Lenten Fridays

It's Lent and during Lent, my family chooses to sacrifice one favorite item for the entire 40 days of Lent in conjunction with working on one personal improvement.  It is amazing how aware of our behaviors we become when we remain mindful!  With that said, Friday's are meatless and with kids, meals can become a challenge.  One that was a hit this week:  Shrimp Scampi.  A healthy version, of course and the kids were wild about it!!  Here is the recipe!

Spaghetti Squash (2)
 (Cut length wise, separate and core out the seeds and pulp.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and basil.  Place on a baking sheet covered in tin foil or parchment paper (for easy clean up).  Place cut side down and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Dice up (1) onion and 2-3 garlic cloves, place in skillet over medium heat with coconut oil and ghee.  Sweat the onions and garlic.    (2-3 minutes).  Then thru thawed, cooked shrimp and about 1/4 cup of vegetable stock in the skillet with onions and garlic.  Heat thru, add some salt and pepper.

Remove squash from oven and grab a fork (be careful, it is very hot).  Shred the inside of the squash with your fork.  Add the shrimp and sauce to shredded squash and serve.  It is so very yummy!!

You can make your favorite Gluten Free Garlic Bread Sticks and roast some Brussels Sprouts to balance out your meal!

4 Spaghetti Squash
Frozen Cooked Shrimp
1 Onion
2-3 Garlic Cloves
Coconut Oil
Ghee
Vegetable Stock
Oregano
Basil
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Food! F.O.O.D. Food!

Mom, I'm hungry.  Mom…I am HUNGRY!  Some days my youngest is a broken record.  She is always hungry!  I try to encourage healthy food choices by setting a good example, but that doesn't always sink in.  Kids are notorious for wanting junk food.  I like to indulge my children.  I like to indulge myself too, but lets face it, having processed food in the house is setting yourself and your children for failure in the nutrition department.  I hate to say it, but it's true.  If it's in the cabinet and I am busy or pressed for time,  I will grab it because junk food makes everyone happy in the moment.  But in the end, it makes us crave more and it gets easier and easier to make the wrong choice.  That downward spiral will effect everything from motivation, weight, emotions and bodily functions.

Trying to convince my 9 year old of all of this is hard!  My solution, don't buy it!  Keep it out of the house.  We have a rule in our house, snacks must be clean.  Our conversations normally go something like this:  

"Mom, I am starving."

"You are not starving."
"I want a snack.  I so hungry.  Can I have (imagine any sweet, sugar filled snack a child would suggest)?"
"No."
"What can I have?  I am really hungry."
"Ok.  Would you like me to cut up and apple?  How about some carrots?  I have peanut butter balls."
"Is there anything else?  Pllllease?"

At this point, I simply say no.  If you aren't not hungry for a, b or c, then you aren't that hungry.  Sometimes she caves and eats the healthy choice and other times, she skips her snack.  Either way, I feel like I did my part by having healthy choices and sticking to our rule.  I try to ask myself this same question when I am hungry.  What do I want to eat?  Am I hungry or am I bored.  If I am hungry, a healthy snack usually sounds like just what I need, when I am bored or "craving" something, I grab a glass and fill it with water and move on with my day.  It's that simple.  Try not to give up what your goal is for something that you want right now!  In the end, you will always be happy you went with a healthy choice.  Your body will feel better and it is motivating in conquering one more obstacle that day making you stronger for the next temptation!

The Great Juggling Act

Life, the great juggling act...or at least, that is how it seems at times!  Career, husband, children, parents, friends, groceries, cleaning, laundry, dishes, pets and of course, YOU.  Now, I know you are thinking, "yeah right", but synergy won't happen unless you make yourself a priority!

In my last post I asked some important questions of you.  One being, what does synergy look like to you.  Synergy's meaning can be applied to all kinds of areas, but for this post, we are talking life synergy and this is what it means to me:

A balanced life.  That is synergy.  Balancing the priorities of my work and family is a continual effort.  There are days when I just want to curl up in bed and deal with dirty dishes later or sleep just a few extra minutes if the dogs would only push back their morning breakfast and other days my eyes open and I feel like wonder woman.  It is a delicate process at times to keep things balanced.  Pile on all that could be on my plate in any given day and it is tempting to put my needs on the back burner but, and this is a big but that often times keeps me motivated, I know I am a better, employee, trainer, wife, mother and any other hat I wear, if I take care of myself.

I have recently revisited my morning Yoga practice.  Alarm goes off and I get up.  No snooze.  It is too tempting and knowing myself, if I hit snooze, Yoga is going to be off the table because I will be behind and I have breakfast and lunches to prepare and pack.  I have realized that if I hold myself accountable here, I will start my day feeling like I have already tackled my hardest obstacle.  Me.  Things unfold in a much better way when I feel prepared to start my day.  With my 20 minute quick practice, I am centered.  Just a few stolen moments of peace and then the daily rush begins!

Of course, lots of prepping goes into every successful day.  To balance my life I try to stay on point with how I fuel my body (proper nutrition and food choices) and exercise daily.  If my morning practice is all I get in because a meeting comes up or a child forgets a paper and I have to run to school, at least I know I got it in.  Ideally, a noon or evening cardio or weight session is mixed in every day, but I believe in a bit of wiggle room as long as it remains priority.  Don't let one slip turn into a week of mishaps!  Remember, if a day doesn't go as "planned" or anticipated, tomorrow is a new day!  Pick yourself up and brush off the mistakes of the day before because "today, you can only try to be better than you were yesterday"!