Can you handle it? (or Little Ways to Work Positive Affirmations into your Life)

Oct 26, 2010   Personal Growth,Positive Thinking,Self Care

I recently made a big change in my life- something that got me out of a tired rut, gave me a fresh start, and opened up my world to new possibilities. No, I didn’t get married or adopt a child or anything, I changed internet providers…Now this might not seem like a big deal, but after spending the last 12 years with the same internet service (and same personal e-mail address) it was actually quite a momentous occasion.

But what would my new e-mail address be? I deliberated, I brainstormed, I held focus groups-  well, not really, unless you count asking my cats’ opinions- but I did give it a great deal of thought, finally deciding upon “happyjes@—-“ (jes is my initials, and I’m not including my provider for obvious not-wanting-to-get-spam reasons.)  And as I went through the laborious process of updating every internet presence that was attached to my old handle, I discovered something interesting. Every time I entered happyjes@—, I smiled. Yes, it made me happy just to type it and see it. Nifty! Read the rest of this entry »

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National Apple Month

Oct 22, 2010   Nutrition,Organic Foods,Reducing Chemical Exposures

Hi, it’s October 22 and we’re ready to take a big bite out of National Apple Month! Originally founded in 1904 as National Apple Week, by 1996, the celebration had expanded to cover a 3 month period (September to November) causing the other fruits, who only get a month long observance, much consternation.

Next time you bite into a crisp Braeburn or tart Granny Smith apple, you can thank Johnny Appleseed (real name John Chapman) who helped develop apple orchards across the United States in the 1800’s. Mr. Chapman believed that God did not want him to marry, but instead travel the countryside, reading the bible to people and giving them apple seeds. Known to dress in a quirky manner and sometimes wear a copper pot on his head, he was also the inspiration for an expression that never quite took off: “That guy is a few apple seeds short of an apple.”  Read the rest of this entry »

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Ready for a steamy scene at home?

Oct 21, 2010   Eco-Friendly Home,Green Cleaning,Reducing Chemical Exposures

How would you like to add something hot and steamy to your home life? Something you’ll be doing on your floor, on your kitchen counter, and even up against your refrigerator…Now, get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking about steam cleaning!

If you haven’t yet discovered the amazing power of a Steam Cleaner (also called Vapor Steam Cleaner) you are missing out on the best thing to hit house cleaning since the invention of the mop. It cleans, it sanitizes, it deodorizes, it even makes Julienne Fries! Okay, not that last part. But it does lift dirt and grime off of all sorts of hard surfaces in your home with nary a chemical. And dare I say, it almost makes house cleaning fun. Read the rest of this entry »

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What I learned from the Dalai Lama

Oct 18, 2010   Personal Growth,Positive Thinking,Spirituality

I saw the Dalai Lama yesterday. Not on the street or at Walmart or anything, but at Emory University here in Atlanta, at the morning kick-off talk of his 2010 visit. He spoke about compassion, a key tenet of Tibetan Buddhism, and certainly something we could all benefit from practicing more in our lives. But rather than learning from what the Dalai Lama said, I instead ended up learning from the situation (and by that, I mean from the event itself, not “The Situation” as in the guy from Jersey Shore who names his abs).

Let me start by saying I would have loved to have learned from what the Dalai Lama said (and I did, a little bit) but due to the very poor acoustics of the venue (a large “dressed up” gymnasium) it was all but impossible to catch many of his words. So there I sat, along with a few thousand other people, feeling annoyed as I strained to absorb the wisdom of this holy learned man, all the while wondering why I got up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday in order to be here. Clearly someone dropped the ball in the planning of this event. With all of the venues at Emory, why choose this one? How could anyone not know that gymnasiums echo? And who doesn’t do a sound check? Yes, there were people to blame, e-mails to be written, and complaints to be made. Read the rest of this entry »

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Blog Action Day 2010: Medications in our drinking water?

Oct 15, 2010   Eco-Friendly Home,Environmental Health,Natural Health

The Unrefined News- Friday, October 15, 2010

(a satirical news segment based on real environmental health stories)

Recent EPA testing revealed that the drinking water of many U.S. cities contains measurable amounts of pharmaceutical medications, the bulk of which are anti-depressants. The contamination to the water occurs when prescription drugs pass through people’s bodies into waste water, and are then unable to be filtered by current water treatment systems.

EPA Water Czar, Joseph Kluless, recently held a press conference where he unveiled a controversial plan to address this public health issue. The strategy, entitled “Move for America”, involves relocating people based on their prescription drug needs, so that their drinking water will contain the appropriate medication…To simplify the relocation process, Mr Kluless proposed renaming subdivisions with such monikers as Paxil Pointe, Zoloft Glen, and Effexor Equestrian Estates.

Government authorities were quick to dismiss this plan, and have relieved Mr Kluless of his duties with the EPA, citing that he was incompetent, insensitive, idiotic, and outrageous. Mr Kluless, however, was quickly re-hired…as head speechwriter for Carl Paladino. Read the rest of this entry »

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Acai and me (or Acai Berry Benefits)

Oct 14, 2010   Natural Beauty Products,Natural Health,Nutrition,Organic Foods

I’ve been conducting some innovative health research over the past several months. Granted the study only had one subject and that subject was me, but I’m pleased with the outcome and would like to share it with you.

After learning of the health benefits of acai berries, one of the up-and-coming superstar Superfruits out of South America, I decided to purchase a bottle of Acai Berry Juice (made from wild-harvested acai berries, so no chemicals). I wasn’t sure what to expect but when added to my organic apple juice, it made for a sweet and tasty breakfast beverage, so I was in. (By the way, acai is pronounced “ah-sigh-ee” so the title of this post actually rhymes cutely) Read the rest of this entry »

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Meditate…in my direction (or The Power of Guided Meditation CDs)

Oct 13, 2010   Personal Growth,Positive Thinking,Self Care,Stress Management

There’s a great Garry Shandling joke (and I’m paraphrasing because I can’t find it referenced anywhere): “My girlfriend lives with me now and the other day, I told her I was meditating. She said, oh, so as long as you’re not doing anything, why don’t you take out the trash?”

Meditation IS essentially not doing anything, and many of us are uncomfortable with that. Some people claim that they are actually unable to do it, citing reasons like: “I can’t stop my mind from wandering”; “I have difficulty sitting still for long”; or “Excuse me, my cell phone is ringing, I need to respond to this text, and I have to check in on Facebook.” While I can’t help you out with that last excuse (though it is a sign that you would indeed benefit from meditation!) I can offer a solution to the first two. And since meditation is one of the most effective stress-reducing and health-enhancing acts of self-care out there, you may want to give it a whirl. Read the rest of this entry »

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Happy National Spinach Month!

Oct 8, 2010   Holidays,Nutrition,Organic Foods,Reducing Chemical Exposures

Welcome to our celebration of  National Spinach Month!

Spinach enjoys a storied history which began in ancient Persia in 647 A.D. and led to its cultivation in North America in the early 19th century. In the 15th century, Mediterranean Jews were quite fond of spinach and used it in dishes such as shpongous, a spinach-cheese bake. This dish, however, did not gain widespread popularity, apparently due to all of the giggling that went on at potlucks when someone would inevitably utter “That’s quite a big shpongous you have”; “I got your shpongous right here”; or “Is that your shpongous or are you just glad to see me?”

Spinach gained a lot of street cred when Popeye came on the scene in 1929 and today, it is the most popular of the dark leafy greens. Often touted as a “Super Food” for its nutritional excellence, it’s high in iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and calcium. Which is why our featured Product of the Week is…Organic Spinach! Read the rest of this entry »

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Gluten-free Alternative to Pasta

Oct 7, 2010   Nutrition,Organic Foods

Poor Gluten…what ever did it do to get booted to the D List of food ingredients? And now that it’s there, will we be seeing it on a revival of The Surreal Life?

Of course, people with Celiac disease have to avoid gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, lest they suffer serious digestive symptoms. But many other folks are joining the Gluten-free ranks too. Some have gluten-intolerance, which causes a milder version of Celiac symptoms; some feel more energetic when they avoid it; and some just want to look like gluten-free proponent Isaiah Mustafa (of “Look at your man, now look at me” Old Spice commercial fame). And who can blame them? Read the rest of this entry »

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You must be nuts! (or The Health Benefits of Nuts)

Oct 5, 2010   Nutrition,Organic Foods

There’s a new nut in the news…and no, I’m not talking about Christine O’Donnell. It’s the Walnut- appearing in a Study from Penn State which found that walnuts (and walnut oil) can help the body deal better with stress by lowering blood pressure. The health benefits of nuts have gotten some good press recently but this is the first research to shine the spotlight on the Walnut. And boy is it ready for its close-up!

In order to gain the health benefits of nuts in this study, participants consumed about 18 walnut halves (or one teaspoon of walnut oil) per day. If you snack on some raw walnuts and say, use walnut oil and apple cider vinegar for salad dressing (which by the way is very tasty) you can easily meet your recommended daily walnut requirement. And while I’d love it if you could choose organic walnuts and organic walnut oil, if you cannot, I will still support you!

So, a simple change to your diet that could lower your blood pressure and help you respond better to stress? Team Walnut vs. Team Beta Blocker? I think you know what t-shirt I’ll be wearing!

Be well,

Organic Janet

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