My Top FIVE Favorite Healthy, Wholesome Snacks!

"Snack" is probably one of my favorite words. I like the way it rolls off the tongue and that the word itself sounds exactly like what it is: something small and simple to hold your rumbling tummy over until the next meal. Being a stay-at-home mom, I am the queen of snacks; at the same time, I can sometimes get a little lazy with putting nutritious, healthy eats together for Vaught and me in between meals. I catch myself pouring sugar-laden cereal in a cup for Vaught, or grabbing some tator tots for him at the drive-thru.

Thankfully, I do have a few of my favorite snacks on hand that are quick yet wholesome and perfectly healthy for busy moms like me--don't worry, they're toddler-approved too!

1. Low Fat String Cheese & Nuts
This protein-packed snack keeps me going, especially in the midst of a long afternoon, when dinner is still a couple hours away. Vaught can eat an entire string of cheese to himself; like me, he loves peeling it off in pieces and eating a little at a time! Almonds are probably my favorite kind of nut, and just a handful of them (remember 1/4 a cup is a serving!) is plenty to keep my tummy satisfied until dinner time!

2. Baby Carrots & Peanut Butter
Even if you swap the carrots for apple slices or celery sticks, this snack is just as good! I love the fiber I'm getting from carrots, combined with the subtle sweetness and protein in peanut butter. It's the perfect combination! And who doesn't love peanut butter?! Sometimes if I need just a little bit more, I'll add half a glass of cold milk to this mini-meal, and it really does hit the spot!

3. Cucumbers & Hummus
I discovered hummus  my sophomore year of college at my sorority house, and the rest is history... I am OBSESSED with hummus and like all kinds, from garlic roasted, to pine nut and spicy hummus! We had a hummus and pita bread bar at my sorority house for lunch every Friday, but now I choose to dip cucumber slices instead of salty, carb-loaded pita bread or chips. 

 

4. Avocado
Ahh! Avocados are probably my favorite food and definitely my favorite fruit! I enjoy these by themselves or with just a dab of salsa on top. I love the creamy, smooth texture of one that's perfectly ripe!

5. Lärabar® Bites and Fruit/Nut Bars

Is there anything better than a healthy, wholesome snack that's conveniently packaged for a busy mom?! I am so grateful to have visited my Sam's Club and discovered these incredible snacks that are perfect for Vaught and I when we're on the go! Lärabar® believes that the foundation of a sound mind, body and spirit is derived from what you eat - and what you eat is most delicious and satisfying when it's in a whole, natural state. Any other moms agree?!


They believe that everyone, no matter who you are, deserves to eat great food. That's why their passion is creating delicious, convenient snacks made from just a few simple ingredients everyone can enjoy.

To this day, the Lärabar team continues to be inspired by Lara’s vision. Their Original Fruit & Nut Food Bars are made with only a few, recognizable ingredients, are minimally processed, and are GMO free.

The Lärabar® Chocolate Macaroon Bites are just as fabulous, made with a few simple ingredients that are healthy for me and, of course, toddler-approved! I love that I am familiar with every one of the simple ingredients that go into Lärabar® Bites and Fruit and Nut Bars!

You can learn more about Lärabar and their products by visiting their website here.

I encourage you to visit your local Sam's Club to stock up on some of the delicious snacks Lärabar has to offer! I am so glad I discovered Lärabar and have made them one of my top favorite snacks!

The Fitness Update You Weren't Expecting

I told you guys several weeks ago I'd get a body update to you soon... So here it is! (Ha...ha). 

However, this one is a little different from what you're probably used to, for I'm not talking about weight I've lost today. I'm putting it all out there, something you're probably used to already, and going in the opposite direction: weight gain. It happens to ALL of us at some point in our lives. And it also happens to all of us at some point in our journeys. I'm not exempt from it. 

This is me admitting that it's happened to me recently. From the beginning of July to early August, I gained about 10 pounds. I've put on 18 pounds since my lowest weight in mid-February. 

Go ahead; let is sink in. And enjoy this picture of me when I was nearly twenty pounds lighter in earlier this year (eye roll).

I can't write a lifestyle and fitness blog and avoid talking about the setbacks, especially when they happen to me. I can't be the blogger who pretends it's all good, when really, I've been riding the struggle bus. That's not who I am, and I feel like you all know that. 

I'd been avoiding the scale, refusing to weigh, and just telling myself I would start eating well again, taking my vitamins, and I'd weigh in a couple weeks and never even know the whole spill happened. 

But I kept making unhealthy decisions, telling myself "tomorrow will be better... Okay Friday... Okay I'm starting Monday for sure!"

Does this sound familiar?? 

My friend Chelsie let me borrow this book called Skinny School (written by the same author of Wife School, which she'd let me borrow previously). Don't turn your nose up at Skinny School just yet (I don't like the word "skinny" as much as the next girl), but the whole premise of the book is to re-train the main character, Jackie's, mind to think about food in a new way. Like me, she had been using food as a coping mechanism for emotional distress pretty much her whole life. (Aside from the fact that she's a single girl, Jackie is literally me).

A genie comes (if you've read Wife School, you know about him) to take her on a course through Skinny School to teach her how to have a healthy relationship with food that's going to help her lose weight, as well as draw her closer to God. It's a funny, light-hearted read, and I love that's it's a Christian approach to weight loss and healthy habits. 

I got a lot out of reading the book... So much, in fact, that the second I finished reading it, I started all over again! I could sit and talk about this book for hours!

I've been giving in to my inner Demanding Child (Skinny School) and letting her convince me that one treat is okay. Another plate of chips and dip is okay. Another ice cream won't hurt, and so on. It's so discouraging to think back on all the times I've let her run the show lately, especially when considering all the progress I've made in the nearly 2 years it's been since having my son.

I've not completely regressed to my pre-pregnancy weight, but when I weighed last week, I saw a number I haven't seen in a year, and it was exactly what I needed to get myself back on the wagon and out of this "fat funk." Sometimes I don't concern myself with the number, but right now I have to because it's not healthy for me, at all.

I've cut down on carbs and sugar (I was overloading bad) and already feel so much better and have lost a little weight. Some people turn their nose up when I say I try to stay away from carbs and sugar, but the fact of the matter is that our bodies just don't need them, and if you're carrying around excess weight like I am (like more than half of Americans are), you would probably benefit from a carb reduction too. I'm aiming for 50 or less grams of carbohydrates a day and no more than 20 grams of sugar.


So what am I eating? All of the lean meats and veggies I want! I eat cheese and even have heavy cream in my coffee (my favorite)! Cutting carbs as a tendency to freak so many people out, but I focus more on all of the amazing things I can eat and not the ones I'm staying away from. It helps that I absolutely love vegetables; they're so good for you and yummy when roasted, pan-seared, sautéed, baked, you name it!

I hate regression, but it happens, and it happens to all of us. Health and fitness are priorities in my life though, and I'm glad that I recognized a problem creeping in before it got worse. I've amped up my workouts and am eating well and ready to continue progressing in the right direction.

Gym time for this mama!

Don't let a setback get you down because that's all it is--a setback! Get back on the wagon and focus on your goals.

Keep pushing. Love you all!

How I Really Feel About It

You guys should see my drafts folder on my Blogger account. It's ridiculous. Really, I should be sitting here (here as in Starbucks) working on some of the drafts that are months and months in progress, but something else is weighing heavy on my heart tonight.

Yesterday, August 3rd, most of the schools in my area began their new school year. For the past week, I've watched as my teacher friends, veterans and rookies, trekked back to their respective classrooms to ready them for the new school year. New teachers can't wait to get going; lots of the older ones are already counting the days til summer break next year. Some of them try to hide their excitement, but I know how good it feels to get back in the routine at school!

Then there's me. Simple, little me, with not even four full years of experience, convinced one hundred percent that I just wasn't meant to do the thing I set out to do seven years ago. I remember being the most eager, excited person in the world summer 2012. I spent hundred of dollars on my new classroom, while purchasing a house at the same time. I just knew I was going to be the best teacher...

Until I wasn't.

I've talked about my experience on the blog a few times, so I don't have to go into all of that any longer, but it seems that everything negative from my first semester as a teacher created a snowball effect in my career and it was all downhill from there.

I do miss it sometimes. I  miss the kids and the relationships. I miss the days when I taught really spectacular lessons and had my kids really engaged. I miss helping young people understand things in a new way and learn new words and accomplish something that made them feel good about themselves...

I can't help but feel a little bit jealous because the truth is that I sometimes wish it had been for me. I wish the bad experiences hadn't happened. I wish I'd done things differently my first year. I wish I'd been less afraid of speaking up. I wish I hadn't quit on those sixth graders in February. I wish, I wish, I wish...

I guess the one thing I can't regret, despite what it costs, was not quitting on me. I tried so hard for four years and I couldn't make myself the teacher I'd dreamt of being. People kept telling me, "Give it one more year... Give it until year five..." Give it this, give it that, it wasn't happening. I knew in my heart something wasn't right, and I was the only one who could change it.

I realized life was too short to be as unhappy as I was all the time. I realized I was meant for something more than the mental torture I inflicted upon myself daily. I realized I didn't have to hurt anymore if I didn't want to.

I'm so much happier now doing what I do. I have a job I am proud of, and I work hard each day and love sharing my work with others. But a part of me will always be a teacher, always. A part of me will always love admiring the new school supplies Target puts on display in July, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the sound of kids chattering, and of course the part where I stand up in front of people and teach them something new.

But it wasn't for me. Despite almost being done with a master's degree in education, teaching wasn't for me, and I'm okay with it. You've got to get out there and do you, right? Figure yourself out. Go teach and fall in love with it. Go teach and discover that you hate it.

Go forth and be amazing. Make mistakes and find what it is you are truly passionate about, and do that. The climb is worth the view in the end.


Kate