Tuesday Tip: Smoothie Ice Pops

So as most of you know {from the common theme in most of my posts}, time eludes me. I, like most moms of tots, have often been found cramming a days worth of work within the two hours of their nap time or in the few moments of the morning before they wake. Sometimes, I can catch up with my responsibilities in the evening hours after they have finally gone to bed, but that is usually on a rare occasion.  In any case, lunch ends up becoming one of the tasks that needs to get done instead of one of the luxuries I ought to enjoy.

Not all the time, just once in a while {I do enjoy my time with food}.

Since one of the items that Cj enjoys is a good popsicle {and they happen to not be one of the cheaper groceries that get on my list} I decided to invest in a good dollar store find: a popsicle mold.

not this one exactly..

In an effort to make those select lunches become more healthy AND yet also efficient, I decided to take the smoothies that we enjoy so dearly, create a large batch and freeze the leftovers in the molds.  I figured I could use half for the popsicle flavors that Cj would enjoy and use the other half for the healthier, less fun {well, in his mind} stuff for me.

Now on a day where I would have been reaching for the lean pocket or {perhaps the leftover chicken nuggets that Cj didn't finish}, I can now grab an ice pop and enjoy. Especially now as the summer hits us, it's refreshing, I feel full, I have enough energy to last for a few hours and best of all, I've been able to resist the need for my afternoon cup of joe.

At this rate I may end up not needing my morning dose either.

I might need to think of a new blog name soon...

Starting Over

So I put up a post about a month ago where I claimed I was starting "insanity" again. However, that didn't really happen the way I had planned (it really is just so hard and I am so so out of shape).  So I started again last week but this time, I'm doing what I can with the program, and not forcing myself to do an entire dvd a day. I'm doing away with the "I need to do this in 60 days" and instead, using it as a way to build my way back into intense exercise. It has really taken the pressure off and I have been doing better than when I started, so that is definitely progress.

 

 

So yes, I'm starting again, but I am also including a sugar-cautious diet.  Every monday, I used to tell myself that I would be watching my sugar intake for the week, but the problem was, I was not surrounding myself with anything that would allow me to do that. So as a result I was pounding away the pastas and desserts and sugar-full items.

So today I made a run to the store and splurged on the pistachios and lean meats and some yummy veggies. I've been struggling with removing all this pregnancy weight and so I'm sort of excited about this. I'm also doing it for 3 weeks and then starting again. It'll give me some reachable goals, keep me away from making excuses and focus my energy on maintaining a healthy lifestyle again. Again, I'm not cutting sugar out completely, but what that means is reaching for the strawberries instead of the ice cream or using quinoa instead of the penne.

So there you have it. I've posted it. Now I can have you turn me around towards the spinach when I try to sneak some reeses under the table =)