Your Body Isn’t A Mannequin

February 9, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I have spent a lot of my life not liking the way I look. Many of my younger years were full of low self-esteem and poor body image. Like many girls, and boys for that matter, I felt that I didn’t measure up to the standard of beauty.

As I’ve gotten older I have gotten better but I still have my days/weeks where I feel like I don’t look like I want. My stomach is too flabby, my thighs have seemingly gotten bigger overnight, and my arms aren’t as strong as last week. What I see in the mirror doesn’t match up to the image in my head. I’ve had one of those weeks this past week and I’ve learned something.

My body does change from day to day and week to week.

My body is not going to stay exactly the same every minute of every day.

My body isn’t meant to be like a robot or mannequin and never change.

And this is ok.

There are so many factors that go into how our bodies look from day to day. What we eat or drink, what workout we have done, what the weather is like, what clothes we wear. With so many variables there is no way that we can keep our bodies exactly the same.

For someone who has struggled with body image issues, this can be a tough lesson to deal with. I sometimes get into the horrible habit of looking at pictures of models/athletes and longing to have their perfect bodies. What I often forget is that the image I look at is just picture of one point in time. That is how they looked at that minute, it isn’t how they look every single day. I shouldn’t compare myself to those moments in time, especially since they have been styled and edited to look perfect at those particular moments in time.

Don’t get frustrated if it seems like your body isn’t consistent with what you think it should look like.

Are you eating real and whole foods that give you energy and nourish you?

Are you moving your body in some way each day?

Are you working to improve other areas of your life not just your body?

Then you should be proud of your body for allowing you to do all those things.

I’ll leave you with this thought. A few months back I was at my parents house for some family event I was in the kitchen with my mom, dad, and husband. Somehow we got onto the topic of body image and I said that girls sometimes just have “bad-body days”, days where we just aren’t happy with what we see. My mom nodded in agreement, but my dad and Adam kind of just looked at me confused. I asked my dad, “Don’t you ever have a day where you look in the mirror and you don’t like your body?” He answered with, “Sure, but I don’t let it control my day. I just move on and work to improve it.” I asked Adam the same thing and he agreed with my dad.

I had never realized it could be as simple as that. Yes, there is a big difference between men and women when it comes to body image but I think we can all benefit from adopting my dad’s mindset.

Don’t let your body control your day. Work to improve it and move on.

Chai Green Tea Granola

February 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I love cereal. When I was younger, it was breakfast every single morning. I loved the crunch of the cereal mixed with icy cold milk. If I was hungry for a snack I would have some cereal. If I was feeling lazy, cereal became an easy lunch or dinner. Saturday mornings were full of cartoons and sugary cereal. And despite the fact that my mom made the rule of only one bowl of “junk” cereal on Saturday’s, my sister and I definitely had more than one. Sorry mom.

Once I started eating better, I dropped boxed cereal. Most cereal is full of sugar and other not so pleasant ingredients, even the so-called “healthy” ones. There are a few good cereals out there, but they are few and far between as well as very expensive. I decided that I could make my own cereal for half the cost and less ingredients.

Mission accomplished. I love this cereal and it hits the spot when I am craving the crunchy goodness of cereal and milk. It is also a great topping for oatmeal or just grab a handful as a snack! It isn’t overly sweet, but the chai seasonings make this granola full of flavor. You probably have most of these ingredients on hand, so make some delicious granola!

Chai Green Tea Granola

2 cups thick rolled oats (gluten free if necessary)
1/4 cup buckwheat groats
1/4 cup quinoa (uncooked)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (you can use raw, I just happened to have roasted on hand)
2 tbsp hemp seeds
3 chai green tea bags
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup maple syrup (you can also use honey)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1. Preheat oven to 250. In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients, not including the tea and cinnamon.

2. In a smaller bowl mix together all the wet ingredients. Cut open the tea bags and add into the wet mix. Add in the cinnamon and whisk everything together until completely combined.

3. Pour the wet mix over the dry mix and stir everything to coat it well. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Spread the granola out on the baking sheet in a single layer.

4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take out the granola and stir. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. If the granola is still a little wet, bake for another 5 minutes.

5. Take out of the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire rack to dry. Once fully cooled place in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

There you go! Granola that isn’t full of a ton of sugar or unpronounceable ingredients or a small fortune. I like to eat this with almond milk as well as sprinkled on top of cooked steel cut oats. It doesn’t last long around here, so make sure that you have plenty to go around!

Keep It Simple Series: Healthy Flavor

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Week 4! I’m actually starting to like doing these videos. At first I was nervous because I had never done anything like this before and if you know me I am not an in-front-of-the-camera kind of gal. But I am starting to get into a groove and enjoying the whole process of making these videos for you guys.

How about you? Do you like the videos? Are there any topics that you would like me to cover? Let me know in the comments so that I can make this blog work for you!

If you listen carefully you can hear Olaf (my kitten) meowing at me and knocking things over. He likes to have my attention every single moment of the day so he gets confused when I’m talking to the camera and not to him. He’s just a peach that way….

My Weekend in Rolla

February 2, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Hopefully you are all digging yourself out of the snow or maybe you’ve decided to just hunker down and hibernate through this storm. I’ve done a little bit of both. I didn’t do my normal run this morning because there is still snow EVERYWHERE, but I did make a quick trip to the store. I plan on spending the rest of the day inside working though.

I actually had a really great weekend. Thursday I made my way down to Rolla, Missouri to visit my friend Ashley! I hadn’t seen her since she came to Chicago in September so we had some catching up to do. And let me just say we lived it up in Rolla!

We went to the vacuum cleaner museum. Yes this is a real thing. Fun fact, old time-y vacuums freak me out. I don’t know why but they look evil and I feel like they are going to attack me.

Cleaning in the 1920’s with a creepy demon vacuum

We saw the world’s largest rocking chair on historic route 66. Sadly you can’t climb up and sit on it.

We drove through Cuba, MO and looked at a few of the murals and then we spent the rest of the day going to antique stores finding the creepiest children’s toys. Seriously, who made those things? Definitely have demons inside them.

We talked, laughed, ate (delicious taco salads and my Turmeric-Scented Mushrooms), watched Friends and a whole season of The Killer Speaks. Ashley and I are a unique kind of fun and like macabre things like shows about serial killers. Another fun fact, you have a very high chance of being murdered in Missouri. Three out of the five serial killers interviewed on the show were from/killed their victims in Missouri. Good times. Good times.

Sadly, I had to cut my trip a little short and come back early so I could beat the snowstorm. It was great to hang out and laugh about ridiculous things though. Sometimes it’s nice to break out of your normal routine and spend time with friends even if they live in a place where you might run into a murderer…

Have a great Monday and try to have some fun after you dig yourself out of the snow!

Balsamic Cauliflower Bites

February 1, 2015March 19, 2015 / ktbuchs87

There are a ton of different cauliflower “wings” recipes online. From buffalo wings to spicy wings, there are plenty of choices. I wanted to try my hand at these wings and decided to go with a little bit of a sweeter flavor. I ended up with a new favorite meal, especially for Adam!

These are also a GREAT party food, especially for the Super Bowl this weekend. They are a healthier choice than some of the traditional football party foods but no less delicious. I would say these are more reminiscent of Chinese takeout than chicken wings, but that is not a bad thing! Whatever they remind you of, they are really delicious and if you’re anything like my husband you’ll inhale these and ask for more!

Balsamic Cauliflower Bites

Sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp liquid aminos, tamari, or soy sauce
scant 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Cauliflower

1 large head of cauliflower
1/2 cup brown rice flour (I tried chickpea flour but it didn’t turn out as crisp)
1/2 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk
1 tsp chinese 5 spice powder

1. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside. Preheat oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

2. Cut the cauliflower into bite size florets, removing stems and leaves. Whisk together the brwon rice flour, chinese 5 spice, and almond milk.

3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl and pour batter over them. Toss to make sure all florets are covered.

4. Arrange the cauliflower on the baking sheet in a single layer. Make sure they aren’t too crowded or they will not get crispy. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are starting to get brown.

5. Remove the cauliflower and place back into the large bowl. Pour balsamic sauce and toss to coat. Pour back onto baking sheet and arrange in a single layer again. It will seem really watery, but that’s fine it will thicken up as it cooks.

6. Bake for another 10 minutes flipping halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before digging in!

I have served these over brown rice noodles as well as brown rice. I have to say I liked it over the rice much better than the noodles. You can serve it over whatever you would like and even sprinkle some sesame seeds over them for a crunchy garnish! Serve these at your Super Bowl party and you will be the talk of the town. Unless of course we have another deflate gate….

Hope you enjoy the game… and the commercials!