Guilt Free Pancakes!

Yes, there really is such a thing and I figured out the recipe!! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

2/3 cup of any starch (corn, potato, tapioca)

2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup powdered sugar or some form of sugar substitute

2 tsp bloomed chia seeds

2 Tbs ground flax seed

1 Tbs baking powder 

2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt 

2 eggs 

1 Tbs vanilla extract 

3 Tbs melted coconut oil 

3-4 cups of any type of milk (I used skim bc that's what we had) 

What to do:

Because of the nature of the ingredients in this recipe it's really important to blend everything as follows...

1. Put the chia seeds in a cup and add about 1/4 cup of water. Set aside stirring occasionally to let the seeds bloom. 

2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients including flax seeds. 

3. In small bowl mix wet ingredients except coconut oil. Add in bloomed chia seeds. 

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and after thoroughly mixing,  add coconut oil and stir until well blended. You may find that the mixture is a bit too thick for pancake batter consistency, so add a little milk as needed. 

5. Using a metal pan, spray with cooking spray and make sure to respray In between each pancake or they will stick to the pan and become a mess. Before you flip, you have to make sure you've lifted the entire pancake from the pan on all edges. 

6. Serve with a sprinkle of stevia or agave nectar and fresh fruit, and enjoy! 

Yields roughly 14 pancakes

Forget the Haters

There are very few things I like about Facebook anymore, but my daily "Huffington Post" articles is definitely one of them. It seems like every one has a unique and challenging thought or perspective on life. While some I don't personally agree with, there are definitely some I do... Like this one on running. http://thoughtcatalog.com/daniel-stevens/2014/08/why-i-hate-running/?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange (Minus the explicative in the last paragraph). 

What really struck me about this article is when the man writing steps on a luggage scale at the airport. He realizes that if he had to pay for all the excess weight he carried in order to get his "luggage" on the plane, he couldn't afford it even if he sold everything he owned. I had never thought about excess weight in that way before but it's definitely an interesting way for the man to realize he wanted to make a change. 

At some point or another everyone on their fit journey comes to a place similar to this man's. While you may not have had such a dramatic realization, we each have a special point where we go back to mentally so we can remember why we even started diets and inflicting pain in the form of excercise on ourselves in the first place. It's important to remember it, so write it down (if you keep a fit or food journal, write it in the front so you can see the inspiration every day!) 

He goes on further to note that while on his first run, he received an onslaught of unwanted comments and sympathy from others in public. If you've ever excercised (namely, ran or have done other strenuous exercise) in public before you were in prime condition, you might be able to relate to how self conscious it can make you feel. It's hard enough to put those running shoes on and get out the door, then add on people making comments (to encourage or otherwise) meaning that you, in fact, are not actually invisible and that people really are watching you while you exercise. It makes it even harder! 

I ran the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this past May - my first ever race and first ever time running over 4 miles straight. I was anxious to go pick up my race packet at the Running Expo the day before the race, but put on my best athletic gear and headed in. As I walked past many of the booths a few guys stopped and made mention at how I had a "unique build for a runner" meaning I am not skinny and lean like your regular vision of a runner. One seemed like a genuine compliment but others were definitely filled with competitive sarcasm that I found to be really intimidating.

Of course I know that I don't look like a runner, I am 5'7" and have an athletic frame that was designed to hold muscle weight well above what my BMI tells me I should carry. Most days I am perfectly content with myself and my fitness level because I know I'm giving it my all during every daily workout, so I should have known better than to let stupid comments discourage me, but I did. My goal was to just finish the race and not be last - and I did! 

Something that fit people may not realize is that many people who work out and are in good shape can tend to come off as super arrogant about how far along they are and how they've risen up to what they consider to be "elite status." They can beat everyone at weight on their bars and numbers of reps and distance/elevation gains of runs. Yes, sometimes these people intimidate me, but ony because I allow them to. I let their need to feel important because they can beat me at certian areas of fitness to affect my view of myself and my fitness journey. Why?! I still don't know, but what I do know is that we shouldn't allow it to happen because each of our bodies are different and were made to be pushed in different ways. A basketball player probably isn't going to look like a prima ballerina, but if she wants to do ballet as an extracurricular, that should be okay! I am definitely preaching to the choir here and it's something I'm working on myself.

 If you are in the group of "elite fitness" athletes, I'm asking you on behalf of the "working my butt off but still not there yet" athletes to please not put down on us for not looking like you, not being able to go the same distance as you, or put up the same weight on the squat rack. I'm asking you to encourage us along our journies with a genuine heart because while fitness and athletics can be really competitive during a race or competition, everyone still has to train. (Cue "we all put our pants on the same way" cliche.) The beauty of fitness is that while it can unify people who love to exercise, it really comes down to individual performance. It's about how hard can I push MY body, and how can I beat MY best times and weights in order to become the best that I can be. 

Fitness junkies and dabblers unite! You can do whatever you put your mind to, ignore the haters and embrace positivity! Surround yourselves with a solid support system and you can get to where you want to be. Don't make excuses, don't let others get to you. I believe in you. 

My wonderful fiancé and I after I finished the race. It was a really emotional day because one of my personal fitness goals from the beginning of my journey was to run a half marathon. Josh has been so supportive of my goals and efforts to achieve them.

My family came out to support as well! They have been my motivators, encouragers, and my solid rock throughout my journey. It is so important to surround yourself with people who truly believe in you. It makes all the difference. :) 

Thoughts on "the most important thing"

Recently, an article went viral on the internet over at the True Love Dates Blog (http://truelovedates.com/sexual-purity-is-not-the-most-important-thing/) about sexual purity and it not defining who we are. As I read through it- with an open mind, because I love to challenge myself to try and see beliefs from other viewpoints- I was struck at how, though some of the information was solid, how much excuse making it seemed to make for believers who have chosen to give their sexual purity away. It is true that in the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior we no longer carry the burden of sin, and that when we accept him our slate has been wiped clean. He let's us start over fresh, knowing right from wrong he challenges us to live a life that would reflect how he would live... He lived a pure life.

I also agree that often in Christian dating purity can become the main focus in whether or not a suitor is considered "eligible" but why should it not be a main focus? God calls us to bring him honor and glory in the way we live our lives (that is the true number one thing) and he gives us sex as a way to do that in a dating relationship AND in a married relationship.

 Now hear me out on this one, it looks very different for both relationships. In a dating relationship we are called to bring honor to The Lord by abstaining from lusts of the flesh and by purposefully doing so, we can bring glory to The Lord in whom our satisfaction should rest. I hate the term "date Jesus first" but it's not far off. We should be so in love with The Lord and seeking to honor him that when the opportunity arises to pursue fleshly desires we are able to (together with our significant others) look to Him for help with abstainence. He WANTS us to ask him to help us in those situations and he WANTS us to OWN our purity because that is how we are called to bring him glory through sex in a dating relationship. 

I think too often Christians use loopholes as an excuse to go on doing what they want and know God will forgive them later. They know the grace of God but they continue on abusing it. If you have grown up in a Christian home, if you have grown up hearing the true gospel, if you know right from wrong according to the Bible, and you choose to continue in the same sin without trying to seek help, you are in a dangerous place. 

However, not all hope is lost if you have fallen into the trap of lies the world has provoked us with. You do not need to have sex to make your partner stay with you, you don't need it for self worth, you don't need it to empower you, you don't need huge sex appeal to attract someone, you don't need it to prove anything to anyone. The Lord graciously does forgive when we see the error in what we are doing, seek his face, and choose to repent. Not all hope is lost if you've already given it away because there is so much redemption and love waiting for you in the arms of God. It's not an easy task, and you have to be fully committed, but I believe that because our Lord is gracious and kind and forgiving that spiritually "revirginizing" is absolutely possible.  It is true you can never get your first time back, but in choosing to walk away from indulging in the lusts of our flesh it brings God so much joy that he will absolutely restore your peace and joy. It can be done, I have seen it happen, and truly it is one of the most beautiful things The Lord can do in a person. (It's so amazing to see The Lord work in people like this) But you have to bury yourself fully in the arms of our savior and find healing in Him. 

So in all, sexual purity might not be the ONLY important thing, but it's definitely a major subpoint under THE most important thing, which is striving to glorify The Lord in our lives. Dare to be different, rise above the pathetic norm our culture has created for the millennial generation. Prove to society that we will not allow satan to sneak into our beds while we sleep because we have the God of angel armies on our side protecting us, we just have to call them to action through prayer. 

The last thing I will leave you with is that this post is in no way, shape, or form intended to shame anyone or be judgemental. We all have sin in our lives that we should actively be seeking to strike out with God's help and our support systems. It is simply a challenge to my fellow believers to check on what you're doing because satan is getting sneakier and sneakier through our media and the internet. He is changing our world's entire belief system to directly go against what God has called us to in the Bible and is making it perfectly okay when it's not. What was once considered good is becoming bad, and what was considered bad is now becoming good. God's word has never changed throughout the generations, our purpose and his call on our lives has never once changed... Society has. It's not "old fashioned" to save sex for marriage, it's what God wants us to do. Don't let society tell you otherwise.