How fabulous is spring? The warm weather, budding trees and longer days all make me happy, but I think that of all the great things about spring, asparagus is my absolute favorite.After months of gooey winter squash and carb-loaded dishes, I love the fresh crunch of lightly sauteed asparagus. It’s a tasty way to ease your body into spring.

Asparagus is high in folate, which helps prevent heart problems. Just one serving of asparagus has almost 66% of our daily value. And have you ever noticed what happens when you go to the bathroom after eating asparagus? Let’s just say you can tell you’ve eaten it! That’s because it’s high in potassium, low in sodium and high in an amino acid that combine to make it a natural diuretic.

Asparagus also helps our guts stay healthy. It contains inulin, which according to WHFoods.com, “we don’t digest, but the health-promoting friendly bacteria in our large intestine, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, do.” The more we eat, the more the healthy bacteria thrive, insuring that the damaging bacteria can’t survive in our bodies.

It doesn’t take much to cook asparagus. I love to saute it in a little olive oil with some fresh garlic. And if you want a crunchy treat, try roasting it with olive oil on a baking sheet at 400 for about 10-15 minutes. When you take it out of the oven, top with a little fresh parmesan cheese.

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com

If you answered “yes” to more than one of the above questions, you’re in need of a spring cleanse! Don’t be alarmed, doing a spring cleanse doesn’t have to mean living on water or spending hours in the kitchen. You can get huge benefits out of doing a mild cleanse focused on foods, just not the foods you’ve probably been eating.

To do this simple spring cleanse, cut out sugar, caffeine, dairy, red meat and artificial sweeteners. If it sounds intense, that’s a hint that you’re in need of this kind of diet.

Wondering what you’ll eat? You can have all fruits and vegetables, tofu, tempeh, chicken, fish, nuts, whole grains, dried fruits and eggs. Start every morning with a glass of hot water with lemon to start the cleansing process, and continue your day eating lovingly prepared meals and healthy snacks and drinking lots of water.

A typical day on this cleanse might look like this:

Pre-Breakfast: Hot water with lemon

Breakfast: Raw oatmeal soaked overnight with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, served with cinnamon, raisins, almonds and agave nectar

Lunch: Huge salad with chicken, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, carrots, walnuts and dried cranberries. Top with fresh lemon juice.

Snack: Fresh strawberries and a handful of raw almonds

Dinner: Broiled salmon with sauteed greens with garlic

After 10 days of this kind of diet, you might find that your energy is up, your digestion is running more smoothly and you’ve lost a couple pounds.

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com

When spring comes around, do you notice that you start craving more veggies? Suddenly, your taste for mac and cheese is replaced by a desire for crunchy, crisp, bright green vegetables. Foods that didn’t sound so appetizing only a few weeks ago are now tempting and delicious.

Take broccoli, for example. Those “baby trees,” as some call them growing up, speak to me as I walk through the grocery store. I’m drawn to the bright green bundles despite myself.

I know, I know, broccoli is boring, right? It’s not funky like bok choy or soothing like squash. It doesn’t have the same health reputation as kale, and it might not be as kid-friendly as carrots, but broccoli really is a nutritional rock star. High in vitamin C and calcium, broccoli delivers the goods without all of the calories. It’s been shown to prevent cancer and even to help with cleansing the blood.

What we need is a new way to cook it! I was so excited to find this recipe that combines fresh, crisp broccoli with savory tahini and sesame seeds. I changed it up a little and added sweet red bell peppers and blanched the broccoli to soften it slightly. It’s super easy, quick and tasty. Broccoli is the new black!

3 bunches of broccoli
1/3 cup of tahini
1 garlic clove (or more)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup spring water
2 tsp tamari
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup red pepper, diced
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Cut the broccoli florets from the stalks and briefly blanch them in boiling water and place the in a large mixing bowl filled with ice.

Meanwhile, blend the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water and tamari until creamy and smooth.

Pour the mixture onto the broccoli, mushrooms and red pepper and stir until evenly covered with sauce. Top with sunflower seeds.

Forget New Year’s, spring is the time when I like to make my resolutions. Something about the warmer air and the budding flowers inspires me to try new things and make new promises to myself.Of course, it’s easy to daydream about what I want to change and accomplish. The difficult part is making it happen.

That’s why I was so excited when I found SuperViva a few weeks ago. This website “helps you plan a life you want to look back on” by giving you the space to create what it calls a Life List.

I think this is a great tool because it makes goal setting fun and interactive. Want to lose 10lbs or eat more greens or do yoga 3 times a week? Put it on your SuperViva list. Let the excitement and energy of spring push you towards dreaming bigger about your health and your life.

After you create your Life List, you can connect with others who share similar goals. Together, you can make plans to achieve your goals and support each other along the way.

The best part for my lifestyle is that SuperViva emails you once a week to remind you to look at your list. When I’m working on six projects at once, it’s easy to forget that I want to learn to knit or drink more water. When I get that SuperViva email in my inbox, I’m reminded of my daydreams and am more likely to turn them into reality.

So far, I’m looking to cook and eat greens five days a week, do yoga three times a week, learn to compost and meditate daily. I’m also going to eat mangoes naked (inspired by SARK), plant a garden and go to India.

What are you going to do this spring and beyond?

When I heard there was an opportunity to test a tea called “Pure Passion,” I jumped at the chance to try it. Visions of romantic evenings with my fiancé danced in my head. The box arrived and I was curious to see what passion I could find in the bottle of Guayaki Yerba Mate.

What I found inside didn’t rock my world, but it did offer me a fun drink experience.

Guayaki makes Yerba Mate drinks that aim to change the world. Started by two friends who enjoyed drinking Yerba Mate, the company aims to protect and enhance rainforests one bottle and tea bag at a time. In fact, just 2 servings of their product a day protects an acre of rainforest a year. I’ll drink to that!

Yerba Mate leaves are a stimulant, but they also provide antioxidants, vitamins and minerals making them a smart choice for a quick boost.

The first Guayaki product I tried wasn’t the Pure Passion. I decided to save that for just the right moment. Instead, I went for Pure Mind.

After a long day at the office and a couple more hours of work ahead of me, I figured I could use a clear, pure mind. This drink is 100% organic and contains a mixture of Yerba Mate, Gingko Biloba and Tulsi combined with pomegranate juice. According to www.tusli.com, tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, is regarded as the “‘Elixir of Life’ … and believed to promote longevity and significantly reduce stress.”

At first sip, you can tell this is an herb-infused drink. The distinct taste of herbs comes through and overpowers the pomegranate. I wouldn’t say it was a bad taste, just an interesting one. And as for my clarity of mind, I had a pretty intense giggle fit after drinking it, which left me feeling a lot less stressed about getting things done.

Would I drink it again? Probably not.

The next night, I decided it was time to crack open the Pure Passion. The drink promises to “get your Kundalini rising and awaken your heart’s fire through infusions of Yerba Mate, Damiana, and Catuaba blended with intense passionfruit juice.” After a little bit of research, I discovered on www.rain-tree.com that both Damiana and Catuaba are aphrodisiacs used for centuries. With those two herbs in a bottle, how could you go wrong?

If you’re expecting a wild rush of passion, this probably isn’t your drink. (And if you find that drink, will you let me know?) Instead, you’ll get a sweet and tasty juice-like drink that won’t have you falling asleep when it’s time to get romantic. I was full of energy, but sadly didn’t notice any burst in my heart’s fire.Would I drink it again? Maybe, but more for the clean energy boost and fruity taste than the advertised passion promise.

I understand that passion and clarity sell, and because Guayaki is committed to saving and reforesting the rain forest with every bottle, I’ll forgive them for claiming a drink can ignite your mojo or clear your head. In fact, with my two servings I feel like I did a small part to help the environment. It might not have been what I was hoping for, but I’ll take it.

A few months ago, I was reunited with an old fruit friend: bananas. I had given them up after eating one last summer and wanting to pass out afterwards. Although I knew they were full of good energy, they made me want to take a nap. So I decided that bananas weren’t for me, and I skipped them in favor of peaches, plums and then apples.

Fast forward to the chilly winter months and suddenly I’m craving bananas. I gave the yellow fruit another shot and felt amazing afterwards. There was no urge to sleep, no grogginess, nothing but light and clean energy. Bananas and I are back!

Have you noticed a similar experience with certain foods and the season in which you eat them? Some foods serve us in the long, warm days of summer, and other foods give us the kick start we need in the short, freezing days of winter.

And today I received an email forward talking about the wonders of bananas. The little fruit is good for everything from cardiovascular health to stronger bones to kidney health. Best of all, according to the email and confirmed on http://www.enzymestuff.com/serotonin.htm, bananas contain tryptophan, a protein that converts to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is believed to affect mood.

No wonder I’m craving bananas! With the shorter days, I’m outside less and getting less exposure to daylight. This can contribute to seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD or not, I’m definitely feeling more blah than woo-hoo at this time of the year. My body is searching for an quick pick-me-up, and I’m happy to have found one in the easily accessible and portable banana. The fact that it’s high in fiber – and we all know you can’t be happy if you aren’t “moving” - is an added bonus.

I’m not sure if I’ll be eating bananas in the spring, but I know that right now, they’re the perfect snack for me.

Photo courtesy of Morguefile.com

Are you stuck in a recipe rut? Cooking the same thing night after night? Of course, having a few go-to recipes can make mid-weeks meals easier to plan and prepare, but too many nights of the same main dish can make dinner a bore.Here are a few tips to get you re-inspired in the kitchen:

Ask Your Friends
It’s highly likely that you’re not the only one in a recipe rut; your friends are probably just as tired of their regular recipes and looking for a way out, too. Coordinate a recipe swap! Much like people have clothes recycling parties where they trade their old styles for their favorites of yours, you can have a recipe recycling party. Each person brings their two or three favorite easy mid-week meal recipes on a note card. At the party, everyone can pick up a few new friend-approved recipes and hang out with their buddies at the same time. Throw in some tasty appetizers and fun drinks, and you’ve turned recipe hunting into a full-blown party!

Ask the Web
What did we do before the Internet? It can be one of your greatest tools for updating your boring recipe file. Know you like butternut squash but tired of roasting it with olive oil and garlic? Google it and see what a wide world of dishes you can make with that veggie. Lasagna, soup, pie, oh my! There are no limits to what you can create when you mix and match ingredients in your favorite search engine.

Roam the Grocery Store
If you’re in a recipe rut, you’re probably also in a shopping rut. There are certain foods you’ll always want to keep on hand for easy cooking – things like beans and rice and canned tomatoes – but beyond that, it’s time to start roaming the aisles at your local grocery store. In fact, take it one step further and visit a new grocery store in town. Find a vegetable that you’ve never cooked before or a condiment you’ve never heard of and commit to trying a recipe with it. Consider yourself a food explorer and chart new territory in your own kitchen!

Resolve to Try One New Recipe A Month
Once you’ve collected a few new recipes, make it your mission to cook one new recipe a month. Do it consistently, and you’ve added 12 new recipes to your cooking arsenal, and chances are you’ll enjoy the experimenting so much that you’ll cook more than one new meal a month. Once you’re out of the rut, the momentum will keep you cooking and eating delicious and healthy recipes all year long.

Picture courtesy of Morguefile.com

I love it when alternative health care techniques and products become mainstream. Have you noticed organics at the regular grocery store, smoothies at the local sandwich shop and healthy snacks at the airport? It’s an exciting time to be a health nut!

Sometimes, however, the mainstream products miss the mark of their alternative partners. Take, for example, the toothbrush I recently bought at Costco. It’s a regular brush with a tongue scraper on the back of the bristles, which sounds like a fabulous idea. You could have a clean mouth with less bathroom clutter!

However, in practice, the toothbrush was horrible. The back of the brush was rough in order to clean your tongue, but it also meant that it scraped your cheek when you were brushing your teeth. Ouch! Guess I’ll stick to my separate toothbrush and tongue scraper after all.

I was intrigued by the combo because I’m a huge fan of tongue scrapers. Not only are they helpful for bad breath and mouth health, they also produce some subtle changes with major benefits. For example, have you ever noticed how you’ll eat sushi one night and the next day you’ll crave it again? Well, some people believe that it’s because you still have some sushi residue in your mouth, reigniting your desire for sushi when it hits your tastebuds. The tongue scraper removes all of that residue and releases you from those strong and seemingly random cravings.

The tongue scraper is a tool used in Ayurveda. According to the tradition, people who use a tongue scraper are better at communicating and speak more precisely.

When using a tongue scraper, be gentle. You don’t want to end up without tastebuds! Lightly run the scraper from the back of your tongue down to the tip in one smooth movement. Avoid the temptation to run it up and back like a brush.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

I was talking to a friend who admitted that her New Year’s resolution is to take better care of her body, but all she wants to eat is creamy, cheesy and fattening foods.

Sound familiar?

When the weather turns cold, we often long for comforting, rich dishes that warm our bellies. Forget the salads and steamed veggies, and bring on the macaroni and cheese! This type of eating made sense back when we needed the extra layer of body fat for warmth. These days, indoor heating and puffy coats makes the excess weight unnecessary, not to mention unhealthy.

But our cravings aren’t leading us completely off course, as I learned in The 3-Season Diet: Eat the Way Nature Intended: Lose Weight, Beat Food Cravings, and Get Fit by Dr. John Douillard. He suggests that in winter we should favor foods that are warm, heavy and oily. However, the smart choices are oils, avocados and nuts, not cheese and dairy products. Talk about a great excuse for homemade guacamole and a handful of pistachios!

Dr. Douillard, an Ayurvedic practitioner, also recommends foods that are sweet, sour and salty in the winter. According to Ayurveda, these tastes warm the body. Chocolate covered almonds, anyone?

The book provides an understanding of how changing your diet based on the seasons can ensure that you stay healthy. For example, “the extent to which you get dried out in the winter because you did not eat warm and oily foods is the extent to which you will produce mucus excess in the spring,” which can result in colds, coughs, allergies and more.

Dr. Douillard provides seasonal meal plans as well as a detailed graph of the primary season to eat each food, including grains, fruits, veggies and meats. Overall, the book is designed to help you create balance in your diet, so that you can have balance in your life.

If you’re eating the same things now that you were eating in July, I’d highly recommend checking out The 3-Season Diet: Eat the Way Nature Intended: Lose Weight, Beat Food Cravings, and Get Fit. You don’t wear the same clothes in the summer as you wear in the winter, so why would you eat the same foods?

If you’re feeling bloated, puffy or just plain gross, this tea is the cure. Drink a few cups a day and you’ll be sure to start 2008 feeling fabulous; or at least you’ll end 2007 that way, before you indulge with champagne on the big night.

The ingredients are simple: a glass of hot water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, ginger and agave nectar (optional but yummy). The hot water stimulates the lymph nodes and encourages movement in your bowels, especially if you drink it first thing in the morning. The lemon is a natural choice for a cleansing drink because it adds both vitamin C as well as liver support.

Got a case of the sniffles? The cayenne pepper will stimulate mucus secretions and help you ditch the tissues before the big party. According to WHFoods.com, the capsaicin found in cayenne “is similar to a compound found in many cold remedies for breaking up congestion, except that capsaicin works much faster.”

And most people know how great ginger is for nausea. Beyond helping to ease a queasy stomach, it also creates heat in the body and will help you stay warm on those chilly days.

To sweeten up the drink, I like to pour in a few drops of agave nectar. This natural sweetener is made from the same cactus as tequila. Fun, right? The best part about agave is that it doesn’t affect your blood sugar like white sugar. It’s low glycemic, so you can eat it and not worry about having a sugar crash a few hours later.

Holiday Detox Tea
Serves 1

1 cup of hot water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp agave nectar

Pour all of the ingredients into a cup and stir together. Sip throughout the day.  It’s especially good in the morning.