Healthy Halloween Snacks

Who says Halloween has to be all about candy? Halloween has always been one of my favorite, if not my favorite, holiday. Growing up it was all about your costume and decorations in your home. Now that I'm a not-self-proclaimed heath nut, I don't want to shy away from all the snacks & treats that come with it. Finding yummy healthy alternatives are really fun too! Check some of these out, or head over to my Pinterest, where I got them from. :)

Super cute bananas cute in half & peeled cuties!

Cheese cut-outs! Of course there needs to be cheese.

Carrots & black olives - I think this would be great with some white "ghost" dip.

Have a very happy, fun, and safe Halloween!

What It Means to be a San Francisco City Girl This Week

THE GIANTS WON THE WORLD SERIES! YAYYYYY!!!!!

I have home town love for my teams, win lose or die. But it sure is fabulous when we win!
Being a city girl this week also comes with the usual school (midterms!), work (interviews for a promotion!) and getting a Halloween costume (I don't have time to shop!.) I did however manage to do okay in all three departments, and - despite being at work during Game 7 - managed to watch the last three minutes with a crowd of fellow gym-goers as we caught the last out.

I got off work at 9:30pm, and when I walked outside ten minutes later, it was like New Years Day. Horns honking, fireworks going off, random loud explosions, and of course - bus schedules disrupted. My friend had called me about 9pm to meet her downtown with the celebration in the streets. This of course sounded like fun, but the reality was I knew the "celebration" was going to get out of hand, and I was all the way across town with buses that weren't coming for awhile.

Home was my destination, with a full backpack of school books, a change of regular clothes, some interview clothes, and my empty lunch box that I cram 3 meals into every day. I tried on my Halloween costume for the first time, and realized I needed some white stockings to complete my Dorothy outfit. By the time this was done, I needed to finish unpacking and repack my lunch for work the next morning. My 20 minute Pilates DVD I've been trying to do at night would have to wait another day. It was time to decompress, so that I could be refreshed to get up and do it all over again.

Congrats Giants! Got another interview tomorrow. Happy Halloween everyone!

~ Samantha Marie

End of EAT ME Week, Start of...?

I hope you all enjoyed EAT ME week & that some of you are a lot less afraid to eat more food, and hopefully got some new ideas on what to pick up the next time you're at the grocery store. My current goals are to have at least 25-30 grams of fiber per day, eat at 30% lean protein, 25% healthy fats, and 40% complex carbohydrates. I perceive 40% carbs being rather low, but it's also rather difficult for me to hit that target usually. If you get the vast majority (probably 90%+) of your carb ratio from vegetables, with some fruit & whole grain thrown in, it adds up relatively low. The quality fats & protein I consume helps keep me full and I don't have much of a desire to eat simple carbs. Spacing meals out and getting top-notch nutrients helps a lot with that.

Some changes are happening this week for me and my blog here. October is starting in just a couple days here and I will 1) be on the hunt for a Halloween costume tomorrow, and 2) the gym that I work at is starting a $1.7 million dollar renovation that I've been waiting on since I transferred to this location in January. The Halloween costume I want to look cute in, but my gym will be undergoing upgrades for the next two months. Although it will technically still be open, the showers will not be available and there will be limited changing space. I will still be doing most of my strength training at work, but it's time to put together a solid home-gym workout plan that includes body weight exercises, cardio, and some consistent Pilates. I really love Pilates and will look at this time to take advantage of some of the things I've been wanting to do at home.

Make a home gym with me! I'll give you some ideas, but encourage you to hunt for different things as well that you may find interested. If you're wondering where exactly to even begin, a couple pairs of dumbbells and a resistance band is a good start. A Bosu ball (it looks like Saturn got cut in half) and a stability ball (also called a Swiss ball, those very big gym ones) are two other great options. Pick out a few DVDs and let's play!