Stephanie’s Avocado Tomato Corn Feta Dip {Perfect for the 4th of July!}

7 Comments

In honor of the upcoming holiday, which is sure to bring about lots of BBQ’s and parties, I wanted to share an absolutely delicious appetizer dish that is most definitely a crowd pleaser. My gym friend, Stephanie, has brought a few variations of this “dip” to a couple of different gym friends parties and I was so happy she agreed to let me share it with all of you!

Stephanie’s Avocado Tomato Corn Feta Dip

Stephanie's Dip

Ingredients:

  • 3 large avocados chopped
  • 1lb diced grape tomato
  • 1 bag of sweet grilled corn
  • 6-8oz Mediterranean herb feta
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed
  • 1 diced red onion
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 limes, squeezed
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • salt to taste

Directions

  1. Chop your ingredients and place all of them together in a big bowl.
  2. Stir together and place in the fridge to chill for a few hours.
  3. Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips or your whatever dipping “utensil” you choose!

Stephanie's Dip 2

I mean, how easy is that?! Nothing better than a 1 bowl recipe in my mind- easy clean up!

Big thanks to Stephanie for sharing her recipe with us- I plan on making a batch of this for the 4th!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite party appetizer? Do you have a “go-to” dish that people always request from you? What are you making for the 4th this year?

Wednesday Workout: Five 4th of July Themed Workouts

6 Comments

Hi, friends! In honor of the 4th of July on Friday, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to some fun, 4th of July themed workouts! I am sure there are others who will be traveling for the holiday, and thus not able to get to your normal classes or workouts at the gym (I won’t have equipment and won’t want to dedicate as much time to my workouts when I’m on the Cape!), so I thought it would be helpful to put together a list of quick, efficient, no or little equipment necessary workouts. I’m always on the hunt for new at-home workouts to do, so hopefully we can all benefit from this 🙂

4th of July themed at-home workouts

Wednesday Workout: 4th of July Workout!– I made this workout up last year and remember doing it on the 4th of July- I liked it. Star jumps are killer 😉

4th of July Stars & Stripes Workout– I also did this workout last year! While it requires equipment, it’s a great workout

Red, White & Burpee– Definitely trying this!!!

Tone It Up Stars & Stripes Workout– There are 2 workouts in this link and I think I’ll be doing the first one since it doesn’t require equipment!

Fourth of July Firework Workout– Super cute names for the moves in this workout, including some all together new-to-me moves, so I’ll definitely be incorporating some, if not all, of this workout into my weekend!

I am really looking forward to trying out some of these workouts. Sometimes, one of the best motivators for me to get a workout in (and be excited about it) is to find NEW ONES to try! Let me know if you try any of these… or, if you found a good one that you’d think I’d like, please link me to it in the comments!

Cheers to a happy and fit fourth!

Weekending: A busy, but relaxing weekend {Tia’s, visitors, beach day, Bostonia, soaking up the sun}

4 Comments

Hi there! How are you today? Anyone have this week off? I’m hoping to take Thursday off, which would be a nice addition to the long weekend!

If you’ve been reading B2B for a while, you’ve probably noticed how busy I’ve been- both during the week and on the weekends. This past weekend, although I had a lot of plans and did a lot, was relaxing on it’s own because I didn’t have multiple back to back plans that required me to hop around a lot. Besides Friday night, the rest of my weekend was totally mine for the taking, and it was the best feeling!!

Friday Night

My friend, Tim, was in town for a conference so we were able to align our schedules for Friday night. We tried to get a few more co-workers (former co-workers for me) to join us, but it didn’t work out. My sister ended up being around, so it was fun to have her join us! We started out at Tia’s because it’s the best place for after work drinks in the summer.

IMG_7801

I had zero intentions of going “out-out”, but between the weather, it being a Friday and being out with my sister and Tim, it ended up being a bit of an “out-out” night. Whoops! 😉 After Tia’s, we headed to Granary Tavern for a drink then to Warehouse for the last drinks. Although I woke up on Saturday feeling like I had had one too many wines, it was totally worth it!

IMG_7811

Saturday

After kickboxing on Saturday morning, I treated myself to a much-needed pedicure.

IMG_7814

Once I got home, I packed up and headed to meet my sister and her friends at a beach in Southie. I was expecting a bit of a sh*t-show beach scene with lots of loud, drunken people, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet and calm it was!

IMG_7815 IMG_7818

After a brief nap, I agreed to a Bud Light Lime- I’m not a big beer drinker, and definitely not a Bud Light person, but there’s something about BLL’s that I just love so much! Perfect beach drink if you ask me 😉

IMG_7821

Saturday night was date night for RM and me. He had a gift card to Bostonia Public House, so we figured it was a perfect night to try it out. He parks at the Intercontinental Hotel and when we realized how nice it was outside, we decided to swing by their outdoor bar for a cocktail before dinner.

IMG_7826 IMG_7827

We joked that it felt like we were back in Miami- I had been at the beach all day and he had been golfing and we were catching up over cocktails at a hotel bar. It was a fun “staycation” night!

Dinner at Bostonia was amazing!! We, of course, shared a few different things: Organic Baby Spinach Salad, Berber Spiced Pork Ribs, French Fries (I was craving them!) and the Scallops. They’ve got a whole Gluten Free menu which was a nice surprise!

IMG_7829 IMG_7832 IMG_7833

Everything was absolutely delicious! We both found ourselves continuously raving about the food with each bite! I don’t usually eat to being really full, but that night I left there with a very full, and very happy belly!

IMG_7834

Such a fun date-night! I loved being able to be out and about in the city!

Sunday

I ended up sleeping until 9, which is unheard of for me! It felt amazing 🙂 Once up, I did some yoga and core work before having a protein pancake breakfast with RM (gluten and dairy free).

IMG_7836

After breakfast, we went for a nice, 45 minute walk throughout Eastie. It’s a nice little thing we’ve been doing- we don’t need to be sitting on the couch all the time- a little extra is always a good thing 🙂

Later in the day we went to his brother and sister in law’s new condo to use the community pool and then had a delicious BBQ at his mom’s house. It was a perfect Sunday… and weekend, for that matter!

Questions for you: What did you do this weekend? Where’s your favorite summer bar in Boston? Have you been to Bostonia Public House?

Ps! My gym friend/in real life friend/blog friend, Athena got engaged over the weekend and I couldn’t be more happy for her and Tim! They are such a great couple:) congrats again, lady!!!

This Week: Workouts, JP Morgan Race Review, Things I’m Looking Forward To

4 Comments

Hi there! Happy Monday 🙂 Can you believe tomorrow is JULY 1st?!?! Where the heck has the spring gone?! I feel like once July 4th hits, it’s a race to the end of summer- I hate that! Although my July is crazy busy with a cape trip for the 4th, Bachelorette party on Nantucket the weekend after and Chicago at the end of the month, August should be a bit slower, which will be nice.

Last week was a good week of workouts, for the most part. I’ve really started to enjoy teaching my Monday morning class- it’s such a good way to kick off the work week! On top of a full teaching schedule (5 classes this week), I also ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge with my company. There were over 12,000 runners this year and while they tried to make it more organized by bib colors, the start of the race was still a big cluster and I found myself forced to walk until the crowds thinned out a bit. But, even with that, I finished the 3.5 mile race in 29:29, which I was happy about considering my first mile was 9:25! I came in as the first girl for my company which was pretty cool, especially because I’m not a “runner”. We headed to Granary Tavern after the race for celebratory drinks and food. I was STARVING by this point, so the flatbreads, sweet potato fries, fried calamari and buffalo wings couldn’t have tasted better 😉

IMG_7779 IMG_7784

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and did a Tabata format, which left me sore for literally 3 days! I finished up my workout with 20 minutes on the elliptical.
  • Tuesday- I ran the 3.5 mile race and did a little extra running/walking when getting there, too.
  • Wednesday- I ran a hard 3 miles before teaching my UXF Burn class. It’s so crazy how runs can be good one day and bad the next day. I blame it on the heat!
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing… in some more new lulu 😉

IMG_7788

  • Friday- I went for a 25-30 minute walk during my lunch break and then walked a bit when I went into the city for drinks.
  • Saturday- I taught Cardio Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. Smaller crowd, but we still got in a good workout!
  • Sunday- I did an at-home, self lead 30 minute yoga sesh and then 15 minutes of abs. After breakfast, RM and I went for a 45 minute power walk.

IMG_7836

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I plan on going for a run (4 or 5 miles?) and then doing some core work.
  • Tuesday- Some of the ladies in my office invited me to check out a muscle class at their gym during lunch time, so I think I will do that, which works out well because I have a hair appointment after work.
  • Wednesday- I’ll probably run before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Sunday- To be honest, I’m not sure! My Thursday classes were cancelled and I am heading to the Cape so it’s hard to tell what I will do. I’m sure I’ll go running and go for walks and do some at-home boot camps when I’m on the Cape. Anyone have any good ones I should try?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

This is a fun week because the 4th of July is one of the best holidays! Tuesday I have a hair appointment to get some highlights, which I’ve been waiting to do for a while now. On top of that, I’m really excited about going to the Cape for the holiday weekend. Although I’m going to miss being in Maine with my family and friends (and going to the parade!), it will be fun to try something different.

Questions for you: What was your best workout last week? Did you run the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge? What are you doing for the 4th of July?

Homemade Gluten Free Nutty Granola (low sugar!)

2 Comments

Hi there! Happy Friday 🙂 I hope you’ve all had a good week. Anything fun planned for the weekend? I am SO excited to say that I have relatively nothing planned. It’s been a longgg time since I’ve had a mostly open weekend, so I’m looking forward to taking full advantage of it! Before I get to that, though, I wanted to share a recipe that I came up with a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

***

During my “funemployment” (my friend JP coined that term for me) week a few weeks ago, I had plenty of time to do some baking and cooking in my kitchen. After seeing Fed Up, I was in the mood to make a healthier, lower sugar version of one of my favorite things: granola.

granola 2

Although people often think of granola as a “healthy” snack, it really isn’t. Most granola’s out there are FULL of sugars and seemingly unnecessary ingredients (there shouldn’t be anything in a simple granola recipe that you can’t pronounce.), which make them a not-so-healthy or smart snack. Since I love granola so much, though, I’ve turned to making it for myself when I can. By doing that, I can pick exactly what I want in it and keep all the unnecessary ingredients out.

Knowing that I would be sharing with RM, I used my gluten free oats and kept all other gluten ingredients out of it. I loaded it up with healthy nuts, fats and super foods to help keep me full and satisfied after snacking on it. In the past, I have added in agave, honey or maple syrup as a way to sweeten it up a bit. This time around, I opted out of adding in any of those things because even though they are a “healthier” sugar option than others, bottom line is that they are still added sugars.

granola 3

While the end product wasn’t as “omg I can’t stop eating this granola” as I would’ve liked (goes to show you how much of an effect sugar has on the taste of the food we eat), it was still a great addition to my daily yogurt bowls that left me feeling guilt-free. Please note that if you’re looking to make it a little sweeter, I would certainly add in an eighth to a quarter of a cup of a liquid sweetener.

Homemade gluten free nutty granola

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups gluten free oats (or regular oats if you’re not looking to be gluten free)
  • 2 tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 2 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup of each: pecans, hazelnuts & cashews (or whatever type of nuts you have on hand and would like to use)
  • 2 tbsp. almond butter (I had a Raw almond butter, which didn’t help with adding flavor to the granola. Next time, I would use a roasted almond butter)
  • 2 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1.5 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 325*. Combine the dry ingredients (GF oats, flax seed, chia seeds, nuts and cinnamon).

IMG_7479

2. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl (almond butter, coconut oil, egg white and vanilla).

IMG_7480

3. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, making sure to mix it up halfway through. *please note: it make take more or less time, depending on your oven. I checked on mine a lot and stirred it often to make sure it was cooking evenly.

IMG_7481

Although this wasn’t a super sweet granola, it totally hit the spot for me and I still found myself going back for more handfuls even when I wasn’t hungry. What is it about granola that does that to me?! I generally pride myself for having good self control when it comes to portion control and knowing when (and being able) to stop, but when it comes to granola, all of that goes right out the window!

granola

Looking for more granola recipes? Check these out:
Grain Free Granola
Quinoa Granola
I have a granola obession…

Questions for you: What’s your favorite brand of granola? What are your favorite granola ingredients? Do you eat it by the handful or just in yogurt bowls?