Awesome Summer Recipes to die for!

 Recently in the kitchen, this is what is cookin'.....

 The Perfect Breakfast Smoothie

Combine in a bowl:
1 scoop Protein powder (vanilla)
1/2 c. low fat plain greek yogurt
fresh fruit (8 strawberries, 1 banana)
Blend/puree
sprinkle 1/2 c. granola chunks on top (unless you are gluten free)











Diva Quinoa Salad

1 c. Quinoa
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbl sp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup  cut up cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
fresh basil
lemon juice to taste (1 tbl. sp. )
salt to taste (optional)

Everyone needs a coach...sometimes!!!

I'm so inspired by the fact I have inspired so many people, to get to their health goals; so I decided it is time for me to get a personal trainer!!

I am a personal trainer (part-time), but I believe that even if you can design a program for others, you may benefit from an outside perspective; for yourself!

I have toyed with the idea of signing up for a marathon.... at some point. Or doing a longer distance than the 8k I did. So I am willing to hire a person, who has successfully helped other people accomplish those kind of goals. To give me some new insight. Why not? If you think about it, how do people become teachers? They learn from other teachers. Michael Jordan had a trainer/coach, because even though he knew how to play the game, he wanted to be the best he could possibly be. Similarly, I want to be the best coach I can be. I believe in doing so, I need to learn from one. I also want to be in the best shape I can be.

I can't wait to see my results!! I'm super excited about the new techniques I will learn!! Tomorrow is my first session, and I can't wait!!

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

This is what I live my life by....

The Average Life of An American....will kill ya.

Nutrition Guidelines

Say goodbye to processed food, bleached anything (white bread, white bleach, rice, white sugar, etc.), high-fructose corn syrup, candy, deserts, pork, red meat, and fast food. If this makes you sad to say goodbye to, imagine how your family will feel saying goodbye to you, because these foods are killing us. It’s the truth. The American diet is what causes you to live a life where you are dependant on Dr.’s and medication. So change it!!!  This is going to require you to READ THE LABELS!!! If you need some help, get the app FOODUCATE on your Smartphone. This app is amazing! It tells you all the crap that they put in your food and what it does to you!

Say hello to a healthy new lifestyle that will make you feel amazing. How you should feel!! You will notice your digestive system will not hate you. You will feel light, clean and confidant

Here are some substitutes to the crap foods:

Instead of butter---> use olive oil or flaxseed oil

Instead of white sugar ---> Use “Sugar in the Raw”, organic sugar cane, agave nectar, honey, or coconut oil.

Instead of Pork or Beef ---> Eat turkey, chicken, or fish

Instead of milk/dairy ----> try things such as rice milk, coconut milk, or almond milk. Cut down on dairy, for yogurt, eat Greek yogurt.

For juice, buy a juicer; or when choosing it, go to places such as, Trader Joe’s and buy natural juice. Juice that doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup, look for ones that say NO ADDED SUGAR! DO NOT buy ones that say they contain artificial sweeteners!  

• Drink A LOT of water; if you drink your 8 glasses a day, you won’t eat as much food.

•  The best form of food is fruits and vegetables, and they are most definitely the best form of carbs too.

• Only eat meat a few times of week, or cut it out completely. Americans eat more meat than they should. Make sure the meat you do eat is lean. Buy fish that is not farm raised, and buy chicken/turkey that contains no antibiotics.  Eating unhealthy animals (which many times contain tumors), due to their treatment is gross, sad, and unhealthy.

• Milk and dairy cause mucus. Mucus causes bacteria, and bacteria breeds things such as disease….and cancer. Not to mention the cows that are milked were not intended to feed all of America. Utters, similar to nipples, are sensitive and after being tugged at, in an attempt fill up gallons upon gallons of milk, they become sore, bleed, and pus. Do you think that matters though?  It’s all about money. America is the only country that drinks cow’s milk, and thinks it’s normal.

As a summary, you should eat fruits/vegetables mainly. Look up all kinds of delicious entrees, and get creative. If you choose to eat meat, only eat lean meats like, turkey and chicken. Make sure it states somewhere on the packaging, that it doesn’t contain antibiotics. Fish is not necessarily meat, but it is good for you, as long as it’s not farm raised. Limit your intake of dairy. It is not good for you, for many reasons. Drink a lot of water. READ LABELS!! If you are buying something such as: peanut butter, make sure the ingredients make sense, like peanuts. The more stuff listed, especially things you have never heard of, the worse it is for you.

Congratulations on becoming healthier! This says a lot about your respect for yourself. It is a very important and highly looked upon quality to have. Don’t be one of those average American people, with their average life, lack of energy, digestive issues, and other health problems. Stop poisoning yourself!!

That pretty much sums it up! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Eating the right Carbs

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!

I have my own rules as far as my diet goes. I am not a "traditional vegetarian," because I am not doing it for any other reason, than to be healthier. Most vegetarians do it for animal rights, or to lose weight, etc. I've pretty much just stuck with eating a vegetarian diet without bread, pasta, rice, or sugar (and VERY rarely having a piece of poultry/fish), and I feel great!! While I will say this, it is really hard sometimes, to figure out what to eat.

One of my favorite things to eat is apples dipped in peanut butter. I remember eating this as a kid. It's really good! I feel so good after eating it too. It's weird, but I really do. I love peanut butter! It is a great source of protein and healthy fat. Due to the fact I can't eat bread, peanut butter and jelly is not an option anymore, so the solution I came up with was apples and peanut butter, or celery and peanut butter.

One of the many things I have noticed, in the short time of being on this diet is: I can concentrate better, my mood is much better, and I feel really good! When I first became a vegetarian I felt good, but I didn't know it was because I was eating less of the refined sugar, pasta and bread too. I wasn't consciously paying attention to that. However,  when my diet did consisted of the refined carbs (I call it) my mood would change, drastically, a few hours later. Cutting out meat helped improve many of the digestive problems, I was experiencing (feeling bloated).

No chocolate chip cookies : (

I look back to even when I was in 6th grade. I would eat waffles (with Aunt J syrup) every morning, for breakfast. On the way to school I felt sick. My stomach hurt, I was anxious, irritable, my mind was all over the place.  My parents just thought it was because I was a teenager, and also the fact a morning person, would not describe me. Then there was the typical parent speculation, my stomach aches were just an excuse, to try to get out of going to school.

One day I told my mom, I was done eating waffles for breakfast. I concluded, "it was just too big of a meal for me, in the morning." Being the caring mother she is, she wouldn't allow me to go to school without eating anything for breakfast; so instead I resorted to having an apple. I remember my dad being the one to observe the difference in me, as we drove to school.  I was happy, talkative, awake, and not suffering from stomach pains.

Although this diet has it's challenges (especially when you have a baker in the family). I have embraced these challenges. I am thankful for finally figuring out the true plague of my suffering. I'm reluctant to have found the cause, of what has kept me from being all that I can be. Just the fact I can concentrate better....such a huge relief!!

Changes, Challenges, Clients and Carbs

       Changes in life keep life exciting, and that is exactly the emotion I have been feeling lately...EXCITED!! These past few weeks have been very exciting on all different levels. For starters, I am working on accomplishing some big things, that truly mean a lot to me; starting my own health and wellness business. 
       
       The past few years I have been working at different aspects of this dream of mine, coming true. The hard work is paying off, little by little. It is very awesome to see. 
      
           I have attained a clientele of mainly friends and family (for now), whom I have been working with, to help them achieve different goals. Some of my clients have goals of weight loss, some needed assistants in building strength after an injury, some just need new techniques, some want to be toned, and some have goals that combine a little of everything I mentioned. I also took on assisting in a gym class for home schooled kids, which after a few weeks, I will be leading. 
     
     I am thoroughly enjoying every second of training my clients. I share the joy with them, as they accomplish their goals. It is so rewarding!! 
     
      In addition to helping others, I am reading and studying (as much as I can), about different recipes, diets, workout techniques, and nutrition information. I find it very interesting and feel like I can't get enough information about it all. 
     
     As for me, I have goals and changes I have put into place for myself. For one, I have learned some new things about hypoglycemia (which I discovered I had when I was about 12 yrs. old). For those of you who don't exactly know what hypoglycemia entails, an article I found by Mary Somon best describes it as:

"Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not metabolize blood glucose properly. Abnormal metabolism can be caused by a variety of factors such as:

• Excess refined sugar and white flour in your diet,
• Pancreatic or adrenal under activity or over activity
• Excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee or other products with caffeine
• Overeating of refined carbohydrates
• Allergies
• Severe emotional stress that doesn't go away

       Probably the biggest contributor to hypoglycemia is the consumption of excess refined sugar, white flour and other refined carbohydrates. Our bodies were not designed genetically or physiologically equipped to metabolize the mass amount of refined food, which is stripped of any nutritional value, found in the typical diet of this day and age. This creates a continuous strain and abuse on your bodies' organs, such as the pancreas, the liver, the adrenals and other endocrine glands. The continuous ingestion of empty refined foods leads to malfunctioning of the glandular and metabolic systems."  

       With that being said, I needed to examine my own diet, and make some challenging changes. As I have mentioned, it has been over a year since I've eaten red meat. I have basically been eating a vegetarian diet for the past year, but on a very seldom occasion, I will eat fish or chicken. With this new diet I have put in place for myself, I must eliminate all carbohydrates that are not fruits or vegetables. Meaning that is simply all I eat, or I can add more chicken and fish in my diet to keep things a little less boring. The things I will miss are: granola bars, cereal, alcohol, and my coffee with flavored creamers added--- must be eliminated. For good.
      
       The good news is, I should feel better than ever, and it should help me both physically and mentally. It's a no brainer, this is what must be done. I also found a new gluten free beer I really like. It's called 'Angry Orchard,' it tastes like apple cider.
       
        Last but not least, I am excited to be able to go visit the west coast! I will be spreading the word about my business, and spending time with family!
    

 Citation

          Somon, Mary. "Do You Have Undiagnosed Hypoglycemia?" Weblog post. About.com Thyroid Disease. N.p., 28 Apr. 2004. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

Your immune system, seaweed, and fighting cancer

     Recently, I have heard more and more, about how eating seaweed, has many nutritional/health benefits. Such as preventing cancer. I even heard, it can cure cancer. I decided to look into it for myself.

    I have had seaweed before. It can be prepared in all different ways. One way I tried, that I wasn't so fond of, was in the form of a strip/sheet. So if you are thinking about giving this a whirl, I am just forewarning you, you might want to look up some recipes, rather than trying those strip things. It's an acquired taste. However, many times Sushi will be prepared with seaweed in it, and that is very good.

     Overall, seaweed supports healthy cell production, and cells make up the tissues and organs in our body. It aids in things such as anti-aging, prevention of cancer, and thyroid health.

     Seaweed is not the only plant that is beneficial to our bodies, there are other plant life in the ocean that are nutritious, and do wonders for our body also. Here are some examples:

Nori: packed with Vitamin C (contains twice as much as an orange), also contains beta-carotene, iodine and iron.

Arame: loaded with macro minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, and iodine. All very important in cell production.

Kelp: High iodine content, aids in the glandular function of the thyroid and ultimately the metabolism. Also contains phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It is a great source for Vitamin A, B1, B2, C, D and E. Also amino acids. It tastes salty, yet has low sodium.

Wakame: Iron rich and has 10 times more calcium than a glass of milk.

     Vegetables in general, are great for you! Many contain phytonutrients and/or antioxidants which prevent cancer cells from forming, or at least surviving. Vegetables aid in healthy cells production/function and counteract free radicals. So seaweed (and other sea plants), are no doubt healthy, in some of the same ways. As far as curing cancer, I am not so sure.

    In our body, we have cells that act like "Pacman," they eat harmful cells. It is part of our immune system. The scientific/medical terminology for this is macrophage/phagocytes. They work to keep foreign materials, and harmful cells from making us sick. They also facilitate healing after injury.

    Cancer cells are a little different. They attack tissue. Most Cancer cells mutate, due to carcinogens our bodies have been exposed to. While our body has these little "Pacman" cells going around eating bad cells, cancer cells may reproduce too fast for them to keep up. Cancer cells also typically mimic good cells and are not "marked" as bad cells, or the immune system is not strong, therefore there are not enough "Pacman" cells to keep up with the work cut out for them.

   Eating vegetables (and fruits), such as seaweed, is most definitely beneficial to your health. Seaweed is commonly used in Asian cuisine, and there is quite a difference in the rate of cancer seen in people from that decent, than in Americans. Diets in  Asian countries, as well as in the Mediterranean, are very healthy. Both of them have in common diets that are high in fiber, low in cholesterol, low in fat, and they prepare their meals with different types of fruits and vegetables.

Here is a recipe that I am going to be preparing in the near future!! Check it out:
http://earthmother-intheraw.blogspot.com/2008/11/nourished-by-sea.html?dsq=9507302#comment-9507302

Deliciously Healthy Facial Masks

I have been meaning to share some things, I have found to be good for your skin, for some time now. It is one thing to read it, and have it make logical sense to you; but in order for it to be truth, you have to try it!! So, that is what I had to do before I posted this.

Everything I have read says "ANTIOXIDANTS, EAT THEM"!! Well, antioxidants have also been reported, on many accounts, to be beneficial to your skin as well. From my personal experience, it has really checked out to be true. So when I discovered these organic, all natural, homemade masks I fell in love!! They are easy to make! Cheap! Chemical free! Oh, and....healthy!!

If you don't have time, and you don't mind paying the money for a good quality product....
CLICK HERE

Here are a few. I will add more as I try them out!


Anti-Aging
Fresh or dried:
Rose hip
Jasmine
Myrrth

Boil water, add ingredients, boil for :30. Cool down. Once cooled to a warm temp. Apply gently to face with a clean cloth. Leave mixture on face for :20 before rinsing. Do this 2 times a week.


Pore Reducer/ Oily Skin mask
Myrtle 
Lavender
Ginseng
1/2 tbl. sp. of lemon juice

Boil the herbs in the water for approx. 1 hour. Then stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice. Apply mask once mixture cools. Leave on for 20 min. before rinsing. 

Daily Protein Mask  
1/4 cup of cucumber juice
2 tbls. of low fat organic milk (can sub water instead)
mix together and apply to neck and face. 

Use daily. 

Clean Pores/ Tone Skin
 1 organic egg white with 1 tbs. of corn flour. Apply to face. Leave on for 15-20 min.

Use 2 times a week.

What should you incorporate in your own homemade, organic facial mask?

Make sure all ingredients are organic. You really should consume only organic ingredients, also. Organic ingredients are good for both your skin, but also your body and health over all. Coincidence? I think not.

Basic Guidelines For The Different Skin Types

For Oily skin
Be careful not to use masks with too much olive oil, avocado, or herbal oils. It is definitely fine for you to consume them, but not necessarily for your skin, due to the tendency to breakout. So instead stick to masks with acidic ingredients, such as lemon, orange, tomato, grapefruit, and cranberries. 
After mask use an oily skin moisturizer to balance out the PH levels.

Acne Prone skin

Same as oily skin, but add St. John's Wort in with ingredients.

Dry skin

Use ingredients such as avocados, olive oil (sparingly), flax-seed oil (sparingly), honey, green tea, banana. 

Sensitive skin

Cucumber and green tea.