YOUR SPIRIT
Getting Back to Wellness
Seven Quick Fixes to Feel Better
by Madisyn Taylor
Anxiety and fear dissipate quickly when countered with conscious breathing.
The signals our bodies use to tell us we need to cleanse ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally are multifaceted and often mirror symptoms we associate with illness. If we heed these signs, we not only feel better quickly but also stave off poor health before it can start. These quick fixes for common ailments can get you started.
1. Applying pressure to the acupressure point between the thumb and forefinger can release blockages causing pain, tension, and fatigue. You can relieve a headache naturally by squeezing for 20 seconds and releasing for 10 seconds, without letting go, four times.
2. To breathe freely, irrigate your nasal passages with a neti pot and warm salt water. As you clear and soothe the sinuses, congestion associated with allergies or infection will gradually disappear.
3. Apple cider vinegar is a powerful purifying and detoxifying agent. Soaking for 20 minutes in a warm bath infused with two cups of apple cider vinegar pulls toxins from the body and can clear blocked energy.
4. The foods you eat can have a profound impact on your outlook and mood. Eating a small yet satisfying meal rich in complex carbohydrates can lift your spirit and help you let go of feelings of anger, irritability, and depression.
5. Anxiety and fear dissipate quickly when countered with conscious breathing because concentrating on the breath enables you to refocus your attention inward. You can ground yourself and regain your usual calm by taking a series of deep belly breaths as you visualize your feet growing roots that stretch miles down into the earth.
6. Though tuning out can seem counterproductive, a few minutes spent lost in daydreams or listening to soothing music can help you see your circumstances from a new angle when you feel frustrated.
7. If you feel ill health coming on, brew a wellness elixir. Simmer three sliced lemons, one teaspoon freshly grated ginger, one clove freshly minced garlic, and one quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper in five cups water until the lemons are soft and pale. Strain a portion into a mug and add honey by tablespoons until you can tolerate the taste. Drinking this potent mixture of antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal ingredients three times each day can ensure your symptoms never progress into a full-blown illness.
YOUR RECIPE
No Added Sugar Roasted Chicken with Sweet Plum Sauce
Total Servings 4
Serving Size 1 quarter chicken
Carbs Per Serving: 1 g
Prep Time:<60 minutes
Skill Level: Moderate
Sweet plum sauce can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket. It’s the same sweet, slightly tart, jam-like sauce that some Chinese restaurants give you to dip your fried egg rolls in. This sauce is wonderful paired with pork chops, chicken seared duck breast or a simple grilled fish. The only problem with Plum Sauce is all the sugar it contains. Up to twice as much as soda pop. Here is an awesome and east to make recipe with Plum Sauce that is exotic and delicious but, without all the added sugar.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1/4 cup sweet plum sauce (see below)
1 head of garlic, halved
1 lemon, quartered
salt
pepper
3 tablespoons butter, softened
kitchen twine
1/4 cup sweet plum sauce to serve at table
Instructions:
Prepare plum sauce (see below) and set aside.
Rinse chicken and cut away extra fat.
Pat dry with paper towels inside and out.
Place in shallow baking dish and rub softened butter all over chicken, tucking just a bit under the skin of breast.
Season generously with salt and pepper outside and inside cavity.
Stuff with garlic and lemon.
Tie legs of the chicken together, slather sweet plum sauce all over chicken.
Set breast side down.
Let sit 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450F.
Roast chicken 20 minutes.
Turn breast side up, lower temperature to 375F and return to oven.
Continue to roast another 45-60 minutes, brushing with additional sweet plum sauce towards the end.
You may have to loosely tent with tin foil if skin is approaching maximum crispiness (i.e. don’t burn the skin.)
Chicken is done when juices run clear as knife tip is inserted into chicken thigh. Thickest part of thigh without touching bone should register 170F.
Let chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.
Serve with a side of sweet plum sauce for dipping.
Sweet Plum Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves, minced fine
1/2 ounce fresh ginger, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons black strap molasses
1/2 cup Fructevia, Steviva Blend or a dash of Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder or 1/4 cup of Nectevia
2 cups water
1/8 cup Trinity Hill Farms No Added Sugar Teriyaki Sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chilies
3 lbs plums, pitted & chopped
1 lemons, juice of, fresh
1 teaspoon Guar Gum or Xanthan Gum
1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Place first 11 ingredients into pot.
Bring to a boil then simmer 30 minutes.
Mix water and gum.
Blend in a blender the solids from the pot with the gum mixture and put back with the liquid simmering all the while.
Continue to simmer till thickened.
Let cool and use liberally.
Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced scallions (green onions)
For More Low Carb and Sugar*Free Recipes Go To Steviva Recipes!