Food Prep Basics

Do you prep your foods when you bring them home from the grocery story?

I started it a few months ago and it makes everything so much easier. 

While I do enjoy cooking, I do like things to be quickly accessible especially when packing snacks for outings.

Some things I do:

Wash apples for easy grab and eat.

Wash grapes and store in bowl or ziplock bag.  When I go back to work I will definitely portion some of these out for snacks.

Steam some carrots.  My little ones like to eat cold steamed carrots for snacks and I find they are great in salads as well.

Other things I recommend:

• Keeping your nuts in the freezer in ziplock bags.  Be sure to measure each portion.  Walnuts are my favorite nuts and I eat them almost daily so I keep a little 1/8 measuring cup inside of the bag.  I usually eat 1/4 cup so it is easy having the measuring cup in the bag.  Also, you could portion these out and put them in snack bags as well.   
• Placing your spinach inside of a large ziplock bag and squeezing out all of the air.  Although I like those containers they come in, storing in the ziplock bags takes up less room. 
• When your bananas get a little too soft, peel them and place in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  You can make ice cream with them or use them in a green smoothie.
• Boil eggs for a snack (combine with some veggies).  I keep mine in a bowl in the fridge.  My mom writes a "B" on them so she can distinguish between the two. 
• If you like marinated cucumbers, you could prepare those in advance.  I like mine with just a sprinkle of salt so I don't do this one.
• I buy red peppers and bell peppers when they are on sale and I dice them then place in the freezer for use in recipes.  I also reserve some slices for dipping hummus or black bean dip.
• Make a large batch of brown rice and store extra in fridge or freezer for adding to meals as needed.
• Cook dried beans and portion into ziplock bags.  You can store these in the fridge or freezer as well.  Talk about a money saver - dried beans are so affordable.  I do keep a few cans of beans on hand for those times I may need them.  Make sure you look at the ingredients of your canned goods and get the ones that are organic with no additives. I noticed that some contain sugar and other additives that are not necessary.
• Buy frozen fruits and vegetables.  Frozen fruits are great for smoothies and frozen vegetables are great for meals.   

Oh this is something that I noticed that works for me - when buying tomatoes, I like to buy the ones on the vine and in those mesh bags.  I hang them from my fruit stand and they seem to stay fresh longer.

Do you have any food prep ideas to share?  I'd love to hear them. 


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read More

Eating Healthy and Couponing - Is it possible?

Can you eat healthy and still use coupons?

The answer is yes, of course, and here is how I do it:

1. Instead of cutting every coupon from the circulars or printing online, I only keep the ones that I will actually use including personal and household items.

2. I also contact my favorite companies so they include me on their mailing list.  They will occasionally mail you coupons. 

3. Organize your coupons in a way that works for you.  I use a little portable picture album with an elastic closure that I found on clearance at Target.  Each sleeve is labeled and it is small enough for me to keep in my purse.

4. Next, I check out the sales at my local stores to see if I can match up the sales with the coupons I have on hand. 

Also remember you can stack store coupons on top of manufacturer's coupons for maximum savings.  If I see that toothpaste is on sale but I don't necessarily need it I may go ahead and get it.  It depends on the final price after the sale and coupons. 

I could use one of the coupon sites that do matchups but I've found that the prices vary based on your location so I just look at the circulars online.  This also helps me get the best price on meat and produce since they don't often have coupons.   

I don't like to go to six different stores to save a few bucks so I just stick with my favorite stores. 

5. The next step I do is my meal planning for the week. Meal planning is actually quite helpful for saving money. Before I started meal planning I would buy what I thought I needed and often overbuy.

 6. Finally, I make a list of things - food, personal, and household items - to buy from each store.  Then I put the coupons and the list inside of an envelope for each store.  Since I was looking at the circular online I may need to clip a store coupon when I get to the store so if I do I just make a note on my list. 

Couponing really doesn't take that long if you are prepared.  I'm by no means an extreme couponer especially since I don't buy a lot of processed foods but I do try to stock up my pantry, household, and personal items. 

Saving is sexy so I plan on sharing great deals I find with you.  Hopefully you can use those savings to buy something for yourself like a nice relaxing pedicure.  You deserve it. 

Do you coupon?  If so, do you have any tips to add?


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read More

Monday Motivation: Just Do It!

Sometimes it is hard to do the right thing.

It just is.  You get discouraged, distracted, or disinterested.

Life happens.

But you just have to get up and do it.

Goals will never be met with excuses - valid or not.

Things have been hard around here lately.  I am looking for a job so my plan is not working out how I had thought.  That's life.

I skipped a few workouts but how I eat is not a diet so I have not faultered there. 

Today things will be different because I'm just going to do it. 

I like how I feel after a workout especially if it is difficult. 

I feel so accomplished, so strong, so dedicated.

Whether or not I am working, I have a fitness goal for myself and I will get there.

When life happens don't let it take over your goals. 

Take it one day at a time and just do it. 


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read More

Earn Money with Ebates

Do you buy things online? 

Would you like to earn a little extra money just for buying things online?

I have been using Ebates for a few years now and I figured some of you may be interested in it as well. 

Likely you won't earn a fulltime income but you can earn a few bucks here and there. 

If you are a new user you can sign up here to receive a $10 gift card to Target, Home Depot, or Barnes & Noble. 

The stipulation is that you have to spend $25 at one of the stores on their shopping list to get the free $10 gift card. 

I certainly don't recommend spending $25 to get $10 but if you plan on getting something online then I would definitely cash this in. 

Over the last few years I have actually received a few hundred dollars back using Ebates. 

I often buy my boys some clothes from Children's Place so if I have a good discount code, I'll go through Ebates and save even more.  It's a win-win. 

And while this doesn't necessarily fall in the scope of healthy it is definitely sexy to save money especially when you can use it to buy something for yourself. 


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Disclosure:  Not only do you get a $10 gift card but I'll receive a $5 credit so it helps me out too.  I appreciate your support.

Read More

Recipe: 3 Minute Single Brownie

If you love chocolate and you want to make a quick treat then this is the perfect recipe for you. 

When I was a low carb dieter I loved to make warm brownies that contained cocoa powder, splenda, powdered milk, and water.  And I would top them with cool whip because they were kind of dry.

Now that I'm aware of the dangers of artifical sweeteners and am not drinking cow's milk I had to come up with an alternative recipe. 

This is so simple, flavorful, and moist. 

I am happy to admit that it is much better than the original recipe and doesn't need anything on top. 

It's the perfect single serving dessert.  

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (I only had crunchy and it turns out it added some added texture)
1 tablespoon spelt flour (I think whole wheat pastry flour would work fine as well)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

Combine in microwavable container.  Below is what it will look like before going into the microwave.

Microwave for 30 seconds. 

I hope you enjoy.


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read More

Recipe: Coconut Cookies

I LOVE cookies so I make them more frequently than any other treat. 

Since I have about three treats per week, I try to make them a healthier alternative so I don't go crazy. 

These cookies have a mild coconut flavor.

These cookies aren't necessarily healthy but they are a good alternative to buying processed cookies and the batch is small so you aren't likely to overeat unless you are like me and try to eat them all by yourself. 

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
1 teaspoon milk (I used Almond Breeze Coconut Almond)
1 egg
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional (I used walnuts but I think pecans would also be nice)

Mix wet ingredients.  Mix dry ingredients.  Combine well.  Scoop onto cookie sheet, yields 12 medium sized cookies.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until baked through.


About the Author: Rita is a wife, mom of two young boys, clean eating advocate, and fitness fanatic. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read More

Motivation Monday: Self Love

Source

Self love is essential.  After having dealt with postpartum depression, I know how important loving yourself is to succesfully acheiving goals.  After the birth of both of my boys, I was miserable. 

Read More