Sweetly Fit

Happy Monday!

I don’t think I have mentioned before that I am an Ambassador for the Ellie clothing company. I’m sure a lot of you have heard about this (AWESOME) website and I can assure you that their fitness clothing is not only top notch in quality, but so cute and comfy. I have been able to try out a few pieces so far, including this top and bottom from this month’s line: Coral Crush:

It Takes Two Top and To Dye For Capri

You see, each month they put out a new line of clothing and when you sign up, you get to pick out a top and bottom piece of your choosing from the collection to have sent to you. I can dig this concept. Also since I am an ambassador, you all can get 20% off using my referral code! Click on the link below if you’re interested. (link is also on the right side of my blog) Its pretty sweet.

———————————————————————————-

On the food front, my diet is still being tweaked and I received some information from the naturopath doc that did not make me a very happy camper. Guys, I can’t have….EGGS.

Wahhhhhh!!!!

Sure, take away the gluten…remove the dairy….no soy in sight. But you want me to give up EGGS TOO?! Ugh.

Okay. complaining done. Moving on.

Basically a strict diet is very important right now otherwise if I eat something not ‘approved’, it can figuratively knock heads with the natural herbs I’m taking to heal my insides. Gotta do what you gotta do though. Eggs, while one of the most nutritious foods you can give your body, can sometimes be problematic when your stomach isn’t in tip top shape. I am hopeful that I will be able to add back in eggs at some point, so the important thing to remember is it’s only temporary…and hey, if it works, then I can’t ask for more than that.

Somebody eat a peanut butter cup for me.

I have been on a bit of a smoothie kick lately so I thought I would share a few of my most recent blends that all turned out really delicious. They all are pretty similar bases, just switching up the flavors depending on the mood I’m in.  I have been adding in either fresh lemon or lime juice or apple cider vinegar to get their alkalinizing effects. Also, no dairy for me currently so I’m using and loving my tried and true Sun Warrior protein. These have really been hitting the spot! So grab your blender and lets get drinkin’.

Lemon Berry Blast

• 1/2 squeezed lemon
• 1 cup frozen blackberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 1/2 cups milk of choice (I use almond or coconut)
• 1 serving protein powder (I use Sun Warrior rice protein)
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 5 ice cubes

Chocolate Cherry Delight

• 1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 serving protein powder (I use Sun Warrior rice protein)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 1/2 cups milk of choice (I use almond or coconut)
• 5 ice cubes

Creamy Pina Colada

• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 fresh squeezed lime
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 cup coconut milk (or almond)
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1 serving protein powder (I use Sun Warrior rice protein)
• 5 ice cubes

Cleo has really been wanting to make another blog appearance. She poses for the camera at least several times per day so I figured I better sneak one in of her with today’s post…she will be pleased.

She plays outside whenever possible and is the queen of the back yard. This pup does not tire…ever! And she likes to wake up at 5 a.m. We are working on that one…

Other notes worth mentioning:

• I will put up a post soon about some tips on ditching the sweeteners/ taming your sweet tooth as some of you expressed interest in that. Give me a bit; I’ve got online finals to study for this week!

• I am probably going to be posting more on Instagram now. I’m really liking the ease of being able to quickly post bits and pieces since I just can’t seem to find a lot of time for blogging like I used to. We’ll see how it goes. Follow me HERE!

• I am undergoing more testing to get to the bottom of my stomach/colon/intestinal issues so any prayers or good vibes would be greatly appreciated! I am still in a great deal of pain and unable to sleep flat; I’ve been in a recliner for over 4 months now. Truth: I miss my bed. A lot.

Okay that’s it for today! Have a good one!

Kristi

It’s been a while since I’ve joined in on the Wednesday food party but this week I decided I was not going to miss out. My new diet is still going strong and I really believe it is helping. Sometimes you just need to let your stomach heal and take a step back from the more questionable, irritating foods. It is really eye opening to see how certain foods were causing you problems all along and you didn’t even know it!

And I strongly recommend cutting out the sweeteners for a period of time to re-set blood sugar levels and tame your sweet tooth! I am amazed at how SWEET things taste all on their own after you get that under control. Amazing. Give it a try. It’s not fun at first, but very well worth it.

Tibits of my eats lately have including some of the following:

Breakfast

soft boiled eggs, avocado, and sauerkraut

Snack

afternoon smoothie: 1/2 cup frozen cherries, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 scoop plant fusion protein powder, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp coconut oil, ice, hemp hearts on top

Lunch

spinach turkey olive salad with the most amazing and easy tahini dressing

More Snacks

almond butter with banana and strawberries

pineapple and sweet potato muffins (made without the stevia) with grass-fed raw butter

Dinner

spiralized roasted zucchini, avocado cream sauce, and tilapia

Dessert

Yes I still have dessert!

These little guys are awesome and so simple. Just combine equal parts coconut oil and dark cocoa powder and pour into silicon muffin tins. Set in the fridge/freezer to let harden and walah! Instant chocolate cups! You can add honey, stevia, etc if you want but I’m eating them bitter and delicious.

Kristi

Happy Friday!

I’m stopping by to announce the Albion Giveaway winner:

Vicki Howes!

Please email me to claim your prize!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Kristi

I recently discovered a new clothing company called Albion. Their workout clothing looked right up my alley, so I was thrilled when I received the opportunity to try out one piece that really caught my eye:

Albion’s grape colored long crew with thumbholes

I had to go with the purple. I am a wildcat, after all.

This first thing I noticed when I opened up my package was how soft the material is! It is light weight but oh so soft and silky. It would be great for working out, or just for lounging around the house. I have been using it more-so for the latter and have enjoyed it quite a bit for that, haha.

It was hard to choose just one item though, because several others caught my eye:

Good thing Sweetly Fit readers can get $15 off any purchase of $50 dollars or more, now through 4/4/13 with code sweetlyfit15. Woohoo!!

But Albion was nice enough to also offer for one reader to receive the same grape long crew shirt that I picked out!

How to Enter:

#1: Like Albion on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so

#2: Pin your favorite Albion clothing item on Pinterest and leave a comment telling me you did so

I will pick a winner on Friday!

xo, Kristi

Hi all!

Well I officially lose at keeping up with the blog. But hey, that’s okay! I’m re-evaluating my priorities in life and I have decided that cutting down on my computer time does a lot of good. I am currently doing some online classes (since I moved back home for the semester) so I already spend enough time starring at the Mac screen as it is. With all that has gone on over the past several months, blogging just doesn’t seem like a priority anymore. I’ll still be around, just probably not as often. Instead, I’m going to be busy LIVING LIFE. The way it should be!

Anyways, I did want to do a little update on how the “new diet” is going.

In short: It rocks.

At first, I didn’t know what to do with myself. No grains? No dairy? No sugar? How will I survive?!? That lasted about a day. I soon realized that there are in fact plenty of ways to be perfectly satisfied on a Paleo (ish) diet. In fact, once my body adjusted to the new changes, I started craving only those nutrient dense foods and not really even caring about the ones I eliminated. Only 2 1/2 short weeks ago, I ate a diet heavy in grains and dairy and sweetener (ehhem, stevia). Now I am currently free of all three. WIll it be forever? Not entirely. For the foreseeable future, yes. My insides are very inflamed (from infection) and I am in need of healing foods. I will do whatever it takes to get back in good health, so that’s that! Once this whole health mess is behind me, I do plan on most likely sticking with a lot of the changes I have made, just a little bit more relaxed. Grains and dairy were unknowingly causing me a lot of problems and now that I know how good I feel without them, I will definitely use moderation with them in the future if I do introduce them back. Another plus is that once those things are eliminated, you have a lot more room for other delicious, nutrient dense foods…foods that your body is begging you for!

Notes:

• my sweetener addiction is broken = cravings have decreased
• my fat intake has doubled
• I usually end up eating 4-5 whole eggs a day
• I cook everything in lots of coconut oil or grassfed BUTTER
• my fruit and veggie intake has increased
• my skin is so SOFT and CLEAR
• no more energy slumps

So yes, food: my diet is heavy on grassfed meats, eggs, nuts & seeds, avocado, butter, all things coconut, fruits, vegetables, potatoes, and a few baked treats when I’m feeling creative. And you know what? I am not bored one bit. I still love and enjoy everything I eat, except now I feel a lot better. Win, win.

Here are a few plates I have enjoyed lately:

strawberries, 3 egg spinach-garlic-daiya dairy free cheese-omelete cooked in butter

omelete and bacon

noatmeal: 1 mashed banana, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup almond mlik, 1 tbsp coconut flour, 1 tbsp ground flax, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract cooked on the stovetop. + almond butter

lunch bowl: romaine, cabbage slaw, avocado, sardines, coconut oil roasted butternut squash

dinner plate: shredded brussel sprouts cooked in butter and mixed with pulled pork + avocado

chocolate pudding: mashed avocado, mashed banana, and cocoa powder. topped with cashew butter. Avocado is amazing for desserts!

pumpkin micro-muffin: 2 tbsp coconut flour, 1/3 cup pumpkin, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1/4 cup almond milk, 1 egg, dash of baking powder, pinch of sea salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract and butter extract.Topped with canned coconut milk (aka the most amazing whipped cream).

I am having fun experimenting with new foods and new recipes on this new way of eating. It’s good to switch things up occasionally, so I have decided to embrace it. I’m slowly but surely getting back on my feet, and my diet is a large part of that. Ultimately, YOU decide what you put into your body…and I’m not going to kid myself anymore. I am focusing on real food and my body is thanking me for it.

That’s all I’ve got! However, DO check back soon for a giveaway opportunity that you will not want to miss!

Kristi

I have NO food pictures for this post. Shocker, I know.  But I do owe you all some explanations.

I know I have been very vague about what has been going on health-wise with me since the beginning of the year and the main reason is because for the majority of the time nobody KNEW what the heck was wrong with me. Through this experience, I have definitely lost a lot of faith in medical doctors and if I’ve learned one thing it is that you have to trust yourself. I was told I just have anxiety…or depression…or I’m just playing it up in my head. And if none of those, well then I surely had an eating disorder.

After months of struggling, and having to drop out of my classes for the semester (yup), I finally started to get some answers which led to two things:

1. surgery to remove my ill-functioning gallbladder

2. being diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disease

Had we figured out #2 before doing #1, I may not have had to go through surgery and be gallbladder-less for the rest of my life. That was thanks to trusting our so-called medical professionals and doing what they thought would “fix” things. Oh well, can’t look back and regret.

So I begin some treatment prescribed by the doc, taking a STRONG antibiotic for starters, once again killing off my beneficial bacteria and only making my stomach issues worse. After running around in circle after circle with general doctors who seem baffled by what is going on inside my body, I recently decided to try a different path. I went to an alternative medicine practitioner. The day of that appointment was the first time I felt hope. He was able to make completely perfect sense of EVERYTHING I have been experiencing. He didn’t look at me like I was crazy. He knew exactly what to do. This was extremely comforting…and it didn’t hurt that he was an incredible sight to look at. Blonde, strong, and a brain to go with it?! Okay I’m getting side-tracked.

So to make a long story (slightly) shorter, I have begun an herbal medicine and healing diet plan under his instructions in order to take care of this infection and heal my suffering stomach and colon. So what exactly does this diet entail? Well some of my Pinterest followers may have noticed my new paleo board….

The Healing Diet, in a nutshell, is basically a paleo way of eating. It eliminates  all sources of irritants (at least initially) including:

• grains
• dairy
• soy
• sugar AND alternative sweeteners (yes, that includes stevia!)

I focus on these:

• proteins! eggs, all cuts of chicken, beef, lamb, pork, etc
• fats! everything coconut, heart healthy oils, nuts and seeds (not peanuts, at least initially), avocado, and real butter. mmm.
• veggies! Lots and lots of them. have them as much as possible and eat a rainbow!
• fruits! in moderation

This aims to re-set your blood sugar, detox you system, and get your cravings in check. After 2 weeks, you can begin to play “detective” by adding in one single thing at a time to see if it causes anything unfavorable. Then you know that’s a no-no. Today is Day 3 and honestly, I’m feeling pretty great. I am by no means back to normal yet, but I feel that I am at least on the road to recovery now.

I intend to start loosing documenting my food and experience with this new lifestyle change so be ready for the blog to take a new turn! I never thought I would catch on to the whole paleo movement, but here I am; totally on board. Again, I just have to laugh at how quickly things can change!

Last but not least, thank you again to all of you who have been there supporting me! Things have been tough, but if you have friends, family, and God with you, nothing seems impossible.

Kristi

Happy Friday! Just stopping by to announce the giveaway winner.

Congrats to RunServeCook!

Please email me to get your goodies!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Kristi