Caroline is the owner & founder of Custom by Care, a sustainable candle company who mission is to bring beauty and nature into our homes through her hand poured natural candles and wildflower program.
What is your role?
I’m the founder of Custom by Care.
How do you remain grounded to your work?
Staying grounded while running a business as a solo entrepreneur can be difficult and isolating at times. Spending time with my friends and fellow entrepreneurs gives me the opportunity to get out of my own head. Making time to rest and recharge while reconnecting with nature is equally important to me.
What are your top 3 self-care practices?
My favourite self-care practices are exercise, ice baths and bubble baths (can you tell I’m a water sign?).
How did you find yourself on this path?
Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t really something that I’d ever considered but I’m happy that my path has led me here.
Like many other people, I lost my job during the pandemic and was endlessly applying to jobs. My mental health was really suffering. One of my friends eventually gave me the advice just to start something that I was passionate about, that would also show employers that I was using this “time off” to be productive. So what am I passionate about?
- The environment
- Things that are beautiful
- Anything that smells amazing
During this time, bubble & body figure candles were very popular, so I started there, using soy & coconut wax, organic cotton wicks, and non-toxic and cruelty-free fragrances. I created several color variations and started donating proceeds from each launch to charity.
After a number of votive variations, I committed to a full rebrand at the end of 2022. My main focus was to create a candle vessel that was so beautiful, that it would be repurposed to eliminate waste. Each candle is sent out with seed paper to encourage planting your own wildflower plant, and a tree is planted with every purchase.
What is your favourite meal?
The truffle mushroom pasta & kale salad from Gusto.
If you could put any message on a billboard, what would it say?
Go easy on yourself, you’re doing the best you can.
What are 3 books that have had a lasting impact on you?
Quit Like a Woman - Holly Whitaker
The Untethered Soul - Michael Alan Singer
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb
How do you shift your mood if you're feeling self-deprecating?
Give yourself space to feel your feelings, but when you catch yourself on a loop, try to reframe the narrative. Move your body, get out of your home, and spend time with someone you love.
If you could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead) who would it be?
Rihanna - the way she navigates being an entertainer, a mother, and entrepreneur is mind boggling.
What impact or shift do you hope to create in the world?
Sustainability has always been incredibly important to me, and I hope we all find creative ways to give back to the planet that has given us everything. We mindlessly ingest so many harmful substances with products and food, so it’s important to shift our awareness and make changes that will benefit us in the long run. I also hope that with self-care practices, we can be graceful with ourselves so we can better support the community around us.
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Stella is a meditation & breathwork coach as well as a guide for women through her circle events & retreats. She is profoundly passionate about helping others create genuine connection & be a part of solving loneliness in this world.
What is your role?
My role is to inspire and help cultivate conscious connection between all beings. Through a multitude of modalities, I believe we can all rediscover out divine unity and eradicate loneliness.
How do you remain grounded to your work?
Taking time for intentional solitude and reflection. Always committing to my personal growth and learning through listening.
What are your top 3 self-care practices?
Dancing/Listening to my favourite music, LOTS of sleep, and hot/cold therapy.
How did you find yourself on this path?
I travelled a long way to find where i wanted to land in this world. I went through many jobs, friendships, and opportunities where I felt out of place. I was a kid that was heavily bullied growing up and always dreamed one day of being the cool kid. As I got older, I realized it was less about being “cool” and more about learning how to be a beacon of light for those struggling. I vowed to make sure I could find a life path that helped others escape loneliness and feel a deeper sense of self love.
What is your favourite meal?
A colourful and bright Greek salad and chicken cutlets! I love fresh foods and lots of texture!
If you could put any message on a billboard, what would it say?
TELL YOU FRIENDS AND FAMILY YOU LOVE THEM.
What are 4 books that have had a lasting impact on you?
Relax More, Try Less, The 4 Agreements, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover
How do you shift your mood if you're feeling self-deprecating?
This is a huge question!! I firstly think it’s important to know everyone feels this. I used to always think this was such an individual experience but we all carry self doubt with us no matter how “successful” we are. I tend to always start with a walk or step outside and getting some fresh air. Getting out of the house is such a small and powerful hack! I always remind myself that I am trying my best and that my value is not tied to my accomplishments. I will typically do a meditation and/or do some dancing to shake up any stagnant energy and not take myself too seriously.
If you could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead) who would it be?
Don Miguel Ruiz or my late grandmother, who was my best friend :)
What impact or shift do you hope to create in the world?
I hope to create a world that feels energized with love and compassion. A world that is kind. Where people feel like they are more than what they do, where they feel a sense of freedom from autonomy to be their most authentic self. I hope to infuse the world with more love.
Emma is a chiropractor, breath worker, and movement teacher who has a profound passion for helping people step into their power and healing through movement and breath.
What is your role?
My role is to teach people how to use movement as medicine and awaken people to their own innate health and healing.
How do you remain grounded to your work?
I stay grounded in my work by practicing what I preach and remembering that there is always space for me to grow and to learn.
What are your top 3 self-care practices?
My top 3 self care practices (super simplified) are getting good sleep, eating Whole Foods and moving my body in intentional ways.
How did you find yourself on this path?
I grew up in a household that valued health. That alone set the tone and put me on this path at a very young age. When I was about 16 or 17 I was experiencing really bad period cramps and my medical doctor had zero solutions for me other than birth control as a band-aid fix. Not only was she not able to help me, I felt like she didn’t even listen to me or hear my story. That lit a fire inside of me to become a health care practitioner that actually listens to peoples stories and to always get down to the root cause of health problems.
What is your favourite meal?
My favourite meal is a bowl filled with all the yummiest ingredients. I love salads, bowls and smoothies because there’s so much space to add in nutritious ingredients. When I eat a meal that I know is healing to my body, it’s always a 10/10 for me.
If you could put any message on a billboard, what would it say?
Learn to use your breath!! Your breath controls your nervous system and your nervous system controls your life.
What are 3 books that have had a lasting impact on you?
The power of now, Untamed, any teaching or books by Dr. Joe Dispenza.
How do you shift your mood if you're feeling self-deprecating?
When I’m thinking self-deprecating thoughts I recognize the thought patterns that are happening. By identifying them I can separate myself from them. I am me, and my thoughts are just simply thoughts. This helps me drop into the present and connect back to my true knowing. I find movement, dancing, and breathwork to be incredibly helpful as well when I’m struggling to shift states. There’s no better pick-me-up then putting on your favourite song, dancing around your living room and taking some deep sighs!!
If you could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead) who would it be?
Dr. Joe Dispenza. Hands down.
What impact or shift do you hope to create in the world?
I hope to create an awareness around the power of the body and mind. If I can help people realize how powerful they truly are, that they have innate intelligence within them and they have the ability to heal themselves… well then I’ve done my job.
On Day 4 of a 7 day trip, I decided to grab a seat in in one of the many beautiful parks in Amsterdam and go through my “Mid-Trip Check In” found in the workbook:
Relaxed + Calm
My main intention with this trip was to come back feeling as relaxed and rejuvenated as possible, both mentally and physically. I’m visiting Amsterdam because my partner has to be here for work so I knew that I would have a lot of solo time and decided to use it to sink into my favourite self-care rituals such as spending time in parks, doing walking meditations, drinking coffee slowly on a patio next to the canals, and reading books in all of the different green spaces around the city.
I’m very grateful to check in with myself and reassure myself that I am, in fact, unbelievably relaxed and calm. The days have felt slow (a very different pace from my normal life) and the food has been amazing, two things that allow my body to feel safe and calm.
Hydration
The first 3 days I really struggled with drinking enough water. Flights will always make you dehydrated and with lots of travel I barely drank any water the first day. By day 2 I could feel the effects on my body with my digestion, skin, and brain fog so I knew that I needed to do something to change this.
I started by asking the front desk for a large bottle to use as a refillable water bottle and then found a filtered fountain in the gym. So, every time we would leave the hotel or come back home, we filled it up. I also noticed that they don’t serve water automatically at restaurants and cafes in the Netherlands and the bottled water can be quite expensive but by asking for some tap water with a smile I’ve managed to make sure that I’m drinking at least 3 glasses of water for every coffee or beer that I order.
These two changes have ensured that my body is getting enough water daily which is allowing me to feel so much better and have more energy for exploring.
Movement
Fortunately this is a city to move your body. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than there are humans.. It’s incredible! We rented bikes for the week so each day I’ve been walking 10k to 15k steps plus biking 10-20km exploring this beautiful city.
We also ensured that our hotel had a gym which we used the first few days that we were here to help get us through the jet-lag with some intense movement when we were feeling our bodies starting to get tried from the time-change and not wanting to overdo it with coffees.
Work Thoughts
I certainly struggled with allowing myself to not have work thoughts but because I set the intention to check out of work in order to give my brain the much deserved break before leaving, I’ve been able to remind myself that this is one of the reasons that I am here and have been able to disconnect.
#1 - Remind yourself of your intentions for your trip. WHY are you on vacation? It is so that you can spend money worrying about work? No. So, sink back into your intention and allow yourself the permission to disconnect.
#2 - Keep a notepad with you and take the time to write down your thoughts as they come up. Shift your perspective of HAVING work thoughts to GETTING to think about a project or a topic for longer than you would back home. When we are exploring new countries our brains have different stimuli so new and creative thoughts can flow much more freely.
#3 - Daily meditations have been a new addition for me on this trip and it’s had such an incredible benefit for me. By starting my mornings with a meditation in the park, I’ve been clearing my thoughts and coming into the present moment. This has allowed my brain to relax and not strain back to the soothing comfort of work thoughts. It's been very interesting catching myself uncomfortable with time on my hands, but when we experience friction in our life it’s normally the sign that it is something that we need to sink into.
#4 - CHAT WITH LOCALS. This has been the absolute best tool to shift my thoughts. I’ve been spending a lot of time in between wonderful cafes and coffee shops and have been making an effort to talk with the local servers, bartenders, baristas, and patrons.
Just this morning I met a wonderful Estonian man named Siim who is moving to Norway with his wife next month and has owned the cafe “Scandinavian Embassy” in Amsterdam for 6 years. He is a baker by trade and served me the greatest cinnamon roll I’ve ever had in my life. We spoke about food, why the herring in the Netherlands in the best in the world, his favourite bites to eat and recommendations on where to take my bike on an adventure.
By speaking with the locals and getting interested in their life and their experiences it pulls you out of your own thoughts PLUS they will always give you the best food and drink recommendations that you normally can’t find on any blog or travel guide.
By going through this Mid-Week check list, I’ve realized the following:
Kensington Market is one of my favourite places in the city to go to for inspiration and incredible food. It is a mix of bohemian style with vintage shops, food stands, cafes, and art galleries.
I go every Friday to pick up my groceries for the week and love talking to Joe, the owner of one of the vegetable shops. I never visit Joe with a list of things to pick up, instead I ask him what his favourites are of the week.
This recipe is my ode to a place that I love so much and gain so much inspiration from. The salad changes week to week - But this one was a little extra special.
MOST IMPORTANT STEP:
Before eating, take a moment to savour the beauty of these vegetables and have a moment of gratitude that we get to enjoy such beautiful produce thanks to our local farmers.]]>
When it comes to understanding how our digestion system functions it's really valuable to understand the connection between it and our nervous system. It's easy to think of our digestion system as a 24/7 working system but our different nervous systems have a massive impact on when our digestion system is running and how efficient it is.
The digestive system is connected to the nervous system in several ways through a specialized network called the enteric nervous system (ENS). In addition, it is also connected through the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which includes the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) divisions, and through the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The ANS is the part of our nervous system that controls involuntary functions like heartbeat, digestion, and breathing. It is then divided into two different systems:
Sympathetic System (SNS) This system prepares our body for the “fight or flight” response. It prepares our body by increasing our heart rate, dilating pupils, and slowing down digestion.
Parasympathetic System (PNS) This system prepares our body for the “rest and digest” function. When we are in this state our heart rate is slower, our pupils constrict, and our digestion system is being fully supported and promoted to flourish.
Fight or Flight Response vs. Digestion
When our SNS is activated our ability to digest food is greatly hindered because it prioritizes bodily functions that are critical for immediate survival and suppresses functions that are less necessary to respond to a threat like our digestion system.
Essentially, when our body’s perceive a stressful situation our brain is treating that stressor like it is a Saber Tooth Tiger coming out of the Tundra about to eat our Caveman-self so it’s ONLY goal is to direct all energy and attention to being alert and being able to run away.
We don’t need to be able to digest anything while in that state because why would we ever be eating if we were being attacked?
Normally once we ran away from the threat, our bodies would begin to shift into the PNS, the “rest and digest” system and promote other restorative process.
Unfortunately in today’s day and age most of our stressors come from things like email, phone calls, and the news which do not elicit a physical response which keeps our body in the SNS making it impossible to have a fully functioning digestion system.
Shifting Your Body's Nervous System
The first step in shifting our body from the SNS to the PNS (aka. from the "fight or flight" response to the "rest and digest" response) is to be aware of what is happening around us and to check in with our body to see if we are feeling calm or anxious. If we are feeling anxious, here are a few things we can do before we eat to ensure that we are priming our digestion system:
There is so much information on our nervous systems as we are just barely scratching the surface, but these are the fundamental learnings that have helped me understand why it's so important to be in a relaxed state before I enjoy a meal and what to implement if I'm not. So before your next meal, take a moment to check in with your body and give it some love and attention... Your digestion system will thank you.
xo Madi
]]>As with all my blogs, this is my personal experience of what happened when I changed how much protein I was consuming and the types. I am not here to prove to anyone that THIS is the right way, it is simply my lived experience and story to share.
Now that the boundaries have been set, dive in with me.
The year before the pandemic I was at my lowest. I was my lowest weight, my lowest energetic self, and the least confident I had ever been. There were many personal reasons for this dip in vitality, but one of the major reasons was my diet choices. I was overly cautious on every macronutrient other than fibre and was apprehensive about eating too much protein.
I was completely plant-based at that time and was getting less than 40g of plant-based protein into my daily diet. I was struggling with my body image and my “goals” in the gym were always to get smaller - To reduce my number on a scale.. To reduce the circumference of my arms and thighs. I felt lethargic yet it was something that I could control.
Fortunately life happened and put me in a position where I knew that I needed to make a drastic shift. I began to journal daily and note how I was feeling when I woke up and how I was feeling before I went to bed. I began to get curious about my diet versus wanting to control it. I began making changes to my diet. I stopped fasting (there are benefits to fasting correctly for a female, but I will dig into that in another blog) and began introducing eggs for breakfast. It was the first time in my life that I was prioritizing protein and healthy fats in my breakfast - I found that I wasn’t hitting a wall of exhaustion at 1pm, I found that I didn't need that extra coffee in the afternoon.
By taking the necessary steps to heal my relationship with my body I began to ask myself how I would feel if my goal was to be strong instead of small.
That's when the energy started to flow.
I began to re-introduce animal protein into my diet, alongside a predominately plant-forward plate, and found that I had more energy, less brain fog, and better focus. When I stopped looking for someone to give me the magical numbers of the ideal diet and started to look at my diet as a personal journey for my unique body I was able to identify what worked, and what didn’t work, for my body type and lifestyle.
Fast forward to today. I eat roughly over 100g of protein per day with a focus on getting a diverse amount of fibre from fruits and vegetables. I am the heaviest weight I have ever been, yet I am the strongest I have ever been. I went from barely being able to deadlift 40lbs to confidently lifting 135lb with ease. I now experience sustainable energy throughout my day with only one small coffee around 9am in the morning AFTER breakfast and I no longer have visceral cravings for sweets after dinner. I look forward to working out to see what my body can do that day, I find joy in pushing my limits and no longer give a s#!t about how my arms or thighs look.. I only care about how they feel to me.
Getting curious about my diet and tuning out the noise was one of the greatest shifts I've ever made for myself. By making protein a priority in my diet I've been able to change so much in my life that brings me great joy.
It's hard to question our beliefs, but our bodies have a deep knowing of what they need - Sometimes we simply need to stop and listen to what it is asking for.
There are many different ways of getting protein into your diet - It can be plant-based, it can be animal-based, or a combination of both - But I will always advocate for everyone to get curious about how much they are getting into their daily diet and to experiment with different amounts.
Protein plays various crucial roles for our bodily functions. I could go on and on about the impacts it has but there are far smarter people to learn that from. If you would like to dive into the true science behind it here is a Huberman podcast with Dr. Layne Norton explaining the significance of protein in detail. Instead - I’ve put down my Cole’s notes so that you can get the idea as to why it is so important for our bodies.
Growth & Repair
Protein is a vital component of our body’s tissues, muscles, organs, and skin. If you do not have adequate protein, your body can not build or repair these structures. One of the greatest impacts I found was that when I increased my protein intake, my body’s aches and pains went away. I was able to work out and not be in agony for 2-3 days post lifting weights.
Hormones (with a CAPITAL H)
Protein provides the necessary amino acids that serve as building blocks for hormone production. They help produce and regulate hormones such as estrogen and progesterone and when your body is lacking adequate protein is can lead to hormonal imbalances that cause irregular menstrual cycles, fatigue, muscle weakness, hair loss, and a weakened immune function.
Let’s just say that I learned my lesson when I developed a massive bald spot dead centre in the middle of my head, a reaction that I explain by an immense amount of stress that I didn’t know how to process and a drastic deficiency in protein in my diet.
Immune Function
Protein plays a vital role in our immune systems. The amino acids mentioned earlier produce immune cells (such as white blood cells and antibodies) that are crucial in fighting infections, detecting and fighting pathogens, and coordinating our immune response. A lack of adequate protein can cause increased inflammation, wounds to heal slower, and a reduction in immune cells.
Proteins serve as enzymes that are critical for our digestion, energy production, and creation of new molecules. It helps balance the fluid levels in our body and even acts as transported for various molecules like hemoglobin (the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood)… You get the gist of it.. Protein is absolutely VITAL for our health.
By consistently having my Nook meals ready to go in my fridge Monday to Friday I’m now able to hit my protein targets while finally having the time during the week to consistently get to the gym so that I can feel stronger, both mentally and physically.
As always - If you have any questions about my personal journey shifting my diet or about ways to get more protein into your diet please reach out to me at madi@eatnook.ca - You deserve to understand how incredible your body can feel, and how strong your mind can be, when you care for it with the proper nutrition and movement it craves.
xo Madi
]]>As a kid, I dreamt of finding colossal chocolate bunny statues made by the incredible Reid's Chocolate, the greatest chocolate maker located in Galt, which has been making confections for the last 75 years. These mammoth chocolate statues are a vivid memory of mine as young as I can remember. However, as I've grown into an adult, the holiday had turned into a source of anxiety due to my challenges with sugar addiction. If you’d like to read more about my journey, read this post.
From years of trial and error, I've gotten myself to a place where I can feel the child-like joy again without having fears of putting myself into a shame-filled sugar coma. Here are the steps I take to prepare for the weekend:
#1 - Form A Plan
Going into a holiday with a plan reduces the anxiety that comes from the fear of indulging to a point where you feel shame. To build a plan, ask yourself these questions:
The plan has to fit into the environment. I am spending the weekend at my sister's house, which means that there will be chocolate and treats for my nieces around me. By knowing that, I can form my plan around that specific environment.
By talking about the menu for the weekend, I can make sure that I am getting enough protein, healthy fats, and fibre to satiate my hunger so that I have less opportunity to experience low blood sugar. When I have low blood sugar, my ability to say no to treats drastically decreases.
I am a sucker for Reid's chocolate tortoises - they are a perfect treat to me. I know that one box = 3 moments of “joy” so I only allow myself to get one box.
By explaining to my support team (my sister and my partner) that I struggle with binging sugar on Easter Weekend, I go from feeling alone and ashamed of my inability to say no to feeling like I have a team around me who will support me and keep me accountable.
Many of us have family who can take offence if we decline the beautiful holiday cake or treat that they made for us. By having a response pre-planned, it allows you to feel ready for the situation. My response is to be honest yet firm: "Wow, that is such a beautiful (insert cake name), but I don't feel good when I eat a lot of sugar, so I am going to pass on dessert, but I really appreciate the offer."
I know that I feel terrible when I eat too much sugar. I don't sleep well, I get brain fog, I get mood swings, and my skin breaks out in acne. By reminding myself that I choose not to experience these things, it makes the trade-off of a five-second sugar high feel unworthy.
I stock my fridge with pre-made Nook meals starting Monday night for the next week because I know that all of the meals are free from refined sugar and have balanced nutrients that will boost my energy and satiate any cravings. By having them pre-ordered before Easter, it allows me to feel like I'm already prepared for the week after the holiday. No matter what I enjoy during the holiday, I'm already taking care of my future self.
#2 - Establishing My Sugar Limit
An "all-or-nothing" mentality has never served me well. It has led to me either being paranoid about having any type of sugar or letting a single bite spiral into dramatic negative self-talk, such as "You have no willpower; you're addicted to sugar and will never escape, so you might as well just drown in a chocolatey pool of guilt." By setting a limit on how much sugar I will allow myself to have without guilt or judgment, I am releasing the judgment I hold over myself while also acknowledging that it is a promise I've made to myself - one of the most important promises we can keep in our lives.
My limit for this Easter weekend is two moments of chocolate joy on Saturday and one moment of chocolate joy on Sunday.
I've learned that language matters in situations like this. I used to set a neurotic limit of 200g of chocolate per day, which turned into me stressing about the weight of the chocolate if I couldn't find the wrapper and would inevitably lead to negotiating with myself like an addict (oh come on, that isn't really 200g... you can have a few more pieces...)
Instead, by setting my limit to "moments of chocolate joy," it forces me to take responsibility for the amount because, for me, this means having a piece of chocolate that brings me joy but does not push me over the edge into overindulgence, which would bring me shame and frustration. This shift in language reminds me WHY I am allowing myself to have sugar: it's meant to be a moment of joy to celebrate a holiday with my family without guilt. It allows me to enjoy the moment fully without letting my past habits manipulate my thoughts.
#3 - Creating New Traditions
I am blessed with an incredibly close-knit family. Easter Weekend is a big deal, especially since I have two young nieces who can't wait for the visit from the Bunny. Instead of repeating my old habits, I choose to create new traditions.
My relationship with holidays will always be a work in progress due to my past sugar addiction, but by forming a plan, setting my own limits, and creating new traditions, I can look forward to the weekend with my family and the memories it will bring.
Here are a few affirmations I like to repeat to myself leading up to the holiday if I start to doubt myself:
"There is no wagon to fall off; there is no need for shame or guilt. I will enjoy this weekend without any fears of falling back into old habits."
"I don't need willpower; I have a plan, and I uphold the promises I make to myself."
"I am more joyful when my blood sugar is balanced."
"Each holiday is an opportunity to rewrite my relationship with treats."
My goal is not to restrict the joy I feel from a holiday, my goal is to consciously enjoy my time (and treats) over the weekend in a way that I won’t feel guilty come Monday morning.
xo Madi
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Gone are the days of a sick day meaning that I get to stay home from school while my mom makes me my favourite chicken noodle soup while I get to snuggle in bed watching cartoons.
Now, as an adult, when I wake up feeling sick my mind goes into PANIC mode thinking through all the tasks that I should be completing that day. My brain decides to turn into the most dramatic being on the planet and begins to think that my entire existent will be ruined if I’m not able to get my work done that day and I feel myself getting short with others feeling like a wounded animal (like I said.. The dramatics appear when I'm under the weather.)
As I was sitting in my pool of despair trying to deny how I was feeling, I had a moment of clarity. I wondered why I thought that my “tools” could only be beneficial when I was operating at 100%, and not be helpful on days when I’m feeling sick. Instead of pretending to do work with less than a quarter of my capacity or aimlessly scrolling through social media feeling sorry for myself, I began to experiment with some of my favourite tools to see if I could reframe my perspective of the day.
#1 - Start with my 3-Why exercise. Over the years I’ve developed the habit of asking myself “Why” three times to get to the bottom of a problem I’m dealing with, especially when I catch myself in a destructive thought pattern. Here’s what it looks like:
The honest truth can suck to acknowledge at times, but by going through and asking yourself “why” multiple times it allows you to separate out why you are feeling what you’re feeling. Once you've created some mental distance to your emotions, you can start to create a plan to get yourself out of that spiral.
#2 - Acknowledge & offer Grace. By acknowledging that I struggle with the lack of control over my own health when I’m feeling sick, it brings a sense of calm. By understanding that my negative thoughts are coming from my ego, I’m able to allow those thoughts to pass and not be defined by them. By acknowledging that I’ve been pushing myself without break I’m able to clearly see that the ONLY way my body could take rest was by picking up a cold that forced me to rest.
After acknowledging what came up from the questions it was time to offer myself some grace. I gave myself grace to let go of my need to control my health and grace to understand that my attachment to my career is a gift because it's my life's true passion. I gave my body grace to feel what it needed to feel and thanked it for signalling that I needed to prioritize rest.
#3 - Build a "Healing-Day" Action Plan. I am an action-oriented human at my core. I wanted to reframe my perspective from calling this day a "Sick Day" to a "Healing Day" - I knew that in order to do so that I needed to create an action plan that allowed me to rest, but also get a few things off my list in order to tame my overactive brain. Here's how it looked:
When I woke up 10 hours later, I was ecstatic because I could finally breathe through my nose. I didn't have a lingering headache and I could move my head up and down without feeling dizzy.
By reframing my day from a “sick day” to a “healing day” I was telling myself that I was working through this cold and that I was capable of a quick recovery. I sat through an extending meditation in the morning thanking my body for healing so quickly and for giving me the opportunity to have a joyful and productive day at work.
By shifting our perspective on being sick to currently we are able to reframe our thoughts and give the care and attention our bodies need without resentment or guilt. Our bodies are capable of so much. We simply need to be reminded to listen to them every once in a while.
x Madi
]]>This false fantasy dissolved quickly when I decided to open a juice company which required me to do home deliveries of freshly pressed juice starting at 5am in the morning. I was miserable. I was still hitting snooze until the last minute, but the ramifications were now much more severe. I would show up late for deliveries, I would open up my shop downtown with 30 seconds to spare before clients started to walk in while trying to rub away the pillow marks that were still visible on my cheek.
A wave of shame and guilt would always wash over me once I had time to reflect over my chaotic morning - What the &*@# was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I wake up in the mornings? Why was I always exhausted, even after changing my lifestyle and consistently eating a healthy and energy-rich diet?
I had a few things happened that made me decide that I was going to break out of my destruction cycle:
#1 - One morning in the first few months of owning my shop downtown I slept through my alarm and showed up 30 minutes late to open the door. I had two clients standing in the cold waiting for me. It was a sucker punch to the stomach. These wonderful people had decided to show up at 8am to come and support their local juice shop that had just opened. The shame I felt as I walked past them to unlock the door is forever burned in my brain.
#2 - I showed up to a morning event that I was catering at 5:55am with zero minutes to spare looking like a zombie. I handed out the meal packages to everyone at 6am with a smile on my face. After everyone left my mentor, who had given me the catering opportunity, pulled me aside and told me that what I had just done was unacceptable. I was confused because I had delivered the packages on time, but she pointed out to me that I looked exhausted, I looked like I had just gotten out of bed (I had). She told me that it was my job to show up full of energy because I owed it to the clients who showed up for a 5am workout to match their energy. It was a wake up call that I desperately needed and will forever be grateful for.
I would love to tell you that those incidents were the catalyst for instant change, but even after those valuable lessons, it would still be years until I found a system that allowed me to become the morning person that I always dreamed of.
(My old self would have loathed Morning Madi.. But that’s the beautiful thing about growth, you evolve into something that has less insecurities.)
Evolving into a human who wakes up before the sun rise took many years of trial and error to find the tools that worked for me. For me it was about finding a combination of habits that kept me honest with myself enough until I started to feel myself smile when the alarm went off.
Habit #1 - Self-Confidence = Self-Respect. In the words of Ed Mylett, you build confidence by keeping the promises you make to yourself. I began to promise myself that I was going to wake up at 5:45am in the morning when the alarm went off. So when the alarm went off, I remembered my promise, and actually did the thing. Not only was I keeping my promise to myself, but I was starting off my day with a boost of self confidence which allowed me to feel like I had already succeeded in something that day.
Habit #2 - Predict your bad habits. I knew that my worst habit when it came to waking up in the morning was my ability to hit snooze dozens of times, so I put in place a system that forced me to break that habit through physical force. I decided to move my phone’s charging station across the room. This meant that every morning when my alarm went off, I had to physically drag my ass out of bed, stumble across the room, and turn the alarm off. It worked a few times in the beginning but then I found that I had another bad habit of crawling back into bed WITH my phone and hit the snooze button. I knew I needed another line of defence.
Habit #3 - Bring in the Sticky notes. Mel Robbins always talks about how we aim higher when we plan for our future self because we are proactively thinking of the best outcomes we could achieve versus reacting to the situation in the moment without time to plan. After a few mornings of crawling back into bed I knew that I needed another line of defence against my bad habits. So I began to use sticky notes. At the end of the night when I was putting my phone away, I would write notes to my future self that I would be required to read BEFORE I could turn my alarm off because I would cover the front of my phone with the note. Some examples of what I wrote to myself are:
“You know that you want to start your morning right now, don’t go back to bed.”
“Dude - You %&!(*!@# did it!! You’re awake before 6am!!"
“Be GRATEFUL that you GET to wake up today.”
“You don’t need more sleep - You need more time to organize your thoughts.”
“Do 10 jumping jacks right now. GO.”
“Put your head into your journal - Not your pillow.”
“You feel 1000% better when you meditate & journal before you start your day.”
“Hey - I’m really proud of you.”
“Do not let yourself feel the guilt you WILL feel if you go back to bed.”
“Your morning routine makes you feel invincible, don’t take that way from yourself.”
I began writing anything I could think of the night before that would stop me from snaking back to bed. I tried shaming myself, I tried celebrating myself, I tried forcing myself into physical activity on demand. Over the weeks I noticed that the more positive my notes to self were, the more positive I felt about myself which set myself up for a positive day.
Habit #4 - Get crystal clear about your WHY. This one was a game changer for me over the last few years. By getting clear on my WHY (aka. The reason we do what we do) it allowed me to use it as the fuel I needed to wake up, especially on the days that I felt exhausted or cold or under the weather. When you understand your why, you want to wake up to start to work on it.
Habit #5 - Create a morning routine that makes your heart sing. By building a routine that you actually love, you actually start to look forward to the morning. This takes more time than we want to admit because it requires a lot of testing, listening, researching, and tracking to see what speaks to you personally. My morning routine won’t work for everyone due to our work schedules, lack of children, and desired goals but here is a look at my weekly morning routines:
Mondays & Fridays
5:40am - Wake Up, Drink 1 ltr water w/ lemon + Make Coffee
6:00am to 6:30am - Journal session + Meditate / Breathing Session
6:30am to 8:30am - Walk to Boxing studio for 1 hr Session
8:30am to 9am - Cold Shower + Breakfast w/ music that makes me dance
** Do not check the phone (no emails / no social) until after boxing
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday
5:40am - Wake Up, Drink 1 ltr water w/ lemon + Make Coffee
6:00am to 6:30am - Journal session + Meditate / Breathing session
6:30am to 8:00am - Workout OR Head to the Lake for a Cold Dip
8:00am to 8:30am - Shower + Breakfast w/ music that makes me dance
** Do not check the phone (no emails / no social) until after workout or lake dip
Do I wake up at 5:45am every single morning without fail? No. Especially not on Saturdays. If I have a late night event, I plan to allow myself to sleep in the next morning because I understand the importance of sleep. But I no longer fear the mornings, I now look forward to the quiet darkness that they offer and the creative space they provide. Mornings are my favourite part of the day because I’ve designed my mornings to make me feel good, both physically, mentally, and spiritually.
If you’re struggling to create your morning routine please reach out to me at madi@eatnook.ca - I’ve experienced all of the negative self talk that comes with this struggle and find few things more exciting than helping my clients turn their mornings into their source of creativity and self growth.
x Madi
]]>To be honest, I really don't like this narrative. Even if you "fail" (ie. don't do a habit that you've promised yourself to do) you have not failed, and you do not have to quit. The beauty of building new habits or creating change in your life is that you can start over again EVERY SINGLE day if you need to.
This year we asked our community what they find to be the hardest part of keeping your resolution, here is what some of them said:
It's clear to see why we find it so hard to implement new habits into our lives - How to fit it all in one day? How to find the time? How to combat being exhausted from life? What if we just do not have the will power to make the change?
Here's the thing... It's really f*#&ing hard. But the good news is that we can do hard things. It's not about our will power - It's about having the right systems in place that will allow us to follow the new changes with the least amount of resistance.
One of my favourite thought leaders to learn from is Mel Robbins - She is one of the greatest motivational speakers in my opinion not just because she is smart, funny, or articulate - It's because 15 years ago she hit rock bottom and she has dedicated her life since then to find ways to become the version of herself that she always wanted to be and has helped millions of people along the way.
Yesterday as I was driving home from the kitchen I listened to her podcast about the science of creating habits. If you have the time, I highly recommend listening to her entire list of January podcasts as they all relate to building habits and creating the change you want in your life - But if you only have a few minutes, here are the high points from her podcasts:
Not sure where to start?
Book in a free 15 minute call with me here. Outside of cooking, my passion is helping people design the systems they need in their life to create the habits required to change their lifestyle for the better.
Create the plan - You deserve it.
x Madi
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This year was special because we launched a “Community Cleanse” where we had over 40 clients doing a 1 day, a 3 day, or a 5 day juice cleanse alongside me. Getting to check in with everyone and receive messages about how everyone was feeling felt like such a gift because it made the whole experience feel so much more joyful. It’s so easy to feel isolated when making shifts in your patterns, especially on a cleanse, so having others to support and lean on during the difficult moments was really wonderful.
Why did I want to do a 5 Day cleanse?
I selected 5 days of our Drink Clean “Level 2” cleanse this year because I wanted to create a few shifts in myself, both physically and mentally. The past holiday seasons was a mixed bag this year for me. It was so nice being able to celebrate with everyone fully in a way that we haven’t done since the pandemic but it certainly led to a month of excess and overindulgence. Having holiday parties each weekend leading up to Christmas and then spending a week going to multiple houses and having decadent dinners each night felt like the greatest gift but it also put an enormous amount of strain on my digestive system and all around mood & health.
It’s such a privilege to get to share in holiday feasts, but I knew that once we had finished celebrating that I was going to need to put time into recalibrating my relationship to food, especially my relationship with sugar once again. I had indulged in many holiday treats and could feel my mood and sleeping habits really off as a result.
I chose to do a 5 day cleanse so that I could work towards finding a balance with my relationship to food again. I’ve been in this industry for over 10 years at this point, my profession is food, my life is food.
Each week I’m constantly researching and exploring new recipes and testing out combinations to the point that I dream about food. I celebrate life through food. Cooking soothes me, it energizes me, it allows creativity to flow through me. It’s my love language. It brings me joy. It’s my greatest passion - But it can also be my greatest crutch.
My intentions moving into this cleanse was to work on exploring new ways of self-soothing and to give my digestive system a break to recalibrate itself. Our bodies naturally detoxify every single day, the pathways work around the clock to keep us free of toxins. But sometimes we need to give our detoxification pathways a little extra support, especially for our liver and kidneys which go into battle during the holidays.
Sunday night after I got home from work, I won’t lie - I was terrified at the notion that I was eating my last meal until Saturday. I was nervous because it had been so long since I had done a 5 day cleanse that I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get through it.
Was I going to crumble and give in to my cravings?
What if I was starving by Day 2?
Was I going to be able to survive through production days in the Nook kitchen?
Was I going to die due to no caffeine?
All of these thoughts started to pop up into my head, so I got quiet with myself and asked myself one of my favourites when I am nervous about something..
“What is on the other side of momentary pain or discomfort?”
I knew that I was doing something really beneficial for my body. I knew that I was giving my organs a break after pushing them hard during the holidays. I knew that I could physically and mentally get through this. I knew that I had an entire community doing this with me, which meant that we could get through anything.
Day 1
Day 3
Over the next week I am going to be extremely diligent with my diet making sure that I’m staying away from any processed foods, refined sugar, and alcohol so that I can gain all of the benefits from the last 5 days. Food made from whole foods doesn’t mean that I’m missing out on any joy or flavour - It means that we actually get to taste all the flavours that nature provides for us.
I seem to forget sometimes that the food we eat fuels our bodies, which in turn fuels our lives. This 5 Day cleanse really reminded me of that and has made me appreciate what food does for my body, how it strengthens me, and how it provides me the energy needed to live the active life I want to live. We owe it to our bodies to be mindful on what type of fuel we give it - I mean, we fuel our cars with the best type of gasoline - Why don’t we have the same standard for our bodies?
So here I am, eating slowly and sipping on a delicious green tea in awe of what my body overcame this week, proud of the mental resiliency that I built up, and so incredibly grateful that I got to do this with a community of people.
I’m grateful that I gave my taste buds a rest, I’m grateful that I allowed my digestive system to focus on healing itself, and I’m really proud of myself for getting through five days. I miss salt more than ever but I can say with a GIANT smile on my face that I’m not experiencing ANY sugar cravings which is always the best part for me personally.
We can change anything we want in our lives if we remain consistent with it and build habits to support the changes we want to make. We can do hard things. Our bodies are built to do hard things.
Now.. Off to the market to get ingredients to make a magical noodle soup for tonight.
xx Madi
As a society we always put so much value on creating resolutions for the New Year but I’ve found that unless we take time to reflect on the past year, we don't learn from our greatest teacher - Ourselves.
Each year a few days before we move into January I carve out time to reflect on the last twelve months. Taking time to reflect allows me to feel proud of my accomplishments, and realize how much I can grow in a year. Reflecting also allows me to take stock of the things that I want to change and make a plan to do so.
Questions to reflect on the year:Once you’ve taking the time to reflect on 2022, you can shift your thoughts onto building the framework for 2023.
“A resolution only works if you have the integrity to keep the promises you make to yourself. It’s not willpower that fails us. It’s a lack of personal integrity.” - Michael Bosstick, Entrepreneur
When we read something that “attacks” our personal integrity, our natural response is to become defensive about it, but that’s a good thing because it means that it hit a nerve. This quote spoke to me because it highlights what I believe is the number one problem with most resolutions that we make.. We make them way outside our realm of possibilities which ultimately leads to failure. So as you begin to think about your resolutions for next year, begin with asking yourself what you can keep yourself accountable to.
By understanding your own tendencies, schedule, and personality you can create a plan that will start to build the most important thing.. Your self confidence.
“The instant you accept responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you acquire the power to change it. Self confidence is an internal game.. You do not need external accolades, it is all done internally. When you do the things you tell yourself you’re going to do, you begin to build self confidence, which is the reputation you build with yourself” - Ed Mylett, Entrepreneur
Going into next year, choose to be your own cheerleader and accountability coach simultaneously. Build your schedule and plan in a way that you can succeed at it. It’s not about becoming an entirely new person in 30 days. It’s about improving 1% per day so that you begin to create a new lifestyle that holds space for improvement.
I had the pleasure of meeting many incredible thought leaders and teachers this year. The greatest teachings I took from 2022 was feeling the power of community and learning to prioritize moments of stillness, something that I had struggled with my entire life. By making time to practice stillness, by being disciplined about the practice, I now find myself naturally leaning into it. By finding a community that prioritizes stillness, I was able to learn from them and lean on them when I needed support. Making changes is hard, but the magic you feel when you find yourself in the “flow” of the change is astonishing.
I created Nook VK because I wanted to have a tool to take care of my health and the health of my community. Health is wealth. Without health, you can’t expand. Without health, you are in a constant state of unease. By prioritizing actions to take care of your health (physically, mentally, and spiritually) your world opens up to possibilities that you never knew existed. We need time and sustainable energy to take care of our health. This year, let us take care of your nutrition so that you can take care of yourself.
If you feel like you need support this year, please reach out to me. I am hosting my first “Community Cleanse” this year beginning January 9th where anyone can sign up for a cleanse (click here to save 15% on any cleanse or program) and be invited to join a support group chat for the duration of the cleanse.
Remind yourself that you can do hard things, remind yourself that you are built to accomplish hard things. Remind yourself that you are a miracle just by being here. We all are, so why not push ourselves to see what other miracles we can create?
Happy New Years friends, let's move into 2023 with a plan for personal growth and joy, and an open heart.
x Madi
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As much as I truly love the holidays, they also bring up fears of falling back into old habits that I’ve worked hard to break such as eating my bodyweight in sugar just because it’s ‘Christmas”.
Last weekend we had a big group of friends stay over to celebrate the holidays. It was a wonderful time full of laughing, games, and good food. But, there were also my favourite weaknesses. There were Reid’s Chocolates (an institution in Galt), deliciously spiced sweet mulled wine, and artisanal donuts and cookies of every style. When I saw the spread, I told myself “Oh just enjoy, it’s the holidays! Let loose - Enjoy it all!” So… I did.
In the moment I was basking in the glory that is a sugar high, my taste buds were doing the Macarena while my brain was soaking up the massive surges of dopamine. Glass after glass, donut after donut (I ate three), and delectable holiday treats after another, because why not? If I was already on this train, I should simply fully indulge right?
I fell for it - Again. I believed the old narrative I told myself - (Again).
Like clockwork - My body started to feel off, my stomach started to shoot pains throughout my system, I developed an intense headache, and I felt my mood shift. I went to bed to try to sleep it off, yet tossed and turned all night resulting in waking up feeling like I needed six coffees to even open up my eyes and had a thirty pound kettlebell sitting on top of my head. I was neck deep in a sugar hangover. I had glorious plans for the next day yet I had 12% of my normal energy and was quite the grump, acting like the Grinch pre-heart expansion.
It took me 3 days to recoup. I dive into how I brought my body back to centre below - But before I do I want to explain why I shared this story. I did so for two reasons - The first is that I want you to know that even the owner of a wellness food company cracks when there is an abundance of sugary treats in front of her, that she indulges in too much, and feels like absolute garbage afterwards. It’s so easy to think that everyone else has it together EXCEPT for you, but that adds a level of guilt and self-sabotage that does zero bloody good - It’s much easier to grow and change habits when you understand that we all struggle with food and to give yourself grace for not being perfect.
The second reason why I share this story is because I’ve found that words matter when it comes to building habits. So when I say a “sugar high” - I mean it. I truly believe that we become high when we eat large amounts of refined sugar, and just with any type of “high”, a “hangover” follows suit. Using these words have really helped me shift my relationship with sugar because as with alcohol, I limit myself to a very small amount because I know that if I drink more than a glass of wine that I’m going to put my future self into a detrimental hangover and will limit what I can experience the next day. By looking at sugar in the same way, I’m able to not let my desire for the immediate gratification rule my decisions because I acknowledge that IF I overindulge, that it comes with a price that I’m inflicting on my future self.
I’ve opened up about my journey with sugar in previous blogs but I wanted to talk about how I manage it during the holidays as I find that it is the most difficult time of the year for me to maintain my distance from it. The good news is that if you find yourself down a sugar-lined rabbit hole that there are many things you can do to help get your body back in sync as well as a few preemptive tricks to help you stop before you follow in Alice’s footsteps.
Grace > Self-Scolding
After a day of indulging, the easiest thing for me to do is to sit and wallow in a puddle of self-scolding. “How could you eat that much sugar yesterday?! You know everything that it does to your body.. Do you not have any self control? Common Madi - You feel like garbage and you did it all to yourself. You deserve to feel this terrible”
That was a common narrative that I used to tell myself. I believed that if I berated myself enough, that maybe by some miracle I would stop craving these foods. Beating yourself up for something that you ate the day before does nothing except make you feel like you aren’t worthy of feeling good and sets your self confidence back miles.
Instead of taking the easy option to just berate yourself - Try giving yourself grace instead. Remind yourself that you are not perfect, and that perfection has never been the goal.. Our goal has always been 80/20 - 80% of the time, eat for health - 20% of the time, eat for joy - If you go over the 20% threshold, you’re still worthy of feeling your absolute best. It just means that you have to put in a little extra work.
Hydration IS ALWAYS KEY
Regardless if you ate too much sugar, drank too much alcohol, or enjoyed too much processed food - After you’ve reminded yourself to be gentle to yourself, your greatest asset is to hydrate your body and help flush the toxins out. Both sugar and alcohol have been proven to act as a diuretic, so it is imperative to drink liquids the next day. Reach for water with lemon juice, caffeine-free tea, and broths to help rehydrate your cells and support your body’s natural detoxification process.
Greens + Anti-inflammatory Aids
Both sugar and alcohol create inflammation in the body, so when we are trying to reduce the affects, your best tool is to reach for anti-inflammatory ingredients such as ginger root, green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, spinach etc), nuts (almonds, walnuts, and cashews), olive oil, and tomatoes. The high amounts of chlorophyll in dark leafy greens trigger our liver to eliminate toxins and help cleanse our colon supporting our body’s powerful detox process. Leafy greens are also rich in vitamins and minerals which help offset the effects of lower blood sugar levels which is a side effect from too much sugar (also known as reactive hypoglycemia) that can cause symptoms of lightheadedness, irritability, anxiety, and shakiness.
Sleep + Movement
We may feel sleepy after a sugar-crash, but it causes major disruption and inability to reach deep sleep later in the night which is the healing part of our sleep. After a weekend of overindulging, it’s incredibly important to prioritize getting a deep, restful sleep.
Prioritize Protein + Unrefined Treats
Protein is the most satiating macronutrient that actually helps you feel full longer and regulates blood sugar. Making sure that you’ve had a meal high in protein before you go to an event will make it easier to stay away from the treats table. Our favourite protein-packed dishes right now are our omnivore Moroccan Chicken and our plant-based Sweet Chili Tempeh Noodles.
A great way to ensure you’re getting enough protein while also satisfying your sweet tooth is to have all natural “treats” such as energy bites made with unrefined sweeteners on hand so that when you do feel that craving for something sweet you can satisfy it without sending your body down a spiral for more. We just released a special holiday flavour of energy bites “Gingerbread Bites” which are high in protein, healthy fat, fibre, and are sweetened with medjool dates! Check them out here.
Mocktail > Cocktail
If you are out at an event, see if they have mocktails, cocktails with zero added sugar, or simply ask for a soda water with citrus juice. It can feel like a social no-no to decline a beverage, especially at a “Cocktail Party”, but swapping out an alcoholic sugar-infused drink for something without any will not only help you make better food decisions but will ensure that you’re hydrating your body versus dehydrating it.
Maintain 80/20 Rule
As stated above, I truly believe in the 80/20 rule when it comes to eating. A large part of that “rule” is to ensure that you’re eating enough food that is high in nutrient density. When we allow our blood sugar to crash the thing our body wants the most is quick energy (aka. Sugar-filled snacks or beverages).
Nook is here to take care of the 80% for you with our plant-forward, nutrient-dense menu that are ready-to-eat so that you simply take them out of the fridge, heat, and enjoy. The holiday season can be filled with joy or it can be filled with stress - By outsourcing your meals during the weeks it gives you time back to tackle all of the items on the “To-Do” list so that you can channel your inner Santa vibes vs. feeling like the mother in Home Alone.
I hope that everyone has an amazing holiday season full of joy, cheer and self-love (you’re worth more than you give yourself credit).
xo Madi
#1 - Don’t have bowls of candy out in the kitchen/living room, simply don’t allow yourself easy access. Use the top cupboard that you need a chair to get to and only use it for patio non-breakable wine glasses.
#2 - If you’re handing out candy for the neighbourhood… Buy the type of candy that you don’t like. Pick up the kind of candy that as a child you used to throw to the way side whilst hunting for the ones that sang sweet melodies to your taste buds.
#3 - Eat high protein & healthy fat meals and have naturally sweetened snacks ready on hand. By having something to take care of that craving, you won’t be thinking about other sugars as much. This week we are including new flavours of energy bites (chocolate almond & lemon coconut) in our deliveries on the Sunday before Halloween so that our clients can have them in the fridge. They are high in fibre and will help satiate your craving and make you fuller for longer with the healthy fat from coconut oil and almond butter.
#4 - If you want to have some candy.. Do it. If you don’t want to have some candy… Don’t. Either way, you have to make a decision. For many years I kept telling myself NOT to eat the candy, yet inevitably my ‘willpower’ would break and I would eat copious amounts of mini chocolates while feeling mopey about my lack of control. I realized that it was because I hadn’t made a choice. Choose to do something, or choose not to do something. Regardless of which choice you land on, you’ve at least told yourself that you are going to do the thing. Then do it, and do it with joy knowing that you predetermined this moment of bliss or restraint. Both have benefits, one more short term than the other. Give yourself the respect to take the time to ask questions, especially when it comes to a habit that you’re really struggling to shift.
#5 - If you don’t want your kids to eat the candy that they collect from trick-or-treating, I’ve seen a few parents exchanging the candy that their children bring home with more natural treats so that the kids can still enjoy treats from the holiday without such high levels of sugar. I’m not a parent myself yet so I am not an expert in the least but I thought that it was a good compromise!
This year I decided to celebrate Halloween by learning more about it's origins - Instead of binging on a bowl of candy, I'll cozy up with a cup of tea and learn how the Celts celebrated "Samhain" as their New Year's Eve and wore costumes to ward off the bad spirits. If you're interested in reading more check out these resources: Samhain: The Celtic Roots of Halloween
]]>We have spent hours and hours of time and effort sourcing the best possible packaging for our meals so that they arrive to our customers in the best possible condition while staying mindful of our environment. And yet, over the last few months we’ve received messages from our clients asking us why our 100% compostable packaging was being rejected at curb side. So I did a deep dive on this to figure out why.
What I learned was that even though the packaging says “100% compostable” the reality is that we do not have the facilities necessary to actually compost these types of packages in Ontario. The main areas that we deliver, the GTHA, Waterloo Region, and Wellington County, do not accept any form of paper containers lined with bio-plastics or biodegradable plastics, even though they are labeled “recyclable”, “compostable”, or “biodegradable”.
Paper-based or cellulose fibre containers are poly-coated (coated with plastic), if they weren't the moisture in food would soak through and our meals would have a very short-shelf life. This would create unnecessary food waste. In order to make them water resistant, any pulp-base or paper-base container must be lined with a bioplastic thus making them unfit for composting. Also, pulp-based packaging must be made from new trees requiring new materials each time and are unable to be recycled or re-used in any way. Talk about defeating the purpose.
The only way to dispose of the packaging we have been using for months and months is in the garbage. The other option, plant-based plastics which have to be made from new materials each time and cannot easily be reheated, require a commercial composting facility, which do not exist in the areas that we deliver to. There were only 78 facilities in Ontario as of 2020 that take care of organic composting. After days of research, I am still unable to find any that are able to break down “compostable” bioplastics.
I will be the first to admit how incredibly frustrating and confusing this is. Your automatic thought is that if something is allowed to be labeled “100% compostable” that it should be so. Unfortunately that is not the case. The good news is that the deeper we delve into the world of packaging the more that we learn so that we can make the best possible decisions for our packaging.
Watch a 4-min CBC Marketplace video about "100% Compostable" Claims here
Our new Evolve packaging is made in Denmark from 88% recycled water bottles, giving these materials a second life, and requires just 12% new material. They are heat sealed, which allows for safer transportation, keeping the meals fresher longer once delivered and refrigerated. After the meal has been enjoyed these containers are 100% fully recyclable made from #1 CPET plastic which is accepted by every municipality that we deliver to.
Alongside our packaging improvements, we continue to work hard to create a zero food waste system in our kitchen. Any food scraps that we make, such as the pulp left over from our juices or the citrus rinds, are donated to a local organic farmer who feeds them to their livestock - Fun fact, cows LOVE orange rinds.
We will always be as transparent as possible with our community. If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the section below!
xx Madi
Resource Links:
https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/the-waste-whiz.aspx#!rc-page=658764
https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/the-waste-whiz.aspx#!rc-page=645651
https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/houses/what-goes-in-my-green-bin/
https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/waste-wizard/
https://www.wellington.ca/en/resident-services/sws-greenbin.aspx#What-goes-in-the-green-bin
http://www.compost.org/organics-recycling-in-ontario/
https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=2304
The most common issue my clients deal with is their attachment to this sweetest of ingredients, they come to me and tell me that they need to “get over” their sugar cravings. Everything they have tried has resulted in a few solid weeks of abstinence but inevitably led to them binging on cupcakes that someone brought to work. Once that happens, they believe that they have no will power so they go to the grocery store and stock up on their favourite treats because, what’s the point?
Out of all the food-related struggles, I understand the difficulties in healing a sugar addiction the most.
In my post about my journey with juice cleanses, I shared that when I was a small child I had a baby sitter who was content to allow me to eat a cup of powered sugar every day for lunch. This led to a lifelong addiction to sugar. And I mean a full blown addiction. As a teenage and young adult, I took every chance I could to to buy a bag of candy and consume it on the same day, many times being on the walk or car ride home.
Growing up and joining the wellness industry I realized how detrimental sugar was to my health, especially in the quantities I was consuming it. So - I did was the majority of us have done - I simply said that I was not going to eat any foods with processed sugar. The first time I told myself that I lasted less than 48 hours. I was at a friend’s birthday party and justified that it would be rude to not eat the cake. It was fluffy and moist, and best of all - sweet as can be. I had 4 slices. The next day I felt defeated, I didn't even last two days. All of this negative talk led me to pick up a tub of ice cream, if I didn't have will power then I figured that I should at least have something to wallow in. No matter how many times I told myself that I wasn't going to buy sugary treats, my brain kept repeating “Gimme the sugar”.
As I’m writing this I realize how dramatic it sounds -
that’s the interesting thing about how we talk to ourselves about our will power and our relationship to food. We go through these vicious rollercoasters of high points when we fill ourselves with motivation and proclaim that we are going to do som good for ourselves (in my case, stop eating sugar) yet, life happens and we fall steeply down into a low point when we break that promise to ourselves. To the outside world, we refuse to admit that we have this internal struggle because it simply “Is not a big deal”. Yet - It is a bloody big deal. The internal battle we rage against ourselves is debilitating. It destroys our self confidence, it makes us our own worst enemy because we know exactly where to cut for maximum damage.
After many failed attempts of pitting my will power against my favourite ingredient, I knew that I needed to understand WHY I had such an unbreakable attachment to sugar so that I might have a chance at changing the cycle that I found myself in.
Now, there are many studies out there that refute the fact that sugar is addicting. They argue that it does not fit in with the scientific definition of an addictive substance and countless studies have refuted the claims above saying that you can not compare mice to men - Welcome to the bloody dilemma of the health and wellness industry. You can spend you entire life reading scientific studies that contradict one another. Some are simply trying to get to the truth, some are simply not done long enough to get the accurate answer, and in many circumstances - The study can not be tested safely or ethically on a human.
I’ve learned that there is one resource that you can trust without question that cuts through all of the polarizing opinions and studies - Your own body.
I knew that I could trust what my body was telling me. My body was telling me that when I ate sugar, I experienced an initial high, but then I would crash, which would then cause me to crave more so that I could get out of that crash. My skin was constantly breaking out and would do so with vigor when I ate a lot of sugar. My body was telling me that sugar acted as a mood-altering drug for me and that I was getting exhausted from the constant series of highs and lows. My body was telling me that when I did stop eating sugar for a day or two that I would get severe headaches and barely be able to keep my eyes open, which I later learned were withdrawal symptoms.
I became hyper focused on finding the science that would prove what I felt in my gut because I felt like I needed to find proof to justify my weak will power. Turns out, I never needed that in the first place, I simply needed to listen to my body.
I knew that I could say no to almost everything in my life, yet I was struggling to stop myself from purchasing/ordering/accepting high sugar foods that were doing damage to my body. So regardless of the research papers and scientific proof, when I shifted my mindset to treat sugar LIKE it was a drug as addictive as cocaine, it completely changed my perspective.
I started to read about ways to deal with addictions and put them into practice in my own life. I began to use juice cleanses as tools to change my taste buds, I learned that sugar is one of the most enticing forms of self-soothing, so I learned new self-soothing mechanisms which filled in the voids, and I started to see that I could actually hit a point in my life where I no longer craved sugar.
When I was finally able to remove refined sugar out of my diet I noticed that my moods were more balanced, my energy was more consistent, my skin was clearer, and I slept better. When I acknowledged all of the improvements in my life, I knew that I would never try to justify to myself again that the 5 minute hit of dopamine from sugar was worth the myriad of negative effects.
1 - Juice Cleanses
I go into a deep dive on how I used juice cleanses to help transform my taste buds and stifle my addiction to sugar. Read the full blog here.
2 - Create New Self-Soothing Protocols
As young children, we become conditioned to need something sweet at the end of the meal to feel satisfied. We were taught that every celebration comes hand in hand with a table full of sweets treats. As we grow up, we started to shift and self-medicated with sugar to increase our mood or energy or fill in emotional gaps.
We learned to associate something sweet (think a beautiful birthday cake) as a symbol of love and affection. Our society has turned an addictive, harmful substance, into the ultimate comfort food. When we are happy, we reward ourselves with a treat - When we are sad, we make ourselves feel better with a treat. Self-soothing refers to any behaviour that we do for ourselves that regulates our emotional state. When you realize that you use sugary foods as a self-soothing mechanism, the path forward becomes a lot clearer because now the task is to create new self-soothing mechanisms that make you feel good INSTEAD of trying to build up fictional will power. Our cravings will always be more effective than our will power. Instead of fighting it, we simply need to learn new ways to cope with the reaction.
We all face an astronomical amount of stress in our lives these days. It’s so easy to reach for a bar of chocolate and glass of red wine as the end of the day, yet these lead to headaches and poor sleep. Instead, try these self-soothing mechanisms when you are feeling like you need to fill in a gap:
Dancing - We often forget how much music can drastically change our moods. Whenever I felt a craving come on, I would put on some of my favourite music and dance around getting lost in the sound. By moving my body around I got myself out of my head and into my body.
Cold Plunges - Cold water immersion increases your blood levels of dopamine by 250% and norepinephrine by 500%. It also helps with withdrawal symptoms because your body responds to cold water by releasing such high amounts of feel good chemicals like adrenaline dopamine, and serotonin. I fortunately live close to a cold plunge lounge and Lake Ontario so I immerse myself in cold water a few times a week in the mornings, and supplement with cold showers when I can't make it to either locations. (This practice has also taught me to stop making excuses - We are always close to cold water.)
Journaling - For years I had used treats as a way to cover up emotional issues that I was dealing with, so when I began my journaling practice I poured my heart and soul into the pages. I taught myself how to identify what was coming up for me with words and was then able to dig deep and understand what types of shifts/changes I needed to make, instead of simply chalking it up to a “bad day” which would, in the past, result with me under a blanket on the couch with a tub of ice cream. (That has always been my treat of choice).
Walking - Moving our bodies is one of the best things that we can do for ourselves. I now walk every single day. It allows me to take the time to think through my actions and cravings in a similar yet more passive way than journaling does. It also gets me outside which will ALWAYS change our perspective for the better.
Tea / Incense Ritual - We have been programmed to think “What’s for dessert” after we finish a meal. It’s a habit that is hard to break. So instead of sitting there pretending like I wasn’t thinking about a sweet treat to have to “finish” my meal - I decided to create a tea ritual. Now when I want dessert after dinner, I instead take 15 minutes to put on some relaxing music, light an incense, put the water on to boil, select a herbal tea blend, and then sit there and let the heat satisfy me. I’ll add a tsp of local honey sometimes when I do want that little kick of sweetness with zero judgement. (I consume natural forms of sugar like local honey and local maple syrup in small quantities.)
Breathing Sessions - We often take for granted what our body does for us without having to think about it. Breathing is high on the list. Aside from the benefits of reducing anxiety and quieting our minds, I found that when I wanted to look in the pantry for something sweet I instead would turn on a 5 minute breathing exercise which in turn would either energize me or calm me (depending on the type of exercise) and I would no longer have the desire to rummage through the pantry.
3 - Whole foods, Healthy Fats + Increased Protein
We all know that feeling when we have gone too long without eating. We become moody and ravenous. When we allow our blood sugar levels to drop we are more likely to crave sweet sugary snacks because they are the quickest way to spike our blood sugar back up.
When we reach for foods in their original form, they don’t have any processed sugar in them. Whole foods are minimally processed foods that you know what goes into the meal. When you continue to eat whole foods, you begin to appreciate the sweetness of sweet potatoes and fruit, and find that ingredients like raspberries and dates can satisfy that sweet craving.
Both protein and healthy fat helps to control blood sugar levels by helping to slow down digestion and reduce post-meal blood spikes and increases our satiety (aka. How full you feel after a meal). So when we eat protein and healthy fats, it helps stabilize our blood sugar and prevents the highs and lows of blood sugar spikes which lead to sugar cravings.
When I began to increase the amount of legumes, nuts and seeds, healthy fats like avocado and coconut oil, and lean grass-fed meat and fish, I found that I was no longer having such intense sugar cravings.Now when I crave something sweet, I instead reach for a protein-rich high-fat snack which satisfies my cravings.
4 - Remove “Falling off the Wagon” Vocabulary
After months of being extremely strict with my sugar intake, I remember one day when I was craving a donut from a local bake shop. I had eaten a meal made up of whole-foods that was high in protein and fat, and had done a few of my self soothing protocols, yet I couldn’t get rid of this desire for a pistachio rose vegan donut.
Was I falling off the wagon? Was all of my work over the past few months about to go down the drain?
No.
It hit me then, that I simply wanted to eat the donut. I LOVE food. I live and breathe it every single day. I wasn't going to deprive myself of joyful food moments because I now knew that I had a handle on the relationship. So I walked to the shop, got my donut, and then sat in the park and enjoyed every single bite of it.
There is no wagon to fall off of. I had spent enough time repairing my relationship to sugar that I could now determine when I wanted a treat. I could enjoy it once in a while, in moderation, without it becoming the catalyst for a doom spiral.
I now have a healthy relationship with sugar. I enjoy a treat every once in a while when I truly want it. I say no to pieces of cake at social events because 9 times out of 10, it's not going to satisfy me enough for me to justify feeling crappy. When I feel myself craving sugar, instead of shaming myself - I ask myself why, and then I ask myself what I could do instead to fill that need.
Some weeks I have more than I should, some weeks I have zero. The key for me was to understand what sugar did to my body, the behaviours it causes, and then learning ways to unveil what my cravings were telling me. Through this journey, I’ve learned that:
A 60 second dance party will change my mood more drastically than any cookie.
2 minutes in a cold tub will give me an exponentially greater rush of endorphins and dopamine than any bag of candy could.
10 minutes spent with my journal will allow me to resolve my emotional issues instead of ignoring them and drowning them in ice cream.
My journey to understand and overcome the hold that sugar had on me was long and difficult, but it was the greatest change I’ve ever made to my health and well being. Making changes to our lifestyle is HARD - But, we need to be reminded every so often that we can do HARD things. I made more progress during the weeks where I was gentle with myself versus when I was being critical about myself - Be kind to yourself and understand that there isn’t a finish line, the only metric is how good you feel in the present moment.
If you are struggling with your relationship with sugar or have questions, please put them in the comments below or book in a complimentary call with me here.
x Madi
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The immune system is a complete network of organic, cells, and protein that defend against infections. The organs and tissues that are involved are bone marrow, spleen, thymus, tonsils, mucous membranes, and skin.
The main tasks of our immune system is to fight disease-causing pathogens and remove them from the body, neutralize harmful substances from the environment, and fight disease causing changes in the body.
White blood cells, made in your bone marrow, search for harmful microbes (such as bacteria, parasites, viruses, and harmful fungi). The immune system is then activated when antigens (toxins or other foreign substances) are found.
This triggers production of antibodies (blood proteins) specifically to fight the harmful microbes and mark them for destruction. Many cells and chemicals are involved in this process.
“70% of the immune system is located in the gut. One of the best ways to support your immune health is to ensure that your gut is full of diverse beneficial bacteria. This bacteria creates the stability of the gut ecosystem, which in turn, helps stabilize the immune system.”
The interesting thing about our immune system is that we can actually train it to do its job correctly. We can build resilience in our immune response just like we build muscle. There are four main pillars to focus on when wanting to build up a resilient immune system.
Studies indicate that sleep plays a crucial role in the robustness of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The interaction of immune system components during sleep reinforces its ability to remember how to recognize and react to dangerous antigens. Aim to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night to support your immune system.
Exercise causes change in antibodies and white blood cells. It allows them to circulate more rapidly so that they can detest illnesses earlier than they would have without exercise. The type of exercise can vary from going for a long walk, a bike ride, or visits to the gym. Aim to get 30 minutes of exercise a day.
The stress hormone cortisol suppresses the effectiveness of the immune system by lowering the number of white blood cells. There are many ways to combat stress such as dancing, walking outside, spending time in nature, and practicing activities such as meditation and breathing that quiet the negative talk in our minds. Aim to practice 10 to 20 minutes daily.
We learned earlier that 70% of our immune system is located in the gut. When we are deficient in nutrients it impairs the production and activity of immune cells and antibodies. A diver plant-forward diet made with whole foods is best equipped to fill in deficiencies and support our gut health.
Immune Broth || Ginger Shot || Green Beast || Immunity Shot || Coconut Carrot Soup
We love them so much that we bundled them together into an Immunity Kit. Click here to learn more.
Step 1: Make Pumpkin Seed Butter
Step 2: Make Pumpkin Seed Butter Filling
Step 3: Make the Chocolate Cups
These cups are your creation, so they can be made however you’d like them best. Big, small, lots of chocolate.. The options are endless.
Using a double boiler (learn everything you need to know about double boilers here), melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together on low heat. Once combined, add 1 tsp of salt and stir.
Pour 1 tbsp of chocolate mixture into a silicone mould or muffin liners. Once the bottom layer is filled, place the moulds into the freezer for 20 minutes until the chocolate is set.
Step 4: Combine & Make Magic
Once the bottom layer of chocolate is solid, add your layer of pumpkin seed butter filling on top, and cover with the remaining chocolate. Once all the moulds are full, place back in the freezer until fully set.
Store your pumpkin seed chocolate cups in the fridge or freezer in a sealed container & enjoy!
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Celebrating your birthday with friends and family (and in my case, a fun flash sale) is always wonderful, but I’ve learned to tuck a few hours away on my birthday to go somewhere quiet & calming to look back on the year that just past.
Today I decided to wake up early and walk out to the lake so that I could enjoy the sunrise while reflecting back on the year. Here are the questions that I prompt my reflections with:
Once you go through these questions, draw your attention to the present moment. Take it all in, all of the learning, all of the ups and downs - And tell yourself how proud you are of you. Regardless if it was a year of major transformations, survival, or simply existing - Take a moment to be proud of yourself.
This year’s greatest teaching for me was to take control of my thoughts. I learned the value of strengthening my relationship with my thoughts is vital because it has an affect on every aspect of my life. So now - I’m off to my favourites spots in the city to eat and have a magical day.
x Madi
]]>Throughout the summer of 2020, I found myself re-imagining how I could provide nutrition to my community. At that point I had been running juice cafes for six years which gave me the opportunity to have thousands of conversations about food, nutrition, and all things well-being. The commonality between these conversations being the desire to introduce more plants into every day diets. When I launched Nook in late October that year, I launched with a 100% plant-based menu with the sole mission to get people eating more plants.
Which brings me to today. The list of learned experiences over the last twenty-three months seems endless. The facts are clear, what we eat impacts every aspect of our life, and how we perceive food has a direct effect on our mental health. I’ve learned that our emotional relationship to food is one of the greatest predictors of our overall health. The list is extensive, but the greatest lesson I’ve learned is the need to let go of titles.
In a world obsessed with titles, I’ve found myself wanting to distance myself from them as much as possible simply because my clients have taught me that in order to be inclusive, we have to let go of titles. There have been thousands of debates over which is the best diet. Is it keto? Is it paleo? Is it eating a 100% carnivore diet? It is eating a 100% vegan diet? What about lectins, are they good for you or terrible for you? What about the data on blue zones and the Mediterranean diet? Raw diets? The lists are endless and, to confuse matters even more, there is evidence to back every single one of these diets which makes it feel impossible to make the right decision.
Since day one my goal has been to get more people to eat more plants, this will never change. However, my approach to accomplishing this has evolved after listening and learning from my clients. I’ve realized that by offering a 100% plant-based menu that it has excluded those who don’t follow a 100% plant-based, therefore vegan, diet. By taking a step back, I’ve realized that I can greater serve my community by evolving our menu at Nook.
So I’m here to introduce our new “Omnivore” menu. Meals that are predominantly plants paired with animal proteins. We are offering both a regular option and a “low-carb” option. By evolving from a “plant-based” menu to a “plant-forward” menu, and having an inclusive menu with both vegan and omnivore options, I am able to enhance my mission of getting more people to eat more plants.
Our core menu has not, and will not, change. Our produce comes from a certified organic local farmer. Our meals are free from gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. We only use high quality oils such as organic extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oil and we make all of our dressings, sauces, and marinades in house from scratch. All meat is sourced from local farmers raised without antibiotics or hormones.
Each week our menu will change with rotating plant-based and omnivore options for lunches and dinners while our favourite breakfast items will remain unchanged (Morning Glory loaves will now be available every week!). A new offering that comes with this expansion is our new “Fundamental” menu. This menu will have some of our favourite meals available each week at a lower cost with no change to the meals themselves.
These changes will allow us to offer a wider variety of options to our community and further our mission. That being said, I understand that change can be jarring at times which is why I welcome any and all conversations regarding these new directions. If you would like to discuss these changes with me further, please reach out to me. We can talk over email or book a video call.
In my life I have learned many things about my body through the nutrition I consume. I have been 100% vegan, I have been on a high-protein diet, I have gone on and off of elimination diets, and I have had periods where I did not give a damn about my nutrition and just ate whatever was in sight. Through all of these different eating-habits, this is what I’ve learned to be true:
1. Everyone’s food journey is unique to them. So much of our relationship to food is attached to how we were raised and what we have had access to. If we wish to improve our relationship with food, we need to dig into our past and learn why we have the attachments that we have.
2. It doesn’t matter what the title of the diet is. Any diet or lifestyle can benefit from more whole-food plants.
3. The only rule I follow is the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time, my plate is 80% plants. 80% of the time, I eat for health. 20% of the time, I eat for joy because it is a nutrient in it’s own way. This ratio can be different for everyone, I’ve simply learned that this ratio is what works for my body and my lifestyle.
4. Regardless of plan - What matters is the quality of ingredients and the intentions we consume them with. Supporting our local growers is our highest priority.
We are what we eat. We make a choice with each bite of food that we take. I feel privileged to provide nutritious meals and thank my community for the opportunity to continue to do so while evolving and growing.
x Madi
]]>I’ve been experimenting with juice cleanses for almost 10 years now. I learned that they are a very potent tool to create drastic shifts, but this took some time to sink in. When I first began learning about cleanses, the concept was daunting - The thought of only drinking juice for 3 days without any solid food was a crazy concept to me. But my curiosity peaked, as it tends to do, so I decided to try one out with inevitably led to a decade long journey with them.
Juice cleanses are a challenge. Just like weight lifting, going for a run, or dropping your body into an ice tub for 3 minutes, things that are good for your health tend to be a challenge, especially when you try it for the first time. During the process things can feel uncomfortable and difficult, but through the process your body has the ability to make shifts that will benefit you long after you’re back eating solid food again.
I was drawn to cleanses because I read that they could help mitigate food cravings. When I was a small child, one of my babysitters allowed me to eat a cup of powdered sugar with a spoon for lunch each day. When my mother found out that ended quickly but it went on long enough to allow for a severe sugar addiction to take root. Fast-forward as a teenager, I would use lunch money to purchase penny-candy from the convenience store and always reached for foods packed with sugar. As I grew up, I learned more and more about the detrimental effects of sugar which made it clear that I needed to do something about it yet no matter how often I told myself that I wasn’t going to eat foods with sugar in them - I always gave into my cravings.
The first cleanse I did was a disaster. I was not prepare to survive on water, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and lemon for 5 days straight, let alone 48 hours. Luckily I did not let that experience deter me. I kept experimenting and found what worked for me which was a variety of different juices, high greens content, some raw shots to wake up the system, and a nut milk before bed so that I felt satiated enough before bed time.
As I was experimenting, I started to notice changes in my cravings. At the beginning it was out of sheer will - I wasn’t reaching for a bag of skittles in the cupboard because I had just spent the last 2 hours cleaning a small juicer at home so I damn-well was going to drink the green juice I made. The first few recipes I made tasted terrible, the entire situation was lacklustre at best, but after a while, I noticed that I started to enjoy the freshness of the juices. I noticed that my energy levels were skyrocketing. I no longer wanted the bag of skittles because when I did eat them they tasted cloyingly sweet and artificial.
When you start to give your body things made from whole foods, it starts to crave them because it knows what to do with them. Whole foods have information in them (ie. the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients) that our bodies know how to use and process to make decisions with (ie. support the detoxification process that our liver does day in and day out).
I learned that a juice cleanse was a way to “give” your body vital nutrients without having to make it work to break down the fibre in the whole food. It truly is a reset, both physically and mentally. When you no long have to think about what to eat for three or five days in a row, you have time to think. You have time to think about other areas of your life, the other pillars of health, and then have the time to implement new practices.
So now 10 years later - I do a three day juice cleanse when I feel like I need to make a shift in my world. This could be because I had a lot of social events over the summer which had me consuming more alcohol then I tend to drink or it could be that I find myself needing time and space to reset my mindset. A juice cleanse is now more of a mental reset than a physical reset for me (this takes time and practice to get to). I find myself doing them four times a year to reflect the shifts in mindset that I want, which is why I always love doing them after Labour Day.
I think that everyone should try a juice cleanse at some point in their adult life. There are many caveats like never doing them while pregnant or if you have a medical condition to speak with your doctor first. But something shifts inside of you when you realize that you can survive three days without solid food. Also - If you find yourself struggling with sugar cravings - Reach out to me. There are many other tools that I’ve used over the years to get myself to a place where I no have fear from eating sugar because I simply do not crave it anymore, and there is something incredibly liberating from that sentence.
x Madi
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Food is my greatest joy. Making it, sharing it, experiencing it… I’m happiest during those moments. So when I travel, I always search out food experiences that will stay with me. I was fortunate to travel a lot with my parents when I was young. I can barely recall what the inside of the Sistine Chapel looks like without a photo to reference but I can tell you with absolute clarity how it felt to eat my first stuffed zucchini flower.
This week I got home from a 10 day trip - I spent 4 days in Budapest, Hungary and then flew down to Albania and spent 6 days on the coast in Himarë with three generations of my family.
This was the first vacation I’ve taken while not working daily in almost 6 years so I wanted to go into it with intention - The intention to properly disconnect from my phone and email, the intention to take moments during the day to sit and enjoy a coffee doing absolutely nothing, and the intention to experience all that the food cultures had to offer me while maintaining respect for my body.
I used to travel with the mindset that I would take care of the damage done (ie. lack of sleep, complete dehydration, weight gained from excessive alcohol and eating) once I was back and that I deserved to let it all go and just indulge. But that mentality always led to a disastrous yo-yo effect that made me feel less stable, both physically and mentally.
I’ve learned a lot about my connection to food and how to bring a type of balance with it. When preparing to leave I asked myself two simple questions so that I could make sure that this vacation would align with what I hoped I could experience. I asked:
1 - I knew that I wanted to be able to see many different sites, visit as many outdoor markets, and swim in as many coves as possible which meant that I would be walking 10km - 15km per day. I knew that I wanted to be able to enjoy the sunrise in the morning. I knew that I wanted to try every local food experience they had to offer.
2 - The only answer I had for this question was that I wanted to feel recharged when I got home.
Having the answers to those questions allowed me to make decisions during the trip that always left me filled with joy and amazement.
My 7 Tips on how to Enjoy your Food AND your Vacation
TIP #1 - Be honest with yourself on what you want to get out of the trip.
TIP #2 - Schedule moments for pure indulgence & eating for pure joy
TIP #3 - Add colour to your plate
TIP #4 - Release the Guilt
TIP #5 - Find Daily Movement
TIP #6 - Hydrate
TIP #7 - Bring Your Supplements
By applying these tips, I was able to be fully present during my vacation and enjoy every food experience that I wanted to have. I was able to maintain my energy levels so that I could explore. I believe that one of the greatest ways to learn about a different culture is through their food and experiencing it the way that locals do so open yourself up and try something new. Try the goulash even when you have no idea what the ingredients are just to experience it. Open yourself up for adventure with kindness and curiosity and go explore.
x Madi
]]>Prior to learning how to make coleslaw I would never be caught dead eating it - Yet now it has turned into one of my favourite quick & delicious bowls during the hot weather months. It makes for the perfect lunch or an even better dinner side meant to be shared with family and friends.
Salad Ingredients
Dressing Ingredients
Step 1 - Microplane 1 inch of garlic root into a large bowl, then add all of the remaining ingredients for the dressing into the bowl and mix with a whisk or a fork until blended.
Step 2 - Wash all of your veggies and then finely slice celery, red cabbage, napa cabbage, and onion into ribbons. This salad is all about the texture so you can play around with the different thicknesses.
With field cucumbers, you want to first peel the outside, then cut them into quarters and angle cut the seeds out prior to slicing them finely to match the thickness of the cabbage.
Step 3 - Add all chopped vegetables into the bowl alongside the kimchi, edamame beans, and cilantro (saving a little greenery for the top of the salad). Mix until fully incorporated and let sit for 5 min.
Now - CHECK FOR SALT & PEPPER. Always do this. (Always)
Plate your slaw, top with remaining cilantro, sesame seed, and pumpkin seed & enjoy (preferably outside in the sun).
** Will last for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container **
These wonder nutrients are abundant in plants are are structurally diverse. They offer protection from UV light, and defence against the plant's being eaten.
They are a diverse group of micronutrients that give us many benefits including supporting the health of our gut because they are also probiotics and increase the population of the healthy bacteria in our gut. There are over 8,000 unique polyphenols that have been identified and are most bioavailable (ie. the rate of absorption by the body) when consumed through whole foods verses a supplement.
Regularly consuming polyphenols will boost digestion and brain health, reduce inflammation, and help protect against heart disease.
One of the main benefits of ordering from a meal delivery service that focusses on plant-based whole foods is the diversity of plants that you're able to consume and the variety of farm fresh ingredients without having to keep a fridge full of 30+ different fruits and vegetables.
Increasing the amount of polyphenols in your diet is a great way to build up the strength of your gut health. It can be very hard and uncomfortable to digest the recommended 30g+ of fibre per day if you are used to getting 10g of fibre which is why polyphenols are so helpful. They build up the microbiome's strength and ability to digest fibre! Start by including 2 - 3 polyphenol rich foods into your diet per day (a cup of green tea + a serving of berries is a great starting point) and then increase slowly over time & you will start to see the benefits including a more efficient digestive system and stronger immune system.
Step 1 - Press your block of tofu while you're mixing the marinade together. When "pressing" tofu you do not need a fancy contraption. You simply need to put paper towel or a kitchen towel on both sides of the tofu and the apply weight so that any excess liquid is squeezed from the block of tofu. A tub of coconut oil does the trick.
TOFU MARINADE
Once the tofu has been sufficiently pressed (15 - 20 min) cut it into any shape that makes you happy. Want the tofu to be crispy? Go for a smaller shape - Want the tofu to have different textures? Make it a larger rectangle shape (As per the photos below). Pour the marinade over the tofu - Marinade for minimum 1 hour, maximum 24 hours.
Step 2 - Chop up your cauliflower. I cut mine into small florets so that we could get the most surface area without them falling through the screen of the air fryer. Now it's time to get a little creative & clean out your fridge. The BEAUTY of rice dishes is that you can use pretty much ANY vegetable and it will taste great. I had some carrots (keep the tops, use them for garnish at the end & feel like an eco-warrior), yellow peppers, green peas, thai chilies, and green onions. Chop them how you see fit.
Step 3 - Mix the sauce while 'frying' the cauliflower. I set the air fryer to 400' and cooked the cauliflower florets for 15 minutes, giving them a shake at the half way mark. While this is cooking make the miso magic happen (aka. the sauce below)
MAGIC MISO SAUCE
Step 4 - Time to cook the tofu & veggies in the air fryer. Set the 'fryer' to 400' - Add the tofu to the basket and cook for 10 minutes. When there is 6 minutes left, add the veggies to the same basket (hence one-'pot' recipe). While the veggies and tofu are cooking, use a knife to chop the fried cauliflower into little 'rice' pieces. Once the timer is up take the veggies and mix them in with the cauliflower.. It's time to plate!
Base: Cauliflower 'rice' with the carrots, green onion, yellow peppers, and green peas mixed in.
Middle: 'Fried' tofu piece & heaps of the miso sauce (get wild).
Top: Carrot fronds (aka the greens of carrot tops), thai chilies, sesame seeds, green onions, and last but MOST importantly... a pinch of salt.
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Form.d Design hand carves one of a kind pieces & objects (like 16 ft solid oak tables) to handmade boards. Mary, the female designer & artist, crafts each piece from locally sourced Canadian wood. Her bath trays are handmade with the intention that they bring a sense of calm and entice you to spend a few extra minutes relaxing in the bath. Each set comes with a bath board, a dry vase, a salt bowl, and a bar of locally made beeswax soap. Each piece is as unique as you are.
Welcome to the “Self Love” Project. There are so many factors that influence our health from the nutrition we fuel our body with to the type of movement we guide it through to the quality of sleep that we get. All of these things are incredibly important for a healthy body but they can feel almost impossible to accomplish if we do not love ourselves first. You can feed yourself the highest quality, whole food, plant based diet but if we don’t start with loving ourselves then there will be a disconnect inside.
Self love is saying “I Love You” to yourself in different ways each day. It can be a nice long hug that you give to yourself, it can be looking up at the beautiful sky, it can be taking time to focus on your breathing, or simply making the conscious effort to be kind to yourself. After the last two years of so much isolation and uncertainty it is more important than ever to look within and challenge ourselves to see what level of self love we can create because when we love ourselves we have so much more love to spread into the world.
Over the last few weeks we have been having discussions with some incredible women about what they do as acts of love for themselves and what is holding them back from doing it more often. We will be sharing these conversations because we believe that the more we talk about these topics the more we will be inclined to act upon them. The emerging theme that came from these conversations was that the key to “Self Love” is time. Time to ask yourself what you need that day, time to try new things, and time to practice them again and again and again. Loving yourself takes time, practice, and patience - But just like a muscle - The more you exercise it the more it grows.
When I first entered into the world of holistic food in 2014 I simply knew that I felt better when I ate a predominantly plant-based diet, I had no idea how deeply that concept would change my life. I am not a doctor or a scientist by any means but it can be amazing when you learn when you have a deep desire to do so. With that, I wanted to share the information I’ve been reading regarding the connection between mental health and the food we eat because it is something that impacts every single one of us.
“According to the World Health Organization anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health conditions and depression could be the top health concerns in the world by 2030.”
When I read that I was stunned, but when I began thinking about it unfortunately it made sense when we look at the vast majority of our food systems and accessibility around the world. The shift to fast, non-perishable, processed foods does not feed our bodies, or our brains, with the right type of nutrients it needs to thrive. Here is why..
Our brain is constantly “on” which means that it requires a constant supply of fuel to function. That fuel is the food we eat. Just like a car, if you supply is with premium fuel it is going to run better versus if you were to supply it with low-grade fuel.
Simply put, what we eat has a direct effect on the structure and function of our brain and our mood. When we consume “low-grade fuel” (aka. processed foods and refined sugars) it reaches our brain and it has very little ability to remove it. It is proven that diets in high refined sugars are harmful to the brain because other then decreasing our body’s ability to regulate insulin it also promotes inflammation and oxidative stress. Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet in refined sugars and mood disorders and depression.
One of the biggest reasons for this correlation is due to the fact that 95% of our serotonin (the neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep, appetite, and moods) is produced in our gastrointestinal tract that is lined with neurons. These neurons are highly influenced by the good bacteria that make up our intestinal microbiome and have a direct link to our emotions.
The good bacteria found in our microbiome play one of the most essential roles to our health, something that I believe will be the main focus of health moving forward, because:
Our mission at Nook has always been to feed this good bacteria in our microbiomes because of the impact it has on our health. We do that by having a wide range of Rainbow Food (natural colours of every kind that contain unique phytochemicals that each support the bacteria in a unique way), high amounts of fibre (the foundation of food for the bacteria), having a large amount of fermented foods such as tempeh and miso, and a range of prebiotic foods such as onions, cashews, garlic, and leeks.
Last week a study was released by a research team from more than 40 institutions from the UK and Spain that used genetic data from over 50,000 people with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, something that affects around 1 in 10 people now) and compared them to over 400,000 people without IBS. The results showed that overall that heritability of IBS was quite low and that it was actually in response to environmental factors such as diet, stress and patterns of behaviour.
By linking the connections between our brain and our gut we can have a better understanding of how to support the connection. Here are some of the foods that our brains need in order to thrive:
There needs to be many more studies conducted but it is impossible to deny that a component of mental health comes from the gut.
https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/the-emerging-link-between-food-and-mental-health
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