Couch potato children?? Argh...

This makes me sick and sad:

Couch potato children

Those poor kids don't even stand a chance.

Listen to Blog

clean out the toxins, Michelle-style!

Spring is upon us! What a refreshing, glorious season it is. We don't see quite a huge change in weather here in sunny Southern California, however there is SOMETHING in the air that signals the cold winter nights may be behind us...

Springtime is when animals eat bitter greens, roots, and barks after hibernating all winter. This kind of diet cleanses their bodies and flushes out the mucus and fat stored over the winter. We humans ought to do the same, and lighten up our diet so our bodies have a chance to shed excess layers in preparation for the hot summer.

We go from summer BBQ and beers to Halloween candy to Thanksgiving feasts to sugary Christmas cookies and holiday booze to New Years champagne to Valentine's Day chocolate to St. Patty's day booze...Not to mention all the chemicals and pollutants we're exposed to on a daily basis from our environment. Do we ever give our bodies a break? Answer most likely is no.

And gross tip for you: We store all those toxins in our body fat, necessitating the creation of extra fat to protect us from more toxins! Doing a cleanse is one of the fastest ways to have transformation and see change. If you want to seriously change your life and health for the better, and feel amazing, you should do a cleanse a minimum of 2x a year, and maximum 4x a year. You'll find you'll naturally crave doing one with the changes of the seasons.

Trust me, there will never be a perfect time to do a cleanse, your calendar will never be perfectly clear, and there will always be some kind of excuse you can use to not take charge of your health right NOW. So don't procrastinate any further, no matter what you have going on.

Come join me for my Gentle Spring Detox! I will be participating as well, and I've been through it multiple times, so I know exactly what to expect and how to help you accomplish your goals! Check out http://www.yogimichelle.com and click on Spring Detox to read through the testimonials of my fabulous past participants! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Major recalls on processed foods...

Another reason to eat whole foods and stay away from processed ones.

The FDA announced that HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors has been recalled, and an estimated 10,000 products are affected by this recall. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is a flavor enhancer commonly used in processed foods.
HVP is found in snack foods such as potato chips and pretzels. It's also used in dry mixes for chip dips, gravy, au jus and marinades. HVP is also used in frozen foods (such as taquitos and quesadillas) and in fresh foods such as potato salad and fresh dips. In addition to these items, it is also used in many other grocery products.
The recall was issued due to possible salmonella contamination. Salmonella is one of the most common causes of bacterial food-borne illness in the United States. It can cause fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The following soup and dip mix products are included in the HVP recall.
Castella Chicken Soup Base
Concord Foods Vegetable Dip Seasoning - Homestyle
De la Casa Spinach Dip
Dean's - various brands of soup/soup mix & dip/dip mix
Delicioso Spinach Dip
Follow Your Heart Beef Au Jus
Fresh Food Concepts Garden Fresh Spinach & Spinach Dip with Real Yogurt
Great Value Ranch Chip Dip
Healthwise Cream of Mushroom Soup
Homemade Gourmet Tortilla Soup Mix
Johnny's French Dip Powdered Au Jus
Kroger Onion & Beefy Onion Soup Dip Mix
McCormick French Onion & Vegetable Dip Mix
Mrs. Gerry's Crab Creole Spread & Old Home/Old Fashioned Spinach Dip
Oak Lake Farms French Onion Chip Dip
Publix Beef Flavored Stew Mix
Reser's soup and dip mixes
Rojo's Garden Fresh Spinach Dip
T. Marzetti soup and dip mixes

Bouillon products
Herbox chicken, beef & vegetable bouillon

Dressing and dressing mix products
Follow Your Heart Organic Creamy Ranch Dressing
Reser's Ranch House Dressing
Trader Joe's Organic Creamy Ranch Dressing & Dip

Flavoring base and seasoning products
Garden Harvest Special Blend Seasoning
Minor's Bacon Base
Publix Meatloaf Seasoning

Gravy mix products
McCormick Onion Gravy mix
Publix Mushroom & Au Jus gravy mixes

Sauce and marinade mix products
Durkee Spaghetti & Marinade Mix
French's Thick Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Weber Grill Creations Italian Herb Marinade Mix

The following is a list of snack and snack mix products that are included in the HVP recall.

CVS Honey Mustard Pretzel Bites
Great Nut Supply Honey Mustard Pretzels & Bar Mix
HK Anderson Honey Mustard Pretzel Bites
Tim's Cascade Hawaiian style snacks
Herr's Sea Salt Flavored Kettle Style Potato Chips
National Pretzel Company (various)
President's Choice Honey Mustard Onion Pretzel Bite snack
Pringles Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger & Family Faves Taco Night
Quaker Baked Cheddar Snack Mix
Rouses Louisiana's Best Snack Mix
Safeway brand Honey Mustard Onion Nugget Pretzels
Spec's Wines & Fine Foods
Sunflower Markets Honey Mustard Nugget Snack Mix

Frozen foods
Casa Solana Shredded Mini Beef Taquitos
E-Z Eats! Beef Taquitos
El Pasado Shredded Beef Mini and Beef Taquitos & Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
Giant Eagle Steak Taquitos
Jose Ole Taquitos
Posada Corn & Shredded Beef Taquitos
Tornados Ranchero Beef & Cheese

Prepared salad products
Reser's Redskin Potato Salad
Safeway brand Redskin Potato Salad
Walmart brand Redskin Potato Salad

Ready-to-eat meal products
Follow Your Heart Ready-to-Eat Meals

Stuffing products
McCormick Corn Bread Stuffing

Embrace change 2010.

About a year ago, I went to a coworker's birthday party. We danced and danced and drank and drank. The next morning I woke up with shooting, stabbing pains throughout my right leg. Two weeks later,my manager explained it was apparent that I couldn't perform at my job, and the next day I found out my leg was broken and my knee was sprained.

I'd been walking on a broken leg and sprained knee for two weeks at at a job I disliked because they had been reluctant to let me take an afternoon to see the doctor. Jobless and unable to exercise, I sat on a couch for a month and a half. My boyfriend broke up with me soon afterwards, leaving me single and jobless. My response was to drink a HUGE glass of red wine, followed by drinking 3 strong margaritas at karaoke that night.

In those moments, life seems hopeless. It's easy to revert to victim-mode, crying out the WhyMe's and the PoorMe's to anyone and everyone who will listen.

But if you take a deep breath, you'll realize what I already knew and always tell my friends: Everything happens for a reason. Nothing is permanent. And in order for you to be successful in life, you MUST be constantly growing, adapting, and changing. And rather than reacting to things, you can choose how you will respond and handle difficult situations.

Sure things are still difficult and I'm not exactly where I want to be, but my life is exponentially better than it was a year ago. I am no longer in a toxic job or relationship, and I have a fabulous phone list of friends who I love and cherish and have grown closer to as a result of last year's events.

A lovely yogini friend of mine posted this message from Wayne Dyer on Facebook this morning, and now I shall share it with you. Whether you believe in God or not, just trusting that everything's happening the way it's supposed to makes all the difference. So when a monumental event or change comes your way, relax, smile, and enjoy the ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3bM8I7GzYM