Meet Kyle Cease: Bust a Belly Laugh While You Upgrade Your Spiritual Hard Drive

Meet Kyle Cease: Bust a Belly Laugh While You Upgrade Your Spiritual Hard Drive

Through one series of serendipitous events, Kyle and I  kept bumping into each other. “Do I know you from somewhere? Have I met you before?” And sure enough, we’d bumped into each other at Cynthia Kersey’s birthday party, the Longevity Now Conference, Awesomeness Fest in Maui and again at the Women’s Wellness Conference in Orange County.

Clearly our paths were meant to cross!

When Kyle took the stage, I was so moved by his defiance of the status quo and so inspired by his courage to go after the things he really wanted in life, that I knew he would knock the socks off in our Attitude category for this year’s WISH Summit. And sure enough, he did.

Kyle and I recorded our call on video, and during his interview he shared how he got the job, the love and the life of his dreams and the potent principles he used to make it all happen. This is definitely a call you’ll want to bring a pencil for!! (Unless, you’d like to purchase the WISH Workbook, save a whole lot of time and hand cramps, and help free women and girls from sexual slavery for the low, low price of $27. )

To access the video interview with Kyle, please make sure you’re signed up to WISH: Women’s International Summit for Health.

Tera

Are You Getting Enough Iron on the Raw Vegan Diet?

by Joanna Steven

Are You Getting Enough Iron on the Raw Vegan Diet
by Joanna Steven
When I first told my doctor that I planned on getting pregnant some time this year, she immediately prescribed a multivitamin. Since I am aware of the fact that many raw women cannot stomach leafy greens and other super nutritious foods in the early months of their pregnancy, I decided to go ahead and take them. But when I noticed that each pill contained twice the daily requirement of iron, I was a little concerned.

According to the MedlinePlus Encyclopedia, iron overdoses can cause anything from dehydration to liver damage. When I told her that my hemoglobin level was already 44 (with 37 being the limit between normal levels and anemia, and 47 the limit between normal and excessive levels) without even taking a supplement, she mentioned the fact that as a vegetarian, taking iron supplements wouldn’t hurt, and that pregnant women need more iron anyway.

Still, I wasn’t convinced. If my iron level is so good without me even paying attention to it, I should be able to eat enough iron rich food to get me through my pregnancy without difficulty. I started incorporating various iron rich ingredients into my daily recipes, and realized that really, when we eat healthy, nutritious raw foods, we should get all the iron we need without taking supplements.

Most dieters are not aware of the fact that raw vegan ingredients contain more than enough iron for good health, more so than red meat and other supposedly iron rich foods.
For example, let’s look at hemp’s nutritional profile. A quarter of a cup of hemp contains 40% of our daily iron requirement. By contrast, a serving of red meat contains only about 10 to 15%. We would need to eat 10 steaks a day to get enough iron, while a little more than ½ a cup of hemp is more than enough!

Another super iron rich food is parsley. Some people like to juice it, or add it to green smoothies. I personally find it a bit strong in smoothies, and I once read that parsley juice wasn’t recommended during pregnancies (parsley as a whole food is healthful, but massive quantities such as in parsley oil or large parsley juices aren’t recommended). My favorite way of eating it is simply in tabbouleh. And since I substitute the traditional bulgur wheat with hemp, my tabbouleh really becomes an iron powerhouse!

In the nuts and seed department, pumpkin seed and unhulled sesame seeds really shine. Just an ounce of either seed provide nearly ¼ of our daily iron requirement. I love sprinkling pumpkin seeds on salad, or adding them to flax crackers. And sesame seeds can be slipped into nearly anything as they are so small, or they can be a dish’s main attraction if you use tahini (sesame butter) as part of a salad or kale chips dressing. In general, other nuts and seeds such as sunflower, cashew or flax will provide around 10% of our iron needs per ounce.

Eating an iron rich raw vegan diet is really easy, and here are a few recipes to get you started!

Protein & Iron Strawberry Banana Shake (serves 2)
This recipe provides 30% of the FDA’s protein and iron requirement, as well as more than 300% of our daily vitamin C requirement, thus enhancing our body’s ability to absorb iron. It also provides 25% of our folate requirement, an important nutrient during pregnancy.

Protein & Iron Strawberry Banana Shake (serves 2)
This recipe provides 30% of the FDA’s protein and iron requirement, as well as more than 300% of our daily vitamin C requirement, thus enhancing our body’s ability to absorb iron. It also provides 25% of our folate requirement, an important nutrient during pregnancy.

−    4 cup sliced, strawberries
−    2 large bananas, frozen
−    ¼ cup hemp seeds
−    ½ to 1 cup water
−    Agave or honey to taste, depending on the fruits’ sweetness

Directions:
Blend all the ingredients until smooth. If using fresh bananas, you can add a few ice cubes for a cool, refreshing smoothie.

Parsley & Hemp Tabbouleh
I often look at ethnic recipes for nutrition. Often, the ingredients within them have been combined, consciously or not, to ensure maximum nutrition absorption while tasting wonderful. This salad supplies more than 50% of our iron requirement for the day, as well as a generous 20 grams of protein.

Ingredients:
−    2 ounces parsley, chopped
−    1 Roma tomato, diced finely
−    1 T fresh mint, chopped
−    3 T hemp seeds
−    1 green onion, diced
−    1 T olive oil
−    1 T fresh lemon juice
−    Pinch salt

Directions:
−    Toss all ingredients together except for the tomatoes. Refrigerate until ready to use, and add the tomatoes just before serving. If the tabbouleh stays in the fridge for too long, it might start to dry out. Simply add a little more olive oil and toss one more time.

Quick & Easy Morning Cereal
This cereal is so quick and easy, and my husband likes it more than all the really complicated ones that needs lots of dehydrating and prep time. Adding nut milk make the mix even more nutritious.

Ingredients:
−    1 T pumpkin seeds, soaked
−    1 T sunflower seeds, soaked
−    1 T raisins
−    1 T dry apricots, finely diced
−    1 T prepared raw chocolate chips, chopped (or a few cacao nibs)
−    Anything you want to add! Berries, fresh fruits cut into small cubes etc. are especially good

Directions:
Toss all the ingredients together into a bowl, add some nut milk, and enjoy!

(21-Day Challenge) Day 5: Lasagna Lovin’ on a Friday Night!

I just mopped my floors. Mr. Right is on his way to pick up my new friend Andrea and they’re coming over for dinner. Andrea is an Alissa Cohen grad and has been busy all day making some amazing food for tonight. She and I met at a raw food potluck recently and I loooooove her! We’re going to start doing workshops together and tonight is our “executive business planning meeting”.

Mr. Right is a marketing G E N I U S, so we want to tell him all about our big plans to RAWK Montréal and we’re shmoozing him with a scrumptious raw food meal. But before it all happens, I just couldn’t resist checking in to see how everyone’s doing. So TELL ME, why don’t ya?! Here’s my ditty for the day:

Today was sunny and filled with promise.

I went and played in a soccer field barefoot for a while–to touch the Earth and feel grass between my toes… to look up at the sky while lying on my back and feel like I could stretch myself to eternity.

I feel good.

I feel on track and focused.

Sometimes the simple declaration that you’re going to take on a challenge with the intent to achieve a certain goal is enough. Sometimes it feels as though it’s enough to state your intention to do something and then it’s like the Powers that Be conspire in your favor.

I’ve been making a juice every day. I’ve not been saying, “I’m going to do a juice feast,” or trying to impose weird ultimatums on myself. I’ve just been making juice and drinking it. That feels good! It sure helps to keep the juicer perched on the counter at all times. I’ve developed a new mess-reduction technique and it’s working for me!

I’ve been eating well and realize all over again that the simpler the foods are, the more they appeal to me. Fancy dishes and complicated recipes are tasty and serve their purpose, but I’m quite content with an avocado or a few fresh figs or a mango just as they are. No pomp and circumstance.

How’s your challenge going?

Are you keeping points for yourself?

I’ve not been ready to take on the idea of points until now because I’ve been so focused on just getting my feet on the ground after this move, but I’ve decided that for the remainder of this challenge, which is about 15 or 16 days, I’m going to give myself points every day for:

• making a juice
• eating 100% raw
• vigorous, sweat-producing exercise for 20 minutes or more.
• staying positive and celebrating life’s unexpected surprises that come in what feels like ugly wrapping paper! “Staying in the driver’s seat” of my Life.

I can give myself 2.5 points for each one to have a nice, round 10/10. Since there are only 15 days left, I will have a top score of 150. If I am a total champion and I know it, then Mr. Right is going to take me to the Spa and I am going to go for another pedicure (no matter what my budget tells me).

If I cruise close, but no cigar, no spa and no pedicure, but I’ll buy what it takes to learn how to do a home pedicure. Or something like that. Shopping would be nice… new summer shoes, perhaps…

Anyway, I feel on target. This new apartment is marking some new beginnings and it feels good even with a few growing pains.

Here’s the interview I promised you from yesterday! Susan Shenk is the author or Live Food Factor and I highly recommend you check it out!! She’s offering a ridiculously good deal on this book, but look for yourself and see what I mean.

On this call she discusses the things she thinks are most important to succeed on the raw food diet.

• -Why people mess up trying to follow the raw food path.
• -The most important reasons for going raw.
• -What an 80-90 percent raw food diet cannot do that a 100% raw diet CAN do.
• -tricks for healthy weight loss or maintaining your weight
• -how to build healthy habits
• -how long it should take to get over “detox” once you’re all raw

and a whole lot more! It’s a quick call. Quick and action-packed. I think you’ll really like what she has to say and again… she’s got a 660 page book selling for 25 smackeroos AAAAAAAAND, she’s got like 70-plus FREE Bonus gifts and ebooks that come with it. She’s definitely a woman of extremes, but I think a lot of us can relate! Check her out and check out that comment section below to let us know how you’re doing out there!

I’m getting ready for lasagna! onion bread! yuummmmmy salad and CHEESECAKE!! Mmmmm…

I better go before company shows up and I’ve got my nose glued to my e-life. Hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Lasagna love,

Tera

Love and

21-Day Challenge: Whose life are you living, anyway?

I thought I posted this last night, but after bonking my head on the keyboard for the 20th time, I just went to bed. Anyway, here’s the message that was supposed to have been delivered at the end of a day to be reckoned with:

What a day! I’m not going to spend any time mitching and boning about it, but I will say that the above question is a very good one.

This started as being about how to get back the steering wheel on your life–no matter what happens, no matter who knocks you down. Holy Moley, Macaroni, it’s almost as if Life is doing everything she can to test out my driving skills this week!

Whose life are you living, anyway?

I cannot promise that I won’t piss off or annoy a few people in my path despite my best intentions to lead a loving, honest life. If there’s something you learn working in customer service it’s that you really can’t please everybody.

I’m inspired this afternoon after an interesting day to ask you these questions:

• Do you change yourself to have the approval of others?
• Do you speak your thoughts as you feel them–with respect, but honesty?
• Do you say what you mean and mean what you say?
• Do you seek praise or approval from others and change yourself to get it?
• Do you live your life as the passionate expression of who you are, where you are, as you are?

It’s tough sometimes not to mold ourselves to a social veneer. Fat, ugly, short or stubby we all have our way of being and living and looking. And sometimes this way of being is bound to rub someone else the wrong way. Chalk it up to karma or “vibes” if you want to. The bottom line is, you gotta be you even if being you ruffles feathers sometimes.

I won’t be able to say at the end of my days that I didn’t step on anyone’s toes, cuz hoooooly moley macaroni, I did step on toes. But I risked a lot and pushed hard to touch the most people I could with a message that I believe in. That’s what’s going to count the most for me at the end of my days.

Today is MY first day of this challenge. It’s the first day I’ve had to sit down and think about what I want out of this adventure. I’m settled into my new apartment and it feels good to be connected and to have a place to put my wandering roots for a little while.  I’m focused on the positive and excited about the adventure.

I just finished a super-inspiring interview with Susan Shenck. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, and give you access to some neat info and an amazing recipe she passed along to me.

I’m on my way to go get some groceries and here are the things I’m committing to for the duration of our lead up to Summer:

Eat raw. No finger dipping in the cooked food sauce. Just raw, raw, raw, raw. Because I want to and because I can.

Chill out on the salt (even sea salt) consumption.

Work on not eating late.

Work on not working late.

Sleep when I’m tired.

Make a juice every day.

I still have to figure out the points, but hey… even if I get a good 10 out of 21 days, that’s better than none. I’ll be back with an inspiring interview tomorrow and more thoughts to think on.

Love,

Tera

I AM Connected!

Despite all manner of obstacles, impediments and adversity I AM OFFICIALLY ONLINE!!

The odds were stacked against me. The Videotron technician came late and without a screwdriver. He couldn’t find the right “box” or “cables” to make it all happen and the details didn’t interest me, quite frankly. He was on the phone with my landlord trying to sort it all out when he came a whisper away from packing it all in.

But with a sparkle in my eye, I just looked at the quy and told him I wanted my internet connection working before 7:00pm. Then, naturally, I gave a friendly smile and asked what needed to be done next. He threw out a few four letter words in French and I think the fact that my landlord suggested I get service with their competitors sparked a rebellion within the Videotron technician and before I knew it little ol’ me was up on the roof of my apartment laying down cable.

And approximately 25 minutes ago, I got my internet up.

While this is a brilliant example of persisting in the face of adversity, I confess…

…the last two days have been pretty poopy.

The lack of sleep to pull off a move and all the nook and cranny cleaning of the apartment I left followed by the apartment I moved into means I didn’t even have the time, yet, to stop and ask what I want to challenge myself for over the next 21 days, or how I’ll reward myself.

Until now.

And you lovelies are already on Day 3. How are you doing? There sure were a lot of people stating their intention to participate in the beginning. Are you still with us?

If you’ll forgive me, this is just a quick little love note to let you know I’m settled in and getting my ducks in a row. I have a teleseminar with Dr. Ritmarie and tomorrow, after a good night’s rest, I’ll come on here and post a bit about my points, pleasures and prohbitions related to our 21-Day Challenge.

I have TWO teleseminar treats for you this week and just a few more details to organize in order to make it all happen.

I think you are the sparkliest sparkle puff in the whole wide world and I really hope you’re doing well. Let me know you’re still out there, and how things are going for you! HUUUUUGE thanks to Keely and Jimmy for keeping up the fort in my absense. You guys are cutie patooties. Thank you! Thank you!

Juicier update from me tomorrow…

Sweet dreams, Sunshine!

Tera