How I Found Balance

I’ve been wanting to write a post on balance for quite some time, yet I never took the time to actually begin it…

As a health food advocate, I practice it everyday. Whether this be making sure to get my greens and fruits in every day, or focus on no processed items, each day of the week I go to bed happy with my health.

But, I have not always been someone that has preached this message, and unfortunately it took me a long time to get here.

A few years ago, I was an excessive eater. I ate at any moment food was available to me, no matter if I was hungry or not. This, unfortunately cause a lot of weight gain to occur, and by freshman year, I was miserable. Yet, I had no idea how to change what was going on in my life.

On the left, just before I started my “health” kick.

I opened up to my mom, reaching out after we went to the doctor who told me that my weight was a little over what it should be. We started to work on eating healthier, and maybe try to add some light exercise, as entering high school I gave up my sports of soccer and softball.

Unfortunately, I took losing weight to an extreme. It started slow for sure, and I was doing what I thought was right by consuming “diet” foods that led into skipping meals… I ran three times a week, and then converted to just doing the elliptical and treadmill at the gym because I could then see the calories I burned to an “exact amount”.
Slipping into an eating disorder and exercise obsession is a very touchy and uncomfortable experience for a lot of reasons; one being that your relationship with food is never the same. Instead of seeing food as fuel, I saw it as a monster that would ruin the physique I had built up. Yet, as I continued to avoid it, the body I once had, was slipping away. In it’s place, protruded ribs, frail hair and little muscle.

By the time the next Spring had hit, I weighed so little that sometimes, my head would spin from a small movement. I barely could focus on anything besides the food I would consume, and running was out of the question. It was unfortunate to watch things I worked so hard for dissipate so quickly, yet I had no idea how to get my life back.

At a very low weight, being social was hard as I rarely wanted to be around people

For a start, I began therapy and working with a dietitian. To say that was easy is a complete lie, and I did NOT do well at first, by any means! It took months for me to even get close to gaining weight, yet when I did and I started to stretch my comfort zone, my life began falling back into place. Slowly but surely.

The year of recovery I went through helped me development the passion I now have for health, wellness and BALANCE. Yes, BALANCE! My favorite word ever! (can you tell??) Each week, I worked on what I could eat and how I could build up the body I wanted by opening my eyes to the amazing world of food and nutrition. I started to see food as this beautiful thing: Whole foods, no diet products, and freaking great tasting stuff that made me happy. This led ME to happiness, and although I’m not perfect, it’s the start of a beautiful life.

 

She gon’ get you girl! Run for the nutbutter!

I started to eat better meals, develop a love and passion for food and now, am a FOODIE! Not only that, but the food I consume fuels some pretty great runs, as well.

Now, what is my definition of balance… well, you see, balance to me is honoring your cravings and enjoying your life WITHOUT the need to constantly revolve around the food you are consuming. Example: If I have a smoothie for breakfast, and avocado toast for lunch, but later I want a dang big bowl of red lentil pasta covered in almond milk cheese, I’m a-okay with that. What I mean is that a lot of people focus on OMG CARBS!-which is not a bad thing- but, I prefer to listen to what my body wants. If one day I skip weights at the gym and take my dogs for a walk, I will not combust into a pile of ash.

Healthy living is taking the time to care about you. It’s about taking care of yourself, giving the essentials necessary for your life to continue on. And the thing is, life is far too short to consume your everyday with being PERFECT. No one is perfect, and there will not be a day when a perfect individual comes along. The best you can do is to live your life happy and healthy. I learned to love whole foods, take my nutrition seriously; but when my friends call me up to grab froyo or Tasty Treat ice cream, I’m not going to flip because it isn’t organic.

What I’m trying to say is that to love your body, you have to trust your body. The same goes for yourself. Trust your instincts, and stick to the values YOU believe in. This is what balance is. Focus on you, and I promise, the rest will fall into place as it should.

 

The Perfect Bowl of Oats

It’s pretty clear what one of my top breakfasts would be if I was asked.

Oatmeal.

You see, oatmeal and I have had a funky relationship that dates back to when I was just a tiny kiddo, staring at these weird oval shaped things being heated over the stove. When my mom first served me oatmeal, I was disgusted. Where was the sugar, where was the crispy, cocoa crunch or the fruity artificial taste I enjoyed so much? And why wasn’t this food colorful?!

I think most young kids are like this, though. We’re all wrapped up in the prize waiting for us inside the box, or the bright colors that spark our interest as we shopped at the store with our parents. We were drooling over the shiny tin foil of Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tart (breakfast? REALLY?!), fighting for the biggest box of Lucky Charms. I think we all had that problem as kids. My problem? Honey Nut Cheerios. Cocoa Puffs. Breakfasts that never kept me full, and yet had me bouncing off the walls.

As I got older, I began to realize that maybe these weren’t all too great for me; and not just because it was sugar. My taste buds changed and soon, I began looking at that container of dry oats again; wondering if I just tried them again… what would I think?

That’s when I started experimenting with oats… and now, I AM IN LOVE.

First, I just started with milk. Warmed milk, banana slices, and oats. Then I dumped some sugar on those oats and called it a day.

As I began my time on Instagram, I started to notice all the different things people threw on their oats to make them taste even better. And because of this, I have found that oats are truly, my thaaaaang.

I decided to devote a post to some of my favorite oatmeal toppings and cooking options because without oats, many would be in the dark.

1. Cooked/ Soaked in Nut Milk

Oatmeal drowned in nut milk is possibly one of the greatest things to come about. When my stomach starting becoming sensitive to milk, I definitely turned right away to an alternative. My favorite right now is Califia Farms. No additives, chemicals or sugar. Just pure bliss in a bottle.

2. Nut butter

I am almost positive that every bowl of oats I’ve ever eaten has been topped with nutbutter. I love the way it folds into the oats. So good.

3. Chia Pudding and Yogurt 

Siggi’s yogurt is definitely my favorite topping for oats solely for the fact that it creates such a creamy texture for the oats and adds extra protein. The chia pudding is something I can eat on its own, but I love the little bubbly feel and taste of it. The yogurt just makes this and the oats even creamier.

4. Granola

The crunch of granola is what always gets me. It’s just perfect. There’s no other way to explain it.

5. Fruit

I’m mad about fruit. That’s all you need to know.

6. Overnight 

I LOVE OVERNIGHT OATS. Easy prep that makes everything a breeze in the morning; especially when you wake up late…

 
So there’s my perfect bowl of oats, and of course I love them in all sorts of ways. Sometimes I cook them with zuchini, maybe egg white for protein, and usually with chia seeds. Oats are a blank pallet that you create to fit your needs. And that’s just great.
What’s your favorite way to prepare your oats?

The Veg Week

Monday. Oh, Monday here we go AGAIN!

A lot of people hate on Mondays, and I feel like that is such a sad way to look at a fresh start. I’m not saying that Mondays are my favorite days, but I think it’s time we start looking at beginnings as more of a positive than a negative! Especially when you’ve got an entire week ahead.

Starting with a positive mind set is definitely something I try to practice as often as possible. And so this week, I’m trying to be optimistic about a certain lifestyle I’m taking on!

This year, I am in a class called AP Environmental Science; a class where we study the specific trends and factors that play into the way our environment works, and our world as a whole. As a class project revolved around food production and wellness, we’ve all signed a pledge to go vegetarian for the week. At first, I was really weary on the whole idea because it had led to unhealthy habits in the past.

But ever since I started blogging and really investing my time into a healthy lifestyle, I realized that I’m excited to take this challenge. It’s another way to kind of dive into a lifestyle I don’t normally partake in; and it’s an opportunity to test out different foods for the week, as well.

Since this is the first day of the challenge, I’m going to update you on what I prepped for this “veggie week”, and throughout the week I’ll keep you all up to date on how the week is going!

My Sunday was filled with a run to the store(s). You gotta pick up a bunch of stuff to get ready for a whole week; you feel?

Things I bought:

• Sweet potatoes
• Acorn squash
• Spinach
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cauliflower (Cauliflower steaks!!)
• Berries
• Bananas
• Nuts (Cashews, Sliced Almonds)
• Brown rice cakes
• Almond Milk
• Tempeh
• Tofu
• Chickpeas and Black beans
• Engine-2 wraps (6g of protein, baby!)
• Quinoa

Other things not shown were frozen fruit for smoothies, apples, eggs, edamame… etc.

Obviously this is a lot of stuff for a week, but these are all healthy options for food for days to come even after the whole veggie week is over. I also prepped some easy foods for the week, and once again, days to come.

A huuuuuuge batch of my Cinnamon Nut Granola that is packed with protein! My family loves it and it’s a great topper for smoothies; or even just to snack on.

Another batch of banana muffins. Guys, why don’t I write this recipe down???

I baked two sweet potatoes for quick grabs, and some beets too. I decided to leave the squash so I can try out a recipe or just have it freshly roasted. Same with the other potatoes I bought.

I decided to try out a chickpea salad and it was totally simple! Threw some chickpeas in a blender for literally a second to mash, added avocado, chopped peppers+ red chili flakes, and then swirled in some Fix Sriracha for an extra tang! Perfect protein to spread on an english muffin or throw in a wrap!

The last thing…? No bake bites, baby! Developed a Chocolate coconut recipe… check it out here.

 

Cannot wait to start trying some new meals… I’ll keep you on the loop!

 

Now it’s your turn…

What sort of things do you sub out for meat?

What types of things do you make on Sundays to let the stress of the week subside?

 

 

 

 

 

Friday What Have Ya’s

THE WEEKEND IS HERE.

YES.

SATURDAY-> SUNDAY->MONDAY.

Can you tell the days off are making me happy?

Since I’m gonna ride this flippin’ awesome mood I’m in, I decided that hey why not be a cool ol’ blogger person and share some of week faves- food, music, life, all that jazz

1. First on my radar?  This song.

This song. Wow, this song makes you feel so empowered and I absolutely love that. The way this girl hits the notes and sings about overcoming makes you get up and dance. Literally. I do it every time I hear this song. For anyone who needs a pick me up to remember how amazing you are, this song will do it for you. I promise.

2. Next up on my list is The Body Book by Cameron Diaz. This one of my Christmas gifts from my Aunt, and honestly it was one of my favorites. I’ve only just begun reading it, but just like the above song, you put it down feeling like a million dollars.

 

3. My mornings have recently been consisting of a ton of smoothies, and I’m not complaining. To be honest, if you would have asked me a while ago if I wanted a smoothie for breakfast, I would have shook my head and gone for a more blah breakfast like toast (which is still ahmmmazing!). But after seeing all the amazing creation a blender can spew out, I decided to give them a try and I’m pleased that I did.

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

 

4. Four of my favorite bloggers this week (and every other week…!)

• Chickpea in the City – Addie has killer pictures; ALWAYS. Her instagram is such an inspiration for mine, and I’m sure many others. Her blog is on point, gives great reviews and she is such a sweetheart! Her food never, ever looks bad, either.
• Initforthelongrun – Okay, Georgie is probably one of the coolest human beings alive. She’s so open, so funky and fresh, I just freakin’ love it! Her smoothies are TO. DIE. FOR. No joke! Her blog is full of great stories, recipes, and fun little tid bits. She’s also super personable and has helped me get into blogging!
• rachLmasfield – Rachel’s oats are fantastic. Please stare at her instagram and then report back to me on the things you will be throwing into your oats after. Not to mention, the recipes this girl has been throwing out have me licking my screen.
• Hummusapien –  love, love LOVE Alexis’s WIAW posts. She cracks me up, and reminds me of my total snacky habits! Her recipes are also serious mouthwatering. She also has great nutrition tips, and just seems downright awesome.

 

5.  You know I’m a foodie, I mean… it’s like, basically my middle name, you feel? Here’s some bites that I’ve been partial to…

• Fix Sriracha Sauce
  • They sent me a bottle of their product and boy, it’s good. I like spice quite a bit, but this one’s slightly muted which is super nice because sriracha can be hot as hell.
• Goji Berries – Himalania
  • Being a super food must be hard work because these babies are like, AWESOME. Sprinkling them on my smoothies, oats, and even toast or a muffin gives it an extra kick. These were on sale at Whole foods, so naturally I grabbed a bag!

• (2!!!) Almond Butters
  • Recently, I’ve been straying away from peanut butter and more towards the fantastic almond. I mean of course I’m still obsessed with peanut butter, but almond butter gives me some good vibes, man.

*lowkey- still very very in love with Wild Friends and so my mom snagged me a jar at Homegoods. I haven’t tried these yet because I’ve been trying to spoon up the rest of my Trader Joe’s jar and the rest of the Wild Friends I have open. CANNOT WAIT.

 

Just a little gist of what’s been plopped on my food, going through my feed, blasting through my ears and bringing inspiration this past week.

Let me know what some of your faves have been this week!

Healthy Habits for 2016

January… ALREADY!

It’s crazy how fast things fly by when you’re having fun.. and eating good food, and lovin’ life every once and awhile. If you’re interested in how my 2015 went, click here.

These past couple months have definitely been different. Living life as a legit runner, taking time off for injury, exploring new interests… yada yada. I think everyone’s life skips around, therefore my experiences have probably brought a moment in the last months of 2015 that strike with something out of the ordinary for you. This is what life is supposed to be; living it up, and trying to stretch the comfort zone you’ve built around yourself.

To maybe open up some pathways, I wanted to create a post sharing some new habits or things I want to try out as we roll into this new year. I suppose that in my eyes, a resolution works, but to make it stick… that’s a whole new story! That’s why I’ve taken the liberty to create some goals I’d like to form into habits; therefore, they stick forever!

Write a list of weekly to-dos

Sure, maybe this is totally plain and boring, but to get things done, you need to take the time to figure out what needs to be done! I always find myself falling behind right at the beginning because I can’t think of what comes next. Instead of having weight bear over me, I’m sticking a post-it note underneath my daily calendar each Sunday, listing off what I want to accomplish.

I’ve also downloaded a goal keeping up until I get the hang of it. It alerts me when I wanted to get things done by, so I don’t have to pile up later. Nothing on my shoulders? Sounds like a plan to me!

Start my day with water, and keep it going

I drink a lot of water. In fact, it maybe one of the only things I drink, aside from a daily tea or coffee, and maybe a Kombucha drink here or there. But, I find myself forgetting to drink that morning glass, leaving me wanting to drink a gallon at a time. Then, I skip it later and the cycle repeats. Water is such an essential nutrient in our body, and I feel like I’m depriving myself of something sooooo wonderful! It does great wonders, and I’m making it my goal to keep my hydration consistent through my day.

Take my blogging and Insta to a new level

So… I’m falling in love with the food blogging community (HEY BGB), and I’m also seriously falling in love with food and capturing pictures of it. I am fully aware that I am NOT a wonderful photographer (yet…), but it is my goal this year to step up my game.

I’m using a new camera, trying to find lighting in my house (HA!), and relying a lot on great posts from my girl, Georgie, over at Initforthelongrun . It’s going to be a trip, that’s for sure, but whenever I have extra time on my hands, I’m going to put a little more effort into really creating these two awesome things in my life. That means, more blog posts, more insta shots, and hopefully new opportunities.

Meditate

I’ve been an infrequent meditator(?) for a little while now, but I’m interested in pursuing it more frequently. I love the charge it gives afterwards; it’s definitely important to be aware of yourself and feel as though you can give all you can for most of your day. Along with this, we’ll be throwing in yoga and stretches to really spice it up!

Whole, Nutritious Foods

Whole foods are so important, and I’m going to strive to make them a majority of my diet. Of course, balance is always key. I don’t plan on going on some paleo, veggie, juice…etc. No, that’s not what I’m speaking of! I’m learning that pure ingredients and foods with all their nutritious sit the best in my body, and allow me to do the things I want. Therefore, why not make them a daily? I’m excited to bring out the new cookbooks, test and experiment with new foods, and truly embrace the foodie!

Of course, I’ve got other goals; but who doesn’t? These are just some of the big things I have coming up in my new year that I wanted to share. If you want to know more, feel free to hit me up!

What goals do you have comin’ your way in 2016?

Goodbye ’15… hello to ’16!

I read Chickpea in the City’s post about the new year, and was totally inspired to create my own as hers rocked my socks off…

It’s insane how fast this year went.

I think about last New Years and already I’m at another one; planning with my group of friends whose house we’ll be spending the night at, what food to bring… and what finals to begin studying for after.

But what I’m really starting to think about how much has changed for me in this last year. At the beginning of 2015, I was one Emily… yet I’m ending it feeling like I’m a completely different girl who started it. And while change can sometimes lead to negativity, I’ve seen myself grow instead of shrivel.

Let’s start with one major thing in my life: confidence. I was about midway through recovery in January, and I was finally able to run two times a week as my parents had said. I started off slower, taking these glorious moments in as they happened so infrequently… These moments lead for Emily time, something I so rarely received with school. During these moments, I felt doubt. A lot of doubt. I saw my times, I saw the miles others ran, and I saw the body weight I had gained and immediately thought… has this slowed me down? Am I not good enough? Do people judge me when they see me trudge through the snow filled sidewalks.

This only progressed as I continued, and I continued to gain weight for my recovery. I rarely looked in the mirror, as I knew something might set me off as I was still so sensitive to this new body…

But something great has come of this. As I developed, as I gained weight again, I became stronger, faster, and I realized that I loved who I was. I started listening to my therapist as she told me I had “shazam”. I took the time to discover that I was beautiful, too. I didn’t want to follow what everyone else did.

I think this is when I actually evolved my instagram, as well. I started following new people, people who valued themselves, who valued nutrition and not cheap protein bars to become “faster athletes”. It was an amazing turning point. I felt alive with the foods I ate, with the hours I slept, and with the mentality to look in a mirror and feel nourished… not “jacked”, or “skinny”. I felt me..

Once I felt “me”, I did something else crazy after reevaluating my food that I was slowly letting enter my diet. I went out for cross country, and trained by myself all summer because of the job I had the pleasure of having. And that was working with a beautiful young girl named Natalie, who has down syndrome. 

Natalie taught me not to fear being different, not to fear trying new things, and not to fear being the best. I was who I was, and she pushed me to dedicate my time to things I felt had importance in my life. It was magical. Early morning runs, workouts after work, a summer filled of my love for running, my strive to be me, and enjoy others without feeling the pressure to change who I was for them. I loved it.

As school started, and cross country  revved up, I began being who I was in the face of my classmates and teammates. I dressed with clothes I thought were simple, I spoke about things I felt were important, and I pushed myself at practice because I wanted to; not because I wanted acceptance or the thrill of a pat on the back. It was glorious.

STATE 2015 BABY!

Through these last months of the year, I’ve been injured. And while this brought agony into my life, it also brought such importance in my life. Balance. I’ve found that taking this time to have my body heal has created a HUGE thing in my life; it’s given me time to explore interests again, and reevaluate the things I did have in my life before.

I’ve found that being away from running has been so difficult, and that makes me so happy. I love it; therefore being away from it and feeling the pain excites me to jump start back into it. I’ve also found that cooking and baking gives me a mass amount of joy. IT’S AMAZING! Like, I love cooking for myself and my family.

In what I’m trying to say, I’ve gotten closer to being me in 2015 than I have in the past 17 years I’ve lived so far. It’s a killer experience. And it’s even more killer when I get to share my life with the amazing folks on instagram, and the people who read my blog. I cannot wait to explore nutrition even further this year, and hopefully continue on with blogging.

So hello to a new year. 2016, BRING IT ON.

Let me know what your goals are for this year, and feel free to contact me at any time! 🙂 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Feelings of WTF (Monday’s thoughts)

Sometimes, life is a curveball.

It’s going one way, then it decides to spin another, leaving you on the other end going “WTF..?”

That’s how I’ve been feeling lately. WTF? It seems comical to say, but seriously. I feel like this little slang term has become a straight up emotional state of so many people, and so hear I am on this Monday evening of my last high school ((tears)) winter break to talk about this emotion, WTF.