Healthy Inklings #2

This series will consist of healthy tips, recipes, and random things I've learned along my paleo journey.  To learn more about the paleo lifestyle, click here. This is not necessarily paleo specific, just overall health.  To read previous Healthy Inklings posts, click here. 

I cannot tell you how many times I've said, 'We're never going out to eat again. Every food I buy will be healthy. NO MORE processed food!' as I throw away all the bad food from my cupboards. I'd maybe last two days, three at the most, before I caved in to the cravings of a popsicle or the mexican food restaurant down the road. My body (but more likely just my mind) could not handle such a sudden change. To have everything I loved food-wise ripped away from me in one fell swoop? Made me miserable.

So for the Healthy Inklings Tip #2:

Choose one meal to focus your healthy efforts on. Start with the easiest thing, such as breakfast or snacks. Just worry about that one meal until you have it down and are comfortable with it, then add another meal and another until you are eating the healthy foods you want throughout the day. When I started transitioning to paleo, I didn't do it all at once and I believe that is why it's such a success for me now and why I can be 99% paleo and happy.

Here are some simple healthy recipes for breakfast and snacks that I've tried:
Avocado-Lime Deviled Eggs (personally, I leave out the lime)
Regular Hard Boiled Eggs
Breakfast Smoothie - So. Many. Options.
Mini Crustless Quiches
Paleo Banana Muffins (I eat these every day I go to work!)
Sauerkraut and Over-Easy Eggs
Fruit & Coconut Milk
Almonds
Sautéed Spinach and Onion in Coconut Oil
Guacamole with Carrots, Cucumber, and Tomatoes, or just plain!

What meal will you start with?

I'm not a doctor (yet!) so do not take any advice I give as medical advice. If you have anything you want to hear about, let me know in the comments or email me at iffyinklings@gmail.com.

Links.

I have 5 gazilion links that I've bookmarked, so I'll take the time to share some.

|| I've been wanting to make an advent calendar for a couple years, and I'm glad I haven't! After reading about this idea I'm in love. Instead of opening a treat for the 24 days leading to Christmas, you do something nice for others! I love that you can modify it a little every year to keep it current and different. Now I just need to come up with some of my own ideas that apply to our life.

|| This series about living life in a 240 square foot apartment. Makes me appreciate my 600 square foot one!

|| After seeing a very young kid (maybe 10 or 11) with dyed hair the other day, Vince asked if we'd let our kid dye their hair young or have weird haircuts. At first I said probably not, but after reading this from Jada Smith (Willow Smith's mother) I don't know what I think. Plus, I dyed my hair pink, purple and blue for the first day of 7th grade and crazy colors for years after!

Me in 8th grade.

“A letter to a friend…This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with this post it will remain incomplete. The question why I would LET Willow cut her hair. First the LET must be challenged. This is a world where women, girls are constantly reminded that they don’t belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair. It’s also a statement that claims that even little girls have the RIGHT to own themselves and should not be a slave to even their mother’s deepest insecurities, hopes and desires. Even little girls should not be a slave to the preconceived ideas of what a culture believes a little girl should be.”
Found via 

|| 43 People You Won't Believe Actually Exist

|| This mini kitchen for when I have a toddler.

|| Also, for when I have a toddler, I want to make a similar quiet book and felt car mat. I had a rug that was a car mat as a kid and loved it!

|| This recipe for Sweet Potato and Kale Gratin. I'd sub coconut milk for heavy cream and raw cheese for parmesan. Yum.

|| This blog that lists free e-books! One of the many ways I never pay for e-books.

|| A letter Amelia Earhart wrote to her fiancé before their wedding.

|| Reminder: Email Sara some Christmas photos of your town!

|| 50 Reasons to Leave It Alone. Why you shouldn't circumcise your baby. I don't know where I stand on this viewpoint(I think more towards uncircumcision), but it was a good read.

|| Lastly, did you read about baby mice being born from stem cells? I read about it a few months ago and forgot about it until I went through my links. This is AMAZING.

Be envious.

Recently, there have been a lot of blogs saying that being envious is bad, and you should make sure you aren't. To that, I say no!

Being envious of others is what inspires me and pushes me to do the things I want! Just because I am envious of something, does NOT mean that I'm not happy with what I have. For example, the new car I bought today:

Wooohooo! I'm so glad that I have it. If I wasn't envious of other people driving their cars that didn't have exhaust fumes going inside, would I have worked on my credit so hard so that I could get approved for a loan? No, I probably wouldn't. 

If I wasn't envious of this lady or this lady, would I want to try and create beautiful things? I'd probably still make things, but these woman push me to be as creative as I can possibly can and to think outside the box.

I'm happy with my life, and I'm very happy with what I've achieved and what I have. I'm not trying to be like anyone else, but I'm glad I am envious.