NO-BAKE Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Bites (My own healthy alternative to an Almond Joy)

Hey there, Happy Good Friday everyone! 

I got a little inspired this morning in the kitchen and wanted to share this AWESOME recipe with you!!

**Note: this recipe is kid tested and approved & mom tested and approved! 

NO-BAKE Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Bites
(My own healthy alternative to an Almond Joy)
This recipe is Dairy-Free, Wheat-Free, & Vegan 
Makes approx. 24 bites

Ingredients

• 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 cups rolled oats 
• 1/2 cups cocoa powder (or chocolate protein powder for extra nutrition)
• 6 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 4 Tbsp Almond Butter (or any nut butter)
• 6 tsp water 
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

Preparation:

1. Mix well with whisk in a large bowl oat flour, rolled oats, cocoa powder and ground flax seed. 

2. Add vanilla and honey. Mix well with rubber spatula until mixture becomes sticky. 

3. Add almond butter and water. Mix well with rubber spatula until mixture reaches a dough like consistency. 

4. Roll mixture into bite-size balls. 

5. Add coconut flakes to a small bowl and roll balls in coconut until covered.Can be eaten immediately but best when stored in the refrigerator.

**Store in Fridge or Freezer

Spring Into Fitness

As a stay at home mom, it is important for me to Find and Make time for myself, my health, and my own personal betterment. Somewhere along the way, in parenthood, I think we may lose ourselves; the person we were before we became a parent, the person we wanted to be or thought we were, and the person we've become. Sometimes it's easy to find that person again and create a balance between the old you and the new you. Other times it's not that simple, and that is OKAY.

For me, it was pretty hard to even realize I had lost a pretty big part of myself and it wasn't an overnight process once I did realize it. It is still a process!! But now I have a journey that I am on. I figured out where I lost myself and what I needed to do to get back on track to being ME and to being the best possible ME that I can be. One of those big steps I had to take was implementing better nutrition and regular exercise into my daily life.

Have you ever had that lost feeling after having children? It's okay to admit it. We've all been there because we consume ourselves in our children, in making sure they are happy, healthy, cared for and loved. But what about you?? Are you placing that same amount of priority on YOURSELF? It is just as important for you to take the best possible care of YOURSELF as it is to take care of your family. You are their rock, their role model, their super hero, the most important person in their lives. Why not take pride within yourself that you 100% deserve?!

What do you think? Are you ready to put some Spring into your step and make time for YOU again? I would like to invite you to personally challenge yourself for 21 days of making YOU a top priority in your life, with me :) Starting April 4th, 2016 we will be adventuring on a 21 day journey to make ourselves, and ultimately our health and vitality, a TOP priority.

Ready to Spring Into Fitness with me this April and take back control of your life and health? Fill out the form below so we can get started :)

Fill out my online form.

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Decide. Commit. Succeed.

A couple of months ago I decided to take the plunge and started my own business as a fitness and wellness coach! While the business aspect has been a bit slow starting for me I have made incredible improvements in my health, fitness, personal growth and development and have made some amazing friends. To deter feelings of discouragement and defeat I have to keep reminding myself that, as with any start-up business, it takes time to start and grow your business. It doesn't all happen at once.

I chose this line of work because there are so many benefits and an infinite amount of learning criteria. The potential to earn is an incredible opportunity especially since I am a stay at home mom, but that is not the only benefit nor is it my main goal. Yes of course I want to create an income. I would love to be able to contribute financially for our family; help pay off the house, work our way to purchasing our second home, stay current and up to-date with our bills, be able to take our family on vacations, have financial freedom and comfort. Yes, with this business it is possible and it's definitely a motivator but it's not my main motivator. 

My motivation stems from the fact that I want to be my best self, to live my fullest and most wholesome life. To live healthy and strong, fit and confident. To gain experience, to continue learning and have the opportunity to help others find a way to live their lives fulfilled.

I long felt that I just didn't know what my purpose in life was. I was afraid to go to college because I was afraid it would end up being wasted money in a degree I would most likely never use. That was something I took note of growing up that happened to people around me and I didn't want that to happen to me. I didn't want a job where I was stuck behind a desk or a a career that I spent 80% of my day working. I was afraid to be tied down, suffocated and unhappy in a job I didn't feel passionate about. What job could I do that would actually mean something in my life? Not to say that any of the jobs my readers are working aren't good jobs, you may be very fulfilled with your career choices and that is fantastic and I am so glad for you. But for me I never felt a passion for anything I've really done. Until now.  

Looking back now, I see that it all has worked out the way it was meant to so far. The one thing I knew I wanted to be in my life was a mother. I had always looked forward to being a mom. Today I am blessed to say that I am a mother of two and I have the opportunity to stay home with them. During the frustrating moments I may take it for granted, but overall I would never want it to be any other way. One of the deciding factors of transitioning to staying home was my medical issues. When we first made the decision that I would officially quit my job I was severely sick with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. It was the longest year of my life, longest two years until finally receiving an official diagnosis of Crohn's Disease. When I put the recent events of the last 5 years into perspective with my adult life, and lack of a career choice, I am extremely grateful for the way things have worked out. If I had made a career choice in my past I probably would have lost all of my success in whatever that career was after having kids and getting sick. If it had been a job I loved I would have been dealing with even more stress than I already was. I have been stuck in a tug-o-war between having to leave my job I loved and staying home with the kids to be a full-time mom and get my health back. I know parents, especially moms, have been there and it's not a decision I would want anyone to have to make.

My journey to live a healthier life began when I got sick. It allowed me to change my perspective and I learned that I need to take care of myself. I realized that the most important aspect of my life, the one that needs to be treated with respect, is ME. How can I live my best possible life if I am not taking care of me? You are the creator of your own happiness and that includes your health. This was one the biggest things I've realized in the past 2 years and it has led me to where I am now. 

I am finding the ways to live healthy, in as many aspects as I can. I am taking action and make changes to my daily life that will enable me to live everyday full and healthy. Yes, of course, I have my bad days. We all do. And this is only the beginning; this career choice, becoming a fitness and health coach, learning more about my self and how to live my best life. From this I have committed myself to my life and my journey. I have made a commitment with myself to use everyday as a new step to living a healthy life. And I am committing myself to my business and helping others along the way. That is my favorite part of this business, besides the required personal development. 

As a part of my commitment, I entered myself in the Beachbody Challenge for the program PiYo. My challenge started February 1st.  This challenge is a 60 day commitment to myself; my body and fitness, my nutrition and my self-discipline. As a part of this challenge I need to follow the program schedule and workout everyday. I also need to follow the PiYo Lean Eating guide, this is the part I slacked on the first time around using this program. The workouts aren't a biggy for me, I mean they are tough and they work you. But I've been doing them almost everyday for the last two months and they are my favorite workout. It is a combination of pilates, yoga, and cardio. The hardest part of this challenge is the eating! I really need to create stricter eating habits, which is ironic considering nutrition was the aspect of this whole wellness path that got me started. But I really needed to put my foot down and take action. Finishing this challenge will not only help me get, and stay, fit and active, it will also help me create better eating habits AND I'll get a free t-shirt and entered into a $$ prize drawing! 

During my prep-week the week before my challenge I had to really sit down and plan my first week! I needed to come up with a way to make sure I ate the proper amounts of everything and was eating the right foods! The eating guide simplifies this for you by giving you a calorie target plan and the number of servings you should be eating each day, of each food group per plan. That was the simple part. The hard part was making sure I actually was eating the right things, I wasn't skipping meals or binge eating at night. Carbs! Carbs have been the hardest part! I'm limited to two tiny servings of carbs. This is hard for a potato girl! However, I knew that this was my weakness so I had to figure out something to eliminate this hurdle. 

Enter in Food Prep Fridays! I scoured Pinterest for hours trying to find the perfect meal plan printable, however I ended up making one myself so that I could start my meal week on Friday. That's weird I know, but our payday is Thursday so that is the day we grocery shop and Friday's are also my "rest day". It just made sense to me to start the "weekly menu" on a Friday. It worked very well during week 1 and it even helped me stay on track with my eating over the weekend. Which I'm sure we can all agree that weekends are when our habits slack the most! I even created a little "portion tracker sheet" so that I can track my servings of each food category throughout the day! This has been really helpful because I have a clear visual of whether or not I am meeting the required amount of servings and foods. 

I have officially fallen in love with meal prep and having a designated "make ahead" day! I couldn't believe how much time I saved throughout the week by making my lunches ahead of time! This week my little man and I prepared our breakfasts and my lunches for the coming week. I decided in an attempt to cut down those carbs I would have salads for lunch everyday, this also is helping me get in those five servings of [fresh] vegetables. A big thank you to Pinterest and the infamous Mason Jar Salads!! I love mason jars! I use them for everything you could think of throughout the house as well as their original purpose, canning. But oh the inspiration I received from all of those Pinterest photos of mason jar salads! Ah-May-Zing! Seriously though, these things are fantastic! I did not once have to wonder this week "what am I going to eat for lunch?" I did not have to dirty any extra dishes during the week or take 15-30 minutes out of each day trying to come up with something healthy and then executing it. Grab a mason jar salad out of the fridge, empty contents into bowl or plate. Wah-la. Badabing. It's done! Keepin' It Simple.

My other big make ahead time saver for the week... Egg Muffins! Freaking genius! I eat eggs every single morning. No joke. Every morning its either two over-easy eggs or a two egg omelette with veggies. First things I consume everyday are coffee and then protein. Protein. Picture a zombie in the morning moaning "protein... must. have. protein." This is me, actually I'm not too zombie-ish, I'm one of those annoying "Good morning the sun is shining and you're beautiful" type of people. Just don't talk to me before I've had my coffee and protein, okay?! Anyway, back to the eggs! So if you're an egg eater that means you are standing over the stove every morning, dirtying a pan and a spatula and whatever else you need for your eggs...every day. I'm trying to be efficient here and get the most out of my day... cooking eggs is wasting my time. Again thank you Pinterest, for the inspiration to make egg muffins! So simple! My little man and I prepared 12 egg muffins with tomato, orange peppers and spinach. Each muffin is about 1 egg, so two of these adorable and tasty egg muffins is my serving of protein for the morning. Little man loves them too! Now all we have to do for breakfast the next 4 or 5 days is pop these muffins into the microwave and again Wah-la! Badabing! Time saved, nutrition granted! 

I told you, I am committed to this challenge! Yeah, I had to make some changes in my routine and habits to make this challenge work for me. But they weren't the end of the world and it wasn't that hard! It's not hard to make changes or commit yourself to something. It's a decision to make lifestyle change. Why wait until something our of your control comes around and changes things for you? Make those decisions to change something in your life, even something as simple as making a "Meal Prep Day." If you fully commit yourself to the things you want in life you will achieve them! 

This is about it for my week 1 take-away! I really enjoyed going back to the first couple of workouts in the program this week. I was able to put a little more focus on my form and I noticed A LOT  of changes in my strength, balance and flexibility than when I first started the program [back in March of 2015 and again consistently starting in November 2015.] So that was something I found really exciting this week! And of course the biggest take away from this week was the development of some new eating habits and planning habits that will be of extreme use to me for, gee I dunno, maybe the rest of my days! ;)

Decide! Decide to do something for yourself, to better you and your life. 

Commit! Create a plan of action and commit every bit of yourself to the decision you made. Challenge yourself and be your own cheerleader! Root yourself on along the way. You're opinion of yourself is the only one that matters.

Succeed! Stay consistent in your commitments! Persist and persevere. Give it time, stay on course and you will see results and you will have succeeded.

Are you ready to make a decision to change your life today? Head on over to and follow my Facebook Page. I would be honored to help you reach your goals in fitness, health and/or this amazing career opportunity. 

 
P.S. This is my little accountability partner lately. My kitty Garfield. He visits me everyday while I am on my yoga mat, watches while I work out and always jumps in my lap when I sit down at the computer to work! :)

Getting Lean the PiYo way!

My fitness journey really kicked in to gear in January of 2015. I was pretty unhealthy. I was struggling with severe digestive issues and this lead to feelings of both increasing depression and anxiety. I spent a year and a half sick, depressed and anxious about when I would be sick next and even worse WHERE I would be when it happened. It wasn't a good time. But I am a firm believer of reason and today I am beginning to see the chain of events that have lead me to where I am now.

Through all of the sickness, depression and anxiety I was able to say to myself "this is it!"
I was DONE feeling sorry for myself. I was DONE letting this unknown cause of ailments control my life and every aspect of it! I was DONE being miserable! That wasn't me and it didn't reflect well. I didn't want to be angry anymore. I didn't want to be tired. I needed to heal myself in as many ways as I could.

I made 5 major changes in my life.

• I found a therapist.
• I started eating healthier and followed a Low FODMAP diet. Suggested for people with IBS.
• I had previous experience with pilates, so I took up Yoga. 
• I incorporated mindfulness practices; meditating, the chakras, LOTS of personal development, mindful of my body and my personal hormonal cycles, stress triggers. 
• I joined a fitness accountability group of total strangers on facebook (This was a leap!)

I have made so many improvements this past year I could go on for paragraphs! But I won't do that just now! What I want to focus on in this post is the fitness aspect! 

I DO NOT have a big fitness background in my past. I was the skinny, lanky, dorky kid that grew up with braces and glasses and SUCKED at sports and gym. I found pilates a few years back and loved it, but only really did it here and there. But I knew that I needed to exercise. Exercise helps you in so many ways. I took up yoga about a month before I joined the accountability group and it was in that group that I found this motivation and confidence I didn't know I had when it came to fitness! 

So my go-to's were pilates and yoga. I love yoga. Its calming and relaxing. It helps build strength and flexibility. But sometimes it is just too slow. There were days that I felt I needed more UMPH. Know what I mean? 

I decided to give this program, PiYo, a try! 

What is PiYo? PiYo was created by Chalene Johnson and is literally the PERFECT combination of pilates, yoga and cardio! It is low impact but man is it intense! You are gaining strength and flexibility while burning some SERIOUS calories! 

With this program I have gained stability in certain yoga poses and strength in areas of my body that did not have the strength I needed. I have become more flexible, I have gained balanced and I have become more mindful of my posture. And I have fallen in love with exercise and it's benefits!

However, I didn't take the PiYo Challenge! The amazing thing about Beachbody programs, like PiYo, 21 Day Fix, Insanity, P90x, is that when you purchase through your coach or teambeachbody you don't only get just the program! You get a schedule, a coach, a support system, an eating guide and whole slew of other things! You get every ingredient you need to get results! With the BeachBody Challenge you get all of those and more + a free t-shirt for completing the program of choice AND entered into some drawings to receive some $$$$. Your success story could even be one of the many that is shared throughout our company. 

Since I didn't enter into the challenge the first time around (nor did I stick to the schedule or the eating plan) I am going to be doing it right this time around and getting MORE results! 

Starting February 1st, I will be entering into the BeachBody Challenge for the PiYo program and I am looking for others who want to change their lives. With the program, you're not just improving your fitness. You're learning how to eat right and what to eat, you're learning self-discipline. You are putting yourself first and doing something entirely beneficial for YOU as a person! How can you know what success feels like until you are at the very end of your goals and you get to look back and say "WOW, I did this!" You gain confidence and pride! And we can't forget, with this program, you'll also get lean and toned.

        

Whether you are looking to lose weight or seriously tone up your body, this program could be great for you! It's total-body workouts using your OWN resistance! No weights! No crazy workout equipment! A yoga mat is recommended however! It's awesome for men and women alike, beginners in fitness to those fitness extremists! And it is So. Much. Fun. 

If you're a facebook go-er  you can find more information on this PiYo event challenge Here, just click interested for the event and I will be in touch!  

Also check out my Wellness Page on facebook to follow my journey and get some daily tips, motivation or inspiration! I have a FREE accountability group on facebook for those interested in really getting serious about making health, fitness and over-all wellness goals in their lives, just shoot my Wellness Page a message!

For more information click any of the links on this page or email me at rachelina2317@gmail.com.

LET'S MAKE 2016 OUR BEST YEAR YET!! #GETRESULTS 

Taking the Command

The people who know me really well know that I love to organize, I like to do-it-myself, and I LOVE to make lists. The organization thing really crumbled after having kids. The cupboards no longer stay in order, labels don't face out, kids make cities with boxes and can towers, and somehow the syrup is on the same shelf as the pasta sauces and canned vegies; the DVDs are not only not in alphabetical order but they are also non-existent to the prying hands and slobbery mouths of babies and toddlers. My books are hidden, terribly saddening, and the photo albums are stored away too. Nothing is safe when you have little hands running around at knee to hip height. I can only control what is stored at a certain height. Dishes and the closets... thats about it.

Last year I officially became a stay at home mom and I am really thankful for it. There are so many positives with staying at home but there are some negatives as well. One of those negatives is the lack of daily structure and routine. I have struggled this past year in trying to find the right way to really help me structure my day. I need to know what I'm doing, have a game-plan. I need to SEE it written down, to see myself writing it down. Doing so almost engraves it in my mind and I am less likely to forget. I sort of home-schooled my then three year old last year along with daily vision therapy exercises; that was where my adventure in finding the best structure and plan for my day began.

I first tried a Home Management Binder. I made dividers throughout from scrapbooking paper and made sections for the daily goals, cleaning, meal planning, financial, medical, house. Basically everything in one binder. Which worked really well for the Financial, Medical and Home categories. All of the important receipts, medical papers, important home documents and random things that eventually need to be filed away. But for the house cleaning, meal planning, and daily planning I just wasn't feeling the "have a whole big binder out on the counter all day" kinda groove. It wasn't working.  I printed out a blank weekly planner sheet and stuck it in a clear page protector and put it on the fridge. That sort of worked, the dry erase part is awesome, but it was over on the fridge and my calendar was on a different wall and my daily planner journal was on the counter. Doing circles. All day.

The daily journal worked the best of all of those because essentially I did have everything for the coming months there in one little book. But that was also the problem, it was little, and I'd have to flip through a bunch of pages to find the full month calendar. Not efficient enough for me.

And so I made a Command Center. And I love it. It is almost perfect. Nothing can ever be perfect, there is always room for change and improvement. But so far it is working fabulously!

This was really easy to make! All frames are from the dollar store and I use them as Dry Erase boards; cuts down on my paper list usage! The only thing not dry erase is the calendar! I ordered a large, much larger than I thought, 16 month desk calendar. With kids and stuff there's a lot of prescheduled appointments and events that need to be marked months away. I need to have everything together. I'm not very good at scheduling in my phone, it never works right. I'm not always compatible with todays technology!

The calendar is of course color coded. Each of the family members appointments or events are written in their specific color. By the end of the month, the calendar is very colorful. Color coding really helps me, it is definitive of who has what going on.

In one of the frames is this awesome quote that my Beachbody coach had shared with our group one day and I fell in love with it. It is the perfect affirmation that not only reminds you daily but also in the long term. When I read it everyday, I'm not only setting myself up for a positive day but I am also setting myself up for a positive outlook towards the future.

This frame is strictly for me! This frame is not meant for chores or to do lists or family reminders. "Love Thy Self" is there for me, for my reminders to focus on myself. Whether it be a workout I want to get done, nutritional or medical advice for myself, a personal affirmation for the day, or a reminder on something personal that I am focusing on, this is where that goes!

I made a "High Priority List" because honestly there are so many TO-DO's everyday. I write my TOP 3 to dos for the day here. They don't have to be chores, but for me they usually are. Some days it could be "finish crochet project," "update blog," or any other non chore related thing I need to get done that day. Rate your to-do list from most important to least important and your first 3 go here!

This is where I write daily and weekly reminders such as calls to make, appointments coming up that week, gift purchases that need to be made. I like it all right there!

And then we have the Cleaning list! Because, frankly, I suck at keeping track at what I have and have not cleaned! How I made this chart was I kind of just tried to think of what I chores I do daily, weekly and monthly and what chores I would like or feel I should be doing daily, monthly or weekly.

The good thing about this since I made this on my computer is that if its not working out for me I can go back and edit and reprint whatever additions or removals are needed. It took a little bit of thought but I did it and I love it! And honestly I do not do all the daily stuff and I don't think I have once checked off everything in any column but oh well. Stuff is getting done, I can see its getting done and that's all that matters.


I put this up about a month ago now and it's STILL working for me so I think I have finally found a command center that works for me! I use it everyday, in the mornings I stand in front of it with my hot, fresh cup of coffee  while planning and reviewing the day!

Hope this inspires other Mommas out there to find their way to take command!!