Taste the flavour sensations!

How often do you actually, really, taste a mouthful of food? Have you ever stopped and actually TASTED every single flavour rolling around your mouth?
Often that is a bit impossible as there is so much going on flavour wise in our foods that we just chew and swallow and get the overall gist.
We cover every part of our meal with something else - salad is drenched in a creamy dressing, stir fries in a shiny glaze, even fruit has added sweeteners such as ice cream and choc syrups...


I challenge you to take your food back to simplicity, even if it's just one meal.



Instead of reaching for that caesar dressing, add a little olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice and let the sweetness of the vegies shine and that crisp fresh texture roll around your mouth.





Look around the supermarket for some of Mother Nature's most treasured gifts like a juicy mango, ripe pineapple, sweet papaya, or red strawberry. Take them home, cut them up and present it beautifully on your plate. Take you time to make your food look appealing and appetising and then you don't need to add anything else because it already looks beautiful!
Take your plate outside or sit by the window and bite into each piece of fruit and let the flavour fill you. Find the subtle differences between each fruit and bite. Tell your brain to please be quiet and stop judging and just let yourself enjoy it.


Or even better - go back to the freedom of childhood and throw away all airs and graces... and cutlery =) Take that mango, cut in halves, lean over the sink, and eat it with your hands! Let the juice drip down your chin and make sure you suck the pip dry baby!!!!


We have so much in life to be grateful for, and near the top of the list is the beautiful bounty we have been provided for by the Earth beneath our feet. Try thanking your food before you eat it, it doesn't have to be out loud if you feel silly hehe, just acknowledge internally that you give thanks for the abundance in your life that allows you to have the choice of what to eat, and that the choice you have is as varied and creative as you want it to be. 


Slow down, and take note of what you are feeding your body. Because chances are, if you are feeding your body foods that are less than, you are also feeding your body thoughts that are less than...


EMBRACE THE FLAVOUR SENSATIONS OF REAL FOOD!!!!!!!

Our helpers

There are people in life who just know you. People who offer you that little gold nugget of wisdom while you have just searched the entire backgarden in vain. People who open your eyes to see the rainbow behind the storm you are stuck in. They know exactly what to say with honesty and truth, no fluffing up your ego, no roundabout undercurrents. They are few and far between but in those times of crisis and trouble they show their faces and you realise their true worth.

I call these people soulmates. 

I use the term soulmate not in a romantic sense (although of course I don't discount the romantic soulmates either!), but more in an altruistic/platonic way. I have several close friends both male and female who I consider soulmates - I know that our friendship stretches over time and distance. Our paths are destined to keep crossing for eternity, ours is a friendship for life. And even though our paths lead us often in opposite directions around the world and we may lose contact for a while, I know we will always find our way back. 


And in those moments when you are down, they are there. With all the right words and a hug and without realising it they lift a little of that burden off your shoulders. 


And the best part of this friendship is that you know it is give and take. There are no agendas. They are there for you and you are there for them. Beautifully complex in its simplicity =) 


Because life can seem too much at times. We are so fully involved in creating that it is hard to step back and see the bigger picture. We are very adept at working ourselves into the cracks and crevices of our minds and analysing every twist and turn. Our soulmates prod us back into the right direction, remind us to let go and trust our choices again. And they remind us that hey, we are doing ok! 


Thankyou to everyone in my life, for extending that hand when I have lost my footing, it has not gone unnoticed... 
xxx

BLAH!

Sometimes you just feel BLAH. There is no one thing in particular that makes you feel that way, it is just as if today Mr Sunshine is there but you are seeing him through double glazed lenses so the sensations of life are all a bit hazy. I went to bed the other night feeling this way and somehow it lingered through to poke its head out the next morning.

I opened my windows to find that it was a full moon that night which always sends me a bit kooky in one way or another hehe. But for whatever reason, for that day, I'm not so easily amused/inspired/joyful and I'm a somewhat duller version of my usual self.

It's ok not to be happy all the time. Remember that movie Pleasantville? Set in the 50's, it starts off in black and white with the typical happy go lucky nuclear family with smiles pasted on at all times. However, it is not until the characters start to truly feel the lows as well as the highs- the anger, frustration, despair in opposition to the elation, excitement, and joy- that the movie takes on technicolour and springs to life on the screen.

My beautiful Mama is always reminding to simply let go and be in my "down" moods. She encourages me to cry, to talk, and to feel the feelings. That way they move, they shift, and hopefully leave us a bit quicker.

Because let's face it we don't live in a utopia - I have tried living as a shiny bright flower and I always end up crashing big time, IT DOES NOT WORK! Although, this is an ongoing lesson for me and for many of you I'm sure... We are encouraged to persevere, to jump up and run back into battle. But why would you go into a battle with armour that has holes and is frayed and torn?

If you are having a BLAH day, leave your expectations for yourself alone for the day. Just let yourself be. Be gentle, kind, and for that day just sit and accept yourself warts and all.

And I know it is easier said than done but if you just sit with yourself and be present in your not so joyful mood, one morning you will wake up to find you have moved through to the other side and life is a few shades lighter.

I write all of this because I need the constant reminding as well! This is not an easy lesson to learn but hey at least we are all in this life together =)

You!

Here in Singapore the weather for the last week has been PHENOMENAL. Few things make me happier than opening my blinds in the morning to see a clear blue sky and the Mr Sunshine beaming down on my face - growing up in Australia you take that expansive blue sky for granted, and so when you find a patch of it while you are away from home... well, it is even more inspiring =)

And the sunshine always gets me thinking - what are the things in your life that make your heart sing, that make you feel like YOU again? Your go-to activities that always ground you into your true self and make you feel settled? 

If you are travelling around and away from your home base these are your keys.

One of my keys is my yoga practice, and the feeling of stepping back onto my mat after having had some time off is like plugging myself back into a power socket. I am immediately grounded, settled, and in tune with the dance of life. There is something so magical about the power of your breath and the way in which your body flows and moves fuelled by its power. Taking the time to quieten and actually be one on one with yourself is not something widely encouraged by our busy lifestyles, which makes it even sweeter when you stop.

Follow that yoga class with a beautiful green park, Mr Sunshine back for a visit, and a smoothie (or a big fat juicy MANGO) and ladies and gentlemen we have HEAVEN!

I think it is so important to find those things that make your heart sing and take the time to do them, no matter how selfish, silly, or insignificant they may seem at the time. Sometimes it is breakfast at your favourite cafe with friends, sometimes it is climbing a tree in the park, sometimes it is exploring a new part of town you have never been to. Whatever it is, work it into your weekly routine! 

And on that note I am going to share something else that makes me feel very warm and yummy inside but is also choc full of goodness: Raw Hot Chocolate!

It's super easy to make and great for an afternoon pick me up or for a snuggle with an episode of Grey's Anatomy hehe.

• a small handful of nuts (I use a mix of cashews and brazils, I think it's about 10 nuts all up?)
• 1 medjool date, deseeded and chopped up
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt
• a small tsp coconut butter
• 1 1/2 heaped tsp raw cacao powder
• pinch of cinnamon powder
• hot water

In your blender blend the nuts and dates with a little water until they are a smooth paste. Add the remaining ingredients. Fill your mug with hot water and add that water to the blender. Blend all until smooth and creamy YUMMMM! 

Of course you can make this without a blender, just sub the nuts for already made nut milk and the date with honey or your choice of sweetener. But for me, the blender just makes it extra creamy and creates a lovely frothy top for your yummy drink!

Christmas Cheer!

Orchard Rd Lights 2011

It’s Christmas! I know this is cliché, but there is something about Christmas Carols that really do lift your spirits! This week I’ve been cranking out the Christmas mix on iTunes as I make my morning green smoothie and I find that an hour later I’m still jolly and merrily humming away.

Ok there is one little downer- that all the malls here in Singapore play the same Christmas cd on repeat all day everyday. And seeing as that every journey you take here involves you walking through a mall (or several), that is a lot of time to get cosy with that repetitious robotic caroling soundtrack…

Every year of my childhood that I can remember I spent the week leading up to Christmas performing in the Perth Nativity and for me that has become synonymous with the season. Standing in the middle of the city, surrounded by hundreds of people, all hushed and drawn into the magic of the story. The gentle light shining down on faces, the beautiful sound of strings and voices in harmony, the slow smooth breeze blowing across your neck… For me that is Christmas. Total strangers connected and enthralled in the story of life. It’s not about religion necessarily, it’s about the connection to others.

We all know Christmas has become a mass marketing ploy and so much of the holiday is now focused on gifts and shopping – so let’s try and turn that around into what underlies it all and that is the spirit of GIVING!

So when you are sharing gifts with your loved ones (and maybe also not always so loved ones hehe), really look and see how and what you are giving to them in your everyday life. Are you giving them your full attention? Your eyes? Your thoughts? Your voice?

Remember that all the people you surround yourself with are people you have chosen to be in your life, and you have chosen them for a reason. See the beauty and light in each and everyone of your special ones, and really give them your appreciation for that light.

And you might just find that the more you give and share with others, the more they give and share with you, and you ultimately receive =)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Living for today

Firstly, a warm welcome to my blog! This is my first entry and it has taken me a while to get to as I got way too carried away googling blog designs and my perfectionist streak came hurtling through... meaning I spent hours looking and planning and making absolutely no decisions at all. So be prepared to revisit this blog and find the design has changed as my perfectionist tendencies slowly rear their ever-present heads =)


And so funnily enough my word for today was: ACCEPTANCE.
I am a very passionate woman and most especially passionate about health and vitality and living your life to the fullest. But we can get bogged down by "trying" to live that life to the best it can be. And "trying" defeats the whole purpose right?


We spend so much time planning and researching and reading and don't get me wrong, all those are great and so important to give us our groundwork but do we really stop and just let that knowledge settle and work its magic? We are AMAZING people, capable of so much... if we let ourselves just be. The hardest thing is to let yourself go and switch your inner commentary off!


It seems all we have to do is live in the present. When you read it, it is such a beautifully simple statement. 
To live here on this Earth.
To be committed to this very second and THAT IS ALL.
No more.
You can't ask anymore of yourself than that.
No pressure, no expectations of what tomorrow will bring. 
Simply surrender yourself to yourself, as the human being you are at this moment in time.
That is Beauty. That is Love. That is Light.


And that is enough!