You come home from a long day and you are pooped, just flat out tired and hungry. Who wants to cook dinner when you're feeling like this? And to top it off you know there isn't anything in the fridge because you haven't been to the store in awhile. 

So you open some cabinets looking for anything easy and quick, then you open your refrigerator... Ok, you have a couple of things in there. You always have eggs, we all do, and you have some cheese that needs to be used up. There is part of an onion from a few dinners ago or maybe part of a pepper. OK! now we're getting somewhere. It's Breakfast Food for Dinner Tonight! 

Eggs are one of our most versatile foods. I use them every week to mix in something for instance when I'm making a meatloaf like I did Monday, or to help my salmon cakes and potato cakes stick together. I like eggs by themselves but I don't often make them...especially for dinner. 

So tonight I'm having eggs. I will ask everyone I'm cooking...

Socrates, one of our greatest philosophers said it best with this quote; 

the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new 

What he is telling us is in order to change anything we need to look and move forward. If we are always looking backward then we might miss the necessary signs and turns that will get us to where we want to go. 

Write down what this new change looks like, draw a picture. Allow yourself to feel this new way. 

If you find yourself thinking or feeling in that old way, the way you no longer want to feel, quickly remember your new goal. Picture it, picture you in it or doing it or feeling in this new way. 

Do this practice once a day just before you go to sleep. 

Be sure to mark your calendar when you start this process because you will be amazed at how fast it shows up in your life!! 

Making a decision on how to reach your goal might be the hardest part of the process. But it's the first step and there should be a good reason for going in that direction. 

Below we'll go over a few steps to consider so you have the best shot at reaching your goals. Print these out or copy and paste them so you can fill in the blanks. 

1. What's your reason for reaching this goal? Do you have an event coming up, do you have health reasons?
2. Are you passionate about your end results? If you aren't passionate about it you may not have the stamina to get you through those inevitable bumps along the way.
3. Look into your future a decide what that looks like for you. For instance, if you are wanting to lose weight you will need to decide how much weight. Ten pounds, 15 pounds, maybe only 5 pounds. 
4. What is your timeline for losing it? Do you want it off in one month, 3 months or over the course of a year? 
5. Do you have support? Someone to turn to when you have...

The way we look at things has everything to do with how we experience it. But is it that simple?

How we experience life comes from what we've experienced and how we were taught or shown the way to deal with those things. 

Let's say you came from a village that predominantly believed if you wore the color blue you would rarely get sick. And as you grow up you hardly ever saw anyone sick including yourself.  You become an adult and move from your village and begin to notice and learn about many different illnesses. You also don't see many people wearing the color blue, so you naturally see that as the reason for this suffering. You think 'if they would just change the color of their clothes....' 

But when you mention this to friends you made in this city they think you're nuts! They think 'how can the color I choose to wear help with preventing an illness?' 

Is this person from the small village nuts or has this been his experience, something he knows and trusts is...

I was invited to a cookie exchange, something I don't usually get invited to because people know I don't eat much of the common sweet treats. But this year I was and I was determined to take something tasty and healthy. I wanted to show them that I do have taste buds and they really like the goodies just like everyone else. I just prefer to do without the brain fog and tummy bulge that is often associated with eating much of the conventional holiday treats.

I read several different recipes and tried a couple. The one below is my favorite. And!!! I took them to the cookie exchange with rave reviews....I don't think they were just being polite ;)

There are base ingredients to use then you add what you are in the mood for. You get to be the creator. Make up different cookies and share what you did here for all of us to enjoy. 

here goes:

I have been calling them Leesa's Guilt-Free Cookies. Hey, they have whole food in them and they truly are good for you!!! 

Dairy, Flour...

We have done the experiment and Failed!

Fast and Processed foods are robbing us of our Health because of the chemicals used on the plants to produce a higher yield. Because of the chemicals used to preserve the food for longer transport and shelf life. Because of the additives used to box the food. Because of the added sugar used, because of the flavor enhancers, and artificial colors. Because of the manmade fats added. 

And who knows what else! 

Choose Health! Choose Whole Foods! 

The Power Inside of Me 

I will not give up because I know I'm building Character

I will not give up because I know I am meant to be in service of others

I will not give up because something inside me is pushing me forward

I will not give up because sharing what I've learned is my greatest gift

I Can Break Through Anything

~NEVER GIVE UP~

Are You In The Grips of a Winter Cold? 

Here are 5 tips to reduce those symptoms or even avoid getting them!

The moment you know you've been exposed to a cold do these 5 things. You can often dodge getting it or at least reduce the symptoms and duration. 

1. Double your intake of water, and add up to half the juice from a lemon to it

2. Add a Zinc supplement daily
3. Avoid dairy and sugar
4. Reduce your busy schedule
5. Take an Epsom Salts bath for body aches

- Doubling your intake of water for 2-3 days will help your body flush out toxins that might be stressing your immune system. It also helps deliver more oxygen to your cells. Being hydrated impacts all of our body's systems. So drink pure water to keep healthy. 

- Zinc is a mineral that helps in many ways but one of the benefits is it helps the immune system fight off invading bacteria and viruses. 

- For many of us, dairy and sugar are allergens, most of us don't even realize it, because of this eating them puts...

Are you busy taking care of everyone and everything except yourself? 

Well, Guess What! If you don't have anything left to give then everyone will feel it! 

1- Choose Whole Fresh Foods - It seems when we are feeling down and low on energy we are at our weakest for grabbing the 'wrong' foods. There is a good reason for that! Carbs, Sugars, and Caffeine not only give our adrenal glands a boost they have a way of tricking our brains to release hormones that help us feel better. The problem is it doesn't last long. Then, later on, we feel even worse because the bottom dropped out of our 'high' and we feel guilty~~  So skip all the drama and reach for fresh, whole foods. They will help pull you up and keep you standing! 

2- Get Some Fresh Air - Even if the sun isn't shining a few breaths of fresh air can elevate your spirits! Park a little further away from the door so you'll get a few extra steps in and while your walking take some deep breaths. Feel...

Do you know how much caffeine is in your tea? What if it's decaf tea, is there still caffeine in it? 

I like to enjoy a cup of tea throughout the day, including in the evening, but sometimes I couldn't get to sleep. This made me wonder if the tea I was drinking had anything to do with that. 

Turns out, maybe it did! 'Naturally decaffeinated green tea contains about 2 milligrams of caffeine per cuppa. An average cup of green tea contains approximately 20-30 milligrams of caffeine depending upon the length of infusion. The longer the infusion time, the more caffeine in the cuppa. You may wonder why a decaffeinated tea would have any caffeine in it at all, but most do.' information borrowed from The Republic of Tea

You can use this two-step process to decaffeinate your own tea, it's kinda 4 steps but who's counting. ;-) Read to the end for the details. 

But first, you will want to start off with good teas. All tea is not created equal. Loose tea is a...