Current faves: Social media talk, food, drinks, reading and weekly workouts

Hi, my friends! How was your week? Mine was good! It was full of work, gym time and a whole lot of momming. I subbed a BODYPUMP class, taught barre and also broke from the routine to get away and give a presentation on social media to a bunch of fitness professionals, which was a lot of fun for me.

We don’t have very much on the agenda this weekend, which is fine by me. Let’s get right to our regularly scheduled Friday round-up of favorites in fitness, food and life. Here we go …

Events

Social media and fitness presentation

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to present to a room full of fitness business professionals all about social media and how to use social media in the fitness space. This event was hosted by Les Mills, and after I spoke to the group for about 30 minutes about social media, the rest of the time was devoted to learning insights into the group fitness world and health club industry — super interesting stuff!

As you know, other than teaching group fitness classes, most of my work is done behind the computer all alone, so I love the chance to get out and learn from others in the real world, like I used to do so often before working for myself.

And it’s always good to change out of workout clothes during the week and have an excuse to do my hair too. Overall, I walked away from the event reminded why I love to work in fitness and in social media, which is a beautiful thing. I have to thank my friend and former group fitness manager, Melissa, for inviting me to be a part!

Food

Golden caffe latte

I used to think the pumpkin spice latte was my favorite flavored coffee shop drink, but I know now that it’s definitely the golden cafe latte from Peet’s instead. This is a seasonal beverage, and I know a lot of you don’t have Peet’s locations where you are (it’s a coffee shop that started in the Bay Area, and is growing, growing, growing), but this drink is so good, it had to be shared. Espresso, almond milk, ginger, honey and turmeric and the perfect golden color.

I usually only drink green tea, but I like to get a special drink like this maybe once a week or so — and boy that caffeine in the espresso revs me up. Love it! (I should probably try making this at home. Stay tuned for the recipe, if I’m successful.)

Bowl lunches with a brown rice base

I’m not sure why, but I’ve been making my lunches in bowls this week, with a few different variations, and I’ve liked the change a lot, so this could continue. I always end up mixing my food together anyhow, so it may as well start mixed up in a bowl.

Here are two creations that have been delish …

Organic brown rice, two Vital Farms eggs, sauerkraut, bell peppers sautéed in olive oil and a dollop of hummus. On top is sea salt, black pepper and Trader Joe’s umami mushroom seasoning (this seasoning is soooooo good, and I highly recommend it).

Organic brown rice, two Vital Farms eggs, sauerkraut, grape tomatoes and red onions sautéed in olive oil and a dollop of hummus. On top is sea salt, black pepper and Trader Joe’s umami mushroom seasoning.

These bowls remind me of what I’d potentially make at the Whole Foods hot bar, which would end up being like $20, so it’s way better to make it at home. And brown rice is so darn versatile, you can put anything on top of it. I actually prefer organic white Jasmine rice, but I had a bunch of brown rice filling my freezer, so that’s what I used.

Non-dairy ice cream

Never one to say no to treats, I was totally happy to test out Ben & Jerry’s new non-dairy frozen dessert made with almond milk when they sent it my way. The chocolate chip cookie dough is so darn tasty. But here’s the truth: Just because there’s no dairy, does not make this a healthy version of ice cream. The ingredients list is what you’d expect of a regular dessert (minus milk products), and the consistency and flavor is almost as good as the real thing. I’m a fan for sure. More flavors are coming soon!

I’d also like to report that it took me two nights to finish this pint, and I’m proud of that. I’ve certainly polished off a pint in one night, but I’m maturing. Basically, Ben & Jerry’s knows how to do it right. 🙂 

The Big 4

Last weekend, Dave and I got out for a very nice date in the City, and we tried The Big 4 restaurant in Nob Hill. I LOVED it. It was fancy, dark, had white tablecloths, great service, good food and was located right near our old apartment. I had to mention it for all of my SF people who are looking for a special occasion spot. 

Books

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

I really enjoyed this light read, “Fly Away Home” by Jennifer Weiner. It’s about three women, a mother and two daughters, and how things happen in all of their lives and they end up coming together because of it all. It goes by quickly and sort’ve pulled me in — the writing style was so conversational and believable from the perspective of each of the three women. I’m sooo into reading fiction these days, but I must admit, sometimes I get so into the story that I stay up a little past my bed-time.

Funny story: I checked this one out from the library, and because I had Brady with me and was in a rush, I picked up the “large print” version by a mistake. I didn’t mind the large print, but it was REALLY large.

Beauty

FastCompany honors Beautycounter for Innovation

Here’s the deal about being a consultant for Beautycounter: it’s not just about making money, it’s about spreading the word on safer skincare and make-up to help people, as well as lobbying to regulate industry for the greater good. That’s what I love about the company. FastCompany agrees. Check out this write-up on FastCompany, which names Beautycounter as one of the top innovative companies this year. And if you want to know more about getting involved with Beautycounter, please send me an email or sign up for my Beautycounter email list here. 

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

And now we’re into the fitness.

Let’s look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: Rest day
• Tuesday: 30-minute CXWORX class, 10 a.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 1-hour BODYPUMP class 9:30 a.m., taught 1-hour barre class, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour barre class, noon
• Friday: 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday: 1-hour BODYATTACK class, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

This past week was bookended by full rest days and had a lot of good work in the middle. I didn’t do as much resistance training as I would have liked though. Also, now that I’m teaching barre on both Wednesdays and Thursdays regularly, I need to figure out how to best structure the rest of my week to fit those weights workouts in. I had a double day on Wednesday due to subbing BODYPUMP, and as you guys know, more than one workout a day is totally out of my norm (recovered over-exerciser over here), but I let it slide this time. Overall, I felt good.

Links

Best reads from around the web

• Skin health. Just because it isn’t summer doesn’t mean you don’t need to be thinking about taking care of your skin to try to reduce your chances of getting skin cancer. There are things you can do other than avoid sun exposure, and this article tells you all about them. Very interesting.
• Streaming workout form. You’ve heard me say this one before! Careful with what you’re doing with your neck while you stare at a digital instructor during a streaming workout — you could get hurt.
• Brighten your day. This is a simple list of 100 things you can do to lift your mood and treat yourself. We all need a little bit of that sometimes, right?

A Lady Goes West Favorite archives

• Workouts. This one was a reader request, and I rounded up some workouts I’ve been doing … “Gym inspo: Short weights workouts you can do in less than 30 minutes.”
• Postpartum stuff. More than a year ago, wow! … “How I’ve approached my postpartum fitness.”

Have a great weekend, my friends. Thank YOU for stopping by the blog and reading. I truly appreciate you! And I’ll see you over on Instagram, until we meet back here again. Be good!

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

Have you read anything good lately?

What’s your favorite dessert?