Welcome Back Solider!

Around the time we moved into our house last year, our neighbor's son joined the military.  I am, as always, eternally grateful for those in the service.  I know I don't have it in me to join so am thankfully for those that do! 

For the better part of the year, my neighbor's son has been in training and then stationed out of state.  She contacted me to let me know he was coming home and if I could make them a yummy dinner for the night.  I was more than happy to help her out.  After all, she needs to worry about spending time with her son and not slaving away in the kitchen! 

She chose for their dinner an extremely delicious and healthy Asian Chicken Salad.  When I posted the pic on social media, everyone thought it look phenomenal and wanted the recipe.  Mom and son both thought it was super yummy and spent the evening enjoying the good food while sharing some much needed quality time together.  So throw together this quick and easy salad and share a healthy meal and some quality time with your loved ones!

Asian Chicken Salad
Makes 4 servings

¼ c soy sauce

3 T fresh ginger; peeled, minced

¼ c canola oil

3 T hoisin sauce

1 T sesame oil

1 tsp Sriracha

2 large chicken breast

¼ c rice wine vinegar

½ lb Napa cabbage; thinly sliced

½ lb radicchio; thinly sliced

2 carrots; grated

6 green onions; thinly sliced

1/3 c fresh cilantro; roughly chopped

½ c slivered almonds

1 T sesame seeds

salt and pepper as needed

1 T sesame seeds; toasted

1 – In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce through Sriracha. 
2 – Season chicken breast on both sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour 1/3 of the soy sauce mixture into the bag. Seal tightly and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
3 – Whisk in rice wine vinegar to remaining soy mixture and reserve as dressing.
4 – Toss together Napa cabbage though cilantro. Season salad with salt and pepper, toss again and reserve.
5 – Remove chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Place chicken in a baking dish and bake at 475 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken into thin strips.
6 – Lay strips of chicken over salad. Top with cilantro, almonds and sesame seeds. Serve with reserved dressing.

Body After Baby...Step 2

I must admit that I was pretty proud of myself last week.  I set my breakfast, snack and lunch eating schedule and stuck to it...except for that one stop I made at Chick fil A yesterday but one cheat won't kill me...right?

With just the change in my diet, overall I feel better, have (a little) more energy than normal and have lost a pound.  YEAH!  So with Step 1 successfully underway, time to add on Step 2...exercise.

UGH!  If you are anything like me, this is the part that trips you up.  Someone once told me that all I have to do is find an exercise I like and the rest will fall into place naturally.  Here's the thing...I actually like working out.  I've found several different ways to get exercise that I enjoy, and every time I complete said task I feel great about myself.  Except most of the things that I enjoy are a touch on the time consuming side.  I've never found a class I don't like.  Yoga, pilates, Zumba...all good!  And I LOVE to swim!  The thing is before I go into one of those workout sessions, after or even sometimes during, I start thinking of all the other things I could be doing with that hour or so.  There's laundry that needs to be done, dishes that need to be washed, toys that need to be put away.  Like so many other moms out there, I have a hard time putting the "necessary" things aside long enough to do something to make myself better and healthier.  No one else puts that guilt on but me.  And no one would mind if I took those hours to better myself.  Still, I knew if I was going to get into a routine that would actually help me, I needed to find something that I could do at home, while with the baby if needed and would be over in less than 20 mins. 

I went on a search for the perfect plan for me.  I have several friends on Facebook who are Beachbody coaches, so I started there.  I have the PiYo program already, which I like, but some of the workouts are a little long winded.  I also wasn't a fan of having to pay for something...again...that I knew deep down I would only use intermittently.  So onward I pressed.

I found a few free plans online that met my time restrictions, but you needed weights and ropes and stretchy pieces of material to stretch with.  I knew I was being picky wanting something that only used what I already had laying around the house...but I KNEW something had to be out there.  And that's when I found...

 

Bikini Body Mommy!  The creator of this site is a woman named Briana Christine.  She not only has a website where you can get 90 days worth of FREE workouts, but she has a great Facebook page and You Tube channel where she demonstrates the workouts for you.  As of right now, she is up to 4 different 90 day challenges, I'm working through number 3.  The daily workouts are quick, easy and (most importantly) kick your booty!  Better yet...they are all FREE!  She does have customizable dietary options that you have to pay for...but for the most part...everything is free.  She also goes day by day through the workouts herself and posts to Facebook to help her followers hold themselves accountable.  Her new group starts May 4, so if that's something you are interested in, head on over and check it out!  Its pretty awesome.

NO GUILT.  What a concept.  One I know I need to work on, but one step at a time I'm getting there.  So it's been two weeks since I started working on getting my body back and I've only worked out two days.  This week I shoot for 3 or 4.  Baby steps...little by little...I'm going to get there and be happier and healthier for it!