Veggies You Never Thought You'd Love: Sweet Potato Fries

February 04, 2018 in Nourished Recipes, Nourished Body

Healthy eating has not always been something on my priority list nor was it something I was always willing to do. If I were to show my current diet to my 8-year-old self who often refused to eat anything except Campbell's Chunky Soup and Dinty Moore Stew (not making this up!), my 8-year-old probably would have fainted. When I look at the changes I've made, whether by choice or by medical-necessity, I'm quite proud of how far I've come.

One area though that I continue to struggle with and consequently see my toddler son struggle with being adventurous is veggies. Choose any color of the rainbow and there are a multitude of veggies with amazing nutritional value. I know how amazing broccoli is with it's calcium and vitamin C, Brussels sprouts with their manganese and vitamin B's, and sweet potato with it's vitamin A. I know how amazing veggies are for you, but that isn't always enough to challenge my palate to take a bite. As a former picker-eater and mother of a picker-eater, AND lover of honoring my body with nourishing foods, I'm excited to share with you a series of recipes I've developed over the years that have become a hit in our family and helped us to eat more veggies.

I'd also like to share with you a simple tip each post in this series how to help your kiddos (or yourself) becoming more adventurous with their eating!

Achieve Your Goals-- 5 Tips to Make It Happen

January 27, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

We are super exciting to have the one and only Amy Peterson, RN, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor extraordinaire as our guest blogger today! Amy’s been a guest on our first and second Living Wellness LIVE shows. Click the links here to see the Facebook LIVE recap videos of our shows: Show 1 and Show 2. Without further ado, here’s Amy with some great tips for jump starting or re-starting your 2018 wellness goals.

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January is that time of year where you get to start fresh. It’s a new year and there’s something inspiring about starting out with a clean slate. Setting goals are on the priority list for many people. Unfortunately, though, not everyone obtains their goals. You get busy, lose focus, the momentum slows, and, quite possibly, you might even forget them…not that that ever happens to me! 😊

Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen many clients and friends succeed in accomplishing their wellness goals, and I’ve seen many stall or just give up on their goals. Let me just say that it is never to late to start prioritizing your health by making some SMART goals, no matter how small of a goal it is.

Living Wellness LIVE recipes: Whitefish Fajita Stuffed Peppers & Grandpa Apples’ Favorite

January 14, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Recipes

Today on the Living Wellness Blog we're excited to bring our second Living Wellness LIVE show into your own kitchen with two amazing recipes! Living Wellness Facilitator Bill Evans created these fabulous dishes for us this past Friday at Living Wellness LIVE. Check out the full recap video here including the cute story about the title for the Grandpa Apples' recipe below.

As Christina said in our show, Bill Evans is one of our talented Living Wellness Facilitators and also a food enthusiast. He hasn't always been super creative in the kitchen though. Bill's healthy cooking journey actually only started about 15 years ago when he decided that he wanted to find out how to make the commercially prepared foods he enjoyed at home without the additives. Bill also credits hunger and timing as sources of cooking inspiration as his work and hunger schedule allowed him to whip up new dishes for his wife to enjoy when she got home from work. Gotta eat to live right? :)

Trying new dishes and sharing them with others are some of Bill's favorite parts of cooking, but even more so, Bill has said that he loves finding foods that taste good and nourish our bodies at the same time. So, without further ado, here's two delicious and nourishing recipes. Enjoy!

Leadership Strategies for Leading Healthy & Effective Small Groups: Part 1

January 06, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

Leaders change the world by inspiring the people around them. As Bill Hybels, founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, says, “Everyone wins when a leader gets better.”

Learning about leadership is a huge passion of mine. I became fascinated with leadership after starting my first business in 2006. At just 22 years old, I hired my first employee. Two years later, I had 10 people working for me and I deeply desired to become a great mentor and leader following in the footsteps of a few influential people that had mentored me.

I’ve also always wanted to share what I've learned about leadership, but I didn’t think I had anything to add to the global conversation. Now that I’ve been a business and franchise owner for almost 12 years (with 4 separate businesses), I still don’t claim to know anything profound (insert crazy emoji face here), but I’m more passionate than ever about helping individuals grow into the people God created them to be. My focus is health and wellness—and leaders must be healthy in order to be as effective as possible. When we are physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy, we can change the world!

Mindful New Year

December 31, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Body

Everyone’s talking about New Year’s resolutions. Have you set any? Maybe your resolution is to set a resolution 😊 Or do you more resolve to not make any resolutions?

Making New Year’s resolutions is definitely a common thing people do. What’s the point of making these resolutions? No, no…it’s not just to break them. I’d like to suggest the practice of New Year’s resolutions can actually be quite transformative if you go about it with an honest heart.

I love taking a few moments during this time of year to reflect on all the changes, blessings, challenges, triumps of the year. It helps me to first and foremost reflect on God’s provision. Reflection on the past year can help you to identify what you were really proud of and things that you wish that you could change. In the process of doing so, you then have the opportunity to look forward into the next year with a sense of opportunity for something new.

Rather than setting goals to eat less sugar or exercise more (which are great goals), I’m setting an intention this year to be more mindful.

Pantry Makeover Series: Holiday Baking Edition

December 03, 2017 in Nourished Home, Nourished Body, Nourished Recipes

For many people who have recently changed or thinking about making changes in their health or wellness routines, the holidays and health can be stressful. Will I be able to keep up with my typical wellness routine with holiday parties, family time, work commitments? Maybe I should just skip working out or watching my calories until after the holidays, I mean could I really do it anyway? What am I going to eat at that holiday party...or...do I really have to avoid all of those amazingly delicious looking treats to follow my nutrition plan?

"The ultimate goal of eating is to nourish our bodies. My personal goal is to eat for nourishment 95 percent of the time and reserve that last 5 percent for healthy, natural treats" Living Wellness for Growth Groups, 2017, p. 20.

During this holiday season, we want to empower you to continue to make choices that will nourish your body, mind, and soul. That's why over the next 4 weeks we're going to be sharing some great resources with you to thrive during this season.

We’re back for the Living Wellness Pantry Makeover Series this time for our Holiday Baking Edition! We absolutely love the holiday season including all of the amazing treats that fill our homes, hearts, and tummies this time of year. This week's post will include a variety of pantry items that you may want to consider stocking up on as you prepare your lists for holiday baking and menus for holiday parties. We also wanted to let you know we're launching our....

The Final Button: One Mom’s Journey to Postpartum Weight Loss

November 26, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

This is it. This is the post that I was hoping to say I hit my postpartum weight loss goals. My journey started in September when my doctor gave me clearance to start exercising again. I’ve been blogging about my weight loss journey in hopes to encourage you in your wellness journey--wherever that may be. While I haven’t hit my end goal yet, I certainly haven’t lost hope and I have made quite a bit of progress. If you have followed my story, I hope you’ve found it encouraging. I'm so grateful for this community we share to uplift and cheer each other on.

Here are my greatest takeaways from the last three months’ weight loss progress:

Eat to nourish your body. The next time you eat or drink something, ask yourself, "is this simply providing fuel, or is this food/beverage nourishing the cells in my body." I make it a goal to eat a vegetable at every meal (except breakfast) and most snacks. It’s not always what I want, but I can tell you from experience it’s always what I need. And when I eat vegetables, I feel better, more energized, and more vibrant. The 95/5 guideline is good for me-- Not a hard fast rule, but a great reminder that 95% of my food should nourish my body, and the other 5% can come from healthy treats.

Press Release: Weight Loss and Wellness Go Hand in Hand

November 19, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

We're very excited to something big: our official Press Release for Living Wellness for Growth Groups! Our book was published in February, but it recently won the Gold Evergreen Metal for the Living Now Book Award!

About the Award

Four years ago, the Evergreen Book Medals were launched to commemorate world-changing books published since the year 2000. We all seek healthier, more fulfilling lives for ourselves and for the planet, and books are important tools for gaining knowledge about how to achieve these goals for ourselves, our loved ones, and for Planet Earth. Divided into five categories, these books are honored for their contributions to positive global change.

We're so honored that Living Wellness for Growth Groups won the GOLD Evergreen Metal for the Health and Wellness category!

Weight Loss and Wellness Go Hand in Hand

Not everyone recognizes the link between nutrition, fitness, and faith, but longtime personal trainer Ashley Darkenwald is an exception. In her award-winning new book Living Wellness for Growth Groups, she takes readers on a journey of self-discovery toward exceptional health through freedom of mind, balanced living, and an abundant relationship with God.

5 Tips to Avoid Vacay-Mayday

November 04, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

My dad always taught me to leave a place better than when I got there. Whether it is cleaning up my kids dishes in the kitchen or picking up a paper towel in a gas station bathroom, I’ve tried to live out this saying. As I continue on my post-partum weightloss journey, I’ve decided to take on this motto with my body and traveling. I want to leave healthier than when I arrived. Quite the opposite of how we normally feel after traveling, right?!

Whether it’s the snack displays at the airport, those airplane snack-packs that look mouthwatering in the pictures but don’t quite live up to their image, or just being in a new environment with new foods, traveling can really off set your body…but also your wellness journey. But! It doesn’t have to!

This weekend while visiting a long-time friend of mine in LA, I’ve committed to 5 things to avoid Vacay-Mayday.

Roots: Going Deeper

October 22, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul, Nourished Body

I recently had some dental work done to fix alignment issues in my mouth. The treatment was pretty straight forward:

I was to pay x amount, follow the instructions attentively and in x weeks I will achieve x results.

The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like how I use to view my work as a personal trainer.

Clients would pay x amount, follow the instructions carefully, and in x weeks they would achieve x results.

Both of these equations lead to a positive end result. The difference between these two equations, however, was that one ends in lasting change all the time, the other does some of the time. Can you guess which one is which?

The answer is in the roots. See, my dental changes are a permanent change because my dentist made sure to address the problem deeper than the surface level. In my early days as a personal trainer though, my guidance and strategies often seemed to just stay at the surface--clients would commit to my program, loose weight, stop the program, gain the weight back. What I didn't realize at the time was that our health and weight journey is usually grounded in deep emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual roots. Let's dig a little deeper :)

I can't...

September 24, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Home

I can't play volleyball like I used to. I can't run without my knees hurting. I can't take long strenuous bike rides because I don't have the energy. When I get in a new season of setting goals and committing to being healthier, I sometimes find myself falling into the "I can't" trap: focusing on all the things "I can't do." However, when I reflect on the seasons of my life when I’ve made positive progress, I'm usually focusing on all the things I CAN do, even if they're SMALL things.

This week I'm committed (with the help of my accountability partners) to get rid of the I can't's and I'm going to focus on one thing I can control-- what I put into my mouth. With a lifetime of experience to look back on, I admit that I'm always healthiest when I focus on eating plenty of vegetables.

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

September 10, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

Two weeks ago, I received clearance from my doctor to get serious about my postpartum health and exercise journey. Check out my first post here.

As many of you have read, I recommend setting goals for your wellness and fitness journey that are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals (Living Wellness for Growth Groups, p. 17). I've recently decided to make it my goal to be back to pre-baby shape and size by Thanksgiving. That gives me about 3 months from now (5 months since baby was born)--Just in time to make a new plan to get through the holidays, healthy- and with a new baby! My point in blogging this journey is not to keep a digital journal, but rather give you inspiration AND to receive encouragement as well. I have been thrilled with your response from my first post-- please keep your stories coming! I want to hear about your struggles and progress.

I'm happy to report I HAVE made a little progress these past two weeks, but progress nonetheless! Here's what I've been up to, I hope this inspires you, wherever you're at in your health journey.

Autumn Peace- Piece by Piece

September 02, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul, Nourished Body

I feel blessed to live in a place where the season of fall feels so magical. As a child, I loved to jump into piles of raked leaves. This was one of our favorite family celebrations to welcome fall.

Many people celebrate the fall season with crisp morning walks, cozy blankets, or homemade apple pie. These I do enjoy, but mostly, fall is a season to meditate on a change in of season, a change in life, and to find peace within God's divine presence.

Without the warmth of the sun the leaves surrounding us will begin to change and true colors will be revealed. Friends, we have unique colors within ourselves too, at all times of our lives. God creates our colors to change and shine, and not to be covered up. See your colors as transition, moving into the next season of life. Someone once said to me, "Without change, there will be no change". This made so much sense to me, and to this day I silently speak this in my mind when I am afraid of the unknown or of what will be in my future.

The Last Button: One Mom’s Journey to Postpartum Weight Loss

August 27, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Body

I couldn't tell if the audible crying in the bedroom was from my baby or me as I tried on my jeans, for the third time. I'm not even talking about my everyday jeans. I'm taking about the other ones.

I'm almost 8 weeks postpartum. Although I've come a long way from the moo-moo I wore home from the hospital, I still can't comfortably wear ANY of my old pants that have a button, snap, or zipper.

A few minutes into my pity party, however, I looked in the mirror. I starred at the reflection looking back at me. As I gazed at my reflection, I realized that I wasn’t actually feeling upset with myself at all—I was only reacting to how I thought I should feel after seeing a number on the scale that I haven’t seen since my “overweight” days. Once I really searched my heart, I realized I was quite at peace with my body and my weight, albeit larger than I would like. My body had carried yet another (praise the Lord!) precious life in it for nine months and now serves to feed and sustain that life. My body carries the marks of motherhood, and I’m so so grateful for them.

Although I am at peace with myself, I feel excited and ready to start getting back into shape for this next season—life with a baby, two older children, and a business. I'm ready to enjoy feeling strong and healthy again. With support from my family and friends, I'm ready to take this journey that I have coached so many people on.

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Sunday Morning Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

August 05, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Recipes

One of my favorite memories of Sunday mornings as a kid was waking up and seeing my dad walk into the kitchen with a box of delicious pastries from the bakery for us to eat before church. He'd slowly open the lid to reveal the delectable, flaky goodness. He always remembered to get my favorite...a chocolate croissant. Mmmmmmm.

Now that I have a family of my own, I want to carry on some of the traditions I cherished in childhood. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a bakery that serves delicious treats that are safe with my new food allergies, but that hasn't stopped me from trying to recreate some my childhood memories.

My toddler son loves bread-y products (apple didn't fall far from the tree!) and I was determined to find/create a recipe we could all enjoy that would remind me of those Sunday morning treats. Prior to changing my diet to gluten free for medical reasons, I was quite the banana bread connoisseur, so when I found a gluten-free banana chocolate chip recipe I was thrilled!

Quote_ Rest & self care are so important. Whenever you have time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel._.png

More of Me

July 30, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Well friends, tomorrow marks the last day of our #LWGG30Day Challenge. Thank you for sharing this journey with me and supporting me as I challenged myself with my wellness goals.

My hope is that over this past month, you found our wellness challenge posts to be inspiring. Inspiring you to nourish your body with different types of exercise. Inspiring you to choose your body with foods that not only satisfy your hunger but nourish your body with the building blocks it needs for health. Inspiring you to take time for yourself. And inspiring you to put nourishing your body, mind, and spirit at the forefront of your mind in order to worship God, honor God, and serve God more fully.

Two weeks ago, I shared with you in this post my progress with the Living Wellness 30 Day Challenge, what exercises I found I enjoyed, and a few take-aways that I learned from this challenge.

Today, I'd like to share with you one final take-away.

This nutritional yeast package in my pantry already has the new FDA food label!

Cracking the Code: Reading Food Labels

July 23, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Home

While grocery shopping lately, I picked up a can of soup I frequently ate as a kid. I could feel my mouth starting to salivate just looking at the well crafted marketing until I realized, "gah! it's just the flavor enhancers in here that my taste buds are seeking!" I turned the can over and was mortified by the ingredients listed on the back. Five or so years ago, I would have had no idea how to decode the cryptic ingredients listed on many packaged foods, but now cracking the ingredient code has become a second language to me:

Each of these ingredients put up red flags in my mind. My general and not-very-scientific rule is: if I can't pronounce it or don't know what it is, I need to research it before it's going in my mouth. Needless to say, I put that can back on the shelf and quickly walked away. Now, I'm definitely not slamming all packaged foods. They serve many purposes and you'll definitely find some in my pantry; however, I've come to inspect the foods we place in our pantry and fridge through the lens of the information below. Live informed, not in fear, of the foods you eat!

Progress Note

July 15, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Body

I was stressed about getting a paper done for my 9th grade English class. It was late in the day and I was tired, but the assignment was not finished...being type A that I am, I want every task I start to be "finished" and finished well. But, this particular evening, my brain felt it had hit a road block.

My mom suggested "set your alarm for 5am and finish your paper then. It will be very quiet in the house at that time and your brain will have had time to rest and reset." I thought she was crazy (as many high-schoolers often feel about their parents!), but I didn't know what else to do. Little did I know that this simple event would be a defining moment for me.

I woke up the next morning groggy but determined to finish my paper. I read over where I had left off and went to work. My fingers flew across the keys and paragraph by paragraph I finished my paper before the rest of the house was up.

Now what's the point of this story? Looking back, it wasn't until that early fall morning that I realized how awake and alive I felt in the morning. Over the years since, these early morning times of quiet have served to be such a blessing--from times of productive studying and finishing assignments to devotions and sweet snuggle time with my toddler. I'm surprised though that I never considered until this #LWGG30Day Wellness Challenge that this would be a great time for a workout.

Getting Back on Track

July 01, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

Friends, I have another confession to make: I have fallen off the exercise bandwagon. Like, that wagon is so far beyond my gaze that I may need a telescope....or two.

Back in March, I wrote about starting a new chapter in my own wellness journey. For years I've been diligently working on my nutrition while allowing the fitness part of my health to fly under the radar. In March, I was all set to get a regular fitness routine established not because I felt that I had to or "should," but because I realized that this was one area of my life that I was ignoring. I wasn't nourishing my body with the exercise it needs to stay healthy and strong. I had moved through the Stages of Change (listed on page 18 of Living Wellness for Growth Groups) from pre-ontemplation all the way to action.

But then, you know what happened? Ready for the really big confession?

This week I looked back at my Living Wellness Journal and my Living Wellness for Growth Groups book after wiping some dust off of them. Want to know where the writing stopped? Week 1. I completed a week of journal entries and the first chapter of questions, and then...I got too comfortable....too busy....top confident that I would be able to keep up this new routine on my own. Many of us have heard that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. No wonder my new fitness routine flopped after just 7!

Your Foundation

June 18, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

To conclude the sermon on the mount, where Jesus gives instructions on how to live an abundant life, he tells a parable about two people: one who built a house on sand and one who built a house on rock. When turbulent weather came, the house with the firm foundation was
the only one left standing.

Your foundation, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, determines your ability to weather life when it gets rough.

With almost 30 million people, approximately 10% of the US population, struggling with high glucose and 86 million struggling with prediabetes (Centers for Disease Control), it's time to get to all of our why's? Why are we eating enriched flour, bleached flour, white flour products, puffed grain products, factory-made modern soy? How do we break the cycle? Do we have the knowledge to do so?

Removing processed carbs from our diet is one of the secret weapons to reducing sugar cravings once and for all.

What would happen if we all started to eat to nourish our bodies, rather than to stuff them and satisfy every craving? What would happen if we made our food choices based on what we needed in a given day rather than what was handed to us through a window?

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