Healthy Recipe

Tomorrow I am posting the second at home workout!  I have gotten a ton of feed back and am excited that it is helping so many people!  Thanks for all the emails and comments!

For today I thought I would post my new favorite healthy recipe!  I LOVE carbs...but they are so so bad for you!  I also love breakfast which is a huge conflict of interest not being able to eat carbs and all....so I found this amazing recipe that is healthy, easy and so good we some times eat it for dinner!

Oatmeal Pancakes
1 serving ( I double it for Ted and I)

3 egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 banana (best if a little brown and not super ripe)
A splash of vanilla.

Put it all in a blender and blend it up until it is a smooth consistency.  Cook like normal pancakes.

I double the above and blend it up all at once...it makes about 3 pancakes per person.  I also add a little sugar free syrup...SO SO good!

I have a friend Anna who only eats gluten free and she used her gluten free oats and said this is the best pancake recipe she has found.  She is the one that helped figure out that the pancakes taste better with browned bananas...the flavor isn't as strong if they are green bananas.

YUMM!  Almost takes like a banana bread pancake!

ENJYOY!!

At Home Workout

After a play group I went to at the park (no I don't have kids but some times my friends share theirs with me:) and after talking to all the moms there, I started to understand how hard it is to find time to work out when your a mom.  Not only to find time but also trying to find a place that is suitable with little ones running around.

After talking a bit with my personal trainer Bob Davis I have devised a plan for all you moms...or work-aholics who can barely sneak a minute to workout!  

Cardio is great and you need to do it, but weights are a must!  The more muscle you have the more fat you are able to burn by just sitting there!  Yep muscle burns fat without even doing anything!  

Each week I am going to put up a video of 3 exercises you can do from your own home (or office).  You don't even have to have workout clothes on!  The best part is, it won't take a lot of time and you can do it with your kiddos running around or napping!  

For those of you first starting to do weight training you will want to start with the level 1 workout (see below).  For those of you doing cardio or who have done training in the past you could probably do level 2.  For those of you who do weight training already and are in pretty good shape level 3 is for you (you might even want to do 10lbs)  

I do 3 days of weights, and 3 days of cardio.  But even just 1-2 days of this weight training a week can make all the difference!!  

Level 1workout

10 squats

6 curls

10 lunges (5 each leg)

**repeat this series 3 times**

Level 2 workout

15squats

8 curls

16 lunges (8 each leg)

**repeat this series 3 times**

Level 3 workout

20 squats

10 curls

20 lunges (10 each leg)

**repeat this series 3 times**

Good luck and kick some butt!

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Weights you can buy online or in stores:

Walmart

Amazon

Target

Sports Authority 

Organize!

It's a new year!  It's time for goal setting and new adventures!   I love this time of year!

I thought it would be fun to do a few organizing posts for those of your with goals to organize in the new year.  Organizing can be overwhelming, but if you have the right supplies and a little time it can be a lot of fun!  It doesn't have to be expensive either!

For you the first post I am showing you the inside of my kitchen, how I organized it and where I bought all of my organizing helpers.

The most important thing to me is organized my utensils, cups and plates...if they aren't organized it takes forever to unload the dishwasher, but with a few quick fixes putting dishes away never was easier.

My utensil drawer.  I have a lot of measuring cups because I bake so much.  I keep the 3 separate sets stacked and in little white baskets I found at Walmart I believe it was $2 for 3 baskets.  The basket on the right also has my measuring spoons.  I have a hard time keeping them super organized so i just stack them nicely in no real order.  

The baskets I have my whisks and spatulas in I got at Walmart as well in the kitchen section.  Then I place a few things I rarely use behind all the baskets.

The one thing to keep in mind when using baskets is to get the no slip drawer inserts.  This is a roll I got at Walmart and it has done all of my drawers in my kitchen and bathroom and was under $5.  (You can see it under my spatula it is a brown non stick that I just cut to fit the drawer. 

My silverware drawer I have 3 separate baskets.  They were all from the same line at the container store.  A little pricey but I love how clean I can keep the mesh.  I made sure to put some more non slip surface below it.   I always try to have a little space for all of my clips for the tops of bags or anything I need to close.  If they just float around the drawer they are hard to find and you always need them at the weirdest times!  

Cups and plates...everyone has their own method on this one.  I only buy white plates and cups (or glass) because they are easier to see if they are clean or not (the germ-a-phobe in me) but I always put my glasses facing down, they don't tip as easily and they stay much cleaner.  Just make sure you find a system that works for you.  It may take a few times of rearranging to find a way that makes sense and is easy to use!  Don't be afraid to re-organize something you already have organized I do it ALL the time!  That is how you find a good system!! 

Here is my food cupboard.  Our breakfast shelf is on the bottom...I know we are almost out of oatmeal I need to get to the store!  The container for the oatmeal is amazing but pricey.  I found it here at the container store.  I also store my flour and sugar in similar containers, they are air tight and easy to open.

The top shelf is where we keep all of our treats.  The plastic thin containers I found here at ikea (they have the two sizes the tall and the shorter ones) and the glass ones on the left I found at Ross (some of my best finds are in the kitchen section at Ross!)

I call this my drink cupboard.  The bottom shelf is mostly herbal coffee and tea and hot chocolate packets.  The containers on the left are flower vases I use when we have a party...I thought why not just use them all of the time!  I got them at Walmart in the kitchen section.  I LOVE the salt grinders you can buy at Walmart on the baking isle.  I have the pepper one behind the salt you just cant see it.

The baskets above the drink shelf are all of my spices.  It is easy to line them up on their sides.  One basket is mainly baking spices the other is cooking spices.  So when I need spices I just pull the baskets down and can see them all at one.  Better yet I am not constantly trying to make them stand up right or loosing any of them.  

These two areas are where I store all of our throw away stuff.  I send a lunch with Ted ever day and so I always include a fork or spoon and a few napkins.  The black baskets I found for those were in the kitchen tupperware isle at Walmart.  I love them!  I have now used them in several other places in our house!

On Sundays Ted and I try not to cook and we try to use throw away things to make it more of a easy day for us.  (my day off!!  ha ha!) So I always have silverware, cups, plates and bowls.  It makes it so much easier!  I am not going to lie we use them a lot of other days too!  ha ha!  

Well that is most of my kitchen!  Let me know if you have any questions!  I know you can do it!  Next week we will tackle the bathroom...which is the hardest one for me to find a good system!

Have a great week!!

Money, more than just numbers.

One of my biggest goals this past year was to fine tune our budget.  I am a total math nerd so it sounded fun to me.  It was about half way through the year when I realized that money and budgets aren't just about the actual numbers...the money you spend can go further than just simply saving money or spending money.

I first understood the basics of this idea when I married Ted 9 years ago.  I watched his dad and every time he wanted to buy something or needed his car serviced or anything where he was spending money, if he knew someone who had a shop that sold it, or his brothers friends cousin sold that type of bike he would always buy from a place where his money would make a difference, and not only giving the shop money but supporting their cause and showing your trust in them.

As I worked on our budget this year I realized that you can budget your money fairly easy, but how was I to maximize the money that I was spending to not only fulfill my needs but help those people around me.

I love buying from friends and family.  This Christmas Ted and I made a goal to buy as many gifts from our friends with businesses as possible or choose locally run stores to buy from.  In a way it felt like our money was going further than just simply buying a present, it was helping a small business owner out as well.  (We do the same thing when we eat out but that is for a later post :)

So I thought I would share a few of the places I bought stuff from this year.  They are friends and family that have great businesses that I am excited to share with you! (The names of the stores are linked to each individual websites)

Please share any businesses that you or your friends or family own or use!  I am always looking for more business to support!

Rae Revival on Etsy

Beautiful hand made jewelry with a little sas!  

PrettiLilThings on Etsy

Honestly the cutest hand crocheted bows around!  She makes them for all ages! 

Bebecha

Bow ties and suspenders for men and kiddos and cute hair bows!  

This is my nephew wearing a set from Bebecha we got him for Christmas, he is so cute!

Treasure Box Trio on Etsy

You probably have seen a few posts here and on facebook about these shirts

Honestly the most comfy cute shirts!  This one I am wearing above even has a hood!

If you are here in Arizona a great new place opened up at the Biltmore Mall.  It is called The Union.  It is a seciton of small stores that are all locally built and operated and it is so fun to browse through all their cute stuff!  There are several local clothing stores, Smeeks a local candy store, a retro bike store.  Trust me you need to try it out!

New Years Fitness Resolution

This year I started a new years resolution a few weeks early....and I want you to join me!

I watched an interview with a previous Heinemann Trophy winner who said how he got ahead was by doing 5,000 pushups and 5,000 sit-ups a day on top of his normal workout routine.

Where I know that 5,000 sit-ups and pushups is a little unattainable I decided to start with a goal of 200 sit-ups and 200 pushups on top of what I do every week for workout.  And anyone can do this!  No matter what your fitness level is..no matter if you workout or not we can all do a little more!

I started by simply doing 8 pushups 3 times, 3 times a day and at the same time I alternate in 15 sit-ups 3 times, 3 times a day.  That's already 135 sit-ups a day and 72 pushups a day!  And I am slowly adding more every few days.

I still do my normal weekly routine of working out and then 3 times a day a little alarm goes off and I drop and do my extra sit-ups and pushups.  I do them in between laundry, when I wake up, after I make dinner.....or any other time!  Just as long as I do it 3 times a day!

I have already noticed a huge difference in my arm strength!  The last set each time I do my sit up and push ups I do to failure.  So the first two sets I do 15 sit-ups and 8 pushups and the last set I go until I can't go any longer.  That means some times I do more than my first two sets and some times I do less.  The idea behind going to failure is to push yourself just that little bit extra!

Whether you work, have kids, both or have a crazy busy life and can't workout at all...you can all do this!

Here is a little video I filmed yesterday explaining it a little better.  I have been doing little video tutorials for a few sources so I decided I should do them for my own blog as well!

Here is to a healthy and happy New Year!!!

Quinoa Recipe

Last night I posted a picture on instagram of what I made for dinner....several people have emailed me and commented on my post asking for the recipe. So here you go!

If you have never tried Quinoa it is amazing.  Quinoa is a grain, but is not considered a true grain it is most closely related to beets and spinach...and is a super food and is full of protein and good vitamins.  

This recipe was so tastey!  I will make this a lot!  There are lots of extras which was great to send to work with Ted for lunch and we still have more left!  

It isn't a fast recipe but wasn't too hard, just took some time to cook the Quinoa and chop all the ingredients.  Below is the link to the orignial recipe and also I am posting the recipe how I made it (I always make a few changes) the origianl recipe had tofu but we don't love tofu so I omitted it and did a few more tweaks :)

ENJOY!

Black Bean-Quinoa Salad with Basil-Lemon Dressing

Click here for original recipe

Here is how I made it:

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 3 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic) 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (the original calls for double but I just added what came in the package from the store and it was plenty so about a half cup)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic cloves, minced (I buy the canned fresh minced garlic in the produce section)
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen baby lima beans
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot (this is about 1-2 full sized carrots chopped)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 
  
• Directions
• *Combine quinoa and vegetable broth in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until broth is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Remove from heat.
• *Combine remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, basil, and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk until blended. Stir in quinoa.
• *Cook lima beans according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Cool completely. Add the lima beans, green onions, chopped carrot, and black beans to quinoa mixture; stir gently to combine. Store, covered, in refrigerator until chilled (about 2 hours).
• *Right before I served mine for dinner I added another tablespoon or two of lemon juice to freshen it up.

YUMMMM!  I might go snack on this right now!  Super healthy, super tasty!  
ENJOY!

Awakening....

So the other day I got a big awakening!  Someone we recently met was surprised to hear that I liked to cook and bake and that I was actually good at it...they said since we eat out so much they just assumed neither of us liked to cook....

Needless to say it stopped me dead in my tracks, they were right!  Why do I pay someone else to cook for me so often!  It is so much healthier, cost efficient, and less time consuming to just cook at home...I guess since we live in the city now and actually have good healthy eat out options we got a little obsessed.

So this week I have made a huge effort to try to cook.  Most of you reading this know exactly what I mean when I say...I forgot how much up front work it is!  Planning what to make all week, finding recipes, shopping ect....ahhhh and add in our crazy diet (click here for more info on our diet)!  But I got into a grove and I hope I stay here!

I found some great new healthy recipe sites with whole food recipes and although it doesn't look nearly as good as it tasted, Monday night we had vegetarian chili with wholesome wholewheat corn bread. (So glad it is finally cold enough to start eating chili!)

These are the links to the recipes:

Vegetarian Chili

Wholesome Corn Bread

This dinner is less than 300 calories and is hearty to boot!  It filled us up! And is full of great nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants.  

This chili doesn't have that typical chili taste, it is a little sweeter since it has bell peppers and cinnamon but it was really good.  It was about a medium in preparation and time, but then I let it sit in the crock pot after it was done until Ted got home.

The cornbread was pretty good and super easy to make!  This one is a repeat for sure!

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Last night for dinner I made an easy one that I adapted from a few recipes.  We call it Lemon Pasta in our house, and it is super easy!  When I am cooking during the week I try to put a hard recipe one night  (or a new recipe I don't know) and then the next night I put a much easier one so it doesn't overwhelm me :) Here is the recipe:


Easy Lemon Pasta

Ingredients:
~ Any whole wheat pasta - I use rigatoni
   (this recipe uses half of a box since there is just 2 of us, but you can easily double it)
~ One individual container 12 oz. of greek plain or vanilla yogurt - we eat Okios at our house
~ I fresh lemon, or lemon juice
~ Fresh parmesan cheese (I only add this if I have it on hand), about 1/4 cup

Directions:
Cook noodles and drain.  Combine noodles, parmesan cheese and yogurt together.  Zest the outside of the lemon into the noodle mixture (if using a fresh lemon, if not just add lemon juice to the pasta to your preference), then squeeze the juice from the lemon over the noodles...ENJOY!

It is that easy!!

PS - don't worry we haven't given up on eating out all together, but are saving it for weekends and busy nights :)  I will never be able to give up my restaurant obsession completely....but I guess you have to cook at home some times....

Healthy Eating

Ha ha this made me laugh!  What has happened to us!?

Ok so I have had tons of people ask me what Ted and I's "diet" is and how we eat healthy.  First off it really isn't a diet so much as our life style...but you will understand that more later.  And in no way am I an expert on this, we have just found something that works for us and has been pretty easy to maintain so I am sharing our theory on healthy eating :)

SIDE NOTE:  I have a lot of woman (friends and people I meet) that are so hard on themselves!  Some times they say things like I wish I could be skinny or this or that....well lately I have been saying - you have had X amount of kids!  Give yourself a break!  I would trade a different stomach line any day for even just one kiddo (for new comers Ted and I have been married 8 years and haven't been able to have kids of our own)!  Remember that no one is truly the same after just one pregnancy let alone after having several cute kids!  So give yourself some credit and please remember that you had a human in your stomach!

Ok now that I have said that :)  The truth is we can all eat better, exercise more, and do more...you just have to find what works for you!

Ted and I's healthy eating theory is simple: eat whole foods during the week Sunday -Friday every meal no exceptions.  Cut out most meat (especially red meat).  Eat only whole wheats.  Low sugar.  Lots of veggies.  That's it! (we count our calories to try to maintain a steady in take I am at about 1500-1600 a day and he is at about 2000)

Most whole food meals are so easy to prepare!  If you don't eat processed foods they need little preparation.  Our grocery bill has even gone down.  See below for some of our favorite whole food meals and snack ideas.

My favorite part!?  SATURDAY!  Saturday's we get to eat whatever we want for lunch and dinner (that means anything, any quantity, and thing we can think of)....so during the week if I crave my favorite candy bar (the new simply carmel milky way of course) or if Ted craves a big hamburger, we put it on our "eat on Saturday" list.

The first few weeks were hard....but after you hold tight to the weekly schedule Saturdays will make you sick!  We go all out dunkin' donuts, candy, ice cream, anything we want from 12pm until we go to bed!  Honestly it makes us sick for a few days afterward  making us not want bad food.  So by Wednesday when I start craving bad foods again Saturday isn't too far off and so it is realistic to wait a few days and  for me to just put my cravings on my Saturday list.

There are few reasons this works...one is what I mentioned above: the longer you eat healthy during the week and only eat badly on Saturday the less your body can tolerate the bad food.  Our Saturdays of later are pretty pathetic, our body can't handle nearly what it use to when we started serval months ago.

The second reason this works is caloric cycling, if you mix up your food you eat once in awhile it keeps your body in check and tricks it a little.  If you get in too much of a rut eating bad food all the time or just good food your body can get too use to it.

We have more energy, weight loss, muscle growth, my skin has never been better, and we are sleeping better.  It truly is amazing what our diet can do for us!

Ok so here are some of our favorite go to meals and snack ideas:

Breakfast 
- Oatmeal (not from a packet), you can still microwave it and I always add raisins and a little brown sugar
- Cream of What (again no packets) but the box still has microwave instructions and Ted loves it when I add chopped dates to his
- Baked Sweet potato with a little brown sugar (The Japanese say that their longevity and health is because they eat sweet potatoes for every meal)
- 2 eggs - I like mine scrambled Ted likes his fried or pouched
- Egg burrito - I just scramble 2 eggs for egg salt and pepper them and put them in a whole wheat tortilla with some fresh salsa for Ted

Lunch
- Wheat noodles
- Wheat pasta salad (I have some easy recipes if you want some let me know!)
- Ted likes brown rice with teriyaki chicken on top
- One of my go to's is a whole wheat peanut butter and jelly (with sugar free jelly)
-Veggie Sandwich
-Egg Sandwich
-Turkey Sandwich
-Veggie Hummus wrap

Dinner
- Our favorite easiest dinner are soba noodles pictured below we just salt and pepper them or use other seasoning or balsamic vinegar or soy sauce.  (these are a buckwheat noodle, really healthy, have protein, and only take 4 minutes to cook!)
- Pasta Salad (I usually make one a week and then we eat it for lunch the next day

- Hummus with a wheat pitta and veggies
- Stir fry veggies with low sodium teriyaki sauce over brown rice
- We do a variety of salads
- We love Mediterranean so a hummus pita wrap, or some of the boiled chicken or anything that is fresh and not fried at a restaurant

Snacks 
- Boiled Eggs
- Kind Bars (my favorite)
- Rock and Refuel protein drink
- Wheat Thins
- Greek Yogurt
- Pretzels dipped in the to go peanut butter cups
- Triscuits
- Fruit (apples, oranges, pears, peaches, nectarines)
- Veggies (carrot sticks and celery are our favorites)

Places we like with healthier menus
- Pei Wei - their Japanese rice bowls have grilled chicken and veggies and we get brown rice
- Any Mediterranean
- Cheesecake Factory - They have a new SkinnyLicious menu
- Luci's Healthy Market - you can have breakfast all day and they have buckwheat waffles and pancakes....they also have amazing wraps and hummus
- Zoe's 
- Robek's 

Every place you go you can find something pretty healthy!  You might just have to order it a little different than they have it listed :)

Hope this helps!  Send me any of your good ideas or recipes we are always dying to try new healthy things!

I already have an ice cream sundae with hot fudge on my Saturday list......

Hair

Recently I have seen a lot of people I haven't seen in awhile that I have met over the past eight years of Ted and I's marriage, and everyone always comments how different my hair is..it is lighter, longer, curlier....

I then realized that most people I know don't know truly how different my hair has been over the years!  So without further ado here are eight years of my crazy hair:

When we got married in Jan 2004 I had hair almost to my waist and had never colored it....

First big cut less than a few months from getting married

Even shorter 2005 

Grew it out and died it brown!!?  What the....*&#@??

My first time coloring my hair....

Chopped when we moved to Philly 2007

With my late Grandma in the pic

2008 finally growing it out

End of our Philly time May 2009

Curly short...March 2010

Head band time...awkward growing stage! Our time in Cali...

Finally a pony tail!  The moment I had been waiting for!

Pig tails and scary pirate face ha ha!   Oct 2010

March 2011 getting longer!

French twist obsession 

(treatments made me loose half my hair so this was a good cover!)

Curly craziness in humid DC

Super Straight great baby pulling hair!

Long with big curls

Twists!  

Super Blonde!  

Low back bun

Side Bun

(guess I like to wear this dress...)

High bun

Crazy up do!

Hard work having long hair...

Finally a long braid!

All my hair has grown back!  And is curly again!

Look Familiar!?

Back to where I started so many years ago...

   

That my friends is the marry go round of my hair..... Now you all know how crazy I am!

Recently

Two blog posts in one week!  I really must be back on the blogging train!!

Living down town is amazing!  We really haven't lived in "the city" since Philly 3-4 years ago....and boy have I missed it!  Everything is so close!  There are great places to eat!  But truly what makes it feel like home are the people.  There are people in every stage of life, every background possible, and I love it.  Going to the grocery store is so much fun!  

I meet so many amazing people every day and see people who are struggling or having a hard time, some times all I can do is try to make them smile, but even that seems rewarding.  

Living here has made me remember my purpose.  Ted studies a lot about passions and purpose and having a fulfilling life.  I am usually his ginny pig (and I love it) and he helped me a few years back to see that my purpose and love in life is to make people smile.  As I work, or shop, or do anything else I always encompass my mission and try to make people smile.

Ted's mission is to teach and inspire.  He does that in so many capacities!  Have you ever thought of what your mission or passion in life is!?  It truly helps me every day, and I feel like I get so many chances here in the city to work on my mission :)

A week or so ago I bought the cutest shirt from my friends who are selling inspirational shirts 

Check out their Etsy Site Here

Now that it has cooled down here in AZ I have been wearing this thing non stop!  It is so comfy and fits great.  I can't tell you how many converstation starters it gets...mostly because I am always making friends in the store or in line at the grocery store, but it has really helped me to make people smile and helped to me to explain what I am grateful for.  I can't wait to buy their "Blessed" shirt and start wearing that one around!

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On another less serious note....I LOVE Christmas!!  There is a radio station that started playing Christmas music here in Arizona this past weekend and even though I was a little surprised I was so excited!  Ted was not so thrilled...since he knows how crazy my love for Christmas is.....

Every year one of the temples for our Church (The Church of Jesus Christ) the one near us in Mesa, AZ does the most amazing Christmas lights.  Last night Ted and I got a sneak peak, they had them on to test them.  They were amazing!  And they were only part way done!  

There is just something I love about Christmas lights on a cactus!  

Let me know if you want to go this year they are up the Friday of Thanksgiving and go through new years...you don't have to pay or listen to any church stuff...they are just so amazing~!