September 2014 – Viki Thondley | Mind Body Food | Depression, Stress, Eating Disorders

Yoga and Meditation Term in Highfields, Darling Downs

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 25, 2014 / Benefits of Meditation, Body Image, Health & Fitness, Holistic Health, Inner-Strength, Lifestyle, Meditation, Mental-Health, Self-Care

Yoga AND Meditation How cool is breathing in alignment with your body moving? And then sitting in stillness to allow the breath to flow through you? I love meditation and I love yoga, having practised both for over 25 years. At one stage, I was quite the yogini – practising regularly and feeling my whole outlook and body change as I bent, stretched, breathed and improved. Whatever was going on in my life often stepped onto the mat with me, but by the time I was finished it had released off my shoulders, heart or mind and allowed me room

Are your Cravings really an Addiction?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 22, 2014 / Body Image, dieting, Eating Disorders, Eating Psychology, Emotional Eating, Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Mental-Health, Nutrition & Weight Loss

The Brain and Addiction Following on from last Blog article about Cravings, you now hopefully have a better understanding of the difference between “body hunger versus mind hunger”. In short, one is genuine and the other is playing tricks on us. Let’s look a little deeper into understanding the parts of the brain that are activated when we crave specific foods. In 2004, participants in a study were asked to think about a favourite food. The participants’ resulting fMRI images displayed three primary areas in the brain that lit up: the hippocampus, insula and caudate. [Source: Monell] The hippocampus, located in

Raw Chocolate Fudge Wheel [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 19, 2014 / Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Raw Chocolate Making, Workshops

Raw Chocolate Fudge Wheel It’s REAL FOODIE FRIDAY! I’ve officially created an absolute decadent delight for you all! This one is raw, vegan, dairy free, gluten free and naturally sweetened. The raw chocolate base is fructose free, but of course some of the toppings aren’t. However, therein lies the beauty of customising your own raw and healthy chocolate delights because you can choose whichever substitutes you prefer! If you prefer a creamier, softer consistency, simply add a little more coconut milk! This recipe is taken from my new 145 page eBook Healthy Chocolate Delights! Over 60 raw, cooked, vegan, paleo, dairy free,

Are Your Cravings Real?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 17, 2014 / dieting, Emotional Eating, Fat Loss, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss

Mind or Body Cravings? In previous blog posts I’ve explained how when we restrict and deny nourishment to our body (dieting), we often wrestle with cravings (also tiredness and mood swings) until the brain overrides our willpower and has us reaching for a quick fix of fat, sugar and salt. Hunger and cravings are two different sensations. The body regulates our hunger, while the mind wields greater power over food cravings. Hunger serves a more functional purpose, signalling our brains that it’s time to eat and replenish the energy and information we’re running low on. To recap previous articles about the

Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 12, 2014 / Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition

Hearty Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry It’s Foodie Friday! I just love a comforting, hot soup that tastes delicious, a little spicy, is easy on my digestion, and packs a big dose of true real food nourishment. This one is adapted from a Coles catalogue! I simply changed a few key ingredients to more healthful ones and opted for fresh where possible. Fairly easy, with a small amount of prep work (mostly chopping pumpkin) you’ll be able to get this nourishing bowl of goodness to the table in a short amount of no fuss time! When my Beloved Craig first made the original

Green Smoothies and Raw Chocolate – A Food Demonstration Gig!

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 5, 2014 / dieting, Eating Disorders, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition

Green Smoothies and Raw Chocolate This last week I presented and spoke at the Annual ‘QLD Rural, Regional & Remote Women’s Network’ Ag Show Luncheon in Toowoomba. Packing my mason jars, greens, and Omniblend I was prepared for an inspiring food demonstration educating the ladies on the benefits of blending your greens (check out my article and greens video here) for health, energy, reduced cravings and better sleep and concentration. Sharing the stage with three other panellists from different backgrounds and expertise, we engaged in a discussion on, “Eating is an Agricultural Act” and discussed how we can start to improve our health by being aware

Foodie Friday – Share a Healthy, Nutritious and Delicious Recipe

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 5, 2014 / Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition

Healthy, Nutritious and Delicious! Introducing “Real Foodie Fridays” to share our love of whole, natural, real food recipes! The weekend is a great opportunity to get creative in the kitchen making wholesome, nourishing foods and trying out new recipes! I love to create, make and expand on recipes all the time, especially using fresh ingredients from our garden or the local markets. My Beloved Craig jokes at how easily I can take what’s in the fridge or pantry and make something so healthy, nutritious and delicious so quickly out of so little! While he likes to research recipes, shop for specific ingredients, create a timeline

Is Your Food Making You Sick?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on September 2, 2014 / dieting, Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Mental-Health, Nutrition

Gut Bacteria & Your Food Is the food we’re eating on a regular basis the reason why we get sick? If we change our food, could we change the state of our health? Can we also affect our moods by making changes in our diet? I firmly believe we can. The collective human microbe colony weighs about 1 and a half kilos – as much as our brains! Bacteria outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and live predominantly inside our gut. Gut bacteria, also known as the Microbiome (pronounced micro.bi.ome) lives off of the food we eat. The problem is that certain foods feed good bacteria