As you know by now, I am all about fast meals!  I needed to get a prescription at Target last night and still make supper, eat, and get to Wellspring practice all by 5:30.  I decided chicken chili would be easy and quick.  I actually made it using a rotisserie chicken.  You could cook chicken in the crock pot all day and shred it, but........why? :)  I bought the southwest chicken because it has a little kick to it.  I simply put tomato sauce (two cans), chili beans (two cans), Rotell chilies and tomatoes (The small can.  I used hot but you can use mild if you don't like spice), and a bag of frozen corn -steamed first-  in a pot.  I added 1 1/2 T each of cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and minced onion.  While this began simmering, I shredded the chicken and added it.  That is it.  It is a meal that tastes like it took hours and is perfect for  a chilly day (pun intended).  :)  In fact,  I thought I would have lunch today but my family ate 2 or 3 helpings each!  I will do this again for sure! In my picture you will see tomato juice as well.  I bought it thinking it may be too thick, but it was not and I did not use it.  You could add some if you like your chili runnier. 

I used my Pilates chair today for my workout.  I like to use a variety of things so I don't get bored as easily.  There are some great moves you can do without a chair as well.  I posted a link below.   I love Fitness magazines website when I need new workout ideas.  I find switching it up often not only causes my body to change and adapt, but also keeps me from having an excuse not to work out due to not being motivated. 

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/pilates/exercises/

Today was about as Monday as Mondays get!  Monday's are extra crazy around my house because Danika has dance class.  I turned to one of my very easy but healthy choices tonight.  It is so tempting to go through McDonalds on dance nights, but if I have easy ingredients on hand  I am much less likely to do so.  (Okay, sometimes I still go through just for the kids and eat 3 or 10 fries).  Actually, I did that tonight.  But then I ate this next :)  I think the broccoli cancels out the 15 or so fries. 

I actually use store bought chicken for this so it is even easier.  I buy the kind in the lunch meat section that is precooked and for salads.   It works just as well for this kind of meal and is way quicker than grilling or baking up the chicken to use.   In a bowl mix 1 cup of milk, 1 packet of chicken bouillon, and 4 T flour.   Add the chicken and one bag of steamed broccoli and stir.  I buy the frozen steam in bag broccoli.  You do need to steam it first.   Pour the mixture into a cassorle dish.  Add shredded cheddar cheese to the top.  Bake it for 30 mintues at 350.  That is it.  It's done.  The leftovers are really yummy too!  

I worked my legs today.  I was feeling a little lazy, so I just did it while I watched HLN in the morning.  I simply did squats for a minute, rest, tip toes for a minute, rest.  Repeat 3 times each.  Lunges for a minute, rest, Jumping squats for a minute, rest.  Repeat 3 times.  Lazy and short, I know.  Like I said, it's so Monday.  :)  Remember, doing something is still WAY better than doing nothing. 

Snacking.  It is necessary because you really should be eating every couple of hours to rev up your metabolism.  The problem is learning to snack the right way.  If you are anything like me, most of your bad calories come from snacking.  I eat pretty healthy at meals and really struggle with snacking.  I would just refrain from having bad snacks in my house, but I live with a husband who has a sweet tooth (and a freaky crazy fast metabolism to boot).  I actually deal with this by hanging "motivational" posters in the snack cupboard and fridge.  By motivational, I mean chicks with killer abs.  Nick is okay with them hanging there :)  When I see them, I ask myself, "would you rather have a Little Debbie or those abs?"  Easy choice!  The secret to snacking well is eating something that keeps you full longer.  I love Laughing Cow Cheese.  My favorite flavor is the garlic herb.  I enjoy dipping Triscuit crisps in them.  YUM.  Other favorites with lots of protein include celery with peanut butter or even apples with peanut butter.  I also really like cracker barrel cheese.  If you are craving sweet, try a piece of fruit instead of enriched snacks.  Remember what your goal is!  A snack is a temporary pleasure while the body you are hoping for and being healthy are long lasting satisfaction.  If you really want to snack on some chocolate, as we all need to sometimes as we are girls after all, just use portion control.  Snack size candy bars are great or even a few chocolate chips. 

I did a hit workout again this morning.  I should mention that if you don't want to pay money for this, you can make your own.  I like to use the videos because it paces me and I like the music! The concept of HIIT is high intensity interval training.  Essentially, you go as hard as you can for a full minute, then rest for a full minute.  Ideas of things you can do for your minute include blurpies, jacks, squat jumps, lunges, regular squats, or even running quickly in place.  I would do more than one of these each minute so you don't completely wear yourself out! :) 

Today was a whirlwind day!  A child with croup, meetings, and students.  I needed an easy supper that was quick, but I wanted to keep it healthy because I have been on a roll.  I made turkey sloppy joes, and there were YUMMY.  Start by browning one pound of ground turkey.  I seasoned mine with onion powder and Lawrys.  Add 1 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, 2 T mustard, 1 t vinegar and 4T brown sugar (I used a substitute to keep it healthy). Simmer it for a while if there's time.  The longer it cooks, the more flavor it has.  Can you guess what I used for a bun? My favorite friend sandwich thins of course.  These things can be English muffins, garlic bread, and now buns.  They are the Bo Jackson of bread.  They were good, but you could use a bun as long as you avoid the dreaded enriched word.  The yellow in the pic is cheese.  I added a small slice of sharp cheddar.  For my workout today, I did a very fast kettle bell workout.  I was running behind and didn't sleep well.  I have found if I kick my butt out of bed and workout when I am tired, it actually wakes my up more.   Short post today, I have a paper to write.  Happy eating!

Now that I am on a roll with eating healthier, I think it is time I work on my six-pack. :)  I am half-joking, but I think as moms this is always a trouble spot.  It seems like I can do a zillion crunches and a billion planks and still have that famous mommy pooch.  Sigh.  Kangaroo moms have it so easy.  I have finally figured out that eating healthy has to be first.  You can have fantastically strong abs, but it does no good if they are hidden under a layer of fat.  So, continue to eat healthy AND work your abs.  My favorite way to do this is by using my stability ball.  The stability ball works the whole core which not only helps with your abs but also things like posture (which is awesome because it makes you look more skinny than you are....score!).  I have attached a link to both a yummy recipe I made all the time this summer and a stability ball workout.  With the workout, I also throw in a minute plank in between reps.  Planks suck BIG time, but they are effective.  With the chicken meal, be sure to use turkey bacon to keep it healthy.  I have found wrapping the bacon around the chicken and securing with a toothpick  as oppossed to crumpling it on top helps hold the juice in the chicken. So wrap it on, cook for 20 minutes (350 if you are using the oven), brush with BBQ, cook for 10 more minutes, add cheese and cook until melted.   Also, my recipe says to grill but if you suck at being a Minnesotan like I do (brrrr), you can make it in the oven too.

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/abs/express/ab-toning-stability-ball-workout/


http://www.pinterest.com/pin/57280226484042850/

Sorry for the late post.  I am home with an ill child.  I decided to take advantage of being home and make a yummy lunch.  I thought I would share the recipe with you as well :)  I call it Onion Salsa Chicken.  Take two chicken breasts and place them in a crock pot.  Cut up half of a large onion and place it on top of the chicken.  Mix together 1 cup of milk, 2 heaping T of onion powder, and 1 T of garlic powder.  Add 2T of flour to thicken it up.  Pour the mixture over the chicken.  Sprinkle the chicken with cumin powder.  Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6.  Shred the chicken.  Add one cup of salsa and continue cooking until warm.  Place in tortillas and add cheese and sour cream if desired (although it has a lot of flavor on its own too!)  When buying tortilla's look for corn tortillas or whole wheat ones.  As with the pasta I talked about before, be sure they are not enriched.  I am taking a break from workouts today to snuggle my sick baby.  I kinda like the fact she want to snuggle with me! I will post a new workout tomorrow.  :)

So, I like pasta as much as anyone but we all know it can be one of the worst enemies of healthy eating.  Unless....... ..you buy 100% whole wheat pasta.  The trick to this is to read the label.  Lots of pasta looks healthy on the box, but is actually just as bad (or worse) than the regular kind.  Read the label and be sure it does not say the word 'enriched' in the ingredients.  Read down about 5 ingredients because sometimes it will say whole wheat pasta and then enriched.  As long as you do not see the word 'enriched', you can add pasta to your healthy eating plan.  I LOVE Rozoni Healthy Harvest lasagna noodles.  The other trick to healthy lasagna is to not overdue the cheese.  I replace mozzarella with cottage cheese.  It is actually kind of funny because my lasagna looks pretty funny coming out.  One corner with cottage cheese for me, one corner without meat for Danika, and the rest with mozzarella for Nick and Dominic.  We are diverse eaters in my house. ;) Ground turkey or lean ground beef both work well with this recipe.  I also turned back to my friend the sandwich thins with my lasagna.  I toast them in the toaster, add a little Move Over Butter and garlic salt, and VIOLA low calorie garlic bread to go with my lasagna. 

For my workout today, I am going for an old-fashioned run while I still can.  I swear I was actually born in California and my parents never told me.  I am the worst Minnesota girl EVER!  I will not run outside once I have to wear a sweatshirt unless someone is chasing me!  I am also the worst runner ever.  The whole time I am hating people who "run for fun."  I'm over here all like, "This is not fun.  This does not clear my head. This is not stress relief."  BUT, the benefits of running outweigh the 30 minutes of hating it.  I think about how I will feel after and how much I will love it when I can fit in my favorite jeans! 

Yesterday a living room dance party ensued.  Danika wanted to know why my arms move so much when I dance.  So........today is toning! :)  I love to use my kettle bell to tone.  The thing I love about the kettle bell is that it is cardio and toning in one great workout.  Plus, in my grand tradition of liking shorter workouts, the kettle bell gets the job done!  I have attached a link below with some great kettle bell exercises.  I actually do each for 2  minutes then rest for 1 minute instead of counting reps.  You can use a dumbbell if you don't have a kettle bell, but the shifting weight of a kettle bell makes your muscles work harder.   Also, when you are working muscles, you have to fuel your body to help it develop the muscles.  I have attached a picture of my "go to" breakfast following strength training.  I LOVE english muffins, but all the enriched bread defeats the purpose of my workout.  I found these Brownberry Sandwich Thins which are 100% whole wheat.  I toast them in the toaster just like a muffin.  I throw some natural peanut butter on them (I love the ones with a little honey) and some banana on top Elvis style! :)  If you don't like banana on it, eat it separate.  The potassium is another great muscle re-builder.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/kettlebell-workout

Alright, well here I am up at 6:30 on my day off so I can work out before my kids get up.  I find if I don't do this, I will find every excuse not to work out.  Not only that, but I feel guilty busying my kids so I can work out.  I would MUCH rather hang out with them while they still want me to! What do other people do to get their work out in? Sometimes, thinking about this is the motivation I need to get out of bed.  :)  Today, I am going to do one of the HIIT workouts from Turbo Fire.  These are great because they are high intensity, but not as long.  I also wanted to share a healthy recipe I made last night.  The original recipe called for cream of chicken soup, but I replaced it to make this more healthy.  It also called for refrigerated biscuits which of course are not as healthy.  You could make your own biscuit dough by mixing 2 cups of wheat flour, 1T baking powder, 1/2 t of salt, 2T sugar (or Splenda), 1/4 C butter, and 3/4 cup milk.  Here is the link to my Pinterest post I made with the rest of the recipe.  It was YUMMY and even my kids and hubby liked it!  My two-year-old ate three servings!!!! 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/57280226484443665/

Hey everyone!  Like many of you, I am a busy mom.  It is easy to use this is an excuse to skip working out and eat unhealthy quick food. I don't know about you, but when I am driving home from a busy day at work and a shoe flies from the backseat and hits me in the head, I am very tempted to stop at a drive through rather than go home and cook a meal that requires energy! I have to physically stop myself from taking the fast food exit when my kids start making noise in the backseat simply for the sake of making noise.  I swear they have a secret contest to see who can make mom lose her marbles in the car first. :)  I would love to use this blog as a way to keep myself motivated and hopefully motivate others as well.  I will post daily recipes and workouts.  Let's do them together to stay motivated!