Believe it or not, your attitude plays a major role in how healthy you are because what you tell yourself affects how you feel and approach certain events in life. For example if you tell yourself “I can’t do it” then you will most likely fail, but if you allow positive thoughts in your mind by telling yourself, “you can do it” guess what you will be able to accomplish anything!

Negative thoughts such as “will I fail?” or “I am not good enough” deeply affect every aspect of your life. Negativity causes stress and stress harms the body. Stress can lead to many serious illnesses such as heart disease and sleeplessness.

Having a positive attitude will make you feel better and will help you to approach life differently. The following are a few positive attitude tips collected by YoNaturals vending:

·         Tell yourself often that “you can” do things. It may be helpful to write down your positive thoughts and read them to yourself on a daily bases until you get the hang out it. For example, “I will finish this work by the end of the day” or “I am a going to do well with this assignment.” Leave the negative thoughts behind. Negativity weighs you down mentally and drains your strength.   

·         Communicating your feelings is another way to stay positive. When we bottle things up inside it leads to frustration, so find way to effectively communicate your feelings and you will start to feel a lot less burdened and stressed.

·         Do things that bring you pleasure. This will help you stay positive as well. For example spend time with old friends, read a good book, take a walk in the park or visit a museum or whatever you find pleasurable. A relaxing bath or listening to music is always pleasant. Remember the key to staying positive is to take time to enjoy the simpler things in life.

·         Meditation or yoga are both great for the soul and will help you keep positive thoughts. Laughter is also excellent for lifting your spirits. Remember it is Ok and healthy to laugh so watch a funny movie or sitcom and laugh until you cry!

·         Let go of self-doubt and doubt, they are negative feelings that will only bring you down and cause you to feel bad about things

·         Learn to love and accept yourself for who you are, accepting who you are key to becoming positive. When you are positive you will grow, learn and love and want to share your life with others

Staying positive is hard work, but you will do it if you put real effort into doing so. Changing your outlook and attitude will not happen overnight and you will have slip ups from time to time, but if you practice having a more positive attitude you will become less stressed about life in general and you will become healthier.

Remember to tell yourself positive thoughts every day. YoNaturals compiled the following as a few examples of what you might say:

·         I am successful

·         I will have a positive attitude about everything in my life

·         I will not worry about my failures or let them affect me

·         I will surround myself with positive people

·         I will achieve my goals

·         I am a good person

]]> http://yonaturals.wordrumble.com/2008/08/07/stay-positive-and-become-healthier-by-yonaturals/feed/ http://yonaturals.wordrumble.com/2008/07/20/healthy-vending-for-picky-kids-rejuvenating-your-recipe-box/ http://yonaturals.wordrumble.com/2008/07/20/healthy-vending-for-picky-kids-rejuvenating-your-recipe-box/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:22:57 +0000 Mark Trotter http://yonaturals.wordrumble.com/2008/07/20/healthy-vending-for-picky-kids-rejuvenating-your-recipe-box/ Author: Laura Rayburn for YoNaturals

Many parents want to do a better job of providing healthy snacks for their children, but they just don’t know where to start. We have a few healthy vending propositions for you that may help you entice your little one. One simple way of starting towards making healthier food choices is by making simple substitutions in your standard snacks. For example, you can begin by replacing your child’s scoop of full-fat ice cream with low-fat or nonfat ice cream. Or if you’re feeling especially bold, then you could go ahead and replace her cool treat with a low-fat or nonfat frozen yogurt or a sorbet.

With regard to salty snacks, consider giving your child baked chips or pretzels instead of regular potato chips. Deep-fried chips get a lot of their calories from fat, whereas a chip that is kettle-cooked gets a much smaller percentage of its calories from fat. Baked tortilla chips are also a good alternative to the standard potato chip. As you incorporate these small changes into your diet, you can begin making other food choices that will improve the overall healthfulness of your child’s diet.

Get your child in on the act of making healthy choices by allowing her to help prepare a trail mix by combining a variety of her favorite healthy foods, including nuts and dried fruits. One idea is to use Cheerios or Chex mix as a base ingredient, adding in things such as craisins, a small amount of chocolate chips or M&M’s, and raisins. Of course, any of these ingredients can be switched out to maintain a level of variety in your child’s snack time.

Fruit smoothies are another area where you and your child can have a lot of fun experimenting with flavors. A smoothie originates from a fairly basic recipe that can be modified to fit your child’s tastes. To make this filling snack, combine frozen or fresh fruits in a blender, adding in low-fat yogurt or reduced fat milk. Blend ¼ cup each, yogurt or milk with the chopped fruits. Then add ice cubes and milk or yogurt to reach the desired consistency. Serve chilled.

One quick and easy snack idea is to create a mini pizza out of a whole-grain English muffin by coating the surface with ketchup and a small amount of grated cheese. Top this with olives, shredded carrots (or other vegetables) before baking and serving to your child. Another mini that also makes a good snack for children are of the muffin variety, and are okay for your child’s diet as long as they are made from a low-fat recipe and eaten in moderation. The easiest way to limit the amount that your child eats is by preparing mini-muffins instead of the full-sized ones.

Of course, these are just a few simple ways to encourage you to think outside of the traditional snack food recipe box. There are many more ways to cut calories and fat from snacks and to learn about some of them you should refer back to earlier articles in this series of posts. One of the best way is to frequent YoNaturals healthy vending machines in order to rejuvenate your taste buds with some organic and natural treats.

As childhood obesity rises (one third of American children are overweight with 17% being obese) something needs to be done.   The pediatricians are saying that parent’s thinking has to change; it is no longer good enough to think “oh, they’ll grow out of it, it’s just puppy fat.”

Lifestyle changes need to happen to help children lose weight and lower their cholesterol in order to avoid heart disease.   Although cholesterol drugs can help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, lifestyle changes are needed as well. That’s what YoNaturals healthy vending machines offer, a chance to maintain healthy eating while going about your normal everyday business.

In Australia the government has set up the Healthy School Communities Initiative.   This is where schools have received grants in order to plant vegetable gardens, publishing healthy cookbooks, promoting healthy canteen menus and other steps to promote good nutrition.   Catching children at primary school level and getting them eating healthy and being active is important if we wish to stem the international rise of childhood obesity.

In the UK the government released a National School Fruit Scheme which entitles all 4-6 year olds to a free piece of fruit a day through primary schools.   It is also compulsory for every school age child to receive at least 2 hours of physical education at school every week.

At the end of 2007 Laura Bush got behind the Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention Initiative that was announced at the HHS Summit in November 2007.

However, we still have television advertising tempting our children towards fast foods and confectionery.   We need to re-train the way they think so that fruits, whole grains and vegetables are seen as treats instead of chips, chocolates and highly processed sugary sweets. YoNaturals can provide healthy, organic and natural foods, but children must also be receptive to eating them. Only proper education can instill these values.

When shopping with children try and get them to read the labels so that they know what they are putting into their bodies.   Explaining what protein, carbohydrates and fats do in the body for example protein helps to build strong bodies, carbohydrates helps to give you lots of energy for ….add in one of the child’s favorite activities.   In my daughter’s case I say that carbohydrates gives her lots of energy so that she can dance for longer and protein gives her strong muscles so that she can hold herself up longer when she’s doing handstands.

If we keep educating our children then, hopefully they will start to choose dried fruit over potato chips and granola bars over chocolate bars when they are at a vending machine.   They may even choose a healthy, all natural organic ready meal over McDonald’s!

If we do not act now then we will have a generation of people that outlive their own children.   Our children will be dying of health disease and diabetic related illnesses and it will be too late for us to fix it.

Contributed by Louanne Cox for YoNaturals

The shift in farming practices all over the world has given rise to a popularity of organic food previously unseen. Suddenly, those who were content to just “eat healthy” are now committed to eating “green.” And for those who are enthusiastic and passionate about the benefits of eating organically – its enormous health benefits and environmentally friendly farming practices – there’s no length they won’t go to maintain an organic diet. Unfortunately, going organic isn’t necessarily the easiest of feats. While some of us have access to a bevy of fresh markets and whole food stores rich in organic choices, others are limited in their shopping options. Luckily, the popularity surrounding organic food has spawned an equally attractive counterpart – the organic food home delivery.

Organic food home delivery brings a variety of organic products straight to the consumer’s door. Everything from organic fruits and vegetables to organically raised meat and poultry can now be home delivered. In this way, an organic food devotee who lives in a small town in the Midwest has the same access to organic food as someone who lives in a city. It’s the organic food enthusiasts’ way of leveling the playing field so that these specially grown products can gain a foothold and gradually replace all traditional products. Organic food home delivery allows consumers to conveniently partake in a lifestyle of eating food and using products that are chemical free. The reduction – and possible future elimination – of these chemicals could have an unforeseen impact on our health and on the environment.

Those interested in organic food home delivery can research it in a number of ways. Today, there is a growing population of organic grocers who – in an effort to make their products convenient and accessible and thereby expand their customer base – offer organic food home delivery; all it takes is a phone call or email to the store and your needed items are sent straight to your door. Other organic food home delivery services operate as an online presence, making organic foods and products available to those who may not otherwise have easy access to them.

The society of today is one that struggles to find its balance when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. We are bombarded on a daily basis with the newest and best products on the market all designed to help us achieve maximum health. But for many who have traveled this road many a time, the answer is simple; a healthy lifestyle begins and ends with a nutritious diet rich in whole foods. But while we may know the types of food we should be eating – fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains – we are now faced with another choice – that of organic food.

Ask any organic food enthusiast and they will happily tell you the health benefits of organic food. And when faced with the information it’s difficult to ignore the substantial differences between organic food and that food that is grown or produced in a traditional environment.

Organic food is grown and raised by a group of committed organic farmers working within strictly enforced government guidelines. Produce that is grown organically is done so without the use of pesticides or chemical additives. Chemicals and pesticides are, however, used on traditional farms. And while not much thought is given to additives when we encounter fruits and vegetables in the grocery store, the truth is that insufficient research has been done regarding the long term effects of these chemicals on the human body.

The same holds true for agricultural and dairy farming practices. While agricultural and dairy farmers traditionally feed their livestock supplements and hormones to speed their growth and milk production, organic farmers do just the opposite. Animals are given only organic feed and are not subjected to chemicals or hormones of any kind.

Organic food has benefits that extend to the environment as well. Organic farming means that the ground is not subjected to chemical or pesticide run-off. Organic farmers are strongly committed to the environment and their product is only considered certified organic food if they adhere to strict government regulations.

As parents, there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for our children. And when it comes to our newborn baby we are constantly seeking those things that will give our child the greatest health advantage possible. It is not surprising, however, that there is a growing trend towards organic baby food and the myriad of benefits it can offer to its smallest consumers.

Organic food continues to grow in popularity as more and more people understand the benefits of eating food that is free of pesticides and chemicals. Organic farmers – within strictly enforced government guidelines – grow produce without the use of chemicals often used in traditional farming. They are committed to producing fruits and vegetables that are not in any way chemically altered. Organic agricultural farmers – that produce meat and dairy products – feed their animals only organic products; no supplements or chemicals of any kind are given to livestock or dairy cows.

If adults are receiving such tremendous benefits from organic food then it stands to reason that organic baby food could be just as healthy for infants. When babies reach the point that they can be introduced to solid foods, pediatricians advise that each food should be introduced one at a time to keep a careful eye for any food allergies. Organic baby food, because of its natural state - free of all harmful chemicals – provides another level of protection against allergies.

Further, because organic baby food is chemical free it is the safest thing for our environment. Subsequently, giving our children organic baby food ensures their health and the health of the planet on which they live.

Finding organic baby food can be as simple as visiting the nearest grocery store or health food store, depending on where you live. For those who have limited access to organic food, there are home delivery services that will bring the requested organic baby food straight to your door; a comprehensive list of such services can be found online.

Organic baby food shows your commitment to your children and the environment. Making small changes can go a long way to ensuring a lifetime of good health.