Juice Plus+ and Kids

Parents and Grandparents, Listen Up!

The Children’s Health Study

Anyone who takes Juice Plus+® knows it's a simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to add more nutrition from fruits and vegetables to their diet, every day. Yet that's just part of the story. Juice Plus+® has a phenomenal program in which children get their Juice Plus+ FREE with every adult order. Based on the responses of 150,000 families, the study has shown, that as a result children and adults find that they tend to:

Eat more fruits and vegetables

Eat less fast food and drink fewer soft drinks

Drink more water

Visit the doctor less

Miss fewer days of school or work

Take fewer over-the-counter and/or prescription drugs

Are more aware of their health and wellness

Reap a positive benefit of some kind

Juice Plus+® has the support of leading medical professionals. Meet the advisors to the Children’s Health Study. Take the time to read about these doctors who recommend Juice Plus+® to their patients and watch their videos to hear what they have to say about Juice Plus+®.

To learn more, visit my website: and, at the top, click on Children’s Health Study.

A diet high in plant-based foods has shown to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as many age-related conditions. Insure your health and that of your family's with Juice Plus+®. It’s “The next best thing to fruits and vegetables.”

Finding a pattern to draw and New Tangle

Finding a pattern to draw

Zentangle® tiles are intended to be unplanned, abstract and non-objective creations that grow organically. One of the many wonderful things about the Zentangle® method is it has been intentionally designed to eliminate the thinking, the planning and the decision-making that often blocks our creativity; it was designed to help you to trust your instincts. Beginner classes use black ink on a white 3.5-inch piece of artist paper called a tile which eliminates having to choose a color. We begin by drawing a border or frame and a string in pencil which provides a foundation and a gentle guide for our drawings, which eliminates the need to make a decision about composition. The Zentangle® kit sold at www.zentangle.com includes a legend and icosahedron (20-sided) die which eliminates needing to decide what pattern to draw next.

For many new to Zentangle® finding and deciding on what pattern to draw gets in the way of their Zen. If you don’t have a Zentangle® kit, you can make you own legend with patterns you have already learned and using regular dice. My husband Ed keeps a journal with patterns he has already drawn. He numbers his tangle patterns 1-20, then numbers each group of 20 up to 20 groups, which will give him 400 patterns for his legend. He hasn’t reached there yet. Then he uses his icosahedron die, the first roll is for the group and the second roll is for the pattern in that group. Thus he can shut down his left brain, the thinking part, and allow his Zen to happen. You can do it using a regular die and numbering 1-6. You will be surprised how your intuition will kick in when you get your left brain out of the way.

Linda Farmer at Tangle Patterns makes several suggestions for finding a pattern to draw which include using the letters of your name [or that of a loved one] or numbering the patterns in her annual ebook then using a random number generator to choose a pattern. I keep Sandy Steen Bartholomew’s AlphaTangle: A Truly Tangled Alphabet!  or her app Tangle Library handy at all time. Both the book and the Alpha Tangle app add on are portable and lend themselves perfectly for the letter game. 

 NEW APP: As I was writing this article, I came across a new app with tangle step-outs and pattern generator all in one package. Tangle Patterns Galore by Andre Diamond. Tangle Patterns Galore features 240 tangle patterns with links to online step-by-step instructions. You can search tangles by name and save your favorite patterns to always have them available. Available at http://itunes.apple.com for the iPhone and Pad.

New Tangle!

Ed, my husband and tangling buddy, has deconstructed a pattern, a design on the upholstery at a local Panera and named it Acrosstick. On February 23 it was published on TanglePatterns.com. Be among the first to draw it.

Zendala Stencil

ZENDALA STENCIL

Cadent variation, Bales, Swarm

Ed and I are in the seventh week of teaching an eight-week Zentangle® course, "Zentangle® For Everybody," through our school district’s continuing education program. So far they've learned the basics, beyond the basics, tangleation, and drawing on both black and tan tiles. Get a glimpse of their efforts below. This week and next, the class will be tangling  Zendalas, both tangling on a pre-strung Zendala tile and drawing their own on a blank Zendala tile. If time allows we’ll show them examples of several stencil Zendala methods: here’s one we won’t be showing.

On February 26, Sue Jacobs posted on her blog Sue’s tangle trips,  “Zendala Tool — Free,” how she uses a Healthy Choice Steamers® basket for a tool to draw a Zendala on a regular 3.5-inch square tile. I challenge you to do it her way then see what you can create on your own using her method.

My experience: This was a fun project but purchasing a Healthy Choice Steamer entree is NOT part of my usual habit. I do not buy convenience foods so this purchase was purely for this project. My Simply Lemon Herb Chicken entree was pretty bad; I'll stick with home-cooking. Have fun!

Zentangle® For Everybody— an eight-week course

The first six weeks

Zentangle® Meditation & Go Green Recipes

Zentangle Meditation

Tripoli

During CZT seminar 16 which Ed and I attended and Ed became certified, Molly Hollibaugh took us through a Zentangle meditation. There was no visual instruction; Molly verbally instructed us through our drawing. It was so relaxing and fun. I’ve wanted to do it with a class ever since. In the style of Molly, Holly Atwater has posted a Zentangle audio meditation on her blog Ha! Designs. My voice could in no way compare to Holly’s soft and soothing voice. Thank you Molly and Holly for this gift!

Go Green Recipes

Since my last post when I challenged you this month to add green to your plate, an article, “Amazing Avocados” in the March 2015 issue of Experience Life magazine grabbed my attention. My husband and I have fallen in love with the Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Sauce recipe. Now there's a green salad! However, instead of slicing the zucchini into thin strips with a mandolin or vegetable peeler as the instructions suggest, I used my Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer. such fun!

You can buy a Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer at Amazon.

The article tells about the nutritional benefits of avocado. It's one of my favorite foods and finds its way into my diet nearly everyday: on salads, in smoothies and salad dressing and as a garnish. Avocado helps to lower LDL and to raise the HDL and, in studies, has also shown to have anti-cancer properties. 

Another great recipe from the Jan.-Feb. 2015 issue of Experience Life magazine incorporates kale into a super simple supper, One-Pot Pasta. (This recipe is from The Family Cooks by Laurie Davis. More about this book later this month.) When the directions say to "reduce the heat to a simmer" I also covered my pan to keep the steam inside.

Kale goes off the chart with its nutritional benefits: it's high in vitamin K, a key regulator of inflammation, and it also has anti-cancer and cholesterol lowering properties. Kale now finds itself on the menues in fancy restaurants. How far kale has risen from only being a garnish on the plate!

Kale and broccoli find their way into my weekly shopping cart.


From my kitchen:

Asian Broccoli
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 pound broccoli florets
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger (optional)
1/4 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

In a pan with a good fitting lid, at medium temperature, heat the oil and sauté the garlic for a few seconds. Add remaining ingredients, stir, lower hear, cover and let steam for 4-5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender-crisp. Stir occasionally. If your lid doesn't fit tightly, you may need to add a little water.

I use Bragg’s because it’s a non-GMO liquid protein concentrate derived from soybeans. It’s an excellent replacement for both tamari and soy sauce. There is no salt added but it does have naturally occurring sodium. As we were accustomed to low-sodium soy sauce, we find that Bragg’s taste saltier. If that’s a problem for you, try diluting it before adding to a recipe.

Dish Up the Greens!