A few things to inspire NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

 I love New Year's Resolutions.  It's fun to set goals and even more fun to meet them, the trick is to make your resolutions attainable.  And I think it really helps to make it fun.  Treat yourself to some new yoga pants or some nice gear to compliment your goal.  If you are trying to be more organized, get some nice bamboo organizers, make sure you have the tools to see it through.

Every year the resolution I hear most about  is to improve eating habits.  I do NOT recommend going on a "diet".  If you are going to refine what you eat to be healthier---great.  But don't torture yourself.  It has to be a lifestyle change and it has to be enjoyable or it probably won't take.

Enter APPETITE FOR REDUCTION, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  I have all her books and have relied on them for my baking needs (scones, cupcakes, muffins, cake...after all that we needed her recent effort).  For a while I was baking all the time because I was having so much fun with her books and I really appreciated not having to veganize conventional recipes.  She has done a lot for dispelling the myth that vegan food equals rabbit food or that it's not satisfying.

APPETITE is just as fun--look at the sassy cover.  As with her other books, I love the little shadow box tips and the way she anticipates the readers needs.  The book includes gluten free and soy free recipes immediately identifiable by icons. The tone is conversational and often humorous and the book is not just about leaner recipes.  Appetite refers also to environmental impact, animal cruelty and your bank account. 

If one of your goals is to have a calmer 2011, or to get in the habit of  mediating, there are tools for this as well.  Time factors heavily in meditation.  That temptation to wonder how long you've been sitting there, the urge to peek over at the clock..this is distracting!  And sort of the opposite of meditating.  This MEDITATION TIMER from Sage Meditation is a nice solution for this.  You set the time you want your meditation to last from five to sixty minutes, and a pleasing gong sound goes off at the start and at the end, allowing you to slowly come out of your meditation.  You can hear what it sounds like on the website. My five year old loves this--we have started with the five minute increment which is actually quite great for a child--and he enjoys the ritual.  *I like Sage Meditation's offerings and plan to become an affiliate in 2011.


LIFE IS A VERB: 37 DAYS TO WAKE UP, BE MINDFUL, AND LIVE INTENTIONALLY would be a fun way to start the new year. As the title indicates, there are 37 creative and fun exercises to live intentionally.  I love the ephemera-type multi media artwork and short little stories that inspire. 


BOSU BALANCE TRAINER
I think this is a good thing to have for at-home fitness, particularly for small spaces.  It  works great as an alternative to the mini trampolines and large fitness balls.  It works your core and is fun at the same time.  My five year old got very excited about it and enjoyed the dvds that come with it.  Of course he's too small for it, but at our house, anything that helps expend that excess winter energy in a safe way (it worked for us) is welcome.  I think it's fun too, and appreciate that it is multifunctional. 


A Year In Art: The Activity Book is fabulous for art lovers with kids.  The book's format is to introduce a new work of art to your child each day of the year.  There are little exercises and spaces to color or draw and learn about different artists and movements.  My little one loves this book almost as much as I do.  The cat on the cover is fuzzy, making it instantly enticing to little ones, although I think I would have wanted this book even if I didn't have a child.
 
If yoga is on your list for the new year, consider treating yourself to  Manduka's Black Mat Pro.  You can't go wrong with anything from Manduka, I love all their stuff and find it inspiring to practice with such beautiful and functional gear.  This is the nicest mat I've ever used and it comes with a lifetime guarantee.  

To keep all your yoga or meditation equipment contained, this extra large Yoga Pro Duffle bag from HUGGER MUGGER.  It's big enough to hold at least two yoga mats, small yoga balls, blocks, straps, etc.  It's also big enough to house your meditation cushions.  It converts into a backpack for easy transport.

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Garden of Life VITAMIN CODE Raw Vegan Vitamins

I'm not a big fan of supplements in general.  I believe we should get our nutrients from our food--by eating nutrient dense organic foods.  Very simple.  Sometimes I think people delude themselves that they can eat the standard American diet and pop some vitamins and be okay.  Not a great idea.  There is no better way in my opinion to get your vitamins than eating nutrient rich fresh food.  And by this, I mean consuming a lot of organic vegetables and greens.

There are a couple of exceptions.  Therapeutic use of supplements, and supplementation of vitamins you might have no way of getting through food.  For me, there are three vitamins I take with regularity:  Vitamin D (because of my geography and I have tested deficient twice now), Vitamin B12 (because of my vegan diet, although I have never tested low on this even prior to supplementation), and iron (for just a few days of the month, otherwise I can run anemic).

Recently I discovered a brand of vitamin that I'm in love with -- VITAMIN CODE RAW vitamins made by Garden of Life.  These vitamins are completely different from most vitamins on the market.

They are made with raw organic plant based ingredients.  Fabulous! The idea is that your body recognizes the nutrients and is able to absorb them readily.  Sounds obvious, right?  But so many vitamins are not made with quality ingredients, or are synthetic and I believe, worthless. Vitamin Code, on the other hand, appear to be the gold standard in vitamins.  They are certainly the best I've ever had.  These are also the first vitamins I have ever been able to take on an empty stomach.  Other supplements make me incredibly nauseous.

Vitamin D3 is a great supplement for winter, and I think year round seeing as a huge portion of the country is deficient.  It can help your immune system fend off winter colds and flu as well as a host of other benefits.  Since sun exposure is waning with the end of summer, this is a great time to beef up your immune system with starting a vitamin D3 regime.

They come in glass bottles which I think is great, though I wish they were filled more than a third of the way--I'd be happy to pay more to get a full bottle and avoid that waste. If you haven't tried Vitamin Code yet, I highly recommend this brand.  Find them HERE.  Tip:  You can find them at a discount at online shops like Luckyvitamin and Vitacost as well as subscribe to regular shipments at a discount on Amazon.

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Forks Over Knives--Movie Trailer

Check this out, Forks Over Knives promotes the concept that disease can be avoided and reversed with the appropriate diet.  This could be one of those life changing films along the lines of the book THE CHINA STUDY.  Sometimes people are more willing to watch a film than read a book.  For those who read this blog, it might be sort of singing to the choir, but I'm looking forward to seeing this and passing it along to family and others.

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Green Gift Guide: The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen

My mother, a meat lover and gourmet cook, saw Tal Ronnen on Oprah promoting The Conscious Cook, and ranted and raved about how wonderful his food looked. Immediately I thought to myself, finally, a vegan cookbook for my mom. She is getting this book for Christmas. And so is anyone else in my family I can think of that is open to vegan dishes.

Tal Ronnen is a well known chef who has cooked for people like Ellen DeGeneres and has founded a nonprofit organization called Veg Advantage which helps to integrate vegetarian options into restaurant menus. His philosophy is that vegan food shouldn't feel like a sacrifice, but rather a "step up." This is a very well put together book with beautiful color photographs throughout, completely dispelling any notion that vegan food is dull.

I was very excited to see some raw recipes including the Beet Ravioli with Balsamic Pickled Figs and Green Garlic Oil and can't wait to share this with my mother who might open her mind to raw foods if seen in this context. My favorite feature of this book are the collaged layouts of a featured food group such as Citrus or Greens. The book also includes guest chefs who share their own recipes and techniques.

Personally, I've never been a fan of the faux meats, and a vegetable based product called Gardein features prominently in these recipes. But, I think it's this very reason that non vegetarians are responding so well to this book and that is fine with me. If that's all it takes for people to make the shift then more power to it.

A plant based diet is easier on the environment and the body, and even one vegan meal a day makes an impact. I think it's a great gateway vegan cookbook and perfect for the holidays when you have mixed diets at the table. You can find it HERE.

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