Thursday 22 November 2012

Beach Vacation & Christmas = Interesting Combo

It's finally time!

Time to take off to Varadero, Cuba. I won the trip about a month ago and at times I think time slowed down and crawled backwards but at the same time, I can't believe it's the end of November already.

Doesn't look to shabby to me?! - img via
We are leaving early Saturday morning and have a quick layover in Calgary. We should be getting into Cuba around 9pm, just in time to grab a drink at the bar. I've got to be honest, I never considered going to Cuba as I had heard from so many people how bland the food was. I never even spent a minute to investigate it on my own. Well ever since we won the trip I've been googling and flipping through pictures of Varadero. People!! Why didn't you tell me they had gorgeous beaches?! Food, who cares about food when you have gorgeous white sand beach and crystal blue ocean waves sparkling at you. All I need is a drink in hand and I'm good. Jeeeez.

I'll definitely be reporting back on my opinion of Cuba compared to other Carribean destinations. I've heard that the people are quite charming and nice like in Dominican Republic. Sweet news to my ears.

We get back into Vancouver on December 2nd. It's going to be strange going from pretty much no Christmas activity in our town to boom, Christmas season galore. I'm excited to start decorating our place. It's our first year in our new condo and our first Christmas living together. Our place is far too tiny to have a fake or real tree so I've scanning the web and Pinterest (of course) trying to find some alternatives. Any ideas anyone?

A little Christmas tree this year - img via
I've been having a craving for pomegranate's this past couple weeks and gave in the other day and bought Scott and I a big one. I couldn't believe that it cost $5.00 just for one but I just had to get my fix. I haven't been having any sugar treats so this was going to be my splurge treat. I tried out the under water method of opening it up. It works so well! It was alot easier then tearing at it while all the pomegranate juice squirts on your hands, eyes and clothes. Come December I'm going to try creating a Pomegranate Martini. Any recipes you could suggest??

A simple pomegranate martini - know of any great recipes? - img via


Well folks, until December....
Have a great holiday Thanksgiving and talk to you soon. xo

-Michelle

Wednesday 21 November 2012

New Website Launched: Holistic Health Coaching

Ladies and Gents..... I give you:  My New Website!

Join me for a Health History consultation
www.REVIVE-healthcoach.com

I've been a busy bee lately (or should I say elf?!). I'm no website designer but I've given it my best and created my own website for my Holistic Health Coaching Practice.

Man is it nerve racking to put yourself out there. When you present something straight from your soul that means the most to you, it can become a tad bit scary. But this is what I'm meant to do in life and I'm happy to help people.

Hope you enjoy it!

Please pass it along to any of your family or friends who you think would benefit from health coaching program.

Lots of love,
Michelle

Friday 16 November 2012

Weekend Warm-Up : Getting Close

It's almost time...

Time for me to escape the hectic stressful days (positive thoughts, positive thoughts) and lie on the beach for a week. This weekend I'm tieing up all my loose ends before I leave for Cuba next weekend. It's amazing all the little things you remember you have to pack. I wish I was one of those travelers who could bring the bare minimal. I always decide to bring the "just in case" items. Hey.... you never know when you might need a different pair of shoes.

Over the past couple weeks I've been amping up my workout routines and scaling back my "treats". I've barely ate any salt lately and have only had one glass of wine this week. I'm craving a nice bowl of ice cream right about now lol. I feel amazing though and I don't think I'll change too much in regards to my diet, once I get back from Cuba. I feel Cleeeeeeeeean.

 Some lovely links from around the web:
img via Lululemon





Have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

Thursday 15 November 2012

The Soda Pop Ban Debate

What's your opinion of the ban on super sized sodas in New York City?

I think it's a good idea. People don't realize how many calories they are consuming and how much sugar is in them. People also don't take in account the amount chemicals they are consuming when they drink the diet and normal soda pop. Over time a large consumption of soda pop can catch up to your health and cause harm.

I understand that everyone has a right to choose what they eat or drink but we are still in the times of extreme marketing and advertising that hypnotise people and then have them addicted to the sugar.

Check out this infograph that presents some interesting facts:

Source: everyday HEALTH

-Michelle

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Cancer Update

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

As you may know, my mom was diagnosed with cancer back in August. It's been quite the roller coaster of emotions from one week to the next. She's an incredible strong woman who is continuing to work while she does her chemo treatments. Her lump in her neck has gone down (woohoo) and the cancer in her lungs has begun to respond to treatment. This round of chemotherapy will last till the new year.

print via

Overwhelming heavy heart while the brain reminds me to keep positive and remove the sadness. It's a constant conflict but I'm lucky that I am constantly surrounded by optimistic positive influences. I think the hardest part is seeing someone you love so sick. There's no controlling how she is going to feel each day. She may have plans to come over and visit but by half way through she has to leave as she starts to feel too sick. That's when I want to jump in and take her place. Just give her a break from it all. She's learnt through trial and error that the body responds to what you feed it. So there's no bad fats anymore and tons of healthy fruits and vegetables that keep her from being sicker than she needs too.

Now here's a kicker, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer a couple weekends ago. He's got melanoma on his back and goes in for an operation in the end of November. He's only in his late 60's and suffered a heart attack a couple years ago. Man, the saying "when it rains, it pours" is quite true! Gramps likes to keep to himself about his health issues but I'm always going to be there when he needs some support. I've got my positive thoughts and fingers crossed that the operation goes smoothly and everything is back on track.

While performing health history consultations with people over the last little while, I've noticed a frightening trend. Almost every single person I've talked to has someone in their life who has been diagnosed with cancer. And so often when you run into someone around town and the topic of cancer comes up, they know someone who is battling cancer. This absolutely astonishes me, disgusts me and motivates me. How does it motivate me? Since studying at IIN to become a health coach, I've learnt so much more on how it's possible to prevent many cancers and to never give cancer a chance to live in your body. We are what we eat! By also monitoring our stress levels and increasing happiness, I believe there is hope to bring the rate of new cancer patients down and help current cancer patients recover. I want to help people learn how often we put our health in danger through nutrition & lifestyle and how it is preventable and reversible.

Take Control of Your Health, Before it Takes Control of You

I have a dream that one day we teach our children the ways to prevent cancer & illness through nutrition and well being. I want it to be a common fact just like how we now teach our children about sex education.

Knowledge can change the world!

-Michelle

Wednesday 7 November 2012

5 Interesting Water Facts That Will Benefit Your Health

Our body is made up out of 75% of water and our brain is made up out of 85% of water. Water is crucial to our health. Water is believed to be more important than food! We could last for a while without food but could not last for days without water.

5 Interesting Water Facts 
  1. Often times when you think you are hungry for food it is in fact your body sending signals that you are dehydrated and need more water. Try having a glass of water before reaching for food.
  2. Drinking warm water in the morning helps to activate your brain and metabolism. Drinking cold water actually makes your body work harder by trying to warm the water up to body temperature. It's best to drink cold water in the afternoons.
  3. Water can be used for therapy. Showers can make you feel refreshed and awakened. When you are feeling sick it's important to take several showers to clean the "gunk" off and let your body breathe.
  4. It is recommend that men drink 13 cups of water a day and women drink 9 cups. It's best though to get in tune with your body and find what amount works for you.
  5. Above all, water can heal. Next time you have a headache, try drinking more water and you will be amazed that the headache will ease off or disappear all together. Water can flush toxins out of your body and make room for fresh healthy cells.
It's important to take in natural, clean water. Coffee, soda and tea can actually have the opposite effect and dehydrate you. Try to avoid water that contains chlorine and when possible filter your water.

Are you good at getting your proper amount of water in a day?

-Michelle

Monday 5 November 2012

Dirty Apron Cooking School in Vancouver

We had a blast this past weekend at The Dirty Apron Cooking School.

The whole experience was all around exceptional. It's in this brick building tucked in Downtown Vancouver. The 4 of us took a cab over as we didn't want to be cooking in soaking wet clothes from the down pour of rain coming down. We were greeted with welcoming smiles and a lovely glass of sparkling wine. There was about 20 people in the class and we all gathered to sit and watch the chef teach us our first course. After teaching us our first recipe he let us free to find out cooking stations.

Chef and his Students
Our first course was a goat cheese and arugula ravioli in a walnut sage sauce. For the first time in my life, I made fresh pasta people! I'm never going back and Scott & I are investing in a pasta machine. After we were done cooking the appitizer we all got to take our dishes back to a long dining table to enjoy it. Yum! The common comment around the table was "I made that?!".

Our main entree was grilled lamb sirloin with ricotta herb gnocchi and chanterelle sauce. They were nice of enough to provide a piece of black cod for me (being the veg and all). It was also nice that the gnocchi wasn't potato based but instead a ricotta base which made it much lighter. It was all super easy to cook and the staff was great at coming around to check on your progress and offer tips.

Again we came back to the long wooden table and enjoyed the meal with our friends over a delish glass of wine. Our desserts, lemon panacotta that we made were brought out to us after we were finished our entrees. I accidentally forgot to put the gelatin in mine (oops lol). Mine came out like a soup but it was great to dip my biscotti in!

The whole experience was exciting and worth the money. It's something different to do with friends if you are looking to change up your typical dinner night. We got to take our nice aprons home and the recipes we made. The only flaw I encountered is the food is a bit on the unhealthy side but it was nice as a treat.

How was your weekend?
-Michelle

Friday 2 November 2012

Weekend Warm-Up : Cooking School (Dirty Apron)

Happy Friday everyone!

A big TGIF for me this week. I think I've accidently slept in about 3 times this week. I tend to need more sleep when I'm stressed in life. No matter how many naps I catch, still not enough. Hopefully next week will be alot different and I can get back into my groove.

Special Sushi Making Party Night
The past few weekends we've been on a trend of creating different foods we've never tried cooking/making before. Scott created a wonderful sushi meal a couple weekends ago. We all got a turn to make our own rolls and they turned out amazing. I thought I could totally nail it but mine was the worst one! lol. By the time all the prepping was complete we were starving. I don't think I've ever eaten sushi that fast, tsk tsk on me.

This weekend we are heading to The Dirty Apron Cooking School here in downtown Vancouver. For Scott's birthday present, his best friend bought all of us a night out together at the cooking school. This has been a dream of Scott's for a while. I think this will really take his passion for cooking to a new level. The school has been nice enough to offer me a non meat dish to cook. Greeeat now I'll be "that veggie girl" again haha! I'm really looking forward to it all, should be fun.

Lovely Links: 
 What are you doing this weekend?
-Michelle
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