Starting 2019 A Little Messy…. But With Pancakes!

Soooo… it’s been a minute since I’ve put fingers to keys and actually wrote a blog post.  The end of 2018 was challenging.  It was hard.  Not to say it was horrible, I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but it was a mix of physical setbacks and holiday obligations, sprinkled with a bit of family drama.   Everyone is healthy now and we all survived, but it was touch and go for a bit.

It started when my back went out right before Halloween.  Now, I’ve known since the age of 19 when I gracefully fell down a flight of cement steps and popped multiple discs out of whack that I don’t have the worlds best back.  A mixture of getting the short end of the genetic stick (I was told I was born with less fluid in my discs) and being a little overweight has given my 38 year old back a run for it’s money.

But since I have been working out regularly and eating better, I haven’t had an issue for 2 years!  Seeing and feeling the results of my discipline has given me the encouragement to stay the course… except when I throw my back out putting on pants.  Yup, I was taken down trying to put on pants while strongly encouraging (read: shouting “hurry up and get dressed” down the hallway) at my 5 year old to put on his own cloths.

Luckily, I was able to bounce back relatively quickly, but it still started the disruption that ended up turning into a backslide of sorts into bad behaviors.  I couldn’t go to the gym for a few weeks, so I ate my feelings and I drank too much wine, which in retrospect wasn’t the greatest of reactions but… life, am I right?

I was relieved that it was a new year as my body and life was craving the routine and a fresh start.  I have been cleaning and purging the house like an episode of Hoarders!  AND I have gotten back to working out and eating better, which my back is thankful for.  I even have the kids helping by getting them to organize their craft supplies, games, puzzles, dinosaurs, etc.  It helps that we had a semblance of structure to go back to, but if you don’t, do not panic.  Start in one area, maybe the bookshelf, and go through it for “keepers”, “donate”, and “throw away”.  I’m telling you, even one area being organized will help you feel better!

As for the healthy eating side, I am aiming to maintain my macros at a 40%ish protein, 30%ish carbs and 20% fats.  This means getting creating with my protein and veggies… my go-to’s lately are roasted broccoli, baked chicken thighs, and because it’s been cold, chili and chicken fajita soup.  But I have really been craving carbs, which can be tricky when you are trying to up your protein.  I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVE pancakes.  You can eat them traditionally with maple syrup, or to-go breakfast roll-ups with a little almond butter and apple slices or wrapped around a turkey breakfast sausage!  Because if you are anything like me, mornings can be crazy and breakfast usually is eaten in the car on the way to school!

So I have been searching for the best Protein Pancakes and really have tried them all.  I usually go to the Trim Healthy Momma pancakes I’ve posted before, but didn’t have the cottage cheese.  And, I wanted more protein in them so I could bump up the macros.

Pancakes are life!!

Well, this morning I put together a recipe that everyone loved that is super high protein and low in fat.  You could totally add a little banana to the blender or maybe use chocolate protein powder… taste the batter, you may need more sweetener as we don’t like our pancakes overly sweet.  Please leave a comment below if you make them, I’d love to hear your thoughts…

So here’s to a new year and another chance to better myself… as I tell my kids, even adults should learn and get better every day.  Happy New Year everyone!

 

Base ingredients!  Probably all things you already use daily…

Protein Pancakes

• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups egg whites
• 3 scoops Iced Cinnamon AfterBurn (or any Whey protein)
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 TBSP Baking Powder
• 1/2 – 1 TBSP Stevia
• 1 TSP cinnamon
• 1 TBSP Vanilla extract

In a high speed blender, crush oats until it turns into oat flour.  Add remaining ingredients and blend for 4-5 minutes, stopping to scrape sides.  Let the batter sit for a few minutes.  Pour about 1/4 cup batter on griddle and cook over medium high heat for about 2 minutes a side.  Makes 24 medium size pancakes.

Serving for me was 3 pancakes with a tsp butter and a little maple syrup drizzled.  SOOOO filling!  This is the base recipe, but you could totally jazz it up any way you would like by adding nuts, banana, different extracts, etc.  And these make so many that you are meal prepping fast breakfast options for before the gym.  With all the carbs, protein and little fat you need to fuel your workout.

Comment below if you vary any of this, I’d love to hear different options!

Nutritional info per 3 pancakes (without the butter and syrup):

Fat: 2.2 g Carbs: 18.7 g Protein: 21.2 g Sugars: 2.1g Fiber: 2.5g Cholesterol: 22.9mg Sodium: 131.5mg

 

Packing Kids Lunches – Tips and Tricks (and Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins!)

It’s officially back to school time and with that comes school lunches.  This year, I have a First grader and a Pre-Kindergartener.  I have been packing lunches for 5 years now and I feel like I finally gotten a bit of a groove… I know what they will eat, what they like and what they are going to give me a hassle about eating.  I try to pack healthy, with nuts (when there is no allergies), fruit, veggies and hummus, string cheese, etc.  But I do also pack organic fruit strips, veggie straws, corn chips and the occasional cookie packet.  I mean, everyone deserves a treat sometimes and they work off the sugar.

We have had a really wonderful summer, but I, for one, am relieved to have a routine back in our lives… although I have loved the loosy-goosy, fly by the seat of our pants days of summer!   

Here are just a few tips I have put together to make putting together lunches a little more bearable:

• Make lunches the night before.  This is such a time saver for me in the morning since I hate getting up earlier than a possibly have to…  You can even make some sandwiches and freeze them for the week.
• Keep packaged snacks handy such as string cheeses, squeeze applesauce/fruit pouches, veggie straws, baked chips, single packaged pretzels/goldfish/corn chips etc. for easy packing
  • I know, I know buying them prepackaged comes with moral downside of extra waste and a bit of extra cost.  If you don’t like that option, it’s okay!  Just buy some reusable containers and package snacks up on Sunday for the week.
• Put the condiments inside the folded lunchmeat!
  • My kids love sandwiches and wraps, which makes my life easy as I can pop them together in no time!  But recently my daughter decided she liked mustard and mayo… but who likes a soggy sandwich?  Especially since I make their lunches in the evening when I am picking up dinner!  Then I had a brainstorm; FOLD THE MEAT!  It seems simple, but it was a big deal to my 6 year old to get mustard on her ham wrap.
• Have the kids help in making lunches!
  • I put the “extras” (i.e. granola bars, fruit cups, popcorn, mini boxes of raisins, cereal bars, packs of etc.) within their reach so they get to pick 2, one for after they eat their “good stuff” with lunch and one for snack.  They get excited about helping and it’s one less thing I have to do!
• Use leftovers.  If the kids loved the dinner and it will taste good cold (think pasta salad made with hummus dressing or homemade pizza) then pack it!
• Don’t over think it.  Play up to the kids likes and dislikes, but if they like PB and J everyday, give them PB and J every.dang.day! If there is a peanut allergy use Wow Butter, it tastes the best out of all of the alternatives according to my PB and J loving kid.

Have them help!

 

As a bonus, I am including the following recipe I tweaked from a recipe I found on Tastelovely.com.  I used a silicone muffin pan and this batch made 14 muffins, but I filled the cups almost all the way up.  You may be able to stretch it out by not filling them all the way and making more muffins…. because who doesn’t want more muffins?!?  I added about 6-8 dark chocolate chips to each muffin, pushing them down a little into the batter.  I may try this with a little protein powder for added nutrients.

Make sure the bananas are ripe, with brown spots on the peel.  If they aren’t ripe, the sweetness won’t be there and the muffins won’t come out very good.   Also, I use dark chocolate chips at least 65% dark.

These are great to add to lunchboxes, but since it’s made with almond flour be aware that it is an allergy concern.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins:

 

• 
• 6 eggs
• 4 ripe bananas
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 tsp stvia
• 2 1/2 TBSP melted coconut oil
• 2 tsp baking powder
•  1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 4 TBSP dark chocolate chips

Put all ingredients except chocolate chips into high speed blender (I love my Ninja!) and blend well.  Scrape down the edges once or twice to make sure there are no chunks of banana.  Once smooth, pour about 3/4 of the way up the muffin cups.  Push 6-8 chocolate chips into each muffin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick into the center muffin comes out clean.

7.1 grams of protein, 13.1 carbs and 11.3 grams of fat per muffin if you make 14 individual muffins!

Getting back to eating more healthy is a must as well, so planning some tasty snacks like this for easy breakfasts/lunches for the kids and adults is key.  Good luck with the start of the school year! 

The End of Summer is Closing In…

In the South, school starts much earlier then much of the country. It hit me this weekend that we have less than 2 weeks before my oldest goes back!

That realization sparked a couple of ideas in my mom brain.

First, we needed to clean some stuff out of this house, start the school year without all the clutter! Seriously, how did we amass all the stuff!?! I started with the kids closets, and mine. Then moved downstairs to the closet where we keep their school bags, and I even tackled my desk… which had become a graveyard for all the school work the two had brought home in the last couple of years! Definitely far from perfect, but we are set to donate 6 bags of cloths, toys and miscellaneous household items we don’t need to the Am. Vets Association.

Am Vets are going to have to bring another truck!

Second spark was that I need some new, go-to healthy and quick meals that I can put into rotation for those busy nights of practice and after school activities.

Last night we grilled some chicken breast and sliced it over fresh mozzarella and tomato salad, with roasted parmigiana zucchini and roasted sweet potatoes. Tonight, I made something even more simple as I tossed everything onto a cookie sheet and cooked it together!

Cookie Sheet Chicken Thighs and Roasted Veggies!

I don’t usually eat Paleo, but a friend posted an idea about roasting chicken thighs right with veggies and I ran with it! I made it super simple with pre-cut butternut squash, peppers and onions. More expensive then the whole stuff, but I needed it to be fast this week! I mixed together a quick glaze to go over the chicken, threw it all on a parchment lined cookie sheet, baked at 450 degrees for 25 minutes, mixing it up a couple of times. Then broiling it for 2-3 minutes for crunchiness.

You could do this in so many ways… potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower… skies the limit! The glaze is easy. I got the glaze idea from https://www.paleorunningmomma.com and tweaked it up just a tiny bit:

2 TBS Spicy Brown Mustard

1/3 Cup Soy Sauce (I used Coconut Aminos)

1/4 TSP Onion Powder

1/4 TSP Garlic Powder

1/4 TSP California Paprika

2 TBS Maple Syrup

My daughter and husband loved it! My son tolerated it to get to the Mac and Cheese. Who would’ve guessed I could love a meal with nothing but veggies and chicken?? Either way, it’s one that will be a part of the regular rotation for sure!

I would love to hear some of your easy, go-to healthy recipes for quick nightly dinners!

Happy Monday!!

Summer Sanity… Part Duex

So we’ve past the 4th of July and we are in the thick of it… and I am happy to say so far, I’m surviving!

We are at the point, however, where we’ve been spending a TON of time together. With a 6 and almost 5 year old, tensions sometimes run high. And to put a cherry on top, my 5 year old has decided he’s no longer napping, which is good in the fact that we don’t need to be home at a certain time of the afternoon and it makes things a little more flexible. But he is a bear when he doesn’t sleep enough. I’m talking waiting for his head to spin around, crazy person! So earlier bedtimes whenever possible have been instituted, like 6:30 PM!

While we’ve been having a lot of fun and utilizing the charts I talked about in part 1, I’m still seeing way to much rudeness with my kiddos.

So like any good mother who was raised in the 80’s would do, I took a cue from Mama Bear (of the Bernstein Bears fame) and the book Forget their Manners. I made a manners chart with consequences for various behaviors, giving them a set cause and effect of the behavior.

First Try

Now Mama Bear has her cubs doing extra chores as consequences and while it worked with Brother and Sister Bear, in the real world it actually caused me MORE stress to try and get my kids to sweep, dust, or wipe a dang counter properly.

Let’s be honest, a 5 year old doesn’t do a very thorough job sweeping floors!

So I went to my exercise roots and made the consequences simple moves, i.e. 10 jumping jacks for Rude Language or Actions. My thought, it gets their brain out of the frustration/ anger/ boredom/ etc. and focuses on the movement. Also, burns some of that energy and calms them, so you can have a more productive conversation after the consequence is done. “What can we do when we get angry instead of hit?”

Updated Chart

I know this won’t work for everyone. My kids love to exercise as it makes them feel big. They watch hubby and I exercise all the time, so the moves are not foreign to them. It is working for us so far…

Nothing is perfect, obvi, but I am optimistic that this will help reel in some of the behaviors that have me up worrying at night “Is my child a demon?”

What are some tricks you’ve used to survive summer so far? Would love to see your comments below 👇🏼

Good luck out there, everyone!

Summer Sanity … part 1

Oh Summer… I have such high hopes in the beginning.  Pie in the sky hopes of spending quality time making memories, going on day trips, doing fun activities at home, every minute is glorious!  But that takes a TON of planning on my part.  And my job doesn’t stop just because the kids are out of school, I just add a whole bunch more to my plate with trying to come up with fun things to do every.dang.day!

Why do I do it then?  

It may partially be “Mom guilt” or the pressure to be the perfect “Pinterest Mom”, or even all those social media posts saying “You only have 18 summers with them!!” making me feel the urgency of every precious summer…  but I’ve come to the conclusion that nobody enjoys life when Momma is stressed out.

This year, I still have high hopes, but a little bit more realistic expectations.  They don’t need to do fantastic, elaborate things everyday to make it memorable.  I can make everyday things seem memorable.  I brought back a few things I tried last year to give the kids responsibility over their days and give them a bit of the structure they crave, as well as bringing in a whole lot of grace to myself, reminding myself every day that I don’t have to be Super Mom to be the best mom for them.  Here are a few of the things I have going in the first few weeks and it’s going relatively smooth…. so far!

Responsibility Chart:

Before they get to watch a show or do anything with technology, they need to do these things first to “earn” their treat.  I try to limit technology as much as possible because their young brains need to create, play, build, solve problems, etc. without being spoon fed the answers. I bought these charts off Amazon and they came with a bunch of different tiles for various ages/abilities.  And a few tiles to write on (as you see above), in case you want to add your own ideas.  There are actually better ones out there now, but these serve the purpose.  Or you could simply create your own using construction paper!  The kids have to accomplish all these tasks before they get a show.  The kids know what they have to do, it’s in there hands.   I bought some age appropriate work books from the dollar store, give them ideas on what to write, have learning games they can play, etc.  It doesn’t have to be fancy… just something you can point to and say “Have you accomplished everything you need to in order to watch TV?”

To give an example, for my youngest we started a picture journal (see below) of his favorite things from the summer.  He draws a picture and I help him with the letters… viola!  He has a keepsake from the summer of 2018 that he made himself!  For my older, she has a lined journal she’s writing in.

 

And they will get used to the routine if you stick with it.  For indoor chores, I have them feed the dog, water the plants, sweep, dust, etc.  It’s not about they finishing the task perfectly, it’s about teaching them that you have responsibilities in life.  My kids are almost 5 and 6, so I can have them outside and supervise while working.

Also, I don’t have to do fully homemade to make it fun… as an example, we made slime.  Not the Pinterest, organic, chemical free kind (not that I am knocking it, just didn’t have time!) but the boxed kind.  It’s what I had on hand and it kept them busy for a few minutes.

Moral of the story so far… Enjoy the messy, crazy, chaotic moments.  Strive for happiness, not perfection.  Little moments can be wonderful.  Summer is a marathon, not a sprint.  And, if you give them the responsibility and stay the course, they may surprise you.

Good luck out there!

 

Working Out on a Cruise- Be Flexible

People who follow my Instagram know I try really hard to workout a little on vacations. I am eating a lot of not so healthy foods, not to mention drinking a lot of adult beverages, so I try to balance it by fitting in a workout a couple of times when I am away.  Makes me feel a little better about my bad choices!

We were on a cruise this week and one morning, I woke up early and tried to go back to sleep… but it wasn’t coming so I decided to hit the gym. I laid in bed and put together a leg workout based on the equipment I saw in the gym the day before, snuck into the bathroom and quietly got dressed… only to come out to my 6 year old standing at the door.

Mom, I want to come work out with you, too!

At first I said no. I told her to stay in the room, she had to be older to use the gym, I was looking forward to my leg day… but the look on her face and the fact that she wanted to be with me, to do something that I loved, how could I say no?

Getting our flex on!

So I reworked a kid friendly workout we could do on the running path around the ship, the stairs, etc. It wasn’t nearly as long or as hard of a workout as I planned, but she was so proud of herself for doing a “real workout”! She kept calling me “coach” during the workout and worked hard. I was able to do a sweat session with my girl and she enjoyed it! That’s a win in my book! She even voluntarily did Burpees as a finisher back in the room! (Sniff, sniff) Proud Mama moment!

I made it to the gym 2 other times, took the stairs whenever I could, climbed the rock wall with my girl and I did this crazy water inflatable park with the kids, which was a fantastic upper body workout pulling myself (and numerous kids, including my own) up and swimming all over the place!

Good squat form!  

Was I as active this week as usual? No way! But I made an effort to find ways to move and I also made precious memories with my babies while they still think I’m cool. They are growing up way too fast and while my health is very important to me, so is living in the moment. You really can do both, if you are a little flexible.

We had an awesome week, spending tons of quality time together. That is the reason I go on vacation, to make lots of memories with my favorites. Oh, and we napped… a LOT!

What are the ways you all stay active on vacation without sacrificing quality time?

Pre-Road Trip Workout

So this morning we were gearing up to drive to Florida for a day at Disney and then a weeklong cruise (yay!). With this meant TONS of things on my plate. When there is a family vacation, I pack for myself, both kids, the dog, clean the house, use up everything in the fridge, charge and download content for tablets, buy road trip snacks/coloring/games and my hubby… packs for himself 🙃. Sound familiar??

I was feeling crummy yesterday, so I didn’t get a workout in. Because there were so many tasks to accomplish before picking up the kids from school at noon, it was looking like I may not be able to work out again this morning! I was staring down the barrel of an 8 hour car ride with two kiddos without working out in two days!

Nope, not acceptable.

I set aside 25 minutes to get in a quick, nonstop, full body workout to engage all the muscles. And because I was crunched for time, I used dropping off something in my neighbor’s mailbox as my warm up! #multitasking Ran there and back, sprinting my driveway hill in the process.

Here is the workout I came up with and let me tell you, I sweat my butt off! Granted it was humid and raining (hill sprints in the rain, anyone?) but it turned out to be a good workout. I made it 3 full rounds in the 25 minutes. And you can totally do this without the punching bag, just do air punches and kicks. It’ll still be a scorcher!

If you’ve never taken kickboxing, here is a rundown of the moves:

– Cross: punch your fist from shoulder to shoulder, across your body

– Jab: punch fist straight out from your body starting at shoulder

– Roundhouse: stand sideways, weight on back foot and lift front foot sideways up. Kick with shoelaces.

Make sure to kick with your laces or you’ll hurt your foot!

There are also short clips showing the form below of the first 3 exercises.

What are your go-to moves for a quick workout? Any “must-have’s” for road trips with little ones?

Two hours down and both littles took a nap and are enjoying books and snacks.

Wish me luck…

Roundhouse Kick

Cross Punch

Jab-Jab Kick

Sunday Morning Pancakes

PANCAKES!!!

I love pancakes… Growing up, we always had pancakes on the weekends and just the smell of them in the frying pan brings me back to my childhood kitchen, listening to music, talking and laughing with my family.

Looking back, I loved those moments and want to create those memories for my kiddos, so Sunday mornings we make a big breakfast.  I try to keep things healthy and lets face it, regular pancakes are anything but healthy.  So I make a version made with oats, egg whites and, wait for it, cottage cheese!  Sounds weird, but I promise they are good.  These pancakes have been a staple since I found them in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, but I’ve made some tweaks to my recipe along the way.

This recipes makes a lot of pancakes and I like to freeze them to use as a quick breakfast during the week.  Microwave for 30 seconds and spread some peanut butter on and roll them up… my kids love the “roll ups”.

Today I added a hand full of walnuts and 1/2 a banana and they were good!  I’ve mixed in dark chocolate chips before, but mostly just as-is!  I spread plain greek yogurt on mine instead of butter and a drizzle of real maple syrup.

Let them eat (pan)cake!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats

2 Cups Egg Whites

2 Cups Cottage Cheese (I get the part skim kind)

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Optional:

Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

Walnuts

Banana

Method:

• Put oats in blender and blend until consistency of flower or powder.
• Put all the rest of the ingredients into blender (pour carefully so the oat flour doesn’t poof up)
• Blend for 1-2 minutes or until fully combined
• Heat skillet or frying pan to medium high and spray with cooking spray
• Pour small circles and let cook until light brown on the underside, then flip
• Put on a plate lined with paper towels until ready to eat!

Refrigerate or freeze unused pancakes for easy-peasy breakfasts during the week.   My kids scarf these, usually eating more than we do!  What is your favorite breakfast recipes for the weekends?

The Ugly Truth About Healthy Eating

Okay, so I don’t always have Sunday afternoons to meal prep for the week ahead and it kinda throws my health game a curveball.  This weekend we took the kiddos to Atlanta for a Mets game (that got rained out, btw) and didn’t get back until Sunday night.  This is it, the situation I dread… I am not as prepared going into the week as I’d like and feel like I may struggle to stay on track.  Meal prepping is amazing when I have time to do it, but it takes a little effort and time.  Sometimes we go out of town, like this weekend, or sometimes something spontaneous happens on a Sunday and I want to enjoy it with my family.

Here are some tips that I have for staying on track, even when you can’t take time to plan the week ahead on Sunday:

•  Have stuff in the freezer at all times to back you up
  • Frozen chicken breast in bags of 3-4 can be popped into the crock pot with a cup of water or broth on low in the morning and by the evening, it’s easily shredded.  I put a little BBQ seasoning in and make a Pulled Chicken, giving the kiddos bread or mac and cheese with it and using a bag salad mix
  • Trader Joes makes a frozen Roasted Vegetable Lasagna that is pretty good!  I paired with a bag salad the day my son got his tubes in and boom, dinner.
  • I ALWAYS have chicken nuggets at the ready for the kids
  • Frozen Talapia can be cooked in minutes in the frying pan.  I pop some coconut oil in the bottom of a medium-high fry pan, sprinkle blackening seasoning on each side of the frozen fish and cover, cooking on one side for 3 minutes, then flipping and covering until it’s flaky… maybe another 2-3 minutes.  I put this on top of my Marinated Feta Coleslaw if I have time to make it ahead
  • I buy ground turkey/chicken in bulk when it’s on sale and freeze it in 1 LB. bags.  You can make tacos/nachos super easy by thawing the meat in the microwave just a little before cooking in the fry pan.  Check out my recipe for Taco Seasonings without all the added sugar as the store bought stuff!

• Make your meal plan with what you have on hand in mind
  • I have a list of tried and true recipes my family likes that are EASY!  I don’t have much down time with my job, two kids, a hubby who travels for work and any extra-curricular activities.  I need dinner to be done quickly and my list of go-to recipes helps me every week
  • Because I have a ton in the freezer, I can make a quick plan for dinners so at least I have an idea of what is going to happen day to day.  Even if I switch things around or change things up, it makes me feel more in control when I have an outline
  • If you are missing one ingredient, it’s easier to stop and grab that one thing than it is to do a whole grocery shopping trip!  For example: I stopped for bag salad and the frozen Vegetable Lasagna from Trader Joes.  I got an extra bag salad for my Wednesday Night dinner of pulled chicken.

• Have healthy lunch box items that are grab and go
  • For the Kids:
    • I try to always have Cliff Bars, yogurt squeezers, string cheese with wheat thins, boxes of raisins, and granola bars on hand for those mornings I forget to make lunches and have to throw things together
    • Hormel makes lunchbox grab and go packs that are made with decent ingredients.  The kids love them and they are super easy to pop into the lunchbox for some protein!
  • For the Adults:
    • Cans of tuna on top of bagged lettuce with some garlic hummus thinned out with a little water to make it the consistency of salad dressing is super easy!  Top with any veggies you have on hand.
    • I keep Boca Chkn Patties on hand in the freezer in case I need protein lunches.  Pair with sprouted grain wraps for quick crispy “chicken” wrap.  Throw a pickle on that and I am in heaven!
    • I always have a carton of egg whites and a bottle of salsa in the pantry.  mix those two together to make salsa scrambled eggs for a quick, protein-filled lunch.  If you have feta or goat cheese on hand, mix that with the salsa eggs after you take them off the heat to melt the cheese a little.

The moral of my tale is try to have your freezer/pantry stocked with items you can make your easiest meals with… that way you are prepared in the cases of a crazy, spontaneous weekend!  Don’t miss out on life just because you have goals, you can totally do both by stockpiling your go-to ingredients.

What are your favorite tips for staying on track on busy weeks when there is no time to meal prep?

 

 

Easy Taco Seasonings

I literally make tacos/nachos once a week!  My kids love them, my hubby loves them and I can be sneaky and mix in healthy foods like black beans, peppers and onions, and sometimes even cauliflower rice. Top with avocado, fresh salsa, lettuce, plain greek yogurt, etc. and pair with tortilla chips or flour tortillas for the kids and plantain chips or sprouted wraps for the adults.  Here is my recipe for Taco Seasonings without all the added sugar of the premade mixes.

The amount of Taco Seasonings is for 1 LB meat and any other mix-ins (I like to drain and rinse black beans and pop them in the frying pan a minute or so before I put the seasonings in to warm them.  I put the seasonings over the mixture, then pour a little water to mix it up… turn the heat down to medium low and then cover to simmer for a few minutes.

Taco Seasonings:

2 TBS chili powder

1 TSP garlic powder

1/2 TSP onion powder

1/2 TSP Italian seasonings

1 TSP paprika

3 TSP cumin

Sea salt and pepper to taste

I also use this seasoning for easy chili seasonings.  You can add a little more chili powder or even some cayenne pepper to spice it up and a little cocoa powder for depth and sweetness.

What could you eat every week?