Motivation + {Marinated Peppers, Jicama, & Corn Salad}

Let me start with a sincere welcome to all the new readers of this blog.  I am so glad you are here!  It has been amazing to see all of you taking an interest in living the sweet life... no sugar added.  It is definitely EASIER to sit back and let life happen, to eat all of the convenience foods presented to us on a daily basis, to come up with 1000 excuses, to not exercise self-control and let food WIN, to allow ourselves to literally self-destruct...

But what I hope to show you and inspire you with is how an ordinary, busy busy busy full-time mom, full-time accountant, full-time wife/helper, and part-time blogger can eat healthy, lose weight, and live a happy healthy life.  It's possible.  And you don't have to feel stuck or like it's a losing battle.  It's not.  You can take control and do something to change your life for the better.  You just have to decide it's worth it... and like my dad said, that it's worth FIGHTING for.  And then arm yourself with tips and strategies to do it.

You have to dig and find some motivation from within on WHY you want to fight.  Because there are going to be days when it's suuuuuuper hard and you just want to cave and give up... and you'll feel like it was easier and better when you didn't care... and you'll need that internal resolve to continue.

So think about it now. 

Why do you want to be healthy? 

What does it mean that you will be able to:

• do
• experience
• love
• create
• ENJOY

that you can't right now?

For me, it started a year and a half ago, when I embarked on the most amazing, life-changing, challenging, and rewarding journey of parenthood. I thank God every day for our little miracle whose smile and happy demeanor are absolutely contagious!

I want to be healthy for her.  I want to show her what it looks like to have a healthy relationship with food, to use it as fuel for strength (not for comfort or numbing pain).  I want her to grow to love her body and KNOW 100% that she is beautiful, loved, and enough.  And heck, I want her to be a positive influence in others' lives as well - friends who will no doubt struggle with these same issues.  How awesome would it be for HER to be a catalyst and encourager in others' lives to live the happy healthy life too?!

I want her "normal" to include veggie juices and hummus and quinoa and bell peppers!

I want her to dance and jump and smile with glee. 

I want her to feel the amazement of accomplishing a long run. 

And if possible, I want her journey to be easier than mine. 

So for a lack of a better "transition", here is one of those tips/strategies for living a happy healthy life - in the form of a clean recipe.

Introducing Marinated Peppers, Jicama, & Corn Salad:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Sweet Peppers, cut into rings
• 1 cup jicama, diced
• 1/2 cup sweet kernel corn
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2Tbsp olive oil
• 1Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:  Mix together in a large ziploc bag. Lay flat in fridge for 24 hours.  Serve & Enjoy

~ Serves 4-6

Here is a close-up of the first few ingredients before the marinade was added:

All ingredients mixed and marinating, laying flat and ready for the fridge:

And voila, 24 hours later... a super delicious tangy marinated pepper salad:

I served it with grilled salmon to make it more of a full meal:

Questions:

1. What motivates you to get (or stay) healthy?
2. What do you think the biggest hurdle is in getting there?