Healthy Chicks

With Valentine’s Day a week away, love is in the air. While it’s fine to spoil your kiddos with candied hearts or splurge on a fancy dinner out with your sweetie, what about the love you’re giving yourself? That’s right, self-love baby! Here are three simple ways you can love yourself more starting now:

1. Quit Your Diet

Toss the scale, stop counting calories and look inward. Ask yourself how you want to FEEL. Then rather than focusing on the foods you need to take out, focus on fueling your body. This method is called crowding out; by incorporating more of the nutrient-rich, feel-good stuff, we naturally wean off of the foods that leave us feeling depleted.

What foods energize you? Make you feel vibrant? Fill you up? Prioritize those, but know there’s always room for a slice of pizza, a donut or your fave latte too.

2. Create a Morning or Evening Ritual

How do you start or end your day? If it doesn’t feel good to you, change it up. Bring in feel-good routines like journaling, DIY facials, hot lemon water, affirmation card pulls, a cozy cup of tea, or a juicy book. Here’s an … Read More!

Happy Friday, beauties! I’m loving all the discussion happening around yesterday’s post, which I shared on instagram and Facebook. It’s good to know I’m not alone when it comes to craving more downtime, away from social media. It’s been really freeing realizing it is a choice, and we get to choose how we spend our time — in all aspects of our lives.

Anyway, it’s time for this month’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a monthly series highlighting rockstar Girl Bosses doing their thang in the wellness world. I couldn’t be more thrilled to spotlight Michaela of More Positivity, who makes it her mission to spread more wellness, happiness and positivity into the world.

She seriously oozes good vibes, and scrolling through her instagram feed makes you feel good — it’s contagious. In today’s post, we chat about her giant unicorn pool float, the power of truly living your life (even when things look dark), and why there’s always room for a little dessert. I’ll let Michaela take it from here!

NAME: Michaela P of More Positivity!

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK: I created More Positivity, which is an empowerment website and blog! … Read More!

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I’ve been craving less doing and more self-care. In fact, my word for 2019 is flow. Like water, my intention is for my life to flow freely — welcoming in abundance, new friendships and this life as a new mama with ease.  Life doesn’t have to be a constant hustle.

One area that’s been creating a blockage in the day-to-day flow is social media, specifically the amount of time I spend perusing instagram. While I think there are many wonderful things about the world of the web, I also think it can be distracting (look at all these shiny things!), draining and a rabbit hole for the comparison trap.

While I’ve been feeling this way for quite some time and have every intention to step away a bit from social media, in all honesty when it comes down to actually doing it I struggle (especially since I do it on the side for a living). I can say I’ll do it and intend to do it with every ounce of my being, but at the end of the day technology can be addicting.

In fact, tech companies know this and have even … Read More!

When it comes to cooking, the recipe’s gotta be super easy with minimal ingredients, otherwise I’m not making it. This mama doesn’t have time to peruse the grocery aisles for mysterious spice blends and vegetables I’ve never heard of, or follow a 20-step fancy recipe. Bonus if I don’t need to actually “cook” said food!

This Mediterranean style lemony hummus checks all the boxes: it’s easy, made with just six ingredients (that you likely already have on hand), and no oven required! Win, win, win.

Healthy Chicks Two-Minute Lemony Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp. tahini (optional)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• dash of sea salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Simply toss everything in a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until smooth, or desired consistency. Top with an extra shake of cumin and drizzle of olive oil before serving. Enjoy alongside rice, salad, gyros or with raw veggie slices as a healthy snack. No need to ever buy store-bought hummus again!… Read More!

Did you choose a word or a theme for 2019? With some thought and meditation, the word I chose to represent the new year is flow.

2018 was a year of growth for me — I grew a baby, I grew my business, I grew into this new role as a mama. It also felt a little cluttered, like hair in a messy bun while typing invoices while simultaneously trying to feed the baby before my coffee gets cold cluttered.

This year, my intention is for things to flow more freely — money, new friendships, this beautiful life as a new mama. Yes, there will be work to do (because #GirlBoss) but things don’t have to be “hard.”

While I typically like to get sh*t done and say yes to new opportunities, my inner voice has been whispering at me to slow down and take care of myself. I think as women — especially new mamas out there — we’re inclined to take care of others first and be people pleasers. However, when I find myself going there, I’m reminded that “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

I’ve been craving less social media and more … Read More!

As you know by now, I’m pretty much an open book when it comes to sharing our pregnancy journey, my early miscarriage and the ins and outs of life as a new mom. To be honest, I truly enjoy writing about my journey and the number of messages I get from you guys — letting me know I gave you hope or made you feel not so alone — makes it all the more worthwhile.

Below I’m sharing a candid Q & A of the most frequent questions I’m asked, including some sent to me directly on my instagram stories recently. Feel free to add any other questions in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Any recommendations for holistic fertility treatments?

I recommend finding a functional medicine doctor to get to the root cause of any health stuff that may be going on. When we started trying to get pregnant, I joined Parsley Health, which I highly recommend if you’re looking for a holistic, individualized approach. Aimee Raupp, acupuncturist and author of Yes You Can Get Pregnant, is also an incredible inspiration, sharing great tips on fertility and nourishing your … Read More!

Happy 2019, ladies! It’s no secret that New Year’s resolutions — specifically those focused on women’s bodies — really get my blood boiling. Our inbox is flooded with “New Year, New You” messaging, touting this is the year to start fresh and lose the weight for good.

But what if you don’t want to lose the weight? What if you already like the YOU that you are? What if 2018 rocked your world, or you’re going through heartbreak or you feel a little lost? All valid, BTW.

Rather than jumping the gun and setting a resolution because you “should” (join the gym/make more money/lose the weight), quiet your mind and think about how you want to feel. You know, in your soul.

What’s your why?

Who do you want to surround yourself with?

What do you want to manifest this coming year?

In 2019, I intend to create more flow in my life — through my new role as a mother, taking charge of my finances, building my freelance writing career and spreading Spark Your Bliss to more women/getting them into some bigger stores. Welcoming abundance, baby!

If you need a little help setting feel-good resolutions that … Read More!

Happy New Year, beauties! As you probably know by now, I am so not a fan of the typical New Year’s resolutions i.e. lose the weight, join the gym, buy the house — unless that’s truly what your soul desires, that is. Rather, I’m all about setting feel good intentions based on how you want to feel vs. what you want to have.

If you need a little help setting feel good resolutions that actually stick, check out my article over on WELL Insiders. No gym membership required!

Alrighty, onto this month’s Healthy Chicks in the Community feature, Calli Pappas! As a yogini and wellness advocate, Calli shares all about the work she does in Corporate Social Responsibility, her love for large salad bowls (um, yes please!) and her side passion writing for her blog Eat, Run & Everything in Between. I’ll let Calli take it from here!

NAME: Calli Pappas

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS/LINE OF WORK: Full Time Gig: HR / Corporate Social Responsibility at a Healthcare company / Part Time: Yoga Sculpt instructor at Corepower Yoga and SLT instructor in training. On the side, I have my blog Eat, Run & Everything in Between and I’m … Read More!