I am so lucky to have met some really amazing women through blogging. One of them, who shares the same name as me (first clue that she’s awesome!) offered to do a guest blog post for me this week since I’m 39 weeks pregnant and too antsy with impatience for this baby’s arrival to come up with a coherent blog post. Michelle from Vitamin Sunshine blog not only wrote a great guest post but she’s sharing a recipe for a savory buckwheat crepe which is one of my favorite things in the world! Those pictures are making me drool… Thanks Michelle!!

I first came across Michelle’s blog a few months ago, and was completely hooked by her recipe for Gott’s Roadside Tuna Tacos. I knew instantly this girl had good taste. Reading her blog, I’ve realized we have a lot in common– from having a passion for creating healthy, delicious dishes; food restraints, like lactose intolerance; busy lives involving full time jobs, a marriage, and a food blog; and most recently, I found out that she was pregnant, and then found out I was also expecting! So both of us have a lot on our plates at the moment.

I started Vitamin Sunshine a year ago for many of the same reasons that led Michelle to Health Recipe Ecstasy– an outlet to share creative, produce-driven dishes that promote health and well being. I believe that healthy food should not only nourish our bodies, but also be delicious, and balanced, meaning I would never promote a diet that completely restricts any food, other than for health related reasons. I do, however, encourage experimentation with alternative ingredients (such as the coconut flour in this recipe!), to add variety and interest to your diet.

My journey to health began a long time ago. Growing up, I was overweight, and often sick. As I moved into my teenage years, I had had enough, and wanted to take control of my health. I started exercising at home by myself every night, and began losing weight. At school, a friend of mine had to run a mile and a half to make up for skipping a PE class, and I did it with her. Astonished I actually could run an entire mile and a half, I took up running, and began running longer and longer trails.

While my mom always fed us healthy meals, I started to pay attention to serving size, and increasing my vegetable intake throughout the day. I learned to replace portions of pasta or bread with larger portions of vegetables, and the weight continued to come off.

I lost a total of 50 pounds in a year– which is a lot for a 15 year old girl! I felt like a new person, and my confidence skyrocketed. As my weight dropped, and my physical activity increased, I started relying less and less on the medications I had been taking for so many years.

That was over 15 years ago, and with continued regular exercise, and a healthy diet full of whole grains, lean proteins, and lots and lots of produce, I have managed to stay near the healthy weight I obtained in high school.

Often, when I’m visiting old friends, they’ll comment on how they wish they had my metabolism. Do they not remember how far I came back then? It’s certainly not metabolism that has kept me healthy and fit. It’s a lot of will power, a lot of hard work, and an appreciation of healthy food. It’s the willingness to pass on happy hour to get myself to that yoga class, and many afternoons spent in the park instead of at the mall. It’s Sunday afternoons spent grocery shopping and prepping produce for the week. And, it’s balance and a “new normal” that has resulted in a sustainable healthy lifestyle.

Co-workers often gawk at my lunches, and my friends love it when I cook them dinner– because creative, healthy meals really are such a treat. It’s simply difficult to get meals out that combine enough produce and use healthy cooking methods. Cooking this way does not take ALL of my time. I still spend a lot of time sitting by the pool reading on Sundays, and relaxing and having afternoon tea (and cookies!) with my husband. What it does take is some time, some creativity, and making healthy meals a priority. It’s important to me, so I find that time.

These crepes, as pictured, are not okay for Michelle and I right now — no feta or undercooked eggs! I cooked the eggs for mine all the way, and replaced with feta with parmesan. If I could make these for Michelle, to ease her burden as she gets closer to her due date, I would make the same adjustments!

 

If this recipe inspires you to make yourself a healthy meal, please come visit me at Vitamin Sunshine, and see what else intrigues you!

Other Vitamin Sunshine Favorites:

• Spinach and Caramelized Onion Frittata with a Sweet Potato Crust
• Dreamy Chocolate Chip Mint Smoothie
• Quinoa Asparagus Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Milk Soup)
• Blackened Salmon Tacos with Mango and Pickled Cabbage Salsa