Hello friends.  After much debate and conversation with my husband and close friends, I have decided to dissolve my little plant based business, Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing.  I am ready for the next fun new chapter of my life.  I will still be blogging about my vegan life in Memphis, so check back if you're interested.

I did enjoy the classes I taught, my students, and my clients.  So thank you all for showing your interest in the health benefits of a plant based diet.  Simon and I still eat this way, it has become a part of our lives.  Our healthy plant based food will definitely be a big part of my blog.

I have updated my website to just include my blog and a bit about me.  Here is what I have recently updated in the About Me section of the site which explains the changes a bit and my plans for 2016 if you are interested in the details:

A Bit About Me...

My name is Jennifer Arnold Parsley.  I am 43 years old, I just moved to Memphis, Tennessee with my wonderful husband Simon, our boxer mutt Riley, and our cat Basil.

I quit my job after 18 years working in the chemical industry. I have a chemical engineering degree and an MBA, I did everything from engineering to marketing and, in the end, completely burned out from working 18 years in an industry / career that was certainly never a passion of mine.  It was all about a paycheck and security. I may have enjoyed some positions or parts of different things, but overall it was a struggle.  It took me many years and a lot of introspection to discover what my true passions in life are. I can now confidently say that they are: Healthy Plant Based Cooking & Eating / Music (especially The Blues) / Spiritual Growth.  

I quit the corporate grind in January of 2013.  Simon & I were engaged two weeks later!  I spent most of 2013 planning our beautiful wedding in a castle in Scotland.  We were married in February of 2014.  I started a little business called Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing in April of 2014.  I taught a lot of classes about the health benefits of a plant based diet, did some cooking classes, had some fun.  Overall, it felt like teaching this information was an uphill battle and most people aren't ready for the message.

So, onward and upward with what feels right for 2016.  We just moved to Memphis because we chose to.  It wasn't a job transfer or necessity.  We chose to design the lives we really want to live and not just live based on what a job or society was telling us to do.  We chose to go live in a fun, cool city while we are still young enough to enjoy it.  We absolutely love it here.  We downsized into a smaller home for the two of us and our pets.  We are lovingly restoring our 105 year old home in the Cooper-Young district of Memphis, a cool up and coming neighborhood with all sorts of fun restaurants, bars, shops, and a great yoga studio all within a few blocks of our home.  Simon & I are both signed up for unlimited yoga, we walk to class two blocks away.

So, life is good and I have decided to give up the plant based nutrition gig.  For now, I will blog about life in Memphis and incorporating my passions into my life and having lots of FUN while doing it.  In the New Year, I am even going to look into getting a job at Graceland because I would LOVE to listen to Elvis music all day long, tell excited tourists from around the world about his life, and get paid for it.  Who knows where it may lead.  I am just enjoying life and seeing where it takes me.

Come join me for the ride by checking out my blog.  Peace, Love & Blues my friends.

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Hello friends of Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing.  It has been way too long since I have posted on my blog.  There is a reason.  My husband and I have been very busy putting some huge life changes into place and we are now at the place where we can tell everyone about it.

This past June, Simon & I went to Memphis for vacation.  We have been there many times and flown in and out of Memphis for vacations to Clarksdale, Mississippi for Blues festivals.  We love Memphis, it is my favorite city in the United States.  I love the music culture and history, the warm climate, it is a perfect sized city for me (pop. 650,000), sits right on the Mississippi River, I am a huge Elvis fan, I love everything about Memphis.

We have had our house in Midland, Michigan for sale since this past Spring.  We wanted to downsize and were looking for homes in Midland, closer to downtown.  When we returned from our Memphis vacation in late June, we looked at a house that met all of our criteria and it was underpriced.  Our realtor asked us what we wanted to do.  We went to O2 and discussed things over a drink.  We just couldn't bring ourselves to buy another house in Midland as we felt it would lock us into the rest of our lives, or until 'retirement', in Midland, Michigan.

We reached a point in the conversation where I said, "So we're moving to Memphis?" and Simon replied, "We're moving to Memphis!"  We toasted and put our plans in place.  We knew exactly what neighborhood we wanted to live in in Memphis - the cool, up and coming Cooper-Young neighborhood.  We found a realtor in Memphis and found a home in about two months.  We put in an offer on Labor Day weekend and got the house.  We closed on October 2nd.

In the meantime, Simon was interviewing for chemical engineering jobs in Memphis and found a very small company only 6 miles from our new house that would offer a completely different experience than the huge 10,000 employee global bureaucracy that is Dow Corning.  He completed the interview process, negotiated his new job, passed all of the clearances, and was able to resign from Dow Corning this past Thursday.  NOW we could make our news public, it was a closely kept secret.

So, here we are.  I have already moved to Memphis with our dog and cat and Simon will be joining me shortly. Our new home is a 105 year old historic home which needs some TLC.  We have a big list of things we want to do to the new house as well as getting our home in Midland sold.  We have a great new realtor and relocation assistance to make that happen.  I have been on Angie's List (GREAT service!) lining up contractors and services to turn this house into our sanctuary.  I will share a bit of that journey as we go along.

My plant based business is sort of on hold right now.  I plan to blog and still offer coaching.  I am starting to meet a whole new healthy vegan community in Memphis and understand how I can partner with people here to offer classes in the future.  I am sure my business will morph and change as we make these big changes in our lives.  

We are so happy we decided to proactively live our lives and move to a fun, cool city while we are still young enough to enjoy it.  It is a huge change, with lots of emotions and things to work through, but we are supporting each other through the whole adventure.

Thank you for your patience with my blog and my business as I go through this transition.  I am still always happy to help with plant based health, nutrition, and weight loss.

Many of you may be familiar with Lindsay Nixon, The Happy Herbivore.  I have mentioned her cookbooks, recipes, websites, and meal plans as good resources for healthy plant based eating.  I recently took the plunge and signed up for her annual meal plan service, Meal Mentor.  So far, we love it!

By signing up for the annual plan, I received a year's worth of Individual and Family Meal Plans.  The meal plans are all no oil whole foods plant based and can be customized to be Gluten Free, Soy Free, or even Lower Fat (no nuts, avocados or high fat plant foods).  All of the calorie analysis and nutrition facts are done for you.  You get a detailed grocery list and detailed prep sheets for what to batch cook ahead of time (rice, beans, lentils, etc.) and what to prep on your big meal prep day.  You don't have to cook everything in one day, but Lindsay shows you how if you want to try it.  She has some great videos showing her cooking a week's worth of meals in 1-1.5 hours.  You also get lots of free downloads and membership in a great community forum and Facebook page so you can learn and share with others cooking and following the meal plans.

I was getting a little burned out being in the kitchen so much, it felt like we were chopping and cooking and washing dishes like crazy almost every day.  I loved the idea of doing one big organized grocery shop, one big day of cooking, then having all of your meals ready to just pull out of the fridge and reheat during the week.  I am not as efficient as Lindsay yet and I cook more recipes for my husband's big portions, so my cooking day takes more like 3-4 hours, but it has been SO WORTH IT!  

We use the Family Plan where each recipe is designed to make about 4 portions.  We sometimes get a little more or a little less, it depends on the recipe and our appetites.  These meal plans are designed as a baseline 1200 calorie per day diet with add-on options available.  Simon doesn't need to lose any weight and he is used to large portions of our healthy vegan food, so I make sure he is eating as much as he wants.  I am trying to see if I can refine my portions, follow the 1200 calorie plan, and maybe lose a few more pounds to get really lean.  

I will do a different blog post on losing "the last 10 pounds" and why I am watching calories right now.  Look for that post soon.  I was hugely inspired by Lindsay, The Happy Herbivore.  I am even doing a daily yoga challenge for over 3 weeks to kick start my last 10 pounds plan.  I will be doing a yoga video right after I post this.  I will post about my yoga challenge as well.

The picture at the top of this post is my lunch today, an Indian curry served over a roasted potato with fresh chopped cilantro.  It was delicious and filling.  Potatoes are so great for filling you up.  Behind my lunch is a glimpse of part of the produce from my big grocery shop today.  We are going to do our weekly cooking blitz tomorrow.  I love all of the beautiful fruits and vegetables that we eat.  The picture at the bottom is my dinner last night - leftover Enchilada Pasta with some added chopped fresh tomato and cilantro.  Even following a 1200 calorie plan, I get large portions that fill me up, I am just not mindlessly eating all day.  I stick to a healthy, filling Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.  That is the beauty of eating a low fat whole foods plant based diet, you get a lot of food for your calories.

Simon likes the new variety of recipes and really enjoys not having to chop and wash tons of dishes every day.  We make enough recipes to have leftovers for his lunches at work, so he is getting more variety there too.  He was in a bit of a rut with soup or stew over brown rice probably 3-4 times per week.

We are just getting started with the meal plans and batch cooking, this is our third round of it.  The meals last us around 10 days, so we don't even need to do it every week.  I am sure we will get even more efficient with it over time.  So far, we are loving it and it frees up so much more time for me to work on my business.  I have been doing a lot of research and background work which you can't see, but look for great new coaching packages and freebies from Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing this year.  I hope to start filming videos as well.  Lots of great stuff coming, I am very excited about growing my business.  Rome wasn't built in a day, but I keep working on it and I am excited about where I will take it in the future.

Do any of you batch cook like this?  Let me know your experiences with it and share any tips or tricks that you have.  Have a great weekend!

Hello friends!  I am still here, still eating a healthy vegan diet, and still recovering from shoulder surgery.  I am doing very well with physical therapy, but it is certainly a long and painful process.  I hope to be able to offer cooking demos and classes this summer, my physical therapist estimates I will be back to full strength by August.  LONG recovery, I know.  

I hope to never have to go through something like this again.  I am very happy that my healthy diet has allowed me to heal as quickly as possible and not put on any weight even with what seemed like months of basically being in bed.  I am working with my friend on a new exercise routine to build back some muscle tone and firm everything up before summer bathing suit season.  I have really missed regular workouts and yoga.  My friend is great at putting together workout routines and she will work around my still healing shoulder.  I am even considering hiring a personal trainer to get this body in tip top shape again.

I have been doing a lot of research and thinking about my business, Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing, during my recovery.  I have SO MANY great ideas floating around in my head and my research has revealed some exciting new action plans for 2015, some I have started, some are yet to come.  Look for great new coaching services and potentially online nutrition classes as well.  Such exciting stuff!  I am BACK and will be blogging at least weekly again, so you can hear all about my exciting new business plans, see what I am cooking, get recipes, see the results of my exercise efforts, all sorts of fun updates.  Stay tuned and let me know if there are any specific topics you would love to have me blog about.

On another note, I am BACK to teaching a few classes as well.  My next class is coming up this Tuesday, March 31st, at Ways To Wellness downtown Midland.

This course gives you information on the food additives found in almost all packaged foods in the grocery store today.  We will review the categories of additives, such as MSG derivatives, food dyes, preservatives, and flavor enhancers.  We will review how these additives can impact your health, energy levels, cravings, and addictions.  You will learn what to look for as you are buying and preparing foods for your family.

We will talk about shopping for, preparing, and packing healthy meals for home, work, and school.  You can avoid harmful food additives and improve the quality of food for your whole family.

Cost:  $20

This class will be offered on Tuesday, March 31st from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Ways To Wellness downtown Midland.  To register, call 989.486.3820 or CLICK HERE.

Here I am, blogging 2 days in a row!  I told the Universe I wanted to blog more and it gave me some fun information to share. 

My Aunt Chris put a link on my Facebook page to this article in the Midland Daily News about my business, Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing.  It talks about what I offer and my upcoming free vegan cooking class at Nature's Gift Organic Market on Sunday, September 7th, at 3pm.  Check it out:

CLICK HERE to see the article.

After I posted yesterday, I got outside for a nice rollerblade with my dog and thought of some additional things I wanted to share on the topic of me being in a funk and getting back into a healthier routine to get out of it.  Other things to add to a healthy routine:

1. Less alcohol.  I have found myself drinking a bit too much or too often as part of the funk.  I am unfortunate to have a double whammy when it comes to addictions - I use food AND alcohol as coping mechanisms or to sort of numb out, especially at the end of the day.  Sooooo...I am watching the alcohol intake.  Trying to not drink during the week and when I do have beer or wine (I never drink hard liquor), having 2 drinks or less works for me to still feel healthy and feel good the next day.

2. Sunshine and Fresh Air.  I mentioned exercise yesterday, but it is so important to get outdoors and get some sunshine in my eyes and on my skin or just be out in the fresh air even if it isn't sunny.  It makes a world of difference.

3. Music.  Oh, the power of music to lift a mood!  This is one of my passions in life.  I LOVE music - Blues, alternative rock, 80s hair bands, and country are some of my favorites.  I love getting to live gigs, we have some amazing musicians in the area and further afield in Flint and Detroit area.  If that 's not an option, just putting on headphones while I mow the lawn or turning on the stereo while I am in the kitchen cooking up delicious healthy food are great ways to lift my mood and put some pep in my step.  I sing along most of the time, sometimes at the top of my lungs.  If Simon is around, we dance, or I dance by myself or with our dog Riley.  Yes, MUSIC, don't forget the music!

OK, I wanted to share those ideas that were rattling around in my brain yesterday.  Thanks for the feedback on the blog and on Facebook, I love it.

Hello my dears.  I have not been blogging as much as I should, because I have been in a bit of a funk.  Summer doldrums I guess.  I completed some classes earlier in the summer.  I did a great cooking demo earlier this month and scheduled all of my Fall & Winter classes...then I sort of hit a wall and had some time on my hands. 

I did some promotional work, reached out to promote classes a bit more.  But I have run out of steam.   Too much time on the couch.  Too much falling prey to my caffeine and sugar addictions.  Too much sleep.  Blah.  Blah.  Blah.  I definitely have my down days and funk periods, I have never been officially diagnosed with depression, nor ever taken medications.  I have reached out and talked to a counselor on occasion over the years when I get in over my head.  This doesn't feel like the worst funk I've ever had, just blah and bored.

The good thing about where I am now with my health journey is that I KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF MY FUNK.  I indulge myself with a few days or weeks of sleeping too much and doing very little, then I get antsy and know I need to snap out of it to make myself feel better.

So, starting NOW (I know too well the tricks of wait until Monday, wait until after the long weekend, wait until after vacation....No. Now.) I am going to pull myself up by the bootstraps and get myself out of this funk and into the healthiest possible routine to ward off future funks.

For me, this means getting up earlier, working on my business EVERY DAY, doing some sort of exercise 5-6 times per week (even walking the dog counts, something to peel myself off the couch), staying off all coffee, sugar, and of course no animal products, nuts, or oils as well to keep me at my healthy goal weight.  In my current funk, I have had some coffee and sugar, but I no longer eat animal products.  Period.  I do check the scale regularly and don't let my bad habits pack on weight.  I am sick of yo-yo dieting, I just can't do it any more.  I am also in this vegan thing for the animals and the planet as well.  I started for health, but I have become an ethical vegan along the way. 

So, there you have it.  You know where I have been and what I am doing to snap myself out of it.  Time for a little tough love, key word in that phrase being love.  I want to snap out of this and get back into healthy habits because I do love myself and want to take care of my body, mind, and spirit.  Speaking of spirit, more meditation and connecting with my higher self is in order too.  I regularly meditate with a friend once a week, but I have a beautiful meditation space at home and plan to meditate more here.

As part of snapping out of my funk, I plan to blog more often.  I have really resisted blogging, so that means... MORE BLOGGING.  I have tons of great ideas to share around my passions in life - plant based nutrition, music, and spirituality.  So, I plan to share more with you my dear friends.

Namaste.

Can you believe it is August already?  Where has the summer gone? 

I have been very busy with cooking demos, courses, and getting Jennifer Parsley Nutritional Healing established.  I am proud of my accomplishments so far. 

At certain points, it was starting to feel like I was always in the kitchen - testing recipes, preparing for classes, doing healthy plant based cooking demonstrations.  AND keeping food on the table at home.  I am lucky my husband Simon is a great sous chef and very helpful in the kitchen.

Lately I have been focusing on using up our CSA veggies from our local farmer every week.  I started by choosing recipes to go with each vegetable.  Lately, in an effort to simplify life around her a little, I just make a 'bowl'.  A simple way to get lots of healthy veggies and starches into our bodies with minimal prep time in the kitchen.

Elements of a Bowl:
---> A Starch or 2 (brown rice, hulled barley, potatoes, beans, lentils, or quinoa are favorites of ours)
---> Veggies (raw or cooked, any combo you have on hand, the more the better)
---> A Sauce (no oil, plant based, there are tons of wonderful recipes out there, start with sites like protectivediet.com, happyherbivore.com and drmcdougall.com)

That's it, throw everything into a bowl and enjoy a hearty and filling meal.  Mix & match grains and beans, use a bean dip or hummus for your sauce, whatever inspires you.  Don't skimp on the starch, you need it for satiety.  There are thousands of possibilities.  I use this idea often, especially when I am trying to stay out of the kitchen.  It is a great way to use up leftover 'bits & bobs' as the Brits say.

Today's lunch bowl, pictured here, featured cooked hulled barley, pan fried zucchini dry fried with just salt & pepper, leftover chopped fresh parsley, and some leftover creamy potato & kale soup for my sauce.  I also added a bit of Frank's Red Hot Sauce for an extra kick.  It was so filling, I had 3/4 for lunch and the remainder in the afternoon for a snack.

Give it a try and tell me some of your favorite bowl combinations.