Events, events, events! Busted for slacking on the site, but events are updated on Facebook! Is anyone else geeking out about the impending timeline for businesses? I kind of grew to love it on my personal profile!

Need tea…? Check out Possibiliteas! My favorite: PRODUCTIVITEA, a savory blend of gently stimulating Formosa Oolong and Nilgiri black teas. Rooibos from South Africa and organic chocolate from Central America synergistically, fortify and energize. Check out my POSSIBILITIEAS profile to learn a little more on my perspective of CreativiTEA (and learn about the incredible Arielle Loren here!).

The Fierce Leadership Summit will bring together women who are rocking it out in their own right. Our speakers are a dynamic group of women whose expertise ranges from entrepreneurship to relationships to personal finance. At the event, we will be addressing what it takes to step fully into your power and become the fierce woman you were born to be.

YFE is a a business incubator and support group for women in their 20s and 30s who are “Young, Female, & Entrepreneurial.” The mission? To help each member on their path to profitable businesses while building a collective reputation that is philanthropic, successful, multi-faceted, and collaborative. Find “The Balanced Entrepreneur” for my personal tips on how to keep life, business, love and all the details in order!

Finally, you must meet Molly of Stratejoy (she really loves Twitter – say hi with a “tweet” if you’re feeling bold!). Her Fierce Love Course kicks off VERY soon, so if you’re so inclined join her as she helps you to dive deep into what Fierce Love. Learn what Inner Confidence looks like to YOU and how they play out in your world. Missed my spot on the crawl? Check out “K is for Kindness“.

Bonus: check out two of my favorite places for finding recipes – Whole Living and Kris Carr’s new ultimate guide to juices and smoothies. I’m inspired to get in the kitchen and make variations of these in juices… but might need some help with the drinking part! Any volunteers? 

I thought it would be a fun exercise to give myself a kindness grade, if you will. Would I get an “A-” or “C+” (or worse!) based on the number   acts of kindness I show myself in a day? I closed my eyes and began to recount the activities that comprise my day, quantifying the moments I take time to show myself kindness, love and compassion. I wake up, I move, I make myself tea, take time to reflect and get outside to breathe fresh air before touching my phone or computer. Throughout the day I make healthy choices to show my body and mind love by picking the stairs over the elevator, stretching, choosing a healthy lunch, making time for a workout in the evening. I give myself time to re-charge and be a supportive spouse, co-worker, friend, daughter and human being each day. These are obviously very personal acts of kindness for me and may not apply to you, but you begin to get the picture. What would your “grade” be if you assessed your day start to finish? Acts of kindness and self-love are comprised of the conscious choices we make throughout our day and our life.

I wasn’t always this kind to myself. There used to be days filled with unrealistic expectations, self-doubt and harsh inner monologues for ‘failing’ to be something I was never intended to be in this life. Growing older is pretty magical in the sense that you really stop giving a sh*t about what everyone else thinks and begin to love the amazing person that you are and all the gifts you bring to this world. That’s kindness and an incredible dose of self-love. When you feel internalize all those amazing things about yourself, it makes a world of difference in how you interact with the world around you. A big, big shift for a better you and a better world.

Celebrate you. Love you. Be kind to you. In the spirit of this Stratejoy blog crawl, I’ve borrowed images from the party superstars at Confetti System and paired photos with quotes that embody the spirit and love and kindness. Borrow and re-post, but remember to be kind on the internet, loves.

If you’re catching up or just joining the crawl, you’re not too late to join the party. Click on the letter + word to go to the other posts that have already been published as part of the crawl (A = Acceptance; B = Beauty; C = Celebration; D = Determination; E = Enough; F = Freedom; G = Growth; H = Honoring; I = Integrity; J = Joy…). Leave a comment if you enjoyed any of the posts you read – a simple “thank you for your post” completely rocks a blogger’s world – seriously! Show some love for all the hard work and LOVE these authors are putting into the Stratejoy blog crawl. And HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! 

A veggie seduced me this weekend with its beautiful colors. I couldn’t resist buying a few bunches of rainbow swiss chard at this weekend’s farmers market. It seems timely to have stumbled upon this mushrooms and chard recipe from Martha Rose Shulman and I cannot wait to make it as my meatless meal this week. A few other fun items from the market included salad mixes filled with flowers (check out Sunset’s guide to edible flowers), beautiful baguettes, more flowers and eggs ranging in every shade, perfect for morning breakfasts and easy dinners. Part of being your Valentine – loving yourself ALL year – is picking the right foods for your meals. Fresh. Seasonal. Local. Or at least foods that are minimally processed and as close to their whole foods sources as possible.

Continuing to share the love via “Be Yours” (see Sexy Foods and Make Your Own Flowers) , culminating with a Stratejoy Fierce Love post this Tuesday (very excited for this post… I’ve been writing, writing, writing this weekend!). More WELL? Features are being shared on 365 til 30 and Possibiliteas! Thank you to each of you for the love, the comments and support. Big dreams are becoming a reality with each day!

The LOVE disease… watch out, can be contagious and in the worst of cases, fatal (for your social life… but then that’s not healthy love and it’s an entirely other sort of blog post topic! See TDL, pretty please!). I’ve been happily ‘pseud0-celebrating’ V-Day with a handsome man for six years and running*. I knew he was a keeper when he gifted me with a set of kitchen knives for our first Valentine’s Day together. Nothing says I love you like high quality steel, right? If, like me, you find yourself the recipient of a very well-meaning, but more practical Valentine’s gift, you can take the reigns, get in the kitchen and make dishes that put the romance back in the day… a brief lesson in aphrodisiacs and recipes to test your love AND knife chops.

*Sidebar: long-distance makes for pretty un-romantic mushy holidays. Instead I expanded my meaning for the day and shared in the fun with all the people that I love (NOT like that…!). Some of my favorite Valentine’s Days have been spent making meals with friends, going for drinks with my girlfriends, sending “love letters” or simply affirming to people I love just how much they mean to me.

Sexy Veggie: Asparagus

A great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin and folic acid. The latter is said to boost histamine production necessary for the ability to reach orgasm in both sexes. LOVE POTION: Asparagus & Curry Butter

Sexy Tropical Fruit: Bananas

Loaded with potassium, magnesium and B vitamins, all of which help get you blood flowing. Critical for all types of physical activity (ahem!). Bananas also contains chelating minerals and the bromeliad enzyme, said to enhance the male libido. LOVE POTION: Banana Citrus Sorbet

Sexy Sweets: Chocolate

Chocolate: first, not all chocolates are created equal. You want high-quality, mostly dark chocolate. Chocolate contains a host of compounds including anandamide, the psychoactive ”feel-good” chemical, and PEA (phenylethylamine), the “love chemical,” which releases dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain.

Chocolate has two super-power ingredients. Flavonoids help protect plants by shielding them from environmental toxins and helping repair damage. When we consume plant-based foods rich in flavonoids, it appears that we also benefit from this “antioxidant” power. Antioxidants are believed to help the body’s cells resist damage caused by free radicals that are formed by normal bodily processes such as breathing and from environmental contaminants like cigarette smoke. Cleveland Clinic

LOVE POTION: choose a delicious, healthy chocolate (moderation, peeps!) or dip fruit, like strawberries, in chocolate. If you want to be REALLY naughty you can make these crazy chocolate cupcakes!

Sexy & Shapely: Fig

Loved and celebrated by the Greeks for their shape and thought of as fertility aids. Figs are ripe with flavonoids and antioxidants. Eating figs also results in significant increases in plasma antioxidant capacity, literally getting your blood flowing. And since we all agree heart health is sexy, let’s mention fiber as its other added benefit… not as sexy, but very necessary. LOVE POTION: Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Ouzo-Poached Figs

Sexy & Anti-Vampire: Garlic

Blood flowing for you while keeping vampires at bay (unless that’s your fetish thing)? Garlic! contains allicin, an ingredient that will improve and increase circulation while boosting immunity. LOVE POTION: umm… just add garlic!

Sexy Superfood: Ginseng

In animal studies, ingesting ginseng doesn’t appear to have an immediate effect on testosterone levels, but the ginseng may trigger other mechanisms that lead to increased performance and libido. LOVE POTION: Spiced Ginseng Iced Tea

Sexy Seafood: Oysters

You know what they say about oysters, but do you know why? Oysters have a high zinc content, which can give your libido a lift (and you thought Red Bull was the only thing that could give you wings!). LOVE POTION: a little “how-to” on selecting oysters.

Sexy To Share: Pomegranate

The pom powers passion through its antioxidants and improve circulation throughout the vessels. It’s claim to aphrodisiac fame is increased genital sensitivity. Completely prep your pomegranate so you can get to the fun part of sharing the food. You won’t want to waste time! Feel like whipping it up in a dish instead? Try this LOVE POTION: Mango Pomegranate Guacamole

Sexy & Expensive: Truffles

EatSomethingSexy says “It is believed – although yet to be confirmed by modern science – that truffles’ musky scent replicates the scent of the male pheromone androstenone“. It could also be the rarity factor – we always want what we can’t have, right?? ;) I keep truffle oil on hand at my house for recipes like the following LOVE POTION: Roasted New Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Truffle Oil

Sexy Scents: Essential Oils 

Scents like almond and vanilla communicate emotions by smell. Scent is one of the most powerful associations for memory, so make one filled with love! Spritz or dab a little essential oil, or take a cue this list of fifty uses for essential oils!

Tell me your thoughts on Valentine’s Day! Silly? Fun? Romantic? Over it? Whatever it is, give yourself a little love in whatever way you can and stay tuned for a few more fun “Be YOURS!” posts leading up to my special 02.14.11 post (it’s really REALLY big!). XXXXOOOOO!

[love this graphic? me too! visit One Charming Party]

Over the weekend my friend Erika invited me to tag along with her to our local farmers market in Mar Vista. I jumped at the opportunity to go for the very obvious reason of buying food, but also because Erika shops the market for flowers, an item don’t normally purchase on a weekly basis. Erika creates arrangements for two of our favorite local restaurants on the west-side, A-Frame and Sunny Spot (visit these two local restaurants – you will not be disappointed!). She very sweetly answered all of my questions, caught up with her favorite vendors and walked away, arms loaded with flowers.

We headed back to the first restaurant, where she began to prep the flowers. Each week she creates new arrangements, over fifty total between the two restaurants! We drank fresh-squeezed juices, chatted about life and I listened to her explain how to prep and keep flowers looking beautiful for a week or longer. My mind wandered to the upcoming day of love (make your own Vitamin L!) and I thought “how fun would this be to share this bouquet-making prowess with my amazing readers?”. I love walking into my house and seeing plants and flowers. Forget 1-800-Flowers and be your own valentine every week by creating beautiful arrangements with these simple tips from Erika.

Choose long stems and flowers that are standing upright

Clean & scrub your vase before beginning – bacteria is bad for flowers

Using a towel, strip the leaves so that only the stem is submersed in water

Note: Leaves left in the water cause the bouquet to wilt earlier, as they decay in water

Trim the stems at a 45° angle, clipping at least 1″ off each stem

For live bulbs, like tulips, add a few pennies to the bottom of the vase

For fresh cut flowers, you can add a few drops of citrus to extend their life

Change the water every few days, wiping the stems with a towel before placing back in water

I normally don’t get into the fuss of Valentine’s Day. This year marks a very special event that coincides with 02.14… I’m taking part in Stratejoy’s ABC’s of Self-Love Blog Crawl, sharing K is for Kindness on Valentine’s Day! It seems fitting to find little ways to love yourself and be kind every day of the year, not just Valentine’s Day! Watch out for a few more “Be Yours” posts between now and the self-love post!

In preparation… I’d love to know the little ways you show YOU how much you love yourself! Buying flowers? Taking time for a workout you love? Meditation? A healthy meal? Or maybe buying yourself a treat, like flowers or chocolate?

One of my favorite childhood treats was Cracker Jacks®. My brothers played baseball and this sweet snack was a treat saved for evenings spent under the bright stadium lights during the warm summer months. As an adult, my palate has changed and I want sweets with complex flavors, not just a sugar coating (sorry, Cracker Jacks® I think we’re over…). When I found this recipe, I knew it had to make the cut as the sweet dish served at our Super Bowl party this past weekend.

A small problem – I don’t care for bacon. It’s chewy texture with greasy fat is delicious to most and weird to me. MANY of you will disagree, but I believe bacon is better suited as a complementary flavor than its own free standing food group. This recipe dilutes the bacon, which serves as its salty-savory backbone. Telling my fiancé ”Don’t eat that bacon in the fridge – it’s mine!” felt like a very foreign sentence.

If bacon-flavored treats and drinks are a favorite for you, try Fig in Santa Monica (really, it would be more aptly named Bacon). Dogmatic about nutrition? Not here. My food outlook is to eat healthy most of the time (85-90% of your meals) and really, really enjoy less-than-healthy foods made with quality ingredients (buuuuuttttahhhhh!). Any questions – erin (@) wellinla.com at your service, loves.

Multi-colored popcorn contains anthocyanins - a type of antioxidants

Teeny tiny bacon slices, chop or cut into "Bacon-Bits" size

Madagascar Vanilla beans... my preferred form of "vanilla extract" (buy here)

Butter, maple syrup, brown sugar. Nom nom.

Bacon meets popcorn

Just before it hits the oven - coat every piece with love

Adults “Cracker Jack” \\ Bacon-Bourbon-Caramel Popcorn

The original recipe was found here and serves 20 (WHOA!). From L.A.?, You can find it on the menu at Villain’s Tavern in downtown L.A. Our home conservatively holds 20 people comfortably for parties. I scaled the recipe to serve 15 adults, with 1 to 1.5 cups each of this sweet treat for each person. Only a few bacon crumbs remained at the end of the evening. Below is my version, with a few suggestions to make it more crunchy or savory, depending on your preference. Future plans are to try varying types of scotch in the sauce to test the smokey-oaky factor. This recipe pairs very well with beer and scotch.

Ingredients

• 10 strips of bacon
• 16 oz of un-popped kernel corn
• 1 c. butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 c. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. bourbon, dark rum or scotch
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract or 2 vanilla beans
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 tbsp. coconut or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Fry bacon and set aside. NOTE – not being a bacon aficionado I rely on the oven to make perfect bacon – here’s a tutorial on making no-fuss bacon in the oven.
2. Put 3 tbsp. oil and 1/2 bags unpopped kernel corn in a large, deep pot, then place over high heat.
3. Cover and shake pot occasionally, so popcorn doesn’t burn.
4. Remove pot from heat once popping has slowed.
5. Heat oven to 250°.
6. Crumble bacon and spread over finished popcorn.
7. In a large pot, bring butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a boil, stirring constantly.
8. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
9. Stir in alcohol, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda, and mix.
10. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and bacon.
11. Spread coated popcorn on large baking trays to dry.
12. Bake for 30 minutes hour, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes. It should no longer feel sticky – if it does after 30 minutes, give it another 10-15 minutes. I used 2 large baking trays for the recipe.
13. Cool for 1 hour. Serve. Eat. Devour… :)

What is your signature party dish recipe?

My guests are usually subjected to new dishes each time. I appreciate and love all the people in my life willing to indulge my cooking and baking whims with a sense of adventure, willing to eat almost anything I place before them!

We have made such a mess of food in our country. Food is a thing of beauty. Real food – food that hasn’t been mucked up with chemicals or pulverized into mocking patties molded to resemble its origins. Or corn that’s undergone the equivalent of plastic surgery, a.k.a. enzymatic processing; damn near anything made by Hostess; hyper-engineered junk food with added fiber and vitamins; or “cheese” and noodles from a blue box…

The truly healthy alternative to that chip is not a fake chip; it’s a carrot. Likewise, the alternative to sausage is not vegan sausage; it’s less sausage. This is really all pretty simple, and pretty clear. But the messages we’ve heard recently are [un]clear . . . [source] 

There is so much NOISE it’s hard to ignore the plethora of nutrition research headlines. The dogmatic factions of food cults only contribute extra layers of confusion. Making food about rules and restrictions based on micronutrients and potential correlations is problematic. Below is a sampling of research-related articles posted this week on the web. “Moderation” isn’t a sexy word and it doesn’t fund brilliant academic careers and expensive research centers. It’s much more profitable to demonize food.

“… sugar is a toxin and that it should be subject to similar kinds of … interventions as alcohol.” [1]

“… is cheese the true culprit behind flabby thighs and paunchy bellies?” [2]

“ … modern beef production is a lot kinder to the environment than it was 30 years ago.” [3]

“… no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death.” [4]

I have a few thoughts and opinions on the matter of food that are best saved one-on-one conversations after two glasses of red wine. I read the original studies to determine if there’s merit to what’s being reported beneath a catchy headline (surprise! studies are not always well-represented in mainstream media). Mostly I tune out the “noise” and eat food as close to its whole source as possible. You can also do a few of the following for your health: Cook. Make time to cook – even if only a couple of times each week. Learn about one new food, how to make one new dish or one new cooking method each month. Sit down and chew your food when you eat. Enjoy conversation when you eat; put on music if you’re eating alone. Eat to prevent disease. Eat to prolong your life. Above all enjoy your food.

Apologies for the extended soapbox. The headlines this week contained an overwhelming amount of nutrition confusion. I try my best to present the notion that food is only a portion of living a healthy life, but it is a big part of our lives and something many of us struggle with for years. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on food and diet. YOUR SOAPBOX! What would you change our food culture? 

Which city best personifies you? If I were a city, I would be San Francisco. I love the fresh open air, the hills, pedestrian-friendly streets, the perpetual view of the bay, the food, culture, history… ahhhh! We spent an all-too-brief weekend in the City by the Bay. Our first full day was spent hiking the oxygen-laden and dazzling Muir Woods. Refueling was necessary once we finished, a feat accomplished with locally-brewed beers and Chinese food. Our second and final day included breakfast at Boudin, a tour of The Rock, a delicious Dungeness crab lunch and an afternoon topped off with Caramel & Sea Salt Hot Chocolate drinks at Ghiradelli Square.

Question: What city best describes YOU? 

While Los Angeles is not quite my city in the sense San Francisco better suits my persona and interests, L.A. is replete with things to do, people to stare at see and an abundant amount of sunshine. It will always be the home to the heart of WELL, even if we traverse the world. WELL in Wellington (NZ)? WELL in London? All possibilities … No matter where I may be, the mission of WELL will continue – to share my journey and support you on your path to bring a little more wellness into your daily life.

tip: buy blueberries in season; freeze & use year-round.

the average American eats 28 pounds of bananas a year. crazy.

the average American does NOT eat as much spinach per year...

don't ruin a perfectly good smoothie by forgetting chocolate.

Fruit, Veg & Chocolate Smoothie

• 1/2 banana (frozen or fresh; either works)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen)
• 1 heaping handful of baby spinach
• 1-2 tablespoons of cacao nibs (used in this recipe, too)
• 1 scoop of protein powder (I like Paleta’s vegan powder)
• 3/4 to 1 cup almond milk

Layer in Order. Blend. Savor. Enjoy.

*About that burger + fries meal: I eat a mostly plant-based diet on the weekdays. On the weekends I enjoy – without guilt or remorse – meals outside my normal eating style. The caveat: the indulgent meals must be worth it. Meals made of real foods, with minimal-to-zero processing from fresh, local ingredients. In-and-Out qualifies! A post on weekend meals may be required soon … Zelda’s Mini-Donuts in Venice and goat-cheese omelettes + mimosas at Custom Hotel are a few of my indulgent favorites. I’ve never “dieted” a day in my life and have maintained my weight for over eleven years.  I may be on to something with this whole balanced approach to wellness … I’d love to learn more about your food philosophy. If you’d like to know more about mine, I’m availabe for a Skype or phone chat!

Images for the post found here, here, here and here. Giving credit where due.

In early December I was selfishly pursuing the provisions offered on LovingEco, one of my favorite new healthy & beauty shopping sites. This gorgeously branded line of “from-the-kitchen” skin care line lured me to their website to learn more about the products. I felt compelled to say “hello” after developing a bit of a crush on Sprout Skincare’s very cool packaging and all-natural, locally sourced and sustainable ingredients (SWOON!).

Backing up just a few steps… despite the green-filled diet, attempts to get better-than-decent sleep and exercise 5 days a week I was still having BIG problems with my skin last year. Was it stress (that can be borderline high at times)? Or a product I was using? I found a facialist. Broke up with the facialist after MORE breakouts post-sessions occurred. I went to the dermatologist. The recommendation of antibiotics left me frustrated. Focus, focus, focus … what the hell was I doing wrong? Digging even deeper I started on my journey to part ways with my favorite Sephora and CVS products. I worked to create stability and routine in my mornings to lower stress (biggest lesson – stop checking email first thing in the am). I found homemade scrub and skin care recipes. I applied honey and coconut oil to my face. Things started to get better. Exceedingly better. I was finally finding solutions.

Back to December, Sprout Skincare and the fascinating Adina. A fellow super-sensitive-about-her-skin soul, she began her journey by trying to take care of her own beautiful skin after store-bought products failed her. She proselytized the importance of clearing the bathroom cabinets of the chemical-laden products, teaching simple DIY skin care recipes using common kitchen ingredients. What she found was people weren’t as interested in learning how to make it – they wanted to BUY her skin care products. Being the genius she is, Adina began to make the product in batches, adorned in it clever packaging and began to fill the requests for her skin care line. I had the pleasure of pow-wowing with her about life, love, health, food, the religion of nutrition and changing the world in general. Instant chums! She lovingly sent me a sampling of her skin care essentials – a cleanser, toner, exfoliant, skin cream (moisturizer) and a body scrub that smells more like something you should eat. Sugar, olive oil and coconut flakes. All fairly-sourced products. From farmers and artisans – real people who care about how and what they grow.

I love the natural products offered by Sprout. My SKIN is happy. Much like wanting to know what comprises the food I eat, I find myself wanting to understand the ingredients being applied to my skin. Our skin is the largest organ and the most visible. TAKE CARE OF IT, k? As part of making a better morning, buy a sample pack (mix-n-match – try the cleanser, toner and cream to start) or research how to make your own skin and beauty care products from the comfort of your own kitchen. Go to Sprout Skincare. Pick a few things. Apply the code “WELL” and receive 25% off this incredible skin care line. Ask me any questions you want about Sprout. If I don’t know the answer I’ll bug Adina for one.

You have the opportunity to create the foundation for your day each and every morning. What will you do? How will you spend those first few hours of the day? My preferred mode is to NEVER check my email until I’ve washed my face, had a cup of green tea and taken my dog for a walk. Taking 45 minutes for quiet time before the day begins has lowered my stress level, also a huge factor in clearing up your skin. Adding the all-natural skin care is icing on the cake… take care of your skin for this one beautiful life you have in front of you.

I’m giving away a “makeover your morning” coaching session (see the ‘Green Your Mornings‘ post for a kale smoothie recipe) – I want to help you create an amazing morning from a mind-body-whole you perspective. I want to know how you take make time for yourself in the morning. Do you have a ritual? Can you help the rest of us get our act together?? Leave a comment below, loves!