Superfood and Sickness

Somehow I started this blog this morning and am now finally getting to write something. My poor little monkey has been sick for the past 3 days. I have spent all day cuddling, feeding, and administering medicine. That is why this post is just now getting written. I hate my little monkey being sick because he looks and feels so miserable, but I do love the extra cuddles that come with him not feeling well!

This morning amidst all the going-ons I stumbled upon this awesome superfood! It slapped me in the face like a big "DUH!!" I was putting together the little one's breakfast when he decided he did not want to eat, but take a nap instead. I was left with an opened banana and half of an avocado along with the oatmeal I had just cooked for myself. I frequently feed my little one mashed avocado and banana and he loves it! Instead of letting the banana and avocado get brown and gross, I decided to try it in my oatmeal. WAIT! WAIT! Before you get grossed out, it was delicious! I know it sounds disgusting and it definitely does not look appetizing when you mix oatmeal, banana, and avocado together because it comes out this funny green color, but it DOES taste great and it's great for your body.

Yummy Green Food!

How is it great for your body:
Yummy fibrous oatmeal
Healthy fats from the avocado
Potassium and all sorts of great things from the banana
Therefore, SUPERFOOD! (you also get in one fruit and one veggie all at breakfast)
Add in a cup of green tea with honey to sweeten and you have antioxidants and other nutritious ingredients also!

How to make it:

Mash the avocado and banana into your cooked oatmeal and....BAM!!!  There's your delicious, super food breakfast. 

DIY Cleaners GALORE: baby friendly and shower cleaner!

Today I went crazy....my house was a wreck after this weekend. We went fishing, had my parents over, and relaxed a bit so absolutely NO cleaning got done. YIKES! The house was not looking good. I love my all-purpose homemade cleaner that I made and I use it all over my kitchen. Like when my husband cleaned those nasty trout that we caught in my kitchen sink....yeah he DID do that. I sprayed my cleaner every where and wiped EVERYTHING.

Today, when I went running (I actually made it 3 miles...super proud of myself!) I was thinking about trying a cleaner specific to the bathroom and then a 100% baby-friendly cleaner that was super powerful. I mean you know how it is with kids...they put everything, literally everything in their mouths. So I wanted to make sure that whatever my little one puts in his mouth is disinfected and chemically safe.

Here's the little cutie and he surprisingly has nothing in his mouth!

I came up with two cleaners:
The baby-friendly cleaner: So simple and so safe!

What You Need:
A clear plastic spray bottle (got a bunch (4)of them at the dollar store...for yup that's right....$1 a piece)
An opaque spray bottle (I used an old 409 bottle) 
Vinegar
Water
Tea Tree oil
Hydrogen Peroxide

What To Do:
Fill the clear plastic bottle with half vinegar, half water. Next add 10-20 drops tea tree oil depending on the size of your bottle. I used 10 because my bottle is average size. 
Pour your hydrogen peroxide into the opaque bottle (This bottle must be opaque and kept out of the sunlight otherwise the hydrogen peroxide will lose its chemical makeup and no longer be effective). 

What this Does:
After some research on the internet for baby safe homemade cleaners, I found out that when used together, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are two of the most powerful disinfectants. But you CANNOT, absolutely DO NOT, combine the two in one bottle. When combined they create a toxic chemical compound. You can spray either the hydrogen peroxide first or the vinegar first, then wipe it up and spray the other product. You can also soak toys in a water/ vinegar solution, rinse them, and then spray them with hydrogen peroxide and rinse them off. 
2 reasons why I know these are safe cleaners for babies:
1. You cook with vinegar, preserve foods with vinegar, and could probably drink it but I don't recommend that.
2. Hydrogen peroxide is used on open wounds and to clean canker sores in a mouth.

All 3 of my cleaners: All purpose cleaner, baby-friendly cleaner, and shower cleaner

Cleaner 2: Shower Cleaner!

I found this cleaner on Pinterest and pinned it to my cleaning board to try later. Today, I actually had some extra time while Lil M was sleeping and decided to check out the cleaner. The pinner had written, "I will never use soft scrub, comet, etc. again." Based on that, I knew, just KNEW, that I had to try this. It led me to a super cute blog and a recipe for this Super Cleaner. I tweaked it to my liking, since I like to ever leave things as they are. I love to experiment. 

What You Need:

Vinegar
Dawn: the blue kind
Tea tree oil
Water (optional)
Thickening Agent (optional): I used guar gum, but you can also use corn starch

What to Do:

The original recipe says to heat your vinegar, but I wanted to try it without heating it because I probably won't heat the solution every time I use it. So I heated it by running it under hot water for a few minutes, but it DOES work without warming it. I tried it on one shower without it being warm and on the other shower when it was warm and it worked the same.

A) 1 part vinegar to 1 part dawn soap: so fill half the bottle (minus the neck) with vinegar and then add dawn to double it. 
B) Add 10 drops Tea tree oil
C) Here is where your options come in: You can add a thickening agent to the vinegar and use less dawn. I used guar gum (but you can use corn starch also). You would only add a couple of tablespoons until it reached a thick consistency. If you do thicken your vinegar then cut the amount of dawn soap in half. You mainly want to thicken the vinegar so that it does not run right off the shower walls. You want it to set in and work its magic. 
D) Mix everything together in the bottle until dissolved.
E) Spray on shower and let it set for at least 30 minutes. Then give it a rinse, wipe with your sponge or rag, and rinse again. (I also pre-spray my grout with hydrogen peroxide to make sure no mold is trying to sneak in).

 I also added hot water to mine to heat up the vinegar (just a little bit in the neck of the bottle). I used about 3/4 of the dawn soap and 1 tblsp guar gum. This worked like a charm! It worked so well that I tried it on my counter tops and it was amazing! It left no filmy residue which my soft scrub does sometimes if I don't rinse it well enough. I am officially making the switch.

DIY Homemade cleaner

This past week has been crazy. My parents came in town for a visit so prior to them coming, I was a cleaning machine.
I have been WAITING and WAITING to make my own homemade cleaner and I felt like this was the perfect opportunity. I have been waiting on my store bought cleaners to run out because I did not want to waste them. I always feel like my store bought cleaners run out too quickly, but this time since I wanted them to run out so I could make my own, they took FOREVER to dwindle down.

I talked to a few friends, viewed a few websites, and this is what I came up with:

Disinfectant, all-purpose cleaner: If you make some of your other cleaners, you probably have these items on hand.

Vinegar
Hot Water
Borax
Liquid Castile
Tea Tree Oil

Simple Ingredients!

 Spray bottle    

I used an old 409 spray bottle

Instructions:
Fill your bottle half way with vinegar
Add about 1/2 a tsp liquid castile per 3 cups of liquid
Fill the other half of the bottle with very hot water
Next add 2 tsps of borax per 3 cups of liquid and shake the bottle so it dissolves
Then add 10-12 drops of tea tree oil per 3 cups liquid


I plan on going to Walmart and buying a much bigger bottle to store my cleaner in and just keeping the small bottle under my kitchen sink. You can use this in the kitchen or bathroom. This cleaner disinfects because of the tea tree, liquid castile, and borax along with the vinegar.

SO put it together and get to work!

Jane Wayne Day: Be a Soldier for a Day

Jane Wayne Day was a success! There were different physical parts to the day, but not as many as I had anticipated. I forgot to post my Day 4 preparation, but all I did was run 2 miles. I didn't want to do anything that would make my muscles sore before the big day. I will give you a break down of what we did. It was super fun and if you ever get the chance to participate in an activity like this, I highly suggest giving it a try.

Jane Wayne Day:
It consisted of 6 stations and an MRE for lunch. If you aren't sure what an MRE is, it stands for meals-ready-to-eat and the come in packages with ways to heat them up. You won't believe how creative these things gets! They have sloppy joes, enchiladas, chicken tortellini, and so on. I definitely did not eat one because of my food allergies, but brought my own lunch instead.
Station 1:
  We got to ride in the humvees in full gear! Unfortunately, we did not get to drive them :(

My friend Lauren and I...this was at the beginning of the day

Station 2:
Into the gun simulator we went and got to practice reloading and shooting different guns at a video game type big screen. Did not get a picture of this one because it was too loud for Joe to bring the baby in so he could take a picture

Station 3:
Assembling/ Disassembling an M-4: I actually got the best time!! I was pretty proud of myself

I loved the guns!

Station 4:
The Litter Carry: We had to carry a "casualty" through a medical obstacle course. Our guy only weighed 160 pounds, but add on the weight of the stretcher and running, lifting, and crawling through the dirt and this was the best workout of the day! We also got to learn the basics of a tourniquet.

before

Afterwards!

Station 5:
Combatives: I think this was my favorite. Basically, they taught us how to grapple and assume the dominate position if we ever get attacked. It was fun to learn different techniques and roll in the dirt with my friend. The wind was blowing the dirt everywhere. I even managed to get some in my teeth. YUCK!

Tussling

Station 6:
Physical Readiness Training: By this point I was exhausted, but still managed to pull it together for the push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, and box jumps. Yes, they put us through 30 mins of PRT, but by this time I was so tired it felt like an hour. This was our last station.

Yes, my legs burn from these squats!

Afterwards, they gave us a certificate of completion and I went home and took the best shower of my life. I was dirty, sweaty, and itchy from rolling around in the grass. Despite a few scratches, a grass rash (I'm allergic), and being sore, I had an amazing time!

Workout: Day 2 & 3 Preparation for Be a Soldier Day

Hmmm....still wondering why I thought I would take on this Be A Soldier for a Day thing, but I'm still ready to conquer it.

Here's what I did to prepare the last 2 days:

Day 2: I was still so sore from Day 1 that I could barely moved, but I managed to push through it.

Bodyrock workout: This is the booty lover workout.....not sure that my booty loves me right now, but maybe in a week it will :)

I think this is a pretty nice booty

And this one:

This is what I imagined my butt looking like after working out!

So I made it through Day 2 doing: Frog jumps, push-ups, switch lunges, squats, leg lifts, and tons of abs. Click the link above and give it a try!

Day 3: I did another bodyrock workout. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this website! The workouts are short and simple and my lil' M can sit through them easily. I'm hoping tomorrow I can throw in a run with my workout since the weather was too nasty today.


Workout:  Another booty lover workout...this week is all about butts, thighs, and legs.

Another great booty....gotta keep working for this!

This workout required a lot of squats, switch lunges, push-ups, and planks....not to mention 12 rounds of the exercises, but it feels so good to sweat it out!

To top my exercises off, today I cooked this wonderfully lean dinner that I got from this website:

I followed the recipe and directions exactly except (there's always an except) I swapped out the type of fish. I don't particularly care for Tilapia so I decided to cook Swai. Swai is a very mild, moist white fish. It was delicious!

What you need:
Swai fillets 

½ cup whole wheat flour

fresh lemon slices

olive oil

salt + pepper


What to do:

• Heat your pan over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil.

• While pan is heating, salt and pepper fish to taste. Place flour on a flat plate and coat each side of the fish in the flour
• When the pan is hot, place the fish in the pan. Allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes on one side until that side is crispy. 
• Carefully turn the fish over, and allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side until crispy. Test for your desired doneness.

Serve with some beautifully nutritious, delicious roasted broccoli like I did instead of the rice and your dinner is carb-free. Enjoy!

I could eat this all day!

WORKOUT: Preparation for be a Soldier for a Day

Soooo....I got this flyer that said: Jane Wayne Day a.k.a Be a Soldier for a Day

Then I got this great idea: that my friends and I should participate....
It is this Friday and the closer it gets the more worried I am. So I am tailoring my workouts this week to kick butt and make me push myself extremely hard.
So today, I did a body rock workout and ran 1.5 miles! Go Me!

Workout:

BodyRock Original Workout:
There are 2 parts to this workout:
Part One:
Set your interval timer to 10/10 for 12 rounds & complete the following two exercises back to back completing as many reps as you can.
1) Plie Squat Jumps & Mountain Climbers
2)  Complete 200 High Knee Skips
Reset your interval timer again for 12 rounds of 10/10 again and complete the following two exercises below, push as hard as you can
3) Jump Lunge & Mountain Climbers


This was just part one. Go here for part 2 and the bonus workout.
P.S. Why do they call it a bonus workout? It sure doesn't feel like a bonus when you're doing it, but the way my booty is burning right now feels kind of nice in a get-in-shape kinda way. :)

Then I got one of these for 1.5 miles:

Sure wish I looked this good running!

 Afterwards I thought I might drop dead, but after some extra water to replenish and a quick salad for a snack, I felt great!
Bring on Be a Soldier for a Day!!!! I'll kick butt!

Homemade Oatmeal Mix: Never buy oatmeal packets again!

I must say that I'm so glad I stumbled across the blog that had homemade oatmeal mix. I use this recipe all the time!
I used to buy this for my husband ALL the time:

But I did not like the fact that they put a bunch of artificial flavorings/ colorings in it.
Nor did I like the fact that he had to eat 2 packets to get one serving/ feel satisfied and this doubled the calories! (The packets only have about 130 calories each, but since they only have a tiny bit of oats and the rest is flavor/ filler you do not get as full).
Also they are ripping you off for the convenience, because the cost to make your own is much cheaper.

So I read the blog and decided to make my own! I was super pleased at how easy this was to make and at how much my husband LOVED it! He know longer asks me to buy the oatmeal packets. It is also super convenient because he can measure out 1/2 cup of the mix, 1 cup water, and pop it in the microwave for 90 secs all by himself. My helpful hubby has evolved...he can make his own breakfast and snack!

Here's what to add to a large bowl:

FYI: I always make a batch and a half and it gives you about 24 servings. I will put those measurements in the parenthesis.

6 cups quick-cooking oats (9 cups)
1 1/3 cups nonfat dry milk powder (2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar (5/8 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon salt ( 1 1/2 tsp)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (1 1/2 tbsp)
1 cup chopped dried fruit, optional

Mix everything together, making sure to break up any brown sugar balls, then put into an old oatmeal container and enjoy when you feel like it! I keep this container on top of the fridge with the cereals so we're not confused between the oatmeal mix and the regular oats (you could always label it though).

Yup I store it in one of these old containers!

Problems that were fixed:
No artificial add-ins
Calories for a REAL serving (1/2 cup): 159 calories! Not bad for a tasty breakfast/ treat!
Cost: Making your own is cheaper. When I calculate the cost, I will post the exact price per serving.