Healthy Living

Elimination diets can be hard. There's no sugar coating it (no pun intended). I know this because I've done them before and I'm about to embark on probably the most restrictive one yet.

Why am I doing an elimination diet when I don't believe in restrictive eating? There are several reasons, but first I'm going to get a little vulnerable and share some of my own health challenges in hopes of helping some of you.

Starting in college, I would get …

1. Do a fridge and pantry makeover to remove the most tempting things that leave you feeling guilty or unsatisfied.

You can do this gradually or go all Marie Kondo in one fell swoop, but removing the items that aren't leaving you feeling joy or satisfied AFTER eating are best eliminated from the kitchen.  If you're upset with yourself after mindlessly consuming a bag of chips or if those packaged cookies just added fuel to the fire-that-is-your-sweet-tooth are those items really worth keepin…

A New Approach to Healthy Eating

It has been about six months since my first blog post when I talked about focusing on how foods make you feel instead of following strict rules from the latest trendy diet. This week I wanted to take that notion a step further and focus on adding to each meal rather than taking away. I'm talking about stepping away from tracking every fat, carb, protein, and calorie, taking a deep breath, and focusing on the nutrients, peeps.

I am a member of several work…

Welcome to Week 4 of Mindful May! I'm sitting outside on my deck feeling pretty content at the moment. I woke up feeling refreshed at 6 am this morning and decided to take advantage of some time outside before the heat and humidity take over for the day. I spent a couple of hours finishing up the last area that needed to be weeded while listening to Bon Appetit's Foodcast. It was quiet and comfortable outside and actually an amazingly peaceful way to start my Sunday (I started writing thi…

Welcome to Week 3 of Mindful May! It's kind of hard to believe we're already half way through the month. Although this weekend is HOT in North Carolina, so that's making it feel like summer already. If you're following along, the focus of this week is a fun one: spending a little undivided quality time with your pet. If you don't have a pet, you can choose any activity that you enjoy doing but want to focus a little more on being present like gardening, cooking, or even eating dinner toget…

Welcome to week 2 of Mindful May and Happy Mother's Day! I just finished a delicious unsweetened almond milk latte that Matt made for me and a couple of salted chocolate coffee energy balls so I am caffeinated and READY TO GO. My energy level may not be entirely appropriate for the topic of Week 2: setting a screen-free bedtime ritual (including a bedtime yoga sequence!). However, I AM pumped about Mindful May as well as the idea of potentially getting a little more quality sleep this week. …

Today I'm sharing a roundup of my top ten favorite kitchen tools that are under $25. These are items that I use frequently and that have made my life so much easier in the kitchen. With Mother's Day around the corner, these also make for a thoughtful yet inexpensive gift. Even better, use some of these tools to make her a wonderful treat! These tools are also perfect house warming or wedding gifts.

1. Spiralizer

In case you missed my introduction to Mindful May, I'm devoting this month to focusing on doing a spring cleaning of "brain clutter" and making an effort to be more present. Mindfulness is something I really struggle with, so I have planned on adding one small habit each week to make the process enjoyable instead of a burden or obligation. This first week I'm committing to giving meditation a try at least once a day. I'd love for you to join me!

Meditation: the ultimate state of mindfu…

You know that little nagging voice that you sometimes ignore? Matt would say yes, and that the voice is mine. But what I'm talking about is that inner voice in the back of your mind that's usually right even though sometimes you don't want to listen. It might be telling you to finish that thing on your to-do list you keep putting off, that maybe you could be eating healthier, or that you’re spending too much time on your phone. Lately I've been ignoring the fact that I should be getting a littl…

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been wonderful. I feel like I really started to notice how much lighter it's getting later into the evening this week and along with the warmer temps I'm getting some summer vibes. Yayy sunlight. Once again I'm checking in to share some of the things that I'm loving this week. As always, I'd love to hear what things made you smile this week in the comments! Thanks for stopping by. <3

New veggie Breakfast bowl creations

I shared this on Instagram ear…