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Garlic Sauteed Kale & Mushrooms
There was a time when I couldn’t stand cooked greens. I had this ridiculous aversion spinach, kale, and collard greens cooked in any way. Just watching Popeye swallow an entire can of spinach made me gag a little. Thankfully I came to my senses and now sauteed kale is one of my favorite side dishes for dinner. Not only is it delicious and nutritious, but it is so quick and easy to prepare. Leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals and the darker the leaf the more nutrient dense it is. Kale is considered a superfood and contains a phytonutrient called sulforphane which has been shown to have cancer fighting…
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Current Tea Favorites
There is nothing that I like better than waking up on a Sunday morning and coming downstairs to make a cup of tea and cozy up on the couch to binge watch A Chef’s Table on Netflix. What can I say, I’m a simple creature of habit. I have had a lot of different kinds of tea through the years and I can honestly say that I have never met a tea I did not like (I also say that about wine!)! In fact, it is one of my bucket list dreams to have afternoon tea SOMEWHERE in England at least once in my life. I know…big dreams! Currently, I…
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Turkey & Spinach Enchiladas
One of my favorite weeknight meals is homemade enchiladas. They are easy to prepare and don’t need to cook for very long. The thing I love most about Mexican style cuisine is the bold and fresh flavors. I like to combine spinach with ground turkey in order to add some nutrition which may or may not be cancelled out by how much cheese I add to the top but that’s a price I am willing to pay for this delicious dinner entree. I like to top mine with fresh pico de gallo, a dollop of sour cream, and a garnish of cilantro which takes the freshness to a whole…
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Fruit & Herb Infused Water – Three Ways
It is so important to keep your body hydrated. I try to drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day and after a while, plain water leaves something to be desired. Last summer I bought a super cool water bottle off Amazon that comes with little baskets that screw onto the lid that you can put fruit in to infuse your water with natural flavoring! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This inspired me to go to Pinterest (duh!) to get ideas of fruit pairings that would be yummy to try. Much to my surprise (not really!) there were tons of ideas. And not just ideas…
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My Bath Time Essentials
Follow my blog with Bloglovin When learning to live a happy and balanced life it is important to take some time out for yourself. One of my favorite ways to have “me” time is to take a relaxing bath. I’m not just talking about some water in a tub, I create a spa like atmosphere that leaves me feeling relaxed and refreshed. I light candles, add bubbles, turn on fairy lights…the whole nine yards! I find that being alone for an hour every now and then allows me to let go of a lot of the pent up anxiety or stress I may be harboring. I can zone out to…
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Finding Your Exercise and Sticking to it
Over the years I have tried a ton of different types of exercise. I have tried everything from swimming, dance aerobics, yoga, Zumba (I have absolutely no rhythm), hiking, at home workout videos, and then there was that time I considered myself to be a runner which was short lived. Something that I have learned along the way is that variety and consistency go hand in hand, at least for me! I know that in order for me to stay consistent with my workouts, I absolutely must have variety. In fact, if I could give one piece of advice to someone who is trying to find an exercise program…
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Usually I don’t consider myself great at reviewing books but there are times when I can’t get a book out of my head and I have to tell people about it and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is one of those books! One of my goals this year is to read a book a month and my pick for February did not disappoint! I also am very aware that I am probably late to this party but it’s better late than never! And since I am not good at giving a synopsis, I borrowed this from the author’s website: EVERY DAY THE SAME Rachel takes the same commuter…
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How to Stay Motivated — Finding Inspiration
There are some days where I find it really hard to get my butt in gear and get a workout in, other days I can’t be bothered to pack my lunch for the next day or any healthy snacks and I end up ordering something to go that is marginally less good for me. Some days I feel like my life is never going to go anywhere (melodramatic much?!). There was a time that I would let these days turn into a week and sometimes…months (eek!). My motivation was extremely lacking and as the days went by I would get more and more hopeless because obviously I was so far gone…
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2017 Goals
I know it’s no longer January (we’re actually in the third month of the year) but I don’t see anything wrong with reminding myself frequently of the goals I have set for myself this year. Like the majority of people who set resolutions for themselves, I have found it difficult in years past to stick to them. I have been very good at setting vague resolutions with no real way to measure success or failure and eventually I just put them to the wayside and forget about them completely. This year I have tried setting measurable goals in an attempt to motivate myself to stick with it and work hard…
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Hello world!!!
Where do I start? I think I’ve been planning a blog like this for the last 3 or 4 years. I have been reading blogs for what feels like forever and it has always been something I have wanted to do myself. By day I am a Customer Service-Receptionist for a reputable shipping company and by night I plan to share all the things that make me happy in my new little corner of the internet. Learning to Bloom is a lifestyle blog and will cover topics like my health and fitness journey, navigating my kitchen to make yummy healthy (sometimes not) recipes, harnessing my creativity into some DIY projects,…
