TOTAL BODY

*Do each move for 1 minute with 15 seconds break in between moves. At the end, rest an entire minute before repeating through. On the second time through, you'll perform each move for 30 seconds with 5 seconds break in between moves. GO!

1. Manmakers... Using two DBs (10# or up), hold them in hands while you are in plank position. Perform two rows, pulling back on each arm, and then hop in with feet together and lift the DBs up into a shoulder press before coming back down into a squat.

2. Shoulder press

3. High knees in a sprint

4. Mountain climbers out to the side

5. KB Sumo squats... feet are out wider than a normal squat with toes pointed slightly outward, lifting a KB.

GLUTEN FREE WEEK

Two of my clients eat gluten free all the time. With Celiac, they don't have much of a choice. I told them I had a goal of going gluten free for a week to put myself in their shoes... and I found some good news along the way. It was DOABLE. Yep, even for a bread-loving human like me. It came with sacrifices, it came with rethinking things through, creative substitutions (spaghetti squash for spaghetti noodles, etc.), extra planning along the way... but I had so much help and support to make it possible. And I have to say, by the end of the week, I felt awesome. I never experienced a bloated stomach once, I felt like I ate healthier in general, and I conquered my fear. My two clients helped me so much, and taught me a few extremely helpful things. Some of them are below:

TREATS/DESSERTS

Let's start with the good stuff, shall we? I had a bunch of people through Instagram tell me about a yummy bakery downtown SLC with the best gluten free (and vegan!) baked goods. I still am dying to try it, but I thought I'd mention it here: City Cakes & Cafe. Planning a trip there soon.

Tip #1: Muddy Buddies are gluten free. YAYYYYY haha. In all seriousness though, I looked forward to the night I could make these because I had already given up cinnamon french toast, and my favorite biscuits at Ruth's Diner, among other things that week. Finding baked goods and treats for me was more difficult than anything else, and so it made me look forward to the things I knew I could eat. And muddy buddies are gluten free. *Just use the Guittard brand of chocolate chips! 

There is another place downtown SLC that I've heard has the best pumpkin chocolate chip bread called @goodfoodglutenfreebakery. Can't wait to try it!

Halo Top Ice Cream is gluten free!

While we're on the topic of treats, I did try this GF Blueberry Cobbler posted by my friend Carly @thegardenspot, and it was delicious!

B L A C K B E R R Y   C O B B L E R

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick of butter, melted

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup GF All-Purpose Flour (*I honestly loved the Namaste Organic Perfect Flour Blend from Costco. The great thing about this is that Costco and Amazon carry it, it subs cup for cup the same as regular flour, has a good texture, and don't forget to store it in the fridge so it doesn't go rancid!)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

2 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and patted dry

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Mix 1 cup of the sugar (saving the other 1/4 cup) with flour in a medium-sized bowl. Add milk and melted butter and whisk well. Add in baking powder and salt. Mix.

2. Butter a glass pie dish/8x8 baking dish and pour batter in. Sprinkle with blackberries + the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over top. 

3. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until bubbly and golden. Serve with ice cream or cream (or both!)

So simple, but so delicious, and my entire family approved.

Although eating gluten free meant sometimes having to leave out my favorite treats, I found so many recipes out there that looked absolutely delicious. One of my favorite cookbooks I have in my kitchen is "Celebrations" by Danielle Walker. It's a gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo cookbook I love. ON SALE HERE.

SNACKS:

Here were some of my top favorite gluten free snacks I had throughout the week, other than just real, whole foods (which always makes up the majority of my diet). These were good fillers for when I was on the run and needed something quick.

Kind Bars + Rxbars

Bamboo Lane Rice Rollers

Fruit Leathers

FoodShouldTasteGood Tortilla/Sweet Potato Chips

String cheese

Babybel cheese (Have you tried the gouda flavor!? YUM.)

Trail mix

Gluten free crackers with laughing cow cheese spread on top

Salted sunflower seeds/raw sunflower seeds

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS:

As mentioned above, I felt like as soon as I announced I was going gluten free for a week, kind and supportive messages flowed into my inbox... recipes to try, GF breads that were better than others, apps that helped, blog recommendations... holy cow, I was overwhelmed with good ideas. THANK YOU! Here were some other tips/tricks I found helpful:

1. If you want a delicious gluten free bread, click here. Just trust me on this one. The Montana Gluten Free Oat Bread is a MUST. The picture I attached to this blog post is of this delicious bread. I am actually ordering more of this just because I liked it so much! And it's cheap off of their website. Don't go through Amazon to get it. Don't be afraid of the stickier dough... it is a different consistency, and didn't end up looking as pretty as my normal wheat bread, but it worked and tasted like a charm!

2. I also heard from multiple sources to look for the B-Free brand at Smiths (on it's own table near the bakery)... I heard they also make an awesome tortilla. Haven't tried it, but I'll take your word for it.

3. Whenever you're at a restaurant, which happened to me a couple times the week I did this, I just asked my server about their gluten free options, and they were more than accommodating. If you aren't quite sure, JUST ASK. I was surprised at all the items off the menu I could either have them alter to make GF, or how many other options they had.

4. For pancakes, choose Pamela's mix, no questions asked. Find it here. SOOO good!

5. Other people to follow: @againstallgrain (I mentioned Danielle Walker and her cookbook above), and my dear friend Kelsey @simplelife_bykels... even with Celiac, she has found a way to make BREAD using natural yeast... and she does it amazingly well, and it tastes divine! Go to her website/feed to learn more. Also, @punchofyum, @canyonglutenfree (for their bread!), and @myglutenfreekitchen were recommended to me!

6. Brianna's has 15 Gluten-free kinds of salad dressing out there! Including Caesar! Litehouse has some really yummy ones too.

7. Pretend I didn't tell you, but Cheetos are gluten-free. ;)

8. Be cautious with sauces... certain soy sauces (replace with Coconut Aminos!), BBQ sauce (I recommend using the sauces from True Made Foods), etc. Just be sure to read your labels!

9. Trader Joe's has TONS of gluten-free items, and Harmons as well as other grocery stores mark all of their gluten-free items with a color coded tag so you can easily spot them as you walk through the aisles. 

10. I also heard from multiple sources to look up the blog, "Gluten Free on a Shoe String." Good recipes there. There's also an app by Super Healthy Kids called "Prepare" - you can input gluten free meals and it will give you lots of recipes there as well. I had that suggestion multiple times as well.

I know this is only a start to all the amazing tips you all had for me, but these were some really helpful things I learned and thought I'd share. I will be adding ideas to this post as I find them throughout my own health and wellness journey.

**Just for everyone's information, there's only a very small percentage of people out there who actually HAVE to eat gluten-free... either they have Celiac, an allergy, or gluten intolerance. The others that choose to eat gluten free choose to do it to either see if gluten is something that bothers/negatively affects them, or because they're hoping to clean up their diet a little bit by adding in more whole, real foods. However, with that last point being said, just because something is labeled "Certified Gluten Free," doesn't mean it's "healthy." I was SHOCKED by the amount of very unhealthy gluten free items that are on the shelves of the grocery store. Be cautious with this. You still need to read labels like added sugar and ingredients lists. Stick to whole, real foods, and you can't go wrong. The one-ingredient food item at the store is always a better option than the one with 40, even though it's "GF, non-gmo, all-natural, etc. etc. etc." Food claims can be deceiving. Stick with whole, real foods! That's the good stuff!

Good luck, my gluten-free friends! I hope you found a few helpful tips in this post and let me know other tips worth adding. Love you all!

18 weeks

This last week my belly has really started to pop, and I'm feeling an overwhelming gratitude for the opportunity to carry a baby.... BOY. 

For those who missed our baby reveal video, I will post a few pictures below. One of my best friends offered to make two cakes to reveal the baby gender to us, and we decided a cake smash was going to be the best way to reveal the surprise. How often is it that you get to smash a cake in your lover's face? I was so set on it being another girl, I was absolutely shocked and thrilled when I saw the blue cake and frosting all over my face. We could not be more excited to welcome a boy into our family come January of next year. YAY for boys!

Biggest craving right now:

Peaches and milk duds. Honestly, what is up with milk duds haha...? But yes, I went to the store to get them this past week, and have you ever tried putting them in the fridge? YUM. 

Baby is the size of:

An artichoke. 6.7 oz and 5.59 inches. Baby has doubled in weight since my last update. So crazy! I honestly can't wait for our big, official ultrasound in a couple weeks. I still haven't felt any kicks or movement, but hopefully in the coming weeks I'll feel him take a few jabs. 

Weight gain:

4 pounds and growing. My weight gain has been nice and steady, and I'm loving seeing that bump start to pop and grow.

Funny pregnancy moments:

I don't have anything particularly funny to share with this update, but instead, I'll share something sweet. Ellie is starting to become really interested in my bump. She loves to give it kisses already, and softly rubs her hands over it as she says, "Baby in mama's tummy." I get the butterflies to think of her as an older sister, and know she's going to be giving that babe lots of kisses and hugs when he comes. 

How I'm feeling now:

Mentally, I'm feeling strong. After seeing that baby move around with a healthy heart at our last ultrasound, it gave me a lot of confidence. I am embracing each stage of the baby's growth, but ready for this weather to cool down just a little bit.

Physically, I'm feeling strong. I am still finding energy, but loving my mid-day naps with Ellie. I found myself starting to take breaks more often to catch my breath this last week while training, but otherwise feeling really strong. I am recognizing the need for more hydration and more calories each day. Bring it on!

Welcoming 19 weeks with enthusiasm and positivity!

Tera's Whey

The only protein powder I use almost daily and here are the reasons why:

1. The taste. I love the taste. It doesn't taste like other powders I've tried.

2. The ingredient list super clean and I have felt totally comfortable continuing to take it while pregnant + give my little Ellie some of my smoothies when she wants them.

3. The protein. 21 grams of protein per serving. A great way to refuel after a workout.

4. The heart of their brand and that they focus on pure nutrition, simple ingredients, and being earth friendly. (They source their whey protein from small family farms in Wisconsin. Each batch has minimal processing. 

5. It's easy to find. You can find it at Target, Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Thrive Market. Amazon deals on my favorite flavor in the 12 oz here and the 24 oz. here. 

Another product I'm trying from them:

MCT Coconut Splash Emulsion

(Information below taken from Tera's Whey website:)

What is MCT?

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) are a naturally occurring source of healthy fat found in vegetable oils and coconut oil.

MCT vs. LCT:

MCT molecules are shorter in length than Long Chain Triglycerides (LCT), which are the most common form of fat in the American diet. Sources of LCT include animal products, plant oils, and seafood.

Compared to LCT, MCT’s beneficial short lengths allow the body to absorb them easily and rapidly into the bloodstream. The body can use MCT for more immediate energy instead of storing them as fat, like LCT.

Why you’ll love tera’s MCT Coconut Splash:

Our MCT Coconut Splash Emulsion provides a convenient source of MCT. Just one tablespoon provides 6.3 grams of MCT—a simple and delicious way to add MCT into your daily routine.

Our MCT Coconut Splash Emulsion is unique because it’s not a standalone MCT oil, it’s an emulsion. An emulsion is simply a blend of two liquids that wouldn’t typically mix together; In this case, water and oil. We carefully select natural ingredients to create this balanced emulsion that will blend easily into any beverage or food, hot or cold, without the need for a blender. Add it to your smoothies, yogurt, shakes, etc. 

Give it a try!

Overall, their products are "designed to support you and your active lifestyle; that’s the tera’s® way."

TRX Workout

Find a TRX band and get going! Each move you are working for 45 seconds!

1. Roll out to plank
2. Squat with arm raises
3. Jump squats

ACTIVE RECOVERY (Keep those legs moving during rest periods!)

4. Side-to-side hop
5. Pull-ins (Keep elbows in tight!)
6. Pull-outs (Elbows out to 90 degrees)

ACTIVE RECOVERY, 15 seconds

7. Reverse lunges
8. Tricep pull-ins
9. Speed skaters
10. Sprints
11. Superman

Repeat 2x through! Only those two periods of active recovery. Otherwise, do the moves straight through for an amazing burn!
 

Meg's Instant Pot Greek Yogurt

Yep, there's no doubt about it. I am making homemade Greek yogurt from here on out. The process was so intimidating to me for some reason and I delayed it for weeks, but after I completed my first batch, I was shocked at how easy it was and how much I loved the final product. I promise you, it may sound overwhelming to begin (especially if you're afraid of using your Instant Pot like I was when I first got it)... but trust me on this one... you've just gotta go for it! Not only does it taste divine, but it's healthier and more cost effective than what you're currently buying off the shelves of the store. Sold? 

Okay, let's get down to business. There are a ton of yogurt recipes out there, and I kind of combined some/adjusted others to how I liked it. But here's what you'll need for my recipe: the yummiest yogurt ever. If you plan on making this soon, order the nut milk bags and extra sealing ring today (or anything else you need) from the ingredients list below, and once those arrive, you'll be ready to start!

Ingredients:

1. One gallon organic whole milk. *We used whole milk just because I'm still giving my little Ellie whole milk + we wanted it to be creamy, but 2% should work just great!

2. Yogurt starter: there are many different options for this, but I grabbed some organic plain Siggi's yogurt to use as my starter. I used one cup. I know some people who use up to 2 cups, and some people who use 2 Tbsp. It's up to you, but the one cup worked great! The yogurt that you choose for your “starter,” needs to contain live cultures and milk... nothing more. I love Siggi's because the ingredients are Pasteurized Skim Milk, and Live Active Cultures (S. thermophilus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, B. lactis, L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis). The cool thing is that once you make your first batch, you can save a little bit of yogurt to use as your next "starter" for your second batch. So it's just a one-time buy for the yogurt!

3. 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

4. Digital thermometer

5. Nut milk bags. I got these ones from Amazon. I love that they come in a 2-pack and they are reusable! I'd recommend getting them.

6. Any sweeteners you'd like to add. My favorite is just local raw honey... it's divine. 

**I'd also like to add that I bought a separate sealing ring for the lid of my Instant Pot just because my other one smells like many of the past dishes I've cooked in my pot, and I didn't want my yogurt smelling/tasting like that. So I just ordered a separate one that I can use for my yogurt batches (find it here for only $7.95).

That's all you need! Now let's get to work.

Instructions:

1.  Dump your gallon of milk into your Instant Pot.  Press the "Yogurt" button and then "adjust" button until it says "boil." It will take about 45 minutes or so until it beeps and until it's done. 

2. Once it beeps, take your digital thermometer and double check the temperature of your milk. It should be right around 180 degrees Fahrenheit (mine stopped at 179.4). Make sure it gets to be 180-185 degrees F or your yogurt will end up too thin. It's important! If you need to hit "saute" or "boil" and whisk until it reaches this temperature, do it. Once it reaches the appropriate temperature take out the inner pot and place on a cool surface until the temperature of milk reaches 95-110 degrees. This is the most important step so you don't lose any of the probiotics! Make sure it gets to 110 degrees or a little less! You can whisk in the process, but I've found that the fastest way of cooling it down is to fill up my sink with ice and water and then sticking my inner pot right in there surrounded by the cold water. It helps to speed up the process since this step could potentially take a lot of time.

3. Add your starter and vanilla. I added 1 cup of Siggi's Plain Greek Yogurt and also whisked in 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract.  

4. Place your inner pot back into your Instant Pot and set on "Yogurt" (It reads "yogt") to incubate for 8-9 hours. If you like your yogurt tangier, you can do a few hours longer (and actually the longer it incubates, the more helpful bacteria is produced). But I would recommend 8-9 hours for the not-so-tangy taste.

5. After the 8-9 hours is up, take out your nut milk bag and hang from a nob on your upper kitchen cabinets. Place a bowl underneath for draining. Pour yogurt into your nut milk bag and let drain for 1-2 hours depending on how thick you want it. I left mine for 2 hours and loved the thickness! You should see a yellowish, clear liquid collecting in your bowl while the thicker yogurt stays in the bag. The clear liquid is the whey and that is what differentiates Greek yogurt from regular yogurt.

*Keep the whey and store it in your refrigerator! You can use it as a substitute for buttermilk in baking recipes, or as the cooking liquid for bread, biscuits, pasta, potatoes, quinoa, etc. Or, add it to your smoothies for more probiotics, etc.!

6. Once drained, pour the thick yogurt into containers and add any other sweeteners you'd like. I usually add honey to some and leave other plain. You could also add more vanilla or fruit, etc. For the added honey, I like adding 1 Tbsp. per cup to sweeten.

There you have it! Yummiest yogurt around! Enjoy every bite!

A few tips:

Store in an airtight container in fridge- it should last up to two weeks!

Remember if you plan on making it again soon, save 1 cup to use as your yogurt starter for next time. I'm just stoked I can now make double/triple the quantity of yogurt with ONE ingredient next time (milk!), at a fraction of the cost! Woot woot! No more buying store-bought yogurt for me.

This recipe will yield ~8 cups (or more). I didn't get an exact measurement because I was too busy scarfing it down before I had a chance to measure. But I'll measure with my second batch and change that here in about a week, plus add the nutrition facts. :) But, it has roughly half the sugar and double the protein of the Greek yogurt I usually buy from the store. Pretty amazing!

Let me know how it goes and good luck!

LEGS

A circuit that will have you dripping sweat!

1. Barbell step-ups to declined reverse lunge, 3 sets of 8 on EACH LEG (which means you'll end up doing a total of 24 on each leg)

2. Banded wall sit with knee pull-outs, ONE MINUTE

3. Med ball slams (17# ball shown), 12-15 reps

4. Curtsy lunge into reverse lunge holding DBs, 3 sets doing 12 reps then 10 reps then 8 reps

*I DARE YOU to repeat this entire circuit ;)

Fitness; How to Use it, Not Abuse It

 I had the privilege of being interviewed again for my friend Monica's podcast: "Present Over Perfect." (Click here for my first podcast interview). This time, it was combined with both Monica's and my friend Rachel's perspectives on another important topic... 

Fitness; How to Use It, Not Abuse It. 

(find it here)

We discuss the important topic of exercise abuse...

what it is, where it begins, how to recognize it, and what to do about it. 

In the episode we take a deeper look at how it can begin, but when we begin to view exercise as a punishment, that's when fitness can easily switch into a more abusive relationship... a punishment for what we ate, a punishment from body shaming, etc. until it's swirling out of control. Let me tell you some indications for identifying exercise abuse, because as my friend Rachel talks about in this episode, it's SUBTLE! And as mentioned by Monica, there are so many different spectrums regarding this issue, but it's important to be able to identify in ourselves and to reflect on where we are with our own fitness-self relationship. 

Signs of exercise abuse:

-Exercising through trauma and injury when your body clearly needs rest

-Feeling shameful, irritable, and restless after not getting a workout in

-Exercising as a punishment for what you ate, and thinking in terms of "If I eat this, I'm going to have to run ___ amount of miles tomorrow to burn it off..." An "all or nothing" approach.

-Thinking only in terms of calories in and calories out and becoming mentally obsessive about it.

-Letting fitness interfere with your true, bigger priorities, and allowing the numbers to rule.

-Compelled to exercise more often for longer durations or at higher intensity or "it's not enough."

If you feel like you are struggling with these things, DON'T WORRY. We've all been there at some point, in one way or another. You are not alone. You can get back on track! You can still obtain a healthy relationship with fitness. In the episode we talk in more depth about things that have helped us maintain balance and joy in the process along the way, but here are Monica's four "takeaway tips":

Four takeaway tips:

1. Get away from "all or nothing" thinking: Even your small efforts are moving you forward.

2. Find joy: the best type of exercise for you is the kind that you LOVE doing. 

3. Learn how to rest: listen to your body- it will tell you when you need rest.

4. Clean up your environment. Who are you following on social media? Surround yourself with people who support you and inspire you and who don't wear you out. 

Please take a listen, subscribe to Monica's podcast (I absolutely love it), leave a review, and go support both of these women who are doing incredible things (rachel_rebuilt and @aboutprogress). They are worth following, I promise. 

Shrek Veggie Dip

Hide yo spinach! Hide yo greens!

A dip made just for your picky-eating, vegetable-hating kids. Vegetables might seem a litttttle more fun after you try this dip!

Ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 c. fresh spinach, chopped into tiny pieces

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Put in food processor and blend until desired consistency. If you don't have a food processor, whisk together well and enjoy.  

16 weeks

Here I am at 16 weeks! Where in the world is time going!? Life with a busy toddler is making the hours of the day fly by at lightning speed and I seriously can't believe we'll be finding out the gender of our baby in a couple weeks. We're getting so excited.

Biggest craving right now:

Hmmm.... that's hard. This week I haven't noticed anything too strong or apparent. There was a day this last week I had told my sister in-law about my favorite cheese from Trader Joe's and I COULDN'T get my mind off of it until I had it in my shopping cart two days later. (If you have never tried the "Unexpected Cheddar" cheese from Trader Joe's... and it's the Trader Joe's brand... you need to get it ASAP! Life changing!!!) But for the most part, I've just been enjoying a little bit of everything and I'm SO excited for fresh peaches to start pouring off the shelves at the grocery store. It's my favorite time of year!

Baby is the size of:

An avocado. 3.5 oz and 4.61 inches. I love that the baby can listen to my voice- its bones are forming in his/her ears... there's something really special when I know they can finally hear me. I may be odd, but singing to my baby and talking to it is something I have already started doing, and it's something I loved doing with Ellie. I feel like it helps in my bonding process. Such a fun stage!

Weight gain:

2 pounds and growing. With how my appetite has been lately, I'm sure there's going to be a big growth phase coming here soon! ;)

Funny pregnancy moments:

I've been waking up once again to pee in the middle of the night, and I swear my bladder is the size of an almond with how many times I seem to be visiting the bathroom each day. I have to be careful, because when I get laughing really hard... well, you can imagine what comes next. Yesterday we were at the store and walked past an aisle where there was a man crouching down who let out the slowest, funniest fart I've heard in a long time. Ellie looked at me, covered her mouth, and started laughing her really loud fake laugh as her eyes were all scrunched up. Pointing at him she squealed, "Mama, he TOOT!" I was belly laughing so hard while trying to keep quiet and not be obvious about it because of how embarrassed I was with this whole situation... but I'm pretty sure I partially peed my pants in the process. When a toddler has something to say, there's nothing you can do to stop it. All I know is we ran away as fast as we could and never looked back. That poor man. 

How I'm feeling now:

I don't know it's just because I know what to expect more this time around, but I feel stronger than ever: physically, mentally, and emotionally. With Ellie, this is when I started to have a lot of mental insecurities... I had no idea what life was going to be like with a baby, I had no idea if my body would get back to how it was before, I had no idea what to expect as my body changed each week... and mentally I started breaking down. It can be hard with the first, because everything is brand new. I can honestly say although there are still difficult things about it, I am embracing and loving each stage right now and feeling as strong as I've ever felt. I know that nutrition and exercise has been a big part of that for me too.

My bump is starting to grow slowly. My belly button has already flipped inside out, and I'm starting to feel more winded when I'm doing cardio etc. But overall, feeling amazing! 

Predictions:

Still predicting a girl. So excited that we'll be finding out the gender in a couple weeks. I can't believe it! It's kind of killing me!

Welcoming 16 weeks with enthusiasm and energy!

LEGS

I know nothing beats the banana dumbbells from last video, but I swear to you this circuit is a BURNER. My clients and I were dripping sweat by the time it was over this morning. Give it a try! If you have the option of moving up weight in dumbbells, challenge yourself and go heavier!

1. Plyo lunges with DB row, 8-10 reps (burnnnn!)

2. 20 squat pulses holding DB

3. DB press burpees, 8-10 reps

4. 15 squat pulses holding DB

5. 20# body bar squats *For those that don't have access to a barbell, just hold something heavier... a child will work in this scenario)

6. 10 squat pulses holding DB

7. heavy KB swings, 25#, 8-10 reps (*For those without a KB, use a heavier DB)

REPEAT 2-3x through.

Good luck! Tag me when you're finished! @momstrongutah 

Weekly Goals Chart

A free download for you to get all your goals aligned each week. Hold yourself accountable and start checking the circles off. Good luck!