Enjoy this refreshing summer salad! Ingredients: 1 zucchini, chopped and peeled; 1 carrot, chopped and peeled; 1/2 napa cabbage, chopped; 1 green pepper, thinly sliced; 2 stalk green onions, minced; 1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented; 1 lime, peeled and segmented; 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped; 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped; 2 handful bean sprouts.
Dressing: 2/3 c water; 1 handful cashews; 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped; 1/2 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped; 2 tbsp lime juice; 2 tbsp soy sauce. Simply add all ingredients together, toss in dressing, and serve! Recipe adapted from LowFatLowCarb.com
Community News
Family Gathering Tips
Family Gathering Tips. Enjoying the company of relatives you don’t see very often is one of the best parts of family gatherings.
Enjoy your day to the fullest by taking every opportunity you can to connect and speak an encouraging word to every person in attendance. In doing so, you will start a ton of great conversations and learn fun facts about your relatives. Here are a few more family gathering tips to help you make the most out of your time spent with loved ones.
Enjoy your Tribe to the Fullest with These Family Gathering Tips
1. Talk about past memories. If it’s an annual gathering that’s been going on since you were a kid, start a conversation to bring up some of the funny and heartwarming memories of years gone by. Include aunts, uncles, and cousins as you relive the “good ole days”.
2. Get into a conversation with your favorite relatives. If you just them a hug or a handshake and move on, you may be missing out on special stories and memories.
3. Changing up your surroundings where you normally host your gatherings are both great ways to encourage fresh conversation and connections. Make an effort to create a Family Gathering Committee. Rotate members in and out every gathering so everyone has a chance of honing their leadership and planning skills.
4. Crack a joke at an unexpected time, or grab a smaller group to go hunt down some hot chocolate.
5. Exchange phone numbers and emails with cousins and others you’ve grown distant from. You might have lost your childhood closeness, but why not bring that closeness back as adults? That way, when the next family gathering rolls around, you’ll already feel connected, both as family members and as friends.
6. Whip up some of your favorite recipes as a special treat. Or make it a recipe swap, either with or without the actual dishes. Start a fun new family tradition by creating a family “Secret Recipe” collection that can be added to over the years.
7. Create some completely new Family Traditions. Whether serious or funny, family traditions are the catalyst for bonding opportunities that can be continued for hundreds of years. Just make sure they’re memorable and a somehow representative of your family.
So, dust off your electronic family address book and plan a get-together. Gather for an annual winter marshmallow roast, a monthly poker game, or a quarterly brunch where you all wear your finest clothes and drink orange tea. After all, anything goes. It’s tradition!
Check out more great tips on our Edge Blog www.wildernessedge.com/blog
Balance and Blood Sugar Levels
When it comes to a healthier and happier life, your gut is your best friend. But we all know that daily life can get in the way. Poor sleep, bad diet, lack of exercise and even stress—affects your gut health by throwing off your body’s ability to effectively metabolize carbs, fat and glucose. All those daily stresses can also affect your heart health too, becoming a real recipe for a health disaster.
If you feel you need to take control of your health, Slim can help provide support with those concerns like healthy glucose metabolism, healthy blood pressure levels and help you manage weight.
Listen to what my friend, Shoshanna, a food purist and the founder of a Bulk Herb Store, says about why blood sugar levels are so important for our health, and the why we have DETOX symptoms when we balance the gut…
“Our body has thousands of different things going on all at once, while it works harmoniously as one. It needs constant communication with each part to do the job it was made to do. When your body stops listening to itself, piece by piece it will start to break down. What can keep our bodies from this extremely important communication? Insulin resistance.
The one common denominator that researchers have found in people that have lived to be over 100 years old; or tribal members that live much longer than the average life span, is their insulin sensitivity.
So, what is insulin?
Whether you eat, don’t eat, or eat starchy foods or sugary foods, all those things make your blood sugar go up or down. The body is very intelligent and knows how important it is that your blood sugar level stays balanced. So, every time you eat your body gives you a dose of insulin.
Insulin resistance is where your body gets confused because it is flooded with insulin and the cells stops listening. Let’s say you eat some oatmeal for Breakfast, an organic whole wheat sandwich for Lunch, and then you have some organic, brown fried rice for super in the evening. Sounds way healthier than 90% of the average Canadian diet, right? True. It is healthier, but still all those carbs you ate (oatmeal, bread, and rice) turn into sugar giving your body a big dose of insulin every time you eat. Your body is made to have only a little insulin release. When you start getting too much insulin on a regular basis, your cells stop listening and you become insulin resistant.
Insulin is one of your master hormones. So, if you get that balanced… it can then “talk” to all the other hormones and get things going in the right direction. That communication is vital for health. That communication is called “Insulin Sensitivity”, and it is the opposite of “Insulin Resistant”.
When the blood sugar is balanced, and the body is not being flooded with insulin it can then start to heal itself. Little by little, your body will start that necessary communication again. The communication brings harmony and balance back to your body.
Slim (aka “the PINK drink”) was designed to help keep our blood sugar levels balanced. That is why so many people are seeing that their bodies are finally starting to heal from so many different health issues, with one simple product: SLIM!
If you are sick or feel like your body has been overrun with toxins for a long period of time, and you start taking something that will begin to balance out your body and in turn it will also detox it. If you do not know what you are looking at, detoxes can scare you off from what your body needs (have any of you quit because you didn’t understand CANDIDA DIE OFF?).
Sometimes when you take something that detoxes you, you might just start feeling better right away! But some people have a period of die off. This can happen when you have bad bacteria, yeast, candida, fungus, parasites, lyme, mold, staff, strep, or something bad living in your gut or blood stream. Once your body starts communicating with itself again, it will realize that there are harmful things that it needs to get rid of. However, if it kills that bad stuff too fast, then you can experience what is called “die off” or “hertz reaction”.
When this happens to me, I always just slow it down, and cut whatever I am taking in half. I make sure I’m drinking lots of lemon water to flush all the toxins out. I also make sure everything is moving smoothly in the right direction (pooping at least once a day or more).
It normally takes the average person anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks for the die off period to end, but I know some people that have had them last for 3 months. Just take it slow, and let your body have time to clean itself out as you detox. Even if it is a pain, it is always kind of exciting to me because I know I’m getting rid of all that JUNK!!! Hope is here!
It is a exciting journey to take health back into your own hands! Life is worth living and to really enjoy it we need our health. We have known sickness in our family, but we learned, grew and strived for health and healing. We are not just living now, we are thriving!
Considering a Pet Sitter?
It’s important to look for caregivers who will not only provide for basic needs like food and water, but also companionship, reassurance, and playtime while you’re away. If you can find someone to come to your home, your pet gets to stay in his familiar surroundings, which is less stressful than taking him to a new location. It’s important to discuss details such as grooming and walking, accident cleanup, and taking the pet to a vet in case of emergency. You and your pet should feel comfortable about the care arrangements, so you can enjoy your vacation without worry!
Ride Don’t Hide
When we hide, mental health stays hidden. When we ride, we create change. This year, on June 24, ride in plain sight. Ride Don’t Hide. It’s more than the name of the event. It’s also the reason we’re riding. Think about joining the Ride Don’t Hide movement, a Canada-wide community bike ride to build awareness for mental health. Ride Don’t Hide is for riders of all skill levels; it is not a race, but, rather, an opportunity to celebrate mental health and honour the recovery journeys of people who live with mental illness. Join the Ride Don’t Hide movement and celebrate mental health!
Drink Aloe for Weight Loss
Aloe Vera’s weight loss properties are becoming better known. This plant stands above the rest of nature’s products as a detoxifying agent that helps the body remove waste. This is largely due to one of its components called ‘aloin’, which taken in appropriate doses can help us achieve its beneficial cleansing properties. The Aloe plant also helps us burn fat by improving our metabolism and the production of fatty acids, which is undoubtedly a big help in the fight to rid our bodies of excess fat. Aloe promotes intestinal function and better allows us to eliminate toxins from the body.
Spring Into Love
Spring is a season of cliches — birds singing, bees buzzing and people falling madly in love. If you’re a scientist though, the love sickness can be blamed on one very real thing. Dopamine! Dopamine is a naturally occurring chemical your brain uses to make you want things. There are other systems involved in love, but when it comes to new love, dopamine is the main culprit. And with enough of it swirling around your system, you’re prone to fall in love — and fall hard. No question, the newness of spring provides an ideal context for starting a new relationship. The changing weather and sunshine energize us — especially those of us who live in Manitoba where we’ve had to hibernate all winter. We’ve survived winter and now it’s time to start your search for love with the help of an experienced matchmaker.
Celebrate Aging!
We often hear the negative about seniors in our society, rather than celebrating them. Seniors offer wisdom and life experience integral to the fabric of a vibrant community. They contribute by shopping, using services (keeping people employed), and paying taxes. Seniors volunteer and make more charitable donations than any other age groups do. Many organizations could not function without them. Additionally, they help with babysitting and caregiving for spouses and friends, ultimately helping others to successfully “age in place”. Take the time to acknowledge the contributions made by seniors. By making our community more age-friendly, we can all play a role in inspiring more intergenerational understanding and connection.
Natural Product Review:
The Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox has been used in Canadian clinics for over 30 years and provides a complete multi-system detoxification of the colon and kidneys; acts on the urinary tract and the gastro-intestinal system; and has a healing effect on the liver. By following the recommended diet and taking the herbal formulas provided, the Herbal D-Tox program helps to keep a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination. Whether to stay in good health, to clear a congested system, or to use after over-consumption, a detoxification program can be the beginning of a new lifestyle, a way to break unwanted habits, and an integral part of your continued health.
Community Profile:
Manitoba Association of Senior Centres
Exercise your body and brain to stay active all year long. Manitoba Senior Centres are places where older adults come together to improve their health and quality of life, for services and programs, and to support personal independence and encourage involvement in community life. As older adults, we have the right to have a voice in determining matters in which we have a vital interest. A person’s sense of well-being is enhanced when one obtains balance and satisfaction in the various personal components, such as emotional, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual. Members and volunteers form the backbone of senior centres.
Japanese Massage
Just as each country has its own food, music, and traditions, massage techniques can differ by culture. In Japan, the traditional form of massage is called Anmado/Shiatsu, and it is a dry massage using mostly kneading and pressing. The pressure is applied to acupuncture points. Therapy also incorporates stretching and manipulation of the skeletal system. The practitioner often uses his knees and feet during the treatment. This style of therapy is considered holistic because it attempts to treat the whole person instead of specific medical complaints by using pressure points and the meridian system, and improving the energy balance of the body.
