Another DELICIOUS Day!

My Day started with my beloved bowl of oats ( my camera was low on battery so I couldn't take a picture!!) BUT later today I had a chance to snap a pic of my Navitas Natural Chia seeds!

I mix these when my oats have about one more minute of cooking. They are crunchy and delicious and add a nutty flavor to my oatmeal! They are filled with healthy omega fats, protein, antioxidants, and dietary fiber!

I also picked up a new kind of almond butter, Blue Diamond Almond Butter the other day which I had with my oats! 

So sad, the picture came out blurry, BUT this almond butter is delicious and FILLED with huge chunks of almonds, more than I have ever seen in a jar before! Its a keeper :)

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For lunch I had one of my favorite (and famous!) homemade turkey burgers!

In this salad I used baby romaine lettuce, peppers, heirloom tomato, blueberries, cuke and my turkey burger!

Turkey "I got the Blues" Burger

1 lb lean ground turkey

handful of fresh or frozen blueberries

1 dollop Dijon mustard

1 dollop crushed garlic

few shakes of Worcestier sauce

few shakes of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Form into patties and place on the grill for about 5-7 minutes each side! These are salty and sweet and melt in your mouth delicious!

For the salad dressing on this puppy, I used my delicious mango chutney from Trader Joes!

Mango-Dijon Dressing

1 tbs Dijon Mustard

1 tbs mango chutney

2 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

This is the Dijon Mustard and the mango chutney together, before the rest was added! The chutney is chunk full of golden raisins and pieces of mango!

With My salad I also had a wrap on the side

This beauty  was filled with lettuce, raspberry Maple Mustard (from the local farmers market-PIC BELOW!) tomato, a garlic and herb laughing cow wedge and red onion! All wrapped in a Josephs Lavash!

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AHHH after a fun trip to WHOLE FOODS!

Check out this cute lil' zucchini I picked up! it is not your average shaped zucchini! this one was about the size of a baseball 

This is what is looked like cut in half so you can see its totally round! So I decided for my dinner tomorrow night I will saute half this little guy up with some fresh eggplant with one of my favorite seasonings from Trader Joes!

This is Eggplant, My funny zucchini, and my favorite no salt seasoning from TJ's!

Here it is! Don't Be fooled that this says "steak and chop" it is delicious on veggies!

Fun with a Medicine Ball!

So lets talk some exercise here. I Love all sorts of gym gadgets. People ask me all teh time to show them new exerices using these 'gadgets' Some of my favorites include the bosu ball, stability ball, medicine ball, resistance bands, body bars and the 'perfect push up' Here is a tutorial about ways to use the medicine ball!

Benefits of Working out with the Medicine Ball

•They allow for improved range of motion, core strength, coordination, flexibility, joint integrity, and upper and lower body strength.
•you can involve a partner or simply use a solid, sturdy wall.
•Instead of isolating certain muscle groups, you are able to train many different core muscles at once with the medicine ball.
•You can toss them, bounce them, roll them, and do many traditional free weight exercises with them.
•With all the variety they provide, it is hard to get bored!

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Get Sport Specific!

•The Medicine Ball is a great tool
•Tossing and bouncing it back and forth with a partner helps improve eye-hand coordination.
•Tossing the ball also improves strength for things like golf and tennis swings, throwing a baseball or football, and swimming strokes.
•Rolling it will help improve strength for your bowling game or underhand softball pitching.
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EXERCISES!

Woodchoppers
Stand with your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart. With your arms nearly straight, hold a med ball above your head [A]. Now bend forward at your waist and mimic throwing the ball backward between your legs -- but hold onto the ball the entire time [B]. Quickly reverse the movement with the same intensity, and return to the starting position.

Lunge with a twist

1. Begin by standing with the medicine ball held at your waist (approximately at belly button height).
2. Take a step forward with one leg, lowering yourself until the top of your leg is parallel to the floor. Make sure that your knee does not extend past your toes to avoid injury. Either return to the starting position and repeat the movement with the opposite leg, or perform a "walking" lunge by continuing forward by alternating legs and "walking" across the floor.

Crunches
1. Begin by lying with your low back on a stability ball, feet out on the floor shoulder width apart.
2. Hold the medicine against your chest with both hands.
3. Perform a standard crunch.
4. Hold the crunch position for a count of one, squeezing the abdominals tight.
5. Lower yourself to the starting position and repeat

Front Lateral Raises with the Med Ball

1.Start by standing in an upright position.
2. the medicine ball should be held at your naval with you arms straight.
3. Keeping your arms extended, raise the ball until it is parallel to the ground. Hold for a count, and return the ball to the starting postion

STAY TUNED FOR FUN WITH A BOSU BALL!!!!

Boston Fav's!

Well Gals, I am from a city right outside of Boston and I do have an extremeeee connection with this amazing city (and state!) For those of you who ever come visit Bo ston, this page will be GREAT for you and for those of you who are from here, well these are just my favorite restaurants and things to do around town!

(1) Bakers Best Cafe. This place is awesome and my go-to lunch place with my friends or family. Each time, they NAIL it. Whether it be a fresh salad with perfectly grilled and marinated chicken breast and they're 'to die for' balsamic vinegrette, or whether it be homemade salmon burgers, custom made sandwich, wraps, soups. Oh did I mention they have one of the best and healthiest brunch menu's on the weekend? Bakers is awesome! Enough said.

(2)Farm grill Rotisserie I have never met someone in my town (or even close surrounding town) that has not heard of Farm Grill. Whether they go 3 times a week for take out, or whether they have never been and just heard the rave reviews, they have HEARD OF THIS PLACE! Farm Grill is a greek restaurant known for using the freshest and most authentic ingredients. They're greek salads burst with large chunks of fresh feta, kalamata olives, tomato, pepper, cucumber and a creamy greek dressing. This is all served with warm homemade pita. The moment you walk into Farm Grill you are immersed in Greek culture. There are Greek God paintings that cover the walls, not to mention all the authentic greek cuisine. My favorite's on the menu include the grilled chicken kebab plate with grilled peppers and onions and that is served with a greek salad. I also love the 3 bean salad made with chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans with spices and a light vinaigrette. Once you bite into a Farm Grill meal, you will be back, I PROMISE!

(3) Johnnys Lunchonette.

I have been going to Johnny's since the day it opened! The second you walk in, you are time warped back to the 1950's with all the decorations, vinyl seats and juke boxes. The food however is No where near the 1950's. You will find literally anything you are in the mood for on the Johnny's menu. It's 9 pm and you are craving their famous crunchy french toast served with maple syrup-YOU GOT IT! Or if you want to go the healthier route and order they're ever so popular egg white omelet with all the fresh veggies and low fat cheese you want, served with melon and whole wheat toast. If you are worried about staying healthy at this diner, think again! They have a TON of healthy options, in fact a whole page of salads alone! Turkey burgers, low fat veggie chili, chicken stir fry with brown rice or 100% fruit smoothies! my go-to meal for lunch at Johnny's is the low fat cobb salad served with turkey breast, lentils and veggies galore! Go to this place, people!

(4) New Ginza. Yes I love Japanese food and this is one of my favorites in the area! It is located in Watertown, Ma which is a short drive from the city. Once you are seated you are greeted by the friendly staff and a hot towel, which is definitely a bonus! The menu is HUGE and with endless options, whether or not you are a sushi lover, I guarantee you will find something on this menu! The coolest thing on this menu is the"stone grill" you can choose-chicken, fish tofu or salmon. A stone grill is brought to your table and you cook the food yourself! Of course this is served with fresh veggies and brown or white rice. You can literally play with your food! The sushi here is DA BOMB! and they have lots of specialty rolls including those named after my beloved home town, Boston such as the "Celtics Maki" "Patriots Maki" and "Red Sox Maki" They even carry low carb sushi! This is tuna and salmon wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber! Its delicious! You will not be disappointed after this meal!

(5) Tavern on the Water

Location, Location, Location! Thats all I have to say about this place! I think it has one of the best settings and locations you can find in downtown Boston! This restaurant sits in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Charlestown, MA. This place sits what looks like in the middle of the harbor overlooking a sky line of the beautiful city and all the boats in the harbor. Although this place has an awesome location, don't think thats all this restaurant has to offer! The food is excellent and the bar is filled with young professionals and delicious cocktails. My go-to meal here is the citrus soy grilled salmon served with grilled asparagus and jasmine rice (sometimes I get the garden salad instead of the rice) as an appetizer I LOVE the teriyaki flank steak skewers or the blackened sea scallops. This restaurant is open year round so don't shy away just because the summer is over!

(6) Stella
If we are talking nice night out on the town, this restaurant is on the top of my list! It is located in Boston chic South End. The atmosphere in Stella is lively, and delicious! If you are a looking for a quiet restaurant, I will tell you now, this is not the place, BUT if you are looking for AMAZING food, then go here! The menu here is so eclectic and will surely appeal to all eaters. From homemade pizza to homemade linguini to grilled swordfish to kobe beef sirloin, everything melts in your mouth and you will leave satisfied and itching to come back! The cocktails here are one of a kind as well. My go-to meal here at Stella is the honey glazed salmon served with spaghetti squash, cherry tomatoes in a citrus vinaigrette. My go-to drink of choice? well that would be the classic homemade Cosmopolitan!

(7) Truly Yogurt. I cannot express to you the deliciousness of this yogurt! It is TRULY incredible! it is smooth, creamy and so rich you wouldnt believe it is low fat! They're staple flavors are chocolate, vanilla and cookie d'light which is basically oreo. As if these weren't enough, each day they have a flavor of the day! My personal favorites include cheesecake, nutty vanilla and butterscotch, but of course there are many that I have not had the pleasure of trying!

Here is the nutritional Info for a basic soft serve vanilla

Serving size = 3 fl. ozCalories 65 Total Fat 2.3gCholesterol 10 mgSodium 30 mgTotal Carbohydrate 10gDietary Fiber 0gSugars 6.5gProtein 1gVitamin A 2%Vitamin C 0%Calcium 4%Iron 1%Assumes 50% overage(8) Russos. If you are looking for fresh produce in large quantities, foods from all over the US, a wonderful salad bar with all the fix ins, a fresh deli, homemade goodies, pastries, breads, seasonings, marinades, jams, dairy, meats, vegetarian options-was there anything I didn't mention? well you can most likely find it ALL AT RUSSO's! beware, this place gets PACKED! especially on the weekends. If you are from the greater Boston area, chances are you have heard of Russo's. As I pull in, a huge smile appears on my face knowing what my shopping trip will entail. Russos carries all your basic fruit and veggies (apples, pears, grapes, berries lettuce, cuke, tomato, mushroom etc AND lots of produce you have probably never heard of! They also carry a wide range of asian vegetables, wild mushrooms, beans nuts, locally grown produce and at least 9 varieties of eggplant!! You will not be disapointed with a trip to Russos!

9. Sweet Basil. I gaurentee you have never been to a restaurant quite as good as sweet basil, beware because if you go at high time, you will have to wait since this is a no reservation restaurant. BUT because they 'make' you wait, you are greeted with appetizers such as fresh bruschetta made with crusty french bread, gruyere and mozz cheese and fresh diced tomatoes and basil! This is one meal thats worth the wait, trust me. Beyond this, the restaurant is BYOB so they will be happen to crack your bottle o' vino while you wait as well! My fav's at Sweet basil include the chicken scalopini, which is a light, lemony chicken breast topped with garlicky sweet spinach and just a touch of parm cheese. it is placed on a plate surrounded by capers, a light white wine sauce and some stewed tomatoes. This dish is served with a side of homemade pasta with your choice of red or pesto sauce or garlic and EVOO. Another fav of mine is the scallop dish but sadly it is seasonal, so it is only there during the sumemr months. This dish is perfectly cooked scallops with garlic and EVOO served ona bed of warm baby spinach, so the spinach is piping hot and just beginning to wilt down. It is topped with chunks of garlic and pieces of dried apricots. it is enormous and amazing!. they also have a cookbook! which you can buy that includes all they're recipes! (yes i own it :) ) Oh the greek salad to start is also a favorite! GO HERE NOW!