Duke's on Sunday

For the past year, I have been wanting to go to Waikiki to Duke's - an iconic beach front restaurant that personifies the aloha lifestyle. With the help of miss Devan's dinner gift and tourism being pretty much non-existent right now, I convinced mrC that we should go there for his birthday!!

So, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we put on our swim suits, packed up our beach bag and drove to town for an afternoon on the beach, exploring and Duke's on Sunday.

Love the board storage along the walkway to the beach. Wish we had this at Kailua Beach.

This was my first visit to Waikiki even though we have lived on Oahu for over a year and the view was not disappointing! 

We found a spot on the beach (which is actually not very roomy!) and got in the water for a little bit, but after the waves almost drenched our belongs a few times, we decided to take a walk.

It didn't take us long to find an acai bowl! We shared this soft serve version from Banan and it helped cool us off.

After wandering around International Market Place, we were ready to head to Duke's. Luckily there was one table remaining at the Barefoot Bar, even though it was not fully shaded. Before our nacho order arrived, another table opened up and mrC snagged it!

The best part was the table had a much better view of the outdoor stage and Henry Kapono!! Henry (of Cecilio (d.) & Kapono, a Hawaiian pop music duo) and his band play at Duke's every Sunday from 4-6. 

Normally people would be up and dancing, but because of COVID-19, there was no dancing allowed. We didn't mind though because we were enjoying the whole view. 

mrC has been a fan of Cecilio & Kapono since he was stationed here and he introduced me to the music when we got married. It was so awesome to see Henry Kapono and his band in person, but even better to get this pic before we headed up to the dining room for our dinner reservation.

Our table overlooked the Barefoot Bar, so we continued to enjoy the live music over dinner. mrC had the fish and chips and I had the Baked "Duke's Fish" - white fish (I didn't catch the name) with garlic, lemon and sweet basil glaze served on basmati wheatberry rice. It was soooo good! 

Our server surprised mrC with a complimentary birthday Hula Pie! He absolutely loved the macadamia nut ice cream, chocolate cookie crust and hot fudge.

Duke's on Sunday was the perfect way to spend mrC's big day!! 

Berry Banana Smoothie

Making a break fast smoothie makes me happy!

I love that I can pack so many macro and micronutrients into one meal. I don't feel stuffed or hungry later either. In fact, I often feel satisfied until dinner. 

The weather is heating up here in Hawaii and on days when the trade winds are low, there is nothing like a good smoothie to cool down the body temperature.

Most of the time I follow a recipe, but yesterday I decided to wing it and the result was delicious! I promised to share the recipe, so here goes...

Berry Banana Smoothie

1 banana - frozen

1 cup frozen berries

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 TBSP flaxseed

1 TBSP chia seed

1 TBSP almond butter

1 cup green lettuce

1/2 cup spinach

1 serving collagen protein

2 tsp lemon juice

Not only was this smoothie delicious, it was just the right balance of protein, carbs and fats, perfect for a regular macro day if you follow the FASTer Way.

Here are the macros for all you trackers out there:

Protein 29g, carbohydrates 54g, fat 18g and fiber 17g

When do you like having your smoothie?

Friday Five: Summer Favorites from Beautycounter

I have been using Beautycounter for a couple of years, slowly switching to clean products once I learned that what we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in them! 

Did you know the average woman wears an estimated 63 disease-causing chemicals on her skin every day? Hidden toxins can have a big impact on our health. In cosmetics alone, the European Union has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals. The US? Partially bans 30.

It’s up to us to be smart consumers and purchase products that are in line with a healthy lifestyle to reduce our overall toxic load. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of waiting for the government to protect us when it comes to the food and beauty industries.

               

Here are 5 things I am loving right now:

Countersun Mineral Sunscreen - I love that this light, creamy lotion goes on easily and a little goes a loooong way. I usually prefer sprays because lotions can be thick and heavy. It is also reef safe, which is important to me as a Hawaii resident. 

Countertime Collection - Admittedly, I've never used a full line of products before (cleanse, prep, treat, protect). Now I look forward to washing my face every morning and night! 

Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation - I feel like I've spent most of my life looking for a foundation that didn't feel like I was wearing foundation (including other BC products). THIS is the winner for me! It's hot in Hawaii and this doesn't feel like my face is melting off - even if I have makeup on before a workout!

All Bright C Serum - I recently added this to my morning face routine because I have sun and age spots on my face and chest that I do not like at all. I have seen a noticeable lightening of the spots on my face and my face is just overall brighter.

Lip Gloss - Just like the name says, it's glossy! I've always been a lip gloss girl. I am very picky about the brand because I don't like sticky or thick. This makes me feel glam, even in my athleisure wear. 

I recently became a Beautycounter consultant so that I could help get clean beauty into more hands. Using safe or clean products that do not have toxic ingredients not only helps your skin, it can lower your risk of other health issues like skin cancer, nervous system issues, reproductive issues, and more!

Let me know if I can help you find something you are needing and want to make a switch.

Supersets with Tempo and a Booty Challenge

Today was our first strength training day following the new programming for July: Supersets with Tempo. We are going to be focusing on doing two exercises at a time back-to-back. One will be straight reps and the second we will vary the speed to increase the time under tension, aka max out the muscles!

I was really liking the mixed pyramid sets we were doing in June, but I know that in order to see change, we have to mix things up. That is why I love being in FASTer Way VIP. I get the perks of a personal trainer without the price!

This month we are also doing a Booty Challenge. So a couple of days a week we get bonus content to build our lower body strength. Today was day 2 and let me just say that things were on fire!

After my workout I did a cool down walk. It was a stunning day here in Hawaii with great trade winds, so I took advantage and headed toward the Lanikai Monument. This monument marks the entrance to the Lanikai neighborhood. 

The monument is my turn around spot, but I like to walk down the hill to the lava rocks and take in the view first. If you follow my Instagram stories you will see that I am here a lot! mrC and I love to sit and enjoy the breeze while looking for turtles. We came here almost everyday when the beach was closed at the beginning of the COVID quarantine.

I just love looking at the amazing view of Kailua Beach and the Kailua blue water from here. We truly are blessed to have this as our playground.

One reason I love this walk, is because it is all sidewalks and walking paths from our apartment (unless we take a side street which has very little traffic). The walking/bike path goes right through Kailua Beach park.

I spent the rest of my day working a little, chatting with my Functional Medicine Practitioner and eating! BreakFAST was one of my favorites: egg, tuna, avocado and hummus on gluten free, dairy free toast. The bread is made locally here on Oahu and is the best GF bread I've ever had.

While I was working, I had a 3 pound turkey breast cooking in the crockpot, so dinner was turkey breast, steamed broccoli and sweet potato chips. Turkey is my new chicken!

I got a bit of a game plan from the FMP today to help with my gut health and cortisol spikes. More on that in my next post.

Do you mix up your strength training workout programming or does someone do it for you?

Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins

I've fallen in love with Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins!

Recently, I discovered that I could make muffins for a low carb day snack. I've actually had the recipe for awhile, but put off trying it because I thought it would be complicated. Isn't baking from scratch usually complicated?

Anyway, I was tired of Fat Bombs and all the other low carb snacks I've tried over the years like...

celery and Ranch dressing

nuts

jerky

turkey roll ups

...either don't appeal to me now or I literally don't eat those foods anymore.

So I finally got around to making Flaxseed Muffins and 1) the recipe is pretty simple and 2) they were ok (topped with almond butter), but kind of plain.

Since I love blueberry protein bars and cinnamon, I decided to add blueberries and some cinnamon to the recipe and see what happened. WIN!!

I've had a lot of requests for the recipe, so here it is! 

Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins - makes about 16 mini muffins 

1 cups ground flaxseed

1/2 T baking powder

1 TBSP cinnamon 

1/2 tsp sea salt

2.5 eggs (room temp)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup room temp water 

1/2 cup fresh blueberries 

Preheat oven to 350. 

Prepare muffin tin with liners or spray with oil. 

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk for 30-60secs. Add water & oil. 

Combine wet & dry ingredients and stir to combine. 

Let sit for 1-2 minutes. 

Fill muffin tins using 1/4 cup. 

Cook for 20 mins. 

Store in fridge once cooled.  

Heat briefly before eating and top with your favorite nut butter!

Let me know if you make them, what you think, and if you change anything to make them better!!