[GREEN PICK OF THE WEEK] Green Glam & Happy by Rebecca Leffler

Super excited to present our Green Pick Of The Week- Rebecca Leffler’s amazing recipe book- Green Glam & Happy!

But I’ll begin this one with a small personal note. In the September of 2015 I met this very special girl- Rebbeca Leffler for the first time. This was a very crazy period in my life, because I was smack in the middle of preparing for the launch of UrbanMeisters.com! Everyday was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, questions, more questions! I had set out on this journey with just two things- my strong gut feeling and the conviction to make it. Even then a lot of self doubt reared it’s ugly head time and again. I asked myself if I wasn’t totally crazy quitting my amazing and very secure career for a start-up adventure! On top of that a GREEN start-up adventure! You know how popular (mis)conception of anything GREEN is… how boring it is or how depressing it is with all doomsday scenarios and what not. Was I also going to become one of the so called ‘green crusaders’ singing, chanting & dancing bare foot like weirdos going around hugging trees they asked! Don’t get me wrong, I have deep respect for my green crusader friends who have dedicated their lives to the cause, but you know the reactions we get from people. ‘Oh you’re an ‘ecolo’ now?’ I would hear from people with what I politely call « surprised » expression on their faces.

But during this turbulent time I luckily met a couple of brilliant, talented and conscious entrepreneurs in New York & Paris who were, (surprise surprise!) cool and fun greenies too! Like minded people to share my burden with, listen to & learn from. And Rebecca was one of them.

Her story echoed in my heart like my own. Rebecca had the dream job that other girls (and boys) would kill for! She was the GLAMOROUS France Correspondent for The Hollywood Reporter and film critic on French TV network Canal! Name any celebrity and she had interviewed them all. Up until she decided to dump the red carpet for becoming green author, journalist and consultant. But don’t for a minute think she ditched the glamour too! She is an extremely fun, hip and Glam Green Guru.

I can only thank people like Rebecca who inspired and encouraged me in my early stressful phases. Even though I traded my Air France Platinum Frequent Flyer Card for a French Subway Pass, I feel more accomplished and HAPPY than I ever felt before!

And HAPPY is also one THE word of today’s feature.

I was invited yesterday to the very charming health food hot spot in Paris ‘The Wild & The Moon‘ for the book event. The meeting was great as the gathering of French bloggers chatted about good food and happiness.

To come back to the book Green Glam & Happy, we’ll have to come back to one’s gut feeling or intuition that I spoke about in the beginning. This ‘gut feeling’ is the key to happiness readers. Now I’m not turning spiritual guru on you, but it’s really common sense I’ve come to realise. Most times this feeling will be in total contradiction to the your brain but you’ll be compelled to listen to it as if it has a life on its own. It actually does! Read on to get more fascinated.

You see our brain and gut do talk to each other, every day. There is a direct connection between the brain and the gut through millions of neurons. Through this neuron web, the brain talks regularly to the Enteric Nervous System– the part of our nervous system managing our whole digestive tract. The Enteric Nervous System is what is also often called our body’s second brain as it is so extensive that it can often function independently without directions from the central nervous system headed by our brain! So now you know that the ‘gut feeling’ is not entirely metaphorical. Its as solid and biological as the thoughts produced by brain. Read this fascinating discovery here.

And this is also why they say YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Just a couple of days ago I read that researchers at the Brigham Women’s Hospital (BWH) found that diet and gut microbes can go even further- they not only influence your health but actually help in healing too! And this has come up even in cases like multiple sclerosis which till today is considered not curable. Research is still in very nascent stages, but it’s safe to conclude that food is a true ‘urban’ medicine and that our gut can be our ‘urban’ brain that steps in when the main brain gets embroiled in the stress of everyday modern life!

Rebecca’s book Green Glam & Happy propagates exactly this philosophy with over 180 super easy and super delicious food recipes. This is all about the food that makes your gut happy! And a happy gut is a happy UrbanMeister! After all wholesome and healthy food should not be a torture on the tastebuds but an epicurean delight fitting the urban lifestyle. All who agree rush immediately to grab a copy of this very awesome book- Green Glam & Happy today! It’s priced at 16.90€  and available on Amazon. Buy it here readers. The first edition is in French but more translations are going to hit the stands very soon.

But this was not all, at the event Rebecca also presented her latest coup – EKYOG x Rebecca Leffler – an exciting tie-up with the Eco Fashion Label EKYOG. So the book launch also saw the launch of the limited edition, 100% organic, ‘Franglais’ T-shirts from this collaboration. For those in the dark, ‘Franglais’ is the very cool mix of French and English 😉 Do check out the slogan tees here.

Like I told you, Rebecca is no ordinary green girl, but a full on green power house! But in the end she is an regular urban like you and me who just believes in her dreams, listens to her gut and dares to do!

So please,

Have a HAPPY weekend all,

Team UrbanMeisters