Mulit-Colored

Ever notice that the colors in nature are also in humankind?  No, there aren't orange or green people running around.  But there are people who are the color of sunny summer peaches and purple-black plums.  People with undertones of ripe banana or fresh ginger in their skin.  All with red, red blood running underneath.  All beautifully human.

I love the colors in nature.  My garden in exploding in color right now.  Reds, greens, yellows, stripes, pale yellows.  It really is so beautiful.  Fun how you can plant a seed and with hardly any faith at all and the plant grows, blooms and produces such beautiful fruit.  Gardening barefoot is one of my all time favorite summer time activities. Right now, Zucchini is coming out my ears.  Here is one of my favorite recipes for using up all that green, fleshy veggie.  Oh!  And it is only 1 point on Weight Watchers! So dig in, guilt free!

 

Creamy Zucchini Soup

 

1 Medium Onion

1 Tbsp Butter

1/2 tsp Salt

3 c Chicken Broth

4 Medium Zucchini

1/2 c Heavy Cream

Freshly Ground Pepper

Fresh Ginger

 

 

Saute onion in butter and salt.  Add Zucchini and broth and let simmer until veggies are tender.  Put warm veggies and broth in a blender and process until smooth.  Be careful while blending hot foods!  Your blender could explode.  :)  Return warm blended foods to a pot and add cream and seasonings.  Simmer for 10 minutes longer.  So creamy and yummy!

 

 



Delivered

Maybe the true miracle of life isn't conception or birth but that deep connectedness that we sometimes feel; the invisible cord that binds us together.  Maybe the real miracle is how we are delivered into that world that needs us, needs the gifts that only we can give, right here, right now.

Summertime Connections

Yeah!  Summer is full swing.  Time to gather with all the people that you care about and have a backyard BBQ.  I love my backyard, and the slower-pace atmosphere that it provides.  I love it even more when I can share it with friends and family.  My favorite pot-luck dish of Quinoa Salad is one that always gets recipe requests.  So, I will share it here with you.  I got this recipe from a dear friend and fellow Footzonologist , Bree Murray.  She gets the credit.

 

 

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:  4 cups cooked Quinoa

Cut up Green Onions, Bell Peppers (any color), Carrots, Celery, Cucumber

 

Dressing:  1 cup Veganaise or Mayo (or a mixture of the two)

2-3 Tbsp Dill Kosher Relish

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

Garlic Powder

Sea Salt

Pepper (to taste)

 

Directions:  Mix together until you are happy with the consistency and taste.

 

This dish turns out a little differently each time depending on what vegetables I use. 

I like it every time!  :)

 

 

The other summer time request that I often get, is "How do I get rid of my cellulite ?"  I smile at this question every time.  Life is a balance of growing old, and hanging on to youth.  The good news is, growing older does not mean learning to live with cellulite.  The answer?  Go off of dairy.  Dairy products clog up the lymphatic system, which causes the little lumps and bumps that we all dismay.  It takes some time for the cellulite to disappear, so give the dairy-free lifestyle a few weeks to show the great  payoffs.  Massage the essential oils of Grapefruit and Myrtle into the effected area to help flush the fat cells.



Redo

Starting over is the bravest kind of starting there is.  Life always offers you a second chance.  It's called tomorrow.

I am so grateful for second chances.  There have been many occasions in my life when I have realized that the choice that I made was a wrong one.  But only once did I feel the overwhelming sorrow that this poor choice could never be righted.  Ever. It used to take up a lot of space in my mind.  I spent a lot of my energy feeling sorry that I did not follow my heart, and made a life-altering mistake by doing so.  But, sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.   It took me years to understand that I cannot go back and start a new beginning, but I can start today and make a new ending.  So, I am doing just that.  Now, it is my job to learn the lesson, then pay attention to the good in my life.  New and wonderful experiences are coming every single day.

 

 

Hey, my Kale is up and ready in the garden.  I like to pick it before it gets too large.  Baby kale.  Prepare it like this for a fun and healthy snack!

 

 

Kale Chips

 

1 cup of Kale - Remove the spines

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

 

Tear Kale into chip size pieces and lay out on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle olive oil on them, and sprinkle with sea salt.  Place in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until dry and crispy.  Yum!  Kinda, sorta like potato chips without the guilt.  Betcha can't eat just one!

Sacred

Sacred is discovering what you believe and then believing what you discover.

The number one foundation for health is prayer.  I have always been amazed that God hears and cares about the smallest detail of my life.  I suppose it shouldn't be surprising.  He is my Father, and I should have access to open communication with Him.  I think it comes down to simply trusting and believing.  Some people must be brought to the end of their rope to understand it.   Some stay in touch with God all day long, seven days a week. 

I know that God can be counted on in every situation and with every need.  It's just as real as asking the best daddy in the world for something you already know he is going to do for you.  Prayer is that simple.  Not only is prayer good for the soul, it's good for the physical body as well.  Even science backs up the power of prayer.

Study#1    For 6 months, patients in San Fransisco's General Hospital Coronary Care Unit participated in a double blind study to assess the therapeutic affects of prayer.  Patients were randomly selected by a computer to either receive, or not to receive prayer.  All patients and caregivers remained blind through the study.  The results of the study are not surprising to those who believe in the power of prayer.  The patients who received prayer as part of the study were healthier than those who did not.  It was recorded that the patients receiving prayer had less need of having CPR, and less need for the use of ventilators.  They had diminished need for diuretics and antibiotics, less occurrence of pulmonary edema, and fewer deaths.

Study #2   A study at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina had over 4,000 participants over the age of 65.  The study found that those who participate in prayer and attend religious services on a weekly basis, had lower blood pressure than their counterparts.  According to the study, these people were 40% less likely to have high diastolic pressure or diastolic hypertension that those who did not pray or go to church.

Study #3   A study done at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College in Richmond, Virginia studied 1.902 twins.  It was found that those who were committed to their spiritual lives tended to have lower risk of addictions and less severe depression.  Their marriages were more stable, and their spiritual communities form a network that can support people when they are ill. 

These studies have shown conclusive evidence of the power of prayer and demonstrate the reality of the force of God and our ability to communicate with Him.  Prayer is real, and it works.

Nurtured

Everybody needs something to take care of.  Even if they look like they don't.  Even if they look all tough and strong like they don't need anybody or anything.  Take care of a child, a dog, a garden, a home.  Everybody needs something. So take care.

As soon as the soil became dry enough to work, the peas and lettuce seeds went in the ground!  I love to garden.  There is something about working with the dirt of the earth that soothes my soul.  I enjoy gardening barefoot.  With all the rain we have had, the new little sprouts have peeked their heads above the soil.  I can already taste the garden fresh salads.  Here is a recipe for one of my favorite salads and an oh-so-yummy dressing to go with it.

Roasted Squash Salad

 

3 c. Winter Squash or Sweet Potatoes - peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fine Grain Sea Salt

12 tiny Shallots or red onions peeled and quartered

2 c. Cooked Brown Rice or Wild Rice

 

Preheat oven to 375.  Toss the squash in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt and turn out onto a baking sheet.  At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salk and turn onto a seperate baking sheet.  Roast both for about 45 minutes.  Squash and onions should be brown and carmelized.  You will need to flip the squash and onions once or twice during baking.  In the meantime, make the dressing:

 

Dressing

 

1/3 c. Sunflower Seeds

1/3 c. Olive Oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp warm water

1/2 c. cilantro

 

Puree the sunflower seeds, oil and lemon juice, salt and honey in a food processor or blender.  You may need to add a couple tbsp of warm water to thin the dressing a bit.  Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish your plate later.  Taste and adjust seasonings or flavors to your liking.  I usually like to add a touch more salt to my dressing.

 

 

To cook Wild Rice: rinse  1 1/2 cups wild rice.  In a medium sauce pan bring the rice and 4 1/2 cups slightly salted water to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and splitting open.  Stir Occasionally.  You will have enough for this recipe and then some left over.

 

Now it's time to put everything together.  Layer your salad bowl with a generous helping of greens.  Then top with rice first, then squash and onions, and pour dressing over right before serving.

Uncensored

Speak up.  Say what you really want to say for once.  Not just what you think people want to hear.  See how good it feels to open that gate in your head?  Get mouthy and let the world hear it.  They might just pay attention.

Long held emotion causes physical problems.  Emotions are a reaction to the thoughts that we think, over and over.  See how all our bodies are connected?  The emotion that can unleash the biggest change in your health is forgiveness.  If you have a particularly stubborn health issue, there is some more forgiveness work to be done.  Maybe it's yourself, maybe you need to forgive someone else.  Remember that all healing comes from God, so don't leave him out of this healing process. 

"A happy heart is good medicine," said King Solomon, "and a cheerful mind works healing" (proverbs 17:22).  Laughter stimulates circulation, produces a sense of well being, exercises the face and stomach muscles, stimulates the production of endorphins and provides more oxygen to the brain.  Besides, it's fun!  One study revealed that the healing power of humor can reduce pain and stimulate the immune function in children who have cancer, AIDS, or diabetes and in children receiving organ transplants and bone marrow treatment.

Laughter is to the soal what soap is to the body.  Researchers suggest that we need a minimum of twelve laughs a day just to stay healthy.  It can affect our brain chemistry and immune system in very postivive ways.  Our ability to laugh is helpful when coping with major illness and the stress of life's problems.  But researchers are now saying laughter can help do a lot more - it can basically bring balance to all the components of the immune system, which helps us to fight off diseases.
(The Gospel of Health by Valerie Saxion)

Sometimes, when we have had a really emotional day, we reach for comfort food.  Here is a recipe to one of my all time favorite comfort foods.

 

Creamy Root Vegetable Bake

 

4 Potatoes

 

3 Carrots

 

1 Onion

 

1 Bunch Kale (or several leafs)

 

1/2 Cup Macademia Nuts

 

Salt and Pepper to Taste

 

Thinly slice the potato, carrot and onion.  Rip bite site pieces of kale and layer all the vegetables in a casserole dish.  Alternate layers.  Put nuts in the blender and blend until they make a fine powder.  Add one cup water and blend for a few more seconds.  This makes a nice "creamy" sauce.  Pour over the layered vegetables.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Yum!

Cheered

So you don't have a mascot.  Or team colors.  Or a fight song that plays every time you enter a room.  But wow!  Do you have a following !   A support system.  People who are going to stand by you no matter what.  Victory or defeat.  Never, ever, ever forget your fans.


Be your own biggest fan!  Admire yourself more often.  If we actually had a tape recorder of our thoughts, we would realize that most of the thoughts we think about ourselves are quite negative.  Negative thoughts do not create a good experiences for us.  We have to retrain our thinking and speaking into positive patterns if we want to change our lives.

As promised, today I will post about the "mental body" and how it affects our health.  If we want to feel better, there are a few things we must never do.  We must never get angry with your body for any reason.  Anger is telling your body that you hate it, or parts of it.  The cells in your body are very aware of the thoughts you have.  Think of your body as a servant that is working very hard to keep you in perfect health no matter how you treat it.  If you feed it healthy foods, drinks, give it some exercise and proper amounts of sleep, you make it's work easy.  If you sit on the couch, drink soda, overwork it without enough sleep and are grumpy and irritable all the time, then it is working at a disadvantage. 

Good health does not happen by thinking about or worrying about your illness all the time.  Good health comes from love and appreciation.  You need to put as much love into your body as you possibly can.  Thank it.  Many of our illnesses are created by our own patterns of thinking.  Our inner thoughts, beliefs, speaking patterns all either help form health or illness.  You can choose to have thoughts that contribute to health, or you can choose to thoughts that contribute to illness. 

To better understand how our mind and body connect to create vibrant health, read "You Can Heal Your Body" by Loise L. Haye or "Feelings Buried Alive Never Die" by Karol Truman.  Both are excellent resources for helping you turn your way of thinking around.  At first, when I read these books, I was disappointed that my own thinking had created some of my imperfections in health.  I didn't like that theory at all.  It meant I had to quit blaming other people or bad luck for my condition.  But the more I understood the concept, the more empowering it became.  I learned that if I created it, then I could certainly undo it.  This is actually good news.

Some of my favorite affirmations for improving health are:
"My body is always doing it's best to create perfect health."
"I am getting better every day, in every way"
"Perfect health is my divine right, and I claim it now"
"I lovingly do everything I can to assist my body in maintaining perfect health"
"I am grateful to be alive today.  It is my joy and pleasure to live antother wonderful day"
"I devote a portion of my time to helping others.  It is good for my own health"
"I look forward to a healthy old age because I can take loving care of my body now"

Our thoughts are as manifest on our face.  Ever meet an elderly person with a permanent scowl on their face?  This did not happen from a lifetime of happy thoughts.  How will you look when you are old?