Creative Date Night Ideas

Recently a friend asked me what were some of my date night ideas, and it got my wheels turning from things that Zach and I have done in the past, and ones that we want to do in the future. Since I love being creative and sharing it with you all, I thought I would compile a list of creative date night ideas for you to show you that it doesn't have to cost a lot to spend quality, intentional time with your sweetheart!

I cannot stress enough how important quality time is. In the day and age of technology, iPhones, iPads, iTouch, iMini, iThis and iThat, actual facetime can be hard to come by. But please, carve out time for the loved ones in your life. Real, meaningful, face to face time. I promise the investment is well worth it.

A few of these ideas I may have mentioned in my blog about surprising your spouse, and also a few from my blog about dating your spouse. But today I wanted to dig in a little deeper to make a list of some creative date night (or day) ideas for you and your significant other to try.

So, let's get this started!

1. Dine in at home. This one can be done any number of ways to fit your current budget. But every once in a while, Zach and I like to order take out from a favorite restaurant, fancy up our own table with candles, fancy glasses and dishes, and eat our take out food at home! It's fun to switch up the atmosphere and have a romantic dinner at home that you don't always have to cook!

2. Cook your own gourmet meal (or any kind of meal!). On the same coin, try cooking a gourmet meal together! Zach and I love to cook together. Find a few recipes that you want to try. Make an appetizer, a salad, a main course, side dish, and of course, dessert. You can have as many courses as you want, just get creative! Although, if you make a lot of courses, I recommend small portions, otherwise you will stuff yourself! But plan your menu, go shopping together for the ingredients, come home and cook, and make your own candle light dinner!

3. Take a hike. This is another one of our favorites. We both love to be outdoors, and Georgia has a lot of beautiful state parks. We have our favorite parks, and ones we haven't been to yet. Zach and I try to find the quiet places and just sit and talk after we've walked around, and breath in the fresh air and be at peace. Most state parks only cost a few dollars to park, so check what's around you and go explore!

4. Go swimming! Quick, while the warm weather is still holding out, go for a dip with your honey! I love the water, and it's always more fun to me to swim with someone else instead of just floating around by yourself. Find a lake, a community pool, or if you live near the beach, go there!

5. Visit the place that you first met or went on a date to. Zach and I try to do this every so often and return to the place that we met and had our first date. It's a fun way to look back at how far we have come, and ask each other what we can do better to love one another going forward.

6. Have a coffee date at home! Speaking of first dates, ours was at a coffee shop. We try to still have coffee dates often, but sometimes it's better to save money. So, create your own coffee shop at home! Get two cups of joe brewing and set up the fixings. You can clear off your kitchen table, grab your favorite pastries or loaf of fresh bread from the store, or make your own treat, put on a coffee shop station from Pandora or Spotify, and have fun with it!

7. Sweat together. Get active together! Do a workout together, or go on that hike, play a game outside, go for a long walk, or anything to get your heart pumping. Getting active is important in your individual life, and it's a lot of fun doing it with your spouse too!

8. Visit a nearby town and find a new spot you've never explored before. Living in Atlanta there are quite a few little suburb towns around, and it's fun to go exploring in them every once in a while. We've found a lot of great hole in the wall places that way, and it always makes for fun adventures. Take silly pictures and walk around the town, make some memories!

9. Play a board game, or have a game night together! Zach and I love some board games. Our favorite is probably Scrabble, and we play it quite a bit. It's always a lot of fun to play a game with someone you love. Make a night of it by having a picnic on the floor while you play, and have a prize for whoever wins at the end.

10. Visit a library or bookstore together and learn something new! Go to a bookstore or the library and each find a few books on things that interest you. Come together and learn something new together while you're there! There's always tons of great things to see in bookstores, and learning together is a lot of fun.

There you have it. Just a very few ideas that you can take and make your own memories with! Honestly, there are so many things you can do together. Consider your interests, and that of your spouses and find ways to incorporate those into your date nights! They don't have to be expensive or extravagant- those are nice to have- but the key is quality time spent with the one you love.

So let's hear from you now! What are some of your go to favorite date night ideas? Let me know below!

How Men and Women Think

Recently my husband and I watched a video clip by a pastor who was talking about the differences between men’s brains and women’s brains. Now, of course, we all know that we are different. We know that men tend to act and think one way, and women tend to act and think another way. Subconsciously we know that. But I have found that even though we know that, we still expect the opposite sex to act and think the way we do.

At least that is what I have found in our first year of marriage. Thankfully we have been able to work through these differences and laugh about the times that we have gotten worked up over it. It’s a lesson that I’m still learning and trying to understand.

Take a few minutes and watch the clip that we saw “The Tale of Two Brains.” The pastor is really funny, and presents the information in a way that just made me go “YES! EXACTLY!” to everything he said about women’s brains, and made Zach say yes about all he said in regards to men’s brains.

Whether or not you are married, this is an important lesson to grasp on, because we all deal with people of the opposite sex. But this is especially key in marriage, in communicating and understanding our spouses.

The thing that I have the hardest time understanding is the “nothing box.” As a woman, and as a creative mind, I tend to be thinking about everything. And like he said, it’s all connected. It’s normal for me, and it doesn’t stress me out. It’s just how it is. And on the flip side, that is hard for my husband to understand- that I could always be thinking about something.

Honestly, it makes me laugh. God created us so uniquely as men and women. In marriage, you notice the differences more drastically, and it forces you to take on the selflessness of Christ and love your spouse and work to understand them.

Zach and I have both said that one thing marriage exposes is selfishness. It is a constant, daily battle to lay down our own right and agenda and be selfless. Do we always get it right? No. Do we strive to do better than the day before? Absolutely.

Being different is not a bad thing. God gave us differences on purpose, and really, we complement one another. If you take away anything from this, hear this- don’t try to fight to change the other to your way of thinking as a man or a woman. Instead, be selfless and learn to see things through their eyes and be understanding.

Work together. God has intended for us to be a team, so find a way to act like it. It’s hard, but it’s worth it!

Now let’s hear what your favorite part of the clip was! What was surprising to you?

Zucchini Burgers

There’s just something about summer that makes you want to eat a good burger, isn’t there? Something about the grill and outdoor eating environment just screams summertime fun. Well, Zach and I don’t have a grill, or really anywhere to eat outdoors at our apartment, so we revamped our burger experience last week!

Since beginning my journey to eating healthier, I have found that I am craving vegetables more than I was before, so I have been trying to find creative ways to eat more veggies. Let me tell you, these zucchini burgers hit the nail on the head!

They are super simple and really versatile to what you want to include in them. Take stock of your fridge and into consideration of what your family enjoys, and make it your own! Think of this as a base recipe to play around with and experiment yourself.

Here we go!

Zucchini Burgers

Ingredients (makes about 8 patties)

2 medium sized zucchini        

3 to 4 eggs (just depends on the consistency)

½ cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs

½ an onion, finely minced

½ cup of mushrooms, finely chopped

½ cup red bell peppers, finely chopped

½ cup feta cheese

2 tsp garlic powder (more if you like garlic like I do)

1 tsp pepper

½ tsp cumin

Salt to taste

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Use the largest holes on a grater and grate all of the zucchini. Place in a bowl, cover with a paper towel and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

-Use this time to chop/mince all of your other veggies. This is where you can get creative. If you like green peppers, or cucumbers, or whatever…experiment!

-Take off the paper towel and add your veggies and mix throughout.

-Add in your eggs. You want it to be sticky so they will bind together, but not too much. Start with 3, then add the bread crumbs. If it’s falling apart, add the fourth egg. If it’s too runny, add more bread crumbs.

-Add in your cheese (you can also use shredded pepper jack or any other cheese. We had feta and I love that, so that’s what we used!) and your seasonings to your taste.

-Mix so it is all incorporated, then begin forming them into patties. I made ours a little smaller than the palm of my hand. Place on a greased baking sheet, making sure they have space in between.

-Cook for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown on both sides, turning half way through.

-Enjoy on whole wheat slider buns, regular sized buns, Ezekiel bread, or just by themselves!

If you want a great sauce to put on top that’s not going to kill your clean eating, mix up some plain greek yogurt with mustard, garlic powder and paprika, and spread on the bun. Yum!

Personal Transformation

Transforming anything in your life can be intimidating, overwhelming and scary. It requires change, getting out of your comfort zone and finding a new "normal." Whether you are transforming physically, spiritually, emotionally, in your career, or any area, transformation denotes change, and change can be difficult.

But I want to share with you today that you are not alone in your transformation, and that you CAN have transformation in your life, whether that's physical, spiritual, mental, relationally, or whatever. There's one key that I've found that really creates amazing transformations, and I'm going to share it with you in this quick video I made.



The key to any transformation and change in life is consistency. We don't become set in our ways overnight, and to undo our habits takes longer than a day, a week, a month. It takes consistent effort.

Looking on from the outside or by the bigger picture, the daily activities may not seem that important. Some things may seem small, and trivial even. But in reality, those small daily choices compound over time, and will either take you in the direction of your goals, or away from them.

One simple concept that has stuck with me since I began my health and fitness journey encapsulates this fact and gives a good visual as well. Imagine that if immediately after you ate a fast food burger or a sugary cupcake, you gained 100 pounds. Would you eat that hamburger or cupcake? No, probably not. Now imagine that if from the first draw of a cigarette you got lung cancer, would you do it? Probably not.

Usually our immediate gratification desires kick in and we think "well, it's just this once, what harm will it do?" But if we make those small choices again and again, over time, they lead us in the wrong direction. The same is true for healthy choices. If you workout today, are you going to wake up tomorrow with six pack abs? No. If you stay within your caloric range with nutrition today, are you going to lose 100 pounds by tomorrow? No.

The point is, it has taken us each time to get where we are, so we can't expect immediate results in return, either. It takes consistent effort, especially in the small choices.

What is one small choice you can make today that will lead you closer to your transformation story and reaching your goals?

Healthy Lasagna Rolls

Wait, did I just say "healthy" and "lasagna" in the same sentence? Why yes, yes I did. I know that I am not the only one who gets a hankering for a good piece of lasagna, so I went on a mission to create a healthier version of this traditional comfort food.

The result, I must say, turned out delicious! It was filling, but not too heavy, and really hit the spot to quench my lasagna craving. 

Here's how you make these tasty lasagna rolls! They are surprisingly easier than you think. 

Healthy Lasagna Rolls (makes 8 rolls)

Ingredients:

8 whole wheat lasagna noodles (or more if you want a bigger recipe. You can also use any gluten free or quinoa lasagna noodle if your store carries it!) 

1 lb. spicy ground turkey sausage (or just ground turkey if your store does not have turkey sausage)

2 cups cottage cheese

2 cups spinach

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. olive oil

Tomato sauce of choice (ours was about 20oz) 

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. oregano

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Garlic powder and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook your lasagna noodles until tender, drain and set aside.

2. While noodles cook, heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook minced garlic in heated oil for about one minute.

3. Add the turkey sausage to the garlic and brown. 

4. Once the turkey is brown, put the two cups of spinach in and cook until it has wilted. 

5. In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, basil, oregano, and garlic powder and pepper to taste. 

6. Add the turkey and spinach mixture to the cottage cheese, stir until combined. 

7. Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray 

8. Time to assemble the rolls! 

9. Take a lasagna noodle, layer it lightly and evenly with tomato sauce, then spoon the cottage cheese and turkey mixture on it. 

10. Roll up carefully and place in the pan so the end of the noodle is on the underside. 

11. Repeat through all 8 noodles, roll and place in pan. 

12. Pour the remaining sauce over all of the rolls, and top each roll with mozzarella cheese.

13. Cover with foil, bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 10 more minutes, until cheese is bubbling and browning. 

14. Scoop out and enjoy!!

No more cutting through lasagna pieces, roll and scoop it out. You can also substitute some of the cottage cheese for a little bit of plain Greek yogurt as well, and play around with your own Italian spices! 

Enjoy this revamped version of lasagna! 

 

What's your favorite comfort food? 

Do You Love Your Job?

"Ugh. It's Monday. Back to the grindstone."

"I can't wait until Friday."

"I can't wait until it's the weekend and I can get out of work."

"I feel stuck."

These are common sentiments passed around the workplace these days. I myself have shared in saying them more than once in my working career. Work can be tedious, especially if your heart isn't in it. 

I have been blessed with so many job opportunities thus far in my life. From working in preschools, to leading youth, to being a barista, to traveling the world and helping others, I've worked up a diverse résumé to say the least.

I love to work, to know that I have purpose and meaning in the world. Now sometimes, my current job and my hearts longing don't always match up. Sometimes I wish I could be doing something else, but find contentment through Christ and find ways to enjoy the work I'm blessed with.

But sometimes, God lines up my hearts longings and my work and it makes my heart come truly alive. Coaching with Beachbody had been that for me in this season. It was unexpected, but exactly what I needed.

Here are three reasons I absolutely love being a coach:

1. I get to speak worth and value into people's lives every single day, and help them define and reach their health goals. How incredibly cool is that?! I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me. 

God gave me a special desire to speak into people's lives and speak their true worth to them. Beachbody is an avenue where I get to do that every day with my challengers, and the clients I coach.

And I get to inspire others to dream big for themselves, and make a practical plan of how to achieve their goals! 

2. It has motivated me ten fold to keep going in my own journey. Because I am leading by example and sharing my own journey with those I coach, I have the unique opportunity to both motivate and be motivated.

Being a coach has kept me going strong on my own personal health transformation, and I know that this is just the beginning.

3. It has created the opportunity to create financial freedom for my family. While my husband and I certainly are not there yet, it is amazing to know that with doing something that I absolutely love, we will one day (and it should be sooner than we thought) be able to pay off all of our debt. 

We dream constantly about the opportunity in front of us, that is available through hard, consistent work. And it is exciting. To know that we can get out of debt, one day buy a home, provide for our family and also meet the needs of others is overwhelming and incredible.

These are only a small number of the reasons that I love my job as a Beachbody Coach. God truly lined it up perfectly in my life so that I can fulfill his calling on my life to reach out and help others in a unique way. 

It is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. Even if there was no money involved in it, I would do it. It means that much to me to help others, because I know what it has meant in my life. 

If you've ever wondered about coaching, or being one of my challengers, please reach out and contact me! I would love to find out a way to help you define your goals and reach them. 

Let's hear from you now! What's your favorite part of your job?

Meal Planning and Workout

One quote that I absolutely love and know to be true is "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Sure it may sound cliche, and overused. But you know what? It's completely true. I have seen that over and over again in my life, especially when it comes to health and fitness.

How have I stayed motivated?

I make a plan.

How do I stay on track every week?

I make a plan.

Sure, things happen. Life comes up, you have to go do this or that, someone comes over, or you're just dead tired. But, that should not stop you from planning ahead and having your eyes set on the prize. Whether it's just a plan for the day, week, month. Having a plan is going to help you reach your goals because it keeps you focused on what tasks are priority.

I wanted to take a quick second and share my personal plan for the week with you all for my workout and my meal plan! This is generally the format that I use every week. I actually have my whole workout plan done for the next 10 weeks, but this post just includes this week.

Currently I am going through my own hybrid schedule of T25 and the 21 Day Fix workouts, and using the 21 Day Fix meal plan. I absolutely love it. Both workouts are about 25-30 minutes each, which is a perfect time frame for me. I get in, get my workout done and go on with my day feeling fabulous.

The other part of my plan is even more important- my meal plan. Before I was married, I definitely never made a meal plan. It seemed confusing, time consuming and just not worth it. But I can tell you that it absolutely is worth it. I have saved so much time and money by taking just an hour once a week to create the next week's meal plan.

Because I use a meal plan, I don't end up with the mystery meat that went bad in the back of the fridge, leftovers get used right away, and my husband and I are not sitting there night after night saying "Well, what do YOU want for dinner? What are you in the mood for?" We plan, we shop, we conquer!

Meal planning also helps keep me on track with my eating, and mindful of the choices I make. With meal planning comes meal preparation, which I will save for another blog. But it is also a component that can seem daunting at first, but will ultimately save you time and money.

So what is on the menu for this week? Let me show you!

I'm pretty excited about a few new recipes I am trying my hand at this week, so be on the lookout for some recipe posts to come from this meal plan!

Let me hear from you now! What is your greatest struggle with meal planning? If I could answer one question about meal planning, what would it be?