My blog has always been and always will be for you, my joyous reader. Thank you for visiting, whether you're a new reader or you've been here since 2009 (wow, you've seen a lot of change). Please know how much I value your feedback and your comments (both positive and constructive). Thank you for your inspiration to keep doing what we do!
A big joyous thank you and heaps of gratitude to my amazing team as well -- Walker, Carol and Rachel.
They say it takes a village to raise a baby, well it takes a village to grow a business too! I and Joyous Health wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for these amazing people.
Me and my team are all off for a much needed Christmas break and I thought it would be fun to share with you what we're all up to in this post. If you want to follow along my sunny adventures, hop on over to my instagram feed for some beach and sunshine :)
What's The Joyous Team up to and grateful for during the holidays?
What you're grateful for: I’m grateful for my health, my family and the opportunity to do what I love.
What you're looking forward to during the holidays: I’m looking forward to not having a schedule, not having a deadline or any need to check my email! I can’t wait to disconnect and reconnect with my family. We always head south for the holidays. Palm trees, beach and sunshine will soon be filling up my instagram feed. I’m in need of some vitamin D!
What you plan on cooking up: I recently made this recipe from my book Joyous Detox (page 187) but I changed it up a bit! Instead of black rice I used brown and to make it more festive I added dried cranberries. It’s filling as a whole meal, or can be a side dish to a wonderful roast chicken or grilled tempeh — what ever your heart desires!
If you don’t have my book, then another fave recipe I’ve been making this holiday season is my Breakfast Bark. I recently revamped it and have been munching on this Orange Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Bark.
Walker Jordan, Director Of Operations & Possibilities
What you're grateful for: J + V. Our family and friends. The amazing life we’ve been able to create for ourselves.
What you're looking forward to during the holidays: I’m looking forward to not having a schedule, afternoon naps, and taking a much needed break from the daily everything. Reconnecting with family always energizes and motivates me, so I’m looking forward to starting 2018 off on a blistering note. Oh, and sunshine. Definitely need more of that.
What you plan on cooking up: There’s more eating out than cooking happening over the next few days, but I’m looking forward to some pancakes when we get back.
Carol Dano, Creative Director
What you're grateful for: My family, including my joyous one! And forever grateful to the person who decided to invent chocolate.
What you're looking forward to during the holidays: I’m a super active Auntie to four amazing kids, so I’m looking forward to spending time with them. The holidays are so much more magical when there’s kiddos around! I’m also looking forward to taking time for self-care. At the end of the year, or close to it, I spend time journaling and reflecting about what happened over the past year and set some ideas/goals out for the new year.
What you plan on cooking up: I’m the baker among many cooks in my family, so I’ll be busy baking pies and cookies over the next couple of days. I might just be sipping on a couple of joyous mocktails — especially theRose Berry Fizz — while making these fruit and nut thins.
Rachel Molenda, Community Manager
What you're grateful for: I'm grateful for my health, my friends & family (including my little kitten, Duncan aka Dunks), a career that I absolutely adore and delicious nourishing food!
What you're looking forward to during the holidays: I'm looking forward to spending Christmas up at my family cottage for a few days. It's just a couple hours north of Toronto where I live, but I always feel so rejuvenated after coming back from there. I'm hoping to get some snowshoeing in, winter walks, a couple episodes of Fuller House (they just released some new episodes - haha!) and to cook up some yummy eats!
What you plan on cooking up: I have being dying to make this Sweet Potato Brown Rice Pudding ever since Joy posted the recipe. I was definitely a lover of the Kozy Shack rice pudding growing up, but love that this recipe is free of refined sugar and emphasizes whole foods (or what I like to refer to as #RealAssFood!)
What are you up to during the holidays? What are you grateful for? Share in the comments below!
