weight loss

I’M BAAAAACK! Well, technically I never left. Buuuut let’s just say that adding our youngest child to the craziness of our family left me with slightly less time to blog. 😉 But now that the littlest is a little bit older, I’m back and simply rarin’ to go with sharing healthy recipes, fitness motivation, and likely some funny stories of this hot mess of a mom on a mission to live life healthy!

Today has been EVENTFUL, man. And it’s not even 4:00pm! I always have to laugh when we tuck little Gracie girl in for nap, because I tell her, “Sweet dreams, sweetie. Have a good nap.” And she in response tells me to have a nice nap, too. {IF ONLY WE NAPPED WHEN OUR CHILDREN NAPPED.} Eeeeeee! But I digress…back to the craziness of today.

We were getting our entire family of 5 ready for a walk/run, since it’s slightly warmer than frigid here in our corner of Wisconsin. 40 degrees in March around these parts means you get outside and enjoy it while it lasts! That is, we WERE getting our entire family of 5 ready to head outside UNTIL my hubby stepped in a lovely gift left for us in the backyard by our dog, Kora. So just the big kids and I headed out, while he stayed back to tidy up!

Here are the big kids, enjoying the last of their lunch-on-the-go. We ran for almost 2 miles today. Not as long as I would’ve liked while I’m training for this half marathon, but we had talked about everything from pine cone collections to what houses are made of to the 3 Little Pigs, and I decided I’d get another workout in later at home instead of a longer run. Sometimes I just have to concede defeat to the craziness!

17668918_10102788167254468_658917959_o — The little cow and sock monkey on our run.

After we were sufficiently tired out and every question known to man was answered, they went down for nap. And I got to work in the kitchen creating a SUPER easy veggie lasagna skillet to share with all of you!

Seriously, guys. It was amazing. And warm, cheesy, ooey-gooey, and all of the things we love about lasagna – it just took a fraction of the time, is healthy, spot on with the 21 Day Fix eating plan, leaves leftovers, AND has relatively hidden vegetables. #momwin

I’m 100% on plan with 21 Day Fix nutrition these days, after upping my caloric intake while I was breastfeeding the little guy. Now that I’m back to following it to a T, I like to get creative with still giving my family recipes they love, but ones that save me time and don’t require me to make multiple different dishes per meal. Because ain’t nobody got time for that nonsense. 🙂

So here’s the recipe, because I CANNOT keep this one all to myself!

Easy Vegetable Lasagna Skillet (serves 8)

Ingredients:

2 lbs extra lean ground beef

4 cups whole grain shell pasta

1 cup onion, diced

3 cups spinach

4 cups sugar-free tomato sauce

15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Brown beef over medium heat in skillet; drain.
Add onions, tomato sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder; stir.
Add spinach; cover skillet to wilt.
Mix in ricotta cheese; stir. Turn to low.
While the flavors of the sauce are combining, prepare your pasta.
Combine in one skillet to serve.
ENJOY! Because for real…it’s freaking delicious!

And for my fellow 21 Day Fixers, the container count per serving is: 1.5 red, 1 yellow, 1/2 purple, 1/2 green, 1 blue.

I shared a little bit recently about how I’ve lived with a constant fear of failure for most of my life. An overpowering, undeniable dread in the pit of my stomach that I am incapable of success when it comes to my weight loss journey. Of finally seeing something through. Of keeping my blinders on, setting my goals, and actually accomplishing them.

I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago about how we were raised. How we haven’t necessarily had shining examples when it comes to having a healthy relationship with food or our body image. Those formative years are, well, formative. Being told you have “thunder thighs” or that you actually COULD probably use to lose a few pounds after your brother teases you for being fat isn’t exactly conducive to a healthy self-worth. But I’m not here to complain about my childhood, because if anyone has ever had a perfect childhood in the history of EVER – you seriously deserve one heck of a gold star.

What I AM here to talk about is what you choose to do about it. How you can CHANGE. How you can take those old views, take the old you, and TRANSFORM.

Losing over 85 pounds has sure taught me a thing or two about dedication. About perseverance. About how sometimes you just have to get out of your own darn head and DO THINGS to change your life. If you’re unhappy, staying in the same place and allowing yourself to remain stagnant is NOT an option. Sticking to the same bad habits will get you nowhere and FAST. You will never regain happiness or find self-worth that way. And honestly, being constantly unhappy with yourself is no way to live.

If you TRULY want to make changes in your life and in your health, you just have to START. Decide where you want to see yourself in six months. In one year. Who is the person you want to be? You CAN accomplish your goals. So can I. Because honestly, nothing holds us back more than our own insecurities.

Get out there. Set goals for yourself. Get out of your own head, and out of your own way. Your journey will likely be perfectly imperfect, just like mine. But a journey is a journey, and there’s no better day to start than today. ❤