subscribe to receive my posts, special offers, recipes, and workouts.
≡ Menu

Happy SEC Championship Saturday, friends! My Bulldogs are facing off against Alabama this afternoon for the SEC Championship title and it will be such a sweet victory if it happens. We are pretty much guaranteed a national championship playoff spot no matter what but really rooting for this win over Bama! It is TIME!

I just got home from the gym where I got a great strength workout in. Watching the hype video that the Georgia football program released this week definitely put some pep in my step.

I know some of you like it when I share my strength workouts so here is today’s!

45 MINUTE TOTAL BODY STRENGTH WORKOUT 

total body strength workout

WARM UP
10 minute treadmill jog

BLOCK ONE x 3 SETS
10 barbell bench press (75#)
10 split squats (each side) with back foot on bench (holding 10# plate in each hand)
10 neutral grip pull ups on assisted pull up machine (30# assistance setting)
15 dumbbell front squats (holding 40# dumbbell)

BLOCK TWO x 3 SETS
10 barbell back squats (95#)
10 band assisted pull overhand grip pull ups (on pull up bar, not machine)
10 box jumps (20 inches)
10 push ups

BLOCK THREE x 3 SETS
10 barbell deadlifts (75#)
10 lateral over the bar burpees
20 parallette shoot throughs

BLOCK FOUR x 3 SETS
10 straight bar tricep skull crushers (30# bar)
12 weighted donkey kicks (each side, 20# dumbbell)
10 dumbbell bicep curls
20 ab mat sit ups

And that does it! The strength portion of the workout took me about 45 minutes. Block three with the lateral bar burpees was definitely the hardest of the workout.

Remember, I have tons of workouts over on the workouts page!

Now, let’s talk food! I have lots of delicious meals to share with you!

BREAKFAST

So into this combination right now! Dave’s Killer Thin-Sliced Good Seed with salted butter, cream cheese and cottage cheese scrambled eggs.

LUNCH

Chicken salad sandwich on toasted wheat bread with tomato soup and a mandarin orange.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup. The grilled cheese was two types of cheese on homemade sourdough and the soup was Campbell’s creamy tomato.

Avocado toast with Trader Joe’s Green Goddess seasoning and hemp hearts, tomato soup and a pear.

Open-faced sandwich with cranberry sauce, mayo, turkey and provolone with tomato soup and mandarin oranges.

Promise me you will try this combination! I am having a moment with white beans right now and decided to add them to my avocado toast. It was a good idea! I heated them slightly to take the chill off and seasoned them with salt. I spread them over mashed avocado and finished it all off with feta, TJ’s green goddess seasoning and hemp hearts. I made the toast on Verdant Bread’s country sourdough loaf.

DINNER

Baked salmon seasoned with Dizzy Pig Shaking the Tree and Raging River and cooked in my Ninja Foodi Oven. On the side was roasted brussel sprouts and parmesan couscous from a box. I served everything with a dollop of ALDI’s spinach and artichoke tzatziki sauce.

Tip on the brussel sprouts…I have been cooking mine longer at a lower heat lately so that they don’t get so charred on the outside before they get soft. Really like them this way. I cooked these at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

This was a very easy dinner. I cooked this Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower and butternut squash risotto in a skillet and added a chicken apple sausage that I got from ALDI. I only got one serving from this bag of risotto and cooked it with two sausages.

Spaghetti and meatballs with leftover roasted brussel sprouts. The spaghetti and meatballs was from Portofino’s and so tasty. Finn went crazy for the meatballs.

Whole Foods 365 brand Mediterranean frozen pizza with turkey pepperoni added.

I thought it would be fun to end with this bowl. I ate this on Thanksgiving Eve and posted a photo of it to my Instagram story with a poll, “would you eat this?” It was rice, hummus, tzatziki, an air fried veggie burger, avocado, sautéed kale, a fried egg and hot sauce.

I’d like to report that a whopping 84% of people said they would eat it and only 16% said they’d pass! I was pretty surprised!

Off to get ready for an afternoon/evening of football watching. I am going to the ACC Championship game tonight in Charlotte after watching the SEC game on TV!

QUESTIONS

Do you prefer strength training at home or in the gym? 

Favorite brand of store-bought tomato soup? 

Would you eat my crazy veggie burger bowl? 

What’s your favorite sport to watch in-person? 

{ 5 comments }

Recent Posts…

Life Lately: Summer So Far

Life Lately: Summer So Far

I want to bottle up this summer and make it last forever (well, maybe minus the wildly hot and humid weather that makes running a big thumbs down). I mentioned this in my last post…but I am really enjoying the slower pace and the days that feel like they have more space. While I’m trying [...]

{ 6 comments }
So Many Dinner Ideas

So Many Dinner Ideas

Happy Friday! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the summer. We are in the dog days of it over here in Charlotte – the heat and humidity is off the charts – but it’s something I’ll embrace because I deeply appreciate the massive slow down that summer has brought. A lot of [...]

{ 4 comments }
Big Bear Peaks + Pines Race Recap (3-Day Stage Race, My First 50k)

Big Bear Peaks + Pines Race Recap (3-Day Stage Race, My First 50k)

I recently traveled to Big Bear Lake, California for the inaugural Big Bear Peaks + Pines three-day stage race hosted by TransRockies Running. This was my third TransRockies event in 12 months (see also Colorado + Moab) and I’m here to tell you that they can do no wrong when it comes to race organization [...]

{ 4 comments }
Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Reading, Watching, Listening (Spring 2026 Edition)

Happy weekend! Another week in the books! I got three runs in (6.5 miles, 5.5 miles, 5.5 miles) and I have a trail run planned for tomorrow. Total weekly mileage will end up around 30-35 miles depending on if I go for 13 or 17 tomorrow! I’m 16 weeks out from the Golden Ultra so [...]

{ 7 comments }
Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Life Lately: 8 Years Old, A New Piercing, Trail Training and More

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a very rainy one here in Charlotte and while I am a little bummed not to be spending the weekend in Florida with the fam or by the pool at our swim club (just opened for the season!), I’m also welcoming a slower pace and time at home. It’s been [...]

{ 2 comments }
24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

24 Things I’ve Made for Lunch Recently

Hi and happy May! As we roll into the first full week of a new month, I have almost a month’s worth of lunch ideas for you. It’s a great mix of sandwiches, bowls, salads and wraps. I hope you enjoy and find some inspiration for your midday meal! Open-faced chickpea salad sandwich on toasted [...]

{ 4 comments }
Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon (Race Recap + First Time Pacing + Update On My Hip)

Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon (Race Recap + First Time Pacing + Update On My Hip)

I ran the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon on April 18 to pace a longtime client and friend in her first half marathon and had the best day out there! 2026 CHARLOTTE RACEFEST HALF MARATHON This was half marathon number 12 for me and a really fun, enjoyable and rewarding one! I started training my friend [...]

{ 1 comment }