by Erin Owen | Jan 21, 2014 | Ezine
As I mentioned in my January 7 blog about “sehnsucht” (a longing or yearning), part of what I’m doing to manifest what I want in my life is decluttering my home and cleansing my body.
I’m sharing here some of the delicious and energizing recipes I’ve been using as part of the anti-inflammatory and detoxing regimen, that is facilitated by a Ardmore, Pennsylvania-based naturopath named Jill Hoffman and hosted by my favorite green spa Eviama Life Spa.
I invite you to follow along if you want to boost your own energy in a delicious, nourishing way! (Make sure you seek the guidance of your trusted health care professional along the way.)
The first week of the mid-winter cleanse was challenging for most, but pretty simple for me. Goal of the first week: completely cut out caffeine, sugar, and alcohol.
I’ve been “off” coffee since 2003 and only once in a while drink chai or have a dark chocolate. Saying no to a beer or glass of wine was fairly easy, although I missed my Friday afternoon happy hour treat. Instead I had sparkling water with fresh slices of lemon.
Hidden sugars were the challenge for me. The approach calls for removing all forms of natural and artificial sugar including dried fruits and fruit juices.
I was surprised to learn how much “sugar” is in my organic Cascadian Farms granola and my “original” flavored almond milk. So I transitioned to a simple steel cut oats breakfast and upgraded to a better quality unsweetened almond milk with no carrageenan (an extract of seaweed which I recently learned is potentially carcinogenic and promotes inflammation in the GI tract).
RECIPE #1 Simple Steel Cut Oats Breakfast
3 min prep, 3 min cooking, 1 min assembly
Ingredients:
Trader Joe’s brand Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats
Filtered Water
1 T. lemon juice
Whole fruit of choice, sliced or chopped
Raw nuts of choice, whole or broken into smaller pieces
Directions:
The night before, soak ¼ cup steel cup oats in filtered water (filling the water 2 inches above the oats) and adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
This step not only speeds up the cooking time the next morning but more importantly may remove phytic acid on the grain that can contribute to the blocking of nutrient absorption. Cover the container with a tight-fitting lit or plastic wrap.
In the morning, dump your much expanded steel cut oats into a fine-mesh strainer and wash thoroughly with filtered water. Plop the oats back in a small cast-iron pot (or other pot of choice) on the stove top, add ½ cup more filtered water (or rice milk or almond milk) and with the lid on, bring to a boil. Immediately drop the heat to simmer-level (low heat) and stir until desired consistency. Feel free to add more water or rice/almond milk to make creamier, which I like to do.
Stir-in slices or chopped pieces of a favorite fruit and chopped or whole raw nuts, serve, and enjoy!
Variations: Add more liquid after stirring in fruit and nuts. Skip the fruit and just focus on the nuts.
The second week is the official first week of the anti-inflammatory way of eating, and its goal is to: cut out all common allergens and inflammatory foods including wheat and other gluten-containing products (spelt, kamut, barley, rye), soy, corn, tomato, peanut, beef, pork, tuna, swordfish, shellfish, dairy, eggs, all “cured” meats (cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages, canned meats), fake butters (margarine, shortening, processed or hydrogenated oils, mayonnaise, peanut oil), sodas and “soft” drinks, and condiments (ketchup, relish, BBQ sauce, chutneys, etc). All while still not consuming caffeine, sugar, and alcohol.
You might wonder, “what is there left to eat?” But don’t worry. I’ve had tons of experience eating in a simple, more healthful way over the years in order to cure my own health issues and stop taking prescription medication, and more recently to avoid the foods that my youngest could not eat when he was still breast feeding (wheat, corn, soy, peanut, dairy). I can tell you that there is a lot left to eat AND it’s quite delicious and energizing to focus on these foods.
RECIPE #2 Pesto-stuffed Chicken Breasts, Savory Wild Rice, and Garlic Green Beans – a delicious dinner for 1 or more!
45 minutes prep (30 minutes hands-off time, 15 minutes hands-on time), 5 minutes to plate and serve
Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 for each person)
Pesto (preferably dairy-free)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Wild rice (I bought organic Lundberg Farms brand)
Filtered water
Optional organic chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional garlic olive oil to taste
Trimmed organic green beans (1 large handful per person)
Filtered water
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Crushed garlic cloves (2-3 small ones)
Directions:
50 minutes ahead of targeted eating time, use a rice cooker to prepare the desired amount of wild rice (or follow package directions to cook in a pot). Either way, use filtered water. When wild rice is done cooking, optionally pour in organic chicken broth and add salt & pepper to taste to make more savory.
20-minutes ahead of targeted eating time, slice a thin pocket into the chicken breasts and spread pesto in the pocket. Warm olive oil (enough to spread a thin later over the bottom of a wide, flat skillet) until just more than medium heat (and a drop of water will sizzle in the pan). Then place chicken breasts in the pan and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Once there is a nice brown sear on the bottom of the chicken (about 5 -7 minutes, depending on thickness of the breasts), flip over to the other side and again add salt & pepper.
While chicken breasts are cooking on the first side, boil 1 inch of water in a wide soup pot. Add a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, and crushed garlic cloves, followed by one large handful of green beans per person. Cover and turn heat down to medium for 5 minutes, then check for crisp/tenderness with a fork. Continue to simmer on low heat until just tender (or softer, if you prefer).
Scoop wild rice onto each plate, then add a double-seared chicken breast with pesto stuffing and a heaping spoonful of green beans with some crushed garlic coming along for the ride.
And enjoy!
The third week adds on week 2’s focus by fully eliminating all forms of animal protein. So keep to the list of Week 2 focus but subtract all the fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, wild game. To make sure we’re getting enough protein, the naturopath has us following Thorne Research’s MediClear® program and using a pea-protein and rice-protein based protein drink mix. Ask your naturopath or holistic health provider for guidelines if you want to go this far and follow along!
RECIPE #3: Cream of Broccoli Soup
15 minutes
Ingredients:
- Head of Organic Broccoli
- 3 cups organic Vegetable Broth
- Salt & Pepper
- ¼ cup Rice Milk (optional: Erin did not add this.)
- a dash or two of curry powder to taste (optional: Erin added this and the whole family loved it.)
Directions:
- Steam the broccoli in 2-3 cups vegetable broth until bright green and just tender
- Strain the broth into a bowl (keep the liquid!)
- Allow the broth to cool
- Put the broccoli and one-quarter of the cool broth in a blender and blend
- Return the blended broccoli to the pot, add the remaining three-quarters of the cooled broth, and bring the mixture back up to simmer.
- Add ¼ cup rice milk and salt & pepper to taste.
Variations:
Use asparagus or mushrooms instead of broccoli.
Source: Slightly adapted from the original Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe published in the Thorne Research MediClear® program patient guide.
Return to the Week 2 focus of foods and notice how your body feels with each food you re-introduce.
This final week (and the time that follows) is critical! Keep a detailed log of how your body responds as you add back in each common allergenic food and each inflammatory food.
The typical recommendation for any elimination diet is to add back in one food every 3 days. But don’t just eat a few bites. Add it in several times a day for those 3 days and note how the food affects your energy, bowels, skin, clarity of thought, digestion, libido, menstrual cycle, etc.
If you notice any problems or irritation at all, then stop eating that food. You’ve found a food that does not work well for your body. By keeping it out of the mix, you’ll benefit your body, your digestion, your immune system and your overall energy level. An important discovery!!!
As mentioned above, call on your trusted health care professional for support, to answer questions, and more. Ultimately, trust your body to tell you what is best for you!
I hope you enjoyed following along with my own cleansing adventure, and that you found the recipes to be tasty and stimulating for your palate.
When your body operates at its optimum level of performance, it can support YOU in being your best and performing at your own optimum level—feeling great, focusing on what you love to do, connecting more readily with those you work with and those you love, and bringing about the positive changes you are seeking in your life.
If you have questions or want to talk with me about how to move forward with your goals and dreams for 2014 and beyond, I invite you to schedule a free 15-minute call with me at your earliest convenience. Life moves fast, so why wait? I’d love to connect with you now!
by Erin Owen | Nov 19, 2013 | Ezine
What is Simcha?
It’s a Hebrew word that means many things, including happiness or joy.
However, it was explained to me last week during a lecture given by Wharton Professor G. Richard Shell about his new book Springboard, that Simcha can mean something much more profound. A rabbi once explained to Richard that Simcha can describe that feeling you sometimes have when you feel like you are in the exact right place doing the exact right thing at the exact right time.
My own personal definition of Simcha?
Something I like to think of as that wonderful, high vibrational humming feeling I get when I’m neither striving nor resisting, and I’m both in my experience yet able to observe it at the same time – the sweet spot of being in the rich flow of life.
I am grateful to know about this word Simcha, just as I am grateful for the experience of Simcha.
What moments of Simcha have you recently experienced in your life?
What are you grateful for?
As we move into next week’s celebration of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, I invite you to pause and consider these two questions:
What moments of Simcha have you recently observed in your life?
What are you grateful for?
If the second foundational principle* I teach my clients holds out in this context, you will experience more Simcha and have more things to be grateful for, simply by pondering these questions and shifting your awareness and attention to them.
Let me know what you discover!
by Erin Owen | Nov 5, 2013 | Ezine
If you feel at times that your life is spinning out of control and you have too much on your plate, then you absolutely need to read this. Or if you generally feel on top of your responsibilities, but crave more time for yourself and intimacy with loved ones, then you too will benefit from reading about the practice of mindfulness.
The more our lives increase in complexity, the more we need to mindfully practice mindfulness.
But, what the heck does that mean?
The Bottom Line
When you carve out time in your day to pause and breathe and quiet your mind, you earn back the following for yourself:
- Almost immediate reduction of your stress level, with a decrease in your heart rate and blood pressure and reduced production of cortisol levels. (Increased cortisol and blood pressure are linked with weight gain, heart disease, adrenal fatigue and other issues you don’t want!)
- Calming of that inner anxiety that makes you sweat, wakes you up at night, and causes tension in your muscles. (Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep soundly and move smoothly through your day without moments of sudden panic about your “to do” list?)
- Improved cognitive function and better decision-making, with a measurable thickening of brain tissue and acceleration in the firing of the brain. (Clear out the brain fog and boost your short term memory, with faster recall of the info you need now!)
- A boost to your joy, your creativity, and your level of patience with challenging situations and people. (No need to get huffy when someone doesn’t understand you! Slow down and connect and be present to see what unfolds in life!)
And much much more.
3 Simple Steps to Mindfulness
- Use a mindfulness app like Zazen to ping you throughout the day to remember to pause, breathe, and check in with yourself: how are you feeling? What do you need? Who can support you? What can you let go of? What are you grateful for?
- Check out how Whil can help you with focus, creativity, and breakthrough thinking, by joining this new 1-minute movement started by the founders of Lululemon. All you need is one minute!
- Commit to 5 minutes each day — either upon waking or before bed — to breathe and reflect and let go of your busy monkey mind. My experience is that for each 1 minute you practice quieting your mind, you regain 10 minutes of your life. With these 5 minutes each day, you’ll earn back more than 50 minutes a day, or roughly 304 hours a year of better productivity and a more enjoyable life. That’s 7 or 8 work weeks for most of us! But maybe you’ll use some of that time for vacation.
PLUS 4 FREE Resources
Read chapter 1 in my book Refuel Recharge and Reenergize for free by clicking here. Check out reader reviews of my book on Amazon.com.
Get a taste of the simplicity and mindfulness that weaves its way through my Boost Your Performance program. Click here to read and listen to free excerpts from this foundational training designed to create more space in your life by simplifying your daily routine, your calendar, your in box, and your living & working space.
Schedule a free 15-minute call with me to talk about how you can cultivate more mindfulness in your life!
And if you missed my last post with 8 Free Energy Boosting Tips for Thriving (instead of barely surviving), click here.
Here’s to YOU getting out of the overwhelm lane and into the happy groove of conscious working and living,
Erin
P.S. Check out this recent NY Times article on Mindfulness that might interest you.
by Erin Owen | Oct 22, 2013 | Ezine
Special Note: No time to read this whole article? Click here to receive a series of short audio recordings with tips and strategies to cultivate new energy reserves. You can then listen to the audio tips in transit or while walking to your next appointment.
Do you ever get on an airplane? Then you might want to pause to consider the single most important thing an airline pilot must know: the minimum speed at which he can fly the plane before the engines stall.
The equally important thing for you to know—to not only survive your onslaught of responsibilities but thrive in life—is how to cultivate your energy reserves with strategies and practices that act like renewable fuels. YOU are, after all, the engine of your life and you need your engine to run efficiently and effectively day in and day out.
If you’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, then maybe the reserves you normally draw on have gone dry and you’ve hit some kind of invisible ceiling—or maybe it feels more like you’ve fallen to the bottom of a pit you can’t crawl out of.
You’re not alone, though.
When I left my corporate job nearly a decade ago, I was reeling from the devastating impact of a stressful, energy-depleting lifestyle that left me physically out of shape, struggling with health issues that required prescription medication, feeling estranged from my closest personal relationships.
Even my earnings had started to plateau because I had been unknowingly drawing on non-renewable forms of fuel.
After leaving that corporate job, I was cautious about putting my own heart and soul into building my business from the ground up. Why? Because I knew I could easily be driven further down the same exhausting path, working the stereotypical owner-entrepreneur’s 24/7 schedule.
I vowed to find a smarter way of working and living, and I set out to experiment with any and all methods, from East to West.
AWESOME RESULTS!
The strategies I experimented with in my own life resulted in me not only significantly increasing my natural energy reserves but also prioritizing what was most important to support my vision.
- I changed my work hours to support the life I wanted to live (rather than fitting “life” into the corners around the edges of work).
- I increased my mental focus and productivity so I got more done in a shorter period of time.
- I even dropped 2 dress sizes and felt more confident in my body and overall.
The changes I made also reduced my anxiety level so I no longer woke up sweating at 4 AM, with my mind racing about the day ahead, and ultimately put me back in the driver’s seat with regard to running by business and growing my income.
Since 2004, I’ve shared these same strategies with hundreds of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and private individuals, and here in today’s blog post I share my best tips with you—ones that you can implement immediately, today, to boost your energy and not only feel better but work more effectively and enjoyably so you can generate better results in your business sooner and get home earlier to enjoy the rest of your life.
Boost Your Engine’s Efficiency
Start the day with a warm, protein-rich breakfast. Colder temperature foods require more energy to digest because your body has to heat them up first before they can be processed. Protein-rich foods like quinoa, black beans, eggs and lean meats help to stabilize your blood sugar so you don’t burn out mid-morning.
As I write about in chapter two of my book Refuel, Recharge, and Re-energize, starting your day in this way “not only sparks your digestive fire, but also boosts your metabolism, brain function and immunity—all critical for supercharging you—the engine behind your business, your passion, your purpose.” Try eating leftover Indian dal (lentils) or black beans and rice to kick-start your day like many of my clients do.
Get your heart rate up 20 minutes or more each day. While it takes only about 1 minute for all the blood in your body to circulate one time around, the standard recommendation is to elevate your heart rate an average of 20 minutes to fully “flush” your system. To feel more energized and productive, follow the American Heart Association’s recommendation for moderate physical activity: 150 minutes a week or roughly one 20+ minute period of elevated heart rate each day.
Why? Just like the pipes in your bathroom need to be flushed, all the old toxins and cortisol and other hormones your body releases through naturally processing need to be flushed out of your system. When they stay in you, they cause fatigue and sluggishness. Not exactly the best recipe for feeling energized and productive
No time to exercise? Try these integration strategies:
Meet with your business partner or colleague while walking briskly, jogging lightly, or biking. One of my clients conducts regular meetings with her direct reports while walking on the bike path near her office. (Moving your body is a great way to fuel creative inspiration too!)
Use your own body power to run an errand rather than relying on a car, public transit, taxi, or even a courier service. Take that package in hand and see how quickly you can walk to the nearby mailbox store and back. Put on a backpack and shop for those office supplies on foot or by bike.
Get active with your loved ones. Throw the ball for your dog, then chase it down with him to see who gets there first. Try to keep up with your daughter as she plays tag up and around the jungle gym equipment at her favorite park. It’s amazing how quickly 20 minutes will pass by and how easily you’ll be able to do this.
The more regularly you get your heart rate up, flush out those toxins, and ask more of your body’s performance, the more your engine will support you in operating at its optimum level in your daily work routine.
Get to sleep an hour earlier. If your excuse for staying up late is that you have too much work to do, then know this: numerous sleep studies have confirmed that when you sacrifice sleep, you are more likely to make mistakes, have trouble focusing, get sick more often, gain weight, and be in a grumpier mood. Can you afford to continue wasting time on illness, error, and inefficiency? Experiment with going to get an hour earlier for two weeks and observe the incremental benefits that accumulate over time.
No time to read on? Sign-up to receive these strategies as a series of short audio recordings for easy listening on-the-go.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
We have all been hypnotized by the false illusion that multi-tasking and pushing ourselves harder for more hours leads to higher levels of productivity. This way of working draws on a non-renewable form of fuel that eventually runs out, causing our internal engine to burn out. And just like in any system of production, each one of us has a unique level of exertion at which we hit the point of diminishing returns and become tapped out.
Try out the following strategies to best utilize your existing energy, create some breathing room in your schedule, and simplify your life so you can maximize your productivity.
Do one thing at a time. Quickly switching between and among disparate tasks—like sending text messages while trying to stay on track with your colleague’s presentation while simultaneously eating bites of lunch—is mentally exhausting, often causes misunderstandings, increases indigestion, and ultimately results in you wasting more time due to the inherent inefficiencies. Whether you call this mindfulness or single-tasking or just plain old focus, it’s time to set aside other distractions and give your full attention to one thing at a time.
I teach my clients to design a schedule template from scratch that allows them to consolidate common activities into fixed blocks of time. For example, any decisions and activities involving business finances might get slotted on Monday after the weekly planning meeting, while product development and improvement strategies and tactics are the focus for Wednesday mornings. When new demands or tasks arise in the course of daily business, those items get added to the next “slot” for those tasks. Email and online activities get consolidated into two or three short blocks of time at different points in the day to avoid distraction during the rest of the day.
Line up your schedule commitments with your natural peaks of energy. We each have unique peaks of energy in our day, when our Physical, Creative, and Mental energies are highest. I teach my clients to identify their own peaks, then re-organize their calendars to support these natural highs and lows. For example, one client has her best creative energy in the morning between 5 AM and 7 AM, so she blocks out that time to write and brainstorm new project ideas. Later in the day when her physical energy wanes, around 2:30 PM, she leaves the office and hits the gym to get in her cardio and weight training and re-charge her energy reserves. After she showers, she jumps back online for another 90-120 minutes to wrap-up her day and plan for tomorrow’s activities.
Say no to what does not support your vision. Whether driven by a heart-felt desire to help others or the desire for more recognition, you are more than likely involved in at least one (if not many) activities that drain your energy rather than spark your inner fire. Take a moment to mentally note or write down what you’ve committed to in your life out of a sense of obligation (whether it’s a colleague’s kid’s birthday party or another position on the board of a community organization) and figure out the best way to politely decline future involvement. Saying “no” to what does not support your vision will free-up your mental, emotional, and physical energy to focus on the good stuff!
Don’t stop here! Keep going, or if you prefer you can sign-up to receive these tips in audio format, conveniently delivered to your email in box.
Improve Your Inputs to Improve Your Outputs
It is generally agreed that better quality ingredients create better quality products. And better package design appeals to your target market’s aesthetic and ergonomic needs and makes them want to buy more. These details and more may be on your mind day in and day out as you do your work or run your business. But, how often do you pause to consider the quality of inputs you are putting into YOU, the engine of your business?
Add one or both of these Renewable Forms of Fuel to your daily intake to experience a surge of sustainable energy that stimulates your creativity, mental focus, and productivity:
Water. A majority of busy professionals are dehydrated. Not only do you forget to drink water, but you eat a lot of processed, salty foods and caffeinated beverages which further dries you out. Your body and brain need water for every single basic function, so if you want your body and brain to work well for you, give them this essential ingredient!
How much water should you drink?
- According to the Institute of Medicine, men should drink 3.0 liters of fluids per day (roughly 13 cups); women 2.2 liters per day (roughly 9 cups); 80% of the water should come from water, 20% from food.
- According to J.R. Worsley, a well-respected internationally known acupuncturist, drink 1 ounce per 2 pounds of body weight (e.g., a 150 lb adult should drink 75 ounces of water).
Make the water more appealing by bringing a large, beautiful glass to work and filling a glass pitcher with water and slices of cucumber or citrus.
Mindful Breathing. Not sure if this works? Pause now and take 3 to 5 deep, full breaths with slow inhales and long exhales and notice how quickly your heart rate slows, the tension in your muscles get released, and your mental clarity comes on line. The ideal state to focus, be creative, and get work done is when you are more relaxed and present in the moment. Mindful breathing puts you in this state of mind.
Add a reminder to your calendar to pause and breathe several times a day. Or better yet get involved with a fun activity that forces you to breathe like rowing, a spinning class, or an active form of yoga (like vinyasa). Breathe more consciously to fuel every cell in your body with oxygen and activate your highest potential!
Reduce or eliminate one or both of these Non-Renewable Forms of Fuel to sleep better, escape the after-lunch fatigue, and better sustain your energy throughout the day:
Caffeine. No, don’t believe the hype. While a small amount of caffeine used on occasion can improve mental focus and productivity, research has linked the long-term habitual use of caffeine to adrenal exhaustion, insomnia, headaches, anxiety, irritability, and more health problems. I cut out my daily coffee habit nearly 10 years ago and have never looked back. Most of my clients have been shocked at how much better they sleep and how much more easily they wake in the morning after cutting out the caffeine. Don’t go cold turkey, though. Gradually reduce your caffeine over a two-week or longer period and (if you like) replace with an energizing herbal tea, like ginger or peppermint.
Alcohol. After a long day full of caffeinated beverages and cortisol-surging intense work activities, you naturally crave the relaxing and balancing effects of alcohol. However, a little known negative side effect is that alcoholic drinks contribute to insomnia, which fuels the daytime cycle of exhaustion and low energy, which again makes you reach for the caffeine.
Increase your water and oxygen intake, slowly decrease that caffeine, and wean yourself off the alcohol too—all to boost your energy and get you the results you want.
SHIFT FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION
Be kind to yourself and remember that you are living and working in one of the most challenging, demanding, and complex times in human history. Keep it simple by identifying the one idea out of this post that most resonated with you and experiment. Then, email me about the unique kind of energy-boosting effect it has for you.
About the Author:
Erin Owen, who earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 2001, has been creating breakthrough results and transforming the lives of her clients since 2004. She teaches stressed-out, busy professionals like you how to increase your income and generate better results in business and life by boosting your energy, reducing your stress, simplifying everyday routines, and better managing your time.
In addition to being a certified Total Leadership Coach, Health Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Reiki Master, Erin is the author of two publications: Refuel, Recharge, and Re-energize: The Conscious Entrepreneur’s Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Time and Energy (available on Amazon) and Boost Your Productivity In and Out of the Office with Eastern-Inspired Clutter Clearing Secrets (only available on her website).
When she’s not working, you can find her chasing around her two growing boys and chocolate Labrador retriever with her husband in Philadelphia. Follow her on Twitter for more tips @Erin_Owen_YPB, like her on Facebook, or email her at Info [at] YourPerformanceBreakthrough [dot] com.
Use a pen or colorful pencil or marker and draw or write it down on paper. Allow your imagination to flow freely and don’t hold yourself back. Capture all the details of what is at the heart of your “sehnsucht” and take this first step in making it real.
When your closet is crammed full of old clothes that don’t fit and you never wear, where can you hang up that nice new outfit you want to buy? You must first make room!
Check-in about your progress and adjust if necessary. Did you take that first step? If not, why? What got in the way? How can you take a slightly different approach to make it happen? Who can help you or help hold you accountable? Or, what’s another simple, easy step you can take?
Check-in and adjust (if necessary), then move forward. Check-in and tweak (if necessary), and move forward again.