HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.. It is almost year.. 2009... I am so excited for this new year to begin..
I am grateful for everything that I have gone through in this last year ( all the ups and downs).. It has really made me grow...
Thank you to all my amazing friends and clients that have brought much joy to my life..
I know this last year has been a bit challenging but let's put it out there that 2009 will bring us much HOPE and PROPERTITY to all of our lives...
Blessings to all of you...
Marina

I am so grateful that President OBAMA was elected as our new President last Tuesday evening.. what an amazing night hat was...

I am also grateful that Prop 2 also passed... " Save the chickens, Veal and Pigs"... Let's hope this makes a HUGE difference in the quality of our food.

Brandy McCans and I had our first Raw food prep Class yesterday with a full class. We had a great time being with everyone. We have our next one scheduled for December 7th and then our healthy RAW dessert class scheduled for Dec 21st. Please contact me if you are interested in this one as we still have a few spaces left. The cost is $45 and it is from 1-3 pm in my home in Santa Rosa, CA. Brandy and I are trying to come up with our business name so if anyone has some ideas.. please send them our way.

Enjoy the crisp weather and this beautiful time of year with the changing colors on the trees.
Health & Veggies, Marina :)

It is the NIGHT before the ELECTION of our NEW PRESIDENT for the next four years. I hope that things turn out well tomorrow ... I am a BIG Obama/ Biden FAN... and see that we do need change to happen in this world. I am also a HUGE supporter of Proposition 2 in California to save the animals from living in cages. I have read/ watched/ learned a lot about this Proposition and can't imagine anyone being against it. I like to tell someone " Imagine if you were stuck in an elevator with 10 other people and you couldn't move or turn around - among other things.. " how would you feel? We seem to forget that cows, sheeps,veal, chickens, etc are not just ANIMALS but have " FEELINGS" as well. How can we not think that this aggressive energy doesn't get into the FOOD that we eat..

This bring me to a book that I highly recommend to all of my readers of this BLOG " Quantum Wellness" by Kathy Freston. You can check out her website at www.kathyfreston.com . Kathy was on Oprah this past spring or summer. I missed the show but saw a few clips along with reading her BOOK. I really have learned so much about what is really happening to our planet by the consumption of animal proteins. I first want to state that I respect where everyone is on their path and am not trying to persuade or think less of anyone who eats animal protein. I am personally still eating some animal protein , although it is getting less and less and my body feels great. I have mainly given up red meat and most dairy for now. I am not sure where I am on this path but I am taking this one day at a time .

My friend Dr. Brandy McCans and I just started a 21 day cleanse. We are eliminating all animal protein, sugar, wheat, corn, gluten, chocolate, alcohol from our diet. We met the other day to take measurements of each other and take our weights and body-fat. I am not posting that here but am excited about having something to look at on a daily basis. We each set our goals for where we would like to be in 3 weeks. We each want to lose about 5 pounds and some inches. We will mainly focus on raw foods with some cooked veggies or gluten-free grains if needed. We will also continue our normal workout schedule which differs for each of us. Brandy and I have become fast friends and have learned a lot from each other. Brandy has been following the path of Raw foods a bit longer than myself . I have learned a lot from Brandy, Shea Baird who I see for colonics ( www.shealynnbaird.com ) and Cecilia at www.rawglow.com . Brandy and I took a class from Cecilia which was so informative and then I took another one with my friend Jesse who is also experimenting the Raw food lifestyle with me.

Brandy and I are excited to be having our FIRST Raw food Prep class this Sunday. We met last weekend to go over all the recipes which turned out perfect. We have a class this Sunday which is now FULL and again on Dec 7th. I believe we have one space left. Our desire is to continue to expand this and see where this leads.

I also found another great website to check out called Raw Divas. You can check them out at www.therawdivas.com for more information. They have some great information on their website.

I also just decided to subscribe to this new Raw Magazine from the UK called " Get Fresh " .. you can check out their website at www.fresh-network.com.


The last website that I highly recommend you check out is www.organicalthlete.org
Justin Torrelas who is the Director of Organic Athlete will be a guest speaker this Friday night at Cecilia's Raw Food potluck in Petaluma. You can check out the details on her website www.rawglow.com

Happy fall to everyone and I will be posting new Information on a more consistent basis. I welcome any comments/ feedback.

Health & Veggies, Marina

Happy Sunday afternoon to everyone.. WOW.. I can't believe it has been 1 1/2 months since I have written anything in my BLOG.... What is really going on??? Life gets busy and where does time go?

I hope that all of you are doing well as we approach FALL. I will be working/ sending out my second Vibrant Health Newsletter in the next week or so and you can then just sign up to receive this monthly newsletter. This way I can try and get as much info out to all of you each month instead of sending things here and there which I know is hard to read everything with having a BUSY schedule.

I have been doing WELL with my eating regimen the past 1 1/2 months. I am still staying away from RED meat/ Buffalo for now and haven't done much DAIRY at all either. I am still eating some fish/ turkey and chicken for now along with eggs every once in a while. I do overall feel FABULOUS from eating more veggies/ greens and having a GREEN Smoothie EVERYDAY. I will be posting some recipes in the new Newsletter so check this out.

I am seeing clients full-time at Studio Fitness now for Nutrition Consultations as well as Personal Training sessions so please call me if you are interested in having an appt.

I am also having a fabulous time with my Mona Vie Business. I am leaving this Thursday for a few days to the Annual Mona Vie Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah to be with all the other amazing Mona Vie distributors. I will let you know what I learn. I don't leave the house without my 2 -4 ounces in the morning to get my day going right.

Good health to all of you and more great info in this newsletter coming out in the next week.
Blessings, Marina :)

Happy July 26th-
It has been quite awhile since i haven't written in my BLOG and I found it was time.
I have been so enjoying my new food intake since getting my braces off a few months ago. I have once again been eating a LOT of salads.. YIPEE.. and perfect for summer time. I have been eating more of a plant based diet . I have decided to give up all red meat for a month or so and see how my body feels. I am still eating some organic chicken, wild salmon , turkey and eggs but have been going a few days here and there with no animal protein in a day which feels good to me. This is also much easier to do right now with the warmer weather.

I have also been reading a lot of RAW foods and a RAW food diet and attending a few classes to learn more about this way of living. I don't personally know if I could ever be 100% Raw but I am enjoying learning more about this way of eating and living. Please check out this website www.rawglow.com for more information about some upcoming classes with Cecilia. My friend Dr. Brandy Mc Cans and I have taken a class with her and really enjoyed that. Brandy has also started a group called Raw-Vacious which is about intergrating more of a whole foods/ plant based diet although you don't need to be a raw foodist to come or join. I am obviously still eating an animal based diet at this time. The next meeting is Wednesday, August 27th at Seed Restaurant (463 Sebastopol Ave) from 7-9pm. You can check out www.meetup.com for more information or e-mail me directly.

I also highly recommend a book called " The Thrive Diet " by Brendan Brazier who is a professional Ironman Triathlete and Formulator of Vega products who is an Athlete and looking to intergrate more of a plant based diet.

I woke up yesterday morning ( Friday)... and headed out to Occidental to experience another enjoyable massage by Jamaica Galloway. She is a Certified Massage Therapist but her speciality is Chi Nei Tsang. You can check out more about this at www.chineitsang.com . I always leave our sessions feeling so revived in my body. She does a special stomach massage along with some reflexology . This isn't just any stomach massage though. If you are interested in making an appt with her.. Please call her at (707) 874-1751 and tell her that I have referred you. She is worth checking out.

I also have been using some new SKIN Care products by Bethanne Wannamaker from Seattle. They are AMAZING and all Organic. Please check out her website at www.organichealing.net and tell her that I referred you . She can also make special requests for you. what a talented lady she is.


Along with taking care of myself with seeing Jamaica and using some amazing skin care products by Bethanne.. I have also been seeing Shea Baird for several colonists in the last 6 weeks or so. The one thing that I have learned about intergrating more of a plant based diet is how important Colonics are for us to incorporate into our healing process. The cleaner we become with our eating / drinking purifed waters/ using less chemicals in our household cleaners and products and products on our body.. the more sensitive we can become to the environmental polutants in the world. I HIGHLY recommend having a session with Shea Baird. Check out her website at www.shealynnbaird.com for more info.

Dan and I just celebrated our four year wedding anniversary and spent the evening at Safari West in their luxurious tents. We had an enjoyable evening and yummy dinner . We slept rather well even with the wild animals nearby. We woke up this morning and took the three hour guided tour around the grounds. It was such an enjoyable morning to be with the many wild animals . They have a baby girafee, baby lemur and many pregnant animals on their property. Please check out their website at www.safariwest.com for more information.

Life has been busy recently which I am sure all of you can relate to.. I have recently left Farmacopia where I was working part-time for four years along with seeing my nutrition/ personal training clients at Studio Fitness . It was just time for me to give more FOCUS to building my Studio Fitness Business along with Mona Vie. I have so enjoyed being a part of Mona Vie and seeing how different myself and my clients feel from adding this AMAZING nutritional beverage into their daily world.

That is all for now.. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any response. I will be using this BLOG on a more consistent basis with new information .

Blessings to all, Marina :)

BRACES ARE OFF.. YIPPEE :)

I am so grateful to have my braces off. I got them off on Tuesday.. Boy was that a fun Procedure.. ( only about 2 hours).. I then had my teeth cleaned yesterday morning.. My teeth feel naked without those braces. I do have to wear retainers (all day) for the next six months and then just at night after that.. I am looking forward to getting more variety with my food intake which is a NICE change.

It is a NEW DAY of freedom....

Blessings to all, Marina :)

Healthy Treats:

Bugs on a Stick- Using Celery Sticks which are a good sources of ( Vitamin A, K, Potassium and Fiber) and Almond Butter in the middle and top this off with Raisins ( High in Iron).. You can also add some Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt as well. ENJOY :)

Trail Mix- Place all of these items in a Glass Container for a Healthy Snack:
1 cup Raw Organic Cashews, 1/2 cup Raw Organic Pumpkin Seeds ( good source of Magnesium), 1/2 cup Raw Organic Sunflower Seeds, 1 cup Raw Organic Almonds, 1/2 cup dried Pineapple ( unsweetened), 1/2 cup Organic Raisins ( good source of Iron), 1/2 cup Organic Cranberries ( Unsweetened), 1/2 cup Organic Cherries, 1 cup Organic Goji Berries, and 1/2 cup Cacao Nibs..

Enjoy:)

I am in my second week of my detox. I had a few ROUGH days last week but am feeling much stronger and stable this week. I haven't had too many cravings. My husband is doing GREAT . He will stop on Friday but I might continue this for another week or so. If anyone wants any specific detials.. please e-mail me.. This is a two week detox that I HIGHLY recommend we do 1-2x a YEAR.

I just went this afternoon to the Thermography Center of Sonoma County- Your Breast Wellness and Resource Center in Sebastopol to have my Breasts checked out for any abnormalities. THIS IS A MUST for every woman to do . This is FDA approved, 100% Safe Radiation, Contact and Pain Free. I HIGHLY recommend this for every woman to do. Please think about this. You can contact Renee or Jen at 707-829-1599 for more information. Please tell them that I referred you.
You can also log onto www.breast-health-project.com to learn how to practice regular breast lymphatic massage which I learned today. This is KEY to keeping our breasts HEALTHY.

This is day TWO of our Detox Cleanse. I wasn't feeling the BEST yesterday with my energy and well-being but today seems to be a better day. It seems like Dan is doing pretty well so far. I had my smoothie this morning and about to have my lunch time smoothie as well. I have also added in some vegetable broth that I made per another nutritionist friend who said this made a HUGE difference for him and this does seem to help with the coldness after the smoothie.
We are enjoying our normal dinners. We had Wild salmon with some rice and veggies last night so that tasted yummy. I will keep all of you posted on how it continues to go. Enjoy this blessed day. Marina :)

My Husband and I are starting a two week Detox Program on April 14th. We will be following the Designs for Health Detox Program which I have followed before. This entails drinking 1-2 Special Protein Shakes with Rice Protein Powder, Superfoods ( green powder), flaxseed powder, organic frozen berries, lecithin powder, using either unsweetened almond milk or organic lite coconut milk per day along with 1 normal meal such as organic brown rice or quinoa with lean protein and veggies. You can also have 1 snack per day such as an apple with 1 TBSP almond butter. we will be taking a few suggested supplements to help cleanse the body, along with dry brushing the body, using a rebounded to move the lymph system and getting plenty of sleep.
We will be avoiding all SUGAR, WHEAT, GLUTEN, DAIRY, SOY, CORN , and FUNKY FOODS or PROCESSED FOODS.. We have this weekend to enjoy a few more treats before starting this program.. We will also be drinking plenty of purified water and exercising .

Welcome to My Blog

I am excited to share the look of my new website with you and introduce my personal blog. In my blog I will share with you news, motivation and stories to inspire - feel free to write back as we continue our health journey together!