Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m in Albuquerque this weekend for my nieces’ B’nai Mitzvah and I’m looking forward to a fun day of celebrating with them. My sister converted to Judaism many years ago and it’s always a joy to share those traditions with her family.

ON THE BLOGS this week: Did you know that you can make a restaurant-quality clam chowder in less than 30 minutes? It’s easier than you might think!

Roasted potatoes, green chile sauce, and black beans tossed with barely wilted baby spinach make a surprisingly delicious combination in this breakfast hash recipe.

Sweet, sticky, and just a little spicy, this chicken stir fry is a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Creamy chunks of avocado are combined with tender pieces of chicken in a fresh and slightly spicy dressing to make this avocado chicken salad.

Savor a delightful medley of fresh, ripe vegetables with a tangy homemade vinaigrette in this zucchini pasta salad. This is a recipe you will make more than once this summer.

Dive into this timeless combination of flavors with savory chicken, gooey mozzarella, and marinara sauce, nestled in tender-crisp squash, and topped with toasted bread crumbs. These chicken parm zucchini boats are a big hit!

These parmesan smashed potatoes are the joyous marriage of fluffy, tender insides and delightfully crispy edges. Every flavor-packed bite will have your taste buds dancing.

Dive into a bowl of strawberries and cream and you’ll see why it remains a classic. This quintessential summer combination of sweet, tangy fruit and velvety smoothness will have you reveling in each bite.

Rich banana ice cream, decadent chocolate chunks, and crunchy walnuts create a tantalizing treat you won’t soon forget. Chunky monkey ice cream is the perfect late-night indulgence.

What I’m CRAVING: These BBQ Pork Skewers with a sticky, sweet, and spicy marinade sound fantastic. I’m so ready for grilling season.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this magnetic cell phone holder. I’ve used a couple of other holders in our vehicles over the years and this style w

Rich banana ice cream, decadent chocolate chunks, and crunchy walnuts create a tantalizing dessert you won’t soon forget. This delightful recipe for Chunky Monkey Ice Cream is the perfect indulgence.

What is Chunky Monkey Ice Cream?

Once, I was like you, looking at this name, and wondering to myself, “What is Chunky Monkey Ice Cream?” But, now that I have many sweet summers and delicious scoops under my belt, I can share the secrets of this delicious treat.

This variety was developed by Ben and Jerry’s, featuring pieces of walnuts and fudge (chunky) in banana flavored ice cream (monkey). And, it has been charming taste buds for over 30 years.

But, now you can make homemade chunky monkey ice cream in the comfort of your own kitchen, to the delight of your family and friends.

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Recipe

You will need the following ingredients to make this chunky monkey ice cream recipe:

• heavy cream
• milk
• sugar
• kosher salt
• vanilla extract
• very ripe bananas
• walnuts
• chocolate chips
• coconut oil or vegetable oil

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Start by whisking together the cream, milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Place the bananas in a smaller bowl use a fork to mash them well. Add them to the ice cream mixture and stir or whisk to combine.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.<

Running, biking and other aerobic exercise help improve your health and fitness. Find out just how much aerobic exercise is right for you and how much cardio is too much.

Hi friends! How’s the morning going?? I hope you’re having a wonderful week. For today’s post, I updated an older *beefy* one with lots of fitness tips. If you’re wondering about how much cardio to do and need help with your routine, join us for Fit Team!

I frequently get variations of the same question. What is my weight loss goal? What cardio exercises should I do? What is a *good* amount of cardio I can do without losing muscle? What’s the bare minimum?

But what the core of each of those questions is ultimately asking is: How much cardio is too much?

Let me dust off my cardio queen badge and tell you a long tale.

How Much Cardio Is Too Much?

The Tale of the Cardio Queen

Back in the day, I thought cardio was the “end all be all” of health, fitness, and (what my goal was at the time) losing weight. I figured that more was better as far as cardio exercises go. Little did I know, I was burning my precious muscle away as I pounded the treadmill and was striding along on the elliptical.

It’s equally tragic and amusing to consider the amount of time I spent doing cardio, thinking I was throwing myself a solid to only later find out that it was overkill. I cardio-ed my little heart out, and there was a time when I was going an hour +, almost every day of the week. I was doing way too much cardio at high intensity. (This is also when I screwed up my me

Sweet, sticky, and just a little spicy, this Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry is a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

The heat of the Sriracha is mellowed with the sweetness of the pineapple and the result is a sweet and sour stir fry that is not at all burn-your-mouth-hot, despite copious amounts of Sriracha.

If your kids love take-out sweet and sour chicken, they’re going to go nuts for this meal. Faster than ordering in and even tastier, this stir fry recipe makes everyone happy!

While spicy, this is one of the most kid-friendly chicken stir-fry recipes I’ve made. My youngest son has been eating this since he was just 2-3 years old and he still eats every bite and asks for more. For a slightly sweeter version, try this Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple too.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry

This Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry requires about 10-15 minutes prep time for the chicken, vegetables, and sauce; and less time than that to cook and serve it. Start a pan of rice before doing anything else and you will have dinner served in 30 minutes or less.

This meal is always a hit with my family and there is never a bite leftover!

How to Make Chicken Stir-Fry

After cooking your rice, prepare your chicken and vegetables. Slice boneless skinless chicken thighs into small pieces–the smaller the better for this recipe!

Drain a can of pineapple and reserve the juice to use later. (We’re going to add it to the sauce in a minute!)

Slice your bell peppers into thin strips and make sure your snap peas are rinsed with any stemmed ends trimmed. Prepared bags of washed, trimmed sn

Hi friends! Hope you’re having the best week. I’m so pumped to have one of my very good friends on the podcast today: Giselle! I’ve known Giselle for many years through the fitness and blog world, and I’ve loved watching her success and how much she’s been able to help so many women. She’s my mastermind bestie and my IHP study buddy. I hope you’ll take the time to listen to this one!

133: Eating more to lose weight with Giselle Schroer

Here’s what we talk about in today’s episode:

– How becoming a macro coach helped her heal her relationship with food.

– Why women need to eat more food in order to lose weight

– What nutrition periodization is and why it is key to sustainable weight loss

– What most women need to focus more on if they want to optimize their health

– Why what worked at 20 and 30 just doesn’t work at 40 and beyond

and so.much.more.

Here’s a bit more about Giselle:

Giselle is a certified nutrition coach, health coach, and personal trainer with a passion for helping women live healthy, balanced lives.  She’s also a busy mom and knows just how hard it is to try to do all the things while also taking care of yourself.  This is why she has created coaching programs like The Macro Way and her Four Phase System for Fat Loss that help women to learn to fuel their bodies for their lifestyle, improve energy, reduce stress, balance hormones, reach their personal goals and sustain them.  She does not believe in quick fixes or fad diets but yet a sustainable approach to nutrition that allows for food freedom and flexibility.

Connect with her on Instagram and on her website.

More resources from this episode:

I’m still obsessed with my sauna blanket – right now they’re having a Mother’s Day promo and you can use FITNESSISTA20 for 20% off!  (Promo ends 5/4 – after 5/4 you can use my regular code which is FITNESSISTA15). This is one of my favorite ways to relax and sweat it out. I find that it energizes me, helps with aches and pains, I sleep better on the d