Lifestyle

Book Review: Clean Plates Cookbook

8 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Good afternoon ladies, and Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you all have a magical evening celebrating life, and everything positive that happened for you this past year, while also celebrating the year to come. If you haven’t already done so, you can read my newsletter on setting intentions for yourself in 2013 over here.

Clean Plates Cookbook: Background

OK, ‘nough about me. It’s time for a book review of Clean Plates Cookbook, written by Nutritional Consultant and Founder of Clean Plates Jared Koch with Cookbook Author Jill Silverman Hough.

I was particularly excited to read this book, as Jared Koch is not only a fellow graduate of IIN but he’s also someone whom I admire greatly for his success as an entrepreneur in the wellness field.

Bio-Individuality

One of the main concepts that shines throughout the book is something we learned at Institute for Integrative Nutrition: bio-individuality, or that one way of eating doesn’t work for everyone. While vegan dining may suit your best friend, you may thrive on high-quality, organic meats. Simply put, we choose what to put inside our bodies to make us feel our ultimate best. Jared explains this process further in Chapter 2.… Read More!

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New Year’s Intentions + Healthy Chick’s Newsletter Signup

2 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Hey ladies, check out my latest newsletter to find out how setting intentions this New Year’s can give you the life you want for yourself.

If you’re not already signed up for my FREE newsletter service with healthy tips, recipes & lotsa love, I suggest you do so below:

XoXo,

… Read More!

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Letting Go of Negative Energy

6 Comments / Lifestyle /

I’m a firm believer in horoscopes, karma, fortunes and having faith in general. That’s why I get giddy every time I unwrap a yogi tea bag before brewing. If you’re not familiar with yogi tea, each and every tea bag has some words of wisdom, a fortune if you will.

And this morning my fortune read: Empty yourself and let the universe fill you.

I must admit, I had to think about this one for a bit to see what this message truly meant for me, for my lifestyle. Empty myself and let the universe fill me?

For me, it means to empty yourself from all those negative thoughts that hold you back and bring you down, and let the universe fill you up with positive, feel-good energy. After all, if you put good energy out there, the universe will be on your side.

I think a lot of us struggle with negative, glass-is-half-empty thoughts every now and then. One way to “shush” these thoughts is by practicing positive affirmations on a daily basis, something I try to instill in my clients during my health coaching program.

The practice of positive affirmations is simply telling yourself positive, pick-me-up things, … Read More!

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Healthy ChickLit: On Dealing with Dieter’s Guilt

1 Comment / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Today’s Lit: Remember that every day is a new day. So, you ate one too many brownies or “cheated” on your diet. You didn’t ruin anything. Instead of beating yourself up with guilt, start again tomorrow!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a woman say, “Well, I ate crap today, so I might as well forget it!” or “Guess I’ll wait ’til next week to start that ‘going to the gym’ plan since I didn’t work out today anyway,” or even “I ate pizza last night and now am on a major guilt trip.”

I’m here to tell you it’s NOT TOO LATE. Remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day. As a matter of fact, you can choose to start your day over any time you like!

So, you ate one too many brownies, overdid it with the Peppermint Martinis, or “cheated” on your diet. NEWSFLASH: You didn’t ruin anything!

Instead of beating yourself up with guilt, start again tomorrow…

If you’re looking to let go of that guilt and make 2013 about you, check out my “From Oy Vey to OK in 30 Days” premiere Health Coaching Program. I’ll teach you how to … Read More!

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Healthy Chick’s: Holiday Dos & Don’ts {Newsletter}

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Links:

Healthy Chick’s Energy Trail Mix: https://healthy-chicks.com/2012/12/18/6-ways-to-increase-your-energy-through-food/

7 Cost-Free Ways to Live a Happier, Simpler Lifestyle: https://healthy-chicks.com/2012/12/05/7-cost-free-ways-to-lead-a-happier-simpler-lifestyle/

Practicing Gratitude: https://healthy-chicks.com/2012/11/30/gratitude/

Health Coaching Services: https://healthy-chicks.com/health-coaching/

Want more quick, healthy tips? Simply enter your email below!

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A Lesson in Customer Service: The Power of Being Nice

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My first job was a barista at Panera Bread when I as 16 years old. I took the job so that I could save enough money to go on a school trip to Mexico with my Spanish class. While I didn’t particularly love working at Panera (angry customers who NEED THEIR COFFEE NOW, Witch-like boss, and scattered management system), I still took it very seriously and went into each shift with a positive outlook.

There were days when I’d rather crawl in a hole and hide than be serving Asiago bagels all day with my Scary Boss on my back, but I always remembered to do one thing: SMILE at customers. Even on those days where things weren’t going so well in my personal life, I made sure to bring my A-Game to work especially for the customers.

I’d sneak broken chocolate chip cookies to little kids, smile at strangers and entertain people as they talked about their days. I knew every single thing about every single cookie, bread, and coffee and soon become a customer favorite, having to turn down tips because we weren’t “allowed to accept them.”

Why did I do this all? Well, for one it was … Read More!

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Healthy ChickLits, Coaching Programs & More

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Good morning lovelies! I wanted to let you in on a few new things going on over here at Healthy Chicks. Ever since I’ve met with the ever-so-fabulous Coach Jenn Lee last week, I’ve been busy making changes in the business realm of my life.

The great news? I’m going to be doing a LOT more over here on Healthy Chicks, as this is my baby and my #1 brand after all. Jenn helped me realize that, being a creative like I am, I was trying to do too many things at once in effect feeling overwhelmed and not getting clear, concise results.

Here are a few new features:

Healthy ChickLits: Every day, I post daily “Healthy ChickLits” on my Facebook and Twitter channels. These are little feel-good words of wisdom in a sentence or two to make you feel motivated and good inside! Today’s pick? A reminder for us all – Love yourself every day! Follow along on my social media channels to see more of this!

Health Coaching: Many of us may know that I am also a Certified Health Coach, but have been working mostly under my other business Zesty Living. I realized that Zesty Living, while … Read More!

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What I’m Loving This Week: Taste Nirvana, Holiday Nails, NatureBox & More

4 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Good morning Healthy Chickies! Hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far, and enjoying this odd warm-ish weather in the Boston area. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with lots of new recipes, products and ideas. Here’s what I’m lovin’ this week:

1. Taste Nirvana Coconut Water: My friend Kelley introduced me to this coconut water last night at Barrington Coffee Roasting Company, and claimed it was “the best coconut water in the world.” I have to give it to her; she was indeed right. It tasted smooth, savory and sweet all at once and I found myself begging for more when I took my last sip. I love that it’s bottled in a glass container, and that the coconuts are sourced from the famous Thailand plantations. Definitely adding this to my favorites.

2. New Business Cards: I ordered new business cards a couple weeks ago on VistaPrint because I wanted to create something unique that screams “Rachel.” Since I love writing and feel-good quotes/inspirations, I decided to make a mini collage of words that describe me and my business Zesty Living on the back, as opposed to the typical blank backside. Check ’em out.

3. Festive Holiday … Read More!

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11 Insightful Takeaways from the Massachusetts Conference for Women

4 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend the Massachusetts Conference for Women at the Boston Convention Center, in a space filled with 8,000 inspiring women, thanks to my blogging partnership with Harvard Pilgrim’s “Count Us In” initiative. This enabled me to simply enjoy the day, take notes and breathe everything in.

My day started at 8 a.m. when I arrived for registration, coffee and continental breakfast, followed by keynote speakers including Dr. Brené Brown, and the fascinating spiritual guru Deepak Chopra.

Then, it was  a morning of action-packed learning including Personal Development Sessions “Five Seconds to a Healthier and Happier You” with relationship expert/bestselling author Mel Robbins, and “Using Your Professional Skills to Make a Difference” with panelists Renee Connolly (VP of EMD Serono and Board Member of Mass Conference for Women), Charley Johnson (president of Pay it Forward Foundation), Sharon Reilly (founder of Women’s Lunch Place) and Doreen Rigby (Executive VP of Global Operations, State Street Corporation).

During our lovely lunch (fresh salad with toppings like feta, chicken, olives, peppers, tomatoes and mini carrot cake muffins/truffles for dessert) we heard from a number powerful women including Ariana Huffington (President of the Huffington Post Media Group), Emmy and … Read More!

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