Happy Holidays from Life Coaching Institute!

The holiday season is a time of great joy! It can also be a time of great stress and often grief. Life Coaching Institute wants to offer you some ways to be happier and healthier this holiday season. Following are a handful of happiness tools you might find useful if the holiday blues get you down along with some fun, easy, and healthy recipes to take to a gathering or enjoy on your own. We hope you enjoy this season and take time to savor the good times - now, in the past, and looking hopefully towards a bright future.   Happiness Tools: ~Savor the happy moments, even the fleeting ones ~ ~Be grateful & acknowledge all the things you have ~ ~Have a good laugh ~ ~Practice random acts of kindness ~ Click here to read more and learn some specific ways to increase your happiness... any time! Healthy, easy recipes for the holidays or anytime: Raw Apple Pie 2 cups walnuts (or almonds or pecans or whatever your heart desires) 4 apples (Braeburn is fantastic, but again, whatever you like) 1 lemon 5 dates (pitted) 1 cup currants or raisins or cranberries or... 1 banana about 2 teaspoons cinnamon lemon zest (from the one lemon) Crust: Soak (wal)nuts in distilled water (preferrably) - 6 hours is the recipe.  I find that 20 minutes works just fine, and I just drain the water off before processing.  Mix nuts with the 5 dates - process them in food processor until gooey.  Press into pie plate. Middle layer: In the nutty food processor, add - 2 apples (cored and quartered), juice of 1/2 lemon (remember to zest it first!) Process until chunky or bite sized.  Pour over crust. Top layer: Process 2 more apples (cored and quartered), the currants (or whatever dried fruit you're using), juice of the other 1/2 lemon, 1 banana, the cinnamon together until the mixture is mushy or creamy.  Spread over the apple layer.  Sprinkle with remaining dried fruit and lemon zest.  Raw Almond Cookies 2 cups almonds 1/2 cup raw unfiltered honey 1 tsp. Mexican vanilla shredded coconut Grind almonds into a fine meal in dry food processor.  Work in enough honey and vanilla to make dough sticky.  Rolls into balls or a log shape (to slice after chilling).  Roll cookies in coconut.  Chill and enjoy! Carrot and Raisin Salad 4 cups of shredded carrots 1 cup organic raisins ½ cup Cashew cheese (see recipe below) ¼ cup lemon juice (organic) ½ cup Agave nectar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. cinnamon Pinch of sea salt Add all ingredients to shredded carrots and mix well!  Chill and enjoy. Festive Kale Salad with Cranberries 2 bunches of kale greens ½ pinenuts (or slivered almonds or any other favorite nut) ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (preferably cold-pressed) ¼ cup lemon juice ¼ cup honey ½ tsp. sea salt dried cranberries - to taste (or raisins, currants, dried cherries or other favorite dried fruit) Separate greens from their stems and wash them thoroughly.  Using your hands, massage raw kale, adding olive oil and lemon juice as it softens. Continue to massage until it's all wilted and you have worked in the oil and juice. (If you do not like to used your hands, you can run kale through food processor with the slicing blade (not the shredding blade).)  Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.  (If you mix it with your hands, it's messy... but it gives it a great consistency and you know your recipe is made with love!) Recommended Readings: Healing Your Holiday Grief: 100 Practical Ideas for Blending Mourning and Celebration During the Holiday Season by Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD With compassionate insight, this handbook helps those in mourning through what can be the hardest time of year—the holiday season. Mourners will better understand their complex emotions after reading about such topics as honoring thoughts and feelings, creating new traditions, finding ways to de-stress, and incorporating healing rituals into the holiday season. This book's practical wisdom also covers issues such as decision-making during the holidays and coping with the blending of mourning and celebration. All of the answers and advice in this guide are provided in the popular 100 ideas format that features one idea per page, allowing readers to fully absorb each suggestion. Click here to view on Amazon

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~ Plato Check out our Blog Upcoming Meetups Meetup Information: 6-8pm at Earthfare on Pelham Road http://www.meetup.com/LIfe-Coaching-Institute/ Print the LCI Meetup Schedule here. Monday, December 20, 2010 Are your holiday communication skills insightful or out of sight? with Rachel Blair Does it seem like when everyone is together for the holidays, there is a lot of talking and no one is listening? Holidays are a time for families and friends to share. Join us to learn Life Coaching Institute’s insight communication model to ensure that everyone is heard at your house this holiday season. Rachel Blair is a certified transformational life coach and owner of Journeys Within, LLC. Her practice focuses on self-discovery, relationships, and life changes. Strategies & Secrets for Success in 2011 with Karren Peterson - January 17, 2011 Start the New Year off on a great track with Strategies for Success in 2011. Modeled after famous motivational speaker and author of Life's Golden Ticket, Brenden Brechard, Karren Peterson gives you an intimate view along with structured exercises for achieving all the success you desire for this year and beyond... Karren holds Masters Degrees in Counseling and Education, and is certified as an Empowerment Life Coach and Global Career Development Facilitator. As a licensed Counselor and coach, her focus is to help people bring out their B.E.S.T. (Believe...Excel...Succeed...Transform...) and reach their fullest potential. Monday, February 21, 2011 Thermograms - Healthier, Safer, More Effective Breast Screening with Dr. Marina Ponton The medical community and many patients have expressed concerns over the recent changes in the guidelines for mammograms and women's breast health. Because Life Coaching Institute is dedicated to people living their BEST life, we want everyone to be aware of this valuable screening tool. LCI wanted to let women in Greenville know about a safe alternative to mammograms. Dr. Marina Ponton, LAp, will tell us what every woman needs to know about this preventative and early detection technology called a "thermogram." Dr. Ponton has been an Acupuncture Physician in private practice since 1999, and has recently earned her Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Dr. Ponton’s practice focuses on helping others achieve and maintain their optimal health through acupuncture, herbology, diet, supplementation, and nutrition. Dr. Ponton’s belief in healing the body through natural methods, has led her to practice and lecture in the United States, Sweden, and Holland. Her extensive studies include the American University of Paris, FAMU University in Prague, The University of Miami, and The Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine. Dr. Ponton is an exceptionally talented natural health practitioner, and well recognized lecturer, who is passionate about educating the masses on the importance of incorporating natural health modalities into their every day life. Some of her specialties include: pain management,  women’s health and fertility, holistic dermatology, environmental diseases, and mental & emotional disorders. Dr. Ponton is bilingual in English & Spanish. Monday, March 21, 2011 TBA with Cherri Walker, Transformational Life Coach Meet up Information: Third Monday - 6-8pm Earthfare (Near I-85/Michelin) 3620 Pelham Road Greenville, SC 29615 Click here for more info on Earthfare. For more information, please visit www.LifeCoachingInstitute.net, call Life Coaching Institute 282-8989 or email mailto:Vicy@LifeCoachingInstitute.net.