Nebraska trip!

When people ask me where I am from, and I reply "Nebraska" they are quite surprised.  I hear I seem like I am from California, Utah, the East Coast, from the south, but defiantly not Nebraska. Well, I am. I am a country girl, but my heart goes to the city. 

So last week I was able to go to my hometown and relax in the small town setting. Nothing big goes on there. I don't do crazy things when I am home. I just enjoy the beauty of corn fields, canyons, horses, land, and a nice big cabin.

Here are few pics of my home & the country lifestyle that I used to live.

I LOVE my backyard!

2 of the 5 horses; Mokie & Whisper

Ryker had a love hate relationship w/ Hooch. He loved him but hated him licking him to death

My little brother Tyler got this turkey just as we were leaving to head back to SLC.

Nothing beats Nebraska sunsets

POST WORKOUTS SNACKS!

 *Protein shake w/ banana

*Peanut butter & apple

*Hummus & pita

*Berries & low fat Greek yogurt

*Tuna w/ rice crackers

*Turkey Cheese wrapped around apples
*Peanut butter & banana on rice cakes

*Protein bars

* Low fat cottage cheese & fruit

*Low fat chocolate milk

*Granola & low fat Greek yogurt

*Edamame

Easter Sunday!!!!

Easter was an awesome day! So my step mom does bountiful baskets and got all this wonderful fresh mangos, pineapples, bananas, and oranges. All these yummy fruits made an awesome smoothie full of vitamin c. 

Vitamin C Delight Smoothie

*4 mango sliced 

*1 banana

*2 oranges

*1 pineapple 

*1/2 cup of water 

Serves 6

Easter dinner was quite a feast!!!! It was so fun cooking with my little sisters and mom. We spilled lots, boiled over things, and might have broken a dish or two! 

Farm fresh deviled eggs!!! Soooo good!!!!!!!!!!!

Fresh snow peas steamed with coconut oil and sea salt and pepper. 

Steamed green beans with a bit of brown sugar.  

We also made a yummy moist turkey and mashed potatoes. I hardly ever eat starches, so I loved eating up the potatoes and gravy!!!

Grilled ginger chicken

Last night I was able to make a meal that I'm used to eating all the time. I am slowly getting my family to eat clean. It's a slow progress especially since change is hard for them :) Dinner consisted of grilled chicken, pear cottage cheese salad, wild rice, and raw veggies. We ended the night as well with some cheesecake mousse and "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smog."

Grilled ginger chicken

*6 chicken breasts trimmed 

*fresh ginger 1 1/2 tsp 

*2 tbsp of worchester sauce

*1 tsp of salt 

*1tbsp of olive oil

*2 tsp cookies seasoning

*1 tsp of ground pepper

*dash or two of garlic salt 

Marinate in bag for a couple of hours. 

Grill. 

Enjoy. 

*8 oz of low fat cream cheese

*1/2 cup of powdered sugar

*1 1/2 tsp of vanilla 

*1 tsp of grated lemon peal 

*3/4 cup of whipping cream whipped

Makes 6-8

*courtesy of Pinterest 

Granola!

Breakfast this morning is my mothers famous granola. It was a request from kids on my sisters and I swim and track teams. I also have sent some to my best friend for her birthday before. Its that amazing and is so good. It is a must to make!!!! The recipe is under the recipe tab. Be sure to check it out. Its healthy, so yummy, and a good treat when craving something sweet!!!!

the Zach & Jess special

So last Friday my awesome friends Zach and Jessica had Ryker and I over for dinner. Jess made this awesome berry spinach salad and Zach made honey BBQ chicken. It was so good!!!!! When they invited us over they told us they told us we were eating fresh, and we did. I just had to share a picture of this yummy meal. I want to have this again soon :) 

BBQ chicken glaze 

*honey

* BBQ sauce 

*garlic powder 

Berry salad 

*strawberries

*feta cheese

*spinach

*craisins

*toffee bits

*cucumbers

*raspberry vinaigrette

Beef: it's what's for dinner.

So currently I'm in my home town for the week, North Platte Nebraska. It's crazy here. Saturday was 71 and today we have an inch of snow and nasty cold winds. Ugh! Oh well I guess. That's how Nebraska springs are. Even though I'm gone from my gym and on a little vacation, I'll still be exercising and eating clean. My dad has a pretty good weight set and cable machine. Along with that he has a treadmill and brand new elliptical, which is a beast!!! So I'm super excited to still get my workout in. My dad doesn't believe in chicken. I think I have only seen him eat it a handful of times. My dad is a cattle consultant and nutritionist. I grew up on amazing beef so eating store bought beef is nasty to me. That is the main reason for not eating it, along with it not being the cleanest meat. But since I'm home I'll be treating myself to some amazing beef. I'll just be sure to double my green intake so it can help break down the meat and counter act the fatty food :)

Last night we had the missionaries over and we made quite the feast. (Sorry I wasn't able to take pictures) Dad made his famous roast beef. I'd share the recipe but it's family secret and I have no idea what's in the marinade. We had some wonderful mashed potatoes. I only had 1/4 of cup cuz I'm not big into starchy food, but you have to have potatoes with Nebraska beef :) For sides we had a raw veggie tray, berry green salad, biscuits, and a raw fruit platter. It was quite a feast!!!!

apologies!!!!

So sorry for the lack of posts these past couple days. The beautiful weather has been calling my name & we have been outside from sun up to sun down. I'll have some new updates for the new week, along with some new workouts & recipes. Cant wait!!! 

ps. Here is a little pick me up. Saw this & had to share. enjoy :)

Breakfast: you better NOT SKIP it!

Breakfast is so important. It is the most important meal of the day. It is the energy jump start our bodies need to get moving. I know this to be true. If I skip breakfast or just have something small, I have no energy throughout the day, and I feel a little weak and uneasy. My two favorite websites to look up good health questions are http://www.webmd.com/ & http://www.livescience.com/ Along with breakfast just giving you energy for the day, these websites give some awesome benefits of eating breakfast.

www.webmd.com Benefits of Breakfast:

• A more nutritionally complete diet, higher in nutrients, vitamins and minerals
• Improved concentration and performance in the classroom or the boardroom
• More strength and endurance to engage in physical activity
• Lower cholesterol levels

             www.livescience.com Benefits of Breakfast:

Diabetes: Skipping breakfast may increase a woman's diabetes risk, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Heart Disease: Eating breakfast was associated with a lower incidence of heart disease in men between ages 45 and 82, according to a July study in the journal Circulation. The study also found that skipping breakfast was associated with hypertension, insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar levels.

Memory: A 2005 Journal of the American Dietetic Association review of 47 breakfast-related studies found that eating breakfast is likely to improve cognitive function related to memory and test grades. Translation: Eating breakfast is a smart move!

Weight Loss: In one recent study, people who ate breakfast as their largest meal lost an average of 17.8 pounds over three months.  

 So since eating breakfast is a no brainer for me, I eat quite a variety of breakfast foods. I like to get creative. I make sure it is hearty and full of good nutrients. Here are some ideas:

*bowl of oatmeal w/ 3 egg whites, banana & blueberries

*whole wheat pancakes w/ pb & bananas

*whole wheat english muffin sandwich w/ egg whites spinach & greek yogurt

*protein shake w/ granola, greek yogurt & fruit

*breakfast burritos with spinach, peppers & smoothie

*egg whites, avocado, smoothie & raspberries

SPINNING!!!!

Happy Monday!!! I am so excited for this new week. I am going back home to Nebraska this weekend for 10 days, the weather is going to be wonderful this week, and I have started a new cardio/weight training workout. I love cardio, especially spinning! It is my all time favorite cardio workout & great calorie burner.  I have been spinning by myself for months. I get in stages where I take classes, and then I go back to do the workouts myself. But since I have access to some awesome classes for free with my Gold's Gym membership, I have decided to take advantage of them. So today I took advantage & it was AWESOME!!!! 580 calories in 60 min! I was a little slow in the beginning. I was a little tired from getting up early. My body isn't used to it yet, but it will soon! From here out I am doing early morning spin classes & I mean 6 AM early! I feel like I never have time to do a good intense weight & cardio workout when I go at night. I only have an hour and half gap to do both. So from here on out, I am going to do cardio in the AM and weight training in the  PM.

The workouts that I have posted under the workout tab are still going to stay the same. All that is changing is that I will do abs right after doing weights and then cool down with 10 min of cardio. I will post my spin times for those who are interested in joining me. The more the merrier I say :)


SPIN WORKOUT SCHEDULE
*M - 6 AM
*T - 5:30 AM
*W - 6 AM
*TH - 6 AM
*F - 6 AM
*S - 7:15 AM
(I will be at a different gym with a friend)






Clean Chicken Tenders

So last night my dear friend Wayd made us dinner  last night, fried chicken. Amazing!!! It was fun to be treated.  I have changed up the recipe a bit so it is healthier and its awesome! I also enjoyed some mashed yams and steamed peas with my dinner. So yummy!!! I hope you enjoy it. I have also included the original recipe from the Odle residence, for when you do want some good fried chicken!

Clean chicken tenders w/ mashed yams & steamed snow peas

Clean chicken tenders

6 chicken breasts

1 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup ground up 9 grain oats

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of  pepper

2 eggs

milk

coconut oil

*slice chicken into strips

*mix all dry ingredients together

*mix eggs and milk together

*dip chicken strips into the egg/milk mixture & then place in flour mixture

*cook in coconut oil till done

*may also bake @350 for 30 min

*makes 6 servings

 Odle Family Fried Chicken

 

 6 chicken breasts

2 cups flour

1 tbsp paprika 

almost 1 tbsp of salt

2 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

2 eggs

milk 

butter flavored crisco

*slice chicken into strips

*mix all dry ingredients together

*mix eggs and milk together

*dip chicken strips into the egg/milk mixture & then place in flour mixture

*fry in crisco till down

*makes 6 servings

My Little Pick-Me Ups :)

We all have down days or days where things are a bit off. I do quite often. Being a mom of a VERY active two year old is rough sometime. He certainly knows how to push my buttons. But despite him pushing my buttons, I sure love that boy. He is my pride joy! Something I have learned the past year is that I love quotes! They can make me laugh, cry, encourage me to be better, reminds me of who I am, or just simple smile. My favorite thing right now is to find a quote on pinterest, rewrite it and post it on my fridge. I have quite the collection now. Whenever I feel unsure or a little down, I just read over my fridge & feel better. 

 

Above I mentioned my little boy. Let me introduce him. His name is Ryker. He is two & the coolest kid on the block. He is spunky, knows what he wants, and can twerk like no other! This is my boy & I am so happy to be his mommy. He can make me smile any time of the day. Why is it so cute when they are in time out and pleading with those big brown eyes to come out?

 

 

Now seeing him, how could you ignore those brown eyes :)

Along with quotes and my little man, I LOVE music!!!! All genres, it doesn't matter. Right now this song has made my heart sing. I love music that tells a story. Especially when its incorporated with a story or an event. Check out this girl. She is so talented and her musics lifts me up. Im a huge fan!!!

Makeup and hair tutorials on Kindred

Recently I have started collaborating with my dear friend Judith. I'm going to be featured in her blog for hair and makeup tutorials. I'm so excited for this opportunity. Judith designed my blog for me. She is such a talented person. Be sure to check out her blog Kindred. She is amazing and is so inspiring as a individual and a mom of two of the most darling kids ever. 

Braided crown tutorial on Kindred!

I will not be stopped!

 

Happy April fools day every! Hope everyone enjoys a day of pranks and  pulling each other's legs. Anyway, yesterday at the gym I had a hard workout. I have been sick the past couple weeks and my body could totally tell. I was really struggling with staying focused today. I had seen this quote early in the week and it has been a great motivation for me. Remember you control your attitude, not anyone else.