Cauliflower Poppers and a Weekend Recap!

It was a fun and action-packed weekend. I started it off with Asylum 1 Gameday. This workout really is so much fun! Tennis, football, soccer, swimming, rock climbing, baseball, speed skating - there's a little bit of everything!

After my workout, the big girls and I headed out to get haircuts with my favorite stylist, Joyce. She really does an amazing job, and I love catching up with her!

The girls and I came home, and I got straight to work on cooking and cleaning for Easter. At some point that afternoon I did pause for some Easter egg decorating.

We headed to my mom and dad's house later for our annual Easter egg hunt. All the grandkids were there and so excited to find eggs! I made them stop for a picture before they got started. Aunt Jen is mean like that.

Doesn't our hair look good?!? Thanks, Joyce!

I stayed up until midnight Saturday finishing up my cooking and cleaning and waiting for the Easter bunny to arrive. He had to work late that night at his other real job. 

Easter morning is always so much fun with our kids. They had a blast going through their baskets to see what was inside!

Then we had our obligatory Easter attire photos. Unfortunately, it was raining so we couldn't go outside this year.

After church, my parents came over for Easter dinner. I had a pretty good spread if I do say so myself: ham, homemade sourdough bread, spinach, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, cinnamon apples, macaroni, and cauliflower poppers.

My own Beachbody coach, Sandy, introduced me to cauliflower poppers. They are so simple to make and so delicious! You'll need just a few ingredients.

First you're going to take the cauliflower, remove the stalk, and separate it into bite-sized florets. While you're doing this keep in mind that the cauliflower will shrink quite a bit in the oven.

Now you're going to toss the cauliflower in a little olive oil. However, I really don't use olive oil anymore. I usually just spray my cauliflower with a little Pam instead. It's less greasy that way, and it saves on some calories as well. After you've added your oil or spray of choice, add the salt and pepper.

Next spread the seasoned cauliflower out on a cookie sheet. I like to line mine with nonstick foil.

Now it's time to bake! Put the cauliflower in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. Flip the cauliflower every 15 minutes. You want the cauliflower to brown and even blacken a little. In this case, darker color = more flavor!

These taste a lot like french fries! My kids like them served with ketchup. I love them all by themselves!

Of course, after all the Easter activities wrapped up for the day it was time for The Walking Dead season finale!!! My friend, Whitney, came over to watch with us. Andrea and Milton were causing our blood pressure to go up just a little.

I can't believe we have to wait 6 months for another new episode!

Cauliflower Poppers

• 2 heads cauliflower
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or cooking spray)
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and clean cauliflower. Cut off and discard stalk. Cut cauliflower up into small pieces. In large bowl, combine oil, salt and pepper. Add cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat in oil mix. (OR spray cauliflower with cooking spray, then add salt and pepper.) Put cauliflower on lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, and turn 3 times during cooking. The browner, the better!

Question of the Day

What is your favorite Easter tradition?

Weekend Recap

It's been a busy weekend! I've got to become one of those people who really embraces all the stuff their kids do for fun. It's just a little overwhelming times 4!

I started off the weekend with P90X's Core Synergistics. I love this workout! It has a lot of different exercises that really work my entire core. Afterwards, we hit the ground running. It was time to divide and conquer. Jeff headed with the boy to baseball, and I grabbed my Shakeology and went to the soccer fields.

I really do love watching this girl play soccer. 

When I said divide and conquer, that meant I got all the girls and Jeff had the boy. We really need to work on our math. We all met back up at home after the games for a quick lunch before heading out to the first Easter egg hunt of the season. 

It really was a beautiful day! I knew there were going to be cupcakes galore and candy at the egg hunt, so I came prepared!

Have you tried these new Fiber One protein bars? I got them on BOGO, and I had a coupon for another dollar off, so they were super cheap. I love a quick snack that packs a protein punch. These remind me of an Almond Joy. Really yummy!

After the egg hunt, we headed back to the baseball fields. Baseball games make me nervous. It's a lot of pressure for a kid. But how cute is this boy?!?

He's the best player on the field as far as I'm concerned!

While I was at the game, I got my 2nd workout of the day. Baby girl had a lot to drink between the egg hunt and the water I packed for her. Our field was approximately 4.5 miles from the restrooms. Okay, so it probably wasn't quite that far, but it was far! This is when I wish baby girl had some boy parts so I could take her over to the edge of the woods and let her take care of business. Instead, I got to run her back and forth. I tried to focus on the amazing calorie burn I was getting.

We stopped for some pizza on the way home. After dinner I got all buck wild and crazy and made my PB&J's for the week on Saturday instead of Sunday! I knew we had baseball Sunday afternoon and wanted to get ahead. Then we Jeff got everyone bathed and put to bed. I fell asleep on the couch about 6 seconds later.

When Sunday morning rolled around, I decided to get in a quick workout. Sunday is normally my rest day, but I'm coming off a recovery week so I wasn't sore and figured my body could handle it. After all, exercise is my drug of choice. I used the bonus workout I got with Asylum 2. It's called Pure Contact, and it's a quick 20-minute video where Shaun T gets you jumping around like crazy! I always get a good sweat in even though it's a short workout.

As I came up the stairs from my workout, the smell of fresh bread greeted me. I had 2 loaves of sourdough rising overnight and put them in the oven right before my workout. That's right, people! I was multitasking while I exercised! I think it goes without saying what I ate for breakfast this morning.

Since it's St. Patrick's day, the kids and I all dressed in green.

Jeff said he isn't Irish and refused to conform. He did find a four-leaf clover sticker on the ground that he applied to his shirt later.

After church, we hit the ballfields again, then came home for a Sunday afternoon nap. I try to get one of those in every Sunday. 

Even though it was crazy busy, it was a fun weekend! I am so thankful for 4 healthy kids who get to participate in all these activities!!!

Did you wear green for St. Patrick's day?