Mom Bubble

I used to feel so trapped. Trapped in my own little bubble I created all on my own. "I'm just a mom" I used to tell myself. I had no passions or hobbies. I let myself sink into this mindless role of taking care of everyone else but myself. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being a mom, I love being able to stay home with my kids, they are the biggest blessing in my life next to my husband and I wouldn't change it for the world but in the process, I lost who I was as an individual. 

That is scary. 

When someone asks you what you like to do and all you can think of is "play with my kids" or "go outside". Those questions used to scare me. It felt like I was nothing but a mother which I great but who was I outside of them? 

I had no idea.

So when I started this little business I slowly started to rediscover myself. Over the past 6 months I've learned things about myself that I never knew before. It has been amazing. To have something for myself again besides my family has given me a whole new purpose and reason to strive to be the best I can be. 

I know what it feels like to be a stay at home mom, I know the time restraints and the days just seems to wiz by in one big blur. I also know how it feels to not have anything for YOU and I want to help. 

So I am going to mentor 5 women who are looking for something more in their life. Who are ready to make a change, to earn some extra income while helping others around you. I will give you all the tools you need to succeed. All you need is drive, motivation, be coachable and ready to make a change. 

Want to get started? Just fill out this application and we'll chat ❤️

Coaching Application

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Looking for a quick easy salad that you could prepare before work or right on the spot!? I've got just the one ;)

This is from the Max 30 nutirition book and it's SO yummy!! Made this for a snack and it definitely filled me up while keeping it light and healthy! 

Here is what you do:

-Halve cherry tomatoes until you reach a cup, place in a bowl.

- Slice a cucumber until you reach a cup, place in the bowl with the tomatoes.

-In a separate bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice and salt together. Add pepper if desired and stir to combine.

-Drizzle dressing over tomatoes and cucumbers. Stir to combine.

It's that simple!! If you are going to make it ahead of time I would keep in it te refrigerator until it's time to eat :) 

***Remember: sharing is caring :)***

Happy Monday!!

Well today didn't start off that awesome! My alarm never went off or I shut it off in my sleep... either way, I woke up at 7:30!!! Talk about freak out!! 

So I launched out of bed and started packing lunches, making breakfast and getting my oldest ready for school. Today is the start of Diversity Week so today's theme was "Diversity knocks your socks off" so all the kids were supposed to wear crazy socks for the day. 

This is what my girl picked :) She loved being able to wear whatever socks she wanted AND have them on the outside of her leggings!

So after I got my oldest off to school it was time to come home and make some (more) breakfast for my other two. They both decided on oatmeal, which half the time they don't eat after I make it, so I was determined to make it yummy. 

To my surprise they LOVED it!! 

Here is the recipe!

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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

1/2 cup quick oats

1 cup water

Pinch of salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 quarter of an apple

Drizzle of honey

1. In a sauce pan add the water and a small pinch of salt over med-high heat. 

2. Cut up the quarter of an apple into small pieces. I cut mine into toddler friendly bite sized pieces so they were pretty small! About the size of a pea. 

3. Once the water is boiling add in the oats, apple pieces and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

4. Let the mixture cook for about a minute or until oats are cooked. Remove from heat. 

5. Drizzle a little honey over the top and serve!  

This portion was perfect to split between my two toddlers! 

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Now that breakfast to served and cleaned up, I need to get my sweat on with Max 30- Cardio Challenge! 

Have a happy Monday :) 

Sunday- Meal Planning!! Max 30!

This will be the start of my third week with Max 30 BUT I'm a week behind with my workouts (due to an illness and run days) so we are going to repeat week 2.

 (On Saturday I ran my longest distance to date!! So happy! 10K here I come)

Anyways I am prepared this week! I have created a plan this week to I stay on track with Max 30 PLUS continue training to run a half marathon in the spring. 

Here is my plan:

Monday: Cardio Challenge

Tuesday: Tabata Power

Wednesday: Sweat Intervals + 2 mile run

Thursday: Tabata Power

Friday: Friday Fight: Round 1

Saturday: Run 6.2 miles

Sunday: Rest and Stretch 

Along with creating a workout, I completed my meal plan for this week! It's simple and easy so it will be a piece of cake ;) to stay on track. 

As I was making this meal plan I remembered how hard it seemed in the beginning to make one. I had no idea about what to eat, how much to eat, or how to keep it budget friendly. Here are a few tips I have for beginner meal planners like me!

#1- keep it simple! Don't change up your snacks/breakfast everyday. Keep most snacks, lunch and breakfast pretty similar throughout the week. This will cut down on your grocery bill and make prep easy! 

#2- change up your dinners. If you are going to eat the same things for most of the day, make sure dinner is different. Generally I try to give us a wide variety for dinners. I get sick of eating the same foods pretty quickly so this helps cut that out. 

#3- look in your refrigerator and make a meal plan around those things. The last thing you want to do it have to buy all the ingredients for a dish! If you have chicken and broccoli, make a meal with that! Use up all of last weeks items so you avoid wasting it and it will save you money! 

#4- know your weekly schedule. Don't schedule to make a big dinner on the night your daughter has dance. A salad or a sandwich would be best! It will stop the excuses of why you can't stay on track and take the stress out of cooking because you will already have a plan. 

And lastly

#5- know how much you should be eating and WHAT you should be eating. You can check out my FREE clean eating guide to help you with what foods and how much. I'll be honest before Max 30 I really didn't stick to a meal plan nor did I create many. It was hard to figure out how much I needed of each thing. Once I got the Max 30 nutrition program it made it completely clear what I needed. There was no guess work and I could whip up a meal plan very easily. It has been my saving grace! 

I hope that will help you a little in creating your own meal plan! I'm telling you- it will make your life so much easy to have a plan!! 

Happy Sunday and I hope you all have an amazing week!!! 

(Starting reading Go Pro by Eric Worre today!! So far it's an awesome read!)

PUMPED UP Cuban Picadillo

I started out with this recipe I found online at Health Roots, Happy Soul. It was such a simple recipe and I was so excited to make it. But in typical Jaclyn fashion, I couldn't follow the recipe at all!!! I was missing a few ingredients and had some others that needed to be used before they went bad. So here is my recipe-- the NEW Pumped Up Cuban Picadillo!

Ingredients:
-1 pound ground beef (I use 90/10 at least)
-1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
-1 pepper, chopped (I used a red one!)
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (I only had white, apple, and rice- so I found this awesome site that talks about vinegars and how to substitute them out. I ended up using 2T rice vinegar. Check out that site here: http://www.md-health.com/Substitute-For-Red-Wine-Vinegar.html)
-2 tsp. Chili Powder
-1 can (15oz) Organic Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
-1T Tomato Paste
-1 can (15oz) Kidney Beans (I used Target's organic brand in the box!)
-1/2 cup water
- 2 cups chopped spinach (fresh)
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Prepare all vegetables for cooking as directed above
2. In a large skillet cook the beef until just brown. Drain all grease. Return beef to pan.
3. Add onion, peppers, garlic, a dash of salt, black pepper (to taste),chili powder, and 1/2 cup water to beef and stir until well combined. Cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes, paste, beans, and vinegar to the beef mixture and stir to combine.
5. Turn the heat down to medium/low and cook for about 15 minutes so the flavors can blend. (Add more water, 1/4 cup at a time, if getting dry!)
6. Add in the chopped spinach and stir. Place a cover on the skillet and let cook for about 5 minutes or until the spinach is wilted.
7. Serve over cooked brown rice.

Toppings you could add: avocado or parmesan cheese

ENJOY!!!!

Pssst: Make extra! This is GREAT the next day!!

Learn to Love You Challenge

Would you be willing to take 30 minutes out of your day to be happier and healthier? 

I can provide you with everything you need to succeed-- all you need to do is show up-- and by show up I mean push PLAY in the comfort of your own home. 

You will be a part of a community that cares about you and your progress. 

You will get the entire package- fitness program, nutrition plan along with the support and accountability YOU need. 

I am looking to coach 5 women who want to be happier and healthier in 2015. Who want to do a program that WORKS without having to leave their home. Who are ready to make a change and be a part of something amazing. 

If that is you fill out the form below. Let's get started on  being the best we can be-- together ❤️

Challenge Group Application:

https://jaclyncrowellfitness.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-application/

Body over Mind-- Make it happen!

Your body can achieve SO much more than your mind gives it credit for.

Today was definitely a body over mind fight. My mind was telling me I had tons of chores to do. It was saying I could stop and no one would know. I didn't have to finish because my body is sore. 

That was about their time I hushed those whispers and pushed harder. Don't let your mind give up before your body.

You will always have something else you could be doing. There will always be another load of laundry, dishes that need to be washed, a child that would prefer you sit on the couch with them. ALL of those things can wait for 30 minutes. 

Remember WHY you are doing this. This is for YOU and no one, not even your mind, should take that away from you. 

#max30 #allyouneedis30minutes #dontstop #chorescanwait

Week TWO of Max 30!!!

Tomorrow is the start of WEEK TWO for Max 30!! The first week was awesome. I loved waking up and getting my workout in with Shaun T. By the third day I was pretty sore and actually still feel it in my calves and thighs. Max 30 is the ultimate fast, extremely effective workout. It combines the nutrition program from the 21 Day Fix but Shaun T really amps up the intensity with the workout. I can't wait to see what week two brings.


With that in mind, I created my weekly plan today as well! I took some of the recipes in the Max 30 book but I also found a few of my own. I decided to share this one with you because it looks interesting and very cheap to make. I have never tried this so I will be sure to give you a full review once I do!

If you try it before me, let me know how you like it :))


Cuban Picadillo

Ingredients:
1 pound (about) ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper (I used a sweet red one), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1 can black beans


Directions:

Chop your onion, bell pepper and mince your garlic
Put the ground beef, chopped onion, bell pepper and minced garlic in a large pan on medium heat
Just before the beef is completely cooked, add all of the remaining ingredients (If you are going to use beans, add them now)
Bring to a low simmer and cover
Cook for about 20 minutes to let all of the flavors mesh into one another
Serve your picadillo on top of rice and you can add the cilantro and avocado as a garnish!




Original recipe by Loriel @ Healthy Roots, Happy Soul on March 24, 2012

Saturday Run

Setting goals does work!!! 

When I set out on my run today my goal was to run 5 miles. That distance would be 1 mile beyond my longest distance and I felt it would be a good way to boost my endurance.

Starting out running I felt great for the first mile and a half then it got harder. The wind was beating on my face, dust flying in my eyes and I was losing energy fast. I thought of giving up so many times. Instead of stopping I slowed my pace and found a place in the distance where I would start running again. I had to do that quite a few times but there was no way I was going to head back home defeated.

As I hit the 5 mile marker a sense of pride and relief washed over me. I DID IT! I hit my goal even though it wasn't exactly as I had planned. I found a way to make it happen. 

A life lesson was learned today. The road to hitting your goals is never going to be easy but that's no reason to give up. Keep pushing, keep your faith and believe strong in yourself and you can accomplish anything you wish. 

My Transformation

Today really got me thinking about my journey with my health. Today I feel healthier than I EVER have in my entire life but why?

Let's go back...

2008- My diet consisted of junk food on top of junk food. Coffees with mainly creamer and sugar, bagels, pizza, ice cream, McDonalds, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol. I ate at 3am after a night of drinking, slept and continued the same routine day in and day out. I gained over 25 pounds in just 6 months because of that. There were random times when I would stop eating and just drink coffee to lose weight. As you can imagine that made me feel awful and made me keep the fat instead of losing it. I wasn't healthy OR treating my body or mind right.

2012- This was after my second child. I wasn't eating awesome and never watched my portions. Dunkin' Donuts was a part of my everyday which included donuts and high sugar ice coffees. I always felt tired and worn out. I felt like I could sleep for days and myself esteem was at an all time low.

TODAY- To say that I feel healthier than I ever have is an understatement. My body, mind and soul feel healthy and strong. Now I eat clean and follow the correct portions for my body. I am never starving nor do I feel like I am deprived of certain things. I live my life by an 80/20 rule. 80 percent of the time I eat clean- the other 20 percent I eat whatever I want. That means if I want a burger with cheese and a sweet tea- I'm going to have it and I don't feel guilty about it. My self confidence is so much higher than it has ever been and I finally feel comfortable in my own skin. I workout everyday for ME, to get stronger- not to lose any weight. I do it to clear my mind and let off some steam. I love it. This is the life I was supposed to live and I couldn't be happier.

In the end isn't that all that matters? To feel comfortable, happy and confident in your own skin? My mind and body are finally healthy and it's my mission to help other women achieve the same thing.

Day 3: Max 30

Sweat Intervals is the workout for day 3 and when the title says "sweat" it means it!! I Maxed out at 8:21 only because there is a 30 second break at the 5 minute marker. I was about at max when Shaun T called for a water break! Saved the day! I can't believe how different this program is from T25. It feels much more intense and the exercises are harder. 

Max 30 has made me gloriously sore and I can feel myself getting stronger with each workout. You may think you can't get a good workout in just 30 minutes but this program will surely prove you wrong!!! 

Spinach and Onion Scramble

Here is a yummy recipe from the Max 30 nutrition plan! Gotta love an easy and simple breakfast! This one is a keeper for sure!

Spinach and Onion Scramble
1 whole egg
4 egg whites
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup chopped onions
Pepper
Salt
1 tsp. Olive oil

-Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.
-In a bowl scramble the eggs; add a pitch of salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
-Add onions and spinach to hot skillet and cook until onions are soft and spinach is wilted.
-Add eggs and cook until done. 

Enjoy!!!

Day Two-- MAX 30!

Up and at it again today!! 

Tabata Power ✔️
Breakfast ✔️

I made a recipe from the Max 30 book and it was yummy! Plus I snuck in a veggie when I normally don't eat them for breakfast! This will be on my weekly meal plan for sure! 

Spinach and Onion Scramble
1 whole egg
4 egg whites
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup chopped onions
Pepper
Salt
1 tsp. Olive oil

-Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.
-In a bowl scramble the eggs; add a pitch of salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
-Add onions and spinach to hot skillet and cook until onions are soft and spinach is wilted.
-Add eggs and cook until done.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Its been incredibly freezing around and there is one thing I want when its this cold. Beef Stew! I love a good hearty beef stew but hate when it comes out too heavy. So I decided to give this new recipe a try. I did change a few things up a bit to my liking but over all it came out excellent. Next I think I will try this with chicken and chicken stock and see how it comes out! I love the kale in it. It really brightens the stew up!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1½ pound stew beef

½ teaspoon salt, plus more to season beef

½ teaspoon pepper, plus more to season beef

4 medium/large red potatoes, peeled if desired, cut into bite sized pieces

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled, chopped

1 onion coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

2 cups beef stock

Water

1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped into small pieces

Directions:

Pre-heat a large pan over medium heat. Season beef with salt and pepper. When pan is ready, add 1 tablespoon oil and in two or more batches to cook the beef. Brown on at least two sides, about 3-5 minutes per batch. You do not want to overcook the beef since you will be cooking it all day. When the first batch is done, add the cooked beef to the slow cooker. Add additional oil to the pan, if needed, and cook the next batch. When the last batch is done, add ¼ cup water to the pan and scrape up the brown bits. Pour the beef and liquid into the slow cooker.

Add potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, teaspoon ½ salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and beef stock. Stir. Fill slow cooker with water until it just reaches the bottom of the top level of vegetables. Don’t completely cover the veggies!!

Cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat is tender to your liking.

Stir in kale, re-cover, and cook for about 15-25 minutes, or until the kale is wilted and tender.

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(I found the original recipe at http://thechiclife.com/2014/01/healthified-slow-cooker-beef-stew-recipe.html -- Feel free to check it out! She has many different recipes on her blog!)

January 12th!!

To join the gym or not to join the gym?

I will admit that gyms are pretty cool. They have all the equipment you could want and great classes.

But what if you could get the same results you would at the gym in the comfort in your own home? Would you be interested?

-No more traveling to workout.
-No wondering around wondering what to do.
-No following someone else's schedule to make it to a class.
-No wading through tons of people to use the machine you want.
-No paying hundreds of dollars for a personal trainer

If you choose to join my challenge group here's what you would get--

-30 minute workouts from a professional trainer
-a 21/30/60 day calendar explaining exactly what you need to do
-a complete nutrition program, created by dietitians, that is proven to boost results
AND
Support, accountability, motivation, recipes and meal plans from ME!

You don't ever have to feel alone or lost on what to do.

I'm here for you-- just fill out this **application** and I will contact you shortly!

Yogurt Bowls

Yogurt can be such a great way to get a quick, on the go, breakfast in. Its incredibly versatile and comes in so many different varieties. I love Stony Fields plain yogurt and Chobani Greek yogurt. Both are great and can be used with these recipes!

Walnut and Honey Yogurt Bowl

1 Cup Nonfat plain organic yogurt

1 apple, diced 4

2 tbsp. walnuts, chopped

1 tsp. agave nectar

-Combine ingredients in bowl. Serve 

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Patriotic Yogurt Bowl

1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup fresh strawberry slices

¼ cup fresh blueberries

½ TSP. Raw Honey

 -Layer all ingredients (yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, drizzle honey) and ENJOY!

Focus T25

Focus T25

T25 and I have a very special relationship. This was the program I started and fell in love with. The workouts are simple and incredibly short (25 minutes) which is perfect for busy moms like myself. Shaun T really does his best to keep you motivated and pushing throughout the entire workout. Plus he explains the technique you should be using -- super important if you are new to the workout world. As an added benefit there is a modifier for every move to make it low impact if you need it.

The Program:

T25 is broken down into two rounds. The first round is the Alpha stage. This is your foundation. It builds your endurance so you can graduate onto the next round of the program. Throughout the first round you mainly focus on cardio.

The second round is the Beta stage. This builds on the foundation you achieved in the first round to give you more power and strength to make it through these workouts. This round is no joke. Its much faster paced and you use weights during some of the workouts. Believe me, if you try for 25 minutes and stay on schedule, there is no way you won't see results.

--Most Utilized Exercises Used:

Burpees

Pushups

Jabs

Squats

Lunges

High knees

and many, many more. I promise you will not get bored!

My Results:

During this workout I noticed that my
arms started to become stronger
and some muscle actually started
popping out! My arms have always been
pretty small and weak so to see this
much muscle is pretty awesome!

I never really noticed how little of muscle
my back had until I took a look
at this before and after picture.
Let me tell you, T25 definitely pumped
up my back! I love the recipes I got with
program!

Crock Pot Honey Parmesan Pork Roast

Yesterday we bought a pork loin, cut it into pork chops and 1 roast. Out of the loin we got enough for 5 meals!!! We paid $15 for the loin making each meal $3 for the protein! Not too shabby! Our meal consists of 2 pork chops that are big enough to share with our kids. From that loin we had one large roast which we wanted to slow cook. Unsure of what to do, we took to Google to find a recipe. The hubby found a recipe from Your Home Based Mom and we just happened to have all of the ingredients so we went for it.

Here is the recipe!

Slow Cooker Honey Parmesan Pork Roast

Ingredients:

-1 3-4lb boneless pork loin roast (ours was only about 2 pounds)

- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

-1/2 cup honey

- 3 Tbsp soy sauce (I used reduced sodium tamari)

- 1 Tbsp dried basil

- 1 Tbsp dried oregano

- 2 Tbsp chopped garlic

- 2 Tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 Tbsp corn starch

- 1/4 cup chicken broth (we didn't have any so we just used water) 

Directions:

1. Place roast in slow cooker and turn heat on low. 

2. In a bowl combine cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, oregano, garlic, oil and salt.

3. Pour mixture over the top of the roast.

4. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until thermometer reads 160 degrees. (We cooked ours for 4 1/2 hours since our roast was smaller) 

For the Glaze:

1. Remove meat and place on a platter.

2. Strain juices in slow cooker and put into a small sauce pan. 

3. In a separate bowl mix the cornstarch and chicken broth together.

4. Add cornstarch mixture into the strained juices and cook on medium heat until thickened. 

Slice roast and serve with glaze! We had green beans and it paired nicely with the pork and glaze! 

In total our meal total cost was about 5 dollars for the entire meal. For a family of 5 that means it cost me ONE DOLLAR to feed my family of 5. Clean eating is doable and not more expensive!

Here is the break down:

Pork- $3

Frozen Green Beans $1

Various other ingredients $1

This came out AMAZING!!! The pork was flavorful and tender and the glaze wasn't super sweet. The entire family loved it! 

To find the original recipe and its creator: http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/slow-cooker-parmesan-honey-pork-roast/

The New Year

Happy New Year!!! 

I hope you all had a great New Years Eve!! We definitely did :) We stayed home, made some dinner and finished off the night falling asleep before the clock hit 12. Big parties and staying up late just isn't in our plans as a family anymore and I'm perfectly okay with it :) 

When I woke up in the morning I remembered all the resolutions I had made over the years and how many of them actually got accomplished. The truth is, I couldn't remember one single goal that was reached. I had managed to let years and years of resolutions slip through my fingers while I remained comfortably lazy and set in my old ways. How disappointing!!! 

In 2014 I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone and got healthier but that wasn't something I set out to do in the beginning of the year. Over the course of the year I learned about goals and how to set them from many different life coaches. In an instant I knew what my problem had been all this time so this year I am making resolutions and sticking to them. 

Here is how I am doing it:

1. Make Specific Goals

The goals you make are so important but it's so easy to make goals on a whim and never follow through with them. Many times it's because we don't know exactly what our goal entails. Writing down goals like "lose weight" is okay but getting mighty clear about them is even better. A goal like this is best "Lose 10 pounds and keep it off". This gives you a clear mark to hit making it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

2. Assign dates to each goal.

Resolutions generally go all year but it's important to have dates. Without a deadline you have no idea when exactly you need to complete certain tasks. Take our goal above- " Lose 10 pounds and keep it off"; this goal needs a deadline, a reasonable but challenging deadline. This is how this goal should sound "Lose 10 pounds by March 1st and keep it off ALL year". That goal is easily definable and gives clear markers as to what needs to get done.

3. Write out your goals.

This one is simple but it works. Even though you know your goals it's important to physically write them down AND do it every week. Keeping your goals fresh in your mind is the best way to reach them. Out of sight, out of mind is exactly what happens to all those resolutions. Simply put- write down your goals, read them everyday, rewrite them every week.

4. Make your goals public.

I don't mean go out and tell every single person about your goals. Choose 1 or 2 people, tell them your goals and explain why it's so important to you. By telling someone you are putting some skin in the game. You are giving yourself accountability and motivation to reach those goals. 

5. For each goal have an action step.

It's awesome to have goals, write them down, and tell your significant other but without an action step for how you are going to complete them makes it very hard to move towards them in any real way. 

Those 5 things are crucial to accomplishing your New Year Resolutions. Doing each of these things will help you define and work towards your goals so next year you can be proud of all that you accomplished in 2015. 

What are some of your goals for 2015? Are you ready to make this YOUR year!?