Nourishing the Body

I'd like to share a few steps that I've taken this week. There is no way that I would ask you to do anything that I am not already implementing myself. My goal is to really transform the way I eat and feed my family. Over the years, I haven't been the best example of healthy eating, and I know that I always want to be healthy and vibrant and share that message with my family and others. I have revamped my menus using all low-glycemic meals. I have 4 weeks of menus planned and then make a grocery list for each week (I'll be sharing these ideas with you next week during our systems and structure week), to really simplify my life.

I use one day per week to prepare my meals in advance so they take just minutes putting them together (this system is explained in the Low-Glycemic Meals in Minutes book). Mondays are my days for cleaning, laundry and meal preparation. I cut up (actually use my salad shooter) my veggies and cook my meats and put items in baggies. I can then put together healthy and delicious meals together in minutes for dinner time.

I am a coach with Trinity Health and use Dr. Ray Strand's book Healthy for Life to implement a 12 week Healthy for Life - Gourmet Cooking Club. I'm going to be doing this in my home weekly as well as an on-line group. I am practicing on my own family right now. We watched the first DVD on Monday night that outlines the health crisis in our country today with so many people becoming pre-diabetic. If you didn't order Dr. Strand's book, Healthy For Life, I highly recommend it. It is a tremendous resource to make healthy choices for yourself and for your family. My kids actually are very receptive and even enthusiastic about what we are doing. They are making healthier choices as they prepare their lunches and are also drinking nutritious and yummy smoothies. I made a low-glycemic dessert that everyone really liked - Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce.

I've included a link with 30 delicious smoothie recipes. I tried the strawberry lemonade smoothie for breakfast this morning and it was very tasty. My 3 year old, Bella, loved it. You can just print off the recipes and keep them for reference.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/net-at-hand/sites/5876/files/1605/smoothie_instructions_and_recipes.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=1J0F6EHGH8MG0EDN1KG2&Expires=1300944901&Signature=JtInJju%2Bac0DaaAumG%2Fcj8ibjt4%3D

Nourishing the Heart - Continued

I just wanted to share a few thoughts with you on Nourishing the Heart. One of my favorite books on this subject is Love for No Reason - 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love by Marci Shimoff. I'd like to share a few thoughts from this book.

Compassion or unconditional love is an inner state of love. When we love and accept ourselves completely, old patterns of beating ourselves up, criticizing or condemning ourselves actually dissolve. When we have that inner state of love, we no longer need to look outside ourselves to get love. Marci describes this as going from a love beggar to a love philanthropist - dispensing love, kindness, and goodwill wherever you go.

In the field of energy, love is one of the highest vibrations. If we master love, we've got happiness by the tail, and the power to transform our inner world as well as outer world. There's strong scientific evidence that when we raise our own level of love, we radiate that to positively affect our families, communities and ultimately, the planet.

When love flows in our lives, it opens our hearts, our arms and eyes. We blossom like a flower in the sun. When love is missing, we wither and close, protecting ourselves from the harshness of life.

Love isn't just something we feel for others, it's who we are.

Our ultimate purpose is to grow in our ability to give and receive love. Everything that happens to us can actually help us expand our ability to love. It's easy to love things that are easy to love or charming and attractive. The real challenge is to experience love in difficult situations with people we may not even like. To maintain that open heart requires a commitment to love as the number one priority in our lives.

We may be used to figuratively wrapping our hearts with bandages to protect our hearts because we have been hurt. When we do this, we actually are closing our heart to love. It takes courage to take off those bandages to be open and vulnerable. The more open we keep our hearts, the healthier, happier and more loving we are.

Good luck this week to opening your hearts, becoming vulnerable, forgiving ourselves and others and sharing that love. When we share love, it comes back to us multiplied!

Nourishing the Heart

Focus on compassion and unconditional love! Be sure to pause the playlist below before you begin the video.

Declutter Your Life!

Before we can create the life of our dreams, we must clear out bad habits and mental clutter that is keeping us stuck. A cluttered house, car, and office equates to a seriously disorganized and cluttered mind. By clearing the clutter in our lives, we naturally begin to clarify our vision and live with more purpose and clarity. Try some simple steps of going through your home and bagging up clothing that you haven't worn for a year, cleaning out your purse, organizing your desk, and cleaning out your car. Wow - just feel the peace and clarity that comes into your mind!

Hint - Schedule a couple hours each week to declutter anything that is disorderly and watch what happens in a month. When our environment is a mess, our mind is messy and we want to nourish our mind!

Dream Boards

This clip explains how to create your dream board. Have fun with this and envision your future today. We create our tomorrows by what we DREAM today! Remember to pause the music below before you start watching.

Affirmations

This is a short video clip on how to do affirmations. Have fun with them and enjoy creating the life of your dreams! Remember to pause the play list at the bottom of this blog, so you can hear the video.