Fuel them up

Sending the kids off to school with good healthy food is important to me. I am so hungry all the time myself that I would be so sad thinking about them at school and  hearing tummy rumbles.

They hate school lunch and always say it makes them sick. (Last year I would take Friday's off from making lunches and expected it to be a treat. They didn't like it)

Trying to come up with ideas for lunch can be difficult. I certainly don't want to eat the same thing everyday and I know that they don't.

They don't like waiting inline with 500 kids (that's a exaggeration although not much of one) for the microwave so meals need to be okay to eat cold. 

I saw this idea while scrolling Pinterest the other day, didn't really read it or click on it but it was stuck in my head. MINI POT PIES! 

I'm pretty lazy honestly when I'm in the kitchen and if it has more than 3 steps or 5 ingredients I won't follow your recipe anyway! Just being honest! 

So...

Here's what I came up with! 

I bought immaculate brand pie crust from sprouts grocery, two cans of organic no salt added chicken and dumpling soup and came home excited to get started! 

*unrolled the crusts and used my papered chef sandwich making circle thing to cut the circles that would be the bottom of the pies. I made the pies in my muffin tin!

*opened the cans of soup and drained as much "juice" as I could so the pies wouldn't be filled with juice but instead all the yummy chunks of food.

*took a large spoon and put one scoop of soup into each pie. (Filled them up)

*used a tiny little mason jar to cut to smaller circles for the top of the pies and place them on top.

*popped them in the 400 degree oven for maybe 10-13 minutes. (Until tops where brown)

*let them cool completely and they popped right out! 

EASY AS PIE! <-----lame 

School is in session!

I'm not even mad about it. 

Typically I really get sad when school starts back up. I miss my kids. I love spending time with them and my having to compete with school activities and homework for time with them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still sad. I still miss them.

But, They also miss each other! And That makes me so happy! 

In the morning I hear them yell to each other "have a great day! I love you" ❤️ and "after school do you want to play something together?" ❤️. "Will you help me with my math?"  I hear them helping eachother pick out "cool clothes" and remind eachother to brush teeth. It's a commonality they have, this school thing.

I see more heartfelt hugs and laughter. 

More quality time that isn't forced by ME saying "come on. Everyone is going to the pool weather you like it or not".

We all need space and time to really appreciate the ones we love. We need to be surrounded by other people to understand that our family truly is filled with our best friends.

School isn't all bad. ;)

The not so busy summer and my LOVE for it.

Summers are meant to be easy. Casual, SLOW and fun.  Summers are meant to be spent sleeping in LATE, spending long days with the ones we love and eating dinner at 8:30pm.

Summers go by so fast even when we try to slow them down. We fill up the weekend and week days with fun new adventures and laughter with friends, we put school and alarm clocks in the backs of our minds and yet they still seems to make their way all to quickly back into our lives.

This summer I've enjoyed getting up early with the pets, hearing all the sounds of morning and spending coffee time sometimes with John.  Making breakfast for everyone and knowing that whenever they decide to wake up, they will have healthy food to fuel them for whatever their day looks like.  

It's different  but the same in our house this summer.

Not everyone wants to go to the pool everyday like last summer But everyone does want to sleep in. 

Not everyone wants to go for night walks and look for frogs but they do still enjoy camping out in each others bedrooms and laughing into the early morning hours.

The basketball hoop doesn't see many balls pass through it but the kitchen sees littler hands navigating it and learning some new skills. 

Legos get dusty but precious conversations between siblings can be heard while painting nails or deep cleaning bedrooms and seeing memories that we thought were lost.

School work sneaks it's way into some days and plans for the fall seap into conversation. Advice for new high schools and middle schoolers. Plans to enjoy every bit of Junior year.

Laundry sits a little longer, toilets get moldy, showers may or may not happen, because "I washed in the lake" seems to be an appropriate response to "have your showered this week".

Workouts still happen, though at all different times and with thoughts of patio sitting, wine and friends on my mind.

This is summer and I wish it would go on forever.

Shoulders workout

Waiting until the end of the day to workout makes the day go by soooooo long! I get crabby! ;)

But, yesterday I had a crap ton of stuff to do and John flew back home in the evening from Chicago so I decided to do a night workout. 

We did shoulders which I love because It's one muscle group that I can take John completely to failure! :D  makes a girl feel good!!! 

Here's the workout that we did, not including reps but most thins were 15 reps 3 rounds with the exception of the around the worlds, those were 3 sets of 30 and the Arnold presses were reps til failure and then move up in weight. 

HAVE FUN! 

Camping and eating healthy

One our very favorite things to do as a family is camping.  But man is getting ready for camping a good bit of work.  Work that typically is all done by me because John is traveling and to be completely honest, I like things done my way. Lol

Every year we try to make things a little less complicated food wise and not stress so much about what the heck we are going to eat.  I don't want to spend my whole day cooking and cleaning at camp because #1 it's a bit more difficult that just taking the dishes to the sick and #2 I just want to chill and have fun.  

So we've figured out that the prep before camping allows us to really enjoy the trip more.  It's more work on the front side but makes for a much more enjoyable weekend. 

So, I make lists. Plan out meals and snacks and get to work. 

Things that I prep:

Oat packs

(Measure and add goodies like protein powder, flax, nuts, whatever)

Veggies

(Chop, season and foil pack for grilling)

Burgers

(I pre patty and season)

Salads

(Chop and dress)

Snack packs

(I have a bin just for snacks for the kids and Baggie them up into proper portions)

Eggs

(I mix the eggs and egg whites and put them in a large water bottle type container so I don't have all the eggs in my cooler)

pancakes

(I mix up the pancake batter and put it into this handy pancake bottle)

 ***we tropical take whole fruit instead of chopped or mixed. Easier travel and kinda fun to slice up the whole watermelon or cantaloupe and watch it get devoured! 

Chicken

(John likes to boil the chicken ahead so it's not all gross in the cooler. I always hate this for some reason, maybe the boiling process seems icky to me but it's always nice to just have to toss it on the grill and add bbq sauce, no long cook time and no gross chicken juice in the cooler!!  Sometimes we just freeze it and keep it locked up tight)

Tuna

(Wild planet has the best cans with a pop type lid and you just open and eat! No draining, no can opener!)

ONLY PACK EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO EAT! 

It's easy to get Carried away and overpack. 

You know what your family is going to eat in a weekend and it it super nice to go home with an empty cooler! 

We use two coolers, one for food and one for drinks.  This way the food cooler stays organized because no one is digging through it to find that one mini soda that's left! ;)

This year we mixed up brownies  ahead and then just poured them into a cast iron skillet and cooked them on the dinner coals!!! Worked perfect!!! 

Some pictures of how I organize camp...

We  have containers and bins that stay stocked with camping items all year and we just refill as needed after the camping trip so that next time we camp it's all ready to go. Foil, paper towels, games, lighters, utensils, all stay packed and in the proper bins. That 3 drawer bin is heavy, but so nice to have. It's basically kitchen cabinets on the go!  The drawers come out for easier transport to the camp site and once everything is set up, it's so nice to have! 

Protein pancakes and shoulders

These guys make such a great snack! 

Super easy and paleo friendly. 

*1 banana

1/3-1/2c egg whites 

A pinch of baking soda 

Vanilla protein powder (I used paleo pro)

3 tbsp coconut flour

I cook mine on a griddle with some avocado oil.

 CHECK OUT THIS LITTLE GEM! 

Shoulders

*static seated dumbbell  presses 

3 sets 10-10-5 reps each set

*barbell upright rows

3 sets 15

*all around plate raises 

3 sets 30-20-10 increasing wt

*dumbbell straight arm front raises

3 sets increasing wt 20-15-12

*cable single arm rear felt fly

3 sets increasing wt 15 reps

*leaning single arm cable fly

3 sets increasing wt 10-15 reps

*standing cable upright row

3 sets increasing wt 12-15 reps

*front plate raise (heavy plate) 

3 sets 10 reps (no rocking)

*dumbbell shrugs

3 sets increasing wt 20 reps

SHOULDERS workout from yesterday. 

Thought I'd share since so many of you ask me about what I do. 

I usually rotate machines, cables, free wts and currently in trying to hit all angles of my shoulder. I used to just press and press and press! ;)

Rear felt cable flys as finisher 

*until failure ( lighter wt ) (think 30-50 reps) 

This took me and hr and 15 maybe. Maybe a little less. 

Hope y'all are having a great summer! 

Wednesday workout! ARMS!

So many people ask about my arm routine. I try to switch things up everytime and sometimes go heavier, sometimes go more reps, sometimes more cables and sometimes free weights. 

Have fun!! 

Leftovers

Leftovers! This is what was left over in my fridge this week when I went to load the new groceries.  I was so sad.  Typically i try to make good use of all the leftovers but this is just pitiful.  

I left this on the counter all day and I swear to you every single time someone came into the kitchen I went in a mini rant about how wasteful this was and how sad I was that this food and money is being wasted. 

I mean, there is fruit, eggs, chicken, turkey burgers, veggies, salad...

And according to the kids "we have nothing to eat in this house"

Ugh!!! 

Do you eat leftovers in your house? 

Kale salad

This past weekend on our date night (we have date night once a week) John and I decided to hit up Teds Montana grill.  I love this place but haven't ventured away from the skinny dip burger much. 

This weekend John and I did a split dinner, me ordering the crab cake, which is HUGE lump crab! So yum.  It comes with a kale salad and another side of your choice. He got the bison filet with broccoli and kale salad.

Everything was so good that we went back again! Lol like 2 days later! 

Tonight I decide to try and make my own kale salad and the result was great! Super easy, clean and a big hit with the kids! One trying to get thirds!! 

I used 

*1 large bunch or organic kale 

1c shredded carrots

1c shredded purple cabbage 

A handful of goji berries and a handful of yellow raisins. 

Squeezed the juice of one large lemon over top, sprinkled with pepper and a bit of pink salt and tossed.

Kept it in the fridge until the rest of dinner was done! 

*the potatoes were brushed with avocado oil, sprinkled with a no salt garlic blend and baked on 375 for about 45 minutes.  

Workout Wednesday! (Last week of school)

It's been crazy strange trying to get in my workouts this week. Kids schedules are all off, they have a ton of activities and John is traveling this week.  I've had to change times up a bit but have really wanted to get in because my trainer is leaving! :(  

Gonna miss seeing him every week.  I'm trying to soak up all his fitness knowledge before he leaves! Lol

Here is a glute day workout for home and for the gym.  Give it a try.  Use weights when you can at home. Take the time to et the form right before going at it.

PUSH! PUSH! PUSH!! 

Have a great Wednesday Everyone! Let me know if you try the workout! 

Worry less

Kicking yourself for what you ate this weekend? 

Stop!

Thinking about doing extra cardio because you are pizza this weekend?

Stop!

It's done. It happened and you can go back and guess what? It's okay!

I'm not sweating my weekends because I know that I have worked my ass off towards my goals.  My not clean foods are maybe 5% of my week.

I'm not sweating my weekends because I know that I am kicking my ass every time I go to the gym.

I'm not sweating my weekends because I know that date nights that maybe include beer and salmon dip are a super great way for my husband and I to keep growing in our relationship. Yup, over beer, salmon dip and awesome conversation! EVERY WEEKEND! 

I'm not sweating my weekends because I know that in some short years my kids will be young adults. At college and driving all over town, not sitting in my passenger seat telling me about the day. So popcorn movie nights and fro yo dates with them are cherished time. 

Do I check my abs on Monday? Heck yeah! Lol and they are ALWAYS still there!! I'm not going to be doing extra cardio, I'm not lowering my calories this week, I'm not going to do two workouts to work off the pizza.

I'm going to move forward. Write up my workouts, plan my meals and look at the pictures on my camera roll from the weekend and smile! 

Have a great week everyone! 

Stay positive, stay motivated! 

Workout Wednesday! Legs!

 Yesterday I challenged myself to see what weight I could push without a trainers help.  Typically I wait for my heavy leg days and do them with my trainer for the spot and push! 

But my trainer is moving and I am no longer going to be using a trainer after May.  

I honestly was a little scared when thinking about it.  Will I mess up?  Will I be able to push the wt on my own? Can I push myself hard enough? 

Will I mess up all my gains? 😖

Yesterday, I decided NO! And YES! Lol

Yes I can push myself hard enough, and lift enough!! 

No I will not mess up and loose my gains! 

I want to be able to do it for myself and also be able to send my trainer a picture in a couple months with forward progress!  

GET AFTER IT PEOPLE!

have a great Wednesday! 

You can...

You are capable of anything. It's something we tell our children all the time but for some reason don't apply to our own lives. 

Using excuses to stop us from reaching our "anything". 

It's hard, it's scary and sometimes it isn't very fun, to push yourself into a uncomfortable place. To push yourself into a new place where you might have to learn from other people because you don't know everything.  A place where you might feel a lot uncomfortable.   It's so easy for us to tell our children to face your fears, get over being uncomfortable, nothing worth having in life comes easy... 

Listen to that voice.  The voice of you encouraging your kids and friends. Listen to that voice and make it so loud that YOU  listen to it and apply it to your goals. Stop making excuses and get uncomfortable! 

Seeing my kids faces when I show ethen the progress that I have made by getting uncomfortable is priceless.  Hearing them tell me to suck it up and go workout when I'm complaining about being tired, that's awesome! 

Be the example not just the voice! 

Wednesday workout!

Yesterday I spent my gym time in "the new gym" with my friend Shannon.  We did a great Tricep workout and then I spent a good bit of time figuring out the mirrors to see if I had proper space for my post workout selfies. Ha! Ha! But seriously...

The workout is listed below.  If you are a in the gym kind of person than maybe give it a try. :)

3 drop sets *straight bar press downs

(20 reps at each wt)

10/10/10 reps/3 sets *skull crushers, pull overs, press 

3 sets 15 *seated dumbbell extensions 

3 sets 15 *rope pull downs and rope overhead extensions 

3 sets 15 *dumbbell bent over kickbacks superset with  3 sets 20 *dips

I added in for myself *single arm cable press downs and *single arm cable extension with no attachment

Finisher for me was tricep pushups to failure. 

Disclaimer: I don't know the names of all these so hopefully you get it! Lol

Have fun! 

If you are not a gym person, 

How about this 1000 rep workout. 

Should take about 45 minutes!

*100 of each 

~burpees

~squats

~pushups

~step ups

~walking lunges 

*100 each

~tuck jumps

~in and out abs

~squat pulses (low and slow)

~reverse crunches

~side jumo lunges

You can mix these up to your liking obviously but I think they are staggered pretty well. 

Have a great Wednesday!! 

Look!! She's gone missing from my fitness pal AGAIN!!

It's true, I confess. I am only consistent with logging my food on the app if I'm eating good and clean.  Maybe I'll keep tracking if I have a little snippet of unclean food but last week...

And this weekend...

It would have been nearly impossible to track al my food.

It happens! 

Sometimes I am all over the place with my food. Eating a clean dinner and then eating THREE pieces of peanut butter toast, WITH honey and bananas.

Sometimes I have weekends that I have something fun to do with friends and my husband (adult fun) and I drink every day of the weekend.  

Sometimes I buy bags of corn chips totally knowing that they are for me but saying to myself "I'll put them in the kids lunches". Two days later I'll be standing in the panty eating that last bit of crumbs from the bag just to be able to toss it in the trash. I never eat enough crap to be sick, but just enough to make people in my house look at me a little funny! ;)

It's not full on craziness, just a little of this and that which normally wouldn't hit my stomach. 

This isn't some sort of binge or crazy eating frenzie because I torture myself by eating so clean 90% of the time.  

THIS IS LIFE.

I don't torture myself and do tons of cardio after a week like this.  

I don't freak out and worry that I won't fit into that bathing suits that I just bought. I keep at my workouts and  I do better the next day.

Today was better!

 Back at it full on.  Feeling myself and ready to forge forward with my goals which are completely different than anyone else's! 

I did a super great back workout, ate clean all day, drank tons of water and feel great.

Have a wonderful week! 

Breakfast is the best!

As far as I'm concerned, breakfast is the best meal of the day.

My kids on the other hand, can't stand it.     But sending them out the door without food makes me sad so I've had to get a little creative.  

I say a little because it doesn't take a genius to come up with the breakfast that I put together.

This one is a waffle with a fried egg and a dab of pure maple syrup. 

They eat it, I feel better! ;)

Happy Friday!!

**next week...

Thursday workout

Core and booty work today! 

Day 1 yesterday at the new gym for me. 

I swear it's the quietest gym ever!  The equipment Is great but finding everything and getting used the layout will take some time.

Super fun to workout with a friend though!! 

Grab a friend and it the gym! Go for a run, do some yoga, whatever, just do something fitness related together. 

It really is a whole different experience when your pushing each other!

Have A great Thursday! 

Wednesday workout!!

Give this workout a try!  It's a at home, in the gym, in the yard or in the grocery store kinda workout! 

Add weight if you have it and your fitness level allows you to do so.  Take your time or move fast, it's your workout at your pace! 

Have fun with good form! 

Happy Wednesday!! 

Oh hey!

Going to give this whole blogging thing another go... 

Check out my Facebook page for a fun April challenge going on right now.

https://m.facebook.com/CreatingAFamilyOfLettuceHeads. 

Workouts, recipes, and motivation! 

Excited for John and I, we joined a new gym! We will be using both our current and the new one.  The new gym is nationwide so perfect for John and his travels and the new gym has friends for me!! Lol a couple girls that I know who workout use the new gym. Exciting for me to have someone to workout with!

Bonus of the new gym is that we also have the kids signed up!  They will start working out over the summer. Yoga for katelyn and lifting for Jacob.  He wants muscles. 😉

The kids are almost done with school which is great for all of us, we much rather enjoy our time with each other and out doing things. Or playing video games for some of us! Lol

We will soon be parents to a 11th grade, 9th grader and 6th grader.

Where has time gone? 

(First day of school 2014)

(Spring break 2015. April)