Elf For Health – I am Thankful!

Yesterday’s Elf For Health challenge was to think of 20 things that I am thankful for.

With all that has gone on in the world over the last little while, it really has made me realize how fortunate I am to live the life that I do. I have so much to be thankful for and really enjoyed sitting down and putting it in writing. So, here are my 20 things….

1. My amazing children – they are seriously the BEST thing that ever happened to me!

2. My husband – he truly is the love of my life!

3. My family and friends – I have a great group of friends and a supportive family who are always there for me when I need them. Despite living hours apart from some and going weeks and sometime months between visits, I love each and every one of you!

4. My health – I’ve had a few minor health issues this past year and it has really taught me not take my health for granted. It has also taught me the importance of taking time for myself and making me and my health a priority. I am no good to my family if I am not healthy.

5. Living in Canada – there is no other place I would rather live.

6. Facebook – reconnecting with old friends has been amazing!

7. Vacations – whether its a week at a cottage with family and friends or a nice relaxing beach vacation, we are very fortunate to be able to get away from the craziness of everyday life and take some time to grow as a family.

8. Living where we experience all 4 seasons – seeing how excited my daughter gets each morning we wake up to even the smallest amount of snow, or how she giggles like crazy when the she jumps in a pile of fallen leaves, or watching her build a sandcastle at the beach…love, love, love.

9. My job – becoming a high school Health and Physical Education teacher was one of the best decisions I made. I absolutely love it!

10. My part-time job as a group ex instructor. I have met so many wonderful people at the gym and truly love teaching BodyAttack. Being paid to workout is a bonus!

11.Weekends – as much as I love my job, spending time with my family doing fun stuff rocks!

12. Nap time – a little uninterrupted time to hang with my hubby, read a book, fold the laundry, tidy the house or take a nap myself. Ahhhh heaven! I hope my kids nap forever!

13. Running – I don’t run nearly as much as I would like, but am thankful that I got back into it this year after a 5 year hiatus. I love that I run with my sister and that it’s a chance to see her regularly.

14. Lululemon clothing – my entire work wardrobe is pretty much lulu and I love it! It’s so comfy and lasts forever!

15. Bon Jovi – love his music and he’s not too hard to look at either! Only 51 one days till we see him live at the ACC!

16. Corona – love unwinding with a refreshing Corona after a tough week! So good!

17. Chocolate covered marshmallow – so yummy! Thankfully it’s only available in our grocery store a few times a year!

18. Technology – I’m totally loving my new iPhone and iPad. I think my most favourite use so far was FaceTiming with my husband while he worked out of town for 3.5 weeks! Not exactly sure how our kids would have survived without seeming him that whole time! Thanks Apple!

19. Good food – I love that we are eating clean as a family and that I have started to cook more, and I’m actually kinda enjoying it! I also love that my husband is such an awesome cook and although he doesn’t always make the most healthiest of meals, they are absolutely delicious!

20. My blog – I love having a place to share my experiences and try new things. I am grateful for my followers and those that share their experiences with me through their comments. I love that I have met some pretty amazing people through blogging! I hope to develop my blog further in 2013,

What are you thankful for?

Three Things Thursday Friday – Our Vacation!

So, not only is this post a day late, its going to be super short! Hubby and I got in from our awesome week in Mexico just after 4 this morning and i’m really hoping to sneak in a quick nap before the kids wake up from theirs 🙂

1. I ate like a PIG!

Seriously. I ate more tortilla chips with guacamole and Pico de Gallo than I ever thought possible! And the huge fajita platter that I devoured on our dinner out in Playa del Carmen, OMG, it was sooo good! Can’t forget about all the bacon, pancakes and pastries I ate for breakfast everyday! Know what the best part was – I LOVED every bite!

2. I laid around like a SLUG!

Other than walking around the resort, a little swimming and a stroll through Playa del Carmen, I sat on my butt, read 3 books and only felt a LITTLE guilty about not working out!

3. And I drank like a FISH!

Have you ever had a blue daiquiri? I’m not exactly sure what’s it, but I think I saw the bartender throw these some blue curacao, some rum, a little lime juice and a scoop of ice in the blender – in no fixed portions – and viola – liquid blue sweet-tart…can you say YUMMO!

It was an awesome vacation, and I’d love to show you pictures of it…but some jerk stole our camera 😦

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 39

Friday, June 29
Day 39

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Chocolate Chips and Fresh Strawberries

Lunch – Bento Veggie Rolls I saw these being made on my way out of the gym this morning and had to have them. I love spring rolls! So good. I didn’t eat the dip though, I think it was some kind of peanutty thing, but I was a little nervous, so I totally skipped it!

Snack – 1/2 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt and a 1/4 cup of Chocolate Love Crunch This is my new go-to snack…so good!

Dinner – Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Ancient Grains bread – too tired and too hot to cook…I guess that really just boils down to too lazy:(

Snack – Pumpernickel Flatbreads with Cheddar Cheese

Water Consumption:

9 glasses – much better today!

Sleep:

5.5 hours – another crappy night, could not fall back to sleep again. Boo!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 35

Monday, June 25
Day 35

 

 

 

Breakfast – POM, Pineapple And Green Grape Green Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup POM juice
1 cup green grapes
1 cup pineapple
2 cups spinach
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp hemp hearts
2 tbsp ground flax

 

 

 

Lunch – leftover Pizza (1 slice of Toppers Deluxe sans mushrooms, add hot peppers, and 1 slice of Toppers Turkey Pepperoni Sensation)

Dinner – Refrigerator Oats – didn’t feel like cooking and this was leftover from Sunday morning. Happy to report, tastes just as good after an extra day in the fridge.

Snack – 1/2 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt with 1/4 cup Aloha Love Crunch.

Water Consumption:
6 glasses

Sleep:

6 hours…definitely. need. more.

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 34

Sunday, June 24
Day 34

 

 

 

Breakfast – Green Smoothie – Strawberry Banana

Ingredients:
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup Strawberries
1 banana
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp ground flax
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp chia seeds

 

Lunch – Refrigerator Oats – see yesterday’s post for the link to the recipe.

Dinner – 2 slices of Pizza

Water Consumption:
6 glasses

Sleep:
5 crappy hours!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 33

Saturday, June 23
Day 33

 

 

Well, today was a bit of of a Clean Eating roller coaster! It started out pretty good, but quickly went down hill, only to get back on track for dinner, and then totally off track for dessert.

I’m feeling like I probably should have stopped this challenge after day 30…I seem to have really been struggling since then! Oh well, 7 days to go…I can do it!

Anyways, here’s what I ate today…

Breakfast – Refrigerator Oats I got his recipe from my sister. If you are interested in a delicious, no hassle, healthy breakfast, click here for the recipe. It definitely tastes a lot better than it looks!

Lunch – Big Mac Combo– yep, I figured if your gonna do it, do it right! Man was it good. However, 20 minutes later I had a bit of an upset stomach and a headache. Won’t be doing that again for a while!

Dinner – Corn on the Cob, Grilled Chicken and a Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Habanero Cheddar Cheese. I actually forgot to take a picture of my plate…these were the leftovers. Oops!

Dessert – Turtles Ice Cream Cake. We finally got around to eating Dylan’s Father’s Day cake. Wow, was it good!

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
8.5 hours…woohoo, family sleep in until 8:30!!!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 32

Friday, June 22
Day 32

 

 

 

Breakfast – Green Smoothie #22 – Chocolate Banana – Yep, yesterday’s was so good, I had it again! Yummo!

Lunch – Starbucks Protein Bistro Box – lately this has been my go to for lunch on the run. With white cheddar cheese, multi grain muesli bread, honey peanut butter spread, grapes, apple slices and a hard boiled egg, it’s perfect!

Snack – 1/2 Aloha Granola and 3/4 Greek Yogurt

Dinner – Eat Clean Cobb Salad – this recipe serves 4 but I adapted it for a single serving. I also subbed out the blue cheese for goat cheese and totally skipped the dressing. Oh, and I have no idea what jicama is, so I skipped it too!

Snack – my sister came over for a visit so we sat outside on the deck and enjoyed a yummy Corona.

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
9.5 hours – yep, hubby got up with the kids at 6:45 and I slept in until 8:30…it was AWESOME!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 31

Thursday, June 21
Day 31

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Fresh Strawberries.
Oh how I have missed you oatmeal pancake…Since starting the Green Smoothie Challenge on June 1st, I have pretty much been having smoothies to start the day. But today, shy on smoothie ingredients, I resorted to my  most favourite  breakfast ever! The Eat Clean Oatmeal Pancake.

Lunch – Green Smoothie # 21 – Chocolate Banana – can you say HELLO! This was freaking delicious! Might have to have it again tomorrow.

Ingredients:
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup almond milk
1 frozen Banana
1 tbsp cocoa
1 scoop protein powder
2 tbsp ground flax

 

Snack – Eat Clean Chocolate Chip Cookie

Dinner – Grilled Chicken, Asparagus and Red Peppers

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
6.5 hours. Uninterrupted which was awesome, but not enough!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 30

Wednesday, June 20
Day 30

 

 

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 30 days! Despite a few slip-ups here and there, I’m quite impressed with how I’ve done so far. Sticking to something for 40 days is hard…only 10 to go!

Breakfast – in sticking with June’s Green Smoothie Challenge, this morning I had a Strawberry Kiwi Green Smoothie. To be honest, it wasn’t my favourite, maybe because all the fruit was fresh so the smoothie seemed a bit runny…I don’t know… Oh well, here’s what I put in it

3 cups baby spinach
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 kiwi
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp ground flax

 

 

 

 

Lunch – an Almond Butter Wrap. In a rush, with not much in the fridge, this was all I could come up with. 1 tbsp Almond Butter on a small Whole Wheat Wrap. Sorry, no picture…totally forgot as I scrambled out the door!

Dinner – leftover Steak with a Slice of Cheddar Cheese and 7 Kashi Pita Crisps – Zesty Salsa

Evening Snack – Eat Clean Chocolate Chip Cookie

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
6 hours…not enough!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 29

Tuesday, June 19
Day 29

 

 

 

Lunch – Santa Fe Salad with Grilled Chicken– today Tanner and I had lunch with my friend Pam. We went to Boston Pizza and both Pam and I enjoyed a salad off of their Summer Menu. It was so good, and big, I could barely finish it!

Dinner – Green Smoothie #20 – Strawberry Grape. Since I was still full from lunch, dinner was going to be a Green Smoothie and a leftover piece of steak…after the smoothie, I didn’t have room for steak, so dinner just ended up being a smoothie, good think I added a scoop of protein to it!

Ingredients:
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup green grapes
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp ground flax

Snack – 9 Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds – I just needed a little something…maybe it’s because I didn’t have a proper dinner…who knows, but these almonds sure hit the spot!

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
8 hours