Bigbird023 - "Go Write Your Own Stories"

Awesome #lunch but it doesn't compare to #abuelas #home #cooking

-HMH Fit tip #7-

Got a goal? Get a plant.

Let it be a metaphor for your growth. See how it responds to the conditions you create for it. See how getting enough water and light makes it grow and give off a healthy and vibrant energy. Watch when you forget to maintain those conditions how it slows into dormancy or even drops leaves or browns at the edges.

Ask yourself:

“How am I like this plant?” “What conditions must I maintain to opitimize my growth?” “Who is the caretaker responsible for providing these conditions for me?” (Psst. It’s you.)

Make your daily visit to your plant a reminder to maintain the conditions that are carrying you to your goal. What is your “water and light”? Hopefully it includes actual water, but what else? Supportive family and friends? Maybe it’s getting enough sleep. Maybe it’s preparing your meals ahead of time, not letting yourself get hungry, going to the gym on your way home, going for a run when you wake up, journalling, or a combination of factors working in concert to create your fit, vibrant, healthy self.

Let your plant teach you how to pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. Let it teach you the necessity of patience and persistence as it stands strong but grows slowly.

Celebrate new leaves on your plant and let it draw your attention to new growth and strength you see in yourself.

Allow your plant to teach you hope and resilience. Maybe you’ll neglect it a while and come to it in a sorry state all withered and tired. Watch as you reintroduce the conditions that it favours for it’s health and see it spring back to it’s best.

When you reach that big, lush, green, happy-plant goal, roots all crowding the pot and leaves reaching and spreading like you can’t stop it, that is definitely not the time to remove the conditions that brought you there. It may seem as if the work is over. You’ve arrived. All happy and beautiful. Remember, you’re still growing. Remove your “light and water” and slowly you’ll return to a softer, shrunken you. That, in fact, is the time to give yourself a bigger pot. A bigger goal. More room for you to expand past what you thought was your end point. Make your point B your new point A and forget all about where you started before.

Let your plant be your partner in change and growth. Inhale it’s oxygen and exhale your carbon dioxide and feel free to say out loud, “I can take care of you just like I can take care of me.” Plants love to be talked to. You’re in it together :)

(this is a spider plant that started small from my grandmother. pretty sure it needs a name - suggestions?)

On Friday, I went to my friend’s birthday party. She’s really athletic and into health and stuff, so I decided to make her some homemade almond butter. As an extra treat though, I made it chocolate-y! Keep reading to find out how I make it (: Trust me, it’s worth it! Super easy to make and...

“…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

It’s interesting that the last thing Jesus said on the cross was “it is finished.” It certainly looked like the end. It looked like it was over. But I believe that wasn’t just a statement of fact; it was a statement of faith. He was saying to His Father, “I’ve done My part. I’ve fulfilled My destiny. Now I’ve got total trust and confidence in You that You are going to finish what You started.” Even though it looked like the end, in reality, it was only the beginning.

When it looks dark in your own life and things aren’t going your way, dare to make that declaration of faith just like Jesus. “It is finished.” What you’re really saying is “God, I know You are going to turn this situation around. I know You are going to heal my body. I know You are going to restore my family. I know You are going to give me the breaks that I need.” Don’t go around complaining. Speak victory over your circumstances. Trust that He is faithful and that He will complete what He’s started in you!

Daniel Dalton / BuzzFeed

Step one is to calculate your BMR with the following formula:

Women:

655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men:

66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Please note that this formula applies only to...

10 Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes!

For a humble root vegetable, the sweet potato sure does have a lot going for it. The orange tuber packs 438% of your daily value of infection-fighting vitamin A and, like carrots, sweet potatoes are a major source of skin-protecting beta-carotene. While bananas are often touted as the go-to source of potassium, a medium sweet potato has 28% more potassium than a banana. (The mineral helps your body absorb fluids to replace sweat losses.)

Whether sweet potatoes only enter your kitchen on Thanksgiving or they have a regular spot in your cooking rotation, you could probably use more delicious ways to prepare them. Here are 10 recipes for dishes from fries to soup—each with about 300 calories or less.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Gingered Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Spiced Sweet Potato Chips

Baked Sweet Potato Latkes

Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges

Chili-Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Apple and Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Ginger Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Marshmallow Whipped Sweet Potatoes