Wednesday, March 28, 2012


Bouncing Back

 The very sound of resilience captures its bouncy, rubbery quality. Resilience , the ability to
recover from change or misfortune.  Living a harmonious life requires resilience, and
becomes an essential ingredient for a pain free life.
Suffering and pain are intertwined and can seem impossible to separate the two. The bigger
the goal and dreams we have in our life often the bigger the obstacles.
We would like the path to be smooth sailing and easy, but the wind can change when least
expected. We need challenge and change to grow on our spiritual path. Kids screaming,
workmates stressed or a sudden change in a relationship can stir the fear and irritation in
your mind, but accessing a calm state of awareness and staying in the present moment with
grace, dignity and a compassionate heart will help you become resilient to the fear and
anger.

Qualities of resilient people

•  Flexibility
•  Insight
•  Empathy
•  Ability to be calm in a situation
•  Focus on the mind and aware of thoughts
•  Creativity
•  Compassion

On our path the difficulties can become our best teachers so pain and loss can be channeled
into profound and positive transformation.
Leaders like Nelson Mandela through years in prison displayed resilience without losing heart
and bounced back even stronger with an unlimited supply of compassion.
Practicing yoga and meditation can help align your body, undo the knots and purify a murky
mind so you can heal and become resilient. It is essential and without a basic supply of
resilience no one would survive the loss, transitions and heartbreaks that occur in our life.
By practicing resilience you can become to turn every challenging circumstance to your
advantage.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Diet Don’ts for healthy bones and joints


Preparing your body for the long haul means you need to do more than just eat foods rich calcium, vitamin D, potassium, and other bone- benefiting nutrients.
You should look to try and eliminate your intake of foods that can harm you body, trigger inflammation, or leaching calcium from bones and blocking absorption

Protect your frame and eliminate Processed foods
  •  Processed foods contain health sapping substances including trans fats, sugar,     sodium, refined carbs
  • While these things aren’t great for us at any age, it is best to avoid them as you age because of the harmful effects on your bones
  • Trans fats, sugar, processed carbohydrates all increase inflammation, worsening stiffness, pain and even range of motion and destroying cartilage
  •  Inflammation also is known to accelerate bone breakdown.
  •  Sugar has been implicated in increase osteoporosis, since it negative affects the balance of calcium and phosphorous needed for healthy bones.
  •  Eliminate all trans fats and swap carbs for whole grains whenever possible.
  •  Excess sodium can cause you to excrete more calcium, decreasing the amount available for bones. Sodium can cause swelling, increasing pressure on tender joints, fluid retention.
  • Caffeine leaches calcium from bones and can interfere with absorption
  •  Sodas contain sugar caffeine and phosphoric acid that destroy bone health.

By far the easiest way to healthy bones and joints is to reduce the amount of processed foods and prepare your own food as much as possible with wholegrain, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seeds. 


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tasty Tofu Salad

Tofu to most people can be found as a bland tasting texture-less blob. I personally struggled with it  for years, knowing I should be incorporating it into my nutrition because of my vegetarian ways.  I loved to eat  tofu at a restaurant, but come to home cooking I couldn't get it out of the packet. The truth is tofu prepared properly can be the most versatile, flavourful and nutritious food substitute for meat found.  Tofu exceeds the nutritional value of most meat dishes.
You don't have to be a vegetarian to include this to your nutrition. 


I got so excited when my girls ate my creation of tofu with me. It is a cooked recipe, but mixed with loads of raw vegetables this recipe will be sure to leave you satisfied and energised.

Tofu has many benefits and I love to share healing and super foods that will nourish your body and soul.

Tofu is 
  • low in fat, calories
  • excellent source of high  protein 
  • rich in  Vitamin- B
  • contains a lot of calcium 
  • easily to digestive
  • helps the reduction of Cholesterol, helps maintain the  level of good HDL  by lowering the levels of bad LDL cholesterol 
  • rich in isoflavones, isoflavones reduce the risk of osteoporosis, breast and prostate cancers.
Rosemary Tofu Salad

250 grams Tofu
1/4 cup of chopped Spanish onion
1/2 Tomato
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary 
1 tablespoon fresh oregano 
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of pink salt or sea salt

Method
Blend all ingredients in processor

Spoon Pattie size onto hot plate grill or pan, cook one side and carefully try and flip to cook other side.

Salad ingredients

1 cup Spinach leaves
1/2 chopped yellow capsicum
1/4 diced Spanish onion
4x cherry tomato
1/4 diced avocado

Dressing
Drizzle flax seed oil, 1/2 lemon, dash of sweet Chile sauce. 






Method
Toss salad and mix through the cooked tofu, allowing it to crumble throughout the salad

For children

Serve tofu as a Pattie with sweet Chile sauce or a dipping. If your children don't like onion, you can cook tofu plain on a hot plate, until crispy. 

Gluten free Dipping sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 clove garlic
fresh chives to taste

Enjoy and most of all have FUN!

Love and light 
Nicky x





Monday, March 12, 2012

Healthy Banana ice cream

Banana ice - cream yum yum!


Eating healthy doesn't mean you miss out on  treats. Learning how to be creative with food excites me especially when I know I can eat all my old time favourite foods but with new ingredients that serves my body not robs it of nutrients.


This is my favourite ice cream I like to make for my girls. I love to share my recipes with the world knowing I can help you and your family make healthier choices.


All you need to do, is make sure you have at least two frozen bananas in the fridge ready to go anytime you and your family feel like a treat or dessert.


2 frozen ripe bananas
1 fresh date
1 tbsp flaxseed oil
1 table spoon organic raw cacoa powder
1 tablespoon LSA
1 tablespoon mix of  buckwheat, sunflower kernals, linseed, chia seeds, amaranth


Method
Put all ingredients into  processor  Blend for 5 minutes or  until smooth

Serve with a camomile or peppermint tea or fresh strawberries. 


Enjoy!


/http://www.nickyarthur.com.au/

For more healthy recipes or motivation to lose a few kilos join the 10 Week mind and body transformation today. Ten weeks can change your body and your life. You can make a lifestyle change in a flash.



Friday, March 9, 2012

Avocado and Goats Feta Salad

Do you love to  be  creative in everything you do? To me being creative is trying things you may think might not work but to find out they do work well and add a touch of uniqueness. I have been enjoying my creativity in the kitchen and love to share my recipes. 


It is vital we have variety with our healthy food and especially those on my 10 Week Mind and Body Transformation Program. Variety and a colourful plate gives you confidence you are getting extra nutrients, mineral, and vitamins everyday.


Here is my creation today.


Ingredients
1/2 Avocado 
6 Cherry tomato's
1 green  fresh apple
1 slice of goats feta
1 tsp each of  buckwheat, sunflower kernels, sesame seeds, linseed, millet seed, pumpkin seeds, chai seeds,poppy seeds, rice bran, amaranth.
1/2 cup Fresh Basil leaves
1 tablespoon Flax seed oil


Chop and cub avocado, apples, cherry tomato, goats feta, 
Sprinkle basil leaves and seeds
Drizzle with Flax seed oil


Filled with nutrients and vitamins: Potassium, Phoshorous Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, Selenium

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) B2 (riboflavin) B6, Folate, Vitamin A, C, E,K, Niacin,








Look out for my yummy raw vegan ice-cream recipe that will blow your mind with a natural healthy sweet taste. 


http://www.nickyarthur.com.au









Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Centre Yourself


 Centering Yourself


In amongst  the daily grind challenges can appear and often when you least

expect it. How often have you had your day planned out and you hit a thorn in
your daily pathway. How do you keep yourself accountable for following
through with peace harmony and joy when the road becomes blocked.
Generally there are two states of dealing with challenges or obstacles, either a
positive harmonious way or a in an emotional negative state.
Today's changing fast paced world can add pressure to many.
Centering yourself first can be the best way moving forward in any obstacle or
challenge the arises in your day.
But this can be easier said than done. Think about your response last time
something landed in your day.

Helpful tips when striving to stay connected to your true self and centered

• Pause , connect with breath and reflect
• Respond in a positive state, not an emotional state
• Get all facts before responding, the problem may not be as bad as you
   think
• Find your core your centre where peace, harmony and joy is within you
• Let go of trying to control the problem but take necessary action
• Thoughtfulness, be kind
One of the yoga sutras in Yoga called ‘Satya’ which means "truthfulness" Just
because something is true, however does not mean that it needs to be said!
Being thoughtful with your words and avoiding harsh language and hurtful
gossip is just as important as speaking the truth.
Follow these tips can not only sweeten your own life, but also "contribute to
the well-being of the whole world."