What do you value?

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moms blurred out cardamom“For all the Cardamoms, soccer moms, career moms, foster moms, and stay-at-home moms–you are all SUPER moms, and it’s your day! Hope all you mothers out there enjoyed a great day today!” Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope the first thing that came to your mind of “What do you value?”…..was YOU! It’s hard sometimes to put ourselves at the top of the list; especially if you’re a mother. It seems we get pulled in ninety different directions and our needs end up being at the bottom of the list. It can be exhausting both physically and emotionally! You have to make sure you take time for you or you will eventually get worn down and this can cause havoc on your health!! Your family needs you healthy and well!! Value…..YOU!

I’m sure many of you can relate to this… it seems this time of year that life is crazy and going at warp speed. The month of May alone is wild!  You probably have some of the same pressures of:  projects due, graduation parties, wedding and baby showers, school functions, and after school sports. Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done. This busy and stressful schedule can be very hard on our bodies and our health. We all need balance to make our lives less hectic.

You must value your body enough to make a conscience decision to actually put your health first. After I listened to, How Not To Die, on Audible, I have tried to make an effort to incorporate the list of the top 12 foods we should eat each day, according to Dr. Michael Greger. He refers to these items as the “daily dozen” and he includes how many servings of each we should be eating too! He states that “people don’t die of old age but most commonly from heart attacks. Most heart attacks are preventable if you switch to a more plant based diet.”

I am including this list for you from the book How Not to Die to check your daily eating habits and see if you can incorporate them into your diet. Check out the book on Audible too! I learned so much from listening to it!

daily dozen

Do you make it a daily habit to eat like this now? Did you notice there are no spots for meat in the daily dozen? Post this list on your fridge and see how closely you can come  to eating these food items from each day.

Dr. Greger also mentions that we should all be walking about 10,000 steps a day plus lifting weights and doing some cardio. He feels like 90 minutes of exercise on a daily basis is what we need. That’s a little hard to swallow being that I walk all day, never sit at my desk, and I have to make an effort to come home and walk for about and hour to get my total steps up to 10,000.

If you are someone that sits behind a desk all day, you better pick up the pace and get moving! You really need to make an effort to walk around the office. Bring your tennis shoes to work and take a lap or two around the parking lot at lunch!

Now I mentioned that we all need balance in our lives. I have a great oil company that makes a blend of essential oils known as the grounding blend. It has a warm, woody aroma and it creates a sense of calm and wellbeing. They blend Spruce, Ho Wood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy, and Blue Chamomile with Fractionated Coconut Oil too. This oil promotes tranquility and relaxation.

Spruce, which is in the grounding blend, was used by Native Americans for health and spiritual reasons and is still used today to bring harmony to the mind and body. Ho Wood, Blue Tansy, and Blue Chamomile can ease anxious feelings, while Frankincense provides a grounding, balancing effect on emotions.” You should try it. I like to rub it on my feet in the morning after I shower. Just a couple drops on each foot and it does help me feel in a state of balance throughout the day! Give it a try!!

If you are interested in this great “grounding blend,” please let me know and I can hook you up! Remember if you need any diffusers I have them for you! Diffusing the oil is another way of getting a treatment. This grounding blend is also a great oil to diffuse if you feel like you need some peace and calmness in your life! Let me know if I can help you!!

Until next week, be kind to someone out there!

cropped-Screen-Shot-2016-01-18-at-8.49.40-PM-300x300Naturally, Lisa

 

P.S. Keep rounding up your clothes for Servamillion. Check out the website for drop off spots near you! Each bag full of clothes is worth 55 meals to folks in Africa. I’ve already cleaned out 3 bags!!

Spring is Sprouting, So Can YOU!

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Happy first day of spring!

 

The flowers are bursting out around here and it is so beautiful!! Spring has sprung! I decided I wanted to get on the bandwagon too!

I have started to grow my own sprouts. It is really super easy to do and it only takes a few days until you have sprouts ready to eat! I double dog dare you to try it!!

Last week I spoke about the rise of diabetes in our country. If you didn’t read my blog  from last week, make sure to check it out! I listened to Dr. Greger’s book on Audible. It’s called How Not To Die. It was very in depth but well worth listening to; if you are really serious about making a change in your diet and your health. I highly recommend it!

One key idea I picked up on in the book was how beneficial broccoli is to our health. It helps with many types of cancers. He suggests to eat it every day. He also mentions that broccoli sprouts help reduce the risk of type II diabetes. He recommends 1/4 cup of broccoli sprouts a day.

So you want to get started!?!?! You only need a few things: You will need a couple of ball jars, a screen for each jar to put over the top of the opening to strain the water off, and some seeds of your choice. I started with broccoli and sunflower seeds. They are yummy!

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You can, of course, order a set that includes everything you need, but I wanted to try it with what I had available. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this whole sprouting seeds business and I didn’t want to invest much money if it was awful. I have to say I like using the jars and they are super easy. Maybe one day I’ll get the trays and the set, but right now I like using the jars.

To start, you will need to rinse the jars and place a little bit of the seeds in the bottom of the jar. The broccoli seeds are so tiny only about 1 teaspoon is needed. I just usually guess and pour. Screw on the lid with the screen in place. Rinse the seeds and place upside down to strain the water off. I place mine in a bowl upside down at an angle so the water can continue to drain.

I put them in a dark spot for the first 24 hours. You could throw a towel over them if you want. I usually put mine in my pantry. Then after 24 hours, bring them out, or uncover, and let them sit on your counter. I rinse them several times throughout the day and follow the same procedure.

Rinse, strain, place upside down on counter. I do this for several days until they sprout and completely fill up the jar. Then, they are ready to eat!!!  I take them out of the jar and place them in a container and keep them in the refrigerator. Add them to your salad or to any meal. You can even juice them! Who knew right?IMG_1073 (1)

Here’s a great Caesar salad dressing recipe from Dr. Michael Kluper. This recipe was from the book How Not to Die.

2Tbsp almond meal
3 crushed garlic cloves
3Tbsp dijon mustard
3Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2Tbsp white miso
3Tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup of water

Blend and enjoy! If you have a high speed mixer it might be best to use whole almonds in place of the almond meal.

 

Here’s another way to use your sprouts. Try this stir fry recipe.It’s yummo!

Cook 1 cup of white rice. While it’s cooking, scramble an egg. Add oil to a pan, add rice, shred a bit of carrot, a little onion, add the egg, salt and pepper to taste, and of course add your broccoli and sunflower sprouts. Add a little dab of butter while this is all cooking. Stir and brown, Add Bragg’s Liquid Amino (soy sauce alternative) and you have a fabulous meal! It’s super easy! You of course could add some chicken or steak too!

Here’s a great diffuser recipe to try this spring. It will take you to paradise!!

2 drops citrus or wild orange

2 drops Sandalwood

3 drops Grapefruit

 

If you need a diffuser, or any oils, I would love to talk with you about them! Just let me know!

I hope you have a fantastic week! Get out there and move around! Spring is here!!

Naturally, Lisa

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