Hi friends! I haven’t done a things I’m loving lately post in awhile so I thought it would be fun to mix it up. Enjoy!
1) The Winter Shape Up Facebook group!
You guys are an encouraging, supportive, and fun group! If you’re participating in the Winter Shape Up and haven’t joined the Facebook group yet, you should. Having peer support makes eating healthy and fitting in workouts so much easier. 🙂 Loving all the updates and photos – please keep them coming!
My Winter Shape Up co-host/partner in crime Gina put together the cute collage above using some of the photos that have been posted in the Facebook group. Love it!
Speaking of the Winter Shape Up, since I’ll be traveling/mostly offline tomorrow, I got the week 3 meal plan posted early, so you’ll have plenty of time to review it and go shopping this weekend! You can find a link to it over on the Winter Shape Up landing page. 🙂 Enjoy!
2) Having in-person running coaches!
I’m so happy I decided to sign up for the PR Running training group! It’s so amazing having someone tell me exactly what to do – and to be there in person to make sure I do it/show up. Great motivation having others out there working hard as well! I reeeeeally wanted to sleep in this morning but I’m so glad I didn’t.
This morning’s workout was two 10 minute tempo runs around the track with a short recovery jog in between. I did mine at right around 8 or 8:05 min/mile splits. From there, we moved on to a nearby hill to do hill repeats! It was really windy on the track and I felt sluggish, but once we got to the hills I felt good. I even beat one of the super speedy women up the hill twice – sweet! The hill was about 0.2 miles long, and I ran it 4 times, powering up it as quickly as I could. I think all those weighted squats and lunges have been paying off – I felt strong!
3) Burgers!
I’ve been really craving burgers lately – must be all the hard runs and workouts I’ve been doing – so I was pumped when Matt made us some fun homemade ones on Tuesday night. Check out this monstrosity:
Plus a kale side salad, for balance. 🙂
Hit the spot!
4) 90 second quinoa.
You guys know how obsessed I am with 90 second plain brown rice, so imagine my delight when I discovered 90 second plain, unseasoned quinoa the other day at Target!
I tested it out on a salad earlier this week for lunch. Delish! I know quinoa is relatively quick and easy to make on the stovetop, but having an even quicker option (especially for weekday lunches) is awesome. Will def be buying it again!
5) Books written by good friends.
First up – my friend Gina! I received a review copy of her new book, HIIT It!, recently, and I’m really impressed.
I love Gina’s approach to food – healthy, simple, balanced, and realistic. On the workout front, she focuses on training smart – rather than just training – by utilizing short, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. The book includes a library of training plans, including detailed photos of workout moves, too.
There is also a great HIIT-inspired eating plan that has you eating frequently, listening to your hunger, and not stressing about food. I love her quick and easy snack ideas, and her recipes look amazing – I have my eye on these lettuce wraps, as well as some of the slow cooker recipes! I’ll definitely be trying some of them soon and will let you know my thoughts when I do.
If you’re looking to shake up your routine in a fun, sustainable way that will get you some real results – check out HIIT IT!. You’ll love it!
Next up is this awesome smoothie and juice recipe book written by my friend Tina!
As you guys know, I’ve been really into green smoothies lately, but I feel like I always make the exactly same thing or slight variations of the same thing. I was really excited to receive a review copy of this book – the recipes look easy, creative, and delicious – beautiful photos, too! I was really intrigued by this Spicy Green Smoothie – I think Matt would like this one!
I also want to try this Peppery Pear Juice! I have never juiced arugula before – such a good idea. Juice is another thing where I always make the same thing (usually carrot + ginger + apple + spinach or kale), so I’m looking forward to getting out of my rut and trying some of her recipes.
If you’re looking to mix up your smoothie and juice routine, or to start incorporating more produce into your life in an easy and tasty way, you’ll love Tina’s book. 🙂 I’ll share reviews of the recipes once I start making them, so stay tuned!
6) Getting to see a bunch of my grad school friends this weekend! (Elder and Jill, we’ll miss you!!)
My grad school BFF Libby is turning 30 next week, and a big group of us (Matt included) are meeting up this weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado, to celebrate (and ski)! I can’t WAIT to see them, and to ski for the first time on the west coast! Any tips? 🙂 Matt and I leave this afternoon!
See you guys back here tomorrow for an easy and tasty afternoon snack recipe!
