Honoring Health

A Snobby Kind of Night

Christie — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:00:04 +0000

Tonight’s dinner was Snobby Joe’s from my favorite vegan cookbook, Veganomicon. They are an old favorite around here and are perfect for batch cooking on the weekends. They freeze beautifully (a term I stole from Steel Magnolias) and are great for something that you can quickly heat and get on the table. They are made with lentils, tomatos, green pepper, onions and delicious blend of spices. We like them wrap style with spinach and hot mustard.

After arriving home tonight, dinner was on the table in a matter of minutes and now we have the rest of the evening to enjoy. We will probably catch up on the DVR and hit the hay pretty early. We must rest up because the weather is going to be gorgeous tomorrow and we want to get out and play!

Do you have the Veganomicon cookbook? Have you ever made Snobby Joes?

Hungry for More?

Spinach Oat Bran N Egg’s

Christie — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:41:56 +0000

Wow, what an amazing response from you guys about comparing ourselves to other bloggers. You all are amazing and I wouldn’t trade you for the world! Each and everyone of us have a place here in this blogging community and I am so proud to be a part of it.

Now, onto some eats. I’m not doing very well in the variety department, at least not with breakfast. But, I am really enjoying what I am eating. Today was the second day I had spinach Oat Bran and eggs which is think is a nice change from the sweet concoctions I’ve been coming up with. It is also pretty much mis-combined but as I mentioned in my food philosophy, I think it is more important to honor what our bodies are asking for rather than following hard and fast rules. This breakfast is very tasty and it is exactly what my body has been craving for two days.

So, with a satisfied stomach, I head off to the final work day of the week. It is supposed to be a gorgeous weekend and I can’t wait for it to begin. Come on 5pm!!

What is on your agenda for this weekend?

Hungry for More?

Comparing My Blog to Yours

Christie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:43:11 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post called “Why do you read blogs?” and it got an amazing response from you guys. It was an interesting conversation and if you haven’t read it, I encourage you to read it along with the comments. One of the themes that popped up in the comments, and in other related conversations, was the idea of comparing ourselves to other bloggers. We blog a certain way because of what is expected within our “niche” or we worry what our readers would think about having a bad day. We see the number of comments on others posts and wonder why their morning bowl of oatmeal gets more comments than the posts we pour our hearts and souls into. Or worse yet, we don’t feel comfortable wearing our heart on our sleeve for fear of what the others might think.

Yesterday, I found myself falling into this mentality harder than I ever have in the past. I felt misunderstood, under appreciated and wondering if my blog was “worthy”. I tried to get involved in conversations on twitter only to be ignored (which could probably be a whole other post). I stalked my stats, my comments and my emails so much that I could hardly focus on anything else. I see people post about needing to manage hundreds of reader emails each day and I wonder why I only get a few a week. I see some of my posts get lots of response and plenty of attention and others go un-noticed while others make a living my posting their daily eats.

I compare myself and often feel like I don’t measure up. I wonder, why them and not me. What do they have that I don’t have. And then, to make matters even more complicated, I find others comparing themselves to me. And as full circle as that might seem, it blows my mind. After all, I am a small fish in a big pond. So then, when does the comparing ourselves end? No matter where we are on our paths, do we ever stop trying to fit in? It feels like high school sometimes and I hated high school. So then, why does this cycle just perpetuate itself over and over again? If I’m comparing myself to her and she is comparing herself to me, aren’t we really just making ourselves miserable for no reason at all?

I think in the end, bad mood aside, I know that I am valuable in this community and that “those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind”. And that really, when I take a long hard look at what I do have and the impact my blog makes, I know that what I have created here is special and I wouldn’t trade my awesome readers and bloggie friends for the world. But boy, those days when I’m feeling misunderstood and under-appreciated, it sure can get brutal inside my head.

How about you? Do you compare yourself to others, blog or otherwise? Do you ever worry about measuring up?

Hungry for More?

Getting Real with My Mat

Christie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:30:03 +0000

I went to yoga at the studio last night for the first time in a long time. Honestly, it was the first time I’ve practiced at all in a couple of weeks. I’ve known I needed to get back to my practice but I’d been holding myself back and I’m finally ready to admit why. I walked into the yoga room and was warmly greeted by one of my favorite teachers, Linda, and words I wasn’t expecting just started flowing from my mouth. I don’t know where they came from but by the time I opened my eyes from savasana, I knew truer words had never been spoken.

Remember when I quit yoga teacher training? It has been since then that my practice really started to decline. I tried fooling myself into believing that I was developing a home practice but what I was doing was avoiding my mat. I’ve learned some awesome things about myself during this time of reflection and I think it was an important break for me to take but I also think I need to be real about why I took it. I’ve been in denial about it but the reality is that quitting made me feel like a failure.

In my mind, I twisted being a teacher with being a student and somehow, I felt as if I didn’t deserve to be a student if I couldn’t be a teacher. But even clearer still is that maybe I don’t want to teach after all. I thought that teaching would prove to the world that I was a yogi and that being a teacher would bring about enlightenment that I wouldn’t be able to achieve otherwise. But what I know now is that I am a yogi because of what lives in my heart not because of a certificate or the poses I can do. And I also know that at this point in my life, I’m not ready to sacrifice my practice to be a teacher. Or maybe, I just need to be in a different place in my life where there is more time to practice and teach.

I’m still proud of myself for grabbing life by the horns by starting the training and I am forever thankful for the lessons I have learned since then but for now, I need to keep focusing on my healing and my journey to wellness. For now, I will be a student.

How about you? Have you felt you let yourself down when in the long run it turned out to be a big lesson?

Hungry for More?

A Little Help in the Kitchen

Christie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:04:49 +0000

I just got come from my yoga class, which means I am halfway to my yoga class goal for the week, and the dear husband had dinner in full swing. He isn’t a cook by any means but he is very helpful and willing to learn. Tonight, he prepared the brown rice pasta, which all of you gluten free folks know can be finicky, and then we heated up some pasta sauce I prepared over the weekend.

The sauce is just a simple marinara and ground free range turkey. I threw in a couple handfuls of spinach at the end just for good veggie measure.

Sure, it wasn’t gourmet but it really hit the spot after a sleepless night, a busy day at work and a hard “core” yoga class. Tonight, I am hoping to get more rest than I did last night and have a great day tomorrow. I plan to write a post tomorrow afternoon that has been stuck inside my mind for quite some time so stay tuned for that. Speaking of, thanks for all the great conversation on the “I’d never stop eating” post! Keep those comments coming! I love it when you guys give me your input, we all learn from each other that way!

For now, I’m headed to cuddle on the couch and try to get some shut eye.

Does your mate help you prepare meals? Does he (or she) like to cook?

Hungry for More?

“I’d Never Stop Eating”

Christie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:07:03 +0000

“If I ate intuitively, I’d never stop eating”

As an intuitive eater, I’ve heard this a million times and today, I’d like to set the record straight. The notion that we would never stop eating if we ate intuitively is deeply rooted in the diet mentality. For some people, being on a diet starts a cycle of on again, off again that leads to overeating, making poor choices and even binging. It leads us to believe that our bodies are not capable of making wise choices without the help of a point counter, a calorie log or a list of “good” and “bad” foods. And I am here to tell you, that just isn’t the case.

Now, some of you have been following my blog since the beginning and know that I’ve done my fair share of binging, eating foods that haven’t been kind to my body and I even put on some weight. Part of this process has been learning to legalize food and drilling it into my brain that no food is off limits and that I CAN eat whatever I want. I ate jars of nutella, pounds of cheese, tons of pizza, plenty of sweets because they were no longer forbidden. I ate at restaurants and ordered whatever I wanted from the menu and I even binged just because I could. And if you, my dear reader, decided to give up dieting today and start this beautiful journey of eating intuitively, you probably would too.

But you would stop.

At some point in the process, you would instinctively know that intuitive eating isn’t about “eating whatever you want”, it is about honoring health. It is about listening to your body, and learning that certain foods don’t make you feel so great. And that certain exercise drives you bananas while others make you feel free. Going through the eating whatever you want phase is 100% perfectly normal but I blog before you now that if your intentions are real and you want to heal your relationship with food and your body, you will stop eating in that rebellious, fast and furious manner. You will no longer crave “cheat days” and “no count meals” because you will be free to make that choice each and every time your body say “I’m hungry now”. You will instinctively stop when you are full because it will be perfectly clear to you that another meal is only a few hours away. You will honor your spirit by taking care of yourself and food won’t have that elusive draw anymore. You will be intuitive.

Be patient, give it time and trust in the process, have faith in yourself and you will stop.

I did.

Hungry for More?

Chocolate and Zucchini Oat Bran

Christie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:31:40 +0000

I told you I was going to switch things up.

This morning, I needed a little pick me up since I tossed and turned all night. My body just did not want to wind down which I am sure is related to the time change. When the clock struck six this morning, I desperately needed a boost. Since I don’t “do” caffeine anymore, I rarely eat chocolate but this morning, it just felt more than right.

Ever had a chocolate and zucchini muffin? Well, imagine it with a warm, creamy texture and packed with nutrition.

My chocolate and zucchini bowl contained:

gluten free oat bran
unsweetened vanilla rice milk
1 grated zucchini
coconut milk
coconut oil
wonder cocoa (which I buy for the low caffeine)
ground flax seed
vanilla stevia

It was more than delicious and was just what I needed to get going this morning. It was actually a wee on the rich side so I’m saving part of it for later. You can’t beat dessert for breakfast.

Have you ever eaten dessert for breakfast? What did you have?

Hungry for More?

Well Lit Dinner

Christie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:04:52 +0000

Man, is it just me or did today fly by! Once again, I can’t believe it is almost 7 pm already. I do love that it is still daylight, though. I mean, who doesn’t love a little extra natural light to capture their dinner

Speaking of, tonight’s dinner was a bit unconventional but delicious none the less. As a kid, both the dear husband and I ate many meals with lima beans as the main course so this meal has become part of the regular rotation. Plus, it is super simple to make and is a great multi tasking meal. I seasoned seasoned them simply with onion, sea salt and pepper.

Along side the lima beans, we also had roasted petite brussel sprouts

with ketchup for dipping.

The sprouts look a little less than appetizing but I promise they were delicious in all of their extra, tasty crispiness. In fact, I’d even call them the best I’ve ever made!

Not sure what is on the agenda for the evening, I still need to pack my yoga bag since I am going to a class tomorrow night at the studio. I really can’t wait to get back, it’s been a while. I also need to drink some water, i’m a little behind on project hydrate.

What meals did you eat as a kid that you still enjoy today?

Hungry for More?

Goal Setting

Christie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:36:39 +0000

Happy Monday, dear bloggies! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Mine flew by and when I woke up this morning to the pitch black darkness, I surely didn’t want to get out of bed! Alas, I did and with plenty of time to spare. I want to tell you all about some goals I’ve set for myself this week since I’ve decided that in some areas of my life, it will pay off to be goal oriented instead of process oriented. Being goal oriented is very yang (masculine) and being process oriented is very yin (feminine) and setting goals is one of the areas I have allowed my feminine to take over. To create some balance, I have a couple of goals that I think honor both. By setting goals, I’m honoring the yang but the goals themselves are very yin. My goals for this week are:

Make it to two yoga classes at the studio (I haven’t been in ages)
Add more variety and veggies into my diet (I’m big time stuck in a rut)
Drink plenty of water
Be off of the computer each day by 7:35 in order to be in my office by 8:30

So, to start the week off with the variety, I plan to add a different veggie to my oat bran everyday. I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day so this is stepping out of my comfort zone. Of course, it really isn’t too different from my normal breakfast but changing the veggie part is enough for me. I also made two different things for lunch this week that I will post about as the week progresses.

My bowl contained:

gluten free oat bran
unsweetened vanilla rice milk
butternut squash
coconut oil
cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla stevia
flax seed

Now, if I am going to meet that 7:35 goal, I must go. Now!

What are your goals for the week?

Hungry for More?

Where Did the Day Go?

Christie — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:59:56 +0000

I can not believe it is 7pm on Sunday already! Seems like just a few moments ago, I was packing up and heading out of work on Friday! This weekend has completely flown by though I have been very productive. Today, we went to Whole Foods, I did a ton of batch cooking to get ready for the busy week ahead, I did all of the laundry and even had time to make a quick dinner.

I made tofu vegetable stir-fry with a really simple sauce:

gluten free soy sauce
ginger
garlic
rice vinegar
sesame oil
stevia

The stir fry was petty tasty though I do think I went a bit heavy on the soy sauce. This was my first time having an Asian inspired sauce since giving up sugar and I think I over compensated with the soy! None the less, it was pretty good and only took about 10 minutes to prepare. My kind of meal!

We don’t have much on the agenda for the rest of the evening. Maybe a movie and I’m probably going to try to get to bed a bit early. What is on your evening agenda? Did time fly by for you this weekend as well? The time change is a hard adjustment!