Welcome to the weekend friends!
I’ve got a few more classes this weekend and am really excited about taking on a few new classes on my regular schedule!!! Be sure to check out my yoga page for classes, workshops, and information on how to schedule your own private yoga sessions! Now, onto the important stuff…FOOD!! 
After my corporate wellness presentation on Wednesday (which went splendidly, thanks so much for asking 😉 ) I was feeling inspired to create a homemade version of something I have been eating a lot lately – Health Warrior chia bars. Don’t get my wrong, they make a fabulous product BUT for me, there was too much sugar (three kinds in their snack bars and seven kinds in their protein bars), and I wanted to see if I could avoid paying nearly $20 a box. SOOOO, I read the ingredients on the back and decided it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge to make something similar, and I was right, these are ALMOST as delicious as the real thing!
Chocolate Coconut Chia Bars
- 6 tbsps almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3/4 chia seeds
- 1 cup HOMEMADE (yep, thats right!! 😉 ) puffed brown rice
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 cup raw shredded coconut
- 2.5 oz 85% dark chocolate (or something you like)
- 6 scoops protein powder (vanilla plant based or whatever you like)
So the main ‘time suck’ for this recipe, which isn’t even really that bad, is the puffed brown rice. You can always buy it but why not try homemade – cook some brown rice, dry it out in the oven to get the moisture out, puff in HIGH heat coconut oil, and cool on a paper towel to remove excess oil. From there all you’ll need to do is combine all the ingredients, press it out in a parchment covered baking pan, cut into squares, and you’re good to go! I like mine cold so I keep them in the fridge, but you’re welcome to store them in the pantry if you prefer.
I definitely plan to play around with the recipe over the next few weeks and will keep you posted on how things progress, but its certainly a great place to start!
’til next time, keep smiling! 🙂
I am over the moon and so excited for today you have no idea! In a few hours I will be giving my first corporate wellness presentation here in San Francisco. I have been prepping like a mad woman while balancing the family visit and thought it would be fun to share some of the tips I plan to talk about today.
Since the target audience is modern business professionals I’ve included 10 tips to energize your day without an energy drink or excessive coffee consumption.
While my family has been in town we’ve been keeping busy with long walks around the city, bike rides over Golden Gate Bridge, 
We have one more day until Mom & Dad fly home which isn’t keeping us from staying committed to kicking butt and keeping healthy for the 4th of our 16 exceptionally motivated weeks. My day started bright and early with a bike ride, yoga class, and some meditation. Then its a little more family time and crossing my fingers the weather holds out for my parents. I also have to squeeze in some work because there are some great projects in the works this week that I am super excited to share with you…soon!
For now, you’ll have to be satisfied with another week of healthy eats and awesome exercises to stay healthy, motivated and feeling like your best! There is nothing quite like time with family to leave you feeling full of energy and ready to tackle another week!
It’s been a great couple of days with my family in town – especially because of the awesome food! While I have been sticking to the posted dietary routine as best as possible, I definitely used up one of my ‘cheat meals’ the other night. Since it is Restaurant Week here is SF we went to dinner at 
Today we’re heading out to 
In the coming weeks there are lots of exciting things happening! Everything to come has to do with growing in my career, so I couldn’t be more excited that I have time with some of my family beforehand; which brings me to today’s Wellness Wednesday topic, balance. 
When I mean balance, I don’t mean the kind I do on my head or in the picture above 😉 I mean happily and effectively managing all the different aspects of life. I used to get this tunnel vision when it came to the different aspects of my life: I would focus on whatever I wasn’t happy about and figure out a way to fix it or make it bend my way. Sometimes I would succeed but most of the time I wouldn’t and I would end up mor
e unhappy than when things started. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I was really able to make a sift…things just were not working. Now, my focus is on finding time for the little things, working smarter, and allowing myself downtime. I know as life continues and children are added to the picture, things will get even more exciting and the challenge of balancing things out might become more tricky but in the end, its ALL doable. Whatever your priorities in life, you’ve got time for all of them and the stuff you want to do too, it just takes a bit of balance. If you’re not sure where to start, begin by taking 5-10 minutes to be silent, alone, and just see what pops up.
I am filled with love and excitement from such an incredible weekend at Yoga Journal Live San Francisco and I can’t wait share everything I absorbed with my students! This week is going to be a little crazy with Phil traveling AGAIN and family visiting but we’re both doing our best to stick with regular exercise and smart dietary choices. 
I was really intimidated to try and make salmon burgers at first and I really don’t know why…they’re so simple and so incredibly delicious!
As a teacher and a student of yoga it is very easy to slip into a routine…just move through a sequence without paying attention, follow the same ques, repeat the same things, etc… I know yoga is supposed to help you be present, focused, and all that jazz but trust me, it happens to the best of us, haha! I really started to feel that way yesterday; as I was teaching the 2nd of 3 classes for the day it felt like I was saying some of my ques just simply out of habit, not necessarily because there was any intention behind it. It occurred to me I didn’t have a focus…I was just showing up. And while that may be enough for some, for me, it just isn’t. So, with a few more classes to teach this week, and a whole lot of 
With my classes I chose to focus on thoracic spine opening, and for myself I am focused on being present, staying motivated, and breathing through the tough stuff. There is much more in life to love than you can possibly imagine…you just have to focus! ❤
traveling for business and me working the yoga journal conference but we’re committed to sticking with our routine. If you are in the bay area and haven’t gotten your passes for Yoga Journal Conference this coming weekend use code NEW YOU at check out to get 15% off your passes. I am so excited to be a part of everything and I hope to see some of you there too!!
Some of you might be thinking, “what happened to this week’s diet regime?!?!?” and I want you to rest assured the only deviation is dinner and each of these recipes definitely healthy. There will also be more details of the weekly diet specifics revealed from week to week…now, back to the deliciousness we’re consuming for dinner this weekend. 
All of these delicious meals are between 425-625 health dense calories and I can’t wait to cook them all. Find these and the other recipes of the week 
Livingleen 