In the last 2 weeks, I have really gained a stronger awareness of my body. I have decided that there are so many opportunities to pivot, shift, make changes that ultimately make me feel like a better me. In my last post, I decided to tell the scale to eff off and that it wasn’t going to determine how I was going to live my life. But I did catch myself making excuses, trying to eat less and really jumping into the judgmental mindset. WHOA girl. Not cool. I nipped that crap right in the bud and said no thanks, I’m good.

Even when we say to ourselves out loud or silently, that we love our bodies and that we feel healthy, light, blissful and free in our own skin, sometimes at the deepest, darkest level we don’t believe it. We start to self-sabotage. And this is when real change starts to happen; right before we begin our self-sabotage. Ain’t that some shit? Come on!

I have this dialogue with myself that sounds pretty ridiculous, but I am my own cheerleader and I believe that I have to be on top of it otherwise I’m just going to feel insane and revert to my destructive habits. I don’t dig it. I refuse to let it happen. So in this dialogue, it’s really more of me sweet talking myself. Even if at that moment I don’t believe a damn word I’m saying, I say it anyway. I just tell myself how beautiful I am. How much I love my hips, my smile, my breasts, my butt. I compliment every single part of my body to remind myself how much beauty is there and how blessed I am. Even though my thighs rub together (this only means I’m closer to being a mermaid, okay?), and even though I jiggle, I know I am beautiful and I nourish this beautiful body with delicious and healthy foods. I highly suggest doing this naked, first thing in the morning and say nice things to your body. It’s weird at first, but you’ll enjoy being in the nude even more. Trust me 😉

So in honor of our inner mermaid, I created a seaweed salad that is salty, crunchy and nourishing. You won’t even need sushi to go with this…even though it’s a nice complement.

According to Seibin and Teruko Arasaki, authors of Vegetables from the Sea, “All of the minerals required by human beings, including calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, iron, and zinc are present in sufficient amounts. In addition, there are many trace elements in seaweeds.” They also contain vitamins as vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), B1, B2, B6, niacin, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, and folic acid. AND!!! In case you needed another reason to love seaweed, it helps to regulate the hormones, enrich the bloodstream, and assist in boosting metabolism. Seaweed for the win!

Let’s Be Mermaids Seaweed Salad

What You Need: 

• 1/2 cup dried organic wakame (rehydrate by soaking in 1 cup warm water for 5-10 minutes. Remove water and squeeze excess water and set aside)
• 1 carrot grated
• 1/2 avocado (pit and skin removed), cubed
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon shoyu (or tamari)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon grade b maple syrup
• 1/2 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (or Gomasio)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste

How you make it:

1. Combine avocado, seaweed and carrot together in a large bowl. Set aside while you make the dressing.
2. Combine remaining ingredients for the dressing and whisk until smooth.
3. Toss with seaweed mixture, garnish with extra sesame seeds and eat!

Note: Feel free to let the dressing sit on the seaweed for about 15 minutes for optimal flavor and dressing saturation! Oh snap!