Naturally Fit Living

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Fiesta for Your Mouth: Smokey Chipotle Tomato Sauce

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

I would just like to announce that I’ve stumbled across a culinary gem: chipotle tomato sauce. It is mind-blowing delicious, and it serious has changed my vegetarian food game. Because the flavors are such a delicious, smokey mix of savory, slightly sweet and spicy, this effortless sauce elevates even the most humble of spaghetti squash or gluten free pastas, and takes a could be blah dish and adds all the panache you could ever want. I can’t take credit for this recipe, because I learned it from a chef here in DC during one of my cooking classes. I feel like I should send her a thank you note or something, because I love.this.sauce. Here’s why:

Effortless
Inexpensive to make
Makes everything taste better
Free of the fructose corn syrup, sugar, and gross preservatives found in your tomato sauce on the shelf

This recipe is sugar free, preservative free, and you have complete control over the ingredients. This is why I LOVE making everything from scratch. Honestly, homemade tomato sauce is so effortless to make, and has so much more flavor than store bought. If this is one thing you can add to your life, you won’t be sorry for investing a little bit of time in making your own!

SERVES: 16 ounces

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 20-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 BPA free cans of diced plum tomatos (or dice fresh)
1 white onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1-2 TBS olive oil
chicken stock or water as needed to thin sauce
1/4 cup basil
2+ TBS chipotle paste or chipotle peppers
OPTIONAL 2 pieces of raw bacon
Salt/Pepper to taste
Dash of smoked paprika to taste
1-2 tsp stevia to taste (depending on how sweet your tomatoes are, you may not even need this)

THE METHOD:

Saute the onions and garlic in a pot large enough to add all ingredients. For the paleo version, saute them with the bacon for amazing flavor; leave out if you’d like to do a vegan version. If you use bacon, don’t use oil to saute onions.
Add the tomatoes and other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Immediate reduce to simmer, and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes. This is key to cooking off the acidity.
Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. If you want a very smooth blend, use an immersion blender. Some recipes favor a thicker, chunkier sauce, so mix it up a bit.

Among the many praise worthy attributes of this sauce, I have to include that it freezes beautifully. It’s easy to make a large batch, put it in mason jars and freeze it. Because I can basically ignore it while it simmers away, it’s also a great sauce to include during my weekly food prep. You can dial the heat up by adding jalapenos, or you can round it out by adding a squeeze of fresh orange juice. To make plain sauce, just leave out the chipotle paste and paprika. Same-same, and so effortless! There are so many recipe possibilities for this sauce, so get creative and start cooking! Much love and lots of spice from my kitchen to yours!

Nail Your Handstands & Forearm Balances

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

My mentor and teacher Kino MacGregor is a yogini extraordinaire. Her handstands are like whoa! Actually, I think all of her asanas (poses) are ah-maaaaa-zing, but those handstands! OMG those handstands! SO fabulous! It came as a huge surprise to me when Kino confessed handstands are her weak point, literally. She’s naturally more flexible than she is strong, and she loses strength easily and has to work hard to build it back up. The fact that Kino has Mere Mortal Syndrome is both a huge relief and also tremendously inspiring. She has perfect inversions, because she trains to have perfect inversions. The take away: you can nail any asana with diligence and consistency. I’m still working on building up strength so that I can easily do my handstands and forearm balances even after doing a million vinyassas during my practice, but I’ve learned a lot after training with Kino both one on one and also in various yoga intensives. I wanted to share some of her knowledge. Another great way to get handstand training is to try out her CodyApp. You can read my review here.

1. Practice a little every day:

This might seem like a no brainier, but evaluate how much time you actually spend working on handstands. When I calculated time spent practicing verses time spent wishing I could nail my handstand and pincha mayurasana (forearm balance), I realized I didn’t dedicate much time to my strength training. Set aside 5 minutes each day to practice handstands and forearm balances. Do it during commercials while you watch TV or first thing in the morning…try to find a consistent time that triggers you to remember to practice each day.

2. Strength + Alignment= Inversion

Put the emphasis on building strength and proper alignment, not getting inverted. I have new respect for those Olympic gymnasts, lemme me tell you! They make handstands look like a breeze. One of the things that really held me back in my training was I focused so much on kicking up in the air and trying to hold my pose from there. It takes a freakish amount of strength to hold inversions. It will take the muscles of the Incredible Hulk to stay inverted if you’re not properly aligned. And, if you’re a woman and, ahem, a little more on the busty side like myself, you’ll have to really work harder to stay in-line. IT CAN BE DONE, YOGIS!

3. Keep Your Vertical Axis. Always.

Your vertical axis is what you’re attempting to get back to each time you stand in mountain pose. If someone drew a line down you, it would be straight up and down, back nicely in line, shoulder and hips stacked, hips slightly tucked in. When you invert, you’re just down mountain pose—upside down of course. A big reason we fall over in handstands/pincha: we’re like leaning towers of Pisa. Not gonna work, ya’ll. Not gonna work. TIP→Stand in mountain pose at the top of you mat. ACTIVATE CORE. Pull belly button up and back towards your spine. Tuck tailbone slightly in so you Stack hips over feet. Ensure your back or bottom is not swaying out or overly tucked in; align shoulders over hips, then raise arms up and align next to ears. If you feel yourself hunching your shoulders up towards your ears, gently roll them down towards your back while keeping arms inline. From the side, your body should be one straight line. This is handstand, you just haven’t inverted it yet.

5. Poses for Strength

Another things that sacks us in our inversions is we lose good alignment because we’re weak as baby lambs. When upside down, we start collapsing like a dying star, only it’s from our shoulders. They drift up towards our ears and we can’t maintain our pose.

1. Dolphins pose: hold here for at least 5 long, slow breaths. Always work on your breathing, even and especially when strength training.

*Amp it up: from dolphin pose, push up to downward facing dog, then drop back down to Dolphin pose. You’ll die a little…in the best way possible.

2. Stand against a wall, touch your toes and walk your hands out to a very narrow downward facing dog. Lift one leg to the wall and push up into a handstand, keeping your leg on the wall in an L shape. One leg will be in the air in handstand form, the other on the wall. Make sure shoulders are aligned under you.Hold this for at least 5 breaths and drop down, switch sides.

3. Chaturanga: this monster asana is the worst. It.Is.So.Difficult…to do correctly that is. (Read how here) Practice dropping from plank to chaturanga, holding 5 breaths and pushing back up again. Repeat for at least 3 cycles.

4. Handstand against the wall: Place your hands as close to a wall as possible and kick up. Don’t try to balance, because right now we’re building strength and enforcing proper alignment. Stack shoulders over hands, hips over shoulders, and feet over hips. Your arms/shoulders should have enough flexibility that the are by your ears.Hold for as long as you can, at least 10 seconds to start, and repeat 2 more times. Add a little time each day.

5. Handstand dips: Placing hands against the wall, kick up and balance in proper alignment against the wall. Dip down like you’re doing a push up. Do this 3-5 times for a set of 3. TORTURE, ammirite?! It’s brutal, so that should tell you how effective it is. If you’re afraid of face planting (a reasonable fear what with hanging upside down and such) put a pillow under your face while building strength. But if you fall out of your handstand, it’ll end up being an awkward but safe cartwheel, so don’t freak out too much!

Handstands are a true testimony of strength and alignment. They require a TON of strength training, so be patient. Kino told me she devotes some time almost every day to her handstand training. If Kino has to, then I guess we have no excuses! But here’s THE most important thing to remember: a handstand isn’t yoga, it’s just fun. If you get it, great. If you don’t, no worries. Nothing magical will happen, no unicorn will come galloping up and bring you a shiny gold crown (I resent that this didn’t happen to me.) So do what you love, do what makes you happy, and find a pose like handstands or forearm balances to do so you have a growth chart to see how far you can come with daily training. Everything else is gravy. Much love and lots of yoga!

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte: Kiss Starbucks Goodbye

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

Like many women, I pretty much lose my mind to obsession compulsive fall thoughts each year. I practically live in a virtual pumpkin patch, because if something is labeled “pumpkin” Imma gonna snatch it right on up! I consider it my life’s goal to incorporate as much spice into my life as possible, and I take this mission very seriously whilst wearing the classic Basic B*tch Uniform of fall: over-sized sweater, riding boots, and a scarf, of course. Unlike most women, I loathe Starbucks, their “pumpkin” spice lattes, and their coffee in general. I know…I am such a bougie Wish I Were Euro snob when it comes to my coffee. Look, you have no idea how badly I wish I could go mainstream on my coffee…it would just make my life so much easier! But alas…I just can’t. I do however, love their baristas, all of whom I instantly want to be BFF’s with because they’re so darn delightful.I’m more of a chai drinker when I’m in the States, but I do drink coffee occasionally, and when I do, I wish SO HARD for a legit cup o’ Italian or French brew. Le sigh….wander lust problems, man. Let me tell you. It ruins you in the best ways possible.

My main complaint against Starbucks flavored drinks is that they’re all super artificially flavored and packed with enough sugar to send you into a diabetic coma. That doesn’t mean you can’t have your delicious pumpkin spice latte. This effortless recipe is quick, delicious, and vegan approved! In fact, you’ll even save a ton of money AND calories! You.Are.Welcome. Another plus is that it take way less time than driving to Starbucks and waiting in line for your drink. Get you some.

SERVES: 1

TIME: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 shots of espresso
1 cup of steamed cashew milk or hemp milk. →TIP: these two have a rich, creamy flavor that blends best with coffee) I make my own, however I’ve also used Silk Cashew Milk, which is only 25 calories per cup but scrumptious.
Pumkpin spice to taste
Stevia to taste
1 TBS organic pumpkin puree (the missing ingredient in Starbucks lattes: NO PUMPKIN!)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare espresso (I use a simple, inexpensive espresso maker that I bought on one of my trips to Italy. It makes divine coffee and is oh so fast!)
Steam cashew milk, or simply warm on stove top or in microwave; pour in container and close lid, shake milk for about one minute.
Add pumpkin, spices, and stevia, then pour into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds.

VARIATIONS:

You can serve cold by shaking it with ice and pouring over ice; you can make a frappe by throwing ice into the blender. A mix of caramel or melted dark chocolate also taste soooo good!

I love this recipe not only because it’s vegan, but because you would NEVER KNOW IT’S VEGAN. Seriously. Cashew milk is not my go-to for milk, simply because cashews aren’t quite as healthy as coconuts or almonds, but it’s brilliant in recipes where you need a delicious, heavy cream as a base. Whenever I have my girls over, this is an easy drink to whip up and serve with a side of biscotti. Effortless, inexpensive, and delicious. Take that, Starbucks!

Smoothie Fail: Is Your Drink Making You Gain Weight?

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

Smoothie drinks, smoothie bowls…they’re all the rage now.

It seems like almost everyone I know is throwing their not-so-healthy, sugary yogurts in the trash in favor of the smoothie trend. Smoothies are a great way to get a huge amount of nutrients with minimum effort. Everything about this seems awesome…right? So why are people worrying that their oh so healthy smoothie might be the culprit behind their weight gain? Is it even possible to gain weight from something so healthy?! The terrible answer is yes, but don’t freak out! I’ll break down why your smoothie or shake might be sabotaging your weight goals and what you can do about it!

So let’s get down to business. My milkshake does bring all the boys to the yard, only it doesn’t have milk or sugar. It does have all the nutrients my body desperately needs and then some, but it’s easy to ruin a good thing if we fall into these traps:

PORTION CONTROL

Unfortunately too much of a good thing can be high calorie. ARGH! MUST EVERYTHING HAVE PORTIONS! Yes, grasshopper, it must. This pains my heart as much as yours. My brain literally refuses to process delicate serving size recommendations–I’ve never eaten just a 1/2 cup of ANYTHING, let’s be honest.

But here’s the plain and simple truth: the more fruit you throw in that delicious concoction, the more calories and sugar (albeit healthy sugar) you’re adding. Keep track of how many pieces of fruit you’re adding to the mix. Also, consider the amount of smoothie you’re drinking, and what you use as a liquid.

These are calories that add up quickly. If it’s a true meal replacement, don’t stress over it, but it’s also good to keep track of what exactly you’re eating. Vegans and vegetarians tend to over-do our fruit intake. I could live in an orchard and never complain, because I love fruit so much. If I had a choice between gelato and fruit, I’d pick fruit. Unless the gelato were from Italy, and a hot Italian man were serving it to me, then I wouldn’t want to be rude and decline or anything…I mean, I have my manners to consider, right?

FIBER FAIL:

The point of a smoothie is actually not to drink a delicious milkshake like treat for breakfast…ok, ok, that is my goal, but our truest aim should be to get a ton of fiber with minimum effort. If I were to attempt to eat 3 cups of plain baby spinach for breakfast, it would be a chore. I would protest, commit mutany on myself, and throw my bowl across the kitchen. Blended and diguised as a delish breakfast treat, and my tastebuds are none the wiser. The key: GET YOUR FIBER. Add at LEAST one big handful of greens to your smoothie mix. A lack of fiber makes us hang onto our food, which in turns means we don’t eliminate enough waste and toxins. This leads to major weight gain.

Get your fiber, fiber, fiber, all day long…and not the fiber supplements. That’s what leafy greens are for!

M.I.A. PROTEIN:

If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you will especially benefit from throwing a scoop of vegan protein powder into your drinks, or a handful of nuts. Fiber is great and all that, but protein takes longer to digest, and gives our body energy building blocks to play around with later in the day. You won’t feel as hungry or have craving hit you if you have protein in your smoothie. If it’s all fruit and yumminess, you’re basically living on healthy sugars, but sugar nonetheless. Cue plummeting blood sugar levels…whomp whomp….

THE SNEAKY SWEETENER TRAP:

Honey is delicious and actually healthy. Agave has been praised as a healthy sugar sub (it’s not…more on that.) A dash of cane sugar can’t kill you, right (wrong)? If you’re like me, your tastebuds have been overly conditioned to adore and crave sweets, so we add sweeteners to our smoothies. That’s ok to do, but you have to consider what you’re adding.

So here’s the deal: agave actually isn’t great for your blood sugar levels, and it’s not low in calories. Honey is healthy, but also high in calories, so be sparing with it. Stevia is your best bet for low glycemic index and zero calories. A curse be upon you if you dare add fructose corn syrup or other refined sugars to your smoothies. A CURSE, I SAY!

ADDING HIGH CALORIE FOODS:

Nut butters, avocados, coconut oil, coconuts, etc etc etc…yes they’re healthy, but only in moderation. One friend of mine recently expressed frustrating for not losing weight even though she was eating a very clean diet. I asked her what she put in her smoothies, and described it: no greens, tons of fruit, often greek yogurt (NOT a healthy option due to dairy) or a half a cup of peanut butter, some honey, and some other ingredients that I forget because my mind was so staggered by the half a cup of peanut butter. She wasn’t seeing weight loss results like she hoped, but after making a few simple adjustments (like not adding a jar of peanut butter) this gal was rocking her smoothies and losing weight easily.

Drinking a daily green smoothie will drastically aid your weight goals, but most importantly, it will revamp your health! By following the guidelines I’ve listed, you can ensure you get your nutrients without a high caloric intake. So, what’s your favorite way to shake it out? Much love and lots of spice!

Chia Pudding with Roasted Figs + Goat Cheese

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

One of my favorite breakfasts go-to’s happened to be a mega Superfood. Chia seeds have received great acclaim for delivering a whopping amount of nutrients and antioxidents in each teeny seed. Figuring out how to incorporate them into your diet might be a little tricky, other than the obvious “add to smoothie” advice that I’ve followed for years. That all changed for me when I came across a lovely vegan restaurant in London that served up chia seed pudding. UM, WHAT? Why have I not beeng doing this all my life?! It’s like overnight oats only a MILLION TIMES HEALTHIER! Que the Hallelujah chorus right now. Imma bout to shout it out! Effortless: check. Delicious flavor possibilities: check. Mega healthy: check, check, check.

While the seeds themselves don’t have much flavor, when soaked, they plump up and form a gelatinous, pudding like mixture. On it’s own, I don’t find it too appetizing. I actually think the even just the word gelatinous sounds unappealing. BUT wait! Don’t go anywhere yet! I also think plain soaked oats are blah and horrendous, but that hasn’t stopped me from making a long list of way too fabulous overnight oats recipes (thank you Pinterest for being my source of all things domestically inclined). Now, instead of using oats, you can just use chia seeds.

This recipe of roasted figs with a cherry + fig sauce and crumbled goat cheese tasted particularly delicious to me, so I wanted to share it with you. It makes for a wonderful, quick breakfast or healthy mid-afternoon snack.

SERVES: 2

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: None

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup nut milk or water
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Squeeze of lemon juice/zest
4 figs, sliced
Optional: crumbled goat cheese
CHERRY + FIG SAUCE TOPPING:
1/4 cup cherries
1 fig
1/4 cup nut milk

DIRECTIONS:

Mix seeds, milk, vanilla and salt in a container that allows enough room for the chia seeds to expand. Leave overnight or soak for about six hours.
Slice the figs and seer in a pan on medium high to caramelize the fruit and bring out its natural sugars.
Top the chia pudding with the fruit and crumbled goat cheese.

To make the sauce:

Add all sauce ingredients in food processor and blend till you reach desired constancy. Pour over chia pudding and enjoy! That’s all it takes to start your day (or your snack!) off with a Superfood bang! Any flavors and fruti you’ve experimented with as you’ve made chia seed pudding? Be sure to let me know about it! Much love and lots of spice!

Velvety Smooth, Vegan Roasted Tomato Bisque

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

While I might enjoy marching to the beat of my own drum on any given day of the week, I will go SO BASIC B*TCH all over fall. Pumpkin everything, spices galore, cozy sweaters, scented candles….give me all the basic stuff! I think fall is such a beautiful time of the year, and there are a million and one little things about it that remind us to celebrate the simple things in life. And one of those simple things that I love on an obsessive level: soups. Oh, there will be soup, make no mistake about it!

A new recipe I played around with this past weekend is this roasted tomato soup recipe that is SO YUM-O! I’ve always loved tomato soup, but I despair over the dairy-free recipes. They’re often extremely acidic and lack the rich, creamy comfort of a big ol’ bowl of not-so-healthy tomato soup. But you can’t keep a vegetarian/mostly vegan down! Let’s the recipe experiments commence! After a few test runs, consulting the oracle (aka Pinterest), and mixing in various ingredients, I have to say this recipe gets a big thumbs up from me. Another plus is that soups are ridiculously easy to make in advanced. This soup also freezes extremely well. I included an optional ingredient of goat cheese. It.Tastes.PHENOMENAL. However, the soup tastes insanely good without it, so it’s just as easy to leave this ingredient out to keep it truly vegan.

SERVES: 6+

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 5-10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or butter for non-vegan option)
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 to 1 TBS smoked paprika
4-5 cups tomatoes (I used an assortment of colors and types)
1 BPA free can (15 ounces or 1 3/4 cups) coconut milk
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2-1TBS raw honey or other sweetener
OPTIONAL: 1/8-1/4 cup organic goat cheese to bring out amazing flavors!
OPTIONAL: 1/2 teaspoon chili powder if you’d like to add a dash of heat

DIRECTIONS:

Roast tomatoes and onions on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until they start to brown on top.
Remove from oven and add to Vitamix (or use immersion blender)
Add all dry ingredients, then pour coconut milk in. Optional: add goat cheese. → TIP: I do recommend a heavier, richer coconut milk instead of almond or cashew milk, because the healthy fats and natural sweetness of the coconuts blends beautifully with the acidic tomatoes and adds such depth to the flavor. The nuttiness of the other milks just doesn’t taste too terribly good to me.
Blend on soup setting of Vitamix, or simply start at a slow speed and increase speed of blender till soup reaches a smooth, velvety consistency.

As I’ve mentioned before, this soup freezes extremely well, so you can store it in a regular freezer for about 3 months or a deep freezer for 6-8 months. Busy mamas, rejoice! You can never go wrong with easy recipes that you can make in bulk, freeze, and forget about! If you like your soup a little sweeter, increase the honey. If you like your soup with a bit more heat and smokiness, increase the chili and smoked paprika (delish with the goat cheese!) I hope your week is off to a wonderful start! Much love and lots of spice from my kitchen to yours!

Eggs Over Probiotic Rainbow Hash

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

One of the things I absolutely loved about dining out in Europe was the brilliant use of vegetables in dishes. Cooking with whole foods isn’t a novelty concept or a trend in the UK, it’s just the way food is prepared. I absolutely loved how easy it was to find healthy options. I became addicted to a delicious probiotic rainbow veggie mix while I was living there for the month of September. The vegetables were brined in a delicious, slightly sweet vinaigrette with sea salt, and I ate it by the gallons. Interestingly enough, while we’re usually vaguely aware that we don’t incorporate enough vegetables into our diet, we usually forget that we’re severely deficient on eating enough colors. Studies prove we fail to get enough red, purples, and yellow veggies.

Brightly colored veggies contain phytochemicals, which are substances occur naturally only in plants and provide amazing health benefits. According to information from the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), phytochemicals act as antioxidants. They protect and regenerate essential nutrients, and/or work on a cellular level to deactivate cancer-causing substances. So when you eat this beautiful rainbow dish, you’re not only getting a tasty breakfast, you’re also promoting good health and lower disease risk. Um, holla! I’m a little enthusiastic about obtaining health through our diets, but it’s because we can get healthy via food. You can funnel your money into expensive health treatments, or invest it in good, whole foods. I personally find it incredibly inspiring that we can contribute to our vitality through healthy eating.

You can prep your vegetables the up to several days before this recipe, depending on how long you’d like to culture your vegetables for a probiotic effect, or you can prepare them and let them marinate for flavor as you cook.

SERVES: 4-6

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 5-10 minutes

BRINING VEGETABLES: 1-4 days or simply briefly marinate for flavor

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs per serving
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 red onion
Handful of fresh cilantro
1 cup diced purple cabbage
¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Filtered room-temperature water
Canning jar

BRINING INSTRUCTIONS:

Sterilize mason jar and set aside.
Dice veggies into desired size.
Mix together in a medium bowl and add pepper flakes and vinegar; sprinkle with salt and mix well. Use a wooden spoon or Cabbage Crusher to lightly press the ingredients to release the juices.
Pour all the ingredients into mason jar, pressing slightly to pack and fill the jar to 1 inch below the rim. Pour in water to cover the vegetables completely. If necessary, weigh them down under the brine to keep them submerged.
Cover the jar with a tight lid, airlock lid, or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
Culture at room temperature (60-70°F is preferred) until desired flavor is achieved. If using a tight lid, burp daily to release excess pressure.
Once finished, put a tight lid on the jar and move to cold storage.

You can serve these veggies raw and top with eggs, or you can very lightly saute them. Be sure to not overcook them, because we want to preserve as many precious enzymes as we possibly can. Once cooked, toss with fresh cilantro, and serve with the eggs. It’s a delicious way to start the day with a vibrant serving of vegetables. And once the rainbow mix is made, you can use it in salads, on quinoa, with a side of fish…the possibilities are endless! And for my lovely vegans out there, just take that egg right off and top it with tofu or any other ingredient you’d like.

I hope you enjoy this incredibly healthy recipe I brought back with me from the UK! It makes me genuinely happy to share little recipes and ways I’m finding to help my own family become more healthy. As always, please feel free to comment and share any health tips and advice or questions you might have! Much love and lots of spice from my kitchen to yours!

Natural Cleaner for Yoga Mats + Gym Equipment

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

Just when you thought it was safe to watch documentaries, you come across The Human Experiment and life is over as you knew it. Nightmares for DAYS, people. Damn it, Netflix, why do you do me like that? The basic synopsis of The Human Experiment is that we’re all going to die. Well, ok, more specifically, we are experiencing a chemical overload via the things we use daily, ranging from food to products. Households cleaning items are rarely tested for long term effects on animals, and what data we do is not looking good. After watching that documentary my first instinct was to pack up, pulling a Walden, and getting my Henry David Thoreau-self outta here!

But here’s the thing: I absolutely refuse to live my life in fear of all of the non-holistic things that go bump in the night. There’s a big difference between making smart, well-informed changes that positively impact your life verses being controlled by information that terrifies you. The point of educating ourselves about natural alternatives is to simplify, empower and protect our lives.

FYI, the documentary is actually very insightful and raises important questions, and I recommend it watching it. It did get me thinking about the ways that chemicals are introduced into my system via my everyday life and products. I fortunately don’t wear a great deal of make up or use chemical beauty products, but there still is a long list of items that are easy to change. My cleaning products are definitely not all natural, and the cleaner I used every day on my mat and gym equipment was in that category. This is extra disconcerting, because my bare hands and feet are all over that thing. We’re very vulnerable to chemicals when we work out, because we usually have direct skin to skin contact with equipment and mats cleaned with chemicals.

The gym is good for you, yea verily, great for you. If you use it that is, and if you don’t use the chemically laden wipes to clean your equipment. Remember, whatever touches the skin to some extent gets absorbed in our bodies, and the list of ingredients is scary. Remember, when products claim to be safe, it doesn’t necessarily mean that is safe in the long term. Very few products get tested over a long period of time. While we might form emotional attachments to our yoga mats, germs also get attached…super gross, right? But I don’t want to use chemical products to clean my mat!

So, I did some research and my yoga studio actually uses a very simple cleaner that’s perfect for cleaning your kitchen, your mat, gym equipment, and get this—even your kinda stinky gym clothes! The natural ingredients attack bacteria without hurting your body or fabric. In fact, the ingredients will only help your immune system if your skin absorbs them.

All you need for this awesome cleaner is:

You can add lavender, lemon or any other essential oil to the mix to make it smell oh so lovely, but these are the basics ingredients. Mix together and add to a spray bottle. For super grip mats like Lululemon or Manduka, this is the perfect cleaner to use when you first get the mats and need to get rid of that rubbery smell. Make sure you use a good amount of the solution and go by sections because high quality anti-slip mats quickly absorb liquids without giving you a chance to really scrub off the bacteria.

To use for gym clothes, pour 1/4 of a cup to 1/2 cup of this solution into the wash, and cycle through on warm. Make wipes for the gym by cutting paper towels and placing in a small baby wipes container, soaked with solution. Or, carry in a spray bottle and wipe down equipment with a dry paper towel. Hey, you carry a gym bag, how hard can it be to throw in a mini spray bottle and go? Right? Of course right. And just think, now you can blaze through your workout and stay chemical free while you get skinny-minny and even more fabulous!

This cleaner isn’t limited to yoga mats and such. It’s a great for kitchen surfaces and all manner of things. Another plus, no harmful fumes from using this as a cleaner. YAY! Give this cleaner a try and so goodbye to chemicals! Much love!

Creamy, Delicious (Dairy Free) Potato Soup

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

Oh my word! It’s been truly the most amazing September I think I’ve ever experienced! I just got back from a 3 week stay in London, and my husband and I had the most wonderful time. Albeit, we can’t get enough of traveling together, and Samuel is such a great wanderlust buddy so we always have a fabulous time whether we’re travel 3 hours away or across the ocean. London one of my favorite cities to visit, and each time I go, it just feels like home. We love it so much that we’re probably moving there within the year. One of the things I love most about the UK is the FOOD. It.Is.SO.GOOD.

While abroad, I was able to indulge in all manner of decadent, amazing foods. It’s one of my favorite things about traveling! There are a wide variety of vegan and vegetarian options to choose from, because many delicious ethnic foods are plant based or meat can easily be left out of a recipe. I love soups to a degree that is almost embarrassing, but it’s the perfect comfort food on a blustery London day, so it’s not surprising that when it comes to soups, England #nailsit….but for real. During a trip out to Bath, I tried a dairy free (can this even be?) potato soup that was so amazing, that I knew I’d have to try to replicate it! The universe must have been conspiring against me (or for me?), because my perfect soup day arrived sooner than I was hoping shortly after flying back into the US.

You know what comes with international flights? Not sleep, I’ll tell you that! You do get a random selection of movies and a side of sickness, though! I’m a germaphobe, and I cringe every time I hear someone hacking away nearby me in an air pressure controlled cabin. Sickness is almost inevitable, but I like to pretend like I am impervious to getting ill. I went through the five stages of illness. Denial: NO! I’m no sick! I’m…tired with a dash of sore throat! Anger: I paid so much money to be trapped in a sick zone! Everyone should wear masks! This is how Ebola gets into America, damnit! Bargaining: perhaps if I drink a gallon of orange juice now and eat an entire bottle of vitamin C, I’ll be ok? Depression: I have a month worth of socializing to catch up on, why now?! Why God, whhhhhhhy? And finally, acceptance: I’m sick. LET THERE BE SOUP! And there was…and it was so damn good. So delicious, in fact, that my in house carnivorous food snob (aka my amazing husband) raved about it and downed several bowls. Take that, dairy!

Why no dairy? Well, there’s a long list of reasons to abandon dairy products and I encourage you to do a little research on this. The primary reasons I avoid (I do occasionally eat goat cheese or imported organic cheeses) dairy is that it’s riddled with antibiotics and hormones. The body also really hates dairy, and reacts to it by increasing mucus production and a slew of other defense responses. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not quite at a point where I want to totally refrain from cheese, so I always find organic or choose goat cheese whenever possible. I also find ways to eliminate dairy from recipes, and that’s what I experimented with on this potato soup recipe WHILE SICK! Like a boss, people. Ok, actually, like a weak invalid desperate for soup. And now, on to the recipe!

SERVES: 10

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds organic potatoes
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 cup of BPA free canned coconut milk
3 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
1 TBS chicken base (leave out to remain vegan)
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegan bacon or real bacon
1-2 TBS smoked paprika

GARNISH:

Vegan or real bacon
Green onions
Pepper

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

DIRECTIONS:

Thoroughly clean the potatoes. Leave the skins on if organic to get amazing minerals and nutrients found in the skins.
Dice potatoes and add to large pot of boiling water; add bacon/vegan bacon for flavor and cook until soft.
While potatoes boil, saute onions, garlic, and celery and set aside. Cook vegan bacon and set aside for garnish.
When potatoes are soft, drain them and add to blender or blend with hand blender. I use a Vitamix, which makes the most velvety, smooth soups imaginable. Add onions, garlic, and celery.
Add stock and coconut milk and blend, starting on low speed and working up to a higher speed. Blend until creamy, smooth texture is achieved.

Serve hot and top with crispy vegan bacon, green onions, and pepper. It’s so good, it just might heal you if you’re sick…maybe. I’m still doing research on this. I guess I’ll have to eat some more soup to find out;) Much love and lots of spice from my kitchen to yours!

How to Weekend + Travel Proof Your Health Game

Published by Camryn (Naturally Fit Living)

Current situation: living across the pond in London proper for most of the month of September. Health game: Staying mooooostly on point, despite the massive attack (musical pun for you fellow fans out there!) on clean eating by way of incredible dining and wining in one of my favorite cities. Let’s face it, weekends and vacations do a number on our health, and it can be incredibly difficult to reel ourselves back to reality. Many people, myself included, can testify that the “occasional indulgence” or exception accidentally become the norm. It’s so much harder to get back on track than to stay mostly consistent with our lifestyle.

I’m speaking from personal experience of course; in all honesty my will power waffles and wavers entirely for a fancy pants meal, bottomless brunching, and/or an amazing bottle of wine. What’s a girl to do? Never dine out? Skip traveling? Forget it! That sounds like zero amounts of fun. I have major wanderlust and frequently travel both nationally and internationally. When I’m home, I’m fortunate to have a lovely network of friends who enjoy fine dining. Instead of saying no to enjoying life and friendships, I’ve learned some much needed tips and tricks of the health trade to make traveling and weekends much healthier; in fact, there’s no need to allow weekends, holidays, and trips to sabotage our clean eating efforts.

GUIDE TO WEEKEND + TRAVEL PROOFING YOUR HEALTH GAME

1) Plan your location ahead of time:

Weekend Crew: if you are the one inviting friends to an event, find a place with as many healthy options as possible. I love hosting and planning events, so always select places that let me load up on my greens and have good vegetarian options and big salads. If you’re the invited, consult the Oracle aka google and look up the menu in advanced so you can better plan what you’ll eat. This helps you stick with your resolve to eat clean.

Wanderlusting Boo’s: make sure your hotel is near markets, healthy restaurants or grocery stores that give you a wider variety of healthy food options. Sounds like a lot of extra effort? It’s really not; you have to look up locations anyway, so it’s worth googling “organic market near ____”

→ TIP: book a place on VRBO or Airbnb that has a kitchen. If you make the majority of your meals, you cut costs AND you stay in control of your health game.

2) Fill up on green smoothies and juices throughout the day and before dining out.

Weekend crew: before you dine out, make a green smoothie or green juice and draaaaank! Not only will you be fuller, but your body won’t be prone randomly eating everything in sight because you gave it NUTRIENTS. Nutrients stave off cravings, which are usually the body’s way of telling us it needs better or more fuel for energy.

Wanderlusting Boo’s: most cities have cold pressed green juices or juice cafes; if you can’t find any, make sure you load up on green fibers at the start of every meal and carry around veggies as a snack to much on; make it a goal to eat healthy and then indulge, so that way your body is getting precious nutrients and fiber. I always bring my blender with me to make green smoothies. Part of what makes us feel like crap when we travel is we eat out. A lot. Like, all the freaking time. Most restaurants cook everything and know the majority of customers won’t be excited about kale, but they’ll go gaga for pasta. Guess what’s on the menu? Yup. Pasta. Guess what your body can’t function too terribly well on? Sadly, pasta. Eat the damn delicious pasta, but give your body what it needs first.

3) Workouts: don’t leave home without them.

Weekend crew: eat the frog. Bite the bullet. Just do it. Get you workout crossed off the list right away…you’ll feel so proud of yourself, you’ll pat yourself on the back. A mere hour or two out of your weekend will make you feel SO DAMN GOOD. Butdoyouevenliftbrah?

Wanderlusting boo’s: whenever I travel, I find a yoga studio or fitness center and get a mini-multi class pass. A workout is an hour or so of my time…it’s not too hard to fit in. It’s just not very much fun; it feels like the opposite of vacation, right? But we take our lifestyle with us wherever we go! A vacation last a little while, but good health choices last even longer. I will also readily admit that when I’m on a shorter vacation, I spend less time working out than I normally do. Another perfect option to working out while traveling is to run. No equipment needed! It’s also an amazing way to take in wherever you’re visiting.

→ TIP: There are a plethora of workout apps out there or even DVD’s you can bring with you. I like the Cody App (nope, not sponsered to say this ALTHOUGH….I should be). Lastly, you can pack jump ropes for a great HIIT workout thats easy to bring with you wherever you go. Can’t find a yoga studio or app you like? 5 Sun Salutations A + B counts in the Ashtanga world as a full practice. You get a good workout in and stay flexible.

4) Stay rested.

TUCK YO’SELF IN! Here’s a super boring tip brought to you by childhood bedtime rituals everywhere! When we are rested, our bodies look, feel, and function so well. Unless you’re like, 20 years old, in which case, almost everyone hates you and is jealous of your youth and vitality, try to maintain a fairly balances schedule of fun and rest. The plus: you’ll have the energy you need to really soak up every moment of fun, and you will stave off illnesses.