Chicken, Cauliflower Rice, and Bean Recipe

Since this past August, I've been more consistent with my meal planning. My downfall always seems to be laziness. Then I get hungry and if I don't have the energy or desire to prepare something healthy I just grab some quick and convenient processed foods.

I won't say that I've been perfect by any means, but I've learned a lot, and I definitely stay on track better when I plan ahead for success.

Typically, on Sunday evening, I spend a couple hours putting our meals together for the week. Yes, it's a lot of time up front, but doing the prep ahead of time makes the rest of the week as simple as grab it, heat it, and eat it!

I was looking for some new recipes and came across this Chicken, Cauliflower Rice and Bean dish. Fortunately, it didn't need a whole lot of changes to make it Fixate approved. It was a winner for both Jake and I and SO easy to make! It will definitely be happening again! Below you'll find my changes to make this work for our eating plan and food preferences :-)

Chicken, Cauliflower Rice, Bean and Corn 

Ingredients

• 3 cups riced cauliflower (for quick and easy get pre-made)
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin (divided use)
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup green bell peppers, chopped
• 3 cups chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• Pinch ground black pepper
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 8 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 8 oz can corn, drained

Directions

1. Preheat a large and deep non-stick skillet on medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add cauliflower "rice" and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until a bit golden, stirring frequently and watching closely not to burn. In the last minute of cooking add 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of ground black pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.


2. Return skillet on medium heat and swirl olive oil to coat. (If necessary scrape off small bits of cauliflower "rice"). Add garlic and green bell peppers; cook for 7 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.


3. Add remaining salt, tomato sauce, black beans, and corn; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cauliflower rice. Makes 4 servings and can be eaten right away or stored in the refrigerator covered for up to 5 days.

Notes: Can add a 1/4 cup of cheese on top or a 1/4 of a ripe avocado - this will add 1 blue container.

Approximate Fix Containers:

2 Green

1 Red

1 Yellow

1 Tsp.

Filled with HOPE,

Trading Tired For Joy

Do you ever get a sense that you are doing all the "right" things but not getting the results you
expect?

That was my first two weeks of 2018.

I entered the year with big goals, goals that encompassed many aspects of my life. Not all of them were new things, many of them I was just recommitting to or placing on the top of my To Do list.

A week and a half into the year I was feeling EXHAUSTED! Like, could hardly make it to my 9pm bedtime, needing naps, feeling like something was "off" or just not right.

Here I was doing all the things I thought I should be doing—like taking time to be in God's Word, praying, exercising, connecting with my clients, growing my business—but, still, I was drained!

I quickly realized this wasn't going to work, that I couldn't maintain this level for long, and that was a discouraging thought. I felt like that meant I had to give up on my goals and dreams.

One evening I decided to shut down my computer, even though that To Do list was far from complete. I took a candlelit bath and spent some time quieting my heart and mind as I listened to Elevation Worship Radio on Pandora.

I wouldn't say any of the songs that played were a direct message to me, but overall they were a reminder to not lose sight of eternity, to not forget my mission, my calling.

One of the things I've always loved about being a business owner is that I can use the platform of health and fitness as a platform for anything. Somewhere in the busyness of life, however, I found myself not really using it as a platform at all.

My vision was not just to encourage women to better their health and fitness, but to encourage them to grow in their walk with the Lord, strengthen their marriages, and raise their children to love Jesus. My aim is to be their cheerleader on that journey, and THAT brings me JOY and fills my cup.

I don't feel God is calling me to change any of the goals and dreams I have for the coming year, only to make sure I'm utilizing my calling to the fullest extent. He wants me to rest in Him, to share more about Him and what He is teaching me, to encourage others to grow in Him. Those are things I've wanted all along. I've just gotten a little sidetracked.

Are you exhausted? Are you in a season of busyness, trying to do and be everything you think you need to do and be? I encourage you to take time today to just sit in His presence, to open your heart and mind to what He has for you and find rest in Him.

Filled with HOPE,

5 Ways To Have A Healthier Pregnancy

When I got pregnant with my first little guy, I thought I had it in the bag when it came to "healthy pregnancy." I already had good habits of exercising regularly, drank a superfood shake which acted as my prenatal vitamin, and was semi-good about clean eating.

BUT 47 pounds later, lots of swelling, an 8lb 11oz baby boy that took me four hours to push out (without medication mind you), and I wasn't so sure I had this clean eating thing in the bag.

This second pregnancy I look and feel much better. My midwife is always commenting about how great I'm looking, that baby is smaller (she feels my body would do better delivering a slightly smaller babe), and is comfortable with me going longer between my appointments, so long as things continue to go well.

So, what did I do different this time? Here are 5 things that came to mind!

1. I was in better shape BEFORE I got pregnant the second time. I was probably in the best shape of my life and the healthiest version of me I've ever been. If you are already pregnant, this one isn't going to help you, but keep it in mind if you plan to have more kiddos.


2. I learned the art of meal planning and prepping my food ahead of time. We all know how intense pregnancy cravings can be. When you're craving something unhealthy, it's hard to resists in the moment, but when you prep your meals and snacks ahead of time, food that is delicious and nutritious, satisfying cravings can be easy and quick AND healthy.


3. Exercise! I exercised throughout my whole pregnancy with Toby, BUT what I didn't do was follow a specific program/plan. I kind of did the whole, "Today I feel like a dance cardio workout, and ummm... 10 minutes is plenty!" This time I found out I was pregnant on week 5 of an intense 6-week program where I followed the meal plan and workouts to a T. That helped launch me into a successful healthy pregnancy. Since then I've completed a 12-week, 25 minutes a day cardio focused program, and just recently started a 12-week strength training program. I'm also walking about 30 minutes a day pushing Toby in the jogger.


4. Yoga. I was never a fan of yoga in the past, but last July I forced myself to only do yoga for 3 weeks to see what I could gain from it. Throughout this pregnancy, I've done some prenatal yoga workouts and also a lower back pain routine whenever my lower back hurts, and—take it from me—it works!


5. Hydration. With my first pregnancy I was pretty good at this, but I only drank water (nothing wrong with that, but there are no electrolytes to help replenish my body after my workouts). This time I've also been drinking an all natural hydration drink during my workouts that not only tastes yummy but is good for me and the baby.

All of these things I believe have helped me maintain a slower, lower, healthier weight gain, on top of keeping swelling to a minimum. Overall, I feel loads better!

Now if I could just convince my body to sleep through the night ;-)

Hope this was helpful! If you have had more than one pregnancy and found the later one to be healthier, I'd love for you to share what you think was different.

If you'd like to know more about the workout routines I've been doing, where I access my yoga, or more about that amazing hydration drink, feel free to drop your email below or contact me above <3

Filled with HOPE,

Well Hello There 2018!

Whenever I look back on the outgoing year, it's often easy to find myself focussing on the failures, the missed goals, the things I didn't do, the things I did that I shouldn't have, but I refuse to go there this year!

Instead, I want to share a few highlights, as obviously I did a TERRIBLE job at keeping up with this blog ;-)

It was a joy and privilege to watch Toby grow and learn from 6-18 months. It's incredible to remember what he looked like and was capable of a year ago compared to now. He learned to sit, crawl, walk, run, say words (too many to keep track of at this point) and he is an unending source of energy and joy, filled with giggles and optimism. Being his mama has been one of the hardest and greatest opportunities in my life!

Earning an all-inclusive paid trip to the Dominican Republic in April was SO FUN! I left behind daddy and Toby for one week to relax in the sun, hang out with my teammates and friends poolside, try a new fitness program live with the trainer, swim with dolphins, and spend a day at the spa. It wore me out, but it FILLED my heart!

June brought our little man's FIRST birthday! We celebrated with a Little Blue Truck theme because that was the first book he took to. Many of our Hawai'i ohana came and celebrated with us as we enjoyed breakfast food (Toby's favorite meal at the time was breakfast), cake, and games.

Jake and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on June 30th! Time has flown by. I can't believe we've already been together that long, but at the same time it's hard to remember life before "us." We didn't manage to actually celebrate until August with a fancy dinner at one of our favorite restaurants with a gorgeous ocean view.

In August I went all in with a new fitness program and eating plan—the same program I had tried out in the Dominican Republic. I was getting amazing results and sticking to the nutrition 100% UNTIL I found out I was 7 weeks pregnant with our second little one! I was so proud of myself for following through with the workouts until the end though and setting myself up for a healthy and fit pregnancy.

In September, Toby and I flew to New England to spend the month with family and friends. Jake joined us two weeks later. The trip was filled with hiking, apple picking, cousin time, family dinners, apple cider making, meals with friends, new babies and lots of catching up. It was so fun to see Toby interact with his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and our friends. While we were there we found out baby #2 is another BOY!

We had our first Friendsgiving here on Maui—actually, we had two! It was different than what we were used to, but we are thankful to have had a Thanksgiving filled with delicious food and great company.

In December we made a bucket list of Christmas activities we wanted to do around Maui and one-by-one we ticked them off the list—a holiday train ride, tree lighting ceremony, driving and walking around looking at Christmas lights, the "snowfall" at the mall, and our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Christmas Movie Watching Marathon where we packaged up all the goodies and delivered them to our friends.

And that's about it in a nutshell.

One thing I've found myself struggling with as we head into the new year is a sense of direction. Typically, by this time, I have a "word" for the year and a verse to go with it. I've thought of several words such as brave, growth, courage, etc., but nothing has really jumped out at me. Instead of rushing and forcing this theme to happen I'm choosing to continue to be open to what God might want me to focus on. I already know this year is going to include growing my business with the goal of one day buying a home here, working at deepening my prayer life, learning what life with two little boys will bring, serving our church, and lots more I'm sure!

What was the highlight reel of your 2017? Do you have a theme, word, or verse for 2018?

Filled with HOPE,