Control and a Slow Cooker 2 minute recipe

Control. By definition means "To exercise authoritative or dominating influence over; direct."
A lot has gone on in my life over the last few years that I felt I had absolutely no control over. I am not sure exactly who my loyal readers are but if you are not a close friend of mine you may not know that I am divorced. My divorce has been official for a little over a year now. But I have been a single mother to 3 amazing, wonderful, smart, energetic, beautiful children for well over 2 years. I have learned so much about myself in the last few years. One very important thing I have learned that I'd like to pass on to you....whoever you are....the sun, the sky or someone reading this post is this; Most things are not under your control. However, there are 3 things that you can always control. They are:
1. What you THINK.
2. What you PUT INTO YOUR BODY.
3. How you MOVE.
Tonight I had a very tasty and super duper healthy dinner with my 3 lovely children and my absolutely amazing friend who also happens to be my next door neighbor. She said something that really hit home to me. "Alaina, you are doing a really great job with your children. They are happy, energetic and very healthy. What do you feed them?!" That comment truly touched me. Raising my children is what I have always wanted to do. I was raised by a full time Mom (Thank you MOM!!!) and I have always known that I wanted to be a full time Mom too. Notice I didn't write Stay at Home Mom. Whoever thought about that absolutely ridiculous title most definitely was NOT a full time Mom! Full time Moms do not stay home. We have chosen to raise our children and postpone our careers. We have chosen to go without so that our children have us close (that being said I respect the hell out of working Moms! My hat goes off to your ladies!). But that healthy children comment made me think about control and all of the control that we really do have over our children as far as food goes. The first few years of our children's lives WE, the parents, are in control of what we put in front of our kids. Watching my kids slurp up my version of Mexican Shredded Chicken Soup made me feel like a super star. I have been called an Old Soul. I definitely agree with that statement especially when it comes to feeding people. It makes my heart grow when I see healthy, nourishing things going into my children. Don't get me wrong....my kids get their junk food! They do not go without. But they definitely get homemade cookies instead of Chips Ahoy...mostly that's because I love to bake.
So the moral of this rather long and definitely deep post is to take control over the things that YOU can actually control. Make healthy foods that will help your children grow! My only issue is that I just want to keep on chowing down on those good foods....but that's another post for another time. Each day is a new way to make a memory, make someone smile and laugh with your children. Want my recipe for my Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken Soup? Ok, since you asked so nicely and even said please here it is:

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken Soup
6 Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts (any fat removed)
2 cans of black beans, un drained
1 1/2 Cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used low sodium organic vegetable broth)
1 bag of Trader Joes peppers and onions (frozen)
1/2 t sea salt
fresh pepper to taste
1/2 t cumin (that's all I had and was worried it wouldn't be enough but I loved it!)
1 Cup of jarred salsa (chose your own heat. For once I wanted to make a hot meal that all 4 of us would enjoy and I actually succeeded....I would like ghost pepper hot but my kids would never touch that so I chose mild Trader Joes roasted pepper salsa)
1/2 t cinnamon (REALLY! This is what gives it a tiny little sweet taste that I KNEW my kids would love)
1  T Avocado oil (just for rubbing that slow cooker)

Directions:
Rub that slow cooker down with some avocado oil. Then just throw in your chicken breasts and all of the other ingredients. Stir. This is a thick, hearty, chunky soup.  Mine was amazingly tender and easy to shred after about 8 hours on low. Then I just took out the chicken breasts, put them on a cutting board and used 2 forks to shred the chicken (this took about 45 seconds). I'm talkin' good, juicy, easily shredded chicken with all of those other goodies and it took all of 2 minutes to prepare. Sweet Laura came by and I gave her some for her lunch tomorrow and threw in half a bag of steamed spinach and a low carb Joseph's pita. Yummy. If I wasn't so incredibly full right now that would sound good for my lunch tomorrow too.

What a cookie!

It's Friday in the fall (well almost officially fall!). I have worked hard all week and you know what.... I think I deserve a special treat. As you know I prefer to make my own treats so I know exactly what goes in them. Today is a perfect day for cookie experimentation and I do believe I mastered it! I will give you a virtual pat on the back and a big shout out when you let me know how yours turn out! 

BBL Chocolate Almond Cookies

1 Cup pure almond butter

1/2 C stevia (I used Pyure brand bankable blend)

1 egg

1 T vanilla

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking powder

2 Trader Joes 70% dark chocolate bars (broken into pieces)

1/2 C unsweetened coconut

Directions:

Mix everything well and try not to eat the dough (there is a raw egg in there but I guess you could substitute pasteurized egg product!). Place on baking sheet in 350* oven. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheet. Enjoy bikini style! They are sooooo  yummy! My warning is that you may want to only consume with another consenting adult!