Keep It Simple: A New Blog Series

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 / ktbuchs87

For those of you who read my blog regularly (Hi mom and dad!), you may have noticed that each Wednesday I put up a “How To” post. I’ve been offering tips and tricks on being healthier as well as other little life lessons. I want to continue on in that vein, but I am going to change the format up a little.

I mentioned the other day that I wanted to keep expanding my blog and help reach more readers. One of the ways I want to do this is to start filming and adding videos to my blog. I think this is just another way that I can reach out to people and offer the knowledge that I have gained from my own healthy journey. It’s also going to be a challenge for me to step out of my comfort zone and do something new. I am perfectly comfortable writing on my blog, but being on camera is going to be a whole new beast. Even though I am a little nervous about this new venture I know that it’s good to keep pushing myself, especially if I want to grow my readership.

I don’t have a video for today but I am working behind the scenes to start filming. But I don’t want to leave you without some helpful advice for your first Wednesday of the year!

If there is one thing that you take away from my blog it should be that being healthy doesn’t have to be hard. I want to drive home how simple it can be. I think that media and advertising makes it seem like you have to complicate everything to be as healthy as you want to be and that in turn has confused so many of us at to what is actually. The truth is that you don’t need to do anything crazy to make your life better. When I first started out I bought into the whole more is more theory and thought that I had to do the latest fad diet or exercise routine to get the results that I wanted. Nope! The habits and routines that have stuck with me all these years and are the most successful are the simple changes that I made over time.

If you are just starting out this new year with the mindset of a new you, take this advice to heart. The simpler the better. It will be easier to change your unhealthy lifestyle this way as well as make it last.

With this key idea in mind, that’s what these Wednesday videos are going to be all about. Simple meals, simple exercises, simple tips and advice. These are the things that I do everyday to help keep myself healthy. I have a lot of great things planned and I’m sure that they will help you realize just how easy it is to live a healthier life!

Check back next week to see the beginning of my simple health series and get ready to live your healthiest year yet!

My 2015 Goals

January 5, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Happy New Year! I hope that all of you have had a great holiday season and you are ready to get going on 2015! I was able to spend some quality time with family this week and enjoyed having my husband around while he was on break from work. Now it’s time to get back to our regularly scheduled program and I have so many things to share with you!

I’ve never really been one to make resolutions, but I do like having goals that I am working to achieve. I wanted to share some of my goals here on the blog because it’s helpful to have a place where you can be kept accountable as well as stating your goals out loud. So here are my 2015 goals.

Keep working on balance.

I started this a few months ago, but it is something that I am still working on. I want to be more balanced in my life. For so long when it came to my health I was super strict. I had to be or else I would have gone right back to my old habits. Now that I have gotten to a place in my life that I am happy with my health, I don’t have to be as rigid in my habits. If I don’t run every day, I won’t lose any ground. If I decide to eat more than I normally do, I won’t immediately gain weight. If I take a few days of rest, I won’t slip back into my old habits. Life happens and I want to be able to enjoy it and roll with the punches and not feel like I am losing everything that I have worked for. I’m doing better but I want to improve throughout the year.

Make a fitness goal.

Looking back I have never really made a fitness goal other than work out. So this year I want to make a fitness goal and then work towards achieving it. There are two things that I want to do this year. The first is to run a race with a family member. For me running has been a very solitary sport, and in some aspects I really like that. I like the peace that I find out on the trail early in the morning. I can sort out my thoughts and just enjoy the quiet. But I would love to be able to share my passion for running with people who are close to me. My second fitness goal is to run a half marathon. Ultimately I want to run a marathon, but I think a half would be a good place to start. I’m aiming for the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon in July, so check back to see how I’m doing on that!

Expand the blog

This summer I did a relaunch of my blog and made it a little more user friendly. I want to keep growing though and be able to reach more people and help them towards their health goals. I’m going to add more recipes and simple tips that I use for being healthier. I’m also going to start adding short videos that show how to make some delicious and healthy meals. My ultimate goal for this blog is to help show people that it doesn’t have to be hard/complicated/expensive to be healthy. By adding more tips and videos that can showcase this, I think that I will be better able to serve my readers.

Grow my knowledge

I haven’t been in a formal classroom setting for about four years now and while I’m not jumping up and down to return, I am finding myself wanting to learn more about things I love. A few months ago I became certified in sports nutrition and I really enjoyed that. I want to expand on that and better educate myself so that I can better help others. I am looking into becoming certified in nutritional therapy as well as getting a plant-based nutrition certification. The more I know the more I can share and help you!

Share the wealth

One of my final and biggest goals for 2015 is to start working one on one with people. Of all the aspects of being healthier, cooking and food are definitely my passion. I want to start working with people to help teach them how to cook healthier for their everyday lives. I’ve been teaching myself and honing my own kitchen skills over the years and I think that it’s time for me to share that with you! I will be working on this for the next few weeks and once I have a solid plan ironed out I will make sure that you are the first to know!

So that’s what my 2015 is going to entail. I have a lot of big goals and dreams that I want to accomplish and I am excited to start working on making those happen. I hope that by making these all public it will help me stay accountable and get things done!

How about you? Do you have any goals for your year that you want to share?

A Very Dawson Christmas

December 29, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Hello! I hope that you all had a fabulous Christmas and were able to enjoy time with friends and family. I know that the Monday after a holiday can be a little bit of a bummer, so I thought that I would share pictures with you of my Christmas celebration to cheer you up. There are even pictures of cats, so they are automatically better!

Adam and I have started a little tradition by celebrating our own Christmas after actual Christmas. We spend the day in our pj’s watching Christmas movies, opening presents, and making delicious food. This was our third year doing this and it was one of the best!

Our Christmas tree and the stockings hung by the (faux) chimney with care. Plus the first of many pictures of Olaf. It was his first Christmas and I think he loves it just as much as I do. Our other cat Dot wanted nothing to do with the festivities and slept in the bedroom all day long.

Speaking of cats, of course they have their own stocking and we fill it with new toys for them. Olaf actually managed to get all of the stuff out of the stocking all on his own. He liked the laser pointer and this yellow stuffed dog the best.

He’s pretty adorable. Us humans open our presents over the course of the day. Every time we start a new Christmas movie we open another present. I would say that this year was a good year for both of us. Adam got a new beard trimmer, a t-shirt, books, and candy. I got a new teapot, oven mitts, and books/cookbook. Apparently we both think alike because our big gifts to each other were new bags. I got Adam a new leather messenger bag for work so he could look all fancy and professional and he got me an awesome new black purse that is much better than the bright orange paisley tote bag that I have been using for the past few months.

This is his happy face. Back off ladies he’s mine

Super excited about this book. And you can see my fancy new teapot down in the corner

The other fun part of our Christmas is making a bunch of food that we don’t normally make. This year we made pretzels, which were really easy and fun to make. I also made some fried plantains and egg nog, devoured before I could take pictures. For an appetizer I made spinach/artichoke dip without any dairy (so good, I’ll share the recipe soon!), and we had some pumpkin chips to dip. Then for Adam’s dinner I made slow cooker italian beef and he made homemade buns. I had some delicious butternut squash seasoned with some new seasonings I got from Adam’s side of the family. It was an awesome feast! There were also a variety of cookies and treats for dessert!

Pretzel maker extraordinaire!

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and I really love that Adam and I have been able to start some of our own traditions. On actual Christmas this year we were able to spend the day with both sides of our family. We started the day with my parents and my sister and her fiance and then headed over to Adam’s grandparents for Christmas dinner and were able to see his (many) aunts, uncles, cousins, as well as his mom and his stepdad.

Overall it was a fabulous holiday. We were able to spend time with so many family members and shared and made plenty of new memories. My heart is full and I can’t wait to see what the new year brings! Have a great rest of the week and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Friday Favorites: Christmas Edition

December 19, 2014December 19, 2014 / ktbuchs87

I haven’t done a Friday Favorites in a while and I think with the rush of the season it’s a good day to let you in on some of my favorite Christmas-y things.

CHRISTMAS!!!

I don’t care if I’m 27 years old, I still get as excited as a small child about Christmas. Fall may be my favorite season, but without a doubt Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love all of the traditions that come along with this holiday. I love the gathering of friends and family. I love the food and treats that only come along this time of year. I love all the shows and specials and movies that come on TV around this time. I love walking outside right around twilight with a light snow falling. As cheesy as it may sound there really is something magical about Christmas. I still wake up at 4 am on Christmas morning and sneak downstairs to look at the tree and the stockings and take in the beauty of the day. I know that some people can’t stand this time of year. They don’t like the commercialism of the season, they don’t like the rush of activity, and the never ending list of things to do. But I think if we can all remember that feeling of magic that comes very early on Christmas morning and the true gift that we were given, just maybe we can all enjoy Christmas just a little more.

Special Treats

I mentioned before that I love the food that comes along with this season. I actually love food, but I really like the seasonal treats that pop up. Things like eggnog, cookies, and hot chocolate are amazing. I have actually been slowly working through some of my favorite childhood treats and making them a little healthier so that I can enjoy them once again. Some of my favorite “re-dos” have been eggnog and hot chocolate. I also like this version of mexican wedding cakes and I have been working on a healthier chocolate covered peanut butter balls. It’s fun to find new ways to enjoy treats that I didn’t think I could. Plus it’s nice to join in with everyone else and enjoy a cookie or two!

My Cranberry Sauce

I know, another food thing. I like to eat! But seriously I can’t get enough of this cranberry sauce. I put it on everything and sometimes just eat it with a spoon for a snack. It is the perfect combo of sweet/tart/spicy/awesome. If you haven’t made it yet, go to your kitchen immediately. I’m serious. Go.

Downtown

My family has a tradition of going downtown each Christmas. We go to the Christkindl market, look at the windows at Marshall’s, go out to eat, and just take in all the Christmas sights. Now that I live in Chicago, I can go walk around downtown whenever I want and it still hasn’t lost it’s appeal. I like seeing all the lights and decorations and people. I have gone a few time this year and just walked up and down the mag mile. Maybe I’m weird, but I just like being out and about during this time of year even if I have nothing to do. I told you I love Christmas, and I really do love everything about it! This weekend we’re actually heading downtown for our “official” trip and to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I can’t wait!

Christmas Movies

Who doesn’t like Christmas movies? There are so many good ones, but a few of my top ones are Elf, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Clause, Scrooged, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. There are a million more and I probably own half of them. When Adam and I celebrate our own little Christmas we spend the day opening presents, eating appetizers, and watching all of our movies. It’s one of my favorite new traditions that we started when we got married.

I know this was kind of a personal Christmas edition of Friday Favorites, but I wanted to help spread some Christmas cheer. Of course I could just take Buddy the Elf’s advice and sing loud for all to hear! I’m going to be taking a little break from regular blog posts until after the new year so I can enjoy this time with my family. So until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

How To Stay Active In Winter

December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Winter is the perfect combination of situations to keep you from being active. It’s cold and possibly snowy where you live, the days are shorter and it gets dark by 4 pm. Plus there are a slew of holidays that take up your time and energy leaving you feeling exhausted by the end of the day. It’s so easy to abandon your normal healthy activities and do what you can to keep up with everything. Even once the holidays are over, the weather makes you want to wrap up in a blanket and never leave your couch.

While it is so tempting to put your workouts on hold during these months, it’s really important to keep up with your exercise during this time. Taking too long of a break will make it that much harder to jump back on the wagon come spring time. The winter months are a good time to switch your exercises routine up and keep up with your health. Here are a few tips to keep you moving during the cold and dreary months of winter.

Change it up

If you have been running outside or doing other outdoor activities, it might be a little more difficult to keep up with them during the winter. While you still can workout outside (I might have been the crazy person running in sub-zero temps last winter….) this is a great time to try something new. Many gyms are offering new classes as well as discounted deals at this time of year. Some gyms even allow you to try out a new class for a low price so you can check out a few and see what you like before spending a lot of money. If you don’t want to spend any money, check out online workouts. I am a huge fan of Fitness Blender. They are a husband and wife team that offer hundreds of free workouts on YouTube. They have all different types of workouts for all fitness levels. Either way, there are plenty of indoor activities you can do to keep you out of the harsh weather.

Grab a buddy

Look at how happy winter and working out with a friend makes you!

One of the most popular resolutions at this time of year is to be healthier. If you have a friend who made this resolution, invite them along to your workouts. This not only helps them with their goals, but it can keep you accountable as well. Now you have someone relying on you and that makes you much more likely to go and do your workout. Plus it’s more fun to have someone working out with you!

Have winter fun

There are a lot of winter activities that are great workouts. Sledding, skating, skiing, even building a snowman! Instead of fighting the elements, get out there and enjoy them. These are some fun ways to burn some calories, keep up your fitness level, and try some new things.

Schedule it

This isn’t just a winter time tip, I think you should do this all year long. This is one of my number one pieces of advice when it comes to getting yourself to a workout. Schedule it and put it on your calendar. You are more likely to do your workout if it’s already in your plans like anything else during your day.

It isn’t impossible to keep working out during the winter, you just have to be conscious to make the effort. Yes, it can be a little tougher to leave your warm bed when the weather is frightful, but exercise offers so many benefits that can help you get through these long months. It boosts your mood and energy, keeps you fit, and makes you feel better overall. Those are all great reasons to get out there and get active!