Fun, family favorites!

I am always trying to come up with ways to make these silly boys happy and show them that healthy foods truly are delicious and by doing this I've had many recipes that have turned out terrible, but we've found some great ones too! I know it's not successful when my husband gives me that look..."babe, they're gonna hate this one!", then I know!! Like a salmon, broccoli pasta that I attempted...whew it was B.A.D but the ingredients sounded so good?! Whoops.

Two of the favorites right now are grilled cheese with apple! I layer cheese, then THINLY sliced apples(I use granny and gala) even 2 tbs flaxseed and lunch is served with fresh fruit! For a variation, use tortillas, melt cheese, add apple slices and roll up, slice and serve. The boys like these because they are bite-size! Another favorite are my whole wheat pita pizza creations!! I've made several but last night was topped with turkey Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, broccoli and some mozzarella melted on top! What makes these taste so good? Adding extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed and garlic to the crust! I spread the olive oil, sprinkle flax and freshly chopped garlic and then layer my sauce and toppings!

Weekend Workouts: Today is my day off but tomorrow will be a 5K at hopefully, my fastest time yet! And Sunday, a 5 mile walk to benefit babies born prematurely. We will do this walk as a family, so we're hoping for a pretty day with lots of sunshine :) I need to work on building up my distance, but I get SO nervous when it's time to take the unknown trail or to stay on my normal route...I just need to step up and do it, right? Maybe tomorrow will be that day?! Hmmm

to inspire

Has anyone ever told you that you are inspiring? Such strong words. I know that lately as I read my favorite running blogs, I find motivation through their words. Their experiences. The way running makes them feel. It has become somewhat addicting. I read and then I am inspired, I get dressed and take off! As I am running, I have time to clear my head and I think about how far I have come over the years. How great I feel when I am able to do something that I never thought possible. Are small steps, big accomplishments? YES. I believe in celebrating the small stuff. If you set small goals, you have more reasons to celebrate. I hope that through my passion for healthy living, I will somehow inspire others to want to live a healthy or healthier life? As long as I know I am making a difference, I will continue to share my passion and hopefully touch some lives along the way :)

What goals have you set for yourself lately? Have you reached them?

by all means, PLAY with your food! (recipe included)

Sometimes, I like to make dinner FUN! My boys will eat their veggies, but thought I'd make the process a little more enjoyable :)
I started by using sauteed string beans for the mouth, broccoli florets for the nose and zucchini and squash for the eyes! The squash was on top of zucchini as the eyeball-get the visual?! *I saute all of my veggies with a sprinkle of garlic salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil, cover and simmer until slightly tender. For broccoli, I just simmer in a pan with 1 cup water and a little pepper...you can either melt 2% cheese or squeeze lemon on it for extra flavor! The boys thought this was TOO much fun and ate their smiley faces all up!! I had a picture but sadly, my phone was submerged in a glass of water over the weekend and I lost the SIM card and all pictures etc. Very sad but true. I served these Smiley Face Veggies with our turkey burgers! These are so good...

Move It Momma's Turkey Burger Melts
You'll Need: 1lb lean ground turkey, salt, pepper, Louisiana hot sauce(or any other brand!), sliced mozz or provolone cheese, baby bella mushrooms, 2 tbs light brown sugar, 1tbs smart balance margarine and 1/2 purple onion.

Season turkey with 1 tsp salt(I used sea salt), 2 tsp pepper and 1 tbs hot sauce or a little less if you don't like it spicy! Slice onion and in separate skillet, place onion, sugar and margarine at med-high temp and allow to caramelize-stirring occasionally. Cook patties on med heat for about 4 minutes per side until no longer pink. Layer mushrooms, onions and slice of cheese and allow to melt on top! Watch out, these burgers are good and you don't even need those added calories/sugary carbs from the bun!! Serve with veggies and there ya go :) Dinner is served!!!

Today's Workout: 3 mile run with intervals. Intervals did improve my pace/time, so that made me happy! But my legs could sure feel it afterward! I can proudly say that I've lost 7lbs since my running journey began a month ago! It's like I lost majority of my weight years ago and could never quite lose those last few pounds, but now I'm on a roll and NOTHING will stop me!

love this!

I had this hanging in my P.E. office and just LOVE it so much

that I wanted to share it with all of you for a good laugh :)

If you'd like more diet, exercise and fitness cartoons, head over to glasbergen.com

Easter recap!

Yesterday we woke up bright and early and hubby and I took turns running on our own...it was great! I did about 4 miles and he did 6! Went to a bbq at his family's and controlled ourselves with no fatty foods or sweets! Today, we woke up with every intention to run and that didn't happen. We ate really well and then the Easter baskets came pouring in! My mom's basket to the boys was filled with TONS of candy and some cool summer clothes, and we were able to leave the candy at her house :) Then the Bunny came to our house and brought trains, Toy Story 3 and sidewalk chalk...wooohooo, no temptations here! Then came the basket from DeDe and Aunt Paulette, OH. MY. GOODNESS. I would been ok if I hadn't seen the Reese's pieces egg carton staring at me...but I gave in! Whew, I think I ate 15 of them before I closed the container and threw them away :) whoops! Guess it could have been worse, but man those are good. As for the other 3lbs of candy, we bagged it up and hubby will bring it to work for all of his friends to devour! Happy Easter to you and yours!!!

Jelly Bean Race Results...

One of my most favorite blogs, Run with Jess is hosting a fun, Easter-inspired virtual race called, The Jelly Bean! SO FUN, right? RIGHT! So, I set off to run my race today! It was a particularly hot and humid day (if you don't believe me, check out the sweaty phone pic! ewwww). I decided to run while pushing the boys because I thought they'd enjoy racing along with me! Breakfast was a sandwich thin smothered in PB and a 1/2 banana- YUM! Then we took off...it was a great start but toward the end I was ready to be finished...but it was a good race! Time: 34:12! Not too shabby :)
My goodness, I never thought I'd enjoy running as much as I do. It's strange, really. I was always an aerobics/cardio girl and love workout videos too. But it was like I was stuck in routine, a rut and needed out! Running was my "out" and I'm so happy that I gave it a chance. Throughout my weight loss, it seems like I'd start running and then give up because I couldn't find a passion for it...it didn't feel good. But for some reason, I found these runners' blogs and I found a new inspiration! Thank you, bloggers! Well, my hubby inspires me too! His running journey started in February 2010 and look how far he's come! Running 7.5 minute miles and almost 100 lbs lighter! It's all so motivating and let's hope I can stick to it and make a true hobby out of being called a RUNNER...oh I sure hope so, because I'm loving it!

Nillalicious and the Wednesday Workout Blog Hop!

Ok, did ya catch that this recipe probably contains Nilla wafers? Ahhh, I'm being so cheesy today, I just can't help myself :)

*The other day the boys wanted something fun and our kitchen does not contain a whole lotta yummy treats (because we get rid of temptation every chance we get!) so I have to be creative! I grabbed a box of Nilla's(my mom insists on buying these for the boys, so it takes a lot of will power to leave them alone!), natural peanut butter and four hershey kisses left in the freezer from Valentine's Day(did I mention we don't eat sweets around here very often?!). I first melted the chocolates. Filled one Nilla with pb and topped with another Nilla, then dipped in the melted kisses! Not submerged...DIPPED. So, about 1/4 of the Nilla was covered in chocolate! And now for the blog hop...hope you'll join in this week!!!

<a href="http://aprilsfitnessworld.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://"border="0"alt="My Fitness World"></a>

Hosted by Let's Move It Momma's, My Fitness World and Living Smart Girl!
This week just link up...you'll meet some new friends and have fun! Plus, gain more traffic to your site :) COME ON, WHATCHA WAITIN' FOR?!
Linky is at the bottom!!!


back to Nillalicious:
Holy cow, the boys ate these up soooo fast and the hubby did too! Thank goodness I only made two for each of us, because we could have gone way overboard with this tasty treat! I make sure I teach my family moderation. That's where I can really lose control. I have found that with my family, if we only make enough servings for one sitting, we tend to NOT eat too much and as I said, thankfully I only made enough for that one evening or we'd be in serious Nilla/pb/choco trouble!!

**I will be running my Jelly Bean Race (check top right sidebar) TODAY, I chose to run the 5K and can't wait! I might even ask a neighbor to take my pic while I'm participating in this virtual race! if you haven't signed up, head over to runwithjess.blogspot.com and join in on the FUN!