Latest favorite things and some news

Hi, friends! Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope you’ve been having a great week. This weekend, Dave and I don’t have a ton on the agenda. Sadly, I will not be sipping on any skinny margaritas, but hopefully I’ll get my hands on enough chips and guac to make up for it.

The one thing I really need to do is shop, because we’re off to a wedding in San Diego next weekend, and this growing pregnant gal needs a new cocktail dress (and have yet to be successful with finding anything online). We’ll also be watching the Warriors playoff away game on Saturday night and staying cool in the summer heat, which has recently overtaken Walnut Creek and the Bay Area.

Ebook coming on Monday! Are you signed up?

Before we get started on the favorites, let’s talk about my first ebook. For the last few months, I’ve been working on something that I’m so excited to share with you about health, fitness and fertility. On Monday, my ebook is launching and will be available for sale right here on the blog.

Here’s the deal: On Sunday night, I’ll be emailing a discount code to everyone who is signed up to receive A Lady Goes West emails. So if you think you’re going to want the book (more details on its contents coming on Monday too), then please sign up for my emails today. In addition to getting a free gift when you sign up for the email list telling you “how to have a great week of workouts” checklist and action plan, you’ll also get new blog posts by email and more (and it means a lot to me to have you on the subscriber list). To sign up, head to the sidebar of the blog or to the bottom of this post and enter your email. Thank you, friends!

My favorite superfood breakfast toast

If there’s one thing that has remained consistent in my diet since becoming pregnant, it’s having toast for breakfast. I don’t just choose white bread with margarine though (please don’t choose that either), I like to use sprouted whole wheat or flax bread, which I top with almond butter or sunflower butter for a little fat and protein. And most recently, I’ve been eating the tastiest sweet and salty combination toast.

A layer of nut butter, a chopped-up banana, chia seeds, raw pumpkin seeds and sweet goji berries. It really can’t be beat. The salty from the seeds and nut butter, combined with the sweet of the banana and berries is perfection. Not to mention, there are all sorts of nutrients in each of the toppings, so it’s like a little salad on a piece of bread. Here are the products that I use: bread, goji berries and chia seeds, with the nut butter and pumpkin seeds coming from Trader Joe’s.

My favorite mid-week outings

So I’ve got to be honest, I’ve never been much into social activities during the week. For many, many years, my weeknights were always filled with teaching group fitness classes. (Right now, I only teach in the evenings on two days, so that’s not my excuse any longer.) And although I love to see friends and eat out, I’m quite into my weekly routine, which centers mostly around being home.

That being said, the NBA playoffs always prove to be a great reason for me to make plans with some friends and get out on weeknights. On Tuesday night, I went to the first game in the second round of the playoffs with some of my girlfriends shown above (who all happen to be married to fellows who work for the team). And I also met a girlfriend at the game who lives in SF and who I haven’t seen in many months! Loved catching up!

On top of the Warriors game hang-outs, I also met a wonderful blog reader for coffee this week in the middle of the day at Coffee Shop in Walnut Creek. (Hi Katie!) Because my schedule is much more flexible now that I’m not going into an office every day, and also because my life is about to change dramatically when I become the care-taker of a tiny human in a few months, I’ve told myself I need to get out more. Well this week was a success!

After my coffee date (in which neither of us actually got coffee), I stuck around Coffee Shop and ordered the delicious Asian chicken salad you see above and did some work. A good day!

My favorite sweet treat 

Because I like to try every single frozen treat out there, I picked up Enlightened last weekend for my dessert pleasure. I only tried two flavors. One was quite good, and the other was REALLY good.

Caramel oatmeal cookie crunch is totally delish, and I would recommend it for sure. Some of you have asked me how Enlightened compares to Halo Top, Arctic Zero and Nada Moo (other healthier ice cream brands). Halo Top is really good, and I liked every flavor that I tried. Arctic Zero is good-ish, but definitely not as good, and it tastes much less flavorful, although I still like eating it over not eating anything sweet (if that makes any sense). And Nada Moo is the healthiest of them all and still has a good flavor (while Arctic Zero has the least amount of calories). It’s hard to say, but I think Nada Moo and Halo Top may be the best, but then again, caramel oatmeal cookie crunch from Enlightened could be the overall winner. I think I would have to do a side-by-side comparison to give you a clear answer. Sorry!

My favorite links from the week 

Some valuable stuff from around the web …

• People: It’s not about calories in and calories out when it comes to your weight and overall wellness. The health of your gut is a major player. Here’s how gut bacteria affects your weight.
• Finally! I’ve been talking about foam rolling, rest days, lighter workout days, yoga and sleep for a long time. I loved reading this article about how the fitness industry is taking it easy too.

That’s it! Have a fabulous weekend, sign up for the email list, and hope to see you back here on Monday for the ebook launch! 

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Questions of the day

Are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo?

Do you ever do social activities during the week?

Are you signed up for A Lady Goes West emails? Do it! 🙂