Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead ~ Giveaway!!

I was so excited when I was contacted by the people from Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead to help them celebrate their 2nd anniversary!! And yes, I felt a kind of special, too.. I don't care if they contacted thousands of people, I was still one of them :)

If you know me, you know that I DO NOT watch TV (aside from my workout videos). Seriously. I really actually very strongly disagree with almost everything out there. But give me a good documentary on food, health, fitness, etc. and I'm in!

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead is one of my favorite documentaries that I've recommended on too many occasions to count. Joe's story is a true testament on the effect that a healthy diet has on all aspects of your health and your life as a whole. Joe's journey focuses specifically on the beginning of his journey of weight loss through juicing. His story is amazingly inspiring and I think you should see it!! :)

You can watch it free HERE.

Or you can win your very own hard copy! Simply comment on this post to be entered!!

Three winners will be chosen and announced on this blog post on Tuesday the 28th.

Happy Juicing!! :)

Kombucha time!!

I have been meaning to write this post for at least a year and finally, here it is! If you know me, you know that I'm a big fan and advocate of kombucha. It's like magic tea and for me, there's just something so fun and rewarding about making my own. Not to mention it's much cheaper! So, I'm happy and proud to share this with you for your own Kombucha brewing adventure!

What you need to brew 1 gallon of kombucha tea:

4+ quart stainless steel pot

4 quart glass bowl

4 quart glass jug

Stainless steel mesh handheld strainer

Coffee filters

8 organic black tea bags

1 cup organic sugar

1 10x10 cotton cloth

1 large rubber band 

1 scoby with 1 cup kombucha tea

*All dishes, surfaces, hands, etc. should be very clean!
*Use ONLY stainless steel for brewing the tea and ONLY lead-free glass containers for harvesting!

Step one: Obtain your scoby, (AKA: Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast, or simpler said, your mushroom or fungus..) Your scoby should come with about 1 cup of kombucha tea. If you're not planning to harvest your kombucha within a day, you should keep it refrigerated.

Step two: Brew 4 quarts of organic sweet black tea (bring water to boil, add 8 tea bags and 1 cup of organic sugar. Let boil for about a minute, or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let tea cool to room temperature.

*If your scoby is refrigerated, take it out and let it reach room temperature.

Step three: Once your tea and scoby are the same room temperature, add them both to your large glass bowl. Don't forget to add the 1 cup of kombucha tea! Cover with cloth, seal with rubber band and store in a dark, undisturbed cabinet. 

*I store mine in a high cabinet in my kitchen. Be sure there's still some amount of air circulation.

Step four: Let harvest undisturbed for 10-14 days. Shorter harvesting will be sweeter; longer harvesting will be more bitter. Personally, 14 days is perfect for my liking. 

*You will have to play around with the timing to see how you like it. Time of harvesting can be affected by climate. Warmer climates may need less harvesting time. Colder climates may need longer.

Step four: Set a timer or mark your calendar for your chosen "brew day" where then you will start back at step two.

*When you uncover your harvested kombucha, there will be a brand new baby scoby on top, which means you will now have a mama (bottom) and a baby (top)! I just love this part :) you can choose to brew two batches now, or you can share the komucha love. Each time you will have a new baby, so the love just keeps multiplying!

*Place a coffee filter in your handheld strainer and strain your komucha tea before drinking. 

*Remember to always include 1 cup of kombucha tea in your new batch!

*To keep scobys for later use, place in a large ziploc baggy with 1 cup of kombucha tea and refrigerate until ready to start a new harvest.

Step 5: Drink only 4oz. per day for the amazing benefits of Kombucha tea! :)

Let me know if you have any questions!! 

HAPPY BREWING!! :)

(*Note: Kombucha tea contains caffeine and trace amounts of alcohol, so people with sensitivities should use caution. It is also a mixture of bacteria and yeast, so be aware of your own health conditions/interactions. In other words, do your own homework!)

Some of the proposed benefits of Kombucha:
*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal excema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent artheriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating

Got Inner Crazy? Get Inner Peace!!

Amidst the craziness of life it can be too easy to get caught up in the GO every day and let life pass you by. Trust me, I know. But lately, I have been taking extra steps to keep myself balanced and I thought I'd share some of the things that I do every day, so that you can maintain your inner peace, too.

*Make time for quality time every day ~ whether it's with yourself, your kids or your significant other.

*Do something out of routine at least once a week ~ go on a hike, take a new class (for me it has been yoga) ~ something that breaks up the normal routine, soothes your soul and makes you happy inside.

*Set an alarm ~ I have an alarm on my phone every day at 11:11. Whenever it goes on my kids and I stop and meditate for one minute. It may seem small, but sometimes that is the most peaceful minute I have all day, and it really is special.

*Find an app ~ my friend Danny-J of The Sweaty Betties told me about a really cool app that I installed yesterday and I absolutely LOVE it. Mine is called Lotus Bud and when you turn it on it chimes randomly throughout a designated time frame to remind you to take a moment to be mindful. That tiny little "gong" reminds me to take a moment and be present no matter where I am or what I'm doing. You'd be surprised what a difference that makes!

*Set a timer ~ if you're crazy-busy like me, then you can get completely sucked into your work without even noticing how much time has gone by; and sometimes this leads to less productivity. Designate a set amount of time for each task and set a timer each time you start something new. The trick is then to honor the timer you set, take a break and move on to the next task.

For me, all of these things create a state of mindfulness throughout the day which has increased my productivity, lowered my stress levels and raised my feeling of accomplishment as I'm able to do the things that are really important to me every day - with peace and ease.

I hope they do the same for you!

A Little Piece of Me~

We're all on our own journey~

What I want the world to know is that it doesn't matter where you came from. It doesn't matter what your childhood was like, what kind of tragedy you've been through, or how long it takes you to get where you want to go. As long as you're always moving forward. And this is why I've decided to start sharing my story with you. I haven't always been happy & healthy. I wasn't born into a path of health and abundance. But somewhere along the way, I chose something different for myself. The path wasn't perfect and there were LOTS of mistakes along the way. But here I am today, in a place where I finally feel I have something to give. 

I am happily married to husband of almost 14 years and we have FIVE kids! My husband is an incredibly hard-working man and our kids are phenomenal, but we have every good reason to be TOO BUSY to be healthy, eat right, work out, etc., etc. None of that matters. If you choose to create and live a life you LOVE, and then take actions every day that will make that happen, one day you will wake up and realize you've done it. Just don't forget to enjoy the journey!

So, THIS is my very FIRST interview with a very dear friend of mine. She just started her own podcast show called Food, Love and Transformation and in a nutshell that just sums up so much of my own journey. When she asked me to be on her show, I was thrilled. Please excuse my amateur-ness ;) as I'm still working on my presentation and voice etiquette (we all start somewhere).. But this is ME and my life. Take it as you will. And please, if you do take a listen, I'd love to hear your feedback!

>>>Supermom! with Mimi Pacheco<<<

And now I want to take you on my next fitness journey.. Oh boy, I'm so excited!! :) For a couple of years I have enjoyed reading the back section of Oxygen magazine where they feature "real women living the Oxygen lifestyle.." and then I started fantasizing... maybe that could be me some day... And now I say, WHY NOT?? So, I'm going for it! Tomorrow morning I'm starting 60 days of JNL Fusion workouts and I figure by the time summer comes I'll be ready for my next photo shoot that I can submit to Oxygen! 

 

Do you have dreams, goals, wishes, fantasies that you've put on your "some-day-maybe" list? Well I say it's time to move them to your to-do-now list!! Life is happening NOW.. don't let it pass you by!!

Yours in health,
~Mimi~

PS~ Want to join me in my free, 60-day, private FB group for support, accountability, motivation and inspiration to get fit for summer? Go here and request to join - I'd love to have you:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/243414309130232/

Want a Paleogasm?!

I'm very excited to introduce you to my amazingly exuberant and extremely talented-in-the-kitchen friend, Camille! I met her last year as our passion for the power of healthy foods brought us together through a mutual friend on Facebook. She has been an incredible inspiration to me ever since! She is on a mission to impact the lives of 100 million people! How many people do you know that have that kind of stand in life? Camille is far from ordinary, and my entire family just loves the bajeebers out of her! 

That's Camille in the middle! :)

"Camille is committed to transforming the lives of 100 million people in her lifetime by shifting healthcare from the medicine cabinet to the pantry, the doctors office to the garden." (excerpt from Amazon.com) 

I just think we need more people with that kind of mission on this planet!!

Because Camille is so awesome and because I stand behind what she's committed to on this planet, I am honored to support her in one of her many latest accomplishments... her first cookbook! 

While I will disclose that I do not follow the Paleo diet, I do own the e-version of this cookbook and it is absolutely stunning. The pictures are mouth-watering and the recipes are decadent! There are recipes in here for EVERYONE - from vegan to Paleo! 

If you're looking for something to spice up your kitchen and your recipes, you must make the investment in Paleogasm. I guarantee you will be thanking me later! ;) 

GET PALEOGASM HERE

And if you want to see more of Camille, check her out on Fitlife.tv or at her website Recipe RX and her Facebook page. And don't forget to tell her that Mimi sent you! :)

Unveiling ~ Part One!

You may or may not have noticed a shift in gears around here lately. I'm sure your news feeds and inboxes are just as swamped as mine, so either way it can be hard to keep up! Definitely though, my articles has been more sporadic and my posts have broadened in topic from self-love to fitness to food. Over the past 2 years I have taken myself on a personal growth and development journey of a lifetime! A personal overhaul, if you will. I have gone through various workshops, seminars, leadership programs; and I have really stepped outside of my comfort zone to shed my past, develop a life that I love, and become a person that I love and that my family and friends can love more. 

*In Part Two of my Unveiling, I will share more of my recent journey with you all. In the meantime, feel free to get to know me by checking out my 35th Birthday post or my About Me page.*

What I'm here to unveil now is what I've been doing more recently. I have been working toward fine-tuning my goals and figuring out how to take my own journey and turn it into something that I can give back to others. I have discovered my mission and my passion in life.. And I've realized that I am here on this planet to make a difference in the lives, in the health, and in the happiness of others. So, I'd like to share with you how I will be starting to bring this all into reality and how I will begin to be available to help YOU create a life of happiness and vitality!

Here are some of the things I'm working on in 2013:

*Open NOW: 
Launched my health empowerment program for women in January (Mimi's Health Camp). Healthy living can have a different meaning for everyone. In my program, we start with the inside and then work our way into developing a lifestyle that works for YOU. This means developing self-love, healthy eating and exercise habits that are sustainable and unique to each individual. 

*Cooking classes and personal training to help women create a healthy lifestyle that works for them. This isn't about following a strict diet or workout regimen. This is about developing new habits that work for YOU.

*Sweaty Betty Ambassadorship: supporting and empowering as many women as possible in their journeys to health in this amazing community of women.

*Working to offer Mimi's Health Camp online by summer 2013 - stay tuned!

*Heavenly Healthy cookbook in the works - to be published by the end of the year!?

To stay in the loop, sign up for my Heavenly Healthy newsletter here:
NEWSLETTER

As always, thank you for reading, following and supporting my journey and please let me know how I can support YOU! 

~Mimi~

PS. One of the greatest quotes and tools that has been of amazing value to me lately: 
Collaboration, NOT competition~
When we can work together as a team, we can truly create miracles!

What it means to be a Sweaty Betty~

Over the past 8 months being a Sweaty Betty has come to mean so much to me. It all started when I met Danny-J earlier in 2012. I just happened to get lucky when she came to town and my hubby & I got to meet her for a drink. It was then that she shared the crazy journey that she was about to embark on with The Sweaty Betties. Things were changing and big things were coming! 

A few months later she chose me as one of the bloggers to attend the very first Inspiration & Perspiration Workshop in Las Vegas in October. This was the first time I left my family for such a long distance alone and even though I was a little nervous, I was super excited. So I packed up my car, my 80's gear, my music and set off on my 4-hour road trip!

Left to Right: Creative Galina, Angie Gooding, Heidi Henry from Banana Buzzbomb, Me :) Danny-J, the other Mimi,  and Lindsay from ALY Warriors

I have been on my own health & fitness journey for a few years now (but actually, it's a lifelong journey, isn't it?!). Getting healthy and learning to balance my soul has led to my true place of happiness. Now more than ever before I am truly in love with my life! Over the past year my journey has become about how I'm going to give what I have gotten back to others. Danny-J and The Sweaty Betties have been a huge part of the evolution of this part of my journey.

The I&P Workshop far exceeded what I thought it would be and was one of the turning points that began to crack open my purpose in life. I met and connected with SO many amazing women who I now call my friends and that has only snowballed since becoming a Sweaty Betty Ambassador. I would dare to say that for most people it is impossible to have this many close friends who make such an impact on the world all in one place. Their presence and their willingness to share themselves with others moves me to tears. And it's so exciting to see things grow inside of this community. Not just for the Sweaty Betties as a community, but inside of each of our lives. There just seems to be this force that has us all flourishing and growing inside of what we're committed to and it's incredible. Makes me think of this quote:

So, who are the Sweaty Betties Ambassadors? We were hand picked by Danny-J to represent The Sweaty Betties Fitness Community and to help her spread her message. We each have uniquely inspiring stories and we have all been through a LOT in our own lives. And now we're here to have our stories be a contribution to other people's journeys. 

Here are the links to each of the SBA's Facebook pages.. go give them a LIKE!! Their sites can also be found under my 'favorites' on my home page.

Crystal with Train Dirty Fitness

Lindsay with ALY Warriors

Shanna with Pineapple and Coconut

Deanna with Life as the Fat Friend

Stacey Hancock

Margo ~ Brooklyn FitChick

Astrid with Better Believe Fit

Kimberly with Kiki's Kitchen- A Gluten Free Zone

Claudette with Cavegirl Confections

Christy with Whole to Healthy

Lisa with Healthy Way Fitness

Mariette with Namaste Mari

Valerie with LiveFit Journey

Grissel - Model and Fitness Bikini Competitor

If you're looking for a safe place to share your journey, get support and get on the right track to being healthy and fit, you definitely want to check out this amazing community. And as Danny says, "Don't be a b*tch!" :)

35 Years~ 35 Pieces of Me

Today is my 35th birthday and the last year has been a whirlwind for me. Such is life. I have recreated my life and I have found my purpose on this Earth. Inside of that, I have reevaluated my presence here on my blog as well as in the "cyber world." How is my presence serving my purpose? I have looked at what has been missing in who I portray myself to be for all of you, and what I have seen is that because of a lack of time, my presence has become less personal. And I feel that takes away from what I'm really committed to giving. I never intend to seem perfect, but I now know that I'm perfect just the way I am. So, today I put this list together with the intention of letting you know who I am.

Enjoy~ if you wish... :)

1. I have 5 kids.

2. I have never been overweight, but I have been very unhealthy. 

3. Two of my kids are biologically my brother and sister. My husband & I raised them from the time that we were 18 years old. 

4. I don't watch TV. 

5. I have 3 tattoos. 

6. I can be kind of wishy washy when it comes to making decisions. 

7. I was raised in a drug & alcohol induced environment. 

8. My favorite color is purple. 

9. I love to dance. 

10. I am spiritual, not particularly religious. 

11. I used to have a problem with alcohol. I have resolved that through personal development and love for myself.

12. My kids are the light of my life. 

13. My husband is my best friend and I'm so thankful we never gave up!

14. I want to visit Italy.

15. And India.

16. Sometimes I'm insecure. 

17. Making a difference for others is what moves me.

18. I don't love politics.

19. The ocean and the sunshine sooth every part of my soul.

20. I love to cook!

21. Indian and Thai foods are my favorite cuisines.

22. I just love FOOD.

23. I will never stop learning and growing.

24. I love the outdoors.

25. I declare that this year I am financially free.

26. I hate to be cold.

27. My dad passed away when I was 21 and I will miss him always.

28. Even though I grew up with my Mom, I have always missed her.

29. I can be really hard on myself.

30. I've done some things I'm not very proud of. 

31. I am no longer defined by my past.

32. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a super model. 

33. One of my favorite things to do is LAUGH.

34. I often laugh so hard that I cry. 

35. I love people. Really. I love all of you!!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Roasted Roots~

Highly requested and extremely delicious, here are the recipes for the dishes that I made for 

Week 3 of Mimi's Health Camp. 

Roasted brussel sprouts:

(approx. 6 servings)

2 pounds brussel sprouts cut in half

Approx. 2-3 tbsp. coconut oil (enough to cover sprouts)

1 tbsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. rosemary

1 tbsp. salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl, then lie flat on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 400* for about 30 minutes, or until desired crispiness.

Roasted Roots

(approx. 4 servings)

1 medium size of each- red beet, yellow beet and 1 large carrot - chopped or sliced 

2 tbsp. grape seed oil

1 tbsp. minced ginger (*or 1 tbsp. ginger paste)

Juice of 1 lemon (*or 1 tbsp. lemon grass paste)

1 tsp. garlic salt or minced garlic or garlic salt

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Bake at 400* for about 20-30 minutes.

(*Pastes can be found in the refrigerated produce section, near the salad dressings. 

I find mine at Albertson's.)

Got veggie protein?

I was so excited when All Pro Science contacted me to try their veggie based protein. As a vegetarian, the same old sources of protein powder can get quite boring. So, I researched their products along with all of the ingredients and I was in! I especially love their tag line: "All Natural. Nothing to Hide!" It's true.

I have to admit, I was still weary. Even though I already know and believe that we get plenty of what we need from what Mother Nature provides, I wasn't sure just how veggie protein could actually come out tasting good. And I was VERY pleasantly surprised!! I tried the french vanilla flavor and this was definitely better than any whey protein I've ever had. Smooth, creamy and pleasantly rich (not too rich) in flavor!

And then there was the super foods... these are sure to taste strange, right? ;) Nope! Only more delicious nutrition! These are a great addition to a quick smoothie on the go..

I highly recommend checking out All Pro Science - the All Natural Choice!

AND I'm super stoked to let you know that APS is offering my lovely followers a 30% discount using promo code: hh30

Let me know how you like it! :)

*I must note that I'm not a believer in replacing meals. I believe that we should feed our bodies with whole foods from the Earth as much as we possibly can. AND I do think that shakes and smoothies are a great choice for snacks and/or supplementation when we're on the go in our busy lives.