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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Just DO IT!

Yea Nike came up with it, but today I'm using it!

You have the choice to make each day when you wake up...
You can make excuses or you can DO IT!
Some days we're tired, we have a lot to accomplish in one day and adding exercise and eating healthy just seems a little overwhelming right?  
Well again we have the choice...
make excuses or DO IT!

My workout schedule is usually flexible because I run and workout at home.  I stay at home with my boys, so during the day I am able to pop in a video, run upstairs and hit the bag or lift weights...BUT there are definitely days when I feel overwhelmed, I feel tired, I can think of a million other things that need to be done before my workout BUT I choose to DO IT anyway!  

When I did have a full-time job outside of the home I woke up at 5 to DO IT, I used my lunch break to DO IT and I made an effort to pack a balanced lunch that would keep me focused during the day so I wouldn't wanna run to the nearest fast food restaurant and grab something not-so-healthy!
  
Remember, being prepared is SO important to our health and fitness goals each and every day.  Like anything in life it takes time, effort and determination.  
If you don't truly want to DO IT, the transformation will never take place.  

And here are some foods we've been loving lately...


1 slice of Ezekiel bread, toasted.  
1 egg, 2 egg whites served with a clementine orange!  
Yummy, balanced and takes only 5 minutes of your time!

Never tried Ezekiel bread?  
No worries, it tastes delicious especially when toasted!  
My boys eat it too!  


What's for lunch?  Salad!
It's the easiest way to feel full while packing in your veggies for the day!
This beauty is spring mix, romaine topped with artichoke hearts, green beans, snap peas, peas, avocado, Craisins and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil!  
I like olive oil as my fat on most days because I think it gives the salad great flavor. 
For our protein, I did add a few slices of grilled chicken from the night before, but we chose to eat them on the side because they took longer to heat and we were hungry!  Ha!

SNACK TIME! 

rice cake topped with natural PB, natural sunflower seeds-with no salt and a half of apple! 
This snack was made for our entire family!  And you can pack it on the go as well.  

I packed these snacks for our days at the water park, on vacation last week.  I pack them in a ziploc and face 2 toward each other so the PB doesn't smear all over the ziploc.  Then open them up, take them apart and there ya go!  
*If your children see you and your husband making healthy choices each day, they'll start to ask for the same things...TRUST ME!  
I had a picky eater and now he eats ALL foods that we eat!  Of course I make modifications here and there with our meals but usually we all eat the same, healthy foods!  My older son always says to my youngest-who used to be the picky eater....
"you get what you get and ya don't throw a fit!"  Ha, it makes me laugh :)


And now what's for dinner?
Homemade pizza and eggplant...on a sports plate of course!  Ha!

The eggplant is made once a week here because it's SOO good!  
I slice one eggplant with the skin-the best part!
Heat oven to 450 and layer the slices on a baking sheet.  I drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil or yesterday I used my Trader Joe's coconut oil spray.  Bake for 20 minutes on middle rack until eggplant starts to soften.  I then top with diced tomatoes-no salt added, chopped garlic and a little parmesan cheese.  Bake for another 20 minutes until bubbly and ENJOY!  My boys eat this up and have no clue what vegetable it is!  
The pizza-
1 1/2 cups low fat baking mix
2 tbs flaxseed meal
1/3 cup very hot water
Mix until blended and dump onto greased baking sheet...spread until forming pizza shape that you prefer.  My boys like round, so I shape it and then add a small edge for the crust, using my fingers.  
Top with 2-3 cloves chopped garlic-this gives great flavor without the fat!
Then add your toppings! 
I used diced tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, turkey pepperonis, and a 1/2 cup low fat Mozzarella cheese.  
Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes!  
Both of these are a HUGE hit in this house.  As we were eating last night I asked my boys if they liked the pizza and they both said it's so good and better than the pizza from the box!  My husband said he could eat it every night!  ha!  Don't worry I won't make this every night but it sure is a weekly thing at this house!
My favorite part is that it's so easy and takes care of that junk food craving that we all get from time to time.  It feels like you're eating delivery pizza without all the fat and calories!  The dough gets crispy and tastes delicious especially with that roasted garlic directly on the crust!  YUM!  


And a shout out to a family member that made my day!!!  
We are Italian, so our family gatherings tend to be HUGE and always revolve around food!
My mom had made a signature dish that my grandmother always prepared, crabs and spaghetti.  Yes, it's crab legs cooked in the homemade spaghetti sauce, so I opted to eat a large salad my aunt prepared, which was delicious!  

Our cousin, Marla brought a dessert and I usually stay away from the dessert table at family gatherings..I love my family but it's usually full of fat and sugar!  Marla walked up and said, I think you'll like my dessert it's Greek yogurt, cool whip, berries and chopped up sugar free angel food cake!  IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!  I took a picture before I gobbled it up and told her I'd share her recipe on my blog for all of you to enjoy :)  
Even my family members that like unhealthy desserts thought it was amazing!!!  Pretty cool to know that my family does make an effort to be healthier because of me.  I don't push it on any of them, but when we all get together they usually ask health and fitness questions, ask us about foods, recipes, etc so to see that she cared enough to bring something Brandon and I could enjoy without the guilt...well, it meant A LOT!  And as I said, it was OH so good too!

Get out there and make today incredible.  Fight hard for the changes you want to see.  DO IT!  

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Those meals are making me hungry! We've been loving lentils lately- have been putting them on salads or eating them plain as a side dish. Yumm!!!

Marissa said...

They were pretty tasty! We LOVE lentils too, especially the steamed ones from Trader Joes added to a baked sweet potato!

Elle said...

Love this post and your always-upbeat messages. You are such a great role model and inspiration.

Marissa said...

You are so sweet! Thanks :-)

jillconyers said...

So often I want to quote Nike's Just Do It and think it sounds like such a cliche but as you've shown it's true! It's not always easy and cliche or not sometimes you have to Just Do It!

Tasha Malcolm said...

I am really good about working out everyday. I follow my training plans to the "T" and never hardly ever miss a workout. I used to be good at getting my rear outta bed at 4:30 and getting my workout done before work. However, lately I am awful at getting out of bed in time to workout. Friday was a rude awakening when I had to run 10 miles in 95 degree weather. The whole time I cursed myself for hitting my snooze alarm. Tomorrow is a new day and I hope that I can get up early and get my first brick workout in before it gets hot. We are supposed to be in the triple digits for most of the week. EEEEK!