June's Herb of the Month

Cinnamon

Cinnamon Sticks

Did you know that cinnamon is tree bark?  Until recently I didn't know that two kinds of cinnamon existed. Where have I been!  Cinnamon commonly sold in the US is from the Cassia tree.  Our second choice for cinnamon is Ceylon cinnamon hailing from Sri Lanka by way of an evergreen tree of the laurel family.  While it is not as sweet as Cassia cinnamon it does provide a more delicate flavor for your favorite recipes.

Cinnamon is also medicinal and has been used since ancient Egyptian times for a variety of illnesses and dis-eases.  It can help insulin resistance and weight loss.

In one study reported by the Diabetes Care Journal, cinnamon reduced blood sugar levels and increased the natural production of insulin, while it lowered their blood cholesterol also.  Specifically, their blood cholesterol levels were lowered in the range of 10 to 26 percent, affecting overall cholesterol levels and reducing the LDL (known as the bad cholesterol) but not reducing levels of HDL, the good cholesterol. For more information and the data source - Thyroid-info.com.   

What are some of your favorite drink, and food recipes that you make using cinnamon? Head on down to the comments section below and please let us know. 

In Health and Joy,

Barbara

203-216-6889
www.BarbaraGreenhouse.com
RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter, @bgsuperfoods
Facebook.com/RefreshYourLifeNow
http://RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following in tact:  

Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, the Nutrition Health Connection and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world .  She teaches, guides and supports her clients along their journey to achieve their goals one step at a time, to live their dreams simply, holistically and with compassion. By recommending some delicious live raw whole foods their process to a healthier and happier life begins.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2012 Connecticut, USA

Inflammation, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Is there really something good about inflammation?  Yes, surprisingly there is because we only hear the bad press.  Well, we will cover all of it here in this post.

Pure Water, Hydration  Natural Stress Reduction

Inflammation is your body's first line of defense against infections and injuries, wounds, falls, toxic food, pesticides, pollution and the like.  The emergency response team in you body responds immediately.  A little science here, this team receives distress signals of the bio chemical nature from damaged tissues and cells.  For knee scrapes or puncture wounds the injured area is sealed off, incoming bacteria get their death sentence and certificate and the damaged tissues are destroyed.

What we perhaps see as redness, swelling, feel as heat or pain and perceive to be bad,   are actually signs that the body's emergency response team is in action, your inflammatory response. 

Inflammatory response is the start of the healing process.  Like everything else, this response needs to keep a balance between heating up inflammation and cooling it down.  As we know, when there is excessive inflammation, heat, and the ph is too acidic our immune system is compromised and we become ill.  When it is severe and chronic our body is way out of balance.  The body and all of our body's systems immune, circulatory, respiratory to name a few are in distress, break down and serious dis-ease takes hold.  

For example, internally, when veins, arteries, our system organs, tissues and joints are taxed or injured they become inflamed because the automatic response system kicks in to start the healing process. At this stage however serious symptoms arise and the response team can become overwhelmed when the conditions are chronic due what the body perceives as an overload of toxins. What toxins?  Excessive sugar, toxic food (wax, petroleum products unpronounceable chemical foods), pesticides,cosmetics, body care products etc., over a long space of time.  The immune system can not handle the situation well.  The body tries to send us messages but we are too busy to listen until the damage is done and comes forth as a debilitating dis-ease and perhaps unrelenting pain depending on the dis-ease.  

Tips to avoid or clear up inflammation:

1. Drink plenty of fresh spring water, or filter your own.  Checkout findaspring.com.

2. Eat and drink more dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables and other alkaline or 

     alkaline forming foods

3. Eat organic for at least the annual dirty dozen fruits and vegetables. Organic tastes better  

    irregardless of what mainstream reports and biased testing show. It tastes good, you will 

    eat more fruits and vegetables which tames inflammation and then eliminates it or

    keeps it in balance. Organic is less costly in the long run with your time and money, it is

     non-GMO, no animal genes in your fruits and vegetables, no built-in pesticides and lastly 

    the soil is nutrient dense with numerous minerals and life teaming organisms with in the   

    soil, verses deficient soil, your typical conventional industrialized farm soil.

4. When you cook meat if you do, choose rare, medium rare. Grilling burnt/crispy is deadly.

5. What ever you wouldn't eat don't serve to your body to cleanse your skin, face or body
     with, nor use as moisturizers, perfumes, makeup or hair products. Anything not easily

     pronounced is a good indication that it is toxic, not health and you don't want it on your 

     skin where it then transits into your body.

6.  Manage your stress. As the # 1 killer in the us today because it's damage hidden for so 

     long. It causes inflammation which in turn creates an acidic ph and when chronic, causes

     debilitating dis-eases, most often deadly dis-ease, for example Cancer, Diabetes, CHD,
     Lung dis-eases, Autoimmune dis-eases Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Alzheimer's, 

     Adrenal Failure and more.

7.  Cut back on the whites - sugar, flour, salt, unless you have low blood pressure; the brain

     requires salt for development. Use Celtic or Pink Himalayan salt, not iodized salt.

8.  Cut back on caffine, alcohol, prescription meds, antibiotics. Use pro and prebiotics.

     While cacao and dark chocolate is good for you for much of the chocolate on the market

      has quite a bit of caffine.  For some health conditions caffine needs to be avoided entirely.

Do you suffer from a debilitating dis-ease?  How's your stress life?  Please share with us in the comments below. 

And as always, if you would like full support in your life to be healthier and happier take that first step for yourself, sign up for a free 50 minute health consultation on my website by clicking here.

  

In Love and Light,

Barbara

203-216-6889
www.BarbaraGreenhouse.com
RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter, @bgsuperfoods
Facebook.com/RefreshYourLifeNow
http://RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following in tact:  

Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, the Nutrition Health Connection and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world .  She teaches, guides and supports her clients through their journey to achieve their goals and live their dreams simply, holistically and with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw whole foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2012 Connecticut, USA

Unnecessary Dis-eases

There is holistic solution.

Grab a special cup of tea, this is a long one!

You've read about it in the news. The occurrence of diabetes, cancer, obesity and heart disease are on the rise. Even in children.  Why?

Our bodies are telling us messages, loud and clear.  But we are not listening. They are out of balance big time caused by nutrient deficient food, stress, overwhelm, poor food choices, grab and go food, we're not home cooking, not enough sleep and too many meds for this or that. Toxins are found everywhere in our food and our living and working environments along with toxins in the soil, the air we breathe, the water we bath in, drink and swim in for recreation.  

Since 1980 diabetes has increased steadily. Statistics from 1994 on show not only the increase in this disease as diabetes 1 but also Diabetes 2 especially from 2008 on getting drastically worse each year thereafter.  The graphs indicate increase in diabetes overall not by 1 or 2. Another interesting point is that severe or longer term diabetes causes cardiovascular dis-ease which has higher morbidity rates for male diabetics.  Dis-eases never before seen in children are now showing up at alarmingly high rates. Conventional solutions? Band Aids, pop a pill for everything, not getting to the root cause.   If you listen to your body you know more than a person who speaks to you for just 5 minutes, maybe 10 and writes you a prescription and is out the door to the next patient.

 

 The body is the greatest communicator and healer but we just don't listen.  We need to. For example, when tired do you slow down and rest? Or do you forge ahead because of x, y or z?  Do you finally get the message because you can't lift up your head or arms and you stay home put for the day, yet feel slightly better the next day and go back to work, school appointments etc.?  You need multiple days of rest to heal without interruption to the healing process to get fully back on your feet and stay on them.  

Depending on what actually got you to stay home and slow down, was the bodies last attempt to communicate to you that you are out of balance.  This could have been contagious and what your run down body (immune system) couldn't fight off. When you go back to normal life after just one day because you "feel" better you've actually shutdown your healing process and possibly spread an illness to others.  If their bodies are not in optimal health, their immune system is compromised, they will be down with an illness too. The more our bodies go through this scenario, the more you are inviting dis-ease into your life. We also need to listen because of reasons like these:  Fainting while driving can be hazardous to your health and can be fatal. My aunt a diabetic, would faint while driving. She was lucky, she didn't kill herself or anyone else. Passing out on a hard floor especially if you live alone is dangerous.   My uncle fell and did hit his head and died. They found a cancerous tumor in his head.  

You have a to-do-list a mile long with nothing marked in for your me time to do what you enjoy, self care and what will SLOW you down.  I'll admit life presents responsibilities to care for others' illnesses to me, causing me to fall short on my quiet time, self care and  fun time.  In the morning before I rise I relax, think and breathe each day, a constant me time.  The rest I do my best to include.  Stress, especially chronic stress, taxes the adrenals, the heart, the immune system, your hormonal system (which is part of a communications network within your digestive system), to name a few.  Everything is interconnected. When in balance you're a Rolls-Royce, when out of balance you're a clunker.

Here's some biology in simple terms.  The built-in survival responses created for man's survival 1000s of years ago aren't working well with our much different lifestyles of today because of what we no longer do that actually kept earlier man much healthier than man today. A few examples, we eat after we are full.  This disrupts the hunger communications that tell us we are satiated, over time we can become obese; we no longer rake leaves we use machines to blow them, we no loner use a scythe to cut grass nor even a hand push blade mower. Most use sit down tractor mowers now.  We are no longer getting the movement we need on a regular basis.  This not only keeps our muscles toned, and our breathing deeper, but also our metabolism is being regulated differently due to modern day lifestyle changes and chronic stress.  Earlier man had stress but not chronic stress.  He hunted large game, had to be strong, run, sprint, squat, forage/gather fruits and vegetables and and be active and alert to survive. Modern day man is not anywhere near as active (has less movement).  Even in just the last 20 - 30 years most kids today have less movement.  They don't use jungle gyms, climb rocks, run or play hard any more.  Aside from team sports programs and karate, kids are using computers, playing computer games (adults too) and you see the rise in obesity and diabetes.  Less movement + more food consumption = unhealthy situations, dis-ease.  Dis-ease = Less calorie burn + More fat storage +Acidic ph. The classic definition of disease is when your ph is .1 higher or .1 lower than the normal ph.  "A healthy blood pH without cancer has acid + alkaline balance almost equal. Actually a healthy body is slightly alkaline measuring approximately 7.4". source-altered-states.net /barry/update178/index.htm  Therefore maintaining and losing weight is more difficult for many of all ages. And this is a big and, our metabolism is slower so we are not burning enough calories from the increase in the intake of modern day nutrient deficient calories, we are storing fat created by all the low carbs, sugar and hidden sugar products that is so prevalent in the American diet today.   The increase in chronic stress which genetically wants to store more fat for survival, isn't alleviated due to less movement.  Another fact is that we are born with just so much insulin in the pancreas. This never became depleted before death.  It is now. It literally gets used up.  The over consumption of foods especially the sugar laden foods and high glycemic foods cause the pancreas to release insulin almost constantly.  It is now found that the insulin stores meant to last for a life time are now running out at younger and younger ages.  Hence the need to take insulin.

Another good reason we have more dis-ease is because food is fuel for our bodies and is being used for entertainment mostly these days. What's the latest food fad or trend?  Diet? Today the thoughts of what I crave or what I would just like to eat versus what does my body require to function perfectly, as it was created to receive, is more important. We have this mentality of food as gratification and not what we need it for. I'm not saying we can't enjoy it, that's not the purpose and we need to strike a healthy balance.  Food is necessary as fuel for the energy that the body requires on the cellular level where the cells get the nutrients, minerals, water, and oxygen that they need for their food and fuel to function optimally for us every second of every day.  Our heart doesn't miss a beat, we breathe 15-20 breaths per minute as adults no matter what we feed them at, first.  The brain has specific requirements to function optimally, the heart does, the nervous system does, our skin does and so on.

Our body's requirement is high test fuel and sadly most people are providing the lowest grade of regular fuel.  So, most bodies today are breaking down, inflamed, dis-eased, and acidic broken down examples:  diabetes, cancer, coronary heart dis-ease, severe arthritis, autism, altzheimers. We are totally out of balance on so many levels. An acidic body is the ground floor of dis-ease. And no one is listening to the messages from their body: shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, brain fog, low energy, dis-ease, swollen legs, ankles, pain and excessive weight gain.

What does it mean to be in balance? You have energy because your cells receive all that nutrient dense foods supply to them, some of which is supplied rather quickly, therefore they require less use of energy so there is more left over for you overall.   You feel good, you loose some weight, you look forward to each day, you have strong relationships, love your job/career (or move to get to that) and have some higher power, what ever that is for you, to pray/talk to/walk with in nature/meditate with, which is very comforting for you. A true sense of support and unconditional love. What I and many call LifeForce energy.  A good coach can give you good support and accountability to live your dreams and meet goals along with your higher power.  You were not created to be a clunker.

Simple lifestyle changes taken a step at a time over time and the desire to be healthy and happier will transform you to a place that you probably dream about, a place you can definitely obtain and maintain.

My free 50 minute health consultation is an easy way to communicate your struggles, pain, stress and dis-ease and the good, present for you today.  You also clarify what goals you want to reach regarding your health and for what is called primary foods, the essential yet non food sustenance's of life.  Who are you communicating all of this too?  Why to yourself.  As we discuss your most important findings deeper communications will come forth.

Sign up for my newsletter, Refresh to the Good Life News ® where you will find articles, tips, recipes and more. Click the link at the top right on this page to sign up.  In the form's comment field schedule your free consultation. Provide two choices please.  My consultations are scheduled the hours of 5 - 9 pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Saturday mornings 10 - 12 N. I will confirm your free consultation time by email.

Start your journey, you really deserve it.  Awaken, Align Transform, Refresh. 

Refresh Your Life Now.  Refresh to the Good Life!® 

In Love and Light,

Barbara

203-216-6889
www.BarbaraGreenhouse.com
RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com
www.Facebook.com/RefreshYourLifeNow
www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, Healing Naturally and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world .  She teaches and supports her clients through their journey to live their dreams easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw whole foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2012 Connecticut, USA

May's Herb of the Month

 

Garlic Odiferous and Delicious

Garlic is definitely a friend to our bodies yet gets a bum rap due to it's reputation for bad breath and body odor.  Roasted garlic is sweeter and the breath isn't as much of an issue. Now let's see why this member of the Lilley family which was treasured during Egyptian times is good for us.

1.  We live in a world of parasites. They make their way into our digestive tract by the food we eat, from pets and unsanitary conditions.  These little guys and gals just hate garlic. Garlic, over here!

2.  Simplified, our  blood delivers nutrients, proteins, electrolytes and hormones throughout the body.  It also feeds the neurons in the brain the oxygen and the nutrients they need to stay healthy, requiring a constant blood flow to the brain.

The body makes its own supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as an antioxidant and transmits cellular signals that relax blood vessels and increase the blood flow. Garlic also increases hydrogen sulfide in the body.  You can read the rest of this article here. Again, this ensures  an even free flow of blood throughout the body, except to the lungs where the blood takes and delivers oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.  Very important tasks. 

While garlic enhances many recipes with it's flavor we also know it is very beneficial for heart and cancer health for these reasons.  

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well just maybe having garlic each day will keep the cardiologist and oncologist away. We can wish right! Wishes and thoughts do come true.

A few of the ways that I love to use garlic in recipes ( there are many)  are in my chunky guacamole/salsa, my green salads, raw crackers and in my salad smoothie.  

What are some of your favorite recipes that you make using  garlic? Head on down to the comments section below and please let us know.  Would love to have you also share with us on  Facebook.com/refreshyourlifenow.

Barbara

203-216-6889
RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com
www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com

Follow us on Twitter using @bgsuperfoods 

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/refreshyourlifenow

 
This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She teaches and supports  her clients through their journey to live their dreams easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw whole foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2012 Connecticut, USA

Me Time

Awaken, Align, Transform, Refresh

Flower petals, running water, beautiful music, meditation garden, seeing a favorite movie, time at the park, walking 
along the beach, yoga, sleeping in without regret, 
a getaway
weekend... what ever this is for you. Did you schedule me time in your planner?

The only other question is, did you keep your promise to indulge in yourself by taking your me time?

To me.


Want to learn more?  Please contact me and we'll  schedule a time to talk about you, your dreams and explore how you want to start Refreshing Your Life Now, one simple step at a time.  To you.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com
 
This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Wonderment of Spring

After a fairly mild winter, the signs of Spring are everywhere. Yet, it's not quite Spring.  It's so delightful going outside without a jacket.

Spring brings to mind cleanses, lighter diets, longer daylight hours and what seems to be more time to do more.  While these are all good, I invite you to a different kind of Spring, a delicious Spring seen in a new light.  

Hear the new sounds of Spring; the melodious sounds of the birds, full brooks and streams gurgling, peepers peeping, more laughter out doors, children playing outside.  

Feel the lighter weight of your clothing and the soft warm breezes move across your face and body while soaking in more natural sunlight as the days grow longer.  

See the beautiful colors of the crocuses, daffodils, buds and new leaves as they unfold.  

Smell and taste the freshness of the Spring air.

Gently let your mind slow down and take this all in. 
Be still and know that nature awakens.

Begin to refresh from the holds of winter; longer dark nights, heavier foods, holiday rushing about, and too much TV and computer time, perhaps.  

Breathe.  Be with the flow of Spring.

 
Want to learn more?  Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now, one simple step at a time.

  

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com
 

This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Do You Do To Do Lists?

What's life without a little organization.  For some it's life. For others it's chaos.

The To Do List is a great organizational tool, or is it?   When we have alot on our plate, like good do be's you, I and a goodly part of the world will diligently write a to do list, whether it is a daily one or a weekly one.  Tell me, does this happen to you... you commit with good intentions to following this list and it may not even be that big of a list, yet you find that items on the list get moved to the following day or week quite often?  Planning is important, but is it if it cause you stress?  Lately with quite a full plate as a solo entrepreneur, a full time student, a caregiver and more, I'm personally moving quite a bit to the next day, more than I care to admit. There's only so many minutes in a day.  Overwhelm and giving up is not good.  Scaling down the number of to do's is good. 

There is a saving grace.  On one side of the paper, or your Word doc, the heading is MY List.  Write two or three doable important tasks that you own, for example, schedule a monthly zumba, yoga, art, any class, write my weekly article today, teachers helper today, plan our weekly menus per meal.  On the other side of the paper write The UNIVERSE's List. Write as many tasks as you like, maybe items you've tried and can't seem to get them to work, time grabbers, for example. Another, my relationship with my... needs more kindness.  The key is after this next step you let these tasks go, no worries no stress; say ahhhh!  Read the Universe's List one last time then tear it into many pieces and throw them in the trash. This is similar to the burning bowl exercise on New Years Eve just before midnight.

My take is, anytime you can receive support, accept it.  The Universe supports and provides. All you need to do is ask.  The Universe loves when you ask.
 

Want to learn more?  Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com

This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Holy Cow! Love and Cacao

Cacao Pistachio Bark

Love is a strong emotion and quite the strong emotion for many of you with regards to Chocolate (Cacao).  While emotions play a key role for you, as with everything there is balance.

I need to be conscious around cacao myself as I really Love chocolate.  I find since I do not eat alot of sweets or unhealthy processed chocolate treats, mainly raw organic cacao chocolates, that once in a while I give my self permission to eat more of it.  Do you give your self permission?  Or, do you deprive yourself? 

Last Thursday night I attended a pre-Valentine's Day event, a raw cacao chocolate party extraordinaire at Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, in Fairfield, CT.  A sizable fun group, our host Glen, the chefs, some music and the cacao treats made for a deliciously happy evening.

Four amazing chocolatiers, Lisa, Tynne, Paul and Kenzi demonstrated delectable raw cacao treats; walnut fudge, herbal cacao balls, cacao elixirs, drinks, ice cream, cacao pistachio bark and much more.  I never thought I could eat so many raw cacao treats in such a short space of time.  The herbs and the use of a touch of cayenne in one recipe kept our mouths watering for more treats.  The trays with samples flowed for two hours.

Does this sound like something you can give yourself permission to do?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The following day I was kind to my body with a mild detox process.  My nutritious foods were a 16 oz green juice, alot of water, a beet, orange, papaya smoothie and small light snack size meals of homemade mini raw veggie burgers and slightly steamed kale and broccoli with lemon.   To Love and Cacao, always!

Photos by David Axelrod, Norwalk, CT, more coming soon.
Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe is a raw vegan go to eatery, juice and smoothie bar, and promotes numerous healthy living events.  Located at 39 Unquowa Road, Fairfield CT. 

Glowing to the End

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a happier, healthier and informed world.  
She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious  
live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey" ®   © copyright Refresh Your Life Now, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

What Does Love Have To Do With It

Everything, according to Chef Amy Rachelle who held a raw
food prep class in Bridgeport, CT, her only Connecticut
appearance during this trip back to the US.

Love yourself, the food you prepare, set loving kind connections as you work with the food, she loves to be creative, she loves to share her love, enthusiasm and knowledge with you, love the animals, and the earth we grow our food in and advocates that we do the same.  Keep it mineral rich, be, use organic in your foods, what you put in and on our bodies.

To succeed in a busy world where most food is nutrient deficient instead of nutrient dense how do you eat and be healthier?  This is Amy's mantra, "Plan and Prepare, Plan and Prepare".

When you plan and prepare you decide what recipes you want to make for the week.  Then you create a shopping list for the week.  Decide how many times you want to go food shopping.  Amy goes twice a week and as soon as she gets home the preparation for the week kicks in.  She allots 2 days a week for prep work.

All that can be washed, chopped, soaked is done in bulk for the week. This cuts back on the sense that this is labor intensive, get it off the list, it's a big time saver. Can we all use this? Definitely.  

Part of the planning is also knowing what needs dehydrating and when. Dehydrating needs time, therefore, it is the first step in prep for recipes where it is required.

We all introduced ourselves and stated why we were taking the class and many needs were expressed.  As the class progressed the needs were addressed for example, I'm busy and don't have alot of time for recipes that take long time", "I get bored with the recipes I gravitate to and eat over and over", "I want to feel better" and the list went on. 

One sauce miraculously turned into three different sauces with little effort. One sauce is for ratatouille, one for an awesome portabello with creamy sauce, and one for use in flax crackers.  The ratatouille was also used as a side for the portebello dish. Most recipes we saw were converted into more than one recipe.  Everything was absolutely delicious and not just to the raw foodists in the class.  "I can eat meals like this and be happy, this is tasty and satisfying" from a student who didn't think raw would be for them when it comes to satisfying meals for dinner.

Amy backs all of her love with food, with science. Throughout the day she always included the science backing her statements.  The importance of understanding food combining, fermentation (decay) of foods which cause the breeding ground for candida and bacteria and what happens when it gets into your tissues and blood.  She recommends blood tests and ph testing with ph test strips to understand if you are acidic or alkaline.  This is a whole topic unto itself and the backbone of her talk.  If you are too acidic you will invariably be sick, wake up tired even after a full nights sleep and invite major dis-ease into your life.

The other important mention was that our stomach is our second brain. It communicates to the brain, sends messages to us and to our body.  We need to listen to it carefully and what it is telling us.

One important piece of advice, we are all different and here and there we may chose to eat not so healthy.  It is important to be loving and kind to yourself which means not to deprive yourself.  If you really want something unhealthy or a totally unhealthy meal, make sure you really know what you are doing and why. Come to terms with it.  Her advice is to have a detox day the following day and include drinking alot of pure fresh water throughout the day.  Please contact me if you would like assistance with your detox needs more locally.

Amy covered kitchen setup how to's and for those who exclaimed, "my spouse isn't into this at all how do I set up the kitchen?" "Lovingly.  Express your needs kindly and be firm for your needs and set up half of the cabinets and half of the refrigerator for your foods and equipment". 

We learned 12 recipes and variations in an eight hour class were there was a large amount of instruction, discussion and yes, we all ate nice size samples of each and every recipe. A delicious and empowering day.

A plaque on the wall said it all:  "There is only one Happiness in Life, To Love and Be Loved".
Remember to love yourself too.

For more information amy@amyrachelle.com, founder of purerawlifestyle.com.

This event was hosted by Glen Collelo of Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, 39 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, CT,  and held at the GreenGourmetToGo  2984 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT.

Want to learn more?  Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com

This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Honor Thyself and the Divine

When a situation arises that puts you into a tizzy or a tail spin, one that sends you into deep negativity and/or fear, what path do you unconsciously choose?

These feelings and the changes in your mind and your body, where did they come from and  where you go with them are key bits of knowledge on your journey with the Divine. They are keys to your happiness.  Instead of overplaying the negativity and the fear, recognize them for what they are, where they came from and as soon as possible look to come to a solution.  How? By tuning into your Divinity, your Sacred within, your heart center.  And if appropriate for the situation reconnecting with your Sacred Body Temple with compassion.

Holistic practices that work beautifully at times like these that you may wish to try to tune in and reconnect are full breathing, meditation, repeating the OM slowly or any preferred mantra of yours, visualization, taking a walk in nature, humming a favorite song that you know will change your mood for the better, light candles and read inspirational quotes, passages or poems, draw, light candles and run a warm bath, make a favorite cup of tea, listen to soothing music.  Notice no food or shopping!  Use one or more to create a ritual. You are not sweeping your situation under the rug, you are working towards a solution.

Once you see and feel the connection, and then the solution, it all falls lovingly into place because instead of fear, stress and negativity, you used compassion, gentleness and kindness. This may take some practice, however rituals are lasting once created if you choose them to be, and, rituals are just as wonderful when you do them for no other reason then to enjoy them. 

I sincerely invite you to take the journey to the Divine and honor your self today and for the rest of your life.  You will notice a big change.

Resolutions or Results

When the year winds down and the holidays approach many set aside time to reflect and then write up goals and resolutions for the new year.  If this works for you, awesome.  For most after the first month or two they slide by the way side.

When you do your reflections of what the past year brought to you or did not bring to you write them both out.

To me results are what are important. The ones you want to see, feel and live.

What I strive to teach and guide you towards is reawakening the Sacred within you, connecting to the Universal Life Force Energy, the energy that created and still creates everything. Call the Life Force Energy what you are familiar and comfortable with whether this be God, Jesus, The Divine one, The Holy One, Spirit and so forth. It works through you.

Once you have this deep connection you are able to do a number of things.  You can look at your body, mind, cells, your whole being as Sacred, Holy.  You are able to be compassionate with yourself and once you have achieved these your are able to move into your heart center and remember; see your hearts desires, your deepest yearnings, your dreams.  Your core beliefs will emerge.  You and I will work towards these discoveries.  Next you will create the lifestyle of your dreams from your heart, your Sacred Body and your Mind which will refresh your life.

You see, when you create and then live your lifestyle that is all about your dreams and deepest yearnings, annual resolutions and goal setting will not be necessary.  If you own or add a business or a new opportunity comes along that will bring you tremendous joy and aligns with your lifestyle, then you can tweak your life style and add it. You will need to create a business plan and set goals for a business and the business will be part of your dream lifestyle so there will be alignment, balance and harmony.

Goals and resolutions work for some, but for how long and for how many people.  It takes such dedication, most are overwhelmed and stressed out, not enough time in a day.  To me it's like a die-t you feel deprived or negative about the task.  Some can and do this joyfully which is fantastic.  I feel the majority of us do not and these are who this post is speaking to.  Maybe to you too?  When your dreams are your life plan goals aren't necessary.

Want to learn more?  Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and with delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

22 Ways To a Sweet Life without the Sugar

Holiday time, or anytime, the sweet tooth in all of us gets so-o-o-o-o antsy.  It craves and craves and craves, sugar.  Do we know why?  Yes.  Other important nutrients are lacking and the sweet tooth, the small voice that says "Oh go on, just one more time. It's ok", wants to stay front and center and hammers many of us until we give in.  I believe most of us can relate to this.  Well we are going to give the sweet tooth the boot!

Cane sugar has no nutritional value to you and is actually quite toxic to your body when taken in in excess over time.  An imbalance is created. It's GI is 80. Do you need to give up sweets?  No.  There are delicious ways to bake, "bake" or make many recipes that you love without using sugar or unsafe sweeteners.

The sweeteners that are not good for you are cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, Agave (it's the processing and what that breeds that makes this unsafe and toxic), and the little packets of artificial sweeteners that are everywhere.

To curb sugar and sweet cravings have a green smoothie with apple or other "sweet" fruits in the morning. Over time you will see yourself removing more of the sweeter ingredients and using more greens.  The greens, especially dark leafy greens, have so many nutrients in them that your body is satiated, satisfied and the cravings become less and less over time and then they are totally gone.  There are hundreds and hundreds of delicious smoothie recipes available, so there is no reason for you to become bored.  I myself like the variety but I also gravitate to a few favorites and one of them is definitely not sweet. You will find this probably happen to you too. 

Do start off at the pace you know you will stay with and experiment with the vegetables, greens and fruits you know and like for now and then add in new ones as you go. Please contact me if you would like some suggestions or to just talk about these simple and delicious meals to start your day in a truly easy and healthy way.

One of my favorite smoothies is a salad smoothie, no sweets. It uses cilantro and garlic in it.  Who would have thought. Yum!

Before you read the list of healthy sweeteners, do use all sweeteners in moderation as the goal here is to be and live in optimal health.  If you have a dis-ease, Diabetes for example, please work with your health care practitioner, and or a nutritionist or coach such as myself to understand and follow what works best for you. We are all different and can not follow the one size fits all approach.

Healthy Sweetners - Use raw and organic products most often, those with* are not vegan

Stevia - green leaf, not the processed white powder! is an herb. Herbs do not affect blood sugar
Xylitol - from the birch tree

Coconut Sap

Coconut Crystals
Coconut Meat
Dried Coconut

Medjool Dates
Date Crystals

Honey (local best)*
Apples
Bananas
Mangos
Carrots
Beet Sugar
Pureed berries
Black Strap Molasses
Maple Syrup
Maple Crystals
Brown Rice Syrup 

The sweeteners above that are in bold are hyper-glycemic and not recommended for diabetics. If you use them once in a while in a smoothie or a juice they must be paired with  a 1/4 amount of the sweet to at least 3/4 amount of dark leafy greens. Those sweeteners in italics are known to be safe for some diabetics.  Please note dried fruits have a much higher concentration of sugar than their natural state counter part. Click here to view a chart of various sweeteners and their GI rating by Organic Lifestyle Magazine.

Of course Love, Passions and Compassion are 3 more ways To a Sweet Life, a life that transforms you to a refreshing holistic lifestyle. 

Want to learn more? Give me a call or email  me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and by incorporating some delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Is Living a Simplified Life Easy

In life we tend to want the easy way out now a days. Even the least expensive.  We don't have enough patience or time anymore for whatever the reason.  It's too inconvenient. Our priorities are out of balance.

When we take the easy way out we may actually make life more difficult by leaving out important aspects, thoughts, ideas and decisions, we rush.  We will most likely have to redo the situation, project, event, business decision for example. This is wasteful and costly in time and many times in money.

Simple is a step by step system to get to something new or for a change - the intended results you seek.  Is this always easy? To be honest, no. We probably need to think more than we want, make uncomfortable decisions we'd rather not, or go back to a place we've "covered up" (pushed away).  Examples of this are not making healthy snacks or lunch and grabbing fat and sugar laden unhealthy fast foods, not listening to your body even when it is screaming at you that it is out of balance and needs you to slow down, pumping your body with coffee/caffeine to re-energize, not bringing unpleasant situations to closure. This discomfort usually holds the solutions to where we want to go with our lives, it is the bridge to get there. I am the safety net in your process. 

So while it may be simple to follow the steps it may not be easy.   This is how you move from your place of struggle and pain to your place of ease, authenticity, and pleasure. The system we create for you is your journey to living your dreams within YOUR new lifestyle.  Will it need tweaking now and again, possibly.  You can always have new passions as you mature and grow and as you raise your level of consciousness.

Give me a call or email me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now.

Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and with delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA

Is Your Body a Sacred Temple?

Realizing that my body is a Sacred Body Temple created a major shift in my life.  It allowed making the changes I wanted come to life.  I was able to refresh my life.  Can it for you? Absolutely. 

So what does it all mean?  Simply that every cell and every fiber of your body and mind are Sacred, connected to, and filled with the Life Force energy and the creative energy.   This requires the healthiest, smartest practices for your body as a whole and for your thoughts as well.  You have a deep connection to the divine, on all levels. This is holistic living, the interconnections of body, thoughts, the Divine and the world you live in.

Each system in your body does miraculous processes for you every moment of the day.  Every group of cells in the process, every cell in the group, down to the components of each cell hum 24-7 to keep you healthy, functioning and full of energy to carry out all that you do, consciously or unconsciously, all day and night.   Pretend for a moment that you are a car, a car built to run on High Test fuel, not sand, not water and not Regular. Your cells have many components and the KEY is to keep them nourished with what they require, not necessarily what you want to feed them to live a vibrant, joyful, balanced life.  Your bodies and cells are like the car example above. You and I were created to run on High Test.

Compassion is a very important aspect along with your Sacred Body Temple to refresh your life into a holistic lifestyle, one aligned with your core beliefs, your deepest yearnings, your dreams. You can read my article on Compassion here.  In essence, it is to run optimally physically and consciously for you to feel and look your best, to be able to live in alignment with all that is deeply important to you while being connected to the divine, the spark of creation of all.  It allows you to live a healthy life, live YOUR deepest dreams not your parents, not your best friends, not your spouses, the list can go on. Yours!

My formula to Refresh Your Life is simple, all encompassing, and takes some work. But the results!

            

I am your support, your net, I will keep you accountable, and you will stay on track.  You see, aligning to your Sacred within, being Compassionate with yourself and your thoughts keeps you naturally committed.  You will be deeply committed to You. 


Success = Sacred > Compassion > Commitment> Transformation ® TM


If you are as excited about this as I am, give me a call or email me and we will  schedule a time to talk about Refreshing Your Life Now. 




Barbara

203-216-6889

RefreshYourLifeNow@gmail.com

www.RefreshYourLifeNow@blogspot.com


This post may be reprinted on your blog, website or in your e-zine with my blessing as long as you include the following:  Barbara Greenhouse shares her passions of Food, "Cooking", Cruelty-Free, and the Sharing of Unbiased Information for a healthy and informed world.  She guides her clients through their journey to live their dreams, easily and holistically, with compassion and with delicious live raw foods.  She is currently authoring her first book, "Sacred You, The Delicious Journey"®    © copyright refreshyourlifenow, - 2011 Connecticut, USA