Are You Ready to Be the Healthiest You?

Come  join in the 30 Day Health Challenge I've been doing on my other Blog, Health & Swellbeing. Every day in January, I've done a Video post on what I have found to be the Healthiest Habits a girl can do....
You can also join in the great chatter happening on Facebook!
xo

Weekly Eats & Home Gyms

It's really overcast this morning & a storm seems to be brewing, but these are the kind of mornings reserved for a big mug of coffee, morning oats & a little free time to plan out the week.

Mr Swell has just taken Chloe out for a little daddy/daughter morning and I'm just about to get to work in the kitchen. Here she is all ready to take on the day and I just don't have the heart to tell her that she won't be needing those sunglasses today!

I love planning out our meals for the week and thinking about who's stopping by for a visit and what the perfect food would be to go with that. All the good stuff in life revolves around food doesn't it?

This week's a busy one with lots of friends & family coming over and we're also getting started on putting a gym in our basement. Our basement is completely finished and most of it is home to our movie theater that we put in when we first bought the house (an awesome wedding gift from my in laws). I also have a small space down there/woman cave where lots of magical creations take place.....or better known as the home of a million projects that get started and never get finished :)

The gym is going to go into an area that basically houses our workout equipment already & a bar area. Here's a few pics of what it looks like right now:

This week will be all about organizing, optimizing space & hauling to goodwill. I've been spending quite a bit of time sourcing out prices for the equipment we need - which is basically a treadmill, smith machine/squatting rack, dumbbell rack & some kettle balls. We already have a great spin bike, step mill, balls, & cables etc. I'll do a proper before & after post once it's complete.

So here's our menu for this week - a lot of clean eating recipes that I'd love for you to try out!

M~ Rainbow Tofu Salad w/Cilantro Lime Dressing

T ~ Veggie Lasagna w/Ricotta Chive Nut Cheese

W ~ Spelt Macaroni w/Cashew Cheddar Cheeze

Th ~ Tofu Parm & Cappelini. Caramel Popcorn (Girls Movie Night w/ my sister)

F ~ Veggie Dogs & Roasted Potatoes

Sat ~ Pizza

Sun ~ Veggie Nachos in the theater

** all of these recipes and more can be found in my Plan to Eat database. You can also check out Org Junkie where lots of other bloggers post their meal plans for the week every Monday.

Question: Can you recommend any great sites for gym equipment at lower costs? Have you seen any great pictures of home gyms people have posted?

Have a great week everyone and please take a second to follow the new blog, Health & Swell Being, which I'll be switching over to in a few weeks!

Weekly Eats & Bday Planning

This week is gonna be a beauty but very busy! Along with Chloe's birthday party this weekend and all the planning that goes with that, I've got lots of items to ship out that I sold on Ebay & Kijiji, as well as some studying for my Personal Training exam.

I keep telling everyone that I really want to keep Chloe's birthday very simple this year - just with family & a few close friends. But in typical me fashion, I have been swept away to the land of "it's all about the details" land. How do I not know myself better by now? Here are the many projects I have decided to take on this week as we prep for our little girl's big day:

~Make Tissue Pom Poms

~Create HB Banner using Fabric scraps

~Make Chloe's Tutu

because this one doesn't fit anymore :)

use bedazzling skills to make #1 Tank like this:

Monthly Picture Cutouts:

As far as gifts go - we've gotten her a few musical toys because she's quite the little Beethoven. Something that's been on my list has been to canvas paint this quote to put in her room - because I just think it's so darn sweet:

And then of course there's the house sprucing and the meal planning but that will take care of itself sometime between midnight & 6am the night before.

In trying to keep everything else simple for this week - here's what on our menu with some links to the recipes if you're interested in trying them out.

M: Asian Tofu Lettuce Wraps

T: Black Bean & Corn Quesas

W: Bean & Quinoa Burgs w/ Parm Potato Fries

Th: Coconut-Curry Lentil Stew

F: Homemade Pizza Dough (DIY style)

And if you haven't already - please sign up to follow the new blog I have in the works: Health & Swell Being. For some instant gratification while it's still being built - check out this great article on how to incorporate more health into your day

Hope you all have a great week!

My Thoughts on Cleansing...

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I felt like it was time to clean house and I wasn't just talking about my closets.

I have never done a body cleanse before - mostly because I didn't feel like I could actually commit to doing one. I tend to take on so much in a day that I often feel like if I was to limit my diet to juicing etc, I would be constantly thinking about how I "deserve" to eat some comfort food. I think a lot of us approach food in the same way sometimes.

Well - although I didn't stick to the juice-everything-until-dinner idea, I have come to really like a few of the things I did during this cleanse and plan on including a few of the practices into my daily routine. Here's what I loved:

- Juicing first thing in the morning. My fave was this blend of Romaine/Beets/Carrots/Celery/Ginger

- Dry skin brushing before shower

- Reading: Just bought these 2 and can't wait to dig in. I used to find it very hard to not "check in" online throughout the day, but I feel like I've broken this silly addiction :)

- Eat a monster salad before dinner & a variety of veggies every day. I used to go days without eating a single veggie and now that I'm eating more - my body is really craving them throughout the day.

- Continue to do something that makes me sweat everyday - variety is key!

Overall I had ENERGY :: GLOWING SKIN :: FULLNESS BETWEEN MEALS

If you're ever interested in doing a cleanse I would highly recommend reading Natalia Rose's book Detox for Women. She is highly respected in the Raw food & cleansing world and has a few books out which are all amazing, but I really liked this one because of it's focus on all the issues & pressures that fall on women. There are so many gimmicky approaches out there and I totally agree with her approach around juicing and raw veggies, to put the body in an alkaline state, giving it the chance to purge all the garbage out.

I'll leave you with a little excerpt from her book that really hit home for me:

"We are responsible for what happens next. Women hold enormous power in determining how the global garden will grow. If we adopt the truths of self-care in our own lives, and teach our receptive family & friends in gently respectful ways, we can effectively secure the balance of power and healing back in our bodies and throughout the planet as a whole. It takes almost 7 generations to make a cultural change....you have to know that no agency, government or grocery store is truly looking out for your best interest & health. We must first set ourselves right and then integrate our knowledge into our sphere of influence."

Life Exfoliation

I'm so excited that May is finally here! The weather has been just beautiful, we wake up to the birds chirping and our backyard is finally various shades of green. I've often revealed my lack of love for living in a cold climate for 1/2 the year, but at the same time, I really enjoy the changes that each season brings.

Spring is the perfect time to "clean house" and get rid of all the stuff that accumulates over a long winter. In keeping with this theme, Mr Swell & I are going to do a complete cleanse over the next 5 days. Let's call this....

LIFE EXFOLIATION:

~ Body Detox: I heard about Natalia Rose's Detox through this blog, and I really love the approach it takes. The plan for this detox is that for as long as you wish, you only consume fresh vegetable juices until dinner, and dinner is a fresh raw salad with steamed or roasted veggies. The idea is that all toxic waste in our bodies is acidic, and by consuming an alkaline based diet (all veggies), the waste in the body is drawn out. Here's my grocery haul from today to get us started:

Our diet already excludes meat & dairy, but the caffeine & sugar is going to be a struggle for me! To help facilitate the toxic ridding, we'll take a long walk in the afternoon (no strenuous activity) and have an epsom salt bath each night after skin brushing...which is great for stimulating circulation & toxins out of your lymphatic system.
If you'd like to learn more about this plan, visit her site here. I will be doing posts over the next 5 days to let you know how it's going!

~ Reading: I have a stack of books that have been sitting on my nightstand forever, just begging for my attention. During this cleansing time - we are going to cut out technology based/mind numbing activities and focus on reading books...including one together!

~ Closet Cleanout: This is also the perfect time to tend to our closets & cupboards that have items which will be much more loved by someone else. Our goal is to fill around 5 large garbage bags with donated items. The Diabetes foundation through their project Clothesline, will actually come and pick them up from o ur driveway and then they disperse the items across various places in need!

We're really excited to start this tomorrow, but man did that bowl of cereal before bed tonight taste pretty fantastic!

Weekly Eats & Weekend Recap

It's a beautiful sunny Monday and I've got a massive mug of coffee in hand so... all is swell!

We had an awesome weekend away visiting with family. We left Sat morning and hit up my favorite shoe shop where the cuteness of Chloe managed to get me 15% off my cherished Fly Londons. Once we arrived, we had lunch and then Mr Swell took Chloe for the afternoon while Nana and I did some home decor shopping. At approx 2pm, I fell in love with this light for our high-ceiling living room:

{please help me convince Mr Swell that this light will add majah value to our life}

After dinner we rented a classic funny - Waiting. You can never go wrong with a little Ryan Reynolds and some inspiration to never eat out again!

The next morning we were up at 5am to eat and then head downtown Toronto for the race. I'll do a separate post on that, but I was so happy to finish in 55 minutes - such a fun experience! Afterwards we went to Cora's for some delicious eats & took a nap before making the drive home.

So, here are our eats for this week. I love not having to think about what to make for dinner when the day rolls around - you should give it a try!

M ~ Tofu & Walnut Rice

T ~ Kashi Quiche & Greek Goddess Salad

W ~ Black Bean Quesadillas & Strawberry Soda Cupcakes

Th ~ Spinach Ricotta Shells

F ~ Coconut Faux Chicken & Quinoa.

Sa ~ Eggplant Parmesan

Su ~ Mother's Day...not sure what's planned :)

Also - Nana surprised with the dehydrator I've been drooling over for a while now and I'm super excited to start making raw treats! I need to purchase a good food processor - could you guys recommend a good one to buy?

10K Spins

Today was such a beauty and I couldn't help but wonder why my race couldn't have been today instead of Sunday...otherwise known as 90% chance of rain day.
But never fear...the gear is packed and the playlist is made. All will be okay. And yes - my playlist is exactly the length of time I expect to finish 10k in with a very specific last song that Chloe & I can be found dancing too on certain afternoons.

Think of me at 853am this Sunday, as I cross the finish with the other 15000 crazy people. And you can probably expect a post on recovering from a run sometime next week. Oh...and Chloe's 10 month post 2 weeks late...cause it's been that kind of a week.
Hope your weekend has a bit of sun or some really cute wellies!

Q: what's your go to song when you need to get your move on?

Planning our Eats

Happy MPM!

Here's our eats for the week...as you can see we are about 1-chicken-dinner-a-month away from being 100% vegetarian. Hope these recipes can inspire some meat free meals around your table a few nights a week :)

M Feelin Good Stew & WW Cornbread

T Quinoa Apple Slaw

W Bean/Veg Beef Tacos & Salad

Th Asian Noodle Salad & Pita Chips

F Coconut Faux Chicken & Brown Rice

Sat Carbs with Carbs & dessert Carbs (10K next morning) :)

This week is shaping up to be pretty swell:

- picking up my texts for the Personal Training course I'm taking mid-May.

- Norwex girls night. Do any of you use Norwex products? They're pretty life-changing!

- Date night with Mr Swell

- Toronto for the weekend: lots of shopping, visiting & a little 10K on Sunday!!

A little planning inspiration: "How we spend our days is inevitably how we spend our lives." ~ Annie Dillard

Make it a great one!

Green Thumbs & Monsters

So tomorrow being Earth Day, and me being a bit obsessed with themes & planning....here is how we're getting our green on:

- Plant a tree with Chloe in our backyard.

- Go to Home Depot to pick up seedlings for the Salad Garden we're going to start. I am super stoked about having a veggie garden to pull from every night! Here's what we're going to plant:

- Spinach

- Romaine

- Kale

- Mixed Bell Peppers

- Cukes

- Green Onions

- Tomatoes

- Strawberries

- Spruce up my container herb garden

- Attend webinar with David Wolfe at 12p. He is considered to be one of the world's top authorities on natural health, beauty nutrition, & raw/organic superfoods. He is also president of FTPF which has set a goal of planting 18 billion fruit trees on earth. {sign up here if interested in webinar} He also records podcasts on Itunes which I think might be just the trick to get me through my....

- 1oK outdoor run tomorrow. This is my last practice run before the big day next weekend!

- Make a delish Green Monster after my run. This is my latest addiction:

- 1 scoop hemp protein powder

- 1 tsp dark chocolate powder

- 1/2 cup almond milk

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 cup frozen spinach

- 1 frozen banana

- 1/2 cup frozen cherries (found here for all you local gals)

- 1 tsp chia seeds

Blend, sip, smile & wipe that green moustache off your lips!

Hope you all have the chance to do something earthly tomorrow, and remember.....

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

Run for your Life

Grab a tea bloggies....this post is a wee bit long but hopefully it offers up some ideas & inspiration to those of you looking to kick your health up a notch!

As I'm sure you can tell, I am very passionate about my & my family's health. I've belonged to a gym since I was 18 and have been educating myself on all things nutrition & wellness ever since. I have always been amazed at what the human body can do & endure, and nothing made me more aware of this than the experience of giving birth to Chloe.

My workouts have changed quite a bit over the last few years. I used to do just weights & cardio at the gym, but a few yrs ago I began practicing yoga and it really helped to balance out my training.

Now running, is not something that I ever used to enjoy. In fact, my mom loves to remind me that I had 2 lead feet growing up...but I insist on reminding her that this was because I never wanted to take the time to come inside from playing to go to the bathroom....and therefore, I couldn't move very fast. Duh!

I digress. I started running about 3 years ago and it did not come naturally to me. I would run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 min. Gradually I built up my endurance to be able to run 20 min straight.

One of my goals was to enter a race shortly after having Chloe, so I was really pumped to complete my first 5K race on Sept 2oth (3 months after having her)

I had only completed 2 practice 5K runs before the race so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, after finishing, I couldn't wait to sign up for a 10K! If you happen to be in Toronto on May 2nd you will find me at the Sporting Life 10K. Training for this has been a great challenge, and so without further babble, here are the steps I've taken to prepare for this and keep the junk out of my trunk the rest of the time!

PLANNING: The first and most important thing I do, is plan in my workouts for the month. When I do this, I first look at what opportunities I will have to myself (where Chloe is with Mr Swell or grandparents). On days when I know I'll be home with her all day - I plan to jump on our spin bike in the basement or I do a P90x or Yoga DVD. With my current focus being on training for a 10K - the majority of my workouts are obviously running. Each week, I do 3-4 runs that include: 1 easy run, 1 long run, 1 interval/sprint run & 1 negative split run (run faster for the 2nd half). The other days I do power yoga or circuit weight training. Here is a copy of what my workouts for April will look like. {Click to enlarge}

GET INSPIRED: I live in a constant state of needing inspiration - hence my deep appreciation for the blog world! Here are a few resources that I go to for my daily fix:
Blogs: The Fitnessista, A Foodie Stays Fit, Nourished Fitness, Oh She Glows
Podcasts: Ben Greenfield Fitness, The Nutrition Diva, The Because Show. These are great for long runs!

CLOTHING & GADGETS:
Nike plus running system. Although it may not be as accuate as higher end Garmin model, I love my Nike sportband. It communicates with the Nike sensor chip I have velcro'd onto my runners to tell me my time, distance and that I'm having a good hair day.

I love my Nike NZ Shox. I may or may not own about 10 pairs so that I can coordinate the colors of my shoes with my shorts. Serious runners mock my choice of shoe, but I find them very comfortable and have no blisters except on the days I forget to pack socks.

Lululemon All Sport Bra: If you are a BF Mama or just really blessed in the upper chest area, this is hands down the most supportive bra out there....and I've tried about 542 different bras that didn't make the cut.

Tunes: I use my Shuffle for most runs, but for longer runs I like to use my Ipod Touch so that I can listen to podcasts. They really help make the run go by fast and it's nice to get 2 birds stoned at once.

And the music doesn't stop when I swim laps...for this, I pop my shuffle into my H20 audio case!

MORE PLANNING: Every night, I take a few minutes to set out my gym clothes for the next day & prep the coffee pot to start brewing at 7am. Some nights I also prepare my oats for the morning so that I just have to reheat them. I find that having these things done, really helps my morning go smoother and ensures I stick to the plan!

NUTRITION: I'll end with this one. What you eat is going to be 80% of your result. It's so important to start your day off properly and so I eat the same thing for breakfast every morning and then I follow my workout with a protein shake to rebuild & refuel. Try this tomorrow for breakfast and then come back here and give me a hug:

RECIPE FOR MORNING OATS:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1 tsp agave, maple syrup or honey
- 2 tsp slivered almonds
- 1 tsp chia seeds
Method: bring water & milk to a boil and then add oats and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the rest and serve with a little cold almond milk. This makes 2 servings and is very customizable!

Question: What are you challenging yourself with this year to lead a more healthy life?

Sunshine Salad & the Wig

Today has been yet another gorgeousssss day in West Palm that I think I may just have to start wearing tracksuits, get my face lifted & call it a day! Seriously...this is the good life out here. Why do I & my sweet family & friends inflict such pain on ourselves by enduring long, cold, snowy, depressing winters in Ontario?

I started the morning off with a light run while Papa walked Chloe around the town. I'm preparing for a 10K in May so I'm into the heavier runs now. I logged 8.5km a few days ago and was pretty sore after so I'm trying to pace myself. I'll do a separate post later about the fun that is known as running!

The babe was still out for her walk when I got home so I decided to cram in a little hair highlighting in the bathroom. Or should I say darklights. I thought it was time to put a little party into the do so I added in a few dark pieces.

I was picking up my regular kit at the drugstore when I decided to venture out and buy the $2.99 Revlon boxed color too. I am always being asked where I get my hair done (because people are so silly nice with their compliments), and it surprises people to know that I do it myself for a whopping $20 every couple of months. This is what I normally use if you're interested:

{Creme Brulee} { Light Golden Brown}

Tonight I'm making a huge salad up for dinner - keeping it light to kind of fit the mood of this sunny day!

I have to share with you my new love affair with salads. I've never been a rabbit food kind of gal but I'm trying to eat 50% of my food raw at each meal. Now - I find my body just craves veggies!

Here's a simple & delish Salada for you to try:

- 2 stalks of Romaine chopped

- 1 bunch of Kale chopped

- 1 cup of chickpeas (try soaking dry chickpeas instead of buying canned - super yum!)

- 1 stalk of celery chopped

- 1/2 red onion chopped

- red & green bell pepper chopped

- 1/4 cup slivered almonds

- 1/2 avacodo

Dressing: Better than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 2.5 tablespoons balsamic, white, or red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or regular mustard
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 minced clove of garlic (optional)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Enjoy!!

Food Revolution

There's been something interesting happening in my brain since having Chloe. I'm turning into a bit of a purist. I look at everything through a different lens - a bit of a skeptical one. To be more specific....I just don't trust anything anymore. When it comes to her health & well being, I want to ensure I am giving her the very best. Not only in the food she eats, but in the example I provide her as her mother. A few of the healthy changes I have implemented in the last year are:

- switched our cleaning chemicals to all natural vinegar & baking soda mixes

- now buy all organic produce for the "dirty dozen" list

- plan clean & healthy meals 6x/week

- bake healthy treats 2x/week so we're not reaching for boxes of sugar laden sweets

I can't remember the last time I didn't hear about a product recall involving baby food or furniture. I leave the grocery store angry because of all the misleading food labels & the $200 receipt in my hand for healthy food. Why does healthy food with less ingredients cost 3x more than unhealthy food with loads of ingredients (Rhetorical question). I know it's completely due to the fact that the unhealthy food is mass produced with chemicals that cost nothing to make.

I read an article last week about how pop (diet & regular) is really the modern day cigarette. How true is that! Years ago, cigarettes were glamourous and certainly were not related to cancer. And today - our kids are completely addicted to pop. We have yet to see the affects of this over a lifetime.

I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tonight and I hope that most of you were able to catch it. My heart was heavy as I watched this. He was brilliant & made quite the effort in showing the kids exactly what is going into their food...because that is what is missing. Not enough people are making this connection. And then there was the family with the 40 frozen pizzas in their freezer. But I really can't blame them at all. I am initially really upset at the parent feeding their child that garbage, because the child doesn't know any better. But, neither does the parent really.

The light just needs to be turned on in more people so that they too, would not be so trusting of all the companies making a big buck off of their misleading products.

There have been many shows that attempted to educate through showing the food in terms of pounds of lard, or the show that age progressed the children to show how their eating habits would affect their adult life. But what is it going to take?

We have a tremendous responsability to our children in teaching them to lead healthy & active lives. We have to know that the very "systems" that are in place to protect & educate us are actually misleading & failing us. From vaccinations to applesauce...we have to know what's involved.

What were your thoughts on the show if you watched?

Eau de Chlorine

It's official.

Chloe has been in this world longer than she was in my belly world.

39 weeks ago today she made her debut.

I went for a swim the morning before I went into labour. This was not unusual as I swam 25 laps almost every day of my last trimester. It was such an amazing feeling....totally weightless and then I would go to step out of the pool and BOOM! There's the belly I almost forgot I had. I loved the way the sounds of life would become muffled underwater, and I would picture my little girl doing her own laps in my belly as I would move.

The smell of chlorine & protective shampoo will always be a beautiful reminder of the final days before she would arrive.

When I was rolled into the delivery room that afternoon, my doctor was trying to figure out what the strong chemical smell was. I assured her that nothing was wrong...it was just that I could not escape the smell of that lovely chlorine.

So today we swam together to mark the occasion. But we opted for a salt water pool, because chlorine is so 39 weeks ago.

Meal Planning

Happy Monday everyone!

So, I've talked about Plan To Eat on here before - a website I love to use to plan out my meals for the week (and love even more for the pretty little shopping list it spits out for me after I do the planning!)

I'm not sure if you've heard of Laura over at Organizing Junkie, but if you're looking to do a little spring cleaning - she has some really great resources...and well, her whole blog is dedicated to organizing life's nooks & crannies, so I pretty much love her! One thing she does is a weekly Menu Plan link up where you can share what you're cookin up for the week! So, I thought I'd join in the fun and maybe inspire a few healthy meals for you all!

Here's the plan for our week:

M: Veggie Chili & Cornbread

T: Kale Soup & toasted Naan bread

W: Veggie Mexican Casserole

Th: Egg Salad on Ezekial wraps

F: Thai Chicken Pizza

Sa: Bean & Quinoa Burgs with Sweet Pot Fries

Su: Spaghetti & Veg Balls

I've put links to the items that I have a known recipe source for, but for the others - let me know if you join Plan to Eat because then we can start sharing recipes!