Grain-free granola bowl-a, you ready for this high fibre, high fat treat? 😋
This is my kind of snack. If it’s not yours that’s cool too.
But here’s what’s in this:
•finely shredded unsweetened coconut
•ground flax
•chopped walnuts
•pumpkin seeds / pepitas
•chopped pear
•strawberries & blueberries
•oat milk
+Hemp hearts and chia seeds would be yum in this too.

I mean, all this would be good on top of some oatmeal also, but it can also stand tall on its own. Do your thang, and ENJOY IT!
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#foodinspo #grainfreegranola #glutenfree #dairyfree #paleo #coconutismybestfriend #realfood #eatgoodstuff #getcreative #eattherainbow

2010 – a pivotal year in my life.
February 12 – I am in the tiny Ho’olehua Airport on the island of Molokai, HI, having just arrived.

I am in 3rd year university and I am visiting my mom and stepdad for Reading Week.

My parents welcome me warmly and after a huge hug, my mom places a fragrant plumeria lei around my neck while my stepdad photographs our joyous reunion.

Our smiles radiate the excitement we both have to see each other. I love her so much.

This was a beautiful moment in time. But that summer was very different.

This was when we found out my mom had stage 4 breast cancer, and it felt like our lives had been turned upside down.
I was 22, my mom 61. For 7 years she fought it on and off. She brought it into remission by 2013, but by 2015 it was back. Into remission again by mid 2016, but by 2017 it was again back.

The period of my life between 2010 and 2017 was SUCH an emotional rollercoaster. Those of you who have had a loved one battling cancer know what I’m talking about, and for those who don’t, I hope you never have to experience it.

2017 – another pivotal year in my life. By March things really took a turn for the worse. My mom seemed to be deteriorating rapidly, so my stepdad and I had been caring for her bedside 24/7, as she wanted to be at home.

March 9 – I swapped out bedside shifts with my stepdad around 1am to get some rest, and we spoke what I didn’t know would be our final words to each other. “I love you Mom”, I said.
“I love you Laura”, she replied.

And I went up to bed.

The following morning around 8am, she took her last breath. She died peacefully in her bed with her husband lying next to her.

Today is a sad day for me. I fucking miss her.

So I share this for many reasons.
Maybe an emotional purge…maybe to help someone else not feel alone…maybe to remind you to cherish the people you love while you can.

If you’ve gotten this far and read the whole damn thing, thank you.

Now go hug someone you love and tell them you love them. We just don’t know when or where our time will be up, so show up to each day with love, gratitude and kindness.

Miss you so, so much mom, and love you forever and always❤️

Could nottttt be more excited for my morning reishi coffees in the garden once again ✨

I started a morning gardening ritual where I sip ☕️ while I walk barefoot around all 7 raised beds, one by one, weeding, harvesting, inspecting, admiring, soaking the morning light into my eyeballs and skin (hello circadian clock!) and giving and receiving all the good vibes.

The light that shines onto these beds is just heavenly in the early morning hours and this routine is so grounding and restorative.

Meditation doesn’t just have to be a practice where you sit still and focus on your breath; it can be any practice that brings you into a state of deep presence and flow, like this.

What practice gets you into that meditative flow state? ✨
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#garden #garden #gardenmagic #meditation #growingfood #organicgarden #raisedbedgardening #greens #growfood #functionalmedicine #functionalwellness #holistichealth #springiscoming

My fitness advice? Work towards being strong 💪🏼. A strong body is far more resilient to the stressors of our daily world, plus you can do a whole lot more with it (functional is key 🙌🏼).
Plus, let’s be serious, muscle just looks good on everyone.

Howwwww do we get strong?
Putting stress on our muscles.
How do we put stress on our muscles? Resistance— which can mean simply your own body weight (a great place to start) or free weights, weighted machines, bands, etc.

Want to LOSE WEIGHT? Resistance train my dear!
I can’t even believe how many people go straight for cardio cardio cardio instead of building a solid base of muscle that is going to burn more calories for you while you’re at rest, plus provide you with the firmer, more toned look you’re probably hoping for.

Have I convinced you that you need some resistance in your life? 😆

Let’s make 2020 the year of strong as part of our self care!
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#plankholds #girlswholift #resistancetraining #strengthtraining #functionalfitness #health #holistichealth #muscleishot #bodyhealth

Setting up for success ✨

Do you meal prep? So many of our clients @healthupgraded find that thinking ahead and setting aside some time to prepare meals beforehand is a game-changing practice for sticking to better food choices or therapeutic eating plans.

So many of us have very little time in the mornings, it can be a straight up task to find quality food on the fly, and when we are starving we are more apt to make poor food choices that are based on convenience and speed.

Even though I work from home and don’t necessarily need to portion out my meals for transport, I make sure to have healthy meals pre-made and in the fridge for myself and my partner to snap up whenever we’re starving.
Because, just like you, if it’s not there and ready to go, we are more apt to make less than ideal, convenient choices instead, especially when hungry and on busy days!

Here is an example of an excellent 3 days of meals and snacks that I put together for a client back when I did my cooking and custom meal delivery biz.

The key is to include a variety of vegetables, fruit, textures (the white jars are bone broth and cauliflower soup) and colors to keep it interesting, and I love to incorporate plenty of healthy fats. This client requested dairy & gluten free (🙌🏼) with limited GF grains and poultry & fish for protein. [These meals are pretty colorful but missing the blue / purple spectrum of the rainbow, so throwing in some blueberries or blackberries would have been a perfect addition.] •
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#setupforsuccess #mealprep #glutenfree #dairyfree #organicfood #realfood #holisticnutrition #foodprep #functionalnutrition #prepforsuccess #freshandfrank

Not gonna pretend, I am 100% counting down the days until this scene is my morning routine again 😍
My soul needs more green. I need to cultivate and grow stuff. I need my feet in the grass and my hands in the soil. I can’t wait to once again be eating hyper-local (my garden to my plate) and completely organic.
THIS is my happy place.
Fellow winter dwellers, what are you most looking forward to this spring / summer?
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#gardener #organicgardening #growingfood #realfood #health #raisedbedgardening #foodgrower #myhappyplace #morningmeditation #loveplants
📸@saramonikaphoto

Flashback to last June when my greens game was ON POINT!

Cannot wait to fill this bed with lettuces and Pak Choy again 😍

It snowed half a foot last night, but a girl can dream, right??
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#growyourownfood #gardenenvy #organicgreens #holisticnutrition #growingfood #lettuce #leafygreens #organic #realfood #tastyfood #fromtheearth #gardentoplate #functionalnutrition

This is what it’s like in our kitchen most days… me, prepping something, and my sidekick patiently staring me down in the hopes I’ll share, or that I’ll drop something and give the OK for her to gobble it up.

Fortunately, she has great manners for a 1-year-old 😂

Anyone else have a kitchen sidekick?
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#kitchensidekick #truffletheblacklab #holisticnutritionist #holisticnutrition #neveralone #kitchenfun #functionalmedicinecoach @truffletheblacklab
📸@saramonikaphoto

How do you swoon a girl who loves to cook?
Upgrade her kitchen game with what is basically an art piece 😳

This year’s Valentine’s Day present brought to you by @theformfirm— a cutting board handcrafted from Padauk, spalted maple and black walnut 😍

This beauty is 2” thick, totally unique and completely in line with our household theme (FUN). And how well does it go with my prized @yu_kurosaki_ knife from @sharp_knifeshop here in Hamilton?!
(Not gonna lie, receiving this board makes me want another epic knife)

THANK YOU @theformfirm, you’re crazy talented 💕
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#valentinesday #kitchen #design #artpiece #woodwork #customwoodwork #HamOnt #beautiful #cuttingboard #padauk #spaltedmaple #walnut #luckylady

Summer WILDING 👣
Today as I sip my coffee and look out at the snow (bonus, it’s sunny) I am reminded of the long days of no shoes, no makeup, a glowy tan and selfies with my homegrown vegetables (ALSO, fireflies)😆 It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s coming… after all, Spring officially “begins” in just over a month.

And this now, reminds me that it’s time to really start planning my garden and seeding some of my vegetables. I’m behind already on some things, but oh well.

This year I will TRY to grow a smaller variety of food, but more of the food we eat lots of. It will be a more FOCUSED effort. Last year I grew too many different things, and it didn’t all do well because I was over ambitious with my spacing.

But, win, I was able to feed the two of us for most of the summer on the things that did well, and now into mid-February we’re still eating my beets, potatoes, onions and frozen cherry tomatoes.

I’m getting my head in the game. I’m going to get stoked for the season ahead. It’s going to keep me going through the coldest, greyist days.

Are you a summer person like me? What is keeping you going until then?
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#vegetableselfie #gardener #plantmom #organicgardening #holisticlife #growyourownfood #holisticnutrition #functionalmedicine #earthing #bestlife