QUINOA VEGETABLE SOUP RECIPE

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This time of year I can not get enough soup. It is an easy way to eat a ton of vegetables without eating a salad and they tend to be really easy to prepare.

If I am being honest I can be lazy in the kitchen from time to time. Since soup is generally a one pot meal it means less clean up so I am generally on board with that.

So on board in fact that the other night my boyfriend specifically asked if we could eat something other than soup. Ugh.

Sorry buddy. Soup is whats for dinner.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about what I am up to these days..., On this mission to serve others and trasform their relationship to health, food and their bodies.

A quote from Tony Robbins keeps coming up in my mind:

"We are drowning in information, but starving for wisdom.

This could not be more accurate in the world of health and nutrition. There are conflicting studies and articles published everyday and it leaves most of us confused as hell about how to eat and what to do to nourish our bodies.

But if we zoom out a bit and take a larger view of humantiy there are some evolutionary truths about what humans have ate over hundreds of thousands of years to thrive and evolve.

That is: nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs and fish.

Yes depending on the region on where you lived you had access to either more carbohydrates (vegetables and fruits) or more protiens (meat and fish).

All that being said there is absolutely bio-individuality so each person will thrive on slightly different ratios of protein, fat, carboydrates and fiber. However, the template for what to eat is what I mentioned above.

Its actually very very very very simple.

Whole, unprocessed foods. Including some whole grains if they do not physically upset your body, again bio-individuality.

Part of the problem is that in the last 100 years our food quality, specifically animal products and mass produced crops, has greatly decreased and food-like products loaded with sugar, artifical ingredients, processed fats, chemicals, hormones and GMO's have flooded the market that have lead to the slew of chronic illnesses like obesity, heart disease and diabetes that are plaguing the modern human.

The source and quality of our food matters more than ever.

That being said, if we were to check out of the world of nutrition for long enough and just check into what our body tells us about the foods we eat we would be able to start to discover what works for our body. Not what someone else tells us will work for our body.

We have made it is so much a mind game.

We make the way we eat so rational and logical. Eat this not that. Count macros, restric calories, follow this diet and that exercise regime.

When really it needs to be an intuitive and feeling process and body game. I ate this and I feel that. My body is hungry so I eat..., now its full so I stop. My body needs restoritve yoga. My body wants intensity.

This is developing body wisdom.

We over-think the fuck out of everything when really if we could quiet our mind and eat what feels good to our bodies, eat what we intuitively know works well for us and shut out all the external chatter and the little voice in our heads we'd be doing ok.

That is easier said than done, I get that.

It truly is a process that takes time. But it starts with making the choice to let go of the diet dogma and outside nutrition information and commit to listening to your body.

And if you are Los Angeles this Thursday 12/14/17 I am co-leading an event with WeQuilt, that includes a bodily meditation by Erin Rose Ward to help get is into our bodies and out of our heads and then we will be co-leading a conversation about intuitive eating, and the fine line between mindfullness and obsession.

In the meantime, here is the soup recipe to hold you over. With lots of love.

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp coconut or avocado oil

• 1 medium to large onion, chopped

• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 1 to 2 cups chopped seasonal veggies like zuchinni, bell pepper or cauliflower

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 1-2 tsp fresh thyme

• 1 -28 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1 cup quinoa

• 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• 2 bay leaves

• Pinch red pepper flakes

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 -15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 cup chopped fresh kale

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• pink salt to taste

• garnish with micro greens

Directions:

In a large soup pot melt oil. Once hot add in the onion, celery and carrot. Cook for 3-5 minutes and season generously with pink salt. Then add in the garlic and thyme. Mix well and cook for another minute.

Add in the diced tomatoes, quinoa, vegetable broth, water, bay leaves and crushed red pepper. Season with pink salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Bring to a bowl and then lower to a simmer, leave partially covered. Cook for about 25 minutes until quinoa is soft, then add in the beans and mix. Next add in the kale and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Enjoy!

Also, if you have been loving my recipes then I am so excited to share that my first-ever cookbook Vegan Buddha Bowls is now available for order.

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WHY THAT FOOD THING MATTERS

Hi sweet human friends!

This week I become a Certified Health Coach (does fist pumps) which is very exciting for me! Even though I have been working with clients for the last 6 months it feels really great to add this layer of credibility and tool to my tool belt.

The distinctions I learned and the nutritional knowledge I gained will only help me be more of service to YOU.

It’s a miracle that I am here, helping others discover how to have health in their bodies such that they can make the difference they want to make in the world. You all know my relationship with food used to be in shambles and my own experience creating vibrancy inside my body has been an uncomfortable ride. I didn’t always wake up feeling excited and go to bed feeling fulfilled.

But learning to feed myself has effected every other area of my life. Let me explain.

These beautiful bodies of ours need food as fuel and I think it is such a shame that we’ve made nourishing ourselves a very complicated foggy mess. Navigating the world of nutrition is like swimming through murky waters.

But here’s the thing my loves, the food we eat can only do one of two things. It is either healing us, lifting us up, helping us to be our most authentic self or it’s slowing us down, moving us further from who we are at our core.

It helps us make the difference we want to make in the world or it makes the mission more turbulent.

Our bodies are complicated machines that need to be maintained because sometimes they malfunction, break down, freak the eff out or stop working completely. When the physical machinery that is our body isn’t working right it effects our soul, our being. It effects how we feel which impacts who we are and how we show up in the world.

Think about it.

If you are sick, lightheaded, have a head ache, foggy brained, constipated, gassy, fatigued, are you able to be your most spirited, dynamic, energetic, and vibrant, full of life MF self?

HELL NO.

When we feel like crap, so often we show up like crap. We are mean to others, less productive, less creative, less motivated, less generous, less loving. We feel heaviness in our bodies. It’s hard to vibrate at a higher frequency when your body is drugging along on this earth.

As Tory Dube, a soul-centered consultant explains “All ailments, extra pounds over or under weight, emotional tidal waves and our general perception of our reality offer feedback to how well we’re nourishing our contents (AKA our body and soul).”

That is why the food you eat is so important.

It is why I help people unlearn all the shit they have learned over the years and help them tune into what high vibe foods work best for their machine (aka their physical body) right now.

Eating well allows us to come home to ourselves and be more powerful players in this game of life. We can be more loving, more compassionate, more of service. We can get out of our heads about it and be more intuitive and more in touch with our bodies.

The food we eat forms the roots upon which the tree of our lives can grow infinitely higher. Or not.

When we eat foods, we ingest them in our body, they are metabolized and assimilated into our tissues and cells.

They become us and then those foods either raise our vibration or they lower it. Those foods effect our outputs in the world. Those foods literally effect our physical reality.

Foods can interrupt our ability to be who we truly are and want to be because certain foods make us irritable, fatigued, angry, decrease brain cognition, make us tired.

That is why the food we eat is the foundation upon which the rest of our life can (or cannot) flourish.

Here is an example: If we are about to give a presentation at work or school and we are anxious and nervous and we choose to have a coffee and pastry before the talk that food is going to pull us right off center. The sugar and caffeine will mimic the anxiety, the white flour and simple carbohydrates will give us foggy brain so it’s harder to focus and concentrate. OR we can have a salad, piece of fruit, eggs and avocado, something that nourishes us and facilitates our ability to be present and connected.

Once we understand and build awareness of what foods lift us up, once we take inventory of how to take care of our machinery so we can be our most true authentic selves then we are able to do the same thing in every area of our life.

We can make the difference we want to make. Be the leader we want to be. Be the mother, partner, father, sister, co-work, healer, mentor, servant, creator YOU WANT TO BE.

This is why I do what I do. So that you can show up more powerfully in the world.

I want you to feel freedom around food, be empowered by your body and kick ass at life. Because once we got the food thing taken care of you will wake up feeling like the MF goddess you are because you take care of your machine daily and it allows you to transform the world around you.

Can I get a high five?

hit me up for your free discovery call to see if I am the right health coach for you!

xo

C-monster

7 TIPS TO GET YOU THROUGH THANKSGIVING IF YOU ARE AN EMOTIONAL EATER OR BINGER

I was always my worst self on Thanksgiving. Or any day dedicated to food really.

It used to be a free for all for me. I would binge and purge like 10 times that day. Maybe more. Not only was I stressed but I was wickedly insecure, caring about everyones opinions and over analyzing every. single. word. I. said. which led to the compulsive over eating... I just didnt know how to eat normally or be around food without it sending me off the deeeeeeep end.

So if you can relate then these tips are for you.

n u m b e r 1.

Focus on the amazing people in your life that you get to spend time with. Talk with those humans, get out of your head, be present, get connected to them. Take the focus off of yourself and the food.

n u m b e r 2.

Eat breakfast and lunch. Don’t skip meals knowing you’re having a big dinner... that does not set you up for success biologically, mentally or emotionally. In this post I talk about the biological side of it and how you can manage your appetite and blood sugar to decrease the chances of a binge. Emotionally and mentally, skipping meals is a way to actually anticipate and create space for the binging and over eating. Mitigate that by treating it like any other day.

n u m b e r 3.

Truly enjoy every bite of food... what does it smell like, taste like, look like. slow down if ya need too and check in. If you slow down enough to ejoy each bite, you will eat slower, enjoy it more, and sense your internal cues of satiety.

n u m b e r 4.

Dont beat yourself up for eating too much food or having dessert. Allow it to be a complete experience instead of it meaning you have to restrict or only eat salad, or workout extra hard for the next week. Have some pie and then be done with it. it means nothing except that you had some pie. no biggie. Often we eat unhealthy and then take that experience with us on to the next experience and make it mean more then it is. The extra shame and guilt has no value nor is it productive. Enjoy the meal and then put a period (.) at the end of it.

n u m b e r 5.

Move your body, go for a walk or a hike to help with digestion, stress and because it feels GOOD not because you “should.”

n u m b e r 6.

Practice gratitude and give thanks. It’s hard to be stressed and grateful at the same time.

n u m b e r 7.

Trust your built in body wisdom and intuition about foods. If you know a certain food doesn’t agree with you, honor that. Don’t let the pressure of others or the holiday stop you from doing you. But if you want that food then eat it and enjoy it. DO YOU! I know that around the holidays our family and friends can push us to eat or make comments about our bodies or what's on our plate. Remember that you have every right to stand in your power and do what you know is best for you.

lots of love, HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I am always here if you need support.

You got this, sista.

xo, C