Do You Hate Vegetables? Tips On Resetting Those Taste Buds!

An issue that stops many people that are eating a Standard American Diet from beginning a new dietary lifestyle is often the fact that they greatly dislike the taste of fruits and vegetables. 

Oftentimes the very fact that there is a strong distaste for vegetables and fruits prevents people from even considering or being open to ways of eating that don't involve processed chemical laden foods. Add to that the fact that sometimes when people who don't like vegetables see others seemingly adding vegetables to their diet easily and reaching a level of "success" and they personally find it impossible and you have a recipe for self-esteem disaster. 

It makes me sad to see anyone stuck where they are and feeling like they are in a state of powerlessness when that is not the case at all.  You have the power to bring new experiences into your life! 

Here are a few tips and some encouragement in dealing with the issue of being repulsed by the tastes and textures in vegetables when you are wanting to gravitate to a more healing and life giving diet.

Some suggestions that I talk about in the video are:

1. You can fast.  Fasting is probably the quickest way to reset those tasters but is sometimes a bit more extreme for people who are wanting a slower approach to a lifestyle change.  However, to someone who is currently battling an acute or chronic serious health illness fasting is a wonderful way to give the digestive system a break and allow the body to delegate more energy to the healing at hand.  There are many, many different ways to fast and so if this feels harmonious with you I encourage you to look into methods that you can make work for you.


2. Cut out all added salts and chemicals and eat fresh natural foods.  I totally get the fact that this  can be tricky for those with little will power because you don't like the things that I am telling you to eat!  However, you can just start with a few foods that you do like and make it a point to not take in any chemicals.  In a very short period of time you pallete that stays saturated with salts and chemicals will begin to change and your taste for foods will begin to get real. 


3. Another fast way to help the taste buds to reset is JUICING.  Start with the fruits and very mild vegetables.  Drink your juice every day and gradually increase the amount of vegetables in your juices.  This will help to tackle your cravings and give your body the nourishment it is asking for while priming those little taste buds for some better for ya foods!

You CAN do this!  I promise that you are so worth the effort.  Give it a chance.  Don't compare your journey to the journey of others.  And just like most things in life this is something that you are going to have to walk out.  I have said it before and I will say it again, there is NO MAGIC PILL!!  I wish there were, but that is just not the way it is. 

Keep on trying and babystepping your way to your goals and don't forget to be kind and give yourself grace along the way.  You are probably doing better than you think!

Blessings to you and don't forget to smile a lot today!

A Mindset of Abundance Instead of Restriction

When you are changing your diet, whether it is because you are faced with fighting your way back to health or because you are wanting a higher state of vibrancy and vitality in your life it is easy to begin looking at what you can't have instead of what you can.

 

If I could change one thing years ago when I became gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, dye, chemical and preservative free it would be to look at the abundance of what I could have instead of all of a sudden focusing on the items that were taken out of my diet. 

 

I would look at the thousands of fruits that not only had I never tried but I had never even heard of!  I would immediately begin cultivating my taste buds to enjoy the taste of beautiful vegetables instead of trying to replace the foods that I had spent my life loving with imitation recipe combinations (that never, ever lived up to my hopeful expectations). 

 

A diet change can give you life at a level that you have never experienced.  Especially if you have food intolerance's, you don't even realize some of the symptoms that you are living with and as those begin to fall away you will discover who you really are - mentally, emotionally and physically. 

 

 

When you are faced with changing your diet it is a time to create new habits.  Find new loves.  Don't look back.  Keep moving forward and make new friends with food.  I know it is hard at first but I promise, with time you won't even miss some of the things that your body is calling out for now.

Try to cultivate a mindset of abundance.  Break out of the 20 or so foods that you eat over and over and over again that don't provide you with the results health wise that you want and begin to explore a world that is waiting for you full of amazing new and sometimes exotic tastes, textures and smells. 

You are worth the effort!

I love you all!

Candida Bustin' Garlic Tea

Candida is a yeast overgrowth in the body that can be tough to overcome.  I dealt with candida overgrowth for years while I was recovering from a lifetime of illness.  I want to share with you today a recipe that I have used for a garlic tea.

Research has shown that garlic is effective against a wide range of fungi, yeast, and bacteria with some anti-viral and anti-parasitic properties as well.  I personally have used garlic in my diet for years with very good results. 

I understand that garlic certainly isn't for everyone and I am not going to even try to play it off like it is yummy in a tea, but sometimes pain can be a powerful motivator and we will try anything to regain our health, and it was certainly a piece of the puzzle that I used to help fight my way back to health and vitality.

Candida Busting Garlic Tea

To make the garlic tea you will need:

• 4 cups water
• 4 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
• juice of one freshly squeezed lemon
• ginger root, grated (optional)

Bring the water to a boil and then remove from heat.  Add the lemon, garlic cloves and ginger (optional) to the water and allow this to steep for 25 minutes.  Strain the garlic cloves from the water. 

Your goal is to drink the 4 full cups of garlic tea per day.  In the beginning, though, I had to start with much less and work my way up.  You may find that to be the case for yourself as well.

Another option is to add the tea to freshly made savory tomato juice or carrot/celery juice.  Basically you can add the garlic to anything that helps it be a little more palatable to you, because I am warning you that this tea is strong! :)

Enjoy! lol

Amazingly Inspirational Video

This video is the inspirational tale of disabled veteran Arthur Boorman.

Arthur is an inspiration to all of us in demonstrating that you CAN take control of your life and it can change faster than you think. His story is proof that there are no limits on what we are capable of doing! 

Whether you are trying to heal from physical disabilities like Arthur or struggling with the seemingly insurmountable task of trying to heal your body from food intolerances and sensitivities let his story serve as hope that you can do it.  You are strong and you are worth it. 

Where in your life do you need to apply this type of faith in yourself? 

How Often Should You Do Enemas?

Enemas are a common way that people who are fasting or trying to heal from physical illness support the body in getting rid of toxins. 

I get asked the question at least once every week of "How often should I do an enema?".  My answer to that is always the same and probably not necessarily helpful "Well, it's different for everybody".   And that is true.  My answer is different from someone trying to heal their body from serious autoimmune issues or from cancer or any other illness that seriously affects their quality of life vs someone who is just doing a juice fast or detox to do a bit of spring cleaning in the colon so to speak. 

In today's video I talk about some of the benchmarks that I use for myself and clients that I am coaching through fasting or detox as well as how Dr. Gerson used enemas in his protocols for his cancer patients. 

If you have questions about enema frequency I hope that this video helps you to decide a frequency that feels right for you and helps you support your own self healing.

Have a wonderful day!

Is Juicing Dangerous?

Is there danger in drinking freshly prepared fruit and vegetable juices?

This is the question that I am talking about in today's video.  This past week there have been a couple of times that either people were asking me if some aspect of juicing is dangerous for the body or where I witnessed someone trying to warn other people of how dangerous juicing is. 

I want to set the record straight - don't blame it on the juice!  I will freely admit that there are certain circumstances where it is very difficult for the body to handle certain foods, especially when food allergies or intolerances are present.  In these types of situations even the juices of certain foods can cause a reaction in the body.  That does not, however, mean that juicing is dangerous.

Juicing is one of the most beautiful and gentle methods of cleansing, healing and rebuilding the body that I know.  I attribute a large amount of my own personal healing to the drinking in of nature's most perfect medicine. 

If you or someone that you know is having or has had issues with juicing that is an indicator that there are underlying issues with the digestive system or elsewhere in the body that need addressing.  And juice is one of the best ways to do that! 

As I mention in the video, you may just want to work with tweaking what kinds of juices that you take in and put your foods on a type of rotation diet while you work on healing the digestive system. 

You do not have to be afraid of juicing.  It is one of the best things that you can do for your body and your mind! 

Go make yourself some juice today!

Pine Needle Tea For Cold & Flu Season

Pine needle tea has amazing immune boosting benefits for the body and is also a great mood lifter.  Here in Georgia we have no shortage of pine needles to go around!

Here is a great tutorial on how to make it.  Enjoy <3

Pine Needle Tea

Steve Crider lost over 100 lbs in 1 year using fruits and vegetables

Today I sat down with Steve Crider and talked with him about his journey over the past year.  Steve went from dealing with obesity and other debilitating ailments to finding a lifestyle of balance and beauty. 

Steve has dealt with his depression, anger and emotional instability, sleep apnea, painful joints, chronic dehydration, obesity and high blood pressure all by using fruits and vegetables.

Listen to his inspiring story and realize that where ever you are and whatever your current state you can experience profound shifts in all areas of your life by incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet and removing all of the processed foods and chemicals.

Remember, you have the ability to bring new experiences into your life.

 

Garlic Enema Recipe for Anti-Fungal, Anti-Bacterial Healing

Here is the next video in my Enema Series.  This is my personal recipe for doing a garlic enema implant.

I usually use 3 to 4 cloves of fresh garlic.  Then I crush or press the garlic and put it into the water.  I, personally, let the garlic infuse into the water overnight without heating but it is also perfectly acceptable to simmer the water with the garlic in it on the stove for 15 minutes.  Let the water cool and then strain the garlic pieces out of the water.  What is left is your infusion water.

Whenever you are doing an implant the goal is to be able to hold the implant for up to 15 minutes. 

Keep in mind that the garlic implant is a very intense healing modality and can cause a burning sensation if it is too strong and also can cause a lot of die-off which can have some rather intense side effects in and of itself.

As stated in the video, I am NOT a medical doctor and I am not giving medical advise.  This video is for eductional and entertainment purposes only. 

I hope this video is a help and a blessing to you as you are on your journey for optimum health.

Resetting Your Relationship With Food Project

Relationship With Food Project
I want to further expound upon the project that I am working on in creating a protocol addressing our Relationship With Food.

I am looking to add a few more people who would like to participate in my pilot program. I am hoping to roll the program out over the next month or so (but don't hold me to any date, I have a lot on my plate right now and I am really working on my life balance! lol).

There will be no charge for participating at this time since I am only rolling out the pilot/trial program, but I do want people that will give me honest feedback about the changes that they may be experiencing in relation to their relationship with food. I also want to know if the program does not work at all for you. This includes:

• the thoughts you have around what you are eating
• food cravings
• food/chemical addictions
• digestive system health i.e. issues or challenges that you may be experiencing
• the way you relate to your own self image
• motivational changes that you may experience to exercise or incorporate other healthy life practices
• areas that you may be "stuck" in that suddenly you are able to work through
• emotional eating/self soothing responses and habits around food
• the letting go of emotional triggers and habits
• any other areas of self growth or life change that you may experience while on the program

The program is not necessarily a diet of what foods to eat, although I will make those recommendations, but will center around a music track that you will listen to each day for a set number of days.

Compliance should be relatively easy and I am looking for measured and progressive tangible results physically and emotionally in participants. If you think that you are interested please send me an email stating some of the main points that you see in your life around your relationship with food and how you would like to see that change. You can send your email to blessings @ ikeepsmiling dot com. Please put "Food Project" in the subject line.

(If you don't know what I am talking about in this post you can watch the video where I mention it here.  )  :)

How To Do A Water Enema While Juice Fasting

In my opinion, water enemas are a must if you are doing a prolonged water or juice fast.  It is so important to support the body in it's work to try and detox and heal the body.  You cannot possibly keep up with the amount of cellular and solid waste that the body is trying it's best to get rid of during a fast without the enemas. 

And while, yes, it can definitely be done without the enemas the difference is night and day.

Supporting your detox and weight loss with enemas help to lessen detox symptoms, help the body to move past the detox phase and onto the healing and repair phase and prevent toxins that are moving through the liver and into the colon from being reabsorbed.

While water enemas can be akward while you are first learning they are so easy and are not painful.  They are a wonderful way to support yourself and your journey to health.

Now go and be AWESOME and remember to Keep Smiling! :)

Using the Neti-Pot to Help Your Body Detox

I love the Neti-Pot. 

There! I said it.  I do love the Neti-Pot.  This is such a natural and gentle way to support and cleanse the body.

Most of the time we are so concerned about cleansing the outside of our bodies that we give no thought to the inside.  Or we mistakenly believe that just because our bodies keep functioning each day that they do an efficient job at keeping up with the elimination of everything that we come into contact with every day.

Using the neti-pot is essential, in my opinion, when doing any kind of detox or weight loss program or fast.  The body needs it.

So, don't be scared!  Lol!  It really is okay.  Trust me, you will LOVE it!

Why Is My Body Not Healing?

Today I answer the question asked: Why is my body not healing? It can be really frustrating when we feel that we are doing all of the right things and our bodies are still not healing.

We have to remember:
1. It took sometimes decades of our lives to get to the place we are now. Your health is a culmination of your lifestyle and healthcare choices. It is not going to be able to heal in a day or sometimes even in a month or a year. There is no magic pill - you have to do the work.

2. Make sure that you are looking at the cause and not the symptom. Most health complaints are made towards the symptoms that are presented from some disharmony in the body. Most of the time we don't take the time to sit down and look at what we are trying to achieve. Throwing supplements at a symptom presented in the body doesn't always address the cause.

3. The body has a healing order. Sometimes the body may need to strengthen another body system before addressing the cause of the symptoms you are trying to heal. The natural state of the body is one of health, abundance and harmony. Make no mistake, the body is always trying to achieve that. Your body is on your side and is always working for you.

4. Make sure that you are giving your body the cleanest landscape possible to heal from. Take in only clean, ripe, organic fruits and vegetables. Use tools to deal with any emotional issues that are causing you stress. Forgive yourself and your body for any percieved failings. Get in touch with your inner self and don't live so much in your head and in reaction to the environment around you - doing things that are not in harmony with your body is sometimes part of what got you to where you are. Exercise - get outside in the fresh air! It will do you good. :) And for goodness sakes, don't just run out and take a ton of supplements just because the bottle says it's good or someone on TV said it was good. It might be good for them but maybe not for you. In health, sometimes less really is more!

I love you all and hope that you cultivate a more loving space for your own heart to reside in.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor. I do not even play one on TV. Please seek out licensed medical advice if you are having health concerns.