Happy Summer! As we turn the bend of Summer Solstice, our lives feel so abundant and full. Our gardens are growing strong, the kids are running around in the sunshine and the summer fun is just beginning. We’re also feeling the need for more energy to stay active during these long days and to keep up with all the exciting new projects.

In this issue we share the power of superfoods to fuel our success and meet daily challenges. We give you our super tips, like how to make superfood popsicles, to incorporate these power foods into your own busy life.

Healthy Blessings, Cindy and Jo

In this Edition

1. Superfoods to the Rescue for a Summer Energy Boost
2. Favorite Superfood Recipes
3. SUPER Berry Popsicles
4. Live Superfoods for the Best Quality and Price
5. Pharr's Summer Detox

Superfoods to the Rescue

Time feels like it’s speeding up and the challenges of life are getting more and more intense for most of us. Lately everyone we talk to sounds like they’re gasping for air and struggling to keep up with their schedules. Many of our new health counseling clients and detox readers express that they are feeling fatigued and drained. In order to keep up with the demands of their days they are reaching for coffee and sugar.

The problem only gets worse as we ask our bodies to focus and work hard for long hours each day without feeding them the fuel they need. Caffeine, sugar and other stimulants throw your body into overdrive and provide only a superficial, temporary energy boost while robbing your body of its sustaining core energy.

Modern Malnourishment

Most people eating from the modern food supply are severely malnourished, even if they are eating large quantities of food each day. Refined and denatured foods are often loaded with calories and yet virtually devoid of nutrients. Without the natural nourishment of whole foods our bodily systems begin to break down.

One of the most surprising aspects of this widespread malnourishment is protein deficiency. You may think that a meat eating, milk drinking culture like ours would have plenty of protein. But these cooked, processed and pasteurized versions of animal protein provide very little usable protein. According to natural health expert David Wolfe when you cook meat you loose 50% of the protein, destroy most of the tryptophan and break down the phenylalanine to the point that the protein becomes unusable.

Wolfe says, “when we are looking at these high meat diets what we see often is protein deficiency which manifests itself as neurological disorders first - not wimpy little muscles - but actually neurological disorders.”

This protein deficiency is directly linked with fatigue, depression, confusion and cravings for sugar and caffeine. Protein metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism regulate each other in your body. When you lack high quality absorbable protein your body will cry out for the quick fix energy of sugar and caffeine.

Superfuel your Body with Superfoods

The answer to this predicament is the high quality usable protein and other astounding nutrients available in superfoods. Superfoods are exceptionally high in phytonutrients. All natural whole foods are loaded with beneficial phytonutrients. But there are certain foods that have such extraordinarily high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other health promoting elements that they can only be considered “Super.”

In our personal interview with David Wolfe, he shared with us that, “superfoods - maca, goji berries, marine phytoplankton, spirulina, blue-green algae, bee pollen, hemp seed - can actually nourish us with real bio-available complete protein which we’ve probably never had before. It instantly gets our neurochemistry sorted out - which means the way we form neurotransmitters which controls our state of mind, our mood, our level of what we call core Jing energy, our ability to focus for long hours at a time."

Get Going with Gojis

The superfoods that are becoming popular today have all been used for thousands of years in the parts of the world where they grow. Every native culture we know about used these powerful foods to give them extra energy for traveling long distances on foot, hunting, fighting, and other primal needs. Now that we have discovered this ancient tradition we’re finding superfoods in every corner of the globe. There are so many of these potent foods available to us now.

So where should you begin? Well, we believe that whenever you’re venturing off into new healthy territory that it’s best to keep it simple and doable. So you can start by picking one or two superfoods to check out. Find a way to add these new superfoods into your regular diet and just pay attention to how you feel. Give your body time to get to know this new food and enjoy the whole experience.

Goji berries are a delicious and versatile superfood to start out with. David Wolfe enthusiastically shared his appreciation for goji berries with us during our interview.

“I’ve done the research on goji berries, the scientific research, and we know for sure that it’s a complete protein source. We know for sure that it’s one of the best sources of antioxidants, we know for sure that it is THE best source of zeaxanthin, which is the number one carotenoid, a type of beta-carotene, or similar to it, that is the most important antioxidant for eye sight. So that’s a good place to start and then we can build it up from there.”

Another great superfood to start out with and one of our favorites is raw cacao powder. It is the all natural, original source of chocolate. Natural, raw cacao contains high levels of flavonoids which will benefit your heart and entire cardiovascular system. Cacao also contains large amounts of antioxidants, the important vitamins that fight free radical damage and reduce your risk of cancer and other serious degenerative diseases.

According to research at Cornell University, cacao powder has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine, and up to three times the antioxidants found in green tea. Cacao also contains generous portions of magnesium, iron, chromium, vitamin C, and zinc.

But it’s important to remember that all of these health promoting attributes only apply to RAW cacao. Once cacao has been processed into chocolate it loses almost all of its nutrients and healthful properties.

Read our superfood recipe tips below for ideas on how to incorporate superfoods into your daily diet.

Special Detox Tip: Favorite Superfoods Recipes

What’s your favorite superfood? You may already be using flax seeds, wheat grass, bee pollen, or nori. These foods have become popular and easy to find. Others, like maca powder and chia seeds, are new to many people and take more effort to seek out. Use our superfoods page to research the benefits, uses and ways to shop for a wide range of these powerful foods.

Then seek out the recipes and instructions for putting these foods into your daily diet. Here are some recipes that either already use superfood ingredients or can be easily enhanced by throwing in additional items:

• Chia Porridge
• Trail Mix
• Chocolate Power Smoothie
• Green Smoothies (add maca, hemp, gojis, bee pollen, flax or wheat grass)
• Chocolate Fudge (add bee pollen, gojis, maca, hemp…)
• Super Pesto
• Exotic Seaweed Salad
• Flax Crackers
• Homemade Granola
• Homemade Energy Bars
• Chocolate Milkshake

Feature Recipe: SUPER Berry Popsicles

You can use any of your favorite green, fruit or chocolate smoothies or milkshake recipes – then simply pour your mix into a popsicle tray and freeze. Even if kids resist drinking green smoothies something about a frozen treat on a stick makes it fun and yummy!

If you don’t yet have a favorite, whip up our chocolate milkshake recipe and freeze. Or here is a special recipe for incorporating several great superfoods:

Super Berry Popsicles

1 cup water

1 banana

1 cup strawberries or blueberries

1/4 cup goji berries

1 tablespoon maca powder

Makes 6-8 popsicles

Live Superfoods for the Best in Quality and Price

All of their products are certified organic, vegan and raw. They source many of their own superfoods including cacao, maca, goji, acai, chia and hemp. They only carry products with the purest ingredients and the highest potency. They also carry high quality detox and nutritional supplements.

Because they have a very rapid turnover, their superfoods are fresh and potent. They work with a lot of alternative health providers and have a strong online presence, so they do not need to advertise extensively and are able to keep their costs low. Their prices are the best we have found for fresh, organic superfoods.

Check out the huge selection at Live Superfoods today!

Click here for details on guided detox programs or holistic health counseling with Jo.

"All is well. You did not come here to fix a broken world. The world is not broken. You came here to live a wonderful life. And if you can learn to relax a little and let it all in, you will begin to see the universe present you with all that you have asked for."

~Abraham

Pharr's Summer Detox Plan

“Thank you so much for your response. I just completed my week and I feel really good. It felt good to completely eliminate all meat, dairy, wheat and refined sugar. I already have a plan to repeat this with two friends over the summer. Thank you! I learned so much.”

~Pharr, Massachusetts

Receive your summer detox plan today - download the 1 Week Detox Diet Plan! You are worth it!