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Week recap and playlist

Hi my blog readers! Did you have a good week?? I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend. It’s been kind of a crazy week. I took Presley to the vet this week and he is cancer free!!! Yay! I guess he has some sort of sore on his tongue that could’ve been a tumor but the meds seem to be working and it’s going away. I am more than relieved. I hope he lives a long kitty life!

Did you vote?? I did. I cannot stress how important it is that we all vote. It’s huge that we have the right to choose what we want in our society and that we can stand up for what we believe in. I waiting in a long line in the cold to get my vote on. I felt cool when I got my sticker hehehehe.

Here are some eats:

I have been enjoying chai tea lately with coconut milk. I look coffee (the taste and the morning pick me up) but I don’t love its acidic properties. So I’ve been switching things up. It’s soooo good.

The salad below I’ve made before- chick peas, black beans (both drained and rinsed), cucumbers, 1 hardboiled egg, onion, olives, salt/pepper to taste, and some Greek salad dressing. Quick and tasty.

The next is just some basics I picked up from Trader Joe’s. Love that place. I could go in there everyday and pick something different. They’ve started putting out a lot of their holiday goodies- I had to go to the other side of the store before I walked out with a lot of chocolate.

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Here’s my latest yoga mix on spotify:

Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire
Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out
KC And The Sunshine Band – Boogie Shoes
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Ain’t No Easy Way
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
Grimes – Be a Body
Crystal Fighters – At Home
Imagine Dragons – Demons
Fleet Foxes – Lorelai
Portugal. The Man – You Carried Us [Share With Me The Sun]
Ben Kweller – Falling
Michael Kiwanuka – I’ll Get Along
Regina Spektor – Eet
Ani Difranco – Both Hands
The Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm
Kishi Bashi – Manchester
Beach House – Wild
Jose Gonzalez – Down The Line
Soulive – Joyful Girl
Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds Of Silence
Jack Johnson – Imagine

Click here to give all the tunes a listen and feel free to connect with me on spotify.

So after you give that a listen, here’s my brief tutorial on how to make your own yoga mix!

It’s not a secret that I love music. I grew up listening to all kinds of music and I guess I have to give my parents a lot of the credit. I just saw Peter Gabriel with them a few weeks ago. Music is something that will always inspire me (I sang in music groups in school and in college). Now that we are so lucky to have technology at our finger tips all the time- I use shazam anytime I hear a song that I think I may like. I use spotify to create my own playlists so they can stream from my iphone. Also on spotify- once you’ve started a list you can start your own radio station that is based on the songs in your playlist. I listen to that so that I can find songs that I know I will like but maybe have never heard before. I used to hear songs on the radio and write down the group and the title as soon as I would hear it and keep this massive list, crossing off songs as I go along.

To make my yoga play list I think about how I sequence my class- with that being said I almost never write out pose by pose. Actually- I never do that. But that’s for another blog post. So I basically envision my class- beginning/centering, vinyasa flow/standing poses, inversions, cooling down sequence. Clearly I don’t want to play fast paced music that’s going to bring the energy up when we are moving towards savasana. I typically don’t play music within the first 5-10 minutes which involves centering, breath work, and sometimes ab work. I start with a slower paced song or two, build to up beat for about 40-50 minutes, and then move to slower paced and to really slow songs. But more than anything- I pick songs that speak to me. I play the songs that I love and they’re songs that I’d want to hear when I am practicing.

What songs speak to you? What artists, musicians, or bands do you love?

Here’s one that I love.

I hope you all had a great week and have a nice weekend ahead of you.

xoxo- C

Tags: food, music, playlists, recipes

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It’s November

5 Nov

Hi my loves- it’s been a while but I am hoping to keep posting soon! Things have been busy- lots of teaching, yoga training, and spending time with family and friends. My weekend was pretty low key (I am trying to keep the beginnings of a cold away). I taught in the teacher training, went to see Cloud Atlas ( I liked it but a bit too long), and took a nap or two. What about you?

I am totally in love with the fall weather but it is getting cold fast and I am so not ready for winter. While we endured hurricane Sandy last week I did a bit of baking. I posted these gluten-free muffins on facebook and many of you were curious about how to make them. I actually found the recipe on pinterest. I try to be gluten free but I have really been off the wagon so here’s the getting back on! You can find the recipe here but I added fresh blueberries and I used agave instead of molasses/honey because that’s what I had. You can also use earth balance instead of actual butter. Also just remember that all ovens are different so temperature and length of bake time might need to be adjusted.

There’s been some green going on as well.

Green juice- in the mix was romaine lettuce, kale, pear, lemon, apple ginger. So good.

This is the usual- vega protein powder in vanilla, coconut milk, banana, and nut butter. Amazing.

And probably one of the more exciting things- the fur children. Presley is my first pet. I never had a cat or dog growing up and as you all know- I love him to death (even though he sometimes pounces at my head and bites me). M and I had gerbils and my dad had snakes but you can’t really cuddle with any of those things.

M and I would always see little orange cats and call them marmalade so when I happened to see one up for adoption- I just couldn’t resist his little face. I adopted him from Charm City Animal Rescue and he was actually free. If you LIKE their facebook page- every day they post pics of the animals being fostered.

So I named him Marmalade and well, he’s a kitten alright. Jumps up onto the stove and into the trashcans! But look how adorable!? So precious. Both the brothers have been getting along pretty well (they are both sleeping as I type this. One on my bed and the other on the unfolded pile of laundry). Unfortunately Presley is going though a cancer scare right now and I am trying to stay positive so send him lots of positive kitty thoughts!!

Anyways- I hope you are all safe from hurricane Sandy, had a great Halloween, and congrats to the newest group of 200 hour Charm City Yoga Teacher Trainee’s!!!

Tags: Charm City Yoga, food, holidays, juice, marmalade, presley, recipes

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Recharge

13 Jun

Hi my friends- how are you??? Things have been pretty crazy busy over here. Teaching the yoga and taking the yoga- and my night kind of looks like this plus a kitten trying to eat and drink everything within reach.

I’ve been teaching a lot of yoga and doing a lot of yoga so when that happens- I really try hard to be prepared with food, drinks, and snacks when I’m on the go.

I’ve been making green smoothies a lot and if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you will see these pictures. In this smoothie is:

1 cup of coconut milk

1 frozen banana

2 handfuls or organic spinach

1 spoonful of almond butter (I’ve been using Barney Butter)

1tbs of chia seeds

1 pinch of xanthan gum for thickness

I swear- it tastes like a milkshake. Peel your bananas and put them in the freezer and make it tomorrow!

People ask me a lot about healthy eating but honestly I am just like everyone else. I love food: I like pizza, wine, cheese, and everything else that is not so healthy. But the key is balance. For me if I go on eating gluten and soy- I get a knee flare- so right now I am trying to clean that back up because you know- it’s a pain!

The thing is- if you give yourself two weeks of clean eating- you will feel great! More fruits and veggies please!

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So how do you recharge your own batteries after a long day or week?

Here are some things that I do and maybe they can inspire you to help yourself unwind:

Treat yourself to a mani/pedi

Take a nap (one of my favorites)

Sip some bubbly (another favorite)

Indulge in a movie fest at home- some of my favorites are Sliding Doors, A lot like love, Love Actually, The Holiday, Blue Crush (don’t judge), Sideways, I could never be your woman, and any of the Felicity and Sex in the City dvds

Bake something- I haven’t done really any gluten free baking- but I LOVE making muffins, breads, and cupcakes. And you don’t have to indulge and eat it all- pack up half and give some to your friends

Do some YogaGlo

Have a bed day – this is a day where you stay in bed all day,surrounded by your books, journal, dvds, laptop, iphone, and everything else you love.

Take a day trip

Try a new restaurant or order carryout from someplace other than your usual spot

Infuse your water with lemon and lime or blueberries and strawberries

Or just make this:

Vegan and Gluten Free Fro-yo

1 and 1/2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup of coconut milk

Pinch of xanthan gum

BLEND!!!!!!!

Add some vegan chocolate chips from Trader Joe’s and eat immediately!

You can clearly add any fruit or dessert toppings you like and it doesn’t even taste like bananas. I promise it doesn’t. Add a dash of vanilla extract and bam. There you go.

Do you have any tips I should add to the list?

To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special. ~Jim Valvano

Xoxo- C

Tags: food, quotes, recipes, vegetarian

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Eat your fruit and veggies-part 2

31 May

Hi my loves- are you having a good week??? Things are back to the grind over here but I am already making summer plans and life is good! Are you going to the beach this summer or any other vacation plans?

A lot of you have asked me questions about food and healthy eating and I wanted to just share my own personal experience. I’ve talked about the importance of eating your veggies before (because your mother told you to when you were little).

**Just as a disclaimer-I am not a trained nutritionist, dietician, or healthcare professional. Everything written here is based on my own opinion and personal experience.**

I have been working on maintaining a low gluten, dairy, and soy diet for the last several months. I have also cut out all nightshade vegetables for the most part(veggies that are known to cause inflammation) and raw nuts. I know that list seems long. While I would like to be totally free of all of those, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t eaten cheese or had a beer. So all in all I am just working on finding a balance of not eating a high amount of those things. For me when I do eat all the yummy things like pizza and my granny’s potato salad, me knee swells up and I had a stomach ache. Womp womp.

What I wanted to briefly talk about was food combinations. I learned a lot about this through my naturopathic doctor and it is basically the theory that certain foods don’t digest well in your system when eaten together.

(source)

It can be kind of confusing- but if you feel like you may have some tummy issues I would read over the chart because if you just make a few changes you may see a difference.

The other thing I wanted to say is that if you are trying to clean up your diet- don’t just go all or nothing. I think sometimes it’s easier to start small so you can stick with it. Make a smoothie or salad, have a stash of berries and nuts, carrots and celery with hummus, and then you’re a little more prepared. Don’t switch to all raw all at once because if you’re not used to eating it, your belly will be upset. And while you may think you feel great (like I did eating soy veggie sausage all the time) you don’t realize what hurts your stomach or clogs your sinuses until you eliminate them from your diet. If something is in your system all the time you can’t really tell it’s effects.

(source)

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Last week I was asked if I would review some locally made, all natural, gluten free, vegan, sugar free salad dressings. Yes please.

Tessemae’s All Natural

From their fact sheet:

Tessemae’s All Natural is what real salad dressings should be—a few quality ingredients, simply mixed together. Available in a variety of flavors, Tessemae’s can be used as a dressing, marinade, dip or sauce.

(image source)

What I also love about this brand is that they are family and locally owned- all in Annapolis, Maryland!

This is the Vetter family. Mom is the original creator and her three sons and daughter-in law run the business. Aren’t they such a cute family?

I was lucky enough to test their lemon pepper and the balsamic dressings.

I will talk about the balsamic in another post- but I was surprised at how much I loved the lemon pepper! I normally probably wouldn’t pick that one off the shelf but it was perfect to make with salmon. I marinated a piece of salmon for 30 minutes in the fridge before cooking it (you could leave it longer for more flavor). I cooked the fish in a frying pan with a little bit of cooking spray just to coat the pan and poured the marinade in with it.

Yes- I ate all of this. It was super tasty and GREAT for a warm night. Not too hot and nothing too spicy. Loved it. You must make it. The lemon paper would also be great for grilling shrimp or pieces of tofu if you’d like. The veggies were just steamed and I added some of Trader Joe’s 21 salute seasoning.

Tessemae’s is sold currently at Whole Foods and it’s in the refrigerated section. They are about to expand their line to other dressings, dips, and hot sauce. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to try them!

Happy Thursday!

xo,C

Tags: food, health, nutrition, recipes

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Day 5

20 Apr

Hi my lovelies- so this blogging every day is proving to be difficult! In all honestly- I’d like to be sipping a glass of wine in front of the tv but sadly that’s not happening. My mind is already on the weekend so I am a bit distracted! But, here is my post day 5 as promised!

Here’s a recipe for you:

Easy and super tasty!

In a frying pan sauté mushrooms and onion. Add a dash or 2 of olive oil until they’re softened and cooked down. I added the shrimp towards the end as mine was already pre-cooked.

Add cilantro, soy sauce, dash of lime juice, dash of hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. All of these flavors can be over powering so if there is one you like better than the other feel free to use more.

While all that is happening, boil a pot of water for your rice noodles. I can’t remember what brand I used because I had thrown away the bag. But they’re from Whole Foods in the Asian section and they’re also gluten free! Super easy to make and once the water is boiled they only need to cook for about 5 minutes.

Combine all together and stir and enjoy! I added a bit of extra hot sauce for some extra spiciness. Sooooo good!

Yummmmmmmmm!

This post was short and sweet and I am hoping to have a strength training and yoga routine for you to post in the next day or so.

Any exciting plans for the weekend?

A massage and mani/pedi is on my list!

Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being, and becoming. It’s about the choices you’ve just made, and the ones you’re about to make, it’s about the things you choose to say- today. It’s about what you’re gonna do after you finish reading this. ~Mike Dooley

I’m spending 15 minutes with Katniss and then face planting into bed!

xoxox, C

Tags: challenge, food, quotes, recipe

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Day 2

17 Apr

Hi! Happy Monday! Here I am with another post from my challenge. I will keep up with this. I’ hope you had a great Monday. I was definitely someone who can easily have a case of the Mondays- but it helps when I lay out my to do list the night before so I already have what I need to do in my head.

I made it to the gym…TWICE! That wasn’t intended, but I am nursing a funky shoulder thing so my own yoga practice was replaced by my own toned down zumba class. I wasn’t going to go, but my sis and friend Katie were going and I couldn’t resist. But- I don’t jump or do any crazy arm things so- hopefully I won’t hurt tomorrow. I just love my zumba teacher- she’s amazing!

Most of you know I have been going gluten free, dairy free (most of the time!), soy free and since I teach yoga classes at different places at different times every day it helps SO much when I have things packed. I ended up going to the grocery store to make sure I have some essentials that I can pack and eat on the go.

Hummus, carrot sticks, celery, spring mix, apples, blackberries, gluten free crackers, seaweed snacks…yum. It makes it easy to throw together a side salad or snack or carrots and celery sticks with hummus.

I also picked up some art journal supplies at tarjayyyyyyy. Let me tell you, these things made my day. It was a good think I didn’t go into a craft store because I would have come out with one of everything. And yes- those are glitter glue sticks.

One of the entries I did last night was from this website and it was to journal your favorite mantra in different handwritings and colors over and over. I also posted it on instagram and now I’ve just been thinking about it all day.

Do you have a favorite mantra or affirmation?

Sometimes I write things on sticky notes and post them on my bathroom mirror. It may be cheesy but it helps! And currently I think the only person who has seen that list is Brad Pitt.

I hope you stayed cool today (it was in the 90’s here in charm city) and well- my ac is not on! But the fan is blowing, I’m sipping my sparkling water, and watching Bethenney.

**If you come to my yoga class you hear me talk about your toes being relaxed- I don’t know what’s going on here!**

I hope you all had an amazing Monday!! See you tomorrow!!

If there’s anything you’d like me to post about please let me know (responses to articles, types of food, yoga clothes, music, yoga sequences, etc)

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them. I’ve learned that no matter how much I care some people just don’t care back. I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have. I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it. I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life, but whom you have in your life that counts. I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. I’ve learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel. I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated. I’ve learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different. I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that. I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to to forgive yourself. I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And, just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do. I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief. I’ve learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt, and you will hurt in the process. I’ve learned that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it. I’ve learned that heroes are people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned that you can keep going long after you can’t. (source)

Tags: challenge, food, inspiration, quotes

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Vibrant and authentic

22 Jan

Hi! Are you happy it’s Saturday? I am. And it snowed. Well it snowed a little bit so that meant I stayed inside. Pretty much all day. Life is good I tell you.

How is your weekend unfolding? Did you shovel snow? Or did you have a bed day? Kimberly Wilson talks about that in her books- it’s a day where you stay in bed; read, email, talk on the phone, eat, sleep, snuggle- all of that from bed. Sounds good to me.

Here’s some pictures to show you what my day looked like.

A little of this:

Yes I have flannel sheets on my bed and that spray water bottle is for when he’s not being so cute and cuddly. If you have a cat- you know what I’m talking about.

All those veggies into juice. Yes I drank it.

Lets see- organic spinach, 1 hardboiled egg, garbanzo beans, tuna, onion, avocado-maybe I’m forgetting something. A little Greek dressing. It was good Smile

Things for goodwill!

All in all a good day I think.

I stayed in last night and I had a few moments of feeling like I was boring and lame because I wasn’t going out, but that quickly passed as I realized that we all need down time. Time to organize, reflect, and relax.

So we are almost at February and 2012 is in full force. I’ve read a few blogs recently that talked about how we can choose to live our lives. One talked about your influence on other people-basically that smiling and being kind to a complete stranger can open up so many possibilities. Possibilities for you to find joy, kindness, happiness in your own life- you know what I’m talking about. We can choose to find happiness in our own lives. We can make decisions to move us forwards to the life that we really want.

All of that started to make me think about my work and my life and what it exactly is that I strive to do and who I am striving to be. I want to be kinder and more loving. I want to be authentic.

(source)

The answers to questions about who we are, what we want to become, how can we live a vibrant and creative life don’t just necessarily show up when we want them to. So here are some questions you can ask yourself if you’re thinking the same things (because now that you’re reading this you probably are).

If time, money, education, experience, we no issue and you have zero constraints in the world, what would you do?
What are you really grateful for?
What’s one thing you’d choose to do or purse if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Name 8 of the most valuable things in your life
What do you really want to have?
Who do you really want to be?

There is no one answer to these questions. There’s no right answer. These are just some tools to get you thinking. I’m thinking about them too and writing it all down. And maybe next month they’ll be a little different and that’s ok.

Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can. ~Dalia Lama

Take the time to stop. Breathe. Smile. Laugh. Let go of a grudge. Let go of anger. Turn off the tv. Plant something. Bake something. Hug someone. Be grateful. Live in the moment.

Happy Saturday <3

Tags: Baltimore, food, juice, presley, quotes, recipes, something to think about

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Staying with it

6 Jan

Hi friends! How is your week going?? Things are going pretty well here. But I must say- eating clean and going caffeine free is hard. Obviously it’s only been a few days, but I haven’t had any caffeine since last Saturday and well- my energy is non existent. When will it stop!? I hope soon. Also, my throat is starting to hurt. I hope it’s nothing.

Thank you for all the responses, emails, and facebook messages I got about my last post. I just want to remind every single one of you who take the time to read my blog is that the things that I write about are solely my opinion. I don’t know the right or wrong way for you to eat and work out. I am merely offering my own suggestions to things that have worked and appeal to me (like green juice).

So you can eat things like this:

Peppermint and ginger herbal tea with agave nectar

Oatmeal with blueberries, about 1/3 of a banana, dash of maple syrup

I also made this delicious concoction- sautéed (in olive oil) broccoli, mushrooms, onion, and then added quinoa and tofu. You don’t have to eat all raw all the time to still eat clean. This was dinner and actually that picture is the leftover because I wasn’t that hungry. I added a dash of spicy mustard that my friend Lauren made plus a dash of soy sauce. You must make this!

And as for other tidbits about the new year as I see all the yoga classes and the gym being completely packed is that you can’t be too hard on yourself. It’s all about balance. You have to figure out your own equilibrium. If you want to have a glass of wine- ok, have it, and don’t go overboard. And then move on. You need a day off from working out. Then plan out what classes or when you will go to the gym or yoga next. I promise that makes it easier.

"Balance is the perfect state of still water. Let that be our model. It remains quiet within and is not disturbed on the surface." Confucius

You should also check out my friend Sara’s blog. She had some really nice reflections about 2011 and what’s to come in 2012.

Here are some other interesting things to read:

Harvard’s Guide to Healthy Eating

Healing Power of Food

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body (we can discuss this at a later time but I’d love to know your thoughts)

(source)

These pics were taken by my friend Sarah as part of the weekly Lululemon product notification.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. ~Steve Jobs

I hope you’re having a great week and an amazing start to 2012!

Tags: blogs, food, friends, links, lululemon, quotes, recipes, something to think about

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Out with the Old in with the New

3 Jan

Happy 2012 my friends! I hope that you had a great holiday season and rung in the new year right!

I know that I am not the only one feeling the push to get back to the grind, as laundry, taking down of holiday décor, and work is on everyone’s shoulders. I have a huge to do list before I teach tonight.

We all know that with the ringing in of a new year means setting goals and resolutions. I can tell you that my number one advice is to not make it too big or you’re setting yourself up for failure. I used to be a pro at those kinds of things. For example; if you want to work out 5 days a week but you’ve only been going 2 times, aim for 3 or 4 and start slow. You can’t push too hard in the beginning or else you will bail out in the end.

Here are some questions to help you figure out what you want to accomplish in 2012:

What lessons did I learn in 2011?
What was I grateful for in 2011?
What dreams came true in 2011?
What would I like to learn in 2012?
Who do I want to spend time with this year?
How do I currently spend my time?
How do I want to spend my time in 2011?

Those are just a few things to kind of get your mind turning. Some people say to pick a word or a theme of what you’d like to experience for this new year.

I guess for me I’d like to love more, judge less, spend more time with my family and friends I rarely see, and meditate/reflect/have quiet at least 5 minutes a day.

I am grateful for the work that I do and having the ability to share my love of yoga with so many other people. I’d also like to be injury free! But we’re not going into that right now.

Moving on.

At this time of year everyone talks about DETOXING.

Before I go any further I just have to remind you as a disclaimer that I am not a doctor or health care professional. What is posted here is based on solely my opinion personal experience.

When people hear the word detox, they think fasting, juice dieting, and whatever that one is with the maple syrup cayenne pepper water. No no no no no. You can detox in a healthy way without starving yourself and depriving yourself of food.

If like me- you ate too much and had to much wine over the holidays, there are many easy ways to get rid of the bad and put the new inside of your body.

You have to eat clean.

(source)

Fill your fridge with the fruits and veggies that you like and try to get rid of processed foods. I have talked many times about green juice and green smoothies that are such an easy way for you to get extra veggies in. I’m not going to give you a meal plan- however I can tell you that I have been filling up with fresh juice (drank it before I could take a picture), smoothies in between when I have to teach classes, quinoa, brown rice, sprouts, homemade hummus, beans, kale, spinach, avocado, etc. You get the idea. Making things like your own soups, salads, oatmeal, and the like are a much healthier option that just getting what’s already made. My sister always gets the smoothies at the gym and I’m screaming on the inside because you don’t even know what kind of fake ingredients are in that thing.

Also- cut out alcohol and caffeine. Now- I know this is hard because I’ve been drinking both of those for the last month. When I have tried to cut out alcohol before- I would basically try not to drink wine or anything during the week and then allow myself to have some on the weekends. Once you do this for a while, it’s easier to decide- do I need this? Or don’t I? The caffeine is much harder. My only advice is to those of you who are having multiple coffees and diet cokes a day- it to ease up slowly. And stay HYDRATED!

One of my own personal debates is eating a pure vegan diet. I have been an off and on vegetarian for years and I’d say I probably am meat free 85% of the time. It’s a struggle for me because sometimes with my job being physical and I don’t take the time to plan ahead, I feel like I need it and well- I love cheese and feel like I can’t live without it!!! But, with all the news that’s coming out about dairy being bad for you and meat being linked to cancer- it clearly makes me want to change.

Here’s an idea for a meal plan from the 21-day Vegan Kickstart

Breakfast: Cereal, plant milk (your choice), and banana and berries

Lunch: Vegan veggie burger (use whole grain bread topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and your favorite mustard) and cup of Carrot and Red Pepper Soup (leftover from yesterday’s lunch)

Snack: Air-popped popcorn topped with curry powder or nutritional yeast

Dinner: Southern Beans and Greens (toss in your leftover black-eyed peas here) with side of Couscous Confetti Salad (leftover from yesterday’s lunch)

Seems pretty easy to me. Anyone want to sign up with me? I’m nervous and probably couldn’t do it alone!

Here are some things you can read that may spark your interest

Dairy no longer part of a healthy diet

Crazy Sexy Diet

Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen

Natalia Rose and The Raw Food Detox Diet

Healthy Eating tactics for the new year by Peas and Thank you

**All in all don’t be too hard on yourself.**

Whether you are tackling career, health, or fitness goals, make your list, start out small, and then cross things off. Plan things out week by week. What are you going to eat for lunch, when are you going to yoga, who do you have to email…that’s what I do.

I plan to keep it coming with the recipes, videos, and hopefully a new ab burner sequence this week!

Happy New Year!!!!

Tags: blogs, food, holidays, recipes, something to think about

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Pics and food

22 Dec

Hi! How was your week been? I kind of had a large to do list to tackle today but I guess I’m not alone. I love Christmas- but it’s so much build up to the one day and then- it’s done. I will be attending the Raven’s game with my friend Heather’s on Saturday which will be really fun. I have never been to a Raven’s game before and Christmas eve will be the first!

Speaking of Christmas. Look at this:

Santa in bhujapidasana! Love it!! Thanks Heather Smile

Speaking of Santa- look at this video. So hilarious. Please watch it.

Here are some eats:

Edamame sprinkled with smoked sea salt

Quinoa with tofu- soy sauce and spicy mustard. Don’t worry- Presley did not get any of it. Lol

Lunch from whole foods (aka whole paycheck)- raw kale with the most amazing garlic dressing- but you will probably want to brush your teeth after that- curried tofu, garbanzo beans, black beans, beet salad, olives, artichoke hearts…something else was probably buried under there that I’m forgetting.

On Tuesday I had my photo shoot for Baltimore Magazine- as I have been picked as one of their Top Singles for 2012. The magazine comes out I think in the middle of January. Here are some pics I took of myself.

I don’t want to brag- but my makeup looked damn good. My friend Jenn Quinn is a makeup artist and she did an AMAZING job. And yes- fake lashes were applied. You can book her through Stillista Agency.

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Being that it’s the holidays and we are all kind of feeling warm and fuzzy inside- I just want to say thank you to everyone that takes the time to read my blog as well as those of you who come to my yoga classes and related events. Five years ago I became a yoga teacher and I honestly never ever thought that I would be where I am today. I was in Lululemon today and a student of mine from a studio I no longer work at totally remembered me and told me how much she loved my classes- which was FOUR years ago. I am just glad that I can only try to be a source of inspiration in your lives- even if it’s a little bit.

(Yes- I know my feet are filthy- that floor was pretty dirty- but look- they make a heart Winking smile )

I hope you all have safe travels and a fantastic holiday. Eat yummy food, take deep breaths when your family is stressing you out, and sip some bubbly. That’s what I’ll be doing.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Art is why I get up in the morning; my definition ends there. You know it doesn’t seem fair, that I’m living for something I can’t even define. And there you are right there, in the mean time. ~Ani Difranco

Tags: food, holidays, quotes, recipes