-Thomas Edison

Those long school days and heavy backpacks mean they need nutrient filled fuel and so do YOU!

This month we are reinstating our commitment to ourselves and our families’ health. In my next post I’ll share some healthy lunch choices for you and your kids, and I’ll also share some great supplements that you can begin now, as preventative measures for a healthy winter.

Let’s get started on portable snacks: Fill up their backpacks, your own tote, the office drawer, the car, you get the idea. Don’t be without your snacks.

The snacks on this list are all organic, nutrient-rich, and taste delicious. They provide energy that will keep your blood sugar balanced and keep you from overeating when meal time finally rolls around.

ORGAIN CHOCOLATE PROTEIN MILK:
This is a great substitute for chocolate milk. This is chocolate whey protein and it’s loaded with vitamins. This drink fills them up, sustains them and has the vitamins to get the job done.

JUSTIN’S NUT BUTTER PACKETTES:
I love these portable organic nut butters. They come in individual packettes and I carry them everywhere. We love the honey-almond. There are several choices, so try them all. Squeeze them on toast, in your smoothie or my favorite – on a banana, apple or piece of celery. If you have a nut allergy please try Sunbutter made from sunflower seeds -it’s delicious.

GREEN CHOCOLATE DREAM: ORGANIC SUPERFOOD SNACKS
My new favorite snack! This nutrient rich snack is a powerhouse. It has some of VIB’s favorite superfood ingredients. You will gain a natural boost of energy and swear you’re eating chocolate! This 100% organic, raw-vegan treat has a high ORAC antioxidant rating, supports clarity, memory and alertness. They contain goji berries, raw cacao, maca root, chia seeds and reishi mushrooms.

WILD BAR:
The WILDBAR is a 100% organic, raw, whole food, nutrient-rich meal in a bar. Benefits include: increased mental and physical energy, heightened clarity and attention, elevated mood due to phenylethylamine, and strengthened immune function. I’m in love with the Mayan Spice flavor and buy them by the case.

AMAZING GRASS ORGANIC GREENS SUPERFOOD CHOCOLATE WHOLE FOOD ENERGY BAR:
Amazing Grass enzyme rich whole food energy bars contain many nutrients the body needs. This green superfood energy bar is so delicious and nourishing. It is 100% organic, raw-vegan, gluten free and packed with antioxidant-rich superfoods and protein.

GOJI BERRIES:
Goji Berries are a complete protein source. Goji’s are a natural energy booster and perhaps the most nutritionally-rich fruit on the planet. Goji Berries contain calcium, B1, B2, B6 E, zinc, iron, copper, calcium, selenium, and phosphorus. Goji’s have one of the highest antioxidant/ORAC rating of any fruit. Please refer to our metabolism boosting superfoods list to learn all the benefits of the Goji. Make a trail mix with gojis, walnuts, sunflower seeds and coconut flakes – delicious!

WHOLE GRAIN CRACKERS WITH A CHEESE STICK:
Place a few whole grain crackers, an organic cheese stick and a few grapes and you have a wonderful snack – carbs, protein and a healthy sweet everyone will like. I like Back To Nature Organic Whole Grain Crackers. If you are gluten-free try Mary’s Gone Crackers -they’re really good.

BABY CARROTS:
I love the little organic packs of carrots, these are great to have on hand. Apple slices or apple sauce cups are also great.

So these are a few, very portable items you can take anywhere, tune in next week for nutritious lunch ideas. Enjoy!

This woman was in search of the hospital just a couple of blocks away. She couldn’t remember the address, the street or the direction she should have been walking. The hospital did sound vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it, and then, lo and behold, I realized I could Google the address right then and there.

So I did. I gave her the information and pointed her in the right direction (a block away). Well, you’d have thought that I’d given this woman a million bucks.

Pointing skyward, she said “You’re an angel from Heaven.” And all I’m thinking is “I just got you an address from my phone. Not a big deal.” But then she continued to say “You have no idea how many people just ignored me and didn’t think to help.  At least 10 of them. I’m going to look out for you and take you out for a cup of coffee one day. Thank you!”

Wow. I felt SO good to have helped her, but I was overwhelmed by her appreciation and gratitude. And honestly, it made me think about how many people or experiences I’ve blown by because I was in a rush to get some where or focused on just ticking the stuff off my to do list. How many times do we overlook someone’s cry for help?

I thought about this lovely lady all day. I hope she’s relaxing with a cup of tea.

Who can you help? How will it make you feel good, and how much better (by a lot or a little) will you make this person’s life because of your gesture?

This article was about how doctors are actually giving prescriptions to patients, to go to their local farmers markets and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables! This speaks volumes about how very important nutrition is to good health.

At VIB we believe very much in the skill and necessity of our doctors and modern medicine in general. However, once we learn about what it is that might be ailing us, nutrition and exercise can usually go a long way in helping to cure us. Hippocrates, the father of medicine said “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food” Well that old adage still rings true today.

In Massachusetts, several practioners are giving their patients ‘veggie vouchers’. Coupons worth $1.00 for each person in your family. A couple with three children would receive a $5.00 coupon towards fresh produce at the farmers market.

Childhood obesity is still on the rise and costs us over $14 billion a year in health expenses. Adult obesity costs us an additional $150 billion per year. While the health of you and your family is the most important concern, it should be noted that if this keeps up, it will bankrupt us as a nation.

If the veggie vouchers are successful farmers markets would become like a nutrition pharmacy for at-risk families. Within one month of the voucher program, an at-risk family with an overweight son, reported that their nine year old lost 4 lbs. in the first month. This is not going to happen at the fast-food drive-in, ever.

This is fantastic in getting children to learn about fresh vegetables and fruits. In the United States, potatoes and tomatoes are the most consumed produce. I use the term ‘produce’ lightly, because they are consumed in the form of french fries, potato chips, and ketchup. None of which you will find at your farmers market.

The goal of this project is to get kids eating at least one serving for vegetables per day. It will also help farmers markets compete with fast-food restaurants selling those dollar deals. According to the Department of Agriculture, farmers markets in the United States generate a little over $1 billion in annual sales. I did a little research myself and found that McDonalds made over $23 billion this year, and the year isn’t over yet.

Please note: At VIB we do health food store tours and farmers market tours for both adults and children. If anyone is interested please leave a message on this post or write to susan@venusinbalance.com. Kids LOVE the farmers market tours – it’s really fun for them.

See you at the market!

What’s been working? DVDs, exercise equipment… it all does. Let me tell you what I’ve heard and experienced myself (but see the caveat below!):

• My favorite? The spinning bike. I think it’s the best purchase I’ve ever made. I am able to spin for as long as I want, listening to the tunes that I want… the music keeps me going and going because I am dancing on the bike! The very best part? My kids come downstairs while I’m blasting music, and they jam with me and see me sweating on the bike!
• Dr. R’s savior? P90X. After years of hitting the gym hard, dropping pounds and then plateauing for a long time, Dr. R listened to the P90X prescription and overhauled his nutrition (mostly organic). He’s started to lose weight again! Even better, his cholesterol and diabetes numbers are looking healthier than ever! My brother is also doing this series, and his pants are fitting looser for sure.
• Another killer home remedy? Insanity: The Ultimate Cardio Workout and Fitness Program. Dr. K (another good friend) is getting his butt whooped by this one. He said that as he is driving home from work, he actually gets nervous about his workout.
• My favorite strength training? The TRX. With the TRX, you use your body weight to get to all kinds of tiny little muscles that you never knew you had! You don’t need anything else (or much room) to get a killer workout.
• My new experiment? I just installed a ballet barre and bought a couple of DVDs that focus on body conditioning through the same ballet workouts that real ballet dancers do. I am excited to try the New York City Ballet: The Complete Workout. I’ll let you know how it goes!

You don’t need to go far for a solid fitness session. You don’t need to get the latest or hippest outfits. Who cares about makeup, and how great is it that you can work out without a babysitter? What’s YOUR home workout? Tell us your secret!

Here’s the caveat – my friend Lahela, a pilates/yoga professional, warned against the injuries that might arise from taking on too much, too soon and without professional supervision with at-home workouts.Definitely listen to your body, seek help from a professional (even a few sessions will set you in the right direction) and do your research to find a workout that works best for your body!

MACA is one of the best metabolism boosters, and best kept secrets for relieving stress, balancing hormones and gaining energy. It also helps strengthen the immune system, re-mineralize poorly nourished bodies, aids in fertility, diminishes hot flashes, relieves pms and menopausal symptoms. So powerful it can be used as a safe alternative to hormone replacement therapies. It relieves thyroid and adrenal imbalances, insomnia and depression! As you can see this herb gets to work on our very delicate female chemistry.

Maca comes from a South American plant akin to a cruciferous vegetable. Maca is known as Peruvian ginseng.

Please note that Maca is considered an adatogen. This means that it goes to the part of the body where you need it. If you are seeking to reduce stress and gain extra energy but have no adrenal or peri-menopausal symptoms, it will be inert in those areas.

At VIB we believe that once you know why something isn’t good for you it becomes easier to change that habit.

Most diet soda, nutrasweet, equal, and about 5000 other grocery store items, contain the artificial sweetener Aspartame.

This sweetener is hazardous to your body. It converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn 
causes methanol toxicity. This toxicity has been linked to diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, ADD, osteoporsis, and many other ailments. Aspartame crosses the blood/brain barrier and is also damaging to memory, and, overall brain functioning.

An additional, and surprising fact about diet soda and products containing aspartame, is they make you crave more sweets, and carbohydrates, that actually lead to weight gain. So certainly not a lot of diet in the diet drinks.

These syptoms seem to be reversible once you discontinue aspartame. This substance is banned in many, many countries, just not the United States – lucky us. By the way, Monsanto, the agricultural titan, is the creator of both nutrisweet and equal.

Many people drink diet soda because it contains caffeine. If you find yourself needing a little boost, iced tea or green tea is a far healthier choice. Iced tea with a little mint is really delicious. Enjoy!

The best way to hydrate, keep your brain clear and lose weight is water. Add a little lemon, lime or mint to your water to make it more flavorful and delicious.

-Willa Cather

We filter the water at our kitchen sink, but to be honest, I’m not even sure how effective our filters are. Moreover, filtering your shower water can actually be more beneficial to you than simply filtering your kitchen sink water. Hello whole house water filtration!

We live in a beautifully developed country, right? Well, yes, we do. Still, there are many reasons that we should be rethinking our water habits (bottled, tap and bath). What follows is super simplified, but it’s what got me to purchase a whole house filtration system that is sitting in my living room right now (more on that later):

• Treated, municipal water contains ammonia and/or chlorine, as well as fluoride, all of which we should not be ingesting. These also produce other elements in our water – called disinfection byproducts which occur because of the interaction of chlorine and organic products (from leaves and other live matter floating in our water supply).
• We are ingesting pharmaceuticals, hormones and even pesticides that end up in our water system, all of which are not meant for us!
• The additives and toxins that we shouldn’t be ingesting build up over time, adversely affecting all of our bodies’ systems – endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, etc.
• Regulations for bottled water aren’t particularly stringent, particularly where water is bottled within the state of sale. The EPA has no jurisdiction over bottled water, and studies have shown that some bottled water is the same, if not more contaminated, than tap water.
• Plastic bottle waste is jamming up landfills and causing massive environmental issues.
• Plastic bottles also can leach toxins into the water that we drink.
• While you might filter out chlorine and other undesirables through a kitchen tap, you can still absorb them through your skin or by breathing the vapors in shower/bath water.

I found wonderful website from which I ordered my system – www.friendsofwater.com. After I’d done all the research, I still had a million questions, and they answered happily and promptly. (Timothy at Friends of Water was my best friend for a time. I emailed with him more than anyone else for a few days!) This system, while not the most expensive I came across, is a real winner! A KDF and granulated carbon filter plus fluoride filter, it will take everything out, while leaving trace minerals that we want (magnesium for good heart health) and maintaining neutral pH levels (reverse osmosis apparently makes water acidic). I’ll tell you more about this next time!

Now I just need to get a plumber to call me back to install it! I’ll report back on the taste, water pressure, etc. when it’s up and running! I’m so excited!

Here is the breakdown of food and exercise that is required to lose 1 lb. of fat:

Women require about 1200-1600 calories per day, depending on your size. To figure out how many calories you need, multiply your current body weight x 12. If you weigh 120 lbs. your calculation looks like this: 120 x 12 = 1440 so you need approximately 1400 calories a day to maintain ideal weight.

Calories are the measure of energy in food and drinks. The calories your body uses for fuel must be nutrient-rich calories. This means they must contain proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Empty calories refer to foods and beverages with no nutritional value, such as soda, alcohol, candy, and processed foods. Whole food calories, especially protein, are converted by the body into energy and muscle.

So how much cardio will you need to do to lose 1 lb of fat?

To burn one lb. of fat per week you will need to workout 5 times per week intensely, burning 700 calories per workout. Think running, spin class, or boot camp combined with cardio. You could also work out seven days, and burn 500 calories per exercise session to reach the same goal.

Shave 500 calories per day off of your food intake per day and lose an additional pound. That’s a glass of white wine and a frappucino, you can do that!

The safest, and most long lasting plan is to try and lose 1 lb. per week until you reach your ideal weight. This will keep you satisfied, strong, and healthy for the long haul. It is the healthiest way to maintain your weight for your life because it shows you how to incorporate these small changes into your daily life.