Treat yo Self!!!

Ever have those weeks where you just KICK A**??? The whole check list is completed, laundry done, kids where they need to be, dinner made, work done and BAM! You rocked your day! Or week even!

Those days are the best! 

You get in the car to go pick the kids up from practice/schools/friends wherever they may be and you drive past your favorite ice cream place? (insert any place that serves favorite food). You start thinking, "Man, a caramel truffle ice cream cone sounds delicious!" 

Then you tell yourself, "You know what, I DESERVE this!" And you pull in! 

Now, I think ice cream cones are A-Okay! In fact, I love them!! But how many times do we reward ourselves with food??

"I ran a mile today" = Pizza

"I completed my checklist" = Soda

"I went through the entire day without spewing a bad word to anyone" = entire bottle of wine

These things are okay in moderation! The thing is, sometimes we find ANY justification to eat what we want! Literally, I told myself last week "I did my job today, I am getting an ice cream!" Hahaha what?? Of course I did my job! I HAVE to! 

My suggestion is this, we are not dogs! We shouldn't ALWAYS reward ourselves with food! Food is meant to be enjoyed yes! But, its not meant to be a reward for every. little. thing. we. do. 

Here are some suggestions! 

If you reached your goal, treat yourself to a new top, pants, shoes, purse, whatever it may be! This is a long lasting reward, something you can enjoy over and over again! Set a goal and treat yo self! 

I LOVE a good massage! Recently, I went down a pant size from a 10 to an 8! Instead of running to get 5 pints of Ben and Jerry's I booked myself a massage and it felt amazing! I can't wait to hit my next goal and go again! 

Go on a walk, get out of the house, maybe even a girls night or weekend! Reward yourself with some time spent just on you

Maybe you never take naps? Or you never sleep in? Well scratch that! You deserve it! Take some extra zzzz's as a reward!

Go get your nails done, or maybe buy yourself that color you have been eyeing at the drug store! Maybe you are have been wanting to change your hair style!? 

The point is, there are SO many ways to tell yourself, JOB WELL DONE! In fact, a lot of these ways will make you FEEL better afterward! So sure, get an ice cream every once and awhile and go ahead and have that slice of pizza! But treat yo self with ways that make you feel yo self!

Linking up with: Simply, weeklywrap, Tuesday talks

Zucchini Noodle Lasagna

So I have been doing Whole 30 and Paleo lately! I feel SO great eating this way, but this week I caved a little bit and added some cheese back into my diet!

I didn't want to add pasta because wheat and grains give me an AWFUL reaction when I re-introduced them! So I took one of my favorite meals and made it slightly healthier :) 

This recipe is pretty easy! The prep takes the longest! I also made my own sauce to cut out the sugars added to past a sauce! The link to the sauce can be found here: Homemade Marinara 

Here is the recipe for the rest! 

Ingredients:

4 Zucchini 

1 Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Green Pepper

1 lb Ground Beef 

1 small container of Ricotta cheese 

Mozzerella Cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 pan (I used a slightly smaller pan to make it thicker! 

2. Using a mandolin, slice zucchini in long thin slices 

3. In sauce pan, combine chopped onion, garlic, and ground beef. Cook until ground beef is completely browned. 

4. Stir in one egg with ricotta cheese in a small bowl and also Prepare the sauce at this time

5. Layer in the pan Sauce, noodle, ricotta cheese, noodle, beef mixture and green peppers and top with mozzarella cheese 

6. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and ENJOY

The GOOD stuff...I mean sleep!

I hope you all had a much better weekend then me!! I was feeling pooped and under the weather! There was a nastyvirus going around school that I caught! Last for over 5 days of fever,  aughing, sneezing, and even a little vomiting! THE WORST!

Anyway, last Mondaywe talked about the importance of sleep! I love hearing from you readers! One thing I didn't cover is sleep while being a mom, because I am not one yet! So all you mommy can chime in from personal experience of HOW to get more sleep! 

So we know the importance of sleep but what are some tips to actually get more sleep!? 

Routine

Try to get to sleep at the same tim every night and wake up around the same time in the morning! This will get your body in a routine to know THIS IS SLEEP TIME! For mommies, this could be impossible! I have heard of sleep schedules for your baby and that would help mommy get some rest as well! Moms, do sleep schedules help!? 

Exercise

If you body is active during the day it will sleep better at night! 30 minutes of exercise will allow for deeper and longer rest! 

Caffeine, sugar, alcohol

Limit your intake of these things during the day! Especially right before bed time! These chemicals affect the way in which your body is able to sleep! 

Electronics

I am SO awful at this! Try to turn off your cell phone, computer, tv before bed! A book is a great way to get to sleep! The electronics stimulate your brain and it actually harder to fall asleep with those devices! 

Restful Environment

Studies have shown a clean room helps your sleep better! Even though you are resting and you can't see anything, your mind knows what the room looks like it! It knows if it has laundry to put away, clothes to fold, shoes to put back! Do yourself a favor and create a restful environment! Your body will thank you! 

Any other good tips!? 

Linking up with Bianna, Carylee, Lauren, Sarah

Pass me the zzzz's

I hope you all had such a great weekend! I definitely did! My fiancé and I were able to spend the weekend together :) I took him to Dave and Busters Saturday as his Valentines gift! I felt bad for winning at all the games, but someone has to do it ;) 

Just kidding! He did beat me a few times! We spent the evening downtown Indy at an Italian restaurant where I had my cheat meal of the week consisting of the most delicious crab cheese dip I had ever had! I had steak and he had the most AMAZING almond crusted sea scallops :) I kinda wanted to trade haha 

One thing I noticed though was how TIRED I was! We had such a great time celebrating, but by Sunday my body was like GIVE ME REST!! I have a love/hate relationship with sleep! 

I LOVE sleeping! I just love being all cozy under the covers and the fact I am not aware of what my mind is doing! However, I hate that I get nothing done when I am sleeping! Maybe its just me since I tend to have a crazy weird relationships with work and the need to be busy, so sometimes I feel like I just don't have the time to dedicate 6-8 hours to one spot in my bed!  

Sleep is actually a KEY part of our daily health! It is SO important to get enough of it and most of us do not! Sorry sleep, we have other fish to fry rather than being knocked out, drooling, and dreaming! 

But here are a FEW reminders (that I pretty much have to always tell myself) of why sleep is important: 

 Health

It lessens your chance of falling ill or suffering from long term health disease such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. 

Reduces Stress 

You are asleep! Nothing to worry about and allows for your body to re-engergize itself to take on the worries of the next day! 

Improves your Memory 

When you are sleeping, your body has the ability to organize and retain the information you took in that day. It is literally good to "sleep on it!"

Reduces Weight

When your body does not get enough rest there is a hormone imbalance that occurs creating a larger appetite! I don't know about you but if I stay up later than I normally do, I usually tend to want to snack and I often eat more calories than I should! 

Ease the aches and pains

Your body actually uses the time you are resting as the chance to heal and repair its wears and tears of the day! 

Better Mood 

Your mood will increase, you will feel better, and you will be much more less irritated!  

These are just a few benefits, there are so many more! So next time you feel like hitting snooze, GO FOR IT! You need the sleep! Next Monday I will talk about HOW MUCH sleep we need and how to sleep better! 

Do you have any personal stories of how sleep has benefited you!? 

Linking up with Biana and Carylee, Lauren Sarah, On the Edge, Stephanie 

Korean Beef

I love me some good Asian/Chinese food! Before I focused on my nutrition I would get Chinese takeout at least once a week. That usually consisted of soup, rice, crab cheese, and sweet and sour chicken.

Although all that still sounds AMAZING! It was not fueling my booed properly! My mom and I found a Korean Beef recipe that we decided to change and make our own! 

Its pretty simple, takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook, and taste AMAZING! 

Ingredients:

1 lb Beef (Sirloin tips sliced or I used Venison steak) 

Ghee or Coconut Oil 

2 Red Bell Peppers sliced

1 Sweet Onion sliced

4 cloves garlic

2 TBS Red Pepper Flakes

1 Cup Coconut milk/fat (found in a can in asian food aisle) 

1TBS Ginger 

1/4 cup soy sauce (For Whole 30 use Coconut aminos as substitute) 

Salt

Pepper

Cauliflower Rice 

Directions:

1. Slice the beef into thin slices and set aside. Place 2 chopped garlic cloves in a pan with Ghee or coconut oil. Place the beef and pan and fry four about 3 minutes on each side. Make sure to do just one layer at a time :) Set cooked beef aside. 

2. Clean out pan and place a TBS of Ghee, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, red bell peppers, and onions in pan. Fry for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables cook down. 

3. Add to the pan 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 cup of coconut fat with a little bit of coconut milk, red pepper flakes, ginger, salt, and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil with the vegetables. 

4. Add the beef into the sauces and veggies, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes. 

5. To cook the cauliflower rice I found it was easiest to mix with a little coconut oil and place on a cookie sheet. I let it roast in the oven at 275 for about 12 minutes :) 

6. Plate the rice and meet mixture and ENJOY! 

Linking up with Emily

Beer! Wine! Coffee! Water?

I LOVE me a good drink! Especially with the super bowl yesterday, I wanted a little of everything! 

My go to is a nice glass of white wine! I love a Sauvignon Blanc---Kim Crawford to be exact! Have you tried this stuff?? Its the bees knees! 

How about a good margarita? Sangria? I promise I'm not an alcoholic, so how about a good ole iced cafe latte?? 

These are my GO TO drinks! I love them all! And you know what I hate (okay use to hate) WATER!! 

Its just so....plain. Sure its refreshing, but so is an iced late or a cold margarita! So why should I drink the stuff? Everyone always says to drink lots, well how much is lots??

I used to drink 1-2 glasses of water a day. No joke! I thought drinking an entire glass within 4-5 hours was a LOT of water! I just didn't like it at all!! So I get it, its plain, its boring, its no glass of wine or coffee! 

When I started focusing on my nutrition I became educated about how much water I should drink and why I should drink it! 

But how did I do this? How did I adjust myself from drinking 2 glasses a day to 72-80 ounces a day?? 

1. Make it fun! I bought myself some cool water bottles to get excited about water! Water glasses are boring! Wine glasses, margarita glasses, and starbucks cups are not! So make it fun!

Awesome water bottle tracker! 

2. Track it! You can buy a water bottle that tracks it for you or get an app like Myfitness Pal or Lose it! 

3. Drink an entire glass in the morning before you have anything else! I always start my day with water before I even allow myself to have coffee, this ensures I get at least 12-24 ounces (depending on your glass size) of water before I even start my day! 

4. Drink a glass of water before a meal or going out. Sometimes hunger is actually confused for thirst! 

What tips can you share!? 

Linking up with Biana, Sarah, Carlee

Coconut Lime Chicken

This is by FAR the best Whole 30 dish I have made! I seriously am in LOVE! I found the Recipe over at A Saucy Kitchen but modified it a little to fit my taste buds! 

The final product is sweet! I paired it with some roasted asparagus from Trader Joes! It was delicious! 

This dish is Whole 30 approved, Paleo, and basically for everyone who enjoys a sweet chicken dish! 

I also love the fact it called for FRESH ingredients! I love cilantro, lime, and onion! It almost looks like a salsa! 

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts 
1 cup Cilantro
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Red Onion
3 TBS Chopped Garlic
1/4 Tsp Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute (Or any other mix of seasonings)
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
3 TBS Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk Fat 

Directions:
1. Heat pan at a medium heat and coat with Ghee (A clarified butter) or Coconut Oil (Olive Oil works as well). 
2. Salt, Pepper, and Season the pieces of chicken. Place them in the heated pan and let them sear for 5 minutes on each side. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
3. Add chopped garlic and onion to the pan and saute until the onion gets transparent color. Add in the chicken stock, pepper flakes, and cilantro. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add coconut fat to the mixture and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 additional minutes.
4. Add chicken back to the sauce pan and cover. Cook for 10-12 minutes. 
5. Plate chicken with a veggie or rice!  

Loving your Flaws

Transformation is more than just PHYSICAL! 


I have gained more than just being fit, stronger, and in shape! I have done more than just lose weight!

The girl on the left would NEVER wear bright pink lipstick! She didn't have the confidence! She lacked self-esteem, she lacked discipline and motivation. She smiled and was generally happy, but she lacked joy in herself. She didn't believe she was worthy. She felt ugly compared to others. 

The girl on the right worked hard! She became disciplined, motivated, confident, and learned to LOVE her body including all of its flaws! She realized that being "skinny" wasn't what would make her happy! Loving herself, her body, her flaws---you know, the big booty, the thighs that jiggle, and that little gut in her stomach that just doesn't go away. They make her who she is!

February 13th I am starting my FREE love yourself series! Its a two week group where women encourage and uplift each other. Where we learn how to love ALL of ourselves! In a society full of negativity, let's learn to treasure who we are no matter where we are in our journey!

ALL are welcome, no strings attached! Just a way to bring some light in a dark society! 

Linking up with Going the Distance and Anne & Erin