s workout. I partnered-up with our coach (since we had an odd number of people in our class) who definitely pushed me! It was a good workout for the end of the week, but I’m looking forward to having the next two days off!

I keep forgetting to mention that I am signed-up for two local CrossFit competitions, a team one in November and an individual one in December. I’m excited to do the team one, it should be really fun! There are four of us: 2 girls and 2 guys. I’m a little nervous about the individual competition, but I’m planing to ramp-up my workouts and start doing a couple of double-days each week to prepare. I’ve only participated in one competition (last year), but I really want to do more, to push myself to get better and stronger. So, we’ll see…

Once we were done with CrossFit today, we ran one errand and then headed home for lunch. I was craving some nice lean protein, so I made Keenan and I Egg White Florentine in a Mug (though, I made Keenan’s with a whole egg) with some avocado and slices of a peach. I also topped mine with a dollop of Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip and salsa. It was delish!

Keenan’s lunch.

My lunch.

Oh, before I forget, I have some more exciting reviews and giveaways coming-up next week! Stay tuned!!

Well, it is time to take a shower, pack and load up the car before Keenan wakes-up!

Questions: What are your plans for the weekend? How are you enjoying our wonderful Fall weather? Have you done any fitness competitions, marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, etc? If so, how did you prepare for them?

Round and Round and Two New Recipes! October 9, 2012

My husband and I were talking over dinner last night about routines and how they are important, but also how it is good to venture away from them from time to time.  I am a person of routine, thus Keenan is definitely a child of routine. As we were talking last night, I realized how so much of my day–including what I eat and when I workout–is a part of my routine. i.e. my “usual” breakfast and going to CrossFit every afternoon. Having a routine in my life is just who I am, though it may seem mundane to others, I thrive by it! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to travel, experience new things and see what the world has to offer (all while throwing the routine out the window!), but I enjoy coming home and getting back into my daily routine (I’m sure my husband’s eyes will roll as he reads this!). Having a routine makes me appreciate new things and experiences. It also helps me maintain a healthy lifestyle for myself and for my family. Without my routine of eating healthy and going to the gym every afternoon, I don’t know where I would be. A routine is vital for establishing healthy habits, such as going to the gym at a set time everyday, packing your gym bag and setting it by the door every night before you go to bed, packing healthy lunches for you and your family the night before, or planning your family’s meals for the week every Sunday. All, in all, routines help you adhere to a healthy lifestyle that last a lifetime. But (a BIG BUT), it is important to try new things and break out of your routine every once in a while. You need change in order to grow.

With that being said, I am going to try my best to break out of my “routine” here and there, not always eat and/or post about my “usual” breakfast or that we always go to CrossFit after Keenan wakes up from his nap. I am going to do my best to mix it up a bit and keep things fresh for you and me!

Speaking of mixing things up, I made Keenan and I “No-Oat Oatmeal” for breakfast this morning. It was perfect for our Fall-like morning! By the way, I’m SO excited that Fall is finally here (or at least it is appearing to be!). I love anything pumpkin, so I can’t wait to make more pumpkin muffins, bread, pancakes, soups and lattes with pumpkin pie syrup! Look for some new Fall inspired recipes with pumpkin to come soon!

Back to our breakfast…I love “No Oat Oatmeal,” because it is loaded with protein (egg whites), so it keeps you full for a long time! You can pretty much add anything to it, as far as what kind of flavor you want and it still tastes great. Since I had a little bit of leftover pumpkin, I threw that in, along with a little pumpkin pie spice and topped it with sliced strawberries and a dollop of almond butter. It was yummy!

Perfect for a Fall morning!

No Oat Oatmeal (serves 1)

Ingredients:

– 3/4 cup egg whites

– 1 Tbsp flaxseed (ground)

– 1 Tbsp chia seeds

– 2 tsp vanilla

– 1 tsp cinnamon

– 1/4 cup milk (any kind, i.e. non-dairy is fine)

– 1 tsp honey

– 1 banana (mashed)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and transfer to a small sauce pot.

2. Cook on the stove on medium heat, constantly stirring, to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn.

3. Cook until it reaches a thick consistency like oatmeal.

4. Top with fresh berries, chopped walnuts, almonds, a scoop of almond butter or peanut butter and enjoy!

Cooking it on the stove.

*Notes: This usually cooks in 5 minutes, but if you want to save time, you could make this the night before, let cool and refrigerate. In the morning, just warm it up in the microwave for a couple of minutes and you are ready to go!

After breakfast, Keenan and I met Giselle and her little guy from A healthy Happy Home at our local park. It was so nice to meet her in person and talk “blog shop,” but also just to get to know each other. Her little guy is adorable and she is so nice. We have a lot of similarities, so it will be great to get together with them again!

Playing with the water fountain at the park (as always)!

For lunch, we ventured out of our routine and made egg sandwiches! I made Keenan an egg sandwich with cheese and tomato spread with Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip and avocado pieces on the side. I made my egg sandwich with spinach, tomato and avocado, spread with the jalapeno dip, too. In addition, we shared a peach. It was a delicious lunch and something we will be doing again (see, it’s great to break our of our routine sometimes!).

Keenan’s lunch! Sorry for the poor picture quality, I’m not sure what happened.

My lunch! Again, sorry for the poor picture quality!

For today’s workout, we are doing one of the benchmark WODs, Fran: 21-15-9 of thrusters (65 lb) and pullups. The last time I did it was at my CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Cert and I was able to shave off 2 minutes and PR (my personal best) at 8 minutes and 12 seconds. I’m hoping to shave off another 2 minutes and finish in 6 minutes today. We’ll see! I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited to do it again. I just hope my left shoulder holds up, because it is still pretty sore, especially from yesterday’s workout.

Yesterday, we did another benchmark WOD, Elizabeth: 21-15-9 of squat cleans (95 lb) and ring dips. Since I don’t have full ring dips yet and my shoulder was sore, I used the band for them (the lightest band). I was able to finish in 9 minutes and 17 seconds! I was pretty pumped! We are going to do these benchmark WODs again in 6 weeks, so it will be great to compare and see how and if we improved!

On the menu for dinner tonight is Chinese long beans sautéed with onions, Italian sausages, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and sprinkled with feta cheese. I thought I posted a recipe for this a while ago, but apparently I didn’t, so look for this to come tomorrow!

Before I forget, here is the recipe for my roasted brussel sprouts that we had for dinner last night:

Soooo good!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese: (serves 3-4)

-2 lbs brussel sprouts (washed and trimmed)

– 1 large yellow or red onion (large dice)

– 1/4 cup roasted pine nuts

– 2-3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated)

– 2-3 Tbsp olive oil

– 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

– 1 Tbsp Garlic no-salt seasoning

– 1 clove garlic (minced)

– pinch of salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to make sure the brussel sprouts and onion are well coated with olive oil and spices.

3. Place brussel sprouts and onion on a large cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

4. Sprinkle roasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese on top of brussel sprouts when serving. Enjoy!

Ready to go in the oven!

Question: What do you do to maintain healthy routines? Does it work? Do you function better with routines or without them?

REMINDER: There is still time to enter the Drink Chia Giveaway!! To enter, click here!

Weekend Recap and Drink Chia Review and Giveaway!! October 8, 2012

Happy Monday! We had a good weekend, though not enough relaxation. I’m looking forward to a weekend when we don’t have any plans (if that is possible!). Anyhow, before I talk about today and Drink Chia, here is a little bit about our weekend.

On Friday, we had our “at home date night,” and enjoyed some roasted spaghetti squash seeds with some wine as we were waiting for the spaghetti squash tomato bake to be done. My husband offered to roast the seeds and he did a really good job; they were yummy! We are definitely going to do this again when we make any winter squash, because the seeds make a great snack or addition to homemade trail mix! After enjoying our scrumptious spaghetti squash tomato bake, we watched a couple of our favorite TV shows, i.e. “Up All Night” and “Parenthood.” For dessert, I didn’t end up making the microwave cookie like I had planned. Instead, we enjoyed a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some of my husband’s cousin’s famous fudge sauce…SO good!

Yummy roasted squash seeds!

Delicious spaghetti squash tomato bake with chicken right out of the oven!

On Saturday, we went to our local farmer’s market and loaded up on produce for the week,  followed by running a few errands. Before I forget, my husband made a very yummy breakfast: eggs benedict (well, a pseudo eggs benedict: poached egg on top of toast with tomato, avocado and Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip)!  In the afternoon, we headed to our friend’s son’s birthday party (Keenan had a blast playing with all of the kids and eating a chocolate cupcake!) and then to my parent’s house. My husband and I helped out at an event for my hometown’s school, since my parent’s couldn’t be there. While we were at the event, my cousin babysat Keenan, so it was a nice “night out” for my husband and me!

Eggs benedict thanks to my lovely, husband!

Yesterday, we made a nice breakfast of eggs, oatmeal pancakes and fruit for my dad (since my mom was out of town) and headed to church. After lunch, we headed home for Keenan’s nap. Once he got up, we enjoyed a chocolate peanut butter milkshake (minus the milk) with flaxseed added for a snack and got our groceries for the week. Keenan was SO excited to drink his milkshake, in fact, he pretty much sipped every last morsel in his cup!

Milkshake time!

Now, on to today and Drink Chia! Keenan and I enjoyed our “usual” breakfast this morning of Fage Greek yogurt, flaxseed, chia seeds, strawberries and Kashi cereal (I know, boring!), since we had to get out the door quickly to go to his music class. Tomorrow, I’m thinking chocolate protein oats or no-oat oatmeal for breakfast…we’ll see! Anyhow, after class, we played in the park with some of the kids and Mommies from his music class before heading home for lunch. I made Keenan a turkey and cheese sandwich with avocado and a glass of milk. I enjoyed a peach and walnut salad with dried cherries and chopped chicken tossed with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It hit the spot!

Using his fork as a “microphone” as he was eating his lunch!

My lunch!

This afternoon, we are headed to CrossFit and then home for dinner: grilled country style boneless pork ribs with roasted brussel sprouts topped with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese!

Drink Chia:

Before I go into my review, here is a little background on Drink Chia: it is based in Florida and was founded by Chandra Davis, a mother of two young children, who was training for a marathon and wanted to enhance her nutrition. She researched different things and went to her local health food store and bought some chia seeds. After many hours in the kitchen experimenting with chia seeds, mixing them into different fruit juices and adding various sweeteners to get the perfect beverage, thus Drink Chia was born. She drank her concoction everyday and noticed a difference in her energy and she experienced less aches and pains in her knees and ankles from her training. Chandra co-founded Drink Chia with her fitness trainer, Mark Theisen.

Drink Chia’s lineup.

The kind folks at Drink Chia generously sent me some of their drinks to sample last week. They have four flavors: Mango Tangerine, B Meyer Lemon, Honeysuckle Pear and Strawberry Citrus. The first one that I tried was Strawberry Citrus, which was excellent (all flavors were great)! The flavor was great and I hardly noticed the seeds (but, before drinking, it needs to be chilled and you must SHAKE it, otherwise the seeds could clump up). Prior to trying Drink Chia, I have to say, I was not a fan of chia beverages, due to the seeds clumping up (with or without shaking) and the feeling in my mouth (more of a texture thing than flavor), but Drink Chia proved me wrong! They were definitely able to make a great tasting drink with chia seeds and without the funny texture like other chia drinks. Another nice thing (or added bonus) about their drinks, is that they are only 40 calories and are loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, lots of B-complex vitamins, zinc, selenium and only 4 grams of sugar. It is a great drink for a quick afternoon “pick-me-up,” prior to your workout or part of your post-workout snack. Instead of sprinkling chia seeds in your food, you can just drink them and still gain the same nutritional benefits (or more!). I love chia seeds because they are so beneficial for your health, thus I try to put them in everything I can (yogurt, baking and sprinkled in salads), but I will definitely be drinking more of Drink Chia! They can be purchased online, through Amazon.com or you may find them at your local grocery store.

Such good stuff!

Since Drink Chia was so generous, they offered to send one lucky reader a half case and a t-shirt!!

To enter the giveaway, please follow the steps below:

1. Leave a comment on this post stating when you would drink your Drink Chia, i.e. part of your post-workout snack, part of your breakfast, after lunch, etc!

Earn an extra entry by:

1. Like Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy’s Facebook page

2. Like Drink Chia’s Facebook page

3. Post on YOUR Facebook page or Tweet, “I want to win some Drink Chia from Drink Chia and Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy at http://www.fitnwellmommy.com.”

*Make sure to leave a second comment on this post with your Facebook post, Tweet or Like, in order for your extra entry to be counted!

The giveaway ends this Thursday, October 11th at 8:00 p.m. PST. Good luck!

TGIF and At Home Date Night! October 6, 2012

Happy Friday! It has been another long week, so I’m ready for the weekend! Though, it is going to be another busy weekend, it will be nice to have some family time. Tonight, we are having our “at home date night” after Keenan goes to bed and finally catching-up on all of our TV shows that we missed this week. On the menu for tonight is spaghetti squash tomato bake with chicken (since I didn’t have any ground turkey) paired with a nice bottle of Chianti. I’m also thinking of making a microwave cookie for dessert that I saw on Kristen’s blog! It looked pretty tasty!

Oh, before I go into more about our day, I thought I would give a recap of last night’s dinner experiment/creation. It was a hit! It is definitely something I’ll be making again! The chicken was super moist and the black beans combined with the onion, bell peppers and salsa made a “pseudo chili!” Although, it turned out more like soup, it was still delicious and Keenan REALLY loved it! He sucked down his plate in minutes! I just love crock pot meals, because you can truly toss everything in, let it cook and forget about it (even frozen chicken!)! I’ll definitely be doing more crock pot meals, especially as the weather gets colder. Here is my recipe:

Mexican Chicken in the Crock Pot…so good!

Mexican Chicken in the Crock Pot: (serves 3)

Ingredients:

-3 frozen chicken thighs

– 1 can of black beans

– 1 red bell pepper (diced)

– 1 green bell pepper (diced)

– 1 onion (diced)

– 1 cup of salsa

– 1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

– 1 tsp cumin

– 1 tsp pepper

– 1 tsp garlic no-salt seasonin

– 1 tsp oregano

– pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place frozen chicken on the bottom of the crock pot. Meanwhile, mix black beans, bell peppers, onion, salsa and spices in a small bowl.

2. Place bean mixture on top of chicken. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

3. Once the cooking is complete, put your crock pot on warm and place the yogurt or sour cream on top. Let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Notes: If your salsa is too watery (like the salsa that I used), drain before mixing it with your bean mixture, to prevent your meal from turning into a soup. Top your dish with slices of avocado and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and your meal is complete!

After Keenan went to bed last night, my husband and I enjoyed a glass of  Samuel Adam’s Imperial White while we watched “Up All Night,” before heading to bed. It was the first time I had the Imperial White and it was good. I definitely recommend it!

I was surprised at how good this was!

Speaking of going to bed, my husband and I got to bed early last night, by 10:30! It felt good to go to bed early. I’m hoping to do the same tonight…sticking to my goal one day at a time!

This morning when I got Keenan up, he immediately asked me to go in his crib to read books and go “sleepy sleep.” He thinks it is SO fun to have my husband and I in his crib…it is too cute! So, we read a few stories in his crib before getting changed and heading downstairs for breakfast. Since I went to the morning CrossFit class, we ate a simple breakfast of whole wheat toast topped with peanut butter and banana slices. Of course, I also enjoyed a latte! As you can see, Keenan was thrilled to have peanut butter for breakfast this morning!

Enjoying his peanut butter!

My yummy breakfast this morning!

Speaking of CrossFit, we did a great partner WOD of: 100 sumo deadlifts, 50 sumo high pulls with a 50 lb kettlebell, 100 ring dips and 50 push presses (95 lb). The time cap was 25 minutes and my partner and I were able to finish in 20 minutes (using a band for our ring dips). It wasn’t too bad, but my left shoulder has been bothering me since Wednesday, so after today’s workout, it is definitely sore! Lots of ice and stretching for me!

After CrossFit, I took Keenan to get a haircut, since his hair was getting long and shaggy. The moment I told him we were going to get his haircut, he started crying and saying, “no haircut Keenan!” He was completely scared to even walk into the haircut place (even though he got his hair cut there before). So, after talking with him and offering a small treat of chocolate milk and a sticker book if he was a big boy and didn’t cry while getting his haircut, he was fine. He even smiled while getting his haircut and gave the lady a high-five! I know, I shouldn’t offer bribes, but sometimes it is the only thing that works!

Look who got a haircut!

After Keenan’s haircut, we stopped at the store and Keenan was SUPER excited to pick out his chocolate milk! Unfortunately, they didn’t have sticker books, so I’ll have to get that another time. When we got home, I made lunch: a turkey and cheese sandwich with avocado for Keenan and microwaved egg whites topped with tomato, avocado and salsa, with a side of baby carrots for me. After Keenan finished his lunch, he enjoyed his glass of chocolate milk! He was SO excited to drink it!

Since I went to CrossFit this morning, Keenan and I headed to the park to play a bit after he woke up from his nap. I definitely prefer going to the park in the morning because it was completely crowded with older kids this afternoon!

Well, I’m off for a little bit of “piano time” with Keenan before his dinner and then it’s date night! I can’t wait for our spaghetti squash tomato bake and some wine! Doesn’t it look good and it is not even baked yet?

This should be good!

Question: What is on your menu tonight? Any fun plans for the weekend? We are heading to our local farmer’s market tomorrow morning and then to a birthday party in the afternoon, followed by a charity event in my hometown. I’m hoping to have some time to relax on Sunday and maybe do some pruning/weeding in our backyard.

A Day of Painting and The Importance of Sleep October 4, 2012

Painting!

I love it when I have a day with nothing planned (except for working out) and no place to go! Today is that day for us! Aside from taking my mom to the airport this morning, Keenan and I stayed in our PJs (a onsie, for him) and played at home. Since he has enjoyed playing with the box, I thought it would be fun to paint it. My original plan was to paint it as a car, but then Keenan said he wanted it to be a “Choo choo train.” We started out painting it as a train, but then it ended up being a smattering of different things and colors, so it is just one big colorful box! In the midst of painting the box, Keenan managed to paint himself, too! 🙂 In order to get all of the paint off, I gave him a quick bath, which he kept saying, “not bed time, no bath!” He sure is a child of routine, since he knows he doesn’t take a bath, unless it is bed time! All, in all, we had a great time painting outside this morning and Keenan can’t wait to play with his “painted box!”

His painted box!

Paint ALL over!

Before I forget, we tried something new for breakfast this morning. I saw a recipe for chocolate protein oatmeal the other day and decided to give it a try. I like oatmeal, but I rarely eat it, because it hardly contains any protein and it is loaded with WAY too many carbohydrates.  If I eat a bowl of regular oatmeal, I am usually hungry within 2 hours. When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued! It contains over 23 grams of protein!
Since I made it for the first time, I followed the recipe exactly, except I only had vanilla protein powder.

Chocolate protein oatmeal!

Chocolate Protein Oatmeal: (Serves 1)

Ingredients:

– 1/2 cup whole oats

– 3/4 cup water

– 1 tbsp flaxseed (ground)

-1 tbsp almond or peanut butter

– 1 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)

– 1 banana mashed

– 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder

Directions:

1. Mix oats, flaxseed, almond or peanut butter, cocoa powder and water together in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes and stir.

3. Mix in mashed banana and protein powder. Enjoy!

Notes: It was good, but I think the chocolate protein powder would have made it more flavorful. Also, I think the peanut butter would have tasted better with the chocolate, so I will be sure to use it next time! All, in all, it was very satisfying and kept me full until lunch time. Keenan enjoyed it, too!

Enjoying his chocolate oats!

After breakfast, taking my mom to the airport and painting, Keenan and I had some “piano time” and then it was time for lunch. Since Keenan seemed more tired then usual, I made him a quick lunch of his favorite: peanut butter and honey sandwich with some carrots, applesauce and a glass of milk (in his fishy cup!). I felt like yogurt, so I made my “usual breakfast” for lunch, except with a peach this time! Also, look who got new slippers today…”Elmo” ones, thanks to Nonna!

Sporting his new “Elmo” slippers and enjoying his lunch!

After Keenan’s nap, we will head to CrossFit and then home for dinner. I am trying another crock pot creation/experiment for tonight’s dinner. I put 3 frozen chicken thighs at the bottom of my crock pot and topped it with a can of black beans mixed with onion, green and red bell peppers, salsa and lots of cumin, oregano, garlic no-salt seasoning from Costco and garlic salt. I’m letting it cook the rest of the afternoon. The last 30 minutes, I’m going to add some plain Greek yogurt and let it sit for 20 minutes before eating. I’m pairing it with a salad and dinner will be complete! I saw a similar recipe through a random search online that gave me the idea, so we’ll see how it turns out. I’ll keep you posted and be sure to take some pictures to share tomorrow!

Speaking of Keenan’s nap, I am still trying to work on getting more sleep these days. I know I said a while back that getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night was one of my goals, well… it still is! I have to admit, I haven’t been good at going to bed on time lately. It seems that there is always something to do and the only time I really have is after Keenan goes to bed, thus making my nights long. I always have the best intentions on going to bed early, but before I know it, it is already past 11 p.m.! Anyhow, I have been reading more about sleep and how it affects so many aspects of your life (not that I didn’t know this before). A lack of sleep can increase your risk for developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Insufficient sleep affects hormone levels that regulate appetite (eating more to stay awake), metabolism and stress, not to mention making you more irritable and decreases your ability to focus/concentrate on certain tasks. In addition, not getting enough sleep can lower your immune function, making you more prone to catching a cold. Inadequate sleep also affects your workouts, such as not having enough energy to get through them, which can decrease the intensity and power of your workout.  Also, your body can’t properly rest and repair itself, such as recovering from a strenuous workout. Sleep is a major part of our lives and it is important to make time for it. My goal for this month is to set an alarm at 9:30 p.m. every week night to remind myself to get ready for bed, allow some quiet time for reading and shutting out the lights by 10:30 p.m. Since I worry about Keenan getting enough sleep, it is time I take care of myself, and make sure I get enough sleep to be the best that I can be (no matter what is done or not)!

Question: How many hours of sleep (on average) do you get a night? What kind of bedtime routine/ritual do you have to help yourself unwind before going to sleep?

What I ate Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! Since it is Wednesday, I am linking up with Jenn today, for WIAW!

Before I talk about today’s eats, I want to share my recipe for last night’s dinner experiment. It turned out REALLY good and was SO easy to make! I’ll definitely be doing it again!

I know, not the best (or most appetizing) picture, since I took this with my phone, but my little dinner experiment was delish!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Kale: (serves 3)

Ingredients:

– 2 bunches of Kale (chopped)

– 1 yellow onion (chopped)

– 2 fresh tomatoes (chopped)

-1 small can of chopped tomatoes

– 3 frozen skinless boneless chicken thighs

– 1/4 cup pasta sauce

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

– 1 clove garlic (minced)

– 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

– 1 Tbsp garlic no-salt seasoning

– pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Place frozen chicken at the bottom of your slow cooker.

2. Pour can of tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, pasta sauce, onion, garlic and seasonings on top of the chicken.

3. Top with chopped kale.

4. Pour water or chicken broth on top and cook on high for 4-6 hours.

5. When ready, divide kale amongst three plates and place one piece chicken with tomatoes and onion on top each bed of kale. Enjoy!

For today’s eat, we started off with our “usual” breakfast of Fage Greek yogurt topped with chia seeds, flaxseeds, strawberries and Kashi cereal. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture. I also had my morning latte made with our french press! After breakfast, we headed to Keenan’s swim class at the Y.  On the way home, we stopped at Sacramento Beekeeping and Honey store to buy some local honey, since we ran out of our Costa Rica honey. The store is awesome! They have two big vats of honey and you can either bring your own container to fill or purchase one of their containers. You pay by the weight of the honey. Since I didn’t do my homework ahead of time, I purchased one of their containers, but I will be sure to bring my own next time! The honey is local wildflower from California’s Central Valley (Sacramento to Lodi). It is really good! I’m excited to use it on pancakes, maybe even mixed into my yogurt and for baking!

Such good local honey!

Once we got home, we had lunch. Since Keenan didn’t finish all of his yogurt this morning, he ate the rest of it for lunch, followed by his favorite: a peanut butter and honey sandwich (made with our new honey!). He loved it (of course!). He kept saying, “Eating new honey!”

Keenan’s lunch (or part of it!).

For my lunch, I made myself a half sandwich of turkey, tomatoes, spinach and leftover grilled zucchini spread with Costco’s yogurt jalapeno dip, SO good! I also had some carrots, the rest of the tomato and zucchini on the side. This was probably the best sandwich I have ever made! The grilled zucchini made it so flavorful! A little while later, I also made myself an iced coffee using my husband’s awesome coffee concentrate.

My delicious lunch!

An hour before heading to CrossFit, I had half of a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter for a snack. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it!

Today’s workout was a good one. The skill was max rope climbs in a minute for 3 rounds and I was able to do 3 climbs in a minute for each round! The WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 150 double unders, 90 abmat situps and 30 handstand pushups. The prescribed/elite standard for the handstand pushups was having a deficit of two 25 pound plates, which I was able to to do! It was the first time I did them with a deficit, so I was pumped! Since I could only do 1 handstand pushup at a time, it slowed me down a bit, so I was only able to do a total of 258 reps (barely completing 1 round!). Anyhow, it was a great workout! I love doing handstand pushups, so it was a fun one for me!

Once we got home from CrossFit, I fixed dinner for Keenan and me, since my husband was out of town for work. Keenan had some leftover chicken from last night’s dinner experiment, along with some cooked carrots and avocado with a glass of milk. After dinner, I also made him a small vanilla ice cream cone as a treat, since he finished all of his dinner by himself (no feeding by me!).

Enjoying his dinner and glass of milk in his “big boy” fish cup!

Enjoying his ice cream cone!

For my dinner, I made myself a “mega” salad topped with tomato, artichoke hearts, pepperoncinis, carrots, avocado, roasted walnuts and chicken. It hit the spot! Even though I don’t like it when my husband has to travel for work, I love that I get to make big salads for dinner! I love salad so much that I could probably eat it for lunch and dinner everyday! 🙂

My “mega” salad!

Oh, before I forget, here is the video of my round-off back handspring at our gymnastics class last weekend! I can’t wait to go back and add a back tuck!

Also, I want to tell you about my Reebok Nanos 2.0. I have worn them for two days now and I absolutely love them! They are SO comfortable and soft on your feet, but still have a firm platform and minimal drop for lifting. I don’t think I can go back to wearing my New Balance Minimus.

Well, it is getting late, so I’m off to bed. Speaking of sleep, I certainly need more of it! It is a continuous goal of mine…more to come on this tomorrow! Good night!

Question: What did you eat today? What are your favorite slow cooker recipes? Since Fall is here (though, it sure doesn’t feel like it!), I love to use my slow cooker making chili, stews, soups, pot roasts, etc, but I would love to try some new recipes.

Just Another Tuesday October 2, 2012

Today is one of those days…I have been dragging since the moment I woke up. It definitely didn’t help that my husband and I stayed up late watching the first episode “Revenge” (of this season) last night, but it was SO good! In addition, my body just feels tired and somewhat rundown, so I don’t know if I am fighting a bug or coming down with something (hopefully not!). Needless to say, I’ve loaded up on vitamin C and started Zicam! I am planning to head to bed early tonight and hopefully feel better tomorrow.

Before I talk about our day, I have to share this picture of Keenan. He had SO much fun playing in this box last night that we received from Target, for my friend’s baby gift! I am thinking of making it into a car or train for him…any other ideas?

Enjoying his box!

As promised, here are the recipes for the almond flour flaxseed pizza crust and pumpkin muffins:

Our beautiful pizza before it went into the oven the second time!

Almond Flour Flaxseed Pizza Crust:

(Adapted from the Paleo Plan)

Ingredients:

– 1-1/4 cups flaxseed (ground)

– 1 cup almond flour

– 1 tsp salt

– 2 tsp baking powder

– 1 Tbs honey

– 1 tsp Italian seasoning

– 1 tsp garlic no-salt seasoning from Costco

– 3 large eggs, beaten until smooth

– 3 Tbs olive oil

– 2 Tbs water

– toppings of choice

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425° F.

2. Combine flaxseed, almond flour, salt, baking powder and seasonings until smooth.

3. Beat eggs, oil, honey and water until smooth.

4. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients.

5. Press into desired shape and poke a few holes in the dough with a fork.

6. Place on a pre-greased or non-stick pizza pan or on parchment paper on a pizza stone.

7. Bake for 15 minutes in the center of the oven until cooked.

8. Add your favorite toppings, return the pizza to the oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

*Notes: Remember to poke holes in the dough before baking, otherwise your crust will have large bubbles, thus making it hard for the toppings to stay on (this is what happened to our pizza!).

Mixing the ingredients all together to form the pizza dough.

Forming the pizza crust prior to baking it.

Pumpkin Almond Flour Muffins:

(Adapted from the Paleo Plan)

Ingredients:

– 1 cup almond flour

– 1 cup canned pumpkin

– 2 eggs

– 1/4 cup almond butter

– 1/4 cup honey

– 1 tsp baking powder

– 1 tsp cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

– 1/4 tsp salt

– 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend well.

3. Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and divide batter among six cups.

4. Bake for 32-35 minutes or until muffins are cooked all the way through.

*Notes: Oven baking times vary, so set your timer for 27-28 minutes to check and then (if needed), bake for an additional few minutes. My muffins were done in 28 minutes. Also, this an easy recipe to involve your kids! Keenan was my “baking assistant” and loved putting the ingredients into the bowl and mixing everything all together.

Fresh out of the oven!

This morning, Keenan woke up requesting to watch “Elmo’s World” on my nook in our bed, so we spent some family time cuddling in bed watching Elmo! It was nice because my husband and I were not quite ready to get out of bed yet. But, I have to say the past few mornings have been nice nice because Keenan has been waking up at his usual time again, 7:30! Anyhow, after we got out of bed and made our way downstairs, we had breakfast, our “usual” and then played with legos, before getting dressed and heading to the park with our friends.

His lego house!

The boys were SO excited to see each other, it was too cute! After playing at the park for a while, we headed home and had lunch. Keenan had his favorite: peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich with a couple of baby carrots and a glass of milk. Yesterday, he ate a baby carrot without spitting it out, so I think with his two top molars, he can now eat raw carrots! I’m so excited because it makes my life easier! 🙂 For my lunch, I made myself an Egg White Florentine in a Mug topped with some pasta sauce and a side of leftover grilled zucchini. I craved something sweet, so Keenan and I shared a small peach. A little while later, I also enjoyed an iced coffee, since I didn’t have time to make a latte this morning.

After Keenan’s nap, we are heading to CrossFit (as usual). Yesterday’s workout was tough. The WOD was 3 rounds of: 21 deadlifts of 95 lbs (not bad), 15 pullups and 9 hang cleans (95 lbs). I didn’t have time to eat a snack prior to going to the gym, so I was “out of gas” before starting the workout (not a good thing!). I was able to finish in under the time cap at 12 minutes and 37 seconds (the time cap was 20 minutes), but it wasn’t a great. Lesson learned: I need to make time for a pre-workout snack, no matter what! Today’s workout should be interesting. My husband went to the morning class and told me about it, so I am already dreading it! The WOD includes a mile run followed by as many rounds as possible of 26 over-the-box burpee jumps, 16 grasshoppers and 6 back squats (135 lb). We’ll see how it goes…

After dinner, I’m excited to pick-up the book, “Paleoista,” at the library. I requested it a couple of months ago, so I can’t wait to finally read it. I have heard some good things about it, especially the recipes it contains. For dinner tonight, I am trying something new in my crock pot: chicken topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and garlic, followed by chopped kale. I placed frozen chicken thighs at the bottom and poured a can of chopped tomatoes on top, along with an onion (chopped), some garlic, spices and a lot of kale (as you can see from the picture below). I am hoping the kale will be nice and soft and the chicken will be tender. I am planning to serve the chicken, tomatoes and onion over a bed of the cooked kale. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Tonight’s dinner experiment!

Oh, I forgot to mention that my TOMS and Reebok Nanos arrived the other day! I’m SO excited to start wearing my TOMS, once the weather starts getting more fall-like (I can’t believe that we are still having 100 degree weather in October!). I’m going to wear my Nanos to CrossFit today, so I’m curious as to how they will do.

My TOMS!

My Nanos 2.0!

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!

Question: If you are coming down with something, what do you like to do/take? I don’t like taking a lot of medicine, so I’m a big proponent of taking more vitamin C and zinc, along with drinking plenty of water and/or tea.

My First Foodie Pen Pal and Weekend Recap October 1, 2012

I’m excited about today, because it is my first Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day!

A few weeks ago, I received my first Foodie Pen Pal box from Claire, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She sent goodies from her local co-op grocery store, Weaver Street Market. It is located in Carrboro, a small town right in the middle of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. From what Claire mentioned, Weaver Street Market isn’t just a market, it has a wonderful bakery, morning hot breakfast bar and a restaurant. It definitely is a one-stop shop!

On to the goodies that were in my box: “Everything” hamburger buns, YAWP bar, sugar toasted pecans, peach, valencia orange and apricot jam, along with Burt’s Beeswax chapstick and lotion, all local from North Carolina!

My goodies that I received!

“Everything” hamburger buns: These looked SO good, but unfortunately, they didn’t stay fresh and had some mold on them. I wished I could have tried them, because they looked delicious (minus the mold) and had so many wonderful things in the ingredients, i.e. seeds, nuts and different flours!

YAWP Bar: This was good, very crunchy, like granola. I liked that it was all natural and only contained almonds, dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt. It was loaded with protein, so it made for a nice pre-workout snack!

Sugar Toasted Pecans: I’m a sucker for any sugar-coated or glazed nuts, so these were AMAZING! My husband and I munched on them while we were cooking dinner for one of our “at home date nights!” I could have eaten the entire bag myself!

The pecans were so good, that they were addicting!

Valencia orange, Apricot and Peach Jam: This was good and a perfect topping for almond flour pancakes! I’m not much of a jam person, but this was really tasty, not overly sweet. Keenan and my husband really enjoyed this and practically put it on everything! 🙂

Burt’s Beeswax: I never knew Burt’s Beeswax was from North Carolina! I have always loved their lip products, so it was nice to have another chapstick. This was the first time that I tried their hand lotion and it was really nice, too! I will definitely be buying their lotion again!

It was a lot of fun receiving my box and trying all of these new things, in addition to sending a box to someone else (you can check out what I sent here!). I can’t wait to do it again this month! If you are interested in joining the Foodie Pen Pal program, find out how to join here.

Since this is already getting to be a long post, I’ll try and keep our weekend recap short.

On Friday night, we we enjoyed our “at home date night,” making pizza with an almond flour flaxseed crust topped with grilled peaches, prosciutto, spinach and goat cheese. The crust was SOOOOO good! It was very flavorful and crispy like a regular pizza crust. It certainly was a pizza that you could eat with your hands (unlike the cauliflower pizza we made a couple of weeks ago). This will definitely be one of our “regulars!” As you can see from the picture below, our pizza looked amazing, but as my husband was taking it out of the oven, the parchment paper split in half (yes, it wasn’t on a pizza stone or cookie sheet) and the pizza went crashing to the floor. My husband didn’t want to take out the whole pizza stone, he thought he could just pull it out from the parchment paper. Next time, we need to get a pizza mat! Anyhow, aside from our pizza looking like slop on a crust (which is why I didn’t take a picture of the finished product), it was wonderfully delicious! I wish I could have shown you what it looked like before we took it out of the oven!

Our beautiful pizza before it went into the oven!

On Saturday, we went to our farmer’s market to stock-up on fresh produce for the week, bought Keenan some red converse that were on sale at Kohl’s and headed to the grocery store to get our groceries for the week. After lunch, my friend and I got pedicures and coffee, which was SO needed! The guys stayed home to clean the oven door from my husbands mishap, while Keenan napped. That night, we went to a gymnastics class sponsored by our gym and had a blast! It was the first time I have done a round-off back handspring since high school! I was SO close to getting my standing back tuck again, but my body was  freezing up. The next time I go, I should be able to get it again. I can’t wait! Oh, for dinner, we grilled some prosciutto wrapped zucchini (the first time we tried it) and they were really good! Since we had so much zucchini, we spiced up the rest with Costco’s all-purpose garlic no-salt seasoning, pepper, a pinch of salt and olive oil and grilled them to use for lunches!

Yummy!

SOOOO good!

Yesterday, we had a lazy morning; I made pumpkin muffins with almond flour and my husband made some scrambled eggs. The muffins were so good, that we all ate two! I am going to double the recipe next time, so I can freeze the rest for quick mornings. In the afternoon, we visited some friends, who live in the bay area, who are expecting their first child later this month. We had nice visit. Keenan was terribly shy at first, then completely warmed-up and was saying “hi” to the baby and asking when it was ready to come out and play…too cute! For dinner, we went to this wonderful Puerto Rican restaurant called, Sol Food, in San Rafael. I had the Pollo al Horno, baked chicken marinated with oregano and garlic served with black beans, rice, salad and fried plantains. It was SO delicious, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Keenan certainly enjoyed it too, because he inhaled his black beans, my chicken and the plantains.

Today, we headed to Keenan’s music class after a quick breakfast. Keenan enjoyed the last of the pumpkin muffins and some strawberries, while I ate my “usual,” Fage Greek yogurt, strawberries, chia seeds, flaxseed and Kashi cereal, along with a latte. For lunch, I enjoyed my chicken that was leftover from last night with some grilled zucchini and a tomato over a bed of spinach drizzled with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar! It was delish! Since I was craving something sweet, I also enjoyed a pluot!

After Keenan’s nap, we are heading to CrossFit and then home for dinner. On the menu is either spicy eggplant with chicken and spinach or grilled chicken and eggplant over a bed of sauteed spinach. We need to use up our spinach and eggplant that I bought last week (both are kind of limp), and I am not quite sure how I want to prepare them. I’ll keep you posted. Also, look for the almond flour flaxseed pizza crust and pumpkin muffin recipes coming tomorrow!

Question: Any suggestions on how to cook my eggplant, spinach and chicken tonight? Since we got home late last night, I haven’t had time to put much thought into our dinner tonight and for some reason, I am just not coming up with good ideas. I want to try something different…