Kid Approved Veggie Pizza

If you are anything like me you spend a ton of time figuring out what to cook and if your child will eat it. Now don't get me wrong my kid is by no means a picky eater. We can shovel down rice, blueberries, waffles, sausage, strawberries, bananas, PBJs, and much more. But when it comes down to the food group called vegetables we get a little grossed out. One of the things I have learned from being in the health and fitness industry is that when adults have food aversion to vegetables or fruit the best way to overcome is to push past it and soon your taste buds will adapt. We do this for adults with Shakeology, dicing veggies up super small to where you can hide it, or just eating them even though you want to throw up. Kids on the other hand are not going to willing eat vegetables but to get over their food aversions they need to be eating them in secret. So I make it my goal to sneak veggies in EVERTHING! Here is my latest creation. It was super easy and David ate it without even realizing I snuck in 2 veggies.

I made this super simple. Store bought Pizza Crust, Alfredo Sauce, and Riced Cauliflower.

I added some sautéed Spinach. You can see on the left side I loaded it on because that is my side. On the right is David's and I cut his spinach into tiny pieces and spread it out.

I added Mozzarella cheese. I worked hard to cover the spinach on David's side.

Kid Approved Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:

• Pizza Crust
• Alfredo Sauce
• Riced Cauliflower
• Fresh Spinach
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Cooking Spray

Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Cook Time:17 Minutes

Clean up Time: 5 Minutes

Directions:

1. Heat up your oven according to your pizza crust instructions. Spray your pizza pan and spread out your pizza dough. Cook the pizza dough by itself as instructed.
2. While your pizza dough is cooking pour your riced cauliflower into a pan and sauté it till it starts to brown a little bit. I used about 1/3 of a cup for my pizza. When cauliflower is done pour it out of the pan and set aside. Sauté the Spinach in the pan with a little bit of water until it is cooked down.
3. By now the pizza crust should be done. Spread the Alfredo sauce over the crust. Add the cauliflower on top and then the spinach. I like to grab a towel and put my spinach in it first and squeeze out the water. Add your cheese on top and work to cover up the vegetables on your kids side.
4. Finish baking according to pizza dough instructions.

Enjoy! I hope you and your kiddos love this recipe. This is one step closer to having a kid who loves eating healthy. 

My Life is FAR from Where I Expected it to Be

I did not title this lightly. It couldn’t be more true, but I am sure we all feel this way at some point. I do not know about you but there are times when I find it hard to find the purpose of it all. Or some days I struggle to find the good or progress. I always felt when I came of age and became an adult good things would just flow towards me. I mentally wanted to put in the work to earn them but I assumed they would just be sent to me. By good things I mean money, nice car, the perfect RICH man, an amazing house, and so on. My life could not be more far from that.

Let me start by saying I am truly blessed to be living the life that I am living. I deserve none of it. But on my selfish days, I end up thinking how did I end up here. It makes me laugh at times when I see where I am in life and where I thought I would be. Like you can’t make this stuff up! God seriously has a sense of humor when planning our lives. I am twenty-two a wife to an amazing husband and mother to the biggest blessing my life has ever seen. I know you may be thinking that is rude to say and my husband should be the biggest blessing but I would never be with my husband without my son. In fact, I was planning on breaking up with my husband before we found out about our sweet baby David. I knew I could have a good life with Daniel and I could see the visions God had for us but I had no belief in the healing and growth it would take to get there. You see I at my sinful core and Daniel’s sinful core we have things that clash with each other. We have been through it all you name it. God brought us together through a baby and we chose to commit forever. I got married at 8 months pregnant. That I assure you was not the “dream” plan. But I am starting to realize it was the divine plan.

I am the assistant manager at a Palm Beach Tan. I clean beds, manage people, clean floors, and sell for a living. To me though it has become more than that. I help people feel beautiful, I help people have good skin, and I can help change the mood of someone’s day. Every job we have is an act of service or it should be. We still live with my parents and we are coming upon 2 years of marriage. We are looking for a house and trying to get one but each time we get closer job, credit, or timing problems arise. I sense God still isn’t done working on us at this stage of life. I swore up and down I would NEVER be a working mom. I was raised by a stay at home mom who homeschooled us and invested her life into raising us. I never wanted to be a mom working out of the house but here I am.

At times I can feel so lost and so hopeless looking at where my life is. I wonder how I got here and what the purpose of all this is. You see in a world of self-image and vanity I can’t show you my life and not feel the judgement and disapproval. But my life is real and it is exactly where God has planted us. I often wonder will I ever get the things I feel God has promised me. I think and think on it. Today I realized yes I will, but first I need to take the action steps God has shown me are a part of my calling. I always want to start these action steps once I arrive. When we get our own house then I will build up a community of friends because let’s be honest who wants to visit Deborah at her parents’ house. Or when we are financially free and I can stay at home I will grow a business. But why should God keep his end of the deal if I am not following the callings he has given me. I do NOT know how they will help me arrive or what the point of it is. I wonder why do them if they are just wasting precious time. But today I realized I have calling and if I don’t step into that I am not truly living.

I encourage you; if you have a calling and or callings on your life you need to act on them. I am not just talking about calls to ministry or calls to start a business. Sometimes it is just little things. God has promised me many things but he has also called me to many things. I want to tell them to you not to brag or boast but to help keep myself accountable. God has called me this shy girl to create a community of people to do life with. God has called me to do this “fitness/health thing” I don’t always know what it should look like but every time I stop sharing my fitness journey I feel a piece of me is missing. God has called me to blog; I don’t know yet what he wants me to blog about but here I am trying it out. God has called me to one day homeschool my kids. God has given me the vision and reassurance that one day my love story with Daniel will come full circle and the things we have broken will be redeemed.  God has also called both Daniel and I to live on land one day and as impossible as that sounds right now with only $30 in the bank account I firmly believe it will. I cannot see the things God sees but I trust him to keep me safe and prepare the way for us. So this is for all of you who feel like you are far from your callings and dreams. Don’t sit back and wait stand up and take action towards your future. Trust God and do your part blindly.

February a Month of Love

February is supposed to be the month of love. This year I am going to try and embrace the spirit of love. I am sure you can agree that love can heal any situation. A whole month focused on spreading love and feeling love will do a world of good for all of us. It may seem silly but I am a planner and I like to have a game plan at everything I try to accomplish. So I have thought of a few ways to embrace to spirit of love this month. 

• Throw a Valentines Day Party: I am throwing a valentines day party for my mommy friends and their kids. We will have crafts, cookies, mimosas, and trade Valentines. It will be a great day of sharing in love. 
• Valentines Day Date Night: Daniel and I are planning to go see My Forever Girl in theaters. I feel this movie will be the perfect escape for Daniel and I. I have been working so hard lately I never have time to just enjoy myself. 
• David and I are sending out cards he has colored on to some of our favorite people. 
• I will be making Valentines day snack and sharing them with you.
• We will also be listening to classic love songs and watching any Valentines day movies or TV shows we can find.

My goal as a mom and wife is to celebrate life to the fullest. I will be sharing all of this and more on my Instagram stories and posts. I will be doing blog posts about the big stuff as well but if you want to see every moment, be sure to follow me on Instagram. My username is fit_chick_missdeborah 

Happy February! 

Little Things That Make it Feel Like the Holidays

My holiday has not been a relaxing and festive one. I have had no Christmas parties. No time to make cookies. No time to do much of anything besides Christmas shop after work. I start my third job today which will keep me even busier. I am thankful for it none the less. I have been doing a few little things to make it feel like Christmas around here. If not for me for David. This is his first Christmas that he is able to truly participate in. I am so excited to see his face on Christmas morning. 

• Christmas Movies and TV Shows: We have been watching lots of Christmas shows on Netflix. In the kids section they have a whole Christmas section. We have watched tons of Thomas the Train, Madagascar, Shrek, and more. 
• Christmas Music: We have an Amazon Echo. So many times I tell her to play Christmas carols or Elvis Christmas music. David loves it. He dances and grooves every time music comes on. 
• Christmas Lights: We have tons of Christmas lights in the house connected to a remote control system. I let David turn them on and off. To him it is like a magical light show.
• Hot tea and Hot coco: I started doing this because I am currently sick but it really does make it feel more like the holidays. Sipping on a warm drink soothes the soul.
• Winter Candle: I bought and fell in love with the Holiday Cookies candle by Sonoma from Kohls. It is heavenly. After burning it once my room smells good for days. 
• Fuzzy Socks: I know this may sounds completely silly but this is huge to me. Fuzzy socks make it feel like Christmas to me. I have always had feet on ice in the winter and fuzzy socks are the best cure. 

I would love to hear what specials little things you do to make it feel like the holidays in your busy life. Comment below and let me know. 

God bless,

Deborah West

Beginning Again

I will not go into much detail because the truth is I have no idea how my life will play out right now. I do not want people judging me or picking sides. I do not want people begging to know things that just are not their business. But I am at a new stage in my life. I am having to go back to work and provide for myself. I have more bills than my current job can provide for and over $10,000 in debt. I have no idea where my future stands or if my dreams of being a homeschool mom will even come to a reality. I am beginning again. I have no expectations and huge dreams for my life right now but I do know I want the best life I can provide for my son no matter the cost. I will work hard and learn everything I need to

be able to succeed.

With all that said you will be getting totally new and different info from my blog. As of right now I will not be suggesting you buy huge expensive oils kits or $200 challenge packs because even I cannot do that right now. I will be sharing all my money saving tips and money earning tips. I will be sharing recipes, tips and tricks, DIY projects on a budget, cheap mommy son dates, Bible study tips, and much more! Also my blogs will be shorter because lets me honest I am pressed for time and I know all of you don't read the whole blog anyway. Am I right? How many of you get pissed off about the 25 paragraphs that come before the freaking recipe. Like gosh people I am only here for one thing!

My goal in writing on my blog is to express my feelings, share what I learn, give back to the community, and have something that I can call mine. I love to write an it has always been a dream of mine to be a writer so here we are. Maybe one day I will even publish a book! Who knows what life has in store for me and David but our life will be full of adventures you can count on that.

You were made for greatness!
Blessings,
Deborah West

It is so easy to lay with the pigs rather than run with the giants.

These past 3 weeks have been extremely hard on me. I felt defeated and I let myself go. One thing you can count on is that life will try to get you down. Nothing ever goes as planned. I so often let life take me down with it, when I have the power to rise above. It is so easy to lay with the pigs rather than run with the giants. I am sad to say that it took life getting better for me to realize I quit to easily. You see I want to do so many things in my life. I want to be a successful business woman, a published author, an inspiration to women and moms, an amazing wife, an amazing mother, a loyal child of God, and much more! Some days it all seems to much because I look at it right now in a day and say I cannot do all of that. But the great thing about life is that you don't have to do it all right now. We do have time and if we don't I really don't think I will regret never writing a book if I truly did not have time.

I want to take on my dream! I am going to start doing that. I have always wanted to write a cookbook. I learned very early on that I was awful at following a recipe because I always knew how to make the dish taste better. I want to share my recipes with the rest of the world! So I am going to take a leap of faith and write a recipe book. It is scary and there is a reality that no one may buy it. But I cannot control what others do; I can only control what I do. I have decided to make the most out of life!

I want to encourage you women to do the same. I know you have a lot on your plate with raising kids(and husbands), being a house wife, working, and trying to chase your dreams. I swear some days I don't even have time to eat a decent meal. Or some days I get to lunch and realize I haven't even brushed my hair! It is a lot. Then you add on top of all of that the curve balls life throws your way. Things like death, job loss, having to move, loss of income, or illness all can bring you down. It is hard. I will never lie to you and tell you it isn't. But I will tell you this; God gave you that dream, those ideas, and those visions for a reason. He gave them to you and you alone! You have a obligation to the world to follow through with them. I cannot tell you how much fulfillment you will get from chasing those dreams. It may be hard work and take long hours but it will give you blessings like no other.

I used to limit myself by thinking the only way I could make it was by working a 9-5 job and then limiting myself by thinking the only way to be successful was to be a Beachbody Coach. I was so wrong! Both of those can be amazing tools. I think that no one thing is the answer(besides Jesus). I think that MLMs, jobs, and any other opportunity is a tool and a gift that you can use to bless your life and follow your dream. I will never tell you that Beachbody or your 9-5 or bartending at night is a bad or good choice for you because that is all up to YOU! We get to choose our own future and it could include hundreds of things. No longer are we in a world where you choose a job at 18 and stick with it till your 60. You can grow and change!

So today I urge you to take those ideas, dreams, and visions God has given you and share them with the world. Maybe you can't do it right now but put the seeds in place so that you can start acting on those dreams. You can do it all sweet one; if those ideas are truly from the Lord. He will never give you more than you can handle when he is on your side.

The Importance Of Meditation and Mindfulness

Today I have an amazing guest blogger for you. I recently met Amie online and I absolutely love what she is all about and knew ya'll would too. I have asked her to speak about something close to her heart and sometime I love but am not qualified to talk about. I hope you enjoy! 

Here is a little bit about Amie:

 

Hey! My name is Amie Thomas. I am a counselor, a blogger, and I love to sing and write songs. One of the things that helps me stay balanced is meditation and mindfulness. I think that we all have a personal balance that helps us thrive in daily life. However, sometimes this balance can be thrown off by trauma or other events etc. Meditation and mindfulness is such an amazing foundation to have in these cases.

The Importance Of Meditation and Mindfulness

 What would our lives look like if we were truly in the present moment when visiting with our friends. What would our lives look like if we were intentional about how we spent our time? There are apps that tell us how much time we spend on social media, but what would it be like if there was an actual app that monitored how much we drift away from the present moment on a daily basis? Would we live differently? Would we change?

Meditation and Mindfulness

I use an app called the insight timer and meditate for usually around 20min at a time. I’ve been meditating for around 5 years now. At first I thought meditation was about clearing the mind. It’s not about that at all. Meditation is about focusing on your breath and letting thoughts come and go without clinging to them or pushing them away. I like to think of it as a car ride. When you are driving in your car and see a stop sign that’s bent over, you aren’t going to pull over and look at the stop sign and analyze it while coming up with a lengthy conclusion why it’s bent over. (That would be silly!) You are going to acknowledge that it’s bent over, make sure to stop momentarily, and then move on. *Mindfulness is simply having awareness of things. You can be mindful anywhere, anytime and with anyone you like.

Are you new to the idea of meditation and want to try it out?

Download the Headspace app and see how much can change when you spend just 10 minutes a day meditating.

Here is a link to a little video that explains more about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoLSRGzZwow

“The point of power is always in the present moment.” –Louise Hay

-Be Fervently Driven

Amie Hope 

For More Info Go Check Out my Website: Ferventlydriven.com