When I say the number 1,440, does that mean anything to you?

Do you know what this number represents?

It is the number of minutes in one day.

If you had 1,440 apples; that would seem like a lot of apples. If you had to drive 1,440 miles, that would seem like a lot of miles.

However, no one ever seems to think 1,440 minutes in one day is a lot. In fact, people tend to complain that there is just not enough time in one day.

And unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to increase this number. Every person, no matter where they live or what they do, has 1,440 minutes in a day to do the things they need do.

If you had an extra 45 minutes each day, what would you do with those 45 minutes? Take a zumba class? Read a book? Spend time with your significant other?

Christy Tryhus of Simply Balanced Coaching says if you do these three steps, you will find that your day will become more productive and efficient leaving you with an extra 45 minutes a day to do whatever it is you want! Here are her 3 recommended strategies for getting more done in less time.

#1 Develop a Plan

Brain Tracy, who is one of America's leading authorities on the development of human potential and personal effectiveness, says, "the number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives and they don't deviate from them."

Therefore, developing a plan for each week and each day with clear goals and objectives is necessary in getting more done in less time, leading us with leftover time at the end of the day.

What does developing a plan look like? At the beginning of each week, take 10 minutes to map out your week. This would be a good time to get either a calendar, day planner or some sort of phone that has an easy to use calendar and to-do organizer. I personally prefer to use a day planner. As you look at the week, take note of appointments or things that must be done on specific days and go ahead and write them in your calendar, phone or planner.

Let's say you plan your week on Sunday. After looking at your week, take an additional 10 minutes to plan out your Monday. At the end of the day on Monday, take 10 minutes to plan out your day on Tuesday, etc. As Christy says, "One minute of planning is equal to 10 minutes of productivity. Ten minutes a day equals up to 100 extra minutes per day of productivity."

How much more could you get done with an extra 100 minutes in a day?

The key is consistency. It takes 30 days to commit something to habit. Commit to developing your plan for each day for 30 days and it will become second nature, like brushing your teeth, and lead to more productive days.

#2 Time Blocking

Time blocking is committing to working a single project or task for a certain length of time. For years I used to pride myself on being an excellent multi-tasker. I can talk on the phone, cook and pick up things around the house all at the same time!!! Wow, that's impressive!

Actually no, because the person I was talking to wasn't really getting listened to, dinner would be over-cooked or slightly burnt and the house was still a bit messy.

Time blocking allows you to provide focus to a single item so you can get it done in less time because it is the only thing you are focused on. For example, if you have a sales proposal to work on, block a certain amount of time on your calendar to just focus on the proposal. Let's say you block two hours, from 8 am to 10 am. This means this is the only thing you do for those two hours; no phone calls (unless it is an emergency), no emails, no facebook. You do not need to answer every phone call or respond to every text, or check email every 20 minutes. Time block for those activities like returning and making phone calls and checking and responding to email to a different time of day.

Time blocking will help you to minimize distractions and will keep you focused on the task at hand. Trust me, multi-tasking and jumping from task to task is not as productive as we once thought it was.

To help me time block, I color-code my time blocks for my activities. Blue is my quiet time, green is my project and writing time, orange is for when I make or return phone calls, yellow is for study time, pink is for time with my husband and purple is for exercise.

After you time block and color-code your activities, any leftover white space is time you get to do whatever you want!!!!!! How exciting!

#3 Eat That Frog

"You should never be distracted by a tadpole when a big frog is sitting there waiting to be eaten" ~ Brian Tracy

The third recommendation to getting more done in less time is to identify your frog each day and do that task first.

What the heck do you mean, "my frog?" As Brian Tracy states in his book, "Eat that Frog," if the first thing you had to do each morning was eat a live frog, it is pretty safe to say that is probably the worst thing that you would have happen to you all day long. So instead of staring at it and stressing about having to do it, just get over it and eat it already and then the rest of the day will seem pretty easy.

If you have two frogs you have to eat, eat the ugliest one first.

The bottom-line, identify the thing you hate doing and want to do the least, this is your frog, and do this first thing in the day. This will keep you from procrastinating on something that could potentially have the greatest impact on your life and your results.

If exercise is your frog, do it in the morning and get it over with! Imagine how much better you will feel for the rest of your day knowing that the hardest thing for you to accomplish has already been done! What a relief!

What is your frog today? Have you completed it? It's time to get to work! 

I want to personally thank Christy for sharing these 3 action steps. I will continue commit to doing them in my life. Will you join me?

To learn more about Christy and her services, you can find her at www.simplybalancedcoaching.com.

Randi's passion is to teach people about natural alternative's to conventional medicine through healthy eating, lifestyle changes and essential oils. She also loves teaching people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

What do the blues, blemishes and gas have in common?

The ability to interrupt our daily lives and put us in a bad mood!

Sometimes, the blues just get you down; blemishes keep you from wanting to show your face in public; and gas…well…you know how that goes…

If there was one inexpensive, natural solution that could help you fight away all of these issues would you be interested in hearing about it?

The answer comes in one tiny bottle.

The contents of this bottle can also be beneficial for lowering blood pressure, dissolving cellulite, and calming nerves.

It also works extremely well in removing gum, wood stain, oil and grease spots from clothing and other surfaces.

It may also help brighten a pale, dull complexion by removing dead skin cells.

The contents of this tiny bottle that can help you do all this is lemon essential oil***.

Blast the Blues

Lemon oil has been researched and shown effective as a mood-stimulant because its scent is warm, invigorating and enhancing.

A study done at Mie University in Japan found that lemon oil seemed to calm people down. It not only calmed participants' anxiety, it made people feel happier and able to deal with problems better.

The next time you have a stressful moment, are in a bad mood, or just feel blue, grab a bottle of lemon oil and just inhale…deep breath…ahhhhhh….so calming!

Banish Blemishes

Lemon oil works incredible at drying up those darn blemishes because it is a natural astringent and is also antiseptic and antifungal.

Whether you deal with them regularly, during the female time of the month or just on a random occasion, applying lemon oil directly to the blemishes at least once a day for a couple of days will dry them right up!

One to two drops is usually all you need for your entire face and with one bottle of lemon oil containing over 300 drops, that is almost a year supply of acne treatment right there!

Bye-Bye Gas

A lot of times our digestion is poor because of the food we eat and the stressful lifestyles that we live. Because of this, our liver and gall bladder need to receive a little stimulation and that's where using lemon oil is great.

Drinking lemon oil in water can really help the detox process. Sipping on lemon water through the day can help prevent digestive issues, like heartburn, acid indigestion, gas and bloating, from even occurring. Try one drop for every 8 – 12 ounces of water.

If you are in a situation where you need immediate relief, add two drops of lemon oil to some water and chug and then continue sipping lemon water until the issue dissolves.

Just a friendly tip…as you are wrapping gifts for this Christmas season and find yourself trying to peel away price tags with no avail: use lemon oil. It dissolves the stickers and leaves whatever you bought clean as a whistle.

For more ways to use lemon oil and other natural solutions, click here to get a copy of my ebook: Nature's Pharmacy: 111 Natural Solutions for Health, Home and Body Care.

To get started on your own bottle of lemon oil, click here!

Randi's passion is to teach people about natural alternative's to conventional medicine through healthy eating, lifestyle changes and essential oils. She also loves teaching people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

The holidays are among the busiest long-distance travel (to and from a distance of 50 miles or more) periods of the year. Whether you are headed to see relatives or taking a family ski vacation, there is a good chance you are traveling somewhere.

Expenses are higher during this time of year too with Christmas gifts and food to fill our tables for Thanksgiving and New Year’s. 

To help cut back on expenses while you travel both on the road and in the airport, pack personal snacks and homemade lunches to tote along with you. They are healthier and less expensive by far! 

If you haven’t already noticed, airport food costs a lot! It’s way more expensive than food outside the airport like that at nearby restaurants and from your home. And the closer you get to your gate, the pricier it gets. If you must eat at the airport, try to eat in the main part of the airport and not by your gate. Otherwise, plan in advance and pack your own food. 

Here are some of my favorite healthy and inexpensive travel foods:

#1 Homemade Trail Mix

Visit the bulk section of your super market and select various nuts and dried fruits to create your own trail mix. Buying in bulk will save you money and it will allow you to create your own sensational mix! I like to blend almonds, peanuts, walnuts, dried cranberries or raisins, and something extra sweet like dark chocolate or yogurt almonds. It provides the perfect amount of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to keep me full and satisfied. 

#2 Carrot Sticks and Nut Butters

Carrot sticks and nut butters are filling snacks that are easy to carry with me when I travel. Plus, there is no mess. Dip the carrot stick in the nut butter and put it in your mouth, no silverware required.

#3 Tuna in a Foil Packet

I love tuna and if you don’t this suggestion won’t be appealing to you. Tuna is a very convenient, healthy food option that can easily be taken along when you travel. The packet is thin and fits right inside your luggage or purse. Grab some condiments like mayonnaise and pepper from a fast food joint and mix it right in. You can even pack bread to take on the plane and make a tuna sandwich! Which leads me to number 4…

#4 Sandwiches

Make a sandwich the morning of your travel and have it with you for the trip. The cost of a homemade sandwich can average as little as $.50 where as the cost of an airport sandwich can be $7.00 or more. If you are traveling with a family of two or more, that can add up really fast. And, they are nothing to brag about. Make homemade roast beef with havarti and jalapeno mustard with lettuce, onion and tomato…yum! Put the tomato in its own baggie and don’t add to the sandwich till you are ready to eat it. That way, it won't make the bread all soggy. 

#5 Fruit and Cheese Tray

You can actually bring food containers through airport security as long as they do not contain liquids. Cutting up some fruit and cheese and putting it in a container to carry with you is totally fine. It makes a delicious, gourmet snack and will totally be better than any fruit and cheese tray you could buy at the airport.  

You do not have to spend a fortune on food when you travel or eat heavy, greasy foods at the airport that could make you uncomfortable and cause some embarrassing digestive issues. 

Take a little bit of time to plan in advance and prepare some of these delicious and inexpensive foods to bring with you.

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

Black Friday

The holidays are a great time of year to celebrate with friends, family and of course, food!

Unfortunately, this makes the holidays a difficult time to keep the extra weight off.

Here are some products that may help you keep the weight off but still allow you to eat the foods you want!

Peppermint Essential Oil What if there was something that allowed you to eat the foods you love but eat less of them? Ta-da! There is! According to multiple research studies, inhaling peppermint can help you eat less! Self Magazine published a research piece that said those who inhaled peppermint 10 or more times a day ate 23% less than those who didn't! So put your peppermint oil on! You may find that you aren't hungry for seconds!

Regular price: $25.99 Sale Price: $20.80 – Save 20% (sale ends 11/28/2011)

	Grapefruit Essential Oil Eat the foods you want and still burn fat! Wait, what? That is not possible! Or, is it? Grapefruit Oil is thermogenic, which means it literally burns fat. Kevin S. of Fulton, NY used a few drops of grapefruit oil in his ice tea every day. After two weeks, he lost 5 pounds. The only thing he had changed in his life was using grapefruit oil.
	Regular price: $19.74  Sale price: $15.79 –  Save 20% (sale ends 11/28/2011)

5 Day Nutritive Cleanse – Start the New Year off right! After almost two months of holiday eating, Halloween through New Year's, jump start your weight loss with the 5 Day Nutritive Cleanse. Research shows that that longest living people in the world have one thing in common…they all fast and cleanse. Resting the body from large amounts of food, especially junk food, is one of the most healing things you can do for the body. Not only will you see weight release, but energy levels will sky rocket, clarity comes back (no more brain fog), acne disappears, puffiness and bloating disappear and a youthful vitality returns. Click here for more information.

"I completed the 5 day cleanse and lost over 10 lbs in one week and feel better than I have in years!" ~ Kevin S.  Regular price: $128.29 Sale price: $102.63 - Save 20%  (sale ends 11/28/2011)

Come on, what's better than FREE? Sign up now for a FREE 20 minute Weight Management Consultation! What better way to be prepared to really take on the New Year than personalized one-on-one coaching with Randi! If you've tried fad diets in the past, attempted weight loss on your own, cut calories, set massive restrictions, started working out and STILL didn't see the results you were looking for, you are not alone and you are not a failure! You just didn't have the plan that was right for you! Sign up now for a FREE 20 minute consultation to see if one-on-one coaching is right for you! Click here for more information.

Yea! Two of my favorite vegetables are in season…potatoes and kale! 

I decided to make both of these delicious vegetables in the same dish!

The original recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and uses bacon. I left the bacon out because I didn't have any and I am a firm believer in using what I have on hand, not running to the supermarket for everything little thing I need.

I found this recipe simple and easy. The longest part is just waiting for the potatoes to cook. To save time, don't peel your potatoes. There are vital nutrients in the skin. They mash up just fine and add a nice texture to the cakes.

Enjoy!

Potato and Kale Cakes

• 6 russet potatoes or 2 lbs of red potatoes or fingerling potatoes
• 1 bunch kale (3 – 4 large leaves), ribs removed and coarsely chopped
• 1 leek
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of butter

Directions

Set a large pot of water to boil.

Wash potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Add potatoes to pot. While potatoes begin to cook, chop the kale and leek. You will only use the white and light green parts of the leek. Halve it lengthwise and then thinly slice.

Add the kale and leeks to the boiling pot.

Cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.

Drain and transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and add cayenne pepper. With a fork or potato masher, mash potato mixture until a few lumps remain.

Melt butter in skillet over medium-low heat. Form potato cakes with your hands and cook them in skillet until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes each side.

Serve with additional veggies and/or an animal protein like eggs or chicken.

Enjoy!

Health and blessings,

Randi

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter.  She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

We have a pill for everything…

But just because a pill exists, does that mean we should take it? Or give it to our kids?

More and more children are being prescribed medications for mood, focus and concentration, and behavior.

There is a place for prescription medications and I will not judge anyone who uses them. I myself, for a period of six months in 2007, took an anti-depressant and it did help me, along with a change in diet and exercise, to get over the health issues I was dealing with. However, I used it as a last resort and still took my health in my own hands by changing my diet, making sure I exercised, and spent time in prayer and meditation to work on my spiritual and mental health.

What is happening these days is a pill is prescribed at the first sign of a problem.

I am not anti-medication for children. But I definitely know that when a child, or an adult, goes to the doctor and they are dealing with a health issue, like:

• Cold
• Allergies
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Concentration
• Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Constipation
• And more…

The first thing that the health care provider does is write a prescription. Discussing specific nutrition to help alleviate such concerns, or talking about the child's lifestyle or stress levels almost never comes up. Or when it does, it is something very generic like, "Make sure you are eating well, exercising and reducing your stress levels."

Does that equip you to care for your child naturally? Not at all.

I believe 100% that medications have changed the lives of some people.

But should a broken heart be medicated? Of course not.

Should the occasional bad mood be medicated? Of course not.

But this is what is happening far too often.

What is not being given any credit and is often attacked is the use of natural alternatives for children's health issues. I could tell you stories for hours of how using alternative medicine has healed, alleviated health issues and changed the lives of adults and children.

If you are someone who wants to use prescription and over-the-counter medications as a last resort for yourself and your children…

If you are someone who wants to take your health and your family's health in your own hands…

If you are someone who wants to use natural alternatives along with conventional medicine…

Then join me for a FREE tele-class. This Friday, November 18th at 12 pm CST. Click here for details. If you cannot attend the class live, register to receive a recorded copy of the class to listen to at your convenience and to receive a FREE gift!

The bottom-line is, people should be able to choose and try what they want for themselves and their families without being judged and without being seen as weak.

You can learn about conventional medicine from your doctor. And while I am definitely not an expert, I can at least share what I and thousands of others are doing to rely less on prescription medications and take our health into our own hands.

So will you take a step towards learning about natural alternatives for your children's health issues by joining me? The choice is yours!

I would love for you to share your comments below or visit me on Facebook.

If you liked this article please click the Facebook "like" button at the top of the page. This helps share the message with others!

Let's create a health revolution together!

Randi

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter.  She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

Are you constantly emptying out the refrigerator and throwing away old food? Petrified celery? Wilted lettuce? Old, bruised apples?

If you are throwing away food, you are buying more than you need. Everything you buy should have a plan for the week. That is why I teach people the importance of meal planning! This saves you time and money.

Every time you throw away food, you are throwing away money! As Dani Johnson says, "Quit throwing cash in the trash!"

Go check out your fridge now! Check the pantry! Check the bowl on your countertop! What do you have that is looking old and wilted? Use it! Cut away the bruises, and the mold! You will be surprised at the delicious meals you can make with what you have on hand.

You've probably bought a 5 lb bag of apples before, right? You remembered to eat them the first few days and then you forgot about them. Next time you looked, they were bruised, mushy and just funky looking! Don't throw them away! Use them to make this delicious apple crisp!

Most of the ingredients used in this apple crisp are items you probably already have on hand. If not, improvise. If you don't have brown sugar, use white sugar! If you don't have oats, then just bake sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar. You will still have an amazing dish! Enjoy!

Easy Apple Crisp

• 4 apples
• 1 cup of flour (you can use all-purpose flour, whole wheat or whatever you have on hand)
• 1 cup of rolled oats or steel cut oats
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 cup of butter
• Cinnamon to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Core and thinly slice apples and place in a casserole dish. There is no need to peel the apples. There are vital nutrients in the skin. However, if your apples are in really bad shape, you may want to cut the bruised parts away.

In a mixing bowl, blend sugar, flour and oats.

Sprinkle dry mixture over apples.

Spread chunks of butter evenly over the dry mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned.

Serve sprinkled with a touch of cinnamon.

Yummy!

I would love for you to share your comments below or visit me on Facebook.

If you liked this article please click the Facebook "like" button at the top of the page. This helps share the message with others!

Health and blessings,

Randi

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter.  She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

I've been a nutrition geek for a few years now…reading, researching and studying food and nutrition. It is of interest to me because I want to learn how to keep my mind and body healthy, feel great and manage and prevent disease, and help others do it too.

My research and study, along with personal experience and testing foods in my body, is why I choose to stay away from processed, packaged foods the majority of the time. I would be a liar if I said I never eat food that comes in a package. However, even when choosing packaged foods, I am incredibly careful and picky about what I select to put in my body. The selection I do make almost always comes from the organic section of the supermarket. Here's why:

#1 I want to avoid genetically modified (GM) foods and the only way to know that my foods do not contain them, since GM foods do not have to be labeled, is to buy organic.

#2 Although I still read labels even when I shop in the organic section, I have a much better chance of knowing everything that is listed on the label because organic foods "must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, like chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients" (1).

#3 The choices I make at the supermarket determine the future of food and I want my grocery store to know what I support; organic, local foods that are not GM foods, that do not use synthetic pesticides, and do not use artificial ingredients.

I was browsing the frozen food aisle at the grocery store earlier this week and reading random food labels (told you, geek) and one item particularly caught my eye. Five years ago if I was shopping, this is an item I easily would have purchased without looking at the label because of how delicious and healthy it appeared to be.

Well, clever marketing and pretty pictures don't fool me now so I turned it over to read the label.

The first four ingredients were all recognizable: cooked whole grain pasta, wheat semolina, water, and chicken tenderloins; doesn't sound too bad, right? Then, it gets into several ingredients that just can not be pictured in the mind. It lists so many ingredients it makes you wonder how they fit all that into one little frozen dinner.

Let's take a closer look at just a few of these additional ingredients. The descriptions of these food additives all come from, A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, by Ruth Winter, M.S. :

Modified Food Starch –

• Is ordinary starch that has been altered chemically to modify such properties as thickening or jelling.
• Babies have difficulty in digesting starch in its original form. Modified starch is used in baby food on the theory that it is much easier to digest. Questions about safety have arisen because babies do not have the resistance of adults to chemicals.
• Modified starch has been on the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) top-priority list for reevaluation since 1980 but nothing new has been reported by the FDA since.

Maltose –

• Is malt sugar. It is colorless crystals derived from malt extract and used as a nutrient, sweetener, culture medium, and stabilizer.
• It is soluble in water and used as a sweetener for diabetics and in brewing.
• It is nontoxic but has been reported to cause tumors when injected under the skin of mice in doses of five hundred milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
• There is no reported use of the chemical and no toxicology information is available.

Dextrose (Corn Syrup) –

• A sweet syrup prepared from cornstarch.
• Used in maple, nut and root beer flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, and baked goods. Also used for envelopes, stamps, sticking tapes, aspirin, and is found in many, many food products.
• It may cause allergic reactions.
• The final report of the FDA in 1980 stated that there is no available evidence that it is a hazard to the public when used as it is now.

Disodium Guanylate –

• A flavor intensifier believed to be more effective than sodium inosinate and sodium glutamate.
• Can be isolated from certain mushrooms and is used in canned vegetables.
• The FDA data bank has fully up-to-date toxicology information available for this additive.

Disodium Inosinate -

• Is a flavor potentiator (a flavor ingredient with little flavor of its own that alters the flavor response)  that is odorless and colorless. It is a white crystal or powder.
• Inosinate is salt of inosinic acid, which is prepared from meat extract; also from dried sardines. No known toxicity.

Do you understand much of what you just read? Neither do I.

The point I wish to make is, I don't know, even after reading the description of these added food ingredients, exactly what they are. What I do know is that I want to stay as far away from foods that have had to be tested by the FDA to determine their safety. Food that has to be given to mice to see if they cause tumors just honestly scares me, even if the results come out negative.

You don't hear about broccoli being tested in mice to make sure it doesn't cause tumors now do you? No.

PLEASE make smart choices when you shop. Choose whole, real foods that don't require labeling the majority of the time. Shop organic as often as possible. Always, ALWAYS read labels when buying pre-packaged foods and look for ingredients that you can picture and pronounce. 

I would love for you to share your comments below or visit me on Facebook.

If you liked this article please click the Facebook "like" button at the top of the page. This helps share the message with others!

Health and blessings,

Randi

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter.  She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

1. "Organic Food." Wikipedia. 5 November 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food

This is an amazing soup that is so rich and creamy you will be surprised it is actually good for you!

Butternut and acorn squash are high in fiber, vitamin A, and beta-carotene. The turmeric in the curry powder has anti-inflammatory properties and is great for the liver. Cinnamon can help with pain and stiffness in muscles and joints and is great for digestion.

Bottom-line, you have to give this soup a try! Enjoy!

Curried Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 small acorn squash
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 quart organic chicken stock
• 1 (8 ounce) package organic cream cheese
• 2 – 3 tablespoons curry powder
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• Cinnamon and Cayenne pepper to garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in halves and place skin side up in a roasting pan or casserole dish.

Bake 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. The squash will need to cool slightly before handling so while you allow them to cool, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until soft.

Scoop seeds from squash halves and remove skins and discard.

In a blender or food processor (I have a manual food processor that I used), blend the squash, onion, broth, curry powder, and cream cheese until smooth. You will most likely have to do this in a few batches.

Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat, season with sea salt and pepper to taste, and cook until heated through. Garnish with cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  

*I garnished mine with parsley because I thought it would make a nice picture but I did not like the way the parsley tasted with the sweet & spicy flavors of the soup so I would not recommend you add parsley

Health and blessings!

Randi

Randi's passion is to teach people the importance of getting into the kitchen to cook! When people get into the kitchen to cook, they can control their health and their waistline. She uses fresh ingredients and traditional foods in her cooking like butter.  She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercise enthusiast and a consultant for an international marketing company.

Hemp Milk – A Dairy Alternative

By: Sadie Foster

If you or a family member avoid dairy products for one reason or another – most likely there will come a point when you seek a replacement for cows’ milk.  More and more options are coming available.  One relative newcomer is hemp milk. 

Hemp Milk is made from the seeds of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa L. This plant contains no THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). This is not the same plant as Marijuana – a psychoactive drug.

According to the label of a popular brand, Tempt – Unsweetened Original. One Cup of Hemp Milk Contains:

There are many different brands and varieties to choose from.  Each with their own unique taste.  When trying something new – be sure to try different brands as the taste can vary from brand to brand.

Allergen Information

As with all products please be sure to read the label.  Remember a product may change ingredients at any time.  You may be able to find a product free of foods you react to.  

The ingredients listed  for Tempt unsweetened original are:  Hemp Nut Base (Filtered Water, Hemp Nut [Shelled Hemp Seed]), Natural Flavors, Tricalcium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Sea Salt, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12.

The ingredients listed for Unsweetened Hemp Bliss are: Organic hemp base (filtered water, organic shelled hemp seed), organic hemp oil, tri-calcium phosphate, organic gum acacia, organic guar gum, xanthan gum, sea salt.

Making Your Own

One way to be sure that something does not conation your specific allergen is to make it yourself.  The basic process of making hemp involves grinding the seeds with water, adding a sweetener like stevia, agave, or fruit, and potentially straining for a smoother product.  You can control the creaminess and thickness by the varying the amount of water used. Leaving the seeds raw vs. cooked also varies the taste. 

Uses for Hemp Milk:

• As a beverage
• In cooking and baking
• In smoothies
• In ice cream and sorbets
• Over cereal

Brands and Where to buy

You can find hemp products online, in the natural food markets, and in the natural section of many grocery stores.  Many sites have store locators on their websites.

• Living Harvest Tempt www.livingharvest.com
• Pacific Natural Foods www.pacificfoods.com
• Manitoba Harvest Hemp Bliss www.manitobaharvest.com
• Nutiva  www.nutiva.com
• Bob’s Red Mill  www.bobsredmill.com*  

*Please note this brand is produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts and soy.  There is also a note on their website that states it is no longer produced gluten free

Hemp Milk is another option for you and your family to enjoy.  Have you tried it?  Do you have further questions?  Please contact me. 

Love and blessings,

Sadie

Check out Sadie's free report, "Not Milk? 9 Dairy Alternatives," for other non-dairy alternatives. Get it here!

Sadie Foster specializes in taking the mystery out of enjoying health, family relationships and life. Her systems teach the skills most poeple were never taught, to overcome challenges and get extra-ordinary results quickly. Making it simple to enjoy health, enjoy your marriage, and enjoy your life with actionable step by step yet flexible processes. She has been serving families through counseling and nutritional psychology for the last 14 years.