The Food I Eat

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I’m not a vegan, I eat eggs and honey.

I’m not paleo, I eat grains and legumes.

I’m not a raw foodist, I cook a lot of my food.

I’m Katie and I am so much more than the way I eat.

Delicious omelet at our favorite breakfast place

I think that the health world can get too caught up in labels. We all want to know what diet you’re following or what workout craze is holding your attention. We want to tout the benefits of a certain lifestyle over another. Sometimes we want to spend all our energy bashing other lifestyles that don’t fit our mold. Either way it can seem that instead of a person all we see is a label.

An entire meal of yummy vegetables

I understand the necessity of labels. I use them myself, on my blog, on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. It is helpful when sharing recipes to let people know what is or isn’t in the ingredients. But I don’t want to feel tied to a name that only describes one thing about me.

Creamy dairy free and gluten free spring pasta

Yes, I eat mostly plant-based. Yes, I don’t eat dairy. Yes, I limit the amount of gluten I eat. I do all these things because that way of eating is what works best for me. The foods I eat are what fuel me in the best way, satisfies my hunger in the best way, and tastes good to me. It’s ok to not have a specific name for the way you eat.

All the good fats in pistachios

Eat real food, as close to their natural state as possible.

Try to avoid processed or man made food products.

Don’t worry about what is on your neighbors plate.

Let them eat for them and you eat for you.

We’ll all be a lot happier and healthier if we keep those things in mind.

I’m not just the food I eat. I’m wonderfully weird, witty, and wacky too!

Keep It Simple Series: One Skillet Meal

March 4, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Everyone is looking for a quick and easy meal. Rachael Ray got her start with 30 minute meals and googling quick meals will give you thousands of recipes. Today’s video is my favorite quick and healthy meal and it uses just one pan. I make this at least once a week and it is always a big hit, plus it never gets boring because you can always change things up just a little bit to keep it interesting. So let’s get to it!

Hopefully this video will give you some ideas on how to make your own one skillet meal, just make sure that you are using cooked grains/legumes and meat. Other than that go crazy with your version of this delicious and healthy meal!

Monday Funday

March 2, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Ok, so Monday isn’t really all that fun but maybe if we say it enough it will be true. Probably not, but let’s pretend.

Last weekend my husband, Adam, came down with a cold/cough/sore throat and was out of the game for a few days. We took him to the doctor, got him some meds, and he is on the mend. I thought I had escaped whatever bug he had but Friday morning I woke up with a tickle in my throat and by Saturday my nose was running like a faucet. Yesterday my head was all congested and I just wanted to be able to breathe through my nose. Luckily I didn’t get hit as hard as Adam, but still, it’s no fun to have a cold.

My feeble attempt to try and breathe through my congestion. Also I look HOT

So I spent this past weekend trying to take it easy. Keyword here: trying. I know that I need to rest to get better faster, but I am really bad at just sitting around. I like to be accomplishing something at all times, it’s something I’m working on.

In my “resting” state, I spent some time in the kitchen on Saturday coming up with a few new recipes for the blog. I have a few that need some tweaking, but I did manage to come up with a new soup and it really hit the spot for someone with a cold.

When I did finally manage to sit on the couch, Adam and I binged on House of Cards. If you have not watched this series, run to your TV/computer and watch all of them now. The Underwoods are deliciously ruthless and evil and I love them. It’s one of those situations where you know it’s wrong to cheer for them but you can’t help but hope for them to come out on top. This season so far (we’re about 6 episodes in) has been pretty good and I can’t wait to see where it ends up. Also, is it wrong for me to want to be as badass as Claire Underwood? I mean in one episode the woman threatens a country with war on the toilet in the women’s bathroom at the UN. That’s ballsy right there.

In between the awesomeness of House of Cards, I also watched a few episodes of Chopped. Obviously I love watching cooking shows and Chopped is one of my favorites. While I was watching I realized as much as I love to cook and create dishes I would never make it past the appetizer round. I would get so stressed and would probably just throw up my hands and cry in the corner. I like to take my time in the kitchen and there is no way I could come up with something edible and creative in 20 minutes. Oh well, I’m sure someday Food Network would come up with a show where I would have unlimited time, unlimited ingredients, no judges, and I get to make whatever I want, right?

Hopefully this cold goes away soon and I can get back to my normal routine. But let’s end this post on a high note with a picture of my adorable cats, because who doesn’t love pictures of cats? Crazy people, that’s who. Have a happy Monday everyone!

Olaf chilling to the max and Dot allowing him to be near her.

How did you spend your weekend? What’s your favorite show of the moment?

Keep It Simple Series: How To Eat Out Healthy

February 25, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Happy Wednesday! If you’re like most of the country, you’re probably half frozen. It was super cold here in Chicago yesterday and it’s looking like we have some snow coming our way soon. Yay winter….

I have a new video for you this week and it’s all about eating out! I know it can be tricky to stick to healthy food when you go out to eat, but it is possible! And it’s fun to not have to cook every once in awhile and enjoy a meal with friends and family. So here is how to do it without going crazy:

Like always, let me know what you think of these videos and if there are any topics that you want to see covered. Hearing from you helps me make this blog even better so feel free to speak up!

Have a great day and stay warm!

The Art of Nothing

February 23, 2015 / ktbuchs87

There was a time when I was an expert at doing nothing. I could spend weekends sitting in my room on my computer looking at nothing with the TV on in the background watching nothing. I could lay in bed for a whole day with nothing to occupy my time. At times, nothing dominated my life.

In recent years that has changed, partly because I started to make an effort to try and do something with my time. I was tired of wasting my life away on nothing. I realized the joy and fulfillment there was to be had by accomplishing things. It felt good to cross a task off my list or add a new talent to my repertoire. As much as I had liked being lazy and letting nothing take over, I liked having something dominate my time much better.

For awhile this attitude served me well. I was doing a lot of good. I excelled in my classes, I added new and healthy habits like exercising and eating well, and I was focused on helping others and not just serving myself. But soon a trade off happened. I started to feel guilty if I wasn’t always doing something or on the go. I feared slipping back into my lazy routine and worried about nothing creeping back into my life. I didn’t want to go back to being the lump in front of my computer or TV.

So I kept on doing something.

Even if that something was just standing up and pacing back and forth, I made sure I was involved. I made sure that nothing never occupied my time again. And you know what?

I got tired.

Go figure. If you’re always on the move and never resting you’re going to get tired. I seemed to think that I was the energizer bunny and could keep going and going. I let my fear of my life and habits of my past control my actions in the present. It was another time that I needed to learn about balance. You can’t just jump from one extreme to the next. You shouldn’t be well versed in the art of nothing, but you can’t be the master of the art of everything for long without burning out.

It’s ok to sit on the couch and relax for a few hours.

It’s ok to go for a long run in the middle of the week.

It’s ok to enjoy a book in your favorite chair for an afternoon.

It’s ok to kill a really tough strength workout.

All of these things make up a balanced life and that makes up a healthy life too. Don’t let one side of the scale dictate your life. It’s not an easy job and it’s something that I still struggle with daily. I have to tell myself to take a break, to sit down and relax. I don’t have to always be on the go.

Whether you struggle with doing too much or not doing enough, focus on taking small steps to find the right balance. You won’t always succeed and there will be days that you will have to pick yourself up and start over again. That’s what being human is about. Trust yourself enough to know that you are doing your best and next time you will do better.