I have been heavy all my life….ok I have been obese for most of my life.  There I said it.  It is in black and white print for all to see.  I started on diets at age 12.  I took thyroid pills that made me sick when I was very active…not a good way to live, but I lost 30 pounds and that was good.  But I put them back on plus a few more in 4 years and thus started an up/down cycle that would go on for 45 years.

Jan M.

I have been on the grapefruit diet, apple cider/lecithin, Nutri System, Atkins, South Beach, 500 calorie a day liquid diet(like Oprah back in the 80s), 6 week makeover , LA Weightloss, just to name a few.  I signed up for the “Biggest Loser online program” but then didn’t follow it because it seemed so impersonal.  I was getting ready to try Jenny Craig but I really didn’t want another packaged food program. I knew I needed to lose weight but I also wanted to just get healthy.  I have a little problem with atrial fibrillation, my lower back hurts and my feet are killing me with plantar fasciitis.  I know I am getting old but I don’t like “feeling” old.  I knew I needed to change my lifestyle but didn’t know how to start.

My husband and I live in Arizona and travel in our RV each summer around the US and we were in Kalispell in August.  We stopped at the brewery in Lakeside and they had Montana Women’s Magazine.  So while eating a delicious lunch, I leafed through the magazine and saw the ad for Genesis Transformation COD Retreat.  It sounded interesting and I went on the website.  I was really intrigued now and I wrote Sheri.  She wrote back and I signed up for the Retreat at COD Ranch.

I feel very fortunate that I could start my transformation with a total immersion into the program.  I got educated.  I found out why that old theory of calories in and calories out doesn’t work.  I found out why my cycle of dieting didn’t work.  I found out why my metabolism was “dead”. Being a process-oriented person, I needed an explanation of why I had such a problem.  Why could my brother eat everything in sight and never gain weight?  Sheri explained everything.  And she had a step-by-step proven process on how to get healthy.  She made sense!  And her passion was infectious! The Yoga every day with Samantha was great!  And the food!  I couldn’t believe how much food everyone was eating!  I remarked to everyone that I had never been in a room with 9 women with so much food on everyone’s plates…and they even went back for seconds!  This was amazing!   It was also very helpful to meet other women and hear their stories that were similar to mine.  And meeting Lisa, who lost 100 pounds, made it all real for me.   Maybe I could do this!  Maybe if I treated my body right for a change, it would react the way I wanted and drop the pounds.  Maybe at the age of 59 I could finally get healthy!

So one month has passed since I arrived at the COD Ranch.  I have dropped over 11 pounds.  My blood pressure has dropped from 140/85 (last spring) to 101/68.  Isn’t that amazing?  I realized I was addicted to salt and I have dropped my sodium intake from over 3000 mg a day to 300-600 mg a day.  I think that is why my blood pressure has dropped.  I feel great and I am eating all the time.  My husband says the food I am cooking now has so much more flavor than my old style of cooking.  That is because we are eating real healthy food with natural spices and NO added salt! (how I love salsa!) I take a Yoga/Pilates class 3 times a week and I find that I can do more and more of the exercises each day.

I feel blessed to have found Genesis Transformation.  I feel blessed that I have Samantha as my coach.  I feel like I am finally on my way to getting healthy and leading a more active life.  This time I plan to get rid of the “fat” clothes that I have always kept in reserve when I have gone on a diet, knowing in the back of my mind that I will probably need them again.  This time I am doing it right, thanks to Sheri and Genesis Transformation!

****

Watch for Jan’s Journey monthly in our newsletter – Jan’s graciously agreed to allow us to follow her progress and let you in on her transformation, in her own words…  – Sheri Lynn

On a recent Wednesday, I picked my kids up from school.  I met my daughter as she walked out of her classroom with a sucker in her mouth. Fairly normal for most kids, I know.  In my house we do not eat sugar, it is not considered a food.  I was a bit disappointed to find her eating candy. We walked to the car and I kindly asked her to put it away for another time. She asked me when she could finish it.

“Well,” I replied,  “today we have Tae Kwondo (the instructor does not allow sugar, and discourages the kids from eating it at all) and tomorrow is another school day, when do you think would be a good time?”

She thought about my answer for a moment, and replied  “maybe I should just throw it away?”

She then went quiet for a bit and we continued the drive home. Then she said, “Mom, I do not understand, why would my gym teacher give me something that wasn’t good for me?”

I was not sure what to say.  I could not come up with an answer and just said, “I don’t know.”

With the rates of childhood obesity at an all time high, why are teachers giving SUGAR to our children?  Did you know that children who are addicted to sugar have a higher risk of being addicted to drugs and alcohol as adults?  That is a disturbing thought.  The FDA listed sugar as an addictive drug over 30 years ago. In my eyes, it is not any different than drugs and alcohol. The brain does not discern sugar from hard drugs like meth or cocaine; they all create the same addictive patterns in the brain. Given that 1 in 3 American children now has allergies, ADHD, autism or asthma and according to a study in 2008 from the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 3 Fourth graders is expected to be insulin dependent by the time they reach adulthood.

Sugar is everywhere and hidden in many processed foods you would not expect, like salad dressing and potato chips. Children often begin their days with sugar cereals, followed by “healthy” granola bars, “fruit” snacks that have no actual fruit in them, and worse than that sports drinks and soda. Kids become sugar addicts before they even get to middle school.  Parents often opt for the school lunches due to convenience, however, under the USDA’s current budget for the National School Lunch Program of approximately $8.5 billion (in comparison the Pentagon’s 2009 budget $600 billion), less than a dollar is available per meal for the purchase of healthy food. Most of the food in our school lunches comes out of a can or package, with no fresh raw fruits and veggies available.

Let’s get back to my daughters question: “Why would my teacher give me something that was not good for me?”

It is time for us as parents and mentors to become more educated and become better advocates for the children in our lives.  We need to educate ourselves so that we can better educate and prepare our children for life.  They look up to us; whether we are moms, dads, grandparents, or most importantly teachers. It is our job to be sure we are living as an example and feeding them foods that will make them stronger and healthier, not adult addicts.

We do not need to bribe our children with sugar or to reward them for a job well done.  Children get excited when we get excited. A great reward is more time with our children; a special day out or an extra story at night that is even more special than a sugar treat. If we make a big deal out of it, they will understand the message.  When we give them sugar, we are setting up a reward system that ultimately will never serve them. Children want to feel good and have energy, when we feed them sugar, that all goes out the window.  Have you watched a child eat a piece of candy?  What happens within 15-30 minutes after consuming that candy?  One of two things usually, they crash and go to sleep or they are out of control.

I have been lucky enough to volunteer in my son’s classroom and educate his fellow first graders on healthy snacks.  The first week I went into the classroom, only 8 of the 22 children brought what I would call a healthy afternoon snack; a whole fruit or vegetable.  Today was week three of my healthy snack lesson, and we had 18 of the 22 children with a healthy snack, in just three weeks. My lesson is at 2pm in the afternoon, often a time when children crash just as we do. My son’s teacher shared with me yesterday that now that the children are eating healthy snacks, the energy of the classroom has changed, they are still able to focus and follow directions in the afternoon.  These children are asking for healthy snacks at home and taking the recipes with them to share with their families. Today we made banana blueberry smoothies – they loved them and had fun making them!

It is my goal as a parent to lead by example, and educate my children about how to make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives.  Give it a try, make a commitment to yourself and your family to eliminate all refined sugar.  The changes resulting from this small decision will astound you.A

Grain Free Pumpkin Custard

Gettin' Dirty at the Holiday Cooking Class

½ cup (raw) cashews

1 TBSP agar flakes

1 pinch celtic sea salt

1 ¼ cups water, boiling

1 ½ cups roasted pumpkin

¼ cup agave nectar

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

• · Place cashews, agar and salt in a vita-mix and process to a fine powder
• · Pour boiling water into vita-mix and process on high speed
• · Add pumpkin, agave and vanilla and process again until smooth
• · Blend in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and lemon zest
• Pour custard into ramekins or half cup mason jars
• Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes
• · Serve

Sesame Truffles

½ cup (raw) cashews

¼ cup tahini raw or roasted

¼ cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup sesame seeds (I used raw, though you could toast them for a stronger flavor)

• Place cashews in food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse sand. Add tahini, agave and vanilla and pulse until smooth
• Transfer mixture from food processor to a bowl and refrigerate 2 hours
• Roll into 1 inch balls and coat with sesame seeds

Jamie's Holiday Cooking Class in action

Walnut Truffles

1 ½ cup carob powder

1 cup maple syrup

6 cups walnuts

6 TBSP tahini

• Soak walnuts over night.
• Put in food processor until you have a sticky dough.
• Roll into balls. If you like, roll balls in shredded unsweetened coconut.

Coconut Macaroon

6 egg whites

½ cup agave nectar

1-tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded coconut

• In a mixing bowl whisk egg whites

• Fold in agave, vanilla and coconut
• Drop batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet, one rounded tablespoonful at a time
• Pinch each macaroon at the top (like a kiss)
• Bake at 325 350°* for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned
• Serve

Almond Carob Bars

2 cups almonds
½ cup ground flax
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ cup almond butter
½ cup raw carob powder
½ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup agave (can adjust)
1 TBSP vanilla

• Put almonds in food processor and blend until finely chopped.
• Add flax meal, shredded coconut, and almond butter, mix until smooth.
• Melt coconut oil on low heat in pan and add agave and vanilla.
• Add this mixture to food processor and mix until smooth.
• Press into 8×8 pan and chill for one hr.  Makes 16bars

Basic Pie Crust

1 cup walnuts, soaked

1 cup almonds, soaked

10-15             dates

2 TBSP orange juice

• Put the nuts in the food processor with the dates.
• Blend them while adding the orange juice.  You should end up with a big ball of sticky nut mixture.
• Once you have the dough, press it inside the pie pan, wetting your fingers if you need to.
• Place the piecrust in the freezer while preparing the rest of the pie.

Apple Pie

Crust: use basic piecrust.

Filling:

1 Cup shredded apples

1             cup soaked raisins

1 ½             cup soaked almonds

¼            tsp nutmeg

½            tsp cinnamon

½             cup raisin soak water

2             Tbsp agave nectar or 3-4 dates (optional)

Shred apples using a hand shredder or food processor.  Place the 2 cups of shredded apples in a bowl.  Mix in the raisins.  The raisins have to be soaked in advance. Cover them with water in a bowl. They will almost double in size when soaked, and you can use the rest for another recipe or just to snack on.  In the blender, make a sauce out of the almonds, nutmeg, cinnamon, raisin soak water and honey.  Mix this sauce with the shredded apple mixture, pour the mixture into the piecrust.  Decorate with slices of fruit (banana, apple, strawberry).

Jamie Lynn

Success at the Women’s Expo

In November we had our first ever Women’s Expo in the Flathead Valley, and it was a huge success.  Samantha and I had an opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with many new faces here in Kalispell.  Our task was to explain the GT process in 3 minutes or less, and as many of you know from your own attempts, this is not easy feat.  Our focus was on health based fat loss.

Our booth was situated in an aisle with many  “Diet” programs.  One woman commented on the before and after pictures we had hanging in the booth:

“There are at least 3 other weight loss programs here, with many before and after pictures.  But, I do not want to look like them, I want to look like you!”

What a complement to our program, we know we promote HEALTH, and it is always great to hear that from a total newbie to our process.  Our focus as Genesis Transformation Coaches is to promote health; we offer no special foods or pills; only real food and exercise.

A special thanks to Erin Sabin for helping us at the expo and also to all the GT Women who stopped by our booth to show their support.

Holiday “TO DO” List
Rather than just “survive” this holiday season, may you “thrive” throughout it.  There will be, no doubt, a few stressors that blow in with the holiday cheer, but with all that you have learned during your Genesis Transformation process, you are well equipped to handle any challenges that may arise.  Below is a list of a few things “to do” this season that just may help you feel a little more sure-footed about stepping into the season.
•     DO take the time to recognize all that you have accomplished over the past year and hold firm to your commitment to the new lifestyle that you have adopted.  You have been working hard all year to instill new, healthier habits into your life – don’t toss them in light of a few holiday parties or family gatherings.

•    DO have some inspirational literature on hand to assist you in your “less than inspired” moments or before you walk into any situation that may tempt you to stray from your new found path.   The support forum is a great outlet for sharing frustrations and successes during the season.

•    DO manage holiday stressors with your favorite activities and workouts.

•    DO get creative with your family recipes.  Cooking cleanly is no reason not to enjoy prepping holiday meals.   Get your family involved, so they can learn by “doing”.

•    DO be prepared with a healthy dish that you can enjoy when attending social gatherings or be sure to eat a clean meal before you arrive.   No plan is a plan to fail.

•    DO give yourself a permission or two to enjoy a small serving of something you really enjoy that may not be on the top of the “clean eating list”, but set boundaries for yourself and stick to them!

•    DO be an inspiration to your family and friends by walking the talk.  Undoubtedly many of them have heard about your Genesis process, so now is the perfect time to show them what living this lifestyle actually means!

•    DO treat yourself with respect and love this season, which is really what Genesis is all about.  You SO deserve it!

Where SELF RESPONSIBILITY really gets testy with people is around illness.  In our culture, we do not accept responsibility for illness – we loooooovvvve the victim stance.  We say, “I’m sick because I was exposed to a bunch of sick kids this weekend” or “My whole family has been sick with this, it was only a matter of time” or “It’s going around the office”  and yet we will march our red-eyed, mucous dripping, coughing, wheezing asses in to work, to the store, around town, claiming we are not contagious. How does THAT work?  Look, if you believe in the contagion theory, at least be consistent!

THAT SAID, I can track most respiratory illness with my clients to direct incidences of inflammation resulting from poor food choices, and the standard 7-14 days it takes for that inflammation to resolve itself into illness.  I have years of experiential data on this.  For myself, I have been able to note the same responses.  Mine come down to whether or not the external loads I’ve placed on my body are ‘reasonable’ for my body – i.e. being ‘too busy’ kicks my ass.   HOWEVER, my drive to pay attention to the workings of illness is due to the following research, which I’d like you to read closely.  I’d encourage you to do the research, it’s there (obscure, but available).  Be prepared for another level of responsibility:

TERRAIN THEORY VS THE MEDICAL MODEL (GERM THEORY)

The germ – or microbian – theory of disease was popularized by Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), the inventor of pasteurization. This theory says that there are fixed, external germs (or microbes) which invade the body and cause a variety of separate, definable diseases. In order to get well, you need to identify and then kill whatever germ made you sick. The tools generally employed are drugs, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Prevention includes the use of vaccines as well as drugs, which – theoretically at least – work by keeping germs at bay.

Just prior to the time that Pasteur began promoting the “monomorphic” germ theory, a contemporary by the name of Claude Bernard (1813-1878) was developing the theory that the body’s ability to heal was dependent on its general condition or internal environment. Thus disease occurred only when the terrain or internal environment of the body became favorable to disease.

An extremely brilliant contemporary of Claude Bernard’s was Antoine Bechamp (1816-1908).  Bechamp had degrees in physics, chemistry and biology. In addition he was a medical doctor and a university professor. Bechamp built upon and extended Bernard’s idea, developing his own theory of health and disease which revolved around the concept of “pleomorphism.”

Through meticulous research and in contrast to Pasteur’s subsequent, misinformed promotion of “monomorphic” or single-formed, fixed state microbes (or germs), Bechamp had discovered tiny organisms (or microorganisms) he called “microzyma” which were “pleomorphic” or “many-formed.” (Pleo = many and morph = form.) Interestingly, these microzyma were found to be present in all things whether living or dead, and they persist even when the host has died. Many were impervious to heat as well.

Bechamp’s microzyma, including specific bacteria, could take on a number of  forms during the host’s life cycle and these forms depended (as Bernard contended)  primarily on the chemistry of their environment, or the biological terrain, or to put it a third way, the condition of the host. In other words there is no single cause of disease. Instead disease results when microzyma change form, function and toxicity according to the terrain of the host.   Bad bacteria, viruses and fungi are merely the forms assumed by the microzymas when there is a condition or terrain that favors disease and these “bad” microzyma themselves give off toxic byproducts, further contributing to a weakened terrain.

This is how Bechamp himself put it in his last book The Third Element of the Blood: “. . . the microzyma, whatever its origin, is a ferment; it is organized, it is living, capable of multiplying, of becoming diseased and of communicating disease. . . All mycrozyma are ferments of the same order – that is to say, they are organisms, able to produce alcohol, acetic acid, lactic acid and butyric acid.  . . In a state of health the microzymas of the organism act harmoniously, and our life is, in every meaning of the word, a regular fermentation. In a state of disease, the microzymas do not act harmoniously, and the fermentation is disturbed; the mycrozymas have either changed their function or are placed in an abnormal situation by some modification of the medium. . .”

Through his research, Bechamp showed that the essence of life is a “fermentation” process of digestion, assimilation, disassimilation and excretion. Interruptions in any of these functions would result in a lack of energy, full blown disease or even death. Rather than causing disease, Bechamp showed that harmful mycrozyma – which Pasteur took to be external germs attacking a host - actually arises when the body’s normal metabolic processes are disturbed.

Thus, according to Bernard, Bechamp and their successors, disease occurs to a large extent as a function of biology and as a result of the changes that take place when metabolic processes are thrown off. Germs become symptoms that stimulate the occurrence of more symptoms – which ultimately culminate in disease. A body thus weakend also naturally becomes vulnerable to external harmful microzyma – or if you prefer pleomorphic germs. So, our bodies are in effect mini-ecosystems, or biological terrains in which nutritional status, toxicity levels, inflammation, and pH balance play key roles.

For these and other reasons Bechamp argued strenuously against vaccines, asserting that “The most serious disorders may be provoked by the injection of living organisms into the blood.” Untold numbers of researchers have agreed with him. Nonetheless Pasteur and his like-minded contemporary Robert Koch – both being shameless self-promoters - easily won the propaganda war favoring the widespread use of vaccines – which then made boatloads of money for everyone associated.  In fact, according to researcher E. Douglas Hume, if it had not been for mass acceptance of vaccines, the germ theory might very well have died a quiet death.

Decades after Pasteur’s death researchers tried to expose the fact that Pasteur liberally “borrowed”, plagiarized and misinterpreted the work of others, especially that of Bechamp – which is how Pasteur came up with the “germ” theory. The efforts of these researchers unfortunately have had little effect on the practice of medicine or the way we think about disease.

Instead, as Dr. Bernard Jensen and Mark Anderson assert in their book Empty Harvest, “The germ theory is still believed to be the central cause of disease because around it exists a colossal supportive infrastructure of commercial interests that built multi-billion-dollar industries based upon this theory. To the scientific satisfaction of many in the health field, it has long been disproven as the primary cause of disease. Germs are, rather, an effect of disease.”

Interestingly and to this day, the whole theory of microzymas and how they operate has never been disproved – or proven false – by opposing research. To the contrary, decades of research – beginning with Pasteur himself – has only served to bolster the mycrozyma theory. Not only does the germ theory remain unsubstantiated today, but Pasteur himself recanted it in his private journal, writing the famous words which were revealed many decades after his death:

“It is not the germ that causes disease but the terrain in which the germ is found.”

For more information see the 1935 books Bechamp or Pasteur? and Pasteur Exposed, both by E. Douglas Hume.

“Sheri, I had such a great week.  The best ever.  I am feeling so good and finally feel like I can be successful and have what I want with my body!  I’m so excited.”

I’ll bite.   “What happened?”

“Well,” she gushed, “every day I am really good about drinking 3 quarts of water.  I’m great with that.  This last week, I decided to push it and I drank FOUR quarts a day!  It was incredible!  My skin got softer, my moods settled down, my bowels got better, I slept a little better AND I finally dropped weight!  It’s so amazing!”

I was speechless.  “Really?”  I said.  This gal was really proud of herself.  She was in the presence of a True Miracle of her body and she was H-A-P-P-Y.

“You do know” I could not HELP but add, “I’ve been telling you to drink four quarts since you started, right?”

“OH I KNOW” she went on “but I couldn’t possibly.  So when I did push it, it’s incredible the difference!  You guys should really be talking about this.  I had no idea!”

In Genesis Transformation your coach gives you very clear and simple directions.  If you follow them, things will happen and you are going to feel GOOD quickly and your body will move right along.  Here’s the thing:  do you really think we will tell you to drink 4 quarts of water because 3 quarts is good enough?  Really?  Do you think we say ‘avoid alcohol’ because we’re cruel?  ‘Put down the cupcakes’ because we like to see you writhe?

We get into these little weird sabotage patterns because no matter what we SAY we want, our behavior will get slippy when our body is changing.  That’s the way we humans are.  We’ll work out 4 days a week and that is working, and when our weight is moving then we decide 3 should be ‘good enough’ and then a couple weeks later the weight stalls and we act all surprised.  Hello. We’ll be cruising along eating to plan and suddenly we decide we don’t need to pay attention to amounts so much anymore, we get random, and that works for about 10 days and then things stall and we’re surprised.  Hello.

We’re good at fat loss, really good.  Really.  We already slimmed the system down to the simple of ‘what works’ to get your body to burn fat.  We didn’t leave any padding or ‘fudge room’. As a heads up.

Here’s another good one:

Diana had been struggling with her weight for most of the last year.  Her weight made very strange fluctuations that didn’t make sense, and had settled into a high range that did not make sense for her.  Other odd symptoms: swollen fingers, general inflammation, her blood pressure was up.    She sent me this email (reprinted with permission):

I had the refrigerator man come this week to fix a problem with my dispenser, and I learned something interesting.  You wonder what this has to do with anything, don’t you?  Well, turns out that my water softener was hooked into the water coming through my dispenser, so I was drinking “salt” water.  How’s that for an interesting twist.  I have it temporarily fixed and need to call a plumber for a permanent fix, but I thought that was good to know…

Indeed!

In your first few years of healthy living you may want to do some experimenting at the holiday table.  If your family relies on a lot of ‘family recipes’ then go sloooow with the changes – doing small things like cutting fat, reducing sugar, cutting back on the baked goods.  Before you snatch the ‘important dishes’ away, start ADDING some interesting ones.  Go slow, go easy, and be nice about it.  Do it because you WANT to and it’s fun – not because you have to.  Here’s some tasty options from our kitchens:

START WITH A NICE BIG ORGANIC FREE RANGE TURKEY.  THEN STUFF IT WITH:

CHESTNUT STUFFING
INGREDIENTS:
2 cup – APPLES, FRESH, CHOPPED, CUP
2 cup – CARROTS, RAW, GRATED
4 cup – CELERY, CHOPPED
2 cup – CHESTNUTS, SLICED WATER, GEISHA
1 tbsp – COCONUT OIL
0.25 – CURRANTS, ZANTE, DRIED
5 EACH – GARLIC, CLOVE
3 cup – ONIONS, RAW, CHOPPED
3 CUP – PARSLEY
1.5 cup – RUTABAGA, RAW, CUBED
1.5 cup – TURNIPS, RAW, CUBES
DESCRIPTION:
a Garlic, vegetable, and herb stuffing that is rich in savory flavors! will need: 2 TBSP Poultry Seasoning or: 1 tbsp thyme, 2 tsp sage, 1 tsp rosemary
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large pot, melt 1 tbsp coconut oil. Add minced garlic and onions and saute until transluscent. Add celery, carrots, turnip, rutabaga and apple and saute until everything starts to soften. Remove from heat. Add chopped parsley and water chestnuts, currants, 2 TBSP poultry seasoning (or herbs) and black pepper to taste. Mix well. Stuff turkey. 1 serving is one cup.

-OR-

QUINOA STUFFING
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup – APPLES, FRESH, CHOPPED, CUP
12 ounce – CELERY, CHOPPED
1.5 ounce – COCONUT OIL
1 cup – ONIONS, RAW, CHOPPED
4 ounce – QUINOA, DRY
0.5 cup – RAISINS, BLACK
4 ounce – WALNUTS, RAW
DESCRIPTION:
This is best after it’s roasted in the bird – recipe makes enough for a 17-20 lb turkey, or a couple larger chickens!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cover quinoa with water in pan, bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes, covered, until soft and drain. (water ratio is 1:2 quinoa to water, and cook like rice.) Season with freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Saute everything else in the butter or oil, mix with the quinoa, and stuff the bird. Makes about 4 cups.

RAW CRANBERRY RELISH
INGREDIENTS:
4 each – APPLE, FRESH, MEDIUM
1.5 – CINNAMON, GROUND
1 pound – CRANBERRY, RAW
4 each – ORANGES, FRESH
DESCRIPTION:
This is really easy and an incredible addition to turkey, anytime of year. Leave it in the fridge at least over night before serving. Will keep about 10 days. Makes 5 cups (dependent on apple/orange sizing!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash and sort the cranberries. Throw them in a food processor. Core and chunk cut the apples, throw them in there. Peel 3 of the oranges, cut up and add to the processor. Leave one orange unpeeled, cut it up and add it as well. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Process, leaving slightly chunky (you don’t want a creamy puree!) Refrigerate.

OR

CHERRY CRANBERRY RELISH (wow.)

CHOPPED SALAD WITH APPLE VINIAGRETTE
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp – APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, SOLANA GOLD
0.5 CUP – APPLE JUICE, UNSWTND, CND/BTLD
3 each – CARROTS, RAW, MEDIUM
1 cup – CELERY, CHOPPED
1 each – CINNAMON, STICK
2 cup – CUCUMBER, ENGLISH
2 1 CUP – GRAPES, RED OR GREEN, RAW
3 cup – LETTUCE,ROMAINE,RAW,SHREDDED
0.5 cup – OIL, GRAPESEED
0.25 cup – ONION, GREEN
5 cup – SALAD GREENS, MIXED, ORGANIC
DESCRIPTION:
Use romaine lettuce hearts for the romaine in this recipe, you need the crunchiness. This salad is crunchy and you’ll need to dice everything up well enough that you can eat it with a spoon!
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a small saucepan, bring the apple juice to a boil with the cinnamon stick and 3 1-inch strips of lemon zest. Simmer over moderate heat until the liquid is reduced to 2 TBS. Discard the cinnamon stick and lemon zest. Pour the liquid in a small bowl and cool slightly, then add the cider vinegar, green onion, and season with black pepper. Whisk in the grapeseed oil until emulsified. In a large bowl, toss the diced celery, diced cucumber (peeled), finely diced carrots, halved grapes, and coarsely chopped greens (mixed greens and romaine hearts). Whisk the vinaigrette again and add to the salad, seasoning with black pepper and toss to coat. serve right away!!

MASHED FOTATOES
INGREDIENTS:
0.25 cup – ALMOND MILK, PACIFIC LOWFAT ORIGINAL
2 tbsp – BUTTER, UNSALTED
1.5 pound – CAULIFLOWER, RAW
DESCRIPTION:
Tastes JUST LIKE the ones made from potatoes – a marvellous way to eat cauliflower. Adding the fat (butter or substitute) is completely optional. Use any type of non – sweetened milk.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Steam cauliflower until tender in steamer basket or a small amount of water in a saucepan. In a food processor, blend cauliflower, optional Earth Balance or Butter, milk, and a bit of black pepper until smooth. Serve immediately.

TRY BAKING YAMS OR SWEET POTATOES, CUT UP IN LARGE 2 INCH CHUNKS WITH CHUNKS OF GRANNY SMITH APPLES.  SPRINKLE WITH CINNAMON AND DRIZZLE WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF AGAVE SYRUP.  BAKE AT ABOUT 375 FOR AROUND 40 MINUTES.  Yum!

SUPER EASY PUMPKIN PIE (crustless!)

Put all of this in your VitaMix or blender:

3 cups freshly baked pumpkin

1/2c  to 2/3 c agave syrup (depends on your sweet tooth)

1-2 TBS pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger)

3 eggs

2/3 cup milk (I use homemade hempmilk, try almond too)

Give it a whirl until it’s thick and creamy.  Pour into a glass pie plate greased with coconut oil.  Bake in a preheated 375 oven for around 30-40 minutes – watch for it to get browned and firm in the middle.

And this pie is my favorite – it’s amazing, but you have to know how to play with young Thai coconuts:

PUMPKIN TART
INGREDIENTS:
0.5 cup – AGAVE NECTAR
3 cup – ALMOND FLOUR
2 cup – CARROT JUICE, HOMEMADE
1 cup – CASHEWS, RAW
1 – CINNAMON, GROUND
1 cup – COCONUT MEAT, RAW, shredded – not dried
1.25 cup – COCONUT OIL
1 5-6 dates – DATES, PITTED
2 tsp – GINGER, GROUND
0.5 tsp – NUTMEG
1 tbsp – VANILLA EXTRACT
DESCRIPTION:
Tastes like pumpkin, actually has none in it at all! Instead of the almond flours, you can just grind up almonds in the food processor to equal 3 cups. It turns out just as good! Note that the coconut meat is from a raw, young, thai coconut – not the dried shredded kind. If you have no experience with young thai coconuts, you’ll need to do a search on them and learn how to open them – save the milk inside – it’s a powerful tonic.
INSTRUCTIONS:
special: use 1.5 cups coarse almond flour, 1.5 cups fine almond flour. To make date paste, just soak about 8 dates for an hour or so, then puree them in a food processor, only using the water they soaked in to thin the paste a bit if needed, otherwise toss out the water. Don’t make the filling until the crust is set. crust: mix the almond flours, 3 tablespoons of date paste, 1/2 cup of coconut butter together in a bowl. Press the dough into plastic wrap lined springform pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour before filling, and keep refrigerated until you fill it. Filling: Soak raw cashews for 4 hours or more. In a Vita-Mix or high speed blender, blend the rest of the ingredients, including the cashews, until completely smooth. There will be 3/4 cup coconut butter and 1/3 cup date paste. Pour the filling into the springform pan on top of the crust, keeping the filling inside the plastic wrap on the sides. The filling will be really runny, astonishingly runny. Refrigerate until set, which is only an hour or two. Any leftover filling can be chilled and eaten like pudding. It’s amazing.

All of these recipes can be found in the Genesis recipe section!  Cruise the recipes for more ideas!

hiking in the desert - the Arizona Trail

We met in Oracle, Arizona at the COD Ranch for 5 days and 4 nights of exploring, hiking, eating, yoga, yakking,  javelinas, games, dancing, bonding, coyotes, tea by the fire and oh yes – fat loss!  Some of us wanted to get back on track, some of us were newbies, some of us looking for a chance to fully immerse ourselves in healthy living with like-minded people.  No matter what we were looking for, we all found what we needed and more!

My personal highlight came on the 4th day.  Samantha and I led the group on a meditation hike:  70 minutes of silent walking in the desert.  We all had much to think about; things to let go of, ideas to embrace, concepts to consider.  My three faithful therapy dogs were along for the mediation and stayed right along side us.

At one point near the halfway mark, the dogs took off in a streak.  I knew they’d heard a pack of javelina off in the brush.  I saw them go and knew there was nothing to be done but wait.  And walk.  I heard the scuffle and the voices of my dogs – trouble.  I pulled slightly ahead of the group to meet the dogs when they returned.  I stepped off the trail and met the dogs and let the group pass me.  I’d already noticed BabyDoll’s hindquarters were chewed up and bloody.  I bent to examine her.  Samantha and I waved on the group and I cleaned up BabyDoll best I could.  Javelinas are sort of like a cross between large rodents and wild boar – they have tusks and curved long teeth that do quite a bit of damage.  They travel in packs, can’t see very well and so tend to just charge, goring anything in their path.  BabyDoll had been bitten and gored.

Samantha went back to tend to the group.   I pulled up in the rear with BabyDoll, Mangas and Seb.  We had about 2-3 miles to go.  Once we got through the green gate, the meditation was over and it was obvious there had been some deep letting go on the trail.  I shared what had happened with BabyDoll – and while there was general concern no one got into the drama. We loaded her up and got her back to the Ranch – and on to the vet – and into surgery – and here she is later that day:

BabyDoll with Sheri and Lisa

The piece I loved about this adventure is that this group was so focused – so deeply attentive to the task at hand of inward contemplation – that we were able to move through a javelina attack with NO DRAMA.  No excitement.  The group did not even know what had happened.  I loved that a group of women could be taking care of themselves in the desert and allow Life to flow around them without messing with their tranquility.  That’s focus.  I’m also pleased that Samantha and I were able to hold that meditation space for everyone else.  It was a beautiful thing.   There was a little bit of noise when I asked if anyone else had seen the hairy tarantula crossing the trail, but hey, that was later.        –Sheri Lynn

The Holy Fuckaroonie Club

The retreat at COD was a life changing event for me.  I’m still trying to really sort everything out, but I definitely had several

Lisa, Kelly, Donna

epiphanies that will serve me well.  My ‘growing up’ in this process really started about 6 weeks ago after I climbed the mountain to Upper Rumble lake.  The following week I had the best workout with Jamie EVER.  Instead of ‘boo-hooing’ I pushed really hard in my head with my power and with my breath and just ‘went for it’.  Ever since then, I have really been enjoying the workouts and the cardios — just a mind switch, really.

So, I believe I was already on a better path mentally and then I got to go to the retreat. . .

HOLY F’AROONIE!

My Attitude
If I had to sum up the retreat, I would say it was a full out cleaning process from my head to my toes.  As I swept away some of the false beliefs that were continuing to limit my success, I realized that I do have the power to change, I want to change, and nothing is going to stop me.  More importantly, I have a better set of tools to deal with faulty thinking.  I am human, and I know there will be both mental and physical obstacles along the way.  Patience, persistence, integrity, and joy will get me where I want to go.

My Eating Habits
I’m on the next step in regard to my eating habits.  I am weaning myself off of American Whey and whey powder in general, and I am focusing more on vegetables and healthy fats.  I got some great new food ideas at the retreat and I’m going to expand my cuisine a bit — I was getting kind of bored with my food.

My Exercise Habits
Why is it that I HAVE to move now?  There must be reason for it, but it feels a bit freaky sometimes.  I LOVED LOVED LOVED the desert hikes, the Yoga and the workouts, each and every one of them.  Can I continue to love them in the midst of work and responsibilities.  Yes, I believe I can.

Mangas

My Choices
The retreat made me realize I have real choices.  It made me realize that I like living with sunshine, I like dogs more than I thought (that spicy little Mangas did it for me), and I want more out of life than what I have now.  My biggest challenge is finding out how many of my relationship problems are my fault and how many of them are not my fault.  My hope is that they have all my fault because then I can solve them.  My fear is that they are not all mine and that my hb will not want to fight for me .  My commitment is that I am going to look at my issues through clear eyes and not through the haze of denial.  Either way, I am happy with the place in my journey right now.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!!

Donna

OTHER COMMENTS:

“It was a welcoming safe environment to learn and talk about a sensitive issue for many of us…”  J.

“This was much more than I expected.  The sessions with Sheri Lynn were both informative and thought provoking.  They were appropriate for people at any stage of transformation…”  L.

“…This has been the REAL beginning of my transformation.  It has been educational, emotional, and spec-fucking-tacular!” M.

“…hands on full immersion of the GT system – clean food, info, exercise and no interruptions from ‘real’ life!  Almost one on one with staff – support, bonding, fun, hard work mentally and physically…plus the benefit of starting right where you yourself are.”

“…great food, lots of group activities, hiking and making new friends really helped me solidify my dedication to healthy living.”

“It’s not just weight loss and I don’t think some people get that.  This was a real eye-opener, and I loved the yoga.”  K.

“Interspersing the conversations with Sheri Lynn with yoga and hiking gave me time to incorporate the content.  The opportunity to have the Team eat with us and share candid conversation expanded the information for me… I would unconditionally recommend this retreat to people…”

I want to break something down to you really fast, here:  What caused the fat gain in the first place?

Until that reason is determined — different in each of us — no fat loss system can possibly succeed over the long term. Even if a short-term loss is achieved, the weight will be regained, that and more.  Especially if you are dieting.

Through my experience in the Trenches of Fat Loss, I came up with a base of six causes of fat gain.  Each of the reasons I’ve found require different solutions, yet for many the solution is the same answer: diet some more, only try a different diet this time.  Or, alternatively “add more supplements”.

Let’s see if you can relate to any of these fattening problems:

1) Lack of exercise & lack of muscle tissue due to dieting  (high cholesterol and a history of dieting?  this may be you.)

2) Bad food choices; ignorance of healthy food choices

3) Insatiable Appetite; always hungry (usually blood sugar issue)

4) Poor Habits, and physical addictions to sugar and white flour (baked goods!)

5) Emotions; eating to relieve stress, eating at boredom, and eating for reward

6) Unbalanced chemistry; estrogen, testosterone, seratonin and more (frequently worsened by poor eating)

When we look at the list and think about each element, it’s clear that simply dieting or eating this herb or that expensive weight-loss supplement won’t address the real issue, meaning IF the supplementation works, the weight will come back with a vengeance in the not-too-distance future.  There are many diets that will strip weight off you quickly (read: water, muscle, some fat) but if the root cause of how you got there isn’t addressed, all the weight will come back – and more.

In other words,  say you take Pill X and you get skinny quick (water & muscle loss, maybe some fat).  Once you are done with the diet, what have you learned? If you go back to what you WERE doing, you’ll end up with the same body you had – only now metabolically worse and perhaps even fatter.  Did you learn anything new?  Whatchoogonnado now?

Many of us want the quick diet: fast weight loss where we don’t have to think about or address our personal behavior.  We want a different body with our same thinking and behavior that got us here to begin with.  We want what we eat packaged and handed to us, we want pills, injections, schedules, clear directions.  We don’t want to THINK about it. Which leads me to the primary Fat Gain Problem that I see in my business:

YOU DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT YOU. You’re too busy.  I get that.  You get to choose busyness over self care; it is your right as a human to make that choice.  What I want you to understand is that your body is reflecting your lack of self care.   And if you want to turn your body around, you’re going to have to do some changing internally.  If you want change, then you gotta change.  Saddle up. Contact a GT Coach and follow directions.  Just follow directions.   Keep it that simple.  Eventually, you’ll have a series of ‘aha’ moments and be able to reason things out on your own, and you’ll ‘get it’.  You’ll never diet again.