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Dear Reader,

Happy new year! I hope each of you had a fulfilling, connected, healthy and happy holiday season. I was a bit MIA because my husband had 3 weeks off of work and the kiddos were home. I took the time to spend ample time with the family, unwind and rest and plan for 2023.

What were your holiday highlights?

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Let's talk about Food as Fuel ⛽️

When you're at the gas pump, you're not criticizing or moralizing the type of fuel you're putting into your car. You put in what you can afford and what is available.

You probably put the same type of gas in again and again so that it becomes a mindless endeavor each time you fill-up the tank. You grab for the same one without even putting conscious thought into it.

The same is true with food. Sometimes it becomes a mindless ritual that you eat whatever is in front of you. Or money is tight at you're fueling your body with what you can afford.

The fact that we will disparage ourselves for eating a twinkie and lionize ourselves when it's broccoli is a vestige of diet culture that moralizes food and judges people, irrespective of size or health status, solely on what they consume.

The very culture that gives us insomnia cookies and 24-hour drive thrus are then baffled and critical when the consumers can't lose weight & have no idea what a vegetable is.

We all want to eat healthy and feel our best. But, we don't have a moral obligation to do so.

When thinking about fueling my body, I like to become mindful and tune inward to what my body is craving on a physical level, emotional level and also based on what is going on around me. I try to fuel up with something that is

Easy/convenient

Delicious/comforting and

Macronutrient based. (has some sort of fiber, some lean protein and a healthy fat).

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This way of thinking doesn't pre-judge any food decisions. It becomes a project of how I will achieve these 3 objectives.

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Examples of this are:

Nut butter on sprouted bread with bananas and berries.

Cut up veggies with guacamole and/or hummus

Oatmeal with hemp seeds and apple slices

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When food is fuel, you can give yourself the benefit of the doubt that you will do your best to feed your body the highest quality that is possible in that moment and forgive yourself when circumstances don't allow.

When food is fuel, you trust yourself that the goal in fueling up is to feel your best and thrive in your life and do the things you feel called to do, all of which is more difficult when you feel tired, sick or unhealthy. In doing so, fueling rather than eating just to eat becomes about how you want to show up in your life and feel rather than just about weight loss or some other type of extrinsic goal.

When food is fuel, it takes away the moral anguish of making a "wrong" decision. You meal plan with compassion rather than worry or fear.

Fuel is just one of 45 cards in my Mindful Eating Wisdom Card deck available for sale on my website. Go grab your deck today!

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Have it:

I came across this article on Food Trends of 2023 - I'm so down for #1 (already do this!) and definitely #10. What about you?

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Made it:

I took a fairly long content & creative output break but take a look at a surprise overnight my husband took me on over the Christmas break. This was the first time we left the kids alone overnight (teens) and it went great!

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Want it:

I'm ready to kick my 10-year old Keurig to the curb. Been wanting one of these for a while. Any other Javaphiles in the house?

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Ingredient Spotlight:

Kimchi

Kimchi is a common Korean condiment made of fermented cabbage, carrots and other vegetables. It has a unique and funky flavor (from all the fermented gut-health goodness) and it packs a ton of crunch.

Because it is a fermented food, it acts as a natural probiotic food which makes it an excellent choice to rev up your microbiome and for good digestion and immune-health.

I don't love the taste of it on it's own but I really enjoy adding it to salads and sandwiches where it can blend in with the other crunch and flavors.

You can get Kimchi these days in most supermarkets.

​Here's a great recipe to to get you started on incorporating it into your diet. A lot of my clients ADORE this recipe.​​​​

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Upcoming and Announcements:

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You’re invited to the Whole Body Health Virtual summit! This free, online event that will give you tips, motivation, and practical action steps that you can take to get control of your health once and for all.

We're taking the confusion out of healthy living and eating.

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That's why I'm so excited to bring this free 3-day virtual event to you!

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You can learn absolutely everything you’d ever want to know about the summit over here, but as a quick overview:

The summit will run from Monday, January 9 - Wednesday, January 11.

Each day will be packed with amazing speakers who are ready to help you learn all about improving your health, increasing your energy, and getting healthy meals on the table that your family will love - and eat!

This is a virtual summit so you can attend from the comfort of your own home. You can even wear your pjs.

You can attend the summit absolutely free, but you can choose to grab the VIP All Access Pass at any time (heads up…there’s a special limited-time offer after you register). The VIP Pass will give you an all-access pass to the summit (meaning you get all the videos for life), plus amazing speaker bonuses!
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Are you excited?! (I sure am!)​
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Grab your free ticket here!

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That's all for now. Have a happy and healthy hump day and I'll be in touch soon with my plans for 2023!

Warmly,

Jenny