Teach your kids about health!

Our kids are the next generation. They are what will move forward with or without us and they will be the ones that keep What we teach them today, to perform what they know tomorrow. 

Take pride in what you're teaching your kids. And if not your kids, the younger generation before you. 

Kids are amazing, and they are smart!

Give them the tools they require to grow and eventually teach others. 

Our family is 100% vegan and we take great pride in that. We have always taught to our two young girls the scientific approach on why we don't eat meat and dairy. Yes, we love the idea of saving an animals life (it's a bonus to our lifestyle) but we also love the idea of conserving our own lives by not contributing to the everyday wear and tear of food battle nutrition. We know the facts of the plant based lifestyle and therefore we refuse to lower our standards (and our health) to the typical American Diet. 

Teach your kids to live happy, healthy and cruelty free!!

Here's Tristyn (our beautiful six year old) eating home grown alfalfa sprouts:

Tristyn knows health!! At the age of six, she KNOWS how great plants are to our health! It's amazing and it's extremely humbling. 

Lead by example, love yourself and teach others the power of plant based foods!

Cheers!

Malynda "She Fit Vegan"

Loving Leftovers!

I haven't found one sour thought regarding leftovers... Have you?? The food has already been prepared, cooked (or uncooked), and put into portion sized containers! All you have to do now is heat and/or eat!! I love leftovers! 

A couple nights ago, I made this rock'n plant-strong meal for the fam:

Lentils, aduki beans, mushrooms, kale, onion, tomato, jalapeño, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts! 

This bowl was amazing and set me up for an amazing workout where I had a great amount of energy and protein! 

As for leftovers, I took what I had saved from this meal and added it to this meal:

Quinoa chia veggie burgers, tomato, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, sun dried tomatoes, lettuce, lentils, black beans and alfalfa sprouts! Ummmm yeah!!! 

Make a little more when preparing your meals and save that extra bit for the next days leftover meal! It saves you time and energy and sets you up for another great meal!

Cheers!

Malynda "She Fit Vegan"

Tonight's Vegan Dinner

The kitchen tonight was filled with laughter, smiles, kisses... And yes, both Ryan and I! Together we grabbed fresh veggies from the fridge without questioning each others choices and went to town.

Dinner:

Organic Red Lentils

Organic Aduki Beans

Organic Broccoli

Organic Onion

Organic Fresh Raw Garlic

Fresh Raw Jalapeño 

Organic Home Grown Alfalfa Sprouts

Talk about an uplifting meal! Loaded with energy, protein, fiber, and TONS of love!! 

After dinner Ryan cleaned up the kitchen (I know! What a man!! I love him!) and while giving our bodies time to digest our fantastic dinner, we played with the girls coloring and drawing our favorite animals! 

Tonight's workout:

30 minute elliptical 

BOSU training

* abs

* lats

* lower abs (with added weights)

* donkey kicks

* leg lifts

Lite workout tonight, but hey! A little bit is better than nothing ;) 

As far as my back goes, today I had a deep tissue massage and a chiropractor adjustment. I'm feeling great! Oh! Lets not forget the foot bath... Kinda gross!! 

Cheers to a fantastic Friday!!

Malynda "She Fit Vegan"

Our very first backpacking adventure! - prepping!

Ryan and I have decided to backpack into the Grand Canyon this October 2013. We thought about hiking it originally but as we started to learn more about the backpacking experience, we fell in love with it and wanted most definitely to backpack rather than hike! 

Here's why:

* Ryan and I LOVE to be challenged! 

* we're so into camping and being outdoors, therefore, we are really excited about carrying all of our camping gear down into the canyon with us to set up camp for a few nights and continue hiking and exploring the falls.

* why hike when you can backpack?! :)

* all in all, it's US!

So!! We've committed ourselves to this new adventure! I wake up thinking about REI (the outdoors store) and go to bed thinking about REI! Hahaha... It has consumed me, no doubt! 

We're buying our gear as we learn and go... So far this is what we have...

A light weight tent from REI, a footprint, two collapsible bowls and two sets of folding utensils.

The tent:

REI brand Quarter Dome T2 Plus Ultralight 3-Season Tent-Extended Size. 

We set this tent up in the house after we got it and it was fairly easy to put together! (Reading the instructions helped) ;) 

Ryan and I can fit comfortably in the tent together with room at our feet for our bags. The tent weighs right around 4 pounds and cost us right around $250 (with the 25% off coupon) score!

The bowls and utensils:

These are pretty neat because they're so compact and light weight! Expensive at $15 per bowl and $12 per utensil set... But hey! Weight and size matters when backpacking! 

Training:

Ryan and I have started our training by improving our leg strength via squats (this in which I can't do due to hurting my lower lumbar spine a few months ago, but am slowly adding them into my regimen). We're working our core more than we were with our previous training and lifting weights to add upper body muscle and strength. My goal is to get consistently back into bikram yoga and together, we'll start utilizing the bleachers for some "up hill" and "down hill" training. Small hikes with our 30 pound backpacks will come into play as well (as soon as we get them). I've been working on my cardio daily to strengthen my respiratory system. 

Daily fuel:

Ryan and I eat a clean whole foods plant-based diet. Complete with fresh vegetables, beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa, and organic sprouted tofu. Ryan prefers the heavier meals and I prefer the large leafy salads! 

We're taking this one day at a time! We both have so much to learn and gain from this experience and yet we are so eager to share this fun filled journey with anyone who is interested in reading our blog :)

We love feedback so please share your thoughts and personal experiences with us regarding backpacking! 

Cheers!

Malynda "She Fit Vegan"