7 Tips for your health to NEVER forget while traveling!

Hi there Beautiful:) Last week I shared with you how I maintained my fitness & healthy eating regimen while traveling to San Francisco, Mexico and LA. This week its Vegas travel! YAY!

When the “man~pan~ion” said pack your bags we are going to Vegas, I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical. I mean how would I eat in the land of the buffets? How would I rest in the city that never sleeps? Is that Vegas? After he twisted my arm & on one of the most beautiful mornings in Mexico, we left for Vegas!

1) UTILIZE THE MENU AVAILABLE!  We arrived at The Mandarin Oriental and I was swept away by the beautiful pool area and wide selection of healthy organic vegan options they had available! The majority of hotels offer a vegan and organic menu these days!

2) MAKE A FOOD RUN WHEN YOU ARRIVE! Lucky me I didn’t need to grab anything off the menu. The man~pan~ion had suggested we hit a Whole Foods market when getting off the plane! What a fabulous idea! I had an entire fridge stocked full of juices and raw vegan treats right in our suite! It saved a lot of time and money every morning to not have to go out and find juice, matcha or fresh organic fruit! I was good to go until dinner every night!

3) MOVE YOUR BODY DAILY! Hello Vegas! Our room had a SPECTACULAR view and I had a ton of extra time to check out the workout facility and spa! I give it 3 thumbs up! They even had a steam room!

4) REMEMBER YOU ARE THERE TO HAVE FUN! Whoever said a non smoking non drinking vegan from Ohio couldn’t have fun in Vegas had not met me ) About to see a show!!! Its important to remember that you are on vacation to vacation! Thank God I have a man that reminds me to HAVE FUN!!!

5) INFORM THE STAFF OF YOUR NEEDS It’s not difficult to eat healthy while traveling! Just speak to the staff in an assertive yet, kind manner about your passion to feed your body the most optimal foods possible. More than often both the chefs and wait staff are more than happy to find you what you need! I find chefs see creating  beautiful live food meals for you as a welcome change! 

Here is a salad I made from dates I brought with me, store bought figs and a “Super Food salad” the hotel offered! I left the dressing off as it was not full of “super foods” at all:)

6) Remember that Romance isn’t just about going out! Even in Vegas!  Our most romantic night wasn’t when we saw a show at the Wynn. It wasn’t when we were dining out or making a mad dash in a town car for a pair of matching heels for my dress.

Our romantic night consisted of us ordering the most amazing vegan room service and dining barefoot over looking the city from our suite. We followed this with a tour of a few art galleries that we walked to. There’s something about dining with no makeup on in a hotel suite with the man you love that gets me smiling from ear to ear! Watching him get giddy over taking pictures of me makes me feel happy! Watching him focus on business gets me hot! Watching him love me more each day takes my breath away! Nothing else can compare.

7) Remember EVERYTHING you need is right at your finger tips! Without eating at a buffet or resturant chain I was able to find everything I needed. Even while working you can plan ahead. There are options everywhere and they dont have to be expensive. Love yourself and your body temple enough to fuel it with the proper gasoline ALL the time! Not just when home!

Above was another “Andrea Raw~lic~ous” creation! I picked up almond milk when I arrived in Las Vegas. I asked the hotel what nuts and seeds they had. They brought out a variety of dried fruits, nuts & seeds including Brazil nuts, goji berries and elderberries. I poured the almond milk over some dates, the brazil nuts, goji and elderberries. I ate it like a cereal. It was incredible! I have a video on this here—> click here

OK~ NO MORE EXCUSES!!! For those of you who continually use the excuse of not being able to eat properly while traveling or that you work to much to lead a healthy lifestyle this is for you:) Remember~ Healthy is a state of mind! There is ALWAYS a way to have everything at your fingertips!

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Andrea L Cox is the owner of http://www.thehealthyhaven.net & http://www.alkalizewithandrea.com She is a fitness model turned health coach who has written two books on the raw vegan healthy lifestyle and detoxification! Andrea has appeared on numerous news stations TV shows and magazine publications. She runs yoga juice cleanse retreats both in San Diego and Mexico! Her You Tube channel is approaching close to 2Million views. Her website for retreats is http://www.alkalizewithandrea.com Her other programs may be found at http://www.thehealthyhaven.net

If you are reading this and know someone that can potentially benefit from this, please SHARE this! They will be thankful and so will I!:)

Ten ways to detox daily & feel better today!

TEN CHEAP WAYS TO DETOX & FEEL BETTER TODAY! BY ANDREA L COX

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 1) The Grape Miracle! The Brandt Grape Cure was developed in the 1920s. I’m not going to get into the exact protocol but I am going to tell you how I use grapes below! 

• Up until last year I actually didn’t care for them at all. I preferred more sweet tasting fruits like figs, dates and cherimoyas! Then a girlfriend of mine popped them in the freezer! WOW! My favorite treat! Took them with me today and ate 3 pounds of them yesterday! If you are going to enjoy grapes, I suggest you eat them as a mono meal! Mmm! I ♡ me some grapes:)

  Here are my top ten reasons you should make grapes a staple food!
  1) Easy to pack ~ great travel food
  2) Divine frozen
  3) Full of antioxidants 
  4) Good way to get your purple food in
  5) Grapes are a great lymphatic detox
  6) Kids Love them
  7) They are easy to digest
  8) They give you energy
  9) Great pre workout food
  10) They produce a mega Bowel movement!   

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  2) NAPPING Taking even a 20 minute nap between the hours of noon-3pm has proven to benefit both cognitive function and bodily functions! I try to nap at least 3 times per week. Try to set up a daily nap time in your home or office to reset your bodies rhythm.                                                                                                                          

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  3) COLON CLEANSING The way you begin your mornings is vital to how the rest of your day will flow! Due to traveling over the last 3 days, my mornings haven’t been flowing like I prefer them to. This is why I made sure to get up early this morning to clean out my colon and start the day with my favorite lemonade! Colon cleansing is imperative in todays world! Look into coffee enemas and colonics! Be sure to find a REPUTABLE THERAPIST! They are hard to come by! Find what works for you and begin to cleanse your colon!                                                                                                                                                                                              

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  4) The Detox Lemonade! This drink is a must to detox your liver! The liver has enough burden as it is. Why not give your liver a break with this easy to make drink! The recipe is below~♡♡♡~Drink 16oz~32oz for optimal digestion, liver cleansing and beautiful glowing skin!  Make this the night before and leave in the fridge to marinate. Enjoy the liver cleansing properties and the energy from the vitamin C shot you will get!  

•  2 Liters “good water” never tap!

• 1 drop of Young Living Essential oil of lemon 

• 1 drop of Young Living peppermint oil

• The juice of one organic lemon

• The juice of one organic orange

• 5 cucumber slices  & a  sprig of mint (optional)                                             

  

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  5) MEDITATION Meditation has been proven to lower blood pressure in individuals with chronic stress. What more proof do we need? During my interview with Meditation expert Tom Cronin I learned a way to “go within” that works for me. I try to aim for at least 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night. Although meditation does not have the effect that my yoga practice does, I always feel calmer and more centered when I incorporate it into my flow! 
  

  

  Meditation is a great way to settle the mind daily!

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  6) YOGA   The facts are in! The benefits of yoga far surpass any other exercise out there. For me, yoga is my moving meditation! Ive practiced 3-7 days per week for over 7 years now and find the benefits are long lasting for days after class. Aim for 3-5 sessions per week. 
  

  

  Getting my yoga and girlfriend time in all at once!

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  7) SPEND TIME WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE  When we surround ourselves with people who love us and who we to enjoy being around our lives begin to just FLOW! We sleep better. We feel more motivated! We just enjoy life more and the little things that tend to bother us simply disappear! Find your tribe and keep it small~ less friends, less drama! You don’t need to have a tribe of 30 to be happy! Two or three close friends along with a positive family is sometimes enough! 

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  8) LOVE ON YOUR FURRY FRIENDS! To love is to have a dog! I truly believe this! Having pets around and the simple act of just holding a dog, cat or bunny really does reduce anxiety! With SO MANY homeless animals in this World why not adopt a pet? The health, companionship and love you will get in return will pay you back for a lifetime!      

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  9) EAT HEALTHY Eating NON GMO organic fresh in season fruits and vegetables is imperative to longevity and improving the QUALITY of your life! Aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables per day! Your mood, skin and overall zest for life will thank you!

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  10) JUICE Got Juice? If you do I bet I would be able to pick you out of a crowd! For those of you who say “juicing is not natural~ we need the fiber” I say to you the following! When you give the body a break from digesting by removing the fiber even for one meal per day, you get a blood transfusion that is IMMEDIATELY absorbed into the blood stream within 10-15 minutes! WOW~ NOW THATS A POWERFUL VITAMIN! Yes, we do need fiber but not at every meal! We no longer live in a natural environment therefore it is up to us to detox DAILY! Juicing gives us this power! 

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  ABOUT ANDREA COX! 

• Andrea L Cox is the owner of http://www.thehealthyhaven.net (Home of the Digital Detox~lose 30 lbs in 30 days program) & http://www.alkalizewithandrea.com (home of Andrea’s Detox, juice fasting, yoga raw food retreats)! Andrea is a fitness model turned health coach who has written two books on the raw vegan healthy lifestyle and detoxification! After healing herself of bulimia and anorexia Andrea set out to spread the word on cleansing on a cellular level to create optimal health! Andrea has appeared on numerous news stations TV shows and magazine publications. She runs yoga juice cleanse retreats both in San Diego and Mexico! Her You Tube channel is approaching close to 2Million views. Her website for retreats is http://www.alkalizewithandrea.com Her other programs may be found at http://www.thehealthyhaven.net Andrea’s YouTube channel is AndreaCoxTV

7 Tips to becoming more emotionally healthy

Cultivate strong relationships~ Develop and maintain strong relationships with people around you who will support and enrich your life. The quality of our personal relationships has a great effect on our wellbeing. Putting time and effort into building strong relationships can and will bring great rewards. Studies actually show that married people live healthier longer lives! The proof is literally in the pudding!

Exercise everyday~ I’m not saying you have to become a professional body builder. The facts however are well known~exercise releases endorphins that are mood boosting! One of the best mood boosting exercises I know is to rebound! Yep! Rebounding has been proven to boost your mood! The average rebounder can be bought for around $200. A small price to pay for all the mood boosting and lymphatic benefits! Feel free to watch my video about rebounding here Rebounding Video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat right! ~Physical and mental health are closely linked; it’s easier to feel good about life if your body feels good. Try to replace one meal per day with a liquid meal. I prefer my clients use the all mighty all powerful juice! This gives your body a break from digestion! Try to consume at least 75% of your fruits and vegetables in their raw natural state. Eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are 80% full. No one feels good when they are stuffed!

Cashew curry salad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge yourself~ When is the last time you read a book, completed a crossword puzzle or challenged yourself to memorize someones name, birthday phone number and address instead of logging it into your cell phone? Learning improves your mental fitness, it expands your brains capacity and creates a sense of calm throughout the body by shifting focus off the body. 

Helping others in anyway you can is also a wonderful challenge! When I started my YouTube channel it was for that very reason! I never thought in a million years it would end up as it has where I actually get paid to do what I love! By helping others the rewards come ten fold back to us! Try it! 

Try to not take things personally~ Be aware of what triggers you and how you react. Often times we are triggered the most by those we love! You may be able to avoid some triggers simply by sitting the person down who is triggering you and having a heart to heart with them. Express how your feeling and that you need them to approach or speak to you in a different way.

Get 8 hours of sleep per night~ Get plenty of sleep. Try to set a regular bedtime schedule. Sleep restores both your mind and body. When we feel fatigued we can literally “lose it” with ourselves and those we love. No one functions well without proper sleep! 

Ask for help.  A perfect, worry-free life does not exist. I find no shame in saying “I have a therapist” and neither should you!  If you don’t get the help you need first off, keep asking until you do. Therapist are like a new pair of jeans, you have to try on a few before you find the perfect fit!

 

Andrea L Cox is a published fitness model who has written two books on juicing, raw vegan food, bulimia and detoxification. Andrea owns The Healthy Haven~ home of everything detox! Andrea is in demand for her cleansing retreats by both celebrities and the average house wife. Andrea’s YouTube channel has close to 600 videos and 2 million views! She has appeared on such shows as KUSI San Diego, Fox 45 Dayton Ohio, Fox San Diego, channel 6 San Diego, The Del Mar Times, Dayton Daily News, Muscular Development magazine, Pump fitness, The Patrick Timpone show,One radio network, Mind Body Green and several others.

You can see more of Andrea on the following websites

www.thehealthyhaven.net

www.alkalizewithandrea.com

 

Detox pancake recipe & a success story!

Hi there beauties:) So I’m here in Mexico (again) and I just got done running an AMAZING VIP detox for a stunningly beautiful woman named Minerva! Minerva was Hands down one of my absolute favorite clients to ever do my detox program! Miss Minerva I like to call her! A wife, mother World traveler and speaker of truth!!! I love and adore this woman & wish she was my next door neighbor! 

To love what you do for a living is to have peace in your heart!!! This woman was sent from above and will forever be etched inside of my heart!!! Enjoy the photos of her retreat along with two versions of pancakes I know she will be whipping up! 

Miss Minerva’s 3 day detox VIP retreat!

Let the 3 day detox begin!

 

After a guided super market tour and a trip to trade in toxic cosmetics for paragon free goods! YAY! Minerva is 100% a girly girl! She LOVES all things about being a woman! 

The beautiful Minerva and I stayed out a bit too late after our trip to the grocery!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting on my new favorite girl to get her colonic:) I was eating blueberries in the lobby while Miss Minerva was getting “cleaned out”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Before she left, I took her a fresh coconut and made her a salad with organic soy-free tofu made from hemp! She loved it and I call that healthy travel food!!! 

 

Minerva left her 3 day detox GLOWING even more than when she walked in! I wrote about fears I was having prior to her coming that taught me a valuable lesson! The following is what I wrote on my Facebook wall after meeting this beautiful woman! 

Beautiful both inside and out!

“Today I had a VIP guest fly in from Texas to do a three day detox here in San Diego. As I went to greet her at the resort, I was a bit nervous. The truth is, as I’ve been speaking to her on the phone the past few months she reminded me a lot of myself. I’m not exactly easy to please and was beginning to fear if I would live up to her expectations.

I spent about an hour and a half with her and then returned this evening to teach her class. Within minutes she opened up to me and invited me to open up to her. Much like the last guest I had a month ago…I fell in love with her kind loving heart! Not only is she beautiful on the outside but also on the inside too!

On the drive home I began thinking “yes…we are a lot a like!” We are both “high maintinance women” with HUGE giving, loving honest hearts! Heck I’m proud to call myself “HM” for the first time in my life! To me high maintenance only means you demand people give you their very best and do the same for others! I’ll take that title ANY day of the week!

Today was a beautiful day of two women from different cultures, different up bringing and different lives coming together to share, love and to heal!

 I am forever blessed to be able to LOVE what I do!”

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A divine salad recipe! VEGAN and NON VEGAN PANCAKE RECIPES! YUM!

 

So here I am “chill~axing” in Mexico and I thought hmmm what would the beautiful friends at the Healthy Haven like to see this week? Then it hit me…some easy to digest recipes! Enjoy these favorites below!

 

Curry tofu with dried fruit and seeds!

1/2 C pineapple

1/3 C dried cranberries

1 of Andrea’s “sticky balls” (dates, walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds rolled into balls and dusted in dried coconut)

1/2 C hemp (soy free) tofu

1 tsp turmeric

1TB curry powder

1 TB hemp seeds

 

Combine tofu with curry, coconut oil and turmeric set aside.

cover a large plate with raw spinach, break up Andrea’s sticky ball, add pineapple and dried cranberries place curried tofu on top and add hemp seeds! BOOM! Enjoy without shame or guilt!

 

 

 

 

YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE BOTH VERSIONS OF THESE PANCAKES!

 

Ok folks I know I NEVER do NON vegan recipes but Ive been getting requests for this! Here are two FABULOUS recipes for pancakes! One is vegan and one is not!

 

Gluten free banana pancakes!

1 banana

2 farmers eggs

blueberries

cinnamon oil by Young Living (E@mail me at andrea@thehealthyhaven.net to learn how to get 11 essential oils FREE!)

 

Thats it, yep! 4 ingredient pancakes! Simply mash, mix and cook! See vegan recipe below!!!

Andrea holding her banana blueberry pancakes topped with cinnamon mac almond syrup!

Here is the vegan recipe! Feel free to share the photo below onto your favorite social media page! I love that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy this beautiful weekend everyone and enjoy the BEST part of your life! LIVE IN THE NOW!

Remember, I only want the absolute BEST for you! Andrea L Cox

Five tips to have your BEST day ever!

Hi there beautiful!

WOW! What a powerful love and fun filled week! I’ll be sending you my “week in review” along with an AMAZING recipe for vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies tomorrow! Until then I wanted to share with all of you why today was one of the absolute BEST days of my life!!!

Last week my loving sweetheart of a man AKA “the man-pan-ion” went dirt bike riding with his son and friends out in Mexico! Apparently they were taken to this stunningly beautiful meadow that he thought would be perfect for us to hike at! Today he woke me early to take me there. He even made my “special coffee mixture” for my coffee enema:) Now thats a man no detox Queen could ever resist!  

Somehow he managed to talk me out of my morning exercise routine (a first)! Apparently he knew we would get lost and end up walking for well over two hours:) To be honest with you, I was happy we did “lose our vehicle”! It was honestly the most stunning place I’ve ever been! 

Prior to leaving I made sure to pack plenty of lemon water with one of my favorite essential oil drops inside! I also slathered a mixture of coconut oil mixed with lavender essential oil all over my body so I wouldn’t get eaten by mosquitoes. They both worked like a charm! I also packed plenty of green juice and a few bananas! Although the “nannas” got mushed, I was glad I took them:)

After our hike we stopped for fresh coconuts and then had a couples massage♡♡♡ We then headed home for my loves favorite pastime, watching the sun set over the ocean off of the deck! I love the effort he is putting forth everyday to be the absolute BEST partner he can be! 

This day was extremely special to me! To be honest, the entire weekend was! My favorite moment was when we were walking to get our massages. My shoe came un tied. As he squatted down to tie it my heart filled with more love than I’ve ever felt for another. I love this life, I love this man and I love the possibilities♡♡♡

I have to say that leaving our cell phones OFF was a HUGE plus! Although we did stop to take a few photos, both of us together & of the beauty of nature in its entirety! Having a cell phone free day to “just be”!   

Stunning veiw!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Start the day with prayer and or meditation!

When is the last time you woke up and before you opened your eyes you said a prayer? Meditated lately? I know these two things may seem like they’ve been beaten into us by a sledge hammer but they actually have been proven to be HIGHLY effective in relieving stress! For me, yoga is like a moving meditation! I also think that having one on one conversations with God will never grow old!

2) Move your body!

Move it or lose it! Turns out this is true! The more you move, the more you will be in touch with your body, your muscles and your spirit! Not only is moving the body great for the lymphatic system but its also STELLAR for the mind! Hows that for a BEST day ever BONUS! 

3) Alkaline your system with fresh pressed vegetable juice!

There is no better way to alkaline the body than to feed it fresh pressed juice! It goes into the blood stream within 15 minutes! Tell that to your smoothie friends!

4) Get out in nature!

Fresh air really is the best remedy for anything! The air I breathed in today filled my lungs with SO MUCH JOY! With the constant bombardment of smog and pollution try your very best to find a place to run, hike or walk with clean air! You’ll be glad you did!

 

5) Leave your cell phone, social media and computer behind!

Yes, yes and yes! Please trust me on this one! You’ll be SO happy you did!

Stunning veiw!

 

Five recipes with less than five ingredients! Bonus video recipe!

Never underestimate the simple things in life! Some of my most enjoyable meals have been created in my kitchen with less than five ingredients! Enjoy a few of my favorites below! One I placed in video format for you!

The nanna salad

Have you tried this combination? It’s a combination of celery and banana together! The saltiness from the celery mixed with the sweetness of banana has proven to be so incredibly delightful to me and many others! Plate your plate with spinach, slice two bananas on top making sure they are spotted to ensure ripeness! Chop two stalks of celery on top as well and finish with a drizzle of raw honey:) Devour without shame or guilt! One of my go to treats! 

    “Andrea’s Dictionary” –    “Nanna” A fully ripened spotted banana!   

 

                       

 

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Berries, coconut creme and cinni:) 

Take a bowl of berries, top with a dollop or two of coconut creme and sprinkle with cinni!

                                                               “Andrea’s Dictionary” –    “Cinni” organic cinnimon 

 

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The date sammy!

An excellent go to snack! 3 ingredients! 

3 pitted Dates

3 Brazil nuts

Ayurvedic herbs ordered from the Chopra center! 

Stuff the dates with the Brazil nuts after rolling in the herbs! Bliss on Earth!

 

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Sour cream “taters”

Ahhh Baby red taters topped with raw vegan coconut sour creme and fresh dill from Pablo, my local farmer!

8-10 taters depending on how many people you are serving

1 bunch fresh dill (toss the stems)

1 container So Delicious brand coconut yogurt (or make your own)

salt and pepper to taste!

Steam the washed taters for 20 minutes top with other ingredients listed above and enjoy!

               Andrea’s Dictionary “taters” baby red skin potatoes

  

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Rockstar juice!

My go to juice when I need to slim down FAST! 

One cucumber

2 granny smith apples

1 lemon with rind

4 stalks of celery

pinch of good salt for my adrenal glands! MMMMM!!!

 Andrea’s Dictionary- “Rockstar” What we are after allowing ourselves to reach our full potential!

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BONUS RECIPE!!!! I PUT IT IN A VIDEO FOR YOU!

Raw chocolate pudding! MMMMM!

 

Week at a glance! A trip to Aulac! Santa Barbara! Recycling!

 

Keeping up my fitness and staying in tip top shape! With exercise, yoga and good healthy food!

Early morning cardio session!

Ahhhh the workouts! I’m hitting it but not to my FULL potential! The truth is, I know exactly where I want to be! I also know the dedication it will take to get there! Pre yoga brunch! Omega 3 packed heart healthy avocado salad with baby lettuce that my farmer just brought me!

What a great Sunday! What a fantastic man~pan~ion I have!!!

This man is so kind, loving and incredibly gorgeous! Yesterday I was treated to a “Andrea day!” My beautiful loving boyfriend spent the morning organizing my disgusting messy garage and then treated me to my favorite raw vegan restaurant in Orange County!

In return, I allowed him to listen to the Warriors game the entire drive 🙂 I’m also creating a tonic formula for him to drink daily to repair his stressed out adrenal glands! 
Relationships are a two way street! You have to give in order to get and if you take too much it doesn’t feel balanced! I love that this man is teaching me how to give more everyday! ♡♡♡ Love you to the moon and back baby!

On our way to OC to eat at Aulac! My happy place!!!

 

Taking time to explore a beautiful part of California and myself! My stay at San Ysidro Ranch.

I decided to break away for the first part of the week! I wanted to go somewhere to explore, clear my head and be with self! I called the sitter for my husband with fur and off I went! Armed with cold press juice and a few brown paper bags of fruit I knew this was going to be a grand adventure! The highlights….I met an artist who asked to paint me, I let him! I meditated every morning in a lavender field! I let go of the gym and it served me! I treated myself to a bath in the bathtub below every morning and every night! PURE AND UTTER BLISS I TELL YOU!

My exercise routine consisted of walking through lavender fields! I then filled this claw foot tub with lavender I collected on my walk and essential oil of ylang ylang! 

Looking at the beauty that nature provides is the first step in purifying the mind! Bring that nature indoors and you have the chance to experience new charm! I realized during my stay that by not slowing down I’ve been renouncing all that is great in the pursuit of all that is meaningless!

My spa bathroom in my private cottage in Santa Barbara! This is living!!!

 

A small way that we can all give back to mother Earth

Recycling is so very important in today’s world! We live in a wasteful society. This canning jar goes with me wherever I go. I like to think of her as my little baby that travels with me everywhere. 

Andrea’s go to recycled pickle jar filled with green juice:)

Today my little baby is visiting Santa Barbara. More often than not I take more than one baby with me. sometimes it’s a recycled spaghetti jar and other times I recycle a jar that contained tahini or nut butter in it. No matter what they all get recycled and become unique “stemware”!

On any given day in my home you can see canning jars lined up in the windowsill. I use them to sprout, to drink out of, and to soak my nuts and seeds in. I also rinse them out instead of using the dishwasher. It saves water and we all know that we can use more water in California!

To you this may seem tedious…like it doesn’t do any good. I believe at the end of the day small changes like this can change the future for our children growing up on Earth! I have a 10 year old nephew and I don’t want him walking around in a sea of trash!Do you really want to drink out of plastic anyway? Plastic leaches chemicals into our bodies and they are hard to detox from!

I would LOVE for all of you to visit my personal Facebook page and post what you’re drinking out of today beneath this post. I’m on there under Andrea L Cox 

Have a beautiful Green Day!

Home is where the heart is! It’s also where a little dog named Louis lives!!!

It feels good to be back home! I missed my lil “husband with fur”! Now I get to have my leftovers from Aulac!!! Im eating Chef Ito’s “sweet & sour” soup while getting my vitamin D! Nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed on fresh clean sheets after enjoying a few days away! Traveling even for a short distance makes you appreciate all the comforts of home!

Eating enzyme rich raw soup while getting my vitamin D!

 

 

 

 

 

Cooked or raw? Does eating cooked foods cause weight gain? My top five tips on how to incorporate both & THRIVE!

Ahhh! The controversy over cooked and raw food and are we able to TRULY thrive to our fullest potential eating some cooked food?

After being 100% raw for an entire decade (not even drinking warm tea) I began incorporating small amounts….VERY small amounts of cooked vegan food into my monthly regime.

What this tends to look like is the picture shown here. A few baked sweet potatoes, homemade vegetable soup, or eggplant and mushrooms over a bed of white rice. Not only do I find them nourishing, but they were also part of the program that took 36 pounds off my body and my clients are able to lean out on this high carb cooked/raw protocol!

What I don’t believe in is having cooked food every night of the week! Cooked food requires more enzymes to digest and taxes the system while also aging the body! If you are eating cooked food please please do not eat processed foods or packaged foods. You will also want to take a digestive enzyme with every cooked food meal you eat!

I hope this helps all of you feel better about the food you eat especially those of us dogmatic about eating an ALL raw diet! There is no one shoe fits all approach! What works for you may not work for the next person. I love you and you’re welcome:)

My top tips for eating cooked food while staying mostly raw!

1) Keep it raw during the day! During daylight hours is when we are up and moving around! You want to have as much energy as possible! In order to do this you’ll want to keep it raw! This way, all enzymes are in tact for better digestion!

2) Eat your fruit alone or leave it alone! Enough said! 

3) ALWAYS start a cooked meal with a big raw salad! This will buffer the system so the void of enzyme foods you eat are more easily assimilated!

4) ALWAYS take a digestive enzyme when eating cooked food! This is an absolute must in order to help the food digest!

5) Try to limit your cooked food to 2-3 times per week at the most! This will ensure you are getting OPTIMAL nutrition that the body recognizes the majority of the time!!!

Visit me at www.thehealthyhaven.net

Check out my detox juice cleanse yoga retreats at www.alkalizewithandrea.com

Andrea’s twice baked over stuffed sweet taters!

Why cherries hold a special place in my heart!

These cherries represent way more than just good healthy food! Nine years ago I had to move back home with my mother after I broke off a ten year relationship. I was in the midst of my struggle with my eating disorder bulimia! My mother decided we needed some “family time”. We packed her car and headed to my Aunt Beverly’s and Uncle Bills home out in the Country close to where my mom grew up.

I remember my mother with her sarcastic mouth being extra funny that day. She was trying to get me to smile any way she could. Unfortunately I was so carb and calorie depleted that my bubbly personality had escaped me. Truth be told I had not been kind to my mother a single day since I had moved home with her:( I’m not proud of that time in my life.

We visited my grandmothers grave and my mom who ALWAYS comes to tears there stayed strong as she was trying her best to lift my spirits. We stopped at a farm stand where my mom bought 2 pounds of fresh picked dark cherries. I had not had a piece of fruit in almost 3 years because I was under the brain washed notion that “low carb was the way to go”…sigh! Little did I know that this was contributing to my “moody disposition”

As we drove home my mom said “would you share these with me Andrea…please”? Something about looking at my mother trying so hard to get me to be myself again made me dig in. We devoured the cherries together and laughed the entire way home. It is a memory etched in both of our minds forever. The date was May 28th.

I called my mom yesterday and told her what I was eating. She remembered that day as clear as the sunshine! Thanks Bonnie Cox for helping me during that dark time. I wouldn’t be where I am today without your ongoing love and support!

My latest VIP clients detox retreat in Mexico! FREE DAILY DETOX TIP!

Hello Everyone from Beautiful Mexico! 

 

Kathy broke her fast on this salad! She ate it all!

 

What can I say, every single client I take on to cleanse has a special place in my heart. This woman is especially dear to me. Kathy spent a week in Mexico cleansing her body and did an absolutely fabulous job! Her resilience is contagious! This woman has been through a lot having had breast cancer. Her attitude about life is one I strive to adopt! She is a mother, wife, Grandmother, cancer survivor and what I like to call “A warrior”! We laughed, cried and attempted to…learn Spanish through Google to translate to a sweet gal that was assisting me while there:)

I think Miss Kathy has more than a special place in my heart. I think she got into my soul as well! Thank you Kathy! You my new friend are a one of a kind hero, mother and inspiration! 

It was raining the entire week Kathy was there (RARE):( We kept warm with tea, coffee enemas and juices with fresh ginger!

It was over cast but sunny in the raw kitchen!

To learn more about my retreats in San Diego or Mexico check out my website —–>>> click here! We just put up the new dates! If you are reading this and know someone that can potentially benefit from one of my Alkalize with Andrea retreats or private VIP retreats please SHARE this! They will be thankful and so will I!:)

Kathy and I did a skin tightening mask made from clay, avocado and lemon!

 

 

 

 

 

DETOX TIP OF THE DAY: Move your body within the first hour of waking! The lymphatic system is most responsive then! Try rebounding, walking or playing with your loving furry friend! 

I did my own little detox right along with Kathy!