I just finished a new book and it was amazing. It is called Happy For No Reason by Marci Shimoff. In it, the author describes three types of happiness:
- Happy for Bad Reason
- Happy for Good Reason
- Happy for No Reason
Happy for Bad Reason would be doing something that causes a sense of temporary elation or false sense of happiness, like using food for comfort, retail “therapy” (guilty as charged!) and alcohol/drug abuse. Happy for Good Reason would be things like getting a job promotion, getting married, etc. Finally, Happy for No Reason involves feeling a vibration of joy and happiness at your very core…in other words, it comes from within, NOT from external sources.
This all sounds great, right? Feeling happy all the time, no matter what the heck is going on, good or bad?? In the book, Marci interviewed what she calls the Happy Hundred – people who wake up each day Happy for No Reason, no matter what Life throws at them. These folks came from all walks of life. Some were very wealthy, some not. Race, income and gender did not matter.
It’s all about perspective.
There were three things the Happy Hundred all said contributes to their outlook, Marci calls these The Guiding Three:
1.) What Expands You Makes You Happier: Think about a time when you felt true joy…something that just made you want to burst because your heart was expanded so much, and you felt light as air. Happy people choose thoughts, feelings and behaviors that expand them, rather than ones than contract them.
2.) The Universe is Out to Support You: Happy people truly believe that the Universe has their back. Even when seemingly bad things happen, Happy people look for the lesson or blessing. Oh my gosh, my grandfather absolutely LIVED this. I have never met a more positive, glass-half-full person. He ALWAYS believed there was a blessing in everything that happened, good or bad.
3.) What You Appreciate, Appreciates: This concept is based on the Law of Attraction, or “like attracts like”. Ever have a day when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Then, you spill coffee on yourself, get stuck in traffic, are late for work, etc.? That’s the Law of Attraction, baby. I will admit that I used to think this was all very woo-woo, but I have seen it in action over the past few months in my own life. Whatever you think, feel, say and act on, you draw to yourself like a magnet. Happy people focus on being and feeling happy NOW, no matter what is going on in their life. They set their thoughts and frequency on happiness.
The goal for this coming week is to pay attention to the things that bring me happiness and select only those people, thoughts and situations. I have come to terms with the fact that it is my responsibility to facilitate my happiness and although daunting this paradigm shift is quite liberating.
Meal-Prep Sunday
- Grocery shopping start to final meal in the fridge: 4 hours
Some of the things we did this week:
- Cut and bag ingredients for the slow cooker beef.
- Peel and chop potatoes and squash.
- Chopped and bagged vegetables.
- Make garlic crackers.
- Boil ingredients for soup / freeze.
- Make two types of cookies for snacks throughout the week.
- Make apple crisp.
- Make fat-sicles for Cinnabon (flax oil, coconut oil, beef broth)
Monday
- Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes.
- Lunch: Thanksgiving Left-overs.
- Dinner: Slow Cooker Beef with Broccoli and Rice (R).
- Dessert: Erin Belt Sander Brownie.
Tuesday:
- Breakfast: Yogurt Parfait.
- Lunch: Left-Over Slow Cooker Beef.
- Dinner: Autumn Harvest Salad with Homemade Garlic Crackers.
- Dessert: Protein Fluff with Cookies.
Wednesday:
- Breakfast: Eggs and Toast.
- Lunch: Left-Overs.
- Dinner: Pumpkin Soup with a Kneaded GF Bakery Bun.
- Dessert: Banana Cream Quest Bar Pie.
Thursday:
- Breakfast: Smoothie and a Muffin.
- Lunch: Eggs and Toast.
- Dinner: BBQ Chicken Naan Bread Pizza.
- Dessert: Cookie Dough Cups.
Friday:
- Breakfast: French Toast.
- Lunch: Left-overs.
- Dinner: Salmon with Roasted Beet Salad.
- Dessert: Clean Puppy Chow.
Saturday
- Breakfast: Pan Scrambler.
- Lunch: Pita Pizza.
- Dinner: Hearty Italian Chicken Soup.
- Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich.
Sunday:
- Brunch: French Toast and Bacon.
The rest of the day, we eat up all the leftovers and clean the fridge out for oncoming week.
Weekly Grocery List
- Coconut flour
- Almond meal (can be made by crushing almonds in a food processor)
- Rolled Oats
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
- Vanilla
- Coconut oil
- Chili powder
- Flaxseed
- Almond butter
- Almond milk
- Canned pumpkin
- Pumpkin seeds.
Meat:
- Steak.
- Free range organic chicken breasts.
- Omega eggs.
- Egg whites.
Produce:
- Carrots
- Celery
- Pomegranate
- Butternut squash
- Kabocha squash
- Rainbow chard
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Apples
- Banana
- Red onion
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Brussels sprouts
- Beets
- Frozen Raspberries
Dairy:
- Fat-free Greek yogurt
- Diya lactose free cheese
Bakery:
- Bread for toast
- Kneaded GF Bakery Chia Buns
I will be providing the recipes for the items with (R) beside them. If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to email me at anytime sprungeh@gmail.
Have a strong, focused and bad ass week.
With love from the Trench Kitchen,
xoxoErika♥
