Veteran's Day Hot Chocolate

(2012. Picking Matt up at the airport after an 11 month deployment. Mason was 11 months old.) 

Matt has always felt that this day, Veteran's Day is "His Day". And it is. Today we dropped Mason off at school and Matt, Collin baby and I headed down to the downtown area of Charlottesville. We happened upon the Veteran's Day Celebration. We then enjoyed a great breakfast at the area's first diner. I ate french toast and eggs. YUM! 80/20, eat clean 80% of the time and you can eat anything else the other 20%! We then picked Mason up from school, went to Best Buy and I finally rejoined the cell phone age and got a business phone! And have just been relaxing the rest of the day! What did you guys do today? 

So, to make my officer feel extra special on "his day" I am trying out this awesome Hot Chocolate with a kick recipe tonight after the kiddos go to bed! Hot chocolate is one of his favorite cold weather drinks!

Does this look good to you?

CLEAN EATING HOT CHOCOLATE

(Makes approximately 4 cups)

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups unsweetened milk (any type)
3/4 cup honey (or to taste)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
3 tablespoons unsweetened powdered cocoa

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a pot and warm over medium to medium high heat. Stir constantly with a whisk.
Pour into cups and serve.

Found at The Gracious Pantry

Old Me vs New Me

Transformation Tuesday! MY OWN! The old me and the new me. The me on the left. She was suffering from depression, but still trying to be better every day. Shy, nervous and suffered from low self confidence and esteem. Determined though to never give up. Worked on eating better, giving up the processed foods, and making meals that were healthy and helped make her happy. Motivated to change while motivating and supporting others just like her.

Well, the old me, the one on the left, blossomed into the girl on the right! Confident, glowing, happy, inspiring others and 18.5 pounds lighter. All because I decided that I was worth it and that I was tired of being sad, tied of my body hurting, or out of breath when climbing the stairs. I was through with making excuses. I had enough and I was ready to change.

And I have.

It is so amazing to see that in just a few short months I have literally transformed into this girl on the right. No make up and all and still beautiful!
Be you. Take care of you. You are worth fighting for. You are worth starting today and trying. This is your chance. Are you ready? You can join me and my group. Send me a message and we can talk about how you can change too! Connect the dots for your fitness, health and life with this Ginger! 

And, of course, be sure to like our FACEBOOK page and follow us on PINTEREST for motivation, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.

Halloween 2015

Halloween recap! I love Halloween and we thankfully were all able to coordinate! Third year in a ROW! WOW! AWESOME! This year we were Jurassic World. I was Claire the boss lady in heals! Matt was a tourist wearing a Jurassic Park shirt. Mason was a T-rex and Collin was a T-Rex hatchling. We got lots and lots of "OH how cute" And fun comments. Mason and Collin made out like bandits with the amount of candy they got. We let them go hog wild that night and then started to ration their candy the next day. It has worked great for bargaining with Mason.

On top of that, I wore a different wig everyday for my challenge group and students. It was so much fun rocking a fun and different hair color. Some wigs were better than others but still fun. What is your fave?

Bonus day 6:

I hope you all had a great Halloween. Be sure to check out my FACEBOOK page to get daily motivation and tips, recipes and support!

Sundays Are The Best

Sundays I slow things down. I try to sleep in, do something special for breakfast for the family, enjoy family time, church, sleep (oh yes! I nap on Sunday!) more family time and dinner and then I end the day with yoga. I try not to push my body too hard because I need this "day of rest". My body needs it. If you get a chance today just slow things down. Take a little break. Enjoy the day! Happy Sunday everyone! 

Need a good de-stressing stretch yoga routine? Check out this 10 minute routine by Women's Health! My favorite stretches. And of course ending the routine with corpse pose!

What is your favorite Sunday activity?

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Turkey Day Transformations! Who wants to have a healthier Thanksgiving this year? I DO! Every week I am going to be posting some great healthy options for your Thanksgiving feast! 

Yes this has sugar in it. But this makes 4 servings. That means only 1/4 tablespoon of sugar per potato. 80/20. Eat clean 80% of the time and enjoy the rest 20% of the rest of the time. but there is so little sugar per serving. Swap out your traditional cream and butter filled mashed potatoes and gravy for this healthy tasty option. Oh and this can also replace the sweet potato casserole. TWOFER! Enjoy! 

Check out todays, 

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes (1/2 pounds total)
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon light- or dark-brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped pecans

How to make it: 1 hour, 20 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pierce each sweet potato twice with tip of knife.

2. Bake until soft, about 50 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle but still very warm. Reduce oven heat to 325°F.

3. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out flesh and place in medium bowl, being careful not to tear skin. Reserve skins. Add pineapple, oil, butter, sugar, zest, and salt to potato flesh. Whip with electric mixer or whisk until slightly fluffy.

4. Place skin shells on baking sheet. Fill with potato mixture, mounding each. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake 5 minutes longer. 1 serving is half a potato.

Healthy Cooking Tip:

Twice-Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes can be made up to a day ahead of time. Bake and stuff the potatoes as directed in the recipe through step 3. Place in a shallow dish, cover loosely and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking as directed in the recipe.

Modified from Reader's Digest Recipe