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Being Kind to Myself : Grateful Friday #10

I saw a quote this week that really resonated with me and the person that I am becoming. 

workinprogress

It reminded me to be kind to myself, to love myself and to treat myself like I would treat a friend. It sounds simple but this does not come easily to me. I am truly my worst enemy somedays. Thankfully those days are much fewer now. I am learning to be gracious and allow myself room to make mistakes, to say no, to rest when I need it, and to not feel guilty when I do something for me. 

So this week I am thankful for the growth that I am seeing in myself. Small steps equal big changes. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Today I’m linking up with Heather.

Letting Go of Mental Clutter : Deleting Facebook From My Life

First, let me start this by saying that I am not against social media. I think it can be a good thing and can enhance people’s lives. It makes it convenient to reach out to people when you need support and it can keep people connected, although I do feel like many of those connections are disingenuous (more about that in a bit). 

letting-go

What Has Facebook Become?

It can be fun looking at pictures of your friends and their families, it is nice reading about important things that are going in their life… big announcements, a move, a promotion. All of those things are great and it makes it easy to reach out and to congratulate them. But I feel like it has become so much more than that. Facebook has become a place where people share practically every little detail of their life. Starting from how they did or did not sleep that night to what they had for breakfast, to having to sit in traffic, or having to wait at the post office, to being put on hold while making a service call…..omg the list could go on and on. So what happens when we are bombarded with all of this information every single day. Depending on how many people you have on your feed, that is a lot shit to wade through multiple times a day. No one makes us look at Facebook and read all of this but we do it, we do it without even thinking about it and I think some actually feel obligated to do it….or maybe it’s FOMO (fear of missing out). I think FOMO is huge. People do not send letters any more, hell we rarely even email, I mean why do that when you get to see almost every detail by just logging on to FB. You feel like you know what’s happening in everyone’s life. Of course you don’t because the majority of people only put out the distorted best of what is happening. We really have no idea of what is really going on but we feel like we do and that makes us happy…..until it doesn’t. 

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How to Naturally Sweeten Your Cold Brew Coffee

It is possible to sweeten your coffee without using dairy, sugar, and gross additives. This is better than any creamer that I have ever used and if you would have asked me a year ago if I would be saying this I would not believe you. I loved french vanilla creamer so much you would have thought I had stock in the company. Your coffee will be deliciously sweet and you will be healthier for it. These ingredients also happen to be Paleo, and Vegan! 

Cold Brew Coffee

These 3 ingredients have changed the way I drink coffee. 

Dates: 

Dates have become my best friend, especially during this elimination diet where I have taken away alot of the foods I usually eat. Dates are naturally sweet and really help with the digestive process. They are a good source of vitamins and minerals and also give you a boost of energy. They contain essential minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. They also contain thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin K. So basically nature’s candy is a powerhouse! 

So as you can imagine dates offer alot of health benefits. I’ll list just a few of them below.

strengthen your bones

relieve constipation

they are a great supplement for people who suffer from anemia

help to relieve seasonal allergies

a great energy booster because of the natural sugar they contain

reduce levels of LDL cholesterol

Coconut Oil:

Over the last 6 months or so I have come to love coconut oil. I probably go through a jar every week or so. I always buy organic unrefined. If you are going to be consuming alot of something you want to make sure it is of high quality. My practitioner told me I need to be consuming at least 2 tbsp of coconut oil each day. After reading some of the incredible health benefits you might want to as well.

More than 90% of coconut oil consists of saturated fat. Most of them are medium chain triglycerides, which has been shown to have many health benefits.  It is important to note that not all saturated fat behaves the same in the body. Due to its high lauric acid content it is actually beneficial to the body. Lauric acid makes up 40% of the total. Lauric acid is helpful in dealing with viruses and diseases. It can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It can help boost your metabolism and thyroid function. It has also been shown to help reduce candida and yeast in the body.

Coconut Milk:

Coconut milk is a wonderful alternative to using dairy. Like coconut oil, coconut milk contains lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid that’s easily absorbed and used by the body for energy. It also improves cholesterol and blood pressure. Coconut milk also provides important minerals needed to maintain blood volume, regulate heart health, and prevent dehydration.  Coconut milk is very filling helping you to feel full and satisfied.

Coffee Sweetener
An easy way to sweeten your coffee that is all natural and healthy. I promise you will not miss the sugar!
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Ingredients
  1. 1-2 Medjool dates (pitted)
  2. 1-2 tbsp coconut oil
  3. 1/3 -1/2 cup of coconut milk
Instructions
  1. Put all the ingredients into a blender along with your cold brew coffee and blend until all the ingredients are combined. I usually blend mine in a Vitamix for 30 seconds. Your cold brew will be frothy and delicious! Enjoy!
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References: Organic Facts, Wellness Mama, Dr. Axe

 

Catching Up and Feeling Better!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a personal post. Life has been so busy and I just haven’t taken the time to sit down and do it. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, it was spent at Disney World and Christmas, well it was probably my favorite Christmas ever. The girls are at such a great age for really enjoying the holidays and I think I was more laid back and calm. Not worried about everything going perfect and I enjoyed it so much more than any other Christmas that I can remember. 

Christmas Eve

I’ve been going through a transition food wise over the last couple of months. Starting at the beginning of November I was put on an elimination diet. I was also put on some high quality supplements to help heal my gut. At first it was incredibly tough. I had to give up gluten, dairy, sugar, corn, red meat, cocoa, coffee, alcohol, eggs, nightshades, anything processed, and the list goes on but I will stop there. Going into the holiday months is not the best time to start an elimination diet but I didn’t want to keep putting it off so I just went with it. I did come off the diet on Thanksgiving day and several times around Christmas, but I am back to it now.  Since eliminating all of those inflammatory foods and taking the supplements that were prescribed to me I am feeling better than I have ever felt before! I love that I’m not putting a bandaid on the situation but am actively working on healing the root issues and finding out the causes of some of my problems. My husband was skeptical when I first went down this road in November. It was not cheap, there was alot of lab work and visits to my practitioner but he sees what a change it has made in me in this short period of time. I feel and see the changes and that is so encouraging that I am going down the right path! 

Disney at Thanksgiving

I would love to share some of the things I have been eating since being on the elimination diet. I LOVE food, not just food but DELICIOUS FOOD! I knew that if I was going to cut out all of those foods then what I could eat was going to have to taste delicious. It takes planning and a little time but it is so doable. So look out for some recipes coming your way soon! This recipe is one that I enjoy weekly! 

Have you ever been on an elimination diet? 

If so what was the hardest part for you?