Friday Faves ~ Fitnessista

Friday, September 25, 2020

Friday Faves

September 25, 2020 Pratik Bandagale

Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope you had a great one. Before the Rona times, we used to go for weekly dinner at Calle Tepa with my mom and nana. We hadn’t been back for months – still getting almost weekly takeout but haven’t dined in – and we finally went back on Wednesday night. It was SO nice to sit out on the patio and enjoy a meal (and a margarita) with the fam. It felt almost normal and I loved it.

The rest of the week has been pretty low-key. I messed up my back again – I didn’t do the whole “rest” thing very well after I threw it out a few weeks ago – but thankfully an amazing local chiropractor put me back together. If any of my Tucson friends need a rec, please let me know!

The Pilot and I recorded a podcast episode last night (#60!) and I’ll have it live next week. This weekend, we’ll be hanging out at the pool while the weather is still warm, picking up to-go food from the Greek Festival, and decorating for Halloween. I’d love to hear what you have going on!
It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! Here’s 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.

Random:

Crown and Paw. The Pilot and I constantly joked about having an enormous portrait made of Señor Bealo aka Bella. (We had SO many nicknames for her and most of them were totally ridiculous.) In our minds, Señor Bealo was a very regal dignitary or veteran, wearing a three-pointed hat or fancy coat with shoulder tassels, embellished with multiple medals, etc. The whole deal. We started getting ad targeted for Crown and Paw a couple of years ago and agreed that we needed to order one for Bella. We received it last week and it’s even better than we could have expected!

It’s the perfect unique tribute to our sweet, sassy girl. I still miss her so much my heart hurts, but seeing her Señor Bealo picture makes me smile.

Fashion + beauty:

Fall nails! I changed things up from my usual pink, white, red, or grey, and got this 5-color autumn vibe even though it’s still 100+ degrees outside.

Golden Goose sneakers. I finally bit the bullet and got a pair… and they totally live up to the hype. I talked myself out of it for years because they’re dirty haha but a good friend of mine constantly raves about hers and all of the different styles are really cute. I love that you can wear them with a dress, leggings, joggers, or jeans. They’re way more supporting and comfortable than any other low-top sneakers I’ve tried.

(Please ignore my intense ankle veins.)

I asked my Trunk Club stylist if she’d mind sending some in my next Trunk so I could give them a whirl, and she made a shipment of entirely Golden Gooses. This made it so easy to pick the ones I liked the most and try them on at home. (For size reference, I’m an 8 in all shoes and got a 38 in these; a 39 would have been too big. They’re perfect if I wear them with very thin no-show socks. Bombas are my fave.) I also have to admit that the fact that they’re distressed makes me feel less paranoid about actually wearing them. With so many of my other low-top sneaks, I’d wear them out once and they’d be covered in scuffs. This removes the pressure to keep them clean and I can just enjoy.

Fitness + good eats:

This candy corn trail mix from Target is liiiiiiife. (If you hate candy corn, we can still be friends.)

I’ve really taken it back to basics this week with meals, and have been trying to get in more protein and veggies. It got to the point where I was skipping meals and eating out of the chocolate chip bag for quick energy. It’s made a huge difference to take the time to nourish myself. I’ve noticed an increase in my energy and have woken up before my alarm a few times, which is RARE.

A baby meal! A family in the squadron had a baby, so I offered to take them a meal. They have some food allergies (gluten, dairy, and eggs), so I thought a breakfast for dinner situation would be fun for the kids. I made roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes, a giant fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and raspberries), pancakes (used flax eggs instead of eggs), and chickpea frittatas.

For the frittatas, I sautéed half an onion with 3 cloves of garlic, roasted red pepper, spinach and zucchini. In a large bowl, I added about 2 cups of chickpea flour, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and enough chicken broth to thin it out. I added the sautéed veggies to the batter, along with salt, pepper, basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. They baked in a greased muffin tin for about 35 minutes at 350. They might have been the least visually-appealing baby meal I’ve ever created, but the frittatas were surprisingly delicious. (I saved a couple to have here at the house and P even liked them.)