Healthy snacking, girl time, workouts and other faves

Hi, friends! How’s your week been going so far? Ours has been good! Just a lot of workouts, walks, eating, baby wrangling (a mixture of snuggling and playing), endless laundry and all of that good stuff. Super exciting, if you know what I mean.

Before we jump into this week’s batch of favorites, I want to send a huge and early “Happy Mother’s Day!” to all of the mommas out there — including my own! Whether you are a dog mom, cat mom, baby mom, step mom, or any type of mom, you deserve a major high-five for all that you do. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and somebody shows some appreciation for you on Mother’s Day (and every day for that matter)! 🙂 

Now, on to the faves …

Favorite ladies activity: SoulCycle and brunch

I have a good group of girlfriends who all live very close to me and who all have young kids (with Brady being the second youngest). Well, as busy mommas, we need to get out of the house for fun stuff and that doesn’t happen all that often as a group without kids. So I decided to plan a little healthy gathering for us, which just happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo last weekend.

Girls at SoulCycle by A Lady Goes West

Ashley outside of SoulCycle by A Lady Goes West

We met for a morning SoulCycle class, then walked over to True Food Kitchen for a delicious brunch in our sweaties. We had a great time, worked out, ate good food and of course, laughed and enjoyed your kid-free time. Much needed! (Check out my review of SoulCycle here.)

Also, fun fact: Some of Steph Curry’s family was eating in True Food Kitchen when we were at a table just a few feet away, sans Ayesha and Steph — it was just the kids, Steph’s mom and some nannies (or we assumed they were nannies). If you’re not a sports fan or a Bay Area local, this means nothing to you, but we thought it was cool to watch them hang out. Basically a celeb sighting … 

TFK Ancient Grains bowl by A Lady Goes West

Anywho, I had a cherry kombucha and my usual ancient grains bowl, and it was as delicious (and expensive) as ever. Yay for True Food Kitchen!

Favorite healthy snack at Starbucks: Bare Snacks 

This portion of the post is sponsored by Bare Snacks. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!

Snacking — particularly clean snacking — is a subject I like to talk about.

And Bare Snacks are so tasty and so clean, because they literally have one ingredient (fruit), so you don’t have to be worried about additives that aren’t good for you. I like to mix my Bare Snacks with almonds or almond butter for an extra kick sometimes too, but they are also good alone. They are also pretty accessible and not too expensive, which is important, because not all healthy food needs to break the bank.

Bare Snacks at Starbucks by A Lady Goes West

Well, big news from this local company — you can now find a brand new Bare Snacks fruit medley, which is a mixture of strawberries, pineapples and bananas, available for sale in Starbucks. So cool!  

Ashley with Bare Snacks at Starbucks by A Lady Goes West

Dave and I live in very close walking proximity to a Starbucks, so we go often (perhaps too often), and I was so happy to find this little bag of healthy goodness on a rack before checking out with my matcha the other day. Yay!

Best eats from the week

And for some more food …

There’s a new poke place near us in Walnut Creek, called Pokeatery, and we finally gave it a try on Sunday. (In case you’re wondering, poke is a raw fish salad, which originated in Hawaii and is usually just small square chunks of fish mixed with sauce or other things.)

Not only was the customer service excellent, but there were so many options, and I wanted everything on the menu. I ended up creating my own bowl and it had kale, salmon poke, kimchi, sweet potato chips, wasabi, veggies and more. So darn good. I picked up the “original bowl” for Dave, which had white rice, tuna poke and a few other things, and he liked his too. Eating poke just feels so fresh and clean.

Poke bowl by A Lady Goes West

We were proud of ourselves for going somewhere new instead of our usual weekend lunch spots, and we were so pleased. We ate our poke bowls outside in the sunshine while Brady napped indoors, and it was awesome.

And while my weekend meals were out, my weekday meals were all at home …

Here’s an at-home lunch from the week featuring the usual suspects, like mixed greens, turmeric cauliflower rice, a veggie burger, kimchi avocado and a tasteless spirulina seed cracker I picked up on a whim and did not enjoy. The rest was good though!

At-home salad lunch by A Lady Goes West

And for another lunch from this week eaten at home …

The star of this plate is the baked purple sweet potato. I used to buy these all the time and have a hard time finding them now. But I did come across a small stash at Sprouts, so I picked up a few. (Fun fact: Someone mentioned to me on Instagram that purple sweet potatoes may be easier to find at Asian markets, so perhaps I’ll consider that in the future.)

I also had an avocado, sauerkraut, two eggs, sautéed greens and threw a lot of turmeric and salsa on top to round out the meal. So good.

Purple sweet potato lunch by A Lady Goes West

One more food item from the week … bone broth!

I like to buy the cartons of organic chicken bone broth from the grocery store and heat it up as a side to meal sometimes — drinking it straight out of a mug. I usually add sea salt and turmeric to it as well, and I find it pretty tasty. 

Bone broth mug by A Lady Goes West

As a note: Bone broth is sometimes in the fridge section, but usually in the soup aisle, near all the other broths. When shopping for bone broth, make sure you check that there aren’t any additional ingredients. You can also make your own, which I’ve never tried — because convenience is key for me.

Anywho, it’s full of protein and collagen and just feels good to drink, which is why I like it (life is too short to eat or drink things that don’t feel good).

Weekly workout recap at 30 weeks postpartum 

Now on to the fitness …

Here’s a look at my workouts from last week — and when should I stop saying postpartum? Doctors say you’re postpartum for a year, but I feel like I’ll drop it sooner rather than later. Do you agree?

Weekly Workout Recap by A Lady Goes West

  • Monday: Took 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
  • Tuesday: Took 30-minute BODYATTACK, 30-minute CXWORX classes, 9:30 a.m.
  • Wednesday: 25-minute full-body weights workout, 11 a.m.
  • Thursday: 1-hour walk, 10 a.m. (active recovery/rest day)
  • Friday: Took 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 12 p.m.
  • Saturday: Took 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.
  • Sunday: Took 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.

This past week of workouts was the FULLEST I’ve had since having Brady, that’s for sure. I’m totally loving being back to taking classes at the gym many days of the week. I do feel like I push harder in classes than I do on my own, so it’s been nice to feel challenged. And as a note — this full week followed up a week which had four full days off — so it all evens out in the end.

I did take a leisure stroller walk with some girlfriends one day of the week as my “rest day” — and while normally I would have taken a second rest day, I have some SoulCycle credits to use (thanks SoulCycle!!), and can only go on weekends when Dave is around, so I hit up the studio twice this past weekend. Good times! What I am most proud of this week is that I lifted weights on Monday, Wednesday and Friday — giving my body a day off of weights in between each time to recover. It felt right.

Best reads from around the web 

A few things I enjoyed reading …

  • Posture: I LOVE this article because posture is such an important thing. I definitely have to think about it to stand up straight, and it’s all about the core and loosening up the upper-back. Check out how this woman fixed her posture.
  • Home: So Dave and I started off saying that we wouldn’t have shoes in our new house. Then the movers wore shoes. Then our friends who helped hang a TV wore shoes, then next thing you know, we weren’t always taking off our shoes. Basically, our “no shoe” house hasn’t been entirely shoe-free, as much as we hoped, but I don’t think it’s too late to make a change. This article explains exactly why. Also, the Wellness Mama website is a GREAT resource for all things clean and non-toxic living, in case you’ve never checked it out.

Favorite A Lady Goes West archives

In case you want to keep on reading …

That’s it, friends! Thank YOU for coming to read the blog today. See you soon! 🙂 

P.S. Speaking of girl time, I’m heading somewhere with my lady friends tonight, and you’ll see all the action over on Instagram. Happy weekend, peeps!

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Questions of the day

Have you ever had a celebrity sighting? Who and where?

What are you up to this weekend?

Have you ever eaten poke? What did you think?

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20 Comments

  1. Happy Mother’s Day to you, Ashley! You deserve all the joy and love on Sunday, for sure!

    I am always able to find purple sweet potatoes at a local health food store, Natures Food Patch in Clearwater. But perhaps I will try finding them at an Asian market too. I bet they are cheaper there!

    And I am no Bay Area native, but I totally consider Steph Curry relations to be a celebrity sighting! So fun.

    Happy Friday.
    xoxo.

    1. Hi Courtney! I’ve never been to a Natures Food Patch, but I sure like the name! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful weekend, lady!

      1. Well, there is only one (they are building a second) and it’s in my hometown of Clearwater, so I figured you had never been. But it’s my fave local spot for shopping local and all things healthy. You’d love it!

        Xo

  2. What a fun girls outing. Love it! Where did you meet a lot of those friends? Just curious. 🙂 And I also love that you all recognized Curry’s kids.

    Happy Friday!

    1. I mean Riley Curry was like more popular than Steph Curry a couple of basketball seasons ago hehehhe remember when she came through the curtain at a press conference? Okay, anyways — of the friends — several of them have husbands who work with Dave at the Warriors, one of them I knew from Orlando and she moved here with her family, and the others I met via mutual friends. It was MUCH harder to make good friends living in SF, but it’s been way easier in the East Bay!

  3. Haha yay for a celeb siting, LOL! When I lived in LA, I would see some celebs out and about. It’s always so funny to do the double-take. I saw the back of Leonardo DiCaprio’s head once (haha), and I saw Jimmy Kimmel at a bar once! So funny!

    Have a great Mother’s Day Mama!!!

    1. That’s awesome! I’m a sucker for a celeb sighting heheh! Those are good ones! Hope you have a great Mother’s Day weekend too, Marielle! 🙂

  4. So like you, I love eggs and am constantly switching things I serve with them to see how delicious it can be. So …sauerkraut was finally purchased despite that high sodium I used to avoid it for?

    Also, as a Mom of two young ones myself, I multi-meal task by poaching chicken with vegetables (skinless breasts on bones ) and used the broth as bone broth or base for soup/stew. Then I shred the chicken and keep in fridge for quick meals (chicken salad, with eggs, as Is, sandwiches, etc.) And my children enjoy the veggies with lunch/dinner!!

    1. Wow, Alaina! You go girl! I love your strategy — and I also love that you put eggs with everything like I do. I mean, you just can’t go wrong with eggs!! 🙂 Have a great weekend, lady!

  5. Your hair is just always spot on, even your braid looks awesome!
    Two years ago, My boyfriend spotted Justin Bieber when we were walking in Central Park. Bieber was playing Pokeman Go. K grabbed my shoulder excitedly and stopped me in my tracks!
    “Shh…Babe, it’s the Bieb!.”
    We stood there and watched him play with his bodyguards for like fifteen minutes. Justin Bieber is quite petite in person: short and very skinny. His bodyguards TOWERED over him.
    My boyfriend took a video that he showed his family and friends.

    Did I mention that I was 27 at the time….and he is older than me?

    1. hehhehe LOVE it Randee! I’ve been to a Justin Bieber concert, so I know how small he is. He’s a talented guy though! And how funny he wasn’t doing anything glamorous at all — just playing a game! What a good sighting! Anywho, have a great weekend, lady! 🙂

    1. Hi Megan! SoulCycle is fun! It’s a super dark room where the bikes are close together and the music is way loud. You ride to the beat mostly with the instructor choosing the music and also saying some “motivation soul” stuff toward the end to get you thinking. I don’t love the upper-body weights portion or push-ups on the bike that are done, because it’s not super safe, but I love the vibe of SoulCycle and people are OBSESSED with it! It’s definitely worth trying if you get the chance! A fun time and a great cardio workout!

  6. What a fun way to catch up with some friends! I love celebrity stuff! A lonnnng time ago my sister and I were in Carmel and walked past Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston when they were together. Brad looked super scruffy – I’m surprised my sister noticed him. They were holding hands walking quickly down the sidewalk probably trying not be noticed I’m sure. I met the boxer sugar ray Leonard – he was on a book tour. He was super nice and got such a kick out of my son. I have a fun picture of my son and me standing next to him laughing. We got the signed book and picture for my dad who is a big fan.

    1. Hi Deanna! Okay seeing Brad and Jen is HUGE! Wow! That’s awesome! I’ve heard a lot of celebs visit Carmel, but I’ve been there a bunch and never seen any heheheh! Anyways, so cool and thanks for sharing. Hope you had a great weekend!

  7. Happy first Mother’s Day, Ashley! I can’t believe we are moms now! Best. Gift. Ever. Best. Job. Ever. And hard as all get out.
    I love Bare snacks, and I LOVE the coconut strips. I can’t be trusted around them!

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