time to share!

 It's no secret that we must put effort and try in all aspects of our life.  

You try something in the hopes that it'll be great and successful but sometimes we fail and that's okay.  This rule applies with so many aspects of our life.  

But the point is that we TRY.  We don't give up.

And this definitely applies to health and fitness!   

Do I have to work hard to achieve what I want from the workout?  YES.  Strangely, that's what makes the workout FUN for me.  The challenge can be so powerful and addicting!   Am I right?

When you look at life some things come naturally to people such as sports, academics, coordination and if they aren't easy for us, we must apply ourselves more to reach success with that particular skill.

It does not mean it's impossible or out or reach, it just means we must TRY really hard to achieve goals that may or may not be slightly easier for others. 

Get out there and keep pushing yourself!

Today I'd like to share some tips that have helped my husband and I find success with this clean eating journey that we're on...

**a smoothie tip: Change things up, folks!  When it comes to these smoothies, I'm always trying new combinations and sometimes they're delicious and sometimes not-so-great 

but hey I'm TRYING!

In person, today's green smoothie was so bright!  I changed it up by adding leafy romaine with my spinach!  It made a great combo and such a pretty color!  Ha!  

I added almond milk, vanilla protein powder, 2 strawberries, 1/2 banana and a clementine!  

As part of my six, small balanced meals these smoothies fit great in between breakfast and lunch!

**And now time to share some of my tips to not getting bored with such healthy eating!  

I steam my tilapia and other fish and it makes little to no mess, cooks in less than 10 minutes and tastes GREAT!  
5-6 tilapia fillets placed on squares of foil.  I cut the foil squares so there's enough room to form a pocket around the fillet.  One for each fillet.  I top the fillet with a little Penzey's lemon pepper-because it's the best! and some fresh, chopped garlic.  I put about 1 clove per fillet because the Italian in me loves garlic!  Lots of garlic!

 Now, roll up the foil on all four sides to where there's room to vent at the top of the fillet but still sealed off on all sides!  Basically leaving a little room for the fish to steam at the top of the pouch!  
Here's the EASY part!  Place about 1 cup water in the bottom of a skillet on med-high heat and allow that water to simmer.  Place the pouches in the water with the opening at the top to check every few minutes until fish flakes with a fork!   People-this is SO easy and when the fish is cooked, it's the perfect texture and tastes so delicious!  You can do this will ALL fish, so far we haven't tried this and it turn out poorly!

I serve most fish with a side of veggies most of the time but the other night I decided I'd jazz it up and try fish tacos!  Mmmm!
The only thing I'd change is the FlatOut wrap...it wasn't the best flavor choice with this but not sure what I'd substitute?  Perhaps maybe just the lettuce as the wrap!  We'll see next time!

 So, pictured above are the fish tacos!  I did a FlatOut-original topped with leafy romaine and spinach, the fish fillets and a little Greek yogurt tartar sauce!  And it was sooo good!  If there's no Greek yogurt in my house, we have a problem!  It can be an addition to so many great foods and it adds protein to your meal!  Yum!  I wanted to add broccoli slaw but sadly, we were all out!  I bet that would've made these taste even better!
Greek yogurt Tartar Sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt-plain
1 tbs pickle relish or you can slice up your own pickles
1/2 fresh, squeezed lemon juice
Mix and enjoy!  This tastes just like the real thing...promise!


The other day was my first time to try Muesli, I had picked it up at Trader Joes!

*Another tip to share, try new things!  Never stick to boring foods just because they're easy and you know you like them.  TRY NEW THINGS!  This applies to workouts AND foods!  The more you expand your healthy foods, the more you're able to live a healthy lifestyle!  When the food combinations for your meals are never-ending, how would you ever fall off track?  

I enjoyed this cold with almond milk!  I'm not a big fan of warm cereal-type foods but it might be tasty since I love oatmeal?  I have a big bag of this, so I'll try some different things with it and see what I like best!

Another first for me?  Whole wheat Tandoori NAAN bread. 
whole wheat Indian-style flatbread.  8g dietary fiber and 10g protein for one piece.  Not too shabby!  
And it's soooo good!  
I created NAAN pizzas and we've already had them twice since last week!  Yep, they're that good!
You could probably use any lower carb, high fiber breads for this creation but I wanted to try something different!

Layer the bread with pizza sauce, (I used no sugar added, low sodium sauce from TJ).  Then top with chicken sausage that I sauteed with bell pepper and onions-chopped.  Then the low fat mozzarella cheese and any veggies of your choice.  I did broccoli and it was such a good combination!  **For my kids, I did this same combination, only used a whole wheat hamburger bun and they LOVED them!  For my little picky eater, I chopped the broccoli into smaller pieces and he ate it all up!  

I have been asked so many times, what am I feeding my boys?  

Well truth is, they've always eaten what I've prepared.  I'm not the mom that's going to give in to making them separate foods if they won't eat what I've cooked (and I'm not judging anyone if they think or operate differently!) so I serve their protein/meat, veggies-lots of veggies, fruit and a complex carb!  If we're having bunless turkey burgers, I add a bun for the kids.  If we're having a big bean, turkey meat salad I'll serve the same mixture to the boys but in a tortilla with cheese!  I make theirs just as interesting, fun and healthy as our foods just knowing that they need the carbohydrates and a full, balanced diet to help them grow!  

I'm not a crazy mom that never allows them "junk foods" either!  Trust me, they have two grandma's that think Little Debbie is a food group :(  but we do keep the junk food out of our home.  We do not keep soft drinks or things like that, but if the boys want a drink like that when we're out and about, I do not deny them.  Most of the time, they don't even want it.  

It's very important to keep in mind that each family must make their own decisions when it comes to healthy eating.  What works for our family may not work for yours, but I just wanted to answer the question I've been asked so often, 

"what are your boys eating when you and your husband eat so healthy?"

**And one last tip of the day, 

TRY NEW WORKOUTS!  I got this one from Instagram, WorkoutRoutine.  If you don't follow them, you should!  They offer great, quick workout tips and routines that help keep things interesting!  I love this 99 workout on day when I can't get outside and run!  It makes you sweat and burn those calories without ANY equipment, access to a gym or anything!  
How awesome is that?

And in the spirit of sharing...any tips you'd like to share with my readers?
The best part of being in the health and fitness industry is helping swap workouts, recipes, tips and weight loss stories.  It helps us relate to one another and motivate all of us, together!