Bending so I don't Break

I'm gonna be honest here and tell you that my wellness journey is an uphill battle most days.  I'm generally healthy but I LOVE to eat.  And most of what I love definitely does NOT fall into the category of "healthy".  Greasy burgers, Tex-Mex, bar-b-que, pizza and wine are all tops on my favorite foods list.  As I type this,  I'm having lunch prepared for me by my husband.  It's leftovers from two different dinners this week.  A salad with baked chicken and a bowl up green chile tortilla soup are generally healthy options, but my husband knows me well.  He added a healthy pile of cheese to both of them by default.  He assumed I would want cheese (and he's right, although I probably would have skipped it because I'm trying).
Exercise is another area I struggle with.  Let's face it.  I'm lazy.  I spend most of my day in front of a computer or working in my kitchen.  Feeding 6 people will do that for you. I'm just not motivated to get out and get all sweaty and tired.  In all honesty, I do always feel good afterwards and I'm always glad I did it, it's the starting that is hard.  I have found something that I love to do though, and it's good for my body.

Yoga.  Yup, I love doing yoga.  Some day I'll start going to a class, but for now, I do it at home.  The great thing about Yoga is that it's good for people of all ages and abilities.  It's also easy to modify, so even my mom who had a stroke recently can do some poses from a seated position in a chair and receive some of the benfits.

I personally have found an app for my cell phone and iPad that I use.  It has a variety of workouts so you don't get bored and is perfect for beginners and experienced yogis alike.  Check out Daily Yoga and see if you might like it, too.  The fantastic thing is that it is free.  And there are plenty of free workouts to choose from so there's no cost commitment.  If you decide you like it you can pay for upgraded features and unlock even more workouts.  

You may think you're not flexible enough for yoga, but trust me, you are.  The great thing about yoga is that you start where you are and if you keep doing it, eventually you'll be able to do all the poses.  I can do poses now that I couldn't even attempt when I started.  (Look up half boat pose, for example)  

If you're looking for exercise that isn't difficult or taxing on your body, try some yoga.  You start where you are and after only a couple of weeks you'll notice you're stronger and more flexible than when you started.  Just don't be mad if you become addicted to it like I did.

Detoxing My Home

****UPDATED****

Contest is now closed and we have a winner!!

Rachel Rhody, please email me at restorationoilers@gmail.com to claim your prize!!


I know you guys have all heard about detox diets, cleanses and so on.  But do you know what they are used for?  Mainly, detox diets and cleanses are designed to help you rid your body of anything toxic that may be hanging out (especially in your digestive system) so that your body is healthier.  While body detoxing is all the rage (we'll talk about that another day), have you ever thought about the fact that your home might need detoxing, too?  Go take a look under your kitchen sink (or wherever you keep all your household cleaners).  Go on, go look, take a mental inventory of the products and brands that are there.  GO.  This is important.  You need to know what's there.  It'll be important later.
If you're wanting to really make a healthy change for yourself and your family you can't stop with just your groceries or even your personal care products.  One of the most toxic products in American homes is air freshener!  Because the particles are airborne, we breath them in.  If the particles are toxic chemicals and we breath those in, we are doing damage to our health!  If anyone in your family has asthma or other respiratory issues, you understand, because often those products can irritate the airways and cause symptoms to appear or worsen.  But even if you don't have asthma, you are still inhaling toxic junk!  Anytime we come in contact with toxins in our environment, they affect our health in a variety of ways.  You can read here to find out more about some of the worst offenders.
This is all pretty scary, but making major changes can be hard and expensive!  Here's what I recommend:
Start with ONE product.  Just one.  Maybe it's the worst thing you have, maybe it's the one thing you use the most often.  Doesn't matter.  Just pick ONE product and make the switch.
Replace products as you use them up.  This is what I'm doing.  As I empty a container of a product I've been using, I replace it with something better.
You don't have to make all these changes all at once.  Start slowly, do what you can, as you can and eventually you'll be rid of all the toxic cleaning products.
***If you have or have been recently diagnosed with a respiratory disease, consider making some of these changes faster.***

Okay, remember that mental list of products from your stash of cleaning supplies?  Now is the time to dust it off.  Go to this link and find your products to see what toxicity grade they get.  You can search by product type over on the left.

EECK.

Did you look?  Was it bad?  Were you surprised?  For full disclosure purposes, while you were looking at yours, I was looking at mine.  I have STARTED the process of switching to better products.  Because I am aware of the terrible garbage in most of our cleaning products, I have been switching.  I mostly use Young Living Essential Oil's Thieves Cleaner.  (If you want to know more about why I use Young Living products, read here.)  Buuutttttttt, I still have some of the old products. Mostly because I'm a tightwad very frugal person and don't want to waste something I paid for.  So here's what's left under my kitchen sink (I have older kids who have been taught to clean so they avoid my stash of cleaning products like the plague for fear of having to do housework.  If you have littles, I suggest storing them somewhere else, even natural ones):

General bathroom cleaner with bleach:  F 

Toilet bowl cleaner:  D 

Carpet Stain remover: D

My Young Living Cleaner isn't listed on the EWG website, but you can look at a list of the chemicals found in the product and compare it to the list on the EWG website to get a good idea of how harmful the product is.  My guess is that my Young Living cleaner would rate a VERY good grade.  Take a good look at the list of products and the grades some of the "natural" cleaners get.  Not very good, especially when you pay two or three times the price of conventional products for those.  It's super important that we be educated consumers.  If you want what's best for your family you have to arm yourself with knowledge.

So, since you've spent time today arming yourself with knowledge, I think it's time for a little treat.  Comment below with your products' scores on the EWG website and you'll be automatically entered to win a Young Living Fruit and Vegetable Spray!  

The Winter Itchies

I've admitted I struggle to drink enough water.  Proper water consumption keeps your skin hydrated and healthy.  So I'm trying to get the proper amount of water in my system each day, and I'm making progress, but a few extra glasses of water for a few days isn't going to completely replenish the moisture in my skin.  It will take a little longer than that.
Even with all the extra water I'm now drinking, winter is BRUTAL on my skin.  Like dragon scale brutal.  This morning I got up and started itching on my shins.  I've had this problem before.  The skin right down the front of my shins gets dry and SUPER itchy.  I could scratch until I bleed if I let myself (which I don't).  Because of my husband's excema, we have always kept a supply of prescription strength moisturizers laying around.  I normally reach for those with mixed results.
  Today when the dragon legs showed up, I decided to try a more natural fix and I'm so glad I did!  There are tons of recipes for fancy lotions and creams using essential oils and natural products floating around, and I have plans to make some of those to see how I like them, but today I needed emergency relief!
All I had on hand was some coconut oil and my Young Living Essential Oils.  (I ONLY use Young Living and if you're curious as to why, read here)  So I dug out some coconut oil and put it in a small glass bowl that I have a lid for.  Then I added several drops of lavender oil to it and stirred like crazy.  It made a thick cream which I smeared on my legs.  Aahhhhh.  Instant relief.
Just a warning, the coconut oil was in a solid state because of the temperature of my house in winter.  I stirred it which helped a lot, but it was still kinda chunky and not at all smooth.  If that texture freaks you out, you could probably make it more pliable and smooth by setting the bowl in a couple inches of warm water for a bit, but not too long or your cream will be watery lotion!

See.  Seriously easy.  I do plan to try some of the "fancy" lotion and cream recipes I have pinned on my Pinterest boards, but in an itchy emergency, this stuff worked miracles.

Warning:  you will smell like a beach at spring break when you apply it.  But the smell does go away after a while, sort of.

Queen of the Water Bottle

I'm trying to be healthier.  Really.  Ignore the fact that I ate like crap all weekend.  I'm TRYING.  One of the easiest ways to be healthier is to replace your favorite beverages with good ol' water.  I know this.  This fact is in my head.  I've read the articles and the research.  I know it can help you lose weight if you drink it before meals and all day long.  Staying hydrated keeps the bloating away, keeps you from snacking when you're not hungry and helps to flush all the toxins out of your body.  I know all this.  But water is so, so......

BLAH.

It's just so plain and boring.  If only Dr. Pepper had health benefits.  But, alas, I am left to choose between healthy or tasty.

Or maybe not.  There are tons of water enhancers on the market today, targeting people like me who want to drink more water but want it to taste like something.  The unfortunate problem with those drink enhancers is that they contain sugar, sodium, artificial flavorings, artificial color and many contain artificial sweeteners.  In my opinion, this defeats the purpose of drinking water in the first place.  You might as well pour me that Dr. Pepper.  (Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but you get my point.)

Once I started using essential oils (read here about the oils I use and why) I soon discovered that I could put some oils in my water and it tasted good!  And there weren't all those unnatural additives to worry about.  Water that tasted good and was still good for me?  Score!

     ****Disclaimer, not all essential oils are created equal.  I only use Young Living Essential Oils that have been approved by the FDA as food additives.  Those oils have a nutrition label box on the bottle and have been deemed safe to consume in appropriate amounts.  I WOULD NOT ingest oils that did not come with that little box on the label. Again, read here about why I use Young Living and am comfortable ingesting these oils.****

The great thing about adding essential oils to my water is that not only do they taste good, but they ADD health benefits to my water.  Some of my favorites include lemon, orange, peppermint, lime, grapefruit, citrus fresh and tangarine!  YUM!  So grab some essential oils and a bottle of water and enjoy!

Warning:  citrus oils breakdown petroleum products so I advise that you only consume water with citrus oils added in a GLASS, ceramic or stainless steel container.  Plastic containers can break down and start to leak.

So join me in drinking healthier this year!  Cheers!

Power Punch Smoothie

Breakfast and I have a love-hate relationship.  I don't like to eat as soon as I get up.  When I was growing up I would get dressed and ready for school THEN go to the table for breakfast.  My brother was one of those people who couldn't figure out what foot to put his socks on if he hadn't eaten.  As soon as his feet hit the floor he would stumble to the table for his vat of cheerios.  Now that I'm an adult I understand the importance of eating breakfast and not waiting too long to get it in your belly to jumpstart your metabolism.  While coffee is a neccessary evil in my life, I know that isn't a good breakfast.  But I still don't like eating as soon as I hit the floor, and breakfast (other than cold cereal) is a pain to make.  So I needed a solution.  I found one in this.  It's pretty brainless to make (about the same number of steps as making coffee) and I can drink my breakfast instead of having to weld a fork and knife. because if you've encountered me before I hit the bottom of my coffee cup in the morning, you'd know that forks and knives are NOT tools I should use that early.  The great thing about this brainless, drinkable breakfast is that it is sooooooo good for you!  It really is the perfect breakfast.  Thanks to the almond butter and greek yogurt it's loaded with protein (which will help keep you full if you're trying to take off a spare tire or two like me), and lots of the healthy goodness of raspberries, which pretty much are close to perfect with all their goodness (think antioxidant overload).  The yogurt is fat free, saving on calories.  And since it's Greek yogurt, you get fat free without sugar being added back in for flavor!  *on a side note, we love Greek yogurt in our house, we use it as a fat-free substitute for sour cream too!*  So here's the recipe for my Power Punch Smoothie!

1 cup of Greek yogurt, plain (do not get vanilla, there's extra hidden sugar in that people! nobody needs those calories.)
1 cup of frozen raspberries
2 Tablespoons almond butter
Ice *optional*
Blender

Pick whatever brands you can find or you prefer.  This is what I happen to be able to find at my local grocery stores.

I say the ice is optional because it doesn't do much other than add some volume and keep it a little colder a little longer.  I have the blocks of ice that your typical icemaker produces.  If you have access to crushed ice, that is so much better.  My blender HATES the icecubes and I always end up with big chunks of ice.

Throw everything in the blender together.  Seriously just toss it in there.   I don't even measure anymore.  I can't think that clearly that early in the morning.

This is it.  Now just blend it up.  I have to baby my blender.  Hopefully you don't!

It doesn't look like there's much there when it's still in the blender.  It is a single serving, but trust me, it's plenty.

It is important that when you poor it up that you put it in a pretty glass.  Dig out the good stuff, ladies.  If you won't do it for yourself, who will?  Certainly not the kindergartner who is currently wiping his snotty nose on your bathrobe.  Oh wait, that doesn't happen to you?  Oh well.  I'll wear my snotty robe with pride.  It's the way I roll.

Now enjoy.  This is a healthy serving because let's face it.  If you're drinking something pink and creamy, the 8 year-old princess is gonna want a sip or six.  Go ahead, let her.  It's good for her, too and there's enough to share...a little bit anyway.

A fun straw adds to the joy.  I firmly believe that food should be savored and enjoyed.  Fun straws help me accomplish that.

Now I'm all fueled up for my day.  Warning:  This is NOT a sweet smoothie.  It is an acquired taste for some.  But by the time you get to the bottom of the glass, I promise you'll love it.  Enjoy!!