I Love Coconuts!

Aside from chocolate and chia, there’s another food-love in my life: coconut. From low-glycemic coconut sugar to healthy cold-pressed/extra-virgin coconut oil to soysauce alternative coconut aminos, coconut is truly the [Southeast Asian] tree of life.

Back in the Philippines where I grew up, extra virgin coconut oil, or EVCO for short, was already quite popular for weight loss and glowing skin, and heart health, among other things. Heck, there were even flavored varieties! So imagine my surprise and delight when I saw coconut oil gaining a following here in the United States. Now there are a lot of brands out there, but I must say my top choice is Tropical Traditions.

I first heard of them from a classmate at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, when we were talking about healthy fats. Then my assigned mentor talked about Tropical Traditions having expeller-pressed coconut oil which doesn’t have the “coconutty” taste. So I look online and imagine my surprise and pride at discovering that their coconut products are from the Philippines: represent! I got all nostalgic when I saw that they even have atchara (the Filipino kimchi: so good on roast suckling pig, or lechon in Filipino). I am further impressed with their top-of-the line Gold Label, which undergoes the traditional style of cold-pressing, at the same time, providing a livelihood for Filipinos in that community where Tropical Traditions started.

Another classmate told me they were doing a blog review of the Gold Label line, and I’ve always wanted to try it, but just never got around to it, so I took this chance to try the stuff. Let me say wow: the Gold Label extra virgin coconut oil is super silky and almost sweet, plus it doesn’t have a cloying coconut/”pina-colada” taste. And it has this soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture: even better now that the weather is warm enough for the oil to be liquid! Yum!

I love extra virgin coconut oil: we use it to cook with and bake with, we also put it in our morning oatmeal, and smoothies; I even give some to our poodle for its anti-bacterial and energy-giving properties!

I love coconuts, and even better, I love supporting businesses that have a good ethic, and even better, source from the Philippines, from home. Thank you, Tropical Traditions!

Highs and Lows and In Between

The past three weeks have not been the easiest, for sure.

Week 1-
Argued with the spouse Monday evening (yes, the 1st day of the workweek) and then he put down my healthy bread choice for him, so I felt like a failure as a wife, and helpless too with the baby. Had a good crying jag then, and my poor poodle looked distraught. Then baby wouldn't stop crying. I had to walk away from him for a bit as he was driving me up the wall! I will admit I cleaned the outer part of his ear as there was wax and that got him more upset, but I finally got a break through a nap, and I did my workout and had my Shakeology. That workout was tough, maybe because of all these emotions. I am stopping consumption of nutritional yeast, too, per my friend's advice, to avoid fungal issues (which apparently is more common than we think!)

Week 2-
We live in an old, wooden bungalow. With baby, things have been sliding, but now that I'm more able, I've been doing more stuff. Thing is, there are stuff my husband is in charge of and I ask him to do, but he says there's so much to do with baby so more often than not doesn't get to them, and then we're at another week with more stuff to do partly from what didn't get done, while I've got a needy baby to feed/change and a dog to feed/walk. I need his help and for some odd reason, the night slips past and not everything gets done. Maybe I'm being too anal but I ask him to do things, heck, I even write them down, and it usually sits until I make a fuss, then he gets annoyed. Argh! feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and upset about it all: maybe I'm being unfair to him. On better news, two weeks ago, my husband made a gluten-free quiche with egg, bacon, goat cheese and spinach yesterday, as well as a sweet potato, coconut milk, spinach and bacon soup. We visited friends for a Greek Easter dinner, too: Christos Anesti! Got a haircut last weekend: yay for feeling more like a person again! And for major food event this week, we had Takeout Tuesday from our favorite Vietnamese hangout. Our poodle has a persistent ear infection that apparently is staph-related, so she is on new meds for her for that. Apart from that, insects galore, and I do not like insects. Ah, spring.

As for baby, though, he is getting big! I took him out for a walk last week after the storm had passed, using a sling, then once I lay him down for a feeding, I noticed a bite on his forehead, so I felt pretty bad about it; hopefully it's nothing, though, and just goes away. Back to carrying him again, I guess!
I seem to worry about everything concerning him these days. I cut his fingernails every week too (or try to), and am hoping to cut his toenails as I read that if I don't do this regularly, it can lead to ingrowns, which would hurt. Fingernails are easy, toenails not so much as I can't preoccupy him. He's also getting pretty heavy-- 13 pounds with clothes and diapers on! Speaking of, there's this thing called "Elimination Communication" where the baby doesn't wear diapers and instead the parent looks for cues when the baby needs to go potty. Sounds really radical to me, but hey, one never knows. He is also starting to coo and babble and smile and drool, and hold up his head pretty well :) He had a great big ball of wax again from his right ear (outside of his ear canal: I wouldn't dare touch the canal itself!) this week, so I removed that, something he's not too fond of.

Week 3-
Did Cardio Axe from Brazilian Butt Lift the other day and High & Tight today WITH bands and ankle weights: I'm so glad I worked out even as I was initially lazy to, but holy crap the choreography is BEYOND me: I really think I have two left feet! But I am trying! I know kickboxing moves, but dance? I suck at dance. I even did Ballroom dancing for Phys Ed in college to get better, but it was a nominal victory. Fun, though. Lunch was Shakeology, Dandy Blend, Ormus Greens, chia seeds-- HELLO, delicious post-workout reward! But as I play the videos more, I "hear" the instructions more; I modify my form; body is sore in a good way. Noticing my thighs are leaner, butt is a bit smaller and tighter, jeans a bit looser. Best of all, I *feel* better towards my body, towards my self, towards my baby. These workouts, coupled with Shakeology, are my daily routine, almost like an anchor in my day. There's even a vegan one now made with rice protein! Push play; gotta love it!
What's even better is it is safe for pregnant AND nursing mamas! So healthy, so satisfying! Add coconut oil too and you are in business! Heck, add it to everything!

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I want to make these chocolate chip cookies, my FAVORITE cookie! I also miss port wine so.freakin'.bad: mayhap to pair with Gnosis Chocolate's SweetChoice contest! Or Dandy Blend...speaking of, need more of THAT! Also excited to try my grounding mat and black currant phytogen liquid, supposedly for adrenal support. I miss speaking in Filipino. And here's something to watch from Know the Cause hosted by Doug Kaufmann!

Mother's Day is coming up: a friend/fellow mama asked if I had already received my "push present?" My husband is pushing ME to get one; how sweet is that? For Mother's Day, I'm even saying just a card will suffice given all the money we're spending, so it's really sweet of HIM to treasure me, which goes to the message that we mommas should really value ourselves, as women AND as mommas!

A friend is opening up a Bikram yoga studio, and she is asking if I want to teach again; I'm not sure and also my son is too young: I would wait until he's over a year at least; she's also offering a management position; we'll see! But hey, in my own time, right? and what feels good to me :)

Another friend, fellow mama and health coach recently suggested to me to hire a health coach who would be willing to maybe do a short program with me, 3 mos. maximum owing to our living on only my husband's income right now. I am currently not coaching YET but am open to setting up virtual coaching from home when my little boy is older (currently 9 weeks), but starting with blogging as I like to write and am a bit of an introvert so if I could get support there? I'm into health, fitness, nutrition, avoiding toxins for me AND my family, baby and doggie included! I am also into raw-vegan and paleo/primal/gluten-free/low-sugar diets as well as curious with GAPS, FYI--given my family health history and concern for my own child and husband. I also do Beachbody/Shakeology/fitness stuff as it helps keep my body issues at bay: another big area I need help in which is self-love, which I think is also one big factor why I don't like to ask for help, and why I feel personally at fault when there's conflict. Now I don't know why I'm not comfortable with people visiting me--maybe coz I'm a pleaser, which goes back to....self-love. And money issues, hoo boy, calling Bari! But yes this is me asking for help and asking for something for MY self-growth, money/self-worth issues aside. Yay!

Remember to take care of YOU!

Working Out Again

Day 1 of Beachbody Challenge done, Shakeology late lunch post-Brazilian Bum Bum done. I find it neat that as I look at my "before" a.k.a current photos of myself, instead of feeling frustration, because of the support from my coach and challenge group, I feel hope: yes I see the stuff that needs work/definition, but now, I think that I can do this. Now too, there's almost a pattern to look forward to in my day: whereas before it was just time revolving around baby, and some time I would randomly carve for myself, now there is a concrete tangible thing I NEED to set time for myself for, and that's pretty awesome. So thank you, Team Beachbody! And instead of spending ALL of my son's nap time running around doing stuff, I still did stuff-- I exercised with Brazilian Butt Lift Bum Bum for the 1st time, checked e-mail, had a late Shakeology lunch, and washed dishes, BUT then I stopped and spent the remainder of his nap in bed with him. It was delicious seeing him wake up to me. Thank God for long naps as they are few and far between, but hey, this is me resting! I'm sure other mamas can relate ;-)

Day 2, I woke up sore and groggy this morning...had to have some extra kombucha to get me through, lol. I was biting at the bit to work out, and I did! It's almost like this craving, but a healthy one, isn't that awesome??


To stay on track with health, why not revamp your kitchen?
And for skin, why not DIY, as our skin is the largest organ of our body,
Because of this scary reality
Speaking of, gluten-free isn't always healthy, but eating whole foods is!
So why not make something healthy AND yummy? I might add some Shakeology to this too!

In other news, I got featured here!

Live your BEST life! Live happy and healthy!

Take care of YOU

With baby fussy and needing to be fed, changed, and rocked, it's very easy to forget our own needs. Heck, I even sometimes feel my body isn't my own, that my breasts are now just food-producers and not for pleasure/looks. So before we head further down that road, heads up, mamas, here's my #1 advice: Take care of YOU.

Yes, people are right when they say "sleep when the baby sleeps," and so on: perhaps that can be one way of taking care of yourself, but think of it this way: a happy mama has a happy baby (most of the time). So do what you gotta do to take care of you.

Make some time for yourself, if that means napping when baby naps, or exercising (check with your health provider when you can do so post-birth: it is usually 6 weeks), or reading a book, sitting by the window to get some Vitamin D, snuggling with your pet dog or cat, sketching, journaling...whatever it is that makes you happy, do it: set aside some time each day, and you and everyone around you will thank you.

What will you do for yourself today?

On Dogs and Babies

Some people ridicule the notion of adopting a dog as "practice baby-training." Well, I disagree with that. Maybe some people think it foolhardy, but we adopted a standard poodle around my 5th/6th month of pregnancy. I love dogs, you see, and we moved to a place partly for my husband's hankering for a yard to grow stuff in, but also for my deep desire for a dog of our own. So soon after we moved, that's exactly what we did. I hesitated as the adoption fee wasn't cheap, but my husband said to go for it, anyway. And boy am I glad we did. Now the journey wasn't easy: she was found with mange, heartworm, and earmites, and was emaciated, so we did our best to heal those. We named her Bella, and smart cookie that she is, she responded to that name within days! However, she was also super skittish and shy, and wanted us in her sight at all times, hence our moniker sometimes for her being "Velcro dog." And therein is the big part that I'm glad we got a dog first before we had our baby: babies are fussy, and they want to be attached to you: after all, they were in our wombs for 40+ weeks, in my case, 41. They're used to being held 24/7, and fed 24/7. With the addition of a dog in our lives, there was another being to care for, spend for, someone else's schedule to think about, and who relies on me, whether it be food or medicine or even affection. With a baby, it's intensified like 500% as babies are even more helpless (so it does help that they're cute)! That plus our dog is really chill and centered when she's not spazzing or being all clingy; quiet, too: it took her months for us to hear her bark. But she's getting better: she doesn't get scared we'll leave her when we crate her, or see it as punishment; she has put on weight, and responds to the few commands my husband taught her; she even follows us into the bathroom now, whereas before she was terrified of it for some reason. Like her gradual improvement, we hope similarly for our baby, though at a slower pace as babies do take a while to hold their heads up on their own and not need us on demand 24/7. With the baby's arrival too, she is no longer the center of our lives, but she has responded to this with reluctant and resigned grace. With this standard poodle's awesomeness, plus the fact that she doesn't really shed, I am sold on standard (poodle)s! As my friend who told me about them, they are great family dogs. Indeed.

That being said, there are other things going on in life! I rarely cook as I am afraid of the stove (just as I dislike mess and bugs, but that's another story), so I feel bad that my husband even more so than before is doing so much for our family, what with cloth diapers and so on, on top of the regular stuff we have to do around the house, which with the baby has taken a bit of a backslide, hence my desire to help out more. Friends and family giving us food has been a godsend, but it won't last forever, so I was looking at these soup recipes: they look pretty easy, so maybe I can make them and make my husband happy and proud :-) Two in particular are catching my fancy: this Cucumber Gazpacho and this Coconut Cauliflower Soup, then macaroons for dessert! Is it super obvious I'm into healthy fats right now, especially coconut?!

I also got my certificate of graduation from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, or what we students fonds call IIN. Woohoo! Now on to more learning!...after I get the hang of caring for this baby...

Mama Musings on 5 Weeks

My baby boy is 5 weeks this week; I did my gentle postnatal workout (hoping to graduate to Beach Body soon!) yesterday while he napped, and since I'm super craving coffee but too scared of the consequences of caffeine, I am excitedly/impatiently waiting for my orders of Dandy Blend and Teeccino's dandelion line, and I'll see what I prefer. Research shows that decaf coffee can still cause problems with babies through rheumatoid arthritis later on, whereas dandelion across many cultures promotes cleansing, good digestion, and even milk production for lactating mamas later on! What's even better is Dandy Blend is safe for kids to drink as it's gluten and caffeine-free. Dandelion's clearly pretty awesome!

I'm also looking into a Waldorf preschool program for him here, and they even have a very selective partial work-exchange program for tuition, so I'm hoping I can make the cut! I just want my child to have a holistic education, which I think Waldorf embodies.

And with that, J-Mike is my son, yes, but indeed he is his own person, as Kahlil Gibran says it so well.

For my own sanity and so I could connect to other mamas (as so far I've mainly been interacting only with my son!), a friend was telling me to look at Heights Kids Group...another friend told me to look at Moms of Preschoolers or M.O.P.S., and Holistic Moms Network, as well as a local chapter of La Leche League; ah, now to look into all of these and see what works for me!

Especially as a new momma I have a million things running through my head, but of course I'm lucky to remember two of them...now to make sure they're the right ones to remember! Some things of note:

Please think about helping this cause that ends in 5 days: Chick Fil-A is threatening to shut him down, but he's not even competing with them. Don't let the bully win; vote for fresh food over fast food!

There's more, but with nursing and tending to my son's needs, I am doing all I can to remember one or two, hence my planner and iPhone come in very handy...

And on an unrelated note, here is a beautiful quote from Bari Tessler-Linden that really resonated with me: "Sometimes I am given the reflection that I am living a ‘small’ life and have colleagues + mentors rooting for me to become 'bigger' in my self and in my reach...than in other moments I am given the reflection that I am quite driven, accomplished and live a fully created life...big life vision, small life vision... it can get confusing sometimes... but in the end, I am the really the only one who can determine if I am making the most out of this one precious life..."

I'd prefer to live life on my terms, any day, though I still am working on being less of a pleaser! So here's to that.

4 Weeks and Counting

So here I am with my 1 month, 2-day old son, literally: he is in a sling, and on my lap as I type this. This journey so far hasn't been easy: on top of the usual sleepless nights and baby-centered schedule, we got thrush last week. So that meant purple nipples for me and purple mouth for him. And FYI, thrush doesn't always mean the white patches right away, etc. But things get better, right? And things change constantly, especially with a new baby. He's gained almost 2 pounds now, as he's about 9 pounds, if not more, from his birth weight of 7 pounds 8 ounces. I was able to do a short 15-minute postnatal-specific workout yesterday, as well as finished writing thank-you cards (yay!). I was also able to put him in a sling and walk the dog for a bit today, all by myself-- a first!

But sometimes with 3 steps forward there are 2 steps back: I experienced some pain/twinges in my perineum today shortly after I had picked my son up for a feeding, but this was preceded by squatting to pick up mail and picking up said boxes, as well as a walk with baby and dog; also emptying the dryer and sweeping up the lint from a badly-placed disposable liner that had disintegrated in the dryer. What can I say, I like being able to do stuff, and keep things neat and tidy! But yes, overexertion can still happen after 4 weeks! So I guess no workout for me today. But hey, there's still tomorrow. And in tomorrow can we pin our dreams and plans....I know I do!

I've also been dealing with frustration that I'm not being able to get back into the swing of things. No-one in prenatal class tells you that thrush can happen, or that with post-birth comes lots of bleeding, and for a while, that baby bonding may not be instantaneous, that you'll be SUPER thirsty breastfeeding, how raspberry tea is incredibly healing not only during pregnancy but also after, and so on! No one tells you how soft/flabby your belly may look, or that you just won't have energy, or that your housekeeping duties will have to go to someone else, and that y'all will have to figure it all out. But all this happens and more. New mamas are brave during birthing, but also after-- for dealing with all this, hopefully with a supportive partner, but sometimes not. No-one talks about all these, but really, they should. So here's to mamas being brave and figuring this all out.