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Plan it in, Do it Anyway: Checking off the Summer Goals with a Whole30 Green Gazpacho
LOVE SUMMER! It's been a fun and fabulous couple of days - the weather couldn't have been too much better and Jon and I had time over the weekend to cross off a few of the Summer Bucket List items! We both have pretty full agendas with some impending travel over the next couple months and since planning is my favorite sport, we had spent some time a few weeks ago to map out tentative dates, book events, buy tickets, etc. for the fun things we wanted to do. I've learned that for me at least, it's important to schedule in time not only for the serious and work related…
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Considering “What Went Well” and a Whole30 Blackened Tilapia with Cherry Salsa
If you are familiar with traditional applied psychology, therapy, or counseling, you may be aware of the fact that there are several different protocols, or interventions, which may be employed to reduce the patients' negative symptoms depending upon the presenting problem. Although Freudian psychoanalysis is not generally leveraged or deemed effective these days, many other forms of treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be effective at reducing symptoms of mood disorders such as depression or anxiety. However, throughout his practice, Dr. Martin Seligman, former president of the APA, founder of positive psychology, and someone whose research has had tremendous impact on my own life over the…
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Know Your Purpose + a Whole30 Strawberry Walnut Salad
It's important to know your purpose. This is true on a large scale of course, but I acknowledge that might be slightly too big a topic to cover right here and now. I mean it in a more temporal and specific kind of way which I was reminded of earlier this week. On her podcast, Happier, Gretchen Rubin and her sister Liz Craft discuss ways to live a happier, healthier, and more productive life. One of the things that I really appreciate about the podcast and Rubin's approach in general, is that she is very good at making the esoteric, transcendental, or very aspirational more practical and tangible. In this…
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Push Yourself! Taking on a Challenge Builds Self-Efficacy :: Whole30 Burgers with Sundried Tomato and Basil Artichoke Sauce
Today is a very exciting day because it marks Day 31 for the rockstars of my very first Flex in the City Studio Whole30! They did it! And I couldn't be more impressed or happier with how well so many of them did. They committed to the program, changing not only what was on their plate (which was hard!) but also they committed to changing their habits and their relationship with food (which is HARDER!). If you heard or saw the physical changes that they've experienced, you'd be pretty darn impressed. And when you consider the psychological side of what they have done, you'd be positively blown away. Yes, sticking…
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Celebrating Sunny Days in Ireland with My 2018 Summer Bucket List and Whole30 Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef
What a fabulous last two weeks it has been in Cork! The weather has consistently been the best that it has been since I've lived in Ireland and I am thrilled to have sunshine and warm days finally. It actually feels like summer which means it's time to pull together my 2018 Summer Bucket List - a tradition that Jonathan and I started a few years ago. It's my favorite time of year and I know that for me to ensure the optimal experience, I need to have some sort of plan. Making a Summer Bucket List is kind of like setting New Year Resolutions for me (but arguably more…
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Balance is NOT Key (for me at least!) + a Whole30 Stone Fruit and Blackened Chicken Salad
As I've written many times over the past year, the decision to dedicate time to truly knowing myself better has been life changing. Before that I would have, as most people do, just assumed certain things to be true without giving it much consideration. It's easy to be distracted by what I wish I were like or what I (or others) think I should be like. And thus I just assumed that I must like music (I really don't), that pizza is delicious (I have always been underwhelmed), and that "everything in moderation" is a good thing (not for an abstainer like me). And learning that, for me at least, balance is…
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Challenging = Breaking Up with Bad Habits, Easy = Whole30 Jamaican Jerk Steak and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
A very common source of disagreement in the Vasquez household (and many others as I hear) is a difference in perspective on a particular issue. Jon is the prototypical male/husband whenever I am describing a problem, offense, or irritation that I am facing. He swoops in (sometimes before I have a chance to even finish giving the context) to save the day and "solve" the problem. I knowthat he means well and that his intention is to help me to move past whatever it is I am dealing with as quickly as possible. He is genuinely trying in earnest to support me. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, that…
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Curiosity as a Motivator: How what we attend to becomes more interesting and a Whole30 Avocado Egg Salad
“My True Rule is that persistence is its own reward. Somehow, the more you stay with something, the more you accumulate wisdom and meaning in whatever it is you're doing. Just by watering that flower, you get really attached to that flower." Bob Miller, President and Publisher at HarperStudios. I can remember vividly all throughout my education being completely enthralled and excited whenever there was an overlap in ideas or concepts between various classes or subjects or between what I was learning in school and "real life." I loved hearing about a new theory in science for example and then later reading about the same topic in a literature class,…
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Keys to Success: Take Action, Learn by Doing, and Make These Whole30 Spinach & Artichoke Meatballs with Lemon Cashew Alfredo!
It's a well known fact: If you don't use it, you lose it. While recently in Malaga, we spent time everyday "practicing" our Spanish, something which although I studied for about 12 years - I am not so great at anymore (ahora yo hablo un poquito y mas despacio). To be fair, between the four of us, we could cover the basic requirements needed to get around in terms of reading signs and understanding very basic conversational language. But as we struggled to formulate cohesive sentences and relied heavily on "Spanglish" or pointing, we reflected on the fact that it is much more challenging when you have to yourself communicate…
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Thinking Creatively About Creativity and a Whole30 Salmon on Roasted Broccoli with Lemon Vinaigrette
I think there are two types of people out there - there are those that really get a kick out of starting up new activities, hobbies, and projects, with diverse and wide-flung interests - the "Mile Wide" group. And then there are those that like to stick to more and more of the same, continually investing time, energy, and effort into their very specific and often nuanced areas of interest - the "Mile Deep" group. My husband and many of my close friends are in the former group. Jon is always trying out new and different sports, hobbies, reading topics, and ideas. It gives him energy and keeps him from…
