Sharing some gift ideas for all of the ladies in your life! Moms, grandmas, nanas, friends, mom figures, new moms, whoever you want to shower with something special this Mother’s Day. I also wanted to recognize here that I know Mother’s Day can be hard and sad for various reasons; please know I’m holding you in my heart. 

Hi friends! How was the weekend? I hope you had a wonderful one. Things are looking up over here on the conjunctivitis front. Thanks to some steroid drops from the eye doc, I don’t look like a demon anymore. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, but will be so glad to have it behind me. We hung out at home this week – the Pilot ended up getting sick, too – but I hope that you enjoyed the weekend and had some fun!

For today’s post, I wanted to share some Mother’s Day gift ideas. I’m not requesting a lot gift-wise this year – let’s be real, I’ve been online shopping a little toooooo much since I’ve been cooped at home lol – but am absolutely looking forward to celebrating all of the women in our family we love so much.

I thought I’d share some ideas if you’re shopping, and I’d love to hear your gift guide picks, too!

Flowers and plants:

Venus et fluer flowers. I get ad-targeted for these on Facebook ALL THE TIME and they’re SO GORGEOUS. The roses last an entire year!

Heart shaped succulent planter. Love succulents, and since they’re so hardy, it doesn’t matter so much if you have a black thumb.

This customizable concrete planter with a little air plant.

Personalized + jewelry:

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Sakara Life is a meal delivery service with chef-designed recipes, organic ingredients, and plant-based meals. Here is my honest Sakara Life review and if it’s worth it. Does Sakara Life deliver tasty, healthy meals? Or is it another diet scam? Are the meals tasty?

This post is not sponsored, but you can use the code XOGINAH for 20% off meals and clean boutique products!

For today’s post, I wanted to share my review of Sakara Life now that I’ve had the chance to try it! TBH, I lurked Sakara for yearrrrssss. I debated trying their meal delivery and every time I went to order, I got sticker shock and x’ed it out. I just couldn’t justify the cost, especially when I know how to make many of these things myself. However, life is a little different right now. Things have been so crazy with juggling my workload while somehow teaching Liv and managing her school assignments and online classes, all of the regular household to-dos, and keeping P entertained and from injuring herself. It’s a circus around here, as I’m sure many of you can relate.

I’ve been eating a lot of chocolate chips out of the bag. I’ve had a lot more wine and a lot fewer veggies. (Thank goodness for Daily Harvest because they’ve been the most convenient method for me to scarf down a daytime meal lately.) I tried to do more meal prepping for a bit but on the days I got busy and didn’t have time to cook or prep anything, I felt discouraged.

I decided to treat myself to convenience and some healthy, delicious eats, so I figured I’d give Sakara Life a try after all this time!

And you guys, I looooooved it. I’m so excited to share my thoughts below. (Heads up that this isn’t sponsored and my box wasn’t gifted; I just finally decided to go for it.)

Sakara Life Review and Is it worth it?

What is Sakara Life?

Sakara Life is a plant-based organic meal delivery service, founded by Danielle Duboise and Whitney Tingle. The meals and products are based on cutting-edge nutrition, all ingredients are sourced from trusted suppliers and organic farms and are chef-crafted from maximum deliciousness. They believe in the 9 pillars of nutrition: no calorie counting, plant protein, eat your water (optimal hydration from foods), greens, good fats, eat the rainbow, nutrient density, sulfur-rich vegetables, and body intelligence. You can choose to get a single week of meals (2-day, 3-day, or 5-day) or a subscription.

All recipes are also gluten-free, in addition to being vegan. They’re packed with antioxidants, super fresh, and taste deli

Hi friends! I’ve got a new podcast episode up for ya.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about a few weight loss strategies that have nothing to do with calories or macros. I think it’s so common to hear, “calories in vs. calories out” but there are so many other strategies and things to consider that can impact our goals.

Disclaimer: this is not medical advice and not intended to treat, prevent, cure, or diagnose any medical conditions. Talk to a doctor or your practitioner for individual concerns.

Also, this is my friendly personal trainer reminder to NOT focus on weight as much as body composition. Focus on the variables you can’t SEE: how do you feel? Is your schedule realistic for you? Is this something you can maintain? What’s your performance and energy like? Immune system function? Hormone function? These are all indicators of a happy body that a scale is unable to measure.

131: 5 things to support healthy weight loss (that have nothing to do with calories or macros)

Here’s what I talk about in this episode:

– Why the topic of weight loss can be taboo, finding your body’s set point, and why body composition is more important than weight

– 5 things to support your healthy weight loss goals (and health in general)

– How to set up your plate

– Adding more daily steps

– How alcohol affects weight loss (or weight loss resistance)

and so much more!

The digestive enzymes I love are from Sakara (they are the probiotics; use XOGINAH) and Now Foods (use FITNESSISTA)

More resources from this episode:

I’ve been loving Athletic Greens! This link gets you 5 free travel packs and a year’s supply of Vitamin D3/K2.

If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don’t currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don’t begin on this path. They’re friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career.

You can use my referral link

Sharing the best mocktails to enjoy this spring!

Hi friends! How’s the week going so far? I hope you’re having a lovely morning. I have a couple of Zoom calls today and am working on our May Fit Team programing. Join us here!

Since the weather is warming up and spring/summer BBQs and pool parties are on the horizon, I wanted to share some mockatil recipes with ya today. Whether you’re expecting, or just cutting back like yours truly, these are a fun way to switch up the rotation. While I don’t completely abstain from alcohol, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my energy levels, productivity, mood, and skin since I cut back to 1-2 max drinks per week. You can read more about my journey here!

A mockail is a flavorful and enjoyable drink, minus the alcohol. I love that mocktails often come in beautiful colors, with fresh ingredients, and you can easily switch up the flavor profiles, depending on what you have on hand. You can use seasonal fruits to flavor your mocktails, and I’m sharing a roundup of some of my faves! These are all super easy to put together and so delicious.

10 Best Spring Mocktails

A roundup of my fave fun, easy, and healthy mocktails for spring

Mojito mocktail

This is a delicious spring cocktail with fresh flavors of lime and mint. You’d never know the alcohol was missing, and it’s way less sugar than a traditional mojito.

Ingredients

1 lime, sliced

2 tablespoons fresh mint

Club soda

Liquid monk fruit, to taste (my fave is NOW Foods)

Instructions

Add the lime and mint to a glass and muddle. Top with club soda and stir in the monk fruit to taste. Boom! So fresh and easy.

Lavender lemonade

I LOVE anything lavender and can’t wait to try this. It would be perfect to serve with any spring dinner parties. Get the full recipe here. 

Pineapple Coconut Mockarita 

This tropical drink would be excellent poolside. We’ll definitely be enjoying this over the summer. The recipe is here.

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Hi friends! Happy Monday and I hope that my friends who were celebrating yesterday enjoyed a blessed Easter. We had a great day with our fam.

The fun started off with an Easter basket scavenger hunt. It prolonged the Easter basket fun and P loved following all of the clues. Their baskets were waiting for them in the garage:

(They always get new swimsuits in their basket; this year it was these. Liv also got a new slime, lululemon bag, and sports bra, and P got an otter puppet, action figures, and a little sloth. They both got some peeps and chocolate eggs, too.)

Next, we did the egg hunt outside – the Easter bunny was tricky with the hiding spots this year – and got ready for brunch at my aunt’s with my dad’s side of the family. Nana’s famous egg dish and French toast were there, along with fruit, salad, cinnamon rolls, ham, potatoes, bellinis, mimosas, coffee, and endless desserts. It was everything.

My contribution to the feast was Ina Garten smoked salmon tartines on homemade sourdough. SO easy and so so good.Read more