Valentine's Day Celebration

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Valentine’s Day is for celebrating your appreciation for the one that you love! We often associate Valentine’s Day with candy, chocolates, cards, and flowers. Perhaps overindulging with the one that you love sharing a lavish dinner with decadent dessert to finish.

Why not indulge in sweet embraces, reminisce about when you first met and funny things you may have said to each other to make a good impression. Connecting with your special someone is important every day of the year, but it’s nice to make a tradition to think back and reflect on how you have grown together, how much you appreciate one another, and what you look forward to doing together in the coming year.

Having deep relationship connections is food for your soul. I learned this concept from my schooling at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition about Primary Foods. These are the non-food things in our lives that feed and nourish us just as much, if not more so than the foods we eat. Primary Foods break into the main categories: Relationships, Spirituality, Career, and Physical Activity. It’s important to feel satisfied in these areas of your life in addition to being satisfied by foods we eat.

In the area of relationships, special occasions like Valentine’s Day inspires us to reflect on relationships, past, present, and future. Take a moment to determine for yourself what is important to you in a relationship. Make a date to communicate with your loved one what makes you tick, ask how you can become a better partner, and how to move together on the same path forward.

If you are not celebrating with a significant other, take this time to celebrate and appreciate yourself. The relationship we have with ourselves is the most important one in our lives. We must love, honor, and take great care of ourselves first. When we do that, then we can share our greatness with others.

Wishing you happiness and health always!

Seize the Moment Self-Care

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Friday morning and my BlackBerry pops up with a new e-mail from Balinesian Spa and Wellness Center. They have a special offer to receive a Free Quick Classic Facial when you book a massage at regular price. Checking in with myself and realizing it’s been a while since I’ve had a massage, it was time for some self-care for me! This was the perfect way to take time out for me and rejuvenate at the spa. I had an amazing massage, drank cucumber water to hydrate, then had a glorious facial. I floated out of the spa that evening.

This is a great example of Primary Food and how taking loving care of yourself not only makes you feel really special, but feeds your soul. Take a moment and think about when you last did something special for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a trip to the spa, a hot bubble bath or a book with a relaxing cup of tea can be all you need to allow yourself self-care that will nourish and revitalize your spirit.

Buckwheat Galettes

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We spent Memorial Weekend in Key West and had a wonderful breakfast at this lovely French Café, La Creperie. Sweet crepes and organic buckwheat galettes were featured on their menu. We had heard of crepes but never galettes, they were heartier and went well with savory fillings.

We decided to make our own when we got back home. Read more →

Happy Mother’s Day–Overnight Crockpot Oats

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Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mother’s on this planet!! A special Happy Mother’s Day to my own Mom Smile who loves and supports me in everything I do. Thank you Mom for being so amazing and gracious. You serve as a wonderful example for me and everyone lucky enough to know you.

I also wish a Happy Mother’s Day to my step-mom, my sister, and my mother-in-law. All amazing women who I look up to and receive endless guidance and love from. Thank you for being an integral part of my life!

I was talking with one of my favorite Health Coaches, Christine Kocherhans of Integrated Fit, the other day and she mentioned making steel cut oats overnight in the crockpot. Brilliant! I love steel cut oats, but they take a long time to cook. I’ve tried cooking them overnight on the stove top, but that still requires some cooking in the morning. The crockpot recipe wins.

Here’s all you need to do:

Measure out 1 cup of steel cut oats, pour into crockpot.

Add a pinch of sea salt, lots of cinnamon, and vanilla extract*.

*You can get create here and add your favorite spices, honey, some dried fruit, whatever your heart desires.

Pour 4 cups of filtered water into the crockpot.

Cover, set to Low and let cook overnight, 7-8 hours.

In the morning, you will have this waiting for you….

Crockpot Oats

The lovely brown color is from the cinnamon that’s been infusing into the oats all night.

Stir well, see how creamy and thick these oats are – YUM!

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Time to serve up in your favorite bowl.

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Garnish your oats with banana, honey, chia seeds, almond butter, etc. Choose your favorite toppings to customize to your liking.

The great thing about this recipe is you can make a large batch for 3-4 people and everyone can add their favorite toppings to their bowl.

This morning, I simply sliced up a banana and drizzled with honey. Breakfast was ready in 2 minutes flat!

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Why Diets Don't Work

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How many diets have we all heard of and worse yet, tried? Everywhere you turn there are commercials of fad diets, pills, powders, all touting the magic bullet for weight loss. No wonder diets are a billion-dollar industry, so many companies making money off diets that don’t work in the long run.

Diets manipulate us into choosing foods we don’t necessarily like and overanalyzing every bite we take. Counting and measuring until we can’t take it anymore. Then we throw in the towel, quitting the impossible diet, gaining all the weight we once lost and perhaps adding on a few more pounds before we even started.

It doesn’t have to be this way! Food is meant to nourish us and food is meant to be celebrated and eaten with gratitude. Why not try listening to your body and feed it whole, unprocessed foods that do a body good.

Simply put, diets don’t work. We are all individuals and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. “One person’s food is another person’s poison.”

Learning to feed yourself consciously and making small changes along the way that are best for your body is a recipe for success. It’s also important to slow down, eat a home-cooked meal surrounded by loved-ones, taking the time to connect with one another. Remember, food is not the only thing in life that serves and nourishes us.

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