Happy Friday! Today is the first Friday of FALL!!! I love the fall, especially in Colorado. We don’t always get very much fall, because it feels like it goes straight from summer to winter. I try to take it all in while we have it!
Time for Anything & Everything Friday, where I share five topics of my choice with you. Topics can vary from exercise and fitness, to clean eating tips and recipes, to something funny I found online. Laughing is really healthy for you! Today I have a guide for roasting vegetables, my new book club book and also a list of healthy dip recipes!
Information Help:
I am in need of some help from all of you fabulous readers! I am working on a small project for the blog, but I need some information from you guys. Meal prep is a huge part of my weekly routine, but I know everyone doesn’t do that. In fact I think very few people do that. It is something that I’ve grown to love and I find it extremely convenient (in the long run). On weekdays I simply pull my meals for the day out of the fridge without have to cook anything or worry that I’m eating enough calories/protein/carbs/fat etc. All the work is already done!
Now, here is where I need your help. If you like the idea of meal prep but never actually do it, then what is holding you back? Time? Not feeling comfortable in the kitchen? What is it that you find difficult enough to avoid it all together? If you do meal prep then what do you struggle with the most?
I would love to know so that I can be more helpful in future posts and also for the project I’m working on. I’d love to hear any feedback! Comment below, send me a personal message or email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com.
Roasted Fall Vegetables:
Roasting is one of my favorite way to cook vegetables. I don’t have a set temperature or time frame that I cook them. If my oven is already heated to 400° then I keep it there and adjust the cook time. I know, I know that is probably not the best way to roast vegetables, but hey, I’m no chef!
We are officially into the fall season, which means I’ll be cooking inside more often than grilling outside. Hello roasted vegetables! I came across this artcle from Greatist.com and I think it will be very handy for me and hopefully you too! It is titled The Best Way To Roast Every Fall Vegetable… pretty self explanatory! Just reading through the list of fall vegetables makes me want to start roasting them as soon as possible! What is your favorite fall vegetable?
Ways to Make Progress in the Weight Room:
You want to continue to make progress in the gym, but don’t necessarily want to lift heavier weights. Can those go hand in hand? Yes, but you have to be strategic.
Bodybuilding.com has an article written by Bill Geiger with 3 Ways to Progress Without Lifting Heavier. My favorite quote from the article is “Believe it or not, ‘Thou shalt do 3 sets of 10 reps’ wasn’t among the original commandments”.
I tend to stick to 3 sets of work when it comes to supersets and trisets, but have been varying my routine occasionally to include four or even five sets. Play around with your routine and see what you like. Sometimes I have to base my workout on the amount of time I have, which means I won’t always have time for 4 or 5 sets of several different moves. On days you have a little more time, try to pick one or two lifts and change things up such as 5 sets of bench press or barbell squats. It really makes a difference on how much you can lift! Heavier isn’t ALWAYS better.
Healthy Dip Recipes:
My sister had us over for the Broncos game this last Sunday and I was in charge of bringing either a vegetable of some sort or an appetizer. I decided to bring both! I made a kale salad with pepitas, sunflower seeds and green peas with an orange vinaigrette. Delicious! I also made this Spicy White Bean Dip from Never Enough Thyme and it was really good!
It got me thinking… I really like dips! Hahaha that sounds silly, but I rarely make them, yet eat them at parties and get-togethers. My thinking about dips is probably why this article stuck out to me from Greatist.com 11 Ways To Take Chips & Dip To The Next Level. Olive tapenade, a healthier version of French onion dip, a couple salsa and a couple hummus recipes…. they all look good! I might have to try one or two the next time I am in charge of appetizers! What is your favorite dip recipe?
Book Club:
I hosted book club this last week. Last month we read One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern and it was really cute! It was a really quick read and nothing too deep, but kept me wanting to read. It was a mystery type book, but not scary. Kitty, the main character, is trying to figure out what ties a list of 100 people’s names together, without knowing these people at all. It is quite interesting and has a good little message within the book.
Our next book will be Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. We have talked about reading this for a while now, because The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty involved a character that was brought to the Midwest on an orphan train. Each month we’ve picked other books to read for one reason or another, but this month I chose to finally read Orphan Train! My sister just recently finished it and said it was great. Have you read it?
That wraps up Anything & Everything Friday! Have a great weekend. Try to move a little, eat healthy food (and throw in some delicious foods, healthy or not) and try have a ton of fun!
