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!? 

Happy Monday!!

There are FOUR pretty simple rules to starting and continuing a workout routine.

Number ONE is to 

       NEVER MISS A MONDAY! 

By exercising every Monday you set yourself up for a better day and week. Your workout schedule can be set and you KNOW the next time you need to get movin'. You also create a habit that will keep you on the right track! 

Have a NO EXCUSE Monday and get your workout DONE! Whether you walk a mile, run four, lift weights, do ten jumping jacks-- just DO something! 

Anything is better than nothing. 

One Mothers Support

First let me say that I never thought something like this would happen to me. I've read those beautiful stories of other people reaching out by saying a few kind words or paying for someone's dinner. The stories that make me cry and wonder how those people were feeling when someone did that for them.

Tonight I got to experience that. 

Today was a typical day. Brought my daughter to school, hung out with my other two kiddos, cleaned, did laundry-- the list never ends for a mom. My mother in law flew in today so the kids were super excited and really not paying much attention to the directions my husband and I had been giving them. 

Right after picking up my oldest from school I sneaked out of the house for awhile to go for a run. This is my "me" time. I have this new found love for running so I try and make it out at least twice a week. I did really well too! I ran 4 miles and at a faster overall pace. I was so excited!

Anyways, we all decided to go out to dinner for our 4 year anniversary, that happened yesterday. Of course it's a Friday night at 6:30pm so everywhere is PACKED! We landed at Long Horn Steak House and waited for a table. The kids were great as far as waiting. We were all starving and ready to eat. While waiting I noticed a family standing near us. Their little boy was about the age of my middle child and they had an infant. They were quiet and their children really well behaved. Our little buzzer starting going off and we were ushered to our table. 

Dinner was pretty uneventful in the beginning. The kids were being good and actually eating. Everything was coming out fast from the kitchen. Perfect. A smooth family date night, which never happens!

Then it started. My youngest was getting loud and cranky and the other two were just about passed out at the table. As our dinner arrived they informed me that they were out of sweet potatoes for the next 30 minutes so I needed to change my side. For whatever reason I was overly angry about it. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. I agree. But all of a sudden the noise my son was making and the fact that they didn't have what I ordered completely changed my mood. Nothing was good enough. My food wasn't that great and I didn't get my damn sweet potato which can arguably be the best thing on their menu. Dinner was coming to a close and my crappy mood persisted. 

My husband grabbed our son and headed to bring the car around. While gathering our belongings, the woman from the waiting area approached me. I hadn't even noticed but she was at the table right next to us the whole time. She was holding her baby girl when she leaned in and very quietly said...

"Hey! I just wanted to tell you how beautiful your family is. You are doing an amazing job. I know dinner time can great rough. I just wanted to let you know."

My face flushed, my heart started racing and I was speechless. I managed to squeeze out a a thank you but not much more. I was in shocked. My body was paralyzed by what had happened that I really couldn't react the way I should have. As I walked away I started tearing up. What this woman just said to me meant so much more than anyone could understand. A stranger noticed my struggle and decided to help. She lifted me up and made me feel better when I was being pretty a pretty lousy human being. I mean come on... Who gets mad over a sweet potato!? Apparently me. Not one of my finest moments.

I should have hugged her and told her that she is my saving grace. She single handily plucked me out of my bad mood and made me count my blessings. She gave me that positive attitude I had lost back at the sweet potato. 

As we drove home I told my husband what had happened and started tearing up again. I doubt he understands just how that woman helped but I will never forget her and what she did for me. This woman touched my heart. I am forever grateful.

This is what mothers should be doing for each other-- lifting each other up instead of silently judging. 

Friday Night Run

Its Friday night, the Hubby just got home from work, and I had an itch to go running. I was feeling great and didn't get in my T25 workout like I had originally planned. So I decided I would have enough time to get in a 3.2 mile run (I'm going to run at least 3.2 each time so my 5K time will get better) before it got dark. It was about 5:30 pm and super cloudy as it had rained all day. Still I went for it. I was TOTALLY wrong about it not getting dark. About half way I realized there was no way I'd make it home. The approaching darkness definitely helped me run harder I can tell you that!! Our neighborhood isn't well lit and its a little creepy running alone in a new neighborhood. 

On top of the dark I made a quick decision to go down another street. There were tons of Christmas lights that made the homes look beautiful so I took it. So here I was lost in my new neighborhood in the dark. I found a way to cut back to the main street by a drainage thing (lol I have no idea what you call those things!). I hopped on the phone with a friend so at least I could listen to her chat. Best idea ever! 

The plus side of wanting to get home as fast as I could was that I pushed harder than I ever have. Also by running down a wrong street I added some distance onto my run. Overall my splits were the best I've ever had for that distance of run so I'm happy I went but I probably won't ever cut it that close again :)

Once I got home I was relieved. My body was feeling great and still on the running high but I knew that I needed to stretch. I'm always so sore after a run and I wanted to make sure to give my muscles a good stretch. I got out my mat and started. Of course my babies joined in. I have to say its absolutely adorable when my son crawls under to give me a kiss. Aw makes my heart melt!

One stretch I discovered from PiYo is called the Pigeon. Its a stretch where your leg is bent ahead of you while the other is extended fully backwards. This stretches needs to be gotten into correctly so here is how I do it. I start off in a plank position, move to down dog and then bring one of my legs through my arms and sit down on my butt. This move can get a little difficult if you aren't flexible so take it slow and don't push yourself too much! I hold the pose for 30 seconds and go back into down dog. Repeat with the other leg. 

Next time you workout, go for a run or even just need a good stretch try this one out! Its awesome and totally stretches you out!