Blog Archives - Page 4 of 10

Chocolate Date Brownies

October 18, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

It is no secret around here that I like chocolate. I eat some just about every single day of my life. I think I come by it genetically. The ladies in my family can get down with chocolate. I could probably live without ever eating candy again in my life, but plain chocolate? No way, Jose.

Now, unfortunately, chocolate generally comes with a whole bunch of sugar which makes me feel not-so-great and can lead to increased body fat around the mid-section for me. Bummer. So, I am picky about my chocolate because darker, richer chocolate has less sugar, (no dairy!), and is much more satisfying for me.

Before I get to the recipe, let me just take a minute and vouch for the benefits of raw cacao (used in this recipe rather than cocoa powder), because it is pretty dang good for you! [Read more…]

Grain Free Fish Sticks

September 10, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

Whenever Matthew is out of town (not very often…maybe a couple days every two or three months), I try to plan a special few days with the kids. It keeps us busy so we’re not sitting around just feeling sad that he’s not with us. We go to fun places (think pet stores and parks…maybe the kids’ museum), read extra stories, maybe watch a fun movie, etc. These days end up often being some really, really special days for us.

Another thing I like to do is make my own version of “kid food” for us to enjoy while he’s gone. Admittedly, I often say that I don’t believe in kid food. Our babies eat what the rest of the family eats as soon as they have enough teeth for that. We give them ethnic foods, and even spicy foods from the get go, and I think it helps them have a very broad palate. (Not to mention starting our kids off with lots of fat and protein rather than carbs as their first foods.)

Still, sometimes “kid food” is just kinda fun! I loved fish sticks as a kid, and my kids, being the sardine-eating babies that they were, really like fish. I wanted to make some fish sticks for a fun dinner for them (because anything that’s dip-able in a sauce is just winning big time at our house; we are a sauce family!). I definitely had to make these fish sticks gluten-free so that we all felt well, and then they ended up being grain-free, too! Sweet! [Read more…]

Stuff I Like: Late Summer 2019

September 3, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 2 Comments

I am just gonna go ahead and ignore all those adorable kids and their back-to-school pictures taking over my newsfeed. It is still technically summer! Summer is such a long time coming here in Michigan, that I’m not going to let it go just yet. Sure, Fall is fun, but summer is soooo sweet.

There were lots of things to love this season: like catching tadpoles with my favorite four year old on my birthday, and weeknights meeting up with the Hubs at the gym with the kids for a picnic dinner and an evening of swimming til bedtime, and runs to our favorite ice cream place, and, heck, just walking outside without coats and shoes! Plus, I work exactly one day per week in the summer, and even convenient things like Aldi grocery runs via Instacart meant we just had so much more time to play at the park and the pool! We loved the slower pace!

So, before we go full-on Fall around here, I’m taking a minute to recap summer and what I’m loving lately! Here’s what I’ve been into this summer… [Read more…]

Mexican Cobb Salad

July 25, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

There is just something about Mexican food in summer time. It is just perfect for every occasion. And then there is also something about salads in summer. Of course we don’t want something big and heavy when it’s hot out. I am in love with this salad because it combines Mexican and salad into something more interesting than the traditional taco salad which I don’t really love that much. Maybe this is more southern Californian than Mexican, but it’s fun for a lunch or easy dinner. Great for throwing into a cooler for an evening at the pool (which is exactly what we did when I took the pictures for this post). [Read more…]

A Baby Registry for Minimalists

July 20, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Life 2 Comments

I am willing to admit that I am not a “baby person.” The older they get, the more fun they are to me. Sure, they are sweet when they are just born (and let’s not underestimate that new baby smell!), but I am rejoicing when they turn 1 because older kids are better.

That being said, I don’t want a lot of baby “stuff” in my house. I figure, kids are sleeping in cardboard boxes or dresser drawers in other parts of the world, and they are just fine. When we had our son, I didn’t want it to look like a bomb of baby colors had gone off in our house. I still wanted it to look like my house. (We like neutrals; it is HARD to find baby stuff in neutrals!)

So, I am often asked what my top baby registry items would be if you just want the essentials and not all the extra stuff. Here’s what makes my Top 10 List! [Read more…]

Gluten Free Fluffy Pancakes

July 13, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again: I am into breakfast carbs. There’s just something absolutely delightful about a sweet-but-not-too-sweet baked something and a cup of coffee to start the day. Reading should also be involved. And silence. Or really beautiful music. (Think Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach’s Cello Suites.) I digress. You get the point. I love mornings, and I love baked goods!

As I kid, my dad made pancakes for us every Sunday morning. Just plain and simple Bisquik pancakes, but I loved this rhythm in our week. I ate mine plain, no syrup. Kinda’ weird.

I remember distinctly noticing how hungry I felt shortly after eating these pancakes, as much as I loved them. Weren’t pancakes supposed to be kind of a hearty breakfast? Even as a small child, I think I was noticing/experiencing significant blood sugar drops as a result of eating a lot of simple sugar for breakfast (and that was WITHOUT all the syrup!).

Now that I am dealing with a gluten intolerance, I can’t even imagine how awful those original pancakes would make me feel, but I still want a fun pancake experience for my kids and me. Just like my banana bread experience, I feel like I have made every single recipe out there when it comes to paleo or gluten free pancakes. It’s taken me a while to land on one that I really love. [Read more…]

Not Soggy Paleo Banana Bread

June 18, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

I am, what you might call, a recovering carb-ivore. In my younger years I lived on carbs! Because, you know, runners. They “need” carbs. (Not really.) So, I ate bagels for breakfast, and sandwiches for lunch, and pasta for dinner, and pretzels and animal crackers in between.

And then I started learning about nutrition, and I started eating more protein (and it no longer took a week to recover from a weight workout!). And then I learned even more about nutrition and my body’s unique needs, and I started eating more fats. Not only do I feel a ton better, have more energy (3:00 slump, anyone?), and have exponentially better digestion, but I noticed my body’s cues for food have changed, too. If I am really, really hungry, I will crave something with fat and protein to actually make me feel full and satisfied.

However, some things just don’t change, and this girl loves breakfast sweets! Now, I do really love eggs for breakfast most days because they are yummy AND keep me feeling satiated until my next meal, but I have never stopped loving breakfast baked goods. They are my VERY favorite–scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins, bread. I LOVE them all! I know that a “normal” sugar and flour laden scone will leave me feeling lousy for the day (or catch up with me later), so oftentimes I don’t have a problem saying “no” to something like that, but there are plenty of other times when I want a baked good that tastes great AND doesn’t leave me falling asleep standing up. Also, sometimes we don’t have leisurely breakfasts because we have somewhere we need to be, and I need something I can throw at my kids that I know is still nutrient dense, real food.

Now, I kinda’ feel like I have been around the block when it comes to paleo recipes. [Read more…]

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies

May 30, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Food Leave a Comment

Sometimes I wish I didn’t like to bake. I mean, I started baking somewhere around the time I was big enough to sit on the counter and stir with my mom. (So we are going on, what, like 30+ years?!) Sometimes maybe it would be nice if all the things my family loves for me to make weren’t recipes loaded with gluten. We are talking about homemade pizza dough, chocolate chip cookies, scones of all varieties, cinnamon rolls, and, my latest creations, chocolate croissants! Beyond the fact that all but one of these things have a sizable portion of sugar in the recipe, they all pack a pretty decent gluten punch.

Not only does a fair amount of research support the gluten-thyroid dysfunction connection, but it just plain makes me feel terrible. I can’t even fathom going back to my life as a teenager or college student. I lived on [Read more…]

7 Reasons to Work Out (That Have Nothing to do with Your Swimsuit)

May 27, 2019 by Stacey Filed Under: Blog, Fitness, Health, Life 2 Comments

It is almost that time of year again…my hands down absolutely favorite time of year–SUMMER!! I have always loved summer the best (although, Fall, you are pretty awesome, too). There are so many things to love, like fresh fruits and vegetables (BERRIES!!!), ice cream, really long days (yes, I love when it’s light out before 6 a.m.), no school, my birthday, bare feet, the pool, the beach. You name it as it pertains to summer, I am all in!

Now, this time of year, there is one thing that I really hate. Something that comes up a lot in my industry of health and fitness. And that is the dreaded swimsuit shame. Everyone telling you to try this or that workout or diet to get ready for swimsuit season. As if you there was one and only one reason to work out and that was to look a certain way. As if you can’t possibly be seen at the pool if you’re not a certain size. As if, the best way to motivate someone is by making her feel like she is inadequate. (Remember mini habits? Building good habits is ENTIRELY more successful by using minuscule amounts of will power rather than ever-changing motivations. So, not only is this motivation method just not nice, it doesn’t even work long term.)

Now, I would be lying if I said I did not care how I looked in my swimsuit. (It is okay to care. It is not okay to obsess and become self-absorbed.) I do choose to live a lifestyle that lends itself well to being lean, and I do want that perk. But that’s where it ends. It is a perk. It is not the chief end of health and fitness. It does not get me out of bed to do a workout while the rest of my family sleeps.

I truly believe that health starts on the inside. Take care of the inside, and the outside will take care of itself in time.

Side note: because somebody’s gotta be thinking “Didn’t you just say to build a workout habit with will power? So why are you giving us motivations?” Because motivations do still exist. And yes, sometimes they feel stronger than other times. If you’re building a workout habit, yes, absolutely build it with teeny tiny bits of will power. However, there are still underlying reasons why you chose to build a mini habit regarding fitness in the first place. Think of these more as your “why” rather than your “motivation.”

I consistently workout five to six days each week. It is a habit that I’ve had for 20+ years, so it’s just normal to do at this point. Here are my seven reasons WHY I consistently choose to make workouts a priority. [Read more…]