FRESHLY SQUEEZED: FRUITS & VEGGIES

While on our vacation in Mexico recently, I realized how easy it can be to get into my body the necessary fruits and veggies each day. Every morning at the breakfast buffet there was an assortment of fruit and vegetable freshly squeezed juices.

The variety was great, and we could choose from single fruit/veggie juices such as papaya, orange, watermelon, melon, pineapple, beet, and many more; OR we could choose a blend of a few different fruits and veggies. We often opted for the mixed juices and regularly had two glasses of various juices each morning. The blended juices we enjoyed most were the carrot/ orange mix, and the pineapple/cactus/orange mix.

On this trip I realized how easy it can be to have juices like this at home each morning – realistically, all I’d have to do is prep the veggies either ahead of time, or even that morning to ensure they were extremely fresh. Either way, it’s all achievable.

So here’s my motivation to you; if you’re like me, and sometimes find it hard to get your vitamins in, in a natural way, get yourself a juicer and start mixing. See what suits your taste buds best, and go with it.

Personally, I am not a big fan of pineapple,  but I found that with the cactus and orange flavours mixed in, I was able to enjoy it. It’s so important to get these vitamins into our bodies naturally, and this, I think, is one of the easiest ways.

Also, there are plenty of different fresh fruit and vegetable juice ideas online that you can look up if you need some inspiration to get you going. Try searching places such as Pinterest, or simply going right to Google.

CW

V A L E N T I N IMPERIAL MAYA

Everyone needs a vacation once in a while – big or small, a break from your daily routine is healthy for both physically and mentally.

Mentally, it’s so important to give your mind a break from your daily thoughts, and simply allow your mind to “STOP” thinking and just let go, relax, and go with the flow.

Physically, our bodies snap into an automatic rythum with ourdaily routines, so its very important to removeour bodies from that constant trance and loosen up a little.

We recently decided we needed a break from our daily routines, and it was time for a vacation where our body, mind, and soul could relax and just forget about reality for some time.

Naturally, the first place that comes to mind when I think of a place to relax is: M E X I C O! Within two weeks, we were on a plane heading south for paradise. We chose an adult-only, all-inclusive, five star resort, because literally all we wanted was to relax in the sun, swim in the ocean and pool, indulge in culinary creations, and sip on delicious drinks. We found all this wonderulness (and more) at the VALENTIN IMPREIAL MAYA in the Rivera Maya.

It was our first time at this specific resort, and we were absolutely amazed at how great it was – the service, the food, the atmosphere, it was all beyond our expectations. We definitely would recommend this resort to anyone looking for a Mexican getaway.

With time, I’ll post photos from the trip and a few of my outfit choices for the evenings and outings, as I basically lived in my bikini the entire week.

I could write all day about the details of the resort, but I’ll just leave this post open to questions – so if there is anything you want to know more about it, feel free to email me or post a comment below.

SUPERFOOD: A V O C A D O

The older I get the more I pay attention to the food I put into my mouth; and it’s not that I have to try, it just happens. For the past few years I have actually started to enjoy food and have become interested in the ingredients list on products.

I still find it hard to include more fruits and veggies into my diet though, so imagine how happy I was to find out that one of my favourite foods was actually a S U P E R F O O D.

Hello A V O C A D O and welcome to my diet.

The amount of proven health benefits that come with one of these little pear-shaped fruits is stunning – from various vitamins, to healthy fats, it’s loaded with great nutrients.

Not only is the avocado fun to peel; cut in half and twist out the seed, it can be eaten in so many different forms. My favourite form is freshly peeled and sliced on toast with salt, or diced into a salad with salted sunflower seeds.

Without even realizing all of the great benefits to avocado, my husband and I have also been using Avocado Oil for all of our cooking. I know the hype was all about the coconut oil, but I am here to say that I prefer Avocado Oil 100%. I think I love it more because there is no flavour to it really, and I am not entirely a huge fan of coconut.

So, do yourself a favor and google the health benefits to an avocado – and then add it to your grocery list for your next shopping trip!

CW

WEEKLY REFLECTION: WEEK SIX #52HAPPYLISTS

List of the Week: List the things from your past and present that feel like blockades in the way of happiness.

Following from last weeks list, from listing the best choices you have made in your life so far, now it’s time to think about things that block you from achieving your happiness.

This week’s list may be harder or easier, dependng on how you want to define your happiness. I do believe that there can be two sides to this list, because we all want our happiness to depend on feelings and emotions, but sometimes, the materialistic items get in the way.

I can’t argue that a nice purchase doesn’t boost your mood a little bit, but in the long run, we need to find other “things” that can bring this happiness to us.

Happy Reflecting

XX

WEEKLY REFLECTION: WEEK FIVE #52HAPPYLISTS

List of the week: List the best choices you have made in your life so far.

Well this is definitely one of the more positive lists throughout this journal.  Reflecting and analyzing on the better choices throughout your life is definitely more fun.

Daily we make choices; both simple and harder ones. We definitely don’t have it in us to remember all of these choices, but we do remember the ones that meant something great than a lunch choice.

These are the choices you want to write down in this journal for your week five list! Reflect back on the choices that made you happy, that made others happy, pull from memories you’ve made.

Enjoy reflecting!

XX

HOMEMADE F R I T E S

I know I should be writing about the healthy food choices that I make, but how can I be real, transparent, and truthful with you if that’s all I show. We are all human and we all need a little bit of unhealthy grease once in a while.

A few nights ago, my husband and I were having a very lazy and difficult evening of the “what to make for dinner” debate – this happens once in a while, but he’s tired of my trying to make soup night after night.

So, has anyone ever made home-made french fries? I had totally forgotten how much better they are than the store-bought frozen ones or the ones fast food/restaurant ones! So, you guessed it, we pulled out the sack of potatoes and started peeling. We cut them up into fairly thick slices, then once more to make a nice sized fry.

I agree, this is not the healthiest of options; though potatoes are considered a vegetable, and one of my favourite vegetables, the oil we fry them in is not so great. Instead of frying them, you could also put the slices into the over, sprinkle some spices and salt and let them bake their way to crispiness. But, when craving calls, you answer.

My grandmother taught me one of the best lessons in terms of eating;

“Eat E V E R Y T H I N G but in M O D E R A T I O N.”

I have tried to follow that technique and I’d say it’s been working out so far. I am lactose intolerant to I don’t eat any dairy, and I am not a fan of seafood, but other than that, I am trying to be more open with my food to expand to more items.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS: VITAMIN DEFICIENCY + DEPRESSION

Taking care of our bodies can be one of the toughest jobs we take on – sometimes we just don’t know what’s best, whats wrong, or how we can fix it. Browsing Women’s Health yesterday, I came across an article asking if Vitamin Deficiency can cause depression. I think I actually answered that question out loud.

I won’t get into too much detail of my personal experience with this topic, but, let’s say I can relate and can speak to this topic.

Reading the Women’s Health article made me realize that it’s a much larger issue than I had imagined, and that I was not the only one with this issue. Hearing that someone who is a professional chef and blogs about food and nutrition daily can have a vitamin deficiency, actually makes me feel better.

This makes me realize that we can eat all the fruits and veggies in the world, but truth is, our bodies may not absorb them as well as our brain would like us to.  This is nobody’s fault. I am one for reaching for a helping hand – we all need a little help once in a while.

Realistically, I realized that many people possibly suffer from vitamin deficiency, but, leading it to depression… now it’s all coming together. Now that I’ve gotten myself back on track, I am becoming more and more interested in informing others about this matter.

As mentioned by Lo Bosworth in her article in The Lo Down on this topic, the depression is not the only effect of B12 vitamin deficiency – it also follows with mood swings,  high highs and low lows, confusion, etc (you get the idea).

Like Lo, I too was diagnosed with severe deficiency of B12 – luckily, within three months of  a daily B12 vitamin supplement I was back to my normal self. But, the months prior to my diagnosis were a daily battle and adventure.

So, the moral of this post is; don’t be afraid and don’t hold back – listen to your gut and get a blood test if you think you may have a vitamin deficiency. Something as easy as a small daily pill can help you so much.

Happy Wellness Wednesday!

XX

*I am not a doctor, and the information in this post is based on my personal opinions only