Loving Tuesday's

1. The Daily Love, a gorgeous free e-newsletter with daily doses of ~love to warm your mailbox.  It comes with a mixture of quotes, positive affirmations, and a little food for thought. From the Daily love this week,

"I think when you get to the point where you don't need to be in love, then you could be in love. You have to just be OK with yourself." - John Cusack

"Tell everyone you know: "My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook." And then demonstrate it. Be happy, no matter what they're doing. Practice feeling good, no matter what. And before you know it, you will not give anyone else responsibility for the way you feel-and then, you'll love them all. Because the only reason you don't love them, is because you're using them as your excuse to not feel good."  - Esther Abraham-Hicks

Sign up for this inspirational daily newsletter at The Daily Love
 

2.  Love Love Love this stuff!!! Desert Essences Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner smells delicious, makess my hair silky and soft, and makes tangles practically non-existent.  Plus, it's all-natural, organic, and never tested on animals. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. The Rose Garden at Loose Park is absolutely gorgeous!!! I love going when it's in full bloom, wandering through, smelling the roses, picking out the perfect bench to just take it all in, wonderful.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. I Love the fact that I was able to hear my cold in less than 48 hours, simply by utilizing my Neti Pot, a few good herbs and Reiki!! Yay, for healing myself :)
 
 
 
 
 

5. Eureka has been on top of it's game this season.  The new timeline, the addition of James Callis, formerly Dr. Baltar from Battlestar Galactica, the fact they FINALLY got Carter and Alison together....LOVE THIS SHOW.  The Mid-Season finale (yes, that means we'll be seeing more soon!) airs Friday Sept 10 @ 8pm. 

6. Gala Darling is a brilliant beauty, with an incredible blog.  Her blog is fun, insightful, and full of life.  Every Thursday she does her own Love List, with "Things I Love Thursday's."  Check out her inspirational blog at Gala Darling

7.  Fever...you give me fever....fever in the morning....fever all through the night

I'd love to hear which version you LOVE the most!  Here's a little P.S. for this blog, log onto Squidoo to check out my new lenses.  Check back often, I'm creating new ones all the time! Comments help my ratings, so let me know what you think.  You can see my current list of published lenses here: Toriphile81 on Squidoo

What's on Your Love List? ♥♥♥♥♥

For the Love of Carrots

I've always been a carrot lover.  When I was little, I chose carrots over ice cream. My parents would go into Baskin and Robbins and people would give them dirty looks, because they had their ice cream and I had my carrots.  Relatives often teased I would "turn orange" but I didn't care, carrots are delicious. 

Now that I'm older, I also know that carrots are a wonderfully healing vegetable.  Carrot Juice is a powerful tool for healing many diseases, including cancer.  Check out this great blog, Chris Beat Cancer for great nutritional tips on how he healed his Stage III Colon Cancer.  P.S. He drank carrot juice daily, enough to turn him orange!!! Check out this picture!

So what's so great about carrots? Well, first, they are an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6.  Carrots are rich in biotin, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, organic sodium and some trace minerals.  They are a powerful anti-oxidant, blood sugar balancer, a blood builder, cleans your arteries, protects from free radicals, dispels mucus, lowers cholesterol, improves eyesight, can increase fertility, builds white blood cells, are an anti-inflammatory, heal skin issues, and ulcers.  Great stuff!!

  

Carrot Juice is one of the healthiest way to get your carrot intake.  Check out this great article on Carrot Juice for some recipe ideas and fun facts!

Check out these other tasty carrot recipes!

Sunburst Carrot Salad Recipe

Generally speaking, I don't buy the huge woody-textured carrots you find in many produce departments. I seek out bunches of seasonal carrots this time of year from various farmers, farmers markets, etc.




2 bunches carrots, preferably spring carrots
extra virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
1 green chile (serrano), deveined and minced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

Start by washing the carrots. Use a vegetable peeler to shave each carrot into wide ribbons. If your carrots have beat up, dirty skins, peel them first before making ribbons.

Heat a big splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the carrot ribbons. Saute for just 20 seconds or so - barely long enough to take the raw edge and a bit of crunch off the carrots. Quickly stir in the chiles and lemon zest. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro, about one tablespoon of lemon juice, and then most of the pepitas. Taste. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if needed. Garnish with remaining pepitas.

Serves 4 to 6.

 
 
 

Carrot Soup Recipe
 
I typically seek out "early" carrots with the bushy green tops still on. The leaves should be fresh and not wilted, and the carrots should have vibrant color. If they feel rubbery, pass on them. I pass on bagged carrots or the big, woody ones - the early carrots often have a much sweeter flavor.


1 1/4 pounds carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cups+ vegetable stock or water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

- olive oil, toasted sesame oil, or red chile oil for a finishing drizzle - if you use toasted sesame oil (sometimes labeled pure sesame oil) it is very strong. I typically dilute it with olive oil. I use one part sesame oil to four parts olive oil.

Take the tops off the carrots (if they have tops) and give them a good scrub. Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent. Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender - longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. But try not to overcook. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a hand blender (sometimes I leave the soup a bit chunky, other times I go completely smooth) - then stir in the lemon juice. Now salt to taste. If you used a salty veggie stock, you might just need a little salt. If you used water, you'll need quite a bit more. Keep adding a few pinches at a time until the carrot flavor really pops. If it tastes flat or dull, keep adding.

Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil, one of the other drizzles I mention up above, or whatever twist you come up with.

Serves about 4.







Ok folks, go out and down some carrots!!

Gratitude Friday's: Using EFT to Tap into Gratitude

Detox Your World

Our body takes in toxins daily, from the pesticides in our food, the chemicals in our shampoos and the air we breathe.  Even if you are on a strict organic diet using only natural household products, you still have toxins.  High levels of toxins affect how our body functions, creating disease, increasing parasites and nasty bacteria in our body, making us fatigued and gain weight.  There are several simple, at home tools that you can add to your daily practice that will help you eliminate these toxins from your body, and make you healthier overall. 

1. Skin Brushing The Skin is the largest organ in the body; a quarter of our daily elimination comes through the skin.  The Lymphatic System is the one system in our body that does not have it's own "pump" to help it circulated.  It can become stagnant it we do not actively move it.  Skin brushing stimulates the Lymph system, moving toxins through, into the colon, releasing during urination. Skin Brushing has many great benefits including improving the elasticity of your skin, removing dead tissue that clogs pores, reducing cellulite, improving digestion, increasing the production of new cells, strengthening the immune system and improving lymph function.  You can get a dry brush from most supermarkets, drug stores, Target, Whole Foods, etc. Do it before you get into the shower each day.  Watch the video below to see how it's done.

2. Colon Cleansing The average person has 25lbs of feces jam packed into their colon.  Yuck!! Because of all the toxins we've allowed into our bodies, the colon has become a feeding ground for parasites, who thrive on the nasty bacteria buildups.  All of this nasty commotion slows down the function of the colon, which can cause toxins to leak back into the bloodstream, make it difficult for you to assimilate all the nutrients in your food, make bowel movements difficult or infrequent and cause fatigue.  Finding a colonic practitioner is a great way to eliminate this buildup, and make your colon shiny and new again.  Enema's are a great at home tool, however they most clean out the rectum, the last 8-12 inches of the colon.  However, even doing this can help get you moving better, and eliminate the buildup in the rest of the colon.  Coffee enemas also help detox the liver, pulling even more toxins from the body.  I highly recommend including enemas in your detox practice.  I would personally purchase the enema bucket for the easiest and cleanest process. 

Purchase an enema kit here: Enema Bucket Kit

Learn how to perform an enema: Give Yourself an Enema

Detox Your Liver with a Coffee Enema: Coffee Enema

3. Neti Pot The neti pot is a great tool for cleaning out the sinuses.  Colds, allergies, respiratory problems are very common.  The sinuses fill with bacteria, mucus and other toxins.  By gently washing them with saline, you can prevent sinus related sickness! Simply insert the Neti Pot gently into your nostril, tilt your head, and let the liquid slowly drain through, cleaning out the nasal passages.  Repeat on the other side.  You can do this as often as you like, some people do it daily, like brushing your teeth.  I would recommend doing it before getting into the shower.  I often find that the moisture from the shower makes me release even more mucus from my nostrils, plus I'd rather get rid of the "gunk" during my shower, than sit on the couch for 20 minutes after blowing my nose. 

4. The Zapper This unique tool uses a small electronic pulse to kill parasites in your system.  Yes, people, worms, creepy crawlers and all sorts of nasties are living in your body right now, feeding off your waste, eating your food before you get to properly digest it, and they can also feed off of you!! Creating healthy eating habits and detoxing regularly can eliminate or reduce parasites in your system. The Terminator Zapper is a kickass little tool that you can wear anywhere, that literally "zaps" those pesky little parasites.  The first week I slept with it on the bottom of my foot every night, and wore it on various body parts while sedentary.  I spent 10 days mostly sleeping and taking trips to the bathroom, no kidding!! My body went into serious detox mode, and when I came out of it I had more energy than I'd had in years. 

Want to read some horribly disturbing, yet informative info on parasites? Human Intestinal Parasites

Grossed out? Would you like to get rid of those pets? Order a Zapper

These are just a few suggestions, that can make a HUGE difference in how your body functions.  Exercise, deep breathing, Tongue Scraping, laughter, meditation, detox bath and a good nights sleep are also important in eliminating toxins from your body and keeping healthy.

Loving Tuesday's: Health and Beauty

I love my new Desert Essence Organics Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, Burt's Bee's facial scrub, goji berries, fresh purple basil from the farmer's market, bouncing on my rebounder, walking down the Trolley Trail with Triton, picking out delicious sounding yogurts for Mom (even though I wouldn't eat them myself), reading Shazzie's Detox Your World, my dry skin brush, Silk's new Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, cozy black sandals, ballerina slippers, going out without makeup, curling my hair, colonics, deep restorative sleep, raw "southern greens" (yummy kale and collards with cayenne and garlic), RAW CACAO, green smoothies, meditation, dancing to Grace Potter and the Nocturals, local natural soap company Zum, Bad Seed Farmer's market, Tooth Soap, exfoliating with my foot scrubber, aloe vera, walking in the park, smelling the fresh Irises I just put in a vase, raw veggies, strawberries, the zapper, painting my nails in wild colors, laughter

Healthy Eating Monday's: Green Smoothies

Last Monday's blog So You Want to Eat Healthier and Feel Better... discussed items to remove from your diet for a healthier lifestyle.  This week I though we'd talk about adding healthy items to your current diet.  The Green Smoothie is a fantastic way to get more of those elusive fruits and veggies in your diet. Greens are an essential part of our diet.  They contain chlorophyll, which increases brain power, cleans out diseased tissue, eliminates parasites and bacteria buildup, removes heavy metals, builds red blood cells and increases energy.  Eating Greens Will Extend Your Life!!!

So why smoothies?  One, I find that most people who are just getting into greens, have no clue what to do with kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, etc.  Two, most people do not properly chew their food.  Greens need to be broken down very finite, to break apart the cell structure that releases most of the properties in the food.  By blending them, they are already "pre-digested" and your body can more easily assimilate them. 

Green Smoothies are typically 40% greens and 60% fruit to start.  As you become more used to them, start adding more greens and less fruit.  I recommend drinking a quart a day to get the highest intake of greens.  My Dad started doing this a year ago and he immediately noticed a difference in how his body functioned.  These smoothies are great tasting and easy to make.  Check out this article on Green Smoothies for some incredible recipes. 



After you get used to drinking these, why not add some Superfoods to your smoothie to get even more from it!  I would also recommend follow this inspirational blog Green Smoothies Blog by green pioneer Victoria Boutenko.  It includes great information articles, recipes, alone with a plethora of stories from people who have healed their bodies of many diseases by implementing Green Smoothies into their diet.  I highly recommend it. 

Note: I should also warn you that you will likely go into a detox when you start implementing Green Smoothies in your diet.  This could include increase in bowel movements, breakouts, runny nose, etc.  Don't panic!! Your body is filled with toxins, from the food we eat, the environment, etc.  You WANT to eliminate them from your body!! This initial detox will simmer down a bit after a few days/week once your body gets rid of the worst of the worst.  You will then notice that your bowel movements are likely to always be more frequent, but thankfully your skin will clear up and your nose will as well.  Check out my blog on detox tools later this week to ease this process.

Ok, healthy lords and ladies, go out there and Green It Up!!!

Got Teeth?

Ok, so hopefully you have a shiny set of bright white teeth, but in reality I know most people have had to deal with cavities at some point in time.  Personally, I've never had a cavity and I'm almost 30 (alright, I know boo hiss!)  Seriously though, dental health affects us all, in more ways than people realize.  Studies have shown that a lot of diseases can start in the with infections in the gum/teeth area that go unnoticed.  A lot of the problems stem from mercury fillings that leak and poison the bloodstream.  Yes, it's all very scary, and I know most people already have nightmares about going to the dentist, but you CAN prevent these issues. 

Tooth Soap is an amazing product that not only cleans your teeth, but HEALS YOUR CAVITIES!!! Tooth Soap is a natural, non-toxic product, removes oils, residue and contaminants and promotes remineralization of your teeth. 

"You'll remember I sent you my first update when I first started using Tooth Soap®; well, here's my story, but first, some history ... Around October 2005 saw a dentist for a broken crown, also found out I had 4 cavities at about $185 each to repair. Since I was moving the next month, I would put that off until I got relocated and got some dental insurance. May 1, 2006, started Tooth Soap (peppermint) and I am two-thirds the way through the jar today as I am single at this time. Finally got around to making an appointment and January 25, 2007 was the earliest assessment date available. Could not believe my ears at the report. Waited to pass this on until today's cleaning confirmed that ... I HAVE NO CAVITIES, today, January 31, 2007!  What a nice birthday present from Tooth Soap! I was 54 this weekend, and now I have to figure out what to do with all the monies put aside in my FSA account so I don't lose them! What a problem to have! Thank God it's not my cavities!" — Tom C., Florida

There are many more review such as this one on the website.  My Mom, Dad, and Ryan all use this product and have mentioned that their gums are stronger, the sensitivity in their teeth has improved, breath is fresher and teeth feel cleaner.  Amazing! Check it out!!