Where’s the line?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Hey guys,

I wanted to blog today about something that’s been bothering me lately….

I read a lot of blogs. Even more now that I also blog- I find more and more blogs on an almost daily basis that have amazing content and keep me coming back, eager to hear what they have to say.

Most of these blogs are written by young women with little to no training on what they’re blogging about (now note, I do say most. I know there are many blogs which are written by nutritionists, fitness trainers, etc. and I am not including them in this category). I am including myself in this category though- my blog motto is how to stay healthy while busy, but nothing I’m writing about is anything more than my own opinion and what I have found that works for me. I have no formal training in yoga (not yet anyways), and no training in nutrition. I’ve done a lot of personal research and would like to think I have some knowledge, but I am certainly not a professional. I wouldn’t feel comfortable advising someone with a meal plan, or how to change their life around. I love to share what has worked for me, but I try and throw in a disclaimer that *while it worked for me, it may not work for you*.

Lately I’ve been noticing more and more bloggers who are offering coaching sessions, either offering a one time “free of charge” or charging a small fee, to give advice to others. And this bothers me. In my opinion (free of charge!), the moment you start charging someone for your services, you are entering into a different relationship- one of a professional and a client. But if the individual entering into the arrangement as the “professional” has no formal training beyond their own experience, I feel like this could potentially set up the client being given bad advice. Or even more alarming, dangerous advice.

The internet is certainly a source of endless information. And as bloggers, we all have our own biases, opinions and experiences. But how far can we go before it becomes inappropriate and potentially dangerous to those reading?

So I put out the question to anyone reading- Where do you think the line is?

Do you need someone to have formal training before you would pay for their advice? Is the fact that someone has personal experience in something enough to warrant them charging someone for their advice?

Lean in book review

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

I had mentioned a couple of week’s ago that I was reading the book “Lean in” by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook.

I finished it over the weekend and I had to spread the word about what I thought of it.

I loved it. I think everyone should read it- whether you think you want to succeed in the work world, whether you’re a male or female, or whether you know that you want to stay at home with your children. If you want a general overview of the book, I would recommend watching her Ted talk, which led her to writing the book.

I really like that she points out that there is nothing wrong with not wanting to succeed in the business world. Not everyone needs to be a COO, CEO, or executive of any kind. Parents who focus themselves fully on their children should be praised and never made to feel inferior for the choices they have made.

But what I like about this book, and the Tedtalk, is that she focuses also on women who do chose to succeed in the business world, and who also deserve to not be made to feel guilty. Women should not be forced to chose between having a family or having a career. Just as men should not be forced to think they can not have an active part in their children’s upbringings.

Sheryl Sandberg brings up a lot of disturbing facts- the most I found the “Heidi/Howard experiment”, which is described in the Ted talk. How are women to succeed when the very factors that make a man likeable, make a woman unlikeable? Are success and likeability mutually exclusive for women?

For myself, I don’t know what I want to do. I know that I’ve spent a lot of time on my education- I have my degree in Commerce, which I graduated with distinction. I then continued on and obtained my Chartered Accounting designation- which I received honour roll on the final exam. Sometimes I feel as though I have an obligation to succeed in the future- especially if I want to teach any future children of mine that their own options are limitless.

But at the same time, I have many other things that I love. I love yoga- and enjoy the idea of just teaching yoga and opening my own studio. I love the environment and I compost and recycle, and enjoy spreading that message around my own community.

I don’t know what my own future will hold, but I enjoyed this book because I do think that women need to continue to succeed in the business world- and not be held back because of factors such as likability, bias, and discrimination.

Have you read it? If so, what were your thoughts? And if not- do you think you would like it based on the Tedtalk?

Tedx weekend

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Happy Monday everyone!

How was your weekend?

Mine was wonderful as I was back home and had a good mix of activity and relaxation. Friday night was very relaxing as I arrived home at about 9:00 pm, which by the time I got my bag, drove home, etc., I was pretty much ready for bed.

Saturday was an absolutely packed day! Mark and I had bought tickets for “TedxEdmonton” a few months back, and Saturday was the day of the event. If you’ve never heard about it- Ted talks are 20 minute (ish) talks that can be about pretty much anything. I’ve posted Ted talks in the past because I love the idea of them. For more info, check out the website, Ted Talks. Tedx are independently organized events in different cities, which still hold the format of Ted talks.

The theme of this event was “The Future of….” and there were several different speakers of various topics. My favourite included:

The future of growing up- I was super excited for this one because it was by Fred Penner! I think Fred Penner is a Canadian superstar- but I grew up watching Fred Penner’s TV show.
He spoke of the importance of arts and music and creativity for children. How children are sponges and personality is created from 0-6, so we should be fostering their own creativity and imagination. We also had a few sing along moments, which brought out my own inner child.
The future of Medicine- Jim Talbot, who is the Chief Medicine Officer for the Government of Alberta was next up to speak about the future of medicine. I greatly enjoyed his talk, as he focused on health, and not drugs. He spoke of the fact that 16% of your health is determined by genetics. The remaining is due to outside forces- such as your environment, your neighborhood, how healthy you eat, how much you drink, etc. A think a lot of us are guilty, myself included, for assuming our health is pre-destined by what we were given from our parents. This is not the case- which carries a lot of personal power in it. We control our own health! Definitely makes me want to continue living the way I do, and aspiring to do better each day.
The future of inspiration- Cirque du Soleil is currently in town, and the artistic director came and gave a speech about how important it is for all of us to dream. Then, a performer from the current show came out and gave an amazing performance of balancing 13 palm leaf ribs. The show is meant to demonstrate the fragile nature of harmony. I think the entire theater stopped breathing as we watched
The future of manufacturing- This one blew my mind! Kyle Hermenean spoke of 3D printing. While at first, I was unimpressed with the idea (as his initial example was that of making a plastic cup). However, the more he spoke- the more I was amazed. These 3D printers are able to print stem cells directly onto a spine. Which for a person who has a degenerative disease, this could mean having a new spine! Technology is truly mind blowing when you find out things like this!
The future of food- I waited for this speech throughout the entire day, and they kept it until the very last one. The question that Josh Tetrik posed was: “What does it take to feed 7.1 billion people each day?” The current population of the world is 7.1 billion, and UN believes it will climb another 1.5 billion by 2050. He looked at the egg industry (for chicken eggs) and the disease, inhumane conditions, and environmental conditions of it. He pointed out that 92% of the plants on earth have never been investigated as a food source. And what if in those plants we could have the protein we need from meat? The flavour and the consistency we get from cooking with eggs? His company, Hampton Creek Foods, is testing many different options to find a solution so in the future, animals will be taken out of the equation for our food source.

That’s only a small sampling of the speeches we did hear all day. It was truly an inspiring day, filled with many different concepts I had never heard of before. Not the typical way I spend my Saturday- but I enjoyed every second.

The rest of the weekend was not nearly as exciting- Saturday evening was spent relaxing at home and Sunday was spent partially on the phone (had to call my dad and stepdad to wish them Happy Father’s Day!)

What would you be the most interested to learn about “The future of…”?

Toronto time

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Happy Friday everyone!

We made it through another week How was everyone else’s week? Do anything you’re proud of?

As I’ve said on a few of my posts this week- this week was pretty busy for me. Thankfully Monday night was the worst, and the other days weren’t as bad. Monday saw me in training from 8-6, then back to my room to work until 11 at night. Tuesday was much better, and by Wednesday night, I didn’t even have to work during the evening! Thursday we even had the opportunity to be tourists- and check out the CN tower! All in all though, I can’t wait to be home. My flight leaves today at 6:30 and after a mere 4 hour flight- I’m at home again!

There’s no place like home

I have had a bit of a chance to enjoy Toronto while being here. We wandered around one evening and took in the evening sites. Here are a few of the pictures. I apologize for the poor quality, as I only had my iPhone with me.

Toronto 003

Our view from downtown restaurant

Weird Ken dolls in the restaurant bathroom

The night skyline- you can see the CN tower in the background

It was pretty to look at all the lights and see a few of the sights. However, I was more than happy to get back to my hotel room and do some yoga!

Did I mention I had brought my yoga mat with me? It took up more than half of the space in my suitcase so I had to very carefully pack everything else to make sure I had everything I needed, but didn’t overfill my suitcase. I somehow still managed to bring way more than I needed, which goes to show- there is always room for a yoga mat!

Though it wasn’t all work, waking around and yoga. I also found a couple of delicious desserts that I enjoyed.

All about balance right?!

Happy Friday everyone!

Things from around the internet

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Hey all,

Toronto is still very busy! As such, for my own sanity, I thought I would leave you with some fun things I’ve found around the internet lately and come back with a full post for you guys tomorrow (which is thankfully- Friday and the day I get to go home again!)

First up- this inspirational video about living your life with another perspective. A friend of mine sent this to me about a month ago, and I find myself often thinking about the video on a day-to-day basis. It’s a great reminder that our own point-of-view isn’t always seeing the whole picture.

Next up, this picture I saw on Facebook which I think is very, very true. We all underrate our own beauty- inside and out.

Next up, a reminder that we are all different!

The two human hip bones above show why it is so important to know your own body and not compare ability to access a yoga posture to anyone else. The one on the left is more open so that person would have been genetically more predisposed to greater external rotation of the femur on the hip socket. The person on the right might never be able to match the one on the left no matter how much they practiced or tried.

I also found this article, which discusses why you should never, ever, ever eat processed meats. Gross, hey?!

Fitnessista wrote an amazing blog post- about Not needing to be good at things. I think it’s an amazing reminder that we should do things because we enjoy them. It’s ok not to be great at everything you do! If you enjoy the activity, then do it! And screw anyone who might be judging you for it. Like they say, No matter how slow you are- you’re still lapping everyone on the couch. I think that applies to everything we do, whether it be running, painting, or anything else that you desire to achieve.

I love following the board on pinterest Don’t compare yourself to celebrities. It shows errors in photoshop, as well as how celebrities look differently in real life than what we’re seeing in magazines and on TV. On this page, I also found this article, which talks about how much Jennifer Aniston spends EACH YEAR on looking good. Spoiler alert- it’s almost the same as what you would pay for a 4 year degree in the US!

And final article of the day- 7 things McDonald’s knows about your brain. Great read about how McDonald’s (and honestly, most fast food) makes it so you keep ordering their food- the article is a little extreme at points, but it certainly gets the message across.

Just because I laugh everytime I look at it- here’s an oldy:

What do you think of the articles above? And if you’ve seen anything great lately, let me know! I’d love to check it out!

How to order healthy foods at restaurants

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Happy Wednesday everyone,

Hope your weeks are going great so far! So far my week has been a whole lot of work, and that’s about it. Sadly my training is running from about 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and then I’ve had to go back to my hotel room and work on files until 10 or 11 at night, as I have a few files which have a deadline approaching. It’s been a very busy, stressful week so far.

With all the travel that I’ve been doing lately, I thought it would be fun to talk about ordering in a restaurant and how to keep it healthy. I served throughout University, and I’ve lost track of how many women would turn down ordering a burger and instead have a salad because “they were on a diet”. What they didn’t know is that the burger was 100% meat, no additives, on a whole wheat bun and could be served with a side greens salad. The salad they were ordering at hundreds of hidden calories, fat, additives, and who knows what else. Sometimes the salad on a menu is actually the worst thing you can order!

As such, I thought I’d go over some things I generally like to keep in mind when I’m out ordering at a restaurant. However, these are only suggestions! There is nothing wrong with ordering what you’re truly craving and enjoying every single bite! Non-healthy meals are sometimes the most delicious, satisfying thing in the world. And who wants to go through life never eating pasta, fries, chicken fingers or dessert? Certainly not me! Therefore, these suggestions are for when you’re eating out a lot, or if you’re just looking to clean up how you eat.

So, after that preamble- here are some things to stay on the lookout for:

Does the menu say things like “crispy”? If so- you’re likely going to get a meal that has parts of it deep-fried.
If you’re looking for a salad, talk to to the server about what’s actually in the salad. Most salad dressings have more calories than anything else you could be ordering. Does it have cheese, “crispy” bites, nuts, pita bread, and a cream sauce? If so (which 90% of restaurant salads are guilty of this) the health benefits you’re getting from ordering the salad are out the window.
Everything is cooked in butter or oil. Everything. Even if it doesn’t say it on the menu!

So with those few things already on your mind, here’s what I like to think about when I’m actually ordering:

I love to talk to the server. Server’s know the menu (most restaurants have a test that the server is required to take which ensures they know the dishes extremely well). Let them know you want to order something healthy and find out what they suggest.
You can special order your meal! Don’t go crazy trying to re-create something, but if you want a dish that has “crispy” chicken, ask if the kitchen would make it with grilled chicken instead.
You can ask for your vegetables to have no oil on them, or your salad to have dressing on the side (or my favourite is to ask for my dressing on my salad but just go very easy on the dressing). Sometimes restaurants have whole wheat options, or even menu’s that specify which meals are healthier- again, talk to your server.

imagesCAZVN49Q Source

I’m personally not a fan of the advice you often hear: order a couple of side dishes, or get half your meal packed up before you even start. For the side dishes- I find most appetizers are deep-fried, sauce filled, no vegetables, kind of food! So to get two of them seems very counterintuitive to me. I like to just order what sounds goods to me, trying to generally stay away from dishes that are heavy with sauce or deep fried. I like to talk to the people I’m eating with, or bring a book to help slow down my eating. I enjoy each and every bite of whatever I’m eating and when I’m full- I stop eating. Don’t eat until you want to burst!

After all, we should eat to live. Not live to eat. In our society we often overthink something that’s so simple. So my best advice is to just enjoy your food, and not spend your entire day planning for it!

How do you try and stay healthy when eating out?

Experimenting in the kitchen

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Last week, I over booked myself!

I had a friend visiting from Australia, I stepped up my workouts to try and get into better shape for yoga teacher training, I spent a bunch of time with Mark, AND I went a little crazy experimenting in the kitchen. While it made for a very, very busy week- it also made for some fun time in the kitchen!

My first experiment was on Monday night. Mark and I were driving to the grocery store, and we got talking about McCain deep and delicious cake. Mark LOVES that cake, for reasons I will never fully understand. I told him that I could make him a better chocolate cake- and started looking on my phone for recipes. I ended up getting side tracked with Jenna’s peanut butter cake with vegan salted chocolate ganache recipe. Not a chocolate cake- but I knew I had to make it. I quickly added the ingredients we needed to buy to our grocery list (except forgetting eggs and therefore having to make a quick stop in the middle of preparing it which was a pain in the butt) and I was baking before I knew it.

It was really, really good guys. As you can tell in the pictures- I didn’t let my chocolate ganache cool down for long enough before pouring it on the cake, which meant we had a pool of chocolate ganache on the plate. This resulted in Mark and I stealing bites of pure chocolate whenever the opportunity arose.

I highly recommend making this.

The next day, I knew I wanted Mark and I to make almond milk, from Angela at Ohsheglows. I had asked Mark to pick up a nut milk bag during the day, but those things are not easy to find. As such, we ended up having quite the mess while we were straining it.

We at first tried to use a coffee filter- but Mark and I don’t use paper filters. We have a reusable filter and the mesh was too fine to let any liquid through. Mar thought of the idea of using the mesh that garlic is wrapped in. So we first strained it using that, and then strained it using our coffee filter. It was a pretty big pain in the ass, but DELICIOUS…and very, very messy.

The third experiment I had in the kitchen, was making pistachio falafel with homemade salsa from Sprouted Kitchen.

You can see the salsa in the picture above- as we adapted the recipe a bit. Mark added more garlic, onions and some balsamic vinegar. The entire thing took maybe 20 minutes to make, and was fantastic.

I swear there are pistachio falafel’s under all that salsa!

I thought it would be a fun meal for kids, as the falafel balls are slightly green, as a result of the pistachio and mint and cilantro.

By the end of the week, I was more than ready for a relaxing weekend. However, all my experiments were definitely worth it!

Do you ever experiment in the kitchen? What are you making that’s new this week?

Bed and breakfast weekend

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Happy Monday everyone! How were your weekend’s?

Mine was fantastic! I’ve mentioned before but every week Mark and I have a “date night”. We switch it between Friday and Saturday- and the only requirement of the date is that it’s just the two of us, and cell phones are ignored for the evening.

This weekend, on Saturday afternoon, Mark told me to pack clothes for being outside, something dressy for dinner, and something comfy- because we weren’t coming back until 10:30 Sunday morning. The rest of the date was a surprise!

I excitingly packed everything and soon we were in the car. I guess pretty early on where we were going- and was excited to learn I was right: we were going to a beautiful bed and breakfast place just outside of the city.

We arrived just as a wedding was finishing up, so we hid in the house for awhile so as to not disturb the wedding party (though I did creep and get one picture of the bride and groom)

The house itself is beautiful- it has a very old school theme to it, which I loved.

After the wedding party left, we wandered around the grounds for awhile. It’s a huge lot and they had beautiful flowers everywhere!

Eventually we put down a blanket, and just enjoyed the summer heat. I found a container of bubbles that had been left behind by the wedding party, which I had some fun playing with.

We ended up having a great time out in the grass- Mark tried to show me how to do cartwheels and he impressively did a handspring. There was also an old wooden swing attached to a tree which we both played on.

After a few hours we decided we were hungry, so we got dressed up and went out for some delicious sushi and wine. I didn’t take my camera with me to dinner, so I don’t have any pictures- but it was a great meal! We ordered a bunch of different rolls and sushimi, and asked if they would put it in one of the boats for us- which to my excitement, they did. It added an extra level of presentation!

We ended the night off with one more glass of wine, while sitting outside watching the stars come out.

The next morning we had a fantastic breakfast made for us (I got French toast and poached eggs, and Mark had French toast and bacon) before we packed back up and headed back towards the city. It was an absolutely great way to enjoy my short weekend.

Sunday I packed everything I needed for a week away, and got on another plane (I am sick of airports!) to fly to Eastern Canada. Between the 4 hour flight, and the 3 hour time difference- that took up the rest of my day!

If you’re in a relationship- do you do date nights? If you’re not in a relationship- do you plan special “dates” with friends?

My first authentic Canadian Food Memory

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Happy Friday everyone!! Anyone else getting excited for the weekend?

As you guys have probably noticed by now, I’m always happy for some time away from work My weekend is sadly being cut a little short this week, as I have a flight to catch on Sunday. I’m heading to Toronto for work, and will be there all week. We’re not in the main part of Toronto, so I’m not sure how much of a chance I’ll have to explore during the evenings. Blogging shouldn’t be affected though, so I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted if I do anything fun and exciting.

The CN tower- taken the last time I was in Toronto (9 years ago!)

I’m currently taking part in The Canadian Food Experience Challenge, being hosted by Val at A Canadian Foodie. The challenge is all about identifying what exactly is Canadian food, and talking about Canadian food traditions. I was intrigued by this challenge because as soon as I heard about it I thought to myself, “But what is Canadian food?” Which is sad- considering I’m Canadian!

If you think of Italian food, you think of pasta, wine and pizza. Greek food, Thai food, even French cuisine- they all have their own restaurants and I can think of specific food items for all of them.

Pad Thai in Bangkok

However, when you think of Canadian food- very little comes to mind. I instantly think of poutine and caesars, but then start drawing a blank. But I swear that’s not all we eat here!

This month’s challenge was to think of my first authentic Canadian food memory. Which is pretty difficult when I’m having troubles identifying what Canadian food even is. I thought about it, and thought about it- and finally came up with: chokecherry syrup.

Chokecherry is a type of berry that’s native to North America, so I figured it would kind of count as Canadian. Growing up, my grandma always made chokecherry syrup. My grandma was a first generation Canadian, as she had immigrated to the country as a little girl (she has this great story of being on the ship to Canada and dropping her red hat into the ocean, watching it drift away). As such, I have no idea where she got the recipe from, as chokecherries wouldn’t have grown in her home country (of Hungary).

My grandma, grandpa and me in the ’80s

But I remember her chokecherry syrup with fond, fond memories. We always had a couple of jars- one in the fridge and a couple in our cold room downstairs. We would put it on top of our pancakes, rather than using maple syrup or Aunt Jemima. I didn’t actually have anything else on my pancakes until I was a teenager- and to this day, I hate syrup. Even the smell of Aunt Jemima makes me feel slightly ill.

When we would visit my grandma and grandpa, my grandpa would put the syrup on his vanilla ice cream after dinner. It was a wonderful treat we would enjoy while on our visits to them but at home, we were never allowed to “waste” the syrup like that. It was too precious of a commodity. It had to be cherished and used carefully so we wouldn’t run out before the next time my grandma made some more.

My sister, grandma, mom and me

A few times when growing up, she would make us go chokecherry picking with her, since she knew we loved her syrup so much. We would eagerly try and pick as many as we could- somehow believing the more we picked, the more syrup we would be rewarded with before leaving. We would fill ice cream pail after ice cream pail (while complaining after about 10 minutes of excitement), yet still the job wasn’t finished. It wasn’t until I got a little older that I realized my grandma would make syrup for everyone- all 4 of her children, and all 15 of her grandchildren.

My grandma is turning 85 this year, and hasn’t been able to pick the chokecherries off the trees for almost 10 years. As such, chokecherry syrup is lost to my memories. One day, I’ll ask my mom for the recipe and try and recreate that sweet, tart syrup. But for now, everytime I have pancakes, I look at the maple syrup on the table and wish I had just one more jar of my grandma’s homemade chokecherry syrup.

And that is my first authentic Canadian food memory.

Anyone else have their first authentic memory? Tell me one from the country you’re from (or if you’re in Canada- tell me your Canadian food memory).

Week of meals

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Yogi Sarah

Hey everyone,

It’s always a very popular post when I show the meal plan for Mark and I. As such, I snapped a few pictures of my meals last week so that I could show you all what we had.

Monday night:

Monday Mark and I went grocery shopping, so we wanted to have a quick and easy meal. As such, we had some cut up broccoli, cucumbers, carrots and crackers with hummus, and hard boiled eggs on the side.

Tuesday:

Tuesday night I had plans to see a movie with a friend of mine (we went and saw Star Trek- which I greatly enjoyed) so again, Mark and I needed to make something quickly before I was out the door. Mark prepped the salmon (he baked it with some honey and dill, with lemon juice added half way through cooking) and I made the mashed potatoes and grilled up the veggies with some balsamic vinegar and truffle mushroom salt. The veggies were the champion of this meal.

Wednesday:

Wednesday was another crazy busy evening, as I gave a presentation at work, and then immediately had a dentist appointment. By the time I got home, it was 7:30 and I had a massage (with Mark) booked for 8. We sauteed up some red and yellow peppers, along with some onions in some taco seasoning, and then added black beans (all of that is under the cheese). We topped that part with cheese, fresh lettuce and salsa. The entire thing took maybe 10 minutes and it was delicious. We both commented we could see this becoming a staple in our house.

Thursday:

No pics for Thursday, as I had a work event that fed me. Mark grabbed some take-out Thai food and he ate it as we made our way to see a movie. We went and saw Iron Man 3. This week was the first time I had seen a movie in theaters in months- but somehow I managed to see 2 in one week.

Friday:

This salad was amazing! I posted the recipe for it on Tuesday- and as I said then, I absolutely loved it. I have a feeling this is going to be a summertime favourite- and I’ll be grilling all types of fruit to go with it. Peaches, plums, nectarines- they’ll all make their way on there.

As always, please let me know if you want any more details of the meals provided. I show them not to try and demonstrate what a person SHOULD be eating, only to show that it is possible to eat a varied diet, filled with healthy and delicious food- all while being pretty busy.

Happy Thursday guys

Yogi in Action

Trying to live a healthy life while still having fun