Happy Friday!!!!

Is anyone else super excited that today is the last day of the week!?  For me this week has been full of getting organized for all my classes, studying, and reviewing the newest Bodypump release.

I’m excited for the weekend because tonight Brian and I have a friend coming into town, tomorrow I’m taking a hot yoga class in the morning and going to tea at the Brown Palace tomorrow evening, and Sunday I’m hosting a little food prep party.  Should be lots of fun!

Now, let’s jump into five things friday so we can talk about all the things that made us smile this week 🙂

Five Things I Ate:

• Remember the chicken meatballs I made last week that TOTALLY didn’t turn out?  Well, I gave them another shot and they were soooo good! I also made a batch of homemade low FODMAP marinara sauce.  Seriously, this meal was amazing and we didn’t even miss the high FODMAP onions and garlic.  Now, I have to make it again so it can be a bit more photogenic!

• I’m loving on the lunchtime salads, per usual…(romaine, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, leftover salmon, dijon, red wine vinegar, nutritional yeast)

• Scrambled eggs with Texas Pete hot sauce (<—one of the few brands I have found without added sugar, onions, OR garlic!) but the REAL star of this meal was the little “feaux-yo” I had on the side.  That little dish of deliciousness is so good I had it for dessert on Sunday night too 🙂  Literally, I just put one frozen banana into the blender, a half cup of frozen strawberries (although I’m sure any kind of frozen berry or fruit would work), a splash of coconut milk and then I blend until everything is creamy and smooth.  For an ice cream lover like me, this is a great alternative!

• Dinner salad!  This was a super yummy combo too!  Romaine and spinach with basil (fresh and lots of it!), sundried tomatoes (not the kind in oil…and just a small amount!), lemon juice, olive, oil, oregano, salt, pepper, and shredded chicken.

• Of course, I had to mention these fabulous coconut flour pancakes again 🙂

 Five Workouts:

• Taught Bodypump
• Dailey Barre at The Dailey Method
• Dailey Interval at The Dailey Method
• Tabata and Total Strength
• Hot Yoga tomorrow!

Five Things Making Me Happy:

• Kitchen experiments.  It’s no secret that I love playing in the kitchen…so this week, I tried making my own coconut milk yogurt.

I read on several web sites that by adding the contents of a probiotic capsule to coconut milk and allowing it to ferment in a warm oven, you will get yogurt.

Well….

Mine totally didn’t turn out!! HA!  So, I purchased some full-fat coconut cream from Trader Joe’s so I can try it again 🙂  Wish me luck!

• Ambre!  I love using this organic oil in place of perfume, but I loved it so much that I ran out quite a while ago.  Thankfully, my mom got me a refill container for Christmas and I have been LOVING the fresh, clean, light scent that I get to put on every morning.

• La Tourangelle Walnut Oil.  This is a new to me oil that I was introduced to during our Sur La Table cooking class, and I absolutely LOVE it.  I will mix it with a bit of red wine vinegar, maybe some dijon, salt and pepper and use it to dress our salads.  The flavor is something like I’ve never tasted before…it’s a little sweeter and nuttier than olive oil.  Honestly, it’s just really yummy and a little bit goes a long way 🙂  I highly recommend it!

• The Chalene Show!

One of my goals this year is to listen to one podcast a week, and I decided to start with Chalene.  I love her podcast because she talks about a variety of topics from self-confidence to nutrition and she has great guest speakers on her show too…and it’s free!  Another great thing is that a lot of her shows are right around 30 minutes long, which is very nice because I can listen to them while I cook and eat breakfast 🙂

• Warm weather!  We are loving the weather here in Denver.  One day it will be snowing beautifully, the next day it will be 60 degrees and sunny…kind of crazy, but I definitely like it.

Other Things!

• Some of you were asking where to purchase coconut flour, and I wanted to share that I purchase mine in the baking section of Trader Joe’s and now I can even find it in my regular grocery store (Safeway and King Sooper’s), but I totally understand that it’s not always easy to find.  When in doubt, I purchase it through iherb.com (if you use the code OGA946 you’ll get a little discount and I think free shipping!)  Hope that helps!
• Free Yoga Videos!

Recently, Brian has been doing yoga videos at home while I am at a class or doing a workout he doesn’t want to do, and he really likes this “Yoga with Tim.”  I think it’s a vinyasa flow, but it sounds like there are some arm balances like crow and even a head stand that are incorporated into the practice.  Brian has done it two weeks in a row now and really enjoyed it, so if you are looking for a good at home yoga class, I recommend checking out Yoga with Tim.

• Jessica Smith TV

This is another online workout recommended to me that I thought I would share!  Right now, the gym is super busy (as I’m sure you know!) so a friend of mine has been staying in and doing these Jessica Smith TV workouts from youtube.  She said that she’s tried them out a few times and loved every single workout. Just another at-home friendly option for ya!

Your Turn!

• Share something with me about your week!! 🙂 (or weekend!)