Tips for savoring the last of summer
We hope you've been thoroughly enjoying your summer.
How does this happen every year? One day it’s July 4th and the next it’s mid-August. It always blows us away how quickly it all happens. We wanted to touch base before the summer comes to a close to give you some updates and to share some of our tips for enjoying these last few weeks of Summer.
For those of you who aren't on island with us all the time, maybe you've heard by now that we are now serving food at our cafe in Vineyard Haven. That's right, breakfast, lunch, dinner and more! Check out our menu here to see all that we have to offer. If you haven't tried it yet you are SERIOUSLY missing out. We're talking dips, spreads, sandwiches, salads, juices, smoothies, tarts and tons more. If you're here visiting be sure to stop by and see us.
No matter where you live, be sure to soak up the rest of your summer in whatever small ways you can, September is just around the corner. Here are some of the ways we will be savoring the rest of our summer:
-Take the scenic route
Do you always drive home from work the same way? Try taking the longer, more scenic route and soak up some beautiful views.
-Take 10 minutes (or more!) to soak up some Vitamin D
Taking a quick break from your routine to soak up some rays can seriously give you a dose of energy and maybe a much needed mood-boost.
-Breathe more!
Seriously. When we slow down and sink deeper into the moment by deepening and lengthening each breath, we can slow time down! Although time is still moving at the same pace, when we are more present time won't feel like it's racing by quite as fast.
-Catch a sunset
Break up your nightly routine by going outside after dinner and watching the sun set. Such a great way to put things in perspective. How lucky are we to be on this globe rotating around the sun? What a trip.
Happy Summer everyone, hope to see you all soon.
Finding Peace
What in your life are you avoiding right now? Notice the energy that this feeling creates in your body. See if you can drop the urge to change whatever this thing is and just accept it for what it is (even if just for a moment) and send it love. Notice the energetic shift that this creates. Let us find peace in our lives by fully accepting what is in front of us instead of resisting and avoiding what is. When we are looking at our lives through the lens of fear, we create feelings of suffering and want things to be different, but through the lens of love, we remove the veil of illusion and everything feels lighter and just as it should be. This way of viewing things takes a little more conscious effort as we are collectively programmed for fear but this is not normal even though we've grown to believe that it is. Love is real, fear is not. In what ways can you be more loving and accepting of your life?
Gearing Up for RENEWAL in 2015 with Homemade SHRUBS & SCRUBS!!!
To Make: Combine all ingredients except apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once a simmer is reached, lower heat and continue to simmer for an additional 10 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour mixture into a quart-sized glass jar and add 1 C of cider vinegar. Shake and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. To use, simply strain the mixture and enjoy!
Smell the roses much? Why not now?
Can anyone else believe that it is Mid July? It’s so cliché
but isn’t it crazy how quickly time flies? A summer on Martha’s Vineyard feels
like the blink of an eye. It feels like time moves much faster when we let
stress get the best of us and when we get so caught up in our day-to-day work
that we forget to make time to stop and appreciate the moment. The past few
summers I’ve spent here I have “forgotten” to do just that. Really, I just
wasn’t making the choice to slow down amidst the chaos. Summers would have me
bogged down and overwhelmed. These days I still have a long to do list but if I
go about my to do list with a more relaxed, “vacation” mentality, time seems to
slow down and I have more fun in the process. Our perception creates our reality. Ky and I receive
comments all the time now such as “you guys must be running around like crazy.”
Yes, there is a lot of “running” around or as I like to call it “bopping”
around because bopping around is more fun than running around. Running around
seems chaotic and stressful. We’re making a stand this year to fully enjoy
ourselves and soak up the beauty that Martha’s Vineyard summers provide. It
feels good to make time to stop and smell the roses and just breathe throughout
the day. Here’s to a fun summer, we’ve got so much left to go!
Are you willing to experiment?
By Bennett
You know what I
think is really cool? When you throw all of your beliefs about food out the
window and start over. It’s a pretty refreshing feeling. To lift all of the
sometimes limiting beliefs I have about what I like, what I don’t like, what
makes me feel good and what makes me feel bad, and start over. I know for me, my body is affected
differently from season to season by what I consume. This time of year I can
tolerate gluten much easier and I am not as affected by alcohol either. It’s
always refreshing when things change like that because I begin to question my
food again and go back into the experimental zone. It’s a reassuring reminder
to me that everything is connected and that we are all connected to the
seasonal, ever-changing cycle of nature.
This past week I have been paying close attention to my sometimes
restricted and conditioned thoughts. I notice how it makes my body feel tense
and try to let the thought go and relax in my body again. I’ve been carrying
this same practice into my thoughts around food. I’m letting myself experiment more and changing thought
patterns about what I tend to think is “good” or “bad” for me. Because in my opinion, nothing is
really “bad” unless you really think that it is. If you are eating with guilt,
you will ingest that emotion. I find that the more relaxed I am around food and
the choices I make, the easier it is for me to digest and metabolize my meal or
snack. It can be a little unsettling at first but do you find yourself in this
same experimental place from time to time? Share your thoughts below!
Do you feel the need to cleanse?
This time of year I always get the urge to cleanse. I feel
like the idea of cleansing can either be really exciting for people or it can
cause anxiety and overwhelm. I encourage you to not be overwhelmed by the idea.
Simply put a cleanse is just an intentional simplification of your diet. It
gives your body a chance to rejuvenate when we simplify or lighten the load of
what we are consuming. When we give our digestion a break our body has more
energy to focus on deeper processes of cell rejuvenation, invigorating us on a
deeper level. Some people like to do juice fasts, some people like to eat raw
fruits and veggies for a week or a cleanse can be as simple as choosing one
food group, like meat for example, and excluding meat from your diet from a
week or however long you choose. Personally I am choosing to exclude meat,
dairy, wheat, sugars and alcohol from my diet for the next week. I will be
drinking green smoothies and juices and eating a whole foods meal like quinoa,
kale, veggies and beans once a day.
I always feel so much more energized and clear after I cleanse. I feel like it really helps get my creative juices flowing and helps me develop more focus. Some people choose to simply drink more water in a given day to help cleanse. I think any awareness you bring to making your diet a little healthier and a little cleaner is better than nothing.
Amazing transformations can happen when you cleanse. I’ll give you an extreme but attainable example. I saw a documentary this weekend at the Chilmark Film Festival called “May I Be Frank.” The film was about an Italian man from Brooklyn named Frank. He weighed close to 300 pounds, had hepatitis C, was on a slew of medications and was very depressed amongst many health concerns. As fate would have it he ended up at an organic, raw vegan café in San Francisco while on a trip. They have a “question of the day” at this particular restaurant and this day the waiter asked Frank “what is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank answered that he wanted to fall in love one more time before he died but he was scared that he never would because no one would love him because he didn’t even love himself. After getting to know the staff they decided to make a film on Frank to document the change from his typical S.A.D. (standard American diet) to a clean, raw vegan diet. To make a really long story short, Frank lost about 150 pounds, cleared up his hepitatis C, mended all of his broken relationships with family by clearing up his anger, fell in love with his current, smoking hot wife, and tours the world educating people on health and reminding people that anything is possible. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in our routine to help us gain perspective on the areas of our lives that need more attention. I encourage you to bring a little more attention to eating a little cleaner and lighter this week in celebration of Spring, the perfect time for renewal. Have you ever cleansed before? If so, please share your experiences. If this is your first time please share your feelings on the topic below!
Bennett
Have you found the "perfect" diet for yourself? Does it even exist?
Is this true for you? Have you figured it all out? I dare you
to question your beliefs around food. In the food world, it seems that we
believe everything we hear before actually testing it out ourselves. We hear “eat
more protein” and we adopt this new eating behavior without even realizing the
affect it has on us or thinking twice about it. Nothing ever stays the same, our bodies are constantly
changing. A certain way of eating might have worked for you for a period
of time in your life, and then as your body changed and/or your environment
changed you may have found that your old ways of eating no longer
sustained you. This is the key to finding what works best for you…to be in tune
and aware of your body’s calls for something different (especially if you live
in a place with seasons). It doesn’t mean we have to get frustrated or beat
ourselves up, it just is the way it is, and if we can learn to go with the flow
we will find less resistance and dis-ease…in all areas of our lives. Every
single person or body on this earth is different, so one person might need to
eat more meat than another person, some people don’t need to eat any meat, some
people need more fat, some people need less fat, some people like to be
marathon runners and some people like to walk and do yoga. It’s truly about
finding what works best for you and realizing that the more rigid we become
around food, the more disconnected we become from what our body really desires.
Play around with different foods, experiment, HAVE FUN with it! Use your energy
levels, your digestion and your moods to help guide you to the perfect diet for
your body, at this point in time. Have you found that your diet has changed
over time? How does it make you feel? Are you resistant to the changes? (I know
I can be.) Please share your thoughts below!
Bennett
