Visits and skipping work outs

So... This past Friday, Tyler and I went to Show Low to visit family and friends. The morning before we went to go, I decided I would get a little work out in. It was nice to get a little (A LOT actually! I'm a beast) sweat in!! Then we headed up to Show Low. Spent the day and came back down.

Then Saturday came around. I didn't work out first thing like normal. And honestly, I just didn't want to work out. Therefore, I didn't! It felt great. But then Sunday came (day of rest) and I didn't work out again. I never work out on Sunday. However, the fact that I didn't work out two days in a row and wasn't able to rip a little tab on my work out list off, was disappointing.

Monday morning came (TODAY!). And after not working out for two days, it was a lot harder to get started when skipping a work out. I was motivated to get up and get moving. I did my T25 work out and felt great. I was so happy.

Let's move  on to talking about snacks. I love chips!!!! Sweets aren't really a temptation for me. Yeah I sure love some ice cream and cookies. But give me chips and ice cream and those chips will be devoured in such a short amount of time. Like a T-rex eating, well anything! Since changing my lifestyle and relationship with food, I have been doing a lots less snacking on unhealthy and processed items and more eating fruits and veggies. It just so happens though that if you don't go grocery shopping, you run out of things. So I was eating some more chips. And yes, ice cream too. I'm not going to cut those out of my life. Just not eat them all day every day! Tyler and I decided to go spend some money on some yummy veggies and fruits. It's been great eating some celery and carrots with some ranch (heck yeah I said that)!!! And although they aren't my favorite chips (Salsa Verde), they are satisfying and delicious! More importantly is I don't feel awful and guilty after eating them.

And because Tyler loves me making dinner, he's been doing the dishes more! SCORE!!! Men doing dishes is the greatest! Well anyone doing my dishes would be heavenly as long as it's not me;) haha!

I've made a couple things this week as well. I'll give you a run down then a recipe to try!
I have had:
Taco Salad with DEER meat!
One pot wonder meal with pasta, sausage and peas.
Sandwiches
Mexican food and deliciousness from Licano's in Show Low, AZ (TRY THAT PLACE!).
And just fruits and veggies.

So now a recipe.
The other day I wanted something simple and something that didn't make a lot of dishes. So I made up a recipe that could use just one pot (I have a BIG skillet with a lid courtesy of Paula Deen)!

ONE POT WONDER MEAL!
What you'll need:
Pasta of some sort. I used whole wheat rototini pasta, a whole box.
2 cans of Chicken Broth
3 (or more depending on how much meat you want) spicier sausage links
Frozen peas (about half a bag)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
Salt and Pepper to taste
bout half a white onion
Shredded Colby Jack cheese and Parmesan Cheese (optional)

How I cooked it:
Heat your pan with the Olive Oil and put the sausage in to start to brown. (I took mine out of the casing because I couldn't cut them in nice slices.) When you start getting a nice color on the meat, put the onions in to start to caramelize. When the onions are translucent, put the can of tomatoes and chicken broth in the pot. Stir to incorporate the flavor. Put the pasta in and make sure all pasta is covered by the liquid. Bring to boil. Once boiled, put lid on and let simmer until pasta is tender. Add the frozen peas, put lid back on and let them warm/cook a bit. (I like the fact that the peas had a bit of a crunch.) Put some yummy cheese on and let it get all bubbly. You don't have to add, but it made it so great. Then serve.

I will say that this had a little bit of a kick. I didn't realize that my sausages were pretty spicy, and on top of the can of tomatoes with green chilies, it had a definite kick. But I was ok with that.

Well. Give it a try if you want. See ya next time!

Fit in 2015

This is MY year to get healthy.

Since having my little Ridge cake boy, and NOT losing weight, I've heard people say "Oh you just had a baby! You're looking great!" Well thanks!! And I mean it. But then I think "just had a baby!" "JUST?" No! I didn't JUST have a baby. That was 8 months ago!!! That's almost as long as he was in and he has been out now. Holy Molly. And while I love getting the compliments, it's just hard looking in the mirror and having those nice things stick. Ya know?

And having this little baby has been such a blessing. It has helped me in so many ways. Now he is starting to eat solids!!! It is SO EXCITING! But even though I have little bouts of eating healthy, I haven't really kept up with it. I'm the only one eating what I make because Tyler works such weird shifts at the station that it's hard to plan on him. I went to visit my sister in Flaggy Staff and, with her cute babe of a girl being only 3 weeks older than my guy, I got to see what she was feeding her little girl. She was feeding her whatever she made that day. Breakfast was eggs and avocados. Lunch was little finger foods and mixes of what she had been eating. Dinner was literally WHATEVER she made. Taco salad with ground turkey, black beans, etc. Spaghetti and meatballs. Anything. And while there, she fed Ridge some eggs, and avocados, and ground turkey. It was amazing. He LOVED it. She told me it was so easy now and it forces her to eat healthy.

I decided that I would adopt this into my life. I had been working out, but eating was just too much.

Let me just say... Eating and preparing food is so fun now. I wake up when he does and I nurse him (he's kind of a crank pants when he doesn't have food in his belly after a long bedtime sleep, you would be too!). Then I make breaky-fast! Eggs and avocado. Then for lunch (I got some NICE deli meat) I make a sandwich and give him some pieces of meat and little finger foods (Goldfishes and little pieces of string cheese). Dinner is whatever is on the menu. The other day I made fried chicken, green peas, baked potatoes, and gravy. I didn't eat the chicken (I've had a problem eating chicken and it only worsened while pregnant). Tonight I had taco salad. The day before fried chicken, baked potatoes with some yummy, healthy toppings.

Anyways, the point is, eating is so much fun now. It is so cute feeding Ridge and he dances and makes MmmMmm sounds! Awww!  What a cutie. It has really helped me!

Oh! And on InstaGram (IG), I post a couple photos every now and then of my journey (my workouts and motivation) and people have been so supportive. That has been an inspiration as well as following people on a similar journey!

So! Thank you! Thank you for supporting me and continuing on with my journey. I will have ups and downs. But I will conquer those. This is MY year! And it will be amazing.
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Recipe for my Fried Chicken (because Tyler ALWAYS requests this. And it's better than getting some fast fried food)

Fried Chicken batter:
1 1/2 c. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp. Onion Powder
3 Tbsp. Parsley Flakes

To frozen/thawed chicken add 2 Tbsp. of Salt during the day before cooking.
Remove Skin (I don't remove the skin anymore, because like I said above, I have a problem with chicken).

Cover bottom of pan with oil (I use olive oil and veggie oil, depends on what I grab first) and warm pan. Roll chicken in batter, there will only be a lite layer. Set in pan with oil and cook. Cover and cook on low for 20 min. Flip chicken and cook another 10 min.

I make gravy out of the pan drippings.

I also usually have leftovers. So I get a baking pan and put some of the extra gravy on the bottom of the pan, put the left over chicken in and cover with foil. Then when I'm ready to eat the leftovers, I just pop that pan into the oven to warm up and kind of crisp the chicken up.

Have fun making!