Current faves: Lots of food, fitness and weekly workouts

Hi, my friends! How are you? What’s new? This week has been good over here. We’ve been busy with the usual stuff — like workouts, walks, work, Brady chasing, teaching barre, eating lots of delicious foods and all of that, and we’re all finally over that cold that went around — thank goodness.

It’s also the last full week I have with my mom visiting, which is a little sad, but she’ll be here through the weekend for the big event — Brady’s 1st birthday party! My brother and his beautiful new wife, Stephanie, are also arriving today to stay with us and take part in the festivities with all of our friends too. We have a pretty big group coming, and I can’t wait to celebrate our little man, even if he probably won’t quite know what is going on. The party is on Sunday on his actual birthday, and I’ll post some of the action on Instagram.

Anywho, let’s do some faves — which are just random, fun little tidbits I like to round up at the end of the week. So if this isn’t your speed, come back on Monday for something a little more structured and valuable — I promise! 🙂 

Food

Big ol’ lunch out with my mom

Basically all of my favorites as of late have to do with my momma. I love having her here SO much. We’re spending much of the day planning Brady’s birthday, doing chores, taking care of Brady, letting me run off to the gym and other classes and get my work done too. The days go by so quickly, and my mom is such a help with EVERYTHING. 

I was happy that this past Sunday we were able to get out just the two of us to hang out without any errands or to dos. We went to Gott’s Roadside in downtown Walnut Creek, which is one heck of a casual restaurant. Gott’s invited us in and they hosted us for a big complimentary spread at the perfect table right near the windows.

We had a kale salad and sweet potato fries with dipping sauce to share, then I had the Impossible Burger, which is a totally plant-based burger that has the texture of meat and the most delicious flavor, and my mom had the fish tacos, which she loved.

I had heard great things about the Impossible Burger, because it’s soooo strangely close to a regular burger, but is made from plants. I mean, yesssss. I actually almost asked our waiter if I had been given the wrong burger, because it tasted so much like a regular burger. I opted to have it wrapped in lettuce, which made it messy, but gave me a chance to taste the patty even more. I would definitely get it again.

There are a few Gott’s locations around the Bay Area, and I’d highly recommend one of them for a visit for a tasty meal. And they have kombucha on tap, so there’s that too. 

Local honey from Trader Joe’s

I use a lot of honey these days. I put it in my oatmeal bakes and in my morning golden tea latte concoction too, and I’ve been using Bay Area Bee Co. local honey, which I buy at Trader Joe’s. It’s so tasty and has a thick consistency.

Honey is multi-purpose, and even though, yes, it’s a simple sugar, it’s not artificial or highly processed, so I think it’s a good choice for sweetening things.

Hilary’s Eat Well broccoli casserole bites

I’ve posted many times about Hilary’s Eat Well veggie burgers, because the ingredient list is full of good stuff, and they taste really good. (Easily found at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Safeway to name a few.)

I recently saw this bag of broccoli casserole bites from the brand at Whole Foods Market 365 near me and picked it up (maybe it’s a new product, because I don’t often see this kind). These bites are crunchy, have a perfectly veggie taste, and are kinda cool because if you don’t want a full veggie burger, you can have just a few. However, I like to have about six at a time, to equal out the same amount of food as two veggie burgers. I’m a fan of these. They really are like a mini casserole, so the name is fitting.

Two real-life weekday lunches from this week

Here are the broccoli casserole bites in action in a lunch from this week, combined with two eggs, black beans, mashed sweet potato and sauerkraut. Speaking of mashed sweet potato, it’s a frozen Trader Joe’s product only available during the fall and winter. All you do is pop the little frozen cubes in the microwave for an easy side, so they are very convenient. I like to stock up to have them on hand for a few months after they aren’t available any longer. 

And if there were ever a staple lunch for my life in the past few months, this would be it … veggie burgers (these ones are Trader Joe’s, not quite as good as Hilary’s Eat Well), sauerkraut, avocado, two Vital Farms eggs, all covered in turmeric, sea salt and black pepper.

Home

Lighted letter board sign

I’ve wanted to get a chalkboard or peg letter sign for a while and finally stumbled upon this one in Nordstrom Rack a couple of weeks ago. As I do with any new thing I get, it stayed in the drawer for a while, but pending visitors and hosting a party made me pull it out.

The one I got is out of stock, but I found this other lighted one, which looks cute too.

Entertainment

Must-watch reality show 

Switching topics like …

I know I say this every season, but “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” is just my favorite show. Like for real. It makes me want to be a dancer so badly, but also, I just love watching the process of young women working so hard for something they want. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should. I’ve turned so many people on to it. It’s on CMT and is in the middle of the season right now, so go back to OnDemand to start from the beginning! So good!

Fitness

Workout dates

It’s been so darn long since Dave and I worked out together, and since my Mom has been here, we’ve done two sessions. First up, we did a leg workout together at the gym, then, we went to SoulCycle together too. We have totally different styles and likes when it comes to fitness (Dave likes to run outdoors or do cycle classes), and I prefer weights or regular group fitness, so we compromised on these two and covered both bases. Good times were had, and I wish we could do it more often.

It seems like a different world when I think back on the days before Brady when Dave would come to my early Saturday morning BODYPUMP classes for a few months. I miss that!

Weekly workout recap

And because I’ve been sharing a look at what my actual workouts are for years, we can’t miss this section. So here’s a look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: 30-minute full-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Tuesday: 30-minute BODYATTACK, 30-minute CXWORX workouts, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: 1-hour BODYPUMP workout, 9:30 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: 30-minute full-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
• Saturday: 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week of workouts a good one. I did my goal of three resistance sessions, taught a class and took a few classes too. And of course, I took a rest day. Workouts are going okay right now, although I’m always looking to try new things.

Suggested reading

Best links from around the web

• Home workouts. This is pretty cool. I was quoted in an article on Insider all about home workouts that work and more. Check it out … “10 popular at-home workouts that actually work, according to fitness experts.”
• Carb density. I’ve always known to subtract the fiber from the amount of carbs in a food to find the “net carbs” — but this is a newer-to-me concept about finding the carb density of food. Of course, eat healthy food and enjoy your life, but if you’re a nerd about nutrition info, you may like this.
• Compound exercises. If you don’t have a lot of time, compound exercises, which work more than one muscle group, are the way to go. Here are five good ones I often include in my workouts.
• Mantras. Okay, I know it sounds fluffy, but I really think mantras could work. I need to create some and spend more time saying them, especially when I’m feeling stressed or negative. Here’s why and how to do it.
• Hot or cold. I shared this one in the A Lady Goes West Friends Facebook group yesterday, because it’s pretty interesting. While it can be totally innocent to always be cold or hot, it can also mean there are some underlying issues. I used to always be cold when I was struggling with hypothalamic amenorrhea, now I’m usually fine.

A Lady Goes West Favorite Archives

• Post-workout snacks. Did you miss this one from earlier this week? … “Simple post-workout snack ideas.”
• Fitness talk. Lots of interesting stuff in these posts where I answer readers’ biggest fitness questions in part one and part two. Should I do another? Let me know if you have random fitness questions in the comments! Anything goes!

Brady’s turning one

Can you guys believe this little man will be a full year old this weekend?

Where has the time gone? This time last year I was already in the hospital beginning the four-day stay that it took to get this guy into the world. Oh my! Brady’s birth story part one and part two here if you want a reminder. I don’t! 🙂 

Have a wonderful weekend, peeps! xoxoxoxo

Food, fitness, fun favorites and weekly workouts on A Lady Goes West ... Click To Tweet

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What’s the best thing that happened to you this week?

Do you work out alone or with someone?

What’s your favorite show on TV right now?

What would you write on your letter board sign?