Living Well

Before and After Foods: What Should You Really Be Eating Around Your Workout? 0

There are two things we need to discuss: why it’s better to eat something before your workout and the confusion between what’s good to eat before versus after. Many people think it’s best to not eat anything at all before exercising, but we need to view (healthy) food as fuel for our bodies. With this perspective in mind, we want to have enough energy so we can get through our workout. So let’s take a look at how you should be fueling up your body to make the most out of your exercise routine:

When choosing a snack to have before your workout,  by before we don’t mean you’re swallowing your last bite just as your begin to do sprints. Generally a good rule of thumb is to eat 30 minutes before you begin your routine. Another key point to be aware of is that this is not the time to experiment with new foods. You want something your body is familiar with so that it can be easily digested and used as fuel. The last thing you want is your body trying to figure out what to do with that foreign substance in your stomach and getting sick while you’re trying to start your jumping jacks.  It’s also great to add liquids to your pre-workout snack, which is why we love the idea of having a protein smoothie - add some spinach, banana, berries, almonds, and water to a blender. You can get really creative with this - the point is to have simple and complex carbs, and an amount of protein to fuel your workout. Other options we like are a piece of whole wheat toast with almond butter, a sliced banana, and some cinnamon - or try out some crackers with hummus if you want something a little more savory. Additionally, to keep it simple, slice up an apple and add some almond butter!

So now that you’ve busted your butt and ran through all of your energy during your workout, we want to give you something that will not only replenish your body but act as a recovery method to all the muscles you just worked out. As we focused on the carbs with some protein before the workout, we now want to consume more protein with some carbs added to the mix. Again, eat your post-workout meal within a half hour (to an hour) after you’ve finished your routine. We’re going to add a protein smoothie to the list of options again - except this time around, up the protein intake by adding a scoop of your favorite powder. Additionally, other great choices are fish (salmon) over a bed of greens or some quinoa with steamed veggies. You can get really creative with options here, but again, the most important takeaway is that you definitely do want to eat pre- and post-workout.

Our Favorite Home Remedies 0

Sometimes throughout the day we get bugged by annoying little problemsthat stop us in our tracks – like a pimple that seems to pop up out of nowhere, or a wave of nausea hits us that makes us take a seat. Although it’s important to realize when you need medical attention or should make an appointment with your doctor, check out these quick and easy home remedies when you’re looking for a quick fix at home to scare away some of the symptoms:

Acne – After washing your face with warm water and your favorite salicylic acid face wash, soak a cotton ball in a solution of 1:3 apple cider vinegar and water, respectively. Use this topical mixture right on your problem area and leave on for at least 10 minutes. Afterwards, wash your face again, pat dry, and finish with your daily moisturizer. Feel free to repeat several times in a day until you begin to see improvement.

Bloating – try adding a carminative herb to your food, tea, or just eat on its own! (We love peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, and chamomile). Carminative properties help to sooth your stomach lining and reduce the production of gas, therefore helping to ease any boating you may have.

Burns – for those minor burns when you accidentally touch something hot in your kitchen, quickly scoot on over to your pantry and pull out the vanilla extract and dab it on the burn – believe it or not, the evaporation of the alcohol will help ease the pain by cooling the burn down. If you have more time, get a couple of black tea bags (2 or 3 depending on the surface area of the burn), soak them in cool water, and place directly on the burn. Better yet, use gauze to help hold the tea bags in place.

Congestion – we all know a steaming hot shower can really help to clear us up, but if you’re not looking to get your whole body wet, drape a towel over a large bowl (or sink) of hot water to clear those nasal passages. Make it even better by adding peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, or a few drops of your favorite essential oil and inhale!

Cough – If you’ve already seen your doctor and at this point just have to wait it out, make a tea out of some ingredients right in your kitchen! Boil a teacup of water and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tbsp of honey. Drink this homemade tea daily until your see improvement in your cough.

Cracked, dry lips – Vaseline! We love that it is such a versatile product, and it works great on lips. (Okay, this isn’t exactly a home remedy, but it’s probably the easiest and quickest way, and chances are you have some in your house!) And don’t forget to scrub away all of that dry skin with warm water and a toothbrush or use an exfoliating face wash!

Headaches – this is where all of your herbs and essential oils have the opportunity to shine! Make tea with ginger or chamomile, draw a bath with lavender or peppermint, or use thyme or rosemary oil for a head rub.

Tips for Staying on Track with Your Health and Wellness Goals 0

Start Small—the same way our bad habits weren’t formed in a day, we can’t expect an entire lifestyle change to take place overnight. But if we can make ourselves try one thing differently—like get up in the morning and put your gym clothes on right away—over time we can form habits that make taking the next step that much easier. Before you know it, you won’t be able to put on those gym clothes fast enough!

Be SMART—many of us have heard of the powerful acronym for creating goals that actually have the potential to be achieved. The reason it’s so important to have specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals is that it gives us somewhere to go and differentiates our efforts from being just a dream. Essentially, using this method will help you to visualize the steps you need to take to make changes in your lifestyle. Instead of simply deciding you want to drink more water, planning out how much water you’ll drink and how you’ll gradually increase your intake over a certain amount of time takes out the guesswork of how to get started with making that change!

Tell Everyone!—accountability is key here. The advantage of announcing your health goals to the people around you is that if you don’t get up to put on your gym clothes that morning or if you didn’t drink that last glass of water, you’ll have those people to answer to. That alone can give someone the motivation to get things done! Better yet, if you have someone working towards the same goal as you, by supporting one another you can be there when the other person is feeling unmotivated, and vice versa. And don’t stop there, share it with your journal! Being able to read back and see how far you’ve come can also be a great motivator for those days you’re just not feeling it.

The Possibilities are Endless!—when we think of health goals, many times losing weight and eating healthier are the first to come to mind. The great news is there are so many other ways to improve our health and overall wellness. You can make a goal to go to the gym more and eat less, but you can also make goals to get outside with friends, always choose to take the stairs, add natural oils to your diet (we love CBD Hemp Oil), or try that new spin class your coworker has been telling you about! The point is to find something that excites you—and don’t be afraid to switch it up. Now get out there and start achieving!

How to Get the Most Out of Your Smoothie 0

Having a homemade smoothie as a meal or snack is a great way to sneak in some vitamins and minerals in convenient and on-the-go packaging. But if you’re not putting the right stuff in, you may not be getting the right stuff out. Read on to see how you can build the perfect nutritional smoothie.

1. Work towards the blade: For this blog we’ll be talking about cups that you fill and flip over to blend, but this can be applied to any blender! You first want to fill your cup with your vegetables, so go ahead and add a cup of greens! We love a mixture of spinach and kale, but collard greens is also a great option. Although you may have a green smoothie in the end, you won’t be able to taste it once we add on everything else.

2. Next, take a banana and break it up into your cup. Then add a handful and then some of your favorite fruit—if you can, use frozen fruit! It will make it so much tastier! We love using mixtures of berries, but feel free to experiment by trying kiwi, mangos, cherries, peaches, etc.

3. Go nuts! With almonds, of course. Or walnuts and pecans! These are some of the best sources of nuts you can get, so add a small handful to the top of your smoothie. If you prefer, get a nut or seed butter instead, like almond butter or sunflower seed butter!

4. Add something special: Try a scoop of chia seeds or maybe some flax seeds. Look around to see what extra boost you want to add to your diet—for blenders that actually break down the seeds so your body can absorb what’s inside, this is a great option! If you’re using this smoothie as a meal replacement or post-workout, then try a scoop or two of protein powder. There are tons of types out there—we love whey protein because it has 9 amino acids your body can’t produce on its own, or try soy protein powder if you’re looking for a vegan option. These are great if you want something to help keep you full longer.

5. We need to get some liquid in here so the ingredients can actually blend together. Keep it simple by adding some water about 2/3 of the way up your cup, or add your favorite milk—cow’s milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc.

Blend away! If you drink your smoothie right away, you’ll notice it may have a purple color if you added a bunch of berries, but if you drink it later on once it’s settled, you may notice the green from all the spinach and kale you added! Either way, it should taste great from the fruit, and if you’re looking for other ways to add flavor without added sugar, try some cinnamon or vanilla extract before you blend your ingredients. Enjoy!

7 Things You Can Do Today to Feel Healthier Tomorrow 0

Sometimes you’re just in need of a quick way to help get you back on track with your health and wellness goals. Well here are 7 of them that you can do right now to start improving your wellness routine and get back into the habit of being health conscious.

Oil Pulling—oil what?! Let us explain by thinking of it this way—rather than using mouthwash we’re using oil, like coconut oil, and instead of 30 seconds, try 15-20 minutes. But the benefits look so promising, you’ll want to get started right away! First off, we love coconut oil because by itself it has vitamins A, B, D and K. View our other blog post here to see vitamin benefits for your body. At the very least, coconut oil is a great organic substitute for mouthwash and can help improve skin and teeth. So what else is going on while you’re swishing around coconut oil for 20 minutes? The idea is that the toxins are being ‘pulled’ out into your mouth, so you’ll definitely want to spit it out afterwards (be sure to spit in the trash so you don’t risk the oil clogging up your sink). Try taking 1 tablespoon per day—people have claimed seeing results after just one use, but we recommend trying it for a whole week to see what it can do for you!

Breathing Exercises—who knew something so simple could have so many benefits? When you take several deep breaths—breathing slowly all the way in and all the way out—it activates your vagus nerve (in laymen’s terms, your body switches from storing fat to burning it). In addition, the process of breathing in so deeply rids your lungs of carbon dioxide and as a result increase your oxygen intake. So what are you waiting for—get breathing!

Drink Water—you know the saying, drink water now, because you’ll need it later! Whether you’ve heard it or not, it’s very true. If you’re someone who rarely drinks a glass of water, we guarantee you’ll notice a huge difference in the way you feel when you drink 2 to 3 liters a day. Although studies show differing recommendations on how much water you should drink, we’ve found the easiest way to drink water is to always carry it on your person, and when in doubt, take a sip! Not only does it keep you hydrated, but it regulates your body temperature, cushions your joints, and helps rid your body of harmful toxins. Another easy way to tell you’re getting enough water—your urine is light yellow or colorless!

Daily Oil Dosage—yep, we’re talking about CBD Hemp Oil! It comes in several different forms you can check out here, but a daily dose of it can help take you from distress to de-stress. Ahhh.

Tongue Scraping—another great way to extract toxins and bacteria from your body is by purchasing these scrapers inexpensively at health food stores and pharmacies. Throughout the day, bacteria and plaque covers up our tongue, so it makes sense that it can be more difficult to taste our food. But the effect doesn’t stop there—it can make us overcompensate with salt and sugar, ending in a series of overeating. To get the best effect, buy an actual tongue scraper instead of just using your toothbrush to really get those toxins off so you can start tasting again!

Sweat and Stretch—and in this order! Yet another way to get to release toxins from your body is through sweat, so get out and get moving! Exercise should be a daily occurrence anyways, and you want to make sure that you stretch after your warm up and before you start your full-fledged routine—that way your muscles have time to warm up and will stretch better and reduce the risk of injury.

Go to Bed!—although all of these options are great for feeling better as soon as the next day, they’ll all be for nothing if you stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Even though it might be difficult at times, your body will truly thank you the next day if you can squeeze in 7-8 hours of sleep the night before. On top of feeling more energized, it will help keep you on track with healthier eating and your skin will look a lot healthier—how could you pass up on these benefits just from getting a little more shuteye?!

Part 2: Minerals - Learn What Foods Give You the Best Source 0

In part 1, we discussed the different vitamins and how to incorporate them into your diet by choosing the best food sources. This time around, we’re looking at the minerals out there and how you can maximize your intake by following our list of foods for each category. Did you miss Part 1: Vitamins? You can check it out right here. Again, just like last time, in order to provide you with the ultimate best food choices, to make our list the food sources had to provide at least 50% of the dietary reference intake (per the USDA) in one serving. Take a look at part 2!

Minerals

Calcium

Why you need it—it makes our bones strong! 99% of our body’s calcium content can be found in our bones and teeth. What may not be so well-known is that it also aids in our blood’s pH balance and muscle and nerve function. Where you can get it—yup, you guessed it, milk! But this is where it gets a little tricky, since some milk, and enough of it, can provide you with your daily needs of calcium, but also note that you can get your calcium from types of tofu as well!

Copper

Why you need it—it works together with iron to form red blood cells, so consuming foods high in copper can help with anemia. Although many people do not get enough copper in their diet, it is rare to be truly deficient. Where you can get it—seafood, such as oysters, red meat, sunflower and sesame seeds, tempeh, garbanzo and soybeans, cashews, shiitake mushrooms, lentils, and walnuts.

Fluorine

Why you need it—protect your teeth from decay. Where you can get it—fluorinated water as well as tea leaves.

Iodine

Why you need it—it is essential for the production of thyroid hormones in producing energy, with the thyroid gland containing about 70-80% of your body’s iodine at any given time. Where you can get it—sea vegetables (seaweed), scallops, cod, iodized salt, and yogurt.

Iron

Why you need it—it is responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood to your cells and has a role in producing the body’s energy source (ATP). Where you can get it—red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, soybeans, and fortified breakfast cereals.

Magnesium

Why you need it—it’s important for proper organ function, especially the heart, muscles and kidneys, and in addition helps activate enzymes and regulate levels of other minerals throughout the body. Where you can get it—pumpkin seeds, spinach, Swiss chard.

Phosphorus

Why you need it—about 80% of your body’s phosphorus content lies in the bones and teeth, so it too plays a strong role alongside calcium, and in addition helps filter out waste in the kidneys. Where you can get it—a good rule of thumb is looking for protein-rich foods, so try scallops, sardines, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, cod, tuna, salmon, lentils, and shrimp.

Potassium

Why you need it—we need this mineral for proper digestive and muscle functioning, and in addition low levels of potassium have been linked to high blood pressure. Where you can get it—yes, we all know bananas have potassium, but there are some other food sources richer in potassium that might surprise you. While there isn’t one food source that will give you all your daily potassium needs in a single serving, you can still get a good amount from beet greens, lima beans, Swiss chard, potatoes and sweet potato, spinach, and avocado.

Selenium

Why you need it—it works along with vitamin E to prevent the damage of free radicals in the body, in addition to playing a role in thyroid and immune system functioning. Where you can get it—look for meat and fish here, especially tuna, shrimp, sardines, salmon, turkey, cod, chicken, and lamb. But wait, if you’re looking for an alternative, Brazil nuts provide over 700% of your daily value!

Sodium

Why you need it—it works alongside potassium to regulate the body’s fluid balance in addition to aiding in nerve and muscle function. Where you can get it—table salt, seafood, and cheese.

Zinc

Why you need it—it plays a large role in immune system functioning and also supports normal growth and development. Where you can get it—red meats and some cheeses are a good source, although by far oysters are the richest source of zinc.