18 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Diet

Now that the decorations are put away, the cookies are eaten, and our lives are devoid of the hustle and bustle that took place just weeks ago, it seems like a good time to replenish our energies, restore our health, and look forward to the longer days and sunshine ahead. Of course, those of us who live within just a couple of hours' drive from Canada will have to wait just a little longer than the rest of you!

In the spirit of this rejuvenation, here's a list of what you can do now to contribute to your health and wellbeing as we begin 2010! :   (In no particular order...)

1. Decrease your consumption of animal protein, and eat more greens and raw fruits and vegetables.
2. Buy as much organic food as you can, especially for the dirty dozen.
3. Eat only organic/free-range/grass-fed meats and eggs.
4. Don't buy commercial milk. --Learn to make your own nut milks (It's easy!).
5. Have a green smoothie every morning for breakfast.
6. Learn to make your own salad dressings, using organic extra virgin olive oil.
7. READ LABELS. If you don't understand the ingredients, don't buy it.
8. Replace canola or "vegetable" oils with organic extra virgin olive oil (for dressings) and virgin coconut oil (for cooking).
9. Eliminate all genetically modified foods. These depress the immune system and cause a host of other problems, most of which have not even been recognized yet. (Look out for PLUs starting with 8). Avoid these common GMO ingredients: corn, canola, cottonseed, soy.
10. Eat only organic fermented soy: tamari, miso, tempeh, for example, and only on occasion. Don't eat soy substitutes, i.e. veggie burgers, soy milk, soy ice cream, etc. Soy messes with hormones and depresses the thyroid, among other things.
11. Eat a big salad of organic leafy greens every day. Add different fruit and vegetable combinations to keep it interesting.
12. Avoid SUGAR in all forms! White sugar (and brown sugar) is a drug. See William Dufty's book "Sugar Blues." Natural sweeteners are an improvement (maple syrup, honey), but are best eliminated for several months before added back in moderation. For your sweet tooth... try different kinds of fruit. Have you ever had a persimmon? a pomegranate? a dragon fruit? Have fun discovering new things!
13. Eliminate gluten (this means wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, triticale, and oats unless labeled "gluten-free") from your diet. It is one of the most common allergens. Unfortunately, these are very prevalent in the standard American diet (SAD). Look out for pizza, pasta, crackers, breads, cereals, etc. There are gluten-free substitutes, but the healthiest way to consume any grain is in their "whole" form. Some gluten-free options include amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, brown rice, and corn.
14. Start weaning yourself from caffeine--especially coffee. Try Teeccino, Roma, or other natural coffee substitute. If you need that "lift" or mental focus try Yerba Mate tea, green tea, or Think O2 from Traditional Medicinals.
15. Avoid alcohol... at least for now. You can always add back some organic wine down the road for special occasions.
16. Avoid restaurant food. There's more in it than you'd ever want to know. It's easy to bring a salad for lunch, or pick up some organic fruit to grab on the go.
17. Instead of candy bars or even protein bars, try a Larabar. It's made of basic ingredients like dates and other dried fruit, nuts, and spices. You can even find a recipe to make your own! (just Google it)
18. When there's not much in season in the produce section, don't forget about frozen foods. You can get frozen asparagus, broccoli, peas... etc. Frozen is the next best thing after fresh. Avoid canned food!

This may seem overwhelming, so I recommend doing it a little at a time. Each week, pick one thing to work on. By summer you'll have made excellent progress and will likely reap benefits that come from eating healthy foods and eliminating the toxins so prevalent in our food supply. If that seems like too much to think about right now, start with this: Buy some buckwheat groats (they're gluten-free!) and make the buckwheat porridge pictured above. Here's the how to make it:

Buckwheat Porridge
(serves 1)

1/2 cup whole buckwheat groats
1/2 to 1 whole banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla

Soak buckwheat groats in water overnight. Drain and rinse in the morning. Pour into blender. Add other ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl to serve, and top with fresh (or thawed frozen) berries or fruit, perhaps sweetened with a bit of stevia. Enjoy!

10 Easy Ways to Stay Thinner and Healthier Through the Christmas Season

Photo Source

Well, it's December, and we are only a couple of weeks away from Christmas!

What an exciting time of year! There's so much preparation that goes into these few weeks before Christmas, be it sending out Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, and oh, the food preparation! Cookies, fudge, candy, galore! It's kind of interesting how we spend lots of time shopping for special ingredients and making all kinds of delectable treats, and then eating with no thought to tomorrow or our long term health. Then, come January 1st, we make all kinds of new resolutions for solving the problem we created over Christmas: e.g. eating better, exercising more, etc. Is it possible to delight in some of the delicious food this season has to offer without having to make some major resolutions when we hit the new year?

I think so! Here are a few tips for participating in all the munching that goes on at Christmas parties and gatherings in the weeks ahead:

1. Drink... plenty of water! That will help to keep you from over-doing it when you get into the line for food.

2. Avoid/Limit... the SWEETS, especially made with white or brown sugar. Do what you can with less refined, more natural, sweeteners: dried fruits, honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucanat/rapadura (unrefined cane sugar). However, even these ought to be used sparingly. It's better to stick to whole foods.


3. Indulge... in lots of negative calorie foods. These are foods that require more energy (calories) to digest than they contain in themselves.

• Watch vegetable trays for: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, radishes
• At a restaurant dinner, order a salad.
• For breakfast, have a grapefruit or a fruit salad of apples, mangoes, oranges, and pineapple
• Try frozen berries, especially in a green smoothie.

You'll notice all these things are high in fiber. So, whenever you can choose foods higher in fiber, you will help yourself to maintain (or help shrink) your waistline.

4. Enjoy... the natural whole food delights of the season: fresh pomegranates, oranges, apples, pears.

5. Be FESTIVE... with salads! Just another way to EAT those GREENS! Here's a recipe (more or less) for the festive salad pictured below, full of seasonal flavors:

Orange Spice Spinach Salad (all organic)
for One

Salad mix:
3 cups spinach
1 small apple, chopped
dried cherries and/or cranberries
unsulfured dried apricots, sliced
walnuts

Dressing:
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt to taste

Mix dressing ingredients together. Combine spinach and chopped apples, and toss with dressing. Arrange in bowl and top with dried fruit and nuts. *Tip: Another good addition would be clementine orange sections.

6. Create... eats and treats with coconut oil! Coconut oil helps to speed up the metabolism and aid in weight loss. You can learn all about the benefits of coconut oil at http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/. Some of the ways I enjoy using it are the following:

• Fruit Smoothies with the addition of 1-2 Tbsp of melted coconut oil blended in.
• Coconut oil instead of olive oil on a salad.
• Steamed sweet potatoes with coconut oil (instead of butter) and sea salt, as a side dish.
• Steamed broccoli or cauliflower... "        "as a side dish.
• Organic poporn popped in coconut oil, with sea salt.
• "Mounds" candy bars from the Nourishing Gourmet or Coconut Bark-Almond Joy at Real Food Living

A good resource for recipes is Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight and Feel Great With the Delicious, Science-based Coconut Diet, by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

7. Stop eating at 6:00... on most occasions.  This simple rule will help to keep you from packing on the pounds. To help conquer cravings... have some herbal tea. Licorice and Peppermint are especially nice this time of year. For something more substantial, try some rooibos tea, which is more full-bodied.

8. Spike your drink... (that is, your water) with apple cider vinegar. This can help curb cravings and also help to break down body fat. Add a couple teaspoons to your water bottle and sip throughout the day. It will help keep your blood sugar level.

9. Don't stress it... Stress messes with your hormones, which can contribute to weight gain. Remember what Christmas is really about

10. Play... that is, exercise! Go play in the snow! Make snow angels, meet friends for an afternoon of ice skating, go cross country skiing, build a snow man, go sledding, try snowshoeing, go for a hike in the woods! Join the kids for some old fashioned fun in the snow. Have FUN!!!

Hot Beverages for Cold Days

Photo Source

As we are phasing out of fall and drifting into winter, there's a definite need for beverages that warm us from the inside out. However, not all the options out there promote good health. You know which ones I mean... Hot Cocoa with marshmallows, Coffee, Tang, any powder in a packet that says "just add hot water." The main things to avoid in these things are 1) artifical colors and flavors and other additives, 2) Sugar, 3) Caffeine, 4) Pasteurized, homogenized Dairy products with their added hormones and antibiotics.

Hopefully I don't have to explain the reasons why we wouldn't want artifical colors and flavors and other chemicals in our food. Sugar and Caffeine each warrant their own post. Suffice it to say for now that both suppress the immune system, tax the adrenal glands, and lead the body into an acidic state, which opens it up to all kinds of illness and disease.

There. Now, don't get all distressed about not being able to enjoy these common comforting "cuppa"s. There are all kinds of delicious alternatives that not only don't do damage, but do promote good health and well-being:

Herbal tea: Herbal teas contain no caffeine and are very satisfying, comforting beverages. These are a few of my favorites (I recommend organic):

• Peppermint (soothes the stomach and promotes relaxation and calm)
• Licorice (excellent for your poor, overworked, underpaid, adrenal glands)
• Chamomile (also soothes the stomach and relieves anxiety)

To "spice" things up a bit, try the recipe for a soothing peppermint tea-based chai on Elana's Pantry.com: Soothing Chai.

Herbal "coffee": Herbal coffees are made up of a combination of roasted roots, grains, and dried fruit like dates and figs. They may not taste exactly like the real thing, but they are caffeine-free and definitely give the same impression as coffee. You can even add some coconut milk for a vegan "cream." I think the following ones are especially delicious.

• Mountain Rose Herbs Herbal Coffee: (Gluten-free!) Comprised of roasted Dandelion root, Chicory root, roasted Carob, and Maca powder. 100% organic too.
• Teeccino: Comes in all kinds of flavors. Comprised of things like roasted barley, dates, figs, carob... depends on the flavor. I like Mocha, but there are so many I have yet to try! Check out their website: http://www.teeccino.com/. It has all kinds of information about why you should switch from caf or decaf to "no-caf." If you sign up for their newsletter, you'll get a free sample in the mail, plus a coupon for $1 off your first purchase!

Rooibos: Rooibos is an African red tea. It is very high in antioxidants, AND it's caffeine-free!!!According to Mountain Rose Herbs' website, it's also high in Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Sodium, Copper, and Manganese. --Not bad for a soothing evening treat. It comes in all different varieties-- sometimes as a blend, sometimes with spices added. I especially like my loose-leaf vanilla rooibos. For a Thai-style hot tea, try a plain version with some coconut milk and maple syrup to taste. AMAZING:

1 bag Rooibos tea

1/8 cup coconut milk

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup

Steep tea first for 3-5 minutes. Then add coconut milk and maple syrup as directed, or to taste. Enjoy!!! (Serves 1)

Hot Lemonade: Originally from the book The Master Cleanser, by Stanley Burroughs. The recipe I have actually calls it "German Warfare," and basically says it'll cure what ails you. I drank cups of it when I had a sore throat, and found it to be both soothing and effective. Here's the recipe for one serving:

2 Tablespoons of organic lemon Juice (about 1/2 a Lemon)
2 Tablespoons of Organic grade B maple syrup

1/10 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper powder
Ten ounces of filtered water

Combine first three ingredients. Then, I add hot water to make a tea. It is so soothing and satisfying-- especially if you have some kind of cold. If you want more information about the benefits of this combination, check out the book: The Master Cleanser. It's not a huge investment: about $6.

Pumpkin Latte: The blog "The Nourishing Gourmet" has an excellent recipe here. It's dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and caffeine-free! Why go to Starbucks or Caribou Coffee when you can make a healthier and less expensive version at home?

Russian Tea: The Whole Foods Market recipe collection has a great healthy version of a childhood favorite, Tang.

Blackstrap Molasses Tea: Organic Blackstrap Molasses is really some kind of superfood. It's really high in minerals and has been said to reverse graying hair! Why not give it a try? If it works, let me know!

1 Tbsp, or so organic blackstrap molasses (to taste)

8-10 oz hot water

Coconut milk (as cream)

Serves One. Also: blackstrap molasses goes really well added to your herbal coffee. It has a nice subtle sweetness. If you want it sweeter, add some honey to taste.

Warm Coconut Milk Egg Nog: Okay, so this is really supposed to be chilled in the refrigerator for an hour or two, but... I couldn't wait! ;o) Turns out, it's especially good while it's still hot~! Yum...

2 egg yolks (from free-range chickens)

1 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Heat, but do not boil, coconut milk and honey. Beat egg yolks and vanilla in a small bowl. Add half the milk mixture to the egg yolks and stir. Add back into coconut milk and stir. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and will coat the back of a spoon. Add the spices, and cool until... it doesn't burn your mouth. Pour in dainty little glass punch cups (or whatever you have), and sprinkle with nutmeg. Enjoy!

And of course there are infinite varieties of Spiced Hot Apple Cider. A word of warning though: conventionally-grown apples have one of the highest rates of pesticide residues. Buy ORGANIC.

Enjoy these hot beverages for the cold days ahead. Do you have any to add? Let me know if you give one a try!

50 Contributors to Adrenal Fatigue

1. Caffeine
2. Sugar
3. Alcohol
4. Eating “on the run”
5. Food allergies
6. High-carb diet (lots of grains & sugars)
7. Nutrient deficiencies
8. Overeating, even healthy food
9. Pesticides and herbicides on produce
10. Processed foods/junk food
11. Skipping meals
12. Change in living situation
13. White flour
14. Born with weak adrenals due to adrenal fatigue of mother
15. Malalignment of the spine
16. Chemical toxicity
17. Over-the-counter and prescribed medications
18. Heavy metal toxicity
19. Electromagnetic pollution
20. Parasite infestation
21. Chronic pain
22. Physical trauma/injury
23. Type A personality
24. Anger
25. Depression
26. Resentment
27. Worry/Anxiety
28. Emotional trauma
29. Fear
30. Guilt
31. Low self-esteem
32. Negative thoughts
33. Unresolved conflict
34. Relationship issues
35. Wrestling with major issues: moral, theological, spiritual
36. Mental strain/overwork
37. Major life events, positive or negative
38. Serious illness
39. Illness of loved ones
40. Death of a loved one
41. Financial difficulties
42. Job change/loss
43. High conflict situations
44. Late nights
45. Lack of sleep
46. Overexertion in exercise
47. Smoking/secondhand smoke
48. Loud, pounding music
49. Media: News, Violent movies
50. COLLEGE

The things that contribute to adrenal fatigue are all elements that put stress on a person physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. You can probably think of even more. A certain amount of stress is normal and in many ways beneficial. However, when one has stress coming from all different sources, assailing at the same time, it is more than the body can be expected to handle. At that point, the body is thrown out of equilibrium, and must do everything it possibly can to regain balance. That requires a lot of energy, and leads to high levels of inflammation, toxicity, fatigue, and ultimately, disease. The good news? Adrenal fatigue is highly preventable and treatable. Watch for an upcoming post on behaviors that prevent or reverse adrenal fatigue!