Let’s face it. Maintaining a consistent healthy lifestyle is hard work.
Like many others, I was struggling to put myself first. The demands of work and family were always out of balance. This led to constant failures in drinking enough water, exercising, and eating nutritious whole foods. Simply put, I was exhausted, secretly hopeless and quite frankly ashamed that I just couldn’t seem to pull it all together.
Maybe it was a mid-life crisis or perhaps it was a rare moment of mental clarity, but I finally reached a breaking point where I had had enough. The magic pills, shakes and patches were not working. My four, yes, I said FOUR gym memberships were not working. Emotionally eating potato chips in my car while waiting for sports practices to get over, was certainly not working. I was a hot mess, on the inside and outside. If I did not make a change, I knew I would be facing medical issues down the road. Enough was enough. If I was going to live life to the fullest, I would need to provide my body the natural fuel and fitness it was designed for.
I’d love to say I got back on the treadmill, ate apples and looked young again within a few weeks, but that would be an extreme exaggeration. My health journey was a slow process. When I say slow, I mean a turtle walking 100 miles kind of slow. I slowly added cardio and strength-based training to my routine. I slowly eliminated processed food from my diet and focused on fresh, real foods. I really evaluated what exactly I was putting into my body. After a bit of time, those changes became habits and I felt AMAZING. The food was practically healing my body. So, if you are struggling right now in your journey, do not give up. I see you, and I know those frustrations quite well. Keep going.
The Queen of Squash brings more nutritious options to our community
Every now and then, you become tired of spending your entire Sunday Funday prepping healthy fresh meals for the week. It becomes daunting, repetitious, and I am not one to eat grilled chicken salads 7 days in a row. (Lord, please do not have grilled chicken salads in heaven.) I adore unique spices, bold flavors and textures! I scoured the delis and market sections of area restaurants, but there was just not enough variety for what I was looking for. I was determined to bring more nutritious options to our community.
More importantly, the social aspect of dining out bothered me. I love the energy of meeting up with friends for awesome cocktails and food. However, nothing brings you down more than staring at a menu of oil fried food that will counteract all the positive choices you made during the week. Now, I am not knocking a really good slice of pizza with a craft beer. Sometimes, you must indulge. But, I aim for eating healthy 80% of the time, and The Queen of Squash was created to make that easier for everyone. I had a passion to create a place where you could order fun eats and drinks that actually fit into your dietary plan without guilt. And being a self-proclaimed “foodie,” I refused to compromise on taste because healthy should also be delicious.
