Gearing Up for RENEWAL in 2015 with Homemade SHRUBS & SCRUBS!!!
To Make: Combine all ingredients except apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once a simmer is reached, lower heat and continue to simmer for an additional 10 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour mixture into a quart-sized glass jar and add 1 C of cider vinegar. Shake and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. To use, simply strain the mixture and enjoy!
Are you willing to experiment?
By Bennett
You know what I think is really cool? When you throw all of your beliefs about food out the window and start over. It’s a pretty refreshing feeling. To lift all of the sometimes limiting beliefs I have about what I like, what I don’t like, what makes me feel good and what makes me feel bad, and start over. I know for me, my body is affected differently from season to season by what I consume. This time of year I can tolerate gluten much easier and I am not as affected by alcohol either. It’s always refreshing when things change like that because I begin to question my food again and go back into the experimental zone. It’s a reassuring reminder to me that everything is connected and that we are all connected to the seasonal, ever-changing cycle of nature. This past week I have been paying close attention to my sometimes restricted and conditioned thoughts. I notice how it makes my body feel tense and try to let the thought go and relax in my body again. I’ve been carrying this same practice into my thoughts around food. I’m letting myself experiment more and changing thought patterns about what I tend to think is “good” or “bad” for me. Because in my opinion, nothing is really “bad” unless you really think that it is. If you are eating with guilt, you will ingest that emotion. I find that the more relaxed I am around food and the choices I make, the easier it is for me to digest and metabolize my meal or snack. It can be a little unsettling at first but do you find yourself in this same experimental place from time to time? Share your thoughts below!
Do you feel the need to cleanse?
This time of year I always get the urge to cleanse. I feel
like the idea of cleansing can either be really exciting for people or it can
cause anxiety and overwhelm. I encourage you to not be overwhelmed by the idea.
Simply put a cleanse is just an intentional simplification of your diet. It
gives your body a chance to rejuvenate when we simplify or lighten the load of
what we are consuming. When we give our digestion a break our body has more
energy to focus on deeper processes of cell rejuvenation, invigorating us on a
deeper level. Some people like to do juice fasts, some people like to eat raw
fruits and veggies for a week or a cleanse can be as simple as choosing one
food group, like meat for example, and excluding meat from your diet from a
week or however long you choose. Personally I am choosing to exclude meat,
dairy, wheat, sugars and alcohol from my diet for the next week. I will be
drinking green smoothies and juices and eating a whole foods meal like quinoa,
kale, veggies and beans once a day.
I always feel so much more energized and clear after I cleanse. I feel like it really helps get my creative juices flowing and helps me develop more focus. Some people choose to simply drink more water in a given day to help cleanse. I think any awareness you bring to making your diet a little healthier and a little cleaner is better than nothing.
Amazing transformations can happen when you cleanse. I’ll give you an extreme but attainable example. I saw a documentary this weekend at the Chilmark Film Festival called “May I Be Frank.” The film was about an Italian man from Brooklyn named Frank. He weighed close to 300 pounds, had hepatitis C, was on a slew of medications and was very depressed amongst many health concerns. As fate would have it he ended up at an organic, raw vegan café in San Francisco while on a trip. They have a “question of the day” at this particular restaurant and this day the waiter asked Frank “what is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank answered that he wanted to fall in love one more time before he died but he was scared that he never would because no one would love him because he didn’t even love himself. After getting to know the staff they decided to make a film on Frank to document the change from his typical S.A.D. (standard American diet) to a clean, raw vegan diet. To make a really long story short, Frank lost about 150 pounds, cleared up his hepitatis C, mended all of his broken relationships with family by clearing up his anger, fell in love with his current, smoking hot wife, and tours the world educating people on health and reminding people that anything is possible. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in our routine to help us gain perspective on the areas of our lives that need more attention. I encourage you to bring a little more attention to eating a little cleaner and lighter this week in celebration of Spring, the perfect time for renewal. Have you ever cleansed before? If so, please share your experiences. If this is your first time please share your feelings on the topic below!
Bennett
Don't forget about YOU this holiday season
Let's face it, the holidays are commonly a time when we eat too much.
There is that uncomfortable time during the meal where we have to adjust our pants because we’ve gone overboard. And then the next few days we might resort to wearing our “fat” pants because we feel so much heavier...
Let’s first remember that the holidays are a time to be with our family and loved ones and that being amongst their company is the most important thing of all. We tend to seek fulfillment from the food that is in front of us, when really we can feed ourselves from the love that surrounds us all.Keeping this in mind, there is no reason to not let yourself enjoy healthy and delicious treats during this time of celebration without the uncomfortable switching of the pants. Our most important ingredient is love, so you will be getting plenty of that on and off your plate when youconsume our treats. When you take care of yourself first, when you ensure your own happiness, then your loved ones will benefit because you will have more love to give.
Our idea of a triple decker treat = ”The Gift that Keeps on Giving”. You will receive a tri-found package of (1) chocolate bars & hot chocolate mix for Xmas, followed by our (2) full line of Smoothie mixes for a healthy New Years and then (3) another package comes to you on Valentine’s Day. Fill yourself up with love and care with this ultimate package and you will have more to give away.
By Bennett Coffey
Holistic Health Counselor
