Hi hi! Happy Friday! How was the week? We’re on Day 5 of our community detox and the feedback so far as been amazing! I’m doing 21 days for the first time, and I already feel SO good. I could see/feel a lot of inflammation in my face, and it’s already gone. My energy is better, sleep has been better, and it doesn’t feel daunting at all. (Even though I’ll be ready for some chocolate when this is all over.) If you’d still like to join, you can order your kit here and use FITNESSISTA10.

One of my dinners from this week: shrimp and veggie stir fry on cauliflower rice.

(The shrimp is blurry but Maze is the best part!)

What’s going on this weekend? We have a school event, baptism, and a football game. I hope you have an amazing weekend!

It’s time for the weekly Fri Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves 9.15

Home:

Mold testing! What a fave, right?! I’m continuing to dig into my whole situation, and mold exposure can contribute to gut imbalances and bacterial overgrowth. I know we were exposed to mold when we lived in San Diego – our little house by the beach was like 100 years old – but was curious to see if we had mold exposure here. I bought these little testing pucks and put them in various locations around the house. I won’t post the results (because EW) but we were shocked!!! The worst offenders were our couch and upstairs carpet. We’ve been planning on getting the carpet removed anyway – this just expedited the process – but we were on the computer ordering a new couch that very day.

Which brings us to the next fave:

new couch!

Our old brown

Designed to mimic store-bought varieties of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, this flavor captures the timeless combination of refreshingly cool mint and indulgent chocolate chunks with that vivid green hue we all know and love.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I spent a good bit of time trying to capture the exact experience of store-bought varieties with this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe. I am happy to report that this version absolutely nails it.

The thin chocolate drizzle creates flakes of chocolate throughout the ice cream, similar to the melt-in-your-mouth classic. You can substitute mini chocolate chips, but the texture will be different as they do not melt the same way.

If you’re looking for an even more minty flavor that uses fresh mint, I recommend playing with this Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. It reminds me of a dressed-up version of the Andes mints that come with the check at a certain restaurant.

Mint Chocolate Chip

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive containers for storing ice cream. They’re perfect for gifting (who doesn’t love homemade ice cream?) storage, re-using, etc. I write the flavors on the lids with a sharpie and it washes off with dish soap.

I have more ice cream scoops than I can keep track of at this point and I definitely play favorites. This ice cream scoop does the best job ever of cutting through firm ice cream and still delivers a pretty scoop. It gets bonus points for being one of the least expensive scoops I own

Sharing the details on Pvolve: what is it, is it worth it? You can use my link here to try it out for 7 days free.

Hi friends! How’s the day going so far? I have an eye doc appointment and am catching a yoga class with a friend. I’m on Day 3 of the detox (3 out of 21. Woo!) so I’m taking it easy and looking forward to a tasty vegan lunch today.

For today’s post, I wanted to chat a bit about P.volve. I’ve fallen back in love with P.volve after quite a few years, love their rebranding, and am so excited to see studios pop up over the US. My workouts have been pretty low-impact as I work on my healing process, and Pvolve has given me a challenging workout without being too intense.

If you’re curious about giving it a try, here are the details about it!

Pvolve review and if it’s worth it

Background on Pvolve

Pvolve is unlike anything I’ve ever tried.. and I’ve been around the fitness block lol. It’s the brainchild of two remarkable individuals, Stephen Pasterino and Rachel Katzman. Stephen, the fitness guru behind the method, created P.volve after years of research and experience. His aim was to provide a fitness solution that not only transforms your body but also enhances functionality and prevents injuries.

Stephen Pasterino: Stephen, the driving force behind P.volve, has a background in kinesiology and functional movement. His mission was to develop a workout that not only sculpts muscles but also improves the way your body moves.

Rachel Katzman: Rachel, co-founder and CEO, brought her business acumen to the mix. Her vision was to create an accessible and results-driven fitness program that could cater to people’s unique needs and lifestyles.

The pair were previously together, and have split ways, with Rachel maintaining full control over Pvolve. Stephen has gone off to do his own thing! While I absolutely like the format he helped create, he wasn’t my favorite as an instructor. I loved his method, but found him to be pretty low energy.

The P.volve Method

P.volve is built on the foundation of functional fitness, a concept that goes beyond the aesthetic aspects of working out. It’s about training your body to perform better in everyday life, enhancing your movement patterns, and reducing the risk of injuries. The method involves controlled, precise movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

Buttery, garlicky shrimp with plenty of bright lemon is something I can never get enough of. I have a hard time resisting eating these Garlic Butter Shrimp straight out of the pan each time I cook them!

Garlic Butter Shrimp

I love shrimp. I really love garlic butter shrimp. So, in my world, eating it straight out of the pan and calling that a meal absolutely works. However, sometimes it does need to be filled out a bit for a full family meal.

What to prepare with this garlic butter shrimp recipe? In two words, pasta or rice! Served over either those with a side of steamed or roasted vegetables, this is a dinner my family will happily eat any night of the week.

Butter Garlic Shrimp

Is there anything better than shrimp sauteed in butter and garlic? I love to bite into shrimp that’s been seared to perfection while basking in a rich pool of melted butter, and infused with all that garlicky goodness.

If you’re like me, then you know the glory of lemon with garlic and butter. Each has such distinct flavor, but the combination is timeless, especially for seafood. You simply can’t go wrong with lemon garlic butter shrimp, lobster, or salmon.

Just a note about shrimp colors, some shrimp are gray when raw, and others have a natural reddish hue

Sharing a full review of my experience completing the Integrative Health Practitioner Level Two course. You can read about my level one experience here! If you’re interested in getting certified, check out the details here and use the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off. 

Hi friends! How’s the morning treating you? I’m off to a Pilates class and have a couple of coaching calls later today. Today, I wanted to chat a little bit about my recent IHP cert and the process for becoming a certified health coach if this is something you’re interested in doing!

Over 100 hours of coursework, continuing education, and some very challenging tests, and I’m now a Level Two Integrative Health Practitioner. I’ve been so excited to add functional labs to my current offerings, share them with clients, and also use these for myself and our family. The timing was also interesting, especially with my sudden eye issues and previous autoimmune symptoms. I’m working with my medical team, but also doing my own deep dive to bring my body back to balance to the best of my ability. <3

While I LOVED Level One, Level Two was everything I’d been wanting and more. I couldn’t wait to study the material each day, and during each module, I was like, THIS is exactly what I want to learn. This is how I want to help my clients. I’m so pumped to have this certification under my belt.

Here’s a list of my other fitness/health certifications: Precision Nutrition level 1, NASM Personal Trainer, NASM Weight Loss Specialist, NASM Women’s Fitness Specialist, NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist, Les Mills BODYPUMP, Zumba and Aqua Zumba, Barre Body, Schwinn, Yoga RTY-200 hr, Level One Raw Foods Chef, and AFAA Group Fitness Instructor. I want to continue to learn as much as possible, and have my eye on the High Performance Health certification next. 

Integrative Health Practitioner Level Two certification review

Here’s how Level Two differs from Level One:

Level One is focused on Dr. Cabral’s DETRESS protocol (diet, exercise