Flavored Waters.

I saw some water flavored with strawberries at a yogurt place and thought it tasted refreshing and thought it looked so pretty.  I have done it a bunch of times now for barbeques, parties, and showers.  It's a nice change and super healthy.

 

Just slice up some fresh fruit and dump them in.  Here are some ideas of what you can add to flavor your water:

cucumbers

mint leaves

kiwi

mango

limes

strawberries

lemons

oranges

or a combination for a fruit punch flavor.

 

 They look great in any punch bowl, clear pitcher, or pretty serving dish.  The white vintage pitcher above is one I picked up from an estate sale.

3 Week Healthy Challenge.

 

 

Carleton called me the other day to say he booked a cruise to Mexico for our anniversary in May.  I want to get ride of the rest of my baby fat so we're doing a three week challenge (adapting it to our lifestyle) from the Whole Living magazine Martha Stewart put out.  Go here if you want some new healthy recipes or want to try the challenge with me.

 

Here are some tips I thought I would share for those wanting to try some healthy new meals but want to save time:

1.  Double or even quadruple recipes.  Sometimes healthy veggies and foods are hard to to find.  Nice, because you only have to find the foods once, use less dishes, etc.

2.  Freeze.  I made a bunch of the Green Machine Smoothies.  I have some in the fridge for tomorrow and two Tupperwares full in the freezer.  I put a post-it on each including the name, serving size, and date so I can have some for later.   I did the same for the soups.

3.  Get the kids occupied.  When I want to get a lot done, I sometimes call the kids' friends over to play.  They play so well together that we can get a lot of done around the house.  So, if it's more of a headache to have other kids over, maybe dad can take the kids for awhile so you can dedicate some time-chopping veggies takes forever.

 

Yummy trail mix. 

 

For Justin.

My brother is a bachelor and is busy getting his master's right now. He said he is eating super healthy right now and lifting a lot (watch out ladies!!). He said it's hard because he's just cooking for himself and if he wants to have fresh produce that doesn't go bad, he's going to the store a bunch each week. I told him I'd send him some ideas and recipes and this is what I have off the top of my head. I got an email from Lisa this week too about how she doesn't like cooking - she's basically only cooking for two (has one picky kiddo), and wants to be healthy-so Lisa, this is for you too.

Freeze everything you can! I've been really into freezing. I like to make double and freeze a bunch for Carleton's meals or other family meals. I told Suzana, why didn't I think of this before??

1. Harvest Soup. A very VERY yummy soup perfect for the season (from allrecipes.com). Has lots of veggies-make a bunch and freeze a bunch. Would be great to warm up on a chilly day with some wheat rolls...or just alone.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (didn't use this myself)
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and onions, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potato, squash, carrots, apple, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender, or use a stick blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Once the soup has been pureed, return it to the pot and stir in wine and cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; simmer gently for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives.

2. Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal. My kids asked for this for a couple days so I made it again this week. Annie and Apollo can eat tons of this (from Deceptively Delicious cookbook). I quadruple this recipe. It's great frozen or in the fridge for later. When I put it in the microwave later, I put in a little milk and pure maple syrup. Yum. Another fun one during this season.

Ingredients:

1 cup Nonfat (skim) milk 1/4 cup Light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1/4 cup Pumpkin or sweet potato puree 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract (optional) 1/4 tsp Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice 1 cup Old-fashioned oats 2 tsp Natural peanut butter Pure maple syrup

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, if using, and spice. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the oatmeal. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in the peanut butter, if using. 2. Spoon the oatmeal into bowls, sprinkle with dried fruit and nuts, if you like, and serve warm with maple syrup

3. Chicken Salad Sandwich. Just use the chicken packed in a can (looks like tuna) and add as much Greek yogurt as you want to taste. The Greek yogurt has 23 grams of protein and the kind we get at Costco has no fat in it. You can add chopped nuts, grapes, or a little lemon juice if you like.

Add some jam to your left over Greek yogurt , and yum. It makes a delish, thick yogurt. Shannon eats it a lot for breakfast with fresh fruit.

4. Egg Salad Sandwich. Boil eggs, and add enough Greek yogurt to taste (or fat free mayo). Super fast and yummy.

5. Canned, healthy soups. Eat some of the can and save the left over in the fridge for the next day. We like chili out of can for lunch sometimes.

6. Watermelon. Cut and eat it fresh. Blend some of the left over the next day in a shake (just mix up the watermelon and add ice-so good). If it's a ripe, good watermelon, you don't need to add anything to it. Finally, put all leftover chunks and blend in the blender (seedless watermelon) and put it in a Tupperware in the freezer. When you want to eat the frozen watermelon puree (icee), just take it out of the freezer and thaw until it's the consistency you like. So, so good. Go here to see the cute blog that this came from.

7. My friend January made a whole cookbook of super super easy and delicious recipes for new moms to get them through the first few months. I'll email it to you, Justin. If anyone else wants this book via email, just post a comment and I'll send it to you too.

8. Whole Wheat Waffles. We put cheese, sausage, and eggs between ours today for the first time. They are so good and good for you waffles. Make a million and then freeze a bunch in freezer bags. When you want a waffle, just pop it in the toaster straight from the oven and add pure maple syrup. We like them with a little peanut butter too. You can do the same for pancakes.

2 Eggs 1 3/4 cups Skim milk 1/4 cup Canola oil 1/4 cup Unsweetened applesauce 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup Flax seed meal 1/4 cup Wheat germ *1/4 cup All-purpose flour 4 tsp Baking powder 1 tbsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Salt

*We just add extra wheat flour to replace the white flour.

9. Bran Muffins. You can make and freeze any muffins, then pop (straight from the freezer) into the microwave for breakfast or a snack. I've put it on this site before or you can find healthy ones off allrecipes.com. Just replace oil with applesauce and white with whole wheat flour.

10. Spaghetti. Use whole wheat pasta, and you have a quick, healthy meal. Double the batch and freeze a bunch for later.

11. Frozen Veggies in Bags. Easy, still healthy but you don't have to make a bunch of trips for fresh veggies and you get out just as much as you'll eat at a sitting.

12. Frozen Fruit. I like the Costco berries in the big bag. They are great for shakes and you don't have to worry about the fruit getting old. When I do see normal fruit getting bad, I just add them to smoothies we're making.

13. Homemade smoothies and slushies. Have you heard of Buddy Fruits? They're like a buck for a couple of swallows but the kids love it. I make my own now. I just put applesauce with other fruits-like bananas and strawberries.. Throw them in the blender (if you have a Vitamix, put it on high for a great smooth texture). We did straight pears the other day (with seeds) and had that instead of applesauce. Throw all these in a Tupperware in the freezer, and when you take them out, let them thaw for a few minutes and have a no-sugar-added slushy.

We do a lot of smoothies around here. Just last night, Carleton made a fresh peach one. Smoothies are great for fruit that's about to go bad. If you don't drink all of your smoothie, again freeze the leftovers. You can even put it in an ice tray and add it to your next smoothie.

14. Chips and salsa. Costco has a mango salsa without much sugar. We eat it with corn chips or you could even do whole wheat crackers.

15. Canned Fruit. This is a good bachelor snack. Canned fruit (in their own juice) and cottage cheese. You can keep a lot of the left over canned fruit to top on salads.

Cornbread. We ate this with tomato soup (straws for the kids). This last idea isn't the healthiest, but it's so good. We replaced the white flour with wheat flour. They were a big hit with all the kids too. I made two batches and froze one. I just wrapped it with aluminum foil, then plastic wrap and threw it in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (we used whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

In the next couple of weeks, I'm getting together with some friends to put together a month's worth of crock-pot meals. You cut, cook a little, and organize into freezer bags. I'll post the recipes if they turn out good.

Put your kiddos to good use hehehe

After Apollo was born, I used him as my weight and would have weight lifting sessions with him. I got the idea from my friend, Katie. She works at My Gym doing mommy and me classes and gym classes for young kids. As I got stronger and healed, my "weight" increased in size. I sometimes would go out on the porch so he could look out or just do it in my house. The sessions would last as long as he would last. These can be done anywhere (these are taken in Moab UT-our last vacation) and you don't have to bring anything extra. Now, I can exercise with both Annie and Apollo depending on the weight I want (I showed a lot of different kids and weights to show that you can use almost any kids for weights). You're welcome to print these off if you want them for a workout, print your own off, or have this screen up on your computer. These same exercises can be done with bands or weights if you don't have a small child handy.

I rotate between two exercises doing 3 sets of each and then move onto the next two exercises.

1. Squats. The child can be on piggy back or can be held in the front (with younger kids).



2. Back and Biceps. First stand straight, holding the child like in pic. #1. Next, bend over still holding the child close, keeping your back and legs straight. Continue (pic #3) by holding the child in your hands but extending your arms working the bicep (still keeping back and legs straight). Lastly, pull the child close (while still in the lower position) stand up again-working the back.







3. Obliques. Go from side to middle, other side to middle. The tummy is held tight.




4. Triceps. Keep your arms close to your head and elbows in the same place. This can be done laying on your back, with your elbows up and the baby in your hands.




5. Leg Lifts. This is a great tummy workout. It can be done from the couch and if the child is small enough, it can be done laying on the back and lifting the child up slightly with the legs.




6. Biceps. Keep back straight and pull the child up and down. This is fun because you can tickle them or kiss them when they come up.






7. Crunches. Apollo loves this-it's a ride for him.




8. Shoulders. Depending on the age, you can throw the kids up or just lift them up over the shoulders.





9. Lunges. This is a leg and arm workout. Swing the child up as you come up from lunge position or if they're bigger just hold them as extra weight. This is fun to do with my babies.





10. Front, side, and back leg lifts. Stand in place and either do all the front lifts at once or rotate between the three.



Honestly, I am addicted to exercising. I really enjoy it-it's fun for me. I like to vary it up and I hope this gives you some fun new ideas. This past week, my husband had surgery and the day after passed out so we spent a few hours in the ER-I still took the kids running and exercised. It is the way I get stress out and can be a better person and mommy. Other exercises I do with kids: exercise at the park with bands with friends while they play, dance parties, run with them in the stroller, jump rope while they play, and sometimes an exercise tape.


The Dancing Queens.