Reflecting on 2014

I am sitting here reflecting on my 2014 year…
Where I was last year at this time, and where I am now. The difference is astonishing, really!

Sometimes I think back to before and it feels like a dream. Like a bad dream and place that I was never actually in. But I was. I was there. I was at a low place. I know posting this makes me vulnerable to peoples judgement and I am ok with that because the truth is most of us find ourselves in a low at some point in our lives, right??

It is crazy what you can do and what changes you can make in ONE year.
I love the life I am living.. and I never dreamt it was possible to be here.
-Financial freedom
-Freedom to be home with my daughter EVERY day.
-Gained self confidence
-Gained self worth!
I realized that I DO belong somewhere special here on this earth. I have a PURPOSE.

Do you ever feel like you are just running on a hamster wheel? Not sure where you are going or if you are going in the right direction..?
Been there!

Who wants a new opportunity for 2015?
My biggest goal for this upcoming year is to find and help people who are stuck like I was. And to help them make the same changes in their life! Because I promise you, it is doable! And it is SO worth it!

Comment "IN" below and let's get started :)

How to Shop CLEAN!

So it is 2015! You can't use the holiday excuse anymore. Your talking about starting a new meal plan, working out, the whole works! Let me help you get started right. I want to share some tips that I use while shopping to make sure that I am hitting the right areas of the store! ;)

1) Prep for Success

Make sure that you have your meals for the week prepped out and ready. What I do is plan a few different recipes for each meal. For example maybe 2 lunch recipes, 2 dinner, and 1 breakfast. This is because I usually have plenty of left overs. So no need to cook each night/day of the week! 

Have your meals planned out and write the ingredients that you need for each recipe out on a grocery list! Here we goooo to the grocery store! PS- when you are writing out your grocery list, think about where in the store you will get those ingredients ;) … are any of them in the middle aisles??

2) Shop the outside aisles!

 When you are shopping in the grocery store, the key is to stick to the outside aisles. Why? Because the middle aisles are usually filled with canned and boxed foods- a no no for a clean eating diet. 

Below is an example of what shopping in the grocery store should look like. And this is really what it looks like for me! In and out of the middle aisles just a little bit and then back to the outside. When I started taking clean eating seriously and started the 21 day fix, this pattern just kind of fell into place. I heard about "shopping the outside aisles" after I had already been doing it. But it makes sense right?! 

The chips, pop, candy, boxed dinners, canned veggies, etc. Stay out away! :) Spend more time looking for fresh produce that you can snack on and make healthier meals with.

When I walk into our grocery store, the first thing there is produce. I do the majority of my shopping there. Then I work my way around the store… meat, dairy, frozen, checkouts! I do go into the middle aisles a tad just for maybe some salsa, almonds, chicken broth, or oatmeal. But other than that I really don't need anything in them.

3) Produce is your friend :)

Like I said before- when I am in the grocery store, the majority of my time is spent in the produce department. You should have vegetables incorporated into your lunch and dinners. And also eating fruit each day. These things seem to disappear out of my fridge fast, so I pick up a LOT of it! ;) And to be honest- I usually have to make a few extra runs to the store during the week if/when I run out of produce. 

When I got home from the grocery store the other day I decided to take out all my groceries and figure out how much of each category I was buying. This is what my groceries for the week typically look like. Neil works on the road during the week so I am cooking for Chloe and I. Granted I usually have some things at home still that I don't have to buy and I also end up going back to the grocery store sometime at the end of the weekend for more.

As you can see in this picture, 60% of my groceries are produce. 20% is dairy. This is usually egg whites, unsweetened almond milk, greek yogurt, some yogurt for Chloe, and maybe some cheese if a recipe calls for it. 15% is meats. That is typically chicken breast, maybe salmon, ground turkey. I like to get my protein in other forms too- like Tofu and egg whites. Only 5% of the groceries I bought were shelf items. TWO items- chicken broth for my chicken picatta that I will make later this week and walnuts for a new salad that I am going to try out!




Do you need help getting started with meal planning and clean eating? Feel free to contact me through my blog or Facebook and I can give you more tips! You can also check out my recipes which are also located on my blog for some ideas! Let me know how it goes!

Remember: Find clean recipes, write a grocery list, shop for food, and consciously make sure that you are sticking to outside aisles! Happy Grocery Shopping!! :) Did I mention that I LOVE grocery shopping?! LOVE IT!!


xo
Briana

New Years resolution

I have been thinking lately- what will my New Years resolution be??? Hmmmm

I honestly can say that I don't think I have actually ever set one before. But this year I want to. And I want to stick with it! 

I have been thinking today that I might make a resolution to organize my time better. Something that I really struggle with. I am a schedule oriented person but get off task really easily. If I could get that under control and break my day into different time for cooking, cleaning, family, work, etc. I think it would be good for both me and my family. And would also help me be more chill throughout the day ;)

What is your New Years resolution going to be?! Any ideas yet? I would love to hear them!

Healthy 2015!!

2014 is closing soon. Now is the time to get a good start on 2015.. make changes that you have been wanting to make for a long time but keep on giving yourself excuse after excuse. Been there, done that!
No more!!

I am offering you a FREE, yes free! 5 days to Healthy eating group starting on Dec. 26th!

My goal with this group is to give you the key information that will help you make healthier choices when shopping, cooking, and eating! We will end the day before New Years! This way you have what you need to make healthy choices for the New Year 

Let your friends and family know! The more the merrier!!!
My goal is to help as MANY people as I can create healthier habits for themselves in 2015!

Who's in!?

Buffalo Chicken Fries

Buffalo Chicken Fries!!!??

Can you say YUM?!?!?

These were so good. I was always a fan of buffalo wings growing up. It was like a weekly thing in our house. My mom still loves them and so do I!

But you can always find a healthy alternative for something that is not all that healthy! Why not try it out? What is something that you love but it not good for you? It is ok to have it every now and then! But maybe find a healthy alternative for that so that you can enjoy it more often and still stay on track ;)

If you want, you can always ask me for my advice on a healthy alternative meal!

Anywho.. this meal still had that satisfying, filling, hot wing goodness. I think the mix of the sweet potatoes with the hot sauce and everything else just mixed together perfectly. You are going to love it!

And guess what- Its SUPER easy to make! Like ultra easy!

What you need:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
-greek yogurt (about 2 tbsp.)
- Feta cheese
- Buffalo sauce
- optional: green onions for garnish :)

Directions:
- peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges. Cut off the ends first, stand them up and cut down the center.
- Preheat the oven to 425, spray the baking sheep with olive oil, and back for 30ish minutes.
-Meanwhile, cut your chicken breast into chunks and boil in water. (You can also fry it in a pan with olive oil if you prefer)
-When the chicken is done shred it with 2 forks

Add you sweet potatoes to your plate. Top it with the chicken, hot sauce, a couple spoons of greek yogurt, and some feta cheese!! I added a side of broccoli also :) You've got to get those veggies in ;)

Enjoy!! And let me know how you like it! Leave comments :)

xo
Bri

Santa's "Workout" Shop

Ready for Santa's Workout Shop?!


Why would you want to wait until after the holiday to start getting on track to a healthier you when you could start working towards your goals now?!

Here is a little secret: Every day counts! Every week counts.. and every month counts! So don't keep putting YOU on hold.

I am hosting a 3 week group starting on December 15th for anyone who wants some support, accountability, and motivation through the holiday season.

You will get the support of myself and others in the group, a meal plan to follow, and workouts to follow!

Perfect! You've got your nutrition. Your Support/accountability. And your workout!

Let's get to work!

Contact me via my blog or Facebook message me to hold a spot!

xo
Bri

Surviving a flight with a busy toddler

Holy Moly- we leave for our vacation in THREE days. I can't believe it has came up so quickly. This will be Chloe's second plane ride. We went to Lake Tahoe back in December and will now be leaving for Mexico!!

I am sitting here in bed and just going over the "lessons learned" from our last flight with Chloe. Man was it interesting to say the least. I will go over the Do's and Don'ts that I learned from this experience. lol yeahhhh. It was more than interesting.

Chloe is a very very very active toddler. Like she CANT sit still. My mom and I actually just took her to a dance show tonight. She loved watching the dancers.. briefly! haha Otherwise she was literally climbing up and down the bleachers over.over. and over. again. AND she threw a little fit when I wouldn't let her continue down the stairs. So you can about imagine how our first plane ride went!!
Got a little picture/vision in your mind!? haha

#1 lesson:
The first trip we went on I think we were OVER prepared. We wanted to have anything and everythi
ng to keep her occupied during the flight that we honestly just had way to much stuff.
We brought puzzles, a dvd player, play doh, a sticker board, colors, stickers, blanket, bunny, snacks, more snacks, and much more where that came from. We had a big bag of stuff just for Chloe. haha

The reason I will NOT be doing this the second time around-
I found out that its the small things that entertain her. She watched very little of the movie because she was so excited (makes sense right?!) .. hello mom, we are on a PLANE?! And you think I want to stare at this movie and be quiet?! Not happening.

This time around I will be bring a few things that she was entertained with the first time around. The trip TO Lake Tahoe was kind of a learning lesson.. she was also very very excited so wasn't all that interested in focusing on toys or anything else. The trip back was much better than I had expected actually! She played with Play Doh for a long time, then her sticker board FOREVER, and otherwise she ate some snacks!

#2 lesson:  
Pack LIGHT. And by light.. I mean the stroller too if possible! We hauled along our big Jeep stroller on the plane. We brought it to the boarding gate and everything. It was definitely nice to have don't get me wrong.. but my goodness!!! When it came to loading that thing up and throwing it on the cart they have without holding up the entire line of passengers… Anxiety level RISING.. hahaha
Seriously though, it was so unnecessary. Plus the dang thing BARELY fit into our trunk.. and to find room for our luggage after we had it in the trunk was another task of its own.
So PACK LIGHT!!
























#3 lesson:
Try to stay cool, calm, and collected. I think maybe my fear of the whole situation going bad made it harder on me as a mom than it needed to be. This time around I am really going to try to just go with the flow and stay CHILL. hahaha Which is not at all easy to do in the moment.. but we will have her dad along this time to help us out also ;) Score!












What am I going to do differently this time around?
So I am sitting here in my bed, it is 11:30 pm and I am thinking about how I am going to pack for this trip and what I am going to do differently this time around. And I am the type of person where, unless I get this off my chest and think or type it out… write a list or something.. I won't be able to sleep.

So this time around I think I am definitely going to be packing lighter. Chloe is potty trained now so that will make things easier on the plane. I will bring..

A few pull ups in case
Extra underwear and a pair of pants
Fruit snacks
sippy cup with water (doesn't get nasty as it gets warm)
A banana or other snack
Sticker board (shown in picture)!- she LOVES this thing
Play doh- also loves!
MAYBE her little kids tablet

Other than that I am going to pack up the rest in our suite case.. including her blanket and stuffed animals.. WHY?? Because those are so hard to hang onto throughout the airport and on the plane. She isn't incredibly attached to them so this is possible for us.. she won't even notice!














Last Tips-
  

Be Creative with them! Chloe loved it when I played "pretend" with her dinosaur fruit snacks. (I might get some JUST for this trip) haha We played "dinosaurs" for a very long time. If you bring play doh you can make different animals, shapes, etc out of it! I think we also made ducks and played pretend with those for probably an hour! And the sticker board she loved.. mainly because it had animals on it. She wasn't so interested in sticking them on the board as she was playing pretend with them.

So honestly as I write this, I am finding out that all of her favorite activities had to do with playing "pretend" with different things. So finding out what your child enjoys and likes most will help. And bringing along things that can take up a lot of time.

For instance- Chloe likes to color, but only for about 3 minutes at a time. So that would probably be a waste of time/space/effort to bring those along because I know it won't grab her attention. Now if we could PAINT on the plane, that would be a different story! ;) haha

I hope this helped you!! If you are leaving for a trip and worried about how things are going to go. I promise, you are not the first one to bring a toddler on the plane. Our last flight had a toddler walking up and down the aisle almost the entire time. Its perfectly normal ;)

Safe Flights!

xo
Bri

Stay on track through the Holidays!

Do you need some extra help/motivation to stay on track through the holidays?!

Of course!!! We all do :) This time of year is usually when we fall of track the most and give our selves excuse.after.excuse. Obviously you want to enjoy yourself during the holidays!! Family, friends, FOOD… BUT why not have a little accountability and support to help keep you on track so you don't go over board??

I have an accountability group starting next monday, the 15th! If you are interested at all or want to know more about what it all entails, shoot me a message and I would be happy to chat with you!

Happy Monday!!

xo
Briana

What is the best time of the day to exercise?

What time of the day do you typically work out? Have you ever wondered if maybe working out at a different time would benefit you more?! I have.. So I did some research and read an article on it!

I usually ALWAYS workout first thing in the morning.. either before or after breakfast. I try to get it done right away before my daughter gets up ;) I found that this is actually really benefiting me.. waking up and working out first thing in the morning.

In the morning, before you have eaten, your body is forced to use its fat stores as energy. This isn't as effective as burning glycogen when it comes to losing body fat. SO, I learned that its good to do easier workouts in the morning before breakfast. If you are going to do cardio or something that is going to get your blood pumping more, eat a little something before hand! If working out in the morning, like me, is the only time you have-- Eat half of a banana or something small before you workout.

Working out when your glycogen stores are full is the best time! Glycogen is recharged by carbohydrates and is used up very quickly with brain activity, exercise, and other activities. This means that you glycogen levels are usually the highest after you digest a meal containing carbohydrates. This is why early morning workouts are not ideal. You may hit something called "the bonk". This is what happens when your body runs out of glycogen. Basically you will feel like you hit a brick wall and completely run out of energy.. I know I've been there!!

Working out at night before bed is your last option. The reason for this is that training late at night can actually effect your sleep. Some people have a hard time falling asleep after working out. You need this time to recover. Sleep is very important in recovering and training. Some people actually fall asleep very well after working out. So if this is your case, you are fine! :)

The bottom line is that exercise is very important. So first of all make sure you are working out when you can. If it is not the ideal time of day, that is fine. There are ways to make it work by changing your diet plan, the times that you eat, etc. There are many different things that can effect the quality of your workout/progress. Making sure that you actually get a workout in is the most important.

I hope this helped some of you! I know we don't have time to pick and choose an ideal time of the day to workout. But I thought by sharing this you could see how you can maybe sculpt your meals  around your workouts better in order to benefit more!! Because after all you are doing all that hard work, you mine as well be getting the best results possible!

xo
Briana

Crock pot Balsamic Chicken

Crock pot recipes.. ahhh my FAVE!!

Why?! Cause this mom doesn't have time to make a miraculous meal rarely EVER in the evening!
This last week/weekend with Thanksgiving and shopping things got a little crazy and I was just ready to get back into the loop of things and into a normal routine/schedule. That went for my meals and working out also.

For this week I decided to do something simple but delicious. I lovvveeee chicken. So if you can put chicken in the crock pot, throw in a few ingredients, and just wait for it to cook and turn out awesome. <<<That's winning in my book! So I am going to bring you a winning recipe ;)

I haven't given this to Chloe to try yet, but I really think she would have liked it! She had some left over Chili from last night.. which was ALSO a crock pot meal! (which you can also find in my recipes) hahaha Yesss I am a little bit lazy so far this week in the cooking department. BUT that doesn't mean I can't make something everyone loves. And honestly, a lot of times I think crock pot meals are the BEST!

So here you have it! Super easy..

What you need:
Chicken breast- as much as you want (I used 3 breasts, enough for leftovers!)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 small onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
sea salt
black pepper

Directions:
Put Chicken breasts at the bottom of the crock pot, add ingredients on top, give it a stir. Cook on low for 6 hours or High for 4 hours. Serve with your choice of sides!


I hope you enjoy this recipe! I love bringing you family friendly recipes that are EASY to get on the table! Let me know what you think :)

xo
Bri

Train Insane or Remain the Same!

You know what kind of workouts are my FAVORITE?!
Ones that can get you in incredible shape in only 30 minutes/day :)

I did Insanity back in December 2012 after I had Chloe. It helped me gain back all the muscle I had lost during my pregnancy plus more! I loved it.. but working out for an hour a day was not ideal.

I can't believe that I ever thought I was going to be able to make it to the gym at least 4 days a week.. * Note: it didn't work * ;) After you have kids you find out that when you leave the house for 2 hours a day, you just start to feel guilty instead of relaxed. You get tired of bothering people to come over and watch your child. Its more work than the working out part itself...

And that is why I am here.. doing these FUN workouts and in the best shape of my life AFTER having a baby.

>>> Who is ready to MAX OUT in 30 minutes a day with me!?
This releases tomorrow! And I have a feeling its going to go fast :)
So like, comment, or message me to get first dibs!!

Dear Fat,
Prepare to DIE.

xo, YOU!