Saturday, March 31, 2012

Reading Review - The Food Revolution

I am so lucky to have time to read.
This is one of those spaces in my "Primary Foods" that went neglected for years.
Part of my new approach to serving you is to offer my take on books I've read. This, I hope will save you time in reading books that are a waste of time.

Today's book is The Food Revolution by John Robbins.

Published a bit over ten years ago, many of the changes Mr. Robbins calls for are well underway. I believe that perhaps the friendly yet highly informative approach he takes to educating the masses must've played a role in inspiring this change.

I have found this book to be a great resource for me, as a health coach, but also that it is a friendly easy to understand read.
It's filled with excitement - enough excitement to keep a mom up at night tossing through daily decisions and deciding where she can improve and implement healthier choices. (yeppo - that's me)

I do find that it's not for the faint of heart though, there is so much information in this book, I'm feeling a little paranoid about germs, bacteria in my food and water sources, and now on my animals.

I do highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about what all the hype around our food choices are. It's inspired me to cinch in my choices a bit, to stand by what I know to be true, and to be resilient in my efforts to educate others.

I do hope you find it informational and supportive in making your own food choices.

In vibrant health,
Tammi Hoerner, CHHC, AADP, MH
The Nourished Life



Saturday, March 24, 2012

A New Beginning - transition of a woman's body

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the beginning of perimenopause, but it's here.

I have decided to do  my best to take the next ten years with as much positive perspective as I can. I heard many terrible things about the transitions a woman's body goes through and that I should truly be assessed and diagnosed as if it's a disease.
Instead of "freaking out" (as my son is so fond of saying these days) I've decided to take a natural approach with this, as I do most things in my life.
After all, this is a natural transition and in it's way is a symbol in my life of the potential of a new beginning.
I'm excited and a little fearful of the stories I've heard. Yet, I feel this is going to be a great time of taking a journey within, and emerging anew. Just like I've taken to my grey hair, I'm going to take to this, just fine.

Out side of terrible negative things, I don't know a lot about this transition - It's sort of a mystery to  me, so I am inspired to begin another step in my learning process as a health educator, and from the approach of holistic nutrition.

If it's a mystery to you, as it is to me, I want to share that nothing terrible has happened to date. Maybe this blog and sharing of parts of this transition can help take some of the fear out of it for you, my dear reader.

My experiences started just a few months back with sleeplessness that is not necessarily related to stress, or too much coffee. In the last few weeks, I've started waking up feeling extremely warm. A dry skin warm. I'm not warm in my core, but my skin just feels like I'm standing next to a stove. While I haven't had associated sweating (as I've heard so much about) the warmth is really uncomfortable and there isn't much I can do to cool myself off. I usually get up out of bed, so I can let my husband sleep, and I'll go read. I'm a little weepy, but I can't really decide if it's lack of sleep or my hormones.

But, I'm okay. As you can see, I'm here and doing just fine.

I'm thinking, this very early morning, how I can use this pivotal space in my life to grow new wings. To expand my horizons, to be challenged to be a greater version of myself.

In Vibrant Health & Happiness,
Tammi Hoerner, CHHC, AADP, MH
The Nourished Life
New Beginnings Health & Wellness

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Hidden movement

I am not one to adore exercise.
I don't belong to the gym.
I am not fond of my treadmill.
I cannot stand to run, better said; my knees scream when I run.
Well, what's a busy mom to do in order to get her self fit?

Any movement is better than no movement.

Back to Basic tips for burning fat and taking off those brownies you ate yesterday!

1. CLEAN YOUR HOUSE
2. WALK THE DOG
3. PLAY BALL WITH YOUR KIDDOS
4. DANCE TO YOUR FAVORITE SONG
5. TAKE TWO TRIPS INSTEAD OF ONE

and yes...
TAKE THE STAIRS, but you knew that one already, didn't you?

Have a happy day, filled with movement!
In Vibrant Health and Happiness,
Tammi

Friday, March 16, 2012

B2B Sweet & Spicy

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website.

1 large sweet potato
1 can Amy's Organic Chili
Sunflower Oil
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Cut sweet potato into 1" squares. Put into a 9 x 13 baking dish in a single layer. Spray with sunflower oil. Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and add chili. Stir and place back in oven for 10 - 15 more minutes or until potato is cooked through. Season with pepper. I also put a few shakes of Dulse on ours.
Serve warm.
This made 3 - 4 servings for us.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Visions

How did it get to be March already? I dunno. It seems I used to do this while sitting at my desk in my old corporate life. I watched time go by and I felt like I missed so incredibly much.
Now, I'm certainly engaged in it, but how do we all those things we want to do? There is so much to be done in my life! I wanted to be home so I could enjoy more spaces in my life, have a work from home career that I love, and get some around the house stuff done. From time to time I stop and remember to breath. Gaining balance outside of boundaries has been a challenge, but I'm beginning to find it. The first place I had to look? The clarity of my vision for what I wanted.

A few years ago, I sat in a cubicle wishing my days away and cursing the space I was in. Fat, sick, and resentful, I wanted out ... badly.

And then, I became inspired. I was inspired by a vision to change and a realization that I could make change. That realization that I wasn't truly trapped and that I had total control changed my whole life.
After some deep introspection, I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and began to create a vision for where I wanted to go. For me, this was to be to a career of helping others to find their way to healing and happiness.

I have come a long way in a very short time. But it wasn't by chance, or luck, or happenstance that I am where I am today. It was through planning, dreaming, and creating a very, very clear vision.

I created a vision board. Finding magazine photos and phrases that resonated with my life intentions, I cut and glue words, phrases, colors, and images to this board that  proudly sat in my home office. Everything I wanted to create, is now what I'm living.

I am now creating a new vision board, next week when my daughter comes to visit. We'll each create one while she is here.

I need to create a clear vision for what I want in my life next.

Have you done this? I'd love to hear about your journey, your tools, your successes.

In Vibrant Health & Happiness,
Tammi Hoerner, CHHC, AADP, MH
Director, New Beginnings Health & Wellness
Founder, The Nourished Life




Friday, March 9, 2012

B2B Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

I LOVE SMOOTHIES!


In a blender add the following ingredients and blend until smooth.

2 Cups frozen Strawberries & Bananas
½ Cup Spinach
1 Cup coconut yogurt
1 Cup vanilla almond milk
2 Tbsp Flax Seeds

This will make 2 or 3 servings - depending on how much you share. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Coco-Yogurt Parfait


1 Cup Coconut Yogurt (I find this at Whole Foods or Sunflower Market)
¼ Cup Homemade Granola or favorite brand
½ Cup Mixed Berries
½ tsp Flax Seed

Layer yogurt, granola and fruit, sprinkle with flax seed

This recipe makes a single serving. 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Let the Sunshine In

I've just come in from enjoying the first super warm sunny day with my son. I'm not sure what the temperature is, but once I realized it was warm out... I donned my socks, rolled up my sweat pants and shirt sleeves and pulled a lawn chair up on my patio out of the breeze.
I soaked in the sun for the entire morning, while my son quickly found the dirt...and yucky pond water and gleefully played. (all the while I'm warning him over and over to remember to not touch his face.)

Both Tigger and Dom find a cozy spot on my lap,
soaking up rays, we all were smiling!
Sitting in the sun, thinking about how much it can change how I feel with an effect that lasts for days, I thought I'd share with you one of the most basic ways to be fit and well.

Yep, you guessed it - GET IN THE SUN! 

See, while Vitamin D supplements fill the stores to address the national issue of serious Vitamin D deficiency, there is only one sun. This is the very best source of Vitamin D for our bodies and TRULY the one our body know what to do with best. It's whole food in zero calorie format and it's free! 

Every one needs a different amount, I try to get at least 30 minutes a day through the summer. In the winter, if I'm finding I'm not getting out regularly enough, I might add in a liquid D3 supplement to my diet.

So, enjoy these early warm sunny days with a dose of Vitamin D and see how you feel after ward! It's awfully hard to be grouchy and sad when you've let the SUN SHINE IN! 

Read more about this topic:
Tammi Hoerner, CHHC, AADP, MH
Founder - The Nourished Life

Saturday, March 3, 2012

B2B


Back To Basics

Starting out the journey toward eating well can often turn awry when all the recipes that make their way into your hands seem to have 35 hard to find ingredients and take 2 hours to chop and 4 hours to cook. Experiencing just this when I attempted to change how I ate in my 'prior life', I know how easy it is to return to old patterns of eating from a box or drive thru. 

Over complicating things seems to be natural behavior for people. Why? 


My curiosity surrounding this concept is never ending, and I find I too can take something simple and make it very difficult to accomplish. Over complicating our lives reaches far beyond recipes. We over complicate our relationships, our daily to do tasks, even exercise can quickly become an overwhelming and complicated activity. 

Some reasons why we might create complication in our routines could be: 

  1. Safety of staying in our present situation.  (It's just easier to stay put)
  2. Fear of what success might mean in our lives (If you reach your health goals, will it change your relationship? Your career?)
  3. Fear of the unkown (What will your life be like if you are so healthy and vibrant you have energy to whatever you like?)
  4. Predetermined concepts around what we fear we might become (what messages have you heard about people who are thin, beautiful, and successful? Are they consistently good or do you associate bad things with such goals?)


This experience is my inspiration to create a New Approach and More Options in working with my clients to reach their goals. 

My approach is highly focused to help you deconstruct and remove the clutter from your current habits, altering your approach and helping you to simplify your routines around food and working with you to create this approach fluidly throughout your life.

The new tools are including meal plans within the program that detail 7 days worth of meals, recipes, and shopping lists during your 6 month program, with the option to continue to subscribe to the meal planning for an ongoing basis (annual subscription).

While I've learned to deconstruct and make my own habits and routines simpler, thus easier to accomplish, I have gained many tools to offer to you! I'm excited to share these tools and to continue to support you on your journey toward a healthy and dynamic life! 

For more information about these offerings, visit my website at: http://www.thenourishedlife.net

In Vibrant Health and Happiness,
Tammi Hoerner, CHHC, AADP, MH