Today I'm going to expand on Principle number 2 - MOVE IT.

A reader, who is a stay-at-home mom, asked how she can work out when her kids wake up at 6 a.m. and she doesn't feel like she can get up earlier than that and she feels like her kids will be in the way.

One of the secrets of moving is to find times during the day that you can move. So if the weather is nice, load your kids up in a stroller, put tennis shoes on your 4+ year old's and walk, walk, walk. Go for at least 30 minutes. My little 4 year old can do this up and down hills so can any other four year old, plus they'll build a love for exercise too. If it's cold outside see if you can drive to a mall in the morning when it's not that busy.

I even walk around my house, yep, as weird as that may sound, I do. I'll set a timer for 30-40 minutes and walk around my house, doing lunges, going up and down stairs as fast as I can, throwing in some jumping jacks, and push-ups to help build muscle mass.

My kids have ALWAYS seen me exercise so when I work out sometimes they'll join me, sometimes they'll sit there and watch (not my choice, but maybe it will motivate them someday), and sometimes they'll just leave the room and go play because they know I'll be done in a while and can focus on them when I'm done.

Don't let the FEAR of having kids be awake and in your space stop you from working out. Just do it! They will soon catch on that this is something mom and/or dad do on a daily basis and that's just how life is. They know you go to the bathroom and take a shower and get ready for the day, just make exercise part of the routine of your day. Tell your kids, mom needs to be healthy in order to take care of you and in order for me to be healthy I need to work out and eat healthy food. Teach your kids these principles.

If it's possible have your husband watch the kids for you while you work out, whether it's in the morning or the evening. If Dad doesn't leave for work until 7:30 a.m. then workout from 6:30-7:15ish. Give your kids something to do while you work out. My husband use to leave for work at 6:15 a.m. and that left me alone with my kids, I have a little 18 month old who was even younger then and if he woke up before I was finished working out I would give him some snacks to eat or toys to play with in his booster seat at the table. It kept him busy until I was at least to the point of a cool down and then I would get him out and let him be by me. I would encourage him to stretch like mom, and he usually would! So Cute!

A lot of people say they just don't have time to work out. Really? How much time do you spend on the phone, internet, reading a book, etc. The reality is, you just have to make time and tell everyone in your family to help you reach your goals.

A word on how much exercise and how long you should work out. I read recently in a "Prevention" magazine that when you first start out exercising it's actually better to only do 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, because if you do more than that your body will ask you for more to eat and therefore counteracting the whole point of working off the extra calories. I personally don't feel like I eat more the harder I work out but I do eat smarter by trying to make every calorie count. I want to eat good food that is packed full of vitamins and nutrients that will help me be happy and healthy. So for the first week that you work out take it easy walk for 30 minutes every day and try to do some resistance training 2 times a week on top of the walking. When you feel like you can increase your intensity, go for it!

Okay enough talk.... put your favorite music on and Dance! Go until the song ends and smile cause it's fun and you look extremely silly! Well maybe you don't, but I do, and I love it!

Today's Recipe: Black Bean Salad Wrap (4 servings)
4 8-inch flour tortilla's (whole wheat or whole grain would be better)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper or 1 fresh jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 T snipped fresh cilantro
1/3 C plain yogurt (or mayo or sour cream)
1 T lemon juice
leaf lettuce
Heat tortillas to soften. Mash beans slightly add rest of ingredients. To serve spread bean mixture evenly over tortillas, top with lettuce leaf and roll up tortilla. Savor every delicious bite!

As always I would love to hear from you!

Today I will expand on Principle number 1, which is, make sure that the majority of your calories every day come from food that is in its original form. In today's food industry they put lots of preservitaves and dyes in our food to make the food "look good" and keep for a longer amount of time on the super market shelf. Those dyes and preservitives are not good for you. Dyes may have effects on you or your kids that may include, harsh behavior or out of control tantrums, a hard time concentrating, and many other symptoms. To learn more about dyes in your food and the side effects google "dyes in your food and their effects". High fructose corn syrup tells your brain that you're not full so you keep eating. Enriched bleach flour is when they take whole wheat kernels that have everything good for you in it and take out the good for you parts and then add back some vitamins and minerals to try to take the place of the nutrients that have been lost. Hydrogenated fats or pretty much impossible for your body to digest and use and therefore they make themselves comfortable on your thighs, bottom, abdomen, arms, etc.

I have a little challenge for you. Go through your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator and read the ingredients of all your foods and count how many products you have that have some or all of the ingredients I talked about in the previous paragraph and then send me a message with the number included. You may be shocked at how much stuff you buy that has dyes, high fructose corn syrup, etc. And then do your best to phase these things out of your regular diet. See if there is a product you can exchange it for that is wholesome. If you need any ideas then send me a message and I can help you.

Okay now for a little moving time! Stand up with your legs shoulder with apart, move your left leg out to the left and do a squat, bring it back to center, squat, and then move your right leg out to the side and squat (these are called side squats). Do 50 of them! And smile because you are awesome!

Today's recipe: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade noodles! mmm mmm good!

3 lbs chicken (breast, thighs, whatever you want)
3 quarts water
2 sprigs parsley or 1/4 C dried parsley
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper
4 T - Chicken bouillon or chicken soup mix
1 chopped onion
4-5 sliced carrots
1 C sliced celery
1/2 bag of frozen Peas
Cook the chicken in the water until done, remove chicken, then add all ingredients including vegetables, except the peas (this is called soup stock). Make noodles while veggies are cooking. Add noodles to boiling soup stock, cook for about 10 minutes, add chicken and frozen peas. Stir and serve! Enjoy!

Homemade Noodles
In a medium size bowl:
Combine 2 beaten eggs
1 tsp salt
4 T milk
Add 2 cups flour or enough to make a stiff dough. Roll as thin as you can on a floured surface. Take a pizza cutter or if you have a noodle maker, cut the noodles in thin strips and put them in the boiling soup stock cook for 10 minutes. This makes a lot of yummy noodles, if you don't like a lot of noodles in your soup 1/2 the recipe.