Make Love In The Kitchen
We did it! You and me over the last year have covered off all of the lines of this here amazing creed. In the process you started toting it around on your tote bag, postering it to your walls and wearing it around your neck.
And as we come to the end, the last line, we come to the most crucial of all- and that is the vital importance of the love we feel, that we make and that create in our kitchens.
It is the kitchen where we come together with our family.
Twinkle, sparkle and shine.
As we come to our second last breaking down the creed post, I had no choice but to reflect back on a day- not t00 long ago- when I was feeling pretty darn twinkly and sparkly. Six weeks ago, I got hitched to my amazing soulmate. It was a remarkable day and at the back of my mind- through it all, the words of my creed (and my creed necklace) were ringing in my ears.
UnDiet living is about breaking rules and creating a lifestyle that actually works for you. It’s a fact that 85% of all diets fail, and yet people who believe they have too much junk in the trunk keep trying them. Once you embrace UnDiet living- which is about keeping diet and lifestyle simple, clean, easy, sustainable and maintainable- the extra jiggle in the wiggle, and many health challenges just take care of themselves. It doesn’t get any easier!
To UnDiet is to live the creed, to break rules and make up your own. It is about questioning the paradigms that haven’t been working for us and being brave enough to do your own thing in a way that makes you sparkle.
Break Rules
This picture above has absolutely nothing to do with the blog post- not really- except that I went snorkeling about a minute after devouring a mango. That’s right- I broke that old rule about waiting 30 minutes before swimming after eating. There’s the first rule broken. I do, however look pretty darn special in a 6-year old kind of way and if that makes you laugh- good. I hope you laugh out loud when you do.
Here’s the thing about breaking rules. Do it.
I love sunshine. I love the way it looks. I love the way is feels. I love the rainbows it produces. I love the way it makes the blue sky glow. I love how green it makes plants and how it helps food to grow. If I could add a dollop of sunshine to my blender everyday I would… Oh wait- I kind of do. All week, we’ve been chatting up sunshine. We’re giving away an amazing Sunshine loving skin care product and our Superhero Natural Beauty Nadine wrote a great article on our relationship to the sun.
Delight In The Delicious
As I come to the end of edits on my book UnDiet, I have to realize what this book is really about. Sure it’s about breaking the rules of conventional health and nutrition “research” but its about getting back to what food is supposed to be about: authentic, life enforcing goodness. It is about delighting in the delicious.
I thought I would let this post speak for itself by highlighting some of my most delightfully delicious creations of the last few months which all, by the way, also make super travel snacks. Yes- the pancakes too.
Have you voted yet in our necklace party yet? We are turning our Creed into Foxy Original necklaces- and need your help deciding! Each week (or two) I am breaking down my creed, line, by line. Phrase by phrase. This is my…
As many of you know- every fall (or at least last fall) we launched a whole kit and caboodle of awesome signature products. There was my All Purpose Edible Body Butter, my Sweet Dreams Sleep Mask, the Creed Posters, My Nut Sack, Irish Moss, Ocean’s Alive and of course, everyone’s fave summer sipping accessory- the Signature Sipper and of course your go-to Tote bag. Not to let you down this fall, we’ve got another slew of sweet goodies coming your and this time around, we’ll be asking for your input. This is a community after all and your opinion seriously counts. The first product was an easy choice. I have been a Fan of Foxy Originals for years. Like 10 of them when I first met Jen and Suzie- the rockstars behind to uber affordable, trendy and eco-aware line of charms and things. I met Jen and Suzie through a mutual friend and they were part of a group of women that taught my first grown up woman lesson- that when you find strong, super smart, vibrantly creative and dynamic gals- there is only pure support and cheerleading. I liked them straight away and we have remained close.
At the end of the day, you can always count on the sun coming up for the next. If you ever need something to be optimistic about- there’s that. I’ve been told that it’s always 35 degrees (celsius) and sunny in my brain. I’m good with that. Here’s the thing- it serves me to be optimistic. And I’ll bet it serves you too. If you think something will be horrible, you’ll be right more often than not and if you think something will be amazing you’ll be right more often than not.
Every Choice Counts
Well isn’t that the truth. All week- or more accurately- all month, we’ve been tooting the horn of the power of prepping and planning for ultimate UnDiet success with our online course. Everything about this course, and actually, everything that I do, comes down to the basic premise that every choice we make has to count.
Offer the planet what you want the planet to offer you.
About a year ago now, I had a great interview with our resident Natural Beauty Superhero Nadine Artemis about sunscreen. She said something rather profound that really resonated with me. It was in regards to our relationship with the planet, in terms of what we are presenting. We were chatting about sunburns and skin care and Nadine explained that it’s a reciprocal relationship- where, as a part of nature and this planet, we have to consider what we are offering up to the planet. See- if we fill our bodies with toxic oils, bad food, chemicals, drugs, stress and aggression, it is likely the what we will get in return is likely sickness and disease.
Dance Like A 4-Year Old
Have you ever seen a 4-year old dance? Of course you have. There is nothing sweeter in the whole wide world. They move how they want to move- sort of the music but mostly just moving and grooving however they’re heart desires. They laugh. They’re silly. And perhaps most of all- they don’t give a flying kazoo who is looking or what those lookers are thinking. That is what dancing like a 4-year old is all about. Letting loose, shaking the wiggly in your jiggle, lightening the mood, lifting the world up off your shoulders and letting your cares shimmy and shake right on our of your soul.
As you may have noticed with the creed breakdowns, they’re not all about food. I have said it over and over and over and over again that there is so much more to sweet, sweet health than what’s on our plate. Last week when we chatted about fueling our lives, there was much having to do with being outdoors, and being with the most amazing people we know. The truth of the matter here is that if we can fuel our lives, the sweet side effect is nourishment for the soul. You know your soul is nourished when you wake up in the morning feeling great. You look forward to your day- who you will see, what you will do, what you might discover- with a sense of childlike appreciation for whatever comes. A nourished soul is one that radiates love and kindness (even when you get really nasty emails like the few that landed in our lap this week). See- a nourished soul can take compassion on those that are struggling – whether it be with grief, or fear, or stress or just plain old exhaustion. A nourished soul can recognize when the less nourished souls may be projecting their icky crappola on you, knowing that it’s not actually you and avoiding getting caught up in it.
Make It From Scratch. Is there really any other way? At this point- five years in to cooking my heart out, the thought of buying jarred pasta sauce or canned brown rice and lentils is just plain silly. Cookies? Crackers? They are so much better home made. The fundamental importance of making it from scratch is that it will ensure that to the very best of your ability you know exactly what is going into the food you are eating. Yes- you can buy your crackers and you granola bars- but then you really don’t know how much sugar, soy flour and other questionable are going into. And I don’t know about you- but if I’m indulging in sweet and fattening treats, I don’t want that sweet and fat hidden- I want to know about it!
Oh joy oh bliss oh happy Friday. I have never in my whole entire life wanted a Friday as much as I wanted this one. In the past 8 days we have had over 70 people through the kitchen for a cumulative total of six amazing classes for a sold out weekend of fun, fun, fun. We had ladies (yes- all but one were ladies) join us from around Ontario including Barrie, Orillia and Ottawa and people come from as far as Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Connecticut. We’re kicking this health train onto International tracks which makes us even more excited about what’s cooking.
So here are three exciting things to share.
Labels are for tin cans. Given that we’ve been rocking the healthwashing theme all week- this next line in our creed fits like BHT coated cereal bag in a phthalate laminated box. I sincerely believe that labels should be reserved for tin cans and I advocate healthy eating whether it be vegan, vegetarian, raw, paleo, omnivore or whatever a person chooses. I choose to support people’s health, not mandate any one diet or regime, or expect that everyone should eat just like me. If a person is seeking education on incorporating more plants into their diet, well, that is where I come in. That’s what I know, that is what I eat and live and that is what I do and teach.