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How Does Maria Rodale Live a Nutritious Life?
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As the granddaughter of the founder of organic movement in America, Maria Rodale is a third generation leader of Rodale, Inc. (the company that publishes magazines like Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, as well as the forthcoming re-launch of Organic Life; plus bestselling books like the recently released Thug Kitchen, Jessica Alba’s The Honest Life, Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Mama and The Kind Diet, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth) and she is also the author of Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World and Keep Us Safe.
Maria’s mission for Rodale is the same as it was in 1930 when her grandfather JI Rodale started the company. He knew that there was a direct relationship between the declining health of America’s soil and the health of America’s people, a revolutionary view in those days. In 1942, Organic Farming and Gardening magazine launched, today known as Organic Gardening, which taught people how to grow better food by cultivating healthier soil using natural techniques and today, the Rodale family is widely recognized as pioneers of the organic movement in America.
Maria is passionate about carrying on that tradition and forwarding the movement. She recently launched Rodale’s, a specialty e-tail store offering healthy products that nurture happiness, protect nature and help people around the world. Every product offered (from food to home to personal care products to apparel and more) is responsibly sourced. She is committed to inspiring and enabling people to improve their lives and the world around them every day.
As an activist, a speaker, a businesswoman, a cook and a mom, she is dedicated to promoting the benefits of an organic and healthy lifestyle.
How do you EAT EMPOWERED?
I try to eat as closely to nature as possible. That means organic, real food and I want to know where it comes from and how it is grown. I worry less about calories and more about nourishment. I also do heaps of cooking from scratch! I post lots of my favorite recipes on my blog, Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen.
How do you LIVE CONSCIOUSLY?
Living consciously for me is a constant process of checking in with myself (how am I really feeling? Am I loving or hating what I’m doing? What’s most important right now?) and then pushing myself (Is there more I can be doing? Am I doing too much? How can I make myself healthier and happier?) I try to make my life a rewarding life of service to others — through my family, my business and my mission—but to truly be effective I have to cultivate that consciousness within myself first. Keeping a journal is key, and fascinating to look back on as well.
How do you DRINK UP?
My current obsession is ice water! Sometimes, if I’m feeling the need for a “drink” (I don’t drink alcohol) I order a sparkling water “on the rocks.”
How do you LOVE MORE?
If love were easy, the world would be a very peaceful happy place. But love is hard, especially unconditional love, which is what I strive for. Love means listening and observing and seeing beyond the surface — realizing that underneath anger is often hurt, but also realizing that anger is ok sometimes! Unconditional love also begins with learning to love ourselves, even though we are not perfect by any means. Even though we will never get everything done or make everyone happy or accomplish all we want to accomplish. The deepest love is incredibly forgiving and patient…and sometimes hard. But if we don’t love ourselves first, it’s incredibly challenging to love other people.
How do you STRESS LESS?
Making lists, checking them off, writing things down, I am constantly asking myself — do I need to do this? Do I want to do this? What can I say no to? What can I say yes too? What can I let go of? What can I delegate? And then try to focus on what really matters and is most important and let everything else (and everyone else) fend for themselves. My life got a whole lot better and happier when I learned that it wasn’t my job to fix everything and everyone else! {Tweet this}.
How do you NURTURE YOURSELF?
Hot baths, monthly massages, the occasional spa visit, yummy organic food, snuggling with my kids and especially connecting with nature — even just going outside and laying down on the earth — it’s so grounding and healing. I also enjoy laughing. So anything to make me laugh is good. I also love to paint, write and listen to music. Often at the same time.
How do you SLEEP DEEP?
Generally I am a good sleeper. But I prefer a really cozy bed with soft pillows and blankets (when I travel I take a shawl that makes any bed “my own.”) My bed at home is an organic mattress and all the bedding is organic and I can sleep really well in it. I LOVE to sleep with the windows open! And my sedative of choice is a good paper book. I’ll read until I can’t keep my eyes open and then drift into dreamland while expressing deep gratitude for all the wonderful people in my life. And for my bed, too.
How do you SWEAT OFTEN?
This is the one area I need to work on more. I sweat the most when I run, but I’d like to run more. I can’t ever seem to hone in on just one sport — I like to walk, lift weights, do yoga, ride my bike. But I’m constantly struggling to motivate myself and make myself work out harder and more often. But that’s life, isn’t it? We all have things we can work on and do better at. I’ll add it to the list…
The Nutritious Life Editors are a team of healthy lifestyle enthusiasts who not only subscribe to — and live! — the 8 Pillars of a Nutritious Life, but also have access to some of the savviest thought leaders in the health and wellness space — including our founder and resident dietitian, Keri Glassman. From the hottest trends in wellness to the latest medical science, we stay on top of it all in order to deliver the info YOU need to live your most nutritious life.
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