Christmas time together...

Christmas time is here! This season is one of my favorites for many reasons. The first reason is that we celebrate the coming of our Lord! What a wondrous thing it is that God loves us so much that He sent His only son for us! What a beautiful and unfathomable love. My second reason is that this time of year brings so many families and friends together. Christmas time rekindles relationships and old ties. It brings together people who live far and near. We forget our differences and our troubles and spend joyous time with those in our lives. It has been a joy to be a part of your lives this Christmas season. I love hearing all the stories of gatherings to be had, places to visit, and friends and family coming home from all over the world. I feel a part of your family and I thank you for inviting me in! As the countdown to Christmas begins, I would love to share a family recipe of my favorite “heathy” sugar cookies. This is something that I love to do with my family during the Christmas season! I hope you all enjoy!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Rise community!

Dr. Mishea

“Healthy” Sugar Cookies

• 2 cups fine ground blanched almond flour

• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, softened or liquid

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, salt, and baking soda,

2. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, honey, and vanilla until blended.

3. Add the oil mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until well-blended and smooth. Spoon the dough into the center of a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Wrap up into a disc shape and chill for at least 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.

4. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

5. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Place the rolled out dough into the freezer for 5 minutes (it will make it easier to cut out shapes).

6. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes; transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 9-12 minutes (slightly longer for thicker cookies) or until golden at edges. Let cookies cool completely on sheet (they will firm up as they cool). Transfer to a cooling rack. Re-roll, cut and bake any remaining dough.

My Thanksgiving Favorites!

Happy Thanksgiving Rise Community!

First, I want you to know how grateful I am for every single one of you! Your support and willingness to allow me to stand by you through your health journey means so much to me! I hope you take this time to reflect on the things you are grateful for and that this time may inspire you to continue that gratefulness throughout the new year!

Because I am also grateful for the delicious food on Thanksgiving, I thought I would post two of my favorite recipes that I love to make for my family! These recipes are healthy spin on two of my favorite sweets during Thanksgiving!

P.S. If you find yourself having a few minutes of free time, read this article on how being grateful can actually shift your neurology: The Grateful Brain

Sweet Potato Casserole

For the Potatoes:

• 4 Large Sweet Potatoes

• 1/2 Cup Canned Full Fat Coconut Milk

• 2 large beaten Eggs

• 1 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil

• 2-3 Tbsp Maple Syrup (*or as much as you like :P )

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (or any sea salt will do!)

For the Topping:

• 1 cup Almond Flour

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Flour

• 2-3 tbsp Maple Syrup

• 1/4 Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (or any sea salt)

• 2 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil

• 1 cup chopped Pecans

• 1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

**You may like to add a little more coconut milk, spices, or syrup based on your taste.

Instructions for the Potatoes:

1. Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, until soft. Cool the sweet potatoes and remove the skins.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Place sweet potatoes and all other ingredients for the potatoes in a mixing bowl. Mash potatoes and

   stir until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

4. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.

Instructions for the Topping:

1. Place all topping ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Stir until all ingredients are combined.

3. Sprinkle the topping over the potatoes.

4. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Crust:

• 2 cups almond flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 room temperature egg

• 2 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

• 1 can of pumpkin puree

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2/3 cup coconut cream OR top of 1 can of coconut milk (just the hard part that settles at top of can after being refrigerated overnight or for 4 hours. You want it to be hardened or very thick cream)

• 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ginger

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp ground clove

• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Prepare + grease an 8-inch pie dish.

2. For the crust, mix together almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl, whisk egg, coconut sugar and coconut oil.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until completely combined and ball shape forms.

5. Form into well greased pie pan.

6. Start making the pie filling by adding all ingredients to a mixing bowl or food processor.

7. Blend together until completely smooth.

8. Pour pie filling into the raw crust.

9. Bake for 45-55 minutes, if edges start to brown, cover them with foil.

10. Take out of oven once center has cooked – it will set more as it cools.

11. Let cool completely before serving and if prefer chilled, place in refrigerator.

'Tis the season for change.

Change may be the single most feared idea that keeps us from experiencing the true beauty of this life. The fear of change keeps us from loving more and living more. It is what keeps us living an ordinary life rather than an extraordinary life. If we continuously avoid opportunities of change, we stop growing. We become inert. This day will look like the day before. We become stuck in the patterns we have made for ourselves and see life through a single lens. But what if we looked at each new day, each new circumstance, each new breath on this earth, as an opportunity to change and grow into a more dynamic being? 

These past few years have really challenged me to open the door to change. Some were painful and required months to understand and adapt to. Others were simply easy to accept. But not one of these opportunities for change do I regret. From these opportunities came times for me to become a better wife, a better sister, a better daughter, a better friend, and a better doctor. As I reflected on these transformational moments in my life, I became aware of five common things that allowed me to integrate each experience and have a better understanding of the growth that came from it. With these five ideas, I feel that you too will be able to welcome change a little more! 

5 Strategies to Welcome Change 

• 1) Know your constants.

• 2) Create your community - mentors, friends, family.

• 3) Be willing to look at life through a different set of lenses.

• 4) Create balance.

• 5) Know your purpose.

• Know your constants.

  • Constants are unwavering, no matter the situation of life. These are the things you can have total reliance on. These constants may look different or have different names to every person, but they are the same in the fact that they are always working in your favor as you go through transformational moments in your life. There are 2 constants that I know are foundational when our worlds begin to shake:

    • God—Through my time here, I have had to rely on God more than ever. When I started to think I was in control of where my life would go next, God turned my life upside down to prove that His plan is always greater. One of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein says it perfectly:"If God is omnipotent, then every occurence--including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration--is also his work." So remember that God is always working in our favor, no matter the situation.

    • Love—Unconditional love is single-handedly the most powerful and constant force in the universe. You must first know you were created in the image of God, the perfect love, and therefore are created out of love. From this state, you become a magnet for what your heart desires, and a magnet for others to live in this state of love.

• Surround yourself with mentors and people who support you in your changes.

• I cannot express to you how important it is to be surrounded by people who inspire you to become a better version of yourself. If the people you are surrounded by now do not bring you to higher level of being, you are holding yourself back from the best version of yourself. During transformational moments in my life, the people that I surrounded myself with were there to talk to, guide me, love me, and support me. This came from my church family, my biological famoly, my husband, my closest friends, and the doctors I look up to. Community is foundational in helping point out areas that need change, events that are opportunities for change, and supporting us through those changes.

• Be willing to see life through a different set of lenses.

• We all have views of this world that have been ingrained into our being since the day we were born. The way we were raised and the social influences around us helped mold our lens into how we view the world today. Your perception of this world is merely a reflection of your current lenses. In times of change, we must take off these lenses and try on a new pair. Whether it is a difficult or easy change, you must look from all perspectives to gain the full view. You must always ask yourself why you may have resistance, why it is occurring, and how you can use this moment to help you grow. When you are able to evaluate times of change from all different views, you are better able to fully integrate these experiences and grow into a more dynamic being.

• Create balance in your life.

• Living a balanced life is never an easy task. It takes hard work. It must be a daily intention, a daily habit. In my journey through Chiropractic school, there were countless hours of class time and studying. It gave me the illusion that there was never enough hours in the day for anything else. It was easy to say, "When I am done with school, that's when I will have time to create balance." But as I reflected on this concept of balance, I knew it was not going to get any easier when I got my diploma and entered the real world. I knew the time had to be now. I had to find my highest priorities and let go of everything else that held me back. I found that when I was in balance, school was a lot easier, my days went by smoother, and I felt energized. I came home at the end of the day thinking, " Wow, that was a great day," despite any unforeseen circumstances that happened that day. I am dedicated to my daily rituals so that I can show up at 100% to serve in whatever way I am asked. If you do not serve your mind,body, and spirit first, you will burn yourself out, leaving no room to serve others at your highest capacity!   

• Know your purpose.

• Lastly, and most importantly, you must know your purpose in this life. Your purpose is your driving force. It is what makes you excited to jump out of the bed in the morning. It is what makes you take inspired actions that are aligned with what God wants for your life. I know that the purpose of my life is to empower others to embrace transformation in their body, mind, and spirit so that they can live an extraordinary life. So what is it that makes you tic? What is it that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning? Remind yourself daily of whatever your purpose is, so that in every action you take, you are inspired to live out this purpose and will inspire others to do the same.

In opening your heart to change, you will see your life transform before you. Your relationship with yourself and others will be heightened and more intentional.  You will adopt behaviors that allow you to express a more vibrant self. You will have unwavering certainty and inspiration. 

So do not fear change when it shows up at your door. Embrace the change because nothing good ever comes out of living in your comfort zone!

The Art of Listening

Do you ever catch yourself in a conversation with someone and walk away asking yourself what that person said to you? Do you get caught up in your own chatter and fail to be truly present in the moment? 

It’s easy to get caught in the whirlwind of chatter that goes on around us. We find ourselves lost in social media, texting, thinking about tasks we have to accomplish, and creating our own judgements of everything going on around us. All of these distractions cause us to lose the opportunity to be truly present in each and every moment. To say I’m innocent of this myself would be a lie. I get angry at myself for getting caught up in these things, causing me to miss everyone’s unique perspective. 

So what does it really mean to listen? I think about this often. Listening is not the same as hearing. In fact, they couldn’t be any more different. Hearing is merely receiving information. Listening, on the other hand, requires presence. Comprehension. Focus. We must set aside our responses and thoughts and step into another person’s shoes. We must become completely in tune with one another to comprehend the underlying messages which frequently are found beyond the words. 

Listening is a right brain function, but we have been ingrained to use our left brain from a young age. Reading, writing, and speaking are left brain functions. Notice how I italicized the word speaking. You see, if we are taught to use our left brains more than our right, then we are quick to speak and slow to listen. 

The first day I walk into my clinical in med school, a four year old boy is assigned to my care. He was not an ordinary boy. He was diagnosed with Autism. Chiropractic was his mother’s last hope to help her mute and unresponsive child. When I first met this child, I could immediately tell he was locked inside himself. He had no way of communicating, as he could only say a few words, and most of those words were gibberish. I knew I had to do much more than simply hear this little boy. I needed to listen. I had to let go of the thoughts of doubt and fear that flooded my mind. I had to choose to be fully present if I wanted him to have a chance of healing. This was where I found the true definition of listening. It requires much more than the sense of hearing. I had to recruit other senses to listen to this beautiful child. My eyes listened as I read his body language. I had to listen with my sense of touch to know if he was tense or relaxed inside his body. I had to listen with my intuition to know exactly where to go next with his care because his body always knew better than myself. After months of care, this boy trapped inside his own body was set free. We were singing the ABC’s, along with every other nursery rhyme. He was able to tell his mom for the first time how much he loved her. And I’ll never forget how he would grab my hands and place them upon his back, excited and ready to receive his adjustments. 

As I reflect upon the few months I was blessed to care for this child, I think about the biggest lesson he taught me. He taught me what it means to listen. I was so used to hearing and responding, especially being taught to do so in school. He challenged me to be present and to use every sense in my body to listen to him. 

Listening is an easy thing to master. It’s something that must be intentionally practiced daily. Let us challenge ourselves to release worldly distractions and be present in every moment.

“When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” —Dalai Lama

Yours in health,

Dr. Mishea