It’s Friday! Wahoo! I’m particularly excited this Friday and I’ll share why in just a minute. I’ve given you lots of tasty food and tips this week, including this Fit and Delicious Peach Crumble, a beverage that you shouldn’t be drinking, my thoughts on childhood vegetarianism, and lastly my top three tips for eating healthy on the go. With all that information to read, in case you missed any of it, today’s post is light and fun!

One of my favorite things to do make memories, but if I’m never look back to reminisce those memories, what’s the point in making memories anyway? With summer quickly coming to an end, I want to look back and share my top fifteen 2013 summertime memories, and at the end I want you to share yours too! In no particular order they are…

1.  My hubby showing up at the beach after declaring he was going to have to miss out on this years trip because of work

2.  Spending time with my brother and sister-in-law in their fun little town

3. Time spent with my girls in Grayton Beach for a dear friends bachelorette and then again at the wedding

4. Pursing my dreams and opening my own company, The Gypsy Dietitian, LLC and seeing my site grow

5. Opening my VitaMix on my birthday from my parents as a birthday/Mayo graduation gift

6. Hosting the July Yoga Challenge (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4) that so many of you participated in

7. Making this Red, White and Blue cake for my dad and family on Father’s Day and Dustin’s family at the beach

7. Our trip to Asheville/ the Biltmore and being able to go on so many road trips with the hub

8. Spending time with my mom in the kitchen exploring new recipes

9. Catching up with dear high school friends before one moves to Texas that just means a trip to Texas is in store!

10. Late night chats with my mom and friends on my parent’s front porch

11. Getting to workout with Dustin so frequently – he challenges me to be my best self

12.Time with Dustin’s family at the beach

13.  Spending time with my pups, including on the beach!

14. Connecting with so many incredible dietitians and fellow bloggers including (but not limited too!):

• Steph from Food Coach Me
• Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean
• Margaret from Breaking the Sugar Habit 
• Gina from Dietitians Eat Chocolate Too
• Shashi from Runnin Sri Lankan 
• Rachel from The Fresh Plate
• Hillary from Nutrition on the Run

15. And lastly, the reason I am excited for this post… The hub and I are off to San Fran this weekend to spend a week exploring wine country, downtown, Lake Tahoe, a Giants game and Half Moon Bay! I’ve been waiting for this trip for what seems like my entire life! With that being said, I’ve prepared a lot of great post for you next week so stay tuned!

{Photo Source}

What are a few of your favorite summer memories?! Please share!

Have an AWESOME weekend! Talk to you from Cali!

Good health!

The post Fun Friday: Summertime Memories appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good morning! Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend! We made the long ride home from the beach on Saturday. The weather was gray and overcast so it wasn’t too terribly hard to leave this year.

After returning home, Dustin and I had a dinner date with my youngest sister on Saturday night, practiced a little sisterly yoga following dinner and then crashed.

Yesterday, we spent most of the day hanging with my dad, which we both always enjoy.  Homemade waffles, an afternoon run, front porch sitting, a visit to the garden and a late dinner with my parents and sister ended our weekend perfectly.

If you’ve been following along for the past month you know what today is. It’s Week 3 of the July Yoga Challenge! Together we’ve worked through both forearm headstand and crane in the past two weeks. Lots of you have been bending and bowing and I’m so excited that so many of you have joined in. I know my crane certainly improved over time!

If you haven’t joined us yet, today is the day! If Granny can do it, so can you!

Haha! My sister sent me this picture this weekend and I absolutely love it. I have no idea where she got it from in order to give Grandma credit but none the less she’s awesome!

Before I share week 3′s pose, let me first remind you of how the challenge works.

July Yoga Challenge

1. Every Monday during the month of July, I will be giving you a new pose to work on for one week straight.
2. Work on the pose everyday for seven days, spending however much time you want – five minutes or 30 minutes it doesn’t matter, just as long as your working on it.
3. Have someone take a picture of you on Monday attempting the pose.
4. Have someone take a picture of you at the end of the week on Sunday showing your progress.
5. Do a side-by-side comparison picture and upload it to the Guard Your Heart Facebook Page or tag me (@aharpe) on Instagram or tweet it (@aharpe) if you want to share your progress (and if you will hashtag all your photos to #julyyogachallenge)! Or simply let us know in the comments section below that you are  participating and working on it!

Alright, so on to today’s pose. Let me first preface. This pose is very challenging but it’s fun to attempt and work through. This pose combines some of the skills that we have worked on in the other poses, such as core strength and balance. I do not expect you (or me!) to be able to do it perfectly – it’s all about challenging your body and moving/bending it in ways that it might not be used to. It’s just a fun one to try! So what is it? Week 3′s pose is Firefly.

If you’re doing it correctly, and happen to be a Yoga Journal featured yogi (that is the photo source too) it looks like this.

If it’s day one of the yoga challenge, it looks like this. Note: follow the first picture, not us!

You can see how challenging, but fun it is! Straightening your legs is the hardest part!

And also, if you have any wrist, elbow or shoulder issues this pose might bother those areas. Do not push your body further than feels comfortable. That’s the great thing about yoga, you can modify everything to meet your specific needs.

Okay, so how do you do it?

That should tell ya!

Don’t forget to keep me posted on your progress, on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter! (#julyyogachallenge) (@aharpe)

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Wow! So much bending in that post! Time to quit typing and start practicing I guess! Well, maybe later. Today, were headed down to visit my grandfather in the hospital so please send your prayers his way. I really appreciate it. I hope you all have a great Monday.

Good health!

The post Weekend Review + July Yoga Challenge – Week Three appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Hi there! Happy Hump Day! I’ve got some really exciting news to share, well, exciting to me!

Look who made a surprise appearance!

Last night, around 3 am the hub made it down to the beach. He’s still going to have to do a lot of work while down here but I’m more than excited that he is here! The pups were pretty pumped too!

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Anyway, remember me telling you I prepped some black bean burgers to make the trip down? Well, since a lot of you have been asking me for a good BBB recipe (I was in search for a long time too since most recipes seem to fall apart so easily!), today I want to share the recipe that I finally found that actually stay together and taste good too! This is straight from my mama’s kitchen, so, thank Deb, not me. I love that you can prep them all at once and then have a quick burger to pull out of the freezer at anytime, especially when the beach is ten steps away!

Black Bean Burgers That Actually Hold Their Form

Makes ~10 burgers

Ingredients

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups raw instant (or rolled) oats
• 32 oz black beans (2 cans if you are using cans, ~4 cups if you are using dried, soaked and cooked beans)
• 16 oz garbonzoe beans (1 can if you are using a can, ~ 2 cups if you are using dried, soaked and cooked beans)
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (chopped walnuts work too)

Directions

1. Prepare your chia egg first – pour the warm water and chia seeds into a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir once or twice to create a gel like consistency.
2. In a pan, over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, spinach, and mushrooms in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar until onions become translucent.
3. Place all ingredients (except sunflower seeds) into a large bowl.
4. Using a hand blender (a regular blender might work in small batches) blend all of the ingredients until everything is evenly distributed.
5. Add the sunflower seeds, stirring only with a fork/spoon to avoid mashing the seeds. (These create a great, crunchy texture.)
6. Form the burgers into patties (I was able to get ~10 burgers) and place each burger onto a piece of parchment paper and into a large plastic bag.
7. Place all burgers into freezer, until ready to cook.
8. Pan cook over medium high heat on a well sprayed pan (from frozen) – sear each side for about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid to continue cooking about 15 minutes.
9. I like to top mine with a little vegan cheese for the last few minutes of cooking.
10. Serve and enjoy!

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I hope you enjoy those burgers as much as I have/do! Have a great Wednesday!

Good health!

The post Black Bean Burgers That Actually Hold Their Form appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good morning friends! Happy Monday from the beach!

No, I absolutely do not use props to make my pups seem like they are looking at the camera Oops! Busted. 

A green smoothie, a cup of green tea and a run with the pups to start this day of right!

How’s it going? How was your weekend? All good over here – especially after our arrival to Cape San Blas Saturday afternoon. We stocked up on lots of good eats and have already had a few delicious meals, including these tasty Spring Rolls last night.

Anyways, on to today’s business – Week Two of the July Yoga Challenge! Last weeks participation in the Forearm Headstand was awesome – I am so happy so many of you joined in. I finished out strong yesterday, practicing a little on the beach.

So did my sister-in-law (SIL from now on) and right hand man on this challenge!

As always, life is still good upside down.

So on to week two! If you didn’t join in last week, no worries! Today is the perfect day to join in! Here are the July Yoga Challenge details.

July Yoga Challenge

1. Every Monday during the month of July I will be giving you a new pose to work on for one week straight.
2. Work on the pose everyday for seven days, spending however much time you want – five minutes or 30 minutes it doesn’t matter, just as long as your working on it.
3. Have someone take a picture of you on Monday attempting the pose.
4. Have someone take a picture of you at the end of the week on Sunday showing your progress.
5. Do a side-by-side comparison picture and upload it to the Guard Your Heart Facebook Page or tag me (@aharpe) on Instagram or tweet it (@aharpe) if you want to share your progress (and if you will hashtag all your photos to #julyyogachallenge)! Or simply let us know in the comments section below that you are  participating and working on it!

The pose for this week is crane. Crane is an arm balancing pose, working both the arms and the core. From me and my SIL, here’s a little crane action shoreside.

And just to note, something like this…

…is very likely to happen so be sure to practice in a well cushioned area. Lucky for me, it was just a crash into a wave.

And there you have it my friends, a day in the life of a yogi. Practice. Fall. Get up. Practice. Fall Again. Succeed!

From Yoga Journal, this is what crane is supposed to look like. So you can see, I still have some work to do too!

In order to help you succeed too, here is step-by-step on how you can successfully get into crane.

This is definitely a challenging pose and will probably take longer than a week to perfect, but over time it gets easier and easier so stick with it and don’t give up! Practice makes perfect my friends.

Also, don’t forget to keep me posted on your progress, on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

I hope you have an awesome Monday!

Good health!

The post July Yoga Challenge – Week Two appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Hi friends! How was your holiday? It feels like Monday over here, but thankfully it’s FRIDAY! I’m moving slow, if you can’t already tell.

It seems as though we are setting a 2013 low key holiday trend. After a super calm New Year’s Eve, the 4th of July followed suit. We drove ~ seven hours home, stopped at Whole Foods for lunch,worked out, and then grilled out with Dustin’s parents last night.

Fresh collard greens, sweet potato rounds, grilled squash, homemade (vegan, gluten-free) corn bread, fresh corn, grilled green beans, garden tomatoes and onion. 

Good food and good company, yes, but no fireworks, no beach, no picnics… nada. I guess that’s what a seven hour car ride will do to you.

Two foodies making our way home!

But no worries, I will be making up for my lack of 4th of July plans by heading back to the beach tomorrow, so today’s post is rather short because I have a huge to-do list to tackle in order to get ready.  I just picked up some groceries that I will need and won’t be able to get down there so kitchen madness and to-list tackling are about to begin.

1. I’m prepping my mom’s delicious black bean burger recipe (I’ll share it soon!) to freeze some patties in order to be grill ready after long days on the beach.
2. I’m recreating some Core Warrior Meal Bars for Dustin since he will have some long baseball days while I am away.
3. I haven’t started packing (or finished the laundry since we just returned home yesterday).
4. I plan on squeezing in an afternoon/evening workout, especially since I will be gym-less for the next seven days (I’m sure my body will be happy for the break!),  but I’ll definitely be bringing our TRX straps and yoga mat as well as my interval timer for some beach sprints with my pups.
5. Pack up my foodie traveling essentials.
6. Whip up these homemade dog treats.
7. And wash the pups in prep for a long car ride down! (If they could tell you, they would let you know that they are more excited to return to the beach than anyone!)

I have some awesome posts in store for you from the beach, including the continuation of the July Yoga Challenge (don’t forget to send me your pictures from this past week and to check back for next weeks pose!), the idea of being quiet and listening more, foods that you should be eating everyday and more fun topics! While away I plan on doing a lot of reading, writing, podcast listening, beach walking and relaxing. My kind of week!

Anyways, what did you do for the 4th? We’re you low key like us or did you do something adventurous and exciting? I’d love to hear what your holiday looked like!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend (and that it stops raining especially at the beach!)

Good health!

The post TGIF! appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good afternoon! How’s it going!? How was your Memorial Day? Dustin and I had a great day out on the beach, talking, relaxing, and enjoying time together. Everyday is a good day with that guy – I am so blessed.

I wish I could claim that we did that!

Returning from a holiday is never fun but it’s the return that makes the next holiday so great, right?! If we could play everyday, playing wouldn’t be near as fun.

Anyway, this weeks Tip of the Week Tuesday has to do with a topic most everyone can relate to. As athletes, aging bodies or simply just a human, inflammation is a word mentioned and understood by a variety of people. Married to a former athlete, it was “inflammation” that tended to slow his progress.

“Give it a few weeks. All you need is a little rest,” or so he was constantly told. In fact it was his inflammation that actually led me down the path of nutrition. I was determined to find foods for him to eat that would help minimize this inflammation – and here I am today, talking about it again, five years later. Funny how life works.

Not only does inflammation occur in athletes, but also, in just about everyone as everyday people.  We tend to deal with it a little more as we age too – leading to potential disease, and this is where inflammation is dangerous. Although too much inflammation is certainly not good, a little bit of inflammation is necessary and actually a good thing in order to aid in the healing process during injury or infection.

Chronic inflammation (the bad inflammation), over time can wreck havoc on our health. Heart disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune disorders and even some forms of cancer have all been linked to chronic inflammation. In order to help our bodies fight off these diseases it is important that we focus on the things that we can do to decrease our risk.

So how can we help our bodies nutritionally when it comes to inflammation?

I’m so glad you asked because today’s post is part one of a two part series on eating to reduce inflammation. Today we will focus on foods that increase inflammation and how we can avoid them and later this week we will look at the foods we should include in our diet to decrease inflammation. The great thing about this weeks tip is that all humans alike can benefit from removing or limiting these foods in their diet.

Seven Foods that Trigger Inflammation (in no particular order)

1. Trans fats

Generally speaking, trans fats are man-made fats, created in a lab, that actually damage the cells that line our blood vessels. Don’t just look at a food product’s label when looking for trans fat however, check the ingredient list for the word hydrogenated (or partially-hydrogenated). If that word is listed, that means the product still contains trans fats, just a small enough amount in one serving (<0.5) to list it as zero – chances are you aren’t just eating one serving, however. Note: You might want to check your jar of peanut butter tonight when you get home, just sayin’.

2. Sugar

It’s time to rethink the term sugar – its not just the white powdery stuff that we sometimes add to our morning coffee or the ingredient grandma adds to your favorite cake. Sugar is now hidden in so many things. From the high fructose corn syrup in the can of coke to the bagel, white pasta, enriched bread or white rice served at our meals, it’s all the same when it comes to promoting inflammation. Bottom line, we have to minimize the amount of sugar in our diet – choosing whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead.

3. Additives, preservatives, chemicals

The science behind the consumption of these non-food additives is not only young but it’s also science – and as we know, science is always changing. What may be safe today could easily be deadly tomorrow. Found in processed foods, things like MSG, artificial sweeteners, and dyes can often trigger an inflammatory response. By reducing our consumption of processed foods, we will reduce the consumption of these non-food additives as well.

4. Gluten

For those with a known or unknown sensitivity (some reports actually estimate that 1 in every 20 people have an insensitivity to gluten) or allergy to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley and rye (and other cross-contanimated products), the ingestion of this protein may causes an inflammatory response. This is an individual, case-by-case response and does not cause inflammation in every person, only those sensitive or allergic to gluten (as with all other sensitivities and allergies).

5. Vegetable oils

It’s not that vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn, soy, etc. oils are terrible, they just aren’t the best. These types of oils are high in Omega-6, while oils like olive and canola are high in Omega-3. In our diets, we want a higher ratio of Omega-3 than Omega-6. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, while omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. The Standard American Diet (SAD) already seems to be very high in Omega-6, found in most processed foods and fast food, therefore it is important that we increase our consumption of Omega-3s.Get it? Got it? Good. Olive oil over other oils. Flax oil and chia oil are also good choices (when it comes to oils) as well.

6. Red meat

Red meat is high in arachidonic acid, a molecule that promotes an inflammatory response in the body. By at least choosing lean poultry and fish, we can minimize this molecule and thus minimize inflammation. Think a lean turkey burger over beef burger or even better, wild caught salmon over filet. Like we mentioned earlier, if you simply cannot resist an occasional piece of red meat, choose grass fed beef over corn fed to at least reduce your Omega 6 intake.

7. Dairy 

It seems as though the impact that dairy has on inflammation is a little bit more controversial. According to some reports, as much as 60% of the world population cannot digest milk due to the lactose found in it. Like gluten, for those with sensitivities or allergies, the ingestion of dairy can cause an inflammatory response.

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I believe that it is only through education that we can change. Until we understand why we should change, we never will. It was until I started learning the ‘whys’ and not just the ‘you shoulds’ that I was able to make changes in my diet. I hope that this list at least helps you understand a little bit more about the role our diet plays on our health and why making changes is so important. Part II of this inflammation series will be much more positive – detailing the foods we should include to fend off inflammation, so don’t worry, I’m not just taking away, I’ll be giving too!

I hope you have an awesome Tuesday night!

Good health!

The post TOTW Tuesday: Seven Foods that Trigger Inflammation – Part I appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good morning! Happy Friday from the beach! I thought I was in Destin, FL but apparently I’m not. A friend and local to the area informed me that I’m actually about thrity minutes from Destin. Oops! Where ever I am, it’s gorgeous (Grayton Beach actually)!

So far the trip has been awesome. Lots of yoga, sprints, healthy eats and much, much more. My kind of paradise!

My sister-in-law and I rode down together and thankfully have the same foodie and fitness taste! She is such a blessing to me.

On to even more delicious things, today I want to share with you a perfect weekday or weekend pancake recipe to start you weekend off right!

Growing up, in our house, we ate pancakes pretty often: mostly weekend mornings and always with blueberry syrup. When friends would come over and ask for maple syrup to go with their pancakes, we would have to dig deep back in the pantry or refrigerator to satisfy their request. Although the type of pancakes I eat now might be a little different, my love for pancakes has certainly not disappeared. Even though I don’t live with my fellow pancake loving siblings anymore, I luckily found a pancake loving husband too. When we lived in Jacksonville, since we always watched our hometown church online rather than attending a local church, Sunday morning pancakes became a pretty normal, delicious routine.

It wasn’t until I married and began cooking for Dustin that my idea of the perfect pancake changed. I used to love them incredibly sweet and covered in syrup. All jokes a side, as a teen, I would request that extra sugar was added to my pancake or waffle batter when ever ordering at restaurants. Hello 8:00 a.m. sugar rush and crash! This is proof that if you think you can’t ever eat healthy, you can! While I no longer add “extra sugar” to my pancake batter, I still want them to be slightly sweet and perfectly brown.

The only problem with pancakes it that they seem to take so long to make. A few mornings ago, however, I made them in record time. Now, pancakes are no longer reserved for weekend mornings only.

Easy Yet Delicious Blueberry Pancakes

Makes ~ 12 medium sized pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup flour (I used a rice/flax flour mixture; whole wheat would work too)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Lightly coat griddle/pan with olive oil/coconut oil and heat on medium-high.
2. Place all ingredients except banana and blueberries into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds.
3. Add banana and blueberries and continue to blend until the fruit is smooth.
4. Pour pancakes to desired size and cook. Once the pancake bubbles on one side, flip to the other side and cook until even on both sides.
5. Serve with you favorite toppings and enjoy! This morning we enjoyed them with almond butter and a small squeeze of agave. Perfectly delicious even to this former sugar lover!

Have a great day and weekend! I’m off to get ready for the beach!

Good health!

The post Easy Yet Delicious Blueberry Pancakes appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good morning! Happy Hump Day! Loving this awesome weather. Today started with a “Breakfast in A Cup” smoothie – literally everything you could imagine went in the blender and a killer leg workout with the hubby. I dislike leg workouts the most – for some reason it NEVER gets easier … might have something to do with me skipping leg day for the past two weeks. Oops! I hope next Wednesday isn’t so hard on me.

Anyways, after spending the past few days road tripping with the hub, today I am headed back to the beach to soak up some rays and celebrate a Bachelorette weekend with my girlfriends. I cannot wait to feel the sand between my toes again after what feels like forever, even if it’s only been a few months since moving away from the beach! Today’s post highlights some beach trip inspiration I found on Pinterest and wanted to share. I am a quote junkie, if you haven’t already noticed. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

So true aren’t they? Whether at the beach, at work, or at home, they all still have great meaning. These next few days I plan on enjoying a little yoga on the beach, drinking delicious green smoothies by morning and wine spritzers by afternoon/evening and lots of Bachelorette fun! I hope you have a great Wednesday too! Time to get moving and get packed! Talk to ya from the beach!

Good health!

The post Back to the Beach! appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Hi friends… sorry for my absenteeism! Life is busy but grand Just wanted to check in and let you know that yes, I am still alive, just still trying to get organized, situated, and spending time with my brother and Jodi, while they are visiting us here in Jax. Oh yeah, and we finally got the Internet today too!

Here are few photos of our fourth of July fun!

Cullen and Jodi biking through Ponte Vedra Beach.

Have a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

Good health!

The post Happy July! appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.