some of my favorites

Apparently, it’s really trendy to talk about healthy living tips right before we’re about to stuff our faces with amazing food. If you think about it, we spend a few months of the year just bursting with excitement at all the delicious treats we get to splurge on (maybe not you, but I do for sure!). Of course “they” would wait until that season to make me feel guilty about all that sweet, fatty food I’m planning on consuming. However, “they” have a point – a good one – and while I’m still planning on eating all kinds of treats, I do have some personal tips to share. These are foods that I’ve been incorporating into my diet the past few months, they’re quick, easy, healthy and they make my body feel incredibly well.

Here are my suggestions for your pre and post-holiday menus:

Current favorite soup: Amy’s Organic Lentil soup.

Let’s face it – nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter day. With 8 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber this soup will be sure to keep you feeling full for a while – and it’s only 180 calories. Combine it with a fresh side salad and you have one beautiful, tasty meal at home – or throw it in a Pyrex dish (like I often do) and take it to work with you.

Current favorite sandwich: Turkey and Avocado Mash

Don’t know what to do with that leftover turkey? In my family we make sandwiches and lots of them. So use your leftovers in a combination with fresh sprouts, tomatoes, and hummus (or avocado mash below) and stuff them in a whole wheat pita. Whole grains will help clear out some of that less-than-desirable cholesterol, lean meat is a great source of protein, sprouts and tomatoes are vegetables that add a cool crunch and fresh texture to any sandwich, and avocado is a great source of healthy fats. Rather than using unhealthy condiments, the hummus or avocado is a really great addition with more flavor. This sandwich is incredibly filling, but if it’s not enough you can combine it with some carrot sticks and you’re set!

Avocado mash: Take 1 ripe/softened avocado, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cilantro to taste and mash. I know, complicated right? If you’ve got some lime juice and a dollop of sour cream (not so healthy, but tasty) – then go ahead and just make yourself a delicious guac dip.

Current Favorite Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

When my doctor told me that I had borderline high cholesterol I was not excited. I like my butter and baking! Oatmeal is a great option for breakfast, especially if you combine it with some healthy protein – it’s bound to keep you full throughout your morning. You can use the instant stuff that’s loaded with an excessive amount sugar, or you can make your own.

I use McCann’s Quick and Easy Irish Oatmeal – it cooks in 5-7 minutes and still has a bit of crunch to it (so I don’t feel like I’m eating complete mush). While my water is heating, I’ll toss in pieces of dried, unsulfured and unsweetened apples (courtesy of Trader Joe’s), BUT when I have time to cut up fresh apples they’re the best. While the oatmeal is cooking, I add a generous amount of cinnamon and a couple dashes of allspice. 1 tsp of brown sugar will MORE than cover the sweet tooth in me, and bam: a hot breakfast in 7 minutes. If you’re like me and you need protein in the morning, scramble an egg white or two with some salt and pepper. Egg whites give you the protein without all the fat and cholesterol in a whole egg.

Favorite Vegetable: Steamed Kale with Apricots (or no apricots)

Kale is also a trendy food lately. It’s a great dark green, leafy veggie that is incredibly versatile. I toss it in a glass bowl with a bit of water, some garlic powder, pepper, and dried, unsulfured and unsweetened apricots and steam it in the microwave until it’s just barely soft. You can toss in a few chopped walnuts or almonds if you’d like for some added crunch. The apricots provide a tangy flavor. If that sounds disgusting to you, by all means the kale alone with some garlic is fabulous. It’s a great source of fiber, too!

Favorite Hot Beverage: Green Teas and Mint Teas

Enjoy your eggnog (for those of you who like it) and your hot chocolate, but before and after the holidays try some green tea. It’s no secret that it’s packed with antioxidants, but it tastes good and clean. Tea mixtures that combine green and mint teas are my favorite because the mint just boosts flavor and adds a really fresh element. Moroccan Mint Green Tea is a great option. If you MUST have your hot drinks sweet – go for a tea that has fruity tones in it – like pomegranate or blueberry green teas (which are also good cold). Cut out the sugar, or at least half of it. I’m a big fan of sugar – but I’d rather eat my sugar than drink it. I encourage you to choose your sugar wisely – eat what you really want and like, but then say no to the calories that really aren’t worth consuming.

Here’s wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Music City,

<3 a

PS: pictures of a Nashville Christmas to come – promise.

a girly time out.

One of my favorite things about our apartment is our gas fireplace. Sometimes I wish it was wood-burning, but the fact that it emits heat is a lovely one. I only mention this because, at the moment, I’m cuddled up by it writing this post.

About a month ago I came home to find my roommate trying on one of my scarves. It went really well with her outfit that she was modeling in the full length hall mirror. She turned around quickly and said something to the extent that she was going to ask me before she borrowed it, wanted to see if it matched well first, and that she just treated me like her sister. All of it was fine with me – I’m still learning how the whole sister-thing-you-can-borrow-my-clothes thing works (you don’t get much practice growing up with brothers). This memory sticks with me only because the conversation that followed it centered on insecurity and the nasty habit of comparison.

My roommate – I’ll brag on her for a bit – is one of the most beautiful women I know. I mean, she’s physically stunning and incredibly petite. Cute as a button with super long eyelashes that she knows how to bat just right, she is the definition of Southern charm. Not only is she physically beautiful, but she’s off-the-charts intelligent, has a work ethic to rival any entrepreneur, and her roots grow deep in her faith. She can make anyone fat with her cooking, but sticks to an exercise regimen that would rank on the Biggest Loser. She’s not perfect, but it’s easy to forget that she’s human sometimes.

As I’m confessing this insecurity to her – letting her into a very vulnerable place – she confessed feeling a very similar way in another relationship. It was ironic, strangely comforting, and another example of how prevalent insecurity is.

Insecurity is like an oppressive pressure that bears down on me and prevents me from living in freedom. I’ve spent a very long time living in a shadow of insecurity – comparing myself to folks who are thinner, smarter, more likeable, more talented, confident, etc… I mean, the list can really go on and on. It’s exhausting – and it just turns into a downward spiral – a spiral that I don’t think I’m alone in. If my hunch is right, this temptation to compare ourselves to others is a shared one among humans. There will ALWAYS be someone better than you – and ALWAYS someone that isn’t where you’re at yet. Comparison either lands you in two places (in my opinion) – you get a false sense of failure or a false sense of justification. Either you can’t measure up, or you think you’re okay on your own. Neither is really accurate because the standard is holiness.

My roommate, as amazing as she is, is not the standard I should be looking at. Neither am I for someone else. Do I learn from her? Absolutely. Are there things in her life that I can implement in my own? Yes. That’s why I’m so thankful to have her in my life! That’s one of the many beautiful aspects of community. But never, for a second, are people to be our standard.

Jesus is the standard. And praise God for the Gospel, because He did what I could never accomplish. “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Insecurity is an ugly black hole – it’ll suck the joy and confidence right out of my life if I let it – which is why I need to remind myself daily of the Gospel. God loves me with an everlasting, complete, and mind-blowing love – not because of how great I am – but because of who He is. In His love and by His grace He’ll keep sanctifying me, but He’ll never compare me to His other kids, wishing I was prettier, smarter, or better in general. In fact, I’d dare say that He’s completely pleased with me just as I am.

End of the estrogen-filled post.

<3 a

a tennessee thanksgiving

I suppose it’s been a bit since I’ve posted last. The truth is I haven’t been lacking in thoughts – just overwhelmed by them. Trying to sort through the ones that might be worth putting on the internet has been more of a chore than a joy – and so I thought I’d post pictures instead.  For many (if not all) of us, this is our first holiday season away from home and we’re all working on the actual holidays – BUT that hasn’t stopped us from celebrating (and eating)!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving feast:

 And one successful family picture...

...one epic game of pictionary...

 Then there was a whirlwind trip to Carrollton - where I got to see my family for 24 hours :)

 Such studs...

My ticklish cousin Cole

 Uncle Bert teaching me how to shoot a gun. Never felt more Southern.

 Caroline and Carlton = adorable.

Ace and Uncle Bert - always a great picture :)

In other news: the fabulous Kris Corley came to visit me - a trip which blessed my heart immensely. I joined a church. I bought a pair of shoes that actually fit (yes, ladies and gentlemen - they're a size 4 in women's). I devoured the novel The Time in Between (and highly recommend it). And I revelled in complete silence on Saturday morning. 

Generally, silence makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't seek it out enough though. My spirit just craves it. There are few things more blissful than curling up in my big chair with a hot cup of tea in the stillness of the morning... with no one around, no where to be, and no (absolutely no) expectations. Nothing to live up to, nothing to compare myself to, no insecurities, no criticism, opinions, or noise at all. A literal pause.

Wishing for more of that during this season that can so easily turn chaotic and materialistic. Hope you get some :)

All my love,

<3 a