What Makes You Light Up?

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Before you get all sassy on me, don’t say fire or light bulbs (looking at you mom). Rather, what makes you the happiest? What makes you get all excited to get going in the morning? Are you making that your priority?

This is a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. I spent a lot of my time in college, a place where you should be finding and doing what you love, doing things because I felt that I had to. I had to be a music major, I had to pass my music classes, I had to do well on auditions so that I could get into the ensemble that I had to be in, I had to do this or that or some other thing. Looking back, I wasted time. That’s been a hard concept for me to admit and accept and say out loud.

No one wants to say they made the wrong choice.

But those are the cold hard facts. Life isn’t about always getting it right. It’s about taking what you have and learning from it and making it better the next time. I spent a lot of time bemoaning my situation after college. Luckily I had Adam to help me from becoming a depressed shut in and I found a job I loved and allowed me to find other things that did light me up.

Food, health, and helping others.

I love those things. They make happy. They get me excited to get up in the morning. I’m trying to make those a priority career wise. I can honestly say that I light up when I work on my blog or offer advice to a reader or come up with a new recipe.

Finding your passion is all part of having a healthy and balanced life. Sure eating right and exercising are good things, but they aren’t the only things. You can’t neglect your passions for too long before you start to feel like something is missing and your health can begin to suffer.

That’s why I want to urge you to not only take care of your body but your mind and soul as well. Today, sit down and think about what you love. Things that make you smile or cheer you up when you’re down. Find ways to incorporate those things into your day. Whether that’s with your career, your hobbies, or a side project, make them happen. No excuses, fit something you love into your day no matter what.

Now, what makes you light up?

Hobo Skillet Casserole

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Sunday is usually my big chore day. It’s the day that I do all the laundry, clean the bathroom, super clean the kitchen, clean all the floors, and any other cleaning that is needed. I also get my blog ready for the next day and finish up any other odds and ends that need to be taken care of. Sometimes when dinner rolls around, I really don’t want to put a lot of effort into my meal.

This is where a well stocked freezer and pantry come in hand. You can come up with a delicious and healthy meal in a matter of minutes with just a few staples. I made this meal last Sunday and asked you guys if you would be interested in how to make it. I got a fairly good response so here it is! Keep in mind that you can totally customize this dinner with the ingredients you have on hand.

Hobo Skillet Casserole

1 cup pasta (I used gluten free penne but you can use whatever you normally do)
1 potato, cut into cubes
1 cup butternut squash, cubed (can also use any other squash or sweet potatoes)
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed (can use any green you have like chard, collard, or kale)
1/2 cup assorted vegetables (I used a frozen mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup almond milk or any other non-dairy milk
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
gluten free breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package, drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, mix tomato sauce, almond milk, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. If you do not have a cast iron skillet you can use a regular skillet and transfer the casserole into a casserole dish.
Add a little olive oil to the pan and then saute the onions and potatoes until the potatoes are lightly browned. Transfer the potatoes and onions to a bowl with the pasta.
Add the vegetables and butternut squash to the skillet and cook until slightly brown. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Place the vegetables into the bowl with the potatoes and pasta.
Pour the tomato sauce mix into the other bowl and stir everything to combine. Add everything back into your skillet or casserole dish. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with the bread crumbs if you’re using and bake for another 5 minutes.

This is a great meal to make at the end of the week to use up any food that you have leftover in the fridge. You can use whatever you have on hand. If you don’t want to use pasta you can try brown rice, quinoa, or any beans you have. If want add ground beef or turkey, shredded chicken or pulled pork. Choose your favorite vegetables or whatever is in season. Use different seasonings to change up the flavor or try a different sauce like salsa or hummus or cashew cream.

Meals like this are awesome because they are easy to make and can taste different every time you make it depending on what you use. Get creative and get eating!

Oh and don’t forget I am still hosting a giveaway on my Facebook page. If I get to 100 likes I’ll give away two $10 gift cards of their choice to two of my followers. Make sure you go check out my page and like it!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

My Breakfast

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Breakfast is awesome. Sometimes as I am going to sleep at night I get a little excited to wake up because I get to eat breakfast. Brunch is a thing of beauty and a breakfast buffet? Heaven on earth my friends. I am definitely in camp eat breakfast every morning no matter what, even if it’s something small and on the go.

I thought I would share the breakfast I have been enjoying for a while now and maybe give you some breakfast inspiration. I tend to get stuck on one breakfast for like 6 months and then decide to change things up. What can I say? I really am a creature of habit. This breakfast is in month 3, so sometime mid-summer expect something new.

Oat grains are made up of three different parts, the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Usually the outer husk or bran is removed and most people enjoy the steel cut or rolled form of oatmeal. Oat bran is mostly used for baking and adding to breads and muffins to boost the fiber content. I have been using oat bran to make my morning oatmeal. I like that it cooks super fast (less than five minutes), it has a nice creamy texture, and it is a great base for the most important part of oatmeal. The toppings.

Oat bran also boasts a pretty decent nutrition profile. 1 ounce or about 28 grams has 69 calories, 4 grams of dietary fiber, and 5 grams of protein. It’s also high in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. All good things. You can check out some more of its benefits here and here.

My oatmeal never looks this fancy. This is just for you!

But let’s get to those toppings! This is one of the big reasons I love oatmeal in any form. You can mix in any thing and customize it to your tastes. I have been cooking my oat bran in about a cup of coconut milk for an extra creamy texture and then my toppings of choice lately have been:

dried prunes
goji berries
chopped hazelnuts
flax meal
chia seeds
pureed pumpkin
toasted buckwheat groats
hemp seeds
cinnamon
peanut butter

As you can see I like to shove in as many toppings as possible. The sky is really the limit to what you can put into your oatmeal bowl. Try things like:

any nut (almonds/walnuts/pecans)
any seed (sunflower/pumpkin)
cocoa powder
homemade granola
any dried fruit, no sugar added (cranberries/raisins/figs/apricots)
fresh fruit, especially berries
maple syrup
nut or seed butter

Homemade almond milk. Easy to make and delicious to add to oats!

These are just a few toppings. If it fits in your bowl and you enjoy it, go for it! Oatmeal and breakfast in general doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless just to be healthy. Go make a custom and delicious bowl of your own and see just how awesome a healthy breakfast can be!

How to make Oat Bran

1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup water or non-dairy milk like almond or coconut

Add oat bran and water or milk to a small saucepan. Bring oats to a boil and then lower the heat to low and cover.
Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove lid and pour into a bowl and add all the toppings!

My Month of No Running… A Year Later

April 20, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This past Thursday, I came back home after housesitting in Sycamore for two and a half weeks. Other than seeing my husband and my cats, I was most excited to run along the lake again. It’s an awesome experience. To one side you have the lake and the beaches, and (if you run as early as I do) the beautiful sunset. On the other side you have lake shore drive and all the early morning commuters zooming by.

It’s the perfect balance of zen and chaos. I love it.

Friday morning rolled around and I popped right out of bed when my alarm went off at 5:30 am. Yes folks, I wake up that early on weekdays. It was the perfect day for a run. Not too hot but not too cold. There was a slight breeze, not the winter gale force wind I had been experiencing for months and there was a gorgeous sunrise. It was one of those runs where you don’t even realize you’re running because everything is just perfect.

As I was blissing out over this run, I started to think back to last year. About this time last year as I was on one of my runs my left knee started to hurt. Then it started to really hurt. Then I had to stop running and walk and then sit down in the middle of a country road and wonder how I was going to get back home. It was the first time that I had a real running injury. I had gotten my share of blisters and chafing and other running maladies but I had never had a full-blown, can’t run it hurts so bad injury.

I was devastated.

Not because I was hurt or because it was really painful but because I could NOT run. I tried to trick myself and took a few days off thinking I would be fine after the weekend. Yeah, no dice. There was no way I was going to be able to keep my regular running schedule with that knee.

It was a really hard month. I was mopey and crabby and pouty. Adam should get a medal for being around me because I was not a pleasant person to be around. Running felt like the only thing that defined me as far as physical activity. I had fallen in love with running and it had helped changed me inside and out and to suddenly have it ripped away really took it’s toll on me.

It sounds dramatic, but I know other runners will feel me on this one.

But here I am a year later, running along Lake Shore Trail despite my dark moments of despair when I would cry and ask Adam if I would ever run again. That month of no running taught me a lot of things and they have stuck.

1. I am not just a runner. I have so many other things going for me

2. I don’t have to run every single day to be physically fit, in fact I shouldn’t run every single day

3. Running isn’t the only form of exercise that I enjoy. I actually like lifting heavy weights and want to lift even heavier

4. I can handle adversity, but I need to learn how to do it with a little more grace.

5. I need to be thankful every run that I can do because sometimes I can’t

Sometimes things happen in life that knock you down so that you can pick yourself up and be stronger.

I think experiencing a month of no running helped me to get to where I am right now. And where I am right now is pretty awesome. I am truly blessed to be living the life I am and I love being able to do things that I believe in and help others. I have an amazing support system and I learn new things each day. I have pushed my limits more than I thought I could and I am ready to go even further past my comfort zone. Running has given me so much but not running gave me more than I thought possible.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Chickpea Pizza Bites

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I don’t know about where you live, but today we are enjoying some GORGEOUS weather! The sun is shining, it’s warm, there is a light breeze, and I am one happy camper. I am going to try and soak in as much as possible because living in Chicago on the lakefront you never know when the weather will turn.

Today’s recipe was kind of a spur of the moment idea. I was trying to think of something different to do with my chickpea tofu and somehow pizza popped into my head. It was easy to put together and makes a really great snack or appetizer. I made some with regular cheese for Adam and used nutritional yeast for mine. We devoured these as we watched the season premier of Game of Thrones. Because I was still housesitting at that point, we were able to watch on a big screen with surround sound and it was amazing. It was also the first time that we were able to watch the season premier on the actual day that it premiered. It was quite the night and these little bites made it even better.

So put some of these for your next get together or make some for your next movie/netflix binge. You won’t be sorry!

Chickpea Pizza Bites

1 batch of chickpea tofu, poured into a bread loaf pan instead of a casserole dish or brownie pan.
1 8 oz can of plain tomato sauce
2-3 tsp pizza seasoning OR
1 tsp each of basil, oregano, garlic powder, and marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
handful of shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) OR nutritional yeast to keep it vegan

1. Preheat oven to 375. Make the chickpea tofu and pour it into a bread loaf pan to set.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Once the tofu has completely cooled, remove from pan and cut into bite size pieces. Place on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

3. In a small bowl mix together the tomato sauce, pizza seasonings, and salt. Taste to see if you need to adjust the flavor.

4. Remove the tofu from the oven and top each slice with tomato sauce and either a sprinkle of cheese or nutritional yeast. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

If you have any extra tomato sauce you can use that to dunk your bites into! I’m working on making some more snack/appetizer type foods that are simple to put together, taste delicious, and are of course healthy! Are there any of your favorite appetizers or snacks that you would like to see made healthier?

Oh and quick sidenote I have started a Facebook page, Life Healthfully Lived. You can find all my posts, pictures that I take, and other articles/recipes that I find and think you would enjoy. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out and click like. If I get to 100 likes by the end of the month, two of my followers will win a $10 gift card of their choice!

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend everyone!