Cleanse, Recipes

Spring Cleaning: Body Edition

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People like “stuff”. We tend to hold onto more of it year after year. We save and stock up on many useless items that we don’t even know what to do with. Maybe we keep things because they hold precious memories of days gone by, or they remind us of our parents, grandparents, past loves or childhood. To part with these precious possessions may seem painful or even out of the question to some. There is a saying that goes, “You have to get rid of the old to make way for the new.” If you are feeling stuck or stagnant in your life, try some spring-cleaning. Throw out some of that old “stuff”, say goodbye to your nuances of the past and welcome the new energy of your happy, healthy future. Try these four ideas:

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1. For good mental and physical health, we actually have two “houses” that need to be spring-cleaned: our physical homes and our physical bodies. Just as we accumulate “stuff” in the form of outgrown clothes, magazines, rusty bicycles, tools and random keepsakes, so do our bodies accumulate old food residues and toxins that need to be cleaned out.

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2. To spring clean your body, give it a break from rich and complicated foods by either cleansing or fasting for a short period of time. Cleansing means paring down your food to just simple fruits and vegetables, lots of water and perhaps gluten-free whole grains. Fasting means limiting most foods and drinking lots of water, fresh vegetable and fruit juices, teas and soups. Without much energy going toward digestion, more energy is available to the rest of your body and mind. Cleansing and fasting can sharpen your concentration, help you gain insight and promote spiritual awareness. It can also bring improved immune function and better digestion.

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3. While you’re cleaning out your body and home, don’t forget to spring-clean your heart. Throw away negative thoughts and habits you’ve been harboring that no longer serve you. A clean, open heart will allow you to receive all the good that awaits you each and every day. If your heart and mind are cluttered, there is no room for life’s gifts and surprises to enter.

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4. Sunrider foods are the perfect solution to nourishing, balancing, and CLEANSING the body safely and effectively. Calli tea & Fortune Delight pulls stored toxins out of our tissues and acts as a scrubber at the cellular level to get the junk out and make room for new healthy cells to be produced. Out with the old and in with the new! Contact me for more information on how to get started! (jessica@jessicalopezrn.com )

Food Focus: Greens


Leafy greens are some of the easiest and most beneficial vegetables to incorporate into your daily routine. Densely packed with energy and nutrients, they grow upward to the sky, absorbing the sun’s light while producing oxygen. Members of this royal green family include kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe, watercress, beet greens, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, spinach and broccoli.

How do greens benefit our bodies? They are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous and zinc, and are a powerhouse for vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed full of fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Their color is associated with spring, which is a time to renew and refresh vital energy. In traditional Chinese medicine, the color green is related to the liver, emotional stability, and creativity. Greens aid in purifying the blood, strengthening the immune system, improving liver, gall bladder, and kidney function, fighting depression, clearing congestion, improving circulation and keeping your skin clear and blemish free.
Leafy greens are the vegetables most missing from the American diet, and many of us never learned how to prepare them. Start with the very simple recipe below. Then each time you go to the market, pick up a new green to try. Soon you’ll find your favorite greens and wonder how you ever lived without them.


Shiitake and Kale

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 bunch kale, chopped
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Warm oil in pan on medium heat with minced garlic until aromas of garlic are released, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add chopped shiitake mushrooms, stir-fry for 5 minutes.
Add chopped kale, stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
Add a splash of water and pinch of salt to pan, cover and let steam for 4 minutes.

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Kale, Lemon, apple Green Smoothie
2 leaves kale
1 apple
1 lemon peel removed
1-2 cups water or cold calli tea
Stevia to sweeten
Ice (optional)

Blend all ingredients and enjoy!

 

Enjoy your spring cleaning!

In Health, Hope, & Happiness,

Jessica Aubrey, RN

 

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Superfoods

Crazy About Chlorella- WOW!

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Hey You! 🙂

Today I want to explain why I am crazy about Chlorella and why it is such a POWERFUL superfood! A few weeks ago, I wrote about Chlorella’s sister- Spirulina, and had a huge response, so I’m hoping you’ll love learning about this tiny treasure as well! You’re not going to be able to get enough of this dynamic duo! They are AMAZING!!!

 

What in the World is Chlorella???

Chlorella is an extraordinary water-grown microalgea. Do you know the definition of “extraordinary”? It means very unusual or remarkable, and when I use it to describe chlorella, I am not using it lightly! This superfood is a very unique and special superhero nutrient that has remarkable nutritional properties and effects on the body! It is actually one of the few edible water-grown algeas which is interesting when you look at it’s nutrient content!

Why take Chlorella?

Well, my friend, let me tell you! Chlorella is one of the most magnificent tools we can use for detoxing the body safely. Chlorella has a magnetic effect in the body, and draws toxins together to eliminate them out of the body. This is CRITICAL when you are doing any type of cleansing or detoxing. If you don’t include this VITAL step in your cleansing routine, you can actually be doing more harm than good! When you’re detoxing your body, you’re releasing tons and tons of toxins that have been hiding away in a safe place. If you don’t know how to bind these toxins together and eliminate them from the body, you are putting yourself at a very high risk to create more damage than you had in the first place. Chlorella is amazing at preventing damage while cleansing.

Chlorella is full of chlorophyll, which is known as the life-force or blood of all plant life. It contains all of the B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, amino acids, magnesium, iron, trace minerals, carbohydrates and a higher amount of protein (more than 50%) than meat, per grams of weight. That’s AWESOME!! All you athletes out there pay attention! You can get more protein by consuming chlorella (and spirulina) than you can in that fatty steak you’re about to eat!

Chlorella is also amazing and clearing heavy metals out of the body. In our day-and-age, we are all exposed to heavy metals, some more than others. Are you one of the lucky ones who have silver bling in your teeth? Unfortunately some genius decided it was a good idea to put the second most toxic metal on the planet, mercury, into our mouths right next to our brain. Nice one huh? Unfortunately this causes a toxic load on the body that makes being healthy a bit more challenging. This incredible superfood helps to sweep these heavy metals out of the body so they don’t cause as much damage. Heavy metals are super difficult to get out of the body, so the fact that Chlorella can perform this task is pretty amazing!

For those of you who are trying to lose weight and having problems, chlorella may be your best friend for multiple reasons, one of them being that heavy metals in the body can completely halt any weight loss in it’s tracks. Consuming chlorella regularly will safely help remove these metals from the body.

 

Tell Me More Health Benefits of Consuming Chlorella!

Well, let’s see here…I think I can come up with a few more! 🙂

  • Are there any of you vaccinated folks out there? As you may (or may not) know, vaccines contain dangerous heavy metals. If you were recently vaccinated, consuming chlorella can help sweep out the bad guys!
  • It’s incredible alkaline, which is critical for preventing disease.
  • Helps with balancing hormones (relieving PMS, regulating cycles, etc.)
  • Aids in treatment of ulcers
  • Great for Balancing the digestive system (improving digestion, relieving constipation)
  • Boosts immune system & aids in Increasing the white blood cell count (helps with infections, warding off of illness)
  • Reduces or eliminates body odors..Phew!
  • Balances blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar (fighting/preventing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity)
  • Reduces occurrence of asthma attacks and allergies
  • Helps treat fatigue
  • Protects the brain and nervous system
  • Supports elimination of many kinds of pollutants, from heavy metals to molds
  • Boosts tissue growth, healing and repair
  • Detoxifies harmful radiation, protects organs
  • Aids in pain management
  • It is the highest plant source of chlorophyll!
  • It is high in Vitamin K! (For those of you taking a Vitamin D3 supplement, you NEED Vitamin K to go along with your D3 supplement.)

Who Should Take Chlorella?

There is a simple test to see if you could benefit from chlorella. It is very easy actually and you will know within seconds if chlorella is something that could dramatically benefit you!

The Chlorella Test

  1. Take your first two fingers on your right hand and put them together.
  2. Place your two fingers about 1 inch toward the outer part of your left forearm.
  3. If you feel a pulsating movement, then the test is confirmed that chlorella could definitely benefit you! 🙂

So how many of you tested positive? Hopefully all of you or else we have a bigger problem!! 🙂

How to Take Chlorella

Chlorella requires a special processing to break through it’s strong cell wall that would otherwise make it nearly impossible to access it’s nutrients. It’s important when looking for a chlorella supplement to ensure the company doesn’t use high heat or chemicals in this process. You can find chlorella available in powder or tablets, both acceptable forms to get it into your diet. I personally use the powder and I make superfood shots or put it in my smoothies. Optimally, take 1 tbs. of chlorella powder daily and watch as your body changes and becomes superhuman with this amazing superfood!!

Here are great sources of Chlorella:

More Resources on Chlorella:

I hope you enjoyed learning about this amazing tool we have at our fingertips! I look forward to hearing about your chlorella experience! Make sure you share this with your friends and family! The more people we empower with these easy-to-integrate tools, the healthier we can make this world! Have a GREAT day!!

In Health, Happiness, & Hope,

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Cleanse

The Post Christmas Cleanse

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Happy day after Christmas!!!

I hope you all had an amazing time celebrating Jesus’ birthday with your friends and family! I know Christmas is usually the day many people splurge and eat way more than they should resulting in a super bloated abdomen, fatigue, headaches, and possibly more symptoms… not to mention 5 extra pounds on your body.

It’s interesting that just 6 days after this massive feast is when people get crazy motivated to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. What I’m thinking is…why wait? Why not start now and get a jump start on the new year?

So, I am proposing to you…yes proposing to you…a post-Christmas cleanse! =) You can choose to do this for 1 day or 1 week, whatever you feel like. This gentle cleanse will help you feel more energetic and move out the gunk that has been built up over the holidays.

J-Lo’s Post-Christmas Cleanse

Eat as much as you want of…

  • Organic Green Veggies (Kale, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, mixed greens, avocado, broccoli, etc)
  • Other Organic Non-Starchy Veggies (Carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic, etc)
  • Homemade broths (bone broth, vegetable broths, chicken broths, etc)
  • Cultured Foods & Drinks (Raw sauerkraut, non-dairy kefir, inner eco, kevita, organic miso, etc)
  • These Fruits only: Berries, cherries, pomegranates, green granny smith apples, lemons, limes, & grapefruit.
  • Superfoods: spirulina, chlorella, maca, acai, camu camu, etc.
  • Sunrider Foods
  • FRESH organic vegetable juices
  • Organic Herbal teas

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Eat moderate amounts of…

  • Healthy fats: coconut oil, olive oil (not cooked), chia seeds, hemp seeds, hemp oil
  • Coconut products: milk, yogurt, flour, etc.
  • All other fruits not listed above
  • Starchy veggies: eggplant, red potatoes, sweet potatoes

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Eliminate…

  • All animal products: meats, dairy, fish, eggs
  • All grains: rice, pasta, crackers, cookies, breads, oatmeal etc.
  • All sugar & sugar-free sweeteners (only exception is stevia)
  • All processed foods
  • All Caffeine: coffee, caffeinated teas, energy drinks
  • All Alcohol
  • All corn products
  • White potatoes

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Hydrate…

  • Drink 1 GALLON of water or Calli tea each day with the juice of 1-2 whole lemons. You can sweeten with stevia if you’d like.

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There you have it! It’s not too bad, right? 🙂 The goal of this cleanse is to rejuvenate your body at a fast rate and get rid of any junk that may have accumulated over the holidays. Let me know what you think and how you feel doing your Post-Christmas Cleanse!!!

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Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. ~ Proverbs 19:20

P.S…GROUP 2 OF “THE EMPOWERED WOMAN” IS STARTING MID JANUARY!!! DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE OF A KIND LIFE-CHANGING JOURNEY TO HEAL YOUR BODY, MIND, & SOUL!

For more information, click on the link above or email me at Jessica@JessicaLopezRN.com.

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Wednesday Weight Loss- Benefits of Lemon Water

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Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

I hope your week is going well! Today is Weight Loss Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I’ll be giving you a tip on weight loss that will be easy to implement. Today’s is very simple. Check out my video below!

10 Benefits to drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning…

1. It helps alkalize the body

  • I will be expanding soon on the importance of maintaining a healthy pH in the body, but for now all you need to know is that lemon water helps your body get where it needs to. Research shows that those with a more alkaline pH have a much easier time with healthy weight loss. It is also CRITICAL that you know this very important fact: NO CANCER CELL CAN SURVIVE IN AN ALKALINE ENVIRONMENT, BUT EVERY CANCER CELL THRIVES IN AN ACIDIC ENVIRONMENT. That is powerful knowledge!

2. It hydrates the body

  • Hydration is essential for health and weight loss. 70% of our bodies are composed of water. That’s a lot! What do you think is going to happen if you don’t drink enough water…your body is going to begin to deteriorate. Makes you think twice before starting off your day with a huge cup of coffee huh? You can go for a significant amount of time without food, but without water, we would die after approximately 72 hours according to research. Many people will lose weight just by hydrating their body alone. When you are dehydrated, your body goes into starvation mode and begins to hold on to every ounce of water it gets just in case it won’t see any for a long time again. But, if you drink it regularly, your body knows it’s safe to let go of extra water weight. Of course many factors play into this, but hydration is KEY to health & weight loss.

3. Kick starts the digestive system

  • Lemon has been known for hundreds of years to help with digestive issues and constipation. Water as well is wonderful for digestion. Many times dehydration is the culprit behind constipation or acid reflux. Water and lemon together have a synergistic action on the digestive tract as it gently stimulates peristalsis (the wavelike movement throughout the digestive tract that pushes foods through), lubricates the colon to move waste through, and bulks up waste to push it out of the body. Lemons are also full of minerals that help to relax the digestive tract and loosen stored toxins along the colon wall.

4. It’s good for your lymphatic system

  • Your lymphatic system consists of your lymph nodes (those little nodules you feel in your neck that swell up when you get sick- they are found all throughout your body and act as mini filters to screen out the toxins in the body) and your lymph fluid. Warm water is one of the best things you can do to cleanse the lymphatic system. Lymph stagnation is a major cause of abdominal bloating and water retention. There are many different processes that play a role in lymphatic stagnation and abdominal bloating, but doing this simple tip can be a huge help!

5. Antioxidant morning boost with high levels of vitamin c

  • Lemons have a good amount of bioavailable vitamin C and antioxidants to boost the immune system and fight off viruses, colds, & the flu. Vitamin C also helps the absorption of calcium which research has shown to significantly aid in weight loss.

6. Strengthens and cleans the liver

  • Water is responsible for the fluid content of the blood. The liver is the organ that filters the blood, so blood viscosity plays a big role in how hard the liver will have to work. So, not drinking enough water will cause the blood to become thicker and more difficult for the liver to filter. According to Dr. Alexander F. Beddoe in Biological Ionization in Human Nutrition, the liver can make more enzymes out of fresh lemon juice than any other food. Lemons have a wonderful stimulative action on the liver to release toxins and improve a congested liver.

7.  Ignites the Metabolism

  • Both lemon and water help rev up the metabolism. Adding cayenne pepper will be an even stronger metabolism booster and fat burner!

8. Blood purifier

  • A great trait of lemons is that they help purify the blood. They help improve liver function which is the liver filter and in turn improves the quality of our blood. If you add in Fortune Delight, you will get twice the benefit! Fortune Delight has shown to oxygenate and purify the blood as well.

9. Lowers sugar absorption

  • “It has been studied that even a little lemon can help you lower the absorption of sugars from the food you eat simply because of its high acidic content. You can go one step further and eat some lemon peels along with the juice, this acts like a double whammy on weight gain, because the pectin present in the peels helps in weight loss by becoming a gel forming substance in your stomach which reduces the sugar absorption from the food you eat.:- Read more here…

10. Acts as a gentle, natural diuretic

  • The mixture of warm water and lemon works excellent to remove excess fluid from the body. There are some theories that it improves adrenal function. The adrenal glands regulate a hormone called aldosterone that is key in fluid retention. It also helps release toxins from the body. When we have toxin overload in our tissues, it causes fluid retention. Drinking this simple concoction can help deflate the fluff in multiple ways. Woohoo!

* For more info on the Sunrider foods and Fortune Delight check out my Sunrider info page!

 

Here are some resources for you to check out…

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/lemon%20water.htm

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4769/Why-You-Should-Drink-Warm-Water-Lemon.html

http://www.liversupport.com/wordpress/2010/11/love-your-liver-with-lemon-water/

http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2006/02/10/lemon-water-alkalising-superstar/

 

In my new program, “THE EMPOWERED WOMAN”, we will dive into the biggest weight loss myths and the some key foundational elements to make weight loss easy and effective!

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