beauty that moves

it's not only about the food

 

Food matters, truly it does. A body nourished with with whole, mostly plant based foods has a far better chance at overall wellness than a body fed differently. 

 

 

But here's the thing... food isn't everything. 

Brown rice and kale (all by itself) can't save the world, or your soul.

 

 

The body is beautifully complicated, much can be measured physically, yet there is so much that cannot. Think of the full body satisfaction felt when we breathe fresh, clean air. The state of zen after a beautiful yoga class. The fear we experience when a child is lost in the store, or when a loved one is late coming home and the roads are snowy and slick. An unwelcome diagnosis, the relief of recovery.

Proper rest, physical movement, lifestyle, clean air and water, the presence of joy or sorrow... like fingers to a hand, they all play a part in the bigger picture. It's something that I focus quite a bit on in my workshop. Yes, there is an emphasis on a month of vegan, clean eating - but participants quickly learn they are experiencing a bit of an at home retreat as well. A holistic experience indeed. 

 

 

But let's not forget, good food is a wonderful thing. Here's another little peek:

30 Day Vegan Sample Recipe

Fresh Peach & Apple Salsa

Today, the class blog has opened... and registration is open for just a few more days! For the rest of this week, participants will settle in, download the first week's worth of recipes, watch a little welcome video by me, print off a natural foods shopping list, and learn some helpful tips for setting up a whole foods kitchen. 

Next week, on Monday, our 30 day journey will be fully underway, and registration will close. If you've been thinking about it... today is your day. 

how to make simple, all natural soda

Not quite as simple as combing equal parts seltzer and fruit juice (that can be kind of watery). But so easy and delicious, with ingredients you can be comfortable with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I ran the 30 Day Vegan online workshop in the early Spring, a great deal of the feedback I received was in relation to the program surprising people a little, in a good way!

While it is clear in the workshop description that the 30 day experience is about so much more than clean eating; sometimes we (myself included) can skim those sort of details and sign up for something like this with our eyes on the obvious - vegan recipes.

It is true, there are lots of recipes! But those are delivered to the classroom blog one day per week. There are four other posting/lesson days to talk about things like self-care, lifestyle, slowing down, getting organized in the kitchen, things beyond food alone that nurture and heal us. 

Last time around, participants quickly realized that the food (in a way) was secondary. Living well and putting yourself high on 'the list' was of high priority. I truly believe this. Food matters, but it is not dogma. 

My approach to nutrition is through natural, whole, (mostly) plant based foods. For the purpose of 30 Day Vegan, my approach is entirely plant based. I teach nutrition in a way that is not exclusive and non-judgmental. This is so important to me. You will never hear me say there is only one way to do something, my focus rather is to encourage those I work with to tease out their own knowledge, the natural wisdom of wellness that has been mapped out within us since the beginning of time. Think of me as a guide for those who need to find their way back to the trail again.

What does all this have to do with homemade soda?

I thought it would be fun to share a sample recipe from my upcoming workshop (you can still register). This is kind of funny because I'm choosing to share a recipe that does not involve whole grains, beans or vegetables - the very items that do make up most of my recipes. But aren't those sort of foods obvious? Of course the class will be filled with such yummy, fresh and clean foods. Today, I wanted to surprise you with something a little fun!

Among other things, life is about pleasure! I believe and live this whole-heartedly. Also, it can be quite eye-opening to look at something like soda in a way that is not harmful, you can feel good about sharing this as a treat with your family. 

And just maybe, showing your loved ones a homemade soda recipe will intrigue them enough to fully support and perhaps join you on this journey!

Finally, I wanted to show you that my approach to recipes for this course is grounded in simplicity, I know you are busy. We really don't need to fuss a whole lot with real food to make it taste amazing.

Would you like to make some?

30 Day Vegan: Course Sample Recipe

Download Simple, All Natural Soda (click on the link)

Here's a sneak peak at (a photo of) another recipe that will be shared in the course...

Raw Vegan Berry Cheesecake!

Whole food, easy to make, amazing goodness.  I do hope you'll join us!

a special offer and a gift for you!

I had a little thought the other day... wouldn't it be fun to "bring a friend" to the 30 Day Vegan Workshop? You know, a sister, neighbor, mother, daughter or girlfriend that you know in real life, to share the experience with? 

In other words - how about a Buy One Get One opportunity? 

Such a fun, summery idea! The 30 Day Vegan Workshop is fun, interactive, grounding and revitalizing - a wonderful experience to share with a good friend.

 

It's Simple.

All you have to do is send me an email after you register (or include a note to me as you check out with paypal) with your guest's email so I can include them in the class list, and they will be fully enrolled. That's it! You can deicide if you'll treat them to the workshop (what a lovely gift), or split the cost between the two of you. 

One registration, two people! 

 

Already enrolled?

No problem! If there is someone you'd like to invite, please do so and send me their email once they've accepted your invitation. The only thing I ask (for new or existing registrants) is that your guest is interested. I don't want to spam anyone! 

Please email all guest requests to: 30dayvegan at gmail dot com

Sound Fun? Register today! This offer will expire in one week. 

 

And... a gift for you!

It's hot out there friends. Too hot to move much, unless it's in circles around a swimming hole. (And I've committed to 90 days of P90X, not sure I have the best timing.) So when I'm not sweating like crazy, I'm in front of the fan with my book or my pens -reading, drawing and coloring are just about the only things getting accomplished over here. Not so bad, right? Would you like to color too? 

I drew this coloring page as a gift to the participants of my last workshop, it seems like a nice and mellow summer activity to share with you all. Print one for yourself today... enjoy!

Download Bloom 

Stay cool friends...

revisiting old habits

It's been a while since I've had a blender-a-day, everyday, rhythm going. It's winter in New England, and whoa what a winter it's been. Green smoothies are a favorite here, with a slight decrease in the winter months. Perhaps to make room for all of the warm bowls of oatmeal and trays of roasted root veggies. I'm intentionally upping my own self-care in preparation for the upcoming workshop - upward reaching, raw, green leafy vegetables are the perfect way to start. A blender a day... back at it.

Today it's going to be 59 degress, yesterday was close to that! Of course, it's dipping right back down over the weekend, but it's okay... change is coming.

I did pretty well with winter this year. It snowed a lot which felt so wintry. I was home most of the time, not having to stress about driving on slippery roads. If anything, I did feel a twinge of guilt one too many times, because we were able to stay cozied up in our little homeschool, walking to see friends, or around town for the library, cafe, or food co-op. Underneath the twinge of guilt though, is gratitude for making it through the season with a pretty good state of mind.

Have you heard of this book? I may be the last to know about it! A young reader's edition! Young folks aside, I think this is the book to put into the hands of any adult loved one that follows a Standard American Diet. The regular edition of Omnivore's Dilema is fantastic, but it may easily feel overwhelming and dense to someone that is just beginning to climb out of the place of one too many big gulps or drive thru's. I really like Michael Pollan's Food Rules as a good starting point for many people, but I think this might be even better.

(And my daughter is really loving it too - so yes, great for young readers as well!)

Thank you for such a wonderfully abundant week. Your kind words and support have provided beautiful pause for me, over and over again. xoxo

this i know is true

You are so good. I don't know what I did to deserve you all in my life, but I promise to deliver the best workshop I have within me. It's going to be a fantastic ride.

A few notes:

• Registration will stay open until March 7th, providing there are still spots available.
• The technical issues I was having are worked out at this point, please continue to drop me a line if you encounter any problems.
• Once you register, you should receive a brief welcome letter. Your official invitation to the private blog, where things really start coming to life, will arrive on March 1st.
• Your Paypal email is used to register you for the workshop, and will be used for related correspondence. Please send me an email (threadcityyoga@yahoo dot com) if you'd like a different email used. Some of you have already done that, thank you!
• I'm working on a FAQ page. In the meantime, please find many great questions (and answers) within the comments of the registration page.
• You asked for a button to place on your blog - certainly! Find the code below to copy /paste.

<a href="http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/2011/02/i-am-ready-to-work-with-you-30-day-vegan-cleanse.html"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/5444809490_b3c66a253d.jpg" width="225" height="225" alt="30 Day Vegan" /></a>

*************************************************************************************************************

And finally, I'm so grateful for my Valentine who gifted me some lovely, long desired matcha. Something I'm never able to justify buying for myself while grocery shopping. Perfect for me, I love a good food gift. No surprise there...