MY FAVORITE EASY AND HEALTHY SNACKS TO STAY ON TRACK

Let’s admit it – eating healthy is hard and it takes a great deal of dedication and planning- but as with many things in life it is not impossible! With a little bit of creativity and planning we can set ourselves up for success. Over the last few years my diet has drastically improved – I think back to my high school days and just really wonder how I survived those years! My diet consisted of chips, pizza, ramen noodles and soda – it was not cute, it was not healthy and it was definitely not smart to eat that way but at the time I was truly not aware of the harm I was putting my body through. I really wish the school system did a better job at educating students on proper nutrition but that’s a topic for another day!

I began to educate myself on nutrition in college and slowly began to incorporate healthy foods into my diet and also began to exercise a couple of times a week. Over the years I have come to realize that while I can prepare healthy meals that I really enjoy my downfall is snacking. When I get hungry and do not have time to cook a healthy meal I tend to reach for an unhealthy snack. Which is usually (fun fact alert!) something chocolatey – I am a total sucker for anything chocolate!

In order to resist the ever present chocolate temptation I try to make sure I do not feel hunger in between meals so here is my list of my favorite easy and healthy go to snacks. Also, in addition to eating a healthy balanced diet I cannot stress enough how important it is to drink water throughout the day – I wrote a post on this topic – The Do’s and Dont’s of Keeping Your Body Hydrated – check it out for my top pieces on advice on that topic!

Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds

This snack probably takes the most time – no more than 2-3 minutes - to whip up and it is incredibly easy. All I do is grab a handful of pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas) and a handful of sunflower seeds and throw them onto a pan set on medium-high heat for a few minutes and mixing the seeds around to roast them on all sides. Important note: they both need to be in their raw form no added sugar and not pre-roasted.  Now, if you want to add some sea salt you can (I usually do) but you do not have to – this snack is super delicious even without the salt.

Clementines

Clementines are my favorite type of citrusy fruit I find them to have the perfect amount of natural sweetness and a great bite-sized snack. These little fruits are packed with great sources of minerals and nutrients like calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. All the elements that make up this fruit are great for the immune system, your skin and your digestion.

Coconut Chips

I came across some coconut chips in the checkout line at TJMaxx last year and decided to give them a try on a whim and boy I’m glad I did, they have the perfect crunch and what is even better is that the only ingredient in these is coconut, that’s it. The specific brand I have purchased these coconut chips in is www.thenutbox.com in case you are interested in checking them out.

Raw Cashews

Being allergic to many fruits and nuts I am limited to the type of nuts I can intake and cashews if one of them. What I cannot have (in their raw form) are almonds, pecans, pistachios or walnuts as long as these are roasted I can have them but I always proceed with caution. I really love to have raw cashews on hand all the time as I like to eat them by the handful and are always very filling. Also, cashews are a great source of copper, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium and zinc.

Coconut Vanilla Macaroons

These have been yet another TJMaxx checkout line find! Again they looked very good and I bought them on a whim these macaroons are vegan, raw and gluten free in addition to being made in small batches (I love anything and everything that is made in small batches!). Of course my all-time favorite macaroons are chocolate macaroons but these vanilla coconut ones definitely give those a run for their money. If you are interested in these coconut vanilla macaroons you can check them out at www.emmysorganics.com.

Cucumber Slices with lime

I have been eating this snack since I’ve had any recollection of memory. My mom used to make this for my sister and I as children and it has become a huge staple in my diet. All you need to do here is slice up as much or as little cucumber as you‘d like (I usually go for a regular sized cucumber) I then add lime juice from an entire lime and then add some salt (optional). AHHH my mouth is watering from just writing that! I know that not everyone likes sour foods but if you are like me and you do this snack is a must try!

What are your favorite easy and go to snacks to keep your food intake on track? Share below!

4 MONEY LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED AFTER COLLEGE

I graduated college in 2010 and landed my first full time job about two months after graduation. Even at an entry level salary I thought I had “made it” but that ideology only lasted about a year until I realized that I needed to do more in the personal finance department. With that said, I still found a way to dig my student debt hole a little deeper when the little nerd that lives inside me decided she wanted to go back to school to earn a Master’s degree. So fast forward to about three and a half years after getting my Bachelor’s degree I also had a Master’s degree and a job where I had been promoted twice and my salary had almost doubled.  Yet, I still felt that my personal finance world was in need of some help.

Here was my situation: I had student loan debt that equaled my annual salary, I had a car loan that was about a third of my annual salary and I did not (and still don’t) have any credit card debt. I was fortunate enough to have parents that allowed me to move back home after college in order to focus on paying down my student loan debt. Also, here is an interesting fact, my monthly student loan payments equaled my parent’s monthly mortgage payments. YES, you read that correctly! Anyhow, I wish I knew some of the things I know now when I was a recent graduate.

Save, save, save

I wish I had gotten into the habit to save a percentage of each and every paycheck into a separate savings account. I now save 20% of each paycheck and I cannot tell you the difference that has made in terms of building a healthy emergency fund. Also, I recommend keeping this savings account in a bank separate from the one you use on a day to day basis.

Retirement savings

I did not contribute to my 401k for the first nine months of my first full time job and whenever I think back to that I kick myself! I know you have heard this advice over and over but it contributing to your 401k (or other retirement plan) is extremely important and the sooner you begin your contributions the better. And if your company has a matching program please, please take advantage of it.

Shop smarter

As a rookie full time employee with an entry level salary that seemed like a whole lot of money I definitely overspent on shopping for clothes, shoes, handbags and so on. I recently went through a closet detox where I felt like I was literally throwing cash money into trash bags! Side note: the clothes were donated. Now I think of quality over quantity and not only that but I also only buy clothing if there is either a promotion going on or if it is on sale. I worked at Banana Republic for 5 years so I know it is not worth it to pay full price for clothing.

Use credit cards wisely

I have one credit card, that’s it and I use it on a regular basis but I do not, I repeat, do not carry a balance on it. At one point a few years ago I had a balance of $600 and you all may laugh at me but I could hardly sleep at night knowing that I had an outstanding balance – I paid those 600 bucks as soon as I could and vowed to myself to not carry any credit card debt anymore. I believe the point of a credit card is to help you build your credit and not to use it to buy items with money you do not have. While it is tempting buy new and shiny items, it is not worth it.

What have you learned about money after college? What are some things you know now that you wish you knew then?

Gift Guide For The Book Lovers

Buying gifts is easy but buying meaningful gifts can be pretty hard and with the holidays right around the corner you may be brainstorming gift ideas for your loved ones. I am a big believer in giving meaningful gifts – like a gift that keeps on giving (I know, cheesy!) but books are great for that and luckily there are so many incredibly great books out there for all sorts of needs, wants and tastes. Today, I’ll be sharing books that have read over the last few years that have really made an impact on me and that I highly recommend to my friends and family.

The Body Book by Cameron Diaz

This book is great for the person who is looking to live a healthier lifestyle and not necessarily in the form of nutrition (even though that is a huge factor) but it inspires you to love your body and treat it well. This book is filled with important and useful information that you can use to become a healthier person – mind, body and soul.

The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel

Part of living a healthy lifestyle is not just how many times you work out or what you eat but also about fully understanding the ingredients in what you eat AND in the products we use on our bodies (makeup, lotions, shampoo, nail polish, etc.). This book is for the person who will find an interest in learning about the harmful chemicals that are added to products we use in our everyday lives. This is a book I always keep handy and use a reference guide pretty often when contemplating a product purchase.

The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

This is an interesting and fun read (I read it while on vacation to Costa Rica a year ago) so it is a bit nostalgic for me! This book really takes you into a world of journeys and quests and inspires you to take risks and be curious about what else is out there for you. This is a great book for someone who is searching to find more meaning to their life, this books provides a good foundational guide that anyone can use to begin taking steps towards the life they envision for themselves.

The Best Advice I Ever Got by Katie Kouric

This book is a collection of essays written by celebrities, politicians, authors, etc. and it is a fun and encouraging read. I like that this book keeps it relatively light and it is a great book to read whenever you are need of some uplifting positivity. This may be a great book for someone who is beginning to read books on empowerment and positivity.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This book was given to me by an employer after a team training while I was still in college. Maybe since it was the first book of its kind I had ever read – it made such a big impact on me. While it was definitely a sad book it makes you realize how important it is to live a life that provides a positive impact for yourself and those around you. This book is full of inspiration, a lot of great advice and would make a great gift for almost anyone on your list.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

And last but not least, I could not do a book round up without including Big Magic. This is my most recent read (I actually have about 15 pages left) and I cannot tell you how glad I am to have picked this book up. Big Magic encourages you to embrace those magical moments in your life – some of them are very obvious but others can be easily glossed over, it also encourages you to embrace whatever you are passionate about and to make sure you incorporate whatever makes you happy into your everyday life. This is a must read for anyone (or everyone) on your list.

Do you have book recommendations? Any good books you have read recently that were a gift? Share below!

About Linen and Why It Is Our Fabric Of Choice

There are many different fabric types out there some natural, some synthetic and some a blend of different fabrics. If you do not really know what the differences between natural and synthetic fabrics are we suggest you check out a couple of previous posts - Natural vs. Synthetic Fabrics and A Simple Guide to Natural and Synthetic Fabrics. Fabrics in all of their different forms may not see like they are but they are a big deal – as I mentioned before in a past post - the textile industry is the second largest in the world (after the oil industry)! I mean think about that for a sec, it is bigger than consumer goods, bigger than the health care industry and even bigger than the telecommunications industry. Who would have thought?!

Because there are so many different types of fabrics I will be doing a series of posts where I will share tips and facts about the different types of the most commonly used fabrics in our homes and in our closets. A few weeks ago I started this series with cotton and shared a post on Buying High Quality Fabric and 3 Easy Tips to Care for Cotton – go check it out!

Linen Facts

  • Linen is incredibly old - over 8,000 years old. Yes, you read that right – it is believed that linen is likely the oldest natural fabric.
  • The ancient Egyptians used very high quality linen, so high quality that even to this day it has not been able to be replicated.
  • The production of linen requires 25% less water than cotton.
  • Linen is biodegradable and recyclable.
  • The more you wash linen the softer and nicer it becomes.
  • US dollars are made up of 25% linen! The other 75% is cotton.

How to Care for Linen

If linen is properly cared for it can last a lifetime, it is such a durable fabric and it only gets better with time. However, caring for linen can be a little tricky. Here I’ll share a few things I’ve learned along the way around how to treat linen. These are tips that are very much applicable to linen, however, it is always a good idea to read the care instruction label for all of your garments.

Washing Linen | Linen can be either dry cleaned or hand washed. I definitely prefer the latter, however, I do not have the patience to hand wash so what I do is that I put my linen fabrics in the delicate cycle in the washer machine and so far have never had any issues with that method.

Drying | I always recommend to air dry linen. If you must put it in the dryer put it on “fluff air” or “low heat”. Those are the settings on my washing machine but you get the drift.

Ironing | If you have ever tried to iron linen you know that it is tiresome! One thing I have found incredibly useful is to iron linen while it is still damp. This will cut down the amount of time you need to spend ironing and still get great results.

Why We Chose Linen

After hours upon hours doing extensive research on the different types of fabrics we could have used for Ninel Studio products and after my many pros and cons lists everything seemed to point to linen as the best all-around choice. Even though everything pointed to linen as the best choice I was still hesitant to go with it at first. My one hesitation with Linen was the price when compared to cotton and cotton blends – but again - after all of the research we had done I really gained a good understanding of the laborious process it is to go from the flax seed to the final state of linen. Understanding and appreciating that concept allowed me to come to terms with the higher price point. Another very important aspect of my research was resistance certain fabrics had to dyes.  I had to keep in mind that I was not just going to use the textiles as they were to create the pillows I was going to hand dye the fabric in very small batches and then use the dyed fabrics to create the pillows. I tested dyes on cotton, cotton-polyester blends, cotton-linen blend and 100% linen and pure linen was by far the best to work with. 

The Launch!

I am really happy to report that after almost 2 years in the making I am only a week away from finally launching the first Ninel Studio collection – The Salisbury! Stay tuned for more info coming soon!

What has your experience with linen been? Ever had a mishap? I have!