As I get ready to celebrate my 13th Mother’s Day I have been reflecting back on my journey up until now.  It has been full of a lot of ups and downs and more lessons than I can begin to list.

If I had to sum up my experience as a mom with 1 word it would be BALANCE.

As moms we balance a lot of plates!  Number one being motherhood, but there are so many more things going on.  We are wives, friends, and daughters.  We work from home or out of the house.  We volunteer.  We carpool, we clean, we cook.

Then it seems that with each of those plates there is a separate balancing act going on.

We struggle between being a “hover mother” and missing something important as we try to let go.

We struggle with kicking ass in our career and missing out on school plays, baseball games or dance practices.

I struggle with letting Type 1 diabetes or ADHD take over our lives or being too lax and risking complications.

Is the house too clean leaving everyone feeling like they live in a museum or is it a hot mess?

Am I expecting them to eat too healthy or am I letting them eat too much crap.

Am I too busy trying to make everything perfect and missing out on just making memories.

Should I let them fall?
Should I fix everything?
Will I be there to catch them?

With all this going on in our lives and in our heads, it’s no wonder that the one important part in this balancing act, the thing holding it all up, get’s lost in the shuffle.

So what is a mom to do?

Treat your body well!  You need to create time in your daily grind for at least 30 minutes of exercise and you need to take the time to fuel your body with good nutrition. Listen, momming is hard.  It’s even harder when you don’t feel well.

Take time for your mental well being.  Take time to read and learn about something that interests you.  Take time to rest.  Take time to meditate.  Surround yourself with others who will lift you up.  Treat yourself to a manicure or a massage every once in a while. Enjoy a night out with friends.

Care for your spirit.  You are a small part of an amazing universe.  No matter your belief’s, it is important to tap into the greater good.  To find your gifts and to live your purpose.  You were put onto this earth for great things.  Believe that.

Lastly, treat yourself with grace and forgiveness.  Somedays you will find that perfect balance.  Other days the kids will be late for school with messy hair, your shirt won’t be ironed, you’ll run out of gas and dinner will be a disaster.  It’s all part of the dance.

Be strong enough to take care of yourself.  Realize that when you are your best, all those balancing acts will be that much easier to manage.

Over the last 3 years I have had the pleasure to meet and connect with hundreds of moms.

I am thankful to the coaches I work with who lift me up, encourage me and make me believe.
I am forever thankful to the community of Type 1 moms who offer me their support, expertise and unconditional love.
I am thankful for the moms who put their trust in me in order to let me help them create strong pillars for their families.
I am thankful for my mom friends who let me be me!  Who laugh when I laugh and cry when I cry.

I am a better mom having known you all.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

I have shared in the past our struggle with breakfast in my house!  As someone who grew up on cereal for breakfast it has taken me a few years to find a better way to feed myself and my family in the morning!

After Jacob was diagnosed we realized just how important it is to start your day with some protein and/or healthy fats and not just carbs!  Breaking the cereal habit in this house was not easy, but we now have several favorite meals/recipes that we use!

This is a new one I adapted from the Fixate Cookbook that we will be adding to our breakfast rotation!  The original recipe called for oats, but I love to use Almond Flour as a lower carb, healthy fat alternative to flours and oats.

Banana Almond Pancakes

• 1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ripe banana
• 4 tsp ground flax seed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 dash of sea or Himalayan salt
• 2 cups of almond flour

Here is the best part- just throw everything in your blender and blend!  Super easy.  Heat a skillet with a little coconut oil.  I love to use an ice cream scoop for perfectly portioned pancakes.  Cook about 3 minutes on each side.

This recipes makes about 8 pancakes and a serving is 2 pancakes.

You could add a scoop of your favorite protein powder or Shakeology to add some additional protein.  We find that the healthy fats in the almond meal and flax seed are a perfect way to kick off our mornings!  We will usually have eggs and some berries with these.

Here is your nutritional info:

For 1 serving (2 pancakes)

For 1 pancake:

I hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as we do!

Enjoy!

Besides the last couple weeks leading up to Christmas and the New Year, May very well may be the busiest time of the year!

In my house we have travel baseball for Jacob, swim club for Alex, Steve is traveling a lot, a few graduation parties to attend, school projects, fundraisers, end of the school year celebrations, Memorial Day and all the other stuff like work, keeping up with the laundry, teaching classes and feeding my family that never seems to be home at the same time!

Who gets lost in the shuffle when life gets crazy??  MOMS!

So starting Monday, May 8th I am joining forces with another busy mom friend of mine to share our favorite tips on how to hold it all together in this chaotic time of the year.

We will be sharing…

• Our favorite quick, healthy and family friendly recipes!
• meal planning and prepping tips
• tips on fitting in quick, fun and effective workouts- no excuses
• ways to organize your day to get more done
• daily motivation and support

Summer is coming up.

I don’t know about you, but I would like to feel comfortable in my shorts and swim suit! I want to be active with my boys and have fun!

Don’t let this busy month stop you from being your best version of you this summer and all year long!

Please fill out this quick questionnaire so we can talk about your goals and get started!

I can’t wait to kick May’s butt with you!  😉

Do you ever get tired of the same old lunch???

Today I really just did not like my lunch options.  I just happened to be checking into my challenge group as I was deciding what left overs I was going to have when someone posted her lunch.  I was inspired AND I had all the ingredients to make my inspiration.

I have mentioned before that I rarely follow a recipe as is, mainly because I am kinda picky!!!  I do love to scroll Pinterest and watch all those fun food videos on Facebook for inspiration though.

Here was today’s lunch:

• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 small avocado, chopped
• 1 can of tuna, drained and rinsed
• Honey Lime Vinaigrette Dressing (which I just happened to have in the fridge!)

Toss all the ingredients together and enjoy!  This made 1 serving.

The original recipe had a few differences and called for onions.  I can’t stand onions, but feel free to add them if you must!  😉 .

Here is your nutritional info:

Sometimes the simplest things taste the best!

Enjoy!

So we all know that the dressing make the salad!  This is hard for a dairy free girl like me because so many great dressings are made with dairy.

For taco salads I usually just go with out dressing, but have been searching for a good recipe that I could use when I have a good taco salad.

This recipe is to die for and crazy simple to make!

Honey Lime Vinegar Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3-4 small limes)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• pinch coarse salt and pepper

Put all the ingredients into a jar, seal and give it a good shake.  Viola!  You have a perfect dairy free partner to your taco salad!

For those of you following the Portion Fix Meal Plan (aka 21 Day Fix Meal Plan) the dressing counts as an ORANGE.

My favorite toppings for a taco salad are 1/2 yellow container of black beans, 1/2 yellow container of corn, 1 red container of ground turkey or beef seasoned with taco seasoning, 1 green container of chopped tomato and chopped bell peppers over 1 green container of chopped romaine lettuce.  This meal would count as:

Enjoy!

I wanted to make a treat for the boys for Valentine’s, but I wanted to make it healthy. What’s a mom to do???

If only I could make a healthy, superfood filled, chocolate treat with only 4 real food ingredients.  Oh wait…I can!

No Bake Protein Cookies to the rescue!

What you need:

• 2 scoops of Chocolate or Vegan Chocolate Shakeology
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 small banana, mashed

Combine Shakeology and oats in a large bowl; mix well. Add peanut butter and banana; mix well with a spatula or clean hands.  Place in an 8 x 8-inch pan that is lightly coated with coconut oil or spray. Cover with plastic wrap and press down to flatten into pan. Freeze for 3 hours.

I used a cookie cutter and cut out shapes before I froze them- this made 12 heart shaped cookies.  In the pan you can divide it into 12 bars.  You could also roll into 12 one inch balls.

Nutritional info:

Enjoy!

P.S.  Are you looking for some extra support to reach some of your health and fitness goals?  Join my next challenge starting soon to get daily tip, advise, recipes, motivation and accountability!

So by now you either have an Instant Pot and love it, have one and have not taken it out of the box or want one because everyone and their dog has one and they can’t stop talking about it.

Or you have no idea what I am talking about because you live under a rock!

I love mine and use it several times a week.  I get asked a lot what I make in it. So I thought I would give you my top 9 favorite things I make using my Instant Pot.

But first let’s review some basics.

Why would you want to use an Instant Pot?

1. It’s FAST!  Pressure cooking is about twice as fast as conventional cooking, sometimes faster.
2. It’s HEALTHY!  Pressure cooking preserves 90-95% of the vitamins in our foods making it one of the healthiest cooking methods.
3. It’s GREEN!  Pressure cooking needs less energy to operate.  Less heat and time translate to a 70% energy savings over conventional cooking.
4. It’s EASY!  Remember the Set it and Forget it infomercials.  You simply add your ingredients, set the cooking program, go about your day, release pressure and eat!
5. It’s CLEAN!  Maybe my favorite reason.  You only have one pot to use and therefore one pot to clean, plus no spill overs or splatters to wipe up.
6. It’s SAFE!  Modern pressure cookers have redundant safety systems.  If one fails the other one kicks in.

The only part that I found confusing when I first started was the different releases.  Here is a quick cheat sheet based on my research and possibly based on me releasing bean juice all over my cabinets once…

Quick Release– Release pressure instantly by pressing cancel and then twisting the steam release handle to “Venting”.  This is best used when cooking eggs, vegetables or things you don’t want to over cook.

Natural Release– This method continues cooking using the cookers residual heat and steam.  You will press cancel and then let the steam come down on it’s own (about 20 minutes).  This is best used when cooking steal cut oats, soups, pasta, beans and meats (it lets the meats sit the way you would normally let it sit after grilling or cooking on the stove top, making it more tender)

10-Minute Natural Release– Let the cooker count down 10 minutes then press cancel and twist the release handle to “Venting”.  This gives you some of the benefits of the natural release but saves you time.

Now that we have covered the basics here are a few of my favorite things to make in my Instant Pot

Quinoa

I will make this plain or as a breakfast quinoa.  The method is the same.

• 1 cup of quinoa (rinse well)
• 1 1/2 cups of liquid (I use water for plain and almond or coconut milk for my breakfast version)
• dash of cinnamon (for breakfast version)
• vanilla or almond extract (for breakfast version)

Place quinoa and liquid (along with cinnamon and extract for breakfast version) into your pot.  Use MANUAL and cook for 1 minute.  I will use the 10 Minute Natural Release for this.

Brown Rice

I will make this plain or add some olive oil and lime juice for our version of Chipotle rice.

• 2 cups of brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups of water
• add the juice of 1 lime and about 1 Tbsp of olive oil for “Chipotle” rice.

Put rice, water and seasoning into your pot.  Use MANUAL and cook for 22 minutes.  I will use the 10 Minute Natural Release for this.

Steel Cut Oats

You can add all sorts of different things to your oats for flavor.  I have added apples, bananas and peanut butter to name a few.  Once you get the basic recipe down feel free to embellish!

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, soy, etc)
• 1 cup of steel cut oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Put liquid, oats, cinnamon and vanilla extract into your pot.  Use MANUAL and cook for 3 minutes.  For best results I use the Natural Release.

Hard Boiled Eggs

I would consider my Instant Pot worth it just for making perfect hard boiled eggs!  The eggs, regardless of how new or old they are, peel perfectly every time!

• 6-12 eggs
• 1 cup of water

Place water on bottom of your pot.  Use a steamer basket or the trivet that comes with your pot (that is what I use).  Place eggs in the basket or on top the trivet.  Use MANUAL and cook from 6-8 minutes, depending on how well you want your eggs done.  I find that 7 minutes is perfect.  I will use the Quick Release for this.  Then put the eggs into an ice water bath. They peel perfectly every single time.

Beans

This is a close second to the hard boiled eggs for my favorite thing to make in my Instant Pot.  I have successfully made black bean, kidney beans and garbanzo beans.  The best part- no need to soak overnight!!!

• beans
• water

Place your rinsed beans into your pot.  Fill up the water to about 6 cups making sure that all the beans are covered in the water.  Use MANUAL and cook for 20-25 minutes for black beans, 35-40 minute for garbanzo beans and 25-30 for kidney beans.  Use the Natural Release for this, or you may end up with bean juice all over your kitchen!  😉

Shredded chicken

I love to make shredded chicken on Sunday to have for wraps, salads, etc all week long. This is by far my favorite method for getting perfect shredded chicken every time.

• 3-4 chicken breast
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• Salt and pepper

Put chicken, broth salt and pepper into your pot.  Using the POULTRY setting.  Do 25 minutes for frozen and 15 minute for fresh.  I do Natural Release for this.  Once the pressure is down take the chicken out and shred with 2 forks.  This is great to add to homemade chicken noodle soup.  I will add BBQ sauce for pulled chicken sandwiches or wraps.  It’s great with teriyaki sauce, brown rice and steamed broccoli.  I also use it to make my favorite chicken salad.

Sweet Potatoes

I just love making a couple sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot for dinner or as meal prep on Sundays for the week ahead.

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 cup of water

Place the trivet on the bottom of your pot with 1 cup of water.  Place sweet potatoes into pot.  Use STEAM and cook for 10 minutes.  Use Natural Release for these.

Roasted Red Potatoes

This is a great way to make roasted baby potatoes for a quick side dish.

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 garlic glove, minced
• 2 pounds baby red potatoes (cut in half)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth

Use SAUTE and warm your pot.  Add Olive Oil, minced garlic and potatoes.  Stir for a few minutes coating the potatoes.  Add broth.  Use MANUAL and cook for 5 minutes.  Use Quick Release for this recipe.

Spaghetti Squash

I have made spaghetti squash in the oven, crock pot and now in my Instant Pot and this is by far my favorite method.

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 cup of water

Place the trivet on the bottom of your pot with 1 cup of water.  Cut the squash in half width wise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Use STEAM and cook for 10 minute.  You can Quick Release, but I prefer the 10 Minute Natural Release because it lets it cook a little longer.  It just depends on how al dente you want your “noodles”.

There you have it, 9 easy recipes that I make in my Instant Pot all the time.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

As many of you know I am close with my Instant Pot!  Besides my coffee pot and Vitamix it is my most used kitchen appliance!

I have been wanting to try to make Red Beans and Rice in my pot for a while, but couldn’t find a recipe that I liked.  So, as I usually do I took like 3 recipes I found and make one that I felt pretty confident me and the boys would like.

Here it is…

Red Beans and Rice

• 1 pound of dry red kidney beans
• 1 pound of turkey kielbasa or sausage, sliced (I used Wellshire brand Smoked Fresh Turkey Kielbasa)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp Adobo Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Thyme
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 5 cups of organic Chicken Stock
• 2 cups cooked rice (I used organic brown rice also made in my Instant Pot)

Put all the ingredients with the exception of the rice into your Instant Pot.  Using the Manual mode set for 30 minutes.  Once done, use a 10 minute natural release then vent the remaining steam.

Serve over 1/2 cup of rice.  This makes about 8 servings- 1 cup each.

This was a big hit with both of the boys.  It has already been requested that I make it again!

Enjoy!!

It’s December 11th and life is moving at the speed of light.

To add an extra layer of fun to our lives I am going to be helping out a friend and doing some fragrance freelancing the last 10 days before Christmas.  This kinda gives me mini-panic attacks!!!  😉

So…it’s not a good week for me to wing it with our meal plan!

It took me a few hours to get all this done- but I am basically set up for the week with breakfasts for myself and the boys, lunches for myself and food prepped for easy packing for the boys and dinners are planned.

Breakfast:

• 4 jars of overnight oats for me- click here for recipe!
• pancakes and french toast made for the boys
• hard boiled eggs on morning I don’t have the time or patience to make scrambled

Lunch:

• 4 jars of salads ready to go- here’s my favorite dressing!
• hard boiled eggs to add to salads (if I don’t eat them at breakfast)
• 2 sweet potatoes cooked in my Instant Pot to quickly warm up.
• shredded chicken made in my Instant Pot to add to salads or to a wrap
• mystery tupperware defrosting- it is either spaghetti sauce or chili- either will make quick lunches for the boys.
• fruits drawer full of apples and cuties
• veggies cleaned and cut for easy adds to lunches or to snack on

Dinner:

• Monday- Red Beans and Rice in my Instant Pot (new recipes- I will share if it works out)
• Tuesday- eating out while visiting Santa
• Wednesday- Perfect Chicken and potatoes
• Thursday-Tacos

After sitting down to plan and doing the work to prep all of this I am feeling pretty good about the busy week ahead.  I also love that since I did most of the work today there is much less mess and dishes to wash through out the week!

Here we go!  Its almost Monday.

As a kid I always looked forward to our advent calendar and as a mom I couldn’t wait to start that tradition with my boys!

I started with this little house and filled each box with candy.  The boys loved it!

After a few years of filling it with candy came Jacob’s Type 1 diagnosis and my focus on our health.  I started to think about how all holidays and traditions are centered around food.  I wanted to find a different way to enjoy our countdown to Christmas.

After some Pinterest searching I came up with a list of fun activities we could do each day to make our countdown more fun.  These simple activities have become tradition and I think we look forward to our little advent house coming out on December 1st even more now!

I think my favorite part of this new countdown is that it makes us take a little time every day to do something together.  This time of the year it can get really easy to get so busy with the hustle and bustle!  If you blink the month is over and you missed out on opportunities to create lasting memories.

This year I needed to do a few updates to our activities since the boys are getting older so I figured why not share it with all of you!

I created 30 total activities so you can chose the ones that work for you!

Countdown to Christmas Activities #1

Countdown to Christmas Activities #2

Countdown to Christmas Activities #3

I hope you enjoy the fun activities and can create some fun holiday traditions and memories of your own!

Merry Christmas!