I haven't yet made these Fruit and Nut Bars, but I managed to consume several of them during my stay at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Besides bowls of apples, oranges, and bananas provided at every location at the Ranch, guests of this health and healing destination can request additional healthy snacks at dining areas. Of everything offered, this was my favorite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/2 cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
3/4 cup honey
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried chopped apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced dates, about 10 medium
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I am just back from four days at Canyon Ranch in Tucson. They were exhilarating, empowering, renewing, healthy, healing days. They were just as I'd imagined they'd be. And more.

Founders Mel and Enid Zuckerman say their commitment -- Canyon Ranch has been serving guests for 25 years and features destinations all over the country -- has set the standard for what has become a very large spa and health and wellness industry. With a focus on nutrition, stress management, preventative care, fitness, and a whole lot of pampering, the Zuckermans have inspired thousands of guests. I'm one of them.

I am spilling over with insight and motivation and wisdom I gathered at the Ranch. I want everyone to know what I know -- and I can't wait to start sharing my lessons for healthy living.

So the professionals at Canyon Ranch get the credit they deserve for beginning to transform my life -- and maybe yours too -- I will call my Canyon Ranch posts Worthy Wisdom. When you see these two words, you'll know the information that follows flows from the Arizona desert. I will also name Canyon Ranch in each post and will link to canyonranch.com where a wealth of wellness resources await you.

"Canyon Ranch measures its value by what you do after you leave the Ranch -- what you take home in new awareness and a sense of control about issues in your life," writes Mel Zuckerman in The Canyon Ranch Story: A Passion for Healthy Living.

What am I going to do now that I'm home? I'm going to spread the word.

The experts at Canyon Ranch resort and spa know what they're talking about when it comes to health and happiness. They make a living off their expertise, in fact. But they're not stingy when it comes to sharing their know-how, and on the Canyon Ranch website, they offer us all a chance to better our lives.

I promised in an earlier post to share more of what the Canyon Ranchers have to say -- so here are seven more healthy habits you just might want to embrace.

To Carb or Not to Carb

Canyon Ranch has watched "fad" diets come and go, never falling for their quick, easy-fix mentality and consistently advocating for balance, moderation and basic good nutrition. In recent years, some diets have forsaken whole grains for foods rich in protein and essentially free of carbohydrates. Whole grains, which are carbs, have always been a vital part of good nutrition. And while removing high-carbohydrate foods from your diet may initially help you lose weight faster, over time their absence can negatively influence your health.

Making Time for Time

People take classes to learn time management, they rely on the latest technologies to make the most of it and budget time as carefully as their money. Still, when it comes to health care, you may find yourself in a time crunch. Fortunately, Carl Pratt, managing director of the Canyon Ranch in Lenox, offers a timely solution: The 90-Minute Program. "It really only takes 90 minutes a week to stay focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you aren't willing to dedicate 90 minutes, you aren't willing to take care of yourself, and you need to accept that fact," says Carl. Carl breaks down the 90 minutes per week as follows:

• 15 minutes of planning for "mindful eating"
• 45 minutes of exercise (15 minutes, three days a week)
• 30 minutes of relaxation (five minutes, six days a week)
  

Commuting Bliss

When you change your mindset and treat commutes as a transition time for relaxation or education by listening to music or books on tape, your daily drive becomes a worthwhile experience. "We all see commutes as inconvenient, and we need to think of them as something valuable. Remember, the ultimate removal of commute time is not what people want. Otherwise, we would go directly from birth to death and skip everything in between. If you can't enjoy the commute -- and indeed, some are more difficult than others -- you are simply losing part of your life," says Robert Rhode, Ph.D., clinical psychologist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

Family Bonds Tied to Well-Being

Even painful family connections can be a significant part of personal growth. Learn to feel reverence toward yourself even as you feel pain. This connects you with your humanity and your ability to give and receive love. How to get comfortable with painful memories? Relax your body and allow yourself to feel emotions -- anger, pain, sadness -- while maintaining a positive attitude toward you.

An Attitude of Gratitude

Being thankful each day for the good things in your life and the ability to appreciate what you have rather than what you do not have is an important aspect of emotional health and well-being.

Think Big

One key to spiritual well-being is to get outside yourself with activities such as volunteering or contributing to worthy causes."Get involved with others and become committed to something greater than yourself. You start worrying about the greater good and you feel better about yourself," says Evan Kligman, M.D., at Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

Not a Morning Person? It's OK

Giving yourself a workout boost first thing is great for some, but an early morning workout may not be for everyone. Phil Eichling, M.D., sleep expert at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, encourages people with sleep problems to put off their workout for later. He says to enhance sleep, the best time to exercise is usually late afternoon. And people who have cardiovascular issues or certain other health concerns may also want to ease into the day before they strap on their running shoes or cross trainers.

In April, I'm headed to Canyon Ranch, the world's most renowned health and wellness destination. In addition to day spas and residential communities in various U.S. cities, there are two resort locations -- one in Tucson, Arizona and one in Lenox, Massachusetts. This is the one I will visit.

My several-day stay at Canyon Ranch comes with a bit of a breast cancer twist, and I'll tell you all about it in a future post.

But right now, I want to offer up a few healthy living tips offered by the professionals at these luxurious getaways. Featured on the company's website, these tips might just get you motivated in a healthful direction.

Breathe

Proper, natural breathing can improve relaxation. When breathing deeply, imagine the new supply of oxygen flowing through your body. Remember to exhale slowly. This can help relax your body further. Breathing should never feel forced or unnatural.

Just Ducky

If you're looking for a quick lunchtime workout that leaves you office-ready or a convenient exercise routine that allows you to be good to go at a moment's notice, jump into the nearest swimming pool. Carolyn Collman, M.S., exercise physiologist and aquatic therapist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, says you can get in the swim without getting soaked. "Water exercises are the perfect solution for a high-efficiency, no-hassle workout for almost everyone. An older adult new to exercise or a sedentary person can benefit from it as much as an Olympic athlete and everyone in between," she says.

Fat-Free Isn't Sugar-Free

Many foods marketed as fat-free and low-fat are loaded with sugar. Learn to read food labels to determine whether the fat-free choice is really a healthy choice. Many products are replacing partially hydrogenated oils with sugar to compensate for lost flavor. The average person consumes twenty teaspoons of added sugar a day – that's 156 pounds a year!

You Are How Much You Eat

A recent study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has confirmed what Canyon Ranch has espoused for years: portion size directly impacts your weight. Using scales, measuring cups and spoons is a useful way of learning what a proper portion looks like. You can also use these common objects to help you visualize healthy portion sizes:

• Palm of your hand or deck of cards for a portion of lean meat, chicken, or fish
• One-inch cube (dice) for the portion of cheese
• D-cell battery for a portion of dried fruit or salad dressing
• Tennis ball for rice or potatoes
• Large marshmallow for salad dressing
• Ping-pong ball for the serving of nuts or nut butter

There's more where these came from. Go see for yourself. Or stop back here -- I promise to share more.

Cancer patients receiving treatment at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson will walk through the doors of a new building -- the Fasseas Cancer Center-- beginning tomorrow morning.

The new center, named after major donors Peter and Paula Fasseas, is built on the skeleton of a defunct Tucson hospital. It took 16 months to build and cost an estimated $30 million. And now the comprehensive cancer center is ready for use.

More than 800 cancer patients have appointments during the first week, and 110 medical staff will relocate to the new clinic that has been called the crown jewel of new University Medical Center North Campus and one of the most modern cancer treatment centers in the United States.

The new two-story clinic -- to be joined later by facilities for radiation oncology, ambulatory surgery, imaging services, and a Ronald McDonald House for pediatric patients and their families -- will feature patient support groups, counseling, therapeutic massage, a healing garden, a resource center, and a salon to help patients cope with hair loss and other side effects of cancer treatment.

A formal grand opening for the new clinic is planned for February 18.

Sierra Vista located in Arizona has had at least a dozen children that have developed leukemia since 1997 and at least two have died of it. This is nearly triple the childhood leukemia rate expected in a town of 40,000 during that time period. A three year study by federal health officials said that they detected no toxic exposures that could have caused the illnesses.

Beverly Kingsley, an epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated " We don't know why this cluster occurred. We really wish we had the answer, but we don't"

In 2004, the CDC decided to draw and analyze samples of blood, urine and cheek swabs from the surviving patients and their families. They tested them for 128 different contaminants including toxic chemicals, metals, pesticides and volatile organic compounds. They compared these samples with healthy children from Sierra Vista. The samples also underwent genetic testing.

Environmental toxins have long been suspected as a trigger of leukemia, only one though, benzene has ever been proven to cause it. Some of the town people feel they have attended too many funerals and feel that something has to be going on. The townspeople also said in a meeting that the CDC held that the study did not include enough patients, didn't span a long enough period of time and also didn't include environmental testing for toxins.