4 Roots of Optimum Wellness

There are four essential parts to being healthy: Diet, Exercise, Sleep & Attitude.

Vitae Elixxir Healing Herbs

A proprietary combination of ten disease-fighting herbs used for more than 40 years and helping thousands of people with serious health issues.

Books by Author & Health Coach Chris Pedersen

In a world of adventure and imagination, kids’ books in print and digital that encourage a healthy lifestyle.

6 Tips to Lose Weight

Don’t count calories—take a serious look at the food you want to eat, then ask, ”Is this something that will give my body good health?”

Friday, May 24, 2013

7 Personality Traits for Healthy Kids

There are many traits that make-up a healthy-minded person. Developing these traits (I call attitude) as kids contribute to a well-adjusted, long-living, healthy adult as much as diet, exercise and sleepthe remaining roots of health. Parents who nurture their children with these in mind will launch a healthier person into adulthood. This is one of our most important jobs as parents.

Let's look as these traits and how parents can help their children cultivate them.

1. Social Connection
We're not talking Facebook type of social, but real honest relationships. The type you can count on when others may not want to get involved. Friends that will stand-up for you. Tell you when you're doing something unhealthy, like smoking.

Studies have shown that people with close friends are less likely to get sick and recover from illness or surgery faster.

Cultivating: Set-up play dates when your children are young. Encourage older kids to develop relationships with others. Let them call friends and arrange get togethers. Send them outside to play in the neighborhood with other kids. Allow your kids to fail in their relationships so they can learn.

2. Mindfulness
Being thoughtful, disciplined and conscientious covers a lot in life. People who live life with a determination and drive, exercising common sense, will do well and likely make good choices that lead to healthy habits.

Cultivating: This may be harder to cultivate unless being organized and planful already comes naturally. Help your kids plan out their week. Encourage them to think about why they might make a certain choice over another. Guide them in setting goals, then help them take the steps to achieve them. Start young with a simple task such as putting toys away when done playing and establish consequences when they don't.

3. Worry-Free
We're talking about being worry-free not being care-free. Worrying about stuff you can't control or getting emotional about things taken personally can be detrimental to relationships and health.

Cultivating: Don't sweat the small stuff. If your nature is not to worry, chances are your children will not either. Help your kids determine what's important and encourage them to let go of things they can't control while being mindful to provide emotional support if necessary.

4. Optimism
Positive thinking is an age-old key to getting the best results. It is certainly the antithesis of worry. Even when life throws a bad deal your way, optimism will get you through because optimists are fighters and less affected by stress.

Cultivating: Help your kids see the bright side of a bad situation. Walk them through an example of something they view as "awful" so they can see, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

5. Laughter
Laughter is good medicine. Some have claimed they laughed themselves to better health. We've all felt the effect of a good belly laugh when stomach and face muscles may hurt from the "exercise."

Cultivating: Watch funny movies with your kids. Some humor, even in kid's movies, may be over their head, but your laughter can be infectious and they may join in. Don't take yourself so seriously and neither will your kids. Kids like to be sillyjoin them in being silly.

6. Joyfulness
Although happy people are great to be around, there is something deeper in having joy. Whereas happiness can be event driven and thus external, joy comes from within and exhibits a contentment that can be shown even when there may not be happiness.

Cultivating: Children are naturally joyful. It comes from their spirit. As a parent it's important to keep that joy alive. Help them see the good in people and things to nurture that contentment.

7. Self-Confidence
Being self confident helps us develop a comfort when we're out among people we may not know well. Most people are not naturally comfortable in a room of strangers, but even an introvert can learn to take steps to "break the ice."

Cultivating: Help your children feel comfortable in a group of kids or adults they may not know. Teach them social gracesthe basics, like please and thank you, plus how to introduce themselves. Teach them the art of conversation. Give them questions they can use to begin a dialogue.

Check out the time-honored book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, to learn more ways to build these traits.

Your turn. Tell us a story where you cultivated a healthy personality trait in your kids. Or perhaps they did for you.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Prisoner Hit #1

So excited about our FREE for the first time promo for The Prisoner of Carrot Castle. We reached #1 for iPad book apps. So many little ones hearing and interacting with a fun and imaginative story to help them like veggies.

The promo is still on. So get to the App Store and download your copy FREE.

Click to Download

Sale ends at the end of the day Sunday, May 19th.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Unveiling The Prisoner of Carrot Castle Book at A Day on the Farm

SoilBorn Farm

THIS IS A RAIN OR SHINE EVENT
A Day on the Farm
Learn, Eat & Celebrate!
Sunday • May 19 • 10am - 3pm • $5 per person
American River Ranch • Next to Hagan Park • Rancho Cordova


Soil Born Farm$5 per person kids & adults
(2 yrs and under free)
pay at the gate (cash only)

proceeds benefit
 

The Day's Events Include:
Farm Stand

Purchase fresh, local, organic vegetables & fruit
Soil Born FarmCooking Classes & Workshops
Farm Tours & Nature Walks
Kid's Garden Activities
Face Painting & Photo Booth
Community Education Tables
Local Arts & Crafts
Live Music: Mind X Quartet & More!
Morning Food, Snacks & Lunch

Learn About:
American River's Native Plants
Gardening • Composting
Raising Chickens
Beekeeping • Cooking
Native Edibles • More


Mark your calendars! I will be at A Day on the Farm at Soil Born Farm in Rancho Cordova. Buy a copy of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle and get it signed. Buy carrots and broccoli. Enjoy a salad toss. Juggle veggies. Lots of fun things to see and do.
Order The Prisoner of Carrot Castle Book
To celebrate the launch of the book in print, the iPad version is FREE for the first time ever! Hurry! FREE offer is good from May 16-19!

Friday, May 10, 2013

KISS Chili Recipe

Okay, it's high time you learn about the way I really cook. In hopes that you can learn to do the same.

When my friend Joanne Kraft began to prod, beg and coerce me to set up a blog so I could help people navigate the road to wellness plus provide delicious, healthy recipes, I protested loudly. I typically don't use recipes. I open my cabinets and refrigerator and make up meals. The simpler the better. You know... the KISS methodKeep It Simple Stupid/Silly (fill-in your own word that starts with an S).

Friday, May 3, 2013

What's the Scoop on Probiotics and Prebiotics?

Probiotic


In a recent post about bacteria and the role it plays in our health, I mentioned probiotics and prebiotics. There was a lot to digest (ahem!) there. So I feel the need to help you along with some practical information.

I believe that Americans in general are bacteria-starved. They have upset their body's ecological balance and, as a result, get hit regularly with illness (minor and serious).

The Solution
We need to add good bacteria (Probiotics) to our systems so we have half a chance of fighting off illness and disease. Then we need to make sure we feed the good bacteria (Prebiotics) so it remains healthy and grows.

Probiotics
There are two ways to get bacteria back at work in our bodies.
  1. Eat/drink fermented foods
  2. Take a probiotic supplement
Eating fermented foods provides 1000 times more bacteria than taking a probiotic supplement.

I like to recommend PB8 because its the brand prescribed by my functional medicine doctor.

In the area of fermented (or cultured) foods, I recently discovered some new products in my favorite grocery store, Nugget MarketWildbrine sauerkraut salad and Synergy Kombucha tea. Both are raw and organic foods.

I drink about 8 oz of Kombucha every day. There are several flavors to choose from. The sauerkraut gets mixed into my raw, cut-up veggie salad. It adds a zip to the flavor I really enjoy. You can also eat yogurt, but I'm highly suspect unless the ingredient's label states live bacteria. Many yogurts are pasteurized once the cultures are added, which kills the bacteria. Duh!

Prebiotics
Similar to probiotics you can take a supplement or you can eat foods that provide nourishment for your friendly bacteria. I recommend the eating route.

Here's s list of foods that provide fuel to your good bugs: onions, garlic, milk (including breast milk), bananas, wheat, oats, artichokes, asparagus, leeks and chicory. I know I eat many of these foods on a regular basis.

You can order 100% raw and organic cultured vegetables from Immunitrition.

Also, check out this video to make your own (its very easy) fermented vegetables:



Start a routine to build up your bacteria and see if you start feeling better. You'll manage to ward off those nasty bugs going around that you always seem to get smacked with.