The Nursery is READY . . . All DIY projects complete!

This is not fitness or nutrition related, but I am sure I have some DIY fans out there and wanted to share our nursery for a baby girl that could come anytime now :-).  Yes,  I said girl, can you tell I am not a fan of pink?  So, we've been hard at work on the nursery.  I am proud to say that we have spent a total of around $250 to completely furnish and decorate the nursery :-).  I am a big fan of re-doing furniture you can find on Craigslist or at yard sales and DIY projects - so we transformed an empty room to a well stocked nursery without breaking the bank!  Here are some close up photos:

The Projects:

One side . . .

So I refurbished the dresser, a $40 Craigslist find, below is a little snippet of before and after.  We found the glider/ottoman set on Craigslist as well - for $40.  It needed to be repainted and I had to resew and repeat clean (5 times) the cushions to get the stains out, but they came out.  And the crate nightstand is two wooden crates mounted together and painted - cost around $15 for all of the materials.

The knobs and pulls are from Hobby Lobby - love the birds and owls!  They were on sale too, 1/2 off.  This dresser was built in the 1940s, so it is solid birch wood and well made - a great find!  Just needed some TLC and revamping.

 Other Side:

We found the crib at a yard sale for $20, so I sanded and repainted it because it needed it.  I sewed the crib bedding myself, and the materials didn't cost that much.  I made the bumpers, ties, and crib skirt.  The bookcase was an old oak one from my classroom, that I repainted and did chevron contact paper backing for contrast on the back.  The wall decals are from Amazon, but were worth every penny ($40) - they went up great!

Wall Opposite of the Windows . . .

I always wanted to do this in my classroom but couldn't because of the cinder block walls.  But love it in the nursery!  Fostering a love of reading young!  Vinyl gutter bookshelves - bought everything at Lowe's with our military discount.  i have a ton of books from teaching, but here I can display some of my favorites. 

Another revamped piece from my classroom.  It was primary colors, but I repainted everything and got the same adorable knobs from Hobby Lobby.  It works great to hold smaller items like pacifiers, burp clothes, etc.

All we need now is a baby!  I'm 37 weeks, so not too much longer!  So thankful and blessed.

Mojito Citrus Shakeology

What's Cooking Wednesday:  So I normally post a food recipe but this is my new favorite Shakeology recipe I made up, for all of my Greenberry Shakeology people out there.  It is AMAZING!

Mojito Citrus Shakeology:

In a blender place:

1 cup ice

1 scoop Greenberry Shakeology

A handful of frozen pineapple

6-8 fresh mint leaves

2 TBSP lime juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Blend away and enjoy and delicious and nutritious meal that is so refreshing it's CRAZY!  Gives you that mojito taste without the calories and alcohol.  Not to mention the Shakeology makes you feel great and full for hours to come :-).  Enjoy!

Will Power is Crucial Grocery Shopping!

Seriously, will power when grocery shopping forces will power at home. Reaching health and fitness goals is honestly around 80% diet and 20% exercise. 

Little story for case and point: Last night I was CRAVING (I am almost 37 weeks pregnant, so it was pretty strong) something sweet and sugary, like a brownie with ice cream, haha. But we don't have anything like that around the house, so I had a grapefruit instead. And while not as indulgent or satisfying as a brownie a la mode, it satisfied my sweet tooth and I got the extra vitamins and nutrients from the fruit and didn't put a bunch of sugar into my body. I didn't have the will power to resist last night but our fridge and pantry really only have healthy food, so I didn't have to exercise much will power . My mojito inspired Shakeology shake helped too - my new favorite recipe .

Just a little tip, don't buy it if it is unhealthy or super processed. I will often look at the nutrition label when I am feeling naughty at the grocery store, which usually causes me to put it back on the shelf and not in my cart!

Shakeology!

Want to try Shakeology? You won't regret it! Would love to have you take the challenge, whether your goal is weight loss, clean eating, or simply just improving your nutrition, the 10 day challenge could be your ticket! If weight loss is your goal, many have lost 3-10 pounds in just 10 days.  If improving how you feel and energy levels is your goal, Shakeology has really helped me with that.  If you want a quick, nutrient dense meal that tastes good and encourages clean eating, again, Shakeology has really helped me with with that!  Let me know if you want to join in! Here is a little on why I love ShakeO . . .

So, Shakeology is my life saver. I haven't tried to lose weight since I started adding it daily since I've been pregnant the whole time. So my goal was to get a dense dose of daily nutrition, in a simple, quick way. Wow, have I noticed a difference in my energy levels, digestive system, and overall just feeling good - I'm obsessed - Just sayin' . I am one to go a long time without eating because I am not hungry and then I start to not feel good. And during pregnancy there are a lot of times I haven't had much of an appetite. Yet, I can always manage to drink a delicious shake. I love the Greenberry flavor because I make all kinds of delicious fruit milkshake like concoctions! I can't believe all the nutrition in one shake. And I stay full so long! Like today, I had one at lunch and am still not feeling hungry, although I will eat because I know me and my baby girl need it .

Clean Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad is delicious!  Unfortunately a lot of chicken salad you buy pre made has a lot of mayo or sugar, or both.  So here is how I make it!  I will make a lot at one time and then my husband and I will eat it throughout the week on salad, on Ezekiel bread, or by itself.

So I threw the chicken salad on top of some mixed greens and added 1/2 and avocado and 1/2 a tomato.  I threw on a little balsamic vinegar too - it was simply AMAZING!

TO MAKE THE CHICKEN SALAD:

INGREDIENTS
-Chicken breasts
-Greek yogurt (plain, nonfat)
-Mustard
-Grapes (halved - I usually use red)
-Chopped celery
-Chopped pecans
-Celery seed
-Salt and pepper
-Relish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Boil the chicken breasts in water until cooked through ( I usually reserve and refrigerate the "broth" made and use as chicken broth in other recipes - that way no preservatives, etc. and not wasting).
2) Shred the chicken and place in a bowl.
3) Add the other ingredients to taste.  Some people like it more dry, others like it moist, so I didn't put measurements.  People like different amounts of grapes, nuts, etc.  Just keep adding until it tastes how you want!  Refrigerate and enjoy!

If you need a reference, here are approximate measurements of what I use:

-Chicken breasts (3-4 breasts)
-Greek yogurt (2/3 - 1 cup)
-Mustard (1/3-1/2 cup)
-Grapes, halved (1 cup)
-Pecans, chopped (1/2-2/3 cup)
-Celery, chopped (1 cup)
-Celery seed ( 1 TBSP)
-Salt and Pepper (1 tsp each)
-Relish (1/4 cup)

ENJOY!!!

Mango Salsa with Shrimp and Spinach Packets

Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

Packets:

1 lb raw shrimp (peeled, de-veined, tail off)

4 cups spinach

1/3 bushel cilantro diced

2-3 cups quinoa (cooked) or couscous

Olive oil spray

Salsa:

2 mangoes diced

2 avocados diced

2 jalapeños diced

2 medium tomatoes diced

2/3 bushel cilantro diced

Lime juice (to taste)

Sea salt (to taste)

Directions:

1)  Assemble the packets by doing the following:  Tear off 4 – 6 pieces of foil that are around 8 inches long.  Spray them with olive oil.  Layer each packet with spinach, cilantro, cooked quinoa (or couscous), and salt and pepper to taste.  Fold up both ends to meet, roll, and then do thee purse pinch along the top and sides.

2)  Cook the foil packets in the oven at 400 degrees for around 15 minutes (until shrimp is cooked (pink and no longer translucent).

3) While the packets cook, combine all of the salsa ingredients and stir well.  Use lime juice and salt to taste for your liking.  Refrigerate until you serve.

4) Empty the cooked packet into a bowl or on a plate, top with the mango salsa.  Enjoy!

I LOVE DIY PROJECTS!

Totally not health or fitness related, but . . . I am a huge DIY fan!  We have furnished the entire nursery for less than $200.  I've sewed crib bedding (with the help of my beautiful cousin!), restored and completely redone a dresser I found on Craigslist, repainted a used crib, redid old classroom book shelves, restored a very old 4 drawer nightstand, made a crate nightstand, made gutter book shelves and repainted and fixed the upholstery on a glider I found off of Craigslist.  We've been busy!

So thought I would share a few photos :-) because I am just so excited for our baby girl to get here in 4 weeks or so!!!  If you want to know how things were done, feel free to contact me!  I don't mind sharing!