Weight Loss & Health Coaching

I recently spent a few days with Kyra and Billy at their home in beautiful Carmel Valley, CA to help Kyra with her weight loss and health goals. I left Kyra with 2 days of recipes and a couple new exercise regimens that will help build her muscle mass while accelerating her fat burning. BACKGROUND: Kyra had been struggling with her weight since she turned 40. She lives a clean life, is mostly vegetarian and eats fish a couple times a week, and is in tune with healthy living. Kyra goes to the gym several times a week, and takes long walks almost daily. She travels for work about 2 weeks each month, and wanted an easy plan for preparing her own food when not at home. Plus, she wanted to be able to balance out the excess food and drink across the rest of her life with healthier detoxing foods made at home. Kyra needed refinement to her regimen to up her health results. Her man Billy, on the other hand, is not as health conscious. His diet consists of primarily animal products, and it's been a struggle to get him to even taste the healthier foods Kyra makes. SHOPPING AND PANTRY: First, I helped to clear out Kyra's fridge and pantry. Next, we went to the local co-op, where I taught her to shop for ingredients and produce. We also went to Earthbound Organic's Farm Stand, which was full of amazing veggies and fruits. MY FOOD PROGRAM FOR KYRA: I replaced all of Kyra's protein powders with whole, unprocessed foods like quinoa, buckwheat, sea vegetables, dark leafy greens, with occasional eggs and fish. To offset her intense sugar cravings, I upped her protein intake, [...]

By |July 17th, 2013|Beauty, Farmers' Market, Fitness, Green Living, Health, LIFESTYLE|1 Comment

Curried Coconut Soup

This recipe can be found in “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials” Makes 4 servings: 1 cup diced ripe avocado (about 1 large) 2 1⁄2 cups cherry tomatoes 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon) 1/3 cup coconut oil, liquid 1⁄4 cup cilantro, fresh 1 Tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup filtered water Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. To serve, divide among serving bowls. Top each portion with fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy immediately! Will keep for 2 to 3 days in fridge. :)

By |June 21st, 2013|Ani's Raw Food Essentials, Beauty, Fitness, Gluten Free, Green Living, Health, LIFESTYLE, RECIPES, Soups, Super Foods, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Foods|Comments Off on Curried Coconut Soup

Got Juice?

I love green juices, and think of them as my daily multi-vitamin. In the same way I would never think to live off a bottle of vitamins only, I don’t think to starve myself on a 5-10 day juice fast in order to detox (unless I had a tumor to starve or some other acute health crisis). It seems to be a new trend here in LA that people with unhealthy processed diets and lifestyles, who even smoke, suddenly think it’s okay to starve for 7 days on a juice cleanse to make everything better. How about focusing instead on creating a healthier lifestyle through exercise, clean eating, mediation, and happiness rather than starving? These are the real keys to longevity. Green juices are wonderful for vitamins and minerals, and for nourishing our bodies. But, it’s so much more FUN and less painful to enjoy delicious Raw Foods while accidentally DETOXing! Feasting on Raw Foods, rather than starving on a juice cleanse, is safer and healthier for you. We’re designed to be eating whole foods. Starving our bodies on just juice cannibalizes our muscle mass, slows down our metabolism, and will make us gain weight as soon as we eat again (besides throwing off our hormones, along with triggering a slew of other biological reactions). It’s painful to starve ourselves. Why deny ourselves when instead we can feast and enjoy delicious Raw Foods to cleanse and detox? I’d rather eat clean, detoxifying foods, than starve myself. Wouldn’t you agree? Ani’s Favorite Green Juice Recipe: Dandelion Kale Cilantro Jalapeño Fennel Basil Turmeric Cucumber Celery Spinach Lemon

By |June 4th, 2013|Beauty, Drinks, Fitness, Gluten Free, Green Living, Health, LIFESTYLE, RECIPES, Soups, Super Foods, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Foods|Comments Off on Got Juice?

Stretch Into Spring!

Stretch your body and mind by trying a new outdoor activity this weekend! The weather's getting warmer, it's staying light outside later, and summer is just around the corner. My favorite spot for a super challenging stair climb in Los Angeles is at Baldwin Hills in Culver City, CA. The views from the top of the climb stretch from beyond downtown LA to the east and all the way west to the ocean.  

By |May 3rd, 2013|Fitness, LIFESTYLE, NEWS & EVENTS PAGE|Comments Off on Stretch Into Spring!

Congratulations to Ani’s Raw Food Certification Course, Level 1, Inaugural Class!

We kicked off Ani's Raw Food Certification Course, Level 1 on March 15, 16, 17th, 2013 to a packed house! It was a weekend of raw food making and eating, eco-green living inspiration, and happiness all around. Experiencing visible transformations as people detox on raw food for 3 days is incredible! The room's happiness index kept rising up as our days passed, and people glowed.

By |March 17th, 2013|Beauty, Events, Farmers' Market, Fitness, Food Demos, Green Living, Health, LIFESTYLE, NEWS & EVENTS, NEWS & EVENTS PAGE, RECIPES, Retreats, Talks|Comments Off on Congratulations to Ani’s Raw Food Certification Course, Level 1, Inaugural Class!

A Day in the Sun

I'm a monkey (Chinese year of the Monkey), so was drawn to the rings. It looked hard, but it really doesn't take strength, but rather, finesse. You just need to build momentum, and have calloused hands would help too.

By |September 27th, 2011|Fitness, Green Living, Health, LIFESTYLE|1 Comment

Ani’s St. Thomas Celebration

This year my family celebrated Mom's birthday in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. the weather and water were beautiful, though fresh, raw, whole foods were hard to find

By |January 20th, 2011|Fitness, Health, LIFESTYLE, Travel, Uncategorized|5 Comments

Moby at Monster Massive

Moby invited me to Monster Massive in downtown LA where he was spinning to over 40k ravers. It was awesome to see Moby rock the house, he really had the crowd going strong.

By |November 12th, 2010|Events, Fitness, LIFESTYLE, Music|Comments Off on Moby at Monster Massive

At the Veggie Grill with Kevin and Joe

I met up with the the publisher of VegNews Magazine, Joe Connelly, and the owner of Veggie Grill, Kevin Boyland, in West Hollywood for dinner last night.

By |March 11th, 2010|Fitness, Health, LIFESTYLE|2 Comments

Hiking LA in the Canyons in the Sun

After a night of rain, it's sunny and clear today in Los Angeles. The perfect day for outdoor play. To avoid using my Prius, Kanga and I ran a few miles to the canyon, hiked up what feels like an 80 degree cliff face, then ran down and back home. You can see the ocean in the right side of the photo above.

By |February 20th, 2010|Fitness, LIFESTYLE|1 Comment