Healthy Living and Clean Eating for the New Year

Let me apologize and say that I'm sorry there's no pictures to entertain you visually, there's no power in the great land of lower Michigan so my post comes to you from my lovely IPhone! I was given the opportunity to post on Codi's blog, The Art of Balance (http://www.artofbalanceblog.com). She is a fellow Michigander, and in the little time I got to work with her I have learned she is a very positive and enlightened person! Catch the First three tips at her Blog, but here are my three remaining tips to help you prepare for a new year, and new you with healthy living and clean eating! 

4. 4)  CHEATING: It is okay to cheat. No I’m not talking about going out to the club and grinding on that guy with the hot accent and praying your boyfriend doesn’t find out. I’m talking about no more than once a week you can have a little cheat day. Don’t go all out and order a large pizza with the works or eat a whole pie by yourself, but if there is something you used to love but it isn’t considered clean eating you can work that in every so often. It’s not going to ruin all your progress and it will keep you from dropping the lifestyle all together. 
   5)  FIND A WORKOUT THAT WORKS FOR YOU: Any workout is better than no workout. You have to figure out what is right for you and there are a variety of options these days. Gym membership, Jillian Micheals workout DVDs, Yoga class, your boyfriends XBOX Kinect, buy an elliptical off craigslist, Pinterest workouts. They all will work toward the greater good, find what works for you. I do 20 mins of cardio on my elliptical and change it up with Jillian Micheals or XBOX about 4 times a week. 
   6)  PINTEREST: Pinterest is the God of clean eating. Okay not really, but the recipes you can find to cut the preservatives out of your diet are amazing. I make homemade crescent roll dough for snacks like apple pie roll ups (sliced apple, cinnamon, wrapped up and baked). I also make homemade taco seasoning (because store bought is FULL of sodium). Use pinterest to your advantage, you can still eat clean and have it taste good! You just need to cut out that middleman that adds things just to save a buck on producing it.
   

I hope these tips help you get started on the road to a healthier YOU.  Honestly, clean eating feeds your soul more than anything else, because you feel better overall knowing that you are doing this not only for you, but your family as well. 

I want to personally thank Codi again on the behalf of Dear Marleigh for the opportunity to do this guest post. I have a very creative soul and want to spread whatever small amount of knowledge that may be beneficial to others, so I hope you keep returning (;

Merry Christmas!