Author: Lindsay Ingalls

How Weekly Meal Planning Changed My Life

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Weekly Meal Planning helps us to eat healthily, waste less food, save money and reduce the amount of stress around meal time.

I have attempted to meal plan in the past but was never able to fully commit. I get overwhelmed with having to plan out all of our meals and eventually just give up and go grocery shopping for whatever looks good. Then I attempt to use everything we purchased by creating recipes on the spot. In all honesty, I usually fail to use everything and end up wasting food.

So what changed? Having a third child has changed things. One of my goals for this postpartum period was to limit how much we dine out and order take out. The only way to help prevent this from happening was to create a meal plan with recipes/meal ideas that were easy for Neil to put together and it has worked. Over this postpartum period, we have only eaten out at times when it was already implemented into our meal plan, we have used up 90% of our groceries, and overall we are eating more healthily than when I wasn’t meal planning. Being able to take advantage of grocery pick up from Fred Meyer (Kroger) has been a life saver as well. 

Meal planning allows us to spend less money. We aren’t running out to pick up one or two things and coming home with five. We know what we are having for dinner in advance so we are able to prepare meals and are less apt to go out to eat or order take out. 

Just remember to…

Keep it simple. Meals don’t need to be elaborate. Many of our meals are as simple as protein, grain/pasta/bread/starchy vegetable, lots of vegetables, healthy fat and sauce/condiment.

Example: BBQ Tofu (simply Amy’s BBQ sauce + Tofu), baked potatoes, massage kale salad (kale + olive oil + lemon juice + coconut aminos), chive cashew cream (chives + soaked cashews + lemon juice + ACV + S&P) and grapes for the kids. Simple, easy and loved by everyone. 

Account for snacks, treats & drinks. When planning your meals/grocery list make sure you are including your favorite snacks, treats (ice cream, chocolate, etc) and drinks. These are most often the things that we run out for and then of course that turns into picking up some additional items. 

Clean The Fridge Meal. Include a clean out of the fridge meal. This can either be eating up leftovers or simply using up any veggies and/or proteins that are left in your fridge before you do your weekly shop. 

Give Into Your Cravings. Have you been wanting pizza all week? Add it to your next meal plan. Either make it at home, pick up your favorite frozen/take-and-bake or plan for a pizza night out. In my experience when I ignore my cravings it just makes me want them more and then I end up going off plan and eating out or buy more ingredients to make what I’m craving. Now I just plan for it and I am able to save money and be more mindful about my food choices. 

Weekly Meal Rotation. Make your life easy and plan weekly meals either the same recipe every week or every two weeks. Alternatively have themed meal nights like Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday or Leftovers Night. Here are a few more themed meal night ideas. 

Keep Staples On Hand.  Meal planning sometimes has it’s hiccups so allow yourself room to improvise. For example I ordered our groceries this week and I ended up with baby spinach with a short expiry date, a bag of potatoes that had a few bad potatoes in it and some avocado crazy kids who ate 4.5 of the 6 avocados I ordered in less than 24 hours. So I had to make a few adjustments to our meals. For this reason I like to order an extra veggie and have a few staples on hand just in case. 

At first meal planning can feel like a chore and just another thing you don’t have time to do but after a few weeks you’ll find your groove and it will become easier and easier. If you have a week that gets you off track don’t fret just return to your planning the next week. 

Do you meal plan? What are some of your favorite go to meals? 

A Non-Fashion Bloggers Journey | Building My Postpartum Wardrobe

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This is my current wardrobe in it’s entirety. 

I have excluded workout clothes but since the purpose of my journey is to move away from fitness clothes those don’t count and my workout wardrobe could use an overhaul of its own but that is for another day. 

As you can see I have 3 tops, 2 bottoms, 4 pairs of shoes and 3 newly acquired pieces a dress, a romper and a denim jacket.  Of these items I could do without 2 of the tops and 2 of the shoes they have basically been included because I have them, wear them or they serve a purpose like the sandals for the beach or camping. Currently I have 12 items. 

My goal is to build a wardrobe with 30-35 pieces that I really love and that I feel good in right now. As I write that 30-35 makes me feel anxious after living for the past 15 or so months with only a max of 20 items in my wardrobe but I know that if I could have a bit more diversity I would feel so much better.

Most days I turn to workout clothes basically out of convenience because they are what I have more of and what are honestly clean. When you have three small children its very unlikely that you are able to re-wear things like jeans and sweaters because they end up with food and dirt on them on a daily basis and then there is laundry for five people – don’t even get me started. 

So now the question is what do I really need? What is my style? What color palette do I want? 

So tell me what do you think ever wardrobe needs? Where do you shop? What are you loving right now? 

The Sound Of Music | Broadway In Portland

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When I was a little girl I entered a giveaway at our local library to win tickets to a performance at a local theatre. If I’m honest I am not positive what the performance was 25 years later but I do remember the feeling it gave me to sit and watch people perform. From that moment on I took any opportunity to beg my parents to take me the theatre and my big dream was to go see a broadway show in New York City. When I was 13 the time had finally come and we made our way to NYC and I saw The Phantom of The Opera and it was magical. 

This week I was able to introduce my oldest, Edith, to the theatre, broadway and The Sound of Music. We have been listening to The Sound of Music for a few weeks and when I found out it was coming to Keller Auditorium March 6-11th I knew we had to go. I searched for matinee tickets that would work for her and I to go but struggled to find seats that worked for us. Then a chance opportunity came up and I was gifted seats at the very last minute and since my usual theatre date couldn’t join me I decided to bring Edith despite it being way past her bedtime and fully knowing me might only make it to intermission. 

When I asked her to join me she was so excited and I knew instantly I had made the right decision. She got dressed up and she sang My Favorite Things over and over the entire way to the show and into the theatre. To watch her was like watching myself so excited, amazed and proud to be there. 

You’re probably wondering but how was it?

Just before the performance a friend messaged me saying she had recently seen The Sound of Music when it was in her city and that woman who played The Mother Abbess had the most amazing voice and that the performance was wonderful. She was right the performance was everything I had hoped and more.  Lauren Kidwell who played The Mother Abbess had the most amazing voice and all of the children were just amazing. 

We only lasted until intermission but while I was dissappointed to leave I knew that at 5 years old lasting through 11 acts was a big feat and Edith did amazing. We heard our favorite songs, watched the amazing performers and left with the biggest smiles on our faces. The night was magical and one that I hope we both remember forever. 

Do you have a favorite musical? When did you go to your first broadway show? Have you/are you planning to see The Sound of Music? 

 

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TICKET AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

 

THE SOUND OF MUSIC will be at Portland’s Keller Auditorium for eight performances. The schedule for the Portland engagement is:

Tuesday, March 6                               7:30pm
Wednesday, March 7                          7:30pm
Thursday, March 8                              7:30pm – ASL Interpreted Performance
Friday, March 9                                   7:30pm – Audio Described Performance

Saturday, March 10                      2:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, March 11                        1:00pm

6:30pm – Open Caption Performance

Wheelchair seating is available at all performances.  For information on ADA seating, please call the Broadway in Portland Box Office 503-417-0573, email boxoffice@portlandopera.org or visit the Broadway in Portland Box Office in person (Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm)

 

Tickets can be purchased:

www.BroadwayInPortland.com
or at Portland’5 Box Office: 800-273-1530

 

# # #

For more information, including the 2017–2018 touring schedule, please visit www.TheSoundOfMusicOnTour.com

www.facebook.com/TheSoundOfMusicOnTour

www.twitter.com/SoundOfMusic

www.instagram.com/SoundOfMusicOnTour

Mom Talk | Fitting in Fitness & My Fitness Goals

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I’ll be honest since having our third child I haven’t been making fitness a priority. I spent my first 3 postpartum weeks recovering and really caring for my body and since then I feel like I have been surviving and not thriving. I have been just simply trying to make it through each day and have really not carved out anytime for me to focus on getting stronger and losing the baby weight. However, as with most new years I have a new fire to get back to feeling strong, healthy and get to a weight that makes me feel good. 

The thing is all of those “obstacles” that I felt in the last 7 months are still there so I am having to figure out creative ways to increase my activity while juggling three kids and all that comes with that. Luckily, I have a little more time these days because Neil’s 2.5+ hour commute has been cut down to 0 which means there is more time in my day to focus on my fitness. That being said life happens so I have also been relying on alternative ways to get active and have my kids involved. 

Set Up A Schedule With Your Partner. Your partner wants you to be successful and wants you to reach your goals so TALK with them about your needs and create a schedule together that allows you to have kid free time to workout whether that is at home or outside the house. 

Get Your Kids Involved. Ideally you will have time to workout without your kids but that doesn’t always happen so it’s about figuring out what you can do with them. 

  • Go to a family yoga class.
  • Head on over to YouTube and do a family yoga class together! We love Cosmic Kids Yoga. 
  • Go on a nature walk! 
  • Head to the playground and get in a playground workout such as this one! 
  • If you have a child who will still go in a stroller head to a stroller mama bootcamp.
  • Turn music on and dance it out at home! 

Utilize Any Down Times During The Day.  Find times during the days such as when your kids are napping or having screen time or before the wake up to fit in a quick 7-10 minute workout. There are a few great apps for short workouts search around and find one that works for you or you can try this 7-minute plan.

When All Else Fails Go For A Walk. Get outside and more your body. The change of scenery, the fresh air and the movement will feel good and you can easily bring the kids along. 

Get your kids excited to join your workouts with their own outfits just like yours. Make them feel a part of the process and you will all benefit from getting out the wiggles and spending time together. That being said don’t forget about yourself; make sure you too have the gear your need to feel confident and ready to take on each workout. I know it might sound vain but the truth is when you feel good in your clothes you are going to want to workout and want to continue to reach your goals. 

Speaking of goals….

This month my goal is to workout 21 days this month. This could be going on a class, spending 7-minutes going hard, getting all the kids out for a walk, hiking or setting up for yoga in the living room. Whatever it is I want to move my body more simple as that. 

What are you fitness goals? If you have kids how do you make time to workout? What tips can you share?

Outfits c/o JillYoga.com

JillYoga.com carries yoga clothes for babies, kids and women!

Also JillYoga.com just released their Spring line and I’m dying over these ice cream leggings.

2018 New Year’s Resolutions | #AYearOfIntentionalLiving

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I should start this by stating these are not my New Year’s Resolutions. Rather, they are my intentions for this year and for my life.  Resolutions just feel too restrictive and limiting which is why most people abandon their New Year’s Resolutions by the second week of February. 

For me, setting intentions is about living with more focus and purpose. My goal is not to accomplish my intentions by the end of the year but rather work towards living more intentionally from this day forward. My intentions may evolve over time but each one of these intentions has no expiry or finish date. 

So what are my 2018 intentions? 

1. Find balance as a mama, partner and creative. Balance is another one of those tricky terms. What is balance? Well for each one of us that is going to be different. For me it means ensuring that Neil and I have quality time together as a couple, that I have time carved out each week for me to work on writing, photos and projects that ignite my creative side and that while I am a mama that it isn’t the only thing that I am. Will there be equal time each week for all of these items? No, but that’s not my intent – rather it’s about finding a balance that respects each of these areas of my life. 

2. Make self-care a priority.  This looks like time for me to sit quietly and re-group, it also looks like a shower without a screaming baby or children popping their head in to ask for a snack. It looks like a trip to the chiropractor, acupuncturist or to do a float. It looks like moving my body or simply sitting still in meditation. There are so many ways to manifest self-care. What does self-care look like for you?

3. Shop with more intention.  Online shopping and the dollar area at Target are making it so easy to mindlessly shop for things. Anything that you can think of can be ordered and delivered in two days or even within an hour which is great when the stomach bug hits your house and all you need is more towels but it’s also a curse because we can mindlessly order anything. 

4. Create a home that is filled with love, laughter and creativity (without all the clutter). While our home is already filled with these things it is also filled with clutter and just so many things. So it’s time to create a space that is calming and inspirational and not a chaotic, cluttered mess. 

5. Listen More Than I Speak. I am very reactionary and feel emotions in a big way and voice them quickly and often sharply. As I focus on living this year with more intention the way I listen and speak is a huge part of this especially with children and my husband. 

6. Focus on being present.  Yes I am talking about stepping away from screens and spending more time connecting in the moment. Focusing on what is going on right now and giving less time and energy to anxieties, worries and mindless scrolling.

7. Acknowledge my feelings and emotions and take responsibility for them. We are responsible for how we feel, how we react and how we respond. 

8. Find the light in everyday. It’s so easy after a hard day to feel like everything has just gone to shit and forget about the little moments that brought a smile and light to the day. So I want to find the light in each day and focus on that and release the dark, frustrating moments. 

So now tell me – what are you intentions for 2018? 

Currently | 1.24.18

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This year has started off with a lot of changes for our family and myself so we are just trying to find our groove. I have plans to share my intentions for year and will do so when I get a minute to myself to just write or rather type up my notes (psst did you know I hand write about 60% of my blog posts first?) Anyways until then I thought I would share a Currently post with you and I hope that you share below something you’re currently doing/eating/watching/looking forward to/reading/loving. xo.

Doing: Worrying about flu season and earthquakes because anxiety sucks. Also feeding people constantly. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. When I am not cooking or putting together a snack for the big people in my family I am nursing the baby. It’s feeding time all day long around here. Beyond the feeding I have been working to declutter our home and make it a space that we all love and are comfortable in especially since Neil is now working out of our bedroom. 

We started the year off with a trip to the coast for Neil’s birthday. Then I had week of solo parenting while Neil went out of town for work. I had my parents here for a bit so we did a lot of running around with them.  Now we are finding our groove. 

Eating: This month we tried Sun Basket for the first time because they finally have a plant-based box! We LOVED all three recipes (see recipe 1 and recipe 2) that we tried and can’t wait to buy our next box.  I have also been eating my weight in Oat Mama bars because they taste amazing and have been keeping my milk supply going strong. Although I made the mistake of letting Edith try one of my bars and now she wants to eat them all. Some other yummy things I have been eating can be seen here, here and here.

Watching:  I am still slowly re-watching Grey’s Anatomy again because I am one of those people who loves to re-watch shows over and over. Neil and I have been watching Top Chef and 9-1-1. If you were a fan of Third Watch you might like 9-1-1; it’s not completely the same but similar idea where it follows paramedics, firefighters, cops and also includes 9-1-1 operators. 

Looking forward to: The summer, the passing of flu season, feeling prepared for an earthquake. Also on a happier note seeing friends this weekend and hopefully writing a lot this weekend. 

Reading: I am still working my way through The Danish Way of Parenting* Life has been a bit crazy these past few months so my reading has kind of dropped off – except for the hundreds of children’s books I read every week. If you are interested in what books we are reading as a family I will be sharing more on our Naturally Family Instagram. 

Loving: I am loving that we haven’t had a snowstorm this year (cue storm to happen now- lol). I am loving that my husband now works from home. We are still finding our rhythm but having the extra hours with him is pretty amazing. What can I say we hate to be away from each other. 

What are you currently doing, thinking about, watching, looking forward to, reading and/or loving?

As always this post is inspired by Sometimes Sweet.

2018 Travel Guide: Birthday Celebrations in Long Beach Peninsula

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Happy New Year! 

My blog vacation ended up being a little longer than I had planned due to some changes at home but I’m back! While my blog vacation was on the longer side I have to say our family getaway far too short.

We kicked our New Year off with a surprise birthday trip for Neil to the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach, Washington and a visit to our favorite Oregon city – Astoria. 

This wasn’t our first trip to the Long Beach Peninsula and it certainly won’t be our last. The first time we ever visited Long Beach was nearly five years ago when we first moved here. A friend from Vermont who had lived in the Portland area told us how they would head up to Long Beach, Washington and drive on the beach. We had never driven on the beach before so on our first trip to Astoria we crossed the bridge and headed to the beach. This was our first trip to Washington state, first trip to Astoria, first time driving on the beach and it was also the first time we came across the Adrift hotel. It would be almost 2 years later before we would stay at the Adrift but once we did we knew we would stay there again…. even if it took 3 years. 

So why the Adrift Hotel? 

First, location, location, location. The Adrift Hotel is located just across the bridge from Astoria, it is located on the beach which means some rooms have a beach view and you can easily walk or borrow a bike and head to the beach. Secondly, it’s incredibly family friendly with it’s suites but it is also fun and modern for friends and couples are looking for a little getaway. One of my favorite features is the style which is a mix of modern, vintage and nautical. Also there are bikes, movies and games to borrow as well as a game area on the second floor which was a favorite of my littles. 

 

Lastly, the food. Pickled Fish is a located in the Adrift Hotel and it offers some really great food. They also are great about accommodating vegan, vegetarian and gluten free diets which is hard time find on the peninsula. On this visit we enjoyed brunch for Neil’s birthday which included this tofu rice bowl, the hash sub tofu for the eggs and crispy potatoes. If you’d rather bring your own food you’ll find a mini fridge and microwave in your room and down in the lobby there is complimentary tea, coffee and flavored water. You can also find lots of snacks, drinks and treats like these amazing coconut caramels that I had and wish I could remember the name of because they were amazing. 

After brunch we took a quick visit down to the Discovery Trail to check out the ocean but this was short lived as the rain quickly came. 

We checked out of the Adrift Hotel and Astoria to take the kids to the Astoria Column, out to lunch at Buoy Brewing and to my favorite Scandinavian store Finnware.

Check out this post from our 2016 visit to Astoria for what to see and eat as well as our stay Adrift’s sister hotel Ashore. Also this post from our first stay at the Adrift Hotel for Neil’s birthday a few years ago. 

Thank you to Adrift Hotel for our stay. We enjoyed ourselves and can’t wait to return. While this stay was complimentary as always all opinions are my own.