Blasts of Light

Treat yourself to some deliciously decadent self care! This DIY Spa Night on MindBodyGreen is my go to ritual for when life gets crazy and I need a time out and some alone time. It’s perfect for when you don’t have more than a few hours in your schedule and don’t feel like spending big bucks on a day spa appointment. Put yourself first this holiday season so that you can show up as your best self for your loved ones and co workers! Enjoy a spa night this weekend and let me know what you’re favorite ways to unwind and treat yourself are in the comments below!

Have a blissed out holiday weekends my loves!

Cassandra

I’ve really started LOVING Thanksgiving because of it’s true meaning.

No, not a day to eat turkey..although that’s totally fine if you do..

A DAY TO GIVE THANKS.

For me, gratitude is an everyday practice but I really like to think of Thanksgiving as a whole gratitude holiday! It’s a great yearly reminder to check our level of gratefulness in our lives. So I spend even more time in the morning after my meditation, writing a list of everything I’m grateful for and really getting specific about it. Don’t just write that you’re thankful for your pet, write how you are thankful for Charlie (my dog) because he always knows just when I need him to nuzzle, because his presence always brightens my day and his body loves to warm my toes. Just an example, but when you take a few minutes and actually write it and get that detailed for every person and thing in your life, you’re truly going to reap the benefits of a gratitude practice. You’ll be happier, more present and attract even more abundance your way by being so grateful for what you have. What do you have to lose? Give it a try today and see if you can keep it up consistently for 40 days!

Why is gratitude such a game changer?

Because you have the power to change your life simply by changing the way you look at your life and THAT is the gift that gratitude keeps on giving. Want to get happy? Start by getting grateful. Want more abundance? Use gratitude to see the abundance that already exists in your life and you will not be able to stop yourself from attracting more. Ready for a romantic relationship? Start being truly grateful for ALL the relationships in your life. Ready to lose weight or feel better in your body? Start taking an inventory of all the things you are grateful for about your body. Nothing like having someone in the family whose lost an organ or is fighting a disease to be insanely present to the health and vitality of every cell of your being. When we are truly present in gratitude, we are thinking thoughts of love, we are raising our vibration and we are changing our lives! If you’re ready to start GETTING GRATEFUL- join me on my #40daysofgratitude challenge on social media, whether you’re on twitter, instagram or Facebook, tag me and hashtag #40DaysofGratitude and let’s all keep spreading the love, raising our vibrations and operating from a place of blissful gratitude! Ill be following along with your photos, cheering you on and reposting some of your inspiring words and pictures! 

A peak into my gratitude list this morning:

1. I’m grateful for my mom for being so supportive of GSS and always thinking of wonderful ideas for it. I’m grateful for her always being a phone call away and willing to listen to me chat about just about anything.

2. I’m grateful for my dad for showing me what unconditional love feels like, for making me feel my most beautiful with out any make up or fancy clothes from a really young age and for all his zen wisdom over the years. Grateful to have a dad I can tell absolutely anything to.

3. I’m grateful for my grandma for being a living example of grace in my life, for showing me the woman I want to grow up to be, for teaching me not to sweat the small things (and they’re all small things) and for sending me the most adorable snail mail every couple weeks to brighten my day.

4. I’m grateful for my brother who’s tolerance for pain, courage under pressure and absolute brilliance constantly make me want to be a better person. I’m grateful that I can tell him anything and he’ll always tell me his brutally honest opinion and we can also not talk at all and just enjoy some Aziz Ansari on Netflix together.

5. I’m grateful for terminator, my five year old goldfish, for keeping me company through so many apartments, boyfriends and breakdowns since I’ve moved into NYC. He puts a smile on my face everyday and reassures my parents that I can keep a living thing alive.

6. I’m grateful for all of you! I live in a constant state of gratitude for being able to do work that I love from every fiber of my soul. I’m grateful for your emails, your comments and the pictures you share with me. You brighten my life each and everyday and I am so grateful for your love and support.

7. I’m grateful for my clients, who always end up feeling like close girlfriends after our sessions. Their progress makes me soul smile and reassures me that I’m on the right path day in and day out. It’s a gift to be able to spend this sacred time with them while we create something really beautiful together. I’m blessed to help mentor them in making that magic.

8. I’m grateful for my own mentors, who whether near or far have changed my life for the better in a tremendous capacity. I’m grateful for meeting my spiritual mentor, Jennifer Kass, and the incredible connection we share, and for how much I have grown through our work together. I’m grateful for Gabby Bernstein, whose book first ended up in my hands when I needed it the most and started a conversation that would change my life. I’m grateful to Marianne Williamson for holding such tremendous space for the spiritual conversation before anyone else was talking about it in the main stream and for all of her iTunes lectures which fuel me with inspiration on  the regular!

9. I’m grateful for my friends who inspire me, challenge me, support me, make me want to go bigger, shine brighter and make me laugh till it hurts. You know who you are and I’m beyond grateful for your presence in my life.

10. I’m grateful for my health and my body. I’m grateful for my energy and vitality, for having beautiful healthy organs that are all working and disease free. I’m grateful for my heart that beats everyday, my breathe that inhabits me and my eyes that allow me to see. I’m grateful for this amazing vessel which my soul resides and in awe of the mechanics that go into me feeling my best and in being in the best of health. I’m grateful that it allows me to be who I am, hold the space for my purpose in the world and also allow me to bend like gumby in yoga and sweat it out dancing at daybreaker.

My list could go on for a while, so I will cut myself off there. Now it’s your turn! What are you grateful for today? Answer in the comments below and get started on your gratitude practice. I promise, if you stick with it, it’s a total game changer!

 

Happy Thanksgiving my loves! xo!

So I don’t normally write these kinda “diary” posts where I tell you guys all about my week but for those of you who are extra observant,  you may have noticed my posts across the board being much less than normal this week and I thought it might be interesting to see how you guys react to being clued in to what’s my real life is like! If you like this kinda thing and want to see more, comment below and let me know! If you’d rather just have me stick to meditations, tips and recipes, let me know that too. I won’t get offended, I just want to put out the kind of content you’re excited to read.

WHITE TANTRIC YOGA.

Last Saturday, I went to a very special workshop at a church on the UWS where I did kundalini yoga all day from 8am till about 6pm. Everyone wore white and we held some interesting postures and meditated our asses off! I’m a big kundalini devotee so when I heard that they were requiring this “white tantric” for the teaching training peeps, I was intrigued and when I heard that white tantric was rumored to have the same effect as a years worth of meditating for an hour each day. I was SOLD.

Sign. Me. Up.

What can I say, it was unlike anything I experienced  so far and I got some MAJOR clarity around things that I needed in my life. A lot of people had very emotional reactions, some battled big ego demons but for me I was in an ecstatically positive place. I had all these beautiful visions. My purpose and my priorities became undeniably clear. Things that were standing in my way and blocking my path became apparent. It was an overall amaze balls experience. But what happened in the workshop pales in comparison to the momentum that started in my life this week.

All of a sudden, more brands than ever wanted to partner with me for events and creating fun, video content, I got emails from all sorts of women wanting to start working with me (don’t worry! I still can squeeze maybe one or two more people in for private coaching starting this december? email my assistant (assistant@gosweetandskinny.com) ASAP if this needs to be you!) and what’s even more amazing is that I had UNLIMITED energy, like cracked out crazy balls of fire energy all week. I was up till 3am, electrified with new ideas and new content I want to share with you guys. I’m so excited!

Here’s some other factors that I’m sure contributed beyond white tantric as well, meditating like boss (per usual), not drinking alcohol OR consuming caffeine, minimizing sugar to fruit, and drinking some delicious juices on my mini cleanse from Ritual Wellness. I’m also in the process of a very exciting collaboration with a pretty big company that I can’t wait to tell you more about, but what I can tell you is that it involves totally making over my living space and it’s going to be crazy gorgeous when it’s done. So only end I’ve been going through old clothes, cleaning out anything and everything that I no longer use or need and donating, tossing, recycling, etc and it feels SO good! I literally feel my energy being restored more and more as I purge and purge the excess that’s no longer necessary.

Last but not least, it was a new moon on Saturday night which leaves us feeling like a new day is dawning in our lives, something beautiful is being created with in us and it’s the perfect time for stepping into your power, clearing up anything holding you back and (like my mantra necklace –) GO BIG, SHINE BRIGHT. You can find more delicious details about that here at mystic mamma. This is an amazing time to go deep and reflect, get really clear about where you’re headed and stay focused on it.

If you’re interested in an intention setting meditation session or just plain interested in getting started on your way to getting clear, focusing on your path, loving your life and uncovering your bliss, email me (cassandra@gosweetandskinny.com) today. Spots fill up fast and the option to work with me one on one will not be available forever!

1. Be the positive thought police.

Your thoughts are extra powerful today so make sure you are putting out the kinda stuff you want coming back at you.

2. Meditate.

It’s okay if it’s only for five minutes, find a peaceful place, put on a soothing song or just sit in silence and focus on your breath. If you’d like to try a guided meditation, here’s an easy one to get you going. Today we can feel even more connected to the love and support around us so take advantage and really tap into that feeling around you.

3.Visualize your BEST self on BEST day. 

Again, your thoughts today are even more POTENT than normal and they are always creating your reality so take the time today to bring awareness to what you’re thinking. A great way to put out the stuff you want to call in is to visualize your best self on your best day. If you need some guidance on that, you can also try this guided meditation of mine.

4. Hold a BIG intention for 11:11 am / 11:11 pm.

Wishes are coming true all day but keep an eye out for these special times! 🙂

5. Get to YOGA.

What better way to relax, get yourself in flow and leave behind any negative thoughts or stressors from the day. I’m definitely heading to kundalini tonight!

6. Make a vision board! (invite girlfriends and throw a party!)

This is an absolute blast. Grab some girlfriends (or do it alone!) and stack of magazines and cut out pictures and words of all the beautiful things you’re ready to have in your life. It’s a great way to get clear on what you want on this magical day but will serve as a great reminder for days to come.

7. Talk to your angels.

Hey, it’s angel day! (11/11 are angel numbers, in case you didn’t realize) So why not spend some time chatting with your guardian angels? Thank them for keep you on track or ask them for some help if you need it!

8. Write a gratitude list.

This is a great practice everyday but on a day where you really want to be sending out good vibrations into the universe, it’s even better. Let’s get grateful! Grab a pen and paper and write down everything in your life that you are thankful for! (Some excellent thanksgiving prep, I might add, hehe)

9. Send love to every person you see on the street!

I love doing this! It’s truly the key to a magical day. You don’t have to say anything just look at every person you pass on the street and envision sending a golden light of love from your heart to theirs. I can’t help but smile when I do this and even though people have no idea what I’m doing, I’m sure they feel the warmth. And couldn’t we all use more of that?

10. Ask for a divine sign.

My angels always show me their presence with feathers in my path or little birdies fluttering around me. You can always ask for divine sign if you need reassurance that you’re on the right path or you’re being guided. Don’t be afraid to ask for one and don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled after you do for what will show up!

11. Let yourself be guided.

I love doing this in a book store or walking around the city. Take a stroll and just allow your inner guidance system to take over, see where your heart leads you. Practice tuning in, letting go and allowing yourself to be guided.

What we eat effects how we do EVERYTHING. It’s really that simple. What we put into our bodies sets the foundation for our lives. We can choose to put nutrient dense foods that give us the vitality to go out into the world and be our best selves or we can choose processed, sugary foods that are nutritionally void and constantly battle with our own bodies in order to have the energy to accomplish the simple task we have in a day. I’ve seen clients LIGHT UP once we get them on a clean, whole foods meal plan, they will literally say ,” I’ve done nothing but start eating healthier foods and I surprisingly feel happier all the time.”  So whether you want to lose weight, feel better in your body, detox, get happy or have more energy, the food you choose to eat plays a MAJOR part in setting you up for success!

That’s the magic of food.

Now I know that hardest part of getting off on the path to blissful wellbeing can often be getting started or knowing where to start and this is where a personalize blissful eating meal plan comes in. We’ll get you jumpstart to a more radiant, energetic you by having an important chat about your intentions for laying this new healthier, nourishing foundation and then I’ll put together a customized meal plan for YOU that’s based on your life and your preferences. A lot of the time detoxes and diet meal plans fail because they aren’t made for people with REAL lives, who have REAL food preferences and don’t spend all day in the kitchen. By creating a personalized meal plan you can ensure you’re going to stick to it and you can use the food ideas long beyond the first week. You’ll also get a meal plan that’s custom tuned to YOUR goals! You’ll learn some great breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options that you can start incorporating into your daily routine. So you can  use the planned out week as a jumpstart, training wheels so to say, to get you going so you can go flying town blissed out lane when you’re done!

 

*Personalized Blissful Eating Meal Plan Sessions*

These sessions will be 60 minutes long and done over the phone or via skype, so that everyone has access to them.

What we’ll chat about:

  • What you’re health + wellness goals are and how we can customize your meal plan to help achieve them.
  • What your eating right now and how it’s working for you.
  • Any problems or blocks you may have around food ( anything from an allergy to a limiting belief – I want to know about your relationship with what you’re eating!).
  • How we can best design your meal plan to support your goals, work with your life and keep you satisfied and energized.

what you’ll leave with:

  •  Priceless knowledge and insight into your eating habits.
  • Plenty of ideas for what kinds of food to incorporate into your diet and how to make healthier choices for your favorite foods.
  • A 7-day meal plan with in 24 hours of our session that’s totally customized to your goals, your relationship with food and what’s going to work with both your schedule and your body most optimally. Plus all the delicious healthy recipes!
  • A solid foundation to start feeling better, nourishing your body and on your way to achieving your wellness goals.
  • Inspiration and tools to start your plan and move towards a happier, healthier, more radiant you!

total cost is only $187. Email assistant@gosweetandskinny.comto schedule an appointment time.

BY SHANNON VETERE [ Lifestyle Expert + creator of SkinnySometimes.com]

After returning home from a NYC trip with a lot of random and delicious plant-based eats, I was inspired to try giving the lifestyle a go for a week. I didn’t know what to really expect or how my experience would pan out, but overall it was a great experiment. Here are some of my thoughts and findings from that week:
It really challenged me to try new things!
I used “flax eggs” for my morning oatmeal pancake and it was great! I will definitely continue to do this. I ate a lot of beans, which I truly enjoyed. Nutritional yeast, that was fun! There were little things here and there and I was pleasantly surprised with all the new foods I tried.
It was A LOT easier than I thought it would be.
I had no issues because I did some meal prep the weekend before I started. Even though I live in a small town with limited resources, it was so easy! The recipes I made were enjoyable and I didn’t feel deprived at all. I didn’t dine out, which I’m sure would have made things more difficult, but at home it was so easy.
Plant-based foods are super filling!
I still can’t get over how full I was after some meals. I definitely had to readjust portion sizes. One little salad with some quinoa and beans would leave me full for hours.
I realized what I was lacking
I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, I was coming off of white sugar and I wasn’t drinking enough water. Those are the reasons I felt light-headed and hungry at the beginning of the week. By the end of the week, with less sugar and more water in my system I felt a thousand times better. And yes, I started sleeping more too. After the week was up, I made sure to be careful with all 3 of these. It was an eye-opener.
I can’t and I won’t do labels.
Before I started Skinny Sometimes, I had an unhealthy relationship with food. I had lame rules and made certain foods off limits. That of course, in turn caused me to binge. I did eat a cookie at one point during the week. If I had prepped plant-based foods without declaring that’s what I was to do for a week, I don’t think I would have eaten the cookie. I felt guilty after I ate it too, which is an absolute no-no for me! I eat cookies all the time and never feel guilty. When I realized I associated guilt with food is when I realized no matter what I will never, ever label my dietary habits.
Moving forward, I’m excited to try new recipes and add more plant-based meals and snacks into my days. It was a positive experience and a real eye opener. One week isn’t long enough for me to see if it made any impact on my health so I can’t make any remarks in that regard. It was a fun challenge though and I learned so much about myself!

shannonvetere

Find Shannon on Instagram • Pinterest • Facebook • Twitter

I  can’t even begin to divulge all the knowledge that was dropped on me this weekend. Two ladies who have been incredibly influential and inspiring along my journey, Oprah and Elizabeth Gilbert both in the same weekend. Mind blown. I’ve been so hyper and cracked out from all the excitement and inspiration flowing that I am most definitely a kid in a candy store right now despite being sugar free! haha At first my intention was to give you one big wrap up about the whole weekend but then I quickly realized when going through my notes that there was just too darn much to squeeze it all into one post, so you are getting THREE! This first one is my favorite highlights from my two power ladies, Oprah and Elizabeth Gilbert, the second one will be all about Deepak Chopra and the last will focus on Rob Bell and Iyania Vanzant so you are in for triple the treats!

For starters, the Elizabeth Gilbert quote above, how many of you are still waiting on something to begin your quest?! Are you consciously or unconsciously waiting for someone to come “save” you, for something to happen and make it all work? Well guess what? That’s a pretty boring story to live! Get out of the passenger’s seat of your life and hop on over to the driver’s seat because YOU decide where the car’s going! in other words, you can make a U-turn right now if you think you’re going down the wrong path.

Oprah and Elizabeth both talked a lot about listening to LIFE because it’s talking to you.

“ When things are out of balance and going wrong, it’s the universe’s way of saying you’re going the wrong way, you need to switch direction.” – Oprah

It starts off with a little whisper, a gentle nudge, “this might not be right.” or “do I really want this?” and then keeps escalating the longer you don’t listen. All of a sudden that whisper graduates to a siren and you are in full on crisis mode because you had been ignoring all the signs and the universe was forced to whip out the big guns so that you had no choice but to listen! This is what often happens when we have a total breakdown in one area of our life. However, if we start paying attention to what “life”, “spirit” or our “inner guide” is trying to tell us, whatever you want to call that energy force, we can get on the right path long before it gets to be a real problem.

Elizabeth Gilbert talked a lot about the hero’s journey and going on our own hero’s journey or soul quest as women even though Joseph’s Campbell was all about a man. We are not the damsel in distress that the hero saves along his journey, WE ARE THE HERO, we do not need saving! The moment you decide to be your own hero as a woman, your whole life changes! “

The story of your life is far more interesting when you decide to be your own hero.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

So be BOLD, be BRAVE, write your own story and stand in your power. You can paint the picture that your life with look like. The time is now, we are guaranteed only this very moment, so what are we waiting for?

One of my favorite Buddha quotes, “The problem is, you think you have time.”

Get going now. You can start taking forward action right now, today. How can you start answering your calling? How can you make progress to the life you want? If you need help with this, don’t shy away from asking for guidance! Email me at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com  and request a breakthrough session, in only 30 minutes we can get you off in the direction of your dreams and towards the life you want!

oprahquote This next quote that really struck a powerful cord with me is all about the energy you put out into the world based on your intentions. This is a concept I’ve been working with a lot of my clients on recently.

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENERGY WE BRING INTO EVERY ROOM WE WALK IN TO.

What kind of energy are you bringing? Ever had a friend meet up with you for lunch and you instantly know they’re going to give you bad news because of how it feels just being in their presence? Yup, you give off those vibes too when you are in a negative place about a situation.

Good news is that you can also bring positive, love energy to every situation and encounter you have! You can literally transform your life by simply minding the intentions you hold in any encounter. Before you go into a meeting, a date, a phone call with a family member, the gym, just take a minute and check your intention! Are you going in with love or fear? A good little reality check is to think “if everyone in this room could hear my thoughts, would this be a good experience?”

One of the lessons in A Course in Miracles is “No thoughts are private thoughts” and while it may not be true that everyone in that room can hear your exact thoughts, you best believe they can feel the energy your giving off because of them so choose your thoughts carefully!

I’m working on this with one of my clients right now that’s going on job interviews and I’m having her visualize her intended outcome for every meeting. And you know if you can’t fully believe that you’re going to get the job or whatever it may be, THAT’S OKAY! Just set a positive intention for the experience, ie. we have a great conversation and both leaving with a smile on our face or to share my love for my work and connect with him.

I also talk a lot about this concept with my clients who are dating, you don’t have to go in to every date with the intention of “he’s going to fall in love with me and we’re going to get married”, it doesn’t have to be that serious! Set the intention to have fun, to laugh, to brighten their day and they’ll feel that warmth and want more of it! Start today and think about all the little encounters in your day that you can transform simply by co-creating your experience with the energy of your intentions!

Comment below and let me know about how you were able to BEGIN and step into your hero shoes or how you were able to transform a situation with the energy of your intention! I’d love to hear from you! xoxo!

Ahh!! This quote from the Dalai Lama just hit home for me today! I confess that although I meditate everyday and professionally help people to find their inner peace on a daily basis, I still have a day here and there where someone’s behavior throws me for a loop. I even noticed this theme pop up with a lot of my clients in the past week. My clients were experiencing teachers, parents and romantic partners’ negative moods or hurtful behavior causing a tremendous detriment to their state of mind and the inner peace they’ve been working on creating.Too often we work on cultivating this beautiful inner garden, we bring the sunshine each day through our healthy habits and spiritual practice and then all of a sudden it feels like a force of nature, hurricane or tornado comes (in the form of someone’s else behavior towards us) and wreaks havoc on our beautiful patch of heaven, leaving us feeling empty and confused! Can you relate?

So for me when this happens, I instantly notice that I’ve moved out of my place of love and I’m not connecting with my higher self. As soon as I go to into that stressed, anxious, uncomfortable and unfamiliar place, it’s a wake up call. The longer I allow myself to stay in that place, the more exhausted, drained and achey I get, so I immediately take action. What does that look like?

Well first off: STOP. DROP. MEDITATE.

I have this simple meditation for letting go that you can try in a jiffy or even this one for finding PEACE now that I rely on a lot when I’m out and about and don’t have the luxury of my own space at home. I also love to do the kundalini meditation for irrationality (I teach it in my mindful eating + meditation class) video.

second, break out the ACIM!

A Course in Miracles says,” Everything is either love or a call for love.” So when someone is behaving cruel or negatively towards you and it’s definitely NOT love, it’s a desperate plea for love from them. When you take a minute to really see this person you’re dealing with from a total place of innocence, you can see how entangled in fear they are to act the way they are behaving. Yogi Bhajan said one of the sutras of the Aquarian age was,” understand through compassion or your misunderstand the times.” and it’s in moments of this frustration that I think back on his wise words and turn my head and my heart to compassion.

third — SURRENDER THAT SHIT!!

That’s right, give it up! Give it up to God, the universe, your dead pet, whoever you like to pray to / talk to / ask for advice. Say a little prayer and place the situation fully in their hands, ASK for the miracle, ASK to see things differently and then allow yourself to sit back and be guided. I like to say ” Dear God, please take – this situation – , I place it in your hands, please handle ALL the details, heal my mind of error and show me what you would have me do, Amen.” But you can phrase it however you like, just give it up, surrender the situation and stand in the willingness to shift your perception and experience a miracle.

and LASTLY..

know when to call in reinforcements.

This is where myself or your spiritual running buddy may need to intervene. Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed with emotion, stuck in the victim zone and held hostage by fear. This is where you call in the troops!! It’s a beautiful thing to be self-aware enough to know that you can not dig yourself out of the hole alone. My clients will send me an email in these situations or schedule an emergency call, and many of my girlfriends call and ask for “emergen-zen” sessions now. The “emergen-zen” session was actually born out of this situation with my girlfriends, a guy they were dating or a family member would put them in the hurt box and they would spiral into the fear zone and need an emergency appointment where we would talk about what was going down, I’d shed some light on their situation and help them flip their perspective and then guide them through a meditation and help them surrender it. They left feeling relieved, renewed and ready to get back to being their best selves and really encouraged me to start offering it publicly.

As a special bonus to those of you who resonated with the message in this quote and blog post this evening, I’m offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT on my emergen-zen session for those of you who email me with “I READ THE BLOG!” in the subject line. 🙂

I will give you almost 50% off the price of a regular emergen-zen, so you will pay only $111 for the 90 minute intensive session! We’ll talk about what’s going on with you right now, help you gain clarity on the situation and I’ll personally guide you through a customized routine of different meditations allowing you to surrender the situation, let it go and create the space for a miracle. You’ll also leave with the recording of your personal guided meditations and a game plan on how to keep your zen going! If this sounds perfect for you or someone you know – feel free to email me at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com with “I READ THE BLOG!” in the subject line and we’ll get you scheduled ASAP!

There’s not much I love more than a taco salad and the vegan taco meat that I whipped up for my friends at Shape Magazine was the perfect delicious addition to help you get even more great fats and proteins in this vegan taco salad. It’s easy to throw together for lunch or dinner, a great source of protein and nutrients and c’mon who doesn’t love mexican!?

 
 

VEGAN TACO SALAD WITH CHILI LIME RANCH DRESSING

4 stalks of Romaine Lettuce chopped

½ cup of black beans ½ tomato chopped

½ white onion chopped

¼ cup of cilantro chopped

jalapeno chopped

1 avocado

¼ cup chickpeas

½ cup walnuts

1 tsp of flaxseed meal

2 tblsp of olive oil

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp coriander

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp chili

½ garlic powder

½ onion powder

salt/pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine chick peas, walnuts, flaxseed meal, olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili, garlic powder, onion powder and salt/pepper. Pulse till mixture is the consistency of chop meat. Combine chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and a tsp of jalapeno in a small bowl and toss together. Drain and rinse the black beans. If you prefer, heat the black beans on the stove for a few minute by adding a little water to a sauce pan. After heated, drain again. Place chopped romaine at the bottom of your bowl. Add a scoop of black beans, two spoonfuls of tomato mixture, a scoop of your “meat” mixture and top with half of an avocado sliced.

Chili lime ranch dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl, mix together and drizzle over salad

4 tbsp of tofu sour cream (or cashew sour cream – can make from scratch)

juice from a ¼ of a lime

pinch of onion powder

pinch of parsley

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of chili powder

½ tsp of plain unsweetened almond milk

I had quite the morning yesterday at my very first daybreaker experience here in NYC. For those of you who don’t know about daybreaker, it’s an early morning, completely sober dance party that’s sweeping the world right now. It kicks off at 6am with an hour of yoga and then proceeds to turn in to a full out dance fest from 7-9am. One of my guy friends had gone to one a couple weeks ago and had only amazing things to say so naturally, I had to check it out for myself. Needless to say, I am hooked! daybreaker1       I don’t know if I’ve ever had so much fun before 9am! Not only is the music amazing and the atmosphere great but the quality of people you are surrounded with is truly amazing. It’s quite a beautiful thing to look around a room and see yourself in the midst of totally blissed out New Yorkers who voluntarily woke even earlier than usual to dance their heart out before the start of their day. They serve espresso shots, water, and tea all morning to keep you hydrated and awake and even have fun “friends” come dance with you  — but I’ll leave something to your imagination.

At one point I asked my friend if she thought it was safe to put my bag down on a couch while we danced (this is NYC after all) but she instantly laughed,  “The kind of people who come out at 6am to dance aren’t people who steal, they are happy people who love their lives.”

AND ISN’T THAT JUST THE TRUTH!?

So if you’re curious about attending this amazing dance party, joining a group of people with amazingly high vibrations and having a good time before kicking off your day, check out there website here and get your email on the list.   Oh and, PS. Joseph Gordon Levitt was dancing with us yesterday and he has some killer moves, for real. 😉   daybreaker2

Ah, how to quiet the mind!? The number one response I get when I tell people that I’m a mediation and wellness guide is, “I’ve tried to meditate but I can never really quiet my mind”. Sound like a familiar sound bite? Well let me tell you that you CAN indeed quiet your mind, yes it can take a little practice, and you will have to work on it day after day but isn’t having a quiet mind something beyond worthy to work for?

When we quiet our mind we can hear our truth.

When we go behind all the noise, the “shoulds”, the “what ifs” and center into  ourselves, we are able to connect with our inner guide or intuition. We have all the answers inside of us, we merely need to remove all the garbage we’ve thrown on top of them. This is why I became a meditation guide, this is why I wake up every morning and sit on my meditation pillow for 20 minutes and why I return back to that place of surrender and quiet whenever I need an answer to a question in my life.  Meditating allows us to relax, release all the stress and strain we carry along with us through the day (and yes, even wake up with!) and it allows us to come home to ourselves, our love and light, our highest selves. So whether you meditate to clear your mind, for more focus, to relax or to be more productive, doesn’t really matter to me, it will help with it all, what matters is that you start! If only for a few minutes a day, take the time, listen to one of these guided meditations below and begin your journey to quieting your mind.

– A great morning meditation to start your day off right!

– A releasing, relaxing meditation for those days where you really need to let it go or unwind at night!

– A on the go meditation for when you’re at work or at the supermarket and you lose your cool.

Still saying to yourself that you don’t have enough time!? Too busy to meditate? Well check out this article on Well + Good this week about 7 busy women who ALWAYS make the time to meditate. Maybe it will give you just kick you need to get going!

 STILL STUCK? NEED HELP GETTING GOING OR WANT A PERSONALIZED MEDITATION FOR YOUR LIFE?

A lot of times starting out can be the hardest part, taking that first leap, deciding what’s the best meditation to begin with and just committing to doing it. That’s why I offer EMERGEN-ZEN sessions, these sessions are great jumpstarts for your new meditation practice or powerful additions to an already regular practice when you’re yearning to go deeper and tackle the big stuff. Together we’ll talk about your personal situation, I ‘ll guide you through a couple meditations tailored to your needs, record them and send them to you so that you can keep up with it at home and discuss with you the homework you need to do on the day to day to keep your mind quiet and calm. Feel free to discover more about these sessions here or email me for full details and scheduling at cassandra@gosweetandskinny.com.

Guest Post by Kelsey Cook

Kelsey is a healthy lifestyle blogger and Health Coach based in New York City. Kelsey specializes in helping her clients reach an ideal level of health and wellness while still enjoying life and allowing for indulgences without the guilt attached. A few of Kelsey’s favorite things are the beach, green juice, yoga, puppies, margaritas, music festivals, pizza and traveling. You can hear more from Kelsey at http://www.bananasandbellinis.com.

In my early 20s, being “perfect” was something that I strived for. This desire manifested itself most prominently in my quest for the perfect body through a strict, vegan diet that eventually morphed into orthorexia. While I had the best of intentions, I became so obsessed with being perfect and healthy that I completely lost sight of who I was, how to take care of myself and how to enjoy my life…the biggest problem was that I didn’t even realize it.

Eventually, as quite often happens in these cases, I reached a point where I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was exhausted, stressed out and just generally miserable, even though I had reached a weight I considered “perfect” and had the healthiest diet of anyone I knew. I decided to seek help and was able to work through my issues in a way that was healthy, productive and sustainable. In the years since, my goal is no longer to be perfect, but to be balanced. I work to maintain a lifestyle that makes me happy, keeps me healthy and doesn’t create unnecessary stress in my life. Do I have my moments? Of course. Who doesn’t? But, the difference is that now I know that happiness is achieved through balance, not perfection. Here are my top three reasons why being balanced is better than being perfect:

  1. Balance doesn’t allow for “cheat days” because it’s impossible to cheat. When you are working around the clock to maintain a perfect diet and avoid “bad” foods, a well intentioned “cheat day” can easily turn into a full-on binge where you inhale every cookie within a 10-mile radius because, “it’s okay, I’ll be good the rest of the week”. When you’re balanced, you eat the cookie if you want to eat the cookie no matter what day of the week it is. You skip the gym to go to happy hour with your girlfriends if that’s what you want to do. And you know what? It’s fine. One cookie or one skipped gym session isn’t going to derail everything you’re working for. Eating every cookie in the tri-state area? That could cause some problems.
  2. Balance alleviates stress and anxiety. Letting go of the idea of perfection is seriously liberating. As soon as I stopped trying to be perfect, the feeling of anxiety that always consumed me was just not there anymore. I could go about my day without spiraling into panic over what I was eating for lunch, when I was going to be able to make it to the gym or if the shirt I was wearing made me look fat. When you’re not stressed out over trivial things, you can focus your energy on things that are important, like spending quality time with your friends, getting work done productively and accurately and pursuing hobbies that you are interested in.
  3. Balance is sustainable. When I was maintaining a strict vegan diet, I had this terrible habit of getting drunk, housing an entire pizza and spending the next day mentally bashing myself and swearing that I would never do it again. I’m sure you’ll be shocked to find out that it did happen again. Many, many times. What can I say? I love cheese and was forcing myself to completely avoid something that I really enjoy, all in the name of trying to be perfect. Now, I maintain a mostly vegan diet and when I feel like having a slice of pizza, I eat the damn slice of pizza and I rarely go overboard. When you deny, deny, deny all the time, you are bound to overdo it when your self-control eventually wears thin, and this goes for anything, not just food. Perfection is not sustainable over a long period of time…listening to your body, however, is.

So, here’s the thing. “Perfect” doesn’t exist. And the chances of you being happy, healthy, enjoying life and maintaining the lifestyle you’ve created in the pursuit of perfection are slim to none. You’re allowed to be obsessed with green juice and yoga while also being obsessed with pizza and taking naps. I am. And not only is it okay, it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Once you let go of the idea of being perfect and find a level of balance that you can maintain, your life will take on a new form and you will be the happiest, healthiest, most perfectly imperfect version of yourself possible. I promise 😉