Healthy Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle - Positivity, Inspiration, Recipes, Weight Loss Tips

I'm not religious but I've been LITTERALLY touched by God

I'm still in chock sort of.
The seminar... WOW...
Will share it when I'm ready...
Will take time before I've processed it all.
Wow.

Laughing all the way from the bank!

(This is a pre-written post I wrote when I got back from the the Canary Islands. My post about the healing seminar will be published in a few days.)

So today I was laughing all the way from the bank.
Litterally!!

I went to the bank to exchange back the euros I still had left from my Spain trip. The girl at the counter (who was in her twenties) was very nice and started counting the money when a guy working at the counter next to her burped. The burping itself wasn't funny - and the girl just made a tiny tiny smile on her face. But that set me off. I made an equal smile back, and next thing we know it, we are both laughing hysterically!!! Haha!!! :-D
While us laughing she excuses herself while trying to count the money out loud (in which she fails :-D) . Now we are not laughing at the burping - now we're just laughing cuz we're laughing! And because we are in a bank where laughing is definitely NOT suitable!
:-D!!!!

Anyways, I get my money and I leave the bank - still laughing (the girl is still laughing too!! :-D). I continued laughing all the way from the bank til I got home. People must have wondered what was so funny!! I just couldn't stop!! It was one of the best laughs I've ever had!!! And it made my abs get a work out too! :)

Afterwards, laughing all the way from the bank made me wonder:
• How effective of a work-out of the abs is (litterally) laughing out loud?
I tried to do some googling on it, here's one link on the subject: Laugh Your Abs Off.
Please share if you know any other resources on this topic!

I also googled the benefits of laughing and they are all good as you might know. If you want to read them in detail, here's a great article: Health Really Is a Laughing Matter.

To finish up my post, I offer you a free laugh (or at least a smile!) with the help of this adorable baby:

Eric Pearl, here I come!

Wow... time goes by FAST.

Today I'm off to the healing seminar with internationally recognized healer Eric Pearl.

3-4 hrs on Friday.
9-10 hrs on Saturday.
9-10 hrs on Sunday.

It's gonna be a long and interesting weekend! I'll blog about it next week!

Back! How I stayed healthy on my trip to the Canary Islands!

I got back a few days ago and I have only nice things to say about my trip!!
First of all: lovely town, lovely hotel, lovely people, lovely beach, lovely sand dunes... Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria (Spain) is perfect for a short sunny vacation!!

So how did I stay healthy over there?
- I cooked most of the food I ate at my hotel.
- I used the gym in the hotel.
- Every now and then I went for 15-45 minutes walks instead of taking the taxi.

First, here's a picture (taken in my kitchenette in my hotel room) of the foods I brought along with me in my checked-in luggage:

1. Organic rice
2. Wakame algae
3. Organic banana/pear purée
4. Organic oatmeal
5. Organic tahini
(6. Cocosa Coconut Oil)

Having done some pre-googling, I already knew where the two bigger supermarkets in Playa del Ingles were situated (Eurospar and Mercadona). In fact, I had printed out maps to their locations, which apparently wasn't necessary because the city was way smaller than I thought, and the supermarkets were both only 15 minutes away from the hotel (by walk) and very easy to find. I did some food shopping in both supermarkets - everything from chicken filets to frozen broccoli to fresh bananas. Cooking in the hotel was easy, and I feel I had plenty of space to prepare my meals... :)

The gym at the hotel was biiiiig. I mostly used the treadmill and when I was there it was ALWAYS empty! Maybe a part of that is because 90% of the guests of the hotel were age 50+ and that when you're on vacation, the last thing you wanna do is to run the treadmill...

I also did some "walking" on the sand dunes (which bascially is an area of 8x3 km of ONLY sand). It's like walking in the desert!! Really cool, but remember to bring your water bottle if you ever go there!!

Before arrival, I thought it would be hard to stay healthy on this vacation. I guess the key factors are to bring some of your own healthy food from home and to rent a place (apartment hotel/villa) where you can cook it! Other than that, what's most important when on vacation is to RELAX and HAVE FUN!!

I'm off to the Canary Islands now!

I have just packed (last minute as always!!) and I'm off to the Canary Islands in a bit! :-D

Since I took my food intolerance test last week, I have to be even more careful of what I will be eating while there! I will probably cook more than I planned. I'll blog about that aspect (finding healthy foods, cooking your own food abroad) when I get back.

A big thank you to Victoria at Cunning Canary who has answered all my questions I had about my travel! :-)

New diet over the next 3 months because of the results of the food intolerance test I took

I took a food intolerance test at my nature therapist's office a few days ago. All she needed was some blood from my finger and after 30 minutes the results were in!
Basically, this food intolerance test tells you if you have any intolerance to any of the following 46 foods (see the list below), from "nothing" to "little", "medium" or "big" (there are other similar tests that includes more foods). Usually everyone has some intolerances. I had "little" and "big" ones.

If I avoid the foods that I have a big intolerance to (and only eat the foods where my intolerance is low to every now and then), my nature therapist recommends me to take a new test after 3-4 months and then the test should show better results. Slowly, I should be able to eat everything again!
If I get the same result on something that I avoided it could mean that it is not an intolerance but an allgery instead. But allergies can be cured too. Everything can be cured. :)

Anyway, here is the list of the 46 foods I'm talking about. I will avoid these and these completely for 3 full months, starting today (March 1st, 2009). In the beginning of June I will take a new test.

1. Oat
2. Wheat (= Almost all types of bread and cookies - GOOD - now I have a reason to quit these! :D)
3. Rice
4. Corn
5. Rye
6. Durum wheat
7. Gluten
8. Almond
9. Brazil nuts
10. Cashew nuts (Aww... My favorite nut! Lol. But I don't eat it often anyways. :)
11. Tea (Doesn't bother me.)
12. Walnut
13. Dairy/Milk products (Doesn't bother me because I usually drink soy milk or have soy yoghurt anyways. Good thing I tolerate soy! :)
14. Egg (Hmm... I don't have egg too often, but I like them...)
15. Chicken
16. Lamb meat
17. Red meat
18. Pork
19. White fish (cod & plaice)
20. Freshwater fish (salmon & trout)
21. Tuna
22. Shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster & clam)
23. Broccoli
24. Cabbage
25. Carrot
26. Leek
27. Potato
28. Celery
29. Cucumber
30. Pepper/Paprika (red, green & yellow)
31. Leguminous plant
32. Grapefruit
33. Melon
34. Peanuts
35. Soy
36. Cocoa/Cacao (I'll have candy instead of chocolate... ;)
37. Apple
38. Blackcurrant
39. Olive
40. Orange och lemon
41. Strawberry
42. Tomato
43. Ginger (both fresh and dried)
44. Garlic
45. Mushroom
46. Yeast

I think this will be pretty easy to stick to for 3 months.
Except for cutting out bread and cookies, I'm not making any major changes. I think I will do just fine without chocolate and eggs (and pasta made of wheat). Plus, this will force me to be even more creative when coming up with new dishes! Yay. :)

So bascially, "Leo's 3 Months Diet" (as I will label all future posts on this topic) will be:
- Eating just about anything except this and this!

Hard to get started eating healthy? Start by mixing unhealthy foods with healthy foods!

Yeah, yeah, sometimes I do eat not-so-healthy even though I never write about it here (oops!). But here's a tip for people who wants to eat healthier food but finds it hard to start.

I know personally that eating a meal that is "100% healthy" can be hard to get used to in the beginning. There's so many new flavors, and yes, they can taste weird at first. Therefore I recommend you to try out some "superhealthy" foods mixed with some not-so-healthy foods. This way it won't be "too much healthy foods" at once and with time you'll get used to the new flavors you'll encounter... :-)

On the photo you see my dinner last night:
UNHEALTHY
• Meatballs
• Organic ketchup*

HEALTHY
• Organic quinoa pasta**
• Organic peas

*Sure, it's organic ketchup with no preservatives or thickening agents, but still - it contains a high amount of sugar, vinegar, salt (I bet it ain't mineral salt or sea salt!), acid (uhh, say what??) and spices (again, say what?? what kind of spices??).

**This is a yummy wine red pasta (light brown/red after being boiled) with a taste of tomato! Its ingredients are organic durum wheat semolina, organic quinoa, organic tomatoes, organic aubergine and organic paprika. Wow!

Oh, the glass is just for the photo... I stopped drinking during meals since I-don't-know when... :-)

Will be attending a seminar with internationally recognized healer Eric Pearl

"As a doctor, Eric ran a highly successful chiropractic practice for 12 years until one day when patients began reporting that they felt his hands on them – even though he hadn’t physically touched them. For the first couple of months, his palms blistered and bled. Patients soon reported receiving miraculous healings from cancers, AIDS-related diseases, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, birth disfigurements, cerebral palsy and other serious afflictions. All this occurred when Eric simply held his hands near them – and to this day, it continues.

His patients’ healings have been documented in six books to date, including Eric’s own international bestseller, The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself, soon in its 30th language."
- Source: The Reconnection

I'm reading "The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself" by Dr. Eric Pearl and signed up to attend one of his seminars in March which basically is about activating your ability to become a healer...

The health soap that can soothe your eczema, get rid of your dandruff AND remove the stains on your leather sofa!

Look! This is my new olive oil health soap. :)
I've always bought fragrance free soaps for use at home (from DOVE), but when I bought the nutritious seaweed shampoo last week, I started to look for "better" nutritious soaps too. And I found this one...

It's made in Syria and marketed as an "oriental health soap" and contains only three ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Laurel leaf oil
- Water

No added chemicals, no added synthetics, no added colorants, no added animal fats, no added preservatives: No added anything!!!

What's special with this soap is that they use the same process today to make it as they did 4000 years ago - they let the soap dry and ripe under the sun for 9 months! This way it gets lighter and harder on the outside, while greener and softer on the inside.

No, wait... What's really special with this soap is that you can use it...
1. ...as a hand soap, face soap or a shaving soap.
2. ...to soothe or heal skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
3. ...in your hair for more volume or to fight your dandruff!
4. ...to make your dog's fur shiny.
5. ...to wash your clothes with.
6. ...to remove stains on your leather sofa!
7. ...to clean your make-up brushes.
And more!

But let's not forget that it's perfect for dry skin because, for a soap, it is extremly mild to your skin.

I just bought it and only tried it once. As soon as I've used it more I will post the results on my blog. I will use it as my hand soap, face soap and in my hair.
I'm hoping for good results. :)

For more information, visit: www.aleppogold.com

Turnip mash with chicken filet and broccoli

I was brought up eating turnip mash with pork, mustard and crispbread on the side, but I decided to change the recipe a bit.
I like experimenting in the kitchen, and this dish is one of a good result. Very, very easy to do, and if you're interested, then here's how to do it:

1. Buy this:
- Potatoes
- Turnip
- Carrots
- Chicken filet
- Broccoli
- Any herb (my case: thyme)
- Coconut oil (I use it quite often in food as a flavor enhancer! Example 1, Example 2)
- Canola oil (it's yummy...)

2. Boil everything!

3. Mash it!

4. Done!

The result is delicious... :)

The body is designed to heal itself

The body is designed to heal itself.
The body is designed to heal itself.
The body is designed to heal itself.
The body is designed to heal itself.
The body is designed to heal itself.

Money comes easily and frequently.
Money comes easily and frequently.
Money comes easily and frequenlty.
Money comes easily and frequently.
Money comes easily and frequently.

Just writing down my affirmations I have these days. The first one is a favorite quote of mine from The Secret and I heard the second one from my brother. I think he got it from one of Paul R. Sheele's Paraliminals.

Do you have any affirmations?

Nadya Suleman

Stay strong.
You can do this.

Trip to the Canary Islands is booked

Yay! My vacation (in March) to the Canary Island is booked. I'm staying in Playa del Ingles on Gran Canaria and, just like with my trip to Amsterdam last fall, I'm staying at a place where I can cook my own food in my room.
I'm planning to bring some healthy foods myself, and then see what I can buy when there.

Anyone knows where to buy healthy foods in south of Gran Canaria or have other tips? :)

Organic egg free mayonnaise tastes...

...GREAT!!!

The reviews are in (mine!) and all of them says the organic egg free mayonnaise tastes GREAT!

What's dangerous about it is that it tastes TOO good.
What's not so dangerous about it are the following:
1. There's no wheat, gluten or starch in it - great alternative for wheat allergists!
2. No animal or dairy ingredients - great for lacto-intolerants!

What I like about it the most though is that it doesn't contain artificial colors, flavors and preservatives! Yay!
I also like the yellow text on the back which says: "Refrigerate once open if you can resist eating this mayo, it's still best to use within 6 weeks after opening." :-D

So far I've tried it on whole meal bread with sliced carrots. Yum! How would you eat your organic mayo? :)

Seaweed shampoo, anyone?

I've been using a fragrance free shampoo that I'm kind of bored of by now, and the past few weeks I have sort of gone mad and bought several different shampoo's to make up for the lack of scent in the fragrance free ones. Unfortunately I bought all kinds of shampoo's containing anything(???) and I had enough when I found myself buying a blue colored shampoo just because it would fit in in my bathroom - I didn't even like the scent!
Somehow during these confusing times I didn't even have a single thought of finding a GOOD, "healthy" shampoo at health stores. I finally came to my senses (PHEW!) and ended up buying a pretty expensive one (10 dollars). It was the organic seaweed shampoo...

I had never heard of that one before! Who knew a schampoo like this exists??
The back of it has a very promising text - the ingredients are organic, it doesn't contain any artificial preservatives (or colors) and it contains lots of natural minerals. But... There's gotta be a but somewhere (right??)... I was worried I would smell seaweed after using it (haha!). Luckily the shampoo has the added scent of organic lemon and citrus! So no buts with this product!

That leaves a simple question... how long does it take before noticing the effects of a shampoo?

How to get a better eyesight the natural way!

I was at the optician today and he couldn't have given me better news!! Apparently I have a better eyesight now compared to 6 years ago when I started using contact lenses!!!

Is that even possible??
Well, according to the optician, it is, but it's rare. It's more "commonly rare" when you reach the age 40, but way rarer at my age!

A possible explanation could be that I stopped using my contact lenses 1 year ago, though still using my glasses "50%" of the time.
Another reson could be that I've always wanted a better eyesight without the use of contact lenses or glasses......

Even though I went to the optician to (finally) buy new contact lenses, I was, and still am, planning to use them very sparsely. Wouldn't it be nice if the optician said I have gotten an even better eyesight next time I see him? :)

Another thing,
my eyes are kind of red (and I had been hoping it was due to the contacts, but it wasn't) and I asked about it and got the answer that it was due to my genes. I've heard elsewhere that red eyes can be "cured" by eating "proper" food - anyone else heard this? If so, what type of food and where can I get this information?! :)

100 Health Tips

Here's the collection of the 100 health tips I wrote in 2008:

After a year of blogging and after 100 posted health tips, I decided to change the writing style of my blog into a more personal one. This will allow me to write more freely about health related things, such as follow up-posts on products/foods I’ve started using/eating, or just sharing an interesting new health study that has been published, or other things...

The goal still is to deliver health tips through my posts and that they will inspire you to CHANGE, to become healthier. Hope you like the new version of my blog.