Hello and Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are having an awesome week so far. And if not: Woahhh! We're halfway there! :) Today is the second installment of the "To Live Free" series. I'm going to encourage you to take your lunch break and give you a yummy recipe to treat yourself when you do! Let's dig in.

To Live Free

Before I got the job I have today, I worked at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. I was a hostess at a restaurant that is in front of the castle and a waterslide operator for my year there. I was on my feet day in and day out. I was physically so worn out that I'd use every break given to me to take a nap backstage. I decided I didn't want to live in Orlando after my internship. Instead, I wanted to find my career. So, I prayed and interviewed a lot and then I prayed and interviewed some more. Then, God gifted me this amazing, desk job in Colorado!! No more wearing my body out for a tiny pay-check + it's Colorado, so, of course, I got here as fast as I could :)

One thing I learned from my coworkers when I first arrived, was to take my lunch break - but not just to eat lunch. They taught me to use it to walk around the almost 2-mile loop that circles our office building. At first, I loved this break because I had just come from walking up and down the "mountain" at Blizzard Beach water park. My legs craved walking around and stretching! I would even come home after work and move more by going to the gym, or taking a long walk outside. I had so much energy that I wanted to stand and walk and move, like I did in Orlando.

After a while, though, I got used to sitting all day. I started to get engrossed with my work and skip lunch breaks by working through them. In trade for being physically tired all the time in Orlando, I became mentally tired all the time in Colorado. Where I once had so much mental freedom to think and dream while doing the repetitive tasks at Disney, I gave myself no mental freedom here. I would get caught up thinking about my work even after hours! I realized I was tired all the time. I'd wake up tired, I'd get home from work and be tired. All I wanted to do when I got home was sit down more and go to bed early. I was getting more and more sluggish the more I sat and "rested."

I have noticed a huge difference in my days if I just get up and take my break. Whether that's running an errand, stepping outside for a breath of fresh air or walking the 2-mile loop, my day and week is infinitely better!

Binnie's Coconut Butter Bites

This week I want to encourage you to take a mental and physical, daily break by rewarding yourself with a Binnie's Coconut Butter bite when you do! Whatever it is you choose to do this week, taking your break not only switches up what your body is doing, but also what your mind is focused on. Take mental break as well as a physical break this week and I promise you, you will start to feel better!

Step 1 - Mix these ingredients

1/2 cup scoop of Binnie's Coconut Butter (I used half Very Vanilla and half Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt)

3/8 cup Quinoa

3/8 cup Oats

1/4 cup of Cranberries

2 Egg whites

Step 2 - Melt

4 Squares of Dark Chocolate (You could use dark chocolate chips instead and just use a few chips on top of each bite)

Step 3 - Garnish

Add a blob of chocolate to the center of the bite

Step 4 - Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

This is the original recipe which makes 12 bites

Or you can make the same recipe multiplied by 2 which makes 24 bites.

1 cup scoop of Binnie's Coconut Butter

3/4 cup Quinoa

3/4 cup Oats

1/2 cup of Cranberries

4 Egg whites

8 squares of Chocolate

What do you do to take a break during the day? Do you nap, walk, or read? I'd love to hear what your favorite break looks like in the comments below! You can also email me directly at hollycanonblog@gmail.com.

*Thank you Binnie's Coconut Butter for sponsoring this post!

Thanks for stopping by!