Spring Cleaning

 A peaceful spring intention walk.

As my son just informed me, spring has officially been here for four hours.  And yes, they've actually been as glorious as I was hoping for.  It is just about 5 o'clock, the sun is shining, fluffy white clouds are scattered in the sky and it is 53 degrees out.  We spent a wonderful day with friends exploring at a labyrinth, setting intentions and releasing them into the new season.

Spring is a time for detox and cleansing.  Are you feeling it yet?  I'm itching to purge the house, scrub the floors, drink green juice, dive into a cleanse.

I'm sure that you've noticed that an influx on sickness happens in the spring and in the fall.  These are the seasons that encourage our bodies to release toxins.  While our immune system is busy working to release the junk in our bodies, it manifests in the colds that we tend to associate with this time of the year. If we do a bit of work to aid in the detoxification, do a cleanse, bring more alkalinizing food into our diet, drink green juice, exercise, rest, up our water intake, we cut back on the time that our body needs to detox and repair through inflammation, runny noses, diarrhea, and vomiting. Think about it, these are all ways to get the nastiness out. What are you willing to do to help your body spring clean?  Head on over to my Facebook page and let me know what you are committing to do for your body this spring.

 Our Spring Offerings at the labyrinth.

This afternoon I needed a power boost, I knew protein, spirulina and maca were my combo.  I've strayed away quite a bitfrom using much for sweeteners in my smoothies. Sometimes, however, you just have to do it.  I'm having a hard time adding spirulina back into my diet, I know it is so good for me, high in digestible protein, and so many micronutrients and great for the spring detox, so I cheated a bit, but got a full tablespoon down with the love of some local honey and a banana.  Surprisingly, it was really enjoyable, so I thought I'd share.  Let me know what you think.

Green Banana

Recipe Type: Smoothie

Cuisine: Raw Food

Author: Gina Law

Prep time: 2 mins
Total time: 2 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 2 C of Your Favorite Milk (I love almond~coconut)
• 1 Tbsp Maca
• 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Spirulina
• 1 Scoop of your favorite protein powder
• 1 Banana
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 Capsules Alphay's Medicinal Mushroom Balance Formula.

Instructions

1. Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
2. And Enjoy

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I *heart* Mushrooms

I had a funny thing happen to me yesterday.  I handed samples of my new favorites, reishi coffee and tea, to friends of ours, not to be sales-y, but just because I honestly wanted to share, which I love to do with anything that I am passionate about.  Now, for anyone who knows me, I have been a lover of mushrooms for some time now, and have been deepening my knowledge more recently. Well, apparently, lack of sleep and moving myself and 4 children out of a timeshare that we exploded into for a week, had me a bit  discombobulated, so when she asked me what it was good for I drew a complete blank.  As I walked away, the myriad of reasons that I love mushrooms and consume them daily came flooding back. If you would let me,  I would love to share them with you.

Just off of the top of my head...

Why I Love Mushrooms

1. Mushrooms are awesome for your immune system.  Whether your immune system is low or you have an autoimmune disease, mushrooms will support you.

2. Mushrooms are classified as adaptogens, recharging your adrenals, helping your body handle stress, remain in a calmer state, and use your energy for more productive purposes.

3. Mushrooms protect against radiation from cell phones, computers, the summertime sun, and other environmental forms of radiation.

4. Mushrooms inhibit blood vessel growth into fat and cancer cells, preventing our bodies from feeding them and enabling their growth.

5. Mushrooms work to clean toxins. In fact, I've heard that you could literally grow mushrooms on toxic waste and not only will they clean the toxins, but they are safe to eat afterwards!

6. Medicinal mushrooms are an excellent source of antioxidants.

7. Medicinal Mushrooms are anti-inflammatory.

8. Mushrooms are a great source of micronutrients.

9. Mushrooms grow in a network.  When you are taking mushrooms, you undoubtably feel more linked in to the universe. (Laugh if you will, but try it out and see for yourself!)

10. Medicinal Mushrooms are incredible for the whole family.

Please contact me if you would like to chat more about the power of mushrooms, and join in on our "Fungi For Forty" Experiment!  There is no time like the present to take control of your health!

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Taste the Rainbow

 We are beginning the ascension in to the time of the year that our bodies are slowly beginning  to crave raw and detoxing foods once again.  We feel our bodies asking less for refined foods and carbs and more for greens, and fresh veggies.
We know that "eating a rainbow" and dark leafy greens is all good for us in theory, but WHY?
You are creating an alkaline environment within your body when you eat a diet rich in whole foods, heavy on greens and other vegetables. Processed foods, refined sugars, meat and flours are all very acid in our system, creating a perfect environment for bacteria, yeast, candida and viruses to thrive. Alkaline minerals in our bodies neutralize acidic conditions caused by the environment. Dark green, leafy vegetables help to replenish our alkaline mineral stores and filter out pollutants. An alkaline diet should have adequate protein in it to make the kidneys functional. Without good kidney functionality, acids pile up in the system, even if every ingredient in the diet is alkalizing, because some acid is always produced and that acid needs to be excreted by the kidneys. If there is inadequate dietary protein, the kidneys cannot function to excrete acids.  Viruses can actually change and mutate to escape our immune defenses when we don't have adequate levels of antioxidants and phyto-nutrients in our tissue. They mutate and damage our body because we are immuno-deficient.
Micronutrients are essential in keeping the immune system strong. When our antioxidants and micronutrients are low, viruses can actually mutate to escape the defenses of our immune system.  Phytonutrients (phyto~plant), minerals, vitamins are all micronutrients. Vegetables and fruit come in all different colors, each offering us different micronutrients.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman asks, "What nutrient is the most dangerous to be low in?" The answer?  The one you are low in!
You need to have an adequate level of all nutrients for a healthy immune system. To maximize immune function, eat a variety of greens and other veggies in a rainbow of colors. Learning to incorporate dark leafy greens into the diet is essential to establishing a healthy body and immune system. Greens help build your internal rainforest and strengthen the blood and respiratory system. When you nourish yourself with greens and other veggies, you may naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick.
Do yourself a favor.  Listen to those cravings coming in as the weather warms.  Eat a rainbow every day!

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