Homemade electrolyte drink (aka, “Gatorade”)

Sicknesses are going around and it’s more important than ever to stay hydrated. As someone who has been avoiding processed sugars for a long time now (they trigger migraines amongst other things for me), it’s shocking to me that doctors are actually recommending sports drinks like Gatorade that are literally filled with processed sugar, dyes, and “natural flavors” amongst other things. They may have electrolytes and supposedly be helpful for hydration but those processed sugars and additives have other negative effects on the body and how you mentally feel - so I’ve come up with a simple, cheap, and healthy homemade alternative to make at home when you’re sick or need a boost after strenuous physical activity! This is perfect for anyone on any diet as it is clean, raw vegan, with minimal ingredients- but it sure does the job in hydrating and making you feel better!

Let thy food be thy medicine

I wish more people recognized how much our food is truly our medicine.

Intro to Easy Kombucha Brewing at Home!

Kombucha is a type of natural fermented tea that has a lot of health benefits. It's tasty, trendy, and can quickly become an expensive habit if you're purchasing store-bought bottled kombucha every day, so why not try your hand at brewing your own? The process may sound intimidating at first, but with only a few ingredients you can easily make it right on your own countertop, and once you get it going it needs little to no maintenance at all. After you make your first batch, kombucha is the gift that just keeps giving and your SCOBY will basically last you forever, constantly growing and nourishing your brews into probiotic-rich and quenching nourishment for your body and soul. Read on to learn the easy steps to fermenting and brewing your own booch at home!

How to make your life better - manifestation journaling

I am a true believer in manifesting your own success, dreams, and changes you want to see in your life. I believe in magic, karma, and the universe making things happen for a reason - but I absolutely feel that it's a good attitude and positive mindset that facilitate the occurrence of abundance and happiness in one's life. As I continue along the journey of my own personal growth, I recently created a powerful journal section in which I could truly discover my own needs, wishes, and desires just by writing them down. Sometimes we think we will remember all the jumbled thoughts we constantly recite in our own heads but we usually don't. This powerful exercise will not only help you understand what it is that you want out of life, but the powerful mindset to bring these things into your life. Kind of like creating a vision board, but keeping your visions written and organized within a journal.

Fermenting Workshop, May 1 @ 435 South Main

Here's a recap on my fermenting workshop I held at 435 South Main in downtown Gainesville on May 1, 2019!

My Journey: A few simple steps for a happy life and spiritual healing

I had been in a very weird depression funk for the past couple of years and I'm ready to be open about it. I'm not the type of person that's unhappy with my life, in reality I'm actually very happy with my life, but I am ultra-sensitive to my surroundings and during this time period a lot of external stimuli were really bringing me down. I have empath-like qualities and tend to absorb the feelings of others, especially negativity and it has been really harmful to my mental health. I've faced defeat, rejection and internal battles about a career change I had been fighting for, and it started eating my soul away from the inside out. It wasn't until recently that I made the decision to become spiritually and emotionally grounded and the changes I have made have really cleansed me internally so that I now feel like an entirely new human being.

Moringa

What is moringa? Moringa is one of those superfoods that supposedly has tons of great benefits to it- tons of calcium, potassium, protein, and vitamins C, A and E. It strengthens your immune system, makes you feel fuller longer which can aid in weight loss, and is high in antioxidants. It's a natural anti-inflammatory, can help fight diabetes and can strengthen many of your body's organ functions including the liver, brain and heart. It's considered a superfood and it's not hard to see why. Want to learn how to eat it? Read on for plenty of ideas on how to incorporate moringa into your daily diet.

Holistic treatment for a minor ear infection in dogs (or humans!)

This is a super random post amongst an array of delicious vegan recipes, but I feel compelled to share the miracle working solution I created for Kimmie's ear last night that's left her ear smelling like bruschetta, but has given her immediate pain relief for an infection that was starting to brew. I also include a few tid-bits here on a homemade dog ear cleaner and some miracle workers that cure an unlimited list of ailments in dog AND humans.

Ferment Workshop-- learn the basics to fermenting at home!

Yesterday, I was happy to have hosted my first ever fermenting workshop at my house! I had a handful of wonderful attendees that were eager to learn the steps to making their own delicious, probiotic rich fermented foods at home with endless health benefits. This workshop was inspired by Forage Farm, who had hosted one back in November which is where I first learned about fermenting (and got kind of addicted to it!) 

Kaitlyn enjoying learning about fermenting!

Papaya smoothie

This smoothie is not only tropical and delicious, but has extreme holistic healing benefits for your overall gut health. Papayas have strong digestive enzymes that actually kill off parasites in the digestive system (Did you know many people live their life being a host to harmful organisms living within their gut without them even knowing? Parasites, which come in all forms ranging from nematodes to protozoans, can cause weight loss, weight gain, teeth grinding/clenching, mental anxiety, bloating, digestive upset, chronic fatigue, lack of energy, chronic allergies, low immunity, and many more endless symptoms that go undetected by doctors and can remain in your body affecting your health for YEARS. Many people are misdiagnosed with mental disorders, and digestive diseases and remain unaffected by treatment, and parasites, often the true cause, go undetected because they can be extremely hard to detect, and often not even considered as a possibility.) Anyway... this smoothie can be taken daily as a digestive cleanse to clean out any unwanted friends that may be living in your body and also as a preventative to keep them away.  They're more common than you think... and fortunately there are holistic ways to deal with them.

How to grow your own sprouts in a jar

When I was a little kid, my mom used to have gum bull and vending machines as a hobby/side business and was always looking for new items to fill them with. I remember helping her make "Grow your own bean sprout" kits, by putting a lima bean and small typed up instructions on how to grow it into a small plastic ball that could then be purchased from eager sciencey little kids who wanted to grow their own lima bean plant. She would let me bring these little bean sprout kits with me to school to share with my classmates and they were always a big hit. I never knew that 20 years later I would use what I learned to grow my own sprouts regularly as a staple food item in my home.

Natural remedies to the common cold, allergies, and congestion

I'm all for holistic alternatives to chemicals and medicines whenever possible (and when they actually work!). For this reason, I quickly turned to natural remedies when I picked up a throat/sinus cold this week with some congestion. Growing up, I constantly got sinus infections and had allergies during every season, totaling my inability to breathe and need for antibiotics for infections to be around 3-4 times per year. Having a mild heart condition prevents me from being able to take any kind of mediated decongestant. After getting surgery for a deviated septum, infections were less frequent, but my allergies were still bad, and once moving to Florida the pollen still kills me and I still get stuffed up (but only about once or twice a year now). Because of natural remedies, I actually haven't taken antibiotics for an infection for at least 6 years, but still get them from time to time. Here are some natural alternatives to help prevent/fight infection, clear your mucus membranes, and help your immune system stay strong and fight off what's harming you.

Fitness Tips

I am by no means a fitness expert. I'm just a personal trainer and coach.... for myself. But I've been forcing myself to get into shape lately, and it's really been working. I'm simply going to share a few tips that have helped me lose 5 lbs. in a gradual but healthy way, without spending money on a gym or heavily changing my diet. Hope that these ideas give you some inspiration to help you on your journey!

Fitness tips that helped me in my fitness journey:

Homemade natural herbal tea

So since returning from my weeklong trip to DC, I've had horrible allergies, stuffed up sinuses, a sore itchy throat, and a terrible cough. I decided to try putting our herb garden to use, and make a tea from scratch which is something I've never done before.

Swap out the chemicals in your life for a new natural lifestyle

I've been gradually transforming my lifestyle into a more natural one. Taking one step at a time to either buy a new natural product or make my own, I'm starting to replace my old products filled with harmful chemicals with new, safer (and even more effective) alternatives! It sure feels great to live a cruelty-free, cheaper, safer, and more natural lifestyle where I can feel more wholesome and one with our planet and mother nature. I personally vouch for all these products and concoctions if I personally use most of them daily!

Yoga with Adriene

I've been looking to get fit again, because in addition to a vegan diet ad lifestyle, exercise is very important too. I had been going to the gym actively in the beginning of the year (New Year's resolution, obviously...) but as time went on, especially after we got our newest dog Manny, I stopped going as often and then just didn't bother to renew my membership for the summer. I got a lot of helpful feedback on workouts to try and other fun and easy ways to stay fit, so each day I plan to try something new and I will share my favorite workouts with you.

How to transition yourself into a vegan lifestyle

I've been overwhelmed and moved by the amount of support, and feedback since going vegan. It's fulfilling to know that people have been affected by my choices to live a vegan lifestyle, and many have been inspired to adapt vegan ways into their own life. Many have asked me for tips or help on how to become vegan and there isn't one simple answer, because the change is different for everyone. It's hard for some and easy for others. I found it easier, mostly because I had already been vegetarian for a few years before making the full transition to vegan. I also find it easy, because of the conveniences of vegan foods that are made these days; for example I'm currently devouring a pint of Almond dream dairy free ice cream in Praline Crunch flavor. The transition is also easier if you enjoy cooking. My transition was a big lifestyle change because I definitely had to cook a lot more, and it is a bit more time intensive, however with that said; it's also possible to lead a raw vegan lifestyle that requires little to no cooking at all.

An obsession with mason jars (and a bonus guide to grains & plant based proteins)

DIY plant-based protein powders

Instead of writing my own blog post today I just have to share an extremely inspirational one I found on Onegreenplanet.org today. It's how to make your own protein powder!! Many protein powders have a lot of additives and these are straight up high in protein plant sources you can add to smoothies, oatmeals, protein bars or make into a pudding! If you wonder where vegans get their protein from.. well here are some examples. I already use a lot of these in my smoothies every day but this is a good way to premake your protein powders and have them ready to go... Enjoy!

Check out the HOW TO for DIY vegan protein powders here!

Turmeric; a root and spice that works a natural anti-inflammatory along with many other benefits!

Since I was 16 I have had bad tendonitis in both of my knees and I go through periods where it's so bad I can barely walk without feeling like my legs are buckling underneath me. I had been given mass amounts of Celebrex, but never liked taking medications, especially for the rest of my life. Advil or generic anti inflammatories were only an option for me when I'm in extreme pain and have a lot of physical activities to do. After moving and seeing a new primary doctor, she recommended I take daily doses of turmeric (which contains curcumin, a natural anti-inflammatory), which is natural root and a spice that's often used for cooking. I love turmeric, and cook with it often but was told the only way to get enough (without using mass amounts on food on a daily basis I suppose-- turmeric itself has a low percentage of curcumin) is to take capsules of it. I found 400 mg vegetable capsules (no gelatin) on sale at our local Earth Origins store, and have been taking 1-3 capsules a day depending on my pain level every day and it works amazingly. I'll take it before bed if I've had a strenuous day and usually take at least one each morning when I wake up and it prevents the ongoing pain all day that I usually have.