“Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless.”
— Terri Guillemets
We made it to December and finally have cooler temps in Texas – not yet wintery feeling but still feels good! That alone is cause for celebration. 😆 Seriously though, this is the time of year for us to feel amazing with our healthy hustle! Tis the Season for finding balance and making breakthroughs. For sustaining momentum we’ve built all year long and to keep it going through the New Year – not put it off til after! We don’t fall apart – we conquer. We are overcomers! We don’t hide behind busy-ness or pull our heads beneath covers – we show up for our life and we decide to shine bright! 💪
This month on my Living Life Fit blog space, that is our heart focus.
First things first- make sure to check this week’s class calendars:
Let’s sweat together!
Find my group fitness Classes and online workouts here
Tis the Season for Soups!
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” — Edith Sitwell
🍜 This colder weather and these shorter days make it the perfect time to add more soups into your recipe rotation. That is why I’m sharing a delicious and nutritious recipe each week that you can incorporate into your weekly meal plan, or at the very least just save to use anytime this winter! 👌
Let’s start with a Roasted Cauliflower & Potato Soup! Cauliflower always pairs well with potatoes, especially for those who aren’t huge fans of cauliflower. 😆
Roasted Cauliflower & Potato Soup
Adapted from Laura Wright, The First Mess
INGREDIENTS
1 large head of cauliflower
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
2 medium yellow onions
1-2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
5-6 cups vegetable stock
sea salt
ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Chop cauliflower into florets and place them into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
- Chop potatoes and onions into about 1 inch pieces and add them to the dish with the cauliflower.
- Sprinkle the rosemary leaves over the vegetables in the dish. Season everything with salt and pepper as desired. Add the oil and toss everything together until coated with the oil, rosemary, and seasonings.
- Roast the vegetables for about an hour, flipping and tossing them part-way through. Then remove from the oven and let them cool enough to handle.
- Blend the vegetables in batches, adding the vegetable stock as needed for blending. Pour the mixture into a large pot. When it’s all blended, heat the soup over medium until it gently boils. Add more stock or water to thin the soup out as desired and adjust seasoning to taste.
Can’t wait to hear who tries this out and what you think! Are you a fan of cauliflower? How do you like it best?
This the Season for Health-ful Eating !
I am an emotional eating overcomer – did you know!? Sure am! Stress eating, boredom eating, binge eating, restrictive eating, avoiding eating… I’ve done all of these in response to unresolved emotions and not knowing how to cope. But God. Several books and tear-filled moment of prayer in the pantry… and I’ve overcome!! But I stay alert and vigilant, lest I get to comfortable or casual with my healing and the enemy creep in unawares where he already knows I’ve been vulnerable before.
“Conscious eating is a big step toward conscious living.” – Natasha Nuit Pantovic
Ok now the moment you have all been waiting for…how do we actually enjoy eating this holiday season, while making sure we don’t overeat?! 🤔 Can it be done? Yes, yes it can.
Here is how to enjoy the holidays (and life) the health-ful way:
✔️ Don’t skip meals. This only makes you more likely to binge at the next meal. Yall know im an advocate for intermittent fasting. This is different. While intermittent fasting I’m giving a period of time for my gut to rest while still eating fully in a later l window of time than what may be considered traditional for breakfast – yet getting all my calories to fuel my body for the demands I place on it. Skipping a meal to punish yourself or “make up” for binge eating is a recipe for disaster. I’ve been there!
✔️ Consume a lot of colors. Fill up on the fresh fruits and veggies with more vitamins and nutrients, more filling fiber, more water containing foods, and yes a lot less calories from even your veggie carbs – than processed non veggie carbs .
✔️ Eat slowly. Chew your food and savor the flavors. Put your utensils down between every bite. This one is tough for me! I tend to eat at my laptop when I’m alone 🫣 and just want to hurry up and be done so both hands are free.
✔️ Indulge in favorites only. You don’t have to try everything. Stick to your favorites that you know you will enjoy. Is it really worth it if it doesn’t actually please your tongue at least? I don’t know about you – but I have had a tendency to eat out of FOMO – and felt justified in the moment – even though I didn’t even enjoy it! 🤦🏻♀️ so dumb. Make it worth t because YOU are, too.
✔️ Drink mostly water. Don’t fill up on sugary drinks. Let me tell ya this one is so simple and makes such a big impact in energy and weightloss efforts.
✔️ Stop when you feel full. Quit eating at the very first feeling of fullness. Stop stuffing yourself bc you feel you “have to” clear your plate or else you’ll feel guilty , ungrateful, wasteful. Giving your body more than it requires is actually wasteful and taking your own state of health for granted.
️✔️ Be thankful. Take time to appreciate your food and say a prayer of thanks. In fact, pause before every meal if you’re an emotional eater like I was and ask God if this eating opportunity is even needed… His answer might surprise you and help you see where you can have more freedom from -and with – food at every meal time .
✔️Focus on the people! Visit with your loved ones and socialize away from the food table to prevent mindless eating. Tune in! Gosh this makes such a difference to quality of life!!! Yours and theirs.
These are simple strategies but they really work. Give them a try at your next holiday gathering, or even in everyday life! “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
What tip to avoid overeating during this Holiday Season is most helpful to you?
That’s it for now!
Keep Living Life Fit,
Angel
Angel Ballance 