Top 10 Reasons to Konmari Your Home!

A New Organization Method!

Konmari Technique to Tidying and Simplifying is ROCKING my world! My sister-in-law introduced the book/technique to me, and since then, it's been love at first sight! I am totally addicted! Did I say that the other day about the hot sauce too?

It's called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Thank you, Marie Kondo, for your brilliance!

 Photo from Amy Christie who writes her blog:
This Heart of Mine
(she has a lovely post about the book/technique)

Top 10 Reasons to Konmari Your Home

#1 My feelings during and after each step are AMAZING; I feel completely wonderful, peaceful, light, energized, focused, productive, motivated, really! 

#2 I agree that the process is in fact, life-changing! It's a perfect name for her technique and her writing describes it all so beautifully. Perhaps, I will get into the process and hows in another post. As I am getting organized, I am finding new and exciting ideas and energy for my passion of nutrition and health! My mind seems clearer to do what it really wants to, what it might in an ideal world, free from too much busy-ness. (See also 10 Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Life)

#3 My progress rubs off on others most important in my life, without me pushing. Though, I will say that I am actively teaching my children all about this technique.

#4 It's fun to get dressed in the morning, put away my laundry, pack for a trip, or decide what to wear for a special occasion. A new experience for me!

#5 I have a greater respect and care for our things. For example, I have a dress I like, but it didn't fit me just right. Each time I wore it, I would fleetingly wish it wasn't so low cut. After reading this book, I took action by asking my dear mother-in-law to sew it for me, and ta-da! Now, I wear it and feel perfectly comfortable :) Marie Kondo teaches us to repair items we love, rather than just discard, and purchase new. She gives an example of replacing a missing button on a coat you love. So it's not just about getting rid of everything.

#6 It is such a joy to give away lovely items that have already served their purpose in our home. How fun to give gifts! Note: please be careful to only give others things that you think they might really want. We don't want to add to other people's stuff.

#7 (similar to #5) I feel urges to decorate and repair my home, and make it just right for our family. This isn't something about which I've ever been much concerned. It's just a quiet, new feeling, related to appreciating and caring for my home. We all love our home very much right now; still, it's fun to imagine making it just right. I realize that I can make it an even more special place for my family. I am avoiding the word "perfect", but I suppose I am aiming for "perfect FOR US". 

#8 Long lost library books that have been found! We've certainly come across other treasures, but library books definitely come to mind :)

#9 (related to #8) The enjoyment of playing games and other activities with my kids. We're freshly aware of games and activities we had forgotten about. We have space to play, and we have fun activities stored front and center, and easily accessible.

#10 I love the gratitude mindset that Marie Kondo emphasizes. We always thank God for the fun and functionality we got out of the item we might be giving away. Marie Kondo explains how each item serves a purpose. Gifts served their purpose when a loved one gave them to us. Something we purchased that was expensive or a bargain doesn't mean we need to keep it forever. We can learn lessons from each item that we pass on, and she has many lovely examples. (Goodness of Gratitude: 7 Awesome Benefits of Gratitude)

#11 An extra! Another cool thing about this method is that Marie Kondo says you only have to go through this process once. My clothing, the first category, looks 99% the way it looked when I organized it 3 months ago! I describe it like a puzzle, and I just put things back right in their space. You know the saying "a place for everything", well each item I wear now has a specific place it belongs.

#12 Last one! In the book, she gives very exact steps. In particular, I appreciate her providing an exact order of what to tidy first. I love not having to decide what to do next, instead moving on to the next category that Marie suggests without having to make that decision.

 Thanks for this lovely photo, Amy Christie of This Heart of Mine blog!
(she has a lovely post about the book/technique)

Comments: Have you tried this? Other effective methods and tips you'd like to share?

New Nutrition Guidelines!

I have been anxiously waiting a whole year for this final document! The day after a lawsuit from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the guidelines were finally published! Thank you, PCRM!

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have a few exciting changes:

1) The guidelines recommend that all Americans consume as little cholesterol as possible. Since cholesterol is only found in animal foods, this is a wonderful piece of advice for those promoting a whole foods, plant based way of eating!

2) Boys and men are warned to consume less protein. Should I repeat this? Males should eat less protein! Since men and boys get most of their protein from meat, this sounds like another impressive recommendation to eat fewer animal foods. It should be a relief as well, since this population is always especially worried that they aren't getting enough. 

3) Among the still present dairy recommendation (boo!), soy milk is listed within the category (yay!). I really owe you, my readers, an article about this. For now, I will leave you with one aspect, bone health. Among people across the world, taking into account many studies (meta analysis), the people in countries who consume the least amount of dairy, experience the fewest fractures. There are countries all in between that follow the same relationship, as dairy consumption rises, so too does bone fracture! The people in countries who consume the most dairy have the highest rates of bone fracture.

I was going to give you a visual of this, but instead I will just show you a Google image search for "milk intake and hip fracture". Notice all the lines are going up and to the right, whether the studies are looking at calcium intake, dairy intake, or animal protein, as these intakes increase, fracture rates increase. In summary, the less dairy you consume, the lower your risk of bone fracture.

Along these lines, it's a good time to share:
Trans Fat Ban in US ...this is separate from the guidelines, however, related, and super-noteworthy! The FDA decided in June 2015 that based on all the nutrition research available, trans fat is not safe for human consumption. It has therefore been taken off the Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) list, and so may not be added to processed foods. I couldn't find any new information regarding this ban which occurred in June, but I am hopeful that companies are in the process of bettering their products so that they will be safer to eat. Wahoo!

Here are is a post about trans fat. Among the myraid of reasons to avoid meat (here are two posts: 5 reasons! and Plant Based is Powerful!, it must be noted that there are actually trans fats in animal fat, so once trans fat is out of processed foods, the only way to get it completely out of your diet, is to eliminate animal foods from your diet.


Stay tuned! I will be sharing more and more with you about all that I learned at a life-changing course I attended in February 2016 (McDougall Advanced Study Weekend). I just end by sharing my impression from deep in my heart that my totally unreal experience that will inspire me forever! With time, you all will no doubt benefit as well!

A New Product -- Beyond Chicken

When trying to switch to a plant-based diet, it helps to prepare familiar recipes. Here is something to help you do that with all your chicken recipes! 

Keep in mind, meat substitute "products" should be TRANSITIONAL foods, meant to ease you into a plant based diet, as these strips are not a WHOLE FOOD.

Beyond Chicken is a brand that makes meat-like products out of veggies, with a pretty friendly ingredients list, relatively small number of ingredients! I've found it at Target, and Heinen's (a local grocery store). I have only tried chicken strips. The other products look promising and it's fun that the company is looking to provide a healthy option for athletes.

Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips

An Old Product and a New Recipe
Frank's Red Hot Sauce

I literally salivate when I think about this sauce! I'm sure there is some interesting science behind that, but anyway :) It's got a pretty awesome ingredient list, except there is salt, so use hot sauce to help you eat more of the healthy foods, that you might not eat otherwise...like cabbage for example.

Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Try this recipe:

Vegan Buffalo "Chicken" Slaw: bag of shredded cabbage (or shred your own cabbage and carrots), 2 cups cooked brown rice, 2-3 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 1-1.5 Tbsp Vegenaise (vegan mayo), mix together and enjoy! Tastes great at room temperature or heated! Also great with Beyond Meat chicken Strips!

Buffalo Chicken Slaw

Also try Chicken Artichoke Casserole, BBQ Chicken Pizza, and recipes coming soon: "Chicken Broccoli" Pesto Pasta, and "Chicken" Enchiladas. Really, with a chicken substitute, the possibilities are endless! Let me know how you use it!

Drink! It Does a Body a Good!

But NOT milk! Though I am not going to get into that today. A friend recently introduced me to a NEW TEA! Licorice Mint Tea! This isn't the brand I tasted, but my friend assures me the Yogi version is just as tasty.




Licorice Mint Tea, thank you Shannon! This stuff is deeeeeelicious! The coolest thing is that after each sip, my whole mouth has this lovely, cool, fresh, sweet aftertaste :) I've been through at least half the 20-pack box that I received as a gift, in only a week! It's caffeine-free so you can have as much as you like, any time of day. So even though I don't like black licorice candy, I will be seeking out more very soon!











In 2016, I have a goal of staying well hydrated for the entire year (apparently I tried it for a month in 2013, see post about that, including HYDRATION Benefits here). I as some of you might remember, hydration is a challenge for me. I am happy to report that I am still going strong, almost half way through February! Usually, changes are hardest in the first few weeks, so I think I am good to go.

Carbonated waters are another helpful tool for me. I love Klarbrunn, which I buy from Costco for maybe 24 cents per can. It's fun to have something other than water.

A few years ago I switched to almond milk in my cereal, but I still don't drink a glass of it, the way I sometimes used to have a glass of cow milk with dinner. Maybe someday almond milk will be another beverage of choice for me. It's a great option with only 30 calories per cup, plenty of calcium (shake your carton well), with no saturated fat, cholesterol, or added sugar. I also purchase this from Costco, Silk Unsweetened Vanilla.


PS- Today I will meet Dr. John McDougall, long time curer of chronic Western diseases, and bestseller author. One of his newer and awesome books is The Starch Solution.

Coincidentally, it was his compilation of research years ago that finally convinced me that dairy is not only unnecessary, but seriously harmful to our health. But again, that's another post, for another day.
  
Be well everybody, and have a fabulous weekend!

How Not to Die! by Michael Greger

!!!!!!!!t.I wholeheartedly recommend this book to EVERYONE I know and care about! So of course I sharing it here is a must! I trust completely in Dr Michael Greger.

Dr Greger (Food As Medicine, and instant best seller How Not to Die) This man is an amazing advocate of human beings! According to Dr Greger, we each have a big responsibility to feed ourselves and our families the most nourishing foods that can keep us living well, well into our years, and avoid all of the troublesome, yet avoidable Western diseases, such as many cancers, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, arthritis, and the other many inflammatory diseases. His book was just released in December and is already being translated into many languages!

Dr Greger, author of How Not to Die's An Anatomy of How Not to Die

On Amazon.com, you can even "look inside"...there are a lot of pages that you can read through before you buy the book, but having the whole thing at home, may be the nutrition bible for health and happiness forever more! Plus, every dollar made from book and all of Dr Greger's DVDs goes to charity

Here is a random collection of posts in which I have cited or often discussed Dr Michael Greger! I am so very grateful that he has compiled this amazing book for all to learn the way to beautiful health!

COMMENTS: Please come back and share here what you enjoy most about this book! Comments on my posts help more people to see the post, and therefore, more people will see this awesome book! Though my impact on health, compared to Dr Greger, is quite small, I want to help too, as much as I can! Have a great day!

Plant-Based Fridge and Pantry Reset

Transform Your Kitchen into a Helpful Space for Your Health Goals

Most dietary changes fail because the environment doesn’t support you. If your pantry is filled with processed "convenience" foods and inflammatory animal products, your willpower must work overtime.

In this 1-on-1 Kitchen Reset, I join you in your home (or via video) to audit your current environment and curate a space that makes plant-based living effortless, vibrant, and delicious.

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What’s Included in the Overhaul:

• The Nutritional Audit: We’ll go through your fridge and pantry together. I’ll help you identify ingredients with hidden sugars, inflammatory oils, and highly processed additives which are getting in the way of your progress.
• The Powerful Transition: We will systematically remove animal-based products and replace them with nutrient-dense, plant-derived alternatives that satisfy your cravings without the heavy saturated fats.
• The "Swap-Not-Stop" Strategy: For every "junk food" item we remove, I provide a high-vibe alternative. You’ll learn how to swap dairy for creamy nut bases, processed snacks for whole-food fuels, and refined grains for ancient staples.
• Strategic Organization: I’ll teach you how to arrange your kitchen so that the healthiest choices are the easiest to grab, using visual cues to encourage better habits.
• The Grocery List: Based on what we keep and what we toss, I will provide a customized shopping list to fill the gaps, ensuring you’re never left wondering "what’s for dinner?"

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The Result?

No more decision fatigue. No more guilt. Just a clean, organized, kitchen that empowers you to cook with confidence and eat with purpose.

Eating Family Dinner Together = Smarter, Happier Kids, and More!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of learning some valuable lessons from Dr Lisa Damour! Author of Entangled, to be released in February, 2016!

The lasting impressions I got from her engaging presentation about resilience were:

*SLEEP is immensely important. She says that we should protect and prioritize our children's (and surely our own) hours of sleep each night because of the lengthy list of benefits of sleep wrapped into one pill would be a billion dollar drug with only beneficial side effects. I think so too!

*Family MEALS, at least 4 nights per week, powerfully results in significantly smarter kids with a better sense of well being, regardless of the pleasantness of the meals! Grandma was right!

*Meaningful friendships are important, and this is not too surprising. The surprise to me, is that it's best to just have ONE OR TWO CLOSE FRIENDS, rather than more. The reasoning made sense; we can get pulled in too many directions, unintentionally hurt feelings when spending time with one friend, rather than another, and maintaining too many relationships expends lots of energy.

*A growth mindset, rather than a fixed one, refers to the "If I WORK HARD enough, I can do anything!" way of thinking, resulting in much more SUCCESSFUL children and adults, than those who rely on how they were born / their "talents" / their genetics. She included various comparisons of how each mindset would act/feel in various situations, such as getting a disappointing grade, striking out, asking for help from a teacher, etc.

Joan Borysenko is another fabulous resource for RESILIENCE; here is a post I wrote after taking a class from her which provides methods of increasing our resilience.

Lisa also stressed the importance of children spending time with adults, and this matches advice I have been trying to follow from Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions. At my house, we call it "Mommy and Me Time". Check out my post about Positive Parenting Solutions.

Also, here's a post with some other great parenting books!

Look for more posts soon - I have so much fun and exciting stuff to share :)

1-2-3 Smoothies and Breast Cancer Awareness

Greetings! Breast cancer awareness is always important, so please browse through the helpful infographic below. The group that is spreading the word are here :) Besides sharing their info here, the help I have to offer is FLAXSEED!

There is substantial evidence that ground flaxseed because of it's bountiful lignans is very helpful in cancer prevention, slowing, and improving survival rates! It's also beneficial to men, related to prostate cancer. So here you go!

You know how I love my videos, so here's one for you! In it, you can see potentially a 20-40% reduced risk of breast cancer with regular flaxseed intake :)

Three delicious combos that you can prepare in seconds! Blend either combination of ingredients and drink immediately!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Yum!
1 ripe banana
small handful peanuts (plain, or roasted)
3/4 c unsweetened almond milk or water (vanilla Silk is great!)
handful of ice
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed (I get a huge bag of organic from Costco!)

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothie Yum!
handful frozen cherries (~3/4c but I just shake some in from the bag)
1 cup almond milk or water
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Yum!
1 or 2 pitted dates
1 tsp pumpkin spice (try my homemade version)
1 cup almond milk or water
handful of ice
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
These are more like a creamy juice or milk than a smoothie; these drinks are not thick. They're tasty, quick, and most importantly, provide us with a powerful dose of those commanding lignans!

For more: A Dr Maize article (doctoroz.com), A Dr Greger article (links to great videos within article), and more ways to eat flaxseed from me (eggplant parm, banana bread, oatmeal, muffin tops, and more!).

BONUS TIP: Flaxseed oil is void of the majority of the lignans and all of the fiber that flaxseed offers, so stick with the dry, ground version :)

Top 10 Reasons to Chew Cinnamon Sticks, the New Red Hots!

Some reasons why I always want to have a cinnamon stick handy to nibble on (TEENY, TINY bits)!

1. Fresh breath
2. A healthy alternative to gum chewing AND Red Hot candies
3. Appetite suppressant (perhaps, read here for more; link also includes help with blood sugar control)
4. Keeps your mouth busy so you aren't eating out of boredom (also may help with smoking cessation by keeping mouth and hands busy)
5. Cleans teeth, gum and mouth health, cavity prevention

Some other benefits that have been associated with cinnamon, many for thousands of years!

6. Anti-microbial, (check out effectiveness against H. Pylori -- cause of ulcers), anti-fungal, antiviral, antioxidant
7. Flatulence, indigestion, bloating
8. Pain reducer
9. May help with cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure, arthritis, and inflammation

From Dr Michael Greger's Update on Cinnamon for Blood Sugar Control video on nutritionfacts.org

I delayed this post by a month because I became concerned about which type of cinnamon to recommend. There is more research showing benefits of cassia cinnamon on blood sugar control, but getting too much could be harmful to the liver. Ceylon cinnamon is considered the safer cinnamon. Sometimes the cinnamon you shake is a combination, and doesn't even say which kind(s). But looking back to the big picture, it's cinnamon! It tastes delicious (reason #10) and may be good for our health too! We shouldn't go too crazy with it, like everything, just like grandma used to say, everything in moderation :) Grab a stick today!

Here is a link to my other posts about cinnamon, including recipes!

Chocolate Brownie Muffin Top Cookies!

Chocolate Brownie Cookies



These butter-free, sugar-free, and guilt-free snacks are so delicious! They are a great sweet for school lunches, or a couple of these cookies are so healthy that they can serve as a quick on-the-go breakfast!

2 c pitted dates (40 pieces)
2 and 1/4 c hot water
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder

Heat oven to 375 convection (400 conventional). In a food processor, chop dates into a sticky ball. In mixing bowl, stir dates, water, and flax, until well mixed. In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda). Mix wet and dry just until dry is wet. Put scoopfuls onto cookie sheet (I love silicon my bakeware). I get two sheets of 12-13 cookies per recipe. If you enjoy pecans, add a few on top before baking. So pretty! Bake about 20 minutes and enjoy!

If you choose to make cupcakes, recipe should make about one dozen.

For the last batch I made, I added 3 pecans per cookie, coming together in the middle in a "Y" shape, for a very pretty presentation. Plus, the pecans get toasted, really adding to the flavor :)

Other similar recipes include:

Banana Breakfast Cookies
Peanut Butter Banana Crunch Breakfast Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Plant Powered Kitchen! Trans Fat Ban

Good evening!

I hope you enjoyed How to Peel a Mango in 15 Seconds! Now, you can watch another "how to" video as my way of showing you Plant Powered Kitchen, just introduced to me, that I am sure to be reading a lot!

EXCITING NEWS! In June 2015, the government banned artificial TRANS fats! It is a huge step toward a healthier food supply! One fear is that food manufacturers will create some other artificial fat to replace partially hydrogenated oils. Other unhealthy fats to look out for are PALM OIL and MONO- and DIGLYCERIDES. Remember also that there are trans fats in animal products.

"[This change] is expected to prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease every year", New York Times. On the other hand, Dr David Katz reminds us in the Huffington Post that choosing plant-based, whole foods is STILL the MOST IMPORTANT thing we can do for our health.

Check out the Washington Post's article/videos regarding the Trans Fat Ban in the US.

ALSO check out these awesome: Flourless Chai Sandwich Cookies! by MWFL Melissa (I adore her!).

I am working on my Pinterest Boards. It's a nice way to organize some things :)

Mango Peeling Made EASY!

Mangos are SO UNBELIEVABLY easy with this trick that we've eaten a dozen mangoes in a few days! Peeling slippery mangoes used to be our limiting factor in this mango-loving household! Here you can see my 4 year-old son do it for the FIRST time in less than a minute! I found this trick from No Meat Athlete who found it from Crazy Russian Hacker.

Mango Peeling Made EASY!

Step By Step How to Peel a Mango

• Cut off stem so you have a flat base.
• Cut off two large sides of the fruit, parallel cuts on each side of the flat, oval, disc pit.
• Hold a mango side piece, outside of mango resting in palm of your hand.
• Hook a bit of mango skin on outside of a beer glass.
• Pressing hard on glass, and slide mango down the side.
• Bite into your perfectly peeled mango piece or chop as you like. Yum, yum!

No Meat Athlete is awesome proof that you can be a healthy, successful athlete "without meat", and there are lots of ways to simplify whole food eating too!

Crazy Russian Hacker has lots of other cool tricks with kiwi, ice cream, watermelon, and more!

You're very welcome for all the extra beta carotene and phytochemicals you'll get now that you can eat fresh mango with such ease!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries Smoothie

A super-delicious smoothie that takes seconds to make! It is basically Happy Herbivore's Neapolitan Smoothie. She has an awesome website and services to offer with VERY simple recipes and menus that anyone can make! Please check her/it out! I can't wait to try so many of her recipes!!!

My version has more chocolate and less banana, comparatively, but I give all creativity credits to Lindsay Nixon of Happy Herbivore (this is an egg-less "egg salad" recipe I am anxious to try!)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries Smoothie

1 c unsweetened, vanilla almond milk

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

2 ripe bananas

2 c frozen strawberries

Fill blender in above order, blend (in my Blendtec this takes about 10 seconds!), and enjoy!

This makes about 30 ounces of smoothie to be served immediately!

We divided the batch into three 10-oz smoothies, and made more for the family twice today! 

You might also enjoy the 3-Ingredient Super-Smoothie!

Lots to share, so hopefully I'll post again soon! Be well :)