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!

2016 NuttZo Ambassador + 5 Healthy Recipes

Exciting news in the Going household, I’m on for my second year as a NuttZo Ambassador! If you’ve followed the blog or any of my social media pages, you’d know we’re all NuttZo Fanatics over here, and I am looking forward to sharing the #NuttZoLove with everyone in 2016!

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Sure, peanut butter is good, but why choose good when you can have out-of-this-world awesome with organic nuts and seeds providing a host of healthy benefits? It’s delicious and something I feel good about giving to my precious little girl, Avery. She definitely has no complaints either.

Breakfast with NuttZo

Actually, I often have trouble getting it back from her.

Holding NuttZo Up

It’s almost a daily stand-off. Guess it’s no surprise when she hugs the jar and proclaims her love for NuttZo.

Since we’re all busy in midst of the holiday season, I wanted to kick off my renewed role as a NuttZo Ambassador by sharing 5 of my favorite quick and healthy recipes I shared this past year. These are perfect for entertaining or making just for yourself.

Microwave NuttZo Banana Bread

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Sweet & Spicy NuttZo Carrot Dip

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NuttZo Cinnamon Banana Frittata – Perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

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No-Bake Mini NuttZo Pumpkin Cake

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Single Serving NuttZo Oatmeal Cake

Oatmeal Cake with Yogurt Frosting

It’s also good in savory meals like soup. Just stir a little in for that flavor *pow* that’ll have everyone asking for the secret recipe. Or at least saying they like it. 🙂

Annnddddd, there’s always Plan B for those not into putting something together. I even made a little rhyme…

If you’re in the mood for snacking,

but your time is seriously lacking,

just grab NuttZo and a spoon

and you’ll be happy really soon.

Hey, I’m no Robert Frost, but you get the point. Eat NuttZo, be happy and healthy.

Can’t wait to share more NuttZo goodness in 2016! Have a wonderful Christmas (or other holiday) season!

Do you plan on having NuttZo as part of your holiday eats?

What’s your favorite way to use NuttZo or other nut butter?

The Chabee Outfitters Diaper Bag: The Toughest Bag Around

The diaper bag as we know it has forever changed with the rise of involved and stay-at-home dads. Since most of us dads don’t want bags designed for moms with compartments for yoga pants or other feminine items, we appreciate having bags made just for us. Bonus points when they’re made by us too!

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Use promo code RCL for 15% on a bag of your own!

That’s exactly what stay-at-home dad Jesse Andrist set out to do when he created Chabee Outfitters. As an involved dad to three, Jesse knows the important role of being “dad” and he wanted to reflect that in Chabee. With fathers all around seeing a product made just for them, it is Jesse’s hope that this will help solidify their significance.

With the good looks and rugged nature of his messenger-style bag, I’d say he’s doing just that. When I received the bag, I could tell the heavy duty materials, all hand-crafted in the USA, would easily last long enough through several kids, and if something needed a little fixing, lucky for you, Chabee offers Free Repairs for Life!

With that kind of guarantee, a dad could give the same bag to his kid when he’s all grown up with kids of his own. Even if you have a daughter, I’m sure they’ll fully appreciate the look and style. Avery has already been practicing how she’ll tote it around.

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To look at it, you’d never know it’s a diaper bag, which means it won’t end up in the attic with the other baby items that have no more use. The changing pad is conveniently attached and folds out from the inside.

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This is helpful to me since other bags I’ve used that have a removeable pad means keeping track on one more thing and always fighting to cram it back when as I rush to get everything packed. And hey, a comfy leather pad will practically have your kids happy to climb on for a change.

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As long as they’re not 14 and still climbing on, this is a very good thing!

There are not many storage compartments compared to most diaper bags, but that’s what I like, it’s simple. The pockets are plenty deep and provide plenty of space for the average guy (yes, even ladies too!) to fit what he and his kids need.

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I won’t lie, when carrying the Chabee Diaper Bag around, I felt a sense of pride and kept wanting to have another dad ask about it just so I could show it off. But the “Made in USA” leather badge basically shows it off for me.

DSC_1008While there are many diaper bags out there that do their job and do it well, Chabee offers one you can use for years after your little one is not so little anymore. It will easily fit books, laptops, tools, or many other non-diaper items, and will hold up to the job with its tough construction.

Since I only have one sweet little girl to carry stuff around for, this bag is perfect for the two of us. This bag is a perfect gift for the soon-to-be or new father, so be sure to check out Chabee’s website to learn more and keep up to date with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

For all of my readers, you can get your own Chabee Outfitters Diaper Bag for 15% off using promo code RCL when you checkout. The code is good until 12/31/15. Help support Jesse’s new company and get something that will last generations at the same time!

I’ll end with a quote from their About Us page explaining the name which I think adds to the uniqueness of this business and one I’m proud to get behind to share with others.

Chabee is a mash up of the words “change” and “be”. The name was formed to encompass the beautiful Gandhi quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Have you heard of or seen Chabee before?

Are you interested in getting a bag for yourself or someone you know?

Disclosure: Chabee provided their bag free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

Our Crazy Awesome Future in Blogging

When I first started blogging, it was for Just Add Cayenne , where I went about sharing my life along with healthy recipes, fitness tips, and other health related topics fit in. Then I started this crazy awesome blog, Going Dad (I won’t deny that I’m biased), to basically do the same thing.

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But instead of life as an accountant who really really really is into health and fitness, I shared life as a stay-at-home dad wanting to have a way to capture life as my daughter, Avery, and wife, Kelley, all learn and grow together.

I’ve enjoyed writing about all of the memories we’ve already had in just the 2 years of Avery’s life, but I’ve also been trying too hard to write about everything which is becoming increasingly hard. This little girl is doing more than I can keep up with to gather and share on the blog anymore. Even she’s getting tired of my usual memory “tracking” method.
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Normally, I jot down the things she does/says on random pieces of paper I have around the house, but it got to where I was trying to write down something new every other minute. Which meant I was totally losing track of just enjoying the freaking moment/entire day!

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the drift. So, here’s my new plan for the blog….

As Avery gets older and can actually communicate with real words, I’d like to have her help to do product/service reviews. I will also do reviews that only parents/health-minded people would be into since I obviously take a major interest in the health and fitness world.

Why should you, the reader care if all you want is to see our darling daughter and hear what she’s been up to? Well, hopefully you’ll find what I review of good use in your life and you’ll gain insight on things you may never have known existed otherwise.

I’ve already performed several reviews on here, but now I can focus on doing more. In addition, I plan on sharing recipes I create, workouts I love or put together, healthy lifestyle hacks, or just favorite foods you can buy online. Yes, that means I’ll have more affiliate links that will earn me a whopping few cents if you click on them.

I have nothing to hide, I’m hoping to earn a little extra cash if possible because, lets face it, we could all use more. Right?

This most likely means less blog posts, but I do enjoy sharing random facts/funny things I find entertaining, so be on the lookout there. Damn Pinterest really knows how to suck you in, and before you know, you have eleventy-billion new pins when all you wanted was a picture of a cat!

On the topic of social media such as Pinterest, I’ll still be sharing plenty of life happenings with Avery and my wife on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so be sure to follow these if you don’t already to keep up to date if you care. Seriously, why wouldn’t you  want to see this crazy-haired cute kid?

If you’re some creepy guy, I’d rather you not, but I hope everyone else will follow along and will find what I have to offer useful. Be on the lookout for reviews covering a multitude of things from items for kids and parents, to anything surrounding the world of health and fitness. Just know, I WILL NOT try products I feel are not safe or worth even using, and will give my honest opinion on what I do try.

As the days, weeks, and months pass, I’ll be making updates to the looks and other aspects on here, so check back often. Please?

What do you think of this new blogging approach?

Is there anything you’d personally like to see reviewed first?