Monday, September 5, 2016

21 Day Fix

Today is my Day 1 on 21 Day Fix. The fact that it is Labor Day is interesting but I will make it work! We have planned for dinner grilled chicken and corn so I am not too worried. The challenge for this whole thing will be wine. I love wine - Lee and I have a few glasses a night. I may try to use less yellow containers on days I plan to have wine (so.. like everyday?!)

I have a bullet journal so I incorporated tracking into it so I didn't have to carry around a sheet of paper. It's a little messy since I was struggling with the squares but it works!



Swim suit season is ending but leggings/skinny jeans and boots season is here and I think that is just as important!



Photobucket

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Healthy Life, Happy Wife

I am once of "those" people now.

"Essential Oils" people.

I love it. I love that I can look for concoctions that make us feel happier, healthier, less anxious, less sick, etc.

I have a diffuser in both kids rooms and one in the playroom to promote healthy sleep and happy attitudes. I recently added one in the car for the drive to school to help us all get off on the right foot.



I recently have been running a combo in Ellie's diffuser for her cough that she has had the entire month of August. Currently it's Thieves, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, and Lavender. I run this alongside her humidifier and my homemade "vicks" on her feet and chest.

I mostly use Young Living brand of oils. They are a top notch brand and I know I can trust them. I also supplement with the NOW brand - which you can find at HEB and Whole Foods.

I counted up my stash the other day and I have about 35 different oils... yes I am obsessed.

I often seek out recipes on Pinterest. You can follow my board here: Oily

Tomorrow I am starting the 21 Day Fix from Beachbody. I am looking forward to an easy way to eat healthy and I have been accessing the site for working out and love how easy these 30 minute workouts are.

I am a coach if you want to join me. I am still new to it but I love to have others to bounce ideas and inspiration off of. Team Beachbody

I plan to keep myself accountable on this site for the 21 Day Fix challenge and I hope to see commenters doing the same!

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Fit, Healthy, Balanced Life

Yesterday someone asked me "Didn't you used to have a blog? Why did you stop writing in it?"

My first response was "Time. Content. I didn't think anyone cared that I made tacos for dinner. Again."

This started me thinking... what should I do to get back to this place where I have been documenting our lives for the past several years?

I suppose I have to solve the above reasons for stopping first.

Time: Writing the posts and putting them together takes time. With all we have going on these days, sitting down to organize my thoughts seems daunting. When can I write/think so that I am not feeling guilty that there is laundry to fold and dishes to put away...

Content: Today we went here, did this, and then that. Over time I have felt this is a little mundane.

Today I realized I have something that I care a lot about that I can use as the framework to my little space on the internet:  Healthy Family.

I not so long ago wrote out all that I have been trying/doing with Logan since his ADHD diagnoses last year. You can recap here: Changes in Eating

Since then. the changes have taken over the entire house and I have really gotten into holistic health as well.

I am working on myself, getting in shape and losing weight.

Going forward I believe I will not only write updates on our family life, since this is a great way to keep up with everything, but add posts about items I care about.

Clean Eating
Fitness
Essential Oils
Healthy Recipes

I wonder if I start coming up with content that means something to me (and hopefully others) the "time" issue will resolve itself.

If anyone is still reading, I hope this revival sticks. There is so much to talk about not only with the above topics but with Logan and Ellie doing so many things.

Here's to trying!

Photobucket

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Updates and Musings

I tend to live my little piece of cyberspace for long periods of time. Busy isn't even the word for life these days. Exhausting? Challenging? Rewarding? Those all apply along with "busy."

Updates:

Me: I am now working about 25 hours a week. Some from home and some in the office. While in the office Ellie is generally here at home with a babysitter. I come back around 2pm and then at 4 we go and pick Logan up from school. This is something I am still getting used to - almost a month in. I am already working out less and this doesn't make me happy. Plus we are located now in the GALLERIA so I am one elevator ride away from the food court. I am already sick of Salata as my healthy choice.

Our new office with the concept I came up with in the middle. Finished product on left and right.
Lee: He is working and traveling a lot. I appreciate his dedication to his job and to us. I know it's hard on him to be away and we miss him.

Logan: Logan man now has glasses! He has depth perception issues so these are helping his eyes coordinate properly. I wonder if this will help with riding his bike? He still has his good and bad days but he is extremely affectionate and funny and we love him so much.


Ellie: Miss thing is almost 9 months. She is crawling, pulling up, cruising a little, and eating like a champ. Finally sleeps 12 hours. All complaints are ended with a graham cracker. I wish that worked with adults.


Side eye. Wanting us out of bed. Now.

Wearing her brother's old t-shirt!

There you have it in a nutshell. Busy.

SO TIRED.


Very Happy :)




Photobucket

Monday, March 28, 2016

Changes in Eating

When Logan was diagnosed with ADHD, I started researching like crazy - as any parent would.

Something that came up over and over, whether through Pinterest or Google or even ADDitude Mag .com was diet. I quickly cut out all food dye and moved on to cutting out processed food as much as possible. The most processed thing he gets at home are Hebrew National hot dogs and organic macaroni and cheese with no artificial coloring.

Don't get me wrong, I am not super crazy about it. If we go to a party and they have cupcakes or cake with icing that is bright red - he eats it. I cringe the whole time but I am not going to deny him having fun for one slice of cake or a Capri Sun.

Some tricks I have found are keeping approved lollipops or treats in my purse. When we are somewhere (pharmacy, for example) and those dreaded Dum Dum's are in a jar, I can swoop in with a treat and avoid a meltdown and not compromise the mission.

Lately, I have made more changes in our home that are not only for Logan but for the whole family.

The list includes (and is growing):

Flour: NO WHITE FLOUR! I have brought in White Whole Wheat - less grainy than whole wheat and adds little to no flavor to the recipe. I haven't notice a difference in losing "all purpose" flour at all.

Butter: NO MARGARINE. Margarine is just oil and I don't want to know what makes it "taste like butter." We use real, organic butter in recipes. You don't have to use a lot and the taste is beyond compare.

Milk: Lactose free milk, organic of course.

Pasta: Chickpea pasta (This Brand) or whole wheat/protein enriched.

Sugar: NO WHITE SUGAR. I have a tiny amount in the pantry for recipes that just have to have it (haven't seen many yet). I instead use coconut sugar. It's basically very fluffy brown sugar and again - other than a little nuttiness, the flavor in baked goods isn't noticeable. I made chocolate chip cookies with the wheat flour and coconut sugar and I actually thought they were BETTER. more depth of flavor.

I do my best to make my own salad dressings or at least buy organic and with as little sugar as possible.

Today, Logan is out of school for Easter and we made some cookies from Kristin Cavalerri's book Balancing in Heels. This book also delvs into food issues in today's society and healthy changes. I am looking to make more after reading through this.

To die for. (recipe below)

I do not have any guilt eating them or letting Logan have a few because the ingredients are so healthy.

Otherwise I try to make sure Logan is eating something with protein and healthy fats at every meal. Plum organics has a wonderful line of meatballs in the freezer section that have hidden veggies and quinoa in them and he loves them. Add those to the chickpea pasta and some homemade sauce and I feel like he is eating the best I have to offer! (other than when I make my own meatballs for a family meal).

I like to keep quick stuff like that on hand for when Lee is traveling. This way he is getting a good healthy meal and I don't have to "cook."

Have you made any changes in your pantry/kitchen recently?

Recipe: Almond Butter Sugar Cookies (From Balancing in Heels - Kristin Cavalarri)
Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 Cup coconut sugar
1/2 almond butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups oat flour (i did buy some for this.)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I only use kosher. she calls for pink himalayan)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 pans with parchment.
2. In a stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, and almond butter until fluffy. Add egg and mix to combine.
3. In separate bowl, mix all dry ingreients. Add a little at a time to the mixer on low until combined. Place a tablespoon size scoop onto the pans, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
Bake 10 minutes.

**I did 10 minutes but with 2 pans this left them a little chewy,which I like. If you want crispy you may want to try one pan at a time.

Enjoy!


Photobucket