Countdown to Clean Eating Challenge

I am 2 days away from my clean eating challenge. I will be starting Thirsday because that is when I go to the grocery store, but I would love for you all to join me next time you go to the grocery store! 

Here is my meal plan for the week:

I left Monday open because usually at least once through the week we eat at my mom's house or someone else's house. 

Here is my grocery list for the week:

The items that have red balloons beside them are items I plan to buy at Target and the other items I'll buy at Kroger. The only not so clean things are the cream of mushroom and cream of chicken because I have really been wanting a good casserole, but I'll definitely be buying the most healthy option of those. Everything else I will buy organic if it's the same price or close to the same price as not organic, but if it is double the price or my budget is tight I will buy whatever is cheapest. The cereal will be for my husband and I always get Maddox some frozen organic pancakes because they are quick and the ingredients are good.  I also plan to do some meal prep ahead of time hence the baggies.

I'm also going to make sure I'm getting enough food everyday by using my "diy 21 day fix container system". I'll be using just plain measuring cups instead of their special little containers. If you've never heard of Beach Body's 21 Day Fix basically it gives you a formula to calculate how many calories you should eat a day and then how much of each category (protein, veggies, fruit,etc) you should eat to reach that amount. So you measure out your food each meal to make sure your eating the right proportion. I know very little about meal portioning so I'm hoping this will help me learn how much food I should be eating everyday. 

I am in the very small percent of people who are actually trying to gain weight. Most people don't talk numbers about their weight, but I'm not going to be shy about it because it could help someone else. My ideal weight for my body frame is around 115 lbs to 120 lbs. Right now I weigh 101 lbs. I weighed 135 lbs right before I had both Maddox and Natalie then two days later after birth I weighed 117 lbs. This is usually where I get the "you lucky dog" comments, but what has happened after both of them is I lose weight pretty rapidly in the post partum months. When I became pregnant with Natalie (Maddox was 15 months) I weighed 98 lbs! I felt awful physically and I'm sure I looked as scrawny as I felt. I'm not sure exactly why I was losing so much weight, but I know for sure I wasn't eating enough to keep up with the calories I was burning by breastfeesing and I know I wasn't drinking enough water. Now I'm almost back down to under 100 lbs so that why I am trying to take charge and eat healthy and drink plenty of water. Eating healthy is good if you want to gain weight or lose weight by just adjusting portion sizes, so if you are unfamiliar with meal portioning hopefully we can learn together!

Join me on Instagram (Instagram.com/naturallybeingmommy) using #nbmcleaneating and let's share our clean eating pics and encourage one another to reach our goal of a healthier lifestyle!

-Hannah

Clean Eating Challenge for Beginners and On a Budget!

Confession time: I have fallen way off my clean eating "diet". You know why? Because I was treating it like a diet and diets don't last. It has to be a lifestyle change to last. So I wanted to start a Clean Eating Challenge for beginners and on a budget! There are so many clean eating "programs" out there that are so intimidating and expensive! I would try those meal plans only to realize I didn't like half the food on the meal plan and the rest of it was so expensive we were going into debt trying to buy it. I grew up on a heavily processed foods diet so I can't eat hummus or drink coconut water without wanting to gag! Most of the recipes on these said meal plans involve ingredients I've never even heard of. So, I was trying to jump in feet first and was quickly burnt out.

Then, it dawned on me as I was eating some Cheetos (yes, I know, terrible.) that clean eating does not have to be an overnight change from Cheetos to hummus. The key to clean eating in the beginning is less ingredients, not so much organic or crazy healthy. Ask yourself can I pronounce all the ingredients in this product or do I recognize all the ingredients in this product? If the answer is no chances are it's probably not good for you. Now let's be real. I have small children so I need convenience foods. Are all foods in a box bad? No, at least not for me. As long as I can recognize the ingredients then that's good enough for me (I.e. Those squeeze pouches of applesauce or baby food, baby puffs, etc.).  

So here's the first challenge for clean eating. Next time you are at the grocery store only shop the outside aisles. This would be produce, bread (we personally don't eat much bread), meat, and dairy. Also, frozen fruits/veggies are good if you need something quick. If your like me and need some convenience foods make sure you can read/recognize every ingredient. This doesn't mean everything in your cart needs to be organic, free range, grass fed, etc. But just shop these aisles and pick out things you know your family will eat and don't worry if it's not the most healthiest option. We are just going to take it slow. 

The only trick to this is that most of these foods aren't just a pop it in the microwave type food, so this is where meal planning comes in really handy. I personally just meal plan dinner because that's our biggest meal of the day, but you can be as detailed as you'd like. Also, remember to stay within your grocery budget. Buy off brand or store brand items, look for clearanced items, or use coupons to keep you within your normal budget. 

So if you want to join the challenge with me I'll be on Insatgram  posting my weekly meal plans, grocery hauls, and meal pics! I'd love to see your clean eating pics as well so if you are joining the challenge use #nbmcleaneating so we can encourage and support each other to a real life style change that works for your life and your budget! 

I'm also looking into meal prepping and freezer meals that you prepare ahead of time so if anybody has any advice on that let me know!

How To Avoid Gossip

Gossiping is an area of my life that the Lord is dealing with me about right now. Anything I say in this post keep in my mind I may have one finger pointing at you, but I have three pointing back at me. Thankfully through much prayer, bible study, and grace I feel like I have better control of my tongue now than I did before. So I want to share some tips with you on how to avoid being caught up in the middle of a juicy gossip conversation or even being the person to start a gossiping conversation.

Webster's dictionary defines gossip as "a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others".  That word habitually is what got me. Gossip is habitual is it not. Once you start talking about somebody it seems to spread like wild fire!

The Bible says this about our tongue:

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. " James 3:9 (Can I raise my hand and say guilty right here?!)

"Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity." Proverbs 21:23

"Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." James 3:5 (Think wild fire!)

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18

And there are many more verses similar to these as well. 

So in short we can see how dangerous and hurtful such a small part of our body can be if used carelessly, but at the same time it can be used for encouragement, healing, and building each other up.

We all know that situation. Your with a group of friends and they bring up the latest scandal about so and so and you've got a piece of gossip that will trump everything they know about this person or the person they are talking about has done something hurtful to you so you know it will feel good to say bad things about them as some sort of punishment for what they've done to you.  What do you do? Do you give into to the temptation? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 

What are the ways we can endure it or escape that temptation?

1. Say something good-The person they may be talking about may be somebody who has hurt you and you really want to say something bad about, but don't. Instead find one good thing about that person or one good thing they have done and share that instead. You may have to dig really deep, but with a forgiving heart I'm sure you can find at least one good thing. I guarantee that will stop the bad mouthing pretty quick once they realize you aren't going to participate.
2. Leave the conversation-If you are sitting in the same area as others that are gossiping just get up and leave before you say anything. Excuse yourself to the bathroom or to get a drink, etc. that way you won't have to hear the conversation and be tempted.
3. Change the subject- If you are in the same area or talking on the phone with others who are wanting to gossip, simply change the subject to anything else (except somebody else) besides the person they are trying to bash. My opinion, the crazier thing you change the subject to the more likely the people you are talking to will get the hint that you do not want to gossip.
4. Tell them of your gossiping conviction-This one is a little harder especially if you are in a group of non-believers because they may not understand what a conviction is, but just tell whoever your talking to that the Lord has really been dealing with your heart about gossiping and that you are trying to break the habit so you'd rather talk about something else.

Just like with anything for us to really change a characteristic about our lives it has to be a heart change, not just a "in my head" change. So how do we change our hearts to not want to gossip anymore?

1. Prayer-ask the Lord to forgive you for gossiping and ask Him to change your heart to not have the desire to gossip anymore.
2. Reading the Bible-Here's a couple good verses in this subject:

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

"You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart." 1 Peter 1:22

So here is my challenge for you and for myself: See how long you can go with only saying things that are good, helpful, encouraging, or would build somebody up.

I hope this is an encouragement to you as I know the study was for me! :)

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Zucchini Harvest

I'm going to start doing some more daily posts because my babies are growing so fast and I just want to remember the little details of them being this little and also it helps me to reflect on the postive things that happened during the day. 

Today was our first day back from vacation so I wanted to try to get back into our routine, but first I had to go to the grocery store. I like to go to Target first and then go to Kroger for fruits, veggies, and meats. I barely made it home in time for my husband to leave for work because as always I lose track of time in Target. 

The kids took a pretty good nap today which is always nice to have a little moment of silence! I had a lot of unpacking and cleaning to do from our trip even though I didn't get all the cleaning done that I wanted to. 

Maddox got a Citrus Lane box this month and he has been loving these Eco crayons that came in it. They were shaped like little sea shells which was perfects since we just got back from the beach. 

This evening maddox and I went to check our garden and found this huge zucchini! We've harvested five zucchini in the last two days from two plants! Unfortunately our zucchini plants are growing so big that they our overshadowing my cucumber plants so I'm hoping it doesn't interfere with the cucumbers growth too much.  

The kids had a bath, watched a movie and went down for bed time pretty easily. 

Weekly Cleaning Check List| Free Printable!

I have tried many different methods and routines of cleaning over the past few years. I used to be able to have a schedule of "deep cleaning" one room per day. So for example on Monday I would clean the bathrooms, Tuesday I would clean the bedrooms, etc. I found though after having two children and minimal energy for cleaning I would put it off until the end of the day and then by that time I was so tired I just wouldn't do it. I would let my house get out of control before deciding to clean it because I had let it go so long. I am a clean freak by nature so it literally pains me to see the house a wreck. Then, one day when the house was totally upside down and hadn't been deep cleaned in a good while, I decided to get up and just attack it full force. It actually only took me a couple hours to get the house clean, like really clean. That's when it dawned on me why don't I just do that once a week instead of feeling guilty everyday for not doing my "scheduled" deep cleaning. Usually one evening after my husband gets home from work I will get him to entertain the kids for a couple hours while I go into to crazy cleaning mode and it feels good when I'm done because I can actually see the progress!

I found a complete home cleaning check list on Pinterest that I have been using to make sure I get every area of my home clean at least once a week. If you do everything on the list in the exact order it's in you will get every area without back tracking. The printable version was no longer available when I tried to go to the website to print it off so I made my own checklist. I can't take credit for the order of the list, but the picture below is my own printable I made that you are more than welcome to print off for yourself!

To Print: Click on the image, right click and choose "save as", save the image to your computer, and then you can print it from where you saved it :)

I only made a black and white version because my printer only has black ink, but if you would like a colored version I can make one too! If your in a cleaning rut like I was and are looking for a fresh perceptive hopefully this will be an encouragement for you! The hardest part for me was just getting up and doing it, but if feels great when you feel like you have taken back control of your home!

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How To Get The Best Bang For Your Buck At Target

I LOVE Target! I am a Target addict and I am not ashamed! I never thought in a million years I would shop there for groceries until I realized what a better selection of natural/organic products they have. They have so much more variety of snack foods and frozen foods in an organic variety and those types of things are always great to have on hand when you need something quick. I just always assumed that they were way more pricier than they grocery store or dare I say Wal-Mart. I am going to insert here that I avoid going to Wal-Mart at all costs. I just do not like the environment of Wal-Mart and it always seems loud and chaotic every time I go in there. So I will pay a little more to not have to go there. I usually shop at Kroger, but I had never thought to compare prices between them and Target until I downloaded Target's Cartwheel App and realized there were some awesome deals on there! Once I started comparing prices I realized Target was very similar and often cheaper than what I had been paying at Kroger. After shopping at Target every week for a while now I have it down to a science. Here is how to get the best bang for your buck at Target:

#1: Cartwheel
Cartwheel is an app you can download on your smartphone to get exclusive coupons to use at Target, no printing required. All you do is select the offers you would like to use (i.e. 25% off Cherokee baby & toddler clothes) and click "add". Then, when you get to the check out at Target you go to your app, hit "my barcode" and let the cashier scan the barcode directly from your phone! The app keeps track of how much you have saved using it so that is always cool to look at! You can use the same offer on multiple items, so if you added the 25% off Cherokee baby & toddler clothes offer and you picked out 3 shirts it will take 25% off all 3 shirts!

#2: Clearance
I absolutely love Target's clearance areas. I know where each one is for every department at our store and I be sure to hit every one when I'm there because you never know when you might come Across I stellar deal. I once got a Doc McStuffins doll house regularly $54.99 for $16 and a Leap Pad 3 for my son regularly $100 for $30! When Target decides to get rid of stuff they mean business. Also, another great thing about Target that I've not really seen in any other store is that they clearance food. Most of the time it's not even food that's getting ready to go out of date. We have been able to try alot of new foods and drinks that way! Recently they clearanced out some of their organic juices so I was able to purchase organic juice for cheaper than regular juice! Also, I have figured out the best time to go for clearance at our store is on Thursday mornings.

#3: Target Debit Card
Target now offers a debit card that you just link up with your normal debit bank account, but you save 5% every time you use that card at Target, the Target cafe, or the Starbucks inside your Target. They also have a Target credit card where you can save 5% on every purchase, but I do not recommend a credit card ;) The debit card is free to sign up for. You just hand them a blank check and they get you set up in just a couple minutes. I usually used my debit card any way at Target so I though "Hey, why not save 5% while doing it!" In our state 5% is the tax rate so I like to pretend I'm getting things "tax free".

#4 Target Sales
Target has been known to run some crazy good sales that often will have a Cartwheel offer to go along with it. My favorites are "Buy so many an get a $5 gift card" or "Buy one get one half off".

#5 Reusable Bags
If you bring your own reusable to put your stuff in instead of the plastic bags, Target will take $0.05 for every bag you use. It doesn't sound like alot, but if you've got a buggy full of stuff it adds up pretty quick and you are saving the planet while saving money! :)

#6 Manufacturer Coupons and Target Coupons
I do not like clipping or printing out coupons so this is a last option for me. Everyone knows what a manufacturers coupon is so I won't elaborate on that , but target has coupons on their website that you can print out and these can be combined with manufacturers coupons for double the savings. This option takes a little more thought and planning than I'm willing to put in, but sometimes I  come across something good that isn't to hard to get the coupons for. Target also has mobile coupons that they will send to your phone and the cashier can scan them from your phone.

{via}

Making Target cheaper than say Wal-Mart or the grocery store does take a little bit of effort, but to
go at my favorite time (on Thursdays usually in the morning) when it's nice and quiet and I can shop practically by myself in store is worth downloading a few offers to my Cartwheel and shopping clearance!

A little humor for you ;) {via}

What's the best deal you've come across at Target?

**I am in no way affiliated with Target or any of their products. This is simply my own advice and what I personally do.** :)

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Cloth Diapering on the Cheap

So today I wanted to share how to cloth diaper from birth to potty training very inexpensively. It's no secret I love cloth diapering, but sometimes I get so wrapped up with the latest and greatest cloth diaper that I burn myself out and just want to get back to the simple way. This is not the very cheapest way to cloth diaper but it is the cheapest, simplest, "guaranteed to work and not have leaks all the time" way. And the answer is..,Prefolds and Covers!

{via}

I have been using these non stop for the last week or so because they are so much easier to fold when they come out of the dryer vs stuffing pocket diapers. When you have two in cloth you can easily spend 30 minutes to an hour folding and stuffing diapers, but with prefolds and you just fold them in half and throw the covers in a pile which takes like 5 minutes. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that next baby, I using prefolds from birth to potty training.

 Here are my reasons why:

1. They are cheap (I'll give you a price breakdown in a minute)

2. Never have stink issues and clean really well

3. Easy to fold and put away

4. Very, very absorbant

5. Hold up well for a long time (multiple children and beyond)

This method has been used for a long time, especially before disposables so I know it is tried and true. They only cons are they aren't as quick to put on and they can be bulky in a diaper bag, but if you've ever needed a burp cloth or a towel in a pinch you can just whip a prefold out and save the day! :)

Cost Breakdown: *for this example I am giving the prices of what I personally use and recommend. There are definitely cheaper prefolds and covers out there but I like to pay a little more and know I'm getting something that will last a long time!* All prefolds mentioned are Diaper rite brand "Natural" (unbleached) prefolds from Diaperjunction.com. These are by far my favorite and the softest. 

24 newborn prefolds (6-12lbs)- $35.85

2 xs Thirsties covers-$23 ($11.50 each)

4 size 1 Thirsties Duo Wraps- $51 ($12.75 each)

18 medium prefolds(14-30lbs)-$41.85 ($13.95 per 6)

*there is a size small prefold but honestly I'd just skip it and go to medium because they won't stay in that size long at all*

4 size 2 Thirsties Duo Wraps-$51 ($12.75 each)

And later on down the road you can buy Large prefolds which fit 26-40 lbs

18 Large prefolds-$44.95

3 pack of Snappis- $9.35

Total: $257 from birth to potty training or you could wait and pay $44.95 of it around 1  yr old or 18 months old for the large prefolds. 

 Diaper Junction usually had the 5% off coupon code (HIGHFIVE) going so that would bring it down the total cost to $244.15! 

Since I wrote this I have found an even better deal on Nickisdiapers.com. When they have their Thirsties covers on sale for 10% off (which they do often) you can get the same thing except 24 prefolds in each size for $240.85! If you want exact details of what to get just ask in the comments. :)

That is almost 1/10th of the price you would pay if you used disposables from birth to potty training (average cost of disposables from birth-2 yrs old is $2,000!)

And if your child is like mine potty training will probably happen around age 3 so tack on another $1,000 in disposables!

I already have most of the things mentioned above. I just need a few more prefolds so for me I could diaper my next baby from birth to potty training for about $50!

But I will say night time diapering can throw a curve in this. I suggest getting pocket diapers and 3 Hemp inserts for night time just because the inside of pockets have a stay dry material that will keep your baby from feeling wet so they can sleep better and the hemp inserts will hold up for about 12 hours so you don't have to wake them to change them! The price of this will vary depending on the brand but you don't need anything real fancy! :)

*Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of any of the products/brands mentioned above. This is simply what I use and love! :)**