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Quick Workouts & Postpartum Journey Updates 😊

  So wanted to give a quick update on how I’m progressing post baby. Btw Cameron is doing great!! Gaining lots of weight & bringing me so much joy daily. I love him so much!! Today marks 7 weeks post partum. My weight loss has actually stalled since about 4 weeks after I gave birth …

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Baby Brockner Month 9, Labor Cookie Recipe, Birth, & Postpartum Comeback

(L-R top to bottom- 3 mths 4 mths, 5 mths, 1 week postpartum front, 6 mths, 7 mths, 8 mths, 1 week p.p. side)   So I had every intention of writing a blog post close to labor and taking a final 9 month photo closer to the end of the 9 months however my …

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Baby Brockner Month 8: Weight Loss, Heartburn, & Stretch Marks

  So sorry that once again this is late.  Between moving & some additional chaos I just got a bit behind on these lol!  These last few comparison pics will be from my new house so they aren’t going to be exact as far as lighting, angle, etc since it’s a different location but should …

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Baby Brockner 7 Months: Gestational Diabetes, Swelling, & Other Body Woes

Sorry this post is a bit late.  I am actually almost into the 8th month of pregnancy but life has been a bit hectic so my updates are a bit behind!  We just purchased a house and are trying to get ready to move in a couple weeks & also do all the last minute …

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Baby Brockner Month 6: Bye Bye Abs 😀

  Some interesting things have been happening lately!  So far in my pregnancy I have generally been able to hide my bump when/if I felt like it but that is pretty much not happening anymore lol!  I am getting asked pretty regularly if I’m pregnant so I guess there is no hiding this little guy …

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Quick Workouts & Postpartum Journey Updates 😊Baby Brockner Month 9, Labor Cookie Recipe, Birth, & Postpartum ComebackBaby Brockner Month 8: Weight Loss, Heartburn, & Stretch MarksBaby Brockner 7 Months: Gestational Diabetes, Swelling, & Other Body WoesBaby Brockner Month 6: Bye Bye Abs 😀

May 06

Fresh Spinach Basil Pesto (a low calorie, veggie packed, low carb, high protein, vegetarian, & gluten free flavor packed condiment :)

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Recipes

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This recipe is my twist on traditional pesto.  Homemade pesto tastes so much better than jarred & it is really, really easy to make!!  My recipe is really not all too different but I did swap out some of the basil for spinach and lowered the fat too.  If you are looking for a super easy, fast, & fresh condiment that is delicious with so many different things: eggs, steak, pork chops, chicken, fish, pasta, or veggies just to name a few.  Yoh can even use this to top off some crackers or chips with a little cheese (the Quest or Special K brand chips/crackers are super yummy with this along with sharp cheddar!!)  it looks really pretty and bright green plus it is healthy too 🙂

 

Ingredients:

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*1/4 cup packed raw spinach

*1/4 cup packed basil

*1/8 cup parmesan cheese

*1/8 cup pine nuts

*1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

*3 tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock (You may need an additional tablespoon.  You can use fat free stock instead if you want)

*1 teaspoon (or more!) chopped garlic

*salt & pepper (to taste)

 

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Add spinach, basil, parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, and 1 tablepoon of chicken stock into a blender or food processor.  Start blender on low speed.   Chop the ingredients a little then while blender is on add in the olive oil and additional 2 tablespoons of stock.  You may need to add an additional tablespoon of stock to get it to the texture you want.  It will add a few (literally 5-7) extra calories to the counts listed at the end.

Continue to chop/blend until it is the texture you prefer.  You will need to pause and scrape down sides several times while blending.  If you know me from my other blog posts then you know I generally prefer a more chunky texture for foods (I like to chew lol!!) versus a smooth texture so I am making a chunky pesto as shown below 😉

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Add salt and pepper to taste once it is blended to your liking.  I added 10 grinds of salt and 7 of pepper if you want an idea of what I used.  This stores well for a couple days max in a sealed container in the fridge.

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i am adding mine to some organic black bean pasta (one of my top pasta picks-read my blog post on my pasta picks here: http://www.sarahbrockner.com/blog/2014/05/21/my-pasta-picks-because-sometimes-zucchini-noodles-just-wont-cut-it-lol/

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Makes 2 servings

Per serving:

148 calories

14 grams fat

2 grams carbs

1 gram fiber

4 grams protein

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May 04

YOU Choose What YOU Allow & Accept :-)

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Motivation & Inspiration

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Apr 29

Breakfast Pizza MEATZA (a low carb, low calorie, gluten free, grain free twist on breakfast pizza!)

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Recipes

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I love breakfast foods!  Breakfast pizza is a super yummy treat but eating it too much isn’t going to do anything nice for your waistline or your health for that matter lol!  It is basically a pizza crust loaded with breakfast toppings if you have never heard of it before.  So I used the traditional ingredients: eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon, and veggies as my inspiration but I swapped out the high carb, white flour laden crust for a lean sausage crust.  That is why it is called a MEATZA because it is breakfast PIZZA with a MEAT crust 🙂 Everything else you would find in a breakfast pizza is still in there including the delicious taste!! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  It will fill you up but not out because it is packed with lots of lean protein-yay!!!

 

ingredients:

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5 ounces (half a roll) of lean turkey sausage (I used Jennie-O lean breakfast sausage

3 strips bacon (I used precooked so cook it first if you do not use precooked)

1 cup chopped mushrooms (can substitute in peppers, onions, tomatoes, zuccini, asparagus-whatever you like but mushrooms are a pretty classic breakfast pizza topping!)

1 cup of 2% shredded cheese (any variety you prefer-I used mozzarella)

12 tablespoons liquid egg whites

17 slices of turkey pepperoni (or half of package if you use the exact brand I used)

Salt, pepper, & minced garlic (optional but yummy!!)

 

Preheat at oven to 400.

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Cook mushrooms (or your veggies of choice) in a pan using nonstick spray plus as much garlic as you want, pepper, & a tiny amount of salt (trust me everything else you’re adding has salt so go very light on veggies or leave it out altogether and salt it after tasting final product).

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In a square or round baking dish or pie pan press the uncooked sausage evenly across the bottom of pan and up the sides a little.

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Evenly add mushrooms next.

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Then cooked bacon (cut or crumbled up), pepperoni, egg whites, then finish with the cheese.

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Bake for 32-35 minutes or until top is browned and sausage is cooked.  Let cool several minute then enjoy!  Feel free to make this the night before because this reheats really well in microwave and it also doubles easily for a rectangular dish or pan if you need more servings.  This is also a really nice lazy weekend breakfast or brunch recipe but it’s certainly easy enough for weekdays too! 😉

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Makes 2 generous servings! (Look at the layers of deliciousness!!)

Per serving:

388 calories

19 grams fat

5 grams carbs

0 grams fiber

50 grams protein!!

 

 

 

 

 

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Apr 20

Why I bought this shirt & are YOU living the life you want?

Categories:

Motivation & Inspiration, Things I Love, Tips & Tricks

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When I first saw this shirt I almost didn’t buy it BC even though I love the skull on it the message is a tad bit douchey haha! I got to thinking though that the only people who would really be annoyed or pissed off at this shirt would be the people who are unhappy in their lives. So ultimately I bought this shirt (obviously lol!) & I decided to turn it into a little motivation & inspiration for anyone that needs it today :-).

My own life feels like a permanent vacation. The reason why is not because I had everything handed to me & have skated through life despite what it may appear to those who don’t know me.  If you have ever heard the saying “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life” then that is the reason why I love my life so much!  I decided a long time ago to follow my passion and start doing things I love no matter what other people think.  I changed my mindset.  I stopped acting like I was the victim and that I had no control over anything.  I stopped putting up with people treating me like crap, hating my job, & belittling my own appearance.  I started figuring out what truly made me happy, found positive & motivated people to draw my own inspiration from, & started to build myself up by becoming more educated, stronger physically, & I also stopped talking down to myself (which serves absolutely no purpose ever btw!).

What happened is that I started to accomplish everything I wanted to (not overnight) slowly & steadily.  I had failures too but I kept moving forward and following my bliss.  I didn’t let things get me down for too long and the more you do it the easier it becomes to brush things off and keep moving on up.  I am still everyday progressing on my own path.  I have so many things I still want to do and I WILL accomplish them 😉 & you deserve to too!!!

So if this shirt pisses you off then maybe you need a change.  If you are in a bad relationship, hate your body, hate your job, hate where you live, etc then you need to figure out who is really in control of your destiny.  Stop hating your life & stop playing the victim!!  Go back to school or learn a skill, start working out, feeding yourself nourishing foods versus crap, stand up to people who are belittling you, holding you back, beating you up-start loving yourself please!!  One day at a time, one change at a time you can start making your life feel like something you don’t need to escape from.  Live a life you don’t need a vacation from.  You truly are the only one that can create a new one for yourself. There are are plenty of motivating people, books, or movies that you can drawn strength and guidance from to help you change your life.  If you need medical help then seek it.  Life is way too short to live it being unhappy!!  Start paving your own path to a permanent vacation type life. I wish you all much love & luck on your own journey friends :-). I hope this gives some of you the boost you need today!! xoxox

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Apr 16

Italian Style Kale Chips (low calorie, low carb, gluten free, vegetarian, easy, & quick)

Categories:

Fast & Fit: Ready in a Flash, Recipes

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My friend Jessica told me she recently made kale chips for the first time & since maybe some other people have never tried making them I thought I would share my favorite way to make them.  If you haven’t tried or seen them before kale chips are just fresh kale baked until it’s crunchy to have a texture similar to a chip.  It is super easy (& cheaper) to make them yourself and the recipe can be adjusted in a ton of different ways.  It is a yummy, healthy, vitamin packed & vegetable based snack to munch on instead of crackers, chips, etc plus my version has a nice amount of protein :-). I like to add an Italian flair by using olive oil, balsamic, & parmesan.  Read on for how I make mine then feel free to adjust and play around with this recipe to make your own variations of them too!

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Ingredients:

*a 5 ounce container of kale (I used baby kale which is why mine are a little more shriveled looking at the end plus I am not super careful about flipping each one over separately lol!  You can use whatever kind of kale you want to though.)

*1 teaspoon Mrs. dash onion and herb seasoning

*1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

*1 tablespoon white balsamic (Regular balsamic is amazing too so use that if that’s what you have.  Also you can add more vinegar and I usually do actually but it will increase the baking time (10-15 additional minutes beyond what I list) because it will make the kale wetter initially.  If you like vinegar & have some extra time then I highly suggest adding an extra tablespoon or so of vinegar!)

*2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

*salt & pepper to taste (not pictured)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread out kale on baking sheet.  I like to line with foil for easy cleanup.  Lightly spray pan or foil with nonstick spray first to prevent sticking.

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Add all the rest of ingredients directly to baking sheet and mix into kale using your fingers.  It may seem overcrowded but the kale is going to shrink wayyyyy down in oven 😉  Lightly add salt and pepper before popping into oven.  It doesn’t need much salt at all!!  Trust me it is better to add too little than too much because the flavors are going to concentrate a lot in the oven.

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Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring every several times during baking.  They may seem soggy but will dry out completely once they are done.  Spread them out as evenly as possible each time your stir.  FYI the seasonings and cheese may get pretty dark brown.  Once they are nice and crunchy remove from oven.  Let cool a few minutes then enjoy!!

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Makes one serving

Per serving:

158 calories

10 grams fat

11 carbs

2 grams fiber

6 grams protein

 

 

 

 

 

 

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