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Sept 24, 2017

Hi, {!firstname_fix},
This has been a week of finally catching up on the things that slid with my grandson's arrival here. We have a routine. He and David and I are all going to the gym 3 times a week. He wants abs of steel, David wants to lose weight, and I want strength and mobility. We are all motivating one another. Makes a huge difference. We just set a schedule and we do it. God bless Planet Fitness.

I have a friend who is a native New Mexican. We usually have dinner on Sunday nights. Last week she made beans and they were soooooo good. I got the recipe and tried them out. Andrew loved them, the house smelled fabulous and now we have food in the freezer for lunches. I also have a large rice cooker. So I just run that in the morning and there are beans and rice for every lunch.  I am putting the recipe here today. Lisa approved my technique and said I *passed* as a native New Mexican.

I made an interesting discovery today. I clicked on a tab for the company that manages our newsletter and read the first five of 114 pages that list the subscribers. I was surprised to see that there was no one who is currently active in the lists or on the forum. It seems as if the newsletter is reaching a whole different group of people. It gives me thought for the kinds of things I might include here.
 Support for Your Program
Radiant Coaching

Coaching is individualized support directly from Kathleen. We have a foundation coaching group to work on Steps 1-3. Everyone gets individualized attention suited to where she or he is in the process. The commitment is for 2 week intervals.

Skilled coaching is for those who are steady on step three and really want to take their program deeper. We work with Journaling and life changes. This is a process for those who are highly motivated about their programs.The people who are in the skilled coaching LOVE what we are doing together.  

The fee for individual coaching from Kathleen is $20 a week billed in 2 week intervals.

Classes

These classes will start, Wednesday, September 27th.

Clearing Clutter, Level 2

There has been a LOT of talk in chat and on the lists about *clutter*.  Many of the people talking are people who have taken past clutter classes and are now looking at clutter in a different way. You have tools, but you are ready to clear emotional *clutter* - attachment to stuff with memories. I think it might be really useful to apply or collective skill set to designing an upgraded pass through the world of our clutter. For me as a writer it means being willing to THROW AWAY notes. EKKK!  I thought we can do this together.  You may join this class even if you have not taken an earlier class because I will provide the basic ground rules at the start.

Radiant Reflux, Level 2

This class is a continuation for those who have done the first 2 weeks of the Reflux Class. I am assuming you have had a chance to integrate the material, and are ready to go deeper into implementation steps.

Both of these classes will have 7 units and will be done is a timely and focused way.
 
“The foods you think of as providing comfort are the very things that have contributed to your problem.​​”
 

​​​​​​​Testimonial of the Week

Yep, it all starts with breakfast. I can't speak for anyone else, but I think I kept looking for the "quick fix" rather than do the steps. When I finally, honestly admitted the quick fix wasn't working, then I was finally willing to do whatever it took to do the steps, THE WAY KATHLEEN WROTE THEM. And isn't that a concept (smile). I kept wanting to do them MY way, then wondering why it didn't work.


So, breakfast, breakfast, breakfast. You are on your way. 

Delse
 
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Radiant Recovery Store​​​​​​​

Thought I'd share that Alex blended up 6g of George's® Restore with chocolate almond milk and then she said it wasn't a good temperature. I told her we could cool it down with ice or heat it up. She liked the idea of hot chocolate, so we heated and she LOVED it. Hooray! Now, I need to go and find some more almond milk and she says she'll keep adding more George's® Restore until she gets up to the right amount. Thanks for all the ideas and support!        Emily

The kids love George's® Restore . Even my daughter, Madison, thinks it is great! She took it to college with her. She likes to try the flavorings with it. Don't forget we give you a 25% discount when you get 6 jars at once.

Come visit our STORE!
 
Science Tidbits


 2015 Nov 5;9:399. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00399. eCollection 2015.

"The persistence of associative memories linked to the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse is a core underlying feature of the addiction process. Opiate class drugs in particular, possess potent euphorigenic effects which, when linked to environmental cues, can produce drug-related "trigger" memories that may persist for lengthy periods of time, even during abstinence, in both humans, and other animals. ...
The mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) share important functional and anatomical connections that are involved importantly in the processing of associative memories linked to drug reward."

This article is saying that there is a cellular memory of drug use that sits in the amygdala. It lasts even after we stop using.  Remember that the amygdala is connected to everything in your brain so if something primes your amygdala, your whole brain will light up.  The article references *opiate addiction*...but remember SUGAR acts on the same pathways.

This is why HEALING your brain stops the cravings. It is also why talk therapy does not heal addiction. The amygdala isn't interested in talking, it does feeling.  :)
 
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New Mexico Beans

Ingredients:
  • Dry pinto beans. I am using Estancia beans. You will use 2, 3 or 4 cups depending on the size of your slow cooker. They expand by 2 so c ups dry makes 6 cups cooked.
  • Garlic powder. 1 TBS per cup of dried beans (for soaking)
  • Fresh garlic cloves (3 cloves peeled for cooking)
  • 1 onion, size depends on how much you make. I used a medium onion for the 2 cup production.
  • 1 ham hock
  • Salt and pepper  to taste
Place dried beans in a large bowl. Look them over and take out any small stones, or ugly beans. Cover with cold water. If any beans float, remove them. Add the garlic powder to the water and let the beans soak overnight or all day. It will smell a lot like garlic. Do not be alarmed.

After the beans have soaked for 8-10 hours, drain them and rinse them. Check and see if there are any ugly beans. Take them out. Put the beans in your slow cooker and add the ham hock. I used a smoke one. Cover it all with water. Put the cooker on low and cook it all day (or all night). Don't peak until you have been cooking them for at least 8 hours.

Check them once. If the meat is falling off the bone, they are ready. If not, cook some more.  the first time I made then I only did 2 cups of dried and there was way more meat than I needed, so I left half in the beans and saved the other half for a new batch.
When they are ready, add salt and pepper.  We serve the beans with Green chile but you probably won't be able to get that.  :)

We ate them with rice. The 2 cups dry made 4 2-cup servings. And they were incredible. I put the leftovers in 2-cup containers and Andrew got up the middle of the night to have some more. :)

Let me know how it goes.

For great program-friendly recipes, check out our Cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site.
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Radiant YLD
YLD started as the *weight loss* place, it turned into the heart of the community. I think it is because we chat every week. We chat and then we talk after on the list, so the topics deepen and evolve.

YLD chats  nurture our latest thinking on pretty much everything.. It is ironic that the place that starts with so much angst has become the place for so much reflection. I am going to start sharing these new thoughts in chat. and then will be writing about them here.

Come to chat, join the private list for members.

If you would like to join us in YLD, come find us here.  
 
Radiant Living
Some of the old timers wanted wanted to have a place to share about *refinements* and *life enhancements*. We have support for depression and cooking and fitness, but nowhere to look at *life* stuff. The logical option is Radiant Living. It is kinda the *after the food* place. If you are steady with your food, think about becoming a Living member to share in our weekly chats on life topics.

If you would like to join us in Radiant Living, come find us here.
 
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Doing the Food

Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.

Because I am working on my new book, I have been reflecting on what it is we are doing here in the Radiant Recovery® community in a very different way, I wrote myself some notes in answer to the question, *Ok what are we really doing anyway?*  I know this is a little more philosophical than I usually get but I know you can cope with it once in a while LOL.

Here is the first list I made:

We want to understand what is going on with being sugar sensitive.
We want to know what to do about healing our imbalance. 
We want to be able to do it.
We want to be able to sustain it.
We want to have fun, and enjoy the process.
We want results.
We want to grow, deepen and discover our direction, our strengths, our dreams and the ability to connect with our birthright.

So that was the start. Then I had this thought, what is it that I would like to say to you?  What is the promise?  What will come even if things are not perfect or smooth or exactly on time? What will happen over time even if I stall or forget or get tired? <smile>  That was an interesting reflection. I am going to share what I wrote because it really moved me. I realized that I need to be writing. When I write, I remember why I started all this.

And I want you to know it on a cellular level.

If you do the steps your life will change.
You will meet your deepest self.
You will find the tools to be in relationship to that self and have it guide you beyond anything you can imagine.

Your life will change.
You will meet your deepest self.
Some part of you will wake up.
You will want more. You will see things differently.

At first, you won't realize it has anything to do with doing the food.
It is subtle but your cells will start to change.
The tools for healing will emerge overtime.
You will make connections. You will ask for help.

Something changes, you turn and see you are not the same person.
And then everything ripples out from that truth.
And the things around you change as well.

Now, to be honest, if you just read the newsletter and you don't do the steps or change what and when you are eating, this might not happen. I don't know because I am not hearing about it, LOL. But for those who are here and who do the food and are connected, this happens. Without fail.
 
©2017 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. 

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