A day in the life..of my food.

   

Life is so simple. Stay grateful, stay healthy, stay motivated -- and you'll make it. Wherever "making it" is for you.

For me, it's happiness. It's having anxiety diminished. It's spending time with my son. It's going on a date to the movies with my husband. It's replenishing my body and soul.

It all starts with health for me. Because, I've been unhealthy. I've been sick. I've been slow and miserable.
But, I've also been healthy. I've been fast and strong. I've been motivated.

I'll always choose that option.

When you put nutrients in your body, your body and your mind thanks you. I can always tell a difference when I'm not taking care of myself by eating good foods and drinking enough water.


I stick to a pretty simplistic notion when it comes to food.

Can I read the ingredients?
Where did this come from?
Am I going to feel sluggish after I eat this?

If I stick to these questions, I will 100% feel my best after I eat. I'll be ready to tackle my day!

It all starts with breakfast. Carbs are a must, whether it be through fruit or grains (or both!). Coffee is always there, too. ;) I love throwing on the "details," as I call them. Cinnamon. Flax seeds. Chia seeds. They are always in there somewhere. If I'm feeling brave, I'll take a shot of apple cider vinegar and organic apple juice, too.

    

100% whole wheat bagels, PB, honey, cinnamon, blackberries, half an orange, and coffee. (I always have help from a certain toddler white eating my breakfast!)

I'm always mixing up lunch options, but I usually stick to a colorful salad. I use salsa and plain greek yogurt as a dressing a lot. If I don't do that, I use a balsamic vinegar dressing that I throw together. I'll post that recipe soon, because it's definitely a go-to for me.

Green leaf lettuce, black beans, quinoa, peppers, salsa.

Snacks. Who doesn't snack? If you don't....tell me your secrets. I'm pretty sure snacking is apart of a lot of peoples daily routine. For me, I still munch on crap junk food from time to time and I'm trying so hard to choose better things over it! It really just requires time to prep and throw some good bars/fruits/nuts in your bag. Preparation is everything!

Smoothies are my GO-TO snack. They are filling. You get a ton of greens and fruits. I have a Nutribullet that lets me take them with me wherever I go, right after I blend. I love it! I will even make a smoothie at work in the middle of the night. Very convenient.

Dinner is my favorite meal.  I get to put some music on, have the little guy run around my feet (or help me cook!), pick out a recipe, and get to it. My favorite type of food to make is Indian. I wish I could eat that every night! Or Thai. I love spice obviously. On other nights, I make pretty simplistic stuff. It's just dressed up and fun!

Tofu tacos. Spinach, radishes, olives, salsa, greek yogurt, and some lime.

When I am working that night, salads are usually the way I go. Unless I have leftovers! This is green leaf lettuce, cabbage, beets, butternut squash, chia seeds, and that balsamic dressing I was talking about earlier. 

and, who doesn't love dessert? I'd be lying so much if I said I never ate sweets. I do. I'm human (a human girl). But, the idea is to try your best! I'll make "milk shakes" made from almond milk, frozen bananas, and chocolate chips. Random stuff like that. It hits the spot!It helps if you drink a glass of really cold water with fruit in it, too. Or some hot tea!

PB, plain greek yogurt, honey, cinnamon -- whipped together!

I do not pretend that I know everything or eat perfect everyday!

I try to live by the 80/20 rule, and indulge once in a while! Glass of wine, chocolate, cheese, sweet dressed-up coffee, mexican food, and so many other treats  (I think I'm hungry! haha).  

From personal experience, I've just seen the difference food can do for your body and soul. Sure, the pictures are pretty -- but, what I actually get from those beautiful colors will follow me until old age!

"Eat to live, don't live to eat." - Benjamin Franklin

"Let food by thy medicine."  - Hippocrates 

For kicks and giggles...a very typical Tori picture. Coffee! That's a WHOLE other post. ;)

Confessions of a foodoholic.

I went to sushi the other night and pulled out my camera. I got two reactions. 

1// A girl I just met that came to dinner with us said, "Why are you taking a picture of your food...?" As if she's never seen a foodie in action before.

2// The waitress said, "I see a lot of iPhone cameras in here, but I've never once seen someone take out their professional camera."  hahahahahaha I died. 

I'm seriously obsessed with taking pictures of my food. 

You could call me a foodie.

Hardcore foodie.

It all started with taking pictures for my online check-ins for "Tone it Up."

Then I got a DSLR.

Things have never been the same.

;)

Sorry for the people I embarrass that eat with me at restaurants.

I've decided to dedicate this post solely to pictures of food. I don't post a lot of these pictures to instagram, so they just sit there all lonely in my picture folder. They need some attention.

I actually get a lot of people that ask me what the heck I even eat.

Welllll, here you go!

Here's what I eat.

In fancy picture form.

Whole wheat toast, with peanut butter (or PB2), raw honey, a banana, and cinnamon. I have this every.single.morning. Or just plain peanut butter toast with honey.

Coffee. Another confession. I'm a coffee addict. Black. OR, with almond milk. OR with creamer. OR with stevia. I don't care.

Cranberry/Blueberry granola with almond milk.

Whole wheat turkey sandwich with tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, avocado, and spicy mustard. Berries on the side.

Kale salad (IM SO OBSESSED WITH KALE ITS WEIRD) with peppers, cabbage, and an olive oil vinaigrette.

Steak tacos (I'm a total red-meat girl. Love it), tomatoes, hot salsa, sprouts, plain greek yogurt, and corn tortillas.

More coffee. Coconut Frapp. See recipe here

Juice with beets, kale, carrots, an apple, ginger, and parsley.

Overnight oats with unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon, chia seeds, non-fat greek yogurt, PB2..and then sweetened with bananas, almonds, and honey in the morning.  

My favorite...1/2 an avocado with sunflower seeds and honey.

....more coffee. Almond Joy coffee. Vanilla almond milk, a cup of brewed coffee, ice cubes, coconut extract, chocolate chips (the brown stuff on top is the frozen chocolate chips blended..they floated to the top or somethin?) and, almond joy creamer.

Strawberries. :)

And just to tantalize you....pastries. They are amazing!! From Zermatt Resort in Midway. I take a trip up there once in a while when I'm craving some sugary-yummy-carbs.

Maybe this will become a tradition on my blog, because I probably take pictures of my food everyday.

I mean seriously, how crazy does that sound? I sound crazy.

Peaceout.

xoxox...foodie/foodoholic.

Free Blog Designs

Hey everyone!

Lately I've been playing around with blog designing. It's taken a lot of time to learn how to do codes, and work with Photoshop. But, I designed my blog the way that I like it, and I'm pleased with the result as a newb!

I want to build a portfolio so I can start designing more blogs in my spare time. I really want to find a way to work from home, so I don't have to go work this summer away from Luke babe.

If anyone is interested in a FREE blog design for my portfolio, please email me!

sassafrassbloggy@gmail.com

Thanks xoxo

**disclaimer...I am a newbie. So the whole purpose of doing some free designs, is to learn and create more things! I'm not a professional, and have not had training in school for designing. It is all self taught. **

Coconut Frappuccino

If you follow me on instagram, you already know that I'm a coffee addict. When I go to my favorite coffee shop, Juice 'n Java, I always order an almond milk latte with three shots of espresso (yes, I'm aware that's a lot of caffeine. On those special days, I order four.) But lately, I've been trying not to buy coffee. I'm sticking to the coffee maker at home. 

Since my AC is out...again, hot coffee sounded atrocious and I suck at making iced coffee at home. I always forget to make coffee or almond milk ice cubes. SO, when my friend Katie from Luna Kisses mentioned she was going to Starbucks, my mind really started going because I wanted an ice coffee so bad. 

This leads me to the recipe that I'm sharing with you today. I never order frappes, but it sounded so good today because it was cold, and it wouldn't get watery. Usually frappes are filled with gross syrups, sugar, and whipped cream -- and I wanted something a little bit healthier.

When I attempted to look for a frappuccino recipe, I was totally grossed out. One recipe called for 3 cups of sugar......3 cups!? What.

So, I decided..screw the recipes,

and came up with THIS!

Make it and enjoy. You wont be sad you did. 

*for all of my no-coffee-drinking friends, substitute it with Crio?*

Five Year Bucket List

Life in April

Picnics at the park

 Easter weekend (tree in my in-laws back yard..so pretty)

  

I got an early mothers day gift from my husband (LOVE).

Music concerts with Luke 

A teething toddler (that loves medicine?)

Pizza and game night with our friends

Celebrated Tiffany's birthday (with tacos...duh. Of course).

 Cuddled a lot with Mickey Mouse.

Made a lot of yummy food.

Took a road trip to Seattle.

hahah don't mind the shirt. I had to get creative.

Got motivational mail from a fellow TIU girl

And just, you know..relaxed.

Bring it on, May!

7 Day Slim Down Review and Results

**Disclaimer-- I love carbs. I believe in carbs. I eat carbs like a mad woman. I don't like diets that cut out carbs, at ALL. If you're exercising, living, breathing... you need them. 

Although, this slim down does cut out all carbs (in breads, starches, etc), it is just a slimdown. After 7 days,  you're meant to go back to your regular nutrition plan.  **

As everyone should know by now, I'm apart of a fitness group called Tone It Up.

There is a part of the plan called a "7 Day Slim Down." This plan is in the nutrition plan, which you pay for -- and I did. So, I am going to do a review!

I tried to do this before, and I failed..miserably. It was during the Superbowl and I'm sorry -- not going to pass up pizza!

This slim down is only meant for people that have an event in a week, need to detox after a really bad weekend of eating like crap, or in my case -- both (thanks Easter candy).

This time around, I think rocked it.

I don't think that people should just do it for no reason. I think if you're already eating healthy, exercising, and feeling good..there isn't a point.To stay motivated throughout the slim down, I think there has to be a destination. For me, my graduation is this week and I wanted to feel happy and good. Not slumpy.

I'm not going to go and give you a day-by-day synopsis. I'm just going to talk about in general.

Like I said, I love carbs -- so that was the only hard thing for me. Otherwise, I kind of eat like the plan anyway! Lots of greens, fruits, and chicken/fish/any lean meat.

I guess that's the whole point, no carbs. haha. But, let me tell you -- it really did help me slim down. I didn't weigh myself at first, I was just doing it off of how I felt. I feel great now!

Saying that though, I think cutting out carbs is just a recipe for disaster. Because, if someone didn't eat pretty lean anyway, and they go back to eating the same old crap, they are going to gain weight. It isn't a fun cycle, trust me -- I've been there (never take me back to high school).

Am I back to my carbs? Yes, yes, yes. In fact, I added a few carbs the last two days at breakfast because I seriously had to run. I just couldn't without them. haha I am training for a half marathon, and I found that my runs were so much harder. I had a lot less energy, really wanted naps, etc.

Maybe start out with a healthy eating routine, and when you feel like you have the self discipline to do a no carb, 7 day slim down -- do it. But, if you know you don't have the discipline to do it (aka, bindge on carbs the next day because your body is screaming for them), don't do it. It wont make you feel good, and it will do the opposite of slim you down.

I was focusing on my abs/midsection area. 

before

3 days in

   

7th, and the last day, of the slim down. 

I for sure lost inches, and my abs show up a lot more. I feel refreshed, and actually a lot more motivated to rock this bikini series that starts tomorrow!!

I had coffee everyday. #1) before my workouts/breakfast #2)  it curbed my sweet tooth whenever I wanted something #3) it's super filling

Sauteing kale is my favorite thing to do. This was garlic and seat salt. Really flavorful. I would do this for M3, or for M5.

I was on the road a lot this week because it was my finals week. I had to drive 1.5 hours south twice to take finals. Subway salads saved me. I got all the veggies, and oil/vinegar for dressing. 7dsd M3, and M5 approved.

Strawberry water. I let it sit overnight, and half of the day. It was amazing. I had it whenever I needed a treat.

My favorite meal of the 7DSD! I had it probably every day. Spinach, with grilled Cajun chicken, with hot sauce. YUM

Popsicles! This one is watermelon, water, and honey. It was aaammmazing. I did a chocolate coconut water one was well. I will probably be making these all summer haha

All in all, the slim down is awesome. I would recommend doing this over a juice cleanse...any day! I know they are two different things, but I've done a juice cleanse before and I feel better now than when I do one of those. And, I didn't starve myself. haha. I still ate lots of food, just no carbs ;)

If anyone is interested in joining Tone it Up, you can ask any questions you want! You can also just go to their website and learn about them. The bikini series starts tomorrow, so it's an awesome time to join.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo