Read an e-book week!

Just a bit of a heads up that all my e-books are now 50% off for the ‘Read an E-Book’ week over at Smashwords!

My five titles available through Smashwords

I have 5 books now for under $2 US including a 12 week life coaching course to keep the year rolling along in the right direction, a guide to living a ‘Stress-Less’ life and a comprehensive guide to Bach Flower Remedies. They are all easy reads with loads of health and life coaching tips in them; the best bits I use on myself and those I work with 🙂

Check it out while the deals are still on and enjoy an e-book as the changing seasons play outside.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Winter Wellness – Part 1 – Reflexology

After five weeks of recipes and with winter officially here in NZ I thought I would begin a ‘Winter Wellness’ series of blogs.  As the Chinese proverb goes ‘The superior doctor prevents sickness; The mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness; The inferior doctor treats actual sickness.’  So I thought I would share a few tools and give the opportunity for you to all become your own superior … or at the very least mediocre …. doctor and get on top of your health before any of those dreaded winter lurgies appear  … or reappear 🙂

Rainy day views

Each week over the next few weeks I will give a few suggestions for you to try. which can help you find some relief from winter lurgies or may help boost your immune system to keep them at bay completely.  These don’t replace medical advice of course, rather they can be used in conjunction with other techniques or medications you are using to help  bring your body back into balance and hopefully heal a little quicker.  Once your body has balance (we naturally want homeostasis in our bodies and the body strives for it at a physiological level) it has more energy to focus on healing and maintaining a healthy body.

Reflexology is a great tool for helping you bring your body back into balance and one that I love to use.  While I primarily give foot reflexology treatments to my clients, I know that this isn’t always the easiest option to use at home, by yourself, or when you’re out and about.  So for that reason I teach a lot of hand reflexology points during my workshops so that you can actually use this fantastic tool yourself.  The positive effects of hand reflexology are usually a little shorter lived than foot reflexology though thankfully it is easy to repeat as needed.  Best thing is that you can do some basic moves in the comfort of your own home.

Ingham Method Map

I thought a one page hand out would be the best way to share (click here to download a PDF version) and a little video (thankfully the sun came out so that herself could video me in the light) to help you along the way … including a bit of eye rolling from me as himself runs in and out of the bus and I thought that I wasn’t having my face filmed!!!  Excuse our low tech productions ….  not that much room for lighting and screens in our 1956 Bedford 🙂 If you feel there is something that isn’t clear then please let me know so I can do another ‘take’. The most important thing is that you are mindful of your own wellbeing.  Stop if  you’re feeling pain, go easy on tender spots, ease up if things feel ‘too much’ and if you are concerned then see a health professional

Hope this finds you happy, healthy and working those hands to your benefit!

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Allergy Sufferers look away!

This is definitely not a post for anyone wanting gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, vegan or paleo recipes.  The warning has been issued so it is up to you how you proceed 🙂

I have to say that since beginning  this blog and let people know about my sugar free journey I am often amused by people’s comments about my ‘healthy’eating.  While I guess my eating is fairly healthy I still eat what makes me feel good physically and mentally … unfortunately that actually cuts out most of the old treats I used to partake in. People often assume too that because I am blogging about vegetarian things or sugar free recipes that my children and husband eat like I do…… which is so not the case!

Our March treat – Hedgehog Slice

With my children (and often with myself) I tend to work on the 80/20 rule where 80% of the time I try my hardest to nourish them well so that the other 20% we can relax and enjoy life.  It has to be said though that this is not a everyday 80/20 rule.  Some days we are 95/5 (that 5% is for both healthy and ‘unhealthy’ foods depending on the day), some days we are 50/50……. we live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with treats, goodies and processed delights and as much as I would love to only give my children whole, organic and natural food while adapting recipes constantly I also value my sanity quite a lot 🙂

So it is that every year around this time we have a family treat.  You see it is Girl Guide Biscuit time here in New Zealand.  That special few weeks in the year when we can get Girl Guide biscuits before they are sold out,  never to return until March the next year and having a Brownie (junior Girl Guide) who has to sell the elusive biscuits means that every March we end up with a small stash.  The children get to buy their own choice (usually chocolate minis) and I buy a couple of packets of plain to create my favourite slice for them – Hedgehog Slice.

Some call it Fudge Cake however a few years back when we were having a home-school hedgehog day we found this recipe (thanks and apologies to the actual owners as I have no record of where I found it) and, realising it was my all time favourite slice, decided to make it so the name stuck.  Me being me I have actually tried to adapt it (sorry just can’t help myself) and I have made this slice without the sugar and using sunflower seeds instead of nuts. The results were a bit crumbly around the edges and otherwise very yum 🙂  Here however, without any further waffle, is the orginal and this week’s ‘not of the allergy suffer’recipe

Hedgehog Slice

1 packet of broken Girl Guide Biscuits (or any plain 230 gm packet of biscuits)

115 gm butter

1/4 cup of sugar (as mentioned this can be left out)

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg – well beaten

3/4 cup of chopped nuts (I usually use almond or cashew) (can replace for sunflower seeds)

1 teaspoon vanilla

• Melt the butter and sugar in a pot over a gentle heat.
• Remove pot and stir in cocoa and egg.
• Bring just to the boil – stirring constantly – and remove from heat again.
• Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Press mixture into a lined/greased square cake tin and put in the fridge
• When cold ice with chocolate icing (icing sugar, a blob of butter, cocoa & a small amount of hot water) and slice.  It is just as yum without the icing too.
• ENJOY!

Hope this finds you working out the balance which fits you and yours.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz