Coming Clean

Over the last several months, I have been slowly working toward a less toxic home and reducing the chemicals we ingest and use.  I am really early in this process and just thinking about all that I need to change, fix, redo, throwaway, replace...ahhh...its so overwhelming.

Honestly, I have started this process blindly.  I just started making changes without any real knowledge.  And while I am totally ok with just putting one foot in front of the other when it comes to change, I also know that it really does help to know WHY you are doing something.  And more than that I want to know that I am making the right changes.

Its impossible (well, I should say, impossible for me) to live a "perfect" life - to eat squeaky clean, eliminate all the toxins, work out, limit screen time, yada, yada, yada.  And quite frankly I'm not sure I want to live that life - I love craft beer, queso from our local Mexican joint, margaritas (ahh, margaritas are life), getting too much sun, dry shampoo and bleaching my whites.  I'm not sure I am willing to give all those things up, at least not every time and not all at once.  But every day, week, month, year, I want to take steps to being healthier.  So I want to make sure I am focusing on the things that have the most impact and that are easy to implement in the beginning.  I can work on more complex changes as I move along this journey.

So with all that said, I am so excited to announce my new blog series -- Coming Clean!

In this new series I will be looking in to the data, science and research behind chemicals included in our food, cosmetics and cleaning products.  What are the risks associated, what products contain the most of the ingredient, and how can you work to limit or remove it from your life?

As a pharmacist, I have been educated on evaluating resources and research.  This perspective will help me look at the whole body of evidence to make a decision.  My goal is not to tell you what to do in your home, but instead to educate you, while I educate myself.  My plan is to take what I learn and then come to a conclusion about how to handle it for myself.  And I hope by providing you with a little extra knowledge you can decide what you want to do too.

I am really excited to get started with this series.   And I hope you are excited to follow and learn along with me. The first post will be out next week, so be on the look out!

I'd love to hear what you want to learn more about. Comment below or send me a message on Instagram if you have a question!

Creamy Chicken Chili

As a full-time, working mom of 3 we stay BUSY.  During spring and summer, when baseball is in full swing, it is not uncommon for us us to have 1-2 things every night of the week!  Luckily this time of year things slow down, but we still have a night or two a week that have activities. On those nights, I like to try and find something quick to put together for dinner.

It's important to me that even if we sit down at different times or have a lot going on, we still have 'dinner.'  I try to avoid doing too many premade meals or fast things that we just heat in the microwave. Those nights certainly happen, but if I can cook a warm meal I feel much better about it.  It also means I get more control in what goes into it and the types of food my family is eating. 

One of my go to quick meals this time of year is my Creamy Chicken Chili.  This is a quick dump meal for the crock-pot.  You could also easily adapt for the Instant Pot.  I also really like making this for friends and family that need a hot meal post baby or surgery.

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, undrained

1 can Rotel, undrained

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 ounces cream cheese

Instructions:

1.  In crockpot, mix beans, corn, Rotel, onion, garlic and spices.
2.  Nestle chicken breasts in bean and corn mixture

3.  Place cream cheese block on top.

4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

5. Shred chicken breast.

6. Stir cream cheese and shredded chicken into mixture until well combined.

7. Scoop up and serve.

Notes:

• Top however you like--we usually top with a bit of shredded cheese and a few shakes of hot sauce
• You could easily make this dairy free, by substituting a non-dairy cream cheese, such as Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese

Why Am I Doing This?

On occasion I get wild ideas.  Today I had one.  I've had it before, even done it before, but it came again.  "I should start a blog."

Sometime after I had my oldest son I started a blog to chronicle him.  It continued for a while after I had my second son, but then I stopped.  Because, well, I had 2 kids and something had to give.

A couple of years ago, I thought about starting back up to, again, chronicle my now 3 kids.  I got as far as naming the blog.  I didn't even publish a post.

So here we are again.  The idea to start blogging resurrects itself.  But this time it feels a little different.  I've been thinking that I need a place for me, a place to be a little creative and a place to express myself.  I chose the name 'Raising Herr,' because I'm raising 3 little Herrs, but also because most days I still feel like I'm raising myself.  I feel like that makes me sound a bit more damaged than I am, but I think you get the point.  I'm nearly 9 years in to being a mom, but everyday I make mistakes and learn something new.  Every year I vow to be healthier than I was the year before, to be more present with my family, to build more experiences into our life and to do my job just a little bit better.  The slow creep to becoming the me I want to be continues this year.

At this point, I have no idea were this is going to go, or what I'm really going to talk about.  I'm just going to share my life--what we did, what I'm thinking, maybe what we eat, perhaps an outfit or two I love.  But mostly, I'm hoping to chronicle my journey in becoming a better me.