A great, FREE way to track your progress towards healthy living is utilizing free apps. There are so many different apps you can use to do anything from tracking your activity to tracking every calorie you eat. Today I am going to share three of my favorite apps with you.

My Fittness Pal is one of the most popular fitness apps in the world currently and once you use it, you will see why. It's easy to use interface allows individuals set personalized goals for their activity and their calorie intake. They have a database of most popular foods, so you can scan the barcode of what your eating, or simply search for it and it adds that information to your daily "food diary" for you.

Fitnet is an app that is ideal for college students, and anyone else who finds themselves short on time but who still want to exercise and stay active. The app is loaded with quick, five minute workouts providing awesome flexibility for busy schedules. It can also convert your camera into a sensor and give you real-time feedback while you exercise and it offers a large variety of different exercises and workout styles to best suit your preferences. I love working with this app because it regularly updates with new workouts and it keep things interesting and new.

Fooducate is an app that let's you take control of what you are putting into your body. It has a scanning feature so that you can scan food in the store and it gives them a rating so you know exactly how good or bad they are for you. It even does as much as track your mood, sleeping patterns, and hunger levels. I love this app because it allows me to really take ownership of what I am putting in to my body and it allows me to make conscious decisions for the better of my health.

All of these apps are great, affordable ways to keep your health on track. They have been a huge help to me, and I hope they can help you maintain focus on your goals. You can do it!

A great way to stay up to date with new ideas is to learn from others. There are tons of blogs just like mine, and many social media platforms that house TONS of helpful information provided by experts in their fields.
Here are a few of my favorite health accounts:
@coco_lovin is an instagrammer from Germany and although some of her posts are not in English, I still enjoy recreating her recipes from her pictures. She provides  tons of fun and refreshing healthy snacks and meals.

+MeowMeix is an awesome resource if you are interested in meal prep. Meal prep on the weekends has been a huge time and money saver for me and she shares awesome ideas and tips to make the most of your time and money. 

@annietarasova features vegan food items on her instagram. She is a neuropathy student and although her posts sometimes stray from the topic of food, she posts delicious and interesting meals that are completely plant based.

@wholeheartedeats features delicious clean eating recipes and is great about including items she used, or her own tips or tricks for the recipe. Most of her food is vegan or vegetaria, but her Instagram bio includes a link to her blog that has tons of awesome info about healthy eating. 

I love these online resources because they're FREE and they really help develop your skills when it comes to knowing how to live a healthy life. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I made Butternut Squash Tacos with salsa for my clean eating group.
For those of you interested, I have made a podcast describing the recipe and walking you through how to make your own butternut squash tacos.
Enjoy!

As I have mentioned in many posts before, living a healthy life is always better when other people are around joining you in your cause.
A few weeks ago at work, I walked into the kitchen and found a group of people setting out a lot of food. A lot of good food. I asked them what they were doing and they said that they had started a "clean eating group" and they meet every few weeks and share recipes and bring food for eachother for lunch.
I joined that day and I have learned so much from the people in that group.
If you find yourself in an environment where there could be a group like this, like work or school, check to see if one exists, and if not, make one!
There are currently about eight people in our clean eating group so every individual only has to cook about every fourth time the group meets. So while it may be a bit costly when it comes your turn to make a meal, it pays off with the food provided to you at all the other meals.

This week our group met and our theme was "clean tacos". Here is a photo of all the food that was made.

On the end in the crock pot was a very basic but delicious and flavorful lentil taco filling. Next to on the left was a dish of beer roasted cauliflower with some veggies that was topped with cole slaw and vegan sour cream and was delicious. The next in line was my own dish, butternut squash tacos, followed by its paired salsa and some homemade guacamole that I brought as well. 

Aside from some optional cheese, this meal ended up being completely vegan and 100% health and delicious. 

We all shared our recipes and now thanks to this group, I know even more about cooking healthy food and living a clean-eating lifestyle. 

I hope this inspires you to join or start your own clean-eating group because it is a great way to surround yourself with people who will push you to be better in your health journey. 

So far we have talked about a lot of different things relating to your health and wellness, but one important factor has not been mentioned yet. 

That's right, motivation is a huge issue for so many people (myself included). So I'd like to share my top three tips on motivating yourself to get out there and be active.

Tip #1: Track your progress

If you have been jogging the same route, start timing yourself and see how your doing. Use it to motivate yourself to beat your own best records. This is a great way to have a competetive edge and really push yourself to improve.

Tip #2: Use the buddy System

Chances are, you know someone who is also trying to improve their physical health as well. Pair up with them and hold each other accountable when it comes to your exercise and even your diet. My roommate and I always meet up at the gym after work and knowing that she is expecting me there each time makes me much less likely to skip out at the last second. 

Tip #3: Reward yourself

I have started a great show on Netflix and I promised myself that I could only watch it if I watched it at the gym. So each day I work out, I get to look forward to watching a new episode of a great show while I'm on the treadmill or elliptical. You can also reward yourself with a gift or dessert but the most important thing is finding what works best for you and using it to your advantage.

I hope that these tips help you on those days when you just want to stay in bed, because I know they have definitely helped me.

Welcome back!


Today we are going to talk about my favorite ways to get fit-FREE ways.

Next time you are needing to get some energy out, or you just want to say you have exercised without having to go work hard at the gym, grab a friend and go for a walk in your neighborhood. It's free, it's fun, and it's a great way to get to know you neighborhood and community better all while staying healthy and fit.

As much as I love zumba and yoga, group exercise classes can be extremely expensive and well out of my price range. A great alternative is to just exercise where I can do it for free, right outside.
Getting out into your neighborhood can be intimidating at first but after a few walks or runs, it becomes more comfortable. Going for walks and bike rides has been a huge stress reliever in my life lately.
I am lucky enough to live near a college campus so I have plenty of great places to go for walks, however, this is not the case for everyone. If you are struggling to find places to get out and exercise in your neighborhood, Google maps has a feature that shows bike-friendly trails, and those are almost always walker-friendly as well. The map below is an example of a walking path that Google picked out as "bike-friendly".

Happy Saturday!

Since this blog is not only devoted to healthy living, but also to doing so on a college budget, I wanted to include one of my personal tips that have helped me the most when it comes to money.

Rather than focusing on just "saving" money, I am also always looking for ways to MAKE money. This summer I have started dog sitting and it has been a huge help to my health, schedule, and financial well being.

Here are some dogs that I am currently dog sitting:

Dog sitting allows you to make some money on the side and stay fit. 

Making sure the dogs get enough exercise is a great way to make sure YOU get enough exercise too!

If you aren't able to dog sit, you can still look for opportunities to be a dog walker. Many dog owners do not always have time to walk their dogs and some are willing to pay to have their dogs walked. 

This is great for three reasons: 

Flexible schedule

You're getting paid to exercise

DOGS (if you are a crazy dog person like I am)

Hopefully some of you can find opportunities to help someone out with exercising and watching their pet while also helping out your own budget and fitness. I tried it, and it has been a huge success so I hope it can be for some of you too!