Being Mindful & Taking Care Of My Body

May 2, 2016May 2, 2016 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

If you remember, at the beginning of this year I decided to take a break from running. It was no longer bringing me joy and I was totally burned out. It was a tough choice, but more and more I’m realizing it was the best one for me.

Just because I don’t run doesn’t mean that I have totally given up on working out. In fact, I think my workouts, and overall health, have improved vastly by taking a step back from running. Adam and I have been following along with Fitness Blender’s workout programs and they’re no joke! They incorporate strength, flexibility, HIIT, yoga, pilates, kickboxing, plyometrics… anything is fair game in their workouts and it keeps my body and my mind engaged in what I’m doing.

Last Friday, as we were finishing up our workout, Kelli (one-half of the husband/wife duo behind Fitness Blender) mentioned lifting a weight that’s heavy and challenging for you. She also said that it was totally ok to drop the weight completely and just use body weight and that it was important to listen to your body. After hearing this Adam quipped, “Unless you’re Katie, then you just keep pushing through the pain.” He was mostly kidding and I told him I don’t always do that but then I started thinking about my runs. Being Mindful & Taking Care Of My Body | Life Healthfully Lived

No matter what, I always pushed through my runs. The only time that I didn’t was when I hurt my knee and physically could NOT run. Other than that, I ran and there were definitely some times that I should have stayed home. Pushing through those times is probably what led to me being burned out on running. It’s probably what made my body tell me that I had to stop or something worse than a slight knee injury was coming. Being Mindful & Taking Care Of My Body | Life Healthfully Lived

I’m not saying pushing through a tough workout is a bad thing. It’s important to go a little outside your comfort zone and push yourself in order to become stronger, faster, and better. But it shouldn’t come at the risk of your overall health. If your body is telling you it has to stop or it’s going to completely give out, you should listen to it.

Which is part of what I have been doing the last few months. There are days when I am raring to go on my workout, where I feel so strong and can lift heavier than I ever have before. Then there are days when I’m more tired and can’t go at 115% the whole time. That’s ok. Before I would have thought I was just being lazy. I would have said you have to push past this and keep go, go, going. Now I pull back and listen and realize my body knows what’s best. Being Mindful & Taking Care Of My Body | Life Healthfully Lived

It’s kind of a relief, for both my mind and my body, to know that I don’t have to go all out 100% of the time. It’s ok to pull back a little and adjust to what you need in that moment. Health is a series of ups and downs. You hope and work for the best but realize there are going to be times when you have to give in and take the down. It’s a part of life and it’s all good! Being Mindful & Taking Care Of My Body | Life Healthfully Lived

DIY Wednesday: Coconut Milk

April 27, 2016April 26, 2016 / ktbuchs87

I use coconut milk a lot. In curries, creamy sauces, my daily smoothie bowl, for baking, in dressings, in my coffee…. You get the picture. There are plenty of options for coconut milk in the store and some of them are actually a pretty good deal. I can get a 1-quart carton of So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk at my Wal-mart for $1.98. But the price isn’t what’s driving this DIY post. DIY Wednesday: Coconut Milk | Life Healthfully Lived

Pretty much every brand of coconut milk has some type of thickener or “gum” added to make it that thick and creamy milk we all enjoy. Some brands have even worse things added but I avoid those. While the So Delicious brand is good, it still has guar gum added and while in small doses guar gum isn’t horrible, too much can cause some gastrointestinal issues.

Since I use coconut milk pretty much every day, I decided to try making my own. You guys, this is like the easiest homemade alternative milk that I have ever done. Nut milks aren’t super hard to make, but if you don’t have a fancy blender it can be time-consuming. Coconut milk is quick, simple, and pretty much any blender can handle it. Even an immersion blender. Oh yes, I tried it. DIY Wednesday: Coconut Milk | Life Healthfully Lived

Even better, it’s also a cheap way to make coconut milk especially if you can buy your coconut shreds in bulk. So if you’re looking for a simple way to make coconut milk, look no further!

Just a heads up, though, you will need a nut milk bag or cheese cloth but that’s the only “special” equipment required for this milk. You could even get away with using a mesh sieve or strainer.

Homemade Coconut Milk

1 package unsweetened coconut shreds, 8 oz
4 cups boiling water
1-2 tsp sweetener of choice, optional (I left it unsweetened)

Get out a large bowl and layer your cheese cloth or nut milk bag over it. Boil the 4 cups of water.
Meanwhile, measure out 8 oz of coconut shreds and put them into your blender. Pour the boiling water over the coconut and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to soften up.
Blend everything together. If you have a high-speed blender (jealous) this will take you literally 30 seconds maybe a minute. My blender took about 2 minutes. It won’t be completely smooth but you want a thick consistency.
Pour the milk into the bowl with the bag or cheese cloth. Squeeze out all of the milk (careful if it’s still hot from the boiling water part) and transfer the milk to a pitcher or other container. It will keep in your fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Two things to note, DON’T throw away the coconut pulp! You can dry it out and use it in baking or cooking. Also, the milk will get a hard crust on it while it’s in the fridge. That’s totally fine. Just break it up and stir or shake the milk and it will be good to go! DIY Wednesday: Coconut Milk | Life Healthfully Lived

DIY Wednesday: Sun-Dried Tomatoes

April 20, 2016April 19, 2016 / ktbuchs87

The other day, I wanted to recreate one of my favorite breakfast dishes from a restaurant back in Sycamore, Eggsclusive Cafe. It’s an omelette that has fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and avocado slices on top. So simple but so good.

To the store I went to grab the things I needed that I didn’t already have, one of which was the sun-dried tomatoes. I didn’t want to get the ones packed in olive oil because they tend to make everything else oily and the ones at my store always have some other flavoring like jalapeno added. So I picked up one of the packages, despite the $5 price tag, and flipped it over to read the ingredient list. That’s where I was met with sulfates and sulfites and other preservatives to keep “freshness and color retention”. DIY Wednesday: Sun-Dried Tomatoes | Life Healthfully Lived

No brand at my store had sun dried tomatoes without some kind of chemical or preservative and I didn’t want to spend $5 or more on something that I didn’t want in my body. I almost resigned myself to the oil packed tomatoes when I thought to myself, “Self, can’t you just make your own sun dried tomatoes? I mean obviously not in the sun, that would take too long and you don’t have a sunny spot in the apartment, but in the oven? And wouldn’t it be like way less expensive?”

Yes, my self was correct. I can make sun dried tomatoes in my oven and have fresh, preservative free toppings for my omelettes and whatever else my heart desires. If you have a food dehydrator you probably already know that you can make your own sun-dried tomatoes and it’s fairly simple. If you don’t, you can do like me and make them in your oven!

Sun Dried Tomatoes

One 8 oz. package of grape or cherry tomatoes
olive oil, optional
salt, optional

* I made mine without oil or salt but you can, it just may take a little longer to dry out.

Preheat your oven to the lowest setting. If it’s 150-170 lucky you, the rest of us will have to make due with 200.
Wash and dry the tomatoes and then slice in half. Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. If you want to add olive oil and salt, toss the tomatoes in a bowl and make sure they’re covered then arrange on your baking sheet.
Place the sheet in the oven to dry out. Now, if your oven only goes to 200 you’re going to have to keep an eye on things to make sure the tomatoes don’t burn. I opened my oven every 10 minutes or so to let out some of the heat.
Turn over the tomatoes every so often. Remember you’re just trying to dry them out, not roast them. They’re done when they look shriveled like red raisins. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

* Make sure the tomatoes are completely cool and dry before you store them because any moisture in the container will make them mushy and spoil sooner. DIY Wednesday: Sun-Dried Tomatoes | Life Healthfully Lived

My Thoughts on Being a Health Hypocrite

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 / ktbuchs87

So yesterday I did something I rarely if ever do.

I spoke up.

If you know me at all, I tend to be a background type person. I don’t like confrontation and it’s really hard for me to be the center of attention. Like impossible. But there are times that I have some sass in me that I make known and yesterday was one of those times.

I had to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things that I had forgotten. I was in the baking aisle looking for some almond flour and two ladies walked up behind me and were looking at the oil.

My Thoughts on Being a Health Hypocrite | Life Healthfully Lived

The offending coconut oil

“Oh my gosh. Look! Crisco is trying to get into the healthy fats game by selling “organic” coconut oil.”

“Like anyone would buy coconut oil from Crisco. Don’t they sell vegetable shortening and all that other bad fat?” My Thoughts on Being a Health Hypocrite | Life Healthfully Lived

As I was listening to this conversation, I almost started to agree with them but then I stopped. We all complain that we want more affordable healthy options. We push big food companies to listen to us, to give us the good food we deserve without charging and arm and a leg. Then when companies, like Crisco, try to give us what we’re asking for we disregard them. Does selling organic coconut oil instantly make Crisco the best and newest healthy company? No, but it shows they’re listening to us. And what do you think happens if we all ignore them because they’re Crisco and “sell vegetable shortening and all that other bad fat?” They pull that affordable organic coconut from their line and someone who maybe couldn’t afford the other brands suddenly can’t buy coconut oil anymore. My Thoughts on Being a Health Hypocrite | Life Healthfully Lived

I don’t know what made me do it, but I had to respond to this whole incident. So I politely said excuse me and reached for the Crisco organic coconut oil between these two ladies.

“Thanks. You know it’s really great that there are some affordable coconut oil options now. Those little $13 jars never seem to last!”

I smiled and then just walked away. Was it a little snarky? Yeah, but I did my best to not make it about shaming these women because that wasn’t my goal. We have to do a better job of working with what food industries are giving us. It’s going to take a lot of time and it isn’t going to be perfect. We need to work on not being snobs about our healthy products and realize if someone is choosing the Crisco coconut oil over things like vegetable oil or canola oil or corn oil then that’s a small victory. My Thoughts on Being a Health Hypocrite | Life Healthfully Lived

Please, don’t be a health hypocrite. If you can afford to buy high-end all organic food and products, that’s great but not everyone can do that and the fact that there are more and more options for those on a budget is awesome. Let’s support those people and those companies that are making an effort and maybe one day EVERYONE can afford the high-end all organic food we deserve.

Weather & My Favorite Spring Vegetables

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 / ktbuchs87

From the title you can probably gather, I don’t have a recipe for you today. That isn’t to say I don’t have recipes, oh do I have recipes, they just aren’t quite ready for you yet.

But I didn’t want to leave you with nothing this fine Friday so I thought I would highlight some of my favorite spring vegetables that are starting to make their way to the produce section. First, can we just talk about the weather?

Good.

In the span of about oh… an hour and a half, there has been rain, snow, rain/snow (or wintry mix if you like that better) and full on sun. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand it’s spring in Chicago so I fully expect bi-polar weather but this is getting a little ridiculous. I would like to wear my cute spring clothes now. I would like to put my boots away for good. I would like to not need five different coats for the weather in ONE DAY. Weather & My Favorite Spring Vegetables | Life Healthfully Lived

I mean, come on! I married a meteorologist! Shouldn’t he be able to fix this stuff? But noooooo. He gets all technical and scientific and tells me, “That’s not how this works Katie.” Whatever. I think he’s just being lazy. With all his fancy degrees he should be able to make spring weather be better. Especially for his loving and adoring wife who cooks him delicious meals and tries to make dessert for him most nights… I’m just sayin’

Ok, weather rant over on to my favorite veggies! Weather & My Favorite Spring Vegetables | Life Healthfully Lived

I know that most produce is available year-round so we’ve kind of lost the touch for eating seasonally. But just because something is available year-round doesn’t mean we should eat it year-round. Fruit and vegetables just taste so much better when they’re in season and they’re also cheaper. Cheap tasty food is always going to be better than expensive bland food in my book.

Cauliflower

If you haven’t noticed lately, I’ve been kind of having a thing with cauliflower. I turn it into rice, stuff taquitos with it, make mac n’ cheese with it, roast it, turn it into a creamy sauce…. It’s like a magic vegetable that can be anything and do anything. It’s in peak season now, so pick up a few heads and make whatever you want. Seriously.

Parsnips

These are technically in season from fall to the beginning of spring but during the winter months, they can be kind of puny and woody tasting. I like spring parsnips cause they’re sweet and they taste amazing roasted. You can also puree them and make a delicious mash or soup. If you like carrots you’ll probably love parsnips.

Spinach

Give me green things!!! After winter, I’m always grabbing the greenest fresh produce I can. Spinach (the ones in bunches that are covered with dirt, not in the plastic bags) start hitting the shelves and I can’t help but always grab a bunch. I eat them raw in salads or wilt them a bit for soup or turn them into pesto or make lasagna with them. No matter how you prepare them, a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice go a long way.

Leeks and Onions

While I might not take a big bite out of a raw leek or onion, they enhance pretty much the flavor of anything you make. Leeks are great in soup or stews and onions go in everything. The spring varieties are a little sweeter and they are great caramelized.

Asparagus

Yes, your pee might smell funny but it’s worth it when you have roasted asparagus with a lemony cream sauce and pasta. Even just roasted asparagus on its own is delicious. And if you’re a meat-eater, my mom wraps two or three asparagus stalks with some prosciutto and roasts it and everyone goes nuts for it.

Watercress

Ok, so I have never tried watercress (that I know of) but it is like one of the top healthiest foods out there and it starts showing up in the spring. I haven’t seen it on the shelves just yet, but I’m going to try some when I do find it. It’s always good to try new fruits or vegetables that way you never get bored of your food!

So those are some of my top picks for spring plus one newbie that I want to try. What are some of your favorite spring vegetables?

I hope you have an awesome weekend and that the weather by you isn’t as crazy as it is here!