Recipe for a Happy, Healthy Day

Hi everyone!

Check out my latest contribution to Beauty of Becoming! This site is full of awesome health and wellness inspiration, tips, and motivation.


http://www.beautyofbecoming.com/9/post/2013/03/recipe-for-a-happy-healthy-day.html

Hope you enjoy!

Be Well.

Love, Julie 

12 Terrific Health and Wellness Books

Hi everybody!

I am constantly reading books! Since I became very interested in my health and well-being, I have been devouring all of the knowledge I can to educated myself. Here are a few of my favorites! I am sure there will be another post like this to come, as I will probably forget a few! If you have some free time, pick one up, and learn how to be an even better you!

1. Blue Zones by, Dan Buettner. I wrote an entire post on this book in December. Blue Zones tells of the regions in the world in which people live the longest, most quality lives. It discovers the reasons for this great level of longevity and develops a plan in which we can implement these practices into our daily lives!

        

2. Thrive by, Dan Buettner- Thrive does the same as Blue Zones, but examines the happiest people in the world, and what about their lifestyles makes them so happy. It is very interesting in that it contradicts many of America's social norms. However, the research doesn't lie! This book will definitely make you think. 

     

3. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by, Deepak Chopra . You know this is one of my favorites. We have one law left in our review of this book! A great resource in learning how to reach your fullest potential and manifest your dreams. 

  

4. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deepak Chopra and David Simon- I am reading this book right now and absolutely love it. It teaches many of the basic principles of yoga philosophy. It then applies the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success to your yoga practice. In addition, it explains the many health benefits of yoga and why it should definitely be included somehow in your wellness routine! 

    

5. Slim, Calm, Sexy Yoga by Tara Stiles- This book tells of how yoga can truly benefit our minds and bodies. It focuses on how yoga can eliminate stress in our lives, which is directly related to weight gain and disease. Yoga keeps you fit, while keeping your mind calm and centered, cultivating a sense of ease which overflows into every aspect of your life.

   

6. Thrive: The Vegan Nutritional Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by, Brendan Brazier- I've talked about Brendan Brazier before. He is an unbelievable resource for plant-based nutrition. This book focuses on the science behind how different foods fuel our bodies. It busts any myths that vegan's are weak and malnourished. A professional triathlete, Brendan shares how a plant-based diet provides our bodies with pure and efficient fuel to live life to its fullest. 

     

7. Thrive Foods by, Brendan Brazier- Thrive Foods is Brendan's most recent book. It again offers tons of scientific nutritional and environmental information. The main purpose of the book is to provide wonderful cookbook of nutritious, performance enhancing, plant based recipes. 

         

8. The Starch Solution by,  John and Mary McDougall- This is another wonderful book on plant-based nutrition. It provides detailed scientific research and testimonials on the medical benefits of a plant-based diet and tips on how to eat towards better health. Dr. McDougall is very much connected to the group of medical professionals behind the film Forks Over Knives. 

  

9. The Happy Herbivore Cookbook- Happy Herbivore is my absolute favorite plant-based cookbook series. The recipes are easy and delicious. They are all low fat and use no added oils. Also, nutritional information is included for each recipe! Check out Everyday Happy Herbivore, Happy Herbivore Abroad , and her website too! 

10. The complete idiot's guide to Plant-based Nutrition by, Julieanna Hever- This one is pretty self- explanatory. The book provides a complete nutritional overview of a plant-based diet. It busts all of the protein and calcium myths, provides guidelines on how to cover all of your nutritional bases, and has special sections dedicated to exercise, pregnancy, and children! Great resource to have on hand. 

11. The Alchemist by, Paulo Coelho- I also wrote an early post on this book. It is a simply beautiful allegorical tale about following your dreams. It will shake any beliefs that you are not in control of your own destiny. Wonderful, wonderful book. 

  

12. Eat This, Not That Series- I wrote a post about these books in december, but never published it. Eat this, Not That educates readers about the nutritional information of chain restaurants and processed foods in America. Overall, I really advocate for a Whole Food, Plant Based diet which avoids most of these things. However, I did read these books before I became a vegan, and they were a great stepping stone in my wellness journey. The books reveal many of the nutritional downfalls of foods that so many Americans eat every day. If you do regularly go to chain restaurants and buy processed foods, this series will help you make the best choices. I hope it will open many people's eyes to what this kind of "food" really is. So, take a look, but strive towards natural, whole ingredients! 

         

Whewf! That was a lot. Whenever I feel that I need a little extra push in my wellness motivation, I will pick one of these books up again to get back on track. I hope you read a few and find your own inspiration! 

Be Well. 

Love, Julie

The Law of Detachment

I am officially on Spring Break, woooo hooo!!! It's a bittersweet feeling at the moment. On one hand, it's been an outrageously busy and stressful semester, and I am so so happy for some time off. On the other hand, it means I only have about a month and a half left of college...

Wow.

 I'm hoping this ten days off will help me regroup, so that I can truly enjoy, not just endure, my last bit of time as an undergrad. I wonder when this reality is going to sink in...

I am super excited for some much needed me time. I am not going on some $1000 dollar trip, as I do not enjoy drinking all day, getting exhausted, and not being able to chill and workout. Instead, I am taking a lovely weekend trip with some girlfriends and then spending the week in Miami, doing some catching up, blogging, reading, yoga, and relaxing during the days, and having fun at night with friends when I want! For me, the best vacation is all about balance (and sunshine!). Speaking of, step up Miami, it's been way too cold for March lately!  (Ok, my mom just sent me a picture of the snow at home. I guess I can deal.)

Anyway, I am super excited that on Monday, Deepak Chopra begins another one of his FREE 21 day Meditation Challenges! This one is with Oprah! If you are new to meditation, and don't know where to begin, sign up (the link is in a post below)! All you have to do is press play on the link that is sent to you, and you will be guided through the rest.

I was hoping to finish The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success before the challenge began, but think it will likely be next week!

P.S did I mention how happy I am that I actually have time to blog right now? Yayy!

Ok and now,

Law 6: The Law of Detachment 

This is another one of my absolute favorite laws of spiritual success. It kind of goes along with the Law of Least Effort .The law of detachment focuses on embracing something called "the wisdom of uncertainty". Let that phrase sink in for a moment. Uncertainty possesses a certain wisdom. The universe has a way of sorting everything out. There is no need for us to be obsessively anxious over every little thing. We can embrace the wisdom of uncertainty, knowing that as long as we are doing our best to be a positive presence in this world, things will come together as they should.

Deepak says, "in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe."

To put the Law of Detachment into practice Deepak suggests:

"  1. Today I will commit myself to detachment. I will allow myself and those around me the freedom to be as they are. I will not rigidly impose my idea of how things should be. I will not force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems. I will participate in everything with detached involvement.

  2. Today I will factor in uncertainty as an essential ingredient of my experience. In my willingness to accept uncertainty, solutions will spontaneously emerge out of the problem, out of the confusion, disorder, and chaos. The more uncertain things seem to be, the more secure I will feel, because uncertainty is my path to freedom. Through the wisdom of uncertainty, I will find my security.

 3. I will step into the field of all possibilities and anticipate the excitement that can occur when I remain open to an infinity of choices. When I step into the field of all possibilities, I will experience all the fun, adventure, magic, and mystery of life. "

Times of change and uncertainty pop up continuously throughout life, whether it is post-graduate plans for my age group, a new job search, decisions on where to live, challenges in how to transform into your best you, or a search for a partner in life. Although often times these things bring stress and anxiety, try to focus on the positive. They also bring incredible amounts of opportunity! Be open to all of the wisdom that uncertainty has to offer. Focus on your dreams, and new chances will arise. With relationships, being able to free yourself from expectation is liberating. Why obsess over how someone else is acting, hoping they will act in the way you wish for the relationship will go? Like in the Law of Least effort, you will likely end up trying to force a situation, which often results in a false sense of satisfaction. By embracing the wisdom of uncertainty, and the Law of Detachment, you simply let things and people be. Life will occur naturally and how it's supposed to. If that relationship is meant to work, it will. If we are meant to get that job, we will.

So what can we do? Just try to be the best you everyday. Make efforts towards your wishes, but do not force them. Put as much positive energy out there as you can. It's bound to come back!

             

Be Well.

Love, Julie

The Film That Changed My Life: Forks Over Knives

I have told you that my wellness journey has been, well a journey! Let’s go back about 10 months ago. I was at my friend’s house for a small get together when one of my fellow health-nut girlfriends shared with me how she had recently gone vegan. I recalled seeing her tweet about a film called Forks Over Knives, and had looked into the film. Seeing that it focused on veganism (which I knew little about), I decided to ignore it. However, I couldn’t ignore her when I saw her. She shared a little of her reasoning with me, who responded:

“I’m way too much of an athlete. I need meat”

It’s funny looking back on that conversation. Now I am the one who tries to clear up unreasonable myths about protein, calcium etc. But that day, it was me who needed convincing. My friend gave me a short and sweet schpeil and simply encouraged me to watch the film.

And so, that night, I did.

My life changed forever. 

Forks Over Knives takes a look at the rising epidemics of obesity and chronic disease in America, and how it relates to the average American diet, and the American food system. The film is based off the research of Doctor T. Collin Campbell, and Doctor Caldwell Esseylsten, two men who grew up on cattle farms, but who’s professional medicinal research showed that the products of these farms were direct causes of cancer and chronic disease. The film does not focus on animal cruelty or anything like that. It focuses on people, and their health. In summary, animal protein, whether it be in the form of meat, dairy, eggs, or fish , along with refined processed foods, is scientifically, directly related to the emergence of cancer and chronic disease. When people in the film removed these things from their diet, they were able to heal themselves, get off of medications, halt cancer progression, maintain a healthy weight, reverse heart disease and diabetes, and live longer, better quality lives.

Hence, I am not vegan for the animals. I am vegan for me. I don’t want to get cancer. I don’t want to have clogged arteries. I don’t want to feel sluggish and sick. I want to live long. I want to live well. I never want to be held back because I abused my body, and it has given out on me. I want to fuel myself with pure, whole foods, filled with nutrients and healing properties. I do not want to fill my body with fat, refined sugars, chemicals, things I can’t pronounce, and animal proteins that have been proven in countless studies to be detrimental to my health.

Here are a few things the film focuses on:

The China Study- An immense study done by Dr. T Collin Campbell, which outlines the amount of each type of Cancer in each region of China. There was unbelievable statistical evidence consistent amongst populations of millions, which showed that rural areas who lived off a natural, plant based diet, had the lowest instances of cancer, while more urbanized and animal protein consuming areas had astoundingly high instances of disease.

Research of Caldwell Essylsten- His laboratory research showed how animal protein actually activated cancer genes, while its removal “turned cancer genes off” .

Calcium and Osteoporosis- America consumes the most dairy in the world. Yet we also have the highest occurrence of Osteoporosis in the world. But isn’t calcium necessary for bone health? In reality, the animal protein, casein, found in milk causes an acidic reaction in the body. Our body then tries to combat and buffer this reaction. It does so by drawing minerals and substance from our bones, often time leading to osteoporosis. There are plenty of plant-based sources of calcium which do not cause this acidic reaction, and truly promote bone health.

Protein- You really can’t be protein deficient without being calorie deficient. Our culture (driven by government subsidized industries) has taught us that we require way more protein than we actually do. Tons of athletes, from triathletes to UFC fighters are plant-based, and bulging with muscle. There is some amount of protein in every plant based food. Believe it or not, it adds up!

How to follow a whole-food, plant –based diet. – It is possible to be a junk food vegan. I mean ,Oreos are technically vegan. This film shares how to prevent and cure disease through the best medicine of all, whole, natural food, without any added sugars, fats, chemicals, or harmful proteins. It focuseson maintaining a lifestyle with a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. It is more than possible to enjoy delicious meals, while taking care of yourself too!

This film is truly incredible and offers hard to ignore information with real world examples . I’ve only covered maybe 5% of it here. If you are interested in taking the next step in improving your health and well-being, watch the film. It truly changed my life. Since, I have more energy, require less sleep, perform better during workouts, am less anxious about what I’m eating, and never have feelings of guilt about my diet. It took some trial and error, but soon became second nature. Now, I barely even think about how I haven’t had meat in 10 months. 

Check it out here: http://www.forksoverknives.com/

If you can take a step to protect yourself from cancer, heart disease, and more, why wouldn’t you take it?

Be Well.

Love, Julie

Super Easy Eggplant!

I’ve been loving eggplant lately. I have no idea why I do not buy it more!!! Someday I hope to make an amazing eggplant caponata. However, since I am currently in school, and ridiculously busy, I tend to go much more basic. Again, pardon my not so exact recipes. Hopefully this will just give you some inspiration and ideas! Notice there are no added oils in these recipes! Water does just fine as a binding agent.

I’ll start with the more complicated:

Super Easy Vegan Eggplant Parm:

You will need:

1 eggplant (or more depending how many people you’re making it for.)

Cornmeal

Whole Wheat or almond flour

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Your tomato sauce of choice (I go organic and usually get one with basil and spices for flavor)

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Cut up your eggplant into half inch slices

3. Combine a mixture of one part flour and one part cornmeal (say about a half cup of each). You can also throw a little pepper/basil etc in there if you want!

4. Lightly coat each slice of eggplant with water and dip it into the flour mixture, just giving it a light covering. Then place each piece onto a baking stone or baking sheet with foil.

5. Put the eggplant slices in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until they get a little golden.

6. Meanwhile, give the bottom of a glass baking pan a light coating of cooking spray. The size of your pan will depend on how much eggplant you are using. You want to be able to create two layers of eggplant.

7. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan.

8. Once the eggplant is slightly golden and out of the oven, place a layer of the eggplant over the sauce.

9. Cover the eggplant with another layer of sauce.

10. Sprinkle on your desired amount of vegan parmesan and mozzarella ( a little can go a long way!).

11. Create another layer of eggplant, sauce and cheese. This time make sure the sauce completely covers the top.

12. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

11. Feel free to add any of your favorite Italian spices etc and enjoy!

Lately however, I have been in a much simpler mood, not needing all of the cheese and “breading” on my meal. So, I have been whipping up some… 

Deconstructed Eggplant Parm

You will need:

1 Eggplant

Italian spices (basil, salt, pepper, Italian mix, oregano, whatever is your favorite)

Tomato sauce of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Slice your eggplant into half inch slices

3. Coat each slice lightly with water and place on a baking stone or cookie sheet with foil.

4. Sprinkle desired spices over eggplant pieces, flip them and do the same on the other side.

5. Pop them in to over for about a half an hour. This will really all depend on your oven and the thickness of the slices. They will be done when they are golden brown and tender.

6. In the last few minutes, warm up your tomato sauce.

7. When the eggplant is done, pour sauce over and poof! Delicious, nutritious, simple meal.

This goes amazingly well  with spaghetti squash! (Check out my spaghetti squash 101 post from December)

I also love to use the left over eggplant plain in salads etc. So delicious!

Enjoy!!!

Be Well.

Love, Julie

21 Day Meditation Challenge!

Happy Thursday Everyone! Hope your week is going well. I've been taking a relaxing week, doing lots of yoga and taking a lot of me time! We all need that occasionally. Keep listening to that body of yours, and take breaks when you need to!

You always hear me talk about the wisdom of Deepak Chopra. Now it's time for you to experience it yourself! I am so excited that he is doing another FREE 21 day meditation challenge with Oprah! The theme of this challenge is "Perfect Health". Each day, you will receive an e-mail with a link. This link will bring you to  a welcome from Oprah and then a fifteen minute guided meditation by Deepak. It is awesome, and wonderful, and something to really look forward to each day. Needless to say, I recommend it and wanted to share!

Sign up here !
 http://www.oprahdeepakmeditation.com/Bestsellers/LandingPage.aspx?BookId=178&af=850




Happy Meditating !

Be Well.

Love, Julie

This week's new finds!

Hi everybody! I hope you've had a lovely weekend. After a very stressful week, I am giving myself a personal day (well it began yesterday afternoon), dedicated to doing only things that I want and need to do.

I have found that sometimes you just need to say no to the world and take care of yourself. I am a senior in college, I should be partying every second I can , right? Wrong. I have gotten over keeping up with "social expectations". If I am tired, stressed, or anxious, I am not going to have fun going out anyway. And if I do, it's only going to make the condition worse. So, every now and then, I allow myself to reset, so that I can go all out and have fun and be social when I'm ready.

For me, this week's theme seemed to be stress. I am not quite sure why, but everything going on in my life seemed to hit a peak, and my body and mind began to cry out for help. I have been doing a lot of research on the different types of stress, and its affects on our health and will most certainly be posting again about my findings there! (It's a lot). Bottom line...it's not good. Some of the research I've done has to do with the Blood Type Diet. I am type A, and what do you know? We seem to be ridiculously prone to stress. That explains a lot.

So, finally unable to ignore my body's cues, I decided it may be time to finally get into my New Year's resolution of having a daily meditation practice. Everything I have been reading about relieving stress, being aware, building self-esteem, finding happiness, and more all gave me the same answer. Meditate. Become in tune with yourself. Focus on how you will feel when all your hopes and dreams are accomplished.

Why hadn't I started already?

Ironically enough, it's hard to allow yourself to just sit there and breathe! My mind often goes haywire. I had attempted establishing my practice before, and had a really hard time sitting in silence and focusing on my breath. I needed some kind of structure, some sort of training wheels for meditation.

This leads me to my first awesome find(s) this week!

Relax Melodies and BrainWave I-phone Apps! 

These two apps are just awesome!

Relax Melodies is a free app that gives you a ton of relaxing noises to listen too. For example, there are birds, rain, winds, river, zen, piano, flute, campfire, white noise and more! In addition, it also offers two Biurnal beats, or sound waves that play to help you achieve either relaxation or concentration. I usually play the relaxation, with some zen melody. It's incredible how a calming melody can truly help you relax and let go. It gives you something to look forward to, some structure to your meditations. For me, I have had much better experiences listening to these soothing sounds than trying to sit alone in silence for several minutes.

My friend introduced me to another awesome app, BrainWave. This app costs $1.99, but is worth it! BrainWave focuses on the theory that certain sound frequencies can trigger certain feelings in your brain. The app has a variety of programs catered toward meditation, critical thinking, memory boost, problem solving, positive mood boost, deep sleep, and more! I personally have only really used the meditation and deep sleep programs, but am curious about the rest! This app plays steady frequencies in the background and gives you a choice of several melodies and sounds to go with it, such as ocean waves etc. You can program how long you would like the meditation to be. Using this program, I have really been able to zone out, and experience periods without thoughts (the goal of meditation).

 

I asked another friend of mine, who is being trained to be a certified guided meditation leader, and is very tight with the Chopra foundation, what Deepak's way of thinking would think about using apps like this. His response was that, there is nothing "wrong" with using apps like this to help ourselves relax and meditate. However, our goal should be to ultimately be able to do it on our own too!

If you are wondering how to start meditating, try getting one of these apps! Then find a comfortable sitting position, focus on your goals and dreams, and breathe deeply. Just try to follow your breath. Thoughts will come and go, but simply observe them without becoming attached and return to your breath. Hopefully the relaxing beats and melodies will help calm your mind.

Find Number 2! Lara Bars!!!!

  

Yes, another bar. A girl needs some kind of healthy dessert! I've known about Lara Bars for quite a while, but was kind of put off by the amount of calories in them. They are not that big and average about 200 calories a piece. 

However, lately I have really been focusing my attention on the importance of whole ingredients, trying to avoid any extra chemicals or processed things at all! This is where Lara Bar wins. I have realized that if the calories are coming from amazing sources, they really are no harm! Each Lara Bar is made of no more than 9, whole, recognizable ingredients which are simply ground and mixed together. They are vegan, gluten free, kosher, fair trade, soy free, gmo free and more! I adore the chocolate chip brownie flavor. It tastes just like my favorite raw brownies from a restaurant here, but are much more affordable and convenient.  

The Chocolate Chip Brownie Flavor has dates, almonds, chocolate chips, walnuts, cocoa powder and sea salt. That's it! Amazing! And, although they are smallish, they are super super filling and energizing! This is by far the most satisfying bar I have had. I don't feel the need to devour one in one sitting. So the calories more than even out! I also want to try the Cappuccino and Carrot Cake flavors. The Blueberry Muffin and Apple Pie are amazing too! There are a ton of flavors. Experiment and see what you like!

I know I have written about Kind Bars and Vega Vibrancy Bars as well. Lara Bars so far are my favorite, they are more affordable than both others, and have more whole ingredients than Kind Bars. All of them are great, but this is my current addiction!

I hope you check out this week's new finds!

Be Well.

Love, Julie