Five Things For Friday: Clean Recipes

If you don't have a foam roller can I just tell you... GO GET ONE!  It will be the best frenemy you have ever had!!

Ok guys.  You know my goal is to get in to some booty shorts at some point this year.  I've been trying really hard to keep my diet super clean.  I am on MyFitnessPal {my username is Jennwarnick} every day putting in my stuff and trying to eat a lot of veggies and protein.  I've made my diary public so you can check out what I've been eating for ideas.  I've had a couple people ask me for the recipe links of stuff they have seen me eating on there.  So here are a few of my faves I thought I'd share...

No bake energy balls from Gimme Some Oven.  

I work out first thing in the morning and since I try to stay in bed as long as possible I don't have time to eat any breakfast.  Not that I really want to either.  I'm still waking up and jumping around on a full stomach is no bueno.    So I started keeping these in the fridge.  I just grab a couple every morning on my way out the door and they give me just enough pep to make it through my workout.  She has a couple different varations on her site you should try them all out. 

Ginger Cilantro Baked Tilapia from The Kitchn

This is probably my favorite dinner right now.  It is so easy and we all love it.  Well, Ivy just likes her tilapia baked plain but loves it when I make this dinner.  I just use the frozen tilapias from Costco.  The longest part is cooking the brown rice to go with it.  

Source: biggest-loser-recipes.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Biggest Loser Pancakes

This is our new go to pancakes.  I add about a half teaspoon of baking powder to the mix.  They are really yummy and super filling.  Even Ivy who could probably win the world championship pancake eating contest only eats three.

Sweet Potato Pancakes from The Gracious Pantry

These are on my list to try.  I am loving sweet potatoes right now and these just sound way yummy to me.  If you are looking for a good source of clean eating recipes check out The Gracious Pantry.  Tons and tons of good information on there.

  
Crockpot Tortilla Soup by Chef in Training

Umm this is our favorite soup.  To keep it clean you need to nix the all the cheese and sour cream and tortilla chips.  Try making your own by just cutting up some corn tortillas and tossing with a little bit of olive oil and salt.  Bake at 400 until crispy.  We also add avocado.  I cut out the chile powder so Ivy will eat it.  I also have just used diced tomatoes and some onions instead of Rotel.  Might be awesome for the Super Bowl eh?  

Have a fun weekend!  And I'd love any other recipes that you have been loving so go ahead and share em! Also I'm thinking Monday is a good day to start Round Three of the Ruffled Sunshine 24 Day Challenge.  See ya then!

2013 Spiritual Goals

About a month ago in Relief Society we had a lesson about being good moms.  And the teacher referenced a talk that said "be brilliant at the basics".  Just that one little quote struck something in me and it has helped me decide what my spiritual goal is for this year.  

So I got out my notebook and I started making a list of the basic things in my life.   I kind of got overwhelmed.  Because under each basic thing is a million things to do to be brilliant at that one simple thing!  And next thing I knew, my list wasn't basic anymore. It was something like this.  

Be a brilliant mom

 -dont do that

 - do more of this

- teach her this

- a

-b

-c

-d

all the way to z.

And it was that way with each thing I thought I wanted to be brilliant at!  So I had to take a step back and decide what were the most important things to be brilliant at.  I want to be a brilliant mom, wife and friend/sister/daughter.  The tricky part seemed to be figuring out how to be brilliant at those things without having 1000 things on my to do list every day.  

Then I was reading in the Book of Mormon when Alma is talking to his sons.  And a scripture leaped out at me.  Its Alma 37:44 and it says...

O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it was with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so is it with us.  The way is prepared and if we will look we might live forever.

I've thought a lot about this and it is how I came up with what I need to be brilliant at.  Every week at church there are those Sunday School answers to just about every question -- read your scriptures and say your prayers. It sure sounds easy but I'll be honest I've gotten pretty lazy about those things.   I was counting reading those picture scriptures with Ivy before bed as scripture study.  And family prayer, plus little prayers here or there in my head counts as personal prayer right?   Uh, not so much.  

SO, long story short.  My spiritual goal this year is to become brilliant at personal scripture study and personal prayer. I really feel that doing these to things will help me be the kind of mom, wife, and friend that I want to be.  It will help me make better decisions every day to bring me and those around me closer to Heavenly Father.   I've pulled out my actual scriptures and I read and I ponder.  I try and take notes.  It is keeping me so much more focused.  I'm trying to say my prayers before I get in to bed, actually saying them out loud so my mind doesn't wander.  I'm not perfect at it every day thats for sure, but hopefully by the end of the year I can be kind of brilliant at it.  

2013 Fitness Goals

Is it too late to tell you my New Years Resolutions?  I hope not.   I really wanted to get them written down.  They have been sitting in my head and I'm kind of visual so this will help solidify them for me.  First up are my fitness goals for this year.  

Nothing too crazy.  The booty shorts one is going to be the hardest for me.  I don't want to run around in them or anything.  I just want to know that I could wear them and feel ok about it.  And you know the whole swimsuit thing...  Its going to be hard because of the whole pear shape thing.  But hopefully all of these other goals will help me get that one done.  

How about you?  Did you make any fitness goals this year?

Insanity.

*** I know you guys really don't care about these exercise updates, but I feel the need to own up to it more and try harder if I'm putting it online.  Don't hate me!***

 You know how I finished P90x?  Well right after we finished that we jumped right in to Insanity.  Umm its insane, and I pretty much hate it!  It is a cardio workout from the same company that does P90x.  It is ALL cardio, so basically the complete opposite of what I had been doing before.  When we are finished I am all red faced and I stink and sweat is dripping down my face.  Want to know the most annoying thing?  I have to wash my hair every day.  I hate that, just sayin. ;)

For Insanity they have to do a fit test every two weeks and take your measurements.  Here are my results after two weeks...

Not bad for two weeks.  I have been trying harder to eat more healthy with this program so I think that has helped quite a bit, and my energy has been way up. Or it was until I got sick, BOO!!  I was down for about 4 days but I am still feeling so worn out.  Mandy and I both got sick at the same time and had the same thing, so luckily I'm not holding her back.  Ugh.  We did our third fit test yesterday and I really thought I was going to throw up.  I'm stuck in that vicious cycle of not having good energy because I'm not working out, but not being able to work out well because I'm so wasted from being sick.  So we are on "recovery week" three!  Hopefully we are fully back to normal by next week so we can finish the dang thing.  Cuz honestly I want it to be over, like yesterday.

These numbers are based off of week 2, not totals for the whole program, does that make sense?  For example after week 2 I had lost 1 pound.  I lost another 1.4 pounds by week 5.  So far doing insanity I've lost 2.4 pounds.  Not bad for taking a week and a half off I guess.  Although it might have been better if I hadn't of bought that  bag of cadbury mini eggs a couple of weeks ago. Those things are like crack, seriously.  

Thanks for letting me post this stuff.   It really does help to keep me accountable.  To say thanks I've uploaded a blank notecard I put together for keeping track of my progress.  Just right click and save the image above.  Then you can upload it to PicMonkey {an AWESOME Picnic replacement} or use photoshop and keep track of your own results. 

The P90x Results Are In

I told you guys a month ago that I only had one week left of P90x.  I've had some emails with questions about it so I thought I'd share my results and my thoughts on it in case you are wanting to give it a whirl.

First up here's my results.  I'm not quite brave enough to put my measurements out there for the whole world to see, this is scary enough, but here's how I finished up.

K.  The weight I lost all in the first month.  I've stayed the same weight since then but my body measurements have gotten smaller so I look to that as a gauge more than the scale.  I would urge the same for anyone.  I think it has definitely helped to weigh myself more regularly but it isn't the most important number.  I will say that when I started I hadn't weighed myself in a long time and I cried when I did the first time.  I hadn't weighed that much in a long time {like 12 years} and it definitely gave me the motivation I needed.  

The inches I lost in my hips was the best part, but I still have a ways to go in that area.   I definitely store any extra weight in my lower half {thats why I am showing you this rockin picture of my arms HA!}  I feel like I am getting thinner from the head down and the feet up, so my butt especially is still a work in progress.  

All right here's some answers to your questions about P90x.

 *My trusty workout partner and I did the lean version of the program which has more of the cardio dvds and not so much weightlifting. Not so much as in you do a million pushups instead.  The 13 weeks are split in to 3 four week sets so you change up the videos you are doing every four weeks with an "easy" week in between each set.  I would recommend the lean schedule if want a descent mix of cardio and strength training.  Although I would change up the last four weeks of the program if I was going to do it again so that it included a bit more leg work.

*The workouts are hard but not the hardest thing ever, promise. If you are just getting back in to exercising its awesome.  Should I have some medical disclaimer inserted here?!  I think the hardest part actually is the time commitment.  You need at least an hour every day.  I really like to do yoga and pilates but yoga day was my least favorite, mostly because it was 90+ minutes.  And that meant I had to get up even earlier.  Ugh.

  *The Legs + Back video, and the Core Synergystics video are my two favorites probably. I would incorporate those two in to a regular workout routine.   Ultimately what I got from P90x is its just like Tony says... you hate it, but you love it.

*I didn't follow the diet but I did start eating healthier.  I would have had more dramatic results I'm sure if I was more of a stickler on my diet.  I'm really starting to believe that its true what they say about it being 70% diet and 30% exercise.

*The biggest benefit has been how much more energy I have and my dedication has spilled over in to other parts of my life.  My house is cleaner, I'm getting more sleep, I'm happier, I'm more patient and my relationships are better.  In the end I think it came down to a change of attitude and determination for me.  Whether it was p90x or something else it was time for me to get my butt moving.  This just happened to work right for me at the right time.

{this is in no way affiliated with p90x just a normal girls thoughts about it}

Boo-tiful

I've had about 10 projects started this week and haven't quite finished a single one!  Its been driving me crazy.  Some things I can't help, like the fact that Hobby Lobby isn't open yet and they have the wood shapes that I need. On others I just hit the wall and can't figure out quite the right way to finish it off.  Does that ever happen to any of you?  

 +++

I've also been adding touches of Halloween to Ivy's room with some of the fab scrapbook paper out this year! I love using paper because Its cheap, and you can change it every year if you want, without feeling too guilty!

  

This cute little witch comes by way of my mom's cricut.  I cut her out a couple of weeks ago, and the oval frame I cut probably six months ago.  I added a tiny black stone to her wand tip.  I love her cute little nose.  

Ivy is loving all the "BOO" everywhere. She reads the letters and tell me that it spells BOO.  Which is too crazy for me.  The other day we were at Costco.  As we were walking in she stops outside and points to the letters.  "Thats a C and an O and an S and a T and a C and a O.  That spells Costco!" 

Why yes Ivy it does.  Now stop growing.  

{In case you were thinking, WOW she is incredibly smart!  She is.  But she also kept telling me that she learned about the letter C at school.  When they most definitely learned about the letter E.}

The glitter candlesticks are a Martha Stewart thing from Michaels.  And I need to cut the tag off of that Bat pillow! I got the letters from Hobby Lobby a long time ago, but they now have them at Craft Warehouse!

 

This is the most perfect Halloween kids craft.  They get to paint somewhere besides paper, use glitter and its not too spooky.  One of the hardest parts about doing crafts with Ivy for me is letting her have the control.  I think I did pretty well this time.  Just take a look at that  not quite right cute mouth!  We added a sweet bow for good girly measure.

Thats just a couple of little things we've done,  but all the little touches make it BOO-tiful! We hope you have a BOO-tiful weekend!

Finish It February and a Giveaway!!!

Last Saturday Ivy took a two hour nap.  That never happens and I took the time to clean my craft room.  It was a disaster and needed some major work.  It is much better, even though you wouldn't necessarily call it spotless.  But as I was cleaning up I kept coming across projects that were almost finished, half finished or I had a great idea but never got around to it.  You know how it goes, you get stuck or too tired to finish so you put it away and then it doesn't get finished.  So I have dubbed this month Finish it February.  

I'm going to try and not start another project until I've finished up the stack in my tiny room.  First up?!  My last honor student scarf.  I have one and there is one for sale at Greenies, I just never got around to finishing the last one.  Until now that is.  And thats where you get lucky. Cuz I'm giving it away!  Yep I'm feeling generous so here goes my first giveaway.  

 

Want to win my last Honor Student Scarf?  It is made with fabric from the LOVE line by Amy Butler.  And all you have to do is leave a comment with a way for me to get a hold of you if you win!.  

If you want an extra entry become a follower of Making it My Own

Another entry?  Blog, facebook, tweet whatever you want about this giveaway.

One more chance to win?  Become a fan of Greenieson Facebook.

(if you are already a fan you still have to comment)

Just make sure and leave a comment for each entry so I know! 

Good Luck!  Contest ends Monday February 8th at 9pm PST.