lifestyle

Fitness Friday 08.18

| The Bee Life

It’s time to talk food again.  The love-hate we have with sweet, delicious, carby food.  Last Fitness Friday, I was talking a bit about falling off the rails, being a little less strict with my routine – the boundaries started to get looser and I needed to rain it in.  So within the last month or so, I’ve tightened up on my diet and I can see the difference on a daily basis.  Trust me, there are some days where I ask myself, what more could I possibly change? But when I really test the accountability factor – I quickly figure out what needs to go and what can stay, and it usually comes down to FOOD!
Fitness Friday 08.18 - the bee life
Here are five tricks I do when I need to crack down, and honestly after a week or two of being strict, these aren’t as much of a battle as it is at first!  The most important thing to keep in mind – is that these aren’t quick ‘do this for a week’ and you’ll loose 20-pounds, these are lifestyle changes that will help you achieve your fitness goals and love yourself even more!

Smart Snacking.  A great work perk that I have is having snacks around, the decision between a mini bag of Doritos or picking up a banana/handful of nuts is the pass or fail. Don’t want to be tempted at all of picking wrong? Stop snacking and drink water!  It’ll be tough at first, but your body will quickly adapt and you won’t be craving a snack at 3pm.

Less Carbs, More Protein. Especially at dinner, this is a time when B and I have been loading up on meat and skipping out on the extras or scary sides.  We also switch out the buns for lettuce wraps, which is just as tasty and looks fancy for a week night meal at home.

Smaller Portions.  With smarter snacking and eating more filling foods, portions in line get a bit smaller, allowing you to get full faster.  Those after dinner cravings for some sweats are often eliminated after a nice filling and healthy dinner.

Limit Alcohol. Alcohol and beverages in general can be a surprise at how much sugars/carbs are actually jammed into them – so be sure to check the labels before drinking, you’ll thank yourself later.  Alcohol choices can also impact negatively or help, for this I stick to the Keto Alcohol rules, no beer and opt for those bubbles! Red wine is also a good choice or pure spirits, but be sure to avoid those sugary mixtures.

Stop Eating Pizza! Yup, I said it – just stop eating pizza! Try it for a month, try it for two… you won’t miss it, I promise.  Pizza is an easy food to over indulge on and is full of carbs, some people have pizza every Friday night… and then there are probably leftovers for the next day… just cut it out – you’ll see a difference.

The true key to living a healthy lifestyle, making gains, and maintaining your goal weight, all boils down to not only exercise but the supporting cast of FOOD – it’s that balance of both that is the perfect formula.

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Miss a Fitness Friday? Catch-up!  May | June | July

Dairy Free Taco Night Recipes

| The Bee Life

There are a few staples that I miss dearly being dairy-free among my many other dietary restrictions, a few of those being staples at taco night… *clears throat* queso… sour cream… cheese… all the good things!  So since I’ve been sticking to the opt-out of dairy lifestyle and finding substitutes or alternate recipes to fill in those gaps, I wanted to share a few recipes I have my eyes on and will be testing out in the kitchen here shortly.
Dairy Free Taco Night - bee life blog
For any of those newer to the dairy free world, in case you didn’t know but a lot of recipes use cashews as a substitute for cheese.

Vegan Queso: I’ve been scoping out a few different recipes a spicy jalapeno recipe, this delicious looking one, and then one surprisingly with eggplant instead of cashews! I’ve already assessed a few of these and know I’ll have to peel back on some of the ingredients and alter accordingly to make sure they’re kosher for my stomach – but that is the fun part about cooking!

Dairy-Free Sour Cream: A 10-minute recipe to give you the taste and texture of real sour cream, sign me up!  This recipe looks so easy it would be silly not to try it out – and have as the perfect topper for build-your-own tacos!

While I continue to research and look for more dairy-free recipes to try, I feel like I can at least start getting back to a normal taco night by incorporating these recipes in.  I’m also super lucky that B not only is game to eat and try these different recipes out, but he often takes the first step and makes a lot of them with me!  It definitely helps being on the same page when it comes to diet and restrictions, because it can become a lot to remember!

Do you have any dairy free recipes that you just love? Leave me a comment! I want to try them!

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Image Sources: The Cookie Rookie | 24 Carrot Kitchen (recipes also linked above)

 

Travel: Asheville Eats (but really drinks)

| The Bee Life

In case you missed it, we ventured down to Asheville, NC this past Memorial Day weekend and it was full of delicious food and lots of beers (bubbles, too!).  There were a number of breweries downtown that were all walkable and perfect for creating your own mini brewery tour even with your furry friends.   Asheville is also home to some more known breweries like Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, both different but awesome in their own ways!
Food + Beer Asheville - the bee life
Curate: This was our first dinner and true introduction to Asheville, NC and boy was it a fun introduction with lots of tapas!  Curate offered a diverse array of options not only for your food choices, but the way you dine and enjoy your meal.  You could order from cold to hot, but they also had a option where they would bring you options based off your taste preferences.  We enjoyed and casually ordered different dishes, sharing amongst the table – it was a fun and delicious dining experience, be sure to make a reservation ahead of time!
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Over Easy Cafe: This cozy spot is definitely worth the wait, and since it’s fairly central downtown there are plenty of places to keep you occupied while you wait (we waited just over an hour!)  The menu is fairly standard for your normal brunch and caters to those who may be a bit more traditional with their picks or a little more adventurous.  All of our dishes were beyond delicious and the mason jar mimosa was the perfect way to kick off another fun day of vacation!
12Food + Beer - Asheville - the bee life
Burial Beer Co. Although we didn’t eat here, we grabbed a drink, as this spot was collectively loved by the group for their tasty brews and low-key atmosphere. I especially loved this place, because while ordering the Donut Stout, I said; “Boy, would I love to eat a donut with this.” And the next thing I know, B is coming out with my beer and a donut hole skewered on top! *mindblown* it was SOOOO perfect, plus another pup friendly place!

New Belgium. This was B’s favorite spot we visited, he loved the atmosphere, the buildings, and of course the beers (it was a little bubble of fun!).  We also had an insider hook up and got a private tour of the facilities, from the employee lounge and indoor slide (which B rode, twice!), to the yeast laboratory, employee beer fridge, to B being able to pull some freshly canned beers right off the line.  It was pretty cool and such an impressive facility.  Oh and you guessed it, dog friendly!
14Food + Beer - Asheville - the bee lifeA few other honorable mentions;
Farm Burger. This was a late night dinner for us, that we took back to the house. With pre-made options to choose from, you can also create your own burger, plus the sesame seed topped buns hit the spot.  Not to mention the staff was super friendly and welcoming!
The Montford. With awesome views of the mountains, this is a perfect spot for a drink and snack.  The tater tots were seriously life changing, the whole group collectively was swooning over these!
Sierra Nevada. This place was a fricken compound – and I mean it was massive, ridiculous and just overall impressive.  With an extensive outdoor area, with a full concert venue (inside and out), corn hole (inside and out), and then their beautifully organized garden this place was stunning.  Whether you dine, grab a flight of beers, or just hang out with some friends and listen to music you’ll enjoy the offerings of this establishment!

If you’re planning your trip to Asheville, definitely get your taste buds and uber ready because you won’t be short of breweries to visit, beers to try and food to eat!  Our afternoon of brewery hopping was perfect because we just had a beer or two at each of the places and it was a nice way to enjoy a lot of different places throughout the day!  Have you been to Asheville recently? What was your favorite spot?

Bee’s Tips for Organizing

| The Bee Life

With the start of 2018 being pretty chilly, there hasn’t been much I’ve wanted to do besides hit the gym, dream of running outside and slowly work through parts of the house for a deep clean! From the pantry, to the freezer, to closets and the basement this year has started with a lot of organizing and purging and it is SO rewarding.  And as much as we are clean/organized people, and have places for everything – it’s amazing when you actually go through things how much crap we really hoard away!
Bee Tips for Organizing - the bee life
So if you are like me and have been purging or have been thinking about it, but just don’t know where to start – here are a few tips and pointers to help.

Start Small. If you’re just jumping in, and not one for cleaning or organizing, start small like tackling your refrigerator or freezer.  Cleaning out condiments especially can really work wonders especially once you start checking dates.

Pro Tip: Plan this around garbage day!

Downsize. If you have containers or organizers that are too big, downsize. For example we had a nice paper organize on our desk in the office – I thought it would be perfect. Well I only ended up piling more papers in each of the slots, never looking at them again. So I downsized, I got a simple 3-section mail holder to replace – much more streamlined plus it makes me be more selective with what I put in it.

Buy Tubs/Containers. If you’re working on a bigger space – like a closet, and are organizing clothes, keep sakes, crafts, gift wrap, all of the things – make a list of containers you need and go make the commitment.

Pro Tip: Label containers on the tops and sides for easy reading 

Make Pile’s.  The best way to get started with any project is creating 3-piles: Keep, Donate, Trash. Establishing these piles, will help you when it comes time to finalizing everything – what you still need space for, what you can throw away immediately, and what you can pass along to those in need.

Getting organized can be a bear, but it’s staying organized that is the real trick – so the key is to set yourself for staying organized, while you get organized. Labeling, color coding, and even just shifting were you keep things can help make a closet a little cleaner or the pantry fuller.

Happy organizing!

 

Image Sources: Right Image | Left Image 

Life After Wedding

| The Bee Life

Let’s keep the love train going! This weekend, B and I will be celebrating our 2-year proposal anniversary!! Yah, I know it’s a little obnoxious to celebrate every little anniversary or moment – but that’s what makes life special! And we always love an excuse to drink champagne and order Chipotle.

It’s crazy to think it’s been 2-years since we started this new journey of being engaged, wedding planning, and now living life married! After the wedding and all the holiday crazy, I had a weird lull – as I know many brides tend to have – where I kept asking myself; “Now what do I do?” We were consumed for almost 2-full years of planning, meetings, parties, and more planning for one single perfect day… and now it’s all over!  I loved planning our wedding, I would do it again, but our day was also so perfect and special I’d never want to replace it.
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So back to the question, now what? Well, we need to figure out a few trips this year, we have some ideas but nothing is finalized yet, we went on 4-trips last year, and I want to keep that up.  We are also figuring out and prioritizing house projects that have been on the list for the last 3-years… *smiles* … so looking forward to those, since that is something we both enjoy doing. Also, just continuing to experience more things together like more of our city, new foods, new adventures with friends and family and new hobbies.

I am also in the process of scrapbooking our wedding, which means I’ll continue to swoon over all of our gorgeous pictures, randomly post one or two now and then on instagram (or here!) and this lull will quickly turn into getting back on track to a normal life! A normal, beautiful life with B.

XOX

Fitness Friday 02.18

| The Bee Life

As I reach my one-year anniversary this month of being back in the fitness game, I continue to feel more and more vested and determined to not only maintain all of my progress, but to continue to set new goals and reach them!  One aspect of our health and wellness that can often get overlooked is preventive care for our immune systems.  It unfortunately is the season of sick, and it’s important we not only stay fit and active but take care of ourselves to stay healthy!
Fitness Friday 02.18 - the bee life
Here are some ways that I like to keep a tap on my immune system, stay-in tune with my body and also work preventatively against getting sick!

Sleep: One of the most important ways to stay healthy is making sure you get enough rest. I’ve become more attuned to my body when it’s asking for this and have learned not to fight it anymore.  When the body needs sleep – give it sleep, it’s helping you store-up and fight off anything brewing within.

Daily Echinacea: This is a herbal natural supplement* that supports immune health and helps fight off illnesses.  I take echinacea daily for preventative, and multiple times a day (based off the label) when I am starting to feel not well. It has helped in many instances were I feel I’m coming down with something and I swear by it.*

Vitamin C: This is another supplement that I have in my daily routine on top of echinacea to help build up that immune system as preventative care.  When I’m starting to feel a tinge of something come on, I double up on Vitamin C.  Emergency-C packets are a great thing to have around the house in those situations to give an extra boost.*

Exercise. Yup! Regular exercise promotes general good health which in turn benefits your immune system health as well. On the flip side, just like sleep, I’ve learned to listen to my body when I need to take a break on exercise (for rest!) but I’ve also gauge when I can push myself and still exercise to release the toxins.  Maintaining this into your routine helps promote that healthy lifestyle.

There are many other factors that can affect your immune and general health like stress, your diet and eating the proper nutrient foods, and even alcohol intake. When working to maintain a healthy lifestyle and work towards fitness goals, it’s important to maintain your best self to reach those! This includes actively working towards your immune health daily and not just when you’re starting to feel sick.  Remember that if you’re sick all the time you won’t be hitting the gym or reaching any of those goals!

 

*DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and never will claim to be one, so please consult with yours on what would work best for you to help support your immune health on a daily basis. 

Local Love: Yogatta Give Back

| The Bee Life

Today’s local love is spotlighting one of my favorite local businesses which combines yoga and giving back to the community.   The founder, Danielle, also happens to be a dear friend and it’s been so impressive what she’s been able to accomplish having just started Yogatta Give Back this past June. In seven months YGB has supported 15-local non-profits and has participated in 4-neighborhood clean-ups.
Local Love - Yogatta Give Back - the bee life
What I love the most about Yogatta Give Back is you’re not only taking care of your own body, mind and soul, but you’re also contributing and giving back to your own local community in the process. Giving back is something I always have on my list of to-do’s but don’t always find a way for it to fit in regularly, with events offered weekly, I can refine my yoga skills AND give back on a routine basis to local organizations.

Classes vary from donations being monetary (and often built into the class fee) or specific to the non-profit from canned goods, to school supplies, or simply picking up trash.  In the warmer months, classes take place in various locations like rooftop patios, local parks or community centers. In these cooler months, Danielle leads practice in historic fire houses or partnering facilities.  With classes held multiple times throughout the week, the opportunities to practice yoga and give back are endless!

You can learn more about Yogatta Give Back; here and also be sure to check  out Facebook and Instagram!

Fitness Friday 12.17

| The Bee Life

Wow! I can’t believe it’s December and the last month of 2017. It’s been a life changing year, both physically and personally. I wanted to reflect on this year’s fitness journey and reading posts from each month’s Fitness Friday. I wasn’t in a good place physically or mentally at the start of the year, I wasn’t happy with my job and that was bleeding into my personal life, and how I took care of myself.  And I knew it was a problem, and I continued to make strides, get a new job and started taking care of myself. This time last year I was living in yoga pants and tights because my jeans wouldn’t fit – and now my jeans are loose!
Fitness Friday 12.17 - the bee life
Here is what I learned about myself this past year;

  • Don’t give up. I worked hard for 7-8 months with seeing limited results in inches and BMI, I still was the same number on the scale, but I was feeling better and I was determined even in the moments doubt.
  • Diet is just as important. As your workout routine, it wasn’t until I finally cut down – with the many thanks and help to B, on all the carbs and crap that the pounds flew off.  Beyond that, portions were limited and breakfast options were much improved and burgers were ordered without buns, subbing fries for side salad.  B and I made smarter choices, and held each other accountable and sometimes I did eat a cookie!
  • I am strong. And I can push myself. I started with only being able to do 10 or 15lbs weights depending on the exercise and now I am up to 20-25 in hand weights and 35lbs in kettle bells. I can do boy push-ups, and I can endure more than I thought, I’ve grown.
  • Don’t go back. This is the most important, and the easiest one to erase, because I was here and I went back – and I came out again.  And I don’t ever want to go back.
  • Make the investment. I got over the monetary cost it takes to help me achieve my goals, give me a place to challenge and push myself, and have my time to focus on me.
  • It’s a journey. Eleven months of a journey, and it doesn’t stop here. Just because I’m at my goal weight doesn’t mean I can stop or will. Life changes, schedules change and it’s constantly adjusting and continuing the journey to success.

I feel good. I am happy. I am focused. I achieved my goals, but I also need to maintain my goals, and I will. I’ve learned the balance and effort that needs to be made to be my best me, and that has been the best part of it all.

Cheers to a healthy 2017!

House Tour – Christmas Dining Room

| The Bee Life

One of my favorite rooms to decorate during the holidays and different seasons is our dining room.  We have a large custom table that is perfect for statement centerpieces and plenty of room for family and friends to gather around for a delicious meal, conversation and laughter.
House Tour - Christmas Dining - the bee life (1)
I love thinking of ways to transform this space each year and building upon pieces I already have or buying new… this year I kind of went the old/new route based off the color theme of gold and green, selfishly carrying our wedding color palette into the holiday season and our home!  I used some pieces from our wedding and ended up buying a new table runner and napkins to pull the look together for guests.

My goal this year was to keep the dining room intimate and cozy for a small group of six, candles mixed throughout with customized ornament place settings. I used glass ornaments, (I basically have plain glass bulbs stock-piled once the year end sales hit) and poured white paint inside of them to drizzle along the inside, so when I wrote names in gold on the outside they popped! Guests can take these home as a keepsake of the holiday memory to hang on their tree!
House Tour - Christmas Dining - the bee life (2)
The greens mixed in help bring that classic Christmas feel and were conveniently trimmed off our tree. I love entertaining and having friends and family in our home, celebrating, laughing and creating memories and with the perfect setting and people it makes it easy.

Cheers to new memories!