  My Family, my Parents, my Siblings, my In-Laws, and ALL 10 Grand Children on our Christmas Cruise 2018! Each Thursday for the past couple of years, I've contributed to an autoimmune support community on Facebook called My Mountain, My Lupus. I was invited to write a Healthy Living Thursday column by the community's founder Bridge Gardiner and happily agreed. Over the weeks, months, and years I've shared whole food as well as plant-based recipes, offered tips on how eating a clean diet helped me overcome my autoimmune struggles (read On Her Plate to learn more), encouraged those suffering far worse than I in their afflictions, and shared a little bit about me and my family from time to time.
Yesterday, was my first full day home since Christmas vacation. I'd been off of social media for the duration of our cruise to Cozumel and Progresso, so there was a bit to catch up on...including the calendar! It took one of my 7 year-olds to remind me that although yesterday was her first day back to school it was not Monday, but THURSDAY! I'd seriously lost track of the days of the week, but not the date of course! It's 2019!! Realizing it was Healthy Living Thursday, I put my hands on a copy of a recipe for Nature's Flu Shot I've had for several years and shared it with the My Mountain community. Today I share it with you. Hopefully, you'll find it useful in the unfortunate event you come down with, or feel like you're coming down with, some kind of crud. I have no personal testimonies of my own since I've yet to use it. If you use it, will you please let us all know how it worked for you? I'd love to read about your experience. Nature's Flu Shot Recipe: Ingredients the Juice of 6 Fresh Lemons 1 bulb of Garlic 2 tsp Ginger powder 2 tbsp honey 3 cups Pineapple Juice 1/4 tsp Cayenne powder Directions Blend All Ingredients thoroughly and store in a mason jar. Take 1 cup 4 times a day until your symptoms are resolved. One more thing I'd like to share is a blog post a college classmate of mine Dr. Erin Stair recently wrote and shared: Twelve Natural Tips for Fighting the Flu, Respiratory and Sinus Infections Erin Stair, MD, MPH is the founder of Blooming Wellness, a NYC-based holistic health, wellness & lifestyle site that focuses on promoting positive lifestyle changes and disease prevention, so as to enhance both physical and mental well-being. In her spare time, "Dr. Eeks" interviews really interesting people on all sorts of health topics and shares them in her blog. She's a prolific writer who keeps it REAL! Her writing is lighthearted, sometimes sarcastic, informative and always research-based! Check her out at Blooming Wellness to learn more about the other cool stuff she does! Cheers and Happy New Year!! Allison
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 I just spent the last 45 minutes folding clothes. As I look at the top of my dryer there is more laundry to be done. As I look at the basket of clean and folded laundry, there is still more to be done. As I look at the laundry baskets filled with dirty clothes I sigh and leave the laundry room for fear of becoming a casualty. Being buried beneath an avalanche of a mix of clean and dirty clothes is not beyond the realm of possibilities today. I can’t imagine I’m the only person who’s ever gotten behind with the never ending task of washing, drying and folding laundry. Have you ever thought about the times when you’re on top of it all and you’re holding it all down and there are no clothes stacked anywhere? What’s going on in your life when you’re managing the laundry (and the rest of the house) like a champ? I took a few moments to reflect on my answers to these very questions and here’s what I came up with: My husband goes TDY for 2, sometimes 3, weeks every month. When he’s away I’m like an automaton. I’ve got the laundry, dishes, kitchen and meals all planned out and synchronized. Not one moment is wasted. Every minute is accounted for. I’m quickly preparing dinner while one daughter is at play practice, the other is at The Boys and Girls Club and the baby is with me. There’s no time to sit and watch TV while popping bonbons as if I had nothing else to do. To quote Sweet Brown, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” It’s not a perfect process, but it is a relatively well oiled machine. When my husband is away I'd like to think I could be nominated for "Best in Laundry". So, what happens when he gets home? I slack off. I relax. I don't get as far as popping bonbons on the couch, but I do get out of my routine. He’s home, so I’ve got back up! I can take a breather, right? And that’s when it happens! That is when the laundry- piles -up yet again. Then it's back to rushing to empty then fill the washing machine when I hear from upstairs, "Mommy, I have no socks!" or "Mommy, do you know where my hoodie is?" Many of you reading this can relate to this sort of cycle. Some of you are dads and others of you are moms and even grandparents. What this tells me is that it's a relatively universal experience. An experience that we should all give thanks for even if it can be tiresome and a bit maddening at times. If we didn't have any clothes there would be no laundry mayhem, so I think I'll keep the occasional mayhem around a while. What all this says to me is be grateful that there are clothes to clean and be extra grateful when they pile up. The pile itself is a sign that we have more than enough. What else surrounding laundry can we be thankful for? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!  “If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” — Rabbi Harold Kushner
  Typically, on Halloween, we aren't home. We are one of those dark houses people don't even make an effort to knock on. We go out to dinner as a family or go see a movie, so having too much leftover candy on hand isn't typically a problem we have. However, a couple of years ago several of the teachers at my daughters' school gave parents their addresses so that the children could visit known entities. Since then, either my husband or I have taken them out to trick or treat. Last year, we had 5 month old AND the 31st of October just happened to be the first snow of the season in our region of Kansas! Needless to say, I stayed home with the baby.
They typically don't collect mounds of candy, which I'm happy about, but they do get enough to be satisfied and excited! If you've found that you... have a different problem...too much leftover candy, either from the kids' buckets or candy that you didn't get to hand out try these tips to avoid over indulging. 1. JUST THROW IT OUT This will likely put you in the running for Worst Parent Ever, but it's for the best! Have your kids choose their favorite treats and then donate or throw away the rest. The longer treats stay in the house uneaten, the more likely you are to give in and gobble it up. DID YOU KNOW? Some dentists now offer to buy candy off kids in exchange for cash. That's right! This year the going rate at our Pediatric Dentist is a dollar per pound up to five pounds! Not bad! Plus, all of the candy collected is sent to our military troops! If you opt to go this route, your littles will earn some spending money and you’ll get that calorie-filled temptation out of your house and mind. Does your dentist's office offer a similar incentive? Shoot me a note! I'd love to know! 2. Eat Well Sugar cravings can strike when you’re hungry and haven’t consumed enough fuel to keep your blood sugar in balance. "Eat protein and fiber-rich meals in the days before and after Halloween", advises Ann Marion Willis, a R.D. in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. "It’ll make you feel less tempted to create a dinner out of mini candy bars." 3. Savor a Single Treat - this may or may not work depending on your resolve to stay on the straight and narrow. Mindless eating is a good way to eat way more than you mean to — whether that’s nuts, chips, or candy. Instead of sitting in front of the TV munching your way through a bag of chocolate, try mindful eating. Select the one piece of candy that you most want to eat. Tune out all other distractions and focus on savoring the experience of eating it. Chew slowly, let it melt in your mouth, enjoy the sweetness, and notice how it makes you feel. Make your piece of candy go even further by chopping it into tiny pieces and sprinkling the bits on top of plain Greek yogurt. 4. Keep Your Mouth Minty Fresh Brushing your teeth can be a deterrent similar to installing orthodontic hardware if you're trying to avoid eating candy. Especially that chewy and sticky kind! When you get the urge to tear open a handful of Halloween loot, run and give your teeth a quick brushing and see if that curbs it. Here's to planning for the best outcome possible! You can do it!!  On Her PlateWhile On Her Plate can already be ordered from my website, I'm super excited that the copies I purchased to take to events and book signings will arrive at my doorstep in just a few days!
I have yet to hold a copy of the book, but I've seen it on a FB Live the publisher conducted. It is gorgeous to say the least - full color with a magazine quality about it!! I'm really looking forward to holding my own copy in my hands! This book is going to help so many people thanks to its rich content. Not only are there true stories of women who've overcome a health crisis or are learning to manage one, but the recipes shared by Sindy Ng, Samantha Cifelli, and Margie Cook are as delicious as they are colorful - I got to check out the recipes before the book was published! On Her Plate is available to order through my website, but just like everything else it's also available on Amazon. If you chose to order through Amazon, please know that you will not receive the FULL On Her Plate experience since Amazon does not sell books printed by the publisher. What does this mean? While the content is exactly the same, the look and feel of the book is not. The publisher has taken great care and love to produce and beautiful reading/learning experience. If you'd prefer the full experience and my 20% OFF code of any book on the publisher site, you'll definitely want to order from here! Cheers! Allison  Thanks to my mom who shared this Avocado Chicken Salad recipe from natashaskitchen in the Metamorphic Facebook group! I recently tried it out and it was a hit!
We had a house full of family last week and one evening both my mom and I made chicken salads. It wasn't a contest, it was just a way for us to use up the chicken breast and rotisserie chicken we had on hand. Both of our dishes were hits that left everyone searching the fridge for more the next day. Thought I'd share: According to Natasha it only takes 15 minutes to prepare. It took a bit long for me, but most recipes take me a while especially when other people are around and I'm talking. Conversation tends to pull most of my attention and extend the prep time. Avocado Chicken Salad Ingredients:
Lemon Dressing:
The How To:
  I'm typically not in tune with all of the latest sales on Amazon, but I know someone who is - my mom! In fact, we got our Amazon Echo on super discount last year based on an tip from her. So it was no surprise yesterday when she clued my sisters and I in on the start of the day and a half of Prime Deals on Amazon.
In no time she was asking my sister Kirsten and I if we had the kids' school supply list for next school year and pointing out the amazing deals on Amazon Prime. Not a minute later she was on the phone calling my sister who wasn't with us telling her all about the same deals! Yes, I got the bulk of my school supply shopping done last night. Only a few more items and I'm done! We shop at Costco so the boxes of tissues and gallon-sized Ziplock bags are things we already have on hand. One item that I ended up ordering this morning was the Amazon Fire Stick. One of my brother-in-laws had shared the concept with the family a couple of months ago and Vince and I thought we'd look into it a bit more and ultimately decided (yesterday) that it's worth investing in. I bet you can guess what my mom was telling us all this morning is now on sale! Yep! The Amazon Fire Stick is $19.99. Down from $39.99!!! Just ordered ours! A Few Details about the Fire TV Stick:
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AuthorAllison Marschean is a wife and mother of 8 year old twins girls and a 2 year old baby girl who is kicking an autoimmune disorder to the curb with food and fitness, all while living her dimensions! Archives
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