Happy November!

Hi everyone!  I know I've been MIA recently.  October was super crazy and busy.  Here's an overview of what October looked like

This was my view when I was training clients.  Isn't it gorgeous??

My truck died on me alot.  I mean ALOT.  Ken and I were stuck on the side of the road more times than we could count.

My daughter decided she was going to start raising money for her dance team.  She got the idea to "Dance for Dollars" on the beach.  It didn't raise any money but, I give her an A for effort.  {If anyone would like to donate it's not too late!}

Whenever we go to Vitamin Shoppe the girls are allowed to pick out a snack.  Sunny chose Love Snacks Tropical blend.  I love that they pick healthy things.  This had mango, papaya, pineaple and coconut.

Sunny broke her wrist playing around with Mo.  So now we're back and forth to the doctor.  I found out that finding a orthopedist is really hard for a 6 year old.  

And of course Halloween.  Sunny was Pocahontas.  Mo was Lilo from Lilo and Stitch, and Kaylee was Dora the Explorer.  They had a great time and got a ton of candy.

Since I've told you want I've done, let's talk about what I'm going to do.  November I have promised myself that I'm going to get back into blogging.  I miss it and I've been gone too long.  Here's what's on my list of things to do this month.  

• Thanksgiving
• Dance classes
• New job

There's not much but, I plan on letting you know all about it.  I'm going to write atleast 3 posts a week.  

Joosh Reivew

I know I haven't posted much recently.  This summer was really full  The past few months, life has been really busy.  You name it, it's probably on our schedule.  Dance classes, appointments, clients, day trips and a bunch of other things.

Even with all that stuff going on Sunny and I read atleast 1 book a week together.  I know that's not alot but, we don't have much time to sit.  Over the summer I was given a copy of the book Joosh's Juice Bar:  The Blue Banana Berry Adventure. 

This book is so cute!  Here's the description:

"When Joosh’s Juice Bar runs out of strawberries, the youngsters are asked to go on a “strawberry run”. Mo and Coco, along with rainforest friends Randy (a mischievous monkey) and Kwamee (a wise green lizard), travel through the Tropland Rainforest and stumble upon a unique glowing berry in Don Ribbit’s forbidden Swampland. Mo and Randy pick the berries, eat them and bring them back to Joosh’s Juice Bar. What seemed like a great idea at first turns sour as Joosh and his wife Holly return home to the juice bar and find the boys making a new juice with the berries! To their surprise, Randy and Mo, along with the animals that also drank their new blue juice, are glowing blue from head to toe! The Joosh Man takes Coco and the boys to seek aid from Doctor Boo Boo (a toucan bird).Will they find a way to wash the blue glow away? Will they get back home safely before the impending rain storm? "  --Amazon

It's written in rhyme and the pictures are amazing.  Sunny reads it over and over.  It teaches kids the importance of healthy eating and picking the proper foods.  

This book is great for kids who love to eat healthy or, if you're trying to convince your kids to eat healthy.  I'm not going to lie, I read it by myself a few times.  So, seriously, hop on over to their website and order the book.  He has also written a new book.  

Joosh's Juice Bar: The Tropland Tee-Off.  This one is about a disc golf tournament.  

JooshsJuiceBar.com

Joosh's Juice Bar Facebook

Tell me below, do your kids have a favorite healthy eating book?  

Freekah Review

Over the years my girls have become more adventurous eaters.  Having a kid that is willing to try 95% of the foods you put in front of them is great all the time but, it's really good when you review as many foods as I do.  The girls will taste whatever I make.  And they have also become little foodies so they love giving me ideas for recipes to try using new ingredients.

Freekah Foods sent me their Rosemary Sage and Original flavors.  We tasted the Rosemary Sage by itself and it was excellent.  The girls really enjoyed it.  I had a hard time at first deciding what to do with the Original.  It's so versitile, there are so many options! 

What is Freekeh?

Freekeh is a process which means “to rub” in Arabic. Freekeh was created by accident nearly 2,000 years ago when a Middle Eastern village was attacked and their crop of young green wheat was set ablaze. Most folks would sulk over their misfortune, but the crafty villagers rubbed off the chaff, cooked it up and “Eureka!” Freekeh was created. We’re proud to offer you this tasty, nutritious ancient grain with a funny name. *NOT GLUTEN FREE*

Freekeh has up to three times the fiber and protein found inbrown rice, and fewer calories than quinoa and white rice. Freekeh is a great choice to use in recipes you already enjoy, from salads, to soups, to main dishes—the cook times are comparable to brown rice, so it’s easy to choose Freekeh!

I decided to make a Quesadilla Burrito Cheesy Freekah.  

Quesadilla Burrito Cheesy Freekah
Serves 4

1 packages Freekah
2.5 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can reduced sodium red beans
8 oz shredded cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook freekah according to package directions using broth instead of water
3. While the freekah is cooking saute onions and mushrooms
4. Drain and rinse beans
5. Combine mushrooms, onions, beans, and freekah
6. Place half the freekah mix in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan.  Top with half the shredded cheese, and repeat with remaing freekah and cheese.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and brown.

Wanna hear something better?  I'm giving away 1 package of freekah!  You can choose either original, rosemary sage, or tamari.  In order to be entered like Freekah Foods on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram then let me know you've done it and what flavor you would choose if you won.  I will choose the winner on September 18th!

Polar V800 Review

I'm completely obsessed with my Polar products.  Ever since I was given the FT4 for Christmas a few years ago {after begging and pleading for one}, I became hooked.  

Recently, I got the Polar V800.  I LOVE THIS WATCH! Seriously, I couldn't be more excited about it.  I wear it all the time.  

The V800 has a ton of awesome features.

MultiSport Profiles

There are a bunch of sports to choose from.  Right now my watch has 

• Circuit Training
• Strength Training
• Running
• Cycling
• Other Outdoor
• Other Indoor
• Triathalon
• Swimming
• Free Multisport
• Kayaking
• Walking
• Group Exercise

And I don't even have half of them loaded onto my watch!  This helps me keep track of what I'm doing.  Honestly I only use 5 of them 99% of the time.  But, it's nice to know that whatever I want to track, I can.

GPS

When you are using the running, cycling, walking and a few other sport profiles your watch will use the built in GPS to track how far you've gone.  I love it.  It's so much easier then mapping my route later.

Waterproof
Not only is it waterproof, the unit works underwater.  You can go swimming, snorkeling, or do anything else that involves your chest getting wet.  I like to use it when I'm swimming.

24/7 Tracking
The V800 tracks your steps, the hours you slept (and how many of them were restless), how many hours you were active, your calorie count for the day, among other things.  Plus, it yells at you when you have been inactive for too long!

Training Benefits
After each training session it will tell you what the benefits of it is.  

Training Load & Recovery
Along the with training benefits the V800 also tells you if you're undertraining, over training or if your training is balanced.  Depending on how hard you worked it will reccommend how long you should rest before exercising again.

Polar Flow
You can upload all your training data to either the Polar Flow app, or Polar Sync (internet based).  Before I had this I had to manually enter everything from my watch to the diet and exercise site I used at the time.  


Finally, MY FAVORITE FEATURE............






RECHARGEABLE BATTERY!!!!
Yes folks, unlike the FT4 (and many other before this), the watch is rechargeable.  But don't worry! The time between charges is pretty good.  14 hours in training time, 50 hours in low power GPS mode or 30 days in time mode with 24/7 activity monitoring.  I use it for a combination and my watch lasts about 10 days before needing to be recharged.  It's never died on me.
 
Do you use a heart rate moniter?  What's your favorite brand and why?

Earth Fare Gainesville

This time last year Sunny and I were given a private tour of the new Earth Fare in Jacksonville.  This year we've been asked to tell y'all about the new Earth Fare in Gainesville that just opened on August 12th.  

Earth Fare is a great grocery store.  Seriously, Sunny and I love it and she asks to go at least once a week.  

The new store is located at:
3045 SW 34th Street Suite 30
Gainesville, FL 32608

This is their 38th store in the US and their 3rd in Florida.  The other 2 are located in Jacksonville and Tallahassee.  The store also has 8 registers.  

The one this I love is what Earth Fare DOESN'T have.  None of the foods at Earth Fare ever have;

• Antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones
• Artificial fats or trans-fats
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Artificial sweeteners
• Artificial preservatives
• Bleached or bromated flour
• Artificial colors or flavors

Eat Local

Many of Earth Fare's products are Florida grown. Look for the red signs that have the local emblem on them.


Meat & Seafood

Earth Fare has a large selection of fresh meat and seafood.  They are all humanely raise, 100% vegetarian fed, sustainably managed and wild caught.

Cafe

They have a nice sized indoor cafe where you can sit down and eat your freshly prepared food or an outdoor cafe that seats 55 and offers free wifi.  

While we're talking about prepared food, you HAVE to try it.  I know they always say "don't grocery shop hungry" but, I always goto Earth Fare hungry.  They have an amazing hot bar, sandwiches, sushi, pizza, smoothies and a salad bar. They also have an olive bar. 

Produce

They have a wide variety of produce.  If you look closely at the picture you can see the local emblem on the tags.  {And just to clarify, "local" is within 100 miles of Gainesville}

Extras
They also have a huge bulk section, a health and wellness department that sells gluten free and vegan makeup (among other things), {what seems like} miles of frozen food cases, scoop your own ravioli, and wine and beer.

The ribbon cutting for the store was August 12th.  Earth Fare presented a check for $1,000 to the University of Florida's Field and Fork Campus Food Program.  This initiative was designed by University of Florida campus partners to feed the estimated 10 percent of UF students who face food insecurity.  

After talking about all the special things that Earth Fare has I want to let you know what I have.  I have a $25 gift card for 1 lucky winner!  Enter the raffle to win.  The winner will be announced (and notified) on September 6,2015.

There are 2 things you must do to enter.  Like my Facebook page {CLICK HERE} and leave a comment down below.  


Don't have an Earth Fare near you?  Do you know someone who does?  {Click HERE for a list of Earth Fare locations}  Christmas is only 124 days away.  An Earth Fare gift card would make a lovely Christmas present!

Hi, July!

Can you believe 2015 is more than half over??!!??  

The summer is in full swing and July is always a busy month for us.

• Vacation
• My anniversary
• My birthday
• Sunny and Mo start competition team practice at the dance studio

And like always we will be at the beach or the pool for atleast a few hours most days of the week.  

I have a bunch of recipes and posts planned for y'all this month.  Here's a sneak peek at some of the topics coming up:

• Workout splits
• Reviews
• Recipes

Keep checking back or keep updated by liking or following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

In other random news, Sunny will be guest starring on my Periscope account. 

Here are all my social media links.  Like and Follow!

Instagram --K8eRaymond

Facebook -- Fit Beach Babe

Twitter -- @FatFreeQueen

Periscope -- @FitBeachBabe

What fun stuff do you have planned?  Let me know below!

Quick Meal Conundrum

The girls' last day of school was June 4th.  They have been on summer break for 2 weeks.  I use the term break loosely.

My summers aren't what some people would consider busy.  The girls dance 2 days a week (but that will probably change soon due to competition team practices starting next month), and I have my clients.  Even when we don't have to be anywhere, I normally prefer not to be in the house.  The girls and I spend atleast 2 hours a day at the pool and/or beach.  The only days that we don't go are the on the days they dance.

I prefer to make quick meals in the summer, all the time.  Between clients, my own gym time, and errands, I never get home much before the girls during the school year.  When I can, I like for them to eat before going to their activities so we don't have to rush to eat before bed.  And in the summer after I get home from dealing with clients we always head to the beach or the pool.  I never want to come home and stand in the kitchen for very long.   And honestly I think my kids prefer the quick meals.  

No matter what your reason, I think it's always a good idea to have 5-10 good dinners that only take 10-20 minutes in your arsenal of recipes.  

My old stand-bys are sandwiches, soup, cereal, and eggs.  But, you can only have those so many times before you get bored of them.  I've put together a group of websites that have a TON of meatless, vegetarian quick dinners.



Links
Martha Stewart -- Almost 100 meatless quick meals. Pastas, soups, sandwiches, and a ton of other recipes

Cooking Light -- These all look delish!  Mexican, Asian, and many countries in between.  I'm definatley trying the vegetable maki.

Buzzfeed -- Vegan recipes in under 30 minutes.  The cheese steak is my favorite.

Greatist -- Breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes in under 12 minutes.

Martha Stewart -- Vegetarian and vegan recipes that are quick

Amuse Your Bouche -- 50 recipes in under 20 minutes.  A great mix of vegetarian and vegan recipes.  The bell pepper pizza is going on my list of recipes to try.

Do you have any tried and true quick meals? Do you and/or your kids prefer quick meals or ones that take a bit longer?