VLOGMAS: Food Over the Holidays
Hiii, it’s me, Remi!!
The holidays are the perfect time to feel cozy, try new baking recipes, host dinners, and def NOT hold back!
I’m all about living a healthy lifestyle but also having BALANCE. The holidays only come once a year after all!
Of course, it’s my goal to help you all learn how to take care of yourself, stay fit and healthy, and still ENJOY LIFE! Now, we all know holidays can throw a wrench into our routines — most of this article is going to be able all the yummy FOOD I’ve been eating! — but first, I want to tell you all about the Set the Tone Challenge we recently hosted before the Holiday fun begins!
A Little More About the Set the Tone Challenge...
This challenge was all about setting the tone for the new year so that we can enjoy the holidays and get right back on track with our goals! We want to stay two steps ahead, and we want you to join us! We’ve pulled together 14 of our favorite quarantine workouts, and we’re hitting them HARD for two weeks — will you join us?!
Through the challenge, we even made some discoveries on why working out from home is more beneficial for your progress! We’ve been working out at home via HōmeBodies for nine months now, and it’s been AMAZING! When you work out at home, you have so many opportunities to get creative and try things you may not try in the gym. There’s no commute time, no judgment, and no distraction! It’s literally the perfect way to incorporate exercise into your life.
Staying on track during the “rainy days” is what will differentiate discipline from motivation for us. Rainy days are days that you just don't quite have that “jump outta bed and into your workout clothes for an espresso” sorta energy — days where you have ten different excuses to just skip things. But there is one big reason NOT to —
CONSISTENCY
Consistency is a hard concept to execute when adopting a new habit, but it is the secret sauce to changing any behavior. I would say that consistency helps us the most in forming unshakable routines. The routine built from consistency is what will power you through the rainy days. We function best when we don't have to make a ton of decisions. Limit stimuli and limit options. Our minds can only process so much on any given day.
The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined that you need to be. Don't swim upstream. We hope you joined us for the Set the Tone Challenge to stay two steps ahead of your goals!!
Identify the habits or practices that will free you from procrastination, staying sedentary, or lack of progress and take ACTION. This is what discipline looks like. This is how you begin forming the good habits that you desire. This is how you build that unshakable routine. Don't sit around and wait for the motivation to kick in. Get after it.
And by the way, at the end of the challenge, Nate and I did choose three WINNERS! (If you want to watch the full livestream where we announced the winners, you can check that out here!) We awarded 3rd place to @itssammyandjohn — John had never really been into fitness, but when Sammy suggested they participate in the challenge, he agreed, and they CRUSHED IT! Then, we gave 2nd place to @blameclaire, who even started doing extra workouts beyond the challenge with her boyfriend! And finally, we gave 1st place to @workout_wiz, who spent $30 of her last $40 dollars just to join the challenge and made HUGE progress!
All three of our winners won some special surprise goodies, cash prizes, and a one-year subscription to Hōmebodies! I was so excited to get to participate in this challenge alongside these amazing people, and I’m looking forward to working out with them some more over the next year!
Now, Let’s Talk about FOOD
Now with that said, one of the most important parts of the holiday season is the FOOD! You know I LOVEEE to try out lots of tasty recipes, and I love to enjoy spending time around the table with lots of friends and family members. It just makes the whole season feel brighter and warmer!
With all the AMAZING food there is out there to try, you know I have to make some vlogs about what I’ve been eating! There’s been some good — I made the most DELICIOUS and FLUFFY Greek yogurt pancakes that are perfect for Christmas morning — and some bad — I tried some pre-packaged war food just like Nate used to eat in the Marines... Yah, it was not good lol. But no matter what, I am having fun enjoying delicious and healthy foods throughout the holiday season!
As always, I want to hear about your favorite holiday foods! Have you tried any new, healthy recipes this year? Would love to see all the YUMMY things you’re eating this holiday season, find me here @rrayyme!
But with that, let’s get the worst out of the way and talk about that SUB PAR Marine food! (At least there was a cool little science experiment involved!)
Eating Marine Food — Vlogmas Day 9
When Nate was in the Marines, he was on the field and had to carry light- which means pre-packaged foods and zero fresh ingredients. These are designed specifically to be easily packed in a backpack and eaten quickly. To them, it’s more about maximizing nutrition while minimizing the effort.
So when I cut open that package of Marine food, I was NOT super excited to eat it. The first things I found inside were a little package of snack bread and a little bit of cheese spread. I opened up the bread, and it basically looked and smelled like cardboard. I didn’t even want to go near the cheese!
Then I opened up the nutrition bar. That one didn’t seem too bad — it looked a lot like an RX Bar, and it was apple cinnamon-flavored, so it smelled pretty nice. I still wasn’t too eager to taste it, though!
Then we came to the main dish — potatoes au gratin and some meatballs. Apparently, this food is made to be eaten cold, but they’ve also provided a fun way to cook it. You can pour a little bit of water into the special cooking pouch, and it gets really hot! The water was even steaming! Then, you put the little packet of food inside, seal it up, and let it cook for a few minutes.
Nate and I cooked the potatoes and the meatballs that way, and then I had to give them a try. First off, the potatoes were GROSS! I could only try the tiniest bite, and they tasted just like cardboard. Nothing yummy there! Then I tried the meatballs. The marinara tasted like marinara, and the meatballs weren’t too bad, but they still didn’t taste good! No wonder Nate is so happy about getting to buy his food at Erewhon!
Finally, Nate showed me how the coffee packet works — apparently, you just pour the coffee grounds into the bag with some water, shake it around, and drink it straight from the bag. Coffee in a bag, cool cool.
After all that, I can honestly say I cannot imagine what it’s like to be in the Marines! He ate like this every single day for four years. No wonder he is the way that he is now!
After eating all that, I wanted to make a better version of some warm, yummy comfort food, so I decided to make some Sauerkraut Soup! I chopped up some carrots, onions, celery, broccoli, and potatoes, tossed them into a slow cooker with some sauerkraut, chicken, and water, and let that delicious soup cook until it was perfect! A couple of spices on top completed the recipe, and Nate and I had a delicious and nutritious hot soup to enjoy for dinner! Thank goodness lol...
Asian Food Crawl - Vlogmas Day 4
The holidays are a great time to get together with good friends just to have a good time and enjoy some yummy food! Over the weekend, I got to have lots of fantastic food with some of the people I love the most!
On Saturday morning, Nate and I made these BEAUTIFUL salads with some baked eggs and spaghetti squash for breakfast. They were sooo good, and I got to serve them up in these really pretty bowls we got in Hawaii!
Later that evening, we went to dinner with my parents at the Rappahannock Oyster Bar!! We had some amazing seafood, and it was fun to just relax and enjoy a nice dinner with my parents and Nate!
Then, on Sunday morning, I got together with my best friend Amanda for a little celebration, and you know we had to celebrate with FOOD! We always get Asian food when we’re together, and for this vlog, we decided to go on a little Asian food crawl and taste all the delicious flavors the city has to offer!
We started by eating a full Japanese breakfast, and it was soooo good! We had this delicious eggplant, some fish, and so many other delicious breakfast foods! It was so nice to enjoy a traditional Japanese breakfast. Amanda and I also met up with our friend, Jon, who is an AMAZING chef in Los Angeles! He was the perfect person to bring along on a food crawl!
Next, we went to Kang Kang where we had even more delicious food! They have really delicious Asian meals there, so I recommend checking it out if you get the chance! And after that, we moved on to our third stop — Meet Fresh for some Taiwanese desserttttt!!!
I had been looking forward to some Taiwanese shaved ice all day, and we had sooooo much fun eating some! It was HUGE and DELICIOUS! My inner only child came out to try and get as much as I could before Amanda could eat it!
Finally, at the end of the weekend, I went home to help Nate prepare food for a little dinner party. We made a fresh salad and cooked up some tasty fish filets for some of Nate’s friends, and we had a great time just enjoying some good food and each other’s company!
All in all, I had a REALLY fun weekend! I got to eat some INCREDIBLE food… SO YUMMYYY!!! And I got to enjoy it with some of my favorite people in the world! I am so grateful for this time of year because it seems like food and family and friendship are even more special than usual!
My FAVORITE FLUFFY PANCAKES!!! — Vlogmas Day 8
Everybody likes pancakes, right?! They’re a perfect way to make breakfast a little extra special! And this recipe using my Brava Smart Oven is one of my absolute favorites!
This recipe starts with two eggs and a cup of Greek yogurt. Then, I add a half teaspoon of vanilla extract, just one tablespoon of coconut sugar, and one teaspoon of ghee butter. In a separate bowl, I mix together a half cup of buckwheat flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and some Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer. You can also include one teaspoon of baking soda to really make these pancakes SUPER fluffy!.
If you don’t want to make pancakes from scratch — I also love Purely Elizabeth Pancake Mix.
Finally, you can add blueberries or mashed banana for a little extra flavor if you want to!
Once you have the ingredients in both bowls all mixed up, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, and get mixing! But be careful not to over mix — if you stir too much, the batter will get too smooth and the pancakes will turn out rubbery!
I grab my pancake pan, spray it with some coconut oil, and pour the mixture into it. Then, I send the recipe over to the Brava to cook the pancakes — easy peasy! They only take about eight and a half minutes to cook, and they come out so delicious, fluffy, and perfect! I top these with a little butter and syrup, and they’re good to go!
For my vlog, I decided to serve them up with a little salad for breakfast! I pulled out some spinach, persimmons, pears, and dressing, and added some leftover roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. Finally, I cut up an heirloom tomato to finish off the salad, and I fried up an egg so Nate could have a little protein, too! (We didn’t have another egg for me!)
This beautiful salad and those PERFECT pancakes made for an amazing breakfast treat! If you’re looking for a delicious and healthy holiday breakfast to share with your family, I highly recommend trying this one!
What Are Your Favorite Holiday Foods?
I hope this post gave you a little bit of insight into all the foods I’ve been enjoying this holiday season! Aside from the Marine food (which I am NOT eager to try again!), I have LOVED everything I’ve eaten. I’ve had so much yummy and healthy food, and I’ve gotten to enjoy it with my family and friends! What could be a better way to spend the holiday season?
What have you been eating this year?! Do you have any fun food traditions? Have you tried any ew recipes? Please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme, so I can hear all about them!
And don’t forget to check out my Vlogmas posts on YouTube! I’m posting a new vlog every day, so there’s plenty to watch!
And finally, I hope you were able to join us for the Set the Tone Challenge! This was an incredible opportunity to build the CONSISTENCY you need to get through the rainy days and power through to your goals. I want this year to be your best yet, and I believe it can be! Thank you to everyone who joined Nate and me as we set the tone by reviewing our favorite workouts of the year.
Thank you so much for joining me today! I love you!!!
