Picture of Health

Me, six days after smashing face onto pavement: picture of health.

Good morning. As this new day dawns, I invite you to join me in giving thanks to our Creator for the glorious opportunities life on this earth offers. As I continue my adventures in life, most significantly my adventures into the realm of optimal nutrition, I am increasingly aware of the abundance of blessings I receive daily and I am thankful.

Although this may sound odd, last week I was blessed with the opportunity to smash my face onto pavement. As one who tends to bruise fairly easily and colorfully, my fall in the dark that resulted in cracking my left cheekbone against the driveway so hard that I literally saw a flash of light should have provided some pretty ugly results. True, I slept more over the ensuing days, allowing my body time to heal, and suffered the discomfort of a tender cheek, sore left arm and slightly wrenched back; however, the photo shown was taken exactly six days after the accident--at which time the bruising should have been quite evident and unsightly.

What has changed since my last opportunity for spectacular bruising? The only change has been the addition of top-quality nutritional supplements, namely those from USANA Health Sciences, Inc. As a Health Coach, I have been experimenting with the effects of nutrition on my own body and observing its effects on those of others for a good year now. When I switched to USANA supplements, I had been told that they were vastly more effective than the brand to which I had been true for the preceding five years, but I am a skeptic. I continued to research the company, its claims and its products, and with each passing day I became more sure that I had found something pretty spectacular.

Within a month of first trying the product, I returned to sign on as an Independent Associate with the company, eager to share the good news--but all I had to share were reports from others. True, I have more energy and my wounds are healing faster, but I needed something bigger to really prove to me that the nutritional supplements had effected my body on a cellular level. Well, what do you know, God has an incredible sense of humor. He allowed me to trip-and-fall, hard, over a piece of baling twine caught between two feed bins--twine that I had seen the day before, noted as a hazard and yet neglected to pick up. Lesson learned; I picked it up that night, a Wednesday.

Then I took my tender face into the house and watched and waited. By Friday a very little bit of puffiness was evident. I knew that my face would be pretty ugly in time for church on Sunday--wrong. By Monday I could begin to notice a very little bit of yellowing. This photo was taken Tuesday. Every time I shared this story, I have had to remove my glasses and allow onlookers to peer closely to detect any difference.

Heck, who needs makeup? I have USANA, which means good health from the inside out. If you want to know more, I invite you to contact me; I am only too happy to share my experience of health and wealth the USANA way with anyone who asks.

Here's an introductory video to USANA Health Sciences, Inc.:

Thank you, Dr. Wentz, for your vision, drive and ethical standards. Thank you, Universe, for the abundance of good health you offer to those who ask!

Ginger Plants & Rooted Mint

Sprouting ginger.

The news from our backyard containers is good, especially with regard to the budding ginger root and the mint transplants.

Our ginger buds are beginning to send up shoots. Now, from what I have read online, we would do best to find a location with filtered light and establish a small stand of plants, then leave it be for two years before harvesting any ginger root for our own use. If we plan to harvest regularly, a series of small stands of ginger is recommended.

This concerns me a bit because when I first set out the root thumbs, a few days later I discovered that some critter had eaten away every last shoot.

Transplanted mint--established.

Now hardware cloth covers the pot, to keep out intruders. This will work, of course, only until the shoots get tall enough to reach the rim of the pot.

The other good news is about the feebly little mint transplants that were re-potted not too long ago. After struggling for a few weeks, they have taken off and are now going like gangbusters. Once again we can enjoy mint in our morning smoothies, and savor chocolate mint ice cream in the evenings.

Life is truly good.

USANA

USANA Essentials

I have been lax about posting over the past couple of weeks because I have been working on an exciting new project. After taking the Essentials (TM) multivitamins by USANA Health Sciences for about a month, and diligently researching the company and their products, I have signed on as an Independent Associate with the company.

USANA makes top-quality, science-based nutritional supplements (and foods and skincare products) right here in the USA using the pharmeceutical industry's Good Manufacturing Practices. Their stringent manufacturing processes, ongoing scientific research, and insatiable drive to produce exceptional products make their products ones that I, and over 600 world-class athletes, trust.

The company was founded by Dr. Myron Wentz whose dream has long been to see a world free of pain and suffering. A microbiologist, immunologist, and pioneer in infectious disease diagnosis, he founded USANA to help further his dream by providing people all over the world with the most advanced supplements that science can produce. USANA products are designed to work at the cellular level to help those who take them achieve optimal health and wellness.

USANA products fit with my vision as a Health Coach, and now they fuel my body, as well. If you are interested in achieving optimal health, I invite you to visit my USANA site to learn more, and/or check out the videos in the Video Bar on the right hand side of this page.

Blessings in Helath!

Smoothie

Smoothie: captured with flash photography.

This morning's low-glycemic index smoothie recipe combined high fiber and protein--provided by flax seed, chia seed and quinoa--with the fruit and vegetables at hand. Employing two exciting super foods--cocoa and maca root powder--the drink powered the members of our household for several hours before hunger returned.

Interestingly enough, the two photos are of the same beverage: the pinker color appeared when the camera's flash went off, and the more chocolaty color came when the dark background was removed and the automatic flash elected to not activate.

Same smoothie, without camera flash.

The ingredients: 

• fresh, raw goat milk--12 ounces
• chia seed--palm full
• flax seed--a palm full
• quinoa--a palm full
• raw, organic cocoa powder--2 tablespoons
• raw, organic maca root powder--1 tablespoon
• Action Whey [TM]--one scoop
• one fresh peach
• one garden tomato
• six overgrown green beans (that needed to be eaten)
• mint--a sizable handful of fresh leaves
• maple syrup--a quick pour, to offset tartness of maca
• frozen blueberries--1/4 cup
• frozen strawberries--8 to 10
• ice

The smoothie whipped up thickly and tasted fine for our needs. I would not try serving it as a restaurant or to anyone used to restaurant smoothies for it was far from sweet. That said, it was filling and refreshing, and carried us solidly until our midmorning snacks.

Growing Herbs

Some mint transplants beginning to thrive.

Here in Tennessee, I am still learning to cultivate plant life. A lifetime ago, in the northeast, I recall having a catnip patch--started from seed and planted for the felines of the neighborhood--that was thick enough that a dozen cats could disappear in it together. We also had mint growing as a weed, spreading and invading at will; it was marvelous. Here, practically all of our herbs and spices still reside in containers. Perhaps this winter I will find the time and energy to build some permanent herb beds on our rocky hillside.

In summer, my most favorite herbs to enjoy raw are basil and mint. At times I believe I could live on pesto. Having mint available for teas, smoothies, and frozen treats makes my taste buds so happy that I smile widely with every sip, slurp, or bite.

Ginger root with developing buds.

This year we had basil and mint early on, but the June drought ended that. Although the plants are still alive, the basil leaves are narrow and hard, and the mint leaves are small and yellow-green. For all the mint sprigs I rooted in water in June, none survived transplanting into soil. Thankfully, the spreading shoots of the presently-nonproductive mint plant offer many rooting shoots and some of those have transitioned well. Now I finally have flavorful fresh mint again available just steps from the door.

A bud from a bit of ginger root, potted and place outdoors.

Inspired by the budding ginger root in the kitchen, this week I transplanted some root chunks with developing eyes. Growing ginger is novel for me, and while I understand that the plants will need a couple of years to develop before I start picking away at their roots, I am eager to give it a try.

Having fresh herbs and spices available can make the experiences of cooking and eating so much more enjoyable. When I take the time to eat mindfully, knowing the sources of my food and how it was raised allows me to connect better as I contemplate this cycle of life.

Watermelon Refresher

Watermelon refreshment.

Watermelon Refresher

• 2 cups seeded watermelon
• 1 small tomato
• 1 small beet
• 1/4 cup fresh coconut
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 scoop sport drink base

Blend the ingredients in a strong blender. (If your blender won't emulsify the seeds, you may want to remove the watermelon seeds and chew them thoroughly to get the nutritional benefits--amino acids, B vitamins, minerals, protein, fats.)

Yield:  1 1/2 quarts.

Are you interested in the story behind the drink? Here it is.

Today we enjoyed another gloriously warm, sunny afternoon with thickly humid air. Per usual, after moving a few sections of fencing, cutting a cartload of brush and grasses for fodder, and bouncing the dog living in lockup for ignoring the boundaries I set, I was soaked. Ladies perspire; I sweat, copiously. Obviously, hydration was in order.

With the animals put to bed, I gladly buried my head in the refrigerator. Success! There sat the bulk of a seeded watermelon, the perfect base for a sweet, refreshing, hydrating drink. Watermelon, water, and the sports drink base were all that were necessary; however, I cannot resist adding whatever extras I can find available.

This is the first time that I have  blended, and likely the last that I will blend, the sports drink into a fruit drink. Although it provided the electrolytes my body needed, it did little for the "natural" flavor of the watermelon refresher. On the other hand, the coconut gave the drink a milky fullness that the fruits and vegetables could not have given it on their own.

Every drink is a unique experience. Every mistake is a lesson. Today I learned that while hydration is important, my palate prefers separating the natural flavors from those of the processed drink mix.

Coconut Kale Morning Smoothie

Morning smoothie, garnished with pumpkin blossoms.

This morning we started out the day with a refreshing Coconut Kale smoothie.

The first order of business was opening the coconut. Working over a large bowl, we sawed at the coconut's seam until we could easily press a knife tip into the coconut flesh. After emptying the coconut water into the bowl, and subsequently pouring it into our Blendtec blender, we got lazy and took the mostly-unsealed nut outside and dropped it onto the driveway. It separated nicely and the hull even broke away from the meat on one side.

Into the blender we added the following:

•  a large chunk of rinsed meat 
•  two kale leaves, a handful of parsley from the garden
•  a tablespoon of raw organic maca root powder
•  a scoop of Action Whey
•  a handful of chia seeds
•  a tomato from the garden
•  a few snips from a hot red pepper
•  less than a cup of fresh kefir
•  and a tray of ice cubes

Lesson: do not put a large chunk of coconut meat at the bottom of a pile to be blended. The meat kept the other ingredients from circulating until it had been fully blended into milk. Once that occurred, the rest of the blending process went quickly.

The result was delicious! The rich, creamy, coconut-flavored drink gave a delightful start to this destined-to-be-glorious day.