On my mind…

Published on by Christine8 Comments

De-StressThe words for this post have been floating around my head for weeks… I haven’t been quite sure how to put this all together in something coherent… and it may still not be, but here it goes…

Health a tough subject; it’s one I would try to avoid if I didn’t feel so passionate about it. It is personal, vulnerable, and sometimes emotional and scary. When it becomes the topic of conversation, somehow it usually becomes a subject of debate. Everyone has strong beliefs, whether they admit or not that they actually care.  As you can imagine, my views on health aren’t always the most popular, and I get it… a few years ago, if the old me had met the current “alternative” me, I would have thought I was crazy.  So, when people roll their eyes or laugh (yes, this happens, often actually), I understand where they are coming from.  The reaction that I get when sharing my story is most consistently defensiveness.

It sucks to be wrong, especially about something you have believed all your life.  After years of unexplainable health issues and pain, I continued to seek out doctor after doctor and different medication.  I was furious when I realized that the doctors and medication I had trusted with my health had not only let me down, but actually caused me a great deal of harm.  It’s easy to be angry and hate the system, but instead, I’m now motivated to do my own research to find what’s best for my body.  In writing this blog and sharing what I learn, my goal has always been to share what you may not be hearing elsewhere.  I do that because my life was so dramatically changed when I was finally forced to question what I believed as undeniable truth.  What I have discovered since has been such an answer to prayer that I feel compelled to share it in hopes that it might help someone find healing sooner than I did.  I wish someone would have done that for me.

In the spirit of openness…. An update of where I’m at right now….

I had a follow-up appointment recently with my naturopath.  We talked through all the symptoms that had improved on my new protocol, ones I was still experiencing and a couple things that have been getting worse lately… one of which being weight gain.  Talking through all the different factors – diet, exercise, sleep, stress – nothing was jumping out as a cause.  We discussed other options I could try, like exercising less intensely so I’m not stressing my adrenals too much, or intermittent fasting… I know my face showed the discouragement.  I was at that hopeless “will I ever get better?/I feel like I’ve tried everything” stage when she said something that’s really stuck with me…

“Christine, in the 10 years I’ve been seeing you, you really are the healthiest you’ve ever been.  Would you rather be healthy and enjoying life with a few extra pounds or what is more important?”

It doesn’t make it easy, but she’s totally right.  Even though it’s tough to put on shorts and tank tops this summer, much less wear a swimsuit around all the super thin people in my life, I won’t let those thoughts get the best of me.  While the unexplained weight gain is a sign of a health issue that we have to figure out and address, I have seen some successes with my health lately and life is good….

I am no longer drowning in stress at my job.  I’m so blessed to be at a company that actually cares that I have a life outside of work and cares about my health.  Real talk: if your job is ruining your life/health, you’ve got to get out. It is not worth it. If these articles hit home for you (like they did for me), it’s time to make a change…

As my body has been recovering from the effects of years of stress, I’m enjoying relaxing with my husband, cooking at home more, going on walks with my pup and spending more time reading. It’s been months since I was sick. I don’t get ear infections weekly anymore. I don’t come home with back pain every single day.  And when I look at it that way, it feels like a miracle to be where I’m at.  And a little extra weight seems silly in comparison to all that.

If you are struggling with health issues right now that you can’t figure out and you’re losing hope- I’m sorry. I know what that’s like and I’m still there some days. It’s frustrating and so discouraging. And doctors are sometimes just guessing, randomly prescribing, and giving different diagnoses; and that’s even more disheartening. If that’s you, I’d love to hear about your journey. If that’s someone you know, please share this with them. There are answers out there and healing to be found, I know it.

For your listening pleasure…

Published on by Christine2 Comments

PodcastsIf you’ve been wanting to learn more about health, but not so much into doing lots of research or reading, this post is for you!  While I love reading & highlighting a good health book now and then, I don’t always have the time or energy for it.  I love listening to podcasts during my commutes to (1) avoid annoying radio commercials and (2) to encourage and remind me to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Here are a few of my favorite podcasts & some episodes I found interesting to give you a place to start:

  • Underground Wellness – By far my #1 pick… I love everything I’ve listened to and there are years worth in the archive.  It’s hard to pick, but here are a few of my favorite episodes: Deep Nutrition with Dr. Cate Shanahan, MORE Deep Nutrition, The Coconut Oil Miracle with Bruce Fife, Heal Thy Mouth with Will Revak of OraWellness, Genetically Modified Foods with Jeffrey Smith, The Hormone Cure with Dr. Sara Gottfried, Gerald Roliz: Ex Pharma Sales Rep Tells All.
  • Wellness Mama – I love Katie’s blog, so of course love her podcasts: How to Know if You Have Gluten Sensitivity, Micronutrients & Healthy Fats, Can Cavities Remineralize?, Reversing Infertility & PCOS Naturally
  • The Primal Blueprint – Interviews with health experts and narrated articles from Mark Sisson’s super popular paleo blog
  • Bulletproof Radio – Best enjoyed with a cup of bulletproof coffee: Dr. Cate Shanahan and Bulletproofing the NBA, Hashimoto’s: The Root Cause, Dr. John Salerno: Holistic Medicine, Heavy Metals & Allergies; Dr. Daniel Amen: Alzheimer’s, Brain Food & SPECT Scans
  • Balanced Bites – Two gals talking about modern real-food living: Women’s Health, PCOS & Body Image with Stefani Ruper; Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue with Laura Schoenfeld
  • The Fat-Burning Man – Abel James experienced quite the life change by transitioning to a “wild diet”: Raw + Paleo for Your Dog, Dr. Alan Christianson: The Adrenal-Reset Diet

Do you have any others to recommend?

Happy listening!

10 Ways I Use Peppermint Essential Oil

Published on by Christine6 Comments

Peppermint OilDon’t you just love the smell of peppermint?  So refreshing and invigorating.  Peppermint oil is would probably rank in my top 5 for most-used essential oils.  Here are a few ways that I use peppermint oil and see great results:

  1. Nausea – If I’m ever feeling queasy or nauseous, I either rub some peppermint oil on my stomach or breathe it in.  I’m always amazed at how fast it works and keep applying every 20 minutes or smelling it until I feel better.  This, along with activated charcoal, seriously saved me when I got food poisoning 3 times (why, oh why!?!) last year.
  2. Headaches – Whenever I get a headache, rather than popping not-so-safe aspirin or ibuprofen, I put some peppermint oil on the roof of my mouth, back of my neck and top of my forehead and within minutes, I’m back to normal.  *Warning: be careful to not get it in or close to your eyes or it will sting. If you do, wash out with olive or coconut oil rather than water.
  3. Anti-Itch – Last summer, when I got hives as a result of stress, peppermint oil was the only thing that would relieve the itching.  It’s also a great option for bug bites and sunburn as the oil is very calming for skin inflammation. You may need to dilute peppermint oil with coconut oil before applying directly to your skin as it can irritate sensitive skin in its concentrated form.
  4. Allergies – Peppermint oil is great at helping clear out my nasal passages and reducing sinus inflammation caused by allergies.  I use this in my essential oil allergy blend LLP (Lavender + Lemon + Peppermint) and diffuse all the time during allergy season. Read more about how I fight allergies naturally here.
  5. Energizer – Afternoon slump or just need to focus at work… I diffuse peppermint at my desk at work and it does wonders for getting me through the rest of the day.
  6. Fever Reducer – The couple of times I’ve had a fever in the past few months, I’ve used peppermint oil on the back of my neck and forehead with a cool compress and brought my temperature down to normal without medication.
  7. Decongestant – When I have a cold, I mix peppermint with eucalyptus oil and coconut oil and applied to my neck and chest.  It acts as an expectorant and helps open up airways and clear out sinuses.  This was especially helpful to me when I was coughing a lot.
  8. Muscle Pain Relief – Anytime I have sore muscles, I use peppermint oil to help relax them and relieve the pain.  It’s also a main ingredient in one of my favorite blends of essential oils for pain relief – the Deep Relief Roll On. This was amazing to rub on my feet and legs each night after walking miles a day at Universal Studios & Disney World.
  9. Oral Care – Of course, peppermint is a well-known breath freshener.  I mix it with a bit of water and use as a mouthwash.  It’s also in my beloved brushing blend OraWellness – read more here about why I will never go back to using regular toothpaste!
  10. Bug Repellent – Ticks & mosquitoes apparently hate peppermint, so I use this in a pest-repellent spray for my dog every day.  For some reason, bugs don’t like me, so I don’t have to use anything personally, but you can use it for people too. For my pup, I mix up distilled water with a few drops each of peppermint + eucalyptus + Thieves + citronella + tea tree in a spray bottle; besides protecting her from fleas & other bugs, it makes her smell great.  Here is an actual recipe for homemade bug spray that’s very similar.

I’m so grateful to have added a variety of essential oils to my “medicine cabinet” and to now have a safe, effective way to address symptoms immediately when they arise.  I have chosen to buy the Young Living brand of essential oils because I’ve done my research and I trust the source and the purity of the oils they grow & produce. If you are interested in trying out essential oils, visit this page on my blog for more details or leave a comment and we can chat more.

Have you been looking for a natural way to address any of the symptoms above?  Do you use peppermint oil in other ways that help?  I’d love to hear about it!

Healthy Summer Salads

Published on by Christine8 Comments

Peach, Goat Cheese & WalnutY’all. Memorial Day weekend is this weekend. Crazy. Summer is officially upon us. If you are trying to lose those few extra pounds for swimsuit season and looking to add a few more veggies into your diet, here are a few easy salad recipes to take advantage of the abundant fresh, seasonal produce right now.

When it comes to salads, there are couple things that are a must for me:

  • Lots of color = way more appetizing (and instagram-worthy).  Plus, the variety of colors means you are getting a variety of nutrients.
  • If you want to make a salad a meal, you’ve got to add protein to keep you full.  The easiest (and cheapest) ways I’ve found to have this on-hand to add are: pre-cooked hard boiled eggs or shredded chicken – find my two-step chicken crock pot recipe here.  Or if you want to be fancy, add grilled wild-caught salmon for some healthy Omega-3s.

If I can, I always try to make my own salad dressing for two very important reasons:

  1. A store-bought or restaurant dressing can quickly turn your “healthy” salad into a calorie-loaded fat bomb.
  2. Pre-made dressings are filled with preservatives and vegetable oils.  Vegetable/canola oils are full of free radicals that cause serious damage to your cells, meaning that your salad has become nearly as harmful to your health as those french fries you really want to eat instead. Learn more at my favorite doctor’s website here.

Homemade dressings are much easier to make than you’d imagine and if you make more than you’ll need that meal, put the mixture in a mason jar and keep for a week or two in the fridge.  Here are a few of my favorite salad & dressing recipes that take 10 minutes or less to prepare:

Strawberry Pecan SaladStrawberry & Pecan – Slice strawberries and add to raw baby spinach. Add pecans (or even better, honey-roasted pecans) for some crunch. Top with either goat or feta cheese for some tangy-ness. Another great item to add to this salad: snap peas.  Make a simple balsamic vinaigrette for this one; it pairs perfectly with the strawberries. Put the following ingredients in a jar with lid and shake: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp raw honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 clove minced garlic, salt & pepper to taste.

Peach & Goat Cheese (pictured above) – Slice some fresh peaches and lay on a bed of mixed greens.  Add some goat cheese crumbles and walnuts for crunch.  Top with a peach-basil vinaigrette: 2 parts extra-virgin olive oil to 1 part peach vinegar (find this at your local farmer’s market – I get it from Hill Country Olive Co.). Whisk with chopped basil and a pinch of sea salt. Variation: use other flavored vinegar to mix it up.. some of my favorites are the pineapple, pear & lemon.

Grapefruit Avocado SaladGrapefruit & Avocado – Peel and slice half of a ruby-red grapefruit and an avocado.  Pair with mixed greens and add sunflower seeds. Add thinly sliced cucumber for extra crunch. This is best with a sweet honey mustard dressing: Mix 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp raw honey with 1/3 cup olive oil. Add dash of salt, pepper, & garlic powder.

Caesar Salad – Chopped romaine with cherry tomatoes, topped with grated Parmesan cheese. The easiest way to make homemade Caesar dressing is by blending 1 cup olive oil with 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp each of: garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. I often add a few Italian herbs from my garden to the mix – rosemary, thyme, oregano. To make it creamy, add 2 Tbsp of  plain Greek yogurt.

Heirloom Tomato SaladMexican Heirloom Tomato – Nothing beats fresh heirloom tomatoes… slice one and season with a pinch of sea salt. Add with sliced avocado to an herb salad mix. Shredded raw cheddar cheese is a perfect topping for additional flavor, and a few tortilla chip crumbles for crunch.  The dressing for this one is one of my favorites – cilantro-lime vinaigrette. Mix 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 pressed garlic clove with 1/2 cup olive oil. Add dash of salt & pepper.

Happy Summer & Bon Appétit!

Easiest Egg Drop Soup

Published on by Christine2 Comments

Egg Drop SoupWith all this rain lately, I’m all about eating soup like it’s cold outside. I recently discovered (out of necessity- aka no groceries) a super easy recipe for those days you don’t feel like cooking or just need a quick immune boost.

This version of egg drop soup is quite healthier than the sodium-filled version you’ll find at your local take-out spot, but still packs all the flavor and lots of protein. The base is bone broth – one of the four pillars of authentic world cuisine; here’s quick summary of why it is so healthy:

Animal bones contain a protein molecule called glucosamine.  Glucosamine, the main ingredient in arthritis meds and joint supplements, helps build and repair joints and also triggers the growth of new collagen. Collagen provides structural support for our bones, tendons and ligaments, and gives our skin shape, texture and youthfulness. By simmering the nutrients out of the bones, joints and cartilage slowly, you are able to safely extract the minerals and vitamins (magnesium, vitamin D & calcium) and make a bone broth filled with glucosamine & collagen – these not only help prevent issues, but also rebuild and repair your skin, hair, bones & arteries.

You’ll also notice that this recipe is completely soy-free.  I went soy-free a couple of years ago to avoid the effects that the toxic processing & GMOs were wreaking on my hormones.  Read more here.

Ingredients:

Simply put a bowlful of bone broth in a pot and bring to a boil.  While you’re waiting, crack open your eggs and whisk them in a separate bowl. Once the broth is boiling, add the salt and coconut aminos.  Then, turn off the heat (if using an electric stove top, also remove from the burner).  Next, put the whisk in the broth and start swirling the liquid as you slowly pour the eggs into the center of your cyclone. You’ll see that the eggs cook immediately, but not too much that they’re scrambled. Ta-da – you’re done.  Serve immediately and enjoy!