Breakfast Hacks

I’m notorious for skipping breakfast but feeling guilty about it later. I was stressing about what to eat and forgot to eat. Then I realized, i need a simple no-fail solution. Here’s my breakfast solution, and yes they’re all oatmeal.

• When I’m running late I’ll have a Bob’s Red Mill instant oatmeal in a cup. $1.59
• If I feel like meal prepping I’ll do a couple of oatmeal in a jar with apricots, dates, nuts and other dried fruits. $0.75
• Sometimes I’ll splurge and get a fresh blueberry oatmeal from Starbucks. $3.75

The bottom line is to create healthy habits. Stick to a simple no fail breakfast menu and vary your options. You’ll prevent boredom and promote balance. (Ex: different types of oatmeal.)

The number one reason I enjoy oatmeal is because of its fiber content. After all fiber scrubs the colon and we all want our colon to be clean. (Right) There’s other benefits but being fibrous is a highlight.

I’m focusing on breakfast because our country, USA, has a backward view of a 1st meal. If you think about it, everything we consume has a lot of sugar or even worse… fake sugar.

• Muffin = Cupcake
• Pancake = Cake
• Cereal = Similar to “Sprinkles” on a Cake
• Instant Cocoa = Milk Chocolate
• Chocolate Milk = Creamy Milk Chocolate

Prevent boredom and promote balance.

By Ho’omālamalama

The goal is to hack-away at what doesn’t work and find what does. Because a hack isn’t just a shortcut, it’s also a better way of doing something. The best way to adapt *clean eating habits is to update one meal per week, then one week of meals. My hack was breakfast. What’s yours?

*Clean Eating (my definition): non-GMO, low to zero sugar, no preservatives or additives.

Now this discipline does not include cheat-days 🙂

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Cooking with co-workers.

We’ll I didn’t cook, this time, but I had the opportunity to taste it! Pickles and energy bites came from Carl’s class at the high school.

Elderberry oxymel made with elderberries, herbs, honey and apple cider vinegar. It’s a delicious tonic that my friend, Davina, has perfected over time.

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Classic Treat

I enjoy eating Red Vines licorice but not all the additives and preservatives. Luckily there’s an alternative and it’s called Classic Red.

Just don’t eat the whole bag in one sitting. Check the bag for recommended daily servings per person. However if you’re like me that won’t work. So I typically share it and take a few pieces.

Oh, and it’s vegan.

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March’s Fitness

When covid19 shut down the school I started online fitness for teachers. It was amazing and inspirational. The best part is that we still workout. In fact March 13th will mark our one year anniversary. Here’s this months schedule:

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Don’t YUCK my YUM

I didn’t create the title, it was something a friend of mine shared. You see my business is in the wellness and fitness realm but from 8am – 4pm I’m an educator at a local school. My department is in cultural education specifically Native American’s of the Pacific Northwest.

Since returning I purposed to incorporate holistic lifestyle and social emotional well-being through traditional teachings. The best part is that I’m not alone.

Made by a fellow teacher Davina, it’s nettle soup with squash, organic potato and corn. Learn about nettles. She made this while our students were watching virtually.

Nettle is part of the traditional foods of the PNW and is high in vitamins and minerals. There’s an old teaching that if you eat the food from your region it will give you what is needed for that climate.

I’m in the Superman beanie on my friends property, Payette, who is talking to Davina. Meanwhile our other coworker, Carl, is preparing his bag for nettles.

Most people mow down this lovely delicacy and consider it a pest. They don’t realize that under all of the sting is a nutritious gift from Mother Nature.

When the shoots are young we’ll gather 1/3 from the area, leaving the rest to mature. Young shoots are delicious but you have to cook it first to remove the sting.

My goal is

To share wellness through holistic teachings just like that old saying, “You are what you eat.” If I can help one student embrace plants like nettles then I’ve succeeded.

I’ve noticed how the students have visibly suffered health wise during covid19. Lack of motivation, not playing outdoors with friends, instant breakfast and lunches are the perfect storm for obesity and learning difficulties connected to nutrient deficiencies.

A solution

Is to host virtual cooking sessions where we incorporate traditional foods of the PNW tribes with other local products.

Carl showed his class how to cook salmon.

Added simple herbs.

Incorporated more veggies.

Made it look pretty.

Fit Foodie

Is recognizing that what we consume is just as important as a workout… probably more so. Food should grown in good soil or roam in an organic environment, not processed in a lab. (Labs create a majority of our food supply, yikes.)

I’m not hating on labs, they serve a purpose. Which is to supply a large quantity of people at an affordable price. However if more people read labels and shopped accordingly it would force our food source to reconsider how they grow and feed us.

Here’s previous post I made titled…

If I workout do I need to eat healthy?

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PEACE In The Journey, Ho’omālamalama

If I workout do I need to eat healthy?

Well that totally depends on what you want. Maybe fitness is a social event and you’re just chillaxing through the process. Otherwise YES EATING HEALTHY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. [Said with love and support.]

The best way to transition is slowly & NOT through a DIET [said as an educator] in my opinion. Again it’s my opinion, I’m not telling you what to do.

I recently started cooking like this. For a long time Quinoa seemed difficult but it wasn’t. The only problem was my negative perspective, so once I got over it I started cooking it regularly.

Now I prep my meals and enjoy experimenting with Quinoa. But believe me when I say that I don’t eat like this everyday. In fact my weekends look totally different.

Anyway, back on the subject, food does matter. I actually wrote another blog about it called FOOD & FITNESS, WHY IT MATTERSWhy am I writing about this?

I actually overheard a fitness coach tell a client, “Don’t worry you can workout those calories, just keep coming.” Hmm… the calories from a jelly donut 🍩 isn’t the same as a sweet potato. One actually carries vitamins & minerals, and the other is empty of any value. [Note: I was visiting this gym for a master class.]

PS: Sugar isn’t the same type of energy as chia seeds, I’m just saying. But don’t get me wrong I like a Sunday sweet treat but I don’t expect those calories to benefit my body.

Why can’t all fitness professionals be honest?

I addressed the coach later and asked, “Why didn’t you tell her the truth.” He said, “Because it doesn’t matter, I can help her burn off the calories.” HOLD-UP Shouldn’t we be empowering our clients to make better choices. I would rather have my clients learn to live sustainably instead of relying on me. My thought, “No bueno brah!” And, “Where did you go to school?” Okay, I have to change the subject…

My weekend, on special occasions.

When I do have a special treat I splurge on quality. In other words the baker or chef totally luvs what they do. Their recipes are a combination of curated products, such as farm fresh eggs.

Recently my Ohana enjoyed some Macaroons & Cupcakes from our fave Seattle spot Trophy 🏆 Cupcakes and Party. This is a weekend treat.

True story: I put supermarket cupcakes in a Trophy box and my Na Keiki (children) totally knew the difference. They were like, “Mom this taste different!” “How so you know, it was in the box?” I asked. “THE FROSTING DOESN’T TASTE RIGHT!!!” Ahh so true, they’re mini-foodies. You can taste the quality.

I hope you enjoyed this post & please share the Aloha. Tell me how you balance food, fitness & family. PEACE Be the Journey

BECOME A MERMAID

RANDOM CONFESSION: I adore packaging. I’m such a geek 🤓 because I will read & study the fonts, labels & design.

On the WholelisticFit Blog

Read more here.

Comment below: What motivates you?

Sabotage your way to success.

We often default into a donut 🍩 after declaring, “I’m going gluten & sugar free!” Why do we give into temptation? Well, it’s because we forgot to sabotage our way into wellness. Why should you do this? Okay the simple version is that food packaging, ingredients and processing has changed so much.

I would default into Cheetos when pressed for time. So I decided to meal prep. My biggest failure comes when I fail to plan, sounds like a success quote.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. ~B.Franklin

I use to think that people who practiced Meal-prep Sunday were extreme but then I realized that they learned a valuable trait. They sabotage their way into wellness.

As a foodie I completely up cycled the meal-prep idea.

1. First of all I refuse to eat five bland meals in a row. I’ll prep three at the most.
2. Color and flavor are super important to me. Sometimes I feel like Ego from Ratatouille, “If I don’t like it I won’t swallow!”
3. Try recipes from other countries. I enjoy soba noodle bowls with a Korean twist. It’s vegetarian without even trying to be.

Remembering my first experience with meal-prep helped me create a program for my fitness members. Many of them are just like me, food is memories. I try to introduce meal planning with foods that they’re familiar with and then branch out.

All of the pictures link to where I first shared them and the ingredients. Information about my my fitness program click here. PEACE Be the Journey.

Meal Prep vs Kawaii, Bento

Meal prep is when you line up a bunch of containers in a sort of assembly line process. Bento box lunches are the exact opposite, especially in Kawaii style. The idea behind it is taking your time to plate a beautiful and appealing meal. Kawaii uses dainty objects for sauces and special tools to cut designs into veggies. And they’ll often create cute characters. 🍱

What’s the point?

The point is value. How we in America value meals compared to other countries, like Japan, where food is a ritual to lift the Soul by nourishing the body.

Find Balance

So I find a happy balance between the two. I’ll usually prep a base, like cooking a batch of quinoa, and accessorize them in Bento fashion. Each time appealing to my senses & visually showing self-love. Loving myself enough to nourish my body in a holistic way. Below are some of my creations. For Ingredients and closer pics visit Instagram, it has each Bento with fit-foodie details.

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It all boils down to perception, how one perceives their body. I teach my fitness ladies to enjoy the food process. Eating is the single thing that we do for ourselves, daily. So why not make it lovely.

On the WholelisticFit blog I wrote and article about choosing a fitness routine/style that will meet the needs of your mind, body and Soul. It’s a private blog for Mermaids so make sure to use your password. Or… become a Mermaid using the link in the sidebar. See you in Instagram.