One pan sausage dinner

Hey there! I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while! My parents were here all weekend and we had an absolute blast. But, it left me a little time to write up delicious recipes or fill you in on health and wellness information.
I was too busy eating tapaa at milk and honey and drinking wine on the patio with my dad and uncle. Wish you could have been there! We had a blast.

I digress, I am here to bring you the recipe for one pan sausage dinner!

Husband and I still do whole 30 dinners most nights and this one is my new favorite. You can just stuff yourself and it’s actually good for you! Plus, it’s so easy it’s ridiculous. 

Ingredients: 

Whole 30 approved sausage (ours weren’t because they had sugar in them. Oops. Aidell’s jalapeño and pineapple! They are so delicious!)

Vegetables

Directions: 

• Heat oven to 350
• Put your veggies of choice on the pan  
• Too veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion and any preferred spices (I love cumin, paprika, and did I mention garlic?)
• Put your sausages of choice on the pan 
• Put the pan in the oven 
• Set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your veggies
• Pour yourself a glass of wine 
• Sit down on the couch and revel in the beauty of your life

Yes, dinner was the easy. Yes, you can make this for dinner every night of the week. Just ask husband! 

Lots of love to you! 

Little Pond 💕 

Why does my body hurt all over?

Today I went to yoga for the first time in… way too long. I can’t even remember. Plus, it’s embarrassing so I don’t want to tell you anyways. Moving right along. I love this quote and it is SO true. It is never too late to make your health your number one priority.

Anyways, I looked up the CorePower schedule and saw that they had a free class today! Woo! I love free stuff. So, I read the little description and saw that it was a high intensity, boot camp style workout. Whatever that means. So, I go and not one single person told me that I should be prepared to meet my death upon entering that room.

For how many pounds of baby I lift and walk every day, this should have been cake. It wasn’t cake. There wasn’t even any cake offered!

I digress.

I went for a little yoga, you know? Thinking it would be similar to CorePower’s other classes. I was wrong so wrong. It was hands down the best workout I have had in my entire life. I went in there expecting this:

But, it was more like me dying. 
Our drill sergeant, I mean… instructor, was so awesome and encouraging. Even when I turned the color of a tomato while doing a handstand for 45 seconds.

Ok, down to the real reason why I am here. Story time. Over the last three months I have honestly  let myself slide off the workout train. I have been walking A LOT with the babies. But, that isn’t the same as me getting down and dirty with the mat. I love working out. I do. But, time and time and time… There are not enough hours in the day! I have approximately one zillion things that I want to do, need to do.

I allowed excuses to creep in and take over my life over the last couple of months and that is just absolutely not acceptable anymore. I’m so thankful for a supportive husband who tells me every single day that I can do whatever I choose to set my mind to. I am also thankful for my pink drink. Because, my days have been way more epic since I started Plexus.

#poweredbypink

Go kick all the butts and take all the names.

We have work to do.

Love, LP

Sickness Loves Sugar

Hello lovelies, let’s discuss sugar. It’s delicious it comes in every form imaginable. From cookies and cake to your store bought chicken stock. We’ve managed to pour sugar into basically everything we eat. 

Well, grand. Because sickness LOVES sugar. Yeast (a fungus) overgrowth is wildly common, it shows up everywhere, even in people who dont have blatantly obvious symptoms. Yeast overgrowth decreases our gut health and kills our immunity. Do you know what yeast eats? 

Sugar. 

The build up of candida in our systems can lead to autoimmune disorders, allergies, arthritis. Sound familiar? I know that you know someone who has these symptoms. How about this? Extreme fatigue? Symptom of yeast overgrowth. 

Mind. Blown. 

You have one or more of these symptoms? Don’t you? 

It’s because. Sugar. It’s snuck it’s way into everything we eat. It’s killing our immune systems and causing us all to walk around like sick zombies. 

How the heck do you combat this little devil? 

Well, a whole food, low sugar diet is going to help for sure. The candida will begin to die off. But, there is still sugar found naturally and once you have an overgrowth, it’s pretty darn hard to remove it. So, you need to starve it off or ingest something that will fight it off for you. 

Probiotics are your friend. 

Check out this blog post to see why!  

No wonder those little buggers are so expensive! Yes. But, finding a high quality probiotic is easier said than done. The price alone is not a good indicator of quality. Because, sadly. Most probiotics are junk and the enzymes and probios don’t actually make it through your stomach acid to your gut! 

I can help you there. Check out Plexus’ amazing probiotics. I have been on them for a month and am in love. Pair with the bio cleanse to rid your system of the dead yeast and voila! You can eat sugar again! 

Just don’t over do it. 😉 

Love and cookies. 

Little Pond 

Yoga vs. Running (a unbiased review by someone who hates running)

This morning I went for a jog because… Running is good for you, right? Running is supposed to be fun? I see so many people jogging around the mission and it looks so peaceful and wonderful. 

I’m here to tell you that my body hates running. Why do my knees hurt and my ankles? I just keep taking steps forward and then I just get on autopilot and my brain starts to focus on every part of my body that hurts. 

I am a sprinter. It’s in my blood, I go really fast for like. 1 minute. Then my body just, is done. I don’t do 30 minute jogs, that sounds like a terrible way to start my day. 

I keep hearing that if you continue to run, you end up falling in love with it. That sounds like Stockholm syndrome to me. Why would you do that to yourself when you can do yoga?! Or go swimming? Low impact activities make my heart swoon. 

I guess that’s just the point though. What makes your heart swoon? Is it bocce ball? Or tennis? Or weight lifting? Go do it! 

Taking steps to get healthy and get into shape doesn’t have to include doing an activity you hate every day. So, get moving. Take a step towards your fitness and health goals! 

That’s all for now. 

Happy Friday everyone! 

Love, Little Pond ❤️😍

Yummy in My Tummy Taco Salad (Whole30 Approved)

Do you see this salad? It’s insane. It’s so delicious, I can’t even describe it to you. Seriously, if you don’t try it for yourself I’ll be sad. 

Every time I make it, I think to myself, “this is too much salad!” 

Just look at that stinking bowl! 

Then Connor and I eat way more of it than I envisioned and we rarely have leftovers. 
I have to thank my dear friend Courtney for introducing me to this gorgeous salad. I mean, it’s not a new idea by any means. But, it’s the dressing that pushes it over the edge. It’s delicious, creamy, garlicky (totally a word), and did I mention, whole30 approved? 

Ingredients for the dressing: 

• 2-3 Tbls. Mayonnaise (make your own, avocado oil mayonnaise, Trader Joes mayonnaise… Whatever you have! Greek yogurt if you’d like! Just make sure it’s sugar free for it to be whole30) 
• Water
• A lot of garlic (3-4 decent sized cloves)
• Jalapeños (optional)
• Salt and pepper 
• Onion powder or fried onion flakes 

Ingredients for salad:

• Lettuce (obviously) 
• Small onion diced
• Taco meat seasoned with whole 30 approved spices (I use menudo seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, onion flakes, and salt and pepper) 

Delicious toppings:

Use anything you’d love to have on a taco or fun TexMex burrito! 

• Black beans
• Corn
• Tomatoes
• Bell pepper 
• Onion 
• Cilantro
• Lime juice 
• Cheese and tortilla chips if you’re not doing whole 30 
• Plantain chips for that crunch if you are whole 30 or paleo! 

You do you, I’m not gonna stop you. 

Directions:

1. Make the dressing first or even better, the night before! Toss your mayonnaise in a blender (I love my single serving ninja cup for this!), add garlic cloves whole, onion flakes, S+P, jalapeños (I sometimes add a little jalapeño juice into the mix!), and water (just enough to thin it out) 
2. Blend your dressing and set aside!
3. Chop up your onion set some aside as a topping and toss the rest in the pan
4. Cook the onions until their soft and toss in your ground beef or other meat of choice!
5. Season beef and let cook until delicious 
6. Chop up lettuce and other desired toppings and throw those bad boys in your ginormous salad bowl
7. When your meat is done cooking, add it to your salad and dress it! 
8. Top with plantain chips or tortilla chips
9. Eat all of it 👌🏻👏🏻😍

Yum. 

If you have any questions, leave a comment below! 👇🏻

Easy Peasy Healthy Veggie Breakfast

I love food. It’s my favorite. But, breakfast is my absolute favorite food. Actually, eggs are my favorite food of all time. Sometimes I have breakfast multiple times a day. 

There are approximately one zillion ways to make eggs. Some are so fancy and time extensive, they can’t be worth it. I like fast eggs. Super zippy quick eggs that taste delicious and can be eaten in a hurry as I head off in the morning. 

This one is so simple it’s ridiculous. You’ll need:

Eggs 

Something to scramble your eggs with (I’m phasing out dairy. So, I use bone broth!)

Whatever the heck veggies you have in your fridge

A pan 

Directions:

Alright. It goes like this. 

Take out your pan. Toss some coconut oil in it. Chop up your veggies (seriously whatever you have! Bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatos… Etc)

Salt and pepper those veggies. 

Scramble your eggs. Season them. Scramble them into the veggies. 

Bam! It’s like a super lazy omelet. It’s delicious. Douse it in hot sauce and call it a morning. 

Yum. 

Goodnight. 

❤️Little Pond

Red Hot Guaca Egg Burger – Wait What?

OK, so I may not be super good at anything specific! You know, Jack of all trades? My husband will probably disagree… Because, he is super sweet that way. But, I do know that I am good at two things. Putting babies to sleep and eating.
So far today, I have put two babies to sleep for their morning naps and eaten approximately two meals. So, heck yeah! That’s how you hustle. I didn’t create this blog just to brag. But, I do you have an amazing meal to show you. Depending on your diet and how you want to modify it, it can be whole 30 approved or perfect for Paleo!

This my friends is the Reds GuacaEgg Burger. I just made that up right now. Catchy, huh?

  

There’s also bacon. I didn’t mention? Yes, it’s delicious. It’s sugar free bacon that I found at Costco of all places!

You want to know how to make it, huh?

I’ll show you, I’ll show you.

---

Ingredients:

Burger patty (homemade or frozen – whatever floats your boat)
Bacon
Guacamole
Eggs
Franks Red Hot Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Garlic because… garlic.

Directions:

1. Make that bacon delicious and crispy either in a pan or in the oven! (I typically do 20 minutes at 400 degrees, just keep an eye on it after 15 minutes!)

3. Cover your patties in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any spices that make you swoon.I like to cook up some onions and then toss the patties in the leftover onion oil, but hey. Im not here to tell you how to live your life

4. Cook up your scrumptious burger patties on the stovetop or on the grill, again, whatever makes you happy

5. Set aside your patties. Cook eggs to desired squishiness6. Top patties with egg, Red Hot sauce, guacamole, and last but certainly not least, the bacon

7. Enjoy your handiwork

8. Wish you had made two… 😉

Boom. Magic in your mouth. You’re welcome.

Come back tomorrow for more awesome words written by yours truly.

❤ LP

Wrestling for a blessing and running away from a calling

Oh hi. Yes, it is me. I am alive and well, I am alive at least. I was going to start this post explaining why I have posted approximately once since the beginning of February. But, it would turn out to be a list of excuses and definitely not worth reading. So, instead I will fill you in on the happenings of the baby Drake house.

I have been wrestling with some awesome (read: really difficult) stuff since the IF gathering last weekend. In the last few days, have been turned down for 2 more jobs and at this point it is utterly embarrassing to be me. I am becoming weary, tired, frustrated. I keep trying to thank God for all of the closed doors, when all I want to do is punch a wall. I have applied for so many different types of jobs now, I have completely lost track. Though, through it all, God has continued to provide a way for us. The way has not been fun or smooth, but we haven’t died yet. So. that is promising.

I began pursuing CAbi as an independent stylist. But, Connor and I do not have the wiggle room for me to be trying to build a business in an area where I do not know anyone. I mean, I have met a few people. Sure. But, I do not have a network. Unfortunately, I do not have the room to fail at this point. I need a job that is guaranteed money in the bank each month. Unfortunately with CAbi, there is no guarantee, who knows what I could make! I could make nothing and how irresponsible would that be at this moment in time?

I have hit every single brick wall my head can find. I am waiting for God to open a door for me to step through. But, everything feels closed to me right now.

I attended my third IF:Gathering last weekend and I am so glad that I did. It is amazing each year. But, this year was specifically incredible because the focus was on Jesus, loving Jesus, living like Jesus, and going out like Jesus. Which is funny because I chose my 2016 verse on a total whim, and I can’t even count the times the Great Commission was discussed during the conference? God had already aligned my heart with what the gathering had to offer.

If you don’t know what the IF:Gathering is, you should definitely check it out! It is a body of women determined to equip and unleash women to fulfill their true calling and serve Jesus well. I am so thankful for the way that the Gathering has gained traction and grown over the last three years. Last year there were about 2,000 women who attended the live gathering in Austin, TX and about 2,000 groups of women live streaming the event to IF:Locals all over the nation. This year, there were over 10,000 groups of women live streaming across 86 countries. There were over half a million women actively participating in the confrence. 500,000 women! Can you even imagine what it would look like to have 500,000 women on task for Jesus? 500,000 women committed to loving others as themselves, engaging their communities and leading their people? That is an unstoppable amount of women!

It makes me excited to even think about it.

What if we all just put out our dirt, rolled up our sleeves, and starting loving one another? What if we just stopped hiding behind our fears and prejudices and we got out there and showed Jesus to the world? The Good Lord knows the world is in desperate need of it!

All of that to say, during the two days at the conference, I was deeply convicted about sharing my story. I have a story to tell. It’s just not so pretty. It isn’t funny, it wasn’t fun to live, and how am I supposed to write about it? Who would want to read it? Why is it important? When will I have the time?

I have had an excuse every single time I feel the idea prodding at me. I started this blog with the intention of writing out my story piece by piece. That wasn’t a good idea. I don’t want my dirt out there in that form. Sure, I want you to read it. But, I want you to be able to get to the good parts and not left waiting for the next blog post. I just wanted the whole idea to go away. I have run to any kind of busyness to distract me. If I am working on becoming a wedding coordinator, or a CAbi stylist, or a Nanny, or an astronaut, or a sales person… etc., I can’t be bothered with writing out my story? Can I? It hasn’t gone away and I have been deliberately disobeying my Heavenly Father by running from what He has asked of me. How ridiculous is that? Who cares!

Seriously? Who cares? Why should I care what you think of me and my past? Why should I be worried about slinging the truth?

Because it is messy, because I am human. Are you wrestling with me yet? Because I have been putting up quite a good fight. But, ultimately my story points back to Jesus and how can I be so selfish as to keep that to myself?

It isn’t easy. It won’t be easy. I can’t even bring myself to start.  But, at this point in this journey, all I can do is bow my head and say, “Yes Lord”.

So, here I am tonight, bowing my head, surrendering everything, allowing my pride to fall aside, and saying “yes’” to the God of the universe.

Now, where do I begin?

-LP

 

Healthy wife healthy life and a whole lot of chopped veggies

My brain has been all but shut down for the last couple of days. But, this morning I woke up with only a slight cough. Which meant, it was time to get to work. 

Husband and I are pressing forward and making meal plans and preparing for a healthier overall lifestyle. Now, don’t get me wrong, we didn’t eat too poorly before. But, I began to be hyper aware of the ingredients I was using. Do you know that there is sugar in basically everything? I read my organic chicken stock label and guess what, “organic cane sugar”… In chicken stock!? Why!? Who cares if it’s organic, there is just no need. My favorite Trader Joes taco seasoning…sugar. Why, TJs!? Why!? 

We will be taking on a paleo diet starting March (I hate wasting food. So, we are eating all of our dairy and grains this month!) I have been practicing and I think we can do it. Last night I made a pan full of sexy protein and potatoes. And alas, Today was prep day!  

        

 Asparagus was on sale, so we splurged and bought to bunches instead of none. Asparagus is expensive! Maybe it doesn’t look like much, especially after being processed. But, everything is pre-seasoned and ready to toss in a pan and cook! 

   
I also made “cauliflower rice” which I cannot wait to try out! 

Now it’s time to focus a bit and get ready for IF. I cannot wait to join every single woman attending in worship and prayer. I am anxious  to see what God has in store for me this weekend!

Lots of love from the recuperating Little Pond. 🤒

The story of success and a sick little Pond

I deeply apologize for being MIA. I have been debilitatingly ill, I thought it was just a head cold. But, now I’m thinking it might be the flu. I haven’t slept in a couple of nights, it has been epically terrible for my productivity. My head feels like it’s full of fluff. 

My husband has been a total champ. He is the absolute sweetest guy and has been taking such good care of me. It’s an amazing blessing to have such a thoughtful man in my life. 

I have come to realize in the last few days that I literally start so many projects, I can never hope to complete them. I came up with an idea to write children’s books! They were (are? Maybe?) going to be adorable! It’s an idea in the works. I wanted to refinish furniture or become an author… I haven’t been able to land a job and I am getting desperate to make something of myself. It’s really quite sad. I have so many desires that I can’t choose just one! 😫

I am sleeping on an idea. It’s a big commitment. It’s going to take all of me… CAbi. Connor’s mama sells CAbi and loves it. I am going to sign on to be an apprentice under Dayna and hopefully build some clientele before diving in on my own for the fall line! Ahhh. I’m flipping out a little. 

I feel as if I could be really really good at it. I could also fail so miserably. But, I want to be successful! I also want to make money and stop being poor. So, there’s that. Is that materialistic and selfish? I don’t know. 

I don’t know anything. Connor says I look for the “right” answer too often. If I work my tail off, I can be successful. But, successful at what?! 

We will find out shortly! Or not. 

Just hang with me. 

Tons of love to you all! 

-Little Pond ❤️