Tag Archives: campaign

Help Make The Great American Milk Drive Legen-Dairy

06/11/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

As much as I enjoy joking around (hence the title to this post), keeping our family healthy is something I take seriously. Even before I became a stay-at-home dad, I was cooking all of the meals for my wife and I on top of having a full-time job. Yeah, it was hard at times, but to pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to good nutrition.

For this reason, my wife and I knew breast milk was the best source of nutrition for our daughter, Avery, right from the start. And now, at 18 months old, I am extremely proud and supportive of my wife for still nursing our beautiful girl even through so many hardships.

Over the past few months, Kelley has slowly eased up on breastfeeding which meant I needed to find another source of nutrition to fill its place. Luckily, there’s another nutritious beverage to fill the void, and it goes by the name of…..MILK!

Just like the food I bring into our home, I am quite particular on where our milk is sourced and how it’s produced. Avery was a bit hesitant about milk at first….

….but she quickly made peace with her new beverage and, well…..

Yep, she loves her milk and she has it every day with breakfast and as a calming drink before nap time. Having a nutrient-rich beverage packed with 8 grams of high quality protein per 8 ounce serving allows me to rest assured our daughter is getting what she needs for her body to grow strong and healthy and give her the energy to play (or swing kettlebells) with Mommy and Daddy.

Unfortunately, many families are unable to provide their children healthy meals and are missing out on the nutrition milk has to offer. These children are provided breakfast and lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) when in school, but not when school is out.

Here’s the “Legen-Dairy” part…..To raise money and bring milk to families in need this June, Milk Life has created The Great American Milk Drive benefiting Feeding America. Since June is National Dairy Month, what better time than now to help deliver something many of us take for granted; MILK! Did you know…..

Milk is one of the most requested items by food bank clients year-round, and especially during the summer when kids are missing out on nutritious meals provided through school breakfast and lunch programs. But on average, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year. That’s because while Americans are generous with canned and dry goods, many don’t think to donate milk because it’s perishable.
More than 22 million children may miss out on milk’s nutrition in the summer months when schools are closed and they lose access to free or reduced-price milk programs.
You can help power the play of children in need in your community all summer long with a small donation by clicking here. A donation of as little as $5 will deliver a gallon of milk to a local family through the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks.

And since we all absorb information better when it’s in cool infographic form, here are the key facts laid out for us all.

As a major advocate of all things health, I know how paramount good nutrition is for kids and adults alike. That’s why I’m honored to join Life of Dad and 24 super awesome dad bloggers to help Milk Life spread the words and raise funds for The Great American Milk Drive. This truly is legen-dairy, and we need YOU to help us keep it that way!

The 25 of us dad bloggers have been divided into 4 teams by region, North, South, East, and West. To make it even more interesting, the team that has received the most donations by 12PM EST on Monday, June 22 will get an additional $500 donation from the awesome guys at Life of Dad. Now I know you want to help my team, The South, win this, so please, hold off on the birthday gifts (it was on the 8th) and Father’s Day presents and please please please donate to this important cause.

Check out my fellow Team South friends and show us all some love by donating today.
Trey Burley – Daddy Mojo

Scotty Schrier – Dads Who Change Diapers

Jack Steiner – The Jack B

Rick Fauquet – Rick on the Rocks

We’re all great fathers wanting the best for kids all over, and this would make the best Father’s Day contribution to all of us.

And be sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 16th at 8PM EST for the #MilkDrive Twitter Party hosted by @LifeofDadShow. Just follow hashtage #MilkDrive and get ready for a chance to win some great prizes and have fun while supporting Milk Life and Feeding America!

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and Milk Life for this promotion. I have received compensation for my participation, but my passion and thirst for Milk is my own.

Life, Promo

Gaining Strength with My Daughter + Immune Support from Ester-C

03/14/2015 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its Advertiser. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone and should not be construed as medical advice. #24HourEsterC #CollectiveBias

Half-way through my college career, I decided to run a marathon. I hardly trained, and the race hurt….a lot, but I pushed and made it across the finish line. Walking up or down stairs the following 2 weeks brought painful tears to my eyes, but I was hooked and wanted to do another, only better. I know, crazy, right?

Armed with a training and nutrition plan, I learned how important both aspects were to attaining any goal. Training, to prepare the body for the stressors of an endurance event, and nutrition for peak performance, recovery, and especially proper immune support.

Fast-forward to current day; I’ve completed over 10 marathons (including Boston), an ultra-marathon, and too many 5k’s and 10k’s to count. I’m extremely proud of these accomplishments as anyone should be, but I found endurance came at the expense of strength after failing miserably at trying to jump in the air. I certainly lost weight and changed my body composition, but my body lacked muscle and I decided it was time to train for strength.

Strength training and distance running are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the need for good nutrition and a supported immune system remain key factors. I get all day immune support from Ester-C to keep me “Going” as a dad (see what I did there?) living a healthy lifestyle!

Although good nutrition may help support your immune system, I’m not taking any chances of being sidelined from training again. Now I get 24 hour immune support from Ester-C which enables me to consistently train as well as manage my key role as a stay-at-home dad and loving husband.

When I first became an at-home dad, a big fear of mine (besides nap time) was not having a consistent strength training routine since raising a baby was uncharted territory. That was over a year ago, and thankfully, with a little creativity and determination, that fear is a thing of the past.

When I go into our garage gym complete with a power squat rack, bench, several kettlebells, and Olympic barbell set, Avery comes too. She even has her own toy kettlebell to use when “working out” with Mommy and Daddy. She still needs a little practice on her swings, but she’s already a natural at squatting!

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

Along with cooking nutritious meals and lots of playtime, working out with Avery is part of the daily routine to keep fit, get stronger, and support our immune system. Thanks to a supported immune system and my motivation providing us to stick to our routine, both Avery and her Daddy (that’s me!) are getting stronger physically and strengthening our daddy-daughter bond.

It’s obvious I’m mindful about what goes into our bodies seeing as to how I cook all of our meals and rarely go out to eat, so why do I make Ester-C my go-to Vitamin C supplement? Among the many benefits 24 Hour Ester-C has to offer, here’s several that make it a no-brainer in our house.

Ester-C is a special form of Vitamin C designed to stay in your white blood cells for up to 24-hours, providing you with around-the-clock immune system support.*
It is carefully manufactured to contain the same compounds your body produces when it metabolizes vitamin C.
Its unique, water-based manufacturing process combines Vitamin C with Calcium using no chemical solvents. The manufacturing process also neutralizes pH, making it non-acidic and gentle on the stomach
Comes in 1000mg or 500mg Vegetarian Coated Tablets that are Non-GMO and Free of Sugar, Soy, Gluten, Wheat, and Artificial Flavors & Colors.

Ester-C is easily found at your local Wal-Mart in the Vitamin and Supplement aisle and it’s currently on rollback! I take the 500mg tablets to split my doses since I prefer to take one in the morning and another at night. Keep up to date on the latest immune supporting products and great info on the Ester-C Facebook page and on Twitter too!

Why not let Ester-C help support your health so you can help support what matters most, our children?

Have you dealt with setbacks in training before?

Share how you’re currently training for a certain goal, how are you working to reach it?

Contest, Food, Going Healthy

A Healthy Turkey-Mushroom Pumpkin Casserole and Chance to Win $500 for #ShroomTember

09/15/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

I never understood why so many people are averse to the mushroom. I mean, c’mon, he’s a “fun-gi”!

Sorry, had to get that in there. But I feel that if more people gave the fungus a chance, it would grow on them.

Okay, seriously, I’m done now.

I’ve been a mushroom lover for as long as I can remember, and never cared for anything fancy, just plain and raw. Sometimes, when I’m feeling really crazy, I might add a touch of spicy brown mustard or use them to dip in hummus, but I mostly enjoy them sans toppings.

My love for mushrooms is no secret, and I think that’s obvious when you see the birthday “cake” I was given by my co-workers one year.

Going Mom, on the other hand, has never allowed “mushroom” in her diet for the mycelium which leaves me as the only “con-shroomer” (wow, I can’t stop). Not a problem, though, since I’m not good at sharing food I treasure.

Even now that we’re feeding Avery a mixture of veggies, I’m apprehensive to give her mushrooms at the fear she’ll just throw them on the floor. It would hurt too much to see.

Although I prefer the simplicity of plain, uncooked mushrooms, I couldn’t resist when the great guys at Life of Dad invited me to partner with them and The Mushroom Council as an official ambassador to help celebrate and promote #ShroomTember!

I am honored to be amongst several other awesome dad bloggers acting as ambassador by creating and sharing an original recipe containing mushrooms and telling you, our wonderful readers, about how you can have a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card by sharing your own mushroom-infused recipe!

There are two contests remaining for #ShroomTember and this week it’s all about Blendability. Here are several bullet points provided by The Mushroom Council to help explain Mushroom Blendability:

On average, mushrooms have 90 percent fewer calories than a ground meat alternative.
Finely chopped mushrooms look similar and blend seamlessly with meat, so classics can be made healthier without losing taste or satisfying texture. Simply substitute flavorful mushrooms for some of the meat in a traditional dish to reduce calories and fat.
Mushroom Blendability helps you lighten up family favorites by replacing a portion of the ground meat with mushrooms – creating healthier versions of the recipes you love.
With the mushroom and meat blend, you don’t necessarily have to consume large quantities of meat to feel full and satiated.
Research shows that increasing the intake of lower calorie foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of those higher in calories, like ground beef, can be an effective method for reducing calories and fat while still feeling full and satisfied after a meal.
Mushrooms bring important nutrients like vitamin D, potassium, B vitamins and antioxidants to the plate without adding significant calories, fat and cholesterol.

Healthy Turkey-Mushroom Pumpkin Casserole

Ingredients

1 15oz can pumpkin puree
3 egg whites
1/2
1 medium onion, chopped
2 – 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced (I used 4 because we love garlic!!)
1 lb ground turkey breast, cooked (sub chicken, beef, or pork if needed)
3 cups steamed mixed veggies with peas, corn, and carrots
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used white button and cremini, but any kind will work)
2 tbsp. brown mustard
2 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (soy sauce works too)
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp paprika, parsley, and thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine steamed veggies and cooked turkey with pumpkin puree and egg whites in a large bowl
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté for 2 – 3 minutes until softened and add to mixture in the bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour mixture into greased or parchment lined 9-inch casserole dish (individual ramekins or even a pie pan will work too) and bake for 40 minutes. There should be a golden crust forming on top; watch carefully so it doesn’t turn black!
Remove from oven and place on wire cooling rack. Allow to sit 5 – 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

This dish freezes well and is perfect for leftovers!

I used glass ramekins as the individual sizes made it easier to store some for me and some for Kelley to bring to work. Serve with your favorite hearty bread and a hefty side of greens.

Now, as much as it fills me with pride to have you sit and stare with a grumbling tummy, I urge you to get in the kitchen and put your ‘shroom skills to work for a chance at winning $500. That could buy a lot of mushrooms!!

Make sure to check out The Mushroom Council’s social media pages listed below for great tips and recipes to get you motivated.

Enjoy and good luck!

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad, LLC for the #ShroomTember promotion. Sponsored by The Mushroom Council, the #ShroomTember promotion gives anybody the chance to win a $500 Visa gift card.