The MindBodyFood Coach – Page 9 – Viki Thondley | Mind Body Food

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

How to Slow Down, Take Stock and Enjoy Life More

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 28, 2014 / Confidence, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Meditation, Mental-Health, Personal Growth, Positive change, Self-Care, Self-Esteem

Slow Down, Do More Do you feel like you’re always on the run trying to get ‘stuff’ done? Always feeling a little behind, like there’s no time to catch up? Do you regularly feel or have thoughts that you’re overwhelmed, stressed, rushed and hurried, and never have time for yourself? In our modern fast-paced world, life balance is a major problem that we all struggle to maintain. I’m certainly no exception to this. There are just so many things I want to do, experience, create and share but there never seems enough time for all of it. I know many of

Coconut Chocolate Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 24, 2014 / Food, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition

Coconut Chocolate Cake (or Cupcakes) REAL FOODIE FRIDAY Soft, spongy and chocolaty! Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cake? Especially when it doubles as moist and delicious cupcakes! This one just happens to be dairy free, gluten free, naturally sweetened and absolutely delicious. We serve this recipe as cupcakes to all the raw and healthy chocolate workshop students on arrival and they love them! Perfect treat for the whole family and easy to make – especially the creamy frosting on top! I also like to make two separate cakes and join the two cakes together as a double layer with frosting in-between, which is what

How to Create Healthy Personal Boundaries

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 24, 2014 / Confidence, Health & Fitness, Holistic Health, Mental-Health, Mindset, Personal Growth, Positive change, Wellness Coaching

Creating Healthy Boundaries Imagine you KNOW that you’re the most important person in your life…. You wake up with energy and can’t wait to get going! You look in the mirror and love what you see! You make time to calm your mind, move your body and feed your soul – every day. You love yourself – and it shows with every thought you think, word you speak, and food choice you make. If you don’t immediately and whole-heartedly believe YOU are the most worthy and deserving person in your life, then time to reassess why, and where the bulk of your

Nutty Choc Granola Recipe

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 15, 2014 / Food, Health & Fitness, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Loss, Raw Chocolate Making

Nuts for Chocolate Granola! I confess I’m a little late to the granola making party. Funnily enough I used to the love the cardboard boxed stuff years ago, and probably in retrospect had a mild addiction to the apple and cinnamon flavour. Granola wasn’t something I ever got around to making myself until a few weeks ago, after a rather inspiring episode of “Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen” on the Food and Lifestyle Channel. We loved this recipe so much I’ve made several more versions with various nuts, seeds and spice combinations. I first ate it with greek yoghurt, then coconut cream, pure cream, and also

Is Stress Causing Your Weight Gain?

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 10, 2014 / dieting, Eating Disorders, Emotional Eating, Food, Health & Fitness, Holistic Health, Hormone Balancing, Meditation, Personal Growth, Stress Management

Stress and Weight Wars A 2011/12 Queensland Health report revealed an average 57.3% of adults who are overweight or obese. On average, only 56.6% of adults reported getting sufficient physical activity, whilst 15.6% of adults reportedly drink alcohol every week. Eight in ten people with weight problems also suffer from chronic stress and some form of mental health issue. Why? Because our bodies react to stress and emotional trauma by packing on the pounds to protect us. When we experience stress of any kind – real or imagined – our thoughts contribute to the intensity of emotions we feel. If

Meditation Basics and Dr Ian Gawler

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on August 4, 2014 / Benefits of Meditation, Holistic Health, Meditation, Mental-Health, Mindset, Personal Growth, Self-Care, Stress Management

Meditation Basics Last week I had the wonderful pleasure of having Dr Ian Gawler and his wife Ruth over to my home prior to his Toowoomba seminar on “The Science of Health, Healing and the Mind”. Together we recorded an interview for my YouTube channel over a cuppa and some raw chocolate, discussing some of our favourite topics: lifestyle medicine, mind-body healing, epigenetics, cancer recovery, psychoneuroimmunology, and of course, meditation. Throughout an evening of research and inspiration, I saw many people inspired to begin meditating after experiencing a taste of inner peace first hand. Often people are curious about meditation

RAW Salty Caramel Tart [Recipe]

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on July 28, 2014 / dieting, Food, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Raw Chocolate Making

RAW Salty Caramel Tart OR Slice!! NB: This post was originally created for my 40th Birthday give-away in 2014. Time for a joyous celebratory recipe in the form of my Raw Salty Caramel Tart (or Slice) Recipe taken from my popular raw, dairy, gluten and refined sugar free, “Healthy Chocolate Delights” whole food sweet treats eBook! YUMMY 🙂 Base: 1 1/2 cups hazelnut meal 1/3 cup cacao powder 1/4 teaspoon rock or Himalayan salt 8-10 medjool dates (soaked in hot water for 5 mins and pitted) 1/4 cup desiccated coconut Alternative Non-Chocolate Base: 1 cup almonds 3/4 cup pepita seeds 1/4

The Quickest Way to Healing

By Viki Thondley | The MindBodyFood Coach on July 23, 2014 / Benefits of Meditation, Health & Fitness, Holistic Health, Mental-Health, Positive Psychology, Self-Care

The Way to Healing Please don’t think for one moment that I don’t have bad days or bad weeks where I feel overwhelmed, tired and fed up, and just want some time to myself. I’m not so great at resting when there’s so much I could be doing, so having to lay back for the last five weeks with my knee up after surgery has challenged me. Feeling vulnerable and frustrated that I haven’t been able to do things for myself and have to ask for help (especially when the children were home on school holidays) certainly tested my ability to stay cool under pressure! DEEP

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