#WeeklyWisdom and Top 5 Mother's Day Nutrition Noshes

Nosh One. Wisdom. 

Do you have days where you just feel defeated?

As we celebrated Mother's Day this past week, I had the opportunity to have a lovely day with my Mom. As I was sitting there with her laughing, having a great conversation and enjoying a few glasses of Rosé, I couldn't help but think of the days where my Mom felt defeated and wanted to run away from it all. I realize as an adult, what a handful I was (yes, yes this is true) I hope these positive and great times with my Mom as an adult, kind of help her rid her memory of all the moments she wanted to strangle me. At the end of the day, everyone is doing the best they can. We are our worst critics and we need to be more gentle with ourselves when things go every direction except the right direction. I appreciate my Mom in many ways for her patience and understanding of her strong-willed child. I would love to take back all the times she felt the need to lock herself in the bathroom to cry it out and get away from me. I never meant any of it and I know she took it really hard. 

To all the different kind of Mom's out there, you are doing your best! Don't be so hard on yourself when things do not go as planned, the best things and moments in life always come out of the most difficult situations. Like eating SnoBalls in the backyard on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with your 42 year old daughter (see photo below). 

Nosh Two. Weekly Conversation. 

Today’s conversation is with Karlee Golightly, a donut-loving dietitian and yoga teacher who helps real people rediscover joy with food and movement.

Through this series of podcast, I have been sharing the many fantastic people I have met on Instagram with Karlee being one of them. As I continued to follow her, I felt as if I knew her in some way outside of her beautiful food photos, including photos of amazing donuts and her contagious smile. Then it clicked, I did know her. I met Karlee while she was a dietetic intern with a friend of mine and now she is living her passion out with being a RD and a yoga instructor. Karlee is full of moxie and has a fantastic view on how we can make the world a happier place with our own mindset and dietitian expertise.

Please enjoy my conversation with Karlee

Connect with Karlee on her website and blog Moxie-Mind and following her on Instagram

Nosh Three. Week in Review. 

This week was full of beautiful things. I woke up on Wednesday and was thrilled to see my Crab Apple tree was blooming. I am kind of addicted to all things white and the flowers on my tree are the most perfect shade of white with pale pink. Unfortunately, it is too short lived, only 3 days. Now I will patiently wait for my lovely lilacs to bloom.

I had the joy to be on KCCI this past Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day with my TV friends,  discussing how important protein is to consume and how we don't consume enough. Which is why I am passionate about creating meals with good protein balance. I have struggled on my own with getting enough protein each day and I am always asking my Mom how she is doing getting enough. At a minimum, I always recommend 1/2 your body weight in grams per day. 

After TV, I hopped in my car and headed west to see my Mom. It started off rainy and ended up sunny and beautiful. We started the day off with a snack my Dad really loved and we grew to love with him, Hostess SnoBalls. They usually are white but at certain times of year, they get fancy with their colors. We took the opportunity to enjoy them outside amongst her beautiful green yard. 

After our sweet treat indulgence, we headed inside where I whipped up Mom a protein powered breakfast. I sautéed baby bella mushrooms, green peppers and made a fluffy omelet with swiss and asiago cheese paired with perfectly crisp hashbrowns. You can't have a SnoBall without a protein buddy. 

It was a beautiful day to spend with a beautiful woman. I am very lucky to have been chosen to be her daughter and I know she feels just as lucky to be my Mom. 

Nosh Four. Workout Playlist.

I think my Mom would appreciate my workout jams of the week. I had a blast putting together this weeks playlist. Find it on Apple Music and Spotify. 

Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now. 

I had to share my great segment this weekend with Alyx and Riley on KCCI, which featured what I love right now and that is the Kodiak Cakes line of products. Believe it or not, I am not a pancake/waffle kind of gal, until I was introduced to Kodiak Cakes. I have been a fan for a long time now. My favorite is their Buttermilk pancake mix, which has 14 grams of protein per serving. The recipe I shared on TV is another way to enjoy a sweet and savory protein powered breakfast or meal anytime of the day, recipe is below. 

Ham & Egg Breakfast Waffle
Serves 1
Recipe courtesy of Hy-Vee.com.

Serving this sweet and savory waffle combo with ½ cup of raspberries adds 4 grams of fiber.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. light ricotta cheese
1 Kodiak Cake Buttermilk & Vanilla Power Waffle, toasted
¼ c. baby spinach leaves
2 slices deli ham
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced
1 tbsp. Hy-Vee Select maple syrup
1 tsp. finely chopped green onion

DIRECTIONS
Spread ricotta cheese on waffle. Top with spinach leaves, ham and egg slices. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with green onion.

Nutrition facts per serving: 320 calories, 13g fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 220 mg cholesterol, 840 mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 17g sugar, 21g protein

~AE

*All views and opinions on products, food and businesses in this blog post are my own and are not sponsored in any way. I just love to share great things!