Easy oven baked meatballs & the most epic vegan almond kale pesto + my 'number obsession' & educating myself on how food is nourishment (paleo)

Pretty obsessed with these balls.
Pretty obsessed with this insane pesto. 
Pretty obsessed with the easiness of this dish. 
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How my number obsession turned into education for myself. 

I used to only read labels to look at the calories and the FAT. I was obsessed with the number of calories on the box, low fat, and no fat. It totally consumed me and it was obsessive. I knew virtually nothing about ingredients, quality v. quantity of those ingredients and what “being healthy” really meant. Which, by the way is TOTALLY different for everybody. I knew nothing about consuming intuitively. I was uneducated about wellness; I just cared about numbers on labels and I made sure not to consume more than a certain amount daily and it absolutely consumed me.

I was unable to wrap my head around the fact that food is fuel! This was something we needed! I had no idea how to listen to my body, but now I can honestly say my life changed for the better when I started looking at the ACTUAL ingredients and not the numbers, when I started learning and reading about different ingredients. Educating myself on nutrients has been so beneficial to me. Education is key in the health and wellness world. There is no denying that what you eat will ultimately effect how you will feel overall. Food will affect your brain clarity, how your gut reacts (gut health woo!) and your longevity. All bodies are different and constantly changing and need different amounts of nutrients. Our activity levels fluctuate daily and there are some days where we just feel hungrier than others and that is not something to be ashamed of ever. So please, eat your second breakfast!

For these meatballs I used pasture-raised pork and grass-fed, grass-finished beef because I know that not all meat is created equal. I also have easy access to it and I am so grateful for that and will never take that for granted. But I know these things aren’t always accessible to everyone by way of where they live or the cost. So, I feel that in the way of food and being the best version of you, do what you can!

Remember that food exists to nourish you, moderation is important, especially in learning how to read your body and eating well is showing yourself respect because food is medicine (this can mean pizza and chocolate, duh).

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