The harsh reality is that eating healthy is a privilege. This fact has been weighing heavy on my heart. It is a passion of mine to help people make better food choices and support food companies that are actually doing it right! But the fact remains that an estimated 11% of the world population is starving and 23.5 million people live in food deserts, geographic areas where access to healthy and affordable food is limited or completely non-existent.

What's even more devastating is that food insecurity has a high correlation with increased diabetes rates. In Chicago, the death rate from diabetes in a food desert is twice that of areas with access to grocery stores. (Source) Want to see where food deserts exist, click here .

A fundamental reason that many don’t have access to healthy food is a consequence of the backwards food policies we have in place. Couple this with living in the time of a pandemic, healthy food is becoming increasingly expensive.

We also...

As I venture further into my blogging work I am excited to continue to align myself with AMAZING, conscious, eco-friendly, and ethical companies.

As a woman, I LOVE makeup… I’ve had a hard time finding products from ONE line that I love.

INTRODUCING…  AU NATURALE

This company is LEGIT!!! They are also:

“Vegan and Cruelty-free. The entire line is vegan, ethical and cruelty-free. Your followers can shop with confidence if they are passionate about stopping animal cruelty.

Gluten-free. Are you celiac or gluten-free for health reasons? With your body absorbing 60% of what you put on your skin, gluten-free cosmetics is important for continued healing. All products are gluten-free so shopping on our store is a breeze.

Organic/ Non-Toxic. Are you an eco-influencer passionate about reducing toxics in yours and your followers every day products? Rest assured our ingredients are organic and sustainable. All products are made in the USA...

So do you actually know what's in your wine? Well, do you?

If you drink wine regularly, listen up!  

In March of 2016 Moms Across America released new results showing that 10 major California wines contained the chemical glyphosate. “Glyphosate, deemed a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2015, was found in all three categories of wine. This includes conventional (chemically grown), organic and biodynamic wines.” (Source)

If you aren’t aware, glyphosate is a synthetic compound that is non-selective systemic herbicide. It is used to kill unwanted plants. It is the chemical found in the common weed killer, Roundup. 

Besides glyphosate in wines, the FDA allows up to 250 additives such as: 

• Ferrocyanide – this chemical is used as an anti-caking agent and exposure has been linked to respiratory and digestive health issues.  
• Ammonium phosphate – an ingredient in fertilizers and used...

It's so awesome we get to use foods to heal the body, gut, and brain.

The following whole, nutrient-dense, and real food supports our body’s detoxification process.

I always try and incorporate one or many of these foods daily.

Our body’s need us to advocate for them! No one else will do it for them.

The following are the top detoxifying foods we can incorporate into our daily diet!

• Beets
• Broccoli sprouts (and other Sulforaphane Veggies)
• Dark Green & Red leafy veggies
• Lemons
• Garlic
• Green tea

BEETS

Beets contain a group of phytonutrients called betalains that support detoxification through an important phase 2 detox liver. Beets support the liver’s efforts ridding our body of are body doesn’t need! So eat these beautiful root veggies as much as you can during this cleanse.

The recipe I highly recommend incorporating into your diet is this Beet, Apple, and Fennel Salad! I make a huge batch on the weekend and eat at least once a day, preferably...

I’m all about finding healthy recipes and making them even healthier! I’ve been using this recipe, adapted from Kookies and Cate, for a few years now.

I make it my own by using sprouted flours and adding seeds like chia and hemp to up the nutritiousness! Lately I’ve been using the Paleo flour by Bob’s Red Mill. It’s gluten free and works SO well in baking!

I love making this on the weekends and sometimes if the boys are up, they’ll help me… the smell is AMAZING and it pairs perfectly with my adaptogen coffee (recipe coming soon!).

When it’s done, we rejoice and indulge in yumminess. Okay, enough talk… Let’s do this:

HEALTHY HOMEMADE BANANA BREAD:

INGREDIENTS

• cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 pasture raised eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 ½ medium or 2 large bananas)
• 1/2 cup milk nut milk (I use homemade cashew milk… here is a recipe to make your own)
• 1 teaspoon...

My inspiration in life is to make delicious comfort food as healthy as possible. I mean, I don’t want to live my life not enjoying the fullness of food! It’s a gift to source, create, and consume food! I see it as an act of love, to myself, my family, and my friends.

Take this potato salad for example. When you cook and cool potatoes they transform into resistant starch. This creates less stress on blood sugar! Resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine, so it won’t raise glucose. Our guts need to be fed and resistant starch ferments in the large intestine feeding our good bacteria in the gut. Just this process of cooking and cooling potatoes has a HUGE impact on how our bodies respond to the potatoes. Isn’t that fascinating? I think so.

If you want to learn more about resistant starch and other foods that feed our healthy gut bacteria, click here!

So the trick to making healthier potato salad, is to cook the potatoes in advance. I like to cool...

Remember those jello packages we used to make with our moms?

Strawberry Jello contains: (Sugar, Gelatin, Adipic Acid (For Tartness), Contains Less Than 2% Of Artificial Flavor, Disodium Phosphate And SodiumCitrate (Control Acidity), Fumaric Acid (For Tartness), Red 40.)

Full of artificial sweeteners and chemicals, this shit should be banned and NEVER allowed to be fed to kids. Luckily this nourishing gummy / jello recipe is not only healthy, provides lots of protein, antioxidants, and minerals… it doesn’t contain all that SHIT!!!

The ingredient that creates the mixture to “gel” is gelatin, which has a plethora of health benefits:

• • Improves Gut Health and Digestion.

• • Protects Joints and Lowers Joint Pain.

• • Helps Improve Sleep Quality.

• • Lifts Your Mood and Improves Cognitive Abilities

• • Improves Skin Health

• • Helps Maintain Heart Health

• • Maintains Strong Bones
  • Helps You Feel Full

Read more about this healing...

Instead of talking about the virus going around, let’s talk small boobs, shall we?

This post and picture are NOT in my comfort zone, like clean and conscious eating are… but I think this is an important message and story to share as so many women (and men too!) suffer from body image issues.

I have lived most of my life wishing I had another body. A body with bigger boobs, a smaller nose, a more symmetrical face… you know, I dreamed of metamorphosing into one of the models and movie stars that I glorified and compared myself to daily. Every ounce of information I received growing up reinforced how imperfect I was. I remember reading Style and Teen Magazine in high school and every time I put it down, I’d feel sick. I needed to work out, diet, and buy new clothes.

Born with small breasts, I was always stuffing my bras, as young as I could remember. I would buy them with as much padding as possible. One time a guy I was dating even told me that I was...

The liver is the most important detoxification organ in our body! It works DAY and NIGHT to take care of us, so it’s paramount we take care of it!

This salad is created with nourishing plants that support the liver and other organs that work in tandem with it. The star ingredient in this salad is beets and beet greens. High in betalains, beets helps reduce inflammation, protect against oxidative stress and can help reduce risk of liver damage. They are also a wonderful source of fiber and vitamin C, which naturally cleanse the digestive system.

Also, I love using cold pressed flaxseed oil as it is high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids (essential to life), can help help improve gut and skin health. I add it to all my homemade salad dressings and smoothies!

Okay let’s do this!

Ingredients:

• 1 large beet, grated
• 1/2 apple, grated
• 1/2 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 cup beet greens, finely chopped
• Juice from 2 whole lemons
• 3-4 Tbsp of organic, cold-pressed flaxseed oil

Directions:...

his super simple and nutritious side dish, is one I often overlook. I usually always buy a big head of cabbage every week… and when it’s still lurking around in the fridge after a few days, I either make my Asian cabbage slaw or this warming recipe as a perfect side dish for any clean meat!

Red cabbage is so good for us! It’s packed with disease-fighting and gut healing nutrients. One of the top vitamin C foods on the planet, it supports our immune system and it’s loaded with fiber… which every human needs more of in their diet!

If you want to learn more about the benefits of this cruciferous vegetable, check out Dr. Axe’s article ALL about it’s healthiness!

This simple recipe is easy and can be a quick side dish to cook along side your wild caught salmon, grass fed steak, or roasted pasture raised chicken.

Okay, let’s do this!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp Grass Fed Butter or Coconut Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion – chopped
• 1/2...