Donut Forget Jesus on Easter — The Empty Tomb
This year has gone by so fast and Easter will be here before we know it! My hubby is on vacation so I found a fun Easter idea that he would appreciate- which would be anything with DONUTS 🙂 I love this idea that was adapted from CatholicIcing.com because it is SIMPLE and a fun reminder of the real meaning of Easter!!
What You Need:
Glazed donuts
Donut Holes
Paper Plates (small or large)
Sharpie
Optional: Graham Crackers, Peanut Butter, Toothpicks, Tape, Paper, Pen
WHAT TO DO:
- Write an Easter Bible verse or phrase on the paper plate – I used Luke 24:2, “And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.” Other options: 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, Romans 6:9, Romans 6:4, Isaiah 53:5, or phrases like “He is Risen” or “My Redeemer Lives”…Be creative!
- Cut the bottom 1/3 off of the glazed donut so that it will stand on its own. Prop it up on the paper plate and place the donut hole to the side to look like the stone rolled away from the tomb.
- Read the Easter story while eating the empty tombs.
Optional to get a little more fancy…
- Coat a graham cracker with peanut butter. Continue with Step 2 above putting the donuts on top of the graham cracker.
2. Do Step 1 on a small piece of paper and tape to a toothpick. Place the Bible verse or Easter message toothpick into the donut tomb.
You can even use this craft treat to start new traditions! My hubby and daughter went on their first Daddy-Daughter date to grab the donuts – and I wouldn’t be surprised if it became an annual thing 🙂 It is so important to teach our kids early about what Easter is all about when we …
Read MoreEaster Craft to Share Love
Only two weeks before Easter Sunday and I am thinking of how I can bless others and at the same time expose them to new and exciting ways to add deeper meaning to their Easter celebration. I am always looking for how to creatively combine the fun aspects of Easter with the real reason that we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. I saw this website and really liked this free printable the blogger offered. So I downloaded it and made a basket full of Easter M&M treat bags to share with friends. I am hoping to invite them to our church for our Easter celebration if they don’t have a place to worship on Easter Sunday. I have found that in my community there are many women who want to feel like they belong. They do not want to be alone. They may be entering a new season of life and they feel unprepared. They may be facing some emotional hardship in their life. They may just need a friend to talk to and get advice from. Maybe when I am willing to take a risk and give a small gift of love and friendship to my neighbors or new acquaintances I might meet, it may open a door of communication. I serve and love a God of grace who brings peace, love, security and purpose. I want to share this love and grace with others. In the gospel of John 14:27, John quotes Jesus who says, “I give you peace, I do not give you what the world gives you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid.” So this Easter season, I am going to make a basket of these little M&M treat bags and share them with others. I will be hoping and praying that this …
Read MoreGet Into Action
As our March comes to a close, we hope that you have enjoyed our focus on health and nutrition! Please let us know what you liked best so we can be sure to give you more of what benefits you!
Summer will be here before you know it, so NOW is the time to build up your habits and get into action towards your goals. Don’t get overwhelmed by how far you have to go. Every day is a chance to take a step forward toward that end results.
How?
GET INTO ACTION.
Do something toward your goal every day. Not some days. EVERY DAY! Even a small step forward is a step. Pretty soon you’ll be taking leaps! And before you know it you’ll be closing in on your goals, looking back at how far you’ve come!
I want to leave you with that challenge, to get into action, and ALSO with one more workout to get you moving! The workout will be on our Instagram @growingweisser.
If you like the HIIT workouts, let us know, or you can follow me (Rachel) on Instagram @princessesandprotein where I post them regularly.
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How much water?
How much water should we really be drinking? Some people say 8 8 oz glasses, others say half your body weight in water. There is not one true answer because so much of this depends on activity level, diet, climate, health, temperature, and if you are pregnant. But however much water you are drinking, you should probably drink more. Our bodies need it.
The human body is made up of 60-75% water.
What does water do for our body?
- digestion
- release toxins
- transport nutrients
- protein production
- enzyme function
- brain: cognitive function and memory
- heart: maintain cardiac output, heart rate and blood pressure
What else counts?
- Decaf tea
- Vitamin waters, etc.
- Certain fruits and vegetables
What dehydrates?
- exercise
- caffeinated drinks/sodas
- Alcohol
- Coffee
- Salty foods
- Certain medicines
- stress
- breastfeeding
Favorite Products Amazon’s top sellers
- Hydroflask
- Nalgene
- Thermoflask
- Camelback
- Klean Kanteen
And reminder, get your kids to drink water too!
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Read MoreThe Benefits of Barre
After my first Barre class, I was sold. I loved the concept of getting deeper into the moves while using the ballet barre for balance. With the focus of tone and on muscles you didn’t even know you had, you will definitely feel these workouts. In a Fitness Magazine article, Sadie Lincoln, the founder of barre3 fitness says,
“Most barre-based classes use a combination of postures inspired by ballet and other disciplines like yoga and Pilates. The barre is used as a prop to balance while doing exercises that focus on isometric strength training (holding your body still while you contract a specific set of muscles) combined with high reps of small range-of-motion movements.”
The article continued with the many benefits of barre…
- Improved Posture
- Muscle Definition
- Weight Loss
- Increased Flexibility
- Reduced Stress
- Low Impact making these workouts doable during pregnancy
- May help with Imbalance and Stability during pregnancy
- Combines Strength Training and Cardio
Some added benefits…
- You don’t need any special gear – just a yoga mat, chair (use as your barre), and sometimes light hand weights and resistance bands
- *You don’t need any dance experience*
I have loved adding Barre workouts to my weekly routine. Unfortunately, barre studios can be pretty costly. However, I discovered that you can find quite a few options of Barre workouts on Youtube to do at home. Last week, I tried out these At home Barre workouts from Brit + Co. Each video is a different style of barre so it really shows you the variety that each class can have. Also, take advantage of your local studios that give a free class to try!
What are your favorite workouts or most recent workout trends to do at home?
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Chili Chicken Stew-Creative Meals that Multiply for Busy Families
Spring is in the air and families are beginning the frenzy of evenings filled with sports practices, games, spring music concerts and all sorts of activities. As a mom who prefers not to grab fast food for her family on the way to or from all the evening activities….we have to have a strategy. When we were in the flow of 4 girls doing multiple activities and I felt like I was driving circles around our community, I came up with a creative strategy of “meals that multiply“. This is the first installment of some of the meals I made regularly that literally lasted for a week and the family never knew that our dinners came from the same big pot of stew.
Chili Chicken Stew (Crockpot or stovetop)
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into pieces if cooking in a pot on stove)
1 large onion chopped
1 yellow, orange or red pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
2 Tbs oil
2 (15oz) cans stewed tomatoes
2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans
1-2 cups pace picante sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Place whole chicken breasts, fresh or frozen, in the crockpot. Put all remaining ingredients in the order listed in crock pot and cook on low 6 hours. Remove chicken from stew and shred. Place back into crock pot, mix and serve. 
To make on stovetop, cut chicken into bite sized pieces and cook chicken, onion, pepper, and garlic in oil in a large pot until chicken is white and no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 2-3 hours. This chili chicken stew can be made the day before and freezes well.
Now here is where the magic begins……This one pot of chili chicken stew can be …
AMRAP Workout
HIIT workouts continued!
This week let’s talk about AMRAP, which stands for “as many rounds as possible.”
Like HIIT, AMRAP workouts are done at a high intensity. The difference being HIIT workouts have a fixed number of reps and sets, AMRAP workouts have a fixed time frame.
AMRAP workouts have many benefits, one of my favorite (similar to HIIT) is they are for a fixed time, so you know exactly how long your workout is going to last, thus how long you need to push yourself!
Here are other benefits of AMRAP workouts:
- They accommodate all levels of fitness. You workout at YOUR max intensity or effort.
- Fixed time (had to mention this one again because it is so great!) is great motivation for working hard during the time frame.
- Focus is on form, rather than reps, allowing you to improve your technique under pressure and fatigue.
- Great for fat loss
- Builds your confidence and metal toughness
- Easy to track your progress. You know how many rounds you can do so when you do the workout again you can try to match or beat your initial number.
For a great 15 minute AMRAP workout, checkout our Instagram @growingweisser.
Let us know how many rounds you did!
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Spiritually Fit
What does it mean to be healthy? What kinds of things do you do to be healthy? We pour so much time and effort into healthy living, healthy eating, healthy habits, and healthy thinking. It takes intentional effort. It takes planned out thought. It takes discipline. It takes saying yes to certain things and no to others. In the moment you may be what you think might be sacrificing, but you are trying to make certain choices, change, and change your lifestyle because of the lasting benefit.
Some people call it dieting, others call it healthy living. But it is all the same thing. It all comes down to changing your actions to change the effect. What should really be focusing on is creating a healthy lifestyle. Because then it isn’t just a fad, the newest trend, or a temporary phase. A changed lifestyle lasts. When you first start a diet you usually cut things out or add things in. Have less dessert throughout the week, make healthier choices at meals, and control your portions. The more established those habits become, the more routine it becomes. It becomes second nature to make healthy choices. It becomes a part of who you are. Usually over time you prefer the good things rather than the instant pleasure of the not so healthy things. Your appetite changes. Your cravings change. And you change.
Often times faith and a spiritual life is seen as something that is regimented and monitored. You have to “do” all these things to feel close to God. There is a continual push to read your Bible, pray, and be surrounded by good people. And we say it is because you feel closer to the Lord through these things, you feel centered on the truth of God, you experience …
Read MoreHealthy Snacks for Kids – Part 2
Sophie has been eating SO much the last few weeks! She must be going through a growth spurt because it has been so much that I have been running out of ideas of what to give to her. So, I went to my best idea resource (Rachel!) who tapped in to her best team of resources (Mom Squad!) to help me out! They gave such great options that I wanted to share the list with you!
The Mom’s List of Favorite Healthy Snacks for Kids:
- Yogurt Drops – place yogurt in ziplock bag, snip off the corner and drop onto wax paper on a tray. Place in freezer to make a fun chip-like self-feeding snack!
- Peanut Butter or Butter on Healthy Bread
- Goldfish or Annie’s Cheese Bunnies
- Pirates Booty
- Pouches (with that fantastic anti leak top) or DIY pouches (disposable or reusable)
- Cheerios
- Oatmeal Squares
- Bars: Larabars, Granola Veggie Bars, Ella’s Kitchen Snack Bars, or Kind Bars (esp the fruit and green ones)
- Muffins with hidden fruits and veggies and mostly all no or low sugar (check Pinterest) or Mini Muffins with any muffin recipe
- Baked Pea Snacks (Inner Peas at TJs or Harvest Snaps from Costco) -Very low salt and high fiber and protein for a snack
- Steamed Veggies – store in snack bags for on-the-go
- Chia Crunch
- Lundberg Farms Brown Rice Cakes
- Seaweed
- Kale Chips
- Champagne Grapes from TJs – really small and sweet
- Avocado
- Fig Bars (Nature’s Bakery)
- Graham Crackers
- Favorite brands for Freeze Dried Fruits: Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Little Duck, Fruit Crisps
Anti-Inflammatory Foods and a Guide to Help YOU Get Started
Many of the foods on the anti-inflammation list are vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and non-animal based foods. Anti-inflammatory foods reduce the levels of inflammation in the body. When you eat anti-inflammatory foods at each meal, you can help protect your body one meal at a time.
“All disease is rooted in chronic inflammation in the body. Diabetes and obesity are now linked with chronic inflammation. Researchers have long known heart disease and inflammation were intrinsically tied and even cancers are perpetuated by chronic inflammation. Eliminate inflammation in the body, and disease begins to improve.” says Julie Daniluk, R.H.N.
Here is my list: (the anti-inflammatory nutrient is listed when available)
VEGETABLES
Kale (Omega 3)
Spinach (magnesium, calcium, folate, Vit A,B2,B6,C,K, iron)
Broccoli (sulforaphane)
Cauliflower (sulforaphane)
Brussel sprouts (sulforaphane)
Sweet potato (beta carotene, managanese, Vit B6,C)
Shitake mushrooms
Purple cabbage
Squash (carotenoids)
Tomatoes
FRUITS
Blueberries (phytonutrients)
Strawberries (phytonutrients)
Cranberries (phytonutrients)
Blackberries (phytonutrients)
Grapes
Papaya (papain)
Pineapple (bromelain)
SPICES/SEEDS/NUTS
Tumeric (cucurumin)
Ginger
Garlic
Flax seed
Chia seed (omega 3, protein and fiber)
Sesame seeds (plant sterols, Vit B1,B3,E calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese)
Hemp seeds (plant sterols, Vit B1,B3,E, calcium, Omega 3 and 6, iron, magnesium, manganese)
Walnuts
Sprouted sunflower seeds (omega 6, potassium, magnesium, iron)
OTHERS
Wild Salmon (EPA, DHA, Omega 3)
Olive oil
Avocado oil (polyphenols)
Green Tea (flavinoids)
Kelp (fucoidan)
Dark Chocolate (antioxidants, potassium, copper, magnesium, iron)
A few of the things I am going to make a commitment to cutting down on or removing totally from my diet are as follows:
Refined sugar
Transfat
Polyunsturated fats
Hydrogenated fats (including vegetable shortening)
Feed lot meat
Processed meat
Refined grains
Food additives
Here is a guide to help you with transforming your eating habits. Take one step at a time. Change what is logical for your lifestyle. This information is key to …
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