So 3 keys: Motivation, Discipline and Consistency. Hang these words on the front of your mind. Remember, if you need help working your way toward your goals, I’m here for you. I’ve got tools and know-how. We can make this happen together.

You’ve Got What it Takes!! Now get to it.

What You’ll Need

Wild Salmon Filet with Skin Removed
1 Dash Lemon Pepper
1 Large Shallot
1 Spritz Olive Oil (I love using the Misto)
1 Handful Mixed Greens
1 Drizzle Annie’s Naturals Balsamic Vinegar Dressing 
1 Cup Cooked Jamine or Basmati Rice (or up the nutrient ante with wild rice)
1 Ripe Mango (cut into cubes)
3 Scallion Tops Sliced (not the bulbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste

What You’ll Do:

Preheat your oven to 475 Degrees. Using your misto, spray a baking sheet with a little olive oil. Dash your wild salmon with lemon pepper (and a little sea salt if desired) and place it on the sheet sheet. Put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Toss on thinly sliced shallots and continue to roast for about 5-10 more minutes or until cooked through. (I prefer my salmon well done, so I do keep it in the oven a little longer than most people–be sure to continuously check your fish  to get it just the way you like it). Next, combine cooked rice, small cubes of mango and sliced scallions (green onion tops). Serve with a side of mixed greens. Enjoy!

First of all, what in the world does bikini body ready even mean?!? Almost every page in every magazine is littered with photos of women scantily clad and perfectly made up. I don’t know about you, but I know for me those images are an unrealistic expectation (unless I suddenly have a team of professional make-up artists and stylists following me around the beach). And here’s what I know for sure, working out and eating right for a few days, a few weeks, a few months or even a few years will probably never get you looking like the photo-shopped images of a perfectly styled person in a magazine. If “bikini body” ready is what you’re after, you’re probably not going to ever reach your happily-ever-after. It’s time to get expectations that match reality. Ditch the “bikini body” mentality and replace it with a “healthy body” mentality. Bikini bodies don’t exist in real life; healthy bodies will help you to live your real life.

So what I love (and live) to do is help people completely transform their body and their life by changing their approach to food. I know that you can create a healthy body and a life you love if you are willing to make lasting lifestyle changes. Come on now, Change Your Meals, Change Your Life! Bottom line, you can totally be ready for a healthy, happy summer body come June (whether you wear a bikini or not, well that’s up to you…)

While often complicated, your food relationship is generally either healthy or unhealthy. Consistently engaging in an unhealthy relationship with food can wreak havoc on your mind, body and spirit.

Here’s how you’ll know if your relationship with food is unhealthy:
1. You eat to fill a void: You grab a pint (or worse, a quart) of ice cream after a break-up
2. You eat to release stress: You need a Snickers to satisfy you after a big meeting
3. You eat to be social: You wouldn’t dream of missing out on sharing that lava cake dessert with your friends
4. You eat in secret (and hide the wrappers): Food is “hidden” here, there and everywhere
5. You eat mindlessly: You grab a bag of chips before hitting the couch and turning on the tube
6. You eat with apathy: You’ll eat whatever (pizza, pork rinds, pop rocks, pepperoni sticks), whenever (at like 2 am)

Just like the best of relationships, food can make you feel fabulous and better yet, can help you to look fabulous too. But, you’ve got to work on it! You’ve got to give it your all, and make good choices with each and every meal. You’ll know you’re on track when you are eating with purpose (giving your body nutrients and energy) and eating because you are hungry (and stopping when you are full). The result will be a healthy body you love.

Okay, if you haven’t already, connect in with me on Facebook. Get daily tips for ways to keep your relationship with food a healthy one. (I’ve also got some fabulous giveaways coming up that will only be available to my Facebook followers—wink, wink…)
Hey now, make today fabulous!

Here are the top 3 regrets I get…
1. Yesterday’s choices: Overall, you stay the course, but yesterday, you blew it. You ate too much (the Golden Corral will get you every time) or you ate the wrong thing (donuts can do it).
2. Years of bad choices: Unfortunately, you might just have a history of one bad decision after the next. Years of junk food and inactivity have left you tired, sick and fat. You’ve been digging your grave with your fork, and you know it. Usually this regret is preceded by an inability to find ANY clothes that fit or something even more dramatic like a heart attack.
3. Family Feedings: Why is it that the kid’s menu is loaded up with fried chicken fingers, french fries, pizza, mac & cheese, soda, and cookies? You’d think a children’s menu would instead be filled with organic, fresh foods (hey now, that shift from purest baby foods to junkiest kid foods is regrettable…). Once on the clean eating track, many YouAnewers feel bad about the junk food they’ve fed their families.

Okay, so there are the top three. I think it’s really important to focus on solutions, not regrets. Attitude is everything, and an attitude of regret or disappointment or failure will get you no where. If your goal is to make a healthy life happen, it’s going to take consistency. Sometimes you’ll regret a decision you’ve made, but never let that regret take up too much mental energy. Recognize that you’ve screwed up, call yourself out on it and focus on your solution. It’s really simple and really effective.

Solution 1: If you’ve been digging a grave with your fork for years, stop it. Get yourself on track by committing to a routine. Every day should include both exercise and vegetables.
Solution 2: Set your resolve. Write down how you feel in the moment you realized you screwed up. Put it somewhere you’ll see it, and determine that you just won’t do it again. Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels…
Solution 3: Read labels and avoid kid’s menus (unless they are healthy foods just in smaller portions). Find out your little one’s favorite fruits and veggies and fill your fridge with both.

Regrets are negative emotions, solutions are positive actions. Focus on Solutions, Not Regrets. You can totally do this!!!

If you are finding yourself in a world of regret and know that you need get yourself in check, check out my YouAnew Lifestyle Nutrition Programs. Change Your Meals, Change Your Life.

Junky “health” food floats around wearing a halo deceiving even the most health conscious among us. Let’s shed some light (cue the sunshine) on even just one food marketed to you with a halo on top…

Get ready to hear the jingle—Activia (aaa)!! Okay, this food is hailed by Jamie Lee Curtis and “Healthy Living Expert” Daphne Oz as the holy grail of digestive health, but really the ingredients found in this little cup of fruit filled yogurt are not as healthy as you might think. Activia has sugar, fructose syrup, genetically modified food starch and carmine—aka ground up beetles (as in the bug not the band) just to name a few. Thinking that you are going to do better with the light version? Think again!! In addition to the modified food starch, fructose, and beetles, this food’s got chemicals galore. We’re talking Acesulfame Potassium (cancer, nausea), Aspartame (mood, memory issues, cancer and chronic respiratory disorders), Sodium Citrate (abdominal discomfort and diarrhea), and Sucralose (headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, and dizziness). I don’t know about you, but I’m humming a slightly different tune…Activiuhhg.

Bottom line: you’ve got chemicals, preservatives, refined sugar, trans-fat, and modified ingredients in most of the foods you’re eating out of boxes, bags and cans. Want to know why? One word: Trifecta. If you keep demanding cheap, long shelf life, flavor full foods, smart companies are going to keep selling you want you want, but remember, they are also going to market to your health conscience and package accordingly.

So, here it comes—the action step. Time to say good-bye to Frankenfoods! Challenge yourself to completely avoid all processed foods for 24 hours. Eat Clean, Feel Clean, Let’s do it!

Need help rocking a clean start? I would really love to work with you one on one. My YouAnew Lifestyle Nutrition Program is the right way to lose weight and get healthy. I can’t wait to turn you into a Clean Eating, YouAnew Rockstar! Get started (from anywhere) today!!

Alright now, hold on ‘cause here it comes—a big fat dollop of common sense. All those get skinny quick schemes (including my WooHoo-YouAnew-Cleanse™) are nothing more than smoke and mirrors that might just land you in the hospital totally burned. Bottom Line: You Shouldn’t Detox

Wondering why they seem to work? Well, if it’s an empty bowel and weight loss you’re after a super low calorie diet mixed with laxatives will temporarily do the trick. But hey, as fast as you’ll lose pounds and poop you’ll lose friends. Why? Because you’ll be hungry, stinky and crabby and no one will want to hang around you. You’ll never be able to sustain the “detox” diet long-term (sustained laxative use and extreme restriction will kill you), so you go back to your regular routine, gain the weight back and feel like garbage again. Bleh.

Want to really get your body beach ready?!? Try this on for size. Learn how to eat to your metabolism (take in just the right amount of calories for your body) and choose fabulously high quality, nutrient rich foods. Consistently eat clean foods and you won’t have to even worry about “detoxing.” ( FYI: your liver really does take care of you. You’re best detox defense is a good offense. Don’t eat the garbage, chemicals, preservatives, sugar, and dyes to begin with.)

If you’re ready to try a solution that makes sense and works, I’d love to work with you. If it’s “detox-dieting” and “crazy-cleansing” you’re after, I love ya, but we’re not a great fit.

Okay, now it’s time!! Change Your Meals, Change Your Life!! Remember: Instant gratification is overrated. The momentary satisfaction of junk food can’t compare to the lifetime satisfaction of creating a healthy body you love.

There’s been a lot of talk around the watercooler and facebook about the whole GMO thing. In case you’ve missed it, that ole sequestration/short term spending bill included a seemingly sneaky backroom deal now referred to as the Monsanto Protection Act (Section 735 of HR 933). This biotech rider silently worked its way through our legislative process and onto our plates. You might be thinking, what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is that we aren’t really sure what genetically modified foods are doing to our bodies. GMOs have only been a part of our diets since 1996, and while many “trusted” sources insist that GMOs are a-okay, obviously, there is a lack of long term evidence to support the, whole GMOs are GRAS (generally regarded as safe) argument.

So here’s the skinny on the new law. From what I can tell (and let’s be clear, I’m by no means a legal expert), this law is apparently going to keep foods that are being legally contested on the basis of health concerns growing on our farms and finding their way onto our tables. Basically the idea is plant, grow, eat now assess the health risks later.

A lot of the foods that we commonly eat (if you’re eating processed foods you are probably getting a ton of these) are genetically modified. Foods commonly modified are ones like corn, sugar, soy, cottonseed and canola (rapeseed). Here’s the sort of wild thing, propositions (like California Prop 37) that would have required that foods that are genetically modified be labeled as such have been struck down; in other words, there’s really no way for us as consumers to know if the foods we are eating have been genetically tampered. There’s no transparency. And while going organic will definitely provide you with some GMO protection, unfortunately, it appears as though GMOs are sneaking their way into organic markets. Certified organic doesn’t necessarily mean certified non-GMO.

So bottom line, are genetically modified foods going to kill you? I don’t really know for sure; the jury’s still out. But hey, welcome to the discussion. I’ll tell you what I’d like; I’d like the choice to determine whether or not I want these GMOs in my body. If you’d like to join me, check out the link on the bottom of this page and get some skin in the game.
Alright now, get to it! Check out these resources and make a difference.

Non GMO Project 
FOOD DEMOCRACY NOW! 
Support non GMO products and brands  

But I want you to think about this, what exactly are you missing? It’s a question I had to wrestle with when I quit sugar and stopped eating processed foods. I am totally serious when I tell you that I think people felt genuinely sorry for me (and hey, maybe there were even a few quiet moments when FoMO hit, and I felt a little sorry for myself). But let me tell you, as I began to radically transform my approach to food, I slowly realized how much more I was gaining. I felt better, I looked healthier, I had more energy. Let’s be real, while it’s true that I’m missing out on the opportunity to talk about how good a dessert tastes, share a plate of fried mozzarella sticks, or taste a piece of candy I’m not battling the bulge, dealing with fatigue or doubled over with a stomachache. So in all reality, what am I missing out on?

Are you ready to face your FoMO head on? Here are three simple steps to overcoming FoMO.

1. Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, focus on what you can have. There are amazing flavors, foods and healthy dishes that will totally satisfy your palate and give you something to talk about with your family and friends.
2. Taste, don’t eat it. Especially in the early stages of battling your FoMO, try the old bite don’t binge rule. Instead of eating a piece of whatever, eat a bite instead. You’ll be able to talk about it without feeling guilty about it later.
3. Find alternatives. For just about any food that you love, there is a healthier alternative. Make the effort to find it.

Okay now, FoMO fighters!! You CAN do this. And hey, if you need help dealing with your food FoMO, I’ve got just the program for you! 

Step 1: Find the perfect basket and grass-like filler. I personally love the adorable options available at Pottery Barn Kids, Etsy and William Sonoma. This year, I used shavings from my grandpa’s wood shop as filler.

Step 2: Hard-boil and color eggs using Eco-Kid Egg Coloring Kit which is “made with natural and organic fruit, plant and vegetable extracts from annatto seed, curcumin, purple sweet potato and red cabbage.”

Step 3: Pick-up fun little Easter Themed Books and Toys at stores like Barnes and Noble and Land of Nod 

Step 4: Grab naturally delicious and refined sugar free Easter treats like Annie’s Naturals Cheddar Bunnies, Larabars, Emmy’s Organics, Annie’s Fruit Bunnies, and Kettle Valley Organic Fruit Snacks 

Step 5: Assemble the Basket with Love!!