A Trip to the Strawberry Patch

Last week we had a little fun picking strawberries and even more fun filling our bellies. Our trip was not without toddler tantrums and strawberry stained clothes, but we still left happy with lots of strawberries.

Winsley ate half her weight in strawberries right there in the field. That's the real  reason to pick your own strawberries, right?

We ended up with a few bruised strawberries and I will definitely go earlier in the season next time to get the best of the batch (This is the last week for strawberry picking in our area).

It is truly a joy to share this experience with my little ladies and I am so happy that we live so close to so many farms. We even discovered that this very farm (Page Farms) will be growing blackberries soon.

My tummy is already growling with anticipation.

What grows in abundance where you live? I am so eager to check out other farms in our area after discovering that blueberry season starts next month!

I'm on the Juice

Currently, I'm stuffing my face with all things carb and filled with sugar. Okay, not really, but my dreams are filled with doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. Isn't it funny how you start craving certain foods when you're about to go on a diet. Oh yeah, I should mention that I'm about to go on a diet. And I won't be eating anything for the next week. Not one thing. No, I'm not going to starve. I'm going on the juice. For the next 5 days I will be drinking raw fruits and veggies only. That's it. It's not really a diet or a cleanse, just a little push to reboot my system and get me back on the clean eating path.

Ever since the holidays, I have been making up excuses to indulge in my favorite sweets and breads putting off a sugarless diet until tomorrow. When tomorrow came, I would announce that I would once again cut the sugar out of my diet "tomorrow". I fell of the wagon and then the wagon sped up and I couldn't catch up to hop back on, so I'm hoping this juice reboot is just the thing to get me caught up and clean eating again. I'm following the 5-Day Juice Reboot by Joe Cross. If you haven't heard of him or juicing, go watch Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead! Incredibly inspiring, at least to me. After watching this the first time, I dramatically cleaned up my diet and cut out sugar. Last night was the second time I saw the documentary and now I am motivated to cut out the sugar once again. Wish me luck! I'm going to need it… beginning the juice reboot also means I will be ditching coffee for the next 5 days. I might be binging on pots of coffee tonight just to get in my last fix before quitting cold turkey. Just maybe. Linking up with Venus Trapped in Mars today.

Give me a little Sugar

On second thought, don't. 
I've had a headache all day and couldn't pinpoint why I was feeling so bad. It actually felt like I had a slight hangover. The problem was that I hadn't had any alcohol in a week (maybe more). 
What is wrong with me? I must just need more coffee. Maybe it's caffeine withdraw?… but I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee today.

Then it hit me like a pound of - sugar. That was it. The sugar. This weekend has been filled with sinfully sweet doughnuts + soda + lots of bread and rice. It's all no good. And I realize now that all of that junk has left me with maybe a few extra pounds and this dern headache. 
A sugar hangover. All of the symptoms of an alcohol hangover, except I didn't stay up until 2 am dancing those calories away.
So while Sarah is nursing herself back to health after a fun night of drinking with friends, I'll be over here detoxing after a weekend filled with sugary treats.
Why are foods that taste so good always so bad?!

I've Got An Excuse

This past week was rough. A sick baby means I didn't get any sleep + ate poorly + had an excuse not to exercise. Sleep deprivation can make you throw all those healthy living choices out the window. So, today's 'Get Fit' post is dedicated to all of the excuses that I've had over the years.

• I'm just too tired to workout today.
• I'm too busy. I can't fit exercise into my schedule.
• There's nobody to watch the kids while I'm working out.
• I don't have time to meal plan today.
• Eating super healthy is just too expensive.
• There are no healthy choices on the menu and I won't be home until after dinner.
• We're on the road and the only places to eat serve unhealthy food.
• I don't want to waste food… I'll just finish off this ice cream and start new tomorrow.
• I worked out this morning, so I deserve this cupcake.
• It's too hard.
• I've already cheated today anyway.
• I have eaten healthy all day, so there's no need to workout.
• I drank too much last night, so I need some greasy food to get over my hangover.
• I'm stressed.
• It's that time of the month.
• It's just easier to pick up takeout tonight.
• Not sure when I'll be able to shower, so better skip this workout.
• I'm still hurting from yesterday's workout.
• I don't have a gym membership and it's too cold to run outside.
• YOLO

If you hear me use any of these excuses, please call me out! No more excuses.

Operation Get Fit 2014

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone decides that all of the gluttony during the holidays was not such a great idea. Everyone's dieting. Everyone's joining a gym or starting a new workout video.

Fine. I'll jump on that wagon.
If I absolutely must, I might as well drag y'all along for the ride. Yes, I'm protesting my journey back to the healthy side of eating. You see, I love how I feel when I'm eating healthy and getting active. BUT I also love everything about the comfort of really unhealthy sweets in the moment. Instant gratification is my downfall.
The transitioning is the difficult part for me, but I'm going all in. I'm even joining Sarah every other week here in blogland to help keep myself on track (love her blog, btw. You should go read it now!). Here's to strawberry-kale smoothies and avoiding temptations!
Anybody have suggestions or plans to follow? I'd love to hear how you are planning to transition into healthier habits this year.

Snail Mail Collective | July 2013

For the past month I've been getting to know a new blogger from across the country - all as part of an amazing little thing called The Snail Mail Collective put together by two of my favorite bloggers, Melyssa + Chelsea. Basically, you are paired up with a blogger and get to know them over the month before sending off a little snail mail package. Oh, and there is a $5 limit of the gifts you choose to send to keep things in everyone's budget. Plus, I think the $ limit really pushes you to get creative with your purchases. There is also a theme each month to help you decide what to send. July's theme was 'Where you're from'. 

I was paired up with Rachel who blogs over at Tossing the Script. I don't know whether she would agree or not, but I've decided that we are just alike and totally different. Let me explain. We are the same age + have similar interest and somewhat similar personalities, but we are on totally different paths in life. Through this tough season of mommyhood, reading her blog has made me think of what life would be like if I had chosen a different path. Not in a bad I-hate-my-life way, just a little curiosity of what my thirties would look like if I weren't married with kids. I'd like to think that my life would look a lot like Rachel's - exploring my city and enjoying the little things with good friends. I guess I'm doing that now, but it's completely different when you have a husband and little ones to think about too. 
You should read all of Rachel's posts, but read this one if you only have time for one post. And can you believe that she has only been blogging for 3 months?! Go show her some love. I know I'll be back each week to catch up on her blogging shenanigans. 

Yummy Moonstruck Chocolate! I just maybe devoured my chocolate bar before snapping a picture, so this is from their website. . . along with some other deliciousness that I may have to order. 

Back to The Snail Mail Collective. Her package came at the perfect time, in the middle of a rough week in mommyhood. I already knew (through our emails) that chocolate was on it's way! The chocolate arrived melted - which didn't bother me in the least. I would have licked that paper clean in my moment of mommyhood weakness, but I had a nosey toddler eyeing my treat. I quickly tucked the chocolate bar away in the freezer and started counting down the minutes until it was time to get the kiddos ready for bed. 

Unfortunately, this meant that I reluctantly had to share my treat with the husband after Ellington was asleep. It was probably for the best. That incredibly delicious chocolate bar was well worth the calories!   Added bonus - Ellington loves the postcard that Rachel sent along with the chocolate. She walks around the house 'reading' it in her toddler talk - entertaining and adorable. 
Read all about Rachel's take on The Snail Mail Collective here. 
If you are a blogger (or just a blog reader - no need to have a blog), I highly encourage you to go sign up for The Snail Mail Collective in August! It's a great way to challenge your creativity + meet new blogging friends + receive some fun snail mail. Just do it! You're welcome. 

Clean Eating | Pizza + Smoothies

Y'all, I have to make a little confession. After last week's clean eating post, I took the weekend to get back on track and was doing pretty well. I say was because I threw everything out the window on Monday night. 

I was all set to cook a healthy meal and then the hubby ask if I wanted to order pizza. Well, you don't have to ask me twice. Pizza was up there as one of my top five foods (along with ice cream, of course). You'll notice I said was again. You see, after a prideful moment of only eating 2 slices for dinner as opposed to my normal half a pizza, Tuesday morning happened. 

All of the junk that I had been eating for the last month + that darn pizza made me feel awful. I woke up on Tuesday with a puffy face, more tired than usual, and pants that felt tight - haven't had that feeling for a few months. Plus, I noticed that my 4 month old's skin was breaking out a little (whatever I'm eating, she will eventually consume through milk). 

I know that all of this wasn't just the pizza, but my body was telling me that all of the salt in that pizza and that greasy cheese was not welcome anymore. I spent most of yesterday drinking large quantities of water and oddly craving green smoothies. I ended up making a green smoothie for breakfast and another one for dinner. 

I've always been a pizza kind of girl, but things have drastically changed over the past few months. . .  and I'm not hating it. 

I promised a smoothie recipe, so here it is. This is the base for most (if not all) of my green breakfast anytime smoothies. 

1-2 big handfuls of spinach (frozen or fresh)

1 frozen banana

1 cup of almond milk (or water)

Directions: Blend until smooth and drink up!

Simply by adding a spoonful of peanut butter, you get one of my favorite morning treats. 

To the basic recipe, you can add all sorts of fun things (berries / kale / soaked chia seeds / coconut oil) to make a completely different smoothie. 

Just use the basic smoothie recipe as a guide and add whatever flavor combinations that you think would work. I usually put half spinach / half kale in my smoothies, but spinach will give beginners a smooth and creamy texture to start. Kale makes the smoothie a bit gritty unless you have a super fancy blender, which I do not. 

I really do crave these smoothies now and they are so easy to make. Also, you can buy spinach in bulk and pop the entire bag in the freezer for smoothies. I easily go through an entire (frozen) bag for smoothies, when I use to toss half of it after letting it go bad in the fridge before I discovered smoothies. Veggies for breakfast. . . definitely not a bad thing. 

Do you have a super delicious + healthy smoothie recipe you'd like to share with me? I'm always looking for a better variety for the hubs - I could stick to the PB smoothies everyday and never tire of it, but I'm a little odd like that. 

Clean Eating: A Bump in the Road

It's been a rough couple of weeks. Not rough for me or my family, but definitely rough for my eating habits and health if I continue down this path.

It all started with that wonderfully relaxing beach vacation. I did what most people do, I took the week off from eating healthy and stuffed my face with all of the junk that I had just spent weeks training my body not to crave. When we got back from the beach, I made excuse after excuse to continue sneaking in the junk and then I spent a week in Charlotte with my mom. It was great to spend time with her, but I ended up eating a bunch of sugar filled treats that she no longer wanted in her house. Darn you, SUGAR!!

I have gained 3 pounds, which isn't that bad, but it has just added to the reasoning behind my excuses. I keep thinking 'I've only gained a few pounds, so it's okay if I have that candy bar - I'll get back on track tomorrow'. I know I'm not the only one whose tomorrow turns into 4 weeks off the wagon. I feel awful and tired all of the time. Even though I am eating all of the foods that represent comfort and joy, my husband would probably agree that I have have been Mrs. Grumpy-pants with a capitol G.

So, today is the day I get back on track. Green smoothies in the morning and clean eating all day long. I have learned that even a drop of sugar will cause me to start the excuses. Goodbye sugar - you taste so yummy, but you are not a very good influence. Back to the basics - fruit, veggies, yogurt, and protein for this lady over the next few weeks.

Korean 100 Day Ceebration

We not only celebrated Father's Day this weekend, but we got together to celebrate Winsley's 100th day. It sounds funny to celebrate less than 4 months here on earth, but it was a big deal back in the day in South Korea. You see, back in the day, the survival rate for children was very low and mothers would keep their newborns indoors to prevent any illnesses and increase the baby's chance of survival. On the 100th day after the child's birth, the mother would finally take her child outdoors and finally meet the neighbors, friends, and relatives. 

Traditionally, rice cake would be served to 100 people - a little superstition thought to help protect the child's life. We celebrated with rice cake, but we certainly didn't share it with 100 people. Hmmm. Maybe that's why Winsley is starting to catch a cold that I was sure was out of everyone's system last week. Back to the rice cake - I'm not a fan. It's literally cake. . . made out of rice. Rice flour, sugar, and salt. That's it. Where's the icing?! And I am certain that there is only a dash of sugar. My husband claims it is sweet, but I just taste bland rice. On the other hand, all of our Korean relatives aren't big fans of American desserts - they think they are too sweet. :)