WTHeck!

So, WTHECK, I'm moving... i'm like.... 36 hours away from getting in my car and DRIVING away. For one, I'm so super stoked, I can't even hardly wait to get going, but two... my heart is so sad... let me explain...

   Why am I so stinkin' excited.. because I get to be with my sister, more family, and more friends. It will be SO good for my family to be closer to people our age. We'll have more support, more things to get involved with the schooling for my daughter will be WAY better and I'm totally looking forward to going to school, all kinds of different opportunities are waiting for us.
   Why am I sad.. I'm leaving my mama.  My mom is my VERY best friend. I hate hate HATE being away from her. I was so excited to be in Arizona because my mom was there, and its warm all the time ( the cold is NOT cold people! LOL ) I could hang out with my mom ever single day and NEVER get bored or sick of her. I'm sure she cant say the same, but I know she loves me dearly.  The other part, is because my babies wont be around their mi mi! Plus I had some pretty amazing friends/neighbors who made a big impact on my life, and I hate saying goodbye. I think having been a military wife I learned to hate goodbyes.


 Madison is VERY in touch with her mimi, and I know it will be hard for both of them. Madison had her last day of school complete with notes from her classmates saying how much her smile would be missed, and her teaching thanking me for allowing them to be filled with JOY from having madison in their classrooms. Clearly Madison was VERY excited this morning! :p





    Today was totally a crazy full moon day. The kids were wild and crazy and L.O.U.D. I am pretty sure I have at least 10 new gray hairs. The only things that were accomplished... cooking one big meal to last all day, and playing with trucks. I'm positive my husband has done 95% of the packing. BUT this one big meal I made... was pretty fan-freaking-tastic. Home-made chicken fried rice. It served my husband and I 2 meals each.

1 cup uncooked brown rice (cooked in rice cooker)
5 scrambled eggs
1/4 of each color bell peppers
2 medium carrots
1 head broccoli
3 chicken breasts (baked at 350* for about 30-40mins)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and about 1-2 tbsp braggs liquid aminos

cook it all up, then sauté in olive oil and the braggs!


     BIG NEWS! I got a NEW program to tackle! I cannot wait to start this bad boy. Not only have I never done it, ITS BRAND SPANKIN' NEW! I know its going to give me KILLER results and I can't wait to share them with you guys. And YES I will absolutely get going on a MEAL PLAN for this! EEK! Only one problem though! I do not want to do it alone! I need some buddies to do this with me. I need some MAJOR accountability! Want to do it with me? Let me know if you do, and we can get you set up, or you can go straight to it and get going, but BE SURE to send me a message to put you in my groups! :) depending on the pack you choose in the pic is some of the things you'll get.

Okay okay, i'll stop talking (typing) now. Get some sleep. eat well, sweat, repeat.

You are beautiful.

You are strong,

You are WORTH it!

Fall is nearing the end!

The season of PUMPKIN everything is about to die down, and we're headed into Eggnog time, christmas cheer and time to give gifts. Fall is quite possibly the most beautiful season change with all the colors, and the leaves falling, and the excitement for littles to dress up for halloween. BUT  hands down my FAVORITE time of year is Winter. The silent snow that falls, and the magic of the pure white, peaceful, crisp scenery brings a warmth to my soul no other season touches.  The happiness on kids faces when they KNOW Santa will be coming soon, the Snowmen they build, and the lights on house tops at night light up the grin from ear to ear. This is just another thing I can not wait for in Washington.


Since Thanksgiving is literally just around the corner, I'll give you what I'm thankful for. These two kiddos right here! Madison, and Christian. 10 and 2. BOTH a handful, but light up my life, as well as many others. Madison does a lot of work in my personal life. Makes me grow in a whole. To adding more patience to my life, to teaching me how to fight for her medically, and educationally. She's a reason behind my desire for nursing. I've spent a lot of hours in hospitals, learning about procedures, medicines, and diagnoses.  I adore her smile, and she has the most joyful soul that would bring anyone to tears.
  Christian is by far the most dangerous child I know. He's so fearless, so rough, and UBER clever for his age. He knows how to change an attitude so fast, as well as change the mood in any room. He throws fits like a champ, loves chocolate, helicopters, and Semi-trucks. ALL B.O.Y. Since he's still developing his personality and growing, I just pray every day that my husband and I raise him to be a good, honest, hardworking man who loves Jesus, and has a respect for people in a whole.

Okay, okay i'm sure you're DYING to know how to make this delish photo below! I tasted it this morning, and its like heaven! I would go amazing on toast, ezekiel bread, bagels, or even make a YUMMY filler for homemade cinnamon rolls with a coconut cream frosting all over the top!

Here's what you'll need:
3/4 cup Raw Almonds
3/4 cup Raw Halved Pecans
1 cup of Pure Pumpkin
3 tsp Coconut Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Coconut oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. preheat your oven to 375*. One heated, roast your almonds and pecans for about 8-10 mins. Careful not to burn them. Let cool for 5 mins.
2. In a blender or food processor blend up the nuts until they are becoming gooey like a paste.
3. Add in the remainder of the ingredients, and blend until smooth. (about 2 mins or so)
4. throughly enjoy!

Took a step back

I so badly wanted to take off running with this blogging thing. But I quickly ran out of things I wanted to talk about. Nothing new had been going on at that point, my creativity was lacking. Then outta nowhere my workouts along with healthy cooking was distracted with an exciting change for the Livingston's . I'm excited to share that me and my family are making a BIG move from Sunny Arizona to Seasonal Washington state to be close to more family and more opportunities.


    So, I'd like to start adding more of my personal life into my blogging mix too. I'll start by intoducing my amazing partner in life. Joshua. He's a Marine, who selflessly served 8 years to his country. 3 deployments, one of which changed his life forever. We have two children, Madison and Christian, you'll learn a LOT more about them as time passes. We're also about to celebrate our 4th year of Marriage. We have been through what felt like Hell and back, but our marriage is thriving, and we are truly each others best friends. 




One of the things I'm looking forward to most with the move is furthering my education. I'll be looking into starting prerequisites before pursuing Nursing school. I'm very nervous but SO stinking EXCITED. I fully believe thats what God has called me to do with my life. I clearly have a passion for giving a lot of my energy into helping, healing, and caring for others. Until I dive into that though I really want to get my home business as a Beachbody Coach up and running in a steady groove. This is not something I plan on ever giving up.  I'm still hosting Support/accountability groups, and December is planned to be a great 21 days to christmas with a PRIZE giveaway.  This group is a little different then others. I'm taking this opportunity to share with you my personal menus i've made, along with a grocery list, and the workouts i've used to get to where I am. You are welcome to join me, anytime of course, but why not make this a HEALTHY holiday, instead of doing the same thing you did last year and make a "new year new me" resolution. 


For your Thanksgiving side dish idea:

1 large butternut squash, halved, seeded and peeled
1 large sweet potatoes scrubbed
1 medium red onion
2 large parsnips
2 large carrots
1 head garlic, cloves separated, and peeled (about 16)
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1½ tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Rosemary (optional)

Slice and Dice these bad boys up, drizzle season and pop in the oven at 425* for about 45 mins to an hour!

A yummy find!

Margarita Chicken Taco

This week I had every intention to whip up a ton of new fun recipes, and I totally got consumed in getting life ready for the school year. I did manage to try a new recipe I found in a magazine yesterday though. It was meant for shrimp, but we don't do much shrimp, and the taco part... was a whim! Totally turned out to be the YUMMIEST dinner ever!  You ready to have your taste buds light up with deliciousness?! Okay... here we go:

1/2 cup 100% Agave Tequila

6 Tbsp fresh lime juice (about 4 limes) and the zest of one lime

6 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp raw honey

1 Jalepeno pepper seeded and minced

2 Lbs of chicken breasts

Whole wheat tortillas (preferably high fiber)

Homemade guacamole (I'll add that recipe down below!)

Sour cream, shredded cheese, spinach  for topping(optional)

For the chicken, make sure you marinate it for at least 1-3 hours. After it was nice and set, I tossed them in the over at 375* for about 45 mins WITH the juice of the marinade. You can also crock pot the chicken after its sat in the marinade. Then you have the option for a shredded chicken! 

For the Guacamole:
3 Avocados
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp NATURAL mayo
1 small on the vine tomato
1/4 of a white onion
5 small limes
1 small lemon
Salt pepper and garlic to taste

For this, its quite obvious. Slice and dice all the goods, and smoosh it up with a fork to the consistency you like. I enjoy a chunky guac, so I slice and lightly smoosh!

This was VERY simple, took just 60 mins from oven to plate. Chicken is moist, and incredibly flavorful. Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

Stuffed bell peppers for a new month!

  August 1st! I can hardly believe it! Where has the year gone! Well August is going to be MY month. I plan on hitting some big goals. Personal and fitness! I've already felt like I've hit some pretty fantastic goals this year so far! So looking forward to the rest of this year!

  Well anyways, to get to the STUFFED PEPPERS! I wanted to die over these! They were so tastey, crisp, and filling!

Let's start with what you'll need! 

6 bell peppers

1lb of ground bison

1/4 white onion

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup of the healthiest marinara you can find! (simple ingredients!)

1/4 cup feta for topping

2 tbsp garlic

Salt, pepper, mrs dash origional, cinnamon. I do this to taste. (test time!) 

1. Preheat oven to 325*, cut tops of peppers and take out the seeds and stuff!

2. Cook quinoa as directed in a rice cooker. It's usually done cooking before the timer is done!

3. Sauté the white onion until almost clear, add broccoli and garlic. Cook till softened. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Set aside the onion and broccoli to brown the bison, sprinkle with mrs dash and cinnamon. 

5. Once everything is done cooking combine in a bowl( make sure you take a taste test of the mixture! 😜)  stuff your peppers and leave a little room at the top for the marinara and garnish with the feta! 

6. Bake for about 35-45 mins. At the end I broiled it for about 2 mins! Super easy! I hope you enjoy!

    ENJOY! 💦👅

Turkey tacos!

Today I was 100% hangry after doing the run around for appts with one of my kids. It happens, things take longer then expected. So when I got home I wanted something quick, healthy and easy. 

Here's what you'll need:

4slices nitrate free turkey breast slices

1/2 cup broccoli slaw

2tbsp feta cheese

Mustard of your choice( I used Dijon and spicy brown!) 

Make them into yummy little tacos! 

See! Easy quick and it didn't throw me off. I added a serving of fruit to the side! If you want more to add, sliver some almonds, or wrap all the ingredients into a whole wheat high fiber tortilla! ( la tortilla factory makes a good one!) even Ezekiel tortilla would work! Enjoy! 

Spaghetti Squash served with a side of Accountability!

   Funny title right? Catches your attention a little bit...hopefully!  Nothing more fun then sharing the most popular meal in my house along with my secret weapon to how I managed to lose 25 lb. and over 25 inches from my body! 

   Its no secret how I gained the weight. LIFE. It kinda just sneaks up on you when you get busy, or when you have babies. Everyone has a story on how they got to where they were. Everyone also has their story of when enough was enough. I'll share mine with you on another day! The biggest thing that helped me.... Accountability. I had people rooting and cheering for ME. It wasn't just that they were trying to keep my spirits up, they genuinely wanted me to succeed! Nothing felt more awesome then a bunch of woman, and a few good men who empowered me (and many others) to do the best I can. Get this though... all this.. was done in a group setting. The MORE the MERRIER! It was amazing to see my journey unfold, their journey unfold, and how much success was being made just by simply sharing daily our triumphs, trials, and "wanna be" failures. Everyone always seems to get back up after a fallout.  There is something about having the encouragement from people you know and love, and total strangers who love you anyways that makes you want to keep going. Mostly because you feel like you're changing their lives too. And to be honest, You are!  Eventually you fall in love with the feeling of helping people, and them helping you! Its one of the reasons i'm a coach! Positively changing lives, and helping them find more to their worth, and that they are allowed to make time for themselves is the most rewarding feeling one can experience. If you don't have an accountability partner, I encourage you to find one! Or Heck, find a coach! Someone who is willing to be honest with you, help you make realistic goals, and someone who will hold you to it through good times and bad! Kinda like a marriage, but with a healthy lifestyle! 

             "Accountability: The glue that ties the commitment to the results!"- Bob Proctor

   NOW, back to what I love most... FOOD! I am literally obsessed with this recipe. Its like a big bowl of comfort food! It just popped into my head one night and I about died when it hit my lips! Plus its like the EASIEST recipe in the whole wide world. This typically feeds 3 of us. 2 adults, 1 child.

Heres what you need:

- 1 Spaghetti Squash

- 8 cooked slices of nitrate free, uncured bacon ( turkey or pork is up to you!)

- 3 cups broccoli (we sometimes sub for brussels)

- 2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Salt and pepper, maybe a dash of garlic if you would like

- Your favorite hot sauce (optional) 

How to make it:

- Slice the Squash in half, and Bake at 375* for about 30-40 mins. In the meantime pan fry the bacon or on a griddle if thats how you like it. Once it's done set it aside on a paper towel to soak up the left over fat. When there is about 5-10 mins left on the squash, I would start to sauté the broccoli in the olive oil. Once your squash is done use a fork to scrape out the inside so its long and noodle like, add to your pan with the broccoli, crumble the bacon on top, mix and you're Done! If you wanna get real fancy, add an egg cooked to your liking, and its delish' for Morning noon and night! You welcome! :) 

   

PiYo Meal planning!

   Well todays the day! I get to Officially start PiYo! I am eager to see the results with this low impact program! The most important part about this program though is the nutrition! They include a guidebook to help maximize your results.  In that guidebook it helps you find a caloric window for your size and body, included with that is how many servings of food groups you are allotted. It also has lists of foods and what the servings are.

   So for the next two to four weeks we will be eating most of the same thing with just a FEW variations. 
   Here's what I bought:

Veggies:                               Fruit:                                  Protein:                           Healthy Fats:
Broccoli                              Oranges                   Wild Caught Salmon                   Avocado
Bell Peppers                   Raspberries                     Ground Turkey                      Feta Cheese
Cauliflower                     Watermelon                   Chicken breasts                     Coconut Oil
Green Beans                   Honeydew                             Eggs                                  Nut butters
Sweet Potato                 Strawberries                     Sirloin Steaks 
Spinach                                                                     Cottage cheese
                                                                                       

For my Free Foods: Lemon (for the juice!), black coffee, teas,  lots of spices, and balsamic vinegar! And because Shakeology can be placed in many  different ways, I left it off the list! I wouldn't think about missing a day! 

Breakfast: 2 eggs sprinkled with Feta cheese. A side of brussels sprouts and a choice of   fruit! 
Lunch: Vegan Tropical Strawberry Shakeology with watermelon, water and ice.
Snack: Bell peppers with cottage cheese
Dinner: Veggie and steak stir-fry! 
                    
    As I mentioned before the reason we eat a lot of the same thing is because it works. I don't have to think more then I should. I'm a mom and a wife who is just as busy or distracted as the next. SO after getting my list all checked off, I washed and rinsed everything. Then I sliced and diced everything out in the portion sizes! One has and E on it for a serving for Emily and one has a J on it for Joshua (my husband)! So, now you have to be patient and see what I make up with these! Don't worry i'll share exactly what I did, how much I used ( even though i've always been a "wing it") Cheers to getting started right! 

My final Results!

   After a quick three days I finally feel back to human again! I spent two weeks in travel mode, and completely slacked in the fitness and nutrition department. I hardly worked out, and I only ate so so. which is not my normal routine.  Here's what my three days looked like.

Morning:

WATER! Nice and cold to wake me up and get my body goin'.

Chocolate Vegan Shakeology (my daily dose of dense nutrition!)  with 1/2 of a banana, water and just a touch of ice to make it cool. 

Mid Morning:

Fiber sweep(healthy fats combined with fiber to help you belly!) (TMI alert, this stuff did its job! I musta needed that fiber to de bloat me!)

Afternoon:

Vanilla Refresh(protein packed shake) with 1/2 of my servings of strawberries blended in with water and ice. 

I enjoyed the rest of my strawberries by just plain eating them! 

Carrots and Hummus ( hummus never tasted so good!)

Mid afternoon:

Jicama with mashed avocado, with a dash of salt n' pepper! 

Some Vanilla Rooibus Tea! (my favorite EVER! unsweetened though!)

Dinner:

Vanilla Refresh with just water, and Ice and EXTRA cinnamon since its a FREE condiment. 

With some boiled carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, drizzled in coconut oil, and sprinkled with salt n' pepper. 

AND to top it all off, i guzzled nearly a gallon of water each day!

https://www.facebook.com/FortitudeInFitness

   I ate the same thing all three days to cut the cost of buying a million different things for just the three days. It works for me, and that way I don't have to make more planning then necessary! During the first day, I felt pretty icky, mostly because I felt like i was hungry but I knew I wasn't, I was full but my body wanted coffee, sugar, and LOADS of carbs. ( I'm not saying carbs are bad here!) I mean like I wanted cookies, and "naughty foods"! Day 2, lord I don't even know what I did that day! It was such a breeze!  I was tired, but I blame having been so busy for so long for that one. Third day, was honestly the hardest. I was HANGRY! I'm sure you all know what that word means. Come on now.. be real.. we've all experienced this. I wanted eggs... I wanted chicken... I just wanted a big meal. So I did end up adding a touch of extra veggies and avocado, and that helped! I pushed thru, took the day to relax, and finished the day strong! 

  So my final results, 2.5 lbs lost and 3.5 inches gone! Goodbye post vaca bloat and back to my healthy routine! Now, to get back on my train of Healthy livin' I've got my meal plan in hand, and my PiYo in my DVD player to get started tomorrow with the help of my amazing husband! Cannot wait to write my thoughts about that! Until next time......