Self Improvement

This post is about my journey to self-improvement. I am all about loving yourself where you're at, and encourage everyone to love themselves despite "flaws" or insecurities. I used to think that if I had flaws that I couldn't love myself. I was obsessed with becoming better so that I could finally be happy and love myself. I have slowly and painfully learned that I will never be perfect. There will always be someone skinnier, or better looking, or healthier than me. But that doesn't mean I can't love myself! In fact, I'm figuring out that I don't even have to accept loving myself despite my flaws, I can love myself with my flaws.

That being said, I am still absolutely on a journey of self-improvement. This year I've set some goals. Goals like take better care of my teeth and try to whiten them if I can. I also want to get better control of my physical health and my hormones. I have battled depression and anxiety for the majority of my life, and I know that diet and exercise can drastically lower the level to which these things affect me. So far, I've done pretty well on the tooth front. They are well on their way to being the pearly whites I've always dreamed of, and my gums are...I don't know...gummy?? However gums are supposed to be, they're totally doing that.

I know it's been over a year since I wrote about, or even genuinely tried to eat healthy. However, I have recently been having some pretty major health issues. My back and shoulder have been causing me pain, and I have a referral for a physical therapist that I'll be setting an appointment with as soon as I can. Since I work full time on my feet and can't exactly take time off until it gets better. But it's not all bad! It has inspired me to get healthy and start taking better care of myself. I may even start working out (try to contain your gasps of surprise).

I'll take pride in the things that I improve in and accomplish, and forgive myself when I fall short. That's my most important goal for this year, and I hope you do the same!

Paleo Diet, Copycats, and Banana Pancakes

In three days, I will have officially completed a whole month of eating paleo! It was really hard, but I'm glad I did it. I feel so much better, and there's nothing better than a sense of accomplishment. I've decided to keep eating paleo, but on the first of every month I get one cheat meal. I won't be posting just about paleo anymore, but when I find good recipes I will definitely share them with you.

Speaking of food, this morning I just tried a new banana pancake recipe. I even fed it to my non-paleo friend and they were a hit! I added them with a side of bacon though, so maybe that was the real winner, haha. Anyways, here is the recipe I used. I would also recommend listening to Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes song while you make them.

The original recipe (found here) for this "Primal Fudge" didn't call for a filling of peanut butter or anything and this was a little boring to me. I've changed it a little bit to make it more like a candy rather than just a fudge. I added some almond butter in some of the centers and a mint filling in others. They are VERY rich, very chocolatey, and extremely delicious. It makes for a very good after dinner dessert or something sweet to go with coffee. These are great because you feel like you're really pigging out on dessert but really they're actually healthy.