Smoothies for Optimal Health

One of the hardest things to do is get kids turned on to healthy foods.  After all, you’re competing with cookies and other sugary sweets, not to mention the in crowd which can easily turn a child off their favorite healthy foods.

Imagine my delight when I discovered a new raw food cookbook aimed at kids.  I just picked up a copy and it’s absolutely beautiful.  The book truly is aimed at kids.  Not only with fun recipes that are easy to make and sure to delight the pickiest eater but also inspire them to get creative and have fun with their food.

Introducing…

Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen! The First Ever Un-Cookbook for Kids!

I know from years of experience, that the best way to get kids to eat healthy food is to inspire them and make eating fun. I smile when I think of all the fun I’ve had in the kitchen with my nephews and step-daughter. They love helping me in the kitchen and I love the time we get to enjoy together, creating memories that will last a lifetime!

So be sure to grab your copy of Monkey Mike’s Un-Cookbook For Kids today!

I never had a session of exercise, either biking, a long walk, hiking, yoga, weight lifting, or running — that I regretted.

Even though I might not have felt like doing it when I started, I never thought to myself, “I shouldn’t have gone for that bike ride” or “It was such a bad idea to take that yoga class!”

On the contrary, I felt much better after getting my body moving.  In fact, on the days that I had the faced the most challenges in getting started with my exercise, those were the days I felt the best post-exercise high.

It is a basic human need to exercise every day.  What you’ll discover once you make a commitment to exercise is that you’ll be more hungry for natural, whole foods.  That plate of pasta won’t be quite so appealing and the slice of pie will turn you off.  But that bowl of billowing fruit will call you with it’s siren song.  So earn your meals and your rewards with exercise.

Is it any wonder that hunger is widely recognized as a sign of health?  Lack of appetite is widely recognized as a sign of ill health.  And the best way to cultivate true hunger is to engage in vigorous exercise.

So make a commitment to get your body moving for 20-30 minutes every day.  Do it today!  Your body will thank you for it!

Work has been extremely busy for me lately.  In fact - I’ve been swamped.  For those of you who don’t know, I run my own home-based business called My Virtual Partner.  I specialize in social media marketing, consulting & virtual assistance.

This week has been full of endless deadlines as clients prepare for summer holidays… and I’m anxious to snag a weekend away with my honey - or at least some quiet time together after dinner.

In hindsight, probably not the best week to have attempted a commitment to a 30 day cleanse.

Today - I didn’t even attempt to make any of the smoothies I had hoped to enjoy.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  I did attempt to start the day off right and make a pink smoothie but sadly realized that my strawberries (which has just been purchased the day before) and gone bad.  So I just grabbed a banana and went back to work.

At lunch, a few unexpected phone calls threw me off track and I found I just couldn’t be bothered to make the mango smoothie I was planning to enjoy.  Mainly cuz I have no clue on how to cut into one without making a mess and I knew my time was limited and didn’t want to have to be caught with clean up afterwards so I grabbed a few peanut butter cookies and went back to my desk.

All afternoon, I was hungry and ignored my grumbling tummy.  Even water didn’t manage to stave off the inner beast.  Around 2 PM, I spied the olives hiding at the back of my fridge - and proceeded to pop one after another in my mouth until they were all gone and I felt 10 lbs heavier due!  To make things worse, peanut butter cookies with an olive chaser are really neither tempting or satisfying.

So here’s what I’ve realized:

1. You need to eat - and eat well - in order to avoid cravings.
2. You need to have things on hand to nibble on - baby carrots, celery, bananas, apples - so that you’re not tempted to starve yourself.
3. Always have a Plan A & Plan B - so that if your strawberries rot overnight, you’re not stuck in the morning with nothing to eat!

The most important thing to remember though is that tomorrow is a new day and another chance to start again.  Don’t let one day derail you from your health, fitness or nutritional goals.

And if you need extra help managing your cravings, be sure to check out this fabulous program from Tera Warner and the Raw Divas: The Divas Complete Cravings and Emotional Eating Program.

My 30-day cleanse has been interesting so far.  I find myself craving raw foods and head to the market daily to stock up with copious quantities of fresh vegetables and fruits.  I come home with arms full of fresh produce and nuts and quickly realize that my kitchen is short on storage space.  The cupboards are full of pastas I no longer eat but keep on hand for my honey-man.  The pantry is full of the canned soups he likes to eat and multiples of things like pancake mix that he always comes home with on the rare occasions he heads out to the grocery store (we have three unopened boxes of pancake mix in the pantry!).

So I set to re-organizing my kitchen.  For the next 30-days (at minimum) canned foods and pancake mix have been banished to the downstairs kitchen.  Pastas have been moved to make room for a few mason jars full of nuts and seasonings.  And the coffee maker that does not get any use has been stashed away to make room on the counter for my blender.  Ah… I feel better already.

If you’re experimenting with the raw diet or just want pointers on how to better organize your kitchen, the following article by Karen Knowler will help get you started.

Your Raw Kitchen Checklist
By Karen Knowler

Setting up a raw food kitchen is exciting and uplifting, especially when you are new to raw foods or taking your diet to a new level.

The following check points, taken from my “How to Get Started with Raw Foods” eBook, will help ensure that your raw food kitchen is as easy and functional to use as possible, making your chances of staying with the lifestyle much more likely and much more simple.

1) Keep your key pieces of equipment in a prominent and clear position, next to a plug point, plugged in and ready to go for whenever the need strikes!

2) Next to each piece of equipment keep the relevant foodstuffs and/or ingredients that you are going to be using with that appliance. For instance, I keep all my smoothie ingredients and a big bunch of bananas next to my blender, my fruit bowl next to my juicer and a chopping board next to my food processor (which is next to my juicer so serves them both).

3) Keep as much of the counter space completely clear as possible. This not only looks and feels better, but it means there is never an excuse not to make something because of lack of space or having to clear up first!



4) Group your foods into different places. For instance, I keep all my dried herbs, spices, sea veg and misc. other in one cupboard, my superfoods, flavourings and sweeteners on a shelf next to my blender, my salts, oils and sundried tomatoes in another corner where I may go to season dressings, dips or salads, and all of my nuts, seeds and dried fruits are kept in my “Lazy Susan” (the rotating half- moons that sit behind cupboard doors and are usually used to keep saucepans on!). Any cooked food items that I keep for my son or visitors I keep out the back in my utility room, so that they’re there for emergencies but are never the first things I see or easy to get to. All the rest of my food is kept in the fridge, with a few frozen fruits and/or raw ice-creams kept in the freezer.

5) Keep a good clean supply of water in a prominent location so it’s always close to hand. There are many ways to obtain good quality water, but this is probably something for later on. For the short term I advise NOT to drink tap water and at the very least invest in a basic jug water filter or investigate other more effective pure water systems.

6) Keep your sharp knives in a drawer, a knife holder or on a magnetic wall hanging as close to your chopping board as possible. This way you are always ready to chop and go!

7) Keep a notepad and pen, chalk board or pinboard with blank paper and pen attached close to hand so that when you start experimenting you can make notes or write down your new recipes as you go. Also great for making sure you know what to buy or order in when you run out of a certain ingredient, of course.

Keep your bowls, jugs and Tupperware containers all in one cupboard so that you know exactly where to find them when you need some containers.

9) Keep one drawer purely for housing miscellaneous tools such as salad servers, a hand held citrus juicer, your zester and grater, you measuring cups and your spatulas and any other utensils that you use as part of your fresh food prep.



10) Find a safe and a clean place to house your favourite recipe book/s and any other useful literature, but avoid the temptation to create clutter. Best to choose one or two frequently used books and keep the remainder filed safely elsewhere.

When you have made the necessary changes to you kitchen taking all of the above into account, run it past the all-important final check…

Final Check Questions



* Is my kitchen functional?

* Does it look spacious?

* Are things easy to get to?

* Are my most important accessories and appliances in clear view and/ or super-easy to reach for?

* Is my food well organised?

* Are my cupboards clear, clean and well organised inside?

* Are my “less healthy” foods and kitchen appliances harder (if not impossible!) to get to?

* Does my kitchen inspire me to take care of myself?

* Does it look beautiful?

* Have I made the most of this space?

* All things considered, have I set my kitchen up for success and does it inspire me to get creative?

This is just a tiny fraction of what you can do with your kitchen for making it the best it can possibly be. If you want to be hand-held and given my latest and most potent raw food kitchen secrets than Let’s Get Rawganized! will give you all you need and more!
© 2009 Karen Knowler

WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

It’s finally here - summer 2009!  The long winter is finally over.  Yesterday marked the first day of summer and here in Canada, it was a beautiful one: clear blue skies, nice warm temperatures.  I decided yesterday that today I would get back on track with my health.

I’m extremely lucky in that I have no major health problems and am relatively fit and healthy.  But I have been feeling off track a bit lately - not sticking to my daily exercise routine, eating a little more junk than I normally do and drinking a lot less water.  So no better time to get back on track than the first day of summer.  Will be doing a 30-day cleanse (want to join me, just leave a comment and I’ll get in touch) and committing to daily exercise.  I’ll even head back to the gym for a few sessions with my personal trainer.

As luck would have it, my inbox received this little gem of inspiration today:

The 3 Most Effective Tricks To Getting Back on Track With Your Food
by Tera Warner

Ooooh, I know you’ve been there, too. The on-again-off-again bingeing blues. The late night snacks and the  “I can’t believe I did that” episodes the morning after. We, the frequently food-obsessed health pioneers of the world, sometimes need a boost, a lift, a bump on the rump that gets us back on track with our food when we feel we’ve gone off the rails. So, here it is, my lovelies! My 5 Best Tricks for Getting Back on Track With Healthy Eating!

1. Drink water in the morning until you’re really, genuinely, honestly, truthfully hungry!

It is an unfortunate fact that most people do not know what “hunger” feels like. Hunger is as natural as sex. It makes sense that the feelings we associate with it be positive. Due to heavily intoxicated bodies, a lot of people have learned to associate headaches, dizziness and general irritation with the need for food and call it “hunger.” These symptoms are more commonly associated with signs of detox. When the body isn’t burdened by the demand of the digestive system, it can afford to start directing some of its resources to processing and eliminating toxins. That’s when headaches and irratibility start to show up. Hunger feels good! It pulls, it salivates and persists even after you drink a tall glass of water and wait a little while.

Being fussy about your food is another sign you’re not quite hungry enough. When you’re hungry, enough that decorative plants stimulate your salivary glands and you feel like you could “anything,” then you’re hungry. If you’re indecisive, don’t know what to eat or only want to eat specific  things, then chances are you’re still westling with toxins, processing food or simply not hungry yet.

2. Keep it simple.

If there’s one thing that throws me off the wagon, it’s over-seasoned, gourmet raw foods. “Raw Pizza” is a nice idea, but heavily salted or seasoned foods have a way of opening the flood gates to cravings and overeating. If overcomplicated, heavily seasoned foods create a problem, then guess what I recomend as the solution?…

Monomeals. That’s about as simple as it gets!

Just eat one food at a time until you’re no longer hungry. Eat apples for a day! As part of our support for participants of the program on How to Get Rid of Cravings and Emotional Eating, we do a seasonal monomeal cleanse. For 14 days starting on the equinox or solstice, we support each other through 14 days of simplifying our foods to the point that most of our meals contain only ONE ingredient. Melon milk, tomato soup, and other creative inventions come about along with an extraordinary sense of caaaaaalm that moves in. Reducing the sensory stimulation in the digestive tract helps restore a sense of balance and serenity you’ve probably not felt for a while.

You can also keep it simple by eating Green Smoothies for 3 days. That’s what our Green Smoothie Challenge participants do and it has an amazing effect on their energy and well-being. Even just THREE days is enough to feel a huge difference and get you back on track!

3. Declutter Your Space

They say that people manage their objects like they manage their thoughts. Looking around my office right now, I believe it! YIKES! Few things settle a restless spirit as well as clean dishes and a counter that’s been wiped clean. If your physical environment is “weighing” you down, then it won’t be hard to predict what your eating habits will be like. If you’re stuffing papers in all the wrong places, what are you shoving in your face that you’d rather not tell us about?

What if you took all the time you normally spend overeating and worrying about food into organizing a cluttered cupboard? What about sorting out a stack of unsorted mail instead of digging around in the pantry for another snack? Roll up your sleeves, put on the rubber gloves and bring order to your environment, so you can clear your thoughts and get your food back on track, too!

I’ve done or developed just about every cleanse you can think of. I know for a fact that it isn’t the sporadic bursts of good choices that count as much as the persistent, regular, healthy commitments you make over time. Drink water to stay hydrated, learn to recognize true hunger, keep your menu simple and organize your space to be a harmonious refelection of your life, dreams and values.

Then sit back and enjoy the adventure!!

My honey-man woke up this morning feeling as if a cold were coming on.  So I grabbed my sneakers and headed downstairs to my homegym to get in an extra long workout as my preferred method of cold prevention.  He popped a few vitamin C pills and crawled back in bed.

Preventing the common cold is not merely a case of consuming large supplemental doses of Vitamin C. While it’s true that getting enough Vitamin C is vital for maintaining health, studies have shown that vitamin C in amounts greater than 200 milligrams – that’s more than double our recommended daily requirements - did not have an effect in boosting the immune system and/or preventing the common cold.

On the other hand, exercise has a proven, powerful effect. Every time you exercise (even exercising at a moderate intensity), the immune system starts functioning at a higher level - and remains elevated for about three hours. So exercise helps stimulate the body’s first line of defense against bacteria, viruses and other invaders.

I’m living proof.  My honey-man will be ill with a cold or flu three times this season.  I haven’t been ill since my bout with food poisoining in November 2007.  So regular exercise works as a method for avoiding a cold.  But to be on the safe side, I think I’ll eat more greens and fruits today.

Confession: I’m a musician.  When ever I think of myself, I don’t think in terms of being an internet marketing consultant or a coach.  I define myself as a musician.  My life is full of music - I work to the eccentric rhythms of my CD collection, I cook and dance to the tunes cranking on the iPod (FYI: it takes about 25 songs to make the perfect onion soup), I have a nightly jam session and I’m almost positive that I sing in my sleep (at least that’s what I’ve been told).  Music is a big part of me.

That’s why I’m on a mission: to have people use music to powerfully transform their lives.  I want people to use music as a tool for manifesting their every wish and desire.  If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re already familiar with some of the basic concepts of manifestation and the things that you can do to manifest your own reality.  I’m sure you’ve been taught to define what you want and then write it down; put it in writing, define it, have clarity.

You’ve probably also been taught to send positive energy out to the universe because when we’re filled with positive energy we are like a magnet for attracting good things to ourselves.

Consider this: music has the innate ability to create this kind of positive energy.  Now granted, not everyone may be as passionate about music as I am, but I’m sure that almost everyone has had the experience of catching a song on the radio that reminds you of your first day of college (mine is We’re Here For A Good Time), that makes you crank the volume and sing along (Crocodile Rock) or make you stop what you’re doing and dance (just about anything with a disco or latin feel!). 

So why not use music as a powerful way to create emotions and positive energy in yourself?

This week, I want every one of you to create your own play list of ten songs that are very inspirational to you.  No rules for what type of songs to include.  This is your personal playlist.  Whatever resonates with you this week should go on that list.  I want you to listen to them daily, once, twice, thrice… as many times as your soul craves the rhythms of your life.  I just found an iPod alarm clock so instead of waking up to traffic reports and someone else’s playlist, I wake to the songs that inspire me and make me want to jump out of bed to meet the day.

So create your playlist and watch your mood soar!  If you want to share your playlist with me, just click on the comment button below.  My iPod needs some fresh inspiration.

Happy listening!

I read a fantastic article today that I just had to share excerpts with you.

Maybe, like so many women, you sometimes wonder why you should bother with strength training.  If you’re serious about ditching the flab and strutting a trim and slim bod, strength training is the only way. Why? Because strength training doesn’t just burn calories while you are exercising, it increases your muscle mass, which helps you burn more calories all day. What’s more, strength training gives you great curves, super posture, better bones, and even provides a lot of the same benefits as aerobic exercise.

Metabolism Magic

Strength training works because making muscles fires up your metabolism and keeps your body running at its fat-burning best. Every pound of muscle on your body burns between 30 and 50 calories a day — even when you’re sleeping. Every pound of fat burns only two to five calories. Women often blame their weight problems on sluggish metabolisms when what’s really to blame is their lack of muscle.

Consider this: If you gain 3 pounds of muscle and burn 40 additional calories per pound, you’ll burn 120 additional calories per day, or 3,600 calories per month. At that rate, those 3 pounds of muscle will burn off 12 pounds over the course of a year.

Read the full article here

Well we made it!  It’s 2009.  The action and activity of 2008 are already starting to become memories.  I’m excited to be sitting here in the early days of 2009 and dreaming of what I want the year to bring: more time with my honey man and my family.  More time at the gym and a leaner and more toned body.  More balance in all aspects of my life.  Better work, eating and sleep habits.  The list goes on and on. 

I know that many people make resolutions for the New Year - I am one of them.  I don’t call them resolutions - preferring to name them goals which I find is a word that frees me from the pressure of a resolution and reminds me that every goal I identify needs to be followed by some serious action steps or I will never reach them.  If this is an area that you have trouble with, then I recommend that you get some coaching in this area.  The best free tools are available through Mark Joyner’s Simpleology website.  The Simpleology 101 course is free and I highly recommend it if you’re stuck in a particular aspect of your life - whether it’s personal relationships, your health or your business. 

If you’re not the techie type and prefer non-computer based tools, I highly recommend the book Getting Things Done by David Allen.  One of my clients uses his method and has gone on to double his productivity since he first started following the techniques in the book.  Personally, I prefer Mark Joyner’s method as it allows me to track things online.  I tend to be a bit of an internet junkie so computer based methods work best for me (since I spend 90% of my life in front of the computer LOL).  But I know many people who have had great success with David Allen’s method too.  If you have goals to achieve in 2009, you won’t go wrong with either of these methods.

As for me, I’m already hard at work on one of my health goals for the year - and believe me, it’s hard work!  Last summer, I was diagnosed with a cold allergy - I break out in hives when my body temperature drops too quickly.  It’s not an allergy I’ve had my entire life but it has developed over the past three or four years.  The allergist and my doctor both recommended staying warm as the cure.  I live in Canada - we have winter here and I like to walk every where so that really isn’t the best strategy for me. 

Being an internet junkie, I turned to the world wide web for a solution and have discovered a link between gluten intolerance and cold urticaria.  As luck would have it, I have a friend who was diagnosed as a celiac a few years ago.  I phoned him up and asked if he ever had any problems with skin allergies before his diagnosis and it turns out that he would also break out into hives when he got cold.  Now that he’s been living gluten free for a few years, he hasn’t had any problem so I’m hoping that a gluten free diet will help bring my body back into balance. 

I recently listened to an interesting interview that my client conducted with an expert on gluten and she suggests that living gluten-free for six months may resolve any issues that your body is having with gluten intolerance. 

January 1st was Day 1 of my gluten-free life.  It’s been a bit challenging to make the adjustment.  There are a lot of hidden sources of gluten in our diets so it’s going to take a little bit of legwork to figure out what foods I can and cannot eat for the next few months as well as finding gluten-free products to replace some of the staples in my household (pasta, bread, pizza dough to name a few).

I’m not sure what to expect by removing gluten from my diet but my hope is that it will resolve my cold allergy.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m really looking forward to giving it a try.  You can follow my progress here on this blog.

Happy New Year!

Fantastic teleseminar series starting soon.  9 PM EST.  You can get the full details at The Truth About Your Food.

Tonight’s discussion will reveal The Truth About Protein.  The hostess of the call tonight, Tera Warner, posted this on their blog about tonight’s call:

I know that many of you have been wanting a bit more information about the upcoming calls with Dr. T, and so I thought I’d take the time this week to address the main points in these calls. Hopefully some of this information will help to inspire you to invite other people to get this information, too. All you have to do is send them to the sign up page. You MUST be signed up in order to receive access to the teleseminars kicking off in October.

In the weeks leading up to this event, we promise to be including loads of information, articles, thought provoking ideas and answering as many of the questions you bring to the table that we can! So here’s the scoop on our protein call:

In today’s protein powdered, anti-carb society, the last thing any of us should be worried about is getting enough protein. In this revealing teleseminar, you’ll find out why we should be much more concerned about consuming excess protein than suffering from a deficiency. In this teleseminar, we’ll be looking at:

• The most damaging things that can be caused by excessive protein consumption.

• Find out why protein is the most toxic macronutrient and the dirtiest burning fuel for the body.

• Discover the biggest reason people really develop osteoporosis!! (Don’t believe those milk moustache commercials on TV!)

• Learn the shocking connection between excess protein and its influence on blood sugar levels in the body.

• Understand the physiology behind “stress” and “addiction” reactions, their relationship to protein, and what you can do do to manage them!

• Finally make sense of why all the alkaline supplements and products in the world will never help you unless you handle the primary source of acidity in your tissues!

• Just because you’re skinny, doesn’t mean you’re healthy! Learn why high-protein, weight loss diets are far more dangerous than you realize, and how to lose weight naturally without toxifying your body with excess protein!

There are so many people in my community who are so convinced about the high-protein diet, that they really do not realize what damage they’re causing themselves. This teleseminar alone can change the lives of so many people. I really hope you’ll join us for this call and help spread the word about some of modern-day nutritions most destructive dietary choices!

Yours,

Tera

p.s.

Don’t be shy about leaving your questions, concerns, comments, etc. We’ll use these to help refine and improve the calls. Make this your opportunity to get answers that you’ve been looking a long time to find.