Making Love in the Kitchen

A sweet, sweet sneak peak at January’s readers digest, in which yours truly is asked for tips on cutting out the big bad wolf known as SUGAR!

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She turned her can’ts into cans, and her dreams into plans.

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Calling all lovers of the good life! Live my creed – ya know, flirting with farmers, crunching on carrots, riding bicycles covered in flowers – then why haven’t you entered this yet?

Don’t know what to make this weekend? Three great dishes to get you through the week and have fun making them now. And of course- dessert comes first. Enjoy!

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I wrote the creed in about 10 minutes. For real. I had been thinking about it and when it came to put pen to paper (or index fingers to keyboard- yes, two finger typer over here), it just flowed out. Why? Because I live it of course. Every mindful moment of my day, I do my best to lighten up, smile and always remember that Today, most certainly, is the day. We have been getting emails and letters (and even photos!) from around the globe, with people sharing how they are doing their best to live this creed as their own manifesto. It’s become art on their walls, backgrounds on their phones, wallpaper on their desktop, and of course- their go to tote bag. For this reason, I have something I would like share… in a moment. First- we made a few creed inspired changes around the kitchen (that went with a few changes on my biz site). We took down my old signature decal that greets guests in my kitchen.

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We are all about sharing the love here at Making Love in the Kitchen. When we came across The Giving Keys, we absolutely fell in love with the concept and beautiful necklaces. The awesome powers at be with The Giving Keys are kindly sharing their message with us and giving away one of these beautiful keys! Crystie Bowes in marketing explains…

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” – Henry Drummond.
The good we do today comes back to serve us tomorrow. The understanding of paying it forward has been the driving force behind the charity I work for: The Giving Keys. Our organization employs the homeless off the street to make engraved necklaces out of keys. But that’s not all. Once you receive the key with your unique message, you must eventually give it away to a person who is equally in need of the same message and come back to tell your story to the community.

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I came across this on a blog I love, SweetOnVeg, run by Jennifer- a woman I adore over in Vancouver. I had to share. Everyone you meet comes with baggage. Find someone who loves you enough to help you unpack. Image courtesy of Nightwolf Graphics  

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Last week- this whole book thing became very, very, VERY real to me. We shot my book! Yes we did. I had a whole crew in the kitchen with me. My amazing kitchen fairies, my editor and the designer from my publisher McClelland and Stewart, my photographer Catherine Farquharson and her assistant Nicki, Amy Lam, my make-up artist, and Ashley Denton, the food stylist. Wowza did we zip through loads of goodness. It was so much fun. Day 1 of the shoot was all about me in action- playing in the kitchen. Day 2 and 3 we shot all the amazing food shots. On Sunday, I invited some ladies over for a fantastic brunch and we rounded out the four day shoot with a visit to my home to catch my man and I just hangin’. The book is all written. Handed in my last chapters before I left for Hawaii. Now I just have to edit. I can’t believe I have to wait a whole 11 months before I get to show off the prize of all these efforts. Wanna to me a favour and start getting excited right along with me? Maybe these pictures from the first couple days of the shoot might help.
(And before you ask- all clothes from my fave store ever- Anthropologie)

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I have had a long time love affair with The Barber’s Daughter ever since I first met Gisele, the artist behind these treasures, and bought this ring. And then Gisele came out with The Book Of Life which I wear as bangles around my wrist, jingling away. My man gifted me a necklace recently with the beautiful “No Mud, No Lotus” quote by Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. And theeeen- just when I thought I couldn’t love Gisele and her work more- I got this in my inbox. I am sharing the love.

In this Month of Gratitude, acts of love are born…

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Sit through the storms, for the sunshine and rainbows will follow.

Have you noticed this yet? Have you noticed that even when you think that thing that happened is the worst thing ever in the whole world to ever have happened, you might also be able to find the most unbelievable thing that came from it? That’s what this line of the creed is about. Things happen, and they are icky and sticky and crazy tough at the time, but no matter what, you will learn something, if you want to, and if you look hard enough, you will see the bright spot, you will find your grace and be grateful.You know the phrase “in a perfect world…” or “in an ideal world…”? We use it all the time. Here’s the thing, my little coconut, this is the only world we have. Yes that storm cloud is going to come by once in a while and dump that rain (usually in the form of disaster, crisis, upset, disappointment, illness, pain and struggle) all over us right after we’ve put on our best new party dress. Does this mean then that there is no point getting dressed up? Of course not!

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Written by Brent Bishop, a sweet, sweet member of Meghan Telpner’s Superhero Posse. He is our Superhero KickAss Fitness Trainer. 80% of all New Year’s fitness resolutions fall short of completion. What makes such a large number of people quit so early and what is it that keeps those who are committed from dropping off? It all lies within finding your internal trigger – your Think Factor. Read on to learn how to make this year your fittest year yet using tips and tricks from the trade on sticking to your fitness goals. Many people go about exercise in the wrong way. If you are approaching exercise for the mere reason that you know you ‘have to’ do it, chances are you will become another New Year’s resolution statistic. You cannot maintain motivation without being inspired. Motivation through inspiration is an important concept that if embraced purposefully, pushes you to seek out activities that inspire you; therefore keeping you motivated and attaining results. Not only should your goals be realistic for your current fitness level and lifestyle, they should also be tangible. If you are just starting out or just getting back into a routine, try starting with 30min or more of exercises 2-3x/week instead of trying to commit to a 5-6 day exercise week. You can always ramp things up as you develop some momentum and consistency. Remember to have a game plan; in order to do so you need to know where you are at – so get a fitness evaluation to set some benchmarks then map out your plan before you get going.

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We often hear from peeps who tell us they are going travelling but haven’t a clue what they’re going to eat. That’s one kind of problem. I choose to go places where I can’t decide what I am going to eat. In Hawaii- I didn’t make a choice. I just ate it all! It has been a long time since I have adventured somewhere brand shiny new. A whole new environment to explore and loads of crazy weird fruits to eat! I figure pictures say loads and so I will just share some of the best delectables! Honestly- if this were available where I lived, I might actually turn into a fruit platter! Enjoy the show!
Every morning started with cutting up the market finds. I’d either make us smoothies, or a fruit plate and pack some up for our day out.

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I told you I had a Thai inspired New Years feast. This dish was the shining star of the night- next to me of course. (Joking. Only joking). Thai food had once been my extra super favourite in the whole world. It was also one of the first things I knew I couldn’t eat anymore. The last time I had Thai food from a restaurant, I was doubled over in such horrible toot cramps that I swore I would never eat it again. After doing the research I needed to do to create this recipe, I now know why. I knew that Thai food was loaded with sugar, but holly smokaroondles, I didn’t know there was that much sugar. Seriously. The combo of vinegar and sugar is a perfect recipe to create the biggest toot bomb to ever be ballooned in the belly… not to mention suspect fish sauce. Not to worry my Thai food lovers. I am here for you. I have you covered with this gem. Last week when we rocked the mango salad, I talked about my (now embarrassing) discovery of Sambal (seriously- how did you all know about it and I didn’t), so I thought I’d share some info on another ingredient that I have had before but never bought before. This one will for sure be knew to a few of you… at least I hope so.

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It almost seems to me that these creed topics come up at some kind of exactly perfectly timed moment. I am going line, by line, in the order to which they appear. But somehow- it’s always just the right one. Yesterday, I had an appointment with a personal shopper at Anthropologie to pick out my ensembles for my book shoot that’s happening next week. Colour was the theme of the day, let me tell you! My parents had me in montessori school for pre-school. Part of the philosophy of the school, if you’re not familiar, is letting kids find their own way and their own path. Part of this means that parents are encouraged to let their kids pick out their own outfits. And did I ever!
I remember so incredibly clearly, walking into my parents room, my face barely coming up to the edge of their bed and modelling my latest ensemble for them, asking “Does this go?”. It never did, but looking at old photo albums, it is clear that my parents just lied to me and said “you bet!”. I can remember being asked by a boy in my class in grade three or four, why I had so many barrettes in my hair. I used to try and wear as many hair accessories as my little head of hair could withstand. I wore tap dancing costumes to school as my outfit of choice, and believed it a personal flaw if I ever had the same article of clothing as someone else. Wearing clashing, ridiculous, colour combos seems to have been born and bread in me. It’s just more fun that way. (And you’ve met my dad, right? Genetic maybe?)

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We’re busy bees in the kitchen today- or more accurately, on our computers as we manage your Q’s with our A’s and all the deets and registrations for our Fab Detox. Yep. It goes on sale today at 10:00am EST and we have just 45 spots available. We sold out on our pre-registration in just 24 hours and we expect the same to happen today. Remember- $79 when you buy today, up to $89 if you hum and haw and wait until tomorrow (and there may not even be any left). Back in November we sold out in a crazy five hours! Now, on with the show. I cooked up a storm for our New Year’s eve dinner with three amazing brand new recipes that I will be sharing soon. For now, though, I will share a little post-holiday detox juicing loving. This drink is a treat and a half whether you are in post-holiday recovery mode, ready to get started on your Fab Detox adventure or just want some new smoothie or juicing inspiration.

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Isn’t that a picture to start the year off right.

Those are my feet. They obviously don’t always look like that. usually they are rather nice, I think. Clean, small, evenly coloured. These are my feet after an 8 mile, 7 hour hike in the Northern paradise of Kauai.

As much as I would love to deliver you a fresh new detox loving recipe on our first day back at it in the New Year, the truth is that I have nothing for you. I’ve been on holidays and before that I was finishing my manuscript. Without any kind of excuses, I am telling you that I haven’t got a single new recipe to share. Wowza- how’s that for pressure? I probably will tomorrow though…

Today, with our first day back at it, what we are talking about is the WORST DISEASE there ever was.

This is the disease that keeps you from getting sh!t done, that keeps you from chasing your dreams, that keeps you from being your best, your healthiest, your most amazing. This disease is epidemic. We like to blame the symptoms of the disease like not having enough time, or space, or love or money. But those are just the symptoms. They are not the cause.

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