Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Pallet Bookshelf DIY

This is by FAR one of the easiest, and coolest projects I have done to date. It was something I thought about just having my husband do, but decided that I would spearhead the project. I even got to use power tools! I will admit my husband did cut the top of the shelves, and hang them, but that was it!

First, you start off with a pallet. You cut across the pallet, but where you would like your shelf to end. You will need to pull a board off of the pallet, to nail to the bottom. This will hold the books, and keep them in place.

From there I sanded the pallet, and got it smooth enough to stain. Since this pallet was very rough, I did what I could to make it workable.

Although my sanding efforts helped, they were not perfect. The staining process took forever. With the wood being so rough, the staining did not go on very smooth. This was by far the most tedious part of the project.

After the staining, I nailed the extra board to the bottom. Once it was nailed in, we put it up on the wall.

This shelf is in our oldest son Isaac's room. He got books for one of his baby showers. We have tons and tons of books that needed a home. They now and a perfect place to stay.

We are making a little reading corner. We are still in the process of looking for small chairs, but plan to have that be a focal point in his room.

I would highly recommend this project to anyone with leftover pallets!!

Enjoy!

Henry Turns 1

For both of my kiddos 1st birthday parties we kept it simple. Nothing fancy, just a friends and family gathering with a delicious cake!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by kind and generous people. Henry was showered with gifts, and loved all of the attention.

We continue to go to an organic bakery in Appleton called Happy Bellies. We got Henry a banana cake with chocolate frosting. As Henry was eating, his Daddy was anxiously waiting behind him to 'help' him eat his cake. This party we added some cupcakes to the mix, and they were delicious!!

Yes, I could have gone all out with decorations, party favors, and what not, but it wasn't worth it this time around. We will save that for when they have lots of friends from school over. :-)

How do you keep it simple for your parties?

Cauli Rice - 21 Day Fix Approved

This is one of the easiest way to re-do a veggie in place of a carb. This is one of the easiest ways to replace rice, without giving up the consistency.

Not sure how to increase your veggie intake? Time to get creative!!

This goes well with anything that you would normally eat rice with. This was made when my husband was out of town. Jason is really not a cauliflower fan, so I need to try things without him around before I serve it to the family. Isaac was a fan, and ate the bowl! I think that is a start..

It is a simple as cooking, and mashing.

Here it is!!

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower

You will wash and break up the cauliflower. Separate it from the leaves and stems. Use a steamer and put it in a pan. Fill the pan with water, to just below where your steamer bowl sits. Boil the water, and put the cauliflower into the steamer.
Once your califlower is cooked, but not mushy, take the steamer out of your pot. Pour out the water, and dump the cauliflower back into the pot. Take a potato masher, and mash up your cauliflower, and serve.

You are welcome to add whatever you would like to the rice. I added Balsamic Brown Sugar Chicken to it.

Enjoy!

Spinach Crust Pizza - 21 Day Fix Approved!



You will notice that I only have two pictures for this recipe.... I have to be honest with you, when I made this I did not expect it to be so good. I was not planning to put up the recipe. I judged this book by it's green cover, and wrote it off before we even tasted it.

It is CSA time, and we got a TON of greens in our box for the week. We needed a NEW way to eat our greens, as we were feeling rabbits... We had enough salads, and it was time for Pizza!!

Have you tried the cauliflower crust? We have too. My husband despises cauliflower, and he cannot even stand the thought of eating it, no matter what form it is in... So there was this one amazing site called Pinterest, and I took advantage of it!

My husband and oldest son were asking for more.. I didn't double the batch as I figured they were going to choke it down with a smile. When they asked for more I panicked!

Needless to say we have had pizza 4 nights in a row. We really just used toppings that we had in the fridge. We just used what we had to save ourselves a trip to the grocery store.

I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe! It is easy, fast, and delicious!!

Crust Ingredients:
2 cups raw spinach leaves
1 egg
1 cup cheese blend of your choice
Spices - I used some garlic scapes, as we got TONS of them in our CSA basket

Crust Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Blend all ingredients in a Magic Bullet or Food Processor. I used our Magic Bullet. It was a lot less clean up, and went very quickly.
Put parchment paper on a pizza pan. This will save you!
Once you have all of the ingredients blended well, pour on to parchment paper. Spread evenly.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.

Add all toppings, put back into oven on broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Let cool for 3-5 minutes, cut and serve.

Enjoy!!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Isaac Turns 2!

Isaac's Second Birthday Party!! 

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time passes. My first born is already a terrible two year old! I mean, a wonderful two year old! He is a handful, but he an explorer. Not only is he my first born, but he will always be my baby. I went through all of the firsts with him, and I was totally thatttt Mom.. Nervous, worried what everyone thought, a stickler, and stressed about every cough! He is my little miracle man, and he was brought into this world surrounded by angels. 

We had a blast! Here are a couple of ideas if you plan to do a Under the Sea, Sailor, or anything water related. We kept it low budget, simple, and fun! We used resources that we had around the house, and things that wouldn't be the end of the world if they got ruined. 

USS Issac was a Diaper Box!! All I did was use the inside, and taped it together. From there, I just painted paper plates, and taped them on. The gorilla glue didn't work. :-( 
The background is cray paper. I simply twisted it and taped it up. It created our underwater scene! 



This is my youngest son and my sister enjoying the picture section. 



We kept the spread very low maintenance. We had a build your own nacho/burrito/taco bar. Above we have veggies and a variety of hummus. 


We bought Isaac's cake from a local organic bakery called Happy Bellies. It was a banana cake with a chocolate frosting. It was perfect!!


When planning a party keep it simple!! The more you have to do, the more stressed you will be. I knew if I overdid it, I would be upset when the kids destroyed the decorations.

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me at my Beachbody website. 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Clean Eating Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies



Do you have a major sweet tooth like I do?! Yup... It have found ways to fill my belly with delicious sweets, while not killing my clean eating lifestyle. Not to mention blowing my calories out of the water for the day. These little guys are simply delicious. I have brought them to work a couple of times, and they disappear before my eyes!
These are a quick, and painless to make!! 


What you will need: 

1 cups of instant oats
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp of melted coconut oil
1 large room temp egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 cup finely diced apple
  1. Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the apple. Chill for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.


Instructions: 
Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a seperate bowl whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. 
Add in the four mixture, and whisk until incorporated. Fold in the apples. Once combined, chill for 30 minutes. 
After your batter has chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Like a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form 15 small balls, and place on to the cooking sheet. Slightly flaten each cookie before baking.
When your oven is set to go, place cookies in the oven for 13-15 minutes.
Once cooked, let cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tray. 

When they have had their time to cool, dig in!! 


Enjoy! 

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!




Saturday, March 28, 2015

80/20 Clean Eating Rule


What is the 80/20 Rule?! It is a rule that helps me stick with my clean eating lifestyle!! 
The 80/20 rule is sticking with your lifestyle 80% of the time, and letting yourself have 20% flexibility. Even though I always have the 20%, I generally still keep that 20% within the clean eating guidelines. For example, I will make cookies that have all clean ingredients, but may have things that are not apart of my 'program guidelines' (extra amounts of organic sugar, coconut oil, or a glass of wine). 
With that 20% I let myself have Starbucks every now and then. In order to stay sane, and truly keep in check with my clean eating habits I need to be able to be naughty every now and then. 
I have researched and looked into local establishments that I can go to that won't kill my diet. My general requirements are local foods, organic, and locally owned. It truly makes a difference when you spend your money within your community. 

Stick with the 80/20!! 

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!

10 Tip To Get Your Body Back After Baby!


Right after I had my second baby, I was getting married in a few short months. I knew I wanted to lose my baby weight and simply had no idea where to start. Sure, I can tell you all of my tips, and I truly hope you follow them, but I needed a clear path. I turned to my sister for advice. She recently started her journey as a fitness coach, and I knew I could trust her. She recommended the 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack, and sent me all of the ordering information. I blindly ordered, and didn't tell my soon to be husband how much it cost.. I told him I needed the tools, and that was final. 

The program gave me a clear path. Right down to measuring containers for my food! That is exactly what I needed. An idiot proof system that was simple. I had two kiddos under two. I simply didn't have time to over think it! The first round I lost almost 10 pounds, and several inches. 

Don't be fooled, my results have been over the course of 9 months. This is a clean eating program that teaches you how to start a new and healthy lifestyle. This is something that if you are willing to learn can change your life. Period. 

Here are some tips that I have learned on my weight loss journey! 

1.) >>Exercise. Exercise. Exercise!<< I know it sounds simple but, it has truly given me energy I didn't know I had! 

2.) >>Eat Clean<< I truly believe you are what you eat. I have removed GMO's, chemicals, and processed foods from our house. If I am somewhere where I am left with no choice but to eat something that is processed, I can literally taste the chemicals. It's awful!

3.) >>Correct your portion sizes<< The simplified system of 21 Day Fix taught me how to do this. It simply tells you how many you can have of each container. Boom. Done. Easy!

4.) >>Drink at LEAST 100 ounces of water a day<< This is the fastest way to lose weight. If you need a place to start, this is the easiest way to do it. 

5.) >>Find an accountability partner<< You are more likely to stick with it if you have someone doing it with you! Period. I am more likely to work out when my husband is doing it with me. 

6.) >>Tell someone your goals<< Your odds increase of sticking with it when you voice your thoughts. Tell someone you can trust, and ask them to hold you accountable. Set a punishment if you miss your goal (100 burpees for not working out). Set a reward for when you achieve your goal (get a new workout outfit when you lose 30 pounds)! You NEED something to work towards!

7.) >>Breastfeeding<< This is a VERY personal choice. This truly helped me lose my baby weight on top of exercising. It also gave me a very personal connection with my baby. This worked for me, but doesn't work for everyone. You need to do what is best for you. 

8.) >>6 small meals a day, not 3 large meals<< This will increase your metabolism. You body is able to break down your food faster, and gives your body energy. When you are giving your body food it needs to function instead of overloading in one category, you are helping fuel your body.

9.) >>Positive affirmations<< Tell yourself at LEAST one positive thing a day. The more positive words you hear, the more positive you feel. 

10.) >>Personal development<< This is something I take very seriously. I am always learning, working to be a better person, and finding new ways to help others. I keep a book on my bed stand, and try to read before bed, and when I'm pumping at work. I just finished Compound Effect, and am currently reading Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey! 

Please let me know if you would like more information, or have any questions on the programs that I have done, plan to do, and what options we have to fit your needs. 


Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Puff Container Garbage Bag Storage!


We buy puffs for our youngest. I have to be honest, we switched to organic, and this was a container that we had left over. I have tons, and tons, and TONS of garbage bags! I always use them for our bathroom trash bins, and misc things around the house. 
Just last week they were stuffed under the sink, and it looked like a tornado. It was driving me NUTS! I have been on an organization binge, and decided it was time to be a bit more tidy. 
How simple is this?? Throw you garbage bags into the puffs container, and throw it under the sink. It is less crowded, and looks so much better! 


Something so simple can make a huge difference. No need to waste money on fancy organizers in this house!! 

Next organization post?? Diaper boxes as storage containers!! 

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me on my Beachbody website! 

Monday, March 23, 2015

21 Day Fix Approved Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken


Are you ready? Are you ready for another EASY meal?! Have no fear! Mommy Clayton is here!! 
This is the true definition of keeping it simple. 
You can spin this one however you want, this is what I did...

What you will need:

2 lbs Chicken Breasts
1/2 of a fresh Pineapple
1 Green Pepper
1/2 a container of Salsa 


Instructions:

Put the chicken and 1/2 container of salsa in the Crock Pot and turn on high. Slice up your fresh pineapple, and put half of it into the Crock Pot. Slice up the entire Green Pepper and place in Crock Pot. 
Let everything cook for 2-3 hours. 

Enjoy!! 

For an added twist you can add cilantro, or jalapenos! 

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!!

Coconut Flour Cinnamon Bun Muffins


These muffins were awesome! I have been experimenting with coconut flour a lot, and have been working towards gluten free. I don't know that I will ever be able to say I am fully gluten free, but I have cleaned out a lot of unnecessary foods in our eating habits. This recipe turned out much better than some of the experiments that I have not posted about... 

Give these a go! They are a great option for snacking, and for the kiddos.  


What you will need: 

Muffin Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
4 Organic Eggs
1/3 Cup Almond Milk
1/3 Honey or 100% Maple Syrup

Cinnamon Topping Ingredients:
2 Tbsps Ground Cinnamon
4 Tbsps Honey or 100% Maple Syrup
2 Tbsps Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place liners in all of your muffin tins. 

In a large bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Next, add the eggs, milk, and honey to the dry mixture. Mix all ingredients until combined. Set the batter aside for several minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the moisture. 
While you are waiting for the muffin mixture, mix all of the topping ingredients in a separate bowl. Make sure they are mixed and combined. 

Once the muffin mix has had time to sit, pour the muffin mix into each tin, and only filling it about 1/4 of the way full. This should leave you with 1/2 of your batter left. Drizzle in a small amount of topping in to each tin. 
Fill each of the tins with the remaining muffin mixture. Last, top each of the muffins with the remaining topping mixture. 


Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick can be interested in the center of each muffin and comes out clean. 

Let cool, and enjoy!!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!!



Friday, March 13, 2015

21 Day Fix Approved Pot Roast


The flavor of the spices mix is awesome. Henry, our youngest son, went to town on the veggies. We had to strip him down ,and throw him in the bath right after dinner. Isaac was a fan of the meat. I was a fan of everything, and Jason was fishing. To bad so sad!

This was a little more prep than I normally like, but it was definitely worth it. The great thing about this recipe is you can add more or less veggies. I am adding more veggies to the recipe than I used. Next go around, I will definitely be using a lot more. They are just so tender, and delicious! 

If you don't have the exact spices I used, just go for what you have in the cabinet. 

What you will need: 

Spices Mix:

1 tbsp Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Garlic Mix (I used the Crippa Family Spice that we received at our Cousins Wedding)
2 tbsp Steak Seasoning (Or a mix of thyme, peppercorn, something along those lines)
1 tsp Creole Seasoning (Or something to give it a little jazz)


What food you will need:

3 lb Chuck Roast
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
3 lbs Carrots
2 bushel or package of Celery
5 Sweet Potatoes
1/2 cup Beef Broth

Directions:

Mix spices together in a small bowl, and set aside. 


Melt coconut in a large frying pan on low heat. Place meat in pan, and coat the meat in coconut oil. Flip to all four sides so it is covered. Once covered, sprinkle on 2/3 of spice mix. I used the sprinkle > rub > turn > repeat method.
Turn the heat up to medium high. Lightly sear each side. Once up to temp, it should be about 1-2 minutes on each side. 
Once it is lightly seared, place in Crock Pot. 


Add all of your veggies to your frying pan. If there is no coconut oil left, simply put a little more in. Add the veggies to the pan, and add the remaining seasoning mix. 
Let veggies get a sear on them, and cook them for about 5 minutes. Once they have a little sear, add them to the Crock Pot. 


Add the beef broth to the Crock Pot. Cover, and cook on low for 5-7 hours. The original recipe said to cook for 9 hours. I took the everything out after 5 hours. The meat was cooked perfect, and the veggies were mushy. If I would have left them in for the full 9 hours they would have been soup. My Crock Pot seems to cook at a higher temp. If after 5 hours your meat and veggies are not ready, I would let it go for another couple of hours. 

Enjoy!

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me at my Beachbody website!


Thursday, March 12, 2015

Paleo Lemon Chicken Skillet


Fast, easy, healthy, and delicious. These are a few of the many categories that need to be filled before I share a recipe. You know that I love my Crock Pot, but I needed to venture off for a couple of meals. I wanted something with a pop of flavor that wasn't full of sodium. This recipe was low maintenance, and was actually better heated up than it was when we cooked it up. When I reheated it, the lemon flavor had time to soak into the food. It had tons of flavor.

I was a huge fan of this recipe. I was a little nervous when I was making it. I get nervous when I am not using a ton of ingredients. I feel like I need to add things to give it something. So glad that I didn't!

Here is what you will need: 

2.5 lbs Chicken Breasts
1 lb Asparagus
1 Lemon
2.5 lbs Mushrooms
1/4 cup Parsley
2 tbsps Dried Onions
1 tbsp Coconut Oil

Instructions:

Cut the chicken into cubes. Melt coconut oil in a skillet, and cook the chicken, parsley, dried onions, and juice of one lemon until there is a little pink left in the center.
Chop up your asparagus and mushrooms, and add them to the skillet. Cook until the chicken is done, and the mushrooms and asparagus are to your liking.

Let cool, and enjoy!!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Homemade Baby Food


Why do I take the time to make my own baby food???? Because I know exactly what is going into my babies tummy!! I'm not adding chemicals, I am not adding anything to it that I wouldn't eat!
Does it take extra time?? Yes, yes it does. For me that extra time is worth it!

I have learned with baby number 2 how to cut corners, and how to make the most of my ingredients.

Where did I start? I will admit, I did start with the organic pouches from the store. I did this to find out what my youngest liked. This gave me a great starting place. I didn't want to waste my money on ingredients if he wasn't going to eat them. I decided to only invest a couple bucks to see if he was ready.

From there, I got a great idea of what he did, and did not like. The biggest key is to keep it simple!! 

Here is my strategy:
Cook up butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. Once they are cooked, I mash them up, and keep them in baby food jars. 
I keep spinach, fresh fruits, and old fashioned oats on hand. 
When he is ready to eat, I use our Bullet Blender, and throw in a combination of several ingredients.

To keep him full, I always add a bit of oatmeal. Both kids loved fruit. So I would use a large amount of fruit, and add in the veggies in small amounts. I wanted to make sure they were getting a balanced amount of food, instead of just fruit. 

Based on what he gobbled up, I would changed of my blender concoction. 

Again, I chose not to pay the price for the convenience of premade baby food. Just a little bit of prep truly made the difference. Being able to throw everything in our Bullet Blender made it so doable. It really reduced the amount of time it took to make.

It is worth a shot!! 

Here are a couple of my go to combinations:

**Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Strawberries, Oatmeal**
**Butternut Squash, Bananas, Oatmeal, Strawberries**
**Spinach, Applesauce, Strawberries, Oatmeal**
**Cooked Carrots, Bananas, Blueberries, Oatmeal**
Enjoy!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website! 


Paleo and Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Harvest Muffins


These were made in my cooking madness before we left for our honeymoon. While they were cooking the house smelled amazing! These were very popular with the kids, and my husbands friends. They came up for a weekend of fishing as we were leaving. There weren't many left as we headed for the airport! 

I wanted to have something in the house to snack on, that was still within the clean eating lifestyle that we follow. These are easy to grab when you are busy, and they don't break your lifestyle. I ended up grabbing a couple and bringing them on the place with us. We had a short connection in Atlanta, and weren't going to be able to grab anything to eat before we left. 3am is just not a pretty time for me. 

Here is what you will need: 
3 organic eggs
1 peeled, cored, and shredded organic apple
1 cup of raisins
2 cups of almond flour
1/2 cup of 100% pure maple syrup
1/3 cup of almond milk
1/4 coconut oil
1 tbsp coconut flour 
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1.5 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 pinch of salt

Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Combine almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
In a larger bowl combine eggs, shredded apple, maple syrup, almond milk, and melted coconut oil. 
Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well.
Stir in raisins, 

Line your muffin tins with tin foil liners.
Pour mixture into liners. Use entire contents to fill all of your tins.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes. Check muffins with a toothpick to ensure that they are fully cooked. 

Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes before you remove them. 


Enjoy!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website! 

Paleo Blueberry Lemon Muffins


Before Jason and I left for our Honeymoon, I went into a bit of muffin madness. I made two batches of muffins for the kids. They are an easy snack, and I found recipes that didn't venture far from our clean eating lifestyle. 
I had never worked with coconut flour, and read up on how different it was from white or whole wheat flour. Coconut flour is much more dense. You use a lot less of it than you would when cooking with a white or wheat flour. I would also recommend using the tin foil liners. The flour seeks out the moisture in the muffin. A day or two after you cook these up, the paper liner is tough to get off. 
I was surprised how much coconut flavor came through when using the coconut flour. The blueberries were a nice balance to the flavor. If you do not enjoy coconut, I wouldn't recommend using it. 

It has been an adventure to try Paleo and Gluten free recipes. I have tried simple changes, and it makes a world of difference. It isn't always the cheapest option in the store, but I always try it once. I can always go back!
What I have found, is that as more people use the healthier, organic, and natural options, it drives the price down. After talking to a cashier at my local grocery store, she mentioned that most of their organic options are very comparable to non organic. For example, the organic carrots are less than $1 more than non organic. Why wouldn't you get the organic! Even for most budget conscious folks, that is doable! She said that more and more people have switched, and the price continues to decrease. How exciting! 

Lets get to the recipe!! 

What You Need: 


6 organic eggs
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
1 lemon
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 baking soda
1 cup fresh blueberries 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, juice of 1 lemon, zest of lemon, in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl combine sea salt, baking soda, and sift in coconut flour. 
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
Next, fold in the blueberries. 


Line your muffin tins with liners. I would recommend tin foil liners.


Full tins about 3/4 of the way full. Use all of your mix to fill all of the liners. 
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick, to verify it is cooked through. 

Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from your muffin tray. 

Enjoy!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website!



Friday, February 27, 2015

21 Day Fix Approved Chili


Your diet made you eat WHAT?! You could only drink liquids for 26 days?! You starved yourself and didn't lose any weight?! You did a wrap, and gained the weight back the next week? You took a bunch of pills and prayed for a miracle? 
PEOPLE! HELLO!! A quick fix is not going to keep the weight off! You knew deep down that the weight would come back, but you just wanted an immediate result right??
Well... I have NEWS for you! You CAN get immediate results, and do it in a healthy way. It is called... Exercise, clean eating, and a super food rich protein shake. No additives. No fillers. No artificial ingredients. This program that I am talking about is called 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme. It has given me powerful results, and a new lifestyle. NOT a diet. NOT a quick fix. NOT a preservative, GMO, chemical filled crazy shake. 
21 Day Fix simply teaches you how to eat the correct portions of the necessary food groups. It teaches you how to follow a lifestyle for good.
Rant over. Lets talk chili!!

Can you believe this delicious dish is a part of my lifestyle!? It was back home cooking I needed. And... It was as easy as dumping and ditching. Gotta love easy recipes. 


Here is what you will need: 

1.5 lbs Lean Ground Turkey (or a meat that you have in the freezer)
1 medium chopped onion
1 pepper chopped (I had a red pepper in my refrigerator so that is what I used)
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans 
1 (15 ounce) can all natural diced tomatoes (no added sugar)
12 fresh sprigs of finely chopped cilantro

Instructions: 

Cook the turkey in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. 
In a crock pot add the cooked turkey and all remaining ingredients. Heat on high for 1 hour, or on low for 3 hours. Simply cook until everything is heated through. 
If you are short on time, just throw cooked meat and all ingredients into a large pan. Heat on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes.
Once everything is hot, chow down! 

A serving size is one cup. 
In one serving size: 1 Red Container, 1/2 Green Container, 1/2 Yellow Container. 

Enjoy!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me on my Beachbody website.!

Monday, February 23, 2015

PVC Pipe Waterfall



I saw something similar to this on Pinterest. I told my Husband Jason what my basic idea was, and let his engineer mind go to town. Not only did he take it seriously, but he get pretty technical with it!
I told him as long as the kiddos could use it in the tub I was happy.

Jason simply pieced everything together. He drilled holes in the bottom for the water to come out like a waterfall, and he also drilled small homes for the suction cups to hang on.
The instructions I found were to drill bigger holes for the suction cups to be pushed into. Jason didn't like that idea, and decided to do smaller holes so that it simply hung. 



Not only did Isaac love it, he plays with it everytime he is in the bath! This was a major win in our household!! It is something that you can get very creative with, or you can keep it very basic! 


Enjoy this easy and fun project!!

-Motivated Mommy Clayton-

You can always find me at my Beachbody website!


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Relaxation Bottle aka Timeout Bottle


This little boy has been in a heated battle with his brother over the Relaxation Bottle. Both boys are very intrigued by its wonder. For the couple of days we have had it, it has already come in handy for several occasions.

This morning when Henry didn't want to focus on eating, I shook of the bottle and put it in front of him. When he watched the bottle he would take several bites for me. 
Today, Isaac was was starting to get a little antsy before nap time. I gave him the bottle, and he calmed right down. 

There are a couple ways to use this bottle. At the moment, we use it for the calming effect. When one of the kiddos starts to act up, we shake up the bottle and let it do its magic. The glitter has a mesmerizing effect that settles them right down. 
The other purpose is, you sit them in timeout, shake up the bottle, and they are not able to leave timeout until the glitter settles to the bottom. We haven't gotten there, but it will be down the road. 


What you will need:
Bottle with a flat bottom
2 tablespoons glitter
1 tube or 1.75- 2.1 ml of glitter glue
1 bottle of clear Elmer's Glue 
Tap Water
Hot Glue Gun and Glue





Instructions:
Fill water bottle about 3/4 of the way full. Put all other ingredients except hot glue into the container. I filled it almost to the top with water once I put all of the ingredients in. 
Once I had everything in, I put the top on and shook it up. I decided to add more water and more glitter glue than what the original recipe called for. 
When we were satisfied with what we had, we put glue around the top and closed it up. We let the glue dry for several hours. I had Jason test it to make sure he couldn't get it off. 
It is one of the easiest toys and distractions in the house.  

Enjoy!

You can always find me at my Beachbody website!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Slow Cooker Cherry Apple Almond Steel Cut Oats - Clean Eating!


I previously posted my Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats Recipe. I have been experimenting with Steel Cut Oats Recipes. I discovered this recipe, and am addicted! This is only a half batch compared to my last recipe, but it was a great way to make sure that I would like it. 
My favorite way to cook is in the Crock Pot! Just dump and ditch. Not only was this fast and easy, but it is super tasty! 


What you will need: 

3/4 cup of dried cherries 
1 peeled and diced apple
2 cups almond milk
1 cup steel cut oats 
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seed 
1/2 tsp almond extract 

Instructions:

Peel, cut, and dice up apple. Add all ingredients to the Crock Pot. Dump and ditch it! 
I cooked this on high for 2 hours. Once the steel cut oats were cooked to my liking I stored them in Pyrex. This was one of the best breakfast choices I have ever made!

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me at my Beachbody website!

Clean Eating Crock Pot Beef And Broccoli


Not only did I have a HUGE hankering for Chinese Take Out food, but I knew that giving in would be a huge blow to my diet. I decided to make the leap, and go for a clean version of the sodium filled Chinese food. 
My favorite recipe site aka Pinterest! I found a recipe, and decided to take a leap of faith. I was a little leary, but wanted to give it a go. 
The original recipe said that his is a Paleo recipe, but it is not. There are several ingredients that do not fit into the Paleo diet. I did my homework on Paleo, and it is truly a basic, caveman style diet.
So, I decided to label this as a clean recipe!
I know that some of these ingredients are not what you would traditionally find in your kitchen, but I challenge you to try something new! I will be making this again next week. It was one of those recipes that I could not get enough of!! 
The coconut aminos can be found in the organic isle. I went to Woodman's and it was about half the price of other stores. I didn't use organic orange juice, and I didn't use fresh garlic. Those are things you could change to make it even more clean. 
When I made this, it had a lot of juices. I like my broccoli soaked in the juices, but if you don't want it as soupy, you can just cut the coconut aminos and orange juice in half. 



What you will need: 

1 cup coconut aminos
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tbsps honey
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsps garlic powder
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 
3 tbsps arrowroot powder 
1 pound thinly sliced flank steak 
2 crowns of broccoli 
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1 bag of snow peas 


Instructions:

Combine all of the following ingredients: coconut aminos, orange juice, honey, fish sauce, garlic powder, grated ginger, red pepper flakes, arrowroot powder, and thinly sliced flank steak. You can cut the steak however you would like to eat it. 
Put the crock pot on low, let all of the ingredients cook and simmer for about 30 minutes. I was surprised how fast the steak cooked up. I cooked it till it was medium rare. You can cook it to just below how you would like to eat it. 
Once it was to my liking, I added the broccoli and snow peas. I let that cook down for another 30 minutes. 
This was something I made to be eaten during the week. I didn't eat it till the following day, and I was pleasantly surprised how delicious it was! I would highly recommend this recipe! 

Let me know how yours turned out!! 

Motivated Mommy Clayton

You can always find me at my Beachbody website!