Healthy Chicks

If you’ve been following along on my journey, you know that I’ve been following the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol to help support my sluggish thyroid & Hashimoto’s Disease through diet and lifestyle. I won’t lie, when I first started, it was difficult. I mean, like really’ freakin’ hard.

My husband has been a true saint! I may or may not have had several fits over the past 30 days like the time I called him on his way home from work shouting “I’M F*C*ING STARVING!” while demanding a burger without the bun. Not one of my proudest moments.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the protocol, it’s essentially a much more strict version of Paleo, in which you remove common allergens & inflammation-causing foods from your diet for a minimum of 30 days, and then slowly re-introduce to see which foods are causing issues for you. A life without eggs, cheese & coffee aint easy, my friend.

While I don’t have a sweet tooth, after starting this way of eating, I began craving baked goods big-time. I think part of this has to do with the frigid temps in New England right now! Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to … Read More!

Are you a meal-prepper? It’s come to my attention that meal prep Sunday is a new thing lately, you know kind of like Football Sunday but for chicks who cook. I’m not against it or anything, but personally I’m not a fan of meal prepping on Sundays.

I think part of the reason is because in a way it reminds me of my years of dieting, calorie counting and meal planning. I’d dissect every last bite and was so mathematic when it came to my food. It made me stressed, guilty & anxious. I always knew exactly what my next meal would be, when I would eat it, and how many calories I’d be consuming. In fact, it’s all I thought about.

When I quit dieting, I decided I deserved to feel JOY around food. I didn’t want it to feel in any way like it once did in college. I wanted to associate food with family, love and nourishment. I wanted cooking to be fun, sexy and experimental.

Nowadays, I’m super chill around food. I buy the ingredients I love (and that my body loves!) so my fridge is stocked up, then go by how I feel during the … Read More!

Bone broth has become quite the hot topic in the natural food world of late. But despite all the hype, I had yet to try it myself.

“It’s just such a pain to make…I’ll have to buy a whole chicken…make a roast…save the bones…it’s just too hard!” (excuses, excuses!)

MEET FIVE WAY FOODS

Fortunately, Five Way Foods reached out to me, offering to send me a few bottles to try. I was sold. Five Way Foods is an MA-based startup, specializing in locally-sourced broth with delicious flavor. All of their products are gluten and dairy free with no added sugar or chemicals. You can use their broth “5  ways” — as a beverage, in a stir-fry, as part of a sauce, in a soup/stew, or to make risotto. Or you can come up with your own unique way! I especially love that they source from local farms & purveyors like Red’s Best Seafood, Walden Local Meat Co., and Russo’s Market. Knowing where my food is coming from is extremely important to me!

The crew at Five Way Foods ended up sending me a bottle of each of their flavors: Chicken Bone Broth, Fish Bone Broth and Veggie Broth. … Read More!

Ew.

I am seriously so sick & tired of all the magazine articles, advertisements & blogger body shots telling you what your New Year’s resolution should be (and that you need to lose weight). Seriously, you can shut the eff up. Sorry for the bluntness but this kind of stuff gets my blood boiling.

But then again, it’s sort of expected by now. Every year around this time the diet industry, media & leader’s in the health world think it’s a great idea to play on women’s holiday vulnerabilities & body insecurities to make us think that a.) you aren’t good enough b.) you need to lose weight and c.) this year you can really make a change.

THIS IS YOUR YEAR!

IT’S TIME TO FINALLY LOSE THE WEIGHT!

DROP TWO DRESS SIZES!

10 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT & GET FIT IN 2017!

GET YOUR DREAM BODY!

SLIM DOWN IN 7 DAYS!

YOUR TICKET TO A SIX PACK!

Enough is enough.

Why do you assume that the only thing us women care about is how our bodies are perceived by others? Where are the articles boasting ways to love yourself more, re-energize or find a career that brings you joy … Read More!

Happy Friday, ladies! I’m like a little kid on Christmas right now for 2 reasons a.) because it’s almost Christmas and b.) my Kickstarter campaign for my “Spark Your Bliss” affirmation cards is just $75 shy of my goal. Since Kickstarter is all or nothing, I have until 2pm EST to raise the funds! If you’d like to snag your own deck (while supporting me!) you can do so here.

Now onto this week’s feature for Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly series highlighting badass women doing their thang. I’m thrilled to introduce you to Meg. This gal’s got a huge heart, and I love her ability to take risks & go after what makes her feel good. In fact, she’s got such a big heart that she actually said to me earlier this week that one of her goals for 2017 is to do more good with her money. How rad is that?

Without further adieu, here’s Meg!

NAME/AGE: Meg McClafferty/32

TWITTER: @megariana84

CURRENT CITY: Boston

PHOTO TAKEN: Sitting on my couch before a long run!

WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK: Marketing and Client Service at a small boutique investment firm

NUMBER ONE PASSION: One of … Read More!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed!

With that said, this time of year can also be particularly tough for some. Family, comfort food, frigid temps and holiday stress can be a trigger for many. Through all the mayhem, many of us subconsciously put our self-care on the back burner (when in reality, it may be the only thing keeping us sane).

That’s why my soul sister Kelley + I crafted up a winter self-care challenge for you to put yourself first again this coming year.

Our 14-day Self-Care Winter Wellness Challenge is all about YOU + will give you all the tools you need to rock 2017. Oh, and they’ll be no talk of dieting, calories or “losing weight” (pinky promise!) – we’re GAINING our health, confidence, and self-love back ladies!

The challenge will begin on Monday, January 9th + includes:

1. Daily dose of positivity sent straight to your email (even better than your morning mocha!) with clear action-steps to implement right away for the two weeks

2. Access to our private ‘Soul Sisters’ Facebook group to hold one another accountable – We’re a firm believer that the main reason we don’t follow … Read More!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year indeed! I have to admit, I’m a sucker for decked out houses with holiday lights, Christmas music & cozy holiday meals.

With that said, this time of year can also be particularly tough for some. Family, comfort food, and holiday stress can be a trigger for many, especially those dealing with body image issues or eating disorders. Personally, in college when I was struggling with body image & a borderline eating disorder, the holidays brought a lot of fear to the surface.

Will I gain weight?

Will my family notice my weirdness around food?

Do my thighs look fat in my new jeans?

Why can’t I just be normal??!

These were the types of thoughts that would rattle through my head. And more recently, similar types of fear have come up for me. Currently, I’m struggling with hypothyroidism, which in the past few months have caused me to gain weight (about 10 pounds!) and feel foggy & exhausted throughout the day. While I’m working to get to the root of the problem and take back my health, it hasn’t been super easy for me.

The other day after spending a beautiful … Read More!

Happy Friday, ladies! I’m off to a great start to the weekend. I already got a bunch of Christmas shopping done this morning, went into Target for one thing and left with a million things (including this new hat!), and am now listening to Christmas music on Spotify.

Speaking of Christmas, be sure to check out my Holiday Gift Guide I put together if you haven’t already. It’s got some fabulous finds for anyone one your list, including a special holiday trio when you purchase one of my “Spark Your Bliss” decks.

Alright, it’s now time for this week’s feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community, a weekly series highlighting badass women in the community doing their thang. I’m excited to introduce you to Angelina, a lovely lady I met at a Holiday Fair last month. She had the coolest handmade gifts — from gorgeous rugs to adorable veggie magnets — and I just had to share it with you. Without further adieu, I’ll let Angelina take it from here!

NAME/AGE: Angelina Donnelly / 27

TWITTER: @DirtyCarrotsCo

CURRENT CITY: Easton, MA

PHOTO TAKEN: Last winter visiting my sister in Vail, CO

WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK: The past … Read More!