Hey guys! It's Pancake Dayyyyyy!!!!!!

*"But wait...aren't you a health coach?! How can you like pancakes when they are made from flour and sugar and carbs...all that stuff you guys are always telling us to avoid??"*

Let me tell you:

Pancakes held the KEY to my HEALTHY LIFESTYLE SUCCESS.

Let me explain...

When I first started my health journey, it was because my body was failing me. Doctors didn't know what was going on and I was left to my own devices to sort out my health and life.

I was DETERMINED to do as much as I could to support my body via food. It was the only thing I had power over when the medical community couldn't help me.

BUT. . .I had a problem

My diet was CRAP and needed a massive overhaul.

BUT. . .I had an even bigger problem!

I *LOOOOOVED* my unhealthy food and my biggest weakness was breakfast foods: pancakes, waffles, french toast, you name it.

So I asked myself some serious questions:

1) How do I start eating healthy and ENJOY IT?

2) How do I eat healthy but not feel deprived?

3) What the hell am I going to do about my love of PANCAKES?!?!

Luckily I found the answers and I am going to share them with you today!

Here are MY FOUR EASY SECRETS to get that healthy lifestyle overhaul you've been trying so hard to achiEve:

1) I STARTED BACKWARDS

I didn't toss everything out that was bad. I didn't even start with eating more vegetables or less crap!

I made it my first mission to try a new healthy pancake recipe...EVERY WEEKEND...until I found the most amazing, delicious AND nourishing recipe I could find. It became a household tradition to have pancakes every weekend, share them with friends and experiment with the foods I loved.

I didn't have to deprive myself of pancakes OR my health! WIN-WIN!

2) I MADE A LIST OF ALL MY FAVORITE FOODS THAT WERE ALREADY HEALTHY

While I did eat a lot of crap, I also ate healthy foods on accident...because I already liked them! So I made a list of my top favs and put them into rotation more: (ceviche, grilled shrimp, asian chicken salad, stir-fries, fajitas...you get the point)

3) I FOCUSED ON EXPLORING

Every week I bought a NEW ingredient that was healthy that I never tried, I researched delicious recipes and explored them in the kitchen. The focus was on experimentation and not on the final result. Most of the time the results were GREAT! Sometimes it was a total disaster. But it changed my kitchen from a stressful place to a place of fun and exploration!

4) I TOOK PICTURES

Food pictures ARE MY SELFIES. They show who I am. When I made something that was DELICIOUS & NOURISHING I took a picture and wrote down the recipe.

I added it to my weekly or monthly repertoire and this made it easy to find something easy to make when my brain was too tired to think.

When starting to eat healthy this is one of the big ones. We lose inspiration and forget what we can eat. Capture what was tastey and each time you make it, the prep is even faster & easier!

By applying these 4 ideas, I was able to overhaul my kitchen and my entire lifestyle!

Now I don't think of "eating healthy" as a way of life, it is just what happens when I go to cook.

And every weekend...I get to have my pancakes and eat them too!