how active are you?

It's Fitness Friday Saturday... oops! :)

I read this article a few days ago and did my calculations... and then I nearly had a heart attack.



It appears I sit or lie (translation: am generally inactive) for almost 90% of my day.

90%!!!

Something tells me our bodies weren't designed for 90% inactivity. Perhaps that's one of the reasons a lot of us have such low energy and ache so much.


But as Oprah always says, once you know, you can't unknow...


... so here's my next 30-day challenge: a minimum of 15% activity per day.


That's only a 5% increase, but that roughly translates to 3.6 hours per day. With a full time job and a third of my time taken up by sleep, I'm going to have to get creative about this!


Stay tuned for updates.

How active are you? I dare you to do the quiz... like now!

Happy t & s!
mxo

cheap eats and clothing swaps!

It's Thrifty Thursday!

Here are two amazing cheap things I discovered in Toronto today.

Cheap Eats: One of my best good friends convinced me to go to Whole Foods after work today. And you know what I discovered?! Every Thursday, between 5-7pm, Whole Foods offers 5 prepared foods for $5! I'm not sure if all of them do, but the WF in Yorkville certainly does. Today's combo has some nice tilapia, beets with apples, a grain salad, some zucchini rolls, and green beans! What a perfectly healthy and cheap way to eat out (or take it home, as I did).





Clothing Swaps: Now this I'm really super duper excited about. The Spring Uber-SWAP takes place on Saturday, April 14 in Leslieville. What a great way to reduce, reuse, recyle and score some cute new outfits!




What are your favourite thrifty Toronto finds?

Happy tumbling.... oh yes, and stumbling!
xo

favourite things: blogs...

Happy Humpday Wednesday!

The theme for Wednesdays is something or other, meaning I have a lot of room to write about anything and everything. :)

By request, today I'm going to share some of my favourite blogs:

• the athletarian | Christine is absolutely adorable (not to mention ridiculously inspiring)
• fit foodies healthy life | great fitness and nutrition blog
• marc and angel hack life | amazing life lessons. every post makes me think
• the healthy ginger | great tidbits from a beautiful registered holistic nutritionist
• joyous health | i adore Joy. She's incredibly passionate and great at what she does
• kiss me, i'm vegan | i'm not vegan, but i'd kiss them
  
• the kind life | okay, I'll admit it, I've had a crush on Alicia for years.

These ladies and gents fill my days with interesting and inspiring morsels about food, fitness, and life in general. I hope you enjoy their words as much as I do.

More favourite things to come! (Thanks ND for inspiring this).

Happy tumbling & stumbling!
mxo

when i grow up, i want to be...

I'm often astonished by the consistency of themes percolating throughout the day - the "coincidences", which I'd like to think aren't coincidences at all but whispers from the universe. What would happen if we listened...


One of the things I've been struggling with recently is the familiar "what do i want to be when i grow up?" For years, I have agonized over the fact that I wasn't born knowing and that I've had to learn my passion through trial and error. I've learned what I do want to do by doing what I've learned I don't want to do.

But recently, with help from the little "whispers", I've realized this:

1. just knowing what you don't want to do creates room for ideas to flourish... and
   
2. most of us actually do know, we're just less sure of how to do it.
   

When asked what you most desire, there is an answer that comes immediately, if only for a split second before the doubt comes in... before the limitations come in.

I would venture to say that for most of us, it's not about finding out what we want to be when we grow up (or whatever you most desire); it's about working through all of the roadblocks - the logistics and the work, the doubts and fears, the reasons why it's "not possible".


Today, on our Thoughtful Tuesday, I ask you this:

what do you desire most?
hold on to the very first thing that comes to mind and whatever you do, don't judge it

are you doing it?
if not, why not?
what roadblocks do you need to work through? how can you start?

why isn't it possible?
it is... it might just take some hard work and innovative thinking

Loaded questions, I know... but that's the whole point. :)

Happy tumbling & stumbling!
mxo

meatless mondays

Sigh. So Sunday Sabbath was a 50-50% success. I'll explain later...

Right now it's time for meatless mondays!

Fact: I used to be a vegetarian, and even briefly a vegan. For a whole host of reasons, I'm no longer either….

I have gone back and forth... and back and forth... for years, torn between all of the reasons why vegetarianism makes perfect sense:

• animal cruelty
• the environment
• our health

and why eating meat makes sense:

• my health in particular.. and the undeniable fact that i feel better when i eat meat
  

Then I saw this…




… and I realized it doesn't have to be so black and white. I can adhere to my ideals without attaching labels. And I realized this is likely a far more approachable way for the average omnivore to enjoy the benefits of a more plant-based diet and do some good for this planet.

You can be a weekday warrior, or even just start with one day a week… like Meatless Mondays!


Today, I'm sharing my favourite super quick, super thrifty recipe: pesto pasta in a pinch!

To make (for two):

• 2 large black or green kale leaves, washed and destemmed.
• 2 handfuls of fresh arugula.
• 2 garlic cloves.
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds.
• 2 gluggs of hemp seed oil or extra-virgin olive oil.
• Healthy pinch of sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Toss everything into a food processor and blend, blend, blend. Cook a twoonie-sized amount of brown rice, quinoa or buckwheat soba noodles, strain and mix in pesto. Feeling sassy? Add some cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, or whatever you think will taste yummy! Serve with a drizzle of olive or walnut oil and a handful of fresh arugula.

It's vegan, gluten free, inexpensive and super yum! Enjoy!

Happy tumbling and stumbling!
mxo

what's a sunday sabbath?

Today is a my first Sunday Sabbath… which means you shouldn't be hearing from me.

I'm cheating today just to explain the concept... that's allowed, right? :)



Here's why you won't be hearing from me on Sundays:

I've realized that I am a media junkie. Between the computer, my iphone, Facebook and Twitter (not to mention the copious amounts of amazing blogs I read), I spend far too much time online… and also watch too much TV.

I know this isn't good for my health. My noggin needs a restin'.

So Sundays will be dedicated to just that: a sabbath of sorts, a break from all media outlets (yikes!) and a day to enjoy a quieter, simpler life.



It's magical what silence can do for the soul!

Happy tumbling & stumbling!
mxo

i'm back!

Holy bananas, batman! It has been awhile!

It's amazing (and scary) how quickly four months can literally fly by. Oh well, all we can do is make the best of today, I suppose. :)


So on that note, I'm back!


I woke up this morning feeling that it's time…

... time to get serious about my health again

... time to get serious about my life again

... time to be less serious

... time to start blogging about all of it!

And I'm ready to share it with the whole wide world (or my one reader... thanks mom!). :)


Here's a little taste of what I'm thinking:

Mondays... Meatless Mondays... recipes, food musing
Tuesdays... Thoughtful Tuesdays... general life musings
Wednesdays... Humpday Wednesdays... something or other
Thursdays... Thrifty Thursdays... reuse, reduce & recycle
Fridays... Fitness Fridays... because I like to work out
Saturday... Sexy Saturdays... more something or others
Sunday... Sunday Sabbath... you won't hear from me!

Something like that.


Today, on our first Sexy Saturday together, I leave with you with my newest obsession: sexy raw maca cookie balls!


Here's my take on the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tsp raw maca powder
• 1 tbsp organic ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup organic dark chocolate (chips, or chop up a bar)
  
• 8-10 soft medjol dates, pits removes
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, gogi berries, prunes, etc.... i am currently obsessed with dried cherries
  
• 1 tsp pure organic vanilla extract

Method:

Place all ingredients into a high power food processor and blend until small pebbles form. Roll into balls (roll balls in dried coconut if you're feeling extra sassy) and refrigerate. Makes approximately 15 cookie balls.

I tell you, Ms. Joy of Joyous Health is a genius... these puppies are ridiculously delish!

Here we go again!
Happy tumbling and stumbling! :)

xo

P.S. Here's one reason why I haven't been around much:


We went to my brother-in-laws place in Nicaragua (El Coco Loco). You MUST go... like now!