Hangout Music Fest

Hello from Orange Beach!!

First off, I am officially a certified personal fitness trainer! Yay! Actually, I have to redo my CPR certification before I get my PFT certification from AFAA but I passed the practical and multiple choice exams so baaasically I’m official.

Moving on…

Wednesday evening Stephen and I made the long drive down from T-Town to Gulf Shores for the Hangout Music Fest. (Read: Stephen drove and I road co-captain, bugging him as my own entertainment.)

A big ole THANK YOU to my dad’s longtime best friend, Hal, for getting us the hook up with Hangout tickets!

To say the least, I am PUMPED for the next three days.

Clint and Taylor, if either of you are reading this then I’d like you to know I am still mad at the two of you for not being here.

Breakfast

For breakfast yesterday morning I had the delicious combo of toasted whole wheat bagel + PB sans bananner because we didn’t make a trip to Publix until last night. This morning, however, I had the same combo with the banana and all was right in the world.

As for Stephen’s breakfast, I whipped up Snickers stuffed french toast encrusted in Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Uh, yeah… I try to give him all the calories the world has to offer.

He doesn’t complain.

Turns out I was quite the chef yesterday and also made Monicka and Heather scrambled eggs. Ellis was served a pudding since she’s still recovering from having her wisdom teeth cut out.

Workout

The weather is prime for running right now so I took full advantage of it. I really wanted to get up for an early morning run but my body just wasn’t having it so I settled for a midday four miler.

Snack

When I got back from my run I fixed a quick snack before getting beach ready. Usually I only buy the big containers of plain Chobani for my breakfasts, but Mom had a few individual flavors in the fridge so I grabbed a blood orange and topped it with Bare Fit granola. The blood orange might be my favorite flavor. Sooo good!

Snacks served as my lunch yesterday… I had a couple of cold ones on the beach and then snacked on a handful of Zapp’s. The Hotter ‘N Hot Jalapeno flavor has a serious kick to it. My mouth was burning!

Left to right: Heather, muah, Monicka, ~~Haley~~ Ellis

Please excuse my lack of photogenicness. Glad I got to spend time with these three lovely ladies yesterday! I better be seeing plenty more of you guys this weekend!

We napped after spending most of the afternoon on the beach then headed out to dinner at Zen. No pictures from dinner but it was great. I had a salmon salad and Stephen had the grilled salmon entree. Cherry ice cream cookie sandwich for dessert, of course.

Now we’re off to the Hangout! Woohoo! Check in with you guys later.

Time to Bust Out the Grill

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Hey friends! How’s your Tuesday going? Mine started off with a one hour hot yoga flow with my mom and dang, it a tough one!

I’ll talk more on that tomorrow, so let’s rewind back to yesterday.

Breakfast

Greek yogurt + Kashi GoLean + Bare Fit + strawberries + PB

Oh breakfast, how I look forward to our morning time together. Especially during the summer time when strawberries are in season! If you’re in the Scottsboro area keep your eyes peeled for the boxes of strawberries from the farmer’s stand across from CVS. They’re the best strawberries in the whole entire world, trust me.

Workout

Before I got the ball rolling on my workout yesterday I had a little sweet potato energy ball thingy that I made up the night before and had planned on sharing if they were good. Well, no bueno on this batch but I’ll be trying again soon!

Back to the workout. I worked on bis and tris and threw some bursts of cardio into the mix and boy was it a good one!

Bis & Tris with Cardio

Warm-up
5 minute jog

Set One
15 preacher curls
15 triceps kickbacks 
1 minute run at incline 1
repeat 3-4 times

Set Two
15 bicep curls
15 overhead triceps extensions
1 minute run at incline 2 & bump speed up 0.5 mph
repeat 3-4 times

Set Three
15 hammer curls 
15 chair dips
1 minute run at incline 3 & bump speed up 0.5 mph

Cool Down
5 minute jog followed by 1 minute walk and stretching

I completed each set three times before moving on to the next one and started my 1 minute runs at 7.0 mph. All and all this was a great workout and perfect for someone in a time crunch who’s looking to get in strength training and cardio!

Lunch

Spring mix + California veggie burger + tomato + shaved carrot + Wickles + goat cheese + Nut Thins sea salt chips + balsamic reduction

Yesterday’s lunch really hit the spot. Lately, I’ve been all about vegetarian burgers. Not sure what the deal is on that one but I’m ok with it. However, beef burgers are on the menu for dinner tonight and I am puuumped!

Snacks

Alright so this slice of carrot cake should probably be in the category above considering I ate it shortly after lunch but whatever. It’s going to suffice as a “snack” anyways.

A little while later I felt my stomach rumble so I grabbed two small apples.

If you can’t already tell, I was feeling rather snacky yesterday.

Originally I had planned on whipping up some guacamole to go along with my sweet potato-black bean enchiladas for my mom’s birthday but the avocados weren’t quite ripe on Saturday. Whamp whamp whamp. I set them beside a couple of bananas on the counter so they could soak up some ethylene and ripen faster. Anyways, yesterday they were perfectly ripe so I took advantage of the opportunity and made guacamole.

The Best Guacamole

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados
3-5 cloves finely minced garlic
juice of 2 limes
3-4 T of your favorite salsa
1/4 c chopped cilantro
S & P to taste

Directions

Mash avocados and then mix in remaining ingredients. Enjoy with some multigrain Scoops or fresh veggies!

Dinner

Finally time to bust out the grill!

With the grill on my mind during my cool down jog, I quickly texted Mom and asked her to pick up some salmon filets for dinner.

Check out the size of those filets! And Mom said she had to ask for the small ones.

Stephen kept me company while I handled the grill. He probably won’t be too excited when he sees the picture above.

Love you!

We kept things light and had grilled summer veggies alongside the salmon.

I brushed EVOO on the salmon and then seasoned it with a Greek seasoning we had on hand. The veggies were tossed in EVOO and S & P as well as a little bit of the Greek seasoning.

Not to brag on my grilling skills or anything (I rarely use the grill except for when I grill pizza) but last night’s dinner was deeeeeelicious!

Even my dad was tickled at how tasty everything was, haha.

Sophie

Doesn’t she just put a smile on your face?

Other Things of the Day

Last night Stephen and I watched The Impossible and it was a really awesome movie. A little gruesome but very eye-opening to all the things we have to be thankful for, specifically family.

[source]

Fast-forwarding back to today, I am taking the final exam for my AFAA personal training certification. Yeah, just when I think I’m relieved of exams because school is out I have to guess again. Not going to lie, I’m a little nervous about the exam but SOOO excited to think that this time tomorrow I could be a certified personal trainer, eeek! Wish me luck!

Have a great rest of the day and I’ll catch ya later guys!

A Great Start to the Week

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Hello hello!

A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there! Especially my momma — she had a birthday on Saturday as well so it was quite the weekend over here.

When I asked my mom what she wanted for her birthday she made it clear she didn’t want any gifts but instead requested I make my sweet potato black bean enchiladas for dinner. I’ve made these enchiladas a few times before and they’ve always been a huge hit. The Boyfriend actually licked a tupperware container I packed of the leftovers one time because he liked them that much.

Anyways, I figured a recipe would be a great start to the week so here ya go.

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Enchiladas with Verde Sauce

Ingredients

For the filling:

2 large sweet potatoes, diced
1 16 oz can black beans, drained
2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced)
1 yellow onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c (or to taste) cilantro, chopped
1 T chili powder
1/2 T cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper
S & P to taste
EVOO
shredded Mexican cheese
1 package (10) medium 100% whole wheat flour tortillas

For the Verde Sauce:

~ 1 lb tomatillos
1-2 serrano peppers, seeded
1/4 c cilantro
1 t garlic, minced
S & P to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*. Husk and rinse tomatillos, place on a roasting pan, and toss with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and salt and pepper. Roast until just slightly charred. Remove from oven and let cool before placing in a blender or food processor with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth consistency and set aside.

Turn oven down to 350*. Place sweet potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, cover with paper towel, and microwave for 4-6 minutes or until fork tender. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan with ~ 1 T EVOO over medium-high heat cook garlic and onion until tender. Mix first 10 ingredients together in a large bowl. To soften tortillas for assembly take 10 damp paper towels and layer in between 1-2 tortillas then microwave for ~ 1 minute.

Assembly:

In a 11×8 casserole dish, layer 1/2 c of verde sauce on the bottom. Take a tortilla and spread a generous pinch of cheese down the middle and top with a heaping 1/3 c of filling then roll tortilla and place folded side down. Repeat until all the filling is used*. Pour verde sauce on top of enchiladas and then cover with cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes and viola!

*I fit 6 enchiladas in a 11×8 casserole dish and then 4 in a 8×8 dish to freeze for another time.

Top with plain Greek yogurt, salsa, and cilantro and enjoy!

Weight Off My Shoulders

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Good afternoon!

A big thank you to everyone who reached out to me after my Peachy Post. I can’t even begin to explain how much it meant to me so thank you again.

Lately, I’ve been struggling to get out of bed before 9:30 AM and quite frankly it’s still a struggle then. I used to be up and at ‘em around 7:30-8:00 AM which was awesome because I got a lot more out of the day. Anyways, I’m trying to get back into the habit so I’ve been luring myself out of the bed earlier by reminding myself that Bobby Flay comes on at 8:00 AM. Oh, and with a balling breakfast.

Breakfast

Greek yogurt + Kashi GoLean Crunch + Bare Fit granola + diced pear + PB

Breakfast included a juicy pear yesterday instead of my usual berry/banana combo and I must say, it was a pleasant change. However, I am SO looking forward to fresh strawberries this summer! There really is nothing better than a perfectly ripe and seasonal strawberry. Mmm!

Workout

Pictures are actually not from my backyard but from my run at Goose Pond on Tuesday

Since I’m back in the ‘Boro and far far away from my beloved CrossFit box, I pulled out my old workout notebook and found my Back Yard Butt Kick. Considering yesterday was such a pretty day, I couldn’t think of a better workout.

Lunch

After finishing my butt kick, I worked up quite an appetite so I headed inside to see what I could rummage up for lunch.

Amy’s Cheddar Cheese burrito

My parents aren’t the best per say when it comes to keeping the fridge and pantry stocked. Although I was proud to see they had a bowl of fresh fruit in the refrigerator. Sooo, I grabbed an orange and paired it with an Amy’s burrito that I dug out of the freezer and called it lunch.

Orange + burrito with salsa and plain Cho

A generous serving of salsa and a dollop of Chobani (forget Daisy) on my burrito and I had one deeelicious meal.

Snacks

The better half of my day yesterday was spent studying for my AFAA practical exam which was scheduled for 7:30 PM. Of course, I needed some snacks to keep me full and focused.

Snack number one was the remnants from a bag of BBQ Pop Chips.

A little while later I sliced up an apple to hold me over before dinner.

Dinner

Baby spinach + tomato (from the Farmer’s Market!) + mushroom rice burger + Wickle’s relish + goat cheese + rosemary crackers + balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner hit the spot! I gave the spinach and tomato a spin in the microwave so the spinach got all wilted and it was just spot on with everything else.

*Side note* Tomatoes contain the antioxidant lycopene which is released during the cooking process so, believe it or not, they actually get more nutritious with heating!

Other Things of the Day

After dinner, I rushed downstairs and got my Macbook all set up for my personal fitness training practical exam. Let me just tell ya, I was so nervous! Originally I was suppose to take my practical on Tuesday but I ended up being late — it’s a video chat practical, heh — because I got confused with the time zones.

However, my awesome proctor let me retake the exam last night annnd I passed! Woohoo! Talk about a huge weight off my shoulders (ha ha weights, personal training, get it? anyways…). Now I just have tackle a 120 question multiple choice exam and then, ladies and gentlemen, I will be a certified personal trainer!

*Side note* I feel like juuust about 90% (maybe even more?) of my posts are food focused because well, it’s kinda easy to post a *somewhat* good looking picture of a meal and then talk about it. Ha, or maybe it’s just me. Getting to the point, “Other Things of the Day” sounds like a good daily topic. Whatcha think?

Sophie

I mean, I know it probably won’t be as good — or cute for that matter — as the “Sophie” topic but it could work.

Things Aren’t Always Perfectly Peachy

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Have you ever created a fear?

Totally consumed yourself with an irrational thought that it eventually becomes your worst nightmare?

Then, that fear that has spent months in the making inside of your head becomes reality.

The funny thing with that is even though you are aware of the fear that is reality you choose to look past it. It can’t happen, even though it is happening and you won’t let yourself see it, even though you blatantly can with the zip of your once comfortable fitting jeans.

What I’m getting at here is over the past three years I’ve slowly created my own greatest fear and within the past eight months I’ve watched that fear turn into reality. Now, I’m at a point where everything is very real and it has the power to completely break me down.

My feelings have been very up and down. When I allow myself to realize all of the things that I believe I let “go to shit” I feel like I’ve failed myself and everyone around me. Along with my created fear comes another fear, not as big but also created, which is the judgement I assume people are giving me.

If you’ve read this far you’re either thinking I’m crazy or you are following me word for word because you’ve been there before, no matter the situation, or are here with me now. If the latter is the case then let’s move forward…

While I’ve had what I’m deeming “The Worst Day Ever”, I have also come to a realization that the ~~past three years~~ nineteen years of my life have been valuable learning experiences. And ya know what? I still have a butt ton of learning experiences that have yet to come!

You see, everyone suffers with different obstacles in their lives. Whether it be a physical handicap or a mental handicap we have two options on how to deal with them. We can 1) allow them to become who we are and live day in and day out letting what is a personal challenge dictate our lives or we can 2) learn how to handle the downs with the ups and accept that this challenge might never fully go away but that’s ok because we’ve found the strength inside of ourselves to recognize and handle the challenge.

It all starts with accepting it folks.

I struggle with disordered eating and body image issues.

I created a fear of the weight I lost three years ago finding its way back to my body.

While I may have found physical health, I never quite got there mentally and that fear became a reality.

So here I am.

Ok so, for the “What now?” question that you might be asking and I surely know I’m asking, I’ll tell ya.

Now, I’m going to do things the right way: lose the weight (maybe not all of it because I used to be one skinny bitch, but enough to wear all those damn expensive pairs of jeans I have collecting dust in my closet) and give myself the credit I deserve! Because in all honesty, I am a strong person and despite my irrational thoughts, I am beautiful. And so are you.

I want this blog to be as real as I am and while I’m not going to share every minuscule detail of my somewhat mundane life, I am going to be completely honest with you guys on the other side of the screen. I’m not perfect and I do not want this blog to lead you to believe that I’m leading this perfectly peachy life filled with rainbows and peanut butter. Ok it is kinda filled with peanut butter but you get what I’m throwin’ down?

Now that I’ve gotten *most* of that off my chest I’d like you to look forward to seeing me waaay more often ’round these parts of the world wide web. Also, expect some ridiculously rad posts on my few learning experiences over the years and the wisdom I can grace you with.

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

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Health Nut Claire

Finding balance in a life of health, fitness, and fun.

Hangout Music Fest

Time to Bust Out the Grill

The Best Guacamole

A Great Start to the Week

Sweet Potato-Black Bean Enchiladas with Verde Sauce

Weight Off My Shoulders

Things Aren’t Always Perfectly Peachy