Friday Favorites: Orange, bikes + healthy food

Happy Friday, and welcome to a new month, my friends! I hope your week has been going along just swimmingly. And seeing as it’s the last day of the work-week for most, it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a light-hearted read …

A new addition to my weekends and some fun

Today, I’m teaching an early BODYATTACK class, completing some work, hoping to fit in a short yoga session, then enjoying a very casual and low-key dinner date with Dave. It looks like my Fridays will go back to be very toned down, now that I’m going to be teaching regularly on Saturday mornings again, as I did for so long. It was nice to take a brief hiatus from Saturday-morning teaching responsibilities for about four months, but now I’m back on it with a vengeance. In fact, I’ll be up before sunrise to prepare and be ready to coach a 7:30 a.m. Orangetheory Fitness workout, followed by an 8:45 a.m. workout as well. That means, as of now, Sundays will be my only day off, so I’ll need that day of rest for my voice, body and mind.

But it won’t be all work this weekend, because tomorrow afternoon Dave and I are hopping in a party limo to take a pilgrimage with friends down to Santa Clara to tailgate and watch a Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean concert at the Levi’s 49ers Stadium. Believe it or not, as a country fan, this is my first time seeing both of these artists live. And it’s also my first time visiting the new stadium, where a Super Bowl will be held next year. 

Now, let’s get into my weekly “Friday Favorites.” Here’s a look at some things that are making me smile …

My favorite activity of the week

Last night, was the grand opening party of Orangetheory Fitness Walnut Creek, where I’m not only a Fitness Coach, but also a co-head trainer. It’s been an absolute whirlwind in the training, auditioning, initial teaching and soft-open phase of this studio over the past couple of weeks. I can’t believe that we’re totally open and running as of tomorrow, and I begin a hefty class-load on Saturday morning bright and early.

As you can see, everything is orange at Orangetheory Fitness Walnut Creek. And check out the team posing for a photo after our opening party started to wind down. 

It was nice to do my hair and show up in something other than workout clothes to chat with members, potential members and fellow downtown Walnut Creek businesses. There was a deejay, some nibblies, giveaways and a whole lot of spirit. It’s so exciting to be part of this growing Orangetheory Fitness family. A true “Friday Favorite,” if I’ve ever seen one!

My favorite new ride

Ever since we moved out of the city, Dave and I have been discussing getting bikes. Last weekend, while I was working, Dave headed out to a fancy local bike shop just to confirm that those places are too darn expensive. Therefore, we opted to save some dough and ended up getting both of our bikes from Target on Sunday afternoon. His is black and manly, and you can see below, mine is … well … special.

I tested this puppy out by riding around a few aisles in the store, and yes, she handles well. I haven’t thought of an official name for her yet, so right now, she’s going by “Huffy,” which is not super clever, seeing as that’s the bike brand.

I love my bike and look forward to weekend rides to the farmer’s market, lunch, dinner, froyo, you name it. And I can even make some purchases when I’m out, thanks to the handy basket in the front. We plan to be very cautious and stay on back-roads and trails, so this bike will never be going at top speeds. I’ll just be cruising along and alerting pedestrians and fellow bikers with my bell — “Ding ding!”

My favorite new weird snack

When the tagline of a food item is “Strangely Addictive!” I know I’m probably going to be a fan. I recently scored a little care package from SeaSnax by winning a giveaway on Whitney’s blog. While I wasn’t necessarily that excited to try these seaweed snacks, I have truly enjoyed them all. And addicting? Perhaps so. They are sort of like a healthy chip, made from high-quality seaweed sourced from Korea. (And this is the point where I will lose some of you, who are thinking this sounds totally gross. But it’s not!)

These bags of SeaSnax have two servings and run less than $5 each. So far, I’m digging the SeaSnax Stix Crispy Seaweed Strips, Original and the SeaSnax Stix Crispy Seaweed Strips, Wasabi, but they all have that same pleasing seaweed taste.

If you’ve not had much of it before, please know that seaweed has a distinctive flavor. And the wasabi-flavored ones? They have a little kick, which I totally enjoyed. (Side story: I’m really not good with eating spicy foods, yet, I love to load up on wasabi and am a fan of that sort of spice.) I’ve been eating these seaweed chips alongside my lunch for a few days, and I’ve even dipped them in my runny egg-yolks — I swear it’s a taste sensation. I’m pretty sure these snacks are very new to the market, but they are already available for purchase at many Whole Foods. You can find out where to buy them on the company’s website. And as I always do, I did a little digging on the company, and discovered it was founded by a mom who wanted a healthy snack for her own kids. She made sure that all Seasnax are NON-GMO, Vegan, Gluten-free, not to mention, part of the proceeds of all profits are given back to support projects that help the Earth. Win win!

My favorite new protein powder

Okay, you know I love my post-workout shake, and so I’m always down to try new protein products. Thankfully, the lovely people at Nutrition53, a local Bay Area company, reached out to me about sampling their line just a few weeks ago. They sent me a tub of regular protein powder and several packets of the vegan and lean lines.

So many beautiful colors! Check out the Nutrition53 Vegan1, Nutrition53 Lean1 Pro
and Nutrition53 Protein1 products, which are all reasonably priced, if you ask me.

I’ve tried all of it and am a major fan. If you ever use vegan protein powder, which is of course, plant based, you’ll notice it has a weird chalky flavor. Well that weird chalky flavor totally works for Nutrition53. All the flavors of the Vegan1 line are great, especially the “Chai.” I mean, when do you ever see “Chai” flavored protein powder? These packets work well alone with water or mixed up into a smoothie, and I’ve had them both ways. Here’s a rundown:

• The Lean1 Pro line “Fat Burning Protein Shake” has 30 grams of lactose-free whey protein per packet, around 220 calories and also has green coffee bean extract for extra fat burning. (Heavy duty stuff!)
• The Vegan1 line “Nature’s Protein Shake” has 20 grams of plant-based protein, 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, around 160 calories and is allergen free, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. (Super healthy and nutritionally dense!)
• The Protein1 line “All Natural Protein Shake” has 21 grams of whey protein concentrate, around 150 calories, is NON-GMO, gluten free and pesticide free. (Clean and easy protein powder!)

Nutrition53 products are available at some retail stores or online, so check out the website for more. Oh and fun fact, Nutrition53 is founded by a former NFL player, which is pretty cool. Let’s just say, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed upping my protein with these products, so thanks to N53 for sending them my way.

My favorite links of the week

Hope you didn’t miss out on some of the good stuff on A Lady Goes West this week …

• Yay for this one! — Exciting news, the weekend and my workouts
• Blogging — How I turned my blog into a business (My personal fave!!)
• My daily eats — Life lately and a look at all of my meals
• Keep your eats in check — Try these healthy and easy portion control tips

There you have it. Have a lovely Friday and weekend, my friends! As always, check me out on Instagram for some pictures before we meet back here again on Monday.

Read more Friday Favorites

If you’ve enjoyed browsing through this post, see below for previous editions or visit the the link-up hostesses, Heather, Clare and Katie. 

1. A snack, a purse and a ritual
2. A delivery, a bra and a guy
3. A sweet, a wine and a read
4. A drink, a gadget and a plan 
5. A time, a bottle and a powder
6. San Francisco edition
7. Beauty edition
8. Beach vacation edition
9. Hidden meanings
10. Kicks, a book and a bowl
11. The very best sweatshirts
12. Party hosting and froyo
13. Fourth of July daytime activity
14. Beauty basics edition
15. Workplace edition
16. Shopping, sales and a show
17. The foods I always buy
18. Sushi, a game and pants
19. Fitness apps
20. Delicious and healthy products
21. Comfort, fitness and function
22. Beauty, buddha and blog events
23. Dining, the city and gift ideas
24. POPSUGAR, sweets and such
25. A bunch of fun stuff
26. e-book, food, picnic and tunes
27. A link, a superfood and a mask
28. Pants, shoes, food and links
29. Dining, protein and goodies
30. Shopping, events and a book
31. A gym bag, pumpkin and juices 
32. Workout gear, a top and a massage
33. prAna, a watch, tea and more
34. Tasty stuff and gift sales
35. Decor, bars, boots and a drink
36. Flowers, music and more
37. Coqueta, a brush and food
38. My people and the holidays
39. Beauty, bling and entertainment
40. A hodge-podge of goodies
41. Just a few special things
42. Tasty food, drinks and moving
43. A bunch of feel-good stuff
44. Home, car and fitness finds
45. Sweets, cooking, beauty and blog
46. Gold, yoga, photos and more
47. Celebs, scents, games and more
48. Food, shoes, stretches and fun 
49. Purse, snack, plant and more
50. Fresh, healthy, clean and square
51. Pilates, sneaks and much more
52. Quite a few good things
53. Food, jewels and sweat etc.
54. Fun stuff and a giveaway
55. Goodies and a yoga giveaway

Questions of the day

What are you up to this weekend?

What’s a favorite of yours as of late?

What was the last concert you attended?

 

 

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