Ahhhh Yes Virgin Coconut Oil

Yippee, it is a full moon today...the sky will be clear, it will be a gorgeous night for a harvest moon.

So did I mention organic virgin coconut oil? It is made from the meat of fresh coconuts and there is a distinct aroma and taste of coconut.

Virgin coconut oil is a fantastic medium chain fatty acid rich oil that you can cook with, spread on toast, enjoy in smoothies, tea or coffee, and use externally on your skin.

Medicinal properties abound and because it is a stable oil, coconut oil can be heated. 1-3 tablespoons per day is the recommended amount to receive benefits from the oil. The active ingredient, lauric acid which is also present in human breast milk, is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, and increases metabolism. Weight loss, digestive issues, thyroid balancing, skin health, candida yeast conditions and lowering cholesterol levels are all issues that are somewhat addressed with regular coconut consumption.

Melting point is 76 degrees, so coconut oil makes an excellent skin moisturizer, melting as it touches your skin. Some would even attest to its amazing sun screen capabilities.

I put a teaspoon of coconut oil in each cup of coffee or tea that I drink and can't go with out it now. I make my eggs, popcorn and stir fries with a combination of organic virgin coconut oil and virgin olive oil. I put 1 T of coconut oil in my smoothies also.

For three years now, I've been on the coconut oil regimen. Olive oil and sesame oil are the only other oils I have in my kitchen. What I have noticed most about consistently consuming coconut oil is soft, nice skin and an consistently increased energy level--rarely do I feel sluggish and if I do, it doesn't last too long. One more thing I notice is that coconut oil fills me up so I don't crave a ton of carbs and sugary food.

In the winter months, it is good to stayed well-oiled and lubed from the inside out...the extra fats keep us Minnesotans way warmer than if we were doing the low-fat thing. All the muscles and joints work better, too, I believe.

www.tropicaltraditions.com is the quickest way to find out more about virgin coconut oil and it is available through them or at my store. www.wise traditions.com and www.mercola.com also discuss the benefits of coconut oil. Check it out. Enjoy. Stay oiled. You'll work better! Afterall, WE are bodies/machines/temples, yes?

Guess What???

Honey and cinnamon work synergistically together and actually prevent a multitude of health disasters so says some internet literature...I choose to believe and take this concept to heart....believe and it is so...this is how I live my life...it is fun and makes sense to me.

I believe we'll be living in my dream home, I believe I'll be driving a sporty 6 seater for me and the tribe and I believe my store will expand to include a deli and juice bar. I believe the kids and me will do more fun stuff together because I believe in the concept of playing more and working less. I believe I can support my kids on my own. I believe in living my life passionately and being passionate about everything I do. This is fun to me. I believe in the synergistic power of honey and cinnamon. It is simple.

Arthritis, heart disease, gastro-intestinal issues, bad breath, colds, cholesterol levels, skin ailments among countless other dis-eases of the body all are impacted by a steady dose of honey and cinnamon. Why? They keep inflammation down.

And they are so yummy. How simple. Do a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of cinnamon in a cup of hot water twice a day and see what happens. I've noticed a stronger immune system (actually I never get sick so I know my system is super strong) and I feel lots of energy from increasing my intake of honey and cinnamon. Folks who are allergic to yeast or have candida might not want to partake because of the sugars....diabetics should be ok with all the data coming out around cinnamon and its ability to regulate blood glucose.

Maybe it all so simple.

Take blame, for example. It is simple to blame others, outside scenarios, outcomes, but yet, what are the results of blaming?

Blaming doesn't feel good on the inside if you really stop and check in with how you feel after you have just blamed someone or something. Yucky, right? That's how I feel.

Not feeling good suggests being out of whack.

Being out of whack is the same as being out of alignment. Being out of alignment prevents good things from happening to us.

Do you want to be out of whack?

I doubt it.

Do you want to feel good?

I bet so.

Guess what?

Guess what Joe Vitale--the superman of the Law of Attraction and one of cool wise guys on the movie, The Secret has just reminded us in an ass-kicking kind of way?

Not 50%, not 75%, not 99.9%. He says, I am 100% responsible for my life. It's true! Wow. That certainly takes all the power out of blaming others, situations, circumstances, and outcomes for the way things have gone in my life.

We are all 100% responsible for our lives. I'm with Joe. There's really no getting around that fact.

We are who we are.

I can't be you. You are you. I am me.

I have choices. So do you.

We can be happy.

We can be healthy.

We can be wealthy.

Simple is as simple does.

Messages come to you daily--are you listening?

Two friends just lost their home in to the wild fires in CA...they are letting go and moving on quickly. Another one is preparing by watering his house and cutting down trees because the fire is sited 10 miles away right now. Taking action. 100% responsible. Oh yes.

It is simply a matter of alignment. If I am in alignment to what I want, that which I desire comes forth. Maybe not right away, but eventually by virtue of the fact, that the Universe arranges and rearranges itself to accommodate my desires. How cool is that? And how simple....

There is good baggage. There is bad baggage. This is pretty simple, too.

Good baggage is my Frida Kahlo plastic carrying bag from Mexico filled with books--Pat O'Bryan's Your Portable Empire, Esther Hick's The Astonishing Power of Emotions, my notebook, my laptop, my wallet and checkbook, the local paper, three cookbooks and some bills. Soon, I'll have Joe Vitale's new book The Key: The Missing Secret for Attracting Anything You Want. I have to have Pat's laid-back and authentic wisdom and Esther's kind and gentle wisdom and Joe's in your face wisdom and anybody else that comes forth and says something I need to hear...this allows me to access the truth, to wake up and I sure as shit (that is how some Minnesotans talk) know exists inside me...I know it is there. This wisdom that they all proclaim to be so. It is so. I believe this. And I buy their books because their process, their words, their experiences inspire me to keep accessing what all ready exists inside me. I wake up when I listen. And the results for me is that I feel good, I feel inspired, and I feel in alignment.

Good baggage keeps me in alignment with what I want.

I carry my good baggage around with me everyday. I look like a bag lady with a leather coat and moviestar sunglasses.

The good baggage makes me a better person. I use my good baggage daily. It is how I stay in alignment.

The bad baggage are the inner barriers that fence me in. I don't want to be fenced in. The bad baggage doesn't believe, doesn't allow and eventually throws me out of alignment so far that even the chiropractor, Dr. Nate, can't realign me. Bad baggage does not feel good. It isn't fun. It prevents me from being passionate about my life.

I want to believe. I want to be in alignment. I want good stuff to happen.

I want to be passionate in everything I do.

This is my fuel. Good baggage, all encompassing passion and cinnamon and honey....(well, I'll throw in supergreen foods, too, as I mentioned in previous posts...supergreens definitely fuel me and keep me healthy!)

100% responsible. Me. I am that. And that is what it takes for me to dissolve the bad baggage.

It is simple. Like honey and cinnamon.

Out with the bad baggage.

In with the good.

Thank you, Frederick.

Cellular MOJO

Oh my gosh, did I really say that? Three to five servings a day of dark leafy greens are recommended? Yes, I did in the last blog because it is recommended by the king of super green foods...but c'mon, let's get real... who in the heck can possibly eat 3-5 servings a day of dark leafy greens????? It is a noble task and I applaud anyone who can actually pull it off because your body will love you for it. Honestly, I'm lucky if I get one serving a day of dark leafy greens and it only happens because I remember to do it and I remember to bring home dark leafy greens in the first place.

Ok, let's remember this is a life long journey to achieve body balance....the process of eating clean day in day out is just that a process...some days, it is easier to achieve and attain body alkalinity than others.

My kids are home from school the last couple of days due to teacher workshops and such so I've found myself doing a lot of cookie baking and banana bread making for them. It's all good, but trust me, do I lick the bowl...HECK yeah!!! Do I feel sugar OD'd? YES~! I am massively bloated and I have a stomachache from too much sugar, flour and beef stew as well as pizza and other fun kid food...YIKES....I feel like I have to do a Master Cleanse detox...but I'm not ready to do that so I'll stick to drinking lots of spirulina water, chlorella for detoxing, raw veggies, and portion control. Granted all the ingredients were organic, but I still feel like a beached whale.

And the point is, I AIN'T perfect!!!

Have fun and enjoy the journey to becoming positively cellular, feeding your cells, loving your body temple, experiencing translucent health...cells are us, after all, and we deserve limitless, supreme health so that we can enjoy stellar vibrations and be completely who we truly are--radiant, joyfilled, 'deliberate creators' of every day, feeling good every day.

Your Diva of Cellular Radiance,
Susan

Turn on Your Immune System

Hello,

I just found out that it is ideal to eat 3-5 servings a day of dark green leafy veggies like kale, the queen of all dark greens load with calcium, A, B , C , magnesium, phosphorous--phytonutrients and chlorophyll, trace minerals, proteins, fiber, all of which boost the immune system and make our cells happy and healthy and alkalize our bodies...whew hoo!

Now that is a lot of dark leafy greens...dang! Just try to sneak them in everything from eggs, to tomato sauces for pasta, to soups to on the side sauteed with garlic and olive oil. Raw is best such as the kale shake I describe in the last blog or finely chopped in a salad with red onion and cubed avocado along with your favorite dressing...now that sounds pretty good, yes?

What I really want to focus in on is MSG, monosodium glutamate--the real crack cocaine of the US....this flavoring literally causes you body to become addicted to it and want more, more, more....and it is in everything! What does this mean for the food industry? Money being spent on more food to keep us feeling hungry (that is the MSG doing its job!) which in turn makes the public buy more and more food. Money is made...it all boils down to money...keep folks addicted to processed foods and somebody out there is making boatloads of money while everyone gets poisoned...yuck...and then the medical community makes money on all the sick people who have ingested tons of MSG through the years and end up with dis-eases...yuck again!

In terms of product labelling, MSG can be listed as MSG or a host of other pseudonyms like 'hydrolyzed vegetable protein,' 'accent' , 'agino moto', 'natural meat tenderizer, or simply added flavorings. You can bet sure as the sky is blue and a third of Lake City is overweight that Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, Taco Bell, TGIF, Applebee's Denny's , KFC and countless more franchised food establishments use massive amounts of MSG. In fact, at KFC, MSG is in every gravy and chicken dish and salad dressing.....maybe their secret ingredient is actually MSG...wow!

Need we ponder any further why the US is overweight? MSG has been scientifically proven to cause obesity and actually really is addictive....anything prepackaged at the grocery store has it listed in their ingredients. Other dis-eases have been connect to MSG as well such as diabetes, migraines, headaches, autism, ADHD, and Alzheimer's...if you want to read more studies, go to www.pubmed.com and type "MSG obese" to read the scientific studies.

Somehow, we have to obliterate MSG from our food system....legislation is being written to do just that. The movie, "Supersize Me" made great points, too.

Educate yourself and others around poisonous MSG, quit eating it in food establishments and buy whole foods and organic foods as much as possible. Feed kids lots of raw fruit and veggies!

That is one of the few rants I am going to do on this blog...my goal is to be uplifting and positively positive as much as possible.

Let's all take a deep breathe right about now, eat some kale and go for a walk!

You Know Your Body Better Than Anybody Else

"Never a dull moment. If you're doing it right, baby, never a dull moment." Karan Smith

Listen to your body. It will tell you alot. No need to delegate what your body needs to others. Instead, bring on a team of players: put yourself at the top of the team list, your health food store, your chiropractor (optional), your medical doctor , and/or any health practitioner or nutritionist you may want to work with who can answer your questions and assist in coming up with the perfect combination of actions and remedies to bring your body into balance.

If you end up in a doctor's office for any reason, be prepared. A doctor will diagnose, prescribe and often recommend surgery if you just show up in her office WITHOUT a pad of paper, list of questions, or an Internet printout on your symptoms or possible disease...be informed before you walk in. Learn their perspective, then take that information to help form a plan of action. Keep listening to your body. The answers are there waiting for you....

Sometimes it is simple. With a little tweaking....it can be a matter of eliminating foods that contain additives and preservatives, making fruit and veggies 40-65% of your diet(so dang low-cal, too!), increasing the good fats especially your intake of Omega 3s found in fish, walnuts, flax seed (freshly ground or in oil form), fish oils, olive oil and organic coconut oil, breathing deeply, taking walks, portion control, reducing carbs, drinking moderately if at all, staying lean, and drinking lots of water-- at minimum, half your body weight in ounces.

What about probiotics?
Keifer ( pronounces by some kef fur, by others like me, keeeef fur) is one: a sparkly, thick, yogurt-like liquid loaded with protein, calcium, and fiber as well as ten or more live and active cultures including acidophilus to enhance the health of your intestinal track, boost your immune system, and help control high cholesterol levels. Keifer is the cousin to yogurt--adding appropriate bacterias where yogurt feeds those bacterias. Keifer's roots trace back more than 2000 years in Europe.

I like to make a Keifer shake in the morning to start my day. Here is what I do:


In my commercial, high performance blender I throw in the following:

1/2 bunch org. green kale (did I mention KALE is the queen of all dark greens and a great life enhancer loaded with calcium, folic acid, vitamins A, C, D, E...you can't go wrong with KALE--make her a true buddy soon if you haven't already)

2 cups org. plain keifer ( keifer can be bought at the health food store or you can make your own by combining keifer grains and milk and leaving them on your kitchen counter for a day or two--ask me about keifer grains--I can get you some!)

1 stalk of org. celery

1/2 org. cucumber

1/2 org. green bell pepper

1 tsp. org. fresh ginger

1 T. org. flax seed oil--flax seed oil, loaded with Omega 3's is more readily absorbed through the cells when taken with a cultured product like keifer--it becomes water soluable and can penetrate through the cell membrane more efficiently. You get more bang for your buck, in other words, when you combine flax seed oil with keifer.

1 T. org. virgin coconut oil--this mid-chain tryglyceride boosts the immune system, increases metabolism and endurance, helps control inflammation making it beneficial for the cardiovascular system and over all health.

Blend well....enjoy the ultimate green goddess breakfast drink for all those potent and powerful!


PS There are so many reasons to eat organic food over conventional. For your health and the environment, eat organic food whenever possible. Remember, pesticides can permeate throughout veggie and fruit membranes and love to hang out in the crevices of berries, broccoli and lettuces. We can debate organic vs. conventional til we are blue in the face, but as the apple god told me recently, it is like the discussion about religion...in the end, everyone will believe what they want to believe and that is ok.

Chili Chili Appleseeds

Yes, it was 86 degrees and humid yesterday. Not real ideal weather for chili-making. October in MN? Strange weather indeed. Still, I and a friend slaved over a hot stove in the local catholic church making chili for a couple of hours. Why? It is Johnny Appleseed Days here in Lake City this weekend. Lots of apples, apple pies and big time events spread throughout the community. I participated in a chili cook-off. Several teams entered and we did taste testing last nite at the Sportsman's Club.

My chili consisted of not only all organic ingredients, but also local, pasture-raised buffalo. Of course, I put a few jalapeno peppers in there to give it some fire. 200 people sampled it, I definitely got some votes and several came back for more. The guys next to me had perfected a seafood chili with crab, shrimp and other shell fish, not to mention chocolate as their secret ingredient. They aggressively pulled the votes in by 'selling' their chili with excessive verbage...nothin' wrong with that tactic, and it actually amped all of us up a notch or two as we marketed our chilis and yelled, cheered and clapped whenever anyone dropped a vote in our bucket.

It was a fun nite. No I didn't win first prize. The Kiwanis Club did and the rest of us came in second! However, I did educate some folks on organic food and local buffalo which made it all worthwhile. Let's face it, I love people...and The Chili Cook-Off for Johnny Appleseed Days was one more way I could interact and have fun. And large fun I had!

If you want my recipe, let me know...I'd be happy to post it. Also, if you have a recipe, let me know...especially one with chocolate in it.

Local Testimonial

Just sharin' a little glory...

"Being clever and resourceful , doing more with less is your strength, not overeaching your bounds. I wish I could package your aura, I could sell the shit out of it, so to speak (sorry) about the shit thing there"

One attitude, positive....one direction, forward....one speed constant.

My name is Don Hanson aka "Hootch" and I moved to Lake City several years ago from a town 5 times larger, one of the best surprises I experienced here was to discover a natural food store called "Hope's Harvest" the sensational lady who owned it Susan Draves was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful along with professional in dealing with my desire to eat healthy. Her small store was chock full of unique items such as flax seed oil, local cheese, fruits and vegetables locally grown and raised. These and hundreds of other healthy food items were not available to me here without Hope's Harvest. Lake City is a great place to live in and Hope's Harvest is just another example of what I'm talking about. As a strength coach I can attest to the fact, you ARE what you eat."

Sincerely: Don "Hootch" Hanson

Wellness is a Journey, Not a Quick Fix

"The standard of success in life isn't the things. It isn't the money or the stuff. It is absolutely the amount of joy that you feel. "

"If it is to be, it is up to me"

Enjoy the journey of bringing your body back into balance. Take your time. If lifestyle changes are going to stick, they are going to take time to become a congruent part of your being. Wellness on all levels, be it body, mind and spirit, truly is a lifelong process to cultivate.

You are worth it. You deserve an immaculate life. Let the journey begin inside you. Start with finding the joy, start with self-love, start with your inner space...be ok with who you are, what you stand for, and what you feel inside moment by moment. The rest will come.

A friend has not had a drink in 2 weeks. She is naturally detoxing with water, super green foods and being present to her son. She felt lots of burning throughout her skin the first week. Her lymph nodes swelled up around her neck...toxins are releasing. Now, she is feeling much more calm. Her journey is beginning. She is opening to the possibilities of feeling good. She said to me the other day, ' it really does start with loving yourself.' Her honesty has gotten her this far...now it is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment process.

May we all find the inner strength to discover the value of experiencing joy and its magical bioproducts: wellness on all levels.

Alkalinize or Croak! Part 1

Forty-four years ago yesterday, I was born. So, imagine a beautiful 70 degree day, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky kind of a day to have a birthday...that was what yesterday was all about.

I woke up, went down to the fishing pier and watched the sunrise, got adjusted at the chiropractor, met with my webmaster to make changes on the site, chatted with my mom via telephone, went into work, and by this time, I had consumed 1 quart of water, 1 kale/keifer shake (will reveal contents of this green ditty later) , 3 cups of expresso and half a sugary cashew carmel bar. A dozen roses arrived from Kiwanis club that I ordered for myself to support their local educational programs, and another dozen roses arrived from a friend I've known since I was 16. Ok, ok, I was feeling very appreciated. I then started a semi-interveinus barage of spirulina water to shift my now highly acidic body after the caffiene and sugar imbibing to return my body as temple to a more relaxed, alkalined state. I sat out in the sun for a half hour to get some Vitamin D as well.

Cancer can't grow in an alkaline body. Thus, we need to maintain a healthy pH balance. It is possible to be too alkaline and many, many folks are too acidic. Migrating nerve and joint pain, insomnia, early morning stiffness that improves as you move around are all symptoms. Acidic bodies happen with chronic cellular dehydration (i.e., not enough water), massive amounts of stress, and by consuming highly processed foods, fried foods, caffiene, alchohol, sugar and soda pop. Dis-ease loves these kind of environments.

If we are working towards staying alkalinized rather than acidic, which I think we can all agree we are as we gather more information on this topic, there are a few tricks of the trade when it comes to alkalinizing your body. Each time you partake in something that is going to create an acid environment within you, think about what you can do to counter balance it...munching on raw fruits and veggies are one of the quickest and easiest ways to turn an acidic body to an alkaline state. Super green foods take you back to an adequate pH rapidly as well...I add 1/4 tsp. of spirulina powder to my water and drink about 3 or 4 12 oz glasses of it after drinking a few cups of organic dark roast strong coffee or eating sugar.

When I'm conscious about my food intake, my whole day is spent finding that equilibrium. I have more energy when I eat good foods and I get real sluggish after the sugar or greasey foods. You can really tell where your body is at just by the way you feel after you eat something. More energy equals a balanced alkaline body, less energy equals a more acidic body. I don't think we need to continuously test our pH levels largely because our pH levels are continually changing throughout the day. I do sell pH tape for those who want to test, however.

Birthdays are highly prone to indulgence....so guess what happened? Acidity won out yesterday. Uggghhhh.

Lucky me...after a benign debate about organic vs. nonorganic apples with the local apple orchard guru, I landed a fantastic tour of this amazing apple orchard mecca where we tasted dozens of varieties of apples right on the farm...fiber was being enhaled with each new apple. Was I getting more alkalinized by the apples grown with pesticides or less? I continue to ponder this question. With the all the pesticides in the apples I was ingesting, what was the chemical make-up of each apple? Was my body more impacted by the nutrition of the apple itself or the pesticidal residue? The apple guru would say just as many organic pesticides if not more are sprayed and sprayed at more frequent intervals on organic apples to make them presentable to the organic consumer than the spraying program used on conventional apples sprayed with chemicals. YIKES....another tipping point issue to grapple with?!?! Which apple is better for us? Organic or conventional? Later on this after more research.

Back to alkalinity at the orchard...I don't want to tangentalize just yet. We'd bite and toss, bite and toss....imagine walking around the most successful apple kingdom in the state of MN with the padron/owner himself, trying all the new varieties of apples he is passionate about and holds the rights to...an unbelieveable plethora of complex flavors flying on my palate for 2 hours straight....take a bite of this one, toss the rest....zillions of apples on every tree...tossing an apple was no big deal...awwwww. I was feeling good eating all those apples, believe me, they were bursting with flavor and zinging all sorts of good fiber and sugar at me in a rampage.

Beautiful grounds, gorgeous trees, smells wofting from every direction..apple, apple, apple...brown hands picking them, lots and lots of brown hands which brought me to the realization after a hearing a hardened statement of blank truth out of the apple god: brown hands pick all the food Americans eat....if brown hands were stopped from doing this harvesting and packing, there truly would be no food in the grocery stores in a matter of days and weeks. That cold hard FACT was difficult for this compassionate progressive to stomach.

Back home, after touring the juice plant and apple packaging facilities, I rounded up my tribe to go out for a birthday meal. Heck, I was surely not going to cook on my day. Well, truth be told, we headed for the family-friendly restaurant in town. What was ordered? ACID producing food all the way around from frenchfries, to cheese and bacon burgers to corn dogs, to lots of chocolate birthday cake complete with whipped cream and those fake red dyed cherries....nothing alkalinizing to speak of.....wow, a toxic symphany of junkfood.

Got home...took a long moonlit walk down to the fishing pier again in a feeble attempt to walk off what I just ate. Back at the ranch so to speak, I quickly ate 15 chlorella tablets and 2 fish oil pills and headed upstairs to read and pass out quickly from the massive grease and sugar experience.

I woke up, felt aged, looked yucky and dehydrated, and was not a real happy camper. This is what happens to me when I take in toxic food....I feel like crap the next day, I look wenchy and my mood is affected...low energy, a bit down--not the greatest space to be in when dealing with the public...similar to a hangover...it's like a toxic food hangover.

The key is to not repeat this eating pattern the day after. Our cells get used to what we put in them, messages to brain will say I crave more grease and sugar....but when we find the discipline to not go there again the next day...to let yesterday be done and to allow today to be a new day, a clean food day. It works....try it sometime--indulge one day and then eat clean next....your body will love you for it especially in the days to come and the clean food habit will take hold and cravings will subside.

So, here I sit, drinking massive quantities of spirulina water. Later, I'll drink a raw enzyme drink made from a kombucha culture called Synergy by GTS to add to creating more alkalinity. This discussion on pH levels and alkalinity isn't over yet. Part 2 coming soon after I dive into the positive aspects of kale and keifer.

Another gorgeous October day in the neighborhood today....lots to be grateful for. Here's to choosing health!