Stewarding a Holy Temple.

During the summertime it is easy to lose track of what we eat. Road trips, visiting friends, trying new restaurants, making new recipes, and ice cream cones are just a few of the ways that I notice myself falling behind. I’ve never been one to exercise consistently and eat salad/veggies…you can think AGAIN! I’ve never liked eating vegetables and salad is definitely not on my list (unless it is spinach). There are a few types of vegetables I do like: lima beans, broccoli, and sometimes green beans. In an effort to be a little healthier this summer, I’ve come up with a few easy ways (and there is no better time to try new things than the summer when I’m on a break from school)! Before I jump into the tips, I wanted to first talk about honoring the bodies that God has blessed us with. 

Paul discusses our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit that are not ours, but God’s. “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) I’m no theologian, but I would assume that this would encompass what we put into our bodies alongside what we do with them. I don’t know about you, but I want to be a good steward of the body God has given me and if I can do a few small things to honor the blessing he has given me I will. 

Let’s jump in with the first tip!

Prepared Lunches.

Most days I am home for lunch, and rather than eating grilled cheeses or leftovers everyday, I borrowed an idea from my favorite YouTuber (Rachel Earls). She prepared chicken breasts and broccoli for her lunches each day and I thought that was a great idea! First I bought organic boneless skinless chicken breasts and sliced them in half length-wise to make them thinner. Then I used my favorite rub, Grill Mates Sweet & Smoky Cinnamon Chipotle, to brown my chicken with olive oil on the stove. Once the chicken is cooked through, I cut each breast into small pieces. 

After the chicken was cooked, I took 1lb of broccoli and cut it into florets. Then I boiled it for 4-6 minutes until it turned bright green. After everything was prepared, I divided the chicken and broccoli evenly amongst the 5 containers I laid out for each weekday. So far I’ve enjoyed my chicken and broccoli for lunch this week along with my next tip. 

One of my go to drinks this summer is ice water with lemon slices (or lime). Whether I’m working outside, eating lunch, running errands, or hanging out on the front porch, I love having a cup/bottle of ice water with me.

My last foodie tip is…SMOOTHIES! 

I love making smoothies and the new blender I just got is awesome! I’ve tried lots of combinations of berries and fruits and even spinach (I don’t know if I’ll do that again). I’m not a health-freak so I probably won’t get into drinking green smoothies or adding all of those weird seeds and such. For this smoothie I used frozen strawberries and bananas, vanilla yogurt, and a little spot of milk to moisten things up. I threw it all into the blender and blended it up until it was smooth and poured it into a mason jar. One of my other favorite fruit combos is strawberry, banana, peach, and pineapple. 

Now to the exercise part…

I’m not one to go out and exercise like I mentioned before. However, I have found a YouTube channel that has easy workouts that are only about 5-7 minutes each and the trainer is really positive and encouraging! If you’re looking for a quick workout, I highly recommend Love, Sweat, Fitness.  

Thanks for reading my tips on healthy eating and honoring the bodies God has given us. I hope you have a great rest of your week and continue to acknowledge His glory in the everyday and live a transformed life!

Weekly Truth:

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)


***UPDATE: I really enjoy taking my dog for walks around my neighborhood and seeing how far I walk and how many steps I've gotten. I use the Pacer App and it works well for me. I think there is a way to create a group to see how many steps your friends and family are getting... sort of a friendly competition. I hope you'll try the app! (and it's free!)