Healthy

Making Kids’ Healthy Lunches Awesome

I’m excited to share the new premium line of lunchmeat from Hillshire Farm with you – I was compensated for sharing this info with you – but it’s all 100% my opinion, as always! #HillshireNaturals

As a mom, there are SO many tasks to juggle every day. And the start of a new school year always brings even more challenges – adjusting to new school schedules, finding time for all of the fall sports and activities, starting to think about the upcoming holiday season, and on and on. I’m sure that by now you’re starting to settle into new routines – but I know one thing I hear a lot from you guys is coming up with ways to pack healthy lunches your kids will really eat, that are affordable too. Well – I’ve got a couple of fun tips today to help you with that!

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Lighten Up Your Life in 2014

“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” – This quote kind of cracks me up, but also reminds me that life is too short to worry about the small things. My word of the new year is “Balance” – figuring out how to balance out all of the zillion things competing for my time and attention on a daily basis as a work-from-home mom. I always use the month of January to make a plan for the new year – I evaluate the past year to figure out what worked, what didn’t, and what to work on in the new year. {Which means, my full list of goals is coming soon – I like to share ’em, to keep myself accountable.} And one area of life that definitely needs to be balanced is the whole health/diet/exercise part. My game plan is a “slow and steady wins the race” type of attitude, so I’ve been making lots of small swaps to slowly-but-surely make real, solid, sustainable lifestyle changes. And while some of them are a challenge, there’s one super-duper easy swap I’ve made recently that I wanted to share, because I think you’ll love it too….

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 20, 2014 Filed Under: Food, Giveaways | 2 Comments

Healthier Kickin’ Chicken Recipe

I received a complimentary package of LifeOil products – all opinions on the quality are 100% my own.

I’ve been on a mission for the last couple years to get my booty back to it’s pre-baby size. I have a ton of jeans just waiting for me to slip down and slip back into them again. They were pricey, from when I worked as a manager at The Buckle, and I refuse to let them go. And… Slowly but surely, the numbers on the scale are getting smaller every month. But while it’s been slow, it’s been consistent – half a pound to a pound a week for a long time now. But I’m not just trying to get smaller – I’m trying to build an all-around healthier lifestyle. I’m making small changes each week, that start to really add up. My most recent change was to swap my regular cooking oil for a healthier version – LifeOiL.

So, what’s the difference between regular cooking oil and LifeOiL? A lot. Most people think that to lose weight and be healthy you want to eliminate as much fat from your diet as possible, but that’s just not true. Sure, you want to get rid of the “empty” fatty foods – things like greasy potato chips, candy, and fast food. Those things don’t offer much nutritional value at all. But a high-fat diet can be healthy when it’s filled with good fats – like Sunflower Oil, Olive Oil, and Safflower Oil. A diet high in Safflower Oil can actually help you lose weight! The healthy combo of fats, light flavor, and high level of vitamin E make it a much better choice than a traditional cooking oil, and it’s so versatile, I use it in everything now. You can learn all of the details and get questions answered by visiting their site here: www.lifeoils.com.

And I have to tell you about one more totally smart trick for eating healthy, and staying on budget – Zaycon Foods. I’d heard of them before, but wasn’t really sure what they were all about. Once I placed my first order – that is the just about the ONLY way I will buy meat from now on! You buy fresh meat – like, directly from small farmers, never frozen. And the chicken is THE best chicken I have ever had, even the Mister agrees. {The next product we tried was bacon – and ohmygoodheck, best bacon I’ve ever had. No lie.} They have events all over the country, and the prices are amazing. Definitely recommend checking out what you have in your area.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on December 16, 2013 Filed Under: Food, Featured Recipe |

What Does it Mean to be Carton Smart?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Imagine if everyone made one small, smart decision a day. Swapping something bad for something good. Imagine how that would add up. There are a million ways to do that, but I’m going to talk to you about one you probably haven’t ever thought of – Cooking from cartons.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on December 10, 2013 Filed Under: Food | 11 Comments

How to Make Healthy Eating Fun

This post about healthy breakfasts that are high in fiber is brought to you by Kellogg’s and The Motherhood, and I’ve been compensated for my time. However, all opinions are my own, as always. Thanks for reading.

Nine out of 10 children do not get enough fiber in their diet. Did you know that? Many of you might not have – but fiber intake is kind of a big thing for me, so I’ve heard this statistic for a long time now. It’s gotten pretty easy for me to make sure I’m getting enough fiber – I love whole grain bread, I’ve switched to mostly brown rice and whole grain pasta – and especially in the fall, I make a ton of soup and chili that are packed full of high-fiber beans. But Abby isn’t as big of a fan of whole grains yet {she just turned 3 in late July.} So I just keep introducing new foods, hoping she’ll find new favorites.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 19, 2013 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution, Food | No Comments

Simple Diet Swaps: Better Carbs Make Your Favorite Recipes Healthier!

“Life is not merely being alive, but being well.” – Marcus Valerius Martialis… Most of you know now about the weight loss mission that I’m on right now. If not – here’s a quick “catch up” for ya – I’ve always been a normal weight, and never gave it too much though, until I got pregnant – and gained over 70 pounds! Yikes. I struggled for a year to take it off, then lost over 20 pounds in 3 months, using the Nutrisystem diet. But then over the end of last year, I really slacked off again. My online businesses really took off, Abby started having her seizures {she’s doing GREAT now, if you’re wondering :)}, and, well, I love baking at the holidays. But, we have a big in-ground pool that we open up in late June, and I want to be ready to party this year without hiding under a tee shirt all summer! So, I’m working on making some smart changes – one small step at a time.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 10, 2013 Filed Under: Food | No Comments

Healthier Hungry Girl Buffalo Chicken & Ranch Wraps

“Is buffalo chicken when the dad is a buffalo, and the mom is a chicken? That must be a biiiiig egg…” – My 6 year old nephew, while helping me make these super delicious Buffalo Chicken and Ranch Wraps. Kids are so awesome. And… Know what else is awesome? Taking my fave foods, and making them healthier with a few easy swaps. Check out my new healthier version of my favorite wraps…

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