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Can you indulge without ruining EVERYTHING?
Hey hey diva friends!
Throughout my coaching career I have noticed that women often struggle with the mentality of "cheating". Some women take a cold turkey approach to changing their nutrition, some women starve then binge when the cravings become too much to handle, some women say "just a taste" but finish 3 cupcakes. Some women take a "cheat day" but instead of 1 treat it turns into 3 full blown cheat meals that derail their entire week...most of the time the mentality, their core belief system and their approach to how food relates to their body never changes....
Because of this fundamental mis-step they fail to see the results they are after. They continue dieting, yo-yo-ing, struggling, binging and cycling through every fad diet in existence wondering why all their best efforts go nowhere. Without a dramatic change in how we view food our best intentions are essentially worthless.
I know- because until I changed how I thought I did ALL OF THOSE THINGS TOO!
Once I began learning about how food affects my body, my brain, my energy, my past, my present and my future....it became clear that each bite of food is detrimental to the outcome of my health. Whether that be positive, or negative....and good news is.... I'm in charge.
Once that really sunk in and rooted itself into my food philosophy, I realized that I can eat whatever I want WHENever I want....as long as i make some critical shifts with the nutrients I use. I had a pancake this morning and chocolate last night....but I guarantee you the ingredients in both were not the same ingredients that you'll find in a Hershey bar or a bisquick pancake!
Substitution - NOT deprivation
This is they key. This is how we take control and BREAK the cycle of endless dieting so we can finally just live our lives and not obsess about food. Because once we make that shift, our bodies do what they are created to do...use the food as fuel, build muscle, burn fat, and create healthy energy for us to get through our day effectively.... MENTALITY IS EVERYTHING.
That being said, many people struggle with giving up their favorite foods like...pizza....and pasta. I understand!!!! I was a bread-a-holic 5 years ago. BRING ME ALL THE BREAD! and pasta? pizza?? Now you're talking.... but I also struggled with intense gut pain, rosacea, weight gain, diet cycles....you've seen my story, you get the picture....
So I love to provide substitutions for you and today is a recipe that is sure to please even the pickiest "non-healthy" eaters in the fam :)
Is it spaghetti? Is it pizza? Is it lasagna???? It's...
Pizghania
:) hehe see what did there?
Ingredients:
- Rice/quinoa pasta (or if you want this to be grain free use spaghetti squash)
- Pizza sauce ( read the ingredient label and make sure there are no sugars added)
- Turkey Pepperoni ( or substitute your favorite sausage)
- Cheese ( optional. I chose to use a Pescarino Romano sheep cheese. If you use dairy cheese look for raw, organic and grass-fed. You can find organic valley brand at Kroger!)
Directions:
- Heat oven to 375
- Cook the pasta according to the directions. If it's rice pasta rinse it with cold water after draining.
- Pour 1/3 pizza sauce in 9x9 baking pan. Cover with 1/2 noodles, layer with pepperoni. Repeat: sauce -->noodles-->pepperoni and then cover the top with remaining 1/3 jar of sauce.
- Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and then sprinkle the top with cheese.
- Place in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and everything is warmed.
- Enjoy!
So there ya have it! I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite comfort foods are - leave me a comment below!
If YOU are interested in getting serious about your health and if you're FINALLY ready to break that cycle, then check out my comprehensive 8 week program launching January 15th, 2018 called "Get Gutsy With Me"
In the program you get a ton of delicious satisfying recipes as well as strategies that will help rebuild your intestinal flora, PLUS live videos, extra support in an online community and fun from me WITH the option of boosting your results with additional personalized gut testing!
Not sure you're ready for all that? Join me on my Facebook page Stop Dieting and Live your Life! where I’ll be sharing more information, tips and recipes to help you live a happier, healthier life. PLUS you'll have FREE access to my Holiday Survival Guide through the months of November and December to really kickstart your goals!
By for now!
Fall Apple Salad
Welcome to October Diva friends!
I have to admit that traditionally, I'm not a salad person. So when my MRT food sensitivities test came back with spinach and lettuce as foods to avoid, I wasn't too disappointed. HOWEVER, I am so aware of the many benefits of leafy greens that it felt weird not making more of an effort once the easy-go-to spinach wasn't an option.
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The other day I sat down to plan my weekly meals and decided that this week was going to be a "detox" week. No no, I wasn't going on an "all liquids" diet, or dropping my calories below 1000....All I wanted was to get lots of vegetables in, lower my meat intake (for no particular reason other than to get more easily digestible foods priority and include more beans and lentils) and include a juice every morning. So as I was looking for some recipes to include I stumbled across this Autumn Kale Apple and Quinoa salad, and thought, "That sounds like the perfect fall salad!"
I modified it to use what I have in the house and to avoid my personal food sensitivities and what happened was a DELICIOUS, sweet, crisp fall salad that I am excited to eat for lunch every day this week! OBVIOUSLY I had to share it with YOU!
*Notes* I modified the amounts to make 1 serving every day. I did make the full amount of dressing up front so I could have that prepared all week!
Picture from cookingclasssy.com
Fall Apple Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sprouted quinoa trio
- Bowl of shredded kale
- 1/2 honey crisp apple chopped
- 1-2TBS pistachios
- 1 TBS raisins
- Drizzle of pre-made dressing
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Prep ahead/personalization notes:
- While this is something you could make in large amounts on Sunday and pack for work lunches (minus the dressing) I chose to make mine fresh every day. I did however prep a few things to make it easier. For example, I made a large batch of quinoa on Sunday so I could pull from that for snacks and/or this salad throughout the week.
- I took one bunch of kale and pulled all the leaves off the spine, placed the leaves in a dish in the fridge so I can pull my daily portion out at lunch. I utilized the leftover leaves and spines in my morning green juice.
- To save half the apple you can wrap it in aluminum foil after you rub the exposed side with lemon or lime juice to stay fresh. Consider having the second half as a snack later in the day. I used half in my morning juice and half in my salad at lunch.
- Use any nut you enjoy!
- Goat cheese is delicious but optional! Make sure you read the ingredients and choose a high quality brand without extra ingredients or preservatives!
ENJOY!
p.s. Did you try this? Comment below! I'd love yo hear your feedback!
How to make cooking fun
Hey hey Diva friends!!!
I know how daunting it can be to change your lifestyle and try to start cooking WHILE you are still absorbing information, learning new things, and trying to figure out whats what! I wanted to provide a few tips to help you make it more fun along the way.
1) MINDSET
Mindset is key in pretty much every area of our life isn't it? With our diet and lifestyle it's SUPER easy to let our mindset get in the way. We think things like "it's too hard", "It's too expensive", "I can't cook", "I have no time" etc....
There is a whole book you can read about this if you're interested!
Those are all excuses and I want you to drop them at the door! Anything you WANT to do you find the time, money, resources, and ability TO do! Cooking doesn't have to be hard, expensive OR time consuming! You just need the right mindset, the right tools, and the right plan :)
I would encourage you to shift from the difficulty mindset into the ADVENTURE mindset! Cooking is a really fun adventure! You find out new recipes you like, new flavors, new tricks, new tools, new spices etc! Plus when your body starts changing and you feel better, all of a sudden the effort is #worthit.
Along the same lines, be willing to try new things! Invest in a quality spice set that allows you to make multiple flavor combinations, follow new recipes, and not get bored.
Want to purchase some high quality spices from a trusted source? click here!
When you hit the store, make it your goal to stay in the produce section for 95% of your shopping trip and you can't go wrong. Grab a new fruit, a new veggie and research where it comes from and how to cook it!
Hot tip: If you google Paleo__"insert vegetable or recipe here"____ you will find a clean, whole foods, healthy way to cook almost anything!
Don't know what Paleo means? Read my last blog post all about it!
2) ATMOSPHERE
Spice up more than your food! Play some music and get in the MOOD to cook :) Whether you set aside 2 hours on Sunday to meal prep for the entire week or you enjoy 30 minutes every evening after work to get things chopped and in the oven, find your perfect pandora playlist and have some fun! Currently I'm on a French Cafe music kick thanks to our recent vacation. Find what inspires you, puts you in a happy place, and get to it!
Hey get crazy- maybe you'll end up with some fun kitchen karaoke!
If you have someone that will cook WITH you - even better! Kids? Have them participate by measuring things out or reading you the recipe!
3) KEEP IT SIMPLE
DON'T overcomplicate things.....again, we get stuck in this headspace that cooking has to be hard and cooking healthy must be even harder. WRONG! I am a simple kinda gal friends. I never wanted to be a "housewife" and I certainly never thought I would enjoy cooking but I do!
Check out this website for delicious recipes made with only a few ingredients...
I've really learned to love making food at home. I know what the ingredients are, I have control over the quality, AND I get to cook according to my own tastes and shake it up when I feel like it. In fact, over the past few years I've enjoyed eating away from home less and less. Honestly we almost never have the same meals 2 weeks in a row - I'm always looking for new recipes and while we have our favorites we are constantly trying new ideas.
One reason I love paleo recipes so much is because they are (most of the time) EASY! Hey - when you can have an incredible dinner by adding a spice rub to some meat, throwing it in the oven for 30 minutes while you cook some vegetables and maybe adding a tasty side or fruit? BOOM. I'm there.
Dessert? NO PROBLEM - I definitely have a sweet tooth and most paleo baking recipes go something like this: 1) mix the dry ingredients 2) mix the wet ingredients 3) throw it in the oven. In other words, paleo is basically Kylene proof. So if I can do it- you can DEFINITELY do it!
Admittedly some baking ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour etc....) can add up so if budgeting is important you might want to limit the desserts to 1 a week or less. Easier on your budget AND waistline!
Hot tip #2: Make a batch of brownies and freeze them! Your investment will save you from those late night cookie binges and satisfy any sweet craving when it hits.
Chick Pea Brownies (super inexpensive!)
Ok I've talked about how simple it is - SHOW ME THE RECIPES right? :) Resources are your friend when starting out. Having some foolproof bloggers that you know you can trust is the best! When my family started this process Elana Amsterdam saved us. She is beyond skilled in giving you the best tasting recipes with the fewest ingredients possible. Talk about simple! She also divides her website up by special dietary needs, so whether you are egg free, nut free etc....she has recipes for you clearly listed. Check out her website HERE!
Hope this has helped. Bye for now!
