Spreading some sparkle with the sunshine awards

One of the amazing parts of blogging is all the lovely people that you meet. I have been particularly inspired and motivated to go deeper and further down the road towards radiant health by the community of healthy bloggers that are working so hard each day to provide life changing information!

It is always amazing to get feedback and that’s why I am so thankful to receive a nomination for the Sunshine Award. Thanks to Paula from the rawfooddiaries who is doing such a great job of spreading the word about what it’s like to encounter raw foods for the first time!

Paula asked me some questions about myself which I’ve answered below:

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten (and did you like it?) I don’t know how strange it is anymore, but I have never really made friends with chicken feet. I had them once at an excellent dim sum place in Vancouver, but I just didn’t get the appeal. They have no flavour, the texture is like rubber, and you’re holding an animal’s foot in your hand! What’s to love about that? I just don’t get it.
Where is the one place in the world you would most like to visit? This is a total cop-out. I can’t pick just one. I have a Pinterest board on amazing places I want to go. But for the one place, it’s probably in India somewhere.
What do you love to do in your spare time? I probably have way too many hobbies, and focus is something I am working on, but a passion of mine is singing. I have sung both in the classical and jazz styles, but jazz is my preferred muse these days and whenever Kurt Elling is in town, I’m going to be in the audience!
What is your worst kitchen disaster? Oh – too many to count! Lids coming off of too-full blenders for a spontaneous smoothie-green wall painting experience, blacker than black “toasted items” coming out of the oven when the broiler is on high, and paperweight-worthy baked goods of the gluten free variety!
If you could only buy 5 ingredients for the week, what would they be? Oooh tough one! Salmon, kale, apples, avocados, and sweet potatoes (with coconut oil, almonds, red peppers, cinnamon and oats a close 2nd!)
What is your favourite sport? I don’t think it’s technically a sport, but I am a reformer-bed Pilates junkie – it leaves me feeling so amazing after each class, completely stretched out, limber, energised and ready for anything.
What motivates you? Challenge. Vulnerability. Waking up in the morning with the day’s blank canvas in front of me.
Why did you decide to become a blogger? After 3 doctors tried to convince me I needed drugs for life, I took charge of my health and made diet and lifestyle tweaks that helped me avoid drugs entirely. Best of all though, these changes made me feel amazing. There was no way I could keep all the exciting discoveries I made to myself. I want everyone to know how easy it is to feel amazing every day.
What is your favourite animal? I’m a cat person, but meercats are way up there too on the list! So vigilant and great at fighting crime in the UK via the neighbourhood watch! 🙂
What is the best meal you have ever eaten? Hands down I had the best meals of my life in Northern Italy, and Bologna takes the cake as one of the most amazing slow-food hubs of the world in my books. The pacing of the meal, slowly savouring each course, the pairing of the foods and wines, the love that is put into each dish and the ingredient sourcing locally all add up to a 1+1 = 27 experience.

It was really fun to answer these questions, and I want to pay this forward by nominating some bloggers that often make me smile, eat really cool stuff, and try new things!

My nominees for the Sunshine Award are:

Brunch for Every Meal, Cultivating Habits, Health Without Sacrifice, Heart Matters, Jennova Food Blog, Let’s Reach Success, Not Quite Old, One Regular Guy Writing about Food Exercise and Living Longer, Superfoodista, The Flexi Foodie

My questions to you

What are 3 things that bring you joy?
What is something that has captured your imagination in the last year or caused you to think in a new way?
Are there any health foods that surprised you by tasting better than you thought? What were they?
What songs or bands make you feel the happiest?
What is one of your favorite quotes?
What products or services do you love to recommend to other people, just because you love it/them and they knock your socks off!
What is the healthiest thing that you do for yourself each week?
If you could learn to do anything effortlessly, what would it be?
What are some super fun things you’ve done in past couple years that you think everyone might want to give a try?
Who inspires you?