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12 NOV

Eight Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

Every day Jose looks forward to coming home. At 3:00 p.m. school is out, and he and his friend Michael can play computer games for at least three hours before Mom gets home from work.

Every day Jose’s mom dreads coming home. With feelings of frustration and even a little guilt, she arrives to find her son has wasted yet another afternoon in front of his PlayStation.

Seem familiar? As parents struggle to balance busy work schedules, their children are often being shaped by a number of less-than-ideal influences. Children are constantly exposed to advertising, media, and peers; and the consequential sedentary lifestyle has resulted in children struggling with adult medical problems, including obesity,
diabetes, and heart disease.

01 NOV

Spinach with Browned Pine Nuts

Ingredients: 2½ pounds fresh baby spinach, cut into strips 1 large onion, julienned 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped ½ cup pine nuts ½ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon salt Directions: Sauté onion, garlic, and pine nuts in olive oil for 3 minutes or until pine nuts are golden. Gradually add baby spinach. Add salt. Sauté […]

01 NOV

Dried Fig Appetizers

Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups chopped dried mission figs (approximately 9 ounces) ¼ cup superfine sugar 1/3 cup orange sections, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon orange rind, grated 1/3 cup fresh orange juice (approximately 1 orange) ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped 40 (½-inch-thick) slices French bread baguettes, toasted 1 ¼ cups finely crumbled extra firm tofu 5 […]

01 NOV

Citrus Cheesecake With Mango Sauce

Ingredients:

Crust
2½ cups crushed graham crackers
½ cup toasted almond meal
6 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted

Filling

1⁄4 cup pitted, chopped dates
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon each lemon zest and orange zest
3 tablespoons water
1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu
2⁄3 cup apple juice
1 banana, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 mango, peeled and chopped
Fresh currants and/or small berries, optional
Read more about Citrus Cheesecake With Mango Sauce …

01 NOV

Live With Purpose

Successful people—and companies—throughout time have been led by mission statements.

Get inspired tow rite your own mission statement by reading some of the best mission statements of famous people and corporations.

Mission Statements of Famous People

Nelson Mandela: “To end apartheid.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Social equality for all.”
Walt Disney: “To make people happy.”
Mother Teresa: “To show mercy and compassion to the dying.”

Wintertime Fitness

Winter is coming, and we are packing on the pounds. But surely our bodies are physiologically preprogrammed to pad on added insulation in the winter, right? Sorry, but no… not unless you are a hibernating bear.

While cold winter weather does produce a slowing of our body’s metabolism to compensate for the dramatic shift in temperatures, it is not nearly as profound as in other mammals, such as woodchucks or bears. Interestingly, recent clinical studies do suggest that we have “circannual cycles,” meaning cyclical changes in blood chemistry, hormone secretion, brain activity, and appetite. These circannual rhythms appear to relate to changes in the length of daylight and darkness, causing seasonal deviations.

Surviving the Happiest Time of the Year

Every year I eagerly anticipate Christmas. But then I remember how much there is to do! Decorations. Gifts. Church and school programs. Parties. Pictures. New clothes. Caroling. Baking and cooking. Family get-togethers.

If you’re wondering how to get it all accomplished and still enjoy the holiday, try these time, energy, and sanity savers I’ve discovered to help you have a truly Merry Christmas this year.

1. Plan ahead.
You smart ones did this year’s shopping at last year’s after-holiday sales. However, even if the rest of us don’t get around to it until after Thanksgiving, there’s still plenty of time to find some great bargains.

01 NOV

The Sounds of Healing

Betsey Carle never autographs napkins, wears sequined gowns, or takes tips.

One day while Carle was on the job an elderly hospice patient with faltering memory gave her a snippet of a lyric from an old song he longed to hear but could not place.

Carle searched her songbooks for four months to finally identify and sing “When It’s Springtime in the Rockies” while strumming her guitar.

“The music made a difference,” Carle says. “Many people in that age group remember the song. They mouth the words. And because music is tied into emotion, cognition, and memory in the brain, it takes them back to a more normal time,” she says. “That’s healing.”
Read more about The Sounds of Healing …

01 NOV

Mushrooms

There are more than 14,000 types of mushrooms. About 3,000 of those are edible, and 700 have known medicinal properties. Here’s an up close look at this surprisingly healthy food.
Mushrooms are well known for their taste, texture, and versatility. During cooking the flavor normally intensifies, so they are a savory addition to anything from soups and salads to sandwiches and pizza. In fact, mushroom extracts are increasingly being added to food supplements and health beverages.
Read more about Mushrooms …

01 NOV

Melaleuca

Nature

Tea tree oil is produced by steam distillation of the leaves and shoots of the tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, an amazing wonder that grows to about 20 feet in height. Melaleuca flourishes along the northern-eastern coastal lowlands of New South Wales in Australia and possesses a characteristic flaky, paper-thin, white bark. The oil from melaleuca (tea tree oil) is pale yellow and boasts a fresh camphoraceous odor, similar to that of eucalyptus oil.

Tea tree oil or “melaleuca oil” should not be confused with oils obtained from other melaleuca species such as cajeputl, kanuka, or manuka oils.
Traditionally, tea tree oil has been used to treat skin ailments such as burns, bruises, cuts, abrasions, swellings, insect bites and stings, ringworm, acne, and rosacea. Eastern Australia’s indigenous people used crushed leaves of the tea tree as a traditional medicine to combat coughs and colds. They also utilized the leaves to treat wounds and skin ailments, and to make an infusion to battle sore throats.
Melaleuca appeared on the medicinal radar screen years ago when researchers in Australia discovered that tea tree oil had an antiseptic activity far more potent than the commonly used germicide, carbolic acid. Australian soldiers included tea tree oil in their first aid kits as a disinfectant during World War II.
Read more about Melaleuca …