Tag: health

Fitness, Hormones, LoveBites, Main, Recipes

LoveBites: Strawberry PB&J Nice Cream [Recipe Post]

This. Was. SO. Good.

Healthy, homemade, low-sugar, high-protein frozen yogourt!

Strawberry PB&J Nice Cream

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🍨 1 cup frozen sliced strawberries
🍨 enough unsw cashew milk to not quite cover the berries (about 2/3 cup – tbh I didn’t measure, I poured to the 250ml line with the berries!)
🍨 1/2 serving Prairie Naturals cafe caramel rice protein
🍨 2 Tbsp rolled quick oats
🍨 1 heaping Tbsp natural crunchy peanut butter
🍨 1/3 cup Yoso unsw coconut yogourt

Add all ingredients to a blender (note: I used my bullet-style attachment) and pulse until desired consistency. It should be quite thick but easy to transfer to a bowl.

Top with coconut whip cream and chocolate-covered quinoa puffs like I did, or your other fave healthy ice cream toppings! Makes 1 large very satisfying serving or 2 smaller servings if you feel like sharing.

Great for post-workout or breakfast.

Seriously. So good. Who’s gonna try this?

Lifestyle, LoveBites, Mental Health, Mindfulness

LoveBites: 2 Easy Ways to Slow Down

“Sometimes you need to slow down to eventually go faster.” ~Robin Sharma

How do you slow down? What does that look like? When was the last time you actually did?

If it’s been a while, here are a couple of ways you can try to slow down today:

Start with the breath. Check in on your breathing. Is it shallow, quick, constricted, high in the chest? Sit comfortably. Try drawing the breath long and down into the bottom of your belly. Place your hand on your belly and breathe to expand from the bottom of the belly up. Drop your shoulders and exhale slowly, pulling the belly back to the spine as the breath pushes out, again from the bottom up. Repeat 7-8 times or for about a minute. Deep breathing helps tap into the nervous system and promote relaxation.

Check in on chewing. Do you tend to inhale food, rush through to do something else, chew-chew-swallow without really savouring or thinking about the food? Take a bite. Count how many times you can keep chewing before the instinct to swallow actually kicks in. For many that’s about 30 times. With your next bite chew that many times and enjoy the flavours in the food. Set down the fork between bites and even close your eyes for a moment. Chewing slowly and thoroughly helps activate digestion from the mouth down and promotes feeling full.

Even if you can slow nothing else down today, checking on breathing and chewing at least at meal times can still make a big difference in stress and energy levels throughout the day, which can translate to better moods and fewer cravings as the day goes on.

Give it a try!

Main, Mental Health, Product Review, Recipes

[Recipe Post] Lion’s Mane Brain Power Slushy

Who loves lion’s mane? This girl!

I’m excited to try this drink mix from Botanica Health! Have you tried it?

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Lion’s mane is a mushroom that’s considered nootropic – great for brain function. It may help boost focus and concentration, and may even help with nerve healing! I love it for heavy work days when I know I need to be on point.

Try this combo as an afternoon pick-me-up for your brain:

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 serving lion’s mane tea mix
• 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. chia seeds (to your liking)
• 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves OR 1 serving mint matcha tea powder
• 1½ cups water

Blend and enjoy. Using more frozen strawberries creates a more slushy consistency. Alternatively, shake up the lion’s mane with the water, then add all the other ingredients to steep as a “spa water”. I love having the chia in there for a little boost in protein and omegas to give this low-sugar drink even more balance.

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Refreshing! Do you find you need a pick-me-up in the afternoon? What do you usually go for?

LoveBites, Mental Health, Mindfulness

LoveBites: I am the Storm

“I AM THE STORM.”

It’s so easy to get washed away within a vortex of doubt, anxiety, self-sabotage, worry that things just aren’t good enough. Looks, health, career, relationships – anything that feels like it’s bearing down on you, maybe even tearing you apart.

Change the perspective. Be the storm. Tear that shit up yourself. Get it done.

What does that look like in real terms?

Get your goal planner out. Write it down. Block out distractions and detractors. Show up even when you think you’re not feeling it. Strike one task down out of your path at a time, then bring on the next.

When you feel burnt out under your own fire take breaks without apology. Hydrate and get back to real food. Get some love from your friends, your partner, your pets. Stretch. Breathe. REVISE. Write some more.

Then get back on it.

You’ve got this.

Lifestyle, LoveBites, Mental Health, Mindfulness

LoveBites: Take Care of Yourself!

So often, I get wrapped up in taking care of other people, animals, projects… but not myself. “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” I say, but my own cup runs low. From time to time it helps to remind myself to refill! Here’s how you can refill your cup too: Continue reading “LoveBites: Take Care of Yourself!” →

Lifestyle, Main, Product Review

What I’ve Learned Camping on Plants

My first experiences with camping date back to when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old, at my uncle’s cottage in the country. I remember being carsick on the way there, Sam the stuffed Basset hound in my fists, and my elder cousin, a wise 7-year-old, telling me there were snakes under the bridge and my young mind conjured a full-on hissing snake pit of doom such that my uncle had to carry me screaming across it.

Later, pioneer camping Continue reading “What I’ve Learned Camping on Plants” →

Main, Product Review, Recipes

Spirulina: Why it’s a Hot Topic in WFPB Food Talk & Why You’ll Want to Try it Too [Recipe Post]

It’s a rich dark green (or blue), it comes from the sea, and chances are you’ve seen it listed as a component in at least one food or beverage item at your favourite plant-based hotspot.

Spirulina is popular in whole-food plant-based diets, and not just because it’s fun to say. So why is it so prevalent in the discussion of nutritious staples to include in a balanced plant-powered lifestyle? Continue reading “Spirulina: Why it’s a Hot Topic in WFPB Food Talk & Why You’ll Want to Try it Too [Recipe Post]” →

Hormones, LoveBites, Main

LoveBites: Seed Cycling

Seed cycling! Who’s doing it? Who wants to know more about it?

This is one of many tools in your arsenal for helping rein in estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones involved in balancing your menstrual cycle, like testosterone, FSH, and LH.

Seeds typically used for this: flax & pumpkin for days 1-14 or follicular phase; sunflower & sesame for days 15-28 or luteal phase. But why these seeds? Continue reading “LoveBites: Seed Cycling” →

Hormones, Main

PCOS Might Break Your Heart – What Can You Do?

February is Heart Month. What does that have to do with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) or plant-based living?

Simply put, people with PCOS are at a greater risk of developing other metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, diabetes, thyroid imbalance, and heart disease. Continue reading “PCOS Might Break Your Heart – What Can You Do?” →