This past week I took five days away from work, away from my family and friends, away from social media to sit in silence and do… nothing. Seriously.

If you’ve ever heard about those weirdos who sit in silence for days at a time meditating somewhere in the forest, well – I became one of those weirdos.

I attended a Jewish Meditation retreat with Or Ha Lev, co-sponsored by Pardes and NYU Center for Spirituality. It was five days of silence, meditation, chanting, and contemplating life. I drove out to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania (which in case you haven’t heard of Waynesboro, PA -there’s next to nothing there), with my yoga mat in tow and embarked on one of the most transformative experiences in my entire life.

Now, I know that last sentence seems like a lot, a bit Eat, Pray, Love of me – but truly, it was. That’s not to say it didn’t come with road bumps, because there were. Plenty of them. Which is why I wanted to take some time to write out the various expectations I had vs. the reality of what happened.

Day One: Utter and Complete Boredom

The first day honestly felt like the longest day of my entire life. May I remind you that I’ve lived in remote villages in Nepal, and I’ve also spent several weeks living in an ashram in the south of India. But no, the first day of silence felt so painstakingly long and BORING, I immediately thought about escaping into the woods.

Every sitting meditation was excruciatingly long and painful, my back ached, I felt really alone and bored, and pretty much just started judging everyone around me.

I thought that if every day was going to be like this, I might as well pack it home, because there would be no way I could survive this particularly cruel type of torture.

My expectations going into this retreat were:

• I would be totally blissed out the entire time floating on a cloud
• I would transcend time and space and just meditate without any distractions
• I would feel soooo good about the fact that I was there
• I would be nourishing my body with the most delicious organic vegan foods

The reality on day one:

• I was super uncomfortable despite having several blankets and cushions and couldn’t sit still
• I was bored and tired, and actually dozed off several times during meditation
• The food was less than stellar, and I had to mindfully endure each bite
• I was so over the teachers, and them telling me to just breathe (I am breathing! I’m alive aren’t I?!) 

Days Two and Three: Things Start to Shift

Something happened on day two: I began to settle in to my surroundings. When the morning bells rung at 5:45am I felt energized, and ready to dive into my first 45 minute sitting meditation at 6:15am.

I started to really focus on my breath, and even begin to feel in my body where thoughts and feelings were coming up. I began to see everyone around me as individuals who were all going through something of their own. When they cried, I cried. When they laughed, I laughed. We were all connected.

I still dozed off during one of my meditations, and I did question why I was there sometimes when I could have been hanging out with my family, and enjoying myself rather than being in my own thoughts and reflecting on every life decision. But hey, I was getting deeper into my meditations and actually started to look forward to them rather than dreading them.

Days Four and Five: Complete Transformation

There were several things that led to a transformation in me and I want to list them out here:

1. We had small group meetings where we were allowed to talk, and share with the teacher what we were struggling with. Being able to hear others around me express their own fears, frustrations, emotions, family drama, relationship hardships, etc. really put me at ease and made me feel like I was not alone in my struggles and thoughts. It was an excellent lesson that we ALL deal with things in our lives, and NO ONE has it all together. And if they tell you they do, they’re lying.

2. They call it a meditation practice for a reason. Just like a sport, or musical instrument – the more you practice, the “better” you get. Now, I’m not going to measure one meditation “better” than another, but I will say that it became easier for me to sit still and focus on my breath and awareness of the present moment. Before coming to this retreat, I was meditating every day – but I was meditating for five minutes. For me, that was what I felt I could reasonably do on a daily basis. On retreat, we would sit for 45 minutes to an hour, several times throughout the day. The more I sat down to meditate, the easier it became to go for longer periods. And with longer meditations, came more insight.

3. Being away from my phone, and being in nature completely healed me. It’s funny, but we don’t tend to notice how much technology impacts our lives. But when you work on a computer all day long, check your phone constantly, and then go home and watch TV – it’s easy to forget what shutting down actually feels like. Not only did I not have cell service, but my entertainment became the trees, sky, and little insects on tree barks. One afternoon I just watched the rain fall for 20 minutes – twenty! I began to notice droplets of water on leaves, small ripples in a lake, mushrooms growing on the side of a log, and the sounds of rushing water. One day, I was walking so slowly (this was part of our meditation practice) that I noticed a tiny ant. And I stopped. I watched it crawl around for a bit and then continued on. The point I’m trying to make is that I was able to truly slow down. And that was incredible.

4. I had the time and space to examine my life deeply. This may be the most scary. For many of us, we continue on our daily habits and routines and don’t question much. I unearthed many things during this retreat, things that I had swept underneath the rug and didn’t want to deal with. On retreat, I was forced to confront these things, and also accept them, and myself, as they are with loving-kindness and self-compassion.

Lessons Learned and Top Meditation Tips

There were so many things I learned on this retreat, but the number one thing I want to share is that everyone needs to start meditating. Whether you do it for five minutes per day, or 45 minutes per day – cultivating a practice of awareness will truly shift your life for the positive.

So if you’re looking to start meditating, I’ll recommend a few things to help you on your own meditation journey:

1. Start with a small actionable step: like meditating for five minutes per day. If you need an app to help with this, here are my favorites.
2. Join community – there are many mindfulness communities, just Google one in your area, and start practicing with others. This is something I’m definitely going to be incorporating more of in 2019 and beyond.
3. If you forget one day, or life gets busy, that’s okay! Just get back on to the horse. As one of my meditation teachers taught: if you forget to brush your teeth one day, will you stop brushing your teeth altogether? No! You’ll just brush the next day.
4. Go on retreat! If you’re able to take a few days off, I highly recommend attending a meditation retreat to deepen your practice.

If you have any questions about mindfulness meditation you can let me know in the comments or reach out via email (hello@wellspringnutrition.co) or on Instagram!

Have you ever meditated? Would you ever attend a meditation retreat?

There’s nothing I love more than recipes that are super easy to throw together, hit all of my nutritional benchmarks, and are the best for meal prepping for busy weeks.

This easy quinoa salad was inspired by flavors of the Mediterranean – with toasted pine nuts, a mix of cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and sumac.

One of my most popular recipes back on my old blog was a quinoa tabbouleh, and honestly I think this recipe turned out even better.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa is considered a “pseudo-grain” or an “ancient grain” – grown in the Andes mountains, it’s become super popular in the past few years. Quinoa is naturally gluten-free and it is a complete source of protein – meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids that we need (and cannot make ourselves).

This recipe also has a good amount of fiber because of the vegetables and quinoa. I often like to use quinoa in place of rice or other heavier starches, especially if I want to up the protein content of a dish.

This pseudo-grain is a great addition for most salads, side dishes, and even baked goods. The trick with quinoa is to make sure you add lots of spices or herbs to make it tasty, or to cook it in broth rather than just cooking it in water.

What is Sumac?

Sumac is a plant in the cashew family, however the spice comes from crushing up the bush to create a bright purple spice that adds tons of flavor to dishes. I would describe the taste as a bit tangy, but it just adds another depth of flavor to dishes that I love. If you cannot find sumac at a local Middle Eastern store, you can find it here – my favorite spice shop that I came across in Oakland, California. This spice store has everything and anything you could ever imagine, I think it will become your new favorite place if you’re a sucker for new flavors to experiment with! Or if you simple can’t be bothered, you can use equal parts lemon zest in place of it 😉

PIN IT FOR LATER: 

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Hi friends! I’m so excited to share today’s post all about healthy gifts for the holiday season. The holiday season is in full swing, and finding that *perfect* gift for the ones you love is something like a sport. When you know what to get your fitness junkie friend, your aunt who loves yoga, or your bestie who is obsessed with skincare, you kind of feel like you just nailed it.

I’ve divided the post into a few categories to make sure you get exactly what your friends and family actually want – no returns this year. The categories are: the yogi, the clean beauty lover, the wellness mama, the foodie, and the fitness junkie. I either own or have tried many of the items on this list, and know you’re going to absolutely love it! Happy shopping and happy holidays!

note: this post does contain affiliate links

YOGI Holiday Gift Guide

1. We Over Me: Crop top and leggings – I absolutely love this brand, their leggings are very high wasted, the material is super soft, and its great for low-impact activities like gentle yoga, pilates, or even lounging on the weekend.
2. Lululemon Namastay yoga mat – This is a recent purchase of mine and absolutely adore this mat. I’ve gone through several yoga mats, and this is by far the best for hot, sweaty yoga classes. If your yogi friend is into more gentle yoga, I would also recommend the Manduka PRO Yoga and Pilates Mat, Black,71″, or the Jade Harmony Mat – both have great grip and will support your yogi friend during their flows.
3. Yogitoes Towel – This is another great purchase for hot and sweaty yoga. It sticks to your mat and catches all the sweat during an especially hot or difficult class. This print is absolutely gorgeous too, can’t go wrong!
4. Alo Yoga Cropped Hoodie – After a warm yoga class, the last thing you want to do is step out into the cold. Having a cute but warm crop top hoodie makes all the difference.
5. Alo Yoga Airlift Leggings – perfect for any type of yoga, these leggings will stand the test of time. The colors are absolutely beautiful too!
6. Half Moon Meditation Cushion – having a gorgeous and comfortable meditation cushion makes all the difference. This set is definitely on my wishlist as well!

FOODIE Holiday Gift Guide

1. Vital Proteins Holiday Sampler Box  – If you’ve been following my Instagram for a while, you know that I absolutely love Vital Proteins. I use their collagen peptides in my smoothies, the coconut creamers in my coffee, and even use their collagen matcha. This holiday sampler is a great stocking stuffer and allows you to try out a handful of their products before committing to a bigger quantity.
2. Spiralizer – Hands down one of the best purchases of 2018. Why spend 3x the price for pre-spiralized veggies at the grocery store when you can do it at home?! I love using this for my zucchini noodles and turkey meatballs. It’s an awesome way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, and a bargain!
3. Ippodo Matcha – To be honest, I’m not a huge matcha drinker, but when I do I like to go for a high grade matcha with a bright vivid green color. If you have a matcha lover in your life, this would be a great stocking stuffer.
4.  Stasher Bag– These are awesome little silicon ziplock bags – you can steam, microwave or freeze them – great for storing extras, packing away snacks for the road or a long day, or even just to organize your stuff. I bring a couple of these with me when I travel for extra snacks.
5. –Reusable Glass Drinking Straws – Aside from my spiralizer, this is my most beloved kitchen item! These glass straws are so sleek and minimalist, they honestly make me want to drink more water, and bonus points if you keep one in your purse or car to cut down on your plastic use!
6. Vitamix 750 – I would be remiss to not include a Vitamix in my foodie gift guide. This is the ULTIMATE gift. I use my Vitamix every single day and this is no exaggeration. Once you go Vitamix, you never go back.
7. Bushwick Kitchen Bees Knees Spicy Trio – I love these artisanal spicy honeys, a very thoughtful gift that is also practical.

CLEAN BEAUTY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

This may have been the hardest collection to narrow down! It’s safe to say I’m a little clean beauty obsessed – having worked at Follain, and tried dozens and dozens of products, I’ve narrowed it down to my absolute favorites (not an easy feat!). Rest assured, I’ve done all the hard work for you, and any of these gifts would be incredible!

1. Osea Ocean Mudd Cleanser – for those with oily skin or want a weekly deep clean. My husband uses this product and absolutely loves it.
2. Rose Quartz Gua Sha – I just purchased a gua sha tool for more advanced at-home facials. Check out a full tutorial here.
3. Osea Probiotic Polish – if you’re looking for a deep exfoliation, look no further. This polish will make your skin instantly more radiant. Especially love this during the winter months!
4. Province Apothecary Jade Roller – this one will stand the test of time. I know others jade rollers stop working or get stuck. I love this one because it has a smooth and textured side. Pop it into the fridge or freezer and feel instantly more relaxed. I love using a roller when I’m putting on a sheet mask too to make the most out of it!
5. Tata Harper Daily Essentials – It’s so hard to choose one Tata Harper product, I love this kit because it allows you to try multiple products before taking the step to a bigger investment.
6. Herbivore Coco Rose Scrub – I love the rose scent to this scrub, perfect for all over the body while showering. A sweet gift that is super affordable.
7. Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner – One of the hardest things for me to switch into clean beauty was shampoo and conditioner. This set is absolute perfect and smells INCREDIBLE. You’ll feel like an amazonian rainforest goddess.
8. Osea Hylauronic Acid Serum – Another Osea favorite! I love this affordable serum that locks in moisture. Perfect for your dry-skinned gal pals.
9. May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon – I know this is super expensive, but it would not make it onto the list if I didn’t swear by it! I use this every night, it acts as an under eye serum too (2 in 1!), and is excellent for dry skin and rosacea. I’ve gifted this to friends, my mom, and to myself. I adore May Lindstrom products.
10. Honest Hazel Eye Gels – I picked these up once before a long flight to Israel and cannot turn back. These are great for travel, or for an at-home spa day. Super affordable and a great stocking stuffer!
11. May Lindstrom Jasmine Garden – This facial mist feels extra luxe, and will instantly make you feel refreshed. Another May Lindstrom product I’ve gifted multiple times. A true winner.

FITNESS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

1. Fabric Non Slip Booty Bands – I absolutely love booty bands, they’ve completely transformed my workouts. I use them for booty workouts, squats, during warm ups, and take them with me when I travel and don’t have access to a gym. Super practical and affordable gift for your gym loving friend. These bands are fabric and non-slip, which is so important.
2. Adidas Ultraboost Sneakers – I bought these sneakers a few months ago and there is no looking back. I love these sneakers for running, weight training, and even weekend errands. They are super cute and super comfortable.
3. Apple Airpods – An absolute essential for the gym and for life. Best investment of 2018.
4. Lululemon Backpack – A gym bag that has a separate compartment for dirty clothes, a place for your backpack, AND it looks extra chic? Heck yes.
5. Class packs – Soul Cycle, Flywheel, CorePower Yoga, – these classes can get pretty expensive. One of my favorite gifts to receive is a 5 or 10 class pack to a studio that I love, but can’t neccessarily afford to go to all the time. CorePower is having a deal right now for the holidays where you can buy a $100 gift card for $80 – score!
6. YUNI Sweat Refresh and Go – I swear by these YUNI shower sheets. If you ever go to a workout class without showers, these sheets are a MUST. All of the Yuni products smell so good, and make you feel refreshed after a tough workout.

I hope you loved this gift guide, and let me know what you end up purchasing on Instagram! Happy holidays friends!

I have this thing with bowls. I mean, let’s be honest: most meals I eat are from a bowl, and they usually look like just this. There’s something so satisfying and nourishing about a bowl full of warm veggies, whole grains, crunchy seeds, and a delicious creamy dressing to top it off. And for the record, there’s nothing like treating yourself like a goddess, so let’s get into this goddess power bowl!

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Holy mother of halva! I’ve truly out-done myself, friends. I’m so excited to share these vanilla halva cake bites with you today because I thought it was good, but then I shared these bites with my friends, and got RAVE reviews. Yippee! These bites are the perfect sweet treat after dinner, or even as a pre-workout quick sugar fuel. Check it out below!

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While I absolutely love cooking, most days of the week I’m too busy to be bothered with something elaborate – that’s what the weekends are for! But when I want something nourishing, filling, and healthy – I always opt for this simple and delicious vegetarian Thai tofu stir fry with spicy red curry sauce and a side of brown rice. It’s exactly the type of quick and healthy dinner I need to curb any cravings that come lurking in the night.

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