My whole purpose with this blog post is to help shift your mindset from viewing health & fitness as this extreme program - workout every day, meal prep every meal, avoiding all indulgences, and meditate for an hour each day in a rose garden with an ocean view - to a more realistic view that it's a lifestyle, and the fact is that life is not perfect. The other fact is that what's healthy and working for one person may not be the right path or plan for someone else. We all have our own busy schedules, our own family situations, and our bodies are very different. READ MORE, click on title :)
If you've worked with me, done my programs, or have been following me for some time now, you know that I'm always preaching to get your veggies in at every meal! Well today for my Friday Favorites post I wanted to share with you my 5 favorite ways to sneak in those veggies, especially the green ones! Click the links to download my recipe PDF's and if you want more of these amazing recipes along side an awesome, kick butt workout program, sculpting your body in 8 weeks, click HERE to get my Sculpted for Summer program! Available no until the end of April, soooo don't miss it!
Ok so here we go, my 5 favorite ways to get in your veggies!
1) Replace those Grains with Veggies! It's a simple step but can make a huge difference. You can make veggies the base to any meal! Some of my favorites are Cauliflower rice, Spiralized Zoodles, Shredded Carrots, and of course just a bed of leafy greens with all the delicious toppings (spinach, arugula, kale, etc.) (Check out one of my favorite veggie based recipes HERE)
2) Frozen in my smoothies. Did you know that you can freeze veggies? I've heard the concern of not wanting to buy too much produce for the fear it will go bad before you get the chance to eat it. Weeeell Fear no more! Just before that tipping point of going bad, take those green leafy vegetables and put them in a zip-lock and stick them in the freezer! You can also do this with Cucumbers and zucchini. Peel, cut in half, and freeze. These greens will be perfect to throw into your morning smoothie, adding good texture and bulk without sugar or a lot of calories. (Check out some of my favorite Green Smoothie Recipes HERE)
3) Shredded in my Oats. This one may sound a little crazy. Why would you every put vegetables in your oatmeal? But trust me, it adds bulk without the sugar, and you can't even taste it! You can still have a sweeter breakfast with veggies included, best of both worlds. Some of my favorite ways to do this are shredded up Zucchini, or those frozen greens I was talking about. Stir them up in your oats, add in your other flavoring & liquids and heat them up in the microwave or stove top. (Here's a recipe for some Zucchini Oats to try out - plus some more of my favorite oaties.
4) Shredded in baked goods. I love to bake, and I also love to eat what I've baked :) So lets make this a win win and sneak some veggies into those baked goods! If you have little kids who don't like eating veggies this is a great way to get around that. You can put shredded or blended veggies into pancake batter, quick bread, muffins, waffles, etc. Some favs are zucchini and carrots. Here's one of my favorite carrot muffin recipes.
5) And of course, the easy way out, Super green powders! If you just need something quick, extremely easy, and feel like you're not getting enough veggies in your meals, or you rather drink your greens than create a meal with vegetables, you may want to try a green powder. The trick is picking the right one. I'm not an expert on this stuff, because I love cooking and eating whole veggies, but I've recruited some back up. Check out this article from Barbend.com that ranks the best super green powders out there! Lots of good information so make sure to check it out.
Well thanks for following along and reading. I'd love to hear what your favorite ways are to sneak in some extra veggies, comment below!
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all of this meal prep talk, healthy eating, portions, macro counting, the list goes on and on? Well this post is for you babe.
I recently had a follower reach out to me and ask some advice for eating healthy in her unique situation. She will be moving to a place with limited options for stores, and a limited income. I’ve worked with young students who may think it’s impossible to afford to eat healthy on there budget. I’ve also received other questions along the lines of, “I never know what to make with whats in my fridge. Then I get frustrated and just end up heating up a pizza or something because its easier. How do you know what to make?” I’ve also been in unique situations myself, living a broad this last year when I didn’t have access to what my normal healthy meal prep consisted of in the U.S. but found some awesome healthy substitutes wherever I was and made it work. We were also on an extremely tight, intern budget, but made it work!
What I want to focus on today is how you can build healthy meals with just a few staple ingredients. If you always have these things on hand, include them in your weekly grocery list, you can add leftovers from dinner to them, add different seasonal vegetables, and always fill full and satisfied after the meal.
I’m going to share some of my staple, simple ingredients, that can be the base to a quick and healthy meal, any day of the week, and some you can make ahead of time and throw together when the hunger hits.
1. Cauliflower Rice. You can obviously make this on your own, and its a bit cheaper. But if the dollars not a huge loss for you, I would recommend investing in the pre-“riced” - cauliflower. It’s extremely convenient and creates less of a mess in your kitchen, and its becoming easier and easier to find! I usually get mine at Trader Joe’s, but I’ve been hearing more and more stores are catching the vision. Why I love it? This can be a base to any meal, and you automatically are getting a vegetable in. You can heat it up in the microwave, or sauté in a pan. It’s a LOT faster than cooking up regular rice, great for a quick meal. Works as a base to any meat/sauce combo, or with any veggies. You won’t miss the starchy, high carb alternatives.
2. Ground meat, Turkey or Beef or Chicken, Grass-fed/Organic preferably. Look for good deals and keep extra in your freezer. Why do I love it? Well being ground meat, it cooks up pretty quick, so you can throw it in a pan, add some seasoning, and you have your protein for your meal in about 8 minutes. Another reason is because it can be so versatile. I use this meat for anything from burgers and meat balls, to stuffed peppers, loaded sweet potatoes, on top of cauliflower rice with veggies, the list goes on.
3. GREENS. Whatever you prefer, kale, spinach, arugula, it’s all delicious and so good for you! Don’t be afraid of buying in large amounts. The tubs at Costco are the best deal, and if you don’t go through it all before it starts to wilt, you can always put it in a bag and freeze it to throw into your smoothies. Why I love it? Well besides all the well known health benefits of leafy greens, when you stock up with this stuff, you will be more likely to eat your vegetables at every meal. You can make a salad bowl with all your toppings rather than a bread sandwich, throw some greens into your eggs, smoothies, and even in with your cauliflower rice and ground turkey! Don’t forget you can add a couple of handfulls to any hot dish on low heat, cover with a lid, and the greens will slightly cook in there.
4. Eggs. I always have eggs on hand! Why do I love them? They’re full of healthy goodness, great source of protein, healthy fats, they’re affordable and so versatile as well. It will take you 10 minutes to make up a batch of hardboiled eggs on Sunday that will last you for the week. With the hard boiled eggs you can make an egg salad, cut them up on top of a green salad, slice them on toast or a cracker, or even just eat them plain with some salt and pepper. If you’re not fond of hardboiled eggs, you can fry them, sunny side up on some avocado toast (my favorite), or scramble them up with whatever veggies you have on hand. Another option that makes a great and filling dinner is Frittata style, or the crustless quiche. You can add whatever you want! Greens, veggies, tuna, or if you’re feeling fancy, throw in some shrimp or salmon. Sooo good. Eggs are healthy and delicious for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And of course you can even have them with everything on this list! Cauliflower rice, with some greens, ground turkey meat, and throw an egg on top!
5. Avocados. If I could have any tree right outside my back door it would be an avocado tree. I’m slightly obsessed. Why I love them? They are packed with healthy fats, that will keep your body satisfied and burning fat throughout the day. They are also so versatile! When you have some avocados around, your healthy meal options go way up, and the deliciousness is automatically taken to the next level. I enjoy them plain with some seasoning, or with cottage cheese, on Avocado Toast (so many more options there), salad topper, sweet potato topper, smoothie addition (extra creaminess and fats!), chocolate mousse, guacamole with onion & tomato, and of course you can add it right on top of our healthy list here. A cauliflower rice bowl, with greens, ground turkey, eggs, and avocado! They can be a bit expensive depending on where you live, but I’ve found that the 4 pack at Trader Joe’s is usually one of the cheaper options.
So there you have it, 5 simple, staple ingredients, that become building blocks for several healthy meals to keep you on track throughout your busy week. They won’t brake the bank, and you’ll have plenty of options to keep the menu interesting. Have fun in the kitchen, mix and match, add different flavors, create new combinations, figure out what you love and what gets you excited about eating healthy!
Welcome Back! So with the recent feedback from the Resolution Revival program I’ve been so proud of the participating clients and their progress and feedback. There were so many who started off with a goal of “losing some weight” or “having my clothes fit better”, etc. But through a little encouragement and time, I noticed a shift as they completed the weekly benchmark fitness tests. Their goals became focused on strength, and increasing their test results. Accomplishing a physical challenge became more important than the number on the scale, or the way they looked. Then naturally, those other goals followed as a side result! So I thought I’d put in a little plug for strength training this week for my Wednesday Wisdom, and setting strength goals for yourself. Here are my top 5 benefits from strength training that will add to your life and your awesomeness :)
- Confidence. One of the biggest benefits I see in my clients after strength training is the confidence they stand with. Especially as women, there’s something empowering about being able to lift heavy stuff, am I right?! Knowing that you can jump into any situation (most situations I guess ;) and feeling like you can handle yourself feels amazing. Also, the fact that you’ve pushed yourself through hard things without giving up (hard challenging work outs, not quitting when you feel the burn) gives you a confidence to be able to take on challenges that come into your life. You can do hard things!
- Functional strength. The tasks of daily living become easier! You can carry your kids up the stairs without feeling like you want to pass out. You can carry all of your groceries to your car without struggle. Being able to perform the functions of daily life helps you stay young! which leads to the next benefit.
- Live a longer, healthier life. There has been plenty of studies on aging and it’s well known that strength training can actually reverse aging symptoms!! Keeping your muscles from decreasing in size, and your bones dense and healthy. There are also plenty of neurological benefits as well, keeping our neurons firing to all areas of the body. Sounds good to me!
- Naturally burn more fat. Its a common goal to want to “lose body fat” or “tone up”, but most people go about this the wrong way. Doing more cardio and eating less is not always going to get you there. What you really want to do is strength train, put on some muscle, and then once you have muscle underneath that fat, your body will naturally burn more fat throughout the day, and slowly widdle away that layer and those muscles will start to show. Muscle is the best fat burner we can carry around with ourselves everyday. Muscle mass naturally bumps up our metabolism. If you’re looking for a toned, sculpted, lean look, you have to put in the work to build that muscle before its seen underneath the fat layer. Unfortunately we can’t choose where our body stores fat or gets rid of fat, its just a total body thing. Spot reduction doesn’t exist. But we can choose which muscles we build. Eating right is going to play a huge part as well. Proteins, healthy fats, and lots of veggies should do the trick! Trust the process.
- The psychological benefits of accomplishment. Think of the last really hard workout you put yourself through. Did you think to yourself after “I really wish I didn’t do that” or was it more along the lines of “that was hard, but I’m proud I pushed myself through it”. Most likely it was the latter. In a recent study I read, they found that strength training is associated with reductions in anxiety symptoms among healthy adults, reductions in pain intensity among patients with low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia; improvements in cognition among older adults; improvements in sleep quality among depressed older adults; reductions in symptoms of depression among patients with diagnosed depression and fibromyalgia; reductions in fatigue symptoms; and improvements in self-esteem.
Well if I haven’t convinced you yet, see for yourself! Grab some weight, take a break from the treadmill, and experience these benefits in your own life. Here’s some feedback from my clients who have taken on my 4 week challenge:
“The challenge really opened my eyes to how hard I'll need to work to make a change in my body.....20 minutes of cardio here and there isn't going to cut it anymore!”
“After 4 weeks my focus has change from losing weight to building muscle, strengthening, and toning. I am excited to start another 4 weeks!”
“Never before have I done anything like this, but it has been really motivating and fun. I wanted to increase my strength and these workouts have really helped.”
“Done!! What a great sense of accomplishment! Tricep dips are sooo hard! I have to do them on my knees, but I did all of them. Less sore than 1st 2 weeks for sure. Starting to build confidence in my strength.”
“Idecided not to step on the scale. What I am recognizing in myself is that it is challenging and exciting to meet the daily workout strength goals"
I love this feedback, and I am inspired by all of you strong women out there. Share this out with a friend you want to get strong with!
If you’ve been following along for a descent amount of time you know that I love my Altra’s! If you’ve met me in person, I was probably wearing them. Some may call it a slight addiction, but I say when you’ve found a great thing, stick with it! I love their story. If you aren’t familiar with it, here’s a little excerpt from the founder, Golden Harper:
“For decades, virtually every running shoe has featured pointy toe boxes and heels that were twice as thick and heavy as the forefoot. While shoe companies claimed this design would protect your body from running injuries, the scientific research did not agree.
After unsuccessfully lobbying shoe companies for years to change their design, I decided to modify shoes into something that could encourage low impact running technique and prevent injury.
Using the research as my guide, I went to work with my trusty toaster oven to try and solve my customers’ injury problems. I melted outsoles off of traditional running shoes and removed the excess heel elevation. It was ugly, but it worked! I coined the term "Zero Drop™" to describe how the level cushioning no longer dropped from the heel down to the forefoot. We enlisted our local shoe cobbler to modify our customers’ current running shoes to Zero Drop™. This worked so well at reducing injuries that we had nearly 1,000 customers buy and modify their shoes that first year!” You can read the rest of the companies story here.
My love for Altra’s started about 3 years ago. It was pretty much love at first run. What’s there to love about them? Well if you’re asking this question you most likely have never tried them on, so I’ll fill you in with the inside scoop, then go get your feet in some and discover for yourself!
The amazing thing with Altra’s is their signature design. The foot shaped toe box and the zero drop platform. What does this mean? Well first of all, the foot shaped toe box allows your toes to splay into a natural position, allowing your big toe to give your arch more support and releasing pressure from bunions and other foot issues. Seems like all shoes should be made in the shape of your feet right? duh! Second of all, the term “ZERO DROP™” was coined to describe the level cushioning and perfect weight balance from heel to forefoot. This natural balance aligns the feet, back, and body posture for less impact. It also strengthens the Achilles and lower calf muscles that have been weakened over a lifetime of running on elevated heels. If you’re coming from a traditional shoe with a heel to toe drop, you will want to transition into the Zero Drop. I will say I experienced some lower calf soreness for a couple months while transitioning into Altra’s, but it does go away, and its worth the process in the long run. Read what Altra suggests here for transitioning.
You get this natural fit, barefoot feel, but with the benefits of cushion! What I love about altra’s line up is there’s something for everyone and all terrain. When I saw the new Escalante coming out I knew I had to get my hands on them. I’ll admit, Altra’s design & look hasn’t been the best in years past, but with this shoe I feel like they’ve come a LONG WAY. I’ve already had so many compliments on them, and I’ve only had them for about a week (we all know we want our shoes to look good as well right!) So after a couple of runs in them and a workout in the gym, here are my thoughts. THEY’RE AMAZING! And I’m not just saying that.
- First of all I love the look. I have the black and grey ones and I love the neutral colors. I don’t have any Altra’s this color and I love the change from the pinks and bright blues. They go with everything.
- I love the feel. They have a sock like fit. The upper material is stretchy and moldable, and the sole is soft, but not too soft, super light weight, flexible, and just the right amount of cushion.
- I love the run. These shoes are equipped with Altra’s latest and greatest EGO midsole. Altra EGO offers the holy grail of running shoe cushioning, comfortable and soft, yet lively and resilient. With increased responsiveness and thinner cushioning, Altra EGO combines a closer to ground feel with the comfort of a plush ride.
So there you have it, a little more about Altra, the brand, and why I love them! If you haven’t tried them, now is a great time to jump on the wagon with this brand new shoe, the Escalante. If you don't have a retailer close to you, no worries. When you order from their website you get free shipping both ways! That means if you don't like them or have the wrong size, or whatever the issue might be, you can return them within 30 days of purchase, full refund, and they even send you a shipping label to send them back! Pretty cool. Here’s a direct link to check them out
Let me know how it goes and if you have any other questions about the product!
Something that I hear a lot of from clients is that they seem to hit a plateau on their weight loss journey. They’ve lost some weight but are now stuck and can’t seem to lose the last 10-15 pounds to reach their goal. Or someone that has always been overweight and it seems to be just a natural state for their body. There’s some truth to this. Our bodies, all unique, have a certain size and weight where our we seem to reach homeostasis, when levels in our body our at equilibrium. Our body feels comfortable here. This explains why some people can gain weight and without changing anything the weight gain just seems to stop or slow down. For others it may take a lot longer. Anyways, the focus for today is providing you with some tips that will help you get over that plateau, or that wall, when your weight loss momentum seems to come to a halt. Now, keep in mind that some of us just aren’t meant to be at a lower weight or body size, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change our body composition (adding lean muscle mass, and losing body fat). We have to figure that out over time. For me, I’ve found where a good healthy weight is for me, where I have energy, strength, and I don’t have to starve myself to stay there. It took a while. I’ve been heavier and smaller than I am and I’ve learned whats manageable. I don’t even touch the scale anymore. It’s one of those things you’ll have to play around with to see how your body maintains certain sizes, and what it takes with your diet and exercise to stay there. So lets get right into it. Remember that some of these may work for some of you, and not for others. Like I always say, health and fitness is such a individual process! Its not a one size fits all.
Tip #1: Get your Beauty Rest. So much of weight gain or the halting of weight loss can come from stress our body is going through. This includes mental, emotional, and physical stress. Some stress is good, but we want to avoid the over stress. A lot of this is how much sleep we’re getting. Make sure you’re getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night and if you can, 8 would be ideal! Make it priority. Put away electronics, and give yourself some quality sleep. Obviously if you’re in the trenches of raising little kids, especially newborns, you may not be able to manage this, but do your best. When we are in a sleep deficit our body releases stress hormones, such as cortisol, which aids in storing fat! Yikes, not exactly what we want! So get your beauty rest. Also, take a walk outside, get some fresh air, to eliminate stressors that come from the day to day grind.
Tip #2: Watch your sugar content. Hidden sugars can be the make or break for weight loss success. If we’re not aware, sugar can be in so many foods that we’re not aware of and can add up quickly. I tell all my clients to try to keep your sugar content below 35g per day if weight loss is your goal. (read my blog post on sneaky sugar culprits here, and high sugar vs low sugar fruits here) This includes natural sugars in fruit, honey, agave, etc. Avoid juices and flavored drinks which can be loaded with sugar. When you start to add it up, it doesn’t give you much room for extra processed junk. Stick to 1-2 pieces of fruit per day and you should be just fine!
Tip #3: Have a protein at every meal. Consuming protein throughout the day provides you with several opportunities to boost your metabolism through the thermic effect of food (TEF). It also helps promote lean muscle retention, which will naturally boost your metabolism throughout the day. Some options are chicken, tuna, quinoa, salmon, hemp seeds, nuts, beans, and lentils. Of course this has to be paired with regular exercise which leads me to tip number 4.
Tip #4: Change up your workout routine. Sometimes we get in a rut and our body adapts to the normal routine we put it through. Our bodies our smart. They work efficiently. When we throw something new in to our routine, our body has to work a little harder to figure it out. Also with increasing weight, or total volume of our workout, we will strengthen our muscles, making them better fat burners. So move away from the elliptical machine, and add some weights to your life! (if you need some ideas, check out my training programs here)
Tip #5: Eat your veggies at every meal! This is another tip I tell all of my clients no matter what. You can do it! Lots of ways to sneak them in. Why is this so important? Well I like this tip for several reasons. First of all you’ll be getting in more fiber, helping you feel fuller longer, and helping with digestion. Also, by challenging yourself for veggies at every meal, you are going to be replacing more empty calorie options (breads, pasta, sugar) with veggies, full of nutrients and goodness. Some of my favorites are Green smoothies, Zucchini noodles, Carrot noodles, a leafy green meal base (vs. Rice or pasta), the possibilities are endless! You just need to experiment a little and you’ll find it’s not that scary! If you need some awesome, veggie based meal ideas, let me meal plan for ya! (go here)
So there you have it, some simple tips you can try out to push you past that stubborn plateau in your weight loss pursuit! I know we could all work on at least one of these. Start with one step at a time. And don't let the scale be your only indicator of success!! That stupid number can have so much control over our happiness when it really doesn't say anything about strength, health, or body fat percentage, so keep it all in perspective!
I had a thought dawn on me this week. Why do I exercise? But more specifically, why do I exercise the way I exercise. Why do I lift weights? Do I have specific goals I’m training for? When I really dug deep I narrowed it down to the fact that I want to live a long, healthy, adventurous, functional life without health limitations. Secondly I want to feel STRONG and CONFIDENT in my own skin. I feel the most confident in my skin when I can see muscle definition, and when I only have a small amount to pinch on my love handles ;) That doesn’t mean I don’t love my body at all times, I just know what makes me feel the most confident. Everyone’s different. But what I want to focus on today is setting up your goals and training with a purpose behind them. To get the most quality out of your life, rather than just running everyday because that’s what you’ve been told to do, even though your body may hurt, and you may hate it.
I was listening to a podcast with Craig Ballantyne, the author of “the cardio myth” and “The perfect day formula” and many other great books, and it sparked these thoughts. You can listen to it here. He talks about how so many people over the last few decades have fallen into thinking they have to do a bunch of cardio to lose weight. Thinking if they miss a day of running, they are going to gain weight. Long cardio workouts are awesome if you’re training for an endurance sport, or if you just love it to clear your mind (my reason for running), but its not the magic path to weight loss for everyone. In fact, lots of people end up gaining weight while training for a marathon, or training on an endurance program because they think they can eat a lot more carbohydrates, or any calories because the calorie expenditure is typically way over calculated. When machines tell you how many calories you’re burning, the calculation is usually 40% higher than reality! But thats a bit of a tangent for another discussion. Back to purposeful goals.
Our goals should make us happy right? They should lead us to a rich & full life. With this in mind, I would advise you to step away from the goals that will not add to the quality of your life. This may take some thoughtful prioritizing. I’m talking about the goals some of us may have to be super ripped & have a six pack, but we’re miserable because we can’t ever enjoy food or going out with friends. We feel more trapped in this pursuit than it may be worth. When it comes to eating and nutrition, the goal should be to FEEL great and have energy. With that focus rather then dieting to lose weight, I guarantee your choices will start to transition towards the healthier direction without thinking too much about it.
Take a minute now with a pen and paper & write down the reason you exercise and your long term goal with it. Get to the root reason. For example, I work out because it puts me in a good mood (I’m really grumpy without it), boosts my confidence (I like the way I look from years of exercise), and I am so much more functionally strong in my day to day life (I love being able to participate in hikes, skiing, any activity without feeling like I could pass out). With all of this I can better do my part to bring goodness into the world. When I feel awesome, I can bring awesomeness. And as I said before, I want to live a long, healthy, adventurous, functional life without health limitations or confidence struggles.
Now the next layer is setting goals within our training that will lead to that overall long term goal. So if I want to be functional into old age, I’m going to train functionally. I’m going to incorporate functional strength movements into my workouts. Forget the muscle isolation machines where you sit down, put your arm in a crazy contraption & move some weight in one direction. I’m going to focus on free weights, barbell, TRX, and kettle bell exercises where I’m constantly using my core and stabilizers to move weight that could go in any direction. I’m going to foam roll and stretch to avoid injuries, or pain down the road.
The next layer is to get specific within those goals. What are your fitness goals for this year, that will eventually lead to your overall goal for a high quality life. Maybe you want to lose some body fat for a beach trip this summer. Your going to want to incorporate some cardio intervals into your training, and believe it or not, you’re going to want to LIFT WEIGHTS. The muscle you gain will help you burn more fat. If you don’t have the muscle underneath the fat layer than you’re never going to get that “lean/toned” look you’re going for. You’re going to want to work on your eating as well. Maybe you want to do your first Spartan Race this year. You need to be strong enough to pull yourself over a wall so you’re doing more strength based exercise, working with pull ups, or whatever it is you need increased strength for. And depending on the length of the race you will want some endurance training. Incorporating rep ranges above 15 will get you there. There’s lots of different ways to train, and beliefs behind certain rep ranges and their effectiveness, but having short term goals and your long term goals and your “why” in mind makes it so much easier to get motivated and plan out your training with purpose.
To wrap this up, I just want to encourage you to find your purpose with all this fitness stuff. It helps to keep in mind the long term picture of a quality, healthy life. That means walking more everyday, filling your body with nutritious foods, avoiding processed garbage food, maintaining a healthy body weight, and focusing on functional strength and mobility. Also don’t neglect the rest and recovery part! When our goals align with our long term desires, we’ll see results, and we’ll feel the difference!
Thanks for reading! Leave me any comments below, I’d love to hear from you!
I’ve been doing a lot of research on gut health and how important health from the inside out is. So much of our health stems from our gut! If you want beautiful skin, more energy, white teeth, less cellulite, etc., start with the gut. Today’s Wednesday Wisdom I’m sharing my findings from my recent gut health research, and my Morning ritual drink recipe (and why I’m loving Apple Cider Vinegar these days).
Starting off I just want to say that I am NOT a scientist by any means, and I don’t claim to be an expert on the matter. I’ve just been reading, and experiencing benefits on my own so I want to share what I’ve been learning with you all!
I want to focus on the ingredients of my morning drink and explain why they’re so beneficial. So here it is:
- Heat up 8 oz of water in a mug
- add about 1-2 Tbs of Apple Cider Vinegar
- Add a wedge of lemon juice
- add a slice of fresh ginger
- add a couple drops of honey
- Stir all together and sip it down!
Whether you’ve heard of Apple Cider Vinegar or not, you may not know all the awesome health benefits. As I type this, I am feeling amazingly better after being sick for a week, and I just finished a glass of this concoction. This stuff works!
• Nutrient Delivery. So this drink is not full of Vitamins & Nutrients, like a green smoothie, but it can help your body put those vitamins and nutrients to good use. The acidic-ness of the lemon and the ACV actually help reduce harmful acid and inflammation in our bodies. It helps improve digestion and the absorption and delivery of vitamins and nutrients to the rest of your body and all the important functions that need to be taken care of. This speedy delivery will result in more energy and radiant skin :)
• Cleans up our insides. Apple Cider Vinegar is anti fungal, and breaks down the harmful bacteria in our bodies. Along with breaking down bacteria, it will break down plaque build up in arteries for a healthy heart, and mucus build up if you’re feeling congested. I have had a week long cold and lingering on with a cough and I felt a huge difference after consuming my drink! If you get seasonal allergies as well you’ll totally reap the benefits.
• Weight management. Some of the weight management benefits come from the fact that drinking this can suppress your appetite a bit. It does have a strong taste, and I would suggest starting with a small amount of the ACV and a bit more honey while your palette adjusts. It has also been shown to regulate your blood sugar levels. This is why I love to take it first think in the morning because I reap the benefits throughout the day. Part of weight management is avoiding extreme blood sugar spikes throughout the day. This drink will help your body regulate blood sugar levels. Some researchers believe the notion that acetic acid (the main make up of ACV) turns on genes that trigger enzymes to break down fat and prevent weight gain. SWEET! Now I’m not saying this is the magic pill, easy quick fix to losing weight. You will need to eat a healthy diet full of real food, lots of veggies, and exercise, but this drink can help in your efforts and help you feel great from the inside out.
• The Ginger Bonus. The ginger in this drink is optional but also has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is a natural way to treat Nausea and morning sickness for all you momma’s to be! Ginger is also effective in treating muscle soreness. I know a lot of you are working hard at the gym, and can benefit from these healing properties. Ginger also appears to speed up emptying of the stomach, which can be beneficial for people with indigestion and related stomach discomfort. The list goes on and on with ginger, helping with brain function, heart health, fighting cancer, and more. So definitely not a bad thing to add to the diet!
Give it a try. Especially if you find yourself with an upset stomach or bloated often. There’s a lot of crap all around us so it’s important for us to counteract it from the inside out starting with our systems inside of our bodies.
