If your digestion isn’t in order, the chances are you also experience at least two of these symptoms:

-Bloating

-Tiredness

-Heart burn or indigestion

-Food allergies

-Nausea

-Skin breakouts

-Skin conditions like eczema, rosacea, acne or psoriasis 

-Weight gains

-Constipation or loose stools

-Flatulence or belching

-Parasites or Candida

-Weak nails and hair

Poor digestion is awful and sadly unless something is done about it, it may only get worse with time.

Have you ever said...

“I used to be able to eat anything” or 

“I never had to exercise to stay in shape” or

“My baby weight never went away” or

“My digestion is not what it used to be”?

[Personally, I’m guilty of all the above, especially when I have the below reference taken circa 2013.]

If you want something done about this digestion of yours (btw it’s not the same as metabolism- you can eliminate quickly and stay slim but it still doesn’t mean that you’re making the most out of your food and assimilating the goodness), the first thing you must do is begin eating consciously.

Easier said than done? 

Nope, it’s very very easy to do. Continue reading for my top tip that works every single time and is actually fun...

But first I’d like to paint you a picture of what happens when you DON’T eat consciously.

I bet there’s been a time that you’ve taken your sandwich to your desk and swallowed it so fast, you weren’t sure if you even tasted it, let alone felt any satisfaction. 

You certainly were a bit annoyed at yourself for spending money on yet another lunch you don’t remember eating. 

I mean- how did it disappear from your plate? Wait, maybe someone played a trick on you and you haven’t even taken a bite! Mmmm maybe not.

Suddenly you feel bloated. Dissatisfied, irritated and bloated. Awesome combo.

What actually happened when you swallowed that sandwich is that it got dumped into your stomach without any warning, without the host having a chance to get the space ready for it, in fact it squashed the host unconscious, confused the whole digestive system so it stopped operating altogether. Your body’s alarm went off to send signals of there being something wrong and the only way it knew to communicate that was by making you bloat.

You didn’t respond to those cries so it gave you a headache.

You blocked out the headache with a painkiller so it gave you visible red patches on your neck and breakouts on your chin.

You covered them up with concealer so it gave you extra love handles you couldn’t cover up.

You told yourself that next time you’ll just skip lunch to which you immediately felt an inflammation response.

Now your joints hurt.

WTF? Surely that’s got nothing to do with a sandwich!

And why do you feel so tired when food is supposed to give you energy?

Now let’s rewind for a moment and try that again...

You unwrap your sandwich, feeling good within yourself that you got up to go out and buy it, feeling proud that you got at least a little movement into your day.

You start to breathe deeper with that thought of gratitude.

In turn you begin to relax and even get a whiff of the deliciousness you’re about to enjoy.

You begin to salivate.

You take a small bite and you chew chew chew.

Your brain then sends the message to your stomach (the host) that food is coming so it starts to tidy up and pump out the welcoming mat (hydrochloride acid).

The food slides down with joy, lands not in a dry sad desert but a fun pool of digestive juices.

It breaks down effortlessly, without the need for your body to spend any more precious energy, so you feel like you have lots of energy to actually do some work.

Minerals, nutrients and vitamins then spark into fireworks that go straight to the cells which need them most, while the remains take a different route towards easy elimination.

No arguments, no confusion, no need for setting off any alarms, everyone knows their role and they get on with doing their thing so you can get on with doing your thing.

So next time you’d like scene #2 instead, next time you’d prefer to feel alive, energised, relaxed, bloat free and happy within yourself for eating consciously, try this tip:

Imagine that while you’re eating that sandwich, a hidden camera is projecting your every move onto a National News channel! Your face is on everyone’s screen for millions to watch you eat. 

The Royal family watch the news too, you know :)

P.S. I touch on the topic of digestion and often discuss it in depth at every single one of my workshops. You can bet that I'll be covering this topic in the next classes 'Easy raw lunches that kids will love' and 'How to eat for beautiful skin'. All classes can be booked via this link: https://tanyasliving.com/collections/workshops-and-events

Tuesday was incredible.

I got to hang out with some of the key players in the industry, dine with them, share ideas with them and hear about their research into the future of wellness. Not only that, I had the privilege to close the Food & Drink Innovation Network’s (FDIN) event with my own presentation.

All while London was getting painted white out of our windows. Soooo beautiful! 

Then, as though my immune system was holding out until the minute I finished speaking… suddenly I lost my voice, my head filled with cold, my throat flared up and my entire body started to ache. 

Having managed to avoid being this ill for many years now, I basically forgot what to do and went to bed as soon as Lake went down.

I woke up on Wednesday with the same conjunctivitis that she’s been fighting for the last few days. Plus everything I felt the day before was intensified three fold. Not. Ideal.

I went through the cupboards and gathered whatever I felt like my compromised immune system might benefit from, that would be comforting at the same time.

I made this below latte in a blender. Then I made it again. And two more times throughout the day. Today, on Thursday, I woke up kinda back to normal.

That’s some speedy healing if you ask me, so a remedy recipe to bookmark for sure!

Cold & Flu Remedy in a Latte

• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons Manuka honey
• 1 tablespoon almond butter (or tahini)
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon beetroot powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1 cup hot/boiling water

-Blend everything and enjoy, while reminding your cells that they well and good and have a divine right to heal quickly and thrive.

IMPORTANT

There’s not a whole lot of Vitamin C in this latte and it’s something MAJOR for a cold, so I ended up eating lots of broccoli in my meals (way more Vitamin C in broccoli than lemons, would you believe?). Better yet, squeeze lemon all over your broc- tasty, zesty and vital. If it’s a serious cold, you might want to get serious about Vitamin C and get yourself some Camu Camu Berry Powder.

TURMERIC

Turmeric is the anti-inflammatory ruling, antioxidant buzzing superstar of them all.  And it’s all thanks to curcumin, the main active ingredient in turmeric, that we aren’t only limited to using this herb for healing and fighting disease, but also for strengthening our immune system, extending our life span, improving our skin, and becoming happier people. (Buy it here)

BLACK PEPPER

Peppercorns may have its health benefits but in this recipe, it plays more than a crucial role. The curcumin content of turmeric is actually only approx 3% by weight. To get the dosage required for healing you’ll need at least 1 gram of curcumin per day, which is basically 5 tablespoons of curry powder in a meal. Good luck with that. To top it off, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, so make that 10 tablespoons. Or don’t!… mix a little ground black pepper (it contains piperine) with turmeric, and the absorption is enhanced by 2000%. Suddenly a 7 gram tablespoon of turmeric, that would’ve otherwise only contained 0.21 grams of curcumic becomes equivalent to 4 grams in absorbable terms. Pass the pepper please! (Buy it here)

GINGER

Ginger is pretty much an antibacterial, antiviral, flu fighting, toxin releasing, mucus preventing, digestion strengthening, immunity boosting Ninja Warrior of dreams! No way was I to leave it out of my magical cold & flu remedy. (Buy it here)

BEETROOT

Beets’ latest and biggest claim to fame is  for their oxygen giving properties to especially key to athletes and those looking to boost their stamina. It’s all in the nitrates converting into nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide improves blood flow which is also important when you’re healing, detoxing and fighting inflammation. (Buy it here)

CINNAMON

I reckon God must’ve been in a good mood when he thought of giving one of his trees a bark so aromatic, so flavourful and so easy to grind up into powder that it would be added to some of the tastiest dishes, drinks and desserts in many cultures. It’s incredible for regulating blood sugar levels. Just think - cinnamon roll. Ok stop thinking about cinnamon rolls now, because this herb ranks #1 for its protective antioxidant levels and ability to fight infections and viruses. It’s a natural anti-biotic, anti-microbial and anti-viral agent, so don’t be shy with it. (Buy it here)

MANUKA HONEY

The higher the Active NPA or MGO rating of manuka honey is, the more anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal are its properties. If anyone has head my story, you might recall that honey contributed greatly to my healing at 14 years old. I was in hospital with a broken back and inflamed pancreas, while a catheter burst and spread infection through my bladder. No-one prescribed the honey to me, but my body intuitively craved it and I’m so happy I listened. Big big fan of Manuka right here. Oh and it’s native to my beloved NZ! (Buy it here)

More on turmeric: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric#section2

More on ginger: https://homeremediesforlife.com/ginger-for-flu/

More on beetroot: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx

More on cinnamon: https://draxe.com/health-benefits-cinnamon/

More on Manuka honey: https://draxe.com/manuka-honey-benefits-uses/

 P.S. What do you crave? Doooo you crave anything at all? How often do you crave something and is it usually at a certain time of day, during a particular time of year or dependent on where you are in the world? My next class is all about cravings but I'll be putting it all into an article soon as well, so please leave your comments below, if you'd like me to cover something in it. 

I like to update you guys on great (and F*REE!) things happening in the industry, one of these is  a very important docu-series called 'GMOs Revealed'.

FACT: The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy estimates that 85% of U.S. corn is genetically modified. Other widely modified crops include canola oil, alfalfa and sugar beets.

FACT: GMOs are banned in 27 countries. Also, in 61 countries foods must be labeled as being genetically modified - but not in the U.S. We are also not exactly fully safe here in the UK either!

FACT: Glyphosate, the chemical originally developed to de-scale pipes, boilers and metals, is now used to KILL plants. What’s more, it is found in 75% of processed foods.

Global Leaders in the fields of medicine, law, agriculture and politics share their unique expertise as they explain the complex relationship between bacteria, soil, and your body.

Discover how Big Agriculture and companies like Monsanto have drastically influenced agriculture in America, leading to corrupt, inhumane and toxic farming practices.

Every year before it ends, Elliot and I sit down to write out all the big, small and tiny accomplishments of the previous 12 months.

This has become the single most important task I do all year.

There is nothing as incredibly thrilling, motivating, inspirational, fun, eye opening, gratifying, healing and self-appreciating all at the same time.

It’s too easy to say that another year just flew by and there are many things you never got a chance to do, but when you start to write down all the things you DID do, the experience is entirely different. The deep gratitude stirring within you, makes it so much easier to plan for the year ahead.

If I ever struggle to remember all the details on the spot, I open up my diary and go through it carefully. All those meetings, trips, events, tasks, highlighted dates, dinners and bookings in my calendar never fail to amaze and delight even the most pushy-never-enough-accomplished-critic within me.

It really is that powerful! And simple. And fun! So fun, what are you waiting for?

Happy Happy Happy New Year!
xTanya

P.S. Originally, I wrote out a few of my accomplishments as an example for you to read. They were so damn good and I was so madly proud that I figured it’s probably not the most inspirational example for anyone but me. It could even put you off starting your own list, not because no one would ever top my examples but because they couldn’t possibly compete with YOUR examples. There is no one (I repeat ‘NO ONE’) that has achieved what you have, do yourself a favour and stop reading already, unless it’s your online calendar of 2016 and you’re making notes!

P.P.S. Screw New Year resolutions, it’s all about the Old Year solutions!

P.P.P.S. Don’t ever listen to anyone that tries to tell you that 1st of January is just another day. It isn’t. It’s the best day ever!

P.P.P.P.S. If you’re still reading this, then it’s very likely that there’s nothing to do in the office at this time of year and my email was possibly the only email you’ll receive all day, so why not play a game. Here’s a game>>

Trying cashew kale chips for the first time  

Funny flight story (‘funny’ because it’s behind us ;-))…

It took 4 flights, 4 taxis and 43 hours to arrive at my parents’ Sungate 11:11 in Vilcabamba, Ecuador.

The connecting flight to Madrid was a total dream with a 10 months old. I inquired both at Heathrow and at Madrid airport desks about a good seat for Lake and I for our remaining 12 hour flight to Guayaquil and was assured with great certainty that the flight is looking empty, that there will be no one next to us and that after take-off we will even be able to change to a four-seater row!

Soooo we board the flight with confidence, find our seat and spread all the toys, snacks and bags across our isle seat and the empty window seat next to us. Then 5 minutes before take-off, people start piling in! PILING IN!

And so many of them, some with 5 bags each, some with caged cats, some with caged dogs. It was like watching a movie, because that’s how surreal it all looked.

At this stage, I’m still pretty optimistic about the extra space on this flight, I almost don’t notice the man telling a cat woman behind us that she’s seated in the wrong seat and needs to move herself, her cat and all four of her bags next to me and Lake.

I start to panic trying to work out how to keep the baby happy while I gather aaaall of our belongings to fit in a tiny space underneath my feet (anyone with kids knows just how much you need for a 1 hour walk, let alone a 43 hour journey!).

Lake senses my panic and starts to get squeamish, meanwhile the cat woman keeps saying something to me in Spanish. If you were to mute this whole scene, it probably looked a little like an over exaggerated version of charades, where she is gesturing for us to transfer to a window seat so that she and all of her stuff wouldn’t have to.

Then as everyone is loudly fussing and climbing over each other to get to their seat and competing to fit what ever they could into tiny overhead lockers, the cat woman starts climbing too and in the midst of throwing her bags onto the seat next to us (I’m still collecting our toys), she manages to bang Lake on the head with her cat’s cage.

Then the crying begins! By this stage it’s not only Lake crying either…

I grab my upset baby and me, shoot over to see a flight attendant, she helps us find a better seat, helps us make the dreadful transfer and just as I start to settle, she tells us there’s an even better seat. I’m a mixed bag of skeptical, pleased, annoyed and hopeful, but I go alone with it. She is right, the seat is much better and there is now a whole empty one next to us!

We are good to go at last.

We are buckled in, Lake on my lap strapped to my seatbelt, I catch a breather (and a few smiling faces that have just witnessed our musical chairs episode), everyone is in their seats, cabin crew have completed the prep for take off and are now nowhere to be seen as they disappear behind the curtains to take their seats. Relaxed in my seat, I’m about to begin my ‘take off meditation’ but before I close my eyes, I gaze over the tv screen:

“Enjoy your flight to Quito”…  Quito?? OMG!

I turn to an Ecuadorean man across the isle: “Quito?”, “Si, Quito” he smiles. “Noooooo!”

I practically tear the seatbelt off of me and Lake, swing her over my shoulder and jump out from our seat like a ninja turtle!

The “surreal movie” continues, except I’m no longer the one watching it, everyone is watching ME! In this movie, I’m the crazy woman with a baby over my shoulder, running towards the front of the plane yelling “excuse me, excuse me, I need to be on a flight to Guayaquil, my dad is there to meet his granddaughter for the first time!!!”

A flight attendant pops out from behind the curtain, explains that two flights were combined at the last minute and that the first stop is Quito but I get to transfer there onto Guayaquil and still arrive on schedule. I walk the walk of shame all the way back to our seat with everyone cheering and smiling my way, but I tell myself it’s because I have such a cute baby and nothing to do with the entertainment that her crazy mother just provided for a plane jam-packed full of spectators.

Moral of the Story?… Do not make fun of crazy people, one day they might be you. (And don’t call cat lovers ‘cat woman’, that’s not very nice.)