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The Hot Sand of Ala Moana Beach.

Hawaii. ©LaurenBurkitt
Mom and I (belly) in Hawaii.

It’s been so long since I posted my last playlist (a mix inspired by both Edith Piaf and Julie Child). It ended up as my second gold-certification hit on 8-tracks with over 3,400 listens. This next playlist takes it down a few notches. It’s a relaxed road trip meets day at the beach kind of playlist. Inspired by warm weather and Island living. I want you to close your eyes and imagine yourself lying on a white sandy beach. Paradise.

For the next 40 minutes you have nothing to do but sit back, relax, and soak up the Vitamin D that radiates through the music. Ahola!

Play live by clicking here.

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Zucchini Oatmeal Bread.

Zucchini Oatmeal Bread. ©LaurenBurkitt
Zucchini Oatmeal Bread. ©LaurenBurkitt

Happy Mother’s Day! I was in the mood for baking so I made gluten-free zucchini oatmeal bread with cranberries and walnuts. I combined a bunch of different recipes to make a hearty loaf that wasn’t too sweet. There’s no sugar added to this recipe, just a bit of honey and dried dates. It’s also dairy-free, but contains eggs. The fresh zucchini keeps it nice and moist while the cinnamon gives it a good rich flavour. A fresh loaf of zucchini bread makes a lovely gift any Mom would be happy to receive!

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Fifteen years and not a day has gone by that I don’t feel your love.
Thinking of you today and everyday, I love you Mom.

a monthly pledge
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April: A Pledge to the Kitchen || Raw Chocolate Mousse.

Photo from Pinterest.

“I pledge to cook my own meals and eat living vibrant plants every day.” I think my pledge for April was somewhat obvious as all my posts this month have been about food. This may seem like a no brainer for some of you, but I’ve found myself slacking on vegetable consumption lately so my fourth pledge this year was dedicated to taking the time and effort into cooking meals with whole natural ingredients right in my own kitchen. That’s right, this month my kitchen wasn’t only for dancing. If you’ve ever seen my kitchen though, you know it’s much too small for that anyways.

April was really busy, but it was also my favourite month so far. It feels like just a week ago I was writing my meditation post for March, but at the same time it feels like a world of a difference since then. While doing my pledge this month, I decided I’m ready to go back to school again. I did not see this coming, I thought I would be avoiding school for the rest of my life. Well, at least for another few years. But the program I want to take is perfect, it feels right just thinking about it. I’ve always been passionate about health and how foods and lifestyle can contribute to this. I want to be able to help individuals reach their health potentials by teaching them how to live and thrive off real food. I want to combine the importance of a healthy diet with the importance of a healthy mind. This has led me to apply for…drumroll…

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Green Goddess of Kale.

Ganesh's Green Goddess Smoothie. ©LaurenBurkitt

Just when I thought I mastered the perfect smoothie, I fell in love with something green. Kale. I think I’m a little late on the kale train, but better late than never, right? I’ve wanted to like kale for a while now but adding it to salads doesn’t work for me. I end up chewing it for what seems like hours and it never breaks down enough to swallow. I enjoy the kale chip revolution that seems to be happening, but it’s quite expensive and trying to make them at home just isn’t the same. I’ve attempted to steam kale, which works, but it still didn’t hook me. It wasn’t until I decided to put kale in my morning smoothie that I fell head over heals. The blender does all the work breaking it up so there is no chewing necessary, and the flavour blends right in with the other ingredients so it’s almost as if it isn’t there. But I know it is and I can feel good about the fact that I started my day by ingesting two huge leaves of raw luscious kale! This nutrient-packed plant will leave you shining for the rest of the day. Especially if you sneak a few other greens into the mix…

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Earth Day.

Original Photo via Pinterest.

I was walking around Whole Foods this morning after a wonderful class with Christie Baumgartner (my fav) and realized it was Earth Day. I don’t know how one traditionally celebrates a day like today, but I decided I was going to celebrate by eating all natural foods from the earth itself. Seems appropriate. As I was walking home with my bag full of goodies, I started getting more and more excited to get there so I could look at everything I bought. I felt like I was carrying a collection of fine treasures. It was the same sort of feeling you get when you have a great day at the mall and find a whole bunch of sales at your favourite store. When you can’t wait to get home so you can try everything on again and put together your new perfect outfit. Except this time I was bringing home a bag of vibrantly coloured vegetables and nutrient-packed fruits. I couldn’t wait to display them on my shelves and fill up the fridge so that every time I opened the door I would be greeted by beautiful plants. Better yet, I couldn’t wait to eat them!

As North Americans, we are consumers. We buy stuff everyday. This is hard on our environment, our bank accounts, and our selves (psychologically). After coming home today with a brown paper bag full of rich nourishing food I got to thinking…What if people started to feel more rewarded and fulfilled on their way home from the grocery store? What if shopping for food had the same effect on people as shopping for material goods? Would we still feel the need to spend the afternoon in the mall? Would we start to think about the earth more when we are cooking and eating our meals? Would we find happiness in fruits and vegetables? Who knows. In the meantime, here are a few photos I took this afternoon from my grocery bag full of abundance:

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Fresh Almond Milk.

Almond Milk. ©LaurenBurkitt

I go through a lot of almond milk. It’s never occurred to me that I should make it on my own instead of buying it. So I did a little research on nut milk and discovered that it’s one of the simplest things to make at home. The options are endless when it comes to making nut milks. You can use almonds, walnuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, cashews, hemp seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or any else you have in your pantry. The recipe can be as simple as two ingredients: the nut of choice and water. Or you can make it a little more personal by adding subtle flavours like vanilla bean, ground cinnamon, maple syrup, or anything else you fancy.

I started out with an almond milk as my first homemade nut milk. I was surprised at how good this tasted. I usually buy the unsweetened Earth’s Own Almond Fresh from the store, but I like the home made version much better. It’s so easy I can’t believe I didn’t start doing this earlier. You’ve got to try this one at home, it will change your life. But plan ahead, the nuts need to soak overnight before you can make them into milk.

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Salad Dressing.

April showers bring May salads. Or something like that. I love the idea of eating salads but I’ve always struggled with finding the right dressing. I’m not a fan of vinegar or mayonnaise. At all. I’ve always felt like these two ingredients are my two options when it comes to picking a salad dressing (creamy or vinaigrette). So last year I started making my own dressings and my salad intake has majorly increased. If I’m in a rush and don’t have dressing already made I will usually just mix olive oil with salt and pepper and a splash of fresh lemon or lime juice. This is easy, quick, and adds just enough flavour to any bed of leaves. I like a little more flavour though so I’ve put together a few other dressings that are very simple to make and full of good stuff. These are delicious on mixed greens alone, but they’re also a great dressing for a fully packed salad. Enjoy!

Avocado Mint Dressing. ©Lauren Burkitt.

Avocado Mint Dressing:
1 soft avocado
1/2 cup almond milk (I use Earth’s Own Almond Fresh or make my own)
handful of fresh mint leaves (or 1/4-1/2 tsp mint extract)
1/2 – 1 lemon juiced (depending on how much you like citrus)
salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

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a monthly pledge
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March: A Pledge to Meditation.

Picture via The Darjeeling Limited.

“I pledge to practice living in the moment.” My third pledge for 2013 was aimed to help me step out of my busy mind, breathe more, think less, and maybe try meditating…

Since I work in a yoga studio, meditation isn’t some foreign concept to me, but it’s also not something I regularly practise. Having a psychology background and an interest in the field of whole body wellness, I’ve often questioned the benefits of meditation. Something about it scares me though. It’s almost as if the word itself is somewhat pretentious. What exactly does one do to meditate? Do I have to be flexible and sit with my legs crossed under each other? Do I have to believe in anything? The photo above is from one of my favourite movies, The Darjeeling Limited, and this is where my pledge for March began.

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