The alarm goes off. It’s the fifth time. 

Instead of getting up to turn it off again you lie there thinking, “What do I have to do today?”

Your work to-do list flashes through your mind. The woman you were supposed to call back yesterday. The annoying staff meeting at 10:00. The dry-cleaning you forgot to pick up.

Then there’s the fact that you have nothing in the refrigerator for breakfast. And probably nothing ready for lunch either. And your body feels like it could use another three hours of sleep.

Finally, you sigh, and get up to turn the alarm off. Heading to the pot of coffee like it’s salvation in an urn.

Is this your morning? 

Although I can’t wave a magic wand and shorten your to-do list, I can give you a simple tool to change your mindset from the moment you wake up.

So many of us wake up with that pesky question: “What do I HAVE TO do today?”

When you answer that question you’re reinforcing the belief that you HAVE to do something.
It’s like a prison guard cracking a whip to keep you on task. And going to prison everyday is just about as enjoyable as it sounds.

The solution? Ask a different question.

Your mind is incredibly brilliant at solving problems, and if you’re deliberate about feeding it the right questions, you’ll feel better, look better, and live better.

If you’ve tried using an affirmation (a positive statement about yourself) and it has fallen flat, then it’s time to use a question instead.

Here are a few great questions to start your day:

• How can I feel good today?

• How will I see the beauty in my body today?

• What can I do just for fun today?

• What can I do imperfectly today?

• What good things will I choose today?

• Who will inspire me today?

• How can I give my best today?

• What can I eat today that will feel like love to my body?

• Why will today be the best day ever?

Notice how you felt when you read those questions. Did you start to smile? Feel more hopeful? Answer the questions?

I hope so.

Your assignment? It’s easy.

Post at least one question you want to answer on a daily basis on your alarm clock this week, and give your brain something good to feed on.

Janelle Holden works exclusively with people who have celiac disease or food sensitivities and helps them transition to a gluten-free diet, travel, be social, and love life without feeling deprived. To get more great tips and recipes and suggestions from Janelle, just click here to get a complimentary subscription to her weekly ezine.

“I’m just bored with what I eat,” Colleen told me. “I think if I have to have another piece of grilled chicken with broccoli I’ll scream.”

Colleen and I were finishing up a BodyMind Strategy Session on the phone, and I was inwardly smiling because I knew I could help her solve this problem.

“Well,” I said. “I don’t think you’re alone. I hear from people all-the-time that they’re sick of eating the same old 10 foods over and over again. Can I make a few recommendations for how to make your meals more exciting?”

Colleen said yes, and after I shared with her a few tips, I realized that a lot of other people might want to add some spice to what they eat too. Especially if they’re eating low-carb, gluten-free, or paleo.

Are you one of them? 

If so, here are three of my best tips to cure a “boring” diet:

1. Draw inspiration from ethnic cuisines. When I get bored with what I’m eating, the first thing I do is draw inspiration from other cultures and ethnicities. I’ll even plan for five dinners based on the following ethnic traditions: Italian, Asian, Indian, Persian, and Mexican. Many of these cultures rely on rice, a naturally gluten-free grain, as a staple but if you’re going completely grain-free you can use potatoes, cauliflower, squash, and zucchini to substitute for the rice.

What’s really interesting about this is that you may still eat chicken and broccoli, but if you change the spices from cilantro and chili powder, to turmeric and saffron, or oregano and basil ,or even use a gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos, you can change the entire flavor of the food to match its ethnic heritage. In other words, the base foods may stay the same, it’s the spice and sauce that will bring out the flavor.

2. Add picked and fermented foods to your diet. Have you tried kombucha, pickled ginger, sauerkraut, horseradish, dill pickles or kimchi as a side dish lately? All of these foods have been pickled or fermented with either salt, sugar, or both to preserve their natural flavor. In the process, the fruits and vegetables create lactobacilli, a “good” bacteria that makes all foods more digestible and increases vitamin levels. Don’t buy any with added grain-based vinegars, and better yet – make your own!

3. Experiment with a new fruit, vegetable, or protein. When was the last time you tried fennel, or sunchokes, blood oranges, or papaya? How about mackerel, clams, or wild halibut? Have you ever experienced Anasazi beans or lentils?

Stick with new foods that are in your “safe” food families. For instance, if you are allergic to peanuts (a legume) then don’t experiment with other members of the legume family (like split peas and beans). Instead, try foods in the brassicas family that include mustards and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and brussel sprouts.

There are many safe whole foods just waiting for us to explore. Be curious. Try new whole foods. You’ll discover a whole new world of taste if you do.

Whether it is “natural flavor,” a grain-based vinegar or unnamed seasoning, many ingredients in bottled salad dressings and condiments may contain gluten.

Even the dressings labeled gluten-free usually contain dairy or cane sugar or other ingredients that I avoid.

So, I make my own salad dressings. They take very little time to make (10 minutes – at most) and with the right ingredients, your homemade salad dressing can make you feel like a gourmet chef!

The key to any great salad dressing is the quality of the oil and the vinegar. It’s ideal to buy unrefined “virgin” oils and infused or aged vinegars for the best taste possible.

This dressing uses a blend of vinegars because aged balsamic is too thick to use on its own.
The balsamic pairs beautifully with the strawberry and the champagne vinegar and the taste will make you think of summer flowers and sunshine.

Use this dressing over a blend of spring mix, fresh strawberries, white onion, snow peas and walnuts and you’ll have a perfect salad to celebrate spring.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons strawberry jam (I use St. Dalfour’s strawberry jam made without cane sugar)
1 tablespoon raw honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine vinegars, jam and honey in a small bowl. Using a whisk, stir rapidly while slowly pouring olive oil into the vinegar mixture. You can also blend all ingredients together in a blender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Thin with two teaspoons of water if needed.

A few years ago, I tried to become a coupon queen.

I diligently searched all the specials at Albertsons, hunted online for coupons, and then tried to match the specials with coupons so that I could “get a really good deal.”

The only thing was, the food I could get a “really good deal” on was … crap. And I say that in the most loving way, General Mills.

At the time I wasn’t gluten and many foods free, but even back then I knew that living off of macaroni and cheese, Miracle Whip, and orange juice probably wasn’t good for me.

Then, when I did go gluten-free, our grocery bill doubled. I was buying every gluten-free flour, pasta, waffle, and prepared food product I could get my hands on and it was … expensive. One month, I spent almost $1,000 on food!

Since then, I’ve learned a few simple strategies (no coupons involved) and we’ve cut our grocery budget to under $500 a month for two people. This may still sound high, but if you’re eating organic, natural, and gluten-free, it’s way below average.

My top five strategies to cut your grocery bill in half (even if you’re gluten-free):

1. Buy 95% of your food from the outer-edges of the grocery store. This strategy alone can cut your bill in half by keeping you from buying expensive processed foods, and it will also save you from hours of label-reading and possible cross-contamination from gluten or other food additives in manufactured and processed foods.

Whole foods are found on the outer-edges of the store and vegetables, fruits, and meats are naturally gluten-free. In fact, you can use many vegetables to substitute for grains. Peeled strips of zucchini squash make an excellent linguini. Cook grated cauliflower to substitute for rice. Yes, this means that you’ll spend more time in your kitchen preparing food, but it also means you’ll be much healthier in the long run!

2. Buy in bulk. Make a list of all of the staples in your pantry and freezer that ARE processed in some way. This could include oils, gluten-free flours and grains, nut butters, processed meats, condiments, and other foods you know you want to continue eating. Then, look for savings online by buying in bulk through sites like Amazon or Tropical Traditions or iHerb.

Amazon offers free shipping on many food items and savings for monthly recurring orders. I also buy my coconut oil, nuts, and some organic meat and vegetable items from Costco in bulk.

3. Eliminate the middleman: If you want a consistent weekly budget for vegetables, join a food cooperative or a Community Supported Agriculture program that allows you to cut out stores altogether, or buy straight from the producer.

One program that I recommend is Bountiful Baskets, a national non-profit that offers weekly boxes of regular or organic fruits and vegetables that you buy online and pick up at a local spot like a school or community center on the weekend. I can buy an organic box of fruits and vegetables for $35 that lasts us two weeks!

If you’re looking for grass-fed or organic meats I recommend checking out http://www.eatwild.com and buying in bulk directly from a local farmer or rancher. You can easily save $2-5 a pound on meats by buying in bulk and you’ll have fewer trips to the grocery store.

4. Grow your own food: Of course, one of the best ways to feel good about what you’re eating and save money is to grow your own food. Whether it’s a backyard garden, a spot in a community garden, or just a planter on your porch, everyone has room to grow an herb, a tomato, or even some micro-greens.

5. Never shop hungry: When I polled my facebook fans, this was the number one suggestion for saving money at the grocery store. And it’s true, when we’re hungry, we tend to overbuy what we need. So, eat before you go to the store, and take a list with you. I recommend making a list based on your weekly dinner menu, so that you plan both at once.

Janelle Holden works exclusively with people who have celiac disease or food sensitivities and helps them transition to a gluten-free diet, travel, be social, and love life without feeling deprived. To get more great tips and recipes and suggestions from Janelle, just click here to get a complimentary subscription to her weekly ezine.

Still having symptoms but can’t figure out why? You may be eating these common ingredients and getting triggered if you’re gluten-sensitive. Watch this one-minute video to learn what the common ingredients are and how to avoid them.

Janelle Holden works exclusively with people with celiac disease and food sensitivities to help them transition to a gluten-free diet, travel, be social, and love what they eat. To get more recipes, tips, and ideas from Janelle,  just click here to grab a complimentary subscription to her e-zine.

Janelle Holden

Coach and Author Angela Patnode

When she started hunting for something more in her life eight years ago, Angela Patnode was a professional mountain guide, living a life some would call a dream.

But at the age of 32, Angela found herself on the floor, experiencing a panic attack and in a ball of tears.

At that moment, something inside of her shifted, and instead of taking journeys up mountains, she started a new journey inside of herself to find the answers to some of her deepest questions.

Her journey led her through several weeklong and 10-day meditation retreats, spirituality workshops, women’s retreats, personal counseling, a pilgrimage to the home of the Dalai Lama in India, a 2-year undiagnosed illness, and finally landed her in a 2-year spiritual program in the Buddhist Tradition.

In the last month of this program, while meditating, her soul’s purpose “came through her.” She listened. She took notes. And her first workshop on authentic living took place 3 weeks later.

Angela now lives a life of purpose, passion, empowerment, and peace. She is a transformational coach, spiritual mentor, and empowerment expert, which is why I was thrilled to interview her this week for my Expert Talk Series.

During our call, Angela shared a powerful exercise to help people create purpose in their lives just by finding a secret word inside of you. Want to find out more? You can! I recorded the call for those of you who couldn’t make it live, so to go through the exercise and find your word, just listen by clicking on the play button on the media player below.

Janelle Holden is president and founder of BodyMindLove Coaching, a company dedicated to helping people with celiac disease and food sensitivities learn to love life and discover their new favorite foods so that they can live healthy, balanced, beautiful lives. For more recipes, news, ideas, and tips then click here to grab your complimentary subscription to Janelle’s BodyMindLove E-Zine.

Written by Janelle Holden

It was an uncomfortable situation.

The man in front of me was sweating. We were in his tiny office at the back of the college cafeteria. And I was with my mother.

I remember feeling very embarrassed. Not only because I felt like I should be fighting these battles on my own at the age of 19, but also because at that time I was afraid to ask anyone to go out of their way to help me.

“So, essentially, I could go into anaphylactic shock,” I told him. “And if my friend hadn’t told me today that the chocolate cake had peanut butter in it at dinner, I would be in the hospital right now.”

My mom jumped in. “All we’re asking you to do is label the foods that have peanuts in them so that she can know when to avoid eating them.”

From his reaction, you would have thought we were asking for him to donate a kidney.

“Well,” he blustered. “We’ll try.”

It wasn’t just me. I knew another student with food allergies who had been in the hospital three times from eating foods she didn’t know contained peanuts. And yet, that was the only food service choice we had as students living on campus.

If you have celiac, are you disabled?

In 2009, students with celiac disease and food allergies attending Lesley University complained to the U.S. Justice Department that the university had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by mandating that they eat on campus, but without putting policies in place to keep them from getting sick.

I don’t consider myself disabled, but I am. A disability as defined by the ADA is a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, such as eating. Major life activities also include major bodily functions, such as the functions of the gastrointestinal system.

Therefore, people with celiac disease and others who have autoimmune responses to certain foods are protected under the ADA and can’t be discriminated against.

In late December, Lesley University reached a settlement with the Justice Department, which included paying a combined $50,000 in damages to the students, and they also agreed to:

• Provide gluten-free and allergen-free food options in its dining hall food lines in addition to its standard meal options;

• Allow students with known allergies to pre-order allergen-free meals;

• Display notices concerning food allergies and identify foods containing specific allergens;

• Train food service and university staff about food allergy-related issues;

• Provide a dedicated space in its main dining hall to store and prepare gluten-free and allergen-free foods; and

• Work to retain vendors that accept students’ prepaid meal cards that also offer food without allergens.

What this means to you

In practical terms, this is a huge victory for college students with food sensitivities. It means that if your university or school’s food service plan doesn’t accommodate you, you have the legal right to complain and ask them to amend their policies.

It also means that more schools will likely be making their cafeterias safer for people with food allergies and celiac so that they don’t get sued. Which is a great thing!

So … know your rights. Ask for help. And don’t be afraid to speak up.

Janelle Holden is president and founder of BodyMindLove Coaching, a company dedicated to helping people with food sensitivities learn to love life and discover their new favorite foods so that they can live healthy, balanced, beautiful lives. To get more great articles from Janelle, click here to sign up for a complimentary subscription to her ezine, BodyMindLove.

It was April 19th, 2009.

My doctor checked her chart. “Oh yes,” she said. “You were last here … let’s see on … April 19th, 2008.”

She looked up and smiled. “Classic Seasonal Affective Disorder.”

I gave her a wan smile back, and then said, “What did you say? I was dreaming about Florida.”

Seasonal affective disorder, in non-clinical terms, is when you feel like eating everything in sight, hibernating under your bed covers, and growling at other human beings for approximately four months. Essentially, you act an awful lot like a bear. The condition is relieved only when the sun doesn’t go down until after 9 p.m. and when it’s warm enough to wear nothing outside.

“When will it end?” I groaned.

She sighed and reached for her prescription pad. “Well if I took a guess it would be June, but I think you should take something for it before then.”

Wonderful idea. But as it turned out, I am allergic to anti-depressants.

The All-Natural Cure to Seasonal Affective Disorder

So, I had to learn my own all-natural route. This included going gluten-free, which has helped me heal my digestive system, which is where 95% of the feel-good chemical serotonin is made. This has made a huge difference in my mood during winter.

But when I woke up this week and felt the familiar blah da blah da blah-ness descend, I realized that it was time to return to extreme self-care. What is extreme self-care? Well, it’s a lot like an extreme sport, and almost as intense, but actually a lot more fun. It’s my cure for the winter blues. If you have the winter blues, I hope you’ll participate in extreme self-care too.

Here are five extreme self-care methods to relieve your winter blues:

1. Sweat – I would have typed “exercise” but really, exercise is too subjective of a word. Not that a walk around the block won’t do you some good, but finding a way to sweat is really your ticket to a good old-fashioned endorphin rush. If you want to kill the blues, make sweating your first priority in your day. It could be a run. It could be a Zumba class. It could be dancing around your kitchen. Whatever it takes, get your sweat on.

2. Sleep -  When you let your body meet strain and tension (exercise) and then recuperate, you encourage an excellent healing cycle for your body. And in winter, you’re going to need to rest more, instead of push more. If you’re on the extreme self-care regimen, you’ll go to bed before 9 p.m. at least once a week and you’ll set a regular time to go to bed and wake up (no cheating) with plenty of naps thrown in for good measure. This, by the way, is harder than sweating, but worth it. If I go to bed after 11 now I wake up feeling like I drank 5 tequila shooters and danced on the bar table when really all I did was read a book past my bedtime. Sad, but true.

3. Light – Get yourself a bona fide full-spectrum SADS light that has at least 10,000 lux power and soak in some light with your eyes open for at least 30 minutes every morning.  If you want extra bonus points, you’ll actually get outside for 20 minutes when the sun is at its zenith, and you can get a fresh burst of it in your eyes. On your lunch break actually take a break from indoor lighting and stuffy air. It’ll do you good on all sorts of levels.

4. Vitamin D - If you have celiac disease (or if you live in a state where you wouldn’t be caught dead in a bathing suit for 10 months of the year) you might be deficient in Vitamin D. You can actually get your D levels checked with a blood test, and consult with your favorite medical provider on how much to take. I was low in Vitamin D in the fall of the year (when I should have been high) so now I take supplements.

5. Gratitudes – Start a gratitude journal, and say what your grateful for out loud every day. On your walk or right before bed, share with someone you love (including yourself) what you’re grateful for that day. Keep your gratitude list posted on your refrigerator door. Training your brain to look for the positive instead of the negative will help you notice and appreciate all the beautiful parts of winter that you had previously ignored. It’ll also help you keep your brain from going down the depressive path that it likes to take. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” said Benjamin Franklin, and well, he’s right.

A word about depression …

Finally, I want to say a word about depression. On the emotional level, depression is not the absence of happiness or joy. Depression is an absence of energy. It’s a constellation of emotions including anger and sadness and it’s actually a brilliant method for the soul to get us to pay attention when it says, “Look kid, if you keep on the way you’re going, someone (probably you) is going to get hurt. Now pay attention.”

I, for one, will.

Janelle Holden is president and founder of BodyMindLove Coaching, a company that helps people with celiac disease and food sensitivities grab control of their diets and their lives. To get more free content from Janelle, just click here to get a complimentary subscription to her BodyMindLove ezine.