Striving for Health & Simplicity

How is it Thursday already!? We're almost at the end of Week Three of our Healthy 2019 Challenge! That's amazing! Originally we were thinking of just doing four weeks strictly, but the results have been so amazing thus far that I'm going to continue on the 6-Week Plan until it finishes. I do add in eggs on the weekends simply for the ease of only cooking one meal at lunch time. Just a reminder to make sure you're getting the proper amount of fruit and vegetables in each day! I don't list every single item I eat throughout the day, you'd find that pretty boring! Week Four Friday: Breakfast-Smoothie Lunch- Chick Pea Spread on whole wheat wrap with Pineapple, Melon, & Unsweetened Apple Sauce Supper- Roasted Vegetable Pizza & Fruit Salad Saturday: Breakfast-Weekend Smoothie  Add additional frozen fruit & some Avocado Lunch- Poached Egg & Fruit Salad with a Clementine  Supper-Out for Date Night Sunday: Breakfast-Week...

I have to be honest, this second week has been really hard! Both E and I came down with a cold over the weekend. I had 16 dinner guests over on Sunday night which was amazing, but I had to make myself a different supper leaving me feeling like I was missing out. Despite the challenging week I still managed to stick with the plan 99% of the time. I did have some meat in one of my lunches, but other then that I was pretty strict despite not feeling well! We had some visiting on deck this weekend which is why you're seeing this post late! I will try and get into the habit of writing them on Thursday nights! On deck for Week Three are a couple new things, I need a change and I feel like if I keep eating the same thing I'm going to snap. Week Three Sunday: Breakfast-Weekend Smoothie  Add additional frozen fruit & some Avocado Lunch- Tofu "Egg" Burrito Making a batch of Tofu Eggs, adding some veggies & placing it in a wrap.  Supper-Mushroom Strogan...

How's everyone making out!? It's hard to believe that Week One is almost over! How are the sugar withdrawals? I haven't found the withdrawals to be too bad. There have definitely been some difficulties but overall I feel great despite fighting my first cold of the season. I apologize about the delay for Week Two meal plans. You can thank my cold for that.  Don't forget to make sure you're having an ounce of unsalted seeds/nuts per day! Because I'm up so early with E, I generally do have a snack around 10am and that's when I have my seeds/nuts. Week Two Sunday: Breakfast-Weekend Smoothie  Add additional frozen fruit & some Avocado Lunch- Leftover No Pasta Lasagna & Clementines Found in the Eat to Live Cookbook Supper-Butternut Squash Noodles, Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, & Fruit Salad Monday: Breakfast-Smoothie Lunch- Chick Pea Spread on whole wheat wrap with Pineapple, Melon, & Unsweetened Apple Sauce Supper-Large Tosse...

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that it's already January 1st! Where did the last year go!? Originally we were supposed to be spending today with family but the weather had other ideas! Since it was a snowy morning we decided to clean out our cupboards, stock our fridge & pantry with Eat to Live essentials, and buckle down! Over the course of the next four weeks I'll provide what our meal plans look like in hopes of giving you some ideas! I'm big on meal prepping which is what will help me stick to this plan. Hubby doesn't eat beans, so where I'm eating beans he'll be having his usual piece of meat. Don't forget to have your appropriate amount of water, and fruit/veggie servings! Week One Tuesday: Breakfast-Smoothie Lunch- Nutritarian Tofu Scrambled Eggs with Pear & Pineapple Slices Supper-1/2C Rice with 1C Black Beans, Pepper, Onion, Mushroom, Broccoli, Snap Peas & Carrots Wednesday: Breakfast-Smoothie  Lunch-Nutrit...

It's hard to believe that it's been six months already since our bundle of joy came into the world! He's changing each and everyday. It's amazing to watch the different skills developing. The time is just flying by! Prior to getting pregnant I succeeded in loosing a very large amount of weight. It was the first time for as long as I can remember that I was happy in my own body. I felt confident in how I looked, my skin was in the best condition it's ever been, my emotions were the best they have ever been, and the number on the scale was just a bonus! During my pregnancy I gained 60+ pounds, my emotions and skin were a mess. I unfortunately had the mentally that I was pregnant and could do whatever I wanted to. That was wrong, I've been paying the price since giving birth. My struggle with body image in the last six months has been at one of the highest points since I was a teenager. When life gets chaotic or messy we all seek comfort in something, unfortuna...

It's often said that the days are long but the weeks and months are short. This is very true for the last six weeks! It's hard to believe that I jumped back on the healthy bandwagon six weeks ago already. Instead of putting all my energy and time into the number on the scale for these past six weeks I wanted to focus on six specific non-scale items. Other then on one occasion I was able to keep these goals as my primary focus. In the last six weeks I have acheived being able to wear my wedding bands again, facial hair growth has decreased significantly, I am fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes more comfortably, and my emotional health has improved dramatically. I will be continuing to work on the reduction of PCOS symptoms and expanding my cooking/baking skills. I am extremely happy with what I've accomplished in the last six weeks despite not following the strict six week plan. I hope that I will be able to put my focus into another six weeks and follow it strictly once...

Do you ever end up with a bunch of leftover produce at the end of the week? I never know what to do with this! It seems as though there's always more then needed to make a salad for dinner, but if it isn't used it goes bad which creates waste! Thursdays are often that slump where you're tired of eating the same thing for dinner and you want a little something different to get you through that last bit before the weekend. In an effort to reduce our food waste as much as possible I started experimenting with some recipes. Thursdays have become our Egg Bake days lately, boy are they ever yummy! The wonderful thing about this recipe is that all the ingredients(other then the eggs) are optional! You can add more or less depending on your preference. Egg Bake Recipe 6-8 Eggs Spinach  Tomatos Mushrooms Green Pepper Onion  Broccoli  Italian Seasoning Mrs Dash Seasoning Shredded Cheese  Preheat oven to 375. Mix everything minus the shredded cheese in a bowl. ...

One week ago I had no desire to begin the Eat to Live 6-Week Journey before Labour Day. I wanted to enjoy the final weeks of junk food before getting serious about my nutrition again. My mind and body had other thoughts. I will be beginning the journey once again on August 20th. During the six weeks I hope to focus on the below goals, instead of the number on the scale. Wedding Bands-Be able to wear my wedding bands again. Facial Hair- Decrease amount of unwanted facial hair. Clothes-Fit into Pre-Pregnancy clothes more comfortably.  PCOS Symptoms-Reduce the symptoms from PCOS(hair loss, irregular cycles, etc). Emotional Health-Reduce anxiety and regulate postpartum hormones.  Cooking/Baking Skills- Expand skills and knowledge to include healthier alternatives.  I will once again post my weekly menus, weekly results, and recipes that I find helpful that aren't in the Eat to Live cookbook. I hope you'll join me!

The first week of our Summer Edition of Eat to Live is complete! I managed to have salads with both lunch and supper every night, have zero treats from Tim Hortons, and increase my water consumption. Those are all the things I was targeting for last week! Let's hope I can keep it up this week. Groceries are bought and week two meals will be prepped tomorrow! Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Sunday Supper: Tossed Salad & BBQ Steak Tuesday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Monday Supper: Tossed Salad & Bean Chilli Wednesday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C...

Despite having access to fresh locally grown food summer can often be the hardest time to eat healthy. Since giving birth to baby E five weeks ago we have been in survival mood with meals. It's been a combination of the frozen meals I prepared/we bought and take out. That combination doesn't help with our emotional, mental, or physical health. It's time to get back on track! The groceries are purchased and the food is ready to be prepared for Week One of our Eat to Live Summer Edition! If you'd like to know what we are doing differently for our summer edition of Eat to Live you can find out in the previous post. Below is what's on dock for meals this week. Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie(1/2C Frozen Blueberries, 1C Almond Milk, 1/2 Banana, Handful of Spinach, 1T Ground Chia Seed, & 1T of Ground Flax Seed) Lunch: S: Chick Pea Salad & Unsweetened Apple Sauce R: Leftovers from Sunday Supper: Tossed Salad & Chicken Legs  Tuesday: Breakfa...

There are seasons for everything in life. Whether it's extra curricular activities we're involved in, projects we have on the go at home, or what's going on in our career. Our eating lifestyle should be a consistent but is often a season that comes and goes. The goal when I first became pregnant was to continue our Eat to Live lifestyle. Unfortunately with pregnancy exhaustion and pain quickly setting in this was the first thing to be dropped. It began taking too much time and effort to not only think of meals but prepare them. We never did pick the pieces back up. The weight gain from pregnancy shows that I let myself fall off the bandwagon. Individuals would say that's okay because breastfeeding helps to burn so many calories. For a variety of reasons E isn't a breastfed baby, although heartbreaking at first I've come to find great peace in this. Robin and I are gearing up to once again begin the Eat to Live Challenge. We will be making adjustments for the...

Baby Munroe is definitely a carbs baby! I have unfortunately fell into the carb way of life once again. I believe it's a combination of being pregnant which is causing me to crave carbs, and the fact that craving carbs is one of the side effects of PCOS. Needless to say, it's been a difficult journey to remember that I don't need to stuff my face with carbs everyday. Somedays are definitely easier then others. Unfortunately I've been dealing with severe back pain, and crazy swelling for the last number of weeks. This has made it difficult to ensure I'm making smart food choices, and getting enough exercise in. My goal for the upcoming week is to ensure I walk daily again, and cut the carbs during the week! One of my weakness' lately has been ice cream. I love a big bowl of ice cream! Which is not healthy, at all! After asking the Facebook world for suggestions I combined a couple and made the below delicious smoothie which is now my evening snack if I'm ...

I know it's been quiet around here lately, more on that in another post! I wanted to put together a list of just a few of my favourite healthy recipes. These are recipes that I found had wonderful taste, they could even please a crowd! Salads: Chick Pea Salad Spinach Salad Main Meals: Lentil Soup Easy White Bean Soup Whole 30 Lasagna Taco Pie Slowcooker Hamburger Stew Sheet Pan Fajitas Anything Oh She Glows  Baked Goods: Banana Muffins Chocolate Chip Cookies Strawberry Banana Oat Bars Banana Bread I cannot take credit for any of these recipes! They are all created by extremely talented people, and I've been blessed to find them!

I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a really hard time staying on track with my goals! I need a good kick in the butt sometimes! Now is one of those times. This coming Monday to Friday I will be heading back to the strict eating. I ask you to consider joining me on this challenge, today is a perfect day to work towards tomorrows goals! My goal this week is to go completely refined sugar free. I'm going to provide you with the meal plan I'll be using for the week, along with some additional snacks that you might like if you're a snacker! Monday: Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1T Ground Flax & Chia, 1C Almond Milk & Handful of Spinach) Lunch: 6 Bean Chilli, Unsweetened Applesauce & 2 Clementines Supper: Vegetable Stir Fry with Bean Sprouts & Pork Chops Tuesday Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1T Ground Flax & Chia, 1C Almond Milk & Handful of Spinach) Lunch: Bean Chilli, Unsweetened Apple...

It's hard to believe that 6 weeks has come to a close! It's amazing how fast time flies. The last 6 weeks have had their ups and downs. They have been filled with both scale, and non scale victories. Non-Scale Victories: There were times in the last 6 weeks that I fell off the wagon, but it became so much easier to get back on! I might have eaten out a few times, but I always made sure it was close to guidelines, and my next meal followed the guidelines. Before the Eat to Live Journey I would often fall off the wagon and it would last a couple days. I can walk out of a store without a dark chocolate bar/bag of chips. I had gotten to a point in my journey that I would convince myself that as long as I had a dark chocolate bar, or the "healthiest" chips I could find that I was okay to buy myself a treat. Every single time I went to the store. I haven't done that once in the last 6 weeks!  Towards the end of our Magdalene Island trip(right before my 6 week jou...

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite times of year! It's an opportunity to reflect on the things we are blessed to have, and a time to gather with loved ones. I'm extremely thankful for a wonderful supportive hubby, amazing parents, equally amazing in laws, and such a wonderful group of family and friends. That's just a touch on everything I have to be thankful for this year! Thanksgiving often comes with a family gathering or two which can make it difficult to stay on the healthy eating track! This is my second Eat to Live Thanksgiving, I am taking some of my experiences last year and turning them into positive learning experiences for this year. 1)Arrive Prepared: Make sure that you're prepared with beverages you can drink (flavoured water for me). Either make sure you are full enough that you won't partake in any snacking before the meal, or bring some snacks that fall within your guidelines. 2)Offer to Bring Dessert: Dessert is always my biggest weakness! I...

Unfortunately week three wasn't the greatest. There was a death in the family and as an emotional eater that had the ability to completely throw me off. For the most part I stayed within the guidelines. A couple times in week three I could be found having some salted nuts/seeds or crackers but that's the worst it got! Everything is prepared to have a rocking week four! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday: Fruit Smoothie (1C Frozen Fruit, 1 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Sunday: TBD (We'll be at my in-laws for the night Saturday celebrating Thanksgiving!) Lunches:   Monday: Leftover Chick Pea Salad  Tuesday-Friday: Crock Pot Mushroom Chilli (Page 176 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Sup...

It's hard to believe that we're almost entering our third week of this Eat to Love journey! We're almost halfway there! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday & Sunday: Fruit Smoothie (1C Frozen Fruit, 1 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds) Lunches:   Monday-Friday: Crock Pot Mushroom Chilli (Page 176 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad, Coleslaw w/Pecans & Raw Almonds. Two servings of fruit for dessert.   Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  Saturday: Unsure-I haven't decided here as we have a staff event that evening so it will most likely end up being something take out.  Sunday: TBD(Will be...

We started back on track with the 6-Week Eat to Live plan exactly 8 days ago. It's hard to believe how fast time goes! The results are in for week one and they're pretty amazing! Weight:  -5.6lbs Bust: -1.5" Waist: -0.5" Thighs: -0.25" A total weight loss of 5.6lbs with a total inches lost of 2.25" is absolutely amazing for week one! Struggles of Week One:  -Birthday dinner for my father in law, there was cake! I love cake! I didn't eat any though!  -Sweets around the office. Two of my coworkers brought in sweets, normally I have a hard time saying no but I avoided them!  -Staying on track on the weekend. I always find weekends the most difficult, but with everything carefully planned out I made out okay! Highlights of Week One:  -We had some amazing friends over for dinner Sunday, and they completely supported how I'm eating so we could all eat the same meal!  -Support and understanding. I always find the first two weeks of getting...

After an amazing vacation on the Magdalen Islands an eating change was definitely needed! Week one has been tough. Life still goes on so there have been many temptations, but I've avoided them all. I might have gone through a ton of gum in the process, but hey I did it! Breakfasts:   M-F: Smoothies (1/2C Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, 1C Almond Milk, 1C Spinach, 1TBSP Ground Flax  Seeds & Chia Seeds)  Saturday: Blueberry Nut Oatmeal (Page 63 Eat to Love Cookbook)  Sunday: Leftover Blueberry Nut Oatmeal Lunches:   Monday-Friday: Too Busy to Cook Vegetable Soup (Page 168 Eat to Live Cookbook) with 2  servings of fruit   Saturday & Sunday: 1oz Raw Almonds & 2 Servings of Fruit Suppers:  Monday-Thursday: Large Tossed Salad with 1/4C Mixed Beans & 2 Serving of Fruit  Friday: Vegetable Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese & Sugar Free Sauce  Saturday: Garden Stuffed Vegetables ( Page 200 Eat to L...