Today is none other than the 3rd day of giveaways I'm hosting on the blog! Today is a special day - new mama and wonderful designer, Tara Hogan of INK+WIT, is here to talk shop with us as well as giveaway one of her most special wall hangings. p.s. she's got great style and an eye for design, you really should check out her blog, it's to die for!
Q: Hi Tara. Thanks for doing this interview. I hear your a new mom. That's so exciting. We were wondering if it has been challenging being a new mom and also working so hard?
I love being a mother and yes it is definitely challenging trying to work, especially run your own business. What I have found to be the most challenging is my immediate family being 4.5hrs away. I miss seeing them through this process. I also did not have my mother with me through any of the pregnancy or post partum and after talking with many new moms who had help from their mothers I realized even more how much I needed my own mother's help.
My husband's family has been great and my closes friends nearby. Without them, I cannot imagine it all. I think of the women in African villages and how pared down the "nursery" is but at the same time they have a community raising a child and that is what it takes, a village or community. One of my yoga gurus said, "a great mother has the combination and balance of affection and boundaries." I have not forgotten this message. This one statement is how I have been approaching my role as a mother. It is wise to look at the role as service or it can often feel like work and become tiring in a sad way. I was so worn post labor and it took me a good five months to really feel whole in the body and mind again.
I had 5 day back labor with a 9lb baby that was face forward , 21" long and came out with one arm up and one arm down. It was a labor full of drugs and bewilderment but all the while I used my yoga practice to get me through it. Had I never knew about the bandhas or yogic locks I would have had no connection to the pelvic floor and pushing would have been even more difficult. I was able to visualize the pelvic floor and push that baby out. Labor was the most challenging for me overall but the first few months of sleep deprivation were also hard. I highly recommend hiring a doula or a caretaker to give you massages and really help you heal especially if the labor was intense. I was stubborn when I arrived home from the hospital and stayed home with baby for the first few weeks with only my husband. I wanted to lay low but in retrospect, a doula would have been helpful few hrs a day for me to get more mobile and heal faster. The above filtered into how hard it was to work. Now, we have a sitter 2 days a week and my work schedule is fine. No easy, but fine.
Q: I know you're a vegan. Can you tell me why you are, how it helps you and lend a few tips and words of advice for those trying to eat less dairy and meat and MORE of the plant based foods?
I am vegan for the animals. For their life. I do support local farms who make raw milk and cheeses though and honor those foods as sacred when used appropriately in the diet. Most people consume way too much dairy which adds mucous in the sinuses and also clogs the nadis or psychic channels (in yogic science) thus disrupting meditation, asana, and overall yogic diet.
I have been vegan for 6.5 years although I admit I have added ghee(clarified butter) into my diet this past year and raw honey. I have been following a more Ayurvedic Diet and highly recommend Maya Tiwari's books.
When I was in 8th grade my parents asked me where I wanted to go eat and I said, I will order a fillet mignon at whatever the local steakhouse was at that time and it will be my last piece of beef ever. It was. From 8th grade until 2006 I ate turkey, chicken, and fish sparingly. I had seen Faces of Death at 12 years old and how animals were tortured for food and sadly entertainment. I also read the Hari Krishna book, "The Higher Taste." I suggest you check out both of those items if you're looking for a more vegan lifestyle.
Also, if you are trying to eliminate the animal flesh it is wise to visit a few websites via
PETA or watch Earthlings to fully absorb the torture that happens at factory farms and even some pseudo "organic" farms. The amount of corn being grown to feed livestock is outrageous and the waste produced by these livestock is contributing to pollution. The carbon footprint to transport cattle to their deaths and then to markets is a waste of fuel. We need to update our thoughts already. We are not cavemen and we have the grains, seeds, nuts, vegetables, and fruits to sustain a very healthy diet and live long and strong. Furthermore, GMO anything needs to be avoided as well. Even if you are veg you need to look at non GMO sources. We all need to stick together to keep our food clean and harm as little as possible. We not not own this earth. Gandhi said
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.
Q: What do you feed your 8 month old? Any healthy baby food recipes or ideas?
I have been feeding John breastmilk, raw avocados and homemade pear sauce, applesauce, and most recently mango, quinoa, and papaya. He is just at the at age where he really wants texture and has his bottom teeth plus the two top ones are coming in so I will soon make him a more textural quinoa dish with very very small pieces of steamed spinach. We will also try millet soon and I will mix in a bit of smoothed medjool date sauce. I have not tried to give him green smoothies yet with banana, coconut water, medjool, and spinach but will at about 10 months. He also eats oatmeal with applesauce mixed in and loves it.
Q: What about recipes or staples that you can't live without?
staples:
- quinoa
- millet
- basmati rice (non GMO organic)
- celtic sea or Himalayan salt
- mom's spice mix from Vaidya Mishra Ashram
- fennel
- cardamon
- raw honey
- medjool dates
- spinach
- watermelon (when in season)
- lemon
- lime
- green apple
- celery
- lacinto kale
- mangos
- sweet potatoes
- thai coconuts
- olive oil
- ghee (preferably made from coal raw milk)
Recipe:
my fave shake:
- 1 thai coconut (fleshy and white)
- use the water
- add 1 medjool date (pitted)
- ½ - 1 mango depending on how thick coconut meat is (fresh and sweet)
- handful of organic washed spinach
- 1tspn yoga manna
- 1tspn chia
- 1rspn hemp seed
** blend in VitaMix
Q: Lastly, anything you want to share with us about your business and what we're giving away today?
I love that PUREmamas focuses on health and well being so I decided to giveaway the Be Wellie 11x14 maple wood wall art print. It is easy to frame as it is a standard size so no extra costs at a frame shop or time running around. It makes a great addition to wail art in any room or on its own as a cheerful message.
-----------------------------------GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED-------------------------------
BUT YOU CAN STILL USE COUPON CODE: INKWITMAMA and save 10% off any order. Discount code ends Dec 20th 2012.
WINNER: Congrats to Stache Cooper
We'll have another giveaway tomorrow! Stay tuned. Hope you're having fun. It's only just begun.
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