Sugar is very – and easily – replaceable; below are the goods on your myriad options, in alphabetical order. (If you’re not sure why to cut out the sugar, check out my last post, but suffice to say that it can cause a lot of problems and gives you zero nutrition to boot).

One of my clients gleefully, but a mildly guiltily, told me the other day that “it’s almost cookie season.” While a part of me wants to play dumb and sound shocked about this, I know that this is, for a lot of us, one of the more accurate descriptions of our annual December madness. Also, I have to admit that I, too, am a lover of all things sweet, including cookies. Sugar, on the other hand… that’s a different story.

I used to eat wherever: At my desk or on the couch, riding in the car, reading, watching a movie, or at my computer. I’ve stopped. Now I eat in the eating-place ~ at the table ~ if not at my table, at a table. I’m eating mindfully, at least the majority of the time. [...]

My brother sent an email out to the family this week inviting us to his Third Annual Memorial Day Weekend Pork Fest. Each year, he fires up his smoker on Sunday morning, does whatever he does to flavor and season the pork shoulder (from a humanely raised animal, of course), and by the time the meat is finished cooking that evening, it melts in your mouth. My teenage sons, who don’t eat a lot of meat here at home, start salivating around the second week of May in anticipation. I got the invitation just after I’d read an article referencing a recent study in the Journal of Cancer Research. In the study, it was found that Americans eat an average of 195 pounds of meat a year, with men eating much more than women. One of the conclusions drawn from this study was that men overwhelmingly tend to see eating meat as something that enhances their masculinity…

You may have known that eating whole, fresh garlic offers greater health benefits than dried or otherwise processed garlic, but did you know that chopping or crushing the garlic increases those benefits? I recently learned that allin converts into allicin when garlic is chopped, and it is this enzyme that is readily utilized by our [...]

Part one in a three-part series by Victoria Diaz, HHC, AADP, BA and Founder, Life Balance Health Coaching In May 2001, due to major life-changing experiences, I found myself the unhealthiest I had ever been in my life.  Surgeries, chronic pain, stress, medications, and lack of sleep had me in a downward health spiral.  There [...]

I didn’t do it on purpose. I intended on making my kiddos a delicious banana, cinnamon, almond-butter smoothie for an afternoon treat.  However, half-way through concocting the liquid yumminess, I noticed that the spice I was sprinkling into the blender looked awfully yellow, unlike the usual cinnamon-color. OOPS. Perhaps I was distracted by Jack’s dramatic [...]

I have been ambivalent about cleanses generally, having at different times considered them to be either: 1. Extreme and unnecessary: A veiled attempt at rapid weight loss; or 2. A fascinating idea that might be able to be done right In a classic projection of my own issues, I have tended to side with version [...]

Becoming a health nut will not only make you feel and look awesome, but the process is also really fun. It’s like going on a jungle adventure, but with a blender instead of a machete. Quick Warning: Once you put these into use, your partner/roommates/friends will probably wonder what got into you. They may initially [...]

As a California native, my eye has always been drawn to brilliant and inviting colors. The image of clear blue skies and green palm trees will be imprinted on my brain forever.  Grey days are gloom and doom.  I am just in a better mood on a bright sunny day.  In other words, a boost [...]