I'm changing my diet...

Today I have a big announcement to share.

I've written and rewritten this post over ten times now and each time I've struggled with what I want to say to you and how I want to say it. I finally boiled it down to this: Living a healthy, happy life should be about eating whole, fresh foods that make your body feel energized and good -- and it shouldn't be about what we call it.

I have always felt strongly that this blog is a place to talk about seasonal, delicious food and healthy living and I wanted our blog community to be a welcoming space open to anyone curious about eating better -- regardless of what they ate or how they labeled their diet. I believe that food and what we eat is an entirely personal choice. And, as I mentioned last week, I feel strongly that there is not one diet or one way of eating that works for everyone because each of our bodies are different.

So with that, I want to share that I have recently changed my diet and don't feel that the "plant-based" label fits anymore, even though I'm still eating a ton of plant-based meals. When I found my way to being vegetarian in 2006 and plant-based in 2007, I was at a complete breaking point with my health and found myself rushing in and out of ERs due to gallbladder attacks. Being plant-based changed everything for me.

However, for the past year and a half, something has been feeling off in terms of my health and I finally decided it was time to switch some things around in my diet. This was really hard for me to consider because I had always believed that being plant-based was what my body wanted. In January, I began adding eggs back into my diet and last month I started eating small amounts of poultry and seafood. To my surprise, my body responded really well to it and I noticed I was feeling a lot better.

If I am being completely honest with you, then I have to share that I went through a period of time where I couldn't talk about this with anyone because I was an emotional wreck. Even though I had found my way to this diet for health reasons, along the way, being plant-based had become an immensely spiritual and emotional decision for me. I felt strongly connected to this earth and all of the creatures and beings on it. I never liked eating meat or eggs growing up and I didn't have any cravings for them. I certainly never thought I would go back to including them in my diet. I'm still coming to terms with this in a lot of ways because it's such a huge change for me, but I feel really strongly that this is the right decision for me at this time.

I am so grateful for my journey and everything I have learned on it. Over the last seven years I've learned the importance of eating real, whole foods, eating seasonally, and choosing quality food. I am excited to continue this journey through this blog and keep inspiring each other to live a healthy, happy life that we love.

So, even though I'm ditching the labels around my food choices, I'm excited to continue sharing my recipes with you that will always focus on real, whole foods, and seasonal veggies. Here's what you can look forward to:

• More creativity around grain-less meals. (If you're gluten-free or grain-free, I've got some recipes for you!)
• Lots of seasonal veggie recipes! We're heading into summer soon (my favorite season) and I can't wait to share some of my favorite summer dishes with you.
• More "how to" tutorials. (Including how to soak and sprout legumes and some dairy-free cheeses!)
• More posts exploring DIY green beauty remedies and ways to live a healthy, sustainable life. 
• And eventually, even a few recipes here and there including eggs or meat.

As I mentioned in my post on my three philosophies around food, health, and life, I'm not here to tell you what's best for you and I've never been the kind of person to be preachy about my diet. I think we all need to make the right decisions for ourselves and trust our guts when it comes to our health.

Wishing you the best in health and happiness,

Sonnet

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Easy & Affordable Green Juice

I fell off the juicing wagon for awhile. I think this was the first time in over four years that my juicer sat in a corner of the kitchen, unused for over six weeks.  And for some reason, I felt compelled to pry myself out of bed at 6 am on a Sunday and rush to the market to find some veggies for juicing. Now that's dedication.

This morning I was thinking about the struggles I hear from folks around juicing. Most of the time, challenges are associated with time and money so today I wanted to create a simple and easy green juice with only 3 ingredients (but packed full of nutrients!) and was affordable.

Here's how this juice breaks down in terms of cost:

• 1 small bunch (about 8 stalks) organic celery: $2.68
• 2 large organic kale leaves: $.99 ($2.98 for the bunch)
• 1 organic lemon: $.99

This comes to a total of $4.66 for a 16-oz juice which isn't that bad considering you are essentially getting two 8-oz juices for $2.33 each. I bought my produce at the market closest to me out of convenience, but I know that the co-op a few miles from my house has celery that is about $.50/lb cheaper than what I bought and Whole Foods often has deals on kale for 2 for $4 and sometimes 2 for $3. With this calculation, this could actually bring the price down to $2 (or less) per 8-oz of juice. That's more affordable than a morning latte!

A typical juice bar here in Seattle can run you around $6 for an 8-oz juice and around $10 for a 16-oz juice. Yikes. Juicing at home is much more affordable option over time, especially if you pick the right juicer. (If you're just getting started with juicing, see my guide for Picking The Right Juicer For You.)

So now that we've solved those dilemas, let's drink some juice!

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My Philosophy on Food, Health, and Life

What does it mean to you to be healthy? What does being healthy look like and feel like for you?

One of the things that I love most about this blog and our blog community is that although we talk a lot about food, this blog is really a place to talk about what it means to live our healthiest, happiest, and fullest life. As a certified holistic health coach, one of the greatest lessons that I could possibly share with anyone is that your health is not just about your physical body -- it's about emotional, mental, and spiritual health too. So, I thought we'd spend some time today talking more about what it really means to be healthy and my philosophies around food, health, and life in general. 

When it comes down to it, I really have three simple guidelines that I follow:

#1 Moderation and The 80/20 Rule

For a big part of my life, I categorized foods in two ways: either a food was "good" or it was "bad." I don’t know about you, but as soon as I am told that I can’t or shouldn’t have something, that’s exactly what I want. As a result, I spent many, many years trying to guilt myself into avoiding the forbidden "bad" foods, only to wind up with failed willpower and eating way too much junk overall. Several years ago as I began to clean up my diet and eat more fresh, whole foods, I found a better balance by using The 80/20 Rule. 

The 80/20 Rule is essentially this: 80% of the time I focus on eating fresh, healthful foods that make my body feel strong and vibrant and 20% of the time I allow myself to have treats (or less-than-optimal foods). 

Over time, I've found that eating with balance actually helps me to eat better overall because I get to enjoy healthy foods that I love while not feeling deprived of treats from time-to-time. And as I have applied this rule to other areas of my life, I have found myself enjoying my workouts more, focusing on quality time (instead of the quantity of time) spent with those I love, and feeling more balance in all areas of my life. 

#2 Listen to my body and trust what it tells me

Listening to my body is a huge one for me. I have personally experienced a variety of health issues throughout my life and the way I have managed to get through each one is by listening to my body and trusting the messages it sends me. When I say that I listen to my body, I simply mean that I notice how I feel after I eat certain foods. I believe in the concept of bio-individuality and that everyone's body is a little different. This means that foods and exercises that makes me feel great might not work for someone else, and vice versa. 

There are hundreds of different diets and ways of eating, and I do not believe that there is one perfect way of eating that works for everyone. One of my biggest pet peeves with the nutrition world is that there are so many different "experts" out there preaching that their way is the best -- and, most of these diets are at complete odds with one another. I don't know about you, but if I tried to follow every new nutritional fad out there, well, it wouldn't be possible and I would drive myself crazy. The world of nutrition and health is constantly changing and evolving and I have found that trusting my own body makes the most sense for me. 

I have also found that what my body needs and wants changes over time. As my workout routine shifts, my career shifts, or my social relationships shift, all of these things have an effect on my body. As we grow and change, I believe that we constantly need to be re-evaluating what we are eating, how we are eating, and how we are living in general. 

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DIY Dry Shampoo

When it comes right down to it, I can be a little lazy sometimes.

I am happy to make my own vegetable stock, soak and sprout lentils, make my own kimchi, and cook practically every meal of mine from scratch, but styling my hair everyday? Now that's a lot of work.

I can't be bothered with this. I mean, I have more important things to do. Like... watch my cats chase their tails. Or watch Arrested Development on Netflix. Or figure out how to make my own soap (someday!).

This is where a simple dry shampoo comes in.

Much to my surprise, my post on How to Wash Your Hair with Baking Soda and Vinegar has become the most popular post on this blog. Lots of readers have had great results with making the switch away from conventional shampoo, but some folks have struggled with an 'adjustment period' where their hair is a bit oilier than normal. This gave me the idea to create my own natural dry shampoo that could be used to keep hair looking fresh in-between washes as well as help folks transitioning to the 'no-(sham)poo' method.

It only requires two ingredients - which I'm pretty sure you already have in your kitchen. So, let's get started!

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Albion Fit $100 Gift Card Giveaway

When I share recipes or talk about seasonal vegetables, what I'm really talking about is healthy living -- and being healthy is about so much more than just food.  One of the things I talk with my private health coaching clients about is the importance of evaluating health in all areas of your life - spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical. Unfortunately in America, many of us have this crazy idea that being healthy is the same thing as being skinny. It's not. 

I am constantly appalled that our idea of beauty for women is about being overly sexy and/or too thin. It breaks my heart when I hear about women starving themselves, pursuing dangerous restricted diets, spending hours doing cardio, and being miserable because they hate their bodies. This really hits home for me because I spent years and years of my life judging my worth based on how my body looked.  Believe me when I say that I've done the crash diets, the starvation methods, and the body-hatred-b*ll$ht. It wasn't until I started eating real food in 2006, working out because I wanted to feel strong and empowered (not skinny), and loving my body for everything magnificent it does (and not how it looked) that things began to shift for me.

I'm sharing this with you today because I have the amazing opportunity to introduce you to a cool athletic wear company that I adore and we're going to be talking about clothes. I don't know about you, but when I think about clothes, this immediately brings up my old body anxiety. (Anyone out there relate?)


About a month ago I had the pleasure of being contacted by Albion Fit, a manufacturer for women's fitness and swimwear, and asked if I would be interested in trying one of their pieces of workout clothing. When I started researching more about their company, I became so excited. Here's why:

ALBION'S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE WOMEN WITH THE MOST LUXURIOUS, FLATTERING, AND HASSLE-FREE  FITNESS AND LEISURE APPAREL ON THE MARKET.

Woo hoo! One of the problems that I always have with workout clothing is that it's not flattering. I'm a pretty simple gal when it comes right down to it and I have no problem working out in a tee shirt and yoga pants, but sometimes when I work out, I want to feel really confident and I've found that clothing is a big factor in that.

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(Sugar-Free) Vanilla Rosemary Soda

The first sunny weeks of the season finally hit Seattle. And, apparently, it's all we can talk about right now.

Last weekend I spent all day sitting on my back porch working on my laptop under the shield of an umbrella. Somehow a three-inch section of my wrist didn't quite make it under the shade and now I have a funky tan rectangle on my arm. I like to think of it as my Vitamin D patch.

Before we get to today's recipe, I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who joined us the other night for Conscious Money, Conscious Eating. I teach a lot of classes in Seattle, but this was my first time doing a workshop where I didn't get to see you all face-to-face! I loved all of the emails and responses we got about the material we covered and it's so great to hear that it's already changing the way many of you are planning, prepping meals, and cooking at home! Awesome! (Psst, if you're sad that you missed out, you can actually purchase the webinar recording package-- which includes our awesome 55-page ebook! Details here.)

Now, onto the most amazing drink that only takes 3 ingredients to make!  This one is going to be a must-make as we head into late spring and summer!

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Vulnerability is not a weakness

This post is part of a series based on the personal development work I have been doing in Danielle LaPorte's The Desire Map. To read the previous posts in the series, click here.

Thank you to all of you who commented on my last post on abundance and shared how it impacted you. I know that this series is a bit different than the recipe posts I usually share, and to be honest, I was hesitant about sharing it. The internet can be a scary place sometimes and being a blogger means that I am constantly putting my personal life out into the public. (The thing that lets me sleep at night is imagining that this blog is still only being read by three people and possibly a cat!)

Thinking about this willingness to be vulnerable inspired me to write today's topic on courage and vulnerability. I recently watched Brené Brown's TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability and Listening to Shame. (If you haven't seen these before, I definitely think they are worth watching. The first time I watched them I was so memorized by her message and her presence that I watched them twice.)

After working through my Desire Map, I realized that one of my core desired feelings is courage. I desire to feel courageous and bold. I desire to stand in the face of fear, push past it, and continue to grow. I desire to speak my truth, even when it's not easy.

I think where some of us go wrong when thinking about courage is thinking that courage is the absence of fear. Being courageous doesn't mean you aren't afraid. Being courageous means that you have the inner strength to embrace being afraid and still move forward.  

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