Tag Archives: Food

Knowing when to QUIT!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well and tagged with , , , , , ,

What do you want from me?

How many of us can sit down to a delicious meal, get to a point where we are definitely satisified…continue eating…we feel full…and keep eating STILL because it’s just so darn tasty!?!

I know I have.

Even more dangerous than that? Since eating a clean, paleo diet, I feel even more entitled to do that because, well..”it’s all healthy”!

A month ago I started a little experiment. I didn’t understand why I was still suffering (not nearly as much, mind you) with sporadic bouts of indigestion and sluggishness; I was eating clean, exercising, getting adjusted…what was the deal?! So the plan for the month was to eat to the point where I wasn’t feeling HUNGRY anymore. I didn’t want to reach the point of feeling full, I definitely didn’t want to reach the point of feeling too full…I just didn’t want to feel hungry anymore. I wanted to see how this would affect my body, mind and soul.

The results were very interesting.

I expected that I may lose some weight…I did…a little. I also, however, felt so much cleaner, and so much lighter! The best piece for me was that my digestion became very normal (sorry…) and I didn’t even think about it from day-to-day! Other little perks? We had more left overs, and Nick liked me more because I would give him what I didn’t eat :-p

What does Haaaaaaavaaaaaahd have to say about it?

Digestion involves a complex series of hormonal signals between the gut and the nervous system, and it seems to take about 20 minutes for the brain to register satiety (fullness). If you gobble down food too quickly, satiety may not occur until after you’ve gone overboard. There’s also reason to believe that eating while we’re distracted by activities like driving or working at a keyboard may slow down or stop digestion in a manner similar to how the “fight or flight” response occurs. And if we’re not digesting well, we may be missing out on the full nutritive value of our food.

~Harvard Health Letters

 

So, I’m doing soooo well, and then…one little meal comes along (I remember the meal too…ironically it was a salad!) and I jump off the “eat till you’re satiated” wagon. Before I know it, I’m eating till I’m full again…

Last night Nick and I were talking about how we wake up exhausted every morning. Why IS that? We go to bed at 9:30, 10 the latest…we exercise, we get adjusted, we eat clean, etc… I mean, yes, we’re under a lot of stress, but this much? Then Nick had a flashback to when Andrew was talking about Buckley (him and Kristen’s extremely handsome dog) and how he typically wakes up early, and with a copious amount of energy…unless he eats a big meal the night before.

B to the INGO!

More nights than not, Nick and I don’t even get home until 8pm, which means we’re eating at around 8:45-9pm, and to top it off, we go to bed at 9:30pm. Things NEED to change. Plus, I don’t really like cooking under those circumstances,  I like to make it an experience. Turn on some sexy music, drink a glass of red wine and mentally recharge as I chop onions :)

So, I’m back on the satiety wagon, and we’re going to make it a goal to eat dinner before 7:30pm! But…I’m going to need a little help from you on this…

What are some helpful tips you have discovered to ensure that you are prepared to cook and eat dinner at a reasonable hour when you have a busy schedule?

Much love,

Jen

I Think It’s Time You Knew…

Posted by beautifullystrong in recipes and tagged with , , , , ,

…that your pal, Jen, here can make one meannnnnn salad!

I’ve been holding out on you guys…and I apologize! I AM, however, going to make it up to you RIGHT NOW by letting you in on how it is that I create these culinary masterpieces!

It’s simple, any good recipe needs a little structure, so…

…the breakdown.

Pick one or more (if noted) of the following categories:

LEAF:

Kale (alarm alarm!!! this is my most favorite leaf on the planet! There are so many positive benefits from kale, and other dark leafy greens…like calcium retention! Milk is NOT doing our body good guys…), spinach, chard, lettuce (all kinds), arugula, beet greens, the tops of Brussel stalks (so tasty!!), Bok choy, cabbage (why not?)

VEGETABLE (pick as many as you want!):

cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, string beans, peas, onions, broccoli, celery, fiddleheads, peppers, celery, cauliflower, aspargus, shallots, GO CRAZY!! add some sweet potato chunks if you want!

FRUIT:

I usually only pick one fruit (I know a few of those “vegetables” are technically fruits (tomatoes, peppers…which I find kind of weird, and still consider them vegetables :-p)

strawberries, blueberries, black raspberries, raspberries, grapes (red or green!), apple chunks, pomegranate seeds, clementine, or anything else you’d like to try..honestly…GO CRAZY!

FAT:

I LOVE adding HEALTHY fat to my salad, and I usually do so in more way than one! Pick TWO of the following if you will :)

nuts! (almonds, pecans, walnuts, macadamian nuts, brazilian nuts, hazelnuts, etc etc. I have read that the two top winners for nuts are macadamian nuts and hazelnuts…they have the highest amount of monounsaturated fats of any nuts!! which is GREAT guys…go for these if you can!), avocado, coconut chips (which might be weird unless it was a fruit salad…if thats the case, then YES YES YES!!), olives

MEAT:

Make sure no matter what you’re putting on your salad for meat (protein), that it’s healthy! Typically I put the following on my salads: Trader Joes all natural chicken sausage, tuna fish, hard-boiled eggs (or even fried!), chicken, grass-fed beef or steak, nitrate free bacon :)

DRESSING:

I always, always do three trips around the bowl of extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinaigrette. If this isn’t something you’re into, but trust me its delicious, check out Brianna’s dressings..CRACK…CRACK I SAY!!!

So, today I made a salad that consisted of: kale, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, cooked onions, avocado, tuna fish with dijon mustard (in lieu of the mayo, ick), macadamian nuts, red grapes and dressing…results???…

PS: Think salads are only for dinner and lunch? No way…check out this good looking BREAKFAST SALAD!!!

Short Skirts, Tall Boots And Wool :) …Ahhhh Fall :)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts, recipes and tagged with , , , , ,

Before I launch off on a marathon of chatter to catch you up on my life, I just want to stop and say thank you for FALL!!!! Cool, crisp mornings that make it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get out from underneath your snuggly blankets. Soft wool sweaters and tall brown leather boots. Pink cheeks and little traces of your breath in the morning. Hot coffee to warm cold hands. Little kids wearing backpacks with pride. Leaves turning shades or red, yellow and orange. Apple picking and hot apple cider (and once a year, that piping hot cider donut…mmmmmmmmm!). Yep! Fall is amazing…period! I welcome you with open arms :-D !!

Well, it’s official…I have signed up for my first 5k ever!! October 24th, 2010 at 11am, I will be running the Cider Mash 5k at Cider Hill Farms in Andover, MA. The website says it’s the most challenging 5k around…so OBVIOUSLY that’s the one I chose to run :-0, I mean, I hated running before, so why NOTTTT pick the hardest 5k around to kick off my road race experience. HA! Last night I officially ran the most UNBROKEN miles I ever have…3.85!!! Honestly, I am SOOOOO excited because I felt GOOD!!! I felt like I could easily carry a conversation, I felt like I was breathing normally…the only thing that stopped me was my feet. Chucks are not good for running…in case you didn’t know. Maybe its time for some Inov-8′s??

This past Monday was Nick and I’s one year anniversary :) I feel like the luckiest person on the planet to have been able to say I’m his girlfriend for the last year. It’s been the best year of my life to date! :) SO, on Sunday we went up to Cider Hill farms to apple pick, have some hot apple cider, and even, yes even, a cider donut!! I hadn’t had a donut since the PREVIOUS year when I ate a cider donut at Cider Hill. After apple picking we went to Flatbread pizza in Andover. Now, we hardly EVER eat pizza. The last time we ate pizza before this time was literally in March..and we were in NYC, and we were walking by the pizza shop that is supposedly in SpiderMan…so we had to stop. Before that, November. So, pizza twice in the course of almost a year…I would say we’re doing okay. Anyway…it’s kind of a funny story. I’m sure our waitress thought Nick and I were the biggest weirdos ALIVE! Flatbread is this GREAT restaurant, super great atmosphere (wood burning oven, wooden beams, etc), and all natural, organic, local ingredients. SOOOO, for pizza, it’s the healthiest we’ll probably find, and we were okay with eating QUALITY pizza, not just for the sake of eating pizza. Well, there were two size options, small or large. We agreed to order salads first (fresh fiber first!) and then split a small pizza…but then we SAW the small pizza. It was the size of a dinner plate. That was not going to fly… However, instead of trying to decide this ahead of time, we did this as the waitress was standing there. We couldn’t decide on a small or large…we explained that we knew we could EAT the large (its super thin crust and not nearly as large as a large sounds…), but that we were reserved about doing that because we ‘NEVER EAT PIZZA..like ever…”. She was probably like, seriously?? Long story short… we got the large, and ate the whole thing..hahaha. It was delicious, amazingly great quality ingredients, and we enjoyed every bite :) So to me, that’s a win!

Apple picking Fall 2009

 

Apple Picking Fall 2010

Best. Day. Ever.

I’m really excited for next month…not only am I running a 5k, and it’s Halloween month (when I live near Salem MA!!), we’re going to an awesome seminar, and a Celtics game… BUT my family is coming, and NICK’S family is coming, and they’re going to be here the same time!!!!! So much to look forward to!

 

On a Crossfit related note:

I haven’t been going to Crossfit as much in the last few weeks because I’ve been substituting them with runs. I’m trying to get my body used to running 3+ miles (doesn’t sound like a lot, but two months ago, tops, I wasn’t running more than 1 mile at a time…). The last time I was in the gym was Saturday morning. The workout was pretty freakin AWESOME.

1 mile time trial (7:49, my fastest mile yet!)

 max pullups in 2 minutes (31)

max pushups in 2 minutes (31)

max situps in 2 minutes (63)

max squats in 2 minutes (65)

So, obviously this was a workout in itself…but THEN our coach, Raf, wanted to do a challenge. He told us to get into groups of 4 (Nick and I paired up with Kathryn and Evan), and grab a 35# kettlebell for women and 52# kb for men. We all ended up using the 35# since we had just finished a workout that used a fair amount of arms. The challenge? 1000 kettlebell swings for time (amongst your team). It took us 1/2 hour………. and I DESTROYED my hand. I never ever take off my ring on my right hand, and after the workout, not only did I have the entire outside of my pinky finger raw and bloody, but my where my ring hits my palm was destroyed, and there was actual flesh embedded in my ring (sorry for the gore…:-p). It. Was. Nuts. So, I haven’t been in the gym since then because it STILL hurts to take a shower (raw skin), and I look like I have a disease…my hand is literally falling apart. Tonight’s workout has weighted pullups in it, and there are ring dips…ugh…fun times. Help me gain some of the motivation I need to get there tonight…please? :)

 

On a FOOOOOOD related note:

Want a quick, INSANELY DELICIOUS breakfast option?? This morning we had the tastiest, completely balanced breakfast EVER!!

First, hard boil some eggs. I recently found the most PERFECT hard-boiled egg consistancy…here’s my tip: Boil the water FIRST. Then gently place the egg in the water for 8 minutes on the dot…pull it out. Perfect.

While boiling eggs, cook some bacon. We had baked ours the night before, so we just needed to heat it up. Crispy is better for this.

Chop the hard-boiled egg up in a bowl, crumble the bacon, chop up some tomato, red onion and avocado. Mix it all together, and savor every single salty, creamy bite :-D YUM!!! Pictures to come later :)

Bon appetite! :-D

Love,

Jen

 

 

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww….

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

DIS-GUSTING!

Oh my GOD, I can’t believe you’re eating/drinking that!! What IS that?! 

I’m standing at the train station, waiting for my train, minding my own business, consuming the last of my smoothie from the morning. Rich with nutrients, a vibrant green in color…somehow someone was disgusted by me drinking it. Without any sort of holding back at all, a man walks by, turns his head toward me and makes the most disgusted face I have ever seen in my life. 

Hmm… 

Spinach, peaches, blueberries, fish oil, avocado and a little added protein…I dont’ see the issue here… 

Now just for one moment, let’s play a game… 

Let’s pretend we live in a world where this is not weird to drink, and MCDONALDS is…just imagine if every time we saw someone digging into their Mickey D’s bag for that second cheeseburger (I say this because one day I was stuck, on the inside, in a seat with someone that had a never-ending supply of cheeseburgers in a little tiny bag…and went as far to lick the little bit of ketchup that dripped on their bag, with their tongue, RIGHT OFF THE BAG…but this isn’t weird..you’re right…) we looked at them like they were beyond disgusting… 

Not “PC” right? We would be considered judgemental… 

We live in a funny funny world my friends…funny funny world. A world where eating fruits and veggies blended into a convienient nutrient packed smoothie  is considered ”odd” and eating something that could survive 3 years in a coat pocket without changing in the slightest because it’s so gross that even BACTERIA doesn’t want to eat it is “normal”… 

I’m okay with being “disgusting” then… :-p 

Let’s go out and disgust some people today!! I’m down! :-D  

Love, 

Jen

Achin’ For Some Bacon?

Posted by beautifullystrong in recipes and tagged with , , , ,

Okay, there is no bacon in this breakfast…but there are TONS of eggs (and on a side note, we LOVE bacon, nitrate free!!)!!

Here is a delicious egg scramble we made when Nick’s buddy Nate was visiting, with a delicious side of sweet potatoe home fries. Yummmmmmmmmmmm!!!! Who said eating healthy had to be boring? Not us!!

chicken sausage, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, peppers, brocolli...YUM!! and of course EGGS!

cooked in olive oil with some pepper and fresh rosemary from our garden!

 

HAPPY FEASTING!!!!

Love,

Jen

Fill ‘Er Up, Please!

Posted by beautifullystrong in recipes and tagged with , , , , ,

“I don’t have TIME to make a healthy breakfast…I only have about enough time to throw a pop tart in my purse and run out the door!”

Sound like you, or someone you know? I hear this a lot, and I know all about it because I used to say the same thing! All I had time for in the morning was cereal! However, if you think about it, it takes time to pour the cereal, pour the milk, and sit there and eat the thing!

What if I told you that in 5-10 minutes you could make a meal that is PACKED with nutrients AND suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper tasty!!? Would that make you hit your snooze one LESS time in the morning so that you could start your day with a full tank of gas? If you car was running on empty, you wouldn’t have any option but to stop and take 5 minutes to fill it up, correct? Why do we think that we have the OPTION to run on empty with our BODIES? Take the 5 minutes to fill er up! :-D

I saw this recipe on Doctor Franson’s blog a while back; they make this delicious-ness for the kids in the morning. Immediately, I wanted to try it out. Sure enough, its AMAZING!

Blend an avocado with all-natural apple sauce (organic if you can!) in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy! I sprinkled shredded coconut flakes on top of mine, and Nick wanted assorted nuts. The result?

Nutrient packed SUPER FOOD!

So what we have learned is that at every meal we should ask ourselves the following questions:

Where’s the protein?

Where’s the fat?

Where are the plants?

In the avo-apple goodness we have lots of healthy fat (avocado and coconut flakes or raw nuts), and carbs/plants (apple sauce), but what about the protein?

To make this breakfast a health promoting powerhouse, we made a tasty scramble with pork, black beans, asparagus and spinach!

"Fill er up please!"

This all took about 10 minutes to make, and honestly, it could be even less if prepped the night before. You could DEFINITELY make the avo-apple goodness the night before, which would give you a few precious moments more of sleep :)

Treat your body like it’s the only one you’ll ever get (because let’s face it, it IS the only one you’ll ever get!). Fill up that gas tank every morning before you hit the road!

Have a fantastic Tuesday guys :)

XOXO,

Jen

FOOD, It’s What’s For Breakfast!

Posted by beautifullystrong in recipes and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Guess what guys?? Today is my 100th post!! VERY exciting stuff :) While I was thinking this morning what I would want to write about today, Nick said JUST the right thing…

“Now THIS is a BREAKFAST!”

Sprawled across the table in front of us was:

~a greek salad (not the kind with feta…just cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, lots of pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

~apple chicken sausage

~eggs

~cantelope slices

Now, why am I telling you this? Well, I feel a lot of people seem to think I eat lettuce all day, everyday. It couldnt’ be further from the truth.

Truth:

~I have NEVER eaten so much food in my LIFE!

~I have NEVER eaten so much MEAT in my life!

*Now keep in mind that the meat I eat is healthy, grass-fed/free range meat…there are no grains in these meats, no antibiotics, and no artificial growth hormones…just had to get that in there.

~I have never been this LEAN in my life!

~I have never eaten this much FAT in my life!

*Only healthy, good-for-you fats like avocado, olive oil, coconut oils and raw nuts.

~I have lost about roughly 25lbs of fat, and gained 10-15lbs of muscle.

Healthy fat is GOOD, healthy meat is GOOD!

When you eat the right stuff, you can never overeat…you just can’t eat too much of the good stuff!

Last night for dinner, I got a little crazy and just started dumping things in a soup pot…and you know what? Turned out pretty dang good! So, since I think you guys are super amazing, I thought I would share it with you! :) Enjoy!

That's a' spicy lentil SOUP!

 Spicy Lentil Soup

1 quart of organic creamy tomato soup

2 cans Annie’s Lentil Soup (from Trader Joes)

4 glasses of water

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 links of spicy jalapeno chicken sausage (TJ’s)

1/2 onion

LOTS of pepper

swig of olive oil

As MANY veggies as you WANT! I put in: brussels, asparagus, string beans, and carrots!

Nick LOVED this..and I’m not going to lie…I LOVED it too!!

Have a fantastic Tuesday!

Love,

Jen

“Fiber Isn’t JUST For Cool Poops…”

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If you were at Dr. Paul Kratka’s workshop last night on Eating Healthy in an Unhealthy World, you would know why I titled the post that offensively hilarious name. That, amongst many other, ridiculously funny quotes were said last night…and TONS of PRICELESS information was offered for no price at all.

As I sat in the front row listening to Dr. Kratka, I experienced a full range of emotions: from laughing till the point of tears, to shaking my head in disgust due to the cold hard facts he was presenting (Did you know that Nintendo is now coming up with a “GAME” to test children’s blood sugar…we’re making games out of children having diabetes now…someone else think that is disgusting?!). There was a lot of information that I had seen/heard before from Dr. Franson or Nick, as Dr. Kratka assumed there would be, but he delivered it in a fresh, new way…an in your face, direct approach. Here are some of the big things I took away:

1) Dr. Kratka wanted to first off dispel a common myth that we hear all the time…and it’s killing us… “EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.” No…NOT everything in moderation. He talked about how we shouldn’t just drink water in moderation (we should be drinking HALF of our body weight, in ounces…so for instance, let’s say you weight 140 pounds, you should be drinking 70 ounces of water a day…), the same way we shouldn’t be eating cake in moderation, or drinking soda. If you were to, let’s say, drink a bottle of rat poisen…what would happen?? What would happen if you put diesel in your gasoline-running vehicle?? Well, the same thing would happen for BOTH! The machine that you’re putting the “fuel” into would SHUT DOWN! Now, what would happen if you drank a can or two of soda a day, everyday….or what if you put a little bit of diesel in your car, everyday?? What would happen? EVENTUALLY guys, your car would SHUT DOWN!! It won’t happen tomorrow, or today…or even next week…but it WILL! And not because its “old” and just “aging”…eff that!…sorry…but come ON!, we are MADE to be HEALTHY!…and due to our lifestyles, we are causing our CRAVING-to-be-healthy bodies, to break down prematurely. Dr. Kratka would rip that soda out of your hands if he saw you drinking it…I won’t do that…but just think of it as RAT POISEN when you’re drinking it…it’s not good guys…

2) We should buy organic…always! I know it’s expensive (as Dr. Franson would say, but so is chemotherapy)…HOWEVER, I learned why we should REALLY be buying all organic. I dont’ always buy organic, I’ll be the first to admit that. We buy only grass-fed beef or free-range chicken, but some of, a lot of actually, of our produce is NOT organic. I thought, just like Dr. Kratka said MOST people think, that people think we should buy organic due to the pesticides. While that is a reason, but its only a small one. I learned that we should be buying organic because organic produce has all the nutrients. The “regular” produce is being grown in “dead” soil…while the organic produce’s soil is alive, crawling with bugs, and nutrients. Bugs are good in soil :) So while Nick I were talking about it on the way home, I said we should switch to buying all organic, and we were thinking about how our grocery bill will go up by about 20%, but you know what? I’m okay with that, because if we’re not getting the nutrients in our food that we need…what are we paying for then? Case closed :)

3) This is something that I’ve said before, but it was re-established last night. EVERY single choice that we make in our lives, is a decision. You’re either, in regards to our health, making a decision to move TOWARD health, or move AWAY from health…but no matter HOW you slice it…it’s a decision that YOU are making. We as a society seem to take so little responsibility in our health…”oh I’m getting a cold, it must be that time of year…” or “I got sick after taking a plane ride because there were sick people on it and you’re all stuck on a little plane…you’re BOUND to get sick…”, or “My knees are going…but that’s just because I’m getting old…”. I would like to think I have more control over my health than that….wouldn’t you? How about if we make an environment in ourselves that is COMPLETELY unappealing to germs…we can do that! How about we CHOOSE to put only healthy, enriching, nourishing whole foods in our body, drink plenty of water, get plenty of sleep and think healthy thoughts…and then see what happens :) I still get sick from time to time…but SO much less…and you know what, when I DON’T feel well, I know why! I was stressed to the max (stillllll my weak spot…), or I ate a bunch of crap. We are ONLY as good as our cells…and the food we put into our body makes up our cells. Seems soooo simple…but I know, it’s not easy!

4) Thing you should NO MATTER WHAT! stay away from:

Dairy

Processed grains

Processed oils

High-fructose corn syrup

Artificial sweeteners (did you know when they were testing animals for this (Aspartame)..every single one of those animals got a brain tumor??…I don’t remember the story of how those awful people still got it on the market…maybe one of you that were there could clarify that in the comment section…but it did, it got out on the market…and we as a society are BUYING it and PUTTING IT IN OUR BODY!!)

Artificial flavors/food dyes

What we SHOULD be eating:

Vegetables

Lean proteins: grass-fed/free range meat (no antibiotics or hormones used), cage-free eggs

Fruits

Fats (HEALTHY fats!! Fats are SOOO good for us…but still to these fats: fish/olive/coconut oil, avocado, raw nuts)

This was an incredible, entertaining, eye-opening workshop, that I really wish all of you could have been at! I also wish I really HAD taken notes so that I can get all the information to you. For those of you that were there, I would love sooo much if you could add, in the comment section, anything else that I have left out! We all take away different things :)

Thank you all so much for reading…I am so grateful for you :)

Love,

Jen

Paleo Projects :)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

Well, it was no Fran….but I did get in a workout last night, AND a girl’s talk session with my buddy Rhonda! We did a good 4.5-5 mile walk, trying to get some movement in, but trying to AVOID making my back WORSE! Mission accomplished! 

I got home right before Nick did, at 8pm, and got started on dinner. It was kiiiind of delicious!! :) Dropped a healthy dose of coconut oil in the cast iron pan, and then seared up some garlic and onions. MMMM, don’t you LOVE the way the house smells when garlic and onions are cooking? :) Then came the broccoli. At this point, Nick has walked in for the night, so mini pause on the cooking :)  

How GORGEOUS is this vegetable?!

Okay, and back to it! So a couple of weeks ago I bought two cans of coconut milk. I really have no idea what to do with this stuff…I guess I expected it would be like MILK! However, coconut milk has a butter like consistency, and melts when heated (duh!). So, I got a little kitchen curious. What would happen if I added coconut milk to the veggie mix (mean while, I had grass-fed beef cooking up on the cast iron griddle)? I also planned on adding peeled plum tomato/tomato paste to the mixture…so I was thinking, would that be weird with the coconut milk? Well, we won’t know unless we try!! SOOOOO, in it went, and immediately developed a pink (like vodka sauce..delish!) color. When everything was just about done, I threw in the swiss (rainbow) chard, and dished it up! 

Um yeah….DELICIOUS!!! It tasted familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it…apparently Nick was thinking the same thing because he said this outloud a couple of times, then told me it tasted like Thai food…YES…it had a hint of that peanut sauce flavor….oh man……..SOOOO GOOD!! 

On the peanut sauce thought….I wonder what it would be like if I mixed almond butter and coconut milk, and cooked up some chicken in a pan with that?!!? Project!! :-D  

Have a great Tuesday everyone :-D

Eating From the Heart: My Thoughts on the Emotional Eating Workshop I Attended Last Night

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Last night I attended Doctor Stephen Franson’s workshop on Emotional Eating. There were many powerful messages and inspiring thoughts. (Alexis presented a beautiful introduction for Doc Franson, and as usual, Doc Franson was incredibly informative and captivating.) Even though I now have a changed view about the purpose of food, and I have changed my lifestyle, I still have moments where I eat something for the wrong reasons. So, I was excited to go and learn some tools that I could use when in a bind. 

What I took away from the workshop: 

Often times when we eat something that isn’t a fuel for our bodies (when we distinctly KNOW it’s not healthy for us) we are filling a void. The thing to do would be to look inward and figure out what that void is and start ADDING things in our life that will fill us up (rather than unhealthy food choices). 

Think of every single thing that we put in our body as something that will make our cells healthier, or less healthy. Let’s face it guys, we are nothing but a large mass of cells. So start thinking of food as a fuel to make those cells healthy. That goes not only for food, but for movement and thought as well. We need to think of movement as something that is important enough (because it IS!) that if we don’t get enough of it, we will become  deficient, and eventually ill. 

When face to face with a destructive food like substance, think to yourself “What is it that the person I want/am trying to be would do right now?” When I heard this I had an immediate response of “OH!! Thats a good one!” I think the only way we will ever become the person we want to be, is by playing the part until we just ARE that person. I’m not condoning being something you’re not. However, self-improvement, wanting to be a better person is something we should be doing every single day of our lives. 

Doc Franson said that if you are really craving something, or you just want something really bad (like that vanilla cupcake with sweet pink cream frosting), do something healthy first, and then if you still want it, go ahead! For instance, you’re standing in your kitchen, staring that cupcake down. “Oh godddd I want that cupcake!” Your mouth is literally watering at the very thought of it hitting your lips! Step 1: make a choice of what it is you are going to do that is HEALTHY (ex: go for a run, eat a kiwi, call your buddy who will talk you off the ledge, just go for a walk around the block). Step 2: Do the healthy action. Step 3: If you get back from doing whatever it is you chose to do, and you’re still thinking, “Yep, STILL want that cupcake”, then eat the dang thing. Chances are, it won’t be as dire for you to eat it. 

The biggest thing I took away, and agree so highly with, is that our day needs to start on the right foot. I know personally that when I have a great morning, the rest of my day typically goes that way too. So first thing first: food. Our day needs to start with a nutrient packed breakfast…you wouldn’t start a long road trip with an empty tank. It needs to be the right food! You wouldn’t put diesel in your car if it runs on regular gas…you wouldn’t get too far. So fill up your tank and make sure its running clean! 

A field of kale?? I MUST be dreaming :)

 

Last night Doc Franson made a smoothie that he calls the Green Monster. It’s a healthy smoothie so that his family leaves the house to begin their day with more nutrients in them than most kids probably get in a WEEK! So I was inspired to get back on the bus of making smoothies (it’s been a long cold winter…). This morning I made something very similar, with just a few tweaks, and it turned out to be DELICIOUS! So…I thought I would share with you :)  

1-1.5 cups of frozen peaches 

1 banana 

Almond milk (enough to give it a smoothie like consistancy) 

1-2 tablespoons of fish oil 

1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil 

1 raw egg 

TONS of kale!!! 

It may not SOUND like it tastes good, but I honestly think this is the best smoothie I have ever made! So…give it a whirl! 

Have a great Thursday!!