Category: How-to

Why You Should Kick Your Coffee Habit – And A Green Smoothie Recipe To Help You Do It

It’s back to school time for me (eek!). I just had my first day last Thursday – an orientation and the first session of Psychology of Disease. Can I just say, I love this school! I met so many enthusiastic people, centered on their paths. It feels warm and encouraging to be surrounded by so many like-minding people!

One thing that really stuck out to me is the amount of care put into the orientation lecture. What kind of learners were we and how could we ensure the greatest level of success? Not only study practices were addressed, but lifestyle practices (maybe this should have been obvious going in, seeing as it is a holistic school). I loved that emphasis was put on sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress management, and positive affirmations. The favourite affirmation at the school is apparently “We are too blessed to be stressed”. I like it!

Shayna, the program director, spent 30 minutes lecturing about coffee (and caffeine) and it’s nasty side effects. As someone who survived on coffee and junk food through the first few years of undergrad – before catching on that it didn’t seem to be helping me – I really wished we had gotten this kind of holistic speech before our first years of college, or better yet, in highschool. How to take care of your body and mind together for the best learning outcomes.

The coffee talk snapped me out of some things. For one, I’ve slipped back into a pattern of sneaking the occasional coffee here and there a few times a week. This is going to stop. No more coffee for me!!

Here are some quick highlights of the lecture and some reasons I think you should kick your coffee/caffeine habit with me this fall for increased health and productivity:

+ Erin
P 09/10/2012
t Blog, How-to
Cback to school, blueberry, caffeine, coffee, green smoothie, kale, peach, romaine
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Preparation for a 12-day cleanse

Doing a cleanse can be difficult. It takes a lot of preparation to eat differently than you’re used to. It’s a good idea to have some recipe ideas ready and your fridge and pantry stocked – you don’t want to feel deprived, as that can make your cleanse a real struggle. Sometimes eating healthy can take a little longer, but with a bit of prep work you can make your life much easier.

I started sprouting some seeds (broccoli and daikon radish), black beans, chickpeas, and lentils a couple of days ago.

+ Erin
P 04/11/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, How-to
9 No Comments

Springtime Cleanse Time!

Spring is here and there’s no better time to do a cleanse. The shift in the seasons brings us out of hibernation and is a great time to clear out the buildup from previous months, or even years. Spring cleanses typically focus on detoxifying the liver – and there are lots of bitter greens popping up early in the growing season that can help out with the job!

This year I am doing the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox for the 4th time. I’ve had great results with it in the past and I would recommend it to anyone looking for some herbal support for their cleanse. If you follow the link, you’ll find all the info on which foods are acceptable and not acceptable during the program, as well as which ones should be limited to 20% of your diet, and which to eat more of.

You can also easily do a cleanse on your own by simply eliminating pro-inflammatory and sugary foods from your diet and eating tons of greens and veggies and other supportive foods. The Wild Rose food list is a great place to start.

Here are some tips for your cleanse:

1) Give your digestive system a break – foods like dairy, sugar, flour, and processed foods can cause inflammation in your gut which puts a strain on your immune system. Eliminating these foods will help you clean out your system. Consider taking a good probiotic supplement to help re-establish a healthy gut flora.

2) Drink lots of water – 8+ glasses and lots of herbal tea, too. Ditch the coffee altogether… or if that is completely impossible, try to limit yourself to one cup a day. Add a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to your water to alkalize your body and help with the liver detox.

3) Get some sleep – Try to wind down when the sun goes down. Eating late, watching tv, and surfing the web all make it harder for our body to get a good sleep. Aim to not eat anything for 3 hours before bed and you’ll give your digestive system some much needed rest. This will help you get a deeper sleep.

4) Minimize toxins – Opt for local and organic food, lighten up on chemical-laden cosmetics, moisturizers, hair products, etc. as anything you put on your skin can be absorbed into your bloodstream.

5) Eat lots of colourful vegetables – adding in loads of greens and lightly steamed veggies will help provide your body with all the nutrients it needs. Olive and flax oils are a great addition – but don’t heat flax oil, just use it to flavour or dress salads, stir-frys, rice bowls, or really anything.

+ Erin
P 04/08/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, How-to
9 No Comments

Green Smoothie Breakdown

That little jar of bright-green goodness will zing you wide-awake better than a coffee. I used to require coffee every morning to deactivate zombie-mode. Now I drink these delicious smoothies and I’m good to go! Tons of energy! Tons of green!

So good.

And to me, it’s a huge added bonus that I’m getting LOADS of raw, live, veggie nutrients and goodness first thing in the morning. Mmmm.

It’s fun to see how much of this you can squeeze in your blender. Sometimes I drink a half litre smoothie. Sometimes I’m hardcore and I take down a whole litre.

That’s a lotta green!

I like to tell people to start with spinach cause it’s milder tasting than say, kale or chard. Romaine is another heavy hitter on rotation in our fridge. And when I say rotation, I mean rotation. Rotate your greens every week or so because each different green has trace amounts of alkaloids. Varying your selection of greens helps make it easier for your body to detoxify the alkaloids.

The “green” flavour is easy to mask with a pear, or a banana. Sometimes I toss in an apple, or some blueberries (that’ll turn your smoothie brown though, but still delicious and nutritious).