From maple syrup to stevia to raw cane sugar, there are a wide variety of sweeteners out there that may have you questioning what’s best and where to use them. Most sweeteners are made with sugar – a simple carb that is quickly converted into energy and known for giving a quick boost of energy followed by a crash that often leads us seeking out another quick energy source.  Read More

It seems only fitting to be talking about staying COOL, CALM and COLLECTED since we are currently in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave. There have been no shortage of people weighing in on how to stay healthy, safe and cool during extreme heat. This is not, however, what prompted me to write this blog. I cannot stop thinking about the 12 young soccer players and their 25 year old coach who have been trapped in a cave in Thailand for nearly two weeks now. If you have been following this story as I have, then you know that the boys (ages 11-16) were on a team excursion when the entrance to the cave got flooded and they became trapped inside. It took 9 days for rescuers to find them and they are saying that due to the dire and dangerous conditions, it could be months before they are able to get them out and home safely. Despite the fact that they had been trapped 2.5 miles from the entrance to the cave in claustrophobic conditions without food, water, light and all of the other necessities, when the Thailand Navy SEALS reached the team, their spirits were high and their optimism was intact. Have you thought for a minute about how that is possible? Read More

If you think that "deadheading" has something to do with packing up all of your belongings and traveling cross-country to follow the rock band the Grateful Dead, then I know that you haven't planted any petunias, delphiniums or roses this year. Before I became a full-time homeowner and part-time garden tender, I had no idea what it meant to "deadhead" anything. Now it is something that I spend a lot of time doing...tidying up my flowering plants by picking off the dead flower heads. It never ceases to amaze me what happens soon after I pinch off the flower stem! It seems like almost immediately new flowers appear. The science behind the process is fascinating - the deadheading channels energy into the flowers, resulting in healthier plants and continued blooms. Read More

My second son recently turned 16 which means I now am teaching two teenagers how to drive. When you have been doing something for years, you may not remember what it's like to do it as a beginner. In the case of driving, I had forgotten just how many words of wisdom that need to be shared with the next generation of drivers. One of the things that I find myself saying quite often during our driving lessons is "stay in your lane." As you well know, whether you are turning left or right, you have to be sure to stay in your lane when you complete the turn. How about the "floaters" that you encounter on the highway? You know, the cars that are going back and forth between lanes and you find yourself screaming "pick a lane!" They are most definitely a driving hazard! They call into play your skills as a defensive driver and are another example of the importance of staying in your own lane. Read More

The benefits of the sun stretch far and wide – sun exposure is essential not only for vitamin D production but also for hormonal balancing, mood improvement, and even a strong immune system. Read More

We are in the middle of the NBA finals right now and there is a lot of excitement and buzz, despite the fact that it's the same two teams going head-to-head for the Championship title that have been in the finals every year since 2015 - the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Golden State Warriors. While I admit that I am not the world's biggest basketball fan, it is hard to not get caught up in the excitement of it all. As I am writing this, the Warriors have taken a 2-0 lead in the finals. Even if you are not an avid basketball watcher, you may have heard all about how game # 1 of the series ended. The Warriors pulled out a 124-114 overtime victory against the Cavaliers after Cleveland's JR Smith did something on the court which left a lot of people scratching their heads and extremely upset. The Cavs blew a golden opportunity to beat the Golden State Warriors in game one, when Smith mistakenly thought his team was winning the game. With seconds left on the clock in Game 1 of the NBA finals, and a tie score, JR Smith grabbed a key offensive rebound from a team member's missed free throw. With enough time left in the game, and a clear shot to be able to shoot the ball, score and win the game, Smith ended up dribbling away with the ball instead of taking the shot. The clock ran out and JR was seemingly unaware that the score was tied. After the game, Smith said that he had had a plan, but he never explained why his plan did not include taking what would have been the game-winning layup shot!     My sons no longer play organized basketball, but I use the famous quote "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" all of the time when I speak with them. While this can apply to basketball (and certainly it is very fitting with the JR Smith story that I shared), it was actually the famous hockey player Wayne Gretsky that coined the phrase. I think that "missing all of the shots that you do not take" is applicable to so much more than hockey and basketball. If you are 'sitting on the sidelines' of life, then you are missing out on so many valuable and potentially life-changing opportunities. Read More

Before I made the life-changing decision to go back to school to become a health coach, I toyed around with several different business ideas. One of my business plans was to start an Editing & Proofreading business...after all, I had many years of experience editing legislative bill copy when I worked for the NYS Division of the Budget. My dream company even had a name: "DON'T PRESS SEND!" I figured that this would be an attention-getting name since many people could probably relate to sending something (to the printer, to their boss, to a long list of "reply to all" email addresses) without having first properly proofread it. As I was putting together my business plan and researching domain names, all I could think about was the time when one of my former colleagues had sent an inappropriate email (I believe it was a joke that was either sexist or racist or both) to one of his work friends. Instead of the intended recipient, the email was inadvertently sent to the big-big- head-head boss because she shared the same last name as my colleague's work friend. You can imagine the dust-up that this caused! If only my colleague had hesitated before he PRESSED SEND!   Looking back now, I think that the content of that email was far less offensive than the kinds of things that seem to be so easily tweeted and retweeted today. As I am writing this, the number one show on network television has been cancelled because the star and namesake of the show "pressed SEND" on Twitter without thinking. Perhaps she was thinking....that makes it much worse. I do not feel that it matters that the tweet was written in the wee-hours of the morning, or that a dose or two of Ambien may have been involved, or that the words were meant to be funny. What matters is that we now have so many more ways to (easily) hurt each other. Read More

This month, you may start to notice fiddleheads at the farmers’ market. As the name suggests, these green veggies have a curled shape that resembles the top of a fiddle or violin. They are a good source of iron and fiber and make for a striking vegetable dish. Fiddleheads are also an excellent source of vitamins A and C. Read More

If you are regular reader of the "Core Four Health Coaching Corner", you are probably thinking that when I say "replace your broom" that the broom is actually a metaphor for something else. You may be expecting some elaborate connection between using a broom and living a healthier life. Believe it or not, today I am talking about an actual broom...you know, the thing that you use to sweep the crumbs out of your kitchen and the leaves off of your front porch. Last week I purchased a new broom and dust pan. This was a very big purchase for me, which may be hard to believe since we are talking about an everyday cleaning tool that most people probably don't think that much about. You see, for years I have been sweeping my kitchen with a really bad broom. I am not over- dramatizing this...it was a complete piece of garbage. The bristles never actually picked anything up from the floor, the handle was way too short, the dustpan didn't rest flush on the floor, and I am pretty sure the handle had splintering wood on it. The worst part of all, as if those other things weren't bad enough, the broom head and broom stick would become disconnected no less than 8 times every time I used the darn thing! My broom turned what should have been a simple and routine household chore into a back-straining, splinter-causing, dust-flying headache. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why I did not toss the thing out years ago! Something clicked for me last week! I had an Oprah AH-HA moment (more about that later)... Read More

My sons are both in high school and almost every night at the dinner table they share the latest version of "the dog ate my homework" excuse that one or more of their classmates used that day. They have heard everything at school from "my Mom gave me a pineapple smoothie for breakfast and I am allergic to pineapples and couldn't finish my work" to "the dishwasher flooded our kitchen and my homework is now under water". I often wonder how the teachers keep a straight face! As funny as these pathetic excuses may seem and as easy as it is for us to point fingers, are we guilty of doing the same thing? Are you a card-carrying member of the Lame Excuses Club? If you have ever talked yourself out of getting something done, then you just may be guilty as charged. The good news is: there is a cure for this disease I call "Excusamania" and today's blog is not going to be filled with "tough love" to get you to change your wicked ways. I am hoping you will be inspired by the story I am about to share. Read More