Be kind to yourself, your body & mind will thank you dearly.

I often need a little reminder to be kind to myself. Thankfully I have some incredible friends who remind me of this when I’m lost. We all need a reminder, we all need to stick together to continue to be kind to ourselves.

While I am continuously spreading the word of positive body image, it continues to be a learning process for me. Because no matter how much we avoid media, or alter our reaction to media or talk positively when others are speaking negatively, it is impossible not to be affected at times. To avoid ALL negative body image messages would be like avoiding air pollution.

One of my biggest goals is to maintain a positive body image & share that with others. Either by sharing my experiences, helping others develop a positive body image [and relationship with food], and really living that. In addition to making sure that I stay positive with my body image is checking in with myself, both when I feel like my most amazing self, and when I feel like my worst self.

The questions that go through my mind when I’m checking in when I feel my worst self:

• why am I comparing my legs to hers?
• why am I comparing my body structure at all to those around me?
• what is truly going on in my life that is compelling me to lose weight while my body is healthy?
• this battle in my mind to have curves versus being skinny, or to have a visibly strong body – what is the true reason behind my desire to have a body that is significantly different to the one I currently have?
• when my goals revert back to how many calories I might burn, where is this really rooting from?

Interestingly if you ask yourself why you are comparing, wishing for a different body type, thinking about exercise only as a means to burn calories – it’s often because you are missing something else that is truly satiating in your life. Be Kind to Yourself. 

I encourage you to dig in. Deep. And find out what is truly making you feel this way about your body.

For me, I have recognized that I am very easily influenced by those around me. When others talk about the size of clothes they wear, that they have gained weight or lost weight, that they are dieting, that their skirt is too big and they wear a double zero … well at some point this affects my own body image. I can diffuse this kind of conversation for quite some time, but then eventually I catch myself thinking that way. Honestly though, this used to send me on a downward spiral and now I am able to catch it early in action and revert to my positive body image without much effort. I truly believe that EVERY SINGLE PERSON deserves to feel great in their own skin & owes it to themselves to feel that way. 

With Love & Health,

Katherine 

RHN

I get really excited when I learn that someone is taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle. Eating nutrient rich whole foods, exercising, self-love, allowing their bodies to heal, eating foods that may help them prevent disease later on in life. It is exciting when you see someone change their lifestyle and they gain so much energy to enjoy their day-to-day lives. When health comes from a place of love it is truly beautiful.

But, where is the healthy line drawn? How can we be sure that what we are doing IS healthy? That we are NOURISHED? At what point does a health plan become unhealthy?

It becomes unhealthy when the thoughts of food are overpowering. When the thoughts consume you more than you consume food. When love is depleted.

Orthorexia. Anorexia. Bulimia. Dieting. Overexertion. Restriction. Calories. Body Image. Disordered Eating. 

Many names and labels, but it doesn’t really matter which one is used. The answer to throwing away all of these labels is LOVE.

When you choose to perceive Love over fear, life begins to flow.

- May Cause Miracles

It is disheartening to witness someone (or personally to) try so hard to eat a healthy diet, increase exercise and yet LOSE all energy. Lose the drive for life. Lose social circles. Become SO focused on how many calories are in meals. How many calories burned today. Focus on every area of their body and those around them. A distorted body image. To lose their lust for life. Their love for life. Their love for themselves.

It’s really interesting to discover from my research and watching documentaries on people with eating disorders they all admit that they KNOW what they are doing is NOT RIGHT & NOT HEALTHY, but someone in their mind tells them to keep going, that they are on a path to success. That they must control every crumb that they put into their bodies and every step they take throughout the day. When I went through my journey to health/wellness, I too experienced this. I KNEW that I had turned down a different path that was no longer healthy, but somehow I kept going. I knew that it was not normal to obsess with food and body image, but it became addictive and I had formed habits.

How does the transition from a desire to be healthier to developing disordered eating occur?

Fear takes over. The fear is unrelated to food, but is transformed into a fear of food or a fear of being fat, or a fear of losing control. Being thin becomes the most important task. But is merely a distraction from something that is tougher to deal with at the time. An addictive distraction.

LOVE conquers FEAR.

Choose Love.

Whether you’re hitting the trail, biking or running to work, or simply have a busy day and don’t have a clue when you might be able to break for lunch, this is the breakfast of champions. You can customize it any way you like! It takes less time to prepare than your pancake mix!

Oatmeal Pancakes 

Perfect for athletes, kids, moms, dads, active people, sunday brunch.

This recipe serves 1, so increase it if you want to share or make extra to freeze, then toast ‘em when you need a quick breakfast or snack. Yes, way better than pop tarts or eggos for your energy & your body! Just ONE pancake alone packs in 12 grams of protein from the egg & oats.

• 1/2 cup certified gluten free oats (whole grains provide longer lasting energy than refined grains)
• 1 large organic egg (if you are vegan or have an allergy use 1Tbsp flax mixed in 2Tbsp water)
• 3 Tbsp of milk (I usually pick coconut, almond or hemp milk, your choice)
• Optional additions: 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 mashed banana, apple sauce, pureed pumpkin

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes until oats are soft. Heat a pan to med-high, use some coconut oil or organic butter (this will help protect the sensitive omega 3 fatty acids found in either the egg or flax if you are using that). Pour the batter into the pan, turn heat down to medium, let cook for a couple minutes, flip, cook some more. Voila.

Time for toppings & sides:

The pancake alone is not going to fuel you for all of your activities. Besides, this is where it gets FUN and FLAVOURFUL, not to mention all the extra nutrients we can add to this amazing whole grain pancake.

• The photo pancake was topped with:

1. almond/hazelnut butter
2. cacao nibs (nature’s chocolate chips)
3. coconut flakes
4. almond yogurt (packed with probiotics)
5. strawberries (antioxidants including vitamin C)
6. 1/2 of a fair trade banana

With Mega Love & Health,

Katherine

Drink Milk, Love Life. Such a catchy phrase. Brilliant. 

I found myself caught in a conversation on Friday night about milk being a good source of protein. Does milk provide a good source of protein? Now I want to start out by saying that I am not against dairy. I tend to have a strong reaction about whether or not milk is  nutritionally beneficial or not…but needed to freshen up Personally, I find that my body can only handle a certain amount of dairy. That is the key – listen to your body. Know how much if can handle and know that this amount may change over time. This might mean not having dairy for a few weeks (think you can’t do that?…relax, you won’t die).

This question depends on your definition of a good source. In terms of grams of protein in cow’s milk; sure, this provides 8 grams of protein per cup, that’s excellent. It’s a quick & easy protein source. Milk also contains the following nutrients:

photo credit

• Calcium: Builds healthy bones and teeth; maintains bone mass
• Potassium: Helps maintain a healthy blood pressure
• Phosphorus: Helps strengthen bones and generate energy
• Vitamin D: Helps maintain bones
• Vitamin B12: Maintains healthy red blood cells and nerve tissue
• Vitamin A: Maintains the immune system; helps maintain normal vision and skin
• Riboflavin (B2): Converts food into energy
• Niacin: Metabolizes sugars and fatty acids

Alright, so the nutrition profile checks out, but is cow’s milk a healthy food? Is it a whole food?

While the nutrition profile may be top notch, milk may not be your top choice for a quick & easy protein source. Just because a nutrition profile checks out as good value, doesn’t mean the product is quality. What is the true value of milk protein from pasteurized milk?

Here’s my beef with cow’s milk:

1. It is Pasteurized:

The Government requires all milk sold in Canada to be pasteurized. This is to the consumers benefit as it does kill most viruses and harmful organisms. However, this process also destroys active enzymes, diminishes vitamin content (synthetic vitamins are added back), denatures fragile milk proteins & kills beneficial bacteria. Denatured proteins can be recognized in our body as foreign invaders, attacked by antibodies, and never absorbed. If they aren’t absorbed, your body clearly is not gaining the benefits of the full content of protein. We may absorb some of the proteins that have survived heat treatment, while the remainder will be flushed out.

Learn more about possible pasteurization implications here.

2. Powdered milk added to reduced fat & fat free milk:

Not all, but most reduced fat or fat free milk (not generally listed on the label), yogurt (usually listed on the label) and other dairy products are thickened by adding powdered milk. The process of turning milk into a powder causes the cholesterol to oxidize. Oxidized cholesterol is linked to heart disease. Oxidized cholesterol is a free radical and will do anything in it’s power to steal an electron from another cell in order to stabilize. Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age.

Free radical: A molecule which is missing an electron from it’s outer shell, making it unstable, angry even. It’s just science. Click the link for a refresher of high-school chemistry class.

I’ve only brought up TWO important factors in determining whether or not dairy is a good source of protein…or a good food in general. I’d be happy to answer any questions that you have, am interested in your thoughts on this information presented, and am open to feedback. 

Comment below, or email me. 

Also…try hemp or sesame for protein & calcium. You can use the same recipe as the one in the sesame link for hemp milk, just replace sesame with hemp seeds.

With Love, Supreme Health & Wellness,

Katherine, Holistic Nutritionist

Happy Monday! As I mentioned on the first Must Try Monday: Weekly Recipe Find post, I’m the first to admit that designing recipes is not my forte. I often thought that as a holistic nutritionist that should be part of the package, but it really isn’t.

As it turns out, I’m able to recipe find, alter recipes to improve nutritional value or resort to 1 of the 5 recipes I have stored in my memory. And, yes, one of these 5 recipes include chopping vegetables, throwing them in a bowl with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and calling it a meal.

WELCOME BACK TO MUST-TRY MONDAY

Every Monday, you can expect a post that includes healthy recipes that I have found through my searches the week prior. I will always offer my input on substitutions if the recipes are not already gluten-free or if there is an ingredient I would swap out to increase the nutrition profile of the meal.

This week I found some top-notch recipes.

Banana Hemp Faux-Gurt - from Meghan Telpner’s website. A delicious non-dairy breakfast filled with Omega 3′s from hemp seeds – see Celebrity Superfoods: Hemp for more info on the amazingness of these seeds. Most of us are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids because our body cannot produce them from other fats, therefore we need to ensure we eat em up.

Strawberry Smoothie - from Tuja Wellness – This smooth operator is High on Herbs. Fennel helps with movement of the digestive system (flatulence and diarrhea). Strawberries are packed with vitamin C!

Red My Lips Beet Soup - from Sprout Organic Market located in North Vancouver. Simple, delicious, and a liver detoxifier. Did you know the liver has more than 561 jobs? WOW let’s take care of it!

5 Ingredient Avocado Pudding – from PaleOMG – she’s amazing and so is avocado pudding.

Make, enjoy and let me know how you like these recipes!

With Love & Health,

Katherine

I’m the first to admit that designing recipes is not my forte. I often thought that as a holistic nutritionist that should be part of the package, but it really isn’t. The majority of meals that I have prepared without following a recipe closely would not be served to anyone except myself and perhaps a really close, non-judgemental, very hungry friend.

Given this fact, I thought it would be impossible for me to share healthy recipes. And, what is a nutrition blog without recipes? I can blog all day long about foods that are healthy and what their benefits are, but then if I’m not sharing how to incorporate them into a meal, what IS the point? Right, there isn’t one.

WELCOME TO MUST-TRY MONDAY

Every Monday, you can expect a post that includes healthy recipes that I have found through my searches the week prior. I will always offer my input on substitutions if the recipes are not already gluten-free or if there is an ingredient I would swap out to increase the nutrition profile of the meal.

This week I was browsing www.eatliverun.com - this website is run by Jenna Webber who is a recipe writer. I love her recipes because they are generally filled with whole foods and she doesn’t make any crazy health nut substitutions. If the recipe requires butter, she is not shy about it. Feel free to dig through her recipe page. I’ve linked below those that I have bookmarked to try this month.

Turkey Meatballs (sub in gluten free bread crumbs and non-dairy milk if you have an allergy, organic turkey)

Tomato and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts (organic chicken (click to see why))

Yogi Trail Mix Bars (use certified GF oats and oat bran, skip the granulated sugar or sub in coconut sugar)

Kale Salad with Walnuts and Feta (use first cold-pressed olive oil)

Kale Salad with Oranges, Almonds and Avocado (a delicious detox salad)

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I will be sure to share more next Must-Try Monday.

With Love & Health

Katherine

Yes that’s right, we are GIVING away one Raw Chocolate Class! Details for the contest are at the end of this post…can you wait?

First of all I wanted to welcome Victoria Prescott to the Kale Spa team. Her bio will be up here shortly, but for now I will let you know that she is a definite asset to Kale Spa and we will be teaching the Raw Chocolate Classes together. Stay tuned for the SERIES of classes…yes that’s right, it doesn’t end at just one!

I’ve been told that we make the BEST chocolate EVER..which is quite the statement. The class involves a nutrition component where we dive into the history of cacao (chocolate) and educate you on all the nutrients available in raw chocolate, which makes it a better option that processed chocolate. Again…it’s delicious. You will learn how to make your own chocolate at home, which in all honesty is the best part – so simple, fun, and rewarding.

With Valentine’s Day coming up quick, it’s time to think outside of the box……of chocolates… learn to make your own nutritionist approved chocolate – it’s sexy. Super sexy.

Why Raw? What’s So Super About Raw Cacao?

Cacao is the raw, natural form of chocolate. It is one of the highest sources of magnesium. Magnesium is the mineral responsible for relaxation – our anti-stress mineral. 87% of North Americans are deficient in magnesium. So in addition to those leafy greens, add some raw chocolate into your life! Cocoa powder has been processed using heat which kills many nutrients – when it comes to chocolate, raw takes the gold medal!

To Enter:

1. Comment Below and tell us your FAVOURITE kind of chocolate  

2. “Like” Kale Spa on Facebook

3. Share this blog post giveaway on your Facebook page.

Enter a comment below for each item above so we know to give you the extra entries 

Giveaway Rules:

Giveaway runs until Saturday, January 26th at 8pm PST.  One lucky winner will be drawn and announced thereafter.

IF you don’t live in Vancouver but want to enter this contest and end up winning, we will offer an initial holistic nutrition consultation via Skype or other form of video chat.

With (Chocolate) Love & Health,

Katherine & Victoria