Show Notes:

Where is a good place to start when we are managing our family finances?

Start with a budget!

What if I have a variable income? The money coming into our family is different every month. How do I manage that?

First step is to just start writing down your money in and your money out each week

Take 30 mins on a Sunday (or whichever day is best for you) to go through your receipts.

You need to build historical data. You are creating your own personal cash dashboard

As you go through the months, notice where you are at. You can start to see where the lean times are and the months you may have extra. Make some averages.

Where can you find more from Hilary Nielsen:

Instagram: @MomHandlestheMoney

Money Management Blueprint - A step by step guide made for busy moms wearing all the hats and no time to spare. Go to sleep at night knowing you've covered all your bases and haven't left any precious futures to chance.

Money Management Dashboard - See EXACTLY where your money should go

What you'll get:

Step by step instructions will walk you through the simple template so that you have a personalized dashboard month after month 

Customized graphs to SHOW you how to allocate your money each month between monthly expenses, emergency fund savings, college savings, retirement savings, and more!

Peace of mind that your money has a plan and is being put to work at its highest and best use. 

Other Podcasts about money matters:

Marriage & Money (#94) with Jonathan & Meredith Rotz

5 Money Lessons All Kids Need to Know with Jonathan & Meredith Rotz (Episode #38)

Family Dinner Time: 3 Ways to Save Time & Money Meal Planning (Episode #139) with Hillary Hess

Debt Free Dreaming with Adam & Amanda Walsh (episode #73)

Budgeting for Single Income Families with Jessica at Wise Little Hoots (Episode #46)

Must have!!

12 Budget Friendly Healthy Dinners!!

Show Notes:

A little about our guest leigh Lincoln…

Leigh is an advocate for people experiencing homelessness. As a single mom, she raised and homeschooled her son who is now in his twenties. Leigh herself was adopted. Through the example, and from the love and care she received from her adopted parents, she always knew she wanted to help those less fortunate than she.

“As an adopted child, I had been given the gift of a home. I was literally chosen by someone to be their child. It’s beautiful and special and you know that YOU were PICKED.”

How can we help????

volunteer in soup kitchens

serve or donate to shelters

participate in a street feed (when groups get together and bring food to the camps of those experiencing homelessness

hop on Facebook or another social app to find groups in your community that are helping and get involved there

participate in prevention programs with a community development organization or a church that helps people get jobs or into their own homes

From Leigh’s experience, she has found that going on welfare tends to be a trap, not a help. She has see that neighbors helping each other builds a better sense of accountability and community.

Want to know some other ways you can Light The World this season? check out this resource for 50 ways to serve.

Another resource I really love year round, is JustServe.Org . Find service projects near you by putting in your zip code. There are also remote service options listed.

Another fun way to help!! Giving Machines - Where are they?!!

Melissa McKneely, Area Public Relations and Collin County Director for the Texas Dallas East Communications Council, came on our podcast to tell us about these amazing Giving Machines that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has created.

How do these machines work? They are a service vending machine:

“Give clean water, goats, meals, toys, and more to those in need through a unique giving experience. Your donations go directly to global and local charities to help change lives around the world.”

Find a machine near you!!

Some machines are traveling machines and are only at a location for a short amount of time. Look closely at the dates as well as the location so you don’t miss it!

Where you can find more from Author leigh Lincoln & her books:

Website: leighlincolnauthor.com

Become one of our VIPS!!
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Subscribe (free!) to my newsletter with updates and tips plus get instant access to my resource library with recipes, printables, and family fun! Once subscribed, I will send you a newsletter with details about my new free files and mom hacks each week.

https://www.helpingofhappiness.com/new-page

Make sure you check out our YouTube Channel!! We have just added our podcasts on there. We also have lots of new food and travel videos posted! You can even take a peek at a bunch of the recipe in our Best Ever Babysitter Cookbook. (find it on Amazon!).

Grab our cookbook to learn to be more self reliant and confident in the kitchen!

Helping of Happiness YouTube Channel:

YouTube: @HelpingOfHappiness

Show Notes:

Become one of our VIPS!!
Get VIP Access To Our FREEBIE Library Here!!

Subscribe (free!) to my newsletter with updates and tips plus get instant access to my resource library with recipes, printables, and family fun! Once subscribed, I will send you a newsletter with details about my new free files and mom hacks each week.

https://www.helpingofhappiness.com/new-page

Make sure you check out our YouTube Channel!! We have lots of new food and travel videos posted! You can even take a peek at a bunch of the recipe in our Best Ever Babysitter Cookbook. (find it on Amazon!).

Family History can feel very overwhelming to a lot of people. What are some steps to get started?

Baby Stepping into Family History:

Write up your own personal history

Start with your parents and gradually move back through the generations on your family tree

Work on a life sketch of a close family member. Look to school and census records for dates and other information

“Every single person can do something to be involved with Family History. Not Everybody has to be a researcher.”

Different ways to participate in Family History:

Learn how to research - be a detective in your own family!!

Put videos or pictures together on YouTube or in the Memories section of Family Search for others to enjoy

Put together a book or scrapbook

Type up and digitize family histories that have already been written

Make a cookbook of family recipes

Ask yourself: What are my strengths? What are my talents? What would I like my contributions to be?

Ways into involve Kids in Family History:

Make coloring books out of pictures

Create little books of family stories

Design comic style books of funny family stories - put real pictures and real memories into the back of the book with sources

Have a family reunion nights and act out skits of different family memories

Keep a trunk full of family heirlooms for kids to touch and hold

Celebrate ancestor’s birthdays by telling stories about them or eating their favorite foods

Eat food that your ancestors would have eaten

Great Free Resource for Brand new family historians: Family Search

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation. FamilySearch resources help millions of people around the world discover their heritage and connect with family members

Where you can find Diana & Nicole:

Website: familylocket.com

Podcast: Research Like Pro

Family Locket Books

Family Locket Research Like a Pro Course

Helping of Happiness YouTube Channel:

YouTube: @HelpingOfHappiness

Show Notes:

Become one of our VIPS!!
Get VIP Access To Our FREEBIE Library Here!!

Subscribe (free!) to my newsletter with updates and tips plus get instant access to my resource library with recipes, printables, and family fun! Once subscribed, I will send you a newsletter with details about my new free files and mom hacks each week.

https://www.helpingofhappiness.com/new-page

Make sure you check out our YouTube Channel!! We have lots of new food and travel videos posted! You can even take a peek at a bunch of the recipe in our Best Ever Babysitter Cookbook. (find it on Amazon!).

Brent Beck is a husband and father to 5 children, and grandpa to 19 grandchildren with one more on the way. He was an airline pilot for 33 years. About 20 years ago or so the airlines were having a hard time, had an idea to make a little extra money for retirement. He played a lot of classic games with his brothers growing up. That inspired him to take an old card game, give it an upgrade with some custom designs, and start selling it.

He decided to launch 2 games at once to start: Grandpa Beck’s Golf (which has recently been made over into Gnoming Around) and Cover Your Assets.

Toil & Troublez is the first game that didn’t come from Grandpa Beck’s family. It was a game from Europe that had done really well, that Grandpa Beck got permission to retheme with his artist April Stott. The illustrations are beautiful. Engaging, interesting but not heavy, easy to learn, something you want to play again and again.

Why is playing games as a family so important?

Games teach you to win well and lose well.

Games give us a chance to take time to interact, and get away from technology for awhile

Games are a good way to get to know people, learn more about people, and see them in instense situations

Our favorite grandpa beck game: Skull King

Where you can find Grandpa Beck Games:

Website: grandpabecksgames.com

Facebook - GrandpaBeckGames

Instagram- @GrandpaBeckGames

Show Notes:

Become one of our VIPS!!
Get VIP Access To Our FREEBIE Library Here!!

Subscribe (free!) to my newsletter with updates and tips plus get instant access to my resource library with recipes, printables, and family fun! Once subscribed, I will send you a newsletter with details about my new free files and mom hacks each week.

https://www.helpingofhappiness.com/new-page

5 Important Areas to Focus on When Selling Your Home:

1. Cleanliness!!

This is more important than upgrades. Get your home shining clean. People don’t want to move into other people’s messes.

2. Become a minimalist

Get your closets down to 50-70% capacity. This will make your life so much easier after you are in escrow and have much less to do to get packed up just before you move.

3. Hire the right agent

What you are looking for in an agent: experience, someone you can trust and confide in, ambitious, will be your advocate, has your best interest at heart, knows your market well, has the expertise for your unique situation

If you need more guidance on what questions to ask when interviewing an agent, reach out to Tammy. She is more than happy to help!

4. Listen to the experts

Do the simple little things that make your home sell such as staging, or not hanging onto your favorite color on the walls that may not appeal to a variety of buyers.

Thousands of dollars are left on the table everyday because people let their emotions get in the way.

Nobody wants to move into your home, they want to move into their home.

5. Curb Appeal

When you are selling your home and approach the front door, how do you feel? Is it an appealing color? You want to make it as beautiful as you can with out being stark or shocking. Your focus should be the front door.

Make it memorable with a simple wreath, cobwebs and dirt swept away. Plant fresh flowers, fertilize the lawn.

Emotion is huge. How does it feel?

Moving tips!

Sell everything you can. We tend to get emotionally attached to things and stuff. Many items tend to get damaged in the moving process. Part with as much as you can and get what you like when you get there.

Have your realtor help you get the right contacts for your move as well as your house sale.

What rooms should you focus on most?

These rooms are ranked in priority, number one being the most important:

1. Curb Appeal - you need to get them in the door

2. Kitchen - It’s the heart of the home!

3. Great Room - This is where families are making memories. Make sure it is clean and tidy

4. Master Bedroom & Master bath- make it dreamy and a place you really want to be in

5. Secondary bath

Fun Fall Tradition:

The Night of the Gourd Dinner

During the month of October, Tammy, her family and some of their close friends gather for a dinner to celebrate the harvest. They have a night where all the foods they eat are some type of squash or gourd - something from the harvest. Think pumpkins, butternut squash, etc.

They have enjoyed simple things like pumpkin ice cream all the way to more exotic dishes like butternut curry.

Their family loves this opportunity to gather to remember the bounty the Lord has blessed them with, as well as celebrate the abundance on this earth. This is also an alternative way to celebrate if you aren’t a big fan of the other holidays in the fall.

Check out Our Top 3 Favorite Pumpkin Recipes HERE!!

Where you can find Realtor Tammy Goolsby:

Website: teamgoolsbyrealestate.com

Facebook: TammyGoolsbyrealestate

Instagram: @TammyGoolsbyRealEstate

Show Notes:

A couple years ago when we were on our way home from Mexico, we were talking to a lady in the airport shuttle. My kids were telling her how sad they were to leave Mexico, they loved the trip so much.

This lady said something to me that has really stuck in my mind, “ I don’t want to stay in Mexico because I love to be home. But I really wanted to go on this trip and bring the experience home with me.”

That was powerful to me! I really love to be home, too!! That trip changed the lives of each member of my family who went, and I wanted more than anything to carry that home into my daily life.

As we have hit emotional or hard times in the years since, I often try to picture myself and my family playing on the beach, or heading out on the ferry from Cancun to Isla Mujeres. It’s wonderful to have a special place to go when life is rough, even if it’s just in my mind.

Every time I eat chips and guac or hear some mariachi music, I am brought right back there. My biggest wish would be able to bring every one I know and love with me back to Mexico to experience it!! Sadly, that is just not possible physically or financially.

I have tried my best to come up with what I think is the next best thing.

I am inviting you to join our Virtual Summer Cooking Club! Think of it as an interactive cooking show where we will be preparing cuisines from different countries around the world!

I will get the recipes and grocery list ready for you and email it out at the beginning of each week. Then on Thursdays at 3pm Central, we will hop on a zoom meeting and I will teach you how to make the dishes. This food tour begins on June 15 and will continue through July 6th. We will also be touching on a bit of culture from each country we are visiting.

The first country we are going to be visiting in our virtual cooking club is…. ITALY!!

We will be making appetizers: Bruschetta and Antipasto Salad. We went to Italy last year and I learned so much about their food and culture. I can’t wait to share it with you!

On the grocery list, I will also have some optional items that you can purchase (if you want) that we will be talking about during our club meeting. For example, in Italy, I will put a couple fancy cheeses and meats that they often eat there.

I tried my very best to keep this class affordable to everybody. It will only be $15 per household per class. You have the option of purchasing one class at a time or if you want to bundle the classes together, it comes down to only $12.50 per class. Head to our classes page on our blog to sign up!

This class is for all ages! Come and be with us! It will be so much more fun if you are there!

Also, in this episode, we talk a lot about involving your kids more in the kitchen. You can find the script for that in this blog post:

Teaching Your Kids to Cook - Our Top 10 Tips

Thank you for being with me. I am so glad you are here!

love

Hillary

Show Notes:

About our guest: Kamree Price @OurFamilyPassport

Kamree started her travel blog about 5 years go. She is an Art history professor, a mom and a step mom. Her blog exists to help families grown together through experiences in travel. She has traveled to nearly 50 different countries!! And that does not include layovers- amazing!!

Kamree helps beginners through seasoned travelers with:

budgeting

planning

learning and experiencing

Why is travel so important to you and your family:

Kamree and her husband were meeting with a child psychologist after they got married on how to best bond and blend their new family. The child psychologist told them that there are 3 things that his clients come back and tell him they remember the most about growing up:

meals they ate

traditions they had

vacations they went on

This psychologist said if they can focus on making memories through those 3 things, they would be able to have the best chances for making solid bonds with their family.

What is Travel Hacking or Reward Travel?

Travel Hacking or Reward Travel, as Kamree likes to refer to it, is using rewards from credit cards for travel. There are a few things you must be disciplined about:

pay off credit card every month

don’t spend extra money just to get rewards

if you can use a debit card responsibly, you should be able to do the same with a credit card

What is TRU: Travel Rewards University?

TRU is Kamree’s Travel Rewards University where she teaches people how to get the most out of their reward travel. The course goes through 4 different levels:

Freshman: how to be smart using travel rewards, rules and regulations, literacy around points and miles

Sophomore: She goes through the Chase rewards program

Junior: Learn about American Express & Capital One cards

Senior: Learn how to put these cards all together, keep things organized, and book your dream vacation

Where you Can find Kam & Our Family Passport:

Website: OurFamilyPassport.Com

Instagram: @OurFamilyPassport

Facebook: Our Family Passport

Pinterest: Our Family Passport

Kam’s TRU - Travel Rewards University: Kam has offered you an amazing Discount on TRU! This Coupon Code for TRU gives you 67% OFF!! Use Code: HAPPY

Travel Hacking for Beginners Post from Our Family Passport

Also mentioned in this Episode:

Helping of Happiness Summer Classes & Camps for 2023!

Sign up for those classes here!

Show Notes:

A little about our guest:

Bill Brady and wife, Heidi, have 5 kids, and they have been married for 21 years. One thing they agreed up on early in their marriage, was they didn’t want family life to center on technology. They wanted real life experiences for themselves and their children.

What Bill has to say:

There is a full spectrum of cell phones for kids: Iphone 14 pro is like the Wild Wild West option, then you go to the other end that is so locked down it’s not practical or kids grow out of them really quickly. Troomi is the middle ground. Safe and practical, but will grow with your child, and super easy for parents.

Troomi comes with a kids safe operating system that you can tailor as a parent, where you can give them what they need but not more.

What age is best for kids to get a cell phone? That needs to be decided on a family by family basis. For example - if family is divorced, a mom often wants her kid to have a phone at his dad’s house so she can stay in direct touch with him.

Our oldest daughter babysitting is what brought the need for our first child to have a cell phone. She needed a way to communicate. More and more schools are expecting kids to have a device in the classroom to complete and submit assignments. The cell phone age for kids seems to be coming down.

Personal take- delay as long as makes sense. We don’t want technology to be the default - not the go to of what to do during downtime. We want kids to be fun, productive, creative people on their own with face to face relationships.

The Troomi Operating System gives parents ability to schedule when kids can do certain things at certain times on their phones. When different features are available, the phone polices itself. It also helps kids get into good habits.

There’s a few different plans. The first one is for easing into the phone: talk and text only. Once they are showing confidence in showing appropriate etiquette, and understanding what are inappropriate things to say and send, they can move onto picture texting and group texts.

As needs evolve, introduce apps that you can use for school, church or healthy hobbies. Sit down with your child and have a discussion about what they really need. There is no app store on the phone, instead they have curated a suite of apps that Troomi has vetted for safety for parents to choose for the phone in the parent portal. None of the apps available have backdoor access to predators or pornography.

It’s essential that parents take the time to have the discussions. It’s easy to assume kids are figuring it out on their own, or maybe parents just get caught up in life and don’t make the time to talk about it.

One of the goals in Troomi, is to take the tension and stress out of the parent/child relationship with kids. As your kids get older, have an open respectful conversation with them. Listen to them. What do they need for school? Are there hobbies, interests, and creative pursuits that could be helped? Explain your own family boundaries. So many problems start with social media. Troomi doesn’t have any social media apps. Don’t just say no, but have ongoing respectful conversations about why.

This is true with any parenting principle: be the parent that has the why conversation. Kids are smart. Talk about the why, and not just this is the rule and it’s black and white and we’re not going to talk about it. Have the why conversation first.

Some apps that are in the Kids Smart Library: apps for education: canvas, google classroom, skyward, etc. Spirituality: for different faiths and backgrounds. Apps for streaming music. Apps for healthy hobbies. In the parent portal you can pick what apps they have on their phones.

The dangers of cell phones: predators, pornography. But sadly, it seems it’s the little things that really add up and seem to be even bigger problems: stress, anxiety, depression, detachment, loneliness, leading to suicide.

Troomi’s goal is helping kids have a safe environment to have healthy relationships with technology. The name “Troomi” comes from kids connecting with their real potential their true selves “true me”.

Tips for keeping kids safe on other technology: have filters, use parental controls wherever possible. Don’t give up, don’t stop trying. Don’t ever think that it’s just someone else’s kids that are going to get into trouble. Be vigilant. Have open, trusted, non shameful and constructive conversations. Make sure your kids know what to do when they come across destructive content.

Get $50 off a Troomi phone with this code: HAPPY

Where can you find More about Troomi?

Website: www.troomi.com

Instagram: @TroomiWireless

PROMO CODE for $50 OFF a Troomi phone: HAPPY

Helping of Happiness Cell phone email course

Parenting cell phone use can be super overwhelming. I am a mom of 7 kids, and this has been quite the challenge for us. I learned a lot of good and bad things with my older 3 kids, and have made some changes for my younger kids. Putting a device into the hands of your kids can be a terrifying thing. Making sure we were all on the same page and that they were taught proper usage, manners, expectations, and safety has helped us avoid a lot of frustration and angry moments.

This course takes you through different conversations to have with your kids about cell phones. It is targeted towards new phone users, but is very helpful even with experienced phone users. Maybe you don’t even know where to start? Or possibly the screen time is getting out of control at your house? Or you are looking for a good resource to teach your young user how to be kind online? Are you worried about bullying, pornography or predators? We cover all of that!!

If you have a friend who is also interested in this course, please have them use this link to sign up:

https://www.helpingofhappiness.com/cell-phone-training-course-sign-up

What To Expect in the Cell Phone Readiness Email Course:

This is a 4 day email course. Each day you will be emailed a different step. Today is the first day. Your link to Step One is at the bottom of this page. Each step will include phone safety, etiquette, a printable packet, & fun stuff. The course is meant for the parent to take, but then share the printable packet with their young phone users. There are also things included in this course that are meant to be used as a discussion. Every family has different rules and boundaries for the technology in their home. I have shared what works for me and my family, but ultimately want you to do what works best for your family.

This is what the course will cover. It moves from very light on Step 1, to the heavy in Step 3, and finishes up on a happy note:

Step 1 : Polite Phone Manners

Step 2: Rules, Boundaries & Apps

Step 3: Understanding the Dangers of Pornography

Step 4: Spread Kindness

This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for sharing at no cost to you.

Meredith Rotz is a wife and mother to 5 children and lives in Texas. A couple years ago she was trying to decide what the next chapter of her life should look like. All of her kids were in school, and she was ready to find her career. She went to a local community college and took a career placement test. She didn’t feel settled by the results, but on her way home from the test, she was listening to a podcast by a life coach. She realized life coaching was her calling!

She talked it over with her husband, and jumped into life coaching school. Meredith has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, had lots of experience in editing, and has paired that with what she has learned in life coach certification to help coach others how to write and publish books.

Meredith takes her clients through the full process of writing a book. She starts with writing, and then moves on to organizing, coaches them through the process, edits their work and helps them get in touch with publishers.

Previous Helping of Happiness Episodes with Meredith as our guest:

5 Money Lessons All Kids Need to Know with Jonathan & Meredith Rotz - listen Here!

Marriage & Money - click here to listen!!

Where you can find Meredith Rotz:

Website: meredithrotzcoaching.com

Instagram: @meredithrotzcoaching - Head to IG for her new 30 Day Writing Course!!!

Facebook: MeredithRotzCoaching

Make sure you subscribe to our free newsletter to keep up with podcast show notes, family recipes, home hacks and travel tips! Head over to Helping of Happiness now to sign up!!

Our podcast guest today has an incredible story!

Meet Ali Essig. Back in 2019, Ali mother of 6 kids (her twins were 8 months old), was taking a shower when her neighbor banged on the bathroom door. There had been an emergency. No one had been able to get ahold of Ali, so the neighbor rushed into her house to reach her. Ali’s husband had had a stroke and had been rushed to the hospital. The neighbor stayed with the kids and Ali hurried to be with her husband. They spent quite a bit of time at the hospital trying to figure out what had caused the stroke.

After many tests and days of ruling out different possible reasons for the stroke, nothing major was found. The stroke had left her husband with double vision which made it hard for him to drive, focus, work, it affected everything. Ali’s husband was sent home with a note that said he needed to eat a heart healthy diet. Ali and her husband felt very confused and frustrated by the situation.

Ali’s dad had passed away just a few years earlier from a heart attack at age 55. She was determined to find a solution for her husband. She asked herself, “What’s in my power?” They knew how to count macros, how to lose weight after having babies, but what does a heart healthy diet entail? Their main goal was to improve his vision and open the arteries to his brain. Here is what they learned about a heart healthy diet:

Cut back on trans fat. Trans fats are found in fried foods, animal products, store bought baked goods, microwave popcorn and frozen dough.

Avoid foods with saturated fat. The biggest source of saturated fat in the American diet is cheese.

The other thing Ali & her husband learned was that eating plants could act as medicine. This is how they got into plant based eating. This isn’t a quick fix, like taking an ibuprofen for a fever. This is a little by little, long haul approach.

After 5 months of eating a plant based diet, Ali’s husband had his vision come back, his cholesterol and triglycerides numbers had also come down. It was amazing!!

One reason Ali is my hero is that she went on this journey with him. It is not easy to get a family of 8 on a plant based diet. But Ali used her mama bear power to fight for her family, get her husband healthy and improve the quality of life for them all through eating for longevity.

Ali patterns her life and eating after the blue zones around the world. Blue zones are areas where the most centenarians (people who live into their 100’s) live. She doesn’t pattern her eating after body builders, but after longevity of life.

I love how Ali uses an abundance mindset. She doesn’t look at what she is taking out of her diet as much as she looks at what she is putting in. What are you gaining? Not, what are you losing?

Ali taught me about the gut microbiome. Different gut microbes like to eat different foods- and they are picky eaters. Think of a rain forest and all of the life they have. As you’re eating variety, you are feeding those microbes their favorite foods. Just like if you were feeding all the life in a rain forest, you would have to have a variety of foods.

Ali challenges us to eat 30 different plants every week. This includes: fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts & seeds.

How do we move our families & ourselves more towards plant based eating?

Start with recipes they already love (for example- use half ground beef & half beans for tacos)

Add more fruit - even if it’s not a variety. 5 apples are better than 1 for nutrients and fiber. Increase what they will eat.

Get fiber focused! Learn more about what foods have fiber and eat more of those

Eat at least 5 fruits & veggies each day (are you up for the 30 plants per week challenge??)

Preload on vegetables and let kids snack on them before or as you are making dinner (prep your veggies first so this can happen)

Don’t get discouraged! Kids will often need to try a food 15 times before they like it.

You don’t have to be perfect.

Where you can Find More From Ali:

Ali’s website: www.plantwhys.com PlantWhys Nutrition Education for A Sustainable Lifestyle (use this link to subscribe to her awesome weekly newsletter. I love it!!!

Instagram: Ali Essig, Nutritionist // coaches and dietitian support team (@plantwhys) • Instagram photos and videos

Youtube: Alisia Essig - YouTube

34 Plant Based Recipes from Helping of Happiness:

I wanted to share with you some recipes that have helped me ease into plant based eating. Some of these have optional meat/dairy sides/toppings for your family, if you are like me and your family isn’t joining you on the plant based journey at this time. Grab those here!

Megan Whitmer is a married mom of 5 kids. Megan recently published a book called, Mom Life vs the Everyday Apocalypse. On our podcast this week, we talked with Megan a bit about her book.

When I was reading her book, one of my favorite chapters was called “My Favorite Hallway.” Megan explained to us that there was a hallway in her last house that would cast a layer of shadows as she walked by. The inner most shadow made her think about who she really was in the inside with out the layers of motherhood and expectations from herself and others. She says:

“Sometimes the ideal is not what society tells us, but who we have become as a person, as a soul, as a spirit.”

She went on to explain that she is allergic to most make up. She had to go off make up for a year. It was really hard for her when she would get comments of concern, “are you sick?” She says:

“I’m trying not to care how I look and remember I’m a child of God. Make up does not define me. But I still breakdown sometimes. It’s an up and down struggle. The ideal is not what society tells us, but who we have become as a person, a soul, a spirit. As women trying to make ourselves beautiful to fit the mold, we go through crazy things until we understand about ourselves. Make up is not bad, but there are other things we do that can damage us. It can change our spirit. It is interesting to really look at ourselves and what we do to ourselves. Should we do those things?”

When finding the humor in mom life, Megan looks to a few things to help her look on the bright side:

It could be worse! She plays a game with herself thinking of all the horrible ways the situation could be more awful than it is. For example, if you get an unexpected bill in the mail, maybe you think, “at least my family isn’t infected with tape worms.” Another example, if someone cuts her off on the freeway, she imagines the person has their wife laboring in the back of the car with triplets and they need to rush to the hospital.

Gratitude: find things you are grateful for and focus on the positive

Look back to your ancestors. What hard things have they conquered or gone through? Looking at our family in this way can show us that we are resilient! We can get through tough times.

We love to ask our guests 3 Helpful and Happy Questions on our podcast to get to know our guests a bit better. Our first question was about Megan’s favorite food. She said she loves popovers! We talked about how similar those are to German Pancakes, which we have a delicious recipe for on our blog!

German Pancake Muffins

We also talked a little bit about travel. One of her favorite vacations is going back home to Canada to visit her family there and visit the biggest mall in the world: West Edmonton Mall in Alberta.

Lastly we asked if she had any home hacks, and she told us one of her favorite ones was to chop up and freeze onions and peppers for future use. These can be useful in so many recipes! Here are a few of our favorite ways to use frozen onions and peppers:

Sheet Pan Fajitas

Vegan Veggie Stir Fry

Our Favorite Chicken Apple Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner

Where can we find more from Megan Whitmer:

Website: www.meganwhitmerbooks.com

Instagram: Megan Whitmer Books (@meganwhitmerbooks) • Instagram photos and videos

Tik Tok: MeganWhitmerBooks (@meganwhitmerbooks) TikTok | Watch MeganWhitmerBooks's Newest TikTok Videos

Grab Megan’s Book HERE!

Mom Life vs The Everyday Apocalypse