Homemade Flavored Popcorn Recipes

Friday nights have become our pizza and movie nights. Generally we set up a picnic in front of our TV and enjoy our dinner right on the floor. To go along with our movie night we typically get movie theater style candy and kettle corn or buttered popcorn to enjoy. But why not make the popcorn into candy too? We usually use microwave popcorn to make things easier on us, because you just pop it in the microwave and it's done in a flash. Or check out SkinnyPop Popcorn. Pre-popped popcorn made with just popcorn, sunflower oil and salt.

We decided to spice things up and try our own flavored popcorn. Check out the follow 3 recipes to meet your savory, sweet and healthy needs with a Shakeology inspired recipe. Get your healthy on with Chocolate Shakeology. With 70 superfoods, chalk full of probiotics, pre-biotics, healthy enzymes, vitamins and minerals, it is the one daily shake that I love and trust my health to)! 

1 bag Popped corn
1 tsp or more Homemade Fajita Seasoning (see below for recipe)

Once popcorn is popped, immediately sprinkle with seasoning. A little or a lot. Your choice.
Stir to lightly coat your popcorn.

Fajita Seasoning: (great for chicken, rice and veggies too!)


Ingredients:
¼ cup Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Sea Salt
2 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder (optional)
1 tablespoon Cumin Powder

Combine in a cute little spice container and use when you need it!

1 bag popped corn
5 oz chopped dark chocolate

Pop corn and lay out on a tinfoil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 
Pick out and throw away all un-popped corn kernels. Set tray with usable popcorn aside. 
Add 1 inch of water to a medium saucepan or pot and bring to a very gentle simmer.
Place a heat-safe bowl on top of the pot so that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.
Add the chopped chocolate to the bowl and stir occasionally with a spatula until smooth and melted. 
Drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn
Let cool in fridge for 5 minutes until set.
Break apart and enjoy!

1 bag popped corn
2 Tbsp chocolate Shakeology powder

Pop corn and pour into a bowl
Sprinkle with Shakeology powder while popcorn is still hot. 
Stir to lightly coat your popcorn.
Enjoy! 

In the end Collin loved the Chocolate Shakeology Dusted Popcorn. Mason and Matt loved the Melted Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn. And I loved the Southwestern Style Popcorn! 

outtakes: Cause when there is melted chocolate around, you gotta lick the spatula! 

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Tips To Combat Emotional Eating

I am an emotional eater. Always have been. And it is something that I have learned to live with. It will never go away. But what I have gained over the past couple of years is HOW to manage my emotional eating so that I am not a victim to it anymore and so I can choose when I want to eat a sweet treat vs I have to eat it to help me feel better. 

Even just a few years ago while I was going through what became my second miscarriage, I was eating my feelings. Any news I got regarding that pregnancy, every couple of days after a blood draw, I would go and get an ice cream cone in a waffle cone from a local shop. In just 7 weeks I gained 15 pounds. From ice cream and not caring what I was putting into my body, even though I was pregnant. I wanted ice cream. So I ate it. But that miscarriage was really the turning point for me. Because a couple weeks after that miscarriage, I joined the gym. And a couple weeks after that I signed up for my first 5k race. And a week after that I participated in my first 5k race and met Janet who is now one of my closest friend and helped inspire me to be a coach! 

If you struggle with emotional eating. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! And it will take time to overcome it and learn to handle it. And just like any addict, you have to learn to live with it every day and ultimately make better choices when you have a "emotion" type of day that triggers a binge attack.

This lesson is coming straight from my 30 Days To A Healthy Lifestyle Change Program workbook in Week 3! Which is all about making a healthy mindset change! Check it out and get a sneak peek into my workbook!

As you begin to improve your health your emotions will also improve, but that doesn’t mean you're going to be free an clear from emotional eating. It may still pop up no matter how many improvements you’ve been making. 

The next time you find yourself trying to feed your emotions, take these steps instead. Ask yourself: 

What emotion am I trying to feed? 

Am I bored? 

Am I Stressed? 

Am I Angry? 

It’s ok to have these feelings. Sit with them and acknowledge them. But the goal is to make healthy swaps and learn the steps to help you not fall into the same unhealthy mental pattern you have been in. 

Ask yourself:

What is your biggest trigger for emotional eating? 

What action steps can you make right now that will help the situation causing your distress? 

Next, find something else to fill that void…Here are some ideas to try:

• go for a walk

• call a friend

• workout

• take a bubble bath

• light some candles

• create a dream board or vision board

• revisit your goals

• read a book

• get lost on Pinterest

• meditate

• go for a pedicure

• do yoga

• google motivational quotes

• pick out your goal outfit to reward yourself with at the end of this challenge

• watch a funny movie

• write in your journal

• look up new healthy recipes

• write a thank you note to someone who made your day

• reconnect with an old friend on Facebook

• clean your house

• window shop at the mall

Make a list RIGHT NOW of 10 things you can do to help fight against emotional eating. And the next time you are having a hard day, pull out this list and try out a few of the ideas on it. Make a note if it worked or not. And keep adding to the list of new things you can do to help you next time when you need it.

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Biggest Loser Pancakes

Who watched The Biggest Loser? A HUGE component to what the contestants are doing to make their amazing transformations is they are totally changing the way they eat. Because really, if you want to lose weight, look at what you are eating! Want to try one of their breakfast recipes? Check out this easy recipe for healthier pancakes using oatmeal and egg whites.

BIGGEST LOSER PANCAKES

Ingredients: 
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1.4 cup of batter onto skillet. Flip when they start to bubble.
Cook until golden brown.
Repeat with remaining batches spraying pan as needed.
Makes aprox. 10 pancakes

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

Mom and Baby Workout Tips

I'm a busy mom of 3 kids. And with a 2 year old and 5 month home with me full time, and the 5 year old at school. I have to plan ahead of time when I will get my workouts in. My prime time right now is when I put my 2 youngest down for mommy quiet time somewhere between 12:30 and 1:30pm. But not every day goes to plan. And I have to get creative. This past weekend, little miss Elyse decided she didn't want to nap as long as we had intended. And with a late workout time and early nap wake up...I was left with exercising with her. And it proved to be very entertaining for both of us. She had fun watching me go back and forth, and you can see it in the video. She loved being part of my routine and "flying"! As hard as it is to exercise with a baby, and find that time just for us moms, sometimes we don't get it. That doesn't mean you don't exercise. That means you just include them with you. Take a peek at our workout below doing 21 Day Fix Lower Fix! 

 

6 Tips For Working Out With Baby

1) Slow down at watch your baby. Some moves you might have to slow down for the safety of your baby, or to help them not puke all over you. If you are going up and down, and you just fed them then you might end up covered in milk. Just slow down just a hair and watch your baby's cues. 

2) Be safe. Be sure to always properly support your baby. Try not to do anything too difficult or unbalanced. If you struggle with balancing prior to holding your baby, best not to do a balance move, like a split squat, until you are more comfortable.

3) Use proper form. Don't lose your form because you are holding your baby. Feel your body as you are doing the move. If you feel like you are losing form to compensate holding your baby, try doing the same move but with your baby on the floor or in a safe place near you.

4) Play games with your baby. Babies love peek-a-boo. Try to make it fun and interesting for them. Talk to them. Count in a silly voice. Let them feel involved. Especially if they are watching you. 

5) Switch up what you are doing. Go from holding your baby, to them on the floor in front of you, then in a swing, then back to holding and so forth. You don't have to hold your baby the whole time, unless you want to.

6) Above all, have fun. Let them see you laugh, and enjoy it. Because you are instilling in to them, even at a young age, a love and desire to exercise. Be the example to them. Even as they continue to grow! 

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

GET OFF THE SCALE! Why You Need To Stop Weighing Yourself

This comparison just goes to show that the scale doesn't matter. 2008, before babies to now, after 6 pregnancies, and 3 babies. I weigh 1 pound heavier now than I did in 2008, but look totally different. I feel totally different too. It isn't the angle. I finally feel confident in my own skin. In 2008, I was so depressed about not being able to get pregnant. I was hiding my emotions and eating whatever I could because I just didn't care.

Our 2 Disney Cruises. Both times cropping my belly out of the photo because I was so embarrassed about how I looked.

In most of my pictures I cropped myself to hide my belly. To modify how I look. So I don't have many full length pictures of me at my heaviest without children. I hated how I looked. These are some of my favorite memories from trips and I despised how I looked. Now...I am so proud of how I look.

After our second Disney cruise it still took another 2 years before I finally decided to start working on me. I found a trainer, supporter, and started to excessively exercise to lose weight. Thus started my first step into who I am now as a coach and mentor! Now, I have learned it takes 30 minutes of effective exercise and healthy choices with what I am eating 80% of the time.

I have been there. Stuck, frustrated, depressed because I didn't think there was a way out. But now, after years! I finally feel like I found the answer. Daily super dense nutrition, using Shakeology, to help me control my cravings, work as my multivitamin probiotics and enzymes combined with only 30 minutes of effective exercise and I am feeling better than ever. Strong and proud of who I am and how I look, even though I am 241 pounds. I want the same for you! All it takes is to decide you are ready to begin. Let's chat if you are ready to start the first step in your healthy lifestyle change!

Want more daily motivation and inspiration? Click here get free advice, support and encouragement + a free copy of my Clean Eating guide to help you get started on your health and fitness journey! Don't forget to follow me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!