Well Merry Christmas ya'll. It’s Tuesday, and I’m on the plane right now flying back to Salt Lake City to be with friends and family for the holidays and I’m so excited! No place like home for the Holidays right? Well as I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you guys this week before Christmas, I’ve been having a common theme come up. The Christmas tradition that we may not like, but feel it every year. The feeling that lingers around us all at Christmas time is the feeling of a sugar overload, and food-coma. Who’s with me? Most of us enjoy a little extra intake of goodies this time of year and it usually leaves us with a nice cozy layer of fluff to start off the new year. While the extra layer may be nice for the warmth (if you’re always freezing like I am!) we probably don’t want it to stick around for too long. Well I’ve come up with 5 tips to help you bounce back from the Holidays and start the new year off right.

Have the best Christmas weekend and soak up the company of loved ones and the spirit that Christmas brings! 

FRIDAY FAVORITES: Christmas Edition

Its Friday, yeeessssss!! It's been a while since I've shared some of my favorite products with you, so since we're just a week away from Christmas, I thought I'd do a Christmas gift edition for this week (just incase you've been slightly procrastinating ;)

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1. Altra Footwear Torin 2.5 • First off, I've said it before, Altra Running shoes are my favorite! The Torins are my favorite shoes for longer road runs. They are soooo comfortable. They just came out with the Torin 2.5 and I love this Coral color! You can find them here!

2. NYX Wonder Stick • This is my go to, quick and simply make up routine. I put on some mascara and use this Wonder Stick to contour a bit. Highlight the cheekbones and under eye with the light side, then darken under the cheek bone and top of forehead. I'm not a make up guru at all so this works great for me! No powder or mess, just a quick swipe of the wonder stick! (My husband calls it my war paint when I'm putting it on haha). I buy it at Target!

3. Gymberg Resistance Bands • These are my latest Fitness discovery. The Gymberg training band system is awesome for take it anywhere training. I'm all about at home training if you're busy and have kids at home. Also training on the go! When we lived abroad I would've LOVED these for traveling workouts. These bands come with 5 different resistant levels, a door attachment, ankle attachments, and handles. They are designed with a canvas strap center so you can hold it down with your feet, or around a tree without it sliding around and you'll always have even tension for both arms! A lot of my fitness programs can be done from home and these bands would work perfect for the added resistance. Best part, the whole package is only $14.99 on Amazon! Order this weekend and you'll get them by Christmas, find them here. Bonus: they have a 1 year, 100% money back guarantee! 

4. GSI Outdoors Glacier Microlite 500ml • I really just love water bottles and always have one on me! My favorite as of lately is this GSI outdoors flip top waterbottle. Keeps your drink hot or cold for 8 hours! I'm picky about my water bottle spouts too and this one is awesome! Not too big where all the water poors out on our face (is that just me?), you don't have to suck, You don't have to unscrew a lid which takes forever sometimes, and it's easy to clean! Find it here

5. These are my latest favs from Lulu! They're designed for yoga, so not the best running pant if that's what you're looking for. I love them for cruisin around, TRX, yoga, Reformer Pilates, HIIT. They just hug you in so nice :) I love how they are high waisted and the material is heavenly. I have the deep green color, but this dark magenta is also fabulous! Check them out here

6. This is my latest favorite top from Lulu. Its so lightweight and breathable and I love the tie in the back. You can leave it loose as just a slit, hanging a little bit longer over the tush, or tie it up! And its stinky sweat resistant, always a plus. I have the grey, but I love all the colors! Check it out here

So there you have it! Some gifts that will keep on giving, helping you reach your 2017 fitness goals :)

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!! (and just so you know I don't get anything from these companies haha I just want to share my tips with my awesome followers!)

Book Club: The Rules of "Normal" Eating

 

WEDNESDAY WISDOM

Here in Spokane Washington, I train at a gym called FitEdge. We work with our clients to obtain the 4 pillars of health. These are Mental, Physical, Fuel, and Regeneration. As part of our mental health, we aim to create a healthy relationship with yourself and food. To help with this, we started a little book club with our clients and I'd love for you to join in! Right now we are reading a book called 'The Rules of "Normal" Eating' by Karen R. Koenig. Each week we are discussing 1 or 2 chapters. I am loving this book so far! It's so real and relatable to all the things we deal with in our heads that we may think our normal, or we may not really know what "normal" eating is. This book will help you get on track with your core beliefs that effect your relationship with food and your success with maintaining a healthy weight. She breaks it down in such a great way. It's a quick and easy read to get you started off right approaching the new year! You can check out the Book Club blog Here. For now, I'll share this weeks post with you here at Body Design by Britt. 

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This week we get into some great stuff. Chapter 5 is called ‘Beliefs of “normal” eaters’. If you’ve felt like you don’t have any “normal” eating beliefs DON’T PANIC. We can change. In Chapter 4 we talked about reframing our thinking. How do we do this?

1. Step one is to identify your irrational, unhealthy beliefs
2. Step two is to rework them into rational, healthy ones

Think of your own irrational beliefs towards Food, Eating, Weight, and Body. Now try to transform them into rational beliefs. She gives us an example for each category in this chapter (pg 87). I like the example for Food: irrational - “There are lots of bad and forbidden foods I shouldn’t eat”. How many times have we heard this?! “Don’t eat this, but you can eat that”, or “Top 5 foods to NEVER eat”. Sound familiar? Lots of catchy fitness magazine titles may come to mind. Well she explains that a more rational belief would be “There is no such thing as a bad or forbidden food” or “Foods can be nutritious or not, but they don’t have good or bad qualities” or “No one can tell me what foods I should or shouldn’t eat”. Those sound better right?

The chapter goes on to list several beliefs of “normal” eaters, showing us the irrational belief and then how it changes to a rational belief. One of my favorites was “Feeling good or bad about myself depends on what I eat or don’t eat”. That is totally irrational but I’ve caught myself thinking that several times. The more rational thought would be, “How I feel about myself has nothing to do with what I eat or don’t eat”. This is so powerful. Our self worth and confidence is so much more than food & eating! We need to know that and believe it.

One of my favorite excerpts from the chapter is on page 98. “Normal eating is about listening to your body and making healthy decisions. It’s about pleasure, satisfaction, abundance, self-trust, good self-care, internal messages, and most of all, enjoying food. Disordered eating – whether compulsive/emotional or restrictive- is about fear, deprivation, rigidity, childish gratification, mistrusting oneself, poor self-care, external messages, self denial, and scary feelings. What is most striking about the comparison is that disordered thinking about eating has so little to do with actual put-it-on-your-plate-and-enjoy-it food!”

What are CORE beliefs?? In the book she defines them as "your most basic assumptions about yourself and the world, your take on life; they contain your bedrock values and most firmly held convictions about how things should work." This is where our beliefs about food, eating, weight, and body all stem from.

What are your core beliefs?

If you believe in yourself and that you have big dreams your going to accomplish, you are more likely to take care of your health and fuel your body the best you can to reach those dreams! In this chapter she helps us with tools for figuring out what our core beliefs are. Once you’ve discovered your list of core beliefs (about 10 or so) weed out the irrational ones and reframe them into rational beliefs following her example in the book. Some examples of other core beliefs might be -the glass is always half full, not half empty  -We can achieve anything in life with hard work  -We get what we deserve  -Skinny people are happier  -Rich people are happier  -Money can't buy happiness  -etc. (mantras that you live by)

An example that I found while looking into my core beliefs is the belief that “People may not like me if I’m not in shape or gain weight.” This is totally irrational! For this exercise I reframed this belief into “My weight or physical appearance will not effect how much the people I care about love me or how they feel towards me.” By changing this belief, I will change other irrational thoughts and fears that come along with it. This includes being scared to eat in front of certain people, or feeling pressured to look a certain way.

How do we connect our core beliefs to our thinking about food, eating, weight, and our body? Well she gives us a 3 step guide!

1. Identify the eating- or body-related behavior you want to change
2. Identify the irrational eating- or body-related belief underlying the behavior
3. Identify the irrational core belief that underlies the food/weight/body- related belief

Easy enough? give it a try! Here is an example from the book:

• Behavior: Finishing all the food on my plate
• Belief: I am being wasteful if I don’t finish all the food on my plate.
• Core Belief: Being wasteful is an unforgivable sin

This totally describes me! This week I’ve been practicing being ok with leaving food on my plate if I’m not hungry for it. Being OK with scraping food left on my plate into the garbage if its not enough to save for tomorrow. I’ve made progress! Find a belief you have towards food/eating/or body that you want to change and practice this week.

Another example of this:

• Behavior: Weighing myself every day
• Belief: I need to weight myself to know what I should or shouldn’t eat
• Core Belief: I can’t trust my body to know what it needs

This is a great exercise to figure out where we can adjust our daily thoughts and behaviors that stem from our core beliefs. Remember, it may take a while to identify and change beliefs and behaviors, and that’s Ok! The more we sift through and work towards identifying these beliefs, the easier it will become.

What were your thoughts about chapter 5?

My 3 S's to avoid the "All or Nothing" mindset trap

We’ve all been there, “well I already had a donut for breakfast, the rest of the day is shot. I’ll eat whatever crap I want for the rest of the day” or “I don’t have time to do my full workout today so I mine as well not even do anything” or “If I’m going to eat healthy I can’t have ANY sugar or ANY fatty foods for the entire month” or “I’ve already had one cookie, mine as well finish the whole bag!” Sound familiar??

Today I want to talk about a common state of mind that I see with clients, and have experienced myself. I’ve been reading about it in my book “the rules of Normal eating” as well. This is the trap of the “All or Nothing" mentality. The thought that there’s no middle ground with health. You’re either extremely healthy, chewing on organic kale, or extreme on the side of sweets and treats and couch sitting. 

In the book I’m reading ‘The rules of “normal” Eating’ (you can follow along with my book club here) she talks about how changing our beliefs towards food will change our behavior with food. When changing our beliefs we want to take a look at which of our beliefs are irrational vs. rational, and get rid of those irrational beliefs. For example, the belief that eating 1 cookie is just as bad as eating the whole bag so you mine as well eat the whole bag, is totally irrational! A more rational thought would be, ok I allowed myself 1 cookie, I’ll feel much better if I stop there rather than eating the whole bag. 

The problem with the “All or Nothing” mindset is that it becomes hard to maintain these extremes long term and we end up riding this up and down roller coaster. We’re either feeling pressure to be “perfectly healthy”, or feeling bad about ourselves for falling off the wagon. But the truth is we can be healthy in the middle! It's called MODERATION, and not viewing food as the enemy!

I think a big part of this for most people is over complicating it. We have so many voices around us saying “you have to count calories and macros” or “weighing your food is the way to go” and the chatter goes on and on. We think we have to do all this extra stuff if we want to be healthy and it becomes overwhelming and time consuming! What if I told you there’s a simpler way? I never teach calorie counting or macro counting to clients because I want to give you tools you will use for long term success. Who wants to be crunching numbers every time they eat for the rest of their lives? We’ll learn more about how to simplify below. 

Alright, now that we’re more aware of what the “All or Nothing” mindset is, how can we avoid it?? Here are my 3 S’s for avoiding this mindset that I’ve had success with in my life and want to share with you.

1. Simplify. Forget the measuring and counting, and use your built in portion control kit, your hands! This is an easy way to control your portions that I’ve adopted from Precision Nutrition. They’ve made this awesome infographic that I’ve attached to share with you.
2. Have a “Sanity Keeper”. What is this you might ask? Well its a food that you love, and can’t see yourself every living without, that you allow yourself. It’s just enough to take the edge off when you get that naughty food craving. You know that you are never going to give this up. At times when you need to cut back on sugar, or lower your carb intake, you may need to avoid certain foods, but this Sanity Keeper food you’ve chosen can always be in your life. The key is to allow it in moderation. This will help you avoid feeling deprived which usually results in a binge. For me its chocolate. I know I can have a little square of dark chocolate if I’m craving dessert and it will take care of that craving for me. I feel satisfied without feeling guilty, it’s a win win!
3. Just Start. the final S is for Start. You may feel overwhelmed thinking that you have to be this extreme healthy person and go on some crazy diet, so you never start. This will never get you to where you want to be. Just start with baby steps. You don’t have to change your life in 1 week. Start with going to the gym once that week. Then add in 2 days a week. Then maybe you start drinking more water and less soda, and then slowly these healthy habits will get easier and become natural to you! 

Well there you have it, my quick and dirty guide on how to avoid the trap of the “All or Nothing” mindset. Remember the 3 S’s: Simplify, Sanity Keeper, and just Start. Leave your comments below on how these strategies have worked in your own life or what other brilliant ideas you’ve come up with on your own! I’d love to hear :)

And as always, your questions are welcome here anytime!

Feel free to share this post along to your friends and family who may be interested in the information. Thanks you guys rock

HEALTHY HOLIDAY TIPS

With Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to share some of my favorite healthy tips for enjoying this time of year, without feeling a massive food-coma-hangover come January. The focus of this post is on Thanksgiving, but you can use these tips throughout the Holiday Season, and throughout the year really! The truth of the matter is there are always going to be parties, get togethers, chances to eat out with friends, and that donut guy at work who always brings treats (sent to sabotage our efforts!), so until we change our mindset towards food there's never going to be that "perfect time" or convenient time to lose weight or reach certain fitness goals. These are things I've found to help me in overcoming overeating and maintaining a healthy body composition all year round.

1) First off, schedule in your sweat session. I'm not saying you can always just work off anything you eat. You don't want to get in the habit of always trying to burn off your previous meal. You'll get no where. But when we're in a healthy routine of exercise, our body manages the food better. We can handle some extra calories on occasion and its not going to be the end of the world. You will feel so much better eating that piece of pie knowing you got your workout in.

2) No need to deprive, Portion control is key! We all have our favorite traditional parts of the thanksgiving meal. I love my Mom's stuffing and her homemade rolls with homemade raspberry jam, the best!! A big part of that is because she only makes them at thanksgiving. So keep in mind that its only 1 time a year. You don't need to healthify your traditional favorites if you don't want to. Enjoy the real deal, but just watch your portions. Have a delicious, flaky, buttery roll, just don't have 5! Typically what happens when we cut ourselves short & make our Shape Magazine Healthified - Tofu Stuffing or whatever it is that we think will be a healthy alternative, we end thanksgiving feeling deprived, maybe full but not satisfied. Then we may end up eating more later on because we never got our full Satisfaction. Enjoy the good stuff, just watch your portions!

3) To help out with that portion control, remember not to overcrowd your plate. We often will just eat whats left on our plate whether we want it or not. So take small portions at first, you can always go back for more if you really want, but its harder to stop if it's on your plate already.

4)  Slow Down! Most the time, over eating is just a result of eating too fast. Our bodies are pretty good at letting us know when we're full, we just have to give it time to relay the message. Practice setting down your fork after you've had a few bites, a few times throughout the meal. Enjoy the company of those around you, drink water, breathe. The food on your plate doesn't have a time limit, it will still be there! And before you get seconds, try to wait at least 10 minutes. That should give your body plenty of time to let you know if its really still hungry. Slow eating is mindful eating!

5) Don't beat yourself up over one meal! Moderation is healthy. Enjoy the holiday, and get back to your healthy routine the next day! Drink lots of water and don't miss your post holiday workout!

Well there you have it! 5 tips to help you stay on your road to healthy this Holiday Season! Have a great thanksgiving everyone! And I've got you covered with a workout! Download my Turkey Burn workout below and do it with the whole fam this weekend! It's a full body blast, guaranteed to make some room for Turkey Dinner ;)

WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Cracking the Craving Code

Think of the last time you had a strong craving to eat something. Whether it was a tub of haagen daz, or a basket of french fries, you wanted it, and you wanted it bad. We all have cravings. Cravings aren’t always bad. Sometimes we crave what our bodies are truly in need of. For example, Chocolate Cravings are for real! Ok maybe not ALL the time, but there are several components in chocolate that the body may become deficient in, especially magnesium and antioxidants. We’re often told to avoid cravings, suppress our cravings, have will power! But what about the concept of satisfying a craving, in a healthy way, which will then allow us to avoid the deprivation and binge cycle that so many of us fall into. Interesting….   

So today I want to talk about figuring out why we’re craving certain foods, checking in with our selves, and satisfying that craving in a healthy way. I’ve been trying to tune in to my own cravings and figure out what it is that I need emotionally or physically, rather than the tub of ice-cream or whatever it may be on my radar. 

• First step: Decide what your mood is when you get the craving. For me I’m more of a happy eater than a depressed eater. In the past, I typically associate good times and happiness with eating treats & desserts. When I’m sad or down I don’t really feel like eating. This differs from person to person depending on experiences you’ve had. If you get home from a long day of work and all you want to do is pound a whole Pizza, thats most likely linked to emotions from work, rather then your body really needing that pizza, and chances are you won’t really feel better after eating the pizza.  
• Second step: Find an alternative fix to satisfy the root of the craving. If you’re craving a Pizza binge when you get home from work, you’re probably feeling a little stressed out from the day. Try the healthy alternative of going for a quick run when you get home, or calling a good friend to talk or vent, or whatever you need to release that work load. Or sometimes for me, I’m with family & friends, and playing games, just having a great time, and I want to eat the whole bowl of peanut butter m&m’s in front of me because I’m just happy! Well if I’m aware of this, I can make sure I’m not putting a bowl of “happy” m&m’s in front of me and replacing that with a veggie tray or something along those lines. This step is basically just weeding out the emotional cravings from the physiological cravings. 
• Third step: Find the healthiest option for what you’re craving and satisfy it. Sometimes it’s a taste, or a smell, or just a texture that we crave. Here’s a list of some that I’ve experienced and my recommended cures:

currently my favorite flavor! just in time for the holidays :) 

1. Something Warm (Hot chocolate, Molten Cake, Cider) —> Herbal Tea! this has been my favorite lately. They have amazing holiday flavors right now that smell and taste delicious, and I don’t crave the sugar loaded hot chocolate anymore!
2. Something Cold (icecream, shake, pudding, popsicle) —>  Frozen Grapes or blueberries, Protein shake, Frozen Banana icecream, Homemade fruit popsicles
3. Something Creamy (pudding, frosting, icecream, creamy soup) —> Avocado, spoon of natural nut butter, healthified mashed potatoes recipe) 
4. Something Salty (potato chips, french fries, crackers) —> Homemade baked french fries, dry roasted nuts (in moderate portion), stove popped popcorn
5. Something Chocolatey —> a small square of rich dark chocolate
6. Stressful eating —> Do 10 burpees and see how you feel!
7. Eating out of Boredom —> Drink a large glass of water & Pick up a good book to start reading (its hard to eat when your hands are holding a book! or do 10 burpees and see how you feel :)

These are just a few tips I thought of and that have worked for me! There’s lots of healthy ways to satisfy cravings, so find what works for you, and I would love to hear your ideas! Remember, cravings aren't always bad. Determine the root, healthify your options, and honor your body!

WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Why Meal Plans fail & how to transform your diet the sustainable way!

Today I want to target the frustration some of you may have experience with, and that is why meal plans don’t work (at least for most of us). If you’ve done one of my online training programs you’ve probably noticed that I give you the healthy basics, and tools to create your own meals, lots of healthy recipes & meal prep ideas, and guidance for building a balanced meal, but its not directly laid out for you as far as: eat this much of this food at this time. I call it a meal guide rather than a meal plan. The reason for this is I want to help you without crippling you. Similar to the concept of “teach a man to fish and he’ll never go hungry” or whatever that saying is. Well the idea is that if you’re given the tools and knowledge to make healthy choices and you know the reasoning behind it and the effects it has on your body, you’re more likely to make those good choices on your own, for the right reasons, resulting in long lasting results. My meal guides focus on realistic goals and healthy habits, relative to your unique starting point and circumstances.

Birthday Dessert!

Here’s the deal, meal plans or diet plans aren’t the best solution for a few reasons. Let me break it down for you. First of all, they’re hard to stick to. I mean life happens. There’s always a weekend out with friends, always a holiday, always a party, and if you have kids they’re always going to need food as well. A common statement I hear is, “this week is my childs birthday party, and its a really busy week, so I’ll start my diet on Monday” or “Well it’s halloween, then its thanksgiving, then its christmas, so I’ll start the program after new years.” Well I don’t expect you to give up every party or holiday in your life so that you can stick to a strict meal plan. This may lead us to rebelling and feeling guilty, resulting in quitting all together. 

Second of all, meal plans are typically meant for a short term effect, maybe it’s really low carb for example, and when followed for too long can result in issues with metabolism, & hormone levels. Or a quick juice cleanse detox, resulting in water weight loss, but no energy. In other words, the meal plan can be a little too perfect. We need to fuel our body depending on our activity level, and if we aren’t getting enough fats, or carbs, or proteins for a long period of time, certain systems in our bodies will not function properly. We may feel overly tired, overly hungry, and have a bad taste in our mouth for healthy eating. This shifts us into that mindset of resenting “health food” and craving more of our favorite comfort or junk food. Viewing salads & vegetables as “diet food” when in reality this is real food. 

overnight oats in a peanut butter jar

Third of all, most meal plans focus on nutrients (Proteins, Carbs, Fats), calories, or measurements (ounces, grams, etc.) instead of actual food. This can be so confusing. When you’re at a restaurant you don’t see the grams of nutrients next to the item, or how many ounces of potatoes are in the dish. With all these numbers and measurements it can be confusing and overwhelming what to focus on and trying to remember all the different recommendations. Was it 50g of Protein, or 60? Am I supposed to have 300 calories for lunch or 400? The point is this can all be nonsense and distraction if you’re missing the whole point of making healthy choices for the right reasons.

When I work with clients working towards fitness goals, I start where they’re at. I have them keep a 2-3 day food journal so I can see what an average day in their stomach looks like. Based on where they’re at, we can set goals, 1 week at a time, to make changes that will stick. We talk about real food, in real life situation, so that we can get real results that will last. I educate on why you’re making the choices and the benefits that will come. If you’re used to hot pockets and dino nuggets, you shouldn’t just immediately jump on the Kale band wagon. Pace yourself and just think, “how can I make this meal just a little bit healthier & better for me?” Maybe its adding a side salad to your hot pocket meal. Then maybe you create a healthier homemade dressing for your salad. Then replacing the hot pocket with a homemade recipe, and it continues until you’re at a level of health where you can feel & perform your best. You will LOVE the process and the positive changes in your body rather than RESENTING your diet or meal plan. Instead of thinking of a list of rules you have to stick to, or what you can and can’t eat, think of food on a spectrum. One end of the spectrum is completely healthy, unprocessed, Organic, grown in your back yard, homemade meal, and the other end is a deep friend twinkie dipped in chocolate. Think of how you can make your meals a little closer to that healthy side of the spectrum. You may find yourself in a situation where the options aren’t perfect, but you can always find the healthier choice. You may also find that the occasional “unhealthy” choice is ok, because its your grandma’s cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, or your favorite flavor of ice cream for your birthday. Its recognizing the difference between splurges that are occasional and totally worth it, and mindlessly eating a box of cookies because they’re in front of you.

Part of my goal with each client is helping them figure out their relationship with food, their strengths, their struggles, and move forward with healthy goals at a healthy pace. Fitting HEALTHY into their lives, not trying to squeeze them into this unrealistic healthy box that we think is the only way to lose weight or get fit. 

So if you want help reaching your goals with weight loss & fitness, please send me an email or hit my up on instagram, I would love to get started! But if you’re looking for a calculated, strict, calorie counting meal plan you won’t find it here, sorry! Feel free to send this over to a friend you think would enjoy!

Happy Wednesday Wisdom ya’ll!

FRIDAY FAVORITES: Trader Joe's List

Its been a while since I've shared my Friday Favorites with ya'll so I thought I'd bring it back with some of my favorite Trader Joe's ingredients as of late. If you read my last post you learned that I'm all about efficiency in the kitchen. A healthy lifestyle means homemade & home prepped meals, but it doesn't have to be time consuming or boring. Check out some of my favs and why I love them!

This Thai Curry Sauce has been one of my best friends lately :) Throw it in the crock put over some pork or chicken, shred it up and serve with sautéed bell peppers, steamed broccoli, carrots, all the veggies! Easy Thai dinner. Can use This awesome Riced Cauliflower as well, amazing! Takes away the hassle of the food processor cauliflower mess, and gives you a quick and easy low carb base to your meal. 

another saucy time saver! This enchilada sauce is what I make my pulled pork/chicken mexican salads with. You put the roast in the crock pot, and pour this sauce over, cook on low for 5-6 hours and wala! Shred it up, serve over lettuce with beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, avocado, and salsa, so good!

This Risotta is a quick and easy side dish with any meal. I added about 2 cups of Quinoa I had already cooked to this mixture and there was plenty of flavor and it added bulk to take it further, we love leftovers here!

When I spend time on a main course meat, or something fancy, and I don't have time to make a salad or green I throw this bag of green beans in the microwave and it gets the job done. Always have some green on your plate is a great motto to live by and this microwavable bag helps sooo much! stir in a little butter and salt and pepper when they're done and in 3 minutes you have a complete meal. (picture is of the empty bag, the process was so fast I didn't even get a picture!)

Alright I'm a big fan of salsa and this is my new favorite! The tomatillo and the mangoes is a fabulous combo. I put a couple spoonfuls on my taco salad instead of dressing, or on my veggie scrambled eggs for breakfast. Adds amazing sweet and spicy flavor.

Individual Guac packs! The larger pouches always go brown before we can finish them off so these packs are perfect for 2. Spread it on your toast, on eggs, Taco salad, quesadilla, tuna salad, so many possibilities! 

Alright, last but no least, I was a little maxed out with hummus, so I tried this Tahini sauce instead. I have been thrilled with my choice! amazing flavor, tasted great with carrots, celery, cucumber, I even spread it on a piece of Dave's Killer Bread, put some turkey, tomatoes, spinach, and broiled cheese on top for an amazing turkey melt open-faced sandwhich. The Tahini sauce was the key ingredient. 

I'd love to hear your favorites! Leave me a comment with your quick and healthy go to ingredients!