Hi friends! How are ya? I hope that your day is going well! Today, I have a couple of calls and am looking forward to some time in the sauna blanket after a workout. It should be a pretty low-key day!

For today’s post, I’m calling on all dog owners. I wanted to share our dogs’ obsession with you: homemade dog food. If you’re looking to upgrade what you feed your dog, this simple recipe is PACKED with nutrients, and both dogs goes crazy with it.

(See the crazy eyes?? She’s INTO IT. Also Lola patiently waits in the kitchen each morning for her dog food. She loooooves it.)

TBH, I always felt a little bad giving Maisey packaged dog food because this creature LOVES fresh food. She’s constantly begging for scraps of broccoli and bell pepper (her two faves), has stolen an entire brisket off the counter (and ate it on our new white couch..), a whole chicken breast (bones and all, and thankfully didn’t get sick), as well as ramen and curry. But can you blame her?

Knowing her flavor profile, I would pour her kibble into her bowl and feel a little bad for the gourmet gal. To spice things up, we would put Fresh Pet on top from Whole Foods (SO expensive and still felt like a block of packaged meat), but I knew there had to be a better way.

I started researching a ton, and found a vet-approved recipe online that inspired me to finally make our own.

I’m excited to share all of the details with you! It’s less expensive than Fresh Pet, with certified organic, farm fresh, and wild-caught ingredients, and I love that I know everything that went into it. No preservatives or extra stuff. Friendly reminder: always talk to your vet or veterinary nutritionist before changing your dog’s food.

While this works for Maisey and Lola, it’s important to note that dogs can have different allergens, or may just be unable to tolerate certain things. It’s also helpful to gradually increase new foods so the transition is more gentle on their stomach.

*Little note that this post may contain affiliate links. They don’t impact purchase price but enable me to earn a small kickback that I use to keep this lil blog running. On that note, thank you so much to those of you who choose to shop with my affiliate links!

Healthy homemade dog food recipe

Benefits of Homemade Dog Food:

Making your dog’s food at home can have a ton of benefits, including:

Control Over Ingredients: By preparing your dog’s food from scratch, you have full control over the quality of ingredients used, ensuring that your furry friend gets only the best.

Avoidance of Sketchy Ingredients: Conventional dog foods often contain questionable ingredients such as fillers, artificial preservatives, and low-quality meats that can be harmful to your dog’s health.

Tailored Nutrition: Homemade dog food allows you to tailor your dog’s diet to their specific needs, whether they require a certain protein source or have allergies to certain ingredients.

Increased Digestibility: Whole, fresh ingredients are more easily digestible for dogs, leading to better nutrient absorption and overall health.

Ingredients and Their Benefits:

The recipe that inspired this one is Dr. Judy’s Puploaf. She has the full post here, and you can actually order it online! Since this is more of a topper, Maisey still gets some “I and love and you” Nude Super Food kibble (you can order it from Thrive Market) in her bowl—I didn’t have to be as specific with ratios of ingredients.

I’m also including a few extra ingredients that aren’t in the original recipe, but they’re just as beneficial and yummy for your dogs. Just like humans, dogs thrive on meat and veggies. (Just make sure to avoid garlic and onions.)

Ground Beef: An excellent source of protein and essential amino acids for muscle health. Bonus points if it’s lean ground beef!

Ground Turkey: Low-fat lean protein that is packed with essential nutrients. It’s also considered hypoallergenic, making it a great choice for pups with allergies.

Organ Meats (Heart, Liver, Gizzards, Spleen): Rich in vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, vital for your dog’s overall health.

Butternut Squash: Packed with vitamins A and C, fiber, and antioxidants to support immune function and digestion. (Sweet potatoes are a great alternative.)

Sardines: A great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote healthy skin and coat, reduce inflammation, and support joint health. Sardines are one of Maisey’s all-time favorite foods!

Leafy Greens: Provide essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin K, calcium, and folate, for overall health and vitality.

Green Beans and carrots: Great for providing vitamins, minerals, and a high dose of fiber. Green beans and carrots help with things like vision, the immune system, and bone health. I was surprised to learn how much Maisey loves certain vegetables!

Eggs: Rich in choline, protein, and essential nutrients. If you’re using farm-fresh eggs, you can also add the shell. Since I use organic eggs from the grocery store, I use the membrane inside the egg whenever I use this ingredient in my recipe.

Oysters: High in zinc and selenium, important for immune function and thyroid health.

Cranberries: Rich in antioxidants and beneficial for urinary tract health.

Broccoli: Contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals, including vitamin C and calcium, for optimal health.

Bell Pepper: Provides vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidants to support immune function and eye health.

Flax Oil: A source of omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat, as well as joint support.

Ginger: Has anti-inflammatory properties and aids in digestion.

Brown Rice: A healthy addition to any diet because of its fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Healthy homemade dog food recipe

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, organ meats, butternut squash, sardines, leafy greens, oysters, cranberries, broccoli, bell pepper, and ginger. You may find this easiest to blend in a food processor, but it’s personal preference.

I keep the flax oil in the fridge and drizzle on a small amount before serving.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly to ensure even distribution.

Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and lightly bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°F.

Allow the food to cool before serving to your dog. Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, and you can freeze the rest in individual portions. I use Souper Cubes to feed our fur babies this super yummy meal until it’s time to make more! I just put them in the freezer.

Healthy homemade dog food recipe

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This healthy homemade dog food recipe is based on Dr. Judy’s pup loaf recipe. It’s a great way to give your dog fresh food with tons of nutrients!

• Author: Gina Harney // Fitnessista.com

Ingredients

2 lbs organic grass-fed ground beef

1 cup of chicken hearts

Add in any other organ meats, like spleen, gizzards, or liver – we used a blend from a local farm that contained heart, spleen, and liver

2 cans of sardines in water

2 cans of mussels in olive oil

3 eggs (if farm fresh, use the shell. If from the grocery store, use the egg membrane on the inside of the shell)

1 cup butternut squash, chopped

1 cup of broccoli, chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

a handful of leafy greens (I used chard), chopped

1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

1/2 c dried cranberries (make sure there is no added sugar, and no extra ingredients)

cold-pressed flax oil, to serve

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir the ground beef, organ meats, chopped butternut squash, sardines, leafy greens, oysters, cranberries, broccoli, bell pepper, and ginger. I keep the flax oil in the fridge and drizzle on a little before serving.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly to ensure even distribution.

Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and lightly bake for 20-30 minutes at 325°F.

Notes

Allow the food to cool before serving to your dog. Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, and you can freeze the rest in individual portions. I used Souper Cubes.

It feels so good to give our dogs fresh food that’s also packed with nutrients!!

So, tell me, friends: do you make your dog’s food? Are there any brands you love?

xo

Gina

More:

If you’d like to outsource the meat of this recipe, I use We Feed Raw + regular ground beef as the meat mixture in this. It’s perfect, and she goes crazy for it. You can check it out here and use FITNESSISTA40

Homemade dog treats are here

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Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had an amazing weekend!

Today, I wanted to share the books I read lately and share my ratings with you. I haven’t made reading as much of a priority lately – admitedly, I’ve been doomscrolling a lot – but there have been some real winners in the mix.

Here’s what I’ve read lately:

Books from lately

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

Kristin Harmel is one of my all-time favorite historical fiction authors and her latest book did not disappoint. I devourved it on the flight home from Orlando and couldn’t read it fast enough. This is the story of Colette Marceau, a woman in her 90s who has spent her entire life as a jewel thief. It alternates between the early 2000s and WW2, and as the events of her childhood unravel, we learn more about her family, why and how she started stealing jewels, the details involving her sister’s disappearance, and a very special bracelet.

Historical fiction is one of the genres that immediately captures my attention and holds it for the entire book. These stories are always heartbreaking, but I was talking with a friend about it and she agreed that they’re beautiful stories of resilience and they always seem to have exquisite writing and rich character development. 5/5 – highly recommend this one

From Amazon:

Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane’s body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette – who has “redistributed” $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations – has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn’t the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she’s forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.

My Friends

I’m a huge fan of Frederik Bakman, but he definitely has a particular style. I feel like you can feel the characters and their personalities, but in this case, the main characters are a bit of a chaotic mess, so this book also felt chaotic. It was a slow burn, and took me forever to finish it, but the ending was excellent. 3.5/5

From Amazon:

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

Broken Country

This was another one that I flew through and couldn’t wait to see what happens.

The man Beth loves is being tried for murder, but at the beginning of the book, we have no idea which man this is, or the events surrounding the trial. It flashes between past and future, and is a total pageturner. I also did NOT see the ending coming and it was extremely satisfying. It totally lives up to the hype. 5/5

From Amazon:

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

I still have my Book of the Month membership, but haven’t used it in quite a while. The selection hasn’t felt very exciting, but I keep adding books to my TBR list that I come across on Instagram.

On my nightstand right now:

Never Split the Difference

Manifest the Unseen

Our Perfect Storm

Tax-free Wealth

and Many Lives, Many Masters

So tell me friends: what are you reading right now? Any historical fiction that you loved recently? My heart is already preparing for The Nightingale premiere next year.

xo

Gina

The post books from lately appeared first on The Fitnessista.

The kids are back in school (WILD) and thankfully had a great week at their new schools. We’re back into the full routine around here and this weekend we have dinner with friends to celebrate the first week of school, two NCL events, and getting things finally ready for our mold remediation and bathroom remodel.

It’s taken us forever to get started with travel and summer stuff, but I’m so so ready to get this chapter completed. I’ll definitely share more about the whole process!

(Maisey loves the PEMF Go Mat)

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves roundup! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

(Friendly reminder that affiliate links are included in Friday Faves! Thank you so much for supporting the blog)

8.7 Friday Faves

Fashion, beauty, random:

Pool day with the Pilot. The kids were back at school, we both had an open day, and we decided to head to the gym and then spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

These masks are super moisturizing and feel amazing.

LOVING a French twist lately. I use this hair pin and there are a ton of tutorials on IG.

Wore this dress to an NCL meeting last weekend. It’s one of my faves and easy to dress up or down and also a little profesh when I need to be.

If you have an older girl heading back to school, I recommend making a little essentials kit for them that they can put in their backpack or locker.

Here’s one that I made for Liv:

(body spray, gum, lip gloss, hand sanitizer, pads, a mini deodorant and a little brush)

P has been wanting a bearded dragon forever, so I asked her to make a compelling Canva presentation with bearded dragon facts, a price breakdown, why she wants one, and what she’ll do to take care of it. Needless to say, she did a great job.

Meet Douglas Spike (Doug). He’s still getting used to his surroundings but he’s super cute.

Please send any bearded dragon tips my way!

Anniversary Sale ends Sunday. All of my top picks are here!

Read, watch, listen:

If you haven’t seen Voicemails for Isabelle on Netflix yet, dooooo it. I want to watch it again! I’m also loving the new Elle series on Amazon. (While the Pilot has been on trips, I’ve been watching TV way more often at night but I have to say, it’s been a nice way to unwind at the end of the day… even though the dogs spend it playing wrestlemania on top of me.)

If you’re into manifesting, I recently ordered this book and will report back!

Sharing more about my identity crisis and experience with the Miraval psychic here. 

Fitness, health, and good eats:

Made this recipe for dinner this week and we all loved it.

More reasons to love the avocado.

What mold is really doing to your health.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! Have an amazing weekend and I’ll see ya soon!

xoxo

Gina

The post 8.7 Friday Faves appeared first on The Fitnessista.

For today’s post, I’m excited to share an updated review on one of my all-time favorite workouts! I was ad-targeted for this one forever, and since I always love trying new body workouts and absolutely love dance cardio, I figured I’d give it a whirl about two years ago. This workout program was founded by Megan Roup (you can check out her Instagram here) and I’ll share a full review below. Heads up that this review isn’t sponsored; I signed up for a 7-day free trial and am still a paying happy member. I’ve tried a lottttt of fitness apps in my routine and am always pumped when I find a winner.

You can use my referral link to get a 7-day trial plus one month free on the fitness app!

Sculpt Society Review

What Is Sculpt Society?

As I mentioned above, Sculpt Society was created by celebrity trainer Megan Roup and is a blend of dance cardio, barre, Pilates, and traditional strength. Megan worked as a professional dancer for the Brooklyn Nets and developed this workout style in 2017. She says, “I wanted to create a program that would help women reach their goals and would still be fun. My mission with The Sculpt Society workout app is to empower women through movement, to stand in their bodies with confidence and strength, and to feel their best self.” (Source)

The Sculpt Society App And Website

On The Sculpt Society app and website, you can find over 400 classes. When you first log into the TSS app, you’ll see an example weekly schedule of classes, a live video schedule where you can stream live classes, popular videos, and programs you can follow. They are always adding new content.

The classes are also organized into segments: Gentle + Beginner classes (for any spot in your fitness journey), 30 min sculpt, 30 min dance cardio (my personal fave), 30 min full body, 45-50 minute full body, side body classes, stretch + yoga. There’s also a “Getting Started” section which breaks down common exercises and offers modifications. I’m going to focus on a couple of my fave Sculpt Society workouts below:

30 min Dance Cardio

As I mentioned above, this is my favorite one. It’s a party of a workout with high energy dance. The combos are more athletic and on the simple side, easy to follow, but still a lot of fun. This is hard when you’re teaching mixed levels of dance abilities, and I feel like a beginner to advanced dancers would enjoy these combos. The beauty of online dance workouts is that you can pause the video and practice a move until you get it and then resume. Don’t be intimidated if you don’t consider yourself “a dancer!” These classes include a lot of jumping, but you can absolutely modify them for a low-impact workout.

For these classes, you can expect a short warm-up, an athletic dance combo that you build onto, a break for arms and abs segments, and then back to the combo to finish it out.

Quickie workouts: Arms, Abs, and Full Body

The quickie workouts are 15-25 minutes and focus on various muscle groups. These are a nice add-on to other strength or cardio workouts and focus on more barre-style endurance exercises (full-range movements, pulses, and holds). These are also great workouts when you don’t have a ton of time but want to move your body.

Sculpt Workouts

These TSS workouts are around 30 minutes and use light weights along with an optional resistance band.  You will FEEL these in your glutes. These are also more barre-based movements, with lots of core stabilization, side series, booty work, and ab burners. I feel like this is a smart way to change up traditional strength training, especially if you do a lot more hypertrophy or circuit-based training (10-15 reps, moderate weights). This will challenge you in an entirely different way and I love the added core stability of many of these exercises.

Sculpt Society Prenatal

Are you pregnant and ready to kick those pregnancy pains to the curb and feel strong and energized? Then you need to try the Sculpt Society’s prenatal program! It’s designed just for you, with exercises that build strength, improve flexibility, and reduce discomfort. The program includes low-impact cardio, strength training, and exercises for your pelvic floor and abs. With better posture, less back pain, and more energy, you’ll be ready for labor and delivery. It’s an excellent option for expecting mothers.

Sculpt Society Postpartum

The Sculpt Society’s Postpartum Program offers personalized workouts and expert guidance for new moms, all from the comfort of their own homes. With a supportive community and a focus on physical and mental health, our program helps new moms achieve their fitness goals amidst the chaos of motherhood. Sign up now and prioritize your well-being!

What equipment do you need?

You don’t need a ton of equipment for these workouts. I’ve only done a few, but I’ve only seen light hand weights, mat, sliders, a resistance band loop, a Pilates ball, and optional ankle weights in the workouts.

Benefits & Results

– You can do Megan’s workout at home in your living room, or while you’re traveling, with minimal equipment. This makes it an awesome option for busy schedules. I’ll open my laptop and get a great workout at home.

– I really like Megan and her style of training and I love this workout routine. The over-the-top peppy fake fitness trainer vibe doesn’t work for me, and I typically find myself going for trainers that seem like nice, normal, people (a huge reason why I love Les Mills workouts so much! They’re motivating without being artificial.). I also find that I work harder when the instructor is talking normally, instead of high-pitched and overexcited lol. Megan has a really lovely vibe, and while she has branded taglines or performs solo dance breaks (hi Peloton), she’s energetic and gives great cueing. (There are other trainers in the app, but I haven’t tried their classes yet.)

– As far as results go, it absolutely depends on how often you do these workouts and how the other foundational habits in life are going (sleep, stress management, nutrition, hydration, etc). I feel like it’s a solid mix of strength, cardio, mobility, core work, and stretching — I’d just be sure to include a couple of rest days each week and at least 1 day of heavier resistance training to fatigue. I find it to be a super fun effective workout.

Photo source

Sculpt Society Cost

– Sculpt Society offers a free 7-day trial and it took a quick Google search for me to find a discount code for my first month. After that, it will be $19.99 per month. You also get a 24% discount if you choose the annual billing option. My referral link will get you one month free on the app!

So, tell me friends: have you tried Sculpt Society or anything similar? Dance cardio lovers: what’s your favorite type of class? Are there any other On-Demand classes you use?

Any other fitness formats you’d like to see my review?

xoxo

Gina

A couple of my dance cardio workouts you can try!

Dance Cardio Sculpt

Another Dance Cardio Sculpt

More workout reviews:

Peloton App

SWEAT app Fierce program review

Obe Fitness

Best Fitness Apps

Les Mills +

The post Sculpt Society Review appeared first on The Fitnessista.

We brought her home from the hospital as a newborn yesterday. High school seemed impossibly far away. It’s here, it’s wild, and I just hope she has a good experience. High school was not my high point in life, but the school that she’s attending has incredible teachers and a great community, so I’m feeling cautiously optimistic.

P is also starting a new school – the teachers and homework load were a huge source of the anxiety she dealt with a couple of years ago at her previous school- and I’m hopeful that it will be better for her. If it’s not, I mean at this point, we’re just going to pack it up and move lol.

(Hot yoga wisdom)

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves roundup! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

(Friendly reminder that affiliate links are included in Friday Faves! Thank you so much for supporting the blog)

7.31 Friday Faves

Fashion, beauty, random:

These shoes! I ordered them from the Nordstrom sale when I saw that my favorite flats brand was there. (It honestly it was made me look at the sale in the first place since it was such a disappointment the past couple of years.) I have two pairs from Spain that I got last summer and they still look brand new, they have zero break-in time, they’re supportive, classy, cute.

These ones are a little bit furry (?) which was a surprise to me, but I love them. They run small, so definitely size up one full size. If you’re in between sizes, size up a size and a half. I’m usually a 38 and wear a 39 in these. All my Nordstrom Sale picks are in this post.

This dress! The Bettina dress is one of my fave shirtdress styles (and I loooove a shirtdress). The Callahan from Tuckernuck  is my other top fave.

Olive & June gel manis. I think I finally solved my nail dilemma. I took my dip nails off in early May after having dip consecutively for about 6 years. I just got so sick of the time such – driving to the nail salon, sitting there for an hour, and driving home was about 2 hours out of the day – the toxins, and the cost (around $90-100 every 3 weeks). I figured I’d let my nails breathe for a while, but I’ve tried some options because I still love pretty nails.

I found press-ons, and while they look cute, they don’t last long, especially if you’re washing dishes often and doing chores. I think they’re good for events!

Olive & June sent me a gel manicure set and I’m HOOKED.

This took 20 minutes to do, it has the thick shiny look I adore, it has a peel-off base coat that doesn’t damage your nails, nontoxic, it checks all of the boxes. I’ll report back on how long it lasts but I’m super happy so far!! You can grab a kit here.

This month’s Vivrelle pick!! It looks brand new and the color is chef’s kiss. I lost my ShopMy link when they deactivted my account, but if you’d like to try it, the link is here and the code is: L66PH1ZH70

Last day for Oliveda BOGO! You can buy one, get one free of their previous label since they’re updating the labeling. I use and love so many of their products. If you need specific recs, please lmk; I’d love to help.

Read, watch, listen:

The Pilot was gone this week, so I watched TV downstairs every night in the evening.

Some of the highlights:

– Project Hail Mary. This 100% lived up to the hype. I want to read the book now, and definitely would see the movie again.

– Finally finished Emily in Paris. I started the most recent season over the holidays and it’s taken me 7 months, but it was perfection.

– The new Dancing with the Stars: the Next Pro. It’s kind of campy and cheesy, but I love it??? I’m cheering so hard for Adele.

This episode with Alex Hormozi was incredible.

Fitness, health, and good eats:

(The usual PEMF, red light, and journaling stack)

This Mediterranean beef bowl is such a hit. We’ve had it a handful of times.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! Have an amazing weekend and I’ll see ya soon!

xoxo

Gina

The post 7.31 Friday Faves appeared first on The Fitnessista.