To make this Valentine’s Day memorable, forgo the gifts, and instead center the day on creating a new experience together.  Exeriences strengthen your bond as a couple, where-as gifts that are things often lose their value quickly.

Creating a new experience is a worthwhile investment in your relationship. Something you share with your loved one that down the road you will continue to benefit from as the 2 of you reminisce. Doing something new excites and revitalizes the brain. Even better, doing it as a couple strengthens your bond!

Pool the money you would have spent on gifts for each other, and instead put it towards an experience, whether it is a weekend away, or visiting a new place in your town you’ve never been to before. Valentine’s Day may be the perfect time to take that dancing class together you’ve been meaning to do. Dancing not your thing? How about a session of couples yoga, an art class, or a luxurious treatment at the spa together? The possibilities are endless!

Keep your love exciting by doing something new together! The special bond you create from sharing an experience is better than any gift you could buy.

Love is about making memories together <3

The following is a guest post by Chad & Tammy from Notes on Adding Kindness & Health to the Daily Grind

Eating a Vegan diet does not mean that we only eat granola and berries.  Here is a wonderful meal that we prepare often.  Both of these recipes are from our favourite cookbook, Whole Foods to Thrive(called Thrive Foods in the US).

Kudos to Tammy since it was her night to cook and she had me walking by snapping photo’s while prepping dinner.

 

Assemble the ingredients:

Dressing (makes 4 servings, 1 cup of dressing)
¼ cup cashews
¼ cup water (or less to make a thicker dressing)
¼ cup olive oil
2 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar (we like to use balsamic vinegar)
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1 ½ tsp miso paste
3 tbsp wakame flakes (bull kelp or dulse also work)
1 tsp Dijon mustard


Throw them in the blender or food processor.

 
Then let the magic of electricity do its work on the raw ingredients.

Toss a few spoonfuls of the dressing with torn romaine lettuce, and add some fresh cracked black pepper.

This is a great tasting simple salad and doesn’t contain the cholesterol in traditional Caesar Salad dressing. 


Onto recipe number 2!

This is an absolute favourite of ours, I beg Tammy to make it all the time.  The key to making this meal work is the Truffle oil that you drizzle on after. If you don’t have it, you need to get it.  It is a little pricey for a
bottle of Truffle oil, but the flavour is so intense.  With Truffle oil, you only need a little (just enough to make you want more), if you use too much it will overpower your food. 

Yes we use canned artichokes.  We tried using the raw uncut ones once.  It was such a disaster and was so time consuming that we now cheat and use the canned variety.  

Purée Sauce
1 – 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced/diced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup peeled and diced parsnip (less is better than more as too much parsnip can be overpowering)
Vegetable stock (enough to cover)
2 tsp nutritional yeast
Salt and Pepper to taste

Additional items
Truffle oil!  
Ground nutmeg
Fresh or dried parsley

Nutritional yeast is a staple in Vegan pantry’s since it is a powerhouse of B vitamins, including the B12 that Vegan diets often lack. Nutritional yeast, sometimes called noosh, has a cheesy taste and can be added to soups, sauces, or sprinkled over popcorn. It is a product of the molasses making process and is available in most whole food grocery stores._Place the leeks in a sauce pan with the oil over medium-low heat to soften

When this is done, make your pasta of choice.  We opted for some pre-made Vegan friendly Sweet Potato and Basil Ravioli. 

Voila! 

Total time to prepare this meal was about 30-40 minutes.  The time taken to eat was much shorter and very delicious.

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Chad and Tammy are both active professionals living in Victoria, BC, Canada.  Between them they have finished 17 Ironman Triathlons around the globe. A year ago they completed their last Ironman and now focus on more simple general health and wellness.
You can follow them on their blog at: http://chad-dalrymple.blogspot.com/
Also, Twitter: http://twitter.com/engineerchad

Running your hands through crystal clean water. Drinking it. Nourishing your children without worry. Doesn’t everyone deserve that?

It breaks my heart to think that any mother is forced to give their thirsty child dirty water, because they don’t have any other options. For these Mothers giving their children this water is like rolling the dice. The water can make them very sick, and even kill.

We have so much, and sadly we often take it for granted, but we don’t have to! We are here for a reason, and with all that we have, even and especially the small things comes a responsibility to give back. We are responsible for the future evolution of our planet!

 I want a world where clean water is available to everyone, no matter where in the world you are born, or who your family is. Every person deserves that! I never want to hear of another child or person getting ill or even worse dying because they don’t have clean water to drink.  The next time you fill up your bathtub with ease and climb in to relax remember…

We are blessed with everything we have so that we can help others. Give back to the exquisite universe that has given so much to you!

Water.org is an organization very close to my heart. I first found out about Water.org through friends on Facebook, and am forever grateful. You can help spread their life saving work too!

·  Donate your voice on Facebook or Twitter. Get the word out amongst your social circle. Your voice is invaluable!

 ·  Purchase products as gifts, or for yourself.

 ·  Make a Donation

 ·  Stay informed

The next time you gaze at the sparkling clean water coming from your faucet, smile knowing you have the opportunity to give what you have been
given. Giving is the truest, most pure way I know to be happy.

“If you get, give. If you learn, teach.” ~ Maya Angelou

Put yourself in the giving energy cycle and you’ll never want to turn back!

Thank you, Water.org for giving us the ability to help give water to those who need it, and for moving us forward towards the evolution of a more loving planet! In fact, thank you isn’t big enough at all, but I somehow think you already know and feel in your hearts how tremendous your impact is!

Meditation is a gift. It renews the mind, body, and soul. If I could give one
gift of love to everyone that is what it would be. It has been a little over a
year now that I have been meditating regularly and its impact continues to amaze me.

Being a Mom is the toughest job on the planet! It requires everything you’ve got all-of-the-time. We need a break from the magnificent chaos of our lives. Our minds need a chance to be silent. Our bodies need a break to be still. 
Meditation is the most rewarding way to ‘just be’ that I know of.

You are capable of infinite possibilities. You are capable of living a life of
kindness and love no matter what human challenges you face, but you need a tool, a key that always unlocks the door to your divine true self. Meditation is that key you are looking for.


Often during meditation I will find the answers I am searching for within.
When there is a question I need answered I will start my practice by asking,
then becoming quiet and still to listen. In addition, meditation is a fantastic
way to spark your inner creativity. Walking away from my meditation practice, I feel kinder, more loving- to myself, to my loved ones, to everyone.

Meditation works best as a daily habit. It takes practice to center yourself and to get what you are hoping for out of it. 10 minutes each day is enough time to nurture your meditation practice.

Personally, I love soothing music without words playing in the background while I meditate. Soundscapes are my music of choice. The dancing light of a fire is also nice if available, but not a necessity. All you really need is yourself and an open heart. Allow your heart to be refilled with light. You can even imagine that process happening within you if it helps to clear your mind. Commit to doing meditation daily for 30 days so that it truly becomes a habit, and so you give yourself enough time to learn from within what meditation is really all about. 

Even though meditation is the gift I wish I could give you, it is a gift only you can give yourself.

You deserve it!

Meditation is the key to your authentic self. 


With love, my friends

Why should you eat more beans in your diet? They are rich in fiber, protein, and essential vitamins and minerals. Beans are a common ingredient in many of the healthy meals we prepare as a family. I must admit, I often reach for canned beans because they are a convenient and nutritious pantry item.  However, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, “canned, boxed, frozen, and prepared foods can be high in sodium.” It is essential to check the labels!

Salt intake is an important factor to be conscious of when eating a healthy diet. Many of us far surpass the recommended levels of salt consumption per day. Not only is cooking with dried beans economical, it is a great way to omit the extra salt and preservatives found in canned goods, making dried beans the healthiest option. Although rinsing canned beans does help cut down on the sodium, dried is still your best option.

Trying to incorporate more dried beans into our meals meant I needed to find a convenient way to cook and store them. The easiest way I’ve found to cook dried beans is using the slow cooker method:

1.  Rinse and pick over dried beans

2.  In a large bowl cover beans in cold water. About 3 inches of water above bean level.

3.  Soak beans for 8 hours.

4.  Drains beans, and rinse gently again.

5.  Add beans to the slow cooker and cover with approximately 2 inches of
water.

6.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

The beans came out soft but not mushy. I tried this method on
both garbanzo beans, and kidney beans. It worked beautifully each time. 

        
Carefully remove the
cooked beans from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and drain excess
water.

        
If you wish, separate
the beans into approximately 1 ½ cup portions and freeze for later
use.

Right now my freezer is stocked with frozen beans! I went on a bit of a dried
bean cooking spree :-).

*Need a recipe idea? Try my Buffalo Roasted Chickpeas! Replace the canned beans with the slow cooked version.


Have a lovely day, friends!
Do you have any favorite beans recipes to share with me?

I’m busy, and my kids are busy. Sometimes there’s little time left to bond as a family. My family spends time together at the dinner table on weekdays making breakfast and watching cartoons on the weekends, but I’ve still had to face the sad fact that quality time is limited. The kids have to do their homework, go to soccer practice, and compete in karate matches. I have to work overtime, study for the online classes I’m taking, cook dinner, and prepare lunches. My husband has to travel a lot for his job, and the time he has to spend with the family is even more limited.

As the days seem to pass by more and more quickly, I realize that my kids are growing up a lot more rapidly than I would have hoped they would. And I also feel as though there’s a pressing need for each member of the family to coordinate schedules and carve out some time to spend together. We’ve started setting aside a few hours every week to dedicate to family bonding, and I think it’s been beneficial for all of us, especially the kids. If you’re struggling to think up simple family bonding activities that will be meaningful but not too time-consuming, consider these:

This is something you can dedicate an hour or two to a week. You can get all of your old family photos together and paste them in a scrapbook. Kids love being able to look at their baby pictures and reminiscing about when they were younger. Be sure to take some recent photos together and include those in your scrapbooks. Your kids may also like to include pictures they’ve drawn, concert and movie ticket stubs, and small things like bookmarks in the scrapbook.

Doing good makes you feel good! Kids often love volunteering at animal shelters, cleaning up parks, and helping plant trees. Helping out the community can be a great way for the family to embrace selflessness and spend quality time working together. Before you volunteer, you’ll have to call local non-profits and figure out which ones allow kids to volunteer.

If the whole family loves ice cream, why not throw an ice cream party every once in a while? You can all set aside some time to just eat ice cream and talk at the kitchen table. If you have some extra time, you could even make your own ice cream with milk, sugar, flavoring, rock salt, ice and Ziploc bags. If you want to mix things up, you could have a family ice cream party one week and a root beer float party the next.

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Author’s Bio: Lisa is a visiting blogger and mom who writes about everything from family relationships to Mario birthday party supplies. 

Have you ever noticed the beauty in the ordinary? It occurred to me that we
spend so much time trying to improve things, fix them, and make them look better when there is a rich amount of beauty in the natural, the ordinary.

The beauty of something as simple as a pencil strewn out on a table, with infinite possibilities to write. How gorgeous the person who picks up the pencil looks with expressions of thought across their face. The shoes thrown on the floor, toppled, pretty and worn. The discarded petals the houseplant delicately drops to the floor. A book left open to a page filled with inspiring words. Exquisite flowering weeds popping out of the garden making their presence known.
 
Maybe it is not perfect that’s pretty? Maybe what is breathtakingly beautiful is ordinary? Could it be that we’ve forgotten, been distracted by our mgazines, the TV, the internet?

There is no beauty like the ocean, the sand, the tree. The old and untamed forests. The glorious mountains that flirt with the sky.

The next time you are feeling ordinary I want you to do me a favor. Take
a look in the mirror, no make-up, no extras, just you

and remember…

There is no beauty like you!


Then pass it on because there is someone who has forgotten and needs to know too!

Everything you like and dislike. Everything you feel and don’t feel. Everything you believe, that is popular and not. It is all OK!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Ironically, everyone is different and exactly the same. How many times have you heard the term different to describe someone? That co-worker is different, or that family member, or the person in a particular group you are involved with. The funny thing is that ‘different’ person probably feels the exact same way about others.

Love is about liking different, accepting different, embracing different, not trying to conform it. We all have our ways in which we feel different. Most importantly, we all want others to embrace our difference and love us anyway.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Today, embrace someone you consider different by listening to them, mentally accepting them exactly as they are. Send loving energy from your heart to theirs. That energy can be felt even from afar.

Now, turn inwards and tell yourself it is OK to be different. It is safe to be you. Glorious and whole you! Celebrate different, especially in you!


Have you ever felt different? Share with us in the comments below!