Healthy Chia Seed Pudding

Here is a simple recipe for a healthy dessert, or breakfast!

Chia Seed Pudding is such an easy meal prep item, and it makes for a quick, healthy snack or breakfast!

This is one of my favorites!

Its not too sweet, but just enough goodness!

Chia is an incredible addition to your diet! 

This pudding is packed with protein, omega-3, antioxidants and calcium!  

What you will need... 

*2 Cups coconut milk (natural)

*1/2 cup chia seeds

*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1/4 cup or less natural maple syrup

*1/2 tsp cinnamon  (or less)

* any additional fruit to top if desired

Directions:

STIR EVERYTHING TOGETHER IN A BOWL!

Let sit over night or at least 4 hours and BOOM--- Chia Seed pudding!

LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE BELOW !!!

I greatly appreciate your feedback to make sure I am giving content that is helpful and delicious!

CINNAMON HONEY ROASTED BEETS AND SQUASH

Need a quick and easy side dish with a little sweetness to it??

This roasted beet and squash recipe is so easy and delicious!

What you will need :

Raw, Fresh Beets

Butternut Squash

Organic/Natural Honey

Olive Oil

Cinnamon 

Sea Salt 

SET OVEN AT 450

Directions: 

Cube beats and butternut squash

Drizzle with olive oil and honey

MIX IN A BOWL 

Sprinkle cinnamon and salt on top! 

MIX

COVER BAKING SHEET WITH TIN FOIL to avoid burning the pan

Roast at 450 until golden brown

ENJOY!! 

(if needed at additional salt on top for taste)

Break the Elephant Conditioning - For those, abused, abandoned, and broken

As I knelt at the bottom of my bed, praying, it ALL came back to me.  Every emotion, every detail, every pain.  It all flooded me.  It hit me like a title wave. As if  I was now the outsider looking in, like I was watching some horror movie.

I could see the fear on my face, the pain in my eyes, the grip of my hands, the feelings of being worthless, and used.

You see for years, I was conditioned.  Conditioned to be told I was not good enough, that I wasn't attractive, that I was too skinny,  that no one would love me, that I would fall flat on my face without him, that I didn't do the laundry right, that I didn't do enough, that I was disrespectful, that I was fake, that I was any number of 4 letter words, and then some how, some way, go along my day as if nothing happened.

I was conditioned to just numb the pain.  After a while I even stopped crying.  The painful things that were said and done, were no longer painful, they no longer caused tears, it was just LIFE.

I had to hold it together for the kids, I had to hold it together to hold up some sort of perfect public image.

I learned over the course of years, to bury the pain, to be the dog who was kicked, and yet still had to love on its "master."

As I cried out to God to save my marriage, to save my husband, to CHANGE SOMETHING, I heard God say, LOOK WITHIN, I NEED YOU TO SEEK ME!
I had to be the one to change.  I needed to draw closer to God, study His word, seek counsel, pursue Him, and ultimately make hard choices.

Satan is very good at what he does.  He will twist the bible, twist Gods words, so they sound right, but bottom line, they are TWISTED, misconstrued, false!  They are manipulated and deceptive.  And these words were spoken right to me.  "If you were a good christian wife, you would RESPECT ME, no matter what."

Satan loves to manipulate Gods word to His believers, to keep us in bondage, to keep us in fear, to keep us from experiencing GOD!

As I sought God, he transformed my beliefs.  Things were no longer gray, they became black and white.

One night in June after more verbal and emotional abuse and threats, God stirred within me, this force welled up and forced me out.  Eight months ago I fled my home with our 3 boys.

In the last eight months, I have had to deal with some horrific things, however I finally have peace.

God has been filling me daily with His love, with His worth, with His value.

Over these eight months, I have tried to feel the pain I have endured.  But often times, I have  been like a robot.  I recognize it happened, but I have been totally numbed by the pain.  The conditioning of the elephant has taken its toll.

You see, elephants are trained at a young age by being chained up.  As a little immature elephant, they can not break this chain.  They will wiggle, and tug but they will not be able to break free.  After months of this, pretty soon they no longer try to escape.

As big, strong adult elephants, they are only tied up by a rope because they still feel the "chain" around their foot.
Since, they feel the rope, they believe they can not escape.  They BELIEVE they are stuck. These elephants still BELIEVE they are chained and can not break free, and never even try to escape.   They are numbed to the REALITY.  They stand there, stuck, "chained" by a rope they could easily break.

Over time, I became like this elephant.  I no longer fought it, I just took it.  I was numb to the reality of my situation, and just stood there, trying to just survive and endure.

I took it because it was easier, because I was afraid to leave, because I believed the lies.

I kept myself busy,  and occupied. Kids, Church, my Business, Pursuing Gods calling.  The things I have consumed my time with are not bad, however I was still stuck in unhealthy, bondage, degradation and pain.  The activities, helped but truly they masking the pain.

It is scary facing reality.   It is scary to not just admit the things that have happened, but to actually FEEL THEM AGAIN.  No one wants to feel the pain, feel the abuse, the abandonment, the worthlessness, the physical damage,harm....

However, experiencing the emotions in a RAW AND REAL WAY, a way that provokes healing is necessary.

Its scary to surrender, surrender the elephant conditioning.  Because the reality is, I "felt" chained, but I wasn't.  I allowed a rope, a breakable strand, keep me captive for years, and years by a controlling ring master.

Sometimes you have to call it what it is, what it was.... to face the TRUTH of the situation.

Kneeling at the bottom of my bed, I finally saw things for how they were.  The numbing effect was stripped away.

This time, I embraced the tears. The ugly, Tears.  I chose to face the reality, boldly, without running away this time.

No more NUMBING.  No more Elephant Conditioning.

It is scary....

But sometimes facing reality is the BRAVEST thing you will ever do!

Don't run from it, don't mask it, don't numb it...  FEEL IT!

Clench your fist tight, squeeze it as hard as you can, hold is .... 3.....2.....1....
RELEASE.

Release the pain, release the tears, release the abandonment,  release the abuse, release the unworthiness, release the ugliness, release the lies.....

RELEASE IT ALL......
With your hands open...



FATHER GOD, 
We pray for total release of past pains.  I declare that chains be broken, IN JESUS NAME.  
Now with open hands, help us to accept the reality, the TRUTH of what has gone on.  
We accept YOUR love, YOUR truth, and YOUR purpose.  
We receive your healing, we receive your protection and love.  
We DECLARE that never again, will we be chained by the enemies lies.  
We DECLARE WE ARE SET FREE,  IN YOUR GLORIOUS NAME. 

We thank you Father. 

Amen 

WALKING SOLO on VALENTINES DAY

"O Romeo, Romeo, 

wherefore art thou Romeo"

SHAKESPEARE

OH, VALENTINES DAY!

It is 2017, and for the first time in 11 years I am spending it alone.

Before you say oh man I am so sorry, or begin to feel bad, HOLD IT UP!! STOP!

 Do NOT for a second feel bad for me!

This is the FIRST Valentines Day I am truly GOOD!

The Valentines hype starts at a young age for us girls. I can remember back to middle school, when we could buy flowers for friends/crushes through the school and send it to that special persons homeroom on Valentines Day.

I would sit with anticipation as they would call peoples names to receive there gift of affection, and as other girls went up to receive their flowers, I sat... and sat.... and sat...

I was never so lucky to receive one of those flowers.
My expectation, or desire was always crushed because I thought it meant I was special if my name was called.

For girls, the desire to feel loved, wanted, admired starts young!

No I was never a girl with "daddy issues," my father is an incredible man and dad, who always went above and beyond for me and has truly given me a great example of what my HEAVENLY Father looks like.
I am blessed to have the amazing Dad (aka PAPA) I do have.

However, Satan goes to work at a young age in a girls heart to make us feel like we are NEVER GOOD ENOUGH!

We feel like we have to try to be someone we are not, that we will only be loved or accepted if we look a certain way, do certain things, and act a certain way.

Satan will even use people in your life to CONFIRM this!
People may have made fun of you as a child, they may have put you down, they  may have called you names.  These beliefs of yourself begin at a young age. Your self worth and self esteem may have been damaged as a kid.

People TODAY, may still put you down, call you worthless, that you amount to nothing, that you will go no where in life, that you are an idiot, that you are fat or you are ugly....  you get the point.

LISTEN UP!!!

If all you listen to, are people, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE HURT AND DISAPPOINTED!

When we put our value on things, on gifts, on peoples words, we completely lose WHO WE ARE!

As a young girl, I sat on Valentines days, never being the one to receive a flower in school.  I was disappointed year after year.   This simple little act opened the door for Satan to speak,

"Amie, you are not loved, 

you are not good enough, 

you are not pretty enough, 

you have to be different 

(like the rest of the girls) 

in order for people to like you."

Year after year, I began to listen to these lies.  As a result the doors opened to becoming more rebellious, leading me away from God.  With every lie I believed, the more and more I felt alone, and unworthy.

I even married someone that confirmed all of these things.  I was told I was not good enough, that I was a piece of ______ (fill in the blank).  and on and on and on.....

Yet, despite the dysfunction, every Valentines Day I looked forward to hopefully being validated through a piece of chocolate, a card or flowers, like somehow that would prove I was worthy of being loved.

Year after year, Valentines Day would come, leaving me yet again gravely disappointed.
Why? Because in my inner being, I knew the LOVE and acceptance I was looking for and desperately needing, could not come from these gifts.

My validation could not come from a person or earthly things, PERIOD!
---------------


So for the FIRST TIME in 11 plus years, I am not looking for validation that, I am loved or worthy. from a man, or gifts.

Finally 

(it only took 29 years) 

I BELIEVE, with all of my heart I AM LOVED! Right now, right here, JUST AS I AM! 

I do not need a Valentine to prove their love for me.  I do not need gifts to show I am worth thinking about or spending money on.

(ok don't get me wrong, those are all nice things, 

there is nothing wrong with them, 

they are all things you should do when you love someone.  

HOWEVER our value can not come from them!!)

I confidently can walk solo this valentines day because 

I already have a GOD who loves me, endlessly, 

and even went to the cross and died for me!

Romans 5:8 

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

God bought you and He bought me, at the highest price. 

 He CHOSE ME! Just like He CHOSE YOU! 

SERIOUSLY WE ARE HIS CHOSEN ONES! 

1 Corinthians 6:20 

For you were bought at a high price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies. 

I do not need a Valentine to show me my worth. I have a God who not only made me a coheir (Romans 8:17) to his kingdom,

but He calls me wonderful.

Psalm 139:14

I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

He calls me precious.

 Proverbs 3:15

 She is more precious than rubies; NOTHING you desire can compare with her. 

He dances and sings over me. 

Zephaniah 3:17 

For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior.  He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. 

He will never leave me. 

Hebrews 13:5

 I will never leave you, nor forsake you. 

No chocolate, no card, no flowers, no jewelry can give me the love that JESUS CHRIST has for me, and THAT IS ENOUGH!

No VALENTINE can promise me these things, no human can give me this kind of love or comfort. PERIOD!

-----------------

Over the last 11 years, I bought into so many lies.  I lived in survival mode for so long, I could not see my worth.

However, over the last 8 months (while going through a divorce), shifted my focus! Instead of buying into the lies, I have been focusing on what God says about me.

When we begin to see our WORTH from Gods perspective, earthly "worth" no longer matters!

----------------

I have done a ton of reflection in wondering how I allowed myself to get to this point.  How I allowed someone to treat me the way they did.  How I allowed myself to believe the things I did.

And what I realized is,  

it is a slow fade.  

It doesn't happen over night.  It is the little lies I began to believe in middle school, that built up in high school, and were validated in college and through my relationship and then marriage.

It is in the little lies, over time, that all add up.  One lie at a time our beliefs and values change and shift.

If we DO NOT ROOT ourselves in the TRUTH of Gods word, we will buy into the lies of not having worth, of never being good enough.

WE NEED TO SEE OUR VALUE THROUGH CHRIST!

There are too many of us women and girls walking around defeated, disappointed, feeling worthless, unloved and damaged.

There are too many of us seeking attention, affection and love in ALL THE WRONG AREAS, leaving us broken and empty.

I GET IT!
I was there. Heck, I still am there in many ways.  It is something that God is working on, in my life daily, through His word.

But the amazing thing about God is. YOU ARE NEVER TOO FAR GONE! YOU ARE NEVER TOO BROKEN, TOO DAMAGED, TOO HURT, TOO DIRTY, TOO ASHAMED, TOO EMBARRASSING, TOO DYSFUNCTIONAL, TOO SINFUL, for GOD TO LOVE YOU. 


LET HIM FILL YOU, this Valentines Day!

There will be no disappointment.  No hurt. No emptiness.

Whether you are spending Valentines Day alone this year like me, or you have a sweetheart, let this Valentines Day be a reflection of GODS LOVE.

Learn to CONFIDENTLY WALK SOLO 

this Valentines Day, 

by saturating your heart 

in our Heavenly Fathers unfailing Love! 

The God of ALL the Universe, hand picked YOU! 

Colossians 3:12

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. 

YOU ARE LOVED 
XOXO

PALEO BANANA BREAD

My son is on a strict diet of sugar free dairy free and gluten free.

Because of his intolerance, I have made it a point to create healthy options so he does not feel like he has to miss out on every day foods that he enjoys.

I truly believe there is ALWAYS a healthier option to our "guilty pleasure foods." 

I've been playing around with recipes for almost a year now, and banana bread is ALWAYS a favorite little treat, and breakfast item!

I have not been really happy with other recipes I found, and this one I came up with has been by far the BEST!!!

My kids, 9,5 and 2 1/2 ALL love this bread. 

In fact I would suggest making 2 loafs! 

You can always freeze the other one for later!

Here is it!

GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE, AND SUGAR FREE BANANA BREAD!!!!

3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup date sugar or maple sugar
2 Tbs melted earth balance (dairy free butter)
2 large eggs
2 very ripe bananas
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup (organic/pure)

Mix together in blender and pour into a non stick bread tin. 

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

** NOTE THE DARK SUGAR WILL MAKE THE BREAD LOOK DARKER, so MAKE SURE to do the clean toothpick test, to make use you do not under cook, or over cook! **

I would love to know what you all think about the recipes!!!

LEAVE ME A REVIEW BELOW!

ENJOY MY FRIENDS!!!

No Matter The Chaos, You Can Still Control Your Breathe

During Lacrosse season, freshmen year of high school, the air was different than what I was used to.   In the fall, I played Field Hockey, and for some reason I found it hard to breathe while we were running in the crisp spring air.
  
It was hard to breathe and the more I thought about not being able to breathe, the less I could breathe, the tighter my chest became, and the more panicked I became.  I couldn't even focus on my running, let alone playing in a game. ALL I could think about was my frantic breathing, and my racing heart. 

I still don't know why that season I couldn't breathe properly, but I learned quickly that if I didn't calm my brain down, and start to calm my breathe, I wasn't going to be able to run, let alone PLAY at all. 

So I began to speak to myself while I ran.  Slowly, Breathe in, Breathe out, You can Do this. Stay Calm, I am fine, nothing is wrong... 
(call me crazy.. it is what it is, I did it and it helped!)

But as I spoke to myself I could feel my breathe slow, my heart stopped racing and I was able to run faster.  

I did this every time we would go for a run (which was quite often, unfortunately for us girls who don't consider themselves runners.  When your coach for lacrosse is also the cross country coach, get ready to become a runner whether you like it or not!). Pretty soon I had trained my breath to remain calm, and sturdy no matter the run, and this way of breathing became second nature. 

When we were running sprints, or in the final seconds of a game, I was never out of breathe.  My breathing remained calm and controlled, while my feet pumping at super speed. (well super speed for me anyway) 

I no longer had to talk to myself to convince my breath to slow down, it became second nature. 

No matter the circumstance, no matter the length of the runs, the terrain, or the speed of the game, my body never felt over exerted and my breathes remained controlled. In fact my game improved.  My speed improved, my endurance improved!

Crazy right! 

Slowing my breathe and keeping calm, allowed my BODY to move FASTER, to IMPROVE, to gain SKILL SETS and build ENDURANCE! 

IN FACT,  no matter how fast my feet would go, my breathe never changed.  It remained constant;  slow, steady and controlled.  

My feet where spinning, but my breathing remained slow----  
Breathe INNNNNNNN and OOUUUUT 

You know, this is how God calls us to be in life.  Not just on the field, not just running, but EVERY DAY LIFE!

He calls us to remain calm amongst the chaos.  

And how do we do that?

Focus!

What you focus on Grows!

You see if I had focused on my situation, my heart beating faster, my breathing getting quicker and more shallow. Allowed my mind to tell me I was going to pass out, or not be able to run anymore, or something was wrong, well then.... Something would have gone wrong!
I would have most likely passed out. 

However, I chose to redirect my focus on positivity and speak calmness into my breathe, into my heart and into my body. 

I FOCUSED on the controllable. 

You see we live in a world that is uncontrollable, full of chaos, fear, pain, hurt, destruction, disappointment... you name it. 

But if thats what we focus on, we will never overcome.  We will never live the life God has called us to be. 

God says, 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 
John 16:33


So we know we will have trouble, But he says... FOCUS ON ME SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE PEACE! I HAVE ALREADY OVERCOME THE WORLD.

Just like controlling your breathe in exercise by focusing on slowing your breathing, you can also control the peace in your life by focusing on Jesus.

When you focus on Him, He will give you peace amongst the storm, stability amongst the waves, and an anchor when your getting pushed around.

No matter the chaos, no matter the circumstance, slow down your breathe and focus on JESUS!

Remember no matter how fast your feet move, you can always control your breathe!

2016s FIX your eyes

At the close of yoga, Rachel, the instructor said something that spoke to me.  She said,

"There have been moments in this class where you thought you couldn't make it.  Just like maybe some points in this year, there have been times where you didn't think you would make it.  But you did. You are here. You made it." 

WOW!

So true.  In Yoga, there are moments where you feel like you are just going to fall over.  When you are trying to find your balance, focus on your breath, all while trying to stretch, and hold a position; that may be painful or uncomfortable can seriously make your mind begin to doubt and feel like you can NOT hold it for one more second.

There are moments in yoga where you wobble, and shake. You feel like you are going to fall over, you feel like you just won't make it.

The moment you begin to feed into those thoughts and believe you can't,  YOU ARE RIGHT!
You WILL lose your balance, you WILL lose your focus, you WILL lose your breath, and you WILL fall out of your pose.
------------

I don't know about you, but 2016 threw some pretty gnarly curve balls into my life.  Some really UGLY UGLY curve balls.  Like when the pitcher totally fools you and the ball ends up curving right into your face.  You end up laying in the dirt of the infield on home plate.  But instead of feeling like you're on home plate, you feel like you just struck out, embarrassed, knocked down in pain, down for the count, out of the game!

Like baseball, and yoga, in life you will strike out and you will fall.  You will wobble, you will have moments of feeling defeated and fooled.  You will have moments of pain.

But GOD has given us a secret to stay STANDING, even when we are being knocked around, and unstable in life.
---------

In Yoga, one of the keys to holding a pose, despite the discomfort and awkward position  is to KEEP FIX YOU EYES on a spot in the room.

FIX is defined as :

1. :  to make firm, stable, or stationary
   :  to give a permanent or final form to: as
   :  to change into a stable compound or available form

1. :  a determination of one's position

When you Fix your eyes on a spot in the room, all of a sudden the pose becomes effortless, and you begin to stabilize.


Just like yoga, in life, we also have a way to stay standing, sturdy and confident in our position of life.


We are to FIX OUR EYES upon Jesus in the midst of troubled times.
When life is throwing us curve balls, when life is causing us to wobble, sway, and feel like we are going to break or fall, JESUS will strengthen us, give us a strong posture, and allow us to MAKE IT through those moments when we feel like we just can't.

Hebrews 12:2

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,

 and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

2016 may have caused pain, heartache and moments of feeling hopeless, but I am here to tell you YOU MADE IT!!
You have made it!


and the amazing thing is, that God does not just call us to MAKE IT.  He wants us to THRIVE during the times we feel like we can't make it.

----------


Through fixing our eyes upon Him, He will give you confidence, strength, creativity, motivation,  and reassurance that HE HAS A PLAN, and HE will Carry you through!

So, you may have JUST made it through 2016. THATS GREAT NEWS!

YOU MADE IT! 

BUT...

The BETTER news is....

now you know WHO will stabilize you and 

give you a posture of confidence, calmness, and prosperity 

AMONGST the unstable times. 

So when you feel like your wobbling, and your about to fall, FIX your eyes upon Jesus.
Remain calm, remain confident, and LOOK TO HIM!

He will not only stabilize you and get you through 2017 when uncertain times come,

 but HE will help you to thrive amongst it!

FIX YOUR EYES UPON JESUS, 

Breathe, Balance and Be CONFIDENT that Jesus will stabilize you no matter what 

2017 may throw at you! 

XOXO

-AMIE