Hannah Laurel's Adventures

Diet is a broad term and a dirty word. I am not AT ALL a fan of the word "diet." But for some reason, it is a word the entire western hemisphere understands. When someone goes on a "diet," they change their eating habits, their exercise regime (if they even had one) and they stick to it. For like, two months. And then they go back to their old habits and regain most of - if not all - of the weight they worked so hard to lose. The original definition for "diet" is the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. How the heck did we change that? I am not going to go into how the western hemisphere has changed the definition of a whole word but rather I am going to rant about my diet. As the original definition has it. Except.. we are going to change the word. Because I still think "diet" is dirty. How about... Lifestyle? Yes, let us go with that.     What is my Lifestyle? Lifestyle is defined as the way in wh...

It started last night, after sitting in the church parking lot with my boyfriend. We had just attended Wednesday night student service and we were discussing the sermon. It was a really good message, one about diets. The pastor explained that the diet you follow, the things you consume, decide your direction. And my boyfriend and I discussed this for a good ten minutes before teetering off the subject. Somehow.. We came to the subject of my cycle . For an unexplained reason, boys find the topic "ew." Perhaps mommas forget to teach their boys that its not gross. Thankfully, I've found myself with a young man who allows me to talk about the subject and explain things to him like why my cycle is forty days long instead of the normal twenty-eight. And why I get so moody during certain phases, so talkative during one, and quiet the next phase. I had just mentioned to him that night that I was six days late compared to my last cycle. No big whoop. It was as if God heard me ...

  I love putting things together for other people. Whether it be food, workouts, or playlists, I enjoy sitting down and planning. Every month I would clean out my music selections on Spotify to bring my ears some fresh tunes for the month. And now I am offering it to you! Every month I will be posting a new list of songs that I'm digging. Music is a soul food; a relaxing component to life. Search through this list and see what country, R&B, rap, pop, or moody tune fits your spirit.         April Playlist Follow hannahsbalance on Spotify for more frequent updates Alien - Sabrina Carpenter, Jonas Blue Delirious - Chase Fouraker  Getting Over You (R3HAB Remix) - Lauv, R3HAB Hold Onto You - About the Author, Beleaf Queens Don't - RaeLynn Do U (STeLOUSE Remix) - Niko Blank, Jacob Luttrell, SteLouse Livin' Young - Take Two You Broke Up with Me - Walker Hayes Him & I - G-Eazy, Halsey Your Life Isn't Over - Trent Shelt...

If you feel squeamish by the talk of periods/monthly cycles, avert your attention elsewhere because this is about to get very personal...  The month I turned sixteen I was placed on birth control. It was to help my irregular and painful cycles that I had been struggling with since the summer before seventh grade. At first it was okay. The transition was smooth and I quickly got into the habit of taking my medication every night. But as I got older, I could feel my body wanting to change but my medication had a grip that wouldn't break. It refused to let my body experience the hormone changes that are experienced when teenage girls become young women. I gained weight almost instantly and could never seem to lose it, damaging my self image. My periods were still unpredictable and painful. I tried several different types of birth control and I couldn't seem to find the right one. One kind made me gain ten pounds, another made me bloated all the time, another made me d...

It's about week three now of the Athletic Vegan Experiment and so far so good! I can happily and surprisingly say that I don't crave meat all that much, but I actually crave protein in general. To supplement this I purchased a vegan protein powder and tofu has been on the shopping list every other day. ------------ To be honest, tofu is rather bland. And I only like the firm kind. Or EXTRA firm. With ALL the water squished out. And then cooked in a pan with a couple sprays of avocado oil until every side of the tofu is a nice golden brown. Or burnt, to be honest, cause... why not. The other morning, I was hunting in the fridge for some breakfast. I pulled out a container of brown rice that I meal prepped the other day, cold kidney beans, and leftover tofu, respectively. I kid you not, I through it all in a pan and called it good. AND GOSH DANG IT WAS GOOD. I seasoned the tofu with taco seasoning. Cause tacos are #love. Threw it in a pretty little...

Beets are an amazing, earthy, tasting root. They're low in net carbohydrates and they're GREAT at staining what ever the heck you put them in. I had a salad, they stained the lettuce. I had ground turkey, the turkey turned bright pink! My fingers are stained as soon as I touch the purple power veggies. But oh they're so good. HOW TO COOK       I had some pretty large beets. Like, the size of a grown man's fist. How'd I cook them? Scrub the beets with a brush or the back of the sponge until its clean Find a dish that is relatively deep, toss those beets in there Spray the beets with non-stick cooking spray Fill the dish/pan with about an inch of water Cover the dish/pan with aluminum foil and stick it in the oven at 400F until the beets are fork tender When they are tender, and you're ready to peel them, cut it so it lays flat and use a knife to scrap the skin off. Stick'em in the fridge when you're done   SMOOTHIE TIME I like to ki...

Avocados      Many health and fitness icons on social media now-a-days praise healthy fats. Specifically, avocados. I, on my own, love avocados. They are one of my most favorite fruits! The creamy yet firm texture, the nutty flavor, and don't even get me started on the color! Green is my favorite color.      According to Spruce Rd. , the color green emits the air of freshness and balance. It alludes to wealth and growth and positivity. It "naturally represents 'go'" (Spruce Rd).       So even psychologically, avocados are extremely appealing!      Why else are avos my main man when it comes to fruit? For starters, I am allergic to pectin. Most people I meet on the street have no idea what pectin is. To explain, pectin is a starch in fruits and vegetables (less so in leafy greens and berries) that occurs naturally in the cell walls of plants. It is the component that gives fruits and veggies their struct...