Don't Cry Over No Milk!

<-I will miss thee!

Hey Ladies,
How is everyone doing this week? I'm doing ok although I've been going through some crazy stomach upset since integrating some dairy back into my life.  Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned cutting out dairy completely? Well I did that and then one day I wanted some cheese and then I wanted some Clemmy's (it's a sugar-free, low-carb  ice cream, they use chicory root for sweetness) BIG FAT MISTAKE!  Yeah so now I've spent a week paying for my bad decisions but what was I to do I NEED cheese in my life haha.  I'm really cutting back now though since my dairy sensitivity causes inflammation in my stomach and causes me to feel tired, sluggish, and bloated.  The only dairy product that does not effect me is half and half, I don't know why but the small amount I use for my morning coffee never leaves me feeling bad. Another thing that also has dairy is my protein powder.  Does anyone use egg white protein?  My mom said she likes it a lot and it is dairy free. Let's hope I can kick dairy to the curb, here's 21 days without so I can detox from it. My 21 days of quitting something always works so I just keep going back to it.

In other news, that is less depressing than not eating cheese, I finally got my pull up bar put up!! YAY! I used it yesterday and wow I can't do a single real pull up but I can do the modified chair pull ups my biceps, triceps, and back are killing me but in a good way.  I love the burn and pain of exercise.  I feel like I'm doing everything right and it is working.  Do you have that relationship with exercise soreness?

Any P90Xers laugh when you are in "Frog" and Tony says "Get sexy with it" I die laughing almost every time.  IF you have no idea what I am talking about thats ok too.  I couldn't find a clip or I would have posted the link.

It's Friday, Friday!

Hey Ladies,
How was your week? Mine has been good, just busy so I haven't been able to post as much.  In the Spring my business gets really busy with e-mails and clients.  Wedding Season is nearly upon  us and brides are looking for a makeup artist so there I am doing three consults on one weekend but really that is ok with me! I love working with lovely brides and ladies with their makeup.

Anyway, with this being week SIX of P90X I decided I needed to up my weights and go harder well you know mind over matter so that is what I did.  It actually helps so much to say by this week I want to be lifting two pounds more than before.  Even though two pounds more doesn't seem like a lot it is challenging and I think I needed that.  I love to challenge myself and give myself new goals my fitness journey is really never over.  I'm still finding ways of improving and challenging myself more plus I really want some nice arms, glamour muscles! Eventually, the warm weather will get here and I will want to wear all my sleeveless tops and not feel self-conscious.  To me it is completely worth the pain to get results, I hope the pain actually doesn't go away because it reassures me  that I am making progress and all the puddles of sweat say I'm burning calories.  ALSO this week I put up my pull up bar...YAY! I was using bands before but now I actually get to do real pull ups...with a chair (the modified way).  IF TONY doesn't care than neither do I.  I got some new kicks as well, maybe you don't know this but I am a huge thrift store junkie, and while I was looking around I stumbled across some shoes I thought would work for me.  They were new and never been used so I picked them up for $5.  They are great jumping shoes so plyo should be easier now.  We'll see how those work for me.

I hope you guys are getting your mind right, getting in your daily exercise and eating as planned.  I know I am really doing well and feeling great too! This goes for the preggos too, don't let yourself go completely just because you growing a baby hehe. I made that 80 pound mistake once and I will never do that again. <3 you all

Pizza Crust *low carb, gluten free*

Hey Ladies,
Yesterday,  I was baking up some of my gluten free, low carb crackers, yummm! When I thought of an a great way to use this recipe instead of breaking them up why not make a thin crust pizza. Hmm and it totally worked.  I know this recipe is low carb, gluten free and if you you don't care about that stuff it's ok you can just skip this one or try it out and save you the calories that are in traditional pizza crust.

First of all I make my crackers on a pizza stone so that they come out crispy.  I think that you could make these on a regular baking sheet too but pizza stone works best. The "crust" may get a little stuck so I loosen it from the stone after it is done cooking and then leave it to cool on there. I think if you use parchment paper this will cure this issue though but since I didn't have any I just made it work.

Thin Curst Pizza Crust Recipe
3 TBSP Coconut Flour
1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Italian spice
1/8 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
2 TBSP unsalted butter (straight from the fridge)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup cold water

Preheat Oven to 400*F
In a medium bowl combine coconut flour, celtic sea salt, garlic powder, Italian spice, and baking powder. Mix until combined. Grate in butter and mix with fingers until crumbly.  Add cheese and water until dough forms. I use a food processor but if you do not have one then you can use your hands it works just the same.  Form the mixture into a ball and place between 2 sprayed pieces of parchment paper, I spray mine with olive oil cooking spray. Remove the top piece of parchment paper if using a baking sheet and both pieces of parchment if you are using a pizza stone.  You can brush an egg wash over top for even browning, but I didn't. Bake in oven for 12 minutes or until crust has set.  Let cool on pizza stone or baking sheet. If you are using a stone I suggest loosening the edges before the crust cools because it may get a little stuck.

After crust has cooled a little add pizza sauce (I make my own), cheese, and your favorite toppings. Then cut into squares and enjoy.  This is not a big pizza it is probably enough for 2 people maybe 1 really hungry one.  IF you want a bigger pizza just double the recipe. I really really like this crust out of all the ones I have tried for low carb, gluten free crust.

Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think.

Nutritional Info will vary depending on what you top your pizza with.
Nutritional Info for 1 serving (1/2 the pizza CRUST)
Cal: 116 Fat: 9.2 Carb: 4.2 Fiber:2.2 Protein: 4.3

Busy Weekend and Easy Chicken Recipe

Hey Ladies,
This passed weekend was so busy.  On Saturday I left my house at 11:30a.m. and returned home at 12:00a.m.  My awesome husband took care of our daughter which meant they want on a "date" to McDonald's. I'm a pretty big health nut but I'm ok with my family eating McDonald's every once in awhile, I have to keep it balanced though.  Sunday was also very busy but I managed to make a healthy lunch to keep us from eating out.  I made sure to have extra for leftovers at dinner time.  It was excellent both times and I want to share that recipe with you today.  This recipe came about when my sister-in-law came in town and made a similar or maybe it was this recipe but since I didn't have her recipe I just did the best I could at remembering what she did. ANYWAY it works for us so here it is.

Easy Chicken
4 Organic/Skinless/Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 TBSP Organic Dijon Mustard (optional)
2 TBSP Organic Tangy BBQ Sauce (optional)
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 small diced jalapeño pepper  (take seeds out for less spice)
1/2 cup organic sliced fresh mushrooms
1 diced organic diced green pepper
1/4 cup organic diced onion
Enough cheese to cover the chicken (I try to avoid cheese as much as possible because I have a dairy sensitivity, so add as little or as much as you would like)

Preheat oven to 375.  Put 4 chicken breasts into a glass baking dish, brush Dijon Mustard and Tangy BBQ sauce onto chicken breasts which gives the chicken lots of flavor and keeps it juicy.  Dump 1 can of organic diced tomatoes, diced jalapeño pepper, diced green pepper, sliced mushrooms, and  diced onion all over the chicken. Cover chicken with foil, loosely and put in the oven for 30 minutes.  Check with a meat thermometer until chicken reaches 165*/F.  Add cheese over top return to oven uncovered and watch until cheese is melted.  Serve with Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes and broccoli or your favorite vegetable sides.

This meal takes me so little time to make it is my go to chicken dish when I'm limited on time.  
If you don't want to use BBQ or Dijon Mustard you could just use chicken broth but I really like the flavor with the sauce.  I try to use as much organic ingredients as possible but if you don't you can also use 1 can of Ro*tel in place of the diced tomatos and jalaepeno pepper. :)) If you try this dish out let me know if you liked it.

Abdominal Separation *Update*

Hey Ladies,
First off how are you getting along with this time change? I don't think I'm doing too well with it, I've been going to bed early but still feel exhausted when I wake up. Hopefully my body will adjust by next week:).

So last time I mentioned abdominal separation I had just started working on ways to correct it or at least make it a little better. I believe my separation occurred three years ago after my c-section and since then I had not done anything to correct it until January of this year. I tried using a belly wrap and simple abdominal exercises to force the muscles back together and that seemed to make a little difference. In the middle of February I got a little frustrated with the whole thing so I just did my workouts without the wrap for about a week and of course nothing changed. Last week I did notice my gap got smaller and I'm attributing this change to all the core work in yoga that doesn't involve crunches. I'm not the hugest yoga fan well now I'm starting to jump on the bandwagon though. My separation is not nearly as bad as it was in January and I felt the biggest change after incorporating yoga into my workouts. I recently have read that practicing prenatal yoga can ward off abdominal separation. I know it hasn't completely mended my separation but I've seen a huge improvement. I think if you are suffering from abdominal separation practicing yoga can really help. In yoga there is so much core work that works your entire core not just your abs that your entire body benefits too. I'm hoping to keep seeing the gap close and things to get more toned. We'll see what the next 3 months brings.
Let me know if you practice yoga or Pilates and what benefits you have seen from it.

*I do yoga in accordance with my P90X classic schedule, which usually breaks down to once a week but I have been adding it in twice a week for the benefits on my mind and abs lol*

Pet Peeve /RANT

Hey Ladies,
Today as I was sitting with my daughter and reading a blog about a woman who was struggling with weight.  In her post she made every excuse under the sun to say why taking care of her health was just the last thing on her list and it was just more convient to buy frozen food, eat at fast food restaurants, and just eat whatever junk food was brought into work that day all because she was a single mother with no time or energy to do anything else. Lets just say by the end of the blog post I was really peeved with her.  I wanted to just say, "Hey Lady, if you put half as much energy into making simple healthy recipes at home as you do complaining about how hard it is to make your health a priority, you may have more time at the end of the day and be a lot healthier."  This is one of my biggest pet peeves with people, instead of saying lets just get it done lets make my lifestyle a little better they just complain about the cards they were delt.  If you really want something you will make it happen, you will stop complaining about being over weight, unhealthy, sick, and tired and just make the changes in your life.  If you are completely fine with being all of the above listed things then that's fine too just don't complain about it.  Not everyone can be health minded or McDonalds would be out of business.  I know I may not be on the other side of the fence where I'm single, work 2 jobs, and have a handful of kids to take care of but you know what even if that were my life I know that health is something so important to me that I would just get it done.  If I manage to make 7 days worth of healthy meals in 1 day, you can do it too.  :)))
OK END RANT!

In-love again ;)

Hey Ladies,
It's been awhile but since I'm confined to the couch with my daughter while she's sick I thought I would write a post.

For the past couple of weeks I've been suffering from skin issues which tends to happen when my skin gets dry. I usually just apply my coconut oil and that takes care of the extra moisture but after a couple of weeks with more blemishes coming to the surface I decided to check out my makeup. Just FYI I'm a makeup artist I try a lot of new foundations and products both from the drugstore and higher end. Recently, I have been loving the finish and coverage of Rimmel BB cream if you don't have any skin sensitivity try it out. However, I'm allergic to it and it breaks out my skin. I'm usually not allergic to the product itself, it is the fragrance they use in the products. Two months ago I had to change moisturizers after the fragrance in the product burned my face. It is hard finding products that will work with my sensitive skin but my one that I know will work is Bare Minerals. I worked for the company doing free lance artistry a couple of years ago and while I love their products I wanted to try something different. I noticed that my skin has been a lot more problematic since I stopped using it on a regular basis. On Saturday, I decided to go to Ulta and talk with their skin therapist and decided that since I knew it would probably be fine for my skin to go ahead and go back to it. I'm seriously in-love...again! I forgot how much I loved this stuff. Plus it takes me like 5 minutes to do my everyday makeup. I use the matte version that isn't formulated with bismuth oxide, I have a sensitivity to that as well. Do you have a cosmetic brand you can't live without? I feel like no matter what I've been going back to bare over the last 8 years.
To build back up my collection of Bare I think I'll get one item every time I want a "treat".
I have a little list going of things, I'm lucky to have worked for them and still have a lot of eyeshadows, blush, bronzer,and finishing powder. Unlike traditional makeup Bare Minerals powder products don't go bad, we used to call it dinosaur dirt.

I hope y'all don't mind these no fitness related posts. More to life then eating and burning cals especially in this Fit Mom's life. Hehe ;)