halloween & tasty tuesday/hot mama update!

hello all!

i hope everyone had a great weekend and had fun 
trick or treating...

i know we did!

we went trick or treating in my parent's neighborhood this year and had a blast!

we walked a long way, but the kids loved it.

and their costumes were a hit!

quinn & lincoln
a.k.a. cookie monster & elmo

everyone kept asking if they were twins...

even more shocked to find they were 15 months apart and had a 6 month old sister...sigh...just don't ask if you can't handle the truth, people!

i'm just now realizing i didn't get any pics of cora fayne's whole outfit, my mom was taking pictures too and i must have been relying on that too much! oops!

but...

i do have pictures of cora fayne in her halloween shirt

(the hubs agrees that this is absolutely true!)

and

in her "bean" (for beaner) halloween costume sporting her bud porter's yoda hat! ha!

(i like to call this picture "Yoda Bean")

it was just too adorable to pass up the photo opp :)

all in all it was a fun evening though...

lincoln was totally into it.

he walked from house to house and would say,

"can i have some trick or treats, please?"

we kept trying to tell him that he only had to say,

"trick or treat",

but he just kept repeating the same thing over and over again...

and as he received his candy he then would proceed to tell them..."ok i'm going to go and get some more trick or treats." haha!

love that kid.

quinny was a little unsure.

he liked getting the candy and seeing new people.

but he walked slow and about every 20 feet would stop and try to start eating candy right there on the sidewalk.

he's not really a "big picture" kinda guy, that quinn. ;)

and cora was just taking it all in.

we had her bundled in her stroller with a blanket and she liked watching the people and seeing all the lights.

so i deem this halloween a great success!

---

tasty tuesday's & hot mama

double whammy.

it's been a while since i posted a recipe so i thought i'd share not only a new "recipe" (it's really just a delicious sandwich),

but also give an update on my hot mama status.

last i checked in i was going to attempt the 30 day shred.

well...that was a bust.

i got through a week of it, and then just lost all my motivation.

i think i just didn't enjoy the workouts much.

and i didn't have all the right equipment to begin with, so plain and simple i just gave up.

however, i am feeling much more motivated these days and feel like i am on a much better track.

i am no longer doing slow carb for right now, because i found that i had fallen into some pretty bad habits.

one of these bad habits was if i found myself in a bind at dinner time or out and about, i would immediately just break the rules.

and if i broke the rules i somehow felt like i was confined to only starting over on a monday and would proceed to eat like crap until that next monday came.

so i'm sure you catch my drift, but if i found myself eating chick fil a on a tuesday,

i would eat HORRIBLY the whole week until next monday.

not good.

so i'm switching things up (yet, again) and have been counting calories.

the plain, old fashioned way of losing weight. :)

my friend, brandi, gave me a tip on a great tool i've been using and would love to share with y'all.

it's called myfitnesspal.com

PLUS they have a free app for smartphones!

you can set your calorie limits, challenge weight, and all sorts of things and then simply record what you eat all day via the web or your phone.

add in any exercise as well and it will recalculate your numbers for you.

on the app it has a function where you can scan a bar code of any food and it will automatically bring that food up for you to put into your daily journal.

it also has a HUGE database of foods, so if you find yourself in one of those aforementioned "binds", you can search anything...a restaurant, brand, type of food, and most times it will have all the nutritional facts there for you. 

pretty awesome stuff.

plus you can add people as friend's if you'd like and see what they post throughout the day and how they do on their weigh -ins. you also have the ability to send and receive messages and comments so you don't feel like you're doing this whole weight-loss thing alone. it gives you a great support system! 

so if you're looking to lose weight (the old fashioned way!) 

i highly recommend this website/app!

and just so you know i am definitely NOT getting paid to talk about this website, it really is that awesome!

i also want to side note that i am starting to inch myself more towards clean eating as well.

while 100 calorie fudge shoppe cookies are delicious and low in calories, they are still a processed food that just isn't good for your body. so i am slowly switching my pantry over to fresh, whole, healthy, clean foods.

little steps make it budget friendly. :)

so....all that to introduce this week's tasty tuesday recipe!

graham and i have been calling these delicious sandwiches,

"that good sandwich".

original i know.

but seriously y'all. this was SUPER tasty.

and filling.

and not expensive or hard to make.

and above all...it was fresh.

it just tastes like good ingredients should.

and makes you feel refueled.

not just full.

awesome.

so until i can think of a better name for these...

That Good Sandwich

what you need:

1 sandwich thin 

(i used the Arnold's brand, whole wheat, 100 cals)

fresh spinach

baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

carrot chips

(the presliced carrots that are thin and long)

low-fat block of part skim mozarella cheese

hummus

(i chose the gluten free Sabra roasted red pepper because it was low on cals and big on flavor)

what you do:

1) so basically you use your hummus as your condiment.

no mayo. no mustard.

2 tablespoons generously covers both pieces of bread.

2) pile on the spinach. as much as you'd like! i usually use about a cup.

3) next i use 2-3 sliced mushrooms

4) 2-3 carrot chips

5) then i cut a couple of pieces of cheese, usually around an ounce worth, and layer it on top.

6) put it altogether and enjoy!

it's so. freaking. good.

trust me! you do NOT need a bunch of meat and mayonaise to make a sandwich good! this will fill you up and be tasty i promise!

the best part is...this sandwich is only 221 calories.

total. 

that's pretty awesome in case you didn't know!

i'm sure in the future i'll switch it up a little, maybe add or swap out for different ingredients.

but for now i will bask in the deliciousness of 

this good sandwich. :)

hope y'all have a good week and

happy november!

xoxo, 

heather