Spring into Summer Detox!

G'day my friends!  Since my last post about my cookie binge, I am not very proud to say that I have consumed even more and even worse things since then.  This past weekend I held my first Photography Camp and of course, we ate "camp" food.  While the main meals consisted of relatively good stuff (chili made with turkey or ground round), homemade soup from 2 Broke Gals Soup Company, bacon, eggs, and toast, etc.  It was the mindless snacking in between, at night, and there may have been a wee bit of alcohol involved.

That being said, however, we walked A LOT, and I definitely noticed that when you do not fuel your body with the right stuff, your workouts become a thousand times more difficult.  I was essentially outside all day for 2.5 days which was awesome!! We had great weather, we got to be consistently creative, and we found out more about each other as artists (which is always fun!)

When I came home, however, I had EXTREME bloating in my feet....like extreme.  At first I thought it was a result of all the walking I had been doing, but it literally lasted 2 full days and that's when I realized something wasn't quite right.  Around that time, I had received an email from Heather (my friend and holistic health coach that I wrote about before) offering a Spring detox and I signed up!

So, to get myself on track and the undo what I did to myself on the weekend, I am taking the plunge into the detox to feel a bit better.  My favorite thing about this detox (after reading the welcome packet) is that it's a detox for EVERYTHING...there is meditation, vision boards to be made, affirmations to say, body care, and of course healthy eating.

I will be using this platform as a journal, as one of the requirements of the detox is to write down the recipes, how I feel, etc. (similar to what I used to do when I started this blog).  I also want to emphasize that this detox is not to lose weight, but rather to get my body in the right state to take on my busy summer!!

Today is my shopping day for all the delicious items on the list and the end of this detox will be when I head out for my trip to Seattle/BC and I am so excited that I will have these habits in place and the fresh mindset to keep me going while I am out there!

 

WISH ME LUCK!!

Oh! And if you want to get in on this action, contact Heather over on Facebook or send an email to: info@heatherschiller.com and score yourself 25% off because you are reading my blog <3!!!

Easter is Over...

....so let the diabetic coma commence....Happy Easter Monday, everyone!!  I hope you found yourself surviving after a weekend full of chocolate, sweets, and suppers!  I didn't fare so well, but it wasn't due to Easter.  It was a result of me having to help my sister prepare for a wedding dessert table on Saturday and therefore, I consumed copious amounts of sugary baked goods.  Oh man, did I ever feel sick.  Yesterday wasn't much better, however, as I had an all day photo shoot and the only sustenance we had at the studio was Timbits and coffee...while I refrained from eating ALL of them, I piled them on top of all the other crap I ate the day before.  Interestingly enough, however, I have been craving protein like there is no tomorrow....and green juice.  All I think about is making green juices...perhaps a 3-day detox is in order, hmmmm.

 

One of my pleasures from the weekend was taking Ms. Madi to her ballet class on Saturday morning and it was sooooooo cute!  Seriously, I cried a bit because of the cuteness.

I also had the pleasure of attending my first fashion show with Stephanie on Saturday night and it was quite fun!  Dee-Karpa's designs were beautiful and it was cool because we had seats in the front row!! YAY!  It was nice to get out and it was beautiful enough outside that I didn't even wear tights under my skirt!! Scandalous, I know.

Oh!  I wanted to share the recipe for the most delicious oatmeal cake thing I have ever made/ate.  It was absolutely fantastic and really easy to make!  The hardest part was not eating it all!  You can check out the recipe over at mindbodygreen.com!  Seriously, the yummiest!!

Lastly, for Easter my momma gave me a basil plant and it smells so lovely.  I think I may give urban gardening a go this year.  It's nice to have my own herbs when I want them!  In fact, I used some of the leaves for a delicious chicken, basil, goat cheese pizza for this evening!!

Anyhow, stay tuned over the next few days because I am going to have some features on some lovely ladies that are sharing their knowledge on health and wellness!  Plus I tried out some new activities which you definitely need to hear about!!  Have a great week!! Ps. enjoy the sun and this little picture I found and thought was hilarious:

I Accept My Fate...

....I pretty much ate non-stop today.  Why, you ask?  Well, to be perfectly honest it is because the devil is apparently housed in my uterus and this makes my brain think I am continuously hungry for ALL the things.  While I didn't eat anything horrendous....I just ate continuously.  I ate rice cakes with organic pb and bananas...at MIDNIGHT!! Ugh.  Peanut butter makes me feel gross so I shall accept whatever fate awaits me tomorrow morning. sigh. 

That being said, I started off the day quite well with a pre-made breakfast.  It's a recipe you have probably seen kicking around Pinterest and Facebook and I finally got around to making it!  Essentially you mix together oatmeal, chia seeds, raspberries, banana, greek yogurt, a smidge of honey (or maple syrup) let it sit overnight in a container and by morning you breakfast will be ready to go!  I believe for exact measurements you can search no-cook refrigerator oatmeal and there are a number of ways to create this delicacy!  Give it a go, you will not be disappointed.

In other news, I am so incredibly happy that it is getting warmer!! For 2 days I have been able to venture outside with a hoodie on!!!  No jacket required!!  Last night, Ryan and I went for a walk after dinner and it was quite lovely (but got chilly on the way home!)  It was nice to breathe fresh air, spend some time laughing and chatting together, and just getting refreshed.  Today, however, I wore sweatpants, did some photoshoots in my basement and worked on photos.  Didn't really feel like moving too much.

Holistic Health Happiness

Remember a few posts back, I introduced to you Heather Schiller, my Pilates instructor and holistic educator and I told you that I would be writing a blog post dedicated to all the fun information she provided us, well, today is the day!

While I won't go over everything (you don't have enough time to sit and read it all, plus it's a good excuse to visit Heather for more info!) I will touch on the few things that definitely stood out for me!

Every week of Pilates was dedicated to helping combat and learn about 1 area of improvement so I have separated them here for you, so you can learn about each thing as we did.

1. HEALING INFLAMMATION

"Inflammation is an immune response to injury, toxins, allergy or infection.  It surfaces as redness, pain, heat, and swelling in the affected area."  We have all seen and felt inflammation when we experience a bruise, cut, or sprain, but we can also experience inflammation in our gut, which is the most problematic place to experience it.

"More than 70% of our immune system cells are found in our gut, so what we eat largely contributes to how our immune system responds."  The unfortunate thing about this is that every body is different and therefore what affects one person maybe a wonder to another.  This is why it is important to stay from diets that focus on ALL people because no 2 people are the same.  Work with a naturopath, nutritionist, dietician, holistic health coach, etc. to go through tests and find out what is hurting and helping you in terms of food and use that knowledge to create your own "diet."

There are 6 main causes of inflammation:

1. toxicity

2.infection

3.allergy

4.nutritional deficiency or excess

5.injury

6.emotional trauma (mental stress)

Foods that elevate our blood sugar contribute to inflammation, such as processed foods, refined sugars, starches, refined white flour, fast food, etc.  Interesting items that can contribute to inflammation are vegetables in the nightshade family like eggplants, peppers, tobacco and tomatoes.  These foods have alkaloids that can affect nerve-muscle function, digestion, and joint flexibility.

So, since a lot of these things happen to us without our knowledge or ability to prevent them, we need to take precautions to help our bodies' immune system work at its best.  We can do that by consuming anti-inflammatory foods!  This includes fresh vegetables and fruits, green tea, healthy oils, Omega-3 fatty acids, meat, nuts, seeds, beans, etc.  By consuming a diet rich in fresh and organically rich foods, we can help heal the digestive lining and prevent other forms of inflammation throughout the body.

2. OXIDATIVE STRESS

A lot of people are unaware as to what oxidative stress is and the best example I can give is when you cut an apple in half.  If you dribble lemon juice (high with antioxidant vitamin C) on one half and not on the other and let the 2 halves sit out in the air, you will notice that the one half will turn brown (without the lemon juice) while the other one stays fresher longer (with the lemon juice).

 (The one on the right shows more signs of aging as a result of being exposed to the air where as the left apple has been preserved a bit longer with the antioxidant properties of the lemon juice :D)

Oxidative stress is something that is going to happen to us regardless of whether we want it to or not...it's called aging.  For most of us, however, we help this process along by subjecting ourselves to high amounts of stress (!!), too much sunlight, process foods, pollution, excess smoke, alcohol, and drugs(prescription included).  Our energy lessens, our skin becomes wrinkly, our posture is hunched, and more and more healthy complications start adding up. 

(This could be you ^^) image by Sandy Powers

How do we combat this?  It's not by slathering tons of anti-aging lotions or getting a daily shot of botox.  I hate to tell you, it's what we all know to be true: eat your vegetables and fruit!  Foods in high doses of antioxidants will help to provide clear eyes, strong gums and teeth, healthy muscles, tissues, and organs and provide a greater energy.

Well, what foods are high in antioxidants?  Essentially all fruits and vegetables provide us with these in their own way.  The green fruits and vegetables help protect against cancer, improve eyesight, and help reduce birth defects.  The yellow/orange fruits and vegetables give us Vitamin A which maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes, reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and improve immune system function.  The red fruits and vegetables may help reduce risk of several types of cancer, especially prostrate cancer.  They also protect cells from damage.  Purple and blue fruits protect cells from damage and improve the health of blood vessels, skin and the brain in addition to having been link to improved memory function and healthy aging.  White fruits and vegetables may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and may help reduce risk of stomach cancer and heart disease.

3. DIGESTION AND IMMUNE SYSTEM

This information was provided to us by Heather, but from an article in Specific Carbohydrate diet Lifestyle by Jordan Reasoner.

Everything that happens to our gut impacts us.  The gut is responsible for almost everything that happens in our body.  If it's sick, we are sick.  If it hurts, we hurt.  Heather talked to us about Leaky Gut Syndrome and the best way to explain it is that the intestinal lining has become more porous, with more holes developing and the screening out process our intestines are responsible for will no longer function properly leaving a lot of really nasty stuff in our bodies. 

"The intestinal lining is the first mechanism of defense for our immune system.  The outer layers of intestinal cells (epithelial) are connected by structures called tight junctions.....During normal digestion process the tight junctions stay closed, forcing all molecules to effectively be screened and only pass into the blood stream through the mucosa cells."

The body then reacts to these "foreign" bodies in the blood and fights like crazy.  the liver gets called into action and tries to screen out particles that your intestinal lining was supposed to take care of.  More often than not, the liver cannot keep up with the constant flow of waste into the blood and all the toxins and other pathogens start to accumulate in the body.  Now, the immune system kicks in and goes essentially ape-shit to get the bad things out of the body.  This causes inflammation.  Because your body takes care of the big problems first, it is preoccupied with the inflammation and ignores the smaller fights like filtering out the blood, calming the inflamed areas of the body, fighting bacteria, etc. and this is where you find yourself fighting chronic fatigue, MS, IBS, Colitis, etc.  It is suggested that if you are having any food sensitivities to more than a dozen foods, you likely have a leaky gut.  

"When you have a Leaky Gut condition, the damaged microvilli along the intestinal lining cannot manufacture the digestive enzymes they need to break down the food for proper digestion.  The resulting condition allows food molecules to flow into the bloodstream that have not been completely broken down into the nutrients your body needs."

Causes of Leaky Gut:

Diet

Chronic Stress

Inflammation

Medications

Yeast

Lack of Zinc

To get properly diagnosed definitely see your naturopath, holistic health coach, or family doctor and then discuss treatments with them, but here are a few that are standardly the route to take to fix Leaky gut Syndrome:

~diet restriction:  eliminating sugars, starches, grains and any other foods alleviate the inflammation and starves out the yeast overgrowth.  Check out the SCD Diet for more information.

~nutritional supplementing: supplementing with a good multi-vitamin, large amounts of Vitamin D and Zinc will help help the intestinal lining to return to normal.

~probiotics: The diet gets rid of the bad bacteria and you need a constant feed of good bacteria so Acidophilus is a must.

~digestive enzymes: These help to properly break down the foods we eat.

To find out more about Leaky Gut Syndrome in more detail, head here.

It was during this discussion that Heather introduced us to Kefir, which is an acquired taste but insurmountable in health properties.  You can buy Kefir and Kombucha from your local organic store and I bought a bottle of Kombucha from Organza to try.  It was carbonated and "neat" tasting.

 

 (image taken from: www.precisionnutrition.com)

4. INCREASE ENERGY

10 ways to increase energy:

1. Reduce or eliminate caffeine ~ it dehydrates, causes blood sugar to go up and down and makes mood swings more frequent.

2. Drink water ~ before you go to sugar or caffeine, have water and wait to see what happens

3. Eat dark, leafy green vegetables ~ green is associated with spring, the time of renewal and refreshing and vital energy.

4. Use gentle sweets ~ avoid sugar and chemical artificial sweeteners and opt for maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar and stevia or use sweet vegetables like yams, carrots, and beets.

5. Get physical activity ~ go for a walk. Get some oxygen flowing.

6. Get more sleep, rest, and relaxation ~ when you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy.

7. Evaluate the amount of animal food you eat ~ eating too much meat can lead to low energy but so can too little so just experiment.

8. Take time for yourself ~ find activities that restore your energy and enjoy alone time. ( I took up painting!)

9. Get in touch with your spirituality ~ whatever you believe and however you connect, do it.

10. Get rid of relationships that drain you ~ see if you can transform those relationships by communicating and setting boundaries.  And if nothing works, end the relationship.

It was during this week that Heather encouraged us to try a new leafy green in our meals, like kale, collard, or otherwise.  However, during the time, I neglected to follow through, however now that I am juicing every day it will be a better way to do it!  I use all sorts of leafy greens in my morning juice and have even begun to include spirulina into my drink.  Spirulina sounds disgusting, smells like a fish tank, but has amazing health benefits.  When mixed in my juice I cannot even taste it! 

 It has been shown to be one of the most powerful alkaline foods to take in, as well it is fantastic for cleansing the liver, all of the good things.  It is pretty spendy (the bag in the picture cost me about $24), but I only use about a tsp to a tbsp in each drink (depending on how courageous I am feeling).  I posted the recipe for my favorite green drink on my Facebook page, but I will include it here for those of you who read this, but are not on my Facebook page!

In addition to juicing to get in my fruits and vegetables, I have also received my first supply of Juice+ and we will see how that goes!  I have been diligent for the last 2 days haha, so let's hope that continues, but it's something that I understand the science of, and therefore am passionate about!  For those of you that hate swallowing pills, they even have gummy versions, but I would eat them all at once, so that was a no go for me.

 

My last bit of news is that I participated in a TRX class at Pilates Manitoba 2 days ago and it was probably one of the hardest workouts I have ever done in my entire life.  They are circuits and you are using essentially your entire body mass.  I was fine at all them except the abs ones....I was actually close to throwing up, that's how awesome it was. Anyhow, I think I will go back and do it next week because it totally kicked my ass.  Also, I felt ALL my muscles yesterday as a result, so that is good hahaha!

 

Have a great weekend and eat healthy, drink lots of water, get lots of rest, and be happy!! <3

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Coconut Nom Noms

So a week has gone by since the last time I posted so that means 1 of 2 things...I have been very bad, or I have been very busy.  Or perhaps a combination of the 2, haha!  Just kidding, I haven't been too horrid these past few days, in fact I have been watching my food intake with a fun little app on my fun that I was alerted to via my sister's hubby.  It's called My Diet Diary and you simply enter what you are eating throughout the day, your water consumption, your goals and then your exercise for the day and it will let you know the approximate amount of calories you should be consuming to achieve your goals.  And yes, I have said it before, calories are not the end all to be all...but I know enough to know that if I eat up my calories by having a delicious piece of super chocolate cake, then I won't be doing myself any favors by starving at the end of the night.  I take it with a grain of sand and it is just more to keep me accountable :D which is the main thing.

 

In other news, I have been steadily attending my Pilates at a minimum of 3 hours a week at the moment and I am noticing a huge difference in the tightness and flexibility of my muscles which is awesome.  I find that Pilates is incredibly challenging for me because it is way more focused than "gym work" and while I am not saying that weight lifting is horrid (I still do it) but I do it with more precision, control, and focus than I did before, thus making me feel it a lot more and reaping the benefits properly.

My one Pilates workshop is coming to an end next week, but I wanted to fill you in on all the fun stuff that we have been learning about.  In addition to the Pilates workouts, we spend about 15-20 minutes talking about the benefits of different types of foods that help aid in the overall health of our bodies.

 

This week we have been talking about the importance of probiotics in our daily diet and how we can add more into our bodies via natural routes instead of just the pill form and yogurt.  In fact, Heather was so lovely that she decided to bring us some homemade Kefir to try.  It tasted....neat.  For those you that are not sure what Kefir is, it is essentially the brine of fermented Kefir grains and is a super important probiotic (that is easy to make) and helps maintain our gut health and ensure a proper digestive tract.   While the taste of it will probably take some getting used to, I can see the importance of introducing it into my daily life (or at least weekly!).  I have also heard and read a lot about kombucha, but have yet to give that a go.  I have read that its properties are quite amazing as well!  

 

Anyhow, you should check out Heather's Facebook page  for some cool information, guidelines and motivation.  I am kind of sad that our course is coming to an end next week, but perhaps she will start another one!  In the meantime, it has been fun talking with somebody who is as passionate about the exciting world of holistic health practices! 

Lastly, in my efforts to curb my sweet tooth these past few days (thanks, PMS), I made a batch of relatively healthy cookies that are flourless, sugarless, and VERY delicious.  I have included the recipe below here for you!

 

 

Things you can look forward to from me in the future: trying out some new activities (I have 3 currently lined up....2 of which you probably didn't even know existed in Winnipeg ;) ), more delicious recipes, and soon....a BALLET RECITAL!!!  

Gettin' My Hair Did (and other fun stuff!)

 Yesterday I finally went and got my hair did and Les, as per usual, did a fabulous job and I am loving the new light layers.  Sometimes it just takes a bit of a change in things to "refresh" the motivation.

 

  I also went to Addition-Elle and bought some amazing bras and panties.  Perhaps that is too much information, but for those of you plus size ladies, get your butt in there!!  It is so nice to fit into a proper fitting brazier and feel more put together.  The Ashley Graham line right now is hugely discounted, so get in there and get sexified!  

I have been feeling really good about myself this last week and I think it has to do with me going to the gym, pilates, and ballet...essentially keeping active and getting out of the house more often than I did before.  What I am not feeling good about is the shitty weather outside, but enough people complain about that so I will leave you with a dreary picture and be done with it!!

Let's see what else, what else....oh yes!!  If you have been following the blog you know I like to toss a little bit of lemon into my water from time to time, but I came across this great recipe for an even more beneficial aquatic beverage.  It not only tastes good but includes the following fabulous benefits:

Detox Lemon Water

• Lemon: Lemon water makes for a powerful detox drink; lemon juice helps to cleanse and alkalize the body. Add one thinly sliced lemon to a large pitcher, or squeeze fresh lemon juice into your glass. Lemon also aides in digestion and boosts your immune system.
• Mint: Mint adds a touch of sweetness without the sugar, and it also helps settle your stomach and aids in digestion.
• Cucumber: Adding a few slices of cucumber to your water makes for excellent re-hydration, and cucumber contains anti-inflammatory properties.
  
  Head to the website where I found this for a ton of Q&A information which is fantastic and will answer any questions that you have.  And to the people worried about the acid from the lemon on your teeth, well, you can't have everything ;)

If you are tired of drinking plain 'ol water, then this is a great alternative, but I still ensure to switch it up with plain water every second day.  It is super refreshing!!

In other news, I attended my first Plus-Size Pilates class at Pilates Manitoba and it was a lot of fun.  The 3 ladies that were in my class attend it frequently and are awesomely sarcastic which I thoroughly enjoy.  The instructor is also a great asset to the group because of the intimate setting and the limited movement of some of the ladies everyone does the same exercise, just in a way that suits them best.  For myself, I realized the importance of pulling myself up and being as tall as I can.  My posture is not as great as it could be so this is one of my goals.  I find that I now adjust myself when I am driving, at the computer, or even at the gym to ensure my core is engaged and my body parts aren't going to "what's easiest".  The funny thing is that I thought my legs were the strongest part of my body, but as I am going through pilates I am finding that my leg workouts are the hardest for my thighs, my hips, and movement.

 

With that, I shall bid you adieu for the day!  Have a fabulous Thursday!

The Sweetest Cake Ever

This past weekend was the celebration of my best friend, Stephanie turning 30!  Now, I am not alone.  Phew.  So yesterday, her and her fiancee, Phil popped over for supper and I had wanted to make her a delicious cake, but Stephanie is gluten free.  I remembered seeing a cooking show on TV talking about baking with vegetables, so I looked for those alternative types of cakes online.

I came across this delightful recipe for Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake.  To be fair, Betty Bake is one of the best food blogs that I have come across.  Lots of beautiful pictures and easy, healthy recipes!  I was just saying yesterday that I will not buy a recipe book unless there are pictures for every meal.  (Speaking of, I purchased 2 new recipe books which I will talk about later!)  Anyhow, back to the cake! The recipe is quite vague on a few things, #1 being "gluten free flour" as there are a number of different types of gluten free flour, and I chose to go with tapioca flour for this cake as it looked the most like traditional flour.  Also, it takes a lot longer to bake a sweet potato than one would think and because I started this little project at 1am, I decided to boil the potato instead and it softened a lot quicker.  Overall though, the cake was not horrendous.  I also kept it in the fridge before serving it, which in hindsight, I think I would now take out about 20 minutes prior.

So for supper last night, we enjoyed some delicious organic bison burgers, sweet potato fries, and delicious gluten free chocolate cake.  Oh!  I forgot to mention, I chose to go with a delicious banana coconut cream cheese icing with sprinkles.  I am not sure where I got the recipe from though.

Now, for the recipe books which I purchased came from Costco and are quite fun I think.

I am not going paleo, but there were delicious healthy recipes ALL with pictures.  For someone who writes, I hate seeing a lot text....it's just the way my brain works, I think.  Once I start making recipes from these I will post them for you guys to try as well!

On that note, I have to go do some work before pilates! But I am off to the farm this weekend for my little Aubree's 2nd birthday party! So I may not write too much whilst I am gone!  Please pray for good driving conditions for me haha!