Join the journey toward a healthy, joyful, balanced life.
Welcoming #2019 by taking a walk in #nature with this little guy...🐶❤️#centralpark is a treasure & refuge from the hustle & bustle of the big apple...feeling rejuvenated, energized and calm👍✨ Even Brinkley has an extra spring in his step! 🐶😘
Science is proving what we've always known intuitively: nature does good things to the human brain—it makes us healthier, happier, and smarter. How did you start the new year? Where’s your favorite place to take in nature?
Engaging in a lifestyle of holistic wellness involves more than just eating healthy foods and exercising. It also includes doing things you love. There are many health benefits to having a hobby: exploring yourself & your talents, challenging yourself, creative expression, socialization, promoting living in the moment, reducing stress. The list goes on... Photography is one of my favorite things to do ❤️ This image was taken on a recent trip to Argentina! What are your hobbies? What are your favorite things to do? How does it make you feel?
If you know me well, you probably know that my dog Brinkley is a huge part of my life. It’s interesting to see how holistic health can be overlooked with animals as a significant amount of dog/cat/bird food is filled with dyes, preservatives, chemicals, coloring agents and more. Having discovered Dr Harvey’s I couldn’t imagine serving Brinkley aything else. @doctorharveys started researching and discovered that, just as with people, for animals “health begins in the kitchen". In other words, he determined that the foods we feed our pets are key to their health, and that feeding them chemically-laden and inferior quality ingredients was (and remains) the #1 reason for the rise in degenerative diseases.
This is not a sponsored post but a genuine love of a product that aligns with my values, it’s great to see products like this on the market! 🥕
In traditional Chinese medicine, Bone broth was used as a digestive tonic, blood builder, and kidney strengthener due to the high collagen content, bioavailable minerals and amino acids that can only be found in bones and connective tissue.
Bones and connective tissue are storehouses for essential amino acids and minerals — many of which we don’t get enough of in our diets today. Today, there is a lot of buzz about Collagen Type II because it improves the appearance of skin and is considered to be one of the best foods you can eat to combat aging.
The secret of making bone broth is the length of time, simmering for many hours with veggies, herbs, and spices, such as thyme, bay leaves, parsley, and garlic. You can use any bone or ligament, but knuckles, feet, and femur bones contain the most collagen. The slow simmer makes the ingredients easy for your body to absorb the nutrients and helps fight systematic inflammation which is the root cause of many illnesses and disease.
Slow Cooker Bone Broth Recipe:
4 pounds of beef bones (knuckles, feet, femur, neck or short ribs)
2 tablespoons apple cider
2 medium unpeeled carrots
2 celery stocks
1 large yellow onion quartered
2 bay leaves
15 sprigs fresh thyme
3 gloves of garlic smashed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Kosher salt to taste
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; spread beef bones out on baking sheet. Roast bones in the preheated oven until browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Place carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a slow cooker. Place roasted bones over vegetables; pour in enough cold water to cover bones. Add apple cider vinegar and kosher salt. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pour broth through a fine-mesh strainer and discard bones and eat vegetables. Continue to cool until barely warm, then refrigerate in smaller containers overnight. Remove solidified fat. Enjoy 🥕
As someone who loves to eat fruits and vegetables, I was alarmed to read about the pesticides and chemicals that exist on our food!
Washing your produce doesn't always do the job of making it safe to eat. Did you know that nearly 70 percent of conventionally grown produce is contaminated with pesticide residues? Tests by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found 230 different pesticides and pesticide breakdown products on thousands of produce samples analyzed. Based on these tests, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released their list of the Dirty Dozen™ fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues, and the Clean Fifteen™, for which few, if any, residues were detected.
Meet the 2018 Dirty Dozen™:
1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Nectarines
4. Apples
5. Grapes
6. Peaches
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Tomatoes
10. Celery
11. Potatoes
12. Sweet Bell Peppers
These 12 foods contained higher pesticide concentrations than other produce. In fact, a single sample of strawberries tested positive for 20 different pesticides. The EWG recommends that consumers buy organic, non-genetically modified (non-GMO) produce from the Dirty Dozen™ list to reduce consumption of pesticides.
Now for some good news, meet the Clean Fifteen™:
1. Avocados
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Cabbages
5. Onions
6. Frozen Sweet Peas
7. Papayas
8. Asparagus
9. Mangoes
10. Eggplants
11. Honeydews
12. Kiwis
13. Cantaloupes
14. Cauliflower
15. Broccoli
With low total concentrations of pesticide residues, these foods offer consumers the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while limiting exposure to pesticides.
Here's a simple health tip for your Thursday! Try switching out your coffee for a green tea. I have been doing this for the last three months and feel great! Green tea has amazing health benefits, one of which is to help metabolize fat cells and aid in weight loss. It also increases dopamine and has anti-anxiety effects and improves brain function. The calming & health benefits of taking a few minutes of your day to sit down and drink green tea is worth the effort. This simple change can make a huge difference in your physical and mental well-being.
