Eating Healthy: A Commitment to Better Living

I came from an incredibly active and healthy family. My parents were both athletes and they directly translated their love for the outdoors into raising my sister and I. Growing up we had a fire engine red, diesel Suburban...super intense. But having nature-dork parents and a huge car just meant that you could pack more camping gear and food for days in the back of the car. As much as I was exposed to the outdoors and parents who cooked dinner every single night, I still struggled with eating nutritious foods up until college, and if we are being honest, after college. I get it, really I do, veggies, proteins, less sugar, it’s all good for you. But all I wanted was candy and carbs :) Literally, fajita night at my house was amazing, and somehow my plate ended up being a tortilla with butter and cheese...because why would you ever need to put anything else in it? I was blessed with a high metabolism that allowed me to eat a lot of sugar, but it doesn’t matter what your size, it is ALWAYS better to eat clean. 

I used to go to yoga with my mom here and there in high school, and then every so often in college, but it wasn’t until I graduated and moved back home to Baltimore that I really got into a daily practice at a Baptiste inspired studio. I got hooked right away to the hot yoga, and made a commitment to go regularly. Conveniently, next door was a a smoothie bar that used healthy ingredients in their drinks, and my friend, Erica, and I, would stop in their together after sweating out all the yuck, and feed our bodies with nutritious goodness. I played tennis, rowed crew competitively, rock climbed, and so many other sports...but yoga is the one form of exercise that got me to want a healthy lifestyle...to want change, internally and externally, and to feel good all the time. I am now entering my first week at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified Health Coach. Nutrition, yoga, thai massage, and well-being, are my calling, so here starts the journey to spreading the word of healthy living to everybody. Teaching yoga allows me to share all my knowledge and all my gifts, just as everybody should, because as Amy Ippoliti says, “If you are not sharing your gifts, you are doing a disservice to everybody around you.” All of my contributions are gifts to you...and each post and each recipe are tools for you to use and share. The following is one of my favorite recipes for starting the morning...get into the habit of drinking smoothies for breakfast and see what it can do for your energy, your mind, and your body. 

Kale Smoothie:1 Banana1/2 Apple (I use Gala)3 large leaves of KaleHandful of Almonds1/4 cup Chia Seeds2 cups Almond MilkBlend until fine

Getting Prepared

So as many of you know I am readily preparing for Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am so excited, it's beyond words. I have been reading and cooking and playing with new recipes and finding out so much about myself! So I have to give a lot of credit to my new best friend, Gwyneth Paltrow... yes, I said it, Gwyneth. She has helped me on my new health extravaganza in so many ways due to her new cookbook It's All Good. I was told by others that this book did not get great reviews, that apparently Oprah didn't like it.... whatever. I love it! It's all clean eating, teaching you basic kitchen skills, ingredients I have never used before, and it has pretty pictures. I have avoided dairy for the most part for a year and a half. I am alwasy playing with food and finding the best alternative to fit my lifestyle and most of all, my digestive system. It's not just about eating in moderation, but more about creating an awareness around what foods make you feel a certain way. Anyway, the following is what I ate today :) Maybe it will provide a little inspiration for you as well!

Breakfast: Creamy Avocado and Cacao Smoothie (credit to Gwyneth)
1 whole Avocado
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1 cup coconut water
1 cup almond milk
blend and drink!

Lunch: Veggie Dumplings (from yesterday, also credit to Gwyneth)
Refer to It's All Good or email me at clareandrsn@gmail.com for this recipe, however I HIGHLY recommend buying the cookbook :)

Dinner: Garden Salad with Tofu
Leafy greens- kale, green, and a third of your choice
Chopped basil
Sliced yellow pear tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
3 thinly sliced pieces of tofu- fry in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until golden brown
Thinly sliced red onion- sautee in extra virgin olive oil until crispy
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to top

Yummy after-dinner smoothie:
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1.5 cups almond milk
blend and drink!

It's All Good.

I signed into my blog the other day and saw that March was the last time I had written. I stopped to think about why I hadn't written anything, and why I had made this commitment to write if it wasn't going to happen. I have a tendency to hold onto guilt when I have broken a commitment. I think that's pretty common, but it's a tough one to let go of. I am actually dealing with that at this very moment pertaining to an entirely different situation. Isn't yoga supposed to teach you to "let go"? Well, it isn't working. Turns out there is a fair amount of conscious work put into letting go and creating change.

Over the past few months I have quit a job to be a full time yoga instructor and massage therapist, realized I didn't JUST want to do those two things, started a relationship, picked up a new boutique job, and enrolled in nutrition school. Wow. I have known for a long time that my life is alwasy shifting and that I am always making new decisions. And it gets pretty tiresome at times.... like I don't know what I want, or I can't commit to something. But really that isn't it. I realized that yoga has given me one thing that I overlooked. Presence. I make decisions and do things that I feel are right in the present moment... and later is when I find out if it worked. Alot of times it does, and many it doesn't. The question I try to ask myself is, "is this a healthy decision for me?" And if the answer is yes then I do it. The kicker is that you don't know if it's healthy until later...

So why is letting go so difficult? I wonder how many articles and conversations people have had about this very topic. It's not like you say, "I want to be done with this," and then you are done. There are steps.

1. Ask yourself why you want to let go of this thing.
2. Ask yourself what unhealthy component it is bringing into your life.
3. Explore what this thing does to you.
4. Why do you feel the way you feel when you are holding onto this thing.
5. Is the feeling you have a habit... aka does this happen often.
6. Recongize the cycle.
7. Make the decision to break the cycle and free yourself from the feeling.

This is usually what I do when I am having a hard time releasing stress, pain, anxiety, sadness, fear, etc. What I have realized is that when I am not letting go of something it's because I do not have a clear mind and I am not focusing enough energy on my own needs.

I take on a lot of projects every day. I decide new things quickly, and I am over old things quickly. Since this is my nature, I tend to get overwhelmed and at that point must stop and create balance once again. When you are balanced is when life makes sense and you can speak your truth.

As I am writing this post I am also reading Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook It's All Good, and at the end of her introduction she says this (even though it's food related I'm taking it to mean something more. "Falling off your plan is part of it, not a reason to beat yourself up. It takes time to make these changes. It's all good." Thanks Gwyneth. But isn't true? It is always all good, and if it's not, it will be.

This is exactly why I am going to nutrition school to become a Health Coach. Because the emotional habits we have in our lives affect everything. And the way we eat affects everything. Eliminate, cleanse, your mind, your body, and find what works, and what doesn't work. Because that's all you can do if you are looking to make a healthy shift.