by Josefina | Sep 13, 2017 | Detox your Body Naturally
Stress sucks! That’s something we all know. It can cause hair loss, acne, weight gain, weight loss and a host of other health problems. Put simply, it can make you feel crazy and overwhelmed at EVERYTHING! But, there is an easy way to combat stress with a Healthy Morning Routine.Healthy Morning Routines and organization are the best ways to deal with stress throughout the day. And what better time to start with a routine, then first thing in the morning! Setting the tone for the day starts the minute you open your eyes. If you aren’t careful, stress can rear it’s ugly little face into your sights before you can do anything about it.So just how do you combat stress first thing in the morning? Well. I’ll tell you:
Stop Hitting Snooze
If you’re one of those people that keep hitting the snooze button in an attempt to get more sleep, you’re probably not going to like what you’re about to read. When you press that snooze button over and over again, you are causing yourself to have less time to prepare for the day. That alone can cause some stress. If you’re like me and need five or six alarms timed to go off 15 minutes apart, try setting them a little earlier than when you actually need to wake up. This will allow you to be able to hit that snooze button (once or twice – not 10!) and still get up on time. Having to rush in the morning without a Healthy Morning Routine is a breeding ground for high stress levels throughout the day. That snooze button is just not worth it.
Don’t Constantly Check Your Phone
Constantly checking your phone, whether its social media or emails, can cause those stress levels to heighten. Checking your phone right after waking up overloads your brain causing stress by trying to wake up faster. Try not checking your phone until you’re on your way out or about to leave. It will allow your mind the time it needs to wake up on its own and do it calmly.
Breathe
We often forget, but good quality breathing is so important. Learning to calm yourself through breathing exercises will help fight away the stress that hits in the form of panic attacks and anxiety attacks or plain old stress. Take in deep breaths while counting to five and then exhale counting to five. Doing this helps to gain control of the situation which alleviates the feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed by everything going on around you. Doing this in the morning before you even get out of bed is a great way to prepare your mind for all the tasks you need to tackle.
Repeat An Affirmation
Saying kind things to yourself about yourself will definitely make you happy and keep those pesky stress levels at bay. And it can be anything that makes you feel positive like “I am grateful for my life”, “I begin my life today”, “I am kind”, or “I am beautiful”. It really just depends on you and what you need/want to hear. The moment you start to feel like you’re being flooded with too much and become overwhelmed, take a breath and repeat your affirmation. This will help calm you and also help keep you positive and motivated to get through the day.
Eat A Good Breakfast
We’ve all been told that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But there is science and plenty of studies that can prove it. In fact, A British study taken in 2012 found that people who ate breakfast reported feeling 89% less anxious in challenging situations later that day, and were able to deal with dilemmas 7% faster than on days they skipped their A.M. meal. So, make sure you not only eat breakfast, but that you eat a HEALTHY breakfast. Doing this will increase your brain function and reaction and allow you to focus more on the tasks you need to tackle each day.
Make A List for Productivity
Early on in the morning, try to focus on all your high-concentration tasks. This includes things like writing reports, seeing patients, managing finances or anything else that might require more focus and/or creativity. The best way to put those things in order of how much concentration they require is to make a list. After you complete one of the tasks, cross it off. Doing this will alleviate the feeling of being overwhelmed and flooded with tasks throughout your day. If you feel like you have a busy day tomorrow and need a good night of sleep, you can also make your list the night before. This way you can sleep without thinking you might forget something in the morning.If you are fighting stress each day or even every once in a while, you can decrease the amount of stress you feel just by sticking to a good healthy and quality morning routine.What does your morning routine look like?
by Josefina | Aug 23, 2017 | Superfoods
Imagine you can choose between two snacks. Both are crunchy and tasty. One of them will make you stronger, happier and fuel your brain power. The other will make you weaker, slower and more reduce your immunity.
Which Snack Would You Choose?
Store-bought and packaged snacks, chips, crisps, cookies and candy are snacks that sap your power despite our thinking they boost energy with a “sugar high”. It can be hard not to choose them. They are fun, and hit the taste sensors! But they are often full of sugar and chemicals that cause havoc in your body and destroy your health.
The good news is that snacks can be fun and tasty too while still being healthy. Even better, they are full of vitamins and other great things you need for a strong body and mind that ages gracefully.
Fun Fruit
Fruit is a the ideal snack. Firstly, it tastes great! Also, there are so many different fruits to choose from: Apples, grapes, cantaloupe, raspberries… There are even fruits you’ve probably never heard of or tried, like star fruit, durian and jackfruit.
When you eat fruit for a snack, you can count on it giving you energy. This is because fruit is made of natural sugars. Natural sugar isn’t like the chemically laden bad sugar that can give you cavities. Fruit’s sugar is like nature’s energy reserve created specifically for your body.
Fruit is also full of vitamins such as:
- Vitamin C (boosts your immunity)
- Vitamin A (increases eyesight and skin health)
If you aren’t crazy about the fruit you’ve tasted so far, head to the farmers market and try some new fruit that is in season.
Victory Veggies
Veggies can be hard to love because on their own they can seem bland and tasteless. But did you know that there are more than 400 different kinds of vegetables? Surely you can find a handful you like in all of those!
Veggies are the goldmine for nutrition and make for some pretty delicious snacks. Here are a couple of good things veggies have plenty of.
- Protein is what your body is made of—your muscles and your hair. You need it to grow. And you can get it by eating veggies, like beans and broccoli.
- Fiber keeps everything inside your digestion in check and your body working like it should. It also helps you to feel full. Veggies are chock full of it.
Did you know you can make fries with sweet potato?
Here’s a recipe you might want to try.
Sweet Potato Chips
Ingredients:
- 1 large sweet potato (yam)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Wash the sweet potato slice it as thinly as possible. Try to keep all your slices the same thickness so they’ll bake evenly. Soak them in water for about 10 minutes.
Pat your slices dry and put them in a bowl with the olive oil. Toss them with a fork until they’re coated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put a cooling rack on top of it. Lay your sweet potato slices on the cooling rack and sprinkle them with salt. Put the whole tray in the oven.
Bake for 40 minutes to an hour until the chips curl up a bit and just turn brown a little. Enjoy!
You can also use: winter pine, eggplant or red beetroot (raw) separate or all together
So, the next time you need a snack, remember to reach for something that doesn’t come from a packet and see how you feel after eating it!
What fruit or vegetable are you reaching for today? I would love to know!
by Josefina | Aug 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
When you have big pores on your face, it makes it easier to get them clogged with oil and dirt. This in turn leads to acne breakouts. To reduce your pores naturally, try one of the following methods.
Use Ice on Your Skin
This might be one of the less common remedies for reducing your pores, and is as natural as can be. If you have ice in your freezer, it can be used to reduce your pores. The reason is because the ice will help to tighten your skin, so it starts naturally shrinking your pores at the same time. You will feel refreshed and ready to take on the day. Ice directly on the skin might burn a bit, so you can wrap it in a thin cloth if you prefer. Rub it against your skin for just a few seconds. If you prefer, you can simply rinse your face with cold water in the morning.
Try Making a Yogurt Mask
Plain yogurt has a lot of uses for beauty, including turning it into a face mask that can help reduce your pores. Yogurt has a lot of healthy bacteria and probiotics which are great for your skin, while also helping to reduce your pores. For a yogurt mask, you can use yogurt alone or add in some other natural ingredients, from essential oils to apple cider vinegar. Apply the yogurt mask to your face and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Rinse well with cool water and pat dry. This is not something you do every day, but rather once or twice a week to be effective.
Apply Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is starting to trend a lot in natural health circles because of the long list of benefits it has. It is acidic, but it isn’t bad for your skin. Quite the opposite actually. Apple cider vinegar can help to balance the pH level of your skin, while also providing antibacterial properties. This helps to cleanse your pores and eventually shrink them. You want to mix apple cider vinegar with water, using one part of each for the proper ratio. Apply it to your skin with a cotton ball like you would a skin tonic, leaving it for a few minutes. Rinse it off with cool water. Make sure you apply a moisturizer afterward.
How do you take care of lagre pores?
by Josefina | Aug 16, 2017 | Superfoods
When you are looking to bring a sandwich type of food on your picnic, you might decide that sandwiches are a little messier and you want to think outside the box. Another great option is to go with a wrap. These typically use spinach or whole wheat tortillas which are often healthier than bread, and really help to make a filling wrap with stuff that isn’t falling out while you sit outside to eat it.
Chicken Caesar Wrap
One of the most important types of wraps is a chicken Caesar wrap. This is simply a chicken Caesar salad but placed in a tortilla all wrapped up, usually without the croutons. This can also be turned into a low-carb wrap by wrapping it all up in lettuce instead of a tortilla. The basic ingredients include pieces of cooked chicken, a little bit of cheese, lettuce, and some Caesar dressing. You can also load it up with any other veggies you want to include.
Low-Carb Lettuce Wrap
Another way to go low-carb with the wrap is to use any meats, veggies, and cheeses you want on the inside of a large lettuce leaf. Multiple pieces of iceberg lettuce and romaine lettuce work well for wraps. On the inside, fill it up with any meats and cheeses you want, with a little bit of veggies. Some of the low-carb veggies typically allowed include greens, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions in moderation, mushrooms, and broccoli.
Veggies and Hummus
Another way to go with your wrap is also a vegetarian option. You can use your preferred tortilla for the wrap, then add some hummus on the inside, followed by your favorite veggies. The great thing about this type of wrap is that it is very low in fat and calories, carb-friendly depending on the veggies you use, and is great for vegetarians and vegans. For the tortilla, consider a healthier option like a whole wheat tortilla or a spinach wrap.
BLT Wrap
If you enjoy BLTs, you can make it a little lighter by adding these ingredients to a wrap inside. There will be quite a bit of lettuce in the tortilla, really adding more nutrients and helping to fill you up. You can then add some sliced tomatoes, along with your bacon. To lighten it up even more, consider using turkey bacon instead of full-fat bacon. You can add mayonnaise to it if you want, or just keep it lighter by not using that at all.
How often do you eat wraps? Do you have any other easy and delicious recipes to add? Tell me in the comments!
by Josefina | Aug 9, 2017 | Body
Coconut oil is one of the top natural products you can use for your health, as well as your skin and even your hair. When it comes to beauty, you will find that coconut oil is recommended far more than any other product. Here are five different ways to use coconut oil for natural beauty.
Remove Your Makeup
The first option you have is to use the coconut oil as a makeup remover. In each of these options, make sure you are using organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil. This is the natural form of coconut oil that will work best for you. Coconutoil can be purchased in a big jar that lasts a lot longer and works better than traditional makeup removers. You can apply it to a cotton pad and remove makeup, or put it directly on your skin with your fingers. Rinse away the excess, but don’t worry about leaving it on your skin. It is a great moisturizer.
Deep Condition Your Hair
Coconut oil is also an amazing way to get soft, silky hair. It can be used completely on its own as a hair mask. All you need to do is melt the coconut oil by putting the jar under hot water, grab some iny our hands and apply it to your hair. You can put it in damp hair and let it sit just while you shower, then rinse it off, or leave it in for longer by wrapping your hair in a towel. This is completely up to you. For deep conditioning, leave it in for an hour or longer before rinsing.
Improve Your Oral Health
If you haven’t tried coconutoil pulling, now is a great time to start. This will clean between your teeth, whiten your teeth, and freshen your breath. You need about a tablespoon of melted coconutoil to do this. Just put the coconut oil in your mouth and pull it between your teeth, swishing it around your mouth. Try to do this for 5-10 minutes about once or twice a day, depending on how long you can do it. You can start with just a couple minutes at first until you become accustomed to it.
Get Softer Skin
Coconut oil is also used to moisturize your skin. You can use it as a body lotion or apply it to your skin before your regular skin lotion. Just be careful not to use too much. If you have cuticles that are cracked, go ahead and apply it there and you will notice that your nails look better and manicures last longer.
Apple as Under-Eye Cream
Finally, try adding some melted coconut oil to the skin underneath your eyes. It is very soft in this area, so you should only use the gentlest of products. This will help reduce puffiness, help with dark circles, and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Do you like to use coconut oil? If you want more tips on natural beauty, you can click at this article about starting your own natural beauty routine.
by Josefina | Jul 27, 2017 | Body
Summer is the perfect time for a new natural beauty routine. This should include using natural ingredients, paying more attention to how you care for your skin and hair, and sticking to the routine on a daily basis. Here are some ideas for starting a brand new natural beauty routine for the summer season and the rest of the year.
Exfoliate Your Entire Body
Instead of just exfoliating your face, why not scrub your entire body? This is great to do as a new natural beauty routine, especially during the summer. It will leave all your skin feeling and looking refreshed, as well as being nice and soft. To start with, you can use a body scrub of natural ingredients. Combine any type of sugar or salt with oil like olive oil or coconut oil, and add some essential oils. This is the easiest way to have a body exfoliator. You can also start using a dry brush and buff the skin with it. Dry brushing has tons of health benefits.
Rinse Your Hair With Apple Cider Vinegar
For your hair care routine, now is the perfect time to try some new natural products. One great product to use on your hair is apple cider vinegar. This just provides a simple risk that will clean your hair and help to remove buildup or dandruff from your scalp. It can also add some shine to your hair. Dilute the vinegar with the same amount of water, then add it to your hair, rinsing well in the shower. If you want a better scent, try some essential oils.
Make a Yogurt and Oatmeal Mask
To start a new beauty routine, you don’t want to forget about your face. This is a good time to use a mask about once a week. You can make your own with just oatmeal and plain yogurt, providing all you need to moisturize your skin. The oatmeal is also going to exfoliate it in a gentle way. Mix these ingredients together and rub the mask on your face, letting it sit for about 10 minutes. Rinse it off with cool water.
Make sure using sunscreen is always a part of your beauty routine! This protects your skin from sun damage, as well as helping to keep away premature fine lines and wrinkles, which is often the result of too much sun without protection.
Do you think about starting a natural beauty routine?
