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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

The Super “Grain”: Can You Say QUINOA? {Recipes}

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As part of my vow to be a little healthier this year, I’ve decided to broaden my family’s minds (and taste buds) to include more diverse foods like QUINOA.

 I’ll be honest, a few year’s ago I didn’t even know what or how to pronounce it, but now it seems like I keep hearing about it. Then coincidentally on TV this week, Bobby Flay made delicious meal on The Chew using quinoa, so on my last trip to the grocery story – I threw it in the basket. 
Call it peer pressure. 



Of course, the real issue was the next step – what to do with it. While Bobby did give me a good start on a great way to prepare it, he is Bobby Flay…so I wanted to know what my friends had done with it first. So with the help of Facebook, I got tons of responses from family, friends and neighbors on their favorite recipes using this “grain?” 
Since inquiring minds always want to know more, I went Googling what was so dang special about quinoa. According to About.com, first of all, it’s not actually a grain, but a seed. And since Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, it’s considered a complete protein that is gluten-free and cholesterol free. I guess that does make it kinda awesome, but the real question remained, would do I do with it?

Thankfully, one of my friends that is always on top of identifying awesome things way ahead of the curve (he totally has been in love with Mumford and Sons for years), shared some of his tried-and-tasted family recipes for me to try. So while I prepare a little quinoa for dinner tonight (wish me luck), I wanted to share their amazing recipes including his wife’s, Nanette’s Quinoa Salad. 

Do you have a quinoa recipe you’d like to share?

Don’t miss this #mamachallenge moment: 

Cauliflower-Recipes-You-Must-Make

Juvederm, Coolsculpting, Tickle Lipo, Cellulaze and Poledancing?

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To-Do Thursdays:

With all the rain that’s come down lately, it sounds like a weekend indoors with board games, Apple TV (my newest love) and lots of blankets. 

However, I am planning to put together my next adventures for January 2013. While some of them should be fun like some of the workouts I’m planning to try, I have to admit there’s an impressive list of treatments and procedures I hope to embark on in the name of facing the MamaChallenge (and hopefully some beautiful benefits.)

Do you have a suggestion of a fitness regimen or a beauty regimen I should learn more about? I’d love to hear it, so email me or comment here!



Hit Me with Your Best (B12) Shot!

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There’s nothing longer than a Woman’s Want List.

From having the perfect bedroom, to the the coolest outfit or the most popular purse and now as I’ve rounded over the 30 hill – the latest treatments to make me look and feel more youthful. Most opportunities to talk to other moms on something besides kids are filled with the current diet plan, procedure or plan in hopes to roll back the hands of time.  

One of my most recent methods to feel like I was <30 is through B-12 injections with MIC. After hearing from friends that B-12 shots could help lose weight and get a boost of energy, I decided after a Groupon, to go ahead and take a shot (pun intended.)

 
But how does B-12 affect your body and how does it make you lose weight? 

According to the Mayo Clinic, B12 is an essential water-soluable vitamin found in foods like fish, shellfish, meat, eggs and dairy that helps the body make DNA for new cells, form healthy red blood cells and turn food into energy. Bottom line: it helps boost your metabolism. However, before you start storing this stuff by the bottle, the human body stores several years’ worth of vitamin B12 in the liver, so deficiency is rare. 
Dr. Oz is once again to the rescue with research that says 15-40 percent of Americans don’t have adequate levels of B12 for optimal health, hence the current surge in B-12 shots (what’s good enough for Oprah, is good enough for America.) But many clinics offering B12 injections also suggest that other benefits include: 

  • Increased energy
  • Boost metabolism
  • Improved skin texture and tone
  • Improved mental cognition
  • Decreased headaches
  • Improved mood, balanced hormones and decreased symptoms of PMS
  • Reduced stress
  • Boost immune system
  • Encourage detoxification

But let’s not forget forget the MIC…According to the Live Well Blog, MIC stands for Methionine, Insolitol and Choline and play a role in fat metabolism, liver function and fat excretion. 

After my learning lesson, I signed up for a six-session series for B12 with MIC in hopes to get things moving along and do what ever I can to remove the fat from my body. While I’m still in process of the injections, I can report that I have seen a fluctuation -10 pounds over the duration of a few months.

Unfortunately, a bout of pneumonia, bronchitis and several holidays may have hindered additional progress, but I’ll never know exactly. However, I do plan to continue getting additional shots as I work to create a more IMPROVED ME!

Get Your Ticket to Ride…Flywheel is Moms’ Dream to Nightclub + Fitness

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Try-It Tuesday:

 One of my favorite parts of our IMPROVED YOU series is our new “Try-It Tuesday.” We all need to exercise, but goodness knows it does get boring running, stepping on the climber or doing your Jane Fonda in front of the boob tube. So I’m taking a look at some of the newer, cooler ways to burn calories and get fit in 2013. 

 My first look is at my latest obsession, FLYWHEEL. First of all, I love spin so I knew I would enjoy this new concept of spin plus a lot, lot more, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. Oh baby, it was a kick-butt kinda time, but I loved every part of it!


My normal basic spin class at my local gym includes a stationery bike with a torque (think a knob with a gear shift) to change you tension as you ride with music, a class full of other riders and your instructor.  You bring your own shoes and ride out for around an hour at your own speed — sweating your hiney off together. (You just better get there on time or you might not get a spot.) 



The Dallas FLYWHEEL class takes places at the FLYWHEEL location in Highland Park. The best way to describe the experience was like a spin class meets a nightclub at a spa. You’re provided your bike shoes and then your off to the “disco room” – a room set up stadium style, that goes dark when the class starts, an instructor seated in the front of the room and a BMW of spin cycles. 

The spin cycle not only included comfortable handles to help you hold on in different postures, but also a torque with a screen to allow you to see exactly what you were (or weren’t doing) in class. That torque made sure you were pulling your weight, but that’s not all. The board really made you work it, especially if you’re a competitive type. If you choose, you can choose a name to “compete” on the board so you know exactly where you rank with the rest of the class. (I loved this and because I chose an anonymous name, no one knew who I was, but I still was able to “race.”)



And just about the time you thought you couldn’t go anymore, the weight bars came out to get those arms in for a full-body workout. However, I did survive and burned around 850 calories in the process! 

WOW! And I had fun. A lot of fun. Did I mention the part about a nightclub? The music in the class was amazing (crafted by a DJ) and made me feel less like I was working out and more like I was dancing – and best of all, I was able to throw down and no one could see me (since the lights were out!)


Best of all, you get to keep track of all your progress on your own portal. Each time you spin, your cycle records your instructor, your speed, your distance and your CALORIES BURNED! This way you can always work for improvement and schedule out your next class. 

 So are you ready to ride? 

 You should be. FLYWHEEL makes burning fat fun – and your first class is free! What a great way to get 2013 going…with me at FLYWHEEL! 


DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

How NOT to Be a Clueless Chick in 2013

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Me Mondays {Review}:

This month I’m dedicated to making us all a little better — whether it’s more healthy, more beautiful or more organized, we’re aimed at creating an IMPROVED ME. For me to reach my goals, I’ve got to make a list. I’ve got ’em over the place – from long-term lists to daily post-its, putting things in lists WITH DATES remind me to stay on track and get things done. 

So I was so happy to find a new series I’m in love with that I only wish I’d found about four years ago – when I was pregnant and a new mom with “The Clueless Chick” series. 

Mom, Type A/OCD type and author Jennifer Durbin created a new line of books that’s perfectly suited for moms with busy schedules looking to be the best they can be – “ClffsNotes” style. Her first three books are all less than 100 pages and packed full of lists and helpful fundamentals to make some of life’s most stressful moments,  manageable. 

Party Planning Tips for The Clueless Chick
While we all aspire to be Martha Stewart, let’s be honest, it’s not always possible. The Clueless Chick is here to help with simple templates and ideas you need to create the best party, shower, networking event, etc. 

Baby Traveling Tips for The Clueless Chick
Any mom will tell you that first time you load up for that first trip with your baby, you feel like you are loading up your whole house in the back of your car. But after a few months, your must-haves change significantly to the real bare essentials. In this book, she outlines how to survive going to restaurants, staying in hotel rooms, etc. with kids. This book of lists is great for first-time parents to those of us with a few under our arm who might need some reminders. 

Pregnancy Tips for The Clueless Chick 
Just found out your pregnant and don’t know what to do? Don’t inundate yourself with every book ever written on the topic, start with this book to give you a little direction and feel like you understand a little something! From how to extend your existing clothing, where to find new fashionable maternity clothing, to what you really need to put on your registry, this is a great starter book that should be given to you when your test puts out a positive!


The Clueless Chick
Jennifer Durbin
Brigham Distributing
Buy It

DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

Diet Review: Dr. Salerno’s Silver Cloud Diet

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Sharing Saturdays: 



As part of my IMPROVED ME series this month, I’m taking a look at a topic that many of us take on in January: diets. Each Saturday I’ll review one of the latest diet book trends and see how easy it is to follow and if you lose weight.

Our first look is at Dr. Salerno’s Silver Cloud Diet: The Sustainable Diet for the 21st Century. Written by Internationally acclaimed medical expert on aging and weight loss and James Beard Award-Winning cookbook author Linda Eckhardt, the Silver Cloud Diet t is first a quick plan to drop weight and then ultimately a lifestyle changing system. “This three-step proactive approach to nutrition is based on organic unprocessed foods, high protein, natural fat, and low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic choices, fortified with pure natural nutritional supplements targeted to strengthen your immune system, reduce inflammation, and destroy free radicals.”


Since Salerno studied under the creator of the Atkins diet, so the diet plan seems very similar to the little-to-no-carb plan that was all the rage in the late 90s. However, a majority of the book also explains how the toxins and poisoned food supply is affecting our health. Once to the plan itself, several delicious recipes are included to make your two weeks tolerable. Baseline: if you don’t like meat, eggs and nuts, this diet isn’t for you. But if you can survive the two-week detox, this plan might be a great way to jump off the way to healthier eating, living and even stop the effects of aging.

While I haven’t decided whether this plan works for my lifestyle, it is in consideration. The benefits of the diet are amazing; normalizing weight and eliminating prediabetic conditions, but the use of several supplements that makes me a little aprehensive. However, the overall benefits of regulating body function, controling hunger and stopping hunger without counting calories, but through portion control is an excellent learning tool for any healthy eating plan. 

Dr. Salerno’s Silver Cloud Diet: The Sustainable Diet for the 21st Century
Madison Lexington Books
                                

The Best of the Bowls: Taco Bueno vs. Taco Bell vs. Taco Cabana

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Food Fridays: 


Healthier eating is definitely in store for a more IMPROVED ME, but not dining out is not an option for our family. Sometimes necessity, sometimes a treat – I’ve tried to find the best choices when running through the drive-in is a must on the agenda. 

Recently, Taco Bueno and Taco Bell joined some of their competitors like Taco Cabana by adding healthier choices to their menu with steak, chicken and veggie bowls filled with ingredients like beans, rice, lettuce, cheese and other condiments. Since Mexican food is one our family favorites, we took on the challenge of finding the best of the “bowls.” 

Here’s what we found: 

TACO BUENO

Bueno Steak Bowl
Around $6-7

This bowl came in a rather large great cardboard, recycle-friendly bowl filled with flame-grilled all-white-meat chicken, rice, pico de gallo, black beans, romaine lettuce mix, and 1 ounce of Chipotle Citrus Vinaigrette. While the steak looks ample, after a few bites we didn’t have any meat to eat with the rest of our bowl. The rice was pretty good, made the whole bowl complete and we were adequately full after our last bite!


Nutritional Info: 
I couldn’t locate the specific nutritional content, but was able to calculate the bowl was around 400-425 calories. However, I’ve requested the information and hope I can update this soon!

TACO BELL

Cantina Steak Bowl
Around $5-6
While an upgrade from Taco Bell’s presentation, this bowl still seemed to have that fast-casual deliverable. And even though there weren’t ample size steak fajita meat, the small bites of meat were flavorful. The rice needed a little extra something to it, but a big dallop of guacamole make it all work. The amount of food wasn’t overwhelming though with a good-sized portion to fill you up, but not out! 
Nutritional Info:
Calories                560
Cholesterol         60mg
Carbs                   64g
Fat                       22g
Sugar                     4g
Protein                 26g


TACO CABANA

Build-Your-Own-Chicken-Bowl
Around $5

As pictured, this Taco Cabana BYOB is 925, but omit the shell and it’s only 425 calories! 

Nutritional Info:
Calories                425
Cholesterol        60mg
Carbs                    47g
Fat                         8g
Sugar                     7g
Protein                 26g


So which restaurant had the tastiest bowl? 

Our 5-personal panel (we called in a friend to help) was pretty well split between the Taco Bell bowl and the Taco Cabana bowl. To be honest, Taco Cabana is our personal family-favorite, but Taco Bell is a close second as a go-to dinner choice. One panel member loved the Taco Bell bowl flavor with the grilled corn and beans, while another member loved the Taco Cabana taste. As for fresher ingredients, Taco Cabana also won the contest. 

For the price these two also win the race with Taco Cabana being on top of this one with more choices to suit your taste. Taco Cabana also seemed to provide the most amount of food for the money and most “homemade” ingredients with salsa, pico and other condiments. 

For the calorie count, they all can make the cut at around 400 calories, but it’s all about what you put on your bowl. Taco Bell had the most calories the way it was ordered at 560, but consider what you put in your bowl before your order to try to get it down to a healthier range. Want to reduce the calories? Then consider ordering the bowl without rice or maybe get your good fats from guacamole and not sour cream. At Taco Cabana you can order your bowl with a taco shell, but it adds around 400 calories, so think how much you want that shell before ordering. Taco Bueno and Taco Cabana wins this contest for health. 

Overall – Taco Cabana wins this showdown this time! But we’d love your thoughts!

One note: Wonder why Chipotle or Freebirds wasn’t including in the challenge? After looking at their ingredient choices, price point and lack-of-drive-through, it just seemed we wouldn’t be able to compare them apples to apples! If I could choose a carnitas Chipotle bowl through drive-through, I’d be there every day!

Creating the Not New, but IMPROVED YOU in 2013

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To-Do Thursdays:

It’s quite fitting that this “To-Do Thursday,” I’m putting together a plan for a new better me. (That’s like the biggest to-do, right?)


For many people, New Year’s becomes the impetus for creating resolutions to be a “New You” and unfortunately, after about 90 days, are miserably forgotten, thrown aside, etc.  

However, this year I’ve decided that I won’t set myself up failure to be a “new me,” but instead to be a better me. And maybe my little adventure will entertain, educate or maybe even help you, too. 

So over the next month, I’m planning to explore all things in the name of being a better me…


  • the newest diet plan? I’m trying it (or at least reading it)
  • the healthy recipe plan? I’m making it (I hope I can taste it if it’s edible)
  • the latest skin care product or procedure? I’m putting it on (if I can afford it) 
  • the trendiest fitness craze? I’m there! (Spandex here we go!)
Whether you are looking for real ideas or something just to make you laugh, stay tuned for “Better Me 2013!” 

What plans do you have for 2013? 

Looking Forward to 2013: Look Fab While Getting Fit with pvBody

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Me Mondays:

I’m excited to report that everyone on my Christmas list is checked off!  However, when you are the gift buyer, you also are normally the one who doesn’t get a lot of gifts. However, I decided that there was one thing I really wanted (and needed) since next month I’ll kick my body and this blog into health and fitness central… it was time to replace the workout gear of yesteryear…(and you know what I’m talking about!)

Ever wondered when you’re hitting the stair climber or dying in spin class how come that gal across from you always has the cutest workout gear and you still sit in the same black and gray sweats from college? If that’s not enough to make you stay at home, at least the need to work off two children (and then some) normally motivates me to at least go. But looking cute while trying to get to my “cute” is hard although it is one of the tips fitness experts tell you to do so you can stick with your fitness goals.

Unfortunately, even when you’re buying at discount stores the magic of spandex doesn’t come cheap and time to shop comes at an even greater cost. But thankfully,  has made looking good while you workout actually something possible and even easier than going shopping!

How does it work?

  1. Take the quick quiz and create a personal pv.body style profile.
  2. Our experts will put together a personalized outfit for you (from some of the best fitness apparel companies like lululemon – one of my favorites) and at their special price of $49.95.
  3. Then they ship your outfit to your door for free each month! 



It is that easy and just like Christmas, there was a nice little box sitting on my doorstep with a lovely outfit inside, based on my size, color and the kind of gear I was looking for (not quite there with the boy shorts, but soon.) Now isn’t that so much more carpool workout appropriate?




Wondering what your box might have in it, then check out this video about what your box of goodies could look like once you take the profile test.



Best of all, just in time for the holidays, they are giving my readers a special little holiday gift, too!

Just for you: 

A little special for you just when you need it most:  gets you a $15 Lululemon gift card, plus 25% off your first month subscription.

More about : 



Easy peasy lemon squeezy: pvBody is easy. Take the quiz, sign up and boom, an awesome package arrives at your door each month with a hand picked outfit for you!

Every outfit is styled just for you by a pvBody expert. Each month you receive an outfit worth $150, but you pay just $49.95. You’re getting great, quality pieces for a fraction of the retail cost thanks to the relationships pvBody has built.

pvBody is not just another clothing company, but a lifestyle brand. Their blog is a great place to check out tips and tricks for healthy, delicious meals and at home workouts.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of pv.body. The opinions and text are all mine.

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