I am working out EVERY.SINGLE.DAY until we leave for the beach. even if it is a quick 20 minute circuit, it is happening. I am doing an arms set twice a day, everyday. personally, when my arms are in shape, I just feel better all around. and that is a part of my body I know I am whip into shape really quickly. I am never going to have great abs, and I could honestly care less about them. and I am always going to have a mom butt no matter how many squats I do. but my arms, those I can get into shape.  so, this week I will focus on that. should I share an arm circuit or two on stories this week?

in terms of our meal plan, things are going to be extra clean. smoothies to start the day (usually around noon, because I like to fast in the mornings). lots of greens and salads. plus some lean protein.

MONDAY

smoothie

I do the same smoothie every day, I just mix up which fruit I use…frozen berries, spinach, flax seed, collagen peptides, coconut water

salad

escarole, avocado, green onion, hard boiled egg in a red wine vinaigrette

salmon + spinach

recipe I have posted on my stories before, served with tomato and spinach in a white wine sauce…going to sub olive oil for butter to make it extra clean this week 

TUESDAY

smoothie

frozen mango and blueberries, spinach, flax seed, collagen peptides, coconut water

salad

radicchio, green onion, avocado, walnuts in a balsamic vinaigrette (vinaigrette recipe + pictures below)

quinoa bowl

quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, shaved brussel sprouts, red cabbage, in a shallot vinaigrette (sweet potato and shallot vinaigrette recipe below)

WEDNESDAY

smoothie

frozen berries, spinach, flax seed, collagen peptides, coconut water

quinoa bowl

chopped salad

escarole, bacon (I always get no nitrate, no hormone organic bacon and let it set in paper towels after cooking to absorb some of the extra grease), chicken, green onion, hard boiled egg, cabbage, sweet vinaigrette (1 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red vine vinegar, 1/2 tsp honey, spinkle of oregano, sprinkle of red pepper flakes, 1/2 clove crushed garlic, salt + pepper to taste) 

THURSDAY

smoothie

frozen mango and blueberries, spinach, flax seed, collagen peptides, coconut water

salad + salmon

escarole, lemon + olive oil, salt and pepper

going out to dinner

FRIDAY

smoothie

frozen berries, spinach, flax seed, collagen peptides, coconut water

mozzarella, tomato + avocado salad

lettuce wraps

grilled chicken, caramelized onion + avocado, wrapped in lettuce served with dipping sauce of choice, I like a chipotle aioli

SATURDAY

leftover on saturday to try to clear out the fridge before vacation!

SUNDAY

vacations starts!! bring on all the fresh fish, white wine and margaritas :).

SNACKS

I have been snacking a lot lately, and not healthy snacking. so I am going to make sure my fridge is packed with healthy snacks this week. here are a few of my favorites

orange + walnuts

veggies + hummus

olives

guacamole + radish chips

when I am trying to eat clean, there are a few things I always try to pack into my meal plan, avocados, nuts, salmon, and sweet potatoes. they are all packed with nutrients and good fats and really fill you up.

RADICCHIO SALAD

radicchio

green onion

avocado

walnuts

balsamic vinaigrette (1 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 clove crushed garlic, salt + pepper to taste)

SWEET POTATO RECIPE

(you can find this recipe on my story highlights on instagram, the bowl I eat them in is on my highlights too!)

1 sweet potato peeled and diced

1 tbsp olive oil

chipotle powder

garlic powder

salt + pepper

combine all ingredients on a cookie sheet until sweet potatoes are coated in olive oil and seasoning. bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. stir halfway through.

shallot vinaigrette (1 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup sherry vinegar, 1 shallot, sliced, 1/2 clove garlic crushed, salt + pepper to taste)

HOW TO PICK/STORE AN AVOCADO

ok, I am 31 years old and have been buying and eating avocados for my entire adult life. literally, last year, I learned how to pick the perfect avocado. I am not sure how I went that long not knowing the proper way to pick an avocado. this may be basic, common knowledge, but I figure if I somehow did not know these tips, chances are some of you don’t know these tips either! so feel free to skip over this sections if this is obvious, old news to you!

(1) make sure the stem is still attached! if you are planning on using the avocado right away, you can peel off the stem at the grocery store to make sure it is perfectly ripe! if the stem does not peel off easily, it is not ripe yet. if the stem falls off too easily and it looks brown under the stem, it is overrip. it should be green under the stem! but, do not peel off the stem too soon before using, as it can cause that end of the avocado to ripen too quickly and go bad. below is a picture of what it should look like under the stem!

(2) the skin should have a matte appearance NOT shiny. if the skin looks shiny, it is not ripe yet!

(3) if there are not any ripe avocados available, here is a trick for helping it ripen. put 2-3 avocados in a paper bag. make sure you close the paper bag! this only works if you put more than one in a bag together.

(4) do NOT put your avocados in the fridge until they are perfectly ripe. if your avocados are perfectly ripe, but you are not ready to eat them, they can store in the fridge for a few days and that will slow down the ripening. BUT, if you put them in the fridge too soon, it will effect their texture and ruin them.

(5) if you are storing half of an avocado, squeeze lemon or lime juice over the open area to keep it from turning brown.

(6) ps, did you know you should always wash your avocado before cutting it?! I didn’t learn this until I was pregnant with blake. the skin can contain a harmful bacteria called listeria. so be sure to wash the skin thoroughly before cutting it open.

The post crunch time meal plan + how to pick the perfect avocado appeared first on But First Koffee.

Since I am going to try to use more of my own recipes and meals we cook on a regular basis, you guys might notice that I will post what we actually ate the week before, instead of what we plan to eat the next week! So I can try out the recipes, photograph them and post. I will still post our meal plans, but it will just be our meal plan from the week prior!

Per request, I am also going to share more packable lunches! When I used to work at an office, it was really hard for me to get in a good routine of bringing my lunch consistently. First, I usually needed that break and wanted to actually leave the office. Second, the lunches I did pack on occasion were never very good, which made me want to eat out even more. So if you struggle with the same dilemma, I feel you. Although Blake has an odd schedule, not the typical 9-5, he is usually gone for work during lunch hours. Some days, he has to go out to lunch for work, but he has been getting really sick of eating out every single lunch. So he’s been asking for packed (but still yummy) lunches! I will start to share more of those as we come up with winner lunches. Last week, we stuck to salads, so I will share the ones we tried out below.

Trying again to meal plan based off of what we have in the fridge! We still have lots of brussel sprouts and carrots from our costco run, so going to use those! Leftover cucumbers from our greek meatballs last week, so going to repurpose into one of my favorite salads! And we also have a bunch of sweet potatoes leftover from the sweet potato tacos. I guess I need to start buying smaller quantities! Going to make my favorite chipotle, garlic sweet potatoes to top on salads and bowls for lunches this week!

chipotle, garlic sweet potatoes

If you go back through my story highlights “eats in” tab, you can see these sweet potatoes and how often we eat them! They are so easy to make in large quantities and hold over really well in the fridge for leftovers. We throw them onto salads, as a base for breakfast skillets, top them on quinoa bowls and just eat them straight up for snacks! I make them at the beginning of the week then use them throughout the week! Highly, highly, highly recommend these as an easy + healthy fridge staple!

recipe:

sweet potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

olive oil

garlic granules

chipotle seasoning

salt + pepper

instructions:

combine all ingredients and bake in the oven at 400 for about 30 minutes. stir once halfway through! voila, so easy. you want them to be slightly browned and crispy, but not burnt!

the salad we served these on was escarole, slivered almonds, mozzarella, avocado + a sweet vinaigrette (evoo, sherry vinegar, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt + pepper. this is a perfect packable lunch, pack the dressing separately and add in the avocado at the end!

spicy cucumber salad

I have posted some version of this salad before, but it is so good that it’s worth sharing again! It’s fresh and light, but packed with flavor. It is also a perfect packed lunch. BB loves this recipe too, I just leave out the red pepper flakes, which can make it a little too spicy for her!

recipe:

persian cucumbers

tomatoes

green onion

lemon

slivered almond

evoo

balsamic vinegar

red pepper flakes

salt + pepper

instructions:

combine cucumber, tomato, green pepper and almonds. drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, salt + pepper and red pepper flakes. squeeze fresh lemon right before serving. if you as bringing as a packed lunch, add the avocado last, right before eating so it does not get brown!

lamb chops served with caramelized shallots & chimichurri sauce

This is not a meal I suggest whipping up on a Tuesday after a long day of work. This is more of a sunday night dinner when you have a couple hours to spend in the kitchen. Blake got back from a three day road trip and I was ready for some me time. So he took bb to the library and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen and it was glorious. Some days, I just am in the mood to cook all day, so this meal was perfect. And in reality, it is actually a quick meal. the lamb chops only marinated for about 30 minutes and they took 7 minutes on the stove. It’s just the prep work and sides that took some extra time! I was also meal prepping for the rest of the week, which took a lot of time too. But there is no better feeling than waking up on a Monday with a fridge full of food ready to eat throughout the week!

pan seared lamb chops

I have helped my parents make lamb chops before, but this was actually my first time making them myself! And these were surprisingly easy and so quick.

recipe:

15 lamb chops (I did about 3 per person with a handful of extras)

evoo

6 cloves of garlic, minced

red pepper flakes

salt + pepper

instructions:

combine all ingredients and marinade for 30 minutes

coat the bottom of a cast iron with olive oil

heat until hot but not smoking

sear each side of the lamb chop for 2.5-3 minutes until browned

let stand for 5 minutes before serving

caramelized shallots

I love caramelized shallots. They are slightly sweeter than onions and just add the best pop of flavor, especially with red meat. But, be warned, they are a pain to peel. They are worth the extra effort, I promise.

recipe:

shallots, peeled (cut the large ones in half)

evoo

instructions:

coat the bottom of a cast iron with olive oil

heat until hot but not smoking

add shallots and cook on medium heat until golden brown and fragrant (the trick is to not stir them too much, you want them to sit in one place so they can get that good, golden brown sear)

chimichurri sauce

I am not a fan of mint. If there is even the slightest bit of mint in a meal or drink, I cannot stomach it. I don’t know why, the flavor is just not for me. So I did a cilantro + garlic chimichurri to go with the lamb instead! I make some version of this chimichurri a lot, and love to pair it with red meat or veggies. It is fresh and flavorful.

recipe:

1 bunch of cilantro

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 1 lemon juice

red pepper flakes to taste

salt + pepper to taste

instructions:

combine all ingredients in a blender or cuisinart and mix!

pack your lunch salad

This salad was a big hit. The trick for packing a lunch is something hearty that will stay with you throughout the day without being too heavy. Nothing worse than getting back to your desk after an indulgent lunch and struggling to keep your eyes open. Avocado, cheese and nuts are all packed with nutrients and will fill you up without giving you that heavy feeling. A tip for packing an avocado, keep it whole or at least in it’s skin to prevent it from getting brown! Another must for packing a salad, you must pack the dressing in a separate container so the lettuce doesn’t get wilty.

recipe:

escarole

fresh mozzarella (or blue cheese would be good too, if you like that)

avocado

walnuts

dressing: evoo, balsamic vinegar, s+p

seared brussel sprouts + caramelized onions

Ok, this is one of my favorite recipes ever. It works as a side, as a salad or as a meal. We served it with the lamb chops last night, but plan to eat the leftovers with grilled chicken as another meal. It is sooooo good.

recipe:

shaved brussel sprouts

sliced sweet onion

butter

evoo

s + P

instructions:

add about 1 tbsp evoo to a hot skillet, sear brussel sprouts until browned and crispy

in second skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter and add in sweet onion

cook onion on low heat for 20 minutes until golden brown and soft

combine onion and brussel sprouts and season to taste with s + p

serve warm (I also sprinkled with slivered almonds this time because I wanted a little extra brunch, but it doesn’t need it!)

MEAL PLAN

lunches

strawberry salad (packable)

sweet potato salad (packable)

cucumber salad (packable)

dinners

lamb chops

chili (I almost always have these ingredients laying around the house in case of emergency, I keep 2 lbs of frozen ground beef in the freezer and the rest can be kept in the pantry! recipe HERE)

brussel sprout salad + grilled chicken

GROCERY LIST

lamb chops

ground beef

shallots

green onion

tomato

strawberries

cilantro

garlic

lemon

spicy V8 juice or whole foods equivalent

ALREADY HAVE

almonds

walnuts

sweet potatoes

fresh mozzarella

onion

escarole

cucumber

brussel sprouts

chili beans

kidney beans

black beans

butter

evoo

balsamic

red pepper

chipotle seasoning

garlic granules

chili powder

paprika

cumin

The post meal plan + packable lunches appeared first on But First Koffee.

I am so excited to start shopping at Trader Joe’s again in the burbs. I love their easy meals and their prices cannot be beat (not sponsored in any way, just really love TJs!). I thought I would mix things up this week and do a Trader Joe’s haul + meal plan! In the spirit of trying to stick to our good habits, I am trying to start every meal planning day off by cleaning out my fridge and seeing what I have. I am meal planning based off the ingredients I already have in the fridge that are going to go bad! Here is what is on the docket this week:

Meg’s black bean + sweet potato tacos

We had my entire family over for tacos this weekend and have bazillions of leftover tortillas. I don’t want standard tacos again so going to mix things up with Meg Mcmillin’s sweet potato tacos! If you haven’t tried Meg’s recipe for these yet, you have to give them a try. They are so easy, so delicious and healthy. See her full recipe here! PS, crying over how young James was in these pics, our babies are growing up sooo fast.

charcuterie for dinner

Blake and I do this every once in a while. Sometimes, I just want all the meats + cheeses and olives and need to just binge on it. We try to make it slightly healthier by adding in some tomatoes and onion! I love the charcuterie selection at Trader Joe’s. We always do this picnic style with wine and it makes dinner feel like a fancy date night ;). I always make bb a little charcuterie board of her own (with the healthy stuff and sub turkey for the other meats!) and she loves it.

greek meatballs wrap

Usually this meal seems like a summer meal to me, don’t ask why. But I have been craving Greek lately and there is a serious shortage of good greek food in the burbs, so I guess I will just have to make it at home! Full recipe here. We have a busy week and I probably will not be able to make it to the grocer store later in the week, so I bought the ingredients for this even though I know we probably won’t get to this meal until the end of the week. So as soon as we got home from the grocery store I put the ground turkey and pita in the freezer. I will take it out the morning we are going to cook it! Trying to really think ahead about when we will actually eat each meal in an effort to waste less!

copycat cauliflower

This weekend we had the BEST cauliflower from a little restaurant in our town. It was seared to perfection in a semi sweet sauce with chopped olives! It was such an interesting combo and one I would never have thought would taste good. But I have been craving it ever since and I am going to try to replicate! I will post a better recipe if it turns out, but here is what I am thinking:

sear cauliflower in evoo, when it is tender, stir in salt + pepper, honey, and diced olives. right before serving, squeeze some fresh lemon juice!

other essentials in my Trader Joe’s cart!

everything but the bagel seasoning

caramelized onion dip (amazing with veggies if you’re sick of hummus)

olive tapenade…I could literally put this on EVERYTHING, charcuterie, greek wrap, veggies, bread, pita…

tahini

peanut butter

sriracha ranch

chili pepper sauce

MEAL PLAN

breakfast

smoothies

eggs + avocado

(trying to do intermittent fasting most days, so I usually skip breakfast)

lunches

salads

leftover tacos

cauliflower

dinners

sweet potato tacos

charcuterie

greek meatballs

TRADER JOES GROCERY LIST

ground turkey

eggs

sweet potato

black beans

assorted meats + cheeses

tomatoes

cauliflower

red onion

avocado

green onion

sweet onion

lemons

tahini

hot sauce

caramelized onion dip

sriracha ranch

everything but the bagel seasoning

peanut butter

olive tapenade

honey

greek yogurt

pita

wheat bread

The post meal plan, trader joes edition appeared first on But First Koffee.

My new kitchen it making me want to meal plan and cook all day. It is so homey, the perfect size and so functional. For me, the kitchen is the heart of any home, and it just feels good to be in it. And thank god because I NEED to get back to a healthy lifestyle. I was very spoiled at my parents, they both love to cook and we had delicious meals at our disposal the entire time we were living with them. While I will miss the service, I am excited to start cooking again.

I need to lighten things up, but it’s winter and I am craving homey, rich meals. So here is what’s on the docket this week:

thai peanut chicken ramen

I feel like everyone was posting about this insta pot recipe a couple months ago. I was drooling over it but didn’t have access to my crock pot. So it is first on my list right now! I am definitely making it this week! I feel like it is a good was to ease myself into healthy eating. It’s still rich and cozy, but with lots of healthy ingredients.

recipe + photo via half baked harvest

To balance out the rich ramen, I am going to make this pomegranate salad one night! I will probably add some avocado or chicken, to add a little protein. I love love love fennel, so this salad has my name on it.

winter salad with lemon dressing

recipe + photo via family style food

On new years eve, we made a feast. Steak, lobster, crab legs, twice baked potatoes and millions of veggies, including sunchokes. Funny story. When we went shopping for the groceries, I let the baby use one of the kid shopping carts at the grocery store. She had so much fun picking out items and filling her little cart. I had zero plans that day to make sunchokes, but she was very intrigued by them and filled up a little baggy of them and put them in her cart. So we made sunchokes haha. And they turned out SOOOO good. I cut them up into bite sized pieces then pan seared them in a cast iron with butter and honey. Not the healthiest version, so I want to try them in evoo! I searched “sunchoke recipes” on pinterest and found this. yummm, cannot wait to try this. I am a huge fan of breakfast for dinner. I think an egg is the perfect food. It’s nutritious, packed with protein & vitamins and fills you up. So I eat them every day.

sunchoke skillet

recipe + photo via creative in my kitchen

Usually I stick to three recipes in a week, but I am feeling overly ambitious and just excited to use my kitchen, so I am going to strive for 4! A lot of these can be lunches too and used for leftovers. We went to Costco today to stock up on basics for the house, and they had a massive bag of organic brussel sprouts on sale. I always have a hard time finding organic brussel sprouts, so I of course had to buy them. So we will be eating a lot of brussel sprouts this week. I have a recipe in mind, but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for on pinterest, so I am going to try to create my own. I will share on instastories if it turns out! I am striving for a super light, asian brussel sprout salad. All of the recipes I am finding on pinterest are really heavy and doused in hoisin and other asian sauces. I just want a little splash of soy (I substitute liquid aminos) to get that asian flavor. And I am going to load it up with other veggies. This recipe is close, but I am going to modify it a smidge!

asian brussel sprout salad

recipe + photo via urban foodie kitchen

xoxo

happy cooking!

The post healthy winter meal plan appeared first on But First Koffee.

If all goes according to plan, we should be in the new house by the end of the week! Ekk, I am so freaking excited. This feels like it has been such a long time coming, and I cannot wait to just be settled and back to normal life. I miss our routines and I am excited to get back to good habits.

We are treating this move as a fresh slate. A time to drop our not so great habits, get back to our good habits and pick up some new ones. Yesterday we flew home from florida and bb was such an angel on the flight. I mentioned this in my stories last week, but she has taken such a huge independence leap lately and it makes flying soooo much easier. We have been really blessed that she has always been a fairly good traveler. But let’s be honest, even a good toddler traveler is still not easy. I feel like I need to be 100% on with her the entire time we are traveling, and by the end I am emotionally drained. But our last two trips have been so different. She entertained herself and I actually had some down time on the flight. She is so curious and excited about traveling, that she is just happy and content to be on the plane in her own “big girl seat.”

Anyways, I digress. All of this is to say that Blake and I actually had an hour last night on our flight to talk about the new house, habits we want to keep, habits we need to ditch & new ones we want to start. So here they are!

the one minute rule

I’m sure you’ve heard of this in some way or form. This rule is really easy and my family is adopting it 100%. It’s simple. If you can accomplish a task in 1 minute or less, do it now. Examples: hanging up your jacket & purse, putting your shoes away, putting your dish in the dishwasher, throwing in a load of laundry, etc. I am all about enjoying your down time. I would never let household stuff get in the way of me time or time with my family. When Blake goes down for the night, me time starts. I am not one of those moms that puts my child down then immediately gets to the laundry, dishes, and cleaning. I would lose my mind. But if I can keep up on small tasks throughout the day, they won’t pile up as much.

no more phones in the bedroom

I am a bad sleeper. Have been for as long as I can remember. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I wake often during the night. There are a lot of changes we are making in regards to this, I might even write a whole post about it, but ditching the phones is priority #1. We all know the deal about phones at night and what they do to our brains, so I will spare you the lecture. But that’s why we are ditching the phones. Sadly, this one honestly stresses me out. I do a lot on my phone in bed, which is all the more reason I need to commit to this rule and never turn back. When I am trying to fall asleep, I suddenly remember 9000 things I need to do, so it helps me fall asleep to type them into a note on my phone. It never occurred to me that I could just as easily have a bedside notebook that will serve the same purpose. So…that’s what we are going to do! I hope this encourages both me and Blake to read more, disconnect more, and just be overall more rested people.

no hoarding

This move has made me realize that I am a hoarder. I keep everything. I place a sentimental attachment on the most mundane items. T shirts that I know I am never ever ever ever going to wear again are saved because of that one time in Barcelona when I wore the shirt and have good memories. Or my dance team uniforms that I cannot part with (WHY?!). I am also fairly certain that I do not need 12 different sets of plates. Why do I keep a serving platter I know I am never going to use? Well, because I feel guilty that someone was thoughtful enough to give it to me as a gift. New rule in the new house: if there is not a place for it, it GOES! In the condo, there were always things out on the counters and dressers. Mainly because there was not enough room for everything to have it’s own place. Not because there wasn’t enough space, but because I have too much stuff. So I was constantly shuffling stuff from one place to another because there was not a proper place for everything. I am cutting down in the new house.

family dinners

All in all, we are pretty good about this. But sometimes we are guilty of feeding bb an early dinner then enjoy a more leisurely adults only dinner after she goes down for the night. bb’s preschool brings in a child psychologist once a month for the parents to meet with, talk to and ask questions. She also shares some unsolicited advice as well. Something I found SO interesting is how much value she puts on family dinners. In her professional opinion, there should be 6 family dinners a week. According to her, whether a child grows up in a house where family dinners are the norm is the single greatest predictor of future happiness (which is measured in terms of substance abuse problems and incarceration rates). I grew up in a house where family dinners were just the norm. Until I was old enough to go to friends houses on the weekends, we had 7 family dinners a week. I want that to be the norm for bb too. Almost all of the families in bb’s preschool have at least one parent who has to miss dinner frequently, either for travel or late work hours. Blake misses dinner a lot when he is traveling. So I felt extremely relieved to know that the benefits from family dinner come from having at least one parent who truly connects (no cell phones, real conversation) with their child during meal times.

good, old-fashioned chores

While we were on our flight, we wrote down chores for the whole family. Yep, bb too. I want her to feel like the house is hers too, and feel some (good) responsibility for it. Her chores are: make her bed every morning (literally throwing two pillows in her crib, but it’s the habit that counts), water her plant (we are getting her a small plant for her bedroom that she can take care of, maybe she will be better at keeping plants alive than her mama), feed George and walk George daily…with my assistance of course. For Blake and me, we broke ours down into daily, weekly and monthly chores. Sounds intense but it is mainly things we do already, just going to be more diligent about doing them regularly. And we added in some new ones that go along with owning a house, like who is in charge of each general upkeep category associated with the house. We have a strict “I cook, he cleans” philosophy in our house. I meal plan, grocery shop, and cook. Blake does all the dishes and loads and unloads the dishwasher every day. We addressed some common grievances we each had in our old condo, so we can start fresh and get rid of them. Blake likes to have snacks available at the house, but I do not like having junk in the house. So he is making me a list of healthy and husband approved snacks, and I will make sure we have them every week. I hate when I get into the car with the baby and it is out of gas, so part of his weekly duties is making sure both cars have a full tank of gas. I hate the word “chores” by the way, so if someone could come up with a better word for this, that would be much appreciated. Wish us luck…

less food waste

I know I have talked about this before, but we are terrible about food waste. Every Friday, I am cleaning out the fridge FULLY. If I know what I have and what is about to go bad, I can meal plan accordingly and waste less. I also hope that having less access to amazing restaurants (insert major tear face) will cut down on our spontaneous meals out. That is what really kills us when it comes to food waste. We have something I could easily make in the fridge, but Sushi Dokku sounds way better, so we go out instead. Hopefully, there will be less of that in the burbs!

morning workouts

OH EM GEEE am I excited for this one. I am a better person all around then I am working out consistently. I have less stress and anxiety, better patience and just feel 1000% better. Getting back into a workout routine cannot happen soon enough. The only thing we have in our empty house right now is a Peloton bike + some workout equipment. The Peloton bike was literally the very first thing we bought for the house. Top of my list of things I miss in the city is soulcycle, :(. I am still going to try to make it downtown to a weekly soulcycle class, but I needed to find a realistic replacement and I am hoping and praying that the Peloton bike can be that. Do any of you have it!? If so, what are your thoughts? Please send instructor recs!! I am really not a morning workout person, but I am hoping I can become one. Day time workouts are just too hard and unreliable with kids.

no junk food in the house

Both of my blakes are addicted to sugar. They could eat chocolate and candy and sweets all day long. So, I end up eating it too because I have no self control. I don’t officially make new years resolutions, but I do reevaluate things and think about what I can do better and what we can do better as a family. Sugar needs to go. So I am ditching the added sugar this January to try to kick the habit. I just want to feel better/get back to my normal self and sugar makes me feel awful. Did you know your brain has a similar chemical reaction to sugar as it does to drugs? Moving forward, there will be NOOOOOO candy, sweets or processed junk in our house. If we need something sweet, which we all do on occasion, we can go out for the occasional ice cream cone.

no shoes in the house

Ew, I do not know how this wasn’t a rule in our old condo, but we never took our shoes off at the front door. I know how disgusting that is, and I know the kinds of germs and bacteria we were tracking into our house. New house, new rule. NO SHOES IN THE HOUSE.

morning routines

This goes for all members of my family. We all have different things we need to do in the morning to make us feel in control of the day. For Blake, that is time alone so he can prioritize what he needs to do that day. For me, that’s time to drink my coffee and have some quiet time before miss b wakes up. In an ideal world, I somehow become a morning person who wakes bright and early, enjoys my coffee and quiet time then works out all before bb wakes up. Maybe I will even put on real clothes before she is awake…but that might be overly ambitious. When bb wakes up, we have quiet reading time and it is my favorite part of the day with her. She snuggles with me and it just starts the day off on the right foot. Since we have been at my parents, we have had no morning routine. She is too excited when she wakes up and it’s off to the races the moment her feet touch the ground. She has to wake up everyone in the house because she is so excited to start playing with her gram and papa. While I love how much fun she is having here, I am excited to have quiet and calm mornings again.

The post 10 habits we are making & breaking in the new house! appeared first on But First Koffee.

QUINOA SALAD

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 1/3 cup water

1 1/2 cup diced grilled chicken

1/2 cup craisins (can use dried cherries too)

1/2 cup celery

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

dressing

1/3 cup EVOO

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 clove garlic minced

fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1- Cook quinoa, fluff with fork and allow to cool

2- Make dressing and place in fridge

3- Place cooled quinoa in a bowl with all other ingredients (except dressing and walnuts)

4- Add dressing and walnuts before you serve.

CAESAR WEDGE SALAD + GRILLED CHICKEN

picture and recipe inspo from thedomesticman.com

It’s 80 degrees again in Chicago, so we are going to grill out tonight and enjoy the patio weather while we have it. We are thinking grilled chicken + a caesar wedge salad + grilled bread. Yum yum yum. Here’s how we do it:

Grilled chicken marinade:

worchestershire sauce

EVOO

fresh garlic

salt + pepper

Wedge salad recipe

1 head romaine lettuce (I know this has absolutely no nutritional value but it sounds good so that’s what we are having). You can grill your romaine if you want, as shown in picture, but I prefer mine cold and crispy!

dressing: combine 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tsp anchovy paste, 1 clove minced garlic, salt + pepper, stir in 3 tbsp EVOO, 1/2 lemon juiced

We get a big loaf of fresh sourdough bread from Bavette’s. If you didn’t know, you can order a load of their bread to go and it is the BEST bread in the entire world. We cut into thick slices and put it directly on the grill. So good.

SEARED TUNA SALAD WITH SPICY AOILI

picture and recipe inspo from chewoutloud.com

I always crave sushi on Mondays for some reason, and our favorite sushi place is closed on Mondays. I need to make some sort of raw fish/asian inspired dish this week to satisfy my craving! Whenever I am craving something but cannot think of a recipe, I start on Pinterest. I searched “asian tuna recipe.” I picked a few things off of different recipes that looked good and here is where we will end up: a seared ahi tuna salad with a spicy aoili!

Tuna marinade: soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes

Heat a skillet until it is smoking hot, add 1 tbsp sesame oil and heat until it is almost smoking. Sear each side of the tuna for 90 seconds. Remove from pan and let it cool for 5 minutes, then slice with an extra sharp knife.

Serve over mixed greens with red onion, green onion, avocado and cilantro

Drizzle with spicy aoili if you want an extra kick! It’s just mayo, siracha, garlic salt and paprika!

MEAL PLAN

breakfast

smoothies:

frozen mango + pineapple, coconut water, flax seed, collagen peptides

frozen banana, almond milk, black coffee

frozen strawberries + blueberries, chia seeds, coconut water, collagen peptides

lunch

leftover quinoa salad

egg + avocado + red onion

tomato + red onion + avocado salad + balsamic dressing

dinner

caesar wedge + chicken

seared tuna salad

quinoa salad

GROCERY LIST

avocado

mixed greens

spinach

romaine lettuce

green onion

celery

red onion

garlic

lemon

cilantro

ahi tuna

chicken (for caesar and quinoa salad)

eggs

quinoa

craisins

sourdough bread

ALREADY HAVE

evoo

siracha

vinegar

sesame oil

soy sauce (I use aminos)

anchovy paste

mayo

garlic salt

paprika

s + p

red pepper flakes

worchestershire sauce

sugar

walnuts

frozen berries

coconut water

flaxseed

collagen peptides

The post salad meal plan appeared first on But First Koffee.

I am going to share my chili recipe on my insta stories later today, so tune in!

The rest of the week we are keeping things light to balance the heavier chili and super easy. Blake has a really busy week, so I am pretty much riding solo all week, which means quick and easy meals. Lately, I cannot get enough biter lettuce. Endive, radicchio, frisée, I need all the bitter lettuce this week. I am going to buy a bunch today, prep and wash it so it is ready to go the rest of the week. Fun fact, bb actually loves lettuce and she prefers escarole and frisée to romaine or more bland lettuces. Maybe because I ate a lot of it while I was pregnant, or because I introduced her to it at a young age. Whatever reason, TG because we are a big salad house.

This apple and walnut salad is going to be first up, yum!

photo + recipe from thecozyapron.com

As soon as the weather turns I really start craving heartier grains and legumes. Is that biology telling me it’s time to pack on the pounds for winter? I don’t know but lentils, pasta, and rich foods just start dancing through my brain once sweater weather rolls around. I searched “lentil salad” on pinterest and this was one of the first ones to pop up. Yum, it is going on the docket this week. I love a good lentil salad because it holds over in the fridge. Lettuce wilts, but lentils hold their form and sometimes I actually prefer the leftovers because the flavors really start to meld together!

photo + recipe from abeautifulplate.com

I am going to grill a big piece of salmon at the beginning of the week so we have some protein to throw on salads and with the lentils! Lately, I have been grilling with a simple marinade of EVOO, lemon and herbes de provence seasoning. It is so delicious and goes with just about anything.

MEAL PLAN

breakfast

smoothies per usual

oatmeal

lunch

chili + eggs

leftover salads

dinner

chili

apple salad

lentil salad + salmon

GROCERY LIST

endive

frisée

arugula

honeycrisp apples

red onion

2 yellow onion

rainbow carrots

radishes

lemons

garlic

lentils

tahini paste

eggs

ground turkey

salmon

tomato juice

kidney beans

chili beans

ALREADY HAVE

walnuts

apple cider vinegar

evoo

spices

oatmeal

smoothie rations

The post easy peasy meal plan appeared first on But First Koffee.

I did a full blog post last October with the products I use daily, HERE. And another post with my favorite masks HERE. If you want a full review of each product, check out those posts.

Here is a breakdown of what I use daily and weekly and what it has cost over the course of one year!

DAILY SKINCARE ROUTINE

morning

wash with water (I have found that my skin does better when I am only washing with cleanser once a day)

apply Belif Bergamot Herbal Toner

replaced 3 times

$28

apply Belif True Cream Moisturizing Bomb

replaced 3 times

$38

apply Tata Harper Illuminating Eye Creme

replaced 1 time

$95

apply Coola Mineral Sunscreen

replaced 3 times

$32

bedtime

wash with Beautycounter Rejuvenating Face Wash

replaced 3 times

$43

apply Belif Bergamot Herbal Toner

apply Belif True Cream Moisturizing Bomb

apply Tata Harper Illuminating Eye Creme

WEEKLY

1-2x a week, at bedtime, between cleanser and toner, apply BEAUTYCOUNTER – balancing + charcoal mask

replaced 2 times

$48

1x a week after toner, apply BELIF – overnight brightening mask

replaced 1 time

$34

as needed (I usually do this one during the day when I am working from home and need a pick me up) BELIF – chamomile mask

has not been replaced

$36

as needed for breakouts, at bedtime, between cleanser and toner, apply HERBIVORE – blue clay mask

replaced 2 times

$22

GRAND TOTAL FOR ONE YEAR (plus a few extra months)

$1,068

The post my skincare routine + what it costs appeared first on But First Koffee.

SALMON TACOS

Probably 1/3 of the recs were tacos, taco salads, mexican dishes etc! You all know me so well. I could eat some version of tacos every day for the rest of my life. The recommendation that literally had my mouth watering was a “fish taco bowl with guac”, um yummm. I just might have to add the tortilla for dinner then eat the leftovers in a bowl for lunches! We haven’t made salmon in a while so I am going to do salmon tacos. I used to make these allll the time, but I haven’t in a couple months. They’re so easy, healthy and incredibly delicious. Here’s how you make them…

salmon rub: chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want them), salt + pepper. Cover the entire piece of salmon in this rub then I pan sear them in a cast iron or nonstick skillet with a little evoo.

toppings

chipotle aioli: mix together 2 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce with either mayo, greek yogurt or sour cream, depending on which flavor you like best. I prefer mayo or greek yogurt.

guac: avocado, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper

cabbage slaw: red cabbage, green onion, red onion, and cilantro. Since I am already adding chipotle aioli and guac to my tacos, I prefer to keep my cabbage slaw dry. If you want to add a sauce to the slaw, I do lime juice, honey, mayo salt and pepper.

I throw it all in a toasted flour tortilla and it is pure heaven.

MOROCCAN QUINOA SALAD

“Moroccan quinoa salad or avo/chickpea sandwich.” This recommendation is speaking to me in a million ways. I love Mediterranean flavors (is moroccan food considered mediterranean? I am not sure to be honest, but all the flavors seem really similar!) and anything I can eat with tzatziki is a winner. So we are definitely making this salad this week.

I pinterested “moroccan quinoa salad” and bazillions of recipes popped up. I am picking and choosing my favorites from a bunch of different recipes. Here’s the ingredients I am going with: quinoa, red pepper, red onion, cucumber, raisins, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, paprika, parsley, fresh garlic, and chicken, served with tzatziki sauce on the side!

SHEET PAN RECIPES

SOOO many of you recommended sheet pan meals. This is genius, only one pan to clean. I have no excuse for not making these all the time, so I am going to try one out this week! Here are some of your recs for sheet pan meals:

sheet pan chicken + veggies

sheet pan salmon, chicken sausage + veggies

sheet pan fajitas (um yum, definitely making this soon)

sheet pan nachos over sweet potatoes instead of chips (also making this asap)

I am going to do chicken breasts, brussel sprouts, red onion, lemon and potatoes with herb de provence spices! Here are 18 sheet pan recipes if you need some inspo!

RICE BOWL WITH FRIED EGG

I love how easy this is. As recommended, serve with rice, guac, black beans, corn salsa and top with a fried egg! I am thinking this will be my lunch all week long! I might mix it up each day with a few different toppings! So easy, but fresh, delicious and healthy.

MEAL PLAN

breakfast

smoothies

frozen mango + pineapple, coconut water, flax seed, collagen peptides

frozen banana, almond milk, black coffee

frozen strawberries + blueberries, chia seeds, coconut water, collagen peptides

lunch

rice bowls

salmon taco salad leftovers

Moroccan salad leftovers

dinner

salmon tacos

sheet pan chicken

Moroccan salad + tzatziki

GROCERY LIST

spinach

red cabbage

avocados

cilantro

jalapeño

red onion

green onion

red pepper

cucumber

brussel sprouts

garlic

lemon

raisins

fresh dill

black beans

corn

chicken breasts (enough for sheet pan and moroccan salad)

salmon

eggs

flour tortillas

ALREADY HAVE/TRY TO KEEP ON HAND

parsley

paprika

chili powder

cayenne pepper

herb de provence seasoning

quinoa

smoothie rations

coconut water

flax seed

chia seeds

collagen peptides

mayo

evoo

The post easy AND healthy meals appeared first on But First Koffee.

Grilled chicken: this is pretty much a weekly standard in our house. I like to have it in the fridge for meals/salads throughout the week. Mixing up the marinade this week to fall it up. Going with honey, balsamic, Dijon mustard, evoo, and garlic. Yum. I am going to do grilled veggie kebobs at the same time! Which I have been loving lately. I will do the exact same marinade as the chicken to keep things simple.

Tortilla soup is one of the first fall things I crave. I love how fresh and light it is but still warm and comforting. Here is the crock pot recipe I use! It’s so easy and delicious. I load mine up with avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro, green onions and cheese at the end!

I am going to do a major batch of grilled and roasted veggies one night and eat them the rest of the week in salads. I will roast brussel sprouts, beets, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes on the same night, then eat them in a handful of different salads and as snacks throughout the week. I love when I have freshly grilled and roasted veggies in the fridge, then I don’t snack on junk!

Brussel sprout and cauliflower salad: I serve it over an arugula base, with lots of avocado and a fresh vinaigrette. Sometimes I add a nut for the perfect amount of crunch.

Beet salad: beets, arugula, kale, walnuts (feta for cheese lovers but I leave that off of mine) and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Sweet potato salad: roasted sweet potato diced, red onion, black beans and avocado with a basil & cilantro chimichurri vinaigrette. My sister and I had this chimichurri last week for a totally different dinner and it wasahhhhmazing. I’ve been thinking about how delicious it would be on a salad ever since. So going to give it a try with this salad. Stay tuned, I will report back I will share my salad combos throughout the week on instastories as I make them!

BREAKFAST
Smoothies
Eggs + avocado

LUNCH
Leftover soup
Sweet potato salad
Beet salad

DINNER
Tortilla soup
Brussel sprout salad
Grilled chicken & veggie kebobs

GROCERY LIST
chicken breasts (for grill and soup)
chicken broth (6 cups)
cilantro
basil
avocado
cauliflower
sweet potatoes
brussel sprouts
beets
arugula
green onions
garlic
sweet onion
kale
red onion
black beans
tortillas
canned corn
cumin
cheese
eggs

ALREADY HAVE
walnuts
balsamic
dijon mustard
honey
EVOO
red wine vinegar
frozen berries
flax seed
collagen peptides
coconut water

The post hello fall, meal plan appeared first on But First Koffee.