KEEPING IT SIMPLE:
A SUMMERTIME SMOOTHIE EVEN YOUR KID WILL LIKE
Article by Keli McNassar & Jamison Yeva
Magazine: Issue #39
Sometimes Easier Is Better
Yes, hard work definitely pays off. And, yes, going after something you want with all you’ve got is the way to achieve your goals.
But… sometimes the easy way is actually the better way. Seriously. Let me explain.
There are two areas in my life that demand simplicity and ease, because the alternative is to give into the madness or just give up completely.
The first is getting vegetables (i.e. nutrients other than those known as “Cheerios” or “chicken nuggets”) into my almost-preschooler. The second is making sure I don’t look like one of the people on the “People of Wal-Mart” website. Full disclosure: I totally shop at Wal-Mart sometimes, but I want to look like I shop at Macy’s all the time, without it taking any more energy or brain power.
With the veggies, I could succumb to the Mona Lisa of vegetables art you find on Pinterest or I could give up completely and let my daughter eat junk all day and set her up to be a guest on Dr. Phil sometime down the road, where they call me onto the stage to scold and berate me for allowing my child to become a morbidly obese, diabetic 8 year-old… but both of those options sound exhausting. Ain’t nobody got time to be embarrassed on Dr. Phil.
So what’s the solution for getting my kid to ingest some real nutrients? SMOOTHIES! (I’ve included my favorite recipe below). That’s right. Simple. Easy. No fighting. No whittling away with a paring knife, carving out Anna and Elsa’s faces into the jicama. I just dump the fruit and veggies, milk, and whatever else I want to add into the blender, and presto; a smoothie that my little girl happily sucks down while I let the mommy guilt and craziness wash away so that I can focus on the bigger things, like what I’m going to wear that day.
And that brings me to the second part of my life where I have found that easy is better: my daily fashion choices. See, I’ve worked from home since 2010, and my daughter was born in 2013. When you combine working from home with motherhood, you enter an entirely new realm of frumpiness that you never knew existed, i.e. it’s a good day when you wear your “nice” nasty pajamas all day instead of your “gross” nasty pajamas, and you actually brush your teeth, and you’re all, hello, gorgeous! After years of this, you forget that it’s possible, or even in your own self-interest, to care about how you look, even the tiniest little bit.
The event that finally forced me to face the ugly truth was when I found out I was pregnant with my second kid. I realized that I had a short amount of time to figure out how to look like a functioning member of society instead of one of those people raised by wolves, and I knew whatever the answer was, it needed to be almost as easy as wearing pj’s and sweats all day, and definitely as comfortable.
I didn’t think this was going to be possible actually, but ladies, I’m here to tell you this nexus of style and laziness desire for comfort exists, and it’s called LuLaRoe. Instead of pajama pants, I now wear amazingly, adorable, buttery-soft leggings that come in a million patterns and colors – that feel like pajamas. Instead of an old festival t-shirt that was obviously made for a man (remember, before they used to make women’s cut shirts?), I now wear brightly colored, super-soft, stylish shirts that also come in a million patterns and in a bunch of different styles – that also feel like pajamas. There are also sweet dresses; one style has pockets (can I get a hell yeah!), and they’re stretchy and comfortable – they feel like... you guessed it; pajamas! You can get on the floor and play with your kids one minute, then fall asleep next to them as you try to get them to nap (they don’t), then get on a video conference call for work and look professional, and then go out to dinner with your family and make everyone else wonder how you seem to have it all together.
I now walk around basically wearing pajamas all day, and I look CUTE. I look stylish, bright, and cheerful. I actually feel like a woman again. I think my husband has noticed that he’s married to a woman again. LuLaRoe is a life changer.
Ladies, when we can simplify our lives and still reach goals of being healthy or looking great, let’s do it. Our lives are complicated enough as it is. Love to you all!
Perfectly Peared Summertime Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 small bunch parsley
½ med avocado
2 ripe pears
2 peeled Granny Smith apples
2 med bananas
1 cup water
1 cup ice
Instructions:
Peel apples and chop fruit and avocado roughly – put aside.
Add parsley into blender with 1 cup of water and blend until smooth.
Add fruit, avocado, and ice until smooth and creamy.
