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Melissa Joan Hart’s Threads of Happiness

Melissa Joan Hart’s on-camera work has always reflected her own dedication to her family, both as a teen and as a wife and mother of her own three children. Whether she was everyone’s favorite sister and daughter on Clarissa Explains It All, our magical best friend on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, or mommy-in-training on Melissa & Joey, she’s always been someone we’d welcome to our dinner table.“I have children now, but I’ve always had little sisters and brothers running around,” she says. “I always gauged my work on whether or not I felt like they could see it, they could enjoy it. Now of course, I have my own children, so I use them to gauge.”Family friendlyMelissa’s dedication to family life isn’t limited to the on-screen roles she chooses. These days, it’s her off-camera work that allows her to devote plenty of time to her husband, Mark Wilkerson, and three boys, Mason (9), Brady (7) and Tucker (2). Her new children’s clothing line, cleverly named King of Harts, launched last spring with casual boys wear, and plans are already being made to launch a girls line. Trying to find clothes for their own three sons, the husband-wife team found inspiration from their own experiences to create “cool, casual and functional” options.“It’s been a new adventure for all of us,” she says. “It’s been exciting (and only slightly stressful) working with my husband, but it’s very fulfilling and gives me a reason to be home more, which is lovely.”Fun at the lakeSince Melissa and her family love spending time together at Lake Tahoe in California, her new fall collection out this August, titled Tahoe, features graphic T-shirts and camouflage pants that play off the rugged natural beauty of the area.“My husband and I always wanted to do some sort of a line of baby clothes, and we began to realize that there wasn’t a lot of cute boys’ stuff out there,” she says. “We decided to start small. We ended up with 12 styles for our first season. We couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s such a busy little business, but it’s something we’re really passionate about.”Paying it forwardMelissa also wanted to make sure that their new endeavor paid it forward. She says all of the proceeds from one particular item, a thermal shirt called “the Louie”—named after Olympic snowboarder and personal friend Louie Vito—go directly to Youth Villages, a private nonprofit group dedicated to helping abused and neglected children. “We did a lot of research, finding the right charity to tie with,” she says.Tailor-made“We really wanted it to be kid-related and nationwide, since we are an American-made brand. Youth Villages was the perfect fit for us because they give the support necessary to each family or individual for whatever their needs might be, whether they’re aging out of foster care or they’re adopted or their family just needs support counseling. These kids, they’re the kids that get lost, and [Youth Villages] is focused on making sure these children have the best future possible."Melissa is doing what she loves while spending time with the people she loves most, and that’s all she truly wants out of life. “I don’t hesitate every day to look around and see what I’m grateful for,” Melissa says. “When I do that, it really helps put things in perspective about what I truly need and what I truly want. When I realize that all those things are there, then I can just let go and be happy.”

Podcast Home

Positive Communication with Michelle Gielan

This week, on Live Happy Now, we have Michelle Gielan, Founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research and expert on the science of positive communication and how to use it to fuel success. Michelle works with Fortune 500 companies and schools to raise employee engagement, productivity and happiness at work. She is a Partner at GoodThink, a positive psychology consulting firm, and she holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of a new book, Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change. In this episode, you'll learn: How to turn off stress and negativity in your mind Turn negative thought patterns into an opportunity for positive growth How to deal with negative people Create a positive culture at work Links and resources mentioned in this episode: GoodThinkInc.com Broadcasting Happiness FREE Success Scale Assessment – Code to access is ‘LiveHappy’ Thank you to our partner – AARP Life Reimagined!

Practice

5 Ways to Get in Touch With Your Higher Calling

Finding meaning in one’s life is such an integral concept to Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, that he includes it in his shorthand for happiness, PERMA, which stands for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. While the fleeting happiness we get from something like watching a gorgeous sunset is nice and part of the “pleasant life,” Martin says, if we want to be happy in the long term, we need to strive for “the Meaningful Life” in which “we find a deep sense of fulfillment by employing our unique strengths for a purpose greater than ourselves.” It sounds wonderful. A “purpose-driven life” as it were. But how do we find it? In church, synagogue or mosque? Alone in the wilderness with our thoughts or while finding a deep sense of connection with our friends and families? Some seem to have a clearer view of how to arrive there than others. The passionate artist, the pediatric surgeon, idealistic missionary or dedicated social worker ... they seem to already know or quickly find their strengths, follow their passions, help, teach and give to others, and gain a deep sense of satisfaction from their work. But most of us spend a little more time wandering in the wilderness. Here are a few ideas for those who are still searching for a greater sense of purpose in life: 1. Volunteer Working with children, seniors, at-risk teenagers … anyone who needs help will give you a quick on-ramp to the purpose superhighway. Many cities have volunteer clearinghouses like Volunteer Match that will help match you with an organization. Or if you prefer, stay close to your community and pitch in at the local elementary school. The rewards will be immediate and plentiful. When we pursue a meaningful future, it sheds a special light over our daily life, painting the most mundane and pedestrian activities in brighter colors.” — Ran Zilca, research scientist, author and chief data-science officer at Happify. His latest book, Ride of Your Life, was released this year.** 2. Get in touch with the divine Pray, meditate, walk outside, stargaze. There are myriad ways to remind ourselves that we are small bits of a large, interconnected universe. Whether you believe in God, a higher power or the power of humankind, prayer and meditation, as well as reconnecting with nature, are ways to get in touch with the sacred. I believe that meaning is an experience that we can cultivate, influence, and in a certain sense, create… The best way to make this meaning—to have this experience—is by identifying and then living our life purposes." — Eric Maisel, Ph.D., a California-licensed family therapist who has written more than 40 books, including Life Purpose Boot Camp 3. Spread positive emotion Give to the world what you would like to get back. See how you might add more positive emotion to your life by strengthening relationships and being kind and compassionate toward friends and strangers alike. Start performing small Happy Acts as a way of giving back. We can endure the most difficult of times and even thrive in the midst of the chaos around us when we give our lives meaning." —Barb Schmidt, international speaker, philanthropist, spiritual mentor and best-selling author of The Practice. 4. Practice gratitude Focus on things already meaningful in your life instead of taking them for granted, invest each one with a deep sense of gratitude. Soon you may feel motivated and energized to help and protect the people and things you care about, whether that means writing a letter to a nephew or starting a non-profit. 5. Create When you were younger, did you love to draw, throw pottery or write short plays? Something about the act of creating makes us feel alive and part of the dynamic universe. We can make something out of nothing! It’s exhilarating. You can do your thing in solitude or join a playhouse or rent space in a collective studio. In this way, a hobby has the potential to develop into not only a great source of purpose and a sense of identity but also of important and meaningful relationships. And once you've gotten really great at something, you can teach others to do it. You will get back much more than you give. For much more on finding a sense of meaning and purpose in your life, see our feature story, "The Path to Purpose," in the October issue of Live Happy magazine—on newsstands September 1. **Expert quotes are from the “Survey” section (pages 28-29) of the October issue of Live Happy magazine.

Lifestyle

Top 10 States for Aging Happy

Since we are all living longer, it’s important to wake up every day in a place that makes us happy. In its ongoing series, State of American Well-Being, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index recently ranked the top states for comparative well-being of Americans ages 55 and up. Of the five elements used to gauge well-being (purpose, social, financial, community and physical), Hawaii scored the highest for community and physical well-being, New Mexico topped the list for life purpose and Florida ranked highest in social well-being. North Dakota didn’t crack the top 10 overall, but it ranks first in financial well-being. “Older Americans who are thriving in well-being exercise far more, have less depression and have lower rates of obesity and chronic illness,” Joy Powell, president of Healthways Senior Solutions Division, says in the report. Research shows that we get happier as we age, and previous Gallup studies conclude that older Americans worry less about money, have better access to health care, eat more fresh produce and smoke less. Read More: What are America's top 10 most satisfied cities? The top 10 states where older Americans have higher well-being: 1. Hawaii 2. Montana 3. South Dakota 4. Alaska 5. Iowa 6. New Hampshire 7. Utah 8. Oregon 9. New Mexico 10. Connecticut Click here to find out how your state ranks. Read More: What are the country's top 10 most charitable states?

Lifestyle

Go Viral by Sharing Smart

The following is an excerpt from the book Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Changeby Live Happy columnist Michelle Gielan—available online and at stores near you.You are a broadcaster, whether you realize it or not. And the messages you choose to broadcast as a parent, colleague, manager or friend change how others see their potential to overcome challenges and create positive change. Broadcasting stresses, hassles and complaints limits the human brain’s potential. Focusing on the meaning in the work we do, things we are grateful for, and recent success fuels us and those round us to be even happier and more motivated. And if we activate others to spread those positive messages, we deepen our network and our influence. The key is to pick the right messages and get them to continue to spread in a ripple effect—to go viral.The most viral stories raise the status of the broadcaster who shares them. Everyone secretly wants to be in the club: The more intelligent, knowledgeable, or socially connected someone is perceived to be, often the more valuable the person is within his or her network. Therefore, the information broadcasters share is not only a reflection on them—it also builds or decreases their social capital with others.Status in "the tribe"If you give people in your network top-quality, useful information to share, you’ll not only be highly regarded by the people in your tribe—you’ll give them the material needed to enhance their status with their audience as well.Provide your network with smart, unique stories that help raise their status as being people “in the know.” It makes them experts—with high social capital—as they share information with their networks. And the best part is the cycle will continue as the people they share your message with, in turn, share the news with others, making them experts in their own right.Therefore, putting your high-value stories in the hands of other potential broadcasters not only makes you and them look good, it gets your story out. The key is to include information that makes your activated broadcasters look smart. Find a story no one has heard before and share it with people who curate and broadcast to move it forward.Passing the story alongWhile consulting on a project for the Zappos’ Downtown Project Think Tank on Education, I worked alongside a school administrator who armed her teachers with smart data to share each week with students. She believes that when students start their day off learning something new and positive about the world, their minds are better primed to learn.Every Monday morning she gave her teachers a positive message to broadcast to students in writing—preferably with pictures. She always tried to make the teachers look like rock stars in front of their classes by finding cool stories for them to share. Examples included: fun facts about the brain, a story about kids in India cleaning up their community using graffiti art, and the ways teens had become amazing at a sport or skill.The stories were all positive and told in a fun way. But here is how the idea was really genius: The administrator, via the teachers, encouraged the students to then broadcast the story to a parent or caregiver that night. Parents were asked to sign a sheet with the story highlights to confirm the students had passed on the story.Primed for positivityThe administrator’s strategy was brilliant for many reasons. First, it primed the students for positivity first thing in the morning. Second, students had the opportunity to be broadcasters by sharing positive information and practicing their presentation skills. And third, it gave students a story that put them “in the know” and gave them a forum around the dinner table as everyone else quieted down to listen to it. What started as positive stories that caught the attention of one administrator ended up going viral around her school and the wider community.Creators, curators and consumersBoth online and off, there are three types of people who deal in the currency of content: creators, curators, and consumers. Whether it’s on social media or around the watercooler, most individuals are predominantly one of the three. During this stage in my life as an author, I spend most of my time as a creator as I write this book and other articles and conduct research studies.For a shorter part of my day, I am a curator, as I collect what I perceive as valuable content to share on social media, and I am definitely a consumer as I peruse news sites in the morning and my Facebook feed at night.Typically people spend the majority of their time as consumers. The way you turn consumers into curators (and therefore broadcasters to spread your message) is by creating content for them to share with their networks. And the content that will spread the farthest and fastest is smart content that’s fresh and new.Strengthen your networkThe best part is that if you raise someone’s status by providing something smart or valuable to share, you boost that person’s signal as an effective curator or, as Malcolm Gladwell calls them, mavens. People will usually keep coming back to hear what mavens say, which effectively deepens and strengthens your own network. Therefore, one of the best ways to get your messages to go viral is to make other people look good when sharing them.MICHELLE GIELAN is an expert on the science of positive communication and how to use it to fuel success. She holds a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and is co-founder of the happiness research and consulting groupGoodthink Inc.This essay is an excerpt from her new book,Broadcasting Happiness,published by BenBellaBooks.

relationships

Parents: The First Role Models

Many of us think of a role model as someone iconic and famous, looked up to by thousands of people. But according Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a role model is merely “a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others.” What that means is that no matter who you are, how you feel, or how you behave, if you are active in a child’s life, you are one of their role models. Children learn from how they live When I was a young mother and a new psychotherapist, I was raising my kids in a wide, three-bedroom, ranch-style home. Rather than walk into the room where I was, my toddler daughter would scream across the house to get my attention. "MOMMY!!!!" she would yell over and over, until I would either come to her or yell back. If I ignored her, the yelling got louder. I was frustrated, exasperated, and no matter how many times I told her to stop yelling or tried to ignore her, the behavior would not stop. Fortunately, my mentor was a child development expert. She listened compassionately to my dilemma, but when I asked her if this was normal behavior, she said, “only if your daughter has been learning this; she wasn't born this way.” Well, I assured her that there was no way that I or her father had taught herthis behavior as we could barely tolerate it! Looking inside myself She then asked, “Do you ever call out to her from the kitchen that dinner is ready? Do you ever beckon to her from another room, asking her to come to you?" I sheepishly said,“Yes, but don’t yell, I only raise my voice slightly."To which she replied, “You have taught her that it is acceptable to call out from another room. She is simply using her version of it. "You have two choices, either everyone calls out from another room in the house in their own way or no one does. If you don’t want this behavior, you must start walking into the room that she is in if you need her, and you must teach her to do the same." Modeling unacceptable behavior I was modeling the very behavior that I was trying to stop.To this day, when parenting my teenagers, I am mindful that my actions, both good and bad, will be observed and emulated. When focusing on being an effective role model, seek progress, not perfection. Pay extra attention to these suggested important areas, and you will be on the right track! 1.The importance of focusing on the positive As parents, we tend to evaluate our kids and assess how they behave. We must take the time to let our kids know we like when they behave nicely, and that we love them for who they are. Let them hear when they are doing something right! Read More: 7 Keys to a Healthy Argument 2.Awareness of how we communicate verbally and non-verbally Whether speaking or not, we send messages to the world. Our words and our actions are equally meaningful. Teach your kids that a scowl, a frown or crossing arms in front of their chests puts out a negative message. A smile, a kind gesture or extended arms reaching out for a hug are all valuable body language messages. 3.The need for support and a sense of community Kids and adults need to feel like they have cheerleaders when they're up and shoulders to cry on when they're down. A good support system and community will provide both. As adults we can model how to be good to our friends and to nurture our community. Read More: 31 Days of Community 4.Have respect, kindness and compassion for yourself and others The ability to have respect, kindness and compassion for ourselves and others is not something we are born with, it is a skill we learn. The more we are taught these attributes and the more we practice them, the more likely we are to use them in our daily lives. Talk about how to be attentive and nurturing to physical, emotional and spiritual needs. And just as critical, our children should see us living that attentiveness through our actions. Stacy Kaiser is a licensed psychotherapist, author, relationship expert and media personality. She is also the author of the best-selling book, How to Be a Grown Up: The Ten Secret Skills Everyone Needs to Know, and an editor-at-large for Live Happy. Stacy is a frequent guest on television programs such as Today and Good Morning America.

Travel

Transformative Travel

Altruism boosts happiness. Traveling not only increases happiness but also opens our horizons to new cultures and ideas. Combine the two and you’ve got transformative travel.Volunteer opportunities have widened in the last few years, from “surf and serve” programs in Peru to pulling radishes from the earth at organic farms in Japan to exploring the inky depths of Belize’s Barrier Reef.WAVES for DevelopmentThe destination: Lobitos, Peru“Go to surf, stay to serve” is the motto of WAVES for Development, which hosts surf voluntourism trips in Peru. Launched by a group of local and international surfers in Peru in 2004, the program is rooted in the belief that “access to and conservation of water is a necessity for the future of humanity.”The program is ideal for solo or group travelers, with an inviting, communal atmosphere—rooms and meals are shared, everyone goes surfing together. The volunteer work is equally stimulating, including environmental education, social entrepreneurship, teaching English, surf classes and community outreach. And, of course, the bonus is your location: The tiny surf village of Lobitos, population 1,000, on the sun-warmed northern coast of Peru.The information: wavesfordevelopment.orgAppalachian Trail ConservancyThe destination:Across 14 states in the U.S., from Georgia to MaineThe Appalachian Trail is more than hiking. For many, it's a test of self. Numerous hikers have been inspired by the A.T.: In 2010, Mike Hanson was one of the first blind hikers to traverse the 2,180-mile trail; in 1998, travel writer Bill Bryson became (in his words) the laziest person to trek the trail, overcoming his“waddlesomesloth”; and in 2011, JenniferPharrDavis, a long-distance hiker and author, nabbed the record for fastest thru-hike of the trail (46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes).But there would be no trail without the volunteers: The trail is maintained throughout the year by over 6,000 volunteers, and they're always looking for more. Sign up and you’ll do everything from helping protect the land surrounding the footpath to supporting teachers in the Trail to Every Classroom program. Best of all: The trail is vast, as is the surrounding wilderness, which means you can often have large swathes of it to yourself – with just some local woodpeckers, moose and the occasional black bear for company.The information:appalachiantrail.orgOceanic SocietyThe destination: The Cayes, BelizeBelize may be tiny, but it claims this impressive superlative: the longest Barrier Reef in the Western Hemisphere. From the inky depths of the Great Blue Hole to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, which is swimming with nurse sharks and stingrays, the Barrier Reef has one of planet’s richest marine ecosystems.The Oceanic Society offers travelers the chance to not just snorkel the waters, but to sustain it. The nonprofit Oceanic Society, founded in 1969, has eight-day “volunteer vacations” where you can work side-by-side with researchers to monitor the health of Turneffe Atoll’s coral reefs, including gathering data on water quality and reef inhabitants.Solo travelers are well catered to—you’ll stay in rustic beachfront cabanas, and after the sun goes down, presentations are given on everything from marine ecosystems to reef history. Top off the night with a Belikin beer (or three) on the beach under the bright moon.Belize’s legacy of conservation is also evident inland, particularly at the Manatee and Primate Rehabilitation Center in Sarteneja, in Northern Belize, where volunteers assist with rehabilitation strategies for three species—the West Indian manatee, the Yucatan black howler monkey and Geoffrey’s spider monkey.The information: oceanicsociety.org and wildtracksbelize.orgRead More: 33 Ideas for Happy TravelsWWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms)The destination: Worldwide, from Portugal to JapanPrune olive trees in Portugal. Milk cows in Denmark. Get dirt under your fingernails pulling daikon radishes from the earth in Japan. WWOOF offers volunteer opportunities, from a couple of days to a several months, on organic farms and smallholdings across the globe.Though it’s now a hugely successful initiative, WWOOF had humble beginnings: It was launched in 1971 by Sue Coppard, a secretary working in London, who didn’t have “the means or the opportunity to access the countryside and support the organic movement.” More than 40 years later, WWOOF continues to be especially popular with solo urbanites, who are looking to escape the big city (and canned food) by sweating over a hoe for the weekend, followed by dinner while overlooking the fields that provided it.Most importantly, every volunteer effort helps ensure that organic fruits and veggies will continue to show up in the bins of your corner grocery store. Perhaps the greatest proof of WWOOf's accomplishment? It has now entered into volunteer lexicon as a verb: "I'm going to WWOOF this weekend…"The information: wwoof.netRead More: What does travel have to do with happiness?AnneLise Sorensen is a travel journalist based in New York City.

science

Can Twitter Save Your Life?

Twitter has been linked to everything from starting social movements to making and breaking careers. A recent study finds it can also offer a window into the psychological well-being of a community and predict heart disease. A better predictor A study by Johannes Eichstaedt and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania found that Twitter was a better predictor of heart disease than traditional models, which combine 10 standard risk factors including smoking, hypertension, and obesity. The study found an increased risk of heart disease in areas of the country where high levels of negative emotion words like “anger” and “hate” were tweeted. Communities using positive-emotion language had a much lower risk. In addition, engagement, measured by words like “interested” and “excited,” emerged as a surprisingly powerful predictor of life satisfaction, says Johannes, the founding research scientist of the World Well-Being Project, a group of researchers collaborating to create new ways to measure well-being based on social media language. Watch The TED Talk on this research: An indirect effect Johannes emphasizes that the people tweeting are not the people dying. “There is essentially no overlap between the part of the population at risk from heart disease (60+) and those tweeting (median age: 32).” So what’s the connection? “It’s an indirect effect at the community level,” he says. The research illustrates what scientists have known for a long time—places matter to our well-being. Or, as Johannes explains it, “What does it feel like to live in a given neighborhood? How safe do we feel? Do we feel engaged?” Sociologists refer to such properties as “social cohesion”—something previously linked to heart disease risk but notoriously hard to measure. Social cohesion “We may have found a way to measure this subtle feature of communities,” Johannes says, adding that Twitter may provide inexpensive and accurate insight into a community’s psyche. The potential to better understand factors connected to heart health on a countywide level is promising. “You can do a live psychological risk map for different communities and help policymakers target campaigns educating people that the way they live their mental lives can kill them as well,” Johannes says. “You can then introduce interventions and measure results.“ Read more by Suzann Pileggihere: Love Well to Live Well

science

Blissed Out With Alanis Morissette

Photo shoots are always exciting and one of the many reasons I love my job as an art director at Live Happy. Whether we are photographing a celebrity, a family at home, or an entrepreneur on the job, there are always colorful personalities and environments to capture on film—and a team of people behind the scenes that make it all come together.My last photo shoot was a highpoint for me personally. I had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles and be part of the team photographingAlanis Morissette for our August Live Happy cover.JLPI have been a huge fan of Alanis since her debut album Jagged Little Pill was released in 1995. Her music and lyrics resonated when I was 18, and still do to this day. Although the subjects and focus of her songs have evolved over the years, I feel I’ve gone on the journey with her.My best friend Rachel and I used to drive to community college together every day back in the ‘90s; Jagged Little Pill (along with Dave Matthews Band and Beastie Boys) was our soundtrack for that ride—and for our late teens/early 20s in general. We would belt out the lyrics from “Ironic” ("It’s like Raaaaiiiiiinn, on your wedding day!"), as well as “All I Really Want,” “You Learn” and many others. Later I would put my hair up in “Alanis braids,” go to her concerts and soak up her free spirit. I probably looked silly but I didn’t care; she inspired me.Peace outAnother reason I think I feel such an affinity for her music is that we share a passion for yoga, spirituality and mindfulness.The album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie also had a profound effect on me. It was more spiritual, the sound was different from JLP … it referred to India, gurus, and delved deeper into subjects like relationships, self-awareness and confidence: All things I could relate to in my life at that time. I was in a serious relationship with my soon-to-be-husband and trying to figure out who I was and what the rest of my life would look like after college.I thought I would try this yoga thing out, and Alanis was something of a guide for me in that direction, too. As years went by, I understood and related to her lyrics even more as I went on my spiritual journey. Some of my favorite lyrics from this album still move me to this day.“How bout me not blaming you for everything, How bout me enjoying the moment for once”“The moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could handleThe moment I jumped off of it was the moment I touched down”-"Thank U"Now I’m older and a parent, and I still love her music. What makes me smile most is when my 4-year-old Kensie asks to hear “You see Everything” or “It Figures” (Ironic). She also asks for “the softer version” of “You Oughta Know” (the acoustic version) which just makes me laugh because it’s not exactly the song you want your toddler listening to! Alanis’ music has definitely come full circle in my life.Back to the gardenThe hidden Los Angeles garden is filled with gorgeous flowers in bloom, providing the perfect backdrop for Alanis’s cover shoot. I’m a little nervous to meet my idol, but on set, she is just as self-aware, confident and calm as I thought she would be—as is her son, Ever, who joins her on set and is very sweet as he quietly explores the garden.Although we don’t get a chance to chat much at the shoot, I can sense that she is totally genuine and kind. She introduces herself to everyone personally, shaking our hands, and is gracious and patient throughout the shoot. It seems that her lyrics come from a real place inside her—that in a way I already knew a part of her.I feel so grateful for this experience and so lucky to have met one of my favorite musicians. This was a meaningful moment for me, and I hope our readers find her presence in our magazine as magical as I do.Thank U, Alanis.Read more about what Alanis Morissette is up to at the present moment here.

Self-Care

The Whole 30 Is a Whole New Take on Nutrition

I love a good makeover, and I love books. Two in one? I’m in heaven. The best-selling book, The Whole 30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedomby Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig is a cookbook and personal transformation guide. Like any good makeover, you can expect a change in your body, and a shift in the way you think. A new way of thinking about food Whole30 offers a 30-day meal plan designed to reset your health, habits and relationship with food so you can overcome cravings and addictions. The science behind Whole30 is covered in the authors’ first book, It Starts With Food. The plan focuses on the quality of food (“real” food) and omits processed foods and sugar, as well as grains and legumes. You will have to say goodbye to cheese, and even hummus (made from legumes) but you can keep your morning coffee if you drink it black or with almond milk. The Whole30 offers a way of eating that is intended to transform your relationship with food. The plan is designed to quash cravings for sugar and empty carbohydrates and encourage foods that meet the four “good food” standards, which are: Promote a healthy psychological response. Promote a healthy hormonal response. Support a healthy gut. Support immune function and minimizes inflammation. The authors, both nutritionists, claim that their approach to eating will lead to weight loss, better health and improvements in sleep, energy and mood. The approach is based on “the accumulation of more than five years of experience with hundreds of thousands of Whole30 participants, several focus groups and dozens of community surveys.” The recipes As someone who already cooks with whole and unprocessed foods, I loved the recipes I tried, such as Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken and Cauliflower Mash. The recipes are easy to follow and look quite elegant on your plate. Another recipe that makes it look like you slaved over dinner (but didn’t) is the Halibut With Citrus-Ginger Glaze. The delicious touch of ginger makes you forget this is from any kind of “diet” at all. Delicious. More of what you will take away from Whole 30. Improve your digestion The body wants real food in order to operate properly. Eat colorful recipes co-created with Culinary Institute of America-trained chef Richard Bradford that are alive with flavor and good for your body. Break unhealthy habits Eating dishes like Melissa’s Chicken Hash (chicken, walnuts, apple and arugula) and the more than 100 recipes included in the book are designed to quiet those urges to run to the pantry for a nighttime snack. Aspire toward food freedom If you want to feel in control of what you eat and say goodbye to emotional eating once and for all, this meal plan is designed to bust cravings and achieve what the authors call “food freedom.” The authors give extra tips like “distracting yourself” when you crave something off the plan. Take a walk around your office or drink a glass of water. Learn to savor Slow down and be mindful when you are eating. Taste the flavors of your food and enjoy eating meals supporting the health of your body. Build your kitchen confidence One of the founding principles of Whole30 is you don’t have to cook complicated meals from fancy recipes—all you need are fresh ingredient and basic kitchen techniques. The book includes a guide for sautéing every vegetable you can think of, kitchen gadget fundamentals, a glossary of knife cuts, and instructions on how to cook the perfect boiled egg. Get ready to become a whiz in the kitchen with its step-by-step tips. Get some cool extras Whole30 also includes lots of fun extras like a grocery shopping list, what to eat while traveling, how to handle dining out, success stories/testimonials, tips on how to get your kids to eat healthy and a supportive website community where people go for tips and support. For even more information, go to the website Whole30.com.