Grind Your Nuts

Posted on November 24, 2011 by admin

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about nuts and how they can be utilized in healthy recipes.

Nuts, you see, are an excellent source of good protein, though you have to be careful not to eat too many if you’re on a diet because they’re also fattening.

And that’s a problem.

I mean, seriously, I can’t eat three cashews and then close the bag and put them back in the pantry.

Can you?

Many recipes call for various nuts to add flavor and crunch, and though it’s kind of fun to chop your nuts with a knife, it can also be a pain if you need them real fine to add a subtle flavoring and texture that a coarser chop just won’t provide.

I solve that problem by demolishing my nuts in a coffee grinder…

Ah, let’s rephrase that… I grind my nuts by processing them in a…

Hmmm… well, you get the point, I’m sure. (Excuse my adolescent sense of humor — I just can’t grow out of it, even at age 63.)

Happy Thanksgiving, if you’re reading this on Thanksgiving Day 2011 when I posted this.

Posted in Health, Tips | 2 Comments

Meditation Retreat

Posted on November 17, 2011 by admin

You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a meditation retreat.

In fact, you don’t even have to search for a guru, hike in the mountains, or drive to the beach.

Here’s how to experience a do-it-yourself meditation retreat in the privacy of your own home or office.

First, find a comfortable place. This will be a quiet place where dogs and family won’t be bounching in and out. It’ll also be a place where you feel safe and relaxed.

Next, turn your attention to your breath. Take a deep breath. Hold. Release slowly. Repeat several times. With each exhalation, relax and let go.

Now that you’re relaxing, direct your mental attention to your legs.

As you continue to breathe, hold, release, and relax, visualize your legs digging down into the earth just like powerful roots of an ancient oak tree.

Imagine your legs extending slowly, growing down to the very center of the earth.

When you feel your legs secure in the center of the earth, gently whisper to yourself…

I am grounded to the earth… feeling vital and strong.

Now, and this is the cool part, feel the healing earth energy flow up through your legs and up into your entire body.

This energy flows in gentle, warm waves, and it fills every part of your being with inner peace, warmth, and vitality.

Breathe deeply into this healing place.

Feel peace and stillness flowing through your chest and heart.

Breathe, hold, release slowly, and let go… and know you can return to this spiritual retreat whenever you wish.

If you like this meditation retreat exercise, I know you’ll want to click here and subscribe to my free EarthRain Meditation newsletter.

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Instant Stress Relief

Posted on November 10, 2011 by admin

I collect stress tips the way some people collect matchbooks, and today I’d like to share one I learned from a fellow in England, who, alas, passed away many years ago.

Here’s the tip:

The next time you’re feeling stressed, find somewhere quiet and comfortable, close your eyes, and allow your breathing to slow and deepen for a couple of minutes.

Then picture in your mind a hamster running around inside its wheel in its cage.

Just like your racing thoughts, the hamster can’t stop running on the spot.

Visualize this hamster running for a few breaths and note how all this frantic running gets him nowhere.

Notice that you can’t even see the rungs of his wheel because he is running so quickly.

Now visualize the wheel slowing to a walking pace.

Keep your mental picture of the little critter clear and watch how he walks slower and slower until the wheel stops turning round…

Now you can see each rung in detail.

Watch mentally as the hamster is still inside his wheel, but he turns over onto his back, closes his eyes, and is now using the wheel as a hammock, rocking gently backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.

Each time an outside thought intrudes into your head, bring your attention back to the gentle rocking of the wheel, backwards and forwards.

After a while, the rocking stops and the hamster is asleep…

And you are relaxed and stress-free!

This is an excellent way to reduce your stress level, so I hope you’ll give it a try right now and then comment below.

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Healthy Carrot Cake

Posted on November 3, 2011 by admin

There are some healthy and living carrot cake recipes that are so tasty they almost make you laugh with joy when you even think about them.

Today I have such a recipe for you, courtesy of Margaret Rosales, who shared it with me originally many years ago.

Living Carrot Cake with Lemon Cashew Frosting

Carrot Cake
1 cup soaked, raw almonds
1 1/2 cup soaked raisins (save water)
1 cup pitted dates, soaked and drained
6 cups carrot pulp
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Zest of one lemon and one orange

Lemon Cashew Frosting
2 cups soaked cashews
1 cup soaked raisins
1 cup soaked dates
juice of one lemon

In blender, place almonds, raisins, dates, and raisin water. Mix. Add to a bowl and add pulp, spices, and zest.

For frosting, blend cashews and their water with the dates and their water and lemon juice until smooth.

Line 10-inch pie pan with plastic wrap and press cake mixture into it. Turn out onto plate and remove plastic. Spread frosting over. Do the second layer the same and spread frosting over all.

Delicious!

You’re not going to find a healthy carrot cake recipe any better than this one. Try it if you don’t believe me.

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Nighttime Blood Sugar Tip

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

Here’s today’s blood sugar tip…

To help keep your blood sugar stable during the night, just before you’re ready to crawl into the sack, eat a small snack consisting of around 200 calories. I’m personally fond of having several celery sticks with cashew butter spread down the middle.

Another option would be to eat a quarter cup of almonds or walnuts.

For a third option, eat a small apple with a quality nut butter (no added sugar) spread on a few slices. Now, that’s a tasty treat!

By having a small pre-bed snack, your blood sugar will be stable during the night.

Consequently, you’ll sleep more soundly and you’ll also wake up refreshed instead of being tired from having low blood sugar.

Before I sign off, if you have trouble dropping into dreamland at night, check out my powerful sleep-inducing CD called NightTrain.

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Daniel’s Pulse Recipe

Posted on October 27, 2011 by admin

I’m fond of healthy snacks and the Daniel’s Pulse Recipe you’re about to read is definitely a winner.

If you’re unfamiliar with Pulse, the Biblical Daniel considered it God’s perfect food…

So Daniel went to the guard Melzar whom Ashpenaz had placed in charge of him and his three friends, saying: “Test us for ten days. Give us pulse to eat and water to drink. Then compare us with the young men who are eating the food of the royal court, and base your decision of how we look.”

He agreed to let them try it for ten days. At the end of ten days, they looked healthier and stronger than all those who had been eating the royal food. So from then on the guard let them continue to eat pulse and drink water.

– from the Book of Daniel 1: 3-20

 And now for …

Daniel’s Pulse Recipe

1 cup dates coarsely chopped to 1/4″ pieces
1 cup prunes coarsely chopped to 1/4″ pieces
3/4 cup apricots coarsely chopped to 1/4″ pieces
1/2 cup cranberries coarsely to 1/4″ pieces
3/4 cup almonds chopped to 1/4″ pieces
3 Tbs peanut butter
4 Tbs sesame seeds

In a large bowl combine all fruits and knead (may want to use gloves, as it does get very sticky). Once well mixed, add almonds and sesame seeds and knead again. Finally add peanut butter and knead until thoroughly combined.

Oh man, that’s a good recipe. Try it and see if you don’t agree.

Posted in Food and Recipes | Tagged | 5 Comments

High Energy Snack Balls

Posted on October 24, 2011 by admin

Let’s start the last full week of October with a healthy energy snack recipe that’ll give you an energy boost and a healthy little high any time you’re starting to fade…

High Energy Snack Balls

1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried figs
1 cup dates
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup honey

Grind apricots, figs, dates, and raisins in food processor, each ingredient separate. Add unsweetened coconut. Mix almond butter and honey. Combine the fruit mixture and almond butter mixture. Roll into balls and chill in refrigerator.

You better make a double recipe with this one because these things go fast.

If you have an energy bar or energy ball recipe you’d like to share, please use the “Comments” link below to do so.

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Only This Meditation

Posted on October 20, 2011 by admin

If you want to achieve a blissful alpha brainwave state, here’s how to do the “Only This” meditation.

Consider this quote by Thich Nhat Hanh, who so insightfully states…

You know, in life, the real miracle is not to walk on water or thin air but to walk on the earth.

That’s so true, isn’t it?

It’s so simple, too… life in the here and now.

In the moment.

Right now.

There is nothing else.

Well, to generate the blissful alpha brainwave state of “Only This,” follow these simple directions:

Take a deep breath and hold for a second.

Exhale and become aware of what’s happening in this moment.

Repeat several times until you feel yourself relax and calm and totally present and aware of…

this moment… right now.

There. Feel the calm? The peace?

Only this!

Well, you have just experienced an alpha brainwave state.

Speaking of cool brain trips, you can experience a deeper alpha (and then theta) brainwave state with my powerful Deep Alpha Journey meditation and relaxation CD. It’ll take you on mental journeys beyond your dreams. :)

Posted in Meditation | 1 Comment

New Zealand Flu Remedy

Posted on October 13, 2011 by admin

Today I’m sharing the “how to” details on the simple but very powerful New Zealand Flu Remedy, which is just one of the How to Beat Colds and Flu with 37 Natural Remedies in a collection I put together several years ago and recently updated for the 2011-2012 flu season.

With that little plug out of the way to help me keep the bills paid around here, here are the easy details for using the…

NEW ZEALAND FLU REMEDY

Cut a raw garlic clove as thin as possible and put a slice on your tongue and let it soften.

Do not chew.

Once the slice softens, then you swallow it.

Repeat throughout the day.

This remedy is best taken at the first signs of flu symptoms.

The New Zealand Flu Remedy is said to be an excellent treatment for early onset of a cold or flu, and works even better when used in combination with some of the other remedies found in How to Beat Colds and Flu with 37 Natural Remedies.

Here’s to staying healthy with natural remedies this cold and flu season.

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Healthy Raw Granola

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

I’m practically a nut case when it comes to healthy granola recipes.

I mean, seriously, I collect them the way some people collect stamps.

Here’s one of my favorites that you and your family and friends will go ape over…

Ernestine’s Healthy Raw Granola Recipe

Soak in pure water 1 1/2 cups of each of the following for 24 hours:

Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Oat groats
Pumpkin seeds
Almonds
Walnuts

Rinse, drain, and grind the nuts (with a nut chopper). Mix everything together and add 5 cups of rolled oats.

Next, blend in your Vita-Mix, food processor, or blender:

1 cup coconut oil
1 cup raw honey
2 Tbs vanilla

Stir this into the seed, nut, and oat mixture. Add raisins and other favorite dried fruits to taste and then spread onto dehydrator trays for 48 hours.

You can’t buy granola as tasty or healthy as this in any store.

This healthy raw granola works great for snacking or for energy boosts during the afternoon blahs if you’re stuck in job prison somewhere.

Posted in Health, Healthy Recipes | Tagged | 1 Comment