Link-Love Saturday #11: My Whole Food Life

Heyyyyyy everyone, happy Saturday yay!!! 🙂

I hope you’re all staying nice and warm, because it’s currently 32 degrees where I am…

Also, ABC Family is already starting their “Countdown to 25 Days Of Christmas” movie marathon…what?!

Let me have some coffee first!

(Image Credit)

Time to chat, and time to continue on with your usual Link-Love Saturday post here on A Dancer’s Live-It. Today’s blog feature will show you that it is possible to adapt a healthier lifestyle in what ever way that may be. Our blogger, Melissa, is a vegan who is into eating and living as healthy as possible to set a good example for her two growing daughters. She also has a passion for creating homemade healthy versions of unhealthy snacks. Pretty cool right?

Please give a warm welcome to Melissa, of My Whole Food Life!!!

Similar to my goals, Melissa started her blog in hopes to inspire others to live a more healthy life. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon her blog, but I’m sure it was to find one of her delicious recipes. Melissa’s approach to healthy eating started with cutting out processed sugar. She says, “My husband was taking 2 medications for asthma and using an inhaler on a daily basis.  He was told by his doctor that if he couldn’t get his cholesterol down, he would need to take meds for that as well”. So she set out to get rid of all our processed flours and sugars.  That made a huge difference. She and her husband found themselves with more energy and also lost weight without even trying! Her husband lost 20 lbs and Melissa lost about 5-7 lbs. Melissa said, “Funny thing is, once we quit sugar and processed foods, we found no need to count calories or fat. When you eat whole foods, they will keep you full much longer than highly processed foods”. This is so true, and this is so inspiring! The more you eat the junky sugar, the more your body wants it.

So what do these “whole food” recipes look like then? Check out her recipe page! You’ll find multiple categories like a HUGE list of desserts, entrees, salads, dips, and snack bars. She even has granola and baked oatmeal. That’s an A in my book! 😉 If you’re worried about food allergies, don’t be because all of Melissa’s recipes are vegan and most of them are gluten-free as well. I’m currently drooling over her Gluten-Free Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies….mmm mint chocolate anything just reminds me of the holidays.

Another thing to note is her Advice tab. In the index, you’ll find an awesome list of things like cooking/food ideas, getting back into the gym, whole food baking tips, a breakdown of sweeteners, and even 7 gross ingredients you’ve probably eaten! Yuck, you won’t believe that you’ve eaten these!

A favorite page of mine is Melissa’s statement about why she doesn’t count calories anymore. She says, “When you eat a diet high in healthy fats, fiber and whole foods, you will stay full for much longer. So there will be no need to snack. Fat free and low fat foods usually contain added sugar and other additives to make them taste as good as the high fat foods. Processed sugar never leaves you satisfied. You keep craving more and more. It’s an endless cycle. You are better off eating the food the way it was meant to be eaten. Fat and all”. When I stopped counting calories, I noticed that I felt stronger and HAPPIER. My mind wasn’t always juggling numbers and freaking out about what I was eating. As long as I’m nourishing my body with the right foods, everything will be okay! 🙂

I think it’s safe to say that healthy food can be delicious. 🙂

Now for a recipe!

Since it’s Fall, how about a delicious Pumpkin Raspberry Oat Bar? YES PLEASE.

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