Friday with the Fam

This week I accomplished a lot. I had some insightful meetings, I put a few thoughts into action, had some amazing workouts and yeah did some of that thing called…uhh….school, I think. The end of my senior year is 4 week away. Let me repeat. Four. Weeks. Away. It’s crazy. Of course, I have one summer session after the spring semester but it will be done mid July and I’ll be finished with school forever. With that said, I’ve had some really fun senioritis where my mind wants to neglect everything, my attitude towards school is rotten and I just want to be out. So much time has been wasted sitting in those classes and I’m ready for to get some real experience under my belt. As most of you know, my real passion in life is fitness and health. I want to “simplify your diet and fortify your body” with delicious, simple and clean meals that are attractive to every kind of person. I’ve started to coach people one on one but I have FINALLY made some more concrete programs. I am now offering a 3 month transformation package, a month-to-month package, a one time nutrition program and a 12 week workout routine. WHAT WHAT! I really hope some of my readers will be interested in these packages because my dream in life is to be a health coach. Check out my pricing and program details here. I’ve already had several clients lose 10 pounds each in under a month. I LOVE seeing my clients succeed with hard work and effort. Congrats to all of you that are doing so well!

Sweet! So other than that my parents came into town last night and we had some delicious feasting to do. In case any paleo peeps in Austin (really, not just paleo- anybody that even remotely likes meat) read my blog and are interested in a new restaurant, try out Lambert’s BBQ. It’s located downtown so it’s fairly easy to skip over amidst all over the other fancy pants sushi bars and tex-mex places. Lambert’s BBQ is absolutely divine. For an appetizer, we indulged in some spicy paprika deviled eggs, which I ate way too fast, and then I ordered the natural black Angus brisket with a side of Brussels sprouts smothered in brown butter sugar and bacon. Sounds pretty raunchy, I know. It was.

Afterwards, stuffed, sleepy and happy, we waddled over to the Book People and REI just cause that’s always what I do with my parents when they come to visit. My Dad is a big outdoorsy guy and my mom is a bookworm. Since they’re right next door to each other it makes a nice little stop.

Saturday morning we visited a little place called the Snack Bar which is actually known for having pretty bad service, less than decent food and ridiculously over-priced plates. We usually have good experiences there but this morning all those little known rumors surfaced and proved to be absolutely true. There was absolutely nobody there, yet they made us wait for 45 minutes. The food was okay (actually…mine was great but my parents weren’t so lucky) and the service was stanky.

This is called the Avocado Quinoa. It has pineapple, avocado, red quinoa, arugula, chicken and some very light citrus vinaigrette. I actually love this dish. And I plan on making it myself sometime.

Afterwards, my sweet mom was trying to think of some place I really like that she could treat me to and of course (she knows me so well) she took me over to Vitamin Shoppe for some new protein.

New Myofusion peanut butter cookie dough whey, coconut oil and probiotics!! No manicure, leather jacket, MAC eyeliner or fashionable purse could even close to this little package here:) My parents are so cool.

Unfortunately they could only stay for the morning and had to be on their whey. Womp womp. So now I’m watching the Oxygen channel (It’s Complicated, Just Friends and now Juno) passing the time away as I put some touches on my new programs. So glad to have this blog to give me a mental break from my oh so terribly busy weekends;)

What have you been doing this fine Saturday?

PaleoFX 2013 Recap

Wow. I just had an absolutely amazing weekend. In case you haven’t been keeping up with my posts on Facebook and Twitter, I just spent the past 3 days meeting some of the best and the brightest in the paleo community. I was a volunteer for the wonderful event and I was fortunate enough to be able to reap all the benefits of the events by attending lectures, watching cooking demonstrates, meeting extremely awesome vendors and of course, oogling all of my favourite paleo bloggers. If you know me, you know I love bloggers. Paleo food+ authors+bloggers+cooks+workouts+awesome people= the most perfect convention ever.

The Paleo book station.

A presentation hall.

Ummmm yes. That’s Robb Wolf and Sarah Fragoso.

  Yup. Juli Bauer from paleomg.com…..I really embarrassed myself by bombarding her right as she was signing in but I was just so EXCITED. She’s one of my top favourite bloggers and I really couldn’t believe that I got to meet her. Such an amazing woman and really down to earth.

Little did I know at the time, standing next to her was the amazing George Bryant from Civilized Caveman. I had seen his pictures a few times but I didn’t even recognize him until I stared down his name tag. I got to listen to his transformation story and watch him and Juli do a cooking demo later in the weekend. Probably my two favourite parts of PaleoFX!

Also Nora Gedgaudas! Another amazing woman.

And then Thursday night, I got to attend the PaleoFX Hangout dinner, where we saw…

Some white peacocks. And ate some…

CRAZY DELICIOUS FOOD. This isn’t the best picture (I blame the dim lighting) but I had grass-fed lamb, kale, sauteed broccoli, parsnips-carrots-beets-in-ginger salad and roasted sweet potatoes. Basically, Thanksgiving for the health-conscious.

Day 2 I met Nell Stephenson, also known as the Paleoista….so incredibly nice. And girl’s got some guns.

Saturday I heard an amazing panel about transformations.

This one was definitely my favourite. They shared their stories and talked about some of the challenges they have had to face throughout their journeys. Most people probably think they have everything altogether but they definitely had to fight through some hard times and doubts to get where they are today. I was really glad to be in that room because it really inspired me and helped me to love my body every day, no matter if I’m at 10 % body fat, 6%, 17% or whatever.  Heck these guys don’t give a crap about body fat. They care about their health on the inside as well as the outside. They are mentally healthy and have their priorities right in life. Really awesome.

I also met some other really incredible people, including Jimmy More, DH Keifer, Able James Bascom, James Fitzgerald, Dr. Lauren Noel, Amy Kubal, Todd Dosenberry, Keith and Michelle Norris, attendees, and of course the other volunteers on my team. Overall I would say it was an incredible time and I’d love to help out again next year. If you want to read up on the speakers and visit their websites, click here.

So what else have I been up to? Well, a lot of homework, cooking, eating, working out, reading, writing and researching. That’s what. I’m not with my family for Easter which is a major bummer. Holidays just aren’t the same without family:(

At least I was a little productive though. I cooked up 20 lbs of chicken, a few sweet potatoes and I’m ready to hit the week. And GAME OF THRONES is tonight!!! Happy Easter everybody!

The RUNNUR

I really hate when I don’t have time to blog. Really hate it. So right now, I’m “making the time” to blog. I’ve been pretty busy the past couple days, which is ironic because it’s my spring break and I’m supposed to be a lazy bum, sleeping in and chillin all day long. Instead, I got a 4 day job working at a trade show for SXSW (for those of you not from Austin, TX SXSW is a huge music and film festival for people all over the globe) from 11ish to 6. It’s been a great job considering the product I was promoting was only one of the coolest inventions ever.

RUNNUR is basically a hands-free carry all. A minimalist bag for people who live an active lifestyle. Look at me, giving you my sales pitch and whatnot. But really, people from all over the world were coming to the booth to buy these things and Andrew, the creator, was cool enough to give me one. I wore it to the gym today and it was perfect because there was a spot for all my regular gadgets, plus my head phones and water.

We all had a blast working together. I also met a lot of cool people from all over the world. India, South Asia, the UK, Argentina, some other random places and definitely people from every state. I LOVE meeting new people….especially….

those that get lost at sea. Like Wilson. Yes, I got to meet Wilson. And he’s actually a pretty cool guy. I get why Tom loved him so much.

Hmmm what else is new with me. I decided to take on my first clients this past week. I’m doing nutrition and meal plans for them. Definitely a learning process for both of us but I’m really grateful to have people that want help and want to help me help them! If that makes sense;)

I also planned to do a lot of my school reading over break. It’s already Thursday….definitely didn’t happen. Dang it.

Last but not least, I had the most beautiful dinner ever last night. Made for me, not by me. But it’s oh so very lovely.

I gotta say, ahi tuna may be the best gift God has ever blessed the sea with. I’m eternally grateful for tuna. Raw tuna.

Gotta run. Shows to see, music to hear, workouts to enjoy and food to EAT. Gunna try and enjoy the last few days of my break while I still can!

Fun Weekend & Acorn Squash Obsession

Now that finals are (almost) over, I’m sighing a huge sigh of relief and celebrating by experimenting with squash for what feels like the hundredth time. I can’t believe I’ve never cooked a squash before this season! They’re so good delicious.

This recipe isn’t all that creative because it was kind of spur of the moment. If given more ingredients, I would have stuffed the squash with ground turkey and zucchini as well, but I didn’t have any of those things on hand. Making a stuffed squash is SO incredibly easy so I’ll share the basics with you

Ingredients: (serves one)
1/2 Acorn Squash
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup chopped white onions
1/4 cup chickpeas
2 tsp Dijon mustard
a dash of garlic powder
3 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 T Braggs Amino Acids (or low sodium soy sauce)
olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees & prep the acorn squash by scooping out the seeds (keep them if you want to roast and add them to dishes later!)
Line a cooking sheet with foil and place the acorn squash face down. Drizzle olive oil on the outside and set it in the oven for 30 minutes.
In a nonstick skillet, saute the onions, chickpeas, garlic powder, mustard, balsamic vinegar & bragg’s amino acids. This is when you would also add in any veggies or meat you would like to contribute to the mixture.
Cook the brown rice on the stove top or if you’re using instant rice, go ahead and microwave it a few minutes before the squash is fully cooked.
When squash is done, mix the brown rice with the skillet mixture and stuff inside the squash.
Not so pretty but I didn’t care at the moment. That’s when you know it’s good! And
the dijon-garlic-balsamic-bragg combo is outta this world. One of my new favourite dressings!

Besides eating squash, I also spent some great time with my parents this weekend.

I love my beautiful parents! They came on Saturday (spur-of-the-moment) and we went to a restaurant in ATX called the Woodlands that my Dad had been dying to go to. It was a comfort food kind of place and I bet you’ll never guess what I got…..a salad meatloaf, duh. Truth is, I first ordered a salad but then last minute yelled out NO JUST KIDDING I WANT THE MEATLOAF. Fat kid at heart, right? So I got it and it was superb. Fortunately, it wasn’t really the unhealthy, oil and grease-loaded kind of meatloaf and it was also a fairly small portion. If you ever go to Austin, TX I recommend looking that place up if you’re a comfort foodie. It’s got good stuff for a good price!

Sunday we woke up, went to church and heart a fantastic sermon on forgiveness. Matt, our pastor said one thing that really stuck with me. He pointed out that the people who should be MOST willing to forgive should be those that have been shown forgiveness. And sorry folks, but that’s all of us. We’ve all been shown forgiveness at some point or another so we should be practicing the art of forgiving every day. Beautiful life lesson:)

Then we went to Hickory Street cafe, a nice little spot down town.

Dad got the big ole manly man burger, as you can see. And my mother and me settled with a nice little chicken wrap (with figs, apples and cranberries….um yum?)

So as you can see, I also enjoy my occasional splurges. I wouldn’t say I splurge a lot but I like to give myself at least one meal a week, usually out to eat with family or friends, where I can put aside my rules and guidelines to just relax and enjoy a meal with those I love:)

Tomato Basil Cod

After a solid 8 days of fighting a sinus infection/flu attack, I decided to take advantage of the first day I felt better and create a new recipe. I’ve been spending the last week in Dallas with my sick parents and sick pup. How does that even happen? Nonetheless, I was hitting the gym cause that was the one thing that made me feel better, even if it was just for a little bit! It’s amazing what a little tossing of the iron can do for ya!

So tonight the parents went out on a little “date” night and I decided to raid the kitchen for something to make. I stumbled upon the last piece of cod and a drawer full of a million spices. In the end I came up with this bad boy:)

Tomato Basil Cod (for one)

Ingredients:

-6 oz fresh cod

-extra virgin olive oil

-cherry tomatoes

-pepper

-Mrs. Dash Tomato and Basil seasoning

Ready for the easiest recipe ever?

Instructions:

1. Thaw the frozen cod in hot water

2. Set the oven to 400 degrees

3. Once cod is thawed, place it in the middle of a piece of foil

4. Pour 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil over cod evenly

5. Season with pepper and Mrs. Dash (I didn’t measure how much I put on it but I gave it a generous amount)

6. Half the cherry tomatoes and layer them over the cod

7. Close the foil over the fish and put into the oven for 10-13 minutes (Mine was perfect with 12 minutes)

VOILA!

I made a side of asparagus as well to go with the cod.

For the asparagus, all I did was season it with pepper and garlic. I placed it in the skillet on medium heat and sprinkled it with lemon juice. I love how lemons make asparagus everything taste. Don’t leave it in there too long though or it will start to burn. Mine were properly cooked but still crunchy after 8 minutes. Exactly how I like them!

On a girlie note, I did want to share with you the cutest nail design I’ve ever had the pleasure to see on my toes. One of my favourite things about my hometown is this little place called Zen Spa. I swear to the nail polish gods, they know how to create the cutest designs better than any other salon:)

Fresh Start

Finally got up the courage to dedicate myself to a new fitness and health blog. So excited for what’s to come, I’m already brainstorming on all the great tips and treats I want to share with you guys! In case you don’t already know me, my name is Madelyn (@MoonFitness on twitter). I’m a workoutaholic, Oxygen Magazine addict, health nut, recipe geek and book worm! My life revolves around learning and constantly improving myself and believe me, there is still plenty of work to be done. I’m a happy gal with much to be grateful for and my life seems to be constantly filled with new opportunities and challenges that I’m excited to start recording on this here site. But enough about me. Let’s get startedddd!

This here is me and my sister last weekend as we took a beautiful hike to the greenbelt right here in Austin, Texas. Absolutely gorgeous day filled with nothing but relaxation and fun in the sun.

Unfortunately I was wearing my “nice” workout shoes so I couldn’t go into the water because most people wear their shoes to cross over to the other side (the ground under the water is extremely slippery). Next time I shall be more prepared!