It can seem so overwhelming to stay on track with your health especially with some of the added stress we have today. I know from personal experience that it can feel like a roller coaster ride going back and forth from super health freak to off the health wagon rebel.

Here are five ways to set yourself up for success for a healthier you!

• Stop buying all that crap! You know what I'm talking about. Crappy cookies, chips. Instead, op-in to making some homemade treats with whole food ingredients. Freeze some so you don't eat all that yumminess in one sitting. You have control over the ingredients and most importantly you can pronounce them.

• If you have a sweet tooth keep delicious fruit all washed and ready for you to enjoy in your home at all times. It's not always what you might want but it helps control the craving for sweets. Fruit also has fiber included so when you eat it you don't have those extreme sugar highs you get from cookies and candy. This helps...

I love making anything that involves turning cashews into something cheesy. I love this recipe because it's quick and easy to make and pretty good for you!

When I use this as a pasta sauce I like to mix in some broccoli. I chop the broccoli into small pieces and mix it all together. The picture is different because I was sharing my meal with someone who doesn't enjoy broccoli.  You can also add peas and some fresh herbs to make another tasty dish.

When making this recipe it's best to use raw organic cashews if you can. Soak them in water anywhere from 20 minutes as a minimum to overnight. If you don't have a highspeed blender definitely soak them overnight so your sauce is creamy.

I like to add a small amount of carrot to add a little sweetness and color. That is my preference but it's not completely necessary. The lemon can be very important because it helps make the sauce taste like cheese and not cashews. The nutritional yeast is also very important for the cheesy...

You would not catch me in a million years on the edge of a cliff like this woman in the picture doing a balance pose....ever! Anyone who knows me knows this is true. However, it is very important to me to try to keep my life and health balanced and to do yoga in the safety of my living room.

How can you tell if you're balanced? This is a good question. I believe no one is ever really completely balanced all the time, this would be hard to sustain. What is really more realistic is trying to stay as balanced as possible to support good health. 

So what does this mean? 

Well, you have all these different areas of your life.

• Health
• Physical Activity/Fitness
• Home Environment
• Self-Care
• Relationship
• Social Life
• Money
• Career
• Education/Self Improvement
• Spirituality 

We need to pay attention to all of these different areas and when something seems a little off try to bring it back to balance the best you can. It's kinda like riding a bike. You are consistently...

One of my favorite skincare things to do is go to lush and buy their facemasks. I have mastered this minty mask pretty good and I change up the ingredients depending on how my skin is feeling.

Here is a list of the ingredients and their benefits for your beautiful face.

Oatmeal, ground - 

• Helps to keep the skin hydrated
• Gently cleanses the skin
• Gently exfoliates
• Helps to soothe and nourish the skin
• Reduces inflammation
• Has antioxidant properties
• It's non-irritating, suitable for all skin types, and inexpensive!

Dried lavender flowers, ground-

• It's anti-aging
• It can help equalize the skins PH balance
• It's anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory
• It contains antioxidants to nourish the skin.

Kaolin clay - 

• It's gentle and good for all skin types
• It detoxes and cleans pores
• Absorbs excess oil
• It can soothe skin that is inflamed
• Removes impurities from the skin to help fight acne

Honey, optional(omit if you want it to be vegan) - 

• Moisturizes the skin
• ...

When you first start to transition over to eating a plant-based diet it can be a challenge to figure out how to replace animal foods with plant-based options.

Here are some common and uncommon food swaps that you can use along your journey.

Use nutritional yeast to replace cheese - Nutritional yeast is de-activated yeast. It looks like a light flaky powder with a cheesy nutty flavor often it is fortified with B vitamins. There are so many different ways to use it. You can add it to soups, use it as a topping for popcorn and blend it with cashews to make a cheesy nacho topping. It's a must-have for a plant-based kitchen.

 Use dates to replace added sugar - Dates are a great substitute to add sweetness to your smoothies, nut milks, and other sweet treats. Dates compared to sugar have some nutritional value and added fiber so even though it's still a form of sugar, you're getting some added nutrition.

...

This has been one of my most favorite things to make recently because they're great to snack on and pretty versatile on how you can eat them.

It's best to make these with a food processor but I think you can manage if you have a coffee grinder for the oats and then you can mash the beans with a fork or blend together in a mixer.

Another great thing about these is the simple ingredients. If you already have a plant-based kitchen then you most likely have everything on this list. However, if your new to plant-based cooking then the nutritional yeast and the found flax might not be something you have laying around. These ingredients are not hard to find and if you're thinking about eating a plant-based diet then they will not go to waste.

Let's get started!

Prep time 15 Minutes

Cook time 35 min

Servings  - 4

Preheat oven to 350°

1 cup of oats, ground up in food processor or coffee grinder. Use gluten free oats if needed.

 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast

1 can of black beans,...

20 Ways To Sleep Better

Sleeping is the way our bodies do a natural reset. We need this time to heal, detox, and rest. Here are some tips to improve your sleep and health!

1. Have a bedtime routine - Having a calming routine and sticking to it helps your body know when you're getting ready to go to sleep and helps you relax and fall asleep easier 

2. Stick to a schedule – Setting a specific time that you awake and head to bed every day sets your body into a rhythm. Combined with some of the other practices can lead to a great night's sleep. 

   

3. Cut back on the caffeine – Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently and some people have it in their systems for up to 12 hrs! Cut back and possibly replace with some herbal tea.

4. Stop watching TV and using your phone a couple of hours before bedtime – Exposing yourself to too much light and the stimulation of some of the action shows, video games, and social media can very very disruptive and make it hard...

I use this recipe very often when I'm meal planning. You can double the recipe and freeze half this way you always have some home-cooked food on hand.

It's quick to prepare, inexpensive to make, delicious, and super healthy. What more can you ask for?

What you will need:

2 Tbsp. of Olive oil

2 Cups of diced onion, yellow

5 Cloves of garlic minced

1 Cup of finely diced carrots

1 Cup of finely chopped celery

1 Large red or green bell pepper diced

1 28 oz. Can of diced tomatoes

1 ½ Cups of veggie broth

5 tbsp. Tomato paste

1 15 oz. Can kidney beans drained

1 15 oz. Can of pinto or navy beans drained

Add more beans for your liking.

3 tbsp. Chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp Sea salt or to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste start small, ¼ tsp.

 What you need to do:

• In a large stock pan heat olive oil on medium to low heat. Add onion and garlic cook for 3 minutes. Add carrot, celery, and peppers and cook for 5-8 minutes.
• Add...

Reading labels now has become somewhat confusing. From the food you buy at the grocery store to the food you eat at the restaurant, trying to figure out what differences between terms like "free-range", "grass-fed", and "organic" can be a little challenging. I myself struggle with many of these terms mostly because I eat a plant-based whole food diet and don't have to deal with them on a daily basis.

Here is a list of some of the common ones you will see! If you see something new, make sure you do a little research to figure out what it's all about! I hope this helps you with your trip to the grocery store!

ANTIBIOTIC FREE

"Antibiotic-free" means an animal wasn't given antibiotics during its lifetime. Other phrases that indicate the same thing include "no antibiotics administered", and "raised without antibiotics".

CAGE FREE

"Cage-Free " means the birds were raised out of cages. What this doesn't tell you is whether the birds were raised outdoors on pasture or indoors...

I can't think of a better time to cook up some soup. February is usually one of the coldest months so why not make some delicious soups to warm you up.

This first one was inspired by one of my Mom's old cookbooks. I decided to pick some recipes from the cookbook and make them vegan and healthy!

This hearty soup is healthy, satisfying, and totally delicious comfort food!

Let's get started!

What you will need

Prep time-25 min. Cook time-15 minutes Servings-8

Vegan-Gluten Free

2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Optional, can use water as a replacement)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large red onion, diced

2 celery ribs, chopped

4 Carrots, sliced

2 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 15 oz can of great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 large head of broccoli cut into bite-size pieces.

6 cups of water or veggie broth

2 tbs or 1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup heaping of nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup of unsweetened plant-based milk. (I like cashew for its...