Some More Favorite Products

Our half marathon is only a few weeks away (oh my!) 

I can't even believe it. I'm excited and a little nervous but training has been going really well.

As Logan and I have been trying to eat healthier we've come across some more really great products out there to help us in our quest. Now don't get me wrong, we were never crap eaters, but we've particularly been trying to cut down on our carb intake (especially at night!) Anyways, here are some products that have become staples for us! 

1. Sweet Potato Ribbons (Trader Joe's) 

Trader Joe's is my main grocery store, that and Costco.  I find shopping at a smaller store with less options helps me to not over shop. I was throwing away a lot of food and buying too much pre-packaged junk. Trader's isn't the perfect store you can still find unhealthy stuff (HELLO MINI PEANUT BUTTER CUPS... SO GOOD)  but it has some really good healthy products that we've come to love. 

Logan and I both never really grew up eating sweet potatoes. But they are SO good and SO good for you so they have definitely been added to our rotation. I chop them up all the time myself but it's really nice to have these on hand just to be able to throw in the oven without any prep, i'm all about easy these days. 

I couldn't find a photo of the ribbons I buy but they look a lot like this:

2. Chicken and Basil Meatballs (Costco)

These are fabulous on pizzas, pasta, salad, or even for breakfast with some eggs. And a plus...they are organic! 

3. Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (Trader Joe's, Columbus Brand)

I am not a big fan of deli meat (kinda grosses me out) but this looks and tastes like real turkey (ya know it's not slimy and smooth like that prepackaged stuff?) I know I'm crazy, but textures of food can really throw me off.  My mom actually turned me on to this turkey and I remember when she brought it to the hospital after I had Gray and thinking this is SO good! 

4. Filet Mignon (Costco) 

I am SUPER picky when it comes to steak. Mainly because it is one of my favorite foods, but I have the cooking it down to a science (I'll blog about that later) but the process means nothing if your cut is sub-par. I ALWAYS buy our filet's from Costco. Yes they are pricy, but not really considering how much you would pay in a restaurant (about $8 per steak).  I remember a few months ago I didn't want to brave the Costco crowd so I picked up some steaks from our grocery store by our house. Well long story short we ended up throwing them away because they tasted so bad.  Anyways they come in packages of four so we freeze them in twos so they are ready for whenever we want steak. 

5. Grass Fed Angus Beef Burgers (Trader Joe's) 

Again, I'm picky about my meat, but these burgers are so good! They come pre-packaged frozen raw in twos and they are so good in a lettuce wrap, or on top of some veggies, or of course on a regular bun (because ya know, sometimes you want a legit. burger) 

6. Cauliflower Rice (Trader Joe's) 

We recently added this to our diet as a substitute for regular rice and we REALLY enjoy it.  It's not the same texture but its a good texture non the less. And it's like 150 calories for the whole dang bag of cauliflower rice. I just steam it covered in a sautee pan with a tiny bit of EVOO and some salt and pepper. Also when they run out at Trader's i've just made it myself by grating a head of cauliflower with a box grater (EASY). 

Well there it is for now ! Can you tell protein is on my mind ?? Ha I just can't get enough of it between the running and the breastfeeding.  I would love to hear some of YOUR favorite products! 

xoxo

It Takes A Village.

Working in social work I came to believe in this saying whole heartedly. It truly does take a village to raise a child. Unfortunately our society is becoming increasingly and increasingly self-centered making this an un-fulfilled need in so many cases! It definitely wasn't until I became a mom myself that I realized just how important my village really is! 

I'll never forget the day I came home from the hospital with Logan and our sweet boy in tow.  We walked in to our little house and it was like pure heaven. REALLY I swear that is what heaven will be like. My mother had deep cleaned the entire house, like seriously, she even cleaned the inside of my oven (it was gross), stocked me up on recovery supplies, gotten some hygiene products for baby Gray, taken all of our flowers/balloons home from the hospital and displayed them around the house, and my kitchen was full steam ahead with freshly baked bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and soup. I remember walking upstairs to my clean house and just crying a little and being so so grateful for my sweet mother.  

From that moment forward my village would only grow.  My dad, brother, and sister in law all came in to town to meet their new family member. And after my mom went home, my mother in law came to town.  She made sure to give Logan and I lots of opportunity to rest and have extra naps, she was on top of the food game making sure I never had to even think about what to make for dinner, and spoiled baby rotten buying him lots of baby clothes! (we thought we had what we needed but turns out he never even fit in to newborn clothes so we were kind of lacking on the 0-3 month stuff). 

Women/friends from my church provided the most delicious meals and treats in the coming weeks that Logan and I lived off of for weeks to come. I will never forget this time because we felt so very loved by all of our friends.

When you don't have family who live nearby your friends truly become family and this is definitely how we have felt living in Las Vegas.

As the newborn stage wore off and the holidays were over it was back to "real life".  But amazingly enough the help didn't stop coming.  Looking back it is SO important to accept help where it is offered or even just to plain ask for help! I have never been in a position in my life where I needed help in this magnitude before, but when people offer I really try my hardest to take them up on it, because people truly want to help! 

Logan and I have been able to our long runs on Saturdays while friends watch Gray for an hour or two. We've had friends come to the house to watch Gray while we go out for date nights. We've had friends help with our doggy Sundance (who is my other child for sure). And I even had to call a friend to drop Gray off at her house last minute to have a root canal. 

Could I do it all? Probably. Granted that would probably mean no running, no date nights, and just being with my baby 24/7 which don't get me wrong I love being with him. But I also love my me time still! 

My village is truly something I am beyond grateful for. Gray has so many people who love and care for him and that is the greatest feeling in the world.  So I guess the moral of the story is whatever stage of life you are in cultivate your village, be a part of someone else's, because no one was meant to go through this life alone, we are a gift to each other when we serve and allow to be served.

xoxo

Blackened Mahi Bowl

I've been messing around with some different "bowl" recipes the past few weeks and finally perfected it.  Log and I pretty much inhaled these last night after a run and both agreed we want these on the weekly. I was MAJORLY sick last week, sinus/ear infection so I wasn't able to run hardly at all and my nutrition took a major hit. But the antibiotics are starting to kick in and my appetite has returned so so has my cooking. Hope you enjoy!

Blackened Mahi Bowls (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 mahi mahi filet's (I buy the frozen pre-packaged ones from Costco)

1 lime

seafood seasoning (any brand will do)

1 bag of cauliflower rice (Trader Joe's)

2 small-medium sized zucchini's

1 sweet potato 

1 red pepper (or any pepper)

EVOO

Directions:

1. To start dice all of your veggies to desired size (keep diced sweet potatoes separate)

1. Place sweet potato on a baking sheet and coat with a couple of Tbsp. of EVOO salt/pepper, garlic powder, and season salt.  Bake in oven at 375 for about 15-20 minutes. 

2. After the sweet potatoes have been baking for 15-20 minutes add your zucchini and peppers and stir all together on the baking sheet, return to the oven for additional 10-15 minutes. I add these veggies after because the sweet potatoes take longer to cook and I don't want my zucchini and peppers to be soggy. 

3. While your veggies are baking cook your cauliflower rice. I cook the cauliflower in a sauté pan with a little bit of EVOO and salt and pepper and cover it with a lid until tender.

4. While everything else is cooking away prepare the fish.  Salt and pepper your filets (both sides) then squeeze the lime all over the filets. Then coat both sides with seafood seasoning (I have also used Mccormick's mojito lime seasoning packet which is great for seafood). You want the fish to be completely coated. 

5. Heat some EVOO in a grill pan (or just grill outside) and cook fish over medium/high heat, 5 minutes each side (approximately or until fish is cooked through but not dry!) 

6. Assemble your bowls!! We added a little bit of avocado on the side for some extra healthy fat! 

Enjoy!! 

xoxo 

p.s. If you wanted to mix up the flavor profile you could do a teriyaki bowl, or sweet chili sauce bowl!  Also use any of your favorite veggies! Endless possibilities for this healthy dinner.