Chicken Taco Chili: It's what's for dinner!

Well it's fall and getting chilly here in the Burgh, so it's time to put the crock pot to use more than once a week!
I'm trying out a new recipe that I of course found on pinterest! It looked amazing and let me tell you it smells amazing! It's super easy and I have high hopes that the kids will love it.

Here is the website. It has the ingredients and directions right on the page from pinterest.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/346425396307547534/

Going to add that the recipe calls for jalapeno's and cilantro and I substituted. Instead of cilantro (which I can't do) I used a little parsley and jalapeno's I just added a little crushed red pepper. Since the kiddos eat pretty much everything we do I chose to not have too much heat.

It's a quick throw together meal and also a pretty "clean-eating" dinner!

Enjoy
 - Mom N'at

Motherhood: Embrace it, Enjoy it, Love it

The picture I posted I honestly believe EVERY mother should read it, at least once a day! It's a great daily reminder that it's ok to let the dishes and laundry go. To say yes to your children when they ask you to play, instead of saying I'll be there in a minute. We all know that minute turns into 20 minutes or sometimes even never.
We are too wrapped up in what we need to get done than enjoying the "now" with our kids. Well unless you're that "perfect" mom, and we all know that doesn't exist!
I, myself is very guilty of pushing my kids off a few more minutes than just stopping what I am doing to play with them. They will remember the times you played and goofed around with them, they aren't going to remember how clean your house was.
So next time when your kids say "Hey mom, will you come play with me?" or even "Hey mom, will you help me with this?"
STOP what you are doing and go be there for them!
It will mean more to them than anything and you both will have the memories spent together, not apart.
So be present in your kids lives.
Play in the mud with them.
Play dress up with them.
Read books to them. (so important)
At the park don't be the mom who just sits there and watches her kids run around. Go play pretend and climb up the ladder. Go down the slides together.
Make the memories.
Hey, and don't think I have stuck truth to all of this..this is also a very friendly reminder to myself! I'm not perfect nor will I EVER pretend to be.
I'm even printing this out to stick on my fridge and it will be a constant photo on my phone to look at and remind myself to be there.
Our kids are only little for so long.
I don't even want to think that my first born is turning 4 is a little over 3 months. Where did the time go? I honestly feel like I JUST had him. So now I'm getting teary eyed thinking how big he has grown and what a little gentleman he is becoming. I want to pause life right now, but I can't.
So I'm learning to embrace the "now" and cherish these moments I get with my kids.

So for now I'm done pouring my heart out.

Go love on your babies, even if they are grown. Give them lots of kisses and try to enjoy every minute with them, even if they have tantrums and meltdowns. Now that's easier said then done. Just know you will never get this day, this friday Sept. 20th back.
Enjoy your weekend
Big hugs from
 Mom N'at

Sick days..or lack there of!

Being a stay-at-home mom of two there is no such thing as a sick day. More like a take it "easy" day. 

This morning the alarm goes off and there it was, a migraine! Didn't it know I already had a crappy week? No, it didn't care! Came strong and next thing I knew the kids were up! Not even enough time to process this all, I had to get breakfast and answer to mom, mom, mom! Awesome! Then hit the nausea! Even better. Thank you for excedrin migraine! With any medicine in pill form takes at least a half hour to work. Always the longest half hour! 

Honestly my kids couldn't have been better. Serious! They hung out, watched tv, played with their toys! There was a god this morning! 

So as I lay there on the floor with a pillow over my face, I was thankful for well behaved kids today. Tomorrow I probably won't say the same thing. 

I know all other moms who get migraines or who have ever been sick with kids and no one to help out know my pain from this morning! 

Happy Thursday!  

Healthy/Budget and even kid friendly "clean" dinner ideas

Ok many friends have been asking me lately for "clean" recipes. Now that I have become a beachbody coach I feel the need to just keep inspiring and offering my advice. No I am not the "perfect" eater, nor do I pretend to be! I really have just embraced and fell in love with this healthier lifestyle! So I'm going to post my top 5 recipes my family and I enjoy :-)

1.) Zucchini Lasagna:
http://sayyestohoboken.com/2012/09/zuccini-lasagna.html
You can make your own adjustments (ie: your preferred sauce, I add some ricotta instead of cottage cheese, and always garlic in this house!)
This is a meal itself but always adding a healthy side salad is a great option! Remember no heavy dressing!!

2.) Broiled Tilapia:
http://www.spendwithpennies.com/parmesan-broiled-tilapia/
Now I have adjusted this one. Instead of the Mayo I use plain greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is an awesome substitute for mayo/ sour cream.
With a meal like this i will always use a vegetable side (ie: roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, any vegetable to your liking!)
For a healthy carb side to go with choose from sweet potatoes, whole grain brown rice, quinoa. You get the idea!

3.) Healthy grilled chicken salad is always a great and quick dinner idea!

4.) Chicken Stir Fry:
http://thecookinchicks.blogspot.com/2013/04/chinese-chicken-stir-fry.html?m=1
Great simple stir fry for those nights you have a hankering for chinese!
Watch what kind of oil you use. Small doses of canola is ok, or you can substitute for Coconut oil! Coconut oil is awesome! Can be a little expensive but a little goes a long way and there are MANY uses for it. Awesome for you hair ladies ;-)

5.) For those days you are feeling you need some meat, a Pork Tenderloin is a great option! Very lean meat. Marinade how ever you would like and side of up a veggie, salad, healthy carb.

My tips for eating healthy are watch your carb intake. Make sure it's always a healthy carb (ie: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/02/19/six-healthy-carbs-to-help-you-lose-weight/)

When it's time for a snack pick up a piece of fruit of a veggie (no dips!). Nuts are a great snack (not salted).
A most importantly drink PLENTY of WATER!!!!! Carry a big water bottle with you. Set goals on how much you need to drink every hour. Whatever you need to do. You are supposed to drink half of your body weight in ounces! So drink up!

I hope this helped some of my lady friends :-) I'll have more recipes as I try them myself!

Zucchini pasta w/ Turkey Meatballs and Sauce

I've been wanting to try this, and I'm so glad I did! It was easier than I ever thought!

I started with 3 nice size zucchini. Julienned them but only the outer part of the zucchini. The closer you get to the middle (where the seeds are) the less it will keep it's shape when cooked. Once all sliced up and ready to go you bring water to a boil.

That is the amount I got from 3 Zucchini. Looks like a nice amount..it will shrink up once cooked.

While your waiting for the water to boil heat up sauce (whatever you have handy) in another pot. I being an Italian always have homemade sauce handy :-) I just threw my frozen sauce in the pot and add the meatballs once all thawed.

There is the secret Pascarella sauce :-)

I also had my meatballs already made up. They are very simple Ground Turkey, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and of course some garlic! Sorry I don't have an exact recipe for this :-/ and no picture today. 

Once the water is at a boil all you do is just blanch the zucchini for 5-10 secs. I did ten and I think they were perfect! It still will have a bite to it not soft like regular pasta. 

See how it shrinks up? This amount was plenty for me and my two toddlers and still some left over. I would do at least 4 zucchini's for a family of four. I drizzled just a little EVOO on top and tossed it around and plated it up!

And there it is! It was ridiculously easy and super healthy! We also had a pear on the side! I'm am grateful for my little healthy eaters (most of the time).
Enjoy!

-Mom N'at

Healthy and Quick Breakfast

Most mornings I'm lucky if I remember to feed myself while getting breakfast for the kids and cleaning and just chaos! My kids are 3 and 11 months. So for me to get in breakfast and let alone be healthy I need SIMPLE!

Breakfast included one piece of toasted 100% stone ground wheat bread with a tbsp and a half of Almond butter ( my new fav!) A half of a banana sliced up on top of my delicious toast. Half a cup of grapefruit. I am NOT a fan of grapefruit unless it has loads of sugar! Which we all know is not healthy, unfortunately! Last but not least my coffee! Never ever do I go without coffee! It's my addiction! So it was a K-cup of Starbucks blonde roast with just simple cream and sugar for me!

Natural home remedies to kick a sinus infection.

I thought I had out run any sickness this wonderful winter. I guess not..boo! I'm all stuffed with those wonderful green boogies and will try anything! I like to try natural remedies first before onto medicine..so here goes nothing!

Every website I have read are big BIG advocates on Apple Cider Vinegar (APV). You can brave it and just take up to 3tbsp. a day, like a shot. Can dilute with water and a splash of honey. Theres many ways! You need to catch it quick otherwise your going to taste and smell of APV for nothing!

A Neti pot is also a great things to use. Cold and hot compresses. Plenty to read on the website and all natural so it's all worth a shot!

Here's a few websites I have obtained the information from.
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/sinus_infection.html

http://naturalsociety.com/home-remedies-for-sinus-infection-natural-sinus-infection-treatment/

http://agriculturesociety.com/alternative-medicine-and-treatment/how-i-cured-a-raging-sinus-infection-naturally-with-no-drugs/

So my way of tackling this is first use the neti pot, have grapefruit for my breakfast and wash it all down with diluted APV...Oh wish me luck!