The Fit Skool | by Kelly

March 6, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

Everything happens for a Reason!! :)

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Yesterday the snow storm allowed me to stay home with Ava and rest. We were both not feeling great and were fatigued all week so that one extra day of snuggles made the world of differences for both of us.

I didn’t have my shakeology Sunday so I am blaming myself for getting sick. It’s like my vitamin and I didn’t have it so sure enough I got sick. Oh well!

I got to hang out with Ava a little extra this week. She had fun putting money into her monkey bank. And it’s just too bad that my money ran out!

I was able to get a lot of little things done around my house yesterday.. you know the stuff you don’t want to do like laundry & organizing. I was also able to catch up and get ahead on my computer work.

I ended up not having Boot Camp class AGAIN last night due to the 8 inches of snow we got. I did a little workout at home and it felt great to sweat. Marc and I watched Grey’s Anatomy live for the first time all season because I was home and had nothing better to do.

It was a pretty great episode!

I also slept great last night in case you were wondering. I will be heading to the Y shortly and hopefully the weekend is here before we know it!

On Saturday night we will be heading to a Paint Studio in Norwalk, CT called Arts Plus Studio where me and a bunch of my friends will be painting a canvas guided by an instructor. The studio allows beverages & snacks which is perfect for those of us who want to indulge. BYOB is such a great perk and also saves you a ton of $$. I am the least bit artistic so this should be very interesting, but for my 30th I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and do the least expected

It should be a great night and I’m really looking forward to it!

I don’t have many pictures to post for you today but I did get my new Group Power release, so I am looking forward to learning the new workout.

Happy Friday!

What big plans do you have this weekend?

Have you ever done a painting class before?

March 5, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

I’m off my game

This week is dragging for me and in multiple ways. My body has been tired and Friday can’t come soon enough.

Tuesday I had a scratchy throat plus a runny nose and yesterday I was so fatigued I spent the afternoon on the couch. I can’t say I’m really really sick, but something is off. It takes a lot for me to lay on the couch and do nothing but that’s what I did. I didn’t use my computer, I didn’t watch TV, I just rested.

I’m happy to say I am feeling better today thanks to healthy snacks, vitamins and rest. Clearly I got a little bit of whatever cold Ava was fighting but at least it wasn’t anything too serious.

My plans to do Insanity Max30 have gotten pushed to the side this week. I did one of the workouts this week and that’s it. Mentally I had told myself I wasn’t going to skip any workouts but I have learned that listening to my body is more important.

I have some 30th Birthday plans this weekend and I would much rather feel 100% then do a workout and have myself get more run down.

I woke up this morning to more snow. Apparently winter doesn’t want to let up. I guess one extra snow day and another day to rest is what I need. I am still waiting to hear if the YMCA is open and if classes are on!

In case you were wondering, last night I was craving chocolate. It’s a pretty normal craving right?

Instead of grabbing some ice cream at the grocery store I decided to try a Chocolate Pudding recipe using Shakeology, Avocado, Banana, & Almond milk.

Why have I not tried this sooner?? I know the ingredients sound random but it was creamy & chocolatey. I’m all about it and I love that it has healthy fats and healthy ingredients.

It completed my night on a good note

So this post ended up being about nothing besides letting you know that I listened to my body and have rested as much as I could besides of courses having my classes to teach. Sometimes its okay to kick your feet up and rest. You can’t go 110% 24/7 it just doesn’t work!

When you start to feel run down, do you take the time to rest?

Have you ever tried Pudding with avocado?

March 4, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
6 Comments

WIAW: Easy day of eating

Happy Hump Day!

Yesterday was an easy day of eating for me. It was easy because I had a fridge full of food thanks to all my food prep on Sunday. I didn’t have much to put together for the day or even think about which made my food choices a no brainer.

I’m joining Jenn for another What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) post.

I woke up around 6 am, had a quick cup of coffee and got myself dressed. As I was getting ready I threw my breakfast together 1 egg 1 cup egg whites, spinach & mushrooms in olive oil, & potato hash browns.

I think I have told you a million times before but I LOVE breakfast and this is not hard to make. I left the house around 7am to head to the YMCA.

My morning snack came a little earlier yesterday. I originally had a yogurt bowl planned but I wanted something warm. I opted for some oatmeal with almond milk, cinnamon, & sliced strawberries. Plus a tsp of peanut butter.

I then took Ava to her 10:15am Dr appointment… miss Ava wasn’t feeling well but luckily she just had a juicy cold and not an ear infection.

I wasn’t feeling so hot myself. My throat was a little scratchy. I opted for some plain leftover food. Grilled chicken with herbs & olive oil, Broccoli and a sweet potato. (all leftovers thank you meal prep) I also had several handfuls of Ava’s Cheerios.. she had no appetite but managed to eat cheerios with me so I shoved a few handfuls in my mouth!!

Around 3 pm I headed over to my parents house. My dad and I whipped up my Green Monster Smoothie recipe and we split a big batch of it. He LOVED it and I was happy he did. It is definitely an easy way to sneak in some spinach. I also figured if I wasn’t feeling great I should probably put some extra healthy goodness into my stomach.

Plus smoothies feel great on a sore throat.

My dinner was already made from Sunday and I loved not having to cook. We ate Chicken, Kale, Tomatoes, with Garlic & Oil. Also not pictured was some potatoes. As I ate my dinner I was emailing back and forth with my boot campers because the snow was starting to get bad. I had no idea it was supposed to stick let alone accumulate fast.

While I finished up my food I had to make a call on class and I decided to cancel. The roads looked horrible and they sure were. As I drove home there were 3 accidents and the roads were slippery. I guess I made the right call.

I decided to do a quick 20 minute bodyweight workout at home once Ava fell asleep. I even managed to do a few sets of close grip pull-ups and I was SUPER pleased with them. To finish my night I had my Shakeology with PB2.

That wraps up my day of eating!

What’s your favorite meal of the day?

I need to mix up my snacks, does anyone have a suggestion for me?

March 3, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

Apple & Fennel Salad

Are you one of those people that tries new foods & flavors or do you stick to the same boring foods day in and day out? I used to be a plain Jane but I have expanded my taste buds and I have Marc to thank for that.

When we first met, the closest I got to eating seafood was fish sticks. Now I will eat any type of fish and even mussels and stuffed clams.

Growing up I hated mushrooms, now I love them! You can literally make me stuffed mushrooms any day and I will eat them. Brussel Sprouts, yuck… I used to think they were so bitter. Now I would eat them as a snack if you put them in front of me! The first time I had salmon I literally gagged and now it is has become a weekly dinner staple in our house.

Sometimes it takes me a few tries to like something but I am happy to try most foods a second time around.

Growing up I always knew what Fennel was but the licorice taste was just gross to me. This was until Marc threw together this lovely side dish using fennel & apples which compliment each other so well in this dish. I couldn’t put my fork down!!! I asked him to make it again and again, apparently I’ve asked so much that now when Fennel is on sale he will buy it make the salad because he knows how much I love it.

This past weekend I came home to Marc making it and I decided it was time to share these flavors with you!

If you love the tartness of a granny smith apple and the tang from lemon juice I promise you will think of Fennel in a different way!

APPLE & FENNEL SALAD

Ingredients:

1 Head Fennel

1 Granny Smith Apple

2 tsp Olive Oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 tsp Thyme

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Slice Fennel & Apple into matchstick slices.
Add Lemon juice, Olive oil, Thyme, Salt & Pepper. Toss well!

I may or may not have eaten right out of the bowl while Marc was making it, and then I think I had 2 servings after. The leftovers didn’t even last long enough for me to write this post, but he will make it again

What is something that you just recently started eating?

What is 1 food that you refuse to eat?

March 2, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
0 comments

Plans Changed & Weekend Recap

Do you guys feel the same.. that the weekend flies by in 2 seconds??

I woke up around 6am Saturday morning because we had plans to drive to Rhode Island around 11:00am. I had a lot to get done so I quickly ran out to Dunkin for a French Vanilla Coffee to get my morning going and fuel my day. I wasn’t tired but I just wanted one and it’s a nice treat! I made us a quick breakfast and then started to get organized for our trip.

Around 8am we got a phone call from Marc’s mom saying his Dad had the flu!! My first reaction was Oh no…. I had my bags packed and I was excited to go. I was looking forward to a weekend away!

Clearly our plans changed instantly…. and I thought to myself, “what are we going to do now!!”

I had a few thoughts and one of them was to work out. I quickly nixed that thought, my body was tired and there wasn’t an ounce of me that had the energy to put towards a workout. As you know I am following the Insanity Max30 program and that plan is to workout Monday-Friday and Saturday is a short 20 minute stretch/pulse workout. Even though it was 20 minutes, I still didn’t feel like doing it. My hip was sore and I just wanted to relax… so that is what I did.

Around 930am I headed up to visit my Grandma with my parents & Ava, it was my grandma’s 95th Birthday! 95 is a crazy age to think about and for me that is 65 years down the line and it seems like an eternity away. Clearly my grandma is a strong woman.

It was so nice to see her and she loved seeing Ava run around like a mad woman.

When we got home Ava played around the house and of course hung out with Cooper.. this is a picture of her giving him a kiss. She LOVES him.

This day started to turn out productive and I started to roll with it. Next up was a trip to the APPLE store!!! Woohoo I went by myself to purchase a new computer. This was a long time coming and I was so happy to walk out of that store with a new MacBook Pro! The people that work in Apple are super smart and they helped me make the best purchase.

Having a new computer will definitely make my life so much easier with blogging & fitness coaching because there are days where I spend a huge chunk of time on the computer. My old laptop was starting to get slow and I swear now I can get things done 10x faster.

Later that evening we were invited to our neighbors house for a Dinner date & a kid play date. Their daughter Grace and Ava have fun playing together. We ordered some take out from The Little Pub, I had a burger with swiss & mushrooms it was delicious and satisfied my red meat craving! It was so nice to t was so nice to relax and hang out with friends until Ava was ready for bed. We had a great night

Sunday morning we were lazy and I stayed in my PJ’s for a while, we ate some breakfast & drank some coffee. With all intentions of doing food prep, I realized we had no groceries so I had to go to the store. I decided to buy things that were simple & easy to throw together with minimal prep. I didn’t want to spend the day in the kitchen but I wanted to have options in the fridge.

We ended up making a big pot of chili & a chicken, kale, tomatoes & white bean dish, baked potatoes, fresh strawberries & pineapple, carrots & cucumbers, sauteed cabbage, Apple & fennel salad, I bagged some nuts, seeds, & dried cranberries.

We also made my Cookie Dough Protein bites to snack on. These are pretty awesome to snack on. I’m excited to have a full fridge ready to go for the week!

In the afternoon I went to the gym to do some light cardio and stretch to loosen up my legs. I wanted to take the entire day to rest but I felt good and I was bored!

Ava and I watched Cooper play in the snow and I couldn’t help but laugh with her.

The rest of our night was spent doing stuff around the house: I caught up on laundry, did some blogging/work on the computer, lounged and watched some TV.

Because it was so snowy outside (yes we got 6 more inches) we did tricks inside with Cooper & Ava gave him lots of treats. She thinks she’s so cool when she gives him treats.

anyways, even though it snowed last night I am hopeful that Spring is right around the corner Now it’s time for me to to lift some weights… I am off to teach Group Power at the YMCA!

Did you do anything Productive this weekend?

What is your go to food item to prep for the week?

March 1, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
4 Comments

Meal Plan & Grocery List (March 2nd-5th)

Happy Sunday Sunday!

This morning I quickly whipped up a meal plan after going to the Grocery store. I had all intentions of doing the meal plan before but that didn’t happen.

I am hoping to stick to this plan for the week although I may have some snack changes based on my mood

MEAL PLAN FOR MARCH 2ND – MARCH 5TH

	Breakfast	Snack 1	Lunch	Snack 2	Dinner
Monday	1 Egg, 4 Egg Whites, Mixed veggies in Olive oil, Small Baked Potato sliced	Protein Shake, Banana, 1 tbsp Peanut butter	Grilled Chicken Salad with avocado, cucumber, veggies, & balsamic	Fennel & Apple Salad with Almonds	Turkey Chili with a side salad
Tuesday	1 Egg, 1 cup Egg Whites, Mushrooms & Spinach and potato hash	Greek Yogurt, Berries, Crushed Almonds	Baked Chicken w. herbs Sweet Potato & Broccoli	Celery w/ Peanut butter	Chicken, Kale, Tomatoes, White beans with Garlic & Oil
Wednesday	2 Eggs, Spinach w/ olive oil, 1 slice Whole Grain Toast	Protein Shake & Oatmeal with almond milk and Cinnamon	Turkey Chili over a Sweet Potato	Green Monster Smoothie	Pork Tenderloin, Fingerling Potatoes & Zucchini
Thursday	Shakeology with almond Milk & Peanut Butter	2 hard boiled eggs, Avocado, Tomato	Leftover Chicken & Kale	Veggies & Hummus and an apple	Chicken Stir Fry & Brown Rice

*Please note my meal plan only goes until Thursday. Fridays I usually just wing!

My Grocery List:

Eggs, Egg Whites
Spinach, Mushrooms, Peppers, Carrots, Kale, Avocado, Tomatoes, Fennel, Asparagus
Strawberries, Oranges, Bananas, Apples
Chicken, Ground Turkey, Salmon (for tonight)
Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes
Sea Salt, Chili Powder
Canned Red Beans, Canned Diced Tomatoes

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. It’s time to go prep all this food! See you tomorrow.

WHAT ARE YOU PREPPING TODAY?

February 27, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
0 comments

Insanity Max30 Update and Friday stuff

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii.

of course I am pumped it’s Friday. I think Fridays are my favorite day. What about you?

I have a few things to share with you before I start talking about my Insanity workouts.

Last night after Boot Camp I came home and whipped up a Shake with PB2 powder, Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk and some ice. It was pretty amazing and I call it my Reese’s Shake.

Literally I came home from class and we had a giant bowl of mini Reese’s staring at me from Valentine’s day. They were a treat for Marc from my mom.

I said to Marc man I would love a Reese’s!! So I made my own, it was a lot healthier and it hit the spot!! Who doesn’t like a chocolate & peanut butter combo

This week I have gotten in some awesome workouts. They were by no means easy but I worked hard. I’m happy that I have a couple rest days lined up this weekend.

I wanted to chat with you a little about my Insanity Max30 progress. It’s been about 21 days since I started which is nuts because I feel like it was yesterday.. but after 3 weeks I can honestly say I am stronger. My pushups are better and my cardio endurance has bumped up. I don’t get hit as soon with my Max out zone as I did the first week. It just goes to show you that you can get stronger and you can improve if you put the time in!

So far the 30 minute workouts have been plenty. When I do them I have to make sure Ava is occupied or someone is watching her, or maybe she’s napping! It’s great if you are short on time and you want to drip sweat.

As far as the moves, they are similar to what I do with my Boot Camp class but the workout is structured a little different.

Here are a couple of the exercises I did yesterday:

Shoulder Pushups or “V-Pushups”

They are a total upper body toner.

Plank Knee-Taps

I like these a lot. You need full body strength and good balance to do these!

Okay I gotta run.. time to head to the YMCA for some training!

I can’t wait for our weekend to start. Tomorrow morning we will be heading to Rhode Island to visit family. I am excited to get away for the weekend. It’s always relaxing and stress free when we are there and I know Ava will be super pumped to play with her cousin Natalie!

Have a great weekend!

Do you have any fun plans lined up for the weekend?

Have you ever committed to a program like insanity?

February 26, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
0 comments

Kid Approved Turkey Meatballs Recipe

Sorry for the delayed post… I had some internet and computer issues this morning and I was almost finished with this post. I had more pictures to share with you but they aren’t going to make it

Wow somehow it’s Thursday already and it seems like I can’t keep track of my days this week because they are flying by (no complaints!)

Yesterday the weather warmed up for us a bit. I was able to get out and walk Cooper in the late afternoon. The sun was shining, but don’t get me wrong it was still freezing when the wind blew. I let him run around at the park and then we walked along the water. Fresh air always feels nice even when your nose turns red.

I have a recipe to share with you today that is a great substitute for regular Beef Meatballs. I made turkey meatballs the other night in hopes that we could sneak some veggies in for Ava and of course for myself too. I love red meat, but obviously its nice to change things up and keep it healthy!

These were so easy to make and they turned out super moist (thanks to the veggies). I had 2 meatballs on my plate but I couldn’t help but to grab another one. Ava kept making an MMMM-MMMM noise when she was eating them and reaching for more. When she says MMMM that’s her happy, I like these Mom noise. WIN! If she didn’t like them she would hand them off to Cooper so I was happy she approved.

Sometimes turkey meat dries out so I was super happy with the result and I WILL be making them again.

Kid Approved Turkey Meatballs Recipe (with hidden veggies)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped Mushrooms
1/3 finely chopped Spinach (I used frozen, make sure the water is drained)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb

(I used Trader Joe’s Ground Turkey, it was great!)

DIRECTIONS:

In a frying pan cook the mushrooms & spinach on medium heat until slightly tender. Let cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix turkey, bread crumbs, mushrooms, spinach, egg, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and salt until well combined; form into 1 1/2-inch balls.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning, until browned, about 7 or 8 minutes.
Add chicken broth; cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 8 or 9 minutes minutes. Serve.

Make sure not to over cook the meatballs because they will eventually dry out!

We served these with some gluten free pasta and lots of veggies, but you could have them with quinoa or as is with a side salad!

What is your go to Kid-Approved dinner recipe?

Do you enjoy walking outside during the winter when its not -15 degrees out?

February 25, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

WIAW: Staying Focused

It seems like I am posting tons of stuff about food lately but I guess it’s my topic of the month. I’m staying focused and I am motivated to eat healthy. It has been so cold here lately that I feel like I need to eat healthy because when I am not teaching and training I am inside and less active. Poor Cooper isn’t getting as many walks and I hate to drag Ava out to walk him when I don’t even want to be outside myself!! Does anyone else have dogs that aren’t getting as much exercise this winter?

Here I am making excuses about not walking Cooper as much but I hate to see Ava get sick or even myself!

This winter must end soon!!!

Now it’s time to share my food journal from yesterday. Thanks Jenn for hosting another WIAW!

Breakfast was 1 egg 1 cup egg whites with spinach & mushrooms and whole wheat toast.

Mid morning I had a hard boiled egg with avocado and tomato plus a banana.

My lunch didn’t go according to my game plan. My dad watches Ava Tuesday mornings for me and he offered to pick me up a salad from Cosi, of course my answer was yes! I had a mixed greens salad with roasted red peppers, cucumbers, pistachios, grapes, gorgonzola w/ a Sherry Vinigarette. It was quite delicious and actually very filling.

I didn’t have any big protein with my lunch so I ate my leftover piece of tilapia with baby carrots & an apple. (random snack but actually good)

(I also had 2 pickle slices, but I did not take a picture!)

Yesterday I did a lot of computer work for my Boot Camp class and for my fitness coaching. It took up my whole afternoon. Luckily I had a quick and easy dinner planned before Boot Camp.

Chicken Sausage with peppers and oven baked sweet potato fries. This meal took me literally 15 minutes to make. Ava LOVES this sausage. Actually she likes any sausage. is that weird for a 1 yr old? This chicken sausage was from Trader Joe’s and I wish I bought more it’s pretty tasty.

Post Boot Camp I had my Shakeology protein shake. I also ate some Sweet Cinnamon Plantains. If you haven’t tried pan roasted plantains I highly recommend it!

Also, I am trying to figure out what Marc said to me to make me laugh in this picture. I am nice and sweaty post Boot Camp, and I can’t say I like this pic but I thought you might like to see my goofy smile… is there a Tan filter yet because I need some sun!!

What was your favorite meal from yesterday?

Do you feel like you are less active when its cold out?

February 24, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
4 Comments

MY SAMPLE 3 DAY MEAL PLAN!

I decided to do a post that shares with you my sample meal plan. You will get to see what I ate yesterday, what I am eating today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) of this week. I planned out each meal which allows me to eat healthy every day. I left out Thursday & Friday because mid-week I usually make a second trip to the grocery store. I find sometimes when I plan for the week I end up letting veggies and meats go bad and I HATE wasting food.

Sure there might be some changes I make… like a different veggie but if I have a guideline to follow, I usually stick with it.

You can see my meals from yesterday and the next two days. I have 3 meals + 2-3 snacks (usually 3) because I’m fairly active and teach so many classes.

BREAKFAST

Monday 2 EGGS, SPINACH, 1 WHOLE GRAIN ENGLISH MUFFIN
Tuesday 1 EGG, 4 EGG WHITES, SPINACH & MUSHROOMS, 1 SLICE WHOLE GRAIN BREAD
Wednesday 1 EGG, 1 CUP EGG WHITES, MUSHROOMS & 1 SMALL POTATO

LUNCH

Monday SALAD WITH CHICKEN, TOMATOES, PEPPERS & AVOCADO
Tuesday CHICKEN MARSALA WITH MUSHROOMS & SALAD
Wednesday BAKED TILAPIA, A SIDE SALAD W/ VEGGIES & AVOCADO

DINNER

Monday TURKEY MEATBALLS W/ VEGGIES & QUINOA
Tuesday CHICKEN SAUSAGE & PEPPERS W/ SWEET POTATO FRIES
Wednesday CHICKEN, KALE, TOMATO & WHITE BEANS WITH GARLIC & OIL

SNACKS

GREEK YOGURT, ½ CUP BERRIES, 1 TBSP CRUSHED NUTS
APPLE/BANANA WITH PEANUT BUTTER
AVOCADO TOPPED HARD BOILED EGG AND TOMATO SLICES
SHAKEOLOGY
FRUIT & MIXED NUTS

CELERY & 1 TBSP ALMOND BUTTER
CARROTS/CUCUMBERS & 2 TBSP HUMMUS

If this is something you would like to see on a weekly basis, I would be happy to post once a week a sample of my menu! I love seeing what other people eat, it keeps me from getting into a food rut and it helps me try new things! Some of my morning meals are similar but that’s what works best for me and my body.

Do you want to see me post more Sample Meal Ideas?

Do you eat 3 meals or 5 small meals each day?