Today is one of those days in Houston that makes me wish I lived in an igloo. We run from the car to the house, desperate and parched, not daring to venture outside again until sundown. I have found that most people pity having to endure this kind of heat, especially when they find out I am from Indiana. "Oh, you poor dear. How are you handling the Texas heat? Maybe you should get a glass of iced tea..."

I am not sure what gives away the fact that I am not Texan. Maybe it's because I am running from the car to the store red-faced, parched, and crazily shouting, "It's hot! It's hot! It's hot!" I think it psychologically helps me cool down faster to point out the obvious.

I like HEB Central Market grocery because it offers a blast of AC right as you are walking through the entry doors. This may be my favorite spot in Texas in July. I linger as long as I can before some lady with a buy-in-bulk cart pretends it's a bumper car and "nudges" me out of the way. Doesn't she know it's H-O-T outside? 

I make a mad dash to the frozen foods aisle where I pretend to compare prices of frozen blueberries (there's only one organic, and it's going with me). This buys me at least 4 minutes of cool down time. By now, I can manage the produce aisle.

The only other people in this country who have no pity for south Texans are the Georgians. They laugh when they hear someone say, "It's hot." It's not a sweet, Southern laugh either. It's loaded with intonation that says, "I grew up in Dante's Inferno; In Georgia, we know what hot is!"

I highly doubt my skin and bones will ever grow thin enough to tolerate heat index humidity. (The it's-92-but-feels-like-104-kind!) I decided my first year in Houston that anything in the 90s was completely unbearable. Little did I know that the locals translated 94 degrees as "Summer's comin'..."

Summer is coming?!? I pretty much thought summer was what came about over Spring Break. But this? This is what we northerners call hot as... well you get the idea.

So in the midst of this current heat wave (which apparently means it might get hot this year), there's the age old question of how do we eat without using the oven? (Now I understand why southern kitchens have appliance garages or at the very least 42" cabinets!) I have found a few "stove-avoidance enablers," including ones that do not involve frying eggs on the sidewalk, possible though it is:

1) Crock pot. It's not just for Christmas pitch-ins anymore.
2) Electric wok. Enough said.
3) Toaster oven. Will not cause cook's remorse.
4) Panini press. What amazing feats can this little guy accomplish.
5) Rice steamer.

Now for hydration, water alone will NOT keep you hydrated. I found this out when I arrived at my doctor's office with swollen ankles, limbs, and eyelids. Yes, eyelids. No, I was not pregnant. "Honey, you are dehydrated," she exclaimed, as I sat chugging the last drop from my 64-ounce Nalgene bottle. And so began my hydration quest, and here is what I have learned:

1) Cucumbers are my best friend; celery is a close second.
2) Add a tiny pinch of Himalayan pink salt to your water. Instant Gatorade, i.e. electrolytes.
3) Epsom salt bath every night -- reduces swelling.
4) Magnesium supplement -- Epsom salt may not be enough, especially if you have leg cramps.
5) Consciously hydrate between meals. Take time for a refreshing beverage break (Cranberry mineral water?) Set a reminder alarm!
6) Sip on cucumber-lemon water all day.
7) Start each breakfast/morning with a cup of herbal tea. You may also find it to be a relaxing treat right before bed. (This adds 16 oz to your total liquid consumption plus other health benefits.)
8) Consume water-based vegetables at every meal. Eat fruit between meals.

How do you survive the heat?

The only space in which we can create change is NOW.

The past doesn't exist now. The future has not yet existed. So all we truly have is this moment. When we live this moment consciously, magic happens. We find growth, flow, and ease.

One of the books on my Cannot-Live-Without List is "I Can Do It" by Louise Hay. Her words are simple, yet profoundly life-changing. Changing the way we think and talk to ourselves and others has a tremendous effect on each of our life experiences.

If what we think is what we get in life, then it is totally worth our time to examine our thoughts and take control over them. How do we think about health? Nutrition? Exercise? Enjoyment? Peace? Contentment?

How do we think about stress? Disease? Genetics? Destiny?

Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinks, so he is." Thoughts repeated become beliefs. Therefore, whatever you believe, you are. If I think that I am a failure, I come to believe it, and therefore I am a failure. If I think I am successful, I come to believe it, and therefore I am a success. As Wayne Dyer often repeats, "Whether you believe it or not, you are right."

As we believe, so we live our lives. If we see the world as hostile, we will experience hostility. If we see the world as friendly, we will attract friendly experiences.

Louise Hay's writing has freed me from feeling...believing...that I MUST point out errors. I have a background in journalism, editing, proof-reading, so my eye is adept at scanning and finding errors. This filter carries over into every area of my life -- if left alone with my thinking mind, I exist is perfection-mode (i.e. unattainable mode), constantly critiquing, analyzing, trying to figure out patterns, how things "should" be, what changes need to be made, where processes and procedures lack, fail, breakdown. My employers generally like my analytic eye; my husband not so much.

Imagine the shift that occurred when I realized that I actually have the power to choose whether I look for what's wrong or what's right, what is destructive or what is empowering, what is negating versus what is affirming, what expands or what contracts, what feels peaceful or what feels stressful. We can hold our breath with tight shoulders and chests, or we can breathe deeply and release, allowing our shoulders to relax their vigilance. (More on breathing in a future blog.)

Such is the power of changing our thoughts. Doing this intentionally is quite affirming and truly changes us and everything around us.

I would like to close by sharing a few of Louise Hay's affirmations on body, nutrition, and health. If we think on these things, making healthy choices feels uplifting and empowering, not restrictive or deprecating. It's all in how we choose to think.

Affirmations are powerful. Simply start by reading them aloud each day. Then think about adopting a routine and allow them to grow from there. Each morning, make a cup of herbal tea, watch the morning sky and mediate on your chosen affirmations for the day. Make it a prayer, a song, a story--whatever works with your creativity.

From Louise Hay's "I Can Do It" book:

• I honor my body and take good care of it.
  
• I allow my body to return to natural, vibrant health.
  
• I enjoy foods that are best for my body.
  
• I make healthy choices.
  
• I am discovering new ways to improve my health.
  
• I give my body what it needs.
  
• Perfect health is my divine right; I claim it now.
  
• I am grateful for my healthy body.

True nourishment involves the body (physical, senses), spirit (eternal, God in you), and soul (thoughts, emotions, and will). I have discovered that my purpose in this life is to feed faith. I have had a diverse career with this common theme--feeding faith in God, ourselves, others, our present, our ability to move beyond our past, our faith in an amazing future. Above all, faith in action--TODAY.

In my own journey, good nutrition has been vital in the process of creating and maintaining physical health--a foundation for spiritual and soul health. We have to feed, nourish, and seek true health with a whole-person approach. It's not enough to be a slave of the gym without regard for what we put in our bodies, or how we engage our minds, or how we talk to ourselves (and others). It's not enough to live in (regret of) the past or (live for) the future: "Someday, I will...be happy."

Life is better when someday is today. Today is free of yesterday and tomorrow. Today is doable and seize-able. Today is all that exists and all that we have. Today we act. Today has a gift for us, but we will miss it if we are not mindful. Today is the only day in which we choose, create, laugh, love, overcome, rise, grow, change, discover, relish, nourish, and experience miracles.

I challenge you to eat mindfully today. Turn off electronics. Sit at a table. Put thought into the food you are eating. Wonder at the ingredients. Fully experience taste, smell, sight, texture. Be present with every bite. Be grateful. Share. Tell stories. Laugh. Give thanks.

There is nothing more alluring than a dining table, beckoning you to come, sit, and partake. It's a celebration, a connection. Where families and friends gather. It's comforting. Exciting. Fulfilling.

I cherish Southern culture for its love of food, cooking, and hospitality. Latin culture is equally as open, and I have found myself drawn to both throughout most of my life. I was raised in the Midwest, a place where you are either too Southern for the Northerners or too Northern for the Southerners. In other words, we learn to eat home cookin' and sushi. Tex-Mex and Thai. Chicago deep dish and New York hand tossed. Vegetarian and Paleo. (Krystal and White Castle...Shhh!)

So it is no surprise that I have a LOVE for all things food. I have an eclectic repertoire, bolstered by my mom's fried chicken and mashed potatoes, my dad's chili with beans, Korean friends who insisted I try seaweed, a tour de Italia that set my tastebuds alive, a Spanish paella with Sangria enjoyed at a street cafe on Las Ramblas (careful when you stand as that "grape juice" ain't as light as she seems), The Rathskeller in Indianapolis, Honduran fried fish, Guatemalan tamales, Mexican tamales, Mexican everything, all things coconut, a Las Vegas buffet, Texas Brisket, New Zealand meat pie, Rhubarb pie, homemade raw milk ice cream, farmhouse cookies, and the quest for the perfect gluten-free pizza crust.

Infinite inspiration.

I love feeding friends and family. Dinner parties. Brunch. Appetizers. Any occasion is a perfect occasion to share, eat, and enjoy life.

My new GF Personal Chef venture is an extension of what I have been doing since I was 6 years old.

It is an honor to feed your family. Fantastic and nourishing food is heading your way!