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November 21, 2011 Hi {!firstname_fix} We are planning Thanksgiving dinner for some friends. David will come. It is going to be a sort of semi pot luck. This means that each of us is doing different pieces. In the course of the conversation, I realized that I have my mother's silver here stored away. So I will get that out and polish it up. Actually it is from my grandmother so that means it is more than 100 years old. What memories that brings from my childhood - the smell of silver polish and the act of rubbing and wiping. I make the best butternut squash. I think I will co-opt the recipe for the week and share that with you. You will laugh at the *art* of my cooking since it certainly is a by-feel process. David will make mashed potatoes. We played with the idea of going to the Indian Cultural Center, but decided we all wanted leftovers. Many kitchens will work on the different parts. Yesterday my house cleaner came and we scrubbed my laundry room, lol, which will be transformed into a dining room. Some of you know that my house is pretty small, so this will be a time of borrowed chairs and a lot of love. I have two rescue dogs who will be Thankful for being here this year. One darling little mix who is about 40 pounds with delicate little feet and a lovely smile. Her buddy is an old fat boy who was thrown away because his owners did not have the money to care for him. His coat is bad, he had a very ugly tumor on his side and Humane told me that no one would take him. Of course, that meant I would and I did. We got the tumor off, tested his thyroid and he is getting lots of exercise at the DesMaisons Golden Spa. He loves little Jesse and thinks it is his job to keep her face clean, so every morning, he licks and licks her. The two of them remind me why I do rescue. I hope you all have a lovely day on Thanksgiving. If you are sad to be alone, invite someone to come and share with you. It makes a difference. If you have no money, make soup, light a candle and give thanks for the gift of recovery. There will be no classes beginning Wednesday, November 23, 2011. These classes will begin Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 1 (2 weeks) - Our foundation class to get you started. Learn all four parts of step 1 in a structured way. Learn how to progress through them with enjoyment. Let us support getting your program off to a fabulous start. Dopamine (2 weeks) - A first look at sugar sensitivity and dopamine. Learn about the fourth leg of the story and see if this is your missing piece. Weight Loss Emotions (2 weeks) - A class for people who are ready to look at emotional issues of being overweight. You must be steady on at least step three to take this class.. These classes will begin Wednesday, December 7, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Radiant Step 2: Introduction (2 weeks) - will teach you the basics of journaling. The class will give you step by step instructions in how to record your food and feelings in a way that gets you excited. Radiant Step 5 (2 weeks) - is one of our favorites. Learn the art of whole grains. Get lots of information that you won't find anywhere else. I picked the brains of one of the world's leading *brown* experts for this class. This class will begin Wednesday, December 14, 2011. Please click on the name of the class and it will take you to the registration page: Holy Night Reflections (1 week) - is our annual reflection on the meaning of light in the darkness. This is a free class, my gift to the community. We would love to have you join us. If you have never done this class, sign up for it. It will change everything. There will be no classes beginning Wednesday, December 21, 2011. The class schedule is online. Click here to see what is planned. A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
** Quote From Kathleen ** The more you journal, the more intrigued you will become to hear the story your body wants to share. Listen deeply for the miracle. **********************************************************************
** Testimonial of the Week ** What an odd day. It was one of those days where most of the things I tried to do I hit a wall that I could not impact. Three different paperwork kinds of things had to be put off for next week. Then some things came up with my dad and my sister so I spent more time on the phone and feeling in that sad grief place. I did not exercise in the afternoon as I had planned but that was ok. It was information. My light box must be adjusted better now as even though I did not exercise, I also did not get sleepy and tired. Then at 3 pm, I had a big sigh and a few deep breaths and decided I was done with everything except my cooking. It felt so good to just set aside all the rest of the things on my mind, turn them over to HP and move on to cooking. I had a lot of fun with the cooking. That is new for me! One of the promises I made to myself when mom was ill was that when she was gone and I had a block of time freed up, I would begin trying new recipes and really work on expanding my cooking skills. And I have. I think I have tried a new recipe every week or so. And really, they have all turned out well. The chicken and veggies last night was fabulous. I even made gravy. I didn't follow Jamie's technique exactly though as I got some advice from a friend who has done his stuff quite a lot. The one dicey and extremely funny thing I did was around the gravy. I decided to use corn starch instead of flour. I went to dissolve a couple of heaping tsps of corn starch in a glass of water only to find I had grabbed the baking soda instead! It was pretty funny and appeared to be a science experiment for awhile! All was well, though, as I dumped that out, found the corn starch and went on ahead. The veggies had really caramelized and were delicious. I had pulled up my fennel plants earlier in the week and, while I did not get any nice big bulbs, there were a lot of little tiny ones about thumb sized. I kept them and threw them all into the mix last night. It turned out very good and had quite a sweet flavor. I am not sure why. Today I am going away for lunch. My niece from Iowa (six hours from me) will be at her mother in law's with her husband and kids. That is only 45 minutes from me so when they are there, we always try to get together. Her MIL is cooking lunch and it is supposed to be steamed chicken and sweet potatoes. I will tuck a packet of precooked rice in just in case there are sweet bits in the sweet potatoes. I am looking forward to seeing them all. Carol **********************************************************************
** Radiant Ambassadors ** 
How did you find out about Radiant Recovery? Did a friend tell you? Or the book just happened to fall off the shelf as you were walking past? Or you saw the cover and immediately knew it was for you? Or perhaps some lovely person had given you/left a Radiant Recovery business card somewhere? Let me know! Selena selenas@blueyonder.co.uk Come join us if you are excited about spreading the news. **********************************************************************
** How I Found Radiant Recovery ** Hello everyone. I am Olinda, I live in Florida with my husband and Browni (my dog). Our kids are 23 and 25. I have been on the roller coaster like most everyone else, and refused to take any drugs because I always believed that food is my first line of defense--if I could only find the right combination. I tried numerous times to deal with my ups and downs with food, and all kinds of strange, weird, and funny therapies. So many times I thought that I found the right answer only to despair shortly after. I was willing, but the years went by and I constantly found myself again and again at square one. Four weeks ago I had to buy a children's book to give as a gift and ended up in a different section of the store. I was browsing the shelves and the first book I pulled out was The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program. A light bulb went off. I took the book (and the children's books as well) and sat right there in the bookstore and started to read. I knew right away that I had found what I was looking for for almost 40 years. The detailed characteristics of us sugar addicts ( S.A.D. I named it for Sugar ADdict) that Kathleen described in that book simply shocked me. And, true to form, I wanted everything right here and now, and immediately, and fast... I know that I am extremely sensitive to all kinds of food, so I restrained myself and started "slow" , i.e. 2 days for each stage! In about 10 days I was already doing stages 1-4 (breakfast, journal, 3 meals, potato). It was bumpy, sometimes very. Only when I read PNP I understood her insistence on doing JUST BREAKFAST. That day was a turning point in my life. I realized that by taking one step at a time Kathleen was teaching me not only to listen to my body but also to give my mind a rest. To re-set. Like with a magic wand, behavior patterns which bugged me for decades started to shift (chief among them: self judgment and pushing my self to do more and more). And all that with just the first step! I'm home baby, I'm home. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Recovery® Store ** David manages the Radiant Recovery® Store. He is also Kathleen's oldest son. 
Manoomin, or wild rice, is a sacred food to the Anishinaabeg, and a key part of the ecosystem of the Northern Minnesota Lakes region.Wild rice, one of the most versatile, nutritious and flavorful grains, has been an important food source for people and wildlife for hundreds of years. The warm nutty taste and rich texture of the wild rice makes any dish a special one. We carry the original rice from the paddies in Minnesota. It is Native harvested. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. **********************************************************************
** Radiant Kitchen ** As you plan your Thanksgiving meal, stay focused on the purpose of this holiday – giving thanks. Think about what you will most enjoy cooking. These recipes on our website are our favorite program-friendly ones. Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Stuffing
For more great program-friendly recipes, check out our cookbook in the store and visit our online Radiant Recipes site. **********************************************************************
** Radiant YLD ** Do not start your weight loss process this week (smile). I will be holding chat on Wednesday. We will be doing a gratitude chat, so come if you can. If you would like to join, come find us here **********************************************************************
** Radiant Conversations ** We have a new portal for the Conversations program. Come check it out here. I think we are going to talk about gratitude at conversations as well. I can't help it. I am grateful. If you would like to join us, you can do that below. Join YLD Weight Loss Now: click here - $99 Join Conversations 2011 Now: click here - $99 Join Both YLD and Conversations Now: click here - $149 Current YLD members wish to Upgrade to Both, click here - $49 Current YLD members who wish to Transfer to Conversations 2011 Only can do so for a $14.99 admin fee: click here If you are not a member, come and join us if you want to be a part of the latest and greatest or just have some plain ol' fun! **********************************************************************
** Our Online Groups ** A lot of new people have come over to radiantparents and are talking about how to do new behaviors with their kids. We are talking not just about food, but about new patterns of recovery in your family. If you are looking for great support for toddlers to teens, come join us. The problem solving is such a comfort and I love seeing the more experienced parents give so much help to new people. **********************************************************************
**Step 7 Furniture Making ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D.
We got into a discussion on the Step 7 list about putting together office furniture. Tom said his wife came in and remarked that she couldn’t believe it was the same guy. He used to freak out, and throw things. This time, he was just putting it together. Karen added her comments. "IKEA is a Scandanavian store with great furniture all neatly packed in efficient boxes. You have to put it together." Here is Sandy’s explanation of IKEA: "It's a store where you buy furniture that requires self assembly. Because it's a European store with US distribution the assembly instructions have no words in English, only pictures, so it's challenging to put the stuff together. The shopping experience is pretty special too. My friend's daughter (13) described it as like 'being sucked in to a vacuum of busy confusion'. The prices are very reasonable though and the restaurant has some tasty snacks." Here is Karen’s road map of what doing the food does: "Laughing here - but there is an IKEA challenge for step 7 that comes before putting the furniture together. Challenge: Go to store with partner and shop. Outcome: Argue, go home in strop. Test result: Start reviewing steps and do not return to IKEA until steady on step 7 Challenge: Go to store with partner and shop. Outcome: Argue. Test result: Not steady on step 7 Challenge: Go to store with partner and shop. Outcome: Begin to feel slightly irritated by partner's lack of enthusiasm for shopping task, look at watch and abandon shopping and go to IKEA canteen for food (using own oatcakes from handbag as a brown and shunning the sauces), finish shopping, come home still on good terms with partner and then laugh as you put the furniture together. Test result: Definitely steady on step 7 Yep - this really does chart my progress through the steps, LOL. Funny how I can measure my radiance from little things like this." Karen I think Karen has caught the essence of what we do. Keep doing the steps and something happens. Shopping is different. Christmas is different. Your brother is different, your parents are nicer. Your filter changes. Sometimes you see things you didn’t see. You decide that battered wife syndrome won’t suit you any more. You decide you don't want to work in a dysfunctional job any more. After a while, you start seeing that something is happening here. You thought you were dealing with sugar addiction. Turns out you were changing your life. And I know when you are just starting, this seems inconceivable. You think it is not for you, or that we are just kidding. It still seems a little outlandish even to me and I have read almost a half a million notes by now. But the evidence is irrefutable. Come over to the forum and join us in discovering these little changes. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together:
Gretel, our webmaster, puts it all together. David runs the Radiant Recovery® Store. Selena provides the weekly Ambassadors column. ©2011 Kathleen DesMaisons. All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered, use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®", and notify kathleen@radiantrecovery.com of the location. Please visit the Radiant Recovery® website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction. You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/ |
