6 Things I'm Loving Lately
Hello hello, friends!! What has everyone been up to? Life has been a little crazy on our end and I feel like I’m treading water to keep my head above. But it’s also been really good, and I feel like fall (or has the weather decided it’s already winter??) has been really refreshing for my heart and mind. I wanted to post something fun with a few of the things I’ve really been enjoying lately. I originally was going to share, but I just had to include all six!…So here you go!
1. This white chicken chili from Fit Foodie Finds. I have a really random, but prominent memory of eating white chicken chili with tortilla chips and cheese in a styrofoam bowl in the the hallway of a school during my brother’s basketball game. My family couldn’t afford to eat out, so my mom would prep food in a crockpot and bring all the necessary accompaniments so that we could eat dinner on game nights. She is such a rockstar.
My mom’s recipe is super delicious, but I came across this recipe on instagram and really wanted to try it out. It did NOT disappoint. It’s super hearty, filling, and delicious. Anyone else love hominy? Just me?
2. Candles on cold, dark mornings. Candles just make everything cozy, am I right?! Last year I had a candle that smelled so so good from Bath and Body Works. Unfortunately, they no longer make that scent and when I looked it up on Amazon, they were like $27…for a candle. So instead, I’ve been enjoying a woodwick candle (again, crackling candle=cozy).
3. My new rug. I’m horrible at making decisions, especially when money is involved. I had been eyeing this rug for several weeks/months and couldn’t decide if I should buy it or not. I saw an ad on facebook marketplace for THE perfect coffee table (it was a round marble top table with gold legs 😍) and it was on a similar looking rug, which confirmed that I needed this rug. I got the rug, but the table sold too quickly. For those interested, I got it from RugsUSA.
4. Cleaning my sink more regularly. Let’s be honest, cleaning my house isn’t my strength. Like at all. Both ImmaEatThat and The Real Life RD recommended this website. She had a clean your sink every night challenge, but that’s just not realistic for me. I’ve been using her sink scrub “recipe” a few nights a week and it makes me feel so clean and put together! Maybe one day I’ll be able to clean it every night, but that day is not today.
5. French toast with sourdough bread. I’ve lived the last 29 years thinking I didn’t like french toast. But the other day, I offered it as an option for breakfast to Isaac (to be polite, but secretly hoping he didn’t choose it) and that’s what he chose. I considered making something else for myself, but decided to try it. Oh. My. Goodness. I was so so wrong about french toast—it’s delicious. I just scramble an egg with milk and cinnamon and then dip the bread in it until it’s soaked all the way through and then cook it on a greased/buttered skillet. I then top it with peanut butter, banana, and syrup. Yum!!
6. Interior Design Masters on Netflix. I stumbled upon this show and absolutely LOVE it! It’s a competition with various individual and group challenges to design rooms, retreats, shops, etc in two days and each week, someone is kicked off the show. I love seeing the transformations, the interactions between the contestants, and the British accents.
I hope you find some inspiration in the things I’ve been enjoying lately. I’d love to hear from you—what are YOU enjoying??
Snack Ideas
I apologize because it’s been FOREVER since I’ve posted on here. I could say that I’m far too busy taking care of a baby and seeing clients, but really it ultimately comes down to intention. Blogging takes work and time—something I don’t always want to invest 🤪. I do NOT understand how some bloggers post multiple times a week (or even some, every day!!). Major props to those people.
I get questions about snack ideas, so I thought I would compile a list of ideas for you. Please remember that ANY food can be a snack food. There are no rules about what “counts” as a snack versus a meal or dessert. YOU get to decide what you want to eat whenever you get hungry. The purpose of a snack is simply to get you through until your next meal without getting overly hungry. So what and how much you choose depends on when your next meal is, how long it’s been since you last ate, and what you last ate. If it’s been 3 hours since I last ate and I still have 2 more hours until my husband gets home for dinner, I’m going to eat a much more substantial snack than if I only have 30 more minutes until meal time (and yes, I will eat a snack even if dinner is in 30 minutes. Hanger can hit in 30 minutes). Or a night time snack typically isn’t as substantial because I’m not as hungry from having dinner somewhat recently.
But guys, you do what works best for YOU! Use this list simply as an idea—the amount is up to you. And if you’re wondering, yes, I typically aim for a carb and fat/protein at each snack to help with satiety and blood sugar stabilization.
So here you go! And if you notice a lot of peanut butter references, really everything I eat is just a vehicle for peanut butter. 😉
This granola (I actually half the amount of nuts, but you do you) with milk and banana slices
Cheese, turkey, and crackers…I HIGHLY recommend Aldi’s "specialty select” rosemary scalloped crackers with their goat cheese. Aldi is the place to go for yummy and affordable cheeses.
Muffin or slice of bread with nut butter or butter. Every week I make a baked goodie or two. Here’s my current favorite pumpkin banana bread, vegan banana bread (with chocolate chips added, duh) , almond flour banana bread, apple crumble snack bars
Leftover pancake with nut butter and banana (you can find my whole wheat pancake recipe here)
Yogurt parfait (use full fat yogurt, trust me) with yogurt, fruit, and granola or nuts…I personally LOVE the Green Mountain Top Creamery 5% plain yogurt with honey and peanut butter mixed in.
Cottage cheese + fruit
Fruit + cheese stick
Dinner leftovers (this is great when you don’t have enough leftovers for a full meal)
Gosh, I love Papa Murphy’s pizzas….
Toast with avocado and egg or deli meat
Baked good—cookie, piece of cake, brownie, etc. I’ve shared before, but these brownies are bomb…
Protein or granola bar + fruit (a few of my favorite brands are RX bars, Perfect Bars, Nature Valley granola, Luna peanut butter protein, Clif peanut butter, KIND nut ones)
Homemade lara bars…
Smoothie that has some sort of protein powder or nut butter for some staying power
Coffee smoothie (cold brew, frozen banana, date) with collagen peptides.
Juice plus chocolate powder with banana, peanut butter, milk, and ice topped with more peanut butter and banana bread crumbles.
Leftover roasted veggies + cottage cheese
Popcorn + nuts/cheese
Hope this gives you some inspiration. I’d love to hear what snacks YOU enjoy!!
A day in the life...
I get questions all the time about what my schedule looks like. Goodness, it looks different EVERY day and every week. I'm still in the process of building up my clientele, so there are days when I have 6 clients and other days where I have none. There is no real consistency, which can be difficult and discouraging at times, but I also like that it keeps me on my toes. Anyways, I thought I would share a day in the life along with the foods I ate. Hope you enjoy!
6:00 AM Alarm went off
6:10 Got out of bed (mornings are a little more rough now that it's dark outside when I wake up)
6:20 Made Isaac breakfast
6:35 Curled hair, put on makeup, and got dressed
6:58 Poured myself a cup of iced Vietnamese coffee for my first session, because coffee...
7:00 Online session with an out-of-state client
7:35 Ate breakfast-soaked oats and chia seeds in almond milk with pb2, maple syrup, blueberries, and pecans. Not pictured is a turkey and cheese rollup for some protein. 💪🏻
8:00 Left for work at my office
8:30 Client session
9:05 There is a Great Harvest Bread Company across the street from my office that I enjoy sitting outside at, so I walked over, got an iced latte and worked on some things on my laptop until my next appointment.
10:00 new session
11:00 client session
11:45 Headed home after my last session to get some lunch. I was getting really hungry so I ate half of a homemade rxbar to keep me from getting too hungry before lunch.
12:00 PM Made lunch: threw a bunch of leftover veggies in the skillet with eggs and topped it all with avocado, blue cheese crumbles, and pepitas. Served with a thin slice of banana zucchini bread and two chocolate covered almonds (not pictured).
I've got a little inside info for you. I felt a little uncomfortably full after this meal. Now, I don't want anyone comparing their usual lunch to mine--there are days when this wouldn't be enough. But on today day, it was a little more than enough. I just want you to know that I don't always "get it right" when it comes to my fullness cues. But instead of judging myself, I observed what led to me eating a little too much at that time. And guess what? Fullness subsides. I got hungry again later in the day. That discomfort of being a little over full goes away 😊
12:40 Washed dishes, vacuumed, etc while catching up on a show
2:15 Left to run some errands downtown
Can we just celebrate my parallel parking job?!
3:20 got to the YMCA to work out. I was a little sore from my workout yesterday, so I decided it would be a cardio day to work out the soreness. It felt really good to move my body
4:20 I ate the rest of my homemade rxbar while driving to get some last minute dinner ingredients at the store.
5:00 Started to make dinner
5:40 Isaac and I sat down to eat dinner. I had tried leftovers of this dish with my sis and wanted to make it afterwards, so I made it for the first time this night. So delish!
6:10 Talked to my sister-in-law on the phone about plans for getting together in a few weeks. She's the absolute best.
6:15 My 3rd night of cookies and cream ice cream with frozen cookie dough added 😍 while Isaac and I sat outside and I hung out on my laptop
7:05 Went for a walk around our apartment complex. It was 80 degrees outside and felt glorious!! I'm really going to miss the regular walks and incredible beauty when we move to our house.
7:35 We just hung out: worked on this blog post, web surfed, watched Friday Night Lights (SUCH a great show...so many warm fuzzy feelings..and a few tears). Had another thin slice of zucchini banana bread with peanut butter.
10:00 Hopped into bed. I meet with a girl from my church every week at 6 am, so it's gonna be an early morning.
Hope you all have/had a great day!!