Yesterday I mentioned that time has come to embark on a happy, healthy be-the-best-Maya-I-can-be cleanse. I am happiest and healthiest when my mind, body and soul are nourished, and when I'm making decisions I can be proud of. I suspect this same formula works for most of us.

So here goes! :)

Starting tomorrow, the following 21 days will go a little something like this:

• I will make mindful, joyous food decisions that make me happy... and I will keep a food journal.
• I will continue Move-ember right into December.
  
• At 8pm most evenings*, a media fast will commence. No TV, twitter, facebook, email, etc.
• At 8pm most evenings**, a food fast will commence. My gut will get some much needed downtime.
• At around noon every day, I will take an actual lunch break. Novel concept, really.
  

I bet you were expecting something completely different! ;)

The point is simply to take a breather from all of the things that prevent me from feeling my best. It's a chance to reset... right before the holiday madness!


What makes you feel your very best?

mxo


* Except, of course, for the occasional movie night with my hubby!

** To this there will be a few exceptions as I'm not prepared to pass on my various holiday dinner parties. This is my favourite time of year afterall! :)

contemplations...

Truth: It's been a very busy November.

Truth: My Move-ember challenge is nearing an end and I can't wait to tell you all about it.


But for now, I want to write to you about another topic.

A few things have happened over the last few days that have got me thinking. They aren't necessarily related, but they have all inspired my next venture.

First, much to my poor husband's dismay, I have been watching a lot of Oprah's Lifeclass recently. After a particularly indulgent, off-kilter weekend, I watched an episode on Sunday that struck a cord. It was all about living your purpose, pursuing your passion, and being the person you were meant to be.

Second, I had a discussion with a colleague today about the validity of wholistic medicine. We disagreed about many things, but there was one point we certainly saw eye to eye on. Most people, we agreed, are not interested in doing the hard work that true health and prevention require. Few of us are truly committed to eating well, exercising our minds and bodies, or learning to deal with stress - the true pillars of health. Most of us just want a quick fix.

Third, I was reminded today just how fleeting life truly is. It is both too long and much too short to waste on things you do not love.

I have been mulling all of this over for the last few days, and it's leading to some deep-seated changes... for now I can deduce the following with certainty:

1. I am passionate about health, nutrition, fitness, living joyously and helping others do the same.
2. I want to inspire others to engage in the "hard" work of being happy and healthy, and I want to do so by proving that it's not that hard at all. It begins with me.
3. Life is both too long and far too short to be anything but happy and healthy.
   

1 + 2 + 3 = a 21-day happy, healthy be-the-best-Maya-I-can-be "cleanse"... the details of which I will share tomorrow. :)


Bye for now!
mxo

mamamamamaaaaaaaaaa.. MACA!

I have been getting a lot of questions recently about what I eat, when I eat it, why I eat it, etc. In fact, people are so curious that when I make my lunch at work, I usually have to give a mini lecture on every ingredient. So much fun! :)

It's made me think: I should share all of these tidbits with you!

Without further ado, here is my first happy, healthy tip... all about MACA!


What's Maca?
Good question! Maca, or lepidium meyenii (who's a smartie pants?!), comes from the Andes in Peru.

It looks like this:
This root vegetable has been harvested for centuries for its high medicinal and nutritional value. It's packed full of goodness like:

• protein
• fibre
• calcium
• magnesium
• potassium
• iron
• zinc
• fatty acids
• amino acids
• selenium

It's pretty much magic!


Why should you care?
Maca is an adaptogen which balances the entire endocrine system.

Translation: it balances hormones responsible for metabolism, energy levels, growth, sexual stamina, stress, anxiety, and fatigue. It literally helps make you happy and healthy.


How to use maca?
It seems there are all sorts of ways to enjoy maca: mashed or boiled, as a porridge, in salads, etc.

But perhaps the most accessible form of maca is powder. This is the brand I use:
It costs about $13 and can be picked up at most health food stores. You only need 1 tsp per day (as it's super condensed), so it will last awhile. I throw 1 tsp into my morning smoothie. Super duper easy peasy!

Questions? Just say so!

Oh yes, one more thing... ENJOY!
mxo

Let there be soup...

What a BEAUTIFUL Saturday it is in Toronto! 10c, sun is shining, and the trees are all sorts of colourful colours. It's the kind of day that makes you love autumn as much as I do (a lot!)

My first week of my Move-ember challenge went very well. I made it to all of my Jock Yoga bootcamp sessions, attended an amazing JaneyB class (they are all amazing!), and let Jillian Michael's destroy my buns and thighs. Tomorrow I'm thinking of trying a kettlebell class at energyXchange for my fitness wildcard. My muscles are sore but, folks, my soul is singing. Exercise is magical. Yoga is life-altering. Etc, etc.

But enough about that...

Every Tuesday I come home from work to find a bin of glorious organic and (mostly) local vegetables waiting on my porch. We always get the small bin, perfect for two veggie lovers (and one spinach-loving cat), and I let Front Door Organics decide what to put in the bin. I love the surprise... and if forces me to be more creative with what I cook and eat.

But sometimes I end up with a lot of something that I don't quite know what to do with... like onions.


Now, if you know me well, you know I don't particularly love onions. I respect them wholeheartedly and use them in most of my cooking, but I squirm and squirm if I find a raw onion on my salad or in my wrap. So when I found myself with two bags of organic onions, some of which started to look like this...


... I didn't quite know what to do. Throwing them out was not an option. So I went through my cookbooks and remembered a super delicious, vegan, gluten free, and easy peasy French Canadian Onion Soup!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp/ gluggs of olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced (or in my case, about 10 little ones)
• 2 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced (optional as I didn't have any today)
• 1 cup or so mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 cups mushroom or veggie broth (water will work as well)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari
• 1 tsp tarragon, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper
• 4 slices of bread
  
• 1 clove garlic

How-to:

1. Thinly slice onions, leeks and mushrooms.
2. In a pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, leeks and mushrooms. Cover, reduce heat so that the veggies sweat (not fry). Stir often. If things are getting too spicy hot in your pan, add a little water. Steam-cook/ sweat the veggies for 15-20 mins.
3. Add broth, maple syrup, tamari and tarragon. Increase heat, bring everything to a boil. Then reduce the heat back down and let it simmer.
   
4. Taste, add salt and pepper if necesary.
5. When you're ready to eat, toast the bread, rub with garlic and float toast in each bowl. (Grate cheese or vegan cheese on top for extra yumminess).

That's it! Yum yum!

Happy weekend, lovelies!
mxo

happy friday!

P.S. It's better to follow your own life purpose poorly, than to do another’s perfectly.
(from the Bhagavad Gita)

move-ember!

A few weeks ago I set these lofty goals for myself.

And then the insanity that was October hit. I made it to 7 classes before promptly proceeding to fall completely off the wagon...

I missed more bootcamps then I attended (sorry Michael!)

I forgot who Jillian was and barely had my tush kicked by my lovely friend, JaneyB.

Then I came down with a bad case of the blues over my dismal state of affairs. Pathetic, really.

And THEN, finally, I said enough! (That was today) Enough acting like a grumpy tart. Enough whining and complaining. Time to get moving!

And thus... Move-ember!

Move-ember will go a little something like this:

I will attend every darn Jock Yoga bootcamp session if it kills me.

I will attend at least one JaneyB class per week.

There will be one fitness wild card per week.

If I do the math correctly (math isn't my strong suit these days), all of that adds up to over 30 classes... so let's make this a 30 in 30 (30 classes in 30 days) challenge for good measure (and necessary wiggle room!)

Want to join me? I dare you! :)

Happy almost Friday!
mxo


P.S. If Move-ember doesn't work out, I suppose I can always try Movember.

Who's a pretty girl?! ;)

surviving the busy times...

This October is proving to be one of the busiest months of my life. Between Thanksgiving (and four gobble gobble dinners!), the massive office move, my morning yoga bootcamp, traveling for work, traveling for pleasure, and one lovely house guest, I'm surprised I'm still standing.

In the past, very busy periods in my life would lead to sickness and anxiety.... more precisely, sickness brought on by anxiety. I spent five years working full time and earning my bachelors degree at night; inevitably, each year I would come down with pneumonia, bronchitis, infections, the flu, etc... and my anxiety would flare up, sometimes beyond what seemed like manageable levels. I would physically and emotionally run myself into the ground.

It looked a little something like this:


But somewhere along the way, I started to learn how to manage extremely busy times so that they don't blow up in my face. I am learning how to manage my anxiety, and keep myself stable.

This is the number one lesson I have learned:

• Embrace the sloth. I am a type A personality - always on the go, always wanting to do more, plan more, achieve more, etc. One of the most important lessons I am continuing to learn is that downtime is just as important as anything else. Just like a car needs to stop occasionally for refueling, so too do we. Lazy Sundays, mental health days, evenings spent watching mindless TV or whatever your sloth-like poison - it's all necessary for our well being.

That being said, sometimes we all find ourselves in busy times beyond our control. Wedding planning, moving, work demands, family situations, etc all creep and need tending to. When I find myself in such situations, as I do now, I try my best to:

• Eat well. Keep to whole, simple foods and absolutely avoid sugar. Make sure your diet is rich in avocados, bananas, broccoli, blackstrap molasses, brown rice, fish (especially salmon), garlic, greens, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains and yogurt - all foods that supply the minerals that are depleted by stress (calcium, magnesium, and potassium). Avoid sugar, caffeine, sodas, alcohol - all of these wreak havoc on your adrenals and actually bring on nervousness. Let food by thy medicine... that whole thing.
  

• Go to bed early. Sleep is absolutely vital, especially when you're feeling anxious or stressed. Sleep is the simplest and most effective medicine. So set aside the guilt and judgment, and head to bed as early as you can! :)

• Get up early. Yes, sleep is extremely important, but too much can be detrimental. Very rarely do I emerge happy and healthy if I sleep in until 1pm. For those of us who wrestle with anxiety and depression, the line between sleeping in and hiding from the world can easily become blurred. So get up out of bed, shower, enjoy a quiet cup of tea, go to yoga - just get up!

• Do yoga. I know that is seems counterintuitive to add more to your plate when you're already stressed and anxious, but this is one exception I know is absolutely worth it. Leaving aside all of the esoteric spiritual aspects, many asanas (poses) engage the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). Translation: many poses stimulate the organs, glands and hormones that are responsible for rest. Further translation: yoga will make you feel more rested. Magic! I am such a believer in this that I continue to wake up at 5am throughout the madness to heal my body and soul through yoga.
  

That's it. Easy peasy. :)

Okay, one final note: if you find yourself on the brink of meltdown, just know that everyone... and I mean everyone... has been or will at one point be in the same anxious shoes. We all go through it.

A happier, healthier and more rested me...

Happy almost weekend!
mxo