"America doesn't have a healthcare system. We have a disease management system." - Andrew Weil, IIN lecturer As some of you already know, in January I started school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified health coach. The school offers an awesome flexible yearlong program, and I'm in the thick of it and loving it. Every week I feel engaged in the lessons, and it's great how I can listen to the lectures anywhere on my iPad. As I recently mentioned, lately I've gone to the beach a few times to do school work, which provides just about the perfect setting for relaxing while learning! In February I did a recap of my first month of school, and I was planning on doing a post on my favorite ideas and concepts for each month I'm in school... but somehow a few ... [Read More]
Institute for Integrative Nutrition
IIN Chat: What’s a Health Coach?
Happy Wednesday! I feel like this week is just flying by! I've been super busy, and my work week is short because I'm heading down to San Diego on Friday (more on the exciting reason behind my trip to come soon!). Last night my hubby and I had a rare weekday date night. I had gotten him tickets to see Kings of Leon as a Christmas gift, so we headed into San Jose to see them perform. The concert was a lot of fun! :) Moving along to the topic of today's post, after doing a recap of my first month as a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (a second one to come in the near future!), a couple of people asked me to go more in-depth as to what a health coach is. So let's get into it! At IIN, health coaches are believed to be the future of our healthcare system. At ... [Read More]
Institute for Integrative Nutrition: Month 1 Recap
I've mentioned it a few times since I started, but in mid-January I became a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. The school is a yearlong course to become a certified health coach, and so far I've really enjoyed every single week. Not only am I a bit of a nerd in general who loves school and learning, but at IIN, I'm learning about topics related to a huge passion of mine (which you may have figured out by now!): healthy living. I thought it'd be fun to do a monthly recap post where I share some of my favorite concepts and ideas from the lessons, so this is recap #1! First off, how the school operates: I love how classes are set up to fit into a busy schedule. The school has an app so that you can listen to the lectures on your iPhone or do work on your iPad ... [Read More]
Weekend R&R: Wine Sipping in the Rain
Hi friends! Hope you all had a glorious weekend and made it through your Monday well. The weekend here in the Bay Area was a dark, rainy one. We barely have gotten rain at all in the past year, and now it has been gloomy and rainy probably 6 out of the past 10 days. Crazy mother nature! Some notable eats of my weekend include this butternut squash enchilada casserole, recipe a la Sarah at Making Thyme for Health: A "quick run" into Whole Foods turned into me walking around for longer than expected, spending way more money than expected - but when does this not happen when I go to Whole Foods? I get a little too excited there, especially with my February gluten free diet. It's like the gluten free food mecca! My favorite find was Kind Healthy Grains Cinnamon Oat Clusters with Flax ... [Read More]
Blueberry Lemon Oatmeal Flaxseed Pancakes
Hi there! Before I get to my awesome pancake recipe today, I have a few random things to share with you: 1.) This week I officially started school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition! I'm really excited about the class and connecting with other students. I just feel like everything I've read, seen, and heard so far at IIN resonates with me so much and makes me feel so motivated. I'll definitely be sharing some concepts and ideas of the course that I find interesting throughout the year, so stay tuned! 2.) I'm in love with ordering canvas prints of neat photos I've taken. The above canvas is my latest order, which I got for $20 via a Groupon deal. The picture is from my trip to Livermore Valley last year during harvest season, and I'm pretty much in love with it. 3.) My giveaway ... [Read More]
Five Facts Friday
Happy weekend! I'm sitting by my roaring fireplace with my Christmas tree lit, wrapped up in a warm blanket, hanging out with my little family. Not too shabby for a cozy Friday night at home! Like my new yogi Santa ornament? I'm hopping on the "Five Facts Friday" bandwagon tonight and sharing some random stuff from happenings of the week, so here we go: #1 -- In honor of the passing of the great Nelson Mandela, here are a couple of quotes from him that I love: "Education is the most powerful weapon, which we can use to change the world." "I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward." "Resentment is like drinking poison and then ... [Read More]
