Weekend Sunshine XXVII

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Hi friends! How was your weekend? Mine was fantastic and also felt very short. I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures this weekend, however, I did do a good job of catching up with my closest friends and probably consuming a little bit too much Prosecco on Saturday night. Whoopsie! Sometimes that happens. Anyway, here are some of the sunshiney-est moments. Hope you had a great one and were able to spend some time outdoors. :)

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On Thursday night, I met Rebecca at her new (awesome) digs and then we headed to the newly opened, Townsman. If you saw my instagram post earlier in the week - you might have noticed I said "more to come on this". Well, I'm beyond excited and proud to announce that Rebecca has just launched her blog! justbee.squarespace.com. Rebecca is one of my nearest and dearest friends. She is a fashionista and a baker - her blog will be full of baked goods and fashionable finds - how can you even resist that? Gah! I'm so excited for her!

This is my post-workout sweaty selfie I took after PWG on Saturday morning. I am grinning ear to ear because a) the workout was great and b) it was SO sunny!

Before I left for the gym, Rob asked if I wanted to get American Provisions for lunch. I mean, he really had to twist my arm (joke). This is the La Campania with Prosciutto, Rob always gets the Italian. We like what we like and they are both delectable. 

Not one photo was taken on Saturday night. Not one. That being said, we had THE BEST game night at Billy and Kim's new house. Their new house is so beautiful and I'm beyond happy for them. Plus, Juliet was awake when we arrived so we got to hang out with her for a little bit. She showed us how she plays hide-and-seek - it was pretty awesome. Rachael, Chris, Billy, Kim, Rob and I talked for hours before we even started playing games. It was SO NICE to catch up. So nice that I think I didn't realize how much Prosecco was being consumed. Anyway, as I was laying on the couch on Sunday I took this photo. I opened one window in the front and one window in the back of my place to get a nice breeze. It was 39 degrees, but, it was necessary to get some fresh air. It's been SO long!

Later that night, I wanted something hearty and healthy. I put together this noodle bowl (more meat/veg than noodle). It was scrumptious. 
WHAT:
- 1lb ground turkey
-Cup of veggies (I had green beans and broccoli in my freezer)
- A few healthy pours of rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
- Tsp of red thai chili paste
- Crushed red pepper to taste
- Few shakes of soy sauce (probably a couple tbs)
- Few shakes of sesame oil (probably a couple tbs)
- Evoo, as needed
HOW:
- Put couple tsp of olive oil in pan and add garlic and onion
- Add turkey to pan and a couple of ours of rice vinegar
- Add the rest of the ingredients and keep working it
-Keep adding vinegar/sesame oil/soy sauce/crushed red pepper as need.
- Add the cooked noodles and serve!

That's about it. Hope you all have a GREAT week! xo

Saturday Reading.

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Good morning and happy Saturday! It is "Daylight Savings Weekend" and I'm prettty excited about it. Spring is coming. Spring is coming. Spring is coming. Let's shout it from the rooftops! This weekend is going to be pretty low key. We have game night tonight with Kim, Bill, Rae & Chris which I'm pretty excited about. Cards of Humanity and Thai Food? Yes, please. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to see my family since it's definitely been a while. Whatever you have planned - make it awesome. Here are some reads to kick off the weekend. Have a great one! xo

The way Red Sox and BC honored Pete Frates in Fort Meyers this week is pretty incredible.

50 healthiest foods. (skip to #50 if you don't have time)

Athena's breakfast casserole had me at hello.

It's almost Margarita season and this is how it should be done. Always.

I'm becoming more and more intrigued by Paleo and SCD. These crackers look mighty tasty and simple to make. 

Do you agree with this? I'm a body weight exercise and free weights girl. Never been a real fan of machines.

Boston Strong.

This study on identical twins and the difference exercise makes is so interesting. 

Confession: I'm kind of terrible at making coffee, especially with my French press. This helped.

Fridge vs. Cupboard. 

Cacao Raspberry Compote

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Hi guys! Just checking in to tell you about a little, EXTREMELY HEALTHY, dessert I made tonight. I don't know about you guys, but, I'll be honest... since Christmas I've kind of spiraled out of control with two things: 1) snacking and 2) desserts during the week. During the month of December, I always have a ton of willpower and then after a couple of cookie drop offs, Christmas parties, and then Christmas itself... I start to meander into the kitchen for the leftover cookies or random chocolates after dinner. Then, because sugar is an evil poison, I start craving sugar *like crazy*. REMEMBER THIS ARTICLE? BAD SUGAR. This happens every year. In addition to that, it's snowed about 400 times which has been a wonderful excuse to snack. ANYWAY, I've snapped myself out of this stupidity as of late, BUT, I'm still having that sugary craving at night. It's been tough to ignore and I've weaned myself down to dark chocolate, but, now it's time to cut that nonsense out immediately!

ANYWAY... I'm really chatty tonight so I digress. This evening, I put a healthy twist on an old favorite for "dessert" and it was everything I could ask for and more. Most importantly, not only is it "guilt-free', but, it's actually completely and totally healthy.

Couple things to note here:
Cacao and Cocoa are not the same thing. Here are two pieces of information that explain it: one and two. Simply put, cacao is cocoa in its RAW form before being processed. Cacao is a mega-antioxidant and is loaded with magnesium, iron, and fiber. These are some serious needs in most women's diets.

Raspberries are my favorite. I love berries. What's even better about them? They are lower in sugar than pretty much all other fruits. There is only one tsp in a whole serving and they are very low on the glycemic index. HECK YES.

Coconut oil is one of the only foods that is high in lauric acid, which, in some studies has been shown to raise HDL (healthy cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol) even though it is a saturated fat.

Don't care about the scientific stuff? That's ok... here's the recipe (so easy):

ORGANIC RASPBERRY CACAO COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4cu - 1cu of organic frozen raspberries
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cacao powder
- 1 tbs cacao nibs

HOW:
In a small sauce pan, add all ingredients except for the cacao nibs. Stir until it is all melted down into a compote. Pour into a pretty cup or mug, top with cacao nibs and serve. Deeelish!

I mentioned that this is a twist on an old favorite because I used to melt down frozen berries in the microwave and then top them with chocolate syrup. This is a much healthier version.
Have a great night - it's almost THURSDAY! xo