by Christina | Aug 25, 2016 | Wellness
Recently I have gotten quite a few questions on both the blog and the podcast about how I find the time to cook, what I like to make, what my routine is like, and so on. I have a ton of tips and tricks about cooking efficiently and effectively, so I’m going to break things up into different parts and hit each one separately. I started off with some kitchen accessories I’m obsessed with, and now I’m going to talk about my actual cooking routine.
Yes, I have a cooking routine! I do pretty much the same thing every week. My cooking routine is very basic and simple. I don’t have the time or energy to be cooking fancy meals all day every day. Sometimes I put more effort into cooking, obviously, but that’s not the norm. I’m in college. I work. I have other shit to do. I’m all about efficiency, and of course deliciousness. I also prefer to eat as many meals as I can at home because A) it’s cheaper and B) I like to know exactly what’s going in/on my food. If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, knowing exactly what you’re putting into your mouth is key. It’s also especially important if you have a lot of food intolerances like me.
This is my version of “meal prep.” I don’t do traditional meal prep. By traditional meal prep, I mean cooking everything on Sunday and portioning it out into tupperware so that my exact meals are planned out and ready to go for the entire week. I don’t have time to do that on Sundays, and I also like to be able to eat whatever food combinations I’m in the mood for as the week goes on. My version of meal prep is much more lax than “traditional” meal prep.
When I post recipes to the blog, they’re not normally the meals I eat on a regular basis. My daily meals are basically all a variation of one meal. They’re nothing fancy. When I have the time, of course I like to make something a bit more complicated or something that requires more ingredients. But during an average week I don’t have time for that. The pics in this post are samples of some of the food I cooked and meals I ate from last week so you can get an idea of what it looks like.
In my opinion, the key is to buy and cook in bulk. I go to the grocery store once a week to buy everything I need – lots of vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, nuts, oils, etc. I usually grocery shop on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday – just whenever I run out of food.
After the fridge is stocked, I do one of two routines, depending on my schedule for the week.
My first routine is what I do when I have most nights of the week free, so it’s what I stick with most often during summer. For cooking routine #1, I spend the first 2 days of the week cooking almost everything I bought, and then the rest of the week I just reheat the food I already made.
For each meal of day 1, I pick whatever food I want to eat for that meal and I cook ALL OF IT. At the next meal, I pick foods I haven’t cooked yet and I cook all of those. After about 2 days of meals, everything has been cooked, and the leftovers are in foil or tupperware for the rest of the week. During the rest of the week, I just mix and match the foods I’ve cooked and heat them up in the microwave. Everyone has time to throw food on a plate and put it in the microwave for a few minutes. BAM. Done.
For example, one night I made cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, asparagus, and ground bison. The next night I made brussel sprouts, cauliflower, salmon, and spaghetti squash. For another meal, I made asparagus, eggplant, cauliflower, and salmon. And for another, I made broccoli, zucchini, and ground turkey.
Throughout the week, I chose different combinations (or sometimes the same combination) of the foods I already cooked to build my meals. If you’re someone who always wants a lot of variety, then you might not like this. Buuuut if you’re like me and don’t really care if many of your meals are similar, then this is definitely the most efficient way to do things.
This is usually what my fridge looks like after the second day of the week! I’ve cooked mostly everything, and it’s all in tupperware and foil, ready to be reheated.
My second routine happens when I have less time at the beginning of the week. The day after buying all of my food, I do the same thing I do in routine 1. Instead of continuing this on day 2, I’ll reheat the food I made on day 1 to eat on day 2. So basically I eat the same meals the first 2-3 days of the week. Then when I run out of the food I made on day 1, which is usually about halfway through the week, I do the same thing again to finish off my week. So for routine #2, there are two smaller rounds of “big cooking” during the week vs. the one large round of “big cooking” in routine #1.
These are the foods I ate during this particular week, but you can use this kind of routine for whatever foods YOU enjoy! If you don’t like salmon, don’t make it. If you don’t like brussel sprouts or broccoli, make something else. You get the idea. The important thing is cooking in bulk.
Okay, now what about the actual cooking? Everyone who says cooking is too time consuming is WRONG. You don’t have to do anything fancy. My favorite way to cook food is to roast it in the oven. Not only do roasted veggies taste AMAZING, but roasting food in the oven is very efficient. Just toss your food with some oil, salt, pepper, and/or any other seasonings you like, put it on a baking sheet lined with foil, and pop it in the oven. It takes less than five minutes to get everything in the oven, and then you can leave and do something else while everything cooks. Just set a timer to make sure nothing lights on fire! Cooking your food on foil also saves cleanup time. Whatever food is leftover is already in foil! You can literally just curl up the edges and close the foil, and the baking sheet won’t be dirty.
If I have room in the oven, I’ll put my fish, turkey, meat, etc. in there too. However, I normally cook my proteins on the stove because my oven is usually filled with vegetables, and cooking on the stove is also pretty fast. It takes less than 10 minutes, and you definitely don’t have to stare at your food while it cooks. Put it on the stove, check back in a few minutes, stir it around or flip it over, leave it for a few more minutes, and then come back. It’ll be done before you know it.
I also looove to use my Crock-Pot to cook in bulk. I’ll use it to make a ton of soup in the winter, and in the summer I use it to cook a ton of protein and veggies. You can toss a bunch of chicken inside with some oil, salt, and pepper, come back in a few hours, and you’ve got enough protein to last you a week. I do this with chicken, turkey, salmon, bison, etc. The same thing applies to veggies – chop ’em up, throw them in the Crock-Pot with the seasonings of your choice, and come back in a few hours. All you have to do is put the leftovers in tupperware and you’re all set for the week! If you make too much, you can always freeze any leftovers so that you always have something in the freezer to thaw and heat up. This week I cooked two spaghetti squashes in my Crock-Pot, which was more than enough to last me a week. I swear, the Crock-Pot is the ideal cooking method for the lazy college student.
For salads, I cut everything up at the beginning of the week and put it into plastic bags so I can just grab the food and toss it into my bowl when I need it. For example, last week I bought celery, cucumbers, and purple cabbage, so on Monday I cut everything up and then put it into plastic bags. For the rest of the week, all I had to do was grab the pre-cut veggies out of the bags and throw it in my salad. I usually put veggies that I roasted the night before along with whatever protein source I previously made into a bowl, heat it up in the microwave, toss in my lettuce, dressing, and non-cooked veggies, and mix it all together to make my salads throughout the week.
Again, the key is BULK. I will never understand why some people only cook enough for one meal at a time. If you’re already going to cook, you might as well cook A LOT OF IT. If you’re worried about your food going bad, you can always cook it and freeze it. I do that all the time, especially with big batches of fish or chicken. That way I always have something ready to eat if I’m in a pinch. You can also freeze smoothies! When I make smoothie bowls, a lot of times I’ll double or triple the portions and then freeze the leftovers so I have a smoothie ready for another day. Freezing smoothies also makes them a lot thicker when you’re ready to eat them, and I looooove a thick smoothie!
And that’s my cooking routine! As you can see, it’s pretty simple. And it’s not time consuming at all. I throw a shit ton of food in the oven at the beginning of the week so that I have enough food to last me the whole week. Then I mix and match things to create my meals. I’m basically the queen of leftovers. No, my meals are not fancy shmancy or complicated. They’re fast and easy, but they’re also very delicious and very healthy.
If this helps one person out, I’ll be happy. I had no idea how to cook when I first moved into my apartment, but once I got into a routine, I realized how easy it really is. Do you have any tips for being efficient in the kitchen? Do tell!
by Christina | Aug 21, 2016 | Wellness
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I went to New York for the first time in my life last summer and had an amazing time. You’ll also know that I basically planned my entire trip around food. Since returning back to L.A., OF COURSE I’ve found out about a million more restaurants in NYC that I’m desperate to try, and I’m dying to go back to knock ’em off my list. One of those restaurants? by CHLOE.
Not going to lie, I spend way too much time stalking photos of food from by CHLOE. in New York. (Let’s be real, I spend way too much time stalking food photos in general.) Imagine my excitement when I found out they were going to open a by CHLOE. right here in Los Angeles! I died.
If you’ve never heard of by CHLOE., it kinda reminds me of a diner for healthy people. Like a health freak’s burger shack, if that makes sense. Fast food for a health nut. You get the idea? The food is all vegan, plant-based, and kosher, and most of it is gluten-free. So we’re talkin’ plant-based burgers with GF buns and air-baked fries with “ketchup” that’s actually healthy. According to their website, “Our menu is free of meat, dairy and egg products and contains no saturated animal fats, cholesterol, artificial flavors, and/or preservatives.” HELL YES. If you have dietary restrictions, you’ll definitely appreciate this place. Do you know how hard it is to find gluten-free, dairy-free burgers and fries that are actually delish?
Pic of the NY location from mah girl Julia Dasen!
I finally got the chance to visit the L.A. location last weekend, and it did NOT disappoint. It’s in Silver Lake, so a bit out of the way for me, but so worth it. It’s also attached to a grocery store, 365 by Whole Foods (which is amazing, BTW). Kind of strange, but doesn’t really matter.
The restaurant is pretty small inside, but the decor is adorable. I was obsessed with the succulents everywhere and the cozy spinning chairs in the front. Most of the tables are for two people, but we snagged a larger table in the middle of the restaurant so there was plenty of room.
The selection of baked goods is fabulous. The gluten-free baked goods include chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. The non-GF baked goods included old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon espresso cookies, raspberry tiramisu cupcakes, lemon poppy seed muffins, matcha blueberry muffins, chocolate cupcakes, and more. They also had some super cute coconuts that said by CHLOE. on them.
The whole menu looked amazing, but I had my eye on the Kale Caesar. I’m obsessed with caesar salad. If there’s ever a gluten-free, dairy-free caesar salad on a menu, I’m getting it. All of the salads at by CHLOE. can be made gluten-free, so YAY. Two of my friends got the Quinoa Taco salad, and both said it was utterly delicious. My Kale Caesar was BEYOND AMAZING. It was very different from any other GF/DF caesar I’ve ever had. The dressing was super thick and creamy, and it had a little kick to it. I usually hate anything spicy, but I was really into this. It was sassy. Also, the shitaake bacon was to die for and the almond parm was epic. The whole thing was just a really fabulous mixture of textures and flavors. I would definitely get it again. Actually, I’m kind of really craving another one right now.
Two of my friends got the guac burger, and both were obsessed. Julia got the air-baked french fries, too, with some good ole’ beet ketchup. I tasted the beet ketchup and was thoroughly impressed. I asked for Julia’s opinion on the french fries because I didn’t try them, and she said that both the regular and sweet potato fries are perfection. (Update — later tried the fries… They’re incredible.)
I got the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie because Julia had been hyping it up for weeks. I expected it to be really good, but I did not expect it to be this good. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. If you saw my reaction on Snapchat, you know what I mean. No words. I’m not one to obsess over a cookie, but this was by far the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten in my entire life. It practically melted in my mouth, and it was the perfect texture and sweetness. Not too hard, not too soft. It tasted like warm brown sugar smothered with gooey chocolate chips. I was in heaven.
My other friend got the cinnamon espresso cookie, which was HUGE. It was bigger than her face. It was also SUPER thin. Like a sheet of paper. I couldn’t try it because GLUTEN, but she told us it reminded her of a lace cookie and that it was NOM.
The outing was very successful, and I’m dying to go back and try some more things. All of the burgers look amazing, and I especially have my eye on the Pesto Meatball Sandwich. Their brunch menu also seems extremely promising. The smoothie bowl looks bomb. Julia tried the Purple Rain smoothie in New York and told us it was super yummy, and the Green Day smoothie also looks fab. I also reallllllly want to try the kale artichoke dip next time. by CHLOE. also sells really cute dog treats and classy baseball caps if you want some swag. I don’t have a dog, so…
Updates!
Since the trip described above, I’ve been back to by Chloe. quite a few times, so I wanted to update you on what you need to get! First of all, no matter how many times I get that GF chocolate chip cookie, I’m stunned. It is hands-down the best cookie I’ve ever tasted.
They also have a yummy gluten-free, dairy-free hot chocolate! The marshmallows are vegan and GF, and the hot chocolate uses almond milk as a base. The twist, though, is that they add PEANUT BUTTER to their hot chocolate. Very creative! It’s very rich, but if you’re a chocolate lover, you’ll really enjoy it.
The wonderful employees at by Chloe. let us sample the cupcakes, so I had my friends taste the gluten-containing cupcakes for me. They were split on which cupcake was the best, but they all agreed that all of them were outta this world. That chocolate cupcake is as close to a healthy Hostess cupcake as you’re gonna get! One of my roommates was obsessed with that one, and the other was obsessed with the raspberry tiramisu. Clearly, you’ll be happy either way.
I went for the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, which is their only GF cupcake. To be honest I don’t usually like cupcakes, but I love this one! The frosting doesn’t taste artificial, and the cupcake isn’t too sweet. It’s thick and dense, like true cake, and it’s not sickening like most commercial cupcakes. The perfect amount of sugar. Usually, frosting is not my thing, but I adore this frosting!
Finally, ice cream! Their ice cream flavors are extremely unique, to say the least. Their two gluten-free flavors are Kale Cookies + Cream and Salted Peanut Butter with Homemade Jelly. The other vegan flavors (which aren’t gluten-free) are Raspberry + Cream, Chocolate Chocolate, and Coffee By Chloe. I went for the Kale Cookies and Cream, and it was delicious. Super creamy, like regular ice cream, and it really did taste like cookies and cream. It doesn’t taste like kale – don’t let the green throw you off. I would highly recommend it and would totally get it again. I made an ice cream sandwich with the GF chocolate chip cookie and the ice cream, and it was AMAZING. Do it.
Although I haven’t personally tried them, friends who I’ve been to the restaurant with reported on the following: the cinnamon roll is amazing, the mac and cheese and the avocado pesto pasta are rich and delicious, and the quinoa taco salad is killer. You also need to try the beet ketchup – it’s so unique and delicious, and I can attest to that. To be honest, I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t like something from by Chloe!
I am beyond impressed with by CHLOE. Def worth the hour drive (thanks L.A. traffic), and I would highly recommend. It’s casual, cute, delicious, and a great place for everyone – whether or not you’re vegan or have other dietary restrictions. This is the kind of place I would take my friends and family who eat junk food because I know they will love it, even though it’s healthy. I’m having withdrawals from that chocolate chip cookie, BTW. Can we petition to get this on Postmates?
Anyone else been to by CHLOE.?! What’d you get?!
by Christina | Aug 12, 2016 | Wellness
Somehow the middle of August snuck up on us, and that means many of my fellow college students are heading back to school and/or moving into new apartments. One of the most difficult parts of transitioning into college life is the cooking dilemma. Recently I’ve been getting a lottttt of questions about how I find the time to cook, how I cook healthy meals, what I like to make, etc., so I’m going to start posting about exactly what I do to make my life as simple as possible in the kitchen.
I promise, it can be done.
In my opinion, one of the most important things to do is to invest in your kitchen. There are a few kitchen accessories I’ve invested in that really help simplify the cooking process, and I can’t imagine life without them. I’m all about convenience. Invest in a few key things, and thank me later.
Today I’m going to share with you the top 5 kitchen accessories that I personally use all the time and think most people would benefit from buying. I’m not talking about a microwave, pots, pans, baking sheets, or any of those obvious essentials. I’m talking about the extras. A lot of people don’t want to pay for these things because they’re “extras,” but they’ll save your life in the long run. If you can get into a routine of cooking for yourself rather than eating out for most of your meals, you will save so much money over time. LET’S DO IT.
Crock-Pot
After buying a crock-pot, MY LIFE CHANGED. The key to efficient cooking is buying and cooking food in bulk. I’m going to address that topic in-depth relatively soon, so stay tuned for more details. Crock-pots are by far the easiest way to cook in bulk because you can just toss your food in, wait a few hours, and come back to enough food for a week. For example, you can throw a bunch of chicken in your crock-pot with some spices and olive oil, head off to class, and come home to a ton of beautifully cooked protein. Sidenote: crock-pot shredded chicken is A DREAM. It’s beyond delicious.
You can do this with any kind of protein. I find myself cooking a lot of chicken, salmon, turkey, and ground beef in my crock-pot, but you can really put anything in there. And you don’t have to keep an eye on anything the way you would if you were cooking on the stove or in an oven. I mainly use it for veggies, meat, and soups. Especially homemade bone broth, which is amaaaazing for digestive health. It’s also my favorite way to cook spaghetti squash because it requires no struggle. Lemme know if you want a tutorial on that. Other fun things to make in a crock-pot: lasagna, apple crisp, chili, pulled pork…EVERYTHING.
If you have a crock-pot and don’t know what to do with it, I promise it’s super easy. Just throw in your food with some oil and seasonings of your choice, set the timer, and come back whenever the timer’s done. Easy peasy. I linked to the crock-pot that I personally own, but pretty much any version gets the job done.
Nutri-Ninja Blender System
The blender itself is the most important part of this, but this is the exact blender system I have, and I’m obsessed with it because it comes with EVERYTHING. The actual blender is huge and very powerful. It’ll blend anything you need it to. The food processor is also AMAZING. I’m really picky about food processors because a lot of them aren’t strong enough to process what I want them to. I use my food processor much more than my blender, to be honest. You can use your food processor to make cauliflower or broccoli rice, hummus or pesto, cashew cheese, diced-up veggies, or raw desserts. Let’s be real – making raw desserts is the most important function. Gotta be able to process nuts, dates, seed butters, and everything else that gets sticky. Plus, you NEED a food processor to make the best ‘NANA ICE CREAM in the world.
I also adore this blender because it comes with 3 Ninja cups, so you can make a smoothie right in the cup and drink straight from that. Less dishes means more time! I drink a green smoothie every single day, so I love having the Ninja cups. I just put my ingredients inside, blend it together, drink it up, and then clean the cup. Done. There’s really no need to dirty a whole blender and then pour it into another cup if you’re just serving yourself. I also love how there are multiple cup sizes depending on how much you want to make. Smoothies are a great on-the-go snack or quick breakfast, and this blender has saved me on so many days when I’ve been running late to school or to work.
The most important part of any blender, though, is that it’s STRONG. I’ve never had any problems with this not being able to blend what I put inside, and I’ve definitely tested the limits. I’ve used my friends’ Vitamixes multiple times before, and I honestly think my Ninja is much better. It might seem like a big investment, but it’s well worth it.
Henrietta Egg Cooker
I’m obsessed with this thing. First of all, LOOK AT HOW CUTE IT IS. IT’S A HEN. Second of all, it’s a lifesaver. You can hard-boil, soft-boil, or poach multiple eggs at once with this lil’ guy. I named mine Henny. I usually use it to hard-boil eggs because it’s so easy. You just pop ’em in their spots, add some water, and leave until you hear the bird start chirping. When it chirps, your eggs are done! Hard-boiling eggs on a stove feels like a hassle to me, but this is NO PROB. It’s a great way to expedite your morning process. You can pop your eggs in, go get ready, and then just grab ’em when they’re done a few minutes later and eat your breakfast. Eggs are so good for you – great source of protein and healthy fats. EAT THE YOLKS. Not only are they the perf breakfast, but they’re also a great snack. I also love adding hard boiled eggs to salads, BTW. So many options!
Spiralizer
You can go big and get a fancy spiralizer like this, but this small, handheld version is what I prefer, and it works perfectly. If you want to make different kinds of veggie noodles, then you’ll probably want the fancier version. I’m totally fine with my basic spirals, though. Zoodles are one of my all-time fave meals to make because they’re so quick and easy. Healthified pasta? Yes, please! You can spiralize zucchini, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets – basically anything with a slightly cylindrical shape. Don’t know if cylindrical is a word, but I’ll roll with it. I’m not sure why, but I swear vegetables taste MUCH better in ribbons. And they look much prettier. Spiralized meals are Insta-worthy, always.
Brita Water Pitcher
I almost didn’t include this because I feel like it’s such an obvious necessity, but then I remembered how many people I know who are “too lazy” to pick up a Brita filter. You need filtered water! Tap water has some weird stuff in there that you do NOT want in your body. Having a Brita filter was essential for me in the dorms, and it’s still essential for me in my apartment because we don’t have a fancy fridge with a filtered water system. WATER IS SO IMPORTANT, so make sure you’re not drinking 2 liters of chemicals, pesticides, and hormones every single day. Yeah, I went there.
There ya have it! My top kitchen essentials that I swear by. These are staples in my life, and they really do make a huge difference in cutting down on my cooking time and minimizing my effort in the kitchen. What are your cooking must-haves? Let me know in the comments! XO
by Christina | Aug 10, 2016 | Wellness
This week I am VERY BERRY happy to feature a fellow foodie and fitness lover, Les from The Balanced Berry! (Get the pun in the title? And in that opening? I know, I’m clever.) About a year ago, I stumbled across Les’s blog while perusing Pinterest, desperate for a high-quality smoothie bowl recipe. I wanted something that would be nice and thick but also wasn’t just a straight-up shot of sugar like most recipes online. I found her recipe for “The Best Green Smoothie Bowl,” and lemme tell ya, it IS the best green smoothie bowl in the game. I then found myself spending hours on Les’s blog, drooling over her recipes and getting to know more about her through her lifestyle posts as well.
There is much much more to Les than insanely delicious recipes, though. First of all, Les has a beautiful soul. I don’t know how else to say it. She’s a deep thinker, and she just gets it. Les always keeps it real, and her total honesty with her readers is one of the things I love most about her. Her fun-lovin’ nature is contagious, and she has the best sense of humor. Les is all about living a healthy lifestyle in every sense of the word. She’s into yummy, healthy food, fun workouts, meditation, self-care, green beauty, and just overall BALANCE.
I hate to say it, but a lot of people in the wellness world talk about “balance,” but don’t actually promote balanced lifestyles. Les does promote a balanced lifestyle, though, and she gives her readers tangible, realistic tips for reaching an all-around state of well-being in their lives. I love her so much for that. She’s so down-to-earth and relatable – you’ll fall in love with her as soon as you read any of her posts. Les and I also have a lot in common, so I felt an instant connection with her as soon as I started reading her content. I’m hooked. We like to joke that we’re soulmates, but I’m seriously convinced we are. So it’s not really a joke. Anyways, who’s ready to get to know a bit more about The Balanced Berry?!
First, tell me a little bit about yourself so my readers can get to know you!
Hi Addicted to Lovely readers! My name is Les, and I blog over at The Balanced Berry. I was born and raised in the Seattle area, which is where I still live but I am a California girl at heart. I have always loved California and from a young age knew I would end up there. Stay tuned on that! I currently work in corporate communications and also work part-time as an educator at lululemon. My hobbies include writing, taking photos, exploring farmer’s markets, trying new restaurants, trying new beauty products, and any and all DIY projects.
What does the term “health” mean to you?
To me, health means being in a state of well-being from the inside out. It is the connection of a happy mind and a happy body. You really can’t have one without the other!
How and when did you first get interested in healthy living?
I have always been interested in healthy living, but I didn’t begin to understand what healthy living meant for me until I was in college. My dad has always been really interested in nutrition and natural alternatives, and my mom has been a great influence when it comes to making time for fitness. Trips to the health food store with my dad as a kid were the norm, as was seeing my mom take her water aerobics classes at the local pool while I took swimming lessons. Both of them have influenced my interest in healthy living a ton. I definitely went through a less-than-healthy eating phase as a teenager, but was always active because I grew up playing sports.
In college my weight yo-yo’d up and down a lot the first few years, and I became more interested in learning how to take care of myself again. I really kicked my butt into gear the summer before my senior year of college, when I had a corporate internship and realized sitting at a desk all day really took a toll on my mental and physical well-being. That was when I established a regular workout routine and started focusing on the importance of eating whole foods. When I returned to college my senior year I lived off-campus and began cooking for myself. That was when I started reading healthy living blogs and started experimenting with healthy recipes. That was a great time in life to really hone in those healthy habits, because that’s the only way I know how to “adult.” 😉
Let’s talk about your blog! What inspired you and how did you get started?
I fell in love with healthy living and fitness blogs when I was in college. I loved reading about real women like me sharing their journeys and what healthy living meant for them. After college I had a ton of friends, family members, and personal training clients asking for recipes and more tips. I realized after spending SO much time reading blogs, it was silly that I didn’t have my own especially because I had so many people asking for it. I actually started a blog right after college, but never really kept up with it because I was trying to mimic other bloggers and it just didn’t feel authentic. After scrapping that one, I started The Balanced Berry a few years later and actually stuck with it!
How did you come up with the name “The Balanced Berry”?!
I spent a few years taking my interest in healthy living too far, and I had an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. It didn’t help that at the time I was also working as a personal trainer and was in the gym basically 24/7. I had just slowed down and was starting to appreciate all that my body could do instead of focusing so much on how I looked. The Balanced Berry was dedicated to me finally reaching a place of balance. I’m going to be honest, I struggle with my blog name a ton. Sometimes (all the time) I wish I had a different blog name because there are so many blogs dedicated to “balance” out there that it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. But the blog has caught on enough that I would feel silly changing it now.
Well I love the name! You recently started a YouTube channel (which I am so excited about!). What inspired you to start your channel, and what are your goals for it?
I LOVE YOUTUBE. I was actually obsessed with YouTube before I started reading blogs. I would spend days upon days watching makeup tutorials in college (my friends still tease me for it). I just loved the connection YouTubers have with their audience, and I have wanted to start a channel forever. I finally got over my fear of getting on camera and just went for it! At this point, YouTube is really saturated so I don’t expect to become a viral sensation. I just want to give my followers another chance to connect with me, and I want to appeal to those who may be visual learners and prefer video over reading blog posts.
Where do you get your recipe inspiration from?
From a ton of places! For starters, I have always loved being in the kitchen. As a kid, I was way more interested in cooking shows than cartoons, and watching so many really helped me learn the basics. I also just love to experiment, and love seeing how things work together so I’m always whipping up concoctions on the fly. Usually those “on the fly” recipes turn out to be the best ones! I also get a ton of inspiration from my family and meals that I eat out. Those were the inspiration for two of the blog’s most popular recipes! My summer kale salad recipe was inspired by a salad my uncle brought to a family party, and my broth bowl recipe was inspired by Panera’s. Those are by far the two most-loved recipes on my blog.
What are 3 of your favorite beauty products?
I am so glad you asked – I am a huge beauty junkie. Over the past 4 years I have really started getting into green beauty. I realized it was silly to put tons of crazy chemicals on my body if I was so good about being careful with what I put in my body. Right now my top 3 favorite products are 100% Pure Mascara (I love the black tea version), Beautycounter Tinted Moisturizer with SPF, and organic argan oil for my hair.
What’s your favorite form of self-care?
Self-care is something I have really been focusing on lately. Up until recently I equated self-care with something indulgent – a manicure or spa trip. But I’m learning that self-care is a necessary part of life. It’s all about filling up your own cup before you can help others fill theirs. Right now I’m really working on getting more sleep – that’s an area of self-care that I am lacking in! Fitness is also a huge part of self-care for me. I need to move my body in some way every day, even if it just means taking the stairs at work.
What’s your exercise routine like?
I love it all! I get bored easily so I am always trying new things to mix it up. Strength training is my first love, so I try to hit the weights a few times per week. High-intensity circuits (using kettlebells and TRX) are my favorite. I also love vinyasa yoga and barre because I am really inflexible and they are so challenging. Although I have a few half-marathons under my belt, running isn’t my fave but I love the rowing machine and doing stairs for cardio!
What’s your go-to, quick and easy meal?
Smoothies! Whenever I need quick sustenance, I whip out the blender and throw in frozen bananas, frozen mango, spinach, almond milk and a little protein. I never get sick of it. One of my favorite “real food” quick meals is my quinoa lentil broth bowl recipe (on the blog!). It is so easy to make, and it is so good.
What’s one myth in the health/fitness industry that you want to put an end to?
Oooh there are so many! First, I want people to get past the calories in vs. calories out mentality. We are all so much better off focusing on the quality of our food, rather than treating eating like a math equation. The second one that really bugs me is online “fitspo.” Nothing against those people, but so many of them are professional bodybuilders/competitors. What they share online is for the sake of their sport and aesthetics, not health. Yet I see so many people who are not in the world of fitness competitions trying to live a similar lifestyle. A cut body does not equal health!
TRUTH! What’s one beauty tip you swear by?
I LOVE using oil to take care of my skin. I used to have really oily, acne prone skin and have really seen my skin transform by using oil to remove my makeup. Sounds crazy, but it works. I wouldn’t recommend coconut oil on your face because it is really heavy and can clog your pores, but sweet almond oil or avocado oil are amazing for oil cleansing. I love following it up with a spray of homemade toner made with rosewater. It seriously feels like a spa treatment every night.
It’s Sunday morning…what are you having for breakfast?!
I love a good, hot waffle with berries and maple syrup. That or a full-blown smoothie bowl. I am always chugging smoothies on-the-go out of a mason jar while I’m rushing to work, so having a pretty Insta-worthy bowl on the weekends is definitely a treat!
Favorite sweet treat?
Fro-yo for sure!
What advice do you have for someone trying to transition into a healthier lifestyle? What would you say to someone who doesn’t know where to begin?
I always like to tell people to add instead of subtract. Instead of thinking about what you need to eliminate from your diet, or what habits you need to break, think about what you can add to your day to help yourself be healthier. Maybe that means you have a goal to drink a certain amount of water, you buy one new-to-you item of produce from the grocery store each week, or you add a 10-minute walk to your day. Once you get in the groove with one positive change, they will have a snowball effect because you will want to continue doing more things to make yourself feel good.
What are some of your favorite blogs to read and/or Instagram accounts to follow?
I have too many to name! Yours of course 🙂 I also love Davida from The Healthy Maven, I have been following her for years and love the new direction she is taking her blog. Ashley from Fit Mitten Kitchen is a force in the kitchen and makes the most incredible recipes. Lindsey from Nourish Move Love kills it too. She makes fitness so relatable and fun. Also, Catherine from The Blissful Mind is a wealth of amazing information about mindfulness, self-care, and minimalism in a non-preachy way. I am always binge-reading her blog posts! There are so many more blogs and influencers I love, but those are the first that come to mind.
Share your current favorite recipe with me!
This summer I have been all about tacos. So random, but I love them. Lately I have been making a super simple shrimp taco recipe. I simply sauté shrimp with a little oil, cumin, chili powder and lime juice. I serve them on corn tortillas with lots of cilantro, avocado and more lime juice. So easy and so good!
A HUGE thank you to Les for letting me interview her! Make sure you head on over to The Balanced Berry for more recipes, tips on self-care, beauty hacks, workout inspo, and more! And make sure you subscribe to her YouTube channel, too, if you haven’t already – her matcha latte vid is my FAVE!
by Christina | Aug 5, 2016 | Wellness
Photography by Julia Dasen
Let me start off by saying I am so so sorry, but I don’t have before and after pictures to show you. It’s honestly killing me that I don’t. I wasn’t blogging when I started my “skincare journey,” and I definitely never thought I’d be writing about it on the Internet, so I didn’t think to take before and after photos. I was also in a place where I was so embarrassed about my skin that I probably wouldn’t have been willing to take photos sans makeup, anyways.
I struggled with cystic acne from about 7th grade until my first year in college, and it was always the one thing I was most self-conscious about. My skin was at its worst during my last few years in high school, and the acne left me with scarring that bothered me a lot. It was really just in one area, and it wasn’t anything horrifying, but I thought about the scars all the time. It had a huge impact on my self-esteem. I spent basically all of my free time researching ways to get rid of acne and scarring, and I wasted waaaay too much money on different products that promised to clear my skin of the blemishes and marks. By the time I got to college, I had my acne pretty much under control besides a few annoying monthly visitors (thanks, period), but I was still left with scarring that irritated the shit out of me.
After trying pretty much every product and low-risk treatment (microdermabrasion, microneedling, chemical peels, etc.), I considered more invasive laser treatments. I realized that if I wanted the scarring to be gone completely (if that was even possible), laser was probably my only option.
I spent a long time researching different types of lasers and different dermatologists in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. I also spent way too much time on acne.org and realself.com reading reviews and looking at scary pictures of people who had nightmare laser experiences. Because of the horror stories, I put it off for as long as possible, hoping I would either get used to the scarring (it wasn’t even that bad) or that somehow one of the many products I tried would magically start working.
After seeing more and more horrifying pictures of laser-gone-wrong, I decided I was ABSOLUTELY NOT doing it. As I mentioned before, my scarring is just in one area and isn’t really that bad. I doubt anyone even noticed it besides me, so I knew it was a vanity thing. Laser is a risk, and I realized that. It can get rid of your scarring, but there is always a chance your skin can come out worse than before. You can get hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, other skin color changes, more scarring, acne, or infections. It’s also expensive, and I wasn’t going to shell out hundreds of dollars to potentially cause even more scarring.
About a year later, the scars were still really bothering me. I have very pale skin, so I knew the risk of hyperpigmentation was pretty low. I decided to go to a few consultations and see what the doctors had to say.
I went into my consultations overly prepared, which is the best thing I could have done. First of all, I researched every potential dermatologist in-depth so I knew the good, the bad, and the ugly before I went in there. I wanted to know their specialties, what lasers they used, how long they had been in practice, where they studied, how long they had been using that specific laser, etc. I’m not messing around here! Just because a doctor has a laser, doesn’t mean he’s good with it. The doctor behind the machine matters just as much as the machine itself.
I also researched the hell out of lasers themselves. There are quite a few options, some more invasive than others, and I wanted to learn as much as I could about them before I talked to the doctors so that I didn’t get tricked into paying for something more expensive or more invasive than I needed.
When I went in for my consultations, I quickly discovered I knew more about a lot of the lasers than many of the doctors themselves. That made it easy for me to say BYYYEEEE to them. Some doctors will insist you need a certain type of laser just because they want you to pay more or because they don’t own the laser that would be best for your skin. I cannot reiterate enough how important it is to go in prepared so that you can make an informed decision.
I visited about 6 or 7 dermatologists in the Los Angeles area for consultations, which was expensive, but so worth it. I quickly realized who I trusted with my face. Things I looked for: a doctor who suggested the laser I already knew I wanted, who was willing to give me a test trial on the space behind my ear to see how my skin would react, who knew his/her shit about how long the downtime post-laser would actually be and what the proper post-op treatment was, who would give me a discount because I only wanted one part of my face done, and who had plenty of experience using that specific laser.
FINALLY, I started my treatments. I was super nervous, I won’t lie. I was confused because pretty much every dermatologist I visited acted like getting laser for scarring was no big deal and that there are never repercussions, but the images from online freaked me out. That’s why it’s so important to work with a doctor you trust. I ended up seeing Jason Emer at Spalding Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, and I have nothing but amazing things to say about him and the rest of the staff at the office. They’re incredible, and I would trust Dr. Emer to do basically anything to my face.
I ended up getting the Fraxel Dual Laser. It’s a non-ablative laser, which is much less invasive than an ablative laser. Ablative lasers, like CO2, will give you better results, but they are also higher risk and have a longer recovery time. Ablative lasers destroy the outer layers of your skin so it grows back restructured, which means a lot of downtime after the treatment. Non-ablative lasers don’t actually destroy your skin, but they heat it up enough to increase collagen production and resurface the skin. Within the categories of ablative and non-ablative lasers, there are different lasers that have different strengths. Some non-ablative lasers have no downtime, but others have a long downtime. There are three types of Fraxel lasers, and the Dual (which I chose), is in-between. It’s not the strongest, but also not the mildest.
First, they numbed the area for about 30 minutes. Then they laid me down on a chair, covered my eyes, and zapped my face. Obviously the longer you’ve been numbed, the less it hurts, but I could still feel it. It’s nothing unbearable, but it’s not comfortable. The hardest part for me was staying still in the chair. It feels like a really hot rubber band snapping against your face. Although I was totally fine, I can’t imagine doing it to my entire face. At the highest strength, just getting that one area of my face done was a bit too much for me, but the whole thing only takes a few minutes. Afterwards, they iced the area for about 10 minutes, and my doctor gave me products to apply to the area for the next few weeks. He also reminded me to use SPF and stay out of the sun, which is VERY IMPORTANT post-laser! Exposing the area to the sun can cause some major damage.
After my first treatment, my skin was very red and raw, but I could cover it up with makeup. It kind of peeled off over the next week or so, but nothing too bad. I also broke out pretty badly each time in the treated area, but the breakouts disappeared after about a week. After my first treatment, my dermatologist upped the power each time so the laser was stronger and stronger. I got 5 treatments in total, each about 2 or 3 months apart. By the fifth, the power was so strong that my skin was damaged enough to break, bleed, and scab over. It was not pretty, but that’s kinda what has to happen if you want new skin to grow. My first 3 treatments, my skin didn’t break at all. It basically just looked like a bad sunburn. It was the fourth and fifth that really did some damage, and I had scabs on my face for about a month afterwards. Every time I had a treatment, I spent the rest of the day in the house so I was completely out of the sun. After that, I tried to avoid going outside as much as I could. If I did, I loaded up on sunscreen, and I started wearing a lot of hats to protect my face.
The most important thing to remember is that improvements take a long time. It can take months for you to notice any changes, so you have to be patient. After my fifth treatment, I wanted to wait at least 6 months before deciding if I wanted another session. I ended up waiting over a year, and I decided not to continue.
The Fraxel did improve the scarring, but it didn’t get rid of it. However, it did cause some more small scars in the area. Weirdly enough, though, I’m kind of glad it did. I feel like the smaller scars camouflage the bigger scars I was originally trying to get rid of, if that makes sense. I would say I got about 70% improvement, and I do not regret doing it at all. Even though the scars are still there, they are much lighter. I’m much more confident in my skin now, and I don’t notice the scars as much or ever really think twice about them. I used to never let anyone see me without makeup, and now I don’t really have a problem with it.
That being said, after leaving my skin alone for about a year, I’ve started another type of treatment to see if I can get any more improvement. I don’t really need it, but after having Fraxel, I’m not afraid to experiment around with other things. I want to share my experience with you guys in case you’ve been debating doing something similar. If there’s something lower-risk and less expensive that helps with my scarring, I definitely want to let you know. I’m in the middle of this new process, and I’ll keep ya updated on how it’s going.
If you have any other questions about my experience, please don’t hesitate to ask! I’m more than happy to talk about it. If you’ve ever gotten good results with scar removal, let me know in the comments! Orrrrr if there’s something else you think I should try, do tell!
