Goals for 2016

With 2015 quickly coming to a close I wanted to share a quick post about my 2016 goals. Some call them resolutions, I just like to call them goals. Things I hope to accomplish throughout the year. As I think over the last year and what I have or have not accomplished, what I'd like to improve or things I've just plain failed at I am writing them all down so I can make a new plan of action for next year. Here are some I have written down so far:

* I'll be 35 In May and I'd like to be 135 pounds by then :) Realistically it is only 15 lbs and totally doable, so a lot of that will be toning up!

* Drink my shakeology EVERY day in 2016!

* Run at least 3 half marathons (already signed u p and trainjng for the first one!)

* Buy less stuff!! I am so sick of having so much extra stuff around! My minimalist instincts are starting to kick in, lol

* Help 100 people (or more) reach their health and fitness goals, through my beachbody business or otherwise ❤

There may be a couple more, I'm still brain storming!

So what are your new year's goals?

Vegetarian Meal Prep

If you are vegetarian, or if you’ve ever considered switching to a vegetarian diet, this 21 Day Fix-inspired meal prep menu is a great place to start. The Beachbody nutrition experts created this week of meat-free breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks to help vegetarians and others practice portion control and still get enough essential nutrition in their diets. A complete grocery list is included to help you find everything you’ll need to make these meals.

We like this meal prep because it’s simple and requires very little cooking. It’s a good idea to set out individual containers for each meal before you start. Begin by cooking the brown rice and the quinoa, since those take the most time. While they cook, wash all your produce, chop vegetables, and put together salads and snacks. Any of the ingredients in this menu can be swapped for an equivalent amount of other choices from the same color container. For example, if you don’t like tofu, you can substitute 2 eggs instead.

This meal prep menu follows the 21 Day Fix Eating Plan for the 1200–1499 calorie level. It contains 3 green, 2 yellow, 2 purple, 4 red, 1 blue, 1 orange, and 2 tsp. per day. If you are eating at a higher calorie level, you can add containers to this meal plan using more of the same ingredients, or create additional snacks or meals for more variety.

Meal 1 (Breakfast): ¾ cup reduced fat (1%) plain Greek yogurt with 1 cup mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), 2 tsp. chia seeds, and ½ tsp. honey (1 red, 1 purple, ½ orange)
Variations: Substitute ½ large banana, 1 mango, or 1 peach for berries and 1 Tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut, or 1 Tbsp. flaxseeds, or 1 Tbsp. sunflower seeds for chia seeds.

Meal 2 (Snack): 1 packet Shakeology with 1 tsp. peanut butter (1 red, 1 tsp.)

Meal 3 (Lunch M/W/F): 1 cup kale, ½ cup snowpeas, ¼ cup shredded carrot, ¼ cup chopped red bell pepper, cilantro, basil, ½ cup edamame, ½ cup grapes, ¼ avocado, 1 Tbsp. salad dressing (we used the Asian Vinaigrette recipe in the FIXATE cookbook) (2 green, 1 yellow, ½ purple, 1 blue, ½ orange)
Tip: To chop kale, remove the stems, then roll leaves together into a ball and slice. Squeeze chopped leaves roughly a few times. This is called “massaging” the kale, and will make it more tender and easier to digest.

Meal 3 (Lunch T/Th): 2 cups raw spinach, ½ cup cooked quinoa, ½ cup sliced strawberries, 1 Tbsp. goat cheese, 1 Tbsp. sliced almonds, 1 Tbsp. Honey Mustard Dressing (2 green, 1 yellow, ½ purple, 1 blue, ½ orange)

Meal 4 (Post-Workout): ¾ cup reduced fat (2%) cottage cheese with ½ cup cubed pineapple (1 red, ½ purple)
Variations: Substitute ½ cup berries, ½ peach, or ½ cubed mango for pineapple

Meal 5 (Dinner M/W/F): ½ cup black beans, ¾ cup tempeh, ¾ cup halved cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, drizzled with 1 tsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. lime juice (free) (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 tsp.)

Meal 5 (Dinner T/Th): ½ cup cooked brown rice, ¾ cup firm tofu, ½ cup sliced onion, and 1 cup spinach sautéed in 1 tsp. olive oil. Drizzle with reduced-sodium tamari soy sauce (free) (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 tsp.)
Tip: Cook onions first in ½ the oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they turn golden brown. Add spinach, cook until spinach wilts. Remove vegetables from pan. Pat dry tofu with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then slice into cubes. Drizzle remaining oil into hot pan, add tofu. Cook for two minutes, then flip each piece of tofu and cook an additional 1–2 minutes.
Variation: Substitute 2 poached eggs for tofu

Grocery List:

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables1 avocado
1 large or 2 medium red bell peppers
2 containers blackberries
2 containers blueberries
1 container strawberries
2 containers fresh raspberries
1 fresh pineapple or 16 oz cubed pineapple
1 bag grapes
2 carrots
1 bag shelled edamame
1 bunch kale
2 onions
1 red onion
5 oz. snow peas
1 bag spinach
1 container cherry tomatoes
1 bunch basil
1 bunch cilantro
1 knob fresh ginger

Dairy
1 32-oz. AND 1 4-oz. container plain 1% Greek yogurt
1 32 oz. container 2% cottage cheese
1 oz. soft goat cheese

Grains/Seeds/Nuts/Nut Butter½ oz. sliced raw almonds
2 oz. chia seeds
1 jar all-natural peanut butter
4 oz. quinoa
4 oz. brown rice

Canned Foods1 can black beans

Proteins
5 packets chocolate Shakeology
2 packages tempeh
2 packages firm tofu

Pantry
raw honey
dijon mustard
olive oil
sesame oil
ground black pepper
sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
reduced-sodium tamari soy sauce
rice vinegar

Viateam beachbody

Welcome

Here it is, my very first blog post. I'm going to try and make this short and sweet. I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now. A place to share whats going on in my life in one place. My biggest hurdle so far has been coming up with a blog name. I wanted a name that reflected me and my life but was also not a run of the mill kinda name. For months now I have been racking my brain and searching for availabilty. I was getting frustrated that everything I came up with until now was already taken. Then one day a couple weeks ago it came to me, Life in the Ordinary. It may seem strange to some but let me give a little explanation to its inspiration.

We recently had been going through a sermon series at church on ecclesiastes. Through this I was encouraged and inspired to live the life I ACTUALLY have, not the imaginary one of the future that hasn't happened yet (or maybe never will!) For anyone who doesn't know I am a stay at home, homeschooling mama of three young kids, I care for my grandmother who lives with us, I am a part time nutrition and fitness coach and a slew of other responsibilities. In other words I am a CEO of a very busy house with endless things to do. From time to time I am overwhelmed and struggle with "just" being at home, with "just" being a mom and the mundane tasks of running a home and caring for children. I struggle with feeling well, ordinary. Then in this sermon the words hit me "life happens in the ordinary, in the mundane, in the everyday." Yes we will have a few extrordinary moments in our life and those can be celebrated, but where life actually happens is in between the extrodinary moments - in the ordinary.

My hope for this blog is to share my life and all of its many ordinary (and maybe a few extrordinary) moments. My hope is to inspire, encourage and support others in any way possible. Whether that is fitness, family, spiritually related or anything in between. So there you have it, my short but sweet first blog post. Until next time <3

Natalie