The Heart of the Holidays
Thanksgiving is here! Although truth be told, I love the ideas of giving thanks on a daily basis, this is often a time of year when people gather as collective in gratitude for all the wonderful blessings of love and connection we have with one another. After all, there are only two treasures in this life: time and people, for which neither can ever be replaced.
As with most holidays, we do not celebrate necessarily based upon the traditional customs, but rather redefine our own based upon our family values. For us, this falls in line with how we eat.
As a whole food, plant based eater, this means we embrace delights designed for comfort and wellness, with pleasures of animal-free chocolates on the side.
The meal of the day of course brings pause of thought. What to create? So, I figured I would share some ideas to get you started.
THANKSGIVING MENU WFPB Style:
Vegan (Plant Based) Lentil Loaf
Rosemary Au Grant Potato Bake
Cinnamon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli & Brown Rice OR Steamed Broccoli & Cauliflower with Cashew cream sauce
Raw Vegan “Cheese”cake or Yes Please cake w/a Pecan crust
There you have it, a menu for your perfect Thanksgiving. As I believe in exploration and creativity, I challenge you to try out different styles until your find your perfect harmony, while building self-efficacy. But if you need help, email me.
Blessing to you and yours and I hope the journey of self-discovery in the kitchen helps you see the confident, daring version of you have has been there all along.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Travel, Yoga & Self-Care: Garden of Peace
Yoga is all about restoring balance to both the mind and body. We get so caught up in our everyday grind of life and even the superficial aspects of “beauty” that we forget the importance of balance and good health. You can never attain a sense of balance in your life if you neglect the primal component of rest. Rest and relaxation give the body a chance to recover and mind a chance to unwind. Both are so important that a who portion of your autonomic nervous system cannot conduct the important business of digestion or arm the body’s defense system without ample amounts of it.
So, why do we choose to ignore something we all crave and enjoy? Simple. We let life take the driver’s seat, with its commanding need to eat away at our valuable time with its never-ending list of priorities.
Truth be told, the list will always be there, but the chance to experience life with those you love won’t.
Needless to say, after learning this the hard way, I am all about spending time traveling with my son, enjoying life, unwinding and regaining a sense of “self” throughout the process. I would be remiss if I dismissed the importance role this has played in my healing process. So, throughout this blog, I plan to share travels with you, in an effort to help you find places to relax and unwind.
So on a quest to stop and smell the roses, we ventured off to Keukenhof where we were surrounded by a garden by millions of flowers. While the fields are primarily covered in differing varieties of tulips, flowers of all sorts can be spotted in this haven of serenity. Located in Lisse in the beautiful Netherlands, Keukenhof truly lives up to its name as the “Garden of Europe”.
As pictures speak a thousands words, here are some to paint you a vivid picture of why this would be an idea place for you and your family to come and regain a renew sense of peace.
