Tag Archives: Health

January 25, 2013 · 8:55 am

Why Get Sick…

…when you can NOT get sick?

Unfortunately, it’s that time of year…you know the one I’m talking about. The germy, sniffly, feel yuck time of year. Don’t join that party. Because we all know it ain’t any kind of party.

So on that note, here are my best recommendations for fighting off the flus and colds and other gross mystery illnesses:

1. Wash your hands!

Wash ’em right and wash ’em often! Use warm, soapy water. Wash for the duration of 2 renditions of Happy Birthday. That may sound like an eternity, but it’s 10-15 seconds. Let’s not be dramatic.

2. Greens

Eat your greens, drink your greens…whatever. Just get as many green veggies into your body as you can. They are your best defense.

Cooking them is especially good this time of year, as it will be warming to your system and will kill off any bacteria. Don’t overcook, of course. Just lightly steam or sautee them. And add a bit of healthy fat after cooking, like olive oil or avocado, so the vitamins and minerals are better assimilated into your body.

3. Berries and Citrus

Eat your antioxidant-rich foods! Berries and citrus are loaded with Vitamin C and and good-for-you vitamins. It’s very important to eat real, whole foods, to stay healthy and to recover faster if you do get sick.

Additionally, organic blueberries are more reasonably-priced this time of year. And berries are low in sugar. See #7 for more on that.

4. Rest

Tired? Don’t go get a quadruple latte. Take a few minutes to lie down and let your body recharge. If it’s tired and you caffeinate, you’re just going against it and that’s not going to work out well for you in the end.

5. Herbal Remedies

I recommend Gaia Respiratory Defense, Black Elderberry, Ashwagandha, and Astragalus Reishi. These help you fight stress and boost your immunity. Take note, my pregnant readers: these are not for you.

6. Fish Oil

Fish oil fights systemic inflammation, so it’s a good idea to take a high quality one daily to support the immune system and overall health. It also boosts fertility, is essential for pregnant women and their growing babies, as well as those suffering from arthritis, heart disease, or other chronic diseases.

My recommendation is Pharmax Finest Pure Fish Oil Capsules – all pcbs, dioxins and mercury have been removed and these won’t give you fish burps.

7. Avoid sugar
Know what won’t boost your immunity? You guessed it: sugar. Sugar wreaks havoc on your immune system and leaves you vulnerable to all the nasty bugs out there. And once the bug is in your system, it feeds on sugar and exacerbates the illness.

If you love your sweet stuff, my recommendation is to ease way up when you’re feeling sick. Otherwise, you’ll just be sick for longer. The choice is yours…

Hope you all stay healthy out there!

6 Comments

Filed under Health, Products, Sugar, Tips and Tricks, Vegetables

Tagged as Ashwagandha, Common cold, Flu season, Hand washing, Health, Immune system, Olive oil, sugar, Vitamin, Vitamin C

October 4, 2012 · 9:09 am

No More Cheeri-(GM)Os!

That’s right. I finally weened The Husband off GMO-tastic Cheerios. They have that ubiquitous “Whole Grain” stamp on them, but they’re loaded with GMOs. So I can’t stress to you enough how huge this was for me.

HUGE.

How’d I do it?

As always, I’m so glad you asked.

Answer: BABY STEPS!!!

It was, at times, a bit tricky. The husband was not always thrilled. But after trying countless organic cereals to a less than enthusiastic response, we finally found some honey flakes that worked great. I was happy.

But then I thought I’d try one more thing…

…because box cereals are still processed and there are healthier options out there…

So what’s he eating now?

That’s just the best damn part.

He’s now eating and loving…drumroll, please…

HUBBY OATS!

(It ain’t so pretty but it’s oh-so-tasty)

Ingredients (all organic)

1/3 cup of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/4 cup-ish of homemade cashew milk (basically, just enough to wet the oats without being really wet and sloshy)
1 tsp of chia seeds
2 tbsp of raisins
1 tbsp of dried currants
2 dried figs (he asked for more of those without even knowing – didn’t see that one coming!)
1/2 banana
1 tbsp of organic peanut butter
1 tbsp of chopped walnuts
1 tsp of coconut sugar
a sprinkle of salt
shakes of cinnamon

What Do I Do?
Put it all in a bowl and mix it up. No heating necessary. Serve.

You could add berries, hemp seeds, different nuts. The sky’s kind of the limit on this one. And it’s so easy being a one-pot-dish. Have fun with it and report back on what you add in!

Speaking of baby steps, if you’re a mom or mom-to-be looking for help in getting healthier for you and your kids (or kids-to-be!), contact me. Initial consultations are always free!

Adventures in Nut Milk

In addition to dehydrating up a storm, I had my first foray into homemade nut milk last week. You all know how I feel about dairy, so this girl does nut milk.

I have to say, making my own almond milk was a wee bit of work but so incredibly worth it. The taste was unreal.

I had been buying the 365 Brand of Unsweetened Organic Almond Milk from Whole Foods. It’s very good as far as pre-made nut milks go – in health and taste – but there are still ingredients in it that I don’t love. And people kept saying it was easy to make it yourself so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Now I know. They taste like two totally different drinks.

The real mess was the cheesecloth because you have to strain the almonds to get smooth milk. Cleaning the cheesecloth was a bit tricky so next time, I’ll go with a fine mesh metal strainer.

BUT! I also bought some cashews to try cashew milk. While the taste of almond milk is superior, cashew milk is SO much easier to make and still tastes great.

Cashews don’t have to soak as long, which is a huge plus if you forgot to soak and need some milk (um, that was me this morning!). But the best part is that you don’t have to strain them. Cashews are soft enough that they blend really well. Faster, easier, and less mess! This makes homemade nut milk a much more realistic option.

Everyone knows that almonds are a very healthy nut but what about cashews? Well, did you know that a couple of handfuls a day fights depression? Read more about it here.

Here are the two recipes…

ALMOND MILK
Ingredients:

1 cup of raw almonds (organic preferred)
water for soaking nuts
3 cups of water
a few shakes of cinnamon (optional)
sweetener: 1-2 dates or figs (optional)
sprinkle of ground vanilla (optional)

Preparation:

1. Soak the almonds in water overnight or for at least 6 hours.

2. Drain the water from the almonds and discard.

3. Blend the 3 cups of water, almonds (and whatever else you choose – I used only cinnamon) until well blended and almost smooth.

4. Strain the blended almond mixture using a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer.

Homemade raw almond milk will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

I soaked overnight and didn’t use dates or vanilla and it was amazing. A bit of cinnamon adds a nice flavor (I love cinnamon) and serves as an antimicrobial agent.

CASHEW MILK
Ingredients:

3/4 cup of raw cashews (organic preferred)
water for soaking nuts
3 cups of water
sweetener (optional): fig, date, raw maple syrup, raw honey (unless you’re pregnant!), or coconut sugar (never agave!)
a few shakes of cinnamon (optional)
ground vanilla (optional)
a dash of pink salt (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cover raw cashews with water and allow to soak for at least one hour.

2. Drain and rinse.

3. Place 3/4 cup of soaked cashews and 3 cups water into a blender or food processor and process until smooth, at least one minute.

4. Optional: add sweetener to taste if necessary.

Homemade raw almond milk will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

You can use more or less water to alter the thickness of your cashew milk, but in general, you want a 1:4 ratio of cashews to water.

You may also choose to strain your raw cashew milk. I, of course, did not.

**In my first round of cashew milk, I did not use any sweetener or salt. Just some shakes of cinnamon. It was good but not great. In my second round, I used some shakes of cinnamon and a fig. Better. In my third round, I used some shakes of cinnamon, a fig (fresh), and a sprinkling of ground vanilla bean. We have a winner!

Both milks are great on their own, in smoothies, or in oatmeal/cereal.

And I made an amazing shake that tasted like ice cream, so I’ll share that with you, too. 😉

KINDA LIKE ICE CREAM SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp of organic peanut butter (My choice is Maranatha!)
1 banana
1 fig (dried or fresh, depends on preference and what you have in the kitch)
a few shakes of cinnamon
a cup of almond or cashew milk (use more or less depending on the consistency you like)
ice
1 tsp of cacao nibs

Blend and drink, my friends!

7 Comments

Filed under Agave, Dairy, Health, Organic, Raw, Recipe, Tips and Tricks

Tagged as Almond, Almond milk, Cashew, Cheesecloth, Health, Ice cream, Ingredient, Milk, Plant milk, Vanilla

September 15, 2012 · 10:24 am

Dehydratin’ Away…

So the hubby and I are pretty much inseparable. We work together, we live together (obviously), and we go places together. It’s awesome. And the dog ain’t far behind.

I mean, look at that face. Would you leave her? Exactly.

But this week, I have a new best friend. Her name is Excalibur.

That’s right. Health Coach Jillian is dehydratin’ the bejesus out of anything she can get her hands on with her new 5-tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator. It’s BPA-free and phthalate-free.

But if the hubby feels threatened, he has only himself to blame. (And maybe two employees at Whole Foods.) All three commented on my out of control addiction to kale chips. All of them said, “Why don’t you make your own?”

The first time I got the question I replied, “Whenever I make kale chips in the oven, they burn.”

But last time I got the question, I fielded it differently. “MY DEHYDRATOR IS ON ITS WAY TO ME!! I JUST ORDERED IT!”

Okay, maybe the cashier was unprepared for that level of enthusiasm, but he asked and with my Excalibur en route, I was excited. Super excited.

So now I’m trying anything that sounds like it will taste good when dried out: apple with cinnamon, strawberries, figs, carrots, zucchini, and of course, kale.

Now, one might wonder what the point is. Don’t we want the water that’s in these foods? Sure!

And when you eat dehydrated food you should drink water to rehydrate. So it seems totally pointless, right?

Not exactly.

I keep the temperature on 105F so the foods are still technically raw, but cooked. Cooking with high heat destroys much of the nutrients in food, but at this temperature, I’m preserving the nutrients and the live enzymes that are in raw food. And I get on-the-go healthy snack food – like carrot chips and zucchini chips. This way, I can make some healthy concoctions instead of always eating cold food out of the fridge. But mostly, I just eat truckloads of kale chips.

Finally, I gotta give a special shout out to the Mom and Dad – my new bestie is a result of some birthday cashola (yes, HCJ gets older in the summertime). Thanks, guys! I’m having a blast with my new toy!

13 Comments

Filed under BPA, Chemicals, Fruit, Health, Organic, Raw, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetables, Water

Tagged as Cook, Dehydration, Drying (food), Food, Food dehydrator, Health, Kale, kale chips, raw food, Raw foodism

September 11, 2012 · 2:47 pm

Everything is an Opportunity

We are motivated by the happy moments: successes, holidays, milestones, and fun.

But snafus, stress, struggles, and sadness are inevitable.

We all make mistakes. We all have stress. We all endure tough times.

We all know that.

The important thing is that we get through these moments gracefully. These trials happen so that we may learn from them and evolve as individuals.

Here’s how…

1. Let it out
Have an outlet. Release the stress. Cry if you need to. Whatever you do, don’t keep it in. If you bottle it, it will fester. And that’s not healthy.

2. Look at the positive
Think about what good might be lurking in a bad situation. Hold onto that and appreciate that things happen for a reason. Journeys are not meant to be easy – they are meant to be valuable. Find the nugget.

3. Learn from it
See how you can do it differently next time. See how you can grow from it.

4. Move forward
Don’t dwell. Take the time to grumble, yell, pout…whatever. And then look forward. Better moments await you.

And what is true in life, is often true in food. When you indulge a little, don’t let that be the slippery slope that derails you from your efforts. Make your next choice a healthy one and get right back on track.

Mistakes, misfortunes, and misunderstandings are a part of life. Missed opportunities shouldn’t be.

And finally, as today is September 11, we all take time to remember the heroes, the lost lives, and the unbelievable shock and sadness that reverberated through this country 11 years ago…and for a long time after. I give special thought to Deora Bodley, who was on Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, PA. I knew her in high school – we ran track together. I feel such sadness for her shortened life, but today, I have someone’s birthday to celebrate, too. It is not all bad.

Tag Archives: Health

Why Get Sick…