How you start every day is so important and what you do first thing in the morning matters! The choices you make regarding your daily routine either build up resistance to disease or tear it down. I used to check email first thing, then before you know it, it’s 9AM and half my morning was gone. But now, the first thing I do is drink warm lemon water {well, ok after I tinkle of course, that’s really the very first thing most people do when they wake up, right!}. [Read more…]
Fun Project: Christmas Card Display
Here is a fun Christmas Card Project that took me less than 10 minutes! My son had a great time helping too!
Pick a cabinet or door you don’t use much – then decorate away. We used our liquor cabinet! We also used ribbon we bought at Michael’s for $1.00 each and still had tons left over for decorating the presents.
BTW: I don’t claim to be the creative mastermind behind this – I am sure I saw on Pinterest or something. Or maybe I am this creative! 🙂
Maintain Don’t Gain!
As we head into the holidays full of turkey, pie, fudge and stuffing, we all know {and research concurs} that many people gain 2-10 pounds from now until New Years! This tells us that this is a very dangerous time of year for many of us to pack on the pounds unless we plan to maintain our weight, or even commit to losing a few pounds.
The really significant news is that many gain the extra pounds but discover it’s not so easy to lose and so the holidays can contribute to the increasing problem of obesity among adults and even children in the US, who gain pounds each year and never get around to losing it, or maintaining a healthy weight.
Living your healthy BEST starts with a healthy weight. Overweight and obesity is 100% preventable – no one said it’s easy – but with careful planning it CAN be prevented – and reversed. There are plenty of diets out there but the sad truth is that many of them set you up to fail.
Here’s what happens: on most diets you lose fat AND muscle (if you lose anything at all) When you lose muscle, your metabolism DROPS, and you lose your ability to burn FAT! When you go off your diet, you can’t burn calories like you did before, so you gain weight back faster.
Repeat with the next diet. The yo-yo effect!
There is simply a BETTER way to lose weight! It’s called Cinch Inch Loss Plan. Check out the Success Stories
No need to take our word for it, there’s plenty of PROOF and hard science to back up the efficacy of the plan.
Best of all Cinch is a simple, easy-to-follow program – even over the holidays! We suggest you make the decision to either “Maintain – Don’t Gain” (replace one meal a day with a Cinch Shake or Meal Bar) or “Choose to Lose” a few pounds during the next two months (Cinch Transformation Pack). Then get serious on Jan 2nd 2013 and go on the Shaklee 180 (scroll down to view the teaser video!) !
Are you ready to make a commitment to your healthiest holiday season ever? We are!!! Let’s do this together!
Your Almighty Immune System
It’s November! That means shorter days, colder temperatures, and winter right around the corner. From now through May it’s also the time of year we call cold and flu season. In fact, the average adult gets two to three colds a year, and every year about 200,000 people are hospitalized because of the flu. If you get sick, that’s trouble. You won’t be able to keep up with your kids, your spouse, coworkers, and friends. Simply put, there’s just no time for illness! Protect your health so you can protect your family, and start early to stay strong all winter.
Your body has powerful microscopic armed forces to combat germs. Billions of white blood cells vigilantly patrol through the blood stream. Special fighting units, cells in your bloodstream called macrophages (Greek for big eaters) attack germs by surrounding them and digesting them. Other cells make powerful chemicals called antibodies. They are anti, or against, these foreign bodies and attack the outsides of germs. They team with other specialized germ fighters called T cells.Your immune system’s got your back. And your front. All of you, inside and out. Good thing, too, because you’re surrounded by bacteria all the time. A tiny square inch of your skin can contain 50 million of them. Most are harmless. But some, such as viruses, can be downright dangerous. As a catchall, we call them germs.
Each kind of germ has an outer layer that’s different than those on other germs. Antibodies your body produced to fight off last year’s flu virus can’t get a grip on this year’s model. So your immune system has to go back to the drawing board and make new antibodies. But the good news is germs can’t fool your immune system twice. Once your body has withstood an attack by a specific germ, the antibody making cells remain on alert. They’re ready to rumble if the same germs show up again.
Last but not least, your immune system makes the almighty fighter interferon. It interferes with invading viruses trying to replicate themselves inside your cells. Interferon also helps activate macrophages and other immune defenses, including natural killer cells (cells that detect and start killing tumor cells) even before antibodies attach to their outsides, providing a crucial and early assault.
You’re immune system may be complex, but some simple lifestyle habits can help keep it strong. A healthful diet, exercise, supplements, lowering stress, and more can make a difference in maintaining a healthy immune system. Take care of your immune system, so it can take care of you.
5 Strategies for Staying Healthy this Winter
Video: Discover Interferon
Photo updated 10-11-13: Image credit: artisticco / 123RF Stock Photo
Video: Discover Interferon
In 1954 Dr. Kojima discovered interferon, and its crucial role in building your body’s immune response. He then spent over 40 years dedicated to finding a way to naturally boost interferon production.
UNREAL: A New Unjunked Kind of Candy
This week we were out and about and decided to stop into CVS for a little treat. Yes, even we eat junk from time to time. While at CVS, we came across these candy bars that looked a little futurist and I had to take a look. They were called Unjunked by UNREAL. They claim no GMOs, no artificial colors, sweeteners, preservatives and less sugar. I was thinking to myself, ya but they probably taste like CRAP. But I was in an adventurous mood so I decided to give them a try. They were on sale for 2 for $2 so a little pricier than regular junk. Here is what I got {unjunked M&Ms, Snickers and Reeces PB Cups}:
As you can imagine, I couldn’t wait to rip open the packages, but for the blog’s sake I was gentle in case I wanted to take more pictures of the packaging. But here is what the Unjunked candy looked like out of the packages:
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that the Unjunked candy actually tasted really good and close to the original junk version. For the price, I’d go with the UNREAL 8 {Snickers} and UNREAL 88 {Reeces} as those were the best value.
The story behind the UNREAL brand is pretty neat too. Basically, a dad confiscated most of his son’s candy one Halloween, which of course caused an uproar. But the kid decided to show his dad that candy wasn’t bad, so he searched the internet. The kid ended up finding out the candy was actually full of bad things and so the dad was right! But they decided together that there has to be a better a way and so they went on a search to find the solution. Corn syrup? Out. Partially hydrogenated oils? Out. GMOs? Out. Artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives? Out. Reduced sugar by over 40% per serving on average? Check. They also decided key ingredients needed to be responsibly sourced, supporting farming communities and preventing destruction of the rain forests. All ingredients needed to be non GMO. Dairy needed to come from pasture raised cows with no antibiotics or added hormones. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do for people and the planet.
Sample comparison {from UNREAL’s website}:
Here is a sample ingredient list:
I have to say overall I was pretty impressed, especially when I read the story. So for now, we’ll buy this Unjunked version of our favorite treats – on occasion! Keep in mind this is still CANDY, with sugar, so it doesn’t give you cart blanch to go hog wild…..but if you are going to have a treat hear and there why not choose an alternative without the GMOs, HFCS, artificial flavors, colors & sweeteners – just my opinion of course!
5 Strategies for Staying Healthy this Winter
Americans get more than one billion colds a year. So why is it that we have smartphones but still no cure for colds and flu? It’s because we’re dealing with smart viruses. Any one of hundreds of viruses could launch a cold or flu attack, and chances are that this year’s flu virus won’t be the same as last year’s. That’s because viruses have the uncanny ability to constantly morph into new variations, making it nearly impossible to develop a simple cure.
Having said that, there’s still much you can do to stay strong and healthy all winter. Talk to your doctor about the best ways to protect yourself and give these prevention strategies a try:
- Wash Your Hands: Washing hands remains the most effective way to protect yourself and your family from colds and flu. Lather, rinse, repeat throughout the day. Do it long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
- Get Enough Sleep: Sleep may be your immune system’s secret weapon, according to recent scientific research. Less than seven hours of sleep a night made people three times more likely to catch a cold than those who got eight or more hours of zzzs.
- Exercise: While very vigorous physical activity (like running a marathon) can put a damper on your immune system, most scientists agree that moderate physical activity actually helps boost the immune cells that fight off invaders.
- Fuel Yourself with Good Nutrition: An orange a day (along with strawberries, bell peppers, potatoes, and other vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables) can help keep the doctor away. Lean meat, fish, and other protein sources also provide the amino acids needed to help maintain your immune system. Don’t forget to fill in nutritional gaps with immune supporting nutrients like zinc and vitamins D, A, C and E. Harvard scientists even suggest vitamin D supplements may help reduce the occurrences of colds. The scientists found low vitamin D levels in nearly 20,000 Americans increased their cold and flu risk.
- Power up with Plant Extracts: Scientific research has led to the discovery of a combination of plant extracts that naturally boost the body’s own production of interferon, a component of the immune system that helps fight off viruses. Other plant compounds found in elderberry and echinacea extracts can help, too. Take these when you feel the first sign of something coming on, and continue taking them for about a week as needed.
Photos updated:
Image credit: elenathewise / 123RF Stock Photo
Image credit: omgimages / 123RF Stock Photo
7 Tips for Choosing a Quality Soy Product
When shopping for a good protein source, the information can be overwhelming. Many media sources try to persuade you away from soy {see my previous article debunking the soy myth}. But we have a different story. It’s not soy, but the way it’s been processed that makes it unhealthy. Soy in it’s right non-GMO form will actually heal your body of many ailments. Consider these tips when shopping for your soy protein:
7 Essential Tips for choosing a quality soy product:
by: Dr. Brouse
1) Were the soybeans ORGANICALLY GROWN?
Studies have shown decreased levels of food nutrients and increased levels of nitrates in chemically fertilized crops, when compared with their organic counterparts. There is a connection between the ingestion of nitrates & CANCER! Therefore, it is important to know that pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides have not been used during the growing process. In particular, with soybeans, since they are such a hardy plant, a powerful and DEADLY weed spray called Round Up is usually used. For your safety, you must know that your soy products are organically grown. [Shaklee soy is organically grown.]
2) Were the soybeans GENETICALLY ENGINEERED?
Genetically engineered soybeans are much cheaper to purchase, and most companies producing soy products look for ways to save money. [Shaklee soy is certified non-GMO (i.e., it is guaranteed to contain no genetically-modified organism.)]
3) Does your soybean powder contain ALL of the nine essential amino acids?
One of the most valuable features of the soybean is that it is a complete protein and provides ALL nine of the essential amino acids. The body requires these daily to produce hormones, digestive juices, antibodies, and enzymes. HOWEVER, not all soybeans are created equal. Quality and amino acid content will vary based on soil conditions, and variable growing and harvest conditions. If one essential amino acid is missing, the immune system can be depressed 30%, and many important body functions are delayed or stopped. Therefore, it is essential that each batch of soybeans be checked for amino acid content if we want to depend on the soy isolate to provide a GUARANTEED supply of the nine essential amino acids. [Shaklee soy contains all nine essential amino acids.]
4) Were the crushed soy flakes washed in alcohol or water?
Alcohol washing destroys isoflavones content up to 88%! It is the isoflavones that reduce the risk of breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer! As well, it is the isoflavones that are so beneficial in hormone balancing and increasing bone mass. [Shaklee soy is washed only in water.]
5) Was the “anti-thyroid”, “anti-growth” substance in the raw soy removed?
Asians, who have consumed large amounts of soy for years, have known that RAW soy contains an “anti-growth”, “anti-tyrosine” substance. Tyrosine deficiency will cause low blood pressure, low body temperature, and restless leg syndrome. Therefore, Asians always lightly cook their soy foods to deactivate the “anti-tyrosine/anti-growth” substance. Shaklee has designed an extracting process that removes this substance, yet keeps the soy in a raw form in order to maintain the HIGHEST LEVEL OF AMINO ACIDS and ISOFLAVONES, which are very sensitive to heat. [Shaklee removes all pro-goitrogens from its soy.]
6) Is your soybean food RAW or heated?
Amino acids are very sensitive to heat. In some studies, cooking protein has been shown to destroy up to 50% of some ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS. If an individual consistently consumes a diet that is lacking in all of the essential amino acids, inadequate brain development and hormones, or other body tissue development can be the result. [Shaklee soy is raw.]
7) Has CALCIUM been added to your soy powder?
Some negative reports about soy say that soy powders are VERY ACIDIC and cause bone loss because it causes calcium to be drawn from the bones!!!! The raw soy bean is a NEUTRAL food–neither acidic or alkaline. However, the removal of the soybean oil (which is essential so the soy powder will not go rancid very quickly), makes the powder very acidic. Therefore, adequate calcium (which is very alkaline) must be added to cause the powder to be neutral again, or it can cause the above stated problem. Many protein powder manufacturers do not add any or enough calcium. [Shaklee soy has added calcium for proper pH balance.]
About the Author:
Dr. Brouse is a widely recognized authority in the fields of nutrition and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. Dr. Brouse has a Master’s in Biochemistry and is a Doctor of Chiropractic. He was an Associate Professor of Clinical Nutrition for 14 years and found the renowned Sunnyside Health Center in Clackamas, Oregon in 1977. Since that time many people throughout the world have regained a greater measure of health while following the recommendations of the clinic’s health professionals.
Photo added 10-11-13: Image credit: martinak / 123RF Stock Photo
Quinoa Veggie Chili
I’ve been wanting to do more vegetarian dinner options and remembered that I had an amazing quinoa chili for lunch one day a few months ago. It was so good, I decided to whip up a batch of my own creation with some locally grown veggies. I was surprised at how easy it was and quite frankly how great it tasted. [Read more…]
15 Bean Stew/Soup
We had a crazy busy weekend planned which started with a garage sale and ended with a lot of meals and snacks prepped for the week. I am about to pass out! But the week should be a breeze.
Friday night we prepped and set up for our neighborhood bi-annual garage sale. We like to participate in this, not only is it fun, we make a few extra bucks AND we purge a bunch of stuff we’ve accumulated over the last few months. I know – if we didn’t buy the stuff we wouldn’t need to purge, but most of the stuff is our son’s old toys and clothes, plus any additional nick nacks or kitchen items we just don’t need anymore. The bonus is that whatever we make at the garage sale goes towards our son’s birthday or Christmas presents. Dave Ramsey would be proud!
After the garage sale on Saturday morning, it was off to the grocery store for the weekly shopping, then came all the cleaning and prepping. I like to wash all the fruits and veggies when I get home from the farmers market or grocery store so that it’s easy to just grab and go or prep for dinners. I made sure to not only prep for the week’s snacks {typical snacks packs below}, but to also prep the veggies for the dinners for the week.
On Sunday, we went to church and a birthday party, then I prepped some meals for the week. I made 15 Bean Stew {below}, beef enchiladas, turkey meatballs, chicken tenders AND prepped a kale & apple stuffed pork tenderloin {recipe and post to come later this week}. All I can say is I am BEAT – but this week should be a breeze! Plus, the extra bonus is we have two meals frozen – I froze 1/2 the enchiladas and 15 Bean Stew!
- 1 Bag Hurst Ham Beans {throw away the seasoning packet}
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 cloves of garlic {minced}
- 1 onion {chopped}
- 2 lg tomatoes {chopped} or 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 6-9 cups of filtered water
- Soak beans overnight.
- Add all ingredients to crock pot, with enough water to cover at least 1-2 inches above mixture.
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours, checking every so often to see if you need to add more water or if beans are cooked.
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