Confessions of a junk food junkie: Week 2

 Not gonna lie, this week was rough.

The initial excitement of getting healthy wore off a bit and my cravings were in full force.

It also didn't help that Beckham and Scarlett took turns getting sick so it put a major pause on going to the gym.  I'd try some days after they went to bed, but by then I'm so exhausted that exercise

is the absolute last thing I feel like doing.

BUT, I'm still trying!  And although I caved a few times with some jellybeans and a piece of cake that my generous friend graciously tempted us with (how can you say no to a 30 layer crepe cake?!)

I still consider it an improvement from before we started.

I'll just try harder this week!

So like I said, sweets are my downfall.  So I had to find something to satisfy that craving without being too horrible for me.  I found this froyo bites recipe and they're so yummy!

Especially with it getting warmer, these are so refreshing and the perfect size for a little snack.

  

I didn't cook as much this week because we had lots of leftovers and salads (our favorite, we never get sick of them).  But we tried this new Twice Baked Chicken Fajita Sweet Potato recipe. 

It was good, not my favorite though :)  I'm still trying to develop my taste for sweet potatoes.  I used to hate them, but now I'm coming around.  Especially to sweet potato fries!

 K, I realize that cereal is not the healthiest food.  But compared to Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch, I consider this an improvement!  Baby steps, right?  I love my spinach smoothies but sometimes it's nice to have some substance.  I just discovered this cereal.....and oh my gosh.  I think I floated away to tropical cereal paradise heaven....if there were such a thing.  SO good!!  And since we were out of milk, I used almond milk and it was delicious and I felt like I was being healthier ;)

 

Ha a lot of our food looks like a pile of brown with avacado on top.  Basically!

These were quinoa bowls, esentially turkey tacos without the tortilla.

One of our new favorites, it's going to be on our regular rotation.  I feel like I can eat a lot without a lot of guilt!  I'm a huge fan of ground turkey, I think it's just as yummy as beef.

 

If I were to do this next recipe again, I wouldn't put the zucchini in the foil wrap with the chicken, they just got super mushy.  But the chicken was delicious!  Caprese chicken foil wraps.  It's stuffed with mozarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.  Yum!

 

This is a recipe I found a few months back and it's by far one of our favorites.  It's super easy, quick, and refreshing.  Kind of a new take on chicken noodle soup (which I hate).

Lemon rosemary orzo soup.  Basically add lemon to anything and I'm all in.

 

 

I was hesitant to even post a body pic cause I feel like I didn't change at all, and may have even gone backwards in my quest for healthy body/toned muscles.  But that's exactly why I'm blogging, to document my journey, through the good and bad, and to hold myself accountable.

Here's to a better week next week!!

But then I went and lifted today with Chris and actually saw the beginnings of results and was pretty excited. I THINK those are itty bitty muscles!!!!

11 months

Our little stinker is 11 months old! (a few days ago)

He was pretty sick and miserable for a little while, but now that he's back to normal,

i'm reminded again of what a complete sweetheart he is

and how obsessed we are with him!

 

 

These photos are getting so hard to capture, he's on the move nonstop.

 

Well, he STILL has no teeth.  Holy cow.

I thought with how sick he was that that's what was going on, but still nothing.

 

His favorite activity is eating everything that Scarlett leaves on the floor (playdough, hair elastics, dried up raisins) and sprint crawling to the bathroom if Scarlett leaves the door open and climbing all over her potty.  He's a curious one!

But he's also pretty dang content to just hang out and go along for the ride.

He's happiest being outside, going on stroller rides, and watching his big sister play.

 

Oh that little dimple :)

 



 

My brother and his family came for a surprise visit and Beck loved hanging out with his cousin Ryker!  They're only a couple weeks apart but Ryker is taller, has more teeth, and is walking haha.

 



 

We had fun celebrating his first Easter!

 

I came in from getting ready and he got in the toy box all by himself and took the liberty of throwing out every single toy.

 

Probably my new favorite picture of all time- love these sweet boys of mine!!

 

He loved his first baseball game!  It convinced me to make his first birthday a baseball theme party.

 

Ha, I'm probably a horrible mom for sharing this, but I can't get over how pathetic and miserable he looks.  I went to a doctor's appointment and when I got home, Chris was cleaning him up from puking all over himself during his nap.  Poor thing!

 

Beckham, we couldn't love you more and you make life so fun!  Happy 11 months, sweet boy!!

Confessions of a Junk Food Junkie: Operation Get Healthier Week 1

 

 

So, I have a confession to make.

I have the worst eating habits....ever.  I love things that I can make and eat fast,

and more than anything, I loooove sweets.

It hasn't been that big of an issue bodywise since I'm lucky enough to have a naturally

thinner body type that I don't work for much.  But now that I'm older I'm noticing more and more

that it's catching up with me.  Especially after having two kids.

I feel like my physical body is changing, but more than that I just feel gross and sluggish.

Chris is the inspiration and motivation behind this whole thing-he's wanted to change our

eating and exercise habits for a while and for his birthday, his wish was for  me to get on board.

Haha, gentle way of telling me to start cooking better ;)

And that's the other thing, I hate cooking!  So this is a major thing to try to not only cook more,

but plan better and cook healthier.  But I really want to do this for not only myself but

to teach my babies to have a healthier lifestyle.

Scarlett's already kicking my trash, she always picks salads and vegetables over chicken nuggets

or hot dogs.

So I decided I'm going to blog weekly about it.

Not because I expect anyone to read about it, but to hold myself accountable.

Because otherwise I know I won't stick with it!

I've already noticed a huge difference.  I don't feel as sluggish, I want to go to the gym more, and my cravings have changed. It was literally a miracle when I was at the grocery store the other day and wasn't even tempted to walk down the candy and chip aisles.  Chris didn't believe me.

So here's my weekly pictures as well as our meals from last week.

Because I was proud that I actually cooked, and because I'm a nerd and like taking photos, even of food.

*Disclaimer- I'm not claiming that all of these meals are the absolute healthiest, but they are MUCH better for us compared to what I normally made.

 

Spinach smoothies are what's for breakfast- surprisingly delicious and keeps me pretty full.

 

 

Turkey tacos with quinoa- I've become obsessed with quinoa- so fluffy and makes a great filler.

 

Herbed chicken with orzo, grilled zucchini, and lemon

 

I pre-sliced and packaged veggies to help us snack on something better throughout the day.  Scarlett loved having her own little baggie.

 

Probably my favorite.  Terriyaki bowls with brown rice, grilled pineapple/zucchini/onion/bell pepper, and toasted coconut.  Mmmmmmm!

 

Marinated steak with baked asparagus, sweet potato fries, and asian salad.

 

Grilled chicken with brown rice, roasted cauliflower, and spinach salad.

 

Used last night's leftovers to make a meal of spinach salad with chicken, apples, cranberries, toasted almonds, and feta. One of our new go-to's.

 

Some things I've learned:

Have side dishes.  I don't know why I never did them before, I thought they were too much work and didn't add much.  But it's not that hard to have a little salad or some veggies, and it totally makes me feel full without any added guilt.

Use leftovers:  I don't like cooking every night so it's nice to have leftovers that you can use and tweak into a new meal by having different sides.

Choose healthier snacks:  Instead of candy or chips/dip, I switched it out for pita chips and hummus (haha probably not much better) or nuts, veggies, or cheese.

 

Again, not claiming to be an expert, I'm totally learning as I go but the important thing is that I'm trying right?!

 

 

 

Not gonna lie, a huge reason why I go to the gym is for the childcare and to have an hour to myself to regain my sanity.  I've found though that I don't need to do things I hate, aka running on a treadmill.  I still do sometimes, but I've found several classes that I love and that I get a great workout in, which makes a world of difference to make me want to keep going.

 

Obviously there's not much difference in one week, but again, it's for me to see progress over time but mainly to hold myself accountable and to keep going!

I'm not focusing on losing weight, but more getting toned.  Because I have zero muscle.

One week down, lots more to go!!

(if anyone has any healthy recipes that they love, send them my way!)