Mamavation

Roasted Winter Salad with Beet Chips and Oven Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

andreakruse — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:37:44 +0000

Salads boring? No way! Winter gives us some fun and healthy ways to shake things up. Go beyond the usual cucumbers and tomatoes for some colorful seasonal treats. This is a great salad to help recover from Superbowl party food.

The beet chips and walnuts add an extra crunch, the roasted butternut squash lends some natural sweetness and the yogurt dressing helps to add an acidic element. Each of the elements can be made up ahead of time and the salad thrown together quickly.

Roasted Winter Salad with Beet Chips and Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

Rating: 51

Ingredients

Roasted Beet Chips *recipe below
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash *recipe below
Walnuts or nut of choice
Mixed Greens - I like the Spring Salad Mix
Dress with your favorite dressing (I enjoy a simple Greek Yogurt Dijon)
Roasted Beet Chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Cut off the top and bottom of your beet.
With a vegetable peeler, take off the outer skin.
With a mandolin, slice the beets 1/16" thick. *Optional - use a mini cookie cutter for shapes.
Blot the beet slices with a paper towel. The dryer the slices, the crispier they will become
In a bowl, toss lightly with olive oil and salt
Lay in a single layer on a lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes with a rimmed baking sheet inverted on top
Flip the chips and remove the extra baking sheet. Bake for an additional 10 - 12 minutes until the chips start to crisp up.
Cool on a wire rack and the chips will continue to crisp.

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the neck and bulb apart from the squash. The bulb needs to be cut in half and the seeds removed with a spoon.
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
Cut the squash into 1" rounds and then cube.
Toss the cubes lightly with olive oil
Place the cubes on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Parchment works best, but aluminum foil is also fine.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Turn the cubes gently halfway through. The squash is ready when it is fork tender and the edges begin to brown.
Let the squash cool before adding to your salad.
Toss the beet chips, roasted squash and walnuts with your salad mix. Enjoy with your favorite dressing.

http://www.mamavation.com/2012/02/roasted-winter-salad-with-beet-chips-and-oven-roasted-butternut-squash-recipe.html

Enjoy!

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Now it’s you turn! Please link up your healthy recipes below:

Submitted by Andrea (@notimeMom) from Adventures in All Things Food. Farmer’s wife, SAHM and foodie at heart.

Lunch with Jared at Subway

MrBookieboo — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:08:59 +0000

Those pants have a 58" waist

Mrs. Bookieboo and I had the opportunity to have lunch with Jared Fogle “The Subway Guy” this past week. We dined at (are you ready for it . . .) Subway, of course. When Bookieboo first told me about the opportunity to meet Jared you should have seen me – I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. Forget about meeting Brad Pitt, Tom Brady, or Kate Beckinsale (ok, Kate might trump this experience) I was going to meet Jared! Everybody knows and loves Jared.

We arrived at the Subway off Kanan Road in Agoura Hills, CA – ironically, the town I grew up and went to high school in (Go Chargers!!!). As I walked in the door I was pleasantly greeted by one of my favorite smells – fresh Subway bread baking in the oven. The store itself was exactly what I’ve come to expect from Subway – clean, relaxing and friendly. Jared showed up a few minutes after we arrived and we sat down to enjoy our lunch.

After introductions Jared gave us a brief synopsis of his story. Let me tell you upfront – it is even more inspiring hearing it in person. Jared talked about his lifelong struggle with his weight and the steps that he has taken over the past 13 years to stay healthy. He said that deep down he always knew what he should and shouldn’t be doing but just made poor choices. Most of his poor eating decisions were made outside the house – something that I can totally relate to.

Jared telling his story

Jared also offered some advice that should be very familiar to anyone who has been a part of Mamavation. He emphasized portion control as being critical to weight loss success adding that “you have to be smarter than the menu”. Once you understand and control what you are putting in your body everything else will fall into place.

Of course, Jared’s go-to restaurant is Subway. Since he travels over 200 days a year it can be very challenging to eat healthy. With over 36,000 restaurants in 96 countries there is a pretty good chance there is always a Subway nearby. Combined with the fact that Subway has been a pioneer in providing healthy food choices for well over a decade makes it an easy win when dining.

As I sat and talked with Jared I reflected on my own personal journey to healthy living. The things that he was saying resonated with many of my own experiences. The reality is that it is not easy to make the “right” choices especially when it comes to eating. There are many temptations and obstacles that stand in the way of our healthy goals. Achieving your goals requires constant effort on your part but in the end it is so worth it.

Eat to live as opposed to living to eat – Jared

Remember it’s FebruANY^TMat Subway – Any regular Footlong Sub is just $5 February 1st – 29th. Head on over to Subway today.

Bookieboo with Jared

uiuiuiu

Giveaway:

1. $25 Subway gift card

2. $10 Subway gift cards (3 winners)

To Enter (Leave one comment for EACH entry):
1. Tweet this message (1 entry per tweet, 30 tweets max.)

Want 2 see Pic of @bookieboo in @thejaredfogle’s pants? @Subwayfreshbuzz giveaway compliments of @MrBookieboo, http://bit.ly/y9LIhw

2. Share on Facebook (1 entry)
4. Leave a message on Facebook Wall of Subway saying how you loved seeing Leah Segedie in Jared’s pants (2 entries)
5. Join Bookieboo.com (5 entries, new members only)

Winners will be selected by Random.org on Feb. 29th and contacted via twitter. Please leave your twitter name in order for me to get in contact with you. If you do NOT leave your twitter name and you are selected, I will need to select another. Good luck!

Mamavation Two Week Challenge Campaign 6 – Feb 13th-26th

MrBookieboo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:54:03 +0000

Back by popular demand Mamavation is pleased to announce the 6th Two Week Challenge. Participants have lost an astonishing 519 pounds and 385 inches over 5 campaigns. The results speak for themselves – join the growing movement today!

To participate in the 6th Mamavation Two Week Challenge here is what you need to do:

1) Hit the linky below, include your Twitter ID, and don’t forget to leave a comment after linking

2) If you are interested in the giveaway CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THIS FORM

3) Tweet at @MrBookieboo and let him know that you are joining the Mamavation Two Week Challenge. Important: use the hashtags #Mamavation and #2WeekChallenge

4) Register at www.bookieboo.com if you haven’t already

5) Print out the two-week challenge:

Beginner Workout

Advanced Workout

6) Report your status to @MrBookieboo daily. Use the hashtag #2WeekChallenge along with #Mamavation

Participants who successfully complete the two-week challenge will be entered into a drawing to receive:

Grand Prize: $100 Visa gift card (1 winner)

Runner-up: $50 Visa gift card (2 winners)

Note – in order to be eligible for the drawing you must tweet the completion of every workout to @mrbookieboo

Winners will be selected using random.org at the end of the Two Week Challenge.

Hit the linky below if you would like to sign up!

Swept Up in the Whirlwind and Loving It!

mommycanrun — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:45:15 +0000

Wow! The past 48 hours seem like they slipped away so quickly. At the same time, it feels like days, not hours that the Mamavation Moms were announced. The past month went by so quickly between the campaign and the two week challenge. I have been so inspired by past Mamavation Moms and all the ladies in the Mamavation Sistahood. I am in shock that I made it to the finals—eventually I become a Mamavation Mom myself.

Before I get too far into this post, I want to say thank you to everyone that voted, that supported me, that showed me love, and those that may have thought this was a crazy idea but gave me their support anyway! I feel so blessed and loved. I promise to make you all proud and soak in every opportunity this affords me.

This is all so surreal and it is happening to me! Someone pinch me. I cannot believe it!

This week was busy, busy, busy! I managed to get all the workouts in I needed to, but the scale refused to budge yet again. That is okay though. It seems like every other week is my thing and I am completely okay with it, because inches are steadily disappearing from my waist, hips, thighs, arms, legs, and everywhere in between.

I am in the midst of marathon training. On top of the Mamavation workouts, I run 5 days a week, including one track workout where we do a different workout every week. Some weeks we do tempo runs. Some weeks we do relays. Other weeks, we do 400 meter repeats. On Saturdays, we do a long run. Every week the time on our feet increases by 20 minutes. The combination of the two workouts is exhilarating!

I do struggle getting it all done, however I am a lover-of-lists. I have been breaking everything down and getting it done, one step at a time. Somehow, it gets done! Sometimes, it gets done late. The important thing is that it does get done!

Here is the part I cringe to talk about. DUN! DUN! DUN! My stats and BEFORE pictures are below. This is my story today and I know I have to embrace it. It is my job to make this story different and more of the story I can be proud of. Until then, here is where I am starting:

You may not know me yet. In time, you will find that I am a dork and below I do not mind showing it.

Without further ado, here is my first Vlog—ever, I believe. I am not comfortable on camera yet and I am pretty sure it shows. Everything in good time.

Have a great week!

Mamavation Mom – Week 1: Here We Go!

Andreaemilien — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:43:56 +0000

I wrote my first Mamavation post Monday night, after the announcement was made. I wanted to make sure that I got all of the feelings and emotions that I was feeling at the time. My vlog really shows you just how out of sorts and stunned I was. Anyway – here it is……

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh my.

I wanted to write this post before things settled down and before I lost the excitement of tonight!

First, for those that don’t know me……my name is Andrea. I am a wife of 13 1/2 years and a mother to 2 funny, smart, crazy kids.

I’ve been overweight for a very long time and a binge/emotional eater for almost as long as I can remember. I joined Mamavation in 2011 as I was going through a dark time in my life. I joke that Mamavation saved my life. Talking with some of the women on Mamavation changed my perspective and how I looked at me. It actually did save my life and I will forever be thankful.
I’ve wanted to be a part of the Mamavation Mom campaign since I joined. I am not a confrontational person nor do I compete with everything and everyone in my path….but I do love a challenge. I love being able to conquer something that I didn’t think I could do. My weight is one challenge I have yet to conquer.

And now I get to do it!

I am super excited to work with everyone and go through this journey. I am really excited for everyone to get to know me and follow my story. I really, really hope that I inspire someone who has a similar story to mine to take back control and start their own new chapter!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for me. I received an endless amount of love and best wishes. Thank you for making this possible for me!!

My stats were taken on Monday. I am looking forward to seeing these numbers go down!!

Starting weight: 261.4
Waist	43
Hips	48
Bust	43
Arm – rt	15
Arm – lf	15
Thigh – rt	25
Thigh – lf	26

And my scale picture. NOTE: It was taken tonight (Tuesday). I am also noting that I will need a pedicure very soon. lol

AND………my before pictures:

Ugh! I can’t wait to see how much I change.

Until next week!

New and Improved Me Here I Come!

MyBaybah — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:29:14 +0000

Me and Baybah

Today is day 1 of my Mamavation Mom journey. I am exhausted, but could not be happier to be here. Thank you to all of my friends and family that gave me the support and helped make this possible. I promise to make you all proud. I also want to make my son proud and be a fit and healthy mom so I can be the best mom that I can be!

The first day of our journey was filled with lots of information and an outpouring of support! Today we got our exercise plan that we will be doing for the first three weeks of the campaign. After that they will be switching things up for us to keep things fresh and our bodies guessing. Since everything is so new, we do not have our nutrition plans yet, but I am excited to hear what Alyssa from inspiredrd.com has planned for me! I see a lot of wonderful healthy food in my future.

Here are my before photos. I look forward to sharing with you a thinner and healthier me at the end of my seven week journey!

I also have my first vlog for the campaign to share with you. Can you say tired?!

I would also like to thank Leah for this amazing opportunity and my Mamavation Mentors Shelley and Andrea who have already been such a big help!

Two Week Challenge Campaign 5 Wrap-up

MrBookieboo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:08:15 +0000

Can you believe we have finished the 5th Mamavation Two Week Challenge? It feels like it was just yesterday when I sat down with Bookieboo and developed the initial ideas for the challenge. Even more remarkable is all of the hard work and dedication of all of the participants. 63 people finished this last campaign and collectively lost 160 pounds and 138 inches!

The total loss over 5 campaigns is an amazing 519 pounds and 385 inches!!

The results speak for themselves – the Mamavation community is an amazing place filled with individuals that support and help one another. Best of all – we are just getting started.

The next Two Week Challenge will start on February 13th. Watch Mamavation.com and my twitter stream or more details.

Here are the winners of the 5th Mamavation Two Week Challenge:

Grand Prize: @jweaver05

Runner up 1: @kimtraceyprince

Runner Up 2: @mommayoung

If you are a winner please contact Shelly (@momma_oz) to claim your prize.

Finally, here are the individuals that completed the 5th Mamavation Two Week Challenge:

Love Me Some Shoes Earth Review & Giveaway

Mamavation — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:03:30 +0000

(Disclosure: I am employed by Earth Footwear as their “Earth Mom.” I work as their spokesperson, create social media strategies, and assist in implementing those strategies. I’m not sort of person who can be bought though. Most of you know that. My words are my own.)

As part of my agreement with Earth, I am given several pairs of shoes per season to try out and wear. This means I rarely have to go shoe shopping unless I need running shoes. Nice, huh? I don’t ever want for shoes. But every season I run across a pair that I wear so much, my husband asks me if I’m planning on wearing any others. And I say “no, not until they fall off my feet.” There are some boots from last season that I’ve over-worn too.

There is a certain pair in particular this season that I wanted to show you that have made me particularly happy to wear. THE BONSAI. I have them in black, but I’m showing you the picture in blue so you can see clearly what they look like. Because I’m pregnant, what I most cherish in shoes is comfort. The Bonsai are not only adorable, but they are comfortable. So much so that I can wear them all day even with the imbalance of my body and new center of gravity. I have a feeling these will be worn so much my husband will ask me if I’m wearing others.

The Bonsai are part of a new line created by Earth. Earth now have three lines: Kalso Earth Shoes, Earthies, and Earth. All shoes are available for purchase at PlanetShoes. Earth Footwear, as shown with the Bonsai, are a more affordable shoe with no negative heel, but they are still earth-friendly as the entire line is. PlanetShoes.com, a sister company to Earth, is offering Mamavation readers two additional pairs of the Bonsai. Wouldn’t they be cute in your wardrobe? Just think of what they would go with. As always, the Earth line is about comfort, style, and earth-friendly design.

Giveaway:

TWO Pairs of Earth Bonsai

To Enter (Leave one comment for EACH entry):
1. Tweet this message (1 entry per tweet, 30 tweets max.)

Love Me Some Shoes Giveaway! Win a pair of Bonsai frm @EarthFootwear at @Planetshoes compliments of @Bookieboo, http://bit.ly/zTEiwi

2. Share on Facebook (1 entry)
3. Visit PlanetShoes.com and let me know which are your favorite shoes by Earth. (2 entries)
4. Leave a message on Facebook Wall of Earth Footwear telling them your favorite Earth Shoe (2 entries)
5. Join Bookieboo.com (5 entries, new members only)

Mamavation Mondays: The Mamavation Mom campaign 11

Elenka29 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:48:39 +0000

Are you ready to party with Mamavation? Our regular Mamavation Monday will be back next week at the same time, but this week we having a huge party. Mamavation Mom campaign 11 twitter party is a start of another great bootcamp for two moms, whose life will be changed forever and you just have to be there to see it all happen!

Be sure to RSVP and be there this Monday January 30th from 7-9 PM EST. Don’t forget to check out our finalists and cast your vote here.

Have you taken a few moments to get to know our finalists?
Laura (@MommyCanRun)
Tisha (@TishaMarie)
Andrea (@AndreaEmilien)
Lolo (@mybaybah)
Kristina (@Krissy_r)

We hope to see you all at the Mamavation Mom campaign 11 twitter party.During the 2-hour party we will announce the campaign moms who will enter our seven-week bootcamp, discuss healthy living, and win prizes generously offered by campaign sponsors.

Blogging carnival posts for this week will be linked up here.

Easy Turkey Chili Recipe

InspiredRD — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:21:11 +0000

It’s 5 pm and you have nothing planned for dinner, what do you do? Grab some fast food? How about making your own fast food that is healthy and delicious? This chili recipe is easy enough to throw together in 30 minutes, and the whole family will love it. Keep the ingredients on hand for those crazy nights when you might be tempted to call the pizza guy!

Easy Turkey Chili

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
28 oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
2 cups pinto beans (I used some from my frozen stash, you could use 1 can if you want)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Optional toppings - cilantro, green onion, avocado, shredded cheese

Instructions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey and stir until cooked through.
Add onions and garlic, stir and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add water, tomatoes, beans and spices. Stir.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until ready to eat.
Serve with optional toppings.

http://www.mamavation.com/2012/01/easy-turkey-chili-recipe.html

Now it’s you turn! Please link up your healthy recipes below:

Submitted by: Alysa (@inspiredrd) from InspiredRD.com Dietitian, Personal Trainer, Cook, Crafter, Wife, Mom, proud wearer of onion-goggles. New Celiac. Official dietitian of Mamavation & Baby Boot Camp.