feelin' good.

Feeling much much better over here today! After 9+ hours of sleep the past two nights and completely resting [which is much easier said than done] the headaches and complete exhaustion have faded and I'm just a little bit congested.

I also had a wonderful, eye opening, and much needed conversation with my dear friend Laura last night. The way she worded "slowing down" hit me like a ton of bricks. 

"God gives us just enough hours in day to complete everything He wants us to be doing, and if we can't fit it all in a day then we need to reevaluate how we are spending our time and if what we are doing is what we want to do or what He wants us to do."

Preach on sista. So after some much need life reevaluation and praying I woke up today feeling renewed and refreshed. And so very, very grateful for friends like Laura.

Breakfast this morning was the usual green smoothie to help combat this gunk inside me. Greens are full of chlorophyll which is full of oxygen. Chlorophyll increases oxygen in the blood and bacteria cannot thrive in an oxygen rich environment. Even more reason to eat your greens!

Breakfast part two was more pumpkin oatmeal with melty nutbutter because I can't get enough of this warm, gooey goodness.

And speaking of nutbutter, I replenished my stash with an old favorite [sunbutter!] and two new [to me] ones! 

The coconut PB is awesome on hot oatmeal because it melts into a puddle. And the Naturally Nutty I found at Great Harvest! Pumpkin seed butter is something I have not had before and can I say...this is like a thick frosting. It doesn't melt, but is awesome spread on bananas or apples...or you know...eaten straight from the spoon.

I spent the morning working on tonight's talk for our weight loss program and then broke for lunch.

In the lunchbox today was a whole lotta real foods as part of this week's 'real food challenge.'

tomato soup from this recipe, leftover baked sweet potatos, massaged kale salad, and sliced honeycrisp!

I've also been loving smoothies for snacks! Ever since taking diary out of my diet [post soon!] I crave the cold, creaminess of Greek yogurt [oh, how I loved thee] Yesterday afternoon, I sat on the couch a little hungry and craving Greek yogurt, and quickly mustered the energy to whip up a peanut butter banana smoothie...and it totally satisfied the craving. Peanut butter, banana, and almond milk along with some ice turned into this frothiness.

And eggs have been a regular occurrence the past few nights. When it comes to dinner, I'm definitely a creature of habit. I'm too busy to cook something new every single night. And let's be real, too lazy. So on Sunday, when I think about the upcoming week it usually breaks down like so...

1) eggs 2-3 times per week [easy, quick, healthy]

2) leftovers from the freezer one night...or twice

3) out to dinner once 

4) and then if I have the time on Sunday I'll cook something for the week to eat a few times.

This Sunday I'm planning on making one of my favorite simple meals, Jenna's spicy lentils with sweet potatoes and kale. If you're new to plant-based cooking, or heck, cooking in general this recipe is for you! It's a one pot meal that comes together easily, uses basic ingredients, and it's full of feel good foods. Feel free to sub the sweet potatoes for butternut squash! Don't like spicy? Leave out the pepper. I hope ya'll enjoy this recipe as much as I do, thanks Jenna!

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Have a terrific Thursday! Frihhhddayyyy is almost here!