Month: August 2015

I have been reading a great book called SuperLife by Darin Olien.  I am learning a ton and one of the cool things I have taken out of it is the benefit of eating RAW FOOD.  I am not interested in trying this full time, but there are a lot of benefits to eating your food raw.  By the way, by raw I mean not cooked.

When you cook or heat  your food it breaks down the enzymes that the foods naturally have.  These enzymes are used by the body to break down the food and to be able to utilize all the nutrients the food has to offer us.  So, with out those enzymes your body is missing out on some of the vitamins and minerals that we need!

I am going to make sure I have a big salad full of raw fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts or a delicious green smoothy every day so I can take advantage of the amazing benefits of raw food.

One of my favorite salads has all of my favorite ingredients!

Power Avocado Salad:

1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
1 cup of chopped spinach
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/2 of small avocado- chopped
1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar dressing

Cook quinoa according to directions. While quinoa is cooking chop your spinach and put it aside. Chop your tomatoes and avocado. Add 1/2 cup of quinoa to the spinach. The warmth of the quinoa will wilt the spinach a little bit. Now add the tomato and avocado and dressing- mix and ENJOY!

For the 21 Day Fixers- 2 green, 1 yellow, 1 blue and 1 orange (for dressing)

To make my favorite Red Wine Vinegar Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey (raw and local is best)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Store in refrigerator.

If you are anything like me, you have had your share of success and failures when it comes to your weight and general health.

I have joined gyms, hired personal trainers, taken classes, tried fad diets, learned about healthy eating all mixed in with periods of completely falling off the wagon and doing pretty much nothing to better my health.

In March of 2014 I was invited to a 40/40 Challenge on Facebook.  At the time I had pretty much fallen off the wagon and was being dragged behind.  I was pretty unhappy at the time and I knew something needed to change so I joined  We were asked to exercise 40 minutes a day for 40 days and check in daily with our progress.  It seemed simple and doable.  Pretty quickly I realized that this was going to work for me and I was already thinking of ways to get my friends involved.  I had finally put into place all the parts of the equation to successfully get healthy and more importantly stay healthy!

When you try to do this whole getting healthy thing on your own the excitement of a new program or new gym membership will wear off and you are left to decide if you will keep going or give up yet again.  Being in the group made it easier for me to stay motivated and offered me a place to check in daily and stay accountable to my goals.  I wasn’t alone- I had a group of new friends who were going through the same things I was and who had my back.

After 2 months in these groups I ventured out on my own.  I couldn’t wait to pay it forward and invite my friends and family to join me.  1 year later my groups have reached beyond my close friends and I am helping more and more people find the equation that works!  My mission is not to help people get skinny, it is to help people get healthy and STAY healthy!  My mission is to help people realize that in order to be their best, they have to start with themselves.  It is not selfish to focus some time on yourself and your health, it is necessary!

If you are interested in finding out more about my Facebook Challenge groups click here and fill out an application!