Sloppy Philly

It's time again for another recipe. No it's not low carb, but it is a must try! 

My Sloppy Phill sandwiches or also know as a loose meat Philly Steak sandwich.

This meal is a definite hit in my house. My husband likes it and no complaints from the kids. What more could a mommy ask for?!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of beef (I used 80/20)

1 large onion

1 large green pepper
1 Tbs oil

1/2 c. quick oats 

water

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 1/2 tsp salt 

 pepper (to taste)

hoagie rolls

mayo

provolone cheese 

Directions:

Slice onion and green pepper and saute in oil until onions begin to turn clear. 

Set veggies aside, in a medium bowl (because we have picky eaters we set aside our veggies that have been cut in bigger pieces and minced half of the peppers and onions and added them to the beef. The kids had no idea they were eating they're most hated veggies!!! MWA-HAHAHA!!!)

Brown beef with seasonings and salt.

Once browned add oatmeal. Allow oats to soak up grease and water. 

Add water until your mixture reaches your preferred  consistency. 

Cook for 5 minutes, or longer if you need to cook off excess water.

At this point you can toast your hoagie, add mayo, peppers and onions and provolone cheese. 

Add a side salad and a handful of chips and you have yourself a meal!

Enjoy!

...that looks like this-->

Healthy Girl pt2 (Healthy Eats)

(Have you read Healthy girl pt1? If not click here!)

If you follow this blog or have read at least one other post, you can probably tell two things about me right away. I am a list maker and I love to share things I love.

To keep this post from falling short, I present you with a list of healthy foods I love!  

1. Dasani Sparkling Apple water. Yes Yes YES!!!! I absolutely LOVE this water. With Zero carbs and a ton of flavor this is, with no doubt, my go to drink. 

2. Tumaros- Low in Carb Multigrain Wraps. I love pairing these wraps up with my meat of choice, a ton of veggies and some kind of dressing to make a restaurant worthy wrap. Coming in at 4 carbs per wrap, these are a must have in my pantry!

3. Cheese. On the packages of most cheeses we buy the carb count reads, 1<. 

A good source of calcium and protein makes cheese the perfect snack with a bit of fruit. 

4. Veggies (Leafy greens). You can't go wrong with the leafy greens. Salad, cabbage, greens and even brussel sprouts will keep you on the low side of carbs.

Sorry vegetarians, #5 goes to MEAT!!! It's important that I get in plenty of protein. Grill it, bake it, Crock Pot it, whatever. Just make sure you bring the meat!!!

6. Peanuts. Not the lowest in carbs, but it's a good source of protein and fiber. 

7. Quest Bars. High in protein, low in carbs, easy to take on the go, plus ...they're yummy!

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough

Cinnamon Roll

White Chocolate Raspberry

...just to name a few   

There are many more flavors at GNC, if you're interested.

8. Gold Standard Whey Protein. I drink these only after running or lifting weights. There are many debates on the pros and cons of drinking protein shakes.
I say, If it's not for you, don't drink them, but if you're like me and the pros outweigh the cons I suggest finding flavors you like. This brand has Chocolate, Strawberry and my favorite Cookies and Cream. 

9. Skim Milk. Milk is another one of those things that are debated, upon in the fitness world. I only use skim milk to mix my protein shakes because I don't want my body to absorb the fat from 2% or whole milk during my post workout routine. (I'll explain all of that in a future post.)

10. Fiber. Not my favorite to eat because of flavor but to keep my body in check. With all the protein I take in, things begin to slow down. 

It's not only uncomfortable but unhealthy too. 

Unflavored fiber is definitely the way to go. 

...and saving the best for last #11 Twizzlers. Fat free candy is my "BFF" when it comes to candy, for my post workout. I need that sugar to spike my insulin right before I drink my protein shake. Talk about a "sweet" treat at the end of a workout!!!

Don't like Twizzlers? Try

Gummy Bears

Gummy Works 

or even

Jelly beans!

Do you have a go to food or drink that makes your fit journey a little more bearable? Do tell!!! I would love to try it!

~Note, I am not a nutritionist or personal trainer nor was I paid to endorse any of the products I just mentioned in this post. I am simply a mommy on a personal journey to become a "Healthy Girl". 

April is the month of...

Call me crazy, but I can make a "favorites" list for just about anything.

Favorite:

Cupcake- Oreo Truffle

Colors- Tiffany Blue & Pink

Animal- Donkey

Sports team- St Louis Cardinals

Month- April
...and so on...

Even crazier than making a list of favorites is picking my favorite of favorites. (Stick with me, there's a method to my madness!) 

...so of my favorites, my top pick is:

The Month of April

*baseball season

*my birthday

*spring time 

*flowers

and most important

So don't mind me, I am going to share some of my favorite photos of some of my favorite Army babies!

Military kids are, simple put, amazing. They deal with situations most people try to avoid.

-leaving behind family and friends to move to different cities, states or even countries.
-watching a parent on go away for deployments, months at a time.
-switching schools in the middle of a school year and being the dreaded "new kid" yet again.
-being disciplined "military style" (yes ALL of our kids know how to do push ups!!)

So raise your root beer mugs and yell out a big "HOOAH" for the amazingly awesome military child!

Healthy Girl pt1

Just like almost everybody in America, I made a New Year's resolution to eat "right" and get "bikini ready".

Just like almost everybody in America, I quickly lost my motivation.

Lucky for me, I have a husband who is super supportive of my crazy antics and wild ideas. So when I come up with something that isn't so far fetched, such as getting fit and healthy, he's even more in my corner. 

(It's not that I need to shed a lot of pounds nor does my husband want to see me bench press 6x my weight, we are just about living a healthier lifestyle.) 

To start things off we decided to change our diet and to exercise regularly.

• Cutting out the fast food was one of the first things we did. "Ok, this isn't so bad. I kinda like homemade cheeseburgers better anyway!"

• Next was ditching the sodas. "WHOA NELLY!!!!!! I did NOT sign up for this!!!!!" At the time, giving up my sodas felt harder for me, than signing the dotted lines to join the Army. 

• About the same time as I gave up my bubbly beverages, we began taking morning walks everyday. 1 mile then 2. (As of now we are striding at about 3 miles an hour!)

Once April came around our diet plan got even harder. 

• Low carbs and high protein. Nope no Olive Garden for this girl. (sad face) 

• No sugar, yup you read that right NO SUGAR!!!!! **I was not a happy girl on my birthday when I wasn't able to eat my beloved cupcakes.

• LOTS OF WATER!!!!!  ...and I mean LOTS OF WATER!!!!! I keep a water bottle next to me all day long, no matter were I go. Although my hubby has to remind me to drink, I still have easy access to it.

(Keep an eye out for "Healthy Girl pt2" for my "Low Carb Favs" list where I will feature some of my favorite recipes, water, and foods.)

• Mo veggies Mo veggies Mo veggies!! Fruit, not so much, they are higher in carbs than I would of ever thought. 

Now that our diet is (for the most part) in order, we have added weight lifting to our routine. Despite sore muscles this has to be my favorite part of being a fit and healthy girl!

Throughout the last two months I have craved food, soda and candy, lost motivation at times and have almost given up. 

ALMOST! 

On the other hand, I have been less tired, I have more time to talk to my husband during our walks (kinda like a mini date!), seen numbers go down on the scale (muscle weighs more than fat so those numbers might climb again) and more important than the numbers, I've seen changes in my body! 

I am excited about my "Healthy Girl" journey and I hope you will join and follow along every step of the way!

Best of Luck to you on your journey!

What are you doing to be more healthy? Please feel free to share, I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Curse of the mommy blogger?!?!?

So as I sit here bundled up in my blanket on this 40 degree spring day, I find myself browsing different blogs. You know just to see how the "pros" do it, when I run into a couple of blogs actually dissing "mommy bloggers"!!!!

WHAAAA???

They say mommy bloggers post over the top things such as, "How teach your child to do things they would obviously learn on their own", "to homeschool or not to homeschool", they even attack the adorable Bento box lunches. (Pictured on the left)

Now wait a minute, somebody please tell me, what is wrong with making a lunch for your child or loved one, making it as pleasing to the eye as it is on their tummy and sharing what you did online? I can do the same designs on cupcakes (and post them on my cupcake blog) and it be all the rage, but if I do it on this blog for my kids, its annoying and over the top! 

Hmmm, interesting!

They say, reading mommy blogs make them feel like their family could never be as good as the blogger's.

Wow, there's the problem right there, and no the problem isn't with the mommy blogger! 

Whether you are looking at a mommy blog, on Facebook or any other  social media outlet, you shouldn't compare yourself or your family to any body else's! I know God blessed me with my husband when he walked into my life. Granted me the chance to have BONUS babies and He knew exactly what He was doing when He entrusted me to love, care and raise my Belly babies. I couldn't be happier with my family, (even though we are FAR from perfect),

 and there is no blog out there that will make me feel otherwise!

I didn't start this blog to try to make my family look perfect or to make anybody else's feel less than mine or to convince anybody that homeschooling is better than any other option and "how to's" are fun crafts that I want to share with you ...just because! 

"Hello, my name is Mommy" is strictly about fun things I do with my family, recipes and pretty much whatever else. 

With that being said, I hope you enjoy my blog!! I have so much more I want to share with you. 

...Oh & don't forget to comment and share!

Confessions of an Army Wife

Kay, so I know it's been a while since I last posted, but my family and I have been unpacking boxes and reassembling furniture like crazy since late last month.

 ~Oh the joys of PCSing!!!!! (Relocating, in Army terms.)

Anyway, PCSing my not be what I call "fun" (that is unless you're moving to a different country)

 ...but I digress!

... and neither are staff duty days (24 hr shifts) or the dreaded, DEPLOYMENT.

But no worries here!!! (<-- wow, I really started my sentence off with "But"?!?!) There's always a brighter side.

• PCSing gives you the chance to meet new people, live where you never would of gone otherwise and sometimes give you the chance of experiencing a new culture. 

• 24 hr duty gives you a chance to blog (wink wink) or hang out on Pinterest, be in control of the remote and even sprawl out on the bed and hog the blanket to yourself.

• Deployments stink, plain and simple. (Two days after my husband left for deployment, I had our son) I didn't think I could make it through it, but I did! I learned so much about myself and got to hang out with my baby boy for, two weeks shy of, a year. Not to mention I redecorated, and hogged the bed to myself! LOL 

       Eventually my "brighter side" rolled around,  prepping

 for my best friends return!!!

There is NOTHING like military life (I know from both sides), but everything is what you make of it! ツ

Have a beautiful day!

Happy Spring!

Ok ok, so I know I'm a couple of days late, but

 Happy 1st day of  Spring.

Lol

To take advantage of the nice weather and to get the kids out of the house, I whipped up a quick batch of chalk paint and let my kiddos out on the back patio.

Fresh air + Warm sun + Paint + Happy kiddos =

HAPPY MOMMY and DADDY!!!!!

So, because you rock, I decided to share the recipe for your very own batch of 

DIY Chalk Paint

• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 cup water
• liquid food coloring 
• spoon
• medium bowl
• muffin pan
• paint brushes 

Mix your water and corn starch together in your medium bowl. (Your mixture shouldn't be lumpy, if it is, simply smoosh them with the back of your mixing spoon)

Evenly divide you mixture into equal portions (I just eye balled it, nothin' fancy here) in your muffin pan. 

In each cup add your colors. 

(I added about 5 of each color. You can add more or less depending on how vivid or light you want your colors to be.) 

Next, let your little ones out with a few paint brushes and HAVE FUN!!!

What awesome things do you to get out and beat cabin fever?!