Attitude of Gratitude

Today, tomorrow and everyday! Practice being thankful for everything you have been given. Paying attention to the beauty before you and not what's missing is the brush stroke to the artwork of your life. Live and love immensely.
May there always be peace and compassion in your heart, mind and eyes.

Namaste ♥
Deanna Rae

Healing properties of Ginger... and I'm not talking ginger ale

For over 2 thousand years Chinese medicine has recommended the use of ginger to help cure and prevent a myriad health problems. 

Cold and Flu relief- Ginger has antiviral and antimircobial properties that can help prevent or cut the duration of the stuffy nose, sore throat, aches and pains. Add it into tea or hot water with lemon.

Cancer prevention- Gingers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds can help fight against free radicals and slow or prevent tumor growth.

Motion Sickness- Not just for pregnant mommies to be... chewing on some ginger can help relieve that woozy feeling we come across now and then. Have some dired ginger or drizzle a little honey on ginger and enjoy!

Hangover got you down? Ginger might help as well. Mix with some calming tea, lemon and honey and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Ginger is also great for stimulating digestion, and soothing pain. Ayurveda associates ginger with its aphrodisiac properties as well.... (you and your honey can try some ginger for dessert with your ice cream)
So whatever your reason, try adding some ginger into your diet this week.

~You can add it to fresh juices, or tea.
~Add fresh grated ginger to soups for a nice spicy zest.
~Goes wonderful with fish, top it on a salad or blend it into a smoothie.

Namaste! ♥

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."—Henry David Thoreau

I eat SO healthy but I can't seem to lose weight....

This seems to be the mantra of society today... well whats healthy is my question? A few things I'd like to point out.

1. How much are you eating?
-This one is not our fault, we've been fooled by restaurants, fast food chains, and supermarkets into thinking these giant portions are ideal. Portion control is huge issue when trying to shed some extra pounds.  It doesn't matter how "healthy", if your over eating your body needs to store it somewhere.  Unless it's a bag of lettuce (which isn't what I suppose most people are crunching on) then the calories do add up. Are you eating what the restaurants consider a "normal" portion?  Choose smaller plates while dining at home that way your eyes aren't being deceived.  And fill up that bad boy with a colorful selection of goodies.... which leads me to my next point..

2. What is on your plate?
- I always recommend  that half the plate be covered in veggies (especially greens) then add in some whole grains and protein.  What does that look like? How about a plate of sautéed broccoli, spinach, butternut squash and onion, with some wild black rice, quinoa and white cannellini beans or chicken.  If your breakfast consists of cereal or toast and your lunch consists of pasta and your dinner has a huge serving of rice, you may not be eating as healthy as you think (yes even if it's all whole wheat.) If it's colorful and its a veggie you can't go wrong. My advice is find the ones you like most and cook them the way you like.  Are you a sweets person? Then go for sweet vegetables, squashes, onions (when cooked), sweet potato... open your mouth and your taste buds to a world they have never been.

3. How often are you eating?
- Eat 3 meals with snack in between, well thats been hammered into our brains by now.  However thats not necessarily the case for everyone, snacks are a great way of adding an extra 250-500 calories to your daily intake (depending on the snack of course).  100 calories pack, fiber one, protein bars.... my advice stay away, there loaded with chemicals and artificial  flavorings that your body doesn't need.  You want fiber, or close to under 100 calories?
Choose snacks such as raw vegetables and hummus, almonds and an apple, peanut butter and a piece of fruit, kale chips, baby carrots. There chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients these money hungry companies can't conjure up in their labs.

P.S I didn't mention it above, but to see any budge in the scale you need to add an exercise to you daily routine.  Find a way to sweat that you enjoy, and make it just as important as consuming greens in your diet. Aim for at least 3 days a week, even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes.. it all adds up!

Food Energetics

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"― Hippocrates

Hippocrates is considered the father of modern medicine. Sometime after 460 B.C Hippocrates collected data and conducted experiments to show that disease was a natural process. The signs and symptoms of a disease were caused by the natural reactions of the body to the disease, and that the chief role of the physician was to aid the natural resistance of the body to overcome the imbalance and restore health.

Approximately 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates was setting up a hospital on an island in Greece, and his only criteria for it was that it be built behind a stream where watercress grew. In fact he demanded it. The funny thing is back then, Hippocrates didn't know that watercress was loaded with vitamin C, antioxidants, minerals, and a high water content, or all the other things we know today. He did however understand this plant in a different way. He saw the fact that this plant grew in the water, which led him to believe the plant had a high water content ( ding ding ), he also believed that if the plant had a high water content it would in fact help assist in water balance in the body (ding ding). Having an abundance of watercress right outside the hospital would assure that his patients could fight infections and cleanse the body, especially the urinary tract and the kidneys, as well as other problems in those areas of the body. Watercress would play an instrumental role in the bodys defense as well as healing.

I wonder how many people eat watercress today? Sadly I know a the simple answer to that. I don't believe it's because no on wants to, but because we have grown up in a society where that's not something you see much of. If people started to incorporate vegetables especially dark leafy greens, maybe health issues wouldn't be sky rocketing. Or maybe it's that we put too much emphasis on our health care system. You know- "we have a pill for that." Put down the butter once in a while, reduce some red meat, get rid of processed cheese, add in leafy greens and maybe Lipitor can be taken out of your daily routine. Pills aren't the only answer and maybe the miraculous array of fruits and vegetables were put on this earth for a reason. And it's not a hippie, tree hugging thought, but actually a sheer fact that maybe, just maybe we have been given everything we need.

I wonder what Hippocrates would think of where our health care system has gone? He started something incredible, and through technology we have made it exceptional. But maybe we've taken it a little too far?

12.12.12

Be a part of a beautiful change. Start of something new and different. ♥ We are ONE <3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3boqddWaF1g

Another wonderful recipe with the supergrain!

Quinoa Salad 

Ingredients:

Quinoa

1 yellow, and orange pepper

Avocado

Spinach

Red onion

Goat cheese

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Sea salt 

Cayenne pepper

Prepare quinoa in a medium pot, 1 cup of quinoa to two cups of water. Bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes. While that's cooking finely chop up the rest of the ingredients and combine in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and drizzle with red wine vinegar (you can add as much or litte as you like depending on taste) Let quinoa cool than combine the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle with sea salt, cayenne pepper and goat cheese. Refrigerate for an hour, then serve cold. Delicious!!!

At home remedy for the common cold..

It's here, the season of sickness (that sounds a bit morbid). However this time of year germs are hanging out on every door knob, hand shake, gas pump, and really just about everything else you can thi

nk of. Don't fret. Quick and easy remedy to help treat and prevent the common cold if you should feel one coming on.

1 tablespoon of honey (raw, local organic is best)
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Take twice a day.

You can also mix it in with your favorite tea, or what I like best hot water and lemon. Cinnamon and honey are antiviral, antibacterial, and anti fungal. Cinnamon is also used as a to help with digestive ailments, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, as well as it's anti inflammatory properties.

What's feeding you?

It's not just about what you're feeding your body with from a nutrition standpoint, but also what's feeding your life. They are all intricately woven together into such precise detail that one can automatically throw another off balance. 

It's important to create a balance in your life between your relationships, career, physical activity, things that make you happy, and doing things that scare you. Now more then ever we need to start taking care of our bodies and the best way to start is to find something that you enjoy doing that's good for you. I find this pyramid very resourceful, and a great approach to getting ahold of your health( and happiness... because what's good health without being happy!?!?) :)))

There's a plus and minus to everything...
I think that the USDA's My Plate is definitely a huge step in the right direction however I still find it a bit misleading and as well as lacking in a few areas. Like the food guides of the past it still has many shortcomings. Why does dairy continue to be an essential part of the meal, when the evidence showing the risks of dairy consumption outweighing the benefits continues to grow? If we know refined grains
are linked to chronic diseases like obesity, and we know that Americans consume too many refined grains, shouldn’t the recommendation be for all grains to be whole? And what about the foods we should eat less of like meat, sugar, artificial junk food, alcohol and caffeine? It makes no mention of these common American staples.The problem with the government and nutrition advice is that it comes with two opposing interests: 1 to promote the nation’s health, and 2 to promote and market agricultural products. You can't have both sides happy- unless of course these big franchise companies are willing to revamp their ingredients.

Live the life you love

We put so much emphasis on "doing' in our culture, and very little on being. We just have such an obsession with what people do and have, and not as much in who people ARE, or how they're being in the world. What's the second question people ask you after they know your name? I realize it's a "safe" conversation starter. How about "What's the last thing that scared the sh&t out of you?", or, "Have you ever jumped out of a plane, and would you, if the opportunity presented itself?". Answers to any of those questions would tell you so much more about the person you're speaking with than a rote response to questions about what they do.

The truth is you spend more of your life working then you do much of anything else, and yes you should love what you do. But it's not what you do, it's who you are, and how you're being.
Spend your time doing the things you love- the things that lift you higher. My uncle said it best "Figure out what you love to do, then find a way to make money doing it"