For a long time now, I’ve been wanting to do something to show how much I appreciate YOU as part of this WellGrounded Life community … It’s hard to put into words how much it means to me to have this haven of women, each of us striving to live into our most healthy and vibrant selves while supporting each other along the way.  It is such a gift.

So this month, I wanted to Share the Love and bless you with some fabulous giveaways that will support you on your way to healthy, vibrant living!  Each Wednesday during February, I’ll be giving away a product(s) from one of my trusted colleagues or from a trusted company.  The details for how to enter are below … {Be sure to sign up for The Ripple, my weekly newsletter, so you can get all the info on the coming giveaways as well.  Sign up in the box to the right!}

Wednesday, Feb 1 Giveaway

Gnosis Chocolate

Vanessa Barg, a fellow alumni of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, founded this phenomenal company that produces handmade, raw, fairly-traded, sustainable, organic vegan chocolate.  Gnosis Chocolate will be giving one lucky lady the Aphrodisia Collection (valued at $74.48).  Watch the video below to see why I LOVE this chocolate and why it’s actually GOOD for you!

The Aphrodisia Collection from Gnosis Chocolate 

• 1 Aphrodisia Bar

• 1 Vanilla Hazelnut Bar

• 8oz How Now Brown Cacao Body Butter

• 3 Passion Truffles

• .5lb Aphrodisia Hot Chocolate Mix

• All Lovingly Gift Wrapped

2 WAYS TO ENTER

To enter, leave a comment below about which Gnosis Chocolate product you would love for Valentine’s Day!  {Don’t be shy about also sharing this with the loved ones in your life with a little, “hint, hint!”}  :)  

For an additional entry, like WellGrounded Life and Gnosis Chocolate on Facebook and then leave me a comment saying you’ve done so.

We will choose the winner at Noon (EST) Tuesday, February 7, 2012.

And please feel free to Share the Love — let the women in your life know about this great giveaway and about the community we’re creating at WellGrounded Life. 

The stronger our collective grows, the stronger each of us grows.  {You know I’m all about conspiracy groups!}

With a heart that overflows,
Lisa

Did you know that you may be eating certain foods that are stripping your body from essential minerals?

In order to flesh this out, I’m going to talk about the pH balance in your body and what that has to do with your body’s health.

Here are the nuts and bolts:  your body was designed to optimally function within a narrow pH range.  That means that if your blood becomes too acidic or too alkaline, your body has mechanisms to return itself to the correct and healthy range.  If your body goes too far to either end of the pH spectrum, it can cause major problems and ultimately death. 

Most of the time, in our modern culture, our issue is with the acidic side of the spectrum.  And that is because so many of the commonly processed, highly refined and sugar loaded foods we consume cause our body to shift more acidic than is healthy.  

Here’s the rub–your body is always going to work to regain health.  And the way your body works to counter too much acidity is to leach out the minerals in your bones.

Minerals help keep your body alkaline.  Many of us have a double whammy happening.  Our diets are not mineral rich to begin with, and our acid-forming diets are causing our bodies to leach minerals out of our bones in order to regulate our pH levels.

So what’s the solution?  It’s a 1-2 punch.  Reduce your acid promoting foods and replenish your stores with mineral dense foods.

I’ve listed the 3 biggest “acid forming” culprits and 3 brightest “mineral replenishing” rockstars. 

Acid Forming Culprits

1.  Caffeine and soft drinks

2.  Sugar

3.  White flour

4.  Meat and Meat products (*from factory farmed “conventional” animals– the meat and animal products (eggs, cheese) from organically, pastured, grass fed, ethically raised animals has a completely different nutrient profile)

Mineral Replenishing Rockstars

1.  Dark leafy greens:  Spinach, kale, collards, swiss chard.

2.  Cruciferous vegetables:  Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower.

3.  Sea Vegetables (aka seaweed)

Even small shifts of decreasing the culprits and increasing the rockstars will make a marked difference in your health– start slow and keep the momentum going!

Could you use a little help in realigning your diet to one that supports your highest level of wellness?  Would it make a difference to have a focused, step by step process that would lead you to greater well being and vitality in all the core areas of your whole-person health?

Today is the perfect day to start in a new direction.  And TODAY is the first day of the 2012 group run of Designed for Wellness.

I’m beyond excited about the amazing group of women who have signed up for the course this time around.  We have over 80 women in class and the momentum and energy is already buzzing!  I know this is going to be an incredible 3 months together.

And this is my last invitation to join us.  I’ve put together an incredible bonus package only available to this current group (valued at $185), there are 5 live coaching calls with me for personal support, we have 12 weeks of progressive steps that will take you to a whole new level of your well being and vibrancy…and we have a community of women that are ready to rally around each other and keep the momentum building and growing.

Will this be your time to step forward and do something vitally important for yourself?  I hope so.  Here is the course page, if you’d like more information. If it is a good fit, I hope you’ll say yes and join us.  I’d love to get to know you better and support you on living the life you most deeply want to live.

Now, tell me…which of the culprits will be hardest for you to cut back on…and which of the rockstars will you upping in the coming weeks?  And, as always– please do share this with those you know who may benefit from it as well!

Did you ever wonder why there are so many more colds and flus going around this time of the year?  One reason is that as the weather gets colder and drier, we need to respond by bringing in more hydration, moisture and winter-appropriate foods to our diet.  It supports our skin and mucus membranes (like our sinuses) to stay healthy and naturally lubricated.

But all too often, we don’t make simple seasonal shifts in our skin care, our home air environment and our diet to support what is happening in the outer elements.

And in response to our skin and membranes drying out in the colder weather- our body overcompensates by producing excess mucus.

Excess mucus can quickly become a breeding ground for cold germs and flu viruses.  Enter cold and flu season.

One of our best defenses is to shift the way we care for ourselves (outside and in) to reflect the season we are in.

An easy way to winterize our diet is to change up the kinds of spices we begin to use in our meals.  Here’s a super immune-building spice recipe that I use all fall and winter long.

Healing Spice Mix

Ingredients
3 tsp ground Indian Turmeric
3 tsp ground Cumin
3 tsp ground Indian Coriander
1 tsp ground Fennel
1 tsp powdered Ginger
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground Cardamom

Directions
1. Mix the above together well.
2. Store in a air-tight container.

* You can use any or all of the spices together to suit your tastes. I combine this mix together and then use it when I make soups, stews, sauteed veggies or sprinkled on buttered rice or whole-wheat pasta.

This recipe is part of the comprehensive 3-part workshop: Roadmap to a Healthy, Happy, Holiday Season.

This workshop covers everything from food, recipes, and lifestyle choices to stay healthy in the fall and winter approach…to handling the hectic schedules and extra stress of the holidays…in ways that are deceivingly simple and powerful to implement for a busy family.

I normally offer this workshop for $129…but this year have decided to give it as a free bonus gift to all the members of the WellGrounded Woman membership site (who sign up by November 8, 2011).

If you aren’t a member and would like to check out the benefits of joining (first month is only $1) click here to learn more about our fantastic community.

We all have the best intentions to get healthy, wholesome food into our kids (and ourselves) every day.

And when it comes to the movie of healthy living, we know the main cast.

Whole, real foods, fresh air, exercise, rest and play…they make a star studded lineup, for sure.

But, sometimes the very best films happen because of an amazing supporting cast that can act as a safety net for
the lulls in the film and make the main characters even more robust.

It has been helpful for me to have a supporting cast of ways of 5 quick things I can do for myself and my children
every day to be sure we are staying healthy through the ebbs and flows of our days.

1. Omega 3 Fatty Acid Supplement. I use Carlson Labs or Nordic Naturals. My kids love the chewables
with natural strawberry flavor.

2. Whole Foods Supplement or Whole Foods Vitamin. I used to take New Chapter Organics Whole Food
Multivitamin and loved it. My kids and I now take Juice Plus.

3. Raw Fruits and Veggies. When in doubt at least get some of these superstars in. A quick green smoothie,
cut up veggie and fruit plate can be a nutritional day saver.

4. Probiotics. We need a healthy gut. Not only for our digestion and nutrient uptake, but for our immunity
too. I try and get some probiotic food in myself and children daily (like plain yogurt with live cultures, or cultured
vegetables) but will also bolster our diet with probiotic supplements as well.

5. Water. It’s amazing how highly correlated a crappy food day is with my low water intake. When I notice
we’re in a food rut, I start getting the water in, myself and my children. Kids can get dehydrated easily and need
to be in the habit of drinking water throughout the day too!

Click here if you’d like to download a pdf of this “Hi 5″- it can be a nice reminder posted on the
inside of the kitchen cabinet or refrigerator.

And here’s is an article on a simple way to get your kid’s buy in on eating healthy, balanced meals.

Please share this if you found it valuable!

What’s your safety net for less than stellar nutrition days?

Announcing a no-cost, but high value 3-part video series that dives deep into the core issues we face as moms who want to eat healthy and live vibrantly.

Video 1:  Why diets don’t work- because we were actually designed to fail at them. 

This video reveals our true nature and shows us how to work with ourselves so transformation is smooth, powerful and freeing.

Video 2:  Discover your personal blueprint for vibrant living. 

Learn how to use your greatest barriers to healthy living as a blueprint to know the exact bridges you need to achieve your health goals.

Video 3: The missing (and crucial) element in our nutrition. 

Ignore this and no amount of kale will kick start your energy. Includes a downloadable guided exercise to help you target your priority needs immediately.

Sign up now for instant access to the video series.

* And please SHARE THIS with others who may benefit from the video trainings as well *