What's in my kitchen ?!?!

I have been waiting for this moment for years, and it has arrived at last! I finally have my own kitchen. * Jumps for Joy * Literally, this was one of the things I was most excited about in coming to grad school.

Go ahead. Question my priorities.

 Anyway, I wanted to show you just how I stock my lovely new space, keeping it full of nutritious ingredients that will properly fuel me through the long days of graduate study. Maybe you’ll get some ideas of things to try out yourself!

 Ready to prepare oats, quinoa, rice and lentils. I will often have oatmeal for breakfast or a snack, and make big batches of quinoa or rice to have on hand all week for quick dinners! And of course, my kitchen would not be complete with some vino.

 In this bowl of fun I have spaghetti squash, which is also great to prepare and enjoy all week long, bananas, vegan dark chocolate, Lara bars, and Luna Fiber bars. Although I do prefer to only eat “whole foods”, where I recognize all ingredients, Luna Fiber Bars are not a bad option when I’m on the go and need some nourishment. I like them because they have less calories and fat than Lara Bars, yet are bigger!

 Spices! In preparing food without a lot of fat, spices are super important to amp up the flavor in every meal. I honestly don’t know what a bunch of these even taste like, but I am going to experiment and find out!

 My fridge! In my fridge I have tons of fresh produce; apples, clementines, grapes, berries, cantaloupe, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onion, lemons, ginger etc. I have some zucchini and corn ready to make for dinners, some tofu, hummus, and some quinoa I made earlier this week. Although I don’t eat that much bread, I have fallen in love with Ezekiel Bread. It is made completely of sprouted whole grains that are easy to digest, with no preservatives or strange ingredients (Look at your bread. Do you know what’s in it?). I have been enjoying the flax seed variety lately, which offers a bunch of omega-3! I also have some mustard, almond milk, and non-soy earth balance in there.

 In my freezer I have a bunch of items for when I’m running low on time. Amy’s Low Sodium California Veggie Burgers (non-soy), Amy’s dairy and gluten free burritos (nutritious and filling for 240 calories!), some microwavable veggies and quinoa from Whole Foods, a Kashi Frozen dinner with black beans, kale, and polenta, and more! I also have some fresh veggies I froze. It’s nice to have some things that you don’t have to cook right away, but can give you a great, fresh, option when your ready.

 My pantry is nice and full too! Here I keep all of my herbal teas (Pukka is a fabulous brand). These teas literally cured me of some stomach issues this summer and I swear by them (more on that later)! I also have my Vega One plant-based protein shakes, dandelion root instant coffee replacer, and of course all natural cocoa for a comforting warm drink!

I also have some ready to go meals from Dr. McDougall. I love his Pad Thai, curried lentils, and soups. By getting his products, you know you are purchasing wholesome meals without any additives, excessive oils/fats etc. I also have vegetable broth for cooking, pretzels for guests to snack on, more almond milk (unsweetened and Vitamin B12 fortified), almonds, beans for salads and dinner, and some peanut butter my mom bought.

Finally I have some cooking oils and pasta sauce to give my meals lovely flavor! I feel that oils are ok to have in moderation, just make sure you only use the bare minimum that you need =). On this shelf I also have some fresh garlic. Let me tell you, fresh always beats minced. Put in the extra effort!

And that’s it! I try to eat as many whole foods as possible. When I do buy pre-made meals, I am very particular about the ingredients etc., always buying from trusted brands such as Dr. McDougall’s, Amy’s, and Kashi. I make sure I understand basically everything that is in there, and that goes into my body! I like to keep my diet simple. I don’t do fake meats or soy cheeses, ice creams, and yogurts. I don’t snack on many crackers or cookies. To me they’re just not necessary.

What does your kitchen look like? Could you simplify a little? Do you know what’s going into your body? Remember, our entire body regenerates itself all of the time (different areas do so at different rates). So, what you fuel your body with is literally what makes up those new cells. It’s a little scary to think about when we’re not eating the best. However, it also gives us a huge opportunity to start again! I used to live off sweets, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and milk. That’s what my body was made of, then. But now, almost a year and a half after going plant-based, I know my body is made up of nutritious fuel instead of refined sugars and fat, and I feel better than ever. It’s never too late! Our bodies have the miraculous capability to heal them selves, given the proper care.

Be Well.

Love, Julie

Vegan Girl in the land of BBQ and Bojangles : Part 1

After a very, very long few days of moving, I am finally all settled in in my new home in Columbia! Let me tell you, I have most certainly “moved naturally” all week long (Blue Zones reference…go back and read that post!). After sitting so much during the summer, it’s felt great to be out and about all the time, even though it’s also been exhausting!

Anyway, I was very apprehensive about how many great healthy dining options I would have in moving down south. Here we have Sonic, Bojangles, Cookout, and some nicer restaurants that literally do not have a thing I can eat. But I must say, I am very, very pleasantly surprised by the options my new home has offered me thus far!

First stop when I got here was obviously Whole Foods, which is super close , thank goodness! This Whole Foods knocks the one in Massachusetts out of the park. Not only do they have tons of vegan prepared food options, but also each is very clearly labeled in a pretty blue. =)

Tonight, Mom and I decided to go somewhere other than Whole Foods and Chipotle for dinner, as we finally had checked everything off our to do list. Mom researched a bunch of restaurants in “The Vista” in Columbia. We decided to try out an Asian bistro. While trying to find it, we ended up at its sister restaurant instead. Boy am I glad we did!

M Grille, at 530 Lady Street in Columbia, is absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere is clean, simple, and sophisticated, creating a lovely fine dining experience. Upon arriving, one can see into the sushi bar and kitchen. I was very excited about how fresh all of the ingredients were. In looking at the menu, I could have eaten there for days! They offer an amazing assortment of vegetable sides, from eggplant, to bok choy, to asparagus. They also offer organic brown rice and a vegetarian sushi roll. Not to mention that their drink menu is amazing, offering many well-made, light and refreshing cocktails. Turns out M Grille only opened 9 days ago! Therefore, Mom and I got to enjoy the perks of a grand opening, with lots of free samples and excellent service. Feel free to drool at the pictures below.

M Grille Salad with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, micro greens and ponzu.

Poached Bok Choy. I have no idea how this was so amazing. It seems to have been poached in a vegetable broth with garlic or something along those lines. I am on a mission to recreate this! 

Vegetable Roll with organic brown rice, asparagus, cucumber, and sweet potato tempura.

Mom and I split the first two courses and each enjoyed our own veggie roll. It was an absolutely perfect light, fresh, and healthy meal. If you are in the Columbia area, definitely check this place out. By all means, check it out with me! I will happily go again =).

More tales of my southern adventures to come! (And more regular fun stuff of course)

Be Well.

Love, Julie 

A little video for you while I'm traveling!

Whewf! This summer has absolutely flown by. In about 13 hours, I begin my road trip to South Carolina with Mom for grad school. It's been such a whirlwind, I can't quite grasp the fact that I'm actually going yet.

Needless to say, things are going to be quite chaotic this week, as I drive down, set up my apartment, and get ready for orientation etc. Bare with me if I don't get to write as much =). In the mean time, I'll post fun things I've found, like this!

Check out this awesome video by Mind Body Green (my favorite website ever). It's all about wellness, innovation, and making your passions into a career! Absolutely great talk. Keep following those dreams people!

Click here to watch!

Hope you are inspired as I was.

Be Well.

Love, Julie

The Law of Dharma. We made it!!!

Finally! Here is it! The last of Deepak Chopra’s Spiritual Laws of success! Took long enough for me to get here. If you are a new reader, make sure to look back in the blog archives for the other six Spiritual Laws of Success:

    1. The Law of Pure Potentiality

    2. The Law of Giving  

    3.     The Law of Karma, or Cause and Effect

    4.  The Law of Least Effort

    5.  The Law of Intention and Desire

    6. The Law of Detachment

    7.  The Law of Dharma ß- Today!

The Law of Dharma tells us that everyone has his or her own unique gifts within, which come together to form our life’s purpose. According to Deepak, “when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.”

Every single one of us has our own individual talents and gifts that the world can benefit from. A great example of this for me came from my college roommates. The four of us in my house were all completely different. However, we were the same in that each of us had our own certain passion and expertise, which we planned to build our lives around. One had a crazy knowledge on all things broadcast journalism, TV production, screenwriting etc. Now she’s working for “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?”. Another was artistic, and a great graphic designer who plans to go into branding and advertising. The other is a huge advocate for global health, who will be traveling to Ecuador on a Fulbright Fellowship studying infectious disease (I think I got that right!). Then there is me, the business minded roommate with my outrageous passion for wellness and helping every person live the best quality life possible. We are all going to make a difference in this world in our own way. No one of us is superior to the other.

Putting the Law of Dharma into effect can help this process along. Deepak suggests:  

   

1.     Nurturing our own souls, paying attention to our own spirits, and awakening ourselves to the stillness in our own hearts. This can be done through meditation, deep breathing, and taking time to enjoy silence. (See The Law of Pure Potentiality for some overlapping tips)

2.  Making a list of our own unique talents, and listing all of the things we love to do while expressing these unique talents.

3.   Asking ourselves daily: How can I serve? How can I help?

By doing these things, we can begin to put our life purpose into action. If you are truly passionate about something, and want it to be your life’s work, start now! Get all of the knowledge you can about that thing, reach out to other experts in the field, join clubs and groups for that interest, start projects focusing on it, follow blogs, twitter accounts, and Facebook pages.  You never know where opportunities will arise! Ask yourself how what you are doing will benefit others, and start doing that!

In a great panel discussion from Mind Body Green that I just watched (I will post the link to that this weekend), plant-based Iron Man athlete Rich Roll emphasized the importance of acting out of service. Don’t pursue you passion solely for financial or self-serving reasons. Take into consideration Deepak’s third step of this law. How can you serve? How can you help? Bask in the joy of living your passion and sharing it with others.

For me, this blog is it. This is my passion. As I progress through my own wellness journey, I want to share the blessings of good health and a happy life with anyone who will listen. I have dreams of helping people be free of disease and emotional turmoil. Yet, I am young, with limited resources, and need to be patient. So this is my offering right now. Vitality U, my wellness organization, was my offering in college. My Zumba classes were my offerings several years ago. What can you do to start to realize your life’s purpose? No matter how small, everything counts.

Be Well.

Love, Julie 

How I Survived My Summer Desk Job

Well, this has been a crazy few months! As you may know, I began the summer with a juice cleanse and the intention of blogging tons. Well, unfortunately, the real world got in the way. Even though I thought I’d have more free time, my full-time summer internship, spending precious non-work time with friends, and preparing for grad school has kept me a lot busier than I expected!

However, in the downtime I have had, I have been enjoying tons of wellness blogs, books, and more. It has been a summer full of self -discovery and experimenting, and I have so much to share!

Let’s start with what I’ve done every day, 5 days a week…worked a desk job.

Don’t get me wrong, my internship has been an amazing professional experience, my team is absolutely fantastic, and I am so thankful for the opportunity.

Nevertheless, I literally could do my job without standing up for more than 5 minutes if I wanted to. Now for someone like me, who loves to move and be active, this was hard…very, very hard (biggest understatement in the world).

Sitting for so long made me feel like I was turning to mush. My metabolism 100% slowed down. I came home exhausted from just sitting all day, and hence sat some more. I didn’t feel good in my body, and I was plain old cranky. Very very cranky. The first few weeks went like this, until I decided to implement some much needed changes. If you google exercises to do at work, you’ll find some crazy ideas that even I am not comfortable doing in the work place. So here is how I personally survived my desk job, without looking like a total crazy person.

      1.  I became a morning person.

This seems like an impossible feat while in college. Getting up before 9? What? Yet all it takes is a few days of practice, and becoming a morning person becomes second nature. Today is Sunday, and I naturally woke up at 7. Who am I?! Anyway, getting up early has allowed me to get up and work out every day (or every day I want to) , and often times meditate, before work. I feel so much better sitting down for my daily job duties, already having gotten my blood pumping and my muscles moving earlier in the day. I love when I’m super sore or tired, in which cases I welcome sitting, knowing my body needs a little rest time. Days where I don’t get to work out before work…the mush feeling sets in, and I’m totally restless. But, as always, one needs to listen to their body. Some days we need a complete rest day…don’t be scared of that either!

2.  I learned to become an intuitive eater.

In Miami, I was constantly running around from class to class, meeting to meeting. My metabolism was always humming, and I could eat a lot during the day and stay at a happy, light, weight. I kind of knew what I ate everyday, and with my active schedule, it worked. Well, when I started sitting for long periods of time, it became apparent that I didn’t need to eat as much as I used to. My metabolism wasn’t revving as much, and my body showed when I was eating more than necessary. For so long, I just kind of ate the same thing every day without thinking, believing I always needed the same amount, even if I was full. This summer I learned to really listen to my body, and realize when I truly need a snack. The amount I eat has gone down significantly, but for the time being, so has the amount I move. Makes sense I suppose? Now, at work, I pack all of my own healthy snacks and lunches, so I feel good about what I am putting into my body, and can gauge how much fuel I need each day. It’s hard not to just eat out of boredom, and it’s something I’ve been improving upon all summer. I’m excited to be back on a student schedule, and maybe I will need to start eating more again then. At least now I can recognize what kind of fuel my body requires.

3.  I boycotted the elevator.

My office is located on the fifth floor, and yes, even I took the elevator for the first few weeks. I was once told by a nutrition expert that the whole “taking the stairs” thing doesn’t really make difference, that our body’s temperatures and metabolisms adjust to that very easily, so it’s not super effective. Well, let me tell you, walking up those stairs everyday has made me feel a lot better. Each morning I walk up 5 floors. Lunchtime is another daily trip. Even if it’s not nice outside for me to eat at out picnic tables, I do a round of stairs anyway. Sometimes, I’ll use restrooms on different floors just to get moving, and just wander around the office in general.  I figure as long as I complete all of my required tasks, it’s ok to do so. It’s amazing how moving more during the day makes me have more energy after work!

     4. I do jumping jacks in the bathroom.

Confession of a wellness junkie: It’s true. I do jumping jacks in the bathroom. This may seem ridiculous. But, in comparison to some suggestions I saw online, this is nothing. Whenever I am alone in the restroom, I bang out at least 40 jumping jacks, and wiggle around a little. I get my blood flowing, and my heart pumping. Does this actually have any physical benefit? Who knows. Does it make me feel better? Absolutely. And that is what matters.

     5.  I walk everyday after work

About half way through this summer, I stopped napping after work and began walking. Not intense walking, just leisure walking. After sitting all day, simply walking either outside or on the treadmill feels amazing. While on the treadmill I’ll take time to myself to read, or watch the news. I go for at least a mile (20 minutes), and often more. It just feels so good to make up for some of the movement lost throughout the day. When it’s nice out, I walk with friends, enjoy nature, and have long talks. Sometimes, I run errands and just stay on my feet for a while. Walking is so underrated. It helps lower our cortisol levels, which is vital for the maintenance of a healthy weight and body.

Implementing these few changes have helped me feel a lot better, even while working a desk job. I come home with much more energy, have a much better attitude, and have been able to keep my body a lot happier! As someone whose future career will be in Human Resources, this experience has made me even more passionate about giving employees options such as adjustable stand up desks in the office to avoid sitting for so long. I am excited to look into how to make wellness initiatives more mainstream in the business world in the future.

How can you get a little more active at your desk job? Experiment, and find what works for you! Let me know if you have any fun ideas yourself!  

Can’t wait to write more =)

Be Well.

Love, Julie