Classy, creamy comfort food

I like to think of this as a classy comfort food alternative to mashed potatoes.

Root vegetables have more flavor and nutrition than starchy spuds as well. This recipe is open to many variations, so have fun. You can mix and match with rutabagas, turnips, carrots, yams, parsnip, etc. This one is my personal fave of the moment.

• 1 bunch organic carrots, scrubbed and chopped
• 4 smallish parsnips, scrubbed and chopped (the more slender parsnips have a better flavor)
• 1 small (or half a large) rutabaga, scrubbed and chopped
• 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed OJ
• 1 tbsp. coconut butter (indulgent) or olive oil
• pinch or 2 ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. dried thyme (optional, but nice)
• Celtic salt to taste
• optional: this one is also really good with a tsp. or 2 of grated fresh ginger

Steam the carrots, rutabaga and parsnips until tender.

Place into a food processor with all the other ingredients and process using the “s” blade until reaches desired smoothness. Season to taste.

Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley or cilantro. Enjoy this as a beautiful and delicious side dish with a holiday (or any) meal.

Note: I’ve also added carmelized or roasted onions to the puree . . .

Mmmm, heart and body warming nourishment

Creamy Beta-carotene Boost

This was a soup I devised while visiting with my mom. I was exhausted from a day of funeral activities, but needed something light, nourishing and FAST.

You can even keep the sweet potato raw and let the Vita-Mix do the “cooking” for extra enzyme power, and easier clean-up.

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt (or to taste)
• small chunk fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• Optional: chopped rosemary, parsley or sage for garnish

1. Cube sweet potato and place in a steamer basket in a pot with about 1/2 inch of water.
2. Lightly steam for about 1 or 2 minutes (or skip this step, add everything to the Vita-Mix, and run for 5 minutes to “cook” your soup)
3. Place in the Vita-Mix with all the other ingredients, plus about 1/4-1/2 cup of the steam water and blend on high for about 2 minutes.
4. Tip: I like to add just a hint of fresh lemon or orange juice to contrast the sweetness of this soup

So, I had a question on our facebook page regarding a recipe for a green smoothie. I thought, “well, I can just direct them to my blog for a green smoothie recipe”, but was shocked (no appalled) to see not a formal green smoothie recipe in sight!

Oh my!

So although I had other things to take care of in this moment, I dropped everything to try to remedy this situation right away. Here is a fabulously spontaneous and totally yummy green smoothie that I made with “what was in the fridge” when my friend Eduard came down for a visit. : )

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Eduard’s Green Smoothie (breakfast of champions)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk (add more if you need)
• 1 fuji (or other kind of) apple, chopped
• 3 leaves kale (I like the dino or Lacinato the best)
• handful spinach
• about 6-7 leaves Romaine lettuce
• 3-4 honey dates (or Medjool)
• juice of 1/2 an orange
• pinch ground cardomom
• small piece fresh gingerroot
• 1 tsp. extra virgin coconut oil
• Optional: scoop high quality protein powder and/or 8-10 raw cashews

Put all the ingredients into the Vita-Mix (ideal, but you can probably do an OK job in a regular blender)* and blend on high until smooth. If the dates are kind of hard, it can work really well to soak them before blending.

Now pour the gorgeous concoction into a beautiful glass, sip slowly and enjoy the buzz!

* The Vita-Mix IS most definitely an investment, but sooooo worthwhile. I put it off for years, burned out blenders, enjoyed slightly “chunky” smoothies, then finally made the leap. I never looked back. : ) It pulverizes produce (and other ingredients) to such a fine degree that makes them more digestible and helps release all the phyto-nutrition. It also makes velvety smooth concoctions using ingredients that a regular blender could never touch. Ok, that’s the Vita-Mix plug for today. Use my link and you can get free shipping ($25 value). Vita-Mix free shipping offer

Oh, and we have 50 more wonderfully delicious, nutritious and EASY recipes in our eRecipe book: Quick. Healthy. Delicious. 50 Favorite Recipes to Feed Your Life!

Get your copy instantly right here. : )

About 15 years ago, I had a melt down – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.

I’m not going to get into the gory details in this post, but I mention it because it was really a pivotal moment in my life.

It was the melt down that gave me the motivation to seek help and change.

It was the moment I knew things needed to be different, even if I wasn’t sure how that was going to look.

It’s often said that out of the mud, springs the beautiful lotus – or it’s often the really difficult times that give us the true gifts and true opportunities.

During my moments of searching, I started to ask myself what I was looking for – what did I want?

As I got a bit clearer, I came across an exciting opportunity – the opportunity to study at what is now the world’s largest holistic health and nutrition school in the world – The Institute for Integreative Nutrition

During my time of difficulty, I knew I wanted to study nutrition, but I also knew that real health included our food, our relationships, our career, our spiritual practices, etc. So, when the IIN catalog fell into my hands, I knew it was the right thing.

Here is what makes this program truly unique and top notch:

• It teaches all the dietary theories
• It takes into account each person’s individual makeup
• It teaches about cooking and self care
• It incorporates practical business training to get you working with paying clients, often before even graduating!
• It provides free ongoing support after graduation

Woohoo! “Sign me up!” I said.

Now, as a graduate I enjoy a fabulous, well-paying career doing what I love to do.

The possibilities are endless, with opportunities to work in many different venues and niches.

As a graduate and an Ambassador for the school, I am still closely connected to the school, receive continued support, and help others make the decision about whether this is the right program for them.

On top of the amazing education and career opportunity, is the fact that IIN taught me about how to best feed my body and my life. This is not the dry, counting calories and fat grams of most diet programs, but a way of learning what works for you as a whole being – mind, body and soul.

It taught me how to create amazing health for myself AND how to guide my clients to do the same.

Some of the many gifts I received from my experience at this school include:

• Real, practical tools to transition into a new career
• An in-depth education on making better choices around food and lifestyle
• Greater freedom and income potential
• Simple yet profound ways to understand nutrition on many different levels
• Training to actually make a difference on a global level (WOW!)
• Pleasurable, practical ways to make a positive impact on my health

The end product of doing a program like this is not just better nutrition, but a life transformed.

Life is short, and it can also be very sweet.

Too sweet to wast precious time and energy on things that don’t really make you feel good!

Too sweet to be bogged down by stress and fatigue, and not be able to thoroughly enjoy it!

If any of this resonates with you, you can call the school to set up a FREE consultation with a counselor today: (877) 730-5444.

Be sure to let them know I sent you, so that you can take advantage of any current friends and family discounts, like the $500 tuition scholarship being offered until September 15th, 2010!

As an Ambassador, I am also offering complimentary career change strategy sessions to any of my readers, friends, clients and contacts. In this session, we design a personalized overview of your potential new career in the holistic health field. There is absolutely no pressure or expectation with this session, it is just an opportunity to explore the possibilities and get your questions answered.

Contact me to set this up: (831) 601-3282, devana108@gmail.com

To your continued health and happiness,

Ana

learn the secrets to how I finally healed my relationship to food and my body http://bit.ly/brxLgZ

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I just spent 3 magical days and nights filled with yoga, music and nature . . . and not a whole lot of sleep. Although I had fun beyond my expectations, the high energy of riding on adrenaline is stressful to the body – even when it is good stress.

When tougher times hit, or you become so busy your head spins, the stress can be compounded by difficult emotions or extra mental and physical demands.

Stress is stress and, if you are alive and breathing, it is also inevitable. You can’t avoid it, so you might as well learn the secrets to surviving and thriving, right?

Over the many years (and many stresses), I have discovered some fantastic and super simple ways to create resilience. And a resilient body is a stress-proof body.

Does this mean you can be immune to stress completely? No, but it means you can bounce back with energy, and really get the most out of your life without constantly being in recovery mode and feeling like you are a victim of life, or like you have been hit by a truck.

When stress-proofing your body, I believe in the holistic model, which means addressing all aspects of you – body, mind, emotions, spirit.

In this article, I want to begin with your foundation – your physical body.

Below are 3 simple steps to creating a rock solid physical foundation.

1. Eat Well

This is a huge piece of the resilience pie. If you are eating processed, chemicalized, dry (no water content), nutrientless, packaged or fast food, you are way overdrawn in your resilience bank.

This is like putting Kool-Aid in your gas tank and expecting your car to run well, if at all. With this image in mind, it becomes a little easier to see how what you put into your body can have a bigger effect than you thought.

So, what are stress-proofing foods? Well, generally these are brightly colored plant foods, organic whenever possible, full of water, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Whenever I include more of these in my diet particularly in easy ways like green smoothies, vegetable juices and salads, my body bounces back from set-backs  in ways that astound me.

Yes, you need protein, fats, and good carbohydrates, but fresh (raw) plant foods actually have these in them. Leafy greens are especially potent stress-busting foods. So, by putting emphasis on abundant veggies and some high octane fruit like berries, you have your bases covered way more than if you rely on a bag of pretzels.

2. Move Freely

Another piece to the physical part of resilience is moving. We are not just brains, we are bodies that have a brain. In modern day living it can be easy to live above the neck and wonder why our bodies are breaking down.

You need to give your body love. And one of the ways you give it love is to move it!

Moving your body also has a way of connecting you to a sense of peace, purpose and inspiration. I often find that my moments of greatest inspiration are during or after movement – especially if I am in nature.

Your body loves to move, I promise. So dance, walk, run, climb, wiggle, stretch, garden, bike, swim – enjoy your amazing body. When you start to enjoy and use your body, immunity increases, blood flows, toxins are released, good hormones are triggered. Find what you love and do it!

3. Relax Often

Moving is soooo important, and so is relax time. One of the reasons I love yoga so much is because it is really quite an efficient practice. It exercises the body, but it also includes relaxation, spiritual connection, calming the mind, oxygenation, detoxification and immune system support. This is a big part of why I was able to get away with less sleep while on my 3 day trip – because I was doing so much yoga!

If you are pushing, pushing, pushing, you need to find time to relax. This is the time when our body repairs and restores. If you can get some bites of relaxation in everyday, you will find your body getting more and more stress-proof.

Body resilience is really a beautiful thing. It means less sick days, depression, fatigue and even weight gain, and more vitality, joy, health and lightness.

If you want to learn more about how stress-proofing your body can naturally lead you to a healthy weight and joy in your life, be sure to sign up for my upcoming F.REE teleclass:

Secrets to Natural Weight Loss & Body Love

Click here to register and learn more.

love and health,

Ana

Unlike alcohol or cigarettes, food is not something we can just quit if we suspect we have an unhealthy relationship with it.

The reality is you need to eat. It is something you will do day in and day out, multiple times per day for the rest of your life.

So, if you truly want to shape your body and life into the beautiful, exquisite flowers they are meant to be, I feel it is well worth taking this first step towards finding freedom from food and in your body.

This first step is about getting real with yourself and being willing to cultivate AWARENESS.

What I see over and over again in my one-on-one practice, my groups AND myself is that we don’t always eat (or not eat) because of purely physical needs. Food and eating become emotional crutches, often filling a void or making us feel falsely in control.

There is so much in life that is seemingly out of our control (although is it really? But that’s another topic), why not commit to empowering yourself with what you DO have full control over?

This concept is quite simple, but I know it is not easy. These habits and beliefs are deeply entrenched in our being, so it takes stepping outside of the daily routine to shine the light of awareness on them and begin to transform. That is why I am committed to holding your hand, so that you can achieve the results you desire.

Many clients are often surprised that I don’t hand over an eating plan on day one. Wouldn’t it just be easier to be told exactly what to do?

The answer is “yes” AND “no”.

Yes, maybe for the first day or week or even month, but then what? How can reading off a diet plan actually be sustainable in a vibrant, juicy, fulfilling life?

Instead of following some diet plan, the first step to food freedom is to begin practicing awareness of where you are losing your power. This is usually in some limiting belief or insecurity that developed long before we could understand what those words meant.

So, how do you cultivate awareness?

Step number one is: EAT ONLY WHEN HUNGRY (and getting in touch with real hunger).

This is critical if you wish to be your slimmest, most radiant and energetic self. The simple equation is when you eat more than your body really needs, you will most likely gain weight. The exception to this is someone with a hyperactive metabolism or a malabsorption issue.

Even if you don’t gain weight, energetically you are overburdening your body with food. So instead of giving you energy, it is now taking energy away. Eating only what your body needs is very different than calorie counting. This is about listening deeply to the cues of your body. If you have been reading my newsletter for any length of time, you know that counting calories will get you on the boring number-crunching road to nowhere – fast.

Okay, so here is a question to ask yourself as you begin your journey towards awareness:

Do I eat only when I am hungry?

If the answer is no, then ask:

Why not?

My suggestion is to really “stay” with these questions. Ask them, then stop to listen quietly, and ask again.

Better still, sit down with a pen and paper and brainstorm a little bit. You might be really surprised by what you discover.

Some examples include:

-       I eat because there is nothing better to do

-       I eat because others are eating

-       I eat because it is time to eat

-       I eat because I am uncomfortable

-       I eat when I am at work

-       Eating to avoid something you don’t want to do

-       I eat because I  “just needed to get rid of _____”

-       I eat off my kid’s plates because I don’t want to throw it away

-       I eat because I need to stay up a little later

-       I eat when I have an argument with someone

-       I eat because I just love eating

-       And on, and on . . .

What are your specific examples of when you eat when you are not really hungry?

Take a moment to begin to cultivate your own list.

I know I used to eat (or not eat) for many reasons – when I was alone, when I felt out of control, when I was unhappy with myself, when my feelings felt too painful to face. The good news is that this IS reversible.

Once you identify the conditions under which you eat when not hungry, the next step is to dig deeper and ask:

“Why do I eat when I’m ________ (at work, alone, etc.)?” Is it because of anxiety, habit, loneliness, stress, etc?

This is the real nugget to shining the light on what is really going on, which almost always starts the “disengage process”.

In other words, once you see this limiting behavior or belief, it no longer has the same control over you.

For example, if you discover that you eat at work because of stress, you will need to begin to uncover the layers of what exactly is causing the stress and take action towards lessening or removing these stressors.

This very simple process that only takes a few minutes, can go a long way in restoring a healthier relationship to food, your body and to your life. You see these components are intricately and intimately connected.

Begin exploring this for yourself and see whether you can start enjoying greater empowerment, peace and joy.

Let me know how it goes!