Monday, February 18, 2013

In the World of Wellness: So Many Good Things You Might Just Pass Out


Wellness is a term widely used that has multiple meanings around health and positive life style changes leading to well-being. Here we will use the term "wellness" as a means of defining a life free from disease as well as a way to explore alternative medicines, what they offer, and what this could mean for you.

Every month I'll do a post on a health and wellness related topic. This will give you a chance to explore other options, become informed, and make the best overall decision for your own well-being.


In the World of Wellness: I wasn't kidding when I said there was a lot today. GlutenEase, healthy apps for your mind and body, juicing recipes, cleaning your kitchen the safe and natural way, GF banana pancakes, and the best black tea you've never tasted. Whew- that was a mouthful.

There have been so many good and delicious things I've tried lately, I couldn't pick just one so I decided to tell you about all of them. You might overload on awesomeness. You've been warned.


GlutenEase Please

For my gluten allergy friends, you're going to love this. I was recently introduced to a supplement called GlutenEase. It helps to cut down the effects of a gluten attack with it's anti-inflammatory response, making a reaction to foods containing gluten far more manageable. In fact, with some people it didn't just cut the pain in half, it eliminated it entirely. This will all depend on just how allergic you are to gluten. Click on the link above to be taken to the Amazon store for more info and reviews on this amazing product.

I was also informed by my Reflexologist, who suffers from celiac disease, that drinking Kombucha after a gluten attack can cut the pain and suffering in half. While I've yet to try this, I can see how this could be a possibility as Kombucha is good for liver support and the healthier your liver, the healthier you are all in all. Maybe give this a shot next time you unfortunately and accidentally come in contact with gluten.


Mind and Body Smartphone Apps

In today's high tech news, have you heard of The Eatery app for your iPhone? Instead of counting calories you use photos from week over week snapshots of what you ate to see your healthiest meals, what improvements you made, and what you need to work on. You take a picture of what you're eating, load it to the app, then rate it based on how healthy you think what you're eating is. Other users can also rate your meal, as well as your Facebook friends. If you're a visual person, this may be the app for you.

If you're looking for a way to be a little more mindful of what you're doing when you're doing it, try the Insight Timer Lite app. You set a time on the app, anywhere from 1-60 minutes, for the Tibetan singing bowl to chime once, twice, or three times, ensuring you're focus is brought back to whatever you were working on- whether it be meditation, trying to eat more mindfully, or even trying to focus on something specific throughout your day. It's a beautiful chime and a very helpful app, one I use often when I feel rattled and need to bring my attention back to the important things.


A Cleaner Oven, A Cleaner House

A few weeks back on my Facebook page I mentioned an all natural and super easy way to clean your oven. Did I mention super easy? Yeah, SUPER EASY. All you need is white vinegar and some baking soda. Before I cleaned it, my oven resembled Mordor. I was too afraid to take a picture, like my soul my get locked in the camera with my dirty, filthy oven picture. But...twenty minutes after I tried this method it was beautiful, shiny, and new looking. And I didn't even have to scrub it. I took a sponge over everything and 95% wiped right off. For the harder to clean spots I just repeated what I'd done earlier.

Just sprinkle a good amount of baking soda all over the door and anywhere else inside that you need to clean. Then put some white vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz it onto the baking soda. Let it sit for 20 minutes or longer for best and easiest-on-the-elbow-grease results. This can also be used in sinks, tubs, showers, toilets- everything. It's safe, natural, and even if you buy the largest baking soda container and largest white vinegar bottle you can find, you'll still be saving money (quantity and quality) over the store chemical products.


I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Juicing

After owning a juicer for, oh, a year or so, I finally decided to use it and now I'm addicted. I totally get the juicing craze. I had a ton of energy after drinking the juices, plus I noticed how bright and healthy my skin started looking after just a few days. I've been more focused on the fruit juice blends than the veggie ones, but I'm branching out a little. Baby steps, they say. First use the juicer- check. See? I'll get there.

Here are my favorite combos thus far:

  • 1 pink grapefruit, 1 gala apple, 1 6oz clamshell of blackberries, two handfuls of large strawberries
  • 1 s6oz clamshell of raspberries, 1 gala apple, 1 granny smith apple
  • 6-8 carrots, 1 orange, 1 pomegranate
  • 2 gala apples, 1 orange
  • 1 6oz clamshell of blackberries, 1 navel orange
  • 2 gala apples, 1 orange, two handfuls of strawberries

Gluten Free, Paleo Cinnamon Banana Pancakes

If you missed it on my Facebook page, here is a new and incredibly easy gluten free, Paleo approved pancake recipe that I found on Pinterest.

Cinnamon Banana Pancakes
Recipe taken from blogilates

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 banana
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I added this to the original recipe)

Directions
1. Mush Banana
2. Crack Eggs
3. Mix together
4. Oil griddle
5. Pour in
6. Flip, eat, yum

These are so good on their own, you don't even need syrup. In fact, I thought the syrup ruined them. Click on the link above to see a picture of these babies!


The Best Tea You've Never Tried

Last, but definitely not least, if you haven't heard of (or more importantly, tried) Harney and Sons Fine Teas, you're truly missing out on some of the best tea ever. I recently discovered their tea at a restaurant in California and became so enthralled with it that I started dreaming about it at night. It was a cinnamon spiced black tea with the most amazing aroma all in itself that I wanted to find a way to bottle it up as a perfume and wear it around my neck. But once I actually tried it- oh my. Ohmygoodness. Oh my holy-wow-I-need-to-marry-this-tea goodness.

Yep, that delicious.

The flavor in particular that I adore is the Hot Cinnamon Spice black tea. You can get a sample on their website for $2.00 or you can go all in like I did and get a 7oz container that I've only had for a month and is already half empty. You won't regret it.


Until next month's World of Wellness post...
Eat well, live well, be well!

Any favorite juicing recipes you absolutely can't live without? Or amazing delicious teas? Share with me at one of the links below! 
Twitter
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Image 1 via Washington Post
Image 2 via eatery.massivehealth.com
Image 3 via Harney.com

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