Hi there, and Happy Friday! I hope that you all have some awesome plans for the weekend. I have some fun fitness related plans that I'm looking forward to (more on that later)! So guess what? I only have a few more lessons and an exam left at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and then I'll be a certified health and wellness coach! I can't believe how fast this whole year of school has gone. Last weekend IIN had live sessions in NYC, and while I couldn't be there in person (hopefully one day I can make it to a weekend of live lectures!), I was able to live stream some of the weekend's lectures. All I have to say is that this school is full of amazing, inspirational students and teachers. I have just been soaking it all in, and I've truly enjoyed my experience at IIN. In ... [Read More]
Archives for November 2014
A Day in the Life + Chocolate Mint Protein Pudding
Hi friends! So I've been seeing a lot of 'A Day in the Life' posts around the blogging world, and it has inspired me to do one myself. I enjoy these posts because it gives me a further glimpse into the blogger's life and lets me get to know them a little better. I love reality TV like the murder show Snapped and the addiction series Intervention because I'm just really interested in the psychology behind people and why they do what they do. Okay okay, I also like trashy reality shows like The Real Housewives too. My theory is that if you like reality TV, you enjoy 'A Day in the Life' posts. Do you agree? My schedule varies day-to-day, largely because I have a flexible work schedule (which I am so thankful for!). Sometimes I'll grab lunch or have a smoothie date with a friend; some ... [Read More]
Goat Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Blossom Crostini
There are certain foods that people immersed in the healthy living world tend to be obsessed with... things that the average person isn't even aware of. Take nut butter for example. Every healthy foodie not only knows about nut butter, but probably has a dozen jars of it in their pantry at any given time. But use the term "nut butter" with a random person and ask them what their favorite is, and prepare for them to look at you like you have three heads. That's because they probably know about peanut butter, but that's all about it when it comes to nuts being processed into a smooth, creamy and dreamy spread. Foods like hemp and chia seeds are another example. If you normally have these in your kitchen, you're probably a health nut foodie. During a stint visiting my family ... [Read More]
Our Brains are Like Velcro to Negativity and Teflon to Positivity {Self-Love Talk}
"You have some under eye circles, so you need a hydrating concealer to help with that," the Macy's makeup employee at the Benefit counter said. I feign a smile while staring at the pound of makeup caked on this girl's face. A moment later she follows it up with, "I think you should go with shade #2, because you're supposed to go with your forehead color. Your forehead is darker than the rest of your face, but that should work." I look in the mirror in the overly bright department store I'm standing in, then give my husband, who I dragged with me to the makeup counter before a movie, a, "What the hell is this chick talking about?" face. I walk away muttering that I suppose this girl was just doing her job, although it was totally unsolicited advice, as I was just stopping in to ... [Read More]
Dinner in 10: Black Bean Burger, Cheddar & Ranch Salad
From time to time, people I know will bring up my blog and say things like, "All of your recipes look great, but I think they're too complicated for me." While the word "complicated" when referring to cooking is very subjective, and I feel like most of my recipes are not all that difficult or time consuming, I do understand that some people don't enjoy preparing a meal or care to be savvy in the kitchen, and simply want to be able to eat something they can feel good about that took 15 minutes or less to make. Guess what? Healthy eating does not have to be time consuming. Sure, it may take more work than, say, pulling through a drive-thru, but it doesn't need to be a huge, intricate task to make a nutritious dinner. In fact, a lot of my dinners are thrown together really easily. I have a ... [Read More]
Arugula Pesto Linguine with Tomato & Zucchini
Saturday was one of those days when I was all about checking things off my to-do list. Finish schoolwork. Check. Vaccum. Check. Dust. Check. Do laundry. Check. Fold laundry. Check. Clean bathrooms. Check. Walk the pup. Check. Do an at-home workout. Check. Purchase a car dog seat cover so that my pooch doesn't ruin my car. Check. When Saturday evening rolled around, I decided that it was a nicely productive around-the-house day, and now it was time for some weekend fun. My hubby and I had plans to go to a luxury movie theater with another couple, but first, it was time to check this off my mental checklist: Make an awesome dinner using the farmer's market pasta sitting in my cabinet. The week before I had met a girlfriend for a smoothie date, and afterwards we walked around ... [Read More]