The Art and Benefits of Belly Dance {Guest Post}

        

What will belly dancing do for you? "I have seen women's confidence blossom after having taken belly dancing classes, as well as enjoying the 'sisterhood' that occurs after dancing together each week."

Learn more about this guest post on my new blog, Conveying Awareness. Find this article and recipes here. 

Add this to YOUR wellness journey!

Ch-ch-changes.

How do you know the supplement you've chosen was the right choice? You know when your lifestyle changes and I'm not talking about money. I'm talking health because it is the greatest wealth.

Your product(s) should change you; it should change your mindset about having (being in) a healthy lifestyle. You can't simply use your product as a way to stay the same. When there is no transformation, there is no growth.

You may need to question your intentions. Why did you select the product in the first place? Is it still meeting your needs today as it did when you first selected it? Has it become an income earner for you but you're not totally in love with the product (anymore)? I've seen and heard all of this before.

What if? 

What if you could have both - a product you absolutely enjoy and can make some income sharing it, and a third reason - with a company you respect. I think all components are important but nothing, and I repeat, nothing beats a changed lifestyle. If your product offers you a safety net so that you don't have to make the real changes then it's not going to be a long term solution for you. I believe that most people who go into wellness and align themselves with a product are doing so for a health need. Some see the potential dollar signs and are in it only for the income. Be cautious of these kind. They *may* not have your best interest at heart. I did not run into these kind when I first learned about Juice Plus+. I ran into people who had a passion for wellness. They were in the medical field and they were into incorporating more holistic changes in their day to day activities and in the services they provided. 

Where it began: 

You see, nearly six years ago, I was eating one fruit OR one veggie a week, if that, and I knew nothing of ingredient labels. I didn't know about pesticide overload. I didn't know that filtered (heavy metals removed) water was the best drink for hydration. Oh, I could tell you about snack cakes and the cereals that I thought were 'healthy' because they had the words, natural or made with fruit, but I (we) know this means absolutely nothing - the proof is in the ingredients! When I first heard about Juice Plus+, I was a bit skeptical. I mean, who isn't when they hear about the 'next best thing'? Plus, I don't make haste decisions about investments. (More information on my wellness journey, visit my About section and my guest post on Honey Colony.

So, I looked into it a bit more and then I read the studies, the first one that caught my eye was from the Journal of Cardiology that I interpreted to mean that whatever high (bad) fat foods I was eating; I could neutralize it with the Juice Plus+. (You can read the study here.) This thought gave me hope because I ate horribly but then I really had no idea how JP+ would change my mindset about food! It did. It took about 5 months for me to start seeing / feeling any changes because I was not a healthy individual. I had years of GI problems. 

Life can bring ME #lemons - I L-L-Love them! #Benefits

We visit with our friend Vlada Vladic of Cooking and Kids. She lives in Temecula’s Wine Country where lemon and orange trees are everywhere!  On a Friday in February, my son had the opportunity to pick some lemons from her “orchard” to take home.

We drink a lot of water in our home so having sliced lemons on hand is ideal. There’s nothing like fresh picked lemons!!

The benefits of lemons are endless. You can find many resources online that address this but to share a few of my favorites: 1) For starters, the taste alone is enough to add to water daily. Feel free to drink to your delight. 2) It serves as a diuretic. 3) High levels of Vitamin C. 4) Low in fat and cholesterol. Great as a seasoning on seafood and salads. 5) Finally, it helps prevent and perhaps even ‘cures’ many ailments such as sore throat, constipation, the common cold, nausea, heartburn; it boosts functionality of your liver and aids in the lowering of blood pressure.  Drink up!  Eat Well, Live Well.

I should mention that Vlada shared with me that her two children (ages 8, 6) pick bags of lemons and take them in a wagon to sell to the neighbors. A bag holds about 10 large lemons. The kids sell each bag of lemons for $1.50. For her, the most important part of her children selling the lemons is so that they learn how hard it is to earn money, so that they can contribute to the family (even in the smallest way) and they put aside some money for their summer trip. In addition, a small portion of what they earn is donated to whomever they wish to help. As you can imagine they don’t earn much, however, they do learn a lot while doing this.  

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Choose, eat, and live well! =)

#Repetition - A Reminder to Keep Offering to Your Children

This post is about encouragement. If you're a parent whose child(ren) do not eat fruits and veggies, don't lose hope. 

Let me ask you this first though. Do you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables daily? If you don't, maybe that's why your children don't. However, if you do and you find they aren't eating any or enough this is where the encouragement I want to offer to you kicks in. 

Keep offering and eating your fruits and vegetables every day. Eat a variety too! 

For a quick, healthy dinner, I like to make a veggie burger over brown rice and a side of additional veggies - usually carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. (I personally can't get enough veggies!) I've made this and eaten this with my family a dozen times over. My son always eats the brown rice, broccoli and carrots without a fuss. Tonight my son picked up a piece of the veggie burger (I cut it up in small pieces and toss it with the brown rice) and asked me, "eat it?" I said yes, of course. He puts it in his mouth and he's mmm mmm the whole time he's chewing. He asks me for more! I'm excited on the inside. I don't make a big deal of it because that may give him a negative view of eating later.

Subscribe to my blog here to never miss a post. 
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Download my free eGuide when you subscribe to my monthly newsletters for free.

Choose, eat, and live well! =)