Ahhh Summer!!

So thrilled to be on the verge on Memorial Day weekend!! Summer - yes! I still have my childhood reaction when the word is spoken!

This piece of watermelon was not carved into a heart. I was cutting up the melon with my daughter and I couldn't believe it when it I sliced it and this is what happened. So sweet, so juicy and to me a true sign of summer with memories of spitting seeds up at the lake house with my family. (It seems hard to find melons with seeds these days though...)

On the benefits of watermelon ... besides just tasting good here are a few of the many good things you do for yourself when eating this fruit:
*packed with antioxidants
*high levels of vitamin C
*high levels of vitamin A with high beta carotene
*source of lycopene which neutralizes FREE Radicals
*found to be protective against a growing numbers of cancers: prostate, breast, endometrial, lung and colorectal.
*great for electrolytes ... and no artificial food coloring!
The list goes on and on ...

See: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31 for more information.

One of our favorite drinks here at home is watermelon, ice, mint with lime in the blender for a yummy thirst buster.


Wishing everyone an awesome Summer season! Enjoy every minute - take time for yourselves!
xo,
Krista

"You're through, Soup Nazi. Pack it up. No more soup for you. Next!" ...

Ok, can you tell I am kinda tired?? We figured out the noise that woke us up at 4:00 am was the cat who batted a random key down all 15 of the hard wood stairs ... and then the birds started chirping and then my husband started snoring, and then .... I just got up! Anyway I just had to share this amazing soup experience with you:

"Chilled Cantaloupe Soup"
In a blender combine:
very ripe ... almost too ripe 1/2 melon
1 cup of Greek yogurt
a few sprigs of mint
5 ice cubes

I was about to throw out the melon as it was that too soft consistency (when the rind gets bumpy) but decided to throw it in the blender with the above ingredients ... it was like Christmas morning to us! So sweet yet filling with the yogurt and no sugar added at all. I'm sure you could do it with green melon as well! I'll keep these coming for ya!

Enjoy!
Krista

What to Eat?

I was just trying to figure out what to have for lunch today after my favorite yoga class just ended. I am not into a big lunch as it usually means I have to make it, clean it up and then fit in the rest of my afternoon before kids get out and running after school! I look in my fridge and grab a nice plate of left over chicken ... no veggies... nothing else. Hmmm. This is not going to serve me well but I decide I should eat it as it is really delicious and yes I've already juiced kale, celery and carrots today ... so I settle and eat just chicken. Does that ever happen to you? I mean who actually puts a nicely balanced meal together each time? Well don't feel bad. No one is perfect in their eating all the time!

When I work with clients in getting to their optimal happy health goals, sometimes I think society has made it so that we think we have to be perfect in our "diet plans," and not eat some things that we really desire or crave! I can remember my days in college when after exercising faithfully to lose a few pounds I would have a sweet craving and with the support of my suite mates, we'd go out and find vending machines in the middle of the night to get our peanut m&m fix! That in turn made me feel sick and mad at myself for not only giving in but eating everything in sight! Ugh! The roller coaster of being good and then being "bad" and gaining even more weight!!! I hear this from so many people today - that once you start eating the "bad stuff," it is out of their control to come back. "It's over. I lose!" Why do I even try?

One of the very important things to remember is that you can have those treats if you desire them. Allow yourself the time to savor them. Maybe portion your serving to a smaller size so that the sugar, fat, white flour (if that is what you are craving) does not throw you into that "deep, dark place!" You ultimately are in charge of yourself - not the food that you think has been put there on the shelf for you.

More on eating later ... I was completely overwhelmed by my latest trip to A & P this week!
Be Well,
Krista

Mother's Day‎

‎"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." Rajneesh

Happy Mother's Day to all of you celebrating! I love this quote for so many reasons ...

First I have to say thank you to my Mom! Without her I could never have reached this place where I am today. She was always there for me to encourage me and make me feel seriously loved! She brought me into this world and stayed with me though all the great days like the birth of my babies (... remember you were with me in the delivery room??? and that nasty giant needle in my back ... yikes!), and stayed with me in the hospital last year overnight (...remember the great breakfasts???) Grandma Andy has been a great supporter of the grandkids as well ... how many swim meets, soccer and lacrosse games can you fit into each week?! I am so lucky in many ways to have you as my mentor and inspiration!

Being a mom is like nothing you can imagine until you are one - see above quote. I am so amazed at how this job is ever changing with its challenges ranging from trying to get a few hours of sleep when they're infants to trying to figure out how to give them a bit of independence while they grow up without letting them grow up too fast! I am so grateful to so many of my friends as they have been a few years ahead of me in the mothering department. I love to hear about their experiences as it prepares me for what's next! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

These kids keep me so busy these days. I love that they have games on Mother's Day...well kind of. I cannot imagine what it will be like when there are no soccer games to watch on my "special day!" They love being out there as part of their team ... sort of like being in a family! I am proud of them and someday I know they'll understand why I go out of my way to fix them smoothies, get their veggies and some sleep before these games! I am sure that they secretly love that I am the biggest pain about remembering to do all these things! Ah yes...wouldn't that be sweet! :)

Happy Mother's Day!
xo,
Krista