6 Tips for Finding Peace and Staying Balanced

Throughout much of my teens and 20s, I was restless. I felt off-center, anxious, askew. I took medication for anxiety, wasted countless hours worrying, and generally didn't enjoy my life nearly as much as I do now.

Today, I am genuinely happy, well-adjusted, and relatively calmer.  The difference now is that my boundless energy is positive rather than anxious.

What changed? Several things.

As I aged and experienced more of life, I learned how to cope better. I didn't need to freak out if something "bad" happened. I didn't need to take on other people's drama as my own. And I didn't need to allow negative energy free access to me.

I realized that life is just that: life. Ups, downs, good, bad, it's all just life. It all balances out, and letting every little bump in the road sideline me is no way to live.

My senior year of college, a dear friend of mine shared a quotation with me: "The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." --Henry Miller.

Then, its meaning escaped me. Now, it's one of my guiding mantras.

Recently, I emailed an old friend who lives on the other side of the country. "I feel so centered and strong," I wrote. My friend asked me to clarify what I meant by "centered." To explain, I retraced my steps over the last couple of years. Many of the changes I've made were solidified by my 30th birthday trip to Honduras, a week spent with no contact with anyone back home, lots of yoga, and the infinite beauty of nature. There, amid days of reflection, I made a list of what has worked to help me feel calmer, more centered, and happier with my life.

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No More Excuses for Choosing Fast Food over Real Food

Last summer, blogger Beth Donovan and I worked on a project that's one of my passions: proving that healthy eating is easy and affordable at any budget. Together, we created this illustrated blog post: $20 Food Showdown: Fast Food vs. Healthy Food. You agreed. It has been liked 5,000 times on Facebook and viewed more than 100,000 times.

As a follow-up to our popular blog 25 Cheap and Healthy Foods, we hit the supermarket with calculators and notebooks in hand. We found that you could fill your carts with real, healthy foods that would last you for more than one meal--for less than it would cost you to buy fast food for dinner.

Sure, you'll have to take the time to cook those real foods, but you're getting healthy food--without excess salt, sugar and fat.

Mark Bittman's recent op-ed piece in the New York Times bolstered our argument.  His comparison shopping graphic even includes nutritional comparisons of the healthy foods versus fast foods.  

When you look at whole (healthy) and fast (junk) foods side by side, it becomes clear that money is not the primary issue for most of us, even if we are on a tight budget. We're not comparing apples to apples or even apples to oranges. We're comparing apples to orange-flavored "fruit" snacks or Apple Jacks to oranges. The reasons why we aren't choosing the "right" foods are different for each of us, but recurring themes emerge: We're hooked on them, they taste good, they're more convenient, they're easier than learning to cook.

The good news is that you have SparkPeople, and we can debunk each and every one of those excuses:

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EXCLUSIVE: Meet the 'Top Chef' Who Helped with 'The SparkPeople Cookbook'

As you know, "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight" by Chef Meg Galvin and myself will be released next Tuesday, Oct. 4. This healthy cooking bible is almost 500 pages, with nearly 100 full-page color photos, more than 150 recipes, and hundreds more meal ideas, tips and tricks. The recipes are decadent--as a chef and runner Meg doesn't do deprivation--but they're meant to fit into your SparkPeople meal plans (and every recipe will be linked to the SparkPeople Nutrition Tracker) and 150 of the dishes and meal ideas are ready in under 30 minutes. The book has already been an Amazon.com best-seller!

And, no ingredient is off-limits. That means we even included an entire chapter devoted to desserts and snacks. To help us get the recipes just right, Meg recruited her friend and colleague, Megan Ketover. You might recognize her photo: She's a contestant on "Top Chef: Just Desserts" on Bravo. Megan's an award-winning pastry chef who worked at the Midwest Culinary Institute (where Chef Meg teaches), and she currently is the pastry chef for the top restaurant in Cincinnati, the Orchids at Palm Court at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. (If you're ever in Cincinnati, you must eat here. From the top-notch service to the beautiful Art Deco dining room, it's a wonderfully unique experience.) 

Megan created decadent recipes that are healthy, too. You'll love her Raspberry Streusel Muffins. They're light in texture and calories with a sweet and crunchy topping. Her Banana Honey Cake uses a secret ingredient to infuse flavor for zero calories (and only 136 calories a slice)! And for all you chocolate lovers out there, you won't want to miss her Dark Chocolate Angel Food Cake--she uses a box to save time, then adds a few ingredients to ramp up the decadence. My personal favorite? Her Lemon Berry Tartlets. They're tiny and oh-so-adorable, and less than 60 calories each. 

This week I reached out to Megan and asked her a few questions. While she definitely has an affinity for sweets, the petite chef said she was definitely craving veggies after those long weeks of taping. Read her exclusive interview now! 

 

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4 Lessons Learned from Listening to My Body

After my thwarted attempt at running a marathon this spring, I gave up on running for awhile. I walked, I practiced yoga, and I rode my bike. I wanted nothing to do with running. 

That lasted less than two months. I missed the exhilarating feeling of flying down a hill, the sense of accomplishment when you reach the top of one, and the sound of my breath, deep and even, as I jogged through my neighborhood and let my troubles blow away.

I was slow to return, and I didn't set any goals. I started from scratch with a mile here and there. When I felt better, I slowly added mileage. With no pressure, no race deadlines and no plans in mind, I felt free. I fell back in love with the sport.
I did something else, too.

I started to listen to my body a bit more. Remember that quote I love and continue to share with all of you? "We don’t have to make such a big deal about ourselves, our enemies, our lovers, and the whole show." --Pema Chödrön

I started to apply it to running. I started leaving my music at home sometimes, setting out with no course or destination in mind, with no distance to reach. I ran at a pace that felt comfortable, until I felt like walking or going home. Sometimes I ran for 10 minutes, sometimes an hour--though that length of time came much later.

I stopped looking at abbreviated runs as failures. I stopped thinking of runs in terms of miles logged or calories burned. I stopped scheduling them, too.

I found that I started looking forward to my runs more. They weren't a chore, they weren't something to check off my to-do list. They were a treat, a respite from my overly scheduled, jam-packed, grown-up life.

After a great deal of research, I made the transition to minimalist running shoes (mine are the Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves). (I'm no expert, so please know that this blog reflects choices that are right for me--I'm not offering advice. Please consult with an expert before you make any major changes to your fitness routine.) I also read the book that so many fellow runners have cited as a major influence on their running philosophy: Born to Run.  Footwear aside, the Tarahumara Indians and the American ultra runners featured in the book inspired me. They run to run, and many of them embrace the simple, tread-gently-on-the-Earth lifestyle that I value.

I'll switch back to regular shoes if this barefoot lifestyle proves not to be right for me. Until then, I'm very slowly and cautiously increasing my mileage and easing back into running. In shifting my focus from prepping for a race to just running to run, I've gleaned four lessons, just from listening to my body:

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What's Cooking with 'The SparkPeople Cookbook'

What an exciting couple of weeks we're having at SparkPeople. The press is catching on to the soon-to-be best-seller that is "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight." (Available for pre-order now and everywhere books are sold on Oct. 4.)
Check out the great things people are saying about the book--and where you can learn more.


Fitness Magazine
Our World Master Chef and healthy eating expert “Chef Meg” Galvin and one of her recipes excerpted from "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight" are featured in the October issue of Fitness magazine.  As she’s so adept at doing, Chef Meg reinvents a classic dish to make it healthy while tasting decadent.  In this case, it’s French Onion Soup.  As you’re running out to the grocery store to buy the ingredients, don’t forget to pick up a copy of Fitness, which did a beautiful job with the feature. 

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What We're Reading: September

It's been busy here at SparkPeople, but we've still made time to keep up with the latest and greatest healthy living titles. Here's what we've been reading--what's on your bedside table?

Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health by Gene Stone, with Dr. Colin T. Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Essylstyn Jr.

What if one simple change could save you from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer? For decades, that question has fascinated a small circle of impassioned doctors and researchers—and now, their life-changing research is making headlines in the hit documentary Forks Over Knives.

Their answer? Eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet—it could save your life. It may overturn most of the diet advice you’ve heard—but the experts behind Forks Over Knives aren't afraid to make waves. In his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn explained that eating meat, dairy, and oils injures the lining of our blood vessels, causing heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.

In The China Study, Dr. Colin Campbell revealed how cancer and other diseases skyrocket when eating meat and dairy is the norm—and plummet when a traditional plant-based diet persists. And more and more experts are adding their voices to the cause: There is nothing else you can do for your health that can match the benefits of a plant-based diet.
Now, as Forks Over Knives is introducing more people than ever before to the plant-based way to health, this accessible guide provides the information you need to adopt and maintain a plant-based diet.

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Order 'The SparkPeople Cookbook' Today!

Recipes so good
you’ll forget
they’re good for you

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How This Type A Planner Spent a Weekend 'Doing Nothing'--and Loving It

I am a planner.

I love lists.

I schedule everything.

I'm busy. It's the only way I get everything done.

In high school, I kept a list of everything I wore, so I wouldn't repeat an outfit too often. (My 16-year-old self would be aghast to know that my 30-year-old self often sometimes wears the same dress twice in one weekend.)

I make notes of the meals I eat in my planner, along with my workouts, any personal commitments, etc.

This summer in Honduras, with no phone, no watch, and no schedule, I somehow found ways to indulge my inner planner. My roommate, Jessi, and I took walks every afternoon. Each night, I would ask her what she wanted to do the next day, mostly as a way to make conversation.

She good-naturedly made plans with me each night. Finally, after a few days, she laughed.

"We're in paradise," she said, gesturing at the lush rainforest that surrounded us. "And we have nothing to do."

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How to Write a Better Recipe

I recently spoke at the Healthy Living Summit on the topic of writing a better recipe. Participants asked me to share my presentation, so I am posting it here, with notes that make it helpful for those of us who also share our recipes on SparkRecipes.com.

Before I delve into the recipe writing tips, let's talk about recipes for a bit.
As the editor of dailySpark.com and SparkRecipes.com, I'm always on the lookout for talented healthy home cooks. With more than 300,000 recipes on the site, it can be difficult to choose among them. I hope that you'll share this blog post with your friends (both on SparkPeople and on other sites) and encourage them to publish their recipes on SparkRecipes. Good recipes are featured on the homepage, in our daily email newsletters and elsewhere on the site.
 

“I invite you to skip the technology, the SEO, and all the other shoulds you’ve collected up along the way. Instead, step up to that darling morsel and sink your teeth in.”
--Brooke Burton, FoodWoolf.com

Sometimes we forget that recipes are stories, meant to entice the reader into making a dish. We, as food bloggers, worry more about aggregating audience and increasing SEO than we do about the words on a page.

I sat in on a session that Brooke Burton moderated at last year's Food Buzz Festival in San Francisco. She was enthusiastic and encouraging as she and her fellow panelists urged us to invoke all our senses as we wrote. This quote, borrowed with citation from her blog, seemed a fitting reminder for the topic of better recipe writing.
 
Let's get started!

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Chew on This: Cookout Facts + Trivia

Before you head to this weekend's end-of-summer barbecues, we wanted to share some fun facts and trivia about your favorite cookout foods.

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Fit & Fresh Makes Healthy School Lunches Cool Again

Editor's Note: This is a sponsored post from a SparkPeople partner.

 Getting kids to eat right away from home can be an uphill battle. First, you have to pack foods they will actually eat--and not trade with friends for a cupcake or pitch in the garbage when the recess bell rings. But that's not all. Healthy foods also tend to be more perishable, so you have to pack a lunch in a way that will keep your little ones from getting sick. And let's face it: Kids like to look cool.

That's why we're so excited to share with you these affordable and kid-friendly Fit & Fresh ™ lunch kits with you. Not only do these kid-size containers look super fun (bright colors and neat graphics), but they are also made to keep foods at the proper temperature. That means no more worrying whether your son's turkey sandwich will spoil before lunch! (Think an ice pack is optional? Think again: Almost 40% of the time, parents don't pack ice to keep lunches cool, putting kids at risk for food-borne illnesses, according to a recent study.)

Since school isn't quite in session here in Cincinnati, we tried these out for ourselves in the SparkPeople offices. (We're all kids at heart, anyway!)  I packed a sandwich, carrots with hummus and a clementine into the containers in the morning when I arrived at work, then stored all the containers (including their custom-fit ice packs) at my desk until lunch. When noon rolled around, my lunch was still nice and cool. Whew!

Some of the parents in the office shared these kits with their kids, who are excited to use them when school starts. One of the moms pointed out that when kids have things that are "theirs"--such as these kits, they'll be less likely to forget them in a locker or on the bus.

Want to learn more about these nifty lunch kits?  

 

Kid's 25-piece Healthy Lunch Set with Removable Ice Packs ($24.99)

Let’s make lunch cool again! Our Kid's Healthy Lunch Set is PERFECT for packing school lunches with healthy snacks. Everything you need in one great set and at a great value. (Savings of $8.93– 26% off the individual piece price)

BONUS: Free shipping on all orders over $25

"Cool Possibilities" This unique set contains all of the 17 pc Healthy Lunch Set PLUS our Hot Lunch Container - great for those Hot Soup days!
 
What people are saying about our products:
"I love this set. I was reading all the reviews of the various other Fit & Fresh products and couldn't decide which to try... so this set worked well for me because it has different pieces for a low price."

"I love it for fruit and salads. The freezer pack kept things very cold."

"I use without the ice pack, they have a bit more room to hold dry snacks."
 

Kids Chill Container Set 14pc ($12.99)

Let’s make lunch cool again! Our Kid's Chilled Container Set is PERFECT for packing school lunches with healthy snacks. Everything you need in one great set and at a great value. (Savings of $4.95 – 28% off the individual piece price)

"Cool Possibilities" (2) 1 cup smart portion containers, (2) 2 cup smart portion containers, (2) 1/2 cup containers and two ice packs for the 1 cup & 2 cup smart portion containers.

(SparkPeople sells the 17-piece Healthy Lunch Kit in the SparkPeople Store!)

What people are saying about our products:
"I put applesauce, cottage cheese, etc in them and they seal just fine!"

"I will end up buying more to use for myself for when I pack my own lunch for work."

"I have zero complaints and will be encouraging all my other preschool mommies to get this for their child."


All Fit & Fresh™ products

• BPA free and meet FDA regulations for food-grade plastic

• Easy to clean

• Freezer, and microwave safe

• Top-rack dishwasher safe (except for the ice packs). Do not microwave the ice packs.

 
Now, what's for lunch? Here are some great resources from the moms and experts at SparkPeople to get you started:

·School Lunches: The Newest Childhood Obesity Risk

·How to Pack Lunch in 5 Minutes, Plus Healthy Recipes

·Healthy School Lunch Recipes Your Kids Will Love to Eat

·Tips to Pack a Nutrient Rich Lunch to Save Pennies

·How to Pack a Waste-free Lunch

 
How do you get your kids to eat right away from home? What is your child's favorite healthy lunch?

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CLOSED: Win Paradice Ice Packs!

The winners are:
GRNEYEDMOMMY
POPPYHEAD5
JAY9FLYERFAN

One of the perks of working at SparkPeople is a kitchen stocked with healthy foods: cereal, fresh fruit, granola bars, peanut butter, healthy frozen meals, and bags of frozen vegetables.

Back when I was training for my second half-marathon, I suffered from a bit of knee inflammation. After my mid-day winter runs (another perk of working at SparkPeople--the flexibility to schedule fitness breaks into your day), I would sit at my desk, ice pack on my knees to ward off pain. I usually remembered to bring one from home, but I have a confession: Sometimes I used a mini bag of frozen peas as an ice pack. So as not to waste food or subject my co-workers to eating peas that were melted and refrozen, I used the same bag.

I found that bag of peas recently, after a longer-than-usual run, when my knee felt a little wonky. After about 15 minutes of icing while I worked, I noticed a strange smell--like dirty feet, or something "off." I looked down, and my bag of peas had leaked (pea-d?) on my leg. It smelled rank. I guess frozen vegetables as an ice pack only works for so long. Gross, right?

Needless to say, when Paradice Ice Packs reached out to us and offered to share their products with you, I jumped at the chance. Their ice packs are awesome: They offer the flexibility and not-so-cold-your-body-part-will-fall-off iciness that frozen veg bags do, without the smell or worry of ruining perfectly good food.

Plus, their ice packs are custom designed for various parts of the body--including some that are like sleeves for elbows and knees, and others that are bags of different sizes. In short, these are super cool--no pun intended.

Today, you can enter to win your own Paradice Ice Packs.

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Habits of Healthy Eaters: Out of Sight, Out of Mouth

A couple of years ago, my grandparents sold their second home, which meant they suddenly had an extra home full of stuff to give away or sell. Among the nifty items that became mine were a German cuckoo clock, a rocking chair, a decade's worth of Bon Appetit magazines--and Tupperware. Lots of Tupperware.

My grandmother stores all her dry goods in clearly labeled opaque Tupperware or ceramic canisters. Not only did it keep her cupboards organized, but it kept little hands from reaching into the cookie jar when the grandkids were little.

After inheriting her extra set, I realized that Gramma was onto something.

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Closed: Win Some Love Grown Granola!

This contest is closed!

A few months ago, one of our co-workers sent me an email raving about a new granola he had tried after a 5K in his neighborhood. Not only had he tried the products and loved them, but he had also met one of the owners. He thought it was a local, Cincinnati-based company. As it turns out, the company, Love Grown Foods, is based in Denver, which made it that much cooler that the co-founder was at a small charity race thousands of miles from home.

We received two batches of samples to try, and we were smitten. The granola is full of clusters and big chunks of fruit and nuts. It's mildly sweet, and, according to the company:

• Free of Refined Sugar
• Free of High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Free of Trans Fats
• Free of Hydrogenated Oils
• Free of Artificial Flavors
• Free of Preservatives
• Free of Gluten
• Free of Genetically Modified Ingredients

Yum! We tried all their varieties: Apple Walnut Delight, Cocoa Goodness, Raisin Almond Crunch, Simply Oats and Sweet Cranberry Pecan. We liked them all. Cocoa Goodness was my personal favorite. With bits of dark chocolate and cocoa-covered oats, it was a healthier version of Cocoa Pebbles. It really satisfied my sweet tooth.

Today Love Grown Foods is sharing the (granola) love with you! Five of you will win a bag of Love Grown Granola-- in the flavor of your choice.

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Habits of Healthy Eaters: Don't Let Yourself Get Too Hungry

Readers, I'm embarrassed to admit this. I recently threw a bit of a temper tantrum in public. At age 30. And all because I was hungry.

On Saturday night, all the yoga, deep breathing, and happy thoughts in the world weren't going to save me from the Hunger Monster!

My boyfriend invited me to tag along with three of his friends to a cool new wood-fired pizza restaurant. It was 6 p.m., and I had had a substantial breakfast, a light lunch and a snack. I wasn't at all hungry yet. (Mistake #1. I left home with a cute, small purse that contained zero emergency snacks.)

We arrived and were told it would be a 45-minute wait, so we headed across the street to a bar. The five of us nursed our beers, and we waited an hour. I considered walking the few blocks home for a healthy snack. We walked back across the street, found out our table was nowhere near ready, and headed back to the bar. (Mistake #2. While I can handle one beer on an empty stomach, I rarely to never drink two!) When an IPA was placed in my hand, I thought the calories in it would calm my growling stomach. (Uh, am I new here? Calories in liquid form do not really do much for satiety--I know that!)

Finally, our table was ready. The hostess called us. With an end in sight, my hunger was under control. I was so excited to eat!

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