PHAB Lifestyle A blog dedicated to a healthy balance

Here we go again…more snow and cold temps!  This seems to be the theme here lately!

The snow falling and our frosty trees.  Which actually looked very pretty.

Brrrr…it was cold out plus the wind was kicking up.

The snow was so soft and fluffy it blew away easily.

Since I was feeling less than stellar after eating a big meal last night and having wine PLUS staying up way past my bedtime I really needed a green smoothie this morning despite the cold outside!

Glass of green goodness.  I thought I would be fancy and drink it from a wine glass today.

Glad I am in my nice warm house today.

Now time to make some healthy snacks!

Yesterday was my Mom’s Birthday so I decided it would be nice to take her out and enjoy a little mother-daughter time.

I got us tickets to the Broadway Musical Legally Blonde.

It just happened to be opening night on her Birthday…perfect present!

But first we went out to dinner to a great Italian Restaurant called La Casa D’Italia.  Our meal was incredible!!

We started off with some wine.

I had red my Mom had white.  Sorry, the photo is pretty dark as so was the restaurant.

We also had bruschetta as an appetizer…but we gobbled it up before I remembered to take a picture.

We decided to share the main course because we could not decide between two pasta’s.  So we order the

Gnocchi Della Nonna ~ Pina’s homemade gnocchi with porcini mushrooms, white wine & rosé sauce

Penne Puttanesca ~ garlic, onions, black olives, anchovies,capers and fresh tomatoes

We were in heaven everything tasted amazing!  I enjoyed every single morsel and was so stuffed!

But after supper I had a cappuccino and we did share a little gelato.  It paired nicely together!

Then it was off to the show.  It started at 8pm and we got there in plenty of time.

My Mom has never been to a Broadway show so she was excited to see it.  I was excited to see it because I have always loved the movie and wanted to see how they would make into a musical.  It was a very good show and and singing and dancing was done wonderfully!  We had a great time.

I love spending time with my Mom and it was a lovely way to celebrate her Birthday this year!

Happy Birthday MOM…love ya!

This week so far has been a busy one for me.  I feel like I have been going…and going!  But today is finally going to be low key.  The weather has also decided to take a nasty turn…so it is a good day to stay inside.

Since I did not get a chance to post yesterday this is how my day played out.

Tuesday, February 15

I started my day nice and early…5am early.  I woke up and was wide awake so I got up.  I planned to do my Interval workout in the morning anyway.  I got up and had a pre-workout drink of Vega Sport Berry flavour.

Then I did my intervals of 30/30 this time I used some more intense moves than usual

30 sec High: Burpees Plus and Mountain Climbers

30 sec Low: Kettle Bell swings

This was pretty tough!  The mountain climbers always make my arms burn!

After my workout I made a green smoothie to sip on while I showered and got ready for the day.

I made the usual blend of: Water, 1 scoop Vega Wholefood Optimizer, 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries, 2 handfuls of spinach and ice.

Once J was up I made us some hot oats for breakfast.

I topped my bowl with: Blueberries, 1 tbsp raw almond butter, a small dollop of cherry preserves and coconut butter.  Yum!

I also had a cup of hot coffee and some water.

Since the rest of our day was going to be spent out and about.  I packed our lunches and snacks.

All packed up!

It required the bigger cooler…my lunch bag was not going to hold all that!

Our first stop of the day was to meet J’s therapist at the mall.  Ever Tuesday we go and practice his walking.  He loves it and he gets to explore.

First we had our morning snacks.

I had a 1/2 cup of strawberries with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and topped with 1 tbsp macadamia nuts.  MMmmm..so good!  J had a cheese stick and grapes.

We enjoyed ourselves like always!

On J’s walk around the mall I caught up with them at the book store.  J loves the kids section and always loves to explore and play in there.

He loves to ride the little scooter they have.  He does a pretty good job at it too!

Push the shopping cart.

and the little pink stroller! :LOL:  So cute!

After we were done.  We had lunch at the mall before leaving.

I brought along a big salad topped with grilled salmon and last nights leftover grilled veggies it was delicious!  I also had some pineapple chucks for ‘”dessert”.

My little lunch companion!  He had ham & cheese sandwich with some blueberries.  Yum!

After we left the mall I took J to his annual check up at his doctor’s.  Everything is aok!  He is growing like a weed!  He is now 37 pounds and 39.2 inches tall!

I had my afternoon snack in the car on the way home after we left the doctor’s office.

Lots of water and

Almonds and a pear cut up.

When I got home I had to get ready because I was taking my Mom out for her Birthday…to be continued!  This post is getting way too long!

Since we had a lovely meal with friends on Saturday we are not really celebrating Valentine’s Day in this house today.  However, I did get my present early this year and I have been enjoying it immensely ever since!

It was a busy day for me today.  I started my morning off nice an early with my Resistance Workout at 6am.  It was pretty much the only time I would have today to get it done.

Once I was showered and ready for the day and J was up we had breakfast.

I had 2 pcs. of sprouted grain toast topped with 2 tbsp of raw almond butter a small drizzle of honey and 1/2 a banana along with a coffee.

The rest of my morning was a bit of a blurr!  J and I went and zipped through the grocery store nice and early after breakfast, came home, put everything away, I packed up snacks and lunches and then headed out to an eye appointment for J.

All packed up!  Water, green tea, reading material (for the wait).  In my fav lunch bag: whole wheat wrap with ham, spinach and mustard, cut up veggies, a few green grapes and a Larabar for my snack on the way!

We made it home around 1pm and then J spent some time with his therapist.  I puttered around the house and cleared a few things up from the morning.  Folding laundry was one of them…ugggg!  I hate folding laundry!

I also had a green smoothie for my snack at around 3:30pm.

I blended up 1 scoop of Vega Wholefood Optimizer, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, 2 handfuls of spinach and ice.

SUPPER

Tonight I grilled!  It was super dupper nice out and the bbq was begging to be used.  The hubby was working late so it was all up to me!

Mixed grilled peppers, asparagus, onions and mushrooms.  Seasoned with S&P and a little olive oil.  YUM!

Chicken breast first marinated in lime juice, cilantro, chilli powder and 1 tbsp of Olive Oil to prevent sticking!

It all smelled great!

I gobbled down my meal tonight it tasted so darn good!

I had about a 1/3 cup of steamed brown rice with it.

Also sparkling water with a wedge of lime…so refreshing!

Tomorrow night is my Momma’s Birthday and like the lovely daughter that I am taking her out for a night of fun!

I got us a pair of tickets to the opening night of Legally Blonde!  But first we will be going for a little Italian supper.  I can’t wait…it should be fun!

Now time to spend the rest of what is left of Valentine’s Day with my Hubby!

I was inspired by another blogger on what to make for supper tonight.  I saw the recipe for Kale Pesto on Ashley’s blog and I just had to try it.  It looked super simple and totally healthy.  Yup…right up my alley!

My plan was to mix it into rice pasta.

First up wilt the kale. Easy.

Then I assembled the rest of the ingredients.

When I am following a recipe I like to get all my ingredients assembled first it makes things way easier plus it goes faster.  This all got combined in the food processor…so simple.

The end result awesome tasting pesto!  So good!

I combined the pesto with some rice pasta along with some small cooked shrimp and mushrooms that I sautéed first.

I topped my portion with some fresh grape tomatoes.  This was super yummy!  Even the hubs like it.

I also added a few dollops of hot sauce on top.  Plus a glass of sparkling water with a wedge of lime as my supper time mocktail!

DESSERT

After supper I planned on making another blogger inspired recipe!  This time from Oh She Glows.  Angela had a dessert recipe I just had to try called Two Bite Double Down Dark Chocolate Brownies.  The words Dark Chocolate and Brownies had me sold on the idea!

This recipe was easy to whip up and I had all the ingredients in my panty.

All ready to go into the oven.

I can tell these are going to be de-lic-ious!

Once they come out of the oven I plan on having a few while I sit and watch a 3D movie with the hubby!

He picked up Despicable Me in 3D this afternoon.  Should be fun to watch!  Now to taste those brownie bites.

Our fondue dinner party for 4 turned out pretty darn good last night.  It was fun chatting, drinking and eating away with our friends.  However, I was more into socializing last night than taking pictures.  So this post is not going to be lengthy.

When our friends arrived we started off with some drinks.  We cracked open a bottle of wine that the hubs got me for Christmas.  This bottle was aged almost 10 years and tasted fantastic!

We were fancy and decanted it before we poured.

The table all ready for the first course of traditional cheese fondue.  Yum!

Next up was the hot rock!  However, this picture was taken a little late! 

We had already begun cooking and eating away then I remembered. So I quickly snapped a few pictures.

The meat that we grilled up was beef tenderloin, shrimp, lobster, ostrich and alligator.  The hubs wanted to go a little exotic with the meat!  It was all really good!  My favourite was the ostrich!  It was so tender and flavourful.

Our friend Scott trying not to be in the picture! Ha gottcha!   We also had some veggies and a little more cheese to grill underneath in the broiler part.  That was so yummy as well.

The evening ended with a little Tolberone chocolate fondue that unfortunately was a little runny but still tasted great with banana, strawberries and pineapple for dipping!

It was a lovely evening spent with friends!  The hubs and I will definitely be pulling out this awesome appliance again!  Everything tasted awesome!

Mmmmm…do you know anyone that buys their hot sauce by the case??

Well my hubby does!  When there is a sale look out!

That would be 12 bottles of this…

It is called Golden Death…don’t let the name scare you.  It is actually pretty good!  Not that hot really but has tons of good flavour.

I like hot sauce and from time to time I love to put it on my stir-fry to give it some kick!  We are well stocked now!

Mmmmmm…..I wonder if we can use it with fondue??

I think my hubs would say YES!!

My morning started out with a wonderful sunny drive to J’s pre-school.

I love mornings like these! 

It makes my day out so much nicer!

I did get up extra early this morning to fit in my resistance training since it was the only time I would have today.  6 o’clock came early but I got it done.  I had a pre-work out drink of Vega Sport and then I had my Post-work out drink of Prograde.  I sipped it while I took and shower and got ready for the day.

Before heading out the door I had a small breakfast of Quinoa, blueberries, greek yogurt and pecans.

Yum!

While J was in school I ran around and did a bunch of errands.  We are having a dinner party on Saturday with a couple of friends and needed to get supplies

After I picked J up from school we stopped and had lunch at Subway on our way home.

I had a six inch whole wheat sub topped with roast chicken breast, veggies and mustard.

J saying CHEEEESE!! for the camera!  MAN I LOVE this kid!  So cute!

Mmmm…samich!  I am so lucky to be able to stay home and spend days like this with him!  So worth it!!

Supper tonight was a stir-fry of pork tenderloin with a bunch of veggies that needed to be used up.  I did not snap any pictures of it well because I was hungry and just wanted to eat!

Tomorrow night we have some friends coming over for a little dinner party!  So I need to get some sleep because I have a busy day tomorrow of prepping and getting my cardio workout in.

One of the beverages for tomorrow night…the hubby picked it up today.  Old Tawny Port this one is different than the one we usually buy (they were sold out ) so I am hoping that it tastes just as good!  I guess we will find out.

My hard work is finally paying off!  For the last 5 weeks I have been working out 6 days a week alternating between weights and cardio and I am really happy with my results so far.  I am now getting definition in my arms and shoulders and my muffin top is starting to get smaller.  Still there but smaller.  My damn waist is bone of contention with me!  Anywhoo….

I have been doing a program called Fit Yummy Mummy on and off for a few years now but I decided to get serious about it this year and stay consistent!  I have not missed a workout in the last 5 weeks!!  I have made no excuses and have fit my workouts into my schedule.   Even with running after J.

When I have to, I do my workouts in my front hallway so I can keep and eye on J.  Mostly I do my interval workouts here and I get up early in the morning on the days I do my weights.  We have made a pretty awesome gym in our basement.

This is the year I turn 40 and I want to look damn good!

Here is a sneak pick at my results thus far that I am most happy with.  My arms and shoulders.

Please ignore my less than beautiful self!  I had just finished my workout.

This program goes for 12 weeks so I am almost half way through.  The second half I really have to get better with my meals.  I am still having a hard time on weekends…plus that horrid time of the month.  I get the munchies!  However, when I do I munch on fruit, Greek yogurt and cut up veggies or I just chug water.  I have snuck some dark chocolate and a few handfuls of chips.  But for the most part I have been pretty good!

Here is to 7 more weeks!

Hi and happy Wednesday! 

Today I tried something totally new to me.  I was at Planet Organic and notice it on the shelf. Kombucha Tea!

I got the Synergy Trilogy flavour since I heard that it tasted pretty good.

Mmmm…I did the wrong thing and smelt if first.  Does not smell very good… a little like vinegar…I was nervous! 

It actually tasted good!  After a while it grew on me and now I think it tastes great!  I really like this flavour.  I could get hooked!

Today was another busy day.  I took J to pre-school in the morning and then I went to Starbux and grabbed a coffee and my treat for the week of a pumpkin scone.

Cafe Americano with a splash of Skim milk

A very delicious pumpkin scone.  I had to sit in the van to eat my snack since there was not one seat to be had in the cafe!  I hate that…people were camped out in there with their laptops… mind you I do that sometimes too!

My next stop was to the health food store to re-stock my kale and romaine lettuce.  The kale was a $1.99 today…score!  This is also where I got my first bottle of Kombucha Tea.

On the way home from getting J from school we hit up the gas station and a much need carwash for my van.  The dirt was so thick already you could chisel it off!  Seriously…time for a wash.

J does not really like the carwash very much…because I am such a concerned Mother I took some pictures for prosperity sake. Ha!

Started out with a bit of a Uh..Oh…here we go!

A little more relaxed…he actually did really well this time!  Usually he is screaming done and gets upset…but today…much more calmer.  Thank goodness!

LUNCH

I had a crispy, crunchy stand up fork salad filled with yummy goodness!

Salad fixins:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Little bit of leftovers of grilled salmon
• sautéed zucchini
• cucumber
• green pepper
• celery
• avocado
• 1/2 cup adzuki beans
• drizzled with balsamic

It was delish!

In the afternoon I got my Weight workout done.  I started a new circuit today and it went pretty well.  I just need to tweak it a bit.  But I was in a bit of a rush since I started it a little late.  After my workout I had my post workout drink.  I finally got my Prograde workout in the mail and I now I am back in business!  I love drinking it after my workout…I blend it with very cold water and lots ice.

SUPPER

Tonight I decided to make meatballs with can of diced tomatoes as the sauce.

These are one of my favourite meatball recipes.  I first bake them off in the oven and then added them to the sauce to stay hot until the rest of supper was finished.

I also had some asparagus that was begging to be used.  So I spritzed it with a little olive oil and sprinkled it with lemon pepper and sea salt and roasted them in the oven.

I served the meatballs over a 1/2 cup of rice pasta shells and topped it with some sautéed mushrooms.  I had the roasted asparagus on the side.

along with a side salad.  It was a darn good supper!  Best part is I have some leftover meatballs for lunch tomorrow.

Boy it is getting late already!  The hubby and I were busy discussing summer vacation and doing a little searching on the net.  I think we finally came to a decision on what we are doing..thank goodness!  More on that later.

Night!