Girl Crush // Joyous Health

As we get ready for the best and most inspiring year ever (have you checked out our new series: Girl, Inspired?) it is so fitting that we have holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy, of Joyous Health as our first Girl Crush of the new year. Being a holistic nutritionist means focusing on nutrition and overall state of well-being for optimal health and happiness. Joy is the epitome of her name as a joyful, beautiful soul that exudes positivity and vibrance. She exemplifies her work and is such an amazing role model of living a balanced and happy life. Her outlook is infectious, making everyone around her wonder what her secret is? How is she living such a magical life? We find out Joy's secret and so much more in the week's Girl Crush.

We are thrilled to have you as our first Girl Crush of 2014! Can you give us a description of what you do? Maybe the elevator pitch of what Joyous Health is?

I'm a holistic nutritionist, creator of the popular blog joyoushealth.ca, author of JOYOUS HEALTH: Eat and Live Well Without Dieting, international speaker, TV nutrition expert featured on Global's Morning Show and CBC's Steven & Chris and a teacher at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. My goal is to inspire as many people as possible by way of delicious recipes and healthy lifestyle tips to get them on a permanent path of joyous health!

If you could make a list of the top 5 things to make this the most "joyous" year ever, what would they be? (Pun intended!)

1 // My book becoming a bestseller! 2 // Continuing doing yoga as often as possible. 3 // Taking a vacation to Austria with my hubs to visit his dad and do some travelling. 4 // Going to Western Canada, BC and Alberta for a book tour. 5 // Balance between work life and home life.

You just launched a new book - can you tell us a little about it?

My book just launched on January 7th! It's a fresh new approach to eating and living.  I started writing my book over two years ago because I wanted to share my passion for natural health with the world! The first half of my book offers you a practical path to creating a healthy lifestyle. It’s not just about what you eat. It’s also about how you live your life too. A healthy body and mind is dependent on how you feel about yourself. Speckled throughout my book are tips on having a more joyous outlook including the power of hugging, loving and appreciating your body, the music mineral, vitamin G and everything in between.

Of course I am a nutritionist so my book wouldn’t be complete without a whole chapter on “getting your gut on track”. This just scratches the surface because there is so much joyous goodness rolled into 293 pages. One thing is for sure, my book will make you smile, you will learn a ton and you will gain some valuable knowledge and have healthy and delicious recipes at your fingertips!

When did you know that a career in Holistic Nutrition was your calling? What fuels your passion?

I've always been fascinated by the human body and it began as a child. My mom worked at Toronto Western Hospital for years and I loved visiting her in the lab because they had all these jars of organs once inside someone's body (for research). Sounds gross I know, but I would ask a million questions! I feel like I've been a student of nutrition my whole life.

What fuels my passion is helping others heal their body and feel amazing. I love my job so much because I get to make a difference in other's lives.

What is one thing you want to accomplish this year?

I want my book to become a bestseller because that means it will be in thousands of people's hands who will have the opportunity to experience joyous health.

One thing you are grateful for today?

I'm grateful for hugs from my hubs and my kitty purring on my lap as I write this.

One thing you are proud of?

So hard to pick one thing! Right now I'm super proud that I'm a published author. It's a dream come true.

And one lesson you learned in 2013?

Ask for help. You can't do everything yourself!

I swear by argan oil for my skin. You are such a natural beauty, what does your beauty routine look like and what products can you never live without?

Thank you! I used to have a lot of trouble with dry skin, but changing my diet years ago and getting on good supplements made all the difference. I can't live without my "Just Pure" moisturizer and my own body butter called Smooth Like Butta it's organic and totally pure made with mango butter, coconut oil etc.

I am a huge fan of authors such as Louise Hay and Eckart Tolle, do you have a mentor or author that has inspired and/or influenced you?

I love both of those authors too. I also love Robin Sharma, Thich Nhat, Hanh and Don Miguel Ruiz. When there have been challenging times in my life I've found inspiration from these authors to think positivity and always from a place of love.

You are such a positive and beautiful person that has a real passion for life and helping others live a more balanced and prosperous life. What has made the biggest impact on your life? What is a quote or mantra that you live by?

Thank you so much! You're making me blush. Having parents that are positive, loving and inspirational has had a huge impact on me. I know that I'm very lucky as this is not the norm with many families so I'm very grateful. Also, being unwell for a period of time in my life really motivated me to take better care of me and to be kinder to myself.

If you could make dinner for anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you make?

Ha! What a fun question. I would make dinner for my two grandmothers. They have both passed away but growing up my mom would make dinner for us all every Sunday night and I never got the chance to make dinner for them. I would make my sweet potato kale roast with an organic whole chicken stuffed with onions, garlic and herbs. Then I would make a gluten-free apple crisp with vanilla coconut milk ice cream for dessert!

How does personal style impact your work and the branding behind your books, videos and website? What are your go-to and favourite pieces?

As you've probably noticed by my Instagram feed or on Global I often wear cute tops or dresses from Bicyclette. I love colour and fun prints! Royal blue is my favourite colour and I feel so good when I wear royal blue. I love polka dots too. In fact the dress on the cover of my book has polka dots and I bought it in Paris 2 summers ago!

Magic is….?

The first snowfall walking through the park with my hubs drinking a tea and eating a croissant from Nadege!