We’re all thankful for what we have. The people we love, the friends we make, the house, the job, the car – all of these gifts add to our lives on a daily basis and, yes, we are and should definitely be thankful for them.

But there is more to be thankful for. Much more.

Today, I am thankful for my car breaking down, because this gave me the opportunity to be humble and ask for help – and for someone special to show me true friendship, for me to learn that you can be surprised by the people that you least expect to be, and for the Universe to reinforce my belief that everything – even what appears to be “bad luck” – happens for a good reason.

I am thankful for losing that job I’d had for five years, because it put me on a path to rediscover who I was, what I was made of, and what I truly wanted to do in this life.

I am thankful for all the mistakes I’ve made, because they’ve added to my depth of experience, taught me what not to do, made the triumphs even sweeter, and given me the ability to connect with people from all walks, to hug someone who needs comfort and say “I feel you – I know exactly what you mean.”

But most of all, I am thankful for all of the things that I do not yet have, all the people I have not yet met, and all of the needs I have yet to fulfill, because it is through all of these things that I am still able to dream, stay creative, and wake up with the understanding that I am the creator of my own reality, that gratitude is a grateful attitude, that life is about perspective, vision and the desire to make every day the best – for you and anyone else that crosses your path.

Everything – the most difficult situation, the toughest person to deal with – is a gift, just like that family, those friends, that house, job, car, all the things we appreciate because they make our life so sweet. Let’s open our minds, look deeper into what life is really offering us, and remember what a great scientist once said:

“In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity” – Albert Einstein

The HLife family is thankful for the opportunity to be a part of your world.

One more thing: The power of the word ‘thanks’ and the feeling of gratitude that accompanies it has been the topic of interest of mystics and scientists alike.  According to a study conducted by the University of Manchester’s School of Psychology, gratitude, when expressed right before falling asleep, is a personality trait that results in better sleep quality, good sleep duration and less daytime dysfunction.  It is not difficult to see how a grateful attitude would be good for your health: positive thoughts that generate happy chemicals in your brain, a general feeling of peace that slows your heart rate, cuts stress and improves digestion, and  the kind of social interaction that generates positive feedback and adds to self-esteem.  Mystics will add to that: It is said that saying “I AM THANKFUL” followed by a desired future outcome is like sending a message to the Universe that you are aware that your wish has already been fulfilled – and the Universe acts accordingly to bring about that reality.  If you believe in nothing greater than what can be proven, look at it this way: a message of thanks goes, like every thought and word, to your subconscious mind.  From here, about 90% of your own behavior is conducted.  So, saying thanks is like telling yourself that something is already done, and you, my friend, will behave accordingly to make that a reality, whether you realize it or not.

Be thankful for health, abundance, knowledge, understanding, love, and the life to experience all of this.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The following are some suggestions and alternatives for you to create new habits during the holidays. Or should I say, to reprogram yourself:

• - When shopping for food at a grocery store, try to shop around the walls of the market. That’s where they generally keep the freshest produce and whole foods, while the processed refrigerated stuff is in the middle of the store.

• - Whether at the store or preferably at the farmers market, be adventurous and load up on seasonal, locally grown organic vegetables, even if you’ve never had them before. Nature is wise and provides the right nutrients, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to keep us strong and healthy for the season.

• - Be sure to buy a good amount of dark greens. Having a variety of hearty salads and dark green side dishes will force you to eat more of these powerful and nutritious leaves – and your body will thank you for it. Instead of a bunch of sugar and starch for Thanksgiving, how about a rich dose of calcium and Vitamin C? We suggest kale, a superstar vegetable that will be featured on next week’s HFood. And check out a past HFood post on spinach to learn more about another nutritious leafy green veggie.

• - A great alternative for mashed potatoes is sweet potatoes (or yams.) With this vegetable, you will reap the benefits of the beta-carotene present in orange produce (beta-carotene gives carrots, pumpkins and other similarly colored vegetables their hue, and is metabolized into Vitamin A in the body.) You can bake sweet potatoes until they’re golden and sweet and serve them individually, or mash them and serve in a large bowl.

• - When cooking this holiday season, instead of using sugar as an ingredient for desserts or cranberry sauce, use agave nectar. Agave is a natural sweetener derived from the same plant used to make tequila, and it is really low on the glycemic index, which means that the carbohydrates it contains will not turn quickly into sugar and will have less impact on your blood sugar. Refined sugar lowers your immune system and agave is a great alternative that let’s you keep the flavor and avoid the harm.

• - Instead of making cranberry sauce chock-full of sugar or, worse, from a can, buy organic dried cranberries and toss them into a spinach or kale salad. Tasty and decorative at the same time.

• - Try our vegan tofurkey recipe and read our post for all the great reasons to eat it.

• - Have more vegetable dishes to choose from at the dining table, so you have no other choice but to eat healthy, delicious and conscious food. Some ideas: Sautéed green beans with lots of garlic; spinach/beet/avocado salad; kale/dried cranberries/almond salad; vegan pumpkin or squash risotto; vegan Russian salad (with Veganaise…let the beets and carrots rule over the potato!); steamed broccoli /cauliflower/Brussels sprout mixed with cashew cheese n top. I can go on for days…Getting hungry? I am.

• - Let the pumpkin pie be vegan and macrobiotic. (No refined sugars or dairy.)

• - One dessert for the family, not four different ones. (Have a little consideration for your immune system. Those T-cells fight for you, but don’t push it.)

• - Replace white grains with whole grains. This way you can reap the benefits of fiber, the almighty intestinal broom. Also, when it comes to bread, buy the hearty, fresh-out-of-the-oven kind, one with very few ingredients that you actually recognize. You do not need the extra sugar, a likely ingredient in very processed bread.

• - Switch from bread stuffing to organic corn bread stuffing. It has to be organic because corn is the number one genetically modified crop (read our Why Organic? post for more on this.) This vegan stuffing has veggies and nuts in it and it doesn’t even need to go inside an animal to be cooked! Corn has some protein, which is better than the white starch that will go right to your spare tire (yes, the mid section of your body, the stuff that likes to show up uninvited during the holidays. You can avoid it this year.)

• - Cook for ONE meal that day, not for three days of leftovers. Eating the same thing for days creates allergies. Also, if you haven’t made the switch to healthy living (the HLifestyle,) think about this: Loading your body with all the sugars, bad fats and cholesterol…and then usually getting sick right around the holidays. Do the math. There is a definite correlation there (a causation, actually,) and it ain’t some bug in the air.  It is said that your immune system is created in your intestines. Keep those puppies clean and ready to fight for your health.

Here at HLife, we wish you all, amazing beings, a happy, healthy and conscious holiday season, filled with Knowledge, Understanding and Love.

What did the poor turkey do to be the target of a massacre on a holiday about gratitude? (Sorry but someone’s gotta say it!) Today, HLife is providing you with a perfect alternative. Lets show some love and respect for our animal kingdom as well as ourselves by nourishing our bodies with a tasty tofurkey! (He don’t hurt nobody!) Not only is this option delicious and conscious, it is also very easy to make. None of that six to seven hours of waiting for a roast of carcass to be done – just 20 minutes to prep and 20-30 to bake. You’ll benefit in so many ways and save yourself a variety of things: unwanted cholesterol, fat, hormones, antibiotics, energy of fear that went into the animal as it was killed, cooking time (more to spend with your family)…and your digestive system will thank you from preventing all of this stuff from happening for the next days as a result of eating leftovers.

This particular recipe is a slight modification from The Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry. Real Food Daily is one of the organic vegan restaurants in Los Angeles that we go to when we eat out. I substituted some of the ingredients to make it even more nutritional and healthy. Remember, its not just about cooking or eating vegan or vegetarian, it’s about nutrition, knowing and giving your body what it needs in order to reap the effects of long-term, optimal health. Now, Let’s make some grub…

Using a food processor fitted with the shredding disk, shred the tempeh and tofu (the mixture will appear crumbled.) In a small bowl, stir the miso and the mustard together until blended. Set the tempeh and miso mixture aside. Heat the 1/4 cup of oil in a large, heavy frying pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for eight minutes, or until translucent. Stir in the herb mix, salt and pepper, then stir in the tempeh and miso mixture. Sauté for eight minutes or until golden brown. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and brush one tablespoon of the oil over a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Use your hands to to shape the tempeh mixture into eight patties, using about 3/4 cup for each; make oval patties that are four to five inches long, about three inches wide, and tapered at one end to resemble a chicken breast. Arrange the patties on the prepared baking sheet and brush the remaining one tablespoon of oil over the patties. Prepared up to this point, the patties will keep for two days refrigerated. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and heated through.

Stir all ingredients in a small bowl to blend. Transfer the herbs to a glass jar with a lid. The book says that herb mixture will keep up to one month, stored airtight at room temperature, but I always have it in my spices for longer then a month and use it all the time. It’s up to you.

Stir the nutritional yeast and flour in a heavy skillet over medium heat for five minutes, or until fragrant. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, or until tender and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, thyme, and sage, and sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Whisk in the flour mixture thoroughly, and then whisking frequently, continue to simmer until the gravy is thick and creamy. The recipe says to strain into a bowl, then serve, but I just serve. On the side, you can also make my mushroom gravy sauce, (refer back to HKitchen recipes) and add it to this golden gravy for it to become mushroom golden gravy.