Healthy Eating on a Budget

This is something I could talk about all day. Half of the people I talk to say they cannot start a healthy lifestyle because it is too expensive. That is a lie from the pit of hell. I have been eating healthy now for over 4 years. I have done it on ALL ranges of income too. If you I can do it, you can too. I have put together a few of my tips that I actually use to save money and eat the healthy food I need to.

1. Bountiful Baskets- If you have never heard of them you have to go check them out. They are located in different towns across America. Essential Bountiful Baskets takes out the middle man and choosing. They collect fresh produce from local farmers and combine it into shares of vegetable boxes and fruit boxes for you to buy. You can pick which weeks you would like to order; so no contract or obligation. Most cities have a school as the pickup location. You go at the designated time and pick up your two baskets of fruit and vegetables. The only downfall is you never know what you will get so it may not be the best option for picky eaters. But if you are like me and have a juicer you can just juice any food with a pineapple and it will taste amazing. So no waste. You can get my juicer here for under $50.The basket price depends on your area but I get mine for less than $25. Tally up how much you could spend on veggies while eating super healthy and you will realize it saves you a lot of money.
2. Aldi-We have all heard of Aldi by now it is a new grocery store that is popping up. It truly is a money saver. They have tons of organic options and gluten free options. They do realize sometimes their fresh produce can be bad so they have a money back and product replacement guarantee. One thing I love about Aldi is they have new specialty items every week which makes shopping an adventure. Not to mention almost all their bags of chips are less than $2 compared to Walmart where everything is $3 and up.
3. Freezer Bagging Meat- We all know meat can be super expensive. We also know that if you time it right you can buy a ton of meat for a really good deal. For my whole life this is how we have saved money and been able to afford meat on a budget. I suggest setting up a meat budget every month and setting it aside and pay very close attention to meat sales. Your new goal is to become an expert on the price of meat. If you really want a good deal create an excel spread sheet to track it. When meat is on a good sale you use your budget and go buy a big portion of it. Then you use the freezer bags and freezer machine to freeze it. Make sure to label the date you freeze it on so that you can use your meats in order. This is a little more work but honestly I always had fun helping as a kid. I have to give my mom credit for this one; it was all her idea. You can get a top rated food saver with almost 5,000 reviews here for under $75.
4. Stay Clear or Processed Food-Now I will say this in moderation because every Sunday I get a frozen meal for our lunch because after church I have to cook lunch and then be at work by 1 or 2. So it is a serious crunch day for me. But I am talking on your day to do. Stay away from the premade breakfast foods. Stay clear of prepackaged meals. If your goal is to save money you will do so by making a lot of your food yourself.
5. Side Hustle-Get yourself a side hustle. I cannot tell you how many coaches I have met that literally start coaching so they can afford to be healthy. For me I know it definitely does help. Having an extra $200-$500 a month can give you a ton of flexibility to afford amazing quality groceries. Think about what if you did all these steps and adding on to it coaching and making that extra $200-$500 a month. You could be paying off debt, paying a bill or two a month, or traveling. If you would like to learn more about doing what I do as a coach, click the LINK HERE.

I hope this has helped you. I would love to hear more about your health and fitness journey or any questions you have. Please comment below and share with me what your thoughts are or any future blog post ideas you have for me.

Thank you,

Deborah West

Meal Prepping Essentials

I get lots of questions about meal prepping. It is an art let me tell you. It has taken me the past 4 years to get it down. I have failed many times. I used to spend 4+ hours cooking every Sunday but now I have gotten it down to where it is much easier and takes up a lot less time. So I wanted to share with you some of my essential tools I have used and still use that I love.

• 6 Pack Fitness: This was one of my first loves when it came to meal prepping. I used it in college and at my full time jobs. It holds 3 containers of food, 4 water bottles or shaker cups, and a container for pills or supplements. It keeps your food cold all day. I loved it because of the amount of storage. So if you are away from home for more than one meal this is a great investment. I never had any complaints about. Yes it is large but if it gets you to stay on course with your meal plan and not eat out; it is worth it.

• Energize: For much of my life age 16 and up I have lived off of energy drinks. I could drink 2+ Rockstars or Redbulls a day. I do not naturally create the energy to go long hours and work hard. I have always needed extra boosts. I found Energize and fell in love it is just as strong a Redbull but is made with all natural ingredients. It is also cheaper. I call it my "Mom Crack"
  
• Vacuum Thermos: My mother got my husband this awesome thermos. This is the perfect meal prep tools for soups or hot food. It is perfect if you want to keep your food warm and it actually works. It comes with 2 containers, a spork, and chopsticks.

• The Fixate Cookbook and Container System: This revolutionized how I viewed portion controls. I ate out of the container system for over a year. It is easy to use and in this kit it is paired with a matching cook booth with premeasured recipes. So if you want an easy solutions I highly suggest starting here. This system takes the hard thinking and planning out of the system. Fixate Kit
  
• Wonder Woman Shaker: I got this in a Secret Santa with my coaching team a few years back and I love it. The spiral circles really help mix up your shakes or drinks.
  

• Shakeology: My last suggestion is to add Shakeology to your daily meal plan. It replaces a snack or meal and gives you a daily dose of super food nutrition. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you know that I drink it every day and could not live with out it.I am including the link for my favorite flavor Café Latte. You can find the other flavors at this link as well. Cafe Latte Shakeology
  

Finding Myself after Facing Incredible Struggles

I cannot explain to you how hard it is to reclaim your life after everything you’ve planned has fallen apart. The past two and a half years of my life have been a complete unending string of family catastrophes and chaos. In all those struggles I have lost myself and who I am many times. I am such a planner by nature and when things go haywire from every last plan I have; I give up and give in. The past two and half years have held an unplanned pregnancy, shotgun marriage, an unfollowed birth plan, learning to be a mom, marriage struggles, the loss of a niece, and the loss of my dreams. You see I wanted the perfect marriage, perfect birth story, to be the perfect mom, to have both my nieces, and for my dreams to be here with me alive right now. But guess what that isn’t how life works. Life is hard and messy and somehow we have to find a way to hold onto ourselves, our hopes, and our dreams.

 

I have always felt most myself when working out and eating healthy. My fit pregnancy was a failure due to bed rest and preeclampsia. My magical natural birth story was ruined by a 48 hour horrible induction and my dreams of immediately nursing my son never happened. That for me was when I lost myself. When I say lost myself I mean it. I was completely overcome with depression. I hated looking in the mirror. I never had the strength to follow through with any goals. I could barely make myself clean the house. I gave up. I let failure take control of my life. It took me forever to get up out of the hospital bed and walk around or do more than hold David. Once we got home I was able to start nursing with help from a lactation specialist. But I still felt like such a failure for having a natural birth and not being able to nurse him immediately. No one should ever feel like a failure for their birth story but so many of us do. But I have to realize none of those things I could have changed. I did the best I could have.

 

But how do you bounce back from that? How do you come back from feeling like a completely failure and having all those crazy postpartum hormones surging your body and mind. Even when I was able to self-motivate those depression hormones would kick in and I lost it. I was able to find myself again as soon as I was cleared to workout. I showed up every day to my program for the first time since I had become a coach. I was such a bad ass and finished Insanity Max 30 which was to me was one of the hardest workouts ever. I conquered it and claimed my results and felt like myself again. I finally felt strong and in control.

 

That’s when things blew out of control once again. Daniels grandma died and that spiraled into a whole mess of chaos. Between marriage struggles, losing a niece and facing the reality of needing to provide for my family; there was no room for me. I worked every day of the week and had three jobs. I was a stay at home mom in the day and I worked every night and weekend when I had free childcare. There was NO time for being healthy or working out. All I could do was survive. Then true redemption came into play and I can only give God credit for this because God brought back to me not only a husband but someone who was to become a Godly husband and provider. I was able to lessen my work load and start being the mom and woman I was made to be. I started this new amazing workout called Lift 4 that was only 4 days a week. That was something my plate could handle. Between being a mom, a wife, an assistant manager, and everything else all I could do was 4 days a week. I have since crushed this program. I swear to you I was made to lift weights; it literally lights my soul on fire and helps me connect with my inner bad ass.

 

So here we are today, I look back and still feel the undeniable hurt from these past years. But I can also look back and see the healing. I can see the strength that was formed in me. I can see all the hard work I have put into my life. I am here to tell you I am not done with the hard work. Because what I have learned from the past two years is I don’t just want to survive because survival is hard. I want to thrive and to thrive I will have to go through pain and hard work. But guess what I will go through the same pain and same hard work either way. I will just come out on top this time because I will no longer settle for survival. I challenge you today to start healing from whatever has hurt you or held you back. The longer you live depressed or overcome by doubt and fears; the farther you push away who you were designed and created to be. Step forward today out of that big dark hole fighting your way towards your dreams.

My Favorite Tanning Lotions

I have a little obsession with tanning. I still remember the first time I walked into a tanning salon. I signed up for a high dollar membership and bought the full kit. I got an Intensifier, Facial, and Tan Extender. Once I started working at a tanning salon, I finally understood how important lotion was. The lotion decides your tan. The lotion saves your skin from wrinkles and drying out. Yes, the beds play a big factor as well but you’re wasting your money if you aren’t using lotion. So I wanted to share with you my favorite current lotions. You can pick these up at any Palm Beach Tan and some other salons. Do NOT order online; lotions makers do not sell lotions online.

1.       Midnight Black Bronzer: This is an amazing lotion produced just for Palm Beach Tan. It has 65 bronzers which is the most bronzers in a lotion so far. It is filled with amazing skin care and has a cellulite eraser. This lotion is a thicker lotion and requires you to use a little more than normal but the color you get is completely worth it. It is infused with lavender which is where the Midnight names comes from. It smells like heaven.

2.       Miss Designer: This is a classic created by Designer Skin. It has 55 bronzers. It is a silicone base lotion which means a little bit goes a long way. The silicone is also amazing for you skin and holds in the moisture. You skin will not tan if it is dry.

3.       Tekton Optimizer: This is a goodie! It is super affordable but amazing. It is a midrange bronzer so not crazy dark but you will get some good color from it. It is an optimizer because it is loaded with skincare. It is used to lift you out of a tanning plateau or it is perfect for sensitive skin.

4.       DS Double Dip Intensifier: I bought this one because of the smell. It smells so good to me. A double dip is a lotion made for cocktailing. That is when you bed tan and the spray tan right after. It also can be used as an intensifier for the bed and simply a primer for the spray. It doesn’t take much of this lotion. The only bothersome problem is DS makes terrible pump lids; so the lid will pop off randomly. But you can get the lid back on some lotion just comes out in the process.

Let me know if this has helped you or if you have any questions. I would love to know how many of you tan and where you tan!

Xoxo

Deborah

Top 5 Lists You Should be Making

I am a firm believer in list making. I have made lists my whole life. A lot of my pretending as a kid was in the form of making lists for a wagon train or who I would choose to have with me if the world was taken over. I have always functioned best when I have a pen and paper in hand. Lists organize all your thoughts. It is easier to see what is important when it is on a list right in front of you. So I put together a list of my top five lists that you NEED to be doing. 

1.       Monthly Budget: To have financial success you need to budget. I have always know this but until recently I have not found an easy way to do it. Right now I make a monthly budget and it is broken down into each week. I get paid biweekly whereas Daniel gets paid weekly. Not only that but different bills go through at different times. So breaking it down into weeks helps you see what you are really working with. 

2.       Grocery List: Daniel and I are living proof of why this is important. Last time we went to the store without a list we spend almost $200. Lately with a list we have been spending less than $90. Always plan ahead and make a list and plan appropriate foods for your budget. 

3.       Monthly Priority List: Do you ever feel like you are not living according to your priorities? I have been there. At the beginning of each month it is helpful to sit down and think what my priorities are this month. It changes due to the time of year. We all have long term and short term commitments. It also helps you see if you have room to add anything else. Priorities will be things like Family, God, Work, Working out, Clean Eating, and Friends.

4.       Monthly Goals: Every month you need to be sitting down and creating a list of things you want to get done. It makes you feel accomplished to cross stuff off that list. I always like to throw in a couple fun things to do so that you keep life enjoyable. 

5.       Daily Goals: Wake up each morning and make a list. Make a list of all the things you want to accomplish that day. Try and mix it between need and wants. Make it to where if you finished everything on that list it would be an amazing day, but keep it realistic time wise.

I hope this helps you work towards living a better life. Let me know what you think.

My Ah-Ha Moment About the Terrible Twos

David is not quite two yet but we are getting close. The terrible twos have already started for us. I was hoping we would not have to experience them. You know maybe just maybe it isn’t a real thing and it is played up by Hollywood. But let me tell you it is very real. I sit watching David throw a temper tantrum or cry for no reason and just wonder why. Like what happened in the past 20 seconds of doing nothing that has flipped a switch. Today while thinking about it God switched a light on and showed me something I have never thought before.

So there is a point in each child’s development when living from purely instincts fades away and they have the ability to think and choose. This I assume is happening around the terrible twos. When they start talking and being independent. We know as a Christian that we are all born with a sin natural but I also know that Satan plays into our sin nature by whispering lies to us constantly to shape how we think. It would be naive to thing that once our children start thinking and choosing for themselves that Satan hasn’t already begun whispering lies to them. With that being said why are we not more focusing on bringing them up in Godly values at the same time.

I mean all of our energy should focus on bringing them towards the Lord. We should be reading them Godly books, watching Godly TV shows, and teaching them Godly principles. I mean it may seem so stupid to start so young but if the enemy is starting early I do not want to get behind. I mean the Bible clearly says train them up in the way they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from that. It is a commandment to raise your child in a Godly manner. I feel that I am failing at that. I feel that nowhere not even in the Christian parenting books am I practically taught how to work that out in a daily basis to a two year old. So I am on a mission to find out how. To find out what my son responds to. If the terrible twos are cause by a mini version of spiritual warfare then I should easily be able to see if whatever I am trying is working.

I have start on a list of ideas that I wanted to share with you. I will expand on them and be writing more blogs with my ideas completely planned out. But for now I would love to know your opinion.

·         Short Memory Verses to start teaching your 2 year old

·         Christian CDs or music to listen to

·         Audio Books or Radio Programs for kids

·         TV Shows that are biblically based or just plain wholesome

·         Fruits of the Spirit

·         Coloring Pictures

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.