Living the Busy Life Community

Who's busy? HA that is a silly question.. WE ARE ALL LIVING THE BUSY LIFE. Right? 

No really though. Can you think of a time you were NOT busy??? Ya we you were like 5 right? 

Point being: BUSY is the excuse of everything. Too busy to call your friends, too busy to do the things that ACTUALLY makes you happy, too busy to take care of yourselves, too busy too busy too busy! 

Think back to a time someone asked you how you are. What was your response? "I am good. We are just soo busy like always" < that is usually my response. Now, at least I KNOW how to fill my life with the things I love that keep me busy, my response has changed to, "I am good! We are busy but loving life!" 

Are you happy with how busy you are or are you feeling:
>tired
>stressed
>anxious
>frantic
>lost

That is usually a sign that you are just going through the motions. You aren't REALLY living. Success in a busy life looks like check marks on a to do list. Now, don't get me wrong I LOVE the sense of accomplishment by checking off items on my to do list. 

Having a FULL life might not seem that different than a busy life but it is. 

A full life is:
>passionate
>meaningful
>present
>interesting
>thoughtful

You are filling your life with the things that make you feel joy. 

So how do we get there. How do we go from busy busy busy to filling our lives with things we LOVE and that make us want to live happier healthier lives.

I am inviting you to join my Living the Busy Life Wellness community. A place where busy mamas or just busy women in general can connect, learn and get on their way to living the full life rather than the busy life. 

There will be info on Meal Prep & Planning (#Livingthebusylife), creating a healthier mindset, how to get moving even when there really is no time (or so you think) in the day and more. My Ultimate goal is to provide you with the tools you need to cultivate a LIFE LONG LASTING healthy & full life all around!

In this group there will be a TON of resources, meal prep ideas, understanding the WHY behind clean eating,moving daily, meal prepping and planning, sharing of recipes, tips and tricks for sustainable healthy eating and living and tools to help you on your journey.

The first week of each month (other than october) will be a DIFFERENT FREE challenge run within THIS group! The other three weeks, there will be some information and motivation posted for SURE... but the real magic will happen 1 x per month.

Everyone is on a different journey to wellness, vitality and ultimately the best version of you so don't be playing the comparison game it won't get you anywhere.

I am SUPER pumped to be on this journey with you and part of your learning and thankful that I can share what I have learned and what inspires and motivates me as well.

This is really gonna be WICKED ladies!! Be sure to add a friend to join in the fun.

Kristie 

Join the Community

Meal Prep Monday (on a Wednesday)

I don't know about you but if my breakfast is on point the rest of my day seems to go way smoother? You feel me ? 
If I nothing else made at least my breakfast will be :p 

I am on week 3 of LIIFT4 ( round 2) just launched to ALL Beachbody on Demand subscribers yesterday (check more out about LIIFT4 here) (See why busy parents benefit from Beachbody on Demand here) 

I like to keep it simple but I also don't like to get bored. So usually I will stick with same thing one week at a time and rotate through. 

This week I have Veggie Loaded Egg cups, roasted maple sweet potato and brussel sprouts then either half a banana or a mandarin orange. For container peeps it is equivalent to 1.5G(1G from egg cups .5 from brussel sprouts) 1R (eggs), .5Y(sweet potatoes) 2t ish. 

Here is what I did. 

Veggie Loaded Egg Cups:


Ingredients: 
12 Eggs
6Cups veggies of choice
(I used 2C peppers, 1C mushrooms, .5C onion and 1.5C kale)
2t Olive Oil 
spices of choice (I used 2t oregano, 1t garlic powder, 1/4t pepper)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and spray a muffin tin with oil (I don't count this but if you want to call it a tsp you can)
Sautee veggies in oil under tender crisp then add 1/4C to each muffin tin. (you use 1/4C because the veggies cook down) 
While veggies are cooking whisk up eggs and spices
Once you have divided the veggies evenly among cups, add eggs. I used a large glass measuring cup so it is easy to pour and I just pour equal amounts into each cup and go around until I am out of eggs. (some people don't like doing this because you aren't guaranteed EXACT portions but it is close enough) 

Bake 350 for 25 mins or until there is no liquid left. 
2 egg cups are equal to 1R(protein)1G(veggies) 

Roasted Sweet Potato and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
3Cups halved brussel sprouts ( I use frozen baby brussel sprouts)
1tsp Evoo
dash pepper and salt (optional)

3C diced sweet potato
.5tsp Evoo
1/2T maple Syrup 
dash cinnamon

Directions:
Toss brussel sprouts with oil and seasonings then spread in a single layer on a large foil lined cookie sheet 1/2 side.
Toss sweet potato with oil, syrup and cinnamon then spread on the other side of the foil lined cookie sheet 

Bake 400F 20-25 mins. 

 Happy. Healthy. Food. 

How Gratitude can Improve Your Life

Why is it that we tend to only practise gratitude in the upcoming days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday? 

Researchers at UC Berkley and Harvard conducted studies on the benefits of practising gratitude daily.(The links are the studies) Of course their studies concluded that those who practise gratitude regularly were overall happier and healthier! Physically they report lower blood pressure and a better immune system,  mentally they report more joy and happiness. <3 

In this post I just wanted to share ways that you can add start to add the practise of gratitude into your life. 

Ways to practise gratitude:

1. Start a Gratitude journal: the simple act of writing down 3-5 things that you are grateful for daily can really improve your mood and help create a positive outlook on life. Amazon has lots The Five Minute Journal is awesome! 

2. Don't be picky; appreciate all that you have: Honestly, I used to be extremely picky about everything and didn't take time to appreciate the little things in life. 

3. Find Gratitude in your challenges: It isn't all about positive experiences. Sometimes the challenges in life lead us to positive destinations. 

4. Practise Mindfulness/Meditation: This one is still pretty tricky for me as my mind wanders ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE, which is why I need to focus on it! Mindfulness is when you really focus on what you are grateful for and see it. Take 5-10 mins each day. Meditation is where you quiet your mind and focus on the here and now, your breath, let all the tension and stress release from your body. Using an app like Headspace or Calm really helps. 

There are many challenges and things out there you can start. 

Here is a 7 Day one to get you on the right path! 

Day 1: A moment or person that inspired you that you are grateful for: Think back on your life. What was something that happened to you that helped get you to where you are today. Think of a person who inspired you in your life. Write about it. Share it with someone or even thank that person for inspiring you! 

Day 2: Show gratitude to your elders. Parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles or anyone older and wiser than you that helped get you to where you are today. Write them a thank you note (ACTUALLY mail it. Who doesn't love getting mail still), send flowers or a little gift. 

Day 3: Self-love is so so so important to your happiness. What is one thing you love about yourself. Write about it. Share it with someone. Make this a daily habit. Be grateful for the person you are. You are uniquely and wonderfully made. 

Day 4: Pay it forward. Seriously, why would you not want to make others days brighter? Bake cookies for a neighbour, call your friend up for a coffee date whatever you choose! Make someone's day brighter. 

Day 5: Name a difficult situation that you are grateful for. Sometimes things in life are not always unicorns and rainbows. The difficult things are there for us to learn and grow. As hard as they may be at the time there is always a reason. Write it or share it with someone. 

Day 6: Watch your spouse see how much they do for you in a day and then be sure to thank them and make sure you do something of appreciation for them in return <3 If you are single thank a friend for always being there for you. 

Day 7: What is a single moment today that you are MOST grateful for. Be sure to write it in your journal, share it with others. 

There are tons of other challenges out there. Pinterest is a great resource if you want to continue on with its.Practising gratitude is all about being grateful for all we have in life.  The more brain power you spend on appreciating the good things in life, the less brain power you will have for focusing on the negative things in life.