The Relaxation Mineral and 4 Ways To Get It:

Have you heard of this special mineral? It is a secret weapon against many diseases and common complaints. Not to mention it's also a great detoxifying agent. When we are detoxified and clean inside, our bodies work much more efficiently. We start using our food as fuel, increase our energy levels and shed excess weight!

Magnesium is called the relaxation mineral because it has the opposite effect on your body that stress has. Stress can cause us to pack on the pounds and have decreased energy. When we have no energy, we gain weight and the cycle continues. There are simple and easy ways to start turning this around by practicing to reduce stress in our lives and also by adding some of the relaxation mineral to our routines to give ourselves a boost! Did I mention it improves sleep? We all know what sleep can do for us. They don't call it "beauty sleep" for nothing.

Magnesium works on any areas of your body that are stiff, tight or uncomfortable. Our cells use it to make energy and relax our muscles. Our brain even uses magnesium to improve and stabilize our mood. It also helps us to stay detoxified and be lean and healthy. A little magnesium citrate can also help to move the bowels in a non-explosive way to make sure we are clean inside and out!
The magnesium levels in our bodies can drop due to stress, alcohol, caffeine, and lack of exercise. This can cause us to sleep poorly, have no energy to exercise and feel poorly while making us constipated and uncomfortable. Yikes! Who wants that?

Highly processed and refined meals have no magnesium at all, which cause our levels to  dip even lower.

Magnesium can be added to our bodies in so many easy ways! Here are 4 of them:

1.  eat peanut butter, leafy greens, nuts, wheat germ, avocado, and garlic. (to name a few)

2. avoid salt, alcohol, and too much coffee (this drains magnesium)

3. take a bath with good old fashioned Epsom Salts added to it. We can absorb magnesium in this relaxing way and Epsom Salts are easy to purchase at the drugstore and inexpensive. I linked the one that has lavender in it, because it is so soothing and my favorite brand.

Epsom Salts with Lavender

4. practice relaxing by meditation, yoga, or pranayama breathing.

Please enjoy at least one of these ways to add the relaxation mineral to your body and let me know how you like it!

Love,

Rae

Romaine Lettuce-Why Eat It? Plus a Recipe!

Organic Romaine Lettuce

People often overlook Romaine Lettuce and think it is a 'less than lettuce'. Some may even believe that if it is not dark green-it ain't good for you. Wrong! 

Romaine lettuce is a high water content food that also has fiber in it. The fiber in Romaine binds to the bile salts in our colon and then removes them from our body. This makes us create more bile and through this process cholesterol is removed! Amazing, right? 

That is not the only thing that this crunchy lettuce is good for. It has high amounts of Vitamin A. The beta-carotene in it is a powerful anti-oxidant and age fighting super star! 

Romaine lettuce also contains Vitamin K. We don't get too much Vitamin K in our food, so this  lettuce is an easy way to make sure we get this vitamin that binds calcium to our bones and regenerates collagen in our skin. 

This lettuce must be good for something because it has been used almost forever. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used it for its therapeutic and medicinal proprieties and there are depictions of it being used in Egyptian times all the way back to 4500 B.C! 

Yup, that's lettuce! 

So, hop on board with this do-it-all lettuce and start adding it to your salads, burritos, tacos, sandwiches and wraps! 

My niece Jessy started eating fruit for breakfast, walking when she can, and creating new and healthy recipes for herself based on the guides outlined in this website. She has been dedicated, thorough, and consistent. Jessy even started using my Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey Health Tonic and in the the past 3 weeks she has lost almost 15 lbs of weight that did not want to be on her body! The best part is that her energy level has gone up so significantly, she is now exercising every day. Jessy did not have the energy to do this prior to eating this way. Nutrition is the key to everything we do for our bodies. 

Next time Jessy is going to share her journey with us so far and include some stunning before and after shots. Stay tuned!  

When you see how beautiful Jessy is-you are going wonder what did she think she needed to change about herself? The point is that she didn't feel good at the weight she was and didn't feel energetic or healthy. It is not about looks, but that is a positive side effect of being healthy. After sticking to some basic changes, she now feels better and is also sleeping all night, every night. Now, that is something to be happy about! 

Jessy has shared one of her recipes that includes Romaine lettuce for everyone to try.  It is Purifoid approved and delicious. 

I hope you all enjoy it too. 


Jessy's Southwestern Salad

Romaine and red leaf lettuce, rinsed and chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Black olives
red and yellow cherry tomatoes, whole
fresh corn
avocado, sliced
stone milled tortilla chips, crumbled
squeeze of lime
drizzled jalapeno-lime dressing

Put all of the veggies in to your salad bowl and toss. Crumble tortilla chips on the top of the salad and lay the sliced avocado over it. Squeeze some lime on it for maximum alkalinity and then drizzle the homemade dressing over it. Toss once more and dig in. 

Jessy's jalapeno-lime dressing

1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. fresh parsley
1/4 c. fresh chives
1 Tb. fresh dill
1 jalapeno minced
2 Tb lime juice
sea salt or Himalayan pink salt to taste
cracked pepper to taste

Add all of the ingredients except for the greek yogurt to a magic bullet or blender and pulse together. Then add this mixture to the greek yogurt and stir together until it is well mixed. Store the leftover dressing in a glass bottle in the fridge. 

Thanks Jessy! 

Love,

Rae