Summer is a Season of Fresh Motivation! Plus: Green Smoothie Challenge Prize Info...

Apple Basil Lime Margarita

If you're like me, maybe you find that your creative energy reaches its highest highs when the days are long, bright, and sunny.  And as such, you might find that when the days are short, dark, and cold, your inspiration and sticktoitiveness runs dry.  Maybe it's all that natural vitamin D, that potent pre-hormone mood-boosting not-really-a-vitamin powerhouse that's formed in our skin under the right kind of sunlight.  I love that stuff.

Back to summer.

I've had a swell of the aforementioned creative energy of late (thus ending the months-long silence on this blog) and while the focus is still a work in progress (my inner ADHD-kid is practically screaming "can we play outside today?!" and I've literally lost my train of thought several times just writing this sentence), those times I've been focused have been used to spark new ideas, put a new spin on some old ones, and importantly, hone in on what I really want to do and who I really want to help.

Changes to what I call my mission statement will be rolling out on my website and socials as I get the wording down in the next weeks.  I will say that I've spent a lot of time thinking about what gets me going the most when I'm talking to clients and customers, what kinds of things I've had experience with personally, and what areas are fascinating to me, that I'm most interested in when it comes to learning more.  These include but are in no way limited to plant-based nutritional support for fitness and athletics, cognitive function, and reproductive and sexual health.  It may not seem like there's much interrelation between these subjects, broad topics of study that they are, but having experience with all of these, and from what I've learned and observed, everything the body does and is capable of doing is connected to everything else.  Again, fascinating.

Blushing Pear Hydrator

Similarly, I've always been committed to making my workshops, recipes, e-books, and online challenges vegan- and allergy-friendly.  I chose the banner Love Plants for Life to reflect my love of plant-based food, and the belief that sourcing the majority of one's diet from these foods, whether you're vegan, vegetarian, omni, flexi, Paleo, or what-have-you, promotes lifelong vibrant health.  Plant foods are a common denominator in any healthful whole-foods diet - so why not learn to Love Plants for Life?  (See what I did there?  Heh.)

In my ongoing quest for knowledge, I'm taking steps to learn more about healthy food preparation as it relates to plant-based foods, with the aim to expand my current skills and apply them in my practice.  I've always had a knack for cooking without a recipe (thanks, Dad), and use that to create the recipes I post online, jot down for clients' menus, and demonstrate in my workshops; now I want to see what I can do with further instruction, to take my Love Plants for Life offerings in new directions.

And speaking of Love Plants for Life, my 10-day Green Smoothie Challenge is back with new recipes for 2015, and a new prize package: a Smoothie Sampler Kit, filled up with a pile of my favourite vegan- and allergy-friendly smoothie ingredients (approximate prize value $60)!  I've really enjoyed putting together the recipes for this Challenge.  It's free, and you get a new summery smoothie recipe daily from July 7-16 just for signing up!  Registration closes and shopping lists get sent out July 3, so if you want to get in on the new recipes and the prize draw, get to it!  Group start July 7.  Prize draw July 20.  Register here: http://saragalipeau.ca/news.html

Prize Pack with all the stuff! (Updated July 14)

Notice: Prize draw eligibility open to registered Challengers only - must sign up via the link above.  The email address you provide will only be used to send you LPFL 10-day Green Smoothie Challenge emails, including notice of prize draw winner.  Registration automatically enters the subscriber in the prize draw.  Further opportunities for extra entries include sharing Challenge posts on Facebook or Twitter (up to 3 extra entries) and posting smoothie photos in the private Facebook group or on Twitter @SaraGalipeauRHN and/or with the hashtag #LPFLsmoothies (up to 5 extra entries).

Now... let's play outside!