I'm hosting Diets Don't Work Webinar Today

I hear stories of so many people who have followed diets, lost some weight temporarily (or often lost no weight), but ultimately didn't get the long lasting transformation they expected. The diet industry pisses me off!

My upcoming webinar is all about why diets don't work. You will leave this 30 minute event understanding:

• why diets actually cause weight gain
• why you have cravings
• why you binge at night
• what to eat and what to avoid to manifest your hottest body
• how to stop dieting and start feeling fabulous 

Register for this free webinar. You can share questions and comments with me and other participants during the webinar via a live chat box on the event page. This is my very first webinar. I'm so excited to connect with you in this way!

If you can't attend live, no problem. Register and I'll send you a link to watch the replay.

Already registered? Great! Now, tell your friends.
Click here to tweet about it.

Olivia Lane Lovejoy is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. 

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Lose Weight with this Four Letter Word

So many people resolve to lose weight for the new year but by the third week of January they've already accepted that they're actually just going to pack on a few more cuddly layers of poundage for the winter instead. What happened during those three weeks?

A diet happened.

Diets don't work. No one has ever gotten happier or felt better as a result of depriving themselves of food. Also, research shows that diets don't lead to long-term weight loss.

Why? Restrictive eating (dieting) causes stress. Stress causes your body to go into survival mode. Survival mode means your metabolism slows and your body stores more of the food you eat as fat.

The good news is there's an alternative to diets. There's love- the most fabulous four letter word of all time! Love absolutely causes people to be happy, feel better, and reach and maintain their natural weight.

When I reflect on my upcoming 21 Day Souper Awesome Vegan Soup Challenge, a challenge to eat one bowl of homemade vegan soup every day for 21 days, love stands out. It's not just me. When I tell people about the challenge, they usually reply with, "I love soup!"

This soup challenge is an opportunity to love yourself up for 21 days.

21 Day Souper Awesome Vegan Soup Challenge FAQs

A few days ago, I opened registration for my 21 Day Souper Awesome Vegan Soup Challenge. It's a celebration of veggies, creativity, loving yourself from the inside out, and leftovers!

Challenge yourself to enjoy one delicious bowl of homemade vegan soup every day for 21 days. The results of making this simple and nourishing choice will surprise you. You may ...

• lose weight
• increase energy
• reduce cravings
• save time
• save money
• create habits that can result in improved long-term health: reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes
• discover your creativity
• hear your intuition guiding you
• experience unbridled joy

I'd love to show you how pleasurable the journey to health and happiness can be!

Sign up for my free 21 Day Vegan Soup Challenge and you'll get ...

Get Sugar Savvy with Me at Willy's Local Foods

 

What's your sugar personality?

• Are you sick and tired of craving sugar? 
• Do you struggle to understand food labels?
• Do you only eat "healthy" sugars?

Drop into Willy's Local Foods on Wednesday, May 21st between 12:30pm and 2pm for a fun free 10-minute evaluation of your sugar IQ. I'd love to meet you in person and share how you can change your relationship with sugar for the better!

If you haven't yet been to Willy's Local Foods this is a great excuse to go. Willy's is a small corner store with a big focus on local food and drink. I love to drop into Willy's to grab last minute fresh veggies or pantry items for dinner or to pick up a mason jar salad for lunch at the deli counter. They also have a bar with fair trade coffee and local herbal tea.

My New Website & Party on Sunday!

You may have noticed my blog posts have been a little thin lately. I was busy creating my new website, itsolivialane.com. It's the one stop shop for all things Olivia Lane, including information on my health coaching practice, my green cleaning book, events, and recipes.

I made my website by personalizing the website that Institute for Integrative Nutrition provides to all their health coach training program students. It's just one of the many fabulous marketing tools included with tuition! 

I'll continue blogging here at oliviacleansgreen.com, so no need to update your bookmarks, RSS feed, or email subscriptions to blog posts. But if you prefer to remember one URL per human being, there's a link to my blog at itsolivialane.com too. New posts will be up every weekday(-ish) again starting today.

On Sunday, March 16th (new date), I'm throwing a phone party to celebrate the completion of my website and passing the halfway point of the health coach training program. I'd love for you to join me!

7 Benefits of Blogging Your Hobby

I'm teaching an intro to blogging class Saturday at Learning Connection on Wayland Square in Providence on Saturday 12-3pm. The class is called "Blog Your Hobby" and you can still register here. I'd love to have you!

So excited about and grateful for this opportunity to guide hobbyist as they begin their journey of sharing their passions with the world.

The benefits of starting a blog based on your hobby are many. Here are just a few that I've experienced:

• Begin flexing your "I Do What I Love" muscles. This is going to help you grow in so many areas beyond blogging and your hobby. Buffing these muscles strengthens you to pursue any other dreams so you can create a life you love.
• Increase self-confidence. 
• Confront and overcome fear of being judged.

I'm Hosting The Artist's Way Group Online

Feeling blocked? Yearning for more creativity in 2014? Join health coach Melissa Danielle and I for a free virtual Creative Cluster of The Artist's Way beginning Sunday, January 5th.

The Artist's Way is Julia Cameron's spiritual workshop aimed at freeing people's creativity. She describes it as "for anyone interested in living more creatively through practicing an art; even more broadly, anyone interested in practicing the art of creative living." Through her best-selling book, she's empowered millions of people to cultivate their creative selves.

It takes about an hour a day to do the activities in the book, which are spread out over a 12 week period. Each week, you"ll begin by reading a chapter which focuses on an aspect of creative recovery. During the course, you'll begin each day with morning pages, three pages of flow-of-conscious writing to clear your mind. You'll also treat yourself to a weekly Artist's Date, a fun solo outing nurturing your creative, sensual self. There are eight other tasks to complete each week. While you needn't do all of the tasks, Julia Cameron recommends doing at least half. At the end of the week, there is a quick check in.

Read why I'm doing The Artist's Way.
Read why Melissa is doing The Artist's Way.

Beginning January 5th, Melissa, I, and fellow creatives will meet live via Google Hangout for twelve Sundays 7pm-9pm, sharing our experience with the activities and supporting each other to nurture and embrace our creativity. In between, we’ll connect with each other in our private Facebook community.

Do You Blog Your Hobby?

I just scheduled my first class, Blog Your Hobby, at Learning Connection in Providence, RI. Here's the description:

Have you been dreaming of sharing your crafty creations, culinary adventures, or fabulous fashion with the world? You need a blog! During this class, you'll use the simple Blogger platform to create and launch a free blog that lets your passion shine. You’ll also learn how to create compelling content and use social media to attract readers. (Register here)

I don't know about you but I'm so looking forward to this! I love the philosophy of local peer education. I love that I'll be empowering people to put themselves out into the global community where they'll be able to educate and inspire others by being their authentic selves, just doing what they love. It will be so rad!

My Blog Your Hobby class is designed to enable anyone who knows how to use internet to create a blog. During class we will cover:

• What is a blog?
• Building a blog
• Creating a post
• Creating a page
• Understanding social media
• Using social media
• Integrating social media with your blog
• Connecting readers with your content

RI Food Swap at Craftland on Sunday!

Calling all Rhody foodie friends: I've joined RI Food Swap to host an event at Craftland on this Sunday, September 29th 2-4pm.

The RI Food Swap is a community group that encourages the celebration, discovery and sharing of food. Here's how it works:

You arrive at a swap with edible items that you have made or grown. You leave a swap with edible items that someone else has made or grown. 

We hope this simple act of giving and receiving will connect you to the community and nourish your feelings of well-being.

Still not quite sure what a food swap looks like? Watch this video of a food swap in Portland, OR.
 
In addition to the items you'll be swapping, please bring a non-perishable item to be donated to the RI Food Bank. Also consider bringing samples of your items for taste-testing and a potluck dish to share with the group.

Wondering what to donate to RI Food Bank? Check out the food bank wish list.

As a bonus: Craftland is offering 10% off coupons to swappers! You can use them the day of the event or save them for holiday shopping.
 
I'm really looking forward this food swap. It will be the first one I've ever been to. I'm baking vegan cookies. I hope to find some delicious savory treats, like soup.

Have you ever been to a food swap? You can learn more about them and how to create one in your neighborhood at foodswapnetwork.com.

RSVP for Craftland food swap via Facebook (optional)

Thanks so much for reading this blog entry! I hope it was helpful. Wanna keep nerding out about creative green living? Let's stay connected: Newsletter // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Bloglovin' // YouTube

Consider supporting this blog by shopping via my Amazon shop. Thanks.

Vegan Boston Book Swap to Benefit Vine Sanctuary

I'm superexcited to be an organizer for my first swap in the New England area. My dear friend, journalist/ activist Jamie Hagen and I are hosting a Vegan & Animal Right Book Swap to Benefit Vine Sanctuary in Boston.

Saturday, September 14th, 4pm-7pm 
Cambridge Women’s Center 
46 Pleasant St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Open to all regardless of age, gender, or diet.
Wheelchair accessible.
FREE

Please join us for an evening swap of inspiring vegan cookbooks, theory books, how-to dvds, and all other media related to vegetarianism and animal rights. Bring up to ten items to swap or just come mingle!

There will be a raffle in support of VINE animal sanctuary in Vermont with awesome prizes donated by Sudo Shoes, Two Trick Pony, Life Alive, Veggie Galaxy, Kristin Crane, and Compassion Company. I'll be baking some brownies and other treats to sell in support of the sanctuary as well.

A guest speaker from The Humane League will talk about their Boston campaigns.

Follow #bostonbookswap on Twitter and Instagram for updates.

RSVP on Facebook so we don't think no one is coming and get all emo.

Thanks so much for reading this blog entry! I hope it was helpful. Wanna keep nerding out about creative green living? Let's stay connected: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Newsletter // Bloglovin' // YouTube

Consider supporting this blog by shopping via my Amazon shop. Thanks.

Let's Get Kale Krazy with Cooking with CSA!

Today is The First Annual International Day of Kale! Yippee!

I'm celebrating by joining Sarah and Peter from Cooking with CSA for a Google Hangout. We're going Kale Krazy today (Tuesday, September 3rd) at 6pm EST. I'll show how to clean and store kale. S & P will demonstrate how to make a kicky kale salad. If you have any questions about kale, there will be time for you to ask them too!

Register for the *FREE* live Google Hangout here. 

(If you don't make the hangout, you can watch a video recording of it on the Cooking with CSA YouTube channel.)

Who are Sarah & Peter? What's Cooking with CSA?

S & P are two ordinary young folks who transformed their lives by switching to a whole foods, plant-based diet and exercising. The enthusiastic couple runs an exciting, and affordable, recipe subscription service designed to get you in the kitchen every night cooking the best seasonal, local foods. All their recipes are vegan and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy them! I highly recommend signing up for their free 7-Day Healthy Kitchen Series.

Hope to see you tonight!

*Update: Click here to see the video.*

Thanks so much for reading this blog entry! I hope it was helpful. Wanna keep nerding out about creative green living? Let's stay connected: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Newsletter // Bloglovin' // YouTube

Consider supporting this blog by shopping via my Amazon shop. Thanks.

Make Art at a NYC Laundromat

The only thing worse than having to do laundry is having to do it at a laundromat. Amiright? But what if you could make art, keep the kids entertained, and connect with your neighbors while you washed your clothes?

The Laundromat Project makes that possible by bringing free and fun kid-friendly drop-in art workshops to Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Hunts Point. Workshops include silkscreening, smoothie-making, neighborhood-themed self-portraits, and more!

Here's their awesome mission:

The Laundromat Project is a community-based non-profit arts organization committed to the well-being of people of color living on low incomes. Understanding that creativity is a central component of healthy human beings, vibrant neighborhoods, and thriving economies, we bring art programs to where our neighbors already are: the local laundromat. In this way, we aim to raise the quality of life in New York City for people whose incomes do not guarantee broad access to mainstream arts and cultural facilities.

How juicy is that?! Beats watching telenovelas or zoning out on my iPhone, which is what I used to do when I had to use the public laundromat.

More of The Laundromat Project: Website //  Support // on Twitter // on Facebook

What's the most fun you've ever had in your local laundromat? Do you wish there was something like this in your city?

Thanks so much for reading this blog entry! I hope it was helpful. Wanna keep nerding out about creative green living? Let's stay connected: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Monthly(-ish) Newsletter // Bloglovin' // YouTube

Consider supporting this blog by purchasing green cleaning & fun home goodies selected by me via my Amazon shop or clicking on an ad. Thanks.

Celebrate Earthling Month at Whole Foods Market with me!

I'm presenting a free hands-on green cleaning workshop at Whole Foods Market in University Heights (Providence, RI) on Tuesday, April 23 from 7-8pm. Come learn the basics of green cleaning and make fabulous cleaning products using 365 Everyday Value® supplies. The best part is you can take home what you make and start cleaning green immediately for free! Yay! (Just remember to bring 2 spray bottles and a small jar.) Call 401.621.5990401.621.5990 to pre-register by April 22, as space is limited. 

You can get everything you need to make your own natural cleaners like Viva Vinegar at Whole Foods Market.

I'm enamored with Whole Foods Market's Earthling Month campaign. There's a huge social media component where you can share your "earthling moments" via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with #wfmearthling and enter to win one of 10 $150 store gift cards. That can buy a lot of baking soda and vinegar (and, yeah, food).

There's also a big Earth Day Bash happening in stores on Saturday April 20. Look up the Whole Foods Market nearest you to find out about specific events.

Chelsea wrote to tell me about some awesome events coming up at Whole Foods Market in Bellingham, MA. Bring in a household cleaning product to their Earth Day Bash (April 20 11am-2pm) and they'll trade it for a non-toxic 365 Everyday Value® replacement (maximum 1 per person). They'll also celebrate Hairstyle Appreciation Day on April 30 12-2pm with a product swap. Bring a conventional haircare product to the store where they'll trade it for a non-toxic 365 Everyday Value® replacement (maximum 1 per person).

Thanks so much for reading this blog entry! I hope it was helpful. Let's stay connected: Newsletter // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // Bloglovin' // YouTube

Consider supporting this blog by shopping via my Amazon shop or buying my green cleaning eBook. Thanks. 

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Thankful Thursday Link Party #1

Share your gratitude at Thankful Thursday link party.

I've been keeping a gratitude journal for over 2 years and it's one of the most rewarding habits I've picked up. Having joy alone is awesome but experiencing it with other people is even better. To this end, I'm hosting a weekly Thankful Thursday Link Party. It's like an online community gratitude journal.

Please scroll below to join the party. You just need to click "Add your link" button. Since this is the first party, you have until the evening of Friday, April 26th to add your link.

I'll start!

Thank you!

This week I am supergrateful to Sonnet Lauberth at For the Love of Food for sharing how to sprout lentils. My lentil sprouts were such a healthy, inexpensive treat. I even brought some to a party where they were a hit!

Sending love and gratitude to Alisa Vitti, author of the new release WomanCode. As the founder of FLO Living, integrative nutritionist and hormone expert Alisa is my favorite resource for keeping my lady-parts happy. I'm making my way through WomanCode on my Kindle. I'm also following her 4-Week Cyclical Hormonal Health Plan which was featured on Dr. Oz. Thanks to the plan I tried sprouts and Genesis Bread last week. Not bad!

Thank you to Jessica at A Turn to Learn for sharing an awesome tutorial on how to host a linky party. I'm also grateful to Ginger at Ginger Snap Crafts for her post: How to Hold a Stress-free, Fun & Successful Link Party. Both were very useful to me!


Thanks so much for joining! Please like Olivia Cleans Green on Facebook, join my email list, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe to my blog posts (by email, via Bloglovin', or with your preferred RSS reader) to keep in touch and discover more creative green homemaking tips.

5 Reasons to Take My Green Cleaning Workshop

I'm prepping materials for Crafty Cleaning: Make Your Own Green Cleaning Kit, the workshop I'm teaching at Craftland on Thursday, 10/25 6-7:30pm. I'm superexcited because this will be the first time I'll actually have students mix up stuff in class. We'll make:

• 2 kinds of all-purpose spray cleaners
• scrub cleaner
• mold & mildew killer
• HDTV screen cleaner
• We'll also try our hand at something completely experimental...enzyme cleaner! 

Yup, we're going to start our own citrus enzyme cleaner from lemons and yeast. According to Jillee and the commentators at One Good Thing, it's pretty easy to make and cleans really well. I can't wait! I haven't fermented anything since forgetting OJ in my thermos for a couple weeks back in grade school.

You're probably thinking, "Olivia's been really excellent about sharing green cleaning tips on her blog, so why should I take this class?" Here are five reasons why:

• Let's be honest, sometimes it's hard to make the leap from "Yeah, that's a good idea. I should do that" to "Done." If you commit to this class, you'll have made that leap in one fun evening.
• I'm bringing everything you need to make the cleaning products, including spray bottles, jars, and essential oils.
• It's always more fun to try new things with a group.
• You'll leave with green cleaning products that you can start using immediately.
• You'll leave with the knowledge to make even more.

If there is anything you'd like to learn in class, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to cover it.

Register for the workshop here.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube

New Friends at Common Ground Times Square

Yesterday, I was one of a few dozen local wellness businesses who displayed at the Green Healthy Living Expo at Common Ground's Time Square Building. I showed residents and staff affordable, green alternatives to toxic conventional cleaning products. I also shared a few cleaning tips. I had a fantastic time!

(Hello, to any new friends who might be reading this. It was great to meet you! I'll be emailing you some green cleaning recipes soon.)

Common Ground is a non-profit organization working to end homelessness in NYC in two ways. For the chronically homeless, they create safe, secure housing with on-site support services to help them address the psychosocial, mental, and physical health problems that are obstacles to independent living. They also offer affordable housing for individuals who find themselves at the edge of homelessness.

As a small child, my family was affected by homelessness when a fire destroyed our apartment. We lived in a shelter for several months before we found a new home. I don't remember much of that experience, but it's left me with the impression that the work of Common Ground (and other organizations like it) is very important. I felt so lucky to be able to partner with them and share some of my knowledge with the community.

Please visit Common Ground and consider making a donation to support their efforts to make sure everyone in the city has a healthy and happy home.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube

Sarah Copeland's Newlywed Cookbook is too beautiful!

I just wanted to share the gorgeous promotional "movie" for The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and for Each Other. I wish our at home meal experiences were like this. It's inspiring me to step up my game from defrosted veggie dogs!


The book looks equally lovely. Lots of great colorful images of fresh produce and other ingredients. I probably won't buy it for myself as it's not particularly vegan-friendly, but it has tons of recipes featuring wholesome foods I imagine would entice omnivores couples who want to enjoy healthy, soulful meals at home together.

Pink Olive, my favorite stationary and baby gift shop is hosting a party to celebrate the book on Saturday, April 21 2-5pm. I hope to stop by.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube

Went to Feminist Zine Festival

I went to the feminist zine fest on Saturday. The place was packed with young feminists who wanted to share their art, words, and experiences, to listen and be heard. Pretty awesome.

Anyhow, I mention the festival because it reminded me of zinester Raleigh Briggs' adorable book, Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills. The hand-illustrated guide to natural home cleaning, body care, gardening, and herbal healing is written in a friendly easy-to-follow conversational tone. This cute little book is a helpful addition to any home library, but if you'd like to check it out first the Brooklyn Public Library does have a copy. (God, I love a good library pun.)

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

 

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube

Tree-cycle!: Chip in. Mulch your tree. Help NYC grow!

We loved our tiny "tree"! (It was our first.) I'll miss it, but am glad it can go back into the circle of life.

 If you're not too attached, bring your holiday tree to a designated city park to be recycled into mulch that will nourish plantings across the city!

This year, MulchFest will take place this weekend: Saturday January 7 and Sunday January 8. It’s easier than ever to chip in! There are two ways you can help. You can bring your tree to a chipping location on January 7 and 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Parks Dept will chip your tree, and give you your very own bag of mulch!

If you can't make it, you can bring your tree to a drop-off site from January 2 through January 8. Leave your tree  and they'll recycle it for you later! The NYC Department of Sanitation will also be conducting special curbside collections for mulching and recycling of Christmas trees from January 3 through January 14.

(Read the full NYC Dept of Parks & Recreation announcement for more info and a list of drop off locations.)

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube

Children's Holiday Book Drive in Park Slope

My favorite kiddie and crafts gift shop, Pink Olive, is hosting Milk + Bookies, a children's book drive at it's Park Slope location on Saturday, December 3rd 11am-3pm. Kids are encouraged to bring books to donate to needy children, then stick around for milk, cookies, and story time with local authors. Kudos to Pink Olive for encouraging the values of literacy and sharing to youngsters! (More info.)

Please also remember my Vegan/ Animal Rights Book Swap on Dec. 10th.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

Stay connected: Free Gift // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest // YouTube