Healthy gratitude for a healthy life and body

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Guest post by Bonnie Hutchinson
Author of Transitions: Pathways to the Life and World Your Soul Desires
www.BonnieHutchinson.com

In our quest for a healthy life, being mindful of our diet is an important part of the journey. Besides the obvious nutritional benefits, a healthy diet is a form of loving ourselves.

Visualizations can help us experience appreciation for our body – another form of loving ourselves. Here’s an example. Feel free to adapt so it’s right for you.

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Find a quiet private spot where you can go inward for a few minutes. Sit comfortably, with your feet on a solid surface and your hands resting loosely in your lap, palms up. Adjust so your spine is straight but not rigid, relax your shoulders, and open up space for your heart and lungs.

Take a few deep breaths, right down to your abdomen. Hold that in-breath for a few seconds. Breathe out slowly and completely and hold that empty space for a few seconds.

As you continue to breathe in and out, slowly and gently, move your attention to your feet and legs. Think of all the ways your feet and legs support you and help you move. They link you to the earth. They can stand, climb, balance, jump, twirl, trudge, drive, walk. Think of all the places your feet and legs take you in a week. In your mind, say, “Thank you, legs and feet, for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Move your attention to your hands and arms. Think of how many things you pick up in a day. Your hands are major tools in your life. They allow you to hold objects, write, type, play an instrument, catch, throw, use the bathroom, shower, dress, caress. In your mind say, “Thank you, hands and arms, for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Move your attention to your bones, your spine, your skeleton. They provide structure for your entire body. Your joints allow flexibility and motion. They are miracles of engineering. Think of all the postures that your bones allow. In your mind say, “Thank you bones for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Move your attention to your mid-section, from your pelvic area to your shoulders. Think of all the amazing functions performed by your internal organs – breathing, pumping blood to all parts of your body, taking in food and liquids, digesting, experiencing sexual pleasure, releasing waste and toxins that are not useful. Think of the astonishing chemical and neurological processes that make all that possible, without you even having to think about it. In your mind say, “Thank you, organs, for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Move your attention to your neck and head. Think how your throat and mouth allow you to speak and eat; how your face expresses you; how your brain keeps everything in your body running, records all your experiences and imagines possibilities. Your brain is more capable than the most sophisticated computer. In your mind say, “Thank you neck and head, for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Move your attention to your five senses – sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. Think how amazing it is to smell flowers; taste sweet and sour; see beauty, hear music, feel textures, temperatures, pleasure and pain. Think how your senses bring you information and enjoyment. In your mind say, “Thank you senses, for all that you do and all that you make possible. I appreciate you.”

Finally, consider your entire body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. In your mind say, “Thank you, body, for all that you do and all that you make possible. Thank you, body, for keeping me alive.” Flood your body with appreciation.

When you feel ready, come out of the experience, refreshed, replenished, appreciating your body and ready for whatever comes next.

***

To reinforce the positive energy of this visualization, you could also write on a card, “THANK YOU, BODY, FOR KEEPING ME ALIVE,” and post the card where you will see it often.

If you’d like to learn more about Bonnie, please visit www.BonnieHutchinson.com/excerpt for a complimentary chapter excerpt from her book Transitions: Pathways to the Life and World Your Soul Desires (available on Amazon).

Filed Under: Healthy Life

Blueberry-Kiwi Green Smoothie Recipe

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There are hundreds of types of smoothies — the key to any great smoothie is to include a mix of fruits, veggies, protein source (protein powders, nuts and seeds) and liquid.

If you’re new to green (meaning including green veggies) smoothies, consider using more blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries.  These berries have a strong flavor which tends to hide the taste of the greens.

2015-10-14 Smoothie Ingredients

  • ½ cup Frozen Blueberries (if greens are new to your smoothies, use a few more blueberries)
  • 1 Kiwi
  • 2 cups organic Mixed Spring Greens (can be spinach, kale, etc. – if greens are new to your smoothies, use less)
  • 1/2 cucumber (peeled if not organic)
  • 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (or any non-dairy milk, or water)
  • 1 scoop Vegan Protein Powder (Vega One brands are my favorite as they’re vegan (no animal products, including dairy), gluten-free, have no sugar added and come in several flavors. For this smoothie, I like the French Vanilla flavor.
  • 1 tablespoon Flax-Chia Seed Mix
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric (optional)

Place all in Bullet or high speed blender.* Blend to desired consistency and enjoy.

2015-10-14 Smoothie Before Blending

*Note: If using blender, it’s sometimes easier to mix everything except the frozen blueberries first and then add them to the blended liquid last.

Filed Under: Cancer Prevention, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Flax-Chia Seed Mix Recipe

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When you make a lot of smoothies, it’s often easier to combine some of the ingredients that you use in each smoothie. That’s my approach with the “Flax-Chia Seed Mix”.

Whenever you need either flax or chia seeds, take amount from combined jar.*

*Note: Do NOT use this mix when using flax seeds as a replacement for eggs.

Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Recipes Tagged With: ,

Pineapple and the Glycemic Index — for those watching blood sugar

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Chatting with a friend the other day, we got on the subject of Low Glycemic Index (GI) fruits (essentially fruits which do not cause your blood sugar to quickly spike).

Fresh pineappleShe mentioned that pineapple is low in the GI.

What?  It’s been on every “no no” list I’ve seen in terms of raising blood sugar.

Time for some research:

What I discovered was interesting:

  • Fresh pineapple itself has a too-high-for-diabetics GI at 66.  Not super high, but high for me.
  • Pineapple juice (unsweetened) actually has a GI of 46 (anomalous as fruit juice is usually much higher than the fruit itself).
  • And, interestingly, canned pineapple in unsweetened juice has a GI of 43  (YES!)

Pineapple has just re-entered my world and I’m psyched!  While I would prefer fresh, I’m happy to eat canned until the diabetes is reversed!

Lesson learned:  Do your own research and dig deeper.  What’s on the surface isn’t always the full story.

What lesson have you learned recently?

Filed Under: Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Tagged With: ,

The Garden is Popping: Pallets, Grow Bags, Bag Beds & Containers Oh My!

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So excited that my attempt at Pallet, Potato Grow Bag and “Bag Bed” gardening is starting off well.

Here’s a peak at the first pallet — it’s got strawberries, lettuce (they’re just coming up — a bit slow), zucchini and red bell pepper:

Pallet Garden

The potatoes are kicking butt in their grow bags — once the greens get to about 7-8″, I’ll add another 4 inches of soil mix.  Doing this will encourage even more potatoes to grow and once the visible 4″ of greens becomes another total 8″…I’ll add more 4 inches of soil:

Potato Grow Bag

And the “Bag Beds” are off to a good start.  While my plan had been to build raised beds this year, the “disc issue” prevented it so I:

  • put down bags of organic raised bed planting mix [note…not simply “soil” or garden dirt.  Some Home Depots also carry this mix (the one nearest me didn’t, but I found another that does so call and check], using a screwdriver,
  • poked a dozen holes in the bags so roots can grow through if they wish and water can drain and then
  • placed cardboard between the bags to stop the grass from taking over.

Here’s a shot of some “Bag Beds” which are growing summer squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumber and bush beans — as part of this summer’s “testing”, I’m using two types of organic raised bed planting mix: Nature’s Care and Dr. Earth.  Thank goodness there’s no HOA (homeowner’s association) to squeal about my bags and cardboard (the cardboard will decompose into the soil and serve as compost for next season’s actual beds so it’s a win/win and recycling at it’s best).

Bag Beds

 

And then there are the containers: Pea Sprouts, Tatsoi, Spinach tons of herbs (peppermint, lavender, oregano, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, thyme, basil, dill, parsley, spearmint and more I’m likely forgetting):
Tatsoi

Pea pods

Spinach

mint

 

So what are you growing this season?  I’d love to hear in the comments!

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: , , ,

Garden Spinach to Smoothie

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Green smoothie with spinachThere’s nothing like going outside in an early morning drizzle, picking spinach you’ve grown yourself and popping back into the kitchen to turn it into a body and soul-nourishing smoothie.  #yum!

Today’s smoothie is ultrahealthy:

  • 1 cup homegrown organic spinach
  • 1 cup organic kale (growing it, but it’s not quite ready yet so picked up at farmer’s market last week)
  • 1 cup broccoli florets (I like, but DH says they make it taste “too much” like veggies)
  • 2 tablespoons chia/flax/canary/hemp seeds mixture (I buy all of these separately and put them in one container in order to get all the goodness with each smoothie)
  • 3/4 scoop vegan protein powder
  • 7 raw almonds
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (DH picked wild last year)
  • 1/2 cup frozen blackberries (DH picked last year from yard and roadside)
  • 1/2 organic cinnamon stick (you can use ground cinnamon if you have)
  • water to desired consistency (I use 6-8oz)

Put all in my Nutribullet (they have several versions, this is my favorite) and 35 seconds later…heaven!  A quick breakfast (seriously, longest time was going outside to pick the spinach) which gives me plenty of energy, helps to keep my blood sugar stable and will hold me easily until lunch.Spinach Smoothie

 

Filed Under: Gardening, Recipes, Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Tagged With: , ,

“Super Soup” – Oven/Stovetop Version

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Chix SoupThis makes so much soup that we usually have for dinner and keep out one more meal’s worth and then freeze the rest in Freezable Mason Jars.

Ingredients (note this includes making the broth from scratch. If you prefer to purchase broth, omit all “quartered” vegetables, the water, nori, shitake mushrooms and kale):

  • 5-7lb Roasting chicken*
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1tsp turmeric
  • Variety of fresh herbs (I grow and use rosemary, lavender, sage, oregano, tarragon, basil — whatever you have on hand or grab some rosemary and tarragon at your local grocery store)
  • 3 quarts water
  • 2 sweet potatoes — 1 quartered and the other diced, keep separate
  • 5 stalks celery — 3 quartered and 3 chopped
  • 1 yellow onion — 1/2 quartered and the remaining half diced
  • 6 large, organic carrots (if not organic, peel before using) — 3 quartered and 3 chopped
  • 2 pieces of nori (seaweed, optional)
  • 3 shitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 2-3 large kale leaves
  • 2 zucchini — 1 quartered and 1 diced
  • 2 cups broccoli floret — cut small
  • 1 cup broccoli stems — chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups spinach — 1 cup whole and 1 cup finely diced
  • Freshly grated Romano cheese (optional, for serving)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating, take all fresh herbs and “stuff” the chicken with them. Rub the garlic powder and cumin all over the chicken. Put in roasting pan, cover and cook until done (2-3 hours depending on size).

While chicken is cooking, fill 6 quart stockpot with the water. Boil water.

Once water has boiled, add the following and then return to a boil: Freezer Mason Jarsquartered sweet potato, quartered celery, quartered onion, quartered carrots, nori, shitake mushrooms, 2 chopped tomatoes, quartered zucchini, broccoli stems, 2 cloves garlic, whole spinach

Once boiling, cover and reduce heat so it simmers. Allow to simmer for 90 minutes.

Once chicken is done roasting, let cool. Pull the chicken apart and discard all skin, bones and the herbs. Cut or pull into bite-size pieces (think of shredded chicken size)

After broth has simmered for 90 minutes, strain it into another large saucepan or stockpot. Discard all the solids.

Taste broth, if too strong, add some water to dilute (note that you will not be able to taste any of the specific ingredients; it’s their nutrients we’re after).

Add: diced sweet potato, diced celery, diced onion, diced carrots, 1 chopped tomato, diced zucchini, wild rice.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add pulled chicken, broccoli florets and diced spinach. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until broccoli is tender. Serve hot (I like it with a dash of freshly-grated romano cheese).

*If you’re a vegetarian, omit the chicken and replace with canned, rinsed kidney beans added directly to simmering Super Soup.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , ,

Self-sufficiency, Whole Foods and Herniated Discs

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Fruits and veggiesIt was my goal coming into 2015 to grow almost all our non-meat food this growing season.

You see, I had reversed my Type 2 Diabetes last year and was/am committed to ensuring it didn’t come back.  Gardening and growing my own food nourishes me in so many ways: from saving money to providing my family with quality food (that I know the history of) and, for me, there’s something so therapeutic is “playing” in the soil.

Living in Massachusetts, particularly after the snowiest winter on record, growing almost all our food is an ambitious goal. Day after day I saw with seed and heirloom plant catalogs as the snow fell.

You name it, I researched it and plotted.

Then, as spring began to make an appearance, I woke up one morning with a “cervical herniated disc sitting on the nerve root” to my left (dominant) arm.

Gardening? I couldn’t even hold a glass of water or pick up my Lhasa Apso Buddy.

And worse? The Type 2 Diabetes I had worked so hard to reverse last summer/full was back. Seems intense pain results in higher sugar numbers (go figure!).

That’s why I decided to start this blog.  As proof to myself and you if you’re here that Healthy Living CAN be made easy.  It just takes a little creativity.

Thank you for joining me on the journey!

Filed Under: Gardening, Reverse Type 2 Diabetes, Saving Money Tagged With: , , ,

5 Ways to Survive the Holiday Shopping Season

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The holiday shopping season can be a real source of stress for many reasons: money strain, crippling pressure, and conflict inside and outside of the malls. There are too many things you need to attend to in such a short amount of time that it’s just too stressful!

However, there are ways to minimize your stress level and stay on budget.

Try some of these simple holiday shopping tips:

1.  Shop Early. It’s extremely satisfying and rewarding to complete your tasks early. You eliminate nearly all of the holiday stress, unless you have some big entertaining to do. Even in that case you can plan early so you know exactly what to do and when. While you might miss out on some of the holiday deals by shopping early, the truth is that there are sales all the time if you just look.

2.  Write a Shopping List. If you preplan all of your shopping, you’ll stay organized and you’ll stay on budget. Make a list of every person that will be receiving a gift from you. Also, list other items you need to shop for such as decorations or food items. Give yourself a preliminary budget for item. You’ll likely have different budgets for, say, a colleague at the office versus your children.

  • Remember that children sometimes place value in the “number” of presents they receive. While it’s a good idea to teach them that it’s the gift and togetherness that matters, you probably don’t want to have drastic differences in the amount of presents that each child gets.

3.  Get In and Out. If you must shop during peak times, try to have at least an idea about the items you’re looking for. If you’re shopping with a friend and the line is super long, you can even have a friend wait in line while you shop. This will help you to “get in and out” without the expected long delays.

  • If you must shop alone try getting to the store at the time of opening. As long as they’re not advertising door busters, you shouldn’t have the problem with long lines.

4.  Shop Online. Shopping online can be a great alternative; you might not even need to go into a store at all. If you’d rather see the items before shipping, you can even shop at your favorite store online and set up in-store pick up. Shopping online is great for comparison shopping for staying on budget. You know what something should cost because you can quickly see the price at several different stores.

5.  Shop Safe. Whether shopping online or in-store, you need to remember to stay safe. When you’re shopping in-store remember to keep your credit cards safe and if you’re paying cash, don’t bring it all out of your wallet at once. Shopping online is safer than you might think, but it’s still important to use your instincts and shop smart. If you stick with major retailers, they have plenty of safety measures taken care of for your shopping experience. If you’re unsure about the site you’re shopping on, do some more research into the company and make sure that they’re using secure carts.

Remember to stay on budget and take frequent breaks from the stress. Holiday shopping can actually be a fun time if you plan carefully. Now it’s on to the gift wrapping!

Filed Under: Holiday Shopping Tips

How to Attract Money Into Your Life

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Recently there has been an explosion of discussion regarding the Law of Attraction. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s actually quite simple. Positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative. In other words, you’ll receive good things or bad according to what you focus on.

If you focus on the positive in your life, then more positive things will come your way. If you spend your time and energy focusing on the negative, then you’ll attract more negative things.

You can use these principles to harness the power of the Law of Attraction to attract more money into your life.

Follow these strategies to attract money:

1.  Express gratitude. If you want more of something, like money, you must first express gratitude for what you have presently. Gratitude is a powerful positive emotion. Be thankful for all that your Creator has provided you this far.

  • You must be sincere in your thanks. If you don’t honestly feel the gratitude, then you won’t be able to attract more of what you want.
  • Stay focused on what you do have. Remember, if what you feel and focus on is actually your lack of money, it will only attract more lack back to you.

2.  Picture yourself with the money. Visualize it in depth, as if you already have it. You want to see yourself holding the money, touching it, and feeling how happy you are with it in your life.

  • Imagine sitting down paying all your bills and buying expensive gifts for those that you love. This will send a positive message out that is to be returned to you.
  • Be consistent with sending out these strong positive thoughts and feelings. Mixing it up with negative ones about money sends a conflicting message.

3.  Rid yourself of negative thoughts. It’s imperative that you eliminate as many negative feelings as possible. Make a conscious effort to find the positive in everything because your negativity won’t be rewarded with positive results.

  • Are there others out there who are positive? You bet! Do your best to find and emulate these people.
  • When life hands you a bunch of lemons, it’s time to make lemonade. Find the silver lining or take action to make something positive out of the situation.

4.  Have Faith. There are countless documented cases of people who received their heart’s desire by using the principles found in the Law of Attraction. Those people are no different from you!

  • Faith is a positive feeling. If you truly want to attract more money into your life, then faith is a must. You have to believe deep down that something like this can and will happen to you.
  • It’s time to truly believe that you’re deserving of anything you desire.

The Law of Attraction has helped many people live their dreams. By following its simple principles, it can happen to you as well. Profess an open mind, a willing heart, and a joyful spirit and, in return, you will be rewarded with whatever you request!

 

Filed Under: Attract Money Tagged With: