In this week’s episode of Eat with Intention TV, Cassandra makes her tofu waldorf salad, it’s a great, easy healthy lunch for yourself or when you have guests. You can find the full recipe in her book “Eat with Intention” as well as tons of other great, intentional, plant-based meal options!

This salad is a weekday favorite of mine for something nourishing, delicious and ‘restaurant’ feeling with out the fuss, price or sneaky ingredients! It’s also one of my favorite dishes to serve as a first course (on small plates!) when I’m hosting people for a dinner party!

 

 

Making the Tofu Waldorf Salad is pretty simple as you can see in the video but here’s a little grocery store “cheat sheet” to help you stock up on all the ingredients before you dive in!

 

TOFU WALDORF SALAD GROCERY LIST:

  • organic dairy-free yogurt (coconut or cashew are my favs — unflavored!)
  • fresh organic parsley
  • organic ground oregano
  • 2 organic lemons
  • organic EVOO
  • 16oz package of organic firm tofu
  • organic dijon mustard
  • organic baby kale
  • 1 organic granny smith apple
  • organic garlic powder
  • organic grapes (red or green is fine based on preference)
  • organic chopped walnuts

 

MANTRA: “My health is my greatest wealth.”

MEDITATION: Body Love Meditation

more in the book 🙂

 

 

Hey loves,

So many of you reach out to me about the moons and I am going to start giving you little LIVE YouTube musings for each moon to help you learn a little more about what is going on energetically and how you can align your intentions and actions with it to capitalize on these juicy waves of transformation and growth!

First thing first, New Moons are a time for new beginnings, they are a time for you to set intentions, begin new projects and plant seeds from what you would like to see grow in the next month and beyond.

Each moon has its own “personality” based on what sign it sits in and what is going on with the other planets at its own time which is why I always find it helpful to dig even deeper.

Enjoy these musings, comment on the video and let me know what resonates and if you are interested in taking me up on a “Moon Magic Session” where I dive deeper into the section of your chart that Taurus is activating right now, chat about what is coming up for you right now and give you some ideas for aligned actions and intentions to set this moon as well as a personalized ritual to do to lock in the energy. Spots are limited, email me at CBODZAK@gmail.com to reserve yours.

Happy New Moon,

Cass

 

In this week’s blog I wanted to share with you my favorite healthy travel companions. So many of you LOVED my instagram stories of everything I was packing right before I left for Israel and New York for two weeks and requested different links that I wanted to put it all together for you in a nice little blog post + video.

As so many of you already know, I am no stranger to traveling and over the years I have gotten more and more savvy about what I need to pack in my carry on so that I can feel happy, healthy and lit up while venturing away from my home base. With summer just around the corner, I am sure a lot of you are also planning vacations, week-end getaways and even little road trips to enjoy the beautiful weather and get some R+R or do some exploring so I’m hoping these products that I’ve totally fell in love with (and keep me sane and feeling good on the road) are useful to you as well.

Traveling is the BEST when you are feeling rested, nourished and present but it can quickly be the worst when you feel exhausted, hungry and like you are running on empty! Let’s rig ourselves for travel bliss by planning ahead and adding small touches to keep our wellbeing rituals on track regardless of where in the world we are.

Check out my video below for a little sneak peak into my carry on goodies and check out the links below to grab any of my go-to’s for yourself this summer!

 

 

Cassandra’s Healthy Travel Haul MUST HAVES:

  1. Sage and/or Palo Santo to cleanse your hotel room and claim the energy as your own.
  2. Obsidian crystal oval for energy cleansing and psychic clearing after big crowds and airports.
  3. Rainbow daily pill case so that you get happy just at the thought of taking those supplements!
  4. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Muesli cups for those grab + go breakfast mornings.
  5. Superfoods Green Powder to add to your water to keep you energized and alkaline.
  6. BareOrganics Powdered Coconut Milk Powder for a dairy free caffeine fix every morning, everywhere.
  7. My favorite wind-down night time teas: Tulsi Sweet Rose Holy Basil (for stress relief + magic), Fennel (for de-bloating) and Peppermint (for digestion).
  8. Mini in room night time facials with my Aveeno Positively Radiant Overnight Facial Moisturizer and divinely relaxing Jade Facial Roller.
  9. Boku Immune Tonic Spray to keep me healthy and going strong all trip long!
  10. My adorable palm print backpack that has now safely made the transition from travel bag to life bag.

So there you have it! My travel must haves, my secret sauce for staying refreshed and balanced even after traveling all over Israel and then spending a week with back to back meetings in NYC. I can safely report back that no only was I healthy the entire time, I was in great spirits and felt very loved up! Also, Israel was probably the most epic trip of my life thus far but I will have to save the details on that for another blog post. 😉

What are your favorite travel companions? How do you take your well-being rituals on the road? I want to know! Comment below or underneath the video!

 

Here’s the thing, there is a magic to cleanses (juice cleanse, raw food cleanses, etc) that all of us are drawn to. We love the idea of committing to something, perhaps something even a little extreme, for a week or two. On a deep level we connect with this as a sacred ritual of transformation, a catalyst from where we are to a cleaner, lighter, more aligned us. So while I certainly have used cleanses in my eating disordered days for naught, wanting only a quick fix to make me feel skinnier, a cleanse with the right intention can be a really beautiful and healthy thing to do.

This week, I’ve decided to embark on a cleanse of my own making and thought I would share with you what it is and how you can “create your own reboot cleanse” with a clear, love-based intention to help refresh, rejuvenate and cleanse your God pod. The inspiration for my cleanse was primarily my upcoming trip to Israel (ahh!!) and then my trip to NYC immediately following. My body is still exhausted and readjusting from France and Spain at the end of February and I want to make sure it’s feeling as strong and vital as possible before I head on another long travel jaunt! The secondary inspiration for my cleanse is that we just had a full moon in Libra and Easter, both with great recalibration and resurrection energy — the perfect time to really rise up and realign with your priorities and purpose.

EWI_Focus-Potion-009

I think having both a spiritual and a physical reason for a cleanse is fantastic because both with hold you through the commitment and will power needed to complete it.

What would you intention be for a cleanse? Do you want to simply take a stand for loving your earth suit up? Is there a life transition you want to tap into the ritual of? Perhaps a behavior or pattern that you are literally going to “cleanse” yourself of?

Once my intention was clear, the next step was to decide what foods would hold the energy for that intention. I had been reading a lot of Anthony William’s  (aka Medical Medium) books and loved his theories, food prescriptions and tools — I just hadn’t particularly resonated with the entirety of his detox program. Mainly, if we are being totally honest here, because the spinach and tomato raw soup you are supposed to have for dinner just sounded gross and I knew I’d be pretty miserable if that was my only dinner option, haha. Hey, know thyself, right? So I used some of his staples as my jump off point.

Morning lemon water

Followed by pure organic celery juice

Fruit forward smoothie with bananas, greens powder, mango, wild blueberries and coconut water

Then I added something that felt particularly nourishing while still being clean, my creamy tomato soup from Eat with Intention. I knew that I’d want some sort of healthy comfort food to hold me through any hunger I might experience, something that would satiate me with out sabotaging my cleanse process.

And then a great big salad with all sorts of greens, roasted cauliflower or broccoli, onions, apple and the homemade avocado orange juice dressing from Anthony’s book.

 

Grounding Salad

 

This cleanse, for me, is not about going hungry — its about jam packing lots of yummy nutrients in and eliminating inflammation increasing foods so that my immune system has a chance to reboot!

When thinking about your own DIY cleanse, ask yourself what foods are going to be in line with your intention. You may even want to look up certain smoothie recipes or meals that are good for your specific situation and cleanse objective and then mix and match with what you find. I really love having people use Eat with Intention to build their own cleanse because each recipe already has an intention connected with it (and a meditation — if you really want to amp up the energy!) so you can literally have a day that sounds like..

“Focus Potion Juice” (it’s intention: I am focused on my divine purpose) to kick off the morning,

“Grounding Salad” (it’s intention: I am grounded and steady) to anchor in the afternoon,

And “Cauliflower Rosemary Soup” (it’s intention: my patience is precious) for a light but filling dinner.

— sounds pretty bad ass, no? I mean who doesn’t want an intentionally curated, whole foods, plant-based cleanse?

Well if I’ve got your juices flowing and you are craving an outline to start off with, feel free to download my FREE 7 day Mind Body Soul Reboot here — it’s a sample meal plan, starter morning ritual routine, plus deep diving soul reflection exercises in your inbox each day! Take what you love and make it your own!

And of course, grab my book, Eat with Intention, and mix and match your favorite intention smoothie, juice, salad and soup recipes for the perfect prescriptive combination for what you need right now in your life!

 

Hey guys!

I was thinking about what kind of new content I wanted to make for you so naturally my thoughts wandered over to, “what is the one truth bomb I wish I could tell everyone who follows me or is inspired by what I have created but doubts whether they could do it themselves?”

The biggest success hack that people don’t talk nearly enough about is actually rather unromantic, it’s not magical or mystifying and yet it’s the NUMBER ONE reason I see people let their dreams slip away from them year after year.

You must put your DREAMS on your to-do list. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah — but I have a full time job, kids, lots of errands, my family is super demanding, I’m still in college, etc etc etc. I have heard it all. I have lived a lot of it. I had five jobs at one point when I was starting my business, I had two jobs once it was up and running and even now I have so many different offerings and time commitments but I am still out here chipping away at my dreams. 

Truth is, I am not special. I just do something most people would rather make excuses about, I put my dreams on my To Do list. I recorded this vlog below as a PSA, a rally call and tough love, truth bomb filled heart to heart because I want you to get all the juice this life has to offer you. Watch below and let me know what you are committing to putting on your calendar.

For those of you who have a book that’s ready to be born, this a DREAM I can help you change to DONE with my LightMaker Book Birthing Group. It’s six months of guidance, accountability and the step by step tools to finishing that proposal, making headway on those chapters and securing an agent or publishing contract if that’s what your set on or finding a self-publishing company if that’s your style. The second and final round starts April 1st, so read all the details here and email me ASAP if you want in!

 

Let’s take this from DREAMing to DOing!

 

xo,

 

C

I had the tremendous pleasure two weeks ago to travel to the Sundance Film Festival (yeee! My
first time!) and partner with Aveeno to lead meditations each morning. It was an absolute dream. I led a guided meditation to help people connect to their light within and recharge themselves mind, body and soul amidst the happy chaos of the festival. We paired the meditation with Aveeno #PositivelyRadiant mini-facials with jade rollers for an inside and outside approach to getting that balanced, healthy glow.

The thing you may not realize if you haven’t been to festivals like Sundance, is that while it’s absolutely beautiful in Utah and there’s tons of fun activities and amazing people around, it can be super draining and exhausting if you are not prepared for it. I think to a certain level everyone can feel this way about traveling, even if you are going to a gorgeous beach island. You are plucked out of your routine, usually with out a lot of your usual nourishment and self-care products and it can totally throw you off balance. Sundance was a perfect example of this because here you are in this breathtaking winter-wonderland with an epic to do list of films to see, parties to attend and events to make appearances at but it could be so easy to fall out of your usual daily rituals that keep you feeling balanced. Traveling (for work or pleasure) doesn’t need to be that way. It is totally possible for you to thrive and feel radiant and centered while out of your usual routine. Here are five tips that have been total life savers for me when it comes to staying balanced while traveling.
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Make your first night anywhere a total self-care slumber party.
This is my secret sauce for every trip I go on. I make sure I have at least one free evening when I arrive so that I can truly self-care spoil myself. Yes, you guessed it, this almost always includes a nice bubble bath. I make myself a nice cup of tea, put on some relaxing mantras and dip into the warm water. At Sundance, I had a lovely jacuzzi tub right in my room, so I grabbed a bath bomb and a good book and just allowed myself to relax the first night as I was getting acclimated. I’m also a big fan of rehydrating your face after a long flight so my go to “at home facial” is always a necessity. Aveeno Positively Radiant Overnight Hydrating Facial is literally magic for your skin and leaves me waking up with glowing skin regardless of how much sleep I’ve gotten. I also love their Positively Radiant 60 Second In- Shower Facial for nights where I may not have as much time in the evening for a bath but want a more luxurious shower experience. The lemon peel extract and moisture-rich soy complex leave my skin feeling fresh, awake and radiant so those two products are some of my key travel companions, along with a nice bath bomb or some lavender epsom salts for my first night bath. Taking a little extra time to pamper myself on night one sets a more balanced, relaxed rhythm for the entire trip. And after all, your skin is a reflection of your overall wellness, so give it a whirl on your next adventure.

Stock up on your must have supplies + get familiar with your local resources.
First thing I do while in the car from the airport to the hotel is look up the local stores. Is there a Whole Foods? What’s the general store like? Does the hotel have anything in the lobby or in walking distance? Then, based on what I find, I take a quick trip to gather some essentials. For me, this generally looks like some healthy snacks, almond milk creamer for my coffee, water if the hotel doesn’t provide it, and something that could be a substitute breakfast in case I have a crazy morning, like instant oatmeal, coconut yogurt and/or some fresh fruit. It’s a small inconvenience at the start of your trip to run to the store but it’s worth its weight in gold when you feel more nourished and taken care of every morning as a result. One of the biggest things that causes us to feel out of balance while traveling is eating out a lot and eating foods that might be heavier or more processed than we do at home so even having a simple breakfast and healthy snacks really helps keep you feeling your best while on the road.

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Break a sweat ASAP.
Listen, you guys know I am the farthest thing from a work out addict but there is a certain magic about getting into the hotel gym that first morning (at least) and breaking a sweat. Working out recalibrates your body and brings you back to balance. To be totally honest, I probably use the gym more while traveling than I do when I’m home, haha. It makes me feel like a million dollars after a long flight the day before and helps my body find it’s happy rhythm after a good sweat session. Don’t take my word for it. Give it a try next time you’re traveling and thank me later.

Keep up your daily morning meditation practice.
I loved that Aveeno partnered with me to bring meditation to the busy Sundance scene for a one, two radiance punch along with their facials. A daily morning meditation practice is possible for you to do anywhere and can be your best friend when it comes to staying balanced and keeping that glow going all trip long. Whatever your practice may be, make sure you schedule time for it in your morning while traveling. Taking those 10-20 minutes for yourself will ground you, balance you and keep you in your best head space for whatever the day throws your way.

IMG_9873
Surrender the schedule and go with the flow.
Sometimes it’s easier than others but surrendering the agenda when possible and going with the flow is what really got me back into enjoying my travel again. I am not someone who thrives when scheduled within an inch of my life so having large pockets of the day where I could decide at a moment’s notice what I felt like doing felt super freeing to me. Of course, every day I had my morning schedule with the meditations but when it came to the afternoon, I allowed myself to decide if I wanted to ski, walk down main street or spend an hour relaxing in the room before heading out for the rest of my day. This is definitely a process of knowing yourself and what feels good for you. Some people love having their agenda all laid out for the day and THAT feels like the loving and kind thing to do; but, for me, allowing for more space and open-ended time feels super self-honoring and fun! Neither is right or wrong, it’s just about honoring what the most balancing choice is for you.

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And there you have it, my top 5 tips for staying balanced while traveling! What do you think?
Which ones are you going to give a whirl? Anything you think I missed? Let me know in the
comments below. Traveling and staying balanced is always a work in progress and I have a trip
this month to France and Spain, so I’ll be looking for even more ways to stay glowing and
feeling great — even after a 15-hour flight!

In this episode of “Eat with Intention TV”, Cassandra Bodzak shares her easy, healthy vegan, gluten free sugar cookies for the perfect holiday treat. This recipe features Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour as well as date sugar to make it gluten free and cut the overly processed sugar with a more nutrient dense date alternative.

**This post has been sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill who I am thrilled to partner with as they are my favorite brand when it comes to healthy, gluten free baking ingredients!**

 

Healthy Holiday Cookies

3/4 cup of vegan butter (I used soy free Organic Earth Balance)

3/4 cup of sugar (I split it up — 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill date sugar + 1/4 cup regular cane sugar – both organic)

 

1 tbsp of flax meal

3 tbsp of water

 

2 1/4 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour

1/2 tsp of Baking Powder

2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

1 tsp of Almond Extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine your flaxseed meal and water in a small container and set a side to solidify. In a food processor or stand mixer, combine your sugars of choice with your soft vegan butter until both are thoroughly creamed. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour + baking powder) and slowly start adding them to your sugar/butter mixture. Once they are fully added, toss in your flax egg as well as your vanilla and almond extract. When everything is fully combined the dough should be thick but not crumbly, if it’s too dry add a couple tbsp of water till it combines well. Place your dough in the center of your parchment paper and another piece of parchment paper on top of it. Use a rolling pin (or your hands if you don’t have one) to flatten out the dough on your baking sheet (sandwiched between two parchment papers) and stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool.

After 20 minutes, move your parchment papered dough on to the table and put a fresh piece on the baking sheet for your cookie cutter-ified treats. Take your cookie cutter and get to work, putting them into your oven for 5-10 minutes and baking till the edges turn just slight golden. Let cookies cool before decorating.

You can have as much as you’d like with toppings but for the video, I used a simple vegan cream cheese icing with peppermint bark shavings. The vegan icing was simply 1/2 cup of vegan butter, 1/2 cup of vegan cream cheese and 2 cups of powdered sugar (or till prime consistency).

 

Happy Baking my loves!

xo,

C

 

Check out my girl Sarah’s Salthouse Mkt Holiday Hosting Guide here:
http://bit.ly/2o2rYAG

Check out my “Eat with Intention: Happy Healthy Holiday Survival Kit” at http://bit.ly/2AOgjHD

Please SUBSCRIBE, like and share if you enjoy this video!

Grab the book “Eat with Intention: Recipes and Meditations for a Life that Lights You Up” on amazon here: http://amzn.to/2cXdfQl

Get my Free 7-Day Mind Body Soul Reboot
http://bit.ly/2mqSU8t

Work with me one on one to finally get FREE from food + body drama and tap into your body’s deep intuitive wisdom: https://cassandrabodzak.com/mentoring

Say hi to me on social media:
http://www.facebook.com/CassandraBodzak
http://www.instagram.com/cassandrabodzak
http://www.instagram.com/eatwithintentionTV

In this episode of “Eat with Intention TV”, I share my favorite easy, healthy plant-based holiday appetizers. These recipes range from super basic to simple but impressive and they are perfect for hosting a healthy holiday gathering or bringing a dish to your office’s Christmas party. All of the dishes are vegan and absolutely delicious! Let me know which ones you are trying!

Check out my girl Sarah’s Salthouse Mkt Holiday Hosting Guide that I mention in the video here:
http://bit.ly/2o2rYAG

Please SUBSCRIBE, like and share if you enjoy this video!

The recipes from today’s episode like the ‘spicy squash soup’ and ‘veggie balls’ are available in my book, “Eat with Intention: Recipes and Meditations for a Life that Lights You Up” grab it on amazon here: http://amzn.to/2cXdfQl

Get my Free 7-Day Mind Body Soul Reboot
http://bit.ly/2mqSU8t

Work with me one on one to finally get FREE from food + body drama and tap into your body’s deep intuitive wisdom: https://cassandrabodzak.com/mentoring

I just had the most magical weekend taking a deep dive into my dreams, my obstacles, the ways I lie (and so do most other people!) and the personality traits that I love and the ones I’d prefer to lose. Eye-opening to say the least!

And since I know that a lot of the things I uncovered about myself while doing the two day Design Your Life program will probably hit pretty close to home for some of you so I wanted to share with you some of my biggest Ah-Ha moments as well as some of the juicy tips and tools I found super helpful! Plus — I totally got our fabulous leader (and my coach) Laurie Gerber, to record THREE videos for you guys on some of my favorite, most game-changing concepts!

I walked into the weekend totally excited to sit down and receive, receive, receive — I’m a total junkie for allowing myself to be in the mentee seat every once in a while since most of my days are spent coaching and teaching. It’s so important, in my opinion, to have a coach or advisor to see your blind spots and push you to new levels and I am no exception and have found working with Laurie personally to be quite a joy and incredibly helpful so I was excited to see what the weekend would hold for me. On Saturday morning as I was driving over I also reflected how fun it is to be going to this type of personal development workshop from a pretty good, solid place. I think a lot of times when we finally invest in ourselves we wait till we are at that total hot mess, my life is falling apart moment — I know I used to — but this time, to go when things are going pretty good (but I know they could also go even better and don’t get me wrong I totalllllly have stuff to work on! haha) was a special treat!

Some of my favorite take aways from the weekend:

1. Personal Integrity is the key to happiness.

Watch this video I recorded with Laurie here to get the full definition of Personal Integrity and why it’s so important.

Whenever you are feeling uninspired, bored or just plain old down, it’s a great time to ask yourself where your personal integrity chain is broken. Are your dreams (heart) aligned with your game plan (mind) and are you following through on the day to day actions that you are committed to in your game plan for that particular area of your life? I know for me it’s usually the daily actions. I am such an A+ dreamer, in fact, sometimes more larger than life than is helpful when creating an action plan for the next six months so we kind of lassoed by dreams down into what is realistic but still ambitious for the next year so that I could create a very real and doable on the day to day action plan. This is huge for me because — and we will get to it when we talk about lying — I have a very hard time honoring my priorities when it comes to what I do with work time. Leave a comment on the video and let me know where you tend to break the chain!

2. “You are either fighting for your dreams or you are fighting for your excuses.” – Laurie Gerber

Ugh, this is a mantra I want posted all over my computer, cellphone and home — what are you fighting for? Sometimes we don’t even realize it but we talk more about why we CAN’t have our dreams than get into the aligned action to achieve them or align ourselves with them. One of the things we did this weekend was after we wrote out our dreams, we wrote out all our obstacles. I was shocked to see how each perceived “obstacle” was really me giving energy to an excuse instead of my energy into courageous action. In the video below, Laurie and I get into what I refer to as “effective dreaming” — its the way you get crystal clear on your dreams in all the different areas of your life so that you can effectively use them as your “guiding lights” for your every day actions.
3. You can’t be a liar and expect to be happy, get your dreams or feel proud of yourself.

What? You? A liar? Never! haha Oh, how similarly I thought!! What I uncovered this weekend was just how insidious lies can be in our lives and how they are stopping us from fulling going after or getting our dreams — not to mention, it’s pretty hard to feel good about yourself when you are lying all the time.

We lie in many different ways, we out right lie – “I can’t go to the party tonight, my kids are sick.” when your kids are perfectly fine but you just don’t feel like going to the party, we lie by leaving out information — “I had a great day at work today” when we are intentionally leaving out the fact that we got a promotion as to not have our family member ask too may questions, and the lie that I found out myself to be the most guilty of –we lie when we are not honoring our ultimate truth.

For me this ah-ha was around the way I manage my time. I am very clear about my goals, and the professional ones are very ambitious and require significant time and focus yet, I was being a big ole liar when people would email me asking to “post about this” or “partner up for that” and I agreed to do it when it wasn’t actually aligned with my dreams or time priorities, I would lie when girlfriends would ask me to hang out and what I really wanted to do was buckle down and finish a work project but instead of having that difficult conversation and honoring my truth, I would just say yes and go along with it. These lies were literally zapping time and energy away from my dreams — all because I was being a lying chicken when it came to confrontation.

It’s amazing when you put your excuses, bad habits or lying into the context of directly coming in between you and your dreams how much easier it is to call them out and stop doing them! 

4. Make daily (and weekly) promises that are aligned with your dreams and then consequences if you don’t keep them.

“Feeling bad is a substitute for actually doing the right thing and owning that you had a choice!” – Laurie Gerber

Promise and consequences are my favorite part of Handel Method because it actually gets you into the power seat of realizing you ALWAYS have a choice. Another example they always give is called “the million dollar test” — if someone offered you a million dollars to do X every week for a year, could you do it? You bet you could! So maybe you are saying to yourself, “I just don’t know how to lose weight, get in a regular gym routine, start my own business, etc” — ask yourself if I offered you a million dollars to figure it out — could you? I bet you could!! You are the author of your life and you always have a choice of what to make a priority.

So how does it work? Well after you get clear on your dreams, think about what deliverables you’d want accomplished in the next 6 months in that direction, then you need to find some daily tasks that would put you in the energy of accomplishing those goals. For example, one of my promises is that everyday before I do anything else on my computer, I pitch 3 agents, managers or production companies (towards my cooking show goal) and if I fail to do this, my consequence is that I have to scrub the floor of one room in my home. Yesterday, I forgot and jumped right into a client call so my kitchen floor is looking pretty darn fabulous right now and you betcha I sent those emails first thing today! Your consequences don’t have to be super painful, it should just be annoying like scrubbing my kitchen floor, it wasn’t super fun but I’m grateful for the clean floor today!

5. You are actually the master of your thoughts and YOU get to make thoughts that don’t serve you ILLEGAL!

Okay, this has been GAME-CHANGING in my life so I had to do a video to have Laurie explain this in more detail and tell you guys about how I have used thought logging to completely eliminate thoughts like “I’m so exhausted” that are totally energy vampires.

 

Alright my loves, I hope you enjoyed my brain dump of some of my favorite take aways from this weekend, comment on the videos and let me know what you think, if you’ve had any ah-ha’s yourself and if you are curious about attending one of the Design Your Life Weekends yourself, you can see upcoming dates here, obviously tell Laurie I sent you. And if you are curious about Handel Method and don’t want to wait till the next weekend opens up, they have an amazing online course called Inner.U that I’ve personally done myself that walks you through all these different tools and more, it helps you write your dreams, get clear on an action plan, make promises and much more. You can read all about it here and use my code CASSIE75 to get $75 dollars off right now! It’s a great treat for yourself before the New Year!
Happy dreaming and doing!

xo,

C

Hello my loves,

Somethings been weighing on me for a bit now, I’ve felt like I wasn’t being totally transparent with you and it wasn’t from a place of consciously lying about anything but I had been dodging and dancing around certain questions since “Eat with Intention” came out last year. Of course, this weekend being not only the full moon in Gemini (pushing all of us to stand in and communicate the truth of who we are) but also the Design Your Life weekend with Laurie Gerber of Handel Group where I’ve been learning a lot of the not so obvious ways we lie to ourselves and others (talk about ah-ha moments), this came so powerfully to the surface to be cleared.

I don’t want any secrets between us. Full transparency equals total freedom for me. It simultaneously allows me to be 100% myself and for you to decided if that’s someone you are aligned with. It’s been scary for me to come straight out with this because, to be totally honest, I hate people not liking me. However, I’m learning more and more how important these difficult conversations are and I’m refusing to let that fear get in between me being fully who I am and being integrity with my personal truth in any moment.

The intention of this video is to clear up any confusion around my eating habits and beliefs in order to create a space of full transparency between me and you. I talk about food, are relationship to it as well as listening to our body’s wisdom and honoring our personal truth  a lot, so it felt needed to put this all out on the table. Our relationship is so sacred to me and I promise to be this upfront continuously going forward and call myself out when I sense I am dodging a particular subject.

I hope you can forgive me.

I hope there is something in this video that resonates with you. Please watch it till the end.

And if not, that’s okay too. I am not open or available for any cruel comments, only love is accepted in the comment box. Unsubscribes or unfollows are a much more graceful way to handle your disagreement. I send you love regardless of your thoughts of me.

As for me, I’m going to keep standing in the truth of where I’m at right now, loving myself with all my imperfections and pushing through any fears that stop me from me doing either of the aforementioned.

All my love,

C

 

Finally, the second video in my “Dreaming to Doing It” series and we are tackling the nay-sayers!

I thought this was a super important topic to drop in on because that sad truth is that this is an inevitable reality that every big dreamer faces. You will at some point or another come up against someone (and gasppp –it could be someone that really loves you and that you really love!) who belittles your dream in a direct or indirect dream and if you are not primed for this, you may actually take what they say seriously. Which I would NEVER want you to do. 

What a lot of people don’t talk about is the fact that so much of turning your dreaming into your doing is keeping it sacred in your heart and protecting it from the projections of others. Click the video below to hear some of my real talk on the subject as someone who deals with this on a regular basis..

 

So what do you think? Are you feeling more prepared to tackle those people who may diss your dream? Let me know in the comments below. I have found that so often with my clients, a lot of the battle is simply KNOWING that it’s just part of the course, it’s not personal and it’s something that everyone that you admire or feel inspired by has tackled at some point in their life and probably still continues to tackle it but is just better at putting the nay-sayers on mute by now!

If you want a deeper dive into turning your dreams in to your doings, visit my mentoring page for more info on booking a one on one intensive with me to give you a jump start.

(This is a sponsored post by Aveeno, however all my thoughts and opinions are my own and I only partner with brands I genuinely use and love)

Have you heard the saying, “You’ve got to fall in love with yourself first”? Well if you want a truly amazing and abundant life, I’m telling you, you need to make it your mantra! Self-care is a non-negotiable for us ‘wonder women’ taking over the world by day, loving up our families and partners and showing up to take care of the planet. It’s a big job and you better be well rested to tackle it!

Now, I’m sure those voices in your head might be thinking this whole self-care movement sounds mighty selfish, but I’m here to tell you it’s the exact opposite. When you’re loving yourself and putting yourself first, EVERYTHING in your life benefits. Loving yourself means caring for yourself deeply, making your sleep, nutrition and well-being a priority. It can be anything from making your gym time nonnegotiable or canceling late night plans so you can get enough sleep, to just shutting the computer off or not checking your cellphone after a certain hour. It’s about listening to your body and giving it what it needs to feel its best, which is why I was thrilled when Aveeno asked me partner with them for their #MomentforMe campaign — it’s a movement all about making sure women take the time to fill up their own cups so that they can show up for everything else in their lives as their most radiant selves! Plus, I’m a longtime fan of Aveeno personally as they’ve been a total life-saver for my ridiculous, nonsensically sensitive skin for years.

So let’s be real, I certainly slip up with my self-care from time to time, but when I hit a certain state of overwhelm and anxiety, it’s always a not so pleasant reminder that I need to schedule a little more time for ME into the agenda. That’s when I take a breather, light some candles, take a long hot shower with my Aveeno Positively Radiant Body Wash and good ole’ clay face mask, cozy up for a good meditation all fresh and clean in my robe and I remind myself of these five IMPORTANT things listed below. So I hope you bookmark this, print this out or take a screen shot on your cellphone and keep it close for those times when you slip up and fall off track and it feels like your head is about to explode. Take a deep breath with me and read the following out loud (or in your head if you’re at work and don’t want your office mate to hear!).

C-B-15

1. Your job can wait (and it needs to).

You’re a much better worker, creative thinker and faster executor when you take care of yourself, which means the project that will take your frazzled, overwhelmed mind four hours will take your well-rested, clear head two. It’s always worth it to get adequate sleep, make your “me” time a priority and show up to whatever task you have at hand that day as your best self. Your boss will thank you and your career will blossom much faster if you don’t burn yourself out.

2. Your health depends on it.

Seriously! This is a pretty obvious one. Have you ever noticed that after a crazy, stressful week of pulling long hours at work and feeling overwhelmed, you finally get to the weekend and you wake up sick and don’t leave the bed? Oh darling, if you don’t put yourself first, your body will certainly kick in and force you to! Stress and lack of sleep weaken your body’s immune system and leave you more vulnerable for all sorts of nasty illnesses. Don’t even risk it!

3. Your romantic relationships will flourish.

Whether you’re in a relationship or looking for one, I guarantee your partner will feel more enamored with you and more fulfilled in the relationship when you’re not afraid to make yourself a priority. First, by taking the necessary time for yourself, you give your partner the freedom to take that time for him or herself. Everybody wins, everybody’s happy! Second, when you’re well rested, relaxed and centered, you’re much more fun to be around. It’s OK if your partner misses you for a night because you need a yoga session and a bubble bath; the version of you she gets afterward is 10 times the partner your stressed-out self would be. Trust this.

4. Your friends and family will benefit.

You think your friends and family don’t realize when they’re talking to you and you’re half asleep or mentally distracted? Think again. These people know you best and love you most. They would much rather have you happy, healthy and clearheaded when they see you. Yes, even if that’s a little less often because you needed to take some time for yourself! You’ll be a better listener and more enjoyable to be around because you will be able to be truly present with them.

5. Most importantly, you’ll start smiling more.

When you are at your happiest, you are at your most helpful to the world. We should all strive to be our happiest and do those things that make us happy, every day. Don’t feel guilty about it. You are able to show up more for others when you start showing up for yourself first. So don’t be afraid to clear your schedule for a restorative yoga class, take a walk in the park on your lunch break or get yourself a massage, don’t be afraid to love you! After all, you are pretty fabulous.

 

So how exactly do I find my little “moments for me” with my jam-packed travel schedule and busy days? Well, as most of you know, my favorite me-time moments happen in my bathroom on the daily! My nightly routine IS my non-negotiable, daily, me time! It’s anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour (depending if I go bath or just take a shower) and it helps me not only ‘wash away the day’ but fill up my cup so I wake up feeling radiant the next morning and ready to tackle the world. Here’s how it goes for me — feel free to steal and make it your own! 😉

 

My Night Time Ritual —

** I shut all the lights off after sunset and my whole apartment has orange, non-blue lights, candles and I have a little Himalayan salt lamp in the bathroom for some sweet, relaxing lighting to wind me down for the day. It’s sets the tone and is such a big help in heading off to a super rejuvenating slumber. 😉 **

CRITICAL PREP — get a lovely nightgown! Ladies, if you don’t have a soft, pretty nightgown, I cannot stress investing in one enough. My first one was silk, light pink with a matching robe and when I tell you it made me feel like a goddess, I am not lying, I could not believe I spent so many nights wearing oversized ex-bf T-shirts to bed! No more. Dress like a queen, princess, goddess, Aphrodite, etc for your nighttime ritual — take my word for it, it sets the tone!

1) Clean that face!

To know me is to know I have make up on my face for as little of the day as humanly possible. I love my bare skin and when I take care of it, I feel my most radiant make up free! I’m also pretty lazy and have extra sensitive skin so I live and die by the Aveeno Positively Radiant Makeup Removing Wipes (especially on airplanes — can you say skin saving travel companion!?). I’m obsessed with these guys because they don’t irritate my super sensitive skin AND they get off my waterproof mascara soo it’s major win/win and they leave me feeling soo fresh and so clean!

Once the makeup is off I do little washy-wash with the Aveeno Positively Radiant Brightening Cleanser, it’s hypoallergenic while still being effective at getting all the dirt out of my pores which I will tell you was no easy task to find. A lot of you may know more about my food allergies than my overall body allergies but let me tell you that my skin is even more finicky than my digestive system and it took me LOTS of trial and error to find something that worked for my face and I do not recommend products lightly and obviously would never endorse something that I don’t genuinely use and love. Of course, if you are a sensitive snowflake like myself, try it out and make your own decision. Also — fun fact — I ONLY use a cleanser at night because I think it’s healthy for my skin to maintain the oils from overnight when I went to bed with a clean face!

2) Make your favorite herbal tea!

Okay, so usually the water is boiling while I’m washing my face because #multitasker, but then I will go into the kitchen and make myself a big cup of Tulsi’s Sweet Rose Holy Basil Tea — with a little coconut milk if I’m feeling extra decadent, haha. For me, this tea is like slipping into heaven so find your equivalent or feel free to try mine on for size. I’ve yet to have a disappointed customer. haha

3) Play some mantras or relaxing music!

Whether it’s Adi Shakti, anything by Ajeet Kaur or India Arie’s ‘Soulversation’, I love having a little background music going while I’m getting ready to take my shower or lay in my bath and it makes me feel so sweet, sexy and feminine.

4) Draw a nice bath with a book or take a long, hot shower!  (depending on your mood)

So most days, I opt for the bath because I’m a pleasure addict and epsom salt junkie but sometimes I am just too tired or straight up not in the mood so a nice decadent shower will suffice. The music is playing, I’m sipping my rose tea and the lighting is sweet and soft so either feels super rejuvenating. I set the intention for this final step to be a clearing of the day. “Thank you water for washing away the stress of the day, for removing any negative thoughts or beliefs I’ve dirtied myself with and cleansing my energy field of anything that’s not serving it.” Then I will step into my bath with lavender epsom salts or wash my body in a hot shower with Aveeno Positively Radiant Exfoliating Body Wash (soap-free, dye-free, hypoallergenic as well soo no nighttime sneeze attacks!) and just stay present to the water really cleansing me, rejuvenating me and washing toxins off my mind, body and soul!

After I wash, I slip back into my nightgown, light candles on either side of my bed and curl up with a good book! My current read is “Witches” by Lisa Lister and I am LOVE LOVE loving it!

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and little sneak peek into my nighttime ritual. Let me know if you give it a go yourself or what your favorite way to take a #MomentforMe is — and don’t forget, self care is the furthest things from selfish!

xo,

C