Thank you!

A big thank you to everyone who donated a new toy to students in need at Westminster Elementary in December.
Their holidays were a little merrier because of you!  

How to Use Affirmations

Affirmations are positive, affirmative statements that you can use to change your subconscious thoughts to help you achieve your goals. We have an estimated 60,000 thoughts each day. The tone and content of these thoughts is a conditioned by years of life experience, and beliefs about ourselves we have developed from things we hear, infer, and repeat to ourselves. By creating powerful affirmations we can begin to change the beliefs we hold, and this change in thinking affects change in our behaviors. 

Use positive statements in the present tense. Avoid words like “don’t” “won’t” which trigger a negative response. Instead of saying “I will” say “I am”. 

Repetition is important to rewriting the self-limiting thoughts we have. Repeat your affirmations at least three times each day. Write them down and place somewhere you will frequently see them like your bathroom mirror or dash of your car. 

While there are many affirmations available online, the most powerful ones are those truly authentic to your goals.      

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

This delicious shredded chicken is perfect for topping salads, lettuce wraps, or rice bowls. So versatile and freezes great too! 

·2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken pieces
·3 cups diced tomatoes in juices
·1 small yellow onion diced
·4 cloves garlic minced
·2 serrano chilies, seeded and chopped
·2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
·1 tablespoon cumin
·1 tablespoon chili powder
·2.5 teaspoons ground coriander
·2 teaspoons sea salt
·1/2 teaspoon each—black pepper and cayenne pepper 

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours.
Remove chicken, shred with two forks, then return to liquids for one hour.
This recipe would also work well for beef or pork. Having a great 2015 starts with nourishing yourself. Plan ahead and use meals like this one to make sure you’re eating well and taking care of yourself. A little planning once a week goes a long way!

Goals in 2015

Okay, so you have your goals for this year. How do you go from resolutions to tangible change and success? The answer is commitment…

*Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is making time where it feels there is none, and is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.
*Attitude of “I can, I will, I must” not “I’m trying”. Saying you are trying opens yourself up to indecisiveness, uncertainty and hesitation.
*Remember that great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together.
Make a plan, and execute!

Set Yourself Up For Success

How you start your morning sets up the context for the rest of your day. Getting a great start sets your day up for success. Imagine what you could achieve with a year of great mornings!

 When you hit the snooze button you are feeding an attitude of procrastination, telling the mind that you lack discipline and motivation to begin the day. That attitude will become the lens through which you see the rest of your day. Get up the first time the alarm goes off.
Embrace the idea that getting up on time (or a bit early) is a gift of time to yourself—time to dedicate to creating the life you desire. 

Movement can be very energizing. Consider placing your alarm clock across the room so you have to move your body to turn it off. If you like to exercise in the morning, dress in your exercise attire before leaving your bedroom.
Drink water. After sleeping for several hours your body is dehydrated which can make you feel more tired. 

We thrive on routine. Create a ritual for yourself. It might be preparing a cup of tea and going over your plan for the day. It might be finding a cozy spot to repeat your affirmations. A ritual creates a sense of calm and order and helps you go through your day with focus.
The night before prep what you can for the morning. It might be packing lunches, or laying out clothes—anything that helps your morning run smoothly and minimizes stress and panic. 

Before bed set your intentions for the next day. The thoughts you have before bed can influence what you’re thinking when you wake up. Don’t go to bed dreading the morning, instead be excited about what you are going to do in the morning. Setting intentions and reviewing the plan for the next day can also help clear your mind of worries so you can fall asleep relaxed and feeling prepared. 

When you begin your daily tasks, get the most challenging tasks out of the way first when you are most focused. 

As with any goal associate a feeling with the outcome. How great will it feel to be calm and not rushed in the morning?What would it be like to wake up with a clear plan of how the day will go?How happy would you be throughout the day if you woke up with a smile?
Ask yourself, how many ways would your life improve if you were a morning person?

January's Office Calendar

December Calendar

The holiday season is upon us! And while most of us are starting to feel stressed and as if there's not enough time to get everything done, remember: Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. 

Getting checked regularly is an excellent way to make sure your body is well-equipped to handle stress, so here is our monthly calendar of events so you can plan your visits this month! 

Happy holidays everyone!

Natural Childbirth

Christmas Donations (Yes, it's almost that time of year already!)

Baked Garlic Mushroom Chicken

from againstallgrain.com

· 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, skin removed

· 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced

· 1 cup chicken broth

· 8-10 large cloves of garlic, peeled & smashed

· 2 tbsp. ghee or butter

· 1/4 tsp onion powder

· 1/4 tsp sage

· 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

· 1/4 tsp black pepper

· 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl combine all spices, then use to season the chicken thighs.

In an oven safe frying pan heat 1 tbsp. of the butter or ghee.  Sear the chicken thighs, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp. of butter or ghee and the garlic.  Sauté 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Add the broth and mushrooms and simmer a few minutes .

Add the chicken back to the pan and place in oven.  Bake 15-35 minutes (depending on bone/boneless) until chicken is fully cooked.

To make the sauce, remove all liquid, garlic and half of the mushrooms.  Puree in blender and spoon over chicken.

Fever Response

Fevers are a very tightly controlled immune response to a pathogen and serve to make the body less hospitable for unwelcome microbes.  This response is natural, effective and generally short-lived. 

When we suppress a fever we are not treating the illness, rather we are suppressing a critical immune response.  A higher temperature is not necessarily indicative of a more serious illness.  Focus not on what the thermometer reads but how you or your family may be presenting.  A low grade fever in a person who is in great pain and cannot take in fluids is much more concerning than a higher fever in a person who is resting comfortably.

It is a common fear that allowing the fever to continue unchecked, will result in an unregulated spike in temperature that will cause brain damage, hearing loss, and seizures.  The body has carefully regulated mechanisms that prevent infection-induced fever from reaching dangerous levels.  Only in cases of external causes like heatstroke or poisoning are the body’s control mechanisms likely to be overwhelmed or inoperative.

Take Charge! Focus on the Host not the Bug

“It’s going around”.  How many times during the winter months do we hear and say this in reference to cold or flu?  The fact is microbes—bacteria and viruses are all around and inside of us, yet most of us are not perpetually suffering from this proximity.  The germ theory model that many of us have been believing tells us that exposure to a certain bacteria or virus will result in inevitable illness.  But this just isn’t true.  Pathogenic microbes feed on environments where decay, disease, and disorder are already apparent.  It is the level of compromise in the host that determines susceptibility to ‘dis-ease’.  A body that is well taken care of is well prepared.  

So how do we take care of ourselves?

Þ Wash your hands.

Þ Invest in yourself with quality and sufficient sleep.  Having trouble with this one?  Talk to Dr. Chelsea and John about ways to improve your sleep.

Þ Eat whole, pure, natural foods as much as possible.  The quality of foods you eat determines the quality of building materials for cells and tissues.  Be aware that sugar impairs your immune system for hours after consumption and contributes to overall inflammation.

Þ Boost your consumption of vital nutrients and minerals.  You might do this with a daily green smoothie, or by taking the nutrient-powerhouse chlorella.  We like to do both!

Þ Get enough vitamin D—a broad spectrum antibiotic in its own rite and key for optimal immune function.

Þ Get moving!  Our bodies were designed to move and all systems work best when we provide kinetic stimulus.  This is when we feel our best too.

Þ Stay hydrated.  Hydration is critical for all body processes and helps to flush out toxins, and maintain mucosal linings.  Also know, that in a dehydrated state your body releases more histamine during an immune response.

Þ Maintain your care schedule outlined by Dr. Chelsea.  Your body’s immune response is a carefully coordinated and regulated reaction involving many types of cells.  Each of these cells is controlled by the nervous system so be sure to have your nervous system cleared of any interference.

Þ Millions of bacteria inhabit our bodies and many strains are particularly important in the gastrointestinal tract where they outcompete harmful microbes.  Support your health gut flora by taking a probiotic supplement.

 And finally, let your body do its thing!  Have a runny nose or cough?  Understand that these responses are not the illness.  They are your body’s natural and deliberate response to interference (mention the word “interference” to us and receive 10% off Probiotics during the month of November) it is important not to suppress them.  Suppressing our immune capabilities can prolong the imbalance a bug may causing, and drive it to affect more tissues.  Often we get caught up in symptom-talk but these responses are not signs you have an illness but signs that your immune system is up and going and on the job!  Your health this winter and always is in your hands.

The more we can spread this message it will be true health that is going around and not fear—wouldn’t that be nice?

November Calendar

Live in the present. Do the things that need to be done. Do all the good you can each day. The future will unfold.- Peace Pilgrim

Buckwheat Turkey Soup

It’s almost turkey time!  No need to let the leftovers go to waste when you can make easy, nourishing, and delicious soup.

· 4 cups broth (make from leftover turkey bones)

· 1 cup buckwheat

· Diced carrots, zucchini, squash, any extra veggies on hand.

· Leftover turkey, diced or shredded.

· 1 can diced tomatoes (BPA free can)

· 1/2 cup split lentils

· Hot chili pepper to taste

Preparation:

Boil buckwheat in soup broth until soft.  Add veggies, tomatoes, turkey and lentils.  Simmer until veggies and lentils are cooked, about 30 minutes.  Add chili pepper to taste.

This makes a great lunch for school or work in a thermos, and easily uses up any veggies in the fridge.  Freeze in individual portions for homemade lunches through the Fall/Winter.

Buckwheat—is a gluten free whole grain rich in magnesium that contributes to cardiovascular health, and blood sugar maintenance.

Tips for Helping Kids Eat Healthier– Even the Toughest Cases!

by Kelly Hayford, C.N.C. provided by the ICPA

Children’s bodies respond quickly to their diet one way or the other.  Feed them well and they’ll thrive.  Feed them poorly and they’ll nose dive.  The younger children are when they begin to eat harmful foods and miss out on the nourishing foods their body needs, the more likely they are to develop chronic disease in the future and at a younger age, whether they currently have symptoms or not.

Consequently, the best advice for helping children establish well-balanced eating habits is to start from the beginning by feeding them primarily, whole, fresh, natural foods (80-100%), minimal amounts of naturally processed foods (0-20%), and absolutely no junk foods or fake-food brands.  Keeping kids away from extreme tasting fake food is the only sure way to prevent them for developing a taste for it.  If it’s too late for that, as it is for most people today, systematically transition them off the undesirable foods and re-educate their wayward palates.

This is not as difficult as people sometimes think.  I have seen scores of parents transform their children’s dietary habits with little to no trouble.  And yes, all of them thought “not my kids!” at first, just as many of you may be thinking now.  Although some will fight and kick and scream initially, children learn, make changes, and adapt more easily than adults.  Once made aware of, and taken off the foods that are overriding their natural sensibilities, kids are often surprisingly more attuned to their innate desire for initiating and maintaining a nutritious diet. 

Make Eating for Health a Priority!

You must place the same importance on good nutrition in your household as you do on wearing seat belts in your car.  Seventy percent of deaths in America are due to chronic degenerative disease and the average American loses 15 years of their life to these largely preventable diseases.  So, statistically speaking allowing children to indulge in poor eating habits is even more dangerous than driving without their seat belts on.  As you do with seatbelts, make your words and actions convey the danger of poor nutrition and the value of good nutrition to your children.

Don’t rob your children of the opportunity to establish good eating habits that will serve them for a lifetime.  Developing self-care skills is a critical and sorely neglected part of their education.  You must rise to the occasion and make your responsibility bigger than your excuses.  Make use of the following practical tips to help:

Top Ten Tips for Helping Children Eat Better:

1. Have a heart-to-heart talk and let them participate in decision making before you begin.

2. Make small, incremental changes over time and establish them as  lifestyle habits.

3. Appeal to their interests when talking about the benefits of healthy eating—i.e. every child wants to be strong, healthy, fast, smart, nice looking etc.

4. Educate them about wise food choices.

5. Involve them in food preparation as much as possible, at as early an age as possible.

6. Be an example by Eating for Health as much as possible yourself!

7. Don’t keep temping junk food in the house.  Do keep plenty of healthy foods on hand!

8. Encourage other parents, teachers and family members to make healthy foods available at school and social functions.

9. Pack a bag with nutritious foods when going out to avoid resorting to convenient, albeit poor-quality food choices.

10. Implement the Five Bites, Five Times method described below.

Five Bites, Five Times!

A tried and true method of helping to train children’s and adult’s taste buds to like new, healthier foods, is to serve a food item on five different occasions and have them take five bites each time they have it.  Why?  Because the brain automatically repels unfamiliar tastes in the mouth as an innate defense mechanism  that helps prevent us from eating poison berries, for example.  Having at least five bites, five times, helps override this mechanism and develop tastes for healthier foods as they become  more familiar.  Explain this to your children and make a fun game out of seeing who likes what food the fastest. 

October Thanksgiving Gratitude Draw

October 2014 Calendar

Fish Oil and Brain Health

Approximately 60 percent of your brain is composed of fats such as omega-3's, so it's very important to supplement them into your diet! Improve your memory and cognitive function for school and work this fall by taking 10% off Omega Fish Oil!

Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

Make in individual mason jars for a filling breakfast you can just grab and go.  High in protein, calcium, and fiber.

For each 1 cup mason jar use:

1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats , gluten free (not instant, quick, or steel cut).

1/3 cup almond or coconut milk

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1.5 teaspoons chia seeds

Place ingredients in mason jar, put on lid and shake to combine.  Gently stir in fruit and desired flavours.  Place in fridge overnight.  Simply grab and go in the morning.  Should keep for 2 days.

Suggested additions:

Blueberry Maple

· add 2 teaspoons grade B maple syrup and 1/4 cup of blueberries.

Apple Cinnamon

· add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup or local honey, and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce.

Banana Cocoa

· add 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder, 1 teaspoon local honey, and 1/4 cup diced ripe banana.

Breath Counting

This simple technique can be more difficult to perform than you might think, but it is a tried and true way to anchor the mind in the present, allowing you to refocus your energy and clear your mind—something we could all benefit from as the month gets busy.  Kids can learn to do this too!

Sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight and head inclined slightly forward. Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it. Ideally it will be quiet and slow, but depth and rhythm may vary.

· To begin the exercise, count "one" to yourself as you exhale.

· The next time you exhale, count "two," and so on up to "five."

· Then begin a new cycle, counting "one" on the next exhalation.

Never count higher than "five," and count only when you exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself up to "eight," "12," even "19."

Try to do this exercise for 10 minutes each day.