Make your time in the Kitchen Efficient

Do you think you do not have enough time to cook healthy? All it takes is a little time to prepare and you can have meals almost ready for an entire week. As long as you have a freezer and a refrigerator, you can prepare meals for up to a week at a time.
Here is how it works.

1. Set up your kitchen. Know where everything is and make it convenient to find and use.
2. Pick a day of the week for preparation.
3. If you use recipes, pick out a few for the week.
4. Make a shopping list as you think of things throughout the week.
5. Purchase your ingredients.
6. It is best to start cooking soon after you go shopping, but if you need to break it up into two days, at least you are getting it done in a way that works for you.
7. Cooking day! Take a morning or afternoon and dedicate it to being in the kitchen. Make a soup for the week and freeze some. Make beans and/or whole grains and scoop them out as needed as you go throughout your week. Use beans/grains in soups, salads, stir-fries or just eat them plain with your favorite condiment. Bake some root vegetables. Blanch and freeze vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and kale for quick use later.

The key is to plan ahead. Although it may not seem like it at first, in the end, you save time and money and most of all your health!

Eating Organic on a Budget

If you compare prices while shopping, you might thing that transitioning to eating organic will break your budget. If this is you, please read the following tips for transitioning to eating organic food.
1. Eat more beans and whole grains and buy them in bulk. Eating organic beans is much cheaper than buying packaged TV dinners and meat. Beans and whole grains will keep you satiated and give you sustained energy. Processed food is devoid of nutrition and leaves you unsatisfied and hungry even though your belly may be full. (If you develop flatulence from eating beans, start with smaller beans such as lentils, mung, and aduki beans. Soak them overnight before cooking and add sea salt after cooking rather than during cooking.)
2. Join a CSA, a co-op, or buy produce from a local farmer. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Find a CSA or local farmer near you on www.eatwellguide.org
3. Prioritize buying the most highly contaminated fruit and vegetables organic and the buy conventional produce for the least contaminated fruit and vegetables. See a full list here: http://www.foodnews.org/index.php
4. Remember that you vote with your dollar. If you spend 50 cents more to purchase organic food, it is 50 cents well spent. Do your part to create a demand for high quality food and the supply will follow. Your best bet for finding quality food is from an organic or local farm. Wal-mart organics is not trustworthy.
Personally, my food bill is much lower than many people I know who do not eat organic. I have done this by joining a CSA and eating less packaged food and less animal protein. I am the healthiest I have ever been. The extra effort you spend on finding quality food sources and time in your kitchen is worth it. Your body will thank you and respond with exuberant health!

Do You Really Want it? -Tools for Change

How much do you really want it? I mean, how much do you really really want to change yourself so that you can have an amazing life? First, you need to know what you want out of life. Once you know what you desire for your life, it is time to take a sort of inventory of yourself. This means really looking at yourself. What are your strengths? What are the areas in which you will benefit from growth and self-development? (I do not believe in weaknesses, just potential areas for growth.) The more you are willing to grow, the easier making changes becomes.
Looking at oneself is not an easy feat. When you are truly willing to look within and see what makes up the wholeness of you, you will find two basic things. You will find your "darkness" and you will find your Light. As a whole human being, you have dark side, which if you have not yet seen within yourself, can be a scary thing to truly see and acknowledge. Just know that there is nothing about which to be scared. It is part of being human. What most people truly fear is their Light. Your Light illuminates your darkness (your cobwebs and the stuff you want to clean up) and reveals your purpose. It brings a responsibility to your life. Now that you know your purpose, you have a motivation and responsibility to change yourself so that you can fulfill your purpose. This brings us full circle.
It is a miserable thing to remain stagnant and not change yourself. Illness and disease develop. You might become an emotional wreck. It is imperative to your health to change yourself and develop yourself. I am assuming if you are still reading this that you truly want to change yourself. So hopefully you will never get to the miserable stagnant piece. Read carefully. Here are some tools that you can use right away so that you can make your desired changes. Do not be fooled by their seeming simplicity. They may seem simple, but implementing them will change your world.
1. The first tool for change is to take inventory of your life. What is working well and where do you want to make changes? Make a literal list of the areas in your life that are working well. Make a second list of the things that you are committed to changing.
2. Get support. Who are the people in your life that want to see you succeed? Let them know you want their blessing and support for the changes you want to make. If you have no one in your life like this, it is time to open yourself to meeting new people so that you can have the support you need to move forward.
3. Eat well. Eat whole foods that work well in your body. Eat slowly and chew your food.
4. Exercise. Move your body in ways that inspire and excite you. Physical movement gives your energy and clarity for making changes.
5. Prioritize. Focus on the most important changes you want to make and develop action steps to make your life happen.
6. Finally, appreciate yourself. Give yourself gratitude for having the desire and commitment to changing your life for the better. When you change yourself for the better, the impact it has on the world is immeasurable. You may never know the far-reaching benefits of the blessing you will be to others when you improve yourself.
Claim the responsibility to be a Light in this world. You owe it to yourself to be happy and to have an amazing life.

What is holding you back?

What is holding you back? For most of us, it boils down to fear. We are afraid of something. Some of us are afraid of failure. Some of us are afraid of success. I know it sounds bizarre, but the truth does not always make immediate sense. Why would anyone be afraid of success? The absurd reality is that when we are doing what we came to do here in this world, when success is at the doorstep we have come to a point of reckoning. We will be brave enough to fully accept our mission? Will we truly embrace all aspects of ourselves and what we have to offer? You have much more to offer than you think you do. The truth is that we are not scared of what we lack, but we fear how much power we hold as human beings.
Who are you? What are you about? Do you know why you are here on this earth? Do you know why you chose this existence? If you have trouble answering these questions, I encourage you to embark on a conscious journey. Seek your path. Seek your truth. Seek support in finding yourself. If you have clear answers to these questions, congratulations! The question is now, "What are you going to do with this knowledge?" Are you helping those whom you came to help? Are you continually growing and developing yourself? Again I ask, "What is holding you back?" You are a truly amazing person. You have so much to offer. The way you contribute to society is unique and perfect. Despite the way you were raised or your religious beliefs or the rules that have been imposed upon you, there is no one right way to express your talents. Find your way. Show confidence in what you have to offer and you will be respected rather than judged. Simply stated, be YOU. You are the keeper of your truth. The world needs you to let go of and move past whatever holds you back.

The TRUTH about FOOD

What’s your truth? In the nutrition world, truth is subjective. Some people like to look at numbers and say that we need so many grams of protein per day or that one food is better because it has fewer calories. Numbers are everywhere- we look at the scale, grams of fat, calories per serving, and on and on. What do numbers tell us about how the food is nourishing us? Nothing! So much information and misinformation is out there, that most of us have become quite confused about what to eat! The truth is that there is no ONE WAY of eating that works for everyone. To find your truth, you must become more in touch with your body and food. How is this done?

Eat more organic food. The toxins in our food supply tend to muddle our brains. Pesticides and other toxins can cause “fuzzy thinking”, which takes us away from being in tune with how our body responds to food. For example, if you have a food sensitivity or allergy, how do you know if your allergy is truly from the food or from a pesticide or worse yet because you are allergic to the food due to genetic modification? (Watch “The Future of Food” for more on genetic modification.) Eating pure foods allow us to be more in tune with how our body responds to them.

Eat simply and eat more whole foods. Processed foods cause us to be scattered and unclear in our thinking and way of being. Cooking simply is easy- vegetables do not take long to prepare! The more complex our food, the more complex we become. By the same token, simple foods lead to simple thoughts and quieter minds.

Eat quietly. When you eat, spend time with your food. Instead of watching TV or multi-tasking when you eat, really focus on chewing and experiencing your food. You will start to taste the flavors and experience the textures in new and vibrant ways when you pay attention to what you eat! Paying attention is one of the first steps in discovering your truth about what food feels right in your body.

Eat with gratitude. Take time to thank the heavens and earth for supplying you with nourishment. When you eat with a full heart, your spirit and physical body receive more nourishment. You become clearer about what foods work well in your body.

Finding your truth with food is a journey. Enjoy the process of self-discovery and find someone who can guide you while you search for your truth with food. We all need mentors and guides when it comes to meeting our spiritual and emotional growth needs. The same holds true for our development with food and finding what works best for us.

In closing, rather than reading a myriad of books on nutrition, you can experiment with your body and food. Try some or all of the four suggestions above. Tune into your body’s responses and take notes. Mind knowledge can become confusing when it comes to nutrition. Body knowledge is much more empowering and helps you to find your own truth about food.

Finding a Quality Holistic Nutrition Practitioner

The field of nutrition is a quagmire. Contradictions abound. One source of information tells you that you need to consume all raw foods for the best health, while another extols the benefits of animal protein. How are you, the consumer expected to navigate through this maze of contradictions?

Do you know what foods work best for you? It is always helpful to have a guide. There are many practitioners claiming to have the answers for every ill. When you are choosing a practitioner, it is important to weigh your options and choose the person with whom you feel the most comfortable. If someone is trying to sell you a product… beware! Many practitioners who deal with nutrition only work with supplements. Assertions that they have the best supplement regime for your needs is a red flag. You want more than a pill. You want someone who can educate you about real food. (*Supplements can be useful in your nutrition plan, but you also need to address the foods you eat.) Below you will find my top five tips to finding someone who can guide you with your food choices.

Find someone who has a solid education and personal experience. Your guide should know how to do research on themselves with food. They should also be able to provide you with new information and new perspectives about food. Even if you have a degree in nutrition, you want your guide to be up on the latest research and be able to guide you to new insights about your body and food. Although a solid education is important, it is not the only thing that makes a practitioner reputable. They should be able to provide you with testimonials from previous clients. They should have a depth of knowledge and well-rounded perspective that surpasses something you could read in a book. (Otherwise, you could just read the book!)

Search for a guide that looks healthy. This is important. If you are getting your information from someone with dark circles under their eyes, you may want to reconsider their advice. Health comes from the inside-out. I understand that no practitioner is perfect; however, if your guide is suffering from a health condition, you may want to broaden your horizons to find someone whose appearance suggests that they know what they are doing. You want to work with someone who knows how to get themselves well and who knows how to maintain their health.

Put your trust in someone that walks their talk. Piggy-backing off number two… Look for a practitioner who takes their own advice. Find someone who understands the importance of taking care of themselves and eating well. If they aren’t eating well and caring for themselves, how will they teach you to do it? Your practitioner of choice should be competent to take care of their own health so that they can guide you with yours.

Find someone with whom you can share openly. Are you comfortable with this person? The food you eat creates who you are. It is intimately intertwined with every aspect of your life. You want to feel comfortable sharing intimate details of your life with this person so that they can help you access deeper healing in your life and with your food. A good practitioner will listen to what you have to say first before jumping into “prescription mode” or a outlining a plan. They should know some things about you and your life so they can steer you in the right direction for the implementation of your plan.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, look for a GUIDE that can help you form your personalized plan. You are looking for a facilitator to discover your deeper potential. You can get advice from a book. You can research on your own via the internet. You can get a pill from a doctor. To achieve deeper healing within yourself, you want to find someone who can guide you to look within yourself. Take responsibility in developing your plan with your guide. With responsibility comes empowerment. The food that works for your neighbor may not be the food that works best in YOUR body. Seek out guidance from someone who can help you access your body’s wisdom. Each practitioner may have their own unique methods, but the message is to find someone who can help you get to your core issues around food and empower you to make the changes you want to make in your life.

Top five guidelines to consuming quality food:

Buy organic whenever possible.

Consume whole foods rather than processed and packaged foods. (Whole grains versus a bagel, whole tomatoes versus sauce from a can, eat the orange rather than drinking only the juice)

Buy from a local farm- it is fresher and it helps to preserve the earth.

Pay attention to your emotions and your body’s response after eating.

Savor and enjoy each delightful bite!

FOOD –A QUICK FIX TO HEALTH

Now that I have your attention… sorry, there is no quick fix to achieving optimal health. Attaining health is a deliberate journey, and consuming healthy food is a tool in moving forward in this journey. Where are you in your food journey? Do you provide McDonald’s with a consistent stream of income? Have you been experimenting with diets and ways of eating? Do you eat only organic, locally produced food? It does not matter where you are in your journey, the important concept to apply here is to continue moving forward. Do you feel you have discovered the best diet or way of eating for your body? Great! Now change! We need to continually make changes in our food. Our bodies change over time. They change with the seasons. They change as our stress levels change. They change as our fitness levels change. How much sense does it make to eat the same foods all the time in the midst of so much change? Our food habits must adapt in order to provide balance while we experience change.

There are three ways of eating: using a maintenance diet, a therapeutic diet, or an experimental diet. For some, macrobiotics is a maintenance diet, while for others it may be experimental or therapeutic. If a way of eating is sustainable over time with reasonable variations, it may considered maintenance. Therapeutic diets are those that are used for specific reasons for a limited amount of time. The raw foods diet is therapeutic for many. Experimental diets are used in your journey when you want to try something new and investigate the impact on your body. Juicing may be experimental. Any way of eating can be experimental, therapeutic or maintenance depending upon your rationale. I discuss these concepts as a gauge to measure where you are on your food journey.

There are no particular ways of eating that serve as a quick-fix for your health. Although you may experience substantial and dramatic results by juicing or implementing a particular diet, there is always a deeper level to health. That deeper level involves your lifestyle- your physical wellness, your mental/emotional well-being, and your spirit/soul body. Looking at these aspects of your being and digging deeper within yourself for true healing require patience. Being gentle with yourself is key as you experiment with changing your food and your health. Your relationship with food is the longest relationship you will ever have with anything. It is so important to learn how to make it a relationship that is nourishing for you. If your journey with food is relaxed and fun, you will be much healthier as a result. Impatience with yourself breeds stress. Stress breeds imbalance. Imbalance breeds disease.

How does one learn patience for the food journey?

1) Practice. Practice making one change at a time. Practice loving your body in ways other than with food. Have fun. Try exotic foods. Be adventurous and prepare a meal without a recipe! If a food does not work well in your body, make a note of it and try something else.

2) Get support. Gather support from people who will be patient with you and with the changes you are making. Who is in your life that can give you the support you need to stay committed to your journey? If this support is lacking, who will you ask to support you? You are not alone. Other people are working to improve their health with food and most likely want to be connected with you.

3) Know that you are in it for the long haul. Sustainable change does not usually happen overnight. You may have spurts of growth and times of being out of focus. This is totally normal. The important thing is to be committed to moving forward in your food journey so that when those growth spurts slow down you know that you are still moving forward if only in a small way. You only need to move one step at a time.

Is there such a thing as a quick fix for your health? I believe true healing requires patience with yourself and the process. Healthy food will help you to be more nourished on your journey to health.