Summer Favourite & Giveaway!

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After eating a bowl full of delicious, fresh, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries with greek yogurt, chia, and cinnamon on top, I felt inspired to tell you all that fresh berries are hands down my favourite thing about summer. What a great way to start a sunny Saturday.

Now, on to the even better stuff. I'm going to have a giveaway in honour of my new path to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist! More details to come next week!

Five for Friday.

1. Eminem came on the radio on my way to work this morning and I thought of how we listened to him while driving through Michigan. haha

2. You called right after my meeting on Wednesday to find out how it went.

3. You support me in all of my craziness.

4. You don't know it yet, but when you come home you will be my case study and I can test all my healthy ways on you. Be warned. :)

5. We're two and a half weeks down! Ha.

A New Path...

I have been contemplating what I want to do with my life for some time now. It's been somewhat of a struggle for me over the last five years or so because how are you supposed to know where you are going when you have no idea where you want to go? It was difficult, but I've been directed into an area I'm very passionate about!

In September, I'll be beginning classes to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN). The program is 1 year ( I can choose afterwards to go for 2 years to get an advanced diploma) full-time, which is actually only two nights per week. There is a lot to learn, so it's going to be challenging, but most importantly very fun because I am so interested in health, food, the body, and the way it all works together!

If you're wondering what an RHN is exactly, here is the description from the school's website:

"R.H.N.s™ Registered Holistic Nutritionists™, (or, Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultants™ in the Atlantic Provinces) (or, Holistic Nutritionists™ or Holistic Nutritional Consultants™ in Alberta) are professionals trained in Natural Nutrition and complementary therapies, whose principal function is to educate individuals and groups about the benefits and health impact of optimal nutrition.

Mainstream medicine does not emphasize the significance of poor nutrition as a major cause of a wide range of health disorders. Although most people are aware of the benefits of sound nutrition, the range of conflicting information available to the consumer is often confusing. RHNs™ guide their clients through the maze of information from books, magazines, supplements and diets on the market. They work with clients to identify and help correct the nutritional causes of diseases, and they are qualified to design personalized diet and lifestyle programs that optimize health. Many RHNs™ also contribute to the health and well-being of Canadians by writing articles for prominent health care magazines such as Alive and Vitality."

I am so excited! I can't wait to start the program so I can start assisting others in maintaining healthy, fulfilled lives!

Juice!

After what feels like a million hours of talking about juicing, cleansing and the whole catastrophe, I'm actually going to make a positive post about it! I bought my juicer on Friday night and boy have I been having fun. I made a trip to the market and got all sorts of fun veggies like beets, kale, fenugreek, ginger, and a host of other things!

This morning's juice is blogworthy. Seriously, it is amazing. I've only taken a few sips so far because I'm waiting for it to chill in the fridge for awhile, but it's fantastic.

Look at that gorgeous green colour. Pure health.

You might be curious to know what is in this! Half a head of romaine lettuce, 3 stalks of kale (don't think they are juicy enough!), a lemon, 2 apples, and a small piece of ginger. Obviously this isn't all of it, it made quite a bit! I highly recommend.

Five for Friday.

I miss...

1. your help in folding up the fitted sheet. I just can't get it right.
2. your organizing.
3. seeing your excited face when I get home from work.
4. hanging out on Sundays and doing fun things with you like going to the farmer's market.
5. spending time with you in the truck (while driving across North America) just being content in each other's presence.



PS. Totally off topic - Bava juice is having a tough time figuring out how to get the product to me and keeping it fresh. I've decided I don't want to do it right now because it's been too stressful so I think I'm going to buy a juicer and do my own thing. I will keep you updated but I just wanted to let you all know in case you were wondering where the fun cleanse posts were!

Happy Friday!

Delay...

I am sad to report that there has been a delay in the cleanse. Bava sent out my cleanse on Monday for next day delivery by 8:30am. Apparently, Canada Post fails in a really bad way and STILL haven't delivered it. Nevertheless, Bava is really stepping it up so kudos to them! They had another cleanse out for delivery bright and early this am with a courier company so it will reach me tomorrow morning.

Yesterday, I was a VERY unhappy person while waiting for my cleanse to arrive. I didn't eat until 2pm because I was oh so hopeful it would magically appear. It didn't but the Chinese food I ordered was amazing. Note to self - never do that again because bad (but yummy!) food choices are made.

So, stay tuned, blog friends for my reviews on their product in the next few days!

ETA: The first cleanse delivery was delivered this afternoon. It wasn't pretty. The postal worker placed the juice on the reception part of my desk and it dripped out everywhere. Drip may not even be the right word. Exploded would be a better description. Pressure had built up and the caps (which are strong!) and popped like champagne corks. I wish I took photos because it would have been entertaining to you, I'm sure. Tomorrow will bring new juice, a positive attitude, and a happy, healthy cleanse. Can't wait.

Happy Monday!

Remember the cleanse I mentioned last week? Well, it starts tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited about three days of drinking juice! Tomorrow morning, bright and early, 12 wine bottles filled with a variety of juices will arrive at my door for me to consume for the next three days. I am a pretty clean eater, but regardless of that, it's good to cleanse every once and awhile. I've done a store bought cleanse before where you still eat foods, which really isn't the point. Rarely does our body ever get to cleanse our digestive systems. It takes 12 hours of not eating solids before our body begins to cleanse! By this point you may be thinking I'm nuts, but look at these yummy flavours and tell me you wouldn't love it? (Okay, so I'm fully aware at times it's not going to be easy, and I will be sure to track exactly how I feel and give you a run down mid-week.)

Introducing Good Morning Bava, a blend of beets, carrots, celery, lemon, apple, parsley, and lemongrass.

Lemon/Cranberry concetrate with a blend of lemons and cranberries to add to your water throughout the day!

Good Afternoon Bava, a blend of broccoli, parsnip, cucumber, kale, granny smith apples, asparagus, watermelon, and mint.

Good Evening Bava, a blend of grapes, cabbage, blueberries, grapefruit, papaya, pineapple, watercress, and ginger.

Mmm, can't wait for this one! Feel like a nut milk Bava with almonds, sesame seeds, dates, vanilla beans, anise, fenugreek, nutmeg, cardamon, black pepper, and gloves. (Mmm, chai!)

Well, there we have it! My Canadian friends can get these juices ordered fresh here. There are no preservatives in them whatsoever, so they only last for four days max. I will post updates throughout the week letting you know how I'm progressing!

I feel like...

...I'm always posting "where have I been" posts because I'm so sporatic with my posting. This time, I've seriously been places not just sitting around thinking about blogging!

Dan put his name in for a position last week to be an instructor for an Army course in New Brunswick, and within 48 hours we were leaving to drive across North America! It was crazy and amazingly wonderful. We hit a million states and a couple provinces. I have added SO many places to my "states visited" and "provinces visited" list. It was a four day journey so we didn't have a lot of time to stop and soak up the sights, but we did stop to see my beautiful friend, Jamie. We had yet to meet in person (although we do have plans for Chicago Rock 'n Roll Marathon next month!!!!) so it was great to finally spend time together! Her fiance was in town so our guys got to meet too, which made it all extra fab!

So, alone I wait for another four months or so until Dan comes back! I have been feeling a little squishy lately due to the "boyfriend just returned from 10 months away - eat and drink whatever you want" mentality so here I return back to healthy eating. Next time he comes home, I swear I will maintain my healthy eating and not fall off the bandwagon. In an attempt to kick start my healthy eating habits, I've just purchased a juice cleanse that will be delivered on Tuesday! It sounds amazing and has great reviews so I can't wait! I will have more details on that next week!

I miss you all loads and will getting back into the swing of things here! I have lots of photos to share with you soon!