My first week back

I did it. I conquered my first week back to work after being off for (almost) 10 months.

I'm not gonna lie. I cried like a baby when I was pulling out of my driveway. My mom came down to watch the kids on my first day back. That was the only way I was going to be comfortable enough to leave the house.

Lucky for me, I had a transition day with my sub. This allowed me time to get the schedules set for the rest of the year. I had to plan for all the extra rehearsals, in school concerts, 3rd grade presentations, tryouts, and of course - finding a consistent time each day to pump. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOATHE pumping? I love nursing my kids but I just really really really dislike the whole pumping thing! I have a love/hate relationship with this thing:

Anyways - my original plan was to wake up at 5am every day to workout. If you know me, you know that the idea of me waking up at 5am each day is comical. I am NOT a morning person. I LOVE to sleep and I LOVE my bed.

Here's the good thing though - I LOVE MY NEW LIFESTYLE MORE! Both Thursday AND Friday, I was able to get up at 5am to workout! I even had extra time on Friday to get some Beachbody work done before heading to take my daughter to daycare for the first time.

And while we are on that subject - her first day was an EPIC fail. She slept for a total of ONE hour and cried from 10am till I picked her up at 4pm. They even called me at work to tell me she had a fever of 102! Well, she didn't really have a fever, she just had herself worked up! I felt like the worst mom ever. But I know that she will adjust and I LOVE my daycare. The ladies there LOVE LOVE LOVE my kids and cuddle them all day long. They are just like me!

Sorry for the aside about daycare - back to the main story!

I was also determined to keep up my clean eating while at school. This means that I needed to be VERY organized and have all my meals ready to go the night before. Again, if you know me, the thought of doing this is comical. I have never been a planner. In fact, I am usually late because I don't get myself ready in time or plan ahead.

I am proud to say that I planned ahead Wednesday and Thursday nights and had all my food ready to go each morning.

Here's how my meals looked for my first two days back. There was NO variety - I need consistency!

Breakfast: Shakeology
Mid morning snack: Pear and 2 cheese sticks
Lunch: All natural turkey breast and reduced sodium swiss cheese roll ups and a pear
Mid afternoon snack: carrots and roasted garlic hummus
Dinner: Whatever was already cooked in the fridge
Snack: Shakeology frozen yogurt

I am proud to say that it worked for me! I was not ravenously hungry during the day. I found times to eat, which can be hard to do in an allergy controlled school where NO food is permitted to be around the kids except food that is provided for them at lunch! Luckily for me, I have an office that the kids aren't allowed in, so I can eat in there. I also don't bring nut products to school, just incase!

So, now that the first week is behind me, I am prepping for my first FULL week back at work. This week is a 5 day work week. I am ready to go! I made my meal plan. I already went grocery shopping. I am cooking my food tomorrow morning. Everything WILL be portioned out ahead of time and ready to go - including our dinners. This will save me hours of prep time in the evenings and also save the headache of "Whats for dinner???" and the chaos that shortly follows!

Here's what my meal plan for this upcoming work week looks like. I am planning on making my hubby and son a meatloaf tomorrow because they don't always like to eat the healthy stuff I make. I try not to eat red meat because it upsets my angry gallbladder! I apologize in advance because the entire meal plan is boring. I like things to be consistent when I'm busy and I don't really mind eating the same thing every day.

Now you can see what I eat each day. Maybe it will help you plan out your week!

<3,
Kell

Meal Planning

Meal planning is something I have NEVER been good at. Heck, I would even go as far to say that it is one of my biggest adult failures!

I never used to cook. Not because I don't like to cook. Not because I can't cook. But because I never knew WHAT to cook. And of course, the hubs is not so great with deciding ahead of time (a week in advance) what he wants to eat. He's a "spur of the moment" kinda guy...

But then I started planning out my meals on Saturday nights and all of a sudden, cooking wasn't such a chore. I got my husband involved to make sure he was ok with my plan and all of a sudden it was so much easier! I knew what I was going to make and when I was going to make it. I wasn't buying random food at the grocery store just to have it go to waste. We were actually starting to save money!

So, here is a sample of one of my meal plans. It's not pretty. It's not going to be what works for everyone. But it is what works for me!

I get a lot of my recipes from Melanie's blog, Kati's blog, The Gracious Pantry, and Heandsheeatclean.com. I also have MY OWN blog page with clean recipes I have tried. Check it out and share it with your friends!

Anywho - I thought I would share this weeks' meal plan with everyone. A lot of my food is the same each week. You will also see that I am seriously lacking in the nut proteins/fats and the hummus area. This is because of my gallbladder issue. My poor belleh just can't handle it!

So, anytime you want a different snack, sub in something you like instead. You can always check out my previous blog post about snacks HERE.

Here's what we are munchin' on in our house this week!

<3,
Kell

Snack Ideas

I've been struggling a bit lately with my meal planning. I have some gallbladder issues and can't tolerate very much fat in my diet. It's completely bumming me out because natural peanut butter was a staple in my diet and I can't have it at all. I also can't eat avocados, beans of any kind, or ground meat.

So, this blog post is going to focus on some healthy snacks because is one place I have a hard time keeping it fresh. I usually have the same exact snacks every day!

Some great snacks to plan into your day:

• 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of nuts
• 1 serving of fruit and 1 Tbsp all natural peanut butter
• 1 serving of veggies and 2 Tbsp of hummus
• 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese and 1 serving of berries of some type
• 0% Greek yogurt and 1 Tbsp organic honey
• 1/4 cup dried edamame and 1/4 cup dried cherries - just make sure your dried fruit doesn't have any added sugar.
• Protein bars (see my recipe page to link to some great protein bars!)
• Protein shake
• Shakeology
• Quest Protein Bar
• Unsalted brown rice cakes and all natural peanut butter (I really miss this!!!)
• Whole grain tortilla, all natural PB, and 1/2 banana - banana roll up!
• Meatloaf Muffins and 1 cup of raw veggies
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 small sweet potato w/1 tsp raw honey and 1/2 tsp cinnamon

If anyone has some other snack ideas, please feel free to share! I'm always looking for ways to spice my routine up!

<3,

Kell

Eat Clean Basics

Eat Clean Basics

It is very important when exercising and trying to lose weight that you eat 6 small meals per day.  This helps you to keep your blood sugar levels steady. It also helps you body maintain its muscle mass and fuels your body for your daily activities.  

I recommend that everyone who is trying to lose weight or get healthy, buy and read Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Recharged Book. It is my bible. I bought it after having a few friends recommend it to me and I'm so glad I did. She really explains the entire history and science behind eating clean and why you should pair your foods strategically together to get the results that you want! 

Tosca's main principles are as follows:

1. Eat more - 6 small meals a day!
• Each meal is 2.5 - 3 hours apart
• Here's what it looks like:
• 7:00 am - breakfast
• 10:00 am - snack
• 1:00 pm - lunch
• 4:00 pm - snack
• 7:00 pm - dinner
• 10:00 pm - snack
• Make this work for you. Adjust the times as needed but DO NOT go more than 3 hours without eating! You want that metabolism to stay high!
2. Eat breakfast EVERY DAY!
• It's preferable to eat within an hour of waking up. It starts your metabolism and gets your body ready for the activities you have to do during the day.
3. Eat a lean protein and a complex carb at every meal - 6 servings of each!
• There is a HUGE difference between a simple carb and a complex carb.
4. Eat enough HEALTHY fats!
• Almonds, avocados, cashews, cold-water fish, flaxseed, hazlenut oil, nut butters, olive oil, pecans, pumpkinseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and many more!
5. Drink plenty of water! 
• A good rule is to drink 1/2 of your body weight in ounces. Ex: a 150 pound woman *should* be drinking 75 ounces of water each day. 
6. Carry a cooler packed with clean eats!
• That way, you are NEVER without your good food! No Excuses! 
7. Depend on fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains for complex carbs!
• Simple carbs = WHITE foods (think white flower and white sugar). Fruit is also a simple carb but a good one because it has fiber that slows digestion.
• Complex carbs = amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgar, cream of wheat, millet, oatmeal, quinoa, wheat germ, whole grain pasta, bananas, carrots, chickpeas, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, radishes, split peas, lentils, yams, artichokes, asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, kale, lettuce, okra, spinach, tomatoes, turnip greens, watercress, zucchini, apples, berries, citrus fruits, dried fruits (in moderation - no added sugar!), grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, lychee, mango, melons, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, pears, plums, pomegranite, and many more.
8. Stick to proper portion sizes! 
• Proper portion of protein = what you can fit in the palm of one hand.
• Carbs from fruit and veggies = what you can fit into two cupped hands.
• Starchy complex carbs = what you can fit in one cupped hand.
• Healthy fats = a scant handful of nuts (ex - 14 almonds), or 1 - 2 tablespoons of a healthy oil.

So now that you have the principles, what does a meal plan look like? I try to drink a big glass of water with each small meal. Here's what I typically pick my meals from:

Breakfast

• Oatmeal of some type
• Shakeology
• Protein waffles
• Egg whites and Ezekiel break (I detest eggs so this is NEVER an option for me...)

Snack #1

• Apple and 1T of nut butter
• Plain, non-fat greek yogurt with 1T of honey
• Jamie Eason's pumpkin protein bars
• Apple and string cheese

Lunch

• Shakeology
• Grilled chicken salad with carrots (and any other veggies you want) w/1T olive oil and balsamic vinager
• Avocado Chicken Salad on a whole grain pita
• Chicken breast wrap

Snack #2

• Carrots and hummus
• Protein shake
• Low-fat cottage cheese w/fruit
• Whole wheat tortilla or wrap w/2T nut butter and 1/2 banana

Dinner - typically some type of chicken and veggies

• Salsa Chicken
• Cauliflower Pizza
• Chicken Marsala
• Grilled Chicken w/veggies
• TurboFire Chili

Snack #3

• Shakeology Balls
• Apple and cheese stick
• Jamie Eason's Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread
• Protein Shake
• Shakeology

All the snacks are interchangeable. Please feel free to take a look at my Eat Clean Recipes page for more meal plan ideas :)

<3,
Kell