Roasted Beet and Garlic Soup Recipe

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Adapted from Skin Guy Gourmet

This soup recipe has beets which are filled with potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine and folic acid. Beets also contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones. Feeling a little scattered and or overwhelmed this holiday season? Beets also help to ground you energetically.
This recipe also contains garlic which supports the immune system with is antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.

A healthy delicious soup to enjoy this winter season.

Ingredients:

4 large beets – peeled and diced

2 large Vidalia or yellow onions – peeled and chopped into quarters

3 cloves garlic – peeled and smashed

2 TBS coconut oil
2 cups baby carrots

2 cups vegetable stock

Himalayan Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

– Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
– Line pan with parchment paper
– Add the beets, carrots, onion and garlic
– Add coconut oil, salt and pepper and mix well
– Roast in oven for one hour – but toss the mixture at 30 minutes so all sides cook evenly
– Reduce heat to 350 degrees after one hour and cook until fork-tender; checking every 20 minutes or so and tossing using tongs.
– When mixture is fork-tender, remove from oven and set aside to cook for at least 30 minutes. Put the mixture in the blender in batches.
– Add the vegetable stock and blend until you get your desired texture.

Pour in a bowl and enjoy!

Start Your New Year with Steps Toward Empowerment!

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Happy New Year! I’m hoping that your holidays have been joyous and filled with family, friends, and fun, and that 2014 is filled with wonder and wellness.

And if you’re like 90% of the world, you’re probably beginning the year with a list of resolutions in your shiny new calendar… Maybe something like this:

Resolved: in the next 365 days, I will diet and exercise… stick to a budget… manage time effectively…end hunger…eradicate disease… and accomplish world peace!

Of course the last three of those resolutions are just a smidge over the top…but what’s wrong with the first three? Aren’t they the same commitments that nearly everyone makes…year after year?

Yes, they are…and that’s the trouble. Not that you want to achieve these goals, but that just about everyone tries to accomplish them in the same way…

By making resolutions. And because resolutions are made to be rebelled against, they’re just about as effective as those last three world-shaking aspirations.

What’s that — resolutions are made to be rebelled against??

I like to say that resolutions are channeled from our inner drill sergeant…the shadowy adult in our past who would never be satisfied. They’re built on a foundation of “I’m not enough” or “I’m lacking” and re-solving to solve the problem/defect/lack, rather than affirming and intending your highest good. And our souls recognize that underlying message, and refuse to accept it.

Just listen to the meta-messages of fear and not-enoughness that underlie these common resolutions, and you’ll see what I mean…

I will diet/exercise — let’s not even get into the shame messages of “fat/lazy” that drive these resolutions! Ideals regarding weight and fitness carry enormous baggage in our society of anorexic, Photoshopped models; even when we believe we’re doing everything for the right reasons, that old message of shame slides in. And we start feeling that it’s simpler just to avoid the whole issue…(where is that remote, anyway? )

I will stick to a budget — Don’t the very words sound punitive? They call to mind Ebenezer Scrooge, doling out meager pleasures with an eyedropper and begrudging every one. The Ghost of Christmas Present didn’t walk the malls with a calculator and price list in hand, did he? Just the thought of budgeting is enough to send us off to the mall for some retail therapy…

I will manage time effectively — Whether you’re dodging onto Facebook or checking your email every 10 minutes – whether you’re chronically procrastinating, or multitasking to the point of being unable to finish any project — struggles with time management are epidemic these days. Nearly all of us feel that we should be far more productive than we are….and whether we admit it or not, we know where our time-sinks lie. And they are sooo comforting….

And therein lies the trouble! As long as we’re resolving to turn aside from temptation, the temptations remind us of just how pleasant they are, and how bleak our chosen strategies are…

So what do you do about it? Clearly a healthy, fit body, money in the bank, and free time in the day are good things that you want in your future, right?

Of course they are. And so I invite you to work toward these goals not as resolutions but as intentions.

What’s the difference? Where resolutions are fixing a lack, driven by fear and shame, intentions start by affirming your enoughness and highest good. They can be so empowering and inspiring, you’ll want to repeat them every morning as affirmations!

For example, let’s look at that diet and exercise resolution again…

I see my body whole, healthy, and fit. I make choices that support my perfect body. This intention puts the focus on the vision you desire, and empowers the decision-making process to get there. Rather than locking you into the same well-worn series of options you’ve tried before, it opens up the door to all sorts of choices. Perhaps, rather than working with a personal trainer, you’ll work with a nutritionist, a kitchen consultant, or a wellness coach!

How about the budget resolution? Let’s try this:

I have access to all the money I need for my needs, desires, and future. I earn, save and spend consciously, keeping the big picture in mind. This starts out with the idea that you have access to enough; you’re not limited to your salary. Money management is just a balancing act, one that you are capable of doing. How much more empowering this is than the inner Scrooge with his candlelit ledger!

But what about that time management question? Let’s try reframing it thusly:

I cherish the hours of my day as an irreplaceable gift. I invest every moment wisely to gain its fullest value for myself and for the world. Your employer leases a portion of your days…that’s a given as far as goals and tasks are concerned. But you have a deeper commitment to yourself and to Life, to wring the most wonderful, purposeful experience possible out of every second: to love your family, to heal your body, to change the world. And your choices matter — they determine the value of the time you spend, whether you’re de-stressing in a bubble bath, visiting a sick parent, or having tea with friends. You matter.

Imagine New Year aspirations that challenge, support and empower you…that feed your soul rather than triggering self-criticism! That’s the way to start the year for joy and wellness….

Blessings for the New Year!

Make It a Cool — and Healthy — Yule with Cold-Water Bathing!

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As the temperature drops and we start to cocoon for winter, warmth tends to be the thing uppermost in our minds. Ahh, warmth…warm fingers, toes, ears…body…like coming in out of the cold to a delicious enveloping embrace…ahh, warm…who’d want to leave it?

But the truth is that bacteria and viruses also bask in that delicious warmth, especially when your house is closed up tight against the wintry winds. And when you’re cocooned up nice and snug indoors, your body isn’t getting the vital nutrients that it requires from sunlight and fresh air…so not only are you living in a pathogen-friendly environment, but you’re also handicapping your immune system!

What’s the answer? Actually one that has been known for millennia: “hydrotherapy,” in the form of a hot/cold shower. According to naturopathic physician Dr. Laurie Steelsmith, it’s a highly effective way to prepare your body for the temperature shock of stepping outside, while it also boosts your immune system and prevents colds and flu during the winter months.

The principle is simple: to flip back and forth seven times between the hottest water you can tolerate to the coldest water you can tolerate, making the water little hotter and a little colder each time, and making sure that every part of your body gets completely exposed to the temperature with each switch. As you do, you’re boosting your heart rate and circulation, opening up the pores of your skin, boosting elimination of toxins, relieving inflammation, and easing depression.

Sound extreme? Variations of this healing technique have been used in various forms, including around the world since prehistoric times (saunas and sweat lodges are just two of the ancient forms that we still know today). You get thoroughly cooked in the steam, with the help of aromatic medicinal herbs, then go out and roll in snow or jump in an icy lake, then run back shivering to the heat for another round. When it’s all over, you emerge tingling and feeling wonderful!
There are a number of forms of cold-water therapy…and they don’t just promote overall wellness. Tests demonstrate that when you skip the hot-cold switches and immerse in a tub or shower at 10-15 degrees C (50-59 degrees F) for about 24 minutes, you gain all sorts of other health benefits. For starters:

  • slowing down your heart rate and increasing production of the powerful antioxidant glutathione
  • reducing the uric acid that’s associated with gout, hypertension, heart disease, fatty liver, kidney disease and obesity
  • preventing the delayed-onset muscle soreness that shows up one to four days after a workout.
  • helping to increase your body’s metabolism and resistance to cold weather.

There’s another side benefit, too, that’s particularly nice after the holidays: cold water therapy activates your “brown fat” — a type of fat that actually generates heat and burns energy — and fat!
Now, there are a couple of important warnings to consider if you’re planning on trying this powerful wellness tool: first, it’s important to build up your tolerance. Don’t try heroically Polar Bear Plunging into a bathtub full of ice water first thing! If you’re used to steamy-hot showers, try just finishing off one with a cold-water chaser, then build up from that point on. Alternatively, say the doctors at Mercola.com, you could drink 2 cups (500 ml) of ice water first thing every morning, or sit with ice packs on your upper back and upper chest for 30 minutes per day for a few days, before you venture into an icy shower or bath.

Second, as this kind of hydrotherapy opens up your pores and stimulates circulation to expel toxins through your skin, it’s important that your shower or bath isn’t soaking you with chlorine, fluoride, lead, arsenic, or other toxins that are often found in public water! I recommend finding a home water filter that cleans your municipal water where it enters your house. If this isn’t possible, check out your local housewares store or plumber’s supply for a shower head filter that removes chemical, mineral, and bacterial contaminants.

(In fact, I’d recommend water filters even (and especially) if you plan to continue using hot showers and baths, as research has established that heat vaporizes the contaminants in water and sends them into your lungs and throughout your house.)

Oh — and there are a couple of other benefits I almost forgot to mention. If you’re hesitating to try cold-water therapy because cold showers are reputed to reduce sex drive, have no fear: so far from reducing libido, tests show that cold water actually increases testosterone production — thereby making your playtimes very frisky indeed!

Secondly, when I tried out the hot-cold shower for the first time, I felt very invigorated afterwards. The hot water was very relaxing and then when I turned on the cold, I was gasping for breath and squeaking “Oh, oh!” very loudly — then laughing hysterically because I sounded so funny! So now I enjoy getting all the benefits of a good belly laugh on top of the benefits of the hot/ cold water therapy. What a great way to enter the holidays!

Happy bathing!

Tweet: cold water therapy activates your “brown fat” — a type of fat that actually generates heat and burns energy — and fat! #ImmuneBooster Tweet: cold water therapy activates your “brown fat” — a type of fat that actually generates heat and burns energy — and fat! #ImmuneBooster