Mission Accomplished!

5 months ago I had a beautiful baby boy.

Right after giving birth, I was itching  to start working out and counting calories. I had found 

| Tone It Up | when I was pregnant and bought the plan about a month after having Matteo. 

(Give me a bit of slack. I had only given birth about 5 hours earlier!)

I joined | Tone It Up | in August, one month after having Matteo. I studied the information and was determined to do this right. I started off with the "7 Day Slim Down"  and saw such an immediate difference that I knew this was for real. Clean eating and exercise were things I already did and believed in - but there is so much more to this!

I learned about the protein pancake, my new favourite breakfast!

I learned to love exercising outdoors, in public ...

(I walk these stairs with the boys while carrying the baby in my arms. Great workout!)

And I've discovered an amazing community of friends who support my love for clean eating and exercise! If you haven't heard of | Tone It Up | you need to click on my link and check out their website. Sign up!  Motivation, encouragement, new friendships and a chance to change your life and enjoy taking care of your body. What do you have to lose?

OK, I've made you wait long enough :) Here is my before and after!

Before               &             After

Since joining | Tone It Up | 4 months ago, I have lost 25 lbs  putting me back at my pre-pregnancy weight (which also happened to be the best weight I'd been in years). Just in case you were wondering, I worked hard and am still working hard. It's a choice everyday.

So there I am, still a work in progress, but I am exercising regularly and eating clean. Not only am I impacting my own life but I am also impacting the life of my husband and three children.  I am blessed.

If you aren't a part of the | Tone It Up | team and aren't sure if you want to join or you are already a member and want another motivator drop me a comment  and we'll chat!

A Few of My Favourite Things ...

Some of my must-haves!

(In no particular order!)

1 | Tone It Up! |

I could write my entire blog about these wonderful ladies!

Karena & Katrina will change your life. Their clean-eating plan and motivation to stay active is remarkable. One of the best I've seen. If you haven't joined their plan now, what are you waiting for?  They keep me going along with the amazing friends I've met through their community. You girls know who you are!

2 | Sparkly Soul |

This is a point of frustration for me. I worked hard to find a slip-free headband that would live up to it's promise. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have found this company!

They have a thin band and a wide band. These are two of the thin bands and they are worth every penny! Please check them out, you wont regret it!

3 | Jillian Michaels "Yoga Meltdown" DVD |

This is my favourite morning workout DVD. When I'm needing a good "kick-in-the-butt" workout but am too sleepy to go hardcore cardio - this is what I do! Try it and let me know what you think!

This DVD is killer!

4 | Go Sport ID |

Any runners out there? You need this!  An ICE band ("In Case of Emergency") that you can customize and  looks good!

I purchased the glide bundle pack  and am in love!

5 | Fitness with PJ |

My kick-butt trainer! I know not all of you can come this way to train with her (though it would be worth flying out here for a chance to train with her!), but I needed you to know about this amazingly talented, gifted and encouraging person in my life!

Watch out for her, she's about to take the online world by storm!

6 | Trader Joe's Gingerbread Coffee |

That's right. Coffee made my list of favourite things! I'd like to know who out there is surprised by this?

This coffee is a must-have  for the holiday season! Go. Buy It. Now.

You wont regret it. Seriously.

7 | Under Armour |

Some of the greatest purchases I have made, ever. You haven't lived until you run in anything Under Armour.  Their running bras are to die for! (TMI?)

This is a horrid picture of me, but it is about the running shirt, not me!

8 | TRX |

If I only owned one workout tool, this would be the one. It has moved with me, travelled with me and changed me! Please go buy one and I'll try not to say "I told you so"!

9 | Larabar | and | Kind Products |

I love food. Ahem, let me re-phrase that. I love healthy  food! I find the natural flavours of real food  to be addicting. Larabars and Kind Products are some of the most wholesome snacks you can have on hand. On any given day you will find one in my purse, car or diaper bag. My kids ask for them every day!  Our favourite Larabars are cashew, cherry and apple cinnamon. Our favourite Kind Products are the almond coconut.

Please pick these over the other sugary, unhealthy options!  They will give you a way better boost.

10 | KitchenAid Stand Mixer |

The. Best. Purchase. Ever.  Can I emphasize that anymore? I bought the best and biggest because I wanted the proper kneading hook for bread. I did tons of research on the best stand mixers for making bread and this one came out on top and boy has it delivered!

I make everything from yams to bread and it not only saves me alot of time and elbow grease but it entertains the kids too! What more could you ask for?

So there you have it! My list of favourites. Are any of these on your top list? Let me know which your favourites are or if you purchase any!

Me, A Runner?

Running. Something I have always wanted to be good at. I wish it came as naturally as walking, but of course, it takes work.

I try and run regularly. I'll get out 3-5 times a week for a couple weeks and then loose heart because I find I still don't love it. Will I ever love it? I see people running and they make it look so easy, but it is so hard! I know, I know. I'm well aware that becoming a good runner is a process, but is it a process I'll ever master?

As I've stated in previous posts, weight training is fun to me. I love that feeling of pushing my body with strength training. I love feeling sore the next day. So what is my problem with running? 

I hate cardio.

I recently completed a "Learn to Run" clinic at | The Run Inn |. It felt so good to complete it! So why don't I feel like a runner? Maybe once I complete my first 5km on January 1st I will feel like a runner, but as for now, I don't.

As for my goals, well, I still plan to run. I've joined the 10km clinic for January in hopes that I'll love it by the end! I'll let you know how my 5km goes!

Any runners out there have any advice for learning to love it? Please share!

Chocolate This & Chocolate That!

I am a chocolate addict.

That isn't hard for me to admit because I am ok having a love-hate relationship with it. (Who am I kidding? There is no hate!) But because I have such a passion for healthy & clean-eating I am always on the lookout for healthy recipes to feed my addiction, ahem, I mean to enjoy.

Low-and-behold I found these amazing recipes on the |Alive| website that I just had to share with you! If you try them, comment below and let me know how they turn out!

Chocolate Dipped Grapes

What you will need:

2 C red seedless grapes, stemmed

1/2 C dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa or more!)

1 T honey

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Wash the grapes, dry thoroughly.

Melt the chocolate chips in saucepan over low-heat, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat when melted and immediately stir in honey.

Allow chocolate to cool to room temperature before gently stirring in grapes.

Place chocolate-covered grapes on wax paper-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with cocoa. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Serves 8 at 87 calories a serving, amazing!

Chocolate Fruit Bark

Be cautious with this one. If you pick a low-cocoa content chocolate, sweetened chocolate, dried fruit with sugar or salted nuts the bark will not be as healthy!

What you will need:

12 oz high-quality unsweetened dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa!)

1/2 C no sugar added golden raisins

1/2 C no sugar added dried cherries, chopped

1/2 C no sugar added dried mango, chopped

1/2 C unsalted cashews, chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

In a double broiler, melt chocolate on low heat until smooth. Stir in half the dried fruit, nuts and all the spices.

Spread chocolate mixture onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with remaining dried fruit & nuts. Press gently to adhere. Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.

Break into pieces of desired size. Serves 10 at 311 calories a serving. It's worth every deliciously healthy calorie folks!

I'm Too Cheap for That!

So here's the deal, I have 4 boys in my house who all eat a lot of food. Seriously, A LOT. My sweet 4 year-old twins can out eat my husband and I am not kidding!

Thankfully, we already make most of our food from scratch, but one thing I was too scared to make since my bread machine broke, was bread. Real, handmade, home-made bread.

When my hand mixer died we decided to invest in a KitchenAid Pro 6-qt. It was a lot of money but we figured it could replace our bread machine and hand mixer if we invested in the best one (it had the 6-qt bowl and the really good dough hook). Let me tell you, it has been worth every penny!

After much research and experimenting, I finally have an incredibly easy & fool-proof bread recipe that I make using my KitchenAid, but you can just as easily do it by hand or I'm sure you could adapt it into a bread machine recipe quite easily.

Fool-Proof Bread

What you will need:

2 3/4 C of hot water

1/3 C cold-pressed canola oil

1/3 C honey

2 T molasses

1/4 T sea salt

6 1/2 C spelt flour*

2 T dry active yeast

*I often use spelt flour due to wheat allergies in my family but it works

just as well with white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour.

Put the water, oil, honey, molasses & sea salt in the bowl. Mix until combined. Add 2 C flour and mix until combined. Mix in yeast. Change to dough hook. Add 4 C flour and knead.

If dough is still sticky add more flour, 1/4 C at a time, until it is the right consistency. I sometimes add an extra 1/2 C. Never exceed 7 1/2 C.

Dough should be tacky, but not sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Now cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle a little flour on your cookies sheet (for buns) or 2 loaf pans (for loaves). Knead the dough again to knock it back down. Drop the dough on a floured surface and knead a little until it is a little less sticky.

For buns:

Divide the dough in half. Take half and form into 24 balls of equal size (or more depending on the size you want). Place them fairly close together on pan so they don't grow too big! This will make pull-apart buns. Do the same with the other half.

For loaves:

Divide the dough in half. Take half and turn the dough under itself over and over again until you have a loaf shape. Drop into pan. Do the same with the other half.

Cover the pans and let rise until almost double in size (or until they are the desired size).

Preheat oven to 350. Bake for approximately 35 minutes.

Will yield approximately 48 buns or 2 loaves of bread. Let cool completely then place in brown paper bag and wrap in a plastic bag. Will keep fresh for a week pretty easily.

DO NOT PUT IN FRIDGE.

It's pretty fool-proof! If you try it, comment below and let me know how it works out! Don't forget to follow my blog!

Tuna Two-Ways!

I admit it.

Lately I've had really bad blogger etiquette. I'm so sorry. We recently moved and things have been a little crazy. But to make up for it I have two great recipes for you today and some healthy chocolate ones coming your way soon!

We love tuna. Canned tuna (in water, low-sodium) is a great "quick-fix" for lunches and great for larger groups. We try to mix up our grains so here are two tuna melt recipes that are wheat-free!

Rice-Cake Tuna Melt

What you will need:

2 cans of tuna (in water, low-sodium)

2-3Tbsp of non-fat plain yogurt

1C chopped spinach

1Tbsp of hemp hearts

8 brown rice salt-free rice cakes

1 tomato

It's as easy as mixing the first four ingredients together ...

Put your rice cakes on a cookie sheet. Divide the mixture evenly over your rice cakes and top with a slice of tomato.

Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes and voila...

OK, this next recipe is to die for! It's from the Canadian based company |Alive| (my personal fav!). We made this for a group of 22 people! We did the recipe x7. I had no thyme so I used fresh rosemary and omitted the cheese because my kids are lactose-intolerant. It was pretty quick except for scooping out all those sweet potatoes!

Golden Tuna Melts

What you will need:

2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed

6oz can of tuna (in water, low-sodium), drained

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp of fresh thyme, chopped

Sea salt & pepper, to taste

4 slices of swiss cheese (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400F (200C). Pierce the potatoes with a fork, place directly on oven rack and bake for 45 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork. (We put ours on cookie sheets and had to cook them for 1hr 05 minutes).

Mix tuna, celery, onion, olive oil and thyme. Season with salt & pepper.

Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out flesh, leaving a 1/4" thick shell. Coarsely mash sweet potato; mix with tuna mixture. Spoon mixture back into potato shells.

You can top each with a piece of cheese and broil until melted. These are great served warm or we did them at room temperature for the large group!

This recipe serves 2-4 people.

Am I forgiven?

Now stay tuned for my healthy chocolate recipes ...

Learning to Run!

Any runners out there? I am not. I don't like cardio, of any kind. I LOVE strength training and could do it everyday, but cardio is NOT for me.

So in my quest to get my pre-baby body back I decided to start running. You're not living until you're pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. At least that's what Jillian Michaels keeps trying to tell me: "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!". So, my sister and I joined a learn to run clinic through our local running store |The Run Inn|.

Thankfully the first few weeks have been somewhat easy, but we are running pretty slow - as in, I don't even break a sweat! So today I went on my first run outside of the clinic and thought it would be best if I pushed myself a little harder. I did 3 min run and 3 min walk 5x (a total of 30 minutes without warm up or cool down) and managed to go 5km! I was pretty happy! By the end I was willing my legs to move though, I'm not kidding!

I was also at a work conference all day and wanted to show you how you can stay fit and healthy with 3 kids and working all day.

So as for today:

6.30am - |Toneitup| |Bootycall| was 30 minutes of yoga

8.00am - M1 was 1C of Kashi GoLean cereal with 1/4C of unsweetened Almond Milk and 1/2 a banana. water.

8.15am - 1km power walk to the conference. water.

10.00am - M2 was 1 apple, 1/3C grapes and 1 domino size piece of cheese. water and green tea.

12.00pm - M3 was mixed veggies and some light meats. water. There wasn't a huge selection that fit the |Toneitup| plan. But I ate lots of veggies to fill up!

1.45pm - 2km power walk. black coffee and water.

3.00pm - 5km run/walk (3min run/3min walk 5x) water.

4.00pm - 1km power walk home and |Zico| Mango Coconut water.

5.00pm - M4 |ClifBar| Chocolate Mint, yum! Water.

8.00pm - M5 Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken on Spinach with Asparagus and Peppers on the side. Water. (See recipe on yesterdays blog!)

I try to remember the importance of liquids! Drink up! (|Zico| Coconut Water, Plain Water & Green Tea)

I was also planning on fitting in a TRX workout courtesy of my wonderful friend and trainer PJ from |Fitness with PJ| (check out her facebook page!) but there was a big spider in my house and I wasn't about to go near that floor! LOL :)

What kind of workouts do you fit in your day?