This is the workout:

10 warm up front squats and then 5-5-5-5-5 front squats.  You add weight each time until you get to your max weight.

Five rounds of:

10 burpee pull ups (ten burpees and ten pull ups)

20 back squats

40 situps

When you read that, it doesn’t sound that bad.  When I actually did all those things that many times, it was truly awful….in a good way!

Ok, so I wanted to let you guys know about another protein powder that I tried, Garden of Life Vanilla Raw Protein.  I have been looking for a healthier protein powder without a ton of artificial ingredients.  It’s really hard to find a natural protein powder that tastes good!

I’m sorry to say that this protein powder was disappointing!  Actually, it was terrible!  The directions said to combine one scoop in 6 ounces of water.  Well, it took everything in me to drink it that way.  It was extremely gritty.  I felt like I was drinking a cup of water with sand in it….yuck!

I think the best way to use this protein powder is for baking or making fruit smoothies.  That way, you would not have to deal with the sandy texture!

Does anyone know of a really good protein powder that is all natural and healthier?  Please let me know!

I’m not going to tell you that my kids never eat junk because they do!  They probably eat way too much junk!! But little changes can make a huge difference.  I think it’s easy to get completely overwhelmed with everything that we do wrong and forget about what we do right.  So, for me, this was my little change toward getting my kids a little healthier.  My other switch that came along with making these pancakes was buying REAL maple syrup.  I always bought the cheap stuff.  Come to find out it wasn’t even made with real maple syrup!

My daughter has had the hardest time with these changes.  If your kids are like mine, they do not take to change well!  Little by little she is coming around.  I think she wants to be healthy, but she is such a picky eater.  I realize that this is my fault!!  I should have been giving this to her when she first started eating food as a baby.  When you know better, you do better.  So, this time around, my little guy is getting the REAL stuff!

Check out 100daysofrealfood.com and let me know what you think.  There is so much information on her site so don’t get overwhelmed.  I think I started by reading the “start here page” and then I read her post “Misleading product lineup: don’t be fooled.”  It was interesting stuff!

This is 100daysofrealfood.com recipe for WHOLE WHEAT BANANA PANCAKES:

When I was at the grocery store this week, I noticed that cabbage was crazy cheap!  Maybe it’s always inexpensive? But the sign that said .54 cents caught my eye.  I thought to myself, “I can make a ton of stuff with that huge head of cabbage!”  So, I planned my menu this week around cabbage!:)  I made fish with cabbage, soup with cabbage, chicken with cabbage.  Who knew there was so much to be made with cabbage!?

This is my recipe for Chicken with Cabbage:

Before I left for CrossFit, I put together a few chicken “packets.”  The idea was that my husband would throw them in the oven, and the chicken would be done when I got home.  He was running a little behind with dinner so I got home in time to finish everything.  But you won’t hear me complain!  He stayed home with the three kiddos so I could go to Crossfit….love that man!;)

I call these “packets” because I used tin foil to make a packet for the chicken.  You could use parchment paper, but I didn’t have any so I used tin foil.  These packets came out really nice and yummy.  It was a delicious and quick dinner to throw together.  I hope you enjoy!

Baked Chicken Packets with Cabbage:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups cabbage

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Cooking spray

Directions:  Make 4 good size pieces of tin foil.  Spray tin foil with cooking spray.   Put 1/2 cup of cabbage down. Place chicken on cabbage.  Sprinkle 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp garlic salt, dash of salt and pepper on chicken.  Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar over chicken.  Repeat these steps for each packet.  Wrap each foil into a packet and bake all four packets at 450* for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.   Enjoy!

This is what my little packets looked like before I popped them in the oven.  So simple but has a big taste.

It has been way too long since my last blog post!  It seems like life has kept me very busy!

I would like to first share some very exciting news!  Many of you know that my 15 year old nephew was diagnosed a little over a year and a half ago with a cancerous brain tumor.  He has endured so much in the last year and a half, but last night my family and I celebrated some of the best news EVER.  His last MRI came back with excellent results….no cancer, no tumor…..he is cancer free!!!  Woohooo!!!  He is on the way back to a normal 15 year old life!  It’s going to be a great life!

I don’t know how many of you have read Chris Powell’s new book, Choose to Lose?  I love to read all the new diet/exercise books.  When I found out that Chris wrote a diet book, I was all about it.  I’ve been following the diet for a few weeks, and so far I really like it.  I like the concept of carb cycling.  Every day you have a protein but you rotate every other day between carbs and fats.  Chris gives a list of the approved foods in the book.  At first, it can be a little confusing.  You have to remember what day you are on and what approved foods you can eat.  Once you figure that out, it’s smooth sailing!

What diet books do you like to read?  Have you had success with any of the diets?

Healthy Barbecue Chicken Pizza:

2 cooked chicken breast, shredded, chopped or sliced (I made my chicken in the slow cooker.  I put 4 chicken breasts with about 1 1/2 cups of water in slow cooker.  I seasoned the chicken with cumin and chili powder.  Cooked on high for about 4-5 hours.  The bonus was that I saved the leftover chicken for lunch!)

1 whole wheat pizza dough already prepared (I bought my dough from Trader Joe’s)

2/3 cup Barbecue Sauce (I bought all natural from Trader Joe’s)

1 cup Reduced-Fat Medium Cheddar Cheese, grated

1/4 Red Onion, sliced thinly

1/2 Yellow Pepper, sliced thinly

Cilantro, chopped

Saute onion and pepper in olive oil on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Grease a pizza pan or cookie sheet, whichever you prefer.  Roll out pizza dough and put on greased pizza pan.  Spread barbecue sauce over pizza dough.  Add cooked chicken and onion and pepper to top.  Sprinkle cheese over and bake for about 18 minutes or until dough is cooked.  Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

I would like to share a little girl’s journey with you that has broken my heart.  I stumbled upon a blog several weeks ago.  My husband was out of town and I was up late looking on pinterest.  Pinterest eventually led me to thisyearslovewilllast.com.  I never imagined how this blog would affect me and how my heart would break for this family.  If you know me, you know that I am a softy.  For some reason, God has either cursed me or blessed me with the ability to feel someone else’s pain.  Literally, I can sit and cry with a complete stranger over their hardships!  I’m trying to toughen up!:)

The little girl’s name is Reese.  She has reddish hair (hence “ginger fight”)  She is precious, beautiful, spunky, and she has a brain tumor.  Her story hits close to home for me.  My nephew was diagnosed a little over a year and half ago with a brain tumor.  We had to watch him endure brain surgery, radiation, chemo and a long battle back to get healthy.  He is still not back to normal, but He is one amazing and awesome young man.  He is one of my heroes.   And we are so blessed that his prognosis is good.

Reese went through brain surgery and chemo.  Last week she threw up and her mom took her to the ER.  What they thought would be a routine visit turned into something totally different.  They discovered that the tumor was growing and that the chemo did not work.  When I heard this, I cried myself to sleep that night.  I begged God to heal this sweet little girl!  I cannot even imagine how hard this was on her parents.  That thought is also devastating to me.  As a parent, my heart goes out to them.  I just don’t know how you deal with such news.

Reese is scheduled to go through another brain surgery and more aggressive chemo.  My prayer tonight and every night until she is better, is that God would heal her.  That He would give her strength.  I pray that her parents would have strength, peace,  and that God would comfort them during this very difficult time.  I am asking for everyone that reads this to please pray for this precious baby girl.  I believe in miracles, and I am begging God to perform a miracle!

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One of my favorite types of food is Mexican. I love taco night at our house!:) I think my husband gets tired of having tacos so I decided to take those same flavors and make a casserole! I went the healthy route with this recipe. It turned out great! I hope you like it too!

Turkey and Bean Mexican Casserole- The Eat-Clean Version:

1 pound lean ground turkey, cook and drain fat
4 whole wheat soft tortilla shells
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (you could really use any bean that you like. I just had kidney beans on hand)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can corn
1 jar of salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

Grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Cook the turkey and chopped onion until done. Add the beans to the beef mixture. In a small bowl, mix the Greek yogurt, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder. In your greased casserole dish layer two whole wheat tortillas side by side. I did not have to cut mine to fit but you can if you need to. Layer half the beef mixture over tortillas. Layer half the Greek yogurt mixture over beef. sprinkle half the can of corn over yogurt mixture. Add half the salsa over corn. Repeat these layers one more time.  Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven at 350* for 40 minutes.  Remove tin foil and add the shredded cheddar cheese to the top and bake for 5 more minutes, uncovered. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

http://blondeponytail.com/2012/11/new-hard-core-workout/

http://www.fitsugar.com/10-Minute-Full-Body-Crossfit-Workout-23065707