Successful New Years Resolutions

The new year is almost here, and whether you make a resolution or not, this post will give you some tips to stay on track with life goals or changes. A lot of resolutions that are made have to do with health, but a lot of times people break within the first month and only less than half turn out to be successful for the entire year. I've been there too, saying something I wanted to change and then returning back to where I was shortly after. There is something special about sticking to a promise that you make yourself, and the accomplishment you feel when you achieve your goals is amazing.

My dad for example said that he wouldn't eat sweets for 1 year, and he stuck through it. I don't know how he did it, but I am really proud of him and happy that he stuck to his promise.

Here are some of the most popular resolutions that people make on New Years
-Lose weight
-Drink less alcohol
-Eat better
-Quit smoking
-Manage stress
-Save money
-Take a vacation
-Help others

It doesn't mean that your resolutions have to or should fall into these popular categories. Come up with something that you feel would benefit yourself and that you could implement in your own life with ease. An issue is that a lot of people want to lose weight, but they just adopt some "fad" diet. It may wok temporarily, but usually you are left unsatisfied and it's easy fall into the old ways. What I am trying to say is that if you really want to lose weight, or change your habits to be more healthy, you need to implement lifestyle changes. You need to analyze what you can change and truly adapt so you can be successful and feel good about yourself in the long run. It is cool to lose weight and see results over a short span, but in the end you want to eat and live in a way that you can sustain your whole life and feel good about. Below are some tips to sticking with your resolution this year, whether it be for health, happiness, love, etc.!

Tips for a successful resolution this year:
1. Pick something you truly want: Try not to pick something that other people force upon you, but instead pick something that you feel will benefit your life. Make sure that it fits within your own value system as well.

2. Limit your number: Try and stick with two or three instead of six or seven goals. This way you can focus on the goals you truly want, and remember exactly what you promised yourself. It can be easy to overload on the resolutions, but also easy to break the ones that weren't as big of a deal.

3. Specific: Being specific about your goals is important for an effective resolution. For example, if you say you want to exercise more, it would be better to say that you'd workout at the gym on mondays and tuesdays for one hour.

4. Create a plan: Instead of jumping in and attempting to conquer or change something big, create some smaller steps to get there. Have a plan, and figure out exactly what you want to do. This could go along with creating short term, and long term goals, so you can progress and achieve exactly what you desire.

5. Write and visualize: If you write down your goal, and visualize it on a regular basis, it can help you to be more successful and stick with your resolution easier. Make sure you put your list in a place you will view it often so that you can be reminded.

6. Tell a friend: Having someone know exactly what you want to change will help to keep you more on track because your friend can hold you accountable. Share your goals with someone that you know will be supportive and help to motivate you when and if you are feeling down.

7. Forgive yourself: If you fail once, don't sabotage your entire goals for the year. Just pick yourself back up and continue on. Many times people trash their resolutions just because they messed up once or twice. Slipping is part of the process and it happens. We are only human and we make mistakes, and we must learn from them. Believe in yourself.

Thanks for reading! Stay safe this holiday/new years season, and spend it in good company :)

This post is written by Michael.
Adapted from: 
Popular Resolutions
Keeping Resolutions
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Tea? It's like a hug in a cup.

Michael and I have basically been sick on and off for the past three weeks. During this time, we decided that no drugs would be necessary. Actually, we never even thought about it! Why? Because tea cures. (At least, we think so.)

Why Tea Rocks
Tea has been around for thousands of years for healing, health, wisdom, and social gatherings. However, doctors do not "prescribe" it for whatever reason they may have. Tea is naturally soothing and healing to the mind, body and spirit. There are many reasons to love tea!

• Tea has less caffeine compared to coffee. This means it is better for the heart and helps prevent cancer. But...
• Some Teas have caffeine! It is great for people like me who cannot drink coffee because gives me headaches and anxiety. 
• Helps burn fat! You are basically drinking water with a little (or a lot) of flavor. Zero calories! I think yes. 
• Green tea has antioxidants, more than broccoli, carrots, or spinach.
• White tea has the most anticancer properties.
• Oolong helps lower bad cholesterol. 
• It boosts your immune system, boosts functioning for old age, lowers blood pressure, 

Teas We Cannot Get Enough Of

Herb Tea for Detoxing

Herb Tea for the Libido

Peach Blosson Oolong

Tea for Lifting Your Spirits

Lupicia's White Christmas

We love tea so much that my mom got Michael and I these cute double walled glass cups for our anniversary. So there you have it. Our little obsession over tea. Why do you like tea? What is your favorite kind? We would LOVE suggestions! (Katie...? I know you're reading this.)

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: Tea Types and Their Health Benefits
Tea Health Benefits   
Republic Of Tea 
Title Inspiration 
Tea gif
Disclaimer: We are not sponsored by The Republic of Tea or Lupicia. We just really enjoy their products. 

The 2012 Transition: New beginnings

The time has come. We have just ended the great 26,000 year cycle. There have been many prophecies to explain what will happen in 2012, but the world is definitely not ending. Unfortunately many people have thought this and continue to live in fear. Instead, get excited for the beautiful changes about to happen, and be grateful to be on earth during this wonderful time!

The universe was founded on a sacred level of creation relating to geometric shapes, and this is why everything is a part of everything else. The universe is an infinitely expanding space where life exists on many different levels, and also dimensions. Unfortunately, in world we currently live in,  we experience polarity that consciously permeates all of our lives. This is seeing good/bad and separation in everything. We separate ourselves from others by comparisons, judgements, etc. But in reality, we are all one, and have the same cosmic energy of creation flowing through all of us. It is an amazing thing, but with the dominant male energy in the universe, we forget our feminine connection to all things, and mother earth. The male dominate left brain is the one that harbors competition, separation, and is a complete illusional type of thinking. It is no surprise that we see things as being separate. We go to school and are immediately thrown into left brain type of learning, without knowledge of the feminine emotional aspect of our lives. The feminine becomes suppressed, while the male force is exaggerated. This has led us to where we are today; wars, destroying the environment, and being disconnect from our family and friends. We have forgotten our intimate connection to all things, and have wrecked havoc upon our own earth. With the ending of the great cycle that has just occurred on December 21, 2012, we will be entering a new cycle where the feminine energy will begin to flower and blossom. This is a new age for change, and conscious upbringing. We must learn to live from the heart, and help heal our mother earth, and raise our consciousness of connectedness. We are creating our very reality and world every second by our thoughts, and feelings. We don't see this, because in the third dimension, manifestation takes time to occur. Since we are all one, we become the creators of the world. I want to ask you to be conscious of your thoughts, and to not live in fear. Fear is harmful to everything, and lowers our vibrational being. Instead, live within your heart, where you will find the truth to all things. 

We will soon be entering a time of christ-consciousness. This will be the change from a third dimensional world, into the fourth. We wont go anywhere, and will stay on earth, but we will be changing frequencies so to speak. This is a special time to be here on this earth to experience this change. It will be a transition of consciousness. In the fourth dimension, what you think manifests instantly, unlike on the third dimensional level we currently live on. In our world there is a delay in manifestation that occurs through our thoughts. There are many ascended masters currently among us who have come down from higher dimensional levels to ease us into this time of change. The geomagnetic field of the earth has slowly been decreasing over the past two hundred years dramatically. When this field collapses soon, the world will be left for three and a half days without it. This may cause people to act in weird ways and go somewhat crazy. Normally when there is an axis shift, a change in consciousness occurs with it. Synthetic three dimensional objects will start to disappear and only true natural objects will remain intact. This is the reason why natural structures have remained around earth, always. This shall not be a time of fear, because we have all made this transition before, we just don't remember. We have existed since the beginning of time, but have forgotten who we are. When the time comes, we will remember exactly what needs to happen, and will all be at peace together. Just remember, look to your heart, because all of the answers are within. 

This post is written by Michael, from the heart.
Adapted from: 
School of remembering
The Shift
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11 Quick Gifts for the Money Conscious

Admit it. It's a little late and  you are still looking for gifts for the holidays. Here are a couple that you can whip out real fast. Even for those who aren't super crafty! Click the titles to see the genius, original crafters and tutorials on how to make it!

Bread In a Bottle

 
Natural Room Scents

 Make Your Own Cupcake Kit

Toddler Scribble Art

Sweaty Bands

 Sharpie Mugs

 Toilet Paper and Card

Mini Bow and Arrow Set

Confetti Crayons

 


 Button Calendar

Money Balloons

This post is written by Kare.
Adapted from: see individual title lings for sources

Boosting your Immunity this Holiday Season

So let's face it, it is that time of the year when everyone is getting sick.. It can be hard to avoid, but we can improve our chances of not catching a cold by following some good guidelines. Flu shots can be good, but unfortunately they contain some nasty ingredients like aluminum, and mercury, formaldehyde, and MSG (according to the CDC). We need to protect ourselves in the best way that we can to prevent sickness, and that means taking matters into our own hands. Read below for some good tips to boost your immunity!

Boosting your Immunity this Holiday Season:
1. Exercise regularly: moving the body around helps to increase circulation and help the lymphatic system clear toxins from the body. The more we are stagnant, the easier it is to be susceptible to colds

2. Herbal supplements: some great supplements for improving your immune system are garlic, echinacea, elderberry, and osha root.

3. Colloidal silver: I recently tried some of this product, and it kicked my cold in a matter of days! You can find it over the counter and is a great immune strengthener for if you think you are about to get sick, or for recovering faster. Supposedly, it was also used by the egyptians long ago.

4. Sleep well: try to get atleast 8-9 hours of sleep per night. When we don't rest fully our bodies ability to recover diminishes and can weaken our life force.

5. Sunlight: we need sun and the production of vitamin D in order to live healthy and happily  It is hard in the winter seasons to get sunlight, but if you see that it is out, Jump in!

6. Drink juice: green juices are amazing not only for their high nutrient level, but they protect us on a cellular level from the high amount of living enzymes that nourish our bodies. Drink as much fresh fruit and vegetable juices as you can this season!

7. Enjoy spices: spices taste awesome, but are good for our immunity as well. Increase spices such as tumeric, ginger, thyme, rosemary, and cilantro. Spice up your life!

8. Coconut oil: use coconut oil on your hands after washing them to smooth them out, but to also help protect you from catching a cold. The oil has anti-viral properties and can even be better than hand sanitizer, since it doesn't kills the healthy bacteria.

9. Eat better: It is so easy to crawl into a cave with a box of cookies and just binge during these cold times. Try to eat less cheese and processed products. These cause sinus stuffiness and can make you more susceptible to catching colds. Instead, have more roots, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and squashes!

10. Trace minerals: selenium and zinc are especially important for healthy immune function. Zinc is especially good for preventing viral attacks. A good way to boost these minerals is to use a good quality sea salt. Gray sea salt is one of the best, and a lot healthier than regular table salt that is processed.

I hope these tips help you to stay cold free this season! :)

This post is written by Michael 
Adapted from:
Image
Boost

Life Lessons: The Stranger Part 3

A few weeks ago, we had blogged about our experience with The Stranger. We learned many life lessons by said stranger. Here is the continuation of our conversation with The Stranger.

You have the power to heal yourself. The Stranger asked if we had physical pain that were bothering us at the time. Michael mentioned this continuous pain he had in his back for over 6 months. The Stranger had Michael sit neutral and close his eyes and imagine the pain. Where is it? (But don't touch it.) What color is it? Size of a golf ball, baseball, or football? Then he had him imagine there was a spout at the top of his head and emptied at his toes. The Stranger had him imagine that colored water was pouring in and washing the pain away. Of course, if you have pain you need to be proactive and notice what you need to do. The Stranger told us a story about how he helped heal his daughter. It turns out that she seriously hurt herself and didn't come back until months later.

Fears are rooted within yourself. I told The Stranger about a scary incident that had happened to me. I was manifesting what could have happened in my mind creating fear. He suggested to immerse myself in that fear. It involved the dark, so he told me to walk around outside in the dark. It makes you feel powerful. Also, do you notice that when you are fearful all you think about is that fear? He suggested to think about the pink elephant. How big is it? Does it have eyelashes? Also, have some sort of protection that can make you feel more at ease. I carry around pepper spray with me.

For women: Just because you are a woman, don't give away your power. Women are powerful. If you give someone the power, then you are giving them permission to make you feel that way. Stand up for yourself! This though obviously also goes with men (, but it connected with my last story).

Change your words. Say "would you" and not "can you" when asking questions. You are taking away the power to say "no." When you say "would you," you give people the choice to say "no" or "yes". This is better.

We hope you have been enjoying our series of The Stranger. Hold on! There is still more to come! If you missed the previous parts of the Stranger, Check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: a peculiar encounter in our life together
 Heart Sweet Clip Art
Shoohan Power Button

Acupuncture: Connecting to the Mothership

Acupuncture is an amazing form of Chinese medicine that is still done all around the world today. It may sound scary since it involves needles, but they don't even hurt at all and are smaller than a strand of hair! The way that it works is basically needles are placed on special points of the body to stimulate the bodies chi. Chi is our life force energy that actually always flowing through our bodies on a subtle level, and there are many different pathways along the body that connect to different organs. These pathways are called meridians. Basically, when we have stagnant chi in the body, disease and pain occur since our energy flow becomes blocked. Acupuncture helps to naturally move stagnation and help keep the life force flowing freely. My acupuncturist calls it "connecting to the mothership" , because it is truly a healing, and wonderful experience. It has been shown to cure and help a multitude of pains and other health issues. I will list more of these below, but before that, I wanted to share my personal story with my first acupuncture session.

When I first got my acupuncture a few months ago, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Basically I went in, filled out some paperwork, and waited in the office. The practitioner doing my acupuncture was a lady named Erin Prucha. She had me go into one of the rooms and I got cozy under a warm blanket. Next, she evaluated the pulses of the different organs of my body, to see where my energy was weak. She also looked at my tongue, and evaluated my overall skin tone. Erin used these methods to help determine which points she would use. She told me that she would do an overall balancing of my bodies energy, and that sounded good to me! She inserted around 16 needles in various parts of my bodies including the ear, arm, wrist, leg, and foot. I couldn't even feel them being inserted at all! It amazed me because I thought that I was going to feel something at least. After this, the lights were dimmed some calm music was put on. Erin gave me a doorbell remote just in case I got uncomfortable or needed her for whatever reason. This made me feel very at ease. She then left me in the room to relax and let the needles do their work. I just closed my eyes and took slow deep breaths. After the first minute, I felt a tingling flow comes from my temple and going down to my chin. It almost felt as if someone was pouring a cooling silver liquid down my face. It was an incredible feeling. Then at one point, I felt that I didn't need to breathe anymore. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever experienced. My breath resumed, but at a very slow and steady pace. I just laid their peacefully and felt so at ease with everything. During this time I had an out of body experience where I literally felt as if I was a foot above my body. Everything felt amazing and I was in pure bliss. I almost felt that I was in another world experiencing pure love. I could feel the energies flowing through my body strongly, and was just enjoying every second of it. When Erin came back into the room to remove the needles, I asked for another 10 minutes. Teehee. When she came back, she quickly removed my needles and told me to take my time getting up. Overall, it was a once in a lifetime experience that I am blessed to have come upon. Since my first time, I have had two additional treatments, and they have all been different but very healing. After all of these sessions I feel vibrant and very connected to myself. Try acupuncture!

Where I got the acupuncture: I received the acupuncture in Santa Rosa, California. A wonderful lady, Erin Prucha, helped heal me, and she owns her on practice and consults with Chinese herbs and nutrition as well. Her practice is in a place called the Soul Shine Wellness Center, where there is also chiropractic, x-ray free breast thermography, and massage. I would highly recommend her if you are in the area and want to give acupuncture a try! Her treatments are very effective, and her magic touch does wonders to the bodies energy.
Erin's website for more information: http://www.acupuncturesantarosa.org/

This picture is just an example to show how many points occur throughout the body that can be stimulated with the needles. There are also many more towards the lower extremities of the body. 

Conditions treatable with Acupuncture:

• Neck or Cervical Pain
• Shoulder Pain
• Lower Back Pain
• Sciatica
• Hip Pain
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Headaches & Migraines
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Sinus Problems
• Arthritis & Arthritic Pain
• Jaw and Face Pain
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Tennis and Golfer's Elbow
• Sports Injuries
• Motor Vehicle Injuries
• Bladder Infection
• Stress Related Disorders
• Menstrual & PMS Problems
• Smoking Addiction
• Obesity & Weight Control
• Infertility
• AND MUCH MORE!

So, if you have never tried acupuncture, or if you have some pesky medical issue you are trying to resolve, or even if you are just wanting to balance your body, give it a try! You never know how it could help you, and I promise that it will be worth it :)

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
Acupuncture
Acupuncture Treatment
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Image 2

Farmer's Markets

Farmer's markets are a great way to get healthy, organic food. Michael and I go to the Farmer's Market almost every week and we love it! It is one of the oldest forms of direct marketing. You meet the guy that's growing your food! You can't do that when you go to the grocery store.

Why We Love the Market

1. It is affordable. We usually use less that $40 for food between the both of us. We get tons of greens and fruit! We love fruit. We got 7 pounds of apples for $6 once. It was great.
2. You meet the farmer. If you have a question, they can answer it because they are the one that is growing their food. We talked to the persimmon guy and he told us exactly when our persimmons will be good to eat. 
3. Sometimes they give you free stuff. I go to a specific booth and they always give me a free tomato or onion. Sometimes if you go towards the end of the farmer's market, they give more free stuff because they want to get rid of their food. 
4. You can tell them how much money you have left and they will accommodate. I use this trick ALWAYS. I ask "how many zucchinis can I get for $3?" They usually give me more than I pay for because they realize I'm trying to save money as much as I can. 
5. Really good quality food. Obviously if you go earlier, you get the best quality because it hasn't been picked through. Regardless, I always find something I want. 
6. Support local farmers! You know exactly where your money is going to and supporting local farmers is the best. 
7. It's fun. Michael and I love walking around and seeing what they have. There is always someone selling beautiful flowers and a couple booths with crafts and pottery. You never know what you'll find!

To find your local farmers market: Use LocalHarvest. Look it up and research again in Google. Usually the farmer's markets have websites. Use it to see if they are open year round. Sometimes markets are closed due to the cold season and rain, but bigger populated areas will most likely have a year round market!

Do you go to the Farmer's Market? What is your favorite part about the market?

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: 
LocalHarvest 
Farmer's Market Box Picture
Fresh Local Produce Picture

Fluoride: Poisoning your water silently

Fluoride is used in toothpaste to combat our cavities, but more recently it has been added into our water supply without question. Why you may ask? Well, the CDC (center for disease control and prevention) claims that it is one of the "ten best health achievements of the 20th century" by adding this unnecessary chemical into the water supply in order to protect us from getting cavities. It is actually a by-product of industrial runoff from aluminum factories, but instead of disposing of it, it get put into the water supply. It is normally used as an insecticide and rat killer, and this is being put into OUR WATER! what!?

Unfortunately, most people don't even know that it is in most city tap water, and it can cause a whole multitude of negative issues.

Negatives:
-Causes skeletal system to rapidly deteriorate, which increases weakness in joints and bones
-It is a Neurotoxin that affects cerebral functioning
-Studies have showed that it lowers IQ of populations
-Makes people docile (not caring mentality)
-Increases cancer and tumor growth
-Interrupts DNA-repair activity
-Calcifies the pineal gland (our third eye of knowledge and all knowing power)
-Causes genetic damage
-Associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia
-Lowers the activity of the thyroid gland
-Can cause insomnia because it lowers melatonin release while you sleep
-Causes white spots on teeth called dental fluorosis
-Damages natural enzymes in the body
-Can lead to hives and eczema
-Breaks down collagen and causes wrinkling of the skin
-Weakens the muscles and tendons of the body

Basically, sodium fluoride in our water supplies is killing us, and no one seems to care about it..... No one wants to drink poison, and since we are made up of about 70% water, it is important to have a clean source.

www.findaspring.com is a great website for finding a local spring to get the cleanest water possible, because the city's tap water is definitely not the best source to support our health and well-being.

Tips to avoid fluoride:
-Buy toothpaste without fluoride (Toms of maine sells this, and other natural suppliers do as well)
-Avoid canned foods because fluoride is used as a preservative
-Check your medications and vitamins, some may contain fluoride
-Avoid chewing tobacco
*Invest in a water filter that can filter the fluoride and other heavy metals. This includes reverse osmosis, activated alumina defluoridation filter, and a distillation filtration. Your brita will NOT protect you.
-Talk to your city water supplier about your concerns and raise awareness with friends and family

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
image
fluoride
history of water
avoid fluoride

The Sunshine Award

Thank you to A Mess To Be Made for nominating Living Towards Love for the sunshine award!

Why we love Charlie (from A Mess To Be Made): She makes fun and creative crafts and explains them really well. She's from Scotland. And Charlie and Karel became friends back in middle school (that was nearly ten years ago!).

 

On to the award acceptance process: according to the rules, nominees must (i) include a link in your blog to the blog that nominated you; (ii) answer some questions about yourself; (iii) nominate 10 fellow bloggers, linking to their blogs; and (iv) inform them that they have been nominated.
Q&A:
1. Who is your favorite philosopher? [Karel] My dad. He was a philosophy major in college so I think he counts. He says the greatest things and I love him. [Michael] thich nhat hanh.
2. What is your favorite number? [K] 17 [M] 7
3. What is your favorite animal?  [K] Elephants. They are adorable! [M] Baby Tigers, cutest animals ever!
 4. What are your Facebook and Twitter?
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Living-Towards-Love/297788600320316?fref=ts
5. What is your favorite time of day? We both like twilight. Because it is in the middle of light and dark.
6. What is your favorite holiday? [K] I think our anniversary and Christmas is tied on this one.   [M] Christmas.
7. What is your favorite physical activity? [K] Yoga. [M] Biking.
8. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink? [K] Salted peppermint carmel hot chocolate. Apple Cider. water. [M] A freshly made fruit juice.
9. What is your passion? [K] Reading, yoga, cooking, crafting, Disney, and elephants. [M] Dance, music, raw foods, barefooting in nature
10. What is your favorite flower? [K] Daffodils. [M] Tulip.

And now our own nominations to pass the Sunshine Award on, in no particular order:
Blah Blah Bracelets
Healthy. Happy. Life.
Veggie Wedgie
Make it Happen Mondays
Holistic Homemaking
How Does She
Holistic Squid
Holistic Dad
The Freedom Experiment
Intuitive Journal

Check out some of our favorite blogs! 

This post is written by Karel & Michael.
Adapted from: We do not own the sunshine award picture. Cannot find original source!  
We do not own the Sunshine Award idea but our answers are original.

Craft Challenge: Falling Leaves

So my friend and I decided that we are going to start doing craft challenges since we both have blogs. It's also a way for us to do something crafty every month as a way to keep in touch since we are so far away (she's in Scotland!). Check out A Mess To Be Made. So Charlie and I are doing craft challenges. This month we are doing a fall craft! I chose to do a fall wreath.

Materials

• a stick 
• scissors
• pretty paper (I used brown and patterned orange and red)
• leaves stencil (not shown above)
• clear string or fishing line (not shown above)
• clear tape (not shown above)
• double sided tape (not shown above)

Instructions

1. Cut paper into leaves. I totally cheated and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the leaves out. 
2. Once you got all your leaves all cut up, measure string into different lengths (I cut 5)
3. Cut string to hold up. Tie each end of the string to each end of the stick so you are able to hang it up.  
4. Start taping leaves back to back to hide the string. (As you can see in the picture, I didn't realize that I had to mirror the cut to make sure the white didn't show. Since I cut them already, I didn't want to waste them. So, you can see the whites. Oops!) 
5. Hang! (I took a command strip hook thing and taped it upside down behind my door. Like this!)

 
 I didn't think I would like it because of how sloppy the leaves look but I ended up really loving it! I love the fall colors and that you can't see the string! It's awesome! So this is my fall challenge. Check out Charlie's A Mess To Be Made to see what she had done. I wanna see your wreaths! Comment below with a picture! (:

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: 
A Mess To Be Made
Silhouette America
Senn and Sons

"Cheezy" Pumpkin Mac and Cheez

Michael and I had a pumpkin for about two weeks and decided that we should probably make it. I haven't had mac and cheese in a really long time and I was dying to try this recipe that I discovered on Oh She Glows. Okay, it's NOT really mac and cheese because it's completely vegan. No dairy or cheese!

Roasted Pumpkin Puree
I used fresh pumpkin in this recipe. If you don't have a fresh pumpkin, you can also use one cup of canned pumpkin puree (or something like that).

1. Preheat oven to 370 degrees.
2. Cut pumpkin into fourths. Take the seeds and stringys out.
3. Place pumpkin on cookie sheet (or whatever you want to use) skin faced up.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until pumpkin insides are tender.
5. Let cool and scrape off pumpkin skin.
6. Let pumpkin cool completely before pureeing. We used a food processor. It took a long time.

Pasta
I used elbow quinoa pasta. You can use whatever you want. I made had the water boil while making the sauce.



Mac and Cheez Sauce

• 1 tbsp & 1 tsp Earth Balance (or any butter replacer, or butter)
• 3/4 cup unsweetended Almond Milk (or coconut milk)
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (we did a little more, we really like garlic)
• 7 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard (I thought Michael said tablespoon and I just kept squeezing the bottle. oops). 
• 1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk together milk, arrowroot powder, and garlic powder until it is not clumpy. Set aside.
2. Put the Earth Balance into a pot over low-medium heat. Let it melt.
3. Add bowl of milk mix into pot and mix.
4. Stir in nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, Salt and pepper. Mix until thickened. 
5. Add pumpkin puree and stir.
6. Add cheezy sauce to noodles and enjoy!

We really enjoyed this fall recipe. I have never cooked with pumpkin so it was a really cool experience! It did take a long time to make if you use fresh pumpkin. What are your favorite pumpkin recipes?

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: 
Oh She Glows Recipe 
my original pictures

Meditation: The Here & Now of Life

Meditation is about being aware and awakened in every moment of our lives. It is about bringing the body and mind into a state of harmony to experience awareness. Anyone can experience it and practice it no matter what religion or background is present. It is an important practice because it is so easy to live our lives on autopilot and be pulled into fantasies, thoughts, and feelings that distract us from the here and now. Meditation isn't about ignoring our life's thoughts or repressing feelings, it is about experiencing life in it's totality of existence. With busy minds we are so easily sucked into fears and create suffering from our own thoughts. Meditation can help you to de-clutter the mind from the constant bombardment of crazy thoughts that occur daily, and help focus on being present in every moment. It is easy to practice and incorporate into your life, and can have many benefits

How to easily meditate:

1. Choose a calm and quiet environment: Find a place where you will be comfortable sitting for 10 minutes or more. Sit down in one of the postures mentioned below on a comfortable pillow. Relax the arms, head, and neck and make sure that your spine is straight. 

2. Breathe slow and deep: You can keep your eyes closed or keep them open looking down at a 45 degree angle and still keeping the neck straight. If you choose to keep your eyes open, relax them and try not to focus on any one thing. Breathe slow but do not  force your breathing. Inhaling and exhaling in a way that is comfortable for you is an important key. The first breaths are normally shallow, but as more air fills the lungs they will change to become deeper and fuller. 

3. Awareness: While breathing deep, slowly become relaxed and aware of your entire body. Focus your attention on the breath as your chest rises and falls. To achieve a deeper breath, try breathing more into the stomach rather than the chest. As you focus all your awareness on your body and breathing, thoughts may randomly arise. Do not focus on the things that come up in the mind, but simply observe their presence entering and leaving. When you see that your focus has shifted from your breath, simply bring your awareness back to your breath. The more that you focus on being present in the here and now, the easier it will be to incorporate being fully awake to ever moment in life. It may be difficult to calm the mind at first, but with practice it will become easier. 

4. Ending: When you are ready to end the session, open your eyes and stand up slowly. You want to meditate for a period of time that is comfortable for you. Starting with 10 minutes is a good place to begin, and then slowly increase the time to your personal desire. Meditation is great for relaxing the body and you may even experience a new joy for life. Be sure to incorporate your increased awareness into the rest of your daily activities even after your practice. 

Simple meditation guidelines

-Be consistent, try having a set schedule for meditation practice daily to help increase awareness on a day to day basis. Meditation isn't about being aware when you are sitting, but integrating it into the way you experience life everyday

-When you notice yourself experiencing thoughts or memories, simply watch as they pass without commenting or reacting to them. This is your bodies natural way of filtering through and de-cluttering

-It is best to meditate in the morning before eating, or hours after a meal has passed so that the mind can have a sharper focus and less distraction from digesting

-enter each session with no expectations or ideas of personal gain from meditation. Just experience it and your new awareness may spring new abundance in your life. 

Various meditation postures

For posture,you want ones that will keep your spine in perfect alignment. It isn't bad to sit cross legged, but it's harder to keep the spine straight. This is why the most effective postures are half lotus (where one foot is placed on the opposite thigh while the other is tucked close in), and full lotus (where both feet are on the opposing thigh as shown in the very center picture below). When our spines are straight we can experience a better flow of energy throughout our body and improve focus and concentration. Due to lack of flexibility, it can be difficult to attain even the half lotus or full lotus posture. The most important aspect is to be comfortable, if you are not then it is good to try one of the different positions below. 

Try meditating! I have found it to be helpful especially for calming my mind down and focusing on being present and releasing a lot of stress and anxiety as well. It may be a difficult at first to shift our awareness because we aren't used to it, but over time it will become more of who we are and it will be easier to integrate our new wisdom of ourselves and the world around us. 

Tip: If you have trouble staying focused on your breath, try incorporating a guided meditation or light calm music. 

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
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Posture
Balancing Chi
Meditation: now or never by Steve Hagen

Baby Carrots: Not So Innocent

Fun Fact: Baby carrots are shaved down reject adult carrots that nobody wanted. Basically, back in the 80s, carrots had to have a specific color, size, and shape or else grocery stores would not accept them. Isn't that sad? Even these orange, crunchy vegetable have societal pressures to look a certain way. I recently found my love of carrots and baby carrots are great because they're so compact and cute! Until I heard about the truth...

Just a little background: Basically a farmer was so sick of the waste, that he decided to do something with the rejected carrots. He had two solutions. 1. shave them into 1 inch balls, calling them bunny balls. 2. baby carrots! Bunny balls weren't a hit but baby carrots were! So that was when the baby carrot was born.

Here's the thing. These cute little healthy snacks aren't as healthy as you think. Remember how I said that carrots were rejected based on color, size, and shape? Well... To make baby carrots, the rejected carrots were ground together and bathed in chlorine to give them the bright orange color. Another way is to just cut and peel into the baby carrot shape, but again, they are bathed in chlorine.

However, in the ingredients list, it doesn't say chlorine! Why? Basically anything that happens in the manufacturing process does not need to be included in the ingredients list. There is no way to tell if there is chlorine in your organic baby carrots or not.

If you didn't know, chlorine is highly toxic. It is commonly found in household cleaners and in the air near industrial areas. Ingesting chlorine can lead to many health problems, like "sore throat, coughing, eye and skin irritation, rapid breathing, narrowing of the bronchi, wheezing, blue coloring of the skin, accumulation of fluid in the lungs, pain in the lung region, severe eye and skin burns, lung collapse, a type of asthma known as Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS)" [Source].

Long story, short: Just buy organically grown whole carrots. You can easily just wash them and cut them in to sticks! Yummm. 

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: 
Why Baby Carrots Are Killing You
True Baby Carrots
Just Say No to Baby Carrots (This is a great article too!) 

Superfood: Açaí Berries

Açaí is a superfood fruit from South America. The people of Brazil have been using them for many years to gain nutritional benefits. They are very high in a variety of vitamins and minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, B1, and vitamin E. Also, they have a high protein content and are a great source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats! In the U.S. the berries won't last the shipment from South America, so normally they are dried into a powder form and then shipped. Read below for some of the wonderful benefits that Acai has to offer!

~Benefits~

1. Good for the heart: These berries have anthocyanins which is similar to a chemical in red wine which helps lower cholesterol levels. They also contain plant sterols which protect our cells by preventing blood clots, and also help to improve circulation. 

2. Healthy Skin: Due to the high antioxidant level of açaí berries, they help to make your skin naturally glow. Take them as a supplement for this benefit. 

3. Anti-Aging: These berries can reverse aging effects and reduce inflammation in the body. This is because of the high antioxidant levels. They also have around ten times the antioxidants as grapes! They have one of the highest ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) to reduce free radical damage in the body and promote the death of unhealthy cells. 

4. Anti-Viral & Anti-Bacterial: Consuming acai berry extract can help to fight anti viral and parasitic infections. This means that it can help  you be less susceptible to acquiring a cold during flu season!

5. Vasodilator: These berries help to increase the size of blood vessels and improve the flow of blood in the body. This can be especially helpful for men with a low sex drive.

6. Weight Loss: Acai helps to suppress the hunger and apetite of the body because of it's high fiber content. This can mean a decrease in the accumulation of body fat and an increase in metabolism resulting in weight loss. 

7. Improved Vision: Since anthyocyanins and Vitamin A are superstars of this fruit, it can help to improve your overall vision. 

If you can acquire the berries in their natural state then that would be awesome! If you can't, then supplementing your diet with the powdered form of the berries can also be beneficial :)

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
Superfood
Benefits
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Life Lessons: The Stranger Part 2

A few weeks ago, we had blogged about our experience with The Stranger. We learned to: 1. Look at things carefully, 2. Tell things from the heart, and 3. Adapt to the environment to live to your advantage. Here is the continuation of our conversation with The Stranger.

Don't seek others to fix your problems. We all have the ability to find the root cause of all our problems, and figure out what we need to do to heal and solve our issues. Here are a few examples that we have thought of that has happened in our life: paying bills (put on your big girl panties and try getting a job), roommate issues (don't complain about it, do something. Talk to roommates and solve your issue), losing weight (stop feeling sorry for yourself, and get up and start eating healthy and working out). These are only a few things that I have felt in my life and done something about.

How to ease the mind (only think of one thing at a time). Do the pink elephant exercise: Think of a pink elephant. Describe it. What does your elephant look like? What color are it's eyes? Does it have eyelashes? During this exercise, did you think about anything else other than your pink elephant? When you focus on this elephant. all thoughts magically disappear. The mind is powerful.

We look at difference between humans but the similarities are more important. Do the flower exercise: Get a flower. Touch it. Look at it carefully. Lick it. Smell it. Notice the texture and the taste. Do you notice things that you haven't realized before? Look at the male and female parts of the flower, etc. Be observant! Just because you looked at something many times doesn't mean you know it. When you first meet a person, you instantly think how different they are than you. They have blonde hair. He is tall. She has strong arms. As humans we share similarities. We all have emotions, organs, and experiences. We all have health (whether it is good or bad, we have it). Notice the people you meet.

We hope you learned a little more about life just as much as we did from The Stranger. It's not over yet! The Stranger series is still continuing.
Check out part 1 of The Stranger

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from:  a peculiar encounter in our life together
John Lund Pink Elephant Image 
Creative Fan Flower Wallpapers 

10 Good Reasons to Avoid Dairy

Many people feel that they need dairy in their diets in order to have adequate amounts of calcium and protein. This is just not true, but the media displays milk and cheese as helping us build strong bones and teeth, when in reality they acidify and weaken our bones. In order to progress as a society and become more aware of our impact on ourselves and the environment, sometimes we need to unlearn what we have been taught. By challenging our current views of what we should and shouldn't eat, we become more mindful of what we are consuming and why. Below are ten justifications for removing dairy products from your diet. 

1. Cow's Milk is Meant for Baby Cows

Currently, we are the only species that drinks milk after infancy. We are also drinking the milk of another animal that doesn't belong to us. Let's save it for the calfs. 

2. Hormones

Cows are given steroids and other hormones in order to increase their milk production. This intake of foreign hormones can disrupt the functioning of our own hormonal system, and produce negative effects in our bodies. 

3. Cows Consume Harmful Foods

Feed for cows includes genetically modified corn & soy, animal products, cottonseed, chicken manure, pesticides, and antibiotics. When we consume dairy we are ingesting all of these nasty things. 

4. Dairy Products are Acid Forming in the Body

Our bodies function best at a neutral pH of about 7.3. When we consume dairy products (which are acid forming), our bodies have to take from our bones in order to balance the reduction in pH. The dairy causes calcium to diffuse from our bones, thus making them weaker over time. Do not listen to media's lies of building strong bones and teeth, because they don't care about your health, only $.

5. Increase in Osteoporosis

Research has found that the countries that consume the most dairy products have higher incidences of osteoporosis. We are setting ourselves up for brittle bones in the future if we don't change our habits. 

6. Dairy Cow Conditions

Most cows that produce dairy are confined in close quarters where they are treated inhumanly and are never able to see green pastures or the light of day.

7. Most Dairy is Pasteurized

Pasteurization is used to kill potentially harmful bacteria. However, in the process it kills necessary vitamins, proteins, and enzymes. We need enzymes in order to help us digest our foods. Since they are depleted, our bodies have to work harder in order to assimilate and break the dairy down.  

8. Dairy is Mucous Forming

Since dairy produces mucous it can lead to respiratory disruption in the lungs. Many seasonal allergies can also be a cause of dairy and most people don't know this because they have never removed it from their diets. If you have allergies, try removing dairy from your diet temporarily to see if you observe any relief. 

9. Dairy Consumption is Linked to Arthritis

In a study involving rabbits, scientists were able to produce inflamed joints in animals by switching their water to milk. In other studies, scientists have found more than a 50% reduction in pain and swelling of arthritis when people eliminated milk and dairy products from their diet.

10. Most Dairy is Homogenized

When milk is homogenized, the natural proteins are denatured and made harder for our bodies to digest. We see these proteins as foreign invaders and our white blood cells attack our own body as if it was an infection. Research has also linked homogenized milk to heart disease.

Final note: If dairy has been a big aspect of your life and diet, try to challenge yourself by removing it temporarily. Pay attention and notice any changes that occur in your life, and whether it is truly something you need in your diet. It is very easy to habitually use dairy with breakfast cereals, smoothies for lunch, and ice cream after dinner. I encourage you to try new things, and question your current eating practices to better your own health and well being of the environment. Stay tuned for future nut milk recipes, which are more satisfying and nutritious!

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
The Sunflower Center in Petaluma California
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Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• sprinkle seasoning (I used garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano)
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, remove caps

 1. In a ziploc bag, mix everything EXCEPT the mushrooms together. See first image.
2. Wash mushrooms thoroughly. See second image on right.
3. Place the mushrooms in bag, CLOSE tightly and shake!
4. Place in refrigerator overnight. Flip when you think it is necessary. (I did this at 9pm and flipped it over in the morning so I can cook it later that night.
5. Once you have let it marinade overnight (or for a couple hours), preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take mushrooms out and place on glass oven safe pan. (DO NOT throw away sauce!)
6. Sprinkle  some sauce over mushrooms.
7. Cover with foil.
8. Place in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Flip mushrooms to other side and let sit in oven for 7 minutes.
9. Take out and enjoy!

Here is the finished product! It's delicious. We had it with pasta. 

Happy Halloween! 
We hope everyone stays safe and enjoy having a sugar coma! (:

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: myself and Michael! 

What to Recycle

Recycling is an important way to help our environment. Many people think that they can recycle everything, but most of the things we think we can recycle end up going in the land fill anyways. I like to recycle, but to be honest, I still am a bit unsure about exactly what I can put in the bin. It seems pretty simple, but it's important to follow some general guidelines, otherwise all the hard work of sorting may be going to waste.

Items you should recycle:

Mixed Paper & Cardboard:

Writing Paper Computer Paper Newspaper Flattened Cardboard Flattened Boxes File Folders Junk Mail	Phone Books Magazines Shredded Paper Paper Packaging Paper Bags Styrofoam Packaging (NO Packing Peanuts) Currently San Diego County only.
Recyclable Containers:
Aluminum Cans Glass Bottles & Jars (all colors) Steel (tin) Cans All Plastic Bottles, Jugs & Containers marked through or labeled "CA Redemption Value

Not for the recycling bin:

• Disposable plates or cups
• Paper towels
• Tissues
• Carbon Paper
• Plastic grocery bags
• Chip/snack bags
• Ceramics
• Drinking glasses
• Styrofoam packing peanuts
• Mirrors
• Wax Paper
• Milk/juice cartons with wax paper
• Batteries
• Light bulbs
• Clothing

General guidelines:
-Clean out all plastic containers and leave off the lid. A lot of containers end up in the landfill because they aren't rinsed before going into the bin
-Bottles/containers do not need lids or caps
-Keep in mind that each city has different rules and regulations, look up your cities guidelines to make sure you are doing everything that you can

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
EDCO
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Life Lessons: The Stranger Part 1

Before I go into the life lessons, I need to give you all some background.
This past summer, Michael and I went to Sebastopol to explore and just walk around. In a bookstore, we met this man who decided to talk to us for a long time about life lessons. This was a complete stranger telling us about his world. This is some of what we learned.

Look at things carefully. The Stranger showed us this peculiar metal round thing which we later found out was a 1950s spy camera. He had us play with it to figure out what it was. We learned that even though some things we acquire don't mean anything to us personally, to others it can mean everything. We always get caught up in this fast paced world and we never stop and look at things more carefully. We judge people, judge books by their covers, judge the way a food tastes by the way it looks. I am still learning to slow down, and when I do, I notice things more than I did before.

Tell things from the heart. The Stranger asked what Michael and I's major. I mentioned that I wanted to teach. The Stranger was a professor. He taught psychology and physics. He felt restricted by the lesson plan and would rather teach from the heart because then it would inspire people to learn. He told me that if I want to become a successful teacher, I should teach from the heart. If I am not passionate, the students can tell and will not be passionate as well.

Adapt to the environment to live to your advantage. The Stranger has a son who wears a ponytail and have many piercings. By having those physical qualities, his son restricts himself. When traveling, you need to adapt to the environment and wear socially acceptable things. This can help ease communication with other cultures, etc. Although people say, it is the inside that counts, there are a good amount of people that judge you by the way you look. If you try to fit in to your surroundings, you don't bring attention to yourself and communication would be easier.

How have you lived these life lessons that The Stranger taught us? Tell us your stories!
Check out Part 2 here.

This post is written by Karel.
Adapted from: a peculiar encounter in our life together
I heart eleanor Heart Picture 
Discovery Education Magnifying Glass