She’s too funny sometimes.

Today I am going to share some Things I’m loving this week:

Lets start of with this popcorn from Trader Joe’s. I love making homemade popcorn, but pregnancy has taken my energy at nights so healthy bagged popcorn it is. Call it lazy if you want but this stuff is convenient, it costs $1.59 and it tastes great. It also pairs well with Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal

Salsa Verde!!! Um yes this stuff is drinkable… well not really but it’s sweet tangy and awesome with tortilla chips. Marc picked it out at Trader Joe’s and we have had it before. It’s so good. I highly recommend it.

I told you I’ve had a craving for chocolate and sweets which is totally not like me and I’m blaming baby boy on this… but i’ve started to replace that craving with these Cookie Dough Larabars. They basically taste like the real thing and I feel good about eating this vs a brownie or cookie any day. When Stop & Shop has them on sale for $1.00 I stock up.

The Good Bean Smoky Chipotle & Lime chickpeas. One of my boot camp friends brought me these because she knows I like the sea salt ones and I couldn’t find these anywhere. They are so good, spicy, and satisfy a salt craving! Marc and I ate them together until he stole the bag from me

Trader Joe’s Blueberry Wheat Bran muffins. I bought these to have for a morning snack they are great topped with a little butter.  They are 100 calories a piece & have a good amount of fiber!

In case you missed my post yesterday check it out! I have a 21 Week Pregnancy Update for you!!

Check out the difference there!! 21 weeks on the left and 14 weeks on the right!

WELL that’s it for now. I hope you have a great weekend

What’s something you have been loving this week?

Any fun plans for the weekend?

I actually didn’t take many pictures this weekend! I know I know, that’s part of my blogging job but sometimes living in the moment is better.

Friday night we had a fabulous dinner at Villa Italia Ristorante in Stamford, CT with my family. I literally had my phone out to take pictures, but when you are presented with amazing food and delicious smells your pregnant belly takes over and you dig in only to realize oops my meal is gone and I forgot to snap a picture to share this lovely meal with my blogging friends.

Well… I had Mussels in a Garlic White Wine Sauce with roasted veggies on the side, and some italian bread. Ava had some meatballs, carrots (from my veggie mix), french fries (from uncle Jeff’s meal) and some bread. She ate so much food.

Marc had lobster ravioli which to be honest doesn’t excite me but he said it was delicious!!! It was a great night and we had fun!

Saturday we were up early as usual, Marc bought us coffees and we went to visit my friend Danielle at her deli The Pemberwick Exchange in Greenwich.

Ava loved all the bacon!!!

We had an impromptu playdate with our neighbors which Ava thoroughly enjoyed

and then we ate a quick lunch. Salads topped with Rotisserie chicken!! yum.

See that belly popping??

I hit up the Gym to get a quick workout in and I will share my workout with you tomorrow. It was pretty good!

The night was relaxing, we ate dinner at home with my family and made meatballs & chicken Marsala.

When they left Marc & I watched Scandal on demand from Thursday night and munched on some popcorn. Love that show and it always keeps me on edge!!!

I worked a little Sunday morning and then the afternoon was spent hanging with Marc and Ava.

We also took Cooper for a nice long walk because the weather was great and did some stuff around the house.

Marc and I also made this delicious Lemon Chicken dinner. Sorry for the messy pic. We were hungry!

After 2 back to back family filled weekends I can’t help but smile. I don’t dread going to work on Mondays and I’m super thankful for that. Now I am off to teach Group Power and get my sweat on with my baby bump!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Do you dread Mondays or do you not mind them?

I’m linking up with the WIAW crew on Laura’s blog to share my food journal from Monday.

My Monday’s always start off the same way. I need quick & convenient foods to get me to Group Power on time. I had a 1/2 caffeinated coffee 1/2 decaf and didn’t really finish much. I guess I wasn’t in the mood. I whipped up my usual 2 scrambled eggs with veggies in olive oil & potatoes with sea salt. It filled my belly right up.

After teachign a sweaty Group Power class I inhaled my banana and had a Blueberry RX Bar.

If you haven’t had RX Bars I highly recommend them for their clean ingredients and taste. They are very similar to Larabars but a little chewier so they last a while! When I came home I also had a piece of whole grain toast with egg whites for extra protein/carbs.

My second class flew by and before I knew it I was ready for my lunch meal. I had leftover meatballs over zoodles sautéed in olive oil.

With an Apple & some Late July Tortilla Chips.

I’m digging afternoon yogurt bowls lately. It’s kinda been a craving and I’m totally ok with a healthy craving these days. This Greek yogurt topped with Grapes, blackberries & granola was a huge win! I have this almost every single day… I guess you could say it’s a pregnancy craving!!

Somewhere in the afternoon while I was doing computer work I had some more granola

The cold weather had my craving a comfort meal but I wanted to stay healthy. I decided to make pasta with chicken pesto and brussel sprouts with olive oil.

Why don’t I make this more??!

I can’t go to bed without eating something at night and even more now that I’m pregnant. I have a hard time with choosing night time snacks because I eat so many different things during the day that by night time I don’t want to think about food. It always ends up being something random.

My go to snack these days is a GRILLED CHEESE. 2 pieces of whole grain toast with one slice of munster or american cheese. Something about this simple sandwich is amazing.

I even got Marc on board!!

What is something yummy you ate this week?

I figured I would link up with the What I ate Wednesday group to share my food journal from Monday since I pretty much ate everything in sight that day!

Monday morning I woke up starving and the day pretty much continued on that note. My activity has been high lately so I’m guessing that’s part of the reason for extra hunger throughout the day.

For breakfast I had scrambled 2 eggs, spinach & potatoes. This meal was filling and so tasty.

I headed out the door to go teach Group Power around 710. I left class feeling the need to refuel and I opted for a Cookie Dough Quest Bar, a banana, and mixed nuts. This was a well balanced snack and something a little different for me so I liked it!

After teaching my Fit For Life class, Ava joined me at my staff pot-luck Thanksgiving lunch at the YMCA. There were TONS of food choices and I filled my plate with a little taste of everything. (a couple wings, 2 pieces of chicken breast stuffed with stuffing and wrapped in bacon, corn, spinach, broccoli, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, fruit, and a chocolate chip cookie)

I dug in and then realized I forgot to snap a picture so you get a partially eaten picture here… and this was also after Ava’s little hands messed everything up but you will just have to trust me that it looked pretty before

The food was amazing and I left our luncheon wishing we had these pot luck buffets more often!

In the afternoon I did my usual computer work for a couple hours until around 230 my stomach was craving something sweet. I quickly toasted a piece of bread and topped it with peanut butter and sliced strawberries. If you have never had this before, please try it!

Dinner came on the early side and I ate around 5:15. I made a HELLO FRESH meal and I was so happy I did. We had Rosemary basted steak with creamed spinach & rosemary roasted parsnip fries.

Like I didn’t eat enough food throughout the day, at around 9pm my stomach was asking for more… Marc and I were watching the Patriots game and he decided to make me a game time snack.

Egg whites scrambled with tomato and avocado and a piece of naan. I know the naan bread was random but trust me when I say it completed this mini meal!!

Alright, that’s all I got! Your turn….

What’s something yummy you ate this week?

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? 

I have a few things I wanted to share with you from this week. Maybe I use the term LOVE a little loosely with these posts but I get excited for all new things to share with you that I think its close to love.

Things I’m loving this week!

My dad supports my healthy lifestyle and he’s even cleaned up his diet a lot. (I won’t give myself any credit there) he did it on his own. Anyways, he loves Costco and he LOVES buying Ava and myself healthy snacks from there. His choices always surprise me and when he brought over these Figgy pops Energy Bites I couldn’t help but get a little excited to try them. They were definitely amazing and I approved of all the ingredients. Thanks Dad!

Costco has some great prepared salad mixes. This one from Taylor farms is delicious. They are so easy to prepare for a quick, simple and healthy dinner. I’ve eaten them twice this week with some chicken on top. The one pictured below has kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and a poppy seed dressing!

Fall Produce has been my favorite way to enjoy veggies this week. I simply roast them in the oven with olive oil and salt & pepper. Pictured below are a spaghetti squash, a carnival squash and a delicata squash!

Crockpot dinners were my thing this week. If I said I didn’t love the crockpot I would be lying, it just seems so easy that I felt like I was cheating this week. I really enjoyed having lots of leftovers, in fact we had so much food in the fridge I panicked a bit… I didn’t want to waste a single thing!! We made a big Turkey/beef chili and Chicken Cacciatore!

Ava had a playdate at my mom’s office while I worked Wednesday morning. She had fun running around and making a mess with rubber bands and paper. In the afternoon we all made a trip to St. Augustine’s Farm to buy a pumpkin and explore the market. It was fun.

It was a great week and I’m looking forward to our weekend trip to Rhode Island to visit Marc’s family!!

What’s something you are loving this week?

Any fun weekend plans?

I hope you have some fun, relaxing, productive things headed your way this weekend. I have a party at my friend Lauren’s house with some other bridesmaids to do some fun wedding stuff & have dinner. She’s getting married in 2 weeks! I also have my beautiful niece’s baptism and a family dinner followed after. I’m looking forward to it.

Because it’s Friday, it’s time to share with you things I’m LOVING this week! 

We have now that it’s officially fall I feel like I can share with you some fall favorites. Yes I have fall favorites already.

I picked up some of these mini pumpkins at the store and they are a simple way to decorate the kitchen table without taking up too much space, they are also super cheap!

Have you ever heard or tried a Delicata Squash before?? Um, please go buy one. I’m slightly obsessed. They are so easy to cook and they are a bit more starchier then some other squashes out there so I felt very full and satisfied after eating it this week!

I felt generous yesterday, so if you haven’t emailed me or left a comment today is the last day to enter for a chance to win 2 free samples of Shakeology!

If you don’t know me, I love ice cream. I try not to eat it too often but it’s my weakness and its my go to TREAT!! Especially smothered in crunchies.

Popcorn is my FAVORITE snack of all time haha. Trader Joe’s has this amazing air popped popcorn that is healthy & delicious. I highly recommend it, its also a great snack for TGIT entertainment like Grey’s Anatomy & SCANDAL.

Guys I can’t even begin to tell you how pumped I was for the return of my 2 favorite fall shows. I did a little happy dance yesterday.

To wrap up this post, here are some pics of Ava from the playground this week. This girl is so much fun and I can’t get enough of her smiles and crazy faces.

What fun stuff do you have planned this weekend? 

Are you a Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal fan?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=8178 2 http://thefitskool.com/?p=8067 http://thefitskool.com/?p=8067#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2015 14:49:20 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=8067 Continue reading →]]> HAPPY FRIDAY!

I love saying that, it just feels good to know free-time awaits us at the end of the day.

Last weekend we made a trip to Trader Joe’s AKA my favorite grocery store ever. I wish there was one a little closer so that I could go every day, but there’s not. It really makes me look forward to our trips and of course all the good finds from the store.

THING’S I’M LOVING TRADER JOE’S STYLE: 

There’s nothing quite like fall and knowing there are so many good pumpkin products available. I’m a complete sucker for anything pumpkin and most of the time I need to turn my head due to the pure fact that most of the pumpkin products are loaded with sugar and other crap that I don’t need. I usually try to make my own pumpkin treats but sometimes its fun to try out new products and of course share them with my family & YOU.

I found these Pumpkin O’s in the cereal aisle… 1. They are crunchy 2. They are toddler approved 3. They are a sweet pumpkin treat for 110 calories.

I also stumbled upon these Pumpkin Bars. We have had their fig bars before and we are all a fan so when I tried these I nearly died. They do have a little more sugar then I would’ve liked but it beats having a slice of pumpkin pie. You can enjoy one of these bars for probably 1/3 of the calories as that slice of pie!

We love hummus in our house, this tomato & basil trader joe’s hummus is creamy and tasty. I enjoyed it with some whole grain tortilla chips, Ava enjoyed some with her fingers, and Marc spread some on his sandwiches this week. It’s great and it’s only $1.99 per container.

Sometimes eating veggies can be challenging and there’s always days that I’m just not feeling it. Having this Broccoli slaw on hand was an easy way to get a serving of veggies. I added a simple dressing and enjoyed it with my lunch and my dinners! Ava also ate some big spoonfuls of the broccoli slaw.

Last but not least.. Trader Joe’s chicken sausage is awesomely delicious, contains no preservatives, is high in protein, toddler approved, and tastes great as is, on a sandwich or mixed with some veggies & potatoes. Some Chicken Sausages aren’t that filling but these did the trick!

I am also LOVING this end of summer weather we are having. We have been enjoying the park a ton and I’m sure we will be going a lot more throughout the fall. I’m not gonna lie, I have fun going down the slides too.

What’s your favorite Trader Joe’s Product?

Any fun weekend plans?

We spent the day hanging out with Marc’s family. The weather ended up turning out to be great and it never rained so we got to hang outside and play in the pool.

There’s something so relaxing about RI to me. I guess 1. it’s vacation 2. it’s my home away from home so I’m comfortable.

Saturday night we did take out from Trattoria Romana.

I ordered Chicken Fiorentina which was chicken with prosciutto, mozzarella & spinach in a marsala wine. It was delicious!

Sunday Ava got to play with her cousin Natalie practically all day long.

It’s so fun to watch them hang out, Ava definitely learns a lot from her big cousin.

In the afternoon both of Marc’s grandma’s came over and we got to see his Aunt & Uncle whom we LOVE spending time with.

It was a great afternoon and we truly do miss seeing them!

These two made me smile a TON.

Sunday evening Marc’s dad cooked us a wonderful dinner as usual. He is such an amazing cook and it’s practically effortless to him. We had BBQ Pulled pork, Grilled Chicken, Bean Salad, and Tomato & Cucumber salad.

YUM I love summer food.

Monday was a rainy day so we did some shopping.

Once the weather cleared up we went to the park.

I spy a dog on the playground!

It was such a great weekend with our family and now we are back home and ready to spend some days around Greenwich at the beach! I can’t wait

How was your weekend?

Have you ever been to Rhode Island? 

We aren’t doing anything wild on our vacation week but it’s kind of nice to be able to go with the flow! We are headed to Rhode Island tomorrow morning to visit family & friends for a long weekend. Next week we plan on heading to the beach with Ava and then hopefully Marc and I will do a day trip somewhere just the 2 of us.

This week I have had a lot of “favorite” things that I wanted to share with you. Most of them are food related because I just love food and trying new things.

Things I’m loving this week:

Sugar Snap Peas from Trader Joes are pretty amazing. I can’t believe it was Ava’s first time having them this week but she absolutely loved peeling them a part and finding the peas inside. They are such a delicious healthy snack to keep on hand!

Trader Joe’s Sprouted Multi Grain Bread has no preservatives and is made with super healthy ingredients. For the last 2 weeks I really hadn’t eaten any bread but when I saw this at Trader Joe’s I had to try it and I’m glad I did. It paired nicely with my over easy eggs and Marc enjoyed it too.

Mamma Chia Pouches have made it into my Things I’m loving posts before but I found them in a box of 4 at Target and I was excited. Individual ones cost more so it was nice to be able to have a box of them on hand. They have all 3 omega’s, fruits & veggies, plus fiber. These snacks are great to keep in your purse or car and I’ve enjoyed having them as a quick no brainer healthy treat.

Omega Trek Mix speaking of Omega’s this nut mix is packed with healthy ingredients like walnuts, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries & pistachios. Ava has been on a nut kick lately and I like having trail mix to give her. It also keeps her nice & full.

I always like to finish these posts with a picture of Ava. She’s constantly growing & developing and to see her personality come out has been so fun. She absolutely loves being outside and of course playing with Cooper.

Oh and this Quote is a great reminder for when you need a little boost.

I keep reminding myself about positivity.. you can really tell convince your mind to do anything!

What are you up to this weekend?

Do you have any favorite things from the week?

On Saturday morning we headed to Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford, CT to have an early father’s day picnic and a morning of strawberry picking with Marc’s family.

It was a cloudy day which actually made it perfect weather to pick strawberries and enjoy being outside in the fields.

Ava had a blast with her cousin Natalie.

They both thoroughly enjoyed picking strawberries.

Ava enjoyed eating them even more.

I’m not gonna lie I had a ton of fun myself and it brought memories back of my childhood trips to Bishop’s orchards to pick strawberries.

10lbs of strawberries later….

I’m trying to come up with ways to use all these strawberries up. They are super juicy and hands down the best strawberries I have ever had.

After a fun filled day we were all wiped!!

Sunday we spent the afternoon with my family and BBQ’d at my parents.  We lucked out with the weather and it turned out to be a hot and sunny afternoon but we did go inside for a little to cool off!

Ava enjoyed feeding her Grandpa snacks on the recliner!

We ate lots of delicious food including this pasta salad that Marc made!

 I think we can all agree that it was a great father’s day weekend spent together with family!

What fun things did you do this weekend for father’s day?

Have you ever been strawberry picking before?