Too Busy to Eat Healthy?

Whether you're a busy young professional, new Mom, or an always-working entrepreneur, there are some simple things you can do to make sure you're still eating well, with a limited amount of time.

One disclaimer first:

Don't try to do everything at once!!!

Going from Junk Food Jane/Joe to Health Food Harriet/Henry overnight never happens, and is a sure-way to get de-motivated and stop trying at all. Use the following tips instead:

• Subscribe to a home delivery service - do an internet search for an organic/local food delivery service, and you'll find that if you're in North America they're nearly everywhere. And if not, create a shopping list, and give it to your local grocery store - they want you're business, so they'll find a way to deliver to you! You can use the list from one of the food delivery services as a template, if you don't know where to start. Experiment with simple recipes and try to use all the veggies in the box!


• Try a smoothie meal! - get some healthy ingredients, throw some greens in (especially kale!), and you've got a breakfast or lunch meal on the go! Delicious and healthy. Yes, the green pieces may take getting used to, but do you want to be healthy and youthful, or feel like a piece of crap?! :).


• Eat lots and lots of salad - buy a big box of pre-washed greens, chop up some tomato, cucumber (and I love using celery for a bit more saltiness), squeeze on lemon juice and some olive oil, and you got a salad made in literally minutes! Try nutrient-dense greens like spinach, swiss chard instead of iceberg lettuce (which is mostly water and has minimal nutrients).

Don't try all three things at once. Pick one thing to do it consistently for 21 days (which is the time it takes to form a new habit), and chart your success and changes. Whether its an increase in energy, loss of weight, journal it, so that you can see what's happening as you change something for the better.

Feel free to share your success stories here as you go along, for even more cheerleading support! :)

Is the Fast Food Really Worth It?

I've begun to love when people tell me that they have no time in their day to eat healthy, and that fast food is easier for them.

Remember this the next time you reach for that fast food meal:

• What are you REALLY exchanging for that few minutes? - yes, it might save you a few minutes by eating already prepared food instead of making your own... Or does it? Food that comes from a box or fast food place really isn't food, and will actually slow you down, making those few minutes you save truly insignificant... So in actuality, you waste time by consuming low-nutrient food.


• Take back the sit-down meal!!! - my happiest memories growing up were sitting down with my Mom, Dad, and older sisters and brothers and spending time with them and hearing the stories of their day. Even now, I smile at the thought of those moments... Not one of those meals came from a box. Better yet, they were started by remembering making the meals with my Mom and sisters. They happen at daily in my home now because I choose not to live without that feeling.


• Love In = Love Out - If you eat food that was prepared by someone's loving hands, there really is love in that food! This means that your body will be nourished even moreso than food that was made from a machine, or mass produced. Think about how much more effective you are when that love passes from your food to your body, then your mind!


• Don't let those "meal deals" get you - you know those coupons that are 2 for 1? What's 2 x 0? ZERO. That's right. Two times zero nutrients is still zero nutrients. 


• Real food really is cheaper! - try it for yourself - eating on a budget and making your own foods really isn't more expensive than eating fast food! I teach people weekly how to make simple, healthy and inexpensive meals, and have proved the naysayers wrong! Take that, crap foods! lol :).

I always tell people to beware of the labels for foods that you eat. I used to work in a chemistry lab folks; there are ingredients in the foods that society eats that I wouldn't touch in a lab without gloves, a mask, and full ventilation!

The simplest thing I tell folks is to buy whole foods, that you know what's in it. Your better off eating that carrot than that box of macaroni and cheese. Start with one meal first, then slowly start to add in the other meals. Don't feel you have transition over night.

The side benefit of doing this transitioning is that your clarity, ability to focus, and ability to achieve those things in your life you really want can skyrocket!

Please feel free to share your stories - either of how you transitioned to a healthier life, or where you want to get to! :)

The Keys to Being Hot

I'm asked quite often how I got to be so cute... And then my usual response is "if you only knew how much I used to think I was $h!tty it would blow your mind".

HOWEVER,

The road to getting there was hard, I shed litres of tears, and had years of battles with my own self-doubt.

IT WAS SOOO WORTH IT!

I'll share with you some of my very simple (and did I mention FREE or affordable) rules that I used to literally turn back the hands of time for my physical self-beauty, and make my self-confidence literally unshakeable (well, some hours of shaking happen here and there, but that's a part of life!) confidence:

• Love Yourself Unconditionally - That's right, love the bumps, scars, cellulite, bad hair days, whatever makes you human. Until YOU accept yourself fully, how can anyone else?!
• Tell Yourself How Awesome You Are - Yes, I tell myself every single morning that I'm the bomb! lol... It's funny and strange at first, but boy oh boy, love then becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy to all the other areas of your life too :). 
• Don't Judge Lest You Be Judged Too - Would you want anyone sizing you up, trying to figure out if you're "worth it"? How about giving people room to be themselves. When people are allowed to be themselves and feel comfortable being who they truly are around you, miracles happen - for them AND for you!
• Feed Yourself the Good Stuff - Read your labels on what you eat... Better yet, eat mainly things that don't need to be packaged - fresh fruits and vegetables! If you can't pronounce it, don't wear it on your skin or put it in your body. Spend a few extra dollars on local and organic so that you save thousands in future medical costs.  

And most of all, don't seek approval from the outside world. Learn to be who you authentically are, as is. Me? I LOVE country music, love being a Linux girl, will stand up for the underdog, and continue to challenge people who make others feel bad... No excuses, no pity-parties, and standing true to my overall purpose on this planet. I'm here to help people HEAL themselves, and also to help HEAL the planet. Because I'm as certain of this purpose as the air that I breathe, I will allow no one to stop me from being who I was born to be.

That's what makes me hot. Confidence is super-sexy.

Remember that all of us - everyone past, present or future - crave two main things in life; love and acknowledgement. When you are a stand in your life for those two things, what can stand in your way?! If you know of some things that prevent this, feel free to comment, so we can dissolve those mountains :).