WIAW: a busily relaxing day?

sharing WIAW, on a Thursday!

 

^^I started the morning off with some bible-ing, journaling, and coffee-ing. accompanied by my bridesmaid bouquet from this past weekend :)^^

^^breakfast was a scrambled mess (the best kind of mess) including eggs, zucchini, and eggplant. banana and almond butter on the side.^^

^^I’ve been all about the jumbo salads this summer! lettuce, cucumbers, celery, carrots, salmon, and salsa.^^

after lunch, I chilled by the pool for a little. And by a little I literally mean 30 minutes because it was SO hot out & I have ADD. I was drenched in sweat just from laying outside.

^^snack time: frozen berries + almond butter. coconut butter + berries is my favorite, but almond butter does the trick as well!^^

Thank you thank you to my amazing parents for this new sleeping bag. PLUS it’s orange. I’m in heaven, and I can’t wait to take it out for a spin (but actually it’s so hot, will I even need a sleeping bag?!)

^^finally: dinner. ground beef, summer squash, zucchini, and tomato sauce.^^

Questions of the day:

Is it dead summer heat where you are yet?!

Pool or Ocean- what do you prefer?

I’m ocean all the way, but that’s 3-5 hours from here!

lately: meals + workouts.

hey all! I wanted to drop in for a quick recap of some meals, and what I’ve been doing for workouts lately! I’ll be back after the weekend with a recap of the most amazing wedding for my best friend!

meals lately:

^^a little snack pre-brunch last weekend. I don’t know about you guys, but I certainly can’t make it till an 11/11:30 brunch without a little snack beforehand^^

^^egg scrambles are my favorite. I think it might have something to do with how easy they are to make ;)^^

^^salads for lunch are my favorite, especially in this summer heat. canned salmon or some chicken (prepped over the weekend) are perfect to throw on top, and I usually go for either salsa + avocado or balsamic vinegar + EVOO for dressing^^

 

^^similar to my egg scrambles? throwing some veggies + ground beef in a pan and calling it a day. doesn’t get better than that^^

^^an afternoon espresso? don’t mind if I do^^

^^chocolate + brazil nuts: a favorite snack lately^^

fitness lately:

Unfortunately, I found out last week that I have a bad foot injury (I kind of figured from all the pain, but the doctor confirmed it!) so I am out of commission for most fitness-related activities right now. I am walking/running as little as possible (except when I waitress).

For workouts, I have been doing a little bit of lifting (mostly upper body), but for the most part I will just be sticking to the bike for the next few weeks. Not too excited about it, but I would rather speed up the healing time!

^side note: the week before the foot injury, I scratched my eye. yes, the doctors at Urgent Care remembered me…^

Hope y’all enjoy and get some healthy eating inspiration! I can’t wait to share all about my best friend’s wedding this weekend. The first event was last night and it has already been an incredible celebration!

Question of the day: 

What are you snacking on lately?

weekend adventures + the meals of the day.

Summer is definitely here in South Carolina 85+ every day, with a proper dose of rain. Just your typical southern summer! yesterday I got stranded for about 10 minutes in a torrential downpour. Being a northerner, I am not a  fan of driving haphazardly through the rain, so I opted to pull over and let the worst part pass. It goes from downpour to sprinkling rain in a matter of 10 minutes here, so waiting it out really isn’t too bad! Plus as I pulled in at home, I saw a double rainbow, just the joyful moment I needed!

 

food of the day:

breakfast: a mess of eggs, zucchini, eggplant, and salsa + avocado on top. easy & delicious.

lunch: eggplant, salmon, zucchini and olive oil. eaten barely warmed, because when it’s 90 out, I really don’t want to cook.

 

dinner: spaghetti squash, brussels, ground beef (the BEST) and tomato sauce. another simple meal for a busy day!

and another adventure from this weekend:

hiking which ended with sliding down rocks into the river. nothing better than nature 🙂

 

 

Question of the day:

How do you dal with cooking in the summer? Avoid it, or just turn up the AC?

WIAW: “clean” eating?

what is clean eating? so many different meaning that can come from this phrase. for me, clean eating means eating the way that makes me physically and mentally feel my best. between school, life, and spring break the past few weeks I haven’t been sticking to as ‘clean’ of a diet as I usually do. this means more sweets sneaking in, less nutrient dense foods, and more snacks/smaller meals. Nothing that will kill me, but not optimal nutrition.

So, I’m focusing back on the basics: no grains, gluten, sugar, legumes, or processed foods. plus a little raw dairy. aka the diet I have found to make me feel and perform my best! this doesn’t mean that my choices are right for everyone, but they certainly work for me.

also today: linking up to Jenn @ Peas And Crayons to share a day of my eats!

a morning walk is most definitely my favorite way to start the day. activity, thought time, podcast time. Plus, daylight savings time means I get to see more of these beautiful sunrises during my usual walk time!

probiotics + sauerkraut. two supplements that help keep my digestion on track and my tummy happy.

breakfast: eggs, asparagus, and spinach//cooked in ghee. my favorite cooking fat for flavor!

it’s been 75+ here the past two days. I know I live in the South but still.. 80 in March?! Not complaining. *it is supposed to go down a lot the next few days, boo!*

lunch a la Dining Hall. a huge salad with red wine vinegar and feta cheese on top.

afternoon snack: I didn’t know what to eat, so I just had a spoonful of this. hit the spot!

 

for my workout, I did a 5 minute warmup on the Arc trainer before completing this awesome barbell workout (2x) from Gina at The Fitnessista

dinner: taco salad paleo style. chicken, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, onions, salsa, and some mashed avocado. topped with salt + lime juice

after some homework, chores, etcetera, I needed a little snack. green apple + Happy Cow grass-fed raw milk cheese. #dontmindifido

Question of the day:

What does clean eating mean for you?

a day of food.. and chocolate.

Morning! How are you all doing? I am having just the most excellent Wednesday. Yesterday afternoon, right as I was finishing up my HIIT session, my dearest, beloved Mom walked into the gym, to my complete surprise! Yay! So my next few days will be full of love and fun! I am a total mama’s girl//my mom is my best friend… if you couldn’t tell.

So without further ado (I’m actually off to walk with mom herself as I finish up this post), here’s a recap of my eats in a day (Tuesday as it happens.)

check out Jenn’s website for some more WIAW inspiration!

Tuesday: My morning started off with a little sip of coffee before I headed out for a 50 minute walk. It was misting the whole time but luckily the rain held off until a little after I arrived back home.

I started my morning off with my “hydration station”. 1/2 the coffee was drank before my morning walk. After the walk I had the rest of my coffee, a little apple cider vinegar + water, and a giant glass of water with lemon.

Breakfast followed: sauerkraut, 2 scrambled eggs,with broccoli, peppers, and cauliflower.

Thirty minute later, I realized breakfast wasn’t going to last me all morning, so I sliced up an organic gala apple and enjoyed it with some almond butter.

Breakfast held me through my classes (even if the classes made me sleepy…) and I finally arrived at lunch for a satisfying meal.

A jumbo salad with 2 grilled chicken strips hidden underneath, and topped with some red wine vinegar.

Afternoon snack (to fuel the studying!): 86% dark chocolate. snap, crackle, give me that chocolate! I think I’m an addict. I might be ok with it 😉

My workout for the day was a 30 minute HIIT workout on the treadmill. 30 seconds sprint, 1 minute walk. Repeat. Feel like a (sweaty) beast.

After my workout I still had over an hour until dinner and I needed a little refuel: chocolate chips (Enjoy Life dairy + soy free) with some raw almonds. More chocolate.. what can I say!

Dinner enjoyed with my mom and a club meeting: salad with all the veggies, topped with salmon that I brought from home (because I am a nutrition nerd.)

And there you have it– my eats for a typical day! Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always chocolate. It’s the best.

Questions of the day:

What is one food you eat (almost) every day?

Chocolate: dark, milk, or white?

Do I talk about chocolate too much? 😉

snow day eats: bacon and chocolate.

Monday night into Tuesday, we had a sleet/ice/rain storm. the streets were sheets of ice, all the cars were covered, and woo classes were cancelled!

My Tuesday started off a little tumultuously. Long story short, the boyfriend came down (quickly) with a nasty stomach bug//food poisoning of some sort. He started to get really dehydrated in a scary way (fingers/legs cramping up), and despite the icy roads, another friend and I decided to head to the ER with him. I am so glad that we did, and he is doing okay now, but it was  scary/long night. We didn’t arrive back until 3 am, and the driving was extremely slow to stay safe (no complaints here).

^^a snow covered campus yesterday morning. well, more sheet-of-ice covered than snow.^^

Despite getting back so late, I woke up around 8 and could not get back to sleep. {It might have had to do with sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag to make sure the boy didn’t need to go back to the hospital}.

I watched the highlights of the Bachelor, did some reading, and mostly relaxed because my brain was not fully functioning. I finally got around to eating breakfast around 10:40, which is unheard of for me!

^^canned wild salmon, roasted brussels and kale, + a paleo banana muffin with Kerrygold butter.^^

^^not pictured: the almond butter + dates I snacked on after this^^

Mid-morning to mid-afternoon was spent getting intermittent work done but mostly caring for my sick boy. When the roads seemed clear enough, we ventured out to get the usual stomach bug supplies and the prescriptions that we received at the hospital last night. It was slow going, but no problem to drive the ~1.5 miles to the store and back.

^^before my workout I cooked up my last two pieces of bacon for a treat//to calm my grumbling tummy.^^

^^a little later, I headed to the gym. I was tired of being inside all day. the 1 mile walk to the gym + a HIIT workout on the treadmill + arc trainer certainly did the trick.^^

^^scenes from Furman yesterday. this is not common for my little Southern school.^^

Another hour of trying to get work done… it was a struggle! Between the snow day mentality and the tired brain, it just wasn’t going.

^^a sweet potato snack, picture taken after most of it had already been eaten. delicious, simple real food.^^

^^dinner in two parts: apple salad. this was basically eaten for the sole purpose of getting that delicious Honeycrisp into my dinner! apple, cucumber, lettuce, and a drizzle of Apple Cider Vinegar.^^

^^dinner part two: salmon, butternut squash, onions, spaghetti squash, and tomato sauce + herbs.^^

after dinner I also enjoyed a square of 85% dark chocolate, it hit the spot! It’s amazing how 85% chocolate used to be way too bitter for me, but now it has the perfect amount of sweetness!

Question of the day:

What type//percent chocolate do you enjoy the most?

a valentine’s day full of joy.

Valentine’s Day. It can be such a cliché, but I don’t care! It’s such a fun day, whether you’re celebrating with your girls or your significant other– live it up 🙂

My valentine’s day started early with a walk around campus, having some ‘me’ time.

 

After the boy finally woke up and meandered over, I threw together a quick breakfast from random stuff I had in the fridge. Eggs + bacon for him. Bacon, chicken + salad for her.

The morning/afternoon were spent doing homework, getting a workout in, and running to the grocery store for Valentine’s Day supplies!

After some failed appetizers– apparently I do not know how to hard boil eggs– we headed out around campus to snap some photos. We have had this activity on our bucket list for a while, and considering we’re seniors, it was about time! We stopped by the lake, the chapel, the library, and the bell tower, and had a blast!

^^I really do go to a beautiful school^^

Then it was time for the main course! First up: the boy came up with this delicious idea: some frozen berries pureed + champagne = bubbly heaven.

For our main course: chicken and vegetable red curry. We actually took on the challenge and made the sauce ourselves (well we used a paste, but it’s still more steps than buying the sauce in a bottle) with coconut milk, and it was yum. I’m lucky my best friend is willing to try new recipes for me! He’s clearly the more domestic one 😉

^^chicken, curry sauce, peppers, zucchini. delicious.^^

After dinner, we took a break from eating and built a fort. We used sheets, blankets, candles, and sleeping bags for the full fort effect 🙂

Next up: dessert time! Another recipe my boyfriend was willing to try for his weird ‘healthy’ girlfriend. Paleo molten lava cakes for two from Taylor Made it Paleo. Topped with a little salted caramel ice cream, this was divine.

 

^^chocolate, will you be my Valentine?^^

Hope y’all had a great Valentine’s/Galentine’s/Bro-entine’s day too!

Question of the day:

Chocolate or caramel?

paleo crock pot chicken//the genius of a crock pot.

Hey guys! It’s Wednesday– you’re almost there! Wednesday is my longest day of class (till 5 pm :/) and I always feel like Wednesday night is the turning point of my week– when the work starts to be more manageable, and I can see the ‘finish line’ (before the next week’s work starts up again..). Needless to say, I am fueling up for today. I already worked out this morning and I have a healthy eggs/veggie/coconut oil breakfast cooking to power me through 🙂

Anyway, I wanted to stop by and share the eats of a Tuesday in my college life!

 

^^crock pot dinners are SO easy! would you all want a recipe for this? I threw a bunch of ingredients + ghee and some chicken in the crock pot yesterday morning, and by the time I got back from class/meetings/working out dinner was ready. the chicken was almost falling apart it was so soft/moist. The garlic cloves I threw in there were roasted and amazing!^^

after the crock pot was set, I went on a 40 minute walk, then came back to start my day!

 

^^eggs, kale (cooked in coconut oil), and red+green peppers. I promise they’re hidden under all the kale!^^

^^breakfast part 2: banana and almond butter. I have a very sophisticated palate.^^

 

^^coffee first, not pictured. a little later I had some blueberry tea, the perfect hot decaf drink!^^

^^sunny walks to class, that are deceptively cold.^^

^^lunch, Dining Hall style. Not my first choice, but it’s required to have a meal plan, and it does the trick for lunch. salad (lettuce, all the veggies, apple slices, feta, and red wine vinegar) and grilled chicken, fine by me!^^

^^snack time– paleo zucchini bread— frozen, and still delicious.^^

^^dinner: the crock pot marvel. grabbed in between working out (sprints yesterday) , and heading out to another meeting. chicken, zucchini, onions, and garlic from the crock pot. lettuce and brussels sprouts from meal prep this weekend.^^

 

^^finished off the night with some homemade trail mix: raw cashews, raw almonds, and EnjoyLife soy/dairy free chocolate chips. Yum!^^

check out WIAW for more healthy eats, and fun friends!

Questions of the day:

Do you have/use a crock pot or slow cooker?

What recipes would you guys like to see up here?

5 favorite foods this week.

college life. it’s busy, it’s fun, it’s exhausting, all in all- I’m pretty blessed to be where I am.

 ^^morning walks this week. I’ve been able to go on a 30 minute – 1 hour walk every morning, and it is glorious. i love the movement first thing, and i love listening to a good podcast in the morning. especially some Christian wisdom.^^

favorite #1: eggs. 

let’s be real– this is a favorite pretty much every week. eggs with veggies, eggs with salsa, eggs all DAY.

favorite #2: paleo banana bread. 

i made another batch of paleo banana bread. soooooo good. please enjoy with butter, you won’t be sorry 🙂

favorite #3: salads on salads.

I mean… this is pretty much an

favorite #4: grass-fed meat sauce.

grass fed beef, onions, tomato puree and spices. this was amazing.

favorite #5: alllllll the almond butter.

especially when complemented by chocolate.

 

have a great week!

What foods are you enjoying?!

WIAW: almond butter lover.

hey guys! wednesday already? where does the time go- am I right? my monday-tuesday-wednesdays are always very busy and homework filled, so I am very thankful by the time I make it to thursday!

I am keeping my eats this week simple, satisfying, and scrumptious (iI love alliteration!).

^^breakfast: eggs, butternut squash, spinach, and cauliflower. side of chamomile tea.^^

^^I don’t have class till 11:30, which means I don’t eat lunch till almost 2 pm. morning snack required: a few dates with almond butter. the perfect combination^^

after getting a walk in bright and early, I spent my morning doing homework blah. then I headed off to class. after class, it was the dining hall for an attempt at lunch. #collegelife

^^make it work: grilled chicken (which for some reason they only have on tuesdays), salad, salsa to top it off.^^

^^because there is no way that salad would hold me all the way till dinner: a little scoop of scrambled eggs, some cooked greens, and a little tomato sauce on top.^^

after lunch, I headed back to my apartment for some reading, cleaning, and more homework.

^^afternoon snack– one square of 85% dark chocolate with a swoosh of almond butter^^

mid-afternoon I went to the first meeting of a girl’s fellowship group I am joining this semester. we’re reading Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans. You should check out her blog if you’re at all interested in strong women, Christianity, challenging your faith, or just hearing a new perspective.

^^unpictured: 1 small starbucks coffee consumed during our meeting. not a good idea, caffeine mid-afternoon is not my jam!^^

after a lovely meet & greet & chat with some girls, I headed over to the gym for a 30 minute sprint workout on the treadmill. 30 seconds sprint, 1 minute rest. repeat.

I rushed home after the gym to change for dinner and a meeting afterwards.

^^salad form the ‘pden’ aka our food court. lettuce, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, pineapple, and walnuts plus oil and vinegar. I brought some Applegate Farms pepperoni with my (yep I’m one of those weird people who brings their own food to dinner) to top my salad, because 1. I need protein and 2. I don’t typically trust meat from the dining hall/food court.^^

^^after a meeting and before hitting the books again, I absolutely had to have a little something to eat– dinner was not successful in holding me over at al :(! study snack: a little pumpkin puree, natural applesauce, cinnamon, and some crushed pecans. side of tea, a nighttime favorite^^

It’s WIAW check out Peas and Crayons for some more great food inspiration!

Questions of the day:

What are you eating this week?

Where is it the hardest for you to eat healthy?

    For me, it is the dining hall because of the sheer lack of options, especially clean meat options!