Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11, and there is still plenty of time to make this Mother’s Day the most special one yet. Remember it is the thought that counts, and most moms appreciate simple heart felt gestures more than a fancy store-bought gift. Here are some ideas on how to let Mom know how much you appreciate her all year round:

The ultimate breakfast in bed
Let Mom sleep in and surprise her with the ultimate breakfast in bed. Decorate the tray with a home-made card and flowers (a simple flower or two picked from the yard in a juice glass filled with water is perfect). Use nice china and a cloth napkin to make it extra special. Bring the newspaper or her favorite magazine to make sure she can leisurely enjoy her meal.  If there is no way you can get your mom to stay in bed that long, still surprise her with breakfast. If you aren’t up to cooking a hot breakfast, fresh bagels or pastries with fruit and Mom’s favorite coffee drink is a wonderful option as well.

Picnic lunch
Most moms want nothing more on Mother’s Day than to spend a relaxed day with their family – and if the weather permits, having a picnic lunch outside is a fun way to treat Mom and spend some time together. Hit your local park, playground or even your own backyard. You don’t need a special picnic basket – you can use a big tote bag or even a laundry basket to carry your lunch. Be sure to bring a blanket to sit on or a table cloth if you are going to a park with picnic tables. Try to stay away from preparing any food that has mayonnaise or anything else that needs to be refrigerated. Remember to pack utensils, plates, cups, serving utensils, and napkins, plus a plastic bag for garbage.

Bring a Frisbee, wiffle ball and bat, or any other activity you can all enjoy together, and don’t forget your camera! Make an assortment of sandwiches, cut up raw vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, and green beans with dip (remember to stick the dip back in the cooler when you are finished with lunch), fruit, and cheese and crackers. Add your favorite cookies and the picnic lunch is done.

Home-made gift ideas for Mom
The best gifts come from the heart – here are some ideas that cost nothing but will mean the world to Mom:

Chore coupons: Most moms find there is not enough time in the day to get everything done around the house; chore coupons are the perfect way to show Mom you love her. Kids can cut strips of paper and write a specific chore on each “coupon” – i.e., vacuum downstairs, take in garbage cans, do laundry, make dinner and do dishes, etc. Mom can redeem the coupons at any time. Kids can make the coupon activity fun by decorating the coupons or tracing their hand on a sheet of paper, cutting it out, and writing the chore in the middle. Dads can write their own coupons with activities such as dinner and a movie, make dinner, Mom’s choice, etc.

Home made picture frame: Use fun foam (available at the dollar store) or even construction paper glued to cardboard to make your own picture frame with a special photo tucked inside.
A letter or poem: Take a few minutes to write a letter or poem to Mom telling her how much you love her and the things you love about her. If the kids are too young to write, they can dictate to a grown up. Little kids who are daunted by a letter or poem can take some strips of paper and write one thing they love about Mom on each piece of paper and put them into a decorated envelope.

Gifts for Mom from the store
If you think Mom would appreciate a little something extra on Mother’s Day, here are some winners:

Digital Photo Frame: These frames are a great gift and really easy to use – they have also come down in price. You load photos from your computer or camera into the frame and Mom has a running slide show of her favorite photos. There are also key chains that display digital photos as well and are more affordable.

Gift certificate for a week out of the kitchen:  Give Mom an entire week's vacation from the kitchen instead of a day! From now until Mother's day  we are adding $25 for every $100 purchased (multiple card purchases will be combined for maximum discount)!

Other ideas include chocolates, a “spa” basket with her favorite candles, lotions and bath gels, or a music or book store gift card.

I write a lot about intuitive eating. Just as important, and the first step in the process, is intuitive cooking. But it’s hard in our world. We’re pressed for time, and accustomed to looking outside ourselves to the experts — the celebrity chef, the cooking show stars, the cookbook authors —for the latest word on what to buy and how to cook it. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for education in culinary and nutritional topics; it’s how I make my living. At some point, though, it’s exhilarating to rely on an internal compass rather than external directions. It’s not like celebrity chefs or we food writers have cornered the market on cooking. Food preparation is the most natural, instinctive activity in the world, right up there with nest-building and baby-making. And I believe it’s as important as intuitive eating in terms of our relationship with food.

Cooking by availability and intuition — shopping the market, choosing produce that looks fresh and appealing, and then combining it with ingredients on hand, according to taste and personal preference — is perhaps the oldest and most authentic way of food prep. My southern grandmothers cooked this way, without recipes or elaborate meal planning. They simply gathered vegetables from their garden, combined them with ingredients on hand, and added a pinch of this and a dash of that until it tasted good. At the end, it was invariably a feast.

Cooking without a recipe requires only a little skill, plus a lot of imagination, and a willingness to be bold and inventive. These five steps will get you started:

1. Head to local farmer’s markets. That’s where you’ll find an abundance of fresh, seasonal produce. But don’t write off our local grocery stores; Whole Foods can’t be beat for its high-quality organic produce selection and vast array of herbs, spices, oils, nuts, cheeses and specialty items. Vitamin Cottage has wildly competitive prices and a full selection of organic produce. And some mainstream grocers are doing a pretty good job of offering more organic and local produce.

2. Start with color. It will be one of your main guides for choosing ingredients. Begin with one main ingredient — asparagus, for example — then look around the market or produce section for seasonal produce that would compliment their bright-green color. Look for what appeals to you–the pale hue of green onions, for example, and the soft tan-gray of wild morels.

You could sauté these in olive oil, then top with a little black sea salt and shaved Asiago cheese. How would you cook them? Maybe make them into a soup with a light broth, a little cream and nutmeg? Or sauté them in sesame oil with garlic and ginger, and top them with black sesame seeds? You get the idea; anything is possible. Don’t overlook fruit; pears, berries or citrus fruits compliment many vegetable dishes with a subtle, fresh sweetness.

3. Try something new. The first time I saw a rutabaga, I was consumed with curiosity. I purchased the monstrosity, which looked something like a mutant potato. At a loss, I chopped it up, boiled it and served it with butter, salt and pepper. It was delicious — sweet, clean, with a mildly nutty, cabbage like flavor. Try something new — celery root, cardoons, chanterelle mushrooms, tomatillos, fiddlehead ferns, chayote squash, kumquats. Ask for cooking suggestions at the market. Start by seasoning simply with a little salt and pepper, and branch out from there. You’ll know.

4. Stock up on basic cooking ingredients. An artist needs the proper paints, brushes and canvas upon which to express her creativity. You’ll need an assortment of oils, vinegars, salts, spices, fresh herbs and other ingredients, to make the most of your cooking artistry. Basics include:

• A good olive oil and grapeseed or other neutral cooking oil
• Balsamic, sherry and red wine vinegar
• Kosher or coarse salt, sea salt and, if you like, a finishing salt, such as fin de sel, to be added after cooking.
• Seven or eight spices you love (try cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, white pepper, paprika and curry powder) and a wide selection of fresh herbs, garlic and onions.
• A selection of dried beans, lentils, grains, nuts and seeds.
• Canned tomatoes, canned beans and a good, basic broth or stock.

5. Start with a great recipe. It sounds counter-intuitive, but having guidelines for a dish you love — pasta, salad, soup — creates a basic framework, the scaffolding upon which you can lay your own original design. A basic soup recipe, for example, might be 6 cups of broth, 2 cups of vegetables, 1 cup of beans, 2 tablespoons of oil or butter, and 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.

Start with a recipe you love, head to your favorite market, and be willing to be bold. At the very worst, you’ll discover what doesn’t work — and that’s a valuable life lesson in itself.

Lisa Turner is a widely published food writer with more than 25 years of professional experience. She has written five books on health and nutrition, and hundreds of magazine articles. Her diverse background in food and nutrition includes studies in macrobiotics, raw foods and vegan regimens, as well as classic culinary training. In addition to writing books and magazine articles, Lisa combines 20 years of yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices to help her clients understand and change emotional issues behind their eating habits. Currently, she's a faculty instructor at Bauman College of Culinary Arts and Nutrition in Boulder, Colorado, and hard at work on her next book. Visit her websites at www.TheHealthyGourmet.net and InspiredEating.com.

Image Credit: cizauskas on Flickr.

We try to shop organic as much as we can, and sometimes organic produce is considerably pricier than conventional. When you pay a premium for organic food, you want to get your money’s worth! Before you throw those fruit and veggie scraps into the compost bin, check out these ways to use the bits and pieces that you’d normally toss.

Swiss Chard

Chard leaves are the star in lots of tasty veggie dishes, but after chopping up all of those greens, you’re left with a pile of stems. The stems, or ribs, are actually great in recipes, too! They’re crunchy and slightly tangy. You can treat them like celery or onions and add them to stir fries, casseroles, soups, and stews.

Celery Leaves

Margie, the woman who operates the local Atlanta CSA Vegetable Husband, has a great suggestion for the leaves on the top of celery. She adds them to soups and stews for a deep, celery flavor. Celery leaves also work really well in salads of both the greens- and mayonnaise-based varieties. Just chop them up finely and mix them right in to add a little kick!

Mushroom Stems

Many stuffed mushroom recipes call for chopping the stems right up into your filing mixture, but these tasty leftovers have more uses than just that! Once you remove the tough part at the very bottom of the stem, try adding them to everything from soups and casseroles to salad dressings. You can toss your dressing into a food processor with some mushroom stems and process until smooth to add a nice, earthy taste to your salads.

Citrus Peels

After peeling that orange or juicing a lemon, you can take advantage of the zest before composting the rest! Citrus zest is the dark-colored part of the skin, and it’s perfect for adding a citrusy flavor to baked goods. You can remove it using a paring knife or vegetable peeler. Just wrap the zest in wax paper and put it in a container in the freezer. It should last a couple of weeks.

Broth

Home made, organic vegetable broth is a great catch-all for your scraps! You can save veggie leavings - like onion and garlic peel, carrot ends, mushroom stems, and stems from fresh herbs and spices - in a container in the freezer. Once you have enough, just put them into a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat and simmer for an hour, then strain out the scraps. What’s left is a wholesome, tasty veggie broth that’s just as good as (if not better than) the store-bought sort!

Becky Striepe is an indie crafter living in Atlanta, GA with her husband, two cats, and her trusty sewing machine.

She runs a crafty business: Glue & Glitter, sewing handmade housewares from vintage and revamped materials. Her mission is to use existing materials in products that help folks reduce their impact without sacrificing style!

By Catherine Guthrie, Experience Life

If the only edible indiscretions you worry about are those that make you gain weight, you may have your priorities mixed up. It turns out that the worst dietary demons, including many sugary, fatty, refined and highly processed foods, do more than add thunder to your thighs, experts say — they subtract years from your life.

Nutrition, not age, determines the body’s internal chemistry, and that chemistry determines, in large part, the quality and resiliency of virtually every organ, cell and system in the body.

Everything from the condition of your skin to the quality of your bone, brain and connective tissue is determined in part by what you eat. As a result, your eating habits are a major determinant in how quickly you begin to see and feel the effects of aging.

Of course the occasional cheeseburger isn’t going to turn you into Rip Van Winkle, but when dietary lapses become daily habits, they can erase years from your life — and add years to your appearance. Here’s how to fix some bad habits that may be aging you from the inside out.

Bad Habit No. 1 — A weakness for fast food

Big Offender: Trans fat  (a vegetable-oil concoction infused with hydrogen atoms)

How It Ages You:  Trans fat is an aging bonanza: The gory details of its negative impacts could fill a book, but let’s start with the most deleterious result — inflammation. Trans fat is to chronic inflammation what kerosene is to fire. Inflammation ages you from the inside out by nibbling away at your telomeres, the caps protecting the ends of your chromosomes. Every time a chromosome divides, its telomere shortens. So telomere length is not only a sign of how old you are, but also a measure of how well your body is aging.

Mehmet Oz, MD, a heart surgeon at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City compares telomeres to the tips on the ends of your shoelaces. If they break, the chromosomes fray. That’s bad, he explains, because the shorter the telomere, the less efficient the chromosome. How does that translate in the body? “If your telomeres are short, you lose your ability to regenerate your organs,” he explains.

Trans fat also adds years to your age by muffling chitchat between cells. Cells need pliable walls to talk to one another. The body makes cell walls out of fat — good fat equals healthy walls; bad fat equals patchy walls. Because trans fat is manmade, the molecule has an unnatural shape. ˙ Like forcing a square peg into a round hole, trans fat’s odd dimension gums up the system, says Kevin Spelman, PhD, a research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“On a very core level, the odd shape begins to change cell-to-cell signaling and membrane fluidity, which has a profound effect on both health and aging.” (For more on the damage wreaked by fast food and for advice on ending fast-food addictions, see “Break the Fast-Food Habit” in the May 2008 archives.)

The Fix: Steer clear of fast food, ask for ingredient lists at restaurants, and read product labels assiduously at the grocery store. Although many fast-food chains and prepared-food manufacturers are scrambling to nix trans fat from their products, very few have managed a total clear-out. To boot, trans-fat labeling can be misleading — if the product contains 0.5 grams or less, manufacturers can list it as zero percent. To be certain, scan the ingredients list for “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils, which indicate the presence of trans fat. Besides, trans fat is only one of many problems associated with these foods (read on for more).

Bad Habit No. 2 — Giving in to a serious sweet tooth

Big Offender: Sucrose (the refined, highly processed and crystallized version of plant sugars)

How It Ages You: The human body evolved with a limited ability to break down sugar, and very limited access to it in concentrated forms, so processing the comparatively giant loads we consume nowadays puts a huge strain on our systems. Excess sugar loiters in the blood and causes trouble by glomming onto protein molecules, an age-accelerating process called glycosylation that causes cellular aging in several ways.

First, it slows down the body’s repair mechanism. Although glycosylation’s effects are mostly internal, aging skin is a prime external sign. When too much sugar in the blood causes glycosylation, the skin loses its natural repair mechanisms, explains Shawn Talbott, PhD, a nutritional biochemist and author of The Metabolic Method (Currant Book, 2008). “Sugar molecules gum up the collagen in your skin,” he says, “which makes it less elastic, makes it wrinkle faster, and means it won’t heal as quickly if it’s damaged.”

Glycosylation also ages the body by spawning oxidative stress. Sugar molecules cut and irritate everything they touch, like so many shards of glass, says Oz. The damage, called oxidation, eventually leads to a buildup of toxins called AGEs (short for advanced glycation endproducts). The accumulation of some AGEs is natural — AGEs in the blood increase fivefold during a person’s lifetime — but eating poorly is like hitting the fast-forward button on aging.

That’s because, as AGEs build up in the body, they damage the cellular engines: the mitochondria. The loss of cellular energy gives rise to a dizzying array of age-related complaints such as loss of memory, hearing, vision and stamina. Even more troubling are new findings that show AGEs piling up in the arterial plaque of people with heart disease as well as in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Glycation also has a hand in the formation of cataracts.

The Fix: If you can go cold turkey on processed sugar, great. If not, cut back as far as you can, and for the sweets you must eat, choose foods made with less heavily processed natural sugars, such as honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup or agave nectar, instead of refined (white) sugar.

“Although natural sugars aren’t much better for your health,” says Talbott, “foods sweetened naturally tend to be less refined and have more whole grains, and that is a benefit for reducing sugar load.” One more tip: Don’t swap your sugar for artificial sweeteners. There’s evidence that they can do as much or more damage to your health in other ways (see “Poor Substitutes” in the December 2007 archives).

Bad Habit No. 3 — Carbo-loading — even when you’re not training

Big Offender: Refined, starchy carbohydrates (healthy carbs stripped of all the good stuff)

How It Ages You: Refined carbs are simply sugars in disguise. “Every starch turns into sugar the minute it hits your bloodstream,” says Lodge. Beyond glycosylation, refined carbs set the stage for insulin resistance.

After a meal laden with refined carbohydrates, the body’s blood-sugar levels soar, and the pancreas sprays insulin into the bloodstream to help cells convert the food’s energy (glucose) into fuel. But the body often miscalculates and releases too much insulin because (again) evolution hasn’t kept pace with the modern diet. “If you eat four slices of Wonder Bread, that’s the food-density equivalent of one of your ancestors killing and eating an entire elk out on the savanna,” says Lodge. “Your body reacts with a massive surge of chemicals to digest all the stuff it thinks you just ate.”

As a result of too much insulin, blood-sugar levels drop, and 30 minutes later you’re hungry again, he says. “The body wasn’t designed for this yo-yo effect. All it can do is break apart in bits and pieces, which is exactly what happens.” The technical term for this effect is insulin resistance, a precursor to such age-related diseases as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

The Fix: Stick to complex carbohydrates, such as legumes, vegetables and 100 percent whole grains. Because the outer layers of the grain are left intact, whole grains take longer for the body to digest, and the sugar is released in a slow, steady stream.

Scrutinize food labels, says Oz: “In general, I tell folks to eat whatever sugar they want as long as the food is nutrient rich. However, if nutrients are limited, try to avoid any food that has more than 4 grams of simple carbohydrates or sugar per serving. Another option is to avoid simple carbs if they are listed in the first five ingredients. Instead, emphasize complex carbohydrates that offer a hefty dose of fiber and nutrients.”

For tips on how to add more veggies, fresh fruits and legumes to your diet, see “Lunch Makeovers” (April 2008) and “Role Reversals” (October 2006) in our archives.

Bad Habit No. 4 — Waiting until you’re really hungry before eating

Big Offender: Ghrelin (a hormone made by the digestive system that gooses appetite)

How It Ages You: Waiting too long between meals is one of the surest ways to age the body before its time, says Oz. That’s because hunger pangs can lead to overeating, which may lead to obesity. Here’s how it works: A growling stomach signals “hunger” in the brain by releasing the hormone ghrelin. The problem is that it takes 30 minutes for ghrelin levels to return to normal once you’ve started to nosh. So odds are you’ll overeat.

The Fix: Don’t wait to eat until you’re ready to chew your arm off; instead, keep a little food in your stomach at all times, advises Oz. Schedule regular snack or meal breaks into your day, and keep a stash of healthy mini-meals available for when you’re on the go. Eat a balance of healthy proteins, carbs and fats at each meal, choosing whole foods (which digest more gradually) whenever possible.

No one eats perfectly all the time. And, as noted, occasional digressions aren’t worth stressing over. But each of us stands to benefit from improving the eating patterns that are doing our bodies and minds the most harm. Chip away at these worst-offender habits and your odds of feeling great and aging healthfully climb exponentially.

“Sure, putting changes like these in play may be a little challenging at first,” says Lodge, “but this is no place to sell yourself short: Having a wonderful, long life is worth a little bit of effort.”

Bad Habit No. 5 — Eating at your desk — or in the car, or while stressed in any way.

Big Offender: Cortisol (a stress hormone secreted by the adrenal glands)

How It Ages You: Stress hormones  — automatically released by the body under all kinds of stressful circumstances — are antithetical to digestion in a couple of ways. First, the release of adrenaline and cortisol — “fight-or-flight” chemicals — diverts blood toward your limbs and away from your stomach and intestines, which hinders your intestines’ ability to break down food and absorb nutrients. As a result, digestion grinds to a halt and food ferments, sending unusual metabolites into the bloodstream, explains Kevin Spelman, PhD, a research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.

Second, stress throws off the gut’s acidity and, therefore, its ability to absorb certain nutrients, such as vitamin B12. As if that weren’t enough, cortisol also suppresses the body’s repair mechanisms. “By eating when you’re stressed, it’s as if you are damaging your body and locking out the repair crews,” says Henry Lodge, MD, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit and Sexy — Until You’re 80 and Beyond (Workman Publishing, 2004). And finally, eating while stressed or distracted is also more likely to lead to unconscious eating, meaning you’ll be vulnerable to eating more than you intended or be prone to eating foods you would never have intended to eat under better circumstances.

The Fix: Slow down at mealtime. Instead of munching behind the wheel or at your desk, find a spot where you can relax and focus on your food and the pleasure of eating. If possible, eat with others whose company you enjoy, or eat in a place that makes you feel safe and happy. At home, create a relaxing atmosphere; set the table and light a candle, suggests Spelman: “Just as your senses assimilate that environment in a pleasant way, your body will assimilate food in a more efficient way.

”Catherine Guthrie is a Bloomington, Ind.–based writer.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter, or to subscribe to the print or digital version.

This year, spring cleaning in my home includes cleaning out my family’s diet of an item that’s pretty much at the top of the naughty list: trans fats found in partially hydrogenated oils.

These oils are widely recognized as being a major cause of obesity and degenerative diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and contributing to impaired cellular function, nervous system disorders and premature aging. The trans fats in these oils raise your bad cholesterol levels (LDL); LDL contributes to the build up of cholesterol on artery walls. The double whammy of trans fats comes from the fact that they simultaneously lower good cholesterol levels (HDL); HDL transports excess cholesterol to the liver. Trans fats also block the body’s ability to absorb and use good essential fatty acids, such as omega-3s.

Using trans fats in the manufacturing of food products gives them a longer shelf life. Consequently, if you haven’t been conscious about trans fats, you will probably find them listed among the ingredients of many items in your fridge and pantry: many margarines, breakfast cereals, low-fat ice cream, crackers, commercially baked items, boxed cake mix, chips, popcorn, other snacks, and much more.

Hydrogenation is the process of passing hydrogen bubbles through oil as it’s being heated. This results in a denser oil. Full hydrogenation results in a solid oil. Partially hydrogenated oil produces a semi-solid butter like substance. Though it would seem to be otherwise, fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fats. Some trans fats occur naturally in some meat and dairy products. However, the ones that are of greatest concern are contained in factory manufactured items labeled partially hydrogenated or simply hydrogenated. Items that contain shortening also contain trans fats. When shopping, know that in the United States the food label can read 0 grams trans fat if it contains less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving. So, the more you eat of these items, the more trans fats you’re consuming though you may think you’re in the clear because of that “0 grams” label.

Replacing trans fatty junk with fresh fruit, vegetables, locally baked breads and cakes, homemade cookies, fresh popcorn, and cooking with organic butter or extra-virgin olive oil will boost the health of your entire family on so many levels, spare our landfills of a ton of excess packaging, and attune your taste buds to real, life enhancing food.

By Annie Scott, Tonic

At last, spring is upon us! Even if you’re cooped up in an office, it’s still fun to appreciate the springiness happening all around. Here are a few things to watch for as we head into the season of love, rebirth and much-needed warmth.

10 Signs that Spring has Sprung

1. No jackets.

This is a personal favorite of mine, especially since almost everyone in New York wears a boring black coat all winter. Suddenly, as spring arrives, the streets are filled with color and interesting outfits — and you can actually see what everyone is wearing! Some people take the “oh my LORD I don’t have to wear a coat!!” a little too far, though. Watch for shivering.

2. Spring smells.

One of the first signs of summer is that freshly-cut grass smell. In spring, it’s flowers. They’re everywhere; florists are starting to stock outside displays, men and women are carrying them around and if you’re lucky enough to be near some nice landscaping, they’re starting to bloom on their own. The other telltale scent? Barbecue. That meat-flavored smoke wafting through the air means it’s time to hit the deck — and start grilling.

3. People walking slower.

There are two reasons that people walk slower in the spring. One is that they’re not freezing, obviously. The other is that due to the not freezing, people are actually enjoying being outside again. They’re literally smelling the roses. Spring is a time for strolling.

4. Birds.

You’ll notice that you hear more than just the usual muffled pigeon sounds as you walk around outside. Birds start appearing everywhere in spring, and you may even catch a couple of randy ones chasing after each other. Brown-chicken-brown-cow!

5. You drop five pounds.

Sometimes, we don’t even notice it happening. We crave lighter foods when it’s warmer, so without even realizing it, you may have just gone on a diet of sorts. Not only that, but the good feelings of being outdoors will encourage you to exercise more. Five pounds may just fall right off you

6. Your body feels better.

Not only might you feel a bit lighter, but because you’re not all tense from being cold, your muscles will be more relaxed all day, and then at the end of the day, too. Give yourself an extra flexibility and muscle relaxation boost by hitting a few yoga classes. Yoga feels great in the spring.

7. You get more done.

The days are getting longer, and more hours of light means more hours of motivation. It’s so easy to quit running errands when it gets dark out. Now, you can keep on with your day until 7 p.m. or so before the sun sets. Not only that, but the bright, warm light early in the morning gets you out of bed faster. This phenomenon is part of why we have “spring cleaning.” We suddenly have time!

8. You hear music.

The good feeling of sunshine on your shoulders may bring songs into your head — or it may be that your local musicians are out on the street playing again. After relying on your iPod for tune-age all winter, you can finally unplug and listen to the music of your environment.

9. Buds are budding, sprouts are sprouting …

Keep an eye on that dormant tree outside your office window. In fact, consider photographing it daily to make an album of its progress — it’s fun. Also, a walk through the park through budding trees and other plants will remind you that this is the season of new beginnings and bolster your spirits. Get out there!

10. Love is in the air.

Everyone is suddenly better looking, no? Their faces aren’t scrunched up from the cold, you can see what they’re wearing, they’ve lost five pounds, the SAD blues are receding, our circulation is on the rise and the sunshine has our bodies manufacturing vitamin D by the jazzies. All this can lead to some pretty lusty thoughts about the people around you. Don’t feel guilty; it’s normal. Watch for the adorable PDAs as hands come our of pockets and lovers loll around having picnics and making lovey-dovey faces at each other. Better yet, find somebody to love up for yourself and give those randy birds some competition.

Tonic is a digital media company dedicated to promoting the good that happens around the world each day. We share the stories of people and organizations that are making a difference by inspiring good in themselves and others.

At Tonic, we also see ourselves as a service company — one that strives not only to inspire our readers, but to equip them with the resources to make a difference.

By Pilar Gerasimo, Experience Life

OK, I am not going to rant. But I need to get this out of my system: I think diet soda is awful. I think all soda is awful, actually (yes, I know there are no “bad” foods, but I hold soda in approximately the same regard as those puffy orange Circus Peanuts — these are not really “foods,” per se). Diet soda, in my view, is especially insidious.

Here are my top 10 reasons:

1. There is absolutely no proof that diet soda helps people lose weight. The calorie-reduction argument is total bunk, and zero studies have shown a positive correlation between drinking diet soda and weight loss. On the contrary, there’s significant evidence that diet sodas and other noncaloric, artificially sweetened drinks actually lead — quite powerfully — to weight gain. (See “6 ‘Healthy’ Food Choices to Rethink” for more on that.

2. Diet sodas are billed as being good for type 2 diabetics and other blood-sugar- challenged types, but they aren’t. Because of something called the “cephalic phase response,” your body tastes the sweetness, and even though there are no calories to shuttle, the brain triggers a release of insulin from the pancreas and also a “Sugar is coming! Stop-burning fat” response from the liver. The result is the usual array of insulin-related problems (increased urge to eat, increased tendency toward fat storage, pro-inflammatory biochemical cascade), plus an arrest of healthy protein-and-starch production, and a confusion of the body’s built-in caloric monitoring systems, all of which compel you to plump up and eat even more unhealthy stuff later. (For more on this dynamic, read the article, “Poor Substitutes.”)

3. Diet sodas and the chemically derived artificial sweeteners they contain (especially aspartame) may act as neurotoxins and have been linked to headaches, memory problems, anxiety, brain fog, depression, skin irritations, menstrual problems, fibromyalgia, joint pain and more. (You can read up on the scientific debate about this both in the aforementioned “Poor Substitutes” and in our article “Excitotoxins.”)

4. The act of drinking diet soda — and of seeing it in your fridge — sends your psyche a slew of negative, demoralizing, less-than-healthy mental messages (I am afraid of getting fat; I don’t trust my body to crave the right things; I need to be on a diet; I am compelled to drink sweet stuff, even though I know it’s not good for me; I’m being “good” now so I can be “bad” later), all of which tend to drive other unhealthy eating behaviors even as they trigger disempowering feelings of self-denial and self-indulgence. (For more on this dynamic, see my Thoughts From the Editor column, “View to a Fridge.”)

5. Artificial sweeteners and artificial colors tend to drive cravings for more sweet and hyper-flavored foods (more diet soda, please!) and reduce your ability to properly taste more subtle flavors or natural foods, perverting your palate and dissuading you from making other healthy changes to your diet because nothing natural tastes the way it ought to.

6. Diet soda contains all kinds of icky chemicals that add to your body’s toxic burden, lowering your immunity, contributing to inflammation and reducing your body’s ability to deal effectively with other, less easily avoided toxins like those pervasive in our food, water, body-care products and environment.

7. Frequent sipping or gulping of diet soda blunts your thirst, reducing your intake of pure water, which is a much better choice for hydration and helps to clear toxins from your system (vs. further polluting it). Regular imbibing of soda may also interfere with your body’s healthy hunger signals and thus dissuade you from eating healthy snacks that would support good nutrition, metabolism, energy and mental function throughout the day.

8. The acids in diet soda (and regular soda, for that matter) eat away at the enamel on your teeth. They also are acidifying to your entire system, and thus disruptive to your general health, including the good flora in your gut, where about 60 percent of your immune system resides.

9. Diet soda (like regular soda) is generally bottled or canned, and its aficionados tend to drink it by the case, multi-liter twin pack and so on — day in, day out, year after year after year. Habitually imbibing packaged drinks creates all kinds of nonbiodegradeable garbage, and every aspect of soda production (from manufacturing and packaging to transport — and even its recycling) is an unnecessarily wasteful use of fossil fuels. Drinking any soda is also incredibly expensive, an important point for anyone who protests that they can’t afford high-quality food or decent nutritional supplements.

10. Despite all its amalgamated cruddiness, diet sodas somehow get a pass in practically all weight-loss plans, and are actually promoted by many dietitians as “free” foods or “good” treats despite the fact that they are categorically lousy for people. They are aggressively advertised as being “better choices” for health- and weight-conscious people, and as a result, many kids and teenagers make them a habit early in life. Every time I see this pro-diet-soda dynamic in action, it just chaps my hide and makes me dislike the stuff even more.

OK, I wound up ranting a little. Sorry. I know that many people who adore diet soda and have been sold on its wonderfulness may take issue with my demonization of these beverages. To which I say: Let’s agree to disagree. If drinking it makes you happy enough, or is an occasional enough dalliance that none of the above matters, drink away!

And to those who find themselves addicted to diet soda, I can only say take heart: Thousands before you have broken the addiction and found themselves astonished by how much better they feel.

My recommendation: For a week, start each day with a big bottle full of pure water with a slice of cucumber or orange or lemon floating in it. Sip away, avoid the soda aisles and vending machines, and just see if you don’t start feeling better yourself.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter, or to subscribe to the print or digital version.

As obsessed as we are with food and diets, you’d think we’d be thin and healthy by now. So why are we Americans still universally less-than-fit and soft around the middle?

The fact is, diet tips, rules and tricks won’t work if we’re ignoring the mental and emotional side of eating. Why do we still overeat—or eat the wrong things? Most of the time, when we’re craving cookies, we’re really hungry for love, sex, friendship, peace, a sense of purpose and meaning. And when you’re gripped by that kind of hunger, all the tips and tricks in the world won’t save you.

Next time you’re ready to embark on the next fix-me-fast diet, try something different: instead of focusing on the food, tune in to address the emotions that make you stray. Here’s how to start:

1. Feel your hunger. After a lifetime of denying our hunger, it’s hard to tell when we really need food. But we’re all born with the capability to eat when were hungry and stop when we’re full. As children, we eat in response to our bodies’ hunger signals. As adults, we eat in response to the clock, the latest magazine article, or our uncomfortable feelings.

Get back in touch with your body’s signals by carrying a small notepad and charting your hunger before you eat, rating it on a scale of 1 (starving) to 10 (uncomfortably full). If you do this day after day, feeling your body’s cues will soon come naturally. You’ll know you’re on the right track when you start eating in response to your body—a rumbling in your belly, a slight lessening in your ability to concentrate—instead of your thoughts or emotions.

2. Stop counting. That means calories, fat, carbs, grams, portions—whatever number you use that keeps you out of your body and in your head. When you count, measure, weigh or calculate your food, you’re eating according to your intellect rather than your body’s cues. For a life-long food counter, the prospect of free-for-all noshing can be scary. Start small: eat one meal a day without counting anything. After several days, eat two meals without counting. Continue at your own pace until you’ve stopped counting your food—and start eating in response to your body, not the numbers in your head.

3. Examine your cravings. When you’re feeling the urge to eat, what are you really hungry for? If you’re craving chips, does your jaw want to chew and crunch, to relieve stress and tension? Does the noise the chips make drown out the racket in your head? When you’re aching for ice cream, maybe the soft, creamy texture makes you feel nurtured, or fills up some empty spaces. Once you have a better idea of what you’re really craving, you’re better equipped to make a conscious choice. Maybe you massage your jaw, minimize sources of stress, visit a friend who makes you feel nurtured. Or maybe you have a scoop of ice cream—but you do it as a conscious decision

4. Practice mindful eating. There you are, in front of the fridge at 9 p.m., noshing on leftover Chinese right out of the container, with no recollection of how you got there. It’s called “eating amnesia,” where the unconscious, hand-to-mouth action of feeding yourself becomes so automatic that, before you know it, you’ve wolfed down a whole box of cookies. Become fully aware of the act of eating. Always put your food—including snacks–on a plate. Then sit down at the table, remove distractions like television, and observe your plate. Notice the colors, textures, shapes and smell for 30 seconds to a full minute before you take the first bite.  As you eat, notice the chewing action of your jaw, the taste of the food, how it feels moving down your throat and into your stomach. It’s such a pleasant practice, it will soon become second nature.

5. Be in your body. Many of us walk around all day in a state of half-awareness, not really present in the room, on the earth, in our bodies. And when we’re not in our bodies, we can’t tell if we’re hungry or when we’re full. How often are you aware of your body? Tune in right now, as you read this, and check in, starting your toes and moving up through your body. Pause at your stomach, and notice how it feels. Is it empty, or satisfied? Does it feel rigid and tense? Numb or dull? Or is it soft and relaxed?  Once you become intimate of your stomach’s sensations, you can begin to identify true hunger.

6. Pause. When you experience a craving for food, just stop and observe it. Don’t try to make it go away, but don’t indulge it. Sit with the discomfort of the craving. It may become intensely distressing, even painful; that’s okay. Stay with it, and notice what comes up. You’ll often find a vast ocean of emotions like fear, anxiety, even grief, under the craving for food. It’s a powerful exercise—but quite illuminating, and sometimes life-changing.

7. Be happy now. Maybe you’ve been postponing your happiness until you lose ten pounds, give up sugar or eat more greens. But the happier you are now, the more likely you’ll be to stick to your eating goals. The “do-have-be” mindset tells us that success breeds joy when, in fact, it may be the other way around. Once you’re able to accept yourself exactly as you are, you’re more likely to achieve your dietary goals, and less likely to eat from stress, depression or anxiety.   And anyway, there’s no point in postponing joy. Be happy now; the rest will come.

Lisa Turner is a widely published food writer with more than 25 years of professional experience. She has written five books on health and nutrition, and hundreds of magazine articles. Her diverse background in food and nutrition includes studies in macrobiotics, raw foods and vegan regimens, as well as classic culinary training. In addition to writing books and magazine articles, Lisa combines 20 years of yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices to help her clients understand and change emotional issues behind their eating habits. Currently, she's a faculty instructor at Bauman College of Culinary Arts and Nutrition in Boulder, Colorado, and hard at work on her next book. Visit her websites at www.TheHealthyGourmet.net and InspiredEating.com.

By Allison Ford, DivineCaroline

The truth about your sweet tooth. When my boyfriend returns from any overseas trip, he always knows exactly what kind of souvenir I want. Forget matryoshka dolls or designer shoes–I want chocolate. To be more specific, I want real English Cadbury chocolate. The idea of women’s loving sweets has become a cultural cliche reminiscent of an old Cathy comic strip, but I’ll confess to not being able to get enough of them. In my kitchen right now, you’ll find three boxes of Girl Scout cookies, brownies, caramel popcorn, and chocolate-covered almonds. (The two-pound bar of chocolate is on my desk at work.) I’ve also been known to eat ice cream for dinner on occasion.

Most men, on the other hand, claim that they’d rather snack on a bag of potato chips than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. We might think of it as a worn-out trope, but it turns out that the stereotype of women’s loving candy has some basis in real life, because studies have begun to show that having a sweet tooth really is a girl thing.

An Estrogen Connection?
In 2004, a pair of psychologists at Florida State University studied rats that were fed either a standard diet or a sweetened version of the same food. The rats eating the sweetened food ate more calories than those eating the standard diet did, with the female rats eating the most. They consumed 35 percent more calories than the male rats, which ate only 10 to 15 percent more than usual. The researchers allowed some of the rats to exercise, and those rats did cut back on their calorie consumption, but the female rats cut back far less than the male rats did. This led the researchers to theorize that although both sexes have an innate preference for high-calorie, high-sugar foods, females’ preference is more pronounced

Rats aside, human females report having cravings for sweets more often than men do. If those cravings have a biological basis, there are a few reasons why women would benefit from calorie-rich food. They need to maintain a certain percentage of body weight (about 17 percent) in order to sustain a pregnancy, so an innate preference for sweets would be an efficient way to pack on the pounds that keep the menstrual cycle in action. It’s also possible that women’s elevated estrogen levels during the cycle are what cause the cravings. A few studies have shown a correlation between higher levels of estrogen in the body and people’s increased cravings for sweets, but the evidence is not always clear. Some women claim to desire sweets more during their monthly periods, while others report doing so in conjunction with premenstrual syndrome or at other times during the month. Since hormones fluctuate constantly, many researchers feel that there’s more at play than just estrogen.

C’mon, Get Carb-Happy
Besides increasing fat reserves, consumption of carbohydrates (in the form of sugar) has one other major consequence: increased levels of serotonin in the brain. The human body needs carbohydrates to properly manufacture this neurotransmitter, which helps regulate sleep and mood. Women naturally have lower levels of serotonin in their brains than men do, which could account for their desire to eat sweet, sugary foods, since eating carbs leads to feeling happier. This theory would also explain why so many ‘comfort foods’ consist of starches, breads, candies, and sweets. Women also tend to suffer from depression and anxiety in greater numbers than men do, and these afflictions may lead them to self-medicate with food–although it’s certainly easier (and healthier) to elevate serotonin levels naturally, via exercise or exposure to sunlight, than it is to eat a tub of Chubby Hubby.

Human beings naturally gravitate toward sweeter foods, but our tastes are also shaped by our culture and upbringing. Studies of binge eaters have shown that much of what we crave as adults is cemented when we’re children: kids who grow up eating candy and sugar are much more likely to turn into adults who eat candy and sugar. Adults who crave foods besides sweets often report that they preferred those types of foods as children as well. Humans make emotional bonds with food, and many people try to re-create happy moments with the foods from their childhoods, whether they be cookies, macaroni and cheese, pizza, French onion dip, or Snickers bars.

Of course, not all women prefer sweet snacks, just as not all men prefer salty or meaty ones. When my boyfriend returned from Japan with an armful of Cadbury bars for me, he also brought a bag full of Kit Kats, Pocky, and caramels for himself. For anyone with a sweet tooth, the challenge is to indulge without overeating and putting yourself at risk for obesity and other health problems. The downside to having a serious sweet tooth might be that I’m always fighting the battle of cookies versus carrots, but the definite upside is that it’s easy to buy me a birthday present by simply popping into an airport’s duty-free store.

At DivineCaroline.com, women come together to learn from experts in the fields, of health, sustainability, and culture; to reflect on shared experiences; and to express themselves by writing and publishing stories about anything that matters to them. Here, real women publish like real pros. Together, with our staff writers, they’re discussing all facets of women’s lives from relationships and careers, to travel and healthy living. So come discover, read, learn, laugh and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

In a time of multiple food allergies, sensitivities and intolerances, Americans have embraced a wide assortment of non-dairy milks, cheese and yogurts. In the early twentieth century milk was delivered fresh from the farm in its raw and unfiltered state to be churned into butter, fermented into yogurt or after skimming the rich cream, used for cooking or drunk straight out of the bottle while standing in front of the ice-box.

Then came the pasteurization, homogenization, bovine growth hormone, antibiotic-injected age of milk production, and with it the realization that the human body cannot tolerate this toxic stand-in for real milk. Is it any wonder that we are always looking for something to replace what was once a quality food, but now sunk so low as to be considered dangerous for children and adults alike? What then will work in coffee, tea or over morning cereal? No! Even more important, what can replace the queen of all late night binge foods…ice cream?

Enter the humble soybean. It made sense to the food manufacturing industry. After all it can be grown in mass quantities, and processed into any kind of food product without even tasting like a bean. Except once it flooded the food market, taken up with great enthusiasm by the irritable bowel masses, reports began to filter in from experts on both sides of the allopathic-complementary medical fence. Difficult for many to digest, soy is just not that good for you in an unfermented state. That narrowed the market considerably to a little known soy paste called miso, a rather obscure Indonesian cake known as tempeh, and a not-for-the-delicate Limburger tasting Natto. With Genetically Modified soy accounting for 91 percent of soybeans planted, there is the fear that we may yet strangle on our own Frankenstein food science.

As the media reports continued to down grade soy, the food manufacturing industry was answering the call to arms. What food could they manufacture into a wide variety of products, which is actually beneficial to human health, easy to digest, has endured years of positive scientific research and heralded by the very doctors and food scientists who helped put the big kibosh on the soybean? You guessed it…the coconut.

Surprised? Well you should be. After languishing in reputation hell for years, and reputed to cause heart disease on the level of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils (which were considered to be better for your health!), renowned nutritionist-biochemist, Mary G. Enig, Ph.D championed the health benefits of including coconut oil in ones diet. She disproved the lies with scientific research showing how coconut oil is actually good for the heart, while hydrogenated oils are the death knell.

But doesn’t coconut oil cause high cholesterol, you might ask? Nope. As a matter of fact, this medium chain triglyceride digests very quickly and even supports the immune system. Plus it cooks at a very high temperature and adds a light coconut flavor to a dish. Come on, there has to be something wrong with it! After all, the health food shelves are already groaning under the weight of products made with coconut oil, coconut kefir, coconut milk, coconut creamer, coconut vinegar, coconut aminos, coconut butter, coconut flour, coconut cream, creamed coconut, desiccated coconut, shredded coconut, and coconut water.

There is an I Ching hexagram that reminds us that to know what is coming, look to the immediate past. In this case remember the saga of the soybean. The food manufacturing companies like nothing better than to take a raw, natural food and process everything that is good and beneficial out of it rendering it a mere shadow of its former self. As you shop for alternatives to dairy and soy, consider that just because it has coconut in it does not mean it will be good for you. Read all labels and stay with what is raw, organic, unfiltered, and/or fermented, and as close to its place in Mother Nature as you can find it.

Related: Soy-Free Vegan Whipped Cream, No-Bake Chocolate Tart

Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia's credentials include author, holistic health counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker. Follow Delia's blogs: brcleanse.blogspot.com and brokenbodiesyoga.wordpress.com. To view her website go to www.deliaquigley.com