Spiced Coconut Butter Fat Bites

Let's talk about fat. Fat is good. Have I lost you already? Fat helps our bodies do all the things bodies are supposed to do and the 90's fad of keeping thing low-fat actually took a turn for the worst for our nation's health, but we don't need to get into all of that now. Just know, fat is good and you should feel good about consuming it frequently, especially from plant based sources. 

These fat bites are packed full of, you guessed it, FAT, and are super great at helping you control those mid-morning and mid-afternoon hangry feelings. There are only three dates used to sweeten the entire batch so they're not overly sweet, which I am a big fan of! Ridding these bites of large amount of sweetness (even natural sweetness) lets the fats work to manage hunger and level out blood sugar levels. I love the flavor of these fat bites and I know you will too! Basically these should be in your purse at all times. Because having food in your purse is totally normal, right? 

Spiced Coconut Butter Fat Bites 

Makes 30 bites 

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
• 3 pitted medjool dates
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1" fresh organic ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons almond milk 
• 1/3 cup raw coconut butter

Combine all the ingredients except the almond milk and coconut butter in a food processor. Once you feel that all the ingredients have been ground together, add the coconut butter and almond milk. The mix will still be a little crumbly, but you should be able to roll them into balls. If you still feel like they are falling apart, add a little bit more coconut butter. I use a 1" inch cookie scoop to help me scoop them out, but if you want them to be different sizes there is nothing wrong with that! Once I've rolled them all into balls, place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for about 1 hour. Then take the bites off of the cookie sheet and store them in a container in the freezer until hunger strikes. 

How to Thrive This Winter (Not Just Survive)

Here in the midwest, once the Holiday hustle starts to die down, the reality that three months (at minimum) of cold weather lie ahead is quite daunting. If you're like me, that makes you want to start calling it a night once the sun goes downs at 4pm. Practically every winter I find myself just pushing January-March and taking on this idea that I need to just survive. Although I probably won't start wearing an "I heart Winter" sweatshirt anytime soon, but this year I really wanted to focus on ways to make winter feel a little less like survival mode, and rather a time to thrive. Here are a few ways that I am going to be trying to embrace the cold, sloppy, beautiful, sometimes white, sometimes brown mess of the midwest winter this year. 

Light a Candle

There is something so cozy about the little glow that candles bring. As soon as it gets dark, which is basically 4pm now, I light a few candles to bring a little life to the house. Josiah and I also enjoy turning all the lights off at night, lighting a few candles and snuggling up with some hot cider or tea. 

Go for a winter hike

Who says hiking is only for summer? Hiking in the winter almost always guarantees the trails won't be overcrowded and you can see some places that you'd normally only visit in the summer, in a whole new way. Although you have to watch the temperatures because 15 degrees is probably way too to be trekking through the wilderness, if you're bundled appropriately 30 degree weather could be refreshing for a hike. If you aren't able to g somewhere that has a lot of nature, at least go outside for a little bit and take a walk around. The fresh air will make you feel better, promise! 

Make afternoon coffee

Last year I was listening to a podcast where one of the guests was talking about her LOVE for winter. She shared that during the winter she makes herself an additional cup of coffee in the afternoon. It's something she would't normally do during the summer months, but it gives her something to look forward to during the colder months. I love this idea so much! I started to implement this idea the moment temperatures dipped below 30. I generally alternate between coffee and tea, depending on my caffeine needs that day. 

Try out a new workout class 

You all know my LOVE for Orange Theory, but what you probably don't know is that I love it so much because it helped me out of my winter funk last year. In an attempt to gain some workout motivation I tried out a class for free and immediately knew the structured schedule and coaches' encouragement was what I needed to thrive during a difficult time. If Orange Theory isn't totally your thing then maybe you could try a pilates or yoga class. Having that set time and being forced to leave the house (for all my fellow work at homers) is so, so helpful. 

Explore a new coffee shop

This is pretty much an any-time-you-are-feeling-down remedy. Going out and trying a new coffee shop is one of my favorite things to do. Although finding a new coffee that I love is fun, it's always more about finding a new  atmosphere that I love. Getting out of the house and into a coffee shop, even for a few minutes, is 

Take time for that hobby 

If you're like me, summer is the time to be outside. Literally every free moment that I have during the warm months, I spend outside walking, running, or just hanging out. So during that time, all of those indoor hobbies that I would love to pursue: painting, ceramic making, piano playing, knitting, etc. get pushed to the side. Winter is a great time to either pick those things back up or try out a new indoor hobby! 

Take A Bubble Bath

I literally HATE feeling cold. In the winter I usually am bundled up in blankets, sweaters, and fuzzy socks and still occasionally will feel chilly. For times like this, or even if I just want a minute to relax, I'll take a bubble bath. When I was commuting to nursing school an hour away, during the winter months I would come home at 3pm some days and jump immediately into the bath. It gave me a minute to refresh my brain while simultaneously warming me up. If you can swing a bubble bath in the middle of the day, I high recommend, but if not, capping off the day with one works just as well.  

Embrace the Slowness 

This one is probably the hardest one for me to implement, but it's probably the most important. I'm a go-go-go person and the idea of slowing down sounds awful to me, but on another podcast I was listening too, the interviewee talked about the importance of recognizing that in the winter, things take longer and that the more we embrace that, the less frustrating it can be. My challenge to you (and myself), is to fully embrace the slowness of winter and enjoy the days ahead -- cold or warm-- and find space amidst a dreaded time a year to not just survive, but to thrive.  

8 Tips for Surviving the January Sugar Detox

Last week I put it out there that I was hosting a sugar detox in the month of January and I had a great response! So many of you have felt the tight grip that sugar has on you and want freedom. Well I am so excited that you are joining me in January to increase awareness and control of your sugar consumption. If you haven't signed up, there's still time. Just join my mailing list and you will stay in the loop with recipes and my weekly sugar detox diaries update. I know that the thought of giving up sugar for an entire month sounds daunting thought, so I put together a few tips to help you get through!

1. CLEAR OUT THE CABINETS

Take everything out of your house that may be a temptation. You may feel strong now, but at 10pm on day 12 of the sugar detox you might feel like you would kill for an oreo, which would be a much easier time to cave if that oreo didn't require you to put your warmest coat on, brave the cold, and drive all the way to the grocery store. So get those oreos out of your house during the duration of the sugar detox. I won't pretend that out of sight truly means out of mind, but distancing yourself from things that tempt you will make you feel less likely to give in to your sugar dragon. 

2. READ YOUR LABELS 

Sugar is in everything. Like seriously, everything. Peanut butter, bacon, tomato sauce, yogurt. EVERYTHING. So just be sure to read your labels and reference this post where I talk about a lot of the names sugar hides under. Even those this might seem like a minor detail and even an "optional" portion of the detox that is really just for those that are "hard core", it's not. Cutting out all sugar, even if it's just the tiniest amount in your peanut butter, will help you truly conquer that sugar addiction. And reading labels will open your eyes to how many things have added sugar in them. 

3. RECRUIT A FRIEND

Having a friend to keep your accountable will make sticking to the sugar detox a little bit easier. That person will be able to understand what you're going through. You can swap recipes and push each other to keep going even when it sucks. 

4. DRINK MORE WATER

I am all about getting as much H2O in your body as possible. A good goal is to shoot for 8-10 8 ounce glasses per day, which depending on your current intake may sound crazy. If you tyoically only consume one glass of water a day I encourage you to start with adding in at least an additional glass and gradually work from there. Drinking water throughout the day will keep your hands busy and keep you fuller longer. And when you're full it's easier to resist a cinnamon roll that is hanging out in the work break room. 

5. EAT MORE PROTEIN + VEGGIES 

This one has to do with feeling full as well. If you are eating enough protein and veggies, you're going to feel fuller longer and a cupcake sitting on your desk won't even phase you. You'll totally ignore it because you feel totally good without it. So enjoy a breakfast of eggs and veggies and then a lunch of leafy greens and chicken breast and feel more in control of your sugar cravings throughout the day. 

6. GO FOR A WALK

During the detox, even if you drink all the water and eat all the veggies and protein you can, you'll still face times of cravings. During those times take a walk outside. The brief distraction and fresh air will make it easier to sit down and finish out your work day without reaching for a sweetened latte or donut. Better yet, have a friend join you and you'll be even more distracted and refreshed! 

7. MAKE YOURSELF A CUP OF TEA

In the evening you might feel like your sugar cravings are beyond what you can handle, but believe me, this is temporary. Although the cravings might get worse initially, they will also get better. You will find it easier to resist having a slice of birthday cake at a birthday party and still feel involved in the experience. Whenever there is food involved that I don't want to indulge in at the moment, I make myself a cup of tea. Having something to sip on keeps me busy and allows me to stay true to my current goals. So if you feel like you just need something to curb those cravings, make yourself a cup of tea. 

8. REMEMBER IT'S ONLY 30 DAYS

This isn't forever, because that would be cruel. The goal of the detox is to bring awareness and control to your sugar consumption, not make you never ever touch a donut again. This is temporary and I promise, so, so worth it. So stick to it for 30 short days and then you can make further decisions about how much sugar you want to consume going forward. 

Roasted Honey Mustard Cabbage

When I was in high-school there were multiple occasions where I wanted to lose weight quickly. Because I'm a typical American and lacked any education on how to lose weight in a healthy way, I attempted this diet called "the cabbage soup diet". There are a lot of variation of it and you can read about the basics here, but essentially you eat a cabbage based soup and little else for like seven days in hopes of losing 10 pounds. Totally magical! Or maybe not. Almost every attempt left me cranky by day 3 (because I just needed a gosh dang piece of meat!) and I would find myself giving up all together. A series of unhealthy eating patterns such as these cascaded into a long period of skewed body image and disordered eating, but that's a longer story for another day.

Fast forward to now. I have a much different relationship with food -- better, most days. Not perfect and still evolving, but better.  Because my relationship with food had changed, it took me a very long time to look at cabbage as a food that could actually taste good and I could healthfully eat. After those many cabbage soup diet attempts in which I started out viewing the cabbage as the-have-all-end-all and ultimately found myself despising, letting go of those feelings was difficult for me. I was afraid that if I ate cabbage at all, a lot of that disordered food relationship would resurface. 

I don't remember the first time I decided I would start eating cabbage again, but one day I decided to give it a shot. I had it roasted. The moment I put it in my mouth I completely rethought everything I knew about cabbage. I completely forgot about how horrible it tasted by day three of that dreaded diet, but I also didn't see it as a key to getting myself to fit into a particular dress size. I just ate it as food, and it was good. If you too connect cabbage to the cabbage soup diet (and days in a row of starvation) or just have never found cabbage to be the greatest of vegetables, I encourage you to try this recipe. You might just find a completely new, healthy relationship with it. 

Roasted Honey Mustard Cabbage 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard 
• 2 teaspoons honey 
• 1/2 a head of cabbaged, sliced into 1" wedges 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees 

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, grainy mustard, and honey. 

Place the wedges on a large baking sheet. Brush the top of the cabbage wedges with the honey mustard oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges have browned as pictured above. 

Remove from the oven and enjoy.