EVERYBODY loves my gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free superfood candy!

Organic Authority TV recently showcased my recipe for Chilled Holiday Nog, and the response was so positive that Laura Klein asked me to return to share another treat with her viewers!

Here I am with Laura on the set of our video shoot where I prepared my Superfood Candy. The most popular recipe from the second edition of my original cookbook, “Optimal Energy Recipes,” Superfood Candy is a delicious, raw food treat made with Raw Cacao (which is raw chocolate) and is sure to please every member of your family! Get a free copy of the recipe at www.RoseCole.com/Cookbook.

I was on the E! Channel a few weeks ago and I had a lot of fun! We had so much fun shooting the segment that they’ve asked me to come back again!

I love getting a chance to spread the word about natural health and holistic living. It’s what I live for!

Be sure to check oiut the Wellness With Rose YouTube channel as well!

I’ve added over 80 pages of new recipes and resources for all-natural products and healthy substitutes for not-so-healthy ingredients in your own recipes.

Now with over 120 pages of mouth-watering, yummy-licious dishes, this treasure of sugar-free, gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free recipes is a must have for every kitchen.

And the best part is that it’s in downloadable form, so you get instant access to it right after your purchase. Go here for 2 FREE sample recipes! www.RoseCole.com/cookbook

Get your copy now at www.RoseCole.com/cookbook.

This creamy, sweet festive drink is pure holiday comfort. Your family won’t believe it’s sugar-free and dairy-free and actually good for you!

Ingredients
• 2 cups Almond Cream*, unsweetened
• ½ cup date paste (dates blended with a little water)
• 2 Tbsp grade B maple syrup
• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 tsp flax seed oil (*optional)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp nutmeg plus additional for sprinkling
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

Directions
Blend all ingredients except bananas. Add bananas and blend. Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional sprinkle of nutmeg.

*To make Almond Cream, soak 1 1/2 cups of almonds in water for 8 hours, drain, and rinse.
Then, blend the almonds with 3 cups of water and strain (a small wire strainer works well).

Serves 4.

For more fun soy-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and gluten-free recipes check out my “Optimal Energy Recipes” e-Cookbook at: http://www.rosecole.com/products/cookbook

This recipe is awesome because it’s soy-free-, sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and “raw” so it actually helps to lose weight and increase your energy.  Your friends won’t believe it’s healthy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup extra virgin coconut oil
• ¼ cup organic raw almond butter
• ¼ cup almond meal
• 4 Tbsp agave nectar
• ¼ cup organic unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup hemp seed protein
• ½ tsp liquid Stevia or 3 tsp powdered Stevia (6 packets)
• 1 Tbsp organic vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¾ cup raw chocolate cacao powder (may substitute Chatfield’s roasted carob powder)
• 1/3 cup goji berries *optional

Directions
1. Spray an ice cube tray with nonstick spray and set aside or use mini cupacake tins and papers.

2. Melt coconut oil under hot water or spoon into saucepan and melt over low flame. When coconut oil turns to a liquid, pour oil into medium bowl.

3. Slowly whisk in almond butter, cinnamon, Stevia, and agave nectar one at a time.

4. Next, whisk in vanilla.

5. Then slowly stir in cacao (or carob), almond meal, coconut, and hemp seed protein one at a time, sprinkling evenly as you go.

6. Batter should run off of spoon. Spoon into ice cube tray, or cup cake papers and chill in freezer for 15 minutes.

7. Sprinkle goji berries of the top. *optional

Fun Optinal Add-ins
• 1–3 drops of your favorite edible essential oil: peppermint, lavender, lemon, rose, tangerine. You can find the best essential oils at www.RoseCole.com/Rose Recomends.

• ½ tsp Course Celtic sea salt (www.TrySunFoods.com)

• ¼ cup Chopped Golden berries, also know as Incan Berries (www.TrySunFoods.com) These taste like tart cherries!

Find more great dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free recipes like this in my “Optimal Energy Recipes” cookbook!

Did you know the leading cause of acne and breakouts is gluten/wheat?  It’s crazy that something you eat could cause that much trouble with your skin, but it’s absolutely true – and here’s why.

Breakouts are a generally stemming from blood sugar problems and accompanied by chronic inflammation. These trigger hormonal reactions that lead to excess sebum production, blocked pores and creating an overgrowth of nasty bacteria.

Gluten contributes to this in a couple of ways. First, it can cause issues in the small intestine, which could lead to your body not digesting properly – causing your body to not get the nutrients it needs.

The second link between gluten and acne is inflammation. People with gluten sensitivity cannot digest gluten effectively. As a result their bodies improperly absorb undigested pieces of gluten. The body treats these as invaders, and goes on the attack.  The white cells in the body release histamine, which increases inflammation. Inflammation increases insulin resistance in the nearby cells.

Insulin resistance leads to, which cause breakouts. Don’t forget to check my gluten-free recipe book below!

When this happens once in a great while, the body can deal with it. But most people are exposed to gluten 3 or more times a day. This, coupled with other inflammatory agents, spreads inflammation all over the body, and inflammation causes the aging in our skin to speed up and creates breakouts.

AND, an overabundance of sugar and carbs in turn increases your insulin levels and next thing you know, you’ve got too much testosterone in your system. And there is nothing that causes your skin to secrete excess oils like testosterone.

So, what can you do to stop this horrific cycle?

Reduce, or altogether eliminate gluten from your diet.  That may sound harsh, because gluten is literally everywhere.  The good news is, the number of products on the market that don’t contain gluten increase every single day.  You can find gluten-free wheat, tortillas, pita bread, juice and a million other things – you just have to know where to find them.

Just to back up what I’m saying, studies comparing teens in the US to teens in non-gluten cultures show that acne is virtually unknown in countries that don’t consume high amounts of gluten.

Get off the gluten-train and get your skin looking clearer and younger!

For more on how to get clearer, younger, more radiant skin all-naturally with what you eat, check out my “7 Weeks To Super Skin” Program at http://www.rosecole.com/programs/7weekstosuperskin

Chocolate (yeah!)

Women in a German study who downed a cocoa-rich drink daily – the equivalent of 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate – for 12 weeks experienced less dryness. Their skin also had better blood flow, which pinks your cheeks, and was more resistant to sun damage, thanks to all the antioxidants.

Juicing

It gets a bad rap for the sugar, but the fresh squeezed vegetable juices are antioxidant-packed kind, like fresh squeezed celery, spinach, kale, and chard, are filled with alkalizing minerals and vitamins that feed skin.

Oil-Rich Facial Cleansers

They can help oily skin. Cleansers that contain emulsifying oils, such as vitamin E, grape seed oil, or castor oil, breakdown and dissolve dirt and oil without over-drying it, like harsh cleansers can.

Sweat

I’ve seen women who try not to work up a sweat when they exercise because they think it will cause breakouts, which is a myth. Perspiration is great for skin: It opens up pores, releases dirt and helps your lymphatic system in your skin to remove toxic sludge from your body that could be coming out your pores… so bring it on!

French fries

OK, OK, they’re NOT exactly good for your skin – sorry – but contrary to popular belief, they (and other greasy foods) don’t cause pimples. Nice to know!

      Have you ever ordered an iced tea, and then stared blankly at those little colored packets on the table, not knowing which one to choose?

      You know that some of the choices are unhealthy, but which ones? And why are they unhealthy?

      You hear that some of them cause cancer, but doesn’t everything cause cancer these days? I mean… are they really that bad for you? And are any of them better for you than the rest?

      And the real question weighing on all of our minds… which sweeteners will make me fatter… real sugar or artificial sugar?

      Well here’s the real kicker! Are you sitting down? Artificial sweeteners are not a diet aid, in fact, they can make you gain MORE weight.

      According to researchers, the number of Americans who consume artificial sweeteners has grown* from less than 70 million people in 1987 to over a whopping 160 million in 2000. So why aren’t American’s getting thinner? We’re actually getting more overweight and obese by the day.

      “The American Cancer Society (1986) documented the fact that persons using artificial sweeteners gain more weight than those who avoid them” (Roberts 150)

      So how can these man-made sugars sabotage weight-lose efforts?

      Many researchers now believe that aspartame may actually stimulate appetite and cause more cravings for carbs and sugar.

      Normally, when we eat an antiquate amount of carbohydrates, or sugar, serotonin levels in the brain rise. This alerts us that we’ve had enough to eat. When you eat aspartame and carbohydrates together, like having a diet pop and a sandwich, the aspartame stops the production of serotonin, and that feeling of having had enough never quite happens

      Artificial sweeteners have also been shown to block the conversion of the brain chemicals phenylalanine to tyrosine in your brain…. So you’re probably asking yourself “what does that mean to me?”

      “Why is it important to have tyrosine?” Oh, little things like brain function, suppressing your appetite, fat lose, thyroid health, to fight fatigue, stress reduction, alleviating depression and anxiety, headaches… need I say more?

      Here’s another reason artificial sweeteners may not be a good weight lose tool…

      According to Health psychologist Daniel C. Stettner, PhD, when manufacturers lower the sugar content in foods, they very often will increase the salt or the fat content to compensate for any change in how it tastes or feels in the mouth. To give you an example, sugar-free ice creams can be made higher in fat.

      Another reason you may want to avoid using artificial sweeteners… you could be having a reaction to artificial sweeteners that you may not even know is related.

      Studies have found that there are a whole slew of adverse reactions from artificial sweeteners – like headaches, trouble remembering, depression, nervousness, irritability, nausea, insomnia…just to name a few.

      If you stop using artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, and adverse reactions that you were experiencing go away, maybe even symptoms that you didn’t realize were connected to them, it’s important to spread the word and tell others. You can make a big difference in your friends and family’s health.

      You may also want to write a letter to the alert the FDA… so that they can pile it up with the thousands of other letters they’ve receive of adverse reactions to aspartame.

      So why are artificial sweeteners legal if they’re so bad for us? We have to be smart consumers and take initiative for our own health. Apparently the government isn’t going to do it for us.

      Ok, so now that we’ve ruled out those little pink and blue packets of artificial sweeteners, then how about white table sugar?

      I have some more bad news for you… sugar and carbs make you fat. This country went through the whole cut-out-fat diet, and they got fatter than ever! When we cut out the fat, we started eating more carbs, and it didn’t work.

      According to experts, sugar addiction is very similar to an addiction to heroin or morphine. We all know someone, and maybe it’s you, who acts almost like a crack addict when it some to sugar… like a junky looking for their next fix.

      If you think you’re not addicted to sugar, I have a little challenge for you… I want you to try to go a week without eating sugar or baked goods and bread.

      Most people cave in the first day! I’d definitely call that an addiction. This is where all of our rationalizations kick in. It’s amazing what we can convince ourselves of.

SUGAR FEEDS CANCER CELLS…

      I have something else to tell you right now that may shock you. Many health experts now believe that sugar is the fuel for cancer cells. How is this? Cancer thrives in environments with little or no oxygen. That’s why cancer loves refined sugar – not being easy to digest, sugar ferments in the body. With alcohol, it’s already fermented when we drink it. Fermentation occurs in an anaerobic environment – no oxygen.

      Now you may be in for a big surprise if you’re using those little yellow packets… Splenda (the brand name for sucralose). Ah… the marketing brilliance of Splenda. Splenda is not natural. It’s a sugar molecule that has been synthetically altered in a laboratory by adding chlorine to it. Our bodies don’t poses the metabolic machinery to break this down because it’s a chlorinated compound.

      Everyone reacts differently to chemicals, and some of you may be more sensitive to the reactions of these fake sugars than others, but there have been just as many reactions reported to sucralose as the other artificial sugars.

      They didn’t know what the health risks of smoking were until it was too late for many people. With these new artificial sweeteners, we don’t know what the long term effects are yet. Better to be safe than sorry, and with so many great tasting alternatives, it seems like a no-brainer.

      Let’s make one thing clear that a lot of people are confused about. Carbs and sugar are the same thing. Your body breaks down carbs (carbohydrates) into sugar, so all of these low carb diets are just low sugar diets.

      So how about regular old white table sugar? This is a highly processed food that has almost nothing good nutritionally about it. It causes weight gain, it can lead to diabetes, it causes tooth decay and cavities, they use synthetic chemicals to process it, and the finished product contains none of the nutrients, minerals or vitamins of the original plant.

      Hidden sources of sugar that could be feeding your addiction: you know right away anything that ends with an “ose”, means sugar. The food industry tries to sneak in sugar wherever it can under different names. Here are some of the aliases that sugar goes under:

- Cane juice (organic cane juice)

- Evaporated cane juice

- Corn syrup

- Corn sugar

- Cane syrup

- Raw cane sugar

- Raw sugar

- Fructose

- Brown sugar

- sucrose

- High fructose corn syrup

      Start reading your food labels, and you’ll probably be appalled like I was by all of the places they sneak it in.

      So you’re probably thinking “…what the heck do I do now? …sugars or artificial sweeteners are in everything!”.

      BUT DON’T PANIC!!

      The trick is to cut them out wherever you can, and this doesn’t mean you’re never going to be able to eat anything sweet again.

      Here are some tricks for cutting out the dangerous sweeteners, and replacing them with healthy sweeteners.

      Ketchup is loaded with sugar. I looked on the back of my organic peanut butter the other day, and found that they had snuck in some “organic cane juice”.

      Sodas – 14 of those little white packets of sugar per can! If you’re giving soda to your children- beware. It’s like giving a child rocket fuel, and then telling them to sit still!

      Limit baked goods, processed foods, and corn syrup.

      What the heck does raw sugar mean anyway? Well… it means that is hasn’t been totally processed and striped of all of its nutrients. Raw sugar still has it’s chromium in it, which causes sugar to ferment and to be brown in color, ironically it also helps your body handle sugar, so it’s a slightly better alternative to the white packs of sugar.

      THERE’S A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!

      What if I told you there was an ALL NATURAL sweetener that was:

- 200 to 300 times sweeter than regular white table sugar

- Had NO calories

- Safe for children

- Suitable for diabetics

- Doesn’t cause cavities

- Is widely available in supermarkets and health food stores across the country

- Heat stable, so you could cook and bake with it

- Has liquid and powder forms- mixes well in cold beverages

- A great alternative to man-made sweeteners

- Already used in many countries all around the world

     Well this amazing no-calorie sweetener is called Stevia, and is just beginning to get noticed in the United States? It’s been used in Japan for nearly two decades.

     So here’s the sweetener packet breakdown…

Pink Packets: NutraSweet- artificial, chemical based, linked to cancer, not safe for children

Blue packets: Equal- contains aspartame which is a neurotoxin, artificial, chemical based, linked to cancer, not safe for children

Yellow packets:Splenda- artificial, chlorine added to sugar molecules, many reported side effects

White packets: refined sugar- processed, causes weight gain, causes tooth decay, caused fatigue

Brown packets: raw sugar- some minerals and nutritional value left, better choice than white sugar

Green packets: Stevia- all natural, no calories, safe for children, safe for diabetics

     Are you starting to see a trend here? The more we humans go in and try to improve on nature, mess around with the molecules, and process things so they’ll have a longer shelve life, the worse it is for you. Food in its most natural form is the best for you, and actually helps to fight cancer many times, unlike many artificial foods which have been shown to cause cancer.

      It’s all about choices. You don’t have to turn into one of those paranoid health nuts…

      Every person is different, and every diet plan is different, so if you’d like me to help you decide which sweetener is best for you and your health needs, just give me a call to set up a nutrition assessment: 888-898-WELL, or check out my online program for weight lose and increasing your energy at www.RoseCole.com/Transformation.

Thai Young Coconut

Want to know the secret to looking and feeling younger and losing weight faster? With the help of superfoods you can do just that. In short, a superfood is a whole food that packs a powerful punch of vitamins and other nutrients and at the same time offers some crazy awesome health benefits.

Here are some of my top superfoods that you probably already have in your kitchen, and how to use these powerful foods to go to work for your health.

This is a list of only 5 of the top 77 superfoods that I have in my full report: Onion, Cinnamon, Ginger, Chili Pepper and Coconut.

Let’s start with Onion.

Yes, we’re talking about your average run-of-the-mill onion that you can find in any supermarket. Onions contain a good amount of chromium – a metal that that actually helps you to lose weight!

- Onions both Lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides
- Onions help Blood Clotting to occur faster -
- Onions reduce the incidence of Stomach Cancer risk by 40%
- Onions protect against tumor growth in other parts of the body
- Onions are known to inhibit bone loss in Menopausal women

A great way to incorporate onions into your diet is to just chop up whatever type of onion you want to use, whether it’s a green, white, or even red onion, and sprinkle it on your soups and salads. You can also sauté them in a little olive oil and serve it over your favorite meat dish. They are also yummy in soups!

Next up is Cinnamon.

Cinnamon can be found in every supermarket in America, and who would have thought it could actually help you to lose weight and increase your energy?

- Cinnamon has long been used as a natural remedy for indigestion, diarrhea, nausea and cramps
- Cinnamon Tea is known to reduce internal cramping (both menstrual and muscle related)
- Cinnamon regulate blood sugar
- Cinnamon inhibits cancer cell growth
- Cinnamon works as an anti-inflammatory agent

Cinnamon is great sprinkled on top all kinds of food to add a little pizzazz and make them a bit sweet. Try on top of sliced apples, in your morning protein shake, on toast, and even sprinkled on your cooked squash.

Ginger Root or Powder

Ginger is widely used in Eastern Medicine, but in the West it’s more of a baking spice. You can find it in your fresh veggie section of your supermarket; it looks like an ugly white root. You can also find it in the spice section in powder form.

- Ginger is known to fight cancer
- Ginger is also known to help prevent heart disease
- Ginger contains several antioxidants that are proven to clot blood as well as aspirin
- Ginger can stop an impending migraine dead in its tracks
- Ginger is known to lower high cholesterol levels

To prepare ginger, simply slice the ginger root (you can peel it if you want, but not necessary), and toss it into a stir fry or soup dish, or you can sprinkle in the powder form. You can also find it in the tea section of your store in tea bags ready to go for ginger tea. To make your own ginger tea, just slice fresh ginger and add a couple slices to a cup of hot water and steep of a few minutes.

Chili Peppers Are Good For You?

Chili Peppers aren’t just hot – they are also full of capsaicin. The capsaicin in Chili Peppers is well known to work all kinds of wonders in the body.

- Chili Peppers are well known to work as an analgesic
- Chili Peppers also help prevent cancer cells from forming
- Chili Peppers act as an anti-inflammatory agent
- Chili Peppers help with headaches and sinus problems
- Chili Peppers can lessen the pain of arthritis
- Chili Peppers can help with a host of gastric issues (I know that sounds weird, but it’s true!)

How to you prepare chili peppers you ask? They’re great diced and added to tomatoes and cilantro to make a quick and easy salsa. You can also sprinkle them in soups, salads, throw them into a stir fry, or sprinkle them on tacos.

And Coconut (oil, water, and meat)

Coconut has a bit of a bad rap because it is thought to cause weight gain – but it’s actually one of the best foods to help you lose weight, believe it or not. Your body needs the good fats in coconut, and coconut water is actually better than any sports drink, loaded with electrolytes.

When I’m talking about healthy coconut, I’m talking about organic, virgin coconut oil, water (the water in the middle of a coconut), and the coconut meat itself.

- Coconuts are known to fight cancer
- Coconuts are known to fight heart disease
- Coconuts aid in digestion.
- Coconuts boost the natural immune system
- Coconuts improve Thyroid function
- Coconuts improve the body’s ability to absorb vitamins

Young Thai coconuts are the greenish colored coconuts often found at restaurants and supermarkets or on vacation to tropical destinations. You can just chop off the top and stick you straw right in, but make sure to spoon out all the nutritious tender coconut meat. You can also find organic virgin coconut oil in just about every health food store now days, and is great for cooking just about everything in.

Everyone knows that in order to do anything, your body has to have energy. It’s so necessary that your cells can’t function properly without energy. Your heart cannot beat, your lungs cannot breathe, and your stomach cannot properly break down food. But, even if you are getting the required amount of energy for your body, if your thyroid isn’t functioning properly, you’ll always *feel* like you just can’t get a head with your energy.

So what IS your thyroid? Your thyroid is an organ that is located at the base of your neck, and you can kind of think of it as your body’s thermostat. If your thyroid is too low, then you have a low metabolism, low sex drive, and low energy. If your thyroid is too high then you have a high sex drive, your body temperature runs high, and you have trouble keeping weight on because your metabolism is too high.

Bottom line is, if your thyroid is low then you can only eat celery stick and work out every single day and STILL not lose weight.

The thing about the thyroid is that it is so integral to your life; it is like the part of your car’s engine that allows it to idle. When your car is idling, it is still running – but it isn’t moving. Same thing for your body. When you sit down in a chair, or sleep at night, your body is still running – even though you are being relatively still. Your body has to work like this, because it’s job is never really done. If your thyroid can’t keep up with what your body’s needs, nothing else in your body is going to work as well as it could be working.

In fact, you may not even realize that you have a thyroid deficiency. You seemingly have plenty of energy throughout the day, and you may not have any trouble getting through your daily workout, but in reality the energy that you are using in these activities is more adrenal based. Your adrenaline is what is getting you through. You won’t necessarily feel sluggish all the time, but if your thyroid is underactive you may notice that you need more coffee, sugar or cigarettes than normal.

A real clue that you may be having thyroid-related issues is that you are having issues sustaining your energy for long periods of time. Maybe you can’t work out quite as long as you used to, or maybe you can’t walk quite as far. If you sit down in a chair halfway through the day and you don’t want to get up – you probably have a thyroid deficiency.

If your PMS is more pronounced than it used to be – that can be another clue. And, if you are pregnant, or recently had a baby, it is *very* likely you have a thyroid deficiency.

Do your muscles feel week? Are you unable to workout anymore? Or are your workouts inconsistent? That’s your thyroid!

Does your head feel strangely heavy after lunch? Could you easily drop down under your desk for a nap? That’s your thyroid!

Basically, you either do, or you don’t have these symptoms. If you wake up feeling fully energized, can maintain your energy on a regular basis without any dips in your energy and are mentally alert, and you naturally adjust to your ideal weight whenever you try to eat healthy and exercise more – that’s a really good sign that your thyroid is okay. If you feel like your thyroid might be an issue, it probably is.

Just remember that the lab tests that doctors do are not always accurate. Let the symptoms be your clue.

So what do you do if you think your thyroid is low?

1. Do an at-home iodine patch test. Your thyroid stores a 3 month supply of iodine, and if you are iodine deficient that can cause your thyroid to be low. Click here for instructions: Iodine Patch Instructions

2. Avoid products with wheat. Wheat can suppress your thyroid.

3. Take my “10 Week Transformation Program”, where I teach you how to rev up your sluggish thyroid by making simple changes to what you eat, and doing inexpensive at-home testing.

Click here for more information about my “10 Week Transformation” program, or call us at 888-898-WELL with any questions.

Please pass this onto anyone who has thyroid issues! We need to get the word out that you can balance your thyroid the holistic way without medication!