Here's an ongoing list of our 100 Health Hacks... we will be adding Health Hacks each week until we cap out at 100! If you have any health hacks or tidbits, you use or find inspiring - please share below or shoot them this way! I'll all about learning + growing as well as sharing with my tribe.
Initially, I was sharing each DAY'S HEALTHY HACK + MY THOUGHTS, plus where I got the idea + research behind it. But... that was a wee bit intense for a few folks ( + if I'm being honest, myself). Mainly because... I'm human + a twin mama bear plus launching our IT TAKES BRAIN + GUTS (membership site). It felt like the hacks were just getting thrown together + the quality was below par. I'm just keeping it real, love.
So. To make it better... less intimidating for all involved. We are switching things up a bit, because isn't that...
For a brief recap:
Over the past few months, my own wellness was taking a backseat... and I was struggling, to put it lightly. INSERT the love of my life. The hubster gave me some tough love + an idea. He casually mentioned I should focus on simply doing one percent better each day... just 1%. For a person with a "Go BIG or Go HOME" attitude, this was hard for me to accept. However, he went on... if I focused on simply being 1% better each day over time, I would be doing 100% better than I am doing today... and how great would that feel? RIGHT?!?
This spurred the idea... 1% better each day for at least 100 days. Now, thanks to my brilliant dear sweet aunt... due to the compound effect, if done consistently over 100 days I'll be doing better than 100%. However, for the ease of my mind... we are focusing on one new health hack (1% better) each day for 100 days, consistently.
But WHICH habits, right? And which...
Wait... what?!? First off... it may seem a wee bit odd, but as a woman who strives to help others reach their health + wellness goals. My own personal health + wellness goals were, well, suffering... to put it bluntly.
I was staying up late to squeeze extra calls + trainings... waking up early to make sure I had everything set up for homeschooling... throwing meals together at the last minute... forgetting exactly when I actually showered and let's not EVEN talk about shaving my legs. YIKES!!!
It came to a point where I felt like my body was literally held together by Jesus + whole lotta dry shampoo while running on pure coffee.
That's when the love of my life, the hubster gave me some tough love + an idea. He casually mentioned I should focus on simply doing one percent better each day... just 1%. For a person with a "Go BIG or Go HOME"...
It's always a wee bit challenging to pick a "Foodie of the Week"... mainly because the week before, we consume A LOT of that ingredient. So, this mama can try out new recipes + take photos for all the places of social.
Sitting on the floor of the living room with loads of books scattered all around me, I kept mumbling... "what should be next week's "foodie"? what should be next week's "foodie"? hmmm". When a tiny pair of hands touched my arm and said, "spar-gus, mama". Our little miss (who makes up 50% of our 4yr old duo) loves to cook asparagus... and manages to eat MORE when she cooks the side item than when it's simply placed in front of her on a plate.
Now. I love asparagus... and for awhile, I have been chopping it up into 2" bits for our twins to eat as well; however, I have learned that our little man (the other half of the duo) would rather the asparagus to stay LONG in it's spear form and not cut up into bits. The reason,...
Here's a sweet DIY all-natural body scrub recipe... it made sense to try it, since blueberries are known for being loaded with antioxidants which is great for the skin + the sugar is an excellent exfoliator. I like to add a wee bit of lavender essential oil to give it a relaxing-spa-like vibe.
So. Here you go, love!
GROCERIES:
NOW WHAT?
Blueberries remind me of the hubster... see his side of the family use to have a blueberry farm + I got pretty spoiled. Each summer, there would be gallon ziplock bags of freshly picked blueberries for the taking. DELICIOUS!!!
And whenever we head out to a farmer's market, fresh berries are always a must (along with cut flowers). It just reminds me of a time when we were first dating... back in college... getting free food (like the blueberries) from family members who felt pity for us broke college students.
His family would send me home with blueberries... and my folks would send me home with a case of tuna fish (because my dad would have a SAM's club card)! HAHAHA!
Fish + blueberries... not a good combo, I'm not recommending it here.
{ insert: gross face }
Let's divert from this subject and dive a wee bit deeper into the goodness of blueberries + recipes which don't include fish! You are welcome.
How...
Now. Here's a sweet DIY all-natural blush recipe... it made sense to try it, since beets always leave a nice subtle hue to my skin when handling + beet root powder is used in the culinary world to "pink" dishes up! So. Here you go, love!
NOTE: Just a note, beet root powder can be bit bright... but, you can always add more arrowroot powder to lighten it back up.
If you want to dive deeper into the benefits of beets + beet root juice for your health, hair and skin... then check out, Style Craze's website where you can find additional tid bits.
Now. I don't like to waste bananas... for some reason, it's different than a wee bit of honey or a lemon or even an egg. I have no idea why. Maybe it's because a WHOLE banana is a snack for the Gillies, our 4yr old twins.
Anywho. Here's a recipe I found to help smooth those cracked heels... you can score more DIY beauty recipes using bananas here!
Now. Seriously... how easy was that, love? I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite recipe is with using banana! Jot it down below + share.
love + gumption.
a.
Brain + Gut Health Explorer
Honestly. When writing this blog, I struggled with how I actually use ALMONDS for a beauty hack. Seriously, though... "almonds in my beauty regimen, how in the heck?"
Buttttttttttt... then I realized, I do use almonds in my beauty regimen. Well, it's almond oil. That counts, right? Almond oil is cold-pressed from the seeds of the sweet almond tree (thank you, Essential Oils book!). Almond oil is suitable for most skin types... it's gentle enough for sensitive skin!
Goodness of Almond Oil:
Need a few more bits about the goodness of Almond Oil, check it out here!
Now. Here's a sweet DIY eye-makeup remover recipe I found... about a year or two ago. BUT, it was also spotted on JH's website, so I thought... "why not give her some...
Fun factoid: About 5-15% of U.S. adults are estimated to experience beeturia following consumption of beets in everyday amounts (source). Beeturia = the pink discoloration of one's urine due to consumption of beets.
Maybe it's TMI but I am part of that 5-15%... and I did have a mild panic attack one day when I noticed our littles (4yr old twins) had slightly red poop! Being a veterinarian... my mind went through a WHOLE list of differentials (or causes) of the red poop. Seriously. This mama bear went into PANIC MODE... until my calm and more reasonable husband pointed out, over the past few days we ate a lot of beets.
WHEW.
Besides the discoloration one can get on their hands (+ countertops) when handling beets... and in their voids (pending if you are a child, in the 5-15% of folks who naturally have this occur or have an underlying medical condition)... there are some amazing benefits to beets. So. Let's dive a wee bit...