Working out with kids, you CAN do it!

Okay ladies, let's be honest - working out when you have a little baby or toddler can be very hard.  Just the thought of working out should be considered a workout in itself, right?  I get it.  After having my son and gaining the unwanted baby weight, I struggled with getting past this "workout thought" stage to actually working up a sweat.  It's hard! 

As moms, we easily put our children's needs ahead of our own.  Daily.  Hourly.  Feels like every minute!  But I've come to find that your kids (babies or toddlers) LOVE watching you get up and move!  It makes them giggle because they think we are playing.  Hah!  Little do they know how much harder these exercises are for an adult, but that's exactly why we do them.

For a while I was training a lady who runs an in-home daycare in her basement, which is also where we would do our workouts (after the kids went home, of course).  After I had trained her a few times, she felt confident to start doing some of these same exercises during the day when she had the kids.  I'll never forget the smile that she had while telling me about how her kids got down on all fours to "bear crawl" with her.  We forget as adults that kids LOVE to move.  They are born to move and it's FUN to see the adults in their lives MOVE with them.

If you don't believe me, try for yourself!  When my son around 4 months, I really tried to incorporate fitness back into my daily routine.  I remember putting him in the swing and exercising right in front of him.  Now when they are that little, they may not become too amused, but you are still setting a great example for them. 

Sometimes it's hard to squeeze in a workout while the kiddos are awake and that's completely understandable.  Children hold about a zero second attention span - so it may not be possible to entertain them with your exercises and sweat. 

One way to become more likely to workout is to PLAN your workouts.  You can do this before your week begins OR every evening for the following day.  Planning your workouts, just like planning your meals for the week, gives you a HUGE head start on the week and you are more likely to succeed.  If you are an early bird, set aside an extra 30 minutes to "wake" your body up by sweating.  Otherwise, plan them for nap times or when the kids go to bed.  I find that many of my workouts happen before my son wakes up in the morning and it gives me a HUGE energy boost for my entire day!

Also, make sure to have a fitness goal in mind.   Do you want to run a race?  Be able to do 30 burpees all at once?  Carry your child up the stairs without passing out?  One small step at a time will lead to lasting results because they will stick! 

Lastly, have someone that will hold you accountable.  Maybe they can be your workout partner and you two set aside time to workout together.  Maybe you follow the same program and hold each other accountable every day that you are supposed to exercise.  Either way, having someone there to support you AND push you is hugely beneficial!

So, here's my challenge for you - set aside 20-30 minutes 3 days a week to complete this total body circuit!

Pendulum Lunges 10x each leg
Stationary Inchworm with Pushup 10x
Squat Jumps 10x
Bear Crawls  - Do 2x the length of your living room or workout space

Once you complete those 4 exercises, rest for 1 minute then start over.  Try to complete between 3-6 rounds each time you workout. 



Whew!  Now, it's time to get yourself some nourishing food and water!



Ashton Bond, Personal Trainer
WholeFit Personal Training
NASM Certified, CPT

Use What You Have to Create Healthy Meals

Confession: I'm cheap (you could say I'm 'frugal', but let's just call it what it is).

My favorite maternity dress (only 1 of 2) came from Goodwill. I made all the curtains (window & shower) and pillows in our home, with fabric glue, because I haven't brought myself to purchase a sewing machine yet and could not justify shelling out money on the aforementioned items.

Over the past several years, fueling my body with nutritious food has come to matter greatly to me. So what's a cheap girl to do when the price of grass-fed beef and organic produce outweighs that of conventional? As a health coach and healthy-foodie, the most common complaint I hear is 'Eating healthy is so expensive'. But I'm visiting Ven's blog today to show you that it doesn't have to be. As my nutrition knowledge flourished over the years, so too did my bag of eating-healthy-on-a-budget tricks.

This bag contains a big secret, one that will be sure to knock your socks off. Wait for it...

Use the food that you've already spent money on to create nourishing meals

I know, genius you're working with here ;) All joking aside, though, the simple concept of using what's in the pantry, fridge, or freezer often goes un-followed. Blame it on lack of time, lack of creativity, or simply wanting to concoct that new recipe you pinned despite not having any of the ingredients on hand. We've all been there. Who hasn't purchased a cart full of colorful produce, with the best of intentions to concoct nutrient-rich, healthy meals, only to decry the rotten bag of spinach, flimsy carrots, and wrinkly peppers a week later?

A while back, my husband dubbed me the 'Queen of Random Meals', so I was more than happy to tackle this subject when Ven asked. Let's get started...

My Top Tips for Using The Food You Have to Create Healthy Meals 

#1 Start with a well-stocked pantry & freezer – then utilize it!

• We waste so much money picking out new recipes that require ingredients we don't have when there’s tons of food in the house already waiting to be used. And not only are you spending money on more food; think about the cost of time and gas to make another grocery-store trip
• Recommended pantry staples (as soon as you use each up, replenish your stock by adding it to your grocery list to buy next trip) - *this is not an exhaustive list
  • Vinegars (balsamic, apple cider, red wine, rice wine, etc.)
  • Organic Diced Tomatoes & Tomato Sauce
  • Canned Wild-Alaskan Salmon
  • Natural Peanut Butter
  • Canned Coconut Milk
  • Oils- coconut & olive
  • Grains (rice, quinoa, farro, oatmeal, bulgur wheat, etc.)
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Canned Pumpkin
  • Canned &/or dried beans
  • Lentils
  • Salsa
  • Spices
  • Maple syrup, honey
  • And on and on... I can think of ten meals just looking at this list
• Recommended Freezer Staples
  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Bags of frozen veggies (single, mixed, stir-fry, etc.)
  • Salmon
  • Homemade jams, applesauce, apple butters, etc.
  • Fruit
  • Meals you've made ahead of time and frozen -
    • *another money-saving trick: make double of a recipe and freeze half to have as another meal
    • Ideas: burritos, soups, black-bean burgers, enchiladas, sloppy joes, lasagna, etc. (all made healthy, of course)

#2 Assess what you have on-hand

• Make a list of every item of food in your kitchen
  • Start with and make sure to use any perishable items (fresh produce, unfrozen meat, sauces that need to be used up, etc.), then build your meal from there
  • What do I have to complete this meal? (Example meal: rice in the pantry to go with grilled bbq chicken and roasted broccoli)
  • **Bonus tip: Create running 'inventory lists' for your pantry and freezer. Add items as you purchase them and cross off what gets used.
• If you meal-plan (another one of my healthy-eating-on-a-budget tools), use this same listing technique before searching for recipes to make

#3 Get Creative

• One of the very first throw-together meals I created was an Asian Peanut Sauce with veggies & chicken over noodles. Sounds pretty good, right? I saw peanut butter, a few veggies, and leftover roasted chicken in the fridge. With those items in mind, I perused the freezer and pantry to see what else we had. I discovered ginger in the freezer, and honey, rice vinegar, and buckwheat noodles in the pantry. A little soy sauce from the fridge, and that house-favorite meal came to life.
• Your turn: Tomatoes, ground beef, and quinoa – what could I make? Tap into that creativity... Go! (Add your response in Ven's comments)
• A couple important tidbits to keep in mind:
  • Don't be afraid to test out new flavor combinations
  • Don't worry about what the meal will look like.

#4 Search for recipes that call for the items you already have

• Don't be afraid to cut out or substitute an ingredient. I do this most-often with spices. If you're unsure what to substitute with, google it.
• Utilize recipe sites - a few of my favorites:
  • Pinterest
  • PaleOMG
  • NomNom Paleo
  • Oh She Glows (for vegan-friendly recipes)
  • A Couple Cooks
  • FoodGawker
  • *My site also contains a Recipe page
• Break out your favorite cookbooks

#5 Create a Go-to Recipe Database and keep those items on-hand

• List out your (and your family members') favorite meals - and stash the recipes in a handy place (in a cookbook, on your computer or phone, etc.)
• Always keep the ingredients handy for those meals

So there you have it. How I use what food's already hanging out in our house to whip up healthy meals that don't taste like junk. By utilizing this tool, you won't have to forego sending your kiddos to college for the sake of eating nutrient-dense food.

Lastly, don't forget... under Tip #3, I challenged you to put your creative brain to work. I can't wait to hear, what meal did you come up with?

Jaclyn is a holistic health coach & mom-to-be with a passion for fitness, nutrition, and healthy, balanced living. With a background in exercise science and 5+ years of personal-training experience, she quickly grew frustrated with the lack of solid, research-based advice for expectant mamas who enjoy lifting and/or high-intensity exercise. So, she started her blog, BumpSweat, to help women (pre-pregnancy, pregnant and/or new moms) navigate those waters and stay fit & active before and after baby comes. When not coaching or blogging, Jaclyn enjoys digging into the Word, cooking nutritious meals, being active (lifting, hiking, etc.) and reading.

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A p.s. from lady romero
 That peanut butter, noodles, and soy sauce is the bomb.com, don't knock it until you try it,

The Nook and Cranny Method

Today starts HEALTH WEEK on the blog!
 For the next 5 days,  five different guest *expert* bloggers will be taking over the blog. They will be sharing different tried and true ways they stay healthy, everything from throw together healthy meals to how to make it work as a parent.
Here's Krystal on getting into a healthy routine.

"What the heck?" Why is it that when I get in to the groove of losing weight, life decides to step in and sabotage my efforts? I struggle to get back on track, I tell myself, "Once x is no longer in my life then I can really focus on getting healthy again." 

That break never seems to come... Once x is gone, y decides to show up.

"If I could just get into a routine then losing weight would be so much easier!"

Or would it?

What does having a routine really mean and why does 
Routine = Success? 

Well, according to Merriam-Webster, "A routine is a regular way of doing things in a particular order." Or, "A boring state or situation in which things are always done the same way."

I'd have to agree with the second definition myself.

To me, a routine insinuates that life will be the same day in and day out-BORING. 

When people see that Routine = Success, it's easy to get stuck in the Routine Mentality.

But I will say, we can't count on the perfect routine to accomplish what we really want. Life is too unpredictable and it becomes too easy to put off the things that are really important to us. This is especially the case, if it doesn't fit into our lives right now. 

I'm emphasizing the word important here because if you want to be healthy then doing "healthy stuff" should probably be closer to the top of your priority list.

So, how do you prioritize your life and get past the Routine Mentality?

Here is what I have found that works:

Ditch the Routine Mentality and practice the Nooks and Crannies Mentality!

Basically, you can fit healthy habits into the Nooks and Crannies of your life.

And here is what I mean by that:

I pick 3-4 things to want to focus on that will benefit my health positively in some way and will not take much time to accomplish:
1) I want to drink more water  
2) I want to exercise more (say an average of 20 minutes a day)
3) I want to eat at least 3 servings of fresh fruits or veggies every day

Then, I just plug them in wherever I can. 

Am I going to get them all in every day? Probably not, but if I get 1 out of 3 then I feel like I am doing pretty good. 

My point is to break away from the Routine and the All-or-nothing Mentalities and be intentional about what is really important to you.


Like right now, I have at least 10 minutes to do some sit-ups and planks in my living room. When I get out of breath, I'll take a sip of water. I've realized that I don't have to dedicate 60 minutes to exercise every day to see positive changes. 

I consistently focus on a little bit every day. 

My life has become so much easier once I surrendered the Routine Mentality. My body is a product of the recent choices I have made in my life. If do my best at fitting healthy habits into the nooks and crannies of my life consistently, there is a good chance that I will be on the path of looking better, feeling better, and having more energy in no time! 

Much love!
Krystal

Krystal Diel a Certified Personal trainer and Personal Wellness Coach.
Find her FB page here>>>https://www.facebook.com/PersonalWellnessTrainerSTL

Krystal studied Exercise Science at Lindenwood University where she obtained her bachelors degree.

Krystal has been inspiring people to lead healthy lives for over 7 years.

Krystal is passionate about teaching people how to get back to the basics of wellness.

Krystal realizes that people can live life more fully when they are looking better, feeling better, and having more energy.

Recipe week didn't happen…Cumin citrus roast chicken did!

When I originally started this week I was going to do "the evolution of a roast chicken" starting out with a recipe for an awesome Crockpot Cumin citrus roast chicken, that gave you 3 meals AND yummy nutritious bone broth!
Well I started out with a completely frozen chicken, which I know is a big no, no, but I thought for sure would be done in time for dinner….. It wasn't and started a domino effect.

 First going out to dinner last minute, missing church, meeting our new neighbors etc.(the neighbor thing was great)
It also really made it hard for me to make 3 meals out of the chicken, for a couple of reasons, number one being time temperature abuse. You can only reheat something so many times before its no longer healthy to do so. Since we didn't eat the chicken that night, once it was done, it was refrigerated and then reheated the next night for dinner. Soooo good and limey by the way.

 In any case, I said in my blog intro, that I wanted to be a mom you could approach on the playground and this kind of stuff, it just happens to all of us. So I am going to share my recipe and then show you things I did accomplish, even though I didn't accomplish sharing "the evolution of a roast chicken"

Recipe
1 whole (local pastured non-GMO recommended) chicken NOT fully frozen, ha, ha!
1 lemon sliced into round 1/2 inch thick
2 diced peppers any would work ( I used seeded jalapeños)
cumin
taco seasoning
crushed garlic at least 3 cloves
2 limes (if large, more if not) 1 lime sliced in rounds same as lemon
1 lime in wedges

Take chicken put in crockpot
rub cumin all over bird
put crushed garlic inside of chicken ( giblets should be removed)
add slices of lemon to top of chicken
add rounds of lime
add diced peppers
shake taco seasoning onto bird
an hour or so before ready to eat squeeze lime wedges over chicken and throw in crockpot
Cook until done

Serve with warm rice and cold avocado
So good together!

Voila!

Perfect for tacos the next day, chicken tortilla soup, or a spicier lime chicken salad, or for taco salad! Possibilities are endless!

Yum!

Other things accomplished, lots of fun with my family!

Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-fil-A! 

He was trying to shake his ears off and I was laughing!

If you aren't familiar you dress like a cow and get a free meal!

The back of his shirt said Eat More Chikin 

(it looked spookily similar to the way the motto looks)

Playing with sticker books

 Reading with Dad 

 The night the chicken didn't cook and we missed church, but he got a free baby cone and we got to meet our new neighbors!

Eating watermelon on the back patio.

Having a picnic lunch in the beautiful weather we have been having.

So recipe week didn't happen. At a different time in my life this would have devastated me, I said I was going to do this, and I didn't.(which I'm not justifying) The thing is my family still ate, and made wonderful memories. I don't want to always focus on what I didn't do and you shouldn't either. 

Enjoy that chicken from scratch!

Ven 

Stir Fry from leftovers

This week I am kicking off Recipe week with Stir Fry from leftovers!

I mentioned in a previous post that we had just cut our grocery budget, by ALOT.
So I thought I'd share a super healthy meal that I made from leftover veggies in my fridge.
You probably make this meal at home, maybe you don't.
In any case this is a family favorite, esp. when made with quinoa instead of rice, like I did here.
Now don't think I am throwing around names of a trendy superfood just for fun, my husband LOVES quinoa and so does my little boy. I really think hubby has read one too many Men's Health articles with subliminal messaging about all the protein in quinoa, or something. He eats for nutrition, mostly. I on the other hand have a love/hate relationship with quinoa. I love how healthy it is, that my family loves it, and that its not hard to make. My foodie palate really struggles with making it the kind of savory delectable side dish I crave. And D well, I always cringe after D eats quinoa because it winds up in every crevice possible, but I will take that as long as he's eating well. Know what I mean, Mommas?
So here's what I did,
I started by chopping up my veggies...

My onion was bought at the local produce stand a 1.50 for about 10 onions. My sugar snap peas were on the 1.00 shelf at the produce stand, I used about 1/4 of them. ( so I was able to get multiple meals out of them)   The green beans barely pictured were on the 1.00 shelf as well, but I ended up not needing them due to the abundance of other veggies I found lurking about. The cabbage I had bought local for 1.00 and had used for several other meals, I always have carrots in the crisper. The broccoli is the ONLY thing I picked up specifically for this meal! I think I paid about a 1.00 for that as well, its organic and I just grabbed the smallest crown I could. The bell pepper was leftovers from a veggie cheese hummus sandwich the day before. 

I added a dollop of organic coconut oil to my pan, a staple in my household that I find for a good price at you guessed it, Costco!

Then added the onions ( I like the sweet flavor when they cook for a long time) you can always add garlic, then I add ground ginger and my chicken since it will take the longest to cook.

I add soy sauce, I used an organic gluten free low sodium tamari, but I may have to eliminate soy sauce entirely from my stir fry. My husband has been complaining about something making his tummy upset and since we don't use anything soy another time, I'm betting its that. There are always other options like coconut aminos. Hopefully its not the coconut oil that is giving him the tummy ache or the coconut aminos will equal double trouble.

Then I rummaged in my freezer and found the last of my frozen organic peas from Costco, they had been in there a good while (5 months plus) so they count as free right? One of my girlfriends is guest posting next week about Food safety, hopefully this isn't a no, no? I added them next, because well, they really needed a while to defrost….as you can see below.

Then as my chicken looked more done, I started piling in the veggies….

Here I added in some mushrooms we had sitting in the fridge, to be honest they did not rehydrate well. It was okay as I am the only mushroom eater and was able to just pick 'em out. Those frozen peas are still working. Also notice how those peas from the 1.00 shelf look scrum-diddly-umpcious! You can't even tell they were on the verge of no return. 

Here is after I added the cabbage and carrots- yummy! My hubby doesn't really like cooked carrots, so I wanted them to stay as crisp as possible. While you often see napa cabbage ( the purple stuff) in stir fry you don't see the green as much, it still tastes good. And cabbage is sooooo cheap!

Disclaimer: May induce flatulence…. Maybe not the best dinner for guests….except family, family can deal.

 Maybe thats my honey's tummy problem?

Any way thats what the veggies look like all done an mixed together, I also added in a handful of frozen organic corn I had in the freezer. (same circumstance as peas but cook down faster)

But I forgot to tell you how I make my quinoa so darn tasty and healthy and where I get it…

*Spoiler Alert *

I also get my quinoa at Costco….

See that awesome seal USDA organic? I love that little bad boy…. anyway. I feel good when I can feed my family organic ingredients.

So how I make my quinoa more savory...

Oops sorry, for the shot of my vent there. But that my friends, are cubes of liquid gold, homemade bone broth. Chicken broth to be exact, so when my husband complains about how much we spend to get a high quality chicken. I just remind him of how far I stretch it, all the way into easy to pop into recipes, ice cubes of liquid gold. So good, and so good for you. I do a combo of water and bone broth to cook my quinoa in, but you could easily just use one or the other according to the quinoa package directions. My husband recently requested I throw some roasted bits of garlic in my quinoa, so thats up next. 

So lets add up what I spent on this meal

local sugar snap peas prorated to .25c

local cabbage prorated to .25c

organic broccoli 1.00 

local bell pepper leftovers .45c

organic carrots free because I shopped my fridge

local onion .15c

leftover mushrooms free because I shopped my fridge

frozen peas free " "

frozen corn free" "

soy sauce free " "

coconut oil I'm not quite sure how to prorate this one….

organic chicken breasts approx 5.74 ( I know, I know, ugh) (dark meat if you want to stay organic is a bit cheaper, non organic cheaper still, or no meat is a viable option with this meal, as it is chock full of nutrients,veggies and protein) 

organic quinoa prorated to 1.25

( I paid $20 for 4 lbs, and their are approx 2 cups per lb. and we used a 1/2 cup to go with our stir fry)

Be sure to sub in rice for an even more budget friendly option

Grand Total 9.09 Not perfect but I will take it.

Stay tuned for more organic, local, shop your fridge FROM SCRATCH recipes this week!

Lone Elk Park, and MORE!

Ok, so Gentleman Romero is a retail manager, which means he has a crazy schedule and when all my friends' husbands are off, he isn't. Some days I really bum over this, like on Saturday night when my IG feed is blowing up with date night photos, and I just said "No," to D for the like 800th time in a 1,000 different ways so not to discourage him that all he does is wrong.
Today wasn't one of those days, as we had a week day adventure of sorts, as one of the perks of his wonky schedule is days off during the week. And lets not forget I've stayed home and "not worked" out side the home for the last 15 months or so of my sons life which is NOTHING to sneeze at, no matter my husbands hours.
Did I mention he's one promotion away from weekends off, and two away from a "normal" schedule? Who wants to be normal anyway?
 Not us, which is why we didn't follow "every one and their mom" to the zoo on this GORGEOUS July day.
We hit Lone Elk Park, The World Bird Sanctuary, and hit up Whole Foods for a little snack- a- roo.

Lone Elk Park was AMAZING! We had a fun picnic lunch first! As you can see D was pretty serious about his lunch, and not so interested in getting his picture taken

Let me show you all the animals we saw, but first, let me show you a selfie! 

Not the best, but hey he was clearly interested in an animal and well I have no excuse….

Serious the park is great! The animals get to roam free (which is important to me and my ever growing lists of causes- ha,ha!) and you get so close to them! 

G- Romero and I saw this herd of elk laying in the grass while scouting our picnic spot.

We originally saw this elk while scouting as well, and came back after lunch because D was awake and could get a look.

He seriously enjoyed seeing the elk. 

Disclaimer: OBJECTS IN PICTURE ARE MUCH CLOSE THAN THEY APPEAR.

When you are entering the Bison Area there is a disclaimer, it reads something to the affect of keeps hand and feet inside vehicle at all times, and that bison have damaged cars.

So when we came upon this bison, and some of his friends.

Honestly, we got a little scared as they started moving towards us.

SEE, RIGHT AT US!

This one was on my side of the car, honestly if the window wasn't rolled up, I could touch it.

These are the ones that moved to G- Romero's side.

On the way out we also saw a sleeping male elk 

 Pretty majestic, huh?

Next we hit up The World Bird Sanctuary, while I wasn't as impressed with the animals living conditions,( no freedom to roam) we did really enjoy ourselves. I also know that they do a lot for conservation and wounded birds, so I don't want people to think I am bad mouthing the organization. I just enjoy when animals get similar freedoms as to when they are in the wild. You know like the opportunity to attack our vehicle if they see fit, ha ha!

 Also hubby and D got a picture with one of the cakes that commemorate St Louis' 250 years as a city. We haven't gotten as serious as some, trying to collect them all. But its fun to pick up a pic or two when we are out and about….

D checking out the chickens, can't wait until he has some of his own!

Here is my hubby sporting what he calls his "doo-rag." It's really a handkercheif, but I guess that isn't quite as cool…. 

 To be honest we were going to hit Lone Elk park the day before but it was too darn far away to get back in time for the hubs' disc golf league.
 Instead we hit Whole Foods (twice in one week, GASP) for a "morning family coffee date" of sorts the first time. Did you know sometimes they have little wagons full of fruit for kids snacks on your way out?We didn't, so after buying 3 bananas, 2 Kuva coffees, a water, and a cinnamon twist to share, we got an extra free banana for D. He finished two off almost all by his lonesome, that is one hungry little boy!
Did I mention we love to go into Whole Foods buy very little and take advantage of all the yummy samples? Its a favorite day date of ours, and just so you know in both shopping trips to Whole Foods this week we spent less than 10$ (each time)  and the second time we even grabbed some things for dinner. I just cut my grocery budget ALOT for the impending (who knows when it will happen) move, (more on that another time)  and I am pleased to say we have done quite well our first month on the new budget. So well in fact I will be sharing one of my favorite throw together healthy recipes soon!

Thanks for checking out our family adventure! Support local conservation in and around your area. We Romero's building family memories from scratch, one family adventure at a time.