Shh, Don't Tell Mommy

This all started with a pink cupcake when Charlotte was 2.  During breast cancer awareness month, Charlotte's daycare had a bake sale to raise money for charity.  They displayed yummy treats for the parents to purchase as they picked up their child(ren).  Char asked her Daddy if she could have one, and because Daddy is the best, he said "yes, but don't tell your Mommy".  That same month, I had been doing a sugar elimination challenge with PPE, so I was in full on NO SUGAR mode.  As I entered the door from work that day, Charlotte greeted me with a big hug and whispered "I had a cupcake, but shhhh, don't tell Mommy".  We laughed.  It was cute, and I really wasn't mad.  "Don't tell Mommy" has become a little joke.  Although, Charlotte doesn't quite get the concept of a secret just yet.  Steve and Charlotte periodically (hopefully not that often) enjoy treats together when I am not around.  I try not to be a crazy "NO" parent when she asks for things, and it's honestly getting harder and harder to keep all those unhealthy treats out of her life.  She sees kids at daycare eating Munchkins for breakfast and Lunchables for lunch.  I try to explain the difference between healthy and unhealthy snacks so that one day she can make the distinction on her own.  She knows she can't have the fun kid yogurt at the store, because it has too much sugar.  Every time she goes to the store with us, she picks them up and says "these aren't healthy right"?  I think she secretly hopes one day I will have a different answer.  She knows she can't have candy, and she handles that pretty well (although M&M's did get us over the potty training hump).

During a family holiday get -together, someone was handing out Ring Pops to all the kids.  She didn't actually ask if she could have one, but watched as the kids ran around with theirs.  After a little while, she did ask what they were eating.  I explained how it was candy and that she couldn't have any right now.  I get so annoyed when people offer her candy, but honestly I was that person.  I wouldn't have thought twice about giving candy to my nieces and nephews a few years ago.  Soda, candy, desserts, donuts, you name it, I offered it and even went out of my way to buy it for them.  About two years ago, I showed up to my parents' house early one morning, and one of my nephews said, "you didn't bring donuts?  How disappointing!  You always bring good stuff".  Although I have made a full 180 when it comes to foods, not everyone feels the same, and I get that.  The best I can really do is make sure Charlotte understands the difference without feeling left out when it comes to treats.  And look out if there is a birthday party, because she knows that means cake or cupcakes, and she is totally allowed to have one :o)    

Jar Salads

Hello!  What's new with you?  Are you busy working through your New Year's resolutions???  I, for one, got a later start than originally planned.  I am among the many people who had that holiday cold/flu/sickness.  Mine hit on New Year's Eve, and my body took some time to recover.  Now that I am finally on the mend, I have to hit the ground running on my resolutions starting with my new meal plans.

Have you seen the Ball jar salad pictures on Facebook or Pinterest, or from my favorite organization Super Healthy Kids?  As I was thinking about healthy lunch options for myself and hubby, I remembered seeing these in passing.  I am in LOVE!  These are so incredibly easy to assemble, and the best part is, you only have to do all the chopping once.  I picked up six large Ball jars at Wegman's, and for the last couple of weeks, I put these salads to the test.  I chopped and assembled them on Sunday afternoon and by Thursday they were still fresh and delicious.  It's actually quite surprising how big the salad can be.  You can pack a lot of spinach and all your favorite veggies.  I throw in chia and sunflower seeds, and pack some homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing to go (in a separate container).  It's great to just grab and go in the mornings, which keeps me and my hubby healthy and happy.

Salads are a great way to get in the vegetables your body is secretly craving.  They don't have to be boring.  You can have a lot of fun with salads.  I, personally, love to add in sunflower seeds, avocados, and hard boiled eggs.  If you like sweeter things, you can add in some pears, apple slices, or even dried cranberries.  Change it up with some homemade, healthy salad dressings, and you are well on your way.  It is SO easy.

My all time favorite salad dressing is from allrecipes.com.  It is super easy and tastes delicious.

3/4 C extra virgin olive oil

3/4 C balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 pinch salt (I don't add salt)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!!  I hope this post finds everyone excited and ready for a brand new year.


New Year's is a perfect time to take a step back and evaluate your life, goals, priorities, health, and fitness.  It's a great time to think about an elimination cleanse, adding a green smoothie to your morning routine, cutting back on some of the processed foods in your pantry, or starting a workout routine.


For me, the new year marks the start of a fresh, new 12 months full of endless possibilities and fun things to fill the days, weeks, and months with.


The last few months have been a little stressful, and although I try hard to separate work from my personal life and keep my stress levels low, it's not always doable.  Keeping things in perspective helps, and sometimes I just take a mental step back and think "This is not a big deal.  Just take a deep breath and switch gears."  I have little conversations with myself (hopefully silently :o)) as a way to stay in focus.


I don't usually set New Year's resolutions, but for 2015 I think I will work on a few ones for myself. I would love to hear what your resolutions are, and hopefully one or two are health related ones.

1. Continue the Body Beast workout challenge with my husband, but commit to 4 consecutive days each week for at least 90 days.  This has been something really fun we have been doing together.  We started in November and are somewhat slowly working through all the workouts.  It's hard to carve out time that works for both of us.  Some days we start at 5am and others days we end with a workout.  We have to be flexible by fitting it in where we can in between sore muscles.  Even on days we don't really feel like it, we need to do it.  I absolutely love strength training and am excited to see myself getting stronger.  I never thought I would be able to hold a plank or work on push-ups after my mastectomy surgery.  But I am slowly getting there, and it's great to feel strength and endurance.
2. Complete a sugar elimination challenge for 21 days (an initiative that PPE will be doing that will eliminate "added" sugars from your diet).  I have done this before, and it's a great sugar awareness initiative.  It's amazing to see just how many food products have added sugar when you start looking at the labels on your foods.  
3. Be more organized at home.  At work, I am a list maker, and I am typically on top of my game.  At home, not so much.  I tend to be scatterbrained and forgetful.  Chemo brain takes over, and I am not so on my game at home.  I find procrastination isn't good for a chemo brain person.  I need to be better at doing things in the moment when I think about them, because procrastination turns into forgetfulness.
4. Start and maintain a dinner meal plan.  Planning my meals with any regularity is so not my personality.  I know there is a benefit, and I know my entire family would benefit from a more organized meal plan.  I have gotten away from my Sunday meal prep, which means dinners are last minute and quick.  Not planning makes it easy to pick up the phone for take-out, which is not ideal when you are trying to eat a clean and healthy diet.  Plus, properly planning dinners will ensure we have leftovers for lunches or other days of the week.
5. Take time to really just be in the moment.  Some days I feel like all I do is run around, or maybe I physically am not running, but my brain is constantly thinking about other things I should be doing.  I am a person who sits when I am tired, but rarely just sits and enjoys a cup of coffee at home without opening my laptop or checking emails.  It's like I have an inability to relax and just enjoy a good movie or TV show without feeling guilty that I am not doing something else.  I need to enjoy life more, and embrace a guilt-free, relaxing time.  I am pretty lucky I have time, because there are things like cleaning and laundry that I don't have to do myself.  And I will be honest, I rarely go grocery shopping since my husband assumed that responsibility back when we had our daughter and never really gave it back to me :o).  So, you would think that all this would free up time, which it does.  I just fill it with other things that probably shouldn't take priority to family things I could be doing.
6. Start oil pulling at least 5 days a week. I have read and heard all about the great health benefits of oil pulling and I even tried it a few times. If this is something new for you read more here.   

Let the fun begin!!