A TED Talk + Discovering Compassion From Fat Haters

Today I’d like to share a TED Talk called “Is the Obesity Crisis Hiding a Bigger Problem?”

This TED talk is about a doctor who questions the relationship between obesity and diabetes, and he shares a personal story of his unfair judgment against an obese patient he once treated. His admission about his sweeping generalisation that all overweight people are lazy and don’t care about being healthy hit home with me, because I have long had strong views on the subject of ‘fat-hate’.

Let me tell you how I discovered fat-hate.

At the age of 21,  after a lifelong struggle with being overweight (which didn’t end at 21, to be clear), I lost 25 kg/55 lbs in a span of about 6 months.

Spiced Quinoa and Supergreens Salad

So, I promised myself I wouldn’t put two quinoa based recipes in a row, but because I made a big batch on the weekend (and froze it in 1 cup serves for quick use, like I explained in my previous post) it was quinoa to the rescue when I needed a quick nutritious ingredient for my work lunch tomorrow. Also, I love the stuff. I could post a lot of quinoa recipes!

Being Patient with Meditation

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy;
then you should sit for an hour.” ~ Old Zen adage

A quick note this Monday night to share a VERY interesting article on the long-term effects meditation has on emotion processing.

26 years passed before I gave meditation an honest go, and at least another 12 months before I saw the real potential it has to change my life – but once I noticed the first permanent benefits it delivered, the results

Reality check – Are you bored?

It seems like a silly question, doesn’t it?
We often view boring things as finite events in our lives, like when we sat through a pointless meeting at work, or watched a lame movie. But do you ever stop and check to see if your life is boring?

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge

When I first started eating quinoa, I loved the texture but didn’t love the slightly bitter flavour. To compensate I used to cook it in broth, which made it taste awesome (well, it tasted like yummy salty broth), but I never liked it in subtle dishes like quinoa porridge.

Recipes always stress the need to rinse quinoa to rid it of it’s bitter flavour, and I realised one day that I grossly underestimated how much rinsing was necessary. Realizing my error, I knew I’d have to attempt quinoa porridge again.

Discovering Wellness and a Reason to Blog

This is it folks, the first post. I’m excited and nervous all at once! I have wanted to write a blog for a long time but wasn’t sure what type of topic would be a sustainable, lifelong interest that would keep my creative juices flowing… until now. That interest I’m talking about is wellness, which according to the World Health Organisation is “…a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

I like that definition, and I wish I had understood it long ago. See, wellness is by all accounts very new to me. Let me explain.