Cheers! HEALTHY New Year!
How do you say “good-bye” to a year? My heart swells reflecting upon the amazing year that has been 2011. Thank you to each of you who read the WELL blog (and have tolerated the changes to other areas of the site as WELL grows up) and have supported the features written for sites I admire. For those of you starting the year with resolutions, goals and dreams – I’m here to support you. I would LOVE to hear about your plans and dreams for the New Year; grab a 30 minute slot and we’ll create a customized plan together as part of the New Year kick-off! My dreams are in progress, from completing my doctorate to creating a career filled with writing, coaching and teaching for all the days of life on this lovely green earth.
It has been a year of incredible growth, the lessons of which will be applied to the coming New Year. Much love and many blessings to you all! Please enjoy my photo tribute – the “lessons learned in a year” post – one photo to represent each month and a lesson. Make sure you catch the final one, at the very least (hint, hint!). As always… 
Eat Seasonally: Braised Red Cabbage, Goat Cheese & Walnuts.
Add more green to your day through juices & smoothies.
Eating raw can be delicious! Via Zuddha Girls (order their food!)
Garden for the love of green. And your health.
Learn the story of your food and food sources.
Explore the hidden gems of your city. Or just outside its limits.
Weed the toxicity from your home, cleaning & beauty routines.
For optimal health, be a part of something bigger than yourself.
Throw a party that makes everyone FEEL GOOD!
Share your skills, no matter how small they may seem to you.
Travel, get out of your safety zone and free your soul.
Scream, shout and say YES!!! to your future, love and growth.
(My engagement ring… we had a very Merry Christmas this year.)
Winter Food Fare
Cheers to a healthy holiday season and a hopefully low-key week before the New Year begins. We spent the holidays at our home in Los Angeles, sharing Christmas Day with friends (including the lovely Sophie of Zuddha Girls and the adorable Monica of Moni’s Meals). The menu planning and prep of a party is one of my favorite little things in life. I love my time with guests, but I believe my stronger suit is playing chef versus mingling hostess! My other half is an excellent host… it’s all about the balance! Who is the planner and who is the entertainer at your house?
Back to the menu! Taking advantage of seasonal, local food is important when I’m feeding people I love (and if I’m feeding you, know you are loved!). I stepped out to see what our local farmers market had to offer before pulling together a menu. The landscape was filled with beautiful shades of orange! From the deep, earthy tones of the root vegetables, squashes to the bright hues of clementines, oranges and persimmons, the menu had hearty, winter-inspired flavors without being too heavy. Love you and love those in your life by integrating a few of these foods into meals over the winter months. Nothing says “I love you” quite like cancer-kicking & heart-disease reversing foods incorporated into a meal, right? Cheers to orange and all its goodness!
Beta-carotene: The best-known nutrient in orange foods is beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant which gives sunny fruits and vegetables their brilliant color. Experts say beta carotene is not only good for eye health it can also delay cognitive aging and protect skin from sun damage.
Vitamin A: Beta carotene is a precursor for vitamin A, which is commonly referred to as retinal, retinol and retonoic acid. Vitamin A is important for night vision, as an antioxidant can neutralize the damaging free radicals in the body, and is crucial in the health of your immune system.
Vitamin C: Orange foods are chockfull of vitamin C, an antioxidant which boosts the immune system, protects against cardiovascular disease and helps rebuild collagen in the skin. [source for this yummy information!]
Joy Bauer also has an excellent primer on the health benefits of winter vegetables that’s worth a read if you have the time. Know thy veggies and cook with, feed with love! And stay tuned for the recipes … releasing them throughout the week!
Sound of Resolutions
I’ve been making my small list of healthy resolutions (the psychology of resolutions is another post of its own). One I haven’t had to worry about in many years is resolving to exercise. Ahem… a few major changes in the last year have made making time a little more challenging. Building a business is exciting and exhilarating, but has changed many facets of my life. I don’t make it to as many cardio intensive classes. Or have time for an extended workout session due to balancing multiple roles. It’s a labor of love that called for adaptation with shorter, more intense workouts on time-challenged days. And learning to be happy if a workout consists of nothing more than a long walk with our dog. “Simply keep moving” has become my mantra.
Nothing keeps me motivated and inspired to move quite like music! My Christmas gift to you is a round up of 4 playlists, each about an hour in duration. Playlist screenshots are included you can order them in the way I’ve used them for running or spinning classes. Or make your own and share the final product via comments! I love learning how music has inspired other people. Music, my dog and my sanity/stress level maintenance are the three factors that keep me accountable to exercise – what are yours??
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