This month's recipe might be one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. I'm a HUGE fan of all the 4 main ingredients: Butternut Squash, Basmati Rice, Coconut Milk, & Black Beans. I found this recipe on a beautiful blog called Tartelette. There are many other recipes that look absolutely delectable, but I haven't had a chance to try them out yet. On the blog, the author mentions that she makes this Butternut Squash recipe once a month... I can totally see why!

Another reason I chose this recipe is because butternut squash season is coming up & this is a wonderful dish to welcome the Fall season! 

Black beans are a great source of vegetarian protein (15.2 grams in 1 cup!) and they are also a great source of fiber (also 15 grams in 1 cup) with a lower caloric content. Read more about the benefits of Black Beans here.

Butternut Squash is a starchier vegetable but is considered one of the healthiest foods out there. It is packed with vitamins A & C and is also high in fiber. Read more about the benefits of Butternut Squash here.

I hope you all are able to give this recipe a try! It truly is delicious & so very nutritious! Feel free to post your own experiences with this recipe, I'd love to hear about them!

One of the things I love most about this birth is that a few things happen immediately after the birth of the baby that people always question in regards to home birth. Granted, this birth is not at home, but it shows the many variations of normal in regards to birth. It is not a cookie cutter experience & all babies react differently when being born. 

I'm specifically talking about the fact that the cord is wrapped loosely around the baby's neck. In this case the cord was long enough that it didn't seem to impact the descent of the baby & the mama was still able to bring the baby onto her chest. You do hear the urgency in the midwife's voice when she realizes this, but she takes care of it efficiently & without stressing the mom out. 

You'll notice that the baby takes a little longer to transition. This is common in a water birth. But again, the midwives handle it gently, with care, with efficiency, & without creating an emergency out of something that is quite normal. 

This is such a beautiful birth!! ENJOY!

I cried when I watched this video. It is truly beautiful... 

ENJOY!

But this "making me whole again" captures in simplicity the entire journey for me from pregnancy to childbirth.

At nine I lost control of my body; I divorced my mental and physical realms long before my parents would divorce several years later.  Certainly there are various familial details to that ninth year that helped to create a desire to divide these two within myself but in adulthood I was fully responsible for continuing the madness.  But at that young age, I split into two enemy states - a mind that felt that the body betrayed...and a body that felt that the mind was weak...and at this point my flesh began to expand.  I gained weight in small and mighty leaps over the years.  Each year finding me just a bit more chubby, double-chinned, and self-conscious about it.

There are many people who have spoken heroically and passionately about loving their fleshy bodies.  Relishing the generous portions and ample offerings of a large vessel to carry their souls to and fro.  I was not one of these people.  I was an elementary school girl who heard boys make loud creaking sounds whenever I sat in the school desks (even now, I tear up instantly)...the middle school girl, who during javelin lessons in PE class, had Eddie Laferney (yeah, I put his real punk-ass name on here) chase me with a javelin making wild boar sounds, the high school girl, who on walking home from school, had boys jammed into a car slow down to match my pace, roll down their windows, and make pig noises as they cruised slowly alongside for several blocks as I cried.  

And I've tried diets, books, therapy, blah, blah, blahity, bloo-boo...but the fact remained that until recently there were still two firm encampments within me.  A mind that believed that I had an ugly grotesque huge body and a body that flew a flag with a motto that I had a weak mind, no will power, no strength, no possibility of success in a physical scenario.

And then came pregnancy.  From the moment that the plus sign materialized on that stick, the generals of these two armies started flying their respective white flags.  I began to intertwine the mental and physical journey of pregnancy for the sake of the little one who would, after 40 weeks and 4 days of nourishment within me, enter the world and become the daughter that I sustain through nursing today.

Peace was made.  There was no need for an official treaty.  It has been since that joyous "dip stick" day that I've made an almost instantaneous and fluid conversion to harboring two parts of myself in harmony.  I sipped in pre-natal yoga classes and swam with all my might in water aerobics.  I followed the gestational diabetes diet and didn't even blink an eye.  I found a doula that gave me such inner peace, strength, and guidance that I easily found my own natural rhythm during labor.  Never screaming.  Rarely panting.  Just riding the waves that moved my baby towards the world.

I have forgiven my body for so long struggling to eat for nourishment's sake.  I have forgiven my mind for so long struggling to push emotions out of the way for another quesadilla.

And it isn't without reserve that I pronounce I am whole again; I know that people with food issues can sometimes cycle back.  Yet, in the present moment, a place that I try evermore to reside with more tranquility and acceptance, I am fully whole.

I hear a lot of my clients talking about procrastination and not following through on their promises to themselves. They set intentions and then they struggle to follow through on their intentions. They have a desire to change, they know the steps to take to change but somehow the implementation piece jumps in and stops all progress.

Business coach and speaker David Neagle says, “Your subconscious mind is insidious.” What this means is that every time you set an intention your subconscious mind steps in and gives you a list of reasons why you can’t implement towards your desired results. Your subconscious mind is so afraid of change it will actually block the solutions to your problems.

Now don’t worry there is an easy way to get over this hump. It’s very simple but I want you to get a pen and paper and write this down: Listen to your body! Yes, that is truly the answer.

People believe the reason why I stay thin is because I am disciplined. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, when I was the most disciplined in my life, I was also the heaviest in my life. What I now do is always listen to my body. Let me give you an example. The last week of April I was at my business mastermind retreat at a beautiful hotel on the water. When I checked in they mentioned a fitness center. I haven’t worked out in a gym in over a year, but for some reason my body said, “yeah fitness center let’s wake up early and take advantage of that.” So the next morning when my alarm went off at 6 am I got up and went to the gym. It’s not discipline, it’s listening. My body wouldn’t have given me the desire if it weren’t truly what I wanted, and I never question that, and it was awesome. The next day I wanted to jog by the water, so I went. The next day my body was really sore and I wanted to stretch by my bed, so I did.

When you turn up the communication between you and your body, you have officially warded off weight gain forever.

Remember, you can’t have the desire for something without the solution already being there, all you have to do is listen to your body to give you the solution and then follow through when the subconscious mind attempts to block you from change. If you feel your body never asks for a jog or healthy food you are not in your body, you are in your head. Take some time to relax and connect to your body. Figure out what you feel like doing as opposed to what you think you should be doing. Do whatever it takes to connect to the body and then you will be one of those people classified as “disciplined.” It will be our little secret that really it’s just the art of listening.