Lunch is probably my least favorite meal of the day. Why? I am gluten free and most lunch establishments either do not offer gluten free bread or if they do, it is inedible! Therefore I usually make my own lunch so I can enjoy a delicious sandwich on tasty gluten free bread. Well yesterday afternoon I had a lunch meeting with a client at an adorable French cafe and creperie in Greenwich, Connecticut called Meli-Melo and much to much surprise and excitement they now carry an enormous line (23 to be exact) of crepes made out of buckwheat, which is a gluten free grain. It took me a good 10 minutes to decide what I wanted to eat, which never happens. Usually there is 1, maybe 2 things on a menu that are appealing to me. I ordered the 4 seasons wrap (see picture) and even substituted goat cheese for the mozzarella cheese. My client ordered a shrimp and avocado crepe which also was delicious. There are 23 different fresh squeezed juice combinations that looked amazing, 17 interesting salads and 12 sandwich creations with 5 bread choices. While Meli-Melo’s sandwiches are not offered on gluten free bread, the buckwheat crepes are a much more unique lunch option in my opinion. And if you still want more; homemade ice cream and sorbet are available.

Merci beau-coup Meli-Melo for such wonderful and exciting crepes; including buckwheat options for your gluten free friends!

For more restaurants with gluten free menus and options please contact us at info@personalwebnutrition.com or 917-885-0052.

Last night I attended a Downtown Women’s Club – NYC networking event featuring Colette Ellis, Founder of Instep Consulting, LLC (www.instepconsulting.com). Colette discussed communication and listening skills with us and how they affect our business relationships. It was a wonderful and eye-opening discussion for all who attended. Some questions we discussed were: What message(s) do you send out? Are you perceived as passive, assertive or aggressive? After the discussion I commuted home via train and spent about 10 minutes reviewing the listening quiz Colette provided us with and was fascinated by some of my answers.

While the event was based on listening, assertiveness and communication skills to better our business interactions, I actually have started to realize how these skills can translate into my personal life as well. This morning I was “squeezing in” a workout and did not have the time to find my ipod, leaving with nothing but the great outdoors! At first I was concerned how I would stay motivated during the 45 minute workout but after about 3 minutes I realized how fortunate and wonderful it was that I was not listening to music. I live in the suburbs outside Manhattan and the trees have already started to turn such wonderful yellow, orange and red colors. Acorns and pine cones are everywhere and crabapples can be heard falling off trees. I also realized that everyone I passed who was not wearing headphones was extremely friendly, saying “hello”, “good morning” or even a pleasant wave. I also was able to REALLY listen to the sounds around me: birds chirping, leaves falling, gardeners mowing the lawn, construction workers hammering away and even cricket noises could be heard.

The timing of my music-free workout was quite fortuitous! The morale of this experience for me is when we take the time to listen, in whatever capacity it is, business or personal, we CAN really listen and hear things we did not before. Or maybe we did hear them, but did not take the time to appreciate what they meant.

Stefanie Ziev, certified life coach and Founder of Ziev Coaching (www.zievcoaching.com) and I discussed some books of interest on my radio show. Below is a list of books we recommend reading:

Life Visioning by Michael Beckwith

Spiritual Liberation by Michael Beckwith

Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping

The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle by Todd Michael

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Ask and It Is Given by Esther & Jerry Hicks

Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

The First 30 days by Ariane de Bonvoisin

First Things First by Stephen Covey, Roger and Rebecca Merrill

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

Anything by Iyanla Vanzant, SARK or Wayne Dyer

Please feel free to contact me at info@personalwebnutrition.com for more lifestyle management resources.