LIFE

Nothing too crazy this week! Here are the highlights (mainly food related):

Meal planning at the beginning of the week. Why am I loser that gets excited about meal planning on a magnetic whiteboard? We stuck to our plan except for the pumpkin chili which is being pushed out to this weekend.

Here’s the breakfast egg bake with sausage, peppers, and tomatoes. I love my tried and true yogurt bowls for breakfast, but when I need a break, breakfast bake it is. Or oatmeal. I think that’s up for next week.

Tim made THE BEST MEATLOAF with pureed butternut squash and roasted veggies on the side. He used half ground beef and half ground lamb. TDF.

I busted out these pumpkin pie energy ball snacks. Love these, and they are super easy to make. Just pit and chop around 18 dates and pulse them in a food processor with 1/2 cup of raw almonds, 1/2 cup of rolled oats, and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Roll em into balls. Takes about five minutes total.

Our salads with shredded chicken, pomegranate, pecans, pickled shallots, and persimmons ended up lasting us the entire week. You GUYS. Have you ever eaten a persimmon before? Oh my. I need more of these in my life. Amazing!

Our plans for quinoa stuffed acorn squash fell through when we messed it up. We just turned it into a quinoa bowl with the squash, chard, and apples, and it actually came out really good! I might try to perfect this one for a recipe post, because the fall flavors are really awesome all together.

I also met up with my friend Mat one day for lunch at Joe’s American Bar and Grill. We caught up on life, but we also talked a lot about how we can collaborate together on some joint initiatives for Fitness & Feta and for the company he owns. Exciting stuff! I enjoyed my kale and quinoa salad with golden raisins, almonds, and avocado while we chatted.

Let’s see, what else? I’ve been trying to kick my endless nighttime snacking habit that’s creeped back up ever since we got home from our honeymoon. This week I made a pretty big effort to have a cup of tea first at night if I felt hungry. This is a strategy that I know works for me, I just have to get back into it.

I discovered an awesome place in the middle of Newton Center called Newton’s Nectars. It has smoothies, coffee, juices, salads, wraps, and so many delicious looking Paleo inspired snacks and treats. I popped in there yesterday to pick up a gift card, and I walked out with a little dessert for myself. I definitely see myself going back there, especially since it’s right next door to Studio Empower.

As for workouts this week, they looked like this:

• Monday: Strength training in the morning
• Tuesday: Yoga class at Waltham Yoga during my lunch break
• Wednesday: Emily’s cycle and core class
• Thursday: Strength training after teaching in the morning, then took a BagFiit class at The Club for Liz’s birthday!

Heading downtown with the gym girls last night was definitely the funnest part of my week! We carpooled down to Fort Point all together, and class was super sweaty. It felt good to punch a bag! After class, we got salads at Sweetgreen, and Liz opened her smoothie themed birthday present. Including an entire whole pineapple.

As for workouts this weekend, I’m subbing spin tonight at 5pm, and I’m aiming for an early strength training session tomorrow morning. Sunday will be a rest day.

LINKS

If you’ve made it this far, here’s your weekend reading!

Fitness and Health

• Look like good quickies: Three 10 minute body toning kettlebell workouts
• Love this so much: I will not quit
• Good info: How to find your one rep max and why it’s important
• This post really resonated with me and is why I prioritize my three strength training sessions a week: Exercise variety is making you weak

Food and Nutrition

• Making: Apple spice amazeballs
• Great list: 44 mouthwatering spaghetti squash recipes
• Read and learn: Guide to winter squash
• Can’t get enough: Sweet potato recipes
• Oh my god, these: Apple oatmeal bars

Self Image, Inspiration, and Life

• So cool: The 44 healthiest companies to work for in America
• Great tips: How to apply success from one area of your life to another
• I will most definitely reference this again and again: How to say no when it matters most

Readers, let’s chat! Tell me some of the highlights of your week. What was the best meal you ate, an awesome workout you did, or something fun that happened? What’s up for the weekend?

Tomorrow we are going to the BC Football game with our friends Mary and Tim and Steph and Andy. That’s all we have planned so far! Hope you guys all have a great weekend. <3