Sharing the details on my work from home office setup, plus my experience with using a walking pad.

Hellooooo! How are ya and how’s the morning going so far? We’re back into real life after our little trip and it felt good to have a few days of normalcy. I’m so sick of restaurant and takeout food, I tell ya. It’s also amazing to have coffee at home – Starbucks will never be the same to me.

This morning I have an exciting podcast interview and am unpacking, and re-packing. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you’re up to!

For today’s post, I wanted to share my little work from home setup, plus my experience using a walking pad. It’s helped me dramatically increase my steps and activity level during longer work days, and I’m so pumped with this update to the office!

My WFH (work from home) setup

My lil office space:

I have enough room in here to meditate, work, stroll, or get in a quick workout (like Sculpt Society).

Here are some of the things I have in the office:

– My beloved Peloton bike! Perfect for cardio workouts or shaking my legs out

– My PEMF Go Mat. I use this for meditation every morning, or when I feel like I need a recharge or Zen moment. My full PEMF Go Mat review post is here, and if you’d like one for yourself, here is the link! My code is FITNESSISTA15 for 15% off

– A standard desk. I like having this for shorter work sessions or when I need to speak/present, like live recordings, course recordings, and more formal Zoom calls. The desk and chair are from World Market but both sold out, since they’re years old.

– Triangle shelf (similar here) filled with photos and the girls’ artwork.

– On the opposite wall (unpictured), I also have this book shelf, which has some of my fitness and nutrition resources and the Pilot’s military coins/flags/thingies.

– New walking pad and electric standing desk. I picked lower-cost options because they had good reviews and I’ve been impressed so far!

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Slow Cooker Baked Beans are chock-full of bacon and beef, sweetened with molasses and then simmered until thick and sweet.

If you’ve been reading this blog for long at all, you might notice that I very rarely name anything “the best.”

Best Baked Beans Ever

There are many foods that we love and that we make over and over, but for something to be labeled the best baked beans ever, I feel like it needs to be a “wow” food.

You might be thinking that these are just crockpot baked beans, how amazing can they be, right? Well, they are pretty darn amazing as it turns out.

Three different beans with ground beef and bacon are simmered and slowly cooked until thick and sweet. The flavors and textures in this recipe for baked beans are just perfect.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Our friend, Tony, brought these beans to a barbecue at our house two years ago and they blew me away.

These beans are so tasty, so full of meat, so sweet and hearty, I  might have “accidentally” tucked a container of Tony’s leftovers deep into my fridge and then forgotten to give them to him at the end of the night.

Later, I asked him if he’d please send me the recipe. And lucky for all of us, he was happy to share it. I’m a believer in baked beans with meat now and I’m confident that you will be as well, just as soon as you taste them.

Baked Beans with Ground Beef

There’s something extra special about a simmering pot of baked beans when there is plenty of meat in the mix. Hearty enough to be a meal on their own, these baked beans with meat make for a spectacularly memorable side dish at any barbecue.

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• ground beef
• bacon
• bacon drippings
• kidney beans
• white beans
• Pork & Beans
• onion
• light brown sugar
• ketchup
• molasses
• yellow mustard

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How I use oil pulling in my routine.

How are ya going friends? I hope you’re having a great morning! We’re back from a quick tip to Phoenix – Liv’s studio CRUSHED IT at competition this weekend! – and into the weekly grind. I have a ton of appts, getting new Fit Team workouts ready to send out tomorrow, and packing for another trip.

After not writing about anything dental-related in multiple years, here were are with two posts in one month! What/s next? Mouthwash reviews? (jk I’m not thaaaaat desperate for content. And I have a favorite mouthwash… it’s the auromére brand from Thrive Market)

Grab a jar of coconut oil and maybe join me for a lil swish while you read this post. I’m going to talk about oil pulling and tongue scraping and why they’re been staples in my routine for years now. I feel like these two habits are currently surging in popularity, so I thought I’d break it all down for ya.

As always, it’s up to you to use your best judgment when deciding your unique health journey. Consult with a medical professional before making any changes. Just wanted to share my experience with these things since I’ve been doing them for a while and have noticed positive effects. 

What is oil pulling? and how do it

What the heck is oil pulling?

Even though it’s currently seeing a resurgence in popularity, oil pulling is a technique that has been around for thousands of years. This ayurvedic practice involves swishing oil around in your mouth for up to 20 minutes in order to facilitate detoxification, healthy gums and teeth, and aid in digestion. The toxins and plaque are believed to adhere to the oil, and when you spit it out, all of the “ick” goes down the drain with it. It’s also believed to improve mouth muscular strength, balance hormones, improve arthritis symptoms, mood, and assist in preventing dementia.

How do you oil pull?

You take about a teaspoon of vegetable-based oil (sesame, coconut and olive all work well) and swish it in your mouth with the goal of 15-20 minutes. The first time I tried this, I only lasted six, but now it’s easy for me to get in 15 minutes while I get dressed and ready for the day. After swishing around, spit and rinse. A little tip: don’t spit the oil down the sink as it will solidify and could cause plumbing problems. Spit it into the trash can or flush it down the toilet. Also be sure not to swallow the oil after swishing… it’s pretty liquid-y and gross by the end.

Benefits of oil pulling:

There are only a handful of studies regarding oil pulling, but it has been shown to reduce plaque, gingivitis and the total count of aerobic microorganisms in the plaque of study participants. It can also reduce halitosis, and I definitely notice that my breath smells fresh after oil pulling, especially when I wake up the next morning.

It feels great. My teeth always feel shiny and clean after oil pulling, and recently a friend asked why my teeth were so white. Even though the coffee and wine I drink stains them, I think it helps reduce the stains. (Baking soda helps, too!

This spice and herb crusted pork roast is packed with flavor and a surprising kick from the peppers and the salt. Pork Sirloin Roast makes a delicious dinner any night of the week.

Pork Sirloin Roast

This is one of the best pork roasts I have ever tasted and it turns out incredibly tender and juicy every single time. After cooking sirloin pork roast this way countless times now, there is nothing that I would change about this recipe.

It tastes impressive enough to serve to company and no one will guess just how easy it is to make. While it does require oven an hour of cooking time, most of that time is hands-off while it roasts in the oven. After mixing the spices together and rubbing them on the pork, you can go about your business while the roast cooks.

The kitchen smells so good whenever this roast is cooking. Every time we make this it takes all my self-control to wait 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven before tasting it.

Every member of my family loves this roast. The first time I made it, I wondered if the combination of spices in the rub might make it too spicy, but even my toddler ate a large portion.

I shared the last bit of it with him for lunch the following day and we were both very happy. This simple pork sirloin roast recipe was a favorite from the first time we tasted it.

Pork Sirloin Tip Roast

I’ve made this recipe for pork sirloin roast countless times now over the past 10-15 years. It is one of our favorite ways to roast pork.

Side note: if you aren’t buying the 4-pack of these 2lb Costco pork roasts, you’re missing out on a heck of a deal.

Wondering just how easy it really is to cook these roasts? Let me show you.

How long to cook a 2 lb pork roast?

Baking this roast in the oven for just about an hour at 350°F results in tender, juicy meat that slices easily. This is by far one of the best roast pork recipes I’ve ever made and we never seem to get tired of it.

If you cook your roast from room temperature, this should take ju

Glazed Orange Bundt Cake

Fresh orange flavor is packed into every bite of this tender glazed orange bundt cake! We use fresh orange juice and zest in the cake, syrup and glaze for bold, bright bursts of refreshing orange flavor.

I have been testing and testing an orange bundt cake recipe in every way you could imagine; I’ve made it with butter, with oil, with sour cream, without sour cream, ricotta, whole oranges, orange zest, orange juice, different glazes and then list goes on. And this is finally the recipe of all recipes.

Listen, in extensive research I found so many people insisting that bakers make the cake with whole oranges and you know what? IT’S NOT THE BETTER WAY. I wanted it to be so bad, but it led to a more dense, heavy bundt cake.

And while yes, it technically wasn’t dry, it also wasn’t light and melt-in-your-mouth moist, so I’d rather have a cake dry out two days later than start out so heavy and not as orangey all due to that white pith holding me back.

What Ingredients Do I Need for Orange Bundt Cake?

This cake recipe is broken into 3 different parts — the cake, the syrup and the glaze. Plan on using about 10-12 oranges depending on how big and juicy they are for all the fresh juice, zest and peel you will need. Here are the ingredients for each part:

Cake:

• Sugar: just regular granulated sugar
• Orange Zest: You’ll need about 2 oranges to get the zest you need. Zest adds so much bold orange flavor and rubbing it with the sugar releases the natural oil in the zest to produce even more flavor.
• Fresh Orange Juice:  You’ll need 6-8 oranges to get all this fresh orange juice. You could also buy a really high quality orange juice if you want to instead of juicing oranges. Make sure it doesn’t have added sugar or the cake will end up overly sweet.
• Eggs: gives the cake structure
• Vanilla: adds flavor
• Almond Extract: adds flavor, if you aren’t an almond extract fan, just omit it
• Vegetable Oil: all cakes must have fat, and oil keeps the cake nice and moist
• Flour: just regular all purpose flour, and you’ll want to sift it into the batter
• Baking Powder: leavening agent that helps the cake rise
• Baking Soda: another leavening agent to help the cake rise and be fluffy
• Salt: enhances all the flavors

Orange Simple Syrup

• Oranges Peels: you’ll need the peel of 2 oranges and they add so much natural orange flavor to the syrup
• Fresh Orange Juice: you’ll need 3-4 oranges for this step to get the juice you need
• Water: the base of the simple syrup
• Sugar: adds sweetness and thickens the syrup

Orange Glaze

• Butter: unsalted and softened
• Powdered Sugar: adds sweetness and thickens the glaze
• He