Consume less, create more. We’re not just consumers, we are creators!
We have the ability to create, change, and influence!
Let’s do it.
Green Living
Essential Oil Blends
One of the fun aspects about Essential oils is that you can use individual oils, like Peppermint or Lavendar OR you can use blends. Blends are where different individual oils are combined.
One of my personal favorites is Drive. It contains a minty and citrusy combination of orange, peppermint, bergamot, rosemary, and more to awaken the senses.
I also love the “Peace and Calming” blend. It’s a blend of orange, tangerine, patchouli, and blue tansy. It is used to relax and soothe, along with promoting a calm focus. I used to defuse it in my classroom when I was teaching. Makes a world of difference!
You can blend aromas on your own, but I just buy mine. If you use oils, what is your favorite blend?
The Cleanest Clothes—Even in Cold Water
Did you know that washing your laundry in cold water helps protect bright colors and helps clothes last longer?
Washing in cold water requires 90% less energy than washing in hot water. Each household that makes the switch to cold-water washing eliminates about 1,600 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
Switch to MelaPower with confidence. Its triple-enzyme formula is incredibly effective at removing dirt and stains in cold water.
A Cheat Sheet of Healing Foods!
Certain foods are known to help heal particular organs. Isn’t it interesting (and in my opinion, it’s by design) that the healing food is similar in shape to the designated organ?
The “How To’s” of Turmeric
Some supplements are sold with complete Turmeric, while others contain a curcumin extract. Here are a few things to be aware of when you’re selecting a Turmeric supplement.
Turmeric doesn’t work the same for everyone.
One important thing worth noting is that Turmeric seems to affect different people differently. Some people may experience obvious benefits almost immediately. Others may experience few to no benefits, even after a few weeks of daily use.
Some Turmeric supplements have added ingredients.
Some Turmeric supplements are on the simple side, containing little more than Turmeric or Curcumin powder and an inactive filler. Others contain other supplements, minerals, and vitamins. I always read my ingredients on my supplements.
Meanwhile, combining Turmeric with Black Pepper can increase its absorption in the body. If you know me, I LOVE my Black Pepper! Fatty foods such as avocado and nuts can also help boost its bioavailability.
There are various ways to take Turmeric supplements.
Turmeric supplements come in various forms, including turmeric powder, capsules, pills, and other oral forms. You will also find things like Turmeric toothpaste and mouthwashes, while skin creams and gels are becoming more common.
Dosages vary depending on your goals.
The different supplements I’ve reviewed offer anywhere from 500 mg – 1300 mg/capsule, twice a day. It really depends on your phsycial and health needs.
For recipes using Turmeric click here
Time invested in one area is time taken away from another.
What is that #1 habit you would like to eliminate ….. and what would you eliminate it with?
I Love Soup…..
but homemade is the ONLY way to go for me!
It will soon be soup season and I’m getting ready. Did you know I was recently reading soup can labels and the label on Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup says: “Contains bioengineered food ingredients”.
What?
If you google it, you’ll find that…..
The USDA defines bioengineered foods as containing “detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.”
Ummm…makes me a little nervous, what exactly are we consuming? Plastic? Chemicals? I don’t know. Do you?
So it is only homemade for me from now on!
Do you have a homemade soup recipe that is your favorite? Let’s share!
How Do You DETOX?
When we go on vacation, we eat differently (and usually more) than we’re used to. When I was in away recently, every restaurant greeted us with complimentary drinks and then I had wine with dinner. We never eat dessert but often our meals came with one automatically. (What’s a girl to do?)
I love my vacations, but I hate feeling bloated, etc.
What’s YOUR secret for detoxing and getting your body back to pre-vacation status?
IS YOUR HOME SAFE FROM TOXINS?
Did you know that using national brand cleaners as little as once per week is as damaging to your lung capacity as smoking a pack of cigarettes for 20 years?
That was just one of several findings from a 20-year study that was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Truthfully, that’s just the beginning. If you have young children in your home or if you have loved ones with a compromised immune system, this publication is for you:
Science Says Eating Chocolate Every Day Is Good for Your Brain
Now this is research we can get behind.
Forget about an apple a day. If you really want to keep the doctor away, try a piece of chocolate instead. Regularly snacking on cocoa-flavored treats can help protect your brain from cognitive decline, according to a new review from the University of L’Aquila in Italy.
Packed with both antioxidants and iron, dark chocolate has already made a name for itself as a smart choice for dessert lovers. Its potential brain-boosting powers only sweeten the deal. Eating some every day helps improve attention, processing speed, working memory and verbal fluency, based on the recent compilation of past studies.
“Regular intake of cocoa and chocolate could indeed provide beneficial effects on cognitive functioning over time,” said review authors Valentina Socci and Michele Ferrara. Their analysis published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that seniors at risk for memory decline received the biggest perks from eating chocolate. Regularly choosing the treat could help improve vital thinking processes over time. A quick snack may provide some short-term advantages, too.
Eating cocoa also helped young and healthy adults perform better on tough cognitive tests almost immediately, although the effect was more subtle. The powerful benefits come from cocoa flavanols, a compound known for its health benefits. Dark chocolate packs in way more flavanols than its milk counterpart, but you can also find them in apples, pears and grapes, among other foods. The special type of flavonoid supports a healthy cardiovascular system and could increase blood flow to a part of the brain particularly affected by aging, Socci and Ferrara say. Both of them indulge in a little dark chocolate every day, but warn against eating too much, especially if the bar’s packed with sugar and other additives.
Luckily, choosing chocolate can also stave off cravings for more indulgent desserts later on, says Jaclyn London, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., Nutrition Director at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “Having an ounce of chocolate per day, or about 150 to 200 calories, has a number of different benefits,” she says. “While no food is a miracle-worker, I’m a huge proponent of treating yourself with chocolate daily.”
While you probably shouldn’t give up on apples entirely, adding a little dark chocolate into the mix doesn’t hurt. Hey, you don’t have to tell us twice!
[h/t Science Daily From: Good Housekeeping US
