October is National Vegetarian Month

Whatever it takes to eat more veggies, whether that's eating vegan (no dairy or processed foods), cutting out meat (vegetarian), adding another serving of veggies each day or like me (vegan, but eat wild fish, organic eggs and occasionally goat cheese), eat like your life depends on it. Because it does!

Your mind will clear, the scales will dip, your skin will look amazing, you'll sleep better and you can say good-bye to those pesky colds and flues.

Graphic Source: Fix.com

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Yam, Chickpea & Spinach Curry Soup

Here's a great soup to get your fall in gear. It's simple (if I make it, you can bet it's easy to prepare). I made this soup while visiting a friend who moved away.

Two other friends and I flew to Southern California to enjoy a few days with a girlfriend who moved closer to her grandkids—her son needed help and she rose to the challenge. I offered to cook all the meals during the visit because I've learned that I won't get decent food (or any food... hello, breakfast is the most important meal of the day) unless I step up. Thrilled about having me cook for them, they were eager to see what and how I cooked.

It's just easier for me to cook than give the cook instruction for my eating lifestyle. In this case, the cook was primarily my friend's husband and he wanted to learn more about eating healthier.

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Wisdom Wednesday

Studies continue to expose the ill-effects of artificial sweeteners. Besides research that claims these fake sugars add weight rather than help you lose weight, the latest study shows that artificial sweeteners (saccharin — in the pink packets of Sweet’N Low, sucralose—yellow packets of Splenda, and aspartame —blue packets of Equal) caused a change in gut bacteria that led to a glucose intolerance.

In plain talk that means you can be on your way to getting Type II diabetes. Not to mention that disrupting the gut bacteria (the essence of your immune system) is dangerous business.

Do you need any more evidence that diet drinks and using artificial sweetener instead of real sugar* is NOT okay? The issue should be settled. Stay away!

*We'll tackle real sugar in another post.

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Remembering 9/11

We will never forget that Tuesday when an ordinary morning was attacked by evil and changed America forever. It punched a hole in the fabric of our security. Up to then, most felt America was invincible.

Many families have a story to tell about that day. For those who lost loved ones, the story may still hold a painful grip on hearts—even thirteen years later. We have vivid memories of exactly what we were doing when we heard the fateful news. What were you doing?

Bob and I were up early that morning preparing to go to the airport in San Francisco to pick up our son, Nur, and his half-brother, Daak, returning from three weeks in Japan.

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What Does a Bully Look Like?

What does a bully look like? Pretty ugly when they blindside you, yelling unfounded accusations in your face. Really? Why does a 50-ish man find it necessary to scream at a women sitting in her camp chair visiting with a friend.

It happened to me last night while waiting for the band to start at an outdoor free concert. My husband was at the restroom at the time of the instigating incident. When Bob returned, he was puzzled to find our friend arguing with the bully (never argue with a bully—they don't listen and reason is not a trait they embrace).

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8 Tips to Lose Your Gut

Rock Man at Tamarack Lake, CA

Rather than show you an ugly picture of belly fat or the flat stomach of a twenty-year-old... I bring you Rock Man. He spouts wisdom to help you lose that gut you're tired of feeling around your middle. Maybe you're not interested in getting a rock-hard stomach (although it's easy to attain... right, Rock Man?), but you'd like to get rid of that roll. Read on.

Building muscle, losing fat, and improving overall health is dependent on one very important hormone—insulin. Follow these tips to control your insulin and lose that fat!

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Summer Squash & Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese

I tossed this together for my lunch the other day. It's the perfect example of what I do regularly. With plenty of green and yellow summer squash coming out of home gardens, you'll find this one a winner. It fits my simple and quick to prepare requirements.

From now on simple and quick shall be known as SAQ—yes, it's time to give those recipes an identity.

This recipe includes smoked paprika. If you haven's discovered this spice, you better go get some. Once you start adding it to recipes, you can become a revered chef like me (in my own head).

For dressing I used what I had pre-made, which is typically equal amounts of extra-virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I might add a bit of balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon or lime, spices or even fruit concentrate. Mix a tiny amount of this and that and you've got yourself a delicious fresh dressing without all the #%*&% added that you find in store-bought dressing—even the organic ones. The additives are just as hard to decipher as #%*&%.

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Wisdom Wednesday

Tip:
To get probiotics into your daily meals there's Kimchi (great with eggs for breakfast), Kombucha tea, plain Yogurt, and Sauerkraut—each giving you different types of bacteria. Add to that Miso, which is commonly used to make miso soup, however the bacteria are likely destroyed in the cooking. Instead add a little miso paste to your salad dressing—it acts as an emulsifier.

Here's a quick dressing recipe from Summer Tomato:
1 Tbsp miso paste, splash of rice vinegar to 1/2 C olive oil, add salt & pepper, fresh chives and some grated ginger to make a nutritious and delicious dressing.

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Why Is Vitamin D So Important?

Vitamin D has been getting some press lately as a growing body of evidence points to the importance of the vitamin. Just how important? It could be a matter of life and death. Let's examine.

#1 Vitamin D is an Essential Vitamin
Essential means we need it for life itself. Good health and disease prevention hangs on it. The US government long ago classified 13 nutrients, it called vitamins, to be essential for normal cell growth, development and function. Vitamin D is one of those nutrients.

#2 Vitamin D Makes Healthy Bones
It is key to helping the body absorb calcium for healthy bones and teeth. In addition, Vitamin D helps maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorus (another component for healthy bones and teeth).

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