gain[z] box

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! 
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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.
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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.

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!

I look forward to seeing the growth of this fitness community and who knows…..maybe I’ll be a Camp Gladiator coach one day!


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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.
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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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