Live Love Leesh

29/05/2018

Good morning, and happy Tuesday-that-feels-like-Monday!! My first official podcast interview, on Whatever The Health, is UP and available for your listening pleasure!

Check out my episode (Season 2 Ep. 1) plus their others because they’re awesome, and let me know what you think!

Do you listen to Podcasts? What are some of your faves?

Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes of Whatever The Health Podcast by Samantha Whitney and Amanda Lee for free.

23/05/2018

Did you know that the chances of you existing are like...zero? and yet, here you are scrolling along.

I read an article once that described it like this: “Imagine there was one life preserver thrown somewhere in some ocean and there is exactly one turtle in all of these oceans, swimming underwater somewhere. The probability that you came about and exist today is the same as that turtle sticking its head out of the water - in the middle of that life preserver. On one try.”

If you’re a numbers person it comes out to a 1 in 10 to the 2,685,000 power chance... AKA you’re a miracle. I’m a miracle. We’re all just walking miracles.

Now let’s take that info and put it into action in our lives. How would your day, or life change if you approached it with gratitude for simply existing?

Would you try more things?

Care less about some things?

Spend more time doing what you want?

Treat your body better?

Feel just a little happier, even on awful days?

Why not start?

In case you missed it the first time: YOU are a freakin’ miracle, start living like one. 💖

08/05/2018

Perfectionist, is a word that could accurately describe me, for as long as I can remember. In most cases it’s something I’ve considered to be a positive characteristic, but if I’m being honest it has and continues to be to my detriment a lot of the time.

See, the thing about perfection is that it’s incredibly elusive, in fact in most of life it’s not even a realistic possibility - this means that the people who seek it waste a lot of time in doing so.

I know for me, that sometimes waiting on all the pieces to come together just right, is more of an excuse than anything else.

Life is in constant motion (and hopefully that motion isn’t stopping anytime soon). So, with this reality in mind it’s important to accept that there isn’t a ‘perfect’ time or perfect way to make ‘it’ happen.

Whatever your ‘it’ might be - the pursuit of better health, of a new job, of a certain goal, anything it is you want - it doesn’t have to happen perfectly, in fact, it probably won’t and it definitely won’t happen overnight.

But, what you can count on is that it won’t happen at all if you keep sitting around waiting on perfection.

What’s one small thing can you do tomorrow to start taking action in the direction of your goals?

I’m giving you permission right now to go do it - but don’t forget to leave the need for perfection at the door, because the journey might get a little messy but if you push through the mess, the setbacks, the curveballs....it will be always be worth it.

P.S. there are definitely still things/tasks/projects that can and should be done perfectly...the perfectionist in me had to say that! Just be mindful of when perfection is acting as an excuse, rather than as a realistically attainable goal 😉

30/04/2018

This weekend I went outside of my comfort zone. Over, and over, and over again.

I’m a natural planner, my calendar is my bff and I rarely do things on a whim - most of my plans are set weeks, even months in advance. But last week I was gently pushed by an incredible soul to make the leap and buy my ticket to Amber Lilyestrom’s Ignite Your Soul Summit.

So with barely any notice and really no idea of what to expect of it, I was set to spend an entire weekend with strangers.

& the experience was unlike anything I have EVER been a part of.

I’m still reflecting, and I really don’t have the words to describe it yet but - I cried, I laughed, I grew, I learned, I opened up, I connected, and I felt SO many things.

My mind has been going like a trillion miles a minute and I can not believe that it was all fit into just 2 days - but for now, I’ll leave you with this question for your Monday:

If the only needs, feelings, ideas, dreams, and opinions, you needed to worry about in life were YOUR OWN, how would you live your life differently?

I ask that because the reality is, if you want to show up as your best self for every one else that you care about, you should be living that way already.

Happy Monday ✨

P.S. I am so grateful to all the speakers, and to everyone else that I met and shared this weekend with! 💗💚

Lori Harder
For The Love Of Money - Podcast with Chris Harder
Rachel Camfield
Karen Kenney
Wild Adventurous Life / Laney & Lu
Jessica Todd
Meg Haines

PURE MAGIC ✨

26/04/2018

🌧 Rainy days call for a little comfort food!

Broccoli Mac & Cheese 🥦🧀

“Cheese” Sauce:
~6 Button Mushrooms
1/2 Avocado
~7 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Turmeric (for color)
Water

I roasted the mushrooms whole at 450* for about 10-12minutes, then put them with everything else into the blender!

Blended it up until smooth, and tasted to see if it needed more salt, or nutritional yeast.

It’s all to preference so, taste as you go, you really only need enough water to get it to blend smoothly.

Then I mixed it into some steamed, then cut broccoli, with brown rice pasta shells, plus some roasted asparagus on the side for even more veggie goodness!

You could, of course, use whatever pasta floats your boat, and the broccoli is optional but highly recommended 😉

The idea for this came to me as I roamed aimlessly around the grocery store yesterday, so this was the first time I made it and it came together so simply.

I think it turned out really well, and my boyfriend practically licked his bowl clean, so it’s safe to say it was a win!

Sometimes it’s fun to to play around with new stuff!

p.s. I don’t even like mushrooms, and I liked this!

22/04/2018

There are a lot of things in this world that you can be passionate about, worry over, work for, and rise against, but if the health and future of the world itself isn’t one of those things, what’s the point?

I often remind people that we only get one body to live in, to illustrate the importance of prioritizing our health - that one body, everyone else’s and all the ones that have yet to be born only have this one planet to live on, and for me that’s just as important.

Small steps can make a difference. Some of the steps that I take are:
- reusable grocery bags (which honestly make bringing the groceries in, all in one trip, so much easier)
- reusable produce bags (and if I forget them, I just skip the bags, for everything I can)
- reusable glass straws
- someday I’ll buy stasher bags, but until then I try to reuse my ziplock bags whenever I can
- I don’t buy paper plates
- I try to keep a dish towel on the counter while I cook to reduce my paper towel use
- I try support companies that work to reduce their footprint on the environment
- I buy cruelty-free beauty products
- I recycle everything I can!

I’m also going to make it a goal of mine over the next few weeks to find out what options I have for composting in my area!

What small changes have you made? or can you make some new ones?

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Let’s keep this place beautiful today, and every day!

Art by: Nathalie Ouederni Illustration 😍

14/04/2018

On Friday, I had the privilege of speaking at the Educators Rising, Teachapalooza conference at Plymouth State, and I had such a great time.

We discussed: what a health coach is, the impact that food has on the body (beyond just the waistline), the sad state of health in America, why I’m passionate about making a difference, steps they can take to take control of their own health, finding balance, never dieting, and everything else I could squeeze in! I’m so grateful that I was able to be a part of it!

These kind of days, are my favorite! There’s arguably nothing I enjoy more than sharing my knowledge and passion for living a healthier life, with others. If you have a classroom, workplace, or coach a team, that would be interested in a little health & wellness info session/workshop - I’m your girl!

Heck, if you want to host a workshop in your living room with all your friends, and learn together - send me a message or visit the link below, and we can make it happen!

http://www.liveloveleesh.com/book-me-to-speak/

30/03/2018

Easter’s coming! So, naturally I had to share these little babies from last year. All the peanut buttery-chocolate goodness, none of the questionable ingredients. Check ’em out!

The goal was to make a homemade "Reese's" Egg that was free of chemicals, and refined sugar, actually had nutritional benefits, and tasted great! I'm pretty sure I did it, but you'll have to make them and let me know yourself...

26/03/2018

"nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

Have you ever heard this phrase?

… or maybe you’ve heard ones that are similar? One quick search on Pinterest found me plenty of them and I have a bone to pick about these kinds of “motivational quotes.”

👇 CHECK IT!👇

I feel like, more often than not, this type of ’motivational’ dialogue falls into the category of demeaning, and discouraging, rather than helpful.