Extend An Invitation To Share In Your Bounty
giving thanks for what we have by giving
What started as a harvest festival within the original 13 colonies of the United States , Thanksgiving has morphed into a holiday to express gratitude and thanks for what we have and to share our table with friends and family. This has been a tough year for some of us. If we take a good look around it is easy to see that there are a lot of us that are doing without in an effort just to make ends meet. Extending an invitation to those who may not have enough to eat and to share in our bounty can be rewarding. It is satisfying not just to the beneficiary of a good meal but to the host as well. It always feels good to do good. But, we do not expect you to take on the burden alone. From now until Thanksgiving Steviva Brands will share this expense by giving you an instant 20% off both our retail and wholesale pricing.
Simply enter the discount code THANKS while checking out at the Steviva Brands On-line Store.
Feel free to download our low sugar Thanksgiving recipe cards to pass along to friends and family freely.
Low Glycemic Low Sugar Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Super Quick and Easy Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
No Added Sugar Spiced Cocoa Recipe
Have an excellent day.
Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.
YOUR MIND
The Key To Happiness
by: Brian Tracy
Your ability to achieve your own happiness is the key measure of your success, of how well you are doing as a person.
You learn the key to happiness that has been the same through all of history. You learn how to dispel the two myths that may be holding you back and how to achieve more happiness in everything you do.
Dedicate Yourself To Your Best Talents
The key to happiness is this: dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents and abilities by doing what you love to do, and doing it better and better in the service of a cause that is greater than yourself.
This is a big statement and a big commitment. Being happy requires that you define your life in your own terms and then throw your whole heart into living your life to the fullest. In a way, happiness requires that you be perfectly selfish in order to develop yourself to a point where you can be unselfish for the rest of your life.
Please Yourself First
In Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is asked why he is so intensely individualistic and unconcerned with the opinions and judgments of others. He replies with these wonderful words: “I am what I am because early in life I decided that I would please at least myself in all things.”
Your happiness likewise depends upon your ability to please at least yourself in all things. You can be happy only when you are living your life in the very best way possible. No one can define happiness for you. Only you know what makes you happy. Happiness is an inside job.
Your Happiness Is Up To You
The biggest myth about happiness is when people say that it is not legitimate or correct for you to put your happiness ahead of everyone else’s. Throughout my life, I’ve met people who have said that it is more important to make other people happy than it is to make yourself happy. This is nonsense.
The fact is that you can’t give away to anyone else what you don’t have for yourself. Just as you can’t give money to the poor if you don’t have any, you can’t make someone else happy if you yourself are miserable.
The very best way to assure the happiness of others is to be happy yourself and then to share your happiness with them. Suffering and self-sacrifice merely depress and discourage other people. If you want to make others happy, start by living the kind of life and doing the kind of things that make you happy.
Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, define for yourself the activities that you really love and enjoy, at home and work, and then organize your life so you do more of them.
Second, believe in yourself and trust your own feelings. Then, please at least yourself in all things.
Third, determine what it is that you do that brings the most happiness to others and then organize your life so that you can do more of it.
YOUR BODY
25 Effective Ways To Find Your Groove
redeveloping a good fitness routine
Just ahead of us is the greatest dietary temptations. Now is the time to commit to not lose our resolve. If the passage of a few festive weeks is going to trash your routine or your routine is already trashed, you're not alone. Here are some tips for getting started (again), no matter what kind of fitness activity you participate in:
1. Hire a personal trainer for one hour and discuss short-term and long-term goals. It'll give you a good place to start, it'll give you a plan, and it'll motivate you to get moving again.
2. Sign up for an exercise class that you've never tried before. First, you might surprise yourself and find something you like, and second, exercising with other people is usually more fun than trying to get back into a routine by yourself.
3. Spice up your workout. During your first week back at your fitness facility, don't do the same workout twice. If you exercise three days a week, ride the bike on day one, do weight training on day two, and go for a swim on day three.
4. Avoid burn out (and injury.) Don't try to make up all your missed workouts all at once - work up to a regular regime.
5. Get the most out of your fitness investment. 30%-35% of people who join fitness facilities don't actually go - calculate what that costs and remind yourself of the value of your investment in fitness.
6. Give yourself a realistic pep talk. If you've been off the exercise wagon for the holidays, your body isn't going to change overnight. Adjusting your expectations will save you a lot of frustration.
7. Ignore the scale. Is dropping those extra holiday pounds your exercise incentive? Do yourself a favor and stay off the scale for three weeks to give yourself time to actually lose a pound or two.
8. Enjoy an outdoor workout. At least once a week, go outside to exercise (walking, running, cycling, anything...). The varied terrain will challenge your body in ways that a treadmill (or other indoor machines) can't; the fresh air will feel good in your lungs; and if you live in a cold climate, your body will probably burn extra calories just trying to keep warm.
9. Keep an exercise journal so you can reflect on what you've accomplished and write down your new exercise resolutions (goals).
10. Make one appointment with a registered dietitian so you can get your eating habits back in check.
11. Exercise with a friend - a partner will keep you company and keep you motivated.
12. Start a "family workout" tradition. Make exercising with your mate or family a once-a-week affair. It's a good way to get everyone into exercise, it'll mix up your workouts, and if you've got kids, you may find yourself experimenting with exercise options you never thought of (the playground comes to mind).
13. Target your best time. Find the time of day when exercising feels best for you - it's a key component in making any exercise routine work. If you're not an early morning riser, then don't force yourself into becoming an early morning exerciser.
14. Schedule time to exercise in your date book like you would any other important appointment and give it the priority it deserves.
15. Break it up. If you don't have time in the day for an hour of exercise then break it up into two half-hour sessions. For example, do a half hour of aerobic exercise at lunch and schedule a half-hour after work to do weight training.
16. Focus on what's working now. It's true, there are lots of changes that happen to your body when you work out, but many of them won't happen right away. Look for the changes that you will notice immediately: more energy, a better ability to handle stress, more willpower, and the ability to get a better night's sleep.
17. Get aerobic fitness up to speed. Even if your exercise hiatus was a relatively short one (2 or 3 weeks), you've lost a lot of your cardiovascular fitness ability. But fear not, it'll come back.
18. Stay in your target heart rate zone while you're exercising so you know you're getting an effective workout (try using a heart rate monitor!).
19. Getting back to weight training? Whatever you used to do, cut the amount of weight by a third and the number of reps in half and then build up to your pre-holiday routine over the next three weeks.
20. Take care of your lower back - Without exercise, your lower back strength decreases, so risk of injury should be a concern. Think about good form and posture no matter what activity you're doing, and get some instruction on how to properly stretch after exercise.
21. Try swimming if you have the opportunity - it's a great gentle way to get an excellent cardiovascular workout.
22. Focus on short term goals when you're beginning again - like just getting to your exercise facility, for instance - they'll bolster your spirits big time.
23. If you don't like it, then don't do it! Too many of us suffer through exercise. There is too much to choose from to continue something you dislike, so try anything and everything until you find an activity you enjoy.
24. Eat well. You may be anxious to lose those extra holiday pounds pronto, but good food will give your body the nutrients and energy it needs.
25. Get a physical. Call your doctor and schedule a check-up. (Think - how long has it been since your last one?) Embarking on a new exercise program is a great plan, but making sure your body can handle it is always a good idea.
Don't forget to pound the water. What I suggest is adding the juice of half a lemon or 4 tablespoons of unsweetened cranberry juice to 32 ounces of water with a sprinkle of Steviva Brand Stevia Powder . Aside from being less than 2 carbs, you will get the health benefits that the stevia provides along with the vitamin C and electrolytes that lemon have. You can substitute limes for lemons if you get bored. Click here to order stevia powder.
This information and other information is intended for general reference purposes only and is not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
YOUR SPIRIT
Echoes of Happiness
Belly Laughs
As children, we laugh hundreds of times each day, delighted by the newness of living. When we reach adulthood, however, we tend to not allow ourselves to let go in a good belly laugh. Inviting laughter back into our lives is simply a matter of making the conscious decision to laugh. Though most of us are incited to laugh only when exposed to humor or the unexpected, each of us is capable of laughing at will. A laugh that comes from the belly carries with it the same positive effects whether prompted by a funny joke or consciously willed into existence. When our laughter comes from the core of our being, it permeates every cell in our physical selves, beginning in the center and radiating outward, until we are not merely belly laughing but rather body laughing.
Laughter has been a part of the human mode of expression since before evolution granted us the art of speech. Through it, we connected with allies while demonstrating our connection with people we didn’t know. In the present, laughter allows us to enjoy positive shared experiences with strangers and loved ones alike. Yet solitary laughter carries with it its own slew of benefits. An energetic and enthusiastic bout of whole-body laughter exercises the muscles, the lungs, and the mind in equal measure, leaving us feeling relaxed and content. When we laugh heartily at life’s ridiculousness instead of responding irritably, our focus shifts. Anger, stress, guilt, and sadness no longer wield any influence over us, and we are empowered to make light of what we originally feared. Laughter also opens our hearts, letting love and light in, changing our perspective, and enabling us to fix our attention on what is positive in our lives.
It is easy to laugh when we feel good, but it is when the world appears dim that we most need laughter in our lives. Our laughter then resonates through our hearts, filling the empty spaces with pure, unadulterated joy. We regain our footing in the moment and remember that no sorrow is powerful enough to rob us of our inborn happiness. When we understand that uninhibited laughter is the food of the soul, nourishing us from within, we know instinctively that life is worthwhile.
YOUR RECIPE
Super Quick and Easy Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
Serves: 40
Carbs Per Serving: 3.6 g Under 4 calories per serving!
Prep Time:<25 minutes
Skill Level: Easy
Nothing goes better with Turkey than Cranberry Sauce except maybe gravy and mashed potatoes but, that will be a discussion for another day. Check this out… cranberry sauce is loaded with sugar but more specifically high fructose corn syrup. One serving off cranberry sauce will add nearly 100 calories to your turkey and get this…. over 22 carbs! It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s a recipe for home made cranberry sauce without all the added sugar and it will taste a lot better than what is in the can. Did I mention that this recipe is really really easy?
Ingredients:
4 cups fresh cranberries
2 cups water
1/2 cups Fructevia, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend or a dash of Steviva Brand Stevia Powder
Directions:
Place cranberries and water in a medium saucepan. Over high heat, cook until the cranberries burst.
Lower heat to simmer. Stir in Fructevia, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend or a dash of Steviva Brand Stevia Powder. Continue cooking 15 minutes.
Allow mixture to cool and serve.
Nutritional Facts
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
Total Calories: 544
Calories Per Serving: 13.5
Total Fat: 0.4g
Saturated Fat: 0.0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 0 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 144 g
Carbohydrates Per Serving: 3.6g
Dietary Fiber: 16.2
Sugars: 94.2g
Total Protein: 0 g