Posted on by junkfoodbyelle

Foodie Friday: Tips to Keeping Healthy While Hustlin’

Hey ladies, Elle here! I’m back for #foodiefriday, and I want to share a few tips on how we as female hustlers can keep it healthy. Too often we are on the grind so much that we disregard the harm we may be doing to our bodies. I have been guilty of this more times than once, but I quickly took notice and began making changes.

Hey ladies, Elle here! I’m back today for #foodiefriday, and I want to share a few tips on how we as female hustlers can keep it healthy. Too often we are on the grind so much that we disregard the harm we may be doing to our bodies. I have been guilty of this more times than once, but I quickly took notice and began making changes.

So here are some tips to keep it healthy while hustlin’

Get Sleep and Rest

Throw the “team no sleep” mentality out the window because if you don’t sleep how can you be at your best to conquer your days. We work our 9-5 then work on our own business, so sleep and rest is extremely important. Think about the time you are missing when you have to catch up on sleep.

Find Balance

You have to find balance between your personal life, work life, and entrepreneur life. It’s hard as hell, but without balance you will go crazy. I am currently in a situation where I am trying to find my balance and get back to my normal routine. I am currently up at 3am writing this post because the week has been a trying week and I have been off balance.

Meditate

Keeping your mental healthy is crucial. Find ways to keep mental clarity so you can make sound decisions. I like to meditate upon waking up to get my day started. If there is potential bull shit during the day, a quick 5-minute meditation may help you be less frustrated.

Swap Your Coffee

Swapping your coffee for other healthy alternatives is good to do once in a while. I love coffee, the taste, the smell, but too much coffee isn’t that great for me. So at times I like to swap it with matcha green tea. Matcha is packed with nutrients that help boost immunity and it aids in detoxifying the body from harsh chemicals. It also known to improve mood and increase focus, reduce stress, and relax the mind. Lastly, matcha gives you natural energy without the jitters.

Each Your Fruit and Veggies

Keeping proper nutrients in your body is the most crucial in hustlin’. Eating more fresh fruits and veggies give you energy, boost your immune system, and gives your the nutrients your body needs to function daily.

Quick FSH Bowl Recipe

Cook quinoa according to package

Sauté zucchini, kale, and onions

Season to taste

It’s as quick and simple as that. In order to continue hustlin’ daily you have to take care of yourself. Try some of these tips and let me know how they are working for you.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Happy Friday: Getting Up From Being Down

Good Morning, good morning, good morning.

I don’t know about you, but March has been kicking my a**! Oh, my goodness. It seems like right when I plan to get everything back on track, here comes something to run over me and knock me down again.

Most recently…a damn cold. Like I really had time for this. I had plans. I had a new client to meet, I had people in my network to meet up with… hell, I had Female, Single + Hustlin’ to keep up with and struggled to do so. I don’t have time for a cold and to be bedridden.

My February was rockin’. I accepted a new job at another company, put my one week notice in, took my birthday off to play in Palm Springs, started said new job, they flew me to New York to meet the headquarter team. Got to catch up with family while I was there. All in all, February was astounding. But, March… March is tearin’ up my behind. With no relief in sight.

Like with every other challenge I’ve had to face, I just got get back on the horse and giddy up to the pace I was riding at. Or maybe my cold is my body’s way of telling me I need to take better care of myself while I work and hustle so I have fewer of these moments.

My girl, Elle, would know…

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Remember to Shine

It is so easy to get bogged down with the crap life shoots at us — work, friends (if they’re still talking to us), family, the side hustle, our health, our home, errands and chores, unexpected expenses — that we forget to shine. And what I mean by forgetting to “shine” is we forget to put our best face forward. No, I don’t mean our phoniest face. I’ve worked in customer service for a few years, so I got a phony face and a phony voice, so I know the difference. I mean your best face. The face you have when everything is going right. When the clients have paid their invoices on time, when no one was late to the meeting, when the wi-fi was working smoothly, when that project turns into a repeat client. That face. That’s the best face we can have because it exudes confidence. It exudes control. It exudes peace and sanity. And it feels good. It feels like we got this and we know exactly what we’re doing. It feels like we’re the expert and everyone is seeking us out (and paying us for our knowledge, obviously) for our expertise.

Put that face on. Put that face on even when you don’t have any clients. When you have to hound clients to pay their outstanding invoices or negotiate payment plans. When you’ve been waiting over 30 minutes for a client who said they were 5 minutes away 10 minutes ago. When you have to transfer $40 from your savings account to your checking account to make sure your automatic bills get paid.

Shine.

Shine when things are wonderful and when your back is against the wall. Shine. Because no matter the problem or the person, you’re bigger than them.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Remember to Shine

It is so easy to get bogged down with the crap life shoots at us — work, friends (if they’re still talking to us), family, the side hustle, our health, our home, errands and chores, unexpected expenses — that we forget to shine. And what I mean by forgetting to “shine” is we forget to put our best face forward. No, I don’t mean our phoniest face. I’ve worked in customer service for a few years, so I got a phony face and a phony voice, so I know the difference. I mean your best face. The face you have when everything is going right. When the clients have paid their invoices on time, when no one was late to the meeting, when the wi-fi was working smoothly, when that project turns into a repeat client. That face. That’s the best face we can have because it exudes confidence. It exudes control. It exudes peace and sanity. And it feels good. It feels like we got this and we know exactly what we’re doing. It feels like we’re the expert and everyone is seeking us out (and paying us for our knowledge, obviously) for our expertise.

Put that face on. Put that face on even when you don’t have any clients. When you have to hound clients to pay their outstanding invoices or negotiate payment plans. When you’ve been waiting over 30 minutes for a client who said they were 5 minutes away 10 minutes ago. When you have to transfer $40 from your savings account to your checking account to make sure your automatic bills get paid.

Shine.

Shine when things are wonderful and when your back is against the wall. Shine. Because no matter the problem or the person, you’re bigger than them.

Posted on by junkfoodbyelle

Meet Elle — Eat J.U.N.K. Food

Hey guys, Elle here! I am so excited to meet you all and tell you a little about myself and my company J.U.N.K. Just Utilizing Nature’s Krops LLC. The mission of J.U.N.K. is to promote wellness through plant-based eating, exercise, and self-care. J.U.N.K. was through my wellness journey. In 2017 and into 2018 I was going through a really rough time. I was in a depressive state of mind, I gained weight, my relationship was suffering, and I was forced to close my business. I knew I need a change because I stopped giving care to myself and I lost my HAPPY. One morning, I woke up and said “FUCK THIS… GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!!!” (excuse my language, but that is tough love to myself). That day, I went cold turkey plant-based. through eating I began gaining the strength I needed to get out of my phase of depression. After my first month of eating plant-based, I began incorporating exercise, and my own daily self-care routines. In no time, I not only lost over 30 pounds, but I was happier than I had ever been, and I gained the mental clarity I needed to continue on my wellness journey which ultimately led me to creating J.U.N.K. By creating J.U.N.K. I was able to share my journey with a wide range of people outside of the ones that saw my transformation in real-time.

In August of 2018, I published J.U.N.K. Food 101: Beginner’s Guide to Plant-Based Eating, a guide for novices and those exploring the plant-based lifestyle. The book made Amazon’s New Release List, a huge accomplishment for me and unexpected. The greatest feeling is when your story can reach others and change lives. Today, I am preparing to release the follow up cookbook, Ea
t J.U.N.K. filled with easy-to-make delicious plant-based meals, exercise and self-care tips. All the things that have helped me and continue to help me on my wellness journey.

I am beyond excited to share my journey with the Female, Single, and Hustlin’ family. If you want to keep up with me, or all things J.U.N.K., follow me on Instagram @mylifebeingelle and visit www.eatjunkfood.co to keep up with my book release and upcoming events.

If you are interested in learning more about plant-based eating check out J.U.N.K. Food 101.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Happy Friday: Feelin’ Good

Happy, happy Friday.

And happy Women’s month and International Women’s Day. I wanted to give a little nod to the women who have come before us, the women who are crushing it now and the women and will be breaking all kinds of barriers in the future.

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling good! Yes, ma’am, I am! And not because of the weekend because I’ll be working Saturday. Just because. I’m in a really good place right now I want keep up this feeling and I want it to grow. Most importantly, I want to harness it to the best of my ability without being consumed by obligations and to-do lists. But regardless of all that, I feel good, I feel real good.

And… I’m happy to announce a new contributing writer to the Female, Single and Hustlin’ family. She’s my dearest and bestest friend. I’ve known her since high school. We’ve reconnected after college and been on this entrepreneurial spirit journey for ages, it seems. Her name is Elle. She’s going to be sharing a little bit about her latest business venture that deals with wellness. And hopefully help us hustlers find a better way to take care of ourselves while we’re on the grind.

You’ll be hearing from her every Friday. Please show her some love, as we should support every hustler and aspiring entrepreneur here!

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Get Motivated: Overwhelmed

For the longest time, I used to live at the corner of Overwhelmed and Frustrated. My residency there was years. And no matter how badly I wanted to move, it felt near impossible because my current situation felt out of my control. I hated that. I hated wanting more for myself and not being able to do anything about it.

Or so I thought.

I may not have always had the means to change what I didn’t like when I wanted to, but I could at least change my attitude. Cliché, I know, but accurate. You can’t do sh*t with a bad attitude and that’s the gospel truth. I don’t care how badly you want something or want something to change for you, if you’re walking around with a chip on your shoulder or a woe-is-me kind of bag, forget it, honey. You’re canceling out any progress you might be making.

Overwhelmed? I feel ya because I’ve been there. And the best advice I could offer you is two-fold. Find someone to talk with about what’s overwhelming you and why. And count your blessings. Seriously. If you in a position to feel overwhelmed, you’re in a position to feel empowered.

You woke up this morning, right?

You ate something, right?

You have somewhere to lay your head tonight?

You got internet?

I just listed four of your blessings. Give me 6 more.

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Money Matters: Budget, Even While Traveling

So this is the last time I’ll mention my new job and traveling to New York (hopefully) but I wanted to quickly share and remind you about the importance of budgeting even while traveling.

Simply put: have a dollar figure that you’re not willing to go over.

Now, I was fortunate because my new job was comping us for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the days we, the company, didn’t eat together. Which was great. That meant less money out of my pocket. But that’s not always the case. I may have very well had to supply my own meals in which I would have had to decide how much I would be willing to spend on each meal, budget accordingly and ensure I didn’t go over that dollar figure.

In my case, as silly and perhaps lowballed as it sounds, I didn’t want to spend over $100 while in New York. Crazy, right? Well, I had most of my facts up front. I knew the company was going to supply or comp our meals. I knew the company was going to pay for transportation to and from the airport. And the company had already supplied the hotel room. So logically, what more did I need to spend on other than getting around the city on my free time and a few souvenirs?

Budgeting, wherever you go, is easier when you have all the facts.

Think about it: how much would you know to stock away if you didn’t have an estimate, at the very least, of what something – an item, a meal, an event – was gonna cost? Even in a city like New York where the cost of living is 13% higher than Los Angeles, I still budgeted to the best of ability.

How do you budget when you travel?

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

A Little Behind…

So, I’m a little behind on my posts. I thought I was going to be able to push out content while in New York for my new job (yay!), but apparently not. And the three hour time difference didn’t help. Not did my need for sleep.

So as I get Female, Single + Hustlin’ back on track, please bear with me. I’m an a new role in a completely new industry with new demands. Although, I can admit I am still in the honeymoon stage of my new work, it beats my old job 10 times over. And that alone will make work hard… for someone else. Novel, right?

So happy Monday, happy March and let’s get this rolling!

Posted on by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Money Matters: Clean Out Your Purses

I feel like our purses and wallets are a sneak peak into our finances and our lives. I believe how well we keep the things that hold the representation of our finances reflect how we feel and deal with our finances.

I was watching my mother clean out one of purses so she could switch items into another purse to take with her to an on oscar party she attends every year. And in doing so, it was littered with receipts, old napkins and tissues and just stuff that should’ve been trashed awhile ago. I wanted to be like, “eww” but she’s my mother. Yet, I still felt eww about how managed her purse was. As a mature woman, why hadn’t she gotten a better system of cleaning out her purse? Why after so many years does she treat her purse like a trash can?

But — being frank, here — my mother isn’t the best at managing money. She isn’t the worst, but she won’t be holding any top 100 spots in the immediate future. Money has always been a tool for her to spend. And sadly, this applies to many women I know. They’re always scrambling around to make it to the next pay period. And it’s not a junky purse. It’s a junky lifestyle. Careless purchases. Impulsive spending. Emotional shopping. Just no regard for their financial future. Like, none. And so, they’re broke or short on money or have no savings. Or — usually– a combination of it all.

I don’t know if I mentioned the “broke girl” from my former job, but in case I didn’t, let me give you the run down:

She lives paycheck because it’s very important to her she has a social life. She’s $15,000 in credit card debt. She never pays off a purchase once she used her credit card so she always carries a balance and pays the minimum. Her total minimum payment is about $300 for all 3 credit cards. She paid $700 for her cat and only feeds her cat expensive food even when she doesn’t have food for herself. When she’s unable to prepare lunch from home for a workday, she puts it on her credit card. She has no savings. Doesn’t believe in 401k so she doesn’t have a retirement account or savings or a plan of anything sort.

I’m not making any of this up. She’s told me all this herself. And she’s not alone. Many women treat their lives like a junky purse. Like, one day it’s all gonna get magically cleaned out sorted and whoosh — everything will be better.

Sorry, ladies. You gotta start cleaning out purses and now. There is no fairy Godmother out there waving and magically fixing all your financial problems. You, my dears, have got to do that yourself.

Turn them purses upside down!