Healthy Chicks

With summer coming to an end, I’m soaking up every last bit of the season — pineapple sangria, al fresco dining, fresh berries, and all.

A couple weeks ago, baby girl woke up an hour early, so I quickly fed her breakfast, got her dressed and ventured out to go blueberry picking. While little miss fuss only lasted about 30 minutes (that’s what ya get when you try to stretch nap time), we got enough bleubs to make a couple batches of gluten free blueberry muffins.

If you’ve got yourself a stash o’ berries you’re not quite sure what to do with, I highly recommend making a batch of these bad boys!

I used this gluten free recipe from Iowa Girl Eats (subbing brown rice flour for 1:1 baking flour). Let me tell you: they’re deeelish, and babe’s a fan as well. It’s hard to believe these babies are gluten free and vegan, the only sugar coming from the banana and maple syrup! Win, win.

Recipe hack: sprinkle with cinnamon & brown sugar before popping in the oven for a little extra pizazz. 😉 Enjoy! … Read More!

It takes a village. 

This phrase has never rang more true to me since becoming a mom.

For those who don’t know, two months ago my husband and I packed up our two-bedroom apartment, left Massachusetts (where we met, lived for the past 10 years, got pregnant and gave birth to Isabella) and moved back to Connecticut to live with my parents for the time being while we house-hunt.

The main reason we moved back home was to be closer to family — and once Isabella was born we knew we wanted to do it sooner than later. As a hybrid between a stay-at-home and work-from-home mom, I’ve been busy this past year taking care of our baby and taking care of business. It’s not perfect, and I’ve started to realize I can’t do everything 100%, 100% of the time. And that’s OK.

That said, it’s been difficult not having close family and friends nearby to lend a hand, cook a meal, or even just be there to remind you that you’ve got this or for some good ol’ fashioned adult conversation. For the most part it’s been me, myself and baby.

Since moving, the past month or so has … Read More!

Morning friends, and Happy August! Seriously where is the summer going?! If you missed my message the other day, make sure to go take a look because I want you to know YOU ARE ENOUGH. Yes, I’m talking to Y-O-U!

Alrighty, moving onto this month’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a series highlighting rockstar Girl Bosses doing their thang in the wellness world. If you don’t already know by now, I have a major love affair with bone broth, so I was super pumped to meet master broth maker Melissa of The Hale Bone Broth at a wellness event, serving up her goods.

We naturally hit it off, and I knew she’d be a perfect fir for this series! In this fun interview, we chat about creating meaningful connections, plans to grow the biz and her girl crush on Rachel Hollis. I’ll let Melissa take it away from here!

NAME:

Melissa Smith, Owner of The Hale Bone Broth

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK:
The Hale is a health and lifestyle brand focused around healthy accountable living that is enjoyed! The Hale Bone Broth is a product that was designed to align with our search for the … Read More!

To the new mom running off cold coffee and two hours of sleep, you are enough.

To the recent graduate who’s unsure of what they want to be when they grow up, you are enough.

To the 20-something going through a painful breakup, you are enough.

To the entrepreneur who sometimes feels a little lost & lonely on this path of life, you are enough.

To the single mom raising 2 kiddos on your own, you are enough. To the working mom who works long days & makes it home for dinner and goodnight stories, you are enough.

To the burnt out employee who feels unappreciated at the office, you are enough.

To all the women who don’t feel comfortable in their skin, can’t stick to the “diet” or are battling an eating disorder, you are enough.

You are enough. You are enough. YOU are enough. 

Now that I’m approaching the one-year mark into this journey of motherhood (seriously, how?), I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the past year. Along with the joyous memories of baby coos, snuggles and those first giggles — which are seriously heart-melting — I can’t forget those challenging early days.

Being a mom is the most rewarding thing in the world, but taking care of a newborn is no joke!

While I was so overjoyed by my little bundle of joy finally being here in my arms, I was also overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness, confusion, doubt, and yes — sleep deprivation. This post from a week-and-a-half in sums up my feelings perfectly:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Today was tough. Hubs went back to work this week, and little one has been cluster feeding during the day a.k.a. glued to the boob and nursing on the hour. 🤱 She screamed at the top of her lungs from 1-5pm unless I was holding her, and peed all over the changing table and her new outfit. I attempted to toast and reheat a waffle 3 times, which ended in one super burnt mess that I never got to eat

Morning friends! Hope you’re recovering from a fun-filled 4th of July weekend, but if you’re still struggling to get your groove back, try making these easy budget-friendly veggie burgers — made with pantry staples like sweet potatoes, black beans and rice. Trust me, they’re super easy with lots of nutrient-rich, plant-based ingredients to give your body a healthy boost.

Speaking of health, I’m so excited to bring to you this month’s spotlight on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a monthly series highlighting rockstar Girl Bosses doing their thang in the wellness community. This month, we’re chatting with Health Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, Maggie Dion of RejuvInnate Nutrition!

I love Maggie’s holistic approach on getting to the root cause of your health issues, which is so important in my opinion. Plus she’s a super fun gal who loves chocolate and kale…and that’s what life’s all about, am I right?

In this informative interview, we chat about alternative healing modalities, treating yourself to the things you love, and her morning “power block” to get grounded and set her up for success each day.

NAME:

Maggie Dion, FDN-P, HHC

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK:

As an applied functional … Read More!

After a fun-filled 4th of July and birthday weekend, this mama needed a little breather from all the meat. After raiding the pantry, I whipped up some veggie burgers with some budget-friendly kitchen staples like spicy black beans, Lundberg Farms turmeric rice, sweet potatoes and spices!

Served on refreshing bibb lettuce wraps, these gluten free and vegan gems are perfect for a light but filling dinner in a snap. Plus they’re a hit with the whole family!

Turmeric & Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Ingredients: 

• 1 package Lundberg Family Farms Ready to Heat Turmeric Rice
• 1 large sweet potato, mashed
• 1 can Spicy Black Beans (Whole Foods brand has a great organic variety!)
• 1/2 c. gluten free breadcrumbs (almond, walnut or pecan meal also works well)
• Few good shakes of cumin, chili powder, and turmeric
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Bibb lettuce
• Shredded cheddar or vegan cheddar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400. In the meantime, chop sweet potato into 1-inch chunks, and steam for about 8-10 minutes or until you can mash with a fork.
2. In a large bowl, combine sweet potato, rice and black beans, mashing with a fork to create desired texture. Mix in gluten free breadcrumbs or nut

I mentioned before in this post that I have been making a conscious effort to cut back on social media use. And while I tried everything from putting my phone on “Airplane Mode” at night to deleting Instagram for a few days, nothing seemed to stick.

Try as I might, I somehow always ended up right back where I started — in a deep, dark hole of insta stalking.

It wasn’t until one evening putting our baby girl to bed that I realized this was a real problem and something had to change…like now. While nursing my sweetie during her bedtime routine, I caught myself once again mindlessly scrolling through other people’s lives on the gram (while my own life was happening right in front of me).

I had some serious FOMO, but this time it was fear of missing out on my own life. That’s when I decided to go on a weeklong social media detox — and get serious about it.

You can read all about my experience over on WELL Insiders, including how to set yourself up for success and my key takeaways. Spoiler alert: I became a much happier, better version of myself.… Read More!