January/February 2010
Optimum Wellness Magazine
Online Edition
Editor’s Letters
Resolve to Evolve
If you are like me, you may be carrying around some old resolution baggage. This year, I am resolving to evolve! I’m downloading divinity and upgrading my former operating system. So instead of the goal-centered list of stuff I need to “fix” in myself and others, I am choosing what I love and what I am open to having a lot more of in my life. I am choosing more joy, more playfulness, abundance and fulfillment. Choice is powerful. We are designed to make choices that help support the idea of being in joy, in abundance, in being a beneficial presence now and always. We can choose this for ourselves now, this New Year and always.
Part of moving on to building a bigger and better life is accepting, healing, and releasing what did not happen or work out in the past. Compassion is vital here. Take a look at what is not working. Give yourself permission to identify where you may be struggling. Compassionately see the opportunity to view your situation and the world with fresh eyes and an open heart. Compassion spurs inquiry and intention. It helps reveal our gifts and talents. It brings forth a deep awareness that has always lived within us and is the true essence of Optimum Wellness.
Celebrate yourself this New Year! Do not postpone your joy until you have “x” number of dollars or reach the weight you intended to release. Instead, dance with each and every cent of unexpected income and celebrate every half pound shed and muscle gained! Move into exercise and meal preparation time with a sense of adventure and self-expression. Experiment with new recipes and new foods – I’m sure you will find something new right here in this issue of Optimum Wellness. And speaking of celebration, we are so excited and grateful to celebrate the release of our new cookbook, Colorado Fit Kitchen, Inspiring Recipes for Mind, Body, Beauty, and Optimum Wellness. For information on how to get your own copy, visit our website at www.optimumwellness.com.
Peace and Blessings, Dr. James Rouse
Founder and Creator, Optimum Wellness
Empowering Expansion and Creativity
As I write this I am in the midst of training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, taking place in Phoenix on January 17. We have put together another Team Optimum Wellness for this event, which supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Training for any endurance event provides an amazing opportunity for personal growth and empowerment; that is what I encourage everyone to go for this New Year and always – expansion and empowerment.
We receive many requests throughout the year to continue offering articles pertaining to gluten-free living and you’ll find another article plus recipes and resources in this issue. Often when individuals learn they are intolerant to gluten and must adhere to a gluten-free diet, they don’t know where to begin. Stretching into a new eating plan may feel uncomfortable at first, as the learning curve is huge. This is where expansion and creativity come in to play.
Also in this issue, we are talking about two of my favorite things: tea and chocolate. I drink green tea every day, all year long, but my intake usually doubles during these winter months. Thank goodness the same isn’t true for my chocolate intake! Contributing to the article on cacao/chocolate and creating the recipes took me back to a fantastic time a few years ago when I toured a cacao farm in Kauai. Steelgrass Farm is both a botanists paradise and a musicians dream. I recommend that everyone take the “Chocolate Tour” if they find themselves on the island of Kauai. The owners/proprietors of Steelgrass are working “to develop Kauai’s future as a center for sustainable, diversified agriculture” (www.steelgrass.org).
As we enter this New Year together, I hope this issue of the magazine presents you with the opportunity to stretch and empower yourself in new, creative ways.
Yours in health and Optimum Wellness,
Dr. Debra Rouse
Editor in Chief
January 3, 2010
by Optimum WellnessComments
4 Responses to “ January/February 2010 ”
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hi there. i am looking for the flourless chocolate cake recipe which i believe was printed in this issue. can you please forward it to me? appreciate your attention on this inquiry.
thank you.
sincerely,
jill
thank you
thanks
Hi Jill,
Here you go:
Flourless Cacao Cake
About 10 Servings
Ingredients:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup natural sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao (or cocoa) powder
1 teaspoon powdered sugar (for dusting)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare an 8-inch round or heart-shaped baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and/or spraying the sides and bottom with cooking oil spray. In a medium sized saucepan, combine bittersweet chocolate and butter and heat over low, whisking frequently until butter is almost melted. Turn off heat and cover for about two minutes until butter is completely melted. Whisk in the sugar and eggs until well combined. Finally sift in the cacao powder and whisk until just combined. Pour this mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from the pan when cake has completely cooled and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle on powdered sugar.
Per Serving: 226 Calories; 15g Fat (9g sat); 3g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 88mg Cholesterol; 24mg Sodium.