Category: Working Moms

Baking, Working Moms

Everyday Smoothie Recipe

Featuredby laurenwesley62802 Comments on Everyday Smoothie Recipe

Why we all need this smoothie right now:

Keeping it short here, but if you’re like me, you’ve made it through the denial stages of shelter in place/quarantine because of Covid-19. The first few days (weeks) of being locked up at home I drank allll the drinks (hello, wine), ate all the unhealthy foods, and honestly, I was doing it to cope. But, now that it’s clear we’ll be doing this for a while (we’re privileged, btw, to be safe and healthy at home) eating a bunch of unhealthy crap is clearly not the solution.

It’s a crazy, weird, and uncertain time. But, I believe in controlling what we can control. And, the food we put in our body (assuming we have the means to choose these healthy items) is definitely in our control.

Eating healthily has never been about looking good, for me. (That doesn’t motivate me). It’s about feeling good. Taking care of my body, and fueling my body to have the energy I need to be a good mom, good wife, good friend, sister, daughter, neighbor, employee. You get the picture. I want the energy to be able to do the things I want to do. And, right now, more than ever, a lot of us neeeeed some fuel. (Disclaimer here – I’m still eating tons of delicious things too – and baking a lot – but this smoothie is a fast and simple way to stay healthy while also hunkering down at home).

Everything in the recipe has a long(ish) shelf life too! So, if you’re stocking up on groceries for long stretches, this works well. You can buy the spinach in bulk and freeze it!

Must give credit where credit is due:

I got hooked on this recipe when I did the Arbonne “30 days of healthy living program” years ago. The premise of this program is that our meals should contain only things that are good for our bodies, and when possible, in the optimal proportions.

Long story short, this program says the following.

  • 1/2 of your plate should be greens
  • 1/4 of your plate should be lean protein
  • 1/8 of your plate should be a good fat (almond butter, in this case)
  • 1/8 of your plate should be a complex carb (think berries, carrots, quinoa)

This smoothie takes that same idea, and puts it in a meal you can drink. And, the healthy fats keep you full!

Ok, so here’s the recipe:

  • A big old handful of spinach (or other leafy greens)
  • About a quarter cup of frozen berries (blueberries are my go to)
  • A spoonful of almond butter
  • 1 serving of protein powder (I like Arbonne vegan protein – vanilla)
  • 1 cup (plus a little water) of coconut/almond milk
  • Scoop of ice

That’s it! You blend it all at once in your blender. And, there you have it: a perfectly balanced meal that will actually keep you full. (I add the Arbonne fiber boost to keep me full for longer – but you could also do chia seeds or something else).

This is my favorite milk to add – but you can really add any non-dairy milk you want as a liquid.

Take the basic recipe, and switch it up!

The best part about this recipe is that you can swap things in and out, but still keep the basic components of greens, carbs (berries), fat (nut butter), protein, liquid, and ice.

  • Greens options: spinach, kale, any dark leafy green
  • Fruit options: any frozen berries (you can obviously do other frozen fruit too – but berries have the lowest sugar)
  • Good Fat – any nut butter, or a few buts. Avocado works here too
  • Protein – any protein powder
  • Liquid – any non-dairy (or dairy if you want, I guess) milk. I’ve also done plain water and it’s turned out fine.
  • Ice – don’t forget the ice for a better consistency

That’s all, friends. Happy blending! Stay healthy and safe out there.

Motherhood, Working Moms

Getting stinky throw up smell out of a room.

by laurenwesley62802 Comments on Getting stinky throw up smell out of a room.

Hello! Welcome to my glamours blog! ;).

I had planned to focus on the “things that matter most” in this blog. Keeping us all focused on family, love, making the most of our one life. Being our best selves. Taking care of ourselves. Intentionally being present. All the things. For, those are the things that matter most.

But, sometimes, getting a super stinky smelly vomit smell out of a 22 month old’s bedroom matters quite a bit. So, here we are.

If you follow along on instagram, you know that baby G (I know, I know, she’s almost 2. She’s not a baby. But that is what I call her.) threw up earlier this week when I was out of town for work. I know you working mamas out there know the pain it is to be away and know your little one is sick. It was the worst.

But, I made it home last night, and thankfully she was feeling much better. Shout out to the best nanny on the planet for cuddling her all day, cleaning up the puke, getting Jack to school, and everything. REAL LIFE: Along with these clean crisp blog like photos are also a lot of people who help to make it happen. Husband who does a ton around the house and is the world’s best dad. And, a full time nanny who is here 5 days a week while Dustin and I work. Just wanted to be clear on that. #reallife

Anyway, the point of this post: Any time our kids puke, even after we clean it up, the smell tends to linger once it’s in the carpet. And, I really wanted to get it out of there. So, I turned to google (my BFF) to see what I could do. And, a few different articles and posts lead to this solution:

  • About 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • a small squirt of dish soap

So, I mixed it all in a spray bottle and sprayed it in her room on all the places that there was throw up (before it was cleaned up). I blotted a bit with a towel, and left the room with the fan on for a few hours.

And, I must say, it worked!

Now, I do think that TIME helps as well. But, given how her room smells now, I’d definitely call this a win. I also read that putting a bowl or mug of plain white vinegar in a room works almost immediately to get the smell out of a room. I didn’t have white vinegar on hand, so I didn’t get to try it. But, if you do, I’d try that too!

That’s all. Hope this helps some parents out there. And, as for us around here, everyone is feeling much better. xoxo.

Motherhood, Working Moms

Working Moms: We can have it all…just not at the same time.

by laurenwesley6280Leave a Comment on Working Moms: We can have it all…just not at the same time.
Working Moms: We can have it all…just not at the same time.

Working moms: We can have it all. Just not at the same time. (Pictured here: me doing my hair before a big meeting, but also being a mom).
✨
I once heard Julie Rice (co-founder of Soul Cycle) answer the question of “How do you do it all?” with something along the lines of “I don’t.” To paraphrase, she said that some weeks she was a badass at work. Some weeks she took her foot off the pedal at work and spent more time with her kids because they needed her.

I also recently heard that of the following 5 things, we can only do 3 exceptionally at a time: Family, work, friendships, working out, and getting enough sleep. And that’s ok. For most of us, I think we try to keep family in the top 3 all the time. But, realistically, our top 3 will shift from day to day and week to week.

Some weeks we’ll be ballers at work and working out, but won’t see our friends at all. Other weeks we may date our spouse and see our friends, but not be as strong at work. It’s ok for it to ebb and flow. It’s ok to be balanced and lopsided all at the same time.

Life is all about expectations. And I think the media (and social media) give us the expectation that we should be able do all of these things exceptionally all the time. And, that’s BS. No one has it all together all the time. We can thrive at all of them. Just not at the same time. And once you accept that truth, you can get rid of the expectations to have it all, and instead enjoy ALL that you have.