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Chipotle Stuffed Peppers

healthy meal healthy recipes rise Sep 02, 2023

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews
1 tomato
1 Tbsp chipotle powder
1 tsp chili powder
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp tamari

Filling Ingredients

2 cups mushrooms, chopped
½ cup green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini

Final Entree:

2 red bell peppers, sliced and deseeded

Directions:

Blend all sauce ingredients on high.
Toss together the sauce and the filling ingredients.
Fill the pepper halves with ¼ each of the filling.
For cooking, you have 3 options:
#1 - Place them in the dehydrator at 118°F for 4 hours.
#2 - BBQ on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are soft.
#3 - Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.

Check out other recipes by Chef Jenny Ross here.

11 Ways to Help Manage Your Anger Part 1

anger management emotional health growth mindset rise Sep 02, 2023

One of the human emotions basic to our existence is anger. According to Psychology Today, anger is related to the “fight, flight, or freeze” response of the sympathetic nervous system; it prepares humans to fight. But fighting doesn't necessarily mean throwing punches. It might motivate communities to combat injustice by changing laws or enforcing new norms. However, prolonged release of the stress hormones that accompany anger can destroy neurons in areas of the brain associated with judgment and short-term memory, and weaken the immune system. This doesn’t mean that we should never get angry. Anger management means we learn, recognize, cope with, and express anger in healthy and productive ways. Here are some strategies from Verywellmind to help manage your anger.

Identify Triggers

If you’ve gotten into the habit of losing your temper, take stock of the things that trigger your anger. Long lines, traffic jams, snarky comments, or...

Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potatoes

healthy meal healthy recipe rise Aug 26, 2023

Ingredients

4 medium (~1/3 lb each) sweet potatoes*
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked (or regular) paprika
1 pinch sea salt or lemon juice (optional)

GARLIC HERB SAUCE

1/4 cup hummus (or tahini)
1/2 medium lemon, juiced (1/2 lemon yields ~1 Tbsp juice)
3/4 – 1 tsp dried dill (or sub 2-3 tsp fresh per 3/4-1 tsp dried)
3 cloves garlic, minced (3 cloves yield ~1 1/2 Tbsp or 9 g)
Water or unsweetened almond milk (to thin)
Sea salt to taste (optional // I didn’t need any)

TOPPINGS optional

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes (diced)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (minced)
3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Chili garlic sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C) and line a...

Tips, Prompts and Ideas for Journaling

healthy habits journaling mindfulness rise Aug 26, 2023

When we journal we might not immediately know what we want to write about. This is why in our RISE coaching programs we provide a guided journal to our members. It contains prompts and ideas for writing and makes journaling easy and effective.

If you’re looking to get started with journaling or need some ideas to refresh your journaling habit, here are some tips and topics from the Berkeley Wellbeing Institute to get you going.

Daily Journaling Ideas

Freewrite
Perhaps the most common journaling technique is called freewriting. When you freewrite, you just write about whatever comes to your mind. Try to keep writing even when your mind wanders off, and don't worry about grammar, spelling, or a storyline. Freewriting may be a good technique to use when doing a daily journal, at least to get the thoughts flowing and overcome the inertia of the blank page.

Write down affirmations
More relatively easy things to write in your journal are daily affirmations. Affirmations are positive...

5 Reasons Why You Need to Journal

healthy habits journaling mindfulness rise Aug 26, 2023

The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.

One of the ways to practice mindfulness is by journaling. Aside from being easy to implement, it has many benefits to our health. Positivepsychology.com cites the following reasons:

1. Journaling for Anxiety
Journaling has proven popular and effective for treating clients experiencing anxiety, possibly because of an improved acceptance of negative emotions and a more helpful emotional response to stress.

2. Journaling for Depression
Research suggests that expressive writing and gratitude journaling can reduce symptoms of depression, providing an effective intervention for clients receiving treatment in therapy.

3. Journaling for Stress Management
Journaling can...

Healthy Granola

breakfast healthy recipe healthy snack rise Aug 12, 2023

INGREDIENTS

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
1 ½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup pecans and ½ cup pepitas)
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
½ cup maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cup dried fruit, chopped if large
Totally optional additional mix-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes*

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared...

3 Ways To Bring Vitality and Purpose To Your Life

growth mindset meaning purpose rise Aug 12, 2023

This month at RISE we are learning how to lead purposeful and meaningful lives. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to let go of anything that distracts us from our goals so we can finish our race well. How do we do this? This article by Elaine Smookler, a mindful practitioner in Toronto, talks about the ways on how we can change our mindset so we can lead a life filled with purpose and meaning.

Commit to Your Vision
David and Goliath is a story of how one young man, with pluck, good aim, and timing discovered a DIY, low-cost method to use an Etsy-worthy slingshot to slay a giant. Mindfulness practice is how we develop pluck, good aim, and timing to aid in our springing up and overcoming the giants with gusto!

One of my personal life mottos is that if anything can stop you, you will be stopped. Recalling this idea has supported me in difficult moments when I have thought, Is this challenge going to be the one that stops me? No!

Puzzle Out Your Problems
For most of us, the giant that we need to...

Summer Popsicles

clean eating healthy dessert rise Aug 04, 2023

Ingredients:

Toasted Coconut Vanilla Popsicles

½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
2 tablespoons filtered water
1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons powdered monk fruit
½ vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped
2 tablespoons coconut flakes, lightly toasted

Blackberry Cheesecake Popsicles

¾ cup coconut cream
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Strawberry-Lime Popsicles

2 cups frozen strawberries
cup filtered water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey

Lemon-Mint Popsicles

½ cup fresh lemon juice
cup powdered monk fruit
1 ¼ cups filtered water
½ cup fresh mint leaves

Carrot-Ginger Popsicles

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, microplaned
2 dates, pitted
cup unsweetened applesauce

Chocolate Crunch Popsicles

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup almond butter, unsweetened (or any other nut butter)
½ cup...

How To Choose The Right Produce

clean fifteen dirty dozen fruits and vegetables organic rise Aug 04, 2023

The wonderful thing about summer is there are endless choices of fruits and vegetables to choose from. Whether you find yourself hiking, biking or swimming, it’s important to stay hydrated and nourished and fruits and veggies will help you meet that need. Dr. Mark Hyman however recommends to steer clear of produce that may be high in pesticides. Here are Dr. Hyman’s recommendations:

“Organic agriculture offers a safer alternative, but not one that’s easily available (or affordable) for everyone. If our only choice is non-organic produce or no produce at all, we should choose the former. But I believe we can do better than that. Some of us can grow at least some of our food. That way we can make sure no harmful chemicals were used, and we save money, too. Second, we can choose the vegetables and fruit that are proven to have the least amount of pesticide residue.

“There really is no need to buy everything organic. If we buy in-season produce at...