In honor of National Smoothie Day, I thought it was crucial that I share one of my favorite blueberry smoothie recipes! I made this smoothie almost every single day my freshmen year of college… yep in the dorms. I bought frozen blueberries (super cheap at trader joes) and always kept them stocked in my little freezer along with frozen cauliflower. This smoothie became my go-to, and my friends would beg me to make it for them.
The biggest question I keep getting asked is what healthy college snacks I’m into while being in college and what am I eating in college. I am sharing my favorite easy and healthy dorm room friendly snacks that I love!
When it comes to healthy meals and prep, I’ve got it down. It can be easy to copy, find recipes, and tailor them to individual meals (Breakfast food= smoothie). However, snacks can sometimes be a struggle, especially finding healthy college snacks. I try not to snack tons, but sometimes I do it without thinking.
When I am traveling I make it a priority to visit the best healthy food spots places in the area. For spring break, I took a trip down the coast. I decided to document all the must-visit healthy food locations from Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice.
Prior to this trip, I’d never visited these places. However, knew about many of the trendy juice bars and cafes which the LA culture promotes.
First stop was Malibu Farms, located on Malibu Pier. Malibu Farms is on a long pier separated into two sections, a restaurant, and a cafe. The restaurant is right when you walk onto the pier, and the cafe is at the end of the pier. I ate at the restaurant for lunch, and it is absolutely adorable inside and out. It has glass windows all around so you can see the ocean from every table. The food well, it’s all fresh, and everyone in your family will enjoy eating there. For lunch, I shared the cauliflower pizza as an appetizer and then had a brussel sprout salad. Both were AMAZING!
Along with the food, I ordered the mint lemonade which is a must! I wish I could eat here every day. The location is beautiful, and the food is farm fresh and to die for.
The holidays are in the air! The leaves are falling, the weather is colder, and you’re spend time with friends and family. We all love the holidays and surviving with some healthy holiday tips might help along the way.
With the holidays, we always eat more, indulge in sweets and put off going to the gym. Holidays are a time to be spent celebrating and being thankful…however every year I tend to think “If only I hadn’t completely disregarded my healthy habits”.
Although I will be indulging on some apple pie and mashed potatoes throughout this season I will be watching ‘how much’ I am indulging. With that, I am going to really work hard to follow these healthy holiday tips:
Why is gut health so important? The phrase, “listen to your gut.” says it all! Although it is used in the context to help you make decision’s and what your ‘gut’ is telling you is right or wrong, your gut is also a significant contribution to your overall health. I didn’t understand about gut health until I started drinking kombucha. I saw on the bottles that it said “great for your gut!” and “good source of probiotics” but I had zero clues what that meant. I began researching it like a mad woman because I wanted to learn more and hopefully understand if it could help me. Of course, it was a huge bonus because I fell in love with drinking kombucha.
Anyway, I always thought of your gut as basically stomach fat and thought that if I drank kombucha, it would get rid of my ‘gut’ lol, I was so wrong.
You gotta love a good tuna recipe, and this one is easy and quick to make. Tuna salad has become my absolute favorite thing to have for lunch. It is healthy, so easy to make (even in college), and taste amazing! Looking back at the tuna salad you grew up on, it probably wasn’t the healthiest tuna recipe and lacked flavor. Well, I am going to rock your world with this tuna salad recipe that tastes amazing and perfect for avoiding the Freshman 15.
The first ingredient in the tuna salad is canned tuna. Now I purchase tuna with no salt or oils added because I want it as healthy as I can get it. Also always make sure you are getting a good source of fish. I only buy WILD tuna, and I’ll tell you why. WILD caught tuna means it is not raised and fed on a farm. Essentially it was caught in the wild, not raised and fed unhealthy food (which then you consume).
Ahhh, as legend has it, there is no avoiding the Freshmen 15 or is there! Before entering the college environment, I was so anxious. I was stressing out about what I was going to eat, the freshman 15 and how I was going to maintain a healthy lifestyle on dorm food. I will admit, it’s been a struggle being on a budget and working with dorm food. However, I want today’s post to focus on the positives and the simple things that can help you stay on track.
The first thing is not eating all the unhealthy food because it’s available. Many times this can be hard (all the time…in my case) when pizza and fries surround you. I am not saying don’t have those things, but it needs to be in moderation. I suggest having a fun treat or meal on a specific day or weekends only.
For me, that might mean eating a burrito, cookie(s), etc. on a Saturday night. If you find yourself eating pizza and fries every other night, well it’s going to add up and avoiding the freshman 15 is not going to happen. My most helpful tip when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle or doing anything in life is doing it CONSISTENTLY. That could mean, limiting fries and pizza to once a week and making healthy meal choices all other times. You need to find a balance and what works best for you.
Looking back at when I first began my health journey I was making so many mistakes, and I didn’t even know it. We all have to start somewhere, and over time I learned more about health and nutrition through books, podcasts, videos, and documentaries. Looking back, however, I wish someone would have told me some of the healthy mistakes I was making…. so, I got you covered!
When I am traveling, I find it so difficult to stay on track with my healthy eating and to take care of my body. It is easy to fall out off the wagon completely and eat junk food while you are traveling. While this is okay in moderation, it is essential to fuel your body with nutritious foods. I often find myself having to detox or get back on track when I get home if I don’t prepare for traveling. What I have found is a healthy balance with treating yourself and staying on track while traveling. I wanted to share my tips and tricks while traveling because not to toot my own horn but I have some pretty good ones!
I hate to go in blind with no healthy snacks or meals available as it makes me so anxious! When I am flying, I will try to eat a filling meal before heading to the airport and then I will bring a healthy snack along with me. Some of my favorite healthy items to bring are an apple with an almond butter packet, berries, a salad, raw almonds, or chopped veggies with hummus. I focus on foods that I know will satisfy my cravings when I am surrounded by the tempting junk food which is everywhere in airports and while on the planes. So, I like to keep it simple and let me tell you it feels so good when you whip out your apples, and almond butter and everyone around you is super jealous! I always give myself a little pat on the back for being so prepared LOL.
To me, opening your fridge and seeing it stocked with healthy food is one of the best feelings. For it to be fully stocked, you have to do the obvious…grocery shop. When I go grocery shopping, I start by getting my fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables. After I grab my packages foods, which I try to keep to a minimum. Lastly, I add my cold products to the cart. I have a set grocery list of food I always purchase and the rest such as my meat(s) or certain fruits/veggies for the week changes.
When I first began eating healthier, I found the grocery store daunting and didn’t know what to purchase. So to help, here is my master grocery list for some insights! It is a combination of foods I buy regularly and others once in a while. Overall it is a list that can help guide you in finding healthier items in the grocery store.