Lettuce Eat Greens

Lettuce Eat Greens

Hello friends! I hope this new year is finding you happy and well. I kind of feel like my new year so far has been a whirlwind and bam, it's already the 18th. We've visited more with friends, we're back to soccer and baseball practices and we've been home a lot lately due to the bitter cold temps in KC. This week we had -20° windchill and then it will be 50° this weekend. That's KC for you.

One thing holds true for me when I am out of my food routine (whatever that really is) for whatever reason, I miss eating something green! I don't discriminate (too much) when it comes to what kind of green foods I like to eat but I want them regularly! I'm going to share with you why green foods are good for you and easy ways to incorporate them into your routine, even when life gets, well, like life.

Greens are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and carotenoids. Antioxidants help protect healthy cells from damage. They can be vitamins, minerals or carotenoids. Phytonutrients, or phytochemicals, are compounds found only in plants that help protect them. They also have health benefits. Common Phytonutrients are lutein and beta-carotene. Carotenoids are a phytonutrient that has antioxidant properties. Anyway, there is a lot of great s#!$ in green veggies, or all veggies for that matter.

2017 Year in Review

2017 Year in Review

Happy New Year friends! I have been MIA this past month with a new very part-time job, the holidays and traveling, and this time of year tends to bring on a lot more stress for me. But I've been looking back on this past year and reflecting on how much I've learned and grown since starting this blog in May. I continue to remind myself that I started it in May and it can only go up from here. I'm really excited to see what this next year has in store.

This was definitely a year of growth for me. From starting the blog to opening up about my own struggles to figuring out what I want to do with my life. I. Have. Grown! Thank you to my husband and my dear friend, Sarah, for pushing me to test out the blogging world. Thanks to all of you for following along on this journey with me. These are the top 3 blog posts you viewed this past year.

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Weight Isn't Everything

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Weight Isn't Everything

Happy holiday season everyone. I felt like the timing for this post would be perfect amongst a lot of talk about weight gain, weight loss, food restrictions, accountability around the holidays, etc. Is anyone already thinking about weight loss as a New Year’s Resolution? Well I’m here to tell you that weight loss isn’t the best goal to set and it is certainly not the only measure of success when it comes to health and wellness.

I will admit that I’m guilty when it comes to weight loss being at the top of my list of reasons why I’m making changes. But the disappointment when the scale doesn’t budge is real! The disappointment leads to emotional eating, bad moods and wanting to quit. Anyone else?

I know my body very well after living in it for 36 years. I know that I retain fluid and my weight can fluctuate a few pounds pretty regularly. I know that it will go back to normal but it still pisses me off every single time! Back when I was training for half marathons I would easily be up 3-4 pounds the day after my long run. I knew this was going to happen but it still messed with my head and my positivity. I burned 1000 calories running 10 miles, why did I put weight on?

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How to Plan for Multiple Diets at Mealtime

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How to Plan for Multiple Diets at Mealtime

Is anyone else dealing with a multiple "diet" household and struggling to find meals that please everyone? How about multiple food allergies? I'm convinced pleasing everyone is impossible anyway then you throw in the "I don't eat that" or "I can't have that" and it's a whole different ballgame. Maybe it's food allergies, auto-immune disease, against animal cruelty, or maybe for other reasons. Ok, so it's not totally impossible but it takes a little more time and effort as well as a little bit of I don't give AF (if everyone is 100% excited about the meal) to make it happen with less stress. The problem is that I give too many Fs when it comes to what we eat so I need to work on that last part. Also, I am in NO way recommending anyone adhere to any particular diet, just offering ideas if needed.

In my house, we are working with a generally picky 9 y/o who hates change, a vegetarian that just moved back in, and I'm gluten-free and mostly dairy-free due to my thyroid health. My husband just doesn't like cilantro or snap peas, weirdo! I'm also really working toward more real food when possible. Like, gasp, real butter! Who's with me on that? I'm trying to keep it simple with decent ingredients and keeping in mind everyone's preferences. I have a few staple meals that we make when we are all going to be around for dinner. Here are some ideas on how we make it work:

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Real Talk, Take 2

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Real Talk, Take 2

I went to a local event this week called Food Yeah! put on by Indulge, which hosts wellness events in KC. They had a panel of 5 experts in their own realm of the food world. This included a dietitian, 2 health coaches, a doctor and an organic farmer. They had wine! and we tried The Unbakery and Juicery's juice and protein balls. It was a lot of fun and I even won a giveaway.

This event was a great way to bring together like-minded people to discuss food. Topics included food priorities, diets, fats, where we get our food and why it's ok to not be perfect. The overall messages were great and definitely topics to build conversations on. They agreed that dieting doesn't work. High fives on that! Nutrition is very individual and it's important to find what works best for you when it comes to feeling your best. They agreed that we should be eating fat, in different varieties. They agreed that we should enjoy our food and enjoy the experience that food brings. Yes, yes and yes!