Sharing a recipe for gluten-free cashew chicken that will change your liiiiiife. Not even joking.

Hi hi! How’s it going? I hope you’re having a lovely morning. Today is a day off from the gym (taught dance cardio, barre, and aerobics all in a row and ya girl is spent), so I’m looking forward to reading by the pool with the crew and also getting some content done for an upcoming partner post with NOW Foods (you can use FITNESSISTA for 20% off sitewide! They have SO much amazing stuff). I also have a 1:1 client call and am getting some stuff done around the house.

For today’s post, I have a new quick and easy dinner recipe for you that was a home run: gluten-free cashew chicken.

TBH, I LOVE Chinese takeout. It makes my soul so happy, but I typically end up feeling a little bloated afterwards and kind of blah. Fried food just doesn’t love me back, so I don’t eat it super often.

I was craving cashew chicken, but didn’t have the things I usually like to coat chicken for air frying: out of almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot, everything.

In the pantry, I saw this bag of pancake mix staring at me, and figured I’d give it a whirl.

This is a game changer, friends.

It has so many great ingredients for coating or breading chicken (you could totally use this for fish, shrimp, or tofu) and very little mixing required. Just season the heck out of it with salt and pepper, make a little egg bath (about 2 eggs with a little water) and you’re good to go.

Heads up with this recipe: you do need an Air Fryer. (It’s $87 right now!)

I fought buying one for at least two years and now that I have one, I’m like how the heck did I live without you for so long?! You can cook so many things in the air fryer, but our favorites are frozen fries (they crisp up beautifully), teriyaki salmon, chicken wings, bacon (the BEST way to cook regular and turkey bacon!) and quick veggie and protein dinners (like chopped chicken sausage, veggies, and potatoes).

I coated some diced chicken with egg and then popped it into a bowl with the pancake mix, and stirred to coat. Next I sprayed the air fryer basket (preheated at 375), added the chicken and cooked for 12-15 minutes, flipping once. I made sure it was done – always use a meat thermomet

mindfulness activities

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month and a great opportunity to practice being more mindful in our everyday lives!

It’s interesting to me that not long ago, no one was really talking about mindfulness. Now, I feel like it’s everywhere. And it’s so awesome! Being tuned into the moment, really enjoying what’s happening right now, is so, SO powerful. Like, life changing.  

But it’s hard, right? With life running a million miles a minute and a thousand things you want to do, it can be hard to slow down enough to do even a few minutes of mindfulness activities. But don’t you worry, girl! I’ve got you. I’ve put together some of my best tips to help you stay in the moment during your everyday routine.

Everyday mindfulness activities

Mindful eating

How often do you scarf down a meal before running to class or mindlessly eat while you’re in front of the TV? Change it up, girl!

Try being mindful when you’re eating. Slow down and really taste each bite. Have a moment of admiration for the beautiful meal in front of you. You’ll get so much more out of mealtime this way!

If mindful eating is hard for you, it can be helpful to take a few minutes after you eat to make notes on your meal. Don’t just write down the basics, like what you ate and the nutrient breakdown, but also note how it made you feel. You might learn more about healthy food options that make you super happy! 

Quality, nutritious food choices can go a long way in impacting both your physical and mental wellbeing. A better diet = a healthier lifestyle = better mental health!

Mindful listening

Okay, I know we all struggle with this. But of all the mindfulness activities, this is the one that will make the biggest difference for the people you care most about.

Here’s what I do: if I’m going to meet up with a friend but I know my brain is going a mile a minute, I carve out a few minutes to sit with my notebook or #GOALS Planner. I make notes about stuff I don’t want to forget and put stuff on my calendar to deal with later. That way, when I show up with my friend, I can be totally, 100% present with her. I can tune into everything she’s saying and really enjoy the time with her. And I think it makes the hangout sesh better for both of us! 

Mindful Meditation

Meditation is one of those ideas of mindfulness that can feel really intimidating if you’re not sure where to start. But meditating helps to slash stress and increase your self-awareness, plus it makes you feel better. And it can even make you more creative a

free World Health Day workout challenge

World Health Day is April 7, 2022 and we are celebrating the LSF way with a free workout challenge! We’re giving you a free printable that has the workout challenge deets, plus a post to share on IG once you finish. Oh yes.

Here’s how it works: complete your daily workout in LSF the App, log it in your journal and complete your sweat sesh how you normally would. But for World Health Day, we’re taking it up a notch! As a finisher to your app workout, complete all of the exercises on the printable and your #LSFHealthDay challenge is complete! Don’t have the app? Try it for yourself and start your 7 day free trial of the premium app subscription!

And, of course, we couldn’t put together this free workout challenge for World Health Day without something to share on IG. Post your photo, use the hashtag #LSFHealthDay and hype up other women that complete this one day challenge with you!

We LOVE World Health Day because it’s a small way to celebrate all of the healthy steps we take in our crazy busy lives. Living a healthy lifestyle is work and a choice every single day! Sometimes, it’s not easy. We know that. Check out what we do every day to choose a healthy lifestyle and make every day feel like World Health Day.

Sweat it out with our LSF the App workouts

You know when you feel super blah, but you force yourself to get a sweat sesh in and afterwards, you feel SO much better?? Bring on those endorphins, baby! We commit to ourselves every day to do our workout in LSF the App. Of course, this is so good for our physical health, but also for our mental health! Setting aside time to get moving and work up a sweat is crucial to making us feel more energized and happy.

With working out, it’s easy to skip it when there’s no plan or you don’t really know what to do. LSF the App takes all of the guesswork out of working out and makes it FUN! You get a daily workout plan for losing weight and building lean muscle, plus tons of other incredible features you won’t find in other workout apps.

Try it for yourself and start your 7 day free trial of the premium app subscription!

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motivational wallpapers

We’re halfway through the 2022 Spring Slim Down fitness challenge and right about now is when you’ve got to dig deep to push it to the end. Committing 8 weeks to daily workouts, healthy eating, and crushing your goals isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would do it. It takes dedication, drive, and a whole lot of support. Our #TeamLSF community is here to encourage you every step of the way, but these motivational wallpapers can help too!

SSD 2022 Motivational Wallpapers

Dairy-Free Mint Chip Vanilla Protein Smoothie

Move over “shamrock shake” — we’re mixing up a healthy version of a favorite St. Paddy’s day treat that’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and filled with tons of nutrients and antioxidants.

This recipe is also packed with 20 g of plant-protein to curb cravings, build lean muscle and burn fat and gets the beautiful green color from nutrient-dense spinach… not from artificial food coloring!

So whether you’re celebrating something special (it’s my birthday today!) or looking to feel extra festive on St. Patrick’s day, you can whip up this treat in less than 2 mins. In fact, you can even have it for breakfast with ZERO guilt!

Mint Chip Smoothie Ingredients

• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 small banana- frozen
• 1 cup unsweetened oat milk or almond milk
• 3 mint leaves or 1 drop mint extract
• 1 tsp mini dark chocolate chips (no sugar added- I like Lily’s brand)
• 1 scoop LSF Vanilla Plant Protein
• Coconut