Confessions

Ever have those weeks where you just want to eat, eat, eat and cocoon and NOT work out.  Yup...that's how my week went last week. I was doing so awesome the week before and then this past week came and I just didn't feel like putting in any effort. I managed to squeak out a couple of workouts and eat somewhat healthy....except for that lovely chocolate cream pie that one of my students made me....You didn't read that, did you? Hopefully not, because I definitely did NOT eat one slice of it. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling this way until yesterday when my favorite monthly friend came to visit. I have not had my period in 2 years! Between pregnancy and breastfeeding, it has been wonderful. It also made me forget how horribly awful hormones can play with our minds/ bodies.


So if you've been feeling the same way and haven't been trying as hard, don't beat yourself up. Just start over. Hopefully, if you've ever thought that I'm just one of those super-in-control-of-my-eating/ exercising kinda girls this post will let you know that I'm not! Just because I eat healthy does not mean I don't crave all sorts of unhealthy, fatty deliciousness...because I definitely do!

Here's to occasionally needing a couple of slices of chocolate cream pie!

Here's to getting back on track after that piece of pie!

How Bad Do You Want It....How Bad Do You Need It?

LOVE, Love, love country music! So this song popped into my mind when I was thinking about a few more clean eating tips I could share with everyone. How bad do you want to be healthy and in shape? Maybe how bad does your body need for you to eat healthy? Maybe this isn't what the song is talking about, but just make the right food choices and exercise, and you'll have what the song IS talking about! :)

Here's how BADLY I want those abs/ Need them before baby number 2:

Exercise the past 3 days: Thurs--ZWOW and bodyrock; Fri-Rest day w/ 300 abs; Sat--5.5 mi ruck march/ jog with the hubby!

 A couple of days ago I was just talking about being a busy mom/ person and still finding ways to eat clean. One of my favorite things to do is to have what I call a "prep" day. Typically, this "prep" day falls on the day I go grocery shopping or the day after. I should really call it "prep" hour instead of day because it only takes about an hour to prep for my week! It takes me a day because once I start prepping everything then I start cooking, baking etc.

Here's what I do:

1. On shopping day, I stock my fridge with fresh fruits, veggies, and meat.

2. On prep day, I take everything out and prep it for my next week. This includes: washing, chopping, and bagging any veggies I will be cooking that week, marinating and freezing any meats I will be using, and chopping/ bagging any fruit for freezing that week.

Chopped veggies in mason jars

All you need is your food, mason jars or plastic baggies, cutting board, and knife.


Here are my chopped veggies in mason jars! This week I did green beans, Brussels sprouts, yellow squash, broccoli, eggplant, carrots, cucumbers, red potatoes, zucchini, and butternut squash. 

Funny story behind the mason jars....last week, I only needed one mason jar, but my dad (who was trying to be cost effective), instead of buying me 1 mason jar bought an entire 10 or 12 pack. I had NO idea what I was going to do with all those jars!?! So when I started doing my prep, I remembered the jars and figured I would save a few plastic bags from the landfill. I really like using this quart size because I can easily measure out enough for a meal. BUT like I said...plastic baggies will work just as well so don't let not having mason jars stop you from doing weekly prep.

Chopped carrots! Some for cooking and some for snacking!

 If you're wondering if this is really worth the time and effort to do it, let me tell you: IT IS! If you're busy and you're anything like me, you buy all of these great healthy foods on grocery shopping day. By the time it's dinner and you're supposed to be pulling out all those healthy awesome foods, you're tired. You don't want to chop, dice, wash, rinse, peel anything. I got tired of feeling that way and either not pulling the food out or not having time because I was in a rush. So I started prepping my food. I also wash and bag my lettuce on prep day too. If you're wondering why there are white paper towels in the mason jars, that's to absorb any excess water from washing.

For the ambitious, here are a few other things I make on prep day for my following week: homemade instant oatmeal mix, granola bars, homemade fruit rolls-ups, and sometimes bread. I make all of these things as needed for the week. That way when I'm on the go I can grab a healthy snack; I already know where it came from, the ingredients, and calories!

sliced eggplant! Too big for the mason jar

Choosy Moms Choose....

....Jiff? Is that what you were thinking? Well, the popular commercial does end that way, but since I am allergic to peanuts and have no expertise on peanut butter this post is definitely not about choosy moms choosing Jiff. It is about:

Choosy Moms Choosing: healthy, easy, delicious recipes and great exercise choices. If you're like me, you're not just only a choosy mom,

But a:

Busy mom, Working woman, Wife, College Student, or maybe every single one of those fits you! I know busy mom, working woman, and wife describes my category. So how do I have time eat clean, healthy recipes while eliminating processed foods and find time to work out?

I use easy recipes like the one below. Don't think I'm wonder woman or have excessive amounts of energy. Believe I don't! I try to find ways to make my life EASIER while at the same time still healthy. I have to be able to have dinner prepare/ cooked, house cleaned, workout in, daily devotions done, baby played with, napped, and ready for daycare, and get myself ready all before I leave for work at 12:15 Mon-Thurs. Once I walk out that door, I typically won't be back until about 7pm. So if I want my family to eat healthy, nutritious foods, its up to me to do the leg work.

Yummy vegetables lining the bottom!

Here is one recipe I tried today that I loved for its simplicity, tastiness, and adaptability!

Chicken Tortilla Soup:
adapted from: jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com

What You Need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cans unsalted diced tomatoes (fresh)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 white beans or great northerns
10-15 Brussels sprouts, stemmed and chopped in half
1-2 handfuls of spinach, shredded 
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium, 99% fat free chicken broth
1-2 cups water
4 Tbsp Taco Seasoning(Costco has a great mix!)
OR
1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp chile powder, 1 Tbsp ground cumin, 1 Tbsp dried cilantro


Toasted flour tortillas or tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

What to Do:

Put chopped onion, Brussels sprouts, spinach, cans of beans, tomato, chicken broth, water, and spices in Crock Pot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken in the Crock Pot. Stir to combine everything.

 If using toasted tortillas, put one toasted tortilla in the bottom of a bowl and spoon soup on top. If using tortilla chips, put soup in bowl and a few tortilla chips on top. Top either bowl with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Tupperware for lunches; little baggies inside freezer baggy for individual servings!

Just a few reasons this recipe is amazing:
You can sneak extra veggies: the original recipe mentioned nothing of Brussels sprouts and spinach, but I wanted my veggies cooked in all at once and you can't even taste them (in case you have a picky eater)!
I took out the corn because I'm allergic to it and because I did not think an extra starch/ carb was necessary. This recipe could easily be adapted for vegetarians/ vegans by adding the corn back in, taking out the chicken, swapping the broth for chicken broth, and adding extra veggies like chopped carrots, zucchini, or yellow squash.
This makes A LOT of food so I kept some in the fridge for lunch tomorrow and put the rest in individual serving size freezer bags to be kept for a quick lunch or dinner. I love to freeze things for busy days. This ensures that my family will still eat healthy, delicious, wholesome meals and still get variety day to day.

FYI: the hubby said, "Wow Babe, this dinner is legit!"

I'll take that as a job well done!

Run and Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

So...I have been gone for a while BECAUSE as usual my life has gotten hectic. This does not mean
I stopped exercising. I did stop for about a week because my poor munchkin caught hand, foot, mouth from the daycare and gave it to me! We had about a week and a half of awfulness. Once it was done my parents came in town for Labor Day Weekend (fabulous!), and then I started my new job this past week.

Today, I want to tell you about my run and my bodyrock. It felt so good to lace up my sneakers and get back to running with Little Moo in the stroller. We ran almost 1.5 miles because we were taking it easy and then after he went down for his nap I did this bodyrock video by Lish. I love her and her videos because she is a mother of 3 kids and is just very realistic with her goals/ workouts!

Lately, I have been toying around with the idea of clean eating and getting defined abs. I have ALWAYS wanted abs, but have never put in the effort. I also eat clean most of the time, but want to start doing this 99% of the time. My goal is to change one thing a week to more homemade clean eating. This SHOULD help my goal of getting defined abs. If I do reach the abs goal, I will definitely post a before and after picture.

Here's one of my favorite, easy, go-to-on-a-busy night recipes:

BUFFALO CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS:

What you need:
Lettuce (I use green leaf or romaine, but really your choice)
1 to 2 cubed chicken breasts
Whole wheat or oat flour
Greek yogurt (cream cheese or sour cream will work)
Cheese
Salt
Pepper,
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Hot sauce

Love seeing so much green on my plate!

What to do:

Cook your chicken on medium high heat in a nonstick pan with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder to taste.  While your chicken is cooking, Rinse your lettuce and cut the end off. Lay out any toppings on the table that you may want in your lettuce wraps. Ideas: cheese, avocados, salsa, black beans, etc. Place 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Once your chicken is cooked thoroughly, add in 3 to 4 tbsps of Greek yogurt (cream cheese or sour cream) and hot sauce to your taste. Mix it in well until excess is soaked into the chicken. Remove pan from heat and toss the chicken into the flour. Make sure chicken is coated well. Put pan back on the heat with a little olive oil. Put chicken back in pan and cook until outside is crispy. Place chicken in lettuce and top with toppings of your choice. Add in an extra vegetable like green beans or broccoli for an extra side!