Complimentary Webinar: Bringing hope with a multifaceted approach to Autism/ASD

Is Autism/ASD a brain based disorder that is unchangeable and lifelong or can a significant portion of the symptoms be caused by problems originating outside of the brain? Could genetic vulnerability along with environmental toxins, leaky gut, food intolerance, combined with deficiencies in important vitamins and minerals be the causal factors of the disorder? If so, then what steps can be taken to mediate the symptoms and improve life for the autistic child and caregivers?  Is there something that can be done for your child beyond eliminating gluten and casein?

To understand the variety of factors that contribute to the development of autism and the many options of determining the best treatment,  please join me for a complimentary webinar that I'm presenting on Thursday, June 19th at 12:00 noon and 7 P.M. PST. This presentation will give parents and caregivers new tools, understanding and hope. Please click on the links below to register.

12:00 noon: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6185463549513839105

 7:00 P.M.: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6304653908499672321

Please invite anyone you know who has a loved one with autism.

Cooking Class: It's Picnic Time!

Fun, Easy, Gluten Free, Vegetarian eats that will impress and

satisfy your finicky eaters.  Easy to pack up and take with you to a concert, to the beach, or enjoy alfresco

Menu 

 Figs with Goat Cheese

Raw Tarragon Asparagus Soup

Sweet Potato/Portobello Sliders

Quick Coleslaw

Fresh Berries with Raw Cacao Macaroons

This sumptuous menu features dishes that are quick, easy, delicious, and will make everyone feel good from the inside out.

Date & Time: Saturday June 7th, 12:30-2:30 PM

Location:  The beautiful Blue Heron Studio in Laguna Canyon
 $60 per person/$110 per couple
Make your reservation by Saturday May 17th and save $10!

To make your reservation, please e-mail cindy@alivingbalance.net or call 949-370-9843.  Credit cards are accepted.

Ingredients are organic and carefully hand picked.  Although you will experience some hands on, my classes are more in the format of a cooking demo.

 Notes:

• Space is limited to 12 Guests so please register early to ensure your place at the table.  Payment received reserves your spot.
• Because of the nature of the class, the fee is nonrefundable but is transferable.
• Classes are casual and always lots of fun!

Menu is subject to change depending on availability of ingredients.

Blue Heron Portal Studio, 3337 Laguna Canyon Rd. A, Laguna Beach, 92651: www.blueheronportal.com

Cancer Protective Cocktail w/Energy Boosting Power

Spices...ancient treasure

Those innocent spice jars sitting in your cupboard don’t do much to reveal their incredible history. Did you know that nutmeg was once worth more by weight than gold? That in the 16th century, London dockworkers were paid their bonuses in cloves? That in 410 AD, when the Visigoths captured Rome, they demanded 3,000 pounds of peppercorns as ransom?

Spices, which today are inexpensive and widely available, were once very tightly guarded and generated immense wealth for those who controlled them.  They still have the ability to generate immense wealth in terms of buying health and well being.  There is treasure in your cupboards and one that holds immense healing power, is turmeric. Turmeric is what gives curry its vibrant color and is part of the curcumin family.  

I consider turmeric, 'Head to Toe' protection, with its anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to reduce joint swelling and free radical damage to joints.  This ability to reduce free radicals also plays an important role in reducing many types of cancers, including prostate, colon, breast, skin and lung.  It also helps to turn on our own body's powerful cancer fighting agent and anti-oxidant, called glutathione. All of this also points to brain protection resulting in less dementia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.  The wonderful little morning cocktail that is listed below has turmeric along with four other ingredients that will give you a jump start as well as protection from head to toe.

                                                                                       

Cancer Protective Cocktail Recipe

This wonderful cleansing and protective drink, is best first thing in the morning.  Use it to wake up the adrenal glands for energy and to start the natural daily cleansing process.  It's surprisingly tasty, almost like drinking a broth.  ( If you miss getting it in the AM, then make it a part of your mid afternoon)

1 Whole Lemon

8 oz Warm Filtered Water

 Bee Pollen*

1 tsp Coconut Oil

1/8 tsp Turmeric

pinch of Real Salt

Fresh Lemon: Helps the elimination and cleansing process, soothes the digestive system, helps to reduce nausea and neutralizes heartburn.

  Bee Pollen

 Bee Pollen: is full of amino acids, B vitamins, enzymes and minerals.  It's great for our skin, digestive system, and energy.  The proper amount to take will vary per person. It's best to start out with a pinch and then work up to 2 tsp.

Coconut oil: is a wonderful source of a fat that soothes and heal the digestive tract. It has antibacterial properties, loves your skin and can greatly increase the absorption of the turmeric which is fat soluble.

Real Salt: This is actually a brand name for a great salt that is not bleached and is chock full of minerals.  The salt, especially first thing in the morning, will give your adrenals a nudge to get going.

Soccer, Stringed Bikinis, The Samba, The Amazon, Passion

When most people think of  Brazil,  images of soccer, scanty bikinis, passion, the samba,and the Amazon may be dancing in their heads. Food rarely springs to mind when I think of Brazil, but all that changed today and I decided to write about it.

I walked into my 6:00 AM yoga class this morning to see one of my nicest yoga teachers, Dana, back from his two-week trip to Brazil.  What I noticed immediately was a change in his face: less ruddy and less puffy.  Gone was the inflammation apparent before he left.  I had been trying to come up with a way to explain why it's so important to eat organic foods that are living, local, and sustainably grown.   Dana's face was a walking poster ad that summed it all up with no words needed.

When  I asked him how his trip was, he did not mention soccer or bikinis, nor the samba or the Amazon.  He described vistas of sugarcane as far as he could see with chickens, goats, lamb, steer, cows and llamas all freely grazing.  He talked about breakfasts consisting of fresh, succulent fruits, eggs with vibrant colored yolks and salads of fresh lettuce and tomato with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and salt.  All the meals were sumptuously and simply prepared from foods gathered and bought from the family farm where he was staying and surrounding farms.

Dana had experienced a detox just by eating real food: clean, fresh, and organic and it changed him.  It changed the way he looked and I may be wrong, but I think it changed something inside of him too. He rediscovered the powerful connection between humans and the source of our sustenance that is missing from our modern industrial food system.  Manufactured food that so often comes to us looking shiny and perfect and similar to real food lacks flavor, nutrient value and the intrinsic value that connects us with the land and each other.

I'll save going into the biochemical reasons of why it's so important to eat organic and locally grown for another post, but I invite you to eat real food like Dana did for 30 days.
 For 30 days try eating only foods that are fresh, organic, grass fed, and wild caught.  Eat foods that your ancestors would have eaten.  That means no:
     bottled dressings
     no preservatives
     no artificial anything
     minimize packaged foods.
To save money and time frozen organic vegetables and fruit, are okay.

Take a picture of yourself before and after the 30 days.  Write down all the things that are bothering you now. Then see if they are still bothering you at the end of the 30 days.   Some examples of this might dry skin, itchy eyes, digestive issues, fatigue, a foggy brain, puffiness, etc. Whatever is bothering you or you are taking medication for, write it down!

Just do it!  You will feel refreshed and rejuvenated, and everyone around you will see it in your face!

Leave your questions below in the comments and I will respond.  If you want to brag, send me your before and after photos to inspire us all!

To your health and well being,
Cindy

For a little extra help and guidance making this kind of leap, I will be leading an exciting and eye opening, webinar based, 30 day detox starting July 9th. Stay tuned for more information about this event.

The Accidental Vegan, Gluten Free with Cacao Nibs Oatmeal Cookie

I was recently asked to make oatmeal cookies for an upcoming camping trip. While I love to cook, I wasn't excited to get going on this project as I am not a baker.  (My older sister has the corner on that one).  I'm also not an oatmeal cookie buff.  Now if I had been asked to make chocolate chip cookies, I may have gotten a little  more excited. Nevertheless, I still wanted to accommodate the request and I set out to search for a gluten free recipe, sweetened as naturally as possible.  I ended up taking three recipes and choosing a little from each and came up with a pretty tasty cookie, if I do say so myself!  It was kind of a science experiment, which is always what makes cooking fun.  It's a tasty, chewy, not too sweet little cookie that leaves you feeling satisfied and happy.  I may be an oatmeal cookie buff after all.  

I have posted this recipe with both vegan and vegetarian ingredients and equivalents.  I do prefer using butter and the eggs but the vegan version is wonderful as well!
Here's how it goes....

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pecan halves (toasting is optional-it adds a nice flavor)
2 cups gluten free-rolled oats, divided
3/4 cups buckwheat flour or any gluten free flour
1/2 cup Sucanat* or unpacked brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (I don't like a whole lot of cinnamon but some people do)
1 tsp Real Salt
1 Large egg beaten or 1 tsp ground Chi seeds or 2 tsp. ground flaxseed + 2 Tablespoons water
1/3 cup organic honey or rice syrup
15 drops liquid stevia
4 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Heaping 1/3 cup pitted dates
1/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries (optional)
2 Tablespoons Cacao nibs*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Put pecans along with 1 cup of oats in food processor and process until coarsely chopped with some fine powder showing. Be sure not to over process or the oils in the nuts will release.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the above mixture with the next 5 ingredients and the remaining 1 cup of oats.  Put aside.
4. In small bowl, coat the chopped dates in 1 tsp flour and toss until coated. (This prevents the dates from sticking together)
5. In a large bowl, mix together your version of the egg along with the syrup, butter or coconut oil, and vanilla extract.  Then add the dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in cranberries or cherries, nibs and dates.  
6. Take about 2 Tablespoons of dough, roll it into a ball, and then press down on it with your hand or a spoon to flatten.  Space the cookies a couple inches apart.

Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pan and bake for another 5 minutes until the cookies are golden. Remove from oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing cookies onto a cooling rack.

Sucanat: is dehydrated pure cane sugar.  It is a golden brown in color and maintains its molasses flavor and minerals.  It has less sweetening power than refined white sugar and a lower glycemic index.

Cacao Nibs: chocolate in its purest form yielding all of its antioxidant benefits. They are the cacao beans that have been roasted but not processed with alkali and are probably the best dietary source of magnesium, which is a wonderful little mineral that naturally relaxes us.  The cacao bean is also a great source of tryptophan which helps with moods. No wonder you crave chocolate when you're PMSing.

They're Back! Gluten Free and Vegetarian Cooking Classes

 I've been on a cooking class hiatus for far too long and I am happy to announce that there will be a class next month, April 26th at 6:00 PM.  I'm very excited to be able to bring these classes back and I hope you will come join me!! 

 One of the biggest joys I receive when I teach these classes is watching people taste and experience wonderfully prepared food and realize that they can eat exceptionally well without a whole lot of effort. 

This class will tickle your taste buds. You'll meet new friends and walk away with new recipes in hand and know how easy it is to prepare delicious and healthy dishes full of flavor and nutrition. The evening combines a little bit of romance, with a measure of fun, and a dash of learning.  It's an event for couples to share, a single person to enjoy, and can be a great birthday gift.

Menu 

Savory Grapefruit Detox Drink

Chia Nut Bread w/goat Cheese

Fennel Orange Bibb Salad

Quinoa Cauliflower Patties w/Avocado Cilantro Dressing

Fresh Raspberries with Raw Cacao Nibbles

Note: Menu is subject to change depending on availability of ingredients.

Date & Time: Saturday April 26th at 6:00 PM
Location:  The Beautiful Blue Heron Studio in Laguna Canyon
Consideration: $60.00 per person/$110 per couple

To make your reservation, please e-mail cindy@alivingbalance.net or call 949-370-9843.  Credit cards are accepted.

The menu for this evening is vegetarian and gluten free. Ingredients are organic and carefully hand picked.  Although you will experience some hands on, my classes are more in the format of a cooking demo.

 Notes:

• Space is limited to 12 Guests so please register early to ensure you a place at the table.  Payment received reserves your spot.
• Because of the nature of the class, the fee is nonrefundable but is transferable.
• Although I do not supply wine as part of the class, you are more than welcome to bring your own.

Blue Heron Portal Studio, 3337 Laguna Canyon Rd. A, Laguna Beach, 92651: ww.blueheronportal.com

Savory Lil Cocktail to Cleanse You Liver and Gallbladder

As you can see from my last two posts, I'm kind of in a detox mode and for good reason! Last Thursday was the beginning of a 30 Day Detox that I'm very fortunate to be leading for 16 very brave and dedicated people. Since it is a whole body detox, it includes steps for detoxifying the liver which works many hours overtime and is not to be ignored. The surprisingly delicious little liver detox cocktail, featured here, is one of my favorite recipes that is included in the detox notebook.  The sweetness and tang from the grapefruit and the spiciness of the garlic and ginger makes this a truly savory drink that heals as well as satisfies your taste buds.

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1  Grapefruit Juiced the old fashioned way with a hand juicer 

1/2 clove of Elephant Garlic or 1 clove regular garlic
1 dime slice slice of ginger
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil (not pictured here)
Dash of Cayenne pepper

Throw all of these ingredients into your blender to make a mouth watering lil cocktail that will make your liver and gallbladder sing!  Blend for a quick minute until just a little bit frothy.

A little more about our detox powerhouse.... The Liver is one of our most resilient organs with the job of clearing out the toxins and trash that accumulate in our bodies from the environment, the processed foods that we eat and variety of OTC and prescription medications that are so readily at our disposal.  How  do you know if your liver is overworked and under supported? Do you perhaps have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, gallstones, poor fat absorption, excess estrogen, Parkinson's or Alzheimers, or elevated homocysteine levels or liver enzymes?