Today's Wellness: The Healthiest Oil and Whole Foods

My day job usually starts around 12:30 most afternoons. However, I am fortunate to work with an organization that allows me a lot of flexibility. So I can basically set my own schedule.

Most days when I get in, my colleagues have already had lunch. On the few occasions that my arrival happens before 11:00a.m., I might sit with them for lunch. One such afternoon, as we all gathered, one of my colleagues said he had this "awesome" addition for our salads and coffee.

Lo and behold he pulled out a bottle of pure coconut oil.

"WTH?!!!"

Yes, that was my inside voice and I managed to keep it in but not off my face.

Image: coconut oil.com

This was ludicrous to me! A Canadian living in the Prairies for all his life, maybe venturing every now and again on a Mexican adventure, relaxing at an all-inclusive hotel, introducing me to coconut oil?!

When did the world turn around and the Caribbean island girl was making acquaintance with an "awesome" addition for my salad and coffee - coconut oil?! See, I grew up in Jamaica a once high-producing coconut exporting country, until it died a most unnatural death.

My understanding of the death of coconut was not deep but for all of my childhood coconut oil was the mainstay for just about everything from cooking to hairdressing to body care. By my 20's, the industry was suffocating and no one was in a hurry to rescue it. All attention was on corn and canola oils.

Coconut oil got a bad rep and why? Here is how one website summarizes it: 

"Fats are categorized as either short-, medium-, or long-chain depending on how many carbon molecules they contain. Close to two-thirds of the saturated fat in coconut oil is made up of medium-chain fatty acids, which have antimicrobial properties, are easily digested by the body for quick energy, and are beneficial to the immune system. Far from being dangerous, the saturated fat in coconut oil is actually health promoting.

So how could an oil that is so good for you have gotten such a bad reputation? The answer comes down to simple economics and politics. Based on some flawed studies performed over four decades ago, some of which used primarily hydrogenated coconut oils, a powerful anti-saturated fat movement began. Remember--hydrogenated oils are oils with trans-fatty acids, which have been altered from their original chemical composition and have been shown to raise cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease and other health problems. You should not consume hydrogenated oils, whether it is coconut or another vegetable oil." Read the full article.  

Another Western authority on coconut was Siegried Gursche -  "a true pioneer of the health food movement in Canada, with a career that spanned more than 50 years." Reviewing Gursche's book, "Coconut Oil: The Healthiest Oil on Earth,"  Dr. Conrado S. Dayrit, an emeritus professor of pharmacology, practicing cardiologist and ground-breaking researcher into the health benefits of virgin coconut oil wrote: 

"More than 80 million people who live in a veritable coconut paradise planted with 300 million trees have not fully utilized the healthiest dietary oil on earth - raw, natural, organic, cold-pressed virgin coconut oil."

With the Wellness Movement in full advance  - one that I fully endorse - coconut oil is the "in thing." 

Glorified by today's health conscious consumers, instead of boiling my own oil as my aunt and other elders did, I know pay C$15.00 a bottle. However, as tasty as coconut oil makes my fried chicken or as soft as my skin feels after my daily application of the product I will not add coconut oil to my coffee!

Recently, one of my sources, BlogsRelease, featured a great article by Whole Foods Market on "9 Ways To Cook With Coconut Oil This Summer." Regular readers and Facebook followers of mine know that next to writing and communicating, food is my next favourite topic. The opening paragraph enticed me but the pictures and recipes clinched the deal.

"For many of us, the scent of coconut oil pulls us right into summertime and memories of being slathered with suntan lotion before a day at the beach. These days, however, I'm drawn to coconut oil for its delicious flavor and versatile cooking properties."

I have been using more and more coconut oil in my kitchen lately, in spite of the price of the unrefined product;  and I must confess aside from taking me back to my island roots, my dishes have not been more tasty!

Why not try all nine or at least a couple of these coconut oil delights? Here are my favourites:

Coconut Crumb Cake 

Crispy Coconut Chicken Tender 

Coconut Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Check out the other recipes from Whole Foods Markets and share your favourites with me. Be sure to sign up for my Long Bench list today and let us chat wellness and coconuts!

Claudette

Product information courtesy of BlogsRelease and this author has not received any monetary compensation for this essay.

InHerSight: Best Resource of The Week

Drumroll....It's Friday and that means I get to chill, sleep in and turn up my days to the max...and so do you!

Sure you love your job but you also want to have a life outside of work and time to enjoy it. Work/life balance is key to setting you on the road to wellbeing.

It seems that everyone who reads this blog agrees with you as the Wellness essay was the most read post of the week!

The InHerSight resource will prove invaluable to many women seeking a new place of employment, entering the workforce for the first time or merely wishing to provide information to other women about the best employers on the block. Thanks to BlogsRelease for bringing it to my attention!

Wherever you fall, check out the essay of the week and InHerSight as you kick back and relax over the weekend! Also, do Join my exclusive mailing list for unpublished updates, tips and special offers. Would love to have you on the Long Bench.

Catch you on Monday!

Resource For Women, Work & Wellness: InHerSight

Thirty-three years. That is how long it took for me to experience it. Thirty-three years.

A couple weeks ago my daughter and I were having this conversation. This topic would come up again over the long weekend as I returned home from grocery shopping.

Women, work and wellness.

My daughter is returning to the labour force shortly. She has been on maternity leave for almost a year now. Struggling with the pull of wanting to stay home longer with her baby, my joy and light Mahalia who I also affectionately call Kitten, my daughter cannot afford that option. Well, not if she wants to maintain the standard of living that she has grown accustomed to and enjoys.

Her employer sent her an email a couple weeks ago to come in for a "return to work" meeting. My "spidey" sense told me that things were about to change but I said nothing to her.

After the meeting, she came to my place and from the look on her face I knew my spider was on target. Not one to wallow for more than a minute, I did not indulge her. Instead, she was given the same advice I would give to any woman faced with the options before her. It was advice that took me 33 years to formulate.

"Find something else that is moving you to where you want to be but offers you balance with your child and family life."

When Abigail told me the details of her post maternity meeting, I did what I always do when faced with choices. I launched a hunt for information, assessed it and presented her with my findings. That way, she made an informed decision.

Unfortunately, too many women do not have that option or they do not know where to look. Worse yet, too many choose not to or their circumstances seemingly force them to make decisions that unbalances their lives for a long time.

One of the tools that I came across and that I would encourage more women to utilize is InHerSight.  My lead to this website was BlogsRelease, a resource for bloggers like myself.

According to its website, InHerSight allows women to "check how potential employers treat women." They are "on a mission to measure how well employers support the women who work for them — and to turn those insights into better support for women in the workplace."

I say it is about darn time this was available.

Canada is a beautiful country with many opportunities for growth, development and prosperity. Yet, like in many so called developed countries, many are also falling between the cracks. As I researched the return to work practices of many companies, it was shocking to note that despite the generous maternity leave benefits offered through social services, an equal amount of women are finding it challenging to get back to their former positions.

Wellness, as I discussed in my previous posts is way more than fitness of body. Peace of mind about one's living and working space has a direct impact on the wellness of women. For 33 years, my working life did not support my healing journey. In fact, several of my past employers were more detrimental to my physical and emotional health than the junk food I ate.

A mother having to return to work, already anxious about separating for extended periods from her child, ought not to be further burdened by the thoughts of job insecurity.

Indeed any woman ought not to be so concerned about the practices of her employer as it relates to her gender and the natural occurring needs associated with being woman that her wellbeing is compromised.

How does your current or past employer stack up when it comes to women, work and wellness? Check out InHerSight and see the best practices of those who appreciate the value of women in the workplace. You may want to add your two cents worth on the site.

I am happy to report that my daughter took my advice and will return to work soon with an organization that offers her work/life balance, managerial experience, upward mobility and a fair salary!

Have a well day and be sure to visit us at our new home.  

Blessings,

Claudette

Some photos sources:  

inhersight.com

pinterest.com

Information regarding InHerSight was sourced through BlogsRelease 

First You Must Choose To Be Well

My mother was a very unhappy and unwell woman.

Looking back on her life, it is clear to me that her Wellness Wheel was totally off kilter. Not only that, it was broken, crushed and "all the kings horses or men" had not one darn chance of putting it back together.

By my 35th birthday I knew it was up to me to crack that unwellness code or not only would my life be damned but my daughter's as well.

Unhappiness is passed along while wellness is something you have to return to - on your own.

I gave it my best shot - returning my mother to her state of wellness. When nothing within my power worked (money, providing for as much of her needs as I could, giving her full reign over my home, etc), I turned to God. By 35, I had started my "lessons in Truth," and as my mind and heart expanded to the teachings of meta-physicians, psychologist with a spiritual leaning and New Thought ministers, I took home the message to my mother.

She heard me how long enough to lead me to believe something was getting through. The fallacy of my budding conviction would crack wide open within hours, sometimes minutes as she laid a table of "woe is me" for everything under the sun.

There was no way I could convince her to fake it until she made it. She was as real as they came where it concerned poverty consciousness, lack, 'the world is against me mentality', hypochondria, defeatism and handouts.

She made her transition rooted and grounded in these and other convictions. Her late-in-life Christian baptism did very little to mend her broken wheel.

Early in life, I made the conscious decision not to be like her. To ensure that, I fought and flailed against all of her brokenness. The irony was - my struggle only brought me experiences that matched exactly what I was fighting to avoid. Thankfully I caught the error of my ways quickly before my own wellness wheel was destroyed.

My childhood of sexual abuse; my early marital life of domestic violence and my experiences of rape were enough to break my spirit. Yet, an unknowing resilience led me through.

As I struggled with the aftermath of broken relationships, driven to suicide attempts, near homelessness and living on the edge of a first world brand of poverty (basically paying to have a job), something kept calling to me, telling me to look within.

Books, workshops, seminars even church had given me the same messages but it took falling to my rock bottom really hard on my backside to hear it.

As I sat in my room in a boarding house, shivering in a thin coat at a deserted bus stop, shivering on cold winter nights or getting up from the snowbank in which I had fallen on my home after a late night shift I rewrote my script.

• Wellness is mine in my life, world and affairs
• My relationship with money is healed. I have enough, I earn sufficient to pay my bills
• My current job is a window to one that will utilize all my skills
• I have friends who love me just as I am and support my growth
• My relationship with Abi (my daughter) is healing

These were just some of the affirmations I created and repeated, believing and knowing that my life was being recreated.

Yes, wellness is seen externally but must first be sensed and felt internally. No amount of money, medicine or material possession can instill wellness. Neither can prescriptive religious customs or gurus.

Wellness is a choice that only you can make, then activate and live. Start in one place in your life and it greatly permeates its entirety.

That is what I know for sure!

Namaste

Join my list, leave a comment and visit my page for more tips, updates and affirmations that may help you create and experience balance in your life.

Some photo source: pinterest.com

A Sexy New World Is Emerging! Yippee!

What is your problem with sex?

Yes, you.

Just about everyone seems to have a problem with sex, even those "doing it," or "having it," constantly. Myself included.

My problem, my current problem, with sex is that I am not getting enough.

Shocked? Do not be.

At 50 years of age, legally married and divorced couple times in the eyes of society, lived and loved in a same sex relationship for 16 years prude, I am not. Highly comfortable now with my sexuality, there is no qualm or fear in me to declare that my sex life sucks right now.

Otherwise, I have no problem with sex. It is not a sin once three provisos that I mentioned in an essay back in September 23, 2014 are met. If not, then it can be a mistake:

1. With the wrong person
2. When participated in at an inopportune time
3. Engaged in exchange for financial or other material benefit

To be in touch with one's sexuality, to be honest about it and who you are sexually can be the most scary venture in a world rammed into a sex-containment bunker by the Church and organised religion in general. Bruce Jenner, is proving that as the new poster boy turning woman of my beloved transgendering community.

Digressing just a bit. Years ago, I had a huge crush on a "transgendering" man. (Forgive me if I am not current with the correct terms - my love is real though). We never got beyond sitting beside each other at a seminar then having lunch together in - of all the places - a church hall! This was no ordinary church. I was a guest presenter at a diversity forum held at a United Church of Canada gathering in Saskatchewan.

As we move into this new age, evolving with The Universe, that is what it will take - no ordinary:

• Faith
• Trust
• People

to ensure that our deepest, most meaningful expression of love is unleashed and unfettered.

Surviving childhood sexual abuse and rape as I have, I know what a challenge it is to find one's true sensual voice. Mine was suffocated and covered, literally and figuratively, for years as those who would have their way with my body sought to silence my screams and protest.

The stifling continued for decades, as my sense of who I am - a sexual being - was barred behind the memories of the violation and my mother's idea of who a woman should be in relating with men.

Only in my 40's the true me started to emerge, after the agonising memories faded, the heartbreak of losing my best friend and lover eased and I finally was able to step into the allness of my femininity and sexuality.

My daughter and I today can have the most casual but deep woman-to-woman conversations about sex and sexuality. This is a gift that has arrived not one minute too soon. I am sure there are thousands if not millions of young people grappling with their sexuality in all its expressions who would greatly benefit from open conversations.

It is my view, as a woman with a past imagining a very different future for all, that the sooner the lesser known, the ordinary Bruce Jenners, Ellen DeGeneres, Samantha Jones, Jason Collins, et al can claim their right to be without fanfare or threat of death, annihilation or isolation - the closer to the most beautiful garden our world will be - varied, diverse, rich in colour and texture. Beautiful!

In the meanwhile, I am here to listen to you should you need unprofessional but caring support as you seek to embrace your sexuality and express yourself sexually. Comment here or private message me through email or Facebook.

Be blessed, be you - beautiful