Happy, Healthy New Year! A Love Letter from Me to You!

From my heart and soul to yours…I wish you a very happy, healthy 2018!  Please take the time to read this entire heart felt letter from my heart to yours. I don’t do this often!

This is a new beginning. A time to reflect on what we accomplished in 2017 and what we learned and how we grew.

This is an opportunity to forgive ourselves for any shortcomings, and to affirm that we did the best we could at the time with what we knew and were able at the time. A very wise quote I hear is that, “Forgiveness is looking back and knowing that nothing could have been different, and learning from it.”

Today we can start setting our intentions, goals, hopes and dreams for our best in 2018! My husband and I love to pull out all the magazines and make a vision board this time of year to solidify and put onto paper our hopes, dreams, intentions and goals. Every time we do this we can look at it throughout the year and see things coming to us and feeling so grateful and blessed. Then, at the end of the year we are in awe and enormous gratitude that not only did most or all of these things on our board come true, but we were blessed with so much more. It works! It really really works! I promise you.

Making a vision board:

Get a big poster board, glue stick, magazines and markers, or print out words & pictures from your computer.

Draw two lines on your board to make 4 equal squares.

Give each square a category like:

  • Work/Career
  • Personal Growth
  • Family/Romance/Marriage
  • Fun/Travel
  • Spiritual Life/Growth
  • Volunteer/Giving Back/Paying it Forward
  • Physical Well-being(exercise, diet, stress reduction)
  • …you may need to make 2 vision dream boards!!

Then, cut up those magazines…mind you, you may need to go buy some positive magazines or create your own words, and pictures or print from internet! Be creative and don’t limit yourself…DREAM BIGGER!

Remember we are a body, mind and spirit and all of these aspects of ourselves need to be tended to like a garden. What does your body, mind and soul need and long for at this moment?

You may like to put on meditative or classical music and do a meditation and prayer before starting this project.

How do you want to be a positive influence on this world, on your community, on your friends and family, at work? Shine Brightly this year, be big and bright! The world needs us all to come together and SHINE and love and support each other for the greatest good. Love conquers ALL! We all need more LOVE! How will you show your love and compassion this year? What matters to you? What charities can you volunteer or contribute to this year? Start at home and with your neighbors! Too many times we forget the people within our reach and think we have to go to great places and lengths…when the people who need us most are right in front of us!

My prayer is that 2018 will bring all of us our heart’s desires and all our needs will be surpassed with many blessings. I am sending you all so much love, many blessings and a big hug.

I promise that I will walk my talk and will post my vision board soon. Some of the things I am doing are:

  1. helping each patient I have as if they were the only patient I will ever have…helping them heal with love, patiences and kindness along with great tasting, healthy food!!! ;P
  2. Being a more loving and kind person
  3. Volunteering at the Animal Shelter and giving animals as much love and attention and healing I am able.
  4. Learning as much as I need to grow in order to help others with their health(physical, mental and emotional)

Donating to causes that call to my heart and bring tears to my eyes(Feeding Hungry Children and Americans, Building Wells for clean water and education for girls that would otherwise have to spend their days fetching water! Saving Elephants! Planting Trees! Shopping Consciously on Thrive Market and local farmers markets, small artisan companies, CredoBeauty.com, Credo Cell Phone Service, Buying organic, local, sustainable, reducing our footprint, Spending time with Animals! Blogging/Vlogging more helpful information. Living more mindfully each day, one day and one moment at a time. Surrendering to going with what arrives and arises. Healing my own health. Loving my husband better. Giving up control! Stepping into other peoples shoes asking myself what they must be feeling before I respond….finding the silence between the many thoughts that bombard me…quieting my monkey mind. Accepting that I am enough. Learning to love myself more…this will be my biggest challenge!

Looking back at 2017, it was a very challenging year for me. I had many health challenges because I did not listen to my body, or my loving Husband, screaming at me to slow down and to stop. Now, I am forced to stop some things and really slow down and change some of my habits and create better ones. Not easy, but essential to living my best life. That said, I also did do some positive things like learning to play the violin which gave me great joy and also taught me balance! I lost my balance because I played so much everyday for 7 months that I developed tendonitis in my elbow! I had to stop playing, which saddened me, for a few months and I healed my elbow…along with CBD Oil Balm! Now, I will resume with more balance…playing 10 minutes every other day and slowly working up to more as my body allows.

I have learned that being ambitious vs. being stupid is a delicate balance! I have pushed myself hard, too hard, for too long and it has lead to poor health and mental exhaustion. I have momentarily lost that sense of drive b/c I am just exhausted.

Some things I have found to be helpful are remembering to use the tools and resources in my box! Listening to Hay House Radio .com and APP, turning off the news and only listening or reading the weeks review on Friday, Listening to educational webinars, summits, podcasts and Pandora Radio. Music is so healing and moves my soul! Watching documentaries and comedy and movies that touch my heart. Starting my day with opening my eyes and being grateful, finding something to appreciate, praying and setting my intention for the day, swinging my feet out of bed and grounding myself and lighting up all my chakras, releasing any negative energy and bringing in the love of God throughout my whole body and resonating love, setting a morning routine that makes me feel good(sauna, hot shower, aromatherapy, hot drink, healthy breakfast, supplements, petting my kitty and sending him outside surrounded in love and God’s protection, sending my husband out into the world with love, a good healthy lunch and God’s love and protection and surrounding him with Angels to work though him with ease and grace to heal all of his patients(who adore him)! Remembering throughout the day to take breaks, go in the sunshine, breathe deeply, do a short meditation, listen to music, learn something new, reach out to someone who needs some love or my time or just to listen to them(hard for me), and keeping my balance throughout the day! Finishing my day with a prayer of gratitude, telling my husband how much I love and appreciate him, telling our fur baby that I love him and feeding him the best raw food diet money can buy, listening to a meditation(Glenn Harrold Relax & Sleep) and setting the intention of what I want to dream about! I have also bought a library of books to read and now I need to use time management to schedule that in along with my violin playing! Remembering to schedule in fun and time to do NOTHING! Time to remember to use my 5 senses and take in the here and now!

Every time I start to freak out that the world is going to Hell and wonder where I can move to that is better…I stop myself, look around and get really grateful and give myself a reality check…all is well at this moment for me and I am blessed, safe and grateful! You can do this too. It works so well! I think of Cher, saying “Snap out of it”!!! ;P Old movie!

Also I have a milestone birthday next week, and its been a very interesting year of shifting for me in all areas of my life and mind and body! At my age, I will not say, I am learning to be wiser…thank God! I am now listening to my body, mind and spirit and honoring what it needs and wants. I am trying to live more simply and mindfully. What was once important to me is no longer. I am focusing on what really matters and how I can use my life to matter…really matter and leave a positive legacy. I believe that I came here with what I am suppose to have and to be…each day I try to use my gifts for the greatest good. I always feel I could and should do more. I am setting the intention that I will do my best at the time and that it will be enough. I wish that for everyone.

I am so inspired by watching Oprah interview amazing people who have had an enormous positive impact on countless people on Super Soul Sunday. This is my Sunday morning ritual to watch and be inspired while sipping my Matcha Tea Latte(see recipe on Resources page)! I never feel that I am making a big enough difference or that I can, and seeing that 1 person really can have a huge impact inspires me and drowns out my own insecurity and false beliefs! Watch and be inspired…there are still super good hearted people doing super good things in this world…we just forget especially when we get sucked into the news and media hype!

If we all focus on being loving and kind and radiating that energy into the world imagine what an impact and ripple effect it causes!!!! Just close your eyes,  take a deep breath and IMAGINE! I truly hope that I am helping you on your journey because you matter….you really matter. You are loved….very loved….but you must open your heart and receive that love. Let love flow into your heart and from your heart to all.

Now, be safe and have a fun and wonderful New Years Eve and Day! We are off to a spiritual celebration tonight with friends and community to ring the New Year in with a healthy dinner, meditation, dancing and healthy dessert, yes there is such a thing!!! Be safe, use UBER & LYFT, read my post on Gluten-free Alcohol and stick to your diet…no cheating! Until I post next time…be safe and you take good care of YOU! Find at least one new tool you will use in 2018, many are listed above. Now, go make that vision board and please post on this blog post that you did it! Share it on your FB!

Happy, Healthy, Fun 2018! May you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. May you thrive instead of survive! I am here for all of you who are ready, willing and able to address your diet to create a customized diet and meal plan with recipes just for you according to your health. Feel free to contact me for Health Coaching. Find a Naturopathic Doctor if you don’t have one: in CA, wwwCALND.org, outside of CA, http://www.Naturopathic.org…need to find one through these sites to ensure they have have had a 4 year degree/are Licensed ND’s & primary care physicians and not a unlicensed Naturopath that only took an 18 month course! Get your team together to support you for your highest good! Thanks for taking the time to read this love letter and for supporting my life’s work/passion in helping you Thrive.

Blessings and Hugs!

Lauren’s Favorites

Season’s Greetings on Christmas Eve!

New Fantastic Food:

I found a fabulous new line of nut cheezes that are made from cashews and coconut oil! I was so delighted to find vegan cheeses that have healthy, familiar ingredients! I have tried the shredded Mozzarella, Cheddar and Pepper Jack and they have worked very well in my recipes including: Quiche, French Onion Soup, Enchiladas, Lasagna, Pizza, Grilled Cheeze on SRSLY Sourdough and much more. They have hard and soft cheeses in a variety of  fabulous flavors.

Parmela Cashew Cheeze-Our nut milk cheeses are made using traditional cheese making techniques.  Rich nut milks made from blending cashews and almonds with filtered water form the base.  These are much thicker than the nut milks you would drink, and amazingly have more flavor potential than dairy milks.

It took over 2 years and 2,000 iterations to get the cultures to grow properly in the thick cashew milks and unlock true cheese flavors for the Creamy Treenut Cheese.  In crafting our new aged cheeses we up over 4000 iterations of cultures grown.

The nutmilk cheeses can be found in Whole Foods, New Leaf Markets and other natural food stores or ordered directly  http://www.parmelacreamery.com 

 

SRSL Bread-Gluten-free, Dairy-free San Francisco Sourdough Bread and Rolls! 

SRSLY Bread

http://www.breadsrsly.com

OMG, I thought I’d never be able to eat Sourdough again…until now! I did the happy dance when I found this amazing bread. I am a traditionalist so I like the classic best, but the seeded is very good and my husband loves the Kale(me too). The sandwich rolls are made out of just Sorghum flour so its great for people who have multiple grain sensitivities. She also makes a huge Pullman Loaf that you can special order!

WHY SOURDOUGH?

Bread SRSLY is committed to making nourishing bread. Each loaf is leavened with wild yeast, cultivated from the air and grain. Unlike commercial yeast, wild yeast helps to break down the grains, making them easier to digest, and adding a pleasant tang that we call sourdough.

WHY SERIOUSLY?

We created our bread only after months of research, applying traditional sourdough techniques to our gluten-free recipes. We learned that good bread takes its time to rise. Each Bread SRSLY loaf rises for more than 12 hours, making it SERIOUSLY good for you. In addition to being gluten-free, all Bread SRSLY products are free of dairy, egg, soy, nut, potato, tapioca, and garbanzo.

Available at Health Food Stores including New Leaf Market, Staff of Life, Bi-Rite Markets or Order at: http://bread-srsly.myshopify.com

 

Want to bake your own Bread?

Manini’s Bread Mix & Fresh Pasta

These pastas and breads are so nutritious and have great texture! I’ve enjoyed Manini’s Spaghetti, Lemon-Thyme Linguine and Lasagna Noodles(not the ravioli b/c they contain diary) and bread mixes which are easy and nutritious. Even my Italian friends are now loving this pasta!

At the heart of our commitment to quality is our dedication to making all of our fresh pastas, breads & bakery products and flours from naturally Gluten Free Ancient Grains. Our Ancient Grains include Amaranth, Teff, Sorghum, and Millet, plants that are essentially unchanged from hundreds of years ago. The result is a nutritious, fiber-rich, great-textured food that is delicious and superior in taste, texture and nutrition to the vast majority of typical rice and corn based Gluten Free foods.

http://www.maninis.com

Want less carbs and more protein in your pasta go for: Tolerant Red Lentil or Black Bean Pasta which have great texture and tons of protein and nutrition! Available at Health food Stores and online.

Tolerant Pasta

Sonoma Pasta SauceSonoma Mushroom Pasta Sauce. I had to stop eating tomatoes due to arthritis and was so happy to find this tomato-free sauce! They have many flavors, but not all are dairy-free. I do still make my own with wild mushrooms and sherry, but nice to have a jar in the pantry in a pinch. Available at Health food Stores and online.

 

Paleo-Cake-Therapy-Paleo-Chocolate-Cake-Mix.jpg

Cake Therapy  Paleo Cake Mix: offers gluten free and paleo baking mixes, made from quality natural ingredients, without preservatives or additives. Cake Therapy’s products are always free of gluten, dairy, soy and corn, with grain free options.

Paleo Chocolate Cake Mix Ingredients: Organic coconut flour, arrowroot, almond meal, organic coconut sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder.

I’ve tried all three flavors: chocolate, vanilla and spice, and love them all! They make a moist and tasty cake or cupcakes. I used my Chocolate Ganache Frosting  with Lily’s Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips and Cashew Cream Frosting with them. They have recipes and adaptations on their website too! I used the Spice Cake Mix to make a Carrot Cake and it was so delicious.

Teas to go with your dessert or just enjoy anytime:

Art of Tea: Chocolate Mint Tea which is so rich and tasty it does not need anything else. Great way to avoid sweets, drink this tea instead!  www.artoftea.com 

Numi Turmeric Teas are anti-inflammatory and very tasty especially when I add some local raw honey, ginger and homemade cashew milk! Available at health food stores or http://www.Numitea.com

Steven Smith Lord Bergamot Earl Grey Tea

A few other goodies I’ve fallen in love with this year:

Lily’s Fair Trade Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips

We love premium dark chocolate. We don’t like sugar. The addition of stevia to premium dark chocolate is a perfect fit. It makes our favorite food even better. Click to learn more about why we love stevia.http://lilyssweets.com

 

 

Chai-I

Vixen Kitchen Premium Vegan Gelato!  So creamy and delicious you will think you are in Italy!  The first time I tasted this luscious Gelato I was in San Francisco on a cold windy day, but had to have it as my teeth chattered! OMG, I was in Heaven and forgot about the cold the first lick! I love that they sweeten with real maple syrup and use cashews as the base! Again, nutritious and delicious and guilt-free! It is expensive b/c they use the highest quality ingredients and it is worth it! Available at health food stores, including Staff of Life. Flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Chai, Coffee, Mint,Blueberry.  http://vixenkitchen.co

Xyloburst Chewing Gum, stays soft, sweetened with xylitol which is great for teeth and tastes good! Available at health food stores,  iherb.com and Amazon.com

My new favorite website to buy all the aforementioned goodies and many more at a 25%-75% discount/usually 25% is at http://www.ThriveMarket.com

 

Kitchen Tools:

  • Kitchen Aid 7 Quart Mixer is the largest capacity home mixer and I love my new one in Candy Apple Red! I also bought the:
  • Spiralizer Attachment that also slices and peels fruit and vegetables!

Body Care Products: Many skincare products contain gluten and dairy which go into your bloodstream within 30 seconds! Yes, it will cause you just as much trouble as eating it!

  • Nubian Heritage Soaps and Lotions
  • Evoli Body Butter & Lip Balm, made from all organic healthy oils
  • Zoya Nail Polish, free of formaldehyde and other bad chemicals available at Whole Foods
  • DoTerra essential oils: I do not travel without the OnGuard and put it on my feet every night! DoTerra.com
  • For the Bathroom: Poo Pourri toilet spray. This is so Brilliant! You spray your favorite essential oil based Poo Pourri into the toilet before you go and it acts as a barrier to help keep your bathroom smelling good! It really works, honest! I keep one in my purse and in our bathroom.

Healthcare/Natural Medicine:

  • Alpha CF Homeopathic liquid is lactose free and is what I use at the first sign of a cold or flu and it usually gets rid of it right away or at least shortens the duration to a few days instead of a few weeks. Available at health food stores, you may have to special order the liquid form.
  • Occiliccocinum homeopathic cold and flu, Walgreens, CVS and healthfood store. Pellets contain lactose so either dilute a dose in water and only take a teaspoon or find the Alpha CF liquid.
  • Deep Lung is great for respiratory infections.
  • Chestal Homeopathic Cough Medicine with honey, health food stores and CVS and Walgreens.
  • Yin Chao Chinese Medicine for colds that start with a sore throat is great.
  • High Dose Vitamin C Meyers Cocktail Infusion through an IV drip or push by a naturopathic doctor. http://www.naturopathic.org or wwwCalND.com in CA. This saves me every Christmas/Winter, including this week!

Books:

  • Can’t go to Italy this year read, Dolce di Love By Lynch
  • for Humor and belly laughs read Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
  • go to http://www.hayhouse.com for many inspirational and spiritual books, audio books and DVD’s for adults and children
  • Listen to shows on:
  • http://www.HayHouseRadio.com

Games:

  • Kids and Adults: Simon, an electronic game that lights up and tests your memory. Can be played with 2-4 people
  • Adults: Rummikub, a game with tiles and numbers. Good mental challenge and fun.

 

Clothing:

  • Nomads Organic Clothing, this Canadian company uses all organic fabrics made from hemp, soy, bamboo and cotton. It feels so good on and will not disrupt your hormones or endocrine system and it’s great for the environment. A win-win-win! Just wish they did not make them in China. Sometimes you have to compromise. These clothes feel really soft and warm; and look stylish.                                   Available at https://nomadshempwear.com
  • Synergy Organic Clothing, mostly cotton, made in Nepal. Stores in Santa Cruz and San Francisco and available online http://synergyclothing.com
  • Smart Wool Socks, wool that doesn’t itch and keeps your toes and feet warm in the coldest weather! They also make runners socks-breathable and cushiony! Available at The Sock Shop and online http://www.smartwool.com

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Healthy, Happy New Year filled with wonderful food, friends, family and goodies that improve your health and life! Love and Blessings to all! Please Comment and share with us your favorite  Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegan, Organic food, things & products.

Be Well and Thrive into your Dreams! 

Cookbook Release!

18th July 2009-KQED Bay Area Bites Blog by Stefanie Rosenbaum, Food Writer

No wheat, no dairy, no problem

no wheat, no dairy, no problem

Diagnosed seven years ago with allergies to wheat and dairy, Lauren Hoover was thrilled. Finally, she had a reason for the stomachaches and congestion that had plagued her for decades. All she had to do was cut every last bit of wheat and dairy out of her diet. How hard could it be, especially for a smart foodie and trained chef?

“I didn’t think I ate a lot of processed food, but the first time I went to the supermarket after my diagnosis, I stood outside in the parking lot and cried,” Hoover relates. Everything, it seemed, had some sneaky remnant of wheat or dairy in it. “I thought, what am going to eat, besides chicken, fish, fruit and vegetables? I decided right then that I wasn’t going to live the rest of my life without the foods I love.”

As a professional pastry chef trained at the California Culinary Academy, Hoover was better equipped than most to start tinkering with her favorite recipes. Having worked at numerous high-end hotels, resorts, and restaurants including San Francisco’s La Folie, she didn’t want to ditch her pot pies and chocolate cakes for quinoa and sprouts. Instead, she wanted her meals to be healthy but normal– the sort of thing anyone would be happy to eat, whether or not they had food sensitivities.

What began out of necessity turned into a mission. Returning to college to pursue a psychology degree, she had dreams of becoming a child-advocacy lawyer. In between classes, though, she kept baking, bringing wheat, dairy, and soon sugar-free treats to her study buddies. Friends clamored for her cupcakes and other goodies, and finally an enthusiastic friend insisted that she share her recipes in a cookbook.

“This has become my legacy, the way I can help people who are suffering,” says Hoover. The 150 sweet and savory recipes in her new book No Wheat, No Dairy, No Problem are the result of seven years’ worth of experimenting, testing, and teaching. She’ll be celebrating with a launch party on Saturday, July 18 at 3pm at Noe Valley’s Omnivore Books.

So, what are the must-haves for the wheat- and/or dairy-free kitchen? Since Hoover doesn’t cook with refined sugar, agave nectar is high on her list, although she also likes date sugar, sucanat, and maple syrup for sweetening. “Along with agave nectar, I’d say oat flour, olive or grapeseed oil, and some kind of milk substitute– I like coconut and almond milks, but you can use rice or soy milk, too,” she notes.

Making her book accessible, even to novice cooks outside the well-stocked environs of the Bay Area, was very important to Hoover. “I’m not interested in using a lot of weird ingredients; I think people should be able to make these recipes whether or not they have a Rainbow Grocery down the street.”

Accordingly, her recipes offer plenty of suggestions for substitutions, along with instructions for whipping up homemade basics like raw almond milk.

The back of the book also offers a crash course in supermarket label-reading, including a 4-page list of often-overlooked wheat and dairy derivatives, from whey protein to modified food starch.

Having seen too many food-sensitive friends give in to momentary brownie or pizza cravings only to suffer the consequences for days on end, Hoover promises that “with this book, you can have everything you love without having to suffer.” The hardest thing for her to leave behind? “Triple-creme cheese, and yogurt,” she sighs. “But I know, for me, it’s just not worth it.”

Go to the Orders page on this site to order through www.iUniverse.com or www.Amazon.com