Guys, I used to hate vegetables.
I counted canned creamed corn, lettuce on a chicken finger sub, or the "broccoli" (aka green specks) in those frozen cheese stuffed breaded chicken blobs the college dining hall served as a serving of veggies. Yikes. But now? Vegetables are like my BFF's. I can't imagine a day without them. This did not happen overnight! You want to know my secret? My desire to change was stronger than my desire to stay the same. I kept an open mind. I tried new things. I researched the benefits. I learned new ways to prepare things. I knew that it was worth it. Did you know I HATED kale the first time I tasted it? Now it is a staple in my diet. The other day I had not-crabby salad on a slice of sprouted grain toast and raw broccoli slaw. I am known to eat an entire cucumber in one sitting. I LOVE roasted Brussels sprouts. I eat entirely plant based meals now. Those of you that have known me forever know this is NOT the way I was raised, it was not the norm. But I knew I wanted and needed a change, and well here I am. Loving it. Loving life. Loving the example I am setting for my family and for others. Don't be afraid to make those changes folks.
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My four year old daughter LOVES her dolls. They are the sisters she never had (and never will have, much to her dismay). The accessories are slowly taking over our house, soon these girls will need a house of their own!
Over the past year she has acquired the camper and tent, among many other things, but if her dolls go on a camping adventure there is no where for the both of them to sleep. What fun is that? They are also out of luck if my daughter wants to have a sleepover in the playroom, unless we drag the sturdy homemade wooden bunk beds out there. It was decided that these dolls needed their own sleeping bags! I used to have this awful late night snacking habit. I would HAVE to eat something after the kids went to bed, but before I did. And it was never healthy. I'd save the sinful, delicious, crap I didn't want my kids to eat, and I'd devour it. If I didn't want them eating it, why was I letting myself eat it?! Million dollar question right there. To be completely honest, as my lifestyle has evolved the late night snacking habit hasn't completely disappeared. I have definitely toned it down and swapped out for healthier choices though. Roasted chickpeas instead of potato chips. Veggies & hummus instead of pretzels & cheese. Dark chocolate & almonds instead of cookies. But ice cream has always been my downfall. Going vegan 2 years ago helped curb my ice cream consumption. Non-dairy ice cream is expensive! Those cravings still sneak up from time to time though. Like tonight. That voice in my head was saying "Text the husband, tell him to bring home Ben & Jerry's" But thankfully that other voice deep down started speaking up. "Remember your goals." "You're just looking to mindlessly snack." "Do you want to feel comfortable in your own body, or wake up with a sugar hangover?" Yup. Not worth it right now, especially coming off a weekend out of town where I ate a little more junk than usual, which is probably why I had ice cream on the brain in the first place! So I made the smart choice and made my own "nice cream" in the form of a smoothie bowl! This is so good it is worth the risk of running the blender after the kids are asleep. It satisfies my ice cream craving, squashes my sugar addiction, and is packed with protein and superfoods. My current favorite is "Banana Split" but you can play around with the fruits and flavors to find your own favorite combo. I highly recommend trying peanut butter to make it like a frozen peanut butter cup. Superfood Smoothie Bowl
Enjoy and pat yourself on the back for choosing a snack that is going to help your body, not harm it. Nacho typical apple. Not your typical apple... ha ha yeah I'm a corn ball. Anyway, my sweet tooth was raging tonight. I opened the snack cupboard and stared longingly at the stash of Easter candy. Then shut the door as I remembered "GOALS! You have goals, lady!" But that didn't shut the sweet tooth down. So I decided to make a healthy, clean, plant based, sweet treat that wouldn't send me spiraling down into a sugar coma. APPLE NACHOS! Yes, I know typical nachos are crunchy chips coated in cheese and spiciness. Not these, my friend. Here's the basic idea-
Core and slice an apple, spread the slices on a plate. In a tiny bowl combine 1 teaspoon of tahini and a tiny bit of maple syrup (around 1/4 tsp), stir and then microwave for a few seconds, just to thin it out. Drizzle on top of the apple. In another tiny bowl (or use the same one if you're lazy like me) melt a few dairy free chocolate chips. Drizzle over the apples. *Next time I plan to experiment with a chocolate drizzle made from Shakeology so it's even healthier! Stay tuned for that one... Sprinkle some cinnamon over your nachos and top with chopped nuts. I used walnuts, but I'm sure pecans or almonds would be delicious as well. You could also add in a drizzle of peanut butter if you really wanted to get crazy. Enjoy your sweet, guilt free, treat! What's your favorite way to combat a sweet tooth? One of the biggest misconceptions I had when I was starting to change my eating habits was "healthy food tastes like cardboard". Well, considering my experience with healthy foods were things like high fructose corn syrup filled shakes in a can, processed beyond recognition TV dinners with the word "lean" in them, and boiled Brussels sprouts... yeah, they all did kind of taste like cardboard. Or worse! (side note- don't boil Brussels sprouts. Just don't. Roast them & they are AMAZING!) As I've changed my diet, my taste buds have also changed. I'm now able to appreciate the natural flavor found in fruits and vegetables. I've also learned how to enhance the flavors with the following "freebies" as I like to call them. Playing around with different spices has opened up my eyes & stomach so many legit healthy foods! So let's talk about these freebies...
What are your favorite ways to jazz up healthy foods? Leave me a comment & let me know! With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, food in our house tends to turn green or into rainbows. I used to use gobs of food coloring to achieve this, but lately we stick to nature's colors. They pack actual nutrition as opposed to questionable chemicals, and they're a whole lot prettier in my opinion. Today the kids got to eat a rainbow for breakfast! There are multiple ways you can make the crust. Your favorite sugar cookie dough would work, or you can use the lazy way like I did- take a tube of pre-made crescent rolls*, roll it out into a large rectangle, then cut the top corners off and an upside down "U" from the middle to make a rainbow shape. I used the scraps to make the clouds. Bake according to package or recipe. (*- I like the Immaculate Baking Company crescent rolls to use in a pinch) Once your rainbow is baked and cooled for a little bit, it's time to add some spread! You can use store bought non-dairy cream cheese or make your own. I made cashew cream cheese spread with the following recipe: Sweet Cashew Cream Cheese Spread
Then it's time to assemble your rainbow! For today's we used: Red- strawberry Orange- orange Yellow- pineapple Green- kiwi Blue- blueberry Purple- grape The cloud has unsweetened shredded coconut on top, and we added starfruit as our pot of gold just because my kids think it is the most fun fruit EVER! I used to be addicted to a certain frozen beverage, that was only available for about a month each year, from a large chain restaurant. It just happened to be neon green and minty. And I would drink them every chance that I had.
A SMALL one has 530 calories. And 73g of sugar. That's like downing over 18 teaspoons of sugar in one swoop. Yikes. And then I saw the light. I cleaned up my diet. I ditched dairy. Yet, I still wanted that frozen creamy minty goodness. What's a girl to do?! Make her own of course. So my family had a "Shamrock Shake-it-Off" today. We sampled four different recipes and voted on our favorites. Here's what we tried out: Today's post is brought to you by a special guest author- my son Charlie! This weekend I traveled with my hockey team, the Cheektowaga Warriors, to Bradford, PA to play in a hockey tournament. I've been playing hockey for 5 years. One thing I have learned is eating healthy food helps you play better! When you don't eat healthy foods, it can slow you down. You might get a stomach ache. You might not have the energy to play. But when you do eat healthy foods, it fills you up with energy and you'll play better! I can skate faster and shoot the puck harder. Some of my favorite healthy foods to eat before playing hockey are:
Eating healthy foods boosts your skills! What's your favorite healthy food? About the author...Charlie is an 8 year old kid who loves to play hockey, baseball, and soccer. He also loves to eat, read a lot of books, and play Wii. He lives with his mom, dad, brother, sister, and two silly dogs. It's no secret, I love holidays. I love decorating. Making themed food. Doing crazy crafts. Dressing the kids up. I love 'em! Even the cheesy Hallmark ones like Valentine's Day. And it's not that I need an excuse to whip up a breakfast like this one, but it seemed perfect for today. Out-the-door chia power donuts from the Oh She Glows cookbook. Fresh strawberries. Bubbly mimosas. And the shining star- chocolate hazelnut hummus. No matter what your views on Valentine's Day, I hope that we can all agree here- chocolate for breakfast is good. When it tastes like Nutella? Even better. When it's pretty healthy? The best. So go ahead and enjoy some guilt-free chocolate for breakfast! The couple that sweats together stays together!
Ok, that's not a guarantee. But studies show that couples who work out together have a stronger emotional and physical bond, They are more satisfied in their relationship and are in general HAPPIER. Sweet deal, right? So with the year's largest holiday devoted to LOVE approaching, what do you say we skip the traditional dinner & a movie and get up & moving! Here are a few active date ideas to try out with your sweetheart: |
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