Valentine’s Day was the perfect excuse to celebrate love all weekend long.
Love Is
The past year has taught me a lot about love.
Love is not about fear, ego, or judgment.
It’s the guy who travels across the world and shows up on your doorstep with the hope that things just might work out. It’s the friend who makes you feel like she’s the lucky one, even though she gave you her heart, home, and clothes off her back when you needed it. It’s friends who listen to your crazy rants and make you feel like you have an important place in the world. It’s family who takes you in without blinking.
Love is patient, kind and unconditional. It knows no distance. It is a reason to wake up in the morning, and the motivation to want to get up and do it all again a little better tomorrow.
Happy love day. I don’t believe in commercial holidays, but I’ll be damned if I don’t believe in love.
Protein Cookies and Kindness
I was debating writing a post on kindness or protein cookies, so I decided to write a post on both.
While getting comfortable in being in limbo I’ve had to deal with some negative feelings: what am I doing with my life? Why haven’t I accomplished x, y and z yet? Am I a burden to those who are generous with me?
What I Ate Wednesday
If you’re like me you love seeing what people eat.
In honour of that notion, I’m doing a What I Ate Wednesday post. I haven’t done anything like this since my Grub Street style weekly eats, so thought it might be fun.
I’m constantly tweaking my diet to see what works best for me. These days I like to eat several small meals throughout the day with a balance of macros to keep me humming.
My meal prep makes this a million times easier!
Building Foundations
I have spent a lot of the past two years rebuilding.
I lost a lot of things during the divorce: my home, my job, my financial stability and my sense of self.
I spent a year travelling and working abroad before coming back to Vancouver, almost a year ago, where I’ve been slowly settling. Continue reading
Burlesque Therapy
“You don’t need to look like a Sports Illustrated Model to be sexy. Do you know what’s sexy? Jiggling.”
I nod my head at our teacher, a beautiful blonde with pin-up girl curves. She pulls off her top and stands there in a sports bra. She has a belly to jiggle, and yes, she looks amazing.
Moments later I’m doing body rolls and full on booty shaking. It’s harder than it looks, but man does it feel great. I find myself envying the women with more to jiggle. Why have I been working so hard to put on muscle? Jiggling is ridiculously sexy!
Health and Fitness Trends to Keep and Lose
Sometimes I feel like there are two separate camps: the health camp and the fitness camp.
I’ve hung out in both. In the health camp, I made green juice every morning, jumped on my mini trampoline, ate mostly raw vegan, preached the virtues of spirulina and spent every paycheque at Whole Foods. In the fitness camp, I took fat burning supplements, avoided carbohydrates, ate meat on meat, watched my face flush after chugging down caffeinated workout drinks, and spent every paycheque at GNC.
Here’s the thing: I love both camps. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Bro, do you even lift?
In my quest to find a happy balance, I like to visit each camp (and then drink gin and eat steak frites somewhere in between.)
Here’s a list of some of the top trends to keep and let go of from each camp.
Cheers to your health!
Only Connect
“only connect.” E.M. Forster
I can’t stop thinking about this article about addiction.
I spent a lot of my life thinking I’d be happiest alone. My dream was to build a cabin deep in a forest and hide from everyone for as long as I could.
But the older, and hopefully, wiser I grow, I realize how crucial community is to happiness.
I now know that my happiest moments are shared with others. I know how good I feel when I am in our little French village and no one is a stranger. I know that being back in Vancouver and living with family, as well as working in a supportive workplace, has done wonders for my well being.
I would be lost without the people who love me.
How to meal plan like a boss
I love meal planning.
It saves me money, time, forces me to eat healthier, and feeds my desire to be obsessively organized.
My friend’s mom, a busy, wonderful, sweet angel and mid-wife, asked me to assist her with a week’s worth of meal planning. As a bonus, my friend and I could prepare all of our own meals at the same time.
I’m going to go over the basic steps to successful meal planning and show you what we accomplished!
Comparing Protein Powders
Trying to pick a protein powder can be overwhelming.
While I believe you can definitely get enough protein from plants and animals, I love having a protein powder on hand to add to my morning smoothies, oatmeal and sweet creations. It helps to balance my hormones, build my muscles, make me feel strong and emotionally stable.
But where to begin in choosing one? I’ve tried a huge variety, so I’ve lined up a side by side comparison of some of my favourites:
- Protein: 21.07g (per 25g)
- Ingredients: Pea protein isolate, natural vanilla, natural fruit protein.
- Flavours: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Creamy Cappucino
- Pros: Clean Lean Protein is protein in its purest form – all natural and free from all common allergens. It’s 100% vegetable, yet has all the potency (and them some) of other proteins. Has all 9 essential amino acids and more.
- Cons: Need to order online.
- Cost: $44.95 for a 500g tub (20 servings) *trial and small packets also available
- Taste: One of the best tasting plant protein powders I’ve tried
- Calories: 95 calories (25g serving)