Mom Works It Out by Angela Gillis

Eating all natural with Healthy Choice

Last week Willie came home with something new but I didn’t pay much attention to it. The past two weeks of meals have been filled with Healthy Choice steamers because there just wasn’t enough time to prepare lunch. This was the next best option for us. From previous posts you know we are big fans of these meals and Willie noticed the company added on with Simply Cafe Steamers. Before I get started, I just want you to know I was not paid or compensated for anything I’m saying right now.  This is just a normal daily thing in our life that I thought I would share.

Healthy choice all natural
He said he liked it so I thought it was best that I try it too. It’s research, right? I purchased two but I was a bad blogger and only took pictures of one. (Mainly because this is the one I didn’t eat.) I purchased chicken fried rice and lemon herb chicken.

So what’s the big difference? First off, these Simply Cafe Steamers cost about $1.25 MORE than the original Cafe Steamer meals. Secondly, these meals contain no artificial ingredients and are 100% natural chicken. Willie also commented on there being more food in these meals with the same or less calories. But maybe that’s because these meals use natural ingredients and they seem more filling. But there is half a oz more of food apparently.

I haven’t eaten the lemon herb chicken meal but I did eat the chicken fried rice which I really enjoyed. I felt a little horrible cheating on my kung pao chicken (which has also gone through a recipe change with whole grains but this meal was really tasty. Did I taste the difference? The chicken was better in this meal compared to others. Other than that, it tasted the same high quality version of the meals I grown to love except this time there are no artificial ingredients.

The other meals in the Simply Cafe Steamer line are chicken pasta primavera and meatball marinara. I’ll have to try those too.

I didn’t hate it and I would buy it again.  If you’re really concerned about eating without the artificial ingredients this is the product for you.  I guess it’s just a choice of personal preference.  I really enjoy all the meals so the jury is still out if this is a big deal for me or not.

Would the 100% natural chicken and no artificial ingredients make a difference to you?

Refreshed and recharged after getting my joy stolen

Refreshed and recharged after getting my joy stolen

I have to be honest, I’m writing this for myself today. Notice that I haven’t been as bright and friendly around the blog parts lately? Things haven’t been good but things are better. I think I was just left feeling a little lost after the month of the February. I had a little struggle that turned into something big and I didn’t deal with it right. I resorted to old habits and that kind of scared me. I lost motivation. I lost my drive. I was consumed and over taken by my emotions and it just left me empty. No…

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Eggland’s Best Eggs are nutritious

Eggland’s Best Eggs are nutritious

I love eggs! That is one thing I will never be able to deny. There’s nothing like a good omelet to start off the day…or it’s even a great way to end the day. But why is it such a great way to start the day? Because you’re meeting a lot of your nutritional needs. Omelets are great but I thought I would give my try at frittata this morning for breakfast with Eggland’s Best large eggs. I basically took everything that was left in the fridge. We had a leftover turkey burger, onions, spinach, bell peppers, roasted potatoes and…

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Meal prep and the chicken

Meal prep and the chicken

Now that I have a little bit of time I’ll continue talking about meal prepping. The biggest question people talk about is what food do I cook that lasts all week. This seems to be an issue with people. I’ve never had food go back in the fridge. I cook on Sunday and I’ll meal prep for all meals until Friday. Is food going bad really a problem? Like I’ve already mentioned, I make the food and portion it out right away so every meal is grab and go. I love chicken. I eat lots of chicken. I cook it…

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Race Recap: The Gusher Marathon

Race Recap: The Gusher Marathon

The Gusher Marathon, Half marathon and 5k is the big race in my hometown and it’s a great race. I take the race for granted because it’s local and it’s not the big travel tada. But that doesn’t take away from the greatness of this race. I was very excited because my mom came out to do the 5k. Plus Missy, Tyson and Emmy came out to run too. I hate I didn’t get to see them start or finish though. The Gusher is a double loop course.  It killed me mentally last year but it didn’t this year.  The double…

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Hello from Alabama and what I ate.

Hello from Alabama and what I ate.

Hey all.  This morning I hopped in the car to travel to Alabama because it’s Mercedes-Benz Marathon Weekend in Birmingham.  I love this city!  It has a special place in my heart. It’s really cold here though. It’s a big change from home. The day didn’t start off too well because I left at 4:00 am but I was up half the night because my stomach was bothering me. I couldn’t eat that much so breakfast was oatmeal and Quest Protein chips.  I received a box of these protein chips and Willie really loves them.  I was really excited to…

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Sweet potato hash with an egg

Sweet potato hash with an egg

Remember when I told you about all the good stuff in Eggland’s Best eggs? I wanted to make something different that featured the egg and I came up with a sweet potato hash. To be honest, I had to use what was in the house already. Willie always tells me I’m the master of making something out of nothing, fast. Hash usually has some not so healthy things in it like fatty meats or cheeses or whatever your heart my desire but I wanted to try a more health conscious version for everyone to enjoy. Sweet potato hash with an…

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Not running all the marathons

Not running all the marathons

Last week I was prepping all week to run The Austin Marathon. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy or fast but I just wanted to run it. I kept referring to the weekend as a “shit show” but I was really excited for it. As excited that I was to run that marathon, I knew I probably shouldn’t. It nagged at me all week which made me really think about the situation. Running the marathons is fun and I love to do it. But it is incredibly taxing on the body and probably not something I need to…

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Sponsored: Taste the freshness with Eggland’s Best …

Sponsored: Taste the freshness with Eggland’s Best Eggs.

I do love eggs, that is not a secret.  I became very weary of eating anything but eggs whites when we started our weight loss journey.  Willie always told me that was silly because eggs were really not that bad to eat because eggs are a great source of protein and vitamins.  Come to find out, Willie was right and there’s really no need to avoid the whole egg. That is why I was so excited when I was contacted by Eggland’s Best to talk about their eggs.  Eggs don’t have to be an ingredient in your dish, it can…

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Things I’ve learned.

Things I’ve learned.

This week I turned down my dream job because in the end it wasn’t really my dream job. It was a great job and I’m honored to have been offered the job. In the end, I knew the job was amazing but it wasn’t my time for this job. It was a very emotional process for me and I learned a couple of things: 1. Ultimately, my husband will always come first. What he thinks and feels has always been important to me. I travel a lot but I do that because I want to do that. I control the…

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Meal Prep 101: The Basics

Meal Prep 101: The Basics

*This is the first in the series of meal prepping posts I will be doing on the blog. I think it’s time for me to start my series on meal prepping. I’ve gathered the questions that were asked and I’ve put them into the categories. Where most people just want ideas for what to make, a lot of people just have some basic questions about the process. Today I will address some of the issues and challenges people have had with meal prepping. The most asked question is about keeping things in the fridge all week. Won’t the food go…

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