My Story - Caroline Craven, theGirlwithMS

3-Day ReBoot! Cleanse and Restore for a New You!

*NEW*  3-Day MS REBOOT

Do you love Spring time?  Time to Cleanse and Restore! 

Join us for the Group ReBoot - August 1,2,3
or Choose 3 Days of your choice!

3-day Guided Cleanse & ReBoot
$25



Join me and find a healthier level of living. DM me for more info! 818-585-5660



Includes:

(2) 15-minute mini Coaching Sessions
1-hour life coaching session (via phone or Skype)
3-Day guided diet review/cleanse and reBoot
Meditations
EasyYoga Routine

Springtime is renewal. As the plants and flowers use this time to bud out, I also use it to recharge and break out of the winter duldrums. I love taking on a new challenge this time of year and focusing on cleansing my body is my goal in 2017. There is a real feeling of accomplishment when you honor your body with compassion.
It is the perfect time to renew your health, and I have the perfect tools to get the job done. While some of us started our detox a couple weeks ago for MSreboot Camp, it's never too late! And we're kicking some MSbootie. Make goals, keep a journal and let's ReBoot this MS out the door!


only $25 for this package worth $175

Space Limited!

Soothing MS with Cooking and Nutritious Food: Roasted Veggie Chowder

Probably one of the best lessons learned so far with my MS:

"Become more aware of what's really worth your energy." 


Couple things worth my energy:  The nature around me and cooking for my family.

Here is the last of the roses for this southern California girl!  The bushes are all pruned up but this beauty, cut probably a week ago, just keeps amazing me.   Often it's the little things that are most important to us.  Have you noticed something lately that has inspired you?



Farmers market is another inspiration.  The bounty of our local agriculture is amazing!  After several years of dry winters and a continued drought here in Southern California, we are finally getting some rain.  And boy are we getting it!  And this cooler, "stay indoors weather", has been encouraging my cooking.



Today there were plenty of vegetables that needed using:  potatoes, brussel sprouts, two carrots, red and green bell pepper and an onion.   After rinsing and drying the veggies, the potatoes were cut in large cubes and brussel sprouts were cut in half. Drizzled with olive oil, fresh rosemary, sliced garlic and sprinkled with salt, they were placed on a cookie tray that had been sitting in a 400 degree oven and until nice and hot.  Roasted for about 15 minutes then added the carrots (they were small) and the peppers.  Roasted another 15 minutes.


In the meantime, saute one diced onion and 4 tablespoons butter in heavy cast iron pot or some good soup pot.  Saute until nice and soft.  I added some dried thyme at this point to add some depth to the flavors.  Possibly wine or sherry could be fun at this point.


When the veggies are done, drop into pot of onion and butter.  Stir and combine.  Add the chicken or veggie stock.  About 4 Cups depending on amount of veggies and desire of thickness. Then add 1/2 Cup 1/2 and 1/2.  Or cream, or something to add a nice creamy texture to the soup.  Or don't and just use homemade broth.  That's up to you!



I added a partial bag of frozen corn and got everything nice and hot.  Then added a handful of rough chopped fresh flat leaf parsley for good color and freshness.  Of course, it is a chowder, so ground some good old black pepper on top.   In fact, I might go have a bowl right now.  Dang, this is one tasty soup!



ROASTED VEGGIE CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

Mixed veggies for roasting:   (Anything found in the pantry or refrigerator should work!)

1 lb yukon gold potato
1 lb brussel sprouts
1 onion
2 carrots
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 cup frozen corn
4 tbls butter (sweet - not salted)
4 Cups chicken or vegetable broth

fresh rosemary or other herbs from garden
fresh parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper

Place cookie/roasting tray in oven and Turn on to 400F.

1.  Dice/Cube/Cut in half/Slice veggies to desired size.
2.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and fresh rosemary.
3.  Carefully place potatoes and sprouts on hot pan and roast for 15 minutes.
4.  Add carrots and peppers to hot pan and roast another 15 minutes or until done.
5.  Saute onions butter over medium heat, until soft and translucent.
6.  Add roasted vegetables, blend with onion.
7.  Add broth and bring to boil.
8.  And add 1/2 and 1/2 and reduce to simmer.
9.  Add fresh green rough chopped parsley for garnish.
10.  Add fresh ground black pepper and serve!

And because soup just is not enough for this family, we added mini Salmon Salad Sliders.  Yum!



SALMON SALAD SLIDERS

1 can Salmon
1-2 tbls mayonnaise
1 tbls pesto (premade)
add basil or spinach leaf for color

King's Hawaiian Rolls - because I had some left over.  Toast or bread or lettuce leaves work great too!

This is a super easy recipe. Of course you can make these as difficult and gourmet as possible.  But for me, when my MS acts up, I want to keep it simple.

Gotta love when carrots love each other!

Juicing and Chia Pudding for our Health

2 Ways to Eat for Wellness 

After a few crazy months of eating anything and everything I'm taking a couple weeks to turn it all around. 

First of all let's alkalize this body and get this gut working like a Porsche! 

Spent the morning Juicing and making chia pudding which are two of my faves. 

Time to put my gut into gear. 

#takethatms 


I made about seven jars of juice, some with greens and carrots, some with beets and lemons. 



Morning Juice
1/2 beet
1/2 lemon
1/2 cucumber
1/4 small watermelon 
1 apple

Cooling Off Juice
1 carrot
1 apple
1/2 cucumber 
1 handful mung bean sprouts
2 celery 
1/2 lemon 

Booster juice:
2 carrots
1/2 orange 
1 small piece ginger 
2 celery 
Handful parsley 
1/2 cucumber 

Best to make juice fresh every time. But this can be difficult and time consuming. I will sometimes make a few bottles at once and drink them within 24-36 hours. 

Chia pudding and hemp milk for those vitamin Ds


Chia Pudding 

1/2 C hemp milk
2 tablespoons chia seeds 

Place in mason jar or any container, shake and chill for a few hours or overnight. 

Toppings: 
Maple syrup
Honey
Nuts
Fruit

Be creative and enjoy the goodness! 

Making Friends with My MS

Needed this today!

I spend enough energy being angry at my MS. And what's the point? It just tires me out and uses what little energy I have. I am always looking for those times when I exert too much of my precious energy and see how I can do things differently to preserve this special commodity. To me this is the very tool that helps me manage my MS.
When I received my cool little bracelet from CJFreely yesterday as part of Nancy Davis' RacetoEraceMS program, well, I thought, this is just like a friendship bracelet. And bam, it hit me, time to truly make friends with my MS!
While I'm Not a hand model by any means, I love looking down at this little reminder that I can be friends with my MS. But how?
How do I do this? How do I make friends with a disease that ravishes my body on a daily basis and tries as it it may to dictate my life? This is a tough one.
First off, I'm making a list of things I'm grateful and thankful for:
  1. Learning to ask for help
  2. Learning to slow down and smell the roses
  3. Leaving the corporate world for the creative world
  4. Getting to know my parents as peers and friends by living with them
  5. Learning to ask for help. I could mention this one many times!
  6. Learning to live off a very, very small income.
  7. Learning to be poor with money, rich with life.
  8. Learning who my true friends are and will be.
  9. Learning what my limitations are and realizing they aren't that bad
  10. Meeting lots of cool new people and friends around the world with MS
  11. Knowing that my blog and info has helped at least one person deal better with this disease.
  12. Learning again what is important in life. Waking. Breathing. Living.
  13. Friends and family, couldn't do this without them.
  14. Limitations and boundaries. Learning how to make those more definite.
  15. Turning from a power player to a finesse player.
  16. Learning to listen to my body and respond accordingly
I know there's more but this is a good start this Thursday morning.
I think its good to also acknowledge what I don't like about MS in order to get the full picture. This will help me decide where I can improve in managing my MS.
  1. Unreliable. MS randomness makes it difficult to stick to plans.
  2. Each day is different. Pain, balance, cognitive, tremors, incontinence, vision, fatigue
  3. Inability to drive beyond local streets
  4. Panic attacks for no reason.
  5. Fatigue fatigue fatigue.
  6. Tired eyes, inability to read at times.
  7. Dry heaving, spasms makes it difficult to eat or have appetite.
  8. Muscle spasms at night make it difficult to sleep. Restless leg syndrome bums.
  9. Tremors tremors tremors. Hands and neck
  10. Clumsiness. Dropping things right and left.
  11. Loosing balance. Breaking toes.
  12. Folks not understanding the illness
  13. Randomness of it all
  14. Emotional rollercoaster
Things I've learned to say to myself:
#itisWhatitis
#takeThatMS
#NoTwotheSame
Things that help me befriend my illness:
  1. MS community on Twitter @thegirlwithms
  2. Family
  3. Friends
  4. Writing and the arts. The cathartic process.
  5. Becoming better friends with myself. This is a tough one. I'm not easy on myself and learning compassion for my illness and health is key.
  6. Finding a great neurologist to travel with on this journey. I still need one of these!
  7. Being open and honest about the disease. Building awareness and letting folks know that there are ways to manage MS beyond traditional western medicine.
  8. Research! There is so much new information about MS on social media and in books.
  9. Become my own health advocate. No one is going to do it for me!
  10. My Christian community at church.
  11. Learning that it's OK to take naps and be a couch potato at times. (This is a tough one for me!)
Bottom line, in spite of MS:
I'm living a different life then expected yet a beautiful life with many opportunities and options.
Keep all doors open with this disease. You may have always defined yourself as a "strong corporate, get things done type VP" and then bam, the rug is ripped out from under you.
Time to redefine ourselves. That's what I did. Imagined and visualized all the things I loved in life since childhood. Which of things can I do? What have I always wanted to do and what is still possible?
Fortunately I hade a very full life prior to MS: successful career, horse trainer, river guide, adventure athlete, runner, mt biker, ww kayaker, rock climber and even jumped out of planes.
But that surely doesn't mean I'm done living!
I'm finding out what I can do and what I can't. I think this is a continual thought process with this disease. And while some days I can do some things there are days I can't even get out of bed.
Take advantage of every second and every minute! Even if we are bed ridden, cane assisted, or walking three miles, every part of your life can change with MS.
Get ready to go with the flow and let's do this!
Time to become friends with our MS!



Tips for Thriving with MS - #TakethatMS

Ever get angry with your MS?   Life can really suck at times.   Sometimes rolling along is so easy and then other times, wham, it slams you to the floor and getting out of bed can be the accomplishment of the year.    Anger begets stress begets exacerbations.   Throughout the past fifteen years of living with multiple sclerosis there have been many lessons learned.

From anger management to reducing stress and friction in life, my goal is to share as many of these tips with you as possible.  And maybe not for too many years because stopping MS may happen in our lifetime.  So many advancements have been made these past six years it's amazing.

In the meantime, while we wait for more and better treatments here are some natural ways to handle life with MS:

:Anger Management:


:Reduce Stress:  

:Life Coaching Webinars - FREE

Get started with some basics:  Let yourself be Safe, Happy, Healthy and at Peace this year.



:Life Skills: 



Webisode 5:  Asking the people around me for help and offering help as a care partner.


If you are facing depression which is common with MS patients, please seek the help of your doctor or other medical professional.  Depression is very serious and should not be taken lightly.  MS can really mess with our emotions.

These tips and tricks are designed to help us all live a little better with multiple sclerosis.

What tips and tools do you like to use to manage your life with MS?

#takethatMS