While I’m on my honeymoon in Italy, I have lined up some great guest posts for you. For the next week and a half, I will be posting 1 or 2 “Savvy Spotlights” a day, highlighting some of my readers and blog friends. You may see another fun post or two mixed in there as well.
I’ll start recapping our Italy trip when I return. Have a great week!
Q. Introduce yourself!
Hi! My name is Katie, but you can call me Tater. I’ve been blogging for a year about food, fitness and my ridiculous cats. I recently quit my job to pursue a Masters in Human Nutrition and certification as a Registered Dietitian. You can keep up with me at www.sweettaterblog.com.
Q. Savvy Eats approaches the concept of healthy living from the standpoint of “Smart Food, Smart Fitness, & Smart Life.” What does ‘savvy living’ mean to you?
To me, savvy living is moving through life with compassionate intent in all facets of life. Eating Smart Food means intentionally eating things that are good for my body, good for the planet, good for my fellow humans and good for our animal friends. For me, this means eating a primarily vegan diet with the occasional frozen yogurt or fancy aged cheese. It may mean something else for you. Smart Fitness is intentionally participating in activity that honors and strengthens my body. Yoga is my physical activity of choice because practicing it feels like a reward rather than a punishment. With Smart Food and Smart Fitness in line, I feel like a Smart Life will naturally follow. When we rejoice in and connect with our food, we rejoice in and connect with the planet and the other living beings that call it home. When we honor and strengthen our bodies, we honor and strengthen our minds. This interconnectedness to and respect for everything around us paired with a powerful mind are what I consider to be the foundation of a Smart Life.
Smart Food Q. What is your go-to meal?
My go-to meal is definitely a big bowl of veggies and grains. I keep quinoa, brown rice and millet on hand at all times to serve as the base for a quick, cost-efficient meal. Then I roast, steam or grill a pile of vegetables like broccoli, carrots, okra or anything else in season. Throw in some beans, hummus, nuts or tempeh for protein and top it off with avocado and olive oil. This combination of veggies, whole grain, healthy fat and plant protein is my favorite thing to eat.
Smart Fitness Q. There are a lot of ways to stay fit: running, cycling, yoga, Zumba, strength training, and more. Which is your favorite, and what tip would you give a beginner?
Yoga is my favorite form of physical activity. In the past two years, it has truly changed my life and transformed my body. I used to punish myself with brutal gym workouts and long runs in an attempt to lose weight. This type of activity coupled with my extreme caloric restriction just meant that I would binge later on in the day and then continue the whole cycle again to punish myself for that. It was a mess. Yoga taught me to respect my body and push it to a comfortable limit where I’m faced with a healthy physical challenge but don’t feel like I’m beating myself up mentally to achieve it. I think that everyone should do yoga and truly believe that any body in any physical condition can learn to love it. For beginners, I recommend starting with a studio class. Yoga DVDs are great once you already know what you’re doing, but I fear beginners will find themselves either overwhelmed or bored with a DVD. Hands on instruction from a master will give you a much better understanding of and appreciation for the practice.
Smart Life Q. How did you discover the healthy living blogging community?
I started my blog in August 2009 with no idea that this wonderful, vast community of healthy living bloggers existed. I actually blogged alone in my own little world for several months before a friend from high school sent me a link to Kath’s blog saying that I might like it. From there I found other blogs, started commenting, hopped on the twitter bandwagon (@sweettaterblog), and the rest is history.
