Outfits Lately + A Few Healthy Meals + Easter Books

Probably one of the more random posts I've done in a while, but I wanted to share all of this with you before the week got away from me! 

First things first... Let's talk recent outfits... I know some, if not most of you, don't use the Liketoknowit app and that's ok! You can always shop the outfits I post on my instagram from the tab  'shop my instagram' at the top of my blog. Or, you can wait until I round up all my outfits for the month and do one big post like this one! I linked to all the outfit items below each picture.

sweater | black jeans distressed myself (similar here) | similar flats | sunnies ($10!)

tee | shorts (currently buy one, get one 50% off jeans and shorts!) | similar tory burch sandals (budget friendly, cute sandal option here) | sunnies

long sleeve tee | high waisted distressed jeans (buy one, get one 50% off right now!) | peep toe booties

dress - On sale for $15!!!

sweatshirt (I sized up to a medium for an oversized fit) | high waisted crop leggings (budget friendly option here) | nikes (similar black ones here) | door mat

tee | white distressed jeans (TTS) | peep toe bootie | sunnies ($8!)

long sleeve tee (this color and grey are on sale for less than $12!) | shorts (buy one get one 50% off right now!) | converse slip ons

And now, a few meals I've made recently that were decent...

CRAB CAKES

So, I used the package of frozen crab meat from Trader Joe's to make these! I just thawed it out and used all the meat from the package (8 oz) and it made about 7 large cakes.

Ingredients:

+ Trader Joe's frozen crab meat (use the whole package)

+ 2 tbsps light mayo (can sub miracle whip, avocado mayo, etc)

+ 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

+ splash of worcestershire sauce (maybe a tsp? I didn't measure!)

+ 1 egg

optional: I added chopped onion and red pepper, gives it great flavor! I sauteed the onion and pepper first before mixing it with the above wet ingredients.

+ 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used garlic and herd panko bread crumbs)

+ 2 tsps Old Bay seasoning

Directions:

Heat some oil (I used olive oil, but you could do coconut) in a large skillet over medium heat.

Mix together all wet ingredients in a small bowl, then add dry ingredients and mix. Form balls of mixture using your hands. Place in heated skillet and use a spatula to flip and flatten.

Mine took about 3/4 minutes on each side to cook, but you will know when they are done when they are browned and crispy on each side. So yummy!!

Another easy and healthy meal I made was roasted chopped sweet potatoes mixed with roasted yukon potatoes, roasted cruciferous crunch salad mix from Trader Joe's (got this idea from Beth! If you want some easy, yummy, healthy meal ideas you should watch her instagram stories!), and Trader Joe's Chili Lime chicken burgers (from the frozen section). I eat these burgers grilled with some grilled onion and yellow mustard. You could also add a bun or salsa or some other topping to jazz it up! 

I've also been trying to work on meal prepping more so I have my dinners ready for the crazy time of night when I'm trying to feed the kids! It's always hard to cook when they are home and hungry! So I like to have my meals ready for me to just pop in the microwave!

I use these or these meal prep containers from Amazon!

Finally, Easter is around the corner!! Some of you may have caught my little 'what's in the boys Easter baskets' video on my stories the other day. I decided to go ahead and give Camden and Bennett their little books early so we can read them for the next week before Easter! Here are a few of our other favorite Easter books we've been reading:

The Golden Egg Book: This one is vintage from my parents' house! I remember my mom used to put it out a few weeks before Easter on our coffee table and she would read it to me the night before Easter. The illustration in this book is so beautiful! I was so happy to see they still sell it on Amazon!

Some other favorites: The Story of Easter, God Gave Us Easter, and Llama Llama Easter Egg.

A few new ones we got this year for the boys: Count on the Easter Pups for Camden and This Lift-a-flap board book for Bennett. 

That was a lot and so random, but sometimes it's easier for me to share this stuff in more detail on the blog! 

Hope you all have a great weekend!! 

Fitting in Fitness

Let me just start by saying that I am no fitness guru... Far from it actually! I am horrible at trying to 'diet', I am never motivated to go to the gym, I love my comfort food, cheese and a glass of wine at night. I have no business talking about 'fitness' on this blog. However, I want to start changing my habits and sometimes the best way to stay motivated is to hold yourself accountable! By sharing this on the blog and making it 'public' I feel more accountable for my actions!

(top | sports bra | high waisted leggings | nikes | fitness tracker | sun glasses)

If I'm being honest, I probably have about 10 solid pounds to lose. It's not like I'm over weight or anything. I'm still a size 4/6, but I just haven't felt confident in my skin or what I'm wearing for a while now. I actually weighed less 3 months after giving birth to Bennett than I do now (thanks to breastfeeding and not having time to eat!). Fast forward a year and a half and I'm still holding on to what I affectionately refer to as my 'baby weight'. But, for me this new lifestyle is more than just a focus on weight loss. I want to feel healthy and look healthy! I want to have more energy during the day. And it would be nice if I could see some sort of ab definition in place of that flabby lose skin in my mid section. Being pregnant twice in 2 years really did a number on my core! So, a lot of my workouts are focused around building those core muscles again. And, I'm not on any sort of true 'diet', per say. I'm all about balance. If I completely restrict myself from some sort of food group, I will eventually crash and the effects are worse than before I started the diet.

My friend, Abby (from Mom With Muscles blog) taught me all about tracking my macros (grams of fat, carbs and protein I'm consuming per day) and keeping track of everything I eat in my MyFitnessPal app. This has helped me realize how I've gained weight and how I can lose and/or maintain my weight. Once I started tracking my macros, I realized that I'm really good at hitting my fats and carbs, but was horrible at hitting my protein goals for the day. So, I started adding more protein to my diet and I notice that I'm more full and satisfied throughout the day which helps me to stay under my daily calorie limit. 

Here are a few sample meals that I have been eating recently:

Breakfast (macros: carbs=18, fat=13, protein=16) 

2 hard boiled eggs OR scrambled egg whites with 1 whole egg mixed in, top with TJ's everything but the bagel seasoning (game changer!), with one piece of ezekiel bread (it's just flourless bread, you can find this at Trader Joe's or in the freezer section at your grocery store) toasted with ghee and also topped with TJ's seasoning OR roasted potatoes. (I also always start my day with a cup off coffee with sugar free creamer!)

Mid morning 'snack' (or second breakfast!)

Berry/Banana protein smoothie (macros: carbs=34, fat=9, protein=35)

half of a banana
handful of mixed frozen berries (I like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)
handful of fresh spinach (or any greens you have on hand)
1 scoop of your favorite chocolate protein powder (I'm currently using this chocolate whey protein powder, but I think I may switch to a plant based protein powder like this one when it's gone)
1 cup of almond milk (I use unsweetened)
optional: a tbsp of peanut butter or almond butter
optional: 2 tbsps each of chia seeds and ground flaxseed (so many great health benefits from these. I found them both at Trader Joe's!)

Lunch (macros: carbs=19, fat=18, protein=24)

Some sort of salad with protein. I've been loving Trader Joe's kale and broccoli slaw (I will not use the whole packet of dressing and I omit the dried cranberries to save some carbs and fat) with some sliced left over rotisserie chicken (we usually get one every week from the grocery store!).

Or left overs from dinner

Mid afternoon snack (macros for Quest bar: carbs=4, fat=9, protein=21): I'm loving these RX bars or quest bars are great with high protein and lower carbs. And I'll usually have a cup of coffee with sugar free creamer for a pick me up!

Sample dinners (turkey taco salad macros: carbs=21, fat=12, protein=32) I try to make healthy meals with a protein and veggies. If there is a 'starch' component, I may swap out for something else like instead of rice I'll have more veggies or quinoa or I'll have a spaghetti squash instead of noodles, etc. 

• turkey taco salad: ground turkey, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa, taco sauce, non fat greek yogurt. (I love taco Tuesdays! I'll serve with taco shells or tortillas for the boys, and I'll have a salad to save carbs and fat)
• roasted chicken, steamed carrots, parmesan potatoes: grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, steam some carrots and make some sort of potatoes (I love the garlic parmesan potatoes from Trader Joe's!). I love having this meal on Sundays after our family grocery trip!
• 10 min honey garlic shrimp with quinoa and stir fry veggies (onion, broccoli, peppers, etc) so quick and easy to make! 

Late night snack: I love these Oikos triple zero greek yogurts (they have 15 grams of protein! and no fat!) macros: carbs=13, fat=0, protein=15)

Total Macros for the day: carbs=106, fat=62 (this is a little high if I'm aiming for weight loss! goal is 55), protein=143!!! (Goal protein is around 128grams!)

Here's where the math geek in me comes into play... I always make sure to stay under 1400 calories for the day. If it is a cardio day, I may go up to 1500. My goal is to have a deficit of 500 calories per day (If it's a work day I will typically burn 1800 calories in a day, if I'm with the boys all day or it's a cardio day it may be more like 2000!). If I can keep up with this, that means I would lose one pound per week. (3,500 calories = 1 pound, so if I burn an extra 500 calories a day, that would be 3,500 per week). I love this fitness tracker that I wear everyday to track my steps and extra calories burned!

Of courses, I will allow myself a cheat day (or 2) on the weekends! If we are ordering pizza on a Friday night (which is pretty standard), I will definitely have a slice or 2! And you better believe I allow myself to have a few (ok, maybe more than a few) glasses of wine a week! I try to just eat as well as I can during the week. And, if I'm really trying to lose weight, I may omit the wine during the week. Again, it's all about balance!

Workouts

As far as my exercising goes, I just try my best to fit it in when I can. As I mentioned, I'm really trying to focus on strength training especially around my core. So, I typically will go to the gym twice a week for a longer cardio session (about 30-45 mins) with some ab work. Then, I'll try to do 2-3 at home workouts that consist of core strength training, yoga/stretching or leg work for 25 mins. That's it! When I go to the gym, it's typically in the morning right after I drop off the kids at school or while Bill is dropping them off around 8:30 - 9:15ish. Then, I come home and start my work day and may shower later in the day. Working form home gives me this flexibility, but if you work at an office, you may have to bring your shower supplies to the gym to get ready before work. 

Workout Routine:

Monday - gym: running for 25/30 mins around track, ab/core workout (15 mins)

Tuesday - core and leg workout (maybe tone it up 10 min abs, leg work out, etc total 25 mins)

Wednesday - break

Thursday - gym: 'butts and guts' class (55 min class focusing on core and glut strength training) OR running for 25/30 mins and 15 mins of ab workout.

Friday - either core/arm workout OR yoga OR running outside if it's nice out (25 mins)

Sat/Sun - off, family activity! Chasing toddlers is a workout!!

There you have it! It's not rocket science... I don't pay money for fancy shakes or workout apps... I just do what I know will work for me!!

I hope this helps you in your quest to become fit and healthy!

Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have or let me know what you are doing to stay fit!

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