Easy, healthy spring rolls recipe and demo!

I was SO proud of myself when I made spring rolls the other day!!! I had always assumed they’d be messy or would fall apart, but when my friend, Lindsay, decided to have an Asian-inspired dinner party, I thought I would give them a try! Turns out, they were incredibly easy and they are a tasty way to get more veggies into your meals or party appetizers!

I give a full video demonstration here (and to prove how easy it was to make the rice paper rolls, I had to do it with one hand in order to film it!): https://youtu.be/97wWg5kH7BQ

The rolls were super simple to make. Fillings are totally up to you and your tastes. I made these rolls twice and each time I used some kind of combo of romaine lettuce, shrimp (I gave my recipe for shrimp with a little extra kick in the video!), thin rice noodles, avocado, red pepper, carrots, cucumber (all the veggies I either cut into thin strips or spiralized), mint (I loved the flavor that the fresh mint added so I used even more the 2nd time around!), and sesame seeds. The video explains all about the rice paper, what to look for when buying it, and how to prepare it for rolling!

The homemade peanut sauce absolutely MADE these rolls! They were good without it, but it added so much extra flavor, plus I liked having something “liquidy” on them. I apologize for not being the kind of cook who measures everything perfectly. With my background in the sciences, I do love things that are exact but unfortunately my cooking tends to be very free-spirited. I used multiple recipes online to come up with this concoction (so if you are someone who likes things exact, google a homemade peanut sauce recipe). I included a picture of what I used in the peanut sauce here since it was a little hard to see in the video. The main ingredients were basically peanut butter and soy sauce (I used liquid aminos- a healthier, gluten-free alternative to soy sauce- available from amazon associate link here- disclosure: I get a small commission if someone purchases from this link). Mash some peanut butter with some soy sauce (I used a hefty amount of each- more soy sauce will make it spicier, more PB will make it sweeter). Everything else I used to taste. I really liked the addition of the sesame oil- I felt like that gave it a good Asian flavor. The honey sweetened it up a little. I added some rice vinegar (I like what that did to the texture). Black pepper, hot sauce, garlic powder, actual garlic (minced), and red pepper flakes (not pictured) all added to the flavor but can be used generously, sparingly, or not at all depending on your tastes. When you mix all of this together, it will be pretty chunky and think. Add water (small amounts at a time) to thin it out to the consistency you want! Mine thickened a little in the fridge and I actually liked it even better the next day (just FYI).

I served the peanut sauce on the side (garnished with red pepper flakes) but it was so good, I ended up using it generously over each one of the rolls I ate!

This entire recipe is all gluten-free- just make sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce or an alternative like the liquid aminos that I used! The liquid aminos can be found on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2jqWfpj Full disclosure: I get a small commission from Amazon if you buy this product but this is honestly what I use at home and wanted to make it easier for you to find!

If you are vegan and don’t eat honey, that can easily be taken out of the peanut sauce or substituted with agave or pure organic maple syrup.

If you don’t like or eat shrimp, don’t worry- I made a bunch of them without it and they were just as good!

Watch the video, let me know what you think, and let me know how yours turn out! Feel free to contact me with any questions!!

Happy cooking!

Katelyn

I would be honored to help you with your health and fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

You can contact me or find out more information using:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk

Beachbody page: http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk

Or my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/kate37721

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Happy Heart, Healthy Life!

Today I was listening to a youtube video that Nikki Phillippi posted of her interview with Katrina and Karena from Tone It Up on what makes a healthy lifestyle. Katrina said she believes it starts with a healthy heart: healthy relationships, healthy friendships, great happiness, and taking care of your body.

I couldn’t agree more!

Any time I get caught up in self-doubt or worry that I’m not where I should be in any area of my life, it’s almost always because I’m putting the focus on ME, not on what service I can be to others.

I immediately feel better when I think of how I can make someone else’s day better; or appreciate the wonderful, supportive, uplifting people around me; or stop to notice all the GOOD in this world!

The comparison game never makes anyone feel better. Take the focus off of you and how you “measure up” and start putting the focus on helping others!

Surround yourself with people who make you feel good and lift you UP! If your friends don’t think or act that way, find new friends!! If we lived to be 1000 years old, life would still be too short to waste it on any petty drama.

Find the people who purely embody love and kindness. Start by being that type of person yourself!

Don’t you feel happier and healthier already? :)

Sending love your way, friends!

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

You can contact me or find out more information using:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk

Beachbody page: http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk

Or my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/kate37721

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

LOVE YOURSELF to where you want to be!!!

I’ve got an IMPORTANT message- this has been coming up A LOT lately.

**I cannot stress enough how important it is to LOVE yourself to where you want to be rather than self-hating/shaming/guilting yourself to where you want to be!** I can PROMISE you that the added stress and pressure and negative emotions that the latter thought process causes is counterproductive to your health and happiness. Loving yourself right where you are does not mean you are throwing in the towel on the healthy changes you want to make- what it DOES mean is that you constantly shower yourself with love and acceptance while still evaluating how you can be kinder to yourself and create healthier habits. The THOUGHT PROCESS must be healthy too in order for it to show up in the physical form! And isn’t it wonderful to know that there’s someone that will ALWAYS be there for you and ALWAYS have your back 100% and will ALWAYS love and accept you know matter what?? Yep, and that person is YOU!! While it’s WONDERFUL to have a loving support system, it is also IMPERATIVE to work on loving and accepting yourself exactly the way you are, right now, at this very minute. Take a moment to APPRECIATE all that your body is doing for you! No matter what you do to it or what you put into it, it is digesting, breathing, keeping your heart beating, moving your eyeballs right now as you read this, and YES, your body is your biggest cheerleader!! LOVE IT BACK!!

Admittedly, this has not been my best summer for healthy habits. Between my birthday, several trips, and normal summer busyness, I’ve indulged quite a bit. But just because I’m working towards getting stronger, improving my endurance, and feeling more health and vitality, does not mean I can’t appreciate this awesome life and self I have right in the here and now!! If you’re struggling with this, think of someone less fortunate than you in their health or life circumstances that would give anything to be where you are. If that helps, start by appreciating your self and your life and your body for them first THEN slowly, over time, move into loving you for your own sake!!

If you base your self-love on how you look or a number on the scale, then your happiness at any given point in time will always be dependent on whether you are or are not at that point. So make the decision NOW that you will love yourself and have your back no matter what!!! It is truly as simple as that… just DECIDE!!! Throw out your cares of what anyone else might think (because anyone who does not love you unconditionally is not worth it anyway!) and know that no matter what, YOU have your back!! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!

I did a follow-up to this post that can be found here: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2015/09/a-follow-up-about-self-love-and-weight.html

Healthy systems are more effective than willpower

In my world, willpower alone is not enough (not NEARLY enough) to make healthy choices regularly. My workout motivation has centered around years of gratitude practice for what my body is capable of (literally take a second to picture all the complex mechanisms that are involved in just getting one finger to move!!) and I've created systems to get me moving and keep me accountable (thank you, online challenge groups with my clients). My nutrition is the same way. Relying on willpower alone to make healthy choices or avoid the junk would be setting myself up for failure (that's why I don't do so great at parties or cookouts where the junk food is a temptation for hours on end)! But at home, I have great systems. I literally won't let myself buy junk at the grocery store and I make sure to keep my fridge PACKED with the healthy stuff. So for example, one aspect of this system is to make sure I never miss a farmer's market! So at least I know that every single Tuesday, my fridge is getting restocked with lots of fresh produce. I don't crave junk when I have all this delicious, healthy food keeping me well nourished!

What are some of your systems for good health??

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Personal development: you are WORTH it!!

I get a lot of really sweet compliments about my positive outlook on life, which I definitely appreciate, but in trying to always be open and transparent, I'd like to remind you all that it is a constant practice. I spend an average of 2-3 hours a day on personal development (I did this even when working full time). I listen to podcasts, motivational youtube videos, and audiobooks while driving, working out, getting ready, and during my walks each day. I read everyday. It has been a process. I don't seek perfection; I seek growth, expansion, increased awareness, progress, new knowledge, and higher energy and vibration. I am grateful to have this much time to put into this (I am borderline obsessive about it and make it a huge priority), but I also firmly believe that even 10-20 min/day can make a WORLD of difference in your life. It is all about seeing what you connect with, seeing what you can put into practice in your life, trying it out, evaluating, incorporating, and then seeking more.

I also don't think it matters where you start. For me it was Tony Robbins and Wayne Dyer because their work was what I was resonating with at that point in my life and journey. That then led to me finding other high-performance coaches, discovering other Hay House authors, going to conferences that exposed me to more concepts that I wanted to learn more about, and took me all the way to some of my current favorite people to follow like Teal Swan who has a seemingly endless wealth of incredible online content. But no matter where you start, you will naturally discover more people and concepts that you resonate with. It's more important that you just start somewhere with a little time each day. YOU and your LIFE are WORTH IT!!!!