Healthy Chicks

Hi friends! I’m taking a vacation from blogging for a few days…

No, not that kind of vacation (although I’m desperately craving a trip the beach) But I’m still equally excited! I’m off on a business trip to D.C. for my new position with sweetgreen.

For those of you who haven’t heard of sweetgreen before, they are an eco-friendly, healthy hot-spot serving up delicious eats like seasonal salads, wraps, frozen yogurts, and juices. If you know me well, this kind of food is right up my alley. Check out their menu to see for yourself! Even better, sweetgreen will be launching in Boston this June, bringing us city chicks a trustworthy healthy option.

Anyway, since I’ll be super busy these next few days (I’m even going to make time to see some of my best girlfriends from college…eek!) I’ve decided to take a mini vacation from blogging. But don’t worry; I’ll be back again on Thursday for a new feature on Healthy Chicks in the Community.

In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter (on the right) if you haven’t already for free weekly healthy tips or take a glimpse of this week’s newsletter here! As always, … Read More!

I’m a huge fan of trying new workouts, challenging yourself and most importantly finding that exercise that makes you shine (you know, makes you feel beautiful, strong and confident in your body!) After all, that’s what FitFluential means to me.

So when I was invited by Jen and Kerrie from Blog & Tweet Boston to attend a complimentary class a Pure Barre Boston yesterday afternoon, I jumped on the opportunity! While I have taken barre-style classes before through Core Fusion at Exhale Spa, I have  never tried Pure Barre so I was excited to see what was in store!

Pure Barre recently opened their new Boston studio at 350 Newbury Street, which is a prime location for anything & everything fitness and health if I do say so myself. (Side note: sweetgreen will be located just a walk away right by Copley Station, scheduled to launch in June. Boston foodie & fitness peeps, I know you are going to fall in love. You can read all about my new job at sweetgreen here!)

The first thing I noticed upon walking in was the beautiful space: clean, fresh with lots of natural light. Plus, they have lockers and keys … Read More!

I AM THAT GIRL

Last night, I was invited as a guest speaker for I Am That Girl’s Boston Chapter. If you’re not familiar with I Am That Girl, it’s a “community that inspires girls to discover their innate worth and purpose.” Obviously, their mission is right up my alley so I quickly accepted the invite!

Each meeting, the girls pick a different topic to discuss and in honor of NEDAwareness Week (National Eating Disorder Awareness Week), the topic was disordered eating habits & ways we restrict ourselves as women. Since I have been there and now work with other women to overcome diet-obsessed living, they asked me to shine the light on disordered eating habits beyond Anorexia, Bulimia, and bingeing.

It’s important to know that even habits like counting calories (in an unhealthy way), gym addictions, obsessions with the scale, feeling of shame/guilt, and restricting yourself with extreme diets and “diet-food” can be extremely detrimental to your health and overall wellbeing. I also want women to know that while these issues often aren’t talked about, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Heck, in college I thought my highly restricted eating habits were normal, and my only option if I … Read More!

Last night, I attended a Boston Bloggers Meetup hosted by the lovely Alison and Kate through Eventbrite. (Big thanks to Sara from Boston Eventbrite for taking part!) The event was held at Scampo, a tasty upscale Italian-inspired restaurant inside the Liberty Hotel.

While the wine was lovely (I changed it up with a refreshing Pinot Grigio as opposed to my usual red), the food was delectable (um, can you say sausage-stuffed bacon wrapped dates and mini Endive salads?) the best part of the night hands down was mingling with other positive, fun, like-minded bloggers!

What I love most about these kinds of events is you get the chance to meet people in all different walks of life, with many different passions! Being a healthy living blogger, I find it fascinating to meet fashion, travel, lifestyle, arts & crafts, and even beer bloggers. It completely blows my mind how many talented, created people there are out there with one big thing in common: writing it out & sharing stories.

READER ROUNDUP

Here’s a little snippet from some of the fascinating people I mingled with last night…

Abigail, The Fabulous Life of a Natural Disaster: Spunky, adorable and sweet … Read More!

This Valentine’s Day, we celebrated with love letters, sushi lunchboxes, Pad Thai takeout, red wine, Cacao Covered Strawberries, and most special of all: a private tea tasting with Flowering Rock Tea.

A former boss and professional colleague of mine introduced me to this Boston-based startup, as he knows how much I adore speciality, all natural products. And if you read my blog, follow me on Instagram or have looked inside my kitchen cabinets, you know how much I’m in love with tea.

Flowering Rock Tea is not your everyday household tea, as they produce all-natural herbal Botanical collections inspired (and sourced) in Greece. After our lovely sushi lunch in Brookline, The Boy and I head on over to their pop-up location at 70 Charles Street in Beacon Hill (where they’ll be until the end of the month) to check it out for ourselves!

When we walked in, we were greeted by the lovely couple and Founders of the company, Natasha and Konrad Makowski. Immediately, we were drawn in, not only by the fresh herbal aromas but also by their warm, welcoming nature. Seriously, we could have stayed all evening chatting with these two. (In fact, we pretty much … Read More!

Good afternoon ladies! As most of you know, this year has been a whirlwind of excitement growing my blog, expanding my health coaching services and narrowing down my niche. It’s been fun, tiring, enlightening, crazy, wild, and life-changing all at once!

While I live and  breathe my Healthy Chicks brand, I want to share my story with the world, and help as many young women struggling with body image issues, dieting and finding their inner zest for life! But I can’t do this all alone, at least not just yet.

That’s why I’ve entered to win a scholarship to Marie Forleo’s B-School, to help take my business to the next level…with a bang! This is something I’ve been working long and hard on, and I 100% believe Marie can give me just the kick-start I need.

It’d mean the world to me for you to view, like or comment on my entry video on Youtube. Your support means everything to me! Also I owe a HUGE thank you to The Boy for putting up with me for hours last night and this morning during filming, while keeping his cool and utmost patience. I’m one lucky, thankful Chick!

XoXo,… Read More!

On this past Wednesday morning, I woke up to my alarm at 5:45 a.m. as happy as a clam. That is, because I was headed off to the mountains to embark on a journey to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires.

If you haven’t heard of Kripalu, it’s quite difficult to put into words but I’ll try. It’s pretty much a hidden escape in the middle of the mountains filled with lots of yoga, meditation, wellness workshops/lectures, nutritious food, spa treatments, and R & R. Pretty much my Happy Place to a T.

My aunt had introduced me years ago, when we took a trip with my sister and mom after I graduated from college. But my aunt and I were back again for round two, this time being much different as I now have a greater appreciation for good food and wellness for the mind, body and soul, which are both important themes at Kripalu. As we drove up through the beautiful mountains, I was just itching to fuel my body with flavorsome meals, and soak up all the information I could in one day!

Upon checking in, the receptionist kindly reminded us that, … Read More!

[May ’09 – counting calories & deprivation]    [Summer ’12 – living my life – happy & carefree!]

note: I was not my heaviest here but still unhappy

One of the reasons I decided to pursue a career in holistic health counseling is because I’ve been there.

There as in a place where I tried everything (I mean everything!) to make my body change when it wouldn’t budge. There as in frantically adding up my calories for the day during Psychology class, while pretending to take notes. There as in canceling Mexican night with my girlfriends because I feared a margarita and quesadilla would make me fatter. There as in feeling like a little kid on Christmas every time the scale went down a pound, while feeling like I wanted to crawl in a hole and die every time it went up .2 pounds.

There as in hooking up with boys to make me feel better about myself and my body, and feeling I wasn’t skinny enough, pretty enough or good enough. There as in calling a pile of rice cakes with fat-free peanut butter “dinner.” There as in having a mental breakdown every time I ate something “bad”  … Read More!