Did you know that a little chocolate mixed with love can help you beat the seasonal blues and help you feel fabulous. 

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ~Charles M. Schulz

As we know, all chocolate is made from Cacao Beans (also known as Cocoa Beans). So basically, Cacao is chocolate! All the antioxidant value, mineral benefits, neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties, and overall health-giving qualities of chocolate are found in Cacao (Chocolate) Powder made from cacao beans.

Studies show that Cacao (Chocolate) may lower blood pressure, increase circulation, increase blood flow to the brain, and decrease chronic inflammation in the body, heart and cardio-vascular system. Dark chocolate can also boost serotonin level to help fight moodiness.

I would like to share with you 2 tasty and healthy chocolate recipes you can make for Valentines or any other time of the year to to make you or special Valentine feel fabulous.

Tasty Instant Chocolate Pudding Recipe for your Valentine Sweetie

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup (about 12 ounces) firm silken tofu, crumbled
• ¼ to ½ cup dark brown sugar, or pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup Cacao (Chocolate) Powder or Carob Powder
  
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in food processor and blend several minutes until smooth and creamy. Chill I the refrigerator until serving time. Adopted from Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Bernard.

Chocolate Frosting Valentine Recipe for a Healthy Mind

Ingredients:

• 11/2 extra firm silken tofu
• 1 cup Cacao
• 1/3 cup agave nectar or  Yacon Syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Blend the tofu, Cacao , agave nectar and vanilla in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Set aside. Stir the chocolate chips in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Carefully add the melted chocolate to the food processor, then blend until thoroughly combined. Transfer the frosting to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours or until just firm enough to spread. From The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry.

Bon Appetit!

”

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health  Counselor and Coach

Tasty Chocolate Valentine Recipes for a Healthy Heart and Happy Mind

Are you trying to beat your sugar cravings?  Why not try one of these recipes; they can help you balance your hormones, boost your energy, or with weight loss and detox.

Healthy Detox Ginger Carrot Breakfast Cookies

Ginger promotes circulation, stimulates lymphatic flow, and can help detox the body.

The taste of carrots help fight your sugar cravings as well as improve your eyesight, lower cholesterol and prevent heart attack and stroke.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup oat flour
• ¼ cup brown rice or barley flour
• 2 cups cooked millet
• 1 and ½ tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• ½ cup water

Directions:

Lightly roasted oats and flour by stirring over medium heat in skillet, until toasty smelling but not browned. Mix all ingredients and add just enough water for a moist, (not mushy). Shape into cookies on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

adopted from the Self-healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner

Tasty Fennel and Orange Detox Salad

Fennel stimulates the liver, improves fat digestion, and contains essential oils that can help get rid of excess fluid and thus weight.

Orange is rich in vitamin C and can help boost your immune system.  You can also lift your mood by using the zest of the oranges.

Onions can cleanse and detox your liver and skin; they also have antiseptic properties.

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges, sliced
• 1 bulb fennel, sliced
• 1 red onion sliced into rings
• juice of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• zest of 1 orange
• mint or parsley to garnish

Directions:

Place a layer of oranges, then a layer of fennel and then a layer of onions. Mix orange juice with apple cider vinegar and drizzle over the salad. Add orange zest and mint or parsley to garnish.

Beet and Apple Juice Detox Recipe

Try this delicious detox juice recipe to feel and look fabulous.

Beets stimulate the liver and can help to detox and cleanse the digestive system and blood.

Apple adds sweetness and fiber which can helps to detox your body.

Spinach contains antioxidants that can fight free radicals to helps boost your immune system.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium beet
• 1 large apple
• 1 carrot
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in the juicer or blender and process. If you wish, you can dilute with filtered water to taste.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy.

©Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Relationship Expert

3 Weight Loss Detox Recipes to Feel and Look Fabulous

In February we celebrate National Wear Red Day to help promote prevention of heart disease in women.

Let us make healthier choices to beat heart disease. It can be prevented with the right lifestyle – the food you eat, the exercise you do, and the lifestyle you lead.

Let us celebrate Go Red for Women Day every day by adding red healthy heart-healing foods to our meals.

• Try to incorporate more beets into your diet to strengthen the heart, improve circulation, purify/detox the blood, lower blood pressure. Beet Salad Recipes
  
• Try to eat more pomegranates and water melons, and drink more tomato juice to lower your blood pressure. Watermelon and Strawberry ice Cream Recipe
  
• Try to eat half a red grapefruit before every meal, or at least in the morning, before breakfast to lower your cholesterol. Studies show that it helps to loose weight too. Grapefruit and Walnut Salad
  
• Try to add raw red onions (cook with white onions) to all your salads, spreads, side dishes, etc. to cut bad cholesterol. Roasted Vegetables Recipe
  
• Try to eat more red legumes, such as adzuki beans, red lentils and kidney beans rich in both tryptophan (to reduce stress and fight seasonal depression) and heart-healing fiber to reduce your blood pressure, detox your colon and give you more energy. Lentil Recipes
  
• Try to eat red (purple) cabbage to get rid of constipation, which ultimately canlower your blood pressure.
  
• Try to eat more red salmon and red apples (any color) -foods rich in Magnesium to reduce stress.
  

Let us be heart smart, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Relationship Expert

Go Red for Your Heart with Heart Healthy Foods

If you are seeking to lose weight naturally, balance your hormones, avoid headaches and migraines, or prevent cancer and heart disease, you need to reduce your consumption of  high calorie, high fat and high sugar content foods.

But what shall we do if we like ice-cream and it is hot outside? This delicious and healthy dairy and guilt free ice cream recipe from www.americanyogini.com will help you cool off and feel fabulous in a hot weather. You can also have it as a healthy snack for more energy and better mood when you feel sleepy or tired.

Dairy Free Strawberry Watermelon Swirl to Lose Weight Naturally

Un-Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Watermelon, cubed
• 3 Cups fresh Strawberries, sliced
• 1 Cup Cashews, soaked 3 hours
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Cup filtered water ( in addition to soaking water) 1/4 – 1/2 cup agave nectar

Equipment and tools:

• blender
• mesh milk bag
• ice cream machine – center vessel in freezer for 6 hours. I store mine in the freezer at all times so its just ready to go: I just take it from the freezer instead of the cabinet.
• 2 ice cream parfait glasses
• 2 mixing bowls
• rubber spatula

Un-Cooking Instructions:

• Cut watermelon into rough cubes about 1-2 inches, and place in freezer on cookie sheet.
• Be sure the ice cream maker is frozen for several hours, placed in your freezer according to manufacturer instructions.
• Meanwhile:
  Blend soaked cashews with water and 3 Tablespoons Agave Nectar until very well liquefied.
• Squeeze through a mesh filter bag or force through a fine sieve, stir in vanilla, and set aside.
• Slice strawberries, and taste for natural sweetness. Add more agave if desired to taste.
• Blend into the cashew vanilla cream in your blender, allow some of the strawberries pieces to remain chunky.
• Assemble your frozen ice cream bowl into the base and turn on.
• With motor running, Slowly pour strawberry ice cream base into your ice cream maker.
• In only a few minutes you will see the ice cream forming in your ice cream maker.
• While the ice cream maker is doing its job, remove watermelon from freezer, and place in blender to quickly blend into a frozen slush.
• With spatula, place softly frozen strawberry ice cream into a mixing bowl and swirl in the watermelon slush.

MINDFULNESS TIP:

Tune in to the “cleansed” you and be “sattvic” (truthful and present) when tasting for sweetness: So many times when it comes to desserts we revert to old information and programing that will tell us “add more sweetness” rather than slow down and be present with each ingredient acknowledging the ‘Sattvic” or “true” level of sweetness nature is presenting at this moment.

Strawberry may be more or less sweet according to region, season, weather conditions. All these natural factors become a part of us, and allow us to be fully in control. This does not mean that if you have sour berries you should not add sweet agave, that too would be untruthful. The blessing of this cleansing practice is our growing ability to truthfully give ourselves what delights and nourishes us and our friends and families.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Relationship Expert

How to Make Dairy Free Strawberry and Watermelon Ice Cream

Even if the weather doesn’t feel  like it, we are still in the middle of winter.  If you have the winter blues, some mood and energy boosters you can try are fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, and whole grains.  They are rich in fiber, which can help detox your body from fatigue causing toxins, leading to a better mood and higher level of energy.

So let us have more energy and get in a better mood with these healthy vegetable soups with recipes I adopted from www. womansday.com

Energy Boosting Curried Cauliflower Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced 1⁄4 in. thick
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth, or 31⁄2 cups broth or bouillon
• 21⁄2 cups water
• 2 medium potatoes (8 oz), cut in 1⁄2-in. pieces
• 3 cups frozen cauliflower florets
• 1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, rinsed
• 1⁄2 cup frozen cut-leaf spinach
• Serve with: plain yogurt or sour cream

Directions:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; cook 4 minutes or until onions are golden and just tender.

Stir in curry powder and garlic; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in remaining ingredients; cook, covered, 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Mood Boosting Split Pea Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried green split peas
• 2 cups diced onions
• 1 1⁄2 cups diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1⁄2 tsp pepper
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 11⁄4 lb ham hock(s)

Directions:

Put all ingredients and 7 cups water in a 51⁄2-qt or larger slow-cooker. Cover and cook on high 6 hours or low 12 hours until peas are very soft and fall apart. Remove ham. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off the bone, dice and return to soups. Serve with cornbread, or cut cornbread in cubes, toast in oven and serve as croutons.

Bon Appetit!

P.S.  for more mood boosting tips and ideas you may like to listen to:

• How to Attract Health and Happiness with Maria Lesetz. listen
• Practicing Gratitude to Deal with Stress and Seasonal Depression with Sue Urda.listen
• Healthy and Clean Meal Planning with Wendy Battles. listen

Breathe, smile and be happy

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach, Counselor and Realtionship Coach

Naturalcounselorblog.com

Energy Boosting Vegetable Soups for the Winter Blues

We all know that illness can be caused when toxicity in our body increases.  To reduce toxicity you can always try weight loss detox with whole foods and detox recipes.  But did you know that toxicity can be increased by stress.  So why not try to reduce your stress first?

To reduce stress you can learn to relax, improve sleep quantity, or try some breathing exercises.   If you reduce your stress you may be able to reduce female hormone imbalance and ease pre-menopausal and post menopausal symptoms.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.  ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

One of the best stress reducers is to try to do nothing for five minutes.  Can you do it? It will be even better if you lie down and put your legs up on the wall – in Legs-up-the Wall Pose. This detoxing pose will help you to relax, drain lymph from the legs and increase blood flow.

If you are not sure how to start, some directions from yogajournal.com might help:

Start with your support about 5 to 6 inches away from the wall.

Sit sideways on right end of the support, with your right side against the wall (left-handers can substitute “left” for “right” in these instructions).

Exhale and, with one smooth movement, swing your legs up onto the wall and your shoulders and head lightly down onto the floor.

The first few times you do this, you may ignominiously slide off the support and plop down with your buttocks on the floor. Don’t get discouraged. Try lowering the support and/or moving it slightly further off the wall until you gain some facility with this movement, then move back closer to the wall.

Try to relax on the floor doing nothing every day, and if you think you don’t have time, lie down while you watch TV, talk on the phone or plan a weekend  getaway.  Breathe, smile and be happy…..

Let us slow down and learn how to do nothing from time to time to feel and look fabulous, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

A Simple Detox Yoga Move to Reduce Female Hormone Imbalance