Posts by Rachel Spoelhof
Mother’s Day Gift Guide
Hey, Mama.
Share this post with your husband and family, then sit back and let them plan something special just for you!
Mother’s Day Gift Giving Guide
Day of gift ideas
Breakfast in bed
Do the chores – grocery shopping, meal planning, laundry, get kids ready for bed
A day without cooking
A day without dishes
Cook or order her favorite food. DON’T FORGET DESSERT!!!
For the Home
Cleaning Service (DO THIS ONE. REALLY. You will score lots of points)
Dinner Service/Dinner planning – Blue Apron (ingredients sent to you. $59.94 or $9.99 per plate) Hello Fresh (fresh ingredients sent to you. $69 or $11.50 per meal) Mealime(free option with an app) Purple Carrot (plant-based meal delivery. $68 per week or $11.33 per person) Plated (for the foodie in your life. $48 per week or $12 per plate)
Amazon’s Home Gift Guide (you know you love Amazon!)
TLC for the mom who needs a break
Massage
Mani/Pedi
Girls’ Day
Girls’ Trip
Hair blow out or cut and color
For the active mother
Pay the bib price for an awesome race (visit Active.com to find ones in your area!)
Gift card for workout clothes
Running shoes
Gym membership
Classes at a gym or pilates studio
Fitbit or Apple watch
New yoga mat
For the adventurous mother
Hiking boots or outdoor gear
Plan an outing for the family (but YOU plan it all!!)
Lessons to learn something new!
Check out this awesome list of great gifts for adventure travelers!
Nostalgic Gifts
Unique gifts from SimplyPersonalized
Photo gifts from Snapfish Personalize a gift for mom with pictures of her favorite people!
Celebrate HOME with Hometown inspired gifts from Etsy
Gifts that Keep on Giving
Amazon Prime
Gym Membership
New clothes without …
Read MoreLet’s Get Motivated!
“You can’t expect NEW results with the same habits.” – Susan Sly
Are you looking for motivation? Trying to get moving?
You have to do something different. You have to START.
Here are a few ways to get going:
- Get into action!
- Get accountability – tell some friends what you are doing. Better yet, encourage them to get going with YOU!
- Clear away distractions – clean up your workspace, make a nice workout area at home, turn off the TV, whatever is distracting you. MOVE IT AWAY!
- Stop Complaining. START DOING!
- Find inspiration. Put on uplifting music, read a good book, or listen to a podcast. Better yet, call a friend that makes you feel AMAZING!
- Exercise. It is good for your mind, body and soul!
- BELIEVE it will happen. Visualize yourself at your goal. Think about the way you feel and let that feeling motivate you!
If you are looking for more ways to get motivated, feel better and more energized, or start a healthier routine please contact us! We would love to help you get started or be your accountability partners!
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Happy Easter – HE IS RISEN
Happy Easter!
The message of Easter never gets old. It is THE message. THE reason our hope is in a living God.
Today, we sang the song, “What a Beautiful Name,” at church. I feel like this song is such a perfect telling of the Easter story, and the exact words to read and share this Easter day. I have posted the words below, but I recommend if you can, watch the lyric video and sing this praise song to our Lord.
What a Beautiful Name Lyric Video
One With God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
The Name of Jesus
Love to sing in the name of the Lord, love to sing for you all?
Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast, of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring, the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
Now and forever, Our God reigns
Yours
Easter EGG-ercise – Get Your Bunny Tails Moving
There are so many fun ways to incorporate fun and fitness into your family life. My sister sent me this idea from The Seasoned Mom, and you know me and exercise – I HAD TO TRY IT!
My girls are obsessed with Easter egg hunts. Do you follow us on Instagram @growingweisser? I shared one of our favorite Easter activities is the Egg Hunt at Disneyland Resort. You find character eggs all over the parks or even Downtown Disney and get a cute collectable egg to take home (when you purchase a map!)
What you need:
plastic eggs
buckets
paper and pen
First I wrote out fun exercises in paper. Then I folded the paper up in the eggs.
Since the girls like egg hunts so much I hid the eggs first for extra “egg-ercising.”
Then I let loose the fun! I told the girls how many eggs they could each find. After they found the eggs we opened them one at a time and did the exercises! (super cute video on our Instagram!!)
The girls loved this so much we played for HOURS!! And they have pretty much asked to do it every day since. So this activity is definitely mom-approved!
Let me know if you try it!
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Get Into Action
As our March comes to a close, we hope that you have enjoyed our focus on health and nutrition! Please let us know what you liked best so we can be sure to give you more of what benefits you!
Summer will be here before you know it, so NOW is the time to build up your habits and get into action towards your goals. Don’t get overwhelmed by how far you have to go. Every day is a chance to take a step forward toward that end results.
How?
GET INTO ACTION.
Do something toward your goal every day. Not some days. EVERY DAY! Even a small step forward is a step. Pretty soon you’ll be taking leaps! And before you know it you’ll be closing in on your goals, looking back at how far you’ve come!
I want to leave you with that challenge, to get into action, and ALSO with one more workout to get you moving! The workout will be on our Instagram @growingweisser.
If you like the HIIT workouts, let us know, or you can follow me (Rachel) on Instagram @princessesandprotein where I post them regularly.
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AMRAP Workout
HIIT workouts continued!
This week let’s talk about AMRAP, which stands for “as many rounds as possible.”
Like HIIT, AMRAP workouts are done at a high intensity. The difference being HIIT workouts have a fixed number of reps and sets, AMRAP workouts have a fixed time frame.
AMRAP workouts have many benefits, one of my favorite (similar to HIIT) is they are for a fixed time, so you know exactly how long your workout is going to last, thus how long you need to push yourself!
Here are other benefits of AMRAP workouts:
- They accommodate all levels of fitness. You workout at YOUR max intensity or effort.
- Fixed time (had to mention this one again because it is so great!) is great motivation for working hard during the time frame.
- Focus is on form, rather than reps, allowing you to improve your technique under pressure and fatigue.
- Great for fat loss
- Builds your confidence and metal toughness
- Easy to track your progress. You know how many rounds you can do so when you do the workout again you can try to match or beat your initial number.
For a great 15 minute AMRAP workout, checkout our Instagram @growingweisser.
Let us know how many rounds you did!
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Benefits of HIIT workouts
I’ve recently fallen in love with HIIT workouts. As a busy mom, these short, but effective workouts have been a lifesaver to help me maximize my time and effort for fitness.
High intensity interval training a.k.a. HIIT, is used to describe any workout that combines high intensity burst of activity with slow periods of rest and recovery.
What are the benefits of HIIT workouts?
- Builds endurance
- Burns calories and fat in less time
- Effective use of your body’s energy system
- Boosts metabolism
- Promotes calorie and fat burn up to 24 hrs after
- Little to no equipment needed
- Can be done anywhere
- Targets fat loss, not muscle loss
- Great for heart health
- Challenging
I like to find HIIT routines on Pinterest, use workouts I find and add or change exercises, or come up with my own! I also really enjoy the workout routines by Kayla Itsines and Sugary Six Pack. I follow them on Instagram and bought and completed both of their programs. I currently do HIIT cardio and or strength once or twice a week along with my strength training at home and Fit4Mom classes of course!
Check out my latest HIIT routine on our Instagram @growingweisser!
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Meal Prep Omelette Bags
March is National Nutrition Month, so I am VERY excited to share my latest meal prep obsession: Omelette Bags!
Lunch is a hard meal for me to eat well because I’m super hungry and want to eat “yesterday” after our busy mornings. Meal prepping my lunch helps immensely! It keeps me on track and fueled, which means I’m feeling better throughout the day and making healthier choices more consistently.
My new favorite meal prep is these very simple omelette bags. Basically, you put anything and everything you could want in an omelette in a zip lock bag and throw it in the fridge. When it is time to eat, dump the bag in a pan with a little healthy oil and sauté to your liking. Cook the eggs on top, or transfer the veggies to a bowl or plate and cook the eggs separate. TADA! A delicious and healthy lunch.
What’s in my bag?
Roasted Brussels Sprouts (see below!)
Cubed and cooked sweet potato (see below)
Spinach
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Colorful carrots
Sweet onion
Zucchini
I choose to chop up my veggies and leave them raw (with the exception of the Brussels and Sweet Potatoes, which I pre-cooked.)
Sweet Potato: I skin, cube and boil for 12ish minutes until soft.
Brussels Sprouts: I stem and half then coat in a little avocado oil, salt and pepper. Roast 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
The finished prep:
I love this meal. Every time it is so delicious. I even pre-cook it and take it with me to Disneyland!
Do you meal prep? Let me know if you try the omelette bags!
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Read MoreCleansed and Renewed
I’m so excited to share MY favorite nutritional product: this herbal and botanical tea that floods my body with nutrients and helps me feel renewed. I use this drink daily as an energy and nutrient renewal OR as a support for intermittent fasting. I do my best to fuel my body well during the day, but I now know that that alone isn’t enough! I’ve learned and experienced SO much from incorporating supported intermittent fasting, called nutritional cleansing, into my health regime.
Here are a few of the stats:
•Contains over 100 nutrients that help support the body’s vital functions and immune system
•Supports the body’s natural ability to remove impurities
•Nourishes your body while it cleanses–Free from laxatives and diuretics
•Supports cardiovascular and brain health
•Boosts mental and physical energy and endurance
The amazing benefits include:
•weight control
•reset food cravings
•improved insulin sensitivity
•brain protection
•supports the liver’s natural detoxification
The natural botanical complex includes these important ingredients, which you’ve likely heard of if you’ve done any health research!
•TURMERIC – promotes natural detox, anti-inflammatory, digestive aid
•SIBERIAN GINSENG – improves oxygen uptake and overall energy
•ALOE VERA GEL – liver protection, detoxification, immune support
•ASHWAGANDHA – supports the liver, immunity, and the body’s ability to adapt to stress
•PAU D’ARCO – healthy energy, immunity, acts as a liver tonic
If you would like to learn more about my favorite product I would love to talk to you personally, or add you to our community of family and friends on Facebook!
Check out more of our favorite products at our online store HERE
Read more about Rachel’s passions and purpose for health HERE
What is your favorite healthy way to renew your body?
Joy and Strength in 2017: Meet Rachel
