Having a Relationship with Myself

Just ME

If I did not have a GREAT relationship with myself, I would be a complete mess.  This is just not a physical existence for me, but a very deep spiritual bond with God, and being truly content with me and my life.  The healthy lifestyle that I maintain comes from how I treat myself, how I allow others to treat me, how that is perceived, how I grow from my journey, continually being enlightened by both positive and negative experiences, setting healthy boundaries, and wrapping all that up into how I respond to life’s circumstances. 

 

As I have journeyed through this life, I have suffered physically and emotionally and would not be honest if I did not say that I have felt the sting of both from time to time even now.  The difference in the now is my past experiences have been a life education on how to love myself enough to see things and handle things in a healthy way, and navigate through boundaries that I now have to take

care of me.  A great example would be a person that has hurt me emotionally through an insensitive act or words.  I have realized that this has nothing to do with me or who I am as a person, but all about the offender not knowing how to be sensitive or compassionate in that moment.  Would it hurt…well of course but the important thing is realizing the behavior is not my fault, and even more important is responding to it in the healthiest way possible.  The best part about life is learning through the experiences, being enlightened by what is acceptable and not acceptable, not reliving the unacceptable, and “the knowing” of what is wanted and not wanted.  Looking at all things this way has created a healthy perspective of circumstances and a clear understanding  that God wants me to learn something from the situation and possibly create a circumstance that I will be able to help others going through a similar experience in the future.   Emotional growth has not been an overnight learning method of how to handle things, but a cultivation of experiences, over time that has developed my emotional self and created a bit of thicker skin as well in a positive way. 

Having a relationship with me also includes my physical day to day actions.  Believe me, there are days where I need to be In Your Face MOTIVATED to get my bootie moving to workout.  I feel very comfortable eating healthy a very high percentage of the time, but as I get older, I find that the workouts are my more difficult area and because of that, I have become wiser with my workouts.  This has become an enlightenment experience for me as well as some days I will be gang busters and full of pep in my step, and other days…OH MY…throw a towel over my ARC trainer monitor and beep when it is over.  I have also fine tuned my fitness training using what works for my body to reduce/avoid the chance of aggravation.  Nothing is worse than aggravating an injury during a workout and spending days rehabilitating something that could have been prevented.  My relationship with my physical health is all about HEALTH and feeling great, not so much on how great I will look on the outside.  Although, I do appreciate that my outward appearance is a reflection of living a healthy life.  I also want to add that I do not feel looking healthy to be a “vain or ego” thing and that it is OK to enjoy the “physical look” of living a healthy lifestyle.  Many people get so caught up in “acceptance”, and I think that is healthy to a point…but not to be taken to an unhealthy one.  No one should accept being in an unhealthy state of life in my opinion...how can that be a happy place or something to accept? 

Both the emotional and physical parts of my “self” relationship have taken years

to fine tune and develop, and still nothing in life is great all the time.  Life is not perfect or even easy, and in fact it is all the challenges, bumps in the road, hard work, and experiences that sand down the roughness of our inner and outer shells into smooth, beautiful gems.   Through it all, I have learned to not give up, be patient, and above all to know that I am worthy of great things, and I have definitely learned not to settle for anything less.  Life is too short to not want to be healthy physically and emotionally and the BEST place to start and maintain all that is within ME. 

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION

Me with My Fabulous Kids

Thanks for stopping by my Blog and I hope you enjoyed the content.  Let me know by leaving a comment, a LIKE, or whatever you are inspired to do. I look forward to responding, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friends list.   

Stay Healthy~ 

Darla 

Sweet and Smokey Slow Cooked Garbanzo Beans on Flax Seed Crepes and a Set of Spices and Flavored Salt from Gourmet Nut Give Away!

Nothing beats a slow cooked dish that makes your mouth water from the sweet and smokey flavors wafting through your home all day. And when the flavors have soaked into your slowly cooked chicken and garbanzo beans and you can finally spoon the contents from your slow cooker and place them in a super healthy, simple home made wrap, you are basically giddy with joy. Pure bliss I tell you.

Sure you could throw the onion into the slow cooker and cook it all day with the rest of the stuff, but I have a strange affection for searing my onions until they are beautifully browned.  I could eat them by the spoonful that way.

The fine people from Gourmet Nut sent me a nice goodie box filled with their trail mixes, power snacks  and some pink and smoked sea salts to try. They also sent me some of their different spices/rubs to hang out with. We were more than eager to try out the Coffee Steak Rub on our T-Bones and I massaged my fillet Mignon with the Sweet and Smokey Steak Rub.


Mouth watering, sweet Heaven coming from our grill.



I was quickly addicted to the Sweet and Smokey rub and had to come up with a weekday dish other than steak which we only eat on rare occasion. So when I saw these tacos using smoked paprika over at Family Style Food I immediately knew what I had to do.

Crazy simple and insanely delicious, even picky eaters 2 and 4 loved these!  You can easily make these vegetarian/vegan by omitting the chicken but I knew my little guys would be more willing to eat them with just a bit of chicken in them.

Gourmet Nut is going to give away a Set of their spices and flavored salts to not one but THREE lucky Simply Healthy Family readers!

Please visit Gourmet Nut and tell me which spices or salts are your fav and what you would make with them! This isn't mandatory but I am interested at all of the possibilities with their range of 

salts and spices!

serves    6          Time |   prep  15   cook  8 hours    

ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped white onion

½-1 of a jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, minced

1 1/2 cups dry garbanzo beans 

2 chicken thighs, bone in

4 cups chicken broth, veggie broth or water

1 tablespoon Gourmet Nut Sweet and Smokey steak rub

1 teaspoon salt

Optional Garnishes:

cilantro

avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 ripe tomato, sliced

Arugula greens

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

instructions

1. rinse and drain dried garbanzo beans. soak garbanzo beans overnight in plenty of water, this step is important.
2. in the morning drain the garbanzo beans and add to your slow cooker along with broth or water, salt and sweet and smokey spice. add bone in chicken thighs. cook on low setting for 8-10 hours till beans are soft. do not lift lid during this time.
3. make tortillas, recipe below.
4. when beans are done, sauté onion in olive oil over high heat till browned, add jalapeno and cook 2 more minutes.
5. Using a fork, shred the chicken off the bone and stir into beans, discard bones and skin.
6. spoon mixture onto tortillas, top with onion and garnishes.

notes: This is easily converted to a vegetarian meal by omitting the chicken. Also, in a pinch you can use canned garbanzo beans (chick peas)

Recipe adapted from  Wheat Belly Cookbook

MAKES   4 wraps       time   15 minutes

Flax seed Wraps

1/3 cup flax meal (ground flax seeds)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons water

2 eggs

1. In a small bowl, mix together the flax meal, baking powder, onion powder, paprika and salt. Stir in coconut oil. Beat in the water and eggs until blended.
2. Heat a small, non-stick sauté pan over medium heat. Add a bit of oil to lightly coat the pan. Pour in a small amount of the batter to just thinly coat the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until small bubbles form on the top and you can easily get a rubber spatula under the wrap. 
3. Carefully, flip the wrap over using a rubber spatula. Cook and additional minute. Remove from heat, repeat. 

notes: I suggest making a big batch of these and refrigerating or freezing them. They will keep in the fridge for several days and can be used in place of tortillas or as a sandwich wrap. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chiarezza Parfait and a giveaway!

More often than not these days I have negative zero interest in preparing breakfast at all, especially one that takes any sort of preparation. I've been sticking to my Shakeology concoctions on the days I work but like a variety in my diet and a sit down breakfast on my days off.






Chiarezza sent me some of their cereals to review and I couldn't be more impressed. Not only was it delicious, it's as simple to prepare as heating some of my almond vanilla milk, pouring a bit of the cereal into the bowl, stir, wait, eat. Perfect.


The bits of Organic dried fruit gave it the perfect amount of sweetness and the texture was surprisingly thick and creamy. Chia seeds expand the longer you let them sit in liquid and so the consistency is up to you. Any liquid will do, water or your favorite milk product. I like coconut milk, almond milk and hemp milk.

Add some fresh fruit and you have a beautiful and healthy breakfast to fuel you for hours.

A completely revolutionary way to have cereal, Chiarezza’s all Organic cereal is an exceptional way to start your day. It is free of so many unnecessary filler ingredients. After you eat this, you’ll never go back to eating “regular old” cereal again.

The base is made from all Organic dried fruits and seeds so you start your day like a Superstar without crashing like yesterday’s one hit wonder.

Chiarezza is giving away a full size bag of their Forbidden Fruit cereal to one lucky

Simply Healthy Family fan. 

You can eat this completely raw by adding cold water, or you can add hot water or milk (whichever kind you like). Each pouch contains 8 servings. If you’re wondering how that can be, it’s because the ingredients are filling and powerful. The chia seeds will expand and it’s ready in 5-7 minutes after adding liquid.

Raw. Wheat Free. Dairy Free. Tree nut free. Peanut free. Dairy Free. Egg. Free. Soy Free.

Ingredients: Organic chia seeds, organic hemp seeds, organic mango, organic buckwheat, organic banana flakes, organic goji berries. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate Espresso Kahlua Cake

Disclaimer: This is not a healthy recipe. This is a died and gone to heaven, lick your plate clean, roll your eyes to the back of your head amazingly good chocolate cake recipe. 


Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved cake. However, not just any ordinary cake would do. Only the most decadent, moist and  sinfully  rich chocolate cake would please this girl. Only a chocolate cake that had notes of espresso in every bite and left a lingering of Kahlua liqueur on her lips.  Oh yes.  This was not any ordinary girl nor should she have any ordinary chocolate cake.

This was........

The Birthday Girl !!!

 Moi. Yours truly. Not telling you how old I am but I will say that sometime in the last few years I have gone from people telling me  "You're just a baby"  to  "Oh! Well you look good for your age." Which is almost as much of a compliment as when I get the "OH! Well you look good for having 4 children."

sigh.

This birthday girl didn't ask for diamonds or pearls, she didn't want a big birthday bash nor did she did ask for a trip to Spain (o.k. maybe I did, but I didn't expect it, just have to throw it out there).   

What she did make  perfectly  loud and clear was.................. 

Let there be cake! Kahlua Cake!

Chocolate, Espresso, Beautiful Kahlua Cake.

The End.

Did I mention that I look forward to this cake starting in early May and start talking about it in early June?

I had the props ready to go in early July.

My Birthday is August 1st.  What?

Apparently it was my "Blog Birthday" as well. Simply Healthy Family turned 4 last week. 

That calls for another piece of cake if you ask me!

Thanks for making me the best cake ever (again) mommy! xoxo

Happy Dance!

"It's my birthday, let's party, with Kahlua!"

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup strong coffee, divided
3 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup Kahlua

Frosting Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Kahlua
3 Tablespoons hot coffee
(reserved coffee)


Directions for cake:

Make 1 cup strong coffee and refrigerate overnight.  Grease and flour 2 (9") round cake pans. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat egg whites until frothy; beat in sugar until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.

Sift flour, cocoa, and baking soda together in small bowl.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with 3/4 cup cold coffee and the Kahlua (reserve remaining coffee for frosting).  Fold in the egg whites & sugar mixture till just combined. Don't over mix.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until done (when toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean).  

Cool 10 minutes, invert onto wire rack and cool before frosting.

Directions for frosting:

In large bowl, cream 6 Tablespoons softened butter with 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar and 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.  Add in the 3 T Kahlua and 2-3 Tablespoons of the reserved coffee (heated); beat until smooth.  

MADE IN THE GYM, MAINTAINED IN THE KITCHEN

It does not matter how much I exercise, if I do not put healthy foods in my body, I will not be healthy.  It is really that simple.  Outside of my workouts, I maintain my body mostly with healthy food intake.  An hour of exercise at least five days per week is sufficient for me, and allows for great recovery and rest for my body.  How I feed my body is the maintenance work that takes place all day long, until I hit the sheets for sleep.  Even then, it is important to eat healthy food that promotes sleep as well. 

Yes, I build my body in the gym and prior to that ensure that my body is ready to go with the proper fuel to get me through my workout.  I purposely create a space on my client calendar where I am the client for a workout.  I give myself one hour of bodywork time and that is enough.  If my hunger bell rings just before my scheduled time, I will slam an apple or a few pieces of watermelon, and if over the top hunger hits, there is no way I am missing what my body is telling me…GO EAT.  It happens sometimes and I will not allow my metabolism to be thrown out of whack over one workout.   Most of the time though, a small piece of fruit and water will allow me to push forward and I fuel directly after my workout.  I have become quite the strategic eater and workout gal with my career as a personal trainer and coach.  

The maintenance work is always on call and important for a healthy body.  Like I shared earlier, there is no amount of exercise that will create a healthy body without the healthy food.  Some get caught up in a vicious exercise punishment cycle of I got to work that “shit” off or starvation mode the following day.  That creates a negative thought process about working out instead of looking at it as a gift for the body.  Before any backlash, I need to clarify that exercise is great and important for the body even if unhealthy food is being eaten, so please do not think I am saying not to exercise if your nutrition is not dialed in yet. The human body was made to be active and move, not remain stagnant and sedentary for hours on end.  So any steps taken to create a healthy body with exercise are POSITIVE steps. I understand that beginning and adapting a healthy lifestyle can be a struggle in the food department and if exercise is the first thing on the agenda to incorporate…that is great. 

What I am saying, and I will use my personal life as an example, is that my body is at its’ healthy best when I am simultaneously eating healthy and exercising consistently.  It is a LIFESTYLE of building and maintaining that has been fine tuned over the years.  It does take years to develop muscle, maintain that muscle and fuel the body in ways to keep that muscle.  Without healthy food and not eating, I would lose all the hard work made in the gym, and that is just not going to happen, besides…I LOVE to eat!

My main maintenance foods consist of lean proteins, antioxidants, healthy fats, and fiber.  Examples would be boneless skinless chicken breast, lean ground turkey, eggs, yogurt, nuts, seeds, oats, all types of greens and vegetables along with fresh fruits, and healthy oils.  I prefer to purchase all my healthy food products organic, humanely and sustainably raised, and non-GMO (genetically modified organism).  If I am on track at least 90% of the time with my healthy food intake for maintenance, I feel pretty good enjoying my occasional treats.  I do not deny myself if I want to enjoy a cookie, brownie, pie, frozen yogurt, etc. as long as the dessert or “cheat meal” is quality.  There is no way I am downing a packaged processed non food item for a “treat meal”…did you catch how I changed that up?  The indulgence would have to be home baked or gourmet, all natural quality ingredients and provide over the top fabulous flavors in my mouth.  

Overall, the combination of work in the gym, maintenance with the food, plenty of rest, and balance of life with work and play is what makes up healthy ME.  I do not believe in calorie restriction, over exercising my body to risk physical injury, or overworking myself to unmanageable stress levels.  Life is about being healthy and the work in the gym and maintenance with the food is just a part, but very important part, of the success of living a healthy life, feeling my best, and enjoying the results of living this way. 

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION

Thanks for stopping by my Blog and I hope you enjoyed the content.  Let me know by leaving a comment, a LIKE, or whatever you are inspired to do. I look forward to responding, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friends list.   

Stay Healthy~ 

Darla