These elimination diet-friendly recipes are just as tasty as regular food, and they ease your woes as you work within your restrictive diet trying to find out if you have any food sensitivities or allergies.

Whether you’re on an elimination diet, have some digestive troubles or just want to watch your waistline, the following 3 recipes are sure to be pleasing in more ways than one. They are super easy to make and if you’re like me, you’ll be expanding your food repertoire at the same time.

Millet is a grain similar to quinoa but less expensive and a little less tasty (quinoa has a nutty flavour while millet does not). Washing these two grains is tricky. The easiest way is to purchase a sieve but if you don’t have one handy: put the grain in a pot of water, swish it around, strain with your fingers and repeat at least once more before cooking.

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“Peace does not mean one must be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or chaos. Peace means to be among those things and still be calm in your heart.” Marcel Morin

When I followed up with my Naturopathic doctor about this elimination diet adventure, I expressed some elimination diet woes as I was having a hard time sticking to it. My sugar and caffeine cravings were off the chart! All because of a heavy schedule, the fact that I’m still not 100% and an inability to manage my stress – one of my coping mechanisms is to reach for food and especially stimulants so I can still get things done.

So he gave me some homework, “First, get some sunshine over the weekend. Second, make a list of ways that you can bring balance into your life.” That was some pretty cool homework! Check on the sunshine (and I’m going to get some more after I post this article), and as for the list, here it is: Read the rest of this entry

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Many people know that sunlight activates vitamin D production in the body. Some know the benefits of vitamin D range from strengthening bones, fighting cancer and preventing a list full of diseases. What you may not know is that sunlight also might help us build muscle and improve athletic performance.

Real magazine recently reported that Dr. John Cannell and Dr. Marc Sorenson (both vitamin D advocates), are collaborating on a book about the subject, “Solar Power for Optimal Health ”. The book will cite research results from the ‘50’s to the present that provide evidence that vitamin D is related to athletic conditioning.

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This is the final and most important step in how to get a beach bod in time for summer . Why so crucial? Because it was my arch nemesis during my health journey and I know other people have fought this demon, too.

This was the cycle: I’d be rolling right along, happily balancing on the wagon, eating well and exercising regularly, and then something would happen. I noticed that it occurred around the 3 month mark, sometimes at 6 months. It usually came in a clever guise. I saw it arrive in the form of a lovely tropical, all-inclusive vacation before, and also as a nasty, hard-hitting cold virus.

Whatever its face, whenever it appeared, my routine and my good intentions went spiraling down the toilet. All my progress shriveled up shortly afterwards and I was back to the beginning. It took many attempts and failures before I realized what was happening and how to prevent it. So to help you avoid some anguish, here is my secret to getting over the 3 month hump …

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So if you’ve been following Live Lighter for the last few weeks, we’ve been on an elimination diet adventure . The Holy Grail in this story is healthy digestion! Come on, I bet you’ve experienced digestive discomfort a time or two.

It’s estimated that approximately 1 in every 5 Canadian has chronic digestive problems. (Source: Canadian Society of Intestinal Research ). So have you ever wondered about your poor digestion?

Here is a 10 minute clip by Paul Check , holistic health expert and founder of the C.H.E.K. Institute, explaining how a healthy digestive system works, some tips in how to achieve it, and what happens when we ignore our digestive problems:

Coconut-almond crusted, organic chicken fingers with spicy homemade mustard dipping sauce (or honey garlic dipping sauce), steamed garlic asparagus and broccoli drizzled with olive oil and finished with fresh ground sea salt and pepper. For dessert, a watermelon-berry fruit smoothie.

How scrumptious does that sound? AND it was an elimination diet-friendly dinner!

Rachael Ray , eat your heart out.

But where did this magnificent meal come from and will I share the recipes with you? But of course, Live Lighter Readers!

Friday nights are a special night in this household. My good friend Krista comes over armed with a smile, some Friday treats and her extraordinary culinary talents. This woman has mad skills in the kitchen, what she can do with appetizers will make your head spin, not to mention she’s the best hostess I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

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The following recipes are safe if you’re on an elimination diet and the like, or if you haven’t been feeling quite like yourself lately. I’ve found replacing meals every now and again with a green detox juice drink helps me get back on track.

If you lack a good juicer, you can use a blender. Vegetables are often hard to digest but the blender does it for you! Plus you get the benefit of more fiber. The only problem for some is the consistency, but you can fix that as you become more accustomed to your blender.

The Walnut Apple Green Meal is sweet and tasty while the Fennel Cleanser requires a more…acquired taste.
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The feeling of freedom comes in different forms and from various sources. When I got rid of 25lbs in 3 months last year, I felt free. The excess weight that had been weighing me down physically, mentally and emotionally was gone! I was a brand new person. The same happened when I decided to stop smoking (4^th time’s a charm), and this burden lifted as I broke free from nicotine.

The last few weekends I’ve spent some time spring cleaning and decluttering . It’s so refreshing to know that everything in my closet fits me perfectly and will be worn! I refused to keep clothes that were too big…`just in case’. No way! That’s a lurking negative belief ready to pounce. There’s no going back – only forward.

Besides the mental and emotional freedom of decluttering, the financial benefits if you sell the stuff and the efficient living effects from an organized environment, there are very real physical benefits to spring cleaning.

Step #5 to your Beach Bod: Detoxify your Environment

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So I have to confess, I’m having more trouble with this elimination diet than I thought I would. While I’m finding and trying great recipes, that’s only a small part of making a restrictive diet like this work for you. I was reminded of this when reader Tiffany shared her troubles earlier this week on An Elimination Diet Adventure. My advice to her was given based on my previous experience with cleansing, and while the principals are the same and the tricks will work, two weeks into my elimination diet and I’m still cheating.

The great thing is that I’ve identified the main source of my problems: stress. Right now, I’m experiencing both internal and external types of stress. Internally, any major change in diet or routine is going to stress your body whether you realize it or not. Your body will adjust, it just needs time. You can make this adjustment phase easier with several healthy lifestyle tricks, including the attempt to control as much external stress as possible.

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Two hottie Toronto personal trainers were featured in an article in this past Monday’s Metro. They’ve trained the likes of Miss Universe Canada , actors, Maple Leaf players, supermodels and world boxing champions. You know what they had to say about health and fitness?

“Fix your nutrition. The rest will fix itself,” says one blond, buff brother. The other Adonis says, “Nutrition is paramount. It is almost 80 per cent of the equation for performance and weight loss.”

If you haven’t heard it before, you are what you eat and so this brings us to…

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