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Greetings!
 Happy 2013! I had an awesome Christmas vacation visiting with my family and close friends even though I was completely thrown off my routine for a good few weeks. I skipped most of my workouts, just barely did yoga, ate whatever I wanted and totally didn't care. I kicked off 2013 feeling heavy, craving sugar and anxious to get back to my healthy regimen. However, just this past week I was knocked down by the evil flu that's been going around. I blame it entirely on myself though. Those few weeks of being insensitive and not caring for my health weakened my immune system to the point where my body could do nothing but surrender to the virus. Once I was sick I nourished my body with tons of warm baths, loads of water, organic foods, plenty of greens, so much soup, bulbs of garlic, zinc lozenges, breathe easy tea, and most of all permission to rest. It took a good week to kick it, but boy does it feel great to be healthy again!
With the flu going around like this, it's all the more reason to be eating well on the regular and avoiding the foods you know aren't serving your body for the better (I'm talking about you, sugar!). Please stay well and take care of yourself.
Namaste,
Lauren Forney, HHC, RYT
Holistic Health Coach
Registered Yoga Teacher
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Macho Miso Soup
When your hear miso soup do you think of the salty broth with nothing to it from the Chinese take-out place? Yea, not so much with this recipe. This miso soup recipe is my go-to recipe for when I need to feed my body some extra love. It's about a 10-minute process and yields about 2-3 servings. Sometimes I go simple, other times I start adding ingredients. You can take miso soup in a thousand different directions depending on how you are feeling, what's in season at the markets, or the time of year. I tend to use lighter miso pastes in warmer months and the darker ones when I'm after a heartier, more substantial soup. The thing with miso soup is you want to eat it right then and there. You don't want to reheat miso - it damages it's goodness. This is a fresh soup meant to be savored hot from the stove.
Ingredients:
4 cups filtered water
1-2 carrots, chopped
1-2 celery stalks, chopped (add any celery leaves into soup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
an inch of ginger, minced
big pinch of dried wakame (seaweed)
handful of organic greens (spinach or kale), washed and chopped fine
2-3 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 handfuls firm organic tofu, chopped into tiny cubes (optional)
2-4 tablespoons organic miso paste (to taste) (I prefer red miso, but I encourage you to experiment with a range of misos)
3 dashes of turmeric
pinch of sea salt
Directions:
Heat water on the stove and as you chop up the carrots, celery, ginger, garlic, throw them in and allow the water to boil for a few minutes until carrots and celery are cooked. If you've got any mushrooms in the house, chop and add some as well (my favorite are shitake). Lower the heat and add in the greens & wakame, stir. Add your Braggs, tofu (if using), turmeric. You want to add the miso at the very end, when the heat is on very low because you never want to cook the miso (this cooks away it's healthy goodness). Whisk the miso paste into the soup until dissolved and remove from heat. Taste test to see if you even need some sea salt, you may not. Brown rice, quinoa or even a little noodles are always a nice addition to this soup. Pour into a few nice bowls and breathe in the delicious steam coming off of your miso soup. Slow down and enjoy.
Benefits of Miso:
Miso is a delicious fermented food that has been eaten in China and Japan for many centuries. Miso and other fermented foods and drinks help build up the inner ecosystem and assure the digestive tract is amply supplied with beneficial bacteria. These bacteria help digest, synthesize, and assimilate nutrients so necessary for good health and anti-aging. They also strengthen the immune system, keeping it at the ready to fight infection and cancer. The color, taste, texture, and saltiness of miso depend on the exact ingredients used and the duration of the fermentation process. Miso can range in color from white to brown. The darker the coloring, the more robust the flavor and saltiness. Certified organic miso made with sea salt is the best choice if available. Miso should ideally have a fermentation time of between six months and two years.
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Website Refreshed! 
Have you visited my website lately?
It's been updated!
Give it a gander when you can and feel free to share with others that you think need some health coaching in their lives.
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Center Your Health's BLOG & Archive
Check out what I've been blogging about since my last newsletter. Enjoy!
What is a Health Coach?
We have two ears and one mouth for a reason, to listen more!
Sick Day
Holiday fun with kiddies
If you're behind on some newsletters, here is a full archive!
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What the heck is a health coach?
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Anytime I introduce myself as a "holistic health coach" people politely smile and nod. They have absolutely NO idea what the heck it means - HA! If I'm lucky, someone will make an effort to ask more about my health coaching, but most of the time I have to make it clear right off the bat. Once I explain what I do, it's like the flood gates have opened! People are usually so intrigued that almost instantly begin asking questions about their health, what they should be eating, etc. So that you're clear, I've summed up what my job as a health coach in this blog post. If you or someone you know could use the assistance of a health coach, give me a holla!
| If you say to yourself that you'll contact me later, you know you won't. Reach out now & let's get you healthy!
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