Blog

He & She Eat Clean | Healthy Recipes & Workout Plans

Silk

#ProgressIsPerfection [3 Simple Ideas to Reach Your Goals]

Whitney CarlsonComment

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

You guys. We use Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk for ALL. THE. THINGS. You've seen it in our grocery store pictures and in our food prep pictures. From protein bars and shakes to oat bakes and casseroles, we use it on the daily. We used to buy it at our local grocery store but we did the happy dance when our Costco started carrying it in packs of three!

We've worked with Silk in the past and we are so excited to introduce you to their new campaign: #ProgressIsPerfection. Could the name be more perfect? I don't think so! You know we are all about NOT being perfect. We don't spend hours a day in the gym or running, and we don't eat within strict guidelines or completely eliminate certain food groups from our diet. Yes, living a healthy lifestyle is important but so is having a healthy relationship with food and living your life!

Speaking of #ProgressIsPerfection....believe it or not, we are halfway through March. Where does the time go? This is the perfect time to reflect on the goals that we set at the beginning of the month and even the ones we set at the beginning of the year. Since we started the Detox Your Life Challenge in January, where we focus on a different topic each month, it was easy for us to look back at the progress we've made on our goals.

  • January (Detox Your Fitness): hit those goals (and yes, we've even been doing yoga once a week!)
  • February (Detox Your Money): we hit most of those goals
  • March (Detox Your Nutrition): so far so good!

Over the years we've learned to celebrate the little successes and not dwell on the things that we didn't accomplish. Easier said than done, I know!

If you are still struggling with your goals, try to approach them with a progress mindset instead of always seeking perfection. Below are a few of our tips that are quick and easy and will keep you on the right path.

3 Simple Ideas to Reach Your Goals

1. Short Workouts

If you are pressed for time, your workouts don't have to be time consuming. Try this Short but Sweet Sweat Session during the day. It's only 4 minutes of work so you could do it every hour, during your lunch, or during your workout as an active rest. Also, taking on one of our monthly fitness challenges will give you a roadmap for the month and a sense of accomplishment each day! Just keep moving!


2. Easy Swaps

Swap out the sugar and creamer in your coffee and try Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk. Not ready to completely ditch the creamer? That's okay too. Swap what you normally use for Silk's Almond Creamer. If you are a cereal lover and not ready to give that up yet, look for a cereal that is low in sugar with no artificial ingredients and use Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk.

3. Easy Meals

Preparing food in advance is definitely how we have been able to maintain a healthy lifestyle for so long. Whether you do an entire food prep like we do or just make your breakfast in advance, it all adds up! When you have healthy food on hand it's much easier to stick to your goals.

One of our favorite easy recipes is chocolate avocado pudding. You could have this pudding for breakfast (add a little protein in the form of eggs, protein shake, etc.), a snack, or even dessert after dinner.

Easy Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • Combine all ingredients in a blender.
  • Place in a mason jar to eat the next day or consume straight from the blender!

Tips:

  • This could be two servings, depending on the size of your avocado.
  • Add liquid egg whites or protein powder to add a serving of protein to your pudding. If you do add protein powder you will likely need more almond milk.

Reflect back on the last few months. What goals have you accomplished? Always keep in mind that small steps really add up and that progress is what we should aim for. You can do it!


Connect with Silk:

Sweet Potato Wedges + Chipotle Ranch Dip/Dressing

Whitney CarlsonComment

Scott and I have been talking about going "meatless" at least one night a week for awhile now but never really went through with it. However, it came up again during our hiking trip and we decided that it is definitely something we want to try and start this fall. It will make us try new dishes and experiment with more ingredients and flavors. The main things we talked about were dishes made with black beans and quinoa. We love ordering these dishes at restaurants but for some reason just never make them at home!

We obviously aren't vegetarian or vegan but sometimes we just get tired of eating meat. When most people think of protein they think of meat! We need to re-train ourselves to think of black beans, quinoa, chia, spinach, chickpeas, broccoli, etc. Plant based foods are capable of providing sustainable nourishment during our outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, running, skiing and more. Plant based foods are generally more convenient than animal based foods and provide a variety of macro and micronutrients to help fuel these activities. Realistically, you can't take a piece of raw meat in your backpack and grill it up at a campsite, but you can easily cook oats or feast on nuts and berries without the worry of spoilage or contamination.

When Silk reached out to us to take the #MeatlessMondayNight challenge we knew it was a sign! For this challenge we decided to make a side dish that would be good to take to a football party or just enjoy at home! I had a major craving for sweet potato fries so we made Sweet Potato Wedges (the really thick "fries"!) and a Chipotle Ranch Dip/Dressing to go along with them! It turned out so good and was perfect as a football snack!

Sweet Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Sweet Potatoes, washed and cut into thick wedges ("fries")
  • 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
  • sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash and cut sweet potatoes into thick wedges
  3. Place on cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and pour melted coconut oil over sweet potatoes. Season with sea salt and pepper.
  4. Cook for 20 minutes. "Flip" (turn over or shuffle) the sweet potatoes and cook for 20 more minutes.

Chipotle Ranch Dip/Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp Parsley
  • 1 Tbsp Dill
  • 1 Tbsp Basil
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Chipotle Pepper Spice
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • pinch of Black Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 large Avocado
  • 1-2 - 1 cup Silk Cashewmilk

Directions:

  1. Peel and slice avocado, add to blender (we used a Vitamix).
  2. Add all other ingredients except for Silk Cashewmilk to blender.
  3. Slowly add Silk Cashewmilk to blender, starting with 1/2 cup. Add up to 1 cup, depending on your desired thickness.

We had a great time creating and eating this meatless dish! I challenge you to a #MeatlessMondayNight this football season! Let us know what you create! Visit www.silk.com/sidelinemeat for more recipes!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.