A TACO FILLING YOUR LIVER WILL LOVE

Tacos -- quick and easy, and a treat for your liver if you skip the ground beef and use winter squash instead.

Not only do butternut and acorn squash make a hearty, healthful taco base, but new research suggests that this kind of ingredient swap -- trading high-cholesterol foods for healthy carbs -- could mean less risk of liver disease, too. Read More >>>

A LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN

I'm originally from Pennsylvania and this brings back beautiful memories from my childhood.

If you've ever experienced anything like this, you will know what I mean. If you

haven't, my wish for you is that some day....you do.

Love always and HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Dolkar

THE BODY PART THAT WANTS YOU TO GO GREEN

Your knees love it when you go green – eating green, that is. Filling your meals with this color can go a long way toward preventing arthritis. Here's what to reach for: Read More>>

SIGNS OF A STROKE

We know how dangerous Strokes can be but what’s really unnerving is that their symptoms are difficult to identify.

Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

How can you tell? Read More>>>>

Fiesta Relish

Ingredients:

2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons dried yellow bell pepper
3 Tablespoons diced plum tomato
1 Tablespoon red bell pepper
1 Tablespoon minced shallots
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne


Directions:

Combine all nutritional ingredients in a bowl. Serve relish chilled or at room temperature. Great for salad toppers, for a side relish, or for good ole fashioned dip for tortilla chips.

SIP THIS FOR SUPERHEALTHY TEETH

Can't get to your toothbrush? Try sipping a cup of green tea instead. Research shows that drinking green tea may be a good way to impress your dentist. In a study, the more green tea men drank, the better their gums fared during dental exams.

Green for Great Gums

You know that part of the dental exam when your dentist pokes and prods your gums to see how healthy they are? The study showed not only did frequent green tea drinkers have better results during the exam, but also their gums bled less. A bonus for drinking green tea…better tooth enamel.

Polish Your Pearlies

Researchers think it's the catechins in green tea that somehow prevent cavity-producing plaque from forming, which in turn protects teeth and gums. Catechins may also help reduce gum inflammation. Remember: There is a link between gum inflammation and heart disease.

NEED TO RELAX AFTER A TOUGH DAY??

Here’s your answer:

Meditation Class: Every Monday evening at 6:00 pm

Dolkar Wellness Center

7021 East Dreyfus Avenue

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

480-313-3726

With: Tara Hoffman – 20 years of experience

Fee: $5

Just Bring your cushion.

Meditation is the best thing you can do for yourself….

Join us and see for yourself!!!

Other Classes: Weightloss/Wellness Consultations –You WILL shed unwanted pounds and you WILL feel and look healthier than you have in years!!

Vegetarian Cooking Instruction: Call Center for availability and more information

We Also offer: Massage Therapy

Aromatherapy Massage

Reiki Healing & Attunement

Reflexology with aromatherapy

ALL SERVICES 50% OFF FOR THE SUMMER

www.dolkarwellness.com

FIESTA RELISH

Ingredients:

2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons dried yellow bell pepper
3 Tablespoons diced plum tomato
1 Tablespoon red bell pepper
1 Tablespoon minced shallots
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve relish chilled or at room temperature. Great for salad toppers, for a side relish, or for good ole fashioned dip for tortilla chips.

For more delicious vegetarian recipes.....http://www.dolkarwellness.com/

CHEW MORE....WEIGH LESS

Next time you grab a handful of nuts to snack on, count to 40. A recent study revealed that when people ate a small serving of almonds, 40 chews quelled hunger better than 10 or even 25 crunches of the same amount of nuts.

Not only did the extra chews help curb hunger best, but also the feelings of fullness lasted longest when people gave the nuts the extra chews. And the practice may work with other foods, too, because researchers suspect it may simply be the mere act of chewing that switches on your brain’s satiety center. Read More>>>. Make your almonds extra special with this Spicy Almonds recipe.

http://www.dolkarwellness.com/

MAUI MADNESS SMOOTHIE

2 Tablespoons French Vanilla ShapeWorks Shake Mix
1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon crushed pineapple
1 scoop non-fat vanilla frozen yogurt
Fresh Squeezed orange juice
3 ice cubes

PRESS "PLAY" FOR A BETTER MOOD

Want to feel less stressed? Happier? More energetic? Spend more time with your stereo. A small study suggests that music typically affects people’s emotions for the better.

Melodic Mood Makeovers

Study participants who reported hearing music 37 percent of the time during a 1-week period were clearly influenced by the tunes they experienced. Most of the time, the music influenced how they felt, often making people feel happy or nostalgic. AND bad moods can be contagious.
More Than the Sound of Music

Other factors -- such as the personality of the listeners, whether they were alone or with friends during music exposure, and how much they liked the music -- did play a role in the music-induced emotional responses. But the emotions were most often positive and tended to match the motivation of the listeners. For example, listening to music to relax, to counter boredom, or to boost energy tended to lead to the desired response. Check out these other musically induced health benefits:

§ Listen for pain relief .
§ Take the toil out of exercise. Music makes exercise a whole lot easier.
§ Sharpen your noggin..
- Real Age

5 REASONS TO DITCH THAT SKIN PRODUCT

Choosing the right skin product is like picking the perfect mate: Look for the good things they offer, but be aware of red flags.

That’s because certain ingredients in skin treatments may irritate or damage your skin. If your skin’s been acting up, check your products’ labels for any of these five red flags:

1. Smell-good fragrances: They may tickle your nose, but these little molecules set off allergic reactions in up to 14 percent of people. Symptoms could range from itching and redness to vomiting and convulsions. READ MORE>>>

LIVING IN THE PRESENT - SOME PRACTICAL TIPS

One more reason why it is difficult for some people to live in the present is that they don’t know themselves well enough, and they secretly don’t love themselves. This is why they are in a rush, trying to escape from themselves. Once we get down to the core of this issue, once we know and accept ourselves, many of our pressing problems will be resolved. When we stop behaving in an ignorant and unfriendly way toward ourselves, our life transforms. Use the tips below to transform your life.

Be mindful of your breath. There is no need to use sophisticated breathing techniques - just pay attention as you breathe in and breathe out. Try to breathe deeply and slowly. Try to enjoy this process. This is such an easy thing to do, and yet if you will try it for a certain time, you will find yourself to be more peaceful and calm. If will be much easier for you to stay mentally present – not dwelling on the past and not dreaming of the future.

Be mindful of your physical feelings. Ask yourself: “How do I feel right now? Am I sitting in a comfortable position? Do I feel comfortable with the shoes and clothes I wear, and with the things around me? What is my body trying to tell me?” Again, this is an easy thing to do - but so many people go through life ignoring their feelings until their bodies begin to scream. When we get in touch with our feelings on a day-to-day basis, we open ourselves to its guidance and valuable suggestions.

Do not rush. Sometimes we are so afraid to be late for something that we don’t realize that the world does not depend upon us for its survival. Of course, it is good to be on time - but a wise person knows that it can be better achieved not by intensity of efforts but by careful planning. As you plan your day, give yourself more time to do the important things and eliminate the non-important things as much as possible. You might do them if you will have spare time, or don’t do them at all. If you have an appointment, try to leave in time to easily be on time. But if you are still late, don’t feel guilty about it. Next time, you will be even more wiser.

Be grateful for the delays. When you are in a traffic jam, or if you are standing in a line, try not to be angry or upset like some others. Rather, realize that this delay is a gift. You have a chance to be alone with yourself for a minute or so, without being distracted. Watch for your breath and for your physical feelings, try to become relaxed. Say a simple affirmation or two. Smile to yourself. Look at people around you with sympathetic eyes. In an instant, your tension will go away, and you will get in touch with joyous spirit of the present moment.

Essential Oils - Our Partners on the Spiritual Path

When we think of the word “healing”, we normally consider that we are speaking about the physical body. But true healing, in my opinion, doesn’t take place on the physical level. The physical body is the most dense of our bodies. In fact, it is the end result of our thoughts, worries, and experiences. Therefore, it’s only logical that trying to heal the physical body would be like the little dutch boy who runs from place to place – trying to plug up all the holes in the dam. Successful healing, then, would take place in the most subtle body we have….the light body or spiritual body.

We can either be the dutch boy who runs frantically back and forth and never really resolves the core of the issue. Or we can go right to the source and apply our healing efforts where subtle changes ripple through out the entire being. Because of their high vibrational properties, essential oils are really a spiritual approach to healing.

We all talk about spiritual development – the ascension of consciousness to higher levels of all-pervasive awareness but most of us (the masses) don’t really spend enough time in this pursuit to really understand what it means. However, the time is ripe for humanity to really begin the process of spiritual development and essential oils can assist us.

Essential oils and the process of anointing have always been used to advance humanity into a spiritual reality. In the writings on the temple walls in Egypt, we see people smelling the lotus blossom.

As a Buddhist, the lotus flower holds a lot of spiritual meaning to me. However, the rose has replaced the lotus in our society. It has the highest frequencies and stimulates an increase in energy within the center of the brain where the “control center” of our physical body resides – the Limbic system and can be activated by smell. It is by raising the frequency within our physical body that we raise the frequency within our spiritual bodies.

Rose ~ (rosa damascene) Because the rose has the highest vibrational frequency, it important for spiritual development. It is considered a supreme healer of both the body and spirit, and it is very easy to use with basic natural healing techniques. True rose oils are the number one choice for opening the heart chakra - the first step in spiritual pursuits. Trying to live a spiritual life without opening our hearts is like pouring water into a vase that has a hole in the bottom.

Read More about Essential Oils >>>

FETTUCCINE WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOM & BASIL

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
8 ounces whole-grain fettuccine or spaghetti
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil for cooking pasta.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 9 to 11 minutes or according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

4. Add the pasta, the reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan and 1/4 cup basil to the mushrooms in the skillet; toss to coat well. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining basil.

MORE RECIPES>>>

Relax and Recharge Completely

Regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness. Here are some techniques for relaxing physically that are used by the most successful and highest paid people in America.

Take Time Off Every Week
First of all, work only five or six days per week, and rest completely on the seventh day. Every single study in this area shows that you will be far more productive in the five or six days that you work if you take one or two days off completely than you ever would be if you worked straight through for seven days.

On the days that you work, make sure you set aside time for at least 15 minutes of meditation in the morning and at night before going to bed.

Get Your Mind Busy Elsewhere
During this time off, do not catch up on reports, organize your desk, prepare proposals, or do anything else that requires mental effort. Simply let your mind relax completely, and get busy doing things with your family and friends. Maybe work around the house, go for a walk, engage in physical exercise, watch television, go to a movie, or play with your children. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days.

Get Away on Mini-Vacations
Second, take one three-day vacation every three months, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. Do not attempt to catch up on even a few small things. If you do, you keep your mental gears in motion, and you end up neither resting nor properly doing work of any quality.

Read More>>>

GIVE THE MIND A VACATION

Meditation is a wonder. It can bring health to the body, peace to the mind, and freedom to the spirit. Many physical and mental issues can be alleviated by soothing the mind with meditation. Therefore, Dolkar Wellness is sponsoring - Beginner’s Meditation Program:

When: Monday evenings at 6:00 pm beginning April 6
Where: 9600 N. 96th Street–Ste. 102, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Cost: $5 a session – pay as you go

During the first session, Tara Hoffman, President of Dolkar Wellness, will give a brief explanation of what meditation is and why it is important to practice on a regular basis. We will participate in a simple meditation and still have time for questions. Ongoing classes will be held Monday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 so feel free to have friends and family join at any time.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring a cushion if you wish to sit on the floor. Distance is not an obstacle – we can conference you in to participate with the group.

Contact us at 480-313-3726 to register or for further information.

http://www.dolkarwellness.com/

DOLKAR WELLNESS KICKS BUTT IN WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE

Tara Hoffman, President of Dolkar Wellness, kicked off a Pilot Program for a NeoWellness Cellular Level Approach to Weight Loss on February 2 and concluded the 6-week session on March 16, 2009. The average weight loss for the group was 10 pounds and all participants said they would never eat unhealthy food again - choosing to eat vegetables over cookies. Read more>>>

Next Session begins:

When: Monday, March 30, 2009 begins a new 6-week session.
Where: Dolkar Wellness Center
When: 7:15 pm
Contact: Tara at 480-313-3726 to enroll

Don’t wait another day to sign up. You too can begin to learn the holistic techniques to shed weight once and for all! Sessions will be ongoing so you can begin at any time. Distance is not an obstacle!

Referrals available upon request
www.dolkarwellness.com – tara@dolkarwellness.com

BANANAS - MORE THAN JUST A TASTY TREAT

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psychology class discussed the effects of bananas on the brain. He said the expression 'going bananas' is not just a random saying.

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!! After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet. Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. Read More >>>

THE LEGUME THAT LOWERS CHOLESTEROL

There's a certain bean that may have powers to lower cholesterol. Where can you get it? Try a creamy side of hummus. Research shows that chickpeas, the luscious legume that's pureed for hummus dips, could go a long way toward improving your cholesterol profile.

Gaga for Garbanzos

In a small study, people who ate roughly 25 ounces of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) per week for 12 weeks showed an improvement in their total cholesterol levels compared with when they ate a chickpea-free diet for 4 weeks. And that's not all: Their insulin levels also improved, and they lost a small amount of weight -- without dieting or exercising. All good reasons to fall in love with this legume! Start adding chickpeas to your diet, and take notice of the weight loss.

Pass the Chickpeas, Please

Researchers think the fiber, protein, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in chickpeas should probably get the credit for the cholesterol improvements. Chickpeas are also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and phytoestrogens. Have chickpeas for dinner tonight with this Fragrant Chickpea Stew recipe.

For other cholesterol busting strategies, try these foods:

Sesame seeds – especially the black ones

Think Soy… it helps to lower cholesterol – and stabilize hormonal
levels.

Nibble on dark chocolate – it contains cholesterol-fighting antioxidants.

-RealAge