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By literal definition: "the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium."
It's also an insurance company though.. so I can see how some of you may be getting confused.

To sum up the 21st century, according to the most popular definition on the highly accredited Urbandictionary.com : Welcome to the 21st century! When lots of hot topic are out, when kids become famous for no absolute reason, when pop music is in our ears, when iPhones and MacBooks are in six year old's hand, where kids hang out in clubs and malls, AND when i finally understand how screwed and messed up this world is.

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If you look at everything going on around you, you'll likely see:
- a mom and toddler duo, both on some sort of technology device
- a 20 something, constantly checking their phone, probably damn near running into you
- a millennial "complaining" again about their inability to afford something and how unfair it is
- someone in workout attire, looking fit talking about how "it's 80% what you eat and only 20% working out" (they are totally right by the way)
If you're anything like me, each of these people resonates something inside of you. Whether you feel annoyed, enraged, sad, enlightened or otherwise, you feel something.

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When most of you read the words "meal prepping" you probably instantly think of one of two things: dry chicken, rice and broccoli or @ginnnaaa who constantly posts her daily meal preps #fitfam.
I was you. I hated the idea of planning out my meals. I hated the thought of eating the same thing for four days... and honestly by the fourth day the food seemed a little questionable.
What if I told you, though, that meal prepping was more than you thought? What if I told you there are multiple ways to meal prep? "But healthy food is too expesiveee!" "Why the hell should we meal prep anyways?!" I know, I know. Just hear me out.

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Technology: the smog that has hovered over us for generations, and most of us have forgotten it's even there. It has become a normality to see children staring inches away into the online universe at their fingertips. Something that is not making it's way to head lines, however is the effect technology is having on their brains and what kind of information they are being exposed to. I've also heard it said that technology is going to change the world... but at what cost? How can we shine our phone light on this issue and what can we do to clear the air?

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Screen time is not a new term by it's origin, however the term has taken on a new definition and is more closely linked these days to the amount of time we spend staring at our phones, tablets and computers. What is this doing to developing minds? According to Jim Taylor, PhD the children who stare blankly into a screen for excessive amounts of time are going to be, “less, not more, prepared to thrive in this crazy new world of technology.” Taylor is insinuating that unmonitored screen time is actually conditioning children to be mentally incapable to succeed in the future.

Apple has picked up on this trend and has added a setting on all their devices to set a time limit for apps based on category: games, social media, entertainment, reading and references, creativity and other. I would not group myself into the “developing mind” age group but even I have set limits for myself.

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Although there are thousands of apps that can help your child learn anything from their ABC's to algebra to a foreign language, any device with a WiFi connection has the potential to give your child access to websites you may not want them on. A study conducted in 2005 by Screen Guide, states that 70% of teen 15-17 have accidentally stumbled across online pornography. With one wrong click or even an ad on the side of their google search could lead your child onto X-rated websites.
Sure, you can put up blockers and only allow them to view certain websites, but the thing is that accidents happen, and are not something that can be so easily averted. However, by monitoring their screen time, in addition to the parental controls, it would limit the amount of exposure your child would have to these types of sites.

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Many people assume that children come out of the womb holding a tablet and already addicted to technology. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree though, now does it? In my own opinion, it is overwhelming evident that the true root of the problem is not actually the children but rather the parents who are so invested in their phone that they can't seem to put it down to spend one on one time with their children. As the old saying goes, monkey see monkey do, right?
Paul Greenberg wrote an article for the New York Times which detailed the amount of time that Amrican's spend on their phones and what we could be doing with that time instead. One of the most important points I think he made was that “every moment you look at your infant instead of your phone is an investment in the future.” There have been several studies that prove that children are more likely to become distressed and less likely to explore their surroundings if their parent is constantly staring at their phone.

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Easily one of the most common thoughts about meal prepping, but honestly... maybe the problem is really that you don't know how to cook the chicken properly? What I mean by this is that when you are meal prepping, you need to cook with the understanding that you will be cooking that same chicken breast again in three days.
Tip #1: Undercook your chicken by just a minute or two, that way when you reheat it, you have (close to) perfect chicken.
Although the chicken, rice and broccoli meal prep looks boring (cause it is), it is easily the most cost efficient way to meal prep while maintaining a well balanced, nutritional meal. Don't lose site of the fact that you don't HAVE to cook the same meal for all four days, you can switch it up as much or as little as you want!

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Okay #fitfam, let's get down to the dirty deets behind your girl @ginnnaaa's meal prep insta story. You see her cooking everyday, healthy delicious meals that look as if they were made in hours, and she claims it only took 30 minutes!
Tip #2: Prep your veggies and portion out your protein ahead of time.
Instead of cooking the entire meal and portioning everything out into Tupperware containers, take about half that time and simply cut and trim your veggies and proteins, that way when you are home and ready to cook, the dirty work has already been done. Another major time saver is frozen, pre-marinated proteins that you can either make yourself or purchase at the store (more costly).
The benefit of this type of meal prepping is the ability to have variety in your daily meals while still planning ahead. You will also be eating a fresh cooked meal, which most of us would take over 4 day old chicken.

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Healthy food IS more expensive than junk food, and yet people still wonder why the obesity rates are climbing everyday, especially in young children. So how do we outsmart the system? Meal Prep!
"Yeh okay Kelsey, whatever." I can just see the eyes rolling.
When you think about your daily routine, what does it look like? Wake up in the morning and realize you don't have time to make breakfast and forgot to pack your lunch? But you do, somehow, have the time to wait in the Starbucks drive thru line for your egg white and turkey bacon sandwich and grande iced caramel macchiato ($8.70/ 580cals). You start to get hungry around 10 so you go to the vending machine and get a bag of pretzels ($3/ 108cals). Lunch rolls around and you head to chipotle with your best buds and get a chicken burrito with guac and of course the lime chips ($12-15/ ~1100cals).
Well, my friend, it's only 1pm and you've eaten your daily recommended calories and spent almost $30. What if you pre-made some breakfast sandwiches and threw them in the freezer, or meal prepped your lunches?

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Organic Egg Whites: $5.19 - 10 servings ($0.52/serving)
Reduced- Fat Turkey bacon: $4.09 - 20 servings ($0.20/serving)
Organic Wheat English Muffins: $4.49 - 6 servings ($0.75/serving)
Reduced- fat White cheddar: $7.99 - 8 servings ($1/serving)
Your $5 Starbucks sandwich could be made at home for ~$2.47!

Pound of Chicken Breasts: $9.99 - 5 servings ($2/serving)
Brown Rice: $4.59 - 50 servings ($0.09/serving)
Frozen Steamer bag of Broccoli: $4.10 - 3.5 servings ($1.17/serving)
You can eat lunch for less than $3.50!!
Granted this is taking things to the "extreme" but my point is that it is possible and it is cost efficient... with a little effort. (These prices are from shop.Safeway.com)
The most expensive item on this list, which actually isn't listed at all is time. Take the time out of your Sunday to meal prep for the week or to prep your veggies so that after a long day you can come home and not have to over think about what you have to do in order to make a healthy meal... and then end up ordering pizza instead ($15).

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Tip #3: BUY IN BULK - if and when you can and buy fresh or frozen veggies!
Grocery shopping can be tedious and annoying but you will be saving yourself a chunk of change by taking a chunk out of your day to just go do the damn thing!
Some of you may be arguing that as much as you want to eat healthy and feed your family delicious and nutritious meals, you are living off of food stamps. There is a method to shopping off food stamps as well that will hopefully help guide you in the right direction and away from the junk food aisle.

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- Save time throughout the week
- Save money
- Be organized
- Be healthy
- Avoid Fast Food Lines and CALORIES
- Lose weight (although this may not be everyone's, or even anyone's goal, it will happen naturally when you start to cut down on processed foods and those quick and easy, go too comfort meals)

I challenge you to try one of these meal prepping methods and see how much money you save, how much time you have, and how you feel knowing you planned ahead!

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Let's try to reverse some of the damage being done to our children by setting our own screen time limits on our devices and be present with our children when they are around. Start with you and they will follow. I believe it is still important to monitor their screen time in order to keep their little minds safe from the unprotected x-rated sites and to keep them well prepared for their future.

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My name is Kelsey. I am a 24 year old "millennial" who is working diligently to go to work, school and have a social life while also having time to myself and maintain a healthy lifestyle all while trying to save money for the future... (*nervous laughter*). With all these issues in society, though, my alone time is often accompanied by the thoughts of the issues I have outlined for you. I hope that I am able to give some well rounded insight to each of these topics and open the doors for you to further your knowledge on them. I am not a certified expert in any of these topics but I have spent a fair amount of time researching them and practicing what I preach.

So, grab your overpriced cup of coffee and let's talk about life in the 21st century.

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The millennial housing crisis is the rising epidemic that millennials have been unable to afford sub-standard homes due to crippling debt, low wages, high home prices and tight lending standards set by our previous generation, not to name name but...
Who are we? MILLENNIALS
What do we want?! EVERYTHING
... in all seriousness however, we want to be able to afford homes and have a financially successful and fruitful life just like the generations before us. According to an Urban Institute report, only 37% of homeowners are millennials which is down almost 10% from previous generations. AND "because homeownership is an important channel for building long-term wealth, a failure or a delay of homeownership might exacerbate already-growing inequalities among millennials."
I hate to be the one to stomp my feet and say that this isn't fair, but when the shoe fits... STOMP STOMP

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Crippling Under the Looming Cloud of Death.. I mean DEBT

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Crippling Under the Looming Cloud of Death.. I mean DEBT

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$30,000: The average amount of debt a college students takes out of their four year college experience and into the real world. Take that loan payment and you add rent, healthy food choices, gas, and basic necessities divide it all by their minimum wage salary and it equals $0 in their savings account. The account that is meant to act as security in case of an emergency and supposed to be the keeper of my "Buy a Home" fund.
According to David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Toronto based Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc, “it takes nearly eight years of average family earnings to buy a typical home in Toronto, a figure he said is double the historical norm and ‘basically off the charts’”. Toronto home prices are comparable to homes here in Northern California, but what Rosenberg has noted is baffling... laughable really. Even if all other factors were on our side, I don't see how anyone with a "normal" wage is expected to afford a home.

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Not being able to afford a home at what once was "the average age" pushes our entire lives back by leaps and bounds. Ever heard of the domino effect? Most people don’t want to get married or start a family until they can afford a home, which is one of the main reasons why so many millennials are waiting until later in life to accomplish these mile stones. More importantly, according to Tamara Sims, a research scientist at Stanford, “’Homeownership is one of the touchstones of being prepared for retirement,’ she said. ‘Buying a home at age 50 or 60 isn’t going to do you much good in funding a 30-year retirement’”. So if we wait until after all our loans are paid, when we can finally afford to save some money for a home, that still won't be good enough?? The new debt we will be in will reflect on our retirement fund, if we are even lucky enough to have one. At this rate and the way the dominoes are falling, you'll be able to find me at your local Starbucks, 83 years old, working to pay off my house.

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Financial failure. Financial instability. Broke. Poor. Call it whatever you want, but it is what we are being set up for. What do we do about this? Most of us are living at home with our parents to save some extra cash, working two or three full time or part-time jobs, selling products on social media... anything we can to keep an extra buck or two in our pockets for the future.
I firmly believe that this issue is bigger than us, in the sense that we really can't do much about it. Do we get the government involved? Do we have the resources and the man power to make that change? This is our future, it's real and it's coming. How can YOU make a change?

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First Step: Admitting You Have a Problem

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First Step: Admitting You Have a Problem

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Have you ever lost your phone? The moment you realize it's gone there is a sudden rise in your heart rate and you go into survival mode. It feels like an eternity went by since it fell between the wall and your bed. Or what about when you're looking all over the house for your phone and realize it's been in your hand the whole time? We laugh it off as if we weren't having a mini panic attack and say something like "oh my gosh! I'm so dumb".
This type of reaction is very similar to one that a drug addict has when he runs out of dope or when the last drop falls out of the bottle onto the alcoholics tongue.
Say it with me: "My name is ____ and I'm addicted to technology"

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IAD - Internet Addiction Disorder affects 1.5-8.6% of people in the United States.
According to Hilarie Cash, PhD., co-founder of the ReSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program, symptoms can include:

Compulsive checking of text messages

Frequent changing of Facebook status and uploading of “selfies”

A feeling of euphoria while on the Web

Social withdrawal

Loss of interest in activities that don’t involve a computer, phone or gadget

Feelings of restlessness when unable to go online

IAD has also been linked to depression, stress and sleep disorders.

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FOMO is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out. Could this potentially be the reason for our addiction to technology? FOMO is an anxiety disorder that is most often aroused by social media posts of others partaking in exciting events that we are not. It all seems so silly to be envious of others and what they're doing while we sit at home on the couch and watch from our smart phones.
Science Direct performed a study that related FOMO to changes in characteristics of an individual. Oddly enough it was concluded that FOMO is related to loneliness and lack of social support. So while we are all so eager to be in everyone else lives and experiencing what other's are experiencing, we are losing sight of ourselves.

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Like many other addictions, IAD affects those around you, who love and want to support you. Tailing off my idea that parents should monitor their own screen time, this addiction greatly affects the relationship you could be having with your child.
Admit you have a problem and take the proper steps to fix it or get the help you need. There are a variety of treatment options if this is something that you are noticing in yourself or in someone you love.

Take that first step.