Mother Nature: The Interconnectivity of Women’s Bodies and the Universe

I have always loved that we call the earth “mother.” Mother Nature. To me, it brings a great source of comfort. Like I can feel the love in each tree or flower I touch.

Women and women’s bodies have a deep interconnectivity to the earth. There is a direct connection, a commonality to the earth and her surroundings, which is uniquely related to women. Women experience monthly cycles which join us energetically to the phases of the moon, the cycles of the season and the flow of sunrise and sunset. We also have the amazing ability to give life through our bodies.

Nature at its core is women, full of power and beauty.

This article was inspired not only by this week of constant blogging but also a conversation I had with my boyfriend recently. We were discussing the definitions of masculinity and feminity; how they are difficult terms to define, but you know what they are when you see them. We were talking about how some people see the term feminity as meaning “weak”. I strongly disagree with this and so did he. He said, “I see the ocean as feminine. It’s beautiful and strong but it can also destroy everything in its path. Femininity is not weak.”

Naturally, this conversation made me love him even more, which I didn’t know was possible. But it also made me realize that nature is such a force in itself but yet possess so much nurture and love. It is only fitting that we call it “mother nature.”

The mother energy is that which loves us no matter what we do, which is the highest, most divine love of all. Mothers are so beautiful to me because they sacrifice so much of themselves and their bodies in order to create life. It truly is magical.

I found this lovely description of what Mother Nature truly means on meditation.org. I feel it sums up what I want to say beautifully and hopefully, you will reflect on its meaning:

“We all need to know that we are children of the universe and that we are being loved no matter what. This is the most necessary of all forms of love and it is only the mother energy that innately shows this. All of our problems in the world stem from this energy not being received.

We need to practice receiving and the first is from our mother earth. Whether you believe it or not the truth is there is a ‘Mother Nature’ energy that is constantly loving us and caring for us. We only need to sit for a moment in nature and offer our gratitude to the earth to feel her feminine unconditional love. But more than this we need to feel the mother energy in the universe, the air, the moon, the stars all around us and inside us we are being loved. If we are lucky enough to have parents that have cared for us, then it will be evident there too.”

I hope this creates a feeling of empowerment and also a new respect for nature. I love the idea that I am connected to something as amazing as the entire universe. It shows that women have never been weak. We have been perceived this way at times when others did not understand how nature works.

But today, I am reminding you to embrace your femininity, embrace the true essence of nature: Mother Nature.

 

Art by: Merakilabbe

 

 

Body Talk | One Year Without a Bra

For this third installment of Body Talk for Day 6 of my #BlogsforWomen challenge, I want to talk about breast health.

Last January, at the beginning of 2016, I had an interesting experience that prompted me to stop wearing bras and opt for unpadded, no underwire bralettes instead. For about 3-4 month prior to this decision, I had been experiencing pain and tenderness underneath my breast, where the unwire of my bra was. It felt like a bruise or like I was applying constant pressure to the area. It was extremely uncomfortable and, honestly, it had me a little worried.

I thought at first it was because of a new bra I was wearing. I continued to alternate between a few different bras, all different brands, but the pain didn’t stop. Finally, I did some research. The area right below your breast is full of glands and lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small structures that work as filters for harmful substances. They contain immune cells that can help fight infection by attacking and destroying germs that are carried in through the lymph fluid. They are there to allow the body to detox when it needs to. You have different types of lymphs all over your body.

But there are quite a few in the breast area, from under the breast, in the breast itself and up to the armpit. According to LymphWorks, therapist, C.J. McDaniel has observed stagnant lymph vessels, re-routing lymph, lymph enlargement and swollen glands in her patients at exactly the areas where bra elastic tightens and squeezes.

She says, “Without a doubt, we do see breast lymph congestion and connective tissue restrictions exactly where the bra line hits and above and below the breast including the armpits. Bras cross major lymph vessel pathways and may act like a tourniquet.”

There was also a  15-year study that concluded in 2013 in France that sought out to see if bras were actually healthy for women and if they really did prevent sagging and stretching of the skin, like most of us were taught bras were for.

The findings suggested that wearing a bra from an early age did nothing to help support the chest, reduce back pain or prevent breast sagging. “Medically, physiologically, anatomically – breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra,” said Sports science researcher Jean-Denis Rouillon

According to the research, they believe that “young women would gain more tone and supporting breast tissue if no bra were used. In the study, women that stopped wearing bras – through choice, not as a requirement of the study – had a 7-millimeter (0.3-inch) lift in their nipples when compared with regular bra users. Bras, they claim, could hamper circulation and reduce breast tone over time.”

This information fascinated me. I had never thought about all this before. I had been taught by my mother to take my bra off before going to bed to allow circulation. But I never thought that I could be stopping natural bodily functions by wearing a bra for the majority of the day.

I decided to try only wearing bralettes and see if I felt a difference.

Within a day or two, I didn’t experience any pain at all. And it felt really good to not be so constricted all day too.

At first, I felt a little funny, as I was very aware of the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra and I assumed others would notice too. But then I thought, So what? This is what my body looks like. Why have I been conditioned to hid it?

Most girls, when they begin puberty and develop breast, are told to wear a bra. It will keep you supported and it will make the shape of your boobs round and thus more attractive. That is how I always looked at it. My breasts looked bigger when I wore a bra, therefore, I always wore one.

But I found that after going a few days without a traditional bra, I felt extremely adverse to the idea of going back to a padded underwire one. So I just didn’t.

I haven’t experienced any pain since going bra-less and I fully intend to stay that way. I actually really love this bra-less lifestyle.

I’m writing this to not only share my story but to remind every woman that their health is a priority. Above fashion and above popular opinion.

Let me know what you think in the comments! I would love to hear from you 🙂

 

Embracing Your Inner Strength With the Full Moon in Virgo

I love learning about women’s connection to nature. Whether it be the sun, the moon, the tides or astrology, there is evidence of our deep inter-connectivity everywhere. I plan to go into this further in a later post, but today, I want to talk about tonight’s Full Moon.

The March 12th Full Moon falls in the sign of Virgo.Virgo is an Earth sign, and so pertains to tangible or physical things. It is also known as a Mutable sign, which infers a need for variety and change. According to Living Sprit Community, “with Virgo, we again swing from a masculine archetype to the feminine archetype. This time, instead of a symbol of the divine mother, it is a symbol of the virginal divine feminine. Except that this divine feminine is not without experience in the matter, but the emergence of the divine feminine through purification and renewed innocence.”

The connection and personification of the feminine with the moon (among other terrestrial realms) are one of the most long-lasting religious images. For example, if you go into any Catholic church and look closely at Mary, the mother of Jesus, she is usually depicted standing on a crescent Moon. Therefore, between the feminine archetype of Virgo and the association with the female as a personification of the moon, this Virgo Full Moon is a time for women to embrace our feminine strength.

I thought I would include some inspiration and motivation during this time for self-healing and finding your inner strength.

What Does This Mean

Virgo is typically the sign associated with thinking. Often times, over thinking and self-critical. However, when channeled in the right way, Virgo thinking can be extremely enlightening.

Think of Virgo energy as warrior energy, representing strength, and inner power. I love the word warrior. I find strength in just saying it, in the syllables of the word. To me, being a warrior means claiming my inaccuracies and always moving forward. Always pursuing ways to better myself as a human being.

In this time of warrior mode, stop feeling sorry for yourself and resisting what will truly make you happy. Step up and claim your power and self-worth.

You are not a warrior going off to war. Instead, you are taking the time to find your inner strength so you can heal, repair, nourish and reflect in whatever way you need to.

On the night of the Full Moon, certain planets will shift into what astrologers call an irritated rectangle. As the name suggests, this Full Moon could bring irritations to the surface. However, it is not meant to directly irritate you. Instead, use this as motivation to get rid of people, habits, negative thoughts or anything else that is not serving you.

Virgo energy is about self-healing. If there is an area of your life that needs to be healed whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual, remember that you are strong and know that healing will come when the time is right. Trust your instincts.

You may not have everything figured out over the coming weeks, but by simply remembering your own strength and your own power, you will go far.

Remember, femininity means strength. Look to the elements to remind you how powerful you are.

The Best Essential Oils for Women | featuring Essential Oil Princess

For Day 4 of #BlogsforWomen, I am excited to announce this post is written by guest blogger, April aka Essential Oil Princess! She kindly welcomed me to her Instagram page once I followed her and extended an invitation for me to ask any question about oils and their many benefits.

April’s website and blog contain a wealth of knowledge on essential oils, specifically doTerra products. For this post, I asked April to focus her education and knowledge specifically towards women and their health. So without further ado, here is Essential Oil Princess’ insight:

The Best Essential Oils for Women 

Women face health challenges specific to their gender including, but not limited to, the reproductive system, brain, heart, skeleton, and hormone issues. Many women suffer from high cortisol levels, which lead to fatigue, weight changes, depression, anxiety, and digestive problems. At all stages of life, most women do their best to maintain homeostasis while multitasking.

Nutrition and hydration are important keys to a woman’s health. Daily supplements (such as the lifelong vitality pack) that include a whole food nutrient supplement, essential oil omega complex, and phytoestrogen multiplex will help a woman’s body be able to regulate hormones regularly.

Essential oils have also been shown to have great promise in helping women relieve some of their concerns.

Top Essential Oils for Hormone Health

Clary Sage
The biggest benefit of clary sage is that it helps balance out estrogen production in the body. A lot of health issues today, even things like infertility, PCOS, and estrogen-based cancers, are caused by excess estrogen in the body — in part, because of our consumption of high estrogen foods.

Because clary sage helps balance out those estrogen levels, it’s an incredibly effective essential oil in the wide array of hormone imbalances. So, whether you’re looking for natural remedies for PMS cramps during the month or possibly already know you have excess estrogen in your body, clary sage is a great essential oil to consider adding to your essential oil regime.

Thyme Essential Oil

Thyme oil benefits the body by improving progesterone production. Both men and a lot of women are low in progesterone, and low progesterone levels have been linked to infertility, PCOS, and depression, as well as other imbalanced hormones within the body.

Improved progesterone makes thyme a great essential oil you can use to naturally balance out hormones in your body. Plus, it’s far better than turning to synthetic treatments, such as hormone replacement therapy, which can make you dependent on prescription drugs, mask symptoms while developing diseases in other parts of the body and often causing serious side effects.

Balance your Hormones Naturally

Hormonal balance is one of the most important aspects of a properly functioning body. Hormones, such as estrogen and insulin, are chemical messengers that affect many aspects of your health as they travel in your bloodstream throughout your entire body. Some of the most common side effects of hormone imbalance include:

Infertility
Weight gain
Depression
Fatigue
Insomnia
Low libido
Hair loss and hair thinning

The best way to balance hormones naturally is through diet. That includes food sources; for instance, avocados benefit hormonal balance greatly. In addition, using essential oils to supplement your diet can help balance hormones and ward off health problems associated with hormonal imbalance.

This Homemade Hormone Balance Serum includes two of the top three essential oils for hormones. With equal parts clary sage and thyme oil — 30 drops each — this recipe is chock-full of beneficial effects.

In addition to thyme and clary sage oil, add 30 drops of Ylang Ylang and one ounce of evening primrose oil to the mix. Once combined, put the Homemade Hormone Balance Serum mixture in a glass vial with a dropper, and you’re ready to rock. Simply rub five drops on your neck twice daily to help keep your hormones in check.

Homemade Hormone Balance Serum

INGREDIENTS:
1-ounce evening primrose oil
30 drops clary sage oil
30 drops thyme oil
30 drops ylang-ylang oil

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together in a 2-ounce bottle.

Put into a glass vial with a dropper.

Rub 5 drops onto neck 2 times daily.

Essential Oils for Fertility

1. Lavender: Calms and relaxes the mind. It balances the endocrine system and helps regulate scanty menstruation. It is extremely beneficial for people who are in an unbalanced emotional state.

2. Geranium: This oil is wonderful for balancing hormones and regulating your cycle. It also has a calming effect to soothe your emotions and help you de-stress.

3. Clary Sage: This oil influences your estrogen levels and helps your body regulate its hormones naturally. And on top of all that, it’s a libido booster! This is so important when getting pregnant becomes more of a task than a treat. Clary sage is also beneficial for male infertility as well as treating hormonal imbalances.

4. Fennel: This essential oil has been renowned for thousands of years for its effects on the female reproductive system. It helps painful periods as well as helps regulate the menstrual cycle.

Diffuser Blends for Women’s Health 

Relaxing Blend – 3 drops Lavender, 2 drops Clary Sage, 2 drops Ylang Ylang, 1 drop Marjoram (57% Floral, 43% Herbaceous)

Her Sleep Blend– 4 drops Clary Sage, 4 drops Vetiver, 2 drops Juniper Berry (53% Grassy, 32% Herbaceous, 16% Coniferous)

Goddess – 3 drops lemon, 2 drops Clary Sage, 2 drops Cypress, 2 drops Geranium, 1 drop Fennel (sweet), 1 drop Ylang Ylang (36% Floral, 23% Citrus, 15% Coniferous, 15% Herbaceous, 10% Spicy)

Let It Go– 3 drops Lavender, 3 drops Sandalwood, 2 drops Clary Sage, 2 drops Vetiver (32% Grassy, 19% Herbaceous, 29% Woody, 19% Floral)

* * *

Thank you so much to Essential Oil Princess for providing me with this AMAZING information to share with my readers. Visit http://essentialoilprincess.com/ to buy essential oils directly or for more health information. Also,  don’t forget to follow April on Instagram! @essentialoilprincess

Let us know what essential oils or blends you have been loving! As always, I would love to hear from you 🙂

Wild: The Book that Changed My Life

Every so often, a book falls into my lap that I know I was meant to read. As if forces bigger than myself allowed it to happen. Since I am spending this week blogging about women, I thought it would be a particularly great time to speak of the book that changed how I saw the little world around me and inspired me to do bigger and better things.

Before ringing 2016, I finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I remember because this was a particularly low point in my life. I was pathetically job hunting with little to no luck, frustrated with my sense of purpose and finding it difficult to love myself. I was making poor choices in an attempt to mentally numb myself, but that was only making things worse.

One afternoon, as I skimmed the shelves of my library, I picked up Wild. I’m not sure if it was the orange binding that drew my attention or something more, but I decided to check it out.

I read the book in three sittings, devouring page after page as if it were a hearty meal instead of a 300-page novel. I firmly believed that I was supposed to read this book at THAT exact moment in my life.

For those that don’t know, Wild is an autobiographical account of Cheryl Strayed’s 3-month hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to escape her reality and in a way shed her old self. After loss and self-abuse, Strayed decided to embark on this epic hike from California and Oregon to the Bridge of the Gods into Washington. Through the journey, the book contains flashback of her life and struggles that inspired her to leave her old life and literally climb her way through self-discovery.

She lived minimally and her only purpose was to survive from day to day. To have water, food and her tent for shelter. Money was only an issue sometimes when she arrived at her resupply station, other than that she didn’t really need it. She sold everything she had and used her last dollars to hike the PCT, confident enough in herself that when it was all over she would figure out a way to live in Oregon. As intense as her physical and mental struggles were, she had to live completely in each moment and problem solves with what was right in front of her.

How free I felt just reading it. To live so simply, so minimally sounded like heaven to me. It made me realize then that there wasn’t much that I truly want. There are plenty of “things” that I think I want, money, clothes, great hair, but if I were Cheryl, hiking for hundred of miles, none of that would matter.

I couldn’t image a world where my physical appearance, my professionalism, my career path, my social media post… would mean absolutely nothing.

Now, over a year later, I wonder if my somewhat spontaneous plan to uproot my life in Massachusetts and create a new life for myself and my boyfriend in California, had anything to do with this novel. When I first read this book, I was so desperate for change, for a purpose. I wanted to pack my bags and hike across America too! Anything to get away from myself and my old habits and ways of thinking.

The problem with trying to run away from yourself is that it’s impossible. Along with my journey, I still had to face my insecurities, inaccuracies and practice self-love, daily. I still am!

But I believe that this piece of literature inspired me in ways that actually changed my life. To see a woman push through fear to accomplish her goal inspired me more than I can express. If I look at where I was then in 2016 and where I am now, I feel like a completely different person. Cheryl Strayed encouraged me and challenged me to fight for the life I wanted.

That is a sign of true inspiration and literary courage. Strayed poured her heart into that book. Fearlessly.

And I think it changed my life.

 

I would love to know what books have inspired you. Let me know in the comments below!

 

Body Talk | Giving Up Birth Control and Embracing My Female Body

Once I made the decision to live a holistic life, I went all in. Makeup, cleaning products, medication, clothing…even birth control.

To me, living holistically means I look for natural, healthy products void of chemicals, toxins and added hormones. I use cruelty-free makeup, buy cleaning products with natural ingredients (or make my own), and I don’t take any medication, including the pill.

My Experience with Birth Control Pills

I actually don’t have a lengthy history with birth control, prior to my transition to veganism. However, I was taking it for a few months last year. My boyfriend and I were really serious (planning our move to California together) and I didn’t want to take any risks with pregnancy. I have always been apprehensive about birth control pills because I didn’t like the idea of messing with my hormones. But at my yearly gynecologist appointment, I decided to ask my doctor about getting a prescription.

I was shocked that my doctor didn’t ask me any further questions. She literally just took out her prescription paper and gave me what I asked for. Granted she did have my medical history on her computer and knew that I was healthy. However, shouldn’t something as intense and invasive as birth control warrant at least a few health questions?

I tried the birth control for a few weeks and I started experiencing some uncomfortable symptoms. I called my doctor and she prescribed me a different pill over the phone. Again, I was surprised how easy this whole process was. No tests? No questions?

I didn’t like having this medication in my body but I didn’t know what else to do. I hated not knowing what was going on inside me and I worried about the risks that come with birth control. Not only was I experiencing sharp mood swings, but my libido DECREASED. This to me is the strangest of all the birth control side effects. Wasn’t I taking this so that I could have sex whenever I wanted to without the risk of pregnancy? But now I didn’t want to as much.

This saddened me because I was manipulating my nature bodily functions and my natural sex drive. After further research, I learned that I was at a higher risk for cervical and breast cancer, blood clots, gallbladder disease and even heart attacks.  And now, heart disease has become the leading cause of death among women. I have to wonder if there is a connection between the widespread and long-term use of oral contraceptives.

WHY DIDN’T MY DOCTOR TELL ME THIS?

It is estimated that over 150 million women take birth control. And if their experience was anything like mine, I’m guessing they were not told the possible side effects either.

I decided to get off the pill about 4 or 5 months into taking it. Within a month, I felt so much better. I was my old self again in all the ways that birth control had numbed or altered my body.

All of this education got me thinking…as women we are in a constant fight for what we will do or not do with our bodies. Whether it’s for reproduction rights, objectification, and sexualization in the media or fighting for equality, we are on a mission. However, in my opinion, shouldn’t we understand our bodies while we are fighting for them?

What Use for Natural Birth Control

A lot of women who are active participants in holistic living use the Fertility Awareness Method. With this method, you simply track your fertility based on your menstrual cycle so you know when you are fertile and able to get pregnant. If you are using this as a form of birth control, like I am, you can either not have sex on your fertile day or use other means of protection.

I purchased the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler which completely changed my life. It explained in detail what my body does each month between my period and fertile phases. I was actually embarrassed that at 25 years old, I didn’t know what my body had been doing for over 12 years now!

There is a lot of information to process at first, but once practiced, the Fertility Awareness Method is quite simple and completely reliable (if followed correctly). Here are the absolute basics of the method: By tracking your waking temperature, your basal body temperature, you will get a clue as to what phase of your cycle you are in. Your cervical fluid will also let you know when you are fertile or about to become fertile. By tracking this information daily, you will see the pattern of your cycle and therefore be able to anticipate when you are fertile. Then you can make a choice to have sex on these days or not.  I use an app called Kindara to chart my temperature and symptoms.

I STRONGLY believe that ever women should read Weschler’s book. Regardless if you are on the pill, trying to get pregnant, avoiding pregnancy or entering menopause, we as women should have a deep understanding of what our bodies are doing.

It’s so empowering!

Knowledge is power. Take back control of your fertility by actually understanding how it works instead of just muting its functions with medication. And if you are worried about your boyfriend or spouse’s opinion about periods, cervical fluid,  birth control and all things pertaining to YOUR body, then I say this: If your man can’t respect and honor what your female body naturally does, then he shouldn’t be allowed to enter it 🙂

I don’t believe in the pill. I feel it is harming women. You are supposed to get your period. It is cleansing and natural. It is not a burden. I THANK my body when I begin to get cramps and backaches because I know my body is healthy and doing what it is supposed to. I want to honor my feminity and my female reproductive system by allowing it to work the way it was created to. Yes, the Fertility Awareness Method takes a little more effort than just popping a pill in your mouth. But isn’t your health and well-being worth it?

If you take anything away from this post, educate yourself. Just start there. Learn about your body. Listen to your body. And above all, respect your body.

Want to join this conversation? I would love to hear from you! Comment below 🙂

 

Body Talk | How Veganism Changed My Perception of Beauty

I perceive veganism as a lifestyle. It is not just that I avoid eating animal meats or animal bi- products. Yes, that is the core of veganism. However, the longer I have learned, researched and acted upon this practice, the more veganism has trickled into even more areas of my life.

Specifically, body image and my perception of beauty.

Like most girls and women, there are parts of my body that I battled with daily. My skin was a huge source of insecurity for me. Throughout all of my 20’s, I felt ugly and completely unattractive if I didn’t have makeup on. Sometimes I would even put makeup on before going to the gym. I couldn’t see anything else when I looked in the mirror except for my blemishes and redness. Some would say that my acne wasn’t even that bad. But to me, it felt like a burden and it took a toll on my self-esteem.

Something switched in me around the time I turned 25, last year. I started to accept my flaws. I don’t have flawless skin, but I have other qualities, I would tell myself. I felt shallow and materialistic caring SO much about what I looked like. So I decided to just give up. Not give up on my appearance, I still liked to wearing nice clothes and putting on makeup, but I gave up on basing my self-worth on the condition of my skin. I cut my makeup routine in half. I stopped analyzing my face in the mirror ever night. I just let it be and told myself every day that I was beautiful. I was going to make myself believe it.

I have explained my skin story before (if you haven’t read it yet, I will link it here) but it was the reason I first became interested in veganism. After cutting dairy from my diet, I saw a huge improvement. I started testing the waters and wore less and less foundation. The summer of my road trip across the country to California, I eliminated makeup completely and let my skin breath for the entirety of our 8-day trip. The first few days, I battled the voices in my head that told me that my natural face was ugly void of powders and foundations to cover every blemish. But I focused on my journey, on the experiences my boyfriend and I were having instead of thinking about what I looked like.

This was the beginning of how veganism changed my perception of beauty.

I have always been so concerned with how I look on the outside. Is my skin clear? Am I thin enough? Am I curvy enough? Do these clothes flatter my figure? Do I look sexy? Too sexy? Not sexy at all? Is my hair ok?

These are the questions we as women are always asking ourselves when we look in the mirror. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive but there is so much more to life than the condition and shape of your body, to the flawlessness or lack thereof, of your skin.

But what about the other parts of you? The parts that are on the inside? The parts that keeping you moving, and functioning, that keep you alive! We often neglect our insides in order to be more presentable or fashionable on the outside.

When I started learning about what I had been putting into my body all these years, the chemicals, the hormones, the processed meats,  I was scared. If I pollute the inside of me, what is to become of the outside? Of my health?

I don’t like calling veganism a diet because it is not a diet in the sense that we have been taught a diet is. A way to lose weight. A way to become more desirable on the outside. It is a lifestyle because you are thinking beyond that. Dieting is a selfish act in a way. You are only thinking about yourself and how food affects your own body. But by being vegan, I am thinking of the earth, the air, the animals, the planet… all living, beautiful things. It has taken me out of myself because I am no longer just eating to eat, I am eating with a purpose.

I am not saying that all my body image issues went away. I still work on loving myself daily. But this last year of being vegan has kept me in touch with my body in an entirely new way. My skin is healing, my digestion is healthy, my energy is high, my mood swings are less frequent, my hormones are becoming balanced, my menstrual cycle is regular and I am in tune with my female body.

I am learning to love myself more and more.

Food is important to our everyday life, yes. But body obsession, dieting, and hating yourself shouldn’t be.

It is amazing just how great I feel about myself when I know I am treating my body with love and kindness from the inside out. We as human beings are interconnected with the earth and we suffer greatly from the greed, wealth, and the gluttony which has destroyed the food industries and wrecked havoc on our health.

Instead, fell the freedom of loving your beautiful body. It all starts with the belief that you are worthy.

I am beautiful, not because I am perfect but because I am part of mother nature, the most beautiful women of them all.

 

Artwork by: merakilabbe

 

 

A Week of Vegan Meals

As you can guess from the title, I am going to tell you about some of the meals I had this week. I am an advocate for simple eating and am always excited to show others how easy making vegan food can be. The meals I eat aren’t very fancy, but I can assure you they are delicious.

Monday

I hadn’t made a smoothie bowl in awhile so I thought I would give it a try. The base includes:

• Almond milk
• Frozen blueberries
• Strawberry (vegan) protein powder
• A spoonful of cocoa powder
• A dollop of almond butter
• A giant handful of fresh spinach

I didn’t have the ingredients to make the granola I usually make so I improvised. I mixed some dried oats with cinnamon and a little agave in a bowl before laying the mixture out on a cookie sheet. I toasted the oats for about 15-20, or until they were filling my apartment with the delicious sweetness of cinnamon. After they cooled, I added them to the food processor with some Medjool dates. After blended, simply add to the smoothie bowl with some almond butter.

Tuesday

Who doesn’t love a sandwich? If you are new to veganism, you might think that sandwiches are pointless if they are void of meat, cheese, and mayo, all the things that you use to make sandwiches delicious.

BUT! I will prove you wrong. Here is what you will need to make a BOMB VEGAN SANDWICH:

Ingredients:

• Bread (duh)
• vegan mayo
• sweet, sliced pickles
• spinach or lettuce
• marinated artichoke hearts
• tomatoes
• hummus (flavor of your choice)

Now, simply build your sandwich. For me, the combo of the sweet pickles, the mayo (vegan mayo is delicious by the way) and the artichokes are enough to keep me happy. Also, remember that avocado is your sandwich friend. Don’t forget about that.

Wednesday

Time for some beans. I am lazy af sometimes and beans are my go-to meal.  All you need to do it pour the can into a pan and warm them up.

I topped these black beans with some slices tomato, avocado, vegan mayo and siracha!

Thursday

My boyfriend made this meal, so I can’t take the credit for it. But it was amazing, let me tell you.

After making some white rice, he added teriyaki sauce to the pan. We had fresh, ripe mango on hand so he sauteed some slices with a mixture of vegetables. (Sometimes we buy a bag of a frozen organic medley). This salty and sweet meal was delicious and probably took about 20 mins.

Friday

Who says you can’t have pasta and meatballs?!

 

These wheat-based meatless meatballs are the best I have ever had in terms of meat substitutes. The texture is that similar to the real thing. I sauteed some spinach and grape tomatoes so I felt like I was eating actual vegetables. (Meatball brand: 365 Organic)

I hope you enjoyed all these EASY and fun meal ideas. Let me know which one you are excited to try in the comments 🙂

 

5 Ways to Enhance Your Life This Month // March

Here is my new segment where I give some friendly suggestions based on what I have been enjoying or experimenting with lately that can enhance your life!

Let’s get started.

1. Essential Oils 

I have been learning so much about essential oils this month as I just got a job as a content writer for Lica Cole, an organic skin and body care company. While the brand is in the midst of relaunching their product line and website, I was assigned a research project on rare and essential oils. Lica Cole uses them in all their products and we needed the information available to our customers.

I had little to no knowledge of the MASSIVE benefits of essential oils! For thousands of years, these oils have enhanced lives offering a variety of benefits from cosmetic and dietary purposes to spiritual and religious use. This ancient tradition can enhance your emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness in extremely beneficial ways.

From ailments of the skin like acne, rosacea and hormonal imbalances, to digestive issues, anxiety and nervous system health, essential oils can be used in complex blends or individually on their own.

I have since ordered a diffuser and few oils to try out. I will be writing a future blog post giving you my review once I experience these benefits for myself.

2. Peppermint Green Tea 

This has been my favorite tea this month. I love green tea and the antioxidants and health benefit its contains. But with this blend of peppermint…it really is the highlight of my morning. If you are like me and stay away from coffee or caffeine, this is a great morning beverage to give you the energy boost you need. I am currently drinking Traditional Medicinals organic blend.

3. Washi Tape 

Okay, this may seem trivial but that is because you haven’t tried it yet. Washi tape is not simply patterned masking tape as some of you may assume. It is actually made from natural fibers, like bamboo and hemp, or the bark of trees native to Japan, like the mulberry, mitsumata shrub or the gampi tree. Made to customize or decorate anything you so desire, I bought a few rolls off etsy.com to adorn the boring and standard white pages of my list making and planning journal. My boyfriend made fun of me for being so excited about stickers but washi tape is amazing!

It can turn any blank page into an aesthetically pleasing one. And if you are like me, that is important. I want my lists to not only contain brilliant ideas but also look beautiful too. And washi tape is not expensive. I purchased three rolls which shipped from Japan for about $9.

4. Poetry 

Reading is good for the soul, the brain and for entertaining yourself. I could go on and on but I want to keep this post fairly short.

As much as I love reading and do so often, I don’t read a lot of poetry. However, I finally read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and it instilled in me the beauty of this genre and how much I need it in my life. I got a collection of women’s poetry from the library in an attempt to incorporate this more regularly in my life. I am challenging you to enjoy it with me this month 🙂

5. Eliminate the Word “fine” from your Vocabulary 

I am obsessed with the website Words of Women. It ceases to fill me with inspiration, courage, and motivation everytime I check it. (And I check it daily).

In their most recent post “The One Word That’s Keeping You From Your Dream Life,” CNN commentator, television host, life coach, motivational speaker and author, Melanie Robbins give her advice on why you aren’t achieving the success you so desire.  It all comes down to one word: FINE.

The bigger issue with ‘fine’ is that you say it to yourself. That thing you want, you convinced yourself you’re fine not having it. That’s why you’re not pushing yourself. All day long you have ideas that could change your life and what do you do with them? Nothing. Because you’re fine. You’re fine in your bed, you’re fine in your job. You’re fine with not having everything you ever wanted.

This inspired me in so many ways because it is so easy to become complacent and convince yourself that you are where you want to me. I always strive to be a better version of myself and I want to continue to challenge myself daily. I think we can all do without the word “fine” in our vocabulary 🙂

Click here to read the entire article which also includes Robbin’s TED Talk, which I highly recommend watching.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments if you are interested in trying any of these out for the month of March!

 

My Tips for Vegan Eating

A lot of people assume that this lifestyle is difficult and expensive. But that has not been my experience. After a few months of practice and changing the way I view my meals, I have found eating a plant based diet to not only saves me money but is also very simple.

Here are my tips on how to make a vegan diet work for you, no matter your income or lifestyle.

1. Decide What Kind of Vegan You Are

There are SO many different ways to be vegan: Raw vegan, 80/10/10, Raw before 4, High Carb, Low Carb, More Fruit based, More Veggie based…you get the idea. By researching and choosing what will be best for your body, you can become organized with your food shopping. However, be careful. Sometimes the research can be overwhelming. Remember that everyone’s body is different. You might need to experiment for a few months with different diets to see which one your body responses to the best. But knowing your goal is an important part of this lifestyle.

2. Make a List 

This may seem obvious but it helps me. There are so many amazing vegan substitutes out there and the choices can easily cause you to veer off your budget. After you decide what kinds of foods you want to be buying, write them down and stick to the list.

3. Shop at Multiple Grocery Stores 

Whole Foods is wonderful and all, but I can’t afford to do all my grocery shopping there. Trader Joe’s is also wonderful, but they don’t always have everything I want. Don’t get discouraged. Set aside an hour or two for your weekly shopping and visit more than one grocery store. Again, this takes practice. When my boyfriend and I first moved to California, we solely shopped at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods because we thought these were the only places that stocked our vegan necessities. Later we discovered Sprouts, which had all the brands of Whole Foods for half the prices, and a grocery discount store that had organic frozen fruit and pea protein meatballs for a fraction of the price at the other stores. Yes, this will take up more of your time, but it will save you money in the end. Plus, our health and well being is worth putting effort into.

4. Plan Your Meals Around Your Veggies

Most of us are use to our dinner plate containing meat as the main course, potatoes or pasta (probably with cheese or a creamy sauce) as the side and some veggies are thrown in. With this picture in mind, most will be at a loss as to what a vegan meal should look like. What I like to do, is plan my meal around what vegetable I want to have. For example, if I have zucchini and spinach in the fridge, I will sautee these together with some garlic. Then I plan the rest of the meal off these flavors. Maybe I’ll make some rice with soy sauce. Or sweet potatoes and beans. For me, getting my greens in as much as I can is important to me. So if I base my whole meal around this, I can be sure I’m getting the nutrients I need AND I can plan a solid meal.

5. “Throw Together” Meals Are Your Friend 

If you are on a budget, this idea works really well. Say it is coming close to the end of the week and you will need to go grocery shopping again. But you still have some veggies and other items that you need to eat first. Well, take whatever you have left and throw it together. This started off as a joke between my boyfriend and I because he is one of those people who mix all the contents of his place together and eats it this way. (Where I usually eat each food separately). He convinced me that we had plenty of food left in the house for dinner because we could make everything we had left together. We have made some pretty delicious and unexpected meals this way.

Here is an example of one of these “throw together” meals.

We didn’t have enough noodles to make a large portion for both of us and our zucchinis were about to go bad. I topped them off with the leftover tofu and baked some sliced sweet potatoes because they are my favorite.

6. Food Isn’t Everything

It has taken me a long time to accept this. I love eating and I love food and I have been known to get irritated if my meals are not the way I think they should be. But once I realized that I am eating for my health and wellbeing, this idea helped me mellow out about food and allowed me to enjoy what I had and what I could afford to buy. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of switching to veganism, take this notion into mind. Yes, food is delicious and necessary, but we don’t need to be a slave to it. In most other cultures, they don’t have much of a choice when it comes to their meals. They eat a lot of the same things every day. It is we Americans who demand something new and exciting everytime we want to eat. Reject this and be grateful for what you can have. Eat to nourish and take care of your body.

I hope you found these tips helpful! I would love to hear what works for you. Comment below with any thoughts or suggestions 🙂