A Delicious Life

Finally, someone is at least thinking about improving the food kids have access to in schools.

According to this NY Times article, a report released by the Institute of Medicine says that junk foods should be banned from vending machines and school cafeterias. In light of the report, Senator Tom Harkin, sponsor of the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, is considering putting the recommendations in the Farm Bill. If passed, the Department of Agriculture could be required to ensure that certain kinds of foods are kept out of schools.

The only thing that seems misguided to me is allowing caffeine free, diet sodas to stay in schools. Just because they have no calories doesn’t mean they’re good for kids. They’re just cans of chemicals - how could ingesting this be good for growing children and teenagers? Also, diet sodas have not been shown to help people lose weight, so what benefit are they serving?

When I was a teenager and in my early 20’s I had a diet-coke addiction. I had to have at least one every day, and I would feel crazy if I didn’t have it. When I finally gave it up, I felt so much better. I was much less irritated, my skin got better, and I didn’t have the same craving for sweets that I used to have when I drank them.

Dr. Mercola has some strong opinions and research about artificial sweeteners which can be found here.

It’s not too late to join the spring cleanse! The teleclass is tomorrow night, and the in-person class is on Saturday. If you are interested, contact me for more detail at adeliciouslife (at) gmail (dot) com. Below are some details:

Interested in trying a short cleansing diet this spring? Join my class, and learn how to cleanse your body holistically. You will get:

• An introductory class about cleansing
• A one-week cleansing menu
• Support for your cleanse through the online group
• Fun exercise to help you cleanse your body and

There are two ways to join - in person or on the phone:

Teleclass
When: Wednesday, April 25, 8:30 - 9:30 pm ET
Where: on your phone
Cost: $20 for one-hour teleclass and one-week cleanse with online support

In-person class
When: Saturday, April 28, 12-2 pm ET
Where: Call or e-mail for details and reservations
Cost: $30 for 2-hour class and one-week cleanse with online support

I was walking through Rockefeller Center Plaza the other morning, admiring the newly planted flowers. I stopped to look down on where the ice skating rink was just a week or two ago - they are just replacing it this morning with an outdoor bar for the summer.

A woman and her two kids were talking about where to get breakfast. Her son wanted to go to McDonald’s and was trying to convince her that it really wasn’t that far away. I turned, and she saw me and asked, “Do you know where the nearest McDonald’s is?” I thought for a few seconds and then told her, “You know, I haven’t gone to one in years, so I have no idea.”

I thought about that afterwards. I really couldn’t remember the last time that I ate at a McDonald’s. It may have been 7 or 8 years ago at this point. I remembered that as a kid, I thought McDonald’s was so good, and I’d love it when we’d go for lunch or dinner. It was a special treat. I also remembered how I used to crave the French fries when I was a teenager. I drove through many times for lunch when I was a senior in high school or when I’d return from college over breaks. It’s so interesting how I can’t even imagine going to one now.

This is not to say that I’m a food saint by any means. I’m just so much more aware of how the foods I eat affect my body. I know that if I ate at McDonald’s, I would probably feel great for a little while, and then crash a couple of hours later - not unlike Morgan Spurlock in “Super Size Me.” And I know what to eat when I want more energy or if I want to feel more grounded. I know what foods can make me heal simple ailments.

You can learn how to do this, too, when you experiment with different foods. Are you aware of which foods give you energy? Or which foods leave you feeling hungry or tired? A simple way to learn about how foods affect your body is to keep a food diary. Write down what you eat and also how you felt before and after you ate - you’ll soon get to know what works for you and what doesn’t.

Did you know that we are 70% water? Did you know that most Americans are chronically dehydrated?

There are plenty of reasons why you should drink more water each day. Water promotes healing, helps clean the body of toxins and aids with weight loss.

Water consumption can also help cure many diseases, according to Dr. Batmanghelidj, including:

• heartburn
• arthritis
• back pain
• migraines
• high-blood pressure

How much water is enough? The rule of thumb for drinking water has been 8 eight-ounce glasses per day. However, you may need more depending on your body size and activity level. More info about water can be found here:

How to drink more water every day
Watercure.com

It’s National Stress Awareness Month. Do you feel stressed? And are you aware of it?

Many things can make us feel stressed on a daily basis - work, deadlines, traffic, loud noises, schedule disruptions, personal relationships, among other things. And there are many ways that we use to try to soothe the stress away - eating, drinking, smoking or exercising are just a few.

What if there was just one simple thing that could alleviate stress, quickly and immediately? What if I told you that it exists, and that this one thing is easily accessible, and available to everyone?

It’s breathing.

So basic, so simple, yet so overlooked by most people. When you are stressed, your breathing tends to be shallow, rapid, noisy, and irregular. All you need to do to start getting rid of your stress is to bring awareness to your breath and focus on making your breathing more deep, slow, quiet and regular.

Beyond that, you can start a daily breathing practice to make stress reduction a regular part of your schedule. The great thing about having a regular breathing practice is that when you train yourself to slow down on a regular basis, you will be less likely to become stressed in the first place. And, when you do feel the headaches, backaches and tight shoulder, you’ll know that you can start easily relieving the symptoms anywhere you are, without drugs or any special equipment.

Greens are essential in your spring diet. You can make this recipe with any green that you like - try kale, escarole, or chard for variety.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli rabe
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Wash broccoli rabe and cut stems into 1-2 inch pieces.
2. Warm oil in pan and add garlic, sauteing for a few minutes.
3. Add broccoli rabe and sea salt, then saute for about 3 minutes.
4. Add water, cover and allow to steam for about 2 minutes. Check for desired tenderness. If needed add a bit more water and allow to steam for a few more minutes.

Do you believe that you can heal yourself just by changing your thoughts? For some, this concept may be a pretty far-fetched idea. But if you consider that everything begins in thought, could that mean that illness starts that way, too?

Dave Markowitz believes it after learning how to heal himself and many others through energy work. Part philosophy, part spirituality, the energy work he does connects the mind, body and spirit to bring them back into balance.

Last night I went to see a live demonstration by healing intuitive Dave Markowitz. It’s a little difficult to describe what he does and how it works — it’s much better if you experience a demo. Through meditation and channeling, he is able to sense where you are in pain and move your energy to make it instantly disappear. He starts by asking people where their pain is and then moves his hands around the area, hovering around the body, to stimulate and move the energy. Several volunteers felt their pain reduce by 50 - 80% or more in just a few minutes of treatment.

If you have a chance, definitely go check him out. He’s based in NY, and he’ll be traveling out to California for some events this summer.

Are you drinking bottled water because you think tap water isn’t fit to drink? Think again.

According to a four-year study by Natural Resources Defense Council, about one-third of bottled waters tested contained levels of contamination in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under state or bottled water industry guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration, the organization responsible for regulating bottled water safety, exempts waters that are packaged and sold within the same state. The FDA also exempts beverages such as carbonated waters and seltzers from meeting standards.

Some bottled water is, in fact, tap water. NRDC also notes that “FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product “spring water” even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and it may be treated with chemicals.”

More information from NRDC.

I’ve tried to kick my sugar habit a few times. It always went the same way - I was good for a few weeks, and I felt virtuous when I was finally off the habit. I’d lose and few pounds, have more energy, and feel great. Then something would happen - a birthday celebration, a holiday, or some other reason to indulge. And then I’d fall back into old patterns of afternoon snacks.

When I decided to get serious about kicking sugar, I realized that I had to have a bigger reason to ditch the sweets than just wanting to lose weight. I remember one of my teachers saying, “The bigger the WHY, the easier the HOW.” I knew that if I had some really big whys, the hows of quitting would become so much easier.

I did some research on sugar to find out what it could be doing to my body. Besides making you fat, I found that there are more than 120 symptoms or diseases that sugar can affect - among them autoimmune diseases, heart disease, cancer, depression, memory loss. If that’s not scary enough, there’s always the vanity angle to make you want to stop eating it - varicose veins, premature aging (i.e. wrinkles), pimples, and cellulite.

Now that I had my facts, it was easier for me to overcome the emotional issues. Every time I wanted something sweet, I’d remind myself of how it would make me feel and look.