Week ahead

This week and weekend has been crazy, so please forgive my lack of posts.  Our family grew by one this week--my sister in law had a healthy baby boy.  We are so excited for them!

Lately, all I have wanted to do is grill out.  It's so much easier to plan a meat plus one veggie side.  I've even started a pinterest board for grillin ideas.  I'd love to hear yall's favorite things to grill.

Here's our menu plan for the week...

Breakfasts:  Husband will have "Meat Candy" (as he calls it) from Everyday Paleo.  Basically, a sausage meatball sandwiched in a date and wrapped in bacon.  They are pretty amazing.  I think I will have omelets with onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and topped off with some avocado. 

Lunches:  Most likely just leftovers.  I do have a salad I like to make with leftover steak that I'll put up later...if there's any steak left...

Dinners:

Sunday: Grilled grass-fed rib-eyes, asparagus, and roasted sweet potatoes
Monday:  Paleo tacos and slaw (again...it was delicious!)
Tuesday:  Entree salad of some kind.  I think I might grill some chicken and toss it in this salad.
Wednesday:  Crackeroni and cheese (with chicken) and roasted broccoli on the side
Thursday-Sunday:  I am headed to Chicago!!  Husband is fending for himself!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Apple crisp

Apple crisp
(paleo, grain-free)
Prep: 10 min
Bake: 50 min
Serves: 4

What you need:
4 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
Cinnamon, 2 tsp + 1 tbsp
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp grass-fed butter
5 pitted dates, diced
1 can chilled coconut milk, optional
1 vanilla bean or 1 T vanilla extract, optional

The good, the bad, and the ugly

The Good:

Nice weather.  So happy the heat is staying away for a few more weeks.
Spending my birthday money and giftcards on new dresses at Anthro (don't worry, they were on sale).
Looking forward to a trip to Chicago next week with my mama and sister.
Finally trusting myself to get on Pinterest. I was scared it was going to take over my life, but I feel that I have been very responsible so far :)

The Bad:

Husband in his last three weeks of his MBA.  He's gone way too much for my liking.
Being on call.
Giving talks in front of every dermatologist in the state this weekend.  Not a fan of public speaking.

The Ugly:

To the critter living in our attic:  take cover...Husband is coming for you!

Product Review: Clarisonic Mia

Two months ago, I invested in a Clarisonic Mia cleansing brush.  I researched the product a lot before making the purchase, and I decided it was worth a try.  I purchased it from Sephora, and felt safer doing it that way given their great return policy.  I ended up keeping the brush, and use it once or twice daily.

Here are Clarisonic's stated benefits (from their website):

The Week Ahead: Staying dedicated to preparing meals at home

Last weekend, my dear friend Laura and I were at Walmart (that place is so much more tolerable with a friend) and we both spent even more than usual for our weekly groceries.  She had read that families our age spend $70 per week on groceries.  Seventy.  We would starve if we only spent that.  I think there are two reasons for this A)  people eat out way too much and B) if they are eating at home, they are probably eating way too much processed food.  I did not grow up eating out at restaurants very often, so that never has been my habit, and I am very thankful for that.  However, sometimes I still have to remind myself why we eat at home (mostly financial reasons and also for our health) and then use some of the below tips to keep up my dedication to cooking at home.

Health benefits of weight lifting

In my workouts this month, I have been trying to take the metabolic conditioning (intense circuits involving jumping, lifting, etc) down a notch and focus on my strength training.  I have even been taking some yoga classes to enjoy more of the restorative benefits of exercise (more about that later).

I once read that your strength in middle age is the strongest predictor of mortality.  In other words, the stronger you are, the less likely you are to die.  That's some pretty serious stuff.  Since getting into CrossFit, I have also read many articles on the huge importance of weight lifting.  For a previous cardio-addict like myself, this took some serious convincing, but from a biochemical standpoint, it really does make sense.  When you are doing long workouts, your body automatically revs up its production of cortisol to keep you going.  The chronic presence of cortisol is detrimental to the body.  It can raise blood pressure and lead to diabetes.  These are not things I am trying to accomplish by working out.  So get off of that elliptical and treadmill and hit the weight room.  Especially the ladies.  Here's why:

What to Wear Wednesday: a Baby Shower

Every time I turn around it is already Wednesday! Here's what I wore to a baby shower I hosted this weekend...