First things first, my apologies to everyone who reads this for being a lazy blogger as of late. However, I've been busy making preparations for motherhood, reading, learning and experimenting so I'm not really that sorry since my life has been seriously enhanced by the past few weeks of mind, body and soul food.
Now for the goodies!
Meditation! I've been saying that a post on meditation was coming, and believe me, it still is...but not yet! I've been a meditating mama for about 6 weeks now (with a little bit of laziness thrown in there) and the benefits are definitely starting to show. However, I am still learning, still taming my 'monkey mind' and trying to find the best positions, best conditions, best mantras and best times of day for me, and would like to have more info for you in terms of results before I blog. That way you don't get crap-for-blogs. I will tell you one thing though: I sincerely believe that every human being on the planet can benefit from a meditation practice. The mental, emotional and physical benefits of stopping, relaxing, taking deep breaths and learning to be mindful will enrich every area of your life if you let it. If you want to get started now (DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!) then download the *free!* starter course from this website: http://project-meditation.org. It's a super-simple, super-easy way to start out. You can also e-mail me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them!
I am also currently learning about different ways to keep my body in the rockin' state of homeostasis. Equilibrium is a beautiful thing my dears, and I plan on knowing how to keep myself thriving by encouraging and helping my body to stay in that blissful state. This research covers a whole lotta things, like stress management, time management, exercise, relaxation, mindfulness, a pH-balanced diet, detoxification, hydration, oxygenation...all fascinating topics that I am enjoying immensely!
Now a bit about the loveliness of green juice! Juicing has added vibrancy to my life. It kick-starts my mornings (and is about 1000x healthier than coffee - bonus!) and cleans the gunk outta my god pod. Juicing veggies has some tremendous health benefits. Green juice is full of vitamins, minerals, and *enzymes* and has the potential to rock your world! It's very simple to get started. First of all, get a juicer. You don't have to spend a ton of moula, but you definitely get what you pay for. I use Jack Lalanne's power juicer, and I love love love it. That thing could squeeze juice out of a rock.Then, get some fresh veggies (organic is obviously better, but do what you can with what $$ you've got) and get ready to juice! My current favourite juicing combination is 1-2 apples, 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 cucumber, kale and some romaine. The apples add a little sweetness, but pears work nicely too. That particular combination has been rocking my world, and my body is loving me for it. In these last weeks of pregnancy, my energy level is starting to wane and the juice packs a nice punch. I don't even want to think about how sluggish I would be without it. There are tonnes of green juice recipes online (some gross, some delish) so I recommend experimenting until you find a couple that you like. And yes, juicing can be pricey as a daily practice, and it is kind of annoying to clean the juicer every day, but guess what? This is the only body you get, and the only life you get, so take that seriously and get your ass to the market! Juicing shouldn't cost much more than your (insert ridiculous habit here - daily Starbucks, weekly Taco Bell, daily chocolate bar, weekly drinking session, etc.) fix so I don't wanna hear any excuses! Plus once you figure out what you like juice-wise, you can buy those veggies en masse. I personally like to buy my veggies for the week, wash them in water and a little vinegar (to get rid of those nasty stubborn pesticides), and seperate them into plastic bags (I wash and re-use the bags, so don't point your green finger at me) for every day of the week. It saves time and hassle in the morning, and can be especially helpful for those of you who have very little time in the morning. As for cleaning the juicer, after doing it about 5 times I got into a pattern that made cleaning it easy and simple. And as for the pulp, I compost it. Simple, easy, enviro-friendly and wicked healthy. Try it. I dare you.
I've also been vegan recipe hunting and testing so that I have a large selection of tasty recipes to choose from once the baby is here. My plan is to prepare and freeze meals for the week so that Jim and I can simplify our lives, free up some quality time, stay on the healthy living bandwagon and simplify our weekly grocery shopping. I figure anything that will make meal preparation simpler is going to be a huge help with a new baby thrown into the mix. I've a accumulated a nice collection of recipes already, all delicious, super-nutritious, and animal-environment-cell&tissue friendly. If you would like to try some out or just see some of the incredible possibilities that a vegan lifestyle has to offer, leave your email below, or e-mail me and I will e-mail you back a folder full of goodies.
I've been growing my own sprouts for about two weeks now, and I never imagined when I started how easy and fun it would be! The process can be super simple if you use something like the BioSnacky and will infuse your salads, casseroles, sandwiches and LIVES with incredible nutrition. Basically, I put seeds in my sprouter, water them twice a day, and 4 days later I have a whole lotta delicious, crispy and enzyme-loaded sprouts to add to pretty much anything and everything. You can even juice them! The great thing about using a sprouter with layers is that I can stagger my planting so that every two days I have a fresh batch of sprouts, never have surplus and never have to store them (which is perfectly fine of course, I just like my sprouts super-fresh!)
In terms of mental, spiritual and emotional health, besides meditation, I have been reading two books of note for the past couple of weeks. One is Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives by Deepak Chopra, which is a holistic guide to pregnancy and childbirth. It is packed with awesome information for mommies-to-be about mental, spiritual, physical and emotional self-love practices that can make pregnancy magical and transformative. I recommend it to any mother-to-be, mother, grandmother, and even fathers! It's a wonderful resource. The second book is called Buddhism for Mothers by Sarah Napthali. Now ignore the knee-jerk reaction to the word 'buddhism' you probably just had because this book is basically about mindful parenting. We can all use a reminder to be present, especially when our children are concerned, and this book offers a practical approach to being in the here-and-now as much as possible, to enrich our own lives and those of our children. It's pretty amazing. I'm reading and re-reading these two so I can extract every ounce of good-momma-deliciousness out of them. Lucky fetus, right?
OK, I'm done typing for now! A juicy article about pH balance is calling my name. I hope you enjoyed the info, and will do some exploring of your own to find what works best for you. If you want more info, resources or advice, shoot me an e-mail or message me on Facebook and I'll give you the goods.
Much love and green juice!
