I challenge YOU to the #chimmie500

I am still in recovery from our nutty holiday season. 

2016 = Cook from scratch 3-4 days a week + exercise more.

I'm attempting to cook in larger quantities and use leftovers more creatively throughout the week. A little tweak from last years #52tries with my girl Tiffany and the gang... The pictures above show:

Meal 1: A big pot of Chocolate chili Mole (I added purple + yukon potatoes to cheer on my Big Cats in the Outback Bowl. Didn't have any sweet potatoes in the house.) 

Meal 2: Chili leftovers + cauliflower + kale under an organic rotisserie chicken (Kids made tacos with it all - Boom!)

Meal 3: Pulled Chicken and Chili leftover lasagna 

Meal 4: Homemade stock and leftover chicken in my pea + noodle soup

My favorite family table line right now is: 

"BUT MOooooooom, YOU think EVERYTHING is delicious!"

I vacillate between feeling on top of the world and somewhere else (with a skinned up knee and ice on my brain). Terri Salminen, you are always on my shoulder in the kitchen inspiring me; You are my "soffritto sister.

NOW... how do I possibly fit more exercise IN and make it FUN?

Enter in my best friend Laura who moved away from me four years ago (sob). I call her my "chimmie" from Indy (aka racing land) and I challenge YOU to join our first annual #chimmie500. Three days ago I asked her to join me and sent this video explaining it all:

 

The #Chimmie500 = 10 sets of 10 push ups  + 10 sets of 10 squats every day, 5 days a week (I am NOT doing 100 all at one time mind you). My phone is on a 60 min timer and no matter where I am, when the timer goes off, I do my 10 reps of each for a grand total of 100 each for the day/500 each for the week. 

It was Laura's idea to add the squats. Thanks. I had fun telling everyone at the salon about our new fun game (thanks for taking the picture Mac!)

Today is my third day and my pecs are on fire. I won't be writing everyday here, so feel free to follow the shenanigans on Instagram and Twitter (High fives to my sister-in-law Vicki who launched her 100 push up challenge to her High School Dance team last year. I remember her telling me about it and thinking... that's genius. I can do that! But I never made it past day 1... Thanks for the inspo V!)

There is something else I'm after in 2016.

As a child, "the mullies" was the silly place my sister Katie and I would catapult ourselves during playtime, flying off swings and high places, yelling "to the mullies" at the top of our lungs and transporting ourselves in.an.instant to "infinity and beyond" (before our feet landed quickly on the ground). 

Our little souls were unbounded.

"To the Mullies" is right now and in a little bit. I have been reading more lately (slowing down) and found these two paragraphs quite fitting in articulating what my crazy blog name means to me:

"Every time you feel even a moment of joy and love, freedom and bliss, you have stepped into the land of light. You feel so wonderful that you want to keep the experience going, the way two infatuated lovers never want to be apart. But your ego, your safe house, calls you back. This pattern of coming and going is how letting go works. It takes repeated exposure to the unbounded soul for you to know that it is real. But your old conditioning will keep pulling you back. In time, your trips outside will last longer and feel more comfortable. Your soul is starting to seep into you; with this merging you begin to understand that you can live in the unbounded permanently. It becomes more natural than your safe house because in the unbounded, you are the real you. 

Therefore, expecting the best isn't about wishful thinking or optimism. It's about recognizing in advance that your goal is attainable. The unbounded soul is experienced, however faintly, in every impulse of the soul. This counters the prevailing attitude in psychology that happiness is a temporary state stumbled upon by accident. I find that attitude deplorable. To declare that love and joy, the primal component of happiness, are occasional is a teaching born of desperation. Keep in mind the image of the safe house and the land of light that surrounds it. No one will ever force you to let go of the limited space you occupy, but you always have the choice to seek the infinite, because that is who you really are."    

                                                                  - Deepak Chopra 

                                                                    Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul

Thanks Deepak. You nailed it right on the kisser mister.

To the mullies we go... in our kitchens, at our family tables, on the ground doing push ups + squats... to being goofballs who jump out of little safe houses.

Let's begin again

And make 2016 our best one yet. 

I freaking love cheese fries too Chris... Let's just keep it to the weekends, kay?:)

xoxoL

ps

I'm a goober for the Microbiome | Get more sleep: Unlocking the Sleep-Gut Connection

pps

Loving my new cookbook and all the legos Santa brought us. The force has indeed awakened.

A December Ambassador Challenge

The holidays are challenging all right... My month started out with dirt and major light problems. 

I'm swinging into mid December to answer the #1 Food Revolution HQ's December Ambassador Challenge = Healthier, Happier Holidays! 

Here are some tips from Jamie on how to have a bit of a healthier one and here are the top four hitters in my holiday line up:

First batter UP:

With the new Star Wars movie coming out, we're watching every.single.one up to the big event this week. The kids LOVE helping me make popcorn from scratch and this encourages us to "use the force". Here's a great article on the WHY you should ditch the microwave pop action.

Shake and Bake Family Movie Night Popcorn
(Couldn't help to link to this super fun video we made 2 years ago... oh my babies are so BIG now!)

1. Heat up 2-3 T coconut oil in your biggest pan (with a clear lid if possible so you can see it all pop!) on medium-high heat.
2. Put 2-3 kernels in and heat with lid on until they pop.
3. Dump 3/4 cup in the oil, relid. Using oven mits, vent the lid and gently shake shake shake to coat all the kernels with oil. You'll know it's done when you only hear a few pops left (just like the microwave).
4. Shake some seat salt on top and EAT! Make it more holiday-ish by spreading the popcorn out on a cookie sheet, melt some dark chocolate in a double broiler, crunch up dye free peppermint sticks and drizzle it all over the top of the popcron. Oh yea... but you gotta wait till it dries unless you want goey chocolatey fingers all over your house (no thank you ma'am).


Second batter UP:

I recently made a simple whole grain swap to my pancake recipe! Loving this article on The Truth About Grains - Whole & Refined. I'm getting there... My kids actually prefer this recipe and it saves my more expensive flour blend for other baking and cooking projects.

You gotta try this home run recipe:

Simple Oaty Banana Pancakes 

1 cup of whole oats (I grind the oats into a fine flour with my nutribullet - It takes less than 30 sec!)

2 pastured eggs

1 mashed banana

1 T avocado oil 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 c almond or cashew milk (or whatever milk you want)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

A few shakes of ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients well with a whisk. Pour silver dollar sized pancakes on an oiled skillet (I like to use ghee) and flippy floppy about 3-4 minutes on each side or until bubbles come to the surface.

I always feel pressed for time on school mornings, but these pancakes take less than 15 minutes to make now that I keep all the ingredients grouped for easy access in the morning. My kids love extra cut up bananas, strawberries or raspberries on top with a drizzle of grade B pure maple syrup!


Third batter UP:

We'll also be making my last year's NO BAKE collaboration with the 52 New Foods Cookbook! This year, I am going to soak my dates for 15 minutes before processing and I am also adding mini dark chocolate chips to my mint icecream! Let me know if you give these mamacitas a try with your kids this holiday season! Ho Ho Ho with Holiday G-Hoppers (Video Link HERE or below)!

Forth Batter UP = "cleaning UP"

Personally, I am trying to avoid all refined grains (with or without gluten) and attempting to keep my refined sugar to less than 32 grams a day (4 grams = 1 tsp). It's hard, but boy does it work.

Holiday Party Game plan = I am milking 2-3 drinks MAX a night (with a huge glass of water in between each drink). Gotta keep it classy - It's holiday party dress up time and I am in love with this camo skirt + anything plaid! 

Cheers to
Enjoying Star Wars popcorn nights
Making more pancake breakfasts
Cutting back on adding sugar (OOOF)
Dressing up with girlfriends
Savoring good food + drink at holiday parties
Learning how to meditate + slow it down

Note to self: PLEASE wrap the presents before Xmas eve this year and don't forget to suck in your core (at all times).

Xoxo

L

ps

Coming soon... A brand new Holiday Ambassador Smash with my soffritto sister Terri. Here is a little sneak peak on her Instagram page!