Recently we decided that we needed to hear more from those inspiring women that live harmonious lives every single day.
People who inspire us and motivate us to find happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives.
We want to know how they do it and what advice they can offer us.
We recently got chatting with the wonderful Martyna Angell!
Martyna Angell is a certified holistic health coach (IIN), wholefood recipe columnist for Nourish magazine, cookbook recipe writer and an award‐winning wholefood blogger. She is also a passionate food stylist and food photographer, as well as a wellness speaker. Her articles and recipes have appeared in major publications in Australia and overseas.
What are some of the ways you make your day-to-day life more harmonious?
Having a set routine for the early mornings – be it time set away for a mindful walk or workout and another one for dinner-time evenings as well as taking a mindful time out away from work over lunchtime helps me feel grounded and makes my days flow more harmoniously. Of course there are days when a spanner gets thrown in the works – that’s life – and that’s okay too, so focusing on having at least one of those times set away for me helps me to find my balance.
How do you stay creative and inspired about the things you do every day?
I cook (and grocery shop) almost every day as part of my job and I am often asked if I’m even remotely interested in cooking dinner at the end of a long day in the kitchen. My answer is almost always the same; yes, because preparing a nourishing meal for my family is one of the most rewarding things. Looking after them inspires me in the same way I feel inspired creating recipes and images that speak of the delicious and nourishing nature of those recipes for my clients, for my blog, book and the magazine I work for.
What was your biggest learning/growth experience in the past year?
I think realising how big of a job it is to write, style and shoot – and then promote – a cookbook. Even though my publisher did an excellent job at taking care of much of the process, it was a mammoth task. Quite enjoyable, but huge. It made me realise that having a baby and my second book out around the same time was going to ask a lot of me, so instead of doing both by halves I decided to move some dates around and do both well.
What would be your advice to people who struggle with making healthy and whole food a staple in their life?
Start small – we all have to start somewhere. Find your happy ratio of eating well and indulging a little. Mine is a 90/10, yours could be 80/20 or if you’re only just starting out on a whole food journey going 50/50 might ensure that you’ll be doing better than many. Work on increasing the ratio over time to what suits you and don’t beat yourself up if from time to time you relax your ratio a little (think holidays, family celebrations, etc).
What’s the easiest thing that people can do right now to improve their cooking and eating habits?
There are so many simple ways to make better and healthier food choices; from swapping out soft drinks for water to adding veggies to every meal, or satisfying even the naughtiest of cravings with the smallest portions. Life should be about balance so going back to basics of eating real food most of the time is a mantra I believe in, but an occasional indulgence makes life more fun.
What are your goals for the future? What have you got planned for this year?
I want to continue to inspire people to eat the best food for their bodies without falling for fads. I’m actually in the process of writing my second cookbook and wellness guide which focuses on seasonality. Also, our family is growing – I’m due to have a baby this October so family will be my other focus for the rest of the year.
Martyna’s book “The Wholesome Cook” can be found and purchased here: http://wholesome-cook.com/the-wholesome-cook-book/
You can also find her on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WholesomeCook/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholesomecook/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@wholesome_cook
Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/wholesome_cook/