Sweet T and a Honey B
Food, Fitness, and the Adventures That Make Life Sweet

Sweet Saturday(ish) no. 2

Disclaimer: During the month of January in the finance world, sometimes your weekends don’t belong to you. Thus, a Saturday post might look more like a Sunday post 😉  It’s been a long week to say the least. Though, amidst a crazy week at work there was a lot that kept me motivated and in a good mood. 

Bachelor Monday Parfaits

The Bachelor crowd rounded up their brackets and headed over to our house to watch more drama unfold. I wanted to provide an easy (and healthy!) snack for the group so I picked up a couple of large containers of Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt to do a parfait bar. You can make a “DIY ____ Bar” out of anything. I was excited to use some new colorful serving dishes that my Mother-In-Law gave me for Christmas and fill them with various toppings (Shredded coconut, mini chocolate chips, granola, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raisins, and honey)  so our friends could create their own desserts. This is a tasty, healthy, and inexpensive snack that’s fun to create and eat.

 

Makers of Wax Goods Candles

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a Whiskey Scented candle from ‘Makers of Wax Goods’. They describe their candles as ‘ aesthetically driven by nature, textures, and life’s leisurely enjoyments’. I personally love candles that are more masculine in scent and these fill your home with a cozy, rustic, feeling.

Our Whiskey Candle boasts ‘notes of sweet ripened fruit and mossy woods’. and I enjoy nothing more than coming home from  a long day of work and lighting it. You can find your own perfect scent here.

100 Day Fitness and Healthy Eating Challenge

Like most people, countless times throughout November and December, I found myself saying “In January I have to get back on track with eating and workout out”. Bryan was no different- and neither were all of our friends. We let ourselves enjoy the holidays but as 2016 began winding down, it was time to put those words to actions. 

Bryan and I decided to use Facebook as a motivator. We created a group, invited all of our friends, and proposed the idea of beginning a 100 Day Challenge to kick off the new year. Because everyone’s goals are different, these 100 days would be filled with mini challenges that everyone could choose to participate in. Weekly/100 Day Fitbit Step Challenges, Miles Run, Weight Loss, Number of healthy recipes made, days bringing a lunch to work and not buying, and pounds lifted at the gym are just some of the ideas that everyone has thrown out. The 100 Days doesn’t even begin until tomorrow and everyone has already started posting selfies from the gym, ideas for recipes, and hilarious ‘Leg Day memes’ throughout this past week! At the end of the 100 days, whoever lives local, will celebrate together in a fun way. I have found myself 100% more motivated to get moving this week because of my friends. This is a great way to hold each other accountable.

Unfortunately, a handful of our friends live in different states, but this group makes everyone feel a little closer. I can’t wait to see how everyone is feeling after these 100 days and I am excited to begin the new year in a healthy way with my favorite people!

 

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Sweet Saturday no. 1

Happy Saturday, everyone!

In relation to my 2017 goal (I’m unsure how I feel about the word ‘resolution’) of trying to appreciate the little things that happen every day, and not just on the weekends, I thought I would begin something called ‘Sweet Saturdays’. I’d love to spend some time sharing a handful of the things that made my week a little sweeter in hopes of providing some ideas for you too! 

I will say- this week was a great one. A new mindset, a new year, a new gym, and new episodes of my favorite television shows (Any #Nashies out there?) made for a fabulous first full week of 2017. I hope that you too kicked this year off on the right foot! 

HIIT Treadmill Workouts

I’ve recently become bored with my cardio workouts and needed something to change it up. Unfortunately, Chicago Winters do not provide a lot of opportunity to run or walk outside, so I tend to get stuck to those 30 minute elliptical sessions or runs at the gym. I can still get a great workout in, but find that my body gets used to it after a while. While reading one of my favorite health and fitness blogs, Peanut Butter Fingers, I found that Julie often provides a lot of high intensity interval training (HIIT) treadmill workouts that anyone has time for. HIIT Workouts use a combination of speeds and intensities to slow and speed up your heart rate. This way you not only burn calories, but fat too. And SWEAT like a beast! Here is one of Julie’s 20 minute workouts that I tried out.

 

 

2017 Thankful Jar

Thanks to a friend that posted this idea on facebook, I decided to make my own ‘Thankful Jar’ for the year. Each day, Bryan and I can write one good thing that happened that day or that we were thankful for that day and put it in the jar. On New Year’s Eve we can take turns reading all of the things that happened during the year. This is also a great idea for those with kids! We have a lot to be thankful for so I know it’s going to fill up fast.

 

Halo Top Ice Cream

If I had to pick one dessert to eat for the rest of my life, it might very well be Halo Top Ice Cream. I like to think of this as the hidden gem of Ice Creams. Bonus, it’s completely healthy. Yes, you read that right, it’s healthy.

After trying various healthy “ice creams” from the freezer section at Marianos, I was sold on the idea there was no such thing as a healthy ice cream that tasted like, well, actual ice cream. Then I started to read about something called ‘Halo Top’. I learned that I could buy it at my local Whole Foods and decided to pick up a pint. 

Then I picked up another pint. 

And then another. 

And then I followed them on every social media outlet and anxiously awaited the arrival of their 10 new flavors. 

A pint of this delicious cold treat is low calorie, high-protein, low sugar, and the ingredients are all natural. It also happens to be Weight Watcher friendly! It’s only 3 points for a half cup! They come in a ton of different flavors and you’d never know this wasn’t served up at your local ice cream shop. I purchased the S’more flavor for hubs and I this week and let’s just say another trip to Whole Foods is on my errand list for today. 

Wild Friends Foods

A couple of weeks ago, I got home from work to find a small package waiting for me on our doorstep. In the midst of the Christmas shopping season I figured it to be something I had ordered until I saw where it was shipped from. When I noticed it was from Dallas, Texas I was more than excited to rip open the package. One of my very best friends in this world, Melanie, had sent me a birthday present. I wrote about how special Melanie is to me here. Melanie never forgets to make her friends feel special and seeing her handwriting on the card made me smile So did the beautiful bar of soap and container of peanut butter inside. Mel had boasted about this peanut butter before and I had yet to try it. Though, this wasn’t just any jar of peanut butter- this was Sugar Cookie flavored Peanut Butter.

 

Sugar. Cookie.

 

You heard me. 

 

As much as I wanted to stand in the kitchen with this jar and a spoon for the rest of the afternoon, I placed it in our pantry to try with my husband. Christmas came and went and I still had yet to try it- until last night. Bryan and I found ourselves looking for a healthy snack after a workout that was pretty tough on our muscles. We had some Weight Watchers points left and wanted to fill them up with something good. We got a little creative and popped open a box of honey graham crackers, cut up some strawberries and bananas, and opened the peanut butter. We both bit in to our graham crackers and before I could finish my snack I was online planning on what flavor I was ordering next. 

This Peanut Butter is made by Wild Friends Foods and their vast variety of nut butters are made with all friendly ingredients. They are Non-GMO, palm fruit oil free, and many of them include organic ingredients and are dairy free. I also love their story. Wild Friends was born at the University of Oregon from two female college athletes that had decided to make their own peanut butter one day. They are now based out of Portland, OR. 

I don’t exaggerate when I say this was easily the best peanut butter I have ever had. Luckily, I found that I don’t have to always order more online. They have it at our local GNC. You can see their list of nut butters, read their story, find a store that carries it near you, or order online on their website. I am hoping to try the cinnamon raisin flavor next. 

     

The sugar cookie flavor paired with the graham crackers was a perfect choice for a post-workout snack. This would also be great on a piece of toast with berries on top. Bryan and I had the bright idea of throwing a couple of tablespoons in with our chocolate protein shakes. If you are looking for a protein packed snack with friendly ingredients and delicious flavors I encourage you to purchase a jar. Like me, you will find it hard to not stand in your kitchen eating it with a spoon 🙂

(1 serving/2 Tablespoons is 6 Weight Watcher points, 2 Graham Squares is 1 Weight Watcher Point)

 

The Bachelor Bracket

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone’s New Year holiday was safe and filled with good friends/family, laughs, and a champagne toast. Like most people, I have my own Resolutions for 2017. You guessed it- Go to bed earlier, workout more, drink more water, and to stop leaving my clothes in the dryer for hours on end (okay, this one’s not typical but I’m tired of wrinkles. The motivation to fold clothes is a struggle). While I hope to continue improving my physical health this year, I think what’s most important for me is improving my overall state of mind. Now that I’ve spent a few years in the working world, I have come to the unfortunate realization that as adults many people spend their time simply living for Friday at 5 o’clock and I am no different. We spend over 70% of our lives in the Monday through Friday groove and if we spend the majority of that time wishing the work week away, that’s a lot of time we could have been enjoying smaller things about those days. 

This is exactly why I plan to begin my year looking forward to those smaller things during the week. The top of my list includes trying a new recipe and sitting down to dinner with my husband more than once a week, enjoying my cup of coffee in the morning while writing for STHB, getting excited about my favorite TV shows coming back from their winter hiatus (Anyone else excited for the How to Get Away with Murder premier!?), and spending time with friends during the week- even if only for an hour television show. One of those TV shows is the Bachelor. A handful of my friends enjoy watching the latest Bachelor/Bachelorette’s weekly drama and laughing about some of the occupations these contestants have (ie; Aspiring Dolphin Trainer who makes her first impression in a shark costume). Because we have a mutual love for the hilarity of this show, we have decided to make our own brackets for this season. We spent the greater portion of this week’s episode taking notes and snacking on some healthy goodies in preparation for creating our brackets. To make it a little more competitive, we decided to put $15 in to the group fund and the top two winners based on points at the end of the season will earn some $$$ winnings. While we’re aware it’s going to be hard to all watch together during the week due to different schedules, we’re certainly going to try as much as we can. This guarantees me an hour or two with some good friends each week and I now look forward to our Monday nights. 

Making time for things you enjoy during the week is so important. You can spice up your weeks by rounding up a group of people to get together for a common television show or a book club. Pair these weekly get together’s with taking turns providing light snacks or picking up a bottle of wine for the group. Some other easy options include scheduling a weekly workout or long walk for you and a friend, baking some cookies for the office to bring in on Hump Days, or taking turns picking Thursday evening movies with a loved one. It’s so easy to get creative with it and suddenly the work week doesn’t become so daunting. 

Here’s to a healthy 2017, a year of looking forward to every day, and of course- winning Bachelor Brackets 😉 

 

Brewpoint

A wonderful part of living in the suburbs is getting to explore all the different downtown areas tucked inside of each town. Each of them seem to have their own personality and the window fronts boast unique restaurants or shops. I’ve been lucky enough to have lived in the same town since I was born and downtown Downers Grove has a very special place in my heart. The various events held each season, the colorful butter cookies at Busy Bee Bakery, adorable gifts at 221 Creations or Avec Panache, a couple of delicious pizza places, and the library all make this a fantastic place to live and raise a family. 

Another town located about twenty minutes from where I live is Elmhurst, IL. This downtown area offers many great places to shop, brunch, and have coffee. In the midst of looking for a good cup of coffee on a girl’s day trip this past summer, my mom, aunt, cousin, and I stumbled upon a corner coffee shop called ‘Brewpoint Coffee Company’. If the name alone doesn’t draw you in, it’s the sign on the door that advertises a weekend ‘Donut Drop’ in which fresh donuts are delivered here every Friday-Sunday. The shop is cozy and inviting with it’s chalkboard menu, framed world map, and large shelf of board games you can play while sipping and snacking.

    

I was fortunate enough to find myself in Elmhurst again yesterday afternoon and made it a point to pop in. I chose an orange biscotti and the Bartolome Latte, BP’s signature drink. The Bartolome is espresso with almond and coconut milk, a small amount of half and half, and cinnamon. While this will definitely be my go-to drink from now on, I plan to try coffee with some of BP’ fun flavors like lavender and marshmallow. 

Unfortunately we were on a time crunch and had to take our coffee to go, though I plan to visit again this weekend. Brewpoint is unique in that they offer many events and promotions to make this feel like a truly hometown coffee spot. Besides the donut drop, Gameboard Night is held every Thursday evening, Elmhurst college students receive 10% off with their student IDs, and you can also rent out BP after hours on Sundays for your own events complete with your own Barista! I am already thinking of excuses to host an event here. 

I highly encourage anyone in the Western Suburbs looking for a fantastic cup of coffee and cozy experience to pay this spot a visit. There is something special to be said about local coffee shops and Brewpoint tops my list. I can’t wait to begin my New Year’s Eve Weekend with a Bartolome and warm donut. 😉