NaturalCounselor Health and Wellness Blog For Women

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

How are you feeling right now? Feel overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, emotional?  You might suffer from seasonal depression – sometimes called the winter blues.

To boost the levels of serotonin necessary for dealing with seasonal depression you may need more tryptophan. The legumes: peas, beans, and lentils are some foods rich in tryptophan.

So, to feel better and overcome depression and the winter blues, you may want to try one of these three lentil recipes.

French Lentil Soup for Fighting the Winter Blues

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cups green lentils
• 8 cups bouillon
• 1 potato, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch cayenne, to taste
• 1 pound swiss chard, chopped
• Juice of one lemon
• pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

Bring the onion, garlic, celery, lentils and bouillon to a boil in a large pot. Add the potato and spices, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the swiss chard and cook 15 minutes more, or until the lentils are just tender, not mushy. Stir in the lemon juice and Immunity Boosting Spices. Serve with ground pepper to taste.

Healthy Lentil Pate Recipe for Seasonal Depression

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry green or red lentils,
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 2 tbsp/olive oil
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• 1 tbsp tomato pasta
• black pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

To cook lentils, cover them with water and boil for 1-2 min. and then simmer for 15-20 min. (until tender). While cooking lentils, saute onion and carrots in olive oil for 7-10 min., add garlic, tomato pasta, lentils and ghee. Mix thoroughly, season with black pepper and salt. Don’t forget to add Immunity Boosting Spices. Serve warm. You can also use food processor if you want it smooth.

Tasty Pomegranate Lentil Soup to Help Overcome Depression

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup lentils, picked over
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups (2 quarts) water
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup pomegranate juice or 1/4 cup grenadine syrup
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint or 2 teaspoons crushed dried leaf mint
• 2 Tablespoons raisins

Directions:

Add water, drained lentils, rice, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low about 45 minutes, until lentils and rice are tender. Add basil, green onions and pomegranate juice to the soup. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet, add mint and saute until butter turns golden. Divide soup into serving bowls. Drizzle each with the mint brown butter and sprinkle with a few raisins to serve.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

It’s winter, it’s cold and dark outside.  Are You SAD? Many of you may be affected this time of year by the winter blues or by seasonal depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder – SAD). Studies show that people who are affected by SAD don’t have enough vitamin D and have lower level of tryptophan. For some reason more women than men suffer from this disorder.

These 2 healthy baked salmon and avocado recipes for the winter blues may help with seasonal depression since salmon, avocado, and sesame seeds are great sources of the vitamin D and tryptophan you may be lacking:

Healthy Baked Salmon Recipe with Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 4-6 pieces of salmon
  
• 4 Portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh dill
  
• one lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a layer of onions (half) on the bottom of a casserole, then put fish, then put mushrooms and the rest of onions on the top. Put parsley on top, and squeeze the lemon juice over all. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until the fish is ready in the middle (test with a knife or fork.). Serve with lemon wedges.

Healthy Avocado Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados, diced
• ½ cup carrots, chopped
• ½ cup purple cabbage, diced small
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp parsley, minced
• 1 tbsp dill chopped
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 pinch of Cayenne pepper
• black pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly. Enjoy with crackers, peppers, tomatoes.

P.S. You may also want to try an Ayurvedic Immunity Boosting Spice Recipe

Bon Appetit and let us be SAD smart.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

Winter is here. During this time of the year many of us have the winter blues or seasonal depression. Did you know that simply using flashlight three times a day might help? My radio show guest Caroline Sutherland reminded me about this effective light therapy while we were talking about anti-aging, weight loss and detox. I highly recommend you listen to the show if you missed it.

Have you tried eating walnuts or squeezing orange skin to boost our serotonin level? Aromatherapy might help too – you can use different essential oils to reduce stress, get more energy and fight seasonal depression.

Here are some tips from Aromandina.com

• Bergamot and Grapefruit keep negative emotions under check while Ylang Ylangrelieves any kind of mental stress.
• If you need to regain your lost energy levels, take a pick from zesty citrus scents like Orange, Lemon and Mandarin.
• Try Clary Sage and Jasmine to calm your senses and perk up your spirits.
• Use these oils in a diffuser, in your bath water or as massage oil to keep yourself warm, happy and energized through the winter.
• It may be a good idea to try out our brand new product called Citrus Delight. This bright happy and warming blend of Bergamot, Grapefruit and Lemon is just perfect for keeping blues at bay.

If you want to know how to use essential oils for weight loss, detox and healthy pregnancy, you can listen to my interview with Cristina Proano, Aromatherapy Specialist on my Radio Show for Women “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina.”

Listen to our discussion on How to Deal with Seasonal Depression and Anxiety with Medical Intuitive and Certified Natural Health Practitioner Iuliana Lixandru.

And of course, always breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

Chocolate…. Mmmmm. Are you smiling already? Chocolate…

We, women, like chocolate so much because like light, exercise, laughter and sex, chocolate triggers the release of endorphins, which leave us with an instant feel good mood. In general women are more sensitive to chocolate than men, and that is why we can use chocolate can boost our serotonin level to fight our moodiness and seasonal depression.

Did you know that chocolate is better and I mean healthier than kissing? When we kiss or eat chocolate our heart rate and brain activity both increase, but with chocolate it lasts longer. We burn 34 calories in 30 min during light kissing.  I am wondering how many calories we burn while eating chocolate. 

Studies show that chocolate  the main ingredient cocoa- contains health beneficial antioxidants flavonoids. They, like in fruits and vegetables, help prevent cancer and heart disease and stroke by protecting our immune system from radical damage and fighting inflammation.

When we talk about healthy benefits of chocolate we mean healthy  dark chocolate, and the more cocoa in chocolate, the darker and healthier it is. 

Dark chocolate is very good for us, but we have to eat it in moderation because of its sugar and fat content. Even if it is made with cocoa butter and has less blood cholesterol, it still has a lot of calories, fat and refined sugar, all which can make us fat.

Good healthy quality chocolate should contain  70-75% cocoa and have cocoa butter as an ingredient. Avoid chocolate with milk solids or with any mention of alkali or Dutching / Dutching cocoa which is known to have no nutrition value.

So instantly feel in a good mood with healthy dark chocolate and a glass of red wine full of antioxidants and toast to us, ladies, while breathing, smiling and being happy!!!

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Counselor

NaturalCounselorBlog.com