During my years of self development, quotes have always helped solidify what I was feeling inside but couldn't articulate.

The best quotes rocked me to the core and gave me necessary clarity.

There was one recently that helped me make sense of something that I've been drawn to like a moth to a flame but couldn't fully embrace:

"The cave you are most afraid to enter is the one that holds the treasure you seek" - Joseph Campbell

This is why I find myself going toward things that scare the crap out of me!

And why it's so worth it to continue to press through the fear....

~I want the treasure
~I want to never sleepwalk through my life again (that's the main reason I was depressed years ago)
~I want to keep remembering that life begins at the edge of my comfort zone, even if it's super-hard to get there

What's hard for you?

What's something you think might make you feel just a little more alive, but you just don't have the courage to go there yet?

-Having a difficult conversation with someone close to you in order to bring a breath of fresh air to the relationship?
-Thinking about steps you'd need to take to leave a horrible, stressful job?
-Is it fermenting veggies, like in my last post?

That might sound silly, but it's totally valid.

When I was in cooking school, many assignments gave me anxiety, until I eased into them and felt the resulting happiness, relief that it wasn't as hard as I'd feared and a sense of accomplishment.

A lot of clients have told me they feel intimidated at the thought of making milk kefir (yes, I'm still on a whole food probiotic kick ;D )

Milk kefir is a fermented beverage that contains beneficial probiotics.

-It's high in vitamin B12 which helps with the assimilation of vitamin A, which is required for looking younger naturally.
-It also contains vitamin K2, which prevents wrinkling and premature skin aging.
-It also helps reduce food cravings because the body feels more nourished.

I add it to my smoothie for creaminess and flavor (and for a jolt of probiotic goodness).

Here's a video that shows how I do it :)

Enjoy, and keep dancing at your comfort zone's edge.

<3
Lauren

Milk Kefir

Ingredients
-4 cups whole milk, pasture-raised (also called grass-fed) or raw
-1 packet kefir starter (I use Body Ecology)
-1 scoop prebiotic, to feed the starter (I use EcoBloom by Body Ecology)

Optional Equipment
-1/2 gallon mason jar
-canning funnel

Directions
1. Add packet of kefir starter and prebiotic to the jar
2. Heat the milk to 90 degrees
3. Pour milk into the jar and whisk so that it combines with the starter/prebiotic
4. Let ferment on your counter for 12 to 24 hours

Making transfers

-Instead of using another packet when going to make a new batch of kefir, you can use 6 tbsp of the existing batch to create a new one; so that would be 4 cups of whole milk + 6 tbsp of existing kefir
-You can do this 6 times before you need to use a new kefir packet