http://michellekoen.com Life, filled with flavour Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:57:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://michellekoen.com/strategies-to-enjoy-food-this-christmas/ http://michellekoen.com/strategies-to-enjoy-food-this-christmas/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:54:43 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=898
With just one week until Christmas, we all start to get a little overwhelmed. Parties, shopping,  loose ends to tie up at work, to do lists that cover both sides...]]>
With just one week until Christmas, we all start to get a little overwhelmed. Parties, shopping,  loose ends to tie up at work, to do lists that cover both sides of an envelope. Tiredness + stress + hunger = eating a whole bag of macadamia nuts then moving on to the peanut butter jar  (or whatever your vices are). Don't let overeating ruin your Christmas. Everyone's up against it a bit this time of year. For my own sanity I decided I needed a few rules to keep things in moderation and make it so I didn't collapse in a heap by next Sunday. This is what I'll be doing: Plan & prepare and cook: With so much going on, map out when you're going to be where.  From this you'll be able to see when you'll need to pack meals to take with you (ie all day shopping adventures), when you're going to be eating out and when you're going to just too darn tired to cook. Remember our equation, above! Now you know when you will need feeding, make a whole lot of easy, portable food. For me this is meatloaves, burger patties, veggie sticks and frittatas. Tasty at any time of the day and if you're feeling a tad more gourmet the veggies sticks can become a starry or salad. Getting this all together shouldn't take more than 1 hour and a bit. Fire up the barbecue and the oven, grab some garlic, chilli and chopped spring onions and get cooking. This isn't about being gourmet, but your food needs to be able to compete with Christmas cake. Find the balance, this is an investment in your sanity! Wrap everything individually and freeze most of the protein. Be naughty and nice:  If you've planned, prepared and cooked then you'll be more nice than naughty. This doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy time out with friends, family and colleagues. With a plan you'll know you've got plenty of opportunities to enjoy 'Christmas food' and plenty of opportunities to enjoy 'normal food'. Your naughty to nice ratio might be a bit different to other times of the year but knowing you've got both in place means that you're less likely to overdo it. Don't overdo it: Excess + excess= excess excess. If you do overdo it at a party or family event, don't head out for a 2 hour run. This will just add more tiredness, more stress and more hunger to an already bulging equation. Guilt, leads to stress, which leads to… 5 extra chocolate truffles? Instead, commit to  30 minutes outside in the fresh air every day. This will help you de-stress and cope better with the rest of your day. Get out there with friends and family or find that quiet time at either end of your day where you can just be you. Know your weaknesses: Whether your weakness is chocolate, macadamia nut stuffing, wine, or that family member who brings out your stubborn side; just don't do it! If it's going to cause you stress to stop, don't even get started. If you want more handy tips on making food fast, easy, healthy and fun or still stuck for a last minute gift, check out Healthy Helpings: fast food for fit physiques. 200 full pages filled with recipes, photographs and tips and techniques to enjoy your food.]]> http://michellekoen.com/strategies-to-enjoy-food-this-christmas/feed/ 0 http://michellekoen.com/a-list-of-simple-pleasures/ http://michellekoen.com/a-list-of-simple-pleasures/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:10:44 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=646

The smell of freshly ground coffee as I drive home from the central markets

Sliding into clean sheets

Taking my shoes off

Wearing my hood up when I'm cold and tired

Walking on wet sand (no matter the weather)

Stepping outside at 6am on a hot summers day

A good hug

When one of the dogs lick me on the hand

The smell of cut grass

Going to airports

Music and how a good song changes everything

Steaming hot baths with the windows wide open in the middle of winter

Crunching through Autumn leaves

Streets covered with Jacaranda blossom

The smell of fresh baking (someone was making pastry on my walk yesterday)

Watching people in train stations and guessing what they're doing

Finishing a workout knowing you've given it your all 110%

Being the first one awake in the house, maybe the street

That feeling after a good sneeze

The first bite into perfectly ripe fruit

If you have a blog, I'd love to see your list. Photo: From the movie 'Amelie'. The bean thing must be a common simple pleasure as there's a place in the Central Markets which has a sign above their beans asking customers to not slide their fingers through the beans.]]> http://michellekoen.com/a-list-of-simple-pleasures/feed/ 6 http://michellekoen.com/there-are-no-little-secrets-only-little-pleasures/ http://michellekoen.com/there-are-no-little-secrets-only-little-pleasures/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:36:18 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=641 http://michellekoen.com/there-are-no-little-secrets-only-little-pleasures/feed/ 4 http://michellekoen.com/new-design-new-beginings/ http://michellekoen.com/new-design-new-beginings/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:40:57 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=230 http://michellekoen.com/new-design-new-beginings/feed/ 6 http://michellekoen.com/positivitypod/ http://michellekoen.com/positivitypod/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:37:36 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=194 Ajahn Brahm's Dharma Talks (average length 1hr)- A light-hearted and funny take on life and Buddhism from the Buddhist Society of Western Australia Guided Meditation Podcast (average length 30 mins)-Also from the Buddhist Society of WA, some are more secular than others. All are great for guiding your mind to a better place. The Daily Boost (average length 1o minutes)- Scott is a bit full on but his ideas stick. Scott comes from a background as a fitness trainer and proffesional DJ and gets in your head real fast. Motivation to Move (daily- 1minute, Weekly 30 minutes)- Another one from Scott Smith. I've been listening to this for nearly 5 years Fantastic if you're just starting your fitness journey or getting back after a 'break'. Meditation Station (average length 10 minutes)- Anyone can commit to this amount of time! My thought Coach (average length 5 mins)- This is going to be my manditory morning wake up. Not even going to the toilet until this is done! People Building (average length 50 mins)- Appears to be more to do with NLP techniques. Not quite as polished as some other podcasts. I'll take her on my dog walks and see how we get on. A Quiet Mind (average length 15 minutes) TEDtalks (average length 15 minutes)- Inspirational technology, education and design lectures from the world's leading speakers Weightloss and the Mind (average length 30 minutes) Zencast (average length 1 hour)- I first downloaded Zencast for their 'intro to meditation' series. Gil has a beautifully unassuming way of speaking which draws you in and calms any fears. I've been listening now for at least 3 years. Not free but excellent audiobooks I've listened to recently. Brainsync - Only $10 US each, The Secret meditation is fantastic. I wake up feeling so different when I do this one. Winning is also great. Paul McKenna's Supreme Self Confidence- Pop this one into your friendly search engine and give it a go ;-) The Biology of Belief- Bruce H Lipton (iTunes Store link) - A truly amazing look into epigenetics, a new stream of science linking consciousness to your body's function at a cellular level. Please add your favourites to the comments section so that we can all benefit.]]> http://michellekoen.com/positivitypod/feed/ 0 http://michellekoen.com/catch-up-and-refocus/ http://michellekoen.com/catch-up-and-refocus/#comments Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:20:33 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=166 http://michellekoen.com/catch-up-and-refocus/feed/ 2 http://michellekoen.com/metta/ http://michellekoen.com/metta/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:36:28 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=150 buddhist society of SA. Tara led a lovely Metta meditation which is what i really needed.  I aim to do a lot more meditation this week. A calmer mind will help me understand some of my big challenges in the coming weeks.]]> http://michellekoen.com/metta/feed/ 0 http://michellekoen.com/this-weeks-affirmation/ http://michellekoen.com/this-weeks-affirmation/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:32:48 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=140 http://michellekoen.com/this-weeks-affirmation/feed/ 1 http://michellekoen.com/level-2-mastery/ http://michellekoen.com/level-2-mastery/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 11:16:00 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=92 could haul my carb-deplete, far from optimally functioning body up on stage. I'd even have a bucket load more muscle but I won't have gained anything in the journey and I'll have caused at least small amounts of damage to what's important to me. In addition to this, what I've barely touched  on here however, is that I've felt like absolute dog poo most of the year. My imune system has been weak, hormones all over the shop, thyroid function less than optimal and tired. So tired. About a week before my birthday, I finally started to feel GOOD. Jump out of bed and swing kettlebells for fun good. Walking around with a big grin on my face good. Looking forward to EVERYTHING good. Kilo's finally started to shift that had been piling on and I was eating LOTS of good food. I'd finally found a way of living that had me in tune with my body. We were so on the same page. I stumbled a bit over my birthday and then started to set my focus on comp prep. That feeling dissapeared and I again felt like I was pushing against a brick wall. The feeling I felt on stage last year was AWESOME but just didn't match the EVERYDAY good feeling I've tasted from listening to my body and treating it right. Two more thing cemented my descision over the last few days. Today I SMASHED my (16 month) dumbell bench plateau (counting shoulder downtime). 30% increase in the last 4 months. Made me think I'm doing something right. And yesterday, I had a quick chat with a local contest organiser and longtime-encourager about something I'd been tossing over in my head. Physique. Truth be told, I'm just not buit for figure. I'm blocky, not long and lean. It's not an excuse to not be lean. So for now, I'm pushing the bikini to one side and drawing inspiration for ladies like Krista and Renee. I want to be wicked lean, wicked strong but also something others would aspire to. This means not just living a 'healthy' lifestyle but actually being healthy. No wonder none of my nearest and dearest are inspired to change their live because of me. I'm tired and cranky and often sick. 3 weeks ago I started a 12 week challenge. The challenge was see how much I can do to change my body and mind in 12 weeks. This means listening HARD to my bodies feedback and working hard to challenge old beliefs. In the next 9 weeks I will become a LEVEL 2 master. Only then can I start to tackle level 3 goals.]]> http://michellekoen.com/level-2-mastery/feed/ 0 http://michellekoen.com/motivation/ http://michellekoen.com/motivation/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:20:28 +0000 Michelle http://michellekoen.com/?p=85 "You can motivate by fear and you can motivate by reward. Both of these are temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation." Found in the Australian Red Cross Blood Service branding document, but too true to many things.]]> http://michellekoen.com/motivation/feed/ 0