Hey everyone,

I wrote an article about some simple tips to make your favorite holiday cookie recipes healthier and specifically gluten and dairy free. And it’s been published (yay!) on MindBodyGreen.com. Check it out by clicking here. Leave a comment on their website and I’ll reply, I promise!

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

One of the easiest, most family friendly meals to make on a busy weeknight is a Taco Bar. This appeals to everyone because since everyone builds their own, it is full of choices for the kids and therefore no more arguments along the lines of “Yuck!” and “Just one more bite!” If I have plenty of healthy options, then whatever the kids put together is fine by me.

We had to adjustment a bit a couple of years ago with the dairy allergy news and the resulting lack of cheese usually on the traditional taco. But we’ve gotten used to it and the kids don’t complain too much anymore. One addition we’ve made is to have cabbage slaw instead of lettuce. Cabbage is a powerhouse of nutrition and this version is definitely tastier than plain lettuce. This slaw was first introduced to me by my beautiful and talented sister-in-law Zoe Keating. At our week-long Christmas gatherings we all take turns making dinner one night. She made fish tacos (a real crowd pleaser) and made this, or close to it, cabbage slaw to go on the tacos. We’ve never gone back to lettuce since.

I usually make the fixings for chicken tacos. My husband and I like taco salads actually so I make a big bowl of the cabbage slaw. But first, I dice up the (organic) chicken breast or tenders and sauté the chunks with some taco seasoning. Read the labels on those packets though, people! Most brands of taco seasoning have whey in them for some crazy reason. I use Trader Joe’s brand. It’s very tasty.  I sprinkle some on the chicken (careful not to go overboard–the stuff is spicy!) and add a little water to the pan to create a sauce. While that is cooking, I start on the cabbage slaw. The recipe is below. Then I either open a can of black beans or if I’m really on the ball, I have soaked some black beans the night before. If I did that, then I actually start cooking those in fresh water before the chicken because they take 40 minutes or so. With those three main Taco Bar ingredients (chicken, slaw and beans) handled, the only thing left to do is open some salsa, cut up an avocado and warm up the taco shells. Dinner can be ready in under 30 minutes! And my crowd literally cheers.

 

 

Zoe’s Cabbage Slaw for Tacos

One small head of cabbage (red or green work), shredded or sliced thin
3 scallions sliced (green parts too)
2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing:
Juice of one large or two small limes
Lots of shakes of hot sauce (like Tabasco–although I prefer Trader Joe’s) to taste
1/2 tsp. or so of sugar
3 Tbsp or so of mayonnaise

Directions:
Chop up and put all slaw ingredients in a serving bowl. Whisk all dressing ingredients together, adjust flavors to taste. Pour on slaw and toss.

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

I had never made my own pumpkin puree for our Thanksgiving pies until I joined my CSA and they gave me two little sugar pumpkins a.k.a. pie pumpkins. Even my mother thought I was a little crazy for making my own pumpkin puree back then. “You know the canned pumpkin is really good, honey”. But I like to make things from the real deal and avoid cans whenever possible. Making your own pumpkin puree is easy and tastes fresh and delicious and you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re getting BPA’s leached into your food from the can linings.

Here’s how I did it today. My four little sugar pumpkins made about 5.5 cups of pumpkin puree, or three 15 oz cans worth. Perfect for 3 pumpkin pies!

 

Slice the pumpkins in half cross-wise with a sharp kitchen knife.

Scoop out the flesh and seeds. Keep these for roasting. I’ll get to how to do that later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the pumpkin halves flesh side down on baking sheets with a 1/4 cup or so of water. Roast at 400 for 45 minutes. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put the pumpkin flesh into a food processor work bowl and whirl away. You may need to go in batches if you make four pumpkins like I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Et voilà. 5.5 cups of delicious pumpkin puree. Ready for pies or for pumpkin smoothies (also delish and good for you!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t throw out the seeds!

Pumpkin seeds are full of good nutrition and they are fun snacks even the kids will love.

First, get slimy with the seeds. Separate them from the flesh as best you can. I had about a cup and a half of seeds. Wash them clean in a colander and put in a single layer on a baking sheet. Douse with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, some garlic salt or whatever seasonings you like and roast at 300 for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

YUM!

 

To your health,

 

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

I have two sweet kids, 11 and 13, a hard working husband with his own business, a darling dog, 10 chickens on nearly two acres with a small orchard. As if that’s not enough to keep us busy, I’m a solo-preneur building my health coaching business. Most of the time, the house looks like a tornado hit it and the yard is in desperate need of a full-time landscaper (know anyone?). But even though we’re shuttling the kids to soccer practices and games 5 days a week, we still manage to eat a home-cooked and healthy dinner together as a family nearly every night.

How is that possible? Commitment and strategy. I am committed to (okay almost obsessed with) eating dinner as a family. I strongly believe that dinner together is the glue that holds a family together. I love the tradition of it, I love hearing about everyone’s day and I get to make sure my kids have decent table manners on a nightly basis. Quick and easy and a little planning ahead is the ticket to success here. So here are my time saving tips for easy breezy family dinners.

1. Everyone eats the same thing. This has been my personal rule since the kids were little. And to tell you the truth, it was to save my own sanity. I am not interested in being a short order cook, making something different for every member of the family. I am not even interested in making a “kid dinner” and an “adult dinner”. I introduced my kids to some non-kid type foods early on (i.e., kalamata olives, thai red curry) to ensure that I was only cooking one dinner.

2. Spend Sunday (or whatever day you like) planning, shopping and chopping. I think the hardest part about making dinner is coming up with what to make. I ask my family if they have any requests, and I keep their preferences in mind while meal planning. Buy as much of the food as possible on that one day so that during the week, you only have to pick up things that need to be fresh that day (like fish!). Clean, chop and prep anything you know you’ll be needing. I rarely do this step but I love the idea.

3. Cook once, eat twice. As often as possible, I cook twice as much as I would ordinarily and put half away in the freezer for another night’s dinner. Another angle on this is to cook twice as much of something and reuse it later in the week for a different dinner. I just did this with roasted chicken. I roasted two chickens at once on my big turkey sized roasting pan. I used the second one for chicken tacos later in the week.

4. Try one-pot cooking. I love recipes that cook the veggies with the meat and everything is ready at once. I roasted veggies at the same time as the chicken I mentioned above and I got to kick back for 45 minutes with a glass of wine while it all cooked its way to deliciousness. Another angle is doing the same thing on the stovetop, cooking your veggies in the skillet with your meat. Yum.

5. Cook simply. I occasionally cook entrees that take an hour and are more complicated. But usually I am searching for recipes using healthy food that I can make in under 30 minutes. If you have all the ingredients on hand, this really is not difficult. It doesn’t have to be fancy for a week night, just tasty. It’s much more about the experience of coming together as a family, eating wholesome food and enjoying a meal together.

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

What is up with all the bazillion different dietary theories out there? Who has time to try them all? Paleo or Vegan? Low Fat or Atkins? I can’t keep them all straight and besides, they all seem contradictory–does anyone even know what is healthy anymore? The thing is, our bodies are all different and want different foods to thrive which is why I think there are so many theories–because they all work for some people. There’s a new one though, that isn’t really a diet as much as a lifestyle, and I’m pretty convinced it’s the way to go. The Anti-Inflammatory Diet.

There’s been a lot of press about inflammation and it being the first step in the aging process and even one of the causes of the major diseases and health issues facing Americans today. Alzheimer’s Disease is the latest disease to have a study show it’s related to inflammation. Heart disease, cancer, MS, diabetes, arthritis, even asthma and allergies, you name it and it’s connected to inflammation. The evidence in the studies is showing that it all comes down to food, stress and lifestyle and by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, we can actually prevent and sometimes cure these diseases.

Our diets in America really only started getting messed up relatively recently when back in the 40‘s, Science and Industry started stepping in to create foods that were “better” than what nature was creating. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a company making a profit, but it’s interesting that as the industrialization of the food system in America has grown, and Americans have been eating more and more highly processed foods, the health of the nation has steadily declined. What I think we need to get back to, and what is at the root of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet is eating food as it is made in nature. We need to eat foods that our grandmothers (or great grandmothers if you’re under 30) would recognize.

So what do we eat? Foods that are anti-inflammatory are green and brightly colored fruits and vegetables, lean poultry, fish and seafood, legumes, nuts and seeds, and certain herbs and spices. Mono-unsaturated fats are good, like those found in olive oil, avocados, coconuts and other nuts and seeds. Foods to avoid include highly processed foods, trans fats, sugar, refined flour and red meat. Did you notice that the diet is dairy-free and wheat free? That is no coincidence!

So are you thinking, “Great. I don’t like vegetables.” or “I don’t know how to cook fish” or “I don’t have time to cook from scratch!”. Well I have news for you! My blog has quick and easy anti-inflammatory recipes for DELICIOUS meals you can throw together quickly. And since I’m all about dairy-free, wheat free cooking, the recipes will have that going for them as well . For real. Here’s one I love:

 

White fish with Mango-Lime Marinade and Coconut-Lime Rice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Pour all marinade ingredients in a gallon size zip-loc bag, add fish and marinate 20 minutes. While fish marinates, get rice cooking. After 20 minutes marinading, put all contents of the bag, including the fish on a baking pan and cook 10 minutes or until fish is flaky and mangos are lightly golden. While the fish cooks, prepare a nice green salad for the side.

For the marinade:
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp chili oil
1-1/2 Tbsp gluten-free tamari)
2 tsp sesame oil
6 Tbsp coconut milk
zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp raw honey
1-1/2 Tbsp grated Ginger
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 mango, diced

1 lb. sustainably harvested white fish of your choice

Coconut-Lime Rice
1 cup coconut milk
3 cups H20
2 cups par boiled (quick cooking) long grain brown rice

Cook rice according to package directions, when done stir in:
1 tsp lime zest
2 TBSP lime juice

 

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

I admittedly know next to nothing about feng shui. I know that it has something to do with rearranging your furniture to release blocked energy flows in your house (I think). What I didn’t know until the other day is that apparently it also has to do with the elimination of clutter. Now this is something I know about.

Since I was a little kid, I have been a bit of a neat-nik. I put things away and kept my room clean (ask my sister with whom I had to share a room). My father had an axiom from the Navy “everything has a place and everything in its place” that I lived by and still do to this day. But as an adult, I’m a busy (and sometimes lazy) person and, like everyone, I let things build up.

I also live with three lovely beautiful people, one big and two small, who are not particularly neat. No matter how many times I say my father’s axiom to them, it doesn’t seem to stick. I want so badly for them to embrace clearing the clutter so they can learn what I have learned—that clutter weighs a person down. When I have cleared off the counters of junk mail, or put away all the stuff lying about the living room, I feel a lightness that actually has a physical expression, like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I can think more clearly.

Clutter can have other health impacts as well. It can add to anxiety and a chaotic feeling, create spaces for dust or mold to build up, add to emotional issues by hanging onto the past, even add to physical weight.

I have been working on Project Declutter Our House for over a year. As I said, I’m a busy person so I’ve been tackling one area at a time when I have the time. I recently cleared out my bedroom closet and my kids’ bedroom closets. Man, that was a big load for Goodwill! But do I love opening my closet and dresser drawers now and seeing space! I love looking a the top of my dresser where papers and other odds and ends were piled and seeing space. It is truly a lovely lightness of being. If that is what feng shui is about, then I’m up for more of it!

Here are my 3 tips for decluttering your home:

1. Start with one room at a time. By chunking it down into smaller projects, they are achievable as one or two day projects and not so overwhelming.

2. As you go, make three piles: donate, throw out, keep. Keep only things that are precious, beautiful, fit you, and that you really, really love. If it’s broken, toss it. If it’s unbroken but you don’t love it, donate it–let someone else love it as you never did. If you haven’t used it or worn it in 2 years, donate it. If you’re wanting to lose weight to wear that garment again, by all means lose the weight but buy yourself new clothes (that are in style) as a reward when you achieve your goal.

3. Don’t get too sentimental. Do you really need to keep every t-shirt from every event you’ve walked/biked/run in? Do you really need every single drawing your child made in preschool? Remember, keep only what is beautiful, precious and brings you joy.

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

Did you know that stress can make you fat? Yes, it’s true! Particularly around the middle, that dreaded “belly fat”. Most everyone knows that stress is bad for us. Maybe you even know that it is linked to high blood pressure, and heart disease. But stress can also make you fat. It has to do with a hormone called Cortisol.

When the body feels stress or anxiety, the adrenal system releases cortisol, which, coupled with adrenaline, is great for the “fight or flight” response in an emergency situation. The problem is that in our high-stress culture, our daily emergencies add up to no down-time for the adrenal system. And when cortisol levels remain high and are not allowed to return to a normal level, there can be negative effects on our health.

Prolonged levels of high cortisol can lead to heart disease and liver damage, higher blood pressure, higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), thyroid trouble, decreased bone density, a weak immune system, and as I mentioned earlier, even increased abdominal fat, also known as belly fat!

So how do we get our cortisol levels down and take care of our adrenal system? Avoiding stimulants like sugar and caffeine are extremely important but number one on the list is to relax. So along with getting more sleep, try these 3 tips to de-stress:

1. Take a walk. Just removing yourself from a stressful situation can help enormously. Add to that the fresh air, the Vitamin D from the sun and the endorphins that begin to kick in with some exercise, and you’ve got a mega stress reducer.

2. Take a warm bath. Warm water has been proven to relax muscles and relieve stiffness in joints. Taking a warm bath before bedtime enhances your ability to fall asleep faster. As a bonus, add some Epsom Salts to your bath – they are made of the mineral magnesium sulfate which is a sedative for the nervous system.

3. Spritz or rub in some lavender essential oil. In aromatherapy, lavender is commonly known as a mood balancing herb that has a sedative and calming effect. Fill a little spritzer with a few drops of oil and some water and spray in the air, breathe in the aroma and feel the effects. Or dab a bit of oil at your temples and rub during a stressful time.

Do you have a favorite way to de-stress? Post it in the comments below.

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

I had a friend ask me recently what I eat, as a guide for her to know what a healthy diet is. My answer is that I eat everything! I follow the “90% food that is good for me and 10% what I feel like eating” rule. However, I do have some guidelines that I live by that help me keep my weight in check, my energy up, and my health good.

- I eat whole foods as much as possible. I cook from scratch for the most part and avoid overly processed, packaged foods. I cook simply, quickly and flavorfully.

- I avoid sugar. We do have desserts on occasion (mainly because my daughter has discovered baking!) but I avoid them. We don’t have ice cream in the house or cookies or cake unless it’s a special occasion. My treat of choice is 72% dark chocolate, which I do eat a chunk of almost daily.

- I eat a lot of vegetables. I credit joining a CSA several years ago for this; it opened up my eyes to the vegetable possibilities. Plus they taste so much better when they are grown organic and locally. I try to eat a variety of colors at each meal.

- I don’t eat dairy but that has more to do with finding out that I had an allergy a year and a half ago. However, loads of people are walking around with dairy allergies and don’t know it!

- I eat fish at least once a week, and often twice. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and eat chicken fairly frequently. My thoughts on meat are that they should be organic, free range, and humanely raised. I’ve seen some horrifying videos of factory meat farms. Educate yourself!

- I drink a lot of water. Not half my body weight in fluid ounces but that is still my goal.

But I know what my friend will say is, “No really. What do you eat?” So I have included an actual food diary from last week. Food diaries are a great tool that bring awareness to your eating as well as to the relationship between your food and your mood. So here goes mine:

Thursday
Breakfast: one fried egg on whole wheat toast with mayo, one mug ½ caff black coffee
Lunch: half a peanut butter and honey sandwich on WW bread, an apple, a handful of raw almonds, one square of dark chocolate
Dinner: Grilled wild coho salmon with lemon onion topping, roasted cauliflower, mixed greens salad

Friday
Breakfast: egg white chile sausage wrap at Starbuck’s (met a friend for coffee), double short soy latte.
Lunch: cranberry almond KIND bar, apple, (was running errands and didn’t have time to stop for lunch)
Snack: Trader Joe’s Falafel Chips with hummus
Dinner: half a chicken breast with bell peppers (from Trader Joe’s), brown rice, mixed greens salad

Saturday
Breakfast: 1 piece of home made French toast with about 1 tsp real maple syrup and blueberries, one mug ½ caff black coffee
Lunch: blueberry, strawberry, banana, orange smoothie with hemp protein powder and “green food” powder added
Dinner: Went to a party, had some delicious crab salad, roasted veggies, 2 crab cakes, asparagus, a half piece of artisan bread and 2 glasses of red wine.

Sunday
Breakfast: a scrambled egg with andouille sausage mixed in, one piece of whole wheat toast with Earth Balance “butter” and low-sugar home made apricot jam, one mug ½ caff black coffee
Lunch: half a roasted turkey avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread, apple
Snack: cranberry almond KIND bar
Dinner: Went out to dinner with family in town. Split an order of baby back ribs, broccoli and one piece of corn bread.

Monday
Breakfast: few bites of kids’ leftover scrambled eggs, one mug ½ caff black coffee
Lunch: sauteed onions, swiss chard, black beans, 2 poached eggs, salsa and ½ avocado (I was very full—too much food for me).
Dinner: Leftover chicken dinner from Friday (family had pasta puttanesca while I went to a workshop).

Tuesday
Breakfast: one mug ½ caff black coffee, one piece of WW toast with Earth Balance “butter” and honey
(after Boot Camp workout) Snack: blueberry, peach, hemp protein powder, “green food” powder smoothie
Lunch: leftover roasted vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes, beets, butternut squash), handful of raw almonds and a square of dark chocolate
Dinner: Home made lentil soup with artisan bread

Wednesday
Breakfast: fried egg on WW toast with mayo
Lunch: “green smoothie” with banana, kale, mangos, orange, almond milk
Snack: handful of mixed nuts
Dinner: Lemon chicken with caper sauce, brown rice and mixed greens salad

 

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

Americans love cereal! There are about a billion different kinds of breakfast cereal (okay hundreds?) on the shelves at the supermarket. Most are loaded with sugar. Even the ones that seem healthy may still be loaded with sugar so be sure to read the Nutrition Facts label. Look for the sugar grams per serving. Did you know that 4.2 grams of granulated sugar equals a teaspoon? If there are 12 grams of sugar per serving as there are in Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, it is like putting nearly 3 teaspoons of sugar on your 3/4 cup serving of corn flakes. Does that sound healthy to you? In fact some breakfast cereals have more sugar than a Twinkie, actually over half sugar by weight! In addition, companies can put all sorts of health claims on their packaging and much of it is misleading. Kellogg’s recently claimed that Rice Krispies “helps support your child’s immunity”. Hmmm. Don’t believe all that you read on the packaging.

Most breakfast cereals are highly processed grains that are quickly converted to sugar in your body even if they don’t have added sugar. Eating excessive sugar has been shown to lead to obesity, diabetes, inflammation, heart disease and cancer. It is best to eat whole grains for breakfast for longer sustained energy with the added benefit of the fiber and vitamins in the whole grains. Old fashioned rolled oats are easy to make (the instant kind is processed and doesn’t have the same health benefits). There are a number of whole grains to try for breakfast. Here is a great article listing a few to try. Or make up a batch of my maple crunch granola in no time at home. I just served samples of this at a recent Health Fair and got rave reviews

Maple Crunch Granola

Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. coconut oil (or canola)
1 Tbsp. water

Procedure:
Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a 9” x 13” metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt, coconut and cinnamon in a bowl. Bring syrup, oil, and water to simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool. Makes one quart. Recipe can be doubled, but use two pans.

Granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Be creative with adding other ingredients to this basic recipe. Dried fruits should be stirred in after 30 minutes of baking, then put back in for another 15 minutes longer. Try your favorite combinations of nuts and dried fruits for endless possibilities!

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach

Happy New Year! Now is a perfect time to reflect on our habits and resolve to make some changes for better health. Here are my Top 12 Tips for a Healthier 2012.

1. Eat more greens like kale, chard, spinach, and bok choy.
Most Americans don’t eat enough green leafy vegetables and they are so good for us! In addition to being high in antioxidants, vitamins A, B and K, iron, lutein and omega-3s, dark leafy greens help reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol levels and protect the immune system. Although making salads and eating them raw seems easiest, many of these leafy vegetables such as chard, spinach, collards and mustard greens are actually better for you after they’ve been cooked.

2. Eat real food.
Americans typically eat a lot of packaged, processed and prepared foods in our busy lives. We need to eat more whole foods: vegetables and fruit and whole grains, meat, fish and eggs. Cook from scratch. Avoid bar codes.

3. Drink more water–especially if you want to lose weight.
Most of us are dehydrated. Experts vary on the actual amounts we need but a good rule of thumb is to divide your body weight in half for the number of fluid ounces you should drink. So if you weigh 140, you should drink 70 oz or 8.5 glasses of water. Remember that caffeinated beverages actually deplete our hydration so we need to drink more water to make up for those drinks.

4. Cut back on sugar–especially if you want to lose weight.
Over consumption of sugar is the number one reason Americans are unhealthy, in my opinion. The evils of sugar are too numerous to mention here (see previous blog post) but I think of sugar as a poisonous addictive substance like heroin. Of course it’s not as bad as heroin but that reference helps me to avoid it. Included in this category is high fructose corn syrup which in my opinion is worse than sugar.

5. Quit addictive habits.
I know this is a lot easier said than done, but curbing unhealthy addictive substances like tobacco and drinking more than 3-5 glasses of alcoholic beverages a week can do wonders for your health.

6. Get 8 hours of sleep at night.
Sleep is incredibly important for overall health. Lack of sleep affects our immune system, our stress levels, our emotional state, all of which can contribute to health problems, not to mention the fact that fatique affects the food choices we make. Getting enough rest will benefit all aspects of your life.

7. Be active every day.
There are a lot of different theories on how much and how often we should exercise. One thing is clear–the health benefits are many. What is important is to find an activity that you enjoy and make exercising fun. My thought in general is to get your heart pumping hard every day, lift heavy things every day, and move more than you sit.

8. Get fresh air.
Spend time outdoors walking, hiking, biking, or just sitting listening to the birds in the trees. Getting fresh air and being outside can restore balance to our busy lives.

9. Get Vitamin D.
If it’s a sunny day then you can do this while doing number 8 above. But if not, you may need a supplement. Most Americans are Vitamin D deficient especially at this time of year. Be sure and take Vitamin D3 as it is considered a more potent form of the vitamin. Vitamin D is crucial for the absorption of calcium and phosporus, helping us maintain healthy bones. It benefits our immune system, our brain function, and decreases our risk of arthritis and cancer, among other benefits. New studies are coming out all the time on the many health benefits of Vitamin D.

10. Spend time with friends.
Sometimes we get so consumed by the demands of our lives, that we neglect our relationships. Laughing, relaxing, sharing and connecting are vital to our overall well being.

11. Keep a gratitude journal.
I have found this to be very grounding and beneficial. Writing down, on a daily basis, what I am grateful for gets me present to how much I have and helps me to keep things in perspective. I see the big picture and dwell less on the small, petty irritations of everyday life.

12. Hug those you love.
I don’t think there’s anything better than a good hug when you need one. Close your eyes and feel the connection, the love being given and received. In our fast paced world of cell phones, telecommuting, and running from here to there, make sure to stop and take the time for a really good hug.

To your health,

Laren Watson
Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach