Will You Be Your Valentine? 3 Tips for Practicing the Art of Self Love

Valentine’s Day. We hear it and tend to associate the day with having a sweetheart to dote on. And, depending on our state of happy couple-dom or lack thereof, we either glow with anticipation or want to shrivel up and disappear in a corner somewhere.

What if none of that mattered?

What if your sweetheart was YOU? And you treated yourself like the love of your life?

We, especially as women, tend to take care of everything and everyone else before ourselves. Today I’d like to invite you to turn that way of being upside down. You’ll be a better better-half, mom, daughter, sister, co-worker, girlfriend, friend, and – above all - Self if you first take care of your own needs and happiness, from the inside out.

A Sweet Antidote to Sugar Cravings

‘Tis the season for increased sugar cravings AND New Year resolutions to get rid of fattening habits – like having and giving in to sugar cravings – AND sweet vegetables, so I figured why not combine all these elements into one article to help you reduce your sugar cravings from the inside out?

Grief & Gratitude ~ Leftover Thoughts from Thanksgiving

The holidays can be a time of intense emotions, not to mention the added pressure of heading into a new year wrought with the expectations of new heights to scale, achievements to cross off, the better person you want to become…

In the midst of all this, have you ever noticed your heart’s true capacity for emotion? Or its ability to cradle multiple emotions at once?

Your Magnificent Liver: Get to Know, Love & Treat Yours Well

October is National Liver Awareness Month. Are you ready to love your liver?

I love mine. Dearly. After reading this, you’ll love yours too.

About 5.5 years ago, when my health pretty much exploded and I was lost in the maze of conventional medicine, one of the complications I had was medication-induced hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).

Trust me, it sucked.

No thanks to that and a cluster of many, many other health issues, I was laid up in bed for months. I had to leave my career and go on disability for the ensuing two years.

Mediterranean Yogurt Salad

This is a delicious, cooling dish we have often in my family, in particular during hot summer months. Very easy to prepare, and very Mediterranean in every sense of the word: flavor palate, health properties, seasonally appropriate. Fantastic as a side dish or snack.

It will help steady your focus and mood, boost your immunity, nurture you with rich, health-promoting vitamins and minerals, and provide cleansing elements to help you gently detoxify.

Mediterranean Yogurt Salad
Makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients

There is No Such Thing as Work-Life Balance

We go around looking for the holy grail of “work-life balance,” and fail to find it again and again. It’s fleeting at best, it’s the promised land that seems as far away as ever as we paddle furiously towards it, trying so hard to make it happen.

We think that, if only we did things “right”, we could have this magical equilibrium between our personal and business lives. One that makes us and everyone around us happy.

By definition, however, balance is a state of micro-adjustments, not a single, perfect, static state that you can hold indefinitely.

Dishing on the New 2011 USDA Dietary Guidelines

The “official” USDA dietary guidelines, released as a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) and the Department of Health and Human Services, make a splash every five years when they are updated based on the most recent research. This past month was no exception.

February is also Wise Consumer Health Month, established by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine to teach people how to be more involved with their health care. The new 2011 USDA dietary guidelines offer a great starting point to talk about how you can become wiser with your own food choices and become an advocate for your own health.

2011 Resolutions, Deliciously Resolved!

January is typically a month when people get motivated and serious about their health. Whether your plans include joining a gym or trying a new diet to shed extra holiday pounds, the New Year starts with the best of intentions.

But very few people stay motivated. Often after only a few weeks of trying an extreme diet or exercise program, we slip back into old habits and feel guilty for not being able to maintain our goals. Is this you?

Cranberry Orange Sauce… or Dessert

I came up with this recipe last night after I’d been craving the tartness of cranberries for a while. I figured I’d make this sauce ahead of time and serve it atop the turkey and sweet potato mash I’m planning to make soon. But then I proceeded to eat it by the spoonful in lieu of dessert! So, I am living proof that you can use this recipe as a sauce to liven up any savory dish or as a simple, deeply satisfying and nourishing dessert…

What’s Your Food Personality?

We all have food personalities that we have developed over the years. Some of these traits may feel good in the moment, but they don’t serve your ultimate health goals.

I’ve identified the top food personalities that I see in my own clients. I relate to many of them as I struggled with some of the same habits for years. You may not believe it, but I was once a quadruple latte drinker and now, if I had even one cup, I’d be a wreck for days.

What’s your food personality and is it working for you? Or do you want to deal with it… deliciously?

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