Summer Body Challenge Update #2 and a yummy recipe!

Another week of eating clean and exercising, another 1.5 pounds lost :) That makes for a total of 4.5 pounds so far!! I will let you all in on a little secret, when I was doing the paleo diet last year for 3 months I bought a pair of jeans that was 2 sizes too small and today I realized I can FINALLY zip and button them. Still a bit too tight to wear in public, but I'm making progress. I fell off the paleo wagon right about the time of my qualifying exam last year (for those of you non-grad students- qualifying is pretty much the worst exam in the world, you stress out to the max for 4-6 weeks reading as much as your eyes can stay open for, but once you pass you are a PhD candidate). So now I am back on track and almost ready for beach season!

For tonight's recipe: Quinoa with Black Beans and Chicken
ingredients:
2 cups quinoa (rinsed)
3 large chicken breasts
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 jar of salsa (pick whatever kind you like, I chose roasted garlic salsa from trader joe's)
0.5 tbsp mexican seasoning (salt free, I found this in the organic aisle at Shaw's)
sea salt for additional flavoring

1. Cook the quinoa, I used a rice cooker but you can also do it over the stove
2. cut up the chicken into small pieces and pan fry with one tablespoon olive oil and add the mexican seasoning while cooking
3. add the beans to the chicken when the chicken is 2-3 min away from being done, then fry the beans and chicken for an additional 3-5 min
4. add the cooked quinoa, beans and chicken, and the whole jar of salsa in a large bowl and there you have your meal!
I kind of just threw this together yesterday so I don't know exactly how many servings this makes, but I pack about a cup and a half of the mixture to bring with me for lunch :)
Enjoy!

Non-To Do List Mondays

So does anyone else feel like Monday's are always a day for planning out the loads of work you have to do for the rest of the week? Do you also feel like you look at the list of things and think "this week is going to be so slow" and "I already can't wait for Friday"? Well I am going to have a new feature on my blog that is going to be a fun list for Mondays, a list of 5 things with a different theme every week to brighten up everyone's Monday a bit :)
This week's topic, is 5 seriously addicting tv show series on Netflix.
These shows are sure to bring your productivity levels down for at least a month, so beware! I will countdown from 5...

5. Greek- Ok, I admit this show is a little immature but I started watching it and just could not stop until the end! It brought me back to my college years and sorority life. The show made me miss having all of my friends in walking distance and also made me miss the life in college that was mostly void of any responsibility. Oh to go back 4 years :) (There are also some good love triangle dramas and interesting story lines!)

4. Weeds- Hilarious show about a housewive who needed to make ends meet when her husband died, so of course she turned to selling drugs. The woman in this show gets herself into some messed up situations with lots of laughs along the way, highly recommended!! The episodes are only 30 minutes each so the seasons go by pretty quick.

3. Bones- I am a little bit biased because I will basically watch any true crime/forensics/criminal law type show on TV but Bones has some interesting characters and you keep watching more because you keep thinking that in the next episode Bones and Booth (the 2 main characters) are finally going to make out and live happily ever after. Well, (spoiler alert!) you will be waiting a very long time! But a lot of the crime and murder stories are interesting and the way they figure out the truth is by the bones of the victim so its a bit different from other crime shows on TV. 

2. The Office- OK so I have seen all these episodes on TV but I still continue to watch every episode over and over on Netflix. This show is so hilarious I continue to laugh even after I have seen an episode 10 times. It is my go to show if nothing else interests me for the day. If you haven't seen this show, you need to!

1.  24- I am sure a lot of you watched this when it was on TV (although I am not sure how anyone lasted a whole week between episodes!) but I had never seen it until my boyfriend suggested we watch the first season. We were instantly hooked!! Jack Bauer is so badass, he cheats death almost every hour of the day and you keep wandering what will happen next, how could 24 hours of one day be this exciting?? For those of you that don't know the show, its about a counterterrorist unit and every season is a different day and a different terrorist attack. If you start watching one season, you will want to finish it in one day!! And its also hard to multitask during this show because you really have to pay attention!

What shows on Netflix have you gotten hooked on??

Feature Friday

Here are a few things I found on etsy that I must have!! I am just waiting for some extra money (I think I am always waiting for extra money!) :)

First is this wrap hoodie by Isla New York. The hoodie is made with organic fabrics and comes in 12 different color combos. I absolutely love this hoodie and it looks so comfy!

Kana Wrap Hoodie by Isla New York Here is the color combo I want!

And I think this color combo is so pretty!! I would be too nervous about getting it dirty though :)

And now for a bag to go with the hoodie :) I love this slouchy bag by Bayan Hippo, I think it is so cute and could serve as an everyday bag! It comes in tons of colors so I am totally undecided about which color I would want. This yellow is very pretty though :)

Nagy in Lemonade by Bayan Hippo on etsy

Ok, those are my personal etsy finds for this week, check back every friday for new ones!

Summer Body Challenge Update #1 and a yummy recipe!

Hello all,
I had my first weigh in for my summer body challenge last night, I lost 3 pounds so far!! yayy. That is a good start for me especially because I only worked out 2 days last week. I am planning to make it down to my local YMCA to join the gym there (since Bally's is awful and closed without telling anyone!) so that I can get more workouts in this week.


And here is a new recipe I tried this week, for Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Bars
I took this recipe from a few different protein bar recipes I found online (I forgot to take pics of the finished product, sorry!)
Ingredients:
2 cups oven roasted oats
1 cup unsweetened almond butter (I used the crunchy kind)
1/2 cup agave
1 cup chocolate flavored whey protein (I got mine from trader Joe's)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 egg whites

1.  preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. mix all ingredients together in large bowl
3. spread mix evenly in round or square cake pan
4. bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 min
should make 10 bars, so cut 10 even pieces
Easy right? :) And they are delicious too!