Snacking

I love snacks. 

No scale victory: previously I would have put 2-3 almonds in my mouth at a time. Now I mindfully eat one morsel at a time, not only am I practicing mindfulness (so important for all aspects) but I am also letting myself feel fuller longer by taking longer to consume my snacks! 

Huzzah to grazing 

Xox 

Keen k8

The Golden Mean

A bit of a ramble but nevertheless... 

Aristotle called it the golden mean... Buddhists refer to it as the Middle Way... Finding balance between extremes can be precarious but it is so important to a happy life. Balance is one of my main goals in my fitness journey - to be able to enjoy times that call for meals out or drinks - but to be disciplined for the remainder. By nature I become obsessed with things, perfecting them until I have met my goals. It's hard for me to take it slow, enjoy the process, but this is what will be necessary for a sustainable lifelong healthy journey of clean eating and fitness. 

The concept also brings to mind one of my favorite reads, Eat Pray Love - live a balanced life and it will be full, happy and full of love. 

Xox 

Keen K8

Mac&Cheese

Stupid Easy Mac & Cheese from Fit Girls Guide

Literally it's stupid easy and stupid delicious. When (IF!) I ever have kids they will grow up thinking all mac&cheese includes cauliflower. Hopefully by then GMOs and processed foods will be a thing of the past (ha) 

Xox 

Keen K8

Chia Pudding

I'm late to the chia seed party, I know. But I'm glad I tried it! Loving the texture. The recipe I used was a bit bland but that makes for a great blank canvas. 

I'm thinking some chocolate or PB chia pudding is in my future. 

1/2 c lite coconut canned milk

2 Tbp chia seeds

1 tsp honey 

1 splash vanilla 

Oops

Note to self: Shake the coconut milk can before using....

Chia (ch-ch-ch-chia!) pudding in the works

Imitation meat

I'm on my second round of the 28 day jumpstart presented by Fit Girls Guide and I was taking a closer look at the beginning of the cookbook where it talks about alternative proteins (I've been a vegetarian turned pescatarian for 8+ years now) and they were saying that the imitation meat made out of soy is basically a vegetarians version of junk food (yikes!) this has been my go-to for protein for years. . It also says that a lot of girls have found that soy makes them feel bloated and blah (also sounding very familiar to me) 

Making it a point to cut out these imitation meats and opt for eggs or seafood from now on. I cooked tofu for the first time today (I know, what kind of vegetarian AM I?!) it was a lot less intimidating and a lot more delicious than I had anticipated for all of those years. 

(Marinated in juice of 1 lime, 1Tsp olive oil and sprinkled with taco seasoning for 30ish minutes)

Xox

Keen K8

Staycation

I'm a traveler. Ask me what my hobbies are and travel will be the first thing out of my mouth every time. Life and money don't always allow for me to travel when I get the itch, this weekend I had the itch, but also had the weight of monetary responsibility on my mind... I decided on a staycation. 

First of all, I think staycation is a state of mind more than anything else. Literally program your mind in to playing make believe with yourself - being an adult means forgetting this ability, but we all did it in childhood and it isn't a far reach to acquire the land of make believe once more. 

I started my morning with a "hotel breakfast" - something you would have if you were seated in a banquet hall or the in-house restaurant. Simple foods plated nicely can completely change the experience. 

Have things ready at home to do that you would normally treat yourself to on a vacation. For me, that means soaking up a bit of sunshine with a good book in my hand and visiting the spa. 

Target and sephora both have excellent and affordable facial masks. Jamberry is perfect for a salon quality at home manicure... And my kindle offers an endless library to me. 

For lunch, I created a light sandwich style Kale ceasar aka I ate at the chic cafe around the corner (play make believe with yourself, remember?) I did my nails and had some lemon, lime and cucumber water (aka had my nails done and sipped extravagant spa water) and slathered on SPF for a day of reading in the sun. 

For dinner, I made a Greek style pita pizza (PS all my clean eating recipes come from FitGirlsGuide.com) and presented it differently than I normally would, spread blankets (snowmen blankets, in June) on my front lawn and was again in the mindset of vacation. 

For dessert I had the banana nice cream (previous post) and had changed the sheets on my bed so that I could watch a movie on fresh linen. Light some candles, you're on staycation, after all. 

A vacation is only a daydream away, make your life as fun and exotic as your mind will allow. Life is WAY more fun, trust me. 

Xox 

Keen K8