TAKE A DEEP BREATH

We all breath.  

most of us do it unconsciously and although that works well enough,  

there is so much more to breathing!

With your breath you can create heat,

increase your energy and as a bonus

you burn calories as well! 

You can use your breath to relax and calm your mind and body,

Try it right now.

Sit upright.

Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.

Now take a slow and steady deep breath in through your nose.

Notice your hands rising.

Can you make one hand rise and then the other?

Exhale through your nose and reverse the inhale pattern.

If you filled your belly before your chest then exhale from your chest first.

Practice slowing down the inhale and exhale then speeding it up.

What differences do you feel?

To relax exhale longer than you inhale.

Next try breathing through your belly only.

Use your abdominal muscles to push the breath out,

let the inhale come naturally.

Notice the increase in energy.

 

HAVE YOU HAD A DRINK TODAY?

It is all around us, inside us and in everything we take in.

Water is an essential nutrient - we can not live without it.

Want a fresh start to your morning?

Drink a glass of water (not chilled) upon rising.

This could be the beginning of a great habit!

Rise!

Breath deeply!

Smile!

Drink a glass of delicious water!

Want to up it a notch? Squeeze a touch of lemon in your glass.

Love the water.

Love the day!

Be Well!

Healthy Habits for a New Year

Winter is a time of going inward and also a time of new beginnings.

Think new years resolutions! 

And spring, coming up next, is a time of new beginnings.

A perfect time (and lots of it) to plan and incorporate healthy habits: 

Create new ones, 

Renew old ones,

Reinforce current ones.

So I started a list of feel good, good for you habits.

Breath

sit when you eat

chew your food well 27 times (yes, that's each bite)

add lemon to your water

eat one raw meal a day 

sleep on an empty stomach

go to bed before 10

stretch upon rising

walk

be in nature as much as possible (garden, walk in the park)

choose your food consciously (no guilt)

put your fork down between bites

drink water daily

pause - before eating

take a list when shopping

only food shop on a full stomach

shop the outside aisles only/mostly

smile

laugh at least three times a day (at least!)

hug to say hello/goodbye

ENERGY BARS

Tired of processed food and looking for a quick fix?  

Most energy bars are loaded with simple sugars and additives so why not make your own?

The following recipes are quick, easy and fun to make.  All you need is a food processor.

POWER BAR  I

7 prunes

6 medjool dates

1/8 cup goji berries

1/8 cup sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp walnuts

POWER BAR  II

1/4 cup 7 grain cereal

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/8 cup goji berries

1/8 cup slivered almonds

1/8 cup pumpkin seeds

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp agave syrup

To make either power bar:

Combine the  ingredients in a food processor and chop until mixed and the contents clump.

With damp hands mold the paste into balls or press and flatten the mix in a baking dish, then cut into squares.

Wrap the power bars in a sealed container and refrigerate.

Makes 10 bars

THE RIGHT WAY TO EAT

The right way to eat ...

Is there a right and wrong way?

At some point we have all had the experience of eating with guilt.
For some of us it is rare, for others it can be constant.
Yet we all share that experience with food.

How about some guidelines?

We use them in all aspects of our lives although not always consciously from how clean our living spaces 'should' be to how much we spend. So how about some guidelines for one of our most basic relationship? What we eat!

Love the food you eat! That's right! What good is your favourite ice cream if guilt is involved?

What is the sense of eating if you do not enjoy it? Certainly do not over do it, but appreciate the food you eat.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

More on our relationship to food....

We can all agree that food is essential to our survival.

What differs from one person to the next is their own relationship to food.

For most eating is a battle whether it is with our bodies or our minds.

Does it really have to be so difficult?

There must be a simpler way of being with food!

Guidelines for a healthy relationship with food can be simple.

A simple and powerful tool to be guided by is ...

Eat food as close to it's natural state as possible

Think about this for a moment. The next time you go grocery shopping keep this in mind and notice how it can affect your food choices!

How do you shop for food?

What is your relationship to food?
Is it heated and flamboyant?
Are you passionate and committed or dull and conservative?

The flamboyant shopper buys food with reckless abandon allowing cravings to direct the adventure through the market. Shopping this way can be fun and easy but also costly. There is a danger of being manipulated if not by your palate then definitely by creative marketing and advertising ploys. More often than not this type of

 shopping ends up in over indulging and wastefulness.

The passionate and committed shopper can be passionate about food and committed to a budget. One shops with an anticipation, excited and motivated by what is fresh, local and on special. The passion is in the meals to come and the commitment is to the list. A grocery list helps you stay on your budget and keep you focused while shopping. The creativity can come from planning a menu with a list of foods to buy.

To the dull and conservative shopper buying food can be a chore.You sigh, grab a pen and mark down all the items you need to replace because that is what you have eaten, do eat and will always eat never questioning why. The experience can be even more painful to those that shop because of the need to fill a hole. When at the store you try to remember what you need and buy food because you just need to eat to survive

The way I shop for food varies.  In spring and summer especially, I am inspired by the fresh and local produce.  By fall and winter I tend to plan my meals as I shop, usually taking advantage of the specials of the week.

Regardless of how I shop for the foods we eat, I like to practice the following guidelines:

• Have a plan before going to the store
• Always eat before shopping 
• Shop the outside aisles first
• Have a list and a purpose for visitng the inside aisles
• Choose food as close to it's natural state as possible