5 Things Friday: From Twerking to a Lunch Routine

10 Unconventional Ways to Be True to Yourself

I was going to write a blog post on this, but Sweet Lil' You said it perfectly!

I did a large cook and freeze recently... and this White Chicken Chili came out fantastic. The kids loved it, I loved it and others I served it to loved it. It's a cook & freeze win!

Check out my fun, unique new fitness routine!

We are implementing this Pick Your Lunch Menu this year to make our lunch packing routine easier and hopefully teach the girls to make healthy choices for themselves.

Boloco for Lunch: A Review

I work in an area that is over populated with choices to eat lunch. Although I typically choose to go over to the grocery store to grab something something fresh and cheap. So when Boloco contacted me to try some of their yummy burritos... I was up for the challenge.

First off, I was surprised that the burritos were far from just Mexican food. They offer everything from Buffalo, Thai, Cajun, Memphis BBQ to Caesar, Mediterranean and Tikka Masala.

Next, I was pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive it is for the amount of food you get. The photo above is the "Original" size. It is the size of my forearm and wayyy too much food for me. I could only eat about half. I would definitely recommend getting the small size.

I loved the fresh ingredients... and the fact that I could choose any protein I wanted: chicken, steak, pork or tofu. I have only tried the Nasoya tofu on all of my burritos so far... and it has been so delicious. I am not a typically huge fan of tofu, but mixed in with Bolocos great flavors, I love it.

I am now a fan and have been back for lunch many times over... I have had the Buffalo, Tikka Masala, Cajun and Mediterranean burritos so far. My favorite this far is the Cajun flavor.

The major drawback with these burritos are that they can be high in calories, saturated fat and sodium. My first burrito I ate was the Buffalo original size. This had 1032 calories, 18 grams saturated fat and 1084mg of sodium!

Just be a bit more careful than me when ordering and you can get a much healthier option... a small Tikka Masala wheat burrito with Nasoya tofu is only 368 calories, 1.5 grams saturated far and 382mg of sodium. And it is so filling and delicious.

Speaking of the Nasoya- check their website out for some amazing recipes. My favorite is the Crispy Tofu Taco with Creamy Lime Drizzle... sooo delicious! There are even some great kid friendly recipes that are great for back to school lunches. The Cinnamon Sugar Crisps are a huge hit here.

This brings me to a little giveaway. I have a $10 Boloco gift card and Nasoya coupons to share with you. Ever since Google reader died, my readership has dropped away to nothing... so I have jumped on board the Facebook fanpage in an effort to get my readers back. Please go "Like" my Facebook page
New England Through Yummy Mommy's Eyes
and then come back here to let me know. That will gain you one entry into the Boloco giveaway. If you care to share my page on your own Facebook, let me know that too for an additional entry.

Good luck!

A Lesson I've Learned: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I have recently come to a realization: women (and more specifically, mothers) have a huge amount of anxiety. Some more than others... but I have had so many discussions recently with women from all different walks of life and they all seems to have some stress and anxiety throughout much of their daily lives.

Which left me to wonder, with all of the trials and tribulations I have to deal with, why am I not more anxious all the time? One friend so kindly pointed out I must be bottling it all up and I will just blow one day. But I don't really feel any underlying stress. How do I account for this? How are my coping mechanisms different from other women I encounter?

After many discussions and weeks of pondering, I saw this post from Lil Blue Boo. Ashley has dealt with severe anxiety and panic attacks; struggled with ADHD and social anxiety, eating disorders and alcohol abuse... and most recently cancer! If any Momma has a reason to be anxious, it's her.

But her mindset in coping with the daily minutia of life is very similar to mine: don't sweat the small stuff, but absolutely appreciate the small stuff.

She even created a list of Small Stuff versus Big Stuff. Although I do not have a written list, it is a mental list that I constantly refer to.

Just yesterday, I ran out of gas miles from home because my gas gauge is broken (great excuse for me). All I could do was laugh at myself and call a friend. The girls and I hung out in the sunshine on the side of the road... uploaded a couple of pictures to instagram and, thanks to great friends, were on our way within minutes, no worse for the wear.

When small things happen like that throughout the day, I simply stop and think of a couple things that I have to be grateful for. In this situation, Acadia was napping, so we did not have a cranky baby girl on our hands. This car that ran out of gas is in great condition and a very reliable to drive. I have AAA so, even if I did not have a great friend so close, we still would have been ok. The list of things to be grateful for in that situation were endless.

I have an amazing man in my life who lost both his son and wife in the last couple of years to suicide. And whenever he is having a bad day, he has a mantra he says that, no matter what his day holds, he has already experienced the worst days of his life. So there is just no use in wasting your energy in stressing over the small stuff.

That is my lesson. Do not waste your time, energy, resources or moments worrying about things you can not change or, quite simply, just don't matter. Are your kids fighting about what to wear? Well let them wear what they want. Are you running late for an appointment? Well reschedule and use that extra time to catch up on another area of life you are behind on. Did you forget to take out something for dinner? Give the kids a peanut butter sandwich and some carrot sticks and call it good.

Just think that all those moments that you are spending with stress and anxiety are moments lost with your love ones. And moments are something we can never get back. Unfortunately, our moments on this Earth are limited, so make the most of them before they are gone.

Learn some other lessons today with Mama Kat.

Happy Birthday, Acadia Skye: #5

This is my baby:

Today she turns 5-years-old. Wow... does time certainly fly. It seems like just yesterday she was snuggling on my chest as I was relishing the moments of her quiet breathing and sweet scent.

And, now... she starts kindergarten in a few short weeks. The days of her and I spending endless hours side by side have come to an end. She will join her sisters on a journey of independence and self discovery. 

She still kisses me all the time and can still fit in my lap to cuddle. She still sleeps in my bed as I rub her back to sleep each night.

But I know that I need to appreciate each and every one of these moments as she is growing up. All too soon, I will be helping her get her prom dress on, giving her advice on her wedding day and watching her carry her own children.

But, for now though, she is still my baby girl. And I love her to the moon and back.

Currently.

Enjoying: My new pedicure. Yet another experience gift Ariana and I were able to enjoy from Christmas. Pedicures are pretty much my favorite. Each time I look down at my pretty toes, it just brightens my day.

Eating: A new quinoa recipe. I got a sudden anxiety attack about school starting, work hours picking up, dance and other activities starting so I did a small cook and freeze session. I though I'd try my hand at a quinoa recipe to freeze... but the girls weren't a fan. I was, so I just decided to eat it for lunch all week. (Which, thankfully, alleviated more anxiety I have been having over my single mom budget by keeping me from buying lunch.)

Thinking about: My fantasy life on a farm... because it makes me happy and "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." -Anatole France

Loving: This Placemat Survey from Lil Blue Boo that I took with my girls as we took a road trip to Vermont to the Montshire Museum today. It killed a lot of time on the trip and it was so fun to hear the girls' answers. 

Listening to: I have loved John Prine since I can remember... and then a friend introduced to to Iris DeMent... and then this whacky song. Considering it was in a Billy Bob Thornton movie, you can see why it may be a bit off color.

Another amazing person just brought the song back to my attention again today and I can't stop listening to it.

Reading: Blogs. Catching up on lots of my blog reading now that I have joined Blog Lovin'. Yes, you can follow me here on Blog Lovin'.


Let me know if I can follow you on Blog Lovin as well, I need to build up my blog reader again.

How to be the most organized person in the world.

Love this infographic I stumbled across on greatlist.com

Get health and fitness tips at Greatist.com

Chocolate Lasagna: Easy and yummy dessert for potlucks.

Here is a recipe that I saw on Facebook that I actually tried and LOVED. I brought it over to a friends house for a casual dinner with our kids and the children all devoured it. It was quick and easy and you can actually adjust the ingredients to avoid high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil... etc.

It is now my go to for potlucks and gatherings.

1 package Oreo cookies (or Newman-O's, as I prefer)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 (12 ounce) container whipped topping, divided
2 packages chocolate instant pudding
3 1/4 cups cold milk
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. Place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin (or use a food processor, if you have one.) When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.

Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to mix the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan.

Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.

Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in milk and sugar, mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups whipped topping. Spread this mixture over the crust.

In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer.

Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the top.

Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

And then... enjoy! Its yummy!

9 Pictures. 9 Words.

Along my path to living simply....

Farm.

Home.

Simple.

Smiles.

Love.

Colors.

Peace.

Dream.

Destiny.