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Making Peace with the Pantry

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Healthy Crockpot Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya
Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette

Healthy Crockpot Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

I have been crushing on this recipe lately so I wanted to share. It is one of the recipes in my personal recipe arsenal and has landed a spot on my Top 10 list. It is a one pot meal that is simple and easy to throw together but contains clean, whole-food ingredients. Perfect for all my friends out there who want to eat well but don’t particularly enjoy spending time in the kitchen. 

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Reflections On A Day I Lost Control Over Food
Relationship with Food, Wisdom Amy Barnette Relationship with Food, Wisdom Amy Barnette

Reflections On A Day I Lost Control Over Food

Was it really on my kid's leftover gingerbread house decor? Why yes, yes, indeed it was...

I had a flashback the other day of a time when I felt completely out of control around food. It came when I was putting away the gingerbread houses that my girls made this year.  

Here's a true story of what happened in regards to the aforementioned gingerbread houses.

 

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Reflecting on the Year & Contemplating the Future
Wisdom Amy Barnette Wisdom Amy Barnette

Reflecting on the Year & Contemplating the Future

At this time of the year, I like to reflect on what went well, what could have gone better, and where I want to go as I head into the new year. There are four simple but powerful questions that I like to use to engage in this reflection process.

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Thanksgiving: It's Not All Sunshine and Gratitude Rainbows
Wisdom, Relationship with Food Amy Barnette Wisdom, Relationship with Food Amy Barnette

Thanksgiving: It's Not All Sunshine and Gratitude Rainbows

Thanksgiving was a holiday that used to put my anxiety level through the roof. You see, I used to oscillate between times of extreme restriction and complete out of control eating. And when you struggle with guilt and shame over what you eat and how you eat, a holiday that mainly revolves around food can be pretty stressful.

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Roasted Chicken and Bone Broth in the Crockpot
Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette

Roasted Chicken and Bone Broth in the Crockpot

Dust off your crockpot. Today I am going to show you how to put this trusty little kitchen appliance to work for you!  

One of my absolute favorite things to do with the crockpot is to roast an entire chicken for dinner one evening and then turn the leftovers into an incredibly nourishing bone broth. So you essentially get TWO healthy, nourishing, and very versatile recipes but with only ONE effort! That is a total score in my book.

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5 Tips To Get You Into The Kitchen Even If You Aren't The Next Julia Child
Health and Nutrition Amy Barnette Health and Nutrition Amy Barnette

5 Tips To Get You Into The Kitchen Even If You Aren't The Next Julia Child

I truly believe one of the best things we can do for our health is increase the number of home-cooked meals we eat and decrease the number of meals we eat out at restaurants, bring home in the form of take out, and that come from a box (entirely or partially). But what are you to do when you don't really like to cook, find it overwhelming to meal plan, and don't find joy in doing dishes? Well, my friend, I've gotcha covered.

Here are 5 things that have helped me increase the number of home-cooked meals I eat and decrease my reliance on the quick and the easy.

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I am a Health Coach BUT I Don't Like to Cook
Health and Nutrition Amy Barnette Health and Nutrition Amy Barnette

I am a Health Coach BUT I Don't Like to Cook

I have a confession. I am health coach but I don't really like to cook. Nothing in the kitchen comes naturally to me. The timing, the organization, the combining of flavors. None of it. I am messy and unorganized. I can easily use about 20 different utensils to prepare one simple meal. I have yet to figure out how all the spoons and forks are dirty by the time the dish is prepared and ready to eat. Now that I think about it, maybe this is one reason why I don't like the clean up process. Too many damn utensils to wash.   

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The Power of Two Simple Questions
Wisdom Amy Barnette Wisdom Amy Barnette

The Power of Two Simple Questions

It was one of those days. Hectic. Crazy. One where nothing went according to plan. At one point, I accidentally threw my keys into the trashcan outside of Walgreens. Don't even ask how that happened. You should have seen the expression on the guy's face at the register when I explained why I needed help taking the lid off the trashcan. "Well you see, I threw my keys away...".    

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Workout Music Motivation: Finding Your Inner Warrior
Workout Motivation Amy Barnette Workout Motivation Amy Barnette

Workout Music Motivation: Finding Your Inner Warrior

I love battle music. My cycle friends know just how much I like battle music because it often shows up on my class playlists at very strategic times - at the precise points when I want my riders to dig deep and push hard.

I recently came to the conclusion that the reason I like it so much is because I have always felt like a fighter. A fighter in my own personal war. The war I have always waged has been a war deep within myself. Against the dysfunction I used to create around food. Against all of my doubts and insecurities. Against all the things society and culture have taught me I am supposed to be in order to be enough.

But when I listen to powerful music, like the song I am about to share with you, I feel something within me shift. I feel strong. I feel powerful. And I feel like a warrior.

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My Inner Critic Cusses. A Lot. Does Yours?
Wisdom Amy Barnette Wisdom Amy Barnette

My Inner Critic Cusses. A Lot. Does Yours?

I have always enjoyed curse words. There is something that “darn” and “shucks” just doesn’t convey as well as their explicit counterparts. It’s all about the emphasis baby!

I've learned to tone down my use of these words over the years but I've noticed that my Inner Critic more than picks up the slack in the curse word department. Consider yourself warned.

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Quinoa Curry Bowl
Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette

Quinoa Curry Bowl

This is a simple meal made with whole food ingredients that is super satisfying and very easy to throw together. An added bonus is that it is meat-free but loaded with plant-based protein. I usually always have these ingredients on hand so it has become a staple recipe in my house.

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Learning to Lean into Intuitive Exercise
Workout Motivation Amy Barnette Workout Motivation Amy Barnette

Learning to Lean into Intuitive Exercise

I just finished delivering my no accountability cycle ride last week so it seemed like an appropriate time to write about how I learned to lean into a more intuitive way of exercising. I am a fitness person. I always have been and I always will be. I remember falling in love with 'Get in Shape Girl' when I was 8. I loved everything about it: twirling the pink ribbon, the little dumbbells, the happy music. I would play the cassette tape and rock out in my pink leotard and matching leg warmers with pure joy.

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Kale Waldorf Salad
Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette Simple Healthy Recipes Amy Barnette

Kale Waldorf Salad

The most common complaint with starting to eat kale is that it can have a strong and somewhat bitter taste. If you aren't typically a fan of greens that can deter you from trying it. But that's what makes this recipe so amazing - the sweetness from the apples and raisins combined with a creamy mayonnaise-free dressing truly counters any bitterness. It is absolutely delicious and the perfect seasonal salad to put on your holiday weekend menu!   

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My Struggle with Food: The Keys that Unlocked the Door
Relationship with Food Amy Barnette Relationship with Food Amy Barnette

My Struggle with Food: The Keys that Unlocked the Door

In my previous post, I shared my 20+ year struggle with my relationship with food. Today, I will share how I began to heal.

I can look back and see that there were a few marked turning points. One was when I had children. I have two beautiful and impressionable little girls. They stole my heart the second they were born. I wanted to figure this out so that they don't ever have to struggle in this way.   

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My Struggle with Food: A Self-Induced Prison
Relationship with Food Amy Barnette Relationship with Food Amy Barnette

My Struggle with Food: A Self-Induced Prison

I’ve struggled with my relationship with food for as long as I can remember. It was always my outlet, my coping mechanism, the way to turn off my mind. I can remember jumping on the fat free band wagon back in high school. Fat was the enemy and I obsessed about every fat gram in every piece of food I ate. Thinner was always better. It always equated to more confidence, more social adeptness, more happiness.

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