Plan Ahead or Plan to Fail

I'm not sure who came up with the saying, "Plan ahead or plan to fail" but I could literally apply it to EVERY aspect of my life. Every. Single. One.

Example - Parenting

Besides the obvious of never forgetting diapers and wipes, parenting in general requires quick action, fast thinking, and ALWAYS being at least five steps ahead of your kids. For example going to the grocery store cost twice as much with children because the thought of a tantrum over not buying the stupid toys they put hanging from the aisle is most of the time not worth the fight. However, IF you plan ahead, there are ways around this.

1. Offer your husband mind-blowing sex if he lets you go by yourself, this isn't an option? See all options below
2. Talk to your children, offer a treat at the end of grocery shopping if they are on their best behavior. Example: "If you show Mommy how behaved you can be in this horribly busy grocery store, we can make chocolate chip cookies when we get home" 
3. Explain this is a looking trip for the child and shopping trip for mommy to buy food. Sophia likes to make mental notes and then pretend to write them in our brain for what we want later.
4. If all else fails find the insanely massive shopping cart that has the race cart on the front, you know the one, shove your kids in it, wear dark sunglasses and hope NO one sees you. 

Example - Eating Right

Every Sunday, after this embarrassing shopping trip that your husband either opted to take a nap or watch the game so you had to take both kids, I prep all my food for the week. I have two kids, and often have two kids hanging on each leg while I try and prep dinner. Cutting up all my fruits and veggies at the beginning of the week literally cuts my dinner prep in 1/2! Not only that but I also prep healthy snacks for the week. I have found this to be the best way to cut out unwanted added calories that often creep up throughout the day - My kids goldfish.

Example - Excersise

I have an obsessive problem with writing everything down in my planner. Especially excersise. I do not have hours to spend at the gym. I can't even go to the bathroom by myself, let alone excersise for hours a day. Which is why a program like Focus T25 is literally the best thing that happened to me. 10 weeks of 25 minute high intensity workouts, 5 days a week. On Sunday night, when I write whats going on in the coming week in my planner I make a promise to myself that each day I will take at least 25 minutes, 5 days a week, for ME. Sure sometimes things come up during the time of day I had originally planned but at the end of each day when I looked at what I is left to do, I will move T25 to the top of my list.

At the end of the day, remember planning ahead and preparing for the worst leaves less wiggle room for failure.

Exciting News & Tuscan Soup

So excited to announce that I am officially a BeachBody Coach! Whats a Beachbody coach???

Someone who:

1) Spends their day getting others healthy and on the right fitness path
2) Has a job that holds them 100% ACCOUNTABLE for their body, their health & fitness
3) A job that allows me to stay home with my son & and not be late to pick my daughter up from school ( I am LITERALLY able to supplement my income!)
4) Work out = Get Paid
5) I am literally the HAPPIEST I have been in a long time. I have found a group of people who are all aiming for the same thing, Get healthy, Be happy, Succeed, and make money.

Needless to say this blog will be full of five things: 1) Health 2) Food, 3) Parenting 4) Inspiration 5) Fashion/Sewing (I can never get rid of these tow things :) )

First up? Of course the food!

A couple days ago I had a great soup at Floriana for lunch (Tuscan Soup), like drink any remaining morsel out of the bowl soup. Craving it again two days later, I had to duplicate. Had too.

Sunday night, husbands at work, I need something quick, finally think I came up with a little - healthier version. The original version involved sausage, I choose to put lean ground turkey, and seriously this was amazing! My kids at it all up and I made enough for lunch through out the week. Recipe is below:

1/2 Pound of Ground Turkey
Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Diced Tomatoes Canned (Low Sodium)
Cannellini Beans Canned, Drained, and Rinsed
1 Cup on Sauteed Kale
1/4 Cup of Sauteed Diced Onion

Prepare Kale and Onion together in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Cook until slightly wilted and onions are slightly caramelized
Cook Ground Turkey and drain fat
In one large pot put in all ingredients and heat to a low boil.

And your done….Listen I have two kids, recipes are never going to take longer than 20 minutes. I don't have the time, you don't have the time - Lets be real. This isn't Goop and thank goodness I'm not Gweneth Paltrow :).

Please take a minute and follow me on Twitter (@rotapper) and Facebook for more updates. I will be starting a Clean Eating Challenge and Challenge Group Starting this month! I would love y'all to join me on this journey! I will be starting with the T25 Focus program starting today! If you are interested in buying this program please visit my link and email me with any questions!

Until tomorrow remember there's no time like the present to get in the best shape of your life.

Rachael