Jennifer Tries……..F45
April 27, 2018
Hey there! What’s the haps? Did you have a good week? My week consisted of working myself into an early grave per usual. Sometimes I just need my brain to stop, collaborate and listen. You know what I mean? Sheesh. It’s like I just can’t get it to turn off. I mean, even at Yoga this week I had to keep refocusing myself because my mind would just wander back to what I needed to do for work. Usually I can just Stop..Yoga Time. But not this week. Aww yah 90’s music references all day!
So, as I’m writing this week’s blog I’m sitting on the couch
eating a bowl of quinoa, kale and chicken. Glamorous I know. Try to contain
yourself. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of what to write about this
week. To be honest I haven't gotten a lot of reading done, which sucks because I’m
supposed to be working on my health coach certification but there just never
seem to be enough hours in the day. I haven’t really gotten out there and tried
anything new since the hubs and I went to Vertical Ventures and I haven’t created
any recipes. LAME! But, I realized I never shared my little day trip down to
Ft. Myers with you all. It’s the Jennifer Tries post that never was. I blame It
on Hurricane Irma. That B*%$# turned my life upside down. Darn you IRMA!
Prior to the hurricane, I refuse to say her name anymore, my
husband and I took a little day trip down to Ft. Myers Florida. Now, you may be
asking yourself, Why? There’s nothing in Ft. Myers. Oh, but there is. Ft. Myers
has an F45. Bum, Bum, BUUUUUMMMMMM!
What is F45? It stands for Functional 45. I had heard about F45 through a friend who saw an ad on Facebook.
After looking at their website, scrolling through their Facebook page and
seeing they had franchise opportunities I knew I had to check this place out!
From the pictures, it seemed like a cross between Orange Theory and Crossfit.
At the time Ft. Myers was the only location open on the West coast of Florida
so that is the one we visited. I couldn’t wait to try it out! It looked pretty
intense which is right up my alley.
The drive down seemed to take forever. I mean Ft. Myers is
like 4 hours from me. UGH! To infinity.
When we got to the gym I noticed they had a tire out front. HEELLLLOOOO
Tire Flips! That’s my jam right there! I knew in that moment this was the place for me.
When we walked in the gym I took a look around to get a feel for the lay out. It was a
pretty open floor plan except for a random wall smack dab in the middle of the
room. They had battle ropes, bikes, rowers, TRX, Bosu balls, sleds, boxes. You
name it, they had it! It was like the skies had opened up and delivered pretty much all the things I like into one gym. :: Cue heavenly music here::
On the day we went, the workout we were doing was FoxTrot. Yes, you read that right. They have some funky names for their workouts. Let's see, so they have Fox Trot, Hollywood, Romans, Brooklyn, Wingman, the list goes on. In fact they have 31 different types of workouts but the workouts are never the same. What up variety!
So for our workout, the FoxTrot, there were several stations we rotated through. There were monitors on the main wall that showed the exact exercise for that station and keep time for you. Each station consisted of two exercises you basically ran like a superset and we completed two rounds at each station. Each round is 45 seconds ( F45....get it!)of work with a 15 sec rest.
Our workout consisted of TRX squats, row machine, ladder
drills, Bosu lunges, box jumps, battle ropes, skaters and bunch of other sweat inducing
exercises. We didn’t stop from the time we walked in the gym until the time we
left. And I loved every second of it!
Throughout the workout the trainer was walking around correcting
form, providing alternative movements to fit each persons level and offering
words of encouragement. In a group class setting they usually have the
encouragement thing down pat. Sometimes too much, but it’s rare that you get
some one on one attention from the instructor, at least in my experience. It
was nice to see they cared about providing a fun, safe environment for the members.
When the class was over we were exhausted, in a good way. It
was definitely a good work out. The trainer invited us back that weekend to try
out Romans which is their functional strength-based workout. I really wanted to
attend but was not up for making the drive again. If only there was an F45
closer to us.
F45 offers a free pass so you check out the different
workouts and see if they are a good fit for you. They also offer a lot of
resources on their website to help you on your health and fitness journey such
as tracking, nutrition and an online community to keep you on track. The great
thing is now there is a location in Land O’ Lakes, just outside of Tampa, where
you can conveniently give it a try! You won't have to drive a billion miles like
I did.
I love this group fitness gym and I feel it is right for any fitness level due to the trainer interaction. If you're not a intensity junky like me, like I said, they have 31 varieties of classes you can choose for your level and what you want out of your workout.
Go check them out! Let me know what you think.
Until next time gang, peace!
Are Push-Ups Important?
April 20, 2018
What up?!! Hey, sorry no post last week but …… you know…..I
had life happening soooooooo. But, I’m here! So, last post I was anticipating
the Jersey Shore reboot. Did you watch it? I wasn’t able to watch it Friday
evening because the hubs and I went to our nephews’ spring concert for their
school. They were so funny and so adorable.
The youngest, while he was singing his friend covered his mouth! LOL.
Kids……am I right?! So, I ended up watching the Jersey Shore on Saturday.
The
reboot, or what they are calling a “Family Vacation,” takes place in Miami. I
personally feel they should have brought it back to the shore for this first
season back but that’s just me, what do I know. So, they are in Miami, sans
Sammi. I won’t spoil anything if for some reason you haven’t watched it but
what I will say is holy plastic surgery Batman! Hey, I’m all for you doing you
but it caught me off guard with how plastic the girls’ faces looked. They were
already adorable. If it ain’t broke…….
Anywho…I won’t go off on that tangent. This week we’re
talking pushups. What’s up with pushups? Pretty much everyone hates them, but
you still see people struggling to get through them at the gym. There are also
those who enjoy adding to the torture and add weights, a buddy, take it to an
incline or a decline. You know, get fancy with it.
Throughout my fitness journey I have had three goals in my
mind that I have been dead set on one day on achieving. I have no set time
frame to achieve these goals, but they are ever present in my daily training.
Most people that train with weights typically think of setting a PR on bench
press, squat and deadlift as goals they would like to meet but for me, my goals
are more simplistic. I have always wanted to be able to do sits ups, pushups
and pull ups. Your typical calisthenics. #basic
When I was young, in PE I struggled with all three. I
couldn’t do a sit up to save my life. Mainly because of my chubby little belly,
which turned into a large chubby belly as the years went on. Pull ups, the
other kids would at least make it half way to the bar, me, I would just dangle.
And pushups….pppssshhhhttt forget it! And, of course, all of these movements
were performed in front of the entire class in some sort of fitness evaluation.
Being a heavy kid, this did not bode well in my favor. The ridicule that
followed left me hating PE. This stuck with me throughout my school years. Why
are kids so mean?! Sheesh.
When I set out on my fitness journey after grade school,
these three simple movements were my go to in determining my worth in the gym.
Was I getting stronger? If I could pull off these movements then I knew I had
made it. I was fit. I’ll never forget the day I did a full sit up without
flailing all over the place. I could have cried. I was so happy and realized
how far I had come. My inner fat kid wanted to run around and say “See! see! I
can do sit ups!” Then there are pull ups….my never-ending work in progress. If
you have read some of my older blog posts, you’ll read my struggles. I had
pretty much given up on pull ups over the past year. In recent months, I
decided to try them again for shits and giggles and I made it about ¼ of the
way up. My motivation was restored, and I have been trying to incorporate them
little by little back into my routine.
Then there are pushups.::sigh:: They have always been a struggle. My core strength and upper body
strength just weren’t up to par enough to get the job done. Even performing the
movement on my knees was a chore. And trust me, I did not like doing push-ups
on my knees. They are often referred to as girl pushups. NOPE! I wanted to do
what the boys did and do it better if I could. It’s only in recent years that
my push-ups have gotten significantly better and my knees are down no more! I
have really taken the time to work on my posture, core and upper body strength
and can perform multiple push-ups without fatigue. This is why I love the
gym. It’s a place where hard work always
pays off.😊
There are all kinds of work out regimens out there. I see
workouts all the time, the “No Sit Up Six Pack,” Routine, the “No Pushup Chest
Workout,” and so on. But, aren’t these simplistic movements important?
I wanted to dive deeper into the pushup. It was my enemy for
so long. The hatred I had for this exercise was insane. If my training for the
day included pushups, I dreaded it, I would cut my reps short but I would
begrudgingly suffer through them. So why
did I keep doing them? Because, push-ups are important.
Pushups can be performed anywhere! You do not need any
equipment to perform a push up, just your body weight. This makes them a very
versatile exercise. When we think of push-ups we think of it as a chest
exercise, but push-ups are truly a full body movement. They incorporate not
only the chest but the shoulder, core, lower back and quadriceps.
Think about yourself in the push up position, on your toes,
body in a straight line from head to toe, shoulders tracking over your wrists.
As you lower toward the ground and then push yourself back up your using your
shoulders, chest and even triceps/biceps to stabilize your upper body. You
engage your core to keep your middle from sagging and assist your upper body
with stabilization. Then your quads are activated to keep your knees from hitting
the ground. All of this is happening in sync just to lower and raise your body.
This simplistic movement takes your shoulder muscles through a full range of
motion, stabilizing your shoulder girdle through the entire movement and keeping
your core tight to help alleviate the pressure from your lower back. There is a
lot going on in one exercise, building strength in the body without any
weights. As you progress your push up the strength and mobility you gain from
this exercise transcends into other movements such as bench press, shoulder
press etc.
Performing push-ups is also a great way, as is any strength
training exercise or program, to stimulate your metabolism and increase blood
circulation which increases your calorie burn. I’m sure if you’ve ever
performed a set of push-ups….heck! sometimes even one push-up, you’ve noticed
your heart rate increases and you start to break a sweat.
While your big four movements (squat, deadlift, bench press,
and shoulder press) should be a staple in your routine don’t forget about your
basic movements such as push-ups. They can really help you progress your
training.
Think you suck at push-ups?! Think you just can’t do them?
Think again my friend! There are push-ups for everyone! I know, I know…not what
you want to read but hear me out. Start small. If getting down to the ground is
not in your cards right now start with wall push-ups! Yes, that’s a thing. You
can start building up your upper body strength, work on engaging your core and
quads.
Once you’ve gotten the hang of those move to an incline
push-up on a bench. Then you can take it to the mat and keep your knees on the
ground then eventually you can go to a full push-up position. It can be a
process but you’ll see the benefits and changes in your body and strength for
sure!
There are many variations of push-ups you can utilize in
your training. Check out my Push-up Pinterest board to give you more ideas,
step-by-step instruction and even push-up challenges!
All right….I’m outta here for now peoples. Let me know If
you get some push-ups in this weekend. Better yet, tag me in your pics!
@barbellsandboyshorts on the IG.
Gossip and Gladiator
April 6, 2018
Phew! We’re finally though the holidays for a while. Oh, no, wait. Mother’s Day. We still have Mother’s Day. Sheesh. It’s holiday overload for real! It’s like, who decided let’s have a holiday 10 out of 12 months during the year? OMG that’s 10 Months! 10 months of nothing but holidays!!! Think about it, October- Halloween, November- Thanksgiving, December- Christmas, January- New Year’s, February- Valentine’s, March- St. Patrick’s Day, April- Easter, May- Mother’s Day, June- Father’s Day, July- 4th of July. This is insane people. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good holiday as much as the next gal but seriously, do we need all of these holidays? Huh?
Let’s take this weekend for example. Easter. Had a great
time, it was so nice spending time with everyone, but it was a whirlwind of
exhaustion. From cooking and baking the day before, to driving here and there,
to cleaning up after dinner, UGH! Sorry, now I just sound like the Ebenezer
Scrooge of Easter. It’s just my anxiety talking. As much as I tried not to stress
out on Easter the inner me was screaming times and lists of what needed to be
done, and how would I have time for that, and I’m not going to get to bed on
time, and, and, and. But, in the end it was a nice day. I have pictures to prove it see!
August and September are now my new favorite months, just so you know. They’re keepin’ chill over there coming off summer and offering a little relief before we start all over again.
August and September are now my new favorite months, just so you know. They’re keepin’ chill over there coming off summer and offering a little relief before we start all over again.
Oh, let me move away from that. No fancy transitions here,
no sir. I made it to Yoga on Friday! YEAAAA! I was so glad. I needed that like
no other. We did a lot of hip work which I definitely need to help with my
squats on squats on squats. That and ankle mobility. I also made it this Monday
which is when I prefer to go. Monday, we worked on core and balance. Aside from
Yoga, I have been doing a whole mobility regimen at the gym. Squats and
Deadlifts are gonna be pretty! And ever since we went to Vertical Ventures I’ve
been working on my pull ups again. Still ¼ reps but I’m re-motivated! Thinking
this could be the year! Yes, I Can! #justonepullupplease
Can we talk for a minute about the news bomb that was
dropped on everyone Tuesday morning? Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan
Tatum…..Dunzo! WHAT!? First Chris Pratt and Anna Farris and now these two?!
I’ll never be able to watch Step Up
the same way. ::Sigh:: Does anyone make it anymore? And who are they fooling?
They all put out these posts stating how they’re still good friends and parents
it was just time to amicably separate because they are going in different
directions. Let’s get real, they are people too. You know it was probably that
the husband left a dirty dish out one to many times and the wife’s brush full
of hair grossed out the husband for the last time, the volcano finally erupted
and BAM! Divorce city. This is why we just need to ask for what we want people.
Just come out with it, not in an angry way, fix it before that. Say something
like, it makes me feel XYZ when you leave
your dirty dishes around the house, can you please pick them up? I dunno,
sounds good right? I’m no marriage expert.
Oh man! You know what came back this week?! Jersey
Shore!!!!! This Thursday was Jerzday! Whoop Whoop! I DVR’d that ‘ish and will
be watching it tonight. So excited! Did you watch it! Was it as amazing as the
original series? Yes, I know it’s trash TV but darn it, that shit is funny! One
of my favorite scenes from the original series was when they were In Miami and JWoww and Snooki wrote the
note to Sammi about Ronni’s shenanigans. Sammi found out and when they were all
fighting in the kitchen Sammi put her had in the gun position and pointed it
back and forth at JWoww and Snooki and said “Who wrote the note, Yous two!”
LMAO. Her Jersey came out fo sho. She’s not in this reunion, summer vaycay
edition though. I follow her on Instagram and she rattled off a note to her
fans about how she’s in a good place and is focusing on herself and blah, blah,
blah. Don’t try to act like you didn’t come from the Jersey Shore Guidette. Um
K! Shoo. But it should be a blast in a glass even without her. GTL forever!
So, onto what this post is really about, Camp Gladiator! If
you haven’t heard of Camp Gladiator, you will be soon. This outdoor fitness
community is exploding! You may have seen cars driving around with a small cg
on the rear window. That’s Camp Gladiator! When I first saw even a mention of
Camp Gladiator they were focused in the Tarpon Springs area. In recent months I
see they’re popping up throughout Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Brandon
Florida. So, I decided to dig a little deeper and find out what the CG is all
about.
Camp Gladiator is a trainer run, outdoor, group fitness
class. The trainers are not employees but partners of Camp Gladiator. They
create their own schedule and can teach classes as early to as late as they
would like! This makes it convenient to find a class time that works for you in
your area. They hold classes at parks, schools, churches, Home Depot parking
lots. It’s fitness anywhere. What drew me to Camp Gladiator the most was that
they phase their workouts. You don’t go to a class and kill yourself with
cardio every time you go. They have a strength week an endurance week, interval
and peak week and you never do the same workout twice. This is one of the
preferred and best ways to train to keep your body from adapting to one style
of training and to build strength in all areas for overall fitness.
To attend a class all you have to do is sign up on line or
through their app. When you attend a class you just need a mat and a set of
weight 5-10lbs or so. But don’t worry, if you don’t have weights the trainer
may have extras you can use, or they will provide modifications. I took my
first class during interval week. Hello! I LOVE interval training! So, I lucked
out. When I arrived at the class, which was in the parking lot of a local
church, I was greeted by the trainer and pretty much everyone else in the
group. They were so welcoming! The trainer started the class off with a chant
to get everyone hyped up. She went over the evenings workout and went straight
to the warm up. This was great. I ‘ve been to so many group classes where you
don’t warm up and for me, warming up is crucial.
After the warmup we had 10 stations, maybe it was 7.....hmmm any way, we had 7 or 10 stations to complete with a group
of about 6 people at each station. We had 3 rounds of intervals at each
station. The stations ranged from burpees, to squat jumps, to pushups etc. We completed each station as a group and let
me tell you, I haven’t smiled like that during a workout in a while. It was so
fun! The workout was high energy, the group I was with were super motivating
and after each round everyone, and I mean everyone, was handing out high fives
left and right.
I definitely felt the burn during that class, I was drenched
in sweat when I left. But what I felt most was a sense of community, belonging
and acceptance. I am so glad I gave Camp Gladiator a try. I would recommend it
to anyone. There are all age groups and athletic abilities there. The great
thing is parents can bring their kids and they can work out together. It makes
it convenient for everyone. And don’t worry, they always have a backup space
for inclement weather, so you don’t have to miss a work out if it rains. And
during the summers in Florida…oh it rains!
Here's the group!
Here's the group!
I look forward to seeing the growth of this fitness
community and who knows…..maybe I’ll be a Camp Gladiator coach one day!
She Came, She Saw, She Kinda, Almost, Conquered
March 30, 2018
What up fam! Hope your week has been lit! Oh, who am I
kidding……. I’m 35. All of that just sounds weird LOL. So, how are you? What’s
new? Nothing to crazy over here. I’m totally dragging because I started my week
off all wrong. I didn’t go to bed until almost 10:00pm Sunday night. I know, I
know, I’m such a rebel. I stayed up an extra 45 minutes past my bed time.
WWWWHHHHHOOOOOAAAAA! Can you even handle me right now? And I waited until
Monday morning to pack my food for the day..UGH. I mean, it’s already time
consuming but then to be under time constraints and trying to do that…oh..no.
Oh well, what are you gonna do.
This past weekend was a pretty eye opening and a fun couple
of days. Saturday morning, I hit the gym bright and early because I had an
interview an hour across town for a personal training internship. No, I’m not leaving my full-time job, this
would be part time and would help me gain more experience and learn the
business. On my way to the interview I
was going over questions that may be asked and how I might answer them. Yes, I
did this out loud to myself. No shame in my game. Being that I do not have tint
on my truck, I’m sure the neighboring vehicles were concerned. So, one of the
questions I anticipated was, “What was
the reason for your delay in pursuing a career as a personal trainer?” As I answered this to myself I had this weird
moment of clarity. It was never really that I didn’t want to be a personal
trainer, or I wanted to pursue a career in insurance, it was mostly that I
didn’t feel I looked the part. Even at my thinnest, not even eating 1,000
calories a day, I felt fat. I felt like I didn’t look fit enough to be a
personal trainer. I often thought “Who
would take fitness advice from me when I don’t even look fit?” Man, that
made me feel so sad for my former self. I wasted so much time being so caught
up in feeling less than. But, having those conversations with myself on the way
really helped me open up and present my true self during my interview, so it
was a win. Did I get the internship? Not sure yet, they had others to interview
and said they would contact me. So, that could go either way. We’ll see.
After that I went home and put on some workout clothes. The
hubs and I were going to Vertical Ventures, an indoor rock climbing gym! I had
been there years ago with my nephew, but my husband had never been and wanted
to try it. When we got there, they ran us through a brief class on how to use
the equipment and climb safely. Let me tell you, if that is not a relationship
building experience I don’t know what is! You have to fall from near the top of
the wall which is like 100 ft high….ok maybe not that high, but it was really
high, and your partner at the bottom has to stop your fall and gently lower you
to the ground. Scary! But, we both passed! They then gave us free rein on the
gym. We climbed a couple sections. My husband is just a beast. He was like
freakin’ spider-man. He has great grip strength and upper body strength, so
this was like child’s play for him.
Me, I did pretty good. I definitely have a lot more grip and
upper body strength since the last time I went. Plus, having my husband there,
I wasn’t scared to fall. Then we gave the treadwall a try. It’s like a
treadmill but upright with rocks to climb. That took a second to get used to,
but it ended up being my favorite part! I can’t wait to get back in there and
do it again!
OH! and I almost did a pull up! If you have read any of my
earlier blog posts I was on a kick for awhile to do one pull up…just one! Well,
for some reason my arms don’t bend, and I got tired of not progressing, so I
gave up on that dream. Yes! I know! I GAVE UP! UGHHHHHHH so depressing! Well,
they had these hanging cones, so you can work on your grip. I hung on them and
was playing around and tried to pull myself up. Well, my elbows bent! I went
about ¼ of the way. Hey, for me that’s progress. Then I had my husband hold my
feet and I got 2 full pull ups! WHAT WHAT! So stoked! Now all I want to do Is practice
pull ups.
After Vertical Ventures……P.S. Your first visit, they give you
two weeks free to use the climbing gym. Ok, so, after that we had planned on
going to the beach. Well, when we got down to the beach it was all of sudden
like the artic north, so we just walked up and down the beach. It was nice and
peaceful. The beach we went to allows dogs, so it was fun to see all the dogs
running around and having a great time. I certainly needed and welcomed the
fresh air, even though it was chilly. All in all it was nice afternoon. I
wanted to kick myself later for it though because when I got home it was like full on
stress mode trying to get everything cooked/baked for the next days festivities,
but I survived.
So, the next day I celebrated my birthday with the amazing
women in my life. My Mom, sisters, nieces and I went to Painting with a Twist.
We brought brunchy foods and had mimosas while we painted the most adorable
flower pots with daisies. We all had a great time, even my mom! And she did
great by the way. So glad we could all get together. Unfortunately, I did not
take pictures of any of the food!!!!! But I did get these cute pictures.
We did pretty good huh?!
After the painting, we went back to my mom’s for cake. My
cake turned out ok. It looked NOTHING like the picture. In my freaked-out
moment the night before I fought with that cake and the cake won. It tasted
good though. I was slightly disappointed because I thought I had covered all of
the bases. The food I prepared was grain free, low/no sugar, vegetarian and
seed free. But that cake……I didn’t even think about it. The frosting had
strawberry preserve in it……my one sister can’t eat seeds. Whomp whomp! FAIL!
::sigh:: I tried. But, at least one of the snicker doodle muffins I made was
left so she had that in lieu of cake and those muffins are delish….the
bomb…amaze balls! Shout out to Against All Grains for that recipe. It’s a
winner, winner chicken dinner if you couldn’t tell.
It was a good weekend.
So that leaves us where this whole post started. Sunday night I
was up until 10:00pm. Monday morning I was running around like a mad person and
then Monday night. Oh Monday night. Monday is my Yoga night. One hour and 20
minutes to focus on nothing but breathing, my body and just being in the
moment. Well that was ruined by a shit ton of traffic. I had to miss my yoga
class!!!!!! Errrgggg Traffic. Darn you people who can’t drive. So I signed up
to take a class tonight. It will be a nice way to kick off this Easter weekend.
Do you have any Easter plans? Do you even celebrate Easter? Easter day is going
to be full of craziness going from one house to the next but I’m looking
forward to it. And of course I’ll be cooking and baking. Don’t worry, I won’t back
myself into a corner this weekend. I’ve already made sure I’ll have plenty of
time to make everything. It should be smooth sailing. I’ll take pictures of the
food I make this time so I can share the links to the recipes with you.
All right! I think you read enough from me today. Have a
great weekend peoples!
Follow me on the socials. I’ve been pinning more recipes and
posting more workout snippets to help give you some ideas for your routine.
B-SMART: Strategies to eat healthy and save money
March 23, 2018
Food intolerances and dietary preferences are for the birds!
I just needed to say that. Shout it out loud! UGH! Let me tell you, so I have
been planning a little girls day this coming weekend to celebrate my birthday.
So, this Sunday My Mom, myself, my sisters and their daughters……the 6 of us,
are getting together in the morning to do Painting with a Twist, have some
brunchy finger foods while we are there and then go back to my Mom’s place for birthday cake. Well, I’m totally grain free, my one sister is gluten free and
then my other sister and her daughter are vegetarians! Plus, neither of my
sisters like cooked fruit. And, for my mom, we have been trying limit her foods that have excess sugar and processed carbohydrates. Needless to say, coming up with
a menu has been a chore, simply for the fact there is so much to consider when
choosing what to make. Making a couple things turns into making an entire
spread because you want everyone to enjoy the food and be happy. I put it on
myself really. I know they certainly don’t expect me to cater to each one of
them, but I will. Food makes people happy and it makes me happy when my food
makes people happy. Ok?! My menu so far, may change in the next five minutes,
is an veggie loaded egg breakfast casserole, Paleo Orange Cranberry and Pecan
muffins (my mom loves orange and cranberry,) and I will also be making Paleo
snickerdoodle muffins. I’m hoping I included everyone. All of the above foods are
vegetarian, grain and gluten free and one of the muffins does not have cooked
fruit. Oh shoot……my oldest sister can’t eat anything with seeds….I’ll have to
double check the veggies in the casserole. ::Sigh:: My sister is doing a mimosa
station…yum! And my oldest sister is bringing fruit. I was going to make fruit skewers,
but you know what, I’m just glad she is taking that off my hands, she can bring
the fruit in a bucket for all I care. Oh, and coffee….I'm bringing coffee.
Sheesh…..I think I went a little overboard. Now that I’m typing it out it
sounds like a lot. Oh well, I over cook/bake for every occasion. Better too
much than too little!
It should be fun though. My mom has never done Painting with a Twist. I had a bowling birthday party last year and she had so much fun doing
that I thought I would do something this year she might enjoy.
Geez…..then next weekend is Easter…what the heck am I going
to make for that?! I can’t think about that right now.
So, this week I wanted to offer some insight into how you
can eat healthy and not break the bank. I thought it would be helpful and I have had to find ways to navigate the grocery waters myself so I wanted to share! I had been eating a pretty healthy diet
through out my late teens and twenties but once I started having reactions to
grains I was pretty much thrust in to health food overload. So, trust and
believe, I know how overwhelming it can be. I mean, they make it so easy and
inexpensive to eat crap food. When you decide or have to start eating a more
whole food diet you feel awestruck at the cost an effort it takes. So, I wanted
to provide some ways you can B-SMART and create shopping strategies to help you
eat healthy and save money!
BIG BOX STORES!
We all know them; some people hate them. Me, I LOVE them! You’ve got your SAMS
Club, COSTCO, BJ’s. Options people, you’ve got options. These big box stores
offer a wide variety of food options and ways to save. The truth of the matter
is buying in bulk truly does save you some cash. If there are foods you eat
regularly or feel like you are constantly running to the store for, I highly
recommend checking one of these stores out. I go there……let me be honest, my
husband does most of the grocery shopping at SAMS Club or COSTCO ‘cuz he’s the
best 😊 Soooooo he goes there to buy our meat,
bottled water, apples, eggs and some veggies. I also have him pick up my almond
milk and coconut oil there. And yes, they sell organic, gluten free,
non-GMO…all the things! It’s great! And you can pick up your household items,
some wine and knives you never knew you needed all in one trip. Score!
Shopping local, depending
on your area, may be easier for some than others but look around you. Is there
a farmer’s market you pass on the way to work every day? Does your community
have art festivals, craft fairs etc. on the weekends where local farmers sell
their crops? If so, make an effort to stop by and purchase your veggies there.
You will be supporting your local economy and their produce is usually way
cheaper than the store. Plus, it’s fresher and tends to last a little longer
than the store-bought produce.
Meal prep/Meal
plan- I have said this one before and I am repeating myself because I truly
find it to be one of the most time and money saving practices I have
incorporated. Take a few moments one day a week and decide what you want to
have for your meals that week. It can seem like a daunting task but after the
first 2-3 times you’ll start to see the benefits, PROMISE! No more back
and forth about what you’re going to have for dinner, no more giving in and
going out to eat because you don’t feel like cooking or have nothing in the
house to eat. No more wrecking your diet eating fast food on your lunch break
at work because you’ll have fresh homemade food at your fingertips. The easiest
way is to pull up a blank calendar worksheet in Microsoft word, put your meals
in for each day, make a grocery list and off to the store you go! What ever you
can make in advance and will keep, do so in the same day. My husband and I make
almost all of our food on Sunday. Typically, the only meal we freshly prepare is our dinner each night. The nice thing, is if one of us is getting home
late (typically me) we have food ready to go in the fridge. We can just pop it
in the microwave and we have dinner in a few minutes as opposed to 30-60
minutes or more. I pack my meals with the prepared food each evening to take
with me to work the next day and it keeps me from eating food that is brought
into work or going out to eat on my lunch break. I can use my lunch break to go
for a walk now and get outside in the fresh air. A much-needed mental break.
Another good rule of thumb when trying not to blow your
entire life savings on healthier options is to Avoid catch phrases. By this I mean, try to avoid foods labelled,
Keto, Paleo, Gluten free, when you can. Often times, you can find the same item
with the same ingredients with out all of the hype for cheaper. When you
gravitate toward the hype words sometimes you end up paying more for the flair.
You’ll see this on some canned foods, packaged items such as chips or trail
mix, you’ll even see it on frozen veggies from time to time. Which brings me to,
Read your labels. Even on brands you
think you know, read the label. It can help you avoid unwanted additives,
ingredients and the catch phrase trap. Compare the labels of the store brand
with the fancy, bright labelled brand. The store brand may be undercover gluten
free, organic, non-GMO etc by having the small stamp near the nutrition facts.
You’ll also want to read the tags. Each item in the store has a price tag on
the shelf so you know the price but keep your eyes open for 2/$5.00, Buy One
Get Ones etc. I also suggest looking in your local grocery stores circular
which highlights the sales happening though out the store. This can help you
save a few bucks on fresh fruits and veggies, fresh cut meats and pantry
staples.
And last but not least, Try
online! Online shopping makes eating more nutrient dense, natural foods more
convenient and less expensive. You can read labels and shop bargains right from
your computer or smart phone. Great
companies like Amazon and Thrive market offer an abundance of choices you can
stock up on with deep discounts and free shipping. I purchase many of my pantry
staples from these sites. Here are some of my favorite finds through Thrive
market.
Hopefully you find these B-SMART strategies helpful in
navigating your healthy lifestyle without breaking the bank! If you have any
other tips or tricks you use to save a little dough on nutritious food items I
would love to hear them! Please comment below so we can give them a try.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Peace out girl/boy scouts!
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