21 Day Fix Vegetable Soup

This is my favorite soup and I never grow sick of it! Since you can constantly vary the ingredients, there is always something "new" about it.

BASIC VEGETABLE SOUP (great option for lunch), makes a TON! Freeze some.
1 yellow summer squash, sliced and quartered
1 carrot, diced (I leave this out because my husband hates cooked carrots!)
1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can organic diced tomatoes
2 celery stalks, peeled and diced
1 bag baby spinach
1 can organic peas or 1 bag fresh peas (I bought some shelled English peas at Trader Joe's that were great!)
¼-½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 onion, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I prefer vegetable)
Olive oil, best if used from sprayer (this is the one I have)
*for me, this soup as it is above, is a freebie in the 21 Day Fix meal plan. It's only vegetables, the green container, and I do not limit those!

Optional Add-Ins, Pick Some, Pick All!
2-3 tbsp minced garlic
2-3 cups whole wheat rotini pasta (yellow container)
1 can white beans (yellow container)
2 chicken breasts (boiled and shredded separately and added in later (red container)
Parmesan Cheese (blue container)
Pesto (orange container)

          Begin by sautéing onion, celery and carrot in pan with oil over high heat (add garlic here if desired) in large pot. Cook and stir regularly until onion softens, about 5 minutes (option to add ham or prosciutto). Add tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil and then lower heat so mixture bubbles gently, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. (If adding chicken, boil breasts in water until mostly cooked through and shred. Put aside. If adding pasta, cook and put to the side, as well.) Add the zucchini and squash in addition to the parsley. Adjust the heat again so the mixture can simmer, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. (Now, add chicken, beans and/or pasta, keep stirring mixture and simmer for another 10 minutes). Serve with Parmesan cheese and/or a spoonful of pesto. This simple soup can change with your mood but will always be delightful, even if your mood isn’t.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Chicken Sausage, Onions & Mushrooms

Ingredients, Serves 2

1 acorn squash

2 chicken sausages, italian style or whatever you prefer

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

½ tbsp minced garlic

olive oli spray

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and halve your squash crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Place them facedown on a baking dish filled slightly with water and bake for 25 minutes. Turn the squash and poke surface a few times with a fork. 25-30 minutes.

Heat oil over medium high heat and add onions and garlic, stirring until fragrant and onions soft. Add mushrooms and continue to saute for a few minutes (I eyeball the whole thing). Add chicken sausage and heat an additional minute or two.

When squash is finished, fill with chicken sausage "stuffing", top with panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I always have extra stuffing left that doesn't fit into the squash and I just add that into a tiny baking dish and top. Cook an additional 10 minutes, broil on high for 2 minutes if desired just to crisp the top.

1 Red container
2 green containers
1/2 yellow container 
1/2 blue container

Pork & Pineaplle Shish Kabobs

The perfect combination of sweet an salty!

Pineapple and Pork Shish Kabobs

Ingredients, Serves 4

2 boneless pork chops, 1 lb

½ pineapple, cut into large chunks

1 Vidalia onion, cut into chunk-like sections

1 red bell pepper, cut into large pieces

Skewers

            Assemble your shish kabob nestling your pork in between the pineapple and onion for best flavor. Grill until cooked, about 5 minutes each side. 

1 Red container

1 Purple container

1 Green container   

 

How to Keep Your Sanity Through the Holidays

I'm obsessed with Christmas. LOVE IT.

• I hijack our Netflix queue during the month of December and we watch only Christmas movies. 
• I know EXACTLY what my girls are wearing for every Christmas-themed activity (and yes, it's adorable). 
• We have the new Amazon Echo (highly recommend) and she absolutely knows to play "holiday music" during this time or else she gets a stern, "Alexa STOP!" even from my daughter (when my daughter isn't yelling "Alexa play Frozen" at her).
• I know all the words (multiple verses) to every Christmas carol. Thank you, high school ensemble! This baffles my husband who can't even remember the lyrics to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Nope, not kidding. 
• As I've stated before, I redecorate my tree on a regular basis. 

There are countless other ways in which my obsession for Christmas comes through but I have to preserve some mystery here (and keep you from judging me for the crazy Christmas elf that I am).

Yet, as much as I LOVE Christmas, there are aspects of it that are really hard. 

  The surplus of unhealthy food.

    The endless travel.

      The crazy hubbub of family and friends.

        The heartache of missing loved ones far and lost.

Just to name a few. So while I would never want to just "get through" the holidays, I do think it's important to arm ourselves with a few tricks to make this time of year the most enjoyable and as light on stress as possible. 

Here are a few tricks I use to make the holidays successful:

1. When I can, I eat clean. That means avoiding processed food and sugar (that isn't from fruit or good sources like honey or real syrup). Yeah this is SOOOO easy, right? I try to stick with the 90/10 rule (which sometimes turns into the 80/20 rule). Eat clean and wonderfully 90% of the time and go bananas for the other 10%. If you allow yourself that 10%, you'll be more discerning about how you use that portion. Christmas cookie? Oh yeah. Grandma's sketchy holiday eggnog? Um, I'll pass...
2. MOVE. As in, take a break from your A Christmas Story marathon and do something. Anything. Walk around the block. Shake your booty to Mariah Carey's Christmas album. Pretend you're Rudolph and pull every kid present (which may or may not include your emotionally stunted cousin, Victor) around in a "sleigh". 
3. Get outside. We head to San Diego every other Christmas so this part is a piece of cake for me. Go outside in Sunny CA when back home it's frigid and dark? SURE. But seriously, put on your parka and smell some fresh air. Whether you're dealing with jet lag or depression, the sun's rays and a little fresh air can work wonders for the bod.
4. Take time for yourself. So key, especially when you are not in your comfort zone (A.K.A. at your in-laws). Go take a yoga class or check out that boutique downtown. Go to Starbucks and "get lost" for an hour. I am always the very first to volunteer for a grocery store run just so I can ride solo.
5. Talk to your people. This is one of those "do as I say, not as I do" ones. I can totally suck at this (as Mr. Fix It, my husband). Make sure you take time to connect with your people (or person) over the holidays. It is beyond easy to isolate yourself and miss opportunities to bond with the people who really matter to you. In my opinion, this all happens much better over a glass (um, bottle?) of wine. I make it a policy to drink frequently over the holidays. 
6. Celebrate and remember. Who are you missing this year? We lost my grandfather (my Bubba) earlier this year and this is our first Christmas in San Diego without him. I plan on telling as many stories about him as I can remember, imitating his guffaw with frequency and, best of all, doing this all with other people who were loved by him and loved him. 
7. Give.  Maybe money, maybe time, maybe hugs. Just be open to giving and look for opportunities to be generous. There is nothing like the spirit of generosity to chase away the Scrooge in all of us. And to disarm even the judgy-est of relatives. 

I hope this list (lists are my FAVORITE) is helpful to you. Trust me when I say that, when I don't do these things, there is drama. When I do, there is none. 

HAHAHAH just kidding there is always drama! Ain't nobody escaping Christmas without it BUT, you will be able to face the drama better so that, rather than be a participant, you can--at the very least--be a bystander who silently judges. 

Merry Christmas!!!

    

Guilt Can Suck It

As someone who grew up Catholic, I have an intimate relationship with guilt. Catholic guilt is no joke. Right before my First Communion, I was sent to the principal's office for doing cartwheels in the classroom. As a card-carrying goody two-shoes, this was a serious transgression. I sat down with the priest who would be celebrating my First Communion and told him all about it. Even though he said God forgave me (and may have let out a chuckle), I still felt TERRIBLE. I was disappointed in my pint-size self and it was hard to move on.

Now that I am a mom, Catholic guilt seems like the minor leagues. No, seriously. I could do cartwheels all over this effing town and not feel one ounce of guilt compared to the guilt I feel when I forget to read to my children one day. Or look at my phone too much. Or not rush to get them the second they wake up from a nap. Or don't do things like this or this. Or the wind is blowing too hard and my toddler just cannot handle it (she can be KIND OF a delicate flower).

This is REALLY how I should feel! Except sometimes I forget to shower. 

While Catholic guilt is no joke, Mom guilt is not effing around. Mom guilt gets home and is like, "Catholic guilt, why can't you pick up the phone and call me once in a while?" Yeah, she's kind of a bitch.

I have been realizing so many things about guilt lately, most importantly that it SUCKS. No, it literally sucks. As in, it sucks the life out of us. The wind out of our sails, the air out of our tires and any other air-depleting analogy that works here. Guilt is the WORST.

I'll tell you why:

• it renders us immobile.
• it makes us feel horrible and ineffective.
• it's unhelpful to everyone. 

Guilt stops us from achieving our goals, becoming who we want to be and changing what needs to be changed in and around ourselves. Rather than reacting to a situation with "how can I do better?", we react with "I am the worst." How can that possibly lead down a good road?

I'm trying to choose another path and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the immortal words of Taylor Swift, "Shake it Off." Lady makes a good point.

On a personal note, I have been on this journey to reclaim my body since having two kids. I've lost a bunch of weight and feel like a million bucks. You can read about the program here if you want but, my point is, I have setbacks. Yesterday, for example, I ate like 4 (ok, 7) chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's. Serving size is 1 (ONE?) so I was apparently eating as proxy for my entire block. While I could berate myself for my lack of willpower, self-control and general strength in the face of only-available-for-a-limited-time chocolate amazingness, I'm choosing to move forward. To PROCEED. I got up this morning, did my workout, had my smoothie and moved on. There was work to be done, children to love and choices to make.

There is so much to feel guilty about. SO MUCH. We often fall short of the person we want to be, the person we are meant to be. We often fail to love our friends, ignore our neighbors in need and welcome the stranger. I know I do. It's so easy to sit in the miry pit of guilt.

But what's exactly in that miry pit? A bunch of "I shoulds". I should work out. I should eat healthier food. I should spend more quality time with my kids. I should go to church. I should volunteer. I should stop being an asshole.

Just do yourself a favor and stop should-ing all over yourself and get to work instead.

I am desperately trying to make a habit of moving forward rather than staying still or staying stuck). So I'm getting up, shaking it off, making my plan and moving on.

And if I rock a cartwheel while I'm at it, so be it. I can still do a damn good one.