How Pinteresting!!

Are you on Pinterest yet? Do you know what Pinterest is?

Pinterest is an online pin board. You can organize pictures that you find on the web and they will include links back to the websites and blogs where you found them. It’s like having visual bookmarks!

On Pinterest is where I found these:

Recipes I’d like to try, like these No Bake Energy Bites

Source: rebekahdawn.wordpress.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

One of many DIY projects I want to try

Source: twiddlerhouse.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

and Ideas for my home, like these beautiful gray cabinets

Source: greigedesign.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Just click on the “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on the sidebar. Or, you can find me here: http://pinterest.com/jenniferhogan/

Not on Pinterest and need an invite? Send me your email address and you can get to pinning – it’s that easy!

It's Okay Thursday #1

I recently found this "It's OK Thursdays" bloggy link for Thursdays and thought I'd join the fun with Neely and Amber. Thursdays for the longest time have been "Mommy Night." When the kids were younger, we'd order pizza, I would watch my favorite shows on TV, and basically be a couch potato. Now... I still plan on only watching TV, but dinner is usually not pizza, and I now have to make sure the kids' homework gets finished. I've always been so OK with Thursdays! :) Now, along with Neely and Amber and hundreds of others, I'll be sharing what's OK with me each week. If you also want to join all you have to do is type up a post like I have below, grab the linky button above  for your post, and link up!
It's OK...

... to love reality TV shows.... to love yoga but avoid class when the new teacher is teaching.... to read the instructions cover to cover.... that I haven't used my Silhouette vinyl cutter yet that I got for Christmas even though I've been hoarding ideas on Pinterest like crazy!... to look forward to spending the weekend out of town with Hubs and daughters...that I left tons of papers stacked on my desk at work. It'll be there tomorrow.

What's OK with you today?

The Best Enchilada Soup You'll Ever Have!

Ooooooo! I'm so excited to share today's post with you. With the cold weather here, we love to eat soups here at my house. They warm us up, they're easy to make, and they are great to have for lunch the next day. I hope you'll try today's recipe, Enchilada Soup, and love it as much as I do!


If you have themed nights on your weekly menu, you'll find this recipe one that you'll want to mix in on Mexican Night, or Soup Night, or "I-got-home-from-work-late-and-want-something-quick" Night!


Here's how I did it....


I started with a teaspoon of Coconut Oil and browned my chopped onion.

When the onion was soft, I added the chicken broth, garlic powder, and cumin. I brought that to a boil then reduced the heat and added the rest of the ingredients.

I always use MILD Ro-tel! But I used hot salsa because that's what I had leftover from my Pioneer-Woman-inspired Black Bean Dip.

Have you tried Costco's canned chicken breast? It's really good, and I use it when I'm trying to save time. I keep it in my cabinet to have handy for recipes like this. You could also use 2-3 boiled chicken breasts, chopped.

I brought all of the ingredients to a boil then reduced the heat and simmered 8-10 minutes. 


Serve and enjoy!

I like mine with tortilla chips and shredded cheese. You could also top with chopped onions and/or sour cream. 

Recipe for Enchilada Soup:
1 t Coconut Oil (or olive or other oil)
1/4 of medium-sized onion, chopped
1 carton (48 oz) chicken broth
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast  
1 can Ro-tel
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white corn


Place oil in soup pot, when hot, add onion. Cook until soft.
Add chicken broth, cumin, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes.


Optional toppings: chips, shredded cheese, chopped green onions, and/or sour cream.


Hugs,

Quinoa Burger Recipe Review

Today's Monday, and it's a day that I use to set a focus and get motivated for the week. Since it's President's Day, I have a day off from work so I thought I'd give you a two-fer. 


Motivation Monday + Recipe Review = Awesomeness. 

Source: vi.sualize.us via Evelyn on Pinterest

One reason I love this picture so much is because I find that as we get older, we get comfortable and we like to do what we already know. It makes us confident. 


Since I work with kids, I am reminded daily (often every hour) of how we ask kids to do lots of things that are new to them. It helps them grow. It helps us grow. No matter what our age. This week I will make sure I do something for the first time.



Let me share with you something that I recently did for the first time. It, too, was inspired by Pinterest. 


A while ago, I found these beauties on Pinterest:

Source: eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Don't they look yummy?


Hubs and I love quinoa, so I thought I would give them a try and give you my review. Here's how mine turned out:

You can find the recipe here. It's a pretty easy recipe (my favorite kind), and I made only a couple of changes. I used the zucchini instead of carrots, I omitted the sweetener altogether, and I used coconut oil for cooking. 

Did your mom ever make salmon croquettes when you were a kid? The appearance of my quinoa burgers reminded me of these. I never could get the full burger appearance like in Linda's pictures!

Although the burgers were tasty, I thought there was not enough "bang" for the work. I thought about trying this mixture in a pie plate and baking it. Kind of like a quinoa pie. If you try this recipe, let me know how yours turns out -  Croquettes or burgers?

Have a great week!

I'm linked up at

Music Feeds My Soul

I have always loved music. I love to sing (even though I’m terrible), interpret the lyrics, wonder what the artist was feeling when he or she wrote and/or performed the song, wonder who the song was written for, feel the rhythm, and also dance to it. Music seems to feed by soul in a way that nothing else does or can.

What I think is so cool about music is how it transcends the intellect and causes a feeling – so much so that a person can recall where they were when a particular song was popular, who they were with, and what they were doing.

I have some key songs from my life that are special to me….

“Amazing Grace” makes me think of my grandmother. When she sang this song, I thought it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard.

“Open Arms” by Journey puts me back in ninth grade when I had my first “real” boyfriend.

“Never Surrender” by Corey Hart reminds me of winning the Dixie Youth Softball World Series. It seemed to always be on the radio at the time, and one of the girls on the team whose parents were deaf taught all of us on the team how to sign the lyrics. We would do the signs for “Never Surrender” on the field to each other.

“Unchained Melody” was my parents’ song at their wedding, and my husband and I had it played at our wedding.

I could go on and on… there are so many that have been a part of special times in my life.

Right now, the song that means a lot to me is a song by Miley Cyrus called “The Climb.”  The lyrics in the chorus really resonate with me and motivate me - whether I am on the treadmill, at work, dealing with children, or making life-changing decisions.

The chorus goes like this:
There’s always gonna be another mountain.
I’m always gonna want to make it move.
Always gonna be an uphill battle.
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose.
Ain’t about how fast I get there.
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side.
It’s the climb.

I’d love to hear about how music affects you, special songs from your life, and how it lifts you up.

Love,

What Are You Hungry For?

A friend and I were talking the other day about diet and exercise. I had recently finished a 10-day challenge, and I had also taken the suggestion of holistic nutritionist Paula Owens to remove dairy, sugar, and wheat products from my diet for a short time period. 

My friend was asking things like, “Why would you do that?” “How hard was it?” “What were you able to eat?”

She also stated to me, “It was easy for you. You’re so disciplined.”

That one caught me off-guard. Yes, I do think I can be disciplined, but no, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. (And there are lots of times that I’m NOT so disciplined.)

I believe self-discipline, like attitude, is a choice. When a person realizes that they have control over this and can choose to be disciplined, it can change the world for him or her.

When I was a personal trainer, people would tell me that they didn’t have time to work out. I would challenge them… “Do you have time to brush your teeth? Do you have time to shower each day?” Those were easy questions to answer. Did they brush their teeth each day because they were disciplined? Did they shower each day because they were disciplined? It reminds me of a quote by Nora Roberts: “You don’t find time to write. You make time.”

source

I think of discipline as two-fold. In one analogy, our choices are about importance. Imagine a scale that measures things that are important to you. I’ll give you a personal example. If I put “quality time with my husband and kids” on one side and “time required at my job” on the other, the quality time with family will win out every time. I made an intentional decision to live a life where the scale was tipped in the favor of what is important to me by the choices I make each day as well as working on building a business that will provide more time with my family in the future.

When our internal balance is tipped, we feel the discomfort and unease within us. We will seek to ease the discomfort inside us, even if it means doing things that are harmful to us or things that we know tip the scales even more. Think about the person who really wants to lose weight but eats poorly. With our scale analogy, put “look fit” or “lose weight” or “fit into jeans” on one side of the scale and put “candy bar” or “fast food” on the other side…. When the “lose weight” side of the scale tips for that person and it becomes more important than the fast food, then the first step of being disciplined has been taken.

What if, for that same person, I said, “You are very disciplined. You eat three meals a day.”

That person would say, “It’s not about discipline, it’s because I’m hungry.”

When we are hungry for something, we usually can’t be stopped.

Years ago I went to a coaching clinic where I heard Jeff Janssen speak about the personal development and team-building work he was doing with the softball team at the University of Arizona. He gave everyone a copy of his “Commitment Continuum,” a document I had laminated and have used since I got it those years ago. I have used it with my students, athletes, teachers, and myself. It is a guiding chart for teams to determine where team members are with their commitment to the team goals. With some tweaking, it can also be used to self-check levels of commitment to individual goals. At one end of the spectrum, you will find Resistant. At the other end, you will find Compelled.

Using the term from above… what if we substitute Satisfied for Resistant, and Hungry for Compelled. When we are no longer satisfied with something, and we are Hungry for change, we will do what is necessary to satisfy the hunger.

Which way does the scale tip for you? What are you hungry for?

Love,

Help Yourself Meet a Challenge

Ever had a challenge and needed a little sumthin' extra to help you meet it?

For about a year and a half, each month I've hosted a 10-Day Health & Wellness Challenge that begins on the 10th day of each month.  I ask my friends on Facebook if anyone wants to join me, and there's been a group every month who accepts the challenge.

For 10 days we commit to do the following: 1) Exercise every day, 2) Eat a green vegetable every day, 3) Eliminate sugar, and 4) Keep a journal of everything that we eat and drink each day.

As part of the 10-Day Challenge, I’ve email everyone each day with health and wellness tips, along with affirmations. I’m not a nutritionist or a personal trainer any more… but I am a coach, fitness buff for 20+ years, and a life-long learner. I’m sharing practical tips that I use to keep exercise and healthy eating a part of my busy schedule, as well as information I’ve garnered over the years from some of the best in the business.

Knowledge alone won’t do it, though. In addition to practical knowledge about what to do, when to do it and how to do it, we have to have the right mindset to achieve any goal.

 

Heard of the knowing-doing gap? It’s a term used in education and in business… it means sometimes we know things, but we don’t always do them. Having a positive mindset and belief system will help us to DO them and narrow or eliminate that gap.

Affirmations are positive sentences that you repeat to yourself each day. Over time, you can change your mindset.

Steven Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, says that a good affirmation has five basic ingredients: it’s personal, it’s positive, it’s present tense, it’s visual, and it’s emotional.

Covey uses this example: “It is deeply satisfying (emotional) that I (personal) respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness, and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave.”

Dr. Charles Garfield is a renowned researcher in the area of high achieving individuals. One of the main ideas his research showed was that almost all peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it.

To make the affirmations even more powerful, visualize your affirmation in your mind’s eye or create a visual display.  Brain research tells us just how powerful visualization is. If you visualize a red apple sitting in front of you, your brain doesn’t know if you literally saw a red apple or not. Your brain can’t distinguish between real and imagined experiences.

(Sidebar — I tried to use this with my husband. He doesn’t really need to go PLAY golf… he can just visualize, and his brain will think he really did!)  :)

The group of us doing the challenge are using affirmations daily to help us achieve our goal.

What other suggestions would you give to someone who is trying to reach a goal?

 XO,

Start Today! {Motivation Monday} 2.6.12

Source: mth2011.tumblr.com via Alexandra on Pinterest

Do you have a career goal you want to achieve?
Do you have a health goal for your body or your heart?
Is there a new skill you want to learn?
Are you wanting to try a new business? 
Is there a certain amount of money you're trying to save up?


Whatever it is.... take the first step today. 
And keep stepping.
Want to quit? Email me for encouragement.


Make the decision and don't look back.
YOU CAN DO IT.


XO

My Version of The Pioneer Woman's Black-Eyed Pea Dip

When I think of Superbowl Sunday, I think of food! I have been wanting to try a black-eyed pea dip that I saw over on The Pioneer Woman's website, and I thought that today would be a perfect time to try it. 


I modified it a little, because the sour cream in my fridge was no good. I used about 1/3 of a brick of reduced fat cream cheese. And I used only 6 ingredients. I like easy peasy.

You'll have to go over to Ree's website to see the beautiful pictures step-by-step. Me? I was too lazy busy... I was also cooking healthy enchiladas! 


Here are the 6 ingredients I used: (Visit Ree's site for the full recipe!)


1 can (14-ounce) black-eyed peas, drained
1/4 whole onion, chopped fine
1/3 brick cream cheese
8 slices jarred jalapenos
1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 Tablespoons salsa


I put the peas into the baking dish and mashed them a little with a fork. I then added the rest of the ingredients and used the fork to mix everything together. 

I baked the dip in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

{Maybe I should have wiped down the sides of the dish to make it pretty?}


Here's the yummy dip out of the oven:

(serve with tortilla chips!)

I think if Ree tried it, she'd like it, too! 


Let me know what you think!


XO