Freekoh salad

Farro is a grain that’s very popular in Italy – you’ll usually find it in soups and salads. It’s got a good kick of fibre, iron and even some zinc but most importantly it has the perfect taste and texture for this quick springtime dinner. If you’d rather a gluten free option then you can swap the Farro for Quinoa, Millet or Teff.

INGREDIENTS: 100g Cracked Grain Freekeh | 1 Red Pepper | 2 Spring Onions | ½ Pomegranate | ½ Lemon | ½ Tbsp Zahtar Spice | ½ Block Feta Cheese | 2 Tbsp Mint

The Lowest of the Low are the Best of the Best

The glycaemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates (sugar) on a scale of 0 (low) to 100 (high) for how quickly foods make your blood sugar levels rise after eating them. High-GI foods are very easily broken down and so rapidly increase blood sugar levels. Your insulin response mechanism keeps your blood sugar balanced, but it can become challenged over time if you are constantly consuming too many high-GI foods (a main factor contributing to diabetes, obesity and other chronic illnesses). Your best bet for optimal health and energy management is to stick to mostly low-GI fruits and vegetables. High-GI foods tend to be refined, simple sugars and low-GI foods tend to be unrefined, complex carbs. The GI of foods is affected by cooking, storing and processing. A raw vegetable or fruit tends to have an even lower GI than its cooked counterpart.

Add a little salt

Salt, in its natural, unrefined form, is essential to your health and vitality. There are two types of salt: Table salt and unrefined sea salt. There is a major difference between the two and if you’ve been putting salt into one category, you may be consuming the wrong kind. Most people don’t realize that there are two forms of salt, which is basically why salt has earned such a bad rap.

Unrefined sea salt is collected through evaporating ocean water without additional processing. Sea salt is rich in trace minerals and is an essential part of a healthy diet. Table salt, on the other hand, is often mined from underground salt deposits. It is highly processed which eliminates the salt’s natural trace minerals and nutrients. Table salt is what you find in processed and packaged foods and is of no benefit to your health. Table salt is processed through intense heat, which eliminates its natural healing elements. The added chemicals and additives leave you with a invaluable substance that is added to food only for taste.

Your diet can reflect more wholeness by eating foods in their whole and unrefined form. Adding good quality salt to your diet, means cutting out the table salt by eating less processed foods. Himalayan pink salt is one of the purest of salts and matches the elements in our body. The only salt you’ll find at Urban Remedy is the good stuff. Many of our meals and snacks use the highest quality Himalayan pink salt not only to enhance flavor, but also to deeply nourish you. Here are some ways that salt supports the health of your body:

• Transports nutrients in and out of your cells.
• Promotes a healthy pH balance in your cells.
• Regulates the body’s water content
• Controls blood pressure
• Boosts healthy brain function and creative capacity by increasing the glial cell in your brain.
• Stabilizes blood sugar.
• Supports a healthy libido.
• Creates the fabric of our blood plasma, lymph and cell fluid.

Consider the salt content in your diet and evaluate the quality of the salt you consume. Eating well doesn’t mean eliminating the flavors you love, it means choosing flavors wisely and knowing the difference between real vs. fake foods.

GoOrganic.me: Organic Juice Cleanses and Detox

Benefits of meditation 

The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have. When the mind becomes free from agitation, is calm and serene and at peace, meditation happens.

The benefits of meditation are manifold. It is an essential practice for mental hygiene. A calm mind, good concentration, clarity of perception, improvement in communication, blossoming of skills and talents, an unshakeable inner strength, healing, the ability to connect to an inner source of energy, relaxation, rejuvenation, and good luck are all natural results of meditating regularly.

In today's world where stress catches on faster than the eye can see or the mind can perceive, meditation is no more a luxury. It is a necessity. To be unconditionally happy and to have peace of mind, we need to tap into the power of meditation.

We’re all doing well looking after our health, career, family and social life. Now we’re finally realising how important it is to also make space for cultivating calm and compassion. For nurturing our spirit. Because the best relationship, friendships, career, clothes and holidays in the world don’t have much meaning if we’re too busy stressing to appreciate them.

In learning to still the mind we’re able to tap into our inner peace, which – who knew?! – is always there, beyond the ‘noise’ or overthinking. The more we get in touch with that magic part of us, the more harmony, health and happiness can flow into our life. No wonder most meditators credit it with changing their lives.

Here are more reasons why meditation is the greatest gift you can give yourself – and the world.

It reveals the real you

From scientists to school kids, virtually everyone who meditates agrees it makes them a better person. Because it’s first and foremost an act of self-love. It is you saying to yourself: “I am worth taking really good care of.”

In time, your self-compassion effortlessly radiates to everyone around you. You become less reactive. Anger becomes distant. Laughter shows up more. Being patient stops being a frustrating effort and starts to feel deeply relaxing. The miracle-list goes on…

It will make your health shine

I sleep deeply every night without fail. I haven’t been to the doctors in years. And I can’t remember the last time I had a headache. Such blessings I credit to meditating every day for the last five years. And science is backing me up.

A growing body of research shows how meditation can help with everything from migraines to the menopause, addictions to asthma, even cancer. Part of the reason why is it elicits a deep relaxation in your biology, bringing you closer to your intuiton and you see things more clearly.

You’ll feel and look younger

Frequently stilling your mind is does wonders for your mojo. The Journal of Behavioural Medicine reported that meditators have significantly higher levels of DHEA, a natural steroid hormone said to reduce stress, improve memory and control weight.

The International Journal of Neuroscience, meanwhile, also found that those who had meditated for five years or more were 12 years younger physiologically than their chronological age. (I last got IDed in my early 30s).

It heals you from the inside out

Meditation takes you inside yourself to a very private silence and stillness that feels like a profound rest and at the same time re-energising. It is a discipline – you have to practice regularly – that taps into the forever-peaceful, eternal part of you that’s totally untouched by emotions and anything that life throws at you. It makes you realise that – at your core – underneath all the thoughts, stress and striving, there’s an immoveable mountain of unconditional love.

  7 ways to weight loss

As we grow older, we embark on some changes, and maybe even a few challenges. Learning to create health at any age, means that we need to constantly assess what is going on within. Our body’s metabolic rate slows down in our 30s, and is continuously influenced by changing hormones and age.

Many of us desire to be healthy , because within health, we often find our best looking self.  What worked for you a decade ago, may not be working for you now. One of the most common challenges we face is weight loss. If you have been eating well and exercising, but still struggle to lose weight or maintain your ideal weight, you may want to consider a few things.

In order for the body to shift into fat burning mode to promote weight loss, it needs to stop burning simple fuel (refined foods, starches and sugar). Even though we don’t like hunger, it is a beautiful thing. Hunger communicates to us that our body’s enzymes are available to break down foods or stored fats. When we don’t immediately feed that hunger, our body learns to burn fat and adjust to a lower caloric intake. In fact, as you age, your body may not require as many calories. If you are used to eating a certain quantity, your body may feel hunger out of habit, rather than actual need. Taking out all the snacks and fillers that keep you from feeling hungry, may aid you in weight loss.

Reflect back on the things you ate this week. If you created two piles, one for all the nutritionally dense healthy foods and one for the unnecessary foods, you might be surprised by all the unnecessary calories you’re eating.  Focusing on quality of food ensures that your body is getting what it needs, and primes you for weight loss.

If you are struggling with weight loss, consider:

A 1 Day Cleanse once a week for a month is a great way to ease into cleansing. On the days you eat normal meals, commit to not eating past 5 pm. Also eliminate all refined or process foods from your diet to ensure that the bulk of your calories are actually loaded with health benefits. Nutritional deficiencies can create excess hunger, so the more you nourish your body the less you will need to just “feed” it, and the more success you will have at weight loss.

Put your scale away for a month. Tune in to how you feel and create a place of peace within yourself. Sometimes just the weight loss battle can create stress which can make it harder to lose weight.

Keep your vitamin D levels up your body warm. The body naturally desires to store fat as we move towards winter.

Don’t be afraid of fat. Eating enough healthy fats in your diet will actually help in your weight loss journey. Healthy fats include: olive oil, flax oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, and ghee (clarified butter).

Without sufficient sleep, all the other cycles and processes of the body can easy move out of balance. Go to bed an hour earlier to really restore your body. Fatigue can lead to overeating. No thank you.

If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, don’t. Your job may require that you sit at a computer for 8+ hours a day, add movement to your day in little ways. Start your day with 10 minutes of yoga, walking, dancing, whatever you like. Find 4 slots within your day where you can spend 10 minutes moving your body. It’s essential! During one of your 10 minute mini movement sessions, add in some high intensity. For example, if you are going for a 10 minute walk, alternate every other minute between sprinting and power walking. High intensity exercise might actually help promote weight loss more so than long bouts of low intensity cardio.

When you’re ready, try a 10 day cleanse. This is the ultimate way to reboot, repair, heal and lose weight. Cleansing is not just an opportunity to lose weight, it is opportunity to change your eating habits and learn how to serve your body best as it changes through the aging process. It’s not a quick fix, its a starting point. If you are struggling with weight loss, you may just need to start fresh.

Beets are the best hang over remedy

Beets are the best hangover remedy

The liver is an organ that removes toxins and other harmful substances from the body, allowing the body to function without experiencing the many illnesses and other harmful side effects that these toxins can cause. For this reason, it is crucial that individuals periodically detoxify their livers. One of the most common and effective natural liver detoxifiers is the beet. Beets have been used to fight liver toxins and to increase the overall level of health of individuals for many years, and they can be easily integrated into one`s diet to keep the liver working at an optimal level.

People who are looking for a natural way to improve the health of their liver and to enhance their overall vigor will quickly find that incorporating beets into their diet will allow them to function at a more efficient level. Because beets contain so many important substances, they will cause a marked improvement in both liver health and overall wellbeing.

Why Raw Beet Juice May Save Your Heart:

• True to its color, beet juice heals and cleanses the blood. The rich amount of antioxidants cleanses the blood and acts as a detoxifying agent.

• The dense amount of nitrates in beet juice gets converted into nitric oxide, which enhances blood flow in the body and helps to lower blood pressure.

• Raw Beet juice may lower blood pressure and improve blood flow, leaving you more energized and relaxed.

Beet juice is a great ingredient to add to your juice cleanse or to simply use in your daily life. In this post, we’ll break down why beet juice is good for your health and how to best use it.

Our digestive system is the most important system in our bodies. Many times, we  don’t tend to realize the importance of proper digestion until we begin experiencing problems.

When it’s working properly, it takes the food we consume and produces all the ingredients our bodies need to operate. It then removes any unneeded, unused or unwanted materials from our body. 

You might have some constipation, or its sibling, diarrhea. You might have some gas, bloating, food allergies, throw in a little heartburn and some irritable bowel syndrome, and you really have a party! There is no need to sob in a corner, caressing your bloated stomach; digestive health can be easily improved with a few added daily habits. Take care of your gut, so it can take care of you back.

1. Ginger

Whether in the form of food, supplement, tea or oil, consuming ginger daily will help begin to get your gut back on track. Ginger helps to stimulate digestion, which is the basis of health. Ginger helps the body to release the proper enzymes to break down food so nutrients can be easily absorbed.

2. Coconut oil

Coconut oil is largely made up of Medium Chain Triglycerides. When consumed, coconut oil’s anti-microbial properties become activated and work to provide the strongest germ killing effect. Basically, coconut oil eradicates the bad bacteria in our digestive tract. By regularly consuming coconut oil, you will help your body restore balance and stability.

3. Reduce dairy

Despite all the celebrities and their milk mustaches, when you have gut problems, reducing/eliminating dairy will go a long ways to getting you out of that miserable state that only comes when your digestive system is impaired. The sugar in dairy called lactose is rarely ever properly digested. This causes allergic reactions, gas and bloating. If you consume too much lactose, it goes into the large intestine, and diarrhea can develop or worsen. Give your body a chance to heal properly, forgo the dairy and see how much better you feel. Nowadays, there are delicious substitutes that will help fill that dairy void.

-- Eating organic is not only beneficial to your health, but it is beneficial to the environment as well. At Go Organic ME, we aim to bring you the best available organically-grown products and feel that everyone should be aware of why organic is the way to go.

Here are some key facts you should be aware of when selecting produce:

• Conventional produce contains harmful chemicals.

• Conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are covered in a stew of toxic chemicals.
  Even after rinsing that conventionally-grown pear, there will still be up to 50 
  poisonous chemicals engrained beneath skin. 
  Let's antagonize for a bit.....so what if there are chemicals in the fruit? 
  That doesn’t mean our bodies actually absorb it....you can get where
  I’m going with this one, right?And it turns out ourkids get it worst! Us 
  grownups can be full of toxins and not be quite as affected (still affected) 
  as a growing kid.
  There are so many studies on the harmful effects of pesticides.

• It's just plain healthier.

  
  
  

  Organic fruits and vegetables are grown in nutrient-rich soil. 

  Vitamins and minerals are kept intact instead of being depleted, 

  as in conventional produce. Studies prove organic produce is more nutritious

• What's better for the earth is better for you.

  
  
  

  Toxic chemicals are not doing anyone any good, including Mother Earth.

   While organic farms rely on natural biological systems and actually improve the 

  quality of the soil, chemicals on conventional farms are zapping

   the soil of any nutrients, deadening the earth.

• We need to create sustainability.

  
  
  

  DEADENING it! Doesn't that word scare anyone else? 

  Supporting organic produce is supporting sustainable, healthy environments 

  that are thriving and full of life, replenishing the earth with nutrients, 

  and continually growing vitamin-rich fruits and veggies.

• Environmental conditions are suffering.

  
  
  

  By using toxic chemicals and sewage sludge on conventional farms, 

  the falling of dominoes is in full effect; these chemicals get into not only

   the land (yes-deadening it), but the air and water as well, including groundwater,

   rivers, lakes and oceans, harming humans and wildlife alike.

• It tastes better, too.

  
  
  

  Believe it or not, deadening earth does not create the best-tasting peach.

  Healthy soil creates strong, healthy plants with full juice and flavor. Mmmm.