Friday Fare, Health, Healthy on the cheap, Products I love

My Favorite Carbohydrates

February 17, 2015

Contrary to what you may read or hear, carbohydrates (and especially complex carbohydrates) are good for you and essential for your well-being. A while ago, I wrote a piece about carbohydrates and why you should not cut them out of your diet. Click here to read the blog post to get up to date on why you should not go on a low-carbohydrate diet. I realize that there are many reasons people go on a low-carbohydrate diet, but they tend to have specific reasons for doing so. For the majority of people, it is not necessary to cut out carbohydrates to lose weight and fat.

Newsflash: Carbohydrates aren’t evil

I eat a variety of carbohydrates daily, which range from leafy green vegetables (yes, vegetables are a form of carbohydrates!) to delicious sourdough breads. I wanted to compile a list of my favorite carbohydrates which I think can help introduce some variety in your diet and encourage you to try new foods.

My Favorite Carbohydrates 

My Favorite Carbohydrates

 1. Marble Rye Bread

How I enjoy it: Try adding some smashed avocado on top in place of butter (like this).

2. Garbanzo beans (or chickpea’s as is said in the UK)
How I enjoy it: I make a veggie burger with them (like this)!

3. Bananas
How I enjoy it: On their own, with nut butter or in a fruit salad.

4. Sesame Rye Crackers
How I enjoy it: Usually with some smashed avocado I have to admit. I love avocado!!

5. Quinoa
How I enjoy it: Fabulous for stir-fries! Try cracking an egg over some cooked quinoa to make ‘fried rice’ 🙂

6. Brown Rice
How I enjoy it: I love having brown rice in warm salads and adding it to soup for a heartier meal.

7. Sourdough Bread
How I enjoy it: Same as the marble rye bread honestly!

[Tweet “7 Healthy and Delicious Carbohydrates”]

Another notable carbohydrate I love is oatmeal. I make overnight oats (here is a fun kombucha overnight oats recipe) or healthy pancakes with them (four ingredient recipe here).

What is your favorite carbohydrate and how do you eat it?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Fitness, Kayla Itsines, Products I love

Kayla Itsines Discount and an Update

February 7, 2015

First things first: the Kayla Itsines discount. [DISCOUNT EXPIRED FEBRUARY 28th, 2015] <— UPDATE

For any newcomers you do not know who Kayla Itsines is, click here to read an interview I did with her. She is the mastermind behind a fantastic program called the ‘Bikini Body Guide’ (click here for my review) which I am currently following.

Kayla has been kind enough to give me a 10% discount to any of her guides which I want to share with you all! To get the discount code, all you have to do is subscribe to Honestly Fitness and you will receive the exclusive code in an email the following day. Remember to check for a confirmation email and check your junk mailbox in case it ends up there. You will NOT receive the email with the code otherwise.

If you do not receive the email within 24 hours, email me at honestlyfitness@live.com and I will send you the 10% discount code myself. This is a great deal as Kayla does not give these out often, and gives you the chance to see for yourself why I and so many others swear by Kayla’s workout and nutrition guides. The graphic below will take you to her website where you can buy her guides (they are EBOOKS).

An Update

I am so sorry for the lack of posts! This is my final semester and it has been killing me, plus I have some other personal issues to deal with (like taxes haha). I have so many ideas in my head, but it may take me a while to translate them into a blog post. I am proud of myself for sharing my perfect four ingredient pancake recipe with you all before life got too crazy. You should try them!!!

Perfect Four Ingredient Pancakes by Honestly Fitness

I am continuing to do Kayla Itsines bikini body guide and restarted with millions of girls around the world for The Kayla Movement. It has been quite exhilarating to redo the program (my third time!) with so many others and it has helped kept me motivated. I think I plateaued during the first four weeks so I consulted with some of my dear BBG friends and decided to be a little more strict with my food intake and to use heavier weights during the workouts. Fingers crossed this will help me yield the results I am after!

kayla itsines foam roller

I also took the plunge and bought Kayla’s foam roller (which you can find on her website) because I have received questions regarding whether it is worth buying or not. I will be able to tell you all what I think in a few weeks once I have received it and tested it out.

How are all of you? How have your exercise routines been going and how are things like nutrition wise for you?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Although this post contains affiliate links, it is because I personally believe in Kayla’s guides and believe you will benefit from them 🙂

Health, Healthy on the cheap

Yalla Mediterranean

February 1, 2015

Last weekend I was invited to try out a new Mediterranean restaurant called Yalla Mediterranea. I was supposed to go with my friend Lauren (from LaurenLivesHealthy.com) but unfortunately she was ill and could not make it 🙁 Despite the fact that I would be trying it out alone, I could not turn down an offer to try out a new restaurant (especially with Mediterranean type food, mmm). Let me just preface this whole post right now by saying that it was SO worth it.

review of Yalla Mediterranean

Yalla Mediterranean describes itself as a fast-casual restaurant that offers fresh, healthy and flavorful Mediterranean fare. Walking into Yalla Mediterranean is like walking into someone’s garden … quite literally as there are small lemon trees in the center of the restaurant and a herb garden on the wall! I loved the atmosphere; you could tell this was a place that served wholesome and healthy food that cared about using quality ingredients. The menu is set up so that you first select a type of meal (pita wrap, salad or ‘Yalla’ plate), then a protein (which is grilled right in front of you) and finally (but not least) three delicious sides.

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

What Did I Eat?

Look at how cool that grill is! Basically, the meat is placed upon the grill and it cooks as it rotates down the grill. It takes all of 2-5 minutes. I was so impressed that Yalla offered wild Alaskan salmon as a protein choice, and for under $10. This place is so affordable and seriously so delicious. I chose the Yalla plate (which consists of you choosing rice with either lentils or grilled vegetables) with kefta (a lamb and beef meatball) with arugala and beet salad, Greek potato salad and Greek eggplant salad.

Honestly Fitness Verdict?

 What did I think? DELICIOUS. I have never had a beet salad before which tasted this good, and the kefta was grilled to perfection. Everything was so fresh and flavorful!

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

 Can’t Forget About Dessert!

And guess what I had for dessert? I had Greek frozen yogurt with honey and baklava AND a chocolate pita cookie!!! My God, my tastebuds were in heaven. The cookie was gluten-free as it was made out of almond flour and had a great chewy texture to it. The frozen yogurt was out of this world; truly a genius combination of foods.

Come to San Francisco Already!

Right now, they only have a location in Pleasant Hill but will be opening up new stores around the Bay. I have been told that a Yalla location will be opening up in Daly City (right next to ME) in April or May. I cannot wait and will be there all the time … like no joke. It is healthy AND affordable. Just typical that I will be moving out to Salt Lake City in June. I hope Yalla open up a location there soon!!

I hope this post gives you a nudge into trying out Yalla Mediterranean. And if you do, let me know what you think! The cool thing about Yalla is that they are open to new ideas and are forward thinking (they have a 1 bin policy and have made it so that everything in the store is compostable).

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.