Holiday Bliss

December 30, 2013 / ktbuchs87

I’m still in the middle of all my holiday fun and still don’t have a “regular” post for you, but I still wanted to stop in and say hey! I hope that you are all enjoying this time of year and had a great Christmas.

With the new year right around the corner (seriously, where did 2013 go?), I wanted to talk really quickly about resolutions. New Year, new you. That seems to be the theme right around this time of year, and sometimes that is a good thing. Maybe you are resolving to change a bad habit, learn something new, or volunteer more. Many times though, people enter the new year with the idea that they need to completely overhaul their lives and personalities to be the best person they can be. I don’t know about you, but not only does that seem exhausting, it seems a little depressing. Most of us are pretty awesome people already and it seems like a bummer to put yourself down. I have struggled with self hate for a long time. I was never good enough, I always made mistakes, and I needed to do better. I would often vow to change everything about me to become the person I thought I needed to be. Slowly but surely, I have started to see myself in a different light (thanks to my husband and family) and I have started to realize that there are so many things about me that are really great and should be celebrated.

Instead of making resolutions to completely change everything about me, I have started to make goals to improve on the assets I already have. I want to continue to be as healthy as possible as well as help others reach that goal. I want to keep learning how to make more delicious and nutritious meals that can be available to as many people as possible. I want to keep letting the little things go that I have no control over. I urge you to make loving resolutions this year instead of beating yourself up for not being a super human. Do that and I promise you that 2014 will be a great year!

Not Your Typical Thanksgiving

November 25, 2013 / ktbuchs87

Thanksgiving. Not counting Halloween, this is pretty much the beginning of the holiday season. Soon you will be surrounded by friends, family, and of course food. This is also the time of year that everyone is offering their best “how to avoid holiday weight gain” tips and millions of different ways to make your favorite holiday meals healthy. I thought about writing a post like that, because you don’t have to enter the holiday season throwing all healthy habits to the wind, but I felt like what I had to say would be just repeating a lot of what you already know or will read in the coming days. Honestly, most of you know that eating fifteen pieces of pumpkin pie isn’t doing you or your health any good no matter how delicious it may be.

I know that a lot of you might be anxious about the upcoming smorgasbord that is Thanksgiving, especially if you just started to eat better or adopt healthier habits. Many of you might be worried about undoing all the hard work that you have put into your health journey and you’re thinking of how you are going to navigate your way through the sea of food that is about to come your way. I know exactly how you feel, I’ve been there too. I’ve stressed over how to eat well during the holidays. I’ve fretted about family asking questions about my weight and why I won’t eat this or that. I’ve felt hopeless and alone and not exactly sure how to deal with it all. It has taken me awhile to get to this realization: don’t let food control your life. Food has so much power over many of us so that we let it ruin or dictate our holidays. A time where we should be visiting friends, spending quality time with family, decking the halls and singing fa la la la la, we spend stressing over food.

Yes, food is important. It fuels us, nourishes us, and (sometimes) tastes amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I love food and I truly believe that it is a key factor in a healthy life. But it isn’t everything. I’ve wasted too many holiday gatherings focusing on food and missing out on all the other things that go on. The inside jokes between cousins or finding the best spot to hang my favorite ornament or the quality time that I get to spend with my mom talking about our lives while we make the ever famous pumpkin muffins (blue wrappers have nuts!). I’m sad to say I’ve probably missed some really great moments because I was worrying about what I would eat or that other people were worrying about what I would eat.

Don’t let food take over your life this holiday season. There are other things that are so much better than thinking about how many potatoes you can eat without feeling guilty. It will be difficult for some of you to totally let go of your food worry, me included, but by holding on to all that stress, you’re letting something silly like food take control of your life and happiness. So do me a favor this Thanksgiving. Take a deep breath, release all your anxiety over food, and throw yourself fully into all the other much more fun things about the day. Enjoy the parade, play a game of football in your backyard, give Grandma a big hug, and be thankful for all of the amazing things you have in your life. I promise you, that is a much better way to spend your holiday! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

You and I

November 11, 2013 / ktbuchs87

Yesterday was Adam and I’s one year anniversary. Seriously, this year has gone by so fast and we have been lucky enough to have an amazing first year of marriage. We spent the whole weekend celebrating our marriage, so I don’t have a regular post for you guys. Have no fear though because I do have pictures to share with you! I will have the regular recipe post up this Friday, but for now enjoy the pics and Happy Veterans Day!

When I got home from work Friday, this awaited me. All you Doctor Who fans will get the angel and don’t blink reference

On the train Saturday on our way to Chicago!

The first anniversary is the paper anniversary. Adam stuck with this theme and took me to the Chicago Public Library

He also took me to a used book and sheet music store. I could have spent all day here!

Adam liked it too!

More books and music. So awesome!

We also stopped by the Buckingham Fountain where he proposed to me!

Then we had lunch at an amazing vegan cafe called Native Foods. I had blackened tempeh tacos and he had a meatball sub. So delicious!

While waiting for our train home, we found these terrifying stuffed dolls for Disney. This was demon Ariel

Sunday, we just spent the whole day together at home. We watched the DVD of our wedding, had fresh made juice in our toasting flutes, and shared a bite of our wedding cake for dessert. It was one of the best weekends ever and I am so blessed to be Mrs. Dawson. Love you Adam!

Making and Meeting Goals

November 4, 2013 / ktbuchs87

This past week I celebrated my 26th birthday. I also thought of things that I had accomplished over my life as well as the things that I want to accomplish. Clearly I am still relatively young and I have a lot of living left to do. I know that I want to make the most of that time and for me, making goals to strive for really helps.

When I first decided to be healthier, I made big goals of losing a ton of weight and eating perfectly and exercising every day. While those are good goals, they are big picture goals. Those goals can also often seem unattainable, and if you’re like me, you want to feel like you’re actually accomplishing something. Over time I realized I had to make smaller and more realistic goals. Instead of losing a ton of weight, I focused on fitting better into my clothes. Instead of eating perfectly, I focused on choosing better options than what I had been previously eating. Instead of exercising every day, I focused on running a little farther each time I went out for a run. With these more manageable goals, I saw results and felt so proud of myself for accomplishing things. I kept up with making smaller goals to be met. I ran in a 5k race and then a 10k race. I started doing yoga and practicing more difficult poses. I immersed myself in learning how to cook with healthier ingredients and now can create my own meals and recipes to be shared with others. I stopped focusing on a number on the scale and feel comfortable and proud of the body I have and all that it can do.

It is important to have goals and it is also important to have big goals. All the little goals I made and met, helped to move me toward my ultimate goal of being as healthy as I possibly could. I am still working towards that, but I am knocking out the little steps all along the way. You can do that too. Maybe you want to be healthier, maybe you want a better job, or maybe you just want to get through the day with less stress. Set small and attainable goals for yourself that will help you reach that overall goal. Once you meet those little goals that you set, you’ll be more motivated to keep going and meet that ultimate goal.

With all of that being said, I wanted to set another large goal for me to accomplish. I have really developed a passion for health as well as a heart for helping others to enjoy the best health they can. I want to make this my everyday work and I feel that the best way for me to get my message across and help others is to become a health coach. I have been researching this for quite some time now, and I am ready to start taking steps to reach that goal. What am I going to do to help that? I have been looking into certifications, once I settle on one I can start classes. I will continue to write and maintain this blog, as well as continue to learn as much about health and nutrition as I can. I want to start looking for opportunities to reach more people with my knowledge and message, maybe reaching out to people and offering my help. As long as I am moving towards that ultimate goal of health coach I am open to anything.

Sure, it is a little scary to declare that you are going to do something. What if you fail? What if it’s impossible? What if others don’t believe in you? Yes, those things can happen. You could also succeed, prove others wrong, and become a better version of you. You won’t know until you try!

Confessions of a Food Lover

October 14, 2013 / ktbuchs87

A few weekends ago my husband, Adam, and I were watching episodes of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food network. The show features famous chef’s and other people in the food world highlighting some of the best dishes that they have ever eaten from places around the country. Alex Guarnaschelli, a chef/restaurant owner/cookbook author/Iron Chef/all around awesome, is a regular on the show. It’s easy to see why, this woman loves food. Not just eating it, but shopping for it, preparing it, serving it, looking at it, talking about it… I told Adam that I feel like Alex really understands how I feel about food and as I was telling him this, I was lovingly cradling a banana.

Often people believe that in order to be healthy you have to stop loving food. They think that there is no way to balance healthy living with a love affair of all things food related. There are some health gurus out there who do believe this. They view food mainly as a fuel source to get their body to function properly and that’s it. While I agree that food is fuel for our bodies, I can’t deny that it is also so much more. Hi, my name is Katie Dawson, and I love food. And that’s OK.

If only….

Yes, I have had a tough relationship with food in the past. I would eat out of boredom or stress or anxiety. I would sneak food so that people wouldn’t see how much I really ate or see all the bad food I ate. I sometimes still struggle with overeating, even though it has gotten much better. But even with my strained food past, I still love food. While I do love tasting and eating food, I almost love all the other components more. Grocery shopping is better than clothes shopping to me. I love seeing all the fresh and colorful produce as I walk into the store, I love going through and picking the best bunch of broccoli or the biggest butternut squash. I’m like a kid in a candy store in the bulk food and spice section. Sometimes I just wander through the grocery store looking at food and products and reading labels and never actually buy anything.

I also love cooking food! I enjoy thinking of flavor combinations or creating brand new dishes. It thrills me to completely make a meal on the fly with just the ingredients I have in my kitchen. It gives me great joy to serve food to other people and see them enjoy eating what I have made. Sitting around with friends and family and food is my idea of a great time.

At this point, you might be thinking I’m just a little nuts about food, and you would be right. But does that make me an unhealthy person? Is it possible to love food as much as I do and still call myself a healthy individual? I think so. If I weren’t so in love with food, I don’t think that I would be as interested in eating as well as possible. I have seen how eating good and nutritious food can change your health and because I have a passion for food, I want to be able to share that with as many people as possible. I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t care about food. If food were just fuel, I wouldn’t spend so much time coming up with new and creative recipes. It wouldn’t matter if food tasted great if I were just eating it to get my body through the day.

I’m here to tell you that it is perfectly alright to be in love with food and still be healthy. Sure, the love of food can be taken too far and turn into an unhealthy obsession. I realize that overeating and unhealthy eating can damage your health and I know that is a major problem these days. Don’t be afraid to enjoy food though, don’t feel guilty if a certain dish makes you swoon or a certain ingredient takes your breath away, it doesn’t mean you’re unhealthy. I don’t think I will ever stop loving all the things that food is about, and I wouldn’t want too. If that means I lovingly cradle a banana while watching a show about food every once and awhile, that’s fine by me!