You will leave with

• Your Personalized Will
• Advance Healthcare Directive
• Power of Attorney (for your financial decisions)
• Nomination of Guardian (for your children)
• Worksheets and guides to help explain your estate plan to your loved ones, including the questions your guardians need answered.

Fee

Receive a $49 discount by registering with the code: “Acorn”

The discounted fee for a single person is $250 and for a couple is $450.

Click here to register.

As a chiropractor, I get asked all the time, “What’s the best kind of mattress to buy?” Well, everyone’s idea of the “perfect” mattress is going to vary. There is no “correct” mattress for everybody; there is only what you like. And according to Consumer Reports, people are as satisfied with their mattress selection if they’ve spent 15 minutes laying on them in the store as they are with an in-home try out, so I always suggest investing your time before you buy.

But since most people are sharing a mattress with their partner, how do you find one that you’re both equally happy with? Two options are, get a Sleep Number bed so that each of you can select the density that you prefer, OR, get a memory foam mattress that will respond to your specific shape and weight. Now, I’ve been sleeping on a TempurPedic for the past 15 years and can whole-heartedly brag that it’s retained it original shape perfectly, all while responding to the shape of my body instantly, every time I move.

But the downsides to TempurPedic are that some people find them too hot, they are very heavy and cumbersome, and they are extremely unhealthy. I have been warning people that conventional memory foam is great in terms of ergonomics, but not good for anyone with a sensitive immune system or who has environmental allergies.

Most mattresses, especially memory foam mattresses, are made from ingredients that are not healthy for you, (or the planet), and are sprayed with fire-retardant chemicals, and held together with glues that off-gas noxious fumes. Research this thoroughly before you invest in something as important as the bed in your bedroom. What could have as big an impact on your health as the mattress you sleep on? Essentia controls every step of the manufacturing process themselves (unlike most other manufacturers) to ensure a completely healthy end-product. They start with natural latex, and then use organic plant oils to turn it into a squishy foam. Then the layers are held together with a manufacturing process that is glue-free. When you are finally done with a mattress like this, it can be recycled, or if sent to the landfill, you can at least feel good knowing it’s one of the most natural things you’ve ever thrown away.

Also, since their product contains more air space than TempurPedic, you don’t run as hot, and the mattress can be rolled up for shipping, making it practical to move from home to home. Which is important when your mattress is going to last 25 years!

Essentia mattresses are an incredible value for several reasons. The warranty on most of their mattresses is 20 years, making it double, or even triple, the warranty on most others. Because of it’s memory foam construction, it never needs to be flipped, and will never lose it’s shape or consistency. If it were to develop a “dip” from your body weight of only three quarters of an inch, you would be entitled to a replacement. Even if this dip occurred after 19 years and 364 days! People who buy coil spring mattresses are told to expect a ¾” depression within the first 3-6 months!

In addition, Essentia offers a money back guarantee. If you are not happy with your mattress within the first 60 days, they will give you your money back! They will not force you to trade it in for another mattress; they will simply give you your money back (less a 9% recycling fee). And then they will actually recycle the components of your mattress into new ones. How green is that?

I’ve still got some life left in my current mattress, but I am counting the days until I need to get a new one so that I can upgrade to an Essentia mattress. Also, once I have kids, I would only consider something of this quality for them so am glad that they make a crib size too.

I encourage you visit their Berkeley location to experience their incredible mattresses for yourself, and tell them that Acorn Wellness Center sent you, and they will give you a $150 discount per $1000 spent on the mattress, plus 2 free pillows.

Find out more at MyEssentia.com

March 17th, Nancy Gardner will be performing Thermographs in Suite 102, down the hall from us. The cost is $195 and includes a thorough report detailing your condition and her recommendations. She offers discounts if you refer a friend.

To learn more, to have your questions answered, or to sign up for a thermograph, please call Nancy Gardener at (866) 766-2468.

To learn more online, visit healthybreasts.info.

90-min massages come with gift of free chocolates AND a bouquet of flowers.

You or your Valentine will receive your flowers and chocolates with massages on Tue, February 14th.  Massage must be booked in advance and offer may not be combined with any other discount.

We are expanding our massage hours on Valentine’s Day to 10 am – 7 pm.

Join a monthly circle of love and support as we address the challenges and joys of raising sons. Using conversation, journaling, experience sharing and meditation our group will nourish and educate each other as we address meeting the specific needs of male children in this society.

This group is open to all mothers raising sons; single and coupled.

Cost: $35/session

RSVP with the facilitator, Samsarah Morgan, at (510) 496-3491 or niahealingcenter@aol.com.

The Studio offers movement classes including yoga, Pilates, dance, meditation, and pre- and postnatal fitness. They also have open studio hours, where you can simply come to stretch, do your own yoga practice, or meditate in a quiet room.

The Wellness Center offers a wide range of services including massage, skin care, acupuncture, coaching, nutrition consultation, health education, therapy, parenting classes, and support groups.

The Tea Bar offers complimentary organic tea and small treats, free wireless internet, and a relaxing environment to sit back and enjoy your free time.

The Boutique offers locally and sustainably made art, clothing, and jewelry.

Bloom Kids offers onsite childcare based on the arts, movement, and social/emotional development for children crawling to six years old.

Visit their website or call them at (925) 939-MAMA.

They work with individuals, small businesses and non-profit organizations and they take pride in helping their clients with a full range of accounting and bookkeeping services, including tax return preparation, litigation support, political campaigns, business valuations, and mediation and arbitration services.

Their website is a wealth of information, including tax forms and publications (“Info”), informative articles (“Newsletter”), interactive financial calculators (“Tools”) and links to external websites that may be of use to you (“Links”).

At the time of the last Big One, Oct 21st, 1868, the Bay Area had 1 percent of today’s population and resulted in 30 deaths, making it the nation’s 12th deadliest quake. Today, there are over 2 million inhabitants living along the fault, and the BART tracks crisscross over it repeatedly. BART officials are worried that with no early warning system in place (like they have in Japan) and BART train speeds in excess of 60 miles/hour, there could be many fatalities when the fault line shifts 6 feet along it’s axis.

All East/West oriented roads will be severely damaged (imagine them all with a shift of about one car lane) and so we can expect problems with all forms of transportation, affecting everyone, including the Police, Fire Department and ambulances. We may have disrupted electricity for days (or weeks) as we saw in Japan.

You must be prepared to take care of yourself with provisions like freeze-dried foods, water, and other essentials (clothes, personal care supplies, medications, etc.) so that when the next Big One strikes, you’re ready. And despite the fact that many resources recommend 3 days worth of supplies, we recommend having at least a 2-week supply of everything. There are also many options when it comes to amassing supplies, and having to figure out which is the best for you can be the thing that stops you from taking action. Here are a few recommendations based on the research we’ve done.

Water is the most important survival supply to have, and potentially the most difficult to obtain and store. If you are purchasing it rather than filling containers yourself, it is heavy, making it either expensive to have it delivered, or labor-intensive to pick up yourself. And if you are filling containers, it takes a long time fill 15 gallons worth, which is two weeks worth per person.  Also, it is recommended to replace the stored water every 6 – 12 months. And finally, purchasing glass or stainless steel containers to hold that much water is expensive, and as a rule, it is a bad idea to store water in plastic since chemicals from the plastic leach into the water (even BPA-free). In other words, you have to decide which is the best option for you.

Food is the next most important supply you can have, and it is also by far the one with the most options. The thing to keep in mind while you’re making your selections is that if the situation arises whereupon you have to eat this food, that’s all you’ll be eating for up to 2 weeks. How satisfied do you really think you will be with a cold can of beans? A great goal would be to simulate as much as possible what you already eat day-to-day, and it also might be nice to plan to have some comfort food in a time when it’s likely you’ll need some comforting.

Now that you know what kind of food you’re looking for, you need to decide in what form you want to store it. The cheapest and easiest form is cans from the grocery store. It is also the form that takes the most maintenance as it is recommended to replace canned food every 6-18 months.

A step up from that is dehydrated food, which has had all the water removed from it by applying heat. Generally speaking, dehydrated food is inexpensive, more-so even than canned food, but usually consists of only the basic ingredients (no sauces or multiple ingredients) and requires cooking. The shelf life for dehydrated food is more like 3 years, which is much better than canned food, but you may be required to keep a camping stove in your supplies and do a lot of preparation when the time comes.

The next step up is freeze-dried food, which is more expensive but it does boast superior taste, nutrition, and ease of use, only requiring the addition of hot water for a full meal. Freeze-dried food comes in 2 forms, pouches and nitrogen sealed cans. The pouches usually have 2-4 servings each and are able to be eaten right out of the pouch, which is much more convenient than having to deal with cans that hold 9-20 servings, however they only last 5-6 years as opposed to the cans which can last for 25 years or more. The increased shelf life of cans may balance out the higher cost in the long run. On the other hand, there is still the necessity of heating the water, for which you could buy special self-heating pouches, or pack a camping stove, or you could settle for cold water which will take longer and lead to a less satisfying end product.

Yet another step up are Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs. Originally developed for the military, one MRE contains everything you would need to be nourished for an entire day, from drinks and dessert to toilet paper and matches. Perhaps the most appealing feature is that they don’t require any preparation or the addition of water and come with special pouches that heat the food for you. On the downside, they are very expensive, come in packs of 12 predetermined menus (no picking and choosing), and are heavy and bulky to transport in case you need to evacuate. They also only have a shelf life of 5 years.

We’ve not been able to find organic options for anything other than canned food at this time, so please let us know if you find anything!

We concluded that we would start with buying cans from the store, as it was the easiest and meant that we at least had something right away. We then took our time to select freeze-dried meals that most matched our everyday diets, and threw in a few comfort items. You can decide what would work best for your family.

Here are some resources to help you and your family be as prepared as possible:

This is a recipe that, I am proud to say, was inspired by a favorite from my grandmother. It has all the yumminess of pie, but all the ease of cake and is always a crowd pleaser since it’s different and more interesting than the same old pie. And even though her pumpkin pie cake is amazing as it is, I couldn’t help but tweak it a little bit.

I pulled from a recipe from Cooks Illustrated for pumpkin pie in which they recommend using twice as many eggs, and considerably more spice. The additional eggs help the pie be rich and creamy, and the additional spices contribute to a strong pumpkin flavor. Fresh ginger in particular packs much more of a punch than dried ginger.

I also opted to use brown sugar instead of white because of the rich molasses flavor. I went for coconut milk instead of condensed milk in order to avoid the dairy and benefit from the nutrient-density of coconut. I also substituted some of the sugar with agave nectar since agave has a lower glycemic index. It’s still sugar, and is just as bad for you as any other form of sugar, but you’re body metabolizes it a little slower, which may be a little easier on your body. Be sure to use raw, organic agave, though, because other forms of agave nectar are created using a process similar to high fructose corn syrup and are supposedly very bad for you.

I would also recommend getting an organic cake mix in order to avoid as many chemicals as possible.

Pumpkin Pie Cake