Meet Andrea from Earthyandy
Her name is Andrea, some of you may know her as @earthyandy on Instagram. She has two rambunctious little boys and an incredible husband. They live on the North Shore of Oahu. She moved here as a teenager from the plains of Saskatchewan, Canada. Her heart always belonged in the tropics! She created her healthy lifestyle blog "to assist anyone who is looking to upgrade their life, starting with what you let enter your mouth. This is not a quick fix, it is far from a diet. It is an all encompassing lifestyle that can potentially, completely change your quality of life. It worked for me and it may work for you too". Each photos she is posting on Instagram create thousand of likes and make us want to stop everything and catch next plane to Hawai!
Let's meet this incredible mummy!
What inspired you to start your blog?
Hi! I started earthyandy.com as a way to answer the questions I was receiving on the daily through email and Instagram (@earthyandy) about how I personally changed my health.
I wanted to create a site that was informational and supportive for people who were interested in learning more about a plant based lifestyle. My goal was to simply contribute to the great information out there and be a support to anyone who is looking for it. I had many health problems for many many years and I wish that I had this information years ago! I have the people who put their information and stories out there to thanks in supporting my own health journey. Health can make such a big difference in our quality of life. This I have experienced first hand. Instead of getting through each day I look forward to each day! That mentality alone changes everything!
And for anyone interested, all information and health claims on my site are approved by a certified doctor. You can find health plans, my personal experience, facts on plant based living, veganism. how to start plant based living and all sorts of recipes!
We follow your daily dreamy adventure and healthy lifestyle on Instagram through your stunning photos, you have now 256k, do you see yourself as an influencer?
I think we all influence each other in this world! I started that Instagram to journal. I told no one about it and thought I could document trying to change my health and use it as a creative and personal outlet. I started following accounts to inspire me to stay on top of my attempt to change my health. As I documented, people started to be supportive of my efforts in all sorts of ways from recommendations, to just being nice! I am so very grateful to be able to share and connect. Health is so important and to be one that grew up struggling with it it feels incredible to be a help to even one person. It truly touches my heart every time someone says, hey I am feeling better, or I tried a health recipes of yours, or I feel good when I read your captions.. or whatever! Its just so wonderful we can all be there for each other to up lift one another as we our strive towards our personal goals.
How is the daily life in Hawaii?
I am not sure I should say.. haha! It’s magical really. It’s a simple life. Sometimes I don’t get in a vehicle for a week. The people are kind and genuine. I ride my kids to school on our bikes, we live across the street from the beach, you can go hike down the road and there is a few markets close enough to ride down too. We just play and skate and go to the beach, and visit with friends and family in our free time. If you live here long enough you will notice seasons! There is big surf season, small surf season, and snorkeling season haha. Honestly it’s hard to be sad here because you walk outside and there is so much natural beauty in your face and there is the smell of flowers and ocean right under your noose. There are also rainbows almost every day and just the most gorgeous misty sunsets. Any time I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed I walk outside, and if I can, dive in to the ocean. It’s the cure all! You really appreciate the simple things in life like family and the outdoors. Daily life in Hawaii is simple yet completely beautiful and enriching.
Healthy secret tips you’d like to share?
Aim for plant over processed every time you decide to eat- even if you are going to eat processed, make a rule for something plant to be eaten first. A lot of times this is enough to change your mind and actually want to continue eating nourishing foods.
-Drink a tall glass of water first thing in the morning. Add a squeeze of lemon. This awakens the body and gives you energy and curbs sugar cravings wonderfully.
-Sweat most every day! I have a goal to break a sweat most days of the week. To me, that is doable and not overwhelming! It works! Sometimes that means just being extra rambunctious with my kids outside but its so good for one to keep their body limber. Your age is defined by the flexibility of your spine :)
And regarding kids, what you’d be the best healthy diet to follow?;)
I think that as a parents its really good to start recognizing that the foods our children eat affects them- their mood, their energy, their resilience to infection and the flue and so on. At least for my kids, once I took out gluten and dairy, their eczema went away and so did their asthma. Now that my kids are plant based they hardly ever get sick and if they do, its been a runny nose and they are back to normal in a day or two. They are happier, more content and do better in school and sports and life as a result of it.
For kids, just like us, I recommend plant over processed, incorporate sit down meals into your family dynamic, lessen snacking, start each day with whole foods instead of empty carbs and aim for a plant based diet. That doesn’t mean only plants, that’s a little too intimating for some, but everyone can be a plant based. Back to the basics, whole foods, homemade foods, drinking mainly water, eating meals together is where the magic has happened for our family.
What are three foods you can’t live without?
Salad, cucumbers, mangos annnnd potatoes! I have like 10 foods but I really love my greens, and my mangos! I also use acai (Sambazon Acai almost every day in smoothies bowls :) sorry that totally was not just three haha.
If you had to dress up your little munchkins, which Fancy Kids outfit would you choose?
It’s all so cute! I love the t shirts and the swim shorts from Tiny Cottons! They are so cute!
What’s next for @earthyandy? Any new project in preparation?
Ah yes! Well I work with a number of companies who support the health message, which I am honored to be a part of so there will be lots of fun stuff going on that I hope is also helpful. But besides that, it sounds like I am going to be going to California to do some fun events to raise awareness for healthy living and then September I will be going to Tahiti to help out with an ocean camp to bring awareness to the health of our ocean which I am really excited about! But more than anything being a momma is number one! Who knows what life will bring! I would love to make a cook book one day! :)
THANK YOU ANDREA!