It’s so easy to pick up things that are not ours to carry.

Especially in relationships.

If someone you love is having a bad day, it’s so easy to let that bleed over to our own day.

Being kind, loving, supportive, is amazing.

Picking up the other person’s bad day, and strapping it on, is another.

We have (probably) the last spring cold front coming in this weekend! I know some people even have snow! So I feel justified in posting a soup recipe in April! Also, I love any easy recipe that is freaking delicious! And Easy! Also this JUST has 7 ingredients….7!

This is a fabulous recipe to make for entertaining because you can double or triple this recipe easily! And this one is ALL about the TOPPINGS! You can go wild with a toppings bar filled with all different things to add to your bowl! And people will be very impressed…but really it just has 7 ingredients!

Isn’t it funny how surprises can be a good or a bad thing?

Growing up, my family wasn’t a big surprise family. My mom is a planner and very organized and she doesn’t love surprises herself.

But I do remember the morning I turned 3. It’s so clear in my memory now almost 37 years later. I woke up, and there was a make all your dreams come true play kitchen in my room! The one that has a microwave that opens, and a sink, and a phone, and little table that pulls out, and an oven. I was so excited I squealed and ran around. My parents still talk about how much they love this memory too. (Also the Care Bears nightgown!)

I love smoothies because you can pack a whole bunch of nutrients in one easy blended meal or snack!

You can change it up, add new fruits, add more carbs for a meal, or keep it lighter for a snack. It’s a great way to sneak in veggies for kids, and for adults! You can make pretty smoothie bowls, or quickly pour into a to-go cup on the run. We rarely get enough greens in life and smoothies are a GREAT way to get raw veggies/spinach/kale- and you can’t taste it!

It’s a word I knew almost nothing about. 

When I look back now, I had no idea I was codependent. none.

I knew there were some unhealthy dynamics going on in our marriage. And eventually I felt the stress in my physical body too. 

What is it? The Dictionary definition is this:

“excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner, typically one who requires support on account of an illness or addiction.”

My definition is this:

“The deep down feeling in your gut that something is “off” in a relationship. You can’t shake it, others might have commented about it, and eventually, if left untouched… it’s impossible to ignore.”

My mother is in her early 70’s and has THE most gorgeous skin I’ve ever seen. It’s glowy and smooth and beautiful. I finally started to care about my skin about 5 years ago (Why don’t we listen when our moms tell us we will care about those sunburns one day?!). I asked her what she was using, and she introduced me to Sanre!

I’ve experienced a broad spectrum of motherhood moments. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, which basically means low estrogen and high testosterone. My body didn’t ovulate. We went through testing and clomid, and timing and counting and testing for two years. In that time, we adopted our son. When I finally got pregnant, my baby boy was only 6 months old. This is a picture of me about 2 months pregnant!

I LOVE ice cream. Jeni’s ice cream is my favorite but for a healthier version….try Banana “Ice Cream”! This recipe is dairy free and will give you a little carb boost without all the sugar overlaid of normal ice cream. There’s even some hidden spinach in here to make that pretty minty color!

I love a ONE skillet meal. Who wants to wash a bunch of pots and pans? Not me.

This is also a balanced meal with protein (chicken sausage), fat (ghee), and carbs (veggies/sweet potatoes). So you’ll feel full and satisfied, and this is a great one for leftovers for lunch the next day! Or you can even add eggs to this and make a delicious brunch out of it!

One of the biggest things I’ve learned in therapy is this- I can only work on ME. I’m the only one I can control or change. I can grow and heal and do the work to become the healthiest version of me. But I can’t do that for anyone else.

This was a little confusing to me in regards to my husband and children. I thought their decisions and actions reflected me. I can’t force my children to make good choices. I can teach them to have kind hearts and make good decisions, even better I can model that for them. I can love and support my husband but I can’t change him. (Obviously I can take things away from my kids and force them to “obey”, but i’m more concerned with their hearts and why they make decisions”.

We go through a LOT of apples at our house. The Honeycrip is the champion of all apples, and I swear to you- a slice of honeycrisp with some almond butter and mini chocolate chips is one of the best desserts around!

We ended up with way too many apples one day and I just decided to create a healthier version of apple crisp. Most desserts that are made with fruit really don’t need sugar. This yumminess is sweetened with vanilla extract, cinnamon, and maple syrup! Bravery gives this dish 10 out of 10 stars too!

“The world breaks everyone and afterwards many are strong at the broken places.”

-Ernest Hemingway

“Recovery does not mean immunity or exemption from problems; recovery means learning to face and solve problems, knowing they will appear regularly.”

-The Language of Letting Go

In March of 2018 I went to a place called Onsite. I call it adult therapy camp. It’s right outside of Nashville on a beautiful piece of land. I stayed in the beautiful mansion built in the 1800’s that is the centerpiece of the property. There were about 50 people there that week, and we were broken into groups of 8 or 9. Each group was assigned a therapist, and they told us about 6 months of therapy happens during the course of a week there. It was amazing and hard and excruciating and life changing and beautiful all at once. 

When I first started eating a mostly Paleo diet, (meaning no grains, gluten, diary) rice was not on the approved list. This was almost 10 years ago and there were no gluten free all purpose flours or already riced cauliflower. I can’t tell you how much time it takes to rice cauliflower by hand and make sure the liquid is out, or make a cauliflower pizza crus, or find the right mixture of paleo flours for bakingt. Ah how time has changed healthy eating! Thankfully now there are so many ready made options for paleo or just cleaner eating! If you are staying away from rice for the carb content or just trying to add more veggies in to your diet- be thankful for frozen riced cauliflower!

We all love pasta but my stomach does not! The carbs and sauces that usually go together in a pasta dish just don’t sit well with me. But hallelujah there is a vegetable that acts and looks JUST like pasta- the spaghetti squash! This is a true comfort dish that is warm and cheesy and amazing!

I wanted to share a few things that have really helped me in my overall wellness the past two years. My motivation behind this website is to create a space that helps people feel and live better. 

I believe mental and emotional and physical health are all closely tied. I also believe our bodies talk to us about how we are doing in all of those areas.

Honestly- I ignored some things my body was trying to tell me for too long. I lived with some stress symptoms that were trying to tell me I needed to make some changes. I didn’t listen for a long time and had to really do some work to recover. My therapist calls it “cues”.

Are these as satisfying as real fries? Do they taste like real fries? Nope. But they are delicious!

And easy to make! They are great for leftovers and can be eaten warm or cold with some hummus!

Start by peeling whole carrots and chopping into “frie size” pieces.

I must have chocolate in my life. Take away wine, salty snacks, dairy- anything else. But I just need a little bit of chocolate. And I love any little snack that’s just ready to go. Protein balls are one of my favorite little snacks. These are gluten free and dairy free. I made these in my mini food processor, but you could even use a vitamix.

These take a few ingredients, but once you have these ingredients on hand, it’s easy to throw these together.

I remember growing up and never hearing about anyone going to a therapist. Or if they did, it was because something was seriously wrong. Maybe grieving a death or an addiction.

In about year 7 of our marriage, 3 kids had come in 4 years and we were feeling the stress. We started asking around about marriage counselors and honestly, it was so nice to hear that other couples went to therapy. We found one we wanted to try and I remember how nervous I was on that first visit.

But I quickly realized how helpful it was to have a 3rd party help us see things differently. It brought so much clarity and better communication. (Things you never think you’ll need when you’re newly married!)

I named this recipe Repeat Muffins, because you WILL make them on repeat. We have made these almost weekly for many years. All my babies have stood on little stools and tasted the batter, while “helping” me measure and stir. They still love to help and their favorite part is adding the honey (so they can lick their little fingers) and spooning the mixture into the muffin tin. I have learned to choose one child first to crack the egg, or there is mass fighting:)