January is here, which means you’ve likely set a New Years’ resolution! for your health goals. It is important to have holistic goals, where you in are sync emotionally, spiritually, mentally, psychologically, and financially.

2020 and 2021 were not easy. However, I am going to leave you with this

Mallory Aldred is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who provides an individually tailored, non-diet approach to whole-body wellness where she offers a variety of programs centered around real-time education, teamwork, and accountability. She gives a few helpful strategies to stick to your 2022 health objectives and goals.

Is one of your health goals to lose weight?

Is one of your health goals to start packing your lunches?

How about becoming more active?

If so, well done! Here are a few helpful strategies I provide my nutrition clients that may help you stick to your 2020  health goals:

Start small and realistic. Oftentimes, we set goals that are extremely overwhelming which can make it difficult to get started. Instead of promising yourself, you’ll lose 50 pounds this year, focus on dropping 5 pounds for the month of February.

Find an accountability buddy. Having support, whether it be a friend, family member, or professional coach can be super motivating. Aim for daily or weekly check-ins to keep yourself on track. It’s important to ask for help as many of us are unable to get to where we want on our own.

Create space for setbacks. It’s unrealistic to think you’ll go from A to Z overnight. View setbacks as progress towards achieving your goals and use them as motivation rather than defeat. Your “failures” are simply providing you information about what works and what doesn’t.

Finally, don’t expect a quick fix. We are all built differently and have our own unique timelines. Comparing yourself to others can often cause unnecessary disappointment. Be patient, gentle to yourself, and never give up.

If you are looking for professional health and wellness support, you can contact her at malloryaldred@gmail.com

The post 4 Strategies to Achieve Your Health Goals appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Katrina lives a gluten-free vegan lifestyle in a picturesque little corner of Vermont with her husband, 6-year-old daughter, and their 16-year-old dog. Her blog is The Gluten-Free Vegetarian, where she shares recipes, as well as tools and resources for meal planning. Her recipes are primarily designed for busy parents who want to cook healthful meals that are also quick and simple to make. She became a vegetarian in 1992 and has dabbled with being vegan, ovo-lacto vegetarian and pescatarian. Katrina became very sick in 2018 and the general practitioner suggested she cut gluten from her diet. She has a severe sensitivity to gluten and it inspired her to learn new ways of cooking and enjoying food. She is grateful to feel healthy again.

Katrina, I want to know a little bit about the vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian lifestyle?

A vegan diet eliminates all animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, and other items such as a gelatin or honey. An ovo-lacto vegetarian diet omits meat but includes dairy and eggs. An ovo-lacto pescatarian diet includes dairy, eggs, and seafood, but no other types of meat.

I first went vegetarian in 1992. Since that time, I’ve been vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian during different periods of my life, so on my blog, you’ll find different recipes that meet each of these dietary requirements. All my recipes are gluten-free.

From my perspective, the greatest thing about vegan and vegetarian diets is helping animals! In addition, there are wonderful environmental and health benefits of reducing your meat consumption.

You write a lot about a gluten-free vegan diet. Walk me through this diet?

Gluten is a protein found in foods including wheat, rye, and barley. Some popular foods that often contain gluten are bread, pasta, muffins, and pancakes. The great news is that a gluten-free diet is easier now than ever. Food manufacturers and restaurants are more aware of consumers who cannot eat gluten, whether due to a sensitivity or celiac disease (the autoimmune disease that causes an immune reaction to eating gluten). Therefore, we have more availability of gluten-free products and better product labeling than in the past.

In 2018, I became very sick for six months without understanding why. After much trial and error, I finally discovered that I have a severe sensitivity to gluten. At first, I saw this as a restriction on my diet, but over time it has inspired me to learn new ways of cooking and enjoying food. As I live a gluten-free lifestyle now, my health has vastly improved. My blog was born from my own journey of learning how to cook vegan and vegetarian food that is also gluten-free.

Talk to me about your favorite and the least favorite vegetables?

My least favorite vegetables are bell peppers and eggplant. It’s disappointing that I don’t like these vegetables, because they are staples in vegetarian cooking! Every once in a while, I try them again to see if my palette has changed, but so far it hasn’t. I hope that someday I will like them! Also, my husband has a deep dislike of mushrooms, so I only cook them when he is out of town.

I love a lot of veggies. For flavor, I love baby carrots when they are especially sweet, butter lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, and the special blend of cherry tomato varieties that my husband grows in our garden. Lately, I’ve been enjoying beets and leeks more than I used to, so it’s fun to experiment with those.

In terms of nutrient-dense vegetables, it’s hard to beat kale, so I use it a lot! I also love using fresh spinach and toss it into all kinds of recipes, from smoothies to pasta sauce and salads.

Give me one of your favorite smoothies, snacks, lunch, and dinner recipes?

I really love all of these!

Smoothie: https://gf-veg.com/chocolate-grapefruit-protein-shake/

Lunch: https://gf-veg.com/beyond-burger-with-quinoa-salad-and-hummus/

Snack: https://gf-veg.com/maple-pumpkin-overnight-oats/

Dinner: https://gf-veg.com/maple-veggie-sausage-skillet/

Vegans are known to be healthy. What is one of your weaknesses? I love chocolate.

Chocolate is absolutely my weakness! Fortunately, it can be good for us too, at least in moderation, so I can enjoy it without guilt in many recipes. Protein smoothie bowls are one of my latest obsessions, and I almost always have a chocolate-flavored bowl. These make a wonderful meal because they’re quick and simple to make, and you can pack them full of nutritious ingredients. For my last smoothie bowl, I blended together vegan protein powder, vanilla soy yogurt, and some mixed berries, then poured the mixture into a bowl. I topped the bowl with banana slices, almond butter, fresh blueberries, coconut flakes, and chia seeds. It was delicious. As an added bonus, smoothie bowls also look beautiful and satisfy your sweet tooth.

How has marriage changed you? Did anything surprise you about it?

One of the most surprising turning points in marriage for me happened several years ago when I did a year-long exercise recommended by a pastor in a sermon I heard. Every day for a year, I wrote down one wonderful thing that my husband did or said. No matter how happy or how difficult the day was, without fail, I recorded one great thing my husband did. When I first started the project, my intention was that the journal I created would be Valentine’s Day present for my husband. It wasn’t long before I realized that the gift was actually for me. The exercise taught me to see my husband in a completely different light. It revealed how much he does for our family, how positive his intentions are, and how hard he works. It helped me to stop nagging (or at least do it much less often!) and to appreciate how much effort he makes. Honestly, I don’t think our marriage has ever been the same, and I don’t think I’ve ever been the same as a wife, in very good ways.

I see you have a beautiful daughter. How has motherhood made you look at life differently?

Thank you so much! Motherhood made me prioritize my faith. For years before I became a mother, I considered myself just a spiritual person without a particular faith. I thought I would figure out exactly what I believed in terms of God and my faith “later.” When my husband and I decided that we might become parents, I realized that “later” had come. I wanted to know what I believed before bringing a child into the world. I dug deep into a Bible study and asked myself the hard questions. I left no stone unturned and didn’t take any shortcuts or easy ways out. I found that my true faith is Christianity, and my belief and relationship with God have continued to deepen and grow over the years. My daughter is six years old now, and she’s starting to ask me questions of her own about faith and God. It’s fun, challenging, and engaging to try to answer them and explore them with her!

I have never heard about Proverbs 31 ministry. What is it all about and what was your role there?

Proverbs 31 Ministries is a wonderful organization. It is a non-denominational, non-profit Christian ministry that seeks to lead women into a personal relationship with Christ with Proverbs 31:10-31 as a guide. There are many facets to the organization, but I was involved with their Online Bible Studies. I volunteered with the ministry for almost three years. I served as a small group leader to work with online groups of around 20 women as they went through each Bible study. I also transcribed Bible study videos for hard of hearing and deaf study participants. I did the transcription work in honor and memory of my Gram, who was deaf and a woman of strong faith. I loved working with this organization and still benefit from their programs, including daily email devotionals and the First 5 app. The First 5 app is designed to help you spend the first five minutes of the day in God’s Word.

I want you to choose three women of your choice to have a meal with. What would you cook for each of them and you can ask only one question what would that be?

I would choose to have a meal with my mom and my two grandmothers. One of my grandmas (my “Gram”) is in heaven, and I live thousands of miles away from my other grandma and my mom, so I don’t see them very often. It would be amazing to have the four of us together for a meal. The one question I would ask them is this: how do they each pray for our family? I know our family has many blessings because of the faithfulness of each of these women. I would learn a lot from hearing about what their prayer lives look like and what they pray for.

Both of my grandmothers loved cooking and were excellent cooks, so I would be a bit nervous about preparing food for them! For the main course, I might make a gluten-free pasta dish with roasted vegetables, since it would be warm, hearty, and comforting. For dessert, I’d make a gluten-free, vegetarian lemon meringue pie. Lemon meringue pie was one of my favorite desserts my Gram made. Her meringue was a labor of love, and it was flawless. I’ve seen vegan versions online and would love to try one.

You made it to the pearly gates and you run into Deborah, Phoebe, Mary, and Martha. They ask you to prepare a 4-course vegan meal. Tell me about it?

What a great question, and what a great dinner party this would be! For fun, I’ve tried to come up with a meal using mostly ingredients that my guests would have been familiar with while they were here.

The first course would be a bread service with several types of gluten-free bread: unleavened, flatbread, and herb-crusted. I’d serve the bread with fresh olives, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

The second course would be figs with tahini sauce, drizzled with agave (a vegan substitute for honey).

The third course would be our main course: bowls with red lentils, quinoa, cooked apples, walnuts, and garlic.

The fourth course would be a grape sorbet for dessert.

Being in the company of these women would be an extraordinary opportunity to learn. I would ask Deborah what it’s like to hear directly from the Lord as a prophetess; I’d ask Mary and Martha to share what it was like to host Jesus; I’d ask Phoebe to tell some stories about Paul. Then at the end of our meal, I would encourage Martha to leave all the dishes to me.

The post A Gluten-Free Vegan Lifestyle appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

I am fascinated by art. I remember, as a teenager, taking the train to Paris to see the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper in Milan, David at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, The Creation of Adam at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, and the list goes on. I consider myself a curator of food photographs. To me, a photograph has to create an emotional response, curiosity, keep me captivated, allow me to create a narrative, and make me hungry.

Rainer Marekwia is a German vegan who has an amazing profile on IG. I am always amazed every time he posts something. He makes me want to make love to his photographs. He is also a vegan. I talk to him about his creative process and the amazing food he makes.

Rainer, a pleasure to have you on board. Tell my global audience a little about you?

I have been living in various parts of Germany. I am currently in the south near Stuttgart. I am an IT architect by profession. I have various interests related to nature and art. I am involved in urban gardening, beekeeping, food sustenance, playing the piano, and reading and writing books.

I have been blessed to be able to work with amazing people, on Instagram as well as in real-life. To help my community and spread my passions, I have co-initiated several local community projects. My latest project is a local vegan meetup.

I love your Instagram profile. Walk me down your creative process of how you come up with a food idea?

Thank you so much! I love to combine more than just one art form or technique with whatever I do. In my Instagram profile, I try to blend the idea of cooking simple and elegant vegan menus with the art of presenting them appetizingly and producing interesting photos as a result. By doing so I hope to emphasize that cooking a delicious dish is not merely reserved for a 5-star chef. I believe that dedication and patience will always lead to healthy and enjoyable results.

Are you a vegetarian? If so how did you become one and what are the benefits?

I became a vegetarian at the age of 15, and at that time it was an inner impulse leading to a sudden and drastic change in my diet. Another significant step in my journey to my current lifestyle and diet was my daughter becoming a vegan 5 years ago. She challenged me and questioned her upbringing regarding her diet. I explained to her that although we mainly gave her vegetarian meals – a natural result of two vegetarian parents, that we were hoping to enable her to make her own decisions one day.

During this process of discussing the topic with her during a summer holiday, we both became vegan almost automatically as a natural consequence of reviewing the pros and cons. Then we explored together with the options and possibilities and helped each other in a creative exchange of ideas.

The benefits of being vegan now are on the one side, that I feel much healthier and fitter even with less sleep. On the other side, it is clearly a benefit to others, animals in the first place, but also to nature, by drastically reducing the consumption of resources like water. Overall, it is a way to make the world a little better, while having benefits. Isn’t that fantastic?

I am not missing anything….

I love your colors, contrasts, and a variety of foods. Talk to me about one of your favorite recipes?

I like to play with colors and forms when creating a menu and later on when taking pictures. One of my favorite recipes is burgers of all kinds. It is for me the perfect combo of contrasts: sweet and sour, hot and cold, light and heavy, juicy and dry. As usual, I never cook a burger twice but rather experiment with different buns, patties, salads, and sauces. My last burger recipe included next to a seitan patty rocket salad, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, vegan mayonnaise, and ketchup, but also hummus and a hint of mango chutney.

I want to know three of your favorite vegetables and three of your least favorite?

There are a lot of vegetables I love, however, my three favorites are: Broccoli, for its color and flexibility on how to use it, Tomatoes, because good organic ones have such a rich taste on its own and  Garlic, as it is an all-round star: Healthy, tasty, can be used in almost any dish

My least favorite vegetable is the eggplant as it has neither taste nor texture.

Help me understand the city you live in? I want to know the food scene, the spices, the smells of the market, and some of your favorite restaurants?

I currently live in the south of Germany near Stuttgart. The food scene here consists of three parts. The first is the local Swabian cuisine, dominated by rustic meals often with potato salad, Swabian ravioli (called Maultaschen), or Spaetzle, a special kind of pasta often fresh self-made by families.

The second is the international cuisine here mainly influenced by Italy (pasta, pizza), Asia (soups and tofu dishes), Turkey (doner kebab), and Indian curry.

The third one is the upscale fusion of global cuisine which is emerging and quite new. There are some great new restaurants coming up with this approach, and the focus and emphasis are on sustainability, being spacious, and having a cozy atmosphere.

I love food. I love the way how it shapes our culture and brings us together. Talk about how food has influenced and shaped you?

Food is so essential for everybody. Some are aware of its important role, others less. Whenever I discover new locations, new friends, and new countries, I also try to discover their food culture.

An important influence has been my auntie living in London, she taught me the basics on how to cook an Indian curry. I still do so at least once a week. Then I have Chinese friends, who introduced me to Asian cuisine. I regularly cook dishes with tofu and I love Chinese noodle soup with fresh vegetables and mushrooms.

Even now during holidays, I take something back, and that is either a recipe of a typical local dish, a spice, or a way of nicely presenting a dish. I can grow by every single experience and enhance my own portfolio.

Is there a lot of vegan and vegetarian options in German cuisine?

In Germany ten percent of the population are vegetarians and two percent are vegan. Even though these numbers might look small, there are other facts that underline that there is currently a huge momentum of eating less meat. More and more families call themselves “Flexitarians”, which means they do eat meat, but not every day. They deliberately do vegetarian and vegan days during the week for their whole family. In addition, more and more teens in Germans have a plant-based diet. This trend is also reflected in our restaurant scene. Not only can we see more and more pure vegan restaurants with a variety of fantastic newly created menus, but also almost every restaurant does offer at least one vegan option, which is great.

You are chosen to go to Mars. You can take only 5 vegetables with you to grow. Which would it be and why?

That’s a great question. I would take garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes, for their great and rich taste plus their flexibility on how to combine them. Together with the local vegetables from Mars itself, certainly with the flavor of iron, this will put me in a good position to have delicious meals even on Mars.

The remaining two vegetables would be hops and yeast! Why? Of course, to brew my own vegan beer on Mars. I don’t want to miss this.

Photo Credits:  trevpunkt

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I was a vegetarian until the age of 13. A few years of boarding school and then the hotel school really exposed me to many foods. There was not much variety offered in terms of vegetarian food. I tried many different kinds of food from various countries. After backpacking and traveling to more than thirty countries, I am convinced that every country has offered something unique to cuisine.  In this series, I will talk to vegetarians and vegans from all over the world. Abdourahamane Ly is from Africa, has a British wife, and lives in China. I talk to him about his path to becoming vegan.

Fulanivegan, welcome to my series on vegans, please tell me a little about you?

I am from Guinea Conakry in West Africa. I left at the age of 19 and moved to China. I have spent the last 13 years living in Shanghai. I have recently come to Rwanda for work. I studied International Trade and Economics at the University in Shanghai and now operate an import/export business.

How did you become a vegan and what are the advantages of being a vegan?

My wife was a vegetarian and made me read Peter Singer’s book “Animal Liberation”. I initially converted to vegetarianism but once we learned more about the horrors of the dairy and egg industry we both became vegan. There are so many benefits to being a vegan, starting with the fact that you no longer have blood on your hands and can look an animal in the eye. After adopting a completely plant-based diet, my energy levels improved and I developed more stamina at the Gym. My digestion also improved greatly.

Talk to me about where you live, the culture, food, vegan restaurants, and why we should visit?

While I am currently in Rwanda, my China is my home in the long-term. China has some of the most delicious and diverse cuisines in the world. The food can be made vegan as there are so many plant-based dishes. My favorite are vegan Jiaozi (dumplings) and Suan la tu dou si (shredded hot and sour potatoes). Vegan restaurants are popular in Shanghai due to the Buddhist population. I highly recommend you visit them!

From your IG pics, it looks like you like traveling and culture. talk to me about that aspect of your life?

I love to travel. Leaving my native country at an early age taught me the importance of embracing different cultures and learning new languages. It is important to try and understand different viewpoints and be tolerant. Despite growing up a Muslim in Africa, I have been exposed to all sorts of ideas across the globe – it really makes you a better person. My wife is British and we like to travel together and are constantly learning new things.

Talk to me about your favorite and least favorite vegetables?

I love courgette, recently I seem to include it in most of my cooking! I am really not a fan of white eggplant; they use it a lot in Rwanda.

Indian food is known to have a huge variety of food for vegans. What other food has that kind of variety?

 I love Indian food, but Chinese food has a better variety of vegan dishes! Follow @vegansofshanghai on Instagram for some amazing vegan Chinese recipes.

Do you only eat organic or also GMO plants?

I eat GMO plants.  I prefer to eat organic most of the time, however, in China, this is very difficult. Even things labeled ‘organic’ are not necessarily organic.

If someone wants to transition into becoming vegan what would you say to them?

If you are thinking about transitioning to become a vegan, I recommend you do your research before. Explore the ethical reasons for being vegan. This will make you less likely to quit when you know the consequences for the victims of the animal agriculture industry. Follow some vegan bloggers on Instagram – they will give you great ideas for recipes and nutrition and help you remain excited about the transition. Also, buy B12 vitamins!

Vegans are sexy… please comment?

There is nothing sexier than compassion

The post Vegan in China appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Suzana Serravalle talks about essential oils.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs are the foundation and essence of the Canadian economy. Women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers in the ecosystem like gender bias, systematic discrimination, and access to mentors, support, services, and financing.

Suzana Serravalle is an Independent Wellness Consultant with doTERRA International which deals in essential oils. Suzana has shown ingenuity, tenacity, and resilience and continues to grow her business through all the challenges.

Sue, please tell me a little about you?

My name is Suzana Serravalle. I’m a McMaster University graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology.  I have been married to a wonderful man and business partner for 17 years.  Together we have a daughter and son ages 14 and 12.  We live in Burlington Ontario and just love this city and the people in it.  My husband and I are Entrepreneurs.  For the past 10 years, we have run our own Electrical Contracting Company together.  We started this business from the ground up and are proud of how well we have done.  For 16 years I also worked as a Registered Massage Therapist.  I loved being fully self-employed as it afforded me the opportunity to work from home and take care of my family.

About 4 years ago I embarked on a new venture that fit my true passion in life, natural health care.  I am an Independent Wellness Consultant with doTERRA International.  It is my absolute pleasure to educate people about the quality and effectiveness of doTerra’s essential oils and other natural products and how people can incorporate these into their lifestyles to improve their overall health and wellness.  In short, I’m a mom, a wife, and an entrepreneur with a great passion for natural health care and essential oils!

Wow! So, you quit massage therapy to pursue your dream of owning a business. Tell me about the process and how does it make you feel like a successful person? 

As much as I loved being a Massage Therapist and helping people with their various muscle, and tissue concerns, relieving stress, and other physical conditions, I felt that there was always something more I could do.  Half of my clients were on anti-depressants, all of them were under extreme stress and people were sick all the time.  My role with doTERRA has allowed me to educate and empower others to make healthier and proactive choices regarding their health.   I’m successful when I’ve helped just one person, and to date, I’ve helped over a thousand with essential oils. That’s true Success!

How important it is for you to feed your kids healthy food?

This is so important.  Now, I’m not perfect by any means.  Being self-employed and working from home allows me to schedule a time to buy groceries and make homemade meals on a daily basis.  I love knowing what is in the food, I’m feeding my family.  It’s not just important for kids but for us all.  Our gut is the key to good health.  When our digestive system is messed up, it affects every part of our body including our mood, emotions, and mental health.  Along with healthy food I make sure we all take extra vitamins with our food to ensure enough nutrient extraction and absorption and to make sure our bodies receive a solid foundation of health.

How have essential oils made a difference in your life and the family?

It has made the biggest impact on our overall health and wellness as well as provided me with a career that I love!  First, we have completely detoxified our home and only use healthy and natural products.  You won’t find any chemicals that are harmful to our home.  This includes all our toiletries, cleaning products, and solutions for any and all health concerns in our family.  We’ve improved our internal health with doTerra’s vitamins and other natural supplements and addressed emotions and moods with essential oils. We are healthier than ever before and have a natural solution for everything.  As a family, we are better educated and make better choices.  Being a doTERRA Wellness Educator has afforded me the work lifestyle I want and opened the door to endless earning potential!  The sky’s the limit and I’m in the driver’s seat with essential oils!

Essential oils make a difference in our moods and our health please explain?

With essential oils, we have the ability to direct our own emotional traffic.  Each aroma introduced to the brain conveys information that determines the brain’s response.  Imagine having the power to change your mood using natural chemical responses.  Making sure you are using pure and tested therapeutic-grade essential oils from a science-based company can give you endless possibilities.  Overall, the essential oils give our bodies what they need to work at their optimal level!  It’s as simple as that!

How do you balance food, faith, family, and finance in the 21st century?

To be honest…. I don’t personally believe that you can achieve true balance.  The scales will usually be tipped one way or another as life is unpredictable and stuff always happens.  But we can most certainly try and that’s what I do.  I believe being an Entrepreneur allows me the opportunity to choose my destiny, to choose what is important to me, and make that happen.  I guess I started with the basics of eating good quality food and making good choices as to what we put in and on our bodies.  Faith, to me, is being good to one another and serving others.  I am blessed to do this with my family, friends, and a thousand customers that I have.  Family is what I live for and therefore they are my number one priority each day.  And as far as finance goes, I’m so glad you listed it last because when all of the first three actions are taken, finance is just a bonus.  Far too often people just focus on the finance piece and don’t realize how important it is to take care of ourselves, love one another and serve others.

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