My Favorite Macaroni Recipe!

This is my all time favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, which I recently overhauled to make both family and 21 Day Fix (the meal plan I follow) friendly!

Its easy to make and makes a lot so you can easily feed a family of 3 or 4 for 2 nights. I usually serve it with a side of veggies or sometimes chicken sausage for some extra protein. My tip for making pasta healthy is to ALWAYS use whole grain pasta and sneak in a veggie. If you aren't sure what to sneak in, go with spinach. You can't taste it and no one knows its there! You can even add additional spinach to this dish and it will taste just the same! 

Serving size is about 1 cup and approximate calories is 350 per serving. I count it as 2 yellows, 1 blue and 1/2 green for the 21 Day Fix program. 

Ingredients:

3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash)

1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk (can also use almond milk) 2 garlic cloves, peeled2 tablespoons plain fat-free Greek yogurt1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided1 pound uncooked whole wheat cavatappi (or macaroni noodles)Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Enjoy! It really is a family favorite! And no one will ever know its healthy!

(This recipe was originally modified from Cooking Light)

Spring Toddler Girl Style Picks (on a budget!)

I have a goal this month to NOT eat any girl scout cookies. (Yes, I ordered some to support our little friends but I gave them to the husband and took them to work!) So instead of eating cookies at night, the next best thing is SHOPPING! :) It's calorie free right? I always get questions about how we dress the girls (matching or not matching) and where we get there clothes. So here are my spring toddler picks to transition into warmer weather and a few tips I have learned along the way dressing two at time!

When you have to buy two of everything its really important to try to stick to a budget. My go to stores are Old Navy (sizes run a bit small and a good transition size) and Carters. My close 2nd are Target and Kohls. Here is why.


- I almost always shop online because finding two of the same size with two toddlers in a cart is maddening. They have a lot of options.


- We usually coordinate the girls. Think 1 gray top, 1 white top in a similar style or same dress but one blue and one yellow. Until recently they weren't picky but now they like to be the same, so this helps us let them have their own style but still be similar. (They also have to wear different clothes to preschool so the teachers can tell them apart). Carters and Old Navy almost always have multiple colors of one outfit.


- Lots of sales. Most of these sites have lots of great deals and coupons. 40% off. I am on it. I usually buy at the beginning of each season and in bulk! (They tend to sell out fast). I just ordered 6 pajamas (that gets us through 3 days without doing laundry) on clearance.


- They have the same shoes and accessories. (We write their names on the bottom of their shoes to tell them apart).


- I like to pick out clothes for the girls that look like adult clothes. It is scary sometimes when we all have leggings and tunics on. But to me, its just too much fun! :)

The outfits above are all Old Navy (they are graphic t-shirts turned inside out so you don't see the writing) including the shoes. The hats and leg warmers I ordered on Etsy. :)

My picks!

Here are my picks for the spring. Graphic tshirts are our go to outfit. You can never have too many. Then there are jeggings.  I mean how can you not like these? I wish I had some! The jean jacket is pretty versatile (they need a new one!) and can be worn with almost everything. My other picks are just fun cute little outfits that you can mix and match. I hope to pick up the polka dot dresses for Easter (which would be very cute with the jacket!) Swimsuits are my weakness. I just LOVE baby swimsuits....


So there you have it! Check them out below.



- Graphic Tshirts

- Fashion Jeggings

- Graphic Pullover

- Swimsuit

- Jean Jacket

- Flower pants

- Spring dress


Happy Shopping! (and enjoy those thin mints!!)

Toddler Friendly Valentines Day Treat!

I love February and Valentines Day! I have so many craft ideas spinning through my head, I don't know where to start. :) I haven't gotten to all of them yet, but this awesome recipe popped up in my Pinterest feed a few weeks ago and I had to try it! (With a few modifications of course).

Full disclosure the original intent of this was to be a super healthy toddler snack and then I went to Target and got side tracked by pink M&Ms and Teddy Grahams so its now considered semi-healthy. The good news is the girls love it and its a nice balance of sweet and salty for a little heart healthy treat. 

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups dried cherries, craisins or cranberries

- 2 cups yogurt covered raisins (I used dark chocolate)

- 3 cups of Teddy Grahams (I used honey flavored, you could also try dark chocolate)

- 4 cups of mini pretzels

- 4 cups of chocolate Chex 

- 2 cups pink/red M&Ms

Simply combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix. The girls seem to love the raisins and Teddy Grahams the best. I prefer the M&Ms and chocolate Chex. (Chocolate Chex might be the best invention ever! AND its gluten free!)  The pretzels give the mix a nice balance. Its cute, colorful and a fun treat! 

The treats fueled us to do a few other Pinterest projects including our homemade Olaf hearts and my favorite, a cute re-writeable picture frame.

This frame is from Target and I simply picked out some fun paper and wrote the "i love you because..." message. You can then use any dry erase marker to leave messages. I have this in our master bathroom so on crazy days we can remind each other that sometimes its the little things that make a difference. 

I hope you and your family have a Happy Valentines Day!

Healthy, Easy Snacks for the BIG Game!

For some reason every time I think of the BIG Game on Sunday, I think of Doritos. And then I think of Pepsi and cheese dip, particularly the kind with Velveeta cheese and Rotel tomatoes! While eating that every once in a while is OK, I would rather not through an entire years worth of clean eating out the window for one celebration.  SO, here are my tips and recipes for finding some healthier alternatives!

First, lets start out with a few tips so that you have some extra calories to burn during the game!

Plan your day out ahead of time.

I allow myself 3 healthy carbs a day (which includes alcohol), SO if I know I am going to have a glass of wine, I eliminate carbs earlier in the day. 

Amp up the cardio.

On the days when I KNOW there are temptations around I always try to amp up with cardio. There are a ton of workouts that are 30 minutes or less that you can fit in right before game time. OR better yet, do a workout at half time with the family.  The latest craze is 22 minutes. Give me 8 minutes back? I'll take it! Want to try it?  

CLICK HERE to try it for FREE :) Only on Sunday, 2/7.  Its fast. Its simple. Its effective. AND it will give you a few extra calories to use up later!

p.s. Try the workout and tag yourself doing it. You could win $1,000! (YAH!) Just use #22minuteHardCorps and #sweeps in your post!

Bring a healthy alternative.

If you are heading to a football party, bring your own healthy alternative. You will be surprised how many people will enjoy it! Here are a few of my favorites. 

1) Paleo Nachos! Yum!

2) Energy Bits! (If anything these are a great conversation starter!) 

3) Taco Dip! (This might be my favorite recipe of all time, dating all the way back to my Weight Watcher days! lol)

4) Chicken Legs! (In the crockpot and EASY of course!)

5) Double Bean Chili! (21 Day Fix, Hammer and Chisel, and of course clean eating friendly!)

6) Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies! (50 calories. Your welcome!) 

I hope this helps with your temptations! Have a great weekend!