Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Stop looking for one thing to lose weight and be healthier. There is no one thing. Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

No one diet.

No one exercise.

No one magic pill.

No one superfood.

No one philosophy.

No one anything. Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

The path to being healthier is not a straight and narrow path. In fact, it’s rarely just one path at all. There will be twists and turns, changes and modifications, things your body needs now but won’t in a year, and there is never an end point. Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

That’s right. This doesn’t end. I don’t tell you this to discourage you but to let you know that making the decision to be healthier is an ongoing process, day in and day out. You get to wake up each morning and make a choice. Are your actions going to further your healthy goals or not? You’re not a horrible person if they don’t nor have you failed. You just made a decision in the moment and now you get to move on.

Losing weight and your health are going to be a series and combination of things that will ultimately bring you to where you need to be. Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

You’ll experiment with different ways to eat and adjust to what you need.

You’ll try a bunch of different exercises and workouts and fine tune what works for you.

You’ll sample lots of different foods and see what your body wants and uses.

You’ll start making up your OWN healthy life and figure out what it means to be the best version of you. Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

And it will change and grow and develop over time and that’s good! We all change and grow and develop. I’m not the same person I was in high school (thank goodness) and I hope twenty years from now I won’t be the same person I am today. Why should you expect what you do to keep yourself healthy to stay the same? Do This One Thing To Lose Weight and Be Healthier | Life Healthfully Lived

So stop looking for the ONE thing because it isn’t there and you don’t need it. All you need is what works for you and what makes you shine from within and feel the best you can.

Chocolate PB Bars and Superbowl Snacks

February 5, 2016February 5, 2016 / ktbuchs87

Chocolate PB Bars and Superbowl Snacks | Life Healthfully Lived While I don’t take a HUGE interest in football, kind of hard when your team is the Bears…. but I do enjoy watching games and I really like watching the big game. Ok, ok, I’m mostly watching for the commercials and the halftime performance, BUT I still like to watch.

I’m also in it for the food. Come on, does that one shock you? Chips and dip, pizza, wings, snacks of all shapes and size, the Superbowl isn’t just super because of the football players. The Superbowl comes right at a time when you have been working hard to make eating healthy a habit. It feels like it’s there to test your willpower and you’re a horrible human being if you slip up and eat a chicken wing…. or fifty. Chocolate PB Bars and Superbowl Snacks | Life Healthfully Lived

You should never feel guilty for eating food, even if it isn’t the healthiest. You made a choice and that’s fine. Eat the food and move on. To help yourself feel a little better of eating a super bowl during the Superbowl (see what I did there?), try making real food snacks and appetizers for your party. Instead of buying your chips and dip, make your own. Create a build your own pizza bar and provide plenty of fresh vegetables for toppings. Or do a taco bar! Mmmmmm tacos….. There are plenty of ways that you can make your party food taste indulgent and healthy.

Which is why I made this treat for you guys! I love my salted caramel chocolate swirl bars from Christmas and I wanted to see if I could make something with my favorite combo: chocolate and peanut butter. I mean really, is there anything better than chocolate and peanut butter? No. The answer is no. Chocolate PB Bars and Superbowl Snacks | Life Healthfully Lived

These are gluten, dairy, and egg free so they can cover a variety of diets, allergies, and intolerances. If you can’t or don’t do peanut butter just sub in your favorite nut or seed butter, crunchy almond butter works really well! You can also make these a few days in advance and that is one less thing you have to prepare.

So make these and be the hit of the party and enjoy the comm… I mean the game!

Chocolate PB Bars

Chocolate Cookie Crust

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
6 tbsp solid coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350. If your coconut oil isn’t solid, measure it out and then stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender and pulse until fully combined.
Add in the coconut oil and pulse until the mixture is all crumbly. Lightly oil an 8 x 8 pan with some coconut oil and line with parchment paper with a little hanging over the sides. Press the cookie crust into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. It will look like it isn’t set, but don’t freak out. It will all be ok!
Once it’s done let it cool for a few minutes and then place it in the freezer to harden while you get the filling together.

Peanut Butter Filling

1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed and 3 tbsp water mixed together)
1 tsp baking soda combined with 1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp chunky peanut butter or almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

In a medium bowl, mix flax egg, baking soda mixture, peanut butter, vanilla, and coconut sugar together. Make sure it is really well combined.
Stir in the coconut shreds and spread the filling on the cookie crust. Bake for about 8 minutes.
Pull it out and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and then bake for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool completely before you cut them into bars. The bars may seem a little gooey, but they will firm up as they cool. Keep them stored in the fridge or the freezer until you’re ready to eat them.

DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink

February 3, 2016February 1, 2016 / ktbuchs87

DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink | Life Healthfully Lived I would say that sport’s drinks like Gatorade, Propel, and Powerade are some of the most controversial products when it comes to hydration. You have the people who are firmly in the water-is-the-only-hydration-you-need camp and then you have others who are firmly in the you-need-to-replenish-your-electrolytes-after-activity camp. Then you have those in the murky middle ground who believe sometimes you need sports drinks and sometimes you don’t. It can be very confusing.

I am somewhere in the murky middle ground. It all depends on the activity you’ve been doing and how long you’ve been active for. The vast majority of us don’t do enough work or exercise that will require anything other than water to rehydrate. There is no need for a Gatorade after a 20-minute workout or to hand out sports drinks after a kids soccer game. There are a few instances where you do need to replenish your electrolyte levels with something other than just water.

People who run/train for marathons, triathlons, Ironman competitions, or any other grueling endurance sport are probably going to need something more than just water. That is because they are asking their bodies to work at full capacity for a long period of time. Anything more than a 90-minute workout session is going to probably warrant a little extra attention to your hydration levels. DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink | Life Healthfully Lived

Now, here is my other sticking point: I think that commercially sold sports drinks are NOT the way to replenish your fluids and electrolytes. They’re full of sugar and other ingredients that actually make you thirstier than you were before. How else would they sell their product? If one drink made rehydrated you, you wouldn’t need another. Plus you’re getting way more calories than you need from a drink.

Lucky for you, it’s easy to make your own sports drink that will rehydrate you as well as replenish your electrolyte levels without the calories, sugar, or any other possible weird ingredients. You can make these in advance of a tough workout or activity and have them ready to go when you’re done. You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes.

You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes and if you don’t want or can’t find coconut water, regular water works just as well. And yes, I know there is salt in here and you’re going to tell me that is ridiculous because we all know that salt makes you thirstier. Yes, BUT, you also need the proper amount of sodium levels in your body to rehydrate and absorb minerals like potassium. If you’ve been sweating like crazy, then you have been losing a lot of sodium as well and need to replenish those stores. So don’t skip the salt (and make sure you use sea salt NOT regular table salt), it won’t make you thirstier and you won’t be choking down a salty drink.

Sports Drink

1 cup coconut water or regular water (make sure it’s just plain coconut water, no added sugars)
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp honey or maple syrup (less or more to suit your taste)
pinch of sea salt

Put everything into a blender and blend for a few seconds. Taste and adjust things as needed.

Keep this drink stored in the fridge up to 2 days before you need it. You can also double or triple this recipe to make sure that you have enough on hand for when it’s needed.

Subtraction Vs. Addition

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a math lesson. Trust me, you don’t want me teaching you math. Anyone who knows me will back me up on this one (right, Mom?).

No, this is going to be a comparison of two different mindsets when it comes to living a healthier life. I find that there are two approaches to changing bad habits, the subtraction approach and the addition approach. I’ve actually taken both approaches myself and in my experience find one is definitely better than the other. Because I want you to be successful in living a healthier life, I wanted to share the tiny difference between these approaches that can make a huge impact on your success.

The Subtraction Approach

I am going to be healthier by taking away all of the bad things in my life.

This is a common way to look at things, and technically it’s what you want to do. In with the good out with the bad, right?

Almost. This immediately sets up a feeling of deprivation and an “I can’t have/do that anymore.” It makes you feel like you’re losing a part of what was your daily routine and that can make you feel a little uncomfortable and maybe even sad.

You keep trying to tell yourself that it’s good, you’re getting rid of what made you unhealthy. You’ll be happier once this process is over. So, you start subtracting:

The “bad” food you used to eat
The lazy habits you had formed
The time you used to sit around instead of exercise
The social settings where you maybe weren’t the healthiest
The friends or family who don’t fully support you

You might start to see a change in your health doing this, of course. You might lose weight, start to develop a regular exercise routine, but it still feels like you’re depriving yourself of things that once made you happy. Even if they weren’t good for you. You can start to pine for the way things were, especially since they are “off-limits” now. Subtraction Vs. Addition | Life Healthfully Lived

And this can set you up for the relapse. A night of binging. A week of no exercise. Cheat meals/snacks/days. You know you’re being “bad” but you can’t seem to help yourself. And then you can’t help feeling guilty once it’s all over. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s no fun. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Let’s look at the other approach.

The Addition Approach

I am going to be healthier by adding good things into my life to crowd out the bad.

This might seem counterintuitive. You want to put more stuff into my life so that I’m healthier? How can I do that when most people/diets/health systems tell me I need to get rid of the bad?

It’s simple. Start thinking of things to add to your day that make you feel better than your older habits. You’re going to crowd out all the things that you used to do or eat so that you no longer have time or energy for those. Subtraction Vs. Addition | Life Healthfully Lived

Now your days feel full and like you’re actively doing things to turn your habits around. You’re not taking anything away, you’re adding things like:

More fruits and vegetables to each serving, crowding out the overly processed
More activity in your day, life short walks, crowding out the time you used to sit around
More friends and family who like the same healthy things you do
More time focusing on what makes you feel good instead of what you used to do that was “bad”

At a glance, these two approaches might look similar. And to be honest, you’re doing a lot of the same things but by telling yourself that you’re adding to your life not subtracting from it makes it easier and more fun to keep making changes. Subtraction Vs. Addition | Life Healthfully Lived

It’s just a tiny switch, but it makes a big difference. I’m not forcing myself to get rid of my entire life, I’m adding to it and changing things for the better. As you go, soon you’ll realize that the good has overtaken the bad and your lifestyle is healthier and happier. Subtraction Vs. Addition | Life Healthfully Lived

So don’t focus on subtracting as much as you can to be healthier, add in as much good as you can and your health will follow suit.

What can you add to your life to be healthier?

Flashback Friday Recipes

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 / ktbuchs87

There are two reasons that I’m doing this post:

Winter lighting in my apartment is KILLING me and my ability to get some good pictures

AND

2. I have to relearn picture stuff.

Don’t you hate it when you finally have something down that you used to be really crappy at and then something beyond your control makes you crappy again? Yeah, me too.

Recently I had to get a whole new photo editing program and I feel like I am back at square one with my pictures. I have to go back and relearn everything that I already knew how to do in my old program with this new one. Which is super frustrating because I felt like I had finally gotten into the swing of things when it came to food pictures. Taking good pictures has been a weakness of mine and I keep trying to improve so that my blog can look all pretty for you guys. Now I have to take some time and get back to where I was.

In the same vein, I’m battling some pretty bad light here in my apartment. I live on the interior of my building which means that I have two windows both of which face brick walls and get no direct sunlight. It’s kind of like living in a cave, especially in the winter when the light is already scarce. That means natural light (a food blogger’s best friend) is very hard to come by here at Casa Dawson.

What is the point of all this rambling? To tell you there is no brand new recipe for today. I’m teaching myself some new photo stuff and doing everything I can to get as much good light as I can on the recipes I do have to share. But fear not, I’m not leaving you totally recipe-less. I thought it would be fun to bring back some old recipes from when I first started this blog. It’s kind of fun to see where I came from and where I am now. For the most part, the recipes are delicious and the pictures are horrendous. But it’s all about improving right?

At least I don’t take pictures for the blog with my iPhone anymore….

Anyways, here are some Flashback Friday recipes for you and I promise I’ll be back with more new stuff next week!

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup