Holiday Highlights

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Holiday Highlights

Thursday, 26 November 2009 10:55

Vol. 3, Issue 71, December 13, 2009

From the Desk of the Diva

christmas dinner I'm sitting in the glow of a Christmas tree feeling like it's been far too long since I've taken a few moments to catch up with you. These little bursts of electronic intimacy are like the long, hot baths I never had when my children were under 5. I really must find a way to make them happen more often.

Here's a taste of what's been keeping me buzzing about in the background, besides Christmas dinners and shopping:

The Raw Mom Summit is back as a special gift to families over the holidays. Shannon and I felt it was the perfect time to get us all inspired about healthy living and ready to make resolutions for change in 2010. It's already started, but you can still access most of the calls for free by signing up here.

After about seven months of tweaking, revising, and rewriting our 6-Week Deep Tissue Detox, it is finally ready to roll. While a lot of what we do around here is good vibrations and a simple, inspiring message, sometimes cheerful words of encouragement are not enough. In order to really undestand what's going on in the body, we need to put a bit of science on the table. The Six Week Detox is raising the bar on the quality of health-related services available online and I'm honored to be a part of it. You can learn more about it and access our free toxicity test and telseminars here.

The 24-Day Countdown to Christmas is well underway, and thanks to the power of Green Smoothies, there will be a lot less indigestion and weight gain this year. If you're getting ready for the holiday dinners and haven't shopped for ingredients yet, I highly recommend you check out this compilation of healthy alternatives to conventional butter tarts and roasted bird. Dr. Ritamarie has been prolific lately with her recipe book production, but this one is my favorite, yet.

This issue of Health in High Heels has got some helpful beauty tips for your skin and a gem of an article on how to transition from a meat-based diet to a diet higher in raw fruits and veg. If you're moving from bacon to broccoli sprouts and looking for ideas, this article is for you!
I'm leaving on Thursday to go back "home" for Christmas. Most of my family is in Alberta and I've not been home for Christmas in a very long time. I don't know what you've got planned for your holidays, Dear One, but I hope it involves lots of snuggles, slippers and moments spent in celebration with loved ones.

Tera

In this Issue:

Recipes of The Week: "Garden Soup" and "Sweet Potato Pudding"

Feature Article: How to Achieve Healthy Skin by Eating Leafy Greens - by Tracy Neely

Feature Article: Wean Yourself Off Meat by Linda Douglas

Marketplace etc...

The Greatest Gifts Come From the Heart.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

I have tears in my eyes. I am so glad I found you.
Wow! Thank you! What a most remarkable profound extraordinary event to create - the raw mom summit.

I am in complete gratitude and humbled. Thank you again!! ~ Alison

raw mom summit

Our Gift to Families This Holiday.

Sign Up Today for FREE.

Recipes of the Week:

These recipes are taken from the October Menu Planner. You can sign up to receive our monthly menu planners, here. All the menus are low fat and perfect for people who want simple recipes to transition toward a healthier diet and lifestyle.

Garden Soup

Ingredients:

1 green onion
1 red pepper
1 cucumber
4 tomatoes
garlic, to taste
juice of 1 lemon
dill, to taste

Directions:

Blend together ONLY half of all ingredients in high-speed blender.
Chop or slice the other half, and stir all together with broth.

Sweet Potato Pudding

I was thinking I should steam some sweet potatoes for the kids, when I started to feel a bit defiant! “I’m not steaming anything!” I said to myself. I pulled out the grater, and started to…

…grate a big, fat sweet potato. Then, I put the grated sweet potato in my food processor. After which point, I added:

Ingredients:

1 dash of vanilla
a sprinkle of cinnamon
2 Tablespoons coconut butter
1 big handful of raisins (or dates, if that’s what you have).

Directions:

Then I whipped and whizzed the ingredients together in my super Blendtec blender. It make a yummy, creamy sweet potato pudding and my daughter just loooved it! I played around with it and did layers of sweet potato pudding and sliced bananas. Then I decorated the top with raspberries, just for fun. The kids ate quite a lot of it and it was requested the next morning as a healthy way to start the day before school! Enjoy

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

Check out THIS.

Eat Your Greens for Healthier, Younger-Looking Skin

By Tracy Neely
greens Healthy skin starts with clean blood and requires strong and steady blood flow. Your blood circulation brings your skin cells nourishment, and clears away waste products that your skin cells are constantly generating.

Eating mostly fruits and vegetables is essential to experiencing strong and steady blood flow. The water, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in these highly nutritious foods all promote optimal blood circulation to your skin and throughout your body.

I know we’re all told to eat dark green leafy vegetables to have optimal health, and that is absolutely true, but here is something that I think is shocking, Americans on average eat over 200 pounds of meat per year, while the average person eats only 20 pounds of leafy green per year. It is well-known that an over consumption of meat intake can lead to increased cholesterol due to the high saturated fat content.

Here’s why I believe that leafy greens are vital to healthy skin. Leafy greens are in a class all their own when it comes to the water content and the nutrient density profile. Dark green leafy vegetables are calorie for calorie, perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins A, C, E, K and many of the B vitamins and a small source of Omega-3 fatty acids. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, among many other effects.

Their high fiber content helps the body eliminate toxins and possible carcinogens, and the phytochemical quercetin has anticancer and antioxidant properties. Elimination is key to clear healthy skin. Beautiful, healthy skin is supported by eating different types of leafy green vegetables. Vitamin A minimizes the production of sebum, helping to limit acne. This nutrient also strengthens the skin's protective tissue and helps to flush out toxins. Vitamin E also protects skin cells from free radical damage.

A great way to get in a few servings of leafy greens per day is by drinking a green smoothie. Below is a recipe that I like to drink during this time of year. This smoothie will nourish your skin with vitamins, minerals and powerful antioxidants.

Cherry Smoothie Recipe

1 handful red kale (use whichever variety of kale you can find)
1 cup cherries (remove pit)
1 banana
1 cup water

Blend to a smooth consistency

Enjoy!

Tracy

*** Tracy Neely is the founder and owner of Nourish & Flourish Healthy Living, a holistic nutrition and wellness consulting practice located in Orlando Florida. Tracy has a passion for nutrition and skin care and wants to support women who want to get in the best shape of their lives and feel beautiful at any age. Tracy is a mother of a wonderful little boy and a wife to an amazing man and enjoys doing yoga, juicing and creating green smoothie recipes, reading books and going for walks with her family.

For more in formation about greens and a hand-holding program to help you get your green on, try our Fr*ee 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge.

Let him run.

You can sign up for our fr*ee

12 Days of Christmas Cookies mini-course, instead.

Wean Yourself Off Meat With These 10 Easy Tips to Stay Raw

by Linda Douglas, Ph.D., R.D.

Are you a transitioning raw food enthusiast or high raw eater? Do you ever find your best intentions of eating mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds going down the tubes because you crave more savory food? Have your raw resolutions sometimes burst into flame-broiled madness? If this sounds familiar, you may be interested in a few easy strategies to keep your actions and intentions grooving together.

We all know that we should keep fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds stocked at all times. However, just filling the fridge won’t get the food on the table or in the lunchbox. Try this easy approach to move your raw dreams into reality. The plan involves making yummy, mostly savory foods in advance of when you need them, keeping things simple and fresh, and having food with you at all times.

When you first get your food home from the farmstand, co-op, or grocery store, wash and pre-prep your produce. This sets you up for quick, fresh meals at a moment’s notice.
Over the weekend or when you have free time, make a nut or seed-based pate or two that you really love. This alone will keep you in yummy dips, salads, wraps, and sandwiches for the week. A great pate can even be thinned and blended as a soup base.
Use collards, kale, and lettuce for those wraps and sandwiches. Dehydrating raw breads and crackers can be great. But fresh leafy greens are better nutrition-wise, especially if the filling is nut or avocado-based, and are important time savers. If you need something more substantial, go ahead and use a sprouted whole grain tortilla and wrap away!
Likewise, use cucumbers, celery, carrots, and squash, etc. for dippers. Kids and adults are much more open to eating vegetables when they are fresh, crisp, and dipped. A whole grain cracker is also good option that will keep you high-raw.
Discover raw soup. I have to say that raw soups have been the most delightful surprise and I have introduced raw food to several people through a delicious, nutritious soup! Soups can be nearly instant, keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, can be varied endlessly by chopped garnishes, and are very satisfying.
Make enough of a tasty salad dressing to last for the week. Unless you are a black-belt raw foodist, dressing can make the difference between a gratifying salad meal and feeling deprived.
In general, put a little more effort into the savory side of fresh, raw foods. Raw desserts tend to be easy. Fruit is delightful without any work at all, and smoothies are a cinch. But, a lot of the satisfaction in any cuisine, as a whole, comes from the main dishes.
Use spices to jazz up your burgers, pates, soups, and salad dressings. A few dashes of curry or chili powder or other seasonings can completely transform a meal and keep you on the raw path. If you are into savory, this tip alone can keep you going.
Dehydrated foods are the bells and whistles of a raw food diet, in my opinion. For the most part, stick to water-rich veggies, fruits, and non-dried pates and burgers. These options are fast, simple, and satisfying. If you want to use a dehydrator, plan to make those recipes when you have a lot of time and plenty of other food around. It’s no fun being hungry and smelling a dehydrating goodie that still has a few hours to go before you can eat it.
Finally, pack all these good foods for your lunch and snacks! Fresh raw recipes are very portable and will last for about 4 hours without refrigeration. Add an ice pack or refrigerate and you can have food for a day with no worries. Never go anywhere without a good raw food option. Even if you grab a cucumber and some celery or an avocado while running out the door, don’t be unprepared, especially if you are transitioning.

Setting yourself up for success with a couple of easy recipes and a little pre-preparation will go a long way toward helping you live a raw or high-raw, healthy lifestyle. Just look for the simple options and get in the habit of having a little food with you at all times and flame-broiled madness will be a thing of the past.