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

Hacking Holidays

So I’ve been MIA but with legitimate reasons, listed below, but what brought me back to the game (so to speak) is my Luv of food and sharing. In fact I’ve involved my children on this quest to fight the COVID bulge and hack the holiday eating frenzy. It’s back to food, fitness and family on MANA WAHINE FITNESS.

Here goes my, “Where I’ve been” and “What’s happening” list.

1. I didn’t know if I had anything left to share in this space.

2. Started working at a school creating, developing and co-hearting a program for preK-12th. (I’ll share a video below.)

3. Wrote an E-Book and didn’t know what to do with it after publishing. Walk Inn Beauty

4. Played around with a podcast Walk Inn Beauty and haven’t touched it in awhile.

5. Raising 7 children (4 are teens) and co-homeschooling with my husband.

It’s my WELCOME BACK 🥳 to blogging, which I missed.

I’m still teaching Zumba and my online classes are so much fun. I even bought new gear to celebrate the new sessions.

I started LUNCH & LEARN sessions via Facebook group. Keep reading, I have a simple wild rice 🌾 recipe.

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Good Vibes

Tried VLOGMAS for a couple of days and it turned out pretty good. (pictures below) I talked my teenagers into joining me and they did a fantastic job. Speaking of youth, they currently join me during my online sessions since we turned our Ohana living room into a dance studio. Lol.

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Christmas Vibes (Part 1)

Christmas Vibes (Part 2)

How to make a Kanakaloka

How to make a Ninja Elf

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Fit Foodie

The BEST holiday hack is to meal prep because the goal is to jump into 2021… seriously! The sweet temptations are everywhere so you have to arm yourself with good food. So add that extra fiber and plant based proteins because the more you prep the easier it will be to say no.

Wild rice with greens and salmon.

It’s literally the same three ingredients styled differently. I adore these containers from ELLO and bought several at Costco.

Wild Rice: A mix of protein and fiber, low in calories. Contains Manganese an antioxidant, it aids in keeping the mitochondria in your cells healthy.

Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Broccoli & Purple Cabbage: You’ve seen those salad bag mixes at Costco and Cash & Carry. They’re time savers because one bag can do so much!

I added can salmon, not my usual choice but I was trying to create from a menu that could live in your pantry. Everything except the salad could keep for months. Video tutorial on the link below. Enjoy

https://youtu.be/l_ivTRRszQQ

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Teaching

This picture is in the gym at Chief Leschi Schools of the Puyallup Tribe, a PreK to 12th grade establishment.

I started fitness sessions back in March 2020 when the pandemic first hit. It was a way for teachers to keep moving and stay positive. My initial goal was to remain active until the students returned… but that didn’t happen. (Yet)

So far several of us have continued but I’m really concerned about the students. Every time I see them on screen 👩🏻‍💻 sitting back, sedentary and aloof I get worried.

If you have any ideas please comment.

Lazy made me do this.

[🌷Special Edition – for busy Women]

I’ll admit that the title might not sound brilliant but I had an “aha” moment. Which started with my morning oatmeal. The truth is that everyday I wake up into a busy schedule & the one thing that suffers are my meal-times. I do take supplements but I know that it’s food, I still need protein.

[Scheduling & planning my meals & workout.]

[ABOVE: Fit-Foodie ideas on Instagram, it looks time consuming but everything I create is under ten minutes, some are five minute meals.]

Parenting & wellness should go hand in hand, but if you’re a certain type of parent, like I am, you put yourself last. Thus the I’m-too-tired-to-do-anything syndrome sets in. Maybe it’s laziness but the truth is that I’m worn out! So if that sounds lazy then so be it.

Here’s my epiphany, I already know my schedule and like clockwork I don’t have time for a healthy breakfast. I wake up at 5:45am to do a 6:00am Burst then do my daily devotions, check my messages & post on social media. By 7:00am my seven children are up, having breakfast, morning chores, school for the older ones & walk the dog. Then 11:45am rolls around and a puzzled look comes over me, “Did I eat breakfast? What’s for lunch?”

How to empower your lazy self.

As the onset of a afternoon nap closes in on me and I finally stop to eat something. And in my tired state it’s usually a poor choice. Yikes! Time to REWIND!!! This is how I empower my schedule…

• Friday I do my grocery shopping for the Ohana (family) & me. My list is slightly different from the rest of the household.
• Friday I grab any fresh or frozen organic fruit & veggies for my smoothies.
• Sunday I prep my oatmeal, click here to read a previous post.
• Sunday I also cook up my quinoa in the rice steamer & store it for later.
• Sunday is when I prep for the week to come.

How it works.

After my 6am burst & devotion I grab my prepared oatmeal. Zero work involved except pouring the hot water and letting it sit while I get my tea ready. I chuck back my supplements & eat breakfast. ✅ Done.

Basically every meal is prepped because I know how lazy/tired I’ll be. If you’ve read my previous post, “Sabotage your way to success” you know where I’m coming from.

I find myself preparing all the mundane task and creating time fun things like a nap, art or read. I love my NEW & improved life.

Your turn.

What can you do in advance to free up some time or make your daily flow feel less stressful?

You need to schedule in some laziness, time in the day to do NOTHING but recharge your body. Start this habit while you’re young it will benefits you as the years pass by.

Speaking of recharging, why not rejuvenate, refresh & revive your entire being. Checkout my other blogpost…

Click here to read, “The three R’s of Spring.”

SISTAHZ SESSION Recap

We set aside one Sunday each month, in Spring, to gather and workout. The crowd changes but their energy is always amazing. Some drive 45min just to workout. Next session will be April 15, 2018.

Are you a Mermaid? 🧜🏽‍♀️ Info & link on the sidebar.

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.

Food & Fitness, Why it matters.

I’ve heard the comment, “You can eat whatever you want, as long as you burn off the calories.”

Not true!

To, loosely, quote JJ Virgin, “We’re a society of sugar burner(s) not FAT burner(s).”

We’ve been programmed that sugar is energy & fiber, like prunes, give you diarrhea. So we consume sugar filled energy drinks and avoid fiber at all cost. We actually think iceberg lettuce is healthy, but its soul purpose is to hold your dressing.

5 Tips for Food & Fitness REVOLUTION

1. Start with a food journal.2. Cut out food & fitness images that inspire you. Glue them in your journal or in my case I use a DIY Make Mahalo Planner.3. Draw, doodle or write your daily focus. Mine is, “Walk In Beauty.”4. Look for food & fitness inspirations. Here’s my food & fitness boards. Also allow yourself to be inspired, I share mines here. 5. Create a menu & make it happen. Schedule your fitness sessions & ask someone to hold you accountable.

Start simple, slow & steady.

I’m including a YouTube vid by JJ Virgin. I appreciate how she’s speaking out & educating America about our food & fitness perception.

If you’d like to build accountability around your food & fitness goals, connect with me on Instagram.

WholisticFit Blogpost:

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.

I’m back… Paleo inspired lunch.

It’s Valentines Day in New Zealand 🇳🇿 and it will be tomorrow here in the USA. This is a beef inspired dish plated with a lovely organic tomato for all of you fit-foodies. Showing love ❤️ to your body by taking time to eat beautifully. I read a post by Dr. Mark Hyman, “You are what your food ate.”

I’m not a regular beef connoisseur but when I do eat it I prefer locally raised & grass fed. Since my last post I’ve been in training and the extra workout has me eating more protein.

DETAILS: Fit-Foodie Inspiration: Bulgogi beef cuts with shredded ginger, carrots & purple cabbage. On a spinach nest topped with a juicy tomato. Seasoned with crushed pepper & Yakima smoked salt. [My fave sea salt smoked with apple wood.] Beef 🥩 is grass feed organic & my butcher knows how to make bulgogi slices.

More fit-foodie inspiration & smoothies on my Instagram.

WholelisticFit Blog: “The art of self-care.” I started writing more holistic lifestyle post on a Members only blog, but don’t worry it’s easy to join. In fact it’s free. I’ll post the link below.

The goal is to live in BALANCE while getting fit. Paying attention to the mind, body & Soul. If you’re already a Mermaid then use this link to read the post.

To join the Mermaid pod click here, it’s free and you get access to the WholelisticFit blog, monthly newsletter & occasional printable.

Calendula salve I made & wrote about on the holistic blog. What’s your self care routine?

Don’t forget to spoil yourself.

3 Changes 2 Better

I’m always learning and processing. Especially when confronting uncomfortable change. When I first started teaching STRONG By Zumba® I was way out of my league, but I wanted change. 

Being a mother of seven [7] I didn’t want to look like I gave birth to seven. I wanted to be healthy enough to play soccer ⚽️ with them.  Hike and create an active lifestyle. 

My goal was to embrace where I was and suffer through the workout, to be STRONG. Happily, I no longer suffer through the workout because my body is conditioned to flow with it. 

Here’s what I did in info-pic form…

[PS: Comment if you want to dive into a life changing experience of your own.]

Get my post: How to get over a fear-of-success. You can expect a questionnaire and resources. Start living your fit life today. 

Yogurt Bar – Video

I was having issues with my YouTube account and the video didn’t upload in time for my blogpost. Nevertheless here’s the tutorial.

Read the post DIY YOGURT BAR