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What’s the Matcha Tea Craze All About?

November 12, 2016 by Jackie Ritz 2 Comments

Matcha tea —the green powdered tea imported from Japan—has become one of the trendiest new superfoods. Most of us had never heard of it until one day we discovered that it was one of the hottest talking points in health and wellness websites. Matcha tea has been a part of Chinese and Japanese cultures for centuries, and is now taking the Western world by storm.

I heard about it a couple of years ago, and even prepared a guest blog from one blogger who had created a yummy version of Matcha tea—her Matcha Mate Almond Latte—to help her wean herself off her near addiction to black tea and coffee (Here).

Today, I want to explore just what it is that is driving the current Matcha Tea craze. We’ll look at:

Just what Matcha tea is.
What Matcha Tea’s superfood health benefits are.
How to enjoy Matcha Tea for yourself.

Just What Is Matcha Tea?

For many people, enjoying Matcha Tea is much more than benefitting from its health benefits—it is an experience. The moments spent with a warm cup of Matcha Tea in hand allow the person to experience positive mental wellbeing because of the tea’s cultural focus on meditation and spirituality. One leading tea expert and author sums it up this way: “Matcha is unique not only for its healthfulness and flavor, but because it combines the contradictory attributes of novelty and tradition.”[1]

Matcha is the tea used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony known as chado. The formal ritual of chado is designed to lead toward spiritual awakening through four principles: harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.[2] This is a positive concept to adopt, one that will allow us to slow down and cultivate a greater inner peace and outer harmony. In our American fast-paced, stress-filled culture, taking the time to unplug is a real luxury, and drinking Matcha Tea has become one way to do that. Even preparing the tea takes time—the water must be heated to just the right temperature, and the powder must be sifted, scooped, and whisked into a frothy frenzy before it’s ready to consume.

The Health Benefits of Matcha Tea

Matcha is much more than just another green tea.

It has a high concentration of polyphenols, catechins, and antioxidants. With these high concentrations, if can prevent cancer, help burn fat faster, and increase brain power.
It contains theanine, which has been shown to increase the natural levels of serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and glycine in our bodies. This can lead to reduced mental and physical stress.
Its green color indicates that it has a high amount of chlorophyll, just like broccoli, spinach, kale and other leafy greens.
It contains a powerful amount of caffeine, making it a great alternative to less healthy caffeinated sugary beverages. The caffeine helps to improve alertness and cognitive functioning, all while being healthy too.
It has even stronger obesity-fighting potential than regular green tea. It can significantly reduce hypertension.[3]

These are just a few of the benefits to drinking Matcha Tea. There are practical benefits too, things like:

It relaxes you without making you sleepy.
It delivers caffeine into the bloodstream in a much more measured way than coffee.
Its caffeine effects last up to 4-6 hours, compared to coffee’s high and then quick crash.
There is evidence that it has some weight loss benefits.

Its Cautions

There are many benefits to drinking this tea, but there are also some cautions. Matcha tea is highly concentrated, and contains about three times as much powerful antioxidants as regular green tea, and as much caffeine as coffee. When you drink Matcha, you are drinking a suspension of ground leaves infused in water, which is different than a regular cup of tea where you steep the tea and then remove the tea leaves.

When you buy matcha tea powder (or leaves), stick to matcha teas grown in Japan that have been tested for the presence of heavy metals. The tea from China is grown is soil contaminated with lead, which will absort into the leaves. Also look for good-quality matcha, which is bright, vivid green and has a fine powdery consistency. Avoid anything yellowish or coarse—it will not taste good.

How to Choose a Good Matcha:

Good matcha tea is expensive, costing anywhere from $25-$33 an ounce (a tin of 30 grams). Anything cheaper is not likely to have a good flavor. A 30-gram tin will give you about 30 cups of tea.

Also avoid the Americanized version of prepared matcha tea now popular. They are likely to have lots of added sugar which completely ruins the Matcha. I prefer to purchase my Matcha Tea from a Japanese source and labeled “ceremonial grade” (click here to buy). I spend a little extra for a high quality brand because I look at Matcha as more of a superfood and supplement than an actual drink.

I also make sure I use my small Matcha scoop and whisk so I use the exact amount of recommeded Matcha per cup!

How to Enjoy Matcha Tea for Yourself

Why not try making your own experience with a cup of warm, healthy matcha tea? Remember—it’s an experience, not a quick pick-me-up! Once you have tried it, no doubt you will want to continue this relaxing experience.

Step 1: Fill a kettle with water and heat. Don’t bring to a boil

Step 2: Add (or sift) 1 teaspoon of matcha to a bowl.

Step 3: Add 2 oz of hot water (not boiling) to the bowl. I use my matcha spoon to add the perfect amount.

Step 4: Whisk until the tea is frothy using your bamboo (or wire) whisk.

Step 5: Add 4 more oz of hot water, stir, and enjoy! Drink it out of the bowl or pour it into a mug.

There are many ways to enjoy Matcha Tea. Here are just a few:

Try Iced Matcha Milk, using almond milk or coconut milk for a healthy, unique tasting drink.
Instead of adding sugar to your coffee, use high-quality matcha to add a sweet aftertaste with an antioxidant boost.
If you like buttered coffee as much as I do, try adding a tsp. of matcha powder to your buttered morning coffee. What a way to start your day!
Add a bit to naturally sweet Tabbouleh (bulgur, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil). Add it to your recipe when you add the tomatoes and parsley.
Blend a little matcha powder into the cream cheese you top your bagel with in the morning.
Make a creamy spread to use on sandwiches and burgers by chopping and steaming a bunch of kale, then blending in ½ tsp matcha powder and ½ cup walnut. Use your food processor to complete the spread.
Stir a little matcha into your guacamole recipe just before you mash the ingredients together.

Matcha Mate Almond Latte

My guest blogger created this energizing and yummy to distract herself from morning coffee cravings.

Ingredients

Yerba Mate—this is a traditional South American tea made from the dried leaves of the yerba mate plant.
Matcha—the superfood green powder we’ve been introducing in this post.
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Sweetener—a touch of honey or maple syrup balances the mild bitterness of the matcha.
Flavoring—the recipe used cardamom, but you could also try pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, vanilla, or almond extract. If you love essential oils like I do, add your favorite essential oil flavor.

You can follow the recipe directions in the blog to make this warm and creamy morning drink. Click here to see the full recipe!

Get Started

Any current trend got its claim to fame as more and more people tried it. Matcha Tea is one of the top ten trends in the health and wellness fields right now, so it’s obvious that a lot of people have tried it—and stuck with it. Why not give it a try yourself?

There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.

—Lin Yutang

Sources

[1] Quoted by James Norwood Pratt.

[2] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/christie-carmelle-lopez/get-it-while-its-hot-matc_b_9117056.html

[3] These health benefits adapted from: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/matcha-craze

Achieving Balance Between Work and Life

November 1, 2016 by Jackie Ritz 1 Comment

I remember spending time in the park near my house when I was growing up with my sister, Dinah. One of the things we liked to do was to see how long we could balance ourselves on the seesaw without either of us touching the ground. It didn’t last for long—one of us was sure to try to throw the other one off balance so she would fall back to the ground.

Sometimes trying to balance our lives between all the work that has to be done and all the fun we want to have with family can be like sitting on that seesaw. Work/life balance is like an elusive dream at times. Most people today seem to be torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationship and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests. More than one in four Americans describe themselves as super stressed. And that’s not balanced—or healthy.

I’ve been one of those super stressed people. And I soon discovered that in my rush to get it all done, I began failing at getting anything productive done in any area of my life. My concentration left. I became irritable, and our family life suffered. I was like that Tom turkey in our barnyard that chases everyone who comes near, and will soon become our Thanksgiving dinner as a result. No one wanted to get near, and if they did, my grouchy funk chased them away. Believe me—when Mama wasn’t happy, no one was happy.

Trying to find a balance between work and life has become one of the greatest challenges most people face today. One study found that 70 percent of American workers struggle with finding a work-life system that works for them.[1] It doesn’t matter if you are just one of a host of other workers who are working in a business owned by someone else, if you are the owner of a business of your own with employees working for you, or if you are an entrepreneur working for yourself (like I am) only. Work can take a serious toll on your personal life. You face responsibilities…long hours…inevitable stress…an uncertain future…and sleepless night just trying to juggle it all.

I want to take a look at some of the steps we can take to achieve a better balance between work and life. With the busiest season of the year now upon us, what better time to take a critical inventory of how well we are balancing work and life. It doesn’t have to be an impossible dream.

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

—Dolly Parton

Steps to Finding Balance

Step 1: Set Goals That Align With Your Passion

This is a process more than a single step. Many people are simply working to pay the bills and buy the family necessities. So take the time to find out what it is that you are passionate about. Maybe you’ve known since childhood just what you wanted out of life and that is exactly what you are pursuing. But for most of us it takes some time to find out just who and what we are meant to be.

Once you discover your passion—your calling in life—take the time to set specific goals with actions and milestones you can track. Write down your goals. Create a vision board you look at every day. (You can find out more about creating a vision board here.)Your vision board will keep you focused on your goals. Instead of just letting life happen, your goals enable you to make deliberate choices about what you want from life and how you want to spend your time.

Remember that your goals need to be progressive—there may be many twists and turns along the way before you reach your final destination of becoming who you were created to be. For example, when Frank and I began dreaming of a future that included building a self-sustaining lifestyle and being able to work for ourselves instead of others we were nearly $50,000 in debt and tied to just making enough money to pay the bills—clearly not enough to live out our dream. So one of the most important first goals we set was getting out of debt. We focused all our efforts on doing just that, and met that goal in merely six months. (Read our story here.)

Review your goals regularly, and stay focused on reaching the milestones that support your goals. Work intentionally, Minimize your distractions.

Balance, peace and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them.

—Thomas Kinkade

Step 2: Learn to Be a Better Manager of Your Time

To reach your goals, you will have to dedicate time to them. Map out a typical week, and figure out what your priorities need to be—work, family time, exercise, homemaking, children, and personal time. Start with the most important and least flexible responsibilities. If you have a job outside the home, this is one of them. Another may be spending time together as a family. Eliminate the least important things so you can concentrate on your priorities. Here are some simple steps that can help:

Track your time
Have a plan of action for each goal
Make a to do list
Be flexible with your time
Identify time-sapping habits
Learn to say no
Eliminate unnecessary obligations and tasks

Managing your time wisely will take practice. But it is the solution to a chaotic, stress-filled life. Going through the process of prioritizing your time is a great way to find out what is really important to you, and to eliminate the time robbers that you can live without.

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.

—Michael Altshuler

Step 3: Get Rid of Distractions

Distractions throw you out of focus, and take more of your energy and time than you realize. It has been estimated that it can take 20 minutes or more to regain your focus on a task once you give time to a distraction. Figure out what it is that distracts you first. It may be:

Facebook or Twitter
Surfing the internet
Playing games
Checking email
Getting coffee
Daydreaming

Here are some ways you can work at eliminating those bothersome distractions.

Turn off instant notifications on your phone, tablet, and computer.
Put your cell phone on silent or vibrate—or, better yet, leave it in a room away from you.
Set some ground rules with people around you.
Figure out some sort of Do Not Disturb sign.
Work in scheduled chunks of time.
Clear your work area of visual clutter.
Read/answer email at scheduled times only twice a day

Once you have done whatever you can to eliminate those distractions, now concentrate on building your capacity for attentiveness to your tasks. This was a hard one for me. Since we work at home, I was constantly distracted by just about anything—kids asking questions, sounds in the barnyard, phone ringing constantly, homesteading chores I’d rather do like making cheese or DIY health and beauty products with my essential oils. So we created a work plan, and then we worked the plan. We set up our office in the basement, scheduled unbroken times for work, hired a nanny to entertain the kids during working hours, and used technology to schedule when and how long the phone calls were allowed. We divided the work load, and respected each other’s focused times.

Distractions will always be around. But you can learn to get the distractions under some control, and can build your ability to give focused attention to the tasks at hand.

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.

—Winston Churchill

Step 4: Make Time for Yourself

This is a hard one for many people. Author Thomas Moore has said, “We seem to have a complex about busyness in our culture. Most of us do have time in our days that we could devote to simple relaxation, but we convince ourselves that we don’t.”[2] We can always find something that needs doing or someone who needs our attention. So it’s time to put yourself on your priority list! Me time is not something you should feel guilty about. It give you an opportunity to relax, refocus, and recharge. Here are 5 steps to making ME time a reality:

Decide you deserve some time to yourself each day.
Decide how best to spend me time.
Evaluate the things that are wasting your time each day.
Ask for help with chores that don’t have to done by you alone.
Create a daily ritual.

Maybe your ME time is taking a relaxing detox bath, listening to music, taking a walk or meditating. Make it something you look forward to. ME time for me is getting a cup of coffee and sitting on my porch as I allow the beauty of my surroundings to clear my mind. It’s curling up alone with a good book or my Bible. It’s listening to my favorite worship music. It’s my time to simply bask in the sounds of silence.

Stop wishing you had more time to yourself, and commit to carving it into your schedule. You will be amazed at how your ME time changes your perspective and feeds your soul. I read the story of a group of Americans who traveled to Africa and hired local guides to show them the land. They were up at dawn every day, ready to go. For six days they pushed their guides to hurry up and get moving. On the seventh day, their guides refused to move. “Come on, let’s go,” shouted the Americans. But the lead guide replied quietly in his broken English, “We no go today, we rest. We let souls catch up with bodies.”

Determine right now to let nothing interfere with your ME time. Let your soul catch up with your body.

Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort.

—Deborah Day

Step 5: Make Time for Family

A recent survey says that parents and children have less than eight hours together in total each week.[3] A strong family gives its members the support they need to make it through life’s toughest spots. To build a strong family relationship, you must prioritize time together to build family rituals that give each family member the attention needed. Family rituals help to define who you are as a family. It gives time to share experiences with one another, and to reconnect.

Family time brings your family closer. You make lifelong memories, and create an environment that builds self-esteem and character in your children. The number one thing your children want most from you is time.

Because we work from home, it’s not hard for our family to all be home together. But it is hard to ensure that we are spending quality time together—not just quantity time. But we have made family time one of our highest priorities, and it works. Sure, our quality time might be taking care of baby farm animals, making soap from goat milk, or mucking out the barnyard. But we make it fun, and we do it together. We have scheduled times for fun activities, and we spend time talking about our family goals and simply playing together.

Here are some important reasons why you need to make family time a priority.

There will be a time when you can’t spend time together.
It help you practice acceptance and compassion.
It gives everyone a sense of value.
It creates shared laughter.
It occupies your mind.
It unleashes your creative side.
It gives you a new perspective on your home.
It encourages a better path for kids.
It gives you a place to share important things.[4]

Children grow up and are gone before we realize it, so let’s not waste the time we have with them now. How do you spend your time with your family? Have you made family time a priority? If not, it’s time to do just that!

In family relationships, love is really spelled T.I.M.E.

—Dieter f. Uchtdorf

Have You Found Balance in Your Life?

Hopefully these suggestions for finding a better work/life balance has been helpful to you. Often the lack of clear direction and goals can waste our time and energy and contribute to imbalance in our lives. A life that gets out of balance is much like a car tire that is out of balance. It will make the operation of the car rough and unsafe. Tires in perfect balance can give a smooth and comfortable ride. Before you plunge head first into the busyness of the holidays, take some time to ensure that you have done everything you can to find that fragile balance between what you do and who you are.

When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfillment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best… for yourself and for others.

—Cara Delevingne

[1] https://www.fastcompany.com/3047825/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/7-habits-of-people-who-have-achieved-work-life-balance.

[2] Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul (New York: Harper Perennial, 25^th Anniversary edition, 2016).

[3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2363193/No-time-family-You-Parents-children-spend-hour-day-modern-demands.html.

[4] https://www.ilanelanzen.com/familyandparenting/importance-of-family-time-and-how-to-make-it-happen/.

Avocado 101 – Everything You Need to Know

October 28, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

Avocados have broken out of the bowl—they’re no longer found only in guacamole! The bumpy-skinned fruit (yes, avocado is a fruit) has taken America by storm. The sales of Hass avocados, which make up more than 95 percent of all avocados consumed in the United States, soared to a record of nearly 1.9 billion pounds (or some 4.25 billion avocados) in 2014—four times as many as sold in 2000.[1]

Fast food restaurants are now offering them with their sandwiches, avocado bars are cropping up in the west, even President Obama has tweeted about them,[2] and this morning (at a time when television is frustratingly overfilled with elections, violence, crime, and the Chicago Cubs), as I watched a bit of the news before starting this post, the lowly guacamole was right up there in the morning news! There’s a national avocado shortage right now and people are freaking out because they love their avocados so much.

So I thought it was good timing to get on the bandwagon and share my own thoughts and findings about one of my favorite foods. Yes, I love avocados, and have been using them for much more than just guacamole for a couple years—although guacamole is one of my favorite things!

10 Health Benefits of Avocado

In an earlier post I wrote about 10 health benefits to avocados. Let me briefly list them here:

Benefits in pregnancy. Avocados are a natural source of folate which contains folic acid and is important for the development of a healthy fetus. Synthetic versions of folic acid are recommended for all women who are planning to get pregnant; eating avocados is a simpler and tastier option!
Avocados are brimming with ‘good’ fats. You may have heard that you should avoid avocados due to their high fat content. This is not quite the case. While they are very high in fat (and calories) these are monounsaturated fats or ‘good fats’. They assist good heart health and help to lower blood pressure. The monounsaturated fats found in avocados can also help to reverse insulin resistance which can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes.
Fantastic source of Vitamin E. Avocados are the fruit with the highest level of Vitamin E (yes avocados are a fruit!) Vitamin E is an essential vitamin and helps to maintain overall health. Vitamin E also has positive effects on heart disease, stroke, cancer prevention, and development of cataracts and is widely claimed to have anti-aging properties.
Source of dietary fiber. Avocados contain both soluble and insoluble fiber meaning they help to reduce cholesterol levels by preventing re-absorption, help to maintain bowel function and can assist the body to avoid blood sugar spikes after meals.
You know exactly what you’re getting when you buy an avocado. At the time of writing there are no genetically modified avocado crops. Avocados have such a thick skin that the inner fruit is protected from pesticides making the cost of organic avocados something you can easily bypass.
Avocados are a ‘brain food’. Dr. Daniel G. Amen considers them one of the best brain-healthy foods that you can consume to help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Omega 3 fatty acids as well as Vitamin E are naturally occurring in avocados and have been clinically proven to stop Alzheimer’s disease from progressing and possibly even reversing the very early stages.
Better nutrient absorption. Adding avocado to a meal has been found to increase the amount of carotenoids absorbed from that meal by up to 5 times. Carotenoids include beta carotene and lycopene which are important nutrients for good health. This increase is through to be due to nutrients and enzymes in avocados that reduce stomach inflammation and inflammation in the small intestine’s mucous lining. So you not only get the powerhouse of nutrients contained in the avocado but you get greater benefits from the foods you choose to eat with it.
May aid in stroke prevention. The high folate levels that are beneficial to pregnant women may also play a part in reducing the incidence of stroke. Those who eat diets that contain a lot of folate have been shown to suffer stroke far less than those who eat less folate in their everyday diet.
Reduction of cholesterol. One study has shown a 17% decrease in cholesterol levels for participants who ate increased amounts of avocado for just one week. Researchers believe this is due to beta-sitosterol which has previously been found to assist in lowering cholesterol levels.
Protection for your eyes. Eating avocados can increase your levels of Lutein which protects against macular degeneration and the formation of cataracts. Further research is needed to determine exactly what it is that may assist in eye protection.

But there are many more benefits to eating avocado than those ten listed above. Let’s look at a few more:

Good digestion—they soothe the intestine and help to keep it running smoothly. The fiber in avocados helps to ensure the smooth passage of food through the intestinal tract.
Dental Care—consuming avocados helps to prevent bad breath, and have been connected with preventing oral cancer.
Skin and Hair Care—the nutrient-dense benefits are fantastic for enriching skin that is dry, chapped or damaged.
Healthy Eyes—the carotenoids in avocados protect your eyes against cataracts and eye diseases related to aging.
Healthy Heart—they help to prevent atherosclerosis and reduce hypertension.
Arthritis—the anti-inflammatory properties and wide range of phytochemicals, flavonoids, carotenoids, phytosterols, fatty alcohols, and omega-3 fatty acids make avacodos one of the best foods for getting rid of inflammation in tissues, joints, and muscles.

These are just a few of the reasons why Americans are eating billions of this tasty fruit every year. Of course one of the biggest reasons—at least in my thinking—is the scrumptious taste and flavor of avocados.

Ways to Use Guacamole on Your Body

Don’t think that the only way you can use guacamole is as an ingredient in a food item. There are dozens of ways to use avocados that you can find online. Here’s a few.

Avocado Face Mask—avocado is rich in fatty acids and makes a great natural moisturizer for dry of unbalanced skin. With winter coming on, this would be a great time for you to add this face mask to your winter beauty regimen. You can find the recipe here.
Avocado Hair Oil—avocado oil can seal in moisture, get rid of the frizzies, and prevent split ends in your hair. It is rich in vitamins and protein. Try making this Avocado Hair Oil to use after washing and conditioning your hair. Apply a few drops and comb it through. You’ll love the smooth, soft, hydrated feel of your hair.
DIY Avocado Foot Scrub—it’s not only the fruit of the avocado that is useful, you can make an exfoliating foot scrub using the peel and ground up pit. Maybe your feet are rough and calloused from summertime barefoot walking. Or maybe you have alligator soles year round and need to soften them. Try this DIY Avocado Foot Scrub recipe.
Get rid of the bags under your eyes—Have you tried expensive creams and lotions and are still left with those ugly bags under your eyes? Simply peel an avocado, remove the pit, and slice quarter-inch crescents. Just lie down for about 20 minutes while placing a slice under each eye. (Don’t forget to use the remaining slices in your favorite recipes.)
Avocado Baby Food—avocados are often called one of nature’s perfect foods because they are said to contain everything a person needs to survive. They are a great first food for baby due to their texture and creaminess. I gave my kids avocado long before many other “baby-appropriate” foods, and they loved them, and still do. You can find all the information you need for introducing avocados to your baby here.

The Many Ways to Eat Avocados

You knew I’d get to the good part about eating them. There are so many ways to use avocados in recipes that I can’t begin to cover all of them. You can do your own research online—believe me, you won’t be disappointed!

I want to give you a list of some food options, and then I’ll share three of my favorite recipes with you.

Food Options

(You will find recipes for each item here.)

Make vegan mayonnaise (or just use avocado in place of mayo.)
Bake cheesy skillet pizza bread
Make Banana Avocado Pudding
Freeze it into popsicles
Bake an egg in it
Grill it
Stuff it
Make low-carb, dairy-free mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Make guacamole hummus
Blend it into pesto
Use it as a base for cold soup
Substitute it in creamy salad dressings
Make frosting
Turn it into cheese-less cheesecake
Mix it in mashed potatoes
Use it in risotto
Eat avocado pancakes for breakfast
Make fried avocado tacos

Now I want to share three of my favorite ways to eat quacamole.

Jackie’s Guaciled Eggs

I was trying to figure out something to bring to a pot-luck one time, and I thought deviled eggs would be very Paleo-friendly, and even those who weren’t sticking to a specific food plan would enjoy it. In comes my idea for Guaciled Eggs!

Ingredients

8 Boiled eggs – cut in half lengthwise and yolks removed. Here a post I did on my sneaky way to peel those annoying farm fresh eggs.
3-4 TB lemon juice
2 TS of dried mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
About 1/4 cup of Guacamole (I use Wholly Guacamole or make your own)
Paprika

Directions

I threw the egg yolks in the food processor and added the guacamole. I pulsed it a few times to combine and then added the lemon juice until it was the consistency I wanted. Then I threw in the spices, scooped the mixture in the egg whites, and added some paprika on top! It was delicious!!!

Fudgy Avocado Brownies

If you love chocolate as much as I do, then you are going to want to make these creamy, rich, decadent, thick, gooey, appetizing, exquisite, dense, heavenly, savory, succulent, sumptuous, yummy, fudgiest, chocolately brownies EVER! This is not my own recipe, but I highly recommend you try them. You will love them. Besides delicious avocados, you will use dark chocolate, coconut oil or butter, almond flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and eggs. You can even top them with the avocado frosting recipe you can find online in the list above. This delicious recipe can be found here.

Baked Avocado and Egg

OK, I know the avocado brownie recipe was just a little bit hyped! You probably won’t make them every day. But this recipe for a breakfast dish using avocado and egg is something that would start you out with a healthy, delicious breakfast any day you try it. They are easy to prepare, and you can bake them while you are getting school lunches made or completing your morning chores.

Ingredients

1 avocado (per two people)
2 eggs
2 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
A sprinkle of your favorite spicy spice (We love red pepper on ours)
Sea salt and pepper to taste
A little feta cheese (optional)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cut each avocado in half, removing the pit. Crack an egg into each avocado hole. If the hole looks too small, scoop out a bit of the fruit before adding the egg. Season each half with spicy spice, sea salt and pepper. Put the halves in a glass baking dish and bake approximately 15 minutes. Check to be sure the egg is done the way you prefer before removing from oven. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and feta cheese, and dig in.

Get Started

If you’ve never tried eating avocado any way but in guacamole then it’s time you got creative. It’s one of the healthiest and tastiest things you can do for you and your family.

Holy Guacamole—Soooo delicious

Sources

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/01/22/the-sudden-rise-of-the-avocado-americas-new-favorite-fruit/

[2] https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/616338528138608640

Souping – A Healthier Alternative to Juicing

October 27, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

For years the best-known body system cleanse has been juicing. Juicing involves extracting the juice from fruits and vegetables using a cold-press juicer. The juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and phytonutrients all in one easy drink. Juice cleanses have been widely used to cleanse the body and often are suggested as a sporadic fast of several days detox the body and kick start body systems into optimal function. But there have been negatives to juicing, including: the high cost of the fruits and vegetables as well as the expensive juicer you need to prepare the juices; negative symptoms like dizziness, headaches, weakness, and overwhelming hunger; and the high sugar/low fiber content of the juices after pressing.

What Is Souping?

Let’s start with this definition for souping:

It is a soup-only cleanse to heal and nourish your body with wholesome ingredients. It allows your body to detox naturally while simultaneously reducing inflammation, giving your body the nutrients it needs, and increasing circulation.[1]

Today many people have found juice cleanses to be too extreme, and are discovering that souping promises an easier detox than a juice cleanse. Just as there are many different approaches to juicing, so too there are many suggested approaches for souping. These include:

A 24-hour raw cleanse
A 3-day boost to your digestive system cleanse
The 5-day soup cleanse,
Following a prescribed program of specific soups
Choosing or making the soups you use for the cleanse

Each of these approaches share one common feature—you eat only soup for every meal of the day, and you follow this regimen for a chosen number of days.

I can easily see why souping is growing in popularity. There is nothing more soothing to me than a warm, tasty, homemade soup made with homemade bone broth (recipe here). I want to take a closer look at this newer trend, and see if we can see what all the excitement is about!

What’s Healthier: Souping or Juicing?

Which is healthier is somewhat of a preference choice of the individual considering a cleanse. There are benefits and downsides to both. Take a look at some of the qualities of each in the table below:

Souping	Juicing
Offers variety	Raw only product
Can be served in hot, warm or cold	Served fresh (cold)
Contains fiber	Almost no fiber, very high in carbohydrates and sugar
Contains proteins	Enormous amounts of vitamins and minerals
Made from: fruits, vegetables, legumes, and even meat	Made from vegetables and fruits only
More effective in suppressing hunger	Easier to digest
More appropriate for long-term cleanses	More appropriate for short-term cleanses
Lower in calories	Higher in calories

Many people find that souping is more economical—if you are making your own soups. If you have tried juicing in the past, no doubt you’ve discovered that it takes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to get only a couple glasses of juice. Soups are really inexpensive to make, and you don’t need an expensive piece of equipment to make soup. In addition, you can store your soup in the fridge for several days, and for months in the freezer. Soups will not leave you feeling hungry, and you can use a wide variety of herbs, spices, and broth to make your soup.

How Many Days Do I Stay on the Soup Cleanse

There are a number of Soup Cleanse Programs that provide the soups you use and prescribe the number of days you stay on them, including:

While these canned programs are handy to use and provide you with low calorie, low sodium, fiber-rich soups, you will find that they are pretty expensive to use. Since making soup is so easy, it is my recommendation that you take the plunge into making your own great tasting and often healthier homemade soups to use.

If you are making your own soups, and not following a Soup Cleanse Program the number of days you continue eating soups is up to you. However, like any other low-calorie plan, it is not advised that you eat only soups for more than a week or so.

What Kinds of Soup Do I Use?

Soup cleanses uses vegetables that are super low on the glycemic scale, which are also packed with fiber. Great veggies to include are: onions, beets, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and dark, leafy greens and root vegetables. You can add fruits, legumes, and even meat, but this will raise the calorie count, so only 2-4 ounces of protein or legumes are recommended for each serving of soup.

The options are wide open for what you should include in your detox soup. You will want to use the healthiest, freshest ingredients possible. Stay away from any creamed soups, soups loaded with things like beans and beef (think chili), and soups filled with complex carbohydrates like root vegetables. Don’t add any grains (pasta, noodles) to your detox soups.

You can find many recipes for detox soups online. Note: One very important recommendation from me: Use only homemade bone broth as the base for your soups. Some of the variety of soups include:

Vegetable only soup—There are dozens of good vegetable soup recipes online. One that you might want to consider can be found here.
Chicken Detox Soup—Chicken soup is loved by almost everyone, and it really doesn’t take a recipe to make. I love using my homemade bone broth, and throwing it into my slow cooker with some carrots, celery, maybe some onion, and my favorite spices (parsley, basil, rosemary, turmeric). But if you prefer to use a recipe, here is one that makes a great chicken detox soup.
Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup—Traditionally this soup is made with pork or beef. I recommend using chicken or portabello mushrooms instead. You can find a recipe here.
Potassium Balancing Soup—Potassium is one nutrient that can be lacking in a diet. This detox soup pays extra attention to it, and can bring it back into balance.
Detox Green Machine Soup—This soup is all vegetables and herbs blanched, then pureed into a healthy, low-cal, detoxifying soup. (Here)
Carrot, Cumin and Ginger Detox Soup—Carrots are a good source of antioxidant Vitamin A and fiber. Cumin and ginger have curative properties and act as a cleansing agent for the body. You will find the recipe here.

Why Should I Consider a Soup Cleanse?

Are feeling lethargic and fuzzy-headed? Have you gradually slipped off the healthy eating wagon and fell into a habit of eating unhealthy “Comfort” foods? Do you want to get healthier and to live a longer, more vibrant life? Are you trying to heal a chronic condition? Then cleansing is essential to your health and longevity. There are so many benefits to cleansing, including:

More energy
Healthier hair, skin and nails
Less frequent colds and flu
Reduced risk for chronic disease
Mental clarity and a sense of wellbeing
Freedom from food cravings
Freedom from joint and muscle pain and headaches
Sound and restful sleep
No more digestive distress
Enhanced libido
A much younger and more energetic body[2]

My Favorite Soup Recipes

I want to help you get started by sharing three of my favorite soup recipes. These will get you started, and are inexpensive and easy to make. Try them—you will like them!

1. Homemade Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth will be the base for just about any detox soup you make. I am absolutely passionate about making bone broth, and I make it at least once a week, using the bones from our own harvested chickens, or bones I’ve begged or purchased from neighbors, farm stands, farmer’s markets, and have even been known to beg for them from restaurants. I use either my slow cooker or instant pot to make the soup, which actually makes itself—all I have to do is throw the ingredients into the pot.

Items Needed

Slow cooker or Instant Pot (the instant pot is my preferred method now)
Approximately 2-3 good quality, organic bones (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc)
1-2 Tbsp. of raw, apple cider vinegar (like this one)
Vegetable scraps: I use 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 3 cloves garlic, 1 in knob of ginger, handful of herbs, salt and pepper

Instructions for Slow Cooker:

Turn your slow cooker to high. Add your bones and vegetable scraps. Add raw apple cider vinegar (vinegar helps to extract minerals from the bones, but can alter the taste of the broth, so go easy with it). Add water to cover the bones, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top. Let it cook for 24 hours at least—48 hours or longer is ideal.

Allow it to cool a bit, and then pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you’ve used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel.

Instructions for Instant Pot (preferred method):

Add your bones, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, onion, ginger, and apple cider vinegar to your Instant Pot. Add water to cover the bones. Press the “soup” button and adjust the time to 90 minutes. Allow it to naturally release. Cool for a little bit and pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel (mine always gels in my Instant Pot…never in my Slow cooker).

2. Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

There is nothing better than homemade chicken soup to soothe a cold or sniffles or to gobble up on a cold, blustery day. My homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup is adapted to the combination of spices and vegetables that my family loves. You can specialize it to your own preferences for your detox soup.

Ingredients

4-5 cups of homemade chicken bone broth
2-3 lbs. cut up or shredded chicken (we often use leftovers)
2-3 cups carrots, chopped
1-2 cups celery, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp, ginger, grated (or use ½ tsp. ginger spice)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ Tbsp. basil
½ Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
About 3-4 cups water

Instructions

Put your chicken broth in a crock pot and add your chopped vegetables and spices. Add water to cover your ingredients and leave an inch of water or so above the ingredients (depends on how juicy you want your soup). Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it (if it wasn’t already shredded). Add it back to the crock pot and cook on low an additional hour. Adjust the salt and pepper before you serve it.

3. Homemade Turkey Soup

I love having enough leftover turkey after a great Thanksgiving meal to make some homemade turkey soup. My mother made sure she bought the biggest turkey available, and make turkey broth the day before Thanksgiving so she could throw the soup together right from the Thanksgiving table. I recommend my homemade turkey soup for anytime—not only during the holidays.

Ingredients

1 gallon homemade turkey stock
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. poultry seasoning.
1 lb. sliced or diced carrots
1 bunch cut-up celery
At least 2 cups reserved turkey

Instructions

Put turkey stock in crock pot. Add spices and cut up vegetables. Mix well into stock. Cook on low 3-4 hours. Add reserved turkey pieces (cut into bite size pieces), and continue cooking 1-2 more hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. This makes a great detox soup, and it freezes well.

Get Started

So…is the new trend of souping something you want to try. It is a pretty flexible plan, and you can make your choices of nutritious, low-calorie soups. Research online to find some of the best recipes you can for your family. You can soup cleanse for 3-7 days, eating only soups for each meal, or you can choose to eliminate one meal and substitute soup. Be sure that you are consuming only the most nutritious, healthy soups and/or other meal items. Be sure you drink lots of water while you are on the cleanse. This will help to move the toxins out of your body. I guarantee that when you finish, the negative symptoms that made you begin will be gone!

Try it—you will like it.

[1] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/a14306/everything-you-need-to-know-about-souping/

[2] https://bodyecology.com/articles/your_body_needs_to_cleanse_pt2.php

6 Powerful Herbs that Reduce Stress

October 26, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

Stress—you can’t live with it, and you can’t live without it! Just say the word stress, and many people begin to hyperventilate with anxiety. But most of us would accomplish very little without some stress in our lives. Lot of us wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning without the stress of that annoying alarm telling us to move. For me, it’s knowing that dozens of farm animals, hungry children, and endless phone calls are waiting for me. So some stress is a good thing. Here are a few reasons why we need some stress:

It causes us to be more productive—it lights a fire under us. When I know I have to get a few things done by a certain time, I am inspired to work like Superwoman to get it done.
It creates a higher level of commitment that would otherwise be non-existent. When I see others being more successful in our business, it drives me to work my butt off to do as well—or better—than they.
It triggers a fight-or-flight mode in us that can be a life saver. For example, when someone cuts you off in traffic, the stress response moves you to change your course and so, in most cases, you avoid an accident.

Stress is unavoidable. It can be a valuable tool to getting things done. But when it begins to overwhelm our lives with high-pressure workdays, raising kids, not enough sleep or exercise, or trying to make ends meet, then it can damage our health and make it difficult to control our emotions.

It’s done that to me! My husband and I went gung-ho into our dream life of homesteading, maintaining a blog presence online, raising heritage animals, building a successful essential oil business, and raising our children. For a while all went well. But then the daily demands of our life brought on crushing, immobilizing stress. Unforeseen external stress slammed into us—the anxiety of too much debt, the death of close family members, several moves, health problems, negative family issues, the demands of building a business, and, worst of all, the recognition that we simply could not do it all!

I hit the wall! When I should be up and running, I simply shut down! I couldn’t get out of bed. Couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t mother. Couldn’t give of myself to others. Total…painful…crushing…shut down! I needed a solution, and I needed it fast!

Recognizing stress is the first step toward managing it. Take a close look at your own life. What are the stressors that are bogging you down? If you’re not sure if stress is starting you overwhelm you, try taking a stress test to identify the stress triggers at work in your life. (You can find one stress test here.)

Once you have figured out what the stress triggers are in your life, you can start thinking of ways to manage your stress. Just remember this: There is no one miracle pill you can take to remove overwhelming stress from your life. There will be several steps you need to take. For me it was nearly a total how I handle life makeover.

We can’t cover all the solutions in this one blog post, so I want to concentrate on a group of wonderful, healthy stress-fighting super herbs that you can use to eliminate the negative impact of too much stress. These super herbs are called ADAPTOGENS, and are a unique group of herbal ingredients used to improve the health of your adrenal system, the system that’s in charge of managing your body’s hormonal response to stress. They are called adaptogens because of their unique ability to adapt their function according to your body’s specific needs.

These super herbs have been around for years, and have been used in Chinese and Indian medicine for centuries. They work like a thermostat—and can calm you down while boosting your energy without overstimulating you. You can use these super herbs to help our body bounce back from the challenges and stressors of modern life.

We’ll take a closer look at several of these powerful herbs that reduce stress.

6 Powerful Herbs that Reduce Stress

1. Asian Ginseng

Asian Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) has been one of the most valued medicinal plants in the world for thousands of years. It is the most well-known adaptogen, and the most potent. It has proven to be useful for improving mental performance (which is vastly lessened by too much stress), and for its ability to help you withstand stress. Ginseng delays the onset of your body’s fight or flight response to stress, giving you time to recognize the rising negative impact of the stressor you are facing, and take proactive steps to reduce those factors from your life.

Dose: 100-200 mg per day, usually found in gelatin capsules.

2. Ashwagandha

The word ahwagandha means “the smell of the horse,” so don’t be surprised by the pungent odor of this super herb! But despite its smell, it has a long list of health benefits, and is particularly useful for reducing anxiety and stress-induced depression. It reduces cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It is elevated cortisol that causes many of the stress-related health problems, suchas: increased weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease, as well as interfering with learning and memory, and lowering your immune function and bone density.

Dose: 3,200 mg per say, divided into two doses in gelatin capsules.

3. Rhodiola Rosea

Another super herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, Rhodiola Rosea, is effective in reducing fatigue and exhaustion due to prolonged stressful situations. It also acts like hormone thermostat, and helps to balance the cortisol levels in your body. It has a positive effect on brain function and heart health. It is a favorite among integrative medicine experts for treatment of “21^st century stress.”

Dose: start with 100 mg daily for a week in gelatin capsules, and then increase
the dosage by 100 mg every week, up to 400 mg a day, if needed.

4. Holy Basil

Holy Basil has been called the elixir of anti-aging in Asian medicine. It is related to sweet basil, and has been valued for centuries for its benefits for the mind, body and spirit. It possessed great potential in the areas of stress relief and relaxation. It helps to decrease stress hormone levels, particularly of cortisol.

Dose: 500 mg of the leaf extract taken twice daily in gelatin capsules.

5. Astragalus

Astragalus is a perennial plant native to China, Mongolia and Korea. The root is the medicinal part of the plant. It boosts immunity and buffers the effects of stress. It increases the amount of anti-stress compounds our bodies use to repair stress-related damage. It protects the body from stress and disease.

Dose: While there is no uniform dosage suggested, many
people enjoy its benefits in a Herbal Immune System Soup,
and you can find the recipe here or purchase it in capsules here.

6. Cordycep Mushrooms

Cordycep mushrooms include: reishi, shiitake and maitake mushrooms. These nutrition-rich mushrooms have all the benefits of antioxidant foods. While they may not be adaptogens in the classic sense, they all have adaptogenic, anti-tumor, and immune-enhancing properties. Many athletes benefit from their ability to allow the body to handle larger amounts of stress during training programs.

Dose: 40-50 mg of shiitake, 50-60 mg of maitake,
50-60 mg or reishi, and 100 mg of cordyceps mushrooms daily.

I don’t know about you, but the idea of getting my dosage of stress-fighting mushrooms in a delicious homemade mushroom soup sounds so inviting. I recommend that you use this recipe, using the four types of stress-fighting mushrooms in your soup.

Don’t Let Stress Take Your Health

We all need stress in our lives. But becoming overwhelmed with debilitating stress will compromise your ability to cope adequately with everyday life—and can cause serious, even fatal damage to your health. There isn’t one easy solution to overwhelming stress. You will need to take time to re-evaluate your life, eliminating as much stress as possible, and learning healthy ways to deal successfully with the stress that stays in your life.

These 6 powerful herbs that reduce stress are one way you can tackle the problem of stress naturally. They have powerful, positive effects to get you moving away from the paralysis of too much stress.

And remember:

A diamond is just a piece of black charcoal that
handles stress exceptionally well!

Learn to be a diamond.

Sources

How to Declutter Your Life

October 25, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

A year ago I read the New York Times Best Seller by Marie Kondo, titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Its principles really grabbed me, and I determined to clean out the clutter of my life. I started with my closet, and didn’t stop until I’d cleaned out clutter from every nook of my house. Then I worked on clearing out the clutter of my mind. It was such a valuable experience for me as I learned how to declutter my life and my mind.

Many of you are recognizing the dissatisfaction found in the excess of things, and are beginning to do some major cleaning. You are simplifying your lives, and as you do you are finding great freedom in owning less. All over the world, people are embracing simplicity as a way of life. There is even a growing trend to tiny house living, which is living in less than about 300 square feet.

One of the top trending topics in the Health and Wellness world right now is just that—learning to live with less. Part of the trend is due to Marie Kondo’s book, but there are so many other contributors to this trend. Some of them are:

The discovery that accumulating more stuff just doesn’t lead to more satisfaction in life.
The rising costs of Living Big, and the parallel rising consumer debt.
The ache in people’s hearts to get back to a simpler lifestyle, like we did.
The clutter of stuff in our homes that just keeps us busier taking care of it all.
The ability to consolidate the kitchen tools needed with one power tool (such as the Instant Pot popularity).
The lack of storage for stuff, such as closet space, kitchen space, storage space in the garage, and rooms too-full of furniture for ease of entertaining.
Seeing your family closeness disintegrate as each member focuses on individual goals for getting more stuff, more technology, the latest iPhone
Growing old and recognizing that you have more stuff than you do friends.

So I want you to take a look at the possibility of living with less—and the benefits it brings you when you do. We’ll concentrate of three steps of how to declutter your life:

Learn why and how to get rid of your stuff.
Find ways to store the things you keep.
Now that you are living with less, focus on things that make you love your new life.

Learn Why and How to Get Rid of Your Stuff

It is important to start with the Whys of decluttering your life. That’s where I had to start. I had to ask questions like:

Why did I buy all these clothes?
Why do I spend time looking through catalogs and online stores even though I have so much already?
Why do I envy the things I see others able to accumulate?

To be successful at decluttering your life, you must begin by decluttering your mind. Maybe you buy all the latest styles in clothing because as a child your mother could only afford to give you hand-me-downs from garage sales and used clothing stores. Maybe you envied the got-everything girl in your high school class, and determined that when you were leading your own life, you’d find a way to get everything you wanted. Maybe you missed out on real family closeness as a child, and as you grew you learned to satisfy the longings in your heart with stuff instead of relationships.

Asking yourself some hard questions about your reasons for having stuff isn’t easy. It makes us wonder about the true motivations that drive us to the actions we take in life. But until you recognize your cluttered thinking, and take steps to declutter those thoughts that drive you to accumulating more stuff, you won’t be successful at decluttering your home.

When you are ready to move on, you will probably discover that you really don’t know How to get the job done. How do you start? Where do you start? Marie Kondo says this:

Tidy in the right order. There are only two tasks involved—discarding and deciding where to keep things. Discarding must come first. Be sure to completely finish the first task before starting the next. Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.[1]

So how to get rid of the stuff in your home and life is a lot like how you eat an elephant—you do it one bite at a time. You might want to download the free “Konmari” APP so that you can keep track of what you have done and what you need to do next.

Let’s take a look at how you can find the right order to begin your decluttering. There are two guiding principles you can use:

Think in concrete terms so that you can vividly picture what it would be like to live in a clutter-free space.[2]
Take each item in your hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t dispose of it.[3]

What is the right order for you?

The right order for you is very likely to be different than the right order was for me. Maybe you start with where you have the biggest mess. Maybe it’s where you don’t have enough room? Or maybe it’s where you know in your heart that you have simply accumulated too much.

For many women the place to start is likely to be the clothes closet. Some women have clothes from every fashion trend, in every size, from every big box store’s sale of the year. So many clothes that there isn’t any room for more—and there hasn’t been room for your husband’s clothes in years. So start here, and be ruthless in your cleaning. Sort your clothes into categories: tops, bottoms, underwear, outerwear, purses and accessories. If each piece of clothing doesn’t give you joy, or it’s stained, ripped, too big or too small, or unworn for a year, decide now to either give it away or toss it.

When you have finished your ruthless assessment of your clothes closet, finish this category by finding more effective ways to store your clothes. Not everything has to hang on hangers. Fold what can be folded, and have bins in which you rotate your clothing according to the seasons. In order to stay true to your new less is more philosophy, make it a rule that every time you bring home a new piece of clothing, you discard one in the same category from out of your closet.

(Here’s a quick folding tutorial video from Marie Kondo)

Follow this way of ordering your decluttering for each area in your home. Probably the next biggest stuff problem is in the kitchen. The kitchen gets heavy traffic, and is often overused, overstuffed, and over dirty. You have too many dishes, too many kitchen appliances, too many pots and pans, and too many bulk items in the pantry. Start here by sorting the kitchen into categories, and then tackle each category one by one—not stopping until you are finished with this one. Get rid of items you don’t need, appliances and kitchen tool you never use, duplicate dishes and pots and pans (duplicates that are not needed), and stuff you have too much of: mugs, food containers, storage containers, pot holders, countertop clutter, and stuff stored on top of the refrigerator or on its doors (pictures, etc.). Don’t forget to clean out the fridge, freezer, and pantry. It’s likely you have items with expired dates, freezer-burned foods, and spices several years old.

Find new and better ways to store things

Then tackle the second step of organizing and finding storage solutions for what you keep. I love using mason jars for storage, and other large, glass storage containers. Because plastic containers have been proven to leach chemicals into our food and drink, I do not use plastic in our kitchen. Glass and stainless steel are much safer options.

Determine that you will continue through the categories of items in your home that need to be considered for discard. Don’t stop until you have finished with everything. Years ago my mother told me the story of the woman who was given one white rose. She sat that rose on her kitchen table, and immediately thought, “I can’t leave it there with all those dirty dishes and things,” so she proceeded to clean her kitchen table, then her stove, then her sink, and finally her entire kitchen. Then she took that one white rose in to sit on the living room side table beside her favorite chair. The same thing happened, and she proceeded to clean up her entire living room. Then she continued until her entire home had been dejunked, cleaned, and was sparkling clean. Visualize your home without any distracting clutter. What would it look like?

Now that you are living with less, focus on
things that make you love your new life.

The magic of decluttering lies in the newfound joy of discovering all the stuff you really can live without! You will find greater contentment in your life, and in the growing relationships you now have time to build upon. I believe there are at least four important principles for learning to be contented with less. They are:

Live beyond the temporary—I like the verse in Matthew 6:20 (niv): “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Learn to give—Giving expands our heart and helps to keep our hands open to receive gratefully and to give cheerfully.
Grow a thankful heart—Change your focus from what you don’t have to what you do have. Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.
Live within your means—That is a practice that Frank and I are attempting to incorporate into every day of our life. For example:

Our farm pickup is years old, rusty, dirty, but perfectly suited for what we use it for.
I still buy the majority of my clothes from second-hand stores.
We try to live sustainably, using the things we raise and grow instead of shopping at the high-priced and unhealthy big box food stores.
We love to furnish our home with gently used or repurposed furniture, loving the look of what I call our shabby chic home.

If you put your house in order now, you will be able to pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life. Life truly begins after you have put your house in order.[4]

[1] Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2014), 35.

[2] Ibid., 36.

[3] Ibid., 41

[4] Ibid., 204

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Just What Is Matcha Tea?

The Health Benefits of Matcha Tea

Its Cautions

How to Choose a Good Matcha:

How to Enjoy Matcha Tea for Yourself

There are many ways to enjoy Matcha Tea. Here are just a few:

Matcha Mate Almond Latte

Ingredients

Get Started

Steps to Finding Balance

Step 1: Set Goals That Align With Your Passion

Step 2: Learn to Be a Better Manager of Your Time

Step 3: Get Rid of Distractions

Step 4: Make Time for Yourself

Step 5: Make Time for Family

Have You Found Balance in Your Life?

10 Health Benefits of Avocado

Ways to Use Guacamole on Your Body

The Many Ways to Eat Avocados

Food Options

Jackie’s Guaciled Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

Fudgy Avocado Brownies

Baked Avocado and Egg

Ingredients

Directions

Get Started

Sources

What Is Souping?

What’s Healthier: Souping or Juicing?

How Many Days Do I Stay on the Soup Cleanse

What Kinds of Soup Do I Use?

Why Should I Consider a Soup Cleanse?

My Favorite Soup Recipes

1. Homemade Bone Broth

2. Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

3. Homemade Turkey Soup

Get Started

Try it—you will like it.

6 Powerful Herbs that Reduce Stress

1. Asian Ginseng

2. Ashwagandha

3. Rhodiola Rosea

4. Holy Basil

5. Astragalus

6. Cordycep Mushrooms

Don’t Let Stress Take Your Health

Sources

Learn Why and How to Get Rid of Your Stuff

What is the right order for you?

Find new and better ways to store things

Now that you are living with less, focus on things that make you love your new life.

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Now that you are living with less, focus on
things that make you love your new life.