Victoria Yoga Conference: 2013!

Rachel will be teaching at the Victoria Yoga Conference February 2-3rd, 2013.  Don’t miss this great opportunity to take advantage of her best insights from her years as a Teacher Trainer! Empower Your Boundaries – Saturday, February 2, 2013 – 8:00 to 9:15 am – Studio #1 Clear and strong boundaries give shape and discipline […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 19: Steph’s amazing Red Lentil Sweet Potato dish

My friend Steph came over for a vegan feast.  She offered to jump in the kitchen teach us how to make great vegan food. Alan was excited.  “Teach her everything,” he said, pointing at me.  “Just lock yourselves in there and don’t come out until she knows how to cook.” Steph’s Amazing Yam and Lentil […]

Juicing: Back in the Saddle!

I’ve been away from my precious, precious juicer since before my Christmas vacation, but today had the opportunity to whip up something delicious thanks to my SPUD delivery.  I ordered their “Organic Detox Juicing Box”  delivered to my home and opened up a bin full of veggie goodness.  OH!  I’d forgotten how yummy these juices […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 18: Getting sick and the mystical “healing crisis”

I noticed I was feeling a little sick.  The left tonsil (still got ‘em) felt swollen. “Apparently begin vegan doesn’t mean you don’t get sick,” observes Alan cutely. “Apparently not,” I say.  “But maybe I’m detoxing.  When you eat better, an the fat starts to melt away, bad stuff that was stored in there starts […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 17: the Bridal Shower – and a kick ass quinoa salad

Ah, the Bridal Shower! I didn’t think to ask in advance if there would be vegan goodies.  As it turns out, the event was beautifully catered.  But the only thing I could eat besides the crackers were the bananas that the sex educator brought for us to practice our “hand strokes” on. When the food […]

Total Health Month: Day 2

My head hurts. As part of Total Health Month (THM), I have decided to forgo caffeine.  This is doubly hard after spending a week with my “always-have-a-pot-on” family over the holidays. Going caffeine free means that rather than ordering my tall Americano, I got a tall decaf Americano (okay, okay, I know that decaf has […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 16: Digestion, bloat, methane, global warming.

Time for a digestive check in Still flatulent.  Not as much.  But think about it: I’m not a very creative vegan yet, so my idea of a meal is a head of broccoli and some hummus.   Hmmmm, raw veggies and beans!  What a great combination! So it’s not surprising that another Facebook trail about vegetarianism […]

2013: A new kind of health

Over the holidays, my family and I hold our full tummies and moan things like, “When January hits, you better believe that we’re not going to eat like this anymore.”  The guilt about eating an extra serving of pie or an additional glass of wine is tempered by the impending doom of a January that […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 15: Doubts

Doubts “What I’d be concerned about is the long-term effects,” said my friend Ashley. Ashley is the fabulous strawberry blond of hummus and quinoa fame.  She’s also a pediatric nurse who also works in palliative care.  She is a full-on “broad,” outgoing, direct, and someone who will always have your back.  “You see these long-time […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 13: The Facebook Incident

See what a harmless little Facebook post can spawn? Rachel Anne Scott Avocadoes, tomatoes, chickpeas….who said being vegan wasn’t fun? Carina Roter Wait until you get hooked on RAW. More fun in the summer but you will feel amazing! Tyler Wright there’s a party in your mouth and everyone’s sprouting Stephanie Belding Woo hoo!!!! Wait […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 12: Dinner with Friends

Ah, what to feed a vegan? Alan and I headed over to the home of some friends that we know for chow and movies. Ash is a great friend of ours who is an outgoing nurse with a thick head of strawberry blond hair who is unfazed by the vegan challenge. As we were traveling […]

Going Vegan, Ep. 14: Previous Eating Experiments. Vega. Books.

Previous Eating Experiments I’m one of those people that likes to have a book to latch onto for dietary inspiration.  I read all the testimonials inside about people changing their lives and I feel unstoppable:  “This is the answer!  This is the key to being healthy!” I tell myself exuberantly. This feeling generally lasts a […]

Watching our Tigers: Story-telling that will change your life

Last night, I saw the Life of Pi.  (I promise not to give anything away.) The Life of Pi is about how we tell our stories.  We can choose to tell our stories in a way that illuminates our beauty and humanity, or we can choose to tell a story that confines us, flattens us, […]

Juicing Yams?? Juicing Yams!!!

Okay, so when SPUD sent me YAMS in my pre-fab juice box, I was seriously skeptical. Yams? Yes.  Yams. Juicing a yam seemed like about as good an idea as juicing a potato, which is to say, not at all.  Would juice even come out of these tubrous little guys?  I had my doubts.  But […]

Why my Body is a Temple

Last weekend, my teacher Gil Hedley spoke about how the models we use to describe our experience will dictate what we are actually able to see. For example, St. Francis of Assisi “was ever so unsparing towards himself that at the last he felt constrained to ask pardon of “Brother Ass”, as he called his […]

Juicing: naked fruit test – Orange Juice

So, does juicing really taste better than drinking the packaged juices at the store? To answer this question, I decided to do a simple taste test. I haven’t gone into the store and bought “kale-cucumber-tomato” juice before, but I’ve certainly had my share of store-bought orange juice.  So it seemed to me that a great […]

Juicing: Scarlet Lady

Red.  Daring.  Slightly immoral.  It’s the …Scarlet Lady!  I had red chard in my fridge just begging to be used so I went for it and used it a theme.  Today was all about being red, red red. The result: While I didn’t turn suddenly scandalous (more’s the pity), I did enjoy the sweeter side […]

Juicing: The Green Monster

Yay, SPUD!  Yesterday I got my delivery of yummy produce straight to my doorstep.  It was like Christmas when I came home, only without the sugar crash. This morning I was so inspired by all the beautiful green veggies in my bin that I decided to make something positively verdant. The Green Monster 1/2 cucumber […]

Juicing: Fridge dregs

So I return from Mexico and to my beloved juicer, excited to rev up the Hurom to start off another great day. However, I’ve been in Mexico for a week, so you can imagine the state of the contents of my fridge. Basically, all that’s available is the tough stuff.  You know, the veggies that […]

Juicing: Mexican Style

First day in Maya Tulum for the YYoga retreat  – AHHHHHH. After a brutish day of travel yesterday and gobbling down a meal of guacamole and tortilla chips last night (granted, they were yummy), I craved something green this morning.  The resort offers a selection of smoothies and juices, so I opted for the most […]