Healthy Chicks

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“All around the hair is healthier, I’m healthier and my clients are healthier.”

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with Marcus Sederstrom, the face behind My Stylist Marcus, at Salon Red on Newbury Street. With his impeccable style and witty charm, Marcus may seem like an ordinary Boston stylist at first glance.

However, once the conversation begins to flow, one realizes that there is quite the story behind that charm. While Marcus has been in the hair industry for 15 years, he just recently came back from a five-year leave while battling Lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system).

During recovery, Marcus realized that he desperately missed his days as a stylist and interacting with clients, but didn’t want to work in an environment filled with toxins and chemicals all day long. Right then and there, he decided he needed to make some changes for his health, and his clients’ health.

Now Marcus proudly provides his clients with natural, certified organic cleansing, styling, color and even keratin treatments. “It’s the cleanest of the greenest products available,” he said with a smile. “All around the hair is healthier, I’m healthier and my clients are healthier.”

While describing … Read More!

[source] Got leftover pesto hanging around the house? Try this easy peasy recipe!

Remember how I told you all that I’m a huge fan of experimenting with new recipes? Well, this afternoon my sister had the brilliant idea of making use of my grandma’s homemade pesto we had stored in the freezer. (Sidenote: freezing pesto is a super practical way of making it last longer, while keeping it fresh and tasty. My grandma taught me a little trick to freeze in ice cube trays for individual servings.) Once I knew pesto was on the menu, my little brain started to ponder.

After a trip to Whole Foods, I decided we’d incorporate some all-natural chicken into tonight’s meal. And peas. And penne. Alas, dinner was planned.

Here’s what we used for tonight’s easy supper*:

*makes about 4 servings

• 2 c. brown rice penne
• 1 large boneless skinless chicken tenderloin, all-natural & raised without antibiotics (organic is best – I got ours at Whole Foods)
• 1/2 can sweet peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 c. frozen spinach, organic
• 1/4 c. homemade pesto (may adjust according to taste)
• 1 1/2 TB olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• salt  & pepper

How many of you tend to let your dreams and envisions for your “ideal life” get the best of you at times? Well, trust me you are not alone. You know what they say, we all want what we don’t have. But what about stopping to think once in a while what you do have. And not in the cliche kind of way. Of course, we are all grateful to have food on our plates, some sort of family and a roof over our home.

I’m talking about the things we have that we don’t realize we have; the things that were once merely on our “want” list.

I personally tend to think about the “what ifs” and the “dont’s” from time to time, primarily when it comes to the oh so scary future, financial issues and career opportunities. However, whenever I find myself getting like this I try to remember that many of the things I now have (a loving boyfriend I wouldn’t trade for the world, a happy & healthy relationship with my body, a super cute North End apartment) were once on my “want” lists.

You see, many of those hopes and dreams from months/years/decades ago are … Read More!

Happy Friday loves! Hope your weekend is off to a good start so far. Today I took myself on an amazing date to Whole Foods, where I stayed for a good portion of the afternoon. I had a lot of work to get done today, and most of it I could do without the internet, so I decided to unplug from my Mac for a solid 4+ hours. However, I did bring an old-fashioned notebook and my IIN iPod in order to catch up on my latest lectures for nutrition school.

I loved everything I learned about today, from the pros, cons, and logistics of soy products to lessons of healthy eating from cultures years ago, like eating REAL, RAW butter and cheese and consuming all natural meat and fish products (fat and all) for nutrient optimization.

It definitely helped that I was listening to my lectures while eating a delicious, wholesome meal from the Whole Foods’ salad bar. My plate included lentils, spicy chickpeas, raw pumpkin seeds, salmon salad, roasted mushrooms, quinoa and feta among some other samplers. I absolutely love the different variations you can make at Whole Foods, and if I could I would go there … Read More!

We’re all guilty of over-reacting, analyzing, and dwelling on “the little things” at times. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Your heat bill is $100 steeper than normal, you can’t find your left high heel that you JUST. NEED. TO. WEAR. FOR. THIS. DATE, your face broke out in a massive eruption of pimples, and work is sucking lately. Bad.

Hence, we think “everything sucks.”

Does this sound familiar? We all do it, and I myself am a huge victim to dwelling on those little, tiny annoying things that seem really, really big at the time. Take today for example. I woke up and felt “off” from the beginning of the day. I then immediately went for my Mac to get a little internet in me, only to find out that my internet was down. Turns out the modem broke (somehow) and the Comcast dude couldn’t come until after 6 p.m.

Suddenly I was irritated. Angry. Mad. Over the freakin’ internet. I mean, c’mon Rach, get a grip. (That’s what my rational self would have told my “crazy” self at the time). This anger only led to more “little things” like a stupid fight (well, more like a tiff) … Read More!

Good afternoon ladies, and Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! This morning I decided to make a special breakfast for The Boy inspired by this recipe I found on Pinterest, and also my coworker’s story of her girlfriend surprising her with breakfast in bed.

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Yes, heart shaped “Eggs in a Basket.” Well, due to my lack of any art skills whatsoever, my variation definitely didn’t come out as pretty to say the least. My heart cut-out was not nearly big enough, so the egg kind of just exploded over the toast. Therefore, there will be no pictures of Rachel’s remake on my blog today. The Boy didn’t care though, and it still came out super delicious. We drizzled ours in some salt, pepper and hot sauce to spice things up bit!

We enjoyed our heart eggs with kiwi & sliced apple wedges served with nutella, and the leftover heart cut-outs (from the inside of the toast) spread with peanut butter. I also made The Boy some oatmeal with flaxseed, blueberries, raw maple syrup, cinnamon and peanut butter since his appetite’s a little bigger than mine. And you bet I brewed a pot of coffee (Creme Brulee flavor … Read More!

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I found this quotable image today on Pinterest, and thought it was absolutely fitting for today. After all, it is the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, you know that day of love. It was interesting reading how other people filled in the blank “Love is…”

Such as…

“Like heaven but it hurts like hell”

“a moment that lasts forever”

“that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own”

“hard work”

I’m sure all of us embody different definitions of what that four letter word means. Whether we are single or taken, a college senior or a senior citizen, heartbroken or passionate, love is a powerful thing and has a certain meaning to each and every one of us. So I challenge you to go ahead and fill in the blank. Love is________.

I shall start. Love is….

“a crazy, passionate, wild beautiful journey that makes each day a little more ‘worth it.’ It adds a lil extra spice to a bland day.”

OK, your turn. Love is…

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[go ahead, embrace the snow & find something to love about your day  source ]

It’s snowing outside in Boston today, and while this makes some people cringe, I’m feeling especially warm & fuzzy inside. There’s just something about fresh snow on a winter’s morn’ that makes me smile extra big. Go ahead, and embrace the snowy day. Play in it, twirl in it, dance in it. Enjoy the feeling of fresh snowflakes falling on your lashes. Make yourself a cup of soothing cocoa and open up your blinds and just watch. Grab a friend and head out for a day of shop-’til-you-drop (like me).

Alright, I’m off to finish my creme brulee coffee and then head out to Newbury Street with my sis for the day to get some last-minute Valentine’s Day / personal shopping in before work!

XoXo,

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