My Favorite Green Smoothie

This recipe is super simple, but it's exactly what I need in the mornings!


5 Frozen Whole Strawberries
1/4 frozen Avocado
2 Handfuls of Baby Spinach
8 Blackberries
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup of Coconut Water
2 Tbs. of Vanilla Flavored protein (we use LBAs)

Toss it all in the blender, and you're ready to go! Super simple!

1st steps

The 1st steps we are taking in operation "Get Healthy and Have a Baby" are diet changes.

At our doctor's appointment last week, he gave me a giant pamphlet of diet choices for I.C. (If you want to learn more about I.C. Click HERE) . At first this pamphlet was VERY overwhelming because all I could think was "Oh Great, More things I can't Eat!" However, they way it was written up was actually great. It had three columns that listed Foods That Are Great, Foods Worth Trying, and Foods To Avoid. So, I brought it home and sat down with a notepad to start going through it all. After I read through it and got a pretty good grip on it, I decided to compare it with a Fertility diet that was also suggested, and well as an Anti-Inflammatory diet. I decided that if I was going to go through all this hassle, I might as well try to combine the three diets as well as I could.

I started with the approach of adding in as MANY of the "Foods that are Great" foods, and trying to fill my daily diet with as many of those as I could get. THEN, filling in the gaps with other items, while avoiding as many of the bad foods as possible. It took me a couple of hours, lots of research and TONS of charts to finally come up with what I felt was going to work for me. I started this diet last Tuesday, and I've already noticed a HUGE increase in my energy levels! On top of the increased Energy, I've even lost 4 1/2 lbs (which ISN'T the purpose of these changes, but it is a nice benefit! )

I hope to do a more detailed post when I make my next grocery trip, but here is a quick run down of the things I'm trying to include more of, and the things I'm avoiding completely.

Foods to Eat lots of:
Lots of Leafy Green Veggies
Lean, Hormone Free Chicken
Rice/Oats
Free Range Eggs
Avocados
LOTS of Water

Foods to Totally Avoid:
Citrus
Dairy
Soy
Vinegar
Tomatoes
Anything Spicy

Of course, this is just a quick glance at my lists. I hope to get start doing a weekly post of my meal plan for the week, and a more detailed grocery list.

For the 1st week, here's what I had:

I started each day with a Green Smoothie (Recipe HERE)
For Lunch and Dinner I had a combination of the following: Grilled Chicken with Fresh Green Beans, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Rice. I tried to keep each meal with about 1/2 cup grilled chicken, and two 1 cup servings of veggies.

So far, I'm feeling pretty good! My symptoms have certainly NOT disappeared yet, but I do have TONS of energy.

Health Journal

After several years of dealing with many health issues, we are taking some steps to try to heal my body and hopefully be able to get pregnant. I'm hoping to use this platform as a way to document the changes that we are making, as well as the results they give me. My goal with sharing this information, is so that others who may be dealing with similar issues may also find some tips and tricks that may also help them. I hope to go back and write a post with more details on the health issues I've had, but for now I'm going to try to focus on the positive changes we're making, and the success that they give me.

Now, for any of you who are wondering, I am being monitored closely by more than one Doctor. I am not making these changes on my own, each lifestyle/diet/physical change is being closely monitored. I do not recommend doing any of this without a doctor's approval. Also, I have no medical training. The steps that I am taking are what are recommended to me, but they may not be recommended for you. My only goal in sharing all this is to give others a small insight into the changes that we have made that will hopefully get me back to a healthy place.

My goal is to be open, honest and real in this space. These past few years have been quite a struggle for me, and our family. I am so ready to find our new normal, and can't wait to feel good again!

In the coming days, I'll be sharing more details about the changes we are making. So, stay tuned! Operation "Get Healthy and Have a Baby" starts now!

XOXO- Heather

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

I made my first cake pops about 3 years ago. After that first round, I decided I was NEVER going to make cake pops again. They fell apart, my kitchen was a mess, and I wasted about $30 worth of baking supplies. The problem was that my kids LOVE cake pops. They always ask for them at their birthday parties, and they are crazy expensive to buy already made! So, I decided to give them another shot. This time, I would do some research FIRST, and see what I should and shouldn't do. Unfortunately, I found lots of tutorials that gave me very mixed results. So, I set out on a mission to do lots of experimenting and find out for myself what worked best. After LOTS of trial and error, here are the steps that I have found to give me satisfactory results EVERY time.

Start by baking your favorite cake. It can be any flavor that you'd like. For these pops, I used a box cake mix that was Strawberry Flavored. Sometimes I make a my cake from scratch, sometimes it comes from a box mix. Both work great. 

After your cake has baked and cooled, use a knife to cut off the edges, and then crumble to rest of the cake into a large mixing bowl.

Once your cake is crumbled, add about 2 Tbs of icing to the bowl. If your cake is super moist, you'll want to use a little less. If it is super dry, you'll want to use a little more. This can be homemade icing, or icing from a can. I prefer making homemade buttercream, but again, icing from a can gives about the same results.

Next, with clean hands, mush the crumbled cake and icing together. You are going to want it to be the consistency of Ground Beef. You do not want it to be too moist, or else your pops will fall apart.

Once your icing and cake a well combined, roll the cake into round balls using your hands. If the cake will not stay together, but crumbles apart, then you need to add some more icing. If the cake won't form a ball because it is too soft, then you added too much icing.

Once you have formed all of the balls, place them on a piece of cling wrap and stick them into the freezer. **In this tutorial, i'm showing your how to make Heart Shaped Cake pops. If you just want to make traditional cake pops, you can ignore the next few steps, and go ahead and stick your cake balls into the freezer.

To make heart shaped cake pops, use your fingers to slightly flatten the cake balls. 

Next, pinch one end of the flattened cake ball to make the bottom point of a heart.

Use a butter knife to make a small indention in the top of the cake pop, and use your fingers to round out the edges.

Once you've formed all the hearts, lay them out on a tray and stick them into the freezer. **If you are making traditional cake pops instead of the hearts, you are going to pick back up at this step. 

While your cake balls are chilling in the freezer for about 20 minutes, go ahead and gather the supplies for decorating. My favorite coating to use are these Candy Wafers. I get mine from Hobby Lobby for $2.99 a bag. They come in all different colors and flavors.

Sprinkles are necessary, but come on, sprinkles make everything better.

Go ahead and lay out some more cling wrap onto your counter top, and have your cake pop sticks ready. 

Right before you pull your cake balls out of the freezer, go ahead and melt down your candy wafers. I like to use these small bowls, and work in smaller batches. Also, I add about 1/2 tsp. of coconut oil to my candy wafers. I've found that this small amount helps to thin the chocolate out just the right amount without making it greasy. 

Once your cake balls have chilled in the freezer for 20 minutes, pull them out. Take one of your Cake Pop Sticks, stick the tip into the melted Candy Wafers, and then insert it into your cake ball. 

Repeat until all cake balls have a stick. Then, place them back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. Do NOT skip this step or you will regret it! 

After 10 minutes is up, I reheat my candy wafers, and then pull 3-4 of the cake pops out of the freezer. I've noticed if I pull them all out, the last ones are too soft by the time I get to them. Go ahead and dip the cake pop in the melted Candy Wafers. I like to use a spoon to help drizzle it over any spots that got missed during the dip.

After you have dipped the pop, GENTLY tap the stick on the side of the bowl while SLOWLY twirling the cake pop. If your cake pop starts falling off the stick, then they are not frozen enough and need to be in the freezer longer. 

If you plan to use sprinkles, you need to apply them as soon as you are done dipping the cake pop. 

After you have dipped, and decorated, stick the cake pop in a stand to let the candy wafer coating harden. If you don't have a cake pop stand, a large block of Styrofoam works great. 

Once the coating has hardened, then you are DONE! :) I like to wrap my in a small clear treat bag, and tie it off with a little ribbon if I'm going to be taking them somewhere. If they are being made for a party, then I usually just display them in my Cake Pop Stand. 

I hope this tutorial helps you. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and I'll do my best to answer them. If you make cake pops after reading this tutorial, post them on Instagram, and tag me in the photo! ;) 

How to fold a Bow Napkin

Hi friends!

Something I've started doing recently, and have fallen in LOVE with, is making an effort to set our table each night when i'm cleaning up the kitchen. I have so many pretty chargers, table cloths, cute napkins and adorable dishes that I hardly ever use. So, i've been trying to make more of an effort to use them! Plus, I love getting ready to eat a meal, and already having the table set.

I've started experimenting with different ways to fold my cloth napkins, and this cute bow has become my go-to. Not only is it super simple to fold, but it's also adorable! I thought i'd throw together a little tutorial so you can see just how easy these are to fold.

The steps are so simple, and you end up with an adorable accent for your table. 

Step 1. Lay your napkin out flat. I like to do this on the table, as it makes it a little easier. Don't worry if your napkin is a little wrinkled; by the time you fold it you won't be able to tell.

Step 2. Fold napkin in 1/3rd "Hot Dog Style".

Step 3. Fold Napkin in 1/3rds again. 

Step 4. Fold napkins in 1/3rd again, but this time length wise.

Step 5. Fold the napkin in 1/3rd one last time.

Step 6. Roll the napkin up. It doesn't have to be too tight, but tight enough to be able to slide it into a napkin ring in step 7.

Step 7. Slide the rolled napkin into a napkin ring. You can use any style napkin ring, I just really like these simple ones for the bows.

Step 8. Keep the napkin ring in the center of the napkin, and slowly unroll the napkin. Shape the napkin to make sure both side are even, and then you are done! 

See, I told you it was super simple! I usually got ahead and roll a bunch of them after I wash a load of the napkins. Then, I store then in a drawer in my China Cabinet and just pull them out as I need them. 

Hope you try this tutorial out! If you do, leave me a comment below, or post a picture on Instagram and tag me! :)

How I always have fresh rice on hand.

Our family eats ALOT of rice. Mainly my hubby. He LOVES it.

Cooking rice takes FOREVER, so here's my little secret to always having fresh steamed rice on hand.

I like to cook our rice in our Aroma Rice Maker. We've had this rice maker for about 4 years, and we love it. Simply add the rice, add the water, close the lid and tap the button. Super simple, and clean up is easy.

After the rice is cooked, I take the insert out of the rice maker, and let it cool on my counter for about 15 minutes so that it is easier to handle.

Next, I take quart size freezer bags, and scoop 2 cups of rice into each bag. Squeeze all of the extra air out, and flatten the bag. Then pop them in the freezer!

I like to flatten them because it makes them super easy to stack in the freezer, and helps to thaw out quicker than if it was all in one big clump.

You can thaw it out by popping it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, or setting out on the counter while you prep the rest of your meal.