Good morning, happy Monday friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was eventful to say the least. Michael and I had our second Rover experience and it was definitely a little different than our first. The first dog we got was perfect. Literally. Well-trained, adorable, sweet and just wanted to cuddle and sleep. This time around we got two dogs, one a puppy, who were not very house trained and very needy. I don't think I've ever cleaned up so much dog pee in my life! So for all you Rover sitters...definitely make sure that the dogs you watch are house trained. TRIPLE CHECK. That shit is not fun. BUT it was an experience to say the least. 

I'm hoping that our next Rover puppy looks like this...

Or this...

Or this (sorry last one...)

In other news this week, I'm running a little food prep contest with my clients at the gym. I'm asking that they send me photos of what they're cookin' up for the next week and the following week! I've already seen some delicious meals and I'm so proud that they're trying harder each week to be better and get healthier! 

And on that note, if you like to bake healthy snacks to have on hand I've got a delicious and healthy Cinnamon Raisin Sweet Potato Bread..

Cinnamon Raisin Sweet Potato Bread

If you can't tell, I'm kind of obsessed with the cinnamon raisin combo. For one, it's such a classic and two, cinnamon, raisins and sweet potatoes are very cheap. I've been trying to cut back on the dollars I spend on food. Therefore I eat all the sweet potatoes, cinnamon and raisins. 

[yumprint-recipe id='23'] 

XO - Rach

Let's chat:

How do you save money while grocery shopping?

Have you ever baked with sweet potatoes before?

Cinnamon raisin flavor fan?

Not in that order, though! Happy Monday friends. As you can tell from the title of this post, my mind hasn't had much focus in the past couple weeks when it comes to blogging. Work has been very busy and FUN and it's stealing all of my effort. I love my job so much, you guys. It doesn't feel like work!! The hours are long, I get home late, but I leave every day with a big fat smile.  Since I don't have a recipe, a workout or a super deep motivational speech to share, I'm going to share some weekend shenanigans and what I've been loving lately. 

Pizza

I think that Philly should be known for it's pizza rather than Philly cheesesteaks. The pizza here is so damn good. Michael and indulged in a pie from Slice. We got half Hawaiin and half Florentine. I have to say, Michael's choice of Hawaiian was better than my half. The best part about the meal is that we got to bring our own beer. These BYOB laws in Pennsylvania are still blowing my mind - it's awesome! 

Beer

Michael and I are most likely moving to Conshohocken when our lease is up in the summer and there's this amazing little bar and beer store there called the Boathouse. We went to tour a couple apartments and had to stop to pick up a few brews. If you haven't tried Ballast Point beers, you're missing out. They have a brand new one called the Habanero Sculpin and it's INCREDIBLE. It's spicy and hoppy and has so much flavor. Try it out. It was great with the pizza but I could really enjoy it with some tacos or chips and guac. 

Puppies!!! 

We pet sit an ADORABLE pup this weekend. We want a dog so bad but can't seem to bite the bullet yet. There's this app called Rover that's basically like Airbnb for dogs. Michael created a profile and we got our first request to watch a dog on Saturday night. Her name is Hanna Montana. She is a 4 year old pit bull and was just the sweetest girl ever. She had a lot of energy, but we tired her out with a long 4 mile walk yesterday!

Come on, look at that face!! For now, Rover will satisfy the puppy withdrawals I have been feeling. 

Spin

Although I'm at City Fitness full time as a trainer, I have been LOVING subbing more classes at Body Cycle Studio. Indoor cycling will always be my favorite group fitness class to teach. I'm serious, sometimes I get chills. Am I crazy? Are there any other spin-obsessed people or instructors who can relate? I program all of my Spin profiles to the music and when the playlist is on point and the energy of the class is high, it just feels incredible. I've been able to sub at least 1-2 classes per week, but I'm real excited to take on my first permanent class soon in the next couple months! 

Music

And on that note, here's the playlist that's been rocking my world this past week. Candyman by Aloe Blacc and Zedd is my new favorite song, FYI. 

Coffee

Iced coffee to be exact. Michael makes iced coffee in the French press and it's out of this world. I make bad stale coffee in the coffee pot that is not out of this world, so we turned that into coffee ice cubes for the ice coffee. GENIUS IDEA!! 

And I believe that's all I have for this morning! 

XO - Rach

Let's chat...

Are you a dog or cat person?

Hot or iced coffee?

Favorite beer?

Favorite pizza?

Favorite song lately?

I totally meant to post this last Wednesday, but work was crazy and then I left early Thursday morning for a weekend of training and learning in Boston! And then Sunday I was exhausted and took naps instead of posting. Anyway, I still wanted to share what I've been noshing on lately! I also have a super easy granola recipe to share. 

Breakfast

A big ole' bowl of oats with almond milk, banana, walnuts and raspberry preserves! This week I've been loving the savory breakfasts though - eggs, Canadian bacon and sweet potato. 

Snacks

After having a few training sessions, I scarfed this PB & J before my own workout for some quick energy...

Lunch

Lunch of tuna salad, veggies, avocado, olives and feta! Also had an apple on the side. 

Dinner (at work)

Roasted sweet potato, jalapeño chicken sausage and brussels sprouts.

Snacks

I also had one of my Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins and when I got home from work a bowl of greek yogurt with banana and the delicious granola recipe I'm about to share. I'm always hungry! 

Easiest Chocolate Chia Granola Recipe

[yumprint-recipe id='21'] Have a great Wednesday! 

XO - Rach

Do you have a favorite granola combo?

What's your favorite snack to eat before a workout?