Coconuts are one of the yummiest foods in the world. You can buy boxed coconut water nowadays, but if you get the chance, treat yourself to the fresh water and soft spoon meat of a young coconut found in your health or local Asian market.

The juice is packed with simple sugar, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish hydration levels in the body.  The key nutrients contained in coconut water include lauric acid, iron, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, which helps make your skin look younger.  The soft, young coconut meat is full of healthy fats to moisturize your skin and help keep it youthful from within.

To read more about the benefits of coconut water, read here.

Yogurt:  Unfortunately, yogurt has two things that are not beneficial to health: dairy products and tons of sugar.  Dairy products can be loaded with hormones and antibiotics, while the sugar in most of these yogurt products are also joined by artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, and other chemicals.

A better choice:  Coconut yogurt or chia seed pudding.

Instant Oatmeal:  Instant oatmeal tends to be just as high in sugar as other cereals and may be contaminated with gluten during manufacturing.

A better choice:  Try steel-cut oatmeal, or buckwheat granola.

Fruit Juice:  Even though juice boxes may say promises like “all natural”, in actuality they are loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and other chemicals.  You may just be drinking sweetened vitamin enhanced water.

A better choice:  Coconut water, homemade lemonade, plain water, herbal tea.

Breakfast Bars: Most breakfast or granola bars have “enriched flour” as the first ingredient, followed by some form of sugar.  These bars are filled with empty calories.

A better choice:  Try a green smoothie, almonds, or steel-cut oatmeal.

Peanut Butter:  Non-organic peanuts are one of the most pesticide saturated foods in the Western diet and are also prone to developing fungi.

A better choice:  Almond butter!  Try almond butter on celery sticks topped with raisins.

Stop, drop and roll is a simple safety technique most of us were taught as children.  This method was taught to help you extinguish fire from your clothes or hair if you were in a fire situation.  Most of us, luckily, have not caught on fire!  However, many of us have fires in our lives.  Overbooked schedules, difficult relationships, or financial struggles may be just a few of your fires. Good news. Putting out fires in your life can be simple. The timeless safety technique stop, drop and roll still applies!

Here’s how:

Stop.  Slow down.  Unplug.  Take a break.  Get a fresh perspective on your situation.

Drop.  Let go of what is not serving you.  Simplify and relieve your overwhelm now.

Roll. Go with the flow. Move forward with what is most important. You will know what to do!

As Socrates says, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”  Make your moments matter.

About the Author:: Alison Miller is a mind-body wellness expert and Hawaii-based healer who strategically coaches and consults individuals to create the health, relationships and career to which they aspire.  Check out Alison’s blog, Live Inspired(http://alisonimiller.com/), to receive the best information about holistic wellness. To schedule an office, phone or Skype session visit Alison Miller Consulting & Coaching(http://alisonimiller.com/holistic-life-coaching/).

1.  Cancer Prevention:  Studies have shown a significant reduction in cancer risk among those who avoided meat.  Meat is devoid of fiber and other nutrients that have a protective effect.

2.  Lose Excess Weight and Keep it Off:  A high vegetarian diet low in fat and rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes, accompanied with daily exercise, is the perfect formula for healthy weight loss.

3.  Slow the Aging Process:  Plant based diets are generally rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, which in turn strengthens the immune system and slows down the aging process.

4.  Reduce Risk of Heart Disease:  High vegetarian diets are naturally lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in plant nutrients that most meat-based diets.  Vegetarians have been shown to have a 24% lower risk of dying of heart disease than non-vegetarians.

5.  Enjoy the Diverse, Colorful, and Delicious World of Vegetarian Cuisine:  Vegetarian meals can be tasty, fast, and easy.  You can also make any of your favorite dishes by substituting with ready-made meat alternatives.

This slightly chunky raisin sauce dresses up the roasted cauliflower florets to help make your dinner not only simple, but delicious!

About the Author:: Summer Peters is the Director of Bliss at our SwellWomen retreats. She is also the owner of Surf Yoga Maui and Health Talk, A Lifestyle System for Healthy Living.  For more recipes or to join in on the next seasonal cleanse, visit here.

About the Author:: Alison Miller is a mind-body wellness expert and Hawaii-based healer who strategically coaches and consults individuals to create the health, relationships and career to which they aspire.  Check out Alison’s blog, Live Inspired(http://alisonimiller.com/), to receive the best information about holistic wellness. To schedule an office, phone or Skype session visit Alison Miller Consulting & Coaching(http://alisonimiller.com/holistic-life-coaching/).

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup quinoa
3 large carrots, grated (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions:

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

4. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

In a nutshell: Big Beach is a beautiful, long, wide, undeveloped sandy beach. Impressive, with huge views and a large shore-break. Big Beach is a must-see.

Minuses: A wicked shore-break exists here when the surf is up that can be dangerous for the inexperienced.
Sound-bite: [monster crashing wave]

Details:
One of the most outstanding beaches in Maui. Big Beach is well over a half a mile long, and is also uncharacteristically wide by Maui standards. That means loads of real estate to stake out your claim, and this beach, while always drawing lots of people – is never so crowded as to be packed.

Big Beach has a significant on-shore break that can be downright brutal when there is a large south swell. This is never a beach that is safe for small children or inexperienced swimmers. Adults might want to think twice during high surf, as well.

Recently three lifeguard stands were added. If any beach on Maui should have had lifeguard stands, this is it. This is one point glossed over in most guidebooks, and is very important that visitors know: the waves here are often big, and powerful. The shore break crashes right at the water’s edge, and you should always enter the ocean here cautiously. If in doubt, consult a lifeguard.

When the surf is up, you’ll also be front-row to the most extreme boogie boarding you’re likely to see during your visit.

Here is the link to the full article:  http://mauiguidebook.com/beaches/makena-big-beach-oneloa/

About The Author::
Mark Goldberg lives at the edge of the rainforest along the Road to Hana with his wife and four children. Mark’s captivation with extraordinary environment and people of Maui has inspired his mission to create the most comprehensive and balanced online guide to Maui. [Visit MauiGuidebook.com].

Why?

It Feels Good:  Engaging in movement, such as yoga, helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to our tissues.  Regular exercise boosts our cardiovascular system to be more efficient.  This means more blood through our blood vessels and our heart for more energy, better stamina, and feeling good!
It Makes Me Happy: Exercise is a mood enhancer and a great way to relieve stress and calm our selves.  Regular exercise has been said to boost self-esteem and self- confidence.
Disease Prevention:  Exercise helps manage a variety of conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Controls the Jiggly Parts:  Yoga not only feels good, but it helps burn up excess calories.  It is great for balance, muscle tone, flexibility, and strength.
Better Sleep:  Physical activity will help us have an easier time falling asleep faster, and into a deeper sleep.  What a great help for catching up on beauty sleep!  Just be carful not to exercise too close to bedtime or this may be counterproductive!

About the Author:: Summer Peters is the Director of Bliss at our SwellWomen retreats. She is also the owner of Summer’s Green Smoothies, A Lifestyle System for Healthy Living.  For more recipes or to join in on the next seasonal cleanse, visit here.

The Best Six Doctors

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they’ll ease
Your will they’ll mend
And charge you not a shilling.

~Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

Remember to visit the doctor this week and bring a friend!

About the Author:: Alison Miller is a mind-body wellness expert and Hawaii-based healer who strategically coaches and consults individuals to create the health, relationships and career to which they aspire.  Check out Alison’s blog, Live Inspired(http://alisonimiller.com/), to receive the best information about holistic wellness. To schedule an office, phone or Skype session visit Alison Miller Consulting & Coaching(http://alisonimiller.com/holistic-life-coaching/).