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Three Thoughts for a Health Breakthrough

October 07, 2018 in Nourished Leadership, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

I just returned home from the annual Thrive Conference this weekend. The theme this year was Audacious Hope. Shout out to all the ladies who attended the conference (it was incredible)!

There are too many topics and ideas to fit into one blog, so I picked out 3 takeaways from the conference that I want to share with you. Guys, Thrive is a women’s conference, but these ideas and questions are universal.

The first question I have been pondering was presented by pastor, author, and speaker, Craig Groeschel. Craig was speaking about leadership, specifically on ‘becoming a leader people love to follow.’ This question was asked in relation to leadership, but I’m going to ask it to you in relation to your health & wellness habits:

1. “What is no longer working that needs to be changed?”

3 Warning Signs Your Life is Out of Balance

September 09, 2018 in Nourished Home, Nourished Mind, Nourished Leadership, Nourished Soul

I used to think that achieving balance meant having a quiet (CLEAN) house, using a calm speaking voice all the time, and maintaining an empty schedule. . . And then I had kids!

Think about a day when you were running non-stop and then at the end of the day you ask yourself, “what did I even do today?” After a day like that, I wonder how I can be so busy, and at the same time, so unproductive!

I think achieving and maintaining balance begins with defining your priorities. Take a moment right now while you are reading and see if you can answer the following questions OUT LOUD.

What is important to you today?
What is important to you in this season?
What is going to be important to you at the end of your life?

Solitude: The Secret to Joy

June 24, 2018 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

“You’re everywhere!”

I hear that a lot, especially from my friends on social media who like and comment on my hashtags, selfies and foodie pics.

“Awesome!”

“You look great!”

“Wow, how fun!”

To them and the rest of the online world, I’m a bona fide social butterfly, always out and about at a different event in a different outfit with a different group of people. Yet while I enjoy socializing very much, there’s been many times I’ve passed on meeting up with friends, just to sit at home alone and do absolutely nothing.

I spend time alone on a regular basis, intentionally seeking out moments to be by myself in complete silence, because I find getting comfortable being alone allows me to get in touch with my own thoughts. Seeking out these quiet moments helps me feel centered, which has the effect of producing calm in my life. And I like that. I like calm.

Living Wellness LIVE Episode 4 -- Cornbread Waffles & Smoothie Bowl Granola Recipes

June 10, 2018 in Nourished Recipes

Freedom, balance, and abundant life are a few milestones for a Living Wellness lifestyle.

Christina Zaczkowski and Ashley Darkenwald began Living Wellness Live as a way to reach more people. The show has a live audience and is filmed and produced! Our message is one that of hope and encouragement to those desiring to live a healthy holistic healthy lifestyle. We believe you don’t have to sacrifice enjoyment of life to be healthy-- you can have both!

The three components of the Living Wellness Live show include an interesting and insightful interview, a "body" segment, and a kitchen segment. We have en educational bent and an inspirational message about wholistic health.

For Episode 4, we have three incredible guests:

Roxane Battle, bestselling author of Pockets of Joy, Deciding to be Happy Choosing to be Free

Chef Phil Lutgen, owner of Pour Wine Bar and Bistro

Jennifer Menk, Senior Director of the YMCAs of the Greater Twin Cities

We hope you'll enjoy the show! Click here to go to the link from Facebook Live or stay tuned to for the edited version. You can read more about our guests here.

The recipes are below are extra special because restaurant owners usually do NOT share their secrets. But Phil and Diane from Pour are AMAZING and have shared a few recipes from their BRAND NEW Sunday brunch menu. I highly encourage you to check out their brunch at Pour Wine Bar and Bistro at either the Otsego or Champlin location*. I've had it a few times myself and I've been delighted! Keep reading for the recipes!

In My Weakness

June 03, 2018 in Nourished Soul, Nourished Mind, Nourished Leadership

My friend and pastor Bjorn Dixon kicked off a new summer series at church this morning titled "Called to Be His." Another friend sitting next to me wrote down a line during the sermon that caught my attention and got me thinking about the leadership series I've been writing on this blog. Here's what she wrote: "God meets you in your weaknesses and limitations and uses you anyway." - Donna Schwab

What does that mean for a leader?

Strength, authority, and goal-oriented are just a few words that come to mind when I think of the word 'leader'. Christ was a leader who had all of those attributes. But he spotlighted another characteristic that isn't talked about a whole lot in leadership circles: weakness. He told the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

Get Moving in Your Everyday Life

March 18, 2018 in Nourished Body

Today on the blog, we're excited to share a guest blog post by Carisa Rasmussen from Clean and Lean. We love, love, love the message Carisa shares with Clean & Lean which is, "Build Strength. Build Confidence. Build Wellness. Cultivate Joy."

Carisa shared a little bit already during the fabulous fitness segment on our Living Wellness LIVE Episode 3 about the importance of exercising even a little bit each day. During the show, Carisa shared that her "why not's" for exercising have become her "why's" for exercising. How true that is! We loved how Carisa shared that we need to prioritize ourselves & take care of ourselves, whether its eating nourishing foods or making time for exercise, in order to best care for others. Without further ado, I'll pass it off to Carisa to share practical tips for how to add movement into your everyday activity.

Living Wellness LIVE Episode 3 Recipes

March 11, 2018 in Nourished Recipes

What an amazing Living Wellness LIVE Episode 3 we had this past Friday! We had such a great time learning from Stefanie Peters from Lady Boss Empire, Carisa Rasmussen from Clean & Lean, and Kelley Suggs from Lithe Wellness Solutions. If you weren't able to join our fun live audience and want to see the show, check out the full show here!

Also, if you missed our show in-person, you can still enjoy the amazing THREE course meal Kelley Suggs made by recreating those simple yet super flavorful dishes in your own kitchen. All three recipes are below!

For those of you who are not familiar with Kelley Suggs, she is a two-time guest on the Living Wellness LIVE show and certified health education specialist (CHES) at Lithe Wellness Solutions. You can learn much more about Kelley here!

Leadership Thoughts from a Real Lady Boss

March 04, 2018 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Leadership

As I’m preparing for the upcoming interview on Living Wellness Live with Stefanie Peters, I’ve been reading her book, Unleash Your Lady Boss: 10 Keys to Unlock your Ultimate Life and Ignite the Greatness Within. After reading Stefanie’s book, I’m really excited for the interview—she has some great stories and insights to share. Here’s are a few of my favorite quotes and some topics we may discuss at Living Wellness Live on Friday, March 9th. I hope you can tune into Facebook Live or attend in person!

These leadership thoughts are not just for lady bosses, they apply to dude bosses as well. And I firmly believe that every person is a leader in their own sphere of influence. So, read on and be encouraged from quotes from a real lady boss, Stefanie Peters.

“Don’t take the plan everyone says you’re supposed to follow. Instead, choose the greater purpose destined for you.”

This has been a personal struggle of mine for 20 years. As a people pleaser, I would be tossed about this way and that with decisions great and large, from what classes to take in high school to what wedding dress I would ultimately pick. The last 10 years has been a wonderful period of recognizing when people pleasing crosses the line from polite to destructive. Another book that has been eye opening is TrueFaced by Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol. Learning about me has been one of the best and most fruitful journeys of my life.

Achieve Your Goals-- 5 Tips to Make It Happen

January 27, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind

We are super exciting to have the one and only Amy Peterson, RN, personal trainer, and group fitness instructor extraordinaire as our guest blogger today! Amy’s been a guest on our first and second Living Wellness LIVE shows. Click the links here to see the Facebook LIVE recap videos of our shows: Show 1 and Show 2. Without further ado, here’s Amy with some great tips for jump starting or re-starting your 2018 wellness goals.

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January is that time of year where you get to start fresh. It’s a new year and there’s something inspiring about starting out with a clean slate. Setting goals are on the priority list for many people. Unfortunately, though, not everyone obtains their goals. You get busy, lose focus, the momentum slows, and, quite possibly, you might even forget them…not that that ever happens to me! 😊

Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen many clients and friends succeed in accomplishing their wellness goals, and I’ve seen many stall or just give up on their goals. Let me just say that it is never to late to start prioritizing your health by making some SMART goals, no matter how small of a goal it is.

Living Wellness LIVE recipes: Whitefish Fajita Stuffed Peppers & Grandpa Apples’ Favorite

January 14, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Recipes

Today on the Living Wellness Blog we're excited to bring our second Living Wellness LIVE show into your own kitchen with two amazing recipes! Living Wellness Facilitator Bill Evans created these fabulous dishes for us this past Friday at Living Wellness LIVE. Check out the full recap video here including the cute story about the title for the Grandpa Apples' recipe below.

As Christina said in our show, Bill Evans is one of our talented Living Wellness Facilitators and also a food enthusiast. He hasn't always been super creative in the kitchen though. Bill's healthy cooking journey actually only started about 15 years ago when he decided that he wanted to find out how to make the commercially prepared foods he enjoyed at home without the additives. Bill also credits hunger and timing as sources of cooking inspiration as his work and hunger schedule allowed him to whip up new dishes for his wife to enjoy when she got home from work. Gotta eat to live right? :)

Trying new dishes and sharing them with others are some of Bill's favorite parts of cooking, but even more so, Bill has said that he loves finding foods that taste good and nourish our bodies at the same time. So, without further ado, here's two delicious and nourishing recipes. Enjoy!