Berry Explosion Pancakes (Gluten & Dairy Free)

August 26, 2015 Stephanie

Happy Wednesday! You may have seen this delicious breakfast I posted on Monday. I don’t know about you, but with the weather getting cooler (too soon, too soon) my typical breakfast smoothie doesn’t always sound quite as appealing in the mornings. I’m definitely starting to crave some warmer and ‘comfort-ish’ type breakfasts and meals. That’s something that is so fun about having an intuitive relationship with food – as the seasons change, so do my cravings and meals. Once you are attuned to your body’s cravings and cues it becomes much more exciting to get into the kitchen with fresh seasonal produce and come up with satisfying meals. That is exactly how I originally came to make this pancake recipe!

How To Meal Prep Like a Boss

August 24, 2015 Stephanie

Meal prepping is a GREAT way to help you save money and stay on track with those health goals! But let’s be honest, meal prepping can be a pretty awful experience. However, it doesn’t have to be that way! When I first started meal prepping, it was horrible. I felt like I was tied in the kitchen for hours on end, which made Sunday afternoons anything but enjoyable. Luckily for you, my inefficiency taught me a lot about what NOT to do. I learned that it’s not so much about planning out and making a full week of meals on one day. It’s about setting yourself up for delicious healthy meals throughout the week so it doesn’t take up too much time or energy. Today, I’m going to share some of the tricks of the trade I eventually learned to help make it much more of an enjoyable experience for you.

What Would a Health Coach Do? – Sleep vs. Workout

August 19, 2015 Stephanie

I bet I got your attention with that title, now didn’t I? 🙂 Sleep can be a very controversial topic; which I find ironic since it is a basic human need – but needless to say, there are varying opinions on the matter. Some say they don’t need anymore than 3 hours to work effectively (I’d have to agree to disagree with this crew), some say they can’t operate without 8 and some (seemingly mostly teenagers) believe sleep is best enjoyed as a small coma, which needs to last 14 hours or so. While the benefits of sleep will be better fitted to a different post, I do want to tackle a question that comes up quite often:

What’s better – to get the extra sleep or to get the workout in?

Gluten Free Protein Granola Bars

August 17, 2015 Stephanie

Hi Guys! If you’re anything like me, sometimes Monday’s can be a little bit of a rude awakening! You know what makes them better though? Having something awesome to look forward to at the end of the work day. So lucky for you, I’m providing you with something to look forward to today – a delicious treat you can bake yourself tonight and continue enjoying for the rest of the week. And guess what?? It’s good for you too! 😉

What Would a Health Coach Do? – Sweets

August 12, 2015 Stephanie

It’s Wednesday, so I thought it’d be fun to start a little series called “What Would a Health Coach Do?”. Wednesday starts with ‘W’ and what starts with ‘W’…so I went with it. 😉 I’d love to answer a reader question every Wednesday…so please comment below with a question you’d like to see answered! So to kick it off, I’m going to tackle a doozey of a topic…

Five Secrets to Reaching Your Goals

August 10, 2015 Stephanie

Do you believe some people are just born with the ability to set a goal and accomplish it without breaking a sweat, or do you believe it’s within anyone’s reach with the right mindset, tools and motivation? Do you think you could finally get to that “goal weight”, or become that ‘workout warrior’ or never stray from eating well again if only you too were born with that special ability to set and stick to a goal? Well, I’m here today to tell you that the ability to set and reach those goals is not something that you are either born with or will never be able to attain…it is something that can be learned and better yet, can be broken down into 5 simple “intangible” characteristics. Curious? 🙂

The Importance of Community

August 5, 2015 Stephanie

Community – a word we don’t hear much more in every day life, but a word that I think holds the power to drastically change your life or at least your outlook on life. I find that as I continue to grow, heal and move away from my negative relationship with food, and continue to strive towards happiness and joy, I continue to (nicely) get slapped across the face with the importance and significance of intentional and meaningful community. Unfortunately, we live in a world where face to face communication and deep, grounded relationships are being tossed to the curb for the quick and easy communication techniques such as texting, tweeting, Facebooking and Instagramming which are all summarized by the amount of “followers” and “thumbs up” you have as opposed to actual friends you see from week to week. Now don’t get me wrong, those all have their places and their advantages –

When it Comes to Food – Is It Really a Lack of Willpower?

August 3, 2015 Stephanie

Have you ever found yourself continuously overeating at meals, mindlessly (or consciously) eating when you aren’t hungry, feeling “out of control” when food is around, feel like the thought of dancing donuts and bacon never leaves your mind, asking yourself what is wrong with you because you can’t turn down the mid-afternoon break room cookies, can’t figure out why you always find yourself rummaging through your fridge before bed and then ultimately feeling like crap about yourself because of the aforementioned happenings. If so, perfect! Perfect because I know exactly how you feel because I was there, and perfect because I can also tell you with 110% confidence that there is nothing wrong with you! Nothing at all. You are not a failure, you are not lacking “will power”, you are not a lost cause, you aren’t weak minded, you are simply using food as a means to fill some sort of void in your life or to manage some sort of uncomfortable feeling or stream of thought.

Morning Routines – Do You Have One?

July 29, 2015 Stephanie

Ahhh, mornings…dreaded by most, loved by a few. I definitely used to be in the dreaded category, but the more I experimented with the latter, the more I realized how much of a disservice I was doing myself. Hear me out, I’m not saying you are right or wrong for loving or hating mornings. I am simply proposing that you consider re-considering your viewpoint and perhaps even experimenting with switching up the post-snooze routine a bit and see what comes of it. I’m going to share two simple things that I implemented into my morning routine that I find to be fulfilling, inspirational and lead to a better mood = better day.

Are You Afraid of Failure?

July 27, 2015 Stephanie

Wow. I can’t believe I am writing my FIRST blog post for my new website – so first things first, WELCOME! I am beyond excited to start this blog and to start a relationship with each and every one of you. This website is something I’ve been dreaming of for a very, very long time and I have so much excitement for sharing my passions with you (and hopefully inspiring you) that I barely know where to begin. 🙂 Truth be told, it is also something that I was absolutley terrified of doing….and that brings me to the topic I wanted to share with all of you today – FEAR of failure! (insert dramatic music here).