Back on Track + a Green Mango Smoothie Recipe

     Things have been pretty hectic around my house over the past two weeks. I spent the early part of the first week with a sick little princess and the latter part of it being sick myself. The second week was spent buzzing around trying to prepare a surprise 30th birthday party for my husband. All this to say, my healthy goals have not yet been met...BUT they WILL be!

Why do I always forget to take pics until the last few minutes of an event?

     I had a lot of fun planning my man's birthday party. I love to cook for others and to entertain, though having a 6 year old and a 3 year old doesn't always allow for such things. I tried to find ideas for a man's 30th birthday but came up empty - notably, the first time I have been disappointed by Pinterest! I knew I wanted something manly and not juvenile so I decided on black as my base color. Next I decided on yellow as a secondary color because it is my husbands second favorite color - his favorite is red but I thought red and black would look too harsh. Then I decided I wanted some candies to put on the tables for people to munch on, so I picked up some boxes of lemon drops. This is when I had my light bulb moment - a 'We hope you don't sour with age' theme! I was already on the right track with the lemon drops and the yellow decorations, so I bought some cheap yellow school folders and cut out lemons to hang up and made a punch using lemonade, sprite, and white grape cherry juice - it was like a more grown up pink lemonade and was so yummy! I also made beef wellingtons, broccoli, toss salad, and hashbrown casserole per the Mr's request. Hubby doesn't like cake so I made brownies instead. The party has been deemed a success and I received the highest compliment from one of the guests who said I was like a human pinterest with all the ideas in my head, lol!
     Now that the birthday party is in the past, I'm getting back on track and getting my butt in gear this week! So, I am reestablishing my goal of healthy breakfasts this week. I even managed to get a little jump start on that by having a green smoothie this morning (recipe to follow). This afternoon I plan to make up a batch of steel cut oats and get it into mason jars with some chopped fruit so it's ready to pop in the microwave (as I am anti cold oatmeal) as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning. 
     I am also doing a little 'fast' this week, though not in the traditional sense. I will be fasting from television this week (Monday-Friday evening). I realize that as a stay-at-home mom, it is easy to have lazy days, especially for me. While I am in full support of allowing yourself down time and a day off once in a while, it is easier for me to make those kind of days a habit, which certainly does not honor the Lord. I will allow myself to watch TV on Saturday, and Friday night we usually do a family movie night after supper. Beyond those times, I am looking to serve rather than be entertained. I don't want to look back at my life and think it was predominantly spent being entertained, humored, and the like. I want to look back and know that I served my family and my community to the best of the abilities that God has given me - that I did my best to be the type of servant that Jesus himself exemplified. Join me in striving to serve our families and communities better! I'd love to hear from you - post a comment stating one thing you are going to do this week to be a better servant.

Green Mango Smoothie:
1 large handful of baby spinach
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 banana

First blend the spinach and milk together until the spinach is completely liquified. Next add the banana and mango and blend until smooth. Even my son enjoyed it!

This Week's Menu & Why I Don't Do Resolutions

     To kick off the new year right, I spent my day browsing the internet with pen and paper in hand in order to create a meal plan for this week. And no, it is not just any meal plan; it is a healthy meal plan, of course! Although there are some changes that I will be implementing this week, it is in no way related to yearly resolutions. To be perfectly honest, I have never been one to create New Year's resolutions. Not because I'm against them, but because for me, to pursue something, ANYTHING, for an entire year sounds incredibly arduous. And not arduous as in incredibly difficult, but rather, as in incredibly monotonous. I need variety, people!
     Rather than make some year long commitment that will bore me in merely a couple of weeks, I will chose to make shorter term goals that I can revise as often as I begin to lose interest. That being said, I also have very grand, long-term goals (such as being an entirely healthy person, inside and out!). So, I've decided to establish one goal at a time and share it with the vast cyber world in order for you all to hold me accountable, as I attempt to hold myself accountable. The first change I am attempting to make to my morning routine is to kick the cold cereal habit. First, I will make the change myself, then slowly I plan to get my kids on board - and without them ever realizing that their cereal has been replaced with something much healthier...something whole. And NO, this resolution should not take a whole year to accomplish, nor should it bore me before being crossed off of my 'To-do' list!
     On the breakfast menu for this week is a rotation of smoothies and steel cut oatmeal. I plan to make a big batch of the oatmeal and then portion it out into containers (mason jars for me, I have an addiction...) to be kept in the fridge for quick, no-fuss mornings. I also plan to portion out and bag up the smoothie ingredients so they're blender ready - I mean, really, who wants to chop up fruit first thing in the morning? NOT ME! If you want a peek at what's on my menu this week (for breakfast, as well as lunch and supper), check out my Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/healthyhisway/