Ten Tips for Being Eco-Friendly Without Sacrificing Mental Health

I'm not vegan and I own (and drive!) a car, but I still care about the environment and like to be eco-friendly. I'll tell you how below. But let's get a few things straight right away:

I don't worship the environment or believe I can save it. I know that this earth will one day perish and God will create new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13). But I do believe we're called to be good stewards of what God has given us (1 Peter 4:10). I believe there are higher goods than creation, most notably health and wellness and ability to serve others. I was vegetarian for a time, but it didn't work for me. I feel better physically and mentally when I eat meat. Yes, I rode the light rail to work for a time. Yes, I appreciated its efficiency and clean energy use. But the commute was detrimental to my time management and mental health, so I stopped. 

So on that note, here are a few things I do to be a good steward, without (hopefully) going overboard and making myself crazy: 

1) Skip the receipt (gas pumps, pop-up shops, etc.). I have the blessing of owning a smart phones and can either record our purchases in notes, or get the receipt e-mailed to me. I really don't need the paper.

2) Shop using reusable bags. My best friend got me mesh reusable bags, and they are great for produce. Most stores sell bags for the bulk of the other goods. (Note: I still use plastic sacks for meats. No use being unsanitary and getting sick because of trying to be eco-friendly.)

3) Buy from the bulk bins. Save money and save plastic (bagging with reusable bags above). Stores like Basha's,Fry's, Sprout's, Whole Foods, Win-Co, and more have bulk bins.

4) Re-use what plastic bags we have. Use plastic grocery sacks as trash liners. Only change the trash liner when needed. (We consolidate trash in the kitchen trash sack, and dump that for the week. No need to throw away a trash liner when all it held was office paper or cleaned out recyclables.)

5) Use dryer sheets at least twice. We aren't to the point of dryer balls yet, but we can still use a sheet several times.

6) Clean with micro-fiber. We generally only use paper towels for really nasty stuff, or when we don't have access to anything else in one of those "panic" moments.

7) Buy juice concentrate. Yes, the concentrate comes in plastic, but there is less plastic than buying juice in bottles all the time. (Plus, mixing up our own juice from concentrate is cheaper for the most part.)

8) Wash Ziploc bags. Yes, we still use them. But we wash and re-use them until they're not usable anymore. (Balance, people!) We also use silicone bags where we can.

9) Pack lunches. This saves times and money and throw away paper goods and plastics from eating out. (Yes, this is a source of and use for washed Ziplocs.)

10) Recycle. Our city does not recycle a lot, but we take advantage of what it does. Baby steps....

Being a good steward seems so all-consuming sometimes. There is so much publicity about the "right way" to live. But really the right way to live is 1) in alignment with God's will, as expressed through his word, and 2)in alignment with our own values and priorities (which vary from person to person). There are lots of ways to cut back and save and do better for the environment. You do you.**

*If you are vegan or vegetarian for the environment's sake and it works for you, great! But if your overall health is struggling because you are making choices to honor the environment that don't feel good in your body, here a few articles with helpful information:

https://www.sarahberneche.com/blog/2020/1/23/can-intuitive-eating-co-exist-with-a-plant-based-diet

https://www.blogilates.com/i-went-meatless-for-20-days-and-this-is-what-happened/

**Explore other ways to live responsibly by reviewing these resources:

https://www.curbed.com/a/how-to-live-sustainably

https://www.thehealthymaven.com/sustainable-living/

Healthy Looks Different on Everyone

I'm probably the healthiest I've been in years. 

That might seem like a contradictory statement given how sick I've been lately, my dystonia, and the "healthy" habits I no longer practice. I've gained weight, decreased my HIIT exercise, watched my cholesterol go up, struggled with sleep, and even given up some of my tidiness. All things I'd used to say were unhealthy. But my definition of healthy has changed. Right now for me, healthy for me means being in a good place mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Yes, my health includes the physical part, but that's probably the least important at this point. As Rachael Hartley puts it so well, "If doing something makes you feel bad mentally, then it's not actually health, no matter how 'good' it is physically." And at this point, I want holistic health as much as anything.

So what does healthy look like for me these days? 

It looks like hiking and getting in steps instead of always trying to get more fit and toned. It looks like chilling out instead of vigorously cleaning the house. It looks like normal eating instead of meal planned or even intuitive eating, where sometimes I eat too much and sometimes I eat too little and it's okay. It looks like accepting whatever weight comes to me as I live my life. It looks like forming deeper connections with the people around me, even when it means disrupting my schedule. It looks like doing meaningful work, even if it taxes and tires me. It looks like letting God redefine my priorities. 

I've changed my definition of healthy.

So next time you go to judge healthy for yourself or someone else based on outward appearance and external facts and figures, I challenge you to look deeper. Are you mentally healthy? Are you happy? Are you doing things that matter to you? And if not, then are you really healthy?

Look at me, and you might not say I'm the healthiest I've been, but you may not know where I've come from. And God is still growing me. 

Healthy looks different on everyone. 

Coming Home

“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'”

~Matthew 18:2-3

I made the decision to move back Arizona a little over two years ago. On faith, I decided to pack up and leave, without a job, relationship, or a place of my own to go to. It has been a rough several years, but despite all the twists and turns of life, I feel like I'm finally coming home.

Coming home in a lot of ways looks like becoming a child again. I live with my mom and dad. Little brother was home for awhile. Though Mom and Dad treat me as an adult and respect me, we are once again making family memories over kid things like meals and grocery shopping and hiking.

I am regularly engaging in kid activities in my daily life. I ride bikes with a kid every other week for work. I went kayaking for the first time in 20 years a few Sundays ago. This year, I hung out with horses for the first time since I moved home. I do a lot more art. The things that mattered to me as a kid (and even some that didn't) are suddenly coming back into my life.

My relationship with my body has had its fits and starts, but I feel like I am becoming more comfortable in my own skin. I've become un-vegetarian since moving home and eat a lot more “fun food” because it's available. I now enjoy pizza most weekends, a favorite “kid food.” I wear yoga pants more than jeans, and that's okay, both with me and with work. Yoga pants/leggings were my favorite attire growing up, and they are becoming so again. Why not wear comfy when I can?

When as a child, I first told Mom what I wanted to do with my life, she told me that she couldn't see me sitting behind a desk. I got a little upset, but she was right. My job has been hard, but I feel like I'm finally starting to own it. I play with kids A LOT, and it's fun. My employer embraces atypical services and that's a good thing for me. Hard as this job may be, I feel like I'm doing what I was designed to do since I was a child: helping people.

Brene Brown writes, “We can't selectively numb emotion. Numb the dark and you numb the light.” Children generally don't know how to numb. They learn that “skill” as they experience trauma and hardship and disappointment. They start to tune out life as a means of survival. God doesn't want us to live like that. He wants us to live out of faith and trust and a belief that He is good and that there is good in the world created. He wants us to celebrate the good amidst the bad.

I've been “home” for almost two years, but I feel like I'm finally coming home, home to myself and to the person God created me to be. The highs are high and the lows are low, but I am finally feeling them and integrating them into my existence. God is bringing me to a place of more authentic living, to increased reliance and dependence on Him, and that is where I need to dwell. Praise be to Him!

Seven "Healthy" Habits I No Longer Practice

Those of you who have been around me for awhile know that health and wellness are kind of important to me. There's the fact that my body is God's temple (1 Cor 6:19-20), but there's also the truth that I'm a perfectionist and want to do everything exactly right. I've been pretty rigid about following health and wellness recommendations in the past, but over the past few years of living in Arizona and trying to live more intuitively, I've realized that some of those habits aren't healthy for me anymore. Here a few of the habits I've recently ditched:

1) "Clean" Eating: I used to avoid buying "processed foods" in an effort to simplify my life and stay healthy. But living at home with my family, I have regular access to convenience foods and treats. So when cereal, candy, ice cream, a granola bar,or pizza call to me, I have them. Often times this convenience food is healthier for me because I eat when I'm hungry, rather than slaving away in the kitchen to make something from scratch when I was already starving.

2) Vegetarianism: It worked for me for awhile, but it does't anymore. My family eats meat, so I had to start eating it, at least for dinner, when I moved home. When I started my new job and found my stress levels higher and my energy levels lower, I added some additional animal protein into the breakfast and lunch meals that I prepared. It hasn't seemed to hurt me and I've maybe gained a little bit of muscle.

3) Avoiding bottled water: I freaked out about BPA in plastic bottles when I was in college. After that, I tried to avoid bottles of water because of the environmental impact. But in Arizona when you're thirsty, you've got to drink! I try to refill my BPA free CamelBak water bottle when I can, but when I can't, I can't. The dangers of dehydration far outweigh the negative consequences of disposable water bottles, at least in my opinion.

4) Exercising when I'm dog tired: Some exercise is good, but too much is too much. I've been sick quite a bit this year and am learning to take days off or engage in lighter exercise. And some days there just isn't time to exercise. My 5K pace might be slowing, but exercise is a privilege and at least I'm still able to do it sometimes.

5) Eating low fat: I've had high cholesterol in the past and I avoided eggs, cheese, and full fat dairy. But lately I've been craving more protein and even butter (which I previously disliked). So I've been eating whatever calls to me. We'll see how my blood work turns out this year, but for right now, I'm trying to eat what make me feel good.

6) Skipping the salt: Too much salt can be bad for you, but I started craving salt more when I began cooking from scratch. Maybe it was because I ate less processed food. Maybe I just liked the salt. I don't know. Now I live in Arizona and need the electrolytes, so I salt my food liberally. I try not to overdo it, but sometimes it happens. Salt is one of my lesser worries.

7) Avoiding hand sanitizer: I truly believe in the power of soap and water and washing hands. I know that killing 99.9% of bacteria can bread an 0.1% bacteria monster, BUT I work with kids and they have SO many germs. Hand sanitizer and bleach wipes are my new friends, and I have still been getting sick. I wash my hands when I can and use more natural cleaning products at home, but at work, instant sanitizers are my friends!

Has anyone else ditched some "healthy" habits in the past year? Please share in the comments section.

This post was inspired by Catherine's blog post and I'm linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for this Thinking Out Loud post. 

Healthy Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal Cups

I am having a bit of a heyday with baked oatmeal cups made with almond butter. Almond butter is seriously a game-changer! Take a look at these healthy gingerbread oatmeal cup beauties!

I adapted this recipe from Kristine's Kitchen to up the fruit content (via applesauce) and eliminate the sugar. I am not anti-sugar at all, I just feel better when I do not eat it at breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c oats
1 t ginger
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 1/4 c applesauce
1 c water
2 T almond butter
1 t vanilla

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Grease 12 cupcake tins. (I used coconut oil.)
3) Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4) Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
5) Add wet ingredients to dry and stir.
6) Bake at 380 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7) Allow muffins to cool in the pan before removing.

I put my muffins in the freezer after they cooled and pop out a few when I need them. They are good partly frozen, but then again, I like all my baked goods that way!

Craveable Chocolate Oatmeal Muffin Cups

Returning to physical therapy means early mornings. I decided I'd rather sleep in and eat breakfast in the car than get up early. That meant figuring out an on-the-go breakfast. I've been craving chocolate, and you know I like oatmeal. So I searched for a recipe and found these chocolate breakfast oatmeal cupcakes from Chocolate Covered Katie. I subtracted some sweetener, substituted some and came up with these delightful and satisfying chocolate oatmeal muffin cups.

The dark cocoa in these muffins makes them slightly decadent. The applesauce adds sweetness without overpowering. Almond butter adds protein and satisfaction. It's a pretty good combination. So without further ado, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 c water
2 T almond butter
1 1/2 T vanilla

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 380 degrees.
2) Grease 12 cupcake tins. (I used coconut oil.)
3) Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4) Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
5) Add wet ingredients to dry and stir.
6) Bake at 380 degrees for 25 minutes.
7) Allow muffins to cool in the pan before removing.

I put my muffins in the freezer after they cooled and pop out a few before I leave in the morning, but how you eat them is up to you!

Chocolate Oats 2.0

Those of you who know me well know I love chocolate oatmeal in all its many forms. And this year, the hustle and bustle of life helped me invent a new version: the all-in-one jar (or bowl) breakfast. 

I started drinking protein shakes again last fall when I was doing a little more intense weight-lifting program. (I saw "little" because the most I can lift is 40 pounds in a deadlift and my "program" simply looked like lifting weights more intentionally on more frequent occassions." I always liked to drink my protein shakes in a whipped up latte form, but then I got busy and didn't have time. One day I threw the protein powder into my oats and added my traditional applesauce and cocoa and was like, "Wow! This actually tastes good!"

I started in on protein powders in college and went from soy to whey to a vegan blend. I stuck with that blend from Sunwarrior for awhile. (I read a review that said Sunwarrior's Warrior blend had a complete amino acid profile, and I was trying to eat more vegetarian at the time.) When I moved to Arizona, I found Trader Joe's vanilla protein powder and changed to that. It's my favorite at this point because it stirs into oats easily and has natural sweetness from coconut sugar. (I find Sunwarrior's blend more earthy and powdery tasting. It's also sweetened with stevia, which I don't like.) But I digress. Any protein powder will work for these oats, so on to the recipes!

Stove-top:

1/2 c quick-cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1 scoop protein powder

Directions:

1. Bring water and oats to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa powder, applesauce, spices, and protein powder. Add more water, if neede
3. When oats reach the desired consistency, transfer oatmeal to a bowl and enjoy!

Overnight:

1/3 c quick-cooking oatmeal
2/3 c water
1/2 c applesauce
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 scoop protein powder

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a jar and stir.
2. Refrigerate overnight.

Tell me: Which version of chocolate oats did you try? Which was your favorite? Please share in the comments section.

What's Helping Me Get Through

Work's a little busy. Life's a little crazy. How am I getting through? These five self-care practices help:

1) Slow breakfasts: Giving myself 45 minutes to sit and eat and scroll through my phone. Admittedly, I can get overly caught up in negative research on my phone, or fall into the comparison trap of social media, but overall, it's a good habit.

2) Sleep: I can't get enough of it, and weekend naps are key! I sometimes give up other social engagements or activities to get in my time. Sleep is just so important right now.

3) Podcasts: Filling my mind with positive thoughts helps fight the negative ones. External noise also helps quiet the internal noise. Right now, I'm a major fan of The Chasing Joy Podcast with Georgie Morley. It's positive content and helpful tips for living a life of overall wellness. Double win!

4) Eating more protein: Days are long and being hungry/having low blood sugar just isn't good. So even though I'd like to be vegetarian, I've started eating more meat. I've also started supplementing my diet with and protein powder and protein bars. Right now, I just need that little "extra."

5) Moving: I still haven't quite figured out the right rest and exercise balance, but moving feels good, especially when I sit at a desk or ride in a car all day. Sometimes movement is walking, sometimes slowly running (or trotting, as I prefer to call it), sometimes yoga, and sometimes weightlifting and/or HIIT. Movement just makes the day go better, and sometime being sore gives me something to focus on other than ruminating about the craziness of life

These are the current ways I'm practicing self-care, but what about you? What's getting you through right now?

Cooking with Fruits and Vegetables (A-Z)

Back in 2016, I made it a goal to include more produce in my diet. I always try to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but sometimes it's just hard. I'm the kind of person who tends to eat the same fruits and vegetables over and over again, too. So to motivate myself to branch out, I decided to try cooking with new fruits and vegetables, as many as I could find, A to Z. See my results below.

Now before you go commenting that I missed a few letters, I know. I decided not to special order fruits like quince or ugly fruit. I never got around to the letters "I" (iceberg lettuce) and "W" water chestnuts. I challenge you to find a "X" vegetable. As for the rest of the letters, I think I did alright.

A is for Avocado 

Vanilla honey avocado pudding from The Iron You

B is for Black Beans

Cowboy caviar from Budget Bytes

C is for Chickpeas

Chickpea cookie dough balls from A Dash of Compassion

D is for Dill

Garbanzo summer salad with creamy dill dressing from Vanilla and Bean

E is for Eggplant

Eggplant cacciatore from Conoisseurus Veg

F is for Fennel

White bean soup with fennel seeds from Saveur

G is for Green Beans

Red curry green beans from Vegan Richa

H is for Honeydew Melon

Honeydew avocado kale smoothie from Nutrition to Fit

J is for Jalapeno Pepper

Brazilian black bean soup from Eating Well

K is for Kiwi

Clean eating kiwi muffins from The Gracious Pantry

L is for Lemon

Lemon blueberry loaf from Ambitious Kitchen

M is for Mushroom

Crockpot lentils and mushrooms from Recipes That Fit

N is for Nectarine

Nectarine lime oatmeal from The Oatmeal Artist

O is for Okra

Black eyed pea gumbo from Fat Free Vegan

P is for Pear

Gingerbread pear crumble from the OATrageous Oatmeals cookbook

R is for Raspberry

Tahini baked oatmeal with raspberries from The Oatmeal Artist

S is for Spinach

Sweet potato spinach quinoa gratin from Tori Avey

T is for Tomatoes

Burrito bowl soup from Fooduzzi

V is for Valencia Orange

Orange upside-down cake from Epicurious

Y is for Yellow Squash

Creamy yellow squash soup from Super Healthy Kids

Z is for Zucchini

Oil free healthy zucchini bread from Ceara's Kitchen

The Great Big Burrito Search

Some of you probably saw my recent Instagram post about digging Mexican food. Yeah, I've been craving it lately. But I'm also on a personal mission to find the best burrito in town.

Before you get too excited, I should clarify that I'm pretty picky about my burritos. I want a bean burrito without cheese. (I like cheese, but not with beans.) I don't label myself vegetarian, but I'm not a big fan of meat, or the spices used on meat at Mexican restaurants. So I'm looking for a bean or vegetable burrito. I like avocados, but only in chocolate banana pudding, so hold the avocado and guacamole. (Plain avocado tastes soapy to me.) Enough criteria? Okay, okay. Moving on to the burritos, here I'll review each burrito's ingredients, tortilla, price, and overall flavor. Then I'll give a star rating. I am a BIG fan of salsa, so restaurants with good salsa get extra points!

1 star: Blah. I wouldn't go here for a burrito again.

2 stars: Okay, but not overly flavorful, or having some off-putting element 

3 stars: Getting there, but lacking some of my favorite flavor components.

4 stars: Yum! I'd go here again.

5 stars: The perfect veggie burrito. (I'm not sure this exists.)

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Garcia's (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, topped with red enchilada sauce and a side of lettuce and tomato.

Tortilla: Run-of-the-mill food service.

Price: Don't remember, but I thought it was too much.

Flavor: Lacking. I took most of this home to doctor up. After adding chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and more salsa, it was decent.

Overall: 1 star

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Oliva's Mexican Food (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, with red enchilada sauce on top and a side of lettuce, tomato, and an olive.

Tortilla: Likely traditional food service. Large and soft, but nothing special.

Price: $7.50 for an a la carte burrito

Flavor: Decent when I added salsa.The beans were a bit liquidy, though, and the enchilada sauce was too plentiful.

Overall: 2 stars

Bean burrito (no cheese) at Plaza Bonita (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans inside the tortilla, with red enchilada sauce on top. I asked Dad for his pico de gallo, too.

Tortilla: On the small side and tough enough to have come from a store-bought package.

Price: I don't know. Dad paid for this burrito as my birthday dinner.

Flavor: Great!

Overall: 3 stars for the burrito, but knocked down to 2 stars because of poor service. If I ordered this again, I'd order to go.

Vegetarian burrito (no avocado or olives) at Cafe 51 (Ahwatukee, Arizona)

Ingredients: Lettuce, tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, and cilantro, with sides of sour cream and salsa

Tortilla: Not homemade, but extra-large, flaky, and soft

Price: $6.39

Flavor: Excellent, given that this burrito contained no beans. The cilantro balanced perfectly with the veggies.

Overall: 3 stars

Vegetable burrito (no guacamole) at Alfonso's Mexican Food (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Rice, beans (refried with a few whole pinto beans), green pepper, onion, and pico de gallo).

Tortilla: Definitely homemade, or at least cooked fresh on the grill! Thick and hearty, but a bit crispy in places.

Price: $4.95

Flavor: A little bland, but authentic. The peppers and onions were crisply sauteed, which I appreciated.

Extras: Salsa bar with red and green enchilada sauce and three types of salsa, plus radishes, limes, and pickled carrots and peppers.

Overall: 4 stars

Veggie burrito at Riliberto's (Prescott Valley, Arizona)

Ingredients: Refried beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, and some kind of sauce (possibly avocado based, but I didn't mind it).

Tortilla: HUGE! (I could only eat half of this burrito). Probably food service.

Price: $5.99

Flavor: Excellent! The sauce added good flavor and the balance of fresh lettuce and tomatoes to beans and rice was excellent.

Extras: Salsa bar with red and green salsa, a green sauce, and a creamy red sauce, plus some pickled vegetables. I went back probably five times for more.

Overall: 4 stars

Veggie wrap (no avocado) at Sweet Potato Cafe Restaurant (Prescott, Arizona)

Ingredients: Black beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, and chipotle sauce. This isn't technically a burrito, but it had similar ingredients. 

Tortilla: Factory made, but soft

Price: $7.99

Flavor: Not a traditional bean burrito, but great as a wrap

Extras: Served with excellent sweet potato fries!

Overall: 3 stars as a burrito, 4 stars as a wrap

Veggie burrito at Los Taquitos (Ahwatukee, Arizona) 

Ingredients: Super smooth refried beans and rice (mixed together) with tomatoes, peppers, onions, potatoes, cilantro, and pico de gallo.

Tortilla: Possibly homemade. Soft and yummy where wrapped around the burrito, but a bit hard on the edges.

Flavor: Excellent! I didn't even need to add salsa.

Extras: The red and green sauces pictured were spicy and bitter. Luckily, I only tried them on the end of my burrito, and the burrito itself tasted better without them.

Price: $5.00

Overall: 4 stars

Winner so far? Alfonso's!

Arizona friends, what other burritos do you recommend I try?