Cloud Nine Raw Chocolate

I created a product called Cloud Nine Raw Chocolate which I am enthusiastic about because of the myriad of health benefits and the tasty nature of this miracle food.

Raw Chocolate is the world's richest source of antioxidants.

Raw chocolate encourages a healthy heart. Most people are extremely deficient in Magnesium
which helps keep your heart strong and raw chocolate is an excellent source of natural absorbable Magnesium.

Raw chocolate has anti-aging benefits due to it's ultra high antioxidant levels. Raw chocolate has 18 times more anti-oxidants than blueberries and 5 times more than Acai berries. This concentration of anti-oxidants contributes to younger looking skin, healthier cells and srtonger defense against cancer-causing free radicals.

Raw chocolates flavanoid content helps reduce blood pressure and the mono-unsaturated fat called Oleic Acid (the 'goog' chlesterol).

Theobromine is a natural energy booster found in raw cacao. It is similar to caffeine but much more mild. An 8 ounce serving of raw chcoclate gives you that morning

or after noon energy boost and a heightened sense of awareness.

Anandamide (the Bliss Chemical) is found in raw chocolate which has always been chocolate's allure. Raw cacao helps the production of the hormone Seratonin with far reaching benefits.

Raw chocolate contains no added dairy, soy, sugar, gluten, chemicals, additives, animal products or any other unnecessary substance.

Email me for more information on how you can order Cloud Nine Raw Chocolate.

Arame and Carrots

This is a great recipe for those unfamiliar with seaweed even children love to eat this. Seaweed is rich in minerals, especially iron and is wonderful to incorporate frequently in one's fare. Seaweed also contains protein, so this can even be a main dish. Everyone who tries this is pleasantly amazed at how delectable it truly is.

Serves 2 as a main course

1/2t sesame oil

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup grated carrot (peeled if not organic) as a variation use grated parsnip as well

1T tamari

1 ounce of arame

1 cup water

1T tahini

1T agave syrup

1T sesame seeds

dash of sea salt

Heat oil in a medium size heavy saucepan over medium heat and sauté onion for 5 minutes.

Add grated carrot and tamari until juices have been released and tamari begins to dry up slightly (do not burn), depending on your cookware, this is about 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and allow to cook over low heat until arame has absorbed the water and arame is tender which takes usually 15-20 minutes. Serve with brown rice and a touch of toasted sesame oil (optional) or steamed sweet potatoes or steamed butternut or Kombucha squash.

When I tell anyone that I am a nutritionist, they almost always ask me, "What should I eat."

The basic rule of thumb is, eat whole foods which are locally grown. That statement seems ambiguous to some. Our bodies are meant to consume foods made in proximal nature. Any food distanced from its origin, wether it be it growing place or its original form, is not going to enhance our health optimally.

Flour is a perfect example, it is processed broadening the gap between its form and the initial wheat berry it came from. Flour is deemed an energy taking food (by me), not an energy giving food. It takes more energy for your body to process and detoxify the consumption of flour than when you eat wheat berries. The energy you derive from flour is also short lived and leaves you with a craving for more where it would be highly unlikely that you would over eat wheat berries. Our innate satiate sensors also respond to whole foods differently than they do processed foods.

Eating whole foods can transform how you look and feel. Give it a try - 100%.

Spring

Today is a marvelous day mixed with pouring rains and occasional break through sun rays. It is as if the rain is cleansing earth and stripping away the layers once needed for winter protection. Nature shows us the miracle of spring. The transformation of self, ideas, paradigms and cells is happening all around us. It is as if the blossoms unveiling themselves outside are also in us, it is just a matter of looking within to see what is taking place. Outside of us we see the beauty of color juxtaposed against the bare brown branches while the color and flowering beauty is also occurring within. It just takes a moment to re-attune ourselves with this precious transformation. A moment to quieten the senses and look within and imagine a healthy body with renewed cellular regeneration. A moment to look at yourself from a distance and clear out those worrisome thoughts and replace them with positive affirmations leading you on the path to attaining the highest for all good. A moment to reassess where you are in your life and where you are going and if you are taking the steps in the direction to reach your highest potential.

This morning I went for a swim and the gentleman I was sharing a lane with said, "They are going to give you a speeding ticket for going so fast." I looked at him and was surprised, because speed is not what I am looking to attain when I swim. Speed must be a by-product, but my intention in swimming is to slow the breath, harness the chattering brain and find equanimity. Balance and a quiet mind is what I seek. The man said to me after my swim today that it was fluid, beautiful and as if I was at one with the water. I was pleased, because my intention was fulfilled, from a bystander's position as well as from the feeling it cultivated in me. 

Tonight I begin a journey, not certain of where it will lead, but faithful on the path of where it will go. My life consists of themes that have woven themselves in and out of my childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and now adulthood. These themes present themselves in patterns and always with intention. The issues and remedies came as time allowed and reslove as balancing the act of life. At a young age, I was an overweight child which was challenging to me socially, and compromising my sense of self at a young age. My mother introduced me into a world of meditation and metaphysics earlier than age nine, and these two themes prevailed to bring me to where I am today. Although the weight did not shed until well into my adulthood, the multi-faceted approach on how to deal with the handicap of a weakened self-esteem was nursed by the understanding of a universal truth. 

I became a plus-size Ford model and traveled the world in my work with the intention of showing larger women that they can feel beautiful too. Through this journey, I learned about the love I had for myself. Which was surprisingly little, and this practice of presentation cultivated this awareness in me that shined through me toward others. This reflection of beauty brought my career to new heights and success was imminent. 

Through my travels abroad, I met my husband who would change the face of reality for me in the years to come. We married and moved to Switzerland from Manhattan where I learned French and German and deepened my studies of holistic health. Simply living in Switzerland educated me about the balance of life. They take at least an hour for lunch which is eaten at home, together as a family. Swiss people eat locally from farmers and take time to walk every day. This pace of life appeased me and I took every opportunity to travel to Paris, Italy, Greece, Germany, China, India, Singapore and more to learn about cultures and eating patterns and people. 

What I came to realize, is that humans all over the world, are the same in that we all have the same basic needs. We all need love as nourishment, we all need sunshine and clean water to exist and we all need faith to guide us through life's trials. This time of inward search to reveal the true meaning of my life has been a transformation, peeling away layers upon layers to reveal a core of truth. Truths that permeate cultures from east to west and from our bodies inside and out. I liken our bodies to nature because they are one and the same.