All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13 and handsome little boy, Wes, who joined our family on 11/19/17. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, as of 8/17/07. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the utmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!
Going Healthy, Going Reviews

High Antioxidant Carrot Bean Dip with Mary’s Gone Crackers

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Mary’s Gone Crackers recently sent me a package with four of their Super Seed Cracker varieties to try. They provided them free of charge and only asked for a delicious recipe in return. Make a healthy recipe and get awesome organic and nutritious crackers? Win-Win!

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

I’ve been enjoying their Original Crackers for a few years already, but the different flavors were a nice change. My favorite way to enjoy is by pairing them with baby carrots for a super crunchy snack with a little sweetness from the carrots balancing the light saltiness. And of course dipping in cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt, crunched on salad, and bean dips are all spectacular uses. On our recent 9 Year Anniversary trip to Travaasa Austin, Going Mom and I both snacked on the crackers in delight.

mary's gone crackers, avocado, travaasa, food, healthy fat
Anchovies + avocado + Mary’s Gong Crackers = Delicious!

I have an affinity for dips, so it didn’t take long to decide on creating the perfect dip for these lovely crackers. Taking my love of pairing carrots with Mary’s Gone Crackers, I knew just what to do. With steamed carrots, beans, and several health-boosting herbs and spices, the dip was done in under 10 minutes.

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

The flavor was just like a good bean dip with a little sweetness added from cooked carrots. Turmeric adds some earthiness and a host of health-promoting benefits. One of them being that it helps to retain beta carotene from the carrots.

Mary's Gone Crackers, bean dip, healthy recipe, football

Mary’s Gone Crackers are one of the few foods I feel good about eating even though they are packaged. No added oils (even helthy ones usually get damaged from high heat processing), lots of delicious nuts and seeds, and all organic make them a great choice for anyone. And if you love crunchy, then these are the crackers for you! Seriously, just crumble them on a salad or over eggs, they are wonderful.

I’ll stop going on and let you try for yourself. Once you grab a box (or five), make this High Antioxidant Carrot Bean Dip to share or keep all to yourself.

High Antioxidant Carrot Turmeric Bean Dip

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 5 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 15oz can of pinto, black, or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup steamed carrots; Use pumpkin puree if you don’t have or don’t want to use carrots
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley (dill or basil would be good too)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Let me keep this simple…

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth; scrape down the sides once or twice to get everything.

Enjoy your new dip!

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Have you tried Mary’s Gone Crackers before?
Ready for football season to start or could you care less?

Mary’s Gone Crackers provided their products free of charge in exchange for this recipe posting. All opinions are strictly my own and I was not compensated in any other way.

Life, Parenting

Jumping With Friends at Altitude Trampoline Park

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When the local Altitude Trampoline Park offers a discount for toddlers, you jump on it! Last week, our friends/neighbors asked several of us parents if we’d like to get the kids together for a little jumping action (aka increased naptime success), and there was no way I would say no to this cutie.

altitude trampoline park, toddler, parenting, jumping, kids

It’s not a major concern to Going Mom and me right now, but sometimes we wonder if Avery gets enough social interaction with peers. With me staying at home, we obviously avoid daycare and/or nannies. We love our situation and wouldn’t change it for the world, but know she needs her time with others. Luckily, she has plenty of peers in our neighborhood and they all get along pretty well.

altitude trampoline park, toddler, parenting, jumping, kids, friends

When together, they seem to keep to themselves and interact every now and then. I expect this is normal for 2 and 3 year olds and will change as they get older. At the trampoline park, they showed more interaction than I’ve seen with Avery in a while and I loved watching them play.

altitude trampoline park, toddler, parenting, jumping, kids

These balls of energy scoured the whole facility but kept gravitating to this trampoline ramp (tramp ramp? No?) to use as a slide. Belly sliding was the thing that day.

Trampoline Belly Slides

Once down, they would scamper right back up to go down again. Yes, that’s it, use that energy!

Climbing Trampoline

I always try to interact with these kids when we see them in the neighborhood, but they usually just hide behind a parent while shooting unwelcoming facial expressions my way. Natalie, who just had a birthday at Altitude Trampoline Park, simply dropped to the ground and curled into a ball as I smiled at her. I got the hint.

The other girl, Emma, started off shy but we ended up playing a lot after she warmed up. By play, I mean she pushed me off the edge of things and jumped on my back to attack me. It was fun though. One of the boys, Tanner, was constantly running laps around the area, but he gave some great high fives. Something about the boys at this age, most of them just are not as shy.

Without a doubt, the best playmate is and always will be my precious little girl.

Daddy and Avery Sticking Tongues Out at Altitude Trampoline Park

She played a lot with the other kids, but made sure to save a little playtime with Daddy too. I appreciate the time with her and know this time won’t last long, so making the most of it is vital. I think she enjoys our time too, at least that smile says so.

Looking Up from Trampoline

Once she finds out what dating is, her feeling might change. But lets not talk about that now…..or for a loooongggg time.

Heading to Altitude Trampoline Park is fun whether it’s just us or with friends, but hopefully we’ll get a group together again soon!

Earn Income, Puns

I’m A Little Pail – Funny Shirt For Kids and Adults

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I had high hopes for my “See Ya Later Excavator” Teespring campaign, but it just ended with zero purchases. Zero! But no worries, I’m branching out with a funny shirt that’s perfect for kids and adults alike.

Taking my love of puns and desire to spread the laughs (and groans) associated with them, shirts are the perfect outlet. Instead of Teespring, I’ve moved on to Skreened to create and sell the shirts I design.

My shop, conveniently named Going Dad, has a few excavator designs that would make a great funny shirt gift for boys and girls of all ages. I’ll share the small collection of excavator shirts soon, but I wanted to showcase my first non-excavator creation. Integrating a pun one liner I enjoy and a little artwork done by yours truly, I present to you my “I’m a little pail.” funny shirt.

Funny, right? It truly is a little pail, but also looks a bit queasy as if it were pale. Ahhh, the wonderful play on words, I love it!

As time passes, I’ll share more of what I create. I already have a new one waiting to be approved. For a little hint of what it is, it’s another pun and talks about naked people. Don’t worry, it’s not obscene.

If you or someone you know enjoys puns, please share my store and think about getting one (or a few) for yourself and as gifts. Any feedback/requests are welcome too.