Personally in 2019

Well, I had a baby! That pretty much took up our year. Between being pregnant, preparing for the baby, having the baby, recovering postpartum and raising the baby, my year personally was defined by Roma. While the labor, delivery, and postpartum healing were all pretty easy (contractions, hospital, epidural, pushing, baby), Roma was a bit complicated as a baby, which made the first few postpartum weeks difficult.

Roma had a tough time nursing because of her tongue tie (you can read more about that here and here), she was extremely stiff and had to go to physical therapy for the first few months of her life, and she was often overtired in the beginning and cranky (then I discovered Taking Cara Babies and that all changed miraculously and now she’s a great sleeper!)

The hardest part was adjusting to life as a mother of two, and I’m still figuring it out, but it’s getting a lot easier. I had my first postpartum tears shed after a moment where Luca wanted me and I couldn’t be with him because of the baby. It really took a toll on me in the early days, and I found myself feeling like not the best mama. I’m so thankful for the support system around me that softened all of this and made it more manageable.

However, unlike with Luca (he was a winter baby and I was a hermit), I made an incredible group of friends in a “mom group” that I started from a local Jersey City moms Facebook page. It was 8 of us ladies (it grew to something larger, but started as 8 of us) and they really made my maternity leave so much more enjoyable! I was definitely a more relaxed mom, because #secondchild, but it was so nice to have people to hang out with and meet up with while we were all on maternity leave and lament about the same things.

As for Luca, he started speaking so much this year and although he has moments of Terrible Twos, he is just at such a fun age. He makes us laugh hysterically and he’s so capable, that there are so many more activities we can do together on weekends and trips. We’re having a lot of fun.

In 2019, Luca started at a Montessori school in a toddler program and he has flourished so much. The teacher said during a kindness activity, he was awarded “most kind,” and at our parent/teacher conference, Lu almost broke down in tears, the teacher was so complimentary! We couldn’t be prouder of him – AND we potty trained him this year too! He’s a loving, generous older brother and we’re so proud of all the change he’s gone through without a problem.

Lu’s business is thriving and I’m so proud of him. He’s grown nothing (he literally started the business with one other business partner) into an industry-leading company! He works harder than ever and bears a lot of stress, but I love seeing his confidence grow and the pride he feels when someone recognizes all he’s built, whether a media outlet or a friend.

As for us, we’re stronger than ever, but it’s hard to find time to focus on the little parts of marriage. Sure, it’s easy to get a babysitter and go out to dinner, but working through little issues is hard to find the time to focus on. It’s something we want to get better on in 2020 and more to come on that.

Work in 2019

Frankly, work slowed down big time for me in 2019. I decided that I wanted to truly be there for Roma and not be tempted by already having a nanny to jump into work before I did with Luca. Our nanny joined our family when Luca was almost 6 months old! So, before having Roma, I knew that I would be on maternity leave for the second half of 2019, as she was born in mid-June!

At times, this made me insecure about my business – was I out of touch with what my audience wanted, because I wasn’t content creating as much? Were the decrease in page views and loss of Instagram followers going to affect my confidence as a brand owner? At the end of the day, I realized, through having Roma, that my family comes first. I realized that if I’m happy with my family life, everything else falls into place.

Also, I started cooking a certain way that wasn’t spiralized, because that’s just… what I was cooking. Luca doesn’t like spiralized veggies (or noodles of any kind), so it was hard to make recipes for the blog and just have them myself because a) I’d end up wasting food and b) I’d have to make something else for Luca for a meal and that was hard to do when I also have an infant.

My Inspiralizer definitely sat on the shelf more than it ever has, but I’m okay with that, because it reflects my true life, and I would never claim to eat food that I’m not eating. Luckily, you all have been very supportive and LIKE this new way I’m eating (basically, super simple!), so it was a blessing in disguise! Clearly, you’re ready for something new (and so am I!)

I’m excited to move into 2020 with more #inspiralizedandeasy and #inspiralizedbutnotspiralized meals to inspire you all. I talk more about this new direction in this post. Having said that, I have some great recipe ideas to reinvigorate our love for spiralizing, together!

Moving into 2020, I am really excited to get back into work. I love what I do, and now that I’ve found my true niche – cooking creatively with vegetables, I can’t wait to get into it!

Milestones

• Started an IGTV series called “Cook the Cookbooks” where I cooked recipes from my three cookbooks! You can check it out on Instagram.
• Worked with some of my favorite long-standing brand partners like Bob’s Red Mill and worked with some new ones, like Primal Kitchen and Bugaboo.
• Launched the Mint Inspiralizer and have nearly sold out of the color! It’s the first color we’re selling exclusively on our site! You can use code MERRY20 right now to save 20% off (that code is valid for the white one as well!)
• Meaghan has worked with us since 2015 when we launched the Inspiralizer and she joined us back full-time (she was working part-time for awhile, because she moved!)
• Redesigned our website and consolidated all of our brand verticals in one place – Inspiralized, Inspiralized Kids, and Inspiralized Ali! I love our new website, what do you think?

Worst and Best Posts of 2019

To end 2019, I’d love to take a look at our most popular and least popular posts of 2019, based on page views:

Most Popular

1. Roma Lea’s Birth Story
2. Avocado Goddess Chicken Salad Sandwich
3. When living healthy becomes unhealthy
4. 5 Things I said I’d Never Do as a Parent that I do now
5. Blender pumpkin spice muffins
6. Sheet pan egg sandwiches
7. Spicy Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
8. Chicken and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole
9. Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
10. Chocolate Zucchini Almond Butter Squares

Least Popular

1. Sesame Ginger Pork Stir-fry
2. One pot Salmon in Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
3. Grilled Shrimp Skewers
4. Sausage with Cabbage and Apples
5. Recipes to make this spring
6. Breaded pork cutlets with zucchini noodles
7. Broccoli kale Caesar salad with Chicken
8. 11 no cook spiralized summer recipes
9. Sweet potato Noodle Breakfast Plate
10. Baby Registry Must Haves

Thank you so much for being part of Inspiralized this past year, we really appreciate your support and time! Happy New Year and best wishes!

The post The 2019 Year In Review appeared first on Inspiralized.

Inspiralized is officially 5 years old today! Instead of calling this my “blogiversary” (as us bloggers do), I’m calling it my business anniversary, because after being in business for five years, Inspiralized is much more than a blog.

Aside from these super blogger-y, adorable photos taken with my girl Erin Dwyer, I’m celebrating five years by sharing five lessons I’ve learned in five years of entrepreneurship.

First off, if you’re new to Inspiralized, you can read my story of how it all began here. I love that some of you have literally been following since day one – I’m so humbled by that, and it’s you guys especially that inspire me to keep pushing forward and building this brand!

Many of these lessons I’ve learned, I learned early on, but they still hold true- five years later! And I’m not going to bore you with the “You’ll work harder than you’ve ever worked!” or “Don’t compare yourself to others!” lessons, because those are obvious by now. Here are five lessons I’ve learned in five years of entrepreneurship:

1. It’s okay to stall the speed of your success in exchange for some work-life balance.

This was a hard lesson to learn. There were many times when I was discouraged by how slowly my business was progressing, even though I was extremely happy with my life. During the daily operations of my business, I’d think, “Ugh! I should have accomplished X by now!” However, my business was still progressing, profitable, and successful and most importantly, I was HAPPY. I couldn’t figure out where this dissatisfaction came from and then I realized that I was me putting these added pressures on myself and comparing myself to other businesses that weren’t even in my league (like, larger, capital-backed companies!)

I started focusing more on my personal overall happiness as a PERSON, rather than an entrepreneur and then I realized, I much prefer the happiness as an individual rather than being EXTREMELY successful (whatever that means.) I love my life and the legacy I want to leave behind is that I was a kind, happy, loving person – not necessarily that I built an empire. Both would be great, don’t get me wrong – but I’m more conscious of the first one. Most highly successful entrepreneurs I know are sleep-deprived, stressed out, and not even happy even though they have so much success. When you have more, you want more (it’s a vicious cycle!) Plus, slow and steady wins the race, right?

2. Define what success means to you early on and build your business plan around that.

To my first lesson above, I wish I had done this sooner – it would’ve saved me a lot of soul searching in the first couple of years of my business! I think every entrepreneur has their definition of success. For most, it’s money. Whatever it is – define it clearly and build your business plans and goals around that success mission. Otherwise, you’ll be very disappointed.

I learned after about 3 years that money wasn’t my motivator. It was the community. If I made less money than the last year, but my community was stronger, larger, and more engaged, I would be happy and feel successful. I have never said, “I want to make X dollars by X year.” I feel successful when someone recognizes me on the street and tells me I’ve changed the way they eat. That means I’m touching the world – people are listening, and I’m making a (healthy) impact on the world and my community.

If money motivated me more, you’d see me doing a LOT more sponsored posts (which I hope you’ve noticed, I don’t do many), doing more product roundups with affiliate links, being more salesy with the Inspiralizer (I should probably work on that, haha!), and hosting more paid events.

Just define what “success” is to you as a business owner. Save yourself the headache later down the road when you’re dissatisfied and can’t figure out why!

3. You can learn anything on Google and YouTube.

Every time I’m asked, “How did you build this company?” I always respond excitedly with, “Google and YouTube!” Seriously, guys. If you’re looking to start a business, you can literally serach, “How to start a business,” haha! I half-kid, because it’s true. I learned so many things by just watching hours and hours of how-tos on YouTube or reading articles found on Google. I’ve learned everything from food photography to how to edit videos, and I was never discouraged by not knowing how to do something in these past five years, I always knew I could figure it out. Where there’s a will, there’s way. 

4. If something is crucial to the growth of your business and you are really bad at it (after trying it get good at it!), outsource it.

Another lesson I wish I had learned sooner. This is especially true with graphic design. I tried to design my own Inspiralized graphics with Photoshop and spend a couple years on trying to figure out how to make consistent brand images and graphics. Then, one day, I said, “Why am I wasting all this time making inadequate designs for my business, when I have the money to spend it on exactly that AND then I can invest that time saved in parts of my business I’m great at and will grow my business?” It was a heart-to-heart I had with myself and pursuant to lesson #5, I started outsourcing graphic design and it really did help grow my business and make my brand identity more solid.

It’s a fine line – don’t outsource everything! Try to do it yourself first and if you truly fail at it, outsource it. Don’t be lazy and outsource – try to figure it out yourself and then outsource. This is a lesson for beginning entrepreneurs and startups – if you’re in a different financial position and farther along in your business and have the resources to invest, do it!

An example of this for me was food videos. I tried so hard to learn how to do my own Tasty-style food videos (like these) and I literally spent HOURS prepping, filming, and editing (like, 8 hours a day) multiple times per month. After a few months of this, I decided to hire someone to come over and film me so I could eliminate the filming and editing. Then, after losing hours where I could be focusing on my business and knowing I had the resources to invest in a full outsource, I outsourced those videos. So now, if you see those quick-style cooking videos, those aren’t my hands! A lovely husband and wife entrepreneurship duo film them for me! And I have those hours to spend growing Inspiralized! Plus, I could never make those videos as beautifully, so it’s a win-win: better quality content and more time for me to work on other parts of my business.

5. Invest your money back into your business early on.

When I first started off as an entrepreneur, I literally had $3,000 to my name (and that included my last paycheck at the job I had just left.) I was never a great saver and still am not (sorry, Lu!) I pinched pennies to get the business to run. About 6 months in, I was ready to throw the towel in (or at least get a side gig to afford my life) and I had a frank conversation with Lu at dinner one night and he said, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll make it work.” We were just dating (but living together) and he was/is a struggling entrepreneur as well – we didn’t have much money and every dollar counted (it still does, of course!) This made my heart swell for Lu and made me want to work even harder to make my business work.

It’s hard to shake the penny pincher mindset once you start making money. It took me a few years to realize that it’s better to invest (almost) every penny you make back into your business, because that’s what’ll make your business grow – as long as you invest in the right places in your business, of course. I’m not saying to spend money on Post-Its and cute wall decor for your home office, I’m saying invest in graphic designers, your website, SEO consulting, hiring, and marketing materials. Early on, once you first start making money. Looking back, I wish I had invested more money in the first two years. Now, it’s easier, because my business is profitable and there’s money to be invested, but back in the beginning, I regret holding on to my money personally – I should have put it back into the business. You live and your learn, that’s what entrepreneurship is all about!

All photos by http://erindwyerphotography.com.

The post 5 Lessons Learned In 5 Years of Entrepreneurship appeared first on Inspiralized.

I spent this past weekend in Bermuda with Lu, as a truly final, last hoorah trip before the baby comes. We stayed at the lovely Rosewood Tucker’s Point.

There was a lot of relaxing, sleeping, and practicing self care (all while in the gorgeous Bermuda sun, of course!)

Today, I’m sharing some of my ‘staying healthy while traveling’ tips, along with my go-to smoothie recipe, which I always like to start the next day back from vacation with!

AND, I have an exciting giveaway with ALOHA, one of my favorite healthy lifestyle brands.

When I go on quick weekend trips, I like to keep it healthy with a few general tips I stay committed to – and then, when I get back, I always make sure that first day back, I get right back into the swing of things.

Keeping Healthy While Traveling

While I travel, I like to enjoy myself, of course. However, a healthy lifestyle is exactly that – a lifestyle. It’s not something you do Monday through Thursday. It’s something you commit to for your life, not just certain days or spans of time. I choose a healthy lifestyle because I want to feel good as much as humanly possible, instead of just certain days of the week.

I learned a long time ago that you don’t have to eat everything your heart desires and throw your healthy lifestyle out the window to enjoy yourself on vacation. And guess what? You won’t be enjoying yourself when you’re laying on the beach, feeling groggy in a food coma.

Here are my main 3 tips (and you can also read this post for more):

1. MOVE! Exercise at the resort’s gym, do your own outdoor workout, or just make sure you’re walking and moving for a good portion of the day. If I know I’m going to laying down on a beach chair for the next 7 hours, I’m squeezing in a trip to the gym before breakfast. If I’m going to have a jam-packed, active day, I’ll skip the gym – but as long as I’m active, that’s what’s important.
2. Drink a lot of water. It’s so simple and I say it all the time, because it’s so true. Don’t overlook this. Dehydration leads to a ton of gnarly symptoms – even hunger! Water makes your bodies function properly. Drink up!
3. Eat veggies as much as possible. I try to eat vegan or vegetarian up until dinner while I travel – that’s what works best for me, but if you’re more of a carnivore, try just making sure you sneak in veggies at each meal – perhaps it’s just veggies in your morning omelette and greens in your sandwich. Whatever it is, make sure you get vegetables into your meals.

And also, I love to pack healthy snacks and keep my immune system bolstered while traveling, to avoid dehydration and/or getting sick.

One of my favorite brands to do this with is ALOHA, because they have a bunch of travel-friendly healthy products to keep you feeling good while traveling. Here are their products that I brought with me on this trip to Bermuda:

1. Protein bars – my favorite flavors are ‘Peanut Butter & Jelly’ and then ‘Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip’ when I need something sweet. They’re jam-packed with protein, so a great way to get through the afternoon before dinner. I like having them on flights to keep me full while I wait to land and have a proper meal.
2. Superfood Greens – this superfood powder comes in travel-sized pouches that are perfect to put in your luggage or purse and have for when you need a quick boost. I’ll simply stir them into a glass of water or like I did on this trip, into a lemonade. You can also put them into smoothies (just ask your waiter/server to add the pouch!) or ask for steamed almond milk and pour a pouch in for a latte!
3. Teas – ALOHA has amazing tasting teas! I have to be careful now because I’m pregnant (herbal teas are kinda ‘unchartered territory’ in pregnancy and caffeine is somewhat discouraged), but the Protect Tea was doctor approved and good thing, because it has always been my favorite. It’s loaded with immunity-boosting ingredients. I love having tea on airplanes – the teas on airplanes are typically loaded with fillers and come in boring flavors (ugh, English Breakfast!)

If you want to try any of ALOHA’s products, use code INSPIRALIZED20 for 20% off!

How to Recover After Vacation

Here are my 3 tips on how to snap right back into it after an over-indulgent weekend or vacation.

No regrets! Shift your mindset.

Part of the issue with many people’s views on ‘getting back on track’ after vacation or an indulgent weekend is that they feel such guilt and anguish over it. And I’m definitely guilty of this in the past! You should never use words like “gross” or “fat” or “disgusting” to describe yourself. I hate when I get a text from a friend and they say, “Ugh, I feel like a gross pig, I drank and ate so much this weekend!”

A negative mind and attitude is something you need to rid yourself of. You shouldn’t feel regrets about a fun weekend spent with your friends – or whoever you were spending time with. Feel grateful for the time you got to spend with these people and all the memories you made. It’s okay to let your hair down and party – or eat a slice of cake. It’s all part of living life – and there are lots of people out there who don’t have the same opportunities as you do to lie a free, fun life. Never take those moments for granted and complain. And food should never bring fear or ‘regret.’ It’s just food – don’t give it to so much power, don’t let it rule your life, and you’ll find sticking to a healthy lifestyle much, much easier.

The less power you give food, the more power you give yourself – and thus, you won’t feel ruled by food. It’s liberating and allows you to enjoy life more!

Ease back into exercise

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to not overdue it. If I’ve really gone overboard (say, it’s like a July 4th weekend and I spent 4 days drinking, eating sweets, and loads of BBQ food), diet is most important when you get home. I’ll spend the first day back (say, a Monday) focusing on food – making the right food choices and drinking TONS of water. Then, I’ll either skip working out OR I’ll do a very low-impact, low-intensity form of exercise, such as an hour long walk. Just anything to get my blood flowing, but nothing to leave me haggard and tired again.

The worst thing you can do is overdue it by restricting your diet AND working out hardcore for an hour. Your body will be in shock and it’s not a sustainable way to recover.

Naturally detox by simply eating clean

I don’t believe in juice cleanses or detoxes. I find that these sorts of behaviors cause me personally to engage in restrictive behavior. Also, I hate the feeling of feeling hungry and not being able to eat – or worse, wanting to eat something healthy and not being able to. In my experience, eating clean (and primarily vegan) for 1-3 days straight is all you need for your body to naturally detox and get right back on track. You could feel like poop on a Monday morning and then come Wednesday, you feel like yourself again – just from properly nourishing your body through real, whole foods. No bitter green juice necessary.

One of my go-tos is a nourishing, protein-packed smoothie bowl the day back from vacation or a weekend spent with lots of unhealthy eats. I make sure all my ingredients are clean and that there are nourishing, anti-bloating, hydrating benefits to all the ingredients.

Here’s the recipe, using ALOHA’s plant-based protein powder in Vanilla (it’s my favorite protein powder!).

Print

Spinach Protein Smoothie Bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium frozen banana
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries or a large handful
• 2-2.5 packed cups of spinach or kale
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter
• 1 scoop of ALOHA's Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk enough to reach a smoothie consistency
• For topping: raspberries granola, chia seeds, toasted coconut flakes

Instructions

• In a high speed blender, combine the banana, blueberries, spinach, nut butter, protein powder, and almond milk and blend until smooth.
• Pour the smoothie into a bowl and top with desired toppings. I love raspberries, granola, chia seeds, and toasted coconut flakes. Serve!

ALOHA Giveaway

Giveaway time! One lucky reader will win an assortment of ALOHA’s Protein Bars, a tub of their Protein Powder (in the flavor of your choice!) and a tub of the Superfood Greens. To enter to win, use the widget below. Winner will be announced this Friday at 5pm EST, so be sure to check back! Open to US addresses only.

And if you can’t wait and want to order something for yourself, remember to use code INSPIRALIZED20 for 20% off your entire order!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to ALOHA for sponsoring this post and my trip to Bermuda. I love working with and featuring brands that align with my values about health. All opinions are my own, always.

The post Healthy Travel Tips + My Go-To Smoothie Recipe appeared first on Inspiralized.

After sharing on Instagram stories yesterday that I don’t eat dairy during the weeks (after freakishly getting a craving for Greek yogurt in the afternoon) and that I don’t eat beef, I got a lot of messages asking me, “Why don’t you?”

So, I figured I would explain my diet a bit and why I choose to eat the way I do!

But first, a What I Ate Today!

What I Ate Today, May 23, 2017

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Breakfast

I started the day off with a Daily Harvest smoothie. They just came out with smoothies with oats in them, so I had the Overnight Oats – Pumpkin Chai – I’ve been meaning to try these varieties. It tastes like a subtle pumpkin pie smoothie, with a little chai note. Loved it! As always, you can enter code INSPIRALIZED to get three free smoothies.

Snack

I had a hard-boiled egg and then OF COURSE, my raw nuts! Same raw nut mixture I always have (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins.

Lunch

After trying these past few weeks to eat more ‘creatively’ for lunch, I have been craving my veggie sandwich, so I gave in. The usual: hummus, avocado, onion, cucumber, carrot, and spinach!

Snack

Literally the world’s most random (and sad-looking) snack, but it was SO good. Just a tablespoon of Wild Friends organic honey sunflower butter in a container of Fage nonfat plain Greek yogurt. I was craving something protein-packed and filling and I was too lazy to go to the store – there’s 18 grams of protein in that yogurt! If I had some raspberries or blueberries, I would’ve added those in, but my fridge was literally empty.

Dinner

BBQ chicken bowls night! I made BBQ chicken, roasted chili sweet potatoes, sauteed kale, homemade pico de gallo, and of course, avocado. Perfect balanced meal!

Dessert

More of my favorite dark chocolate! I ended up eating 3/4 of the bar (Lu had a few squares) while I signed some book plates (and as in some, I mean 1,000+) – I had a random sugar craving and I gave into it! #ithappens

My diet and why I don’t eat certain foods but am open to them

My diet is totally customized to what my body needs, wants, craves, and reacts to. At a specific time. There have been months where I don’t even recognize my appetite, because my body craves foods I wouldn’t normally eat. But guess what? I let myself have those foods.

So today, I’m talking about what my typical diet is like and why I never say never to any food groups.

When I eat & how I eat

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an intuitive eater, because I definitely eat at times when I’m not hungry. I’m a PROACTIVE eater. I know myself and I know that I get bad cases of hanger. If I’m ever hungry, I’m miserable to be around and I end up eating junk or gorging myself at my next chance to eat. SO, if I know I’m, for example, taking a long car ride, I’ll pack snacks or I’ll eat something right before I get in the car, even if I had breakfast an hour or two ago.

Intuitive eating is all about tuning into your body and when it’s hungry, you eat, instead of pre-arranged meal times. I do practice a bit of intuitive eating because even if it’s not one of my scheduled meal times (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner), I will have something to eat if my body is telling me its hungry. That usually means I didn’t feel myself properly.

Typically, I eat on this pattern Monday through Friday:

8/8:30am: Breakfast
10:30/11am: Snack (usually my raw nut mixture)
12:30/1:30pm: Lunch
3pm: Snack (usually fruit, a granola bar, a boiled egg and some grapes, etc)
6pm: I graze a bit as I’m cooking dinner
7:30/8pm: Dinner

Eating in these intervals helps me stay on top of my hunger. Eating JUST three meals a day does not work for me. I’ve tried it for years, and it results in over-eating and frequent hunger. It does work with a lot of people, but I’m not one of them.

What diet do I follow?

None! Well, I follow the Ali Maffucci diet. I eat the foods that I know make ME personally feel the best. The foods that make my skin glow, my energy levels high, my focus at work strong, and my general disposition happy and light.

The foods that DON’T make me feel these happy ways and therefore I avoid are:

• Beef
• Dairy
• Fried foods
• Processed foods

The foods that I eat every single week:

• Fruit – apples, green grapes, cantaloupe, banana, berries
• Oatmeal
• Nuts – pecans, walnuts, cashews, almonds
• Nut & seed butters – almond, peanut, sunflower
• Quinoa, lentils & beans
• Avocado
• Greens – spinach and kale, mostly
• Vegetables (ie zucchini, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, bell peppers)
• Veggie burgers
• Once a week: fish (usually wild caught salmon)
• Once a week: chicken OR turkey (always organic!)
• Once a week: eggs

My thoughts on dairy and eggs

Ahhh. The million dollar question.

Dairy is an easier one to address. I think dairy is the worst for you. HOWEVER, because I want to live a happy, unrestricted, somewhat indulgent life (aka enjoy the good things in life), I do eat dairy. As a personal rule, I abstain from dairy at LEAST 5 days a week. Typically, I’ll have dairy on the weekends, some fro-yo after dinner, those glorious nights when we go out for pizza, some manchego and crackers with friends.

I’m not a nutritionist, a doctor, or a registered dietician, so I won’t get all preachy, but if you want clear skin, high energy levels, better digestion, better calcium absorption and other marvelous benefits, ditch the dairy. OR, do what I do – limit it as best as you can.

I eat dairy when I’m absolutely craving it and I can’t resist. I’m a human! I think it’s ludicrous to deprive yourself of something every single day for the rest of your life, even if doing so makes you feel amazing 100% of the time. That’s my thought on that – some things supercede feeling your best. Sometimes, an experience is worth it. And you can enjoy it subtly, not in an out-of-control-stuff-your-face kind of way.

As for eggs, I eat them once a week, mainly because my doctor encourages it for the supposed benefits for pregnancy. So, I build it into my diet once a week. Otherwise, eggs make me farty, and I know my body doesn’t respond the best to them. And, they don’t have THAT great of a taste, so I can do without them. I don’t crave eggs.

My thoughts on meat

NOW, as for other animal protein. If you didn’t know, I was a vegan for almost 3 years. I read a lot about the dairy and meat industry, and sometimes, I just can’t bring myself to eat certain foods because of what I learned. The effects of dairy and meat consumption on the environment is horrific. Also, there’s something gross (to me, personally) about chewing on meat. It scheeves me out – seeing blood especially in a meat is enough to make me lose my entire appetite.

BUT, I do eat the occasional animal protein, so does that make me a hypocrite? Not at all. The reason I have a low animal-protein, mostly vegan diet is because of what I’ve learned. I’ve drastically changed the way I eat after being vegan and I’m so thankful for learning all that I did. Now, I apply those same principles and make it into a diet that works for me and my body.

When I was in college and my schedule was just class, homework, and party, it was easy to be a vegan. Now, with being married, living in the New York City area (aka having access to some of the world’s best chefs), being 30, working out much differently, and adulting, pure, strict veganism just does not work for me right now.

I eat organic chicken (or turkey) once a week and fish once a week (typically wild caught salmon). The rest of the time, it’s vegan. However, if it’s a week where I do intense cardio and lifting workouts and my body tells me I need something else, I may crave a turkey burger, so I’ll end up eating meat THREE times a week. Or, if I go to a restaurant and Lu orders a pork chop or a sausage dish that looks magnificent, I’ll have a bite of his. If it’s “worth it,” I’ll take a bite. Or if we find ourselves in Tuscany and I just HAVE to have this braised short rib because it is the best I’ll ever taste in my lifetime, OF COURSE I’ll have it.

However, I don’t ever eat beef. There’s just something about it – it really sits like a log in my stomach. I haven’t eaten a steak since my teenage years when I didn’t know any better and my parents made it for me. I just don’t like the taste and now knowing the negative effects it can have on my health (heart disease, blood pressure issues, etc) and the environment, I choose not to eat it.

Just think about this. It takes less than 500 gallons of water to produce a pound of chicken and just under 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. Now, a pound of chickpeas (which will yield many more servings than a pound of meat) takes about 500 gallons of water. ALSO, farming animals ruins soil – raising crops of plants is much more sustainable and can feed more people.

Eating more plant-based makes my body and my conscious feel better, and that’s why I do it.

However, I know plenty of people (especially my Paleo friends), who don’t eat lentils, quinoa, etc because of how it makes THEM feel. And that’s totally cool. I’m just explaining how I eat, because I do get a lot of questions about my diet and I wanted to have a post to refer back to.

My thoughts on the ‘unhealthy’ stuff – processed foods

Everything in moderation, especially processed foods. I don’t keep processed foods in my home, so if I do have them, they’re a treat when I’m at someone else’s home, or I’m out and at a restaurant. We don’t keep pasta or white flour in the house, no sugars (other than honey and maple syrup), definitely no soft drinks, etc. I make my own dressings and marinades to avoid additives in the bottled versions – or, I buy clean-eating friendly products. So, it’s never in the house, so we won’t eat it at home. This eliminates 80% of the temptation (because after all, a roll of Oreos would be amazing – so I keep it out of reach.)

Of course, cheese is considered a processed food, and I enjoy that, like I said, as a treat. So. Everything in moderation works for me, but I know that some people prefer “all or nothing” and that’s okay too – whatever works for you, but most importantly, whatever works for you forever. Whatever’s is sustainable for the rest of your life, not just for a 30 day challenge or a 21 day cleanse. Forever.

And if I do crave something like chips or cookies, I’ll either make them myself or I’ll buy a clean-eating friendly version, with real ingredients I can pronounce. No added nasties.

My tips for someone trying to find a healthy diet that works for them

Listen to your body for a week or three. Notice how it reacts to certain foods. Decide which ones you can live without and which ones you just absolutely cannot. Decide which foods make you feel the absolute best. Write it all down and make yourself a mini you-diet. A diet (as in a lifestyle diet) that works for your individual body. And be sure to workout and make sure you listen to your body especially on those days so you don’t deprive yourself.

If you just NEED to have brie, reserve it for special occasions or Friday nights. If you MUST have cream in your coffee, halve the amount you use and limit yourself to only one cup a day or maybe really try to get into homemade almond milk (I say homemade because you can sweeten it yourself with vanilla extract or dates without relying on pre-made brands that have added sugars.)

But give plant-based eating a chance. If you feel like you’re never satisfied, you’re probably not eating enough fiber or protein. Vegetarians just don’t eat salads with shaved carrots and grape tomatoes. They eat lentils, beans, brown rice, avocado, sweet potatoes, and other things that are full of fiber and protein to keep you properly fueled. Don’t give up on vegetarian eating without properly eating vegetarian. I love Cookie+Kate and Minimalist Baker for vegetarian inspiration. And of COURSE, this blog (check out our recipes page.)

Hope this helps some of you! And no matter what you tell ME, I’m not going to change the way I eat, so keep the nasty comments to yourself. I’ve finally found a lifestyle diet that is sustainable, gives me the most energy, makes all of my blood levels and endocrine systems feel the best (tested by a doctor), and most importantly, tastes good and makes me glow from the inside out.

You do you and I’ll do me!

The post My diet and why I don’t eat certain foods but am open to them appeared first on Inspiralized.

What I love about social media channels like Instagram Stories and Snapchat is that it allows me to share moments throughout my day that may inspire you to make healthy choices alongside me!

Of course, some moments are more helpful than others. Lu scrubbing dishes at the end of the day or shots of my cactus Bart probably don’t encourage you to get a sweat in, but there’s time for everything and I like to show a balanced day – and some of the sweet moments in my personal life.

However, I realize not everyone has time to watch my IG stories and some people aren’t even on Instagram, so today, I figured I’d round up some of the healthy things I do throughout the week in tip-form, in case some of you are looking for more inspiration this week!

But first, a What I Ate Today!

What I Ate Today, May 16, 2017

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Breakfast

I had a videoshoot at 1pm that I had to prepare for, so I got to eat the leftovers, which was a spiralized sweet potato waffle! I rarely make these on the weekday (because they take a little extra TLC), so it was quite the treat! I had some blueberries on the side!

Snack

Raw nuts! Same raw nut mixture I always have (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins.

Lunch

I had this exact lunch on Monday and then on Tuesday – a quinoa bowl with avocado, brussels sprouts, and roasted carrots and sweet potatoes. I meal prepped a batch of it to enjoy over the week!

Snack

I went to Phoebe Lapine’s book launch party (for The Wellness Project) in NYC and she had these little chia pudding cups being passed around, so I had one of those – and a bit of the crudités!

Dinner

I forgot to take picture, but we went to a Mexican restaurant and we ordered chips and guac, split a chicken taco, and a big chopped salad with the most delicious lemon-avocado dressing.

Dessert

I had 3 squares of my favorite dark chocolate bar – this one, it’s the best, I have it in my pantry almost at all times for when I’m craving something sweet.

7 Tips To Keep A Healthy Diet & Mindset Throughout Your Week

1. If you haven’t eaten many vegetables towards the end of your workday, squeeze in some drinkable greens.

There are definitely days when I wake up, have oatmeal for breakfast, then a sandwich for lunch with a small serving of veggies, and snack on nuts and fruit throughout the day. By 3pm, I haven’t had a full serving of vegetables – or at least not as many servings as is recommended. Whenever I have a day like this, I squeeze in some greens with a green smoothie (with minimal fruit) or better yet, a green juice.

I like to call this my “3pm greens break” where I’ll leave my office, head to a local juice shop and buy a green juice. It’s a nice little break from work and it immediately rejuvenates me and ensures I get my daily dose of greens in. Getting your veggies in helps your body’s digestion work properly, makes your skin glow, amps up your energy, and psychologically makes you feel like you’ve done good for the day.

If you don’t have time to take a break (perhaps if you’re really having a busy day or your boss doesn’t allow a break in the afternoon), there are other options – like green juice powders you can pack in your bag or superfood vitamins (not drinkable, but accomplish a similar effect in terms of vitamins and nutrients.)

2. Have breakfast and make it count.

Before I started my health journey, I would eat less than 100-150 calories for breakfast. I thought, “Why waste calories on breakfast?” I was allll wrong. I would grab an apple or some sliced up fruit and call it breakfast. By 10am, I was crashing and would end up gorging myself on some sugary granola bar or over-eating at lunch.

Now, breakfast is something I wake up and look forward to every day. If you’re going to pick one meal to go all-out on, it should be breakfast. But I don’t mean “all-out” as in unhealthy, I mean “all-out” as in getting the biggest nutritional boost. Breakfast starts your metabolism, it wakes your body up, it fuels you until your next meal, and it keeps your brain focused. It also stirs the digestion pot and if all else fails that day, at least you had a great big breakfast. Who knows what life will throw at you each day!

However, not all of us have the luxury of working from home and making ourselves whatever we want for breakfast. Heck, I only give myself 10-20 minutes for breakfast each day and I have that flexibility!

If you’re rushing out the door and only have 5 minutes to make breakfast, I can’t recommend Daily Harvest smoothies more. I’ve been drinking them ever since I found out about them last year. They’re my savior on busy weekdays and even on chaotic weekends when I need an extra boost mid-day. They come in so many delicious flavors and are packed with serious superfoods like maca, kale, chia seeds, acai, turmeric, and veggies like kale, spinach, ginger, and other ingredients like coconut oil, cacao, chlorella, and cashews.

What’s great about their smoothies is that they come with a resealable lid – so you just pop the contents into a blender, add your preferred milk (I use almond or cashew), blend, and then pour back in the paper container, seal the lid back on, and go! The container is recyclable, so you don’t have to worry about lugging around your reusable plastic beverage container for the rest of your day. They gave me a coupon code for you all to use – it’s INSPIRALIZED at checkout and you get 3 free smoothies! Check them out here – my favorite flavor is Carrot + Chia.

And they can be a bit pricey, but my health is something I spend money on. I’d rather have a healthy heart and nourish my body properly than spend $5 on a crappy sugary treat later in the day, because I didn’t properly fuel myself that morning.

3. Drink water – just water.

What I’ve realized after constantly giving the same advice of “drink water” is that I neglect to talk about the other things people drink and think that counts as water. You may think tea, coffee, and coconut water all count as ‘water’ because they contain, well, water. That’s not the case.

All other beverages that ‘contain’ water also contain other ingredients that disrupt your body’s hydration processes. For example, caffeine in green tea disturbs your hydration process. Even if you’re drinking decaf coffee, there’s still caffeine in it (did you know that?), so it’s still a diuretic and will still dehydrate you.

You’re supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces of water. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day. Of JUST water, nothing else counts towards that.

Give it a try one day – drinking half your body weight in ounces of water. You’ll immediately realize that you’re not drinking enough water. And if you DO drink enough water, you’ll notice the amazing benefits – digestion, debloating, glowing skin, lack of fatigue, and more focus. It’s truly incredible.

Get bored with water? Add some lemon or cucumbers to your water to help give it an extra taste. Or, try some sparkling water – but be wary of added artificial flavors – just drink regular sparkling water, no added flavors. You won’t get the same debloating effects from carbonated water, but if you’re someone who needs to switch it up, it’s a good option.

4. Don’t go crazy on all the added supplements out there, just try out one a month.

There are some Instagrammers out there who seem hard to keep up with, because they add what seems like an endless amount of supplements to their smoothies, drinks, and meals. Whether it’s just a tablespoon of chia seeds on their oatmeal or it’s five different supplements to their smoothies, you may be left asking, “Should I be doing that?!”

There’s spirulina, chia seeds, hemp seeds, bee pollen, blue majik, maca, matcha, vitamin complexes, collagen, protein powders, and so much more. And guess what: it’s EXPENSIVE. Even if you buy it in bulk, it’s still an expensive habit – and not necessarily necessary. Our body is supposed to naturally detox itself and is supposed to naturally extract the most nutrients from our food and digest it. However, some of these supplements do help, especially if you find yourself not eating very healthy throughout the day- then, supplements can be your best friend.

My approach is this: try one supplement at a time. If you’re adding five different powers, seeds, and elixirs to your smoothie every morning, how will you know if you feel a difference? The only difference you may feel is how much lighter your wallet is.

For me, I started with protein powders. Then, I experimented with chia seeds. I loved both of those and ended up incorporating them, alternating, among my different meals throughout the day or week. Sometimes, you’re just doubling up and there’s no reason to – your body can only process so much.

Collagen was a new one I tried out early in the year, shortly after finding out I was pregnant. I read that collagen could help with the elasticity of your skin and almost immediately (well, within a few weeks) I started noticing the benefits. So now, collagen makes it into my diet 3-5 times per week. I wrote a post on it here.

Try something new each month – but don’t worry about pouring half a cup of magical dusts and powders into your smoothies – it’s not necessary and is pretty much trendy marketing.

My favorite supplements to add to my smoothies are:

• Collagen (you can read more about it here)
• Chia seeds (keeps you fuller longer – the fiber benefits are amazing)
• Protein powder (if not using collagen) – pea protein based (no whey for this girl)
• Apple cider vinegar (helps my digestion)
• Cacao (only if I want something sweet!)

5. If you work a desk job or sit most of your day, get up.

As a food entrepreneur, some of my days are spent from 11am – 3pm in the kitchen, so I’m on my feet all day, cooking, cleaning, bending down, taking photos, step-stooling, etc. Some of my other days are spent writing, strategizing and social media-ing from my desk. On those days, I’m pretty stagnant from 8:30am – 5:30pm.

This year, one of my resolutions was to not be such a slave to the notion of a “9 to 5”, because I don’t have a typical 9-to-5 career and I shouldn’t hold myself to those societal standards.

On days when you are sitting all day long, take breaks – and set your alarm. I set my alarm to get up every 45 minutes. When I get up, I make sure I walk around, fiddle, or do something for at least 3 minutes. Sometimes, honestly, I just stare out the window. Sometimes, I call my mom or Lu and pace while we talk. Sometimes, I take a 3 minute water break where I stand by my water cooler, scroll through Instagram, and drink a glass of water. Sometimes, I do 3 minutes of standing stretches (legs and arms).

These little 3 minute breaks throughout the day add up to around 30 minutes of non-sitting time per day, which is better than ZERO. Plus, disturbing your work flow can be good for your brain – it allows it to catch a breather and refresh itself. Now, if you’re truly in the middle of something and can’t break your sitting stride, just add on a few minutes to your next break. But, just make sure you actually take that break!

This helps with your spine, your focus, and breaks up your day so that it goes faster (it really does!) It’s like a little treat with your alarm goes off – you get to get up and change your pace for a few minutes. It sounds simple, but it really works! You can even get crazy like me and schedule in those 3 minute breaks in your calendar. Did you see my post on time blocking?

6. Figure out what fuels your productivity best, own it, and embrace it.

I am a HUGE proponent of this and I think it helps with the ‘healthy mindset’ part of things. While it’s not necessarily a healthy eating tip, it’s a healthy mind tip (as is tip #7!)

To keep your mental sanity and limit your anxiety, figure out which way you work most productively and start exclusively working that way. Now, if you work in a corporate job and it’s not conduce to your most productive style, have a frank conversation with your manager/boss and let them know – lay out a plan, and explain to them why they’ll benefit more if they agree to it. I’m not saying go to your boss and tell him/her that you work best only working 3 days a week, 12-3pm. I’m saying this….

Some people work better going all out from 9 to 5 – taking a big deep breath in at 9am, focusing and never stopping all day, and then taking a huge sigh of relief at 5pm. They thrive in this hustle environment, they work well this way under the pressures of the 9-to-5 time constraints. These tend to be the kind of people who eat this way as well – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – three big meals, that’s pretty much it, no snacking needed.

Other people like a more zenful working pace – perhaps blocks of time where they’re working, with breaks in between. Perhaps you like to start your day off with a workout, start work around 9:30am, work until lunch time, take a nice long walk after lunch, and then start up again, and then work a little later or do some work after dinner to finish up your tasks. A grazer that probably eats 5 small meals a day.

Whatever works for you and whatever results in you getting the most, best quality work done, own it. Don’t try to force yourself into working a certain pace that doesn’t work with your hustle style, because in that case, you’ll just end up procrastinating on social media or filling in those gaps where you’d be taking that walk or grabbing that afternoon tea with unproductive work at your desk, like online shopping or Facebook stalking.

The best thing I did for my mental work-life sanity is realize that I work best hustling from 8:30am – 6:30pm-ish with only small, 5 to 10 minute breaks throughout the day. I don’t work well with big breaks in between (I find it hard to re-focus and it takes too long to re-gain my momentum and motivation), and the work I do after 6:30pm is CRAP. I might as well not be working and I might as well be doing things to let my mind unwind and rejuvenate itself (like hang out with Lu, read, watch a movie, etc.)

I no longer guilt trip myself any longer for not being one of those people that’s on their laptop at 11pm working. That work I’d do at 11pm would be worthless.

7. If you really need a day off from working out, do something to nourish your mind or spirit, don’t just veg out on the couch.

One of my very obvious tips (which wasn’t listed here, because it goes without being said) is to exercise. Exercise 4-5 times a week. Exercise can mean a 15 minute HIIT workout in your living room, a 1 hour yoga class or a 3 mile outdoor bike. Whatever exercise is to you, just do it – get out there, commit, and soon enough, you’ll be on that exercise high where it feels unnatural NOT to work out consistently.

BUT, if you really need a day off – say you just had a stressful day and are mentally exhausted, that’s okay: take the day off. However, and this part is very important, don’t just grab a bag of Cheetos, hit the couch and click on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. That’s not going to help you relax. It’s going to just give you more anxiety (instead of the gym you’re eating Cheetos) and Kim Kardashian isn’t going to relax your mind – TV is stimuli and doesn’t allow your brain to shut off.

Instead, if you really need to take off a day from the gym – do something to nourish your mind. Something like:

• Curl up in bed with a glass of lemon water and a scented candle or essential oils and read.
• Take a bath with something soothing, like a non-toxic mustard soak. Put some music on your phone, place your phone far away from the bath, light some candles, and just chill.
• Go for a relaxing walk – this is actually a form of exercise that’s really underrated, but is usually doable even on your most exhausted of days. If you’re really tired, walk to a bench, sit, and flip open a book.
• Go to a local nail salon and ask for a 10 minute chair massage. This is one of my secret go-tos when I need a little readjusting. It’s usually inexpensive, I put my headphones on, and I give myself those 10 minutes.
• Color. Coloring books are such a thing now because they really do help your brain relax and release endorphins, like it used to do when you were a little kid.

Do this activity for the same amount of time that you would have given that exercise time block. Recharge yourself and then commit to a killer workout the next day!

I hope these 7 tips help you be your healthiest throughout the week! They sure do help me

The post 7 Tips To Keep A Healthy Diet & Mindset Throughout Your Week appeared first on Inspiralized.

I mentioned time blocking on Instagram the other day when I shared a photo of the Inspiralized birthday cards I had made. Time blocking is what helped me achieve this goal (I’ve always wanted to create a little limited edition greeting card line, focused around spiralizing.)

I had a lot of people asking me about time blocking, so I figured I’d cover it in today’s #livinginspiralized feature!

But first, a What I Ate Today!

What I Ate Today, May 9, 2017

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Breakfast

A Daily Harvest smoothie – in a bowl! I made the Banana+Greens smoothie (use code INSPIRALIZED when you check out and get three free smoothies – I really recommend them for those busy people out there!) and added Vital Proteins collagen powder and Justin’s almond butter – to amp up the protein and flavor. Topped with organic blueberries, Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free granola, and some toasted coconut flakes.

Snack

I had a KIND Breakfast Bar – I’m obsessed with their new flavors (Almond Butter is my favorite). I had the Maple Cinnamon one, because that’s all I had left – it has 8g of protein and is made of great ingredients. It always fuels me when I need it – and it has a subtle sweetness that satisfies that craving.

Lunch

I had saved leftovers from the night before and it looked like a big bowl of mush when I took a photo, so instead, here’s the photo of my dinner (I reheated the meal!) It’s a Vegetarian Burrito Bowl – with bell pepper cauliflower rice, a homemade pico de gallo, romaine lettuce, avocado, and a black bean-pinto bean mix. DELICIOUS.

Snack

Had my usual raw nut mixture (cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts) with a pear.

Dinner

I made my Golden Beet Arroz con Pollo – Lu always loves this dish! We ate the entire skillet, no leftovers. No regrets

Dessert

I had a few handfuls of Veggie Stix and about 1/2 cup of Lu’s Halo Top birthday cake ice cream (he’s been loving the stuff and I always steal a few bites – the ingredients actually aren’t terrible, especially compared to some other ice cream brands out there.) It was definitely a mindless munch, and I forgot to take a photo!

Time Blocking: A Busy Person’s Guide to Getting It Done

Time is our most valuable asset. With the proper management of our time, we can get anything done! I truly, really believe that.

One of the business gurus I follow, Gary Vaynerchuk, constantly talks about how people aren’t using their time effectively and thus, aren’t achieving their dreams or their potential. Instead of spending 1 hour each night on a business plan, for example, they’re watching television, playing video games, or scrolling mindlessly on Instagram.

OR, if you are a productive person, you may be trying to accomplish a task, but not even knowing it, you’re also trying to do 3 other tasks at that same time and thus, getting that original task done is taking THREE times as long! If you time blocked, the tasks would be done in 1/3 of the time and it would leave that extra time to complete other tasks as well. Voila – you’re more productive!

So how can we better manage our time and make sure we’re making the most of it? TIME BLOCKING.

How do you time block?

Make a to-do list, but prioritize it

Before you go to bed/end your day, spend 10 minutes on making a to-do list for the next day. This could be a personal to-do list, a work to-do list, or a combination. For example, here’s a sample to-do list of mine:

1. Clear out my Inbox
2. Write today’s blog post
3. Organize Dropbox
4. Build editorial calendar for June
5. Schedule video shoot for May
6. Write proposal for brand X
7. Update Inspiralizer manual
8. Cook 3 blog recipes
9. Sign 500 book plates for HSN
10. Mail out return packages
11. Workout

Then, prioritize this list. Pick a certain number that’s attainable (I like to select 5, it seems realistic) and mark those tasks as priorities. By marking them, this means that you MUST get these tasks done in the day – everything else is just an added bonus if you get to it.

Now for me, I set those 5 tasks as priorities and then I give myself an additional 2 priorities on my personal list – so, a total of 7 tasks per day for me.

So here’s what my priority list looks like, from most important to least important:

1. Write today’s blog post
2. Clean the office
3. Update Inspiralizer manual
4. Cook 3 blog recipes
5. Write proposal for brand X
6. Personal: workout
7. Personal: Mail out return packages

*Note: I always time block e-mail responding, but it’s never on my “priority list”, because it’s something I do everyday regardless of what tasks I have to accomplish each day.

Set aside time for your tasks on your calendar: time block them

Now that you know exactly what you need to accomplish for the day, it’s time to set aside adequate time to accomplish those tasks. And no, this doesn’t just mean saying, “Okay, I’m going to spend 20 minutes today cleaning.” It means actively scheduling the time in your calendar and setting alerts in your calendar to let you know when it’s time to start. I like to set times for everything in my day, so the time blocking flows more. You’ll see the schedule below.

VERY IMPORTANT: I also recommend not time blocking for more than 2-3 hours at a time, because the more time you time block, the more ‘liberal’ you’ll be with your time. “But I have 3 hours to do this tasks, it’s okay if I just check Instagram for a few minutes!” NO. Be realistic about your time blocks. If you know it’ll only take 20 minutes to do something, don’t allot 1 hour to that task – and if the project is much larger than time blocking can afford, break it up into segments. For example, when I’m writing a cookbook, I set 1 hour time blocks 4 hours a day to write – just for writing. But, they’re spread out, so I know I only have a limited amount of time and it’s a feasible amount of time to be zoned in and unplugged from everything else.

Schedule the actual time in “blocks.” Your alerts should simply say, “CLEAN THE OFFICE” – exactly what the task is, and you should take no more than 3-5 minutes to wrap up what you were working on and start the next time block. If you let 10-15 minutes pass by as you finish up an e-mail or whatever, that time adds up to hours throughout the day. Be mindful!

Now, if you don’t use an actual calendar (who are you?!), then write it down on a piece of paper and then manually set the individual alerts in your smart phone.

Here’s today’s schedule, as you’d write it down on a piece of paper:

7:30-8:15am: Get ready, eat breakfast & get to the office
8:15-9am: E-mails, social media message responding and checking, community building
9-10am: Write today’s blog post
10-10:30am: Clean the office
10:30-11:30am: Write the recipes for today’s blog cooking
11:30-11:45am: Check e-mails
11:45-2:30pm: Cook 3 blog recipes (this includes 10-15 minutes to eat lunch for me, since I usually eat a blog recipe)
2:30-2:45pm: Check e-mails
2:45-3pm: Mail out return packages
3-4pm: Update Inspiralizer manual
4-4:15pm: Check e-mails
4:15-5:00pm: Write proposal for brand X
5-5:15pm: Wrap up e-mails
5:15-6:30pm: Workout
6:30-6:45pm: Shower
6:45-7:45pm: Make & eat dinner
7:45 – 10:30pm: ME & LU TIME

At the end of the day (7:45pm), I have time to just relax with Lu, and I know that I’ve had a very, very productive day. If anything ends up coming up, of course, I have to adjust my schedule, but since it’s all in my calendar, it’s easy to adjust and move around.

What’s great about using a calendar is that you don’t even really NEED a to-do list, because your calendar alerts you when it’s time to move on to the next task. So, if I finish a task early, for example, I’ll check some social media messages, respond to e-mails, etc.

During your set time blocks, don’t do anything else but the scheduled task

This is the hardest part about time blocking, and I still struggle with it, because I am a self-proclaimed master of multi-tasking. But, no matter what, multi-tasking isn’t the most efficient way to finish a task.

Time blocking WILL NOT WORK unless you actually BLOCK off the time. That’s why it’s called time BLOCKING. Imagine you’re inside a block and you can’t get out. During that time, put away all your distractions – close out all other browser tabs, put your phone a comfortable but just-far-enough distance away so you’re not tempted to use it. Do not do anything else but the task at hand. Some things you may not realize that add up are texting, checking the news, checking your Facebook feed, reading e-mails, Gchatting, checking how many likes your photo got on Instagram, or making a snack.

The first time you try to time block, you’ll make the mistake of not truly shutting yourself off from the outside world. It’s tough, because our minds race like crazy and we’re so connected.

My advice is to make your workspace as prepared as possible – load up on a snack, water, tea, a blanket, whatever it is that you’d usually get up for. Have it all there and ready, so you have no excuses.

This method is simple but powerful

You will be amazed at how productive you are after a successful day of time blocking. It’s truly life-changing. On the days that I don’t time block (just because the day gets ahead of me and I get distracted, things come up – it happens!), I never feel as accomplished, and I always feel anxious or like I’m trying to catch up all day.

And if you haven’t color-coded your Google Calendar (or whatever calendar you use), DO IT. It’s the best thing you can do for your sanity.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions – leave them in the comments! I can’t wait to see all you hustlers out there crushing your dreams, thanks to time blocking!

The post Time Blocking: A Busy Person’s Guide to Getting It Done appeared first on Inspiralized.

Basically, for the past two weeks, I’ve been packing, working, packing, working, and there hasn’t been much time for cooking or exercise.

Lu and I have been in overdrive for the past two weeks in order for our move to go smoothly (which it did – yay!) and within two weeks, I’ve fallen off the healthy wagon.

Today, I’m sharing my plan for getting back on the wagon, in hopes that it will inspire some of you to hop back on it with me!

But first, a What I Ate Today! Very apropos, since this was my first day back “on the wagon.”

What I Ate Today, May 2, 2017

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Breakfast

I was having the team from KIND come over for a Facebook live, so I made the quickest breakfast possible – my go-to oatmeal bowl, with blueberries, bananas, and drizzled sunflower butter. I’m loving Wild Friends’ Organic Honey Sunflower Butter.

Snack

Raw nuts! Same raw nut mixture I always have (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins. Loving Made In Nature’s organic raisins these days.

Lunch

Made a quinoa bowl! Roasted some heirloom carrots and served them with quinoa and a raw broccoli and kale salad (with a simple evoo + red wine vinegar dressing). After, I found an avocado from Friday in the fridge that was still good so I enjoyed it (about half) with some lemon juice, because #healthyfats.

Snack

An apple and then, I had a cup of Nature’s Path Organics cereal with almond milk, in a mug (I ate it so quickly and forgot to take a photo!)

Dinner

We haven’t cooked in for so long because of the move! We’ve been trying to order as healthy as possible, but it’s so hard! I feel like Jersey City is lacking healthy delivery options. I went with Rumi, a Turkish restaurant near us and I got chicken kabobs, veggie kabobs, falafel, and hummus and Lu and I split it all (he had rice with his, I went with a side salad.) We ate at our dining table for the first time as a couple (we didn’t have a dining table in our old place!)

Dessert

I didn’t take a photo, but we had Veggie Stix and grapes. Very random, but it’s all we had in the apartment! We are in desperate need of a grocery shop and are holding off until the weekend!

How To Get Back On The Healthy Wagon After You’ve Fallen Off

One of the most common questions I get is, “How do you get back on track after you’ve had a bad week or weekend?”

Many people (and I used to be one of them!) let their emotions takeover after they’ve fallen off track. I attribute this to taking their weight loss or health goals way too seriously – or treating them as a finite thing, not a forever lifestyle.

And full disclosure: over the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve fallen off the healthy wagon. It came out of nowhere – first, it started with some leniency on my diet, “Oh, I’m pregnant, it’s okay!” – which, by the way – is NOT okay. Yes, listen to your body, but if there’s anytime you should be your healthiest, it’s while you’re baking a human inside!

Anyway, a week of having chocolate every day (at least it’s healthy chocolate, I tell myself) and savory night-time snacking coupled with missed workouts and then about a week of ordering out every night for dinner because of our big move resulted in some extra weight gain.

You know you’re being unhealthy when you just don’t feel great from the inside. Then, you know you’re really doing damage when your skin starts to look flaky and dull and you start breaking out (for me, it’s all over my chin.)

Yes, I’m definitely craving sweets more than I ever have before because of the pregnancy and YES, I moved apartments and didn’t have much time for anything else but that for about a week, but still – there’s a fine line between gluttony and a lifestyle balancing act.

So what am I doing to get back on the healthy wagon now?

Take a step back and acknowledge you’ve fallen off the wagon

It’s okay to fall off the wagon. Life happens. For me, it was the stress of a big project I’m working on (coming soon!) and the move. All my energy was taken up by the move and I had nothing left in the tank for exercise and I happen to be a stress eater, so those two coupled together resulted in an unhealthy combo.

The most important part of getting back on the wagon is acknowledging that it happen and it’s okay. You’re not defined by the falls, you’re defined by how you get back up.

Get back on the wagon, but don’t go crazy

So, sit up, and get right back on the wagon. Don’t set any crazy restrictive plans or rules for yourself. In years past, I would have gone on a “cleanse” or just drank smoothies all day long. The truth is is that our bodies hate that – they feel shocked and it ends up being way less effective as it would be if you just resumed your normal healthy habits.

And whatever you do, don’t set a timeline like “On Monday, it starts!” Just resolve right then to get back into your healthy groove.

For me, it was Wednesday (today.) There’s no better time than the present!

I went to bed last night, after unpacking my last box, and said to myself “Ok. I’m done unpacking, we’re moved in, my kitchen’s all set up, there’s no more excuse not to eat healthy and get back on track.” Right then, I resolved to wake up early the next day, get a workout in, and then eat healthy for the rest of the day and make a healthy, nourishing meal for dinner – no more takeout.

Be consistent

After you’ve completed that day, wake up the next day and do it all over again. And repeat.  Take it day by day. Be consistent.

As you may know, I live 80/20 – 80% clean and 20% I let it rip. If that percentage ever starts to shift, I just have to reign it back in (like I’m doing it now.) And a little trick that helps me “jumpstart” getting back on track is committing to 4 super healthy days in a row. So, for me now, it would be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. And yes, it’s the weekend – but think of it this way: your weekdays have been your weekends, if you’ve been over-indulging. So, you’ve had your fun – now treat your body like you should and nourish it! You’ve got a full life of weekends ahead of you.

The most important thing to remember is that healthy living is a lifestyle and if you’re following someone on Instagram that seems to eat perfectly healthy 24/7 with the most perfectly sprinkled chia seeds on their smoothie bowls every morning, let me let you in on a little secret: they don’t. They’re normal people too, they slip up, they just don’t talk about it (which is a problem in itself!)

Diet is more important than exercise

Similar to my tip about not going crazy (cleanses are so 2010), let your body ease itself into getting back on track. If you’ve really fallen off, maybe just commit to eating clean that day – skip another workout while you work on your diet. I do this a lot. For example, if my diet has really been full of junk and I just feel absolutely gross (are you familiar with the food coma? It’s a real thing!), I’ll skip another day at the gym and just focus on eating cleanly. I’ll wake up the next day, feeling so rejuvenated and energized and have a great workout.

At the end of the day, diet is more important than exercise – and it’s the harder one to master.

I find the healthiest way to “get back on the wagon” is to eat 100% vegan and drink lots and lots of water. It’s kind of like a “glow from the inside”plan. Animal protein just causes all kinds of inflammation and is harder to digest than a plant-based diet. I’ll usually try to eat plenty of hydrating vegetables and plenty of protein to keep full, like lentils, quinoa, and beans.

Love yourself

Above all else, love the person you are inside.

Who cares if you gained some extra pudge in April? You’re an amazing, unique, kind, smart, and inspiring person – and if you’re not, focus on that before you focus on your waistline. What matters most is that we lift people up around us, we contribute to this world, and we’re loving, good people.

STOP feeling guilty for gaining weight or “falling off the wagon.” There are so many other important things in this world. You’ll never be happy with yourself if you’re not a good person, at the end of the day – so that’s more important than a number on the scale or on your jeans.

I love you all and hope today’s post inspired some of you to get back on track – or at the very least, has inspired you to be a bit more kind to yourself.

Mother’s Day Sale – Inspiralizer

But before you go, did you know that there’s a Mother’s Day sale happening right now on the Inspiralizer?

My mother introduced me to spiralizing, so I’ll always think of my mother when I think about spiralizing! It’s the perfect gift for a mother (and perhaps paired with one or both of my cookbooks)

To grab the discount, enter code MOTHERSDAY17 when you check out on our shop and automatically receive $5.00 off your Inspiralizer!

Thank you for supporting Inspiralized, as always.

The post How To Get Back On The Healthy Wagon After You’ve Fallen Off appeared first on Inspiralized.

Yesterday we filmed seven new cooking videos! It was an exhausting but super productive day.

Although I didn’t knock anything off my daily to-do list, I knocked off a step towards my 2017 goal of creating more video content.

Then, it got me thinking about that goal and how I’ve made it happen. So, today, I’m talking all about why simple goal setting isn’t enough. If you want to truly accomplish something, it takes more than just setting an intention. I’m sharing how I accomplish my goals – and it definitely takes more than initial goal setting.

What I Ate Today, April 25, 2017

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Breakfast

I made my Baked Oatmeal with Spiralized Apples on Monday for the blog and saved leftovers. I reheated a big scoop of it with some almond milk to soften it (it gets dry after refrigeration.) To reheat, I placed in a pot with the almond milk and stirred until creamy and heated through!

Snack

While I was filming, I had my bowl of raw nut mixture near me, as always – the same raw blend (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins.

Lunch

Although I was sort of tasting here and there, I made sure to have some toast once my carb cravings came in strong (#preggo.) I made the Cabbage Buddha Bowls from the Inspiralize Everything cookbook and put the chickpea-avocado mash on top of toasted Ezekial for a mini-lunch. And no, that’s not a real tattoo on my arm – it’s from an event on Monday night (it’s a Tattly temporary tattoo.) I have no tattoos!

Snack

At the end of the day, I had an apple (forgot to take a picture) with yumbutter almond butter, and a serving of this Beet Superfood Bowl – a recipe from my first cookbook, Inspiralized. I also made some tea with steamed almond milk and Vital Proteins.

Dinner

Dinner was Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles! Easy, quick dinner that required minimal prep and tools, because most of our stuff is packed up!

Dessert

I forgot to take a photo, but I had a packet of these Eating Evolved coconut butter cups that I’m OBSESSED with right now. How did I not know about these sooner?!

Why Goal Setting Isn’t Enough

I’m going to get right to it: goal setting isn’t enough. You need to set a goal – with a plan in place to achieve that goal.

Let me explain. Last year, I set a goal of “doing more yoga.” I set this goal in May of 2016. I even wrote it down (yayyyy!) in a cute little notebook by my desk. So how many times did I do yoga May – December 2016? ZERO. Not once! Not a single time.

So why did I fail at this goal? I didn’t make a plan.

This year, as you might now, I set a New Year’s resolution/goal/challenge to do yoga in 2017. BUT, instead of saying “do more yoga in 2017,” I created an actual plan. Nothing extravagant, no spreadsheets, no alarms in my phone. I just set an easy-to-follow plan: once a week.

So how many times have I done yoga in 2017? Once a week since January 1st! Well, I missed about 3-4 classes due to travel schedules and pregnancy fatigue, but overall, I’ve stayed true to my goal – more so than I ever have with any other long-term goal.

Now, don’t confuse goals with intentions. Intentions don’t need action plans – intentions are meant to be more for daily inspiration, mental motivation, and general uplift. For example, “I’m going to eat healthy today” isn’t an intention, that’s a goal. BUT, “I’m going to be happy today” is an intention – you just need to repeat that a few times throughout the day (Write it down, of course) and check in with yourself throughout the day to see how you’re doing. With “I’m going to eat healthy today” you may want to plan your meals for the day, bring a water bottle to work, pack healthy snacks, etc etc. There are actionables that will help you achieve that goal.

Of course, our lives get super busy, and it’s hard to keep on top of our goals (both professional and personal), so here’s what I recommend:

1. Make a goal.
2. Make a plan to achieve that goal.
3. Check in with yourself once a week to make sure you’ve followed the plan. If not, perhaps the goal is unattainable in the timeframe you gave it OR perhaps the plan isn’t practical. Reset the goal, reset the plan, and reset the execution.

For example:

1. The goal: I want to start eating more vegetables.
2. The plan:
   • Make a meal plan every Saturday morning that includes a serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner.
     • Grocery shop on Sundays and meal prep the vegetables so I won’t be tempted to skip it during the week.
   • Drink one green juice or smoothie 3 times a week.
     • Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays
3. The check in
   • Check in once a week (on Saturdays) for one full month.
   • Each week, check in on Saturday and see how the week went. For example, if drinking a green juice 3 times a week is too much, adjust it to once a week.
   • After the first month, make a plan for moving forward – is this doable long-term? Is this lifestyle for me? Is meal prepping hard but I do enjoy eating vegetables? Adjust the plan accordingly.

I encourage you to take 5-10 minutes today (maybe on your lunch break, on your commute home, or before bed) and write down one of your goals that you’ve been meaning to achieve and follow the steps of making a plan with check-ins. Make these goals as big as you like or as small as you’d like, from “starting a business” to “losing 5 pounds” – a goal is a goal, and as long as you plan it, you can make it happen.

Here’s an example of some goals that I currently want to achieve that haven’t been given action plans yet:

• Watch less TV and make more use of my evenings.
• Tone my arms more.
• Get Inspiralized t-shirts made.
• Listen to more outdoor music.
• Drink more green smoothies and juices.
• Read more.
• Make a 5-year plan for Inspiralized.
• Cook more from cookbooks.
• Break out of my lunch rut – each something new everyday.

In the spirit of this post, I’m going to make myself a plan!

The post Why Goal Setting Isn’t Enough appeared first on Inspiralized.

When thinking of today’s theme for my #livinginspiralized series, there were so many questions I was receiving and I felt bad not answering more by answering a single question/topic.

Therefore, today’s post is more of a “Q&A” where I am answering a bunch of your submitted questions!

You may see your question here and if you don’t, leave your question in the comments and I’ll be answering them as best I can. Or, you can always email me your questions so I have them and can save them for future Q&A series, if this proves popular!

What I Ate Today, April 11, 2017

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Breakfast

Made a smoothie bowl in a cup! I woke up craving a smoothie bowl but also wanted to drink a smoothie, so I just put my granola on top of my smoothie along with some chia seeds. It was the perfect consistency! The smoothie has peanut butter, kale, blueberries, banana, almond milk, ice, and collagen powder.

Snack

Always eating a bag of nuts, haha! Same raw blend (pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews) with raisins.

Lunch

It was such a beautiful day out, I wanted to get outside, so I went to this little “Fresh Cafe” that’s in my building (I know, a grocery store, a cafe, a restaurant and a coffeeshop, I’m spoiled!) and got their Vegetarian Wrap which was AMAZING. Kale, hummus, roasted red peppers, avocado, onion, tomato, etc. Fresh and delicious!

Snack

I ate lunch late, so I just had more nut mix to hold me over until my 5pm Spanish lesson – and an apple!

Dinner

I made the Chicken Cacciatore from the Inspiralize Everything cookbook but used spiralized potatoes instead of rutabaga and added brussels sprouts. BEST dinner!

Dessert

Green grapes and some mango slices! I love these from .

Healthy Diet & Fitness Q&A

How did your workouts differ when you were more so on the weight loss journey versus now where you’re not trying to lose weight? – Meghan, via e-mail

I definitely did longer workouts. I worked out for one full hour, because I did more cardio and wanted to fit it all in – cardio and toning. Now, it’s rare I do a 1-hour workout, unless I’m in a workout class like yoga. 45 minutes is all I need to keep toning and maintain my weight loss (and I definitely do 30 minute workouts too now!). However, it’s not necessary to do 1-hour workouts to lose weight, I’m just comparing then to now. Back then, I wanted to expedite the weight loss, so I was focused on extra calorie burn. Now, my goals aren’t calorie burn.

When I was trying to lose weight, I did cardio 6 days a week. It was either running or spinning. I’d try to do at least 30 minutes of cardio on those days. Some days, I’d do 45 minute spin rides. It’s great for cardio burn (some of my spin classes burned 600+ calories!), but it’s necessary to also do toning. When I was toning, I’d focus on “programs” that laid it all out for me, so I could plan my workouts. For instance, I would do Tone It Up workouts 3 days a week (in addition to the cardio). Some weeks, I’d do BBG workouts 3 days a week. These programs take all the guess work out for you and when you have goals of weight loss, the concentrated toning is really helpful.

NOW, my priority is toning 100%. I’m at a weight where I’m happy, and now I just want to turn any extra pudge into muscle. Having more of an hourglass shape, I’m not the body type that builds muscle easily (say, for example, in comparison to an ‘athletic build’ or someone with a more straight up and down frame.) My workouts now are lighter on the cardio (although I always default back to cardio if my weight fluctuates a couple pounds after a long weekend), say 2o to 30 minutes of spinning or running and I finish with 15-20 minutes of toning workouts. There are also certain days that I do full toning workouts, no cardio. I don’t always do cardio now. I’ll do a 30 or 45 minute Nike Training Club app workout or a BBG workout for 28 minutes. That will be my entire workout for the day.

I’m just as consistent with my workouts still today, working out 5-6 days a week. Consistency is key, especially when toning!

I always wonder when I’m making or seeing your recipes if you watch calorie/fat intake at all? I know that you workout like crazy so you probably burn fast. I guess my questions is how do you have any guidelines for overall balance of your day? Thanks Ali! – via Instagram

Nope! I don’t count calories. For one summer (actually, two months of the summer) I started counting calories a bit and it gave me a very unhealthy outlook on eating, so I quit it immediately after and I’ve never counted calories since. I focus more on eating real foods and portion controlling. However, I do know that my body needs 1,200-1,400 calories a day to maintain my active lifestyle, so I make sure to eat at LEAST that (and on a day when I’m running around or have an extra intense workout), I may have an extra snack or two. I don’t actually count the calories, I just know what those portions look like, in comparison to the foods I’m eating. You can see my “What I Ate Today” for an example of that. If I had to run the numbers for today, I’d say I ate around 1,600-1,800 calories (but I’m also pregnant and adding 300+ calories a day over my normal consumption per my doctor’s instruction.)

If you focus on really nourishing your body with real whole foods (and a 100 calorie Yoplait doesn’t count), then you won’t need to get caught up in the calories. your body will tell you what it needs to run properly. If you’re ever light headed or feeling especially starving, you probably need to eat more – and probably more protein. Perhaps take a week where you just eat 3 meals a day and if you’re hungry in between, have a snack that will nourish you, not something like a bag of chips. From this exercise, you’ll realize what your body needs to have on a daily basis to run properly. And you won’t even know the calories! You should never feel sick-to-your-stomach full.

If you have any tips on finding motivation I would be very interested. – via blog

Great question! My answer: YOURSELF. Promise yourself that for at least 5 days/week for one full month, you’ll take a post-workout selfie of yourself in form-fitting workout clothes. After one to two weeks, you’ll start to notice a change in your body (more toned, perhaps a few pounds less), and THAT will serve as your inspiration. There’s no surprise that Kayla Itsines of BBG built such an empire – seeing our own progress is all we need for motivation! I’ve done this with @Getinspiralized and I started looking forward to looking at my photos, to see the incremental changes throughout the week and comparing myself to older photos.

Tips on how to craft a workout schedule for the week and how to figure out what weight training moves or HIIT moves to do each day would be greatly appreciated!! – Joanna, via blog

If you have no idea how to go about building a workout schedule, I highly recommend Tone It Up or Kayla Itsines’ Beach Body Guide (aka BBG.) They bought have easy to follow along and understand workout guides (with pictures). When I was first starting out, those are the workouts I did. I loved Tone It Up especially, because they had a lot of videos (I even bought their series, it was great to have – and I did the workouts, they’re really tough!) Most of them require little to no equipment (ie free weights or nothing), so it’s perfect for those that just want to workout in your living room.

After doing those workouts for months (I used them for the first 6 months of my fit journey), I was able to custom build my own workouts, based on my unique needs/goals. But at first, those are so helpful and both of them (TIU and BBG) have printables! And both have an amazing community of women working towards their healthiest selves!

Sometimes now, when I’m too lazy to come up with my own routine, I print out a workout and bring it to the gym with me!

You mentioned the late night snacking, and I’m totally with you on this. Any advice for how to handle those late night munchies? – Jamie, via blog

First off, it’s okay to have a snack before dinner and a little dessert afterwards. As long as your snack isn’t a bag of chips and your dessert isn’t a row of Oreos. It’s okay to have a cup of popcorn while you’re waiting for dinner to finish in the oven, and it’s perfectly fine to have a couple squares of dark chocolate after dinner.

What’s not okay is eating a tub of almond butter while watching The Bachelor (or is that just me?!) or eating an entire chocolate bar after dinner.

This will always be a struggle for me, but what I’ve found helps is what I call “taking a mental step back.” When I am going to have something that’s outside the reasonable amount of food (ie a sensible snack), I tell myself to “take a mental break” and I go fill a glass of water or make tea with steamed almond milk and tell myself, “If I’m still craving this in 10 minutes, I’ll have it.” What ends up happening is that I wait the 10 minutes and I either forget about the snack, the craving goes away, or the tea/water satisfies that craving.

If you just really need to eat something, just try your best to make it healthy – I love frozen grapes, berries with Greek yogurt, or some dried mango slices. Having an arsenal of healthy “munchies” makes it harder to overdo it – it’s much easier/more fun to plow through a bag of Pepperidge Farms’ Milanos than it is to have mango slices, you know? So just keep the temptation out of the house!

And if all else fails, try that “mental break.” Most of the time, we’re just not being mindful. The mind is a very, very powerful force, so use it well! After all, a healthy lifestyle is a mindset.

If you have a question to ask, I’d love to hear from you! Send me a question for a future Q&A series!

The post Healthy Diet and Fitness Q&A appeared first on Inspiralized.

I’m on a flight on my way to San Francisco right now to spend the week with the Facebook team, learning about how Facebook and Instagram can help grow your small business!

I’m so excited to be part of this select group of business owners, and I can’t wait to see the Facebook HQ!

Since I had some extra time on the flight, I wanted to really dive deep into today’s #livinginspiralized feature. I’m talking about exercise guilt.

What I Ate Today, April 4, 2017

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Breakfast

Another day, another oatmeal bowl with Wild Friends sunflower butter, sliced bananas, blueberries and chia seeds.

Snack

I had more of my raw nut mix. Raw cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and raisins.

Lunch

My videographer was over to film some new cooking videos, so I was eating min-portions of everything. The largest portion I had (so I guess, ‘lunch’) was a bowl of my bikini bolognese (just the sauce).

Snack

I snacked on some raspberries, straight out of the fridge and these “Figgy Pops” (unbaked organic energy balls in ‘Tart Cherry Fig’) from Made In Nature, which I’ve been obsessed with. I have two (that’s a serving) and those tiny little… well, balls… are surprisingly filling – and eventually energizing!

Dinner

Dinner was a “I’m going on a trip, let’s eat all these vegetables so they don’t get wasted.” I had heirloom rainbow carrots, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower and served it over quinoa, along with two fried eggs for Lu.

Dessert

My favorite Daily Harvest smoothie aka chocolate milkshake. It literally takes like a milkshake, but better! It’s refreshing, nourishing, and the perfect amount of sweet. It’s the Cacao+Avocado flavor and whenever I need something sweet after dinner, it satisfies the craving – and I always get Lu to split it with me. You can get 3 free smoothies by entering code “inspiralized” on checkout at Daily Harvest.

Overcoming Exercise Guilt

Let me first preface by saying that this post was inspired by the lovely Davida from The Healthy Maven. She wrote a piece on her once unhealthy relationship with exercise and I realized that the topic needs to be covered more by those of us in the healthy blogging space. Many of us have been tormented by exercise obsession and I wanted to share my experience and my advice, as someone who has overcome exercise guilt in the hopes of opening up the conversation and perhaps, helping someone who is currently struggling with this. The more we talk about the uncomfortable, controversial issues, the more comfortable we’ll be with seeking help and getting better.

Exercise guilt. It’s the guilt you feel when you miss a workout. You may feel worthless, lazy, and even depressed. Why do you feel guilty? You feel guilty because you know you could’ve made the gym that day but you didn’t push yourself to get there and that makes you feel ‘guilty’. You could have and you didn’t. You failed. Actually, you can even feel exercise guilt when there literally wasn’t enough time in the day (unless you woke up at 4am to workout) to fit it in.

You also may feel guilty, because you feel like a missed session at the gym, a run, or whatever is a missed opportunity at reaching your weight loss goals. You think that missing a workout, or two, or a few is going to derail your goals. You may even compare your days. You may say, “Well, I ran for 30 minutes yesterday, so now I can’t eat as much today because then I’ll have consumed more calories than today and I’ll gain weight.” THEN, you may feel so poorly, that you end up over-eating or indulging in a bag of chips or ice cream, because your guilt turned into self-digust.

Sound familiar?

Well, you’re not alone. And to be frank with you, for most of my 20s, that’s exactly how I felt. Every single day, I felt exercise guilt. It was debilitating and caused this unbalanced, unhappy feeling with fitness and health. Even when I did make a workout, I’d always compare it to other days and judge myself if I worked harder the previous day.

While I’ve never had an eating disorder, exercise guilt is probably the closest I’ve ever come to one, because it caused me to binge eat a lot when I’d miss those workouts.

So how did I beat it? How did I rid myself of the exercise guilt?

Diet > Exercise

In terms of weight loss, I finally realized that diet was more important than exercise. If you focus primarily on your diet (eating clean foods and fueling yourself properly), then the weight will peel off much more quickly than if you make 7 workouts in a row. Exercising only 3-4 days a week and eating a very clean diet is just as effective in weight loss as exercising 7 days a week and eating a mildly healthy diet. What would you rather do? Feel good 7 days a week or feel sub-par 7 days a week and feel chained to the gym?

Since working out 6-7 days a week is pretty difficult to maintain, you’re liable to experience fatigue, apathy, and other symptoms that lead you to skip the gym and grab that bag of chips at lunch instead of the apple. When I miss a workout, I don’t binge eat. I simply don’t have dessert. Or, I eat a big salad instead of a big sandwich for lunch. Or, I skip the 3pm snack. Now that I’m pregnant, my goals have changed, of course, but this is how I overcame the exercise guilt.

Stopping the social media spiral

Stopped following fitness stars on social media. This is HUGE. Just like real life models, Instagram fitness models and accounts make their living off of looking fit. They feel an immense pressure to keep fit, toned, and thin. They spend hours at the gym, eat extremely strict diets, and most likely, have disordered eating. Actually, the pressure is so real, that they’re now trying to relieve some of that pressure and show that they’re “real people” by doing fake before and afters where they show what they actually really look like without the posing on Instagram (example here.)

Long story short, why are you following these types of people? Instead of following super thin fashion bloggers with thigh gaps or fitness stars with abs and sleek arms, why not follow more women who live a more balanced life? Perhaps female entrepreneurs who are also healthy, not necessarily ripped and always in sports bras and spandex? Or a woman who may not have abs, but is changing the world? OR, find someone on Instagram who has a healthy approach to diet and exercise, one that’s relatable and attainable. If you need some fitspo (shameless plug coming), follow me on my fitness account, @getinspiralized.

When you scroll through your feed, you won’t feel bad about yourself for not having abs or a protruding clavicle. Instead, you’ll be motivated to work hard and achieve bigger, more important goals. If you think about it, every time you see an unattainable body, you think, “Ugh, I wish I could have that discipline!” and it rarely makes you feel good about yourself.

Commit to a workout schedule that fits your schedule

I’ve found that working out in the morning has kept be sane. On days when I’m just too tired to get out of bed, I don’t. But mostly, I’m able to wake up and make my workout. This helps me from feeling that all day torment of, “Should I go to the gym?” or that end-of-the-day guilt of, “Ugh, I really should get to the gym, but it was such a long day!”

If you workout in the morning, there’s none of that. Your workout is done before most people brush their teeth in the morning, and you feel great all day, thanks to the endorphins.

So, if you’re someone who knows making a post 5pm workout is difficult and you’re likely to feel shameful over it, then commit to a better schedule. Maybe it’s the morning, maybe it’s a 20 minute HIIT workout on your phone at lunchtime. Whatever it is, make it fit your schedule, and be honest with yourself.

Switch up your workout routine

The less you stick to a strict regime (ie running 6 days a week for 45 minutes) and the more you switch it up, the less likely you are to compare yourself to previous fitness days, because no two workouts are the same! Also, your body won’t get as burnt out or tired, and you’re more likely to healthfully commit.

What helped me the most was trying less aggressive forms of exercise. Around my 29th birthday last year, I was about 80% over the exercise guilt. I still had “relapses”, because I was trying to shed a couple more pounds and thought the way to do that was through consistent exercise (even though I was finally realizing that diet was what was going to get me there.)

That day, I had a private yoga lesson with Lu (I had never done yoga before that point!) scheduled in the evening. So what did I do? I worked out early in the morning, because I knew I wasn’t going to get a “good enough workout” that day with just yoga.

There’s no such thing as a bad workout – all workouts are good. They get your heart rate pumping, they strengthen your cardiovascular health, and they help build strong bones and muscles, and exercise releases endorphins, making you happier!

Now, I do yoga once a week and I look forward to how different of a workout it is than my other weekday workouts which are more high intensity, like spinning, running and HIIT.

Also, on days when I don’t “feel” like working out but I have the energy, I go to the gym, because I know it’s good for my body, and I do a lighter workout, but I don’t feel any guilt. I feel accomplished, instead. Even if it’s just 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill.

On the days that I don’t want to work out because I don’t have the energy, guess what? I don’t. And the most liberating thing is that I feel zero guilt. I know I have my healthy diet to fall back on, so I’m not going to gain weight.

Do I have abs? Do I have a little extra pudge on my hips and my arms? 100%. But you know what I DON’T have? Guilt. Fatigue. Mental torment.

I’ll take a little extra pudge for a happier me.

The post Overcoming Exercise Guilt + Finding a Healthy Balance appeared first on Inspiralized.

Last year, after living in our apartment for almost two full years, I felt it was time to make it our own (Lu and I, that is). As a couple, we’ve developed our own personal style together – a vibe we like, colors we like, ambiance we like.

When we first moved in together, it was all his furniture from his old apartment, since I didn’t have any of my own that was worth keeping. His furniture and decor was dark and just too masculine.

Today, I’m sharing with you another area of our home I redecorated: our bedroom, our most private, cozy space! If you want to see the full before and after, you can see that today on inspiralizedali.

I’m also giving away gift cards to Minted, for those of you looking to spruce up your place with some artwork – or heck, need some stationary (they’re the best!)

What I Ate Today, March 28, 2017

Breakfast

I’ve really been into these oatmeal bowls with Wild Friends sunflower butter, sliced bananas, raspberries, and blueberries. I think I’ve had one everyday for a week!

Snack

I had more of my raw nut mix. Raw cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and raisins.

Lunch

The usuuuuuual. I’ve been swamped this week, haven’t had much time to sit down and make myself a proper lunch, so veggie sandwiches it has been! If you haven’t seen this before, it’s just hummus, spinach, onion, cucumber, avocado, carrots, mustard, wedged between Ezekial bread.

Snack

A few clusters of this delicious granola from Purely Elizabeth. It satisfies my afternoon sweet tooth. I also had a pear, but forgot to take a photo!

Before my 5pm Spanish lesson, I had a half serving of my split pea curry with cauliflower. An infusion of protein to get me through the lesson and then to the gym!

Dinner

I set out to make the Bell Pepper Taco Skillet from Inspiralize Everything, but as I started it, I realized I didn’t have half the ingredients, so it turned into a bell pepper fajita skillet with quinoa, chickpeas, and avocado. Totally absolutely delicious. Enjoyed it with a side of tortilla chips!

Dessert

Nothing! We ate dinner pretty late (a bit before 9pm.)

My Bedroom Makeover

As I was saying in the beginning of the post, after deciding that Lu’s old bachelor-pad-style furniture was no longer acceptable for a married couple, I started aggressively redecorating our living room, kitchen, and bedroom. You can see the living room before and after here. And then, more recently, I moved my desk out of my living room and replaced it with this console table.

I just wanted a space to come home to everyday that inspired me, that made me happy, and that I’d enjoy having friends over with.

After the living room was done, I had to tackle my next space: my bedroom. Of all the rooms in the house, the bedroom needs to be the most relaxing, comforting, and inviting. I prefer my bedroom minimalistic, cozy, and not over-crowded.

I actually finished re-decorating the bedroom last year, but I couldn’t find great artwork to put above our bed that wouldn’t clash with our crazy carpet (which I LOVE), so I put the rest of the project on hold.

Recently, I happily partnered up with Minted for their 9 year anniversary to put the finishing touches on my bedroom makeover and perfect the most personal space in my home. They’re currently having incredible sales on their artwork to celebrate their anniversary, so check those out before you make any purchases for your home!

So, the prints I chose for above my bed are the Cactus and the Succulent, both in 30″ x 40″ size:

I am in LOVE with these prints and the whole coloring and vibe above my bed. I couldn’t be happier – and it’s all thanks to Minted. I have done so many projects with Minted, I love everything they do and all their artists. They did my Save the Dates, my holiday cards, my Thank You cards, etc etc. They’re the best!

To see the “before” pictures (warning: they’re hideous! I can’t believe I actually lived with that decor fro almost three years) and see more pictures of my bedroom makeover, head on over to my lifestyle blog, inspiralizedali.

The post My Bedroom Makeover appeared first on Inspiralized.

Some nights, I just don’t feel like cooking. YES, it happens.

I’m always tempted to just Seamless something, but unfortunately, there aren’t many healthy options in Jersey City just yet. This city is still evolving, and it’s no NYC (if I lived in NYC I think it’d be so hard NOT to Postmates from places like Sweet Green 24/7.)

When I don’t feel like cooking or don’t feel like running to the grocery store for ingredients for a specific meal, I whip up one of my weeknight “go-tos.” Today I’m going to share with you the simple ingredients I keep in my kitchen all the time for those go-tos.

What I Ate Today, March 21, 2017

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Breakfast

I actually took the time to make a proper breakfast and it brightened my day! I made my two-ingredient pancakes, and added mashed blueberries into the batter and then drizzled with Wild Friends sunflower butter and sprinkled with chia seeds. AMAZING.

Snack

I had more of my raw nut mix, I’ve been on a real kick for the past two months. Raw cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and raisins.

Lunch

Since I was cooking a lot for the blog, I kept my lunch simple, since I was testing and having little bites of my blog recipes as I went along. I made my go-to veggie sandwich. If you haven’t seen this before, it’s just hummus, spinach, onion, cucumber, avocado, carrots, mustard, wedged between Ezekial bread. It’s the best! Enjoyed it with a La Croix, of course (my favorite flavor is the grapefruit, ehem, pamplemousse.)

Snack

When I got home, I had a large cupful of Garden of Eatin’ tortilla chips. I needed these! Tough day

Dinner

Lu brought home wild king salmon from Eataly, so I made one of my quick and easy go-to weeknight meals – roasted veggies, sweet potatoes and salmon. I made asparagus, because, IT’S SPRING!

Dessert

Nothing! I’m focusing on avoiding late night munching, because the past month I have been TERRIBLE. I’ve been stressed with various things in life (work, personal, etc) and I’m such a stress eater. On Monday, I decided to reign it back in so I’m trying to eat as clean as possible right now!

Ingredients I Always Keep In My Kitchen To Make Quick and Easy Meals

First, here are the ingredients that I always pick up at the grocery store (amongst other foods) for easy, quick weeknight dinners:

Refrigerator

• bell peppers
• spinach or kale
• avocado
• zucchini
• celery
• carrots
• eggs
• brussels sprouts

Freezer

• veggie burgers (I love Hilary’s)
• whole wheat burger buns
• organic lean ground turkey

Pantry/Non-fridge

• tomato
• garlic
• onion
• sweet potato
• quinoa
• black beans
• canned diced tomatoes
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• spices (oregano, red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, cumin)

And here are the meals I make with them:

• Sesame Stir Fry – using spiralized bell peppers, onions, and zucchini, I cook up the veggies with garlic and sesame oil (bonus points if you can add in some ginger), and add in cooked quinoa for a protein. When everything’s done, I add in a tablespoon of soy sauce and toss well and serve. You could also use shrimp, chicken, etc as well.
• Mexican Bell Pepper Skillet – this is one of my go-tos from my cookbook and I make it often. Basically, you saute spiralized bell peppers and onions with canned tomatoes (drained) and garlic and then stir in black beans and fajita seasoning (I make a homemade one), then serve topped with avocado.
• Bikini Bolognese – my go-to turkey meat sauce, made with oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, red onion, carrots, celery. Once the meat and veggies are cooked, I pour over my favorite jarred tomato herb sauce (Victoria Fine Foods), stir well, and serve over zucchini noodles.
• Veggie Burgers with Sweet Potatoes – I heat up a Hilary’s veggie burger, toast a whole wheat burger bun and serve it with spinach, sliced tomato, roasted brussels sprouts (or sub in your favorite veggie here), and roasted sweet potato wedges.
• Buddha Bowl – saute kale (or spinach, whichever green I have on hand) and serve it with roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, over quinoa and top with a fried egg and avocado.

What are some of your easy go-to meals?

The post Ingredients To Always Have On Hand To Make Quick and Easy Dinners appeared first on Inspiralized.

Today I’m sharing the final stage of my non-toxic transition! After some trial and error, I’ve finally landed on a non-toxic everyday makeup routine that’s easy, quick, and most importantly, safe and nourishing for my largest organ: my skin.

I’m also sharing a What I Ate from Monday, when I was traveling to Austin, TX for South by Southwest (I come home today, around 4:30pm EST) so you can see what I eat while I’m “on the road.”

Let’s get to it!

What I Ate Today, March 13, 2017

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Breakfast

I was in the mood for so many different foods – oatmeal, granola, fruit, cereal, etc, so I decided to make an acai bowl, topped with granola, blueberries, chia seeds, and bananas. The perfect filling, satisfying breakfast!

Snack

A hard boiled egg with salt and pepper – easy, quick protein snack to hold me over while I traveled to the airport!

Lunch

I was at the airport at this point, so I opted for a green smoothie (I micromanaged the barista for a kale, banana, blueberry, and almond milk smoothie), which I added my Vital Proteins collagen packet to and mixed in.

I also grabbed a veggie hummus sandwich on whole wheat, because I knew I’d need some more fuel for a four hour flight. I took off one piece of bread, so only had a single piece, since I couldn’t read the ingredient list on the bread and it was a pretty giant piece of bread.

Snack

Of course, I packed my raw nut, raisin and fig mix for the trip. I snacked on this a bit on the plane, but I really slept most of the flight!

Dinner

I landed at about 4:30pm CST in Austin, TX and by the time I got to my hotel, it was around 6:30pm CST and luckily, there was a Whole Foods nearby, so I had the cab driver stop here (cab drivers are SO much nicer anywhere outside of NYC, by the way), ran in, grabbed some water bottles for my trip, and made a GIANT Whole Foods salad bar dinner – quinoa, kale salad, a hard boiled egg, roasted sweet potatoes and carrots, green beans, and black beans. Amazing, as always.

Dessert

When the housekeeper came by for turn down service, she delivered these amazing chocolate chip mint shortbread mini cookies, and of course, needing a little something sweet after dinner, I enjoyed them as a little treat while I watched The Bachelor season finale.

My Non-Toxic Makeup Routine

If you’ve missed my transition to a non-toxic household, you can catch up below:

• Non-toxic skincare & beauty
• Non-toxic household cleaners

Now, I’m completing this “non-toxic transition” series with something very crucial: MAKEUP!

There are still a few products that I’m looking to make a bit more skin safe, so let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!

And as an update, I found the BEST non-toxic deodorant (Schmidt’s), thanks to all your amazing feedback on my original non-toxic post, so thank you!

Non-Toxic Makeup Routine

Face cream

Was using: Smashbox BB Cream
Now using: Beauty Counter’s Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer in No.3 (this offers super light coverage, but makes such a gorgeous dewey glow before you put on your makeup and kind of evens out your skin tone a bit, without feeling like you’re wearing heavy makeup. I also find it helps keep my makeup stay on longer.)

Under-eye CC cream

Was using: Colored Clay Under Eye CC Cream by Tarte
Now using: Still using this same Tarte CC cream, I love it, it’s so hard to beat, and Tarte products are less toxic than most beauty products (they have a good rating on the Think Dirty app), but I’d still love to find a safer choice. Any options out there?

Concealer

Was using: Smashbox Under Eye BB Cream
Now using: Beautycounter’s Touchup Skin Concealer Pen (I use this under my eyes after I apply the CC cream above and then I use it to cover-up any blemishes. I love it!)

Blush

Was using: NARS blush
Now using: Arbonne Blush in Dusty Rose (I’m obsessed with this color, coverage hours, everything!)

Eye liner

Was using: Makeup Forever eyeliner
Now using: Honest Beauty’s True Velvet Eyeliner in Truly Cocoa (this comes with a smudger which is perfect for creating that sexier, smoky look.)

Eyeshadow

Was using: Urban Decay’s NAKED palettes, Tarte eyeshadow palettes
Now using: Lily Lolo’s Laid Bare Eye Palette

Eyebrow pencil/gel

Was using: Anastasia brow pencil and gel
Now using: Glossier’s Boy Brow Gel in Black (those of you who follow me on Instagram know I’m OBSESSED with my Boy Brow – it’s the best!)

Mascara

Was using: Benefit Bad Gal Lash
Now using: Honest Beauty’s Truly Lush Mascara

Highlighter for cheek bones

Was using: Rebecca Cosmetics’ Highlighter Powder
Now using: MILK makeup highlighter

Lipstick

Was using: MAC lipstick
Now using: I haven’t been wearing lipstick lately, I’ve been enjoying non-toxic lip balms, like these by Dr. Bronner’s.

What non-toxic beauty brands do you recommend?

The post My Non-Toxic Everyday Makeup Routine appeared first on Inspiralized.

Today I’m answering another question I get asked constantly: “How do you balance being healthy with a social life and going out?”

At age 29, I really found a happy balance, and I’m excited to share that with you, along with another installment of “What I Ate” and my second vlog!

Shall we?

#InternationalWomensDay

Before we get to that, I wanted to make sure you all know that it’s #InternationalWomensDay! Let’s lift other women up, celebrate women’s successes and missions by acknowledging their impacts. Perhaps you want to post an inspiring message on Instagram or perhaps you want to text another woman you admire for their strength. Whatever it is, do something today to lift your fellow woman up! Men, get in on this too!

I’ll be going on Facebook Live today to honor this empowering day! Tune in at 12:30pm EST with me!

What I Ate Today, March 6, 2017

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Breakfast

I started the day off with a Daily Harvest smoothie. One of my top 3 favorite flavors is the Carrot + Chia aka “Glow” smoothie. It SERIOUSLY tastes like a carrot cake smoothie (and carrot cake is my fav!) It’s not too sweet, but just sweet enough. I really recommend it!

And if you didn’t know already, you can use code INSPIRALIZED to get three free smoothies at Daily Harvest. You won’t regret it! They’re great for busy mornings (like today) when you don’t have time to make a proper breakfast but need to fit in nutrients to start your day off right.

Snack

This seems to be a weekly thing now, having mixed raw nuts and raisins or figs as my snack. I take about 1/3 cup of the nut mixture and enjoy it at my desk while I’m working!

Lunch

Leftovers! If you missed my Weekly Dinner Plan yesterday, I plan out all my meals for the week now (which is SO helpful and allows me to balance out of my meals for the week) and yesterday was Split Pea Cauliflower Curry, one of Lu’s favorites. I brought leftovers with me to the office to have for lunch! You can grab the recipe here (with better photos, since the photos below are pretty gross – I just forgot to take a photo, so they’re screengrabs from Instagram/Snapchat.)

Snack

I had two figs and about a tablespoon of almond butter, one of my favorite snacks!

Dinner

I totally forgot to take a photo of our dinner. We scarfed it down so quickly while watching The Bachelor. If you watched my Instagram stories, you saw that I tried a new veggie burger – Hilary’s. I’m in love! I prefer Hilary’s over Dr. Praeger’s – the veggie burger just holds up better, it’s firmer, and I like the texture and flavor better!

So, we had veggie burgers on organic whole wheat buns, topped with mashed avocado, baby kale, and some ketchup. I served them with a side of roasted sweet potatoes and soy-glazed brussels sprouts.

Dessert

I have been craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so I had exactly that! I toasted a piece of bread and had it with almond butter and jelly! Forgot to take a picture, of course.

Balancing a Social Life with a Healthy Lifestyle

For this week’s #livinginspiralized topic, I’m talking about how I balance being a girl in her late 20s who likes to go out, have some drinks, eat out, and hang with friends while still feeling my best and not letting this constant balance rule my life. This topic is thanks to the following question by a reader, Lauren, submitted via the blog:

I love happy hour and weekends are always a bust, and even though I’m eating clean along with my wines and vodka/soda its killing me. As a young social girl, how did you manage? I probably have 3-4 drinks 2-3 nights a week, and its totally hindering my progress. Any tips? Thanks!

First off, let me say this: it’s definitely a balance and a struggle. It will always be! Unless you’re someone who is literally 100% committed to being in the best shape of your life 24/7/365, there are going to be times when you’re bloated and discouraged and then also times when you feel like you could lift a MAC truck, you’re so fit.

And my biggest word of advice is this: embrace the journey, the balancing act, and the good and bad days. If you don’t embrace and accept that this is part of your overall healthy lifestyle, you’ll drive yourself absolutely crazy and your efforts will end up back-firing.

But first, a quick background on my journey, in case you haven’t read my original weight loss journey posts (here, here and here). Before I finally committed to switching over to a healthy lifestyle (aka not putting a timeline on my dietary goals and instead pursuing it day by day in a more forever mindset), I was totally guilty of imbalance. I would eat 800-1,000 calories a day from Monday through Thursday and then once Thursday or Friday hit, I was a different person, er, I ate like I was a different person.

I would binge eat everything and it was usually related to an over-consumption of alcohol. I would go out with friends on a Friday night, drink 4+ drinks and then come home and literally eat for an hour straight. I’d order cookies from the local diner that were the size of my face, I’d polish off a bag of bread with globs of nut butter spread on top of them, and I’d eat chunks of cheese. I would wake up the next morning with both a food and alcohol hangover. It was the worst. It was a vicious cycle that killed my body, and I would wake up on Monday with a “fresh start”. However, this “fresh start” was more of the mentality of “I’m going to eat really little this week because then I can have whatever I want on the weekend.”

Of course, this mentality was VERY wrong and it ended up with me never losing the weight I wanted to lose, never having the proper energy for meaningful workouts, feeling tired and a range of emotions all the time, and just feeling guilty three days a week.

Worst of all, I would constantly cancel on friends if I thought the plans would “thwart” my “healthy days” during the week. For example, if a friend invited me to dinner or a concert on a Wednesday night, I’d say yes and then get anxiety the night or morning before and end up cancelling because I didn’t want to risk consuming extra food and alcohol. If this sounds like you, keep reading.

When I finally decided to live a healthy lifestyle, it wasn’t like a created a master plan. I found out about the date of my first cookbook photoshoot and I thought to myself, “that’s a great goal to work toward, but it’s only one milestone along the way of me becoming the best version of myself for the rest of my life.” It helped “jumpstart” my healthy lifestyle because I set a goal to fully commit to the lifestyle in the time leading up to the photoshoot.

The first time plans came up with friends, I told myself, “This isn’t a setback, it’s a way to destress and enjoy myself with my friends who make me most happy.” I also told myself, “This isn’t an excuse to overeat or eat foods I wouldn’t normally. It’s a time to spend with friends.” That mentality shift really helped. I ordered as healthfully as I could at the restaurant, I didn’t touch the bread basket, and I said, “No thanks” when the waiter asked if I wanted dessert.

I remember the first time I came back from a night out with my friends, about 3 glasses of wine later, I was a little tipsy and came home. I remember distinctly thinking, “Oh, I want a peanut butter and jelly!” I mentally stopped myself and went for water instead. I drank a full glass of water and lo and behold, the craving went away. I woke up the next morning feeling so empowered. It sounds so silly, but getting over the issue of eating after drinking was a big thing for me.

I just took every night/day out like that. After awhile, it became a habit and it wasn’t such a coherent mental struggle, I just knew that I was living a lifestyle. It took a few months, but eventually and still to this day I got it.

So how do I do it? How do I go out with Lu and my friends, have drinks, eat out at restaurants, and still maintain a healthy weight (and back then, I was losing weight!) There were definitely a few rules I stuck to:

• When dining out at restaurants
  • I always chose the healthiest thing on the menu. I tried to avoid creamy sauces, cheesey entrees, and heavy meat dishes. For example, if I’m at an Italian restaurant, I’m not ordering the penne alla vodka, I’m ordering the branzino with escarole. Fish and veggies is always a great choice at Italian places.
  • I load up on sides or starter salads. When ordering, I’ll order a smaller entree but load up first on a big green salad or some healthy veggie sides, like roasted brussels sprouts.
  • Drinking lots of water. I drink as many alcoholic drinks as I’d like, but I make sure to balance out with water. Dehydration is the worst thing for your body and can often lead to unhealthy choices later in the night (and into the next day!)
  • Always say no to dessert. When I was losing weight, I always said no to dessert, unless it was some world-renowned dessert that I MUST try. Now, I have a bite or two of a dessert and that’s it. That’s how I maintain. But in the beginning, sugar is really your enemy, so avoid it. Trust me, waking up and not feeling poofy and frustrated is a better feeling than a slice of cake.
  • A lot of times I’d check out the menu beforehand and if there didn’t seem to be any healthy choices, I’d suggest a different spot. I wouldn’t go crazy with this, only if it was one of those situations where no one has really committed to a location. I’m always the first to offer the suggestion, because I know there will be a healthy choice for me there.
  • Choosing wine or a light cocktail as my alcoholic beverage. I don’t order juicy drinks, I don’t ever order alcoholic drinks with soda or tonic in them. I usually go for wine or a vodka soda with a splash of grapefruit and lime.
• Alcohol isn’t the culprit. Everything you do after drinking alcohol is the culprit. Say you drink 400-500 extra calories that night. As long as you worked out that day and were active, you probably burned off that extra 500 anyway, so there’s no need to worry. It’s all part of the balance and you living your life. When it goes wrong is when you eat things because you’re tipsy because your willpower and judgment is off. Like I said, it’s a mental shift. Just tell yourself you don’t need it, because you don’t. Focus on having fun with your friends instead of eating.
• Consistency with exercise. If you’re consistent with your exercise, then on the days when you aren’t consistent with your diet (ie a night out and you just HAD to have an extra slice of pizza), the exercise is still there to balance it out. It will even out in the end, as long as you’re exercising. Furthermore….
• … I’ve talked about this a lot, but the 80/20 rule is EVERYTHING. You can read more about it in all of my healthy living posts, but basically, eat clean and healthy 80% of the time and give yourself the other 20% to relax. #balance

The lesson here is be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up over a bad day, a bad snack, a bad week. Just don’t let that bad week turn into weeks and then, months. And heck, if it does (we all go through rough patches in life), then just know that this is all a lifestyle and just because you fell off the horse doesn’t mean you can’t get right back on it. NEVER, EVER dwell on yesterday. Focus on today and tomorrow. Recover, push on, keep working towards your healthy lifestyle. Have fun and be kind to your body – let it indulge, it’ll love you back for it.

That’s all what I call the ‘healthy hustle.’

What are your tips for balancing your social life with living your healthiest self?

The post How to Balance a Social Life with A Healthy Lifestyle appeared first on Inspiralized.

For today’s #livinginspiralized feature, I wanted to talk about the foods you won’t find in my home, since I spend a lot of time talking about the foods that I DO eat.

I’ve built a list of foods that I never, ever keep in my kitchen. While, sure, I will go out and have some chocolate cake for dessert, I would never keep those ingredients in my home (ie sugar and butter), because I don’t cook with them ever and also, who wants that temptation in their home?

ALSO, I’m sharing my first ever daily vlog. I am doing an “experiment” and filming everything I do this week, out of curiosity to see what the footage shows! You’ll see.

What I Ate Today, February 28, 2017

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Breakfast

I made avocado toast on Ezekial bread with some freshly squeezed lemon, salt, and pepper. The avocado was just about to go bad, so it’s a little brown. I served it with two hard-boiled eggs and dijon mustard.

Snack

If you missed my Instagram post, I’ve been making raw nut mixes on the weekends to last me all week. This time, I bought organic raisins to add a little something extra. I also bought these gorgeous figs over the weekend! I snacked on this bag all day, it was about a full cup of nuts!

Lunch

Yesterday we filmed new cooking videos, so I have so many leftovers and am trying to be conscious of making sure nothing goes to waste! I had the same collard green wrap today as I did yesterday, but forgot to take a picture of it, so here’s a picture of it (from yesterday, but it’s the same exact thing!) I stuff a collard green with hummus, avocado, onion, carrots, cucumber, zucchini noodles, and mustard. It’s the best!

Snack

I came from a meeting in the city around 4:40pm and I have my standing weekly Spanish lesson at 5pm, so I wanted something to give me a boost to last through the end of the day, while I did my Spanish homework. I was craving a smoothie this morning, but was too lazy to grab the ingredients for it, so I picked them on my way home from the city. The smoothie has ice, almond milk, kale, almond butter, frozen bananas, blueberries, and a serving of collagen (this is the brand I use/love.)

Dinner

Lu requested my Bikini Bolognese with Zucchini Noodles from my first cookbook for dinner tonight. Halfway through me cooking dinner, he called and said he had to stay out for dinner with clients. Womp, womp. More for me! This dish is so easy to throw together on a weeknight!

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Dessert

A lovely lady named Nikki founded P.S. Snacks, based out of Washington, D.C. She reached out to me as a fellow Wake Forest graduate/girl-boss and sent me some of her vegan, gluten-free, chickpea-based cookie dough and ever since, I’ve been addicted! It’s the perfect post-dinner indulgence, and it’s made with real ingredients – and tastes amazing. She just launched on Jet.com, so you can order it there – but just a warning, it sells out quickly!! I had about 1/4 cup of this deliciousness for dessert and finished my last tub.

Foods You Won’t Find in My Home

There are certain food items that you will never find in my home. My kitchen is always stocked with the healthiest of foods, so that the healthy choice is the ONLY choice. That’s key to living a healthy lifestyle – making the choices easy, convenient, and eliminating ALL temptation.

Now, I still treat myself when I go out, but when I’m snacking and cooking at home, it’s all clean.

1. White rice
2. White flour
3. White bread
4. Dairy milks & cream: we use almond and cashew milk
5. Nutella
6. Sugar other than coconut sugar
7. Butter
8. Margarine
9. Processed pre-made pastries & cookies
10. Anything labeled “sugar free” or “fat free”
11. Candy
12. Processed snacks: all of our snacks are clean-eating friendly (for example, you won’t find Lay’s or Doritos in our pantry, but you may find Garden of Eatin’s Red Hot Blues)
13. Vegetable oil
14. Sugary cereals: no Lucky Charms in this house. This is my go-to cereal.
15. Regular yogurt: from time to time I buy Greek yogurt for making dressings and for breakfast (although I haven’t had it for about 8 months). I never buy regular yogurt.
16. Juice: unless we’re making cocktails, I’ll buy juice, but we don’t drink juice.
17. Artificial sweetners: Sweet ‘n Low, Stevia – no way.
18. Pastas other than couscous
19. Dairy ice cream
20. Soda: I haven’t had a sip of soda since July 2012, not even in an alcoholic drink.
21. Breadcrumbs
22. Cornstarch
23. Sour cream
24. Mayonnaise
25. Pre-made salad dressings

The Daily Vlog

Here’s my first ever daily “vlog.” I documented every thing I did on Monday, February 27th. I’m recording this entire week with the original intent of putting together a “weekly vlog”, but I fear it may too be long (it’s 25 minutes too long?) Let me know what you think – and if you’d rather prefer a daily vlog. They’re definitely fun to make, and I could definitely do one a week! Kind of like a weekly video check-in. Let me know in the comments!

What are some foods you don’t keep in your home?

The post 25 Foods You Won’t Find in My Kitchen + Daily vlog appeared first on Inspiralized.

I’m trying something different today. Instead of one of my What I Ate Today videos, I’m sharing what I ate today, picture-by-picture.

Also, I get a lot of questions about my personal diet and today, I’m addressing one of them, which is, “What do you think about dairy, grains and sugar?”

These types of posts are part of my new “Healthy Living” series, which you can access by clicking to the right of the blog. See the green bar that says HEALTHY LIVING? Yes, click that! Or bookmark this page.

First, here’s what I ate, well, yesterday…

What I Ate Today, January 9, 2017

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Breakfast

• 1 Coffee with cashew milk (cashew milk by Silk)
• 1 Green Smoothie: 1/4 cup cashew milk, 1 cup chopped kale, 1 large banana, 1 spoonful of collagen powder, 1 tablespoon almond butter (Justin’s), 1/4 cup blueberries, and a small scoop of ice.

Lunch

I was recipe testing for the blog all day, so I was taking bites here and there. Finally, I enjoyed these leftovers for lunch (Ginger-Coconut Chicken “Noodle” Bowl from the Whole30 Cookbook, but left out the chicken (the recipe originally calls for chicken) and added extra sweet potatoes. I like to keep my lunches mostly vegan/vegetarian.

Snack

Peppermint tea with steamed almond milk, a pear, and a handful of mixed raw nuts (cashew, pecans, sliced almonds, walnuts). For everyone who asked, I use this frother or I just place almond milk in a small saucepot and bring it to a boil!

Dinner

Leftovers from the blog, these Southwestern Quinoa and Sweet Potato Noodle Stuffed Bell Peppers with Avocado (recipe coming to the blog soon!) I ate the stuffing with avocado, instead of having the stuffed pepper (I like to keep it dairy-free on the weekdays especially!) I had two servings!

After dinner

Watched the President’s final speech and had a couple cups of my favorite vegan cheddar popcorn from Skinnypop!

My thoughts on dairy, grains and sugar

Before I express my thoughts on dairy, grains and sugar, let me express this: this is just an opinion.

It’s my opinion, that’s derived from my own experiences. I’d never judge you for the way you eat, so don’t judge me. We’re a bit too accusatory on the Internet and tend to want to “enlighten” someone else when we think what they’re doing/eating isn’t the right way to do/eat. Be kind- there’s no right/wrong way. I’m just telling you my experiences and answering a question that I receive a lot about my diet.

Dairy

I look to dairy as a treat. I’d say I abstain from it 90% of the time. During the weeks, I rarely ever have it and if I do, it’s a sprinkling of feta on a salad or a dusting of grated parmesan on a spiralized pasta. But, it’s rare – perhaps once or twice a month during the week. On the weekends, I’m a bit more lenient, but I’d say every other weekend I’ll indulge in dairy and if I do, it’s something insanely worth it, like pizza or manchego and crackers with wine.

If I’m ordering a veggie burger at a restaurant or a salad that has cheese, I always ask for no cheese. I usually ask, “is there dairy in that?” Sometimes I’ll just fib and say I’m allergic to dairy, which isn’t really a fib, because I feel allergic, since the after-effects of having dairy aren’t good!

Why don’t I like dairy? It bloats me, it gives me gas (TMI?), it makes my skin break out, it makes me tired, and scientifically, it creates an inflammatory environment in my body that I don’t react well too.

Grains

I love them, I eat them often, almost every day. My favorites are quinoa, whole wheat, brown rice, couscous, oatmeal, and farro. I eat a sandwich (on spelt or whole wheat bread) almost every single day!

Sugar

This is a tough one. When I was vegan (2008 to 2010 about), I abstained from sugar. When I did this, I had the highest energy levels I’ve ever had, I didn’t drink coffee, my skin was its clearest, and my stomach was the flattest it ever was! Ever since then, I’ve looked at sugar in an entirely different way: as a poison to your body.

The key is training your taste buds NOT to crave sweet.

However, I no longer 100% abstain from sugar, and thus, I have a sweet tooth, and I’m conscious of it, so I always read labels. I never buy a product for our home if it has sugar as one of the ingredients. So, you won’t find added sugars in our apartment, except, recently, I’ve started experimenting with coconut sugar. Having said that, I do keep honey and maple syrup in the apartment, for making dressings, marinades, pancakes, and adding to tea. It’s my little “compromise” and “everything in moderation.”

But you all know by now that I follow a strict 80/20 rule, so although you won’t find sugar in our home, if it’s the 20% time of my rule, I will indulge. Brownies, cookies, yes – all of it!

So tell me – what do you think of this new What I Ate format and what did you think of this healthy living post? Let me know if you have any follow-up questions below in the comments!

The post What I Ate Today & My Thoughts On Dairy, Grains, and Sugar appeared first on Inspiralized.