I once read that we are guided by our fears. In other words, every decision we make is a consequence of something we fear, whether it be the fear of never escaping home that has lead someone to travel the world, or that same fear that keeps someone else in the same place because they unjustifiably believe they can't escape.

I don't know what it is about fear that can have so much power over a person. Its those that are truly brave who can somehow overcome stagnant fears and reverse their destiny.

But how does one become brave?

Perhaps those of us who lack the "brave" drive are just lazy.

But no really, why should there be some of us that succeed and some of us who can't because we are blocked by fear?

We are all created equally, so we can all achieve equal potential, right?

Letting go of the fear can be hard. But from personal experience I know that it is possible. All we have to do is simply take a deep breath and jump.

If the worst that can happen is a rejection, there will always be new opportunities. Rejections are just one step closer to an acceptance.

Honestly, all it takes is a deep breathe and a jump. So like Nike says, Just Do it.

Why has it become so complicated for a regular human-being to be healthy, without the need of professional help? 

Our ancestors did it. They had no clue about nutrients or calories, they just ate. 

But as the years progressed, the simplicity of eating real, whole foods from nature disappeared. 

Our choices of what to eat multiplied, as processed and packaged foods began to turn up on super market aisles. Our waistlines simultaneously doubled, as society began to consume these new foods filled with promises of nutritional fulfillment. 

But how is a Twinkie considered real food when it is created in a laboratory where experts slave away to create the perfect concoction of artificial chemicals and substances to deem that Twinkie as real food? 

It is all a business. I swear. Profit is in the mindset of all major food producers. We know this. 

What chemicals we are exposed to, what frakenfood we are consuming, corporations, and even the government does not care. 

 Through deceptive advertising, they can turn a sugar filled, chemically charged yogurt into the essential staple for your everyday diet with claims like "low fat" or "natural." Add a picture of a glowing cow in an open field, and oh how we are fooled. 

Then we sit and wonder why we are so fat. And the truth is, our bodies are polluted with chemicals and toxins that weigh us down. 

I know I may sound cynical right now, but I assure you I am not. I am more frustrated at how society does not learn that a "quick, fast" solution is not possible. 

Its heartbreaking to see millions of people everyday being fooled by the food industry into thinking certain foods are healthy. 

As Micheal Pollan puts it, in his book In Defense of Food "Eat food. No too much. Mostly plants."

Thats it. Thats the magic cure to ultimate health. Eating food from earth and avoiding everything else. We need to be smarter as a society. Take a stand for what goes into our mouths and the mouths of those around us. 

Food is everything. It is the fuel. Its crucial for our survival. So we need to eat the best kinds to function at our best. 

Processed, packaged food is fake....You are what you eat. 

Hello my dear readers,

I know it has been a while since I have posted. I have a valid excuse though. College has once again started and since day one it has been hectic. Already I have quizzes, orals, papers, meetings, assignments, and reading galore!

I have been struggling since college started to maintain my healthy lifestyle. Lets face it, for all my college companions, food is so important in college. Food helps us de-stress and socialize. And the dinning hall is temptation all around, at least mine is. You walk right in and you are greeted with fresh baked cookies, soft and spongy bread pudding, and vanilla yogurt topped with whip creamed. Not to mention the smell of the oven baked pizzas and lure of a good ole fashion hamburger. Its all very tempting.

How do I stay sane? I am still trying to battle that one to be honest. Chocolate is my weakness, and chocolate is no stranger to our bakery.

Furthermore, if you are a freshman maybe this is new to you, but college cafeterias are buffet. An all you can eat buffet. So soon enough you are already on your fifth plate, somehow left with more room for dessert....

Mainly what I do in my college cafeteria is...
1. Stick to the salad bar and fruits. Peaches and bananas are my back to school obsession. Also our school has quinoa in the salad bar so when I want to have a meat less day, I just grab about half a cup of quinoa and mix some peas (a new obsession), green, tomatoes, banana peppers and water funky stuff i find in the salad bar. I drizzle with balsamic vinegar and I am full for the rest of the day!

2. take to go boxes. My school lets us get a "to go" box for whichever meal so I just grab my healthy foods and eat outside or in my room while watching some netflix. It really helps to control my temptations.

3. Do not get an unlimited meal plan. Honestly, it will just be a temptation to go eat in the dinning hall all day. Another thing is do not sit in the dinning hall. Know my friend and I always do brunch and homework and we stay there for hours, I find that I always eat more then I want to because a) i say, "oh its brunch so i have to eat twice as much" and b) "i am already here so i should just keep eating all i want".....BAD.

4. For those who skip breakfast, start your day with a protein shake or a kind bar. Don't skip breakfast, its not healthy from what I've read and just from simple common knowledge.

5. Study.. Hard. you will be to busy to be thinking about food. ha this really helps me.

6. And if night times are your munch times like they are for me, always plan to have a little healthy snack a little after dinner. It can be a dark chocolate square, or a piece of fruit or tea or something that will make you happy and control those urges!

A note on smoothies. I think it was an article from Goodhouskeeping or maybe Shape magazine I am not sure, but there was a study that said smoothies should always contain some protein to balance out the sugar content of a fruit smoothie. Furthermore the protein will help to keep you fuller longer.

My readers, I will try to continue posting every week, at least once. Crunch time is about to start soon, meaning tests, essays and all that will really be hitting me, but I am here and I am continuously reading new things to share with you all! Please leave comments telling me about things that you would like to hear and just keep in mind that clean eating and mean training will deliver results and that everyday is a new day so do not get discouraged and keep fighting because I know i am.

Happy sweatember!

The road to change can sometimes be frustrating. For me the biggest problem is the transition. I like to see results and get things done right away. I am an all or nothing type of gal. So when I cave in to a double fudge sunday or a dulce de leche cheesecake, I feel so disappointed and diverge further from the road to healthy and happy. 



Truthfully, change goes hand in hand with patience. If change were easy, everybody would be changing every day. It is definitely more rewarding achieving change from having to go through many trials and tribulations.

So, what I have found works best for me is to start slow. Yes its frustrating making little changes at first as apposed to just diving into whatever your ultimate goal is, but if we really think about it, each time we progress with our little goals, we are moving forward down the same path, without having major setbacks. 

To make this a little clear I shall compare this to my path to getting healthy. There were certain foods I needed to eliminate in order to keep myself working optimally. For example, milk, because unfortunately, I am allergic to it. If you know me well, you know that these things are severely unpleasant. But milk is contained in a lot of my favorite foods like cake, ice cream and chocolate. So yes it was hard, and because I wanted to go full throttle on eliminating milk, every time so milk happened to splash into my life, I went out like a maniac trying to eat all the milk products out there since I had been depriving myself of them and since I "ruined my progress." 

Lesson learned: A little of some of something isn't bad, and I shouldn't let that get me down. 

So what I started to do was use lactose aid pills to enjoy the foods with milk I liked, and slowly I started changing from mozzarella cheese to goat cheese (because it does not affect me as bad as the cow cheese) or almond cheese, and from ice cream to coconut ice cream or homemade banana ice cream without milk. 

Taking it slow really helped me to avoid that catastrophic collision. But now to the main point of this post. Today I would like to share 5 easy changes that you can make in your daily life to burn fat, live healthier, and function better! So lets get started 

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1 Tbsp. strong mustard

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

This recipe is part of her amazing lentil salad recipe found here: http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2010/06/the-best-lentil-salad-ever-2/

3. Start your day with a green smoothie
Find yourself rushing so much in the morning that breakfast is near to impossible to fit in? Well how about you try a smoothie? Its portable and does not require any sitting around ritual to eat! Greens smoothies are filled with fiber, and the right combination of ingredients can really create an amazing meal replacement. By starting your day with a nutritious smoothie, you are setting yourself up for success by motivating you to stay on track in your healthy life throughout the day. Furthermore, smoothie are easy for your body to digest, so its kindoff like a detox. If you are looking for the perfect detox smoothie for breakfast why not try Kimberly Snyders famous and delicious green smoothie for breakfast? Its filled with fiber and you wont taste the greens, I promise! And if you do not like it, you can always just experiment yourself. Add avocado for creaminess, add berries for flavor, add a handful of spinach for iron, fiber, and lots of other nutrients! Add almond milk for creaminess and added calcium. You can even add a good quality, plant based protein powder if you are eating after working out, or just want to feel more satisfied. 
Tip: Add greens to your kids smoothies, they wont taste the wonderful spinach of sexy kale! I promise!! You can add more berries to mask the colour of green or just tell them its a hulk smoothie :)

Often I find my inspiration is lacking. Discouragement  gets the better of me and I cannot find the energy or motivation to keep fighting for my goals, whatever they may be. 

I've found that what begins to inspire me again is visualization. Think about it, most likely our goals are formulated from an idea we have created from an experience. For example, I did not get the idea of becoming healthy from myself. I learned about being healthy from the world outside me. Seeing what a healthy lifestyle looked like, motivated me to pursue one. 

Whenever I see a delicious healthy meal, or a picture of someone with great abs, I get really motivated and I can envision myself wanting that. 

This is why I have created a visualization board, and I encourage you all to try making one as well. 

It is really easy and a fun project to keep you busy, motivated, and help your creative juices flowing. 

In order to keep that rush of motivation that one may feel from seeing a picture, or a word, we must keep that trigger of motivation around us. An inspiration board will help you to visualize and stay focused. You can create several visualization boards to post around your house. They can be big, or small, a simple quote or a picture on your desktop. 


All you need is magazines, glue, and a piece of paper. 

You can also find inspiration for pinterest, instagram, blogs and your own friends. I think that in order to stay powerful, motivated and successful, we need to continuously search for that inspiration. 

Another great idea is just to create a calendar and cross off the days that you do great. I don't know about you, but I love to check things off. It makes me feel accomplished! 

Inspiration guarantees success! Here is my inspiration board! 

Every saturday, without fail, my mum customarily sets up a morning spa. She puts on several face masks from the face tightening peel mask, to an edible honey mask. She then paints her nails and does her hair. 

I love mangoes! They are sweet and creamy. They explode during summer time which is so great! I love to eat them with salt&pepper, and a little bit of cumin. 

In Honduras we have mango verde. Now that is one scrumptious mango specie. Its sour, but mixed with a bit of spicy spice, and your mouth will have a latin dance party. 

Now how is this recipe nourishing to the body? Well mangos help to clear your skin by eliminating clogged pores... mango beauty mask anyone? They also help to balance the bodies acidity levels and prevent cancer! Supermango, superfood!

Avocados are also amazing. Perhaps even more amazing on a nutritional comparison. This anti-inflammatory fruit is a true beauty food, full of healthy fats that help to clear your skin, prevent cancer, regulate blood.. really the list goes on. 

This recipe is so reversible. You can add so many different ingredients to switch it up every time you make it. You will never get bored of this mango and avocado combination, I promise!