Heart Felt Gratitude For all My Gifts
by
Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo
Thanksgiving is a special day for me. While I intend daily to express gratitude for all my gifts and to those who make my life so fulfilling and joyful, I sometimes fall short of my goal.
Thanksgiving day gives me the opportunity to reflect on all that I am grateful for. To me, the holiday is more about the connections than the food. My life has been rich and full, and the tough times as well as the wonderful times have contributed to making it so. For both I am grateful.
Here’s a partial list of what I’m grateful for:
* Waking up each day in a warm bed with a roof over my head. Many people don’t have the same experience.
* My daily green smoothie, which energizes and nourishes me more than anything I’ve ever done.
* That my 11 year old son, Kevin, still likes to cuddle with his Mommy.
* That my 15 year old son, Eric, is dedicated to justice and fairness and is willing to risk his own comfort to help his friends when he feels that they’ve been wronged.
* My husband Scott, who makes me my green smoothie most mornings and cleans the kitchen after me when I make his.
* The illness I experienced during my 20′s that spurred me to learn more about my health and become more healthy and energetic today than ever before. That experience has allowed me to impact the health of thousands of people over the years.
* The miscarriages that caused me to decide to adopt children and the women who birthed my beautiful boys. Had the outcome been different for me, Kevin and Eric would be experiencing lives much more difficult than anything they’ve ever experienced.
* Sunshine and warmth and the joy I get from both of them.
* Green foods, and the vibrant health they create in me.
* Learning about the powers of Heart Math, becoming certified and using it to transform my life and the lives of those who’ve learned it from me.
* My “team” that supports me in my life’s work: Jimmy for taking over the web support from me(he’s so much better than I), Tracey who keeps up with my email, sets up my new radio show “Creating a Vibrant Life”, keeps me up to date on facebook and twitter and countless other tasks, Scott who handles all things accounting, my newest helper, Aran who will be handling my blog and video posting, and all those who volunteer in exchange for learning.
* My sister Cathy, who’s death last summer from Lymphoma strengthened my commitment to spreading the message of health through nutrition and self care.
* My surviving 3 brothers and 4 sisters, who all thought I’d lost my mind 25 years ago when I rejected all the foods of my past and adopted the healthy lifestyle I now own. Several of them are now open to my message.
* My father who taught me when I was very young that I could do ANYTHING I set my mind to and was determined to do. I just wish he was still around to hug and thank in person.
* My mom, whose stubbornness and strong will I didn’t much appreciate until I realized how much like her I turned out to be. I’m sure she’s turning over in her grave and having a good laugh about that now.
* My Italian paternal grandmother who taught me to love to feed people.
* My Irish maternal grandmother who taught me about kindness and unconditional love.
* My maternal grandfather who taught me about gentleness and acceptance and whose influence caused me to marry a kind and gentle man
* My English teacher in 11th grade who encouraged me to express myself on paper.
* My cousin Marybeth who taught me how to be playful and have fun.
* My friends near and far who’ve supported me through many an idea that seemed far fetched and unreasonable.
* My vitamix blender.
* My affiliate team who’ve promoted my books and programs and helped me to spread the message of healthy lifestyle.
* My stubborn determination, unwillingness to take no for an answer and dedication to doing what’s right.
* You, for listening to my words and taking action towards a better life.
Thanks again. Have an amazing Thanksgiving.
Please post a comment below and share at least one thing you’re grateful for.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
P.S. On Thanksgiving, I’ll be making the cranberry orange relish, apricot pecan yams, mushroom gravy and pumpkin pie from my Thanksgiving Feast e-book. Post a comment below and let me know what you’re making
Tags: Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, gluten free holiday, gratitude, healthy thanksgiving recipes, Living Foods, livingfoods, raw and living foods holiday recipes, raw foods recipes, raw Thanksgiving recipes
Posted in Articles, Healthy Holiday, Raw Foods
The Truth About Sugar: It’s Not as Sweet as You Think
If you’ve read my articles before, you know that I’m not a fan of sugar. I’ve talked at length about it’s role in cancer, heart disease, infectious illness, diabetes and many other serious illnesses. While I’m appalled at how much sugar is in the foods that line the grocer’s shelves, tempting unsuspecting consumers with their beautiful trappings, what bothers me the most is the fact that sugar is added to dishes in vegetarian and natural foods restaurants, it sneaks into everything from cucumber salad to bread in many health food stores, and it appears in recipes in so-called health books.
What gives? Aren’t the dangers of sugar well known already? Why do people continue to eat the white powder that’s almost as addicting as cocaine and costs us billions of dollars in doctor and hospital bills?
I listened to a very informative recording called “The Truth about Sugar” by Dr. Tel Oren (http://www.thetruthaboutyourfood.com/ ). This is one in a series of talks.
I’ll be listening and writing as the week goes on. One very important point he made about sugar is that I don’t think is common knowledge is that when you eat aspartame, or other non caloric sweeteners, it triggers an insulin response which can cause food cravings and a hypoglycemic rebound.
He also had some interesting comments about agave as an alternative sweetener…and it wasn’t favorable. I adjusted the 3 recipes in my Thanksgiving Feast e-book to make agave optional and use dates as an alternative. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.
Love and Health,
Dr. Ritamarie
www.FreshnFunLiving.com/Thanksgiving
Tags: Living Foods, raw Thanksgiving recipes, raw vegan, sugar, sugar dangers, sugar-free, vegan, vegetarian
Posted in Articles
