Enjoying Down Time

Enjoying Down Time

It has been a bit crazy in our house hold over the past few weeks.  A good crazy I would call it, Steve has been working away on a job that has left him away over night.  I started to think that we as a family are very custom to Steve being gone most of the day but always having him home at night.  So it was an adjustment but we are very flexible.  Since I'm able to stay home with the kids are time together as a family might be middle of the week.  I remember senior week on the beach and stopping to get my palm read for something to do.  I handed her my $20.00 and she told me I would never work a  traditional 9-5 job. I laughed because I already knew that about myself.  And one of the reasons I married my husband was because I never wanted a boring husband that worked a 9-5 job.  He always keeps life interesting and I can say life is never boring.  As he was gone one of our renters called and was unable to flush the toilet it's in those moments I'm glad I know the basics of how to handle the situation. 


Some times life does get crazy and as we work so hard for the future of our family and having property for them to enjoy.  It's just as important to take care of the relationships in the house.  My husband loves to hunt and I joined him last year and have found it to be fun as well.  I enjoy using the crossbow.  So our "date" was dropping the kids at grandma and grandpa's house early in the morning so we could head to the woods. 

Then we enjoyed going to the Elk viewing center I have to say even though we live close and rarely go we always try to go once a year in the fall.  Clint had a great time and enjoyed running around.  The funny thing since we left early in the morning I scooped Josie girl out of bed and left her pj's on.  I totally forgot to bring a change of clothes for her!! 

Next we drove while the kids napped (I will miss that some day).  So as we drove Steve wanted to show me some of the worked he did over the last summer in the woods.  I enjoy seeing the work that goes on it gives me a better understanding of what his days look like.  We also stopped and watched a good friend of our run his dosser as the cleared a piece of the woods.  Clint was awake at this time and Loves any type of equipment and watching it run. 

So as the past two days of fun family time together comes to an end what I wanted to point out was that the things that we did, did not involve spending a ton of money or buying the kids big toys but more the time spent together.  We only have so much time with our little ones and building a strong foundation with them.  So take time when ever your family is able to be together weather its the weekends or middle of the week and enjoy the down time.  Make it simple but also make memories as well.


So yes life goes on even if the house is not as clean as it once was or the laundry is not always done and put away.  What kind of memories do you want your children to have? 

Clean Eating snack ideas

Why is it important to eat every 2 to 3 hours a day

First you always want to start the day off with eating breakfast within the first hour of waking up, the biggest reason for doing so is to get your metabolism going.

Right off the bat I need you to know one thing: STOP starving yourself! It's so important to be eating every 2-3 hours a day.

WHY?

The key isn’t to starve. Actually, that’s exactly what you don’t want to do. What we want to do is to eat something every 2-3  hours. Most people eat 2-3 big meals per day. They go six, seven, sometimes, eight hours without food. When you don’t eat for a while your blood sugar really drops. And then when you eat after six, seven hours your blood sugar spikes. When your blood sugar spikes that causes there to be excess insulin in your blood. When there is excess insulin in your blood your body stores fat more easily. So the big question is, “Rachel, how do I change my body from a fat store to a fat burner?” It’s all about proper nutrition. The answer is simply this: 4-6 portion-controlled, balanced meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day.

By eating this way, you’ll effortlessly speed up your metabolism. Think of this way. If you have a campfire burning and you don’t add wood to the fire, eventually the campfire will burn out! But if you add a little wood every few hours, the campfire will continue to burn. And burn hot!!! It is also easier for your body to digest smaller meals than larger ones.

So, as you see, our metabolism is like the fire…never or rarely feed it and it will slow down. Feed it every few hours and it has no choice but to speed up! So the next questions what should I be eating every 2-3 hours?
Proteins and complex carbohydrates
Eating balanced throughout the day is not the only important factor to keeping your metabolism burning high and your body working well. Every meal (and snack) should include both carbohydrates and proteins. Understand that carbohydrates are 100 percent pure energy, fuel for the body. Proteins are the building blocks; but if no carbohydrates are available, the body will burn proteins. A carbohydrate should be eaten with protein to protect it from being wasted as a less efficient fuel source.  Protein is necessary for vital building functions:  boosting the metabolism, building body muscle,keeping the body fluids in balance, fighting infection, and feeling full longer.

 

It's best to have a protein and complex carbohydrate with every snack or meal.

Snack ideas:

Celery and almond butter
Carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus Apple and raw almonds
Peach and unsalted cashews
Unsalted rice cake and almond butter
String cheese (low fat weight watchers) and handful of strawberries
Low fat cottage cheese with fresh peaches
Greek yogurt with raw honey and berries
Banana, tablespoon of almond butter half a whole wheat shell (this is a “bigger” snack)
Apple and almond butter
3 egg whites and Raspberries
Cherry tomatoes and raisins
 Eating healthy is a life style not a crash diet I can help you along the way.  We can do this together simple daily changes make big results over time.

Clean Eating Salad Dressings

Clean Eating Salad Dressings

Strawberry Poppy seed Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Agave                            
• 1/4 cup  raspberry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 cup of fresh strawberries( you can use frozen it will cause the dressing to be a little more thicker)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:

In a blender, combine the first seven ingredients; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Stir in poppy seeds. Chill until serving. Yield: 1 cup.

 Avocado Ranch Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ripe avocado                                                    
• 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt                                                     
• 1/4 cup low fat sour cream                                               
• 1 tablespoon almond milk                                                    
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar                                                                
• 1/8 teaspoon salt                                            
• 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley                                             
• 1 pinch dried dill weed                                                   
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder                                                 
• 1 pinch garlic powder

Directions:

Mash avocado in a bowl, then stir in yogurt, sour cream, almond milk, and vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, parsley, dill, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir until well blended, chill until ready to serve.

Creamy Garlic Dressing

 
Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon unfiltered honey or raw agave nectar

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender and blend on medium high for 30 seconds or until well mixed.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.  If dressing solidifies when cold, let sit at room temperature until liquid.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon of mustard
• 1 Tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 Tablespoon of lemon juice

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek Yogurt, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator, makes 2 servings.

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese  
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup low fat sour cream  
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce  
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley  
• 1 tablespoon honey  
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the blue cheese, Greek yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, honey, pepper, and salt. Chill until serving, makes three cups.

 Here is a list of just a few popular dressing that you would normally buy, but by replacing them with healthy homemade dressings your saving yourself from a ton of unwanted garbage.

Determination

Determination

We all have it but what to do with it we all want changes will we do them?  We all want a six pack will we work for it?  Determination- and goal driven go together.  Talk is cheep and easy but do we have what it takes to follow thru?  This is a great definition of determination:

Here is list of 6 reasons people don't fallow thru with determination

  1. Lack of understanding – What I often find is that people don’t know how to do some of the simplest tasks in their workouts.   This lack of understanding quite often stops or at a minimum delays them from taking action and ultimately they will just get distracted by other things.

   2. Don’t know where to start – This is one of the first questions folks usually ask me…  “where do we start?”.  The reason is because even simple tasks usually have multiple moving parts. Will I have to make 2 different dinners?  So not knowing where to start will often stop people from ever starting at all.

   3.Overwhelmed with details – So let’s say someone understands what to do and even knows where to start…But with to many details it becomes to much information.

   4. Priorities – A lot ofz things happen in are every day and  knowing your priorities is very important. 

   5. Out of control with their time – This is one of the ROOT causes I see a lot.  When I work with people I always look for ways to fine tune their schedule.  Even if they don’t ask for that…  Reason being is that this is often the first excuse… “I didn’t have enough time”. 

6.Stress – While this is just an excuse, stress is very real and often debilitating.  And it is often compounded by items 1 through 5 on this list not being answered for the individual and that ultimately creates more stress.  Stress is not only a distraction it can result in a depression and other paralyzing behavior that makes a person stop caring.

So is this time different?  Determination is just a word in the English language but for results you must take action to follow thru with what needs to take place.




Crock pot Teriyaki Chicken

Crock pot Teriyaki Chicken

This recipe is designed for the mother that does not like to cook or for the busy working mom that does not have hours to prepare a "5 course meal" for dinner but still wants to make something healthy.  We live in a world were everything is rushed why not have your crockpot do the cooking. So when it comes time to sit down together as a family your not dead tired rather you can enjoy your family and eat dinner together. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of low sodium teriyaki sauce
1 cup of baby carrots
1 red onion cut in to chunks
1 cup of fresh pineapple
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken

Directions:
Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.  I like to only add the pineapples the last half hour its a personal preference.  Also you could totally make your own teriyaki sauce but this recipe is designed to keep it simple and quick.  Also this is a great recipe to make ahead of time and to freeze in a zip lock bag and place in the freezer.  I always throw frozen ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.  serve this recipe with brown rice or a sweet potato.

T25 week 9 progress

What a great week is has been when I set out to get myself back in shape, then my family I had know idea the things I would be doing.  When I entered into a challenge group this past May and my coach asked me what some of my goals were and what I wanted to accomplish I put on that list a 5k!  Well if you would of told me then that I would be doing it and I would have one of my sister along with I would of told you to keep on dreaming.  Well here were are and we had a blast!!

This was so much fun and I plan on doing another 5k in two months.  But I don't think it will be nearly as much fun.  They have happy music planning the entire time.  Also you get short with chalk threw out the entire race!!



For me what gets me exited and causes me to jump out of bed in the morning is knowing that I'm bettering my own healthy and also those around me.  I love running challenge groups and seeing folks make a life style out of exercising and eating clean.  For me I don't view it as a "sale" I see it more as someone has invested there money in me and know it's time to get to work.  Sure you can go on E-bay buy the same workouts for 20.00 less.  But then what? We all know what comes next after two weeks you miss a few workouts eat crap and fall off the wagon. That's why I invested back into the folks that first  invested in me. 

So what I can say for sure is T25 has really strengthen my core and really started to put definition in my legs.  I would recommend this if you are short on time, just starting to workout again, need to spice up your workout, or just plan want to see what all the talk about T25 is.

I can not wait to take my before and after pictures!!  That's the best part and to see how many more inches are gone!
Would you like more info about t25 and how to join a challenge group?  Comment below

Snicker doodle shakeology

Yes we all want that taste of a good warm cookie but don't want all the fat and unwanted garbage we would be taking in by eating traditional Snickerdoodle.

  This recipe gives you that taste but keeps it healthy at the same time.  In fact by drinking one of these a day I'm getting all the daily  vitamins my body needs.  Here is a clip to watch just what goes into shakeology.  It's not a protein shake!  It is actually a meal replacement which means that it has the proper carb to protein ratio that you need in a meal to keep you full for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. It has the fast burning complex carbs and the slow burning fuel. Together they are what make a complete meal. Also, shakeology is equivalent to eating 6 salads in one meal. I will be honest I was a little skeptical at first, It took me forever to give it a try. But once I did I swear I will never go back. I no longer have that mid afternoon crash where I want to sleep, I don't crave sweets, and Its quick and easy when I'm busy and don't have time to make a meal! It's saved me in so many situations. Honestly it really is worth it.

If you would like more recipes on this amazing product please comment below.  Have a wonderful day!!