Get it together, people!

I’m feeling all snarky and holier than thou about food today. I’m not sure why, but just go with it.

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not against occasional indulgences. Let’s be real: I eat junk. My kid eats junk. My husband eats junk. A big giant HOWEVER is that we don’t do it often or in mass quantity. Is eating a bakery cupcake the end of the world? Nope. Sure isn’t. Is eating it every day or even two to three times a week ok? That’s a negative. Put the cupcake away. Eat something that will fuel your beautiful body and not something that destroys it. You deserve better. And your kids fo ‘sho deserve better since you’re their primary source of food decisions.

I know, I get it. It’s confusing and hard to know what’s good for you and what’s bad. I get that “scientist” are telling you low-fat is good, low-fat is bad, don’t ever eat carbs, you need tons of carbs! I totally get that drama. But! I think we can all agree on, regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, is that anything processed is bad. UmmmmmK? If it’s in a box, it’s a no-go. If it came from the middle aisle of the grocery store, it’s likely a no-go (obviously, there are a few exceptions to the rule). There is NO debate on processed foods, we all know that they are bad. Those Cheerios that you’re doling out? Bad. Those cute little Goldfish? YUCK! In fact, pretty much everything that’s marketed to children, is crap. Just straight manure. Graham crackers, Cheetos, chips, Doritos...we know these things are bad. Why do we give them to our kids? Why?! You shouldn’t be eating them yourself, but let you kid have a healthy start. Let them make the decision to eat crap when they’re older, don’t set them up for failure so young.

“But that’s the only thing(s) my kid will eat.” I get that too. My kid goes through picky stages. I think that’s just part of being a toddler. They don’t have a lot of ways to assert their independence, but food is one of them. They get to make the decision of whether they eat or not. YOU get to make the decision of what you offer. And it doesn’t have to be junk, my friends. Childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes is real, boys and girls. Our kids have asthma, eczema, allergies (to include seasonal - which is not normal), and a myriad of other health issues. Yet, we aren’t changing our food habits. We’re medicating, we’re ignoring and accepting, we’re basically doing anything but addressing the real issue. This applies to adults too. Being over weight, being lethargic and tired, having aches and pains constantly, and just being negative - guess what? All food related.

I say all of this stuff with love. It pains me that I have dear friends that either don’t care or don’t want to deal with the truth of how important food is in our lives. It breaks my heart that toddlers every where are getting junk food on a regular basis under the misconception that it’s healthy. Cans, tubs, boxes - it’s not healthy.
Why do we not want better for our kids?
*Does Big C get things like this? Yes. Maybe once a week. Mostly no.

Menu plan to follow in a day. :-) I’ve been really lax on those, as I generally am lax on all things in my life. Way less stressful. Haha!

Here we go again!

I’m trying desperately to stick to meal planning, for two main reasons: Steve gets back super soon and I need to start feeding another adult again. AND! Meal planning keeps me on track. I’m working my butt off trying to make sure I’m one hot mama when he gets back. Between T25, random workouts, and eating right, I’m making awesome strides. Never mind the brownies and cookies I ate this weekend. And pizza. And I’m drinking a beer. So...

I just bought a juicer. Like 30 seconds ago. I’m typically anti-juice, especially any sort of store bought crap. However, when drinking freshly pressed juice that hasn’t been pasteurized and a gallon of unnecessary ingredients added; I think it can have it’s benefits. I will NOT be using it as a meal replacement, as I firmly believe shakes/juices/smoothies shouldn’t be used as such, but I’ll use it as a little morning pick-me-up. So, I’ll include the juice recipes here too.

If anyone has any awesomely tasting juice recipes that they want to share, please hook it up!

*Snacks aren’t something that I necessarily eat. I just put it there as an idea of something to eat in case I get hungry. I also may not always use the meat that the recipe recommends and may sub out different types (ground buffalo or pork instead of beef, etc).

DAY 1
B: This is insane - breakfast lasagne
L: Tuna, grapes, pickles, avocado
D: Shrimp fried rice
S: Handful of berries and nuts
J: Morning juice

DAY 2
B: 2-3 egg omelet w/ greens, mushrooms, and random other veggies
L: Leftovers
D: Honey mustard chicken, roasted brussel kale, & sweet potatoes
S: Fried banana w/ leftover sausage
J: Mint & grapefruit

DAY 3
B: Oatmeal w/ berries and breakfast sausage
L: Leftovers
D: Pork with baked apples & kale 
S: Protein shake
J: Metabolism booster 

DAY 4
B: 2-3 egg omelet w/ veggies & meat
L: Tuna, grapes, pickles, avocado
D: Black bean enchilada skillet
S: 1/2 sweet potato w/ berries & walnuts
J: Green ginger ale

DAY 5
B: 2-3 egg omelet w/ veggies & meat (Yes, we eat a lot of eggs around here!)
L: Leftovers
D: Sausage bake w/ carrot/zucchini fries 
S: Protein shake
J: Green lemonade

DAY 6
B: Carrot cake pancakes w/ breakfast patties
L: Leftovers and/or AB&J sandwiches
D: Tomato and chicken crock pot crap (Make a few changes) w/ roasted asparagus
S: Yogurt cheese, berries
J: Green leprechaun

DAY 7
B: 2-3 egg omelet w/ veggies & meat
L: Primal pot pie
D: Sweet potato lasagna 
S: Protein shake
J: Strawberry lemonade (minus the agave!)

What am I eating this week?

This week’s menu…nothing exciting, just food for yo body!

Ignore typos. This is happening very late at night and the kid isn’t sleeping well. I’m a terrible mama and let him have ice cream before bed and his little belly isn’t pleased. :-/ Note to self: not worth it or fair to him. 

ALL meals will prepped and/or cooked the evening before. My goal is to make the next day as smooth as easy as possible. One extra hour at night = an easy peasy day the next day. AND I’ll actually get my workout, shower, and downtime in during nap time. Win and win! 

DAY 1

B: 2-3 scrambled eggs w/ greens & feta, 2 pieces of sausage, pineapple & berries

L: Tuna mixed with pickle, grapes, avocado, & yogurt, 1/2 a sweet potato

    (Chase will have a gluten free almond butter & jelly)

D: Crockpot coconut curry chicken & rice (use THIS seasoning, instead of chemically loaded store bought crap!!) 

S: Cucumber salad

DAY 2

B: Sweet potato & chicken sausage scramble with 2-3 eggs (sharing with Chase)

L: Turkey wraps with avocado & cheese, handful of berries and cukes

D: Crockpot balsamic glazed beef roast (see pic) add beets to the crockpot half way through, cheesy broccoli

S: Banana with almond butter

DAY 3

B: Blueberry oatmeal pancakes (minus the splenda. Be real. And use the whole egg, people!) w/ bacon

L: Leftovers

D: Southwestern style stuffed sweet potatoes & asparagus

S: THIS salad (I kind of want it like right now!)

DAY 4

B: Breakfast casserole (I’ll be using rando meat and veggies)

L: Corn tortilla (sprouted) quesadilla w/ turkey, avocado, & cheese - side of berries

D: Lamb burgers (ground lamb, feta, spinach) w/ acorn squash & brussels sprouts

S: Fried plantains w/ precooked meat and shredded cheese

DAY 5

B: Bacon butternut squash quiche

L: Leftovers

D: Crock pot apple chicken (minus the bacon), parsnip mash, green beans

S: Salad of choice

DAY 6

B: Gluten free frozen waffles and breakfast sausage (Judge away for the frozen waffles, but this mama 

    needs a break occasionally and it’s better than GOING out to breakfast. )

L:  Tuna mixed with pickle, grapes, avocado, & yogurt, 1/2 a sweet potato

     (Chase will have banana & almond butter w/ 1/2 sweet potato)

D: Salmon, riced cauliflower, honey roasted carrots

S: Guacamole deviled eggs

DAY 7

B: Bananas and cream (coconut cream) w/ bacon

L: CLEAN OUT FRIDGE DAY! Eat leftovers! 

D: Bourbon chicken over rice noodles w/ zucchini & cabbage 

S: Leftover guacamole deviled eggs

Rando recipe to try if I have time: Empanadas