7 More Easy Tips to Lose Weight

A couple weeks back, I shared in my 135lb. weight loss. Today, I'm sharing seven more tips that have helped me lose 135lbs. Each one has been SO important in my journey. I didn't implement them all at once, I've slowly worked up to where I am now. There are still many more tips and tricks I use, the first list and this one are just the biggest ones that have made the most difference for me.

I can't stress enough how losing the weight has been about a total lifestyle change. That has been hard. Habits are not easy to break. How we look at food is also difficult to change.
I'm not aiming to be super skinny. Quite honestly, I don't have the build for it. I'm aiming to be what my doctor and I agreed is a healthy weight, that hopefully will also diminish, if not totally get rid of, a number of health issues. As I get closer to my goal weight (35lbs. to go now), losing becomes harder and harder. My body doesn't want to give up the fat. It wants to hang onto those extra inches I want so badly to be done with forever. I want to be healthy! In this battle, these tips become even more important to help me keep battling it out.

There is one tip that really needs to be called out specially: Exercise is huge. It's helped me to get into better shape and be healthier. Between the weight loss and exercise, I now actually enjoy moving. Getting all sweaty doesn't bother me. It's not sweat from being so fat I can't actually do what I want so am struggling, it's sweat from being able to move and enjoy what my body can do. I've found simple exercises that I can do at home, without a gym. We got a combination exercise bike and elliptical a few months back (compact and nothing fancy) that is my go-to along with walks when the weather is nice. I am for 30 minutes, 5  days a week, but usually average about 4.5 hours or so total. The days I'm hungry, exercising also buys me those extra calories to stay in my goal range.

Are you on a weight loss journey? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section!

7 More Easy Tips I've used to lose 135lbs.

1. Meal plan
I plan out what I'm going to eat for the day to make sure I stick with my calorie goals. If I end up eating extra because I'm hungry earlier in the day, I adjust as I go. On days I'm REALLY hungry, I try my best to get in extra exercise to offset the calorie damage. I never let myself go hungry, though. Going hungry leads to bad choices and binge eating.

2. Avoid fads, quick fixes and anything not sustainable long term
Except for a B12 and multivitamin, I don't take any supplements. I use no shakes, wraps or products of any kind. No paid trainers or exercise programs, either. If it costs money, I don't do it. First off, I can't afford it. Secondly, and most importantly, I want my weight loss to be healthy and sustainable. I'm in it for the long haul. If I end up reliant on something, once I don't use it anymore, the weight will come right back. Fads, gimmicks and quick fixes aren't healthy, either. Our bodies need balanced, nutritional foods without cutting out total food groups.

I've lost all my weight without any of these, which just goes to show it's all really not needed. It's totally possible to lose large amounts on your own, provided you don't have health issues complicating matters. I've got a bum thyroid, once I started taking meds to help it, losing weight wasn't quite as hard. My thyroid still has the possibility to throw a wrench into my weight when I eventually have to get it removed. Even after, should I need to lose weight again, I plan to do it the same way.

3. Stick with it
Weight loss is a roller coaster of ups and downs. Sometimes no matter what I do, the weight doesn't want to come off. I stick with it anyway, knowing that going back to how I was before won't accomplish anything. Neither will giving up and accepting the weight I'm at, which isn't my goal. There are days and even weeks where I slip up and don't eat as well or excise as much as I should. Vacations and holidays do me in. I plan for that and start right back up again. Even during those times, I try to keep myself in check and not fall totally back into my old habits. That's not who I am now, this is a lifestyle change. I am determined to stick with the changes I made, even when those stumbles try to get me down.

4. Drink plenty of water
I'll admit it, sometimes I don't drink as much water as I should. When this happens, the scale doesn't like me. It is so true that the more you drink, the less you retain. Being well hydrated helps so much with weight loss. Dehydration makes me hungrier, less likely to make good choices and leaves me bloated. A whole lot of yuck I don't want. Sometimes, I pitch in a lemon or lime slice. When I get sick of water, I drink tea without sugar or milk.

5. Eliminate empty calories as much as possible
Juice, soda, hard candy, junk food, condiments and the like add up to a ton of extra, empty calories. I eliminate them as much as I can. Every day, I do allow for a little treat in my calorie count and meal planning for the day. But I try to stick to nutritional, filling foods and 0-calorie drinks that won't tip the calorie count while still leaving me with a grumbling stomach.

6. Brush your teeth
After dinner, I floss and brush my teeth then finish with mouth wash. After I go to all that trouble, plus with the minty taste in my mouth, I don't want to eat any more. Even when I'm tempted, the taste in my mouth reminds me I'm done eating for the day. At night when I'm tired, drained and done, I'm most likely to give in to cravings. Even when I'm not even actually hungry, just craving. Brushing has saved me from SO many slips ups. Plus, it helps me keep up good oral hygiene so yay!

7. Skip the fast food, limit eating out and make healthier choices when you do
We all know fast food isn't good for us. Even small servings hold a ton of calories. Those salads they sell aren't all they're cracked up to be, either. I skip fast food. At this point, it pretty much all grosses me out. When I think of fast food, my next thought is YUCK. When I do indulge a couple times a year, I get the smallest portion (and then remember why fast food grosses me out). We limit eating out, too. Not only does it save tons of calories, it saves us a ton of money as well. Restaurant food is packed with calories, fat and sodium. Every time I eat out, the next day I gain 2-6 pounds. My body is just that sensitive to salt. I bloat easily and like crazy. On the rare occasions I do eat out, I choose healthier options, stay mindful of calories and take at least half home. Planning for the splurge by balancing out the rest of the calories for the few days before and after also helps keep the scale from hating on me too much.

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Here are some of the tools I've used to help with my weight loss (affiliate links):

 

Vegetarian Goulash

Summer offers so many yummy, fresh veggies that are begging to be put into delicious recipes. In my efforts to eat healthy, while being frugal, I threw together a vegetarian goulash.  It could also be called a summer vegetarian stew, if you prefer. The recipe is crazy simple to make and tastes like summer in a bowl. Pure yummy for the tummy -- and nice for your waistline since it's low cal and low sodium! Green and yellow summer squash, peppers and onion make for a colorful, vitamin-rich dish. What makes this dish different from traditional goulashes is the use of  pinto beans as the protein of the meal, instead of meat. Whole-wheat macaroni noodles add the whole grains and round out the meal.

I cook with different beans often since they're so much cheaper than meats and pack a nutritional punch in each tiny bean. I stock up on the big bags of beans when they're a good price, since the canned ones tend to have more sodium and don't taste quite as good to me. Cooking the bagged beans may seem intimidating, but when you get down to it, all that's involved is some soaking and boiling. Pinto beans don't even need to be soaked, throw them in a pot and boil away until they're soft. Mixed with the other ingredients, the vegetarian goulash yields 8 generous, low-cal servings for under $1 a serving.

If you want to lower the calories even more, skip the macaroni. It's still as tasty without them and is how I ate mine. The noddles are more for the benefit of M2, B and A, since the kids love their pasta and A isn't watching calories as closely as I am.

Finish off the meal with a nice slice of my signature amazing lemon cake. Another great summer recipe filled with veggies (that's perfect in a slow cooker) is summer Mexican chicken soup.

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I make sure to keep a stock pot on hand for recipes like this. The goulash could also be made in a slow cooker if you'd like. The slow cooker below is the one I use and LOVE. It has plenty of settings to adjust temperature and cook time, is digital and has a warm setting it clicks over too once it's done. (Affiliate links)

Vegetarian Goulash

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours with dry beans, 1 hour

Keywords: boil slow-cooker entree low-sodium low calorie vegetarian vegan noodles peppers squash pinto beans American spring summer

6079045

Ingredients (8 servings)

• 1 lb. dry pinto beans or 2 cans of pinto beans
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 2 large green peppers, diced
• 3 green summer squashes, peeled and sliced
• 3 yellow summer squashes, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 bag of frozen diced onions or 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• Chopped fresh chives, to taste
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 16 oz package of whole-wheat macaroni noodles
• Salt to taste (I use no-sodium salt)

Instructions

Boil pinto beans until firm but not soft, about 2 hours

Add in all other ingredients

Boil until veggies are soft, about 1 hour

Prepare noodles

Drain any excess liquid from goulash

Serve over the noodles

Can also be made using a slow cooker

How to Keep Hard Floors Sparkling Clean

With two small kids in the house, my floors are always getting covered in dirt, food and grime. Baby B has a bad habit of throwing all his food, while M2 drops whatever she doesn't like on the floor. I swear, I'm having to sweep and mop it at least five times a day, after every meal and snack. If I don't, the gunk gets tracked all over the house, our feet get dirty and the ants move in. Eww, eww and EWW.

I don't have the time to spend doing a long, involved cleaning every time. Mama has other stuff to do! I need a quick, easy way that gets the floor clean without taking me forever (since while I'm doing that, the kids are off on a mission to create the next mess). To help me with all this miss, the kind O-Cedar folks sent me their easy wring spin mop and bucket system and sponsored this post so I could give you my opinion of it.


The mop system comes with everything you need, rather than having to buy a bunch of different products. It's easy to purchase on Amazon (affiliate link) so you can have it shipped right to your door without ever leaving the house. O-Cedar has been making products since 1906, over 100 years, so they've got a good handle on what is needed to get a home clean.

The telescoping handle is one of my favorite features, since it lets me easily reach under the table, chairs, cabinets and into corners. Other mops I've used I can't do that, it simply doesn't reach far enough. I end up stuck having to move everything around, taking up even more time to clean up the floor. The O-Cedar easy wring mop also has a pointed head so all the grime in the corners can be cleaned up without difficulty. Another win for mom!

The microfiber mop is absorbent and good enough at cleaning that I don't have to constantly be rinsing and wringing. When I do, I find it easy to put the mop in the bucket, step on the pedal and rinse it off/wring it out, then keep going with my cleaning. Many mop systems don't allow me to do all that without a major hassle. Some, you can't even rinse off, the cleaning part has to be thrown out and another put on. I noticed that if the mop is still too wet after spinning, dumping out some water from the bucket solves the problem. Too much water = a too-wet mop. The splash guard keeps the water in the bucket.

Speaking of throwing out mop heads, the O-Cedar mop has a machine washable mop head. I can pull it off, throw it in the wash, and be ready to go again when it's done. Additional mop heads can be bought (I haven't gotten one yet) so that mopping can still be done while the first is being washed. It would be nice if the system came with a few to start with. Without multiples, I have to wait in between cleanings to mop, plus wash it every day, which isn't convenient at all. I end up using it as long as possible, then fill in with another mop while it's being washed during my weekly washing. The mop head does work well, getting up all the yucky stuff from the floors without damaging them.

You can check out more about the mop on Facebook, Twitter and Amazon.

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This post is sponsored by O-Cedar and contains affiliate links.

7 Easy Tips to Lose Weight

I'm now 133 lbs. down on my weight loss journey. It hasn't been easy, believe me! Every single pound has been a struggle to lose. I'm so excited that I'm FINALLY under 200 lbs. for the first time since I was a sophomore in high school. For me, weight loss has been about having a total mindset and lifestyle change. I've used a number of little tricks to help me stay on track and to build up to that total lifestyle change. None of them are hard. Actually, they're all easy.

I didn't make a lifestyle and mindset change all at once. That's pretty much impossible. Over the past 19 months as I've lost, I've made small changes. Once those stuck, I made more small changes, building on it until the change I needed to happen, did. I've had to be dedicated to weight loss and really WANTED to. I've tried before, lost a bit, then gained it all back. I've never gotten to where I am now because I wasn't dedicated to that lifestyle change and actually losing and keeping all the weight off. Now, I am. I work hard at it every day, fighting to make that number on the scale go down. Fighting to finally reach my goal weight -- 37 lbs. to go now!

I've always been an emotional eater so I've had to realize when I do that and stop it. I can't eat anything and everything or not worry about portions either. A quick diet, dropping food groups, taking supplements or any other fads wouldn't have been sustainable for me. If it's not sustainable, there's no way to keep up with it and keep the weight off. It has to be a lifestyle change or or so as the "diet" ends, the old habits come back. Along with all the weight. That's why I rely on all these tips to help me get to, and eventually stay, at the weight I want to be.

Stop by next week for 7 more tips!

1. Eliminate temptations
My weakness is junk food. Chips, chocolate, ice cream, cake -- all the high-calorie, high-fat stuff that is far from healthy. If it's in the house, I have no willpower. It'll disappear in no time at all. So, I keep it out of the house for the most part. What little I do have, I keep in a difficult-to-reach spot so I have to REALLY want it to get it. By the time I get to it, I've usually come to my senses and only have one piece. Ice cream I can't do that with easily, so I get single serving treats to limit how much I'm eating. Otherwise, I sneak spoonfuls of it, thinking one spoon doesn't matter. The problem is, all those spoonfuls add up.

2. Keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand
With the foods that tempt me out of the way, I'm still liable to eat foods that are higher in calorie or not as healthy if I don't have a quick snack to grab. Top on my list of quick, easy (and cheap) foods to have around are fresh fruits and veggies. I keep a jar of cut carrot sticks in the fridge so it's the first thing I see when I open the door. There's also always cut cucumber and apples ready for a fast snack. I restock and chop more every week. I pad my dinner plate with fruits and veggies, too, making them the largest portion on my plate. My favorite lately is baking up apple halves with a dash of cinnamon on them. So good!

3. Measure and weigh all food
If I don't know how much I'm eating, I can't figure out the proper serving size or keep track accurately of everything I eat. I've got a food scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons that I use to measure anything I can't count out. Measuring/weighing all my food has helped me realize how big a portion size really is. Before, I'd fill a whole plate with food. Now, I've got a small portion (that's actually a REAL portion) of foods on my plate at meals and for snacks. My stomach has shrunk, too. Those portions usually fill me up. Usually if I eyeball and don't measure because I'm starving (and too lazy) I end up stuffed before I can overeat. Plus, I've done the measuring for so long that my eyeballing is pretty accurate. I still weigh and measure, though! I don't want to fall back into the habit of over eating or under estimating what I'm eating. That leads to extra weight.

4. Track calories
The partner of measuring and weighing all my food is tracking all the calories. Everything, even a tiny taste, gets tracked. I'm a big fan of the My Fitness Pal app, since I can easily input everything into my phone as soon as I eat it and see how much I have left for the day. Without tracking calories, I'd really have no idea how much I'm eating. I wouldn't have been able to change my mindset of how much I should eat every day. As many studies have said, people tend to underestimate what they eat. Underestimation leads to over eating. Tracking all my food allows me to stay on top of my food intake so that doesn't happen without my knowing.

5. Rather than eliminating foods, aim for moderation and portion control
There was a time where I'd eat a slice of cake almost every day. After work, I'd stop at the grocery store I passed, pick up a single slice and have eaten it within a half hour of getting home (sometimes even before leaving the store parking lot). I still eat cake. There seriously isn't one food that I've totally eliminated from my diet. Like I said, it's a lifestyle change and has to be sustainable. Instead, I eat in moderation and put my tips of measuring food and tracking calories to good use. Never eating grains/meat/junk/treats/whatever wouldn't be sustainable for the rest of my life. I still eat that cake I love, just not every day (or even once a month). Seriously, how could I pass up my amazing lemon cake when I make it?! When I have PMS, you bet I eat chocolate! Instead of the whole bag, though, it's a couple pieces that I've budgeted into my daily calorie goal.

6. Aim for balance

This goes along with moderation and not eliminating foods. I go for balance -- mostly healthy, with a bit of wiggle room for treats. I'll eat a tiny bit of something not-so-healthy almost daily, then I make sure everything else I'm putting in my mouth is wholesome. Without that little cheat, I start having cravings and end up binging, stuffing myself with candy, ice cream, anything I can get my hands on -- the opposite of balance, moderation and portion control. It might be half an ice cream sandwich, two pieces of chocolate or a couple gummy bears, but it's enough to keep me on track. This may not work for everyone, some people binge of they do have that little splurge. Do what works for you. It'll take trial and error, but you'll figure it out.

7. Go light and vegetarian for at least 7 meals a week
For at least 7 lunches and dinners a week, I reach for fruits and veggies. Sometimes, I'll add quinoa, beans or couscous for added protein. I keep it light and healthy, avoiding starches, carbs and meats. Even though I eat a huge plateful, I end up staying within my calories because the veggies and fruits I chose are low calorie and super filling. Another plus -- it's cheaper, so I'm saving money. I don't added sauces, butter or anything to the fruits/veggies. The most I do is sprinkle on some salt-free seasoning. I grab bags of mixed veggies at the store for quick lunches. At dinner, I like to get fresh veggies, chop them up then roast them in the oven. Usually, I make something else for the kids and A to eat as they're not as big of fans of these meals. If I make something high-calorie for them, I'll often turn to my veggie dinners. A and I do have salads once a week for dinner. For those, I add a serving of cheese, a fat-free dressing and sometimes throw on some tasty chick peas.

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Here are some of the tools I've used to help with my weight loss (affiliate links):

 

Perfect Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

Best-Ever Rice Krispie Treats are an easy, quick treat that's perfect for picnics, to make a typical day special and as a dessert for any of the summer holidays. These aren't your usual treats -- they are extra gooey with the perfect amount of marshmallow. Plus, I add two secret ingredients that are so simple, yet make them the best you've ever tasted. One of the secret ingredients adds the fun color, which you can change up depending on the holiday or what color the kids pick that day.

Rice Krispie Treats always remind me of being a kid. As a mom, it's an easy special snack I can throw together in a few minutes that also doesn't cost very much. Best of all, what kid turns these down? Even my kids don't!

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(affiliate links)

Perfect Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: None

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: boil dessert low-sodium nut-free vegetarian butter vanilla Christmas Easter Halloween Hanukkah July 4th birthday American fall spring summer winter

6078750

Ingredients (9x13 pan)

• 5 Tbsp butter, salted
• 7 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup any color sugar sprinkles (more for deeper color)

Instructions

Melt butter over low heat, then slowly add marshmallows until they are completely melted

Pour in crispy rice cereal, vanilla and sprinkles, stirring until it's combined with the marshmallow mix

Press mixture into a 9x13 pan

Let cool then cut into squares

Lady Lullaby and The Road to Dreamland

Music is important at our house, especially at bedtime. We have a routine that involves singing different songs to the kids, their own special song and then different songs each night. Whenever I have the chance to share new music with them, especially of different styles, I like to. The latest music I'm sharing with M2 and B is The Road to Dreamland.

The collection of lullabies brings together calming, soothing music of different styles. Hit the Road to Dreamland is a great jazz medley that gets the kids swaying along. The Sleep That Flits is more folksy, while Dance Like the Wind is more classic. Some songs are ones I recognize and love, like Over the Rainbow (with a twist) and Say Goodnight, Not Goodbye (one of my personal favorites). Even though I’m not a baby or young child and am loving The Road to Dreamland. It is good music for mediation or taking a few minutes to collect my thoughts and calm down during the day. So much music gets me and the kids wired when we need something peaceful to listen to that also keeps us interested. Lady Lullaby’s songs are fantastic for this. It’s music for any age, truly.

 Jane Roman Pitt, known as Lady Lullaby, sings each song with a beautiful, lilting voice that reminds me of classic singers from times long ago. You don’t hear awesome voices like that much anymore! Her music education started with listening to her parents’ classical chamber music, then later listening to folk, pop and jazz. All influences that come through in The Road to Dreamland. She started singing lullabies to prepare for her first grandchild – how sweet is that? While Jane can’t be all our grandmas, we’re all lucky enough to be able to listen to her beautiful lullabies.

 You can learn more about Lady Lullaby and her music on Facebook, Twitter, G+ and her site (where you can also listen to clips of and purchase The Road to Dreamland).

DIY Landscaping: Front Yard Redesign Begins

When we started our DIY landscaping project, top on the list of landscaping redesign is the two front, large gardens. Nasty Bermuda grass has been growing in one. Nothing A has tried got rid of it. Plus, we hate having to pull weeds all the time. That led us to the brilliant idea of rocking in both of the beds and it spawned the whole DIY landscaping redo. Once we had the rock idea, we scouted out different types together to decide which type. Neither of us are fans of the river rock and the small pebble styles wouldn't work out well. I love the look of marble rock in gardens, so that's what we settled on. We tackled one side at a time, cleaning out first then continuing on to plants. Black weed-preventing paper went down under the rocks to try to discourage the weeds.

Two big Alberta spruces, one on each side, got really brown last year. I decided to rip one out and leave the other since the brown on that one was more hidden and didn't look as bad. The bad one you could see brown on as soon as you looked out the door. A big, brown, dead-looking plant right in front of you blocking out the view. Not something I enjoyed looking at all the time! Another large, green plant that previous owners put in I love, so it gets to stay.

Before the landscaping started

Previous owners seem to have had a love affair with spirea -- that's all that is in the beds with the other three plants. Five big, overgrown, messy spirea. I'm not a fan of spirea. At all. It looks too wild, boring, weedy and dull. Once the flowers die off, it's even more blah to me. A got the honor of ripping those out. I did decide to leave two that are the rare type of spirea with multi-colored leaves, making for pretty foliage. That, and they're two big plants in the midst of the Bermuda grass. We aren't sure that planting something new would go to well, the grass may kill it off. Since A has trimmed them up nicely, they actually don't look bad at all.

Landscaping in progress

The edge of the beds on one side, by the walkway, have creeping phlox growing. Those get to stay, too. I even planted a few more to fill out one side and to have the other match. I'm a fan of phlox since the flowers in spring are so pretty then the rest of the year, until winter, there's a lush, textured green. I added a cute stone owl for interest by the phlox.

To replace the spirea that we tore out on the grass side, I'm going with a container garden. The pots add interest and look neat sitting on the rocks. Hostas and dianthus fill those pots. Right now, the dianthus looks like it may not make it. If it dies, I've got plans to put in some flowering evergreens instead.

While in the process of getting both beds cleaned up, the Alberta spruce I had wanted to keep died, becoming a big, tall mass of brown with a green bits mixed in. The day I realized it was a goner, I sent A a message letting him know he had a "fun" project awaiting him for the weekend. That side already has rocks and is almost done. I am not happy that there's more work to do there now.

On the upside, after A ripped out the huge bush, the porch is much more open, airy and light. I love it! So much in fact that I'm not going to put in another tall plant like I'd originally thought (and been scouting out plants for). Right now, a big hole is sitting there. Once I get new plants in there, we'll add more rocks and finish it all up.

The non-grass-filled side is all cleaned up and everything growing removed. The spirea on that side was plain ugly and had to go. I almost gave them a pass once A trimmed them and they started to blossom, but quickly came to my senses. I am always drawn to barberry when I'm at nurseries, especially the deep, red Japanese Concord variety, so I knew I wanted to incorporate those. I've wandered local nurseries a few times, along with big-box-store nurseries in search of plants that I love. I don't want to plant anything that I don't feel drawn to and really enjoy. Looking at everything growing brings me happiness and helps me deal with stress, so if it's not something I'm excited about, I don't want to add it into my plans. There are so many options for gardens. I can't tell you how many times I've changed my mind until I finally settled on the plants that felt "right" for the spaces.

Rainbow ascot

With the barberry selected, I had to find something that would be taller so it wouldn't get lost in the back of the garden, would add contrast and color, but not look bad along side the barberry and the big, traditional holly growing next to the bed that is staying (it's too large and too pretty to rip out). We'd had the tall Alberta spruce in the spot, along with an empty space that always annoyed me. I don't want another tall plant there, though, as it closes in the porch, makes it too dark and blocks the beautiful view of the garden from the porch.

False holly

A neat nursery down the road from us carries false holly. I have never seen it before. It is beautiful mix of green, yellow and orange, and works perfectly with the barberry. In it goes! At a gardening festival a few weeks back, I found two neat little evergreen plants that will grow into small shrubs over the years. Called rainbow ascot, these guys smell like English boxwood, have pretty foliage and nice-shaped leaves. Another tall, flowering evergreen plant is set to go in, along with a third false holly that I need to buy. Originally, I was going to only have two false holly and three barberry, but it didn't look right. Neither did only having two barberry, so the rainbow ascot got added. It had been intended for a back garden originally. Ditto the tall, flowering evergreen plant that I can't recall the name of right now. As soon as everything is purchased and planted, we'll be rocking in that bed and it'll finally be done.

More to come on this project as it continues! For regular updates (and plenty of pics), follow me over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Summer Mexican Chicken Soup

Light, summery soups are a staple of my summer menu. Combining broth, herbs, chicken and fresh veggies creates a delightful dish that is isn't too heavy for the hot days. My current favorite is Mexican chicken soup. I throw everything together in the slow cooker in about 20 minutes (depending how fast I chop and peel the veggies), then let is simmer in there all day. It keeps the house cooler since I don't have to get the oven or stove heated up. I stay cooler, too, since I'm not standing over that stove roasting myself. Any leftovers I send with A for his lunches or freeze for even quicker meals.

This light, fresh soup has green and yellow squash, cilantro, chicken, green beans, potatoes and carrots. The cilantro is what really brings out that Mexican-inspired flavor. It's not a heavily flavored soup, the cilantro and veggies are really the star.

If you're looking for an awesome slow cooker, I totally recommend the CrockPot 6-quart programmable cook and carry. I love mine. It is big enough to fit a big batch of soup, chili, a large piece of meat or a whole chicken. Even if you don't plan on travelling with it (I don't) it's a great gadget to have in the kitchen. I've found it cooks things quickly and evenly. The controls are all programmable, you can select high or low heat and for what time, then it'll switch over to warm once it's done. It's easy to clean, too. I went through so many options when searching for a new slow cooker and am thrilled I got this one. The price is great, too. Many others cost much, much more for the same or similar features. My last CrockPot slow cooker is still working great, the only problem was it's too small now that I have more people to cook for. It was a pre-kid purchase. I look forward to using this new one for many years, too. You can check it out via the affiliate link below.


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Summer Mexican Chicken Soup

by The Stay-at-Home Life

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours on high

Keywords: slow-cooker entree soup/stew low calorie low-carb low-sodium chicken squash cilantro American Mexican fall spring summer winter

Ingredients (8 generous servings)

• 8 cups chicken broth, unsalted
• 2 green squash
• 1 yellow squash
• 4 medium potatoes
• 8 large carrots
• 4 large chicken breasts
• 1 bag green beans (I prefer Italian cut)
• 8 sprigs of cilantro or to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and cut carrots and squash

Cut potatoes

Pull leaves off cilantro sprigs and chop into small pieces

Add all ingredients to slow cooker

Cook on low for 5 hours

Tear apart chicken and cook for 1 hour longer